Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1858-11-23

seventeen cents apiece; green peas, a
dollar and seventy-fve cents for a peck :;
currants, fifty cents a quart; raspberres,
thirty cents pint; beets, fourteen cents
each, and everything else in proportion
All this | cared othing about; but some
how felt out of my gearing IN not l.,v
ing the right kind of employment. My
wife did her best TO coax me into gentle
manly ways; had the old mechanical
grim all thoroughly scrubbed out of my
hands-fnger nails cleaned ont and
rounded-so as TO make it appear that |
had never done manual labor.
Then we must get behind couple Of
Morgan ponies, which | had purchased,
and make fashionable calls in the day
time on those who had called on us-and
wife wanted me to soften down my voice
and be particular about ny grammar and
the subject | talked on; bat sometimes
forgetting myself | would revei in the
proud memory of the locks and KEYS
had handled in happier days, and com
mence a history of my exploits in that
line, when wife would look as though she
was going TO sink through the floor. In
fact she wished to keep perpetual lock
on my lips, $50 far as our antecedents
were concerned,) } with the key in her
pocket.
" But l sighed for the shop, and time
hung SO heavily on my hands that an hour
spent in stupid listessness about the house
seemed longer to me than a day did when
| had orders ahead for locks, and was
driving hard to get them finished at
given time. Ny youngest brother, who
was college bred man and a lawyer,
sent me, at my request, a fine collection
of books on all imaginable subjects, so
that my library outshone that of the par
son, and. inde ed, any other man in that
place; bet found | had no more taste TO
sit down and read than had for trim.
ming currant bushes. Time was, after
had finished q hard days labor at the
shop, when an hour at Rocks was a real
solace, and | also believed that an occa-
sion of improvement. Then | envied
those whose leisure allowed them to feast
on books perpetuaIly; but the mistake |
made was IN failing to discriminate be-
tween mental habits and requirements of
the professed student and those of the
working man.
{" In this wretched condition did time
at my country seat drag heavily along
Visiting was perfect bore, for not feel
ing the slightest interest in such mas
culine topics as corn, grubs and manure,
and caring less for the feminine ones of
dress and local gossip, did not know
what TO talk about. Books set me to
sleep, and not having the society of my
TWO boys, who were of at a boarding
school, | became fully satisfied that moth
ing 10 do was equal to having everything
10 suffer
My most delightful place of resort
was a blacksnilh's some TWO miles from
the house, where occasionally | would
handle the hammer, and clang a hide on
the anvil. but my wife making the dis
covery one day that my hands were get
ting grimy again, was obliged TO own
up the cause of ii, and this 10 my sorrow,
was succeeded by positive prohibition
on her part from my taking any further
exercise at the forge. After this, when
| would sometimes ride past the shop be-
hind my prancing Morgan horses, the
tears would start 10 my eyes a my being
debarred of the only enjoyment which in
the least adapted to my taste or caTacity.
" But, Cousin Alecli, 10 shorten my
story, my wife perceiving my unhappi-
ness was increasing, at last consented to
move back TO town, and let me resume my
business again. l had no difficulty in
renewing an arrangement with my old
partner, and hence you see me hard at
work and happier than the President
am perfectly abIe, IN pecuniary point of
view, to live without work, but | h-ve
learned to my satisfaction two important
truths: First, that we never enjoy our
selves so we'll as when we are usefulIy
employed and, second, that there is no
occupation on the whole, for which we
are so well fitted as that to which we
have long been accustomed, and which
has hence become TO US, as it were, a
second nature"
was much pleased with the good sense
IN "my wite's cousin" as evinced in the
small section of his autobiography which
he had given me, and very soon after he
had finished it, we reached his dwelling.
If his shop was dingy, there was 10 din
giness here The edl6ce was built on
the Philadelphia style, having a large
dining-room back Of the two parlors, aud
a noble kitchen in the rear of the dining
room. The whole floor, as well as the
airy and pleasant bedrooms above stairs,
were probably adorned with better de-
scriplion Of furniture than was owned bv
the Governor of Pennsylvania. Every
thing was in perfect order, and although
the locksruth's wife was somewhat uppish
In her notions, | soon perceived she was
a capital house-keeper, and that my friend
was proud of his house, and proud of his
TWO sons who had come from boarding
school TO spend the vacation.
| found that these lads were quite IN
tellgent, and that they were both intend
ed for the learned professions While
one of them entertained me with some
mrsic on parlor organ, the worthy smith
begged me to excuse him for few mo-
-. ,..hrrL h nr-,nnrol -. -.