Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-03-02
VOLUME XVI.
TOM JoINER,s "GooD ANGEL. 1.

| reader In nearly the same words as it wa.
told to the writer, by as fine specimen O
the British workman as ever stood in /,
workshop.
l couldn't even say my A B G at tha
tme-could !, Mary ?-and as to bool
learning, l was the only one in our shoI
not able to read the newspaper. wa.
almost ashamed to listen to them, and al
ways kept out of sight when they were
reading At breakfast-time they would
| all be sitting down on heap of shavings
and sawdust in one corner Of the shop
reading and talking, while / would stay
IN The next room pretending to work ; but
stopped there not to work, but to think
and the only consolation l obtained was
the knowledge of my ignorance. You
might have seen me crouching behind the
door, with my ear against the crevice, lis
tening until l felt thoroughly ashamed OF
myself and my lack of education But
then, thought i, there is not man in the
workshop who can plane, or join, or
chisel, or cut better than can, and do it
without the aid of books-so you see that
although l envied them when they were
reading, I hadn't the courage to take
kindly to learning
!" No,"I said, " if man comes to be
thirty years of age and knows his trade
well, without having any book learning,
he is sure to get on in the world.'
That was the way put it to myself,
and l believe that is the way with hun
dreds of others. Some say learning makes
man proud-not bit of it-nor does it
make him over-ambitious. I am quite
content with my present situation, and do
not intend putting myself very much out
of the way to get rich faster, for believe
they who run too swiftly soon lose all
their breath.
What did I do with myself of an
evening? Sometimes, when l could afford
it, 1 went to the theater and sometimes to
the music halls, and when couldn't afford
it, only went to the nearest public house
to drink five or six glasses of ale, and
smoke my pipe in company with lot of
others My opinion of theaters is this
They may be innocent enough to those
who can pay to go to the best parts of the
house, for all | know, or they may not !;
but ( do know that l never received any
good in the gallery, mixing with so many
OF all sorts, and | very often caught a
severe cold coming from the almost suffo
eating heat, into the pure, cold, night air
of the naked heavens. 1t would never do
for man in my trade to frequent thea
ters; he can't get up early the next
morning.. and, in consequence, he very
often loses his situation.
was going to tell you how came to
be foreman in the shop where now work
l shall come to it presently: When mar
ried Mary, | didn't know B from bull, j, as
the saying is; and on taking her the first
weeks wages, she said, holding up shil-
ling, | am going to put by shilling
every week 10 buy papers and books for
you when you can read"
"That won't be for a long time to
come" said I. "How long did it take
you to learn %
Not a great while; about twelve
months, | think"
!" 1t seems to me, Mary, that's long
time. But why should learn to read ?"
| asked, for didn't like even Mary to
know that aoante1 to learn, and was too
proud to commence.
Never mind" said she, playfully /;
you shall buy spelling book tonight,
and will teach you myself"
Nonsense, Mary, you've quite enough
to do to attend to the house, to say moth
ing of your dress making trade"
. can find plenty of time to teach yoaS,
Tom, and she came up to me, and laid her
hand SO lovingly on my shoulder, and fell
to coaxing me in such pleasant manner,
that | could oppose her wishes no longer,
and went straight to the booksellers shop
for the spelling book; and that very same
night Mary gave me my first lesson. I
never had ma0ny hours to spare, and
haven't now; so you must not expect that
know great deal but I can and do
read and understand my Bible and the
newspapers, and on Sundays, when we go
to church or chapel, can always join
heart and soul in the service, because
now know what it all means. We read
the Bible together every evening, Mary
and l; she reads one chapter and l the
next, and we should do so IN the morning
also, but you know how early go to work
long before she is awake.
About month after we were married,
whom should I meet but very old mate
of mine, Jack Ruggles Twas Saturday
night.
".Well, Tom," said he, chow are you
haven't seen you this age.
"Middling, Jack; nothing particular to
complain of :
= Still at the old shop?"
Yes and likely to stay there, if mind
what [ am about"
That's the sort. I've heard you were
married--is it true?"
1t is" said l.
We'll, come and let us have glass
over it."
didn't make any objections, although I
would rather have gone home to Mary I
didn't like to refuse, or he would have
said was under petticoat government.
That's what they always say when they
see a newly married man wants to get
home to his wife, and they want him to 90
drinking. We went into the "Slow and
Easy" and called for pot of beer, and
then several of our chums dropped in,
and, am sorry to say, I drank more than
was good for me. | got drunk-don't look
SO grave-'twas for thezast time l thought
OF Mary at home expecting me, and won
derlng whatever had happened. What
would she say? Could she fancy was
getting drunk at the Slow and Easy?"
No-never!
Instead of giving me the courage was
lacking, this thought made me drink the
harder to drown it. In the DAYS when I
was counting Mary, / never drank any
thing intoxicating until after | left her; SO
she did not know-for I never drank at
home-that [ was not total abstainer.
She told me afterwards she always thought
l was one, or she would never have mar
ried me- : - ss -
E We stopped at the "Slow and Easy
drinking for five hours-in fact, until half
past eleven; and then were turned out by
the landlord-probably because we were
too drunk to drink any more. Just as we
were pushed like dogs into the street
against whom should ]. stumble but Mary
and my master both hurrying to the police
station to inquire whether any one like me
had been seen during the last few hours
They were afraid had met with a most
serious accident.
If 1 were to live a thousand years ]
should never forget the amazed look oi
scorn and contempt Mary cast upon me
1t made me mad-madl I swore at Mary
and called her such bitter names as ]
would give the world to revoke; and with
my fist knocked my employer into the
gutter, and, as it was very muddy, he
wasn't in good temper when he found
out whose fault it was Tom," said he
after time, during which he had beer
scraping the dust from his clothes, " &C
home now with your wife, I shall have a
few words to say to you Monday
morning."
| Drunk as I was, was too ashamed te
| cor xUor5 70 Maru until xUo ra+ how,