Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1850-12-28
piiser.

4 In the upper part OF Boston, on wha
: is called "the Neck" there lived som
years ago, a wealthy old man, who resort
. ed to clifious methods to live without COS
! to himself. His house---one of the hand
soonest mansions in the "South End il
its day--stood near the road over whicl
) the gardeners, times past, used to go Il
market with their loads of vegetables, tive
days Of each week. Old Grpes would be
| up before day and on the lookout fox these
/ wagons q
"Hallo. what have you got there r
says the miser to the countryman.
"Well, daddy, a little of all sorts; po.
tatoes, cabbage, tnrnips, and SO on. Won
yol, look at EN- 7"
| AT this the old miser would begin to
tumble over the vegetables, pocket a po.
tatoe, an onion, turnip, Of
| "Ah, yes they are good enough, but
we poor creatures can't afford to pay snch
prices as you ask no. no---we must wait
until they come down."
The old miser would sneak into the
house with his stolen vegetables, and the
farmer would drive on. Then back would
come the miser and lay In ambush for
another load, and thus, in the course of a
lew hours, he would raise enough vege-
tables to give his household dinner.
Another "dodge" of this artful old dodyer,
was to take all the coppers he got land,
OF course, poor creature like him handled
q great many,) and then go abroad among
the stores and trade them off six for six
pence, get quarter of dolar for them,
aud thus in getting dollar he made four
per cent, by several hours Of disgusting,
mean labor.
But QUE day the old man ran foul Of a
snag. A market man had watched him
for some time purloining his vegetable,
and on the first Of the year sent in bill Of
several dollars for turnips, potatoes, par
ships, &c. The miser of course refused to
pay the bill, denying ever having had "the
goods" But the scountryman called in
Igopaace persoace, refreshed his memory,
and added that if the bill was not footed
on sight, that he should prosecute him for
Stealing! This made the old rniser shake
in his boots. lie clustered for awhile,
then reasoned the case, then plead power
ty. &c. But the purveyor in vegetables
was not the man to be cabbaged in that
way; and the old man called him into his
sitting room, and ordered his son, a wild
scamp, to go up stairs and see if he could
find five dollars in any of the drawers or
boxes up there. The young man finally
cried out
"Dad. which bag shall take it out of
1.-The gold and silverv'
"Odd zonnds - bawled the old man.
"the boy wants to let on I've got bags of
gold-and silver"
And so he had many thousand dollars in
good gold aud silver. lie hobbed up
stairs, got nine half dollars, and tried to
get fifty cents less than the countryman' |
bill but the countryman was as stubborn
as mule, and would not abate iartling.
The miser never troubled the market
men again and1not long after this he got
spurious dollar put on him in one of his
exchange operations. and that wound up
his penny shaving.
Time passed-death called upon the
man Of ingots and monied bags,
but while power remained to forbid it, the
old miser refused to have pysician. When
10 all appearances his senses were gone,
his friends drew the miser's pantaloons
from under his pillow, where he had al
ways insisted on their remaining during
his sleeping hours, and his last illness
out as one of the attendants slowly removed
he garment, the poor old man, with a
efTort--a galvanic-like crap
.hrew out his bony, cold hand, aud seized
lis old pantaloons.
The miser clutched them with dying
grasp words struggled in his throat-he
,ould not utter them-he was dead.
Much curiosity was manifested by the
riends and relatives to know what could
rave caused the poor old man to cling to
lis time-worn pantaloons; but the mys-
cry was soon revealed--for upon the
inings Of the waist-band, and watch-fob,
,ver $50, 600 in bank notes were found
concealed
The Lord s pardon and human sympathy |
,e with all such misguided aud wretched
laves Of money, say we.
Yankee Blade.