Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1857-11-19
From the Atlantic Monthly.
SALLY PARSONS DUTY.

SALLY PARSONS DUTY.
The sun that shines on eastern Massachu
sets, specially on buttercups and dandelions
and providcntially on potatoes, looks down on
no greener fields in these days than it saw in
the spring of It's, fenced in and fenced off by
the zigzag snake-fenccs of Ezekiel Parsons's
farm.
About this time" as almanacs say, young
orchards were misty with buds, red NAPLES on
the highway shone with clear light, and a row
of bright tin pans at the shed door of the farm
house testified to the sturdy arm and skilfu|
hand within-arm and hand both belonging to
no less u person than Miss Sally, Ezekiel Par
sons's only daughter, and the prettieSt girl in
Westbury short, sturdy, rosy little maid,
with hair like ripe chestnut SHE'LL bright blue
eyes, full of mischief and such a sunny, healthy,
commor-sense character, one is almost afraid TO
tell Of it, it is so out of date now.
But of what use is it to describe her? How
can impress upon moderns how enllvening and
refreshing was her aspect, as she spun or scour-
ed pans, in linsey-woolsey petticoat and white
short gown, wearing her pretty curls in a crop
George Tucker knew it all without telling
and SO did half dozen Of the Westbury boys,
who haunted the picket fence round 'Zekiels
garden every moonlight night in summer, Or
scraped their feet by the half hour together on
his doorstep in winter evenings. Sally was a
belle she knew it and liked it, as every hon
est girl does and she would have been a
belle without the aid of her fathers wide farm
and pne.tree shngs for she was fresh and
lovely, with spice of coquetry' 'ut true
womal,'s heart beneath it "h'
II was -.,y nard to discover whom Sally
p~sois favored among her numerous heaux
Her father seriously inclined to George Tuck
or not because he was ch,-for Ezekiel had
not arrived at fashionable principles, but be-
cause he was honest, kind-hcarted, aud reliable !;
but us yet Sally showed no decided preferences :;
time and the hour were near but not in sight.
One Sunday night, early in April, after the
nine o'clock bell had scattered Sally's admirers
far and wide, and old Ezekiel sat 10y the chin
ney corner, watching his sister, old Aunt Poll,
rake up the rest Of the hickory log in the ash
es, while he rubbed away sturoy at his feet,
holding in one hand the blue yarn stockings
wrought by no hand, as you may guess "
but that of Sally the talk, that had momen
tarily died away, began again, and with a
glance at Long Snapps,-a lank, shrewd-fuced
old sailor, who, to use bis own speech, had
cast anchor 'long-side of an old shp-met fur
spell, bein' bound fur his own cabin up in
Lenox, "--'Zekiel spoke after this wise =
expect, Long, your sailors have dreful
hard, onsartain time navigatn', don't YEP
well, skipper that are depen's on folks.
don't calk'Iate to hev no sort of hard time,
ef don't get riled with it but these times l
doc rile easy"
"What onscttles ye, Snaps ~
"Wcl, there's squall to wind'ard, skipper
It Amt no cats-paw, neither good no. no least,
cf it's flaw. And you landlubbers are a-gon'
to leeward, some on yc'
You don't say what be you hintn at p
"Well, there S real blow down to Boston,
'Zekle there s no more gettin' out O harbol
with our old sloop she's ben and gone, an
got some tarnal lawyers Job spliced to her bows
an she's laid up to dry but that's pcsk.
small part o Judgment. Bostn's full O then
Britishers, sech as scom6shkated the Susal
Jane cos our skipper done suthn he hedn'
uughter, or didu't do suthin' he he'd oughter
and tell yew the end O. things is nigh abou
comm on here I"
Sally, in the chimney corner, heard Lons
Snaps with open eyes, and hitchng her wood
en- chair nearer, inquired solemnly,-
What do yoh mean, Mister Snapps l.
the end Of the world comm here ?"
"Bless your pooty little fgger-head Sally
don't know as 'tis bnt suthn' nigh about
rs bad is a-comin'. Them Britishers is sot out
for to hev US under matches, or else walk the
plank and they're darned u,stook, eff they
think men is goin' to be steered blind, ant
can't blow up the cap'en no rate. There an
no man in Ameriky but what's got suthin' t,
fight for. afore he'll gin in to sech tyrints an,
it'll come to fghtin', yet afore long"
"Oh my oh goody ! the lands sakes
yew don't mean ter say that, Long? wofull
screeched Aunt Poll, whose ideas of war wer
derived In great measure from the tattered cop
Of Josephus extant in the Parsons family an
who was at present calculating the probabl
effect Of a battering.ram on their back buttery
and thinking how horrid it would be to eat u
Uncle Ezekiel in case of famine,--even afte
long courses Of rats and dogs
Well I dew, Aunt Peu there'n be som