The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-02-29
Selected Storm.
How We Went to Housekeeping.

Germany. He had not met her Boston
relatives. was as ignorant of the pro-
prieties-Boston proprieties-and as
full of romance as if had never lived
in the " Hub" To be sure | had not
lived in Boston for eighteen years, and
/ was Just nineteen years old | said:
You know it will cost no more for us
to live together than it does singly."
He said: GA physician ought to
marry young" He had been MD. just
two weeks.
So we set about deciding where we
should live and what we should live on.
owe ought to settle somewhere near
our relatives and friends" said /; " it
would be better for practice"
81 don't know about that" said he;
friends are not good patients, and as
for relatives"
"Of course my relatives would like
to have us settle in or near Boston,"
said 1.
&" We will think of it. Now as to
what we have to live on. l suppose we
can't reckon much on practice the first
year"
ooh, no; and we must bring our liv-
ing expenses within our means outside
of practice, which am sure we can do
if we try"
1.-THE most important item is of
course, the house," | suggested.
I'VE can't afford to pay more than
S25 month for it as l reckon eX-
penses."
We ought to get nice little house
for that" said | my mind full of snug
little German houses for a good deal
under that sum per month. You see
we had just come over and we were
talking all this youthful nonsense in
spacious drawing-room on Beacon Hill.
90 Perhaps the first thing to decide is
the location of the house," said he, and
this was the prelude to series of
rounding Boston. Somehow, we found
no lack of physicians signs in all of
these.
"You see the point is to find place
where physician is somewhat needed
and at the same time be near some
large center of civilization" said he.
There was one place very beautifully
situated in which l had friends who
were very DESTROYS of having a physi-
clan within reach. The friends drove
us all through it, pointing out its sew
eral advantages. We had almost de-
cided in favor of it, and had selected
several pretty cottages, among which
we thought we might choose. We got
the keys of these houses, and after
criticising their internal arrangements
inquired the rent. This one we had
thought too far out of town rented for
S35 a month; the others for somewhat
more. There were only three houses
for rent in the place.
The next place we looked at we be-
gan inquiring the rent of the house be-
fore the number of doctors. Each one
of my relatives and a number of my
friends selected place for us, and each
of these places we duly investigated.
When we returned from our little ex-
cursions the relatives would assemble
and discuss our affairs before us.
Aunt Harriet Scoville Coleman said
she considered it our moral duty, in
justice to our highest natures and our
relatives, to settle in Boston. Uncle
Everette Adams Hastings had scheme
for us to begin life in small sea-shore
place he was planning out in Maine.
1t was to be the future summer resort
of Bostonians-a more English "cold
roast " than Nahant itself. AT present
there were five Queen Anne cottages
upon the island, and | think these five
cottagers had sworn to burn down any
thing like hotel or clearinghouse
which might appear in their midst.
A family feud was caused by our po-
lite rejection of Uncle Stevenson's
proposal to build us Il small house in
Boston, which he would rent to us at
a considerable loss to himself, and
another breach was made when we said
we would rather not accept Aunt Pris.
ella Perkins kind offer to share her
Back Bay splendor while building up a
practice.
Boston has a passion for philanthropy,
as all the world knows, and is always
ready to assist those who struggle, if
they are struggling according to Bos-
toms latest approved methods.
When people heard that we could not
settle here and would not settle there
on account of the high rents, they said
Let them wait, then; other people
wait; long engagements are quite the
thing in Boston,"
AoO arc oPlholClos hui Ouo plOolld-
ton and insanity" said the doctor,
who had grown bold under so much
opposition. The Doctors home was
some hundred miles from Boston and
waiting" did not seem to him at all
the correct solution of the problem, as
it did to the relatives. These asked:
" How much is the DOCTORS income?'
"We have not heard exactly yet
was the reply
"Why do we not know it positively
In such cases there should be no de-
ception. l shall do nothing for them
if there is" said one.
Il have heard it placed at an eX'
traordinarily low figure" said hand
some but somewhat bloated elderly
man with number of rings on his fat
white fingers and fashionable STAN
mer, something, in fact, like ffteer
hundred year. You know she has MOI
a sou; expected to teach and that sor
of thing"
They might get along on that,
said one of the relatives, speculatively
She was a member of the executive
committee of Ward No - A gSOciat ~