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XIX.

"I CAN DO WITHOUT IT."

THIS, we remarked, was one of the best mottos in the world, or one of the worst. Its excellence has appeared in the use made of it by Ruth, the economist: we shall now, according to promise, proceed to show it in its opposite appropriation. This sentence, with some variations, though not professedly adopted as a motto, was frequently employed by Eliza, by way of excuse for the negligence to which the indolence of her disposition continually inclined her. She disliked, beyond every thing, that patient care which is essential to success; which is requisite in order to do any thing properly; and which experience proves to be the best, and, in the end, the shortest way in all the concerns of life.

This temper manifested itself in Eliza at an early age: Suppose, for example, she was writing an exercise with a bad pen that spirted, or blotted, or scratched like a pin; - rather than take the trouble of mending it, she would say to herself, It will do without it, or I can manage without; and thus her writing was rarely fit to be

seen.

In like manner, if a slide broke in her frock, or if the string came out of her shoe, instead of

replacing them immediately, she would exclaim, "How provoking! there's that tiresome slide. gone!" adding “ah, well, I can do without it," and then she would beg somebody to pin it for her-a most untidy thing certainly:-or she would go half a day slip-shod for want of a shoestring. It was just the same if a stich came undone in any part of her dress, or if she had torn a small rent in her frock; instead of recollecting that true saying "a stich in time saves nine," she would let it go, upon the strength of her favorite saying, till it became a long job to mend it: so that her mother used often to declare that she had more trouble with Eliza's clothes in one month, than Ruth's mamma had with her's in a whole year; and no wonder.

Eliza met with such frequent instances of the mischievous tendency of her favorite excuse, that one would have thought she might have been induced to discard it. Scarcely a day passed but she, or those around her, suffered more or less from it. Not to mention such misfortunes as the frequent falls and bruises which occurred from loose shoestrings, and the like.

One time she sustained a considerable loss for want of replacing a button to her pocket. She found it was come off one morning; and saying, as usual, I can do without it, she substituted a pin. -Pins, though very useful things in their way, are certainly made most use of by lazy, untidy

people. Things went thus for two or three days: but at last, as she was returning from a long walk, upon feeling for her handkerchief, she discovered that the pocket with all its contents had escaped. Eliza felt this loss considerably; for besides her thimble, a silver knife, a pencil case, and a purse with seven and sixpence in it, her pocket that day unfortunately contained a beautiful coral necklace which had lately been made her a present of. A very improper place for a necklace, it will be said; very true: but the case was this:-Eliza, being fond of ornaments, came down that day, prepared for her walk, with this necklace slipped over her tippet. To this her mother very properly objected, as having a tawdry and ungenteel appearance, and desired her to take it off. Eliza complied reluctantly; but instead of replacing it safely up stairs, she indolently slipped it into her pocket, and thus lost it, as related above. Another time, one of her bonnet-strings coming unstitched, she fastened it on, as usual, with a pin, and going out with it in this state, it came undone when she was walking by the river side: the wind being high, it blew her bonnet off into the water, and there she saw it sailing irrecoverably down the river, like a swan. One day her mother gave her a small phial containing an acid for taking out ink spots, and other stains; and desired her to write a label for it."Dear!" said Eliza, when her mother was out of

hearing "it will do just as well without it;" so she left it as it was. Soon after, her mother feeling unwell, desired Eliza to give her a few drops of salvolatile. She went carelessly to find the phial, and snatching up this in mistake, gave her mother a dose of the poisonous fluid. Being aware of her daughter's careless habits, she fortunately tasted a little before taking the whole, and so discovered the mistake. Thus it was that indolent habits, sanctioned by a foolish saying, endangered even the life of her mother. Eliza felt these things; but she considered them as accidents and misfortunes, not as the natural consequences of her faults, so that they made no useful impression upon her.

It too often happened that she varied her motto by the alternate use of all the personal pronouns. He, she, they, or you, can do without it, was as commonly heard as it. This was usually the case when any little service was required of her by those around; in which case, the struggle between her inactive habits and a sense of duty was quickly decided by the use of this unfriendly sentence. Her father and mother, her brothers and sisters, as well as her neighbors, missed many a kind service by this means.

It must also be observed, that Eliza rarely applied these words to herself in the way of restraint. When there was any thing that she wished for, it was seldom indeed that she said, I can

do without it; for, to exercise self denial, requires an effort of mind much more painful to the indolent than any bodily exertion. Eliza accordingly treated herself with every thing she liked that she could by any means get the money to purchase; at the same time laughing at the frugal habits of her friend Ruth; and often prophesying that she would die a miser.

The inactivity and carelessness of Eliza's disposition extended to every thing in which she was called to engage, and lamentably retarded the progress of her education. Her father and mother were anxious to furnish her with every useful acquirement in their power, with a view to her future respectability, usefulness and independence. But to Eliza the acquisition of knowledge, of whatever kind, was extremely irksome. Nothing is to be attained without trouble; and trouble was the thing she could not endure. Whatever was proposed to her as a desirable study, she used to think, if not to say, that she could do without it. There

fore, notwithstanding the cost and pains that were bestowed upon her, she grew up ill informed and unfurnished. Even reading was a toil which she thought she could do as well without, unless a book happened to be merely entertaining.

It will not be imagined that a person so slothful in business should be "fervent in spirit," or active in" serving the Lord." The concerns of the soul, indeed, are the first to suffer from an indo

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