us with the mair and warm smiles of welcome, and
Philury greeted us with joyous smiles and a good warm meat supper.
They set store by us, lots of store, and when we gin 'em the presents
we had brung for 'em from foreign shores, happiness seemed to
radiate from 'em like light and warmth from the sun. Josiah enjoyed
his supper--yes, indeed--his liniment shone with satisfaction as he
sot at the table in his stockin' feet and shirt sleeves, and eat
more than wuz good for him, fur more. He had begun to onbend, and I
knew that for days I couldn't keep clothes enough on him to be
hardly decent, but knew also that that would wear away in time.

Feelin' first-rate when we got home, it only took us a short time to
rest and recooperate from our tower, and receive calls from the
children and grandchildren and Jonesvillians. And the children helped
Philury and me to git the house all in order, and prepare for
Thanksgiving. I sent out invitations for a party; I laid out to invite
all my own dear ones, old and young, Elder Minkley and his wife,
Arvilly, and how I did want to invite Ernest White and Waitstill Webb,
but he wuz away on a long vacation, and Waitstill I hadn't hearn from
for weeks, she wuz in the Philippines the last I hearn.

I wanted to invite all the brethern and sistern in the meetin'-house,
but Philury thought she couldn't wait on 'em all, and we compromised
on the plan of havin' 'em all here to a evenin' social the week
after, when we'd pass round things and not have so many dishes to
wash.

I laid out to be dretful thankful Thanksgivin' day. I felt that my
heart would keep the holiday with drums beatin' and flags wavin', to
speak in metafor. For how much, how much I had to be thankful for! My
beloved pardner and I had reached our own home in safety. The Lord had
watched over us in perils by water, perils by land, perils by fatigue,
perils by Josiah's strange, strange plans.

Tommy wuz as well as ever a child wuz; the doctor said his lungs wuz
sound as a bell. All our dear ones at home had been kep' in safety and
our home seemed more like a blissful oasis in a desert world than it
ever did before.

I always like to be up to the mark in everything, and I felt that I
had so much to be thankful for Thanksgivin' day that I laid out to git
up early so's to begin to be thankful as soon as daylight anyway, and
keep it up all day till long after candle light. But as it turned out
I begun to keep the glorious holiday of