{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_6598/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_6598","id":"gutenberg_6598","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6598","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Health & Medicine","Category: How To ...","Category: Parenthood & Family Relations","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Home economics","Technology"],"text":"Produced by Steve Schulze, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks\nand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.\n\n\n\n\n\nAMERICAN WOMAN'S HOME: OR, PRINCIPLES OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE;\n\n\nBEING A GUIDE TO THE FORMATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ECONOMICAL,\nHEALTHFUL, BEAUTIFUL, AND CHRISTIAN HOMES.\n\nBY CATHERINE E. BEECHER AND HARRIET BEECHER STOWE\n\nTO THE WOMEN OF AMERICA, IN WHOSE HANDS REST THE REAL DESTINIES OF\nTHE REPUBLIC, AS MOULDED BY THE EARLY TRAINING AND PRESERVED AMID\nTHE MATURER INFLUENCES OF HOME, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY\nINSCRIBED.\n\n\n\n\nTABLE OF CONTENTS.\n\n_INTRODUCTION._\n\nThe chief cause of woman's disabilities and sufferings, that women are\nnot trained, as men are, for their peculiar duties--Aim of this volume\nto elevate the honor and remuneration of domestic employment--Woman's\nduties, and her utter lack of training for them--Qualifications of the\nwriters of this volume to teach the matters proposed--Experience and\nstudy of woman's work--Conviction of the dignity and importance of\nit--The great social and moral power in her keeping--The principles\nand teachings of Jesus Christ the true basis of woman's rights and\nduties.\n\nI.\n\n_THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY._\n\nObject of the Family State--Duty of the elder and stronger to raise\nthe younger, weaker, and more ignorant to an equality of\nadvantages--Discipline of the family--The example of Christ one of\nself-sacrifice as man's elder brother--His assumption of a low\nestate--His manual labor--His trade--Woman the chief minister of the\nfamily estate--Man the out-door laborer and provider--Labor and\nself-denial in the mutual relations of home-life, honorable, healthful,\neconomical, enjoyable, and Christian.\n\nII.\n\n_A CHRISTIAN HOUSE._\n\nTrue wisdom in building a home--Necessity of economizing time, labor,\nand expense, by the close packing of conveniences--Plan of a model\ncottage--Proportions--Piazzas--Entry--Stairs and landings--Large\nroom--Movable Screen--Convenient bedsteads--A good mattress--A cheap\nand convenient ottoman--Kitchen and stove-room--The stove-room and\nits arrangements--Second or attic story--Closets, corner\ndressing-tables, windows, balconies, water and earth-closets, shoe-bag,\npiece-bag--Basement, closets, refrigerator, washtubs,\netc.--Laundry--General wood-work--Conservatories-Average estimate of\ncost.\n\nIII.\n\n_A HEALTHFUL HOME._\n\nHousehold murder--Poisoning and starvation the inevitable result of\nbad air in public halls and private homes--Good air as needful as good\nfood--Structure and operations of the lungs and their capillaries and\nair-cells--How people in a confined room will deprive the air of oxygen\nand overload it with refuse carbonic acid-Starvation of the living\nbody deprived of oxygen--The skin and its twenty-eight miles of\nperspiratory tubes--Reciprocal action of plants and animals--Historical\nexamples of foul-air poisoning--Outward effects of habitual breathing\nof bad air--Quotations from scientific authorities.\n\nIV.\n\n_SCIENTIFIC DOMESTIC VENTILATION._\n\nAn open fireplace secures due ventilation--Evils of substituting\nair-tight stoves and furnace heating--Tendency of warm air to rise and\nof cool air to sink--Ventilation of mines--Ignorance of architects--Poor\nventilation in most houses--Mode of ventilating laboratories--Creation\nof a current of warm air in a flue open at top and bottom of the\nroom--Flue to be built into chimney: method of utilizing it.\n\nV. STOVES, FURNACES, AND CHIMNEYS.\n\nThe general properties of heat, conduction, convection, radiation,\nreflection--Cooking done by radiation the simplest but most wasteful\nmode: by convection (as in stoves and furnaces) the cheapest--The\nrange--The model cooking-stove--Interior arrangements and\nprinciples--Contrivances for economizing heat, labor, time, fuel,\ntrouble, and expense--Its durability, simplicity, etc.--Chimneys: why\nthey smoke and how to cure them--Furnaces: the dryness of their\nheat--Necessity of moisture in warm air--How to obtain and regulate it.\n\nVI.\n\n_HOME DECORATION._\n\nSignificance of beauty in making home attractive and useful in\neducation--Exemplification of economical and tasteful furniture--The\ncarpet, lounge, lambrequins, curtains, ottomans, easy-chair,\ncentre-table--Money left for pictures--Chromes--Pretty frames--\nEngravings--Statuettes--Educatory influence of works of art--Natural\nadornments--Materials in the woods and fields--Parlor-gardens--Hanging\nbaskets--Fern-shields--Ivy, its beauty and tractableness--Window, with\nflowers, vines, and pretty plants--Rustic stand for flowers--Ward's\ncase--How to make it economically--Bowls and vases of rustic work for\ngrowing plants--Ferns, how and when to gather them--General remarks.\n\nVII.\n\n_THE CARE OF HEALTH._\n\nImportance of some knowledge of the body and its needs--Fearful\nresponsibility of entering upon domestic duties in ignorance--The\nfundamental vital principle--Cell-life--Wonders of the microscope\n--Cell-multiplication--Constant interplay of decay and growth necessary\nto life--The red and white cells of the blood--Secreting and converting\npower--The nervous system--The brain and the nerves--Structural\narrangement and functions--The ganglionic system--The nervous\nfluid--Necessity of properly apportioned exercise to nerves of sensation\nand of motion--Evils of excessive or insufficient exercise--Equal\ndevelopment of the whole.\n\nVIII.\n\n_DOMESTIC EXERCISE._\n\nConnection of muscles and nerves--Microscopic cellular muscular\nfibre--Its mode of action--Dependence on the nerves of voluntary and\ninvoluntary motion--How exercise of muscles quickens circulation of\nthe blood which maintains all the processes of life--Dependence of\nequilibrium upon proper muscular activity--Importance of securing\nexercise that will interest the mind.\n\nIX.\n\n_HEALTHFUL FOOD._\n\nApportionment of elements in food: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,\ncalcium, iron, silicon, etc.--Large proportion of water in the human\nbody--Dr. Holmes on the interchange of death and life--Constituent\nparts of a kernel of wheat--Comparison of different kinds of\nfood--General directions for diet--Hunger the proper guide and guard\nof appetite--Evils of over-eating--Structure and operations of the\nstomach--Times and quantity for eating--Stimulating and nourishing\nfood--Americans eat too much meat--Wholesome effects of Lenten\nfasting--Matter and manner of eating--Causes of debilitation from\nmisuse of food.\n\nX.\n\n_HEALTHFUL DRINKS._\n\nStimulating drinks not necessary--Their immediate evil effects upon\nthe human body and tendency to grow into habitual desires--The\narguments for and against stimulus--Microscopic revelations of the\neffects of alcohol on the cellular tissue of the brain--Opinions of\nhigh scientific authorities against its use--No need of resorting to\nstimulants either for refreshment, nourishment, or pleasure--Tea and\ncoffee an extensive cause of much nervous debility and suffering--Tend\nto wasteful use in the kitchen--Are seldom agreeable at first to\nchildren--Are dangerous to sensitive, nervous organizations, and should\nbe at least regulated--Hot drinks unwholesome, debilitating, and\ndestructive to teeth, throat, and stomach--Warm drinks agreeable and\nnot unhealthful--Cold drinks not to be too freely used during\nmeals--Drinking while eating always injurious to digestion.\n\nXI.\n\n_CLEANLINESS._\n\nHealth and comfort depend on cleanliness--Scientific treatment of the\nskin, the most complicated organ of the body--Structure and arrangement\nof the skin, its layers, cells, nerves, capillaries, absorbents,\noil-tubes, perspiration-tubes, etc.--The mucous membrane--Phlegm--The\nsecreting organs--The liver, kidney, pancreas, salivary and lachrymal\nglands--Sympathetic connection of all the bodily organs--Intimate\nconnection of the skin with all the other organs--Proper mode of\ntreating the skin--Experiment showing happy effects of good treatment.\n\nXII.\n\n_CLOTHING._\n\nFashion attacks the very foundation of the body, the bones--Bones\ncomposed of animal and mineral elements--General construction and\narrangement--Health of bones dependent on nourishment and exercise\nof body--Spine--Distortions produced by tight dressing--Pressure of\ninterior organs upon each other and upon the bones--Displacement of\nstomach, diaphragm, heart, intestines, and pelvic or lower organs--Women\nliable to peculiar distresses--A well-fitted jacket to replace stiff\ncorsets, supporting the bust above and the under skirts below--Dressing\nof young children--Safe for a healthy child to wear as little clothing\nas will make it thoroughly comfortable--Nature the guide--The very\nyoung and the very old need the most clothing.\n\nXIII.\n\n_GOOD COOKING._\n\nBad cooking prevalent in America-Abundance of excellent material--\nGeneral management of food here very wasteful and extravagant--Five\ngreat departments of Cookery--_Bread_-What it should be, how to\nspoil and how to make it--Different modes of aeration--Baking--Evils\nof hot bread.--_Butter_-Contrast between the butter of America\nand of European countries-How to make good butter.--_Meat_-Generally\nused too newly killed--Lack of nicety in butcher's work--Economy of\nFrench butchery, curving, and trimming--Modes of cooking meats--The\nfrying-pan--True way of using it--The French art of making delicious\nsoups and stews--_Vegetables_--Their number and variety in America--The\npotato--How to cook it, a simple yet difficult operation--Roasted,\nboiled, fried.--_Tea_--Warm table drinks generally--Coffee--Tea--\nChocolate.--_Confectionery_--Ornamental cookery--Pastry, ices, jellies.\n\nXIV.\n\n_EARLY RISING._ A virtue peculiarly American and democratic--In\naristocratic countries, labor considered degrading--The hours of\nsunlight generally devoted to labor by the working classes and to sleep\nby the indolent and wealthy--Sunlight necessary to health and growth\nwhether of vegetables or animals--Particularly needful for the\nsick--Substitution of artificial light and heat, by night, a great\nwaste of money--Eight hours' sleep enough--Excessive sleep\ndebilitating--Early rising necessary to a well-regulated family, to\nthe amount of work to be done, to the community, to schools, and to\nall classes in American society.\n\nXV.\n\n_DOMESTIC MANNERS._\n\nGood manners the expression of benevolence in personal\nintercourse--Serious defects in manners of the Americans-Causes of\nabrupt manners to be found in American life--Want of clear\ndiscrimination between men--Necessity for distinctions of superiority:\nand subordination--Importance that young mothers should seriously\nendeavor to remedy this defect, while educating their\nchildren--Democratic principal of equal rights to be applied, not to\nour own interests but to those of others--The same courtesy to be\nextended to all classes--Necessary distinctions arising from mutual\nrelations to be observed--The strong to defer to the weak--Precedence\nyielded by men to women in America--Good manners must be cultivated\nin early life--Mutual relations of husband and wife--Parents and\nchildren--The rearing of children to courtesy--De Tocqueville on\nAmerican manners.\n\nXVI.\n\n_GOOD TEMPER IN THE HOUSEKEEPER._\n\nEasier for a household under the guidance of an equable temper in the\nmistress---Dissatisfied looks and sharp tones destroy the comfort of\nsystem, neatness, and economy--Considerations to aid the\nhousekeeper--Importance and dignity of her duties--Difficulties to\nbe overcome--Good policy to calculate beforehand upon the derangement\nof well-arranged plans--Object of housekeeping, the comfort and\nwell-being of the family--The end should not be sacrificed to secure\nthe means--Possible to refrain from angry tones--Mild speech most\neffective--Exemplification--Allowances to be made for servants and\nchildren--Power of religion to impart dignity and importance to the\nordinary and petty details of domestic life.\n\nXVII.\n\n_HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER._\n\nRelative importance and difficulty of the duties a woman is called to\nperform--Her duties not trivial--A habit of system and order\nnecessary--Right apportionment of time--General principles--\nChristianity to be the foundation--Intellectual and social interests\nto be preferred to gratification of taste or appetite--Neglect of\nhealth a sin in the sight of God--Regular season of rest appointed by\nthe Creator--Divisions of time--Systematic arrangement of house articles\nand other conveniences--Regular employment for each member of a\nfamily--Children--Family work--Forming habits of system--Early rising\na very great aid--Due apportionment of time to the several duties.\n\nXVIII.\n\n_GIVING IN CHARITY._\n\nNo point of duty more difficult to fix by rule than charity--First\nconsideration--Object for which we are placed in this world--Self-\ndenying Benevolence.--Second consideration--Natural principles not to\nbe exterminated, but regulated and controlled.--Third\nconsideration--Superfluities sometimes proper, and sometimes\nnot--Fourth consideration--No rule of duty right for one and not for\nall--The opposite of this principle tested--Some use of superfluities\nnecessary--Plan for keeping an account of necessities and\nsuperfluities--Untoward results of our actions do not always prove\nthat we deserve blame--General principles to guide in deciding upon\nobjects of charity--Who are our neighbors--The most in need to be\nfirst relieved--Not much need of charity for physical wants in this\ncountry--Associated charities--Indiscriminate charity--Impropriety\nof judging the charities of others.\n\nXIX.