Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-07-13
From the Toledo Blade.
The Man who Liked Pic.

From the Toledo Blade.
The Man who Liked Pic.
BY RosELIA RICE.
What queer looking object that is NJ
on the fence near Tom, said Lily
Il would think it was human man only II
seems so flung up on that top ran that II
looks like an old bundle of third-rate, cast
OIL clothing"
Just then it scratched down and alighted
on the ground, and it was man, III a hat
that spread ont over his head like a pancake,
and coat whose skirts clung closely to the
| dill ,'ldated trousers.
" hen she rang the bell for supper and the
men came up from the cornfield the poor OBJ
| iect came with them. ''He wants to work, y
said father, land for PHYS sake I'll give him
a Job to do. He neither drinks, nor smokes,
and he has poor family, and you know peo-
| pie must eat and wear clothes.
He was cleauly man, but very poor and
| addressed. lie had been n soldier during
the war and had lain sick i'll the hospital ut
| Nashville, and there was not much else that
| he ,uld talk about. He never wearied OF
| tel : what nice things they had to eat at
Ma lille, ''peach pie, an cherry pie. an ap-
| pie lie, an custard pie" and he would run
ish kinds OF pie before he got through with
his narrative. 1t was the only subject on
which he grew enthusiastic. Really, the
man became quite animated and handsome
| sometimes, while dilating on this lucious
theme. One time | asked him f he we're
sent to the hospital because of n wound
''Wuss an that was the compact answer,
had dyspepsia, ,wust kind; but then the
livin' was good, tell you, There want a
day but We had pies of all kinds; peach pie
an apple pie, an cherry pie. an custard pie
an mince pie. au' vinegar pie, an mutton
pie and veal pie, an an all sorts o pie
you could study up"
'Seems to me your diet was mt suitable
for sick man," said | with that disease,
you should have eaten rice and toast, and tea
and crackers, and perhaps beef tea, don't
know. Pie is indigestible and would only
aggravate your sickness
'Oh We had the 'Gestival kind tool for
got that sort when was a namin' them
over, said he.
Poor fellow he always wanted ''suthin' to
eat" before he went to bed, he said he had
''such gnaw" and ''goneness in his stom-
ach. He preferred pic for his nocturnal
lunch. and always gave him n generous
quarter. heartily disproved of it, but it
was no use to reason with poor creature ig-
norant of natures most inexorable laws.
Such persons are too wise to be taught, un-
less the primary lessons We're given in their
childhood by the mother. He knew so little
of the value of books that he estimated them
by their weight. When | saw this utter ig-
norance in a man vino had the privilege of
voting, l could have cried aloud with wall
ing voice. 1t was very pitiful. When he
looked at our library, the exclamations came
H. IL &. IL
al oath that came voluntarily-them man didn't
mean to swear. He had not the remotest
idea of the worth of books, what they cost
in money to the purchaser blessed
value as friends and companions and asso-
ciates, or what they cost the authors or COM
pliers. One day sat writing beside the
lounge and he came in and picked up Web
sters Unabridged and fairly roared out his
delight and amazement, as he said, ''Oh,
did you ever heit it, gracious, it's as heavy
as that big cheese they had down to Nash
villei Sometimes they gave US cut, long
with apple pie, or peach pie, or cherry pie,
or custard pie, or mince pie, or vinegar pie,
liver pie, or any of the other sorts. We had
powerful variety of pies. l used to eat
many a time until my jacket lit like the bark
on a tree
Il SAID, what do you think that book
cost"
well. said he, my first guess would be
quarter. He was almost petrifed with
anlazement when | told him, and when |
added that its value was not to be counted or
compared with silver and gold; he looked at
me pityingly with his tender, cow-y eyes and
said: why, you can't eat it, an you can't
wear it; so its not of much account, think.
