him up on the telephone and inquired courteously why I had not heard from him. He seemed reluctant at first to give me any definite explanation, assured me that it had been his specific intention to write me that very day, and, finally, when pressed admitted that he married immediately following the receipt of my check and added that I, being married myself, could well understand that the necessity of buying furniture and establishing a home left him no surplus to meet obligations previously incurred. I understood perfectly. Incidentally I have not yet received my money, though I have had a postal card picture of the new baby and a brief line from father indicating that he expected soon to send me a remittance.
A few quotations from those who have assumed later matrimonial obligations will illustrate the excuses I receive for delayed payments: "My wife's hospital bill has added an extra burden during the last year," one man writes; "I am to be married in December," says another, "and do not find myself financially where I expected." "In September after my graduation," moans a third, "I was married, and my salary was reduced to a living wage. I, therefore, find it impossible," ete.
Here are a few more: "To be frank with you, I have had money enough to pay the loan at two different times, but six months ago I took the best girl in the world in wedlock." "If you ever began life on a small salary, with some indebtedness, in a city where the cost of living is high, you would appreciate," etc. "My expenditures are those of a married man with one child."
