392 



N E W E N G L .A N D F A R Ai E R 



ISCtLLANEOUS 



JINE 13, ,S39. 



We give belo«- some extracts from the letter of 

 a valued friend who removed not long since from 

 this country to England, which give some graphic 

 sketches of American beggars in that country, and 

 the condition of things in tliat country, which will 

 be read with pleasure from its sprightliness and hu- 

 'nor. H. C. 



"This Is a strange out-of-the-way old-fashioned 

 place : I know no more of the doings of the world 

 when I am at home, than if I were out of it. I give 

 myself wholly to my new profession: my daily tall; 

 is of corn and cattle — long fleeces and fat sheep- 

 crops, cropping, manures and farui machinery. I 

 sit almost at the feet of the laboring hinds to gather 

 the valuable knowledge they possess. What arro- 

 gance to call such men ignorant ! Why, my dear 

 friend, I would almost give my ears to know as 

 much as some of these miscalled "ignorant peas- 

 antry." These Immble men are many of them well 

 stored with that productive knowledge, without 

 which we should all be savages, and tills- fair world 

 a wilderness. '! ell me, friend, how much "belles 

 lettrej" will It take to fill a man's belly ? Thai's 

 a poser : I know thee can't tell. Then don't call 

 those men ignorant that can tell how to produce 

 forty bushels of corn [wheat] to the acre. But 

 come — this smells rather strong of the new shop. 

 Among the novelties of this jdace may be re- 

 marked the incredible number of American beggars 

 --American beggars ! ! methinks 1 hear thee say. 

 Yea, friend — American .beggars. They verily 

 swarm at times, in this far off, long-forj^atten nook 

 of the world. How they find the place passes my 

 com])rehension. But so it is. I have seen more 

 beggars professing to be Americans, in the few 

 weeks I have been here, than all I saw put tooeth- 

 er during the two and twenty years I have lived in 

 the United States. Almost every week till lately, 

 have some of these gentry paid me a visit. I sup. 

 pose I have seen the whole gang, and they will 

 just stay away till I have forgotten their faces, and 

 then round they will come again. They, are all of 

 one character — shipwrecked American sailors for- 

 sooth ! iiud they tell such (air tales of Boston and 

 Salem and all down east, that in spite of my better 

 convictions, they are sure to wriggle sometiiingout 

 of me ; — and the rogues pay me such fine compli- 

 ments. " Sir," snid one of them, " we heard of you 

 twelve miles off, and that you were an American, 

 or had lived many years in America, and we have 

 walked all these miles without breaking our fast to 

 see you." Could any appeal be more irresistible .' 

 If I say, why.don'tyou apply to the consul? they 

 have a ready answer — they were only cast away 

 the day before, or the ship they belonged to was 

 owned in Halifax or Quebec, or some other fiction. 

 Tlie truth is, not one in a hundred of these fellows 

 ever saw salt water. But such is the emigration 

 from England to the United States, that th'ere is 

 scarcely a family that has not some relative there. 

 The inhabitants of all rural districts imagine strange 

 romantic things about a shipwrecked sailor; hence 

 it becomes one of the best charactprs to assume; 

 and now these fellows contrive to pull two strings 

 upon the sympathies of the kind-hearted and cred- 

 ulous country people— first as shipwrecked sailors; 

 but best of all, as shipwrecked .American sailors; 

 and they very well know how to give the hint— ^ 

 " God bleis you — I hope none of your kin may nev- 

 er know want," is a common salutation ; and if tlie 



old lady addressed happen to have a son in Ameri- 

 ca, as like enough she has, away flies her heart af- 

 ter the wanderer, and her hand involuntarily into 

 her pocket, while the beggar proceeds— "Hojie 

 you will take pity upon us, poor .American sailors, 

 shipwrecked last week on the coast of Norfolk— all 

 hands perished but us two— hope no son of yours 

 may ever want a morsel of bread." T3y this time, 

 the power of association has conjured up the much- 

 loved kindred in the far off wilds of America, crav- 

 ing charity for aught tliat is known, at American 

 hand.». 'I he heart of the good old lady is verily 

 melted and the rogues make a fine haul. 



