Armazindy

								

  She made things git up and git
  Round that little farm o’ hern!—
  Shouldered all the whole concern;—
  Feed the stock, and milk the cows—
  Run the farm and run the house!—
  Only thing she didn’t do
  Wuz to plough and harvest too—
  But the house and childern took
  Lots o’ keer—and had to look
  After her old fittified
  Grandaunt.—Lord! ye could’a’ cried,
  Seein’ Armazindy smile,
  ’Peared-like, sweeter all the while!
  And I’ve heerd her laugh and say:—
  “Jes afore Pap marched away,
  He says, ‘I depend on you,
  Armazindy, come what may—
  You must be a Soldier, too!’”

  Neighbers, from the fust, ’ud come—
  And she’d let ’em help her some,—
  “Thanky, ma’am!” and “Thanky, sir!”
  But no charity fer her!—
  “She could raise the means to pay
  Fer her farm-hands ever’ day
  Sich wuz needed!”—And she could—
  In cash-money jes as good
  As farm-produc’s ever brung
  Their perducer, old er young!
  So folks humored her and smiled,
  And at last wuz rickonciled
  Fer to let her have her own
  Way about it.—But a-goin’
  Past to town, they’d stop and see
  “Armazindy’s fambily,”
  As they’d allus laugh and say,
  And look sorry right away,
  Thinkin’ of her Pap, and how
  He’d indorse his “Soldier” now!
  ’Course she couldn’t never be
  Much in young-folks’ company—
  Plenty of in-vites to go,
  But das’t leave the house, you know—
  ’Less’n Sund’ys sometimes, when
  Some old Granny’d come and ’ten’
  Things, while Armazindy has
  Got away fer Church er “Class.”
  Most the youngsters liked her—and
  ’Twuzn’t hard to understand,—
  Fer, by time she wuz sixteen,
  Purtier girl you never seen—
  ’Ceptin’ she lacked schoolin’, ner
  Couldn’t rag out stylisher—
  Like some neighber-girls, ner thumb
  On their blame’ melodium,
  Whilse their pore old mothers sloshed
  Round the old back-porch and washed
  Their clothes fer ’em—rubbed and scrubbed
  Fer girls’d ort to jes be’n clubbed!

  —And jes sich a girl wuz Jule
  Reddinhouse.—She’d be’n to school
  At New Thessaly, i gum!—
  Fool before, but that he’pped some—
  ’Stablished-like more confidence
  ’At she never had no sense.
  But she wuz a cunnin’, sly,
  Meek and lowly sort o’ lie,
  ’At men-folks like me and you
  B’lieves jes ’cause we ortn’t to.—
  Jes as purty as a snake,
  And as pizen—mercy sake!
  Well, about them times it wuz,
  Young Sol Stephens th’ashed fer us;
  And we sent him over to
  Armazindy’s place to do
  Her work fer her.—And-sir! Well—
  Mighty little else to tell,—
  Sol he fell in love with her—
  Armazindy Ballenger!

  Bless ye!—’Ll, of all the love
  ’At I’ve ever yit knowed of,
  That-air case o’ theirn beat all!
  W’y, she worshipped him!—And Sol,
  ’Peared-like, could ’a’ kissed the sod
  (Sayin’ is) where that girl trod!
  Went to town, she did, and bought
  Lot o’ things ’at neighbers thought
  Mighty strange fer her to buy,—
  Raal chintz dress-goods—and ’way high!—
  Cut long in the skyrt,—also
  Gaiter-pair o’ shoes, you know;
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