The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-10-21
W5RxfsG FOR NOTHING.

cate-louk H.. woman to a boy about four
teen years old who had been in the hab-
It Of getting her wood and water for
her. +" nd / cannot spare the money
and / shall have to try and do the work
myself.
She said this in a very sad tone of
voice; 50 sal that almost any one would
have noticed IT, But George Burch did
not notice il. or the sad look in her face
when she said it. The only thought in
his mind was that he should lose the
Twenty-Five cents a week he had been
earning.
"Why? Don't suit, / work as cheap
Is anybody, guess"
30, Is, YOU don't ask any too much
and you do your work well. But the
reason is only that I cannot spare the
money. as small rs the sum is. hope
You can lind something else to do to
take the place of this, ! am sure.
wish could keep you, for | am afraid
drawing the water is going to be al
most too much for me. Here is your
money, George"
As he took the money and turned to
20, Mrs Noble called to him;
:. George, / guess shall have to get
you to bring me an extra pail of water.
may feel TOO tired to get it myself in
the morning. Here are three cents ex-
ira for it,
George took the three cents as a mat
ter Of course and listened with satisfac-
ton TO hear them drop down into his
pantaloons pocket with the other money
he had just received.
After he had gone Mrs. Noble seated
herself before her fire with heavy
heart. It was a gray November after
noon. and she felt more lonely than usu-
al. She felt sick, too, and she Won
dered how, with her falling strength, she
should be able to bring water from the
well. split Sindlings and do the other
work which George had been doing for
her. She wished that she had spared
few cents more and got him to cut a few
more kindlings, for it seemed to her she
needed u day or two to get up courage
enough to do it herself.
Perhaps il seems strange to most of
YOU that it should seem such burden
to her-work that to you would seem so
light. But Mrs. Noble had never drawn
a pail of water or split a stick of wood.
She had until recently had plenty of
AAlltN anu Ntk GlbS W ICil llCl. ADAA
within a short time death took from
her her husband and only child. Mis-
fortune of various kinds, which boys
and girls would not care to stop and
read about reduced her large property
to very small one, and the
small one to an income so small
as to hardly support her comfortably.
After the death of her husband she re-
moved TO the little village of ---, and
occupied alone the cottage of which !
have spoken. Tears filed her eyes as
she thought Of the past of the dear ones
now gone, of the far-distant home of
her youth and of her present condition
of loneliness aad poverty. She had q
brother she supposed, somewhere in
the world but she knew not where. He
had left home many wears before, dur
ing some family trouble and had never
made known his whereabouts. He was
probably dead. So. because she had
no relatives. no special friend to whom
she could 30 for help and no money to
spare for hiring her work done, she
must try, sick or well, TO do it herself
Little did George Burch think what a
sorrowing hearthe was leaving, although
tears were in her eyes when she babe
him goodbye. Perhaps we ought not
to expect boy of his age to feel or show
sympathy for such one. Still. can
so easily call to mind one of his age,
now gone from earth, who would have
been melted to tears by her tears, and
would have exclaimed, eagerly:
Never mind the money, Mrs. No
bic. viii get the wood and water for
nothing"
SO there has been such boy, and /
know there are more. But George
Burch was of another sort and it must
not be wondered at From his earliest
childhood he had been taught to get all
he could and to keep it. " Make every
cent YOU can, George" his father
would say, 8" and there's nothing to
bender We from being as rich as any of
'em.n That had been his motto, though
as vet he had not made himself very
rich by it. He had, however, a good
house and all that he needed. George
seemed to be born with a love for
money. He would never lose a chance
TO make a cent if he could help it. He
was willing to work and to work hard,
not because he loved to work, although
he really did love work better than
study, but because he loved the money
the work would bring. He was always
ready to lose half days school for a
few cents, and it was generally re-
marked by his sch0Olmates when he
was absent: George is out making a
cent" George was never known to
work for nothing. " No pay, no work, -
was his way of repeating the motto.
When neighbor wanted him to do an
errand he had no hesitation in asking:
"How much do you expect TO give?"
and if he found that he was expected
TO do it for nothing, even if it were
right in his way, he always invented
some excuse for not doing it. d" Don't
catch me working for nothing" he
would say with shrewd look in his
.eye-a remark which his father always
approved. So, of course, he had no
idea of working for Mrs. Noble for
nothing.
A few days after this, George and
several other boys were playing in the
yard adjoining Mrs. Mobiles. Sudden
ly one of them shouted:
&" See old Mis- Noble! She's dressed
up nice to get pail of water, amt she?
See her glOvesn'
II should think she was goin' to
meetin', - added another. Hope she
won't catch coldr'
NO danger O. that said a third.
Pity she hadn't buffalo-robe to wrap
'round her head, on-top of her big white
,,,cl-o rood