\n\n_ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES_\n\nEconomy, value, and right apportionment of time--Laws appointed by God\nfor the Jews--Christianity removes the restrictions laid on the Jews,\nbut demands all our time to be devoted to our own best interests and\nthe good of our fellow-men--Enjoyment connected with every duty--Various\nmodes of economizing time--System and order--Uniting several objects\nin one employment--Odd intervals of time--Aiding others in economizing\ntime--Economy in expenses--Contradictory notions--General principles\nin which all agree--Knowledge of income and expenses--Evils of want\nof system and forethought--Young ladies should early learn to be\nsystematic and economical.\n\nXX.\n\n_HEALTH OF MIND._\n\nIntimate connection between the body and mind--Brain excited by improper\nstimulants taken into the stomach--Mental faculties then\naffected--Causes of mental disease--Want of oxygenized blood--Fresh\nair absolutely necessary--Excessive exercise of the intellect or\nfeelings--Such attention to religion as prevents the performance of\nother duties, wrong--Unusual precocity in children usually the result\nof a diseased brain--Idiocy often the result, or the precocious child\nsinks below the average of mankind--This evil yet prevalent in colleges\nand other seminaries--A medical man necessary in every seminary--Some\npupils always needing restraint in regard to study--A third cause of\nmental disease, the want of appropriate exercise of the various\nfaculties of the mind--Extract from Dr. Combe--Beneficial results of\nactive intellectual employments--Indications of a diseased mind.\n\nXXI.\n\n_THE CARE OF INFANTS._\n\nHerbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring--Absurdity of undertaking\nto rear children without any knowledge of how to do it--Foolish\nmanagement of parents generally the cause of evils ascribed to\nProvidence--Errors of management during the first two years--Food of\nchild and of mother--Warning as to use of too much medicine--Fresh air--\nCare of the skin--Dress--Sleep--Bathing--Change of air--Habits--Dangers\nof the teething period--Constipation--Diarrhea--Teething--How to relieve\nits dangers--Feverishness--Use of water.\n\nXXII.\n\n_THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN._\n\nPhysical education of children--Animal diet to be avoided for the very\nyoung--Result of treatment at Albany Orphan Asylum--Good ventilation of\nnurseries and schools--Moral training to consist in forming _habits_ of\nsubmission, self-denial, and benevolence-General suggestions--Extremes\nof sternness and laxity to be avoided--Appreciation of childish desires\nand feelings--Sympathy--Partaking in games and employments--Inculcation\nof principles preferable to multiplication of commands--Rewards rather\nthan penalties--Severe tones of voice--Children to be kept\nhappy--Sensitive children--Self-denial--Deceit and honesty--Immodesty\nand delicacy--Dreadful penalties consequent upon youthful\nimpurities--Religious training.\n\nXXIII.\n\n_DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES._\n\nChildren need more amusement than older persons--Its object, to afford\nrest and recreation to the mind and body--Example of Christ--No\namusements to be introduced that will tempt the weak or over-excite\nthe young--Puritan customs--Work followed by play--Dramatic exercises,\ndancing, and festivity wholesomely enjoyed--The nine o'clock bell--The\ndrama and the dance--Card-playing--Novel-reading--Taste for solid\nreading--Cultivation of fruits and flowers--Music--Collecting of shells,\nplants, and minerals--Games--Exercise of mechanical skill for\nboys--Sewing, cutting, and fitting--General suggestions--Social and\ndomestic duties--Family attachments--Hospitality.\n\nXXIV.\n\n_CARE OF THE AGED._\n\nPreservation of the aged, designed to give opportunity for self-denial\nand loving care--Patience, sympathy, and labor for them to be regarded\nas privileges in a family--The young should respect and minister unto\nthe aged--Treating them as valued members of the family--Engaging them\nin domestic Games and sports--Reading aloud-Courteous attention to\ntheir opinions--Assistance in retarding decay of faculties by helping\nthem to exercise--Keeping up interest of the infirm in domestic\naffairs--Great care to preserve animal heat--Ingratitude to the aged,\nits baseness--Chinese regard for old age.\n\nXXV.\n\n_THE CARE OF SERVANTS._\n\nOrigin of the Yankee term \"help\"--Days of good health and intelligent\nhouse-keeping--Growth of wealth tends to multiply hired service--\nAmerican young women should be trained in housekeeping for the guidance\nof ignorant and shiftless servants--Difficulty of teaching\nservants--Reaction of society in favor of women's intellectuality, in\ndanger of causing a new reaction--American girls should do more\nwork--Social estimate of domestic service--Dearth of intelligent\ndomestic help--Proper mode of treating servants--General rules and\nspecial suggestions--Hints from experience--Woman's first \"right,\"\nliberty to do what she can--Domestic duties not to be neglected for\noperations in other spheres--Servants to be treated with respect--Errors\nof heartless and of too indulgent employers--Mistresses of American\nfamilies necessarily missionaries and instructors.\n\nXXVI.\n\n_CARE Of THE SICK._\n\nProminence given to care and cure of the sick by our Saviour--Every\nwoman should know what to do in the case of illness--Simple remedies\nbest--Fasting and perspiration--Evils of constipation--Modes of\nrelieving it--Remedies for colds--Unwise to tempt the appetite of the\nsick--Suggestion for the sick-room--Ventilation--Needful articles--The\nroom, bed, and person of the patient to be kept neat--Care to preserve\nanimal warmth--The sick, the delicate, the aged--Food always to be\ncarefully prepared and neatly served--Little modes of refreshment--\nImplicit obedience to the physician--Care in purchasing medicines--\nExhibition of cheerfulness, gentleness, and sympathy--Knowledge and\nexperience of mind--Lack of competent nurses--Failings of nurses--\nSensitiveness of the sick--\"Sisters of Charity,\" the reason why they are\nsuch excellent nurses--Illness in the family a providential opportunity\nof training children to love and usefulness.\n\nXXVII.\n\n_ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES._\n\nMode of treating cuts, wounds, severed arteries--Bad bruises to be\nbathed In hot water--Sprains treated with hot fomentation and\nrest--Burns cured by creosote, wood-soot, or flour--Drowning; most\napproved mode of treatment--Poisons and their antidotes--Soda,\nsaleratus, potash, sulphuric or oxalic acid, lime or baryta, iodine\nor iodide of potassium, prussic acid, antimony, arsenic, lead, nitrate\nof silver, phosphorus, alcohol, tobacco, opium, strychnia--Bleeding\nat the lungs, stomach, throat, nose--Accidents from lightning--\nStupefaction, from coal-gas or foul air--Fire--Fainting--Coolness and\npresence of mind.\n\nXXVIII.\n\n_SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING._\n\nDifferent kinds of Stitch--Overstitch--Hems--Tucks--Fells--Gores--\nButtonholes--Whipping--Gathering--Darning--Basting--Sewing--Work-\nbaskets--To make a frock--Patterns--Fitting--Lining--Thin Silks--\nFitted and plain silks--Plaids--Stripes--Linen and Cotton--How to\nbuy--Shirts--Chemises--Night-gowns--Under-skirts--Mending--Silk\ndresses--Broadcloth--Hose--Shoes, etc.--Bedding--Mattresses--\nSheeting--Bed-linen.\n\nXXIX.\n\n_FIRES AND LIGHTS._\n\nWood fires--Shallow fireplaces--Utensils--The best wood for fires\n--How to measure a load--Splitting and piling--Ashes--Cleaning up--\nStoves and grates--Ventilation--Moisture--Stove-pipe thimbles--\nAnthracite coal--Bituminous coal--Care to be used in erecting stoves\nand pipes--Lights--Poor economy to use bad light--Gas--Oil--Kerosene--\nPoints to be considered: Steadiness, Color, Heat--Argand burners--\nDangers of kerosene--Tests of its safety and light-giving qualities--\nCare of lamps--Utensils needed--Shades--Night-lamps--How to make\ncandles--Moulded--Dipped--Rush-lights.\n\nXXX.\n\n_THE CARE OF ROOMS._\n\nParlors--Cleansing--Furniture--Pictures--Hearths and jambs--Stains in\nmarble--Carpets--Chambers and bedrooms--Ventilation--How to make a bed\nproperly--Servants should have single beds and comfortable\nrooms--Kitchens--Light--Air--Cleanliness--How to make a cheap\noil-cloth--The sink--Washing dishes--Kitchen furniture--Crockery--\nIronware--Tinware--Basketware--Other articles--Closets--Cellars--Dryness\nand cleanliness imperative necessities--Store-rooms--Modes of destroying\ninsects and vermin.\n\nXXXI.\n\n_THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS._\n\nPreparation of soil for pot-plants--For hot-beds--For planting flower\nseeds--For garden seeds--Transplanting--To re-pot house plants--The\nlaying out of yards and gardens--Transplanting trees--The care of\nhouse plants.\n\nXXXII.\n\n_THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS._\n\nPropagation of bulbous roots--Propagation of plants by shoots--By\nlayers-Budding and grafting--The outer and inner bark--Detailed\ndescription of operations--Seed-fruit--Stone-fruit--Rose hushes--\nIngrafting--Stock grafting--Pruning--Perpendicular shoots to be taken\nout, horizontal or curved shoots retained--All fruit-buds coming out\nafter midsummer to be rubbed off--Suckers--Pruning to be done after\nsap is in circulation.--Thinning--Leaves to be removed when they shade\nfruit near maturity--Fruit to be removed when too abundant for good\nquality--How to judge.\n\nXXXIII.\n\n_THE CULTIVATION OF FRUIT._\n\nA pleasant, easy, and profitable occupation--Soil for a nursery--\nPlanting of seeds--Transplanting--Pruning--Filberts--Figs--Currants--\nGooseberries--Raspberries--Strawberries--Grapes--Modes of preserving\nfruit trees--The yellows--Moths--Caterpillars--Brulure-Curculio--Canker-\nworm.\n\nXXXIV.\n\n_THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS._\n\nInteresting association of animals with man, from childhood to\nage--Domestic animals apt to catch the spirit of their masters--\nImportant necessities--Good feeding--Shelter--Cleanliness--Destruction\nof parasitic vermin--Salt and water--Light--Exercise--Rule for\nbreeding--Care of Horses: feeding, grooming, special treatment--Cows:\nstabling, feed, calving, milking, tethering--Swine: naturally cleanly,\nbreeding, fresh water, charcoal, feeding--Sheep: winter treatment--Diet\n--Sorting--Use of sheep in clearing land-Pasture--Hedges and\nfences--Poultry--Turkeys--Geese--Ducks--Fowls--Dairy work\ngenerally--Bees--Care of domestic animals, occupation for women.\n\nXXXV.\n\n_EARTH-CLOSETS._\n\nDeodorization and preservation of excrementitious matter--The\nearth-closet--Waring's pamphlet--The agricultural argument--Necessity\nof returning to the soil the elements taken from it--Earth-closet\nbased on power of clay and inorganic matter to absorb and retain odors\nand fertilizing matter--Its construction--Mode of use--The ordinary\nprivy--The commode or portable house-privy--Especial directions:\nthings to be observed--Repeated use of earth--Other\nadvantages--Sick-rooms--House-labor--Cleanliness--Economy.\n\nXXXVI.\n\n_WARMING AND VENTILATION._\n\nOpen fireplace nearest to natural mode by which earth is warmed and\nventilated--Origin of diseases--Necessity of pure air to life\n--Statistics--General principles of ventilation--Mode of Lewis\nLeeds--Ventilation of buildings planned in this work--The pure-air\nconductor--The foul-air exhausting-flue--Stoves--Detailed\narrangements--Warming--Economy of time, labor, and expense in the\ncottage plan--After all schemes, the open fireplace the best.\n\nXXXVII.\n\n_CARE OF THE HOMELESS, THE HELPLESS, AND THE VICIOUS._\n\nRecommendations of the Massachusetts Board of State Charities--Pauper\nand criminal classes should be scattered in Christian homes instead\nof gathered into large institutions--Facts recently published concerning\nthe poor of New-York--Sufferings of the poor, deterioration of the\nrich--Christian principles of benevolence--Plan for a Christian city\nhouse--Suggestions to wealthy and unoccupied women--Roman Catholic\nworks--Protestant duties--The highest mission of woman.\nXXXVIII.\n\n_THE CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORHOOD._\n\nSpirit of Christian Missions--Present organizations under church\ndirection too mechanical--Christian family influence the true instrument\nof Gospel propagation--Practical suggestions for gathering a Christian\nfamily in neglected neighborhoods--Plan of church, school-house, and\nfamily-dwelling in one building--Mode of use for various\npurposes--Nucleus and gathering of a family--Christian work for\nChristian women--Children--Orphans--Servants--Neglected ones--Household\ntraining--Roman Catholic Nuns--The South--The West--The neglected\ninterior of older States--Power of such examples--Rapid spread of their\ninfluence--Anticipation of the glorious consummation to be hoped\nfor--Prophecy in the Scriptures--Cowper's noble vision of the millennial\nglory.\n\nAPPEAL TO AMERICAN WOMEN.\n\nGLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REFERENCES\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nThe authors of this volume, while they sympathize with every honest\neffort to relieve the disabilities and sufferings of their sex, are\nconfident that the chief cause of these evils is the fact that the\nhonor and duties of the family state are not duly appreciated, that\nwomen are not trained for these duties as men are trained for their\ntrades and professions, and that, as the consequence, family labor is\npoorly done, poorly paid, and regarded as menial and disgraceful.\n\nTo be the nurse of young children, a cook, or a housemaid, is regarded\nas the lowest and last resort of poverty, and one which no woman of\nculture and position can assume without loss of caste and\nrespectability.\n\nIt is the aim of this volume to elevate both the honor and the\nremuneration of all the employments that sustain the many difficult\nand sacred duties of the family state, and thus to render each\ndepartment of woman's true profession as much desired and respected\nas are the most honored professions of men.\n\nWhen the other sex are to be instructed in law, medicine, or divinity,\nthey are favored with numerous institutions richly endowed, with\nteachers of the highest talents and acquirements, with extensive\nlibraries, and abundant and costly apparatus. With such advantages\nthey devote nearly ten of the best years of life to preparing themselves\nfor their profession; and to secure the public from unqualified members\nof these professions, none can enter them until examined by a competent\nbody, who certify to their due preparation for their duties.