George M. Baker

“ Mary. Mr. Douglas, the man who truly loves a woman shows his devotion by making her happy, even at the cost of his own happiness.
Douglas. You’re right, Mary. ’Tis your happiness I seek when I ask you to become my wife. I would not see you throw yourself away upon a poor man, when I have the power to surround you with every comfort, and a heart overflowing with love, that cannot fail to make you happy.
Mary. Enough. You and I can never agree. My answer a year ago was final. ”

“ Ned. Lesson, indeed! You work with your white hands! Bah, you couldn’t earn your salt! (Exit, L.)
Douglas. Confound that fellow, he puts on more airs than a nabob! He’s in the way. Mary is too fond of him; and he, with that jealous glitter in his eye, too much in love with her for my comfort. He must be got rid of. Pshaw, Douglas! What chance could a poor journeyman shoemaker have with the lady of your choice? Rich, accomplished, by no means a bad-looking fellow, the whole family would be delighted to gain so distinguished a connection. ”

“ Do your worst. From your arms I would fly to his, though I knew poverty and toil should be our portion.
Douglas. As you please. But I shall not release you, Mary Nutter. My wife you shall, you must be. You’ve a stubborn father and a stubborn lover to fight. Arm yourself, Mary; you will need all your strength, and then—I shall win. Good night. (Exit, C.)
Mary. Ah, while there is life there is hope, even in a bad cause. (Turns, and sees Ned looking at her.) Why, Ned, you awake?
Ned. Yes, Mary. I have heard all.
Mary. What! No, no, Ned, not all!
Ned. Yes, Mary, every word. ”

“ I say, Ned, ain’t you afraid to leave your awl behind?
Ned. (At door.) Mary, you’re laughing at me.— (Aside.) She little knows I leave my all—my heart—behind. (Exit, L.)
Mary. (Sits on bench.) Dear fellow! What a shame his father turned out so bad! And no mother to care for him! (Takes up lapstone and strap.) I wonder what kind of a shoemaker I should make! (Takes awl.) Dear me, I’ve pricked my finger! Where’s the hammer? [20] O, here it is. I don’t believe it’s very hard work to mend a shoe. As he is doing my work, I should be doing his. I wonder where he left off!
Enter Douglas, C.
Douglas. ”

“ Break her heart! O, Mary, Mary! For the first time in my life I long for wealth, for then I should have the power to enter the field, and, if I could not win you for myself, at least save you from a heartless man. ”

“ Ned. Hen Douglas marry Mary Nutter! O, Heaven forbid! What a dear good girl she is! The sound of her voice, as she merrily sings at her work, sets my hammer flying glibly, and my heart beating quickly, too. [18] ’Twill be called a good match, for he has money, and she is the most capable girl in the place. She would grace the handsomest house that his money could furnish. ”

“ It’s a shame you can’t have a prance in the city.
John. Yes; you’re a pretty chap to set a lad’s head a whizzing—you are, Jarius Jordan. You’ve been everything by turn, and nothing long.
Jarius. Jes’ so, John, jes so. But I calkilate that with every turn I’ve give myself a h’ist in the world, anyhow. I’ve peddled tin ware, wooden ware, hardware, everywhere. I’ve swapped horses, traded in cattle, druv hogs, and raised poultry. I’ve invented cotton gins, reapers, and mowers, cider presses and match safes, travelled with pictures, poetry books, stationery, and Bibles. ”

“ Douglas. You have no witnesses. Your charge will fall to the ground, Mr. Jarius Jordan. You have outwitted me, but you must confess I have plotted safely. There’s not a point you’ve found to convict me of crime. You are rather keen. Try it. If I have failed in my attempt to ruin the family of the renowned shoemaker, John Nutter, I have still the satisfaction of retiring from the field with a very handsome profit in the shape of your check for a thousand dollars, which I shall expect to receive before night. ”

“ Now, Ned, don’t be mean. Don’t speak ill of a man because he is likely to win where you may lose.
Ned. I speak the truth. Mary has told him she did not love him, and asked him to release her. He refused. He’s a mean, contemptible sneak, unworthy any woman’s love. That one act stamps him so.
John. Now stop. That’s enough. I know Henry Douglas better than you. He has been a good friend to me, and I won’t have him abused. When, a year ago, I emptied the little brown jug of my savings, and found, to my surprise, a handsome sum, he showed me a grand chance for a safe investment. ”

“ And if ever you want a friend, don’t forget the undersigned, Jarius Jordan, for you’ll find him on hand, like a picked-up dinner.
John. There; that job’s done. Here, Will, drop that jug. It’s a leetle strong to-day. Put on your coat, and take these shoes to Mrs. Douglas.
Will. (Rises while speaking, takes off apron, puts on coat and hat, sets the jug on the floor beside John Nutter’s bench.) That’s just the job for me. Hen Douglas sent me word he wanted to see me. So I can kill two birds with one stone. (Takes shoes.) The Holland is a leetle strong, and no mistake. ”

