Smyrna times., 1869-10-13
WHO EARNED THAT MONEY


John Simmons began lite with nothing but
pair of hands. Hiring himself out as a COM
mon laborer, he laid up gradually small sums ,
of money. In time, he was enabled to pay in .
part the price of farm, the remainder being !
held upon mortgage-the interest to be paid
yearly, and the principal in instalments, till the
whole was liquidated. John took to wife Mary |
Evans, one of the prettiest girls in the parish,
and they two commenced housekeeping togeth
er. Mary brought to the establishment beds
and bedding, household linen, crockery, and
china, the fruit of her own industry, or the
wedding gifts of her parents. Both understood
that life of toll was before them; but both
were young and hopeful, bred up to constant
industry and economy, and their tolls seemed
| light to them. John was renowned in his
vicinity as the man who could do the longest
and hardest day s work and Mary soon became
celebrated among the housewives for her skill
and prudence in household management Her
butter was known as bringing an extra price
her cheese had a remarkable flavor and fine
ness. She had a wonderful adroitness and
skill in cutting, shaping, and making of house
hold garments, and her husband was wont to
boast that since his marriage his clothes had
cost him only one half what they did before.
AS to her own dress, such was her skill in alter
ing and mending, such her carefulness in wear
ing, that personal expenses seemed scarcely
perceptible item.
John and Mary became parents of a numer-
GUS family. Six fine boys and three blooming
daughters were successfully added to their
household. The care of rearing all these in
fants was entirely borne by Mary without a
servant of any kind any diminution of her
household labors, except for the first fortnight
after the birth of the first child, when a good
: woman of the neighborhood came in to look
after thugs while Mary was getting back her
, strength. But after the first fortnight, Mary
, went back to her work with the added care of
the infant. AS her children grew up, she train
ed them to be her helpers. The eldest daugh.
ter became a proficient in household indus
! tries, and when only twelve years of age was
: competent to take her mothers place in the
, family at the birth of little brother. These
boys, when they were little, were likewise
trained to household labor, and helped theil
mother in the house till they were large enough
s to make their services of value in the fields.
n In time, this family became perfect littl
q industrial association, every member of which
f was working toward one end-namely tn,
g payment of the yearly interest on the mortgage
s and the gaining of surplus wherewith to pa
n the principal.
# But so large family has many expenses
There were sicknesses and accidents to increas
labOrs; Chere were bad crops, drOughts, and a
D. the other disappOintments of farming life an
l- sometimes the domestic ark seemed to roll an
n plunge heavily, like a water-logged vesse
It threatening every moment to go over. job
er was something of hypochondriac, and at thes
N times would talk bitterly about family exper
N ses and accuse his wife and daughters of ez
travagance He fell into way, that many {
ne the male sex have, of regarding every thin
n, that is bought for a woman as of course supe
:? fluffy. The pretty Sunday bonnets of h
50 blooming daughters, their nice, lady-like dres
to es, their little girlsh ornaments, were remarkt
ng on with a savage severity. 6 | work hard tC
the money that you spend on fnery," was
es common saying, accepted in silence by his wi
th and daughters.
to The fact was, that John never, in his ov
on mind, had considered that any work but
Ct earned the money that paid for the farm al
supplied the provisions for the family. Eve
no cent that came into the family Golfers he regaI
of ed as his by right of acquisition, and his W
of and daughters as dependents upon his bount
his Now comes our inquiry. Who did earn t
9TH money that paid for John farm? If his W
of performed for him all the service for which
to paid tailor formerly, did she not earn tt
; is money as really as the tailor? If John
Ind been obliged to hire woman to perform I
ar labors which Mary performed in the house a
,ct- dairy, how much week would he have be
obliged to pay herr And did not Mary ed
es- this sum-as fairly as John earned his da
irst work in the field?
cen But suppose John had been obliged, in
tab dition to hire a woman not only capable of
perintending his dairy, but of training his cl
dren, and instructing them in morals--a wom
nue. in short, who should be nurse, cook, kou
ats keeper, and moral guardian, in addition to
on ing tailoress, seamstress, and dairy woman
ays how much would he have had to pay tor
nan these things united, if he had been obliged
mas hire them by money, instead of getting tn
600 for love? So much as he would have b
up obliged to pay, his wife earned every week
ions her life, and ought to have had freely put i
was her hands-not as husbands gift but as
n, own lawful, proper earnings. 1t should h
nee been her salary, and the choice left with he
has spend it as she pleased. Then she could,
His probably would have paid her portion to RI
Ugh the mortgage and secure the family hOmeste
mo- But because this salary, fairly earned,
,ass- never been paid her, her husband cherishes
am, idea that he alone has earned the money +
1hirl for the farm, and that he supported his '
mo- and daughters.
ated Query: Has not his wife supported
d to quite as much as he has supported her p
wing iStosoe IN Hearth and Home.
d it. -------=---.-.-----
with GEN. GRANT A TEMPERANCE MAN.
: life National Temperance Advocate remarks:
n his the New President s course during one OF