money to her best ability. Her husband, be he a working or
professional man, would find it greatly to his advantage in the home
as well as in his business and less of a drain on his bank account
should he give his wife a suitable allowance and trust her to spend it
according to her own intelligence and thrift.

"Child, many a man is violently prejudiced against giving a young wife
money; many allow her to run up bills, to her hurt and to his, rather
than have her, even in her household expenditure, independent of his
supervision. I sincerely hope, dear, that your intended, Ralph
Jackson, will be superior to this male idiosyncrasy, to term it
mildly, and allow you a stated sum monthly. The home is the woman's
kingdom, and she should be allowed to think for it, to buy for it, and
not to be cramped by lack of money to do as she thinks best for it."

"But, Aunt Sarah, some housewives are so silly that husbands cannot
really be blamed for withholding money from them and preventing them
from frittering it away in useless extravagance."

"Mary, wise wives should not suffer for those who are silly and
extravagant. I don't like to be sarcastic, but with the majority of
the men, silliness appeals to them more than common sense. Men like to
feel their superiority to us. However, though inexperienced, Mary, you
aren't silly or extravagant, and Ralph could safely trust you with his
money. It makes a woman so self-respecting, puts her on her mettle, to
have money to do as she pleases with, to be trusted, relied upon as a
reasoning, responsible being. A man, especially a young husband, makes
a grave mistake when he looks upon his wife as only a toy to amuse
him in his leisure moments and not as one to be trusted to aid him in
his life work. A trusted young housewife, with a reasonable and