Samantha at Coney Island, and a Thousand Other Islands — John Shaqi
Samantha at Coney Island, and a Thousand Other IslandsHolley, Marietta
General
Samantha at Coney Island, and a Thousand Other Islands
Holley, Marietta
Coney Island (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction
And she'd gone into the place where they blow glass right before your
eyes and then cut your name on it. I couldn't do it to save my life. I
might jest as well give right up if I wuz told that I had got to blow
jest a plain bottle out of some sand and stuff. And they blow out the
loveliest, queerest things you ever see: ships in full sail with the
ropes and riggin' of the most delicate and twisted strands of
brilliancy; tall exquisite vases with flowers twisted all about 'em.
Posies of all kinds, butterflies, cups, tumblers, etc. They had been
into all the little art and bookstores, full of pictures and needle
work, shells, painted stuns, books, and the thousand and one souvenirs
of all kinds of the Thousand Islands. When Josiah come in he said he
had interviewed ten or a dozen men about Coney Island--all on 'em had
been there--I wuz discouraged, I thought I might jest as well let him
loose with Serenus.
Well, Whitfield of course couldn't wait another minute, without seein'
Shadow Island, so the next day we went over there right after dinner.
Josiah proposed enthusiastickly to fish on the way there. Sez he,
"Samantha, how I do wish we could git a periouger to go in."
"A what?" sez I.
"A periouger," sez he, "that we could go fishin' in, a very uneek
boat."
"Uneek!" sez I, "I should think as much. Where did you ever ever hear
on't?"
"In Gasses Journal, Gass used to go round in 'em."
Sez I, "That book wuz published before George Washington wuz born, or
Bunker Hill thought on."
"What of it?" sez he; "that wouldn't hender a periouger from bein' a
crackin' good convenience to go round on the water in, and I'm goin'
to try to git one to-day. I bet my hat they have 'em to Coney
Island."
I tried to stop him. I didn't want him to demean himself before the
oarsmen and onlookers by tryin' to find boats that hadn't been hearn
on in hundreds of years. But I couldn't git the idea out of his head
till after dinner. Then he wuz more meller and inclined to listen to
reason. It wuz a oncommon good meal, and he felt quite softened down
in his mean by the time he finished. And Whitfield's boatman he'd
engaged come with a good sizeable boat and we sot sail for Shadow
Island.
[Illustration: "_I tried to stop him. I didn't want him to demean
himself before the oarsmen tryin' to find boats that
hadn't been hearn on in hundreds of years._" (_See
page 67_)]
When we got there the sun wuz tingin' the tops of the trees with its
bright light, but the water on the nigh side, where we landed, wuz
cool and green and shadowy. Dretful fresh and restful and comfortable
that hot muggy day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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