Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-11-13

which he was metamorphosing a rough casting I'M
to q polished key. As soon as 1t was completed,
be washed the worst of the dirt from his hands,
hung up his work apron, and putting on his coat
and hat, remarked in a cheerful tone, Come now,
cousin Aleck, let's go and see whether wife has
got any tea for u.s."
After we were in the street, our conversation in
sensibly ran on business, ard | took occasion to
say to him that ! had been Of the opinion that he
had retired from his trade en- a handsome compe-
tency. Don't say a word about retirement" he
replied, "it nearly makes me sick to think ofit.-
People talk Of retiring from business while they are
healthy, and able to work why, | tell you, Aleck,
they don't know what it means. | didn't know
what it meant until | tried it, but now retirement
and misery sound, to my care, like words of about
the same meaning"
Perceiving that he had struck a subject on which
he could easily be communicative, l looked ioquir'
ingly, when he rejoined, perhaps you never heard
ihe particulars of my retiring"
On my replying that | had not, he proceeded
You see, Aleck, it is about three years ago, that,
having, as you would say, a competency, made
up my mind to stop work and move into the coun
try. So | sold out my share of the business to my
"a NuSii cpCHt u Vui VI wi ~ 'NSh''b
three score of country places, and at last found
one that wife and myself were considerably leased
with. Fine double house, four acres beautifully
shaded, vegetable garden not to be beat, and soil
of a superior quality. The place is still in my
possession, but before IG 60 and live on it again
I'd give it away yes, Aleck, I'd see it sunk in the
Dead sea. But | am getting a little ahead of my
story. For two or three monthe matters and things
went on very well. because l had something to at
tend to in making a few little improvements about
the house, and in furnishing a number of the doors
with locks of my own invention but as the whole
premises were in excellent repair when bought
them, | soon came to a point where there was MOTH
ing to look after but the cultivation of the garden
I was not long though in making the discovery
that | had no genius or taste either for digging or
pulling up weeds, and so, as wife didn't wish the
garden to run to waste, l employed a regular Eng'
fish gardner to carry the thing handsomely
through.
"Well, ! didn't mind the expense he put me to
in the way of guano, new-fangled gardening tools,
ard patent watering apparatus for | had fully ex.
pected to spend money, and, thanks to our previ,
Gus economy we had the money to spend but AL
eek, it was really very amusing to see what the
fruit and vegetables raised from our garden stood
US. Making use of the little arithmetic | was mas
ter of, recollect that l ciphered up the cost of
some of the table fxins, and the results was-cu'
|%cumbers, seventeen cents a piece green peas, q
dollar and three quarters for a half peck currants,
fifty cents a quart raspberries. thirty cents a
pint beets, fourteen cents each, and everything
else in like proportion. All this | cared nothing
about, but, somehow, | felt out of my gearing in
not having the right kind of employment. Wife
die her best to coax me into gentlomanly ways
had the old mechanical CRIME all thoroughly
scrubbed out Of my ~hands-fnger nails cleaned
out and rounded-so as to make it appear that
had never done manual labor.
"Then we must get behind q couple of Morga
ponies which l had purchased, and make fashion
able calls in the daytime on those who bad Gale
on US and wife wanted ME to soften down m
voice and to be particular about my grammar an
the subject l talked on but sometimes forgettin
myself l would revel in the proud memory of tn
locks and keys l had handled in happier days an
commence q history of my exploits in that lint
when wife would look as though she was going
sinkt brough the floor. In fact she wished to kee
a perpetual lock on my lips, $50 far as our antec
dents were concerned with the key in her poke
But I sighed for the shop, and time hung SO hea'
lily on my hands that an hour spent in stupid lis
lessness about the house seemed longer to me this
a day did when | had orders ahead for locks al
was driving hard to get them finished at a giv'
time. Ny youngest brother, who is a college-br'
man and q lawyer, sent me, at my request. a fl
collection of books on all imaginable subjects,
that my library out'shore that of the parson, or
deed, any other man in the place but l found
had no more taste to sit down and read than / b
for trimming currant bushes. Time was, aftel
had finished q hard days labor at the shop, VIII
an hour at books was a real solace, and | also
lieve an occasion of improvement. Then l envi
those whose leisure allowed them to feast on boo
perpetually but the mistake l made was in ia
ing to discriminate between the mental habits a
requirements of the protested student and those
The working man.
'In this wretched manner did time at my cot
try seat drag heavily along. Visiting was a p
feet bore, for not feeling the slightest interest
such masculine topics as corn, grubs and manu-
and caring less for the feminine ones of dress a
local gossip, l didn't know what to talk about
Books set me to sleep, and not having the soci'
Of my two boys who were off to boarding'schoo
became fully satisfied that nothing to do v
equal to having everything to suffer.
"My most delightful place of resort was a bla
smiths shop some two miles from the house, VIII
occasionally / would handle the hammer, a
|clang a little on the anvil, but wife making the
To-" ~covery one day that my hands were getting grin
again, l was obliged to own up the cause of it,
this, to my sorrow, was succeeded by a post
prohibition on her part from my taking any
Their exercise at the forge. After this, whe
would sometimes ride past the shop behind
wife prancing Morgan horses, the tears would start
not my eyes at my being oeoarred tue only empi
d he ment which was In the least adapted 10 my ia
AIRED or capacity.
'dgh "But. cousin Aleck, to shorten my story, W