Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1839-11-14
NJ I e NJ X.
From the New York Express.
JONATHAN SLICK In NEW YORK.

JONATHAN SLICK In NEW YORK.
To Mr.. ZEPHAsIAH SLICK, Justice of 10 Peace,
and Deacon Of The Church, over TIE Weahers-
field, in the State Of Coasecticut.
THE DINNER TO MR.. SLICK.
oval, | see you've found the way, cousin Slick"
SEE he. "Mary, my dear, is dlnner ready7" She
had mt time to speak before two great doors sill in
to the partition, and there was another room list as
much like the one we was in, as two peas in a pod.
A table was sot in the middle of the room, all CO.
vered with rale china dishes, and 6rst-ratc glass
%tumblers, and a silver thing to set the pepper box
in; you haint no idea how stilish it was. But as
true as you live, there stood that eiarnal niger
close by the table as large as life. | didn't know
what to make on il, but seq | to myself, if cousin
Johns got to be an abolitionist and expects me to
eat With a niger, he'll find himself mistaken, III
be darned to darnstion if he don't! But | need m,
a got 50 wrathy. the criiter didn't offer to set down,
he only stood there to get anything that we wan
ted.
"Do you take Vcrminsilly, Mr.. Slick I" saws
Miss Bebee. biting of her words as if she was afraid
they'd burn her. With that she took the kiver off
one of the dishes, and began to ladle out some SOUP
with q great silver dipper, as bright as a new fifty
cent piece.
"No, thank you,'' says /, "but I'll take some of
that dre soup instead, if you've no objection" The
critter was 5i, beginning to pucher up her mouth
again as If she'd found out something to poke fun
OF, but cousin John looked at her 80 etarnal cross
that she was glad TO choke in. | suppose cousin
John see that | felt dreadful uneasy, so he said.
kind a cosxing. She meant verminsilly soup, con-
sin Slick, Let her help you to some, I'm sartin
you'll like it.'
oval" says I, al don't care if | do" So |
took up a queer looking spoon that lay by my plate,
and tried to eat, but, all ] could do, the soup would
keep a running through the spoon into the dish
asin. l tried and tried to git one good mouthful,
but | might jist as well have determined to dip UP
tie Connecticut river in a sieve, anil the most |
could git was two or three sprangles of little white
things that / stirred up from the bottom of the
plate, that didn't taste bad, but to save my life |
couldn't make out what they were made out of.
AFTER I'd been fishing and diving ever so long, a
trying to git one good spoonful, so that | could tell
what 1t was, | looked up, and there was tho Niger
showing his teeth, and rolling about his eyes, like q
black cat in the dark. 1t made me rathy, for I sur
missed that he was larfing TO see me a working so
to git a mouthful of something to eat. | could'n.
hold in any longer, So | jumped up and flung down
the spoon upon the floor, as spiteful as could be,
and SEE | to the niger, ser / What do you stand
a grinning at there, wolly head; go and git me a
spoon that haint got no Sits in it, I'd as lief eat
with a rake as that are thing?"
"Ha, ha, haw," larfed out the etarnal black var
mint, 81 thought you would not make the fork
hold.'
With that Miss Bebee giggled right out, and
cousin John looked as if he would a burst to keep
from larfing too.
stop your noise, SIR says he to the niger.
"pick up the fork, and give MIR. Slick a spoon"
l begun to feel awful streaked, | can tell you;
but | sot down agin, and took up the real spoon,
which lay on a kind of towel folded up by my plate.
and begun to eat, without saying a word, though
I'd a given a silver dollar if they would a let me 90,
up and licked the niger.
Wal, arter I'd got a good mouthful of the soup, /
couldn't make out what it was made of, for |
could mt remember of ever seeing the name Miss
Bebee called it BY, in the dictionary. Mcybe its
Latin, says | to myself, and then | tried to think
over what it could mean, and IL nobody had told
me what the definition was in the Latin school
which you sent me TO there in Weathersheld. Ver-
minsilly! Verminsilly! Verminsilly! kept a rum
ming through my head all the time. | knew what
silly meant well enough, and then it popped into
my head, all at once, that termtn comes from La.
tin veTrnis, which means worms. Worm soup, my
gracious, the very idea of it made me feel awful
bad at the stomach. But | might have known il bv
the looks, and should If I'd ever heard of such a
thing, for the little slim critters swimming round in
the liquor looked as much like angle worms billed
down white as could be. Arter ! found out what
it was made Of, ! rather guess they didn't catch me
a eating any more Of their verminsilly soup-so |
pushed it away half across the table, and wiped
my mouth purity considerable with my pocket hand
kerchief. The niger took the whole ont away, |
and 1 declare l was glad enough to git rid of it.
"What on arih have they put this towel here
for" says | to myself; and then | stole a sly look
over to cousin Bebee,. TO see if he'd got one, or il
they only gave towels to company. Cousin John
had one just like mine, but he'd spread it ou, on
his lap, so | jist took up mine, and covered over my
carsameres too.
Considering there was no onions on the table, l
made out a purity fair dinner. was beginning to
think about moving, when the niger brought a lot
of blue glass bowls about half full of water, and sot
one down by each Of us. What they could be for
| hadn't the least notion, but / kept a bright look
out to see what cousin John did, and VIXEN i saw
him dip his fingers into his howl, and wipe EN- on
a sort of red towel which the niger brought along
with the bowls, ] jist went over the same manduyre
as natural as life.
Wal, while we were talking about the banks and
Gen. Jaekson's dying of 50, that coot of a Niger
cleared the table right off as slick as a whistle, and
afore l hardly knew what the fellow was up to, he
come along and set down a set Of d~ecanters and
two cider bottles, with the necks all covered over
with sheet lead, and then he brought two baskets
made out Of silver, one on 'em was filed chuck full
OF oranges, and tother was heaped up with great
purple grsPesi declare il ssuamoss made my