The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-02-21
MARRYING ON $40 A WEEK.
The Experience Of a Loving Young
Couple in New York City.

A0 LA P0AA0AS0 "a q A0VAA6 i O0A6
Couple in New York City.
Johnson was only twenty-three
years old, was earning but $40
week; nevertheless, he had made
up his mind to get married. His
friends told him it was absurd, that
he couldn't do it. Itwould be cruel,
they said, to take young woman
out of comfortable home, where
she had been used to having every
thing she wanted, and everything
her own way, and make her share
$40 week with a man who could
barely get along on that amount
himself.
To all this advice Johnson replied
that he guessed he knew what he
was about. He had studied the
matter over carefully, and knew it
could be done. He had been en-
gagged to Nellie for whole year.
He was in love with her, and he
knew she was dead in love with him,
for she had told him so lots of times.
He couldn't fool around waiting to
get enough money to suit his friends
ideas before getting married. 1t had
been bad enough waiting year.
Moreover, he had read an article
in the paper, where it was all laid
down in black and white, just how
young couple, without extrava
CANT tastes, could live comfortably,
even luxuriously, it seemed to him,
on $40 a week.
So, in spite of the advice of his
friends, he married.
He had saved up hundred dol
lars by dint of staying in nights for
the past year-what he thought
would be enough to take short
wedding trip with. But the day
before the wedding he was informed
by his employers that they were
very sorry, but as it was the busiest
time of the year they would require
his strict attendance to business,
and the best they could do for him
was to give him day off. So john
son and his bride spent the day on
trip to Harlem, hunting for
boarding-place where they could
live for $13 week, for according to
the printed slip which he had care
fully cut out, this was the most
which could be used for board, if
expenses were to be kept within
the 500.
VIEWING THE PALISADES AT SIS A
WEEK.
After long and tiresome search,
during which he discovered that
everything at all of his liking aver
aged about three times as much as
he could afford, they finally decided
on a place on One hundred and fif-
ty-ffth street, where, as the landlady
explained in glowing terms, being
very high up, they could command
a magnificent view of the Harlem,
and the house tops, and the Pali-
sades across the Hudson.
By the time Johnson had moved
into his new quarters, and had
bought several things which he
thought he couldn't possibly do
without, the 500 he had intended
to devote to honeymoon had dis
appeared. But this didn't make
any difference, he told his wife, be-
cause now that they were settled
they could adhere closely to the di-
rections given on the printed slip,
and all would be plain sailing. He
had calculated with great nicely
that after deducting $13 week for
board there would be 81 left for
their other expenses. Of these 81 i,
81 was to be appropriated for car
fares, 50 for washing, 81 for cloth
ing, and 81 for pin money for his
wife.
For a week this plan worked very
we'll, and they had good deal Of
fun evenings as they sat up late to-
gether and calculated how they
could save little every week by
skimping their wash, and by Mrs.
Johnson's not taking any rides on
the elevated.
"You see, my DEAR" said john
son, "if you can be satisfied with
two trips down town every week,
this will only cost 20 cents, and we
can save the other 20. Twenty cents
a week is $40 40 a year, you know.
So by visiting her father and
mother twice week, and having
them visit her twice, they got along
very we'll, indeed, for one week.
But at the end Of that time, as
Johnson was riding to business IN
the car one morning, he uncon-
sciously laid out few cents for a
paper, as he used to do before he
was married. He didn't think any
thing of it at the time, and bought
another the next morning, and an
other on the morning after. AT the
end of the week he found he had
spent just Is cents for papers. It
worried him greatly, but he made
q clean breaet of it to his wife.
"E1aHrY-F1vE CENTS Is PLENTY"
| Never mind. John, dear, can let