18 COMMON SENSE 
away with saddened steps and went towards the animals. The 
pigeons and hens had been the special pets of my little friend, 
Nettie, the fourteen year old daughter of Mr, Brown, and she 
had fed and petted them that morning amongst the very last 
things she did. ‘Ihey now looked’ upon me with a curious eye, 
as if to say “What are you dcing here?” ‘The horse and cow 
seemed to miss their former owners less, though I fancy that 
Madge has not yet quite forgotten her old friends, and still looks 
about and wonders when they will return. 
Returning to the house, I sat down under the veranda to think 
over the situation, for, I confess, I did not feel altogether satisfied, 
and sometimes I doubted the wisdom. of my accepting Brown’s 
offer. Still, if the worst came to the worst, I could sell it yet for 
whatever it would bring, and then I would be better off than if I 
had forced a sale by law and diverted a large portion of the pro- 
ceeds into the pockets of lawyers and sheriffs. 
After making a very close calculation, and as accurate an esti- 
mate as my knowledge of the facts in the case would permit, I 
came to the conclusion that our expenses in our. new home would 
be from six to eight hundred dollars per year more than they had 
‘usually been. In making this estimate I charged taxes, insurance 
and interest as rent; repairs I did not include, for I fully believed 
that the steady rise in the value of property would more than 
offset this item. 
Our increased expenses were due to the fact that we would have 
to keep a man, a horse and a cow, and that the house being much 
larger than was really necessary for our family, would alsp entail 
extra expense in the way of fuel, help, etc. The place, too, would 
require to be kept up, so as to present at least a decent appearance, 
or it would soon become less valuable. 
It is-true that for all th's we had our returns in the shape of. 
increased advantages and pleasures, lut this did not lessen the 
amount that had to be paid for them. I had fully allowed for the 
saving that might be effected by having a full supply of such arti- 
cles as eggs, milk, butter and vegetables, and had even estimated: 
certain receipts from orchard and garden as possible income; but, 
