Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-05-22

''Lucky you couldn't, IL you wanted
TO spend it on bcggars.
"Donald, you know that would
spend money as wisely as you do. Who
was it that only last week gave poor,
l,mc beggar FIVE dollars to pay his fare
{, Burton and then saw him throw his
crutches away and make for the nearest
saloonp Your wife could not do worse
II trusted with few dollars. You say
that the money is all mine, yet you
spend as you please, while l can not
spend n dollar without asking you for
1t and telling what l want it for. Any
beggar can get IL in the same way!
Christmas, you bought presents for us
and expected us to be grateful for
them. A shawl for me, the very color
l can not wear, set Of furs for Lucy
that she did not need a drum for Robin
that has been u nuisance ever since,
and lot of worthless toys that are
broken up in week. There were
forty dollars or fifty dollars of my
money just the same as thrown awsy,
yet when | ask you to trust me with
two dollars week you can not imagine
what use have for it, and fear it will
be wasted am sure could not spend
fifty dollars moro foolishly if tried to.
"Well," snapped the proprietor, 81
guess il is my own money, and can
spend it as / please. guess you'll
know it, too, when you get another
present"
"Oh, it is your money, then. l Iun-
derstood you 10 say it was all minc, and
so pretended to protest against your
spending it so foolishly. If it is your
own, of course you have a right to spend
it as you please; but it seems to me that
a woman who left parents and brothers
and sisters. and all her friends to make
home for you among strangers, a wo-
man who has given her whole life to
you for fifteen years, may be looked
upon with as much favor as you give to
beggars, who are very likely to be i'm
posters. know that you seldom turn
them off without help. Perhaps l would
be more successful if / appealed to you
as beggar. / might say: Kind sir,
please allow me out of your abundant
means Il small pittance for my comfort.
1t is true / have enough to eat, and do
l work for my master from morn
ing til night, and if his children
happen to be sick. from night till morn
ing again, yet he does not pay me as
much as he does his cook, and l am
often greatly distressed for want of a
triflng sum which he would not mind
giving to Il perfect stranger. The other
day while he was from home | had to
go to the next station to see dear
friend who was i'll, aud not having a
dollar of my own, was obliged to bor-
row. the money from his cook. / was so
mortified And not long since the berry
woman came with such nice berries 10
sell. and my little girl, who was not
well, wanted some very badly, but had
not even five cents to pay for handful
for her. Yesterday friend came to
ask me to assist in work of charity.
1t was a worthy object, and longed SO
much to give little money for so good
u PURPOSE, but though the wife OF Sc
rich u man, had no money. OF course,
might ask my husband for money,
and if told him about what / wanted
of it, and he approved OF my purpose
and was in good humor hesyould give
it to me. but, sir, it is terribly slavisf
to have to do so, even if could run tt
him every time wanted anything. Peo
pie say am fortunate woman because
| am rich; but l often envy the factory
girls their abil ty to earn and spent
their own money. And sometimes
get SO wild thinking of my helplessnes
that if it were not for my children
think would drop into the river ant
end it all. )"
"Nettie! Nettie Jarvis! What AZ,
you sayingp" cried the startled hus
band at last, for the far-away look il
her eyes as if she did not see him, bu
was looking to some higher power t,
help her, touched his pride in seltisl
sort of way. He was proud to be abb
to support his family as well as he did
He was proud that when his children
needed new shoes he could tell his wifi
to take them to Crispin's and get wha
they needed. He it with flourish
He was not one of the stipgy kind
he liked to spend money; an,
when Nettie. who was once tn
most spirited young lady of hi
acquaintance came meekly to him for.
dress or cloak, he was sometime
tempted to refuse her money just t.
show her how helpless she was withou
him. Yes, he was proud of his family
and wanted them to feel how muc
they depended upon him. He woul,
have felt aggravated if any one had lef
his wife a legacy, thus allowing her t.
be free in her purse. The idea of he
earning money, as his other work-folk
did, never entered his mind. He ..sup
ported her." that was his idea of thei
relations! He never had happened tc
think that it was very good of her t.
take his money anal spend it for th
good OF himself and children. He neve
had thought that any other woman
would have wanted big pay for doin:
it. He had even thought himself ver1
generous for allowing her money to &c
things to make the family comfortable
Things began to look differently to hin
just now. Could it be that he was no
generous, not even just, to his wife
Had he paid her SO poorly TO
her fifteen years of faithful labo
for him that if she had beer
obliged to begin the world for hersel
that day it would have been as penni
less womanp
How fast ho thought, standing ther,
at the Office window. looking down n
the lit,le houses where the mill hand
lived. Could it be that he was not n
good man as he thought? He had fel
deeply the wrongs of the slave, who's,
labors had been appropriated by thei
masters, and when n negro who hat
worked twenty years for his master be
fore the emancipation freed him cam,
to Jarvis mills, friendless and penni
less, the heart of the proprietor swellet
with Indignation at such injustice. ii,
was eloquent on the subject at hom,
and abroad, about how any one coul,
be so cruel and selfish to commit sucl
an outrage against justice. He ha,
called him Il robber many time, bu
now Donald Jarvis looked to .himsel
very much like the old stakeholder
Massa Brown had taken the proceeds o
Cullee' labor for his own without even
'thank YOU for it. True, when Cuile