\n\nWoman's profession embraces the care and nursing of the body in the\ncritical periods of infancy and sickness, the training of the human\nmind in the most impressible period of childhood, the instruction and\ncontrol of servants, and most of the government and economies of the\nfamily state. These duties of woman are as sacred and important as any\nordained to man; and yet no such advantages for preparation have been\naccorded to her, nor is there any qualified body to certify the public\nthat a woman is duly prepared to give proper instruction in her\nprofession.\n\nThis unfortunate want, and also the questions frequently asked\nconcerning the domestic qualifications of both the authors of this\nwork, who have formerly written upon such topics, make it needful to\ngive some account of the advantages they have enjoyed in preparation\nfor the important office assumed as teachers of woman's domestic duties.\n\nThe sister whose name is subscribed is the eldest of nine children by\nher own mother, and of four by her step-mother; and having a natural\nlove for children, she found it a pleasure as well as a duty to aid\nin the care of infancy and childhood. At sixteen, she was deprived of\na mother, who was remarkable not only for intelligence and culture,\nbut for a natural taste and skill in domestic handicraft. Her place\nwas awhile filled by an aunt remarkable for her habits of neatness and\norder, and especially for her economy. She was, in the course of time,\nreplaced by a stepmother, who had been accustomed to a superior style\nof housekeeping, and was an expert in all departments of domestic\nadministration.\n\nUnder these successive housekeepers, the writer learned not only to\nperform in the most approved manner all the manual employments of\ndomestic life, but to honor and enjoy these duties.\n\nAt twenty-three, she commenced the institution which ever since has\nflourished as \"The Hartford Female Seminary,\" where, at the age of\ntwelve, the sister now united with her in the authorship of this work\nbecame her pupil, and, after a few years, her associate. The removal\nof the family to the West, and failure of health, ended a connection\nwith the Hartford Seminary, and originated a similar one in Cincinnati,\nof which the younger authoress of this work was associate principal\ntill her marriage.\n\nAt this time, the work on _Domestic Economy_, of which this volume\nmay be called an enlarged edition, although a great portion of it is\nentirely new, embodying the latest results of science, was prepared\nby the writer as a part of the _Massachusetts School Library_,\nand has since been extensively introduced as a text-book into public\nschools and higher female seminaries. It was followed by its sequel,\n_The Domestic Receipt-Book_, widely circulated by the Harpers in\nevery State of the Union.\n\nThese two works have been entirely remodeled, former topics rewritten,\nand many new ones introduced, so as to include all that is properly\nembraced in a complete Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy.\n\nIn addition to the opportunities mentioned, the elder sister, for many\nyears, has been studying the causes and the remedies for the decay of\nconstitution and loss of health so increasingly prevalent among American\nwomen, aiming to promote the establishment of _endowed_ institutions, in\nwhich women shall be properly trained for their profession, as both\nhousekeepers and health-keepers. What advantages have thus been received\nand the results thus obtained will appear in succeeding pages.\n\nDuring the upward progress of the age, and the advance of a more\nenlightened Christianity, the writers of this volume have gained more\nelevated views of the true mission of woman--of the dignity and\nimportance of her distinctive duties, and of the true happiness which\nwill be the reward of a right appreciation of this mission, and a\nproper performance of these duties.\n\nThere is at the present time an increasing agitation of the public\nmind, evolving many theories and some crude speculations as to woman's\nrights and duties. That there is a great social and moral power in her\nkeeping, which is now seeking expression by organization, is manifest,\nand that resulting plans and efforts will involve some mistakes, some\ncollisions, and some failures, all must expect.\n\nBut to intelligent, reflecting, and benevolent women--whose faith rests\non the character and teachings of Jesus Christ--there are great\nprinciples revealed by Him, which in the end will secure the grand\nresult which He taught and suffered to achieve. It is hoped that in\nthe following pages these principles will be so exhibited and\nillustrated as to aid in securing those rights and advantages which\nChrist's religion aims to provide for all, and especially for the most\nweak and defenseless of His children.\n\nCATHARINE E. BEECHER.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE CHRISTIAN FAMILY.\n\n\nIt is the aim of this volume to elevate both the honor and the\nremuneration of all employments that sustain the many difficult and\nvaried duties of the family state, and thus to render each department\nof woman's profession as much desired and respected as are the most\nhonored professions of men.\n\nWhat, then, is the end designed by the family state which Jesus Christ\ncame into this world to secure?\n\nIt is to provide for the training of our race to the highest possible\nintelligence, virtue, and happiness, by means of the self-sacrificing\nlabors of the wise and good, and this with chief reference to a future\nimmortal existence. The distinctive feature of the family is\nself-sacrificing labor of the stronger and wiser members to raise the\nweaker and more ignorant to equal advantages. The father undergoes\ntoil and self-denial to provide a home, and then the mother becomes\na self-sacrificing laborer to train its inmates. The useless,\ntroublesome infant is served in the humblest offices; while both parents\nunite in training it to an equality with themselves in every advantage.\nSoon the older children become helpers to raise the younger to a level\nwith their own. When any are sick, those who are well become\nself-sacrificing ministers. When the parents are old and useless, the\nchildren become their self-sacrificing servants.\n\nThus the discipline of the family state is one of daily self-devotion\nof the stronger and wiser to elevate and support the weaker members.\nNothing could be more contrary to its first principles than for the\nolder and more capable children to combine to secure to themselves the\nhighest advantages, enforcing the drudgeries on the younger, at the\nsacrifice of their equal culture.\n\nJesus Christ came to teach the fatherhood of God and consequent\nbrotherhood of man. He came as the \"first-born Son\" of God and the\nElder Brother of man, to teach by example the self-sacrifice by which\nthe great family of man is to be raised to equality of advantages as\nchildren of God. For this end, he \"humbled himself\" from the highest\nto the lowest place. He chose for his birthplace the most despised\nvillage; for his parents the lowest in rank; for his trade, to labor\nwith his hands as a carpenter, being \"subject to his parents\" thirty\nyears. And, what is very significant, his trade was that which prepares\nthe family home, as if he would teach that the great duty of man is\nlabor--to provide for and train weak and ignorant creatures. Jesus\nChrist worked with his hands nearly thirty years, and preached less\nthan three. And he taught that his kingdom is exactly opposite to that\nof the world, where all are striving for the highest positions. \"Whoso\nwill be great shall be your minister, and whoso will be chiefest shall\nbe servant of all.\"\n\nThe family state then, is the aptest earthly illustration of the\nheavenly kingdom, and in it woman is its chief minister. Her great\nmission is self-denial, in training its members to self-sacrificing\nlabors for the ignorant and weak: if not her own children, then the\nneglected children of her Father in heaven. She is to rear all under\nher care to lay up treasures, not on earth, but in heaven. All the\npleasures of this life end here; but those who train immortal minds\nare to reap the fruit of their labor through eternal ages.\n\nTo man is appointed the out-door labor--to till the earth, dig the\nmines, toil in the foundries, traverse the ocean, transport merchandise,\nlabor in manufactories, construct houses, conduct civil, municipal,\nand state affairs, and all the heavy work, which, most of the day,\nexcludes him from the comforts of a home. But the great stimulus to\nall these toils, implanted in the heart of every true man, is the\ndesire for a home of his own, and the hopes of paternity. Every man\nwho truly lives for immortality responds to the beatitude, \"Children\nare a heritage from the Lord: blessed is the man that hath his quiver\nfull of them!\" The more a father and mother live under the influence\nof that \"immortality which Christ hath brought to light,\" the more is\nthe blessedness of rearing a family understood and appreciated. Every\nchild trained aright is to dwell forever in exalted bliss with those\nthat gave it life and trained it for heaven.\n\nThe blessed privileges of the family state are not confined to those\nwho rear children of their own. Any woman who can earn a livelihood,\nas every woman should be trained to do, can take a properly qualified\nfemale associate, and institute a family of her own, receiving to its\nheavenly influences the orphan, the sick, the homeless, and the sinful,\nand by motherly devotion train them to follow the self-denying example\nof Christ, in educating his earthly children for true happiness in\nthis life and for his eternal home.\n\nAnd such is the blessedness of aiding to sustain a truly Christian\nhome, that no one comes so near the pattern of the All-perfect One as\nthose who might hold what men call a higher place, and yet humble\nthemselves to the lowest in order to aid in training the young, \"not\nas men-pleasers, but as servants to Christ, with good-will doing service\nas to the Lord, and not to men.\" Such are preparing for high places\nin the kingdom of heaven. \"Whosoever will be chiefest among you, let\nhim be your servant.\"\n\nIt is often the case that the true humility of Christ is not understood.\nIt was not in having a low opinion of his own character and claims,\nbut it was in taking a low place in order to raise others to a higher.\nThe worldling seeks to raise himself and family to an equality with\nothers, or, if possible, a superiority to them. The true follower of\nChrist comes down in order to elevate others.\n\nThe maxims and institutions of this world have ever been antagonistic\nto the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Men toil for wealth,\nhonor, and power, not as means for raising others to an equality with\nthemselves, but mainly for earthly, selfish advantages. Although the\nexperience of this life shows that children brought up to labor have\nthe fairest chance for a virtuous and prosperous life, and for hope\nof future eternal blessedness, yet it is the aim of most parents who\ncan do so, to lay up wealth that their children need not labor with\nthe hands as Christ did. And although exhorted by our Lord not to lay\nup treasure on earth, but rather the imperishable riches which are\ngained in toiling to train the ignorant and reform the sinful, as yet\na large portion of the professed followers of Christ, like his first\ndisciples, are \"slow of heart to believe.\"\n\nNot less have the sacred ministries of the family state been undervalued\nand warred upon in other directions; for example, the Romish Church\nhas made celibacy a prime virtue, and given its highest honors to those\nwho forsake the family state as ordained by God. Thus came great\ncommunities of monks and nuns, shut out from the love and labors of\na Christian home; thus, also, came the monkish systems of education,\ncollecting the young in great establishments away from the watch and\ncare of parents, and the healthful and self-sacrificing labors of a\nhome. Thus both religion and education have conspired to degrade the\nfamily state.\n\nStill more have civil laws and social customs been opposed to the\nprinciples of Jesus Christ. It has ever been assumed that the learned,\nthe rich, and the powerful are not to labor with the hands, as Christ\ndid, and as Paul did when he would \"not eat any man's bread for naught,\nbut wrought with labor, not because we have not power \"[to live\nwithout hand-work,]\" but to make ourselves an example.\"(2 Thess. 3.)\n\nInstead of this, manual labor has been made dishonorable and unrefined\nby being forced on the ignorant and poor. Especially has the most\nimportant of all hand-labor, that which sustains the family, been thus\ndisgraced; so that to nurse young children, and provide the food of\na family by labor, is deemed the lowest of all positions in honor and\nprofit, and the last resort of poverty. And so our Lord, who himself\ntook the form of a servant, teaches, \"How hardly shall they that have\nriches enter the kingdom of heaven!\"--that kingdom in which all are\ntoiling to raise the weak, ignorant, and sinful to such equality with\nthemselves as the children of a loving family enjoy. One mode in\nwhich riches have led to antagonism with the true end of the family state\nis in the style of living, by which the hand-labor, most important to\nhealth, comfort, and beauty, is confined to the most ignorant and\nneglected members of society, without any effort being made to raise\nthem to equal advantages with the wise and cultivated.\n\nAnd, the higher civilization has advanced, the more have children been\ntrained to feel that to labor, as did Christ and Paul, is disgraceful,\nand to be made the portion of a degraded class. Children, of the rich\ngrow up with the feeling that servants are to work for them, and they\nthemselves are not to work. To the minds of most children and servants,\n\"to be a lady,\" is almost synonymous with \"to be waited on, and do no\nwork,\" It is the earnest desire of the authors of this volume to make\nplain the falsity of this growing popular feeling, and to show how\nmuch happier and more efficient family life will become when it is\nstrengthened, sustained, and adorned by family work.\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\nA CHRISTIAN HOUSE.\n\n\nIn the Divine Word it is written, \"The wise woman buildeth her house.\"\nTo be \"wise,\" is \"to choose the best means for accomplishing the best\nend.