Litchfield enquirer., 1846-10-01

him, was that he could not give his children
the letters They were good chiId,eH, for
an tne cTocEot the shop was On their faces.
ana 'neII ringers were bent like eagles claws
win handling nails. He had been a poor
man an ms days, and he knew his children
would We poor all their days, and poorer than
he, u the nail business should continue to
grow worse. If he could only give them the
letters, or The alphabet as they called il, il
would make them the like of rich for then
they could read the Testament. He could
read the Testament a little, for he had
learned the letters by freight. 1t was a
good book, was The Testament; never saw
any other book--heard tell of some in rich
peoples houses; but it mattered but little
with him. The Testament, he was sure it
was made for nailers and such like. 1t
helped him wonderfully when the loaf was
small on his table. He had but little time
to read II when the sun was up, and iss&Ook
him1ong to read little, for he learned the
letters when he was old. Bnt he laid it be-
side his dish at dinner time and fed his
heart with it. while his children were eating
the bread that fell to his share. And when
he had Spelt out a line Of the shortest words
he read them aloud, and his eldest boy, the
one on the block there, could say several
whole verses he had learned in this way. 1t
was great comfort to him to think that
Jeemes could take into his heart so many
verses of the Testament which he could not
read. He intended to teach all his children
in this way. 1t was all he could do for
them, and this he had to do at meal times ::
for all the other hours he had to be at the
anvil. The mailing business was growing
harder, he was growing old and his family
large. He had TO ,oork from four O'Clock in
the morning till ten o'clock at night to earn
eighteen pence. His wages averaged only
about seven skiuings aoeek and there
were five of them in the family to live
on what they could earn. 1t was hard to
make up the loss of an hour. Not one of
their hands, however little, could be spared.
Jenny was going on nine years of age, and
helpful lad he was; and the poor man
looked at him doa.ingly. Jenny could
work off a thousand nails day of the small.
lest size. The rent Of their little shop, ten
ement, and garden, was FIVE pounds year :;
and few pennies earned by the youngest of
them was Of great account.
But, continued the father, speaking cheer
lily, am not the one that ought to complain.
Many is the man that has harder lot of it
than /, among tho nailers along these hills
and in the valley. My neighbor in the next
door could tell you something about labor
you may never have heard the like of in
your country. He is an older man than ],
and there are seven of them in his family
and, for all that, he has no boy like Jenny
here to help him. Some of his little girls
are sickly, and their mother is not over
strong, and it all comes ON him. He is an
oldish man, as was saying, yet he not only
works eighteen hours every day at his forge,
night long, and never lays off his clothes ill
late of Saturday night.
A good neighbor is John Stubbins, and
the only man just in our neighborhood who
can read the newspaper. 1t is not often he
gets newspaper for il is not the like of us
that can have newspapers and bread, too, in
our house at the same time. But now and
then he begs an old one, partly torn, at the
bakers, and reads 10 US Of a Sunday night.
So once in two or three weeks we hear
something of what is going on in The world
something about corn-laws and the Duke
of Wellington, and Oregon and India, and
We heard tell, awhile ago, that the poor
peorle would not have to make so many
nails for loaf of bread much longer, be
cause Sir Robert Peel, and some other men
were going to take off the port locks and
other taxes, and let us buy bread of then
that could sell us the cheapest. When w
heard this talked of, without knowing tn
truth of it, John Stubbins took penny AM
went to the White Hart and bought
drink of beer, and then the landlady le
him look into the newspaper which sh
keeps for her customers. When he cam
back, he told US great deal Of what wa
going on, and said he was sure the time
would be better one of these days.
The man was here interrupted by thu
entrance of his neighbor, who had been at
tracted in by the sound of an unusua
conversation in his fellow nailer's end o
the building. pulled off my knaPsacl
and did what could to teach them thu
Alphabet of the Kings English with re
gard to the National debt. and all tn
other burdens which the poor laboring peo
pie of the realm had to bear. / think
succeeded in impressing their minds wit
few salutary convictions with regard Il
the connection between military glory an
poverty. Il. Is.
MURDER AT "A CAMP MEETING
We learn that most unprovoked an
cold FLOODED murder was perpctrated d
a camp meeting in the North Easter
part of this county on Sunday night last
upon The person Of Mr. Winston Goldsby
son OF Miles W. Goldsby. Esq. by maj
named Forbes. The murder was com
mit,ed within ten feet Of the altar. an
while the meeting was engaged in pray
err. Goldsby, we learn, was sitting at tn
time near the altar, with his head leaning
upon a walking stick, when Forbes ap
preached him and spoke to him. Colds
by Immediately arose and extended hi
hand apparently in a greeting manner +
Forbes who instantly plunged knit
into him. killing him on the spot. Mr.: 9
was a peaceable young man, and highI.
esteemed. Forbes was Immediately ar
rested and lodged in prison. We lear
there had been some misunderstanding
previously between the parties.-Me"phi