Around the World with Josiah Allen's WifeHolley, Marietta
General
Around the World with Josiah Allen's Wife
Holley, Marietta
Women travelers -- Fiction
wuz leadin' him to the house of happiness--Mudd-Weakdew's to the
house of pain and despair.
I dare presoom to say I eppisoded more'n a hour to myself about it and
to Josiah, 'tennyrate Josiah got real huffy and acted, and sez in a
pitiful axent:
"Samantha, I'm willin' to hear preachin' twice a week and can set
under it like a man, but it comes kinder tough to have moralizin' and
preachin' brung into the bosom of the family and liable to be drizzled
out onto me week days, and any time, night or day."
His axent wuz extremely hopeless and pitiful. He felt a good deal as I
did in the matter, but it is a man's nater to be more impatient and
not bear the yoke so well as wimmen do. Wimmen are more used to
galdin' things than men be; I don't blame Josiah.
I wuz glad enough to see in Vienna the stately monument to Maria
Theresa, Empress of Austria Hungary. To see all about her and below
her the noble forms of Wisdom, Strength, Justice and Religion. And men
a-hoss back and sages and soldiers and to see her a-settin' so calm
and benine on top of the hull caboodle, it gin me proud sensations and
made me glad I wuz a woman, but not haughty.
Maria Theresa wuz a likely woman; I wish she could have lived to have
me encourage her by tellin' her what I thought on her. I would said to
her:
"Marie," sez I, "you did well with what you had to do with, your
pardner left a sight for you to tend to, as pardners will if they see
their consort is willing to bear the brunt. You went through no end of
trials and tribulations, wars and revolutions, but come off
victorious. You helped the poor a sight, abolished torture, sot up
schoolhouses, fenced in the roarin' Papal bulls so they couldn't break
out and rare round so much, you helped on the industries of your
country, looked out for the best interests of your husband and son, as
pardners and mothers will and looked and acted like a perfect lady
through it all in war and peace."
It would done Marie sights of good to hearn my talk, but it wuzn't to
be. But this high, noble monument wuz some consolation to her if she
could look down and see it, as I spoze she can and duz. And partly on
her ma's account I visited the tomb of her girl, Marie Christina. It
wuz designed by Canova and wuz the most beautiful tomb I ever see.
Nine beautiful figgers with heads bowed down in grief wuz bearin'
garlands of flowers to strew above the beloved head, Youth, Middle Age
and Old Age all bearin' their different garlands and seemin' to feel
real bad, even the mighty angel who guarded the open door of the tomb
had his head bowed in sorrow. Way up above wuz the face of the
beautiful Arch Duchess carved in marble, with angels and cherubs
surroundin' her. Josiah said if he wuz able he would love to rare such
a one up for Tirzah Ann. Sez he, "She could enjoy it durin' her life
and if she should pass away before us it would come handy." He thought
the features of the Arch Duchess favored Tirzah Ann, but I couldn't
see it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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