\" It has been shown that the best end for a woman to seek is the\ntraining of God's children for their eternal home, by guiding them to\nintelligence, virtue, and true happiness. When, therefore, the wise\nwoman seeks a home in which to exercise this ministry, she will aim\nto secure a house so planned that it will provide in the best manner\nfor health, industry, and economy, those cardinal requisites of domestic\nenjoyment and success. To aid in this, is the object of the following\ndrawings and descriptions, which will illustrate a style of living\nmore conformed to the great design for which the family is instituted\nthan that which ordinarily prevails among those classes which take the\nlead in forming the customs of society. The aim will be to exhibit\nmodes of economizing labor, time, and expenses, so as to secure health,\nthrift, and domestic happiness to persons of limited means, in a measure\nrarely attained even by those who possess wealth.\n\nAt the head of this chapter is a sketch of what may be properly called\na Christian house; that is, a house contrived for the express purpose\nof enabling every member of a family to labor with the hands for the\ncommon good, and by modes at once healthful, economical, and tasteful.\nOf course, much of the instruction conveyed in the following pages is\nchiefly applicable to the wants and habits of those living either in\nthe country or in such suburban vicinities as give space of ground for\nhealthful outdoor occupation in the family service, although the general\nprinciples of house-building and house-keeping are of necessity\nuniversal in their application--as true in the busy confines of the\ncity as in the freer and purer quietude of the country. So far as\ncircumstances can be made to yield the opportunity, it will be assumed\nthat the family state demands some outdoor labor for all. The\ncultivation of flowers to ornament the table and house, of fruits and\nvegetables for food, of silk and cotton for clothing, and the care of\nhorse, cow, and dairy, can be so divided that each and all of the\nfamily, some part of the day, can take exercise in the pure air, under\nthe magnetic and healthful rays of the sun. Every head of a family\nshould seek a soil and climate which will afford such opportunities.\nRailroads, enabling men toiling in cities to rear families in the\ncountry, are on this account a special blessing. So, also, is the\nopening of the South to free labor, where, in the pure and mild climate\nof the uplands, open-air labor can proceed most of the year, and women\nand children labor out of doors as well as within.\n\nIn the following drawings are presented modes of economizing time,\nlabor, and expense by the close packing of conveniences. By such\nmethods, small and economical houses can be made to secure most of the\ncomforts and many of the refinements of large and expensive ones. The\ncottage at the head of this chapter is projected on a plan which can\nbe adapted to a warm or cold climate with little change. By adding\nanother story, it would serve a large family.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 1.]\n\nFig. 1 shows the ground-plan of the first floor. On the inside it is\nforty-three feet long and twenty-five wide, excluding conservatories\nand front and back projections. Its inside height from floor to ceiling\nis ten feet. The piazzas each side of the front projection have\nsliding-windows to the floor, and can, by glazed sashes, be made\ngreen-houses in winter. In a warm climate, piazzas can be made at the\nback side also.\n\nIn the description and arrangement, the leading aim is to show how\ntime, labor, and expense are saved, not only in the building but in\nfurniture and its arrangement. With this aim, the ground-floor and its\nfurniture will first be shown, then the second story and its furniture,\nand then the basement and its conveniences. The conservatories are\nappendages not necessary to housekeeping, but useful in many ways\npointed out more at large in other chapters.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 2]\n\nThe entry has arched recesses behind the front doors, (Fig. 2,)\nfurnished with hooks for over-clothes in both--a box for over-shoes\nin one, and a stand for umbrellas in the other. The roof of the recess\nis for statuettes, busts, or flowers. The stairs turn twice with broad\nsteps, making a recess at the lower landing, whore a table is set with\na vase of flowers, (Fig. 3.) On one side of the recess is a closet,\narched to correspond with the arch over the stairs. A bracket over the\nfirst broad stair, with flowers or statuettes, is visible from the\nentrance, and pictures can be hung as in the illustration.\n\nThe large room on the left can be made to serve the purpose of several\nrooms by means of a _movable screen_. By shifting this rolling screen\nfrom one part of the room to another, two apartments are always\navailable, of any desired size within the limits of the large room.\nOne side of the screen fronts what may be used as the parlor or\nsitting-room; the other side is arranged for bedroom conveniences. Of\nthis, Fig. 4 shows the front side;--covered first with strong canvas,\nstretched and nailed on. Over this is pasted panel-paper, and the\nupper part is made to resemble an ornamental cornice by fresco-paper.\nPictures can be hung in the panels, or be pasted on and varnished with\nwhite varnish. To prevent the absorption of the varnish, a wash of gum\nisinglass (fish-glue) must be applied twice.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 4. CLOSET, RECESS, STAIR LANDING.]\n\n[Illustration: Fig 5.]\n\nFig. 5 shows the back or inside of the movable screen toward the part\nof the room used as the bedroom. On one side, and at the top and bottom,\nit has shelves with _shelf-boxes_, which are cheaper and better than\ndrawers, and much preferred by those using them. Handles are cut in the\nfront and back side, as seen in Fig. 6. Half an inch space must be\nbetween the box and the shelf over it, and as much each side, so that it\ncan be taken out and put in easily. The central part of the screen's\ninterior is a wardrobe.\n\n[Image: Panel screens]\n\nThis screen must be so high as nearly to reach the ceiling, in order\nto prevent it from overturning. It is to fill the width of the room,\nexcept two feet on each side. A projecting cleat or strip, reaching\nnearly to the top of the screen, three inches wide, is to be screwed\nto the front sides, on which light frame doors are to be hung, covered\nwith canvas and panel-paper like the front of the screen. The inside\nof these doors is furnished with hooks for clothing, for which the\nprojection makes room. The whole screen is to be eighteen inches deep\nat the top and two feet deep at the base, giving a solid foundation.\nIt is moved on four wooden rollers, one foot long and four inches in\ndiameter. The pivots of the rollers and the parts where there is\nfriction must be rubbed with hard soap, and then a child can move the\nwhole easily.\n\nA curtain is to be hung across the whole interior of the screen by\nrings, on a strong wire. The curtain should be in three parts, with\nlead or large nails in the hems to keep it in place. The wood-work\nmust be put together with screws, as the screen is too large to pass\nthrough a, door.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 6.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 7.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 8.]\n\nAt the end of the room, behind the screen, are two couches, to be run\none under the other, as in Fig. 7. The upper one is made with four\nposts, each three feet high and three inches square, set on casters\ntwo inches high. The frame is to be fourteen inches from the floor,\nseven feet long, two feet four inches wide, and three inches in\nthickness. At the head, and at the foot, is to be screwed a notched\ntwo-inch board, three inches wide, as in Fig. 8. The mortises are to\nbe one inch wide and deep, and one inch apart, to revive slats made\nof ash, oak, or spruce, one inch square, placed lengthwise of the\ncouch. The slats being small, and so near together, and running\nlengthwise, make a better spring frame than wire coils. If they warp,\nthey can be turned. They must not be fastened at the ends, except by\ninsertion in the notches. Across the posts, and of equal height with\nthem, are to be screwed head and foot-boards.\n\nThe under couch is like the upper, except these dimensions: posts,\nnine inches high, including castors; frame, six feet two inches long,\ntwo feet four inches wide. The frame should be as near the floor as\npossible, resting on the casters.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 9.]\n\nThe most healthful and comfortable mattress is made by a case, open\nin the centre and fastened together with buttons, as in Fig. 9; to be\nfilled with oat straw, which is softer than wheat or rye. This can be\nadjusted to the figure, and often renewed.\n\nFig. 10 represents the upper couch when covered, with the under couch\nput beneath it. The coverlid should match the curtain of the screen;\nand the pillows, by day, should have a case of the same.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 10.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 11.]\n\nFig. 11 is an ottoman, made as a box, with a lid on hinges. A cushion\nis fastened to this lid by strings at each corner, passing through\nholes in the box lid and tied inside. The cushion to be cut square,\nwith side pieces; stuffed with hair, and stitched through like a\nmattress. Side handles are made by cords fastened inside with knots.\nThe box must be two inches larger at the bottom than at the top, and\nthe lid and cushion the same size as the bottom, to give it a tasteful\nshape. This ottoman is set on casters, and is a great convenience for\nholding articles, while serving also as a seat.\n\nThe expense of the screen, where lumber averages $4 a hundred, and\ncarpenter labor $3 a day, would be about $30, and the two couches about\n$6. The material for covering might be cheap and yet pretty. A woman\nwith these directions, and a son or husband who would use plane and\nsaw, could thus secure much additional room, and also what amounts to\ntwo bureaus, two large trunks, one large wardrobe, and a wash-stand,\nfor less than $20--the mere cost of materials. The screen and couches\ncan be so arranged as to have one room serve first as a large and airy\nsleeping-room; then, in the morning, it may be used as sitting-room\none side of the screen, and breakfast-room the other; and lastly,\nthrough the day it can be made a large parlor on the front side, and\na sewing or retiring-room the other side. The needless spaces usually\ndevoted to kitchen, entries, halls, back-stairs, pantries, store-rooms,\nand closets, by this method would be used in adding to the size of the\nlarge room, so variously used by day and by night.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 12.]\n\nFig. 12 is an enlarged plan of the kitchen and stove-room. The chimney\nand stove-room are contrived to ventilate the whole house, by a mode\nexhibited in another chapter.\n\nBetween the two rooms glazed sliding-doors, passing each other, serve\nto shut out heat and smells from the kitchen. The sides of the\nstove-room must be lined with shelves; those on the side by the cellar\nstairs, to be one foot wide, and eighteen inches apart; on the other\nside, shelves may be narrower, eight inches wide and nine inches apart.\nBoxes with lids, to receive stove utensils, must be placed near the\nstove.\n\nOn these shelves, and in the closet and boxes, can be placed every\nmaterial used for cooking, all the table and cooking utensils, and all\nthe articles used in house work, and yet much spare room will be left.\nThe cook's galley in a steamship has every article and utensil used\nin cooking for two hundred persons, in a space not larger than this\nstove-room, and so arranged that with one or two steps the cook can\nreach all he uses.\n\nIn contrast to this, in most large houses, the table furniture, the\ncooking materials and utensils, the sink, and the eating-room, are at\nsuch distances apart, that half the time and strength is employed in\nwalking back and forth to collect and return the articles used.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 13.]\n\nFig. 13 is an enlarged plan of the sink and cooking-form. Two windows\nmake a better circulation of air in warm weather, by having one open\nat top and the other at the bottom, while the light is better adjusted\nfor working, in case of weak eyes.\n\nThe flour-barrel just fills the closet, which has a door for admission,\nand a lid to raise when used. Beside it, is the form for cooking, with\na moulding-board laid on it; one side used for preparing vegetables\nand meat, and the other for moulding bread. The sink has two pumps,\nfor well and for rain-water--one having a forcing power to throw water\ninto the reservoir in the garret, which supplies the water-closet\nand bath-room. On the other side of the sink is the dish-drainer, with a\nledge on the edge next the sink, to hold the dishes, and grooves cut\nto let the water drain into the sink. It has hinges, so that it can\neither rest on the cook-form or be turned over and cover the sink.\nUnder the sink are shelf-boxes placed on two shelves run into grooves,\nwith other grooves above and below, so that one may move the shelves\nand increase or diminish the spaces between. The shelf-boxes can be\nused for scouring-materials, dish-towels, and dish-cloths; also to\nhold bowls for bits of butter, fats, etc. Under these two shelves is\nroom for two pails, and a jar for soap-grease.\n\nUnder the cook-form are shelves and shelf-boxes for unbolted wheat,\ncorn-meal, rye, etc. Beneath these, for white and brown sugar, are\nwooden can-pails, which are the best articles in which to keep these\nconstant necessities. Beside them is the tin molasses-can with a tight,\nmovable cover, and a cork in the spout. This is much better than a jug\nfor molasses, and also for vinegar and oil, being easier to clean and\nto handle. Other articles and implements for cooking can be arranged\non or under the shelves at the side and front. A small cooking-tray,\nholding pepper, salt, dredging-box, knife and spoon, should stand close\nat hand by the stove, (Fig. 14.)\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 14.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 15.]\n\nThe articles used for setting tables are to be placed on the shelves\nat the front and side of the sink. Two tumbler-trays, made of\npasteboard, covered with varnished fancy papers and divided by wires,\n(as shown in Fig. 15,) save many steps in setting and clearing table.