ver gravy!" Margaret exclaimed at this. "I like your lessons,
auntie!"

After they reached home and their things were put away the account-book
was brought out again, and a lesson given in that. Margaret had to
listen carefully, for it seemed rather difficult at first.

"It is best to know always how much you are going to spend on your table
every week," her aunt began. "At first you may spend too much or too
little, but by looking over your book you can tell in a moment where the
trouble lies, and the next week you can make it right. Some things cost
a great deal, such as turkeys, or strawberries too early in the season,
or certain fancy groceries, and by seeing just where your money has gone
you can remember the next time not to get these. Look at the different
columns in your book. One says Groceries, the next, Vegetables; then
Fruits; Milk and Cream; Butter and Eggs; Meat; Fish; Wages; Incidentals.
You can put down under these exactly what you spend each day, and when
the month is over you can put down in another book what each has
amounted to. Let me show you:

"Suppose when you add up your columns in your day-book you find at the
end of the month you have spent twelve dollars for groceries, fifteen
for meat, four for vegetables, three for fruit, and so on. You simply
open your second book at the right month and put down what the whole
has been; the next month you do the same thing under the new date, and
so on. At the end of the year you do not have to go over all the little
sums spent each day, but by looking in the right book under each month
you can see exactly what all the meat cost and all the vegetables, and
so on. If your October bill for meat was larger than it ought to have
been and more than it was in September or November, you can look back
and see just why, if you care to. Under Incidentals you put all your
car-fares spent in shopping for the house, and such things as
dust-cloths, or new kitchen tins. When the last of December comes you
can see all you spent during the whole year by adding what each month
came to, and know exactly how much it costs you to live, and you can
plan to spend more or less next year, as you think best. That is not
hard to understand, is it?"

"No," said Margaret, "not to understand, but you see I am afraid I will
forget to put things down, and then I will not know after all what I
spent."

"But you must put them down at once," her aunt said. "Either taking a
pencil with