Hoffman looked at his friend in a bewildered kind of way. This was
astounding.

"How often do you go to the theatre and opera?" Hamilton went on
with his questions.

"Sometimes once a week. Sometimes twice or thrice, according to the
attraction."

"And you take a lady now and then?"

"Yes."

"Particularly during the opera season?"

"Yes. I'm not so selfish as always to indulge in these pleasures
alone."

"Very well. Now for the cost. Sometimes the opera is one dollar. So
it costs two dollars when you take a lady."

"Which is not very often."

"Will fifty cents a week, averaging the year, meet this expense?"

After thinking for some time, Hoffman said yes, he thought that
fifty cents a week would be a fair appropriations.

"Which adds another item of twenty-six dollars a year to your
expenses."