Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-05-01
The Story OF Jones q Co.

4 guess ma anu pa was pretty IT'LL
one time, for when they came 10 Cali
fornia il was on their wedding tour and
cost lots, they came by way of New
York, and Washington and Panama City
in steamboat, and ma brought a maid
to wait on her. and pa a black teller
named "Jim," and when We got 10 Cal
Ifornia-I sayl We, I'm only fourteen
years now, but / was not born then,
though that don't matter, guess-pa
had lots of money. was born at the
Lick House, and you ought to see my
baby clothes. Jones & Co. haven't the
kind of goods that them was, because
Maud has dragged them all 10 pieces.
Maud is the baby. Six years old, Maud
il, and il won't be long before she will
be clerk in Jones & Co.'S. First ba-
bies always have the incest things. Ma
says first babies are like second wives.
But keep getting away from Jones
& Co.
Well, am Of the opinion that after
pa bought his house on Van Ness ave.
nue. he went into stocks, whatever that
means. Going into stocks must be Q
very curious business, and sometimes
pa came home looking splendid, and
wanted to buy everything, and laughed
at ma for being so mean, and not get
ting better clothes, and then he wanted
to drive in the park and to the theatre.
One day he came home with a brand
new carriage and a span Of long-tailed
horses, and negro coachman, and a
funny little darkey for footman. 1t was
for ma, and we rode every day. Then
sometimes pa came home and looked
very blue, and talked about stocks, and
/ began to watch pa. and noticed that
sometimes when he laughed loudest he
looked Just as il he wanted to cry, and
then he sold the horses, and the iurni-
ture was sent to auction, and ma she
felt very bad, and pa wasn't like him.
self any more, and never told me sto-
ries nor kissed me, and once when baby
Maud was asleep in his arms, he kissed
her and cried. and when / told ma she
said she guessed pa did not feel very
well. and that mustn't notice il, and
then she cried.
After this we went 10 q boarding
house. Everything was well enough,
only clearinghouse amt like home.
Then the baby came and il died, and
ma almost died, and heard pa say to
the man that kept the clearinghouse
that 'he was pretty tight up. but it was
all comm out right, and the next day
pa didn't have any watch, nor any
slceye-buttons. didn't seem to notice
1t because thought that maybe pa had
sold them to pay his board, and heard
pa and ma talk away all night, and
sometimes ma cried, and pa would look
in the morning Just as il be hadn't slept
wink, and don't believe he did
Once il was dreadful. Pa came home
tiPsy, and / never seen ma feel 80 bad,
ever; and then they talked il over. Fl
nally, ma went home to gFandpa's in
New York with Maud, and / stayed
with pa to 60 to school.
Then pa kept getting worse and
worse, and went TO live IN rooms and
eat at restaurants, and pa staId out late
at nights. and guess he drank more
than was good for him, and l thought
something had TO be done. So said
TO pa one day: "Pa, less go into busi-
ness and open store"
Aud he laughed and said: "What
kind of store :"
And l said: "Oh, candy store, or
stationary store. or thread and nee-
die store, just such as women keep and
little girls help in"
And pa laughed and said he would
think Of il, and when he came home
that night asked him ifhe had thought
about II. and be said he hadn't, and
said he had better, and be said he
would. and that morning he didn't 20
out but staid at home and wrote ma a
long letter.
So next day Invent into q store on Poll
street. kept by . nice lady who had q
bad husband, where they sold every
thing, and she said in France they called
Il lingerie.
/ didn't know what that meant be.
cause il was French. and asked. hei