Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1855-03-14
"NOt n Drap More, 'thOut it's
SEeeteuCd y,

SWeetencd ~
1t is astonishing how firmly certain words
and phrases become incorporated in ouT
vernacular, by tile chance telling Of an an.
ecdote, or any thing of that sort. A very
common metaphorical expression is con,
tanned in the words, 'sgen,ng me hang -
1t is of universal application and convent
ence, and became popular from the day Of
its "frst appearance" in the New Orleans
Picayune, ten years ago, as the nub OF
story of a Western gambler in steamboat
who refused to refund certain moneys fraud
ulently obtained, although made fast TO a
piston rod of the machinery and compelled,
every second, alternately topunge forward
and Jump backward, to prevent, in the one
case his head being jerked off, and in The
other, his brains being dashed out by the
regular, powerful stroke. Let me alone +;
I'm just Ceiling the hang of the machinery"
he exclaimed, wben it was demanded,
Wont you pay back nOrc2" And so in
law, politics. religion and morals, science
and art, the American people have been
GETTING THE HANG, ever since.
".Not drap more, hhom lis srerirnpd," !"
is household phrase in part of Georgia
and Alabama. A man declines. with it, to
renew game of cards at which he has been
unsuccessful rustic expresses, by the ell
egant periphr4sis, hls determination TO drop
the acquaintance of some cruel beauty the
little politician VOWS, in these terms, to alb
stain, in future, from some particular course
which has proven Improbable and SC on,
through thousand phases and cases OF
commonplace life, it answers its purposes
of playful but decided negaton or declen-
sion for the party using it. In fact, it is
rather liberal rendering of the Shakspearian,
''.No more of Haf, Hal. and thou iorest me-
though used mostly by those who never
read Shakespeare.
We believe that our friend, Col. K. l..
Haralson, formerly OF Georgia. is entitled
to the credit of the story out Of which grew
the expression. He tells it about thus:
Twenty years ago, 1t was tho custom IN
Northwestern Georgia, as indeed it was
throughout the Southwest, for dry goods
dealers to keep barrel of "sperrets' in the
back room, and 10 "treat" liberal customers
TO glass whenever desired. Fllens X
Dewberry were such dealers IN one OF the
small towns of the region indicated and
they had for a customer clever, rollicking
old fellow, named Joe Denny, who drank
whiskey in preference to water always, and
whose wife was "hesh of his flesh, " in tha!
particular. The old couple would come TO
town, trade quite freely, and quite as freely
imbibe the spirits in the back room OF the
dealers we have named.
On one occasion, both the old man and
old woman continued their potations NOR
dinately; and as Filens observed that bis
goods went better, the drunker the old we-
man, he pressed her to drink AT last she
refused, unless he "would sweeten it with
little store sugar." The amiable shop
keeper INDUCED her, and when the old peo-
pie started home in the evening late, the
old man could scarcely mount his horse,
and the guide wife had actually to be lifted
and placed on the pilion behind him. Har.
PLY she leaned one way, and her husband
The other 80 that ihe gravitating point wa.
between them-and as she clung to hun in
stInctively, they passed out Of the village
safely. Before reaching their home, how
ever, they had to cross small creek, ane
when their horse stepped 10 it to drink, The
old lady having reached Inconsistencies
released her hold, and quietly lapsed int
the stream below. Occupied with hi.
thoughts the old man did not perceive hi'
loss, but logged slowly homeward. Arrlv
ed there, his children enquired anxlously )
for "mammy," but the old man could only
say that she had been "on the criier anc
the criiler hadn't kicked up nary lime, so he
couldn't say where she mought bel" ane
threw himself, stupid, on bed.
Girls and boys flew along the road the
old man had come, yelling NANNY nam
NEE as they went but Of course no mammI
responded. When they arrived atthe creek
the oldest girl shouted 'yonder she is, ;
settin' down in the creek" And there she
was comfortably seated in the wates, which
came up nearly 10 her mouth. AS she
swayed back and forth, now yielding to the
impetuoslty of the stream, and now resist,
ing it with some success, the muddy hue
would occasionally wet her lips, and each
time it did so, she would family exclain
with grim effort TO smile:
Not a drop more, Mr.. FiAens, 'Mom III
sUeeieaed
And it is to this romantic little incident
in the life of the venerable Mrs. Joe Den.
nv, that we are indebted for one OF our
most popular colloquial phrases.-.MOntgom-
cry Mail.