02578cam a22003853u 4500 77089 UtSlPG 20260610134803.0 m cr n 260607r20251865utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PZ Leslie, Madeline, 1815-1893 Stopping the leak Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Brookside series Release date is 2025-10-19 "Stopping the leak" by Madeline Leslie is a moral domestic novel written in the mid-19th century. It traces how waste, dishonesty, and intemperance drain both fortune and character, and how shrewd, warm-hearted Aunt Mercy Lovell helps a naive young couple—Lily and Lawrence Everett—and the struggling Allen family learn economy, duty, and self-control. The opening of the novel shows Aunt Mercy visiting the lavish Everett home and instantly sensing “a leak” in a household where careless spending and scheming servants flourish while Lily knows little of housekeeping. Her quiet reconnoissance exposes waste and theft, she counsels Lawrence, recounts her own youthful heartbreak that left her a guardian to his family, and then, after his ill-judged leniency, departs. The narrative shifts to Mary and Joseph Allen—kin to Lawrence—whose farm is lost to drink until a temperance pledge and Aunt Mercy’s aid set them to work, school, and thrift. When a business crisis looms for Lawrence, Aunt Mercy returns, catches the servants in a theft ring with a grocer, and has them arrested, while Lily begins learning practical economy. The excerpt closes with the reformed Allens modestly prospering—Joseph as head gardener, a cow and chickens secured, and children diligent at school and work, earning the goodwill of their employers. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: Boston: Graves and Young, 1865 Christian life -- Juvenile fiction Household employees -- Juvenile fiction Aunts -- Juvenile fiction Diligence -- Juvenile fiction Theft -- Juvenile fiction Marriage -- Juvenile fiction Home economics -- Juvenile fiction Brookside series https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77089 117811 117811