still he would not brook a woman's interference.

Wall, he could get such big rents for drinkin'-saloons, that four of
Cicely's buildings wus rented for that purpose; and there wus one
billiard-room. And what made it worse for Cicely seemin'ly, it wus her own
property, that she brought to Paul when she wus married, that wus invested
in these buildings. At that time they wus rented for dry-goods stores, and
groceries. But the business of the manufactories had increased greatly;
and there wus three times the population now there wus when she went there
to live, and more saloons wus needed; and these buildings wus handy; and
the executer had big prices offered to him, and he would rent 'em as he
wanted to. And then, he wus something of a statesman; and he felt, as many
business men did, that they wus fairly sufferin' for more saloons to
enrich the government.

Why, out of every hundred dollars that them poor laboring-men had earned
so hardly, and paid into the saloons for that which, of course, wus
ruinous to themselves and families, and, of course, rendered them
incapable of all labor for a great deal of the time,--why, out of that
hundred dollars, as many as 2 cents would go to the government to enrich
it.

Of course, the government had to use them 2 cents right off towards buyin'
tight-jackets to confine the madmen the whiskey had made, and poorhouse-
doors for the idiots it had breeded, to lean up aginst, and buryin' the
paupers, and buyin' ropes to hang the murderers it had created.

But still, in some strange way, too deep, fur too deep, for a woman's mind
to comprehend, it wus dretful profitable to the government.