The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-09-12
NUMBER q.
Value of a Good Trade.

bushes. put my shawl on and sat on
the grass, and pretended | was keeping
him company. He is q man of good
sense, and he said great many sensible
things. I remarked that moving must
be his trade, he did it so well, and made
such nice work.
"Hehp' he snuffed; 'T'm Jack-of-all-
trades and master of none. / can do
most anything that 1 take hold Off
and he leaned over and Stayed the grass
neatly from about snarl of rose-bushes,
beautiful tangle that L couldn't prune
for very tenderness of heart.
"Oh, thank your / said; "you did
that as kindly as n mother would dress
her babe. Any other man would have
said: Here's dead branch, Miss Potts.
or, sYon is q useless shoot or, THAT
bush yonder 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 il pleases.
| don't care if it leaps as high as the
top Of the house." said l, good deal eX-
cited.
"WelI, earcalate that it would be the
better OF a little trimmin', but, as you
say, it's well enough to let natIIr' have
her own way, just to see what all she
can do when she takes a notion. If |
was reg lar gardener, | s'pose | would
have attacked that bush whether or no.
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, and don't find it 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 u
way. "But, Miss Potts, | think it's
every man'sduty to give his boys trades.
| When father died he left n 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 good living, and pay
the preacher and the taxes, and school
the children, and meet an occasional
doctors bill; and so Jack and | talked it
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, and do the part of a
dutiful son and brother. 1t did seem
kind o. hard, strikin' out to do for our
selves, two green boys who'd always
been cared for. Jack'd always wanted
more larnin'; he never was satisfied, and
so he went away to school TO shift fOI
himself as he best could. Well, he
worried along somehow, until now he is
qualified to teach-he teaches in the
winter and goes to school i'm the sum-
mer. I'd taken a shine to Milly Brown
she was a modest little hard-workin'
creetur-and so We concluded to marry
and help each other along. We never
regretted it; and though | don't own
foot o. land, and have no trade, we
have always managed so that we never
had to 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 tother side out; but we've got
along grandly.
"But, Miss Potts, Pve just as much as
l can do to stand up an feel myself a
man among men. L amt an independ-
ent man; I've no trade. To-day | NOW
your yard; tomorrow l help Farmer
Hutchins move his smoke-hOuse; the
next day plOw corn for Jack Williams;
maybe the next III make a chimney in
Ephriamis kitchen, or elevate grain in
Taylor's warehouse, or haul coal for
Caster, or make a pavement on Milk
street, or weed somebody's garden.
That's no way o. doin', hackin' round
for Tom, Dick aud Harry, sometimes
getting paid, and sometimes only paid
in worthless promises. Why, very Of
ten 1 work half day for man and
he'll say, T'll do you n good turn some
time, Wilson, or, it's n mighty nice
thing to be as handy man rs you are,
George
''No, Miss Potts, Pm not a free man
[ am bondsman, l wear shackles, an
hear I've q family comm on, promisin'
boys and girls, an Pm afraid I'll not be
able to do my whole duty by 'em. God
helpin' me l 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,
/ just spoke right up before l thought.
/ said, BOWER said /, now you can't
do better thing than to apprentice Ned
and Timothy to trades. You don't want
tolive in town and have two big idle boys
: trifiing away their time. Don't do as
my father did, don't let 'em ever feel rs
though you had not done fathers duty.
; Yon can have Ned learn the timers
trade, and let Tim be a mason or a
plasterer, or a "COPPER" and what does
neighbOr Bower do but upand get mad,
an tell me to mind my own business,
an that he was capable of loOkin' after
his own family.
like me, going jobbing round whenever
Z they can get hands turn to do.
think it is shame for a man to bring
poor children into this world and not
do fathers duty by them, just leave
them to shift for themselves, crippled
shackled, hobbled, wings clipped, and
not feeling that they belong to the class
OF men who stand up and look the world
, in the face and feel themselves no mans
, inferior.
'TThat was a nice thing, sensible, too,
that Esquire Hamilton did last week.
] His youngest son, Ralth, don't like to
J go to schools dull about learning-it
! is drudgery to him, and so, with his
own consent, his father bound him to
} the blacksmith's trade! My! what 4
! growth that boy'll get! He is pretty
} hearty now, but what muscle will be
) developed, and what a ruddy face, and
strong arm, and how happy he'll be.
, ''Oh, think it's a Gods blessing for
} a man to have trade, even if he don't
fall back upon it to make livingl Sc
] -so-well-Pll try and do my duty by
: my bOys;n and my neighbor drew hi,
: sleeve across his moist face and went Oh
, with his moving.
: My heart ached for the poor man, and
! shut my teeth q little viciously in
: memory OF the Indifferent old father il
} his grave on the hillside. In my hear
1 sanctioned every word l had heard
and / thought what a pity it is tha
young men so rush into the over
r crowded professional ranks, preferrin.
d to be fourth-rate lawyer, an ungodl,
minister, or an illiterate quack doctor
to that of first-rate blacksmith, wagon
\ maker or brick-layer.
: I'd rather see young man know how