Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1873-12-11
THE OLD WAGON Ar uAMnl,Ra

A correspondent has written the following
story of that somewhat old ami famous wagon
at Hamburg, Berks county.
here III TINS quiet little village of Hamburg
staids great, heavy farm wagon, loaded with
l!in'~'r under An old dapiiltcd shed; and
TINS same wagon, with lis Lad, has been stand
ing There SIXTY one years tn, winter.
Johh Bailey, The man who uw ny the wagon
ls now about 9S years ofas,, aud has lived here
nearly all his life lie is quiet aud uuasst,,-
ing person, who bears his years well, and ~
known all over tbs sect ion as one of the most
eceenli IL men In the state.
THIS morning MAS shown the great four
wheeieu curiosity s;im'ing under the shed. My
guide WAS an old and reliable ci'iz-u of the
place. The she'd stands very ,e,rIn The hnuse
AVA Is situated lbo,J the centre OF the town
inside "i 'he shed sturt tie " gon, loaded
WIN pine boards, just As il had BEEN left Ia
ioiZ' The sight was tuyhing but inviting
1ohwcbs and dust hung heavy from the board
sides anu roof OF the old shed, and the dpspoil
ing manu- oi lime had wrought ruin upon the
entire surroundings. Tie wheels had w.,prd
anu the iron tires La fallen down; and as lney
uioppeu, SO they remain now. The heavy
spnkeh OF the wheels lex in the ground funny
SIX inches, and ii Is thought they will rot in a
very short tme and thus throw thu entire mass
to the ground.
! turned To The gentleman nth me and asked
INN the facts concerning such IA remarkable
curiosity. He replied: al am nearly seventy
years OLD, and was about nine years of age
when. Bailey made his vow. remember Quite
well when he was building that old house
there (p"lhiing to the present residence OF Mr.
balley), Tor Carried water To the men
"ih Those days We had no railroads, and ex-
pfess anu mail lines went to the large cities by
morse aid wagon. Most Of our building una
tefal was bought at Philadelphia and ca,ieJ In
h ut,l, d..
young man then, but "a hard working. india
pendent, seli-willed person. His house was
nearly hnished, aud the last load OF lumber had
been brought from the sea coast.
"Bailry was nnl married, hut was looking
With longing eyes 10 a bright AMI blusbug
woman whom he had visited Or COUNTED but
three lines, and had obtainsd what lie thought
was sufficient ENCOURAGEMENT tina. all was ripbi
But there was rival In the case. Another
young mans affections drift ed to the same
spot, and upon several occasions lover No 2
had been very kindly received and entertained,
and there grew up jealousy. Lover No. /
commenced building house. Likewise No, 2
Both proceeded in the work uni il a load of nine
Oohus foi hnishlng purposes was needed No.
had wason,and As the only place the boards
were TO lie had was al PHILADELPHIA Bailey
proceeded thther, got what he wanted aud re-
turned. Lover No. being on speak ing terms
with the pareais Of the girl, MARI led the OBJ
Jo't VI hfs ioNe III tus itlSepCe Of lover No, |,
and when the latter returned he was mortified
beyond measure. He drove his wagon under
the shed, as was customary, Embarrassed his
horses. put them away, and as he left the wag-
on, he declared 1t should stand as long as time
lasts OH into eternity"
My Informant invited me la to see this s.ranye
character. He was sitting on an old hick-
DRY arm chair, looking out upon his great
grandchildren at play In the yard. lie Is too
old to move about much, and he yery rarely
gets out. An impeachment In his speech renders
It almost impossible to understand him. ask
ed hin, about the wagon and he smiled family
snd replied that great many hundred people
had asked him the same question Ne r0niinr
Ueh by saying that had IN all probability head
'Le correct history: that he had kept his word
40 lug, and he hoped could keep Il always. /
asked i'm what sword" he had kept. He said
that when liz drove his wagon under the shed
he took an oath that lie would nrvar unload II
or allow IL to be unloaled, nor wnld he T. IF
use the wagon or boards. IL Is a stipulation in
his will that nobody shall modest the wagon,
but on the contrary II shall he protected all the
time, aud, ii possible, preserve il until tbs
world Is no m0le.
Bailey married another woman soon sGiel
his first trouble. and she died six yeaiY ago aged
eighty years. They have several children, who
seem determined tocIrry ont The 'l,sres OF the
old man. They declare that when the pro-
perty passes Into their hands the fathers will
shall ha respected; and as Haubuig never win
be much more than II Is now, il is qIite like
ly that the old wagon and its load will either
oullive time or meet the fate Of the "wouderful
one-hoss shay"