Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1874-04-18

was Just like most anybody else you
meet. When ! engaged under him, of
course / didn't know anything about
his villainy. How could /? He wasn't
labeled
And now for the factory itself. 1t
was n somewhat dilapidatcd tive-story
brick concern. Engine i'll 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; office and samples, first floor !;
| clipping and folding machines, second
floor girls pasting, sorting and trim
ming ON the third floor stock of all
sorts on the fourth and fifth. We used
to turn out an immense deal of work
with very few hands. There were about
twenty five or so girls, the manager, his
clerk and boy, a man to hoist and
Except when stock was taken in, or
work sent out, there was nobody else in
the building.
| generally kept to my own business,
and stayed down in the cellar, nursing
the old engine. She sadly needed it,
being as ricketty and patched up a con-
triyance as one cares to stay alongside
of. She always reminded me of some
old people you see, who are always in
need of a pectoral for a cough, or Il lin
iment for rheumatism, or something or
other. This engine of mine was i'll
such state that she always wanted
easing somewhere, n rlvet here, q plug
there, new stutfing, more felting, or a
band around the whole boiler. From
boiler to fly wheel she was ricketty,
ricketty. But there was no present
danger to be apprehended-a was safe
enough with proper care and attention.
There was the rub. | had to exercise
the same proper care and attention all
the time. But if 1 was so occupied, /
could not help meeting the girls now
and then i'll the passage-way. Most of
them were of the common sort-coarse,
vulgar creatures, that L never could
abide. But there was one little pale
| faced girl | took to straight oil. She
wasn't bit like the others, and seemed
rs nice and quiet and lady-lihc, as they
were noisy and common. AS | said, /
took to her, and she-well, she didn't
altogether snub me. We got to be fast
friends soon. She told me the tale of
| her sad life how her father had been a
| prosperous mechanic, and they had
| lived in such dear little home how
! the father died, and left her, a mere
mite of thing, in charge of her feeble
mother and baby sister; and how she
contrivcd to get along and keep grim
famine from the door on the pittance of
| her earnings. Whenever / could, with
ont making Il fuss, helped them along
a little. And when we got well ac-
quainted, L used to hurry through my
work so rs to be able to see her home
every day after six clock. Sometimes,
too, we used to so to concerts and lec-
lures together; and very often [ found
time to visit them all of an evening. |
hadn't said word Of love to her yet,
but was waiting till my wages We're in
creased enough to enable me to keep
| home of my own, and then ask her to
fill it. OF her state of feeling toward
ne [ knew nothing, except that she
looked upon and trusted me rs a
brother.
Ore thing used to rile me, though,
and that was the sneaking sort of liking
that Hardness seemed to have for her ;
and, worse, he showed itplainly enough
by the way he lersecuted her with his
odious attentions whenever he got the
chance. She told me she would leave
the place if she could only get another.
| l have said that it was sixteen years
ago that entered the box factory: If
you will take the trouble to subtract,
you will find that makes 1857. It puts
us just in the year of the great financial
crash. / had been III the factory about
! ,,,o,thc and 1ottinr 11caI to
| the general run of things ; and though
it was out of my line, and none of my
business, [ could not but notice how
| slack trade seemed to be. Runors Of
| failures up the street, down the street,
/ on the corner at Nos. 30 and 81 over
! the way, met my ears. Rumors of fail
ures past and failures to come. Rumors
of distress East, West, and South.
Rumors of threatened general smash
up. Money men tell me that when the
market is tight, it only needs such a
wholesale panic to bring down every
one. 1t is the apprehension, not the
reality, that does the work. But this is
not telling my story, either.
Well, old Hardness kept on with bis
manufacturing, though ] could see that
day by day fewer calls for work were
made. He always wore cheerful smile
through those troublous times, as much
as to say, "Look at Inc, if you want to
see a model man of business. don't
speculate. / don't get involved. Mark
my consequent prosperity" Now when
] see man with good deal of bluster
and swagger abont him, L always make
up my mind that he is coward at heart.
And when some people parade their
financial soundness, the Wall street
animals snuff rottenncss somewhere.
1t must have been on this principle that
| began to suspect that Hardness wasn't
SO S, fe after all.
One night / was delayed by an unex,
pected break down i'll gearing, and
stayed in my cellar long after the girls,
the clerk and the fireman had gone,
hard at work tinkering at the engine.
} No one WAS i'll the factory but Hardness
and myself. | do not think he suspect
ed my presence. As | was taking of
my oyeralls and fixing up, l heard q
) heavy dray come up toour doo-. There
were four or five men with it, who We're
, not our regular cartmen. They jumpeG
, out, were let in through the half -closed
! doors of the main floor above me, anG
were led up stairs by Harkness. Pres
: emily they reappeared, bearing cases o.
| various kinds of stock, fancy paper
I gliding stuff, light machinery, and diff
forent odds and ends, with which the,
loalal tha draw and tjlpn drove off q o,o m