Mother Day will buy any shawl.My love pick up my new muff.A Russian jeer may move a woman.Cables enough for Utopia.Get a cheap ham pie by my cooley.The slave knows a bigger ape.I rarely hop on my sick foot.Cheer a sage in a fashion safe.A baby fish now views my wharf.Annually Mary Ann did kiss a jay.A cabby found a rough savage.
Mother Day will buy any shawl.My love pick up my new muff.A Russian jeer may move a woman.Cables enough for Utopia.Get a cheap ham pie by my cooley.The slave knows a bigger ape.I rarely hop on my sick foot.Cheer a sage in a fashion safe.A baby fish now views my wharf.Annually Mary Ann did kiss a jay.A cabby found a rough savage.
Mother Day will buy any shawl.
My love pick up my new muff.
A Russian jeer may move a woman.
Cables enough for Utopia.
Get a cheap ham pie by my cooley.
The slave knows a bigger ape.
I rarely hop on my sick foot.
Cheer a sage in a fashion safe.
A baby fish now views my wharf.
Annually Mary Ann did kiss a jay.
A cabby found a rough savage.
Now translate each significant into its proper value and you have the task accomplished. "Mother Day,"mequals 3,thequals 1,requals 4,dequals 1, and so on. Learn the lines one at a time by the method of interrogatories. "Who will buy any shawl?" "Which Mrs. Day will buy a shawl?" "Is Mother Day particular about the sort of shawl she will buy?" "Has she bought a shawl?" etc., etc. Then cement the end of each line to the beginning of the next one, thus, "Shawl"—"warm garment"—"warmth"—"love"—"my love," and go on as before. Stupid as the work may seem to you, you can memorize the figures in fifteen minutes this way so that you will not forget them in fifteen years. Similarly you can take Haydn's Dictionary of Dates and turn fact after fact into nonsense lines like these which you cannot lose.
And this ought to be enough to show anybody the whole art. If you look back across the sands of time and find out that it is that ridiculous old "Thirty days hath September," which comes to you when you are trying to think of the length of October—if you can quote your old prosody,
"O datur ambiguis," etc.
with much more certainty than you can serve up your Horace; if in fine, jingles and alliterations, wise and otherwise, have stayed with you, while solid and serviceable information has faded away, you may be certain that here is the key to the enigma of memory.
You can apply it yourself in a hundred ways. If you wish to clinch in your mind the fact that Mr. Love lives at 485 Dearborn Street, what is more easy than to turn 485 into the words "rifle" and chain the ideas together, say thus: "Love—happiness—good time—picnic—forest—wood rangers—range—rifle range—rifle—fine weapon—costly weapon—dearly bought—Dearborn."
Or if you wish to remember Mr. Bowman's name, and you notice he has a mole on his face which is apt to attract your attention when you next see him, cement the ideas thus: "Mole, mark, target, archer, Bowman."
FACTS WORTH KNOWING.
HANDY FACTS TO SETTLE MANY ARGUMENTS
London plague in 1665.
Telephone invented 1861.
There are 2,750 languages.
Two persons die every second.
Sound moves 743 miles per hour.
Chinese invented paper 170 B.C.
A square mile contains 640 acres.
A barrel of pork weighs 200 pounds.
Hawks can fly 150 miles in one hour.
Watches were first constructed in 1476.
Chinese in United States in 1880, 105,613.
Rome was founded by Romulus, 752 B.C.
Gold was discovered in California in 1848.
Phonograph invented by T. A. Edison, 1877.
The first balloon ascended from Lyons, France, 1783.
The first fire insurance office in America, Boston, 1724.
Jet is found along the coast of Yorkshire, Eng., near Whitby.
Napoleon I. crowned emperor 1804; died at St. Helena, 1820.
Electric light invented by Lodyguin and Kossloff, at London, 1874.
Harvard is the oldest college in the United States: established 1638.
War declared with Great Britain, June 19, 1812; peace Feb. 18, 1815.
Until 1776 cotton spinning was performed by the hand spinning-wheel.
Measure 209 feet on each side and you will have a square acre within an inch.
Postage stamps first came into use in England in the year 1840; in the United States in 1847.
The highest range of mountains are the Himalayas, the mean elevation being from 16,000 to 18,000 feet.
Envelopes were first used in 1839.
Telescopes were invented in 1590.
