John Gay; Or, Work for Boys

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1865 edition. Excerpt: ...them, look very pretty, and many persons attach a certain value to them on their own account. But they would soon lose all this value if people did not believe that they would be redeemed by something substantial when they were brought in, to those who issued them. In the same manner Benny liked the first greenback which he received, on its own account, and John might for a time have gone on making more, and paying the children with. them for the work they did for him. But every one that he issued in this way would only have increased the number of hours' work for them which he would have to do in the end, if he meant faithfully to redeem them. And if he did not mean to redeem them, but put the children off with excuses when they came with them to get him to do something for them, then they would soon have ceased to value them, and would not have been willing to work for them any more. So John, in order to keep up the credit of his currency, determined not to put out any more money, if he could help it, but to get back what he had already issued as fast as he could, by working for it; and thus he could issue it again. So he went to work at once on Mary's trellis. He first drew a plan of it under Mary's direction, at his desk, at the window called the morning window, in the sitting-room. I think every boy ought to have a desk or something of the kind, in some convenient place in the sitting-room, whe1'e it is always warm and comfortable, and have it provided with everything necessary for writing, and drawing, and doing other such work, --that is, I mean every boy that has intelligence and manliness enough to take care of such a place, and to keep it in order. He might call it his ofiice. That was the name that John gave to...