1892 
1 59 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
exposed  to  wind  and  weather;  whose  har¬ 
nesses  are  tied  together  with  strings  and 
whose  barns  lack  a  board  here  and  a 
shingle  there,  I  think:  “  he  is  driving 
with  too  loose  a  rein.” 
If  his  granary  admits  mice  and  rats 
and  his  cows  are  stabled  (?)  in  a  cold 
barnyard,  the  same  thought  presents  it¬ 
self. 
Perhaps  his  orchard  is  overloaded  with 
dead  branches  and  smothered  with  suck¬ 
ers.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the  need 
for  mowing  his  garden  before  the  potatoes 
are  dug.  The  hens  have  destroyed  all 
the  corn  and  tomatoes,  for  lack  of  a 
garden  fence,  so  there  will  be  no  need  of 
harvesting  those  products.  It  is  more 
than  possible  though,  that  the  cows  at¬ 
tended  to  the  corn  before  the  hens  found 
it  palatable.  Will  he  weigh  or  measure 
the  milk  or  butter  or  cheese  which  those 
cows  produce,  to  ascertain  whether  they 
pay  for  their  existence?  Not  he  !  lie  is 
“  driving  with  too  loose  a  rein.” 
And  there  is  his  wife,  too;  for  the  rein 
is  slack  as  often  indoors  as  out;  how  many 
bushels  of  potatoes  and  other  vegetables, 
not  to  mention  pounds  of  expensive 
meats,  have  been  fed  to  the  cat  or  dog, 
because  she  did  not  like  the  trouble  of 
putting  them  into  shape  for  a  second  ap¬ 
pearance  on  the  table?  Her  canned  fruit 
never  keeps  on  account  of  her  knack  for 
getting  the  right  cover  on  the  wz*ong  can, 
or  because  she  failed  to  supply  new  rub¬ 
ber  bands  to  take  the  place  of  those  which 
were  defective. 
The  bread  molds  because  the  jar  was 
not  properly  cleaned  from  the  crumbs 
left  from  former  bakings,  and  the  milk 
sours  prematurely  because  the  pans  were 
not  properly  washed  and  scalded.  Moths 
infest  the  closets  and  spare  rooms  and 
destroy  the  carpets  and  clothing.  The 
“  stitch  in  time”  is  neglected  and  more 
than  ‘‘nine”  are  needed  to  mend  the 
unsightly  holes  in  table  linen  or  hosiery. 
Now  that  disastrous  “loose  rein” 
shows  itself  in  smoking  lamps  and 
missing  buttons,  in  underdone  pies  and 
overdone  cookies.  How  the  wire  on  the 
window  and  door  screens  will  loosen  at 
the  edges,  and  how  quickly  the  sheets 
wear  to  tatters  for  lack  of  timely  “  turn¬ 
ing.” 
How  about  the  children  of  such  par¬ 
ents  ?  They  are  almost  certain  to  “  turn 
out  bad.”  The  loose  rein  failed  to  guide 
them  to  safe  paths,  and  their  lives  are 
wrecked  in  the  quicksands  of  intemper¬ 
ance  or  on  the  rocks  of  vice. 
Beware  of  the  “  loose  rein.”  Keep  the 
hold  firm  and  gentle,  and  guide  your 
business  and  pleasure  carefully,  allow¬ 
ing  neither  to  drive  you.  s.  a.  little. 
made  me  feel  quite  rich  and  “  grown 
up.” 
The  record  thus  begun  has  been  faith¬ 
fully  kept  ever  since.  Book  and  allow¬ 
ance  both  grew  as  the  years  passed, 
until  from  a  small  beginning  as  a  little 
spending  money,  the  allowance  had  to 
cover  all  necessary  expenditures  for 
school  books,  clothing  and  so  on.  Ex¬ 
perience  thus  taught  me  early  the  use  of 
money,  and  the  many  mistakes  thus  re¬ 
corded  in  those  little  books  were  not 
easily  forgotten  and  were  lasting  lessons 
in  economy. 
