The North-Carolina standard., 1849-04-25
wADDLE's FIRST CoURTsHIP.


the reader,) and his penchant for yarn spinning
is the evening of militia training day. There is
Roodly number, after the company ls dismissed ILo
duty who loungng around the aforesaid olo i'm,
70 hear his yarn to which he has already began the
preude and only awaits somebody to urge him to 60
on. This there are enough-io do. HE then inquired
what they would have" one o. his huntIn or co1r-
tim surees9 ?" The boys unanimously demanded the
latter. Then after requesting that none OF them
should laugh till he got through, with few Prepar-
asory hens, and an assumption of comlcally grave
face, (I wish could report has language oeT0Ht'"'
ct Eteratina,) he commenced.
eWhen wur boy, yon know, daddy moved
from Virginny to Kainiuck. I'd been born and fotch
I'D on the fronteers and Kaintuck was perfect para
disc for me to hunt bars and njuns IN But torgot
YOU want a courtin' story. Well, although was
always cuttin' up devitry among the boys, YET
somehow, / was leetle shy and skeery amongst tne
gals. liked the critters prodlglousy' out ABOUT e
only way / could manage to show 1t, was oy cdstin
Sleeps eyes in abundance at EN-. we nad ineeLi"S
an well as frolics, sometimes. While the preacher
was preachn' tenderheartedness, brotheEty Kindness
and love- wasn't thinkin' o. nothin' else. l used
to set where could look the gals In the face-and
then gaze at some purity one till she'd oiush as req
asa pepper nod. Then l felt queer about the
gizzard, and wisht airthquake would come and
thow me right in her lap! l was IN love, Out
couldn't tell who loved most Thar was Feggy
Masonhammer, mighty fine gal even In her low
linen frock her cheeks wur full as china pigs, and
ss red turkey gobblers; and then thar was oaiy
Perkins with her glorious striped home-maoe co'Uon
frock beesdes her har and eyes as black as Ink ana
thar was dimple-cheek'd, blue-eyed Lotte Smtn VINO
always toted her shoes and stockns in her hands till
ahe got in sight O. meetin'. Well, these tnree'
couldn't tell for my life which liked best-some-
times one, and sometimes another-bnt aluz the last
one lookt at. :.
But when SQUIRE Crumpton come to our diggins,
his two GALS tuck the shine off all the rest on EN-,
specially the oldest one, Betsy shan "
describe ner-but when tell you she had calico
frock with yaIlow flowers big as your hand-o!aSS
-AIho hooiA half dOZnn
as the end o. your little finger, you may thlnk sac
was charmer-I did anyhow. Of all the magnum
bonum cFarmers I'd ever seed, she was the magnnm
bonumist and all the young tellers SAID tu' "hen
fust seed her. it was at deacon Snook's meeun.
fastened nv ewes on her till hers met mine-she
looked sieadfastly-then smiled charmn smlle' ana
hlusht and lookt down. Lordy, but there was
hutterin', equal a saw-mill, tween my two jacket
pockets / felt was gawner From that nouF
was too big for my breeches, and OF q sundays
borried dads bFeeches he'd been married in afore the
Revolutionary War, and came of at his knees, but
az he was tall and want, they come below mine
,hree or four inches. Agin the next meenn. was
prepared big stiff Sal, for the purpose starch
ed and ironed nay new fine shirt as stlt and SICK as
sheet of new tin. This shirt had the hnest Kind OF
Hax-linen in the bosom and collar, but the lnVlsiDle
oart of il was of coarse tow, with hem that would
cable steamboat. Now, while Sal was smoothing
the wrinkles near the said hem with an iron just not
from the FIRE, down stairs tumbled one OF the tarnal
brats, knockin the breath outn It. 1t was SATURDAY
night ana she was Ine only one ups dH" lu" =" ~ -.
course but afore it tn, the iron had very decl-
dedlv made its mark-that ID. burnt two holes In the
extremity of the linen. Next mornin' put 1t on as
il was-then dad true bues-then the fast regular
pair of shoes I'd ever had. l was seventeen just,
that Sunday mornn' and in my Sunday rlggln' felt
myself man, and was resolved if Betsy CrumPton
meetin' to show it. Well, she was thar. and
l axed for her company-and gotit! Walkln by her
side, felt light nothin-l skercely techt the
ground walked on. But shan't tell you the fine
things thot and said to her on the way, and more
after we got home." Is Oh yes, do!" said several
voiees.) "No, you'll have enough without that
you're TO skim the cream of the story yet.
She kept up late, say two o'clock, and spite OF
the novelty (it being the fust ume) got sleepy.
Now the Squire had just come to the parts, and
put up one-story, one-roomed log cabin, and the
whole family, cePt some o. the young uns sieP be-
low was leetIe bashful bout gwine to bed thar.
but was three miles from home and it was ralnln'
like blue bIazes, and had to do it, and did with
out exposin' the blanks in my linen. resolved to
be up aore any body else in the mornn on the same
account and some others.
That was the last time knOwed till awakened by |
the hounds (half dozen Of which slept under the
bed) puIin the kivers off n Holy Jupiter! the
sun two hours high-breakfast on the table, and me
IN bed. Just as gwine to spring out, IN pops
the old oman with plate of venison. 1t was dog
days, you know, and she cookt in shanty. / pos
sumed sleep till she went out again, then looked Tor
my trowsers-thar they wur in the jaws OF the pups
at the foot of the bed ! made mighty lunge over |
the foot-board to retake them, but oh, horrors my
head down and my heels up! What's the matter, !
thinks but it hasht across me In a moment that
the holes in my linen was over the Post-and tall
post kicked and foundered and founced, but all
TO purpose. l couldn't get down; strained TO !
break the hem but it all go. Jist all the
hounds commenced yeIlin' so furiousy the old 'omen
and both gals come Tunnn, in to see what was up, |
and when they seed it me, they run out agin {;
begin holler for the Squire, while tothers thro
the cracks, battled with fshin' poles the cussed I
hounds that war wooln me. Oh, thought of Abb
salon and every body else that did hang, bet
he didn't hang with the wrong end up, and that
q consolation hadn't I'd Gust my fate like Bos-
ton, but remembered belonged to meetin', and it
was agin the rules. did, howsumever, think some
Taighty hard words, if didn't speak 'em! But all
that didn't do good. / couldn't make nothin' by |
pullin' downards, and 50 thought I'd climb up the
post and nnloose myself that way. 1 had nearly
Oueeeeded, when of the unmannery pups attack
ed me in theBesr and losin my holt fell in knot
decidedly peelia' of my linen-the button bursted
oil, and come out full length the floor, in pre-
eisely the same state of FIX Job said he come into
this world! The next mint was under the bed |
where the everlastin pups had dragged my trowsers
cuff them of; every time put leg partly on,
the internal whBlPs would pull tother of. worried
fell through into trough Of soap under the house.
Gosh! thought Iwas in the pit that bottomless
sPeang for my life, but in doing this threw myself
into the face and stomach of Squire Crumpton, who
was comm the run, 'spectin' the inins was |
Euassacrein' the whole family. The collision threw
him down the hill, and followed suit, heels over |
head, to the bottom. Here recovered my under
standing, and without any apologies even word,
struck bee-line for home jist as was, in all my
native purity, at speed that split the winds, my toe
nails strikin' fire out'r the fints at every lump
Bot, b'hoys. never went within a quarter of a |