Iron horseshoes were made in 481.
A barrel of flour weighs 196 pounds.
A hand (horse measure) is four inches.
A rifle ball moves 1,000 miles per hour.
First steamer crossed the Atlantic, 1819.
Assassination of Lincoln, April 14, 1865.
German empire re-established, Jan. 18, 1871.
Storm clouds move thirty-six miles an hour.
First subscription library, Philadelphia, 1731.
Dark Ages, from the 6th to the 14th century.
The Latin tongue became obsolete about 580.
The great London fire occurred Sept. 26, 1666.
The value of a ton of pure gold is $602,799.21.
Ether was first used for surgical purposes in 1844.
Ignatius Loyola founded the order of Jesuits, 1541.
First authentic use of organs, 755; in England, 951.
The first newspaper advertisement appeared in 1652.
Cork is the bark taken from a species of the oak tree.
Benjamin Franklin used the first lightning rods, 1752.
Glass windows (colored) were used in the 8th century.
Authentic history of China commenced 3,000 years B.C.
Introduction of homœpathy into the United States, 1825.
Spectacles were invented by an Italian in the 13th century.
Medicine was introduced into Rome from Greece, 200 B.C.
First electric telegraph, Paddington to Brayton, Eng., 1835.
The Chaldeans were the first people who worked in metals.
First life insurance, in London, 1772; in America, Philadelphia, 1812.
Egyptian pottery is the oldest known; dates from 2,000 B.C.
Julius Cæsar invaded Britain, 55 B.C.; assassinated, 44 B.C.
Soap was first manufactured in England in the 16th century.
The largest free territorial government is the United States.
First photographs produced in England, 1802; perfected, 1841.
First marine insurance, A.D. 533; England, 1598; America, 1721.
Professor Oersted, Copenhagen, discovered electro-magnetism, in 1819.
First American express, New York to Boston—W. F. Harnden.
Glass windows were first introduced into England in the 8th century.
Chicago is little more than fifty years old, and is the eighteenth city of the world.
Glass was made in Egypt, 3000 B.C.; earliest date of transparent glass, 719 B.C.
First public schools in America were established in the New England States about 1642.
The largest inland sea is the Caspian, between Europe and Asia, being 700 miles long and 270 miles wide.
The term "Almighty Dollar" originated with Washington Irving, as a satire on the American love for gain.
The highest natural bridge in the world is at Rockbridge, Virginia, being 200 feet high to the bottom of the arch.
The largest circulation of paper money is that of the United States, being 700 millions, while Russia has 670 millions.
The largest insurance company in the world is the Mutual Life of New York City, having cash assets of $108,000,000.
The largest empire in the world is that of Great Britain, being 8,557,658 square miles, and more than a sixth part of the globe.
The first electrical signal ever transmitted between Europe and America passed over the Field submarine cable on Aug. 5, 1858.
The longest tunnel in the world is St. Gothard, on the line of the railroad between Luzerne and Milan, being nine and one-half miles in length.
The loftiest active volcano is Popocatapetl. It is 17,784 feet high, and has a crater three miles in circumference and 1,000 feet deep.
Burnt brick was known to have been used in building the Tower of Babel. They were introduced into England by the Romans.
The most remarkable echo known is that in the castle of Simonetta, two miles from Milan. It repeats the echo of a pistol sixty times.
The largest volcano in the world is Etna. Its base is 90 miles in circumference; its cone 11,000 feet high. Its first eruption occurred 474 B.C.
The largest tree in the world, as yet discovered, is in Tulare County, California. It is 275 feet high and 106 feet in circumference at its base.
The largest desert is Sahara, in Northern Africa. Its length is 3,000 miles and breadth 900 miles; having an area of 2,000,000 square miles.
The largest suspension bridge is in Brooklyn. The length of the main span is 1,595 feet 6 inches. The entire length of the bridge is 5,989 feet.
The first deaf and dumb asylum was founded in England by Thomas Braidwood, 1760; and the first in the United States was at Hartford, 1817.
The largest diamond in the world is the Braganza, being a part of the Portuguese jewels. It weighs 1,880 carats. It was found in Brazil in 1741.
The grade of titles in Great Britain stands in the following order from the highest: A Prince, Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Baronet, Knight.
