ean the sacrifice of any past. If he found a chance to black boots or
sell papers, he could use it. His neighbors wouldn't exile him. He
was as free as the winds and what he didn't like he could change. I
don't suppose there is any human being on earth so independent as an
able-bodied working-man.

The record of the next three years only traces a slow, steady
strengthening of my position. Not one of us had any set-back through
sickness because I considered our health as so much capital and
guarded it as carefully as a banker does his money. I was afraid at
first of the city water but I found it was as pure as spring water. It
was protected from its very source and was stored in a carefully
guarded reservoir. It was frequently analyzed and there wasn't a case
of typhoid in the ward which could be traced to the water. The milk
was the great danger down here. At the small shops it was often
carelessly stored and carelessly handled. From the beginning, I bought
our milk up town though I had to pay a cent a quart more for it. Ruth
picked out all the fish and meat and of course nothing tainted in this
line could be sold to her. We ate few canned goods and then nothing
but canned vegetables. Many of our neighbors used canned meats. I
don't know whether any sickness resulted from this or not but I know
that they often left the stuff for hours in an opened tin. Many of the
tenements swarmed with flies in the summer although it was a small
matter to keep them out of four rooms. So if the canned stuff _didn't_
get infected it was a wonder.

The sanitary arrangements in the flat were good, though here again
many families proceeded to make them bad about as fast as they could.
These people didn't seem to mind dirt in any form. It was a perfectly
simple and inexpensive matter to keep themselves and their
surroundings clean if they cared to take the trouble.

Then the roof contributed largely towards our good health. Ruth spent
a great deal of time up there during the day and the boy slept there
during the summer.

Our simple food and exercise also helped, while for me nothing could
have been better than my daily plunge in the salt water. I kept this
up as long as the bath house was open and in the winter took a cold
sponge and rub-down every night. So, too, did the boy.

For the rest, we all took sensible precautions against exposure. We
dressed warmly and kept our feet dry. Here again our neighbors were
insanely foolish. They