If 1t was mine Ia give it for good ill o
mutton pie any .ay. Then "hefting' 1t
with both his hands, and feeling that he
should remark to say" something, he added,
'Spect there's more stories in it than | could
tell If | sot mp all night, and I'm called II
regla ole spinner. Wy in the hospital some
on us d set an tell stories till leven or nine
O'Clock nights, an then we'd eat pie or
two II we could get EN-, an | tell YOU now,
We had good times"
A brother came home from college while
the pie man was here, and the poor man
would sit entranced and listen to the stories
of student life. He could not fairly under
stand them, but he could comprehend enough
to entertain him royalty. When we laughed,
he laughed too; his tinkling laugh would
caper along as musically AS the How of Il rip
pling meadow brook.
1t was pitiful to see that mall, past the
meridian Of life. sitting with i..- thin, blank,
peaked face, and pale blue watery eyes, and
round little shoulders. and skinny shanks
his expressionless. talony hands lying on his
legs, which were crossed like two sticks
while near him was the studious young man
who had worked and toiled long years for the
honOrs and successes that had crowned his
graduation day. The contrast was SO gleat
that II was painful to look upon.
One evening We all sat listening to the
stories of student life, OF the trials and temp
tations, and of the beautiful and exalted
| friendship that united members of the same
class, and the silence that followed the touch
ing recital was broken by the weak voice OF
the poor man saying: NOW I'll tell a story
bout Jack an the bean stalk"
He began and told the story that he had
heard on his mothers knee, just word for
word, lcrhaps as she had henrd ii while u
child IN her mothers arms.
All these stories are translations from the
German, and because OF their respectable
parentage they claim an interest everywhere.
We all sat and listened. There was some
thing weird and dreamy. and the monoton-
Gus chanting voice had music in it that was
like wild witchery. "Hitchety -hatchety, up
go hitchety-hatchety. down | go. was
| like refrain of elfsh music in the tree tops,
or away IN the caverns of the Genii down
| deep III the ground afar III the wild depths oi
! the haunted summer woods. Not a smile
| crept over our faces.
| How could We smile The poor man il
| his kindness OF heart was willing TO enter
tain us TO the best OF his ability. He wanted
to do his share. He brought ont the rarest
| and best that his humble means afforded
Not one of us could do any more than that
| 10 add to the evenings entertainment anC
please the man told an anecdote with a
| 90 L., Of
ty, and to make spicy the informal entertain
ment, then he frightened quite cheerily and
snng Il song, one OF those old, old ones that
our great grandparents used to sing on occa
SONS of rejoicing. and to which they trippet
i'll the dances on the old cabin floor.
He worked II few days for US, and when ht
lett he had siX dollars IN his pocket, the i'll
ner man was refreshed and invigorated, and
the parcel he carried on his arm contained
three or four pies, which gave him becaus,
he So dearly loved them.
In n week he came back looking like a for
lorn old buzlard His eyes were pulled
down and the corners of his mouth dropped
| Suggestive, the pancake hat was tlutter thar
e"er. and the clothing that Tapped about hi,
nttenuated form hung i'll strings snd tatters
He might us well have fallen among thieves
poor fellow. He had met with some verl
|
but unfortunate. They were all fond OF pie
they had an innate weakness for pie washe(
down with whiskey. They likewise were GU
of money aud had nothing but very valu
able silver watch, the glit To one from hi
dying mother, who was first cousin 10 Queer
Victoria but she had lost her titles and vas
estates 10y marrying poor artist.
The pic-Inan took the watch and gave al
the money that he nad left after ministerlnl
to these unfortunate wuyiarera They sni
the hoped tod would bless him, and cntreat
ed HIM to remember them. The man VIII
had pawned the dear old family heirloom
would write TO the pie-man and redeem til
pledge ns soon as he landed III the city q
New York Some of the wealIhlest and mos
influential ciizcns there were his relative
and friends. They, too, would rememhc
the pic-nau. Their gratitude would mani
fest itself substantially. They were me
who had hearts. They appreciated homes
worth even though its pnsscssor huttered i