The Wealth of Cresis

He had no talent for wealth, and knew how to be poor without the least hint of squalor or in elegance. A fine house, dress, the manners and talk of highly cultivated people were all thrown away on him. He chose to be rich by making his wants few and supplying them himself. In his travels, he used the railroad only to get over so much country as was unimportant to the present purpose. Walking hundreds of miles, avoiding taverns, buying a lodging in farmers and fishermen's noses because there he could better find the men and information he wanted.