Seba Smith

Name: Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life — Yankee Christmas
Author: Seba Smith

Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (1854)

Summary

“Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life — Yankee Christmas”, published in 1854, is a work by Seba Smith. It explores elements such as Briggs, Ivory Harlow and Stephen Long.

Quotes from Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (Seba Smith)

Seba Smith, Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (1854)

“ More than once that evening, Ivory wished he had not brought her, and more than twice he wished Susan Briggs might forget that he did bring her.
The brisk running and bustle at blind man's buff drew the elderly people to the door of the fore room, where they stood and looked on. When James had caught about half the company, Mrs. Briggs could not stand it any longer. She slipped off her shoes, and in she went right among them, and joined in the game; and she ran about lighter and quicker than any girl there. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Seba Smith, Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (1854)

“ Some of the middle-aged and elderly people who had remained to pass the evening, sat in the "fore room" with Mr. and Mrs. Briggs, while the young folks were huddled into the end room, till the supper table should be spread in the long dining-hall.
"There's Ivory Harlow's bells," said James, as a sleigh came with a merry gingle up to the door; and instantly the windows were crowded with heads looking out to see who had come with him. Ivory lived about a mile and a half distant and was the only one who came with a sleigh that evening, as most of the others lived considerably nearer. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Seba Smith, Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (1854)

“ Briggs's house, to eat a Christmas dinner, and a still larger company of young folks towards night, to spend a Christmas evening would not be a very unnatural consequence. Such was the consequence, as we shall presently see.
We shall not stop to give a particular account of the dinner, as that was a transaction performed in the daytime, openly and above-board, and could be seen and understood by everybody; but the evening company, and the supper, and the frolic, as they were hid from the world by the darkness of the night, need more elucidation. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Seba Smith, Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (1854)

“ Briggs, "if we had anything to get it with; but we haven't a mite of flour in the house, nor no meat for the mince pies, and there aint no poultry killed yet, neither!"
"Well, well, mother," said Mr. Briggs, very moderately, and with a half smile, "just be patient a little, and you shall have as much Christmas as you want. There's a bushel of as good wheat as ever was ground, I put into a bag on Saturday; James can take a horse and carry it to mill this morning, and in two hours you may have a bushel of good flour. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Seba Smith, Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (1854)

“ Mrs. Briggs then came out and told Susan to get a table out in the middle of the room. She then brought forward a couple of nice little loaves of Christmas cake, and placed them on a couple of plates, and cut them up into as many slices as there were young folks present, men and women grown.
"Now," said Mrs. Briggs, "we'll see which of you is going to be married first. These two cakes have each of 'em a Christmas ring in them; andwhichever gets the slice that has the ring in it, will be married before the year is out. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Seba Smith, Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (1854)

“ Briggs was well to do in the world, a circumstance owing to his long course of patient industry and economical habits. Several of his children were now nearly men and women grown, full of life and fond of fun, as most young folks are. Mrs. Briggs also was very fond of society, and a little vain of her smart family of children, as well as of her good cooking. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Seba Smith, Way Down East, or, Portraitures of Yankee Life… (1854)

“ A query may arise, perhaps, in the mind of the reader, why such a profusion of food should be cooked up at once for a single family, and that family, too, not unreasonably large, though respectable in number, for it did not count over sixteen, including domestics, hired help and all. ”

Seba Smith

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