or deny us the favor of his countenance,
because we use with care the talents he has intrusted to our keeping, or
the wealth he has placed within our reach? Let not instances of the abuse
of this feeling, which spendthrifts in derision will be sure to point out
to you, deter you from saving, in times of plenty, a little for a time of
need. Avarice is always despicable--the crime of the miser is greater than
that of the spendthrift; both are extremes, both abuse the legitimate
purposes of wealth. It is equally revolting to read of two avaricious
souls, whose coffers could have disgorged ten times ten thousand guineas,
growing angry over a penny, or fretting at the loss of a farthing
rushlight; but it is a sight quite as sad and painful to observe the
spendthrift squandering in the mire the last shilling of an ample fortune,
and reducing his wife and children to beggary for ever. Save, then, a
little, although the thoughtless and the gay may sneer. Throw nothing
away, for there is nothing that is purely worthless; the refuse from your
table is worth its price, and if you are not wanting it yourself, remember
there are hundreds of your kind, your brethren by the laws of God, who are
groaning under a poverty which it would help to mitigate, and pale with a
hunger which it might help to satisfy. Where can you find your
prescriptive right to squander that which would fill the belly of a hungry
brother? A gentleman, some years ago, married the daughter of a public
contractor, whose carts carried away the dust from our habitations; he was
promised a portion with his bride, and on his nuptial day was referred to
a large heap of dust and offal as the promised dowry. He little thought,
as he received it with some reluctance, that it would put two thousand
pounds into his pocket.

To achieve independence, then, you must practise an habitual frugality,
and while enjoying the present, look forward to old age, and think now and
then of the possibility of a rainy day. Do not fancy, because you can only
save an occasional penny now, that you will never become the possessor of
pounds. Small things increase by union. Recollect, too, the precepts and
life of Franklin, and a thousand others who rose to wealth and honor by
looking after little things: be resolute, persevere, and prosper. Do not
wait for the assistance of others in your progress through life; you will
grow hungry, depend upon it, if you look to the charity or kindness of
frien