by Jacob Abbott
CHAPTER VIII.
CALCULATIONS.
"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, after breakfast Monday morning, "we willgo into the city and see St. Paul's this morning. I suppose it is nearlytwo miles from here," he continued. "We can go down in one of thesteamers on the river for sixpence, or we can go in an omnibus foreightpence, or in a cab for a shilling. Which do you vote for?"
"I vote for going on the river," said Rollo.
"Now I think of it," said Mr. George, "I must stop on the way, justbelow Temple Bar; so we shall have to take a cab."
Temple Bar is an old gateway which stands at the entrance of the city.It was originally a part of the wall that surrounded the city. The restof the wall has long since been removed; but this gateway was leftstanding, as an ancient and venerable relic. The principal streetleading from the West End to the city passes through it under anarchway; and the sidewalks, through smaller arches, are at the sides.The great gates are still there, and are sometimes shut. The wholebuilding is very much in the way, and it will probably, before long, bepulled down. In America it would be down in a week; but in England thereis so much reverence felt for such remains of antiquity that theinconvenience which they produce must become very great before they canbe removed.
Mr. George and Rollo took a cab and rode towards the city. Just afterpassing Temple Bar, Mr. George got out of the cab and went into anoffice. Rollo got out too, and amused himself walking up and down thesidewalk, looking in at the shop windows, while Mr. George was doing hisbusiness.
When Mr. George came out Rollo had got into the cab again, and was justat that moment giving a woman a penny, who stood at the window of thecab on the street side. The woman had a child in her arms.
When Rollo first saw the woman, she came up to the window of thecab--where he had taken his seat after he had looked at the shop windowsas much as he pleased--and held up a bunch of violets towards him, as ifshe wished him to buy them. Rollo shook his head. The woman did notoffer the violets again, but looked down towards her babe with anexpression of great sadness in her face, and then looked imploringlyagain towards Rollo, without, however, speaking a word.
Rollo put his hand in his pocket and took out a penny and gave it toher. The woman said "Thank you," in a faint tone of voice, and wentaway.
It was just at this moment that Mr. George came out to the cab.
"Rollo," said Mr. George, "did not you know it was wrong to give moneyto beggars in the streets?"
"Yes," said Rollo; "but this time I could not resist the temptation, shelooked so piteously at her poor little baby."
Mr. George said no more, but took his seat, and the cab drove on.
"Uncle George," said Rollo, after a little pause, "I saw some verypretty gold chains in a window near here; there was one just long enoughfor my watch. Do you think I had better buy it?"
"What was the price of it?" asked Mr. George.
"It was marked one pound fifteen shillings," said Rollo; "that is abouteight dollars and a half."
"It must be a very small chain," said Mr. George.
"It _was_ small," said Rollo; "just right for my watch and me."
"Well, I don't know," said Mr. George, in a hesitating tone, as if hewere considering whether the purchase would be wise or not. "You havegot money enough."
"Yes," said Rollo; "besides my credit on your book, I have got in mypocket two sovereigns and two pennies, and, besides that, your due billfor four shillings."
"Yes," said Mr. George, "I must pay that due bill."
What Rollo meant by a due bill was this: Mr. George was accustomed tokeep his general account with Rollo in a book which he carried with himfor this purpose, and from time to time he would pay Rollo such sums ashe required in sovereigns, charging the amount in the book. It oftenhappened, however, in the course of their travels, that Mr. George wouldhave occasion to borrow some of this money of Rollo for the purpose ofmaking change, or Rollo would borrow small sums of Mr. George. In suchcases the borrower would give to the lender what he called a due bill,which was simply a small piece of paper with the sum of money borrowedwritten upon it, and the name of the borrower, or his initials,underneath. When Mr. George gave Rollo such a due bill for change whichhe had borrowed of him, Rollo would keep the due bill in his purse withhis money until Mr. George, having received a supply of change, found itconvenient to pay it.
The due bill which Rollo referred to in the above conversation was asfollows:--
Four shillings. G. H.]
