I will merely mention one thing, a statute of the Saviour holdin’ a child in his arms, “Safe in the arms of Jesus;” it was beautiful, extremely so; it almost brought tears to my eyes it was so affectin’.
And then we went to India, Josiah and me did; almost the oldest country in the world, and exceedingly curious. Here we see some of the most fine and delicate store clothes I ever laid eyes on; I could have hid a hull muslin dress of thirty-five yards in Josiah’s vest pocket, if it would have been right so to do, and nobody would have mistrusted he was carryin’ off a thing. Why, a double thickness hangin’ over my Josiah wouldn’t hinder me from seein’ my pardner a particle; and then we see dresses of the lower class, all made ready to put on; fourteen yards of cloth in a straight strip. Them wimmen don’t fool away their time on boddis waists and overskirts.
Then we went through the hull of the British Colonies, stopped in front of the hull of ’em, treated ’em all friendly and alike. Then we tackled a hull lot of Islands, sailed round the hull of ’em from Victoria to New Zealand. While travellin’ through the last named, I clung to Josiah’s arm almost mekanically, though I knew his small weight by the steelyards, (one hundred pounds, mostly bones) was in his favor. We see there the skeleton of the great wingless bird Moa, bigger than the ostridge; by their tell, the eggs would be splendid for cookin’. Seven by ten—one biled egg would be enough for a large family. I asked ’em if they s’posed I could git a couple of eggs; I thought if I could, I would set three or four hens on ’em and a goose or two, and git a flock started.
And in Bermuda we see amongst lots of other things, some brain coral. And as the poet truly saith, “Every part strengthens a part,” I thought what a interestin’ and agreeable food that would be for some people to eat three times a day, till their symptoms was removed. We was travellin’ through the Nations now pretty middlin’ fast, not alone from principle heretofore named, but also from the fact that we had seen so much, that we didn’t see nothin’.
In Sweden my feelins got worked upon to a very affectin’ degree; first I knew, right there in the midst of life, and the brilliant animation of the scene, I see a little coffin and a cradle with a dead baby in it, and leanin’ over it weepin’, as if her heart would break was the afflicted mother; and in a chair nigh by, jest as if it was my Josiah, sot the father lookin’ as if he would sink, with a little girl jest about the age of Tirzah Ann when I married her pa, a standin’ by him. A man, a minister I thought by his looks stood by ’em, but not a woman nigh ’em, nobody offerin’ to do a thing for ’em, and they in a strange land. I walked right up to ’em and says I in a tremblin’ voice: