Morning herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1837-1840, 1837-12-08
NV Aunt Sally.

My Aunt Sally.
Ii is a very common, and at the same Tune a very
true remark that individuals possess some pecu-
liarity some distinguishing personal trait by which
they may be recognized almost readily as by name
feature. These pecuaritles are perhaps as diverse
as are the features and various expressions OF the
"human face divne :; and olios might be filled with
the enumeration of them. LII IS my purpose however,
al the present time, advert only TO the individual
characteristic of my Aunt Sally in whom 1t consisted
penchant or more properly speaking, an all-ab-
sorbng, irresistible, wholly ungoverBable desire 10
hear herself talk.
To say that nv aunt was ''talkatlve," or a great
talker would be very much like saying that The Her
aid is ga readable paper, or that Madame Augusta
is pretty dancer" Ether assertion would most
uHquesuonably be true, but how very far from the
whole truth. To say, merely, that she great
talker woad leave room for the inference that there
were moments when she was silent-thai at some
particular periods her tongue state Of qules
ccnce, and no sound proceeded from her lips. To
prevent a presumption completely erroneous so
wholly at variance with the fact, would state dis
nnctly, land wish TO be understood hterally) that
she was a ceaseless chat,erer. Sleeping, waking,
eating, drinking, crying, laughing sneezng, did she
with the undertaking constancy, and with almost the
overwhelming impetuosiiy of Niagara's descending
torrents, pour forth from day 10 day, week to week.
month to month, and year 10 year, continuous, un
broken chain of words words, words.
family tradition for the correctness of which, al
though | cannot veuch, still have no reason to
doubt relates that at the moment when she was ush
cred into this breathing world, she was, TO the
IRENE astonshment of those present, dscoursng in
an eloquent and animated manner. What the precise
subject of her remarks al this interesting moment
was, history unfortunately does not inform us; and
woud here take occasion 10 observe that next to
marvel az the measareess quantity of her converse
ton, wonder at the matter Off You should
sit by her from morn 10 dewy eve" and from that
time till "thc clock tol'd the hour for retiring" and
then having left her. you should find il impossible
recall fact she had stated sentence she had ut
tered, phrase even word she had spoken as-as
t0-talk as necessarily as herself
Whether the legend of which have made mention
relating TO the very early development of my aunts
Conversational talent be worthy of entire credence
not, is a question which shall not take upon my
self TO decide discuss: l am aware that there
matter fact people who would be ready insnu-
ave doubts OF It's probability, and possibly 90
far to impugn The veracity Of my venerated grand
parents, and their worthy contemporaries from
whom we have derived the relation; shall therefore
leave my readers to doubt believe seemeh good
TO them, and in speaking of nay aunts popularity
shall 90 no farther back in her history than that
period of time TO which my own recollection of her
extends l shall "speak only Of that i do know,
and testify only of that have seen'-or rather
heard.
To proceed then, was about nine years Of age
when first had the felicity Of seeing my aun that
time a snufiy' old maid Of some sixty winters more
less Her parents being deceased, and her brothers
and sisters all uxarang IN the JOYS OF wcdock while
she remained in n state Of single cirsedness" she
was left without local habitaion," and had been
for many years previous to this date in the habit of
quartering herself upon her relatives in rotation ex-
tending her visitation" to each, from six months
enc two, or three years, according TO circumstan
ces" she said but II interpreted by others
according to the forbearlng patience, or martyr-ke
resignation Of her unfortunate entertainers. When l
first her she had come rouHd TO US, after an alb
sence of seven years was engaged in some juve
nile pasume IN the street when the stage in which
she was drove up to the door Of my father domcile
and ere the driver had well refined in his steeds /
heard the voice of female in earnest conversation
il was the voice of my aunt and from that moment
until she left us precisely three years and hall AFTER
wards positively aver that theunceasing strains
Of her "chin music were heard without a moments
interval, throughout that entire space of time. Talk
ing TO her, what respiration is other peoples
absolutely, ndispensably necessary 10 existence Ii
impossible to place her in situation which
would prevent her from indulging her favonte pro-
pensty. Did she Sleep her speech was tenfold more
rapid and emphatic than when awake. Did she eat,
II seemed that each particle of food that she conveyed
TO her msuth had entered her lips than ii
reissued contlnenty in the shape of verbs nouns
adlecves and other parts Of speech. Did she driIk
she was not even then silent, for she had happy
faculty of talking very distinctly and coherenily
through her nose. Did we ask her a question, she |
understood il perfectly and answered IL without by
any means inierruptng the thread Of her own dis
course. The manner In which she contrIved 10 hold
her part in dialogue, might be illustrated naptly
by an engagement between two contending armies; |
the report of the musketry aad other small arms re-
presenting her regular chain of conversation and the
ordnance the heavy field pieces her EXPLANATIONS and |
replies to questions.
My aunt was pious woman, and tolcrably regular /
IN her attendance nj church. IL might naturally be
expected that while in the sanctuary, becoming re-
verence for the solemnes Of the place would have |
imposed silence upon her. Not at all. Her fertile
mlnd suggested the following ingenious cxpedlent
She had always been partial to children (or the rea-
son, presume that she found them willing Iisteners)
and on Sundays she in the habit Of Taking one
OF her nephews or ncices under her especial charge
Seating herself, them al the lower part of the pew
W IN the child by her side, and bringing her head so
closely IN contact with that OF her young companion,
as tina, her large bonnet might overshadow the faces
OF BOTH she would proceed to pray with and preach
70 u. on her own hook. In case any remarks were
made ny the adslt members of the family upon the
lmproPnety OF these wheel within wheel operations
she wosls justify herself by sayng that the preachers
language was completely beyond the COMPREHENSION
of the child, and she considered il her solemn dutv ,o
simplify II IN such q manner as TO adspt II 10 ;,s
youthful UNDERSTANDING -
My aunt had been with We about three years when
chance threw IN her way good natured widower az
about her own age. His deceased consort bad heen
one of the most reserved Of women and although he
had tenderly loved her he could not help sometimes
wishing that she wasa little more compa nionable He
had been heard to say, II was supposed with indirect
reference TO her, that he had rather hear person
talk nonsense than not talk at ALL He saw, or I
should say, he heard my aunt He thought such A
c0mpanlon wOnld make him haDpv tho ren, .,,aoY ,f