\nSimilar trays, (Fig. 16,) for knives and forks and spoons, serve the\nsame purpose.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 16.]\n\nThe sink should be three feet long and three inches deep, its width\nmatching the cook-form.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 18.]\n\nFig. 17 is the second or attic story. The main objection to attic rooms\nis their warmth in summer, owing to the heated roof. This is prevented\nby so enlarging the closets each side that their walls meet the ceiling\nunder the garret floor, thus excluding all the roof. In the\nbed-chambers, corner dressing-tables, as Fig. 18, instead of projecting\nbureaus, save much space for use, and give a handsome form and finish\nto the room. In the bath-room must be the opening to the garret, and\na step-ladder to reach it. A reservoir in the garret, supplied by a\nforcing-pump in the cellar or at the sink, must be well supported by\ntimbers, and the plumbing must be well done, or much annoyance will\nensue.\n\nThe large chambers are to be lighted by large windows or glazed\nsliding-doors, opening upon the balcony. A roof can be put over the\nbalcony and its sides inclosed by windows, and the chamber extend into\nit, and be thus much enlarged.\n\nThe water-closets must have the latest improvements for safe discharge,\nand there will be no trouble. They cost no more than an out-door\nbuilding, and save from the most disagreeable house-labor.\nA great improvement, called _earth-closets_, will probably take the\nplace of water-closets to some extent; though at present the water\nis the more convenient. A description of the earth-closet will be given\nin another chapter relating to tenement-houses for the poor in large\ncities.\n\nThe method of ventilating all the chambers, and also the cellar, will\nbe described in another chapter.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 19.]\n\nFig. 19 represents a shoe-bag, that can be fastened to the side of a\ncloset or closet-door.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 20.]\n\nFig. 20 represents a piece-bag, and is a very great labor and\nspace-saving invention. It is made of calico, and fastened to the side\nof a closet or a door, to hold all the bundles that are usually stowed\nin trunks and drawers. India-rubber or elastic tape drawn into hems\nto hold the contents of the bag is better than tape-strings. Each bag\nshould be labeled with the name of its contents, written with indelible\nink on white tape sewed on to the bag. Such systematic arrangement\nsaves much time and annoyance. Drawers or trunks to hold these articles\ncan not be kept so easily in good order, and moreover, occupy spaces\nsaved by this contrivance.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 21. Floor plan]\n\nFig. 21 is the basement. It has the floor and sides plastered, and is\nlighted with glazed doors. A form is raised close by the cellar stairs,\nfor baskets, pails, and tubs. Here, also, the refrigerator can be\nplaced, or, what is better, an ice-closet can be made, as designated\nin the illustration. The floor of the basement must be an inclined\nplane toward a drain, and be plastered with water-lime. The wash-tubs\nhave plugs in the bottom to let off water, and cocks and pipes over\nthem bringing cold water from the reservoir in the garret and hot water\nfrom the laundry stove. This saves much heavy labor of emptying tubs\nand carrying water.\n\nThe laundry closet has a stove for heating irons, and also a kettle\non top for heating water. Slides or clothes-frames are made to draw\nout to receive wet clothes, and then run into the closet to dry. This\nsaves health as well as time and money, and the clothes are as white\nas when dried outdoors.\n\nThe wood-work of the house, for doors, windows, etc., should be oiled\nchestnut, butternut, white-wood, and pine. This is cheaper, handsomer,\nand more easy to keep clean than painted wood.\n\nIn Fig. 21 are planned two conservatories, and few understand their\nvalue in the training of the young. They provide soil, in which\nchildren, through the winter months, can be starting seeds and plants\nfor their gardens find raising valuable, tender plants. Every child\nshould cultivate flowers and fruits to sell and to give away, and thus\nbe taught to learn the value of money and to practice both economy and\nbenevolence.\n\nAccording to the calculation of a house-carpenter, in a place where\nthe average price of lumber is $4 a hundred, and carpenter work $3 a\nday, such a house can be built for $1600. For those practicing the\nclosest economy, two small families could occupy it, by dividing the\nkitchen, and yet have room enough. Or one large room and the chamber\nover it can be left till increase of family and means require\nenlargement.\n\nA strong horse and carryall, with a cow, garden, vineyard, and orchard,\non a few acres, would secure all the substantial comforts found in\ngreat establishments, without the trouble of ill-qualified servants.\n\nAnd if the parents and children were united in the daily labors of the\nhouse, garden, and fruit culture; such thrift, health, and happiness\nwould be secured as is but rarely found among the rich.\n\nLet us suppose a colony of cultivated and Christian people, having\nabundant wealth, who now are living as the wealthy usually do,\nemigrating to some of the beautiful Southern uplands, where are rocks,\nhills, valleys, and mountains as picturesque as those of New England,\nwhere the thermometer but rarely reaches 90 degrees in summer, and in\nwinter as rarely sinks below freezing-point, so that outdoor labor goes\non all the year, where the fertile soil is easily worked, where rich\ntropical fruits and flowers abound, where cotton and silk can be raised\nby children around their home, where the produce of vineyards and\norchards finds steady markets by railroads ready made; suppose such\na colony, with a central church and school-room, library, hall for\nsports, and a common laundry, (taking the most trying part of domestic\nlabor from each house,)--suppose each family to train the children to\nlabor with the hands as a healthful and honorable duty; suppose all\nthis, which is perfectly practicable, would not the enjoyment of this\nlife be increased, and also abundant treasures be laid up in heaven,\nby using the wealth thus economized in diffusing similar enjoyments\nand culture among the poor, ignorant, and neglected ones in desolated\nsections where many now are perishing for want of such Christian example\nand influences?\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\nA HEALTHFUL HOME.\n\n\nWhen \"the wise woman buildeth her house,\" the first consideration will\nbe the health of the inmates. The first and most indispensable requisite\nfor health is pure air, both by day and night.\n\nIf the parents of a family should daily withhold from their children\na large portion of food needful to growth and health, and every night\nshould administer to each a small dose of poison, it would be called\nmurder of the most hideous character. But it is probable that more\nthan one half of this nation are doing that very thing. The murderous\noperation is perpetrated daily and nightly, in our parlors, our\nbed-rooms, our kitchens, our schoolrooms; and even our churches are\nno asylum from the barbarity. Nor can we escape by our railroads, for\neven there the same dreadful work is going on.\n\nThe only palliating circumstance is the ignorance of those who commit\nthese wholesale murders. As saith the Scripture, \"The people do perish\nfor lack of knowledge.\" And it is this lack of knowledge which it is\nwoman's special business to supply, in first training her household\nto intelligence as the indispensable road to virtue and happiness.\n\nThe above statements will be illustrated by some account of the manner\nin which the body is supplied with healthful nutriment. There are two\nmodes of nourishing the body, one is by food and the other by air. In\nthe stomach the food is dissolved, and the nutritious portion is\nabsorbed by the blood, and then is earned by blood-vessels to the\nlungs, where it receives oxygen from the air we breathe. This oxygen\nis as necessary to the nourishment of the body as the food for the\nstomach. In a full-grown man weighing one hundred and fifty-four pounds,\none hundred and eleven pounds consists of oxygen, obtained chiefly\nfrom the air we breathe. Thus the lungs feed the body with oxygen, as\nreally as the stomach supplies the other food required.\n\nThe lungs occupy the upper portion of the body from the collar-bone\nto the lower ribs, and between their two lobes is placed the heart.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 22.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 23.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 24.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 25.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 26.]\n\nFig. 22 shows the position of the lungs, though not the exact shape.\nOn the right hand is the exterior of one of the lobes, and on the left\nhand are seen the branching tubes of the interior, through which the\nair we breathe passes to the exceedingly minute air-cells of which the\nlungs chiefly consist. Fig. 23 shows the outside of a cluster of these\nair-cells, and Fig. 24 is the inside view. The lining membrane of each\nair-cell is covered by a network of minute blood-vessels called\n_capillaries_ which, magnified several hundred times, appear in the\nmicroscope as at Fig. 25. Every air-cell has a blood-vessel that brings\nblood from the heart, which meanders through its capillaries till it\nreaches another blood-vessel that carries it back to the heart, as\nseen in Fig. 26. In this passage of the blood through these capillaries,\nthe air in the air-cell imparts its oxygen to the blood, and receives\nin exchange carbonic acid and watery vapor. These latter are expired\nat every breath into the atmosphere.\n\nBy calculating the number of air cells in a small portion of the lungs,\nunder a microscope, it is ascertained that there are no less than\neighteen million of these wonderful little purifiers and feeders of\nthe body. By their ceaseless ministries, every grown person receives,\neach day, thirty-three hogsheads of air into the lungs to nourish and\nvitalize every part of the body, and also to carry off its impurities.\n\nBut the heart has a most important agency in this operation. Fig. 27\nis a diagram of the heart, which is placed between the two lobes of\nthe lungs. The right side of the heart receives the dark and impure\nblood, which is loaded with carbonic acid. It is brought from every\npoint of the body by branching veins that unite in the upper and the\nlower _vena cava_, which discharge into the right side of the heart.\nThis impure blood passes to the capillaries of the air-cells in the\nlungs, where it gives off carbonic acid, and, taking oxygen from the\nair, then returns to the left side of the heart, from whence it is sent\nout through the _aorta_ and its myriad branching arteries to every part\nof the body. When the upper portion of the heart contracts, it forces\nboth the pure blood from the lungs, and the impure blood from the body,\nthrough the valves marked V, V, into the lower part. When the lower\nportion contracts, it closes the valves and forces the impure blood into\nthe lungs on one side, and also on the other side forces the purified\nblood through the aorta and arteries to all parts of the body.\n\nAs before stated, the lungs consist chiefly of air-cells, the walls\nof which are lined with minute blood-vessels; and we know that in every\nman these air-cells number _eighteen millions_.\n\nNow every beat of the heart sends two ounces of blood into the minute,\nhair-like blood-vessels, called capillaries, that line these air-cells,\nwhere the air in the air-cells gives its oxygen to the blood, and in\nits place receives carbonic acid. This gas is then expired by the lungs\ninto the surrounding atmosphere.\n\nThus, by this powerful little organ, the heart, no less than\ntwenty-eight pounds of blood, in a common-sized man, is sent three\ntimes every hour through the lungs, giving out carbonic acid and watery\nvapor, and receiving the life-inspiring oxygen.\n\nWhether all this blood shall convey the nourishing and invigorating\noxygen to every part of the body, or return unrelieved of carbonic\nacid, depends entirely on the pureness of the atmosphere that is\nbreathed.\n\nEvery time we think or feel, this mental action dissolves some particles\nof the brain and nerves, which pass into the blood to be thrown out\nof the body through the lungs and skin. In like manner, whenever we\nmove any muscle, some of its particles decay and pass away. It is in\nthe capillaries, which are all over the body, that this change takes\nplace. The blood-vessels that convey the pure blood from the heart,\ndivide into myriads of little branches that terminate in capillary\nvessels like those lining the air-cells of the lungs. The blood meanders\nthrough these minute capillaries, depositing the oxygen taken from the\nlungs and the food of the stomach, and receiving in return the decayed\nmatter, which is chiefly carbonic acid.\n\nThis carbonic acid is formed by the union of oxygen with _carbon_ or\n_charcoal_, which forms a large portion of the body. Watery vapor is\nalso formed in the capillaries by the union of oxygen with the hydrogen\ncontained in the food and drink that nourish the body.\n\nDuring this process in the capillaries, the bright red blood of the\narteries changes to the purple blood of the veins, which is carried\nback to the heart, to be sent to the lungs as before described. A\nportion of the oxygen received in the lungs unites with the dissolved\nfood sent from the stomach into the blood, and no food can nourish the\nbody till it has received a proper supply of oxygen in the lungs. At\nevery breath a half-pint of blood receives its needed oxygen in the\nlungs, and at the same time gives out an equal amount of carbonic acid\nand water.\n\nNow, this carbonic acid, if received into the lungs, undiluted by\nsufficient air, is a fatal poison, causing certain death. When it is\nmixed with only a small portion of air, it is a slow poison, which\nimperceptibly undermines the constitution.\n\nWe now can understand how it is that all who live in houses where the\nbreathing of inmates has deprived the air of oxygen, and loaded it\nwith carbonic acid, may truly be said to be poisoned and starved;\npoisoned with carbonic acid, and starved for want of oxygen.