Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1856-05-08
Mltsrellaun.
New Hampshire Gipsy.
By JOHN C. WHITTIER.

BODY just now. Ono gains nothing by attempt
ing to shut out the spirits of the weather.
They come in at the kcy-hove; they peer through
the dripping panes; they iusinuate themselves
through the crevices of the easement, or plump
down chimney astride of the rain drops.
rise and throw open the door. A tall,
shambling, loose, e,jointed figure; q pinchcd,
lshrcwd facep sun Drowned and wind-dried
quick-winking, black eyes. There he stands,
the waiter dripping from his pulpy hat and
ragged elbows.
speak to him, but he returns no answer
With dumb show Of misery, quite touching,
he hands me soiled piece of parchment, where
on read what purpose to be melancholy ac
count of shipwreck and disaster, to the partic-
ular detriment, loss and Identification of one
Pletro Frugoni, who is, in consequence sorely in
want of all charitable Christian persons, and
who is, in short, the bearer of this veracious
document, duly certified and endorsed by an
Italian consul, in one of our Atlantic cities of
high sounding, but, to Yankee organs, unpro.
nouncable name.
Here commences struggle. Every man, tho
Mahometans tell US, has two attendant angels,
the good one on his right shoulder, the bad on
his left. " Give says Benevolence, as with
some difficulty fish up small coin from the
depths of my pocke. "Not cent" says
selfish Prudence, and drop it from my fingers.
Think" says the good angel, Z" of the poor
stranger in Strange land, just escaped from
the terrors of the sea storm, in which his little
property has pcrshed, thrown half naked and
helpless on our shores, ignorant of our language
and unable to find employment suited to his Ca
pacity.' GA vile imposter ~ replies the left
hand sentinel His paper, purchased from
one of those ready writers in New York, who
manufacture beggar credentials at the low
price of one dollar copy, with earthquakes,
fires, or shipwrecks, to suit customers.
Amidst this confusion of tongues, l take
another survey of my ,isitant. Ha light
dawns upon me. That shrewd, old face with
its sharp, winking eyes, is no stranger to me-
Pietro Frugoni, have seen thee before 81
Senior, that face of thine has looked at me over
dirty white neckcloth, with the corner of that
cunning mouth drawn downwards, and those
small eyes turned up in sanctimoni3us gravity,
while thou vast offering to a crowd Of half
grown boys an extemporaneous exhortation, in
the capacity of a travelling preacher. Have |
not seen it peering out from under blanket, as
that of poor Penobseot Indian, who had lost
the use of his hands while trapping on the
Madawaska Is it not the face of the forlorn
father of six small children, whom the " "mer-
curry doctors" had "pizened and crippled =
Did it not belongto that down-east unfortunate
who had been out to the "Genesee country,
and got the fever-nager," and whose hand
shook SO pitifully when held out to receive my
poor gift! The same under all dsguises-
Stephen Leathers of Barrington-him and none
other Let me conjure him into his own like
ness
Well, Stephen, what news from old Bar
rington!'
80, we'll thought knew ye," he answers
not the least Disconnected. How do you do
and how's your folks All we'll, hope.
took this 'ere paper, you see to help a poor fur
riner. who couldn't make himself understood
any more than q wild goose. thought I'd jus
start him for ard little. 1t seemed marcy t,
to do it.''
Well and shiftily answered thus ragged Pro
teus. One cannot be angry with such fellow
| will just enquire into the present state of hi
gospel mission, and about the condition of hi
tli',e on the Penobscot ; and it may not be
MIS- to congratulate him on the success of tn
stc'm-doctors in sweating the "pizen' o
the regular faculty out OF him. But he ev
IDENTIFY has no wish to enter into idle converse
tion. Intend upon his benevolent errand, he
already clattering down stairs. Involuntarily
CLAN out of the window, just in season to cate
n sin, 10 glimpse of him ere he is swallowed u
in the mist.
lie has gone; and, knave as he is, can hare
ly help exclaiming, Luck go with him -
He has broken in upon the sombre train of N
thoughts, and called up before me pleasant ar
greatful recolections. The old farm house mes
ling in its valley; hills stretching off to IL
south, and green meadows to the east ii
small stream, which came noisily down its ra
ine, washing the old garden wall, and soft
tapping on fallen stones and messy roots
becches and hemlocks the tall sentinel popla
NJ thn ta,r fba ool,
broken to the northern horizon the gras
grown carriage path, with its rude and era;
bridge; tho dear old landscape Of my boyho(
lies outstretched before me like a daguerrcoty
from that picture within, which have borl
with me in all my wanderings. | am b.
again; once more conscious of the feeling, hi
exultaton, with which used to announce t
approach of this very vagabond, and his " XII
dred after the aesh'
The advent of wandering beggars, or " O
stragglers, as we were wont to call thcm. W
an event of no ordinary interest in the gent
ally monotonons quietude Of our farm life.
Many of them were well known they had TIN
periodical revolutions and transits we COT
calculate them like eclipses or new moons
Some werc sturdy knaves, fat and saucy a
whenever they ascertained that the men folk
were absent would order provisions and ci
like men who expected to pay for it, seat
themselves, at the table or health with the
of Fastaff-'' Shall not take mine ease in
own inn 2" Others poor, pale, patient,
Sterne's monk, came creeping up to the dc
hat in hand, standing there in their 6
wretchedness with look of hcart-break 6