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To one fine Monday morning I bolted off to a shoemakers &
agreed with him to come a month on trial to be instructed in the art and mystery
of shoemaking. So while the old people at home thought I was at school I was
engaged at cobbling away at old boots and shoes. This man’s name was “Vine” and
I was afterwards apprenticed to him. Between the time I left school and my
apprenticeship, I used to take the bread to some customers of my Fathers in some
of the neighbouring villages, on these occasions I had the use of one of my
Father’s horses which had formerly been used as a hunter. On one occasion which
though laughable in itself, might have been the means of breaking a leg, arm, or
even my neck. The way in which the bread was conveyed was as follows: a pad was
strapped on the horse to which was attached a basket or pair of hampers into
which the bread was put and I mounted on the pad in front. Going along in this
style one day I noticed the hounds throwing off in a copse, down in the valley
about half a mile off. Presently the fox broke cover and running against wind,
made way right across the valley and up the hill in front of me, the Hounds,
Huntsmen & Field in full cry after him. The old hunter no soon heard the well
know Yo-Ho-Tally Ho, when he pricked up his ears cocked up his tail and
determined to be in at the death, away he went at a devil of a pace with the
bread hampers and myself on his back. Out came the quarterns & half quaterns out
from the baskets, into which I was thrown head foremost, the field laughing fit
to burst for my legs were cocked up in the air. However I managed to scramble
out and fell a jolly thump on the ground. The horse going faster than ever,
whether he got in at the death, I don’t know for I was about frightened to death
& had to look after the scattered loaves. A friend of my Fathers happened to see
the affair, rode after the horse and presently brought him back to me so to make
the best of a bad job. I got all the broken bread together, trotted round to the
customers and was rather surprised to hear them refuse to take it in. On this I
made the best of anyway home, with the horse in a devil of a sweat and my Father
in a deuce of a passion with me for going out a hunting. I now settled down to
learn any trade to which I had been apprenticed. My master always treated me
very kindly and was a very humane ma,n but I cannot say so much for my fellow
apprentice who was of a morose and surly temper. I having a new suit, he was
always borrowing my tools without my consent. One day he had taken a new pair of
my pincers and was knocking in some nails with them when I remonstrated, just
touching him on the fingers with them as they were returned. He got up in a
passion, seized a sharp shoemakers knife and gave me a stab in the arm, which
has left a scar to this day. He did not get the best of me long though, for I
immediately seized the iron foot and broke his head with it, after which my
brother “James” tarred him out and that ended the matter summarily. I was
apprenticed for four years, but only remained two in consequence of the fall out
I had with him. I then went to Yetminster, a village about eight miles distant
and engaged to work for a man, well known to my parents, at weekly salary of 4
shillings. With my new master I used to attend Yeovil market in Somersetshire,
where he kept a stall and of which I considered myself almost sole proprietor
and on many occasions supplied the servant girls with boots, for which they
generally proved truly grateful. While my master was getting drunk at the
public, which boots he never missed, in consequence of his being able to see
double on his return. I soon got tired of this employment and wanted fresh scope
for rising my talents, but nothing else turning up, I soon accepted a situation
again at the same place with a Mr. Arnold, Farmer & Shoemaker in which both I
had the extreme felicity of taking a walk over the farm occasionally and making
and repairing the understandings of the natives. My master played the bass viola
at the church and I possessing a small portion of vocal talent, agreed to
contribute my quato to the harmony, but one day my voice breaking down I am
sorry to say soon got kicked out for my exertions. I therefore got disgusted
with my master and his big fiddle and returned to breathe the fresh air of my
native town for a short time where I soon got an engagement to another apostle
of St. Christben who lived in a house called Noahs Ark, but not at all after
thes tyle of the ancient one I believe. He like most other members of our trade
used occasionally to get drunk on Mondays and my mistress used to send me out to
take charge of him sometimes. I shall never forget her sending me to a
neighbouring village called Maiden Newton, we took home about seven pounds worth
of work and my orders from my mistress was to leave him with ten shillings and
return home directly with the rest. We took some slight refreshment, made a hole
in the ten shillings and by this time master was half seas over, so he swore
unless I gave him back the remainder of the money, I may expect to find myself
walking home without my head. This frightened me so that I was afraid to return
home, so we stopped three days during which time we enjoyed ourselves amazingly
and had several jolly fights with the Maiden Newtonites. I regret now being
mixed up with that affair especially when I call to mind the miller’s dog which
we sold on our way home for half a gallon of beer, having spent all the seven
pounds before we left the above village. This animal confiding in our good
nature and seeing us about to start on a journey, licked his chops, wagged his
tail, and nearly laughed out right when we called him to go with us, but when
the old miller found it out and was about to serve us with a summons. We began
to laugh on the other side of our faces, but strange to say about this time, the
dog returned and just saved our bacon. My usual luck again attended me for
business going wrong at home, my father left the county for London, where he
afterwards settled. Previous to this, James my eldest brother, entered into the
Royal Artillery so I took leave of him for a long time. After my Father left I
got another job in the snobbing line at Dorchester, this suited me amazingly and
should have most likely remained for some time but for the following incident.
In our small town we never used gas and consequently I was unacquainted with
it’s use. So one night my master told me to put out the gas, when in the
simplicity of any mind I screwed up my mouth and after a good deal of puffing
and blowing I blew it out, which imprudent act nearly blew up my master and his
establishment and of course blew one clean out of my berth. So to prevent any
more gas explosions, I took it in my head to start out at once for the
Metropolis, convinced that this resolution would sooner or later be the means of
pushing forward. With this view I therefore packed up my traps and took rail for
London, in which I soon arrived and determined to give up the sedentary pursuit
of making shoes, I got a berth at Clapham as groom to a gentleman and to drive
him up to town in his dog cart every morning. This suited me to a nicety and
perhaps should have been there now had not another little incident occurred,
which with my usual run of fortune, made me run away again too. Some how or
other, girls always got one into scrapes. Next door to us there was a nice
little “Welsh” girl by the name of J------S, who took into her head to be
always looking and sniffing about after me. She also very kindly supplied me
with cigars from her masters box in return for which I conferred sundry little
favours on her. Many a bunch of grapes have I had from her out of her Governor’s
green house, but it got wind at last and poor girl she had to leave and go home.
This was when she told her Father I was the individual who had made her appear
in such an interesting situation. Her father accusing me of this (of course
wrongfully) and his threatening to shoot me, induced me to leave, so I left dog
cart, horse and master to seek another Coachman. |