CHAPTER X.
THE TIN-PEDLER.
Those of my readers who live in large cities are probably not familiar with the travelling tin-pedler, who makes his appearance at frequent intervals in the country towns and villages of New England.
His stock of tinware embraces a large variety of articles for culinary purposes, ranging from milk-pans to nutmeg-graters.

These are contained in a wagon of large capacity, in shape like a box, on which he sits enthroned a merchant prince.

Unlike most traders, he receives little money, most of his transactions being in the form of a barter, whereby be exchanges his merchandise for rags, white and colored, which have accumulated in the household, and are gladly traded off for bright tinware.

Behind the cart usually depend two immense bags, one for white, the other for colored rags, which, in time, are sold to paper manufacturers.

It may be that the very paper on which this description is printed, was manufactured from rags so collected.
Abner Bickford was the proprietor of such an establishment as I have described.