Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-08-22
Why They Didn't Get Along
BY T. s. ARTHUR.

! Iney never dld seem 70 get along iron
the first, said one neighbor to another, a
the fact became known that the Barkers wer
moving out of the new house, which they
had only occupied for one year.
e Never, was answered, with grave shake
! Of the head" never. Joe is an industrious,
active, pushing business man always on the
alert and always pleasant to his customers
/ And yet as You say, he never did seem tc
get along from the first. It has been a struggle
] with him 10 keep up as far back as have
known him; and am puzzled IN attempting
to define the cause. Something is wrong, Of
course; but, so far, am unable to get at the
dificulty.'e , NELLl8iIFf
I" don't know as to there being anything
very wrong on his part, replied the other
" Il seems TO me that luck is against some
people; do what they will, and the cards turn
up adversely. Everything that one man
touches seems to turn to gold, while, with
another, only dross remains as the reward OF
his labor. I don't attach any blame to Joe
Barker; don't believe his failure attributable
70 wrong or laundering on his part-butsimp-
" to ill-luck. The stars fght against him.
" He certainly blundered when he. built
that house, said the neighbor to this, at
is only year since he went into it with a
grand flourish Of tFumpets, and now II is in
the sherif's hands. There has been sad mis-
calculation somewhere. -
No donbt OF it in the world Luck had
nothing to do with Joe Barker's failure
The cause lay at his own door. Let us see if
We can find it.
It isa little over twelve years since Joseph
Barker, famiharly known aInoL g his acquain-
tances as Joe Barker-ventured out on the
sea Of matrimoHy. This was all well enough
IA very proper step for him-although his
position in life was that of a clerk, with a
salary Of seven hundred and fifty dollars
year, and all would have proved Wellenough,
but fer certain weakness Of character which
he possessed, in common with great many
others. "What viii people think ?" invari-
ably came to his mind when contemplating
any act likely to bring him TO the eye Of obser-
walton. Thus it was in regard to his mar
riage. Prudence. suggested a very modest
way of beginning the world; the renting OF
couple ofroOms, and the adoption Of style
ofliving graduated on the scale of his in
come. b..
But what would people think ofthis2 How
could be bear 10 see his young wife laid aside
in homely Obscurity--made household
drudge-c constituted a social worker like him
self2 He seemed to hear one say aft he
wasn't able 10 support q wife decently he had
no business to marry And another, 81
would not have believed this of Joe Barker"
And still another It's shame TO humiliate
a charming young woman in that wayP
Then there were imaginary shrugs, and words,
and queer expressions Of faces, that it was
absolutely frightful to think Of. .l5-g5
Impossible! Joe Barker could not 60 on
in the face of all this. lfhe got married, he
must do like other people. So a wedding
tour was taken, to begin with, at an expense
of a hundred and fifty dollars, which sum,
added to other. expenses attendant on the oc-
casion, exhausted all of his meagre savings,
and left him about sixty dollars in debt to
friend. Then boarding was engaged in a
snowy boarding-house, at ten dollars a week,
which would Just take two-thirds of his in
come, and leave, of course, only five dollars
week for clothing and contingent expenses.
Joe saw that all this was wrong; buthe must
do as other people did, or be shouldered aside
as nobody. What would be the result p
Did he never think Of that2 0 yes, he
thought Of it often enough, and glOOmily
enough st times. It was the deaths head at
his daily feast The shadow that fell upon
the bright day of his early married life There
was true love in the hearts of the young
people; and if " what will the people think33
had not come in between them and happy
Obscurity, their first years would all have
passed in sunshine.
Instead of being only sixty dollars in debt
at the end Of six months Joe found himself
behindhand nearly two hundred dollars. All
the young people in the boarding house, every
one Of whom was better off than Joe and his
wife, INDUCED in fashionable amusements.-
What would people think if they remained at
home ..l. u =
a You are going to the opera tonight, Mr..
Barker" nearly always settled the question
iu Joe's mind, and lightened his purse by
couple Of dollars. --- .Il we
There was only one hope that shone, star
like, in the mind Of our young friend-the
hope ola better income. Already he had ap-
piled for more salary, and there was the
promise of an increase to q thousand dollars
per annum; but this increase would not take
take place for several months to come In
the meantime he was steadily making lee
way, and getting into disfavOr with his friends,
| in consequence of not being able to meet his
engagements for borrowed money. If be had
| known what some Of these friends thought OF
/ him and his way of living, he would not have
been much fattered by their opinion.
At the end of the year, in making up his
account, young Barker found the balance on
the wrong side TO be nearly four hundred
dollars. It was a troubled anniversary Of his
wedding day What was to be done2 To
keep on in the old way was worse than folly.
There must be 8 reduction of expenses
/ But how was it possible to reduce There
had come an addition to his family, in the
advent Ofa babe; and the babe must have a
nurse. So this advanced his weekly expen-
ses for boarding TO thirteen dollars, on an
Of salary to twenty dollars a week; this did
not, however, meet the extra cost of baby.
The necessity forreduction was imperative,
! andJOe looked this way and that, for an excuse
to beat an honorable retreat from his advanced
and perilous position. He was too proud to
step down IN the eyes Of other people; and Sc
framed weak excuses for leaving a costly
boarding house and shrinking into private
family, where the charges were reduced one.
third. .s.
About this time his prospects suddenly
frightened. A man with some capital. bui
no business experience, selected him as mart.
I ner in an enterprise Joe was now on tn,
mountain top Of hope, and saw stretching fal
and wide, golden-headed fields, ready for thl
sickle, In order to get his personal affair
INTO a less annoying shape, he gave his in
dividual notes at four and six months for til
amounts in which he stood indebted to friend
and Others, trusting to his ability to draw
nom the new business sufficient tomeet thes
obligations when they fell due. ..aiH r1tri a1
p Joe was now merchant His name stool
out in gilded letters for all 10 read. and he ffl