The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-03-29
READY MONEY.
iBelgrayia

In debit" eaid De batledaw y, mo doubt
The hank Was good enough to place to ny
credit . compile of hundred last week, just to
carry me smiling through Christmas. After
Christmas the delugei 1 have come to the
conclusion" he continued thoughtfully,
'sthat there Ia nothing in the world like ready
money. do you know. my boy, and for this
simple reason. To-day is yours, to-morrow
belongs t. nobody. Give me health and a
day says that old optlmist. Emerson. and
/ will make the Pomp Of Enperors ridicu
lousl' say, Give me health and half q
sovereign always In my waistcosst pocket
and l will forsss the past. rejoice in the
present, and regard the future"
Here De Batledaw paused. The fact is,
De B. never hsd . future. My dear fellow"
he resumed, what is the use of talking
about the future? There is really no such
thing. 1t 10 the mere ~bugbear of poets and
moralists. 1t mas no real existence for you
until it becomes The present, and / have quite
enough to do to deal with that. ha W seen
people worry themselves into their graves
over things which, after ali, never came 10
psn ct al. occupy myself exclusively
with things that do come 70 pass, while they
are coming to pass; / find that answers best.
Az to bills, | don't bother how they are to be
paid-tn / can pay them what's the use 2
They come in to day and you may die to-
morrow, or some one else may die and leave
Jon money, or you may let some empty
house 1T any moment, or your shares may
rise, or you may sell that horse that you
bought out Of q cab and fed mp for twice the
purchase money, or you can claim that little
commission paid on never mind what, by
never mind whom, or-or," be paused again
and then ADDED with extreme conposuIe,
you can borrowI"
mo one can say De Batledaw 10 of the
worrying sert, " said Jones TO his wife that
evening. Il wish / could take things as
cooiIy, and l wish l had half his luck" The
TACT Is, Jones too was lii debt. The water.
rate man Sat for an hour in the hail and
wouldn'tg go without the money. The coal
man had put all his Goals into SACKS again
and taken them of, on finding that his last
little bill was not going to be paid jnst then.
Inc pastry cook grum0led at being asked TO
send IN . half dozen Of champagne for Christ
mas Day, remarking that he had an account
fos ices for the summer months, still unpaid.
Then the cook had asked tor her wages twice,
aud thee was absolutely not . sovereign in
the house, and the mar who jobbed the In
dtspensable doctors brougham was bother
ing fof the last quarter. Such was Jones's
state ut Christmas. He was q young sur
geon. He had lately married . pretty
wife. He treated the poor for nothing.
His brass plate shone, but his only paying
patients seemed to have gone out of town
for Christuss and had forgotten to settle up.
I'm . few weeks" said he to Mrs. Jones,
"they will come back the worse for Christ
-2s .ll - -
few surgical operations. tonsils, and that sort
OF thing, but in the meantime We want ready
money!
Exactly so," says Aurelia. (Aurelia had
married a little beneath her ste:ion-sO her
mother ssid.) Exactly SO, Edward. You're
always ~ridicuiing Archelsus De Batledsw,
bat he is quite right, ready moneys the
thing. The large Bulls will get Maid in the
season. when you are called in to
see old Gorbel. as usual; and the
G~ushingtons, who sprain their ankles regu
lariy every year trying TO skate: and DE
faisey, who always tumDles OF his horse in
the park; and Lady Dekolty, aud all the
others who catch cold at the Queens
drawing room and suffer agonies with the
earache, and think they want Q surgeon; but
now ready money Is what We want, aid what,
IT all events. / must have"
Jones knew she would.
"Do you think our banker will put q couple
"a 0uQOre0 10 our Cre01tI'
Don't talk nonsese, Edward. If I were to
ask him be might; but that remedy is worse
than the disease. You know you d1n't mean
to ask him You oyerdrew the bank fifty
pounds only last week. You men are never
any Use In an emergency, you've got 10
1deasL"
"whats to be done?" says poor Jones
Leave il to me" replies Aurelia. ''Oall
yourself . brsad winner indeed" Ard the
lofty Aureiia, with one of her most superior
loobo, tossed her head, took of her thimble,
threw 1t into her work basket and swept out
Of the consulting room.
Aurelia had not the slightest idea what to
do, pat she meant to do something. Jones
bad lseeiy taken q little house in . respe ia
bic neighDorhood not Q hundred miles from
Harley street, where doctors most do congre-
gate. The brass plate was small and locked
very neat and reliable. II he could hold out
another year, he be ieved that be would
gseatly through mis- wife's connection, get
along. But this Christmas, somehow, things
ooomod coming to . crisis. Jones sat down
and did perhaps Was the most unwise
and depressing thing possible under the
circumsta -ces; he began to look over his
bills.
Presently he heard his wife 60 down stairs.
She Vas In one of her scornful moods. She
hod apparently got Batledaw on the brain.
6ho seemed TO think her husband ought to
have sody money. He did not care to face
her immed a,ely-besides, she had taken
things INTO her own hands, and when q wo
man does that you had best leave her alone |
The street door opened and shut with . bang
Auxolia Va gone. Jones fsit half inclined
- 90 after her, but on second thoughts he
hid where be va II was veil for him
1hat h did Il
Aurolia scoa got into :Oxford-street; she
stopped mechanically 1T . shop window to-
lqok - soms Christmas cards. She was .
Q1oyor artist herself; che thought she could
- enz6o - good - many of those which
o11w11 uoxketable. and vent In to make In
1UILCo 1Dr - eEtiet-s frlend other che said
~ cono ohoioo thinGa 70 o66r. They Il
~ mnsket aa3 oompletely