American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-01-01
CANTON, MISS, SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 1876

silent. He gazed first upon the bill he
| held in his hand, then upon the floor. AT
| last he spoke:
Hannah, see where the trouble is,
| and must freely admit that have been
! wrong. If had paid for everything as l
| bought it / should have hit it all now.
have not estimated the value of money as
where l began / will do differently. l
must step down to the store this evening
| and pay the rest as soon as | get it,"
"That matter is easily settled" she re-
piled, ''for l have money by me that
had when we were married"
He protested most earnestly against
taking his wife's money, but she insisted
| on giving him the money. 1t was her
will and he must submit. So he went
down and paid the grocery bill and on his
way home he sold his gold chain for thir-
teen dollars. He felt happier now, and
was ready to commence the next quarter.
On the next Monday morning the young
man went into the meat store to send home
piece of beef for dinner
How much will you have?' asked the
butcher. a
Oh, three or four"
Charles got thus far, and then he
stopped. He had always been in the hab-
it of ordering an indefinite quantity, and
leaving the butcher to cut it off at the
highest figure, and charge the highest
price; and then he remembered how much
was usually wanted.
Let ME have two pounds" he said
He stopped and saw it weighed and then
paid for it.
When he went home at noon he found
that his two pounds of beef were enough
for a good dinner. The next morning he
went to the store. Mr.. Waldron had some
nice figs just come in which he showed
They were only twenty-five cents pound.
For a moment Charles hesitated, but as
he remembered that he had got to pay for
all he bought he concluded not to take
them. He found that things were not so
enticing when it required the cash to get
them as when the payment could be post
poned. He paid for what he bought and
went his way, and thus things went on
through the week. When it came Satur-
day night he knew that all the money in
his pocket was his own, after deducting
the rent. That evening he went over to
the market with Wilkins and bought as
much vegetables and meat as he thought
would last through the week He found
he had made saving of at least 30 per
cent, and when the opportunity offered
he made the same saving in other matters.
At the end of that quarter Charles Mat
thews did not have to get slate He paid
his house rent, and then he found he had
thirty-fve = dollars left in his pocket
That was his-he did not owe a penny
of it.
"Ah, Hannah" said he, as he held the
money in his hand and looked it over,
now see how easy it is for a man to be
wrong and his wife right. This money
all comes of paying as 1 go along. 1t is
very easy and simple to say, Just charge
it, and Imam can easily buy things under
such circumstances, but when the day of
reckoning comes these three simple words,
thatsound so innocent when spoken, are
found to be costly things. l did not be-
lieve it until / tried it. could not have
believed that man would buy many
articles simply because he could have
them charged. But l see it now, and if /
refused to follow. your advice at first 1
have gained experience enough to lead
me to follow it more explicitly now"
Charles Matthews never again allowed
himself to be led away by the credit sys-
tenn, but has followed the cash rule, and
the consequence has been that he could
buy produce, coal, etc., at the cheap prices,
and he has now cut off the expense of
house rent, fol, he owns a snug little cot
tage, and it is all paid for.