The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-11

Copyrighted 1SS5-An Rights Reserved.l
The last thing at night after saying their pray
ers in which they had been accustomed to in
clude petition that the Lord would enable them
to pay their way Mr. Frederick Wilkins said to
his wife, with an accent of indescribable relief;
"Jane, we don't owe anybody dollar
"Oh, dear! isn't it good thing to think OF
answered Mrs Wilkins in the darkness, from
which one may infer that Frederick had success
fully formulated her reflections
When Mr.. and Mrs Wilkins soon afterward
fell asleep there was an expression of content on
their commonplace faces, from which the angels
on duty there doubtless obtained as much
pleasure as they received from the ftful smiles
wreathing the rosy lips of the three slumbering
children in the neghboring room. In their
Dreams however, these married people fell back
into old troubles, with indignant retailers to be
Modified and minatory writs and Satanic bailiffs
lowering dimly around, After these Nightmares,
from which Mr.. Wilkins awoke with groan and
his Jane with stifed tears, the streaming day
light lifted up their hearts in a wonderful way,
and they jumped out of bed as happy as bob o.
links, because the pleasure of being awake to the
consciousness of freedom made their wish have
the longest possible day
In their struggle they had not been consoled
by any feeling that their debts had been in
Cured through heroic indorsation of some dear
friends paper, through assistance given to rela-
tives in distress, or from any lofty motive,
whatever. 81 was a fool :" would Mr.. Wilkins
remark in reference to their first three years of
welded extravaganza. 1--WE were both geese,
would Jane respond, willing to assume only a
divided responsibility. But Them she would
add, 1.-THE children will be the better for it, for
we did obtain recognized 'socal position
That was their one consolation. Every body in
Torhamtor who was anybody kept up that &C
quaintance with the Wilkinses, which had been
intimate association when the young couple
went to everything, and gave the incest kind Of
little select parties themselves Hence, during
the years of their struggle with debt, they had
been harassed by anxiety to keep up appear
ances. On this matter Jane did not reason in
accordance with the conventional cant of the
anti conventional morast
YES we might pay everything at once if we
sold our furniture and took cheap house in a
nasty neighborhood," she said when Frederick
limited at that plan. 'But we can't afford to do
any such thing. Everybody knows we ought to
be able to live here and bring up the children
Specially 1t would be an awfully bad thing
for them if we went to a horrid low street All
our friends would drop u.s."
mot our real friends" demonstrated Fred
erick
''Oh well, our acquaintance woodland we
can keep our real friends just as we'll here If
we don't keep acquaintance we cannot in
crease the number of our real friends" with
which reasoning she triumphantly disposed of
Mr.. Wilkins and went on.
"Then everybody that dropped US would
justify it by abusing us for having got into debt
AS long as we put good face on it nobody will
know our troubles Besides, if it were town
talk that you had made mess of your affairs it
would hurt you at the bank, dear Don't you
remember the Chollops2 Why. when they moved
into that low street you told me that the other
men in the bank began to think of Mr.. Chollop
rs a shady companion Then the directors got
the opinion somehow, and Mr. Chollop had to 20
away because his prospects were destroyed. I'm
afraid q public confession would hurt your
chances of promotion"
'"That's what troubles me more than any
thing" said Mr.. Wilkins, who was senior teller
in the Torhamton Bank.
Eyes, we can't afford to own up beaten" re-
Sumed Jane. 1--WE can live very cheaply here
My gowns will do for ever so long and you have
lots of clothes. I will do without girl don't
mind the work a bit-and the woman who comes
10 wash can do the scrubbing. AS long as we
keep this house and it looks just usual every
body will think just as much of us as they DO
now They'll think we're economizing-theres
nothing really disreputable in that you know
dear"
''If we only could, and be honest said Freder-
lex, whose disposition was to let the worst come
to the worst and who as yet knew nothing of
James managing abilities.
1--WE can," she answered Honest! The
idea! We will pay our debts every cent Why,
/ would go to any street. yes, I'd take in wash
ing if there were no other way. But there is.
There's no use committing suicide and destroy
Ing the childrens chances too, if we can pay
everybody by gaining little time. Oh. we can
be honest and respected too"
"Perhaps-the combination is not entirely
impossible" he answered obviously.
NOW, just let me manage" said Jane, and
there was no more talk of immediate surrender
The victory had been achieved, as has already
been recorded. Three years of pinching did it,
for the debts that looked so enormous to the
Wilkinses when they first went seriously into a
committee of ways and means, were represented
by sum that would have looked absurdly
small to any of the professional bankrupts, who,
in those days, lived magnifcenty and called
themselves merchants in the intervals between
their periodical compromises or assignments.
Three years of old clothes; three years with next
to no play; three years of coal carrying, cinder
sitting, boot backing and kindng splitting
for Mr.. Frederick Wilkins, three years of broil-
ing baking, dishwashing and contriving by Mrs.
Jane; three years of dread that some creditor
would bring suit; three years of regular dstribu-