The Portland daily press., 1864-10-27
Thursday Morning, Oct. ~, 1864.
An Example for Landlords.

|Well Mary" said Mr.. Farley to his wife,
as he came In one clustering cold morning in
last December, and drew near the ruddy coal
fire; "well Mary, not such bad day in the
way of business after all.p And he threw of
his snow. sprinkled overcoat, laying it down
on the snug-looking lounge his wife had drawn
before the fire for bis own accommodation,
while the snowy particles fell in a shower over
the.warm cushion. ~ .saaaaai
slow, John?" replied his wife, as she look
ed up with a CHEEKY smile.
"This is rent-day, you know, and collecting
rent is nos always prosperous business. It's
like pulling tooth to get money from some
people. Now, there's old Ruggles, he gives
the money as grudgingly as though he was
not able to pay three times the amount, which
know he is. And Joe Winch, l suppose he
did have hard time to raise it, but he made
quite as hard a job of paying it." e s4e
AOh, never mind, husband; I hope you
weren't hard on him; work is dull you know,
and money difficult to getn g aA2
81 acknowledge the truth of the concluding
portion of your remark; money is hard to
get, even when it is honestly due-and SO
found it to-day. But l succeeded tolerably,
after all. Even the widow Webb paid to the
last cent, and that was more thad l had hoped
for" N9 ssa ~ ~ e114
"oh, John Y said his wife, in a deprecatory
Mr.. Early seemed to vince a little under
the implied reproof, and so said, apparently
In selfjustilcation, ~ .5taif -
tsWhy, Mary, business is business, and why
shouldn't she pay her rent as well as anybody
else ?" -
Now Mr.. Early was not, by any means, nat
urally hard hearted man. Yet fortune had
placed him in the position of landlord; and
between tenants that couldn't pay and tenants
that wouldn't pay, he had finally been drilled
into an outward seeming of hardness. When
ever he anticipated uncommon difficulty in
the discharge of his duties, he repeated to
himself the old maxim that business is busi-
ness" and thus steeled himself to his task.
W Yet his wife knew that within this tough
shell there was the soft kernel of heart, for
she has more than once found it; and SO, after
short time of silence and reflection on her
part she resolved to try if she could not
reach it again. &
John" said she, how much was her
rent?n ia ss5. .asds6f IS sFia58 5ss
"Poh! nothingl Don't trouble yourself
about that. Why, it wasn't as much as that
last silk of yours cost, and you know you
teased me into buying that, saying the sum
was such trife.'' 70 l
"Wen, how much was it2" persisted Mrs.
Early. a - a'sff 81
III You must know, the quarters rent
amounted to fifteen dollars; and she paid it,
too, without word of grnmbling."
1T is asmall sum to you and to me, know I;
but do you not think she must have struggle
hard to raise it ?" ia
Business is business, you know, and it is
not in my way to think holp the money is
raised, so that it is raised."i
"Oh, Johnw again repeated his wife. There
was a kind of magic in these words. They
possessed a power over him which she was
aware Of and he felt. sg SD
"Well, never mind, Mary-don't trouble
yourself about it. It's all over now, and can't
be helped. Only, if you say SO, won't be
quite SO hard next time" sisd e 8sf
al do say so, John,n said she, rising with a
womanlike instinct, and seating herself beside
him, feeling that if she wished to gain her
point land she had, in the few moments of re-
Election, resolved upon. one) she must make
use of wiie's best arguments.
"There," said she, as she wound her fingers
caressngly in his hair; 81 know you didn't
mean to be exacting, but you were SO, after
all. / heard only day or two ago that Mrs.
Webb and her daughter had had a hard time
to get along this fall. Their only dependence
for support is their needle, and you know that
is very slender one. Now they have both
overworked themselves to raise this very mon
ey that you have received to-day, and Kate
has been sick, and fears are entertained that
she will go into decline" e-gs~
$50 bad as thati did not know it.n
81 know you didn't; for am sure you have
too good heart to drive poor girl into her
grave, and leave widowed mother friendless
and alone in the world, just for the sake Of a
few dollars, which you would never miss If
you did not have. Now, do you not think
you ought to make amends in some way for
your thoughtless act of cruelty ?"
"Why, yes, IL | only knew how. If you
choose, you can take the money back again,
and tell them l wouldn't have been in such a
hurry about the rent If ! had known just how
the case stOod' sissa .3ie 9asa @
aWell, give it to me. Ny how full your
pocket-book isw she exclaimed in affected
wonder, as he unrolled the ponderous porte
feUttte, stuffed and crammed with notes and
silver. THANK you. But so long as you
have your money out, you may as well give
me little more at once; it will save me the
trouble of asking you again. There, don't
scowl So It's only a trifie want. Not so
much as those furs will cost that you are 60
Ing to buy me for Christmas present."
"Furs! Whew! hadn't heard of them be-
fore,a sfrs+4a ea4gRra
"Qh, know you haven'ty yet,o she replied,
coaxingly Shut you will between now and
Christmas-unless you give me what money l
want now. Let me see; the furs you are go
ing to buy me will cost seventy-tive dollars
but I'll let you off till next winter if you will
give me-oh, don't stare so-thirty-iVe dol
lars now.n
''Phirty-tve dollars! What in--"
"Never mind the exclamations now," saio
sne, with roguish smile, ,laying her hand land
tapretty one it was, tool over his mouth
count out the money first and I'll give yor
Ieavs TO express your astonishment after
-. len me first what you want it for" sale
MI. Eariy, as soon as his speech was restored
10 nun, taklhg advantage of a husbands pre-
TogauVe' rght established by precedent, al
least, OF questioning In such matters.
"Tel you what want it forP Obi ofcourse
/ will. | am going to invest il for Won II
will bring you in a hundred per cent ond ~ or,
too, just as long as Mrs. Webb il q tenant =
yours"
"How-what do you mean p
aWhy, don't you see-there's two tens tber
in that roll, and plenty of flves"-holding on
the same pretty hand that had 80 unceremoni
ously damned up the river of speech flown
from her husbands mouth but nome b.
fore - "only thirty-fve dollars, you kuoI
which, with the fifteen I've got, will make hf
In all; and am going TO provide Mrs. Wet
and Catharine the means Of paying their rel
easily every quarter as soon as it is due. ]
be seriOus--I have told you that they depel
on sewing for living, and now that sewil
machines have thrown seamstresses almost e
tirely out of business, it is very hard for tv
poor women, with delicate health, to scra
together sixty dollars every year to pay the
rent with, and provide themselves with Il
necessaries of life besides. So l am going
buy them such an article ss that" said sh
pointing TO splendid sewing machine tn
made conspicuous article Of room furnitur