New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1881-02-09
SALLY Wages, OF DANBURY.

astonished the people of Danbury,
Conn, that they made the remark then.
and were given to frequent repetitions
Of it afterward, that Sally Wages would
Aave made great stir in the world had
she been a man. Whether it was in
1879 or few years earlier is not so GER
tain as that it was just as the pumpkin
pie Of a Thanksgiving dinner had been
eaten, and the hickory nuts and hard
cider were brought from the pantry.
It was while all the company was at
this dinner that Miss Sally Wages said
a thing to the people that made the
grandfather look very stern, and the
sen 60 for his gun, and the others, a
dozen of them old and young, forget the
heaviness that followed their eating.
What Sally Wages then said, and
what she did for an hour or two there
after, is a story that has been told in
the old Scribner mansion on the Litch-
field turnpike over the nuts and cider at
every Thanksgiving night since, and
the freshness and delight of it are al
ways the same. 1t was told tonight
again, and the faded coat that Sally
Wages wore was held up and reveren-
TALLY touched, as it has been on a hun
dred or more anniversaries.
Now the wonder of it all seems to
have been that such damsel as this
young Sally Wages should have turned
such a corner in her manner of life of
= sudden. Tor her character, or rather
her disposition, like her name, appears
to have been, up to the time she was
twenty years old, very flat. Moreover,
her father, old Timothy Wages, was of
no more account in the Community
than to be regarded as Just the man to
dig the graves for the dead and toll the
bell for their funerals, and to touch off
the swivel on Kick Hill at suspicious
moments. When he did not do these
things he seemed to make q business
of partaking of rum or hard cider, and
it is said of him that there never was a
time when he did not have this failing.
because it appears in the old records of
the town that about the time when the
capture OF Louisburg was celebrated
he went so much further than his COM
panions as to make merry on the Lords
day. This was more serious by far than
to be a little merry on any other day,
for three weeks therefor.
So, by reason of her fathers business
and position, and perhaps because of
his name, Miss Sally Wages had moth
ing to commend her to anybody. And
yet of all the girls in that dav there was
none who could milk a COW with her,
nor sooner find one that had straved
into the woods. This doubtless led
Squire Scribner to take her into his
family for a help to his wife, and Mrs.
Scribner used to say that she was past
dispute stupid in her speech and brisk
about her work beyond comparison
with any damsel Whereabouts.
There happened to be at the Thanks
giving dinner at which Sally made the
revelation of herself, a young gentleman
who was regarded as man of parts,
and especially worthy of consideration.
because his father sent a brigantinc to
the West Indies from New Haven once
in while laden with goods and brought
her back filled with sugar and rum.
This young fellow was thought to
have addressed more than one missiye
to Squire Scribncr's daughter Jerusha.
At all events, he was friendly with the
family, and had tried his wit at a lest
with Sally. and came off sadly worsted,
because she said nothing to him, but
only looked at him with q vacant stare
in her brown eyes.
He did not like being laughed at, for
he had vowed, as a jest, as he was COM
ing home from the Thanksgiving SER
mon, that he would make Sally Wages
say something that would astonish them
that day.
"Ninepence ha'penny to sixpence
you fail" said the Squire.
50 I'll win that, and wear the silver as
atoken," said young Lathrop.
So he said to Sally, as she BROUGHT a
'Squire's place:
"Sally, what would you do if you was
King George of England?''
She looked at him only, and the
others smiled.
Sally" he continued, perhaps lit
tie irritated, "would you 'troth YOUR
self to me if asked you?'
'.Nottill you won me-" she answered,
without seeming to be conscious of any
sharpness in the reply.
And how could I win you?'' he per-
severed.
"By fighting ten red coats at once"
"Give me the chance and I'll do it. :"
Sally quilted the room for the nuts or
some such dessert, and young Lathrop
demanded his silver piece of the
Squire. But the old gentleman re-
fused it, and they had an argument
about the merits of the wager, that was
SO interesting and made such laugh
ter that they minded not the lapse of
time.
1t was getting so dusk that the forms,
but not the faces, were visible, and
the Squire was for lighting the can
dies. when the kitchen door was thrown
open.
''Don't you hear thern?'' said Sally
Wages. But as long as he lived,
Squire Scribner insisted that it was
not Sally Wages who spoke, albeit he
could not deny that her body stood in
the doorway, and that her eyes, even in
the dusk that the freight frightened,
sparkled and her lips moved.
AS for young Lathrop he was beyond
all power of making out the meaning
Of It, SO surprised was he; and sur.
prised as he was, he was quick enough
to see thu there was something about
this young woman's look and manner
now that forced admiration from him.
''Will you be stupidP" she said; twill
you sit t'=re with your pig and pie
driving you into doze, and let them
come and prison you and do worse for
the wome,? You may sit still if so be
It's your will, but I'll fight them till they
kill me.''
She went TO the corner of the room,
and leaping upon chest that stood
here, reached up and took down
nusket that hung upon the wall.
Amazed IS young Lathrop was at this
action, it did not fail to escape his no