ed at the amount of butter she finds recommended for the sauce.
People must, however, bear in mind that changes are gradual, and that
often, at first starting, a degree of richness, or what they would consider
extravagance, is advisable if they wish to _reconcile others_ to the
change. In our dinner for eight we would first ask them how much meat
would they have allowed a head? At the very lowest computation, it could
not have been decently done under a quarter of a pound each, even if the
dish of meat took the economical form of an Irish stew; and had a joint,
such as a leg of mutton, been placed upon the table, it would probably have
been considerably more than double. Supposing, however, instead of the
meat, we have three vegetables--say haricot beans, potatoes, and a cabbage.
With the assistance of some really good butter sauce, these vegetables,
eaten with bread, make an agreeable meal, which, especially in hot weather,
would probably be a pleasant change. Supposing, for the sake of argument,
you use half a pound of butter in making the butter sauce. This sounds, to
ordinary cooks, very extravagant, even supposing butter to be only one
shilling per pound. Suppose, however, this half a pound of butter is used
as a means of going without a leg of mutton? That is the chief point to be
borne in mind in a variety of recipes to follow. The cream, butter, and
eggs are often recommended in what will appear as wholesale quantities,
but, as a set-off against this, you have no butcher's bill at all. We do
not maintain that this apparently unlimited use of butter, eggs, and
occasionally cream, is necessary; but we believe that there are many
families who will be only able to make the change by substituting "_nice_"
dishes, at any rate at first starting, to make up for the loss of the meat.
It is only by substituting a pleasant kind of food, that many will be
induced even to attempt to change. Gradually the living will become
cheaper and cheaper; but it is unwise to attempt, in a family, to d