-Mendicancy has certainly diminished in this coun- 

 try during the last twenty years ; but still there is 

 much of it. In truth, there ought not to beany; 

 the ample provision of the poor laws, and the mu- 

 nificent charities of the English people, meet all 

 possible cases — It is curious to observe what shifts 

 the rogues adopt. Every now and then a forlorn 

 man or woman, with bag in hand, enquires if we 

 want to buy any corks. If I say no, the cork -sel- 

 ler instantly begins to beg, and it would be just 

 the same if I bought of them. Three or four doz- 

 en corks are a light load, and it makes them tra- 

 ders, and th'js they avoid'thn law against vagrants, 



having some visible mode of living. Last winter 



while two nren were thrashing for °mo in my barn, 

 a great sturdy fellow came up with a basket of 

 matches on his arm— " Hallo old chap !" said one 

 of the thrashers, "come take this flail and I'll take 

 that basket— let's chmge trades." 'I he fellow 

 leered under his old slouch hat, and in right 2-ood 

 earnest replied, "I'd sooner go and hang°mys"elf." 

 On the course of .some of the canalsin York- 

 shire, there are long tunnels cut through the lime- 

 stone rock. When canal boats arrive at one of 

 these, the boatmen never work their own boats 



through, but always liire men for the purpose 



These men, at their work, lie flat on their backs, 

 on the cargo or dpck of the boat, and striking their 

 feet against the roof of the tunnel, urge the boat 

 forward ; hence they are called purchase men. A- 

 mong these was one long John Bell, a notorious 

 fellow, who stood six feet four without his shoes. 

 He made an excellent purchase-man, but it does 



not appear that ho was made for anything else. 



During the long frost of last winter, the canals 

 were all frozen up, and of course, the purchase-men 

 were out of employment Some took to one trade 

 and some to another; but honest John Bell could 

 think of nothing that he could do, unless it was to 

 set up for a deaf and dumb man I And as necessi- 

 ty has no law, or in other words, as long John be- 

 gan to grow hungry, out he starts in his chosen 

 profession. One of the first places at which he 

 stopped was in the village of Harthill, at the house 

 of ime parson Alderson, a ir.ost exemplary clero-y. 

 man, steward to the late duke of Leeds, and The 

 amiable almoner of many of his charities. The 

 clergyman was roused from his study by a servant 

 who reported that there was a strange man making 

 stiange signs at the kitchen door. And sure e" 

 nough, there was Johnny Bell performing the first 

 acts of his pantomine— cutting all sorts of imagina- 

 ble "shines"— awkward enough to be sure, but all 

 of them tolerably significant of an empty stomach. 

 The keen eye of the parson instantly detected some 

 "gillery," but he kept his own counsel, called for 

 a table spoon, and mounting a chair, made signs 

 for long John to drop his under jaw, and for some 

 time pretended to amuse himself by an anatomical 

 examination of the animal's tongue, turning it over 



and over as a cook would turn a flounder in a fry- 

 ing pan. At last he expressed himself entirely 

 satisfied— ordered the cook to give the man a good 

 dinner, and to be sure to set a jug of the best ale 

 before him ; and then like a gentleman, retired, 

 leaving the dumb man to enjoy his viands and vic- 

 tory. By the time, however, that Ion? John had 

 pretty well lined his long jacket, down again came 

 the clergyi;ian and began to give various'directions 

 to his servants. The instant these were given, he 

 turns to our hero, and in a tone of the most silvery 

 blandness says, » And how long, my poor man, have 

 you been deaf and dumb ?" "Mout three years, 

 sn," replied John, with the most drawling sirnplici- 

 ty imaginable; altogether thrown off his guard by 

 the iniMiiess of the clergyman's behaviour" and the 

 sedative effects of the beef and ale. Parson Al- 

 derson, like all the best church of England clero-y- 

 men that ever I knew or heard of, was a bit of a 

 wag, and the success of his own stratagem so well 

 pleased him. that he merely admonished the scoun- 

 drel, and gave him half a crov,-n to carry him out of 



SOUlldill£rs." 



