Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1855-12-27
G8e Storp GtlIer
From the Knickerbocker for November.
KISSING BETTY SCUDDER.
A SKETCH OF ooRAM, L. i.


ernor of the province of New York, and Ma
thaniel Plat was town clerk, at Coram, on the
Island of Nassau, or Long Island, in the said
province, a notable case came up before The
justice who at that time kept the peace at
Coram. The details Of this are partly COL
lected from town-records. part from the anti
Quarian researches of the historian of Long Is
land, and from the quaint and singular dis
courses which Judge Benson delivered to their
great edifcatiou, before that learned body, the
New York Historical Society, which they
priced most highly from his venerable age
PartlyI got them from insular tradition, (if l
may speak SOY and the rest from that tricksy
aud communicative crew of spirits who at this
day turn the tables upon the people, and rap
alphabetically as with malet upon the round
earth. They told me all about Betty Scudder
as she then was, and of Betty Scudder as she
now is, in her angelic mould, and they rec
ommended me to print The narrative in the
Knickerbocker Magazine.
Coram was place where 'he devil played
there to Quog and Squam Beech, on the one
side, to Devils Tavern and DEVILS Stepping
Stones, on the other, (Which Judge Benson
speaks of and all around Speonk and Skunk's
Manor, he used to step it about pretty lively
There we're some witches, and the spirit Of a
druRken Indian fiddler, who used to float in a
skiff or canoe on moonlight nights around Mos
quito Cove, and adjacent parts, where he
thrummed away upon the strings till he got all
the porpoises in state of excitement, and set
them leaping over each others backs, and
thrashiug the water with their tails, and pump
ing up the brine through holes in their SHOUTS
(Which the devil bored with gimlet) like so
many whales. From there 10 the lighthouse
on Eaton's Neck he played Barbara Allen
on one string till the people were sick of it.
During the harvest-time at Coram the boys
and girls were bindiBg wheat-sheaves in the
field together. The latent jolIity which there
is in people will show itself, however restrained
by the encrampment of rules or by an estab-
lished severity Of manner. Codes are artificial,
but mir,h is natural and although the social
life Of the colonies was pretty grim and pretty
grum, aud what with the absence of luxury,
the imminence of danger, the presence of toll,
the prohibition of spirits, or the inability 10
engage la the life assumed stern and serious
aspect, there was still time when the pro-
fame fiddle would squeak out There was
some fatness in the leaa land, and now and
then, al least, al only negro would 'yaw haw'
over basket Ot chips. On Long Island,
where there is good deal OF level plain, and
muck, and sand, and barred sea-beach, and the
inhabitants are disposed to be moody, they
would sometimes shake with laughter as we'll
as with ague. There was some fun at Co.
ram and some relaxation at Buckram.
The boys and girls were binding wheat
sheaves, and the work went on merriy, and
there was much song and laughter, and the
minister looked with pleased face over the
rails; for many matches were the result of
these festivals. la a corner of the field, at the
base of yellow stack, there was deposited a
am grieved to say that it contained rum. [
think that it is very probable that the circula-
tion of that fluid, imbibed as il was without
any suspicion in those innocent days, caused a
lightness in the head and an activity of the an
imal spirits which ia old Puritan times was
thought nothing Of. but which is now consid-
cred as derogatory to character.
-Tempora mutantur ct in mutamur cum illis.'
Well, the boys and girls were binding
wheat-sheaves in the fields at Coram. 1t was
nearly sundown; the crop was mostly harvest
ed ; but, although they had toiled diligently
all day, their spirits did not flag. If the whole
island had been wheat-fe!d they could have
garaered it in company, no doubt. Cheerful
labor does not result in painful weariness.-
Hitherto they had transgressed no rule of pro-
priety, till, all OF a sudden, Bill Barkaoo. who
was working at the same sheaf with Betty
Scudder, threw his arms around her neck and
kissed her lips with resounding smack. 1t
was de height of audacity, but, although the
blood mounted to her eyes in anger and she
slapped his cheek until his ears rang, he ran
away and threw himself upon the ground, and
rolled and roared with laughter.
Bill Barkaloo was a fellow about twenty
years old, old enough to know better. He
was fellow with big bushy head of rec
hair, red face, covered with freckles, with
hand as hard as iren, and a grasp like the griI
of a vice, and voice like the roaring of many
waters. He made great noise as he drove
his team, standing up in his checked shirt anc
singing and hallooing to his cattle. He ha,
an honest heart, but reputation for wildness
His progress in the catechism had been hilh
erte snail, and he had more than once been re
proved in meeting. He used to hang his bush,
head over the gallery on the Sabbath till hi
face became as ruddy as piece of raw beei
and then, rolling his quid in his cheek, oglinl
and staring about him, find what amusemen
he could. and exhibit lack of attention to tn
preached word, to The no small disturbance Q
the speaker. Sometimes he would fail fas
asleep and snore SO rancorously as TO be hear
over the whole building, or he would set th
ra~~ox,~ sr, sl,o q t,s.-.