Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1911-09-13
TFIE.TIN
PEDDLER
He Was Chock Full of
Romance
By F. A. Mitchell
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.
By r. A. Mitchell

station in life or their occupation. L
am an exception to that rule. l de-
light in my work, and yet l am only
a tin peddler.
For heavens sake, why are you sat
listed to be a tin peddler?
For paradoxical reason. | am
full of ideality and romance.
Ideality and romance III a tin ped
der! Nonsense!
Yes; listen to me and l will prove To
you that there can be romance even
in tin peddler. And because there
is romance in me l enjoy my work.
1t gives me opportunity to dream t0T
instance, l drive my pedding wagon
along a road of a bright spring morn
ing. Tie air is laden with the fra
GRANGE of opening buds. The birds
are chirping in the trees, fitting here
and there, one carrying bit OF straw
another a string, another horSehalr
with which to build their nests. Ihey
are chattering at each other just as
Dersons would do who were building
n house. White clouds are rolling
along silently on the horizon. On my
left forest trees rear their topmost
branches as If reaching toward the
blue sky, where a hawk is sailing. On
nv right and beneath me lies lake.
Around about the country is patch
work of farms dotted with houses.
was driving my wagon one even
ing in October, looking for place IN
which to spend the night. The woods
were at.ame with patches Of yellow or
scarlet. My eye was resting, as |
supposed. on one of these, deep red.
but I'm another moment I saw that II
was the setting sun shining on win
dOwpane. l drove on toward 1t ana
stopped at a little farmhouse beside
the road.
Hitching my team to the post before
the gate, | went to the door and knock
ed There was no answer Looking
about. saw no signs of life. missed
chickens scratching in the yard, chill
dren's playthings on the porch, the
bark of a dog. The barn was CLOSED
and locked The place was deserted.
Finding a window where the curtain
not hanging perpendicularly. left al
opening through which / could lool
inside. | saw that the house was fur
nished. 1 was peering into the LIVING
room. There were a center table,
little library of books, lounge, Will
in a fireplace were andirons on Whlc
were logs ready to be kindled.
The twilight was deepening and II
went on l might be obliged to rid
miles in the dark before finding an
other place to stop for the night. &
breaking a pane of glass l could I'LL
lock Il window, raise it and effect a
entrance It remained to be seen If
could put my team into the barn.
succeeded In both. Having stabbed M
horses and fed them-there was fodde
at hand-I entered the house. Havin
lighted the fire on the hearth, | e1
plOred every room. The beds Wer
made" though they gave evidence
having remained 50 for a long whii
There were provisions in the larde
but time had rendered them useless
Fortunately | carried my own lunc
hamper After finishing my eXplOr;
tiGHs | brought some water from tt
well and. sitting before the crackln
fire, ate my supper.
For a long while I sat and dreame
of those who had occupied this hOuS
and why it had been deserted. II
appearance was not that Of haYIl
been left temporarily. 1t rather ga
evidence Of having been left numb
of years before. Who We're these pc
pie?
I've heard it said that there are &C
tain scientists who from seeing DO,
can tell the animal Of which it form
part. SO did l begin from my 81
rOundingS to form theories as to w
had occupied this house. There we
DO toys; therefore there We're no ch
dren. There were a few mems q,
a few wOmenS garments; thereto
there must have been a married &C
ple. On the wall among other pictU
Was one Of those stiff photographs @
sees in the cOuntry-and, for that III
ter, among city folks-of a bridal G.
pie. ! inferred that it was q liken'
Of those who had occupied the pre-
Uses. There were pictures Of old ?
young persons, evidently the faith
aud mothers Of relatives of the br
and groom.
Ny first theory was that the no
had been occupied by young MARI
couple; that one had died and
other Rad shut M the house Just 81
was and gone elsewhere. Secondly
fancied that the couple who lived il
had euarreled and both left it to
away by different paths. Thirdly,
ticinr the photograph Of sour lc
ing old woman, I concluded that
family had been broken UP by m'
erin law. Rummaging in an old d.
/ came upon a check book, figures
fhe stubs of which indicated that
bank account it represented was Ia
" overdrawn. This led me to fo'
the0ry-that the occupants had
fered from financial difficulty and
was the cause of the house hay