Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1846-10-08
MISCELLANEOUS.
THE POOR ENGISHMAN.


Elihu Burrit the Learned Blacksmith" is now
travelling in England, and through the Christian
Citizen he gives some account of his progress. He
travels on foot, with knapsack his back, and Il
staff in hand. We extract the following from his
deeply interesting description of a second days
journey from Birmingham
Seeing gate open aud.hearing familiar clink-
ing behind the hedge, stepped through into a lit
tie blacksmith's shop, about as large Ameri-
can smokehouse for curing bacon. The first OBJ
lect my eyes rested upon ful-grown man.
years Of age, and nearly three feet high perched
upon a stone of half that height TO raise his breast
to the level of his fathers anvil, at which he was
at work, with all the vIgor of his little short arms
making nails. | say full groom man, for fear
he can never grow any larger, physically or men
tally. As put my hand on his shoulder in IA
mil:ar way, to make myself at home with him, and
to remove the timdity with which my sudden APP
pearance seemed to inspire him, by pleasant word
or two of greeting his flesh felt case hardened in
to all the nduratlon of tolling manhood, and as I'M
susceptible of growth as his anvil block. Fixed
manhood had set in upon him in the greenness of
his youth; and there he was by his fathers side
stinted premature man with his childhood cut off;
with no space to grow between the cradle and the
anvil! block chased as 1t were, as soon as he could
stand on his little legs from the hearth-stone to the
forge stone, by iron necessity that would not let
HiHl stop long enough 10 PICK up elLer oil tne En-
glish alphabet on the way. o, Lord John Russell
think of it OF this Engshman's son, placed by
his mother, scarcely weaned on high cold stone,
barefooted before the anvil there TO harden, scar
and blister IFS young hands by heating and ham
mering ragged nail-rods for the sustenance which
her breast can no longer supply
The boys father was at work with his back to-
wards me when entered At my first word of
salutatlon to the lad, he turned around accosed me
a little bashfuy as if unaccusomed to the sight
of strangers in that place, reluctant to let them
into the scene and secret of his poverty | sat
down upon one end of his nail bench, and told him
that | was an American blacksmith by trade, and
that had come in TO see how he got along in the
world; whether he wao earning pretty good wages
at his business, so that he could live comfort
ably, and send his children to school. AS said
this, glanced inqurngly towards the boy, who
was looking steadily at me from his stone stool by
the anvil Two or three little crocked-faced girls,
from two to five years of age, had stolen in midly,
and couple of young eyes were peering over the
door-slll at me. They ALL looked as if some task
were daily allotted them in the SCOT and cinders Of
their fathers forge, even to the sharp eyed baby at
the door. The poor Engishmon-le was as much
an Engshman as the Duke of Wellington looked
at his bushy -headed bare footed children, and said
softly, with melancholy shake of his head, that
the times were rather hard with him. 1t troubled
his heart, and many hours of the night he had been
kept awake by the thought OF 1t, that he could not
send his children to school nor teach them himself
to read They were good children, he said, with
moist yearnng in his eyes; they were all the
wealth he had, and he loved them the more, the
harder he had to work for them. The poorest part
of the poverty that was on him was that be could
not give his children the letters. They were
good children, for all the crock of the shop on
their faces, and their fingers were bent like eagles
claws with handling nails. lie had been poor
man all his days, and he knew his children would
be poor all their days, and poorer than he, if the
nail business should grow worse. If he could only
give them the letters or the alphabet as they call
ed it, it would make them the like of rich for then
they could read the Testament. He could read
the Testament little, for he had learned the let
tiers by freight. 1t was 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.
1t was great comfort to HIM TO think 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 on the
Sabbath as at all the other hours he had to be at
the anvil. The mailing business was growing hard
er, he was growing old and his family large He
had 10 toork from four O'Clock IN the morning till ten
o'clock al night 10 earn eighteen pence, His wages
averaged only about seven Shiltings per Week ; and
there were hive OF them in the family to live on
what they could earn. 1t was hard to make up the
loss of single hour Not one of their hands, how
ever little, could not De spared. Jenny was going
on nine years of age, and hopeful lad he was -
and the poor man looked at him doatingly Jen-
my could work of thousand nails day. of the
smallest size The rent Of their little shop tene-
ment, and garden, was five pounds year and a
few pennies earned by the youngest OF them was
OF great account.
But, continued The father, speaking cheerfully, |
am not the one that ought to complain Many i,
the man that has harder lot OF 1t than !, among
the naers along these hills and in the valley. Ny
neighbor in the next door could tell you something
about the labor you may meyer have heard the lik'
of in your country. lie is an older man than am
and there are seven of them in the family; and 70
all that, he has no boy like Jenny here to he'll
him. Some Of his little girls sckly, and thel
mother is not over strong aud it all comes on HIM
He is an oldsh man, as was saying, yet he no
only works eighteen hours at his forge, but every
Friday in the year he works all night long, and nev
er lays off his clothes till late of Saturday night
A good neighbor is John Stubblns, and the only
man just in our neghborhood who can read thu
newspaper. 1t is not often tina! he gets newspa