A Verse Digest of P. T. Barnum’s The Art of Money Getting (1880)
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AVOID DEBT
young men starting in life
avoid running into debt
scarcely anything
drags a person
down like debt
a slavish position
running in debt
trusted for a new suit of clothes
he seems to look upon the clothes as given
he succeeds in paying and gets trusted again
he is adopting a habit which will keep him in poverty
debt robs a man of self-respect
makes him almost despise himself
grunting and groaning and working
for what he has eaten up or worn out
when he is called upon to pay up
he has nothing to show for his money
this is properly termed working for a dead horse
the old Quaker said to his farmer son
never get trusted but if thee gets trusted
for anything let it be for manure
because that will help thee pay it back
if a young man will only get in debt
for land and then get married
these two things will keep
him straight or nothing will
this may be safe to a limited extent
but getting in debt for what you eat
and drink and wear is to be avoided
got trusted for sixty days
don’t have the money
the creditor will think
nothing about it
no class of people in the world
have such good memories as creditors
sixty days run out
you have to pay
if you do not pay
you break your promise
resort to a falsehood
you may make some excuse
get in debt elsewhere to pay
but that involves you the deeper
good-looking
lazy young fellow
the apprentice boy
his employer said
ever see a snail?
you must have
met him then
sure you never
overtook one
your creditor
will meet you
overtake you
you agreed to pay
you have not done it
interest commences
working against you
it is a dead horse
creditor goes to bed at night
wakes up in the morning
better off than when he retired
interest increased during the night
you grow poorer while sleeping
interest is accumulating against you
money is in some respects like fire
excellent servant but a terrible master
when interest is constantly piling up
it will keep you down in slavery
let money work for you
and you have the most
devoted servant
nothing animate or inanimate
will work so faithfully as money
when placed at interest well secured
it works night and day
in wet or dry weather
do not let it work against you
Money Getting, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V
Money Getting is a verse digest of P.T. Barnum’s The Art of Money Getting (1880)