THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



127 



THE JANUARY FEVER. 



There are some men who always dread the 1st of 

 January. The thought of it causes the turkey to dis- 

 agree; the sauce to the Christmas pudding wants flavour ; 

 nothing-, in fact, is right either within or without. There 

 is a certain testiness of temper, accompanied by a 

 nervous restlessness as the day draws on. The sudden 

 entry of a servant, a ring at the bell, or a sharp rat-tat 

 at the door arouses disquietude. There is a great in- 

 disposition to be seen in the haunts of men ; long soli- 

 tary walks or rides in lonesome neighbourhoods are re- 

 sorted to, terminated by very late tea-dinners. The 

 postman comes to be regarded with aversion ; the 

 housemaid with suspicion. The delivery of letters, once 

 a welcome circumstance, is now a painful fact ; and as 

 though they contained a sealed doom, many are allowed 

 to lie day after day unopened upon the mantel-piece. 

 Tiiese are all symptoms of the January fever. We have 

 known the complaint aggravated by such occurrences 

 as the following : 



Maid : " Please, sir, Mr. Jones has called, and will 

 be thankful if you will settle his little account, as he 

 has a large amount to makeup to-night." 



Master : " Confound Mr. Jones ; I paid him last 

 week." 



Mistress : " Yes, dear, but was not that the account 

 for the year before last ?" 



Master: "Last year's account or not, it's con- 

 foundedly impertinent to come to trouble a gentleman 

 two weeks running. Tell Jones I'll look over his bill 

 and send him a cheque soon.'' 



lEiclt maid.'] 



(Jones toalking away. " Soo7i, eh ? 7iext year. "J 



Mistress : " I wish, dear, you had not got that 

 hooded chaise, we could have done very well without it, 

 as I told you, and now we have all the trouble of i)ay- 

 ing for it." 



Master : " Well, it would perhaps have been as 

 wise not to have ordered it, but the cart was very 

 shabby; besides, Jones had just set up, and I wanted 

 to encourage home trade ; it's nicely made, and has got 

 him many orders amongst our friends ; and this is his 

 gratitude. Confound him !" 



Mistress ; " But you see the carriage was sent in 

 last January, so he has waited twelve months." 



Master : " And if I had gone to old Barouch at 



, he'd been glad of the job, and let the account run 



three years." 



Mistress : " You left him, I thought you said, be- 

 cause he charged so high." 



(The conversation changes.) 

 Mr. Jones, as will be seen, was a coach-builder, and a 

 neat thrifty hand. His capital was small ; his principles 

 were good ; he employed but little labour, and worked 

 assiduously himself. He knew that the foundation of a 

 good honest trade was to lay in a large stock of wood, 

 to as to woi-k up nothing but well-seasoned stuff. 



" To be sure," as Jones said, " it was cheaper to use 

 green, and many did a very large business with a very 

 slender capital in this way ; one might say with no 

 principle at all ; putty miglit cover a multitude of de- 

 fects, and make a bad thing look cheap, but he would 

 work with good stuff." And so he made the greater 

 portion of his capital fast, leaving, like a wise man, a 

 nice little floating sum to meet current expenses. A 

 good and an obliging workman generally secures a fair 

 hare of patronage ; and so did Mr. Jones. For two 

 or three years his prospects were bright, but the fourth 

 year, when he is introduced to us, he looks anxious. 

 There's a deal of money out, £iO here, £30 there ; £20 

 in that place, and ^60 in another. Some has been 

 due two years, nearly all of it twelve months ; and 

 men's wages have kept on, and housekeeping expenses 

 have continued to soak up the little floating sum, until 

 the day when Messrs. Timber's traveller is advised to 

 him, and what is to be done? The half-year's account 

 is somewhat heavy. His wife advises him to call and 

 state his case to some of his best customers. Very 

 reluctantly he collects a few of his bills, and takes his 

 hat. It goes very much against the grain. " I'm more 

 at home in the work-shop," he thinks. The lady who is 

 looking out of the window of the second house upon 

 which he has designs, says to herself, " What an un- 

 usually long interval between the foot upon the door- 

 step, and the ring at the bell." And so it was, for 

 poor Jones had been repulsed from the first house as 

 though he had requested alms ; his bill was taken, and 

 the door shut in his face. He therefore pauses a little 

 before he summons a second insult. ' ' Well, here 

 goes. " 



Jones : " Is Mr. , at home ?" 



Maid : " No.'' 



Jones : " When will he be at home ?" 



Maid : " Next week." 



" Too late," sighs Jones, and proceeds. 



At a few places he is successful. By some he is re- 

 quested to call again ; but not unfrequently his presence 

 is the signal for a scene like the one we opened upon. 



T.he day following Messrs. Timber's traveller appears 

 as per advice. 



Traveller. — " Good morning to you, Mr. Jones. 

 Business brisk ? Got my advice, I suppose ?" 



Jones : " Yes I did." 



T. : " Well, I'll look in after dinner. You'll have 

 your order ready, and then we'll settle the account." 



Jones : " I'm sorry I can't be so punctual as usual ; 

 but I can't for the life of me get my money in. Though 

 I was out all yesterday looking after it, I have only 

 made up half the sum due." 



Mrs. Jones : " And I do think it very hard, when it's 

 our own." 



T. : " Well, never mind, my boy ; we will draw a 

 two-UQonths' bill on you, and that will settle a difficulty 



