Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1836-11-15
ECONOMY OF LIVING.

y
ing OF his passage in a steamboat from
Paris to London, I" that considerable
number O. passengers carried a comforta'
bic picnic box or basket with them. and
spread thGr own table. Wth some, doubt.
less, this PROVISION proceeded from fasti-
dious taste, that feared some poisonous dirt
would be found in the common fare Of q
steamboat But with many, presume ii
arose from a habit, which presents marked
difference between the people Of England
and Amc.ica-I mean the habit of econo-
nv. 1t this feeling which would forbid
among u. such 4 habit as that referred to,
and not mly this, but great many more
and better practices. In England, econo-
my stands out prominently; it presides
over the arrangements of a family; it is
openly polessed, and fears no reproach.
A man is not ashamed to say of a certain
indulgence, that he cannot afford it. A
gentleman SAYS to you, II drive pony
chaise this Year; | have put down my horse
and gig. because | cannot pay the tax" A
man whose income, and expenses, and
stvle of living far exceed almost any thing
to be found among us, still says of some.
thing quite beyond him, which his wealthier
neighbor does, I'VE arc not rich enough
for that One of the most distinguished
men in England said to me, when speak
mo of wines at his table. "The wine |
should prefer is claret, but | cannot afford
it, and so drink my own gooseberry."
have heard that many families carry the
principle so far, that they determine exact
ly how many dinners they can give in a
year, and how many gucsts-nay more,
and how many dishes they can putupon the
table, when they do entertain.
"This fankness on the subject Of econ
omy is among US thing almost unheard Of.
Not that we arc more wealthy, but, as [
conceive, less wise. The competition of
domestic lie among us is too keen to adj
init of any such confessions of internal
weakness. We practice economy by
stealth. Nor is that the worst of it; for
one consequence of,his habit Of feeling is,
that we practice too little. When stranger
looks upon the strife of business in our vii.
lagos and cities, he imagincs that he sees
a very covetous people; but nearer OBJ
servation would show him that much of
this eager and absorbing, and almost sla-
wish occupation, is necessary to sustain the
heavy drains Of domestic expenditure. This
extravaganza at home, chains many man
to the counter and counting room. And
this extravaganza is of his own choosing {;
because he knows no other way of distin.
gushing himself but by the style of living.
Would nc but conceive that he might better
elevate himself in society, by having well
read Library, by improving his mind and
conversation, by cultivating some graceful,
but comparatively cheap accomplishment,
he might live wiser man, and die richer.
Who would hesitate to choose between
such family, and one whose house was
filled with gorgeous furniture where the
wife and daughters are dressed in the gay
est of the fashion, and the husband and
father banishes himself the livelong day,
and half the night, from that pleasant man.
sion, to toll and drudge in the dusty ware
house? He sleeps in q very grand house;
he lives in counting -room!'