Evening star., 1912-04-11
THE DAILY CHIT-CHAT.
By Ruth Cameron.

The world is too much with us; late and soon.
Getting and spending We lay waste our powers
Wordsworth.
Because she found that the large rent
was q burden which continually fretted
and CALLED her, and absorbed a dispropor-
tionate amount Of her attention, a wom-
an recently gave up pretty home ir
which she had lived for many years and
moved inlo less expensive quarters.
We were talking about the move after
ward. Il hated to leave it, she said
'1t was such a pretty home, and We had
fitted 1t up just to suit us. but after my
sister married the rent was really toe
much for me. / could have, paid it. In
fact, did pay it for three years, as YOU
know, but it was always a strain and
always on my mind. ! was all the time
afraid 1 wouldn't earn enough, or would
be sick, or get behind some way or other
One night / sat down and thought 1t all
over, and I came to the conclusion that
wasn't getting enough out Of life tha'
way. All I've been doing for the last
three years is struggling to make enough
money to pay that rent. haven't beer
living. I've just been earning and spend
Ing, earning and spending. Do you know
in spite of the fact that l miss my pleas
ant and convenient home, I've been in
finitely happier since I left 1T? Tht
strain is relieved. / can live now"
Don't you think that woman was ar
exceptionally wise person? l do.
The world is full of people whose live:
are just what this womans was while
she was trying to live beyond her means
Late and soon. getting and spending.
whole existence of-yes, fear it-at leas
half the world.
We must earn and We must spend, bu
what tragedy it is when life holds
nothing for us besides these two process
es. I know that there are millions O
poor people SO uneducated and so unfor
tunate that they must work from dawr
till dark and still scarcely earn enough
to keep themselves from starving.
can't think of the lives OF these people
without passionate rebellion and
passionate longing for the time when thu
world will not tolerate such conditions
and / truly believe that time will come
To these people life can hardly be any
more than getting and spending. Bu
these are but small proportion OF ths
people who get no more out of life. "A
far larger proportion is made up Of
folks who, like the woman I quoted, II
spending more than they can rightly at
ford. deliberately chain themselves dowr
to an unremitting round Of getting ant
spending.
No luxury is worth such Imprisonment
of the soul.
Nothing but absolute necessity can ex
cust such an existence.
And yet how many of US are deliberate
ly enslaving ourselves in this way! How
many of us are leading an existence
which, by our mania for material luxur'
les, we are making nothing but getting
and spending! How many of US have sac
reason to say with Wordsworth, @Ths
world is too much with us!'
Courage, my friends, while there's life
there's hope II you can only arouse youl
soul enough to make it suffer about this
state of things you may alter this condi
ton. You need not be a slave any Longer
than you wish to be.
Sit down and think 1t all out. Is youl
life any more than getting and spending
Do you wish it to be any more than that