The largest number of cattle ever received in one year was that of Chicago in the year 1884, being 1,874,984 beeves, 30,223 calves, 5,640,625 hogs, 749,917 sheep and 15,625 horses. It required 9,000 trains of 31 cars each, which, if coupled together, would reach 2,146 miles.
The "Valley of Death," in the island of Java, is simply the crater of an extinct volcano, filled with carbonic-acid gas. It is half a mile in circumference.
The city of Amsterdam, Holland, is built upon piles driven into the ground. It is intersected by numerous canals, crossed by nearly three hundred bridges.
Coal was used as fuel in England as early as 852, and in 1234 the first charter to dig for it was granted by Henry III. to the inhabitants of Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Tobacco was discovered in San Domingo in 1496; afterwards by the Spaniards in Yucatan in 1520. It was introduced in France in 1560, and into England in 1583.
The present national colors of the United States were not adopted by Congress until 1777. The flag was first used by Washington at Cambridge, January 1, 1776.
Paris was known as Lutetia until 1184, when the name of the great French capital was changed to that which it has borne ever since.
The longest span of wire in the world is used for a telegraph in India over the river Ristuah. It is over 6,000 feet, and is stretched between two hills 1,200 feet high.
The largest library in the world is in Paris, founded by Louis XIV. It contains 1,400,000 volumes, 175,000 manuscripts, 300,000 maps and charts, and 150,000 coins and medals.
The tallest man was John Hale, of Lancashire, England, who was nine feet six inches in height. His hand was seventeen inches long and eight and one-half inches broad.
In round numbers, the weight of $1,000,000 in standard gold coin is 1¾ tons; standard silver coin, 26¾ tons; subsidiary silver coin, 25 tons; minor coins, 5-cent nickel, 100 tons.
The largest stationery engine in the world is at the zinc mines at Friedenville, Pa. The number of gallons of water raised every minute is 17,500. The driving wheels are 35 feet diameter and weigh 40 tons each. The cylinder is 110 inches in diameter.
The part of United States territory most recently acquired is the island of San Juan, near Vancouver's Island. It was evacuated by England at the close of November, 1873.
The highest monument in the world is the Washington monument, being 555 feet. The highest structure of any kind is the Eiffel Tower, Paris, finished in 1889 and 989 feet high.
It is claimed that crows, eagles, ravens and swans live to be 100 years old; herons, 59; parrots, 60; pelicans and geese, 50; skylarks, 30; sparrow hawks, 40; peacocks, canaries and cranes, 24.
The greatest cataract in the world is Niagara, the height of the American falls being 165 feet. The highest fall of water in the world is that of the Yosemite in California, being 2,550 feet.
The most ancient catacombs are those of the Theban kings, begun 4,000 years ago. The catacombs of Rome contain the remains of about 6,000,000 human beings; those of Paris, 3,000,000.
The quickest passage ever made across the Atlantic was that of the steamer Lucania, of the Cunard line, being 5 days 7 hours and 23 minutes from New York to Queenstown; the distance being 2,850 miles.
There has been no irregularity in the recurrence of leap year every four years since 1800, and will be none until 1900, which will be a common year, although it will come fourth after the preceding leap year.
The first English newspaper was theEnglish Mercury, issued in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was issued in the shape of a pamphlet. TheGazetteof Venice was the original model of the modern newspaper.
The Mormon Church in Utah shows a membership of 127,294—23,000 families. The church has 12 apostles, 58 patriarchs, 3,885 seventies, 3,153 high priests, 11,000 elders, 1,500 bishops and 4,400 deacons, being an office for each six persons.
A "monkey wrench" is not so named because it is a handy thing to monkey with, or for any kindred reason. "Monkey" is not its name at all, but "Moncky." Charles Moncky, the inventor of it, sold his patent for $2,000, and invested the money in a house in Williamsburg, King's County, N.Y., where he now lives.
The Union arch of the Washington Aqueduct is the largest in the world, being 220 feet; 20 feet in excess of the Chester arch across the Dee in England, 68 feet longer than that of the London bridge; 92 feet longer than that at Neuilly on the Seine, and 100 feet longer than that of Waterloo bridge. The height of the Washington arch is 100 feet.
