The Grange advance., 1874-09-16
BETSEY JAMES COMPLAINT.
APUTNAM COUNTY BALLAD.
Z. e. HOPKINS.

It's not for a woman to say, John, it's not
for woman to say;
You'll never have acres enough, John, let
it be yea or nay;
You're poorer to-day with your added
farms than when you began you know
More than thirty-fve years ago, John, than
thirty-dve years ago.
Together we've scrimped and saved, John,
and together we've plodded and
worked,
And none will say I've held you back, or
ever duty shirked;
I'm only woman, sud where I've failed
I've failed as woman would,
But I've done as well as l could, John,
I've done as well as l could.
I've milked the COWS and I've churned
the butter, and I've knitted and sew.
ed and spun,
Tended the house and kept the bees, but
never my work was done.
With wooden churn and spinning
wheel I've stood on . puncheon floor
For these thirty. five years and more, John,
these thirty-five years and more.
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made it, you know, myself;
Never a spoon but an iron spoon, never
dish but delf;
Instead Of a cooking stove, pot and skill
let to bake and brew,
With hook in an open fire place, John,
burnt almost through h and through.
Split bottom chairs, table Of deal, with
never cover at all;
This was our kitchen in Spring, John,
Summer and Winter and Fall.
We cooked and @e washed and we ate and
slept and lived in the self same room,
For little we had and nard we toiled, just
for the sake of a home.
The cabin was tidy for that John, and I'd
never word of blame
Till Sue and Bob, and Tom, were born,
and after the baby came,
And then for their sakes and not for my
own, entered my first complaint,
For I never was an angel, John, and you
never was a saint.
And you said that a barn was needed
mnre, beside woman could wait,
Though we were rich, yet all we had, we
had in our real estate;
Times were hard and money was scarce,
and you owed for the ten-acre lot,
But my little debt you forgot, John, my
little debt you forgot.
IL own I'm terrible dullard, John, never
could understand
Why some men are always poor with hum
dreds of acres of land,
But I've waited and waited and waited till
you should get out of debt,
And if I'd kept my patience, John, I
might have been waiting yet.
Nor dressed in my linsey woolsey then,
and you in your mill wrought jeans,
While my money went for caildren's
clothes, but yours for farm machines,
And after We paid for the place, too, with
little to eat and wear,
Twas more than woman could bear,J
mere than q woman could bear. ohm.
But bore it as long as could, John, and
got when tho girls were grown
A couple Of rooms from the lumhes after
the barn was done,
Because, though the cabin was big ior
two, twas little enough for ten,
When baby Sue was woman grown, and
the boys were almost men.
I'm 'fraid you're forgetting the children,
John, forgetting the wrong you do,
As if they stood upon four legs instead Of
like men on two,
With plenty to eat but harder drove than
an OK, horse or mule,
With nine moths given to farmers work
and'three months given to school.
Money that goes for foot of land il
grudgjngly spent for book,
And the term Of school brings with it its
regular winter croak,
Why children are never content to be as
wise as their fathers were,
Vut we have no learning to spare, John,
we have no learning to spare.
Susan and Robert must use the slate tha
you began ciphering on,
The others must use it too, John, wher
Susan and Bob are gone;
It's we'll enough to be saving, join, bu
saving may be an excuse
For wasting your life in boarding wha
the Lord intended for use.
You love all the children Of course. John
you love all the children Of course.
But your kind oflove may some day be
little less than curse,
Far better to give them in schooling tn,
pay for the little they've done.
And let them begin life as wa did, John
thirty-dve years agone.
You always were good in your way, John
you were good enough in your way
But then you were left to yourself. John
and nobody said you nay,
For say what you know to be true, John
go on As you have begun, ( =: :
And tho happiest days of our lives will b
the ones that are gone.
The Grange movement has caugh
fire in Canada. The "Worthies of tn