ed
country.

It proved to his more staid and veteran brother, that Jared was the only
one of his family likely to get above his bread and business; but, while
he lamented the wanderings and follies of his brother, he could not help
enjoying a sentiment of pride as he looked more closely into the matter.
"Who knows," thought the clockmaker to himself, "but that Jared, who is
a monstrous sly fellow, will pick up some southern heiress, with a
thousand blackies, and an hundred acres of prime cotton-land to each,
and thus ennoble the blood of the Bunces by a rapid ascent, through the
various grades of office in a sovereign state, until a seat in
Congress--in the cabinet itself--receives him;"--and Ichabod grew more
than ever pleased and satisfied with the idea, when he reflected that
Jared had all along been held to possess a goodly person, and a very
fair development of the parts of speech. He even ventured to speculate
upon the possibility of Jared passing into the White House--the dawn of
that era having already arrived, which left nobody safe from the
crowning honors of the republic.

Whether the individual of whom so much was expected, himself entertained
any such anticipations or ideas, we do not pretend to say; but, certain
it is, that the southern candidate for the popular suffrage could never
have taken more pains to extend his acquaintance or to ingratiate
himself among the people, than did our worthy friend the pedler. In the
brief time which he had passed in the village after the arrest of
Colleton, he had contrived to have something to say or do with almost
everybody in it. He had found a word for his honor the judge; and having
once spoken with that dignitary, Bunce was not the man to fail at future
recognition. No distance of manner, no cheerless response, to the
modestly urged or moderate suggestion, could prompt him to forego an
acquaintance. With the jurors he had contrived to enjoy a sup of whiskey
at the tavern bar-room, and had actually, and with a manner the most
adroit, gone deeply into the distribution of an entire packet of
steel-pens, one of which he accommodated to a reed, and to the fingers
of each of the worthy twelve, who made the panel on that
occasion--taking care, however, to assure them of the value of the gift,
by saying, that if he were to sell the article, twenty-five cents each
would be his lowest price, and he could scarcely save himself at that.
But this was not all. Having seriously