Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1834-06-05

kind Of coaxin hint, from some oil
his friends here in Congress, that he
would like to have me back agin with
him. And Mr.. Clay has telled me
over and over that | needn't make no
bones ont, but as soon as | thought
would be better off with the Gineral,
! could pack up and go back agin, and
he wouldn't think u bit hard ont.
But ! am determined to let the Gin.
eral see that | haint got as good an
opinion Of the folks about him as he
has, and | would sooner hoe potatoes
all day than submit agin to mix up
with SIGH Sc: of chaps as he has all
the while about the Government; and
the last time the Gineral sent me
message, and asked me the reason
why | wouldn't quit the Senate and
Mr.. Clay and 60 back to the White
House, | set down and wrote to him
every word Of that are story about
old Deacon Whittlesy's two sons and
the hock of sheep. You remember
when the old Deacon died, about a
year afore the Embargo, he lef two
sons, Ezra and Ichabod, and telled
'em in his viii they might have all his
property equally. atwixt 'em. Ezra
was pretty SLY, cute critter and Icha-
bod warnt 80 much SO, but was good
naturcd, and some folks thought he
never would cut his eye teeth, tho J
always thought in the long run he had
a pretty considerable share of mother
wit, but took his own way in shown
ont. Well. when they came to divide
off the sheep, (for the Deacon had one
of the biggest focks of sheep in all
them parts,) Ezra thought he'd try
and git the best of the bargin, and he
got up early one mornin and put all
the fine healthy and clean sheep in one
pen, and all the scabby and shuttle
noses and tag locks in another pen,
and then he put Old Billy along with
'em-Old Billy you know was pet
ram, and Ichabod loved him almost as
much as he did any thing in this world,
for he had taken care of him ever since
he was a lamb. So Ezra thought that
Ichabod would take that share, seem
that Old Billy was among 'em.--Well,
arter breakfast they went out and says
Ezra, here, says he, Ichabod, the
sheep are all divided OF, and seein it's
you, and ! don't want to take no adj
vantage on you, you may take your
choice of pens. Ichabod he got on the
fence, and he looked at one flock, and
then agin he looked at another, and as
soon as Old Billy see him he began to
ba ha.ha right out arter him as he
always use to do when ever he see
Ichabod, and Ichabod he looked agin,
and to rights he took up the tail of his
coat and wiped his eyes, (for he was
an amazin tender hearted critter, and
says he--my old friend Billy its plagy
hard for me to part with you, / tell
you; | like you says he nigh upon as
well as ever | did, but you are sur
rounded by SIGH raft of shuttle nose,
scabby set of rag tails, that | cant
have nothin more to do with you. And
with that Ichabod telled Ezra he'd
take tother flock, and so Ezra got the
worst ont arter all his pains. He got
Old Billy to be sure, but then he got
an. everlastin set Of scabby scamps a.
long with him. And all the neigh
bours about, say to this day, that upon
the hull, tho Ezra isaa pretty sharp
fellow, they some how think that icha-
bod got the best of that bargain.
| have hearn tell, but / wont say
sartin Its true (for won't say MOTH
in is true now a.days unless see it,,
that when the GineraI got my letter,
containing this story, he read it over
two or three times, and couldn't some-
how git the notion ont.
He said he was sartin there was
somethin int important to the SEQ
ucrnmenf," for he never knew the Ma
jor to take the trouble to. write about a
story without there being something
int Of that natur, and so he Slated
round and ordered Amos, and Levi,
and Reuben, and Barry, and Blair,
and pritty nigh the rest of the Cabi-
net.to get together and to lend him
hand in understandin this matter. AS
soon as they got into the Cabinet room
and found out what the Gineral was
arter, and all of 'em had read my let
ter over; they began to whisper round
among themselves, and to rights one on
'em telled the Gineral there was one
object almost as important as the Ma
jor's sheep story, and that the Gineral
better take that up at once, and that
was that BiddIe had refused to let the
Committee, sent by Congress to exa-
mine into the Bank, have the books and
papers of the Bank, 10 take over to
their lodgings out of the Bank and to
examine them there. And that he
wouldn't let the Committee have his
private letters, that he had written and
received, nor his wife's nor his chill.
dren's private letters. Nor would he
tell the Committee how much il cost him
every day to 60 to market, nor wheth-
or he roasted his potatoes or boiled 'en.