Sometimes, when hes been hard pushed with a job, Ive known him ask em to stay and work a bit of overtime, same as he did my gentleman as had been at such fine shops; but Oh, no, he says, couldnt
do it, thanky, and away he goes.
Well, now, that aint the sort of thing, you know; for one good turn deserves another; and my gentleman wouldnt have much liked it if hed been refused a day when he wanted it. But, there, he was a poor sort; and one of those fellows as must have everything exact to pattern, and cant be put out in the least chaps what runs in one groove all their lifetime and cant do anything out of it; and then, when theyre outer work, why, theyre like so many big babies and quite as helpless. But he didnt stay long; he was too fine, and talked too much. The guvnor soon saw through him, and paid him off; and, according to my experience in such things, those men as have so much to say, and are so very particular to let the guvnor know how particular they are not to waste a bit of time, generally turn out the most given to miking skulking, you know.
I aint much of a workman, you know; being only a sort of odd man on the place, doing anything painting or what not; but me and the guvnor gets on well together, for I make a point of helping him when hes hard pushed; and I will say that of him, hes always been as liberal after as a man could be. Say a jobs wanted quick, whats the good of niggling about ones hours exactly, and running off for fear of doing a stroke too much. Go at it, I says, and work with the master as if you take an interest in the job and feel a bit of pride in it. Why, bless your heart, taint only the three or six-and-thirty shillings a week a man ought to work for, but the sense of doing things well, so as he can stand up aside his fellow-man, and look at his work and say, I did that, and I aint ashamed of it. Why, Ive known fellows that bowky about their jobs that they wouldnt own to em afterwards. Sashes all knock-kneed, panelling out of the square, or painters with their paint all blistering and peeling off. No; taint only for the weeks wage a man ought to work, but for a sense of duty, and so on,
Guvnor and me gets on very well together, for I was with him in his worst times, when he used to work in his shirt-sleeves aside me; and manys the time Ive gone into little contract jobs with him, to calculate the expense, when from being over-anxious to get work hed take the jobs a deal too low, and so I used to tell him. But we always got on together, and Ill tell you how it was I got along with him.
I always could carpenter a bit, but most of my times been spent as a painter prenticed to it, you know, and spent seven years with a drunken master to learn most nothing, cept what I picked up myself. Well, I couldnt get a job in town, so I was on the look-out round the outside, when I came to our guvnors place, where he was at work with two men, and him doing about as much as both of em. No use to try on for carpentering, I thinks, so I sets up the painting sign and goes in.
Well, says the guvnor, I can give you a job if you can grain.
Now that was a rum un, for I was only a plain painter, and no grainer; but after three weeks hard lines, wife and family at home, and work awful, it did seem tantalising to a willing man to have a weeks wages shown him if he could only do one particular thing. Of course I had dodged it a bit before, but I wasnt a grainer, and I knowed it well enough; but I thinks to myself, Well, this is outside London, where people aint so very artis-like in their ideas, and perhaps I can manage it so here goes. I can but try, and if I misses, why, it aint a hanging matter. So I says, Well; I wouldnt undertake none of your superfine walnuts, and birds-eye maples, and marbles; but if its a bit of plain oak Im your man.
Well, he says, thatll do; its only plain oak; and, if you like, you can begin priming and going on at once. Theres paints and brushes, but you must find your own graining tools.
At it I goes like a savage, and then I found as there was a weeks work for me before I need touch the graining; for there was priming, and first and second coats; and so I went on, but thinking precious hard about the bit of graining I should have to do. Nothing venture, nothing gain, I says; and that night I was hard at it after work ah! and right up to four oclock in the morning trying to put a bit of oak grain on to a piece of smooth deal. Id got a brush or two, and some colour, and a couple of them comb-like things we uses; and there I was, with the missus trying to keep her eyes open and pretending to sew, while I painted and streaked, and then smudged it about with a bit of rag; and Im blest if I didnt put some grain on that piece of wood as would have made Mother Nature stare knots, and twists, and coarse grain, and shadings as I could have laughed at if I hadnt been so anxious. You see, the nuisance of it was, it looked so easy when another man did it: touches over with his colour, streaks it down with his comb, and then with