ECONOMY IN A FAMILY.

There is nothing which goes so far towards placing young people beyond the reach of poverty as economy in the management of household affairs. It matters not whether a man furnishes little or much for his family, if there is a continual leakage in his kitchen or parlour, it runs away, he knows not how, and that demon Waste cries – “More!” like the horse-leech’s daughter, until he that provides has no more to give. It is the husband’s duty to bring into the house, and it is the duty of the wife to see that none goes wrongfully out of it. A man gets a wife to look after his affairs, and to assist him in his journey through life; to educate and prepare their children for a proper station in life, and not to dissipate his property. The husband’s interest should be the wife’s care, and her greatest ambition carry her no further than his welfare or happiness, together with that of her children. This should be her sole aim, and the theatre of her exploits the bosom of her family, where she may do as much towards making a fortune as he can in a counting-room or workshop. It is not the money earned that makes a man wealthy – it is what he saves from his earnings. Self-gratification in dress, or indulgence in appetite, or more company than his purse can well entertain, are equally pernicious. The first adds vanity to extravagance, the second fastens to doctor’s bill to a long butcher’s account, and the letter brings intemperance, the worst of all evils, in its train.