The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1900-02-09
AN AWFUL NUISANCE
THE MAN WHO DEVELOPS INTO A
CHRONIC BORROWER.


a Habit Which brings the 1mpecuni-
Gus individual Who Cultivates 1t
Dangerously Near the Dishonest
Line-Don't BE q Beat.
It Is old Polonius, in Shakespeare's
tragedy of Hamlet, who says:
Neither 4 borrower nor q lender be.
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge Of busbandry.
This advice be gives to his son, young
Laertes. on his departure for France.
And it contains q world of wisdom in q
little space.
The chronic borrower exists in every
community. and he is a nuisance. How
well we all know him under various
forms! there Is the man who invites
you out to drink and then asks you for
IS note, to be repaid the next Monday.
That day never comes, and the lender Is
obliged to charge the sum to profit and
loss.
Then there is the fellow who comes and
borrows q small sum, which he repays
very promptly, and you think you have
seen the last Of him. But you are mis-
taken. He reappears and asks for the
loan of a larger amount, and if you are
verdant enough to comply with his re-
quest you will never see your money
again. Following these comes the chap
who is n mere bcggar. lie wants half
dollar until tomorrow. But he never
intends to return it. and you never ex-
pect him to do this. You give him the
coin to get rid of him for the time being.
and he shutfles off TO spend it at the
nearest taproom.
Now, all these impecunious men were,
no doubt. likely lads growing up until
they fell into the habit of borrowing.
They were probably honest enough in
paying their debts at the start. but then
came a time when, owing to some ex-
travagant expenditure which they could
not afford, they found themselves unable
to meet their just debts.
They brazcncd it out then, and they
have continued to bruzen it out ever
since. They have lost all sense of honor
and all self respect and have Joined the
ranks of the Jeremy Diddlers. from
which there is little hope Of escape.
They have no character or standing in
the community in which they live, and
they that know them best will dodge
around the corner when they see them
coming.
There is, of course, in trade a legiti-
mate system of borrowing on good Sc
curity. Business could not be conducted
long under ordinary conditions unless
some such practice prevailed. but this
does not furnish any excuse for the
shortcomings of those who obtain loans
without any idea of how they are to be
repaid.
Borrowing dulls the edge of husband
Al "A ;,,f ha NIL. tr,1ly
says. A borrower is necessarily spend
thrift. He never has bank account
because he never saves anything. He
has nothing to draw upon but the saw
ings of his acquaintance, on which he
has no claim. He may not call himself
q dishonest man. but he is not far from
1t. For instance, he strikes n good ma
tured slob who does not know him very
well and by fictitious statements squeeZcs
q dollar or two out of Il poor innocent
who can i'll afford to lose it and who, per-
haps. needs it for the proper support of
his household or for the payment of his
weekly bills. That money is never re-
turned. as the borrower well knew it
would not be when he promised to make
1t good in a short time. The law may
not be able to reach him, but some peo-
pie would call him a thief. And the
chronic borrower is far from happy.
He has his moments of elation, no
doubt, like Wilkins Micnwber when the
punch was brewed, but he has terrible
hours of depression when he does not
know where the next meal is coming
from and when he has exhausted the pa
thence of all his relatives and acquaint'
anccs. But he need not be in this pickle
II he would resolve to live within his
means and not indulge in luxuries which
he well knows he cannot afford.
II a MINIS expenditures do not come
within his income, there is bound to be
disaster In the end. He will be bank
rupt in both fortune and character il be
does not wisely regulate his expenses
so they may not exceed his salary or the
receipts of any business in which he may
be engaged.
1t is a wise rule for young man never
to buy anything for which he has not the
ready money to pay. There is too much
temptation in getting things on credit. II
leads a man to obtain more than he real
ly needs and thus run up large bills
which he finds it difficult to meet.
Young fellows are too apt to jest about
standing up the tailor or some other
tradesman, rs IL II were n smart thing to
keep an honest hardworking man out OF
his money. Why is it not better way
to save up your earnings until you have
the cash to settle bill at once? In this
way you will obtain the respect Of your
neighbors and gain a reputation that will
be of inestimable value to you in any
reputable pursuit you may follow. 1t is
just rs easy TO be n white sheep as Il
black one and deal more pleasant in
the end.
If you live to be old. you do not want
to look back over wasted life and re-
greet that you did not avoid these extrav-
aganccs. which, after all. have brought
you little or no enjoyment. Do without
things rather than borrow.
II you do not practice self denial in
youth. you will never attain any position
or distinction worth having. Perhaps
you do not know what IL deadbeat is
Well. he's a liar and n cheat. and that is
what the chronic borrower always is
Don't be a beat.-Boston Herald.