\n\nWhenever oxygen unites with carbon to form carbonic acid, or with\nhydrogen to form water, heat is generated Thus it is that a land of\ncombustion is constantly going on in the capillaries all over the body.\nIt is this burning of the decaying portions of the body that causes\nanimal heat. It is a process similar to that which takes place when\nlamps and candles are burning. The oil and tallows which are chiefly\ncarbon and hydrogen, unite with the oxygen of the air and form carbonic\nacid and watery vapor, producing heat during the process. So in the\ncapillaries all over the body, the carbon and hydrogen supplied to the\nblood by the stomach, unite with the oxygen gained in the lungs, and\ncause the heat which is diffused all over the body.\n\nThe skin also performs an office, similar to that of the lungs. In the\nskin of every adult there are no less than seven million minute\nperspirating tubes, each one fourth of an inch long. If all these were\nunited in one length, they would extend twenty-eight miles. These\nminute tubes are lined with capillary blood-vessels, which are\nconstantly sending out not only carbonic acid, but other gases and\nparticles of decayed matter. The skin and lungs together, in one day\nand night, throw out three quarters of a pound of charcoal as carbonic\nacid, beside other gases and water.\n\nWhile the bodies of men and animals are filling the air with the\npoisonous carbonic acid, and using up the life-giving oxygen, the trees\nand plants are performing an exactly contrary process; for they are\nabsorbing carbonic acid and giving out oxygen. Thus, by a wonderful\narrangement of the beneficent Creator, a constant equilibrium is\npreserved. What animals use is provided by vegetables, and what\nvegetables require is furnished by animals; and all goes on, day and\nnight, without care or thought of man.\n\nThe human race in its infancy was placed in a mild and genial clime,\nwhere each separate family dwelt in tents, and breathed, both day and\nnight, the pure air of heaven. And when they became scattered abroad\nto colder climes, the open fire-place secured a full supply of pure\nair. But civilization has increased economies and conveniences far\nahead of the knowledge needed by the common people for their healthful\nuse. Tight sleeping-rooms, and close, air-tight stoves, are now starving\nand poisoning more than one half of this nation. It seems impossible\nto make people know their danger. And the remedy for this is the light\nof knowledge and intelligence which it is woman's special mission to\nbestow, as she controls and regulates the ministries of a home.\n\nThe poisoning process is thus exhibited in Mrs. Stowe's \"House and\nHome Papers,\" and can not be recalled too often:\n\n\"No other gift of God, so precious, so inspiring, is treated with such\nutter irreverence and contempt in the calculations of us mortals as\nthis same air of heaven. A sermon on oxygen, if we had a preacher who\nunderstood the subject, might do more to repress sin than the most\northodox discourse to show when and how and why sin came. A minister\ngets up in a crowded lecture-room, where the mephitic air almost makes\nthe candles burn blue, and bewails the deadness of the church--the\nchurch the while, drugged by the poisoned air, growing sleepier and\nsleepier, though they feel dreadfully wicked for being so.\n\n\"Little Jim, who, fresh from his afternoon's ramble in the fields,\nlast evening said his prayers dutifully, and lay down to sleep in a\nmost Christian frame, this morning sits up in bed with his hair\nbristling with crossness, strikes at his nurse, and declares he won't\nsay his prayers--that he don't want to be good. The simple difference\nis, that the child, having slept in a close box of a room, his brain\nall night fed by poison, is in a mild state of moral insanity. Delicate\nwomen remark that it takes them till eleven or twelve o'clock to get\nup their strength in the morning. Query, Do they sleep with closed\nwindows and doors, and with heavy bed-curtains?\n\n\"The houses built by our ancestors were better ventilated in certain\nrespects than modern ones, with all their improvements. The great\ncentral chimney, with its open fire-places in the different rooms,\ncreated a constant current which carried off foul and vitiated air.\nIn these days, how common is it to provide rooms with only a flue for\na stove! This flue is kept shut in summer, and in winter opened only\nto admit a close stove, which burns away the vital portion of the air\nquite as fast as the occupants breathe it away. The sealing up of\nfire-places and introduction of air-tight stoves may, doubtless, be\na saving of fuel; it saves, too, more than that; in thousands and\nthousands of cases it has saved people from all further human wants,\nand put an end forever to any needs short of the six feet of narrow\nearth which are man's only inalienable property. In other words, since\nthe invention of air-tight stoves, thousands have died of slow poison.\n\n\"It is a terrible thing to reflect upon, that our northern winters\nlast from November to May, six long months, in which many families\nconfine themselves to one room, of which every window-crack has been\ncarefully calked to make it air-tight, where an air-tight stove keeps\nthe atmosphere at a temperature between eighty and ninety; and the\ninmates, sitting there with all their winter clothes on, become\nenervated both by the heat and by the poisoned air, for which there\nis no escape but the occasional opening of a door.\n\n\"It is no wonder that the first result of all this is such a delicacy\nof skin and lungs that about half the inmates are obliged to give up\ngoing into the open air during the six cold months, because they\ninvariably catch cold if they do so. It is no wonder that the cold\ncaught about the first of December has by the first of March become\na fixed consumption, and that the opening of the spring, which ought\nto bring life and health, in so many cases brings death.\n\n\"We hear of the lean condition in which the poor bears emerge from\ntheir six months' wintering, during which they subsist on the fat which\nthey have acquired the previous summer. Even so, in our long winters,\nmultitudes of delicate people subsist on the daily waning strength\nwhich they acquired in the season when windows and doors were open,\nand fresh air was a constant luxury. No wonder we hear of spring fever\nand spring biliousness, and have thousands of nostrums for clearing\nthe blood in the spring. All these things are the pantings and\npalpitations of a system run down under slow poison, unable to get a\nstep further.\n\n\"Better, far better, the old houses of the olden time, with their great\nroaring fires, and their bed-rooms where the snow came in and the\nwintry winds whistled. Then, to be sure, you froze your back while you\nburned your face, your water froze nightly in your pitcher, your breath\ncongealed in ice-wreaths on the blankets, and you could write your\nname on the pretty snow-wreath that had sifted in through the\nwindow-cracks. But you woke full of life and vigor, you looked out\ninto the whirling snow-storms without a shiver, and thought nothing\nof plunging through drifts as high as your head on your daily way to\nschool. You jingled in sleighs, you snow-balled, you lived in snow\nlike a snow-bird, and your blood coursed and tingled, in full tide of\ngood, merry, real life, through your veins--none of the slow-creeping,\nblack blood which clogs the brain and lies like a weight on the vital\nwheels!\"\n\nTo illustrate the effects of this poison, the horrors of \"the Black\nHole of Calcutta\" are often referred to, where one hundred and forty-six\nmen were crowded into a room only eighteen feet square with but two\nsmall windows, and in a hot climate. After a night of such horrible\ntorments as chill the blood to read, the morning showed a pile of one\nhundred and twenty-three dead men and twenty-three half dead that were\nfinally recovered only to a life of weakness and suffering.\n\nIn another case, a captain of the steamer Londonderry, in 1848, from\nsheer ignorance of the consequences, in a storm, shut up his passengers\nin a tight room without windows. The agonies, groans, curses, and\nshrieks that followed were horrible. The struggling mass finally burst\nthe door, and the captain found seventy-two of the two hundred already\ndead; while others, with blood starting from their eyes and ears, and\ntheir bodies in convulsions, were restored, many only to a life of\nsickness and debility.\n\nIt is ascertained by experiments that breathing bad air tends so to\nreduce all the processes of the body, that less oxygen is demanded and\nless carbonic acid sent out. This, of course, lessens the vitality and\nweakens the constitution; and it accounts for the fact that a person\nof full health, accustomed to pure air, suffers from bad air far more\nthan those who are accustomed to it. The body of strong and healthy\npersons demands more oxygen, and throws off more carbonic acid, and\nis distressed when the supply fails. But the one reduced by bad air\nfeels little inconvenience, because all the functions of life are so\nslow that less oxygen is needed, and less carbonic acid thrown out.\nAnd the sensibilities being deadened, the evil is not felt. This\nprovision of nature prolongs many lives, though it turns vigorous\nconstitutions into feeble ones. Were it not for this change in the\nconstitution, thousands in badly ventilated rooms and houses would\ncome to a speedy death.\n\nOne of the results of unventilated rooms is _scrofula_, A distinguished\nFrench physician, M. Baudeloque, states that:\n\n\"The repeated respiration of the same atmosphere is _the_ cause of\nscrofula. If there be entirely pure air, there may be bad food, bad\nclothing, and want of personal cleanliness, but scrofulous disease can\nnot exist. This disease _never_ attacks persons who pass their lives in\nthe open air, and always manifests itself when they abide in air which\nis unrenewed. _Invariably_ it will be found that a truly scrofulous\ndisease is caused by vitiated air; and it is not necessary that there\nshould be a prolonged stay in such an atmosphere. Often, several hours\neach day is sufficient. Thus persons may live in the most healthy\ncountry, pass most of the day in the open air, and yet become scrofulous\nby sleeping in a close room where the air is not renewed. This is the\ncase with many shepherds who pass their nights in small huts with no\nopening but a door closed tight at night.\"\n\nThe same writer illustrates this, by the history of a French village\nwhere the inhabitants all slept in close, unventilated houses. Nearly\nall were seized with scrofula, and many families became wholly extinct,\ntheir last members dying \"rotten with scrofula.\" A fire destroyed a\nlarge part of this village. Houses were then built to secure pure air,\nand scrofula disappeared from the part thus rebuilt.\n\nWe are informed by medical writers that defective ventilation is one\ngreat cause of diseased joints, as well as of diseases of the eyes,\nears, and skin.\n\nFoul air is the leading cause of tubercular and scrofulous consumption,\nso very common in our country. Dr, Guy, in his examination before\npublic health commissioners in Great Britain, says: \"Deficient\nventilation I believe to be more fatal than _all other causes_ put\ntogether.\" He states that consumption is twice as common among\ntradesmen as among the gentry, owing to the bad ventilation of their\nstores and dwellings.\n\nDr. Griscom, in his work on Uses and Abuses of Air, says:\n\n\"Food carried from the stomach to the blood can not become _nutritive_\ntill it is properly oxygenated in the lungs; so that a small quantity of\nfood, even if less wholesome, may be made nutritive by pure air as it\npasses through the lungs. But the best of food can not be changed into\nnutritive blood till it is vitalized by pure air in the lungs.\"\n\nAnd again:\n\n\"To those who have the care and instruction of the rising\ngeneration--the future fathers and mothers of men--this subject of\nventilation commends itself with an interest surpassing every other.\nNothing can more convincingly establish the belief in the existence\nof something vitally wrong in the habits and circumstances of civilized\nlife than the appalling fact that _one fourth_ of all who are born die\nbefore reaching the fifth year, and _one half_ the deaths of mankind\noccur under the twentieth year. Let those who have these things in\ncharge answer to their own consciences how they discharge their duty in\nsupplying to the young a _pure atmosphere_, which is the _first_\nrequisite for _healthy bodies_ and _sound minds_.\"\n\nOn the subject of infant mortality the experience of savages should\nteach the more civilized. Professor Brewer, who traveled extensively\namong the Indians of our western territories, states: \"I have rarely\nseen a sick boy among the Indians.\" Catlin, the painter, who resided\nand traveled so much among these people, states that infant mortality\nis very small among them, the reason, of course, being abundant exercise\nand pure air.\n\nDr. Dio Lewis, whose labors in the cause of health are well known, in\nhis very useful work, _Weak Lungs and How to Make them Strong_, says:\n\n\"As a medical man I have visited thousands of sickrooms, and have not\nfound in _one in a hundred_ of them a pure atmosphere. I have often\nreturned from church doubting whether I had not committed a sin in\nexposing myself so long to its poisonous air. There are in our great\ncities churches costing $50,000, in the construction of which, not\nfifty cents were expended in providing means for ventilation. Ten\nthousand dollars for ornament, but not ten cents for pure air!\n\n\"Unventilated parlors, with gas-burners, (each consuming as much oxygen\nas several men,) made as tight as possible, and a party of ladies and\ngentlemen spending half the night in them! In 1861, I visited a\nlegislative hall, the legislature being in session. I remained half\nan hour in the most impure air I ever breathed. Our school-houses are,\nsome of them, so vile in this respect, that I would prefer to have my\nson remain in utter ignorance of books rather than to breathe, six\nhours every day, such a poisonous atmosphere. Theatres and concert-rooms\nare so foul that only reckless people continue to visit them. Twelve\nhours in a railway-car exhausts one, not by the journeying, but because\nof the devitalized air. While crossing the ocean in a Cunard steamer,\nI was amazed that men who knew enough to construct such ships did not\nknow enough to furnish air to the passengers. The distress of\nsea-sickness is greatly intensified by the sickening air of the ship.