Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1866-04-18
GiIsffIlallp.
Daddy DOdd.

Daddy DOdd.
Ienn B-sde VS. an honest man, with 6
are family ana small shop. 1t not a
a0uefu. circumstance in Johns position that
,hi.e ms iamily kept on increasing, his shop
55stIu4teiy lnainj njained It's contracted dimen-
s-ons t..t, while tbere see med to be no bound F
10 me race OF BzadIe the business which main
tanned them was strictly limited. Johns shop
was situated ia OF the many by streets.
With o. main tnOrougntsre among them, whl ch
constitute SOmers Iosn, and It was devoted
III the sale OF coal and vegetables As a
householder, John .ough IN small way OF
business vas person OF some Importance, IN
4snu.n as ue was the sole lessee OF an entire
tenement. Ii was something 10 boast OF 10
that .uooInood, Uut not much tor the root
winch john called MS own was broken-oack-
ed root ana covered only floor beside
the basement which formed the emporium.
The tenement seemed 70 be fast sinking into
the earln. The Impression of The beholder
vas that one story had already sunk, and that
the others we're radily following II so tnat II
seemed probable that 10 a few years there
would De nothing visible out the broken-back
ID roof iying h4t on the spot, monument OF
departed commerce in Goals. Meantime, by
the agency OF TWO upright beams and one trans
verse cue, the OrOken-O4cked roof was Kept
John FANNY consisted OF his wife Martha,
seven children, and Alartha's old father. All
these, Iuc4udng the old man, who was past
WORK. and utterly aithout auy means Of his
own, were dependent upon the exertions OF
John, alaed, when urgent family affairs would
Dermi, 1y MS wl.e. johns exertIons were
divide. between ch0ppng tTewood, taking out
hundreds (mOre frequently h4Ii-hundredsj OF
eoas on IL truck and moving" The occupa-
. M dos. flen
10 houses a0out quar,er-day, wrestling with
chests Of drawers, sofas, tour-p0st bedsteads,
and otaer n=avy articles of furniture, GET
mig very httle money, but good deai OF beer.
Ii jona h-d been pelican OF the wilderness
he might nave nourisne MS family upon beer
for d week after moving but ne was only a
N q, and {. u.d d. little more than ind them
. bit OF supper with the single shilling " hich
va, generally all his reward in available cur
rency-
The door anu me window of the shop being
always open, me lature and extent of Johns
stock in Trade ,.ere patent to the world. 1t
consisted Of i tou 81 coais-whIch generally
ran smai.-heap5d up ID corner, little pile
Of hrewoOd, q lev strings OF onions, a few
punches OF greens, basket or two of potatoes,
d box Of reG herring, bottle of peppermint
stick .uuTiugly dIspi yed WITH some marrow
less nuts ana wizeued eppIvs on a board cut
side OF the winCow, and bed wrench. This
last instrum- ut was wonderful auxiliary TO
Johns other resources. w hlle the TWO up
right beams ana TIE single transverse beam
we're .ne support Ut the emporium architectu-
r1lly. the Ded wrench the prop CT the
gOruIm numerically 1t thing not 10 be
bought, bui ITO W Cd and the charge for the
loan oi that oed-wreucn was two-pence.-
ChaldrOn street waS gwen to borrowing, and it
seemed 10 be i street which dl1 not lie easy
in its bed, for 1t always taking its bed
down, ana putting It's bed up again, the
suit being that johns oed-wrench in
constant 4ld urgent demand. Such has
been the ea.ernsss to secure the instrument,
that two rival applicants nave been known aciu-
ally TO wrench each other III the effort TO pos
sess il.
One hall Of Johns shop occupied by
the stock, the orner half termed the ordinary
sitting room. This iat, er room had fire.
place, surmognted Dy maute hell on wnlch
stood several works Of art In china and It's
furniture consisted of two or three Windsor
chairs md a small round tab.e. Little active
dOmest cjy W. ever witnessed in this depart
ment exc p- al n Close Of the day, when the
fiuli!,, coming from tne Goals, and the pota-
toes, aud The Il ewood, a rush at The lit
tie una t.De, and scrambled for herrings,
thick bTe AZ ald-Dutter and tea. At such times
Via DtLCNs Martina ; supcfaHDudttu 1dtuer,
was u D seen sitting IN arm chair by the
side OF me fire, his bald head encircled by
glory OF onions, and the Goals rising on his
right by a distant mountain range, put in as
back ground 10 the picture. Those family ban
quets we're snort anu sweet. All unnecessary
couvenIences OF luxury, such as knives and
Ioiks, slou-b1sins, aud the lse, were dispensed
with. Each one as ne finished MS cup OF tea
turned rouud aud threw the dregs upon the
heap ot Goals, and, when he had tialshed pick
ing his herring, turned the other way aId
flung tie bones into the fire After the
meal Mr.. Bea, le was accustomed to sit down
opposite old Daddy, while Martha drew up be-
tween them, ant devoted herself the mend
irg u the family linen but as the number OF
chairs limited, The younger branches OF
the family usually c.lDed, III he classic tast-
ION, amo1g he Goals, from contact with which
they derived u swarthIuess of complexion
Nhlcn caused them TO De known IN the neigh
borhood the "black Beadles.' John and
Mtitha loved their offspring dearly, and would
not nave had anything happen TO one OF them
TOR the world /; bur they began 70 ind that
they were increasing both 10 numbers and in
appetite IL 4 ratio altogether disproportio -iate
10 tle development OF the trade IN Goals and
vegetables, notwihetanding that the rolling
stock had been increased by a new truck and a
sec I'd bed wrench.
Johns ambition had OF en- taaeu run {, a
horse ana cart; but II had never been able to
vault nign, ana always isli back upon the
truck and nurt itsei! the region oi It's digni-
y. \ truck Is not glorious KING of vehicle
especially coal truck. IL is vehicle that
t4Aes The pavement rather ilsn the middle OF
'le ioAd, toT choice, and although the thunder
which It makes 1t traverses the coal-traps
" 'Ae pavement is considers ble, it is not q