The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1852-09-08
Yankees.
BY JOHN NEAL.

plague do other people know of them
Just nothing at all They are seldom
or never good takers They talk abun
dantly, to be sure. They oratc, and the,
"pour forth by the chapter, and hour
sometimes without stopping to breathe
or looking about them to see if they ar,
understood, or you followed well, lik,
the late Mr.. Justice Story; but they
are seldom spirited natural, and fail
takers, with the coquetishness and play
fulness, and capriciousness of the truly
gifted in that way,-ready for any sub
ject, anywhere, and all times, and will
ling to treat it as it may come up, tc
meet every adversary halfway, and give
him the choice of weapons.
The native Yankee is a religious ami
NAL Whatever he may do or say
take my word for it-he can never dis
possess himself of that element in his
character but wanting constitutional
vivacity, sprightliness and resource, he
never trusts himself upon serious ques
| ton among strangers, without bctraying
lamentablc want of that which, without
being fippancy, is near akin to it hence
of all mankind-after a Scotchman, OF
wcll-bred, prosy Englishman-a con
scentious Yankee is the most tiresome
and trying in mixed company With
the best intentions and great worth of
character and high purpose-with knowl.
edge, learning and eloquence, and great
reasoning power-such as it is-a native
Yankee is quite sure to make his own
private opinions unpalateable to every.
body not of the same opinion to begin
with. He is intolcrant, uncharitable
unhappy, unyiclding. And why2 Sim
ply because, forty-nine times out of fifty
he has no small change about him for
travelling expenses, or never Of the cur.
rent coin he cannot triie gracefully
knows nothing of repartce (though he
is often guilty Of a dismal joke, and is
almost always too late even with a story
which he is quite sure to spoil in the tel
ling. if it ever was good for anything.
And then, the Yankee dialect how
little is known of it even by the Yankees
themselves Men who are in the habit
Of talking gibbcrish, never to be heard
out of New England, though they ncv-
or write it, nor ever saw it written, per
haps cannot be persuaded that such
New Eglaadisms ever pass their lips.
There have dome my best And yet
I have been obliged to let 90 throe-
fourths Of ali the lurrying thoughts that
have SWEPT by me, like swift shadows o.
yer lighted mirror, before they could
be secured-to lose large part of those
| most wanted to serve up hot. with the
tail-fcathcrs on. and to utter the record
of their transmigration ;-hcre,b by insert
ing a whole phrase which had escaped
me like drop of quicksilver when you
pinch it, all the sooner and further for
my earncstness and there, by changing
two or three words, which went by me
at full speed, all in heap together like
routed cavalry, and had to be brought
down by long shot
People who read newspapers and sto-
ry-books, and who, for that very reason
think newspapers and story-books, just
as he who drinks beer thinks beer, accor.
ding to Johnson.-or. just as poor BY.
ron wrote gin after while-have sort
of notion, such as it is, that your un,
adultcrated Yankee speech is very easi
ly counterfeited. But they are very
much mistaken. Of all those who pre-.
tend to write or speak it, on the stage ol
off, including Matthews, Hackett. Hill
Major Jack Downing and Sam Slick
with all their imitators and followers
there is not one, perhaps, who does moi
sin against the simple truth at every
step, nor one who does not mistake tho
wretched slang of story-tellers or low
newspapers, or miserable farces, for tn,
characteristics of our New England
speech, believing in words that nevel
fell from the lips of native New Eng
lander,off the stagenor one who does no
overlook some of their distinguishing
everyday phrases.
A Yankee never says, II thought as
how )" nor baint," nor "we be :" mol
they is !" though he will say, @they
was" and them is !" them's my senti
ments," for example, which, by the way
is downright John Bullism. SO, too
he will say, "them air." for "they are,
as i" them air your'n, ant they ?" An,
not long ago, he would say his'n, her'l
and their'n, for his, hers and theirs bu
most of these very phrases are not char
acteristic Of the New Englander-b,
which / mean, that while but very fey
native New Englanders ever use them
others who are not New Englanders, ma
tive or adopted, use them also, Par
are Irish, part Scotch, part French an,
part German.
| But most of our natives will say, Seen
jest" eenamost," or "whole tote" (prot
ably from tOut) in this way, I'm ecnjes
tired to death !" and people of educatio
, will say, Pm eenamost sick" of thing
An there they go now, the whole tot
of 'em !" 4 He's leetle, chunky feller,"
" leetle, taunty feller," or "a meechi
; feller;" but he will lnever say, athOu bcest,
whatever he may think, as they do i
/ the mother country.
/, The following phrases, and forms {
, speech are continually heard among u
"Iye hearn tell o'sech thing" I'D
you want to uSe me this evenin' !" Z"
didn't know but what you was gwyin I
to be married, and should ike to Fl,
die for ye, if you amt engaged nobod
else you like better all the same to m,
only tho't I'd mention it; do no harm
you know" But much of all this cal
not be regarded as characteristic.
native never says, "you know" till i
Z has been corrupted by his English brett
ren, but " you see " (vo1es voJrss, or voyet
cou1.) But, having been laughed OF
, of his Christian name, be mistakes I'll
!. La atard En- ..liah nf tho noaLun... Al,