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
The critter looked at me as sober as a clam in high water, but yet she
seemed to be kinder tickled inside of her, and turning her head round
she let out a stream of stuff to somebody inside. It wasn't talking, nor
singing, nor scolding, nor yet was it crying, but some sort of sounds
kept a running off from her tongue as soft as a brook over a bed of
white pebble stuns, and about as fast tu. She kept her hand a running up
and down as if she'd half a notion to beat time to her own new fashioned
singing, till all tu once, up cum a critter from t'other eend of the
room, all dressed in white, as if she'd jest cum out of a band-box, with
allfired harnsome black hair sleeked down each side of her face, with a
hull swad of it twisted up behind, with a golden pin stuck through the
heap, like one of marm's spindles spiked through a hunk of flax. The
head of the pin was as big as a shag-bark walnut, and some sort of stun
was sot in it that was like a gal's mind, no two minits alike--now it
was red, now yaller, now green, and again all these colors seemed
jumbled together and a flashing inside of it till you couldn't tell
which was which. I swanny, if it didn't glisten so that I eenamost
forgot that it was stuck in a woman's head, and that she was a looking
into my face as mealy-mouthed and soft as could be.
"Has the gentleman mistook the room," sez she--
The words were sort of snipped off, but oh gracious, warn't they sweet!
lasses candy and maple sugar was in every syllable. It seemed as if the
critter had been fed forever on nothing but mellow peaches and slippery
elm bark, she spoke so soft. She kinder smiled tu, but it was nat'ral as
could be. Think sez I mebby the coot has led me into the wrong goose
pen, but there aint no help for it now. So I jest walked a step for'ard,
and sez I--
"How do you du marm?"
"I kinder guess there aint no mistake worth a mentioning. If Miss
Elssler aint to hum I'll make tracks and cum agin, it aint no trouble,
I'd just as livs as not, but I guess I'll leave this ere letter for fear
she may want it. Some etarnal coot brought it up to my room, but I
suppose the critter didn't know no better--some of these York chaps are
green as young potatoes, don't you think so, marm?"
I didn't wait for no answer, but handed over the new fangled letter,
and was a going right off agin, but she looked at the letter sort of
astonished, and then at me, till I didn't know what to make of it. Arter
a minit, sez she--
"Why dis is the card for Mr. Slick, one of de Editors of de _Express_
who has just arrived; certainly he could not be so rude as to send it
back again."
Oh gracious! think sez I, "Jonathan Slick, if you haint broke your onion
string now!"
"Was the gentleman out?" sez she, looking at the paper, and then at me
agin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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