o too
much at once.

There are many soups we have given in which cream is recommended; for
instance, artichoke soup, bean soup, cauliflower soup, and celery soup.
After partaking of a well-made basin of one of these soups, followed by one
or two vegetables and a fruit pie or stewed fruit, there are many persons
who would voluntarily remark, "I don't seem to care for any meat." On the
other hand, were the vegetables served in the old-fashioned style, but
without any meat, there are many who would feel that they were undergoing a
species of privation, even if they did not say so--we refer to a dish of
plain-boiled potatoes and dry bread, or even the ordinary cabbage served in
the usual way. Supposing, however, a nice little new cabbage is sent to
table, with plenty of really good white sauce or butter sauce, over which
has been sprinkled a little bright green parsley, whilst some crisp fried
bread surrounds the dish--the cabbage is converted into a meal; and if we
take into account the absence of the meat, we still save enormously. The
advice we would give, especially to young housekeepers, is, "Persuasion is
better than force." If you wish to teach a child to swim, it is far easier
to entice him into shallow water on a hot summer's day than to throw him in
against his will in winter time.

Another point which we consider of great importance is appearances. As far
as possible, we should endeavour to make the dishes look pretty. We are
appealing to a very large class throughout the country who at all cost wish
to keep up appearances. It is an important class, and one on which the
slow but gradual march of civilisation depends. We fear that any attempt
to improve the extreme poor, who live surrounded by dirt and misery, would
be hopeless, unless they still have some lingering feeling of this
self-respect. For the poor woman who snatches a meal off
bread-and-dripping, which she eats without a table-cloth, and then repairs
to the gin-shop to wash it down, nothing can be done. This class