CHAPTER XIX. OLD ACQUAINTANCES. "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, BENJAMIN HADWIN.— A man exceed ingly fond of old costly books. He interested me mainly by his persistent efforts in hunting up valuable books stolen from the Redwood Library, and which were known to have been scattered, during the Revolutionary war, in several of the country towns, especially in Narragansett, Bristol, and Warren, and not a few even in Newport. I never saw a man more elated than was friend Hadwin, when he showed a folio volume, devoted to illustrations of English Heraldry. He hooked it, he said, from one of the best libraries in Newport. Nearly all of the folio volumes, the gifts of Abraham Redwood, were restored to the shelves of that unique library by Mr. Hadwin. I always felt that he deserved a niche amongst the contributors to probably the most ancient institution of the kind in the country. STEPHEN GOULD. A most excellent man, and highly respected, a member of the "Friends" community. His main business was watch cleaning and repairing. I delighted in visiting him, that I might observe the removal of the parts which held the watch-work together, and the adjustment of the hairspring and verge. Mr. Gould's disposition was so bland, and his conversation so agreeable, that I hardly passed a day without "dropping in." mind and a warm heart. tactics as antichristian, and unwarrantable exactions, he He had a good Holding military military fines as adopted the non resistant tenet held by the "Friends;" and, when visited by the clerk of a company with a bill for non-attendance at roll-call, he, Mr. Gould, would open a 'drawer, and go on with his work, leaving the officer to take as much. money as he pleased. I once offered to settle the bill for him; but he refused, as it would seem to the collector of the fines, that he tacitly consented to the justice of such claims. He never looked at the bill, nor even examined his money-drawer, in order to ascertain how much he had involuntarily parted with Mr. Gould was devotedly attached to the study of natural history. DAVID BUFFUM, SEN. He was an approved and gifted minister amongst "Friends." He was as conscientious in fulfilling his farming trusts, as in preaching the word. He was a guileless man, and of uncommon intellectual power. I went frequently to hear him at the fifth-day (Thursday) meetings, especially when a wedding was to come off. There was something in the manner of intoning the prayers and preaching at "Quaker meeting," which was very attractive. ་ The voice used in that way had a marvellous effect in enchaining the attention of the auditor. CLARKE RODMAN, also a "Friend," and already spoken of in these "Recollections," was a trustworthy servant of the town in the town clerk's department. He had a large family, all of whom bore scriptural names. His youngest son, Caleb, was a particular friend of mine. Mr. Rodman was quite clever, in the English use of that term: "A man severe he was, and stern to view; I knew him well, and every truant knew; I sometimes thought he would have been more lenient, had his smoking propensities been less enslaving. I used to see him more than once every day, but never without his long and curved pipe. Late in life, he became an approved minister of the weekly, quarterly, and yearly meetings. He always welcomed me to his house. NANCY CARPENTER. - Properly Anna, after the prophetess. Attached to the same faith was this admirable woman, with whom I boarded for a number of years whilst serving out my mercantile apprenticeship. If, at any time, I was boisterously gay, she would give me one of her ineffable smiles, and, by a gentle pat on the head, indicate her willingness to forgive me, if I would check my mirth. Sometimes she would say, 66 George, I shall be obliged to send to thy uncle, unless thou art willing to lessen thy noise." But she never did send; for she was the personification of good nature. At her house, opposite Captain Eng's store, in Thames Street, I first became acquainted with the method of "Friends' religious meetings" at private houses. We young folks were sometimes in Mrs. Carpenter's sitting-room, perhaps just after tea, when a few sisters, accompanied by an elder, would happen in. Almost immediately, conversation would subside, and we were in a "Quaker meeting." The silence continued half an hour, and then the grasping of hands signified that the meeting was over. Gossiping had no countenance amongst this grave people. SALLY DENNIS.- Another Quakeress, who kept what was termed in her day a huckster's or fruit shop. She confined herself simply to retailing sweets, — viz., candy, figs, nuts, &c.; and she always kept the very best. smiling as a basket of chips "Her face was as on a frosty morn ing." Although somewhat advanced in life when I first knew her, her complexion was free |