St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-05-26
"IIe can fill if if he tries hard {"

delays that may occur, and the mere fac
of your putting TIE price at sevcnty-fr
cents, in case Of his failing To have i
ready at the time specified, shows tha
| you entertained Il doubt, at least, abou
it. Twenty-iour dollars 10 that poo
man is IL deal 10 lose, and there is NJ
telling what privations the family may
have 10 endure by his trying 10 fill tI,
contract You will pay Thomas Barnc.
forty dollars more for the same amount
OF work than you will Joe Miller, and hl
is not half 81 needy. The difference in
drawing Is worth something to you, ac,
cordlng To your own estimate, TO say
nothing of the worth of the wood rs it
stands"
That is nothing to him, rs he is 90
Ing to clear his land, whether have the
wood or not"
There was anger in his tones, for he
had Silenced .ust such thoughts in his
own breast
Mrs. Rankin could not see him DELHI
erately wrongin@ poor man without
demonstrating, though she knew from
bitter experience that to her husband her
words were ;S sounding brass.
at may be nothin" to him." Inc sail,
"but TO you know it is lie has taken
up 4 piece OF woodland, and to make
the first payment, has paid out the last
dollar he possesses. To make out the
required amount, lie sold his cow. In
the contract, you give him fifty days,
and if the two hundred cords are not
ready for measurement in that time, you
are TO pay him only Scventy-tivc cents"
"That was put in as 4 spur, for | want
the wood, and would have agreed to pay
him one dollar, rat!;cr than not have it
though | expect Il man to do as he agrees
i always d."
''lcS but you are very careful a. to
what you agree" said his wife with Il
meaning smile.
"Ah. therein lies one great secret Of
success in business. | made sufficient
allowances for hindrancc~. lie and his
two boys can put up siN cords in Il day
with ease but will allow item thirty
five days, and that will give them fifteen
days 10 work elsewhere for bread. am
not 80 bad Il man after all, if do like
good bargains
''IIow Il" you make it fifteen days ~
"Iiumph, i not the difference fifteen
between fifty and ihirty-iive -
Would you compel Il man 10 work
upon the Sabbath -
Il did not think of tine Slbhaihs. ."
>tammrrcd Mr.. Rnkin, booking grratlv
confused.
lie had no need TO remind tho pale,
over worked, heart broken women before
him, that the Sabbath WAS no, in nll his
thoughts. She knew him better than lac
knew himself knew him to be "a grasp
ing, cNturlipnatr man in hi~ dealings
with others aul ~hc rrcmh'rd for the
poor mau that had, Il few hour, before.
lnii tia. house She had reasoned with
her husband until Reason seemed futile,
and every day she wa- cnn-riou- ot lo-in.
confidence in his INTEGRITY.
Sad must he the day to that witr, who
has Il love and reverence for truth and
honesty, that bring home to her SDul the
sicl>ening Truth that her husband Is un-
worthy Ct the sacred places OF her heart
No true woman can reverence the man
who Is continually SUFFERING the weeds
and br:mblc- of human nature tu choke
out the blossoms of immortal good in her
soul.
As the day passed, the stroke of the
NJ !
tinctly heard at tine farm house OF John
Rankin To him it WAS simply the
clicking OF dollars in his already full col-
ierS. No thought Of pity tor the shivcr-
ing, half-fcd men and boys, struggling to
meet the hard conditions he had pressed
upon them, ever entered his mind, rs he
seated himself at his we'll spread table.
lie was growing rich very fast rich in
houses and lands, but misrrably poor in
all that makes life beautiful, LAYING up
treasures for moth and ru-t tn corrupt
Onc of Joe Millrr's boys cut his foot,
long before ole half of the wood WAS
chopped. The family was suffering for
sufficient nouriShing food. The high
price of food and clothing were bidding
fair to swallow up the greater part of his
labor. 1t was taking up more days than
he had anticipated, 10 work elsewhere
and earn the food necessary TO keep them
from starvation. The fierce, biting cold
of mid-winter WIS purpling the checks of
his little ones, and the racking coughs,
from colds taken by their constant expo
sure to the weather, while gathering chips
from the woods TO keep them from irccz-
ing, smotc heavily upon the fathers
heart. Sometimes ..thr temptation to
give up the job, or not to try and COM
plcte it in the specified time, was strong
upon him; but 10 do 50 was to give
John Rankin too much Of his hard earn
ings. He had heard that Thomas
Barnes was TO have one dollar per cord,
and that angered him, and made him feel
all the more determined to finish the
work in the fifty days.
81 must have COW in the spring"
he would think, as he rcdoubIcd his cX-
ertions. 81 was too grasping, myself;
had l taken only one hundred cords,
could have done it with case, and not
distress my family; but the temptation
was too alluring-were thoughts ever
present. Then would the conviction of
the real truth force itself upon him, that
John Rankin urged the two hundred
cords from no other motive than selfish
ness. As the expiration Of the fifty days
drew nigh, he became fearful that he
would fail TO fill his part Of the contract
His second boy caught severe cold, and
was confined TO the house with pncumo-
MIA. lie had calculated on the full help
Of his two oldest boys. He felt weak,