The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1873-08-21
The Value of q Good Trade.

The Value of q Good Trade.
We had man moving our door
yard yesterday. l watched him pref
ty closely for fear he would snip of
my rose. bushes. put my shawl on
and sat on the grass, and pretended l
was keeping him company. He is .
man Of good sense, and he said great
many sensible things. l remarked
that moving must be his trade, he did
1t SO we'll, and made such nice work.
"Heh!' he shifted; "I'm Jack Of all
trades and master Of none. l can do
most anything that take hold of"
and he leaned over and shaved the
grass neatly from about snarl Of rose
bushes, beautiful tangie that l
couldn't prune for very tenderness Of
heart.
"Oh, thank you" l said ''you did
that rs kindly rs mother would dress
her babe. Any other man would have
said: Here's = dead branch. Miss
Potts , or, 'Yon is useless shoot > or,
That bush yander is a.sufferin' for the
knife It's my bush, you see. and
want it to grow as wild, and ranting.
and riotous, and just as extravagantly
as it pleases. don't care ii it leaps
AZ high as the top of the house," said
l., u good deal excited.
well, carcalate that 1t would be
the better of little trinmin', but, rs
you say, it's well enough to let natur'
have her own way, just to see what
all she can do when she takes q no
tion. II was reg'lar gardener,
s'pose l would have attacked that
bush whether or no. l often wish
father had apprenticed me to that
trade-poor man, he's been dead an
gone this many long year; he was .
good father, aud don't find 1t in my
heart to bring up word o. blame agin
him - and here he leaned on the
handle of the scythe in comfortable
sort Of way. But, Mics Potts,
think it's every mans duty to give his
boys trades. When father died he
left farm of one hundred and sixty
acres; there was mother, and we three
grown boys, and the two little girls.
and Johnny. and grandmother Well,
we couldn't all have the farm, and we
couldn't any more than make y good
living; aud pay the preacher and the
taxes, and school the children, and
meet an occasional DOCTORS bill; and
SO Jack and talked 1t over one night,
and though it did seem little hard,
we resolved, fore God an ourselves,
that we'd give up all right and claim
to the old farm to Tom, our Oldest
brother, if he'd care for mother and
the children, aud do the part offs
dutiful son and brother. 1t did seem
kind o. hard, strikin' out to do for
ourselves, two green boys who'd al
ways been cared for. Jack'd always
wanted more larnin', he never was
satisfied, and so he went away to
school to shift for himself as be best
could. Well, he worried along some
how, until now lie is qualified to
teach-he teaches In the winter and
goes to school in the summer. I'd
taken q shine to Mil'y Brown-she
was modest little hardworkin'
creetur-and so we concluded to mar
ry aud help each other along. We
never regretted it aud though don't
own a foot O. land, and have no trade,
we have always managed 80 that we
never ha. 10 endure much privation.
Be sure I've had to wear patch upon
patch, an Milly's had to turn her
dresses bottom end up, an t'other side
out; we've got along grandIy.
"But, Miss Potts, it's just as much
rs can do to stand up an feel myself
. man among men. amt an inde-
pendent man; I've no trade. To-day
I NOW your yard; tomorrow | help
Farmer Hutchins move his smoke
house the next day plow corn for
Jack Williams; maybe the next I'll
make chimney in Ephraim's kitch-
en-, or elevate grain in Taylor's ware
house, or haul coal for Caster. or make
q pavement on Milk street, or weed
somebody's garden. That's no way
o. doin', hackin' round for Tom, Dick
an Harry, sometimes getting paid,
and sometimes only paid in worthless.
promises. Why, very often | work
half a day for q man and he'll say,
IN do you good turn, sometime,
Wilson, or, it's mighty nice thing
to be as handy a man ss you are,
George
mo, Miss Potts, I'm not a free man
Il am a bondsman, wear shackles,
an here I've family coming on,
promising boys and girls, and I'm
afraid I'll not be able to do my whole
duty by 'em. God helpin' me | mean
to give every boy o. mine good trade,
anyhow maybe my girls, too. When
Bower broke up and had to sell his
farm and move to town, l just spoke
right up before + thought. said,
Bower, now you can't do better
thing tina n to apprentice Ned and
Timothy to trades. You don't want
to live in town and have two big idle
boys trifling away their time. Don't
do as my father did, don't let 'em
ever feel as though you had not done
all fathers duty. You can have
Ned learn the timers trade, and let
Tim be mason, or q plasterer, or .
COOPER an' what does neighbor Bow
ger do but up and get mad, an tell
me to mind my own business, an that
he was capable Of lookin' after his own
family.
"Well, to-day, those Bower boys
are like me, going jobbing around
wherever they can get . hands turn
to do. l think 1t Is q shame for man
to bring poor children into this world
and not do fathers duty by them,
just leave them to shift for themselves,