and her big heart and brain in his behalf, and preachin' for him all
over the world and in almost every language under the sun. Everybody
says that 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' wuz the searchin' harrow that loosened the
old, hard ground of slavery so the rich seed of justice could be planted
and bring forth freedom.

"If it hadn't been for that woman's preachin', that negro exhauster
would to-day most likely be a hoin' cotton with a overseer a-lashin' him
up to his duties, and his wife and children and himself a-bein' bought
and sold, and borrowed and lent and mortgaged and drove like so many
animals. And I'd like to have riz right up in that Conference and told
him so."

"Oh, no," sez Josiah, lookin' some meachin', "no, you wouldn't."

"Yes, I would," sez I. "And I'd 've enjoyed it _richly_" sez I, es I
turned and put my sprig round the edge of the platter.

[Illustration: SAMANTHA EXPRESSES HER VIEWS.]

Casper wuz demute for as much as half a minute, and Josiah Allen looked
machin' for about the same length of time.

But, good land! how soon they got over it. They wuz as chipper as ever,
a-runnin' down the idee of women settin', before they got half through
dinner.

After hard and arjuous work we got the scrapin' done, and the scrubbin'
done, and then we proceeded to make a move towards puttin' on the paper.