The Washington herald., 1913-10-17
WOMAN And THE HOME.
PRINcELY WAYS OF
THE SPENDTHRIFT
Refreshing to Listen TO Young Man
RsundIy Roast Some Of
His Sex.
by FRANCES sHASFER.

It is not so often that one hears a
young man give an impromptu lecture
regarding the spendthrift and his
princely ways, but IL is rather inter-
from one who has watched at close
range.
This young man, who earns pretty
fair salary, tells how things go with q
few Of his companions who love to spend
with the prodigality OF princes while the
money holds out, and then dolefully wait
for the next pay day And In his memo
ries of one In particular he grows quite
eloquent.
When they plan q vacation together. he
says, this princely spender, whose income,
while better than his, Is still In the ordi-
nary class, picks out hotel where the
rates are high. where guests, in the main.
are not make-believes and can spend
what they IKE; and then he tries to fol-
low their pace. And he does it-for a
while But when he goes back home he
has in his pocket just enough for car fare
and the barest kind Of living.
And some day he'll wake up. for, as his
more sedate friend tells Ii, a young
woman is persistently haunting his
dreams and he Is vaguely thinking of the
day when they may settle down to the
practicalities of homemaking.
he IL tnlnklhg, put-
She does not know or guess the extent
OF his income. and when he comes with
arms laden with expensive flowers. when
flowers are the very highest, she takes
II for granted that there fs a royal back
ground and that his prodigality is war
ranted.
He stops at nothing-and she thinks
him a prince.
the day thereafter, as II easily may. he
will be just an ordinary pauper, with
nothing but debts piled upon debts.
And she-where, where will she De?
The young man who draws his picture
laconicaIiy, maybe truthfully. replies
Gone with a steadier man"
Perhaps It would be useless to deliver
the lecture straight to him, for he is 50
fond of being a prince a few days in
the year that he might not listen as the
words poured forth and might not be-
lieve 1t IL. told that sooner or later a
make-believe prince is bound to get In
trouble.
But he is. And it will not be so very
long before he and his princely spending
will be as nothing compared to the real
background that his friend is steadily
building. For the friend knows that
this is a practical world and that II one
really wants to be a prince, even from
the financial standpoint, one must do
more than pose. And so. while the
reckless spender goes to the very best
tailor in town and pays the fanciest
prices. he modestly goes where he can
afford to. II something is missed today,
quite likely he will find 1t tomorrow.
Because. deplore 1t IL we like. the world
has way Of paying court to the men
and women who are financially solid. It
does not ask. and does not care. how they
lived and dressed and, how princely- they
were a dozen years ago; IL takes their
years go by and the solid background
fails 60 grow with them. the world may
become very different, IL not unkind.
And IL his lecture were sure of reaching
home it would be well to tell the spend
thrift prince that the success Of the home
drama depends upon something more sub
roses and of prodigality in the years gone
by.
II is an very well softly to sing:
"a book of verses underneath the bough,
A jug Of wine, and a loaf Of bread-snd
Thou
Beside me singing in the wilderness
Oh, wilderness were Paradise enow."
But when the time comes for sentiment
and show to emerge into the prosaic de-
mands of everyday living. 1t needs more
than bread and wine, or even Thou. to
make the home wheels effectively go
round. Failure easily enough slips into
the story, and failure sometimes comes by
way Of princely spending in early days
and empty hands in the days together.
But the chances are, the whole lecture
would be lost upon this foolish prince Of
spenders.