St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-01-21

their work, and they earn their wages.
When l have paid them my duty is
done; but l have to board and clOthe
you aud take care of you when sick. If
| had to do that for the girls they would
have precious little money left, can
tell yOu.r
donald, | gave up good trade
when | married you. For five years |
had supported myself by it, and many
a time since have envied myself the
purse of those days. As for my not
earning anything now, leave it for you
to say whether it would be possible to
hire another to take my place; and how
much it would cost you to go without
me year? know the girls have but
little left after paying their expenses,
but they enjoy that little SO much. AL
lie Watson supports herself and her
mother with her wages, and they both
dress better than do. Jennie Hart is
helping her father pay off the mortgage
on his farm, and she is so happy that
she can do so. Even Jane, the kitchen
girl, has more freedom than l, for out
of her own money she is laying by
presents for her relatives, and will send
them Christmas, as much for her own
pleasure as theirs. Yesterday an Indian
woman was at the house with such
handsome beadwOrk to sell, and al
though | wanted some ever so much,
| had not dollar. l felt like crying
when Jane brought in her weeks wages
and bought half a dozen articles | want
ed so much. You often say that all you
have is mine, but five dollars would
have given me more pleasure yesterday
than your hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth of property did"
"NO doubt of that, Mrs. Jarvis. NSu
have no idea of the value of mo-,
and would have enjoyed buying a lot
of bead trash that wouldn't be worth a
cent to anybody. Jane needs Il guard
ian if she fools away her money like
that. She will be in the county house
yet if she don't look out. It's lucky
that men do hold the money, for there
is not one woman in hundred who
knows how to use it."
"For shame, Donald Jarvis! You
know better! Look at jerry and Milly
Craig, will you, and say that he makes
the best use of his money! She is at
home with her parents every night,
making her wages go as far as possible
toward making them comfortable, while
! he is carOusing in the village, wasting
his time and money, and making a
brute of himself besides. And why
does Mrs. Straton come to receive her
| husbands wages then herselfl Simply
because he cannot get by saloon with
money in his pocket, and if she did not
get the money they would all go hun
gry to bed the day after his wages were
paid. And l believe that every woman
that earns money here spends it as
wisely as the average of men, and |
have yet to hear of one of them being
in debit
Mr.. Jarvis knew that he could not
gainsay a word his wife had said, for
they were all true. Luckily he thought
of Jane.
"Well, how much do you suppose
Jane will have left when New Yea!
comes If she should get sick how long
could she pay for such care as you
have 7"
at is not likely that she will lay W
many dollars on a hundred year but
she is laying up something better,
think. Last winter she sent her mother
a warm shawl and pair of shoes, and
new school books, and the warm, low
ing letters they send her do her more
good than twice the amount of money
in the bank would. This year she il
laying up Il number of pretty and usefu
things for them, and if any misfortune
should happen to Jane they would b'
only too glad to help her."
"Well, who do you suppose woulC
) help you if you needed help ?" said Mr.
Jarvis, for want of a better question
Mrs. Jarvis's eyes sparkled angrily a
she answered:
Nobody. If you should lose you
property to-day | should be a beggar
. without n claim on any one for help
You have always held your purse-string
so tightly that it has been hard enough
to ask for my own necessities, leavin!
others out altogether. Many time
dollar OF two would have enabled M
to do some poor man OF woman untolC
, good, but although you have alway
said all your property was mine, | new
er could and cannot now command
dollar of it."
J Lucky you couldn't if you wante'
! to spend it on beggars."
"DOnald, you know that | woul
spend money as wisely as you do. VIII
D was it that only last week gave Il poo
e lame beggar five dollars to pay his far
e to Burton, and then saw him throw hi
crutches aside and make for the neaTes
saloon? Your wife could do no wOrs
; if trusted with few dollars. You sa
e that the money is all mine, yet yo
= spend it as you please, while | cannO
4 spend a dollar without asking you fC
. it, and telling you what | want it fo
ANY beggar can get it in the same way
e Christmas you bought presents for U
d and expected us to he very grateful fC
q them. A shawl for me of the very colo
that | cannot wear, a set of furs fC
= Lucy that she did not need, a drum fC
g Robin that has been a nuisance evt
since, and lot of worthless toys thi
were all broken up in week. Thel
were forty or fifty dollars of nay none
Just the same as thrown away, "
when | ask you to trust me with tw
: dollars a week you cannot imagir
what use have for it, and fear ii wi
;" be wasted.'
I'd "Well," snapped the proprietor,
er guess it is my own money, and | CO
ir spend it as | please. l guess you
know it too, when you get another pre-
ut ent."
l "Oh, it is yOUr money then ? unde
~ stood you to say it was all mine, and
l intended to protest against your spen
ID ing it so foolishly. If it is your own
course you have a right to spend it
~ you please; but it seems to me that
Is woman who left parents, brothers al
/ sisters to make hcme for you amol
, /? strangers, woman who has given h
th whole life to you for fifteen years mig