Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1841-04-29

Il
when he fclt that every body should be or
the alert in order that the Sentinel might b,
got to press. Ben liked neither the noise no
the silence; and as the clink--clink! came
nearer and nearer, his choler rose with the
cause oft, until just as it boiled UP to his
teeth, and was sure to flow over on somebody
a tall, raw-boned fellow with stick over his
shoulder, on which was slung motley col
lection of small iron and wire wares, stalked
into the office. TO Ben Russell's furious
What the - do you want 2 the itineran,
worker in iron and wire deigned not any re-
ply; but threw off his back load Of ladies',
screeners, heshlorks, gridirons, and po,cov.
ers, with as much GOODNESS as if he had Just
entered his own cabin after profitable day s
work. Ben stared at him with a gaze OF
mingled establishment and vexation as though
| he were little doubtful whether the fellow 8
strange behaviour proceeded from impudence
or ignorance; but the time was precious. He
Intercepted him again, when the following
dialogue ensued -
'What do you want, fellowf'
l'm no fellow. And, if was, wants
nothing ofyou.'
You impudent scoundrel! do you know
| whom you are speaking to!'
TO be sure do; you are Mr.. Russell's
foreman, and great man, dare say, you
.
| to home, you sing small enough, warrant!
Now you see did not come up here without
knowing something aboutyou and your ways;
for when your master bargained with me for
my notions here, says he, Garry them up in
to my printing Office pointing up here, 'and
wait till / come TO give you the money!
And says he giving me a wink. you'll see
my foreman up there-a tall chap with his
head powdered--a damned impudent fellow;
but don't mind him; he'll very likely give
you some sauce; but don't mind him-throw
down your load, and take a chair and as
this speech was concluded, the impurturbable
intruder sat down in the only spare seat there
was in the Office, crossed his legs, and began
fumbling in long deep pocket for piece of
tobacco.
For two minutes there was silence, not in
heaven, but from the queer name given to at
least one of its inhabitants, in a place of a
different description. Ofthe pressmen and
compositors it may be truly said that struck
| with amusement at the fellows efTrontery,
! the boldest held his breath for time; while
the devil skulked in behind an old staircase,
that he might be out of harms way in the
row which he knew was to come.
Like most proud and irritable men, Russell
was for moment thrown off his guard by
such an unexpected attack upon the sanctity
of his roof, and the dignity he had always
| maintained in the eyes of his own poopto.
He sprang to his feet /; but for brief space
stood staring at the wire-worker with eyes
that, if they had been 'basilisk's,' would GER
tainly have struck him dead. One, two,
three bounds, and Ben had the tall man by
the throat, and would have dashed his brains
out upon the floor; but Jonathan saw him
coming, braced his right foot, firmly advance
ed his left. and was not to be taken by sur
| James and RoGerick Dhu was nothing to it /;
to and fro, and round and round. they went,
sometimes stumbling over those miscellane-
GUS ornaments which are to be found on a
printing office floor, and occasionally overset-
ting galley of matter, or kicking their heels
through standing form. The workmen
would have interfered; but their master 8
blood was up, and. with the chivalric spiri,
of that profession to which his leisure hours
were devoted, he wanted no odds against a
single opponent.
The combatants were well matched; Blu,
ben had perfect knowledge of tho ground
which gave him the advantage: SO that, after
upsetting the countryman over sundry type
boxes and paper-heaps, with the exact local.
tiles of which he was familiar, he succeeded
inpushing him through the door, with his
back against stout wooden railing, which
protected the landing place from those flights
OF stairs up which Jonathan had wound so
recently, unconscious Of the prospect before
him of much more rapid descent. To pitch
each other over tho banister was now the
, eoup-de-main to he achieved. Ben had got
the fellows spine twisted, and his head and
shoulders overhanging the staircase but on
, athan had hold of his collar with both hands
and, besides, had his long legs twisted rount
, the-small of his back. They had twisted il
, shis way five minutes, and the wire-worker'.
! strength was beginning to fail from the twist
ing of his backbone over the rail when jus
9 as his legs began to fail, and his grasp to re
: lax, and as Ben was preparing for one might,
1 effort, by which the victory was to be secur
n ed, horrible horse-laugh be
8 tween real guffaw and yell--struck upo
, his ear. and looking through the window i
, front Of him, he saw Mungo Mackay at tn
Y window of the Exchange Cofee-house oppo
i; site, shaking his sides as though there wer
d whole volcano Of fire under his mdriff. /
S an instant Ben understood the trick. "Iht
10 internal fehoto, Mackay! By heavens! 7
co'chide him 1oithin an inch Of his hfei' Il
I'd exclaimed as he drew Jonathan in from tt
st dangerous position where he hung, and stoc
IL him on his feet. But Russell was too goo
S, fellow to bear malice long and moreove
&c he was so rejoiced that ne had not committt
IN homicide in addition to making himself rid
to culous, that after few hours his resentne
pe passed off, and to the day Of his death,
'ot was never tired Of telling the story.
he These are random illustrations of a very
as riginal character; and if they are relish
,of by those for whose amusement they are
he tended, 1 may find leisure hour TO string
The gether few more.