The largest ship ever built, the Great Eastern, recently broken to pieces and sold to junk dealers, was designed and constructed by Scott Russell, at Maxwell, on the Thames. Work on the giant vessel was commenced in May, 1854. She was successfully launched January 13, 1858. The launching alone occupied the time from November 3, 1857, until the date above given. Her total length was 600 feet; breadth, 118 feet; total weight when launched 12,000 tons. Her first trip of any consequence was made to New York in 1859-60.
The most extensive mines in the world are those of Freiberg, Saxony. They were begun in the twelfth century, and in 1835 the galleries, taken collectively, had reached the unprecedented length of 123 miles. A new gallery, begun in 1838, had reached a length of eight miles at the time of the census of 1878. The deepest perpendicular mining shaft in the world is located at Prizilram, Bohemia. It is a lead mine; it was begun 1832. January, 1880, it was 3,280 feet deep. The deepest coal mine in the world is near Tourney, Belgium; it is 3,542 feet in depth, but, unlike the lead mine mentioned above, it is not perpendicular. The deepest rock-salt bore in the world is near Berlin, Prussia; it is 4,185 feet deep. The deepest hole ever bored into the earth is the artesian well at Pottsdam, which is 5,500 feet in depth. The deepest coal mines in England are the Dunkirk colleries of Lancashire, which are 2,824 feet in depth. The deepest coal shaft in the United States is located at Pottsville, Pa. In 1885 it had reached a depth of 1,576 feet. From this great depth 400 cars, holding four tons each, are hoisted daily. The deepest silver mine in the United States is the Yellow Jacket, one of the great Comstock system at Virginia City, Nevada; the lower levels are 2,700 feet below the hoisting works.
FATE OF THE APOSTLES.—The following brief history of the fate of the Apostles may be new to those whose reading has not been evangelical:
St. Matthew is supposed to have suffered martyrdom or was slain with the sword at the city of Ethiopia.
St. Mark was dragged through the streets of Alexandria, in Egypt, till he expired.
St. Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in Greece.
St. John was put into a cauldron of boiling oil at Rome and escaped death. He afterward died a natural death at Ephesus in Asia.
St. James the Great was beheaded at Jerusalem.
St. James the Less was thrown from a pinnacle or wing of the temple and then beaten to death with a fuller's club.
St. Philip was hanged up against a pillar at Hieropolis, a city of Phrygia.
St. Bartholomew was flayed alive by the command of a barbarous king.
St. Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached unto the people until he expired.
St. Thomas was run through the body with a lance at Caromandel, in the East Indias.
St. Jude was shot to death with arrows.
St. Simon Zealot was crucified in Persia.
St. Matthias was first stoned and then beheaded.
St. Barnabas was stoned to death by Jews at Salania.
St. Paul was beheaded at Rome by the tyrant Nero.
The capital of the United States has been located at different times at the following places: At Philadelphia from September 5, 1774, until December, 1776; at Baltimore from December 20, 1776, to March, 1777; at Philadelphia from March 4, 1777, to September, 1777; at Lancaster, Pa., from September 27, 1777, to September 30, 1777; at York, Pa., from September 30, 1777, to July, 1778; at Philadelphia from July 2, 1778, to June 30, 1783; at Princeton, N.J., June 30, 1783, to November 20, 1783; Annapolis, Md., November 26, 1783, to November 30, 1784; Trenton, from November, 1784, to January, 1785; New York from January 11, 1785, to 1790; then the seat of government was removed to Philadelphia, where it remained until 1800, since which time it has been in Washington.
THE SINGLE TAX.
This idea was first formulated by Mr. Henry George in 1879, and has grown steadily in favor. Single tax men assert as a fundamental principle that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth; therefore, no one should be allowed to hold valuable land without paying to the community the value of the privilege. They hold that this is the only rightful source of public revenue, and they would therefore abolish all taxation—local, State and National—except a tax upon the rental value of land exclusive of its improvements, the revenue thus raised to be divided among local, State and general governments, as the revenue from certain direct taxes is now divided between local and State governments.
The single tax would not fall on all land, but only on valuable land, and on that in proportion to its value. It would thus be a tax, not on use or improvements, but on ownership of land, taking what would otherwise go to the landlord as owner.
In accordance with the principle that all men are equally entitled to the use of the earth, they would solve the transportation problem by public ownership and control of all highways, including the roadbeds of railroads, leaving their use equally free to all.