\nWere carbonic acid _only black_, what a contrast there would be\nbetween our hotels in their elaborate ornament!\"\n\n\"Some time since I visited an establishment where one hundred and fifty\ngirls, in a single room, were engaged in needle-work. Pale-faced, and\nwith low vitality and feeble circulation, they were unconscious that\nthey were breathing air that at once produced in me dizziness and a\nsense of suffocation. If I had remained a week with, them, I should,\nby reduced vitality, have become unconscious of the vileness of the\nair!\"\n\nThere is a prevailing prejudice against _night air_ as unhealthful\nto be admitted into sleeping-rooms, which is owing wholly to sheer\nignorance. In the night every body necessarily breathes night air and\nno other. When admitted from without into a sleeping-room it is colder,\nand therefore heavier, than the air within, so it sinks to the bottom\nof the room and forces out an equal quantity of the impure air, warmed\nand vitiated by passing through the lungs of inmates. Thus the question\nis, Shall we shut up a chamber and breathe night air vitiated with\ncarbonic acid or night air that is pure? The only real difficulty about\nnight air is, that usually it is damper, and therefore colder and more\nlikely to chill. This is easily prevented by sufficient bed-clothing.\n\nOne other very prevalent mistake is found even in books written by\nlearned men. It is often thought that carbonic acid, being heavier\nthan common air, sinks to the floor of sleeping-rooms, so that the low\ntrundle-beds for children should not be used. This is all a mistake;\nfor, as a fact, in close sleeping-rooms the purest air is below and\nthe most impure above. It is true that carbonic acid is heavier than\ncommon air, when pure; but this it rarely is except in chemical\nexperiments. It is the property of all gases, as well as of the two\n(oxygen and nitrogen) composing the atmosphere, that when brought\ntogether they always are entirely mixed, each being equally diffused\nexactly as it would be if alone. Thus the carbonic acid from the skin\nand lungs, being warmed in the body, rises as does the common air,\nwith which it mixes, toward the top of a room; so that usually there\nis more carbonic acid at the top than at the bottom of a room.\n[Footnote: Prof. Brewer, of the Tale Scientific School, says: \"As a\nfact, often demonstrated by analysis, there is generally more carbonic\nacid near the ceiling than near the floor.\"] Both common air and\ncarbonic acid expand and become lighter in the same proportions; that\nis, for every degree of added heat they expand at the rate of 1/480\nof their bulk.\n\nHere, let it be remembered, that in ill-ventilated rooms the carbonic\nacid is not the only cause of disease. Experiments seem to prove that\nother matter thrown out of the body, through the lungs and skin, is\nas truly excrement and in a state of decay as that ejected from the\nbowels, and as poisonous to the animal system. Carbonic acid has no\nodor; but we are warned by the disagreeable effluvia of close\nsleeping-rooms of the other poison thus thrown into the air from the\nskin and lungs. There is one provision of nature that is little\nunderstood, which saves the lives of thousands living in unventilated\nhouses; and that is, the passage of pure air inward and impure air\noutward through the pores of bricks, wood, stone, and mortar. Were\nsuch dwellings changed to tin, which is not thus porous, in less than\na week thousands and tens of thousands would be in danger of perishing\nby suffocation.\n\nThese statements give some idea of the evils to be remedied. But the\nmost difficult point is _how_ to secure the remedy. For often the\nattempt to secure pure air by one class of persons brings chills,\ncolds, and disease on another class, from mere ignorance or\nmismanagement.\n\nTo illustrate this, it must be borne in mind that those who live in\nwarm, close, and unventilated rooms are much more liable to take cold\nfrom exposure to draughts and cold air than those of vigorous vitality\naccustomed to breathe pure air.\n\nThus the strong and healthy husband, feeling the want of pure air in\nthe night, and knowing its importance, keeps windows open and makes\nsuch draughts that the wife, who lives all day in a close room and\nthus is low in vitality, can not bear the change, has colds, and\nsometimes perishes a victim to wrong modes of ventilation.\n\nSo, even in health-establishments, the patients will pass most of their\ndays and nights in badly-ventilated rooms. But at times the physician,\nor some earnest patient, insists on a mode of ventilation that brings\nmore evil than good to the delicate inmates.\n\nThe grand art of ventilating houses is by some method that will empty\nrooms of the vitiated air and bring in a supply of pure air _by small\nand imperceptible currents_.\n\nBut this important duty of a Christian woman is one that demands more\nscience, care, and attention than almost any other; and yet, to prepare\nher for this duty has never been any part of female education. Young\nwomen are taught to draw mathematical diagrams and to solve astronomical\nproblems; but few, if any, of them are taught to solve the problem of\na house constructed to secure pure and moist air by day and night for\nall its inmates.\n\nThe heating and management of the air we breathe is one of the most\ncomplicated problems of domestic economy, as will be farther illustrated\nin the succeeding chapter; and yet it is one of which, most American\nwomen are profoundly ignorant.\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\nSCIENTIFIC DOMESTIC VENTILATION.\n\nWe have seen in the preceding pages the process through which the air\nis rendered unhealthful by close rooms and want of ventilation. Every\nperson inspires air about twenty times each minute, using half a pint\neach time. At this rate, every pair of lungs vitiates one hogshead of\nair every hour. The membrane that lines the multitudinous air-cells\nof the lungs in which the capillaries are, should it be united in one\nsheet, would cover the floor of a room twelve feet square. Every breath\nbrings a surface of air in contact with this extent of capillaries,\nby which the air inspired gives up most of its oxygen and receives\ncarbonic acid in its stead. These facts furnish a guide for the proper\nventilation of rooms. Just in proportion to the number of persons in\na room or a house, should be the amount of air brought in and carried\nout by arrangements for ventilation. But how rarely is this rule\nregarded in building houses or in the care of families by housekeepers!\n\nThe evils resulting from the substitution of stoves instead of the\nopen fireplace, have led scientific and benevolent men to contrive\nvarious modes of supplying pure air to both public and private houses.\nBut as yet little has been accomplished, except for a few of the more\nintelligent and wealthy. The great majority of the American people,\nowing to sheer ignorance, are, for want of pure air, being poisoned\nand starved; the result being weakened constitutions, frequent disease,\nand shortened life.\n\nWhenever a family-room is heated by an open fire, it is duly ventilated,\nas the impure air is constantly passing off through the chimney, while,\nto supply the vacated space, the pure air presses in through the cracks\nof doors, windows, and floors. No such supply is gained for rooms\nwarmed by stoves. And yet, from mistaken motives of economy, as well\nas from ignorance of the resulting evils, multitudes of householders\nare thus destroying health and shortening life, especially in regard\nto women and children who spend most of their time within-doors.\n\nThe most successful modes of making \"a healthful home\" by a full supply\nof pure air to every inmate, will now be described and illustrated.\n\nIt is the common property of both air and water to expand, become\nlighter and rise, just in proportion as they are heated; and therefore\nit is the invariable law that cool air sinks, thus replacing the warmer\nair below. Thus, whenever cool air enters a warm room, it sinks downward\nand takes the place of an equal amount of the warmer air, which is\nconstantly tending upward and outward. This principle of all fluids\nis illustrated by the following experiment:\n\nTake a glass jar about a foot high and three inches in diameter, and\nwith a wire to aid in placing it aright, sink a small bit of lighted\ncandle so as to stand in the centre at the bottom. (Fig. 28.) The\ncandle will heat the air of the jar, which will rise a little on one\nside, while the colder air without will begin falling on the other\nside. These two currents will so conflict as finally to cease, and\nthen the candle, having no supply of oxygen from fresh air, will begin\nto go out. Insert a bit of stiff paper so as to divide the mouth of\nthe jar, and instantly the cold and warm air are not in conflict as\nbefore, because a current is formed each side of the paper; the cold\nair descending on one aide and the warm air ascending the other side,\nas indicated by the arrows. As long as the paper remains, the candle\nwill burn, and as soon as it is removed, it will begin to go out, and\ncan be restored by again inserting the paper.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 28]\n[Illustration: Fig. 29]\n\nThis illustrates the mode by which coal-mines are ventilated when\nfilled with carbonic acid. A shaft divided into two passages, (Fig.\n29,) is let down into the mine, where the air is warmer than the outside\nair. Immediately the colder air outside presses down into the mine,\nthrough the passage which is highest, being admitted by the escape of\nan equal quantity of the warmer air, which rises through the lower\npassage of the shaft, this being the first available opening for it\nto rise through. A current is thus created, which continues as long\nas the inside air is warmer than that without the mine, and no longer.\nSometimes a fire is kindled in the mine, in order to continue or\nincrease the warmth, and consequent upward current of its air.\n\nThis illustrates one of the cases where a \"wise woman that buildeth\nher house\" is greatly needed. For, owing to the ignorance of architects,\nhouse-builders, and men in general, they have been building\nschool-houses, dwelling-houses, churches, and colleges, with the most\nabsurd and senseless contrivances for ventilation, and all from not\napplying this simple principle of science. On this point, Prof. Brewer,\nof the Scientific School of Yale College, writes thus:\n\n\"I have been in public buildings, (I have one in mind now, filled with\ndormitories,) which cost half a million, where they attempted to\nventilate every room by a flue, long and narrow, built into partition\nwalls, and extending up into the capacious garret of the fifth story.\nEvery room in the building had one such flue, with an opening into it\nat the floor and at the ceiling. It is needless to say that the whole\nconcern was entirely useless. Had these flues been of proper\nproportions, and properly divided, the desired ventilation would have\nbeen secured.\"\n\nAnd this piece of ignorant folly was perpetrated in the midst of learned\nprofessors, teaching the laws of fluids and the laws of health.\n\nA learned physician also thus wrote to the author of this chapter:\n\"The subject of the ventilation of our dwelling-houses is one of the\nmost important questions of our times. How many thousands are victims\nto a slow suicide and murder, the chief instrument of which is want\nof ventilation! How few are aware of the fact that every person, every\nday, vitiates thirty-three hogsheads of the air, and that each\ninspiration takes one fifth of the oxygen, and returns as much carbonic\nacid, from every pair of lungs in a room! How few understand that after\nair has received ten per cent of this fatal gas, if drawn into the\nlungs, it can no longer take carbonic acid from the capillaries! No\nwonder there is so much impaired nervous and muscular energy, so much\nscrofula, tubercles, catarrhs, dyspepsia, and typhoid diseases. I hope\nyou can do much to remedy the poisonous air of thousands and thousands\nof stove-heated rooms.\"\n\nIn a cold climate and wintry weather, the grand impediment to\nventilating rooms by opening doors or windows is the dangerous currents\nthus produced, which are so injurious to the delicate ones that for\ntheir sake it can not be done. Then, also, as a matter of economy, the\npoor can not afford to practice a method which carries off the heat\ngenerated by their stinted store of fuel. Even in a warm season and\nclimate, there are frequent periods when the air without is damp and\nchilly, and yet at nearly the same temperature as that in the house.\nAt such times, the opening of windows often has little effect in\nemptying a room of vitiated air. The ventilating-flues, such as are\nused in mines, have, in such cases, but little influence; for it is\nonly when outside air is colder that a current can be produced within\nby this method.\n\nThe most successful mode of ventilating a house is by creating a current\nof warm air in a flue, into which an opening is made at both the top\nand the bottom of a room, while a similar opening for outside air is\nmade at the opposite side of the room. This is the mode employed in\nchemical laboratories for removing smells and injurious gases.\n\nThe laboratory-closet is closed with glazed doors, and has an opening\nto receive pure air through a conductor from without. The stove or\nfurnace within has a pipe which joins a larger cast-iron chimney-pipe,\nwhich is warmed by the smoke it receives from this and other fires.\nThis cast-iron pipe is surrounded by a brick flue, through which air\npasses from below to be warmed by the pipe, and thus an upward current\nof warm air is created. Openings are then made at the top and bottom\nof the laboratory-closet into the warm-air flue, and the gases and\nsmells are pressed by the colder air into this flue, and are carried\noff in the current of warm air.