Wheeling times and advertiser. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1839-1849, 1846-10-07
THE NAILERS.

SSisSeteh NitiIcn, i've ioioWllst aCcount Oh an
interesting interview with some nsil-makers
that he encountered by the wayside while
travelling from Birmingham to Worcester
| "Scring gate open, and hearing familiar
clicking behind the hedge. stepped through
into a little blacksmiths shop, about as large
as an American smokehouse for curing h,-
con. The first object that my eyes rested up
on. wasa full-grown man, nine years OF age
and nearly three feet high. perched upon a
stone OF hall that height. TO raise his breast TO
tha level OF bis fsthersanvil, at which he was
at work. with all the vigor of his little short
arms, making nails. say a FIJI grown man,
ior lear he can never grow any larger, phys
ically os mentally. As put my hands on
his shoulder in familiar way to make my
sell at home with him, and TO remove the tim
idity which my sudden appearance seemed tu
inspire him. by pleasant word or two OF
greeting, his flesh felt cass-harlencd into all
the ind,rstion Of toiing manhood and a. un-
susceptible OF growth az his anvil block. Fix
ed manhood had set in upon him la The green
ness of his youth; and there he was, by his
lather's side. stin,ed, premature man; with
his child hood cut of; with no space to
grown IN between the cradle aud The anvil
oiock; chased ms soon as he could stand on his
iitiic legs, Iron, the bearth-stonc TO the forge
stone, by iron nee, ssity, tina, would not let
nun stop long enough TO pick up letter of
The English alphabet on the way
The boys father was st work with his back
towards me, when entered. AT my first
wond oil saiutation TO the lad, he tarned a.
round ant accosted me little bashfully. as
! ensecusiomed TO the sight OF strangers in
'hat place, or reluctant 10 let them into the
scene aud secret of his poverty sat down
upon one end OF his nail bench. and told him
,hat 1 Was All American blacksmith BY trade.
and had come 10 see how he got OH i'm thp
world; whether he was earning pretty good
wages at his business, 50 that he could live
comfortably, aud send his children to school.
As ! said this, glanced inqmri gly toward
the boy, who was looking steadily at me from
ms stone stool by the anvil. Two or three
little crock faced girls. from two To five years
OF eye. had stolen in timidly, aud couple of
young, frightened eyes were peerin2 over the
door-sill at me-. They all looked as il some
daily task were allotted them in In. SCOT aud
clnders OF their fathers forge. even to the
sharp-eyed baby at the door. The poor Eng-
llshmsn--he was as much al Engiishman as
the Duke oil Wellington looked at his bnshy
headed. e-iooted children, and said snltly.
with melancholy shake OF Che head that the
times were rather hard with him. Ii troub
led has heart, aud many hours OF the night he
had been kept awake by the thought oil Tint
III.
teach them himself TO read. They were good
children. he said, wiIha moist yearning in his /
eyes; they were all the wealth he had, anl be |
loved them the mOre the harleT he had To /
work Tor them The poorest part Of the poy
eriy that was on him was ihlt he could NOT
give his children the letters. They were good
children, Tor all the crock of the shop was on |
Their iaees, and their fingers were kent like ca
giles claws with handling nails. He had been
poor all his days, and he knew his children
would be poor all their DAYS anl poorer than
he, II The nail business should conrinne to
grow worse. lfhe could only give thsm The
letters. or tl'e alphabet as they call 1t. il would
make them the like OF rich; Tor then they could
reSd the Testament. He could read the Tes- 3,
lament htde, Tor he had lensncd the letters i
OF hre light. IL was a good book, was she
testament; never saw any other book --hca "a
tell OF some IA rich peoples houses; hut it
matlered bat little with him. This Testament,
ne was sure Il was made for matters anl sutii
like. IL helped him wonderfully when The
iodi was small oil his bile. Ike had but little
time TO read IL when the sun was up. and IL
took INN long to read Little, for he learned
TIC letters when me was old. But he had hid
IL beside his disa al dinner time and fed his
heart with II, while his children were eating
the bread that came TO his share. And when n
lie had spelt out line ef the shortest words.
lac read them aloud and his eldest boy ,e one
ON The block there. could say several whole
verses he had learned in this way. II was
great comfort 10 him 70 think that Jeemes
could take into his heart so many VERSES OF the
Testament which he could not read He In
tended tn teach oil his children in this way
IL was oil he could do for them: and This no
had To do Of meal times; for oil the other hou-s
ne had TO be at the anAn. The Mailing buSi-
ness was growing hanler, aud le was growing
Old, aud hts aniiy large. Hs had 10 ,oOrk
from o'clock IN the uOrHiRg fiH 10 o'ciock
at night 10 cara eighteen psaes. Hi, wages
averaged only about SepeI shiiiBgs a 1psck.
aud there were FIVE Of them In The ato.
i'y TO live on what they could earn. lt
was hard TO make up tie loss OF an hour. Not
one their hands, however little, could be spar.
eel. Jenny was goingon nine yeats OF see.
ani helpful lad be was; and the poor man
looked at him dOatiugly. Jenny could work
OIL thousand nailss day. of the smallest size
Tie rent OF theiriiltle shop, tenement and gar.
den, was I'VE pounds year; end few pen
mes canned by the youngest Of them was OF a
great account.
But, continued the father, speaking chceIi
~. sin not The one that ought to complain.
Many Is the man that has harder lot t,f il
than !, among the matters along these hills and
IA the valley. My neighuor in lbe next door
could tell you something sboul labor you may
never have heard The like Of ia your country.
He IS an Older man than I, snd there are seven
OF them 10 his fsnIs and, for all that, lie has
no boy Jenny here TO help him. Some OF Isis
little girls ore siekly and their mother is not
over strong, and IL all comrs on him. he j.
an oidlsh man, as was saying, yet henot on
~ works eighteen hours every dsyat his forge.
mt creTy Friday iJt the gsar h iDOTks oil Highf
long andn never lays of his clothes till late on
Saturday night A good neighbor i John
siebbins and the only man Just in our neigh.
OorhoOd who can read the newspaper II is
not olten be gets newspaper; Tor il isnot the
INC Of Us that can have newspapers and bread.
too, ~ our houses at the same time But now
and then he bcgs an old one partly torn. At
/ ihe bakeL.a. and md M % ~. ~ !. s..-L--.