Note 222-2 — Chapter I

As early a writer as D. Defoe, Giving Alms no Charity! 1704, says: the English get estates; the Dutch save them. An Englishman at that time with weekly wages of 20 shillings just made ends meet; while a Dutchman with the same grew rich, and left his children behind him in very prosperous circumstances, etc. L. Faucher draws a similar contrast between his fellow countrymen and the English. Goethe's ingenuous observations (Werke, Bd., 23, 246, ed. of 1840) in his Italian journey, show that the Italians, too, know how to save. Molti pochi fanno un assai! And so in Bohemia, the Czechs have a good reputation for frugality, sobriety, etc. as workmen. They are more frugal than the Germans, although all the larger businesses belong to Germans, because when the Czech has saved something, he prefers to return to his village to putting his savings in jeopardy by speculation.