He went on: "The other day when the girls got ready to go into the
country, we held our first family council. My poor wife, who is all
worn out, couldn't bear to have the girls troubled with it. She
thought it wouldn't do any good, and that we had better keep it to
ourselves. But I said, 'no, for once we will have a fair
understanding.'
"The girls were to go on Tuesday, so on Monday evening I said to
them, 'now, as you are going away to-morrow, let us spend the
evening, as a family, alone. I want to advise with you.' They were
very good about it; they sent, and broke an engagement with the
Browns, and we all got together in the parlor. I tell you it was
ticklish business, though. The fact is, we never had had a perfectly
frank talk about business with them.
"Mattie was all curiosity, and began at once: 'What in the world is
it all about? Why, father, what makes you look so awful solemn; and,
dear mamma, why, you're as pale as a ghost.'
"Well, I saw we were in for it, and so I just let right out. I said,
'Girls, mother and I have talked it over, night after night, and we
have concluded that we ought to tell you about our circumstances.
The fact is, not to be mealy-mouthed about it, we are all on the
brink of ruin. I am head over heels in debt, and can't see any way
of getting out. Your mother and I are nearly worn out; we can't last
much longer. And now, we both feel that we ought to have a plain
talk with you.'
"Fanny went into regular hysterics. My wife said, 'Don't, father,
don't!' Fanny then began to cry and sob, and declared she shouldn't
sleep a minute all night, she was sure she shouldn't sleep a minute.
"Mattie declared she had always lived like a beggar, never had a
sixpence to buy anything like other girls, and she wished she had
never, never been born.
"Angie, who is always good and loving, said she was very sorry for
us. She always was a dear child. She didn't care what the the other
girls said, for her part, she was real sorry for us, and what was
more, she hoped that business would soon be first-rate again, so
that we could all have plenty of money. That child has always been a
real comfort to us. She wished we could have another war, it made
money so plenty. I tell you she is a sharp one.
"Well, the whole thing ended just about as my wife said it would; it
really didn't do any good, but, you see, I was in hopes the girls
might help us to think of some way of cutting down. Of course I
don't blame them, for, you know, they can't help it.
"Now, my dear friend, what can you say? I feel as if my hands were
slipping, as if I were letting go of everything. What shall I do?
If you can think of anything, do tell me, for God's sake."
I replied: "My friend, I comprehend your difficulty; I believe I
understand it in all its bearings, and I am confident I can help you
out.
"Send for your daughters to come home, at once. When they arrive,
call another family council. Say to them, 'My dear children, I sent
for you for imperative reasons. I am worn out, in debt, wretchedly
unhappy, disgraced.--I can't live in this way any longer. You alone
can save me. I ask you to abandon, at once, the life you are
leading, and help your mother and myself to bear these burdens. I
ask you to go with me to-morrow morning to the store, let me
discharge both of the clerks, and you become my clerks. My
daughters, if you will do this, we shall all be independent and
happy. Believe me when I tell you, that these tortures are killing
me. While you are all asleep in your beds, your mother and I are
grieving and often weeping over the impending ruin. My children,
will you save us? Your large acquaintance, your education, your
manners, your devotion to our interests, will turn the current in
the right direction.'
"Possibly," I said, "they may hesitate; but I don't believe it. In
any event, it is the right thing to do. If it should turn out that
they draw back, then stand up like an honest, christian man, and
declare, 'I will not live another day such a life of fraud; I will
not ask the jobbers to trust me with another penny's worth; I will
no longer obtain goods under false pretences. If worse comes to
worst, you, my daughters, must do what thousands of young women have
done before you,--go out into the world and earn your own bread.'
"My friend, I have given you the plan, act at once. Your girls will
join you with a whole heart, and, within a year, they will be ten-
fold more happy, and you can live an honest, manly life."