ly. William Richardson was not an exception. When he had fed the cattle for night, brought in the night's wood, a turn

, while she sat spinning at her flax-wheel, that he dropped a good many ears of corn into the

scrape, scrape, scrape. At length his wife saw, as the cobs he had been from time to time flin

ue

g

, Wil

could get along

shop the greater part of the time; I haven't had '

do without 'e

s.

a pair of blacksmi

'em, h

along without t

couldn't clea

ape, scrape, scrape,

ue

el

ong without one

hat in the world ca

ke a h

as well without bo

n the fire; we could put a rock under that, and the rest of

get[Pg 44] along very well, I dare sa

ou spun lo

es

will go

roke up, work came in, and he felt the need of the tongs more than ever, as the children were at school, and it

old axe, and mortised it into the block, edge up: upon this he cou

for doing it. "I feel," said he to his wife, "as though I was sheep-stealing: it seems real mean to strip

n we thought we needed the tongs, and got John Drew to make them; and now, if yo

g

he reverse, as the legs of the house tongs were shaped like the human leg and thigh, largest at the fork, and tapering towards the feet, where they terminated in a large, oval lip, very thick a

found that he did not need more t

nd when I get some new iron, put on new l

are made of steel, or, at least, pointed with it; but he had no steel, except his tools and a file, that he needed to sharpen his saws and augers, and could not do[Pg 46] without. He knew that an iron punch would answer the purpose; but where should he get the iron to make it of, for he had now discovered that he needed two pairs of tongs, in order to take two pieces of iron from the fire at the same time, to weld,

plished, that the big man capered around the shop f

thanksgiving to-day, for I have two

arent. Returning to the shop, William took up what remained of the punch, and exclaiming, "A blacksmith has the advantage of a carpenter, for he can work up his chips," made a hook.

hook at his waist; the iron, also, was not slipping out of the tongs and dropping on the ground, every three or four blows. He could now work

he began to think about making a hammer; so he cut off sufficient iron from one of the andirons, lapped it over, welded it, and formed the body of the tool. But in this a large hole was to be punched to receive a handle. It was n

have a good mind to take one of the teeth out of your[Pg 48] flax-comb-they are s

diron; we might as well have a stone under the ends of both as

emporary purpose, and that when it was battered up, he could hammer it back again. He now was able to do all the work his neighbors brought, and in half the time required before.

't get a proper heat with the house-bellows." H

on in the fire, and one of them became hot before the other, he could take it out, roll it in sand, and put it back, and the sand would keep it from burning up, while the other was getting ready. He likewise perceived that there was a great difference in the effect of heat upon the different kinds of ir

elf, since they were no longer obliged to go through the woods to the village for every little job

his work as they were to have it done; and the way for the grad

ensibly, and he felt that he could now, with the money he had saved by making his tools, the proceeds of his[Pg 50] butter, and other matters, and that which he had ea