Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1857-11-10
lgvo the Atlantic Nonthly.l
SALLY PARSONS DUTY,
(COnGnued.)

That day the whole village Of West
bury was in an uproar. News had
come from Boston that the British were
about to send ont forces to possess
themselves of all the military stores in
the country, and forcstall rebellion BY
rendering it helpless. From every cor
ner of every farm and village, young
men and old mustered; from every
barn, horses Of all sizes and descriptions
we're driven out and saddled rusty
muskets, balls Of all shapes and Of any
available metal that would melt and
run, disabled broad-swords, horse-pis-
tolls, blunderbusses, whatever wore any
resemblance to weapon, or could be
rendered serviccablc to that end,-aIl
were hunted out, cleaned, mended, and
laid ready;-an array thst might have
made a properly drilled and equipped
army smile in contempt, but whose de-
ficiencies were moro than supplied by
iron sinews, true blood, resolve and
desperate courage.
Sally and Auut Poll partook of the
gale of patriotism. They secured the
ole queens arm to brilliancy; they
ran bullets by the hour A; baked bread
and brewed Spring beer, with no more
definite purpose than general convic;
ton that men must and would eat, as
the men Of their house certainly did,
IN the intervals of repairing harness,
filling powder-horns and shot-bclts,
trotting over to the tavern after news,
and coming back to retail it, till Aunt
Poll began to imagine she heard the
distant strokes of battcring ram, and
rushing out in terror to assure herself
discovered it to be only Sam Pequot
an old Indian, who, with the apathy of
his race, was threshing in the barn.
Aunt Poll took down Josephus to
refresh her memory, and actually drew
laugh from Sally's grave lips by con-
fiding to her this extreme horror of
the case; laugh she forgavs, since Sal
y treasured her by recommending to
her notice the fact that Jerusalem had
stone walls that were more difficult to
climb than stone fences. AS for Sally,
Electromagnetic George, all day of George,
all night; and while the next day
deepened toward noon, was still think
ing of him, when in rushed Long
Snaps, tarpaulin in hand, full of news
and horror
Il swan! we've got it now = said he.
Them darned Britishcrs set out fur
Concord last night, to board our decks
an plumber the magazine the boys
heerd ont, and they was ready over to
Lcxin'ton, waitin' round the meetin'us;
they stood tot, an that old powder
monkey Pitcairn sung out to throw
down their arms, darncd rebels an
cause they didn't muster to his whistle,
he let fly at 'em like split !; an there's
some killed an more wounded pretty
much all on 'em our folks, though
they did Civ the regulars one round o
ball atorc they run
'Ilooray shouted Zeklc that's the
talk; guess they'll sing smaller next
time "
They'll do morcn that, Zeklc,' re-
sponded Long this ant but the be-
ginnin' O sorrcrs, as Parson Marsh SEE,
SEE he thcre'l be hull gulf stream
O blood, afore them darncd rcg'lars
knows the color ont well enough to
lay their course
Sally glidcd past Long, and pluckcd
him by the sleeve, unseen by the rest.
lie followed her into the shed. She
was CHASTITY pale. Long said she,
hurrledly, did you hear who was any
body shot
Bless ye, gal hull school on 'em
was shot; there wasn't many went to
the bottom, though liant hecrd no
Names
But George gasped Sally; 'he
went to Lexington yesterday
well, l am took aback' growled
Long. 4 swear l never thought ont.
I'll 60 see.'
Come back and tell me 2 whispered
Sally.
'Lord-a-massy, yes, child jest as
soon's | know myself trcwly but l
shan't know nothin' more till shutdown,
l expect. Desire Trowbridge is arid
in post he'll come through bout that
time with news
Long did not come back for several
hours, some time after shutdown, when
he found Sally in the shed, waiting for
him. She saw the news in his face
'Dead!' said she, clutching at the old
sailors hand.
No! no! he ant slipt his moorins
yet but he is badly stove about the
fgger-head /; he's got ball throug his
head somewhere, an another in his
leg !; and he ant within hail; don't
hear no speakin' -trumpets fact is, Sal
ly, he's in for the dockyard a good
spell, ef he ant broke up hull and ALL
who shot him z whispered Sally.
That's the best ont gal; he's took an
tackled beautiful; he went into port
at Lexin'ton yesterday, and heerin'
there all sides o the story, an how
them critters sot up for to thieve away
our stores, he got kinder riled at the
hull crew, like a common-sense teller,
an when Pitcairn come along, George
finally struck his colors, run up new
nm to the mast head, -borrered mus
ket, an jined the milishy, an got shot
BY them cussed reg'lars fur his pains !;
an Of he docs die, I'll hev fgger cut
on stun myself to tell folks he was
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