Washington telegraph., 1849-09-19
How Seth Hawkins stole the Old Lady's
Night-gOwn.

~,
very generally believed to be true, which,
though true or false, throws bit of
romance around the plain matter-of-fact
business of Seth Hawkins courtship-a
courtship not otherwise remarkable for
incidents other than the common sort,
viz: suspicion of intention, accredited at.
tentions. and happy consummations. as
"every body does it,
This little incident. so the talk run
among the neighbors, was jewel in its
way, and shook with laughter the whole
community OF that quiet town for long
time, from the parson of the parish down
to the very toe-nail of the local body
polite.
Sunday night was the season which
Seth chose on which to do his weekly
devours, as Mrs. Hornby would say; and
his road to ighbor Jones whose daugh.
ter Sally was the object of his particular
hope. lay across three long miles of hard
territory, stumpy as an old woman's
mouth, and as irreclaimable as prodigal
son gone away for the third time.
One all sufficiently dark night, unheed-
ing wind and weather, as gallant and
Seth, ''in best bib and tucker" and dickey,
and all that. started upon his accustomed
weekly pilgrimage to the shrine of Sally
Jones-a sweet girl by the way, as straw
berries and cream are sweet
Seth knew every land mark, if he could
see it; but the night was very dark, and
in a little while he became confused in
his reckoning; and taking the light which
cleaned from farmer Jones's cottage in
the distance for guide, he pushed boldly
on, regardless of intermediate difficulties,
surging occasionally to the right or left
as some obstruction rose in his path, until
he ran stern on, as sailor would say, to
huge stump, and rolled incontinently
over the other side.
He gathered himself up as best he
could, shook himself to ascertain that no
bones were broken, and then re-started
on his mission of love, his ardor some
what damped by feeling the cold night
wind playing in fantastic jets around his
body denoting that the conclusion had
preached his oh-fe -for-shames, and that
the -and-sixpenny cassimeres were
no more to be the particular delight of
his eye in contemplation of their artistic
excellence.
He knew not the extent Of the damage
sustained, but soon gaining the house,
his first glance was over his person. to
ascertain if decency would be violated
by an unwonted display; but seeing no
thing, and trusting to the volumnlous
proportions of his coat for concealment,
h., r.It
prohered chair by the fire.
Whilst conversing with the farmer
about the weather, and with the dame
upon the matter of cheeses, he glanced
at Sally, and saw with painful surprise
that she was looking anXiously and some
what strangely towards portion of his
dress. She averted her eyes as she caught
his glance, but again catching her eye
upon him, he was induced to turn his in
the same direction, and saw, good hea-
vens! was it MS shirt? oozing out of six
inch aperture in the inside of one of his
inexpressibles. He instantly changed
position, and from that moment was on
nettles. Was he making more revela-
tions by the change? He watched the
first opportunity to push the garment IN
a little; could he succeed in hiding it, it
would relieve his embarrassment. Again
he watched his chance. and again slowed
away the linen. 1t seemed interminable,
Qike the Doctors tape-worm,) and the
more he worked at it the more there
seemed left.
In the meantime his conversation took
the hue of his agony, and his answers
bore as much relation to the questions
asked as the first line of the songs OF
Solomon does to the melancholy burthen
of 'sOld Marin PetIingill."
At last, with one desperate thrust, the
whole disappeared, and he cast a triumph
ant glance toward Sally. One look suf-
feed to show him that she had compre-
hended the whole. and with the greatest
effort was struggling to prevent laugh.
Meeting his glance, she could contain
herself no longer, but screaming, with
accumulated fun, she fled from the room;
and poor Seth, unable to endure this last
turn of his agony, seized his hat and
dashed madly from the house, clearing
the stumps like racer i'll the dark, and
reaching home he hardly knew when or
how.
AS soon as he was gone, Mrs. Jones
looked about for clean night-gown that
she had laid out for service on the back OF
the chair on which Seth had sat. She
was positive she took it out, but where
upon earth it was she couldn't conceive.
"Sallyp' cried the old lady from the
door, shave you seen my night-gown"
"Yes'em," echoed her voice, as If in
the last stage of suAocation, "yes'em,
Seth Hawkins wore it home."'
1t was unfortunately the case, and poor
Seth had slowed it away in the crevasse