The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-01-26


the Charge.
1t is slyly whispered around the globe
that am lazy. Bless your soul, I
haven't got a lazy bone in my umbrella.
l have no distaste for work; it is one of
my delights to sit and read about all
kinds of work, and you have no idea
how much exercise it is and what an
appetite it gives me for dinner; and if
you would see me eat you would not
think there was any laziness about me.
My landlady says l work harder at the
table than any of the rest of the board
ers There is not minute in the twen-
ty-four hours that am not doing some
thing, breathing or something else.
You never catch me sitting down and
quitting breathing for an hour or two
like some people want TO. | am too
industrious for that.
/ maintain that work is the most en-.
nobling of all avocations, and always
keep telling them so. When have a
man working for me it never makes me
tired, no matter how hard he works; he
might work himself to death and you
never hear me complaining. Why,
when | was young and followed trade
for exercise, my boss used to say that |
could put off more work than any other
hand he had; he said | was always put
ting it off, and yet it never seemed to
exhaust me much. No matter how hot
it is, can roll up my sleeves and pitch
in and rest harder than almost anybody
else, and you don't hear me grunting,
like some.
Talk about me doing no work. Look
at single instance. Is it not the very
hardest work in this world for me to
pay my bills? Don't it make me
sweat? You have no idea how much |
weigh whenI get set down in chair, and
rather like those avocations which re-
quire sitting down to do. | have sat
half the night working at whist, and
have always thought that, above all
other trades, | would like to be shoe
maker or tailor, especially in dull
times. could accomplish the sitting
part and not half try. If | had to work
every week from Saturday night till
Sunday morning, | would not run
around making a fuss about it and act
ing ridiculous.
| was never tired to death in all my
life, and | have witnesses to prove it.
Ever since ] started out for myself |
have been most industr;Ously engaged
! in growing, and very few men have
made better job of it. | always get
| up when the sun is up and go to bed
when it is down. and am dreadfully
opposed to sleeping all the time.
never run away from work. You ought
to see me sitting around where the car,
| penters are putting up new building;
and they say l seem to know more
about the work than they do them.
selves, and they are good workmen.
firmly believe everybody ought ito dc
something, or see that it is done; and
toll is honest and honorable for some
| people.
| NV father never had any trouble
about getting me to work, like some
fathers have, because whenever he
wanted me to do anything right quick
he always asked my brother John to dc
it, and saw that it was done. Some
boys would go bowling around about
it, but | never did; and especially wheI
there was wood to saw | always was
there with a bacon rind to grease
Johns saw, and my father used to say
that he never saw boy who coulC
swing a scythe farther away than
could / was raised on farm, anC
certainly that is place where lazinesE
can never thrive. left home withou
cent in my pocket, and made my owl
way, though ! was born without an ed
ucatlon. M teacher always said tha
| worked hard over my studies; if
would only get down to the studies
without they got above me.
Work! why, like even to labor un
der mistake or hullucination. | Low,
the very money that a workingmal
gets. have not hesitated to seize tn
/ plebeian handles of wheelbarrow AM
60 along the streets with Simpson in it
| just after election. | even work lik
smoke to get out of work. My mothe
used to think was of such prominenc
in the household that she used to poin
to me and say: 'There is the rest of tn
family" OF couSe she meant that
was the balance of it.
| never run after railroad train 0
a street car. There are lots of thing
l don't do. My neighbors say to-
many. But | love to be quiet. If
intend to do any work | thoroughl
consider it in all its bearings to be sur
of it. This only takes few days.
would make good plumber if itwasn'
for the plumbing. ] take no part il
walking matches, and avoid overhead
ing myself at anything, as it is no
healthy. Some people think that worI
is terrible thing, but, Ia me, | don
think anything of it. The intervals be
tween work | always did enjoy, and
don't care how hard | am expected t
rest can always accomplish it salts
factorily.
However, l never did quite get j
down so fine as to look on labor as
recreation, but as necessity when al
things else fail us, and the man VIII
won work like a Turk will get n
sympathy or job of me.
can not see how the report got on
that | was lazy. 1t astonishes me
Why, | have been lately thinking {
coming out next year as working