Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1862-08-29
Nisfellang.
OUT oF WORK.
BY sYLvANUs COBB, JR.

sssBut you are not going to give it up,
are you, Peter?"
'Give it up? How can I help it?
Within. four days i have been to every
book-bindery in the city, and not bit
of work can get"
sss'Bnt have you tried anything else?"
''What else can l try?"
"Why, anything that you can do"
''les; I've tried other things. l have
been to more than dozen of my friends
and offered to help them if they would
Hire me-
! "And what did you mean to do for
them?'
- 81 offered to post their accounts. make
! sout bills, or attend to the counter
:, Mrs. Stanwood smiled as her husband
thus spoke.
"What makes you smile?'' he asked.
ITO think that you should imagine
that you would find work in such a
place. But how is Mark Leeds?"
He is worse off than l am
"How SOP" e..
He has nothing in the house to eat. +"
A shudder crept over his wife's frame
ny 90 you trcmDle, wife!
"Because when we have eaten our
breakfast tomorrow morning, we shall
have nothing" --.--s---.---..----- ----.----
''Whatl' cried Peter Stanwood, half
starting from his chair. 'sDo you mean
that"
81 do"
"But our hour7"
''All gone. / baked the last this af-
ternoon."
"Butwe have pork
.You ate the last this noon"
"Then we must starveIt groaned the
stricken man, starting across the room.
Peter Stanwood was book binder by
trade, and had now been out of employ
ment over a month. lie was one Of
those who generally calculated to keep
about square with the world, and who
consider themselves fortunate if they
keep out of debt. He was now thirty
years Of age, and had three children to
provide for, besides himself and wife,
and this, together with the house rent,
was heavy draft upon his purse, even
when work was plenty, but now there
was nothing.
"Maria, said he, gazing his wife in
the face, tive must starve [ have not
a single penny in the world. y
"But do not despair, Peter. Try
again tomorrow for work. You may
find something to do. Anything that
is honest is honorable. Should you
make but shilling day, we should
notstarve."
"But our house rent?"
"Trust me for that. The landlord
shall not turn us out. If you will en-
gage to find something to do, I will see
that we have our house ROOM
"I'll make one more trial." uttered
Peter, despairingly.
"But you must go prepared to do
anything"
"ADything reasonable, Maria
"What do you call reasonable?''
"Why-anything decent"
The wife felt inclined to smile, but
the matter was too serious for that, and
cloud passed over her face. She knew
her husbands disposition, and she felt
sure he would not find work. She knew
that he would look for some kind of work
which would not lower him in the social
scale, as he had once or twice expressed
it. However, she knew it would be of
no use to speak to him now, and she let
the matter pass.
On the following morning, the last
bit of food was put on the table. Stan
wood could hardly realize that he was
penniless and without food. For years
heihad been gay, thoughtless and for
tunate, making the most of the present,
forgetting the past, and leaving the fu-
ture to take care of itself. Yet the
truth was naked and clear; and when he
left the house he said, "Semething must
be DONE
No sooner had her husband gone,
than Mrs. Stanwood put on her bonret
and shawl. Her elder child was a girl
seven years old, and her youngest fou-.
She asked her next door neighbor if she
would take care of her children until
noon. These children were known to
be good and quiet, and they were taken
cheerfully. Then Mrs. Stanwood locked
up her house and went away. She re-
turned at noon, bringing her children
some dinner, and thea went away again.
She came home in the evening before
her husband, carrying heavy basket
upon her arms.
"Well, Peter" she asked, after her
husband had entered and sat down,
"what luck?"
s.Nothingl nothingl' he groaned. I'll
have made out to get dinner from an
old chum, but could find no work. ;"
8 -"And where have oulooked to-day?'
(. .Oh-everywhere. 1 have been to
hundred places, but it is the same In
every place. It's nothing but one eter-
nal 'no-noP I'm sick and tired OF 1t.
| even went as far as to offer to tend
liquor store down town.
The wife smiled.
"Now, what shall we dor uttered Pc
ter, spasmodically. :,
"Why, we will eat supper first' and
then talk matters over"
"Supper! Have you got anyI
"Yes-plenty of it,
"But ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
"Why, first went to Mrs. Shows
I knew her girl was sick, and hoped