St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1870-09-16
NO. =.

: 't1h cOW ant ore GO0t OI-M hiS hQnd
letter. TME-ll.3O +. NJ, .SuHicly niMt
One hundred and fifty dollars twistc,
out of my poor old father, hy my poo
cid mother, for me, and by Il deliberately
Planned and coolly told lie Sabbath
breaking, drunkenness. gambling,
possessed these accomplishments wccl
ago. | may now add TO my titles La
and robLor, without stretching the trutl
a whit.
This money came hard Father ha
a mortgage ON a part Of his land 10 lif
this fall, and it WAS painfully earned
and scrupulously saved for that purpose
| remember, before lett home, how
good both father and mother would fee
when butter was up Il cent or two i
pouud, d, the difference on the ten OF
twenty pounds ready for the market wa,
somethiu@ toward lifting the load whicl
was bearing them down. And one da,
when father opened the paper, ard saw
that wheat was up five cents Il bu>hrl. il
WAS almost made the OccasUn OF It iubi-
lee. lie had one hundred bushcl- in Ill,
barn, and II WAS to him 50
All thi, money cot My letter t,
my mCth,r did ii. 1t was Il bungliu-
letter, full Ut contradictions and absurd
tiles. asked tor the money for loc
many purposes. In the beginning | tod
her that l had been ''lct into" an opera
ton III which could double the money
in Il weeks time. and before | cot ihro
| sad that Dnniiy, Crash y Co.. only
pald salaries quarIUry-ihaI TO ask tnl
money before quartcr-,kty would impair
my prospects III the house, and ihat
NUT have II to pay necessary expenses.
| Crcssoi ami rc-cru>>rd myself "a dozen
times; but what of ii Love suspect,
no lIeS. talher was reluctant 10 parl
win II, but @hc worried il cat Of him
lie i cautious and t!.sc, .og ~ lat lac ha-
accumulated has been 10y the hardest OF
hard work, and he is 10Th t. part witt
any ol il, particularly when he la. :.
debt ahead which cover, "A portion ut hi
hard earned ACRES But mother ha- iaitl
in mc-@ood God o. Seru. tre,Ls uy" / tc,u
irolihy g. d-Lnd >hc never let mm ~i,cl
till She got ii out of hm. Her mind wa.
not easy though; Tor blinded as She wa,
by her love for mu-Iog that was, /,
tlhe advantage Ut lt-,hc saw the con-
ir"dir.lon, III my staicmCnls. i hay,
lrnni~y,i tather,'' says -hr. in her letter
enclosing lhr money, ''Il.at lac shall hAv,
II back III time to meet hi, obligations
GA. nay boy, DO not let my pIomis. iaiI.
VA hive Lot de- | know III,
wosl She lett unfinished. She would hot
nri.c 1t or lc, r.c know tna. it WIS III
Lcr mind.
Gae hundred and fifty dollars made by
-ruwing wheat at fifty cents Il bu>hcl
How many days Of toll, how many biz
hops OF sweat, how many strainings oi
muscle did i: take to earn this sum OF
money. Each drop OF liquor hay,
taken cvsi my poor father Il drop OF
sweat. Tic profits of hall year of Tia,
hardest OF toll for both father and moth,
CT spent by me in seven weeks, \
busted OF wheat which took plDugnng,
sowing, rtapirg, thre>hing, and cleaning,
for a single drink, and another bu-hc
for cigar, Two pound, of mother,
yellow butter, MIXED, churncd, worked
and marketed. for Il drink, and >cor,
If pounds staked upon Il cigar or Il tur;
ol IL card. What work she did for that
drink How many times has she gon,
iired to her bed, worn out and weary, il
. the accumulation of that which | 80 sci
ii,hly, fooli-hly, wickedIy threw away
And now what am to do? | hac
! to get money from home or somcwhcr,
else, to pay my debts; but why did
listen to Jim Mason, and ask for NOR,
than just enough to pay what | mus
pay And. above all, why did the draf
, come on Saturday, leaving Inc to pass
Sunday with seventy dollars in my pock
ct! And with seventy dollars in N,
} pocket, why did take liquor in til,
t morning! Why did | 20 Immediately
: with my head upset with what | ha,
I taken, in search OF Jim Mason and ,Jacl
e Armsby, and permit them TO lead IN
: into the same slough from which thi
I lied-lor money was TO cXtricate Inc? Al
e zone in one day, The same old gam
j
= straneer-the same game of cards-th
y same winning twice-more Equor-los
e ing to the end of my purse, and the
i recling hall-sobcr TO this den, half-cUll
Y sciouS. and certain of only one thing
= that | was fool and Il dupc, as well a
X the robber of a kind father and lovin
mother.
y What can | do Dare | ask an nd
+ vance of Dmity, Crash x Co.? | hear
i Jimmy Morse do that once, when it Wa
: a case of necessity, and the look tha
|. Dimity gave him was enough to kee
. me from doing it forever. Beside:
e should do it, they would ask me wha
Il | had done with my salary; and HOY
n long would it take them to find out a
e about my recklessness My chances {
o holding my place wouldn't be one in
thousand if they knew as much of me :
II | know Of my self. There is nothing t
e be hoped for from that quarter. | aske
1t Jack Armsby before | got home 10 len
L me couple of hundred, and he laughe
|, at me, with the remark that l was a
If together too free with money to max
:, lending safe. Jim Mason hasn't,a cen
nor is there 4 soul in the house, or any
where else that | know Of TO help me.
It l have paid my board-biIl, my cigal
6 bill, the borrowed money that l squar
y dered, and all with money earned b
t father and mother, and without whic
tbeir home will be ieopardized. | mu: