they can be free and independent. To be thriftless, is enough to deprive
one of all manly spirit and virtue.

But a man with something saved, no matter how little, is in a different
position. The little capital he has stored up, is always a source of
power. He is no longer the sport of time and fate. He can boldly look
the world in the face. He is, in a manner, his own master. He can
dictate his own terms. He can neither be bought nor sold. He can look
forward with cheerfulness to an old age of comfort and happiness.

As men become wise and thoughtful, they generally become provident and
frugal. A thoughtless man, like a savage, spends as he gets, thinking
nothing of to-morrow, of the time of adversity, or of the claims of
those whom he has made dependent on him. But a wise man thinks of the
future; he prepares in good time for the evil day that may come upon him
and his family; and he provides carefully for those who are near and
dear to him.

What a serious responsibility does the man incur who marries! Not many
seriously think, of this responsibility. Perhaps this is wisely ordered.
For, much serious thinking might end in the avoidance of married life
and its responsibilities. But, once married, a man ought forthwith to
determine that, so far as his own efforts are concerned, want shall
never enter his household; and that his children shall not, in the event
of his being removed from the scene of life and labour, be left a
burthen upon society.

Economy with this object is an important duty. Without economy, no man
can be just--no man can be honest. Improvidence is cruelty to women and
children; though the cruelty is born of ignorance. A father spends his