Year: 1877

0Now, Aunt Sally, do please tell us why you
never got married. You know you said once that
when you were a girl you were engaged to min.
lister, and promised you would tell us about II
some time. Now, Aunt, please do.


sWell, if ever did see such girls in my born
days. It's tease, tease, from morning till night;
you must know all about everything you haven't
no business TO know anything about. Such IN
uuisitive, pestiferous critters as you are! When
was young, girls were different; they minded
their business, and didn't go sailing around with
a whole string of beaux, getting their heads hled
with all kinds of nonsense. L never dared TO ask
nv aunts, married or single, about any of their
affairs. Pretty mess I'd have got in if had.
When they offered to tell me anythingOf their own
accord, kept my mouth shut and listened
Everything is different nowadays; young folks
have no respect for their elders. But as see I'm
not going to have any peace till do tell you, why
just listen, and don't let me hear word out OF
one of your mouths till get through"


"Thats right, Aunt Sally, go right ahead, do,
and we will keep perfectly still"


"Well, you see when I was seventeen years old,
/ was living in Utica, in the State of New York.
Though say it myself, was quite good-look-
ing girl, then, and had several beaux. The one
that took my fancy most was young minister, a
very promising young man, and remarkably pious
and steady. He thought a good deal of me, and
kind of took fancy to him, and things ran on
till we were engaged. One evening he came to-I
remember it as well as if it we're only yesterday.
When he came into the parlor where was alone,
he came up to me, and-but now, pshaw girls, l
don't like to tell the rest"


"Oh, Aunt Sally, for mercy's sake, don't stop
tell us what he did"


ssWell, as said, he came up to me, and put his
arms around me, and rather hugged me; it was a
long time ago, and don't know but what might
have hugged him back little. Then felt-but
just now clear out, every one of you; shant tell
you any more.


ssGoodness, gracious, no, Aunt Sally. Tell US
how you felt. Didn't you feel good? And what
did he do next"


"Oh, such torments as you are was like any
other girl, and pretty soon pretended to be mad
about it, and pushed him away, though l wasn't
mad a bit. You must know that the house where


lived was on one of the back streets of the town.
There were glass doors in the parlor, which open
ed right out over the street, and no balcony nor
anything of the kind in front of the house. As it
was in the summer season these doors were open
and the shutters drawn to. 1 stepped back a lit
tie from BIN, and when he edged up close push
cd him back again. pushed harder than in
tended to, and don't you think, girls, the poor fell
low lost his balance and fell through one of the
doors into the street. Yes, it's so. As he fell
gave o scream and caught him-but declare
won't tell anything more. I'm going to leave the
ROOM"


"No, no, Aunt Sally. How did you catch him
Did it hurt him much 2"


"Well, if must, Imust He fell head first, and
rs no was going through caught him by the legs
of his trowsers. held on for a minute and tried
to pull him back, but his suspenders gave way, and
the poor young man fell clear out of his panta-
looms into a whole parcel of ladies and gentlemen
passing along the street"


"0h, Aunty, Aunty, LOrdy, Lordy"


"There, that's right, squall and giggle as much
as YOU want to. Girls that can't hear little
thing like that without tearing around the ROOM,
and he-he-ing in such way, don't know enough
to come home when it rains. A nice time the man
who ,marries one of you will have, won't he?
Catch me telling you anything again"


"But Aunt Sally, what became of him? Did
you ever see him again 2"


"No; the moment he touched the ground he got
up, and left that place in terrible hurry. tell
you it was sight to be remembered to see how
that man did run. Father happened to becoming
up the street at the time, and he said he saw
anything to equal it in his whole life. heard
others say he did the fastest running ever known
in that part of the country, and that he never
stopped to look behind him until he was two miles
out of town. He sent me note a faw days af-
t6twards, saying that the engagement must be
9kfokea of, as lie never could look me in the face
sgaiH after what had happened. He went out
West and believe he is preaching out in llli-
nois But he never married. He was very mod
est, and suppose he was so badly frightened that
time, he never dared trust himself near a woman
again. That, girls, is the reason never got mar
ried felt very bad about it for a long time, for
he was a real good man, and I've often thought to
myself that we should always have been happy il
his suspenders hadn't given way =!