“ With every peg I drive away poverty; with every punch of my awl I see success; with every pull of the threads I gain a long pull and a strong pull up the ladder of life. O, work is a man’s best friend, and when he turns his back upon that, he richly deserves what he is sure to get—a gloomy life and a nameless grave.
[19]
Mary. Well done, Ned!
“With bench for horse, and awl for lance,
Through stubborn leather you gayly prance;
Shouting your war-cry, with cheery ring,
‘Make way, make way for the shoemaker king!’”
Ned. Mary, Mary, don’t laugh at me!
Mary. Laugh at you? No, indeed ”

“ Hannah. Why, law sakes, Mr. Jerden! [1] How do you do? The sight of you’s good for sore eyes.
[1] Hannah and Sally should follow this pronunciation.
Jarius. Thank you, marm. I’m pretty well, considerin’. Hope you’re hearty.
Hannah. Me? Sakes alive! I never had an ache or a pain in my life, and I’m goin’ on for sixty. There’s nothin’ like good, wholesome work to keep off sickness.
Jarius. Jes so, Mrs. Nutter.
“Rubbin’ and scrubbin’
Gives rust a drubbin’.”
John. (After a long pull at the jug.) Ah, that’s good! The raal Holland, sweetened to taste, and rousing hot! Take a pull, Jarius? ”

“ Why can’t I die? I haven’t a friend in the world to care for me now.
Jarius. Yes, you have. Look up, Will. I never went back on a feller-critter, good or bad, when in distress, and I ain’t a goin’ to do it now. Look up, young feller. ”

“ Ah, many a poor boy who has been led into temptation might be saved from a miserable life if a friendly hand were stretched forth, and a warning word kindly given, as they were to me by Jarius Jordan—Heaven bless him! ”

“ Bench, R., on which Ned Hartshorn is at work. Bench, L., on which Will Nutter is at work. Jarius Jordan seated on a block, R. C., with his hat on, whittling, with a stick and large jack-knife.
John. Wal, neow, Jarius, depend upon it, there’s nothin’ like a stiddy, in-door-work life to give a man position in the world. Yeou city fellers may do all the schemin’ yeou like; but when the time comes for action, it’s the farmers and the shoemakers that find the bone and sinew to keep the world a joggin’, whether in provisions or politics. You peddle, and we provide; you scheme, and we vote. ”

“ You’re a smart workman; and I’d like to see you married. Mary’s already engaged. (Rises.) Think no more of her. If you want a smart wife,
Enter Jarius, C.
take Sally Peeslee. She’s a bouncer. (Exit, L.)
Jarius. (Aside.) Jes’ so. Guess I didn’t come back any tew soon. (Aloud.) Ned!
Ned. (Turning, sees Jarius.) Jarius Jordan!
Jarius. Jes’ so. Heow air yer, young feller? (Shake hands.) And heow’s everybody?
Ned. Glad to see you once more. It must be a year since you were here.
Jarius. Jes’ so; a year to-day. Folks all well?
Ned. Yes—no; Mother Nutter is poorly; the rest are hearty. ”

“ My grandsir was a shoemaker, so was my daddy, so am I, and I mean that my boy Will, there, shall foller in the footsteps of his father. P’raps ’tain’t what you might call a high calling; but boots and shoes, taps and patches, are always wanted, and [7] will be jest as long as gineration succeeds gineration; and when you’ve got a trade like mine, p’raps you can’t hoard up much money, but you’ve got a sure hold on the staff of life.
Jarius. Jes’ so, John, jes’ so; that’s mighty good argifying, if a feller critter hain’t got no soul above peggin’ souls. ”

“ This long year, during which I have been almost a constant visitor, looking upon you with wistful eyes, yet with a silent tongue, for fear of your displeasure, coming and going, must be convincing proof that, spite of your coldness, your image is enshrined within my heart. ”

“ Nutter! Guess you feel better.
Douglas. Well, is my money coming?
Jarius. Hold on. Don’t git into a sweat. I want to tell yer about that air boy. Yer see, about a year ago I came across a poor chap, who’d run down hill awful fast; he’d got into temptation, and tripped. A good deal like your boy, Mrs. Nutter.
Hannah. My Will? He was a good boy. He’s a man to-day.
Jarius. Jes’ so. Wal, this here chap wanted work. He was as penitent as could be; so I set him to work among agricultural implements, as a sort of salesman, paid him fair wages, and a smarter chap you never see. ”

