High Life in New York: A series of letters to Mr. Zephariah Slick, Justice of the Peace, and Deacon of the church over to Weathersfield in the state of ConnecticutStephens, Ann S. (Ann Sophia)
General
High Life in New York: A series of letters to Mr. Zephariah Slick, Justice of the Peace, and Deacon of the church over to Weathersfield in the state of Connecticut
Stephens, Ann S. (Ann Sophia)
New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
I didn't know what on arth to say, for I never could twist my jaws with
one of them crooked Injun names--but, sez I to myself, I calculate that
a queen aint nothing but a woman arter all, and it'll only make her
think the more of me if I keep dark, so I shook my head as if there was
a good deal in it, and sez I--
"Oh, marm, that's telling. You aint the first gal that has tried to find
me out; but it's plaguey hard work a kneeling down here, so if you'd
jest as livs I'll stand up--but I raly wish you'd let that leetle shaver
of your'n tend my woodchuck awhile--I'm eenamost tuckered out a carrying
it."
Here the other Queens and all the Kings and Nights come a crowding round
us all in a twitter to hear what we were so chipper about. I begun to
feel a sort of streaked with so many of them lofty foreign cattle a
looking at me, so I put out my elbow, and sez I to the Queen--sez I,
"Will you take my arm and let's go and see if we can't find a bite of
something to eat--I'm a gittin kinder hungry, aint you?"
She seemed to hang back a minit as if she was loth to go, but they all
begun to giggle and said they'd go along, so she put her leetle white
hand on my arm, and away we went, the eend of her frock a streaming out
behind, and the leetle chap a holding on as you've seen a kitten to an
old cat's tail.
"Wal," think sez I, "if marm could see me now a streaking up these ere
stairs with a ginuine Queen on one arm and a stuffed woodchuck under
t'other, and a hull grist of Kings and Queens coming arter us, it seemed
to me that she'd allow that I'd been lifted up a notch or two above the
vulgar since I left hum."
In all my born days I never saw a table that could hold a candle to the
one we found all set off in one of the big rooms up stairs. There was no
eend to the silver and glasses a glitterin and flashin up among the
eatables and drinkables. The visiters couldn't git to but one side of
the table, and on t'other side was a hull grist of waiters and niggers a
bustling about like a swarm of black wasps in a tantrum.
I gin the Queen a heap of good things, and it raly did me good to see
how she nibbled at 'em; the way she stowed away the jellies and
presarves was as much like any of our York gals as if she hadn't been a
Queen.
When she'd eat about enough I crooked my elbow, and we went down stairs
jest as we cum up--Kings and Queens and Nights and Injuns and all--a
rale mixed up squad. As soon as I'd found a seat for the queen I cut
stick as stiff as could be. At fust I was a going to make her a bow
before I went away, but I wasn't exactly sartin whether Injuns ever larn
them things, so I pulled in and cut away to the big ball room tickled
eenamost to death with the notice that had been taken of me.
I was a looking round arter Cousin Mary, when a leetle slim stuck up
critter cum up to me with her yaller hair all a flying and her wings
spread like a frightened butterfly, and afore I thought what I was at, I
bust right out.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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