The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1873-07-10

quickly rOunu Won nave III ruODeu
off. Go on mending your stockings,
and let my coat alone" "But 1 won't
let it alone" replied his wife "do you
think my husband shall play the fool in
that manner? No, that he shan't; I'll
have every bit of it off before you stir
out of the house."
Hodgkins knew very well that his
wife was not easily turned when she
had once set her mind upon thing, so,
striding across the cottage, he hastily
made his escape, banging the door after
him with all his might. can ill-tem-
pered vixen y muttered he to himself ;
"I would have told her of my good
luck had she been quiet, but now she
shall know nothing about it."
" "Halloo, Robert ~ cried old Fall
lows, the bricklayer, as Hodgkins
turned round the corner; "who has
been playing you that trick Why,
your back is scored all across. Come
here, and L will give you a dusting" ="
"Mind your own back, and let mine
alone" said Hodgkins.
&C Mr.. Hodgkins," cried little Patty
Stevens, the huckster's daughter, run
ming after him, "if you please, there
has somebody been making a long score
all down your coat /; mother will rub it
off for you if you will come back.
" You and your mother had better mind
your red herrings and treacle," replied
Hodglins, sharply, leaving the little
! girl wondering why he did not stop to
have his coat brushed.
No one neelsenoticed the cross on Hodg-
kins' back till he got near the black
smiths shop, where the butcher and the
blacksmith were talking, the butcher
cutting piece of elder, to make skew
ers, and the blacksmith with his arms
across, leaning on the half door of his
shop. You are just the very man 1
wanted to see," said the butcher, stop
ping Hodgllins but before he had
| spoken dozen words to him, old Peg
gy Turton came up, in her red cloak
and check apron. dear me p cried
old Peggy, gathering up her apron in
her hand, "why, Mr.. Hodgkins, your
back is quite fright but stand still a
moment, and I'll soon have it off. "
! When Hodgkins turned around to tell
old Peggy to be quiet, the blacksmith
roared out to The butcher to "twig
Hodgkins' back" "He looks like a
walking finger-post," cried the butcher.
cay, ay," said the blacksmith "I
warrant ye his wife has done that for
| him, for spending his wages at the Malt
Shovel" There was no other method
of escaping the check apron of Peggy
Turton, and the laughing and jeering of
the butcher and blacksmith, than that
Of getting off the ground rs soon as pos
sible; so, calling poor Peggy med
ding old hussy, and the other two a
brace of grinning fellows, he turned the
first corner he came to, feeling the cross
on his back a great deal heavier than he
had expected to find it.
Poor Hodgkins seemed to meet with
nothing but i'll luck, for Just before be
got to the school all the scholars ran
| boisterously into the road, full of frolic
and fun, waving their caps, and follow
ing Hodgkins, shouted as loudly as
they could brawl, "Look at his back.
look at his backr Hodgkins was in
fury, and would perhaps have done
some mischief to his young tormentors
had it not been for the sudden appear
ance of Mr.. johnson, the schoolmaster,
who at that moment came out of the
school-room. The boys gave over their
hallooing, for Hodgkins directly told
Mr.. Johnson that they were "an impu-
dent set of young iackanapes, and ever
lastingly in mischief" u"
Mr.. Johnson, who had heard the up
roar among the boys, and caught
glimpse of HOdgkins' back, replied,
mildly, that he would never encourage
anything like impudence in his schol-
ars, but that perhaps Hodgkins was not
aware of the cause of their mirth he
assured him that he had so large a chalk
mark on his back, that it was enough
to provoke the merriment of older peo-
pie than his boys, and advised him by
all means, if he wished to avoid of be-
ing laughed at, to get rid of it as soon
as possible. Hodgkins said peevishly
that his back was "nothing to nobody"
and mutterin9 to himself, walked on,
feeling his cross to be heavier than ever.
The reflections which passed through
Hodgkins' mind were not of the most
agreeable description. 1t was, to be
sure, rare thing to live rent free but
If every man, woman, and child in the
village were to be eyerlastingly torment
ing him, there would be no peace from
morning to night. Then again, even if
his neighbors got used to the cross on
his back, and said nothing about it, he
knew that his wife would never let him
rest. On the whole, the more he con-
sidered about it, the more was he dis
posed to think that the bargain was not
quite so good one as he at first had
taken it to be.
AS Hodgkins went on towards the
Malt Shovel, he saw, at distance, his
landlord, Mr.. Starkey, and directly
after, to his great CONSERVATION, his
neighbor, Samuel Hullins, came stump
ing along, with his wooden leg, in com
pany with Harry Stokes the carpenter.
Now Harry Stokes was quite the village
wit and Hodgkins dreaded nothing
more than to be laughed at by him, in
the presence of Samuel Hullins. His
first thought was to pull off his coat,
but then, what would Mr.. Starkey say
to that? Not knowing what else to do,
he took refuge in the Malt Shovel, but
soon found the house too hot to hold
him, for when those who were drinking
there began to laugh at the cross on his
back, both the landlord and landlady
declared that no customer of theirs
should be made a laughing-stock in
their house, while they had the power
to hinder it. The landlord got the
clothes-brush, and the landlady a wet
sponge, and Hodgkins was obliged to
make hasty retreat, to secure his coat
from the sponge and the clothes-brush
of his perseyering friends.
When Hodgkins left home, he in
tended to go to a neighboring village