the contents of this old trunk are absolutely worthless to me; perhaps
they may be used by you for carpet rags."

"Mary Midleton!" exclaimed Aunt Sarah, in horrified tones, "you
extravagant girl. I see greater possibilities in that trunk of
partly-worn clothing than, I suppose, a less economically-inclined
woman than I ever would have dreamed of."

Mary handed her Aunt two blue seersucker dresses, one plain, the other
striped. "They have both shrunken, and are entirely too small for me,"
said Mary.

"Well," said her Aunt, considering, "they might be combined in one
dress, but you need aprons for kitchen work more useful than those
little frilly, embroidered affairs you are wearing. We should make
them into serviceable aprons to protect your dresses. Mary, neatness
is an attribute that every self-respecting housewife should
assiduously cultivate, and no one can be neat in a kitchen without a
suitable apron to protect one from grime, flour and dust."

"What a pretty challis dress; its cream-colored ground sprinkled over
with pink rose buds!"

Mary sighed. "I always did love that dress, Aunt Sarah, 'Twas so
becoming, and he--he--admired it so!"

"And HE, can do so still," replied Aunt Sarah, with a merry twinkle in
her kind, clear, gray eyes, "for that pale-green suesine skirt,
slightly faded, will make an excellent lining, with cotton for an
interlining, and pale green Germantown yarn with which to tie the