The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-07-21
HANDY THINGS.
BY xRSAsnANK.

What sort of insane folly is it that possesses some of us at times, and makes us save all our odds and ends of every description under the delusion that they will "come handy" some time? They never do Acome handy" but we cling to them with great te- nacity instead of having the good sense to bestow them on the ash man as his rightfIl prerogstives.
 My wife and have we'll developed economical tendencies, and we pride ourselves on never wasting thing that may "be useful" or ''come handy" at any time in the dim future.
 have read ot men of wealth who traced the beginning of their riches back to the time when they saved pieces of twine, never cutting 1t from bundle, but carefully untying 1t and laying it away tor future use, until they must have had a barrel or two of old twine lying around some place. Once I read of millionaire who set his fellow-m an example of thrift by getting out of his carriage and picking up rusty nail he saw by the roadside, and I emulated his example until had about forty pounds of old, rusty, bent and broken nails lying around and about once in six months I used 6 pound or two of them in try ing to find one that could drive into board without bending or breaking. At last l sold the lot for old iron and got ten cents for them. Then began to reform. The other day began re- forming my wife.
 was cleaning out the accumulation of years in a closet in the basement and piling most of it's contents up for the ash man when my wife came down stairs.
 "There are some things in that closet want saved," she said, "they'll come handy some time." But l re- solved to be firm.
 "You don't want this2" said hold ing up an old tea kettle without any spout and with six big holes in the bottom of 1t.
 "Well, it might come handy tor something some day"
 I tossed it into the ash barrel and held up a pair of very old boots dis carded four years ago, and now green with mold.
 "No use in saving these, is there2" l asked.
 "Well, I don't know. A little piece of leather often comes handy iii house for hinge or something"
 called to mind pair of leather hinges once made, and the boots fol- lowed the tea kettle.
 "What do you want this rusty old hoopskirt for?"
 "Oh, piece of hoopskirt wire often comes in useful in house."
 "It hasn't been asked for in this house since before the war;" l said. "Here's an old hat of mine that's been lying around nine years. Better throw it away, hadn't IF"
 "Well, perhaps so. Pve often thought of giving it to some poor man, but I forget it every time tramp comes around. gave 1t to one tramp, and he went off and left 1t on the front gate post"
 "Showed his good sense," I said. "Do you want all these old broken dishes?"
 "Yes. I'll have them all mendcd some day. I've intended having it done for five years" When her back was turned they went into the ash barrel.
 "No use in saving these old bottles, eh?"
 "Well, bottles a handy thing to have around. Better save them."
 My dear," I said, "here are at least seventy-five old bottles, and to my certain knowledge we don't use one a year, and think we can trust our great-great- great-great grandchildren to get their own bottles; 30 here they go."
 In the same daring, reckless way, ! threw away three old busties, old bonnets, brooches, lamps, skillets, hair- combings, shoes, sawdust, tin pans, old papers, popcorn, wormy walnuts, soap grease, broken lamps, spoutless teapots, bottomless coffee pots, cracked kettles, and ten thous- and other things that had for years and years waited their turn to "come handy" but which never would or could "come handy" in this world or in the world to come.-Detr0H Free | Press