The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-04-25
months and how nc was building house,

"WCll, VIC began again. pulllnS uoWI
p the minutest things, three cents worth o
elastic Tor q Childs hat, two cents for {
bunch Of matches; even the stick Of candy
that bought for Johnnie, as took hin
!. for little walk, was noted as IN outlay o
one cent. And We came out pretty mucl
8 as ut the end Of last quarter. had begun
10 believe in James theory, md two week.
passed from the close Of the three months
without any entries. Perhaps It was ~
5 well TO let things go,
On Saturday afternoon met Simpson
who asked me to 60 and see his new
house Just finished. It was good mile
from the business part Of the town, anC
my first impulse was to hail an omnibus
!, we have no street Cars-and, for 1vC
cents each, ride out.
"Do you mind walking% asked my
friend. would like you 10 SEQ how easy
II can DO made, this living mile out o
town, and walking to and from bushes!
: twice each day." ...,
"Why, you don't mean to say that yor
. shall walk in and out, all the time, anC
the omnibus running for five centsI"
Fair or foul: why the exercise snC
: fresh air are half the inducements. TX
ride will cost twenty cents day; l can
. wear out more than that moneys wortt
: OF shoe.leather, and the walk will do mt
flty cents worth Of good"
had never counted the cost IN shoe
. leather, but 1t had always seemed much
easier TO ride mile than 10 walk one
: SO much easier that was constantly say
inc my strength, as l argued, by paying
five cents to ride half the distance. II II
: were rainy, or were little late In the
morning, hailed the omnibus. III fell
tired, as l almost always did at night,
bought newspaper, jumped into the
convenient vehicle, and rode home, read
ing all tho way. =, -FIEy t... II 80,
Now 1t surprised me when our walk
was finished TO find how fresh and bright
| was feeling. ........., =,
4 was in raptures over the new house;lt
was marvel Of convenience and comfort
so much in 80 small compass; such
closets, such q bathroom, such airy bed
rooms. Jane would admire all 30 much.
II could only build her such house; il
l could only put the children 10 play In
such yard and garden! -.s,.,,
| On the way home Simpson told me
| Just how he had managed TO get this
homo for his family. He had paid hall
already, and the interest on the remain.
der would be only hall the rent he was
awe 20, In two weeks" lie concluded,
land now ifyou were 10 buyt next lot
and build what fine times we would have.
I'd get you in the way Of walking, and
the air and exercise would set you right
up III All sl,A.l..,,,,!,,.. -,
land, let alone building. The fact Is, we
only manage TO live, I wonder how 1t Is
you can do mort" sEd a7R
Then VIC compared notes, and l learn
ed that my friend had known discour-
agements, and had lived through his dark
day long ago. 1t was when he was first
married that he and his vile had tried
the battle Of accounts and had been head
ed OF by the "sundries. " -e
"Tll tell you what Frank, begin now
and interrogate these same items. You
find that the little things foot up four
times larger than you expected. You
wouldn't let big things, like flour and
coal, cost four times your first appropria.
ton, without question. Why should you
let the things which cost cents and dimes
beat you? Look them up, and see how
many. can be mustered out Of service"
"Why, the fact is that my first estimate
| must have been wrong. will not allow
that Jane or myself are reckless, or ex-
travagant. We must have newspapers,
omnibus tickets, needles and spools OF cot.
ton, here and there; 1t can't be helped, and
il the things count up, we must make the
best OF 1t. We cannot save; we have tried
and found 1t failure"
But still, l resolved to interrogate the
items, as Simpson advised, though didn't
think II wise to- admit 80 much.
At the end Of the next week l began
while the items charged were compare
lively fresh in mind. I had been on my
guard since tho talk with my friend, and
The items Of my account werc quite re-
duced yet marked several as not quite
necessary, and determined TO challenge
them still more closely, during the follow.
ing six days. The consequence was that
rode seldom, waited till 1 reached home
Tor the paper, instead Of buying one on the
Way, In my hurry to get tho latest news.
l wanted to induct jane into the mys.
terry oil saving, but tound her quite decided
in favor Of her accounts
ITO work, one must have materials,
she argued, "theTe's no sewing without
needles and thread; there's no cutting out
clothes for children without patterns; l
am willing TO try hiring the work DONE
as an experiment; but bricks without
straw am not able to make"
Things then went on unchanged Tor q
while; so netting was gained by my
method, but still the column Of sundries
footed up surprisingly, l was certain that
Jane was mistaken, yet 1t seemed dread
fully mean In a man 10 Curtail his wilea
means OF work. My savings were in so
different direction, that It was not easy
10 compare the two things.
One morning, just before | was ready
10 90 down town, Jane sent me to her
workbox forla bit Of string to tie pack
lage. In my hurry, by some clumsy
movement upset the box, and to my dis
may saw the spools rolling In all direc-
tons over the floor. tried hastily to
gather them up. but my time had run out
and Jane was freed to come to the rescue.
l think that little light broke in upon
her at tho moment, though its results did
not Immediately appear. 80 /,
Ono Of my item Of expense, my largest
one, was the livery bill; It was no extrav-
agance, l had always said, 10 take Jane
and the children for ride once q month.
do not think that 1t was, But 1t did
come to me in the course. Of my interro-
cations, that o common horse and carriage
would carry US just IS well, and that II
was a contemplate sort Of pride which
induced me to hire fancy teams, to please
the eyes Of people who cared no whit for
, mo or my family.
! had become 60 much In earnest since
my talk with Simpson, that tho next
, leasure day hired tho kind Of animal ]
had always called donkey, that is, q
I