Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-05-09
Miscellany.
LITTLE POLLY PILKERTON.

OLD PnKERToN-old by virtue of his
being Polly's father-kepta a saddler's shop
in Long Acre. He was the third genera
ton which had dealt in pig-skin, and had
been duly apprenticed to his father, who,
in his turn, had served his own father
and had been dutifully instructed in the
art and mystery of making saddles. The
Pilkerton saddle had a good name, and
the artists who built them knew their own
work. The shop was excellently kept, a
pleasant, large room, smelling of new
leather, glittering with new bits, curbs,
and snaffles, and ornamented with finely
carved head of horse, upon which the
Pilkerton head-stall, worked curiously
and with multiplicity of stitches, was
exhibited to perfection. Herein old Pilk-
erton received his customers, gentlemen
of large estates, masters of hounds, young
heirs, who took an interest in hunting
and in horses, and fair ladies, who would
step from their carriages to see their side
saddles built.
Pilkerton was handsome, dark man,
on the right side OF forty-i five, bald-head-
ed, well-shaven, and with neat black
whisker. His manner was that of a
sound, honest English tradesman. Quickly
deferential in taking orders, firm and
manly in pointing out what could and
should be done, and of that kind which
generally won it's own way. "Leave that
to me, sir, he would say. II have work
in leather more than five and twenty
years; and I know what can be done
with it.
The saddler was a widower: his only
daughter Polly, rising twenty, had been
well educated at the Misses Blumberry's
establishment, near Bedford Square, was
fat hod oarrio6 off wv
or three prizes in French On the whole,
she was superior in accomplishments to
the general run of tradesmen's daughters,
and was soberly religious, being Wes-
leyan, and Sunday school teacher.
As rule, tradesmen who mind their
shop find that their shop minds them, and
have at their bankers plenty of money
to fall back upon in the rainy day. But
there are exceptions. Pilkerton was one.
He was, just as the story opens, subject
to run of ill-luck. His banker had
sbroken;" and, in breaking, broke some
hundreds Cf smaller men into little pieces.
The old saddler, however, weathered the
storm. The shop did not look less bright
and workmanlike, bit it had less stock in
it; Pilkerton was in debt to his leather
seller, had to send in his own bills at an
earlier date; and, instead of clerk, Polly,
fore, came into and ornamented the little
glass case which served for counting
house, and kept his books
When sorrows come, they come not
single spies. Pilkerton, the saddler, tried
to hold his own; and seeing a contract
from great house for saddlery, sent in
and blessed his luck when he got it!
The great Earl Sangpur, military no
bleman, who devoted himself to his regi-
ment-the Redlegs, dashing light cav
airy corps-determined to astonish the
world. He had invented new demi-
pique saddle; and, as the Government
looked coldly on it, had obtained from
His Royal Highness, the Commander-in-
Chief, the great favor of presenting the
whole regiment with saddles. Fl. r. H.
looked upon this craze with kindly pity F.;
but the earl had proved himself house
hold soldier to the backbone, and had
once added twenty pounds per man to
the regulation price Of the horses of the
regiment. Sangpur was beloved by the
men, but hated by his officers. whom he
put to all manner of expense. "What
does fellah," he once said, edo in my
regiment with less than three thousand a
year?" and the question was unanswer-
able.
Messrs Moses, Macbeth & Co , the we'll
known army clothiers of St. James street.
took the contract. English society will
not allow the real workers to do such
large jobs without amiddle-man Moses,
Macbeth & Co., thereon sent round to
various saddlers, and Pilkerton-whose
name stood very high-was selected to
carry ont the order of s'seven hundred
and fifty saddles, as per sample
We've got the best man in the 'orld,
said IA, L. III
Israelite, with a Roman nose and a heavy
mustache, dressed in the most perfect
ciyil-m military costume.) He had orig
sinally been tailor at Chatham, but had
prospered-in spite of two bankruptcies
which ill-natured persons said made his
fortune.
''Who is he?'
.s'Pilkerton, of Long Acre"
z@tsHe1l do,'' said the earl, who knew tn,
saddler's fame in the hunting field. VIII,