Samantha at Coney Island, and a Thousand Other IslandsHolley, Marietta
General
Samantha at Coney Island, and a Thousand Other Islands
Holley, Marietta
Coney Island (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction
I would not ask questions, but I wuz prepared for splendid lookin'
things and lots of 'em. Well, if you'll believe me there wuzn't a
thing there that I expected to see, not a ornament or curtain or
tossel, and nothin' but jest common ground to walk on like our suller
bottom or dooryard. And long benches all through it as fur as the eye
could reach almost.
The platform wuz big as most meetin' housen, but bare and plain, and
there wuz what seemed to be sheets hung up round the hull concern,
though rolled up so we could see out all round us. There wuz only one
way it come up to my idees, and that wuz the cubits. I should think it
wuz jest about as many cubits long and broad as anything ever wuz or
ever will be. They say it will hold five thousand folks, and I should
judge they wuz all there that mornin', and had brung their children
and relations on both sides.
They wuz havin' a song service when we went in, and to hear five
thousand voices or so fillin' that Tabernacle full of high and
inspirin' melody, wuz indeed a treat. It filled it so full that it
oozed out of the sheets on all sides and soared up through the
encirclin' green trees, up, up towards the blue sky, and no knowin'
how much furder it did go upwards, clear up to Heaven like as not, for
that place we have always been told is the home of music. It wuz
sunthin' to remember as long as you lived to hear that great flood of
melody flow out and swash and sway round us, bearin' us some distance
away from ourselves.
My Josiah tuned up and sung jest as loud as any of 'em, but his
singin' would have sounded better if he had sung the tune the rest
did. He sung the tune he had always been used to singin' hims in, he
is dretful sot on it, and don't like to change. But as he seemed to
enjoy it so much, and the great rush of melody wuz so powerful his
voice wuz onnoticed. The him wuz, "How firm a foundation ye saints of
the Lord."
Mr. Pomper wuz jest ahead on us, and thinkin' he would see better, I
spoze had got up on the bench, and jest as he shouted out with the
rest, "How firm a foundation," the bench broke and down he come, but
in the big volume of sound, his yell of fright wuzn't heard no more
than the note of a mosquito in a cyclone.
In the intervals of silence Josiah sot and made comments to me on the
surroundin' seen, that alas made me know his mind wuzn't riz up on
such hites as mine wuz. He commented on the looks of the men around
him, and cast the idee in my face that there wuzn't any on 'em so good
lookin' as he wuz, or nigh so distinguished in their means. I felt
sorry to think he wuz so blinded, though of course he looks good to
me. And he talked about the wimmen and advanced the idee that they
well might take pattern by his pardner in their looks and deportment.
Josiah after all is a man of good sense.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account