The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1879-12-10
RUlHS FATHER-IN-LAW.

A curious trade to take, but then it has
grown profitable. Things were at a low
ebb with me when / took it up, while
now
There, | won't boast, only say that Pm
thankful for it. Poverty comes in at the
door, and love flies out of To- window, so
your poor people will be always Inis-
erable, while according to my experienc,
your poor man is often more light-heartcd
than the man with thousands.
was at my wits ends for something {,
de, and sat nibbling my nails one day
,grumbling horribly.
"Don't 40 ON like that, Tom," says M,
wife; things might be worse
"Ilow?' / said.
"Why, we might have Luke at home
and he is doing WE'LL
Luke's our boy, you know, and we haC
got him into merchants office, where h,
seemed likely TO stay; but was in grum
bling fit then, and there was a clickety
click noise going on in the next room that
fdgeted me terribly.
Things can't he worse" j said, angrily
and | was going to prove myself in tn,
wrong by making her cry, when there wa
knock at the door
"Come in" said, and a fellow lodgel
put in his head.
"Are you good at work, Mr.. Smith ?" he
said.
"What work." I said; "irework-gas.
works."
'No, no | mean works of things as goes
with wheels and springs"
'Middling,' . said, for was fond of
pulling clocks to pieces and trying to in
vent.
81 wish you'd come and look at this sew
Of E.. I ,. :.
go.
Sewing machines were newish in those
days, and got up to have look at Il, and
after about an hours fddling about it,
began to see bit of the reason why-the
purpose, you know; of all the screws and
cranks and wheels found cut too, why
our neighbor's wif,-who was dressmaker,
and had Just started one-could not get il
to go; and before might, and by thinking,
and putting this and that together, had got
her in the way Of working it pretty stead
lily, though, with my clumsy fingers,
couldn't have done it myself
had my bit of dinner and ten with these
, peRple, and they forced half a crown upon
Al as well, and went back feeling like a
new man SO refreshing had heen that bit of
work
There said my wife, 81 told you some.
tnlnS Woulu come.
"Fell, so you did," said /, but the some
thing is rather small"
But the very next day-as we were living
in the midst of people who were fast taking
to sewing machines-if the folks from the
next house didn't want me to look Mt
theirs and then the. news spreading, as
news will spread, that there was somebody
who could cobble and tinker machines
without putting people to the expense that
makers would, if the jobs didn't come in
fast so that was obliged to get files and
drills and a vise-regular set of tools by de-
grees and at last | was as busy as a bee from
morning to night, whistlng over my work
as happy as a king
OF course, every now and then / got a
breakage, but | could generally get oven
that 10y buying new wheel or spindle, or
\ what not. Next wegot to supplying shutles
and needles and machine cotton. Soon after
! bought machine of a man who was tired
of it. Next week / sold it at a good profit
bought another, and another and sold them
then got to taking them and money in ex
change for new ones and one way or the
other became regular big dealer as you
see.
Hundred? Why, new, secondhand anC
with those being repaired upstairs by tn,
men, I've got at least 800 on the premises
while if anybody had told me fifteen year
ago that l should be doing this shoulC
have laughed at him.
That pretty girl showing and explaining
the machine to a customer? That's Ruth
that is. No, not my daughter-yet, but sh
soon will be. Poor girl, l always think O
her and of bread thrown upon the waters a
the same time.
Curious idea, that, you will say, but III
tell yAn why.
In our trade we have strange people I
deal with. Most of EN- are poor, and can
buy machine right of, but are ready an
willing TO pay so much a week. That suit
them, and it suits me, if they'll only kee
the payments up 10 the end.
You won't believe me, perhaps, but som