IS75. 



OUR HOMES. 



than people in liencral, ami tlic conclusion is 

 «liat we are all better than our neighbors. 

 Ought we not to eoncliule that we are all only 

 n fair average V 1 think it will be a much safer 

 ■loundation for our work. After having had 

 <-onsideral)le experience in business with the 

 jewelers of our land, — the trickiest set of men 

 m the world, some may sat, — I feel no hesita- 

 tion in saying that our business men as a gen- 

 oral thing, are verj' glad indeed to Ix' told the 

 .faults of their wares, if it is onl^- done in the 

 j)roper spirit, especially those who have done 

 a long and successful business. A per^-ou said 

 to me a few days ago, in si)eaking of a brother 

 in the church who is a. jeweler, 



"I will never enter his st(jre again, he cheat- 

 oil me so abominably." 



•'Please don't say that, friend H., I really 

 hope Mr. S. is a good christian, like yourself. 

 J^lease tell me about it." 

 "Whj' he sold me these studs for solid gold." 

 "Well, are they not? they look nice." 

 "Oh yes : they wear bright, but see how they 

 have blackened my linen shirt bosom." 



The button holes were too large, and in slip- 

 liing about they had marked the linen as witix 

 i\ lead pencil, and it was not until I had ex- 

 plained that even a gold coin would do the 

 .same, that I succeeded in convincing him that 

 j\lr. 8. w'as honest, and even then he said he 

 had become prejudiced against them and did 

 not want to keep them. Is it not a sure indi- 

 cation that we are wrong whenever we, under 

 anj' circumstances, feel like saying that we 

 iiever want anything more to do with a fellow 

 being y I feel ver^' sure that the kindest tiling 

 you can do is to tell the dealer pleasantly just 

 ■wherein his wares have disappointed his cus- 

 tomers ; he in turn can then tell the jobber in 

 the same pleasant way where the mistakes are, 

 and the jobber can talk over the matter Avith 

 the manufacturer. Jobbers and manufactur- 

 ers, and to a certain extent, dealers, seem to 

 have discovered this great fundamental truth, 

 and I have frequently know'n of their taking 

 })ack damaged goods and smothering their in- 

 <lignation, in a way that was decidedly return- 

 ing good lor evil, even if the inspiring motive 

 was only to avoid losing one, who was ordina- 

 ril}^ a good customer. The consumer is really 

 tht one to decide how goods are to be made, 

 .and also has very much to say in regard to 

 what prices shall be asked, but the whole mat- 

 ter can be, aye, and shonUl be, conducted in 

 tlie most friendly manner. Do not for an in- 

 stant think of crowding your grocer or dry 

 goods man "into a corner," for unless he is a 

 jnuch better Christian than yourself, he will 

 surelj- retaliate, and then instead of having a 

 friend to deal Avith you have in one sense an 

 enemy. As quarrels are contagious in a neigh- 

 borhood, so is peace making, and one peace 

 maker may by force of example do more good 

 in a coinmunitj' perhaps, than even the minis- 

 ter who occupies the pulpit on the Sabbath. 

 Not that I would speak lightly of our sermons, 

 but that they have been heard so often ; many 

 times actions will set people to thinking when 

 talking will not stir tliem. <}o la'Iji your min- 

 ister in the way I have described. 



NoAV tell your druggist that it is a bad 

 thing to starve bees by having inctlicient bee- 

 feeders, and a vcr^ se}-imit< thing — at your house 



—to have machinery for the babies that is lia- 

 ble to cut olf their rations ; and pleasantly tell 

 him that if he has none better he may get you 

 a i/ood one at the first opp<n-tunity. A lew 

 complaints like this, and the manufacturer 

 will soon do ditferently, especially after he 

 has had to take back an invoice or two be- 

 cause they were badly made. 



CHAPTER 11. 



"A i)cnny saved, is two pence earnetl."— /''ivrMWui. 



I suppose you have all heard the matter of 

 buying the various family sui)plies at whole- 

 sale talked over, thereby saving the profit*^ 

 that your grocer must, conscientiously, charge 

 to give liim a fair and honest profit. You have 

 doubtless heard enumerated how you might 

 save the profits that go to the "middle men," 

 might save the time it takes to go round ami 

 do the marketiu.g, save the time occupied in 

 making change, save the wrapping paper, etc., 

 etc., — get rich in fact, from the "pennies saved," 

 that now are wasted. This reasoning is al' 

 good and sound I believe, and in fact 1 lielieve 

 that humanity in general, admits it ; but not- 

 withstanding, very few indeed have put in 

 practice and carried out this great plan of sa- 

 ving lioth time and money. A few went into 

 it vehemently, even went so far as to inform' 

 their grocer that they were going to stand 

 his exTortionate prices no longer, they could 

 buy as cheaply as he, and the like; did the 

 grocers lireak down V Surely not. They kept 

 along quietly in the gooti old way, and bye 

 and bye their ohl customers came liack and 

 traded, in the good old way, and like the thous- 

 and and one reforms that come up daily, things 

 soon w^eut back in the same old ruts, wasteful 

 though they were. Perhaps 1 should say j)irt- 

 ty n&irli/ the same old ruts, for such excite- 

 ments tlo usually tend to work a slow change 

 for the better. I am trying to lubricate the 

 wheels a little, and see if 1 cannot accelerate 

 the slow cliange. The greatest tronlile in this 

 matter of buying supplies to last a whole year, 

 is — I have been told, — vv,ith the other sex. It 

 you put a barrel of sugar in the pantry it don't 

 iiold out, as when bought in 2 lb. packages as 

 fast as wanted; there is "lots of it, ' and Avhere 

 is the need of "scrimping V" Everything will 

 be sweetened up as it should be ; the childre;i 

 can have a lump, the baby a bigger one, and 

 bless their dear generous hearts — babies anil 

 mothers too if you like — if there is a poor 

 neighbor who has sugar neither by the iiound 

 or barrel, or one who never pays back when 

 she borrows, from the store of plenty all are 

 supplied until it is all out, and the hard work- 

 ing husband sees no other than the good old 

 way of getting two pounds at a time, and 

 keeping a constant check on extravagance, by 

 grumbling every time he is told a supply is 

 out. "Whatever 7iapc' you done v.'ith so much 

 sugar lately V" And he surveys a row of juve- 

 nile faces that, with the exception of the baby, 

 deem it a duty to look guilty while enquiries 

 are projiounded as to Avhat was done with the 

 money he generously gcivr tJ.nv a few days ago : 

 and before you blame the poor man too much, 

 let me suggest that he has learned by bitter 

 experience that he inv»i question clear down to 

 the very last last ten cent scrip, as to where it 



