Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-05-05
CHE Sturv Teller.
THE WIFE'S WAGES.

"Well, Nettie, what do you want?" sale
Mr.. Jarvis to his wife, who stood looking rath
er anxiously at him, after he had paid th'
factory hands their weeks wages.
"Why, Donald" said she, 81 thought as
had worked for you all the week, woule
come for my wages, too! You pay Jane S.
week, surely | earn that, and would like
very much to have it as my own"
Pshaw, Nettie, how ridiculous you talk
You know that all have belongs to you and
the children-and don't furnish the house
and everything What under the sun would
YOU do with the money if you had it p
81 know, Donald, that you buy the neces
saries for US all, and I am willing that you
should do SO still, but l should like little
money of my very own. We have been mar
ried fifteen years, and in all that time do
not seem to have earned dollar. AS far as
money is concerned l might as we'll be a
slave. cannot buy quart of berries, nor a
book, without asking you for the money, and
should like to be little more independent
Mr. Jarvis, proprietor of Jarvis mills,
worth thousands and thousands of dollars,
laughed derisively.
you're fine one to talk of independence
he said. "If you would start out to make
your own living you'd fetch up in the poor
house soon enough, for what could you do to
earn living The girls in the factory
know how to do their work, and they earn
their wages. When have paid them my
duty is done, but l have to board and clothe
you, and take care of you when you are sick.
If | had to do that for the girls | would
have precious little money left, | can tell
YOU
Donald, gave up my good trade when l
married you. For five years had support
ed myself by it, and many time since have
l 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 do you suppose it would cost to do
without me year? know the girls have
little after paying their expenses, but they en-
ioy that little 80 much. Allie Watson sup.
ports herself and her mother with her wages,
and they both dress better than | do. Jennie
Hart is helping her father pay off the mort
gage on his farm, and she is so happy that
She can do so. Even Jane, the kitchen girl,
has more freedom than |, for out Of her own
money she is laying by presents for her rela-
tives, and will send them, as much to her own
pleasure as theirs. Yesterday an Indian wo-
man was at the house with such handsome
bead work to sell, and, although | wanted
some money so much, | had not dollar |
felt like crying when Jane brought in her
weeks wages and bought half dozen arti.
cles that wanted 80 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. You
have no idea of the value of money, and
would have enjoyed buying lot of bead
trash that would not be worth cent to any
body Jane needs a guardian if she fools
away her money like that. She will be in
the county poor,house yet if she don't look
out It's very lucky, indeed that men do
hold the money, for there's not one woman
in hundred who knows how to use it!
"For shame Donald Jarvis You know
better. Look at Jerry and Milly Greg, 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 60 as far as
possible toward making them comfortable,
while he is carousing in the village, wasting
his time and money, and making brute Of
himself besides. And why does Mrs Sartan
come to receive her husbands wages herself
Simply because he cannot get by the saloon
with money in his pocket, and if she did not
get the money they would all 60 hungry to
. bed after his wages were paid. And | be-
lieve that every woman that earns money
here spends it as wisely as the average man
and l have yet to hear of one of them being
in debt"
Mr. Jarvis knew that he could not gainsay
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 at the end of the year? If she
would get sick how long could she pay fol
such care as you have?'
at is not likely she will lay up many dol
lars out of a hundred year but she is lay
ing up something better, think. Last win
ter she sent her mother warm shawl and s
pair Of shoes, and to her brother and sister
new school books, and the warm, loving let
tiers they send her do her more good thar
twice the amount of money in the bank
would. This year she is laying by number
OF useful and pretty things for them, and i
any misfortune should happen to Jane the,
would only be too glad to help her.
"Well, who do you suppose would hell
you if you needed he p?' said Mr. Jarvis
for want of better question. Mrs. Jarvis
eyes sparkled angrily as she answered:
"Nobody. If you should lose your prop
erty to-day | should be beggar, without 1
claim on any one for help. You have alway
held your purse strings so tightly that it ha
been hard enough to ask for my own neces
sites, leaving others out altogether. Man.
a time a dollar or two would have enabled
me to do some poor man or woman untol
good, but although you have always said tina
all your property was mine, never coul
and cannot now command dollar of it."
Lucky you couldn't, if you wanted t
spend it on beggars."
Donald, you know that | would spen
money as wisely as you do. Who was
that, only last week gave a poor, lame bes
gar FIVE dollars to pay his fare to Burton
and then saw him throw his crutches asd
op5 ma b. f,r the nea rest saloon YOur wi