tarted this
yarn," she said, looking at me quizzically over her glasses, "for I'll
be a long time bringin' you to the dinner-party. But I've got to tell
you all this rigmarole first, so you'll understand what's comin'. If I
was to tell you about the dinner-party first you'd get a wrong idea
about Mary. That's how folks misjudges one another. They see people
doin' things that ain't right, and they up and conclude they're bad
people, when if they only knew somethin' about their lives, they'd
understand how to make allowance for 'em. You've got to know a heap
about people's lives, child, before you can judge 'em.

"Well, along about this time, somewhere in the '60's, I reckon it must
'a' been, there was a big excitement about politics. I can't somehow
ricollect what it was all about, but they had speakin's everywhere,
and the men couldn't talk about anything but politics from mornin'
till night. Abram was goin' in to town every week to some meetin' or
speakin'; and finally they had a big rally and a barbecue at Goshen.
One of the speakers was Judge McGowan, from Tennessee, and he was a
cousin of Harvey Andrews on his mother's side."

Here Aunt Jane paused again.

"I wish I could ricollect what it was all about," she said musingly.
"Must 'a' been something mighty important, but it's slipped my memory,
sure. I do ricollect, though, hearin' Sam Amos say to old Squire
Bentham, 'What's the matter, anyhow? Ain't Kentucky politicians got
enough gift o' gab, without sendin' down to Tennessee to git somebody
to help you out?'

"And the old Squire laughed fit to kill; and says he, 'It's all on
your account, Sam. We heard you was against us, and we knew there
wasn't an orator in Kentucky that could make you change your mind. So
we've sent down to Tennessee for Judge McGowan, and we're relyin' on
him to bring you over to our side.' And that like to 'a' tickled Sam
to death.

"Well, when Harvey heard his cousin was to be one o' the big men at
the speakin', he was mighty proud, as anybody would 'a' been, and
nothin' would do but he must have Judge McGowan to eat dinner at his
house.

"Some of the men objected to this, and said the speakers ought to eat
at the barbecue. But Harvey said that blood was thicker than water
with him, and no cousin o' his could come to Goshen and go away
without eatin' a meal at his house. So it was fixed up that everybody
else was to eat at the barbecue, and Harvey was to take Judge McGowan
over to h