American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-04-04
Hard Times In High Life.

0oO
Hard Times In High Life.
Ever since pa failed and paid twent
cents on the dollar, we've been retrenct
ing. You've no idea what an awful thin
it is. don't see why men should tail an
retrench, I'm sure; but they will. It's on
of those strange customs without reasol
or novelty to recommend it. I've though
it all over a good deal, and talked to p
about it, but there's only one explanation
and that's no explanation at all-har,
times. You've no idea how dreadful it i
to us. Hard times may be severe on poo
people-though 1 don't see how they cal
be, for poor people are used TO them-bu
they are perfectly awful, as 1 said, to Us
for we're not poor people by any means
In the first place, consider how you would
get along with only one hair-dresser ant
one maid, after having been brought W
to two. Fancy if you can what it is t.
wear the same brooch all winter, anC
have people remark that "There's tina
same diamond on her finger yet" That's
where the shoe pinches; and, speaking o
shoes, let me tell you that the suffering in
our family this winter on account of shoe.
| would draw tears from a stone. Re
trenchment means wearing domestic
boots at eight dollars; and when it come:
to feet that have been used to imported
French boots at twenty dollars, the cup o.
don't think the poor have got 50
much to complain of. They CAM
know what it is to retrench. How car
they if they haven't anything to retrench
on? There's Mary Parker came here the
other day and wanted me, for the love OF
mercy. to help her pay her rent. Mary's
our old laundress. She worked in the
family when l was baby, but she fool
ishly got married year ago. Says l,
"Why, my poor woman, it's perfectly
| ridiculous; you talk as if We hadn't our
cross to bear as well as other people You
must retrench. That's what we do. Pa
has stopped the rent of his pew in DIR.
Busters church, and had the gas meter
taken out of the carriage house, and
makes the girls in the kitchen use kero-
sene, and cut off the boquet-woman, and
stopped the ice Yes, indeed, we have to
suffer as we'll as you do; but we don't run
about making fuss over it. As pa says,
the thing to do is to stand up to it and
retrench. Why, my dear woman" says
I, getting quite warm, there's plenty of
money in the country. 1t is not want of
money, it is want of confidence that
makes the hard times" That seemed to
stagger her. We've got to restore con-
fidence before we can do anything else"
Then she went on to say that she was
about sick and hadn't got coal to keep
her warm. "Well," saws I, chats pre-
cisely the way with us. I've been brought
up to have a grate-fire in my sleeping
room, day and night, but pa says this
winter that the register gives heat
enough"
But couldn't make that woman under
stand that anybody suffered but herself.
They're all alike, these people. If you
live in a brown stone house, and keep
your horses and eight servants, no power
on earth will convince them that you suf-
fer from the hard times worse than they
do. I'd like to see Mary Parker wear
those shoes that Boncatelli sent me yes
terday Then the humiliation of it. That's
the worst Of it. Poor pa, he has taken to
using a plain black cane, because, as he
says, a gold headed stick isn't the thing
in a time of general suffering. Nobody
but the poor dear man will ever know
what that sacrifice cost him. But it's the
same thing all through the house. Ma,
she took off her plain gold spectacles,
and insisted on wearing a plain black
pair whenever she drove out to the park:
and Charles consented to give up his
cigar after dinner, and bought a forty
dollar meerschaum and a pound of to-
bacco. Every time l go in the billiard
room and see that splendid fellow smok-
ing his pipe with cOntrite spirit say
to myself OF to Celeste, "Ah! poor boy,
what he must suffer-" Celeste usually re-
marks, All, yes but it isn't a circu H.
stance to what he makes other people
suffer-" Celeste does not like tobacco.
As for me, don't stop to think of the to-
bacco at all; it's the moral heroism that
attracts my attention.
1t wasn't the selfsacrifice that 1 meant
to speak Of, so much as the charity of the
winter Pm sure nobody could do more
than we nave to allay the sufferings of
the poor. In the first place, we gave up
our Wednesday receptions, and con-
cluded ) put up with Friday kettle
drum. Then we spent, l should think,
about a thousand dollars getting ready
for the Charity Ball; and when little
Parthenia Burt wanted to make her
debut got up Charity Concert-upon
my word, believe that concert cost us
about t sht hundred dollars, for we bad
to give most of the tickets away, and had
to have a supper and carriages, you know.
But, as Charles said, it was a noble ex-
ample, and the notice of it in the papers,
with all The names, must have stimulated
others to do likewise.
So, with retrenchment and charity, we
have had our hands full on Murray Hill
this winter Pa is sucL a thorough
going man when he sets about
a thing, that expect he will
keep it up all summer. Indeed
I've heard ma talking about mortgaging
the house and going to Paris in June, be-
cause we can live so much cheaper there.
Pauline Beckman told me confidentially,
only last week, that whenever her father
failed they all went to Rome and made
the grand tour, from sheer sense OF
duty "But," said she, Il" it gets to be an
awful bore after the third trip"
The Beckmans are very apt to put on
airs, and when you think of it, they're
not so smart, either. Charles says they
paid fifty cents on the dollar, and knew
by the way he looked that he didn't con-
slider that smart.
That remrds me that 1 forgot to tell
you how Madame Beckman retrenched.
She mortgaged her oil paintings, put
chromos in their place, and bought her
dress for the Charity Ball by the little
operation. think that was smart as well
as good-don't you? But here l must
stop. Tell Molly to write as soon as she
can, and let me know if she's got her
velvet from Paris yet.-Leslie's Weekly.
Editors sanctum-Enter foreman
:" Half dozen lines wanted, sir, to block
out with Give us joke on annexation"
Married editor, adjusting his spectacles
with an air of surprise" All, but annex
alton is no joke" -Brooktyn Argus.
AL