Australian Tales - Setis

good his loss. Pooh! what next?”
* * * * *
Life has been a severe struggle with the poor man ever since that
disaster. He was unable to re-establish himself in business from want of
capital, and he is now in very straitened circumstances. Through omitting
to insure against a calamity (to which every person, however careful, is
to some extent liable), he lost the fruits of past years' exertions, and a
position of comparative affluence, which he has ever since been vainly
striving to regain; and he has the additional discomfort of feeling that his
present poverty is the result of his want of business-like forethought.
These illustrations are, I think, sufficient to demonstrate the advantage
of insuring against loss by fire, and the folly of neglecting to do so. I
believe it is a positive duty, incumbent upon every person engaged in
business, in common justice to his creditors; and it is equally incumbent
upon every head of a household, whether in business or not, in justice to
his family. I have frequently heard persons say, “They do not see the
necessity of insuring, as they are very careful;” in proof of which they
urge, that “they never had a mishap from fire.” Their carefulness is
commendable certainly, and their freedom from accidents by fire is a
matter for gratulation; still, it is unquestionable that fire has often
destroyed the houses of very careful persons; and none can effectually
guard against the carelessness of their neighbours.
A fire is at all times a deplorable mishap, but, perhaps, never so serious
as when it occurs amongst the dwellings of poor persons, for they are
generally uninsured. At such occurrences there is invariably much
excitement and confusion. A panic seizes the poor occupants of
neighbouring tenements, and they often hurriedly remove their little
household effects into the streets for security, and frequently, by so
doing, suffer severe losses by breakages, but, worse still, from the
peculations of dishonest persons, who at such times are specially busy, as
they then have good chances of plying their nefarious calling undetected.
A thief can rush into a house in the immediate vicinity of a fire, and his
wicked designs may be mistaken for good-natured zeal for the safety of
the goods which he is seeking to steal. In general, the person or family
who are burnt out of house and home are not the only sufferers; and fire
is not the only enemy to be dreaded at such times.
Were persons belonging to the labouring class to insure their household
effects, such losses would be avoided; for if their houses unfortunately
took fire they would be reimbursed for the damage they sustained. If a
fire occurred in the immediate vicinity of their dwelling, the knowledge
that they were thus protected from loss would deter them from rashly
removing their effects into the street for thieves to prey upon; they would