'A bad job was as good as a good job for me,' he said; 'it all went
the same way.' Once the wife showed signs of amendment; she kept
steady for weeks on end; it was again worth while to labour and to do
one's best. The husband found a good situation some distance from
home, and, to make a little upon every hand, started the wife in a
cook-shop; the children were here and there, busy as mice; savings
began to grow together in the bank, and the golden age of hope had
returned again to that unhappy family. But one week my old
acquaintance, getting earlier through with his work, came home on the
Friday instead of the Saturday, and there was his wife to receive him
reeling drunk. He 'took and gave her a pair o' black eyes,' for
which I pardon him, nailed up the cook-shop door, gave up his
situation, and resigned himself to a life of poverty, with the
workhouse at the end. As the children came to their full age they
fled the house, and established themselves in other countries; some
did well, some not so well; but the father remained at home alone
with his drunken wife, all his sound-hearted pluck and varied
accomplishments depressed and negatived.
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