The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-12-07
THE sT0RY OF JONES a CO

! guess pa and ma were pretty rich one
time, for when they came to California it
was on their wedding tour, and cost lots
came by the way of New York and Wash
ington and Panama city, in steamboat
and ma brought maid to wait on her, and
pa had servant named Jim; and when
we got to California; say we, Pm only
fourteen 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 & Go. haven't the kind of
goods them was, because Maud has drag
gled them all to pieces. Maud is the baby.
Six years old, Maud is, and it won't be
long before she will be clerk for Jones
81 Co. First babies always have the
incest things. Ma says first babies are
like second wives.
But | am getting away from Jones &
Co.
Well, I am of the opinion that after pa
went into his house on Van Ness avenue
he went into stock, whatever that means.
Going into stock must be a curious bust
ness, and sometimes pa came home look
ing splendid and wanted to buy every
thing, and laughed at me for being 80
mean, and not getting better clothes, and
then he wanted to drive in the park and
go to the theatre. One day he came home
with brand new carriage and span of
long-tailed horses, and coachman and
footman. Then sometimes pa came home
and looked very blue, and talked about
stocks, and 1 began to watch pa and no.
ticed that sometimes when he laughed the
loudest he looked as if he wanted to cry.
and then he sold the horses, and then the
house, and the furniture was sent to the
auction, and ma felt very bad and pa
wasn't like himself any more and never
told me stories nor kissed me, and once
when Maud was asleep in his arms he
kissed her and cried, and when l told ma
she said she guessed pa did not feel very
well, and then she cried.
After this we went to clearinghouse
"a nasty, musty clearinghouse. Every
thing was well enough, only boarding
house amt like home.
Then the baby came, and it died and
ma almost died; and l heard pa say to
the man that kept the clearinghouse that
he was pretty tight up, but it was all
coming out right; and the next day pa
didn't have any watch nor any sleeve but
TONS didn't seem to notice it, because
that maybe he had sold them to pay
board; and heard pa and ma talk away
in the night, and sometimes ma cried, and
pa would look in the morning Just as if he
hadn't slept wink, and / don't believe
he had. Once it was dreadful. Pa came
home tipsy, and ! never saw ma feel so
bad, never; and then they talked it over,
and finally ma went home to grandpa's
in New York with Maud, and I stayed
with pa to 60 to school.
Then pa getting worse, and worse, and
worse, and we went to live in rooms and
eat at restaurants; and pa stayed out late
nights, and guess he drank more than
was good for him, and thought some.
thing had got to be done. So said to pa
one day, "Pa let's go into business and
open store ?''
And he laughed and said, " What kind
of store ?'
And said, "Oh, candy store, or a
stationery store, or thread and needle
store, just such as women keep and little
girls help in"
And pa laughed and said he would
think of it, and when he came home that
night I asked him if he had thought
about it, and he said he had not, and /
said he had better, and he said he would !;
and that morning he didn't go out, but he
stayed at home and wrote ma long let
ter.
So next day went into store on Polk
street kept by nice old lady who had a
bad husband, where they sold everything,
and she said in French they call it lin
gerie. did not know what she meant,
because it was French, and l asked her if
she did not want to sell her store and she
said:
"Do you want to buy store little
girlP'' And said: "My pa does" And
she smiled and said she guessed the sheriff
would have store to sell in few days.
said / would tell pa, because he knew
Mr.. Nunan, the sheriff: It was one of Mr..
Nunan's men that sold pas house and
furniture for him.
And the next day / told pa about the
store, and what nice one it was, and he
had been a dry goods man once, and
had had . large store, and sold silk
dress goods and velvets and fnrs and
laces worth more than . thousand dollars
apiece. ,
! ] don't exactly know what pa did, bat
know something turned up ~afew days
afterwards, for / heard him say he had
made . g rails" !" and he showed me more
than . thousand dollars in gold and notes,
and for day or two he carried them, in .
side pocket and mostly kept his hand
over them for fear they would jump ont
and hy away and ps bought me some
shoes and . hat, and stnff for aprons, and
/ made them myself, and Ilnever saw pa
look 90 happy since ma went away, and
one day he said TO me: e II .@ ..'I
"Vevie, have bought the store on
Polk street and .you are to be my sales
woman and partner" -ng
And sure enough in 3 few days we went
into the store, and oyer the door wss 3
great BIG sign Of Jones Il Coz and pa
ssids I Imasathe sOoH .sAnd when Isaid,
" "Andlso % you are Jones :" he blush-
ed, md Ifguess be didn'tlwknt his old
fiepdeyto know, that be- swsas selling nee
dies and thread and tape and Ahingsa
We|had two ossnaa little ro0uae In the
back Of th68t6yss 10 Aleep IA, and 4 made
@~~aa ~ - awnsxH gyssi kfl4 tn01s1a at3a