St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-12-19
ST. tJomsburn Galedonian.
81. John.bury, VT. Friday, Dec. 10. 1873
fur hr children.
How a Tinker Wrote a Novel.

Once upon Il time and wears
agO-l wanted some good Sunday books
to read and when the want was made
known. | was helped to Il hig. leather
bound. octave book. which at first
glance Notwithstanding one or two
large >plotches of gilt upon the back
did not, look inviting. In the first
place. wlaT boy wants to grapple with
Il big octave! Your precious old aunt
will tell you what an octave is that it
means book with its paper folded 50
as to make eight leaves of every sheet,
whereas a duodccimO is one of paper
folded 81 rs to make twelve leaves to Il
sheet and this last is therefore much
handler and every way better for boy :
use-at least. | think 50. Then it was
bound in full calf-vcry SuspiciouSly
like Il dictionary, and like-well. | must
say like the Bible. | don't mean,
of course, Ia breathe one word against
that venerable volume; hut then you
know. when Il fellow wants good sun
day book and knows just where the
Bible is kept, and has read it ever 50
often. he doesn't want what looks too
much like it.
However, there was with the big
book on my knee and there were pic
lures in it. These We're stunning.
There was ii picture of IL man with Il
great pack on his back. doing his best
to get ont of huge bog; and there
were some people standing by who
didn't seem to help him much.
There was Il picture of a prodigiou>
giant fully as large us that i'll Jack
and the Bean-stalk story-who was
leading oil TWO little men-one OF
whom looked like the man that wore
the big pack. and WAS near sinking i'll
the hog Then there was Il splendid
picture of this same little man walking
up with all the pluck III the world.
through Il path. besides which were
seated two old giants, which by the
bolltS W llhil llN tiltil
seats seemed to have been amusing
themselves 10y eating up just such lit
tie men as the plucky one, who came
marching up between them 80 bravrly
In short, the pictures carried the day
and though it seemed droll Sunday
work, wanted amazingly To find out
how this pluclly little man got through
with his hogs and giants.
Well, that story in the lcathcrn GOV
crs. and as hg as II Bible, has been
printed by thousands and hundreds of
thousands. and has been Translated into
all the languages of Europe. and it WAS
written hy Il travelling tinker! Think
of that.
John BuuNan WAS his name; and he
was born III Il h"u>, built OF clay
(Which WAS standing not many years
ago. III the little village at El>io. near
~ Bedford. England.
BedtordShirc is Il beautiful county .
there are fine farms and great houses.
and beautiful parks in it but this man.
John Bunyan. was the son of Il travel
ing tinker. and WAS born there only Il
few Years after the Pilgrims landed
from the MAY flower. on Plymouth
Rock. He SAYS of himself that he was
Il wild lad. swearing dIcadtully, going
about with his father to tinker broken
tea pots, lying under hedges, having
narrow escapes from death. once, fall
ing into the river OuSe, and another
time handling AN adder and pulling ont
his f;ngS with his fingers.
Bur he fell in with puritan preachers,
who walked his conscience = for he
lived Just in the heart of those times
which are described in Walter Scott :
novel "Wood>tock :" and he didn't
think much of Epi>copacN OF Bishops :;
and ut last he took to preaching him
self. having left off all his evil courses.
He married too. and had fom children
one of them, Mary Bunyan. blind
from her birth.
He fought in the civil wars under
Cromwell, and 1t is possible enough
that he may have Scrn Charles the
First 90 ont to execution. MaN be he
was one of those crazy fellows who
came to Ditchlcy tin SCOTS novel; to
help capture the runaway, Charles the
Second. who was gallivanting in that
time in the household of old Sir Al
thur Lee. He throVe while the Com
monwealth lasted. but when Charles the
Second was called back 20 the throne
IN 1860 (John Bunyan being then thir-
tO-two Years ODD il was hard time
for Puritans. and worst of all for such
Puritan of Puritans as the Puritan
preacher Bunyan.
They tried him for holding disorderly
religious meetings. and he put brave
face on ii and contested his right but
this only made the matter worse fol
him, and they condemned him to per
petual Punishment. somehow, this
Judgment was changed in such a way,
that Bunyan. in place of being shipped
to Holland or America (where he
would have found Il parish.) was clap
ped int" Bedford Jail. where he lay
Che tells us) ''twelve entire Years" He
had no book there hut the Bible and
F"x's Book of Martyrs. lie made tag
lace to support his family, the while he
was i'll Jail, and bemoancd very much
the possible fate of his poor blind
daughter Mary.