Occupations > Frugal housewife

174
PERSONS OF
REASONS FOR HARD TIMES.
Perhaps there never was a time when the
depressing effects of stagnation in business
were so universally felt, all the world over,
as they are now. The merchant sends out
old dollars, and is lucky if he gets the same
number of new ones in return ; and he who
has a share in manufactures has bought a
“ bottle imp,” which he will do well to hawk
about the street for the lowest possible
coin.
The effects of this depression must of
course be felt by all classes of society. Yet
who that passes through Bond-street at one
o’clock, and sees the bright array of wives
and daughters, as various in their decora¬
tions as the insects, the birds, and the shells,
would believe that the community was stag¬
gering under a weight which almost para¬
lyses its movements ? “ Every thing is so
cheap,” say the ladies, “ that it is inexcusa¬
ble not to dress well.” But do they reflect
why things are so cheap ? Do they know
how much wealth has been sacrificed, how
many families ruined, to produce this boasted
result ? Do they not know enough of the
machinery of society, to suppose that the
stunning effect of crash after crash, may
eventually be felt by those on whom they
depend for support ?