Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-01-27
Simplicity Of liyinQ.

Life is a very complicated affair
compared with what it was in our
grandmothers' time. or even when our
mothers took up the work of house
keeping. We have progressed in many
ways; we have much more to ENJOY
than they ever had; but at the same
time it is a question whether this very
advancement has not resulted in our
taking upon ourselves burdens that
more than Offset our superior adVan-
tages.
The average woman is not content 10
begin life as her mother did. She
wants to commence where her iiothef
is now. with certain additions Oh her
own, and in so doing, her coat not De
ing cut according to her cloth. there
is a shortage somewhere Like the
Irishman's blanket, it did not cover his
feet, so he cut off the Top anu se"eu
il on at the bottom.
A large house requires more furnish
ING than a small one, costs more to
heat and light, is far harder TO care
for and keep in order, and does not
render an equivalent in additional
comfort, but rather the reverse.
There is no happiness, no real con-
tent in the possession of anything
which necessitates an endeaver to
make n scant pattern of money meet
the cost. The strain in trying to
make both ends meet kills our peace of
mind, banishes ease and makes life Il
grind.
Money, time or strength spent to a
point where there is no reserve, re-
suits in destroying the capacity for
enjoyment. When one is tired and
worried they cannot be happy, no
matter what they may possess of this
worlds goods.
A small house paid for is far better
than a larger one with a mortgage
to think about and plan for. pleas
ant, convenient apartment is much
more to be desired than whole house.
If the gathering together of the rent
money every month deprives the fam
lily of other comforts and necessarles.
And so we might go on through a
long list that goes to make up life in
modern times. When our lives are
filled with so much that is of friVo-
lous nature, that real ease, which we
sacrifice 80 ruthlessly, never visits our
tired bodies or overweight minds.
If we cut our coat according to our
cloth, we would live within our in
comes. we would never buy anything
which we could not pay for when
purchased, or we would not spend the
best of our endeavors paying Tor
dead horses" We would furnish our
homes plainly with things that would
stand everyday wear and tear. We
would not overcrowd our rooms, 50
that a voyage across the floor in the
dark would be beset with many perils:
we would have few well-chosen and
MT
department store bargain-counter
trifles. We would set our tables with
pretty, inexpensive china and glass
leaving the silver for those who car
hire it polished, instead of our vast
ing the time and strength we need foi
other things There would be fewer
dust -catchers and consequent work
makers in the shape OF draper1es
tides, throws" etc, leaving more
time for vigilance in the care of out
Of the-way corners. When one mas :;
cook in the kitchen and maid in tn
parlor then the garment can be Gu
after a different pattern. but whei
ones income is limited, and there !:
but one pair of hands to do all th'
work. Il woman should calculate JUS
how much she can spend in each de-
partment of her home, and not let one
suffer at the expense of the other.
The difference between ease of mind
and being haunted by that dreao
apecter Worry consists i'm spending
80 cents of the dollar earned. in the
first case, and 101 cents in the other.
Take the matter of Il woman's ward
robe, a more important matter thar
anyone except the woman is apt to al
low. 1t is not economy to buy cheaI
material that will hardly hold together
long enough to be made up; neither Is
it policy to spend so much upon one
or two articles that there is nothing
left for accessories. gloves, shoes, rib
bons, etc. The price of one good silE
dress will buy n pretty serge or cash
mere with all the necessaries for al
outfit.