_Of the Camp by the Mill by the Far Woods; of the Spanking that
Came from the New Way of Mending Clothes; and of the Long Sleep of
William Shakespeare._
The papa is again come home from one of the upper camps--one of those
by the rivière. I had seeing of him when I went to look for Lucian
Horace Ovid Virgil under the front step. He said he was going to
make early garden. He said he thought he would set some onions out
and plant some radishes and some seeds that will grow into lettuce.
I did make a stop to help him. He said for me to carry off the rocks
where he did make spade-ups. I did. I picked up the rocks in a quick
way. I carried them a little way away by the brook. When summertime
is come, I have thinks I will put them in the brook with some more
to make the brook have more wideness. And the man of the long step
that whistles most all of the time has made me a water-wheel to go
rounds in the brook when summertime is come.
The time it took to pick up those rocks--it was a time long. I did
like to do it. I had thinks it would be of helps to the papa. After
they was all picked up and carried over by the brook, I did go to
the papa to see what more helps I could be. He was talking with the
husband of Elsie. When I did ask him what helps I could be, he told
me to run away from there--he wanted to talk.
I so did. I got Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus, and we went to the
woods. Brave Horatius did come a-following after. And Louis II, le
Grand Condé, did ride in the sleeve of my warm red dress. As we did
go along, the leaves of salal did make little rustles. They were
little askings. They had wants to know what day this was. I made
stops along the way to tell them it was the going-away day of Gentile
Bellini in 1507 and Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1792 and John Keats in
1821 and the borning day of George Frederick Handel in 1685. I have
thinks they and the tall fir trees were glad to know.
Brave Horatius barked a bark and we went on. He looked a look back
to see if we was coming. Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus did cuddle
up more close in my arms. We saw six birds and I did sing to Brave
Horatius the bird song of grandpère of _roitelet_ and _ortolan_
and _bruant_ and _étourneau_ and _rossignol_ and _tourterelle_ and
_durbec_ and _orfraie_ and _roussette_ and _loriot_ and _nonnette_ and
_sarcelle_ and _draine_ and _épeiche_ and _cygne_ and _hirondelle_ and
_aigle_ and _ramier_ and _tarin_ and _rousserolle_ and _émerillon_
and _sittelle_. Brave Horatius and William Shakespeare do have likes
for that song. Sometimes I do sing it to them four times a day.
We all did go on until we were come near to where were two men of
the mill by the far woods. They were making divides of a very large
log. They were making it to be many short logs. There was a big saw
going moves between. One man did push it and one man did pull it. I
went on. I did look a look back. I had sees there was a tall fern
growing by the foot of one man, and he did have his new overalls cut
off where they do meet the boots. I wonder why it is the lumber-camp
folk do cut off their overalls where they do meet the boots. When
they so cut them, they get fringy--and such fringes are more long
than other fringes. I wonder why it is they so cut them--it maybe
is because they so want fringes about the edge of the legs of their
overalls. I would have prefers for ruffles.
[Photograph: “I WONDER WHY IT IS THE LUMBER-CAMP FOLK DO CUT OFF
THEIR OVERALLS WHERE THEY DO MEET THE BOOTS”]
We did go on. We went a little way on, and we had sees of more
folks of the camp by the mill by the far woods. I did make a climb
upon an old tree-root to have sees of them at work. Brave Horatius
made a jump up, and he came in a walk over to where me and Thomas
Chatterton Jupiter Zeus were sitting. We had seeing of them all
working. I have thinks the folks that live in the lumber camps--they
are kindly folk. When they come home from work at eventime, I do so
like to sit on a stump and watch them go by. They come in twos and
threes. They do carry their dinner-pails in their hands. And some
do whistle as they come. And some do talk. And some that do see me
sitting on the stump do come aside and give to me the scraps in
their dinner-pails. Some have knowing of the needs I do have for
scraps in the nursery and the hospital. And too, when they come home
from work in the far woods, the men do bring bits of moss and nice
velvet caterpillars and little rocks. Some do. And these they give
to me for my nature collections. And I feel joy feels all over.
Brave Horatius does bark joy barks. He does know and I do know the
folks that live in the lumber camps--they are kindly folks.
* * * * *
Morning is glad on the hills. I hear a song like unto the song of the
_verdier_. The sky sings in blue tones. The earth sings in green. I
am so happy. The mamma is gone for a visit away. Before her going
she did set me to mind the baby. I do so. In between times I print,
and I do spell over and over the words in my two books Angel Father
and Angel Mother did make. I sing-song the letters of the words when
I go adown the road. So I do when I am in the house when the mamma
is n’t at home. I do not so when she is at home, because she won’t
let me.
Now Elizabeth Barrett Browning is calling me out in the pasture. I
expect she wants an apple or a sugar-lump. But I cannot have goes
out there to the pasture because the mamma did say for me to mind
the baby and mind the house. I sing to the baby words out of the two
books and the song about Iraouaddy and the bird-song of grandpère.
