The Washington herald., 1911-08-20
coPYRIGHr BY JAMES gLvsRsoS

IIVU days. The winding road. the brook,
the pendulous locust bowers, the
shining elms, with their long shadows
and happy orioles; the open doors,
the barrels, the cheese boxes, the sshoyeis,
ralxes brooms and mop handles on the white
pine steps; the glass jars OF candies and pep
Permints in the window the crockey ware,
cart man. with his fat old lazy horse and
jingling bells; the loungers, the gray story,
tel1crs, the farm hands in hurry, the old
woman with eggs-who that was ever accus-
toned to see this pastoral bazaar does not
recall it. and some perhaps with Sigh for the
simplicity of rural life which it brings to
mindg
The amusing characters Of the old, country
store were those who strove to make sharp
called Every old country neighborhood had
some shrinking soul who came to receive this
title, and the Incidents telling of. such sharp
In sharp bargains, the elderly women usually
matched the men. but such was not the case
in the present story, which we think is not
equsled in the old towns by that OF any
The old Colony Road, between Boston and
Plymouth. had such stores as we have de
scIibed, at regular intervals. and the tales OF
penurious people which. used to be related
upon their cracker barrels would fill volumes.
The sharpest bargain that we ever heard ,of
in one of these stores, was related to us by
an old storekeeper, and was nearly as follows
"Ol all the men that ever had any doings
with" began this leisurely man, in the old
terms which were common TO such country
stores, Solomon Short was the capper. We
used to call him SOL for short-exeuse the
The old storekeeper was hearty man. 1t
requires genius to know how to keep a store.
He had an honest, open face for, like the
early New England small tradesmen he had
conducted his business with honor, and was,
A., he xxyo0 10 aIx Gah1. -
keep his head up" iin meeting when the "par-
He had shaggy gray hair, .tnfted eyebrows,
and a smile that might have hidden the whole
views. Of the conduct of the weak and frail,
that he seldom lost customer.
The children had loved to look in at his
door, on their way to and from school; even
the dogs would visit him unbidden with
confident wag of the tail; and on Sunday,
when the store was closed the people from
the Poor Farm would rest on his steps with
a friendly feeling on the hot midsummer days,
and talk OF the sermon and breathe the air
scented with the clover meadows.
Ihe old storekeeper continued his homely
".Sol was forehanded, and one of the prop
erty people. He had well-stocked farm, and
didn't owe, anybody anything. He was al
ways o. little near, and SO was his father be-
fore him, for that matter but as he grew
CID and welIto-do he became more frugal
a
said. broke with him at last once 1 must
tell you the reason
Zone Fourth Of July morning. after I'd
been kept up late at night selling iire-crackers,
lemons, gimcraclSs and things, heard hard
rap at the door. It was not yet four o'clock,
but the light was breaking. I wanted to take
one more nap, for the night had been hot.
and had been kept awake, so put my head
out of the window and asked:
"'Who's there?
oh, Soil Come down! have a bargain
for .yyoup
Can't. I'm goin' to the doin's. I've
trade for you. Come down, ! say! Come
IL dressed impatiently enough and went
down W. into the store and opened the door.
you a fresh-laid egg It's staver, amt Il? I?
Well ! want to trade it off for darnin'-
needle. See here, my gallowses are all ravel-
way
II gave him the needle and he land the
egg into box on the counter He fingered.
must go and get another nap said J.
Hold on said he. What's your hurry!