The San Francisco call., 1898-12-04

woman to wait on her, even then she was an economy.
 Entertaining Costs Lot.
 Entertaining costs us a lot, and yet don't see how it can be done for less money 1 am not counting the cost of house parties or what we spend when we are out of town, but simply what it costs me in New York the short time we are here. l gave an entertainment the other day for my youngest daugh- ter, who is only 15; she invited only 15O of her friends, and $500 had to be spent on that entertainment alone, and it amounted to very little after all-noth- ing in the least of show about 1t. A simple collation.; cotillon, of course; and the favors ran away with lot of money. But it was only a child's party after all was said and done.
 I have been giving a series of little dinners for the older girls and have really succeeded in getting the ex- each. The dinners don't amount to much, you know, compared to those have to give for my husband occa- sionally. I cannot give one for his friends short of $250. but then I have very good wines, and spend a good deal on flowers. The older men appreciate those things, and, after all, I think it's money well spent.
 Man nerIess Young Men.
 I do grudge the money spent in en- tertaining the young men, who have no manners at all and act as if they were conferring favor upon me by accept ing my invitation, and were it not that I lock upon the money spent upon them simply as an investment there are not half dozen among the lot I should ever have in the house again. But when you do entertain them and give them the sort of food and wine they like, they will have bestowed the pleas ure of their company upon your girls for perhaps two or three dances in the course of an evening and they are very useful at dances.
 We have to keep the horses in town, of course; no woman of any self-re- spect would think of going out in so- ciety if she did not have her own horses This going about in hired cabs is, to my mind, essentially bad form and l would infinitely rather stay at home altogether than to go out in a shabby way Then one needs a second man to be on hand to call the carriage and to hold ones wraps, and you can't have man for this purpose who is not good looking and has some effect about him. Of course that counts.
 Theater Parties Good Investments.
 Theater and opera tickets are never included in the list of expenses that must be met, but nowadays girls must go and see every play that comes out, and. after all nothing tells better than a theater party with supper after ward. l am not counting in the cost of an opera box at all. 1 am fortunate enough to own a box, as you know, and although my husband says that the pleasure of owning it costs a pretty penny, it is one of the expenses I never bother my head about. I am simply thankful I have it.
 Pew rent have to face, but my pew is also a family inheritance. and Eve never allowed more than $500 for my church expenses, and should have a very uncomfortable feeling if I did not give that much to the church: be- sides, it would be very bad form if I didn't.
 At dinner the other night a lot of people were discussing the question of how much it cost to live in New York. All sorts of sums were mentioned but we all arrived at the conclusion that nobody could present any sort of an ap pearance in society on an income of less than $60,000 a year-that is, to go out, keep horses and live as one must in these times, even if one did not in the least intend entering the list with the Astors or Vanderbilts.
 Fearful Cost of Clothes.
 What paralyzes me this winter is the fearful cost of clothes. I used to think could dress the girls and myself on $SO0O year, but no matter how econ-