Midnight
with a thrust at the backlog . The New England story seemed to flourish under these conditions : a couple of good hard benches in a store or tavern , where you could not only smoke and chew but could keep on your hat -LRB- there was not a man in York County in those days who could say anything worth hearing with his hat off -RRB- ; the blazing logs to poke ; and a cavernous fireplace into which tobacco juice could be neatly and judiciously directed . Those were good old times , and the stage-coach was a mighty thing when school children were taught to take off their hats and make a bow as the United States mail passed the old stage tavern . Life Lane 's coaching days were over long before this story begins , but the Midnight Cry was still in pretty fair condition , and was driven ostensibly by Jeremiah Todd , who lived on the `` back-nippin ' '' road from Bonny Eagle to Limington . When I say ostensibly driven , I but follow the lead of the villagers , who declared that , though Jerry held the reins , Mrs. Todd drove the stage , as she drove everything else . As a proof of this lady 's strong individuality , she was still generally spoken of as `` the Widder Bixby , '' though she had been six years wedded to Jeremiah Todd . The Widder Bixby , then , was strong , self-reliant , valiant , indomitable .