Having a kimono such as this, our housekeeper can either button himself into it with a button-hook (very good ones are supplied by Messrs. Einstein & Fickelbrot [see ad.] at a very reasonable price or even higher), or better still, he can summon the janitor of the apartment, who can button him up quite securely in a few minutes’ time —­a quarter of an hour at the most.  We Men cannot impress upon ourselves too strongly that, for efficient housekeeping, time is everything, and that much depends on quiet, effective movement from place to place, or from any one place to any number of other places.  We are now ready to consider the all-important question—­

   WHAT TO SELECT FOR BREAKFAST

Our housekeeper will naturally desire something that is simple and easily cooked, yet at the same time sustaining and invigorating and containing a maximum of food value with a minimum of cost.  If he is wise he will realise that the food ought to contain a proper quantity of both proteids and amygdaloids, and, while avoiding a nitrogenous breakfast, should see to it that he obtains sufficient of what is albuminous and exogamous to prevent his breakfast from becoming monotonous.  Careful thought must therefore be given to the breakfast menu.

For the purpose of thinking, a simple but very effective costume may be devised by throwing over the kimono itself a thin lace shawl, with a fichu carried high above the waistline and terminating in a plain insertion.  A bit of old lace thrown over the housekeeper’s head is at once serviceable and becoming and will help to keep the dust out of his brain while thinking what to eat for breakfast.

Very naturally our housekeeper’s first choice will be some kind of cereal.  The simplest and most economical breakfast of this kind can be secured by selecting some cereal or grain food—­such as oats, flax, split peas that have been carefully strained in the colander, or beans that have been fired off in a gun.  Any of these cereals may be bought for ten cents a pound at a grocer’s—­or obtained from Messrs. Einstein & Fickelbrot for a dollar a pound, or more.  Supposing then that we have decided upon a pound of split peas as our breakfast, the next task that devolves upon our housekeeper is to—­

   GO OUT AND BUY IT

Here our advice is simple but positive.  Shopping should never be done over the telephone or by telegraph.  The good housekeeper instead of telegraphing for his food will insist on seeing his food himself, and will eat nothing that he does not first see before eating.  This is a cardinal rule.  For the moment, then, the range must be turned low while our housekeeper sallies forth to devote himself to his breakfast shopping.  The best costume for shopping is a simple but effective suit, cut in plain lines, either square or crosswise, and buttoned wherever there are button-holes.  A simple hat of some dark material may be worn together with plain boots drawn up well over the socks and either laced or left unlaced.  No harm is done if a touch of colour is added by carrying a geranium in the hand.  We are now ready for the street.