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
"Come in," sez I, a poking round the office arter a pin tu stick my
shirt-color together, where the etarnal washerwoman had washed the
button off, consarn her!
The feller was dressed up like a Connecticut Major-General, all in
yaller and blue, as fine as a fiddle; he kinder grinned a little when he
see my table, and that I hadn't got my fix on yet; but when I looked in
his face, he choked in, and, sez he, as humble as could be--
"Mr. Slick, my master is a waiting."
"Tell him not tu be in a pucker," sez I, "I ain't quite spruced up yet."
With that he went out--I pitched on my clothes in less than no time,
stuffed a baked apple and a few dough-nuts into my coat pocket, for fear
of accident, and follered arter. There he stood a holding open the glass
door, and a set of little steps, all carpeted off, hung down tu the
ground; and there was the fat nigger a twistifying his whip-lash round
the horses' heads, as crank as a white man. I jest had time tu see that
Jase had got his lions and roosters and crouchants pictered off on the
curtain that hung round his seat; and then I jumped into the carriage as
spry as a cricket. The tall chap folded up the steps as quick as marm
could undu a cat's cradle, and shet the door tu, and away we went like a
house a-fire. I swanny! but these coaches du go over the ground as slick
as grease; it seemed jest like being bolstered up in a rocking-chair! My
pussey cousin seemed tu swell up bigger and bigger every minit, when he
see how surprised I was with the spring of it; and, sez he--
"Now, cousin, I'm going tu take you tu see somebody worth knowing, and
when they know that you're my relation, they'll take a good deal of
notice of you; so jest put your best foot foremost."
Think sez I, it's looky that I got cousin Beebe tu show me how it's
done; but I kept a close lip and said nothing, for it was snapping cold,
and a feller's words seemed as if they'd turn tu ice, before he spoke
'em.
The nigger driv like fire and smoke, and it didn't seem no time afore we
stopped by a great house clear up town, and the tall shote opened the
door and undid the steps again, as if he expected us tu git out.
"This is my house," sez my pussey cousin, "you go in and call on the
ladies, and I'll dive round to one or two houses, and take you with me
again, by and by."
I got up sort of loth, for it seemed kinder awk'ard to go in alone; but
afore I had a chance to say so, the tall shote shet tu the stairs, gin
the door a slam, hopped up behind agin, and away they went like a streak
of lightning.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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