Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-03-21

let's sit down and eat supper, ana tneh we
will look the matter over"
And after supper they went at the work.
Hattie took the bill, and a piece OF blank
paper, and followed the items down with
her pencil.
First" she said, ''is box Of figs, at
fifteen cents pound. 1t was very cheap
no doubt; but the eight pounds came to a
dollar and twenty cents. Had you been
required to pay cash, you would not have
bought them. You would, at least, have
asked me if | liked them, and | should
have told you, No. Next we have a gallon
of golden syrup, which we did not need,
and for which you would not have paid
cash without consulting me-"
And SO she went on, and in the end she
had cut down the bill, by throwing out
articles which they had not absolutely
needed, to less than fifteen dollars.
A dollar here had not seemed much to
George; and dollar and half there; and
then seventy-fve cents and then only
fifty cents but there had been twenty
visits to the store during the month, and
the aggregate of these trivial sums was con-
siderable.
George saw the whole thing, and he
knew that his wife had been right from
the first.
"Don't say word" he said. /" see
the mistake. But l'll have to work around
into the right track by degrees"
How So George?"
"Why,-I haven't money enough left of
my months wages to quite pay this bill ;
SO | shall be utterly unable to enter upon
the cash principle at present"
"There need be no difficulty in that di-
rection," said Hattie. 81 have not spent
quite all my little capital. had already
fixed it for bit of nest egg; and don't
know as it could be put to better use
than the laying ola foundation Tor cash
payments. At any rate, George, let us try
it for a while"
George kissed his wife, and said she was
a blessing and he promised that he would
follow her advice in the future. He took
the money which she had to give, and held
it as loan, which he was to return at the
earliest possible moment and he felt an
ambition, too, to see how speedily he
could do it.
And on Monday morning the new rule
of life went into operation. George paid
Mr.. Skidd's bill, and told him that here
after he should pay cash for everything he
bought. The store-keeper pooh-pooh'd.
and said there was no need of! it.
BLESS you, my boy, had as lief trust
you as not"
81 do not doubt it, Mr.. Skidd; but ]
prefer not to be trusted. would rather
consume nay own groceries than to con
sumo yours. A bill is an evil at best, and
don't choose to have evils growing on my
hands if can help it,"
Mr.. Skidd saw very plainly that his Gus
TONER'S vision was clear, and he said nc
more.
On the evening of that very Monday Mr.
Skidd exhibited to George some extra nice
preserves, and the young mans first i'm
pulse was to order pot of them but the
taking out of his wallet, and the breaking
of fve-dollar bill, was palpable remind.
er; AMI he concluded that he could get
along without them. Said he, to himself, -
"These seemingly trivial sums, if save
them, will, at the end of the month, ado
up as greatly IN my favor as they have
heretofore added up against me-"
And he found it so. And he found one
thing more in his favor from cash payments
which he had not particularly counted up
on. As he had the money in hand to pay
for the articles which he had planned tC
purchase, he could buy it where he coulc
get it best and cheapest. Traders are moi
willing to lose cash customers; and they
do only the fair and honest thing wher
they sell to such a customer cheaper thar
they sell to others. Not only is the inter
est OF the money on account an importan
item in the aggregate of many accounts
but the keeping of that account in day-booi
and ledger is an expense. George yer.
soon learned all this and he found tina
even Mr.. Skidd sold to him during thi
month of cash payments cheaper than h
had sold during :he previous month.
And as the months rolled on, Georg
Brown opened no mole accounts wit
Graders. He found that in paying cash b
was constantly reminded Of the value c
each separate sum as he counted it out
and was hence not likely to purchase wha
he did not need And then he had goa
ahead which he had determined to reac
as speedily as possible; and by his syster
Of cash payments he could estimate at tn
close of every day the gain he was maxim
toward the desired end. In two month
, he paid what he had borrowed of his wife
: and she put it into the common fund; an
in five years his home was his own, and b
, owed no man anything but love and goot
will.-Ledger.