Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1868-02-29
My Lottery Tickets. What They Cost
and Wnat They Amounted to.

I 1t was Saturday night, and the little
woman who bears my name and mends
my stockings was sitting in her low chair
by the fire, zealously putting Il patch up
OH the knee Of little TOMS trousers, turn
ing the piece of cloth this way and that,
and holding her head on one side to
watch the effect. But the stripes would
all run the wrong way, while the cOlors
were provokingly bright, compared with
the faded garment. .e r+Jf r..
"Never mind that, Mary" said | "here's
chance to throw away your patches.
Hurrah for lovely country seat on the
Hudson, fifty shares of bank stock, a
house in town. oranything you wish, and
all for dollar"
"Now, Thomas said she, and when
she wishes to be particularly severe she
always calls me Thomas, ''what are you
thinking about 20
"a gift enterprise, Ioifie; tickets only
a dollar, and sure to draw Il prize" | read
the heading and displayed the long list
of prizes "What do you thiuk of that?"
shouted /, triumphaiitly. ~
II think" she said, laughing, "that if
you make so much noise, you will wake
the baby" Then seeing that /, looked
annoyed; "But, do not think that lot
teres are just right, especially for church
members. Do you: Z"
go, nonsense! Inevcr saw church
fair in my life that did not have grab box
es and lotteries. / shouldn't dare to say
how many dollars l have spent on them,
and never drew anything either"
She looked roguishly at me. "Don't
you think, then, that you are most too
old to begin?"
at may as well be as any one, and
it is TO great matter, only dollar %
81 know, Tom," and the wise little
woman looked grave, But we haven't
many dollars to throw away )" and she
held up the baby's socks with a good
sized hole in each heel. "And little Toms
school bill comes in next week"
L laid down my paper, and tried to
speak very cenvincngly y. "Now, Mol
lie, it is all very well to jog on day after
day, earning and spending just so much,
but one likes to venture ONCE in while,
just for the excitement OF the thing, if
nothing more" ..-,..
"Yes, Tom, don't you remember. the
share in the oil well ?'' 'als. -.7
''Ye-e-cs,'' said !, slowly, for it was
rather an unpleasant topic of conversa-
ton to me- l had invested the little sum
lcf: me by maiden aunt i'll an oil com
pany, against Mary's good Judgment
Capital of million OF dollars, more or
less, oil wells flowing night and day on
the land of the next company, just over
the fence, was very much clated, and
promised Mary, among other things, a
new black silk dress we had seen dis
played in some show window. Well,
they bored and bored, throwing mp a
good deal of dirt, and u great deal of wa
ter but not drop of oil and, just as
they were about to begin in new spot,
the Treasurer, or some ole else, ran
away with the funds, and that ended the
whole affair. Mary, like good little
woman, never rcproached me, but, when
| came home one day, and found her turn
ing her old merino inside ont and upside
down, felt, well, [ can't tell just how
but | thought of that black silk dress that
she was to have.
"And, OH" she continued, "don't you
remember the patent honr-sfter ?'' and
she laughed eatright. SO did /, when l
thought of the spectacle l presented
when | chanced to turn the crank the
wrong way, and the -four flew in every
direction. II ---.. ......-
Bat | had made up my mind to buy
ono of these tickets 80, though Mary
sighed, she said no mere. l invested on
my way down town. l thought might
just as well buy one for Mary, and one
for little Tom, too. / showed them to
her when went home to dinner
'sNot three o, Tom, how could you?"
and she looked really grieveL While l,
thinking it pity if must account for
every penny Ispent, assumed the digni-
fled airawhich the occasion seemed to de-
mand, and the meal passed in silence. |
went home at night to find her sewing as
usual. My conscience gave an umcom-
Portable twinge as she looked up pleasant
ly, and then turned TO the great basket
of work IT she only had a sewing ma
chine. Perhaps | shor41 draw one, and
| grew happy oyer3the,z thought,- imagi-
ming her surprise when | sent it helse I'M
expectedly She would not think me an
wise then, in having bought the tickets.
Little Tom interrupted my. reverie
with -"Oh, father, old Susan, who used
to work for US, has been here today
She has burned her hand SO she can't