easily understood by the housewife whose cut-glass and egg-shell china
are continually smashed to fragments by the hirelings whose own the
fragiles are not. The china bill for one year of the woman with many
servants assumes proportions so huge that she is actually afraid to
let herself consider its enormity. And there are still more things
broken of which she is never told until the day comes when this or
that article is needed, and the answer to inquiry is:

"An' sure ma'am, such a thing aint niver been in this house sence iver
I come into it."

And as there is no way of proving the falsity of this statement, one
must submit.

As I have said before, dish-washing, as done by a lady, takes little
time and labor, and may be a pleasant occupation. The laborer, not the
labor, makes a thing common or refined. With an abundance of scalding
hot water, a soap-shaker, mop, gloves with the tips cut off, clean and
soft dish-towels, and delicate glass and china, dish-washing is in
every sense of the word a lady's work. The mistress will do it in
one-third of the time, with five times the thoroughness, and one-tenth
as many breakages as will the average servant. And when the dishes are
washed and the table is spread for the next meal with pure linen,
glistening glass and shining silver--who dares say that the glow of
housewifely pride and satisfaction does not more than compensate for
the little time and trouble expended to produce the agreeable result?

I have said that every additional mouth counts in the sum of family
expenses, and for this reason many housekeepers of moderate means
neglect the duty of hospitality. Pardon me if I say that I think this