Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1856-08-14
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na. His father having been so fortunate as to
obtain possession of II few negroes, the whole
family became ever after inspired with an in
tense disgust for all kinds Of labor and John,
the oldest son. adopted for himself the ancient
and honorable profession of loafer' To lie
idle in the sun, in front of some small grog
shop to atteud horse-races, coek-iglts, and
gauder pullings to nant out occasionally in a
new waistcoat, bought with money which came
nobody knew how. were pleasures to him all
satisfactory. He was as guiltless of all knowl-
edge of common school learning as Governor
Berkley could desire and far more clear of re-
lirious training than Mohammedan or Hin
70.
IN one of his rambling excursions through
the countey, he stopped night at IL worn out
and broken down plantation, wher2 everything
had run down, through many years of mlsman-
agement and waste. There he s'aid certain
days, PLAYING cards with the equally hopeful
son of the place and ended his performance by
running away one night with the soit-hearted
daughter, only fifteen years of age, and who
was fla Il rs idle, careless and untaught as he.
The family, whom poverty could not teach to
forget lhcir pride, were greatly scandailzed at
the marriage and, had there been anything
left in the worn out estate wherewlth to pof-
ton her. the bride, nevertheless, would have
been nor,ionless. The sole piece Of property
that went ont with her from the patern'l man
sion was one, who having a mind and will OF
his own, could not be kept from following her
The girls mother had come fiom distant
branch of one of the most celebrated families
in Virginia, and Tiff had been her servant, and
with heart forever swelling with the remem-
brance of the ancestral greatness OF the Pey-
tons, he followed his young mistress in her mes
alliance with lorg-suffering devotion. lie even
bowed his neck SO far as to acknow ledge for his
master Il man whom he onsidered by position
infinitely his inferior; for Tiff though crooked
and black, never seemed to cherish the slightest
dout that the whole force of the Pcyton blood
coursed through his veins, and that tho Peyton
honor was intrusied to his keeping, Ills mis-
tress was Peyton, her children were Peyton
children and even the little bundle Of flannel in
the gum tree cradle was Peyton and as tor
him, be was Tiff Peytou, and this thought
warmed and consoled him as he followed his
poor mistress during all the steps OF her down.
ward course in the world. On her husband he
looked with patronizing, civil contempt. lie
wished him we'll he thought it proper to put
the best face on all his actions; but, in conf
dental hour, Tiff would sometimes raise his
spectacles emphat'cally and give out as his
own private opinion, " dat dcre could not DC
much 'srectcd from dat ar 'scription OF peo'
ple!
In fact, the rowing and unsettled nature ,ol
Johns Cripp's avocations and locations might
have justified the old fellows contempt. His
Industrial career might be defined as comprising
u little Of everything and a great deal OF moth
ing. He had begun, successfully, to learn two
or three trades had half made horseshoe
and spoiled one or two carpenter $ planes; had
tried his hand at stagc-driying; and raised
fghtin. cocks, and kept dogs for hunting ne
sroes. But he invariably relreatel from ever.
one of his avocations, in hisown opinion mucl
abused man. The last device tina, had entered
his head was suggested 10y the success of
shrewd Yankee pedlar, who, having lot o
damaged and unsalcahle material to dispose Of
talked him into the bclief that he possessed ye
an undeeeloped talent for trade; and poo
John Grips guiltless of multiplication or ad
dilion table and who kept his cock-fight'ng &C
counts on his fingers and by making chalk
m rks behind the doors, actually was made I
believe that he had received, at last, his tru
vocation.
In fact, there was something in the constan
restlessncss Of this mode of life that suited h
rowing turn and though he was CONSTANT
buying what he could not sell, and losing on a
that he did sell, yet somehow he kept up an i
lrsion that he was doing something, hecans
stray coins now and then passed through h
pockets, and because the circle of small tavern
in which he could drink and loaf was consider
ably niger There was one resource whic
never failed him when all other streams WEI
dry and that was the unccasing ingenuity an
fidelity Of the bondlnan Tiff.
Tiff, in fact, appeared to be one of thos
comfortable old creatures, who retain such
good understanding with all created nature ths
bite on Tiff hook when they wouldn't on any
body's else; so he was wont 10 call the neare'
stream, Tf's pork barrel" Hens alway
laid eggs Tor Tiff, and cacked CONFIDENTIAL
where they were deposited Turkeys gobble
and strutted for him, and led forth for hil
broods of downy little ones All sorts of viii
game, squirrels, rabbits coons and possums. a,
pctred to come with pleasure and put theu
selves into his traps and springs so that wbe
another nun might starve, rilf would loo
round with unctious satisfaction, contemplati,
all nature as his larder, where his provisio
wore wearing fur coats, and walking about
four legs only for safe keeping, till he got rea
to cat them. So that Cripps never came ho,
without anticipation of something savory, ey
though he had drank up his last quarter oil
dollar at the tavern.
This suited Crpps. lie thought Tiff dol
his duty. and occasionally brought him ho
some unsaleable bit of rubbish, by way of
timonial of his worth. The spcctacles in VIII
Tiff gloried came to him in this manner !;
although it might have been made to app
that the glasses were only plain window-gl