Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1873-12-16
How a Tinker Wrote q Nopet.

Once upon limc-lcar> and Years
aso-I nauicd some good Sunday book
to read and when tie want WAS made
known. Va. helped 10 i big, leather
uuuud. uriulu boph, which at lii 81 glance
NOW outstanding one ur Two large
,plu,ch,s ul gilt upon TIC back-lid not
,opA in,ung. In the lirst place, what
ouy NSuIs 10 ograppIe with big octavo 2
Your precious Old aunt will tell you
hat an octave is that II means book
with IT,. paper folded 80 - ~ make eight
irn,cs Ui every sheet. whereas duo.
0rcimU Is one at paper folded 80 as 10
uuAt twelve leaves 10 u sheet; aud This
iAst Is therefore much handler aud every
Nai better tor boy use at least, | think
80. Then j, WAS bJund in full cali
seli. must LAY it-likc the Bible. l
don't mean, ui course, TO breathe QUE
word against that venerable volume but
then you AnOw. when a fellow wants "A
cool sunday booN aud knows Just where
tho Bible is kept, and ha, read ii ever 80
often, hc doesn't want what looks too
much like ii.
However, there was with tho big
book on my Auce, aud lh,ic were pi;-
trIcs IN it These were stunning
There Mas = picture oi man with II
great pacN on hi- back, doing his best to
1T out u( - huge bog; and there were
some people standing by who didn't
,cc'n 10 help him much.
There VAS - picture OF 4 prodisious
.lu,-.I.J A. large as ;hit IN Jack and
.l, bcau s.ut -lory-who Was lea ling
uN .Vn Iuiir mcu-onc of " hom lDuncd
.i,. Dec, ur.t th1u Noic tho Gi- park. aud
...,- ma, sinking in the bog. Then
.i.rr was q splendid picture %, lhi, same
ditto u,n Walking up with al. the pluck
100 The world, through pain. beside
which wrrr seated Two old giants. which
Ly lHc bones which lay scattered
ainuud their seats-seemcd TO have been
,uu-iug th,m.eiyes by eating Us Just
such llt,c men ~ the p.uckY one, who
r7mc marching up rcIwcen them 80
oruoiy.
In short. the pictures carried The day {;
ard though 10 seemed drolI Sunday work.
I "a. ted amazingly t. lind out how
mi, pucky hlIie man got through with
hi, bos, and giants.
Wei, tnr story la tie leather covers,
auj =, nig ~ a. Biulc, has heen printed
70, thousands and nundrcd, ol thousands
and mas been translated into all the Ian
suagrs OF Europe, and il WAS written
o., travelling tmkei Thinl. ol that.
John Buuy al was his pame; aud he
VA, born ia a house built oI timber and
clay (Which was standing not many
years aso) in The little village oI EIstow.
near to Bcdlold, England.
Brdiord>hirc i, beautiful County there
are luc lnrms and great houses and beau
. iful parks in it but this man, John Bun
van. Was the sDu OF i travelling tinker,
aud wa. torn lheIc only = few Years alter
/ th, pilgrims landed from the Msytlower,
on Plymouth Rock. He >ays of himself
that he was wild lad. swearing dread.
tuily. going about with his father 10
tinker hrokcD tea.pots. lying under
hedges, having narrow escapes from
death Once falling into the river Ouae,
and another time handling an adder and
pulling cut his iangs with his fingers.
/ But he fell in with Puritan preachers,
- ho ~~iod his conscience; ! Tor he lived
| iu>t in III. heart ol those times which are
described ia Waller Scotrs novel Wood
stock = aud lac didn't think much OF Epis'
colncr or bishops; and at last he took 10
l,i aching himself, having lett off all his
! evil cuuiscs. He married, too. and had
! tour children one OF them. Mary Bunyan
| blind from her birth
lie fought in The civil wars under
Cromwell, and it is possible enough that
he may have seen Charles the First 60
out to execution. May be he was one OF
those crazy fellows who came 10 Ditchley
/ (in SCOTS Novel; TO help capture the
runaway, Charles the second, who was
g-l i aulng in that time in the household
OF old Sir Arthur Lee. lie throve while
! the Commonwealth lasted, but when
Charles the Second was called back TO
.hc throne in 1860 (John Bunyan then
hcing thirty TWO yeaIs olD, ii was hard
t;nc iur Puritans, aud wors. OF all for
.uch Puritan of Puritans as the Puritan
prracher-Bunyan
lhey tried him lcr holding diSol derly
religious meetings. and he put brave
larr nm it and contested his right; hut
bis only made the matter worse for him,
nud they condemned him to perpetual
banishment. Somehow this judgment
~. changed in such way, that Bunyan,
in place ol being shipped 10 Holland OF
America (wherc he would have found a
pari,h). WAS clapped into Bedford Jail,
where he lay (lie tells us) twelve entire
wears lie had no books there but the
Bible ,ahd Fox's Book of Martyrs. lie
made tag lace To support his family. The
while lac was in Jail. and bemoaned very