Farm echoes . ed con-trast with that of a New York physician, who recognizedthe occasion as one that warranted his laying aside pro-fessional etiquette, and who most faithfully endeavoredto restore the sick man to health. The name, Uncle Bill, having become a favorite onewith me, I gave it to one of my farm hands, whosepicture is on the following page. It is an excellent like-ness of one who was quite as original in his way as wasthe fisherman. Soon after I assigned this name to him, he said to me:I am glad you call me Uncle Bill.—Why ? I in-quired.—Because some of these days some strangerswil
Farm echoes . ed con-trast with that of a New York physician, who recognizedthe occasion as one that warranted his laying aside pro-fessional etiquette, and who most faithfully endeavoredto restore the sick man to health. The name, Uncle Bill, having become a favorite onewith me, I gave it to one of my farm hands, whosepicture is on the following page. It is an excellent like-ness of one who was quite as original in his way as wasthe fisherman. Soon after I assigned this name to him, he said to me:I am glad you call me Uncle Bill.—Why ? I in-quired.—Because some of these days some strangerswill be passing and hear you call me Uncle Bill, and theywill think that you are my nephew. One day he asked me why he was like the Duke ofDevonshire. Confessing my ignorance, he informedme : Because the Duke has his summer residence andhis winter residence, and so have I. Pointing to thefarm house where he lived in the summer, and then tomy dwelling, which he took charge of during my sojourn 5£ FAEM UNCLE BILL. FAEM ECHOES. 59 in Philadelphia, he added : That is my Chatsworth,and that is my Ardwick Hall. He startled a memberof my family one day, who questioned him in regard tothe disappearance of sundry young chickens, by sayingthat the ox had eaten them.—Surely oxen dont eatchickens, Uncle Bill.— Oh, no, maam ; not the hoxen,but, you know, the ox.—A further explanation revealedthe fact that the hawks had made off with some of mypoultry. Uncle Bill looked and felt old. He was an old man,but not in years. The hardships and exposures ofhis life, much of it spent in deep coal mines in England,had been such as to make him prematurely Aslight lameness, caused by an accident in a coal pit,made him appear the more infirm. It was a source of nolittle gratification to him to realize that he had my fullestconfidence. As a faithful watcher over the interests en-trusted to him, he prized the title of My old watchdog. Woe to those whom he detected neglecting dutyon
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidcu319, booksubjectfarmlife
