Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-03-14
MARCH II, 1855.


suea r'ch'.n grapes--loo tempting for the
ieoldest TO pass without watering mouth.
Mr.. Chapman's family were almost The best
customers for the tempting fruit--frst has-
ing learned their excellence by the Iiberality
OF Mr Briggs, who neser failed to send 4
specimen a;l of his best to his neighbor
lhe nth season came. 1t was a fruitful
year. Apple, pear, peach, plum. and all
oaher trees were loaded with fruit Keenino
~ mind instrumentation with Mr.. Cbannan1'
mr. Briggs had directed bis family to set
4 down every cents worth of fruit sold to Mr..
Chapman and his family. This. year, as it
nened. vas q Yeas Of extreme hard
90; tns kss aSrs Gid Gid sasias il
yet the price of every kind of provisions.
were up 10 the highest notch, and money
extremely tight.
But there was one family that did not
seem to be the least affected by the hard
times, low prices of labor, high prices Of pro-
visions, or the scarcity of money. Mr..
Briggs and his two oldest sons all of them
had a little spare change to let on shorttim
with in terest.' to their needy neighbors.
One day Mr.. Chapman, who was short,
applied to Mr.. Briggs for Fhalf, for a
quarter meaning City dollars for three
months.
Yes said Mr.. Briggs. | have half
or whole, just as you like
What, a hundred dollars by you these
times2 I don't see how it comes. You
and your boys don't work any harder than
| and my boys do, and we can hardly get
along we are as saving and pinching as can
be, too; times are SO dreadful hard, and
every thing a family has to buy is SO dread
ful high, and wages SO low potatoes dol
lar bushel, beef fifteen cents pound, pork
sixteen cents, eggs twenty -6vg cents dozen
and -four ten OF twelve dollars barrel
How can man li>e2'
1t won't be hardly fair for me to ask yol
for that twenty FIVE dollars now, will it 2
twenty-five dollars? What do yo'
mean | don't understand your
Don't you recollect we had bet betwee'
US about the price Of some fruit trees
bought five years ago next sprngE
'Ah, do remember something about il
You were to give me twenty-five dollars
YOU din't get Your twenty-five dollars tac
from me for the products of these trees an
things 1t will come very handy just now
Don't be too fast, neighbor? | ar
afraid it won't come very handy just now
That was what | was dunning you TO
that twenty-five dollars :
What, you don't pretend to say we hay
had twenty-five dollars worth Of stuff fro
:. .yopg ,aasdenn .-,,-,-s.=5l,-.
FIVE dollars worth of trees and other thing
Here is an account Of every thing you ha'
bought and paid for; of course, it don't i
clude what have sent you gratis
And you have certainly not been sting
, Why, the bill amounts TO thirty-seven de
: lars ! is it possible!
1t is just so; you have had over TWEEN
. bushels of apples, and three bushels
, pears, and these alone come to twenty-h
n dollars
!. I own up the corn,' draw the note
~ seventy-6ve.
/ sNo, guess we will let the twenty-f
90, only mention it to show you that the
n may be good sense in new things sometim
t. Now, [ will bet the twenty-five dollars OF
v again, that my store bill has not been b
as large the past season as yours, though
l. have had one more in my family.
r. If I'had not been SO badly taken in
IS fore, I would stand you; but | guess 1.-TWO
be safe
4 We have raised our own potatoes, co
ID peas, beans, and all other garden vegetabI
1. Our eggs are always fresh and in abunda
ID from the nest; and for more than two ye
e. we have not been without ripe fresh fruit
or Well, declare, that is something
T. never thought Of; but it takes SO much ii
j. and bother to get these things started-tl
MS it is an everlasting job to take care of the
IT, 1t needs no more time and money Il
os you throw away on things that amount
9is nothing at all, and an abundance Of
at will save the expense of a heavy meat
a which is not healthy in hot weather.
in. doctor has been called to set foot in my
in for over four year past. Fresh, ripe fir
tn are sure remedies for all ailments, and t
er- are not hard to take
Mr. Chapman put the fifty into
nd weazard skin, and left with flea in bis
ost .NsD England Farme,