AND WHEBE TO FIND ONE. 181 



they help to keep them -warm. With my meal I made 

 three dumplings, and these, with the pork and the pepper- 

 pod, I put into the pot with the beans and plenty of water 

 (for the pork was salt), and boiled the whole two hours ; 

 and then we had breakfast, for it was time for the children 

 to go to school. We ate one of the dumplings, and each 

 had a plate of the soup for breakfast, and a very good 

 breakfast it was. 



** I kept the pot boiling as long as my coke lasted, and at 

 dinner we ate half the meat, half the soup, and one of the 

 dumplings. We had the same allowance for supper ; and 

 the children were better satisfied than I have sometimes seen 

 them when our food has cost five times as much. The next 

 day we had another dime it was all I could earn for all I 

 could get to do two pairs of men s drawers each day, at 

 five cents a pair and on that we lived lived well. We 

 had a change, too, for instead of the cornmeal and beans, 

 I got four cents worth of oatmeal and one cent s worth of 

 potatoes small potatoes because I could get more of them. 

 I washed them clean, so as not to waste anything by paring, 

 and cut them up, and boiled them all to pieces with the 

 meat and meal.&quot; 



&quot; Which went the farthest ?&quot; 



&quot;I can t say. We ate it all each day, and didn t feel the 

 want of more, though the children said : Ma, don t you 

 wish we had a piece of bread and butter, to finish off with I* 

 It would have been good, to be sure ; but, bless me ! what 

 would a dime s worth of bread and butter be for my family ? 

 But I had another change the next day.&quot; 



&quot; What, for another dime ?&quot; 



&quot; Yes, that was all we had, day after day. W T e had to 

 live on it. It was very hard, to be sure ; but it has taught 

 me something.&quot; 



&quot;What is that?&quot; 



