Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-04-14
!" Not Drap More, ,thout It's
oWeetened i3S

II ID astonishing how firmly certain words and
phrases become incorporated in our vernacular, by
the chance telling of an anecdote, or anything of
that sort. A very common metaphorical express
sion Ia contained In the words, getting the hang"
1t is OF universal application and convenience, and
became popular from the day Of its first appear
ance In the New Orleans Picayune, ten years ago,
as the nub Of story Of western gambler in a
steamboat who refused to refund certain moneys
fraudulenty obtained, although made fast TO pis-
. ton rod Of the machinery, and compelled, every
second, alternately, to plunge and jump backwards,
to prevent, in the one case his head being jerked
on and in the other, his brains being dashed out
by the regular powerful stroke. @
Let me alone; I'm just getting the hang of the
machinery" he exclaimed, when 1t was demanded,
"Won't you pay back, now?"
And so in law, politics, religion, and morals,
science, and art, the American people have been
GETTING THE HANG ever since IS ssF;ss s
Not drap, more, thoa as ssosetened," is a
household phrase In part Of Georgia and Alaba-
ma. A man declines, with it, to renew game Of
cards at which he has been unsuccessful rustic
Expresses by the elegant perphrasis, his determi-
nation to drop the acquaintance of some cruel beau
ty; the little politician VOWS, in these terms to alb
stain, in future from some particular course which
has proven Improbable; and 90 on, through a
thousand phrases and cases Of commonplace life,
it answers its purposes of playful, but decided
negation or declension for the party using IT, In
fact 1t Is rather liberal rendering Of the Shaks-
pearean. /" No more Of that Hal, and thou lovest
me, though mostly by those who never read Shaks-
peare. G r4 afa xH
We believe that our friend, Col L. HARRISON, for
nery of Georgia, ID entitled to the credit of the
story out Of which grew the expression. He tells
Twenty years ago, it was the custom in north
western Georgia. az indeed il was throughout the
southwest, for goods dealers to keep barrel
Of "sperrets in the back room, and to treat
liberal customers to glass whenever desired"
FIlens and Dewbery were such dealers in one
Of the small towns indicated; and they had for a
customer clever, rollickng old fellow named Joe
Denny, who drank whiskey in preference TO water,
always, and whose wife was g hesh Of his flesh in
that particular. The old couple would come to
town, trade quite freely, and quite as freely i'm
bbe the spirits In the back room of the dealers we
have named .et
womaa continued their potations inordinately and
as Nllens observed that his goods went better the
drunken the old woman become, he pressed her TO |
drink. 2sss''''s 1880 = -
At hast abe refused unless he % would sweeten 1t
with little store sugar" The amiable shop keeper
iidulged her, and when the old people started
home in the evening late the old man could scarce
ly mount his horse, and the good wife had actually
TO be lifted and placed on the pillion behind him.
Happily, she leaned one way, and her husband the
other, so that the gravitating point was between
them; and ss she chung 10 him instinctively they
passed out Of the village safely.
Before reaching their home however they had |
10 cross small creek, and when their horses |
stepped in 70 drink, the old lady having reached
unconsciousy released her hold and quietly lapsed
In the stream below Occupied with his thoughts the
old man did not perceive hisloss butjogged slowly
homeward Arrived there, his children inquired
snriously for many but the old man could
only say that she had been on the "critter" and
the " critter haden't kicked up nary time, 20 he
could't say where she mout be !" and threw him |
self stupid on bed t.tJ
Girls and boys few along the road the old man
had come, yelling many ma-mee I but of course
no many responded
When they arrived at the creek, the Oldest girl
shouted "yonder she Is, q setting down m the 4
creekln And there she was seated comfortably
In the water, which came nearly mp TO her mouth.
-As abe swayed back and forth, yielding to the
impetuosity Of the stream, and now resisting II
with some success, the muddy fluid would occa-
sionally wet her lips and each time IL did 20, she
would family exclaim with grim effort 10 smile:
mot drap more Mr. Fillens 'thout rs sweet
enedr And il Is 10 this romantic little incident In
the life Of the venerable Mrs. Joe Denny, that we
are indebted for OF our most popular colloquial
phrases--Mo@igomery Nail
TEE WHEELING DIsrncr.---Thc Wheeling Times
says, with reference to the American candidate for
Congress in that district Professor Pcndleton Ia
working wonders in the good cause In the noun
tain counties He Ia beyond question. the best