At that, the man turned his horse round, and follered us, and I see he
had a sewin' machine in front of his wagon. We had the old mare and the
colt, and seein' a strange horse come up so close behind us, the colt
started off full run towards Jonesville, and then run down a cross-road
and into a lot.
Says the man behind us, "I am a little younger than you be, Mr. Allen;
if you will hold my horse I will go after the colt with pleasure."
Josiah was glad enough, and so he got into the feller's wagon; but
before he started off, the man, says he:
"You can look at that machine in front of you while I am gone. I tell
you frankly, that there haint another machine equal to it in America; it
requires no strength at all; infants can run it for days at a time; or
idiots; if anybody knows enough to set and whistle, they can run this
machine; and it's especially adapted to the blind--blind people can run
it jest as well as them that can see. A blind woman last year, in one
day, made 43 dollars a makin' leather aprons; stitched them all round
the age two rows. She made two dozen of 'em, and then she made four
dozen gauze veils the same day, without changin' the needle. That is one
of the beauties of the machine, its goin' from leather to lace, and back
again, without changin' the needle. It is so tryin' for wimmen, every
time they want to go from leather to gauze and book muslin, to have to
change the needle; but you can see for yourself that it haint got its
equal in North America."
He heerd the colt whinner, and Josiah stood up in the wagon, and looked
after it. So he started off down the cross road.
And we sot there, feelin' considerable like a procession; Josiah holdin'
the stranger's horse, and I the old mare; and as we sot there, up driv
another slick lookin' chap, and I bein' ahead, he spoke to me, and says
he:
"Can you direct me, mom, to Josiah Allen's house?"
"It is about a mile from here," and I added in a friendly tone, "Josiah
is my husband."
"Is he?" says he, in a genteel tone.
"Yes," says I, "we have been to Jonesville, and our colt run down that
cross road, and--"
"I see," says he interruptin' of me, "I see how it is." And then he went
on in a lower tone, "If you think of buyin' a sewin' machine, don't git
one of that feller in the wagon behind you--I know him well; he is one
of the most worthless shacks in the country, as you can plainly see by
the looks of his countenance. If I ever see a face in which knave and
villain is wrote down, it is on hisen. Any one with half an eye can see
that he would cheat his grandmother out of her snuff handkerchief, if he
got a chance."
He talked so fast that I couldn't git a chance to put in a word age ways
for Josiah.
"His sewin' machines are utterly worthless; he haint never sold one yet;
he cant. His character has got out--folks know him. There was a lady
tellin' me the other day that her machine she bought of him, all fell to
pieces in less than twenty-four hours after she bought it; fell onto her
infant, a sweet little babe, and crippled it for life. I see your
husband is havin' a hard time of it with that colt. I will jest hitch my
horse here to the fence, and go down and help him; I want to have a
little talk with him before he comes back here." So he started off on
the run.
I told Josiah what he said about him, for it madded me, but Josiah took
it cool. He seemed to love to set there and see them two men run. I
never _did_ see a colt act as that one did; they didn't have time to
pass a word with each other, to find out their mistake, it kep' 'em so
on a keen run. They would git it headed towards us, and then it would
kick up its heels, and run into some lot, and canter round in a circle
with its head up in the air, and then bring up short ag'inst the fence;
and then they would leap over the fence. The first one had white
pantaloons on, but he didn't mind 'em; over he would go, right into
sikuta or elderbushes, and they would wave their hats at it, and holler,
and whistle, and bark like dogs, and the colt would whinner and start
off again right the wrong way, and them two men would go a pantin' after
it. They had been a runnin' nigh onto half an hour, when a good lookin'
young feller come along, and seein' me a settin' still and holdin' the
old mare, he up and says:
"Are you in any trouble that I can assist you?"
Says I, "We are goin' home from Jonesville, Josiah and me, and our colt
got away and--"
But Josiah interrupted me, and says he, "And them two fools a caperin'
after it, are sewin' machine agents."
The good lookin' chap see all through it in a minute, and he broke out
into a laugh it would have done your soul good to hear, it was so clear
and hearty, and honest. But he didn't say a word; he drove out to go by
us, and we see then that he had a sewin' machine in the buggy.
"Are you a agent?" says Josiah.
"Yes," says he.
"What sort of a machine is this here?" says Josiah, liftin' up the cloth
from the machine in front of him.
"A pretty good one," says the feller, lookin' at the name on it.
"Is yours as good?" says Josiah.
"I think it is better," says he. And then he started up his horse.
"Hello! stop!" says Josiah.
The feller stopped.
"Why don't you run down other fellers' machines, and beset us to buy
yourn?"
"Because I don't make a practice of stoppin' people on the street."
"Do you haunt folks day and night; foller 'em up ladders, through
trap-doors, down sullers, and under barns?"
"No," says the young chap, "I show people how my machine works; if they
want it, I sell it; and if they don't, I leave."
"How much is your machine?" says Josiah.
"75 dollars."
"Can't you," says Josiah, "because I look so much like your old father,
or because I am a Methodist, or because my wife's mother used to live
neighbor to your grandmother--let me have it for 25 dollars?"
The feller got up on his wagon, and turned his machine round so we could
see it plain--it was a beauty--and says he:
"You see this machine, sir; I think it is the best one made, although
there is no great difference between this and the one over there; but I
think what difference there is, is in this one's favor. You can have it
for 75 dollars if you want it; if not, I will drive on."
"How do you like the looks on it, Samantha?"