Litchfield enquirer., 1831-11-24
From the Sandy EHal, N Y. TtmperGnce Zdv. THE YANKEE PEDLAR.

SOnS of Connecticut farmer, who had just 6. nough to support one family, and no more l; so that all the sons bat the eldest early discovered the necessity of resorting to some business, in which they could sup port themselves by their own exertions. Long before Joshua was Of age, he had determined to pursue the honorable em- ployment of pedling. In the fall of the year in which Joshua was 19, he obtained hls fathers consent to try his skill in the employment he had chosen, and was soon equipped in first rate style--not with cra- zy cart and half starved horse, as was the c0stom fifty years ago but with substan- tial, well made ard well-fed horse, and covered wagon glowing with all the col- ours of the rainbov-ornamen,ed with curtains, and trimmed with many a yard of red cotton fringe. His load requires a minute description, as it is often thought very wonderful, that pedlar can travel a thousand miles and back, and make money, by selling out load which does not ap- pear to be worth half enough to defray his expenses.
 The most bulky part of our l,ero's load consisted of wooden clocks without cases. which cost two dollars and fifty cents a piece, on which he expected to make profit of what he called ten per cent. that is, ten times as much as they cost. Some forty or fifty of these were snugIy slowed on the bottom of the wagon, and a nice lid shut over them to keep them secure. On this lid were placed bag full of whip flashes. few parcels of segars, and a num- Der of boxes containing all the variety of combs, from coarse horn louse-traps to su- perfine ivory and high finished tortoise shell. The fore part of tho wagon box, on which he expected to sit, constituted a separate apartment, the approach to which IS secured by formidable pad lock which dangled in front. This box contained an assortment, on the profits of which he was to subsist himself and his horse and con- sisted of great variety of good-for- noth- ing little things, which women arc: so fond of purchasing-such as beads, ear rings, breast pins, and all the little stceteras of Jewelry; besides good store of essences, shaving soap, scissors, thread, needle, pins and stilettoes, not daggers, my friends, but little instruments made of ivory, which the ladies use for piercing round holes tn mus lin, for the express purpose of alarming them up again.
 Joshua's dress had nothing of antique mode. His hat had brim that was no broader than usual, and lis hair was not tied with an eel skin; but his outward man was clothed in the substantial, comfortable, fear-nothing style of an independent unas- suming farmer. Thus equipped, Joshua made comfortable excursion to Ohio,-. aud the same was annually repeated for several years. In every voyage numerous incidents occurred, of sufficient importance to deserve place in some of our fashion, able periodicals, with all their minute de- tails spun out into the formidable length of most modern tales, in which a page is ta- ken up in telling what fifty years ago would have been told in a single line. One of these occurrences, it is my humble prov- ince to relate, and that with all conven- tent brevity.
 In Joshua's fourth voyage, he had with him larger number of clocks than usual /; and would willingly have sold them at less price than formerly, but for the fear that it would injure his business, and low CT the price of his clocks for ever after. He, therefore, wisely concluded to keep up the price to twenty five dollars as usual i; and when he could do no better, to take any thing that was offered for ten of it, pro- vided the remaining fifteen was paid in cash. In this manner he obtained a great many queer articles; and in many instan- ces had to exert goodly share of ingenu- fly to dispose of them to advantage. One farmer insisted on his taking stock, as he termed it, to which Joshua readily agreed. The old gentleman had in his minds eye, at the time of making the proposition, a calf, which was so poor he was afraid it would die before spring. The said calf was selected, and with all due formality was delivered to our hero. He made no objections but with his usual gravity pocketed his fifteen dollars-tied rope round the calf's neck-hitched it to the back of the wagon and drove on. Great wonder prevailed throughout the country, to see the pedlar with so mean caf,-or indeed with any kind of calf, tied to the
 wagon and many were the questions as- ked concerning so rare an occurrence.
 But Joshua was as grave as ever. He
 knew his own business. and that was enough for his purpose. In ono of hi,
 peddling voyages he had formed an ac-
 quaintance with "Squire Iceland" ," as he
 was called in Licking county, who had long been in the habit of reading whatsoever