Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-02-16
MxSCExLAlg z.
SALLY HOLT AND THE DEATH OF
JOHN lIAYLOFT.

twice at the intermediate quarters, TO
make her slender inveslmentS-thcrc
calls al ny Aunt Shackerly's, "A very
plain, very dcmnre maiden, about forty,
aud makes her way downward 10 the
kitchen, or upward to nay ~cousins's
chamber, as may happen. Her coming
is not to Go chair-work or needle-work
Ito tell fortuncs--to beg, steal, or Dor
row. She does not come for old clothes
or Cor now. Her simple errand is love
--,urc, strong disinteres;ed love, passing
the love of women-at least for women
| think it is not often scryitudc begets
much kindness between ~ relations,
hers, however, grew from that ungenial
soil. For the whole family OF the
Shackcrlys she has Il strong fcudal at
tachmcnt-but her particular regard
dwel!s with Charlotte, tho latest born Of
the clan. Her she doats upon-her she
fondles-and takes upon her longing,
lovely Lap.
o, let not the oblivious attentions of
the worthy Dominic Sampson to the tall
boy Be:tram, be called an unnatural
working! | have seen my cousin, a good
feeder, and well grown into womanhood,
siiting--two good heads taller than her
dry nurse-on the knees Of the simple
hearted Sally Holt! l have seen the
huge presentation orange, unwrapp'd
from the homely speckled 'kerchief, and
thrust with importunate tenderness into
the bashful +" manageable hand"
My cousins heart is not SO artiiicially
composed, as TO let her scorn this hum
BILE affection, though she is puzzled
sometimes with what kind Of look to re-
ccive these honest but awkward endear-
ments. have seer her face quivering
with half a laugh.
1t is Il of Sally's staple hopes that
some day or other, when Miss Charlotte
Keeps house, she will live with her as a
servant, and this expectation makes her
particular and earnest to a fault, in her
inquiries about her sweet-hearts, and Of
fers, and the matrimonial! chances;-
questions which | have seen my cousin
listen to with half a cry.
Perhaps Sally looks upon this conf
dence as her right, in return for those
secrets which, by joint force oflgnorance
and affection, she could not help reposing
in the bosom of her foster mistress -
Nature, unkind to her, as to Dogberry,
denied to her that knowledge of reading
and writing which comes to some by IN
stinct. A strong principle of religion
made It a darling point with her to learn
to read, that she might study in her bible,
but in spite Of all the help Of my cousin,
and as ardent a desire for learning as
ever dwelt in scholar. poor Sally never
mastered A-B.ab. Her mind, simple as
her heart, was unequal to any more diff
fcuit combinations. Writing was worse
to her than ~conjuring. My cousin was
her amanuensis; aad from the vague
un~accountable mistrust Of ignorance,
the inditer took the pains always to com.
pare the verbal message with the trans.
cript, by counting the number of the
words.
| would give up all the tender epistles
Of Mrs. Arthur Brooke, to have read
one Of Sally's episiles: but they were
amatory, and therefore KEEP, sacred; for
plain as she was Sally. Holt had a lover,
There is an unpretonding plainness ia
some faces that has its CHAIRMAN u.af.
lectcd uglinoss, a thousand times more
bewitching than those would-be pretty
looks that neither satisfy the %critica.
sense nor leave tho matter Of beauty q,
once to the Imagination. We like better
TO make a new face than to mend an old
one. Sally had mol one good feature, ex-
cept those which John ~IIayloft made fol
her in his dreams; and TO Judge from
one token her partial fancy was equally
answerable for his charms. One preciou.
lock-no, not a lock, but rather a rem
nant OF very short, very coarse, very vel.
low hair, the clippings of a military crop
for John was a corporal--siood the fore
most item amongst her treasures. To
her they were curls--goldcn, Hyperian
and cherished long after the parent hcac
was laid low, with many more, on the
I, bloody plains of Salamanca.
J. I remember wildly at this moment the
of her grief at the receipt oftht
fatal news She was standing near Tho
dresser with a dish, JUST cleaned, in hcI
dexter hand. N~inety-nine women in
hundred, would have dropped tho Dish
Many would have flung themselves ate
il on the floor, but Sally put it up, order
ly, on the shelf. Tho fall Of John Hav
loft could not induce the fall Of thu
crockery. She felt the blow notwith
standing, and as soon as she had cmptic'
her hands, began 10 give way TO he
emotions in her manner. AflictioI