Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-07-04
THE YOUNG EGG MERCHANTS.
A story of the Chicken.

peared in the Companion highly in
teresting work of art. 1t was COM
pound picture. Looked at from one
point of view, it represented "The
Man who Sold Eggs" with a counte-
nance as jolly and delightful as it was
possible to conceive. The other side
pictured "The Man who BoughtEggs, "
a poor wretch with haggard face and
sunken eyes, the very incarnation of
despair. To appreciate the picture it
was necessary to know the deplorable
fact that eggs were at the time almost
as costly as gold. ......
Master Bob st. Clair and Tim Bar
clay were two young gentlemen who,
with their parents, were bosrders at
Miss Briggs select boarding house.
Bob took the Companion, and he and
Tim read it together with the most
amiable good fellowship. Their SYM
pathies were touched by the sufferings
of the "Man who Bought Eggs :" but
when they turned to "The Man who
Sold" silence followed, which Bob
was the first to break.
"I say, let's buy pullet, Tim ?"
"TAat'd be fun; but where'd we
keep her ?" .....l
Glide her up stairs. We could
smuggle enough from the table to feed
her-and-she'd lay lots of eggs i
The more they talked about the hen,
the more strongly did the egg business
commend itself. They were ambitious
boys, and both felt very sanguine that
q good pullet, we'll managed, would
prove the foundation of small for
tune. Miss Briggs, to be sure, was
known to have her prejudices, but the
young gentlemen had learned from ex.
perience that it was quite possible to
evade Miss Briggs; and considering
the size of that good lady's boarding
house, it really did seem as if one pull
let might be lodged and fed without
inconvenience to any one.
Fortunately it was early in the
month, and the boys spending money
was not quite exhausted In less than
twenty minutes after breakfast the next
morning they were down town and
securing the poultry market. An old
farmer came in with dressed fowls for
sale.
"How much do you ask for your
first-class chickens?" asked Bob, jung
ling the fve-cent coins in his pocket.
Twenty cents pound. There's q
fine fellow" said the farmer, Shaping q
large bird on the box before him.
go, we've want one with head
and feathers" stammered Bob.
Negotiations were opened, the re-
suit of which was that two mornings
after a promising looking fowl was
struggled up Miss Briggs front stairs.
Bob st. Clair occupied a suite of rooms,
with his father, mother and sister, and
} 1t was quite impossible for him to find
! accommodations there for his fowl.
Tim had no fellow-lodger but his
father, who was the most of the time
down town so he undertook to pro.
, vide tenement for the poor bird. He
put it in the wardrobe, threw in piece
, of cake he had taken from the tea
table the previous evening, and locked
| the door. Then he and Bob retired tc
count their unlaid eggs.
| 1t will take only two dozen to come
| to what we paid for her; and all after
that will be clear profit" remarked
! practical Bob. ~-...Ifs t.-,-r
In due time Miss Briggs chamber
maid came to tidy up Mr.. Barclay
room. She fancied she was in delicat,
health, though she weighed hundred
and fifty on an honest pair of scales
and was constantly on the lookout TO-
: ga warming" While she was shaking
up the pillows in her lazy way, sh
t heard strange, mysterious noise in tn
: wall. Cr-r-r-r |"
I Bridget stood and listened.
"Cr-cr-r-r-r-r !" Is.
Dropping the pillow she crossed her
self. "The Lor-rd have mercy
, Howly Mary preserve me Is it mer
: self yer calling'?"
: "Cr-r-r-r-r p in lower tones than be
/ fore,
g Down to her mistress flew Bridget
e She must give notice of leaving at once
i, She must go to the priests to be shriy
Q ed, and home to die.
: It's not mistaken I am" reptile
she to Miss Briggs expostulations
"'Twas that same me mother heard bu
the Michaelmas fore she died; al
twas the same that called for me tw
. aunts in the ould country. The saint
forgive ye, ma'am, but me time ha
u COON !" And off went Bridget very re
9 in the face, and very much frightened
u Meanwhile, Tim, apprehensive tina
an examination of his room might
0 made, removed the fowl from the ware
o robe to the commode, and stuffed
g into the big ever. On the top of thi
= he threw towel, and then shut dow
~ the lid of the commode securely owe
all. But when tea-time approached
and MIR. Barclay was expected home,
d became necessary to move the poe
4 chicken once more.
/ Has it laid yet ?" asked Bob, as Til
! lifted the commode lid. 81.
= No, it hadn't "laid," but in its strue
,e giles it had tipped over the fine chin
IS ever and broken off one handle.
r. "Too bad " said Bob; "but whe
l. we sell the eggs we can buy new one.
Tim cleared out one of the burea
drawers, and forthwith chicky wa
transferred thither and locked up.
Chow came that ever broken Z
II inquired MIR. Barclay, when he n
;. turned. a. 4".
. Poor Tim refused to tell, and receiv
3 ed pretty severe punishment in col
le sequence. Two or three times in cours
:. nf tho auaniDo Mr. RoroIoy uo,, oro