But her beauty was startling, and, after all, I thought, a woman
so handsome must try to live up to her reputation. Now for some
weeks Jack had been investigating the sulphur well, which was
beneath the old pump in our corral. He had had a long wooden
bath-tub built, and I watched it with a lazy interest, and
observed his glee as he found a longshoreman or roustabout who
could caulk it. The shape was exactly like a coffin (but men have
no imaginations), and when I told him how it made me feel to look
at it, he said: "Oh! you are always thinking of gloomy things.
It's a fine tub, and we are mighty lucky to find that man to
caulk it. I'm going to set it up in the little square room, and
lead the sulphur water into it, and it will be splendid, and just
think," he added, "what it will do for rheumatism!"
Now Jack had served in the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers
during the Civil War, and the swamps of the Chickahominy had
brought him into close acquaintance with that dread disease.
As for myself, rheumatism was about the only ailment I did not
have at that time, and I suppose I did not really sympathize with
him. But this energetic and indomitable man mended the pump, with
Fisher's help, and led the water into the house, laid a floor,
set up the tub in the little square room, and behold, our sulphur
bath!
After much persuasion, I tried the bath. The water flowed thick
and inky black into the tub; of course the odor was beyond
description, and the effect upon me was not such that I was ever
willing to try it again. Jack beamed. "How do you like it,
Martha?" said he. "Isn't it fine? Why people travel hundreds of
miles to get a bath like that!"
I had my own opinion, but I did not wish to dampen his
enthusiasm. Still, in order to protect myself in the future, I
had to tell him I thought I should ordinarily prefer the river.
"Well," he said, "there are those who will be thankful to have a
bath in that water; I am going to use it every day."
I remonstrated: "How do you know what is in that inky water - and
how do you dare to use it ?"
"Oh, Fisher says it's all right; people here used to drink it
years ago, but they have not done so lately, because the pump was
broken down."
The Washington people seemed glad to pay us the visit. Jack's
eyes danced with true generosity and glee. He marked his victim;
and, selecting the Staff beauty and the Paymaster's wife, he
expatiated on the wonderful properties of his sulphur bath.
