His nose was of the form which I have often heard styled a
hawk-bill; and, altogether, there was a sort of dry, hard look about the
man which rendered his personal appearance repulsive and disagreeable.
His constant care and anxiety was to get the largest possible amount of
labor out of those in his employ; consequently, he was always in a hurry
himself, and striving to hurry every one else. His farm-laborers used to
say that he kept his eyes in such unceasing motion, to see that every
thing went right on all sides, that a restless, roving expression of the
eyes had become natural to him. Though living only a few miles distant,
neither my mother nor myself knew any thing of the character of this
man; and when he came to engage me to do "chores and light work" as he
termed it, we gladly accepted his offer, as my mother had the idea that
residing for a time upon a farm (if not overworked) would have a
beneficial effect upon my health and constitution. Many wondered when
it became known that I had gone to live with Farmer Judson; but each one
kept their thoughts to themselves. When I took my place at the Farmer's
I soon found that, if my work was light, there was likely to be plenty
of it. I did not complain of this, for I expected to work; but what made
my position almost unbearable was the constant habit of fault-finding in
which my employer indulged. He was dreaded and feared by all under his
roof. He was constantly on the watch for waste and expenditure
within-doors, and without there could never be enough done to satisfy
him; do your best, and he always thought you should have done more. As
I have before said, I was very fond of books, and I had counted upon
having my evenings at my own disposal that I might still do something in
the way of self improvement; but I soon learned that books were quite
out of the question in my new home. There was either corn to shell or
errands to perform; in short, there was something to keep me busy till
nearly bed-time every night. I used sometimes to think the farmer used
to study up something to keep me busy on purpose to keep me from study.
I believe my greatest fault in his eyes was my love of books. He was
entirely without education himself, which, (in a great measure)
accounted for his narrow and sordid mind; he looked upon any time
devoted to books or mental culture as a dead loss.

"What's the use of botherin' over books," he would often say; and would
often add in a boasting m