ed prairie for months, and would have been
glad enough to had her got up a change of liniment some way, and a
change of axent higher or lower, I sez to Cousin Joel.

"Do you spoze Serintha Jane would git excited and look any different
and talk any faster or louder if the house should get afire?"

And he said no, the house did git afire once, when he wuz away. And
she discovered it in the morning whilst she wuz makin' some scollops
in her hair (she always had her hair scolloped just as even as ever a
baby's petticoat wuz), keepin' that too calm and fixed through bangs
and braids. She had scolloped it on one side and wur just beginnin' it
on the other when she see the fire, and she went gently to the door,
opened it in a quiet ladylike way, and asked a neighbor goin' by in
her low even axent, if he would kindly stop a minute. And the neighbor
stopped and she said sweetly:

"Could I trouble you to do a little errand for me if you are going
down town, or would it incommode you?"

He said he would do it.

Well, she said she didn't want him incommoded, "but," sez she, "if it
is not too much trouble will you please tell my husband that I would
like to have him come home as soon as he can make it convenient to do
so, for the house is afire." And then she smiled sweetly and made a
low bow, and went back into the house lookin' real serene, and went to
scollopin' the other side of her fore-top.

The neighbor started off wildly on the run hollerin' "fire!" and
"help!" for he see the flames bustin' out of one of the chamber
winders. He got the fire engine and the neighbors collected, and got
most of the furniture out below, and they couldn't hardly git her to
make a move, for she hadn't got the last scallop made, but finally
somebody grabbed her, and kinder hauled her out, she a tryin' to
smile, they say, and look calm, as she was borne out.

I told Joel, before I thought, that "she ort to been singed, and that
it would have done her good, mebby it would rousted her up a little."

And I guess he felt so too, though he didn't say so. Josiah
looked real interested, and I sez, fur I didn't dast to have the
encouragement go too fur that way:

"Calmness and serenity are beautiful, Josiah, and almost always
desirable, though when a house gits afire you ort to let up on 'em a
little."

Josiah's liniment looked quite a little clearer, but some shadders
still remained, and I went on tenderly and pictured out to him the
first mea