The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-05-07
From he Lafayette ChrOnieis.
BLACKBERRY PICKING.
LOVE AND HORNETS.

Mister Editur; Did you eyerin the hull course
o. your material life go a blackberyin'2 II you
haint, golly erasmus. why you don't know no
thin no more about real labor sayin', high-pre-
shur, galvanic lectifyin' sport than the but eend
o. nolhin AFTER it's been whitlled. Lor' ha' mas
sy upon oifiss-hoders! why nothin' in all crea-
tion can come up tn blackberryin, but .gittin'
dumped ont'n Stay intu a sno bank, and even
that amt as good, when il amt a moonshiny
night. Mcnny and menny is the time when a
lot o. the Jordan Spankers-that's what our vii
iage boys was Northumberland raise party o.
gals, alter the -harvestin' was over, and
dioie the corn and taters was ripe, and start oil
early IN the mornin' for Hop Toad Hill, where
the blackberries was eenamost as plentiful as
musskeeturs in these diggings, and sich ALFRED
prime times as we a have was a caution tu forri-
ners. Fust of when all hands got collected, and
lot o. sutthin' to eat, pork an beans, new cider
gooseberry pise, green corn, lasses gingerbread
an a smart sprinklin' of other good things was
pervided, we d lokermote the gals all a walkn'
by themselves, and the ftlers walkin' by their
selves; the gals with their tongues runnin'
about scandle, new rbbins, kaliko gowns, and
sich consarns, jest as fast as a saw-mill in "A
freshet; and the fellows a gabbin' about horses,
cattle, ginera musters an corn shukkns-a tel
lin how twas all like Shaw's kerelessness that
made his grain mouldy-that Jim Bingy was
the orfulest liar that ever was, and that Hen
Sprague told uncle Seth that Zebe Armstrong;
wife had heerd how that Harrison Stebbins
odAt Ihe lapa tooa Ha % Mh .a4jj ss eeM aas
orter know all about it, all hands sot il rite down
for fact, an said that it sarved him jest rite
an then to think of his havn the sass III bid a
house, without tellin' the hull village how menny
rooms there was TO be on the fust floor, an he
member o. the church, tu-"it sarved him jest
,.;fa b,,c cLayb ~ ID kaap n farlin. fIl
we cum TO the hill, then all hands div rite intu
the bushes and brambles, and SIGH a scramblin'
and scratchin' for blackberries as there was,
was MT TO be sneeZed at.
1t happened that on one o. these blackberryin
frolics that sarting long-haired Teller, with
lettle bunch rite over his mouh-lookin at dis
lance jest as though he'd ben among the pots an
kittles, an got great COB Of crock on his upper
lip-was vsitn down our way, an appeared tn
have taken an amazn fancy III Sally Ann, the
Sally Ann that I'D ben payin tentions tn; KEEP
chatting tn her the hull live long time, an
snum if could scarcely beve my own MATERIAL
senses, when he begun to pick berries an put
'em intu her haskell, an she not sayin' word
agin il. Wal ! guess as how was leetle
riled, tn see myself cut an set drift in that
fashion, an ! had greet mined III go off and
shine round some other gal jest for spite, but
somehow 'rolher wanted to keep an eye on that
dandy. So tn Sally says !, there's smart
sprinklin o. berries over here, guess ieeHe
than they grow around your way" "Oh, they
re thick as puddin' here" says she. :" kalki-
late that you are pooty consumedly thick" says
he lou-dlp remarks ap demd supd1c fuoas,"
says the long haired creetur SUI alive! but
want my dandy up, to hear myself called
'.demd suporfus | slat the basket an
upset all the benies-marches rite up tn him jest
as brassy as hull malicious trainin an says J.
"ony you call me porpus or suporfius agin. an
see how I'll go tn work Spite your hansum
countenance for ye." With that Sally she bust
out cryin, an vow if could help boo-hooin
leetle myself, | felt SO connusticated. "You-aao
laboridg under dao erTup," says he, "bm
apndlo demands an eapiapnation--- airn,
demd.n "Wal," says /, syour langwidge wants
ixplainin that's fact" So he turned round III
set down, hauled out his Handkerchief, an as
hoped to be saved went TO dustin of the top OF
hornets nest, and afore one could say git out,
sot down on I tn Explain. Gordshns did MT
an did nj ne run and holler, an .i--'
the briar bushes, an tear his trowserloons-
an the gals snikkered out, an the fellers
haw -hawed till they was eenamost ded, III
see that dandy marvi down in the man
road, without emmy hat, his trowses all split
up, his hair a fyin' in the wind like
bosses TAIL and the hornets goin II tu Kill. Sal
" was shocking shamed of actin SO, but we soon
made up, and stitch prime sport as all hands had
for the rest of the day wasn't III be beat. Long
Locks mended up his trowserloons-the were
the ony ones he had-and sneaked out'n our VII
lage that day an haint showed his nose there
since-the poor creetur said he found no less
than te,r duzzen ded hornets in his boots arter
he took 'em off We cum from blackberryn IN
pairs and not as we went--had a loud cargoo
berries, and do MT bleve that one on us II ever
forgt the haw-hawin we had about the fellow
who sol down on the hornets nest.