Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-04-19
.Obl)) Statesrllal,
Example for Landlords.

for business, after ALL" And he threw of
his snow sprinkled overcoat, laying it down
on the snug looking lounge his wife had
drawn before the fire for his own accom-
mediation, while the snowy particles Tell
in q shower over the warm cushion, 9iaY
"How, John ~ replied his wife, as she
looked up with a CHEEKY smile. 80,
'This Is rent day, you know, and collect
ing rent Is not always prosperous bust
ness. It's like pulling tooth, to get mon
ey 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 L know he is.
And Joe Winch, suppose he did have o
hard time to raise 1t, but he made quite as
hard job Of paying it." ,..'.., -
"Oh, never mind, husband; hope you
weren't hard OIL him; work is dull, you
know, and money difficult to get"
~ acknowledge the truth of the cOnclud-
| ing portion of your remark; money is hard
to get, even when it is honestly due-and
| so i found 1t to-day. But / succeeded toll
eraby after all. Even the Widow Webb
paid to the last cent, and that was more
than had hoped for" '--.
"Oh, Johnr' said his wife, in depreca-
tory tone.
Mr.. Early seemed to vince a litter under
the implied reproof and so said, apparent
ly in self-iustiication
"Why, Mary, business, is business and
why shouldn't she pay her rent as well as
anybody else?" Er.
Now, Mr.. Early was not, by any means,
hafd-hearted man. Yet fortune had plac-
ed him in the position of landlord; and be-
tween tenants that couldn't pay, and ten
ants that wouldn't pay, he had finally been,
drilled into an outward seeming OF hard
ness. Whenever he anticipated uncom-
mon difficulty in the discharge of his du-
ties, he repeated to himself the old maxim
that "busness is business" and steeled
himself to the task.
Yet his wife knew that within this tough
shell there was the soft kernel of heart,
for she had more than once found 1t, and so
after short time of silence and reflection
on her part, she resolved to try if she could
not reach it again. 'L
"John," said she, show much was her
rent ?"
"Poh nothing! 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 trifle."
"Well, how much was y" persisted Mrs. |
Early.
III you must know, the quarters rent
amounted to fifteen dollars; and she paid |
it, too, without word of grumbling."
alt is small sum to you and to me,
know; but do you not think she must have
struggled to raise it."
"Business is business, you know, and it
is not in my way to think how the money
is raised, so that it is raised"
''Oh, JoLnp again repeated his wife.
There was q kind of magic in these words.
They possessed power over him which she
was aware of, and he felt. -
"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 as hard next time."
II do say so, john" said she, rising with |
womanlike instinct, and seating herself
beside him, feeling that if she wished to
gain her point, she must make use of
wife's best arguments"
"There," said she, as she wound her fin |
ers caressingly through his hair; 81 know
you did not mean to be so exactiDg, but |
you were so, after all. heard only a day |
or two ago, that Mrs. Webb and herdaugh- |
ter had very hard time to get along this |
Fall; their only dependence for support is |
their needle and that, you know, is very
slender one. Now, they have both over
worked themselves to raise this money that |
you have received to-day, and Kate has
been sick, and fears are entertained that she
will go into decline" -
$50 bad as that ! did not know It,"
~ know you didn't; for l am sure you
have too good heart to drive poor girl
into her grave, and leave awidowed mother
iriendless and alone in the world, Just for
the sake of 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 thought.ess act of
cruelty ?"
"Why, yes, if 1 only knew how. If you
choose you can take the money back again, |
and tell them l wouldn't have been in such
ahurry about the rent if had known just
how the case STOOD" .
"Well, give it to me. My how full your
pocket book is ~ she exclaimed, in affect
ed wonder, as he unrolled the ponderous
port folio, stuffed and crammed with notes
and silver. "rhank you. But so long as
well give me q little more at once, and it
will save me the trouble of asking you
again. There, don't scowl so. It's only a
trifle l want. Notso much as those furs
will cost that you are going to buy me for
Christmas present" .rt.-,1
"Furs! Whew! hadn't heard of them
before" s ,, ... .-s,-. ~
aOh know you haven't yet" she repli-
ed, coaxingly, "but you win between now
and Christmas-unless you give me what
money want now. Let me see; the furs
you are going to buy me will cost seventy
five dollars. I'll let you off till next Win
ter if you will give me-oh, don't stare SOL
thirty-five dollars now."
'sThirty-five dollars What in"
"Never mind the exclamation now,"1
said she, with a roguish smile, laying her
hand (and pretty one 1t was, too,) over
his mouth "Count out the money first and
I'll give you leave to express your astonish-
ment afterwards"
"Tell me first what you want it for" said
Mr.. Early, as soon as his speech was re-
stored him, taking advantage of ahusband's
Alright established by prece-
dent, at least, of questioning in such mat
ters. rrv r.r-s,., ,z.r-,.rygrrs
"Tell you what 1 want it forP Oh! of
course Twill. i am going to invest it, for
you. 1t will bring in hundred per cent.
And more, too, just as long as Mrs. Webb is
a tenant of yours" lu hf fila9 ~
"How-what do you mean? ?" assW Al. "A
"Why, don't you see--there's two tens
there In that roll, and plenty of fives''-
holding out the same pretty hand that had
30 unceremoniously damned up the riverofI
speech flowing from her husbands mouth
but moment before-'only thirty. FIVE dol
lars, you know, which, with the fifteen I've
got, will make fifty in all; and lam going
to provide Mrs. Webb and Catherine the
means of paying their rent easily every
quarter as soon as 1t Is due. To be serious
II have told you that they depended on
sewing for living, and now that sewing
machines have thrown seamstresses almost
entirely out of business, 1t Is very hard for