Well, in the afternoon, I asked Cousin E. E., in a kind of natural way, if she meant to go to that feed. But that child called out:
"No, no, mamma, don"t go; I won"t be left alone."
So Cousin E. E. said she had a bad headache, and thought she wouldn"t go, but that needn"t keep me.
Now, sisters, I wasn"t brought up in the woods to be scared by owls, as we say in our parts--and if that little upstart thought she would keep me at home by domineering over her mother, she soon found out her mistake, for in less than two minutes a young lady, of about my size, came downstairs, with her beehive bonnet on, a satchel in one hand and an umbrella in the other.
"You will find the way easy enough," says Cousin E. E. "The cars take you close to the office, and you will get splendid oysters at the market."
Oysters! the very word made my mouth water, for if there is a thing on earth that I deliciously adore, it is oysters--such as you get here in York.
"Oysters!" says I, "why didn"t you tell me that before?"
"We did," says she; "of course we did!"
I was too polite to contradict her; but I"ll take my Bible oath that not one word about sh.e.l.l-fish of any kind had been mentioned that morning--nothing but a great city lion, Rockaways, bivalves, and animals like them. Still I said nothing, but went out encouraged by the idea that I was to have something to eat as well as the lion.
It was afternoon, and the street-car wasn"t overfull, so I took a seat in one corner and began to think over a piece of poetry that I have got into my mind, which shortened the way to Dempster"s office wonderfully.
In less than no time I seemed to get there, but he had just stepped out.
One of the clerks said that he thought he had gone to the market for lunch.
Oh, mercy! I felt as if my oysters were all out to sea again. I was too late.
"Which is the way to the market?" says I.
"I will show you," says he--which he did--walking by my side till I got in sight of a long, low, broad-spreading building that seemed all roof, and stone floors opening everywhere right into the street.
"Now," says the young gentleman, "you won"t help finding your way, for there is Mr. Dempster himself."
He lifted his hat and bowed so politely that I felt impressed with a desire to reward him. Taking out my pocket-book, I handed him a ten-cent stamp, with a grateful and most benevolent smile on my countenance. I am sure of that from the glow I felt. He blushed--he seemed to choke--he stepped back and put on his hat with a jerk, but he didn"t reach out his hand with the grateful spontaneosity I expected. His modesty touched me.
"Take it," says I, "it is no more than you deserve."
"Excuse me," says he; and his face was as red as a fireman"s jacket.
"Good-afternoon;" and as true as you live he went off without taking the money. I never saw anything like it.
x.x.xII.
A DEMOCRATIC LUNCH.
As soon as I could recover from the surprise any New England woman would feel at a thing like this, I saw Cousin Dempster coming toward me.
"Come, hurry up," says he. "You were so late, I thought perhaps you had misunderstood, and come directly here. This way; be careful where you step; Fulton market is not the neatest place on earth."
I was careful, and lifting the skirt of my alpaca dress between my thumb and finger, gave a nipping jump, and cleared a gutter that ran between Cousin D. and myself. Then we walked into the market, with a whole crowd of other people, and trained along between baskets and square wooden pens heaped up with oranges, and things called bananas--gold-colored, and bunched-up like sausages, but awful good to eat. Potatoes, apples, books, peanuts, chestnuts, pies, cakes, and no end of things, were heaped on high benches on each side of us wherever we turned, till at last we pa.s.sed through an encampment of empty meat-stands, and from that into a wooden lane with open rooms on one hand, and piles on piles of oysters on each side the door.
Every one of these rooms had a great rousing fire burning and roaring before it, and a lot of men diving in amongst the oysters, with sharp knives in their hands.
"Let us go in here," says Cousin Dempster, turning toward one of the rooms that looked cheerful and neat as a pin. The floor was sprinkled with white sand, and the tables had marble tops, white as tombstones, but more cheerful by half. As we went in, a man by the door called out, "Tuw stews!" Then again, "One roast--one raw on half-sh.e.l.l!"
