Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1882-09-14
JONES & co.
A San Francisco Idyl.

for when they came to California it was
on their wedding tour, and cost lots
came by way of New York and Washing
ton and Panama city, in steamboat;
and ma brought maid to wait on her,
and pa had servant named jim; and
and when we got to California; say we,
Pm only IA now, but l was not born
then, though that don't matter, l guess
pa had lots of money. l was born at
the Lick House, and you ought to see
my baby clothes. Jones & Co. haven't
the kind of goods them was, because
Maud has draggled them all to pieces.
Maud is the baby. Six years old, Maud
is, and it wont be long before she will be
a clerk for Jones 4 Co. First babies al
ways have the incest things. Ma says
first babies are like second wives.
Well, am of the opinion that after
pa went iato his house on Van Ness ave.
nue. he went into stock, whatever that
means. Going into stock must be a Gu
rious business, and sometimes pa came
home look; ny splendid, and wanted to
buy everything, and laughed at me for
being so mean, and not getting better
clothes. and then he wanted to drive in
the park and go to the theater. One
day he came home with L brand new
carriage and Il span of long tailed horses,
and a cOachman and footman. Then
sometimes pa came home and looked
very blue, and talked about stocks, and
began to watch pa, and noticed that
sometimes when he laughed the loudest
He looked as if he wanted to cry, and
then he sold the horses, and then the
house and the furniture was sent to the
auction, and ma felt very bad, and pa
wasn't like himself any more, and never
told me stories nor kissed me. and once
when Maud was asleep in his arms he
kissed her and cried, and when l told
and then she cried. After this We went
to boarding-hou nasty, musty
boarding house. Everything was well
enough only boarding-house amt like
home.
Then the baby came, and it died, and
ma almost died; and l heard pa say to
the man that kept the boarding house
that it was pretty tight up, but it was-.a
coming out right; and, the next day, pa
didn't have any watch nor any sleeve
buttons. | didn't seem to notice it, be-
cause | saw that maybe he had sold
them to pay board; and I heard pa and
ma talk away in the night. and some
times ma cried, and pa would look in the
morning just as if he hadn't slept wink,
and | don't believe he had. Once it was
dreadful. Pa came home tipsy; and l
never saw ma feel so bad, never; and
then they talked it over, and finally ma
went home to grand pas in New York,
with Maud, and l stayed with pa to 90
to school. Then pa Kept getting worse,
and worse, and went to live in rooms
and eat at restaurants; and pa stayed
out late nights, and 1 guess he drank
more than was good for him, and l
thought something had got to be done.
So l said to pa one day:
''Pa, let's 90 into business and open a
store" And he laughed and said, What"
kind of a store"
And | said, 'oh, a candy store, or a
stationery store, or a thread and needle
store, just such as women keep and lit
tie girls help in"
And pa laughed and said he would
think Of it, and when he came home
that night l asked him if he had thought
about it, and he said he had not, and l
said he had better, and he said he
would; and that morning he didn't 90
out, but stayed at home and wrote ma a
long letter. So next day I went into a
store on Polk street, kept by nice old
lady who had a bad husband, where
they sold everything, and she said in
French they called it lingerie. 1 did
not know what she meant, because it
was French, and I asked her if she
did not want to sell her store, and she
said
''Do you want to buy store, little
GIRL" And l said: 'My pa does"
And she smiled and said she guessed
the sheriff would have a store to sell
in few days. l said I would tell pa,
because he knew Mr.. human, the sher-
if. 1t was one of Mr.. humans men.
that sold pas house and furniture for
him,
And the next day I told pa about the
store, and what a nice one it was, and
he had been dry-gaods man once, and
had had a large store, and sold silk
dress goods, and velvets and furs, and
laces worth more than 81 900 a piece.
don't exactly know what pa iii |, but
I think something turned up" few
days afterward, for heard him say he
had made "raise;;" and he showed me
more than 81 900 in gold and notes, and
for day or two carried them in his side
pocket, and mostly kept his hand over
them, for fear they would jump out and
fly away; and pa bought me some shoes
and hat, and stuff for aprons, and
made them myself, and never saw. pr,
look so happy since ma went away, and
one day he said to me:"-
"Vevie, have bought the store on
Polk street, and you are to be my sales
woman and partner"
And sure enough, in few days we
went into the store, and over the door
was great big sign of Clones &. Co."
and pa said was the GO" And when
| said, "And so pa, you are 'Jones'?" he
blushed, and guess he didn't like his
old friends to know that he was seelling
needles and thread and tape and things,
We had two snug little rooms in the
back of the store to sleep in, and made
pas bed and swept out the rooms and
tidied things. At first pa shut up the
| Store When ne mad to 20 down town on
! business, but after little while tended
it, and when there were two custom
ers in the store 1 waited on one, and
it wasn't long before l could make
change and SCI things almost as good as
pa could; and by and by when he went
down town I tended store and we had
splendid times. We went out to nice
place across the street for our meals;
tended store when pa went, and pa
tended store when ] went. =
One day pa came in and looked dread
fully troubled, and then l said; "Pa,
| amt a partner, and don't partners
have right to know everything, and
amt you hiding something about Jones
& Coz"
And then I found out that pa had
bought too many things for the store,
and that note for$1 900 had to be paid
and that's what made pa feel bad. And