of each day in attending to the preparation of winter clothing for
house-servants and field hands."

"I won't have you doing the actual work, the cutting out and sewing, I
mean," he answered decidedly; "the head work, calculating how much
material is needed, what it will cost, etc., may be yours; but you have
servants enough to do all the rest."

"But, papa, consider; over three hundred to clothe, and I want it all done
while I am here to oversee."

"Have not some of the house-servants been trained as seamstresses?"

"Yes, sir, two of them, mammy tells me."

"Very well; she knows how to run a sewing-machine. Send for one when you
order your material; both can be had in the nearest town. Aunt Chloe can
soon teach the girls how to manage it; Uncle Joe, too; he has had no
regular work assigned him yet, and the four can certainly do all without
anything more than a little oversight from you; yes, without even that."

"What a capital planner you are, papa," she said brightly; "I never
thought of getting a machine or setting Uncle Joe to running it; but I am
sure it's just the thing to do. Mammy can cut and the girls baste, and
among them the machine can easily be kept going from morning to night.
I'll make out my orders and send for the things at once."

"That is right, daughter; it pleases me well to note how you put in
practice the lesson of promptness I have always tried to teach you. I will
help you in making your estimate of quantities needed, prices to be paid,