The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-04-19

any more Christian calling than that Of
peddler. these were questions that no one
seemed able to answer. There are 50 many
such creatures in our country, seemingly
alone in the world, wandering mp and
down, doing no harm and no good. dropped
down here and there, as it were, by Pr0vi-
dence in a fit Of Observation-Disclosures quite as
useless as the solitary gull on the surface
Of the broad ocean, and. like it, with no rest
ing place, doomed to be forever moving On.
Uncle Fedia made the tour of the villages,
and FIVE or six times year he and his lean
little nag, quite as rough and shaggy as HIM
self. were sure to show themselves at Mich
alowKa. There was more rore and tWlne
than leather in the harness which bound his
horse to the little old cart carrying his mer-
ChandiSe, 1t was queer turnout ana
queer driver, and possibly 1t was quite nat
ural that people shouldn't like Uncle Feqla.
In the first place he followed calling
which Christians usually abandon TO Jews
and BOhemianS, and TO look at the man and
his great shock Of irOn-gray hair, his tangled
beard, his patched clothing and hang-dog
air casual observer would be much more
likely to take him for one OF the worthless
vagabonds of the highway than to class him
among the hright-eyed, red-cheeked and So
berly clad Russian peasants.
Besides all this the peasants had Suspi-
cion that Uncle Fedia was given TO the prac-
tice OF witchcraft. Such nOmads as he were
almost invariably addicted to the black art,
else why DO they always carry hidden away
OF the bottom of their packs dream-bOoks.
sympathetic ink, magic pens and spy-glasses
with which one may see a man plainly
mile and a half away. Such fellows 20
everywhere, never missing house, arriving
al dusk and departing at daybreak. Is IL at
all astonishing that they should cast side
long glHnces At our children and cattle?
And grave accusations, too, were not I'M
frequently made against Uncle Fedia by the
inmates Of the manor houses in the district,
il often happening after some one had been
imprudent enough to give INN shelter over
night that things would be missing alter the
pedder had taken his leaye-a silver plate,
table cloth OF an ornament OF some kind.
Nor were the servants slow IN charging the
theft upon Fedia.
Last Of all, the peddler had the reputation
of being confirmed drunkard More than
once he had been picked up on the highway,
having been found lying under the very
wheels Of his cart. True, 1t does happen
that such men sometimes drop in the road
way on winter nights, overcome by fatigue
and cold, but ii was deemed quite sale TO
charge Fedia's accident to liquor. Nor did
il seem possible that braWl could take
place at one OF the tayerns without the con-
clusiou being reached, as we'll by the par
Elephants as police authorities, that the ped
dleT, whose passport was never quite regular,
was at the bottom of it, and the silent and
unsOciable outsider, who rarely exchanged
a friendly greeting with any one, was forth
with dragged out of his corner and pun
ished because his looks and actions were
against him. 1t was not surprising that the
children, taking their cue from their par
ents, should have soon learned to dread and
hate this man, and occasionally amuSe them
selves pelting him with stones and hootng
at him till, with one hand grasping his
horses head and his own bent TO shield his
face from the missiles, he urged his sorry nag
TO quicken its pace and escape without so
much as a word OF complaint or a gesture Of
anger. In short, among all these good