The Arizona sentinel., 1886-05-29

l the whole or tnlS past year.
 'I have no doubt of it. It is the way in which every one begins, fancy"
 Aunt Abby amused us for the next half hour with merry stories of the
 hings she had bought to match other
 hings in her early days of economizing and Belle and thought guiltily of some elaborate gauge overdresses, broad sashes and expensive artificial flowers which we had recently purchased with a view to arranging some cheap evening toilets over two old silk skirts.
 ''f believe I have been doing the same thing with the children" sighed Mrs. Lorton.
 "I believe you have" smiled her friend, flor only last Sunday I heard Jenny tell her sister, very gravely, that mamma was going to lengthen her blue silk by putting on new founce."
 "That was my plan"
 ''Yes, and then the blue silk would demand a plush jacket, and that would call for bonnet with ostrich plumes, or some other bit of frail magnificence. "
 "What shall put on the girls?"
 1.-Two pretty tailor-made suits"
 "And waste the silk frocks because they are trife short?"
 "Decidedly, or else they will waste a great deal of money, and the children be left without any suitable, serviceable garments for half the occasions on which they wish to go out"
 Aunt Abby was growing very elo- quent with her theme.
 'I think" she said, "that a great many of the worries, the wrinkles and the gray hairs that vex the days and de- stroy the beauty of our American matrons grow out of this very want of harmony and arrangements in our domestic affairs. Wealth has been be- slowed so lavishly upon our American people in the past: we have enjoyed so much luxury, and gratifed our tastes and longings so habitually, that as Nation we know very little of domestic econ omy. To use a rather vulgar saying, if we economize anywhere we are apt to ''save at the spigot and let out at the bung." We are wasteful in our kitchens, extrayagant in our ward robes and careless of our furniture. Our attempts at saving when the neces- sity comes suddenly upon us are apt to be violent and spasmodic, and product i've of very small results"
 Aunt Abby smiled suddenly. q re- member one instance" she went on, in ''when proclaimed to my father, whose household was the scene of my early ex- periments in domestic economy, that for the three last months I had not spent but fifty cents day for food, and with a household of six. Well, and what have you now in the house in the way of pro- visions?' he inquired, mildly. What had l? 1 investigated my closets, and found-well, an empty flour barrel, an empty sugar barrel, butter firkin with scarcely a pound of butter in it, no rice, no soap, no starch, no potatoes, no coffee, no tea. In fact, I had simply gone on exhausting our supplies until every thing had to be bought at once. My fifty cents per day had simply paid for milk, meat, vegetables, and such things as must be purchased day by day. I shall never forget the glance of inquiry wherewith my patient parent went over my accounts, which read, January, February, March, fifteen dollars per month; April, sixty-tive dollars Our income was a very small one, and for sometime 1 had to endure the impatience of tradesmen who kept asking when 1 would please settle that little bill?"
 ''Another of my mistaken fancies," Aunt Abby proceeded, twas in regard to laundry work. What is so pretty about a house as white curtains, fine toilet tables with muslin drapery, and so on? And the muslin costs so little. Alas, yesi But when the bill of one dol lar for each window comes in from some Celestial. and An Wang, or Gnu Wah, or Lang Flu shakes his long queue and mus habee him moonee,' then one be- gins to realize what luxuries these pure white hangings are.
 Another point where economy is apt to press sorely is in the ntertain- ment of one's friends. One does so long to give them something's little bet ter than the ordinary fare, some one dainty dish to do them honor and to show what an accomplished housekeeper and cook presides over the table! But when that dainty dish must be shared by all at the table, those terrible bills will show it if the luxury is often indulged in"
 'tBut one must entertain ones friends"
 'Indeed one must. But then, if we reflect that it is affection for ourselves, and not the reputation of our cuisine, that brings them, we shall feel less solicitude about producing any culinary triumphs for their delectation."
 "But, Aunt Abby" sighed Mrs. Lor- ton, ''would not life be very dreary with only brown stuff dresses. bare win dows and a diet of reast beef and cot tage puddings?"
 ''No, I think not. Luxuries cease to be pleasures when they bring care and worry as to how they are to be paid for with them. Besides, there can be a great deal of variety in the stuff dresses; all drapery does not require semi-an- nual refreshing in the laundry; beef and cottage pudding are but two of the healthy, nourishing and inexpensive varieties of food our markets provide.
 ''But I must finish my sermon. It is getting too long, and only that my au- dience is too polite to yawn, they would certainly do so. will simply sum up, as old-fashioned ministers used to say at the conclusion of 'eighthly.' If you want to economize, think well whether the thing you propose to do will not, in addition to the original expenditure, bring with it train of expensive con- sequences. Remember that nothing is cheap if it is not durable. Do not fancy that you are economizing if you are l