My  diary  never  grew  to  the  dignity  of 
a  “journal”  in  which  to  write'  my 
thoughts  or  aspirations.  It  has  always 
been  a  terse  little  account  of  actual  hap¬ 
penings,  and  as  I  look  it  over  I  can  read 
between  the  lines  a  pretty  fair  history  of 
my  life. 
Not  as  a  diary  merely  do  I  consider  it 
of  value.  Its  practical  side  is  what  I 
wish  all  persons,  young  and  old,  would 
take  to  themselves.  If  girls,  and  boys 
particularly,  would  keep  account  of  every 
penny  that  is  spent  for  or  by  them  there 
would  be  much  less  discontent  and  talk  of 
unpaid  labor.  And  if  farmers  would  keep 
more  books  and  have  the  figures  to  tell 
them  all  about  their  profits  and  loss,  they, 
too,  would  be  all  the  better  off  for  the 
knowledge.  I  am  called  a  crank  on  the 
subject  of  keeping  accounts,  and  perhaps 
I  am.  Certainly,  it  does  seem  to  me  of 
great  importance  that  I  should  know  how 
I  stand  financially — and  how  so  many 
can  drift  along  unknowing  and  content 
is  a  mystery. 
We  were  among  the  last  in  our  district 
to  be  visited  by  the  census  taker,  and  he 
said  here  :  “You  are  the  second  to  answer 
my  questions  by  book.”  What  a  com¬ 
mentary  on  the  ways  of  farmers,  and  on 
the  value  of  the  census  as  well.  I  don’t 
wonder  why,  very  much,  when  I  read  in 
the  papers  that  Mr.  So-and-So— one  of  the 
guessers— is  going  to  be  sold  out.  What 
merchant  would  expect  to  succeed  in  a 
business  which  kept  no  books  ? 
It  is  the  fashion  to  ridicule  “New 
Year  resolutions” — “keeping  a  diary,” 
“swearing  off”  etc.,  but  I  say,  “Never 
too  late  to  mend.”  If  you  have  never 
done  so  before,  commence  now  to  keep  a 
book — half  a  dozen  of  them  if  you  like — 
but  keep  at  least  a  true  record  of  your 
personal  expenses.  Take  my  word  for  it, 
you  will  be  both  astonished  and  inter¬ 
ested  when  you  look  over  it  at  the  year’s 
end,  and,  if  you  don’t  feel  wiser  you  will 
not  be  like.  mary  mann. 
“That’s  What  Hurts  Me.” 
The  Value  of  Accounts. 
TS*  EEP  an  account  book  with  different 
headings  ;  mine  has  Groceries ; 
Milk  ;  Help  ;  Furniture  ;  House  and  Gar¬ 
den  Repairs  ;  Fish  ;  Meat ;  Extras,  (oh, 
those  extras,  but  one  must  have  them)  ; 
Light ;  Fruit ;  Books  ;  Fuel ;  each  mem¬ 
ber’s  personal  expenses,  under  his  or  her 
own  name.  Compare  each  account  with 
that  of  previous  years,  and  see  whether 
you  are  saving  money  or  branching  out 
too  far.  o.  a.  H  R 
A  gift  which  has  proved  invaluable, 
came  to  me  on  my  tenth  birthday.  It 
cost  but  a  few  cents,  for  it  was  only  a 
little  pocket  diary  and  account  book  ;  but 
with  it  came  a  sum  of  money  and  the 
promise  that  a  like  sum  should  come  each 
month  thereafter  if  I  would  keep  account 
of  how  it  was  expended.  The  amount  of 
money  was  so  small  I  don’t  dare  to  men¬ 
tion  it,  lest  the  wise  children  of  this  gen¬ 
eration  should  ridicule  the  idea  of  having 
to  account  for  it ;  however,  I  remember  it 
When  Baby  was  sick,  we  gave  her  Castorla, 
When  she  was  a  Child,  she  cried  for  Castorla, 
When  she  became  Miss,  she  clung  to  Castorla, 
When  she  had  Children,  she  gave  them  Castorla 
'T'HE  man  who  had  never  thought  told 
this  story  to  the  correspondent  of  a 
Western  exchange,  to  which  we  fain 
would  give  credit,  but  we  have  not  its 
name.  May  no  reader  of  The  It.  N.-Y. 
ever  have  cause  to  say,  in  like  case : 
“  And  that’s  what  hurts  me.” 
