Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1881-07-12
AN UNPAID SERVANT.
now SrrrlE JARVIS COZ HER wAGf'

HOW NETTIE JARVIS GoT HER WAGES.
"Well. Nettie. what do you want =
said Mr.. Jarvis to his wife, who stood
looking rather anxiously at him after he
had paid the factory hands their weeks
wages.
"Why, Donald" said she, IL thought
as had worked for YOU all the week,
would come for my wages, too. You pay
Jane two dollars a week, surely earn
that, and | would like very much to have
it as my own
"Pshaw. Net,ie, how rdiculously you
talk You know that all | have belongs
to you and the childrcn-and don't | fur
nish the house and everything: What
under the sun would YOU do with the the
money if you had it y
~ know, Donald, that you buy the
necessaries for us all. and | am willing
tba; YOU should do so still, but should
like little money for my very own. We
have been married fifteen years, and In
all that time do not seem to have earn.
cd a dollar As far as money is concern
ed, | might as well be slave. cannot
buy a quart of berries nor book, with
out asking You for the money, and |
should like to Oe u Ii ;,lc more independ-
ent.
Mr. Jarvis, prof rietor Of the Jarvis
Mills. worth hundreds OF thousands, laugh
cd deIisively.
"lou'r re fine one 10 talk Of independ-
cucc, he said, III yot should star, out to
make your own living, yoI'd fetch up in
the poor house soon enough, for what
could you DO TO ,arn living: The
girls in the factory kno W how to do their
work, and they earn the ir wages. When
| have paid them my duty is done; but |
have to board and clothe you and take
care of you when sick If | had to do
that for the girls, they would have pre-
cioas little money left, can tell you"
Donald, l gave up good trade when
| married you. For five years had sup.
ported myself by it, and many time
since bave envied mys ELF the purse Of
those days. As for my not earning any
thing now, / leave it for you to say wheth-
er i, would be possible to hire another to
take my place and how much it would
COS, you to go without me year: !
know the girls have but little left after
paying their expenses, but they enjoy
that little so 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 Oft the mortgage on his farm, and
she is SO happy that she can do 50. Even
Jane, the kitchen girl, has more freedom
than |, 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 bead work to sell and al
though | wanted some money so much,
had not dollar. felt like crying when
Jane brought in her weeks wages and
bought half dozen articles | wanted 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"
mo doubt of that, Mrs. Jarvis. You
have no idea Of the value of money, and
would have enjoyed buying lot Of bead
trash that wouldn't be worth a cent to
anybody. Jane needs guardian 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
a hundred who know how to use it."
"For shame, Donald Jarvis You know
better! Look at Jerry and Milly Craig.
will you, and say that ne makes the best
use of his money: She is at home with
her parents every night, making her
wages 90 as far as possible toward max
ing them comfortable, while he is carous-
ing in the village, wasting his time and
money, and making brute of himself
besides. And why does Mrs. Saffron come
to receive her husbands wages. then her
self: Simply because he cannot get by
a saloon with money in his pocket, and
if she did not get the money. they would
all goto bed hungry the day after his wages
were paid. And believe that every wo.
man that earns money here spends it as
wisely as the average of men, and have
yet to hear of one of them being in debt"
Mr.Jarvis knew that he could not gain.
say word his wife had said, for they
were all true. Luckily he thought of
Jane.