“ Bah! I’m tired of it! It’s so awful slow! I want to see the world, rub elbows with bustling fellows, set my wits at work, use my tongue, wrestle with sharp ones for the best end of a bargain. That’s life! ”

“ Here’s the hardest. You must solemnly promise that for one year you will never touch, taste, or handle liquor, plain or embellished, raw or fancy. It’s hard, young feller, for you, but it’s your only hope. ”

“ Josh Higgins was kinder smitten one time—hey, Miss Peeslee.
Sally. Well, p’raps he was, and p’raps he wasn’t. He was too much smitten with whiskey for me.
Jarius. Jes’ so. Well, Sally—Miss Peeslee—you’re a smart gal; and if I want so pesky busy with my new reaper—I’d—I’d—
Sally. Well, what would you do, Mr. Jerden?
Jarius. I’d jest look round and pick out a smart husband for you.
Sally. You needn’t trouble yourself, Mr. Jerden. I can pick for myself when I git ready. Better be lookin’ out for yourself. ”

“ Douglas got it into his head that Hen was sparking Mary [14] Nutter in airnest. Don’t believe such a notion ever entered the feller’s head afore. He’s only flirtin’ with her, same as he has with twenty other girls; but, to spite the old man, he swore—O, awful!—he’d marry her, if he was turned out of doors for it.
Ned. He marry our Mary!
Sally. Why not? He’s none too good for her.
Ned. She’s too good for him.
Sally. Why, Ned, you ain’t sweet on her—are you? ”

“ Jes’ so. Wal, we’ll see if we can’t doctor her up. Now, Mary, the next time Douglas comes here [52] don’t you be mealy-mouthed. Let him have it right and left. Tell him jest what you think of him, and defy him to do his worst.
Mary. I dare not. He is wicked enough to crush father with the mortgage he holds, and mean enough to kill mother by disclosing Will’s connection with the forged check.
Jarius. Let him do his worst, Mary. He’s a crafty chap, a-schemin to snare the old man and get your hand ”

“ Douglas will get that boy in spite of thunder. I do hate to see that young feller go to the dogs; as he’s sure to do if something [13] don’t hinder. He’s jest the chap to go into Stinson’s good graces, and gain a complete knowledge of agricultural implements in his concern, and jest the lad to keep a sharp eye on my interest in the patent reaper. I do hate to get eucred; but old Nutter’s a hard lot when he gets his back up.
Enter Sally, C.
Sally. Goodness gracious! If I’ve been here once, I’ve been here twenty times for Mrs. Douglas’s shoes, and she ravin’ distracted about ’em! ”

“ And now he’s off to meet that air Douglas, who always has a bottle at his elbow. He’s a dangerous chap.
John. Much you know about it. He’s Will’s friend. He’s taken a shine to him, and, if I’d say the word, would give him a great lift in the city. He’s a well-meaning chap, that Douglas. He’s got a rich father, and need not work. He’s well edicated, and has got good manners. Will’s all the better for being in company with such a man. As for the little brown jug, don’t abuse that. It never did me any harm, and I was as young as Will when I took my first pull at it. ”

“ Will. No, indeed. There’s not a better fellow living than Jarius Jordan.
Jarius. O, git eout! Don’t yeou go to tootin’ the horn.
Ned. It’s the truth. ’Twould have been a hard winter for widow Black, but for the kind care Jarius Jordan bestowed upon her.
Jarius. Sho! Don’t you tell tales out of school, young feller.
Will. Then there’s old Pearson. Who’d have kept him out of the poorhouse, when he broke his leg, if Jarius Jordan hadn’t stepped in, housed him all winter, and paid the doctor’s bill? ”

“ You do want slicking up, and a wife would soon reduce that crop of hair to its proper dimensions, mend that hole in your elbow, iron out that ruffled, seedy-looking hat, and find a blacking-brush for [17] those rusty boots. If I wasn’t so busy, Jarius—Mr. Jerden—I’d look round and find you a wife, for you do need one awfully. (Exit, C.)
Jarius. Jes’ so. Neow there’s a gal I’ve been hankerin’ arter for five years, and never so much as dared ask her to lecter or singin’-school. Consarn it, Jarius, you’re a mealy-mouthed critter among the gals, smart as you are at tradin’ and swappin’. ”

“ Ned. I know. Some of them paid and some didn’t. The balance is on the wrong side, for your money has vanished, and there’s a mortgage of a thousand dollars on your property, which he holds. Pretty friend he!
John. Well, what of it? Them as win must expect to lose sometimes. It’s no use your talkin’ agin him. He’s smart, and he’ll help me out, with a handsome profit, when the time comes right.
Ned. And for his sake you refuse to let Mary marry the man of her choice? ”