The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1873-08-14
The Dollar we Don't Spend.

We have to calculate pretty close at
our house, you know; and the whole
family are called into council when any
important expenditure is to be made.
Well, the other evening we were consid-
ering the small remnant of the quarters
salary, and Mrs. Dobbs was trying to
reckon how it could be made to cover
everything. There was her new dress,
and new coat for me, and q new car
pet for the best parlor, and new hat
for our (at presently unmarried daugh-
ter, besides great many other things,
with which 1 will not occupy your valu-
able space. The main point was the
new dress, and Mrs. Dobbs was think
ing of this shade, and scrutinizing that
pattern, wishing she could buy them all,
doubling if she could buy any of them;
and our faces grew longer as the salary
grew shorter. Presently, with one OF
my happy inspirations, said to her:
Mrs. Dobbs, there is no dollar that
does you so much good as the one that
You don't spend"
She looked at me little perplexed,
and presently she said: " Why, doctor,
don't understand you"
So said: "The haadsomest dress is
the one you don't buy"
"Oh, yes, that's true" The best
dress I ever had was the silk that Mrs.
Largehead gave me when she came from
Philadelphia. 1t couldn't have cost less
than"
"Mrs. Dobbs," said I, interrupting
her "the handsomest and every way
the best dress is the one that you don't
have"
She was more puzzled than ever, and
I was forced to explain.
Mrs. Dobbs, said I, "all the dres-
ses you ever bought have worn out,
haven't they2"
EYES," said she, very promptly, " all
of them. haven't decent thing to
my name. There is my bombazine-"
"Wait moment" I said, for was
mortally afraid to have her get up that
topic "and did you ever buy dress,
did you ever have dress anyway, that
you didn't have some misgiving over !;
that you didn't see some defect in that
you didn't rather wish that you had
bought the other?"
81 believe you are right" she said,
thoughtfully.
"But," 1 said, "the dress that you
didn't buy has no faults you never are
tired of it; it never grows old never
fades; never wears out; you never
wish you had chosen some other or if
you want to change, how easily the
change is made"
"Why, yes," says Mrs. Dobbs, "I
never thought of that before.
"And so," said l., "of your dollar.
You never spent dollar in your life
that you didn't feel at least doubt as
to whether you had spent it wisely.
You wish you had bought something
else. But the wish was vain you
couldn't make a change. The dollar
that you spend you can spend but once,
but the dollar that you don't spend you
can spend hundred times. You can
buy dozen things with it every time
you go out Ii you are dissatisfied
with any of your purchases, you can go
back and begin all over again. Aid
so," 1 continued, "the dollar that you
don't spend does you great deal more
good than the dollar that you do spend
and better than all, it brings with it nc
regret, no misgivings, even."
Mrs. Dobbs looked as though she
didn't know just how to answer me,
but at the same time as though she
wasn't quite convinced. Presently, she
said:
"Well, doctor, I don't know that ]
see through it all, but no doubt you are
right, for you are great deal wiser
than am. And SO, we will go on that
principle. I will take the dollar that
we do spend, and you shall have the
dollar that we don't spend, which is as,
you have showed, SO much the better Of
| the two ~