420 ARTEMUS WARD VISITS THE SHAKERS. ARTEMUS WARD VISITS THE SHAKERS. CHARLES F. BROWN. R. SHAKER," sed I, "you see before you a Babe in the Woods, so to speak, and he axes a shelter of you." kiver. "Yay," said the Shaker, and he led the way into the house, another bein sent to put my horse and wagon under A solum female, lookin somewhat like a last year's bean-pole stuck into a long meal-bag, cum in and axed me was I athirst and did I hunger? To which I asserted, "A few." She went orf, and I endeavored to open a conversation with the old man. "Elder, I spect," sed I. "Yay," he said. "Health's good, I reckon ?" "Yay." "What's the wages of a Elder, when he understands his bizness-or "If the storm continues there'll be a mess underfoot, hay?" "Yay." "If I may be so bold, kind sir, what's the price of that pecooler kind of wesket you wear, includin trimmins ?" "Yay." I pawsed a minit, and, thinkin I'd be faseshus with him and see how that would go, I slapt him on the shoulder, burst into a hearty larf, and told him that as a yayer he had no living ekel. He jumped up as if bilin water had been squirted into his ears, groaned, rolled his eyes up tords the sealin and sed: "You're a man of sin!" He then walked out of the room. Directly thar cum in two young Shakeresses, as putty and slick lookin galls as I ever met. It is troo they was drest in meal-bags like the old one I'd met previsly, and their shiny, silky hair was hid from sight by long, white caps, such as I spose female gosts wear; but their eyes sparkled like diamonds, their cheeks was like roses, and they was charmin enuff THE LAND O' THE LEAL. 421 to make a man throw stuns at his grandmother, if they axed him to. They commenst clearing away the dishes, casting shy glances at me all the time. I got excited. I forgot Betsey Jane in my rapter, and sez I, "My pretty dears, how air you?" "We air well," they solumly sed. "Where is the old man?" said I, in a soft voice. "Of whom dost thou speak-Brother Uriah?" "I mean that gay and festive cuss who calls me a man of sin. Shouldn't wonder if his name wasn't Uriah." "He has retired." "Wall, my pretty dears," sez I, "let's have some fun. Let's play puss in the corner. What say?" "Air you a Shaker, sir?" they asked. "Wall, my pretty dears, I haven't arrayed my proud form in a long weskit yet, but if they wus all like you perhaps I'd jine 'em. As it is, I am willing to be Shaker protemporary." They was full of fun. I seed that at fust, only they was a little skeery. I tawt 'em puss in the corner, and sich like plase, and we had a nice time, keepin quiet of course, so that the old man shouldn't hear. When we broke up, sez I: "My pretty dears, ear I go, you have no objections have you? to a innersent kiss at partin?" HE Notch of the White Mountains is a phrase appropriated to a very narrow defile, extending two miles in length, between two huge cliffs apparently rent asunder by some vast convulsion of nature. This convulsion was, in my own view, that of the deluge. There are here, and throughout New England, no eminent proofs of volcanic violence, nor any strong exhibitions of the power of earthquakes. Nor has history recorded any earthquake or volcano in other countries of sufficient efficacy to produce the phenomena of this place. The objects rent asunder are too great, the ruin is too vast and too complete, to have been accomplished by these agents. The change seems to have been effected when the surface of the earth extensively subsided; when countries and continents assumed a new face; and a general commotion of the elements produced a disruption of some mountains, and merged others beneath the common level of desolation. Nothing less than this will |