\n\nThe same method is employed in the dwelling-house shown in a preceding\nchapter. A cast-iron pipe is made in sections, which are to be united,\nand the whole fastened at top and bottom in the centre of the warm-air\nflue by ears extending to the bricks, and fastened when the flue is\nin process of building. Projecting openings to receive the pipes of\nthe furnace, the laundry stove, and two stoves in each story, should\nbe provided, which must be closed when not in use. A large opening is\nto be made into the warm-air fine, and through this the kitchen\nstove-pipe is to pass, and be joined to the cast-iron chimney-pipe.\nThus the smoke of the kitchen stove will warm the iron chimney-pipe,\nand this will warm the air of the flue, causing a current upward, and\nthis current will draw the heat and smells of cooking out of the kitchen\ninto the opening of the warm-air flue. Every room surrounding the\nchimney has an opening at the top and bottom into the warm-air Hue for\nventilation, as also have the bathroom and water-closets.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 30.]\n\nThe writer has examined the methods most employed at the present time,\nwhich are all modifications of the two modes here described. One is\nthat of Robinson, patented by a Boston company, which is a modification\nof the mining mode. It consists of the two ventilating tubes, such as\nare employed in mines, united in one shaft with a roof to keep out\nrain, and a valve to regulate the entrance and exit of air, as\nillustrated in Fig. 30. This method works well in certain circumstances,\nbut fails so often as to prove very unreliable. Another mode is that\nof Ruttan, which is effected by heating air. This also has certain\nadvantages and disadvantages. But the mode adopted for the preceding\ncottage plan is free from the difficulties of both the above methods,\nwhile it will surely ventilate every room in the house, both by day\nand night, and at all seasons, without any risk to health, and requiring\nno attention or care from the family.\n\nBy means of a very small amount of fuel in the kitchen stove, to be\ndescribed hereafter, the whole house can be ventilated, and all the\ncooking done both in warm and cold weather. This stove will also warm\nthe whole house, in the Northern States, eight or nine months in the\nyear. Two Franklin stoves, in addition, will warm the whole house\nduring the three or four remaining coldest months.\n\nIn a warm climate or season, by means of the non-conducting castings,\nthe stove will ventilate the house and do all the cooking, without\nimparting heat or smells to any part of the house except the\nstove-closet.\n\nAt the close of this volume, drawings, prepared by Mr. Lewis Leeds,\nare given, more fully to illustrate this mode of warming and\nventilation, and in so plain and simple a form that any intelligent\nwoman who has read this work can see that the plan is properly executed,\neven with workmen so entirely ignorant on this important subject as\nare most house-builders, especially in the newer territories. In the\nsame article, directions are given as to the best modes of ventilating\nhouses that are already built without any arrangements for ventilation.\n\n\n\n\nV.\nTHE CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF STOVES, FURNACES, AND CHIMNEYS.\n\n\nIf all American housekeepers could be taught how to select and manage\nthe most economical and convenient apparatus for cooking and for warming\na house, many millions now wasted by ignorance and neglect would be\nsaved. Every woman should be taught the scientific principles in regard\nto heat, and then their application to practical purposes, for her own\nbenefit, and also to enable her to train her children and servants in\nthis important duty of home life on which health and comfort so much\ndepend.\n\nThe laws that regulate the generation, diffusion, and preservation of\nheat as yet are a sealed mystery to thousands of young women who imagine\nthey are completing a suitable education in courses of instruction\nfrom which most that is practical in future domestic life is wholly\nexcluded. We therefore give a brief outline of some of the leading\nscientific principles which every housekeeper should understand and\nemploy, in order to perform successfully one of her most important\nduties.\n\nConcerning the essential nature of heat, and its intimate relations\nwith the other great natural forces, light, electricity, etc., we shall\nnot attempt to treat, but shall, for practical purposes, assume it to\nbe a separate and independent force. Heat or caloric, then, has certain\npowers or principles. Let us consider them:\n\nFirst, we find _Conduction_, by which heat passes from one particle\nto another next to it; as when one end of a poker is warmed by placing\nthe other end in the fire. The bodies which allow this power free\ncourse are called conductors, and those which do not are named\nnon-conductors, Metals are good conductors; feathers, wool, and furs\nare poor conductors; and water, air, and gases are non-conductors.\n\nAnother principle of heat is _Convection_, by which water, air, and\ngases are warmed. This is, literally, the process of _conveying_ heat\nfrom one portion of a fluid body to another by currents resulting from\nchanges of temperature. It is secured by bringing one portion of a\nliquid or gas into contact with a heated surface, whereby it becomes\nlighter and expanded in volume. In consequence, the cooler and heavier\nparticles above pressing downward, the lighter ones rise upward, when\nthe former, being heated, rise in their turn, and give place to others\nagain descending from above. Thus a constant motion of currents and\ninterchange of particles is produced until, as in a vessel of water, the\nwhole body comes to an equal temperature. Air is heated in the same way.\nIn case of a hot stove, the air that touches it is heated, becomes\nlighter, and rises, giving place to cooler and heavier particles, which,\nwhen heated, also ascend. It is owing to this process that the air of a\nroom is warmest at the top and coolest at the bottom. It is owing to\nthis principle, also, that water and air can not be heated by fire from\nabove. For the particles of these bodies, being non-conductors, do not\nimpart heat to each other; and when the warmest are at the top, they can\nnot take the place of cooler and heavier ones below.\n\nAnother principle of heat (which it shares with light) is _Radiation_,\nby which all things send out heat to surrounding cooler bodies. Some\nbodies will absorb radiated heat, others will reflect it, and others\nallow it to pass through them without either absorbing or reflecting\nThus, black and rough substances absorb heat, (or light,) colored and\nsmooth articles reflect it, while air allows it to pass through without\neither absorbing or reflecting. It is owing to this, that rough and\nblack vessels boil water sooner than smooth and light-colored ones.\n\nAnother principle is _Reflection_, by which heat radiated to a\nsurface is turned back from it when not absorbed or allowed to pass\nthrough; just as a ball rebounds from a wall; just as sound is thrown\nback from a hill, making echo; just as rays of light are reflected\nfrom a mirror. And, as with light, the rays of heat are always reflected\nfrom a surface in an angle exactly corresponding to the direction in\nwhich it strikes that surface. Thus, if heated are comes to an object\nperpendicularly--that is, at right angles, it will be reflected back\nin the same line. If it strikes obliquely, it is reflected obliquely,\nat an angle with the surface precisely the same as the angle with which\nit first struck. And, of course, if it moves toward the surface and\ncomes upon it in a line having so small an angle with it as to be\nalmost parallel with it, the heated air is spread wide and diffused\nthrough a larger space than when the angles are greater and the width\nof reflection less.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 31.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 32.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 33.]\n\nThe simplest mode of warming a house and cooking food is by radiated\nheat from fires; but this is the most wasteful method, as respects\ntime, labor, and expense. The most convenient, economical, and\nlabor-saving mode of employing heat is by convection, as applied in\nstoves and furnaces. But for want of proper care and scientific\nknowledge this method has proved very destructive to health. When\nwarming and cooking were done by open fires, houses were well supplied\nwith pure air, as is rarely the case in rooms heated by stoves. For\nsuch is the prevailing ignorance on this subject that, as long as\nstoves save labor and warm the air, the great majority of people,\nespecially among the poor, will use them in ways that involve\ndebilitated constitutions and frequent disease.\n\nThe most common modes of cooking, where open fires are relinquished,\nare by the range and the cooking-stove. The range is inferior to the\nstove in these respects: it is less economical, demanding much more\nfuel; it endangers the dress of the cook while standing near for various\noperations; it requires more stooping than the stove while cooking;\nit will not keep a fire all night, as do the best stoves; it will not\nburn wood and coal equally well; and lastly, if it warms the kitchen\nsufficiently in winter, it is too warm for summer. Some prefer it\nbecause the fumes of cooking can be carried off; but stoves properly\narranged accomplish this equally well.\n\nAfter extensive inquiry and many personal experiments, the author has\nfound a cooking-stove constructed on true scientific principles, which\nunites convenience, comfort, and economy in a remarkable manner. Of\nthis stove, drawings and descriptions will now be given, as the best\nmode of illustrating the practical applications of these principles\nto the art of cooking, and to show how much American women have suffered\nand how much they have been imposed upon for want of proper knowledge\nin this branch of their profession. And every woman can understand\nwhat follows with much less effort than young girls at high-schools\ngive to the first problems of Geometry--for which they will never have\nany practical use, while attention to this problem of home affairs\nwill cultivate the intellect quite as much as the abstract reasonings\nof Algebra and Geometry.,\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 34.]\n\nFig. 34 represents a portion of the interior of this cooking-stove.\nFirst, notice the fire-box, which has corrugated (literally, wrinkled)\nsides, by which space is economized, so that as much heating surface\nis secured as if they were one third larger; as the heat radiates from\nevery part of the undulating surface, which is one third greater in\nsuperficial extent than if it were plane. The shape of the fire-box\nalso secures more heat by having oblique sides--which radiate more\neffectively into the oven beneath than if they were perpendicular, as\nillustrated below--while also it is sunk into the oven, so as to radiate\nfrom three instead of from two sides, as in most other stoves, the\nfront of whose fire-boxes with their grates are built so as to be the\nfront of the stove itself.\n\n[Illustration: Fig 35. Model Stove]\n[Illustration: Fig 36. Ordinary Stove]\n\nThe oven is the space under and around the back and front sides of the\nfire-box. The oven-bottom is not introduced in the diagram, but it is\na horizontal plate between the fire-box and what is represented as the\n\"flue-plate,\" which separates the oven from the bottom of the stove.\nThe top of the oven is the horizontal corrugated plate passing from\nthe rear edge of the fire-box to the back flues. These are three in\nnumber--the back centre-flue, which is closed to the heat and smoke\ncoming over the oven from the fire-box by a damper--and the two back\ncorner-flues. Down these two corner-flues passes the current of hot\nair and smoke, having first drawn across the corrugated oven-top. The\narrows show its descent through these flues, from which it obliquely\nstrikes and passes over the flue-plate, then under it, and then out\nthrough the centre back-flue, which is open at the bottom, up into the\nsmoke-pipe.\n\nThe flue-plate is placed obliquely, to accumulate heat by forcing and\ncompression; for the back space where the smoke enters from the\ncorner-flues is largest, and decreases toward the front, so that the\nhot current is compressed in a narrow space, between the oven-bottom\nand the flue-plate at the place where the bent arrows are seen. Here\nagain it enters a wider space, under the flue-plate, and proceeds to\nanother narrow one, between the flue-plate and the bottom of the stove,\nand thus is compressed and retained longer than if not impeded by these\nvarious contrivances. The heat and smoke also strike the plate\nobliquely, and thus, by reflection from its surface, impart more heat\nthan if the passage was a horizontal one.\n\nThe external radiation is regulated by the use of nonconducting plaster\napplied to the flue-plate and to the sides of the corner-flues, so\nthat the heat is prevented from radiating in any direction except\ntoward the oven. The doors, sides, and bottom of the stove are lined\nwith tin casings, which hold a stratum of air, also a non-conductor.\nThese are so arranged as to be removed whenever the weather becomes\ncold, so that the heat may then radiate into the kitchen. The outer\nedges of the oven are also similarly protected from loss of heat by\ntin casings and air-spaces, and the oven-doors opening at the front\nof the store are provided with the same economical savers of heat.\nHigh tin covers placed on the top prevent the heat from radiating above\nthe stove. These are exceedingly useful, as the space under them is\nwell heated and arranged for baking, for heating irons, and many other\nincidental necessities. Cake and pies can be baked on the top, while\nthe oven is used for bread or for meats. When all the casings and\ncovers are on, almost all the heat is confined within the stove, and\nwhenever heat for the room is wanted, opening the front oven-doors\nturns it out into the kitchen.\n\nAnother contrivance is that of ventilating-holes in the front doors,\nthrough which fresh air is brought into the oven. This secures several\npurposes: it carries off the fumes of cooking meats, and prevents the\nmixing of flavors when different articles are cooked in the oven; it\ndrives the heat that accumulates between the fire-box and front doors\ndown around the oven, and equalizes its heat, so that articles need\nnot be moved while baking; and lastly, as the air passes through the\nholes of the fire-box, