y prevent our enjoying
what we do not lose. It is as foolish, therefore, to be too careful as
it is not to be careful enough.

"Indeed," continued Mr. George, "I think the best way is for travellers
to do as merchants do. They know that it is inevitable that they should
meet with some losses in their business; and so they make a regular
allowance for losses in all their calculations."

"How much do they allow?" said Rollo.

"I believe it is usually about five per cent.," said Mr. George. "They
calculate that, for every one hundred dollars that they trust out in
business, they must lose five. Sometimes small losses come along quite
frequently. At other times there will be a long period without any loss,
and then some great one will occur; so that, in one way or the other,
they are pretty sure in the long run to lose about their regular
average. So they make their calculations accordingly; and when the
losses come they consider them matters of course, like any of their
ordinary expenses."

"That is a good plan," said Rollo.

"I think it is eminently a good plan," said Mr. George, "for travellers.
In planning a journey, we ought always to include this item in our
calculations. We ought to allow so much for conveyance, so much for
hotel bills, and so much for losses, and then calculate on the losses
just as much as we do on the payment of the railroad fares and hotel
bills. That is the philosophy of it.

"However," continued Mr. George, "though we ought not to allow any loss
that we may meet with to make us anxious or over-careful afterwards,
still we may sometimes learn something by it. For instance, I think it
is generally not best to take a watch, or money, or any thing else of
special value in our pockets when we go out among a crowd."

"Yes," said Rollo; "if I had only thought to have put my purse in my
trunk when I went out, it would have been safe."

"No," replied Mr. George; "it would not have been _safe_--that is, not
perfectly safe--even then; for a thief might have crept into the house,
and gone into your room, and opened the lock, and got out the money
while you were away."

"But the front door is kept locked," said Rollo.

"True," said Mr. George; "that is a general rule, I know; but it might
have been left open a few minutes by accident, so that the thief could
get in--such things do happen very frequently; or one of the servants of
the house might have got the trunk open. So that the money is not