The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-07-14
QThe Uirpiria State Sournal
MONDAY EVENING, JULY IA. 1873
The value of a Good Trade.

1 nut my shawl on ana sat Oh inc grass,
and pretended was keeping him company.
lie is a man Of good sense, and he SAID q
great many sensible things. | remarked
that moving must be his trade, he dld II
so we'll, aud made such nice work,
"Heh!n he shifted |; "l'm jack OF All
trades and master of none. l can 90
most ANYTHING that take hold OF aud
he leaned over and shaved the grass
neatly{ from about snarl OF rose'bustes,
a beautiful tangle that couldn't prune for
very tenderness of heart. ]
i Oh thank you ~ said; " you did
that as kindly as a 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 1t to
grow as wild, and ranting, and riotous,
and Just as extrayagantly as it peases. !
don't care if it leaps as high as the top
of the house," said |. good deal excited.
swell, 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. Ii was reg Ter gar
dener, s'pose would have attacted 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 a. 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 a comiorta-
BILE sort of way. but, Miss Potts, |
think it's every mans duty to give las
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 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 resolv-
ed. fore God am 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 dutiful son and brother. Itdid seem
kind q 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
for 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 in the sum-
mer. I'd taken shine to Milly Brown
she was modest little hard-workin' cree
tur-and SO we concluded to marry and
help each other along. Whenever regretted
it.; and though don't own foot O. land,
and have no trade, we have always man
aged SO that we never had to endure much
privation. Be sure I've had to wearpatch
upon patch, am Milly's had to turn her
dresses bottom end up, an pother side
out we've got along grandy.
'But, Miss Potts, it's just as much as
can do to stand up and feel myself a man
among men. Amt an independent man;
l've no trade. To-day NOW your yard; to-
morrow help Farmer Hutchins to move his
smoke house, the next day pillow corn for
Jack Williams, maybe the next I'll make
chimney in Ephraim's kitchen, or elevate
grain in Taylor's warehouse, or haul coal for
Caster, or make pavement on Milk street,
or weed somebody's garden. That's no
way o. dom, hacking round for Tom, Dick
an Harry, sometimes getting paid, and
sometimes only paid in worthless promises.
Why, very often / work half day for a
man and he'll say, 'Tll do you good turn
sometime, Wilson , or, IT'S mighty nice
thing to be as handy a man as you are,
George CO.
"No, Miss Potts, Pm not free mani
am a bondman, wear shackles, an here
I've 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
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 up before
thought. said Bower said /, now
you can't do better thing than to appren-
tice Ned and Timothy to trades. You
don't want to live in town and have two
big idle boys trifing away their time.
Don't do as my father did, don't let 'em
feel as though you had not done all faith
er's duty. You can have Ned learn the
tinner's trade, and let Tim be mason, or
aplasterer, or a COOPER am what does
neighbor Bower do but up and git mad,
an tell me to mind my own business, an
that he was capable of lookin' after his
own family.
swell, to day those Bower boys are
like me, going jobbing round wherever
they can get a hands turn TO do. think
IL is a blasted shame for man to bring
poor children into this world and not do a
fathers duty by them, just leave them to
shift for themselves, crippled, shacllled,
hobbled, wings clipped and not feeling that
they belong to the class of men who are
free and brave ard bold, and who can
stand up and look the world in the face
and feel themselves no mans inferior.
"That was nice thing, sensible, too,
that Esquire Hamilton did last week. His
youngest son, Ralph. don't like to go to
schools dull about learning--it is a
drudgery TO him, and so, with his own
consent, his father bound him to the black
smiths trade. My what a growth that
boy'll get! He is pretty hearty now, but
what muscle will be developed, and what
ruddy face, and strong arm, and how
happy he'll be-.
''Oh, think its a Gods blessing for a
man to have atrade, even if he don't fall
back upon it to make living! So So
well--Pll try and do my duty by my
boys" and my neighbor drew his sleev,
across his moist face and went on with his
moving. - S
My heart ached for the poor man, ant
1 shut my teeth a little viciously in mem
ory of the indifferent old father in hi
grave on the hillside. In my heart sane
toned every word had heard, and
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