LETTER LXIII.

In which cousin Nabby describes the unutterable disappointment at Downingville because the President did n't come, and tells what a terrible pucker ant Keziah was in about it.

GREAT UPROAR IN DOWNINGVILLE.

Letter from Major Downing's Cousin Nabby to the editor of the Portland Courier.

RESPECTABLE SIR: As cousin Jack is always so mity budge in writing letters to you, and as he and the President has showed us a most provoking trick and run off like a stream of chalk back to Washington without coming here, after they had promised over and over again that they would come, and we had got all slicked up and our clean gownds on, and more good victuals cooked, than there ever was in all Downingville before, I say, Mr Editor, I declare it's tu bad; we are all as mad as blazes about it, and I mean to write and tell you all about it if I live, and if cousin Jack dont like it he may lump it, so there now.

Ye see cousin Jack writ to us that he and the Presi dent and some more gentlemen should be here the 4th of July, and we must spring to it and brush up and see how smart we could look and how many fine things we could show to the President. This was a Saturday before the 4th of July come a Thursday. The letter was to Uncle Joshua, the Post Master. Most all the folks in Downingville were at the Post Office waiting when the mail come in, for we expected to hear from Jack.

Uncle Joshua put on his spettacles and opened the mail and hauled out the papers and letters in a bunch. In a minute I see one to uncle Joshua with the President's name on the outside; so I knew it was from Jack,

for the President always puts his name on Jack's letters. We all cried out to Uncle Joshua to open it and let us know what was in it. But he's such a provoking odd old man he would n't touch it till he got every one of the papers and letters sorted and put up in their places. And then he took it and set down in his arm chair, and took out his tobacker box and took a chaw of tobacker, and then he broke open the seal and sot and chawed and read to himself. We all stood tiptoe with our hearts in our mouths, and he must needs read it over to himself three times, chawing his old quid and once in awhile giving us a knowing wink, before he would tell us what was in it. And he would n't tell us arter all, but says he, you must all be ready to put the best side out Thursday morning; there 'll be business to attend to, such as Downingville never see before.

At that we all cut and run, and such a hubbub as we were in from that time till Thursday morning I guess you never see. Such a washing and scrubbing and making new clothes and mending old ones and baking and cooking. Every thing seemed to be in a clutter all over the neighborhood. Sargent Joel flew round like a ravin-distracted rooster. He called out his company every morning before sun-rise and marched 'em up and down the road three hours every day. He sent to the store and got a whole new set of buttons and had 'em sowed on to his regimental coat, and had a new piece of red put round the collar. And had his trowses washed and his boots greesed, and looked as though he might take the shine off of most any thing. But the greatest rumpus was at uncle Joshua's; for they said the President must stay there all night. And ant Keziah was in such a pucker to have every thing nice, I did n't know but she would fly off the handle.

She had every part of the house washed from garret to cellar, and the floors all sanded, and a bunch of green bushes put into all the fire places. And she baked three

ovens full of dried punkin pies, besides a few dried huckleberry pies, and cake, and a great pot of pork and beans. But the worst trouble was to fix up the bed so as to look nice; for ant Keziah declared the President should have as good a night's lodging in her house as he had in New York or Boston. So she put on two feather beds on top the straw bed, and a bran new calico quilt that she made the first summer after she was married and never put it on a bed before. And to make it look as nice as the New York beds, she took her red silk gown and ripped it up and made a blanket to spread over the top. And then she hung up some sheets all round the bed-room, and the gals brought in a whole handful of roses and pinks and pinned 'em up round as thick as flies in August.

After we got things pretty much fixed, uncle Joshua started off to meet cousin Jack and the President, and left Sargent Joel to put matters to rights, and told us we must all be ready and be paraded in the road by nine o'clock Thursday morning. Well Thursday morning come, and we all mustered as soon as it was daylight and dressed up. The children were all washed and had their clean aprons on and their heads combed and were put under the care of the schoolmarm to be paraded along with her scholers.

About eight o'clock all the village got together down the road as fur as uncle Joshua's new barn; and Sargent Joel told us how to stand, as he said, in militery order. He placed Bill Johnson and cousin Ephraim out a little ways in front with each of 'em a great long fowling piece with a smart charge in to fire a salute, and told 'em as soon as the President hove in sight to let drive, only be careful and pint their guns up so as not to hurt any body. Then come Sargent Joel and his company; and then come the schoolmarm and the children; and then come all the women and gals over sixteen with ant Keziah at their head; and then come

all the men in town that owned horses riding on horseback; and all the boys that Sargent Joel did n't think was large enough to walk in the profession got up and sot on the fences along by the side of the road.

There we stood till about nine o'clock, when sure enough we saw somebody come riding out of the woods down the hill. The boys all screamed ready to split their throats hoorah for Jackson, and Bill Johnson fired off his gun. Cousin Ephraim, who aint so easy fluttered, held on to his and did n't fire, for he could n't see any body but uncle Joshua on his old grey horse. Along come uncle Joshua on a slow trot, and we looked and looked, but could n't see any body coming behind him.

Then they all begun to look at one another as wild as hawks and turn all manner of colors. When uncle Joshua got up so we could see him pretty plain he looked as cross as a thunder cloud. He rid up to Sargent Joel, and says he, you may all go home about your business, and put away your knick-nacks, for Jack and the President are half way to Washington by this time.

My stars! what a time there was then. I never see so many folks boiling over mad before. Bill Johnson threw his gun over into the field as much as ten rods, and hopped up and down and struck his fists together like all possessed. Sargent Joel marched back and forth across the road two or three times, growing redder and redder, till at last he drew out his sword and fetched a blow across a hemlock stump and snapped it off like a pipe stem. Ant Keziah fell down in a conniption fit; and it was an hour before we could bring her tu and get her into the house. - And when she come to go round the house and see the victuals she had cooked up, and go into the bed-room and see her gown all cut up, she went into conniption fits again and had 'em half the night. But she's better to day, and has gone to work to try to patch up her gown again.

I thought I would jest let you know about thes things, and if you are a mind to send word on to cousi Jack and the President, I'm willing. You may tell 'e there aint five folks in Downingville that would hoora for Jackson now, and I dont believe there's one tha would vote for him unless 'tis uncle Joshua, and h would n't if he was n't afraid of losing the post office.

But there, uncle Joshua has called to me and says h wont keep the mail open another minute for my lette so I must prescribe myself your respected friend,

NABBY DOWNING.

From the National Intelligencer.

We do not know whether it be necessary, in copyi the subjoined effusion, to enter into a protest agair misinterpretation of our motives. We should be sor to be understood, whilst humoring a jest, as meani to burlesque so serious an action as the choice of Pre dent of the United States. We copy the following 1 the sake of its moral, as well as its wit, and we do 1 like the moral the less for being taught with a smili

countenance.

From the Mauch Chunk Courier

Our next President.

Many of the papers in the United States have alrea manifested a disposition to agitate the subject of the n