Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1869-10-21
Who Earned that Money!
BY HARRIET BRRHRR STOWE.

John Simmons began life with nothing
but pair of bands, Hiring himself ou
as common laborer, he laid up gradual
small sums of money. In time, he wa
enabled to pay in part the price of farm,
the remainder being held upon mortgage
the interest 10 be paid yearly, and the prin-
cipal in instalments, till the whole was liqui-
dated.
John took TO wife Mary Evans, one of
the prettest girls in the parish, and they
two commenced housekeeping together.
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 under
stood 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 re-
nowned in his vicinity as the man who
could do the longest and hardest days 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 remarkable flavor and fineness.
She had wonderful adroitness and skill in
the cutting, shaping, and making of house
l
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 altering and mending, such her care
| fulness in wearing, that her personal ex-
penses seemed scarcely perceptible item.
John and Mary became parents Of num-
erous family. Six fine boys and three
blooming daughters were successfully added
to their household. The care of rearing all
| l,I,a ;,c, IL, hxr lforx
without a servant of any kind, any dimuni-
tion of her household labors, except for the
first fortnight after the birth of the first
child, when good woman of the neighbor-
hood cane in 10 look after things 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,sbe trained them to be
her helpers. The eldest daughter early be-
came proficient in household industries;
and when only twelve years of age was COM
petent to take her mothers place in the fam
lily at the birth of little brother. These
boys, when they were little, were likewise
trained to household labor, and helped their
mother in the house till they were large
enough to make their services Of value In the
fields.
In time, this family became a perfect lit
tie industrial association, every member of
| WulCu was WOihiuS toWuiu ouC cuu-uaiuo-
ly: the payment of the yearly interest on
the mortgage, and the gaining of surplus
wherewilh to pay the principal.
But 80 large family has many expenses.
There were sicknesses and accidents TO in
crease labors there were bad crops,
droughts, and all the other disappointments
of farming life; and sometimes The domestic
ark seemed to roll and plunge heavily, like
water-logged vessel, threatening every mo-
l I.l,., l,t Af
hypochondriac, and at these times would
talk bitterly about family expenses, and ac-
cuse his wife and daughters of extravaganza.
He fell into way, that many OF the male
sex have of regarding everything that Is
bought for woman as Of course super
fluffy The pretty Sunday bonnets Of his
blooming daughters, their nice, lady-like
dresses, their little girlsh ornaments, were
remarked on with a savage severity. 81
work hard for money that, you spend on
finery," was common saying, accepted in
silence by his wife and daughters.
The fact was, that John never, in his own
mind, had considered that any work but his
3 earned the money that paid for the farm and
, supplied the provisions for the family.
. Every cent that came into the family Golfers
! he regarded as his by right of acquisition,
/ and his wife and daughters as dependents
! upon his bounty.
1NOW tUutb Jul NJ Coih
the money that paid for Johns farm ? II
] his wife performed for him all the service
! for which he paid tailor formerly, did she
5 not earn that money as really as the tailor
If John had been obliged to hire woman
] to perform the labors which Mary performed
e in the house and dairy, how much week
g would he have been obliged to pay her
( And did not Mary fairly earn this sum-as
e fairly as John earned bis days work in the
v field?
y But suppose John had been obliged, il
. addition, to hire woman, not only capable
: of experimenting his diary, but OF traiHinl
/ his children, and ins,ruciing them in morals
IA woman, in short, who should be nurse
: cook, housekeeper, and moral guardian, in
d addition to being taoress, seamstress, anc
dairy -woman-how much would he have tt
pay for all these things united, If lie hat
u been ohlidged TO hire them by money, in
) stead of getting them for love- So much a
he would have been obliged TO pay, bil
II wife earned every week Ut her life, and tt
l. have had freely put into her hands-aot us
J. husbands gift, but as her own lawful, prop
er earnings 1t should have been Aer sdtd
e ary, and the choice left with her to spend
+ MS she pleased. Then she could and proba
e bly would have paid her portion to raise th'
l. mortgage and secure the farm.
e But because this salary, fairly earned, ha
is never been paid her, het husband cherishe
a, the idea that he alone had earned the none,
ID paid for the farm, and that he supported hi
r wife and daughters.
it Query: has not his wife supported hin
~ quite as much as he hns supported her P
IL Hearth and Home.