Mr. George adopted the plan of giving or receiving a due bill in allcases where he borrowed money of Rollo or lent money to him, in order toaccustom Rollo to transact all his business in a regular and methodicalmanner, and to avoid the possibility of any mistake or any difference ofopinion between them in respect to the question whether the money wasactually borrowed, or whether it had not been repaid. I stronglyrecommend to all the readers of this book to adopt some such plan asthis in all their pecuniary transactions with others, whether they aregreat or small, and to adhere to it very rigidly. This rule isespecially important when the parties having pecuniary transactions witheach other are friends; and the more intimate their friendship is, themore important is this rule.
It is true, it would not be polite and proper for you to _ask_ for sucha memorandum of a friend to whom you casually lend some small sum, butyou can always _offer_ it when you borrow; and in all cases, where youhave frequent dealings of this kind with any person, you can agree uponthis plan beforehand, as a general rule.
But let us return to Rollo and the watch chain.
"Well," said Mr. George, after some hesitation, "I am by no means surethat it would not be a good plan for you to buy the watch chain. A goldchain is an article of permanent and intrinsic value. It will last avery long time. Perhaps you would get as much enjoyment from it as fromany thing you could buy with that money. At any rate, the money is yourown; you have saved it from your travelling expenses by your prudenceand economy; and it is right for you to expend it as you take a fancy.If you take a fancy to the chain, I do not know why it would not be agood purchase."
"I think I should like the chain very much," said Rollo.
"Let us see," said Mr. George, in a musing sort of tone; "there isanother way to look at these questions. What is the interest of eightdollars and a half?"
"I don't know," said Rollo. "How much is it?"
"Let me see," said Mr. George; "seven times six are forty-two--sayfifty; and then we must add something for wear, and tear, anddepreciation. I should think," he added, after a moment's reflection,"that the chain would cost you about sixty cents a year, as long as youkeep it."
"How so?" said Rollo.
"Why, the money that you will pay for it will produce about fifty centsa year, if you keep it at interest; and of course, if you buy a chainwith the money, you stop all that income."
"Yes," said Rollo, "I understand that for the fifty cents: and now forthe other ten. You said sixty cents."
"Why, the chain will be gradually wearing out all the time, while youuse it," said Mr. George, "and I estimated that it would lose about tencents a year. That makes up the sixty."
"Yes," said Rollo, "I suppose it would."
"You see," continued Mr. George, "that the little links and rings, wherethe chief wear comes, will gradually become thinner and thinner, and atlast the time would come when you could not use it for a chain anylonger. You would then have to sell it for old gold; and for thatpurpose it would not be worth, probably, more than half what you nowgive for it.
"So you see," continued Mr. George, "you would lose the interest on themoney you pay for the chain every year; and besides that, you would losea portion of the chain itself. When you have money safely invested atinterest, you have the interest every year, and at the end of the termyou have your capital restored to you entire. But in such a purchase asthis, you are sure, in the end, to sink a portion of it by wear, andtear, and depreciation; and this circumstance ought always to be takeninto account."
"Yes," said Rollo; "that is very true."
"Making such a calculation as this," continued Mr. George, "will oftenhelp us determine whether it is wise or not to make a purchase. Thequestion is, whether you would get as much pleasure from the possessionand use of this chain as sixty cents a year would come to."
"Yes," said Rollo; "I think I should."
"That would be five cents a month," said Mr. George.
"Yes," repeated Rollo; "I think I should."
"And one cent and a quarter a week," added Mr. George. "Do you think youwould get pleasure enough out of your chain to come to a cent and aquarter a week?"
"Yes," said Rollo, confidently; "I am _sure_ I should."
"I think it very likely you would," said Mr. George; "and if so, itwould be a wise purchase."
It was not necessary absolutely that Rollo should obtain his uncleGeorge's approval of any plan which he might form for the expenditure ofhis surplus funds, since it was Mr. Holiday's plan that Rollo shouldspend his money as he chose, provided only that he did not buy any thingthat would either be injurious or dangerous to himself, or a source ofannoyance to others. Now, in respect to the chain, Rollo knew very wellhimself that it was not liable to either of these objections, and thathe was consequently at liberty to purchase it if he thought best. In theconversation, therefore, described above, his object was not so much toobtain his uncle's consent that he should make the purchase as to availhimself of his uncle's opinion and judgment in the case, in order toenable him to judge wisely himself.
"I _think_," said he, at length, in announcing to his uncle hisdecision, "that it will be a good plan for me to buy the chain; but Iwill not be in haste about it. I will wait a day or two. I may possiblysee something else that I shall like better."
