Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1855-02-07

IL mons as IoHy ana 1onsenSes ana : W
to snser at every one who steppt
III aside from the scomu1on track. It locke
a simply silly to him to see man stag
n home from muster, OF training. {
e shows, and sspend his time ia guilty atm
+ az garden or, instead OF lettering 81
], evening away at The store. smoking an
f telling hearing deal of nothing, d
wors to spend The eyenin g at home
ID reading such nonsense as lie Farmer an
, and Herticulturist afford. cars. pass
; ard Mr.. Briggs { one acre farm show
Z be and bis, boys have not read Tn
papers in vain. They learned to sse
ssttonts 9 tree, and how to stake eare 81 it at
Ter it was set out. Every thing showed
I, that.it 1eeeiged the kind Of food md care
straigfi Az beginning g bring forth fruit
neet4 4for pod cnl tivation. = ssao-
'Etime the wants of the family were NOR,
than supplied, and the surplus found {
ready market with the neighbors at gooc
Eprices.
+ Those early apples. so rich and tempt
ing, when all other apples were SO greer
and hard and then such pearsI they
went as fast as the sun and house could
ripen them, at three, four OF five cent,
apiece. Then such clusters of rich ripe
grapes-too tempting for the coolest tc
pass without watering mouth. Mr.
Chapman's family was among the best
customers for the tempting fruit-frst
having learned their excellency by the
liberality of Mr.. Briggs. who never failed
to send a specimen of his best to his neigh
bors.
The fifth season came. It was fruit
full year. Apple, pear, peach, plum and
all other trees were loaded with fruit.
Keeping in mind his conversation with
Mr.. Chapman, Mr.. Briggs had directed
his family to set down every cents worth
of fruit sold to Mr. Chapman or his fam
i!y. This year, as it happened, was a
year of extremely hard times. The boot
business was at its very lowest ebb.-litLle
work, and very low wages, and yet the
prices of every kind of provisions up to
the highest notch, and money extreme
| ly tight 40 ..a.
| But, there was one family that did not
seem to be the least affected by the hard
times, low prices of labor. and high prices
of provisionssor scarcity of money Mr.,
Briggs and his two oldest sons. all OF
them had little spare change to let on
short time with interest, to their needy
neighbors. e
One day Mr.. Chapman who was short.
applied to Mr.. Briggs for a half for a
quarter meaning fifty dollars for three
months.
i'Yes,o' said Mr.: Briggs, ga half or a
whoies just as you like" 7iesg} ~ sss,
"What.. a hundred dollars by you these
times I? l don't see how it comes, You
and your boys don't work any harder
than and my boys do, and we can hard
ly get along. We are saving and pinching
as can be. too; times are so dreadful hard
and everything family has to buy is SO
dreadful high. and wages so low. Pots-
a pound. pork sixteen, eggs twenty five
cents dozen, and flour ten or twelve dol
lars barrel. How can a man live ?"
{" 1t won't be hardly fair for me to ask
you for that twenty five dollars now, will
it?"
"Twenty-fve dollars What do you
mean ? l don't understand you"
=" Don't you recollect the bet we have
between US about the price of fruit trees
bought FIVE years ago next spring 2"
"Ah do remember something abou;
it. You were to give me twenty-five
dollars if you didn't get your twenty
FIVE dollars back from me for products OF
those trees and things. 1t will come We
ry handy just now"
! "Don't be too fast neil hbOr. am afraid
it won't come very handy just now.
That was what was dunning you for
| n Il tuaDtv.6va 5Ollars -
What you don't pretend to say that
we have had twenty-five dollars worth Of
stuff from your garden?"
" More than that from that very TWEEN
ty FIVE dollars worth Of trees and other
things. Here is an accoant of every thing
you have bought ard paid for of course
it don't include what have sent you
gratis.
"And you certainly have not been
stingy. Why, this bill amounts to thirty
seven dollars. 1t is not possible"
"It is just so you have had over TWEEN.
bushels Of apples and three bushels oI
pears and those, alone, come to twenty.
i've dollars
II own up the corn draw the note for
seventy five"
"No, guess We will let that twenty,
Eve go. only mention Ito show thai
there may be good sense in new things
sometimes. Now will bet the twenty
Eve dollars over again, that my stOre6ilI
has not been the past season, half as large
as yours, though have had one the more
in my family"
''If had not been so badly taken ii
before, would stand you; but guess
it won't be safe.''
owe have raised our own potatoes
corn, peas, beans, and all other garder
vegetables. Our eggs are always fresl
and in abundance from the nest, and FOL
4 more than two years We have not beel
without ripe fresh fruit"