BOXE iHAJVURE. 



Tbe subscriher inform, his fri.nds .n-l ihe pul.lie, Ihnt 

 alter len years experience, he is fullv convinced ihnt "ronn I 

 hones lorm the nmsl powerful sli.nulanl that can he applied 

 10 Ihe earth as a manure. ' "^ 



He keeps con.,tanlly nn hand a supply of Ground Bone 

 and solicits Ihe patronage ol the asrieullural commnniw' 

 l-rxe al ihe Mill 35 cents°per hushel ;'pu> up in caTs?,"? d t 

 i--ered al any part of ,he ci.y at 40 cent.s per hushel, and no 

 charge lor caslcs or carting. 



Alsn, ground Ovster Shells. 



Orders left at the Bone Mill, near TremonI road, in RoT- 

 hury at the ^ew England Agricultural Warehouse ami 

 ^eed Store, No 52 IMonh .Market Street, or through "he Pos 

 UJhce will receive prompt attention 



'^'''"'' '^'- mUVm WARD. 



FOR KEW YORkT^ 



Cabin Fare $3 00~Deck Fare $1 50. 

 T»-e Steamer JOHN W. RICHMOND, Capt. Wm. H 



™tif^DA\-tMro'ci™k:'r^! °" ''^'^^^^'^ ^^^ 



2 o^L'k!p V" "'" '"'""•"''•"^Boston at half past 

 J'l'mdays and ThuysdavB, will he her regular days of leav- 

 ing ProTtdcnce. nntil luiher notice. 

 ^^For further information, apply to S. Q. Cockhan, 30 Con- 



N. B. Freight taken at 6 cents per cuhic foot 

 June 5. 



BRUSS.\ MULKERRY. 



\^"i}^ lot of B-TOinnc Brussa Wulherry S,cd just received 

 at the New Enshjod Agricultural Warehouse and Seed So, e 

 Nos. 51 and 53 North Murket Street This species of M^l' 

 berry flourishes best in high and even ;,oo-S and t 

 more likely to endure ihe rigors of our severe Sirs and 

 not so subject >o the effect of the frost, as 'rees brrgh from 

 more southern latitudes, or warmer climes 



The leaws of the Morns alba of Brus>a", are said to con- 

 tain a much grenler quantity of saccharine matter, than anv 

 other ol the white species, and moreover, the leaf is much 

 larger ban those of Italy and Spain ; it is also a hardy tee 

 severe ^'''"^ ™^'"* '" '^'''"°'". ^^ere the frosts are 



M the annual fair of the American Institute, at New 

 , "'■''■ !",V?i'"'l"^'- last, specimens of the leaves of the Brussa 

 tree, ol different yeais' growth, were exhibited, and excited 

 universal approhaiion. and the Institute awarded a 'silver 

 medal for the introducUon of this invajuahle tree, observing 

 m he report ot the committee, "that these with every new 

 and uselul plant calculated to wuhstand the rigors of our 

 climate, are worthy of attention, and those introducing them 

 into our country, deserve to be placed on the catalogue of 

 our countrv's benefactors." ' 



May 22. 



THE NEW ENUl.A^D PARKIER^ 



Is puimshed everj- Wednesday Evening, at S3 per anmini 

 payaWe at the end of the year-hut ihosi' who U wh m 

 si.vty days from the time of subscribing are entitled to a de- 

 duction of 59 cents- I" « u« 



TUTTLE, DENNETT AND CHISHOLM, PRINTERS, 



17 SCHOOL STREET BOSTON 



