Weekly Trinity journal., 1874-04-25
NUMBER II.
THE DOLLAR WE DON'T SPEND.

We have to calculate pretty close at
our house, you know; and the whole fam
lily are called into council when an inn
portant expenditure is to be made. Wen
the other evening we were considering
the small remnant of the quarters salary,
and Mrs. Dobbs was trying to reckon
how it could be made to cover every
thing, There was her new dress, and q
new coat for me and new carpet for
the best parlor, and new hat for our (at
presenD unmarried daughter, besides
great many other things, with which
will not occupy your valuable space. The
main point was the new dress, and Mrs.
Dobbs was thinking OF this shade, and
sclutinzing that pattern wishing that sho
could buy them all, doubling il she could
buy any of them and our faces grew
longer as the salary 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 you
don't spend"
She looked at me a little perplexcd,
and presently she said, Why, doctor,
don't understand you"
So | said, "The handsomest dress is
the one you don't buy"
"Oh yes, that's true. The best dress
| ever had was the silk that Mrs. Large
head gave me when she came from Phil
adelphia. She bought it at Honey ~
Colloday's; it couldn't have cost less than
| ---u
Mrs. Dobbs," said l, interrupting
her, " the handsomest and in every way
the best dress is the one you dom have"
She was more puzzled than ever, and l
was forced TO explain.
Z" Mrs. Dobbs," said /, "al tho dress
es you have ever bought have worn out,
haven't they?"
Yes" said she, very promptly, "all
of them. l haven't decent thing to my
name. There is my bombazine-"
"Wait moment" sad /, for was
mortaly afraid to have her get up that
topic "and did you ever buy dress,
any way, that you didn't have some
misgivings over; that you didn't SEQ
some defect in that you didn't rather
wish that you had bought the other2"
81 believe you are right" she said
thoughtiully.
But" said /, the dress that you don't
buy has no faults you are never tired of
it IL never grows old never fades new
er wears out or, if you want to change,
how easily the change is made!"
"Why, yes" said Mrs. Dobbs " nov-
or thought of that before"
"And so," said /, "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 tho wish was vain you couldn't
make change. The dollar that you
spond you can spend but once, but the
dollar that you don't spend you can spend
II hundred times. You can buy a humid
red things with II every time you go out.
Ii you are dissatisfied with any Of your
purchasers, you can go back and begin
all over. And So" | continued, "the
dollar you don't spend does you great
deal more good than the dollar you do
spend; and, better than all, it brings
with it no regrets, no misgivngs, even"
Mrs. Dobbs looked as though she did
not know just how to answer me, but at
the same time as though sho was not
quite convinced. Presently she said:
Well, doctor, don't know that I
see through it all ; but no doubt you are
great deal wiser than | am. And so
we will go on that principle. l will take
the dollar that We do spend, and you
, shall have that dollar that we don't spend,
which is, as you have showed, so much
4 the better of the two.-VcrmOnt Chront-
y Gle.