Peck's Sunshine: Being a Collection of Articles Written for Peck's Sun,; Milwaukee, Wis. - 1882Peck, George W. (George Wilbur)
General
Peck's Sunshine: Being a Collection of Articles Written for Peck's Sun,; Milwaukee, Wis. - 1882
Peck, George W. (George Wilbur)
American wit and humor
It got so that the livery rig a young man drove was an index to his
thoughts. If he had a stylish team that was right up on the bit, and
full of vinegar, and he braced himself and pulled for all that was out,
and the girl sat back in the corner of the buggy, looking as though she
should faint away if a horse got his tail over a line, then people said
that couple was all right, and there was no danger that they would be on
familiar terms.
But if they started out with a slow old horse that looked as though all
he wanted was to be left alone, however innocent the party might look,
people knew just as well as though they had seen it, that when they got
out on the road, or when night came on, that fellow's arm would steal
around her waist, and she would snug up to him, and--Oh, pshaw, you have
heard it before.
Well, late years the livery men have “got onto the racket,” as they say
at the church sociables. They have found that horses that know their
business are in demand, and so horses are trained for this purpose They
are trained on purpose for out door sparking. It is not an uncommon
thing to see a young fellow drive up to the house where his girl lives
with a team that is just tearing things. They prance, and champ the bit,
and the young man seems to pull on them as though his liver was coming
out. The horses will hardly stand still long enough for the girl to get
in, and then they start off and seem to split the air wide open, and
the neighbors say, “Them children will get all smashed up one of these
days.”
The girl's mother and father see the team start, and their minds
experience a relief as they reflect that “as long as John drives that
frisky team there can't be no hugging a going on.” The girl's older
sister sighs and says, “That's so,” and goes to her room and laughs
right out loud.
It would be instructive to the scientists to watch that team for a few
miles. The horses fairly foam, before they get out of town, but striking
the country road, the fiery steeds come down to a walk, and they mope
along as though they had always worked on a hearse. The shady woods
are reached, and the carriage scarcely moves, and the horses seem to be
walking in their sleep. The lines are loose on the dash board, and the
left arm of the driver is around the pretty girl, and they are talking
low. It is not necessary to talk loud, as they are so near each other
that the faintest whisper can be heard.
But a change comes over them. A carriage appears in front, coming
towards them. It may be some one that knows them. The young man picks
up the lines, and the horses are in the air, and as they pass the other
carriage it almost seems as though the team is running away, and the
girl that was in sweet repose a moment before acts as though she wanted
to get out. After passing the intruder the walk and conversation are
continued.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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