And I have minded the house as the mamma did say for me to do. First
I swept the floors in a careful way. The broom made bobby moves.
That broom in my hands makes not moves like the moves it does make
in the hands of the mamma. It has so much of tallness. I look looks
up its handle. And afterwards I did the windows a wash up and down
with a cloth that did have bon ami on it. When the windows do get
dirt on them it is quite a worry on the mamma’s mind. She so likes
to have all things clean. I have thinks maybe she will have some
glad feels way down in her heart where one cannot see them when she
is come home and has seeing of the windows made clean.
And more helps I have done. Most every week there is patches to fix
on clothes that have needs of them. Patching is quite a worry on
the mamma’s mind. It will be so no more. I have found a better way.
While she was gone away to-day I did get all the week’s patching
done. First I began on the papa’s undershirt. It needed a big patch
on the elbow. The mamma had cut out the patch and pinned it there on
the sleeve near unto the hole. I patched it on with china-mending
glue guaranteed to stick.
Then I did do all the other patching that was in the basket. It did
take most all the china-mending glue. When I did see it was most
all gone, I did have remembers of that kettle that I have heard the
mamma say she has wishes its lid would stick on tight. It is always
a-coming off. I did fix that lid on that kettle so it will stay
as tight as the mamma has wishes for it to. And then I did put the
bottle that used to be full of china-mending glue back in its place
on the lamp-shelf.
The baby had wake-ups and I did sing it to sleep. When sleeps was
come upon the baby, the mamma did come in the door. First she went
to look upon her dear baby sleeping there on the bed. She said now
she was going to mend those two mush-dishes. And she got the pieces
of them from the cupboard. She put them on the cook-table. And then
the mamma went to get the china-mending glue guaranteed to stick.
There was none in the bottle. I knew where it was gone. The mamma
knew too. After she did spank for some long time, she did ask me
what I did with all that glue. It took quite some time to tell her
about Elsie’s baby’s bottle that she had wishes for the nipple to
stick on tight, and about all the patches the china-mending glue
did fix, and all the other things that it did fix.
When I got to the end she did spank me again. She said that was to be
good on. Now I do think it was real kind of her to tell me what that
last spanking was for. Most times I don’t know what I get spanked
for. And I do like to know, because if I did have knows what I was
spanked for, I’d be real careful about doing what it was again, if
it was not helping folks of the fields and woods. I have to do that
no matter how many spanks I do get for it. But there is so much joy
in the woods and does help spank feels to hurt not so much. Now I
think I will go feed the folks in the nursery, and then I will go
to have vesper service in the cathedral.
* * * * *
Most all this afternoon-time I have been out in the field--the one
that is nearest unto the woods. I have been having talks with William
Shakespeare. To-day he is not working in the woods with the other
horses. He is having a rest-day. He was laying down near unto one
of the altars I have builded for Saint Louis. He did lay there all
the afternoon. Tiredness was upon him. I gave his nose rubs, and his
neck and ears, too. And I did tell him poems and sing him songs. He
has likes for me to so do. After I did sing him more, sleeps did
come upon him. The breaths he did breathe while he was going to
sleep, they were such long breaths. And I gave unto him more pats
on the nose and pats on the neck. We are chums--William Shakespeare
and me. This evening I will come again to wake him. I’ll come just
before suppertime, so he may go in with the other horses to eat his
supper in the barn.
I did. Sleeps was yet upon him. He looked so tired lying there. I
went up to pet his front leg, but it was stiff. I petted him on
the nose--and his nose it was so cold. I called him, but he did
not answer. I said again, “William Shakespeare, don’t you hear me
calling?” but he did not answer. I have thinks he is having a long
rest so he will have ready feels to pull the heavy poles on to-morrow.
I now go goes to tell the man that wears gray neckties and is kind
to mice about William Shakespeare having all this rest-day and how
he has sleeps in the field with the pink ribbon around his neck that
the fairies did bring. Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus is going goes
with me. We will wait on the stump by that path he does follow when
he comes home from work at eventime.
We are come back. The man that wears gray neckties and is kind to
mice did go with us to see William Shakespeare having his long
sleep there in the field by the altar of Saint Louis. Now I do
have understanding. My dear William Shakespeare will no more have
wake-ups again. Rob Ryder cannot give him whippings no more. He has
gone to a long sleep--a very long sleep. He just had goes because
tired feels was upon him. I have so lonesome feels for him, but I
am glad that Rob Ryder cannot whip him now no more. I have covered
him over with leaves. To find enough, I went to the far end of the
near woods. I gathered them into my apron. Sometimes I could hardly
see my way because I just could not keep from crying. I have such
lonesome feels. William Shakespeare did have an understanding soul.
And I have knows his soul will not have forgets of the willows by
the singing creek. Often I will leave a message there on a leaf for
him. I have thinks his soul is not far gone away. There are little
blue fleurs a-blooming where he did lay him down to sleep.