The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-07-01
A FIvE-PoUND NOTE.

Well, yes, | did find a five pound note
once, and as you are SO pressing III tell
you all about 1t as well as | can | find.
though, that 1t isn't quite So easy t. tell
you as | thought 1t would be-lt seems 81
difficult to know where to begin lou
think it easy enough before you do begin,
out when you've got your paper. your pen,
and ink, and settle down like, II seems a.
though what you intended to say had ali
gone out Of your head at least, that how
1t seems to me. | wonder, now whether
| ought TO begin by telling you exactly
when | was born, or whether | ought u
go back even before that, and tell you all
about my grandfather and grandmother.
my uncles, and aunts, my father and
mother, and my brothers, and sisters
where | came from, and all | have been
doing as long as | can remember. Well,
| only wonder all this because ! find it 50
often done in the books | managed to get
hold of. | don't intend to do 1t myself,
because I'm quite sure you wouldn't care
about it, and because don't like to keep
on talking about myself So Ill endeavor
to come to the point at once, and if any
body thinks 1t all easy to come to the point
IN telling story, just let them do as I'm
| doing-try it.
Well, it was about the year 1864, As near
as | can remember about ten years ago
Just after | came to London, that | was
out with my wagon one morning early, 90
ing to deliver some Goals. Goals WASH I
the Price then that they are now, and
therefore 1t was better for us men. Peo-
pie didn't want their Goals weighed then,
they didn't seem to think of it and when
they was delivered folks didn't object to
giving you triffie, besides drop o'beer.
Nov they nearly snaps your head of if you
only look as if you expected anything
Well, this morning I'm talking about had
the wagon all to myself, as my mate was
Ill, and very lucky thought myself at the
time, | can tell you. 1t was a cold, mlser-
able morning, just q few days before
Christmas, and 1 Was jogging along think
ing nt all sorts of things. Times had been
very hard with us lately, and although
had been pretty well knocked about in my
time, never thought should have had
such hard job as the one had got then.
But there, when times are hard. they are
hard for laboring men, especially for them
that haven't been brought up to any trade,
as was my case, and l was glad to do al
most anything. knew there was the rent
behind hand, and the missus was only Just
getting better Of her last illness, and there
was the children-they, Of course, had
been neglected while the missus was i'll /;
their clothes were nearly off their backs,
and they'd hardly bit of shoe to their
feet. However, felt that things might
have been worse. ] was in work, such as
it was, and that was q comfort. Still
thought how nice it would be if / had only
as much money every week to take home
a. many Of the mechanics / met that MORN
ing going to their work. | never was one
to look at the worst side of things, how
ever, and therefore didn't envy them. |
believe l really felt glad that they were
not 30 bad of as ! was. Well, l went on
with my load, and when we got to the
corner of the street where the Goals was to
be delivered 1 stopped the horses, and
went behind the wagon to put a stone un-
der the of wheel, lust to prevent the wag-
on slipping back, you know, the road be-
ing little hilly Just there. Well, as
was STOPPING, what would sec but dirty
looking paper sticking up in the rut made
oy the wheels, the wheels having passed
over 1t, and fixed it like. l don't know
what 1t was, but something made me pick
It up and look at it-perhaps it was that
being very hard up just then l thought it
might De something worth having. Well,
1 smoothed 1t out on my knee, 20 a. to
have good look at it, and when held it
up, and saW 1t was tve-pOund note, you
might have knocked me down with feath-
or. How long stood staring at it | never
shall know-I was fairly dazed. l had
never had 20 much money Of my o~n at