124 MY LIFE [Chap. 



the British Museum, entitled, " The Tincker of Turvey, his 

 merry pastime from Billingsgate to Gravesend. The Barge 

 being freighted with mirth, and mann'd with Trotter the 

 tincker, Yerker a cobbler, Thumper a smith, and other merry 

 fellows, every one of them telling his tale " (dated, London, 

 1630, 4to). There is a verse on the signboard as follows : — 



" The Tinker of Turvey, his dog, and his staff, 

 Old Nell with her Budget will make a man laugh." 



This may, perhaps, be taken from the old pamphlet, 

 which certainly proves that "The Tinker of Turvey" was a 

 character known before Bunyan's time, and as the tales told 

 by the tinker and his companions are said to be exceedingly 

 coarse, they were probably well known in country places, 

 and the name would seem appropriate for an inn in the 

 village named. It is possible, however, that the sign may 

 have been first painted at a later date, and as Bunyan would 

 no doubt have been well known at Turvey, as at other villages 

 round Bedford, where he was accustomed to preach, he may 

 have been represented or caricatured as the Tinker of Turvey 

 on the signboard. 



In this inn we had the use of a large room on the ground- 

 floor, also used as a dining-room for the rare visitors requiring 

 that meal, and in the evening as a farmers' room, where two 

 or three often dropped in for an hour or two, while once a 

 week there was a regular farmers' club, at which from half a 

 dozen to a dozen usually attended. While at Barton I had 

 become well acquainted with the labourers, mechanics, and 

 small village shopkeepers ; I here had an equal opportunity 

 of observing how well-to-do farmers occupied their leisure. 

 These seemed to be rather a serious class, whose conversation 

 was slow, and devoted mainly to their own business, especially 

 as to the condition of their sheep, how their " tegs " were getting 

 on, or of a fat sheep being cast — that is, turned over on its 

 back, and vainly struggling to get up again, when, if not seen 

 and helped, they sometimes died. Most of the time was spent 

 in silent smoking or sipping their glasses of ale or of spirits 