The single tax system would, they claim, dispense with a hoard of tax-gatherers, simplify government, and greatly reduce its cost; give us with all the world that absolute free trade which now exists between the States of the Union; abolish all taxes on private uses of money; take the weight of taxation from agricultural districts, where land has little or no value apart from improvements, and put it upon valuable land, such as city lots and mineral deposits. It would call upon men to contribute for public expenses in proportion to the natural opportunities they monopolize, and make it unprofitable for speculators to hold land unused, or only partly used, thus opening to labor unlimited fields of employment, solving the labor problem and abolishing involuntary poverty.
VALUE OF FOREIGN COINS.Proclaimed by Law, January 1, 1891.
The largest producing farm in the world lies in the southwest corner of Louisiana, owned by a northern syndicate. It runs one hundred miles north and south. The immense tract is divided into convenient pastures, with stations of ranches every six miles. The fencing alone cost nearly $50,000.
The "Seven Wonders of the World" are seven most remarkable objects of the ancient world. They are: The Pyramids of Egypt, Pharos of Alexandria, Walls and Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Diana at Ephesus, the Statue of the Olympian Jupiter, Mausoleum of Artemisia, and Colossus of Rhodes.
The seven sages flourished in Greece in the 6th century B.C. They were renowned for their maxims of life and as the authors of the mottoes inscribed in the Delphian Temple. Their names are: Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander, Clebolus and Thales.
The estimated number of Christians in the world is over 408,000,000; of Buddhists, 420,000,000; of the followers of Brahma, 180,000,000; of Mohammedans, 150,000,000; of Jews, 8,000,000; of atheists, deists, and infidels, 85,000,000; of pagans, 50,000,000, and of the 1,100 other minor creeds, 123,000,000.
In 1775 there were only 27 newspapers published in the United States. Ten years later, in 1785, there were seven published in the English language in Philadelphia alone, of which one was a daily. The oldest newspaper published in Philadelphia at the time of the Federal convention was thePennsylvania Gazette, established by Samuel Keimer, in 1728. The second newspaper in point of age was thePennsylvania Journal, established in 1742 by William Bradford, whose uncle, Andrew Bradford, established the first newspaper in Pennsylvania, theAmerican Weekly Mercury, in 1719. The next in age, but the first in importance, was thePennsylvania Packet, established by John Dunlop in 1771. In 1784 it became a daily, being the first daily newspaper printed on this continent.
GEMS OF THOUGHT.
POOR RICHARD'S ALMANACBYBenjamin Franklin.
POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC.
Courteous Reader:
I have heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors. This pleasure I have seldom enjoyed. For though I have been, if I may say it without vanity, aneminentauthor ofAlmanacsannually now for a full quarter of a century, my brother authors in the same way, for what reason I know not, have ever been very sparing in their applauses; and no other author has taken the least notice of me; so that did not my writings produce me some solid pudding, the great deficiency of praise would have quite discouraged me.
I concluded at length that the people were the best judges of my merit, for they buy my works; and besides, in my rambles where I am not personally known, I have frequently heard one or other of my adages repeated, withas Poor Richard saysat the end of it. This gives me some satisfaction, as it showed, not only that my instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some respect for my authority; and I own that to encourage the practice of remembering and repeating those sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great activity.
Judge, then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am going to relate to you. I stopped my horse lately where a great number of people were collected at a vendue of merchant's goods. The hour of sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean old man with white locks, "Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Won't these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to do?" Father Abraham stood up and replied: "If you would have my advice, I will give it you in short; forA word to the wise is enough, andMany words won't fill a bushel, as Poor Richard says." They all joined, desiring him to speak his mind, and gathering round him, he proceeded as follows:
Friends, says he, and neighbors, the taxes are indeed very heavy, and if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might the more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by ouridleness, three times as much by ourprideand four times as much by ourfolly; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us, by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us;God helps them that help themselves, as Poor Richard says in hisAlmanacof 1733.
It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of theirTIME, to be employed in its service, but idleness taxes many of us much more, if we reckon all that is spent in absolute sloth, or doing of nothing, with that which is spent in idle employments or amusements that amount to nothing. Sloth, by bringing on disease, absolutely shortens life.Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears; while the used key is always bright, as Poor Richard says.But dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of, as Poor Richard says.