Another man began firing pots and pans at the heap of blazing coals before him the moment this fellow stopped for breath. All this made me so hungry that I really felt as if I couldn"t wait; but I kind of started back when I saw ever so many gentlemen and ladies in the room, sitting by the tables and feeding deliciously. Some of the men had their hats on, which did not strike me as over-genteel. But, after this one halt, I entered with dignity, placed my satchel in a corner, and took an upright position on one of the wooden chairs. Cousin Dempster sat down, too. He took his hat off, which I felt as complimentary, and a touch of the aristocratic.
"Now, what shall we have?" says he.
"A stew," says I, with a feeling of thanksgiving in my mouth.
Cousin D. said something in a low voice to the young man, who went to the door, and called out:
"One roast! one stew--Saddlerock!"
I started up and caught that young man by the arm, a-feeling as if I had got hold of a cannibal. Saddlerocks, indeed!
"Young man," says I, "you have mistaken your party; we didn"t ask for stewed grindstones--only oysters."
He looked at me, at first, wild as a night-hawk, and seemed as if he wanted to run away.
"Don"t be scared," says I; "no harm is intended; it is an oyster stew that we want--nothing more. I"m not fond of hard meat. If you don"t know how to cook them--which is natural, being a man--I can tell you. Now be particular--put in half milk, a considerable chunk of b.u.t.ter, not too much pepper, and just let them come to a boil--no more. I do hate oysters stewed to death. You understand?" says I, counting over the ingredients on my fingers--"now go and do your duty."
"Yes"m," says he, and goes right to the door, and sings out: "One stew!--one roast!" so loud that it made me jump. Then he came back into the room, while I retired, with dignity, to my seat by the table.
It seemed to me that Cousin Dempster didn"t quite like what I had done, for his face was red as fire when I sat down again, and I heard him mutter something about the eccentricities of genius. Indeed, I"m afraid a profane word came with it, though I pretended not to hear.
By and by, in came the waiter-man, with two plates of cabbage cut fine, and chucked a vinegar cruet down before me; then he clapped salt and pepper before Cousin D., with a plate of little crackers. Then he went away again, and came back with two plates full of great, p.u.s.s.y oysters, steaming hot, and so appetizing, that a hungry person might have made a luscious meal on the steam.
Oh, Sisters! you never will know what good eating is till you"ve been down to the Fulton Market, and feasted on oysters there; you can"t get "em first-rate in any other place. Try it, and you"ll find "em weak as weakness compared to these. Hot, plump, delicious! The very memory of them is enough to keep a reasonable person from being hungry a week.
Talk of Delmonico"s! I never was there; but if it beats this room in the Fulton Market in the way of sh.e.l.l-fish, I"ll give up all my chances this Leap Year.
Well, when we"d done eating, two pewter mugs were set on the table, and Cousin Dempster handed one to me. I"ve heard of these mugs as belonging to bar-rooms and over intimate with ale and beer--things that I wouldn"t touch for anything on earth, maple-sap being my native drink--so I pushed the cup away, really ashamed of Cousin D.; but he pushed it back a-kind of laughing, and says he:
"Just taste it."
"Beer?" says I. "Never."
Cousin D. lifted his mug to his lip, and drank as if it tasted good. I was awful thirsty, and this was tantalizing.
"Try it," says he, fixing his bright eyes on me. "How do you know it is beer till you"ve tasted it?"
"Just so," says I; "I didn"t think of that?"
I took up the mug, and sipped a cautious sip. Beer, indeed! That pewter cup was br.i.m.m.i.n.g over with champagne-cider, that flashed and sparkled up to my lips like kisses let loose. Then I bent my head to Cousin Dempster, and just nodded.
Never think you have drank champagne-cider till you"ve taken it flashing from a pewter mug, after oysters, in Fulton Market; till then, Sisters, you will never know how thoroughly good-natured and full of fun a lone female can become. Some people might think champagne-cider like maple-sap with a sparkle in it, for the color is just the same; but it is considerably livelier, and a good deal more so, especially when one drinks it out of a pewter cup, and hasn"t any way of measuring.
Bold! I should think I was, after that. Bold as bra.s.s.