“  !’m  ffoin’  to  the  city  for  the  second 
time  in  my  life,  the  second  time,”  said 
the  old  man  ;  “  30  years  ago,  come  June, 
I  went  there  for  a  weddin’  suit,  and  I’m 
a-goin’  back  there  to-day  for  a  coffin  and 
a  shroud  for— the  little  woman  that- 
married  me.” 
His  voice  broke,  and,  turning  again  to 
the  window,  he  looked  out  upon  the  dull, 
cold  landscape  and  was  silent  many  min¬ 
utes. 
“You  don’t  know  what  it  is,  mister; 
you  can’t  understand,”  and  he  was  crying 
very  softly  and  hopelessly.  “  You  don’t 
know  what  it  is  to  live  and  work  ’long- 
side  a  woman  for  30  years,  day  in  and  day 
out,  to  find  her  always  patient  and  willin’ 
and  workin’,  and  then  leave  her  a-layin’ 
dead  and  cold  with  her  worn-out  hands 
crossed  on  her  breast.  You  don’t  have 
any  idee  what  it  is,”  and  the  sleeve  of 
the  old  man  was  drawn  apologetically 
across  his  eyes. 
“  I’ve  be’n  thinkin’  a  good  deal  since 
last  night,  when  Marg’ie  died;  it  kinder 
puts  a  man  to  his  thoughts.  It  was  just 
a  little  after  the  turn  o’  the  night,  and 
nobody  but  me  was  watchin’,  when  she 
kinder  woke  up,  like  as  if  she’d  be’n 
asleep. 
“  ‘  David,’  says  she  ‘  it’s  restful— so 
restful,’  and  I  took  hold  of  her  hand; 
‘  is  that  you  a-singin’,  David  ?  ’  says  she. 
‘  Go  on,’  but  I  hadn’t  sung  a  word  and 
couldn’t  a-done  it — ‘  go  on,  David,’  says 
she,  ‘  and  I’ll  be  restin’,  for  I’m  so  tired.’ 
And  so  she  went  to  sleep  again  and  waked 
in  eternity. 
“And  do  you  know,  stranger,  them 
words  o’  her’n  have  set  me  to  thinkin’. 
Poor,  tired  soul !  and  I  never  thought 
how  much  she  needed  rest.  I  thought  as 
I  set  there  watchin'  her  breath  a-goin’  out 
last  night  that  mabbe  we’d  made  a  mis¬ 
take  of  it  all.  We  never  thought  of  it 
while  we  was  a- workin’  and  a-sk impin’ 
and  a-savin’ — tryin’  to  make  both  ends 
meet  and  to  lay  up  somethin’  for  the 
children.  But  I  thought  about  it  all  last 
night  when  only  me  and  her  was  waitin’ 
for  the  last.  She  never  had  no  pleasure. 
She  never  took  no  holidays  nor  visited 
like  other  wimmin. 
“  She  raised  the  children,  and  slopped 
the  pigs,  and  milked  cows,  and  churned, 
and  cooked  for  harvest  hands.  I  never 
knowed  nor  thought  how  she  did  it  all 
till  I  saw  them  poor  crossed  hands  with 
the  little  white  posies  in  ’em.  Some  ’un 
’o  the  neighbors  put  ’em  there,  and  it 
kinder  choked  me  when  I  looked.  I 
knowed  she’d  never  had  no  time  for 
posies  when  she  might  have  smelled  ’em. 
She  didn’t  have  time  for  nothin’  but 
thorns,  mister,  and — that’s  what  hurts 
me.” 
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