How much more that is necessary do we spend in sleep? Forgetting thatthe sleeping fox catches no poultry, and thatthere will be sleeping enough in the grave, as Poor Richard says. If times be of all things the most precious,wasting of time must be, as Poor Richard says,the greatest prodigality; since, as he elsewhere tells us,lost time is never found again; and what we calltime enough! always proves little enough. Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpose; so, by diligence, shall we do more with less perplexity.Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all things easy, as Poor Richard says; andHe that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while laziness travels so slowly that Poverty soon overtakes him, as we read in Poor Richard; who adds,Drive thy business! Let not that drive thee!and
Early to bed and early to riseMakes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Early to bed and early to riseMakes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
So what signifieswishingandhopingfor better times? We may make these times better if we bestir ourselves.Industry need not wish, as Poor Richard says, andHe that lives on hope will die fasting.There are no gains without pains; then help, hands! for I have no lands; or if I have they are smartly taxed. And, as Poor Richard likewise observes,He that hath a trade hath an estate, and he that hath a calling hath an honor; but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling well followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes. If we are industrious we shall never starve; for, as Poor Richard says,At the working-man's house hunger looks in, but dares not enter.Nor will the bailiff or the constable enter, forIndustry pays debts, while despair increaseth them.
What though you have found no treasure, nor has any rich relation left you a legacy,Diligence is the mother of good luck, as Poor Richard says,and God gives all things to industry
Then plough deep while the sluggards sleep,And you shall have corn to sell and to keep,
Then plough deep while the sluggards sleep,And you shall have corn to sell and to keep,
Then plough deep while the sluggards sleep,
And you shall have corn to sell and to keep,
says Poor Dick. Work while it is called to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered to-morrow; which makes Poor Richard say,One to-day is worth two to-morrows; and farther,Have you somewhat to do tomorrow? Do it to-day!
If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Are you then your own master?Be ashamed to catch yourself idle, as Poor Richard says. When there is so much to be done for yourself, your family, your country, and your gracious king, be up by peep of day!Let not the sun look down and say, "Inglorious here he lies!"Handle your tools without mittens! remember thatThe cat in gloves catches no mice!as poor Richard says.
'Tis true there is much to be done, and perhaps you are weak-handed; but stick to it steadily, and you will see great effects; forConstant dropping wears away stones; andBy diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable; andLittle strokes fell great oaks; as Poor Richard says in hisAlmanac, the year I cannot just now remember.
Methinks I hear some of you say, "Must a man afford himself no leisure?" I will tell, thee, my friend, what Poor Richard says,Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; andSince thou are not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour!Leisure is time for doing something useful; this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; so that, as Poor Richard says,A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things.Do you imagine that sloth will afford you more comfort than labor? No! for as Poor Richard says,Trouble springs from idleness, and grievous toil from needless ease. Many, without labor, would live by their wits only, but they'll break for want of stock(i.e. capital); whereas industry gives comfort, and plenty, and respect.Fly pleasures, and they'll follow you. The diligent spinner has a large shift; and
Now I have a sheep and a cow,Everybody bids me good morrow.
Now I have a sheep and a cow,Everybody bids me good morrow.
Now I have a sheep and a cow,
Everybody bids me good morrow.
All which is well said by Poor Richard. But with our industry we must likewise be steady, settled, and careful, and oversee our own affairswith our own eyes, and not trust too much to others; for, as Poor Richard says,
I never saw an oft removed tree,Nor yet an oft removed family,That throve so well as those that settled be.
I never saw an oft removed tree,Nor yet an oft removed family,That throve so well as those that settled be.
I never saw an oft removed tree,
Nor yet an oft removed family,
That throve so well as those that settled be.
And again,Three removes are as bad as a fire; and again,Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee; and again,If you would have your business done, go; if not, send.And again,
He that by the plough would thrive,Himself must either hold or drive.
He that by the plough would thrive,Himself must either hold or drive.
He that by the plough would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive.
And again,The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands; and again,Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge; and again,Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse open.
Trusting too much to others' care is the ruin of many; for, as the Almanac says,In the affairs of this world men are saved, not by faith, but by the want of it; but a man's own care is profitable; for saith Poor Dick,Learning is to the studious and Riches to the careful; as well as,Power to the bold, and Heaven to the virtuous.And further,If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself.
And again, he adviseth to circumspection and care, even in the smallest matters; because, sometimes,A little neglect may breed great mischief; adding,for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost; being overtaken and slain by the enemy; all for want of a little care about a horseshoe nail!
