I next manufactured a spoon and knife combined from a bit of hoop-iron.
These two humble utensils at once placed myself and my immediate chums on another plane, as far as worldly goods were concerned.

We were better off than the mass, and as well off as the most fortunate.

It was a curious illustration of that law of political economy which teaches that so-called intrinsic value is largely adventitious.

Their possession gave us infinitely more consideration among our fellows than would the possession of a brown-stone front in an eligible location, furnished with hot and cold water throughout, and all the modern improvements.

It was a place where cooking utensils were in demand, and title-deeds to brown-stone fronts were not.