Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-08-20
The Value Of a Good Trade.

WE had man moving our doOr-yard
yesterday watched him pretty closely
for fear he would snip off my rose bushes
l put my shawl on and sat on the grass
and pretended / was keeping him compa-
ny. He is man of good sense, and he
said great many sensible things. [ re-
marked that moving must be his trade,
he did it so well, and made such nice
work.
"Hehr' he shifted; "I'm Jack of all
trades and master of none I can do most
anything that [ take hold Of" and he
leaned over and shaved the grass neatly
from about snarl of rose-bushes, a beau
tiful tangle that couldn't prune for very
tenderness of heart. -
''Oh, thank your l said; "you did that
as kindly as a mother would dress her
babe. Any other man would have said /:
Here's a dead branch, Miss Potts ? or,
'1on is a 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. I don't care
If it leaps as high as the top of the house, y
said |, a good deal excited
"Well, carcalate that it would be the
better of little trimmin', but, as you say,
it's well enough to let natur' have her own
way, just to see what all she can do when
she takes notion. IF | was a regular
gardener, | s'pose [ would have attacted
that bush whether or no. [ often wish
father had apErenticed me to that trade
poor man, he's been dead an gone this
many long year; he was good father,
andrl sdon'tfind it in my heart to bring up
word o. blame agin him;p and here he
/ leaned on the handle of the scythe. in a
comfortable sort of a way. "But, Miss
Potts, I 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 a 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, strik-
in out to do for ourselves, two green bows
Wiz u diWd UCCn Gd IOI. dc d.
ways 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 somehow, until now he
is qualified to teach-he teaches in the
winter and goes to school in the summer.
I'd taken ashine to Milly Browns she
was modest little hard-workins creeturA
and so we concluded to marry and help
each other along. We never regretted it;
and though | don't own a foot o'sland,
and have no trade, we have always man
aged 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 t'other side
out; we've got along grandly.sb
''But, Miss Potts, it's just as much asI
can do to stand up an feel myself a man
among men. / amt an independent man !;
I've no trade. To-day | NOW your yard !;
tomorrow / help Farmer Hutchins move
his smoke-house; the next day | pillow
corn for Jack Williams; maybe the next
III make chimney in Ephraim's kitchen,
or elevate grain in sTaylor's warehouse, or
maui coal for Caster, or make a pavement
On gu Alii x street, or weed somebody's gar
- I'll mats no way o. dom, hackin'
ionno Tor Tom, Dick an Harry, some
llnieS getting paid, and sometimes only
paiu III worthless promises Why, very
often work half a day for man and