American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-12-06
AN ENGINEERS STORY.

AN ENGINEERS STORY.
411A1ssR1 WILLIAMS, IR.
I ANA practical mechanical engineer
Not one of these youngsters who go to
scientific school for few years, and take
&C. E, NJ. E., or something of the kind,
and then put on airs about it. They al
ways affect to snub US practical men, but
we rather get into them when it comes to
real work. OF course, these chaps are
we'll enough in heirwty end< that. isn't
mine) in getting.up aftfstic drawing g anu
models, and all that sort OF thing. And
sometimes they are of some account.
There was young Hoppin, who helped me
with that ,oggle- joint. l originated the
idea; he put it into shape. l made
enough TO retire on 1t, and l did the
square thing-bxA him. he acas . ''scien-
tific man, % taskl perfectly free to speak
my mind about the lot, always excepting
my friend Hoppin.
But this isn't telling my story. There's
my wife Bessie (bless her dear little hearty,
always saying l can't come to the point
without as many twists and turns as my
own old machinery. Perhaps she is
right. But then, this is the first time l
ever tried to express myself in print, and
/ don't exactly know how to go about it,
SO you must excuse me. That's reason
able, isn't its And besides, 1 am getting
SO stout and y-like, that 1 amt as
sharp as | used to be. My young &C
quaintance, who is an editor, or some
equally useless member of society, has
roped me into this scrape, and ought to
help me out; but he doesn't. All he says
is, Fire away, old man, and make it
short and sweet" I'm afraid this isn't
telling my story either. PrOlixity Chats
the-wofd( comes sort of natural like to
me now. Z -r-ls
Let me see. 1t was sixteen years ago
this summer that / came to New York in
search of employment l had been run
ming an engine in a big tann&Sy in the
western part of the State. and doing first
rate, till the company failed, and 1 was
thrown out of work. So l was Looking
about town for something to do. Money
guage SO low that l was ready for any
thing after a fortnight of searching and
waiting. l happened to be walking
through downtown cross street, when l
saw placard in the window of a paper
box factory-'Engiiaeer Wanted. Good
Salary That's just me-" says 1, SO 1
went into the Office and asked if l would
do. The manager said he would try me.
He did try me, and it seems l must have
sati=fis46tn, fnr he told me TO stay.
Now + d aboutthis manager and this
papef bdx factory that my story, such as
it is, will be; and to make things all
the starU, let me attempt to describe them
both.
First, then, the manager, Mr.. Samuel
Hardness, also sole owner OF the factory.
This Mr.. Samuel Hardness was the great
est villain ever came across. He's dead
now, poor man, and l hate to speak ill of
those who are gone, cause, you see, it's
much the same as Ginning behind a
mans back; but he acas villain all the
Not Of cfr hnn vii
lains, either. 1 have read lots of novels,
romances and such stuff lately, but
haven't seen anything about their villains
that applies to my villain. Theirs are in
variably thin, dark men, of 1.-THE, serpen-
tine motion; with yellow faces, straight
black hair, and deep-set, fugitive eyes.
Something of the evil Ole cropping out at
every point. Why, Lord bless you, you'd
recognize this kind of villain soon as ever
you clapped eyes on him, just you
would a patent machine, with every bit of
metal labeled. My villain wasn't tall,
wasn't dark at all; was tolerably stout, in
fact, and weektes do looking, didp'tsanirm
hit: and. - CIT this description Short,
was just like nost. anybody else you meet
When l engaged under linn, Of course l
didn't know ans thing about his viIlainy.
How could 1ff He wasn't labeled. -
And now for the factory itself 1t was
a somewhat dilapidated tive-story brick
concern. Engine in cellar (most every
manufacturer had his own power then,
instead of just betting on to the one big
engine of the block as they do now: of
fee and samples, first floor; clipping and
folding machines, second floor; girls
FASTING, sorting and trimming, on the
third floor; stock of all sorts on the fourth
and fifth We used to turn out an i'm
mense deal of work with very few hands
There were about twenty-five or so girls,
the manager, his clerk and Office boy, a
man to hoist and do odd jobs, the fireman
and myself Except when stock was
taken in or work sent out there was no.
body else in the building.
/ generally kept to my own business,
and staid down in the cellar nursing the
old engine She sadly needed it, being
as rickety and patched up a contrivance
as one cares to stay alongside of. She al
ways reminded me of some old people
you see, who are always in need of
pectoral for a cough, or a Hniment for
rheumatism, or something or other. This
engine of mine was in such state that
she always wanted easing somewhere, a
rivet here, plug there, new stuffing, more
felting, or band around the whole boil
er. From boiler to hy-wheel she was
Tickety, rickety. But there was no
present danger 10 be apprehended; all
was safe enough with proper care and at
tention. There was the rub. / had to
exercise that same proper care and atten-
ton all the time. But if was so- eccu
pied, / could not help meeting the girls
now and then, in the passage-way. Most
of them were of the common sort-coarse
vulgar creatures, that | never could abide
But there was one little pale-faced girl
took to straight off. She wasn't a bit like
the others. and seemed nice and quiet
and lady like, as they were noisy and
common. As said, took TO her, and
she-well, she didn't altogether sDub me.
We got " be- fast ftieads soon.- She told
me the tale of her sad life: how her father
had been prosperous mechanic. and
they had lived in snch dear little
home; how the father died, and left her,
mere mite of thing, in charge of her
feeble mother and baby sister; and how
she contrived to get along and keep grim
famine from the door on the pittance OF