The most characteristic part of the scene was where the
pedlers, gingerbread-sellers, etc., were collected, a few hundred yards
from the meeting-house. There was a pedler there from New York State,
who sold his wares by auction, and I could have stood and listened to him
all day long. Sometimes he would put up a heterogeny [this is a word
made by Mr. Hawthorne, but one that was needed.--S. H.] of articles in a
lot,--as a paper of pins, a lead-pencil, and a shaving-box,--and knock
them all down, perhaps for ninepence. Bunches of lead-pencils,
steel-pens, pound-cakes of shaving-soap, gilt finger-rings, bracelets,
clasps, and other jewelry, cards of pearl buttons, or steel ("there is
some steel about them, gentlemen, for my brother stole 'em, and I bore
him out in it"), bundles of wooden combs, boxes of matches, suspenders,
and, in short, everything,--dipping his hand down into his wares with the
promise of a wonderful lot, and producing, perhaps, a bottle of
opodeldoc, and joining it with a lead-pencil,--and when he had sold
several things of the same kind, pretending huge surprise at finding
"just one more," if the lads lingered; saying, "I could not afford to
steal them for the price; for the remorse of conscience would be worth
more,"--all the time keeping an eye upon those who bought, calling for
the pay, making change with silver or bills, and deciding on the goodness
of banks; and saying to the boys who climbed upon his cart, "Fall down,
roll down, tumble down, only get down"; and uttering everything in the
queer, humorous recitative in which he sold his articles.
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