So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one's own business; but to these we must add frugality, if we would make our industry more certainly successful.A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets,keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a groat at last. A fat kitchen makes a lean will, as Poor Richard says; and
Many estates are spent in the getting,Since women for tea3forsook spinning and knitting,And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.
Many estates are spent in the getting,Since women for tea3forsook spinning and knitting,And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.
Many estates are spent in the getting,
Since women for tea3forsook spinning and knitting,
And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.
If you would be wealthy, says he in another Almanac,Think of saving as well as of getting. The Indies have not made Spain rich; because her outgoes are greater than her incomes.
Away, then, with your expensive follies, and you will not have so much cause to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families; for, as Poor Dick says,—
Women and wine, game and deceit,Make the wealth small and the wants great.
Women and wine, game and deceit,Make the wealth small and the wants great.
Women and wine, game and deceit,
Make the wealth small and the wants great.
And farther,What maintains one vice would bring up two children.You may think, perhaps, that alittletea, or alittlepunch now and then; a diet alittlemore mostly; clothes alittlemore finer; and alittlemore entertainment now and then, can be no great matter; but remember what Poor Richard says,Many a little makes a mickle; and further,Beware of little expenses;A small leak will sink a great ship; and again,—
Who dainties love, shall beggars prove;
Who dainties love, shall beggars prove;
Who dainties love, shall beggars prove;
and moreover,Fools make feasts and wise men eat them.
Here are you all got together at this vendue of fineries knick-knacks. You call themgoods; but if you do not take care, they will prove evils to some of you. You expect they will be sold cheap, and perhaps they may for less than they cost; but, if you have no occasion for them, they must bedearto you. Remember what Poor Richard says:Buy what thou hast no need of and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessaries.And again,At a great pennyworth, pause a while.He means, that perhaps the cheapness is apparent only, and not real; or the bargain by straitening thee in thy business, may do thee more harm than good. For in another place he says,Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths.
Again, Poor Richard says,'Tis foolish to lay out money in a purchase of repentance; and yet this folly is practiced every day at vendues for want of minding theAlmanac.
Wise men, as Poor Richard says,learn by others' harms;Fools scarcely by their own; butFelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.4Many a one for the sake of finery on the back, has gone with a hungry belly, and half-starved their families.Silks and satins, scarlets and velvets, as Poor Richard says,put out the kitchen fire. These are not the necessaries of life; they can scarcely be called the conveniences; and yet, only because they look pretty, how manywantto have them! The artificial wants of mankind thus become more numerous than the natural; and, as Poor Dick says,For onepoorperson there are a hundredindigent.
By these and other extravagances, the genteel are reduced to poverty, and forced to borrow of those whom they formerly despised, but who, through industry and frugality, have maintained their standing; in which case it appears plainly, thatA ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees, as Poor Richard says. Perhaps they have had a small estate left them, which they know not the getting of; they think,'Tis day, and will never be night, that alittle to be spent out of so much is not worth minding; (A child and a fool, as Poor Richard says,imaginetwenty shilling and twenty years can never be spent), butAlways taking out of the meal-tub and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom.Then, as Poor Dick says,When the well's dry, they know theworth of water. But this they might have known before, if they had taken his advice.If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some; forHe that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing, and indeed, so does he that lends to such people,when he goes to get it again.
Poor Dick further advises and says—
Fond pride of dress is, sure a very curse;Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.
Fond pride of dress is, sure a very curse;Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.
Fond pride of dress is, sure a very curse;
Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.
And again,Pride is as loud a beggar as Want, and a great deal more saucy.When you have bought one fine thing, you must buy ten more, that your appearance may be all of a piece; but Poor Dick says,'Tis easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it.And 'tis as truly folly for the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog to swell in order to equal the ox.
Great estates may venture more,But little boats should keep near shore.
Great estates may venture more,But little boats should keep near shore.
Great estates may venture more,
But little boats should keep near shore.
'Tis, however, a folly soon punished; for,Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt, as Poor Richard says. And in another place,Pride breakfasted with Plenty, dined with Poverty and supped with Infancy.
And after all, what use is this pride of appearance, for which so much is risked, so much is suffered? It cannot promote health or ease pain; it makes no increase of merit in the person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortune.