He sez, "That men wuz so used to hammer and nails;" and he sez, and stuck to it, that, "No woman livin' ever druv a nail home without splittin' her own nail in the effort, and bendin' the nail she driv sideways." But I sot him down in my mind as representin' Old Prejudice, and I did not dain a reply to him.

Only I merely said-- "Wall, she did drive the nail in straight, and she clinched it solid with the golden words of her address." Yes, Mrs.Palmer has stood up on a high mount durin' the hard years past since the Fair wuz thought on.
She has stood up so high that she could see things hid from them on the ground.
She could see over the hull world, and could see that, like little children of one family, the nations wuz all havin' their own separate work to do to help their Pa's and Ma's--their Pa Progress, and Grandpa Civilization, and their Ma and Grandma Love and Humanity.
She could see that some of the children wuz dark complexioned, and some lighter, and some kinder yeller favored, and some wuz big, and some wuz small.
They differed in looks and behavior, as every big family will, and she could see that they had their little squabbles together, a-quarrelin' among themselves over their possessions, their toys and their rights--they wuz jealous of each other, and greedy, as children will be; and they had their perplexities, and their deep troubles, and their vexations, as children must have in this world, and some wuz fractious, and some wuz balky, and some wuz good dispositioned, and some wuz cross and mean, and had to be spanked more or less.
But she could see from her sightly place that the hull of the children wuz a-movin' on, some slower and some faster, movin' on, and a-gittin' into line, and a-fallin' into step, to the music of the future.
She could see, and she has seen from the first minute she wuz lifted up and looked off over the world, that this gatherin' of all the children together, a-showin' the best they had done, or could do, wuz a-goin' to help the hull family along more than tongue could tell, or mind could conceive of.
She could see that it wuz encouragin' the good children to do still better.

Allowin' the smart ones to show off their smartness to the best advantage.

Awakenin' a spirit of helpful emulation in the more backward and sluggish of 'em.
Yes, the light from this big house-warmin' she knew would penetrate and glow into the darkest corners of the earth, and, like a great warm sun, bring forth a glowin' and never-endin' harvest of blessed results.
The hull family wuz a-doin' first rate, and their Pa and Ma wuz proud enough of 'em.
And they felt well, for they knew that they wuz advancin' rapid, and with quick steps and with happy hearts.
And when she looked way back, and watched the long procession a-defilin' along, some a-walkin' swift and some a-laggin' back with slower, more burdened footsteps (chains of different kinds a-draggin' on 'em)-- When she see the dark shadders of the past behind 'em--the dretful shapes of ignorance and evil a-lurkin' in the heavy blackness from which they wuz emergin'-- her tender heart ached with sympathy.
But when she looked fur off, fur off, ahead on 'em the gole that they wuz a-settin' out for, she had to almost lift her hands and hide her eyes from the dazzlin' glory.
It most blinded her, so bright it wuz, and so golden the rays streamed out.
Equal rights, Freedom for all, Love, Peace, Joy.

I spoze she see a sight.
Her face shone! But to resoom: Josiah wuz dretful interested in the Agricultural display of the ladies of Iowa, and it wuz interestin' to look at.
On one end is panels of pansies all made out of kernels of corn, so nateral that you almost wanted to pick 'em off and make a posey of 'em.
On one of the other walls is a row of wimmen's heads done in corn; the hair is done in corn silks, and their clothes out of the husks.
And then there is a border made of corn, illustratin' the story of corn in Greek Mythology.
There is a picture called the Water Carrier--a woman made of different kinds of corn, jest as nateral as life, and the landscape round her made of grasses, and trees of sorghum, and the frame is made of ears of corn.
Josiah wuz crazy to have one to home.