Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1866-04-06

From all tn e Year Round.
In Jeopardy.
TALE OF WORK AND WAGES.

I'm hricklaycr, ! am: and, what's
more down IN the country, where people
amt SO particular ahont keeping trades
dtstiRet rs they tire IN the great towns
This may he seen any duy i'll a general
shop, where rs one might shy. veu can get
auy thing. from ! hall Il qlarteln Of batter
UP to horn laH.efn and down again to
q hundred of short cut hrads-Well, down
in the country Eve done II hit of job now
aAd ihen rs q MASON, and not So badly
either. should suppose, fnr l gat pretty
we'll paid considering, and didn't iIrar more
tl1 III the Hsunl attseuut of gfoNlln aitrr it
Was dpac-witieh is SAYING a deal. Ours
aia.t ,,lp= u.oSt agreeable at lives, aud It II
warn Far feeolleesiug little ahout the
.ligai;y of labor md sucl. lik,, one would
often grumAle mere than on" does.
'>oar time ago. it dmi't matter to laR,
nor n1r. nor anrtalf else, just Wv
N,.s, work Was prfclons slack do{
Waf-:,ll tajags eaHsidtred | aiiI,t ~
To I'll! ieu Nhele or WY IS. \ dsFe1
worl: week had been all I'd hccn able to
get taY quite Two monhs so Mary. that's
my wife. used to screw aud pinch and
screw and pinch, and keep on squeezing
shilling agteJ shilling ont ot the long sock
jug, TIL at last it got 30 light. that one
morning she lets il lall upon the table
where instead Of coniihg ditwhi With good
hearty spang, it lell softly and Just like Il
piece Of cotton that was empty. And
then. poer Lass she hangs on To my neck,
a3d hdf.a eut Il crying so plntIl that IN
hest it / dida'. want my nose =blowed
about every qaalter OF minute. | hadn' t
miaded the strewng and pinehing not IA
hit Of IT. FIRST week we wcat without our
pudlings Well, that wasn't much. Sec
oud week we stopped my half pints o.
beer. Third week put my pipe out
Mary kept on saying that things uiust look
up soon and then should have an ounce
oi the hest to nuke up for it. But things
didn't l"ok mp aud in spite Of all the
screwnc. we got down to the bottom Of
thr stoe king, as | said Just now.
haan; uluch cared for the pincliinE.
but it VAS ny poor lass as got pinehed the
most, and she Was getting paier and thin
ner every day, till conln't a-bear to see
it. run ont q the lonse. and down to
Jenkins ward. where I'd been at work
last. soon found Jenkins; and | says
10 him. 'GGyefnor. SAYS, this won't do
ruu know; u man can,t live upnn wind.
'rrur for yon, Bill Stock. lie says.
And a man can't keep his wife upon
Wind" l says.
Right you are. BILL he says: and
went on as fair rs n man could speak and
said he hadn't a job he could put Inc on,or
he would have done it in minute. I'm
very sorry, Bill" he says, "but il times
don, mend, l tell you what I'm going to
do"
What's that - ! says.
Go up To London" lie says; "and if
WAS vonng man like You, wouldn't stop
starving down here, when they'r. giving
first class wages up there, and when
there's building going on all round, as
thick as thick, and good big jobs, too /; no
tells, and railways, and bridges, and all
sorts"
faces round sharp,and walks off home;
for when ieiler's hungry and close up, it
lays hold on his temper.as well as his ston-
ach, more especially when there's some
body belonging to him i'll the same fix. So
walks oil home, where | finds Mary
looking VERY red-cyed; and lmakes more
ado, but | gets my pipe, and empties the
bit o. dust there was III the bottom o. the
jar into it. lights up, and sits down aside
OF Mary, aud puts my arm around her.
jest as / used to in old eourting time and
then hegns smoking an thinking. Very
slow as to the fust, and VERY fast as to
the second; as smoking costs money, and
the dust was dry; whereas thinking came
cheap Jest then--;nd it's surprising how
yer can think on a empty inside. | sup
pose it is because there's plenty O. room
for the thoughts to work in.
Well, hadn't been sittn' above mint
like this, when my lass lays her head on
my shoulder, and though she wouldn't let
me see it, | knowed she was a giving way;
but | didn't. take no notice. Perhaps
held her little bit tighter; and there
sat thinking, and watching the thin smoke,
till could see buildings, and scaffolds,
and heaps o. bricks, and blocks O. stone,
and could almost hear the ring o. the trow
els, and the .'saw jar o the big stone
saws, and there was the men a-running up
and down the ladders, and the CANCERS a
giving their orders, and all seemed so
plain, that began to grow warm. And |
keeps on smoking till it seemed as though
was one of great crowd O. men stand
/. ~