Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1881-04-18
Poorly Rich.


the fifth shirt she was making.
There are various kinds of poverty.
Mrs. Manners would have been called
rich by any shop girl in New York, but :
she felt very poor, and scripture as well
as common sense tells US that as man
''thinketh in his heart, so is he" Her
husband was book-keeper in a great
iron mandatory; they had no children
they were not in debt, and on their
pleasant fiat, keeping one servant. Mrs.
Manners need not even have made her
husbands shirts if she preferred to put
them out or buy them. Still she was
unhappy; she wanted house of her
own, a sealskin sacque, velvet dress,
a library full of books, plenty of silver.
china, pictures, her tastes were re-
fined as we'll as luxurious. She was
discontented, in fact; and it went to
John Manners heart to see the line
deepen on her white forehead and
gloom gather in her bright eyes day by
day; but he could not help it.
"Just look at Mr.. G. and Mr.. d."
she often said to him. "They began as
poor boys, and now they are rolling in
money. l am sure you're just as smart
as they are John. Why don't we get
rich %
John Manners could not answer.
The truth was such people as Mr.. G.
and Mr.. D. are exceptional; they had
remarkable business talent and great
energy. John Manners had neither
he was rather slow moulded man, in
dustrious, patient, honest and good
tempered man most attentive to and
careful of his wife, and painfully anx-
ious to make her happy and contented.
Caroline Dart was farmers daugh-
ter, neighbor of Parson Manners. and
when the clergyman's son went into the
Thor Iron-works, instead of studying
for the ministry, everybody in Stafford
was surprised; but John had no wish
to be clergyman, and he did wish to
marry Garry Dart, whom he had loved
ever since their school days. 1t had
seemed great promotion to Garry to
leave teaching district school and 60 to
live in the city, when John got rise in
his salary, and could ask her to marry
him at last; and it seemed to him no.
body could be happier than he, with
enough to live on and lay by, and
dear, thrifty, smiling wife to welcome
him home from work. But when the
novelty wore off Garry was by no means
smiling or hsppy. She had been per-
sonage in Stafford, here she was nobody.
There all knew her, and her dark red
silk wedding dress, which she had earn
ed by teaching, was almost too gor-
geous to wear to church here it was
hardly good enough. and her bonnet
was entirely out of style. However,
she had good taste and nimble fingers,
and soon wore as fashionable garment
as other people, if they were of poor
material. But she wanted better things
and to that end saved, spared, pinched
in food and fire, and fretted in a help
less sort of way, at last sending her
servant away and undertaking the work
herself. But city air, stairs, want of
out door exercise, and hard work, soon
told on her aspect at least. She grew
thin and sallow, and did not like to
look in the glass; still. she consoled
herself with thinking of the handsome
set of furniture she had at last been
able to buy,-a set of heavy. carved
walnut with damask upholstery that fill
ed up that tiny parlor in the most COM
FORTRESS fashion. Then John began to
have dyspepsia. Why not? She gave
him the poorest sort of meat, badly
cooked; bread from cheap bakery
that, of course, had to be adulterated to
be sold cheaply ; stale vegetables. bought
at half price; no fruit, eggs, fresh fish,
or savory soups; and besides these
dreary meals, her dreary face at the
other end of the table did not add to
that cheerfulness so necessary to assist
digestion. After few years Johns
work became very much harder. The
heads of the firm proposed to him to
have clerk, but he saw here a pros
pect to make more money, and, as he
thought of Garry, his heart grew light
and he offered to do the extra work at
night if they would give him the extra
salary. Of course they consented. John
was better fitted for their wants than
any stranger, who would have to be
taught, drilled, admitted into their
private affairs, and, perhaps, after all
prove untrustworthy. If Garry was
lonely evenings she did not say SO it
was so good to have John making more
money And, as she was not now oblig-
ed to spend her evenings playing back
CANNON with him, or talking over the
daily news, or going to the evening
meeting of the church to which they be-
longed, she had just so much more time,
and, to improve it, got copying to do
from lawyers Office She did SO hope