The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1869-11-05

said too. When first seed her, it was
at Deacon Snook's meetin'. l fastened
my eyes on her till hers met mine; she
looked steadfastly, then smiled charm
ing smile, and blushed and looked
down. Lordy! there was fiutterin'
then equal toa saw-mill, tween my two
jacket pockets. felt as goner. From
that hour was too big for my breeches;
of Sundays, | borried dads breeches
he'd been married in before the Revolu-
tionary war, and come off at his knees;
but he was tall and warn't, they came
below mine three or four inches. Agin
the meetin' l was prepared to cut big
stif-sister Sal, for the purpose, tarch-
ed and ironed my new shirt as stiff and
slick as sheet of tin. This shirt had
the finest kind of flax linen in the bos-
ON and collar, but the invisible part
of it was coarse tow, with hem that
would cable steamboat.
| "Now, while Sal was smoothing the
wrinkles near the said hem with an
iron just hot from the fire, down stairs
tumbles one o. the tarnal brats, knock
in the breath out'n it. 1t was Satur-
day night; and she was the only one up
and ran to it in course, but afore it come
to, the iron had made its mark-that is,
burnt two holes in the extremity of my
linen. Next mornin' put it on as it
was, then dads true blues, then the fust
regular built par of shoes I'd ever had.
81 was seventeen just that Sunday
mornin', and in my Sunday riggin' felt
myself man, and was resolved if Bet
sy Crumpton was at meetin' to show
it. Well, she was thar, and l axt for
her company, and got it. Walkin' by
her side, l felt as light as nothin'-
skercely touched the ground 1 walked
on. But shan't tel the fine things 1
thought and said to her on the way,
and more after we got home. 'Oh, yes,
do said several voices. No, you'll
have enough without that, you're to
skim the cream Off the story yet.
"She kept me up late, say two o'clock;
and spite of the novelty-it being the
first time-I got sleepy. Now the
Squire bad just come to these parts, and
put up a one-story, one-roomed log
cabin, and the whole family, ,'cept some
of the young ones slept below. l was
leetle bashful bout gwine to bed thar
but was three miles from home, and
it was rainin' like blue blazes; had tc
do it, without exposin' the blank in my
linen. l resolved to be up afore any
body else in the mornin' on the same
account and some others.
"This was the last i know'd till wax
ened by the hounds (half a dozen o
which slept under the bedD pullin' tn
kivers off'n mo. Holy heavens tn
sun two hours high, breakfast on tn,
table, and me in bed! Just as / wa
gwine to spring out, in pops the OLE
y 'oman, with Il plate o. sassage. 1t wa
dog days now, and she cooked in tn
shanty, possumed sleep till she wen
out again, and then looked for IN.
trowsers-thar they wUr in the jaws G
the pups at the foot of the bed | mad
, a mighty plunge over the foot-board tC
retake them, but oh, horrors! my heat
down and my heels up. WHAT'S tn
matter, thinks but it flashed acros
me in a moment that the hole in IN.
/ linen was over the post-and a tall pos
: tu! kick,d and flounder'd and found
f er'd, but all to no pu rpose-I couldn'
get down. strained to break the hem
q but it was no go. Jist now all tn
: hounds commenced yellin' so furiousl
y the old 'omen and both gals run in
s see what was up, and when they see
. it was me they run off-one begin t
2 hollow for the Squire, while tother
r through the cracks, with fishin' pole
=, battlcd the cursed hounds that wer
| wullin' me.
) "Oh, thought of Absolem and ever,
: body that ever did hang, but he didn'
y hang by the wrong end, no, that was {
consolation | had not. I'd a Gust m,
c fate like Boston, but l remembered
: belonged to meetin' and it was agin tn
y rules. did howsomever think som
Q mighty hard words if / didn't speal
c 'em. But all that didn't do any good
> L couldn't make nothin' by pullir
n downwards, so l thought I'd climb u
3 the post and urloose myself that way.
u had nearly succeeded when one OF tn
II unmannerly pups attacked me in tn
rear, and loosin' my holt, the bottom
/ busted off, and l came out full lengt
: on the floor, in presisely the same stat
l. of fix Job said he came to the world
" The next mint l was under the bee
L where the everlasting pups had dragge
l. my trowsers. / cuff them ff,but ever
e time put one leg partly on, the infel
y nal whelps wo'd pull tother of.
- 81 worried in this way some tim,
;, when puncheon gave way, and i fe
', through into trough of soap under tf
= house Gosh thought 1t was in I'll
y pit that's bottomless sprung for m
life, but in doing this / threw myse
, into the face and stomach of Squil
Crumpton, who was cumin' on the rui
;, 'specting the Injuns was massacreein
-" the whole family. The collision thre
= him down the hill, and l followed hee
% over head to the bottom. There / r
" " covered my understanding, and witt
" ~ out any apologies, or even a word,
y y struck bee-line for home, just AS l WI
.o in my native purity, at a speed th
-, split the winds, my toe-nails strikir
= fire out IN the flnts every jump!
!, "But, bhoyS, l never went within
~ quarter ofa mile of Squire Crumpton
=. afterwards-no did l even cast sheep
N eyes at Betsy again, let alone gallantir
\, her home"
N MR.. AVERY, Of Mobile, gives the
i'm test instance Of the wonderful intel
#. gencc of the redeemed and reconstru(
II. ed African. Avery had case in cou
and a rnlnral bny fnr uifnnsS unn ",