THE HABIT OF SAVINGThose schoolteaching and newspaper-correspondence days
of mine brought some cares and responsibilities, but they were
met optimistically.
I married at the age of twenty-one with the full approval
of parents on both sides, who believed thoroughly in the doc-
trine preached by Henry Ward Beecher, that "early marriages
are virtuous marriages:'
Just one month and one day after I was married my father
met a tragic death. He was suffocated by coal gas. Having been
an educator all his life-and one of the best-he had not
accumulated any money.
When he passed out of our family circle it was up to all
of us to pull together and get along somehow, which we did.
Apart from the void left in our home by my father's death
(my wife and I and my mother and only sister lived together),
we had a joyful life, despite the fact that it was a tight squeeze
to make ends meet.
My mother, who was exceptionally talented and resourceful
(she had taught school with my father until I was born), decided
to open our home to a married couple, old friends of the family.
They came to live with us and their board helped to pay ex-
penses. My mother was known far and wide for the wonderful
meals she served. Later on, two well-to-do women friends of the
family were taken into our home, thus increasing our revenue.
My sister helped very substantially by teaching a kinder-
garten class, which met in the big living room of our home;
my wife contributed her share to the household by taking
charge of the sewing and mending.
Those were very happy days. Nobody in the household was
extravagant or had any extravagant tendencies except perhaps
myself, for I was always inclined to be free with money. I liked
to make gifts to the family and to entertain friends.
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