Quincy Adams Sawyer and Masons Corner Folks

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Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason's Corner Folks?by Charles Felton Pidgin

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Title: Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason's Corner Folks A Picture of New England Home Life
Author: Charles Felton Pidgin
Release Date: February 3, 2007 [EBook #16414]
Language: English
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[Illustration: "THE VILLAGE GOSSIPS WONDERED WHO HE WAS, WHAT HE WAS, WHAT HE CAME FOR, AND HOW LONG HE INTENDED TO STAY."]

QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER
AND
MASON'S CORNER FOLKS

A PICTURE OF NEW ENGLAND HOME LIFE
BY
CHAS. FELTON PIDGIN
Boston C.M. CLARK PUBLISHING COMPANY 1905

REVISED EDITION

Respectfully dedicated to the Memory of the late HON JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL the perusal of whose famous poem "THE COURTIN" supplied the inspiration that led to the writing of this book.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER'S only title was plain "Mr." His ancestors were tradesmen, merchants, lawyers, politicians, and Presidents. He, too, was proud of his honored ancestry, and I have endeavored in this book to have him live up to an ideal personification of gentlemanly qualities for which the New England standard should be fully as high as that of Old England; in fact, I see no reason why the heroes of American novels, barring the single matter of hereditary titles, should not compare favorably as regards gentlemanly attributes with their English cousins across the seas. C.F.P.
GRAY CHAMBERS, BOSTON, October, 1902.
CHAPTERS
I. The Rehearsal
II. Mason's Corner Folks
III. The Concert in the Town Hall
IV. Ancestry versus Patriotism
V. Mr. Sawyer Meets Uncle Ike
VI. Some New Ideas
VII. "That City Feller"
VIII. City Skill versus Country Muscle
IX. Mr. Sawyer Calls on Miss Putnam
X. Village Gossip
XI. Some Sad Tidings
XII. Looking for a Boarding Place
XIII. A Visit to the Victim
XIV. A Quiet Evening
XV. A Long Lost Relative
XVI. A Promise Kept
XVII. An Informal Introduction
XVIII. The Courtin'
XIX. Jim Sawyer's Funeral
XX. A Wet Day
XXI. Some More New Ideas
XXII. After the Great Snowstorm
XXIII. A Visit to Mrs. Putnam
XXIV. The New Doctor
XXV. Some Plain Facts and Inferences
XXVI. The Surprise Party
XXVII. Town Politics
XXVIII. The Town Meeting
XXIX. Mrs. Hawkins's Boarding House
XXX. A Settlement
XXXI. An Inheritance
XXXII. Aunt Ella
XXXIII. The Weddin's
XXXIV. Blennerhassett
XXXV. "The Bird of Love"
XXXVI. Then They Were Married
XXXVII. Linda's Birthright
XXXVIII. Fernborough

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Frontispiece.--"The village gossips wondered who he was, what he was, what he came for, and how long he intended to stay."
It was a marvellous rig that he wore when he reappeared
The barge led the procession to Mason's Corner
And then he landed a blow on Wood's nose
"The Deacon and his wife led off"
CHARACTERS AND SCENES FROM THE STAGE PRESENTATION OF QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER.
Mandy Skinner
Mrs. Putnam's anger, upon discovery of Lindy's parentage (Act III.)
Quincy reading Alice's letter to her (Act III.)
Samanthy Green
Quincy makes a speech (Act III.)
An old-fashioned husking bee (Act III.)
Alice recovers her sight (Act IV.)

QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER.
CHAPTER I.
THE REHEARSAL.
It was a little after seven o'clock on the evening of December 31, 186--. Inside, the little red schoolhouse was ablaze with light. Sounds of voices and laughter came from within and forms could be seen flitting back and forth through the uncurtained windows. Outside, a heavy fall of snow lay upon hill and vale, trees and house-tops, while the rays of a full-orbed moon shone down upon the glistening, white expanse.
At a point upon the main road a short distance beyond the square, where the grocery store was situated, stood a young man. This young man was Ezekiel Pettengill, one of the well-to-do young farmers of the village. His coat collar was turned up and his cap pulled down over his ears, for the air was piercing cold and a biting wind was blowing. Now and then he would walk briskly back and forth for a few minutes, clapping his hands, which were encased in gray woollen mittens, in order to restore some warmth to those almost frozen members. As he walked back and forth, he said several times, half aloud to himself, "I don't b'lieve she's comin' anyway. I s'pose she's goin' to stay ter hum and spend the evenin' with him." Finally he resumed his old position near the corner and assumed his previous expectant attitude.
As he looked down the road, a man came out of Mrs. Hawkins's boarding house, crossed the road and walked swiftly towards him.
As the new-comer neared him, he called out, "Hello, Pettengill! is that you? Confounded cold, ain't it? Who wuz yer waitin' for? Been up to the schoolhouse yet?"
To these inquiries 'Zekiel responded: "No!" and added, "I saw yer comin' out of the house and thought I'd walk up with