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Josiah wuz in a hurry to git home, but I persuaded him to stop for a day at Dr. Phillip Rhode's, who married she that wuz Dora Peak, daughter of my cousin on my own side.

I think everything of Dora and she of me, visey versey, for, if I say it that shouldn't, I helped her more'n considerable to her present state of health, happiness, and common sense, and I spoze mebby you'd like to know about it. It's quite a long story, but I can tell it if it's best. It wuz about a year ago that Albina Peak, Dora's mother, come to Jonesville on a errent, a important one.

I wuz standin' before the winder washin' my dishes and lookin' out on the great waves of pink and green that wuz spread out in front of me (the orchard wuz in full bloom and promisin' a grand fruit year), and I seemed to sort o' float away on them waves into the past, layin' firm holt of the present, too, and my clean linen dish-cloth, as folks can in their most romantick moods, if they've got any gumption—when all of a sudden Albina Ann Peak arrived. We hadn't seen each other much of late years, for she lived in the city, but she wuz a third cousin of mine, and we used to go to school together up in the old Rizley school-house, and she sort o' leaned on me for strength and help in long division. She wuz dretful romantick and dreamy in