The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1901-08-29
Those Horrid Figures
'-,.'A I-Ezs7

umn Of figures, which she counts
aloud and on her fingers. The table
is strewn with sheets of paper; she
has q school arithmetic in front of
her aud an account book.
"# and six makes As and
eight SO, and then the rs | had over
after dividing by that 35
(she throws down the pencil in de-
spair, and getting up from the table
presses both her hands to her fore
head.
"Oh, these figures! l always have
had horror of figures y it
was a presentiment, | am sure. At
school l hated adding up, and | never
tried to, either; | never opened an
arithmetic if | could help it.
"And l married young, and thought
this horrid nightmare of mine was
over at last. Jack certainly never
talked to me about such detestable
things when we were engaged
(sighing).
after we had been married about
six months, though, he said to me one
morning: 1 have about 500 pounds
that | want to put out. | shall have
to see about it. 1t seems there is
good affair just now in China; their
loan at 3R per cent
"'Oh, jack | exclaimed, China!
Do you mean you would have to 60
to Gilman
"Jack roared with laughter at my
distress, but he was in reality great
" fattered, l know.
"'Do.iust as you like l said. feel
ing rather mortified; you never take
my opinion seriously, and besides |
do not know in the least what you
mean with your three per cent
three what? For hundred what|
He took the trouble to explain,
but he still looked amused,
"'A hundred pounds that | should
give. and then at the end Of the year
they would give me three.
"The fragrant injustice of such
proceeding scandalized me.
"'You would give them hundred
pounds and they would give you
three pounds' I interrupted. Thank
you. and you call that a good thing!
You would certainly do better to
keep your 500 pounds; there are plen-
tv of thing~ we could buy with it. |
should Ike 10 know what would be
the good Of three pounds"
THE more I argued the more Jack
laughed; il was perfectly ridiculous.
He only stopped every now and then
to kiss me and to tell me that ] was
the most charming wife in the whole
world. But for the next six months
he never attempted to talk to me
about figures and money matters.
AT the end of that time one day
when I was rocking little Jacqueline
to sleep my husband came in the
room and put on my lap an exercise
book with green cover, this very
one (picking up the account book on
the table,. and making a very grand
little speech he began to tell me that
now as mistress of the house and
mother of a family ! must begin to
keep an account of our expenses and
try to put by some money for our
little girl.
NV nightmare was to begin again'
Until then ! had been able to have
whatever | wanted, and had never been
troubled about the price of anything.
Jack went on to explain that | had
been spending great deal. and that II
was better for me to begin and learn
the value of money. and that for the
sake of our child. etc.
1.-The first two months of this new
arrangement | had great success-a
perfect triumph, in fact. | had not
spent all the money; there was some
left in the drawer at the end of each
month, and this was put by for little
Jacqueline.
To-day is the end of my third
month, and l found this morning that
] had only seven-pence-hal and
on adding up my expenses in the green
book il certainly seemed to me that |
had spent rather a large sum
a hundred pounds il was altogether.
felt sure Jack would grumble
figures are so alarming when once
they are added up.
During luncheon l was as pleasant
as l could possibly be, hoping that my
husband would take ii all in good part,
and as | passed him the radishes ! put
on my most irresistible smile as | said;
Jack, do you know have not saved
farthing this month; just think of it,
] have spent hundred pounds
Jack dropped the radishes onto his
plate and looked at me as though he
were thunderstruck.
"A hundred pounds! Did you say
a hundred pounds? No, you are jok-
ing!'
"'Not at all | said, speaking play
fully, in order to give him time to re-
cover. i mean hundred pounds. 1t
seems large sum to me, but cannot
help it, and the figures are all there,
you can see for yourself
"'But, Clara, my dear child, what
foolish, mad expenses have you been
running into without even telling me-?
"Ths accusation made me indignant,
and l answered, angrily: NO mad ex-
DapSes NJ all that | know NJ | have