Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-05-07
MIR. EVARTS' RECORD.
Mary and Her Little Lamb In n d29.
Word Sentence,
CFrom the New York SUM

(From the New York SUM
TO the Editor of the Sun--Sr: Only
1872 words in a single sentence? IL that
the best that your oracle could do with
Mr.. Evarts record Go to, o Oraclel
As for the Gopher editors passage of
"linked and lingering character" of only
2ls words, why It's n toy creation COM
pared with Mr.. Evarts' prose narrative
of the wanderings of Mary and her little
lamb, masterpiece of 429 words, as 1
count them.
I quote from an odd little work. Eng
llsh AS She Is Wrote" published % years
ago: The story Is current at the nation.
al capital that Mr.. Evarts when secretary
of state on one occasion, in Il jocular
crowd of his friends, was desired to con-
dense into prose these immortal verses.
Urgently solicited MIR. Evarts yielded,
and wrote az follows:
Mary. a female. judged to be of the
race of man, whose family name Is I'M
known. whether of native or foreign
birth of lofty or lowly lineage, and
whose appearance. manners and mental
cultivation are involved in tho most pro-
found mystery, which probably will never
be fully ascertained unless through the
most profound researches Of a historian
admirably trained in his profession, who
shall devote the ablest efforts of his life
to the investigation of the pubject, unin-
fuenced by either passion or prejudice
and having only In view the sacred truth.
at the same time being utterly regardless
Of the plaudits or censures of the world
We are informed by one who, It has been
stated at one time while living in that
part Of the United States OF America
known as Massachusetts, whose fisher
mon have frequently been involved in
difficulties with the authorities Of her
majesty Queen Victoria, queen OF Great
Britain and empress OF the Indies, whose
domains extended over a large share of
the habitabe globe thereby endanger-
Ing the peace which should so happily
exist between nations OF the same blood
and language, had an infant sheep, of
which there are many millions of various
stocks and qualities now in our country,
constantly adding wealth and prosperity
TO our republic and enabling us to be
entirely Independent Of all other nations
for our supply of wool, now ample for
the use of factories already busily en-
ployed, and for those which ere long VIII
be constructed in all parts Of our land
working both by water and steam power
and in whatever direction the said Mary
! travelled, this animal, whose fleece was
/ snow white, even as the lofty mountain
regions in the silent solitudcs Of eterna
! winter, or as the ethereal vapors which
oft float over an autumnal sky, 'darklY
deeply, beautifully blue or as the lac
! teal fluid covered with masses of delicate
froth found in the buckets of the rosy
dairymaid, whether meand ering through
the meadows in midsummer, gathering
the luscious strawberry. strolling in the
woodland paths in search Of wild flowers
visiting the church with her uncles, cous
words which came from the lips Of tn,
minister of the sanctuary, or when re
firing to her blissful couch to seek res
and enjoy sweet repose after the care
and la bors of the day; in fact, every
where that Mary went this youthful
sheep, influenced doubtless by that az
lection which Is oft so conspicuous,
manifested by the lower animals in thei
association with human beings. was eve
observed to accompany her"
No doubt a curfew bell rudely inter
rupted Mr.. Evarts at this point, other
wise he might have written till the frs
cock" thereby putting to complete sham,
the writer of the SO0-word sentence quoted
in the same book
G. F. 8.