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HIGH LIVING WITH LOW MEANS. 119
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Theee Is A Constant Outcry Against The L...
society , and dare not risk anything , though the gain would be so great . Now we would venture to suggest * that the amount of esteem _,
, which is exacted from our fellow-men by our style of living is greatlexaggerated that even the world estimates us after all more
justly , y and that we should , not sink in its good opinion by inviting it to simpler entertainments , or even by ceasing to give any
entertainments when we cannot afford it . Certainly snobbishness is prevalent in English societybut we are not all snobs ; we may
very even grant that the majority are , not , but that they are , on the contraryalways ready to respect genuine worth which is proud enough
and has , self-confidence enough to rest on its own merits , without attempting to dazzle by the brilliancy of its surroundings , too often
the price of labors which ought to have been devoted to a higher use .
But while believing this to be the rule , let us grant numerous individual exceptions . Then place in opposite scales the esteem of
others for what in their better moments they must despise , and our self-respecttogether with the consciousness of meriting the praise
rather than , the _contemjDt of society for the example we set to our class and age ; in which is the balance found ? Can there be any
hesitation in the reply ? But it may be asked , Why are women to begin the necessary reformand how are they to do it ? Because all
, reform , social as well as political , must come from within . Agitation commences in the substrata , _jDrodxicing an upheaving which at
length shows its effect upon the surface . The Italian cry for freedom _woidd never have produced a Garibaldi , had not the miseries
of the people roused them to a course of action which then received his guiding hand .
In our small household politics the necessity of an economical expenditure must be first recognised ; then rigorously carried out
in all the departments which fall exclusively under the direction of the mistress , always regulating the amount to be spent on each
item in a just proportion to the income . We believe that such policy , firmly adhered to , would produce incalculably good results
and at least it would be a step in the right direction , always a great thing to have gained . We have said nothing here about the prudence
of providing for the future , and the duty of recognising the fact that our children will cost more as they grow olderuntil we have finally
, established them in life . Common forethought cannot lose sight of such considerations when once attention to the subject has been
aroused . And when parents have learnt to spend less in vain ostentationand to fritter away less in thoughtless prodigality , there will
"be less , anxiety to obtain positions for their sons where they can at once provide for their own future before £ hey have undergone that
training which would have enabled them creditably to perform the duties of their calling ; and there will not be the indecent haste to get
their daughters off their hands , which , produces even worse social
evils than any we have yet mentioned .
High Living With Low Means. 119
HIGH LIVING WITH LOW MEANS . 119
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), April 1, 1861, page 119, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01041861/page/47/
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