“Very well, Molly dear; that programme sounds very easy, but whether it works in practice I don’t know.” “Everything depends on Marta,—if she shows intelligence and cares to learn, things will go as I have planned after the first month; but supposing she actually never proves capable of doing the cooking alone, I shall simply make up my mind to spend the hour between five and six every day in the kitchen. I shan’t like to do it, because it ought not to be necessary, but one has to accept some shortcoming with any servant, and I would sooner this than some others; but to make it worth while to keep her under those circumstances, she must be very good in other things. There! I’m talking instead of attending to business,” said Molly; “here is an account of our expenditure.” Monday—Meat and sundries $2.90 Cream .10 Yeast .02 Tuesday—Oysters .12 Steak .30 Lima Beans .05 Wednesday—Extra milk for soup .04 Thursday—Smelts .10 3 pounds beef .35 Pork .10 Lettuce .05 Friday—Cauliflower .10 Milk for soup .04 Clams .15 Soup bone .15 Saturday—Veal cutlets, 1½ pounds .27 Chicken .50 Bacon .14 Extra butter .25 Milk for week .56 Ice, 100 pounds .40 Fuel .50 ——— $7.19 Molly had added to the supplies she had ordered for the month, which, it will be remembered, amounted to $9.86, the following articles: Macaroni $0.20 Nutmegs .10 Lemons .20 Carrots, turnips, onions .36 Apples .40 Parsley .05 Thyme .05 ——— $1.36 which brought the amount to $11.22; one fourth of which, $2.80, added to $7.19, made the week’s expenditure $9.99.