The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1855-03-29
For some moments Charles remained

silent. He gazed first upon the bill, and
then upon the floor. At last he spoke
There was light in his eyes and flush
upon his countenance.
Hannah, | sec where the trouble is,
and | must freely admit that have been
wrong. If I had paid for everything as
had bought it, l should not have been
where | am now in pecuniary matters
You are right. see it all now. | have
not estimated the value of money as |
ought. Let me once get up to where [
began and l will do differently. l must
step down to the store this evening, and
pay Waldron what l have, and the rest I
will pay when l am able"
"rhat matter can easily be settled y
said Hannah, with bright, happy look.
81 have more than enough to make up
the amount of the bill. 1t is money | had
when we were married"
Charles protestated most earnestly a.
gainst taking the wife's money, but she
would listen to no argument on the sub
ject. 1t was her will; and he must sub
nit. SO he went down and paid the
grocery bill, and on his hay home sold
his gold chain for fourteen dollars. He
felt happier when he got the old black
cord once more about his neck, and he
had money now to commence the quar-
ter with.
| On Monday morning Charles went in
to the meat store, to send home piece of
beef for dinner.
elbow much will you haye'" asked the
butcher
so, three or four"
Charles got thus far and then stopped.
He had always been in the habit of or
dering an indefinite quantity, and leaving
the butcher to cut it off at the highest
price; and then he remembered how much
of it was usually wasted.
"Let me have two pounds" he said
He stopped and saw it weighed, and then
paid for it down.
When he went home at noon he found
that his two pounds of beef had made e.
nough, and there was none to waste
The next morning he went to the store.--
Mr.. Waldron had some nice figs just come
in which be showed, For moment
Charles hesitated, but as he remembered
he had to pay down for all be bought, he
concluded not to take them. He found
that things were not so enticing when it
required cash down to get them as when
the payment could be postponed. He
paid for what he bought and went bis
way, and thus things went or through
the week. When it came Saturday night
he knew that all the money in his pocket
was his own, after deducting the rent
That evening he went over to the market
with Mr.. wilkins, and bought as much
meat and vegetables as he thought would
last him through the week. He found
that he had made saving of at least
twenty per cent by this operation, and
when opportunity offered he made the
same saving on other things.
At the end of that quarter he did not
have to get any slate. lie paid his house
rent, and then found he had thirty five dol
lars left in his pocket. That was all his
be did not owe penny of it,
"Ah, Hannah" said he as he held the
money in his hand and looked at it, snow
see how easy it is for man to be wrong
and his wife right This money all comes
from paying as l go along. 1t is very easy
to say "just charge it., and man can
easily buy things under such circum-
stances, but when the day of reckoning
comes, these three simple words that
sound SO innocent when spoken, are found
to be costly things. would not have be-
lieved until | tried it. | could not have
thought man would purchase so many
more useless articles simply because he
could have them charged. But l sec
now, and if refused to follow your ad-
vice at first, have gained experience c.
nough to lead me to follow it implicitly
now"
Charles Mathews never again allowed
himself to be led away by the credit sys-
TEN; but he followed the cash rule pune
tually, and the consequence has been that
he can not only buy any quantity of pro-
duce, wood, coal, groceries, ETC., at cheap
cash prices, but has cut off the expense of
house rent, for he owns snug little cot
tage in the suburbs, and it is all paid for,
too.