The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-05-13

ness from the bottom of his cup, watch
ing her compassionately.
"My DEAR" he asked gently, how
long is this thing to last2"
Mrs. Greatheart would have scorned
to ask, what thisl' There was for
her but one object of thought, and she
answered promptly, cas- long as the
debt lasts"
Greatheart sighed, "did it ever occur
to you, my dear, that you might not
last2 You are growing perceptibly
smaller; there are wrinkles in your fore
head YOU eat less than hearty canary;
you talk in your sleep of interests and
mortgages and weekly payments. l be-
lieve another year will kill you"
Mrs. Greatheart smiled compassion
ately, as martyrs have smiled when adj
.jured to give up their faith to escape
torment.
"Greatheart," she SAID abssntly, twill
YOU call at the office of the Trumpet
and leave this notice for our meeting of
managers have new plan that will
eclipse all our undertakings"
The meeting of the managers was not
very enthusiastic. Mrs. Jones had the
rheumatism, Mrs. Smiths baby was
threatened with Group, Mrs. Smart had
left house full of visitors and Miss
Sally Volatile was going East for the
Winter. The few who we're present
listened to Mrs Greatheart's new plan
in ominous silence. and Mrs. Timo' ,us
fused and fdgeted and at last spoke:
'The fact is, ladies, l sometimes won
der if all this pays. My husband says
it doesn't, and he hasn't particle CT
patience with the whole thing, so that l
dread to let him know of fair or festi-
val. He says it comes out of the men
anyhow, either in grocery bills or doctor
bills, or buying things, after we half kill
ourselves to make them; and that any
man would sooner pay S. out of his
pocket than have his wife earn it, when
she has all she can do already. And he
SAYS a woman who wouldn't think she
could afford to give so cents will bake a
cake worth 10 cents and make her sick
in doing it, and then expect her hus-
band to pay 80 cents more for little
piece of it and dish of ice cream that
some other woman donated, and out of
it Ill the church gets is % cents, and
he can't see where the profit comes in"
Mrs. Greatheart laughed.
awe have all heard that sort of talk
1t sounds reasonable, but the trouble is
when you come to test them, the men
will not take the So out of their pock-
cts; they always mean some other mans
pocket. OF course, the money comes
out of somebody; SO do the profits in a
grocery store or bank. AS for Its
simply being an exchange from one hand
into another, that is nonsense. The
gain is per centage on the skill and
ingenuity and selfdenying labor of the
ladies', and l call it shame for anybody
to deny them the full credit of actual
earnings The men give it, indeed
| should like to see them earning an ex-
ira dollar in the way their wives do"
"Wouldn't it be funnyi" laughed
Miss Sally. "Now l crocheted those
mats while 1 was rocking Jenny's baby
to sleep, and 1 wanted desperately to
read George Elliot. And l took my
lunch to school for two weeks to save
time at noon to emboider those lanbre-
quins Yes, and begged the pieces be-
SIDES"
II made every stitch Of that toilet
set after the children were in bed" said
Mrs. Dimple. "My eyes used to get SO
tired that l saw cross-s'itches all night,
but it was lovely"
"Just fancy your husband running
over of an evening to saw wood for
neighbor, or Mr.. Jones working an hour
every night at shoemaking, or Squire
Buncome take orders for the grocery be-
fore he went 20 his office, or Colonel
Wise shoveling paths on his way to
lunch, and all for the sake of earning a
little money for the church, without
trespassing on any other fund. They'd
see the church turned into a junk shop
first. I declare ] have great mind to
propose to them TO try it."
Mrs. Greatheart's eyes flashed ON
inously, and the meeting went into Sc
cret conclave, from which all reporters
were excluded by dropping the curtains,
closing the chimney, filing the key hole
with cotton and stationing a savage dog