The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-09-11

nave uneat once IN four or nve days.
How much do you think it costs me q
week to supply our tablep Please give
q rough guess"
20, about twelve or fourteen dol
lars" promptly answered the newspa-
per man, making what he thought was
q low estimate.
81 spend four dollars q week, and no
more, for provisions" replied Mrs. g.,
with an emphatic toss of the head. This
dinner to-day is extra, because we have
company, but shall not allow it to in
crease the aggregate cost of our food
for the week.
'fThat's SO, she WON'T" groaned Ed
ward. Tomorrow there will be moth
ing bnt herrings, soda crackers and
cold water on the table,
Il resent that imputation," said the
young wife, laughingly. Edward
knows that we always have plenty OF
good, wholesome food. In fact, we
are obliged to have it, for both he and
I Iexercise great deal each day, and
then our baby is two years old, and she
has ravenous appetite. / know that
to persons who have kept house it will
seem almost incredible that family OF
three can be well fed on sixty cents
worth of food each day. We could not
get along on what sixty cents would
buy if l should purchase my supplies
from day to day. But go to market,
sometimes twice week and sometimes
once week, and buy enough to last
two or three davs or a week, as the case
may be. Flour l buy by the bag, and
sugar ten or twenty pounds at q time.
make my own bread, cakes and
pastry, and have learned how to dress
up fancy little dishes of the simplest
kind of fare. We have ham quite often.
One ham will last us long while, yet
we do not get tired of it, because there
are q dozen different ways of preparing il
for the table. Whenever buy roast
OF beef we have it in many different
forms. can get good roast at my
butchers for one dollar, and that will
last us three or four days. We will
have from that single piece a meal oi
potatoes, platter of cold meat with
pickles, and perhaps some good beef
soup. We eat q good deal of oatmeal,
cracked wheat, hominy and rice. Such
food is not only nourishing, but it costs
but little, and can be served in great
variety of ways. Fried hominy and
sirup or rice pudding makes very nice
dessert. BY the way, / shall ask your
opinion of some Of my rice pudding as
soon as you have finished your beef and
potatoes.
The pudding was served a few min
utes afterward, and it was truly de-
licious compound of rice and egg and
sugared frosting. q
Snow let me do sum in addition, -
said the husband, taking out his pencil,
after the meal was over. s'My wife
says that we pay forty cents day for
rent, sixty cents a day for provisions,
eighteen cents day for fuel and about
one cent a day for oil; that makes just
one dollar and nineteen cents Is there
anything elsePn
go, yes," exclaimed the wife, sthere
is Kate. the washerwoman; I pay her
one dollar and twenty-five cents a week,
which is about eighteen cents a day. "
swell, that brings our necessary ex-
penses, not including clothing, up to
$1.37 day." continued the young
man, putting on thoughtful air. My
salary, as you say. is about $2.73 q day.
Last year we saved nearly $270, which
is a triie more than seventy-three cents
day. Take that out and it leaves us
Just about 81 day to live on. We have
already accounted for S1.37. What be-
comes of the rest?"
1--WE spent about $3.50 for clothing
last year" suggested the wife. .sYou
had that $25 suit and your summer suit
which cost $40, and | had dress aud
/ my new cloak, which, with what the
baby had to have, and shoes and hats
for all of us brought the whole amount
up to nearly $3.50"
''That makes about forty cents day
to be added to the $1.37, making in all
S1.78 of our 81. There is twelve cents
day or little over S43 yet to be ac-
counted for. That, suppose we can
put down for incidentals."
The young wife nodded her head
affirmatively, and the newspaper man
asked, with some surprise, whether ID
was possible that the $43 would cover
whole years expenses for two per-
sons in car-fare, amusements, lunches
in New York. etc.
co." said Mrs. R. eagerly, ''but we
don't have any such expenses. 1t is
very seldom that my husband or my
self has occasion to take street-car.
I walk to market and back; it is not
very far, and Edward always walks to
and from his place of business. His
daily expenses are just two cents-one
cent for crossing the bridge in the
morning and one cent for coming back
at night.
"But it is two miles and half from
your house to the bridge" exclaimed
the newspaper man.
THAT is nothing" interposed Ed
ward. walk it twice day, rain ol
shine, and / enjoy it. 1t is the only
physical exercise that I have. 1t is bu
short distance from the New Yorl
end of the bridge to the store, which i:
in the dry-goods district, as you know
take my lunch with me.''
"Don't you ever go to places O.
amusement?'
.'Once in great while my wife ant
I spend money for such things, but no
very often. We cannot afford it, ant
we both had much rather put tn,
money thus spent into books and sta,
at nome and read. BY the way, ther'
! i, little item we left out of our calcu
lation. We pay fiftpcents month TO
the privilege of drawing books from ,
circulating library. That takes six dol
lars out Of the forty-three dollars tina
was not accounted for. Fortunately
for my wife, she had a great many &C
quairtances in Brooklyn, and she hat
all of the social recreation that she hat
time to take. She and 1 both agree
however, that it is our duty to save a
least as much as we do. A young mai
with a small salary and family ON hi
hands runs great risk in spending al
that he earns. Suppose he should hay'
a long fit of sickness. What pligh
his family would be in! They would
in short time. become subjects for tn
charity of the neighbors. None of tina
for me, if you please. would rathe
deny myself unnecessary comforts AM
have the consciousness that if anythin,
should happen to me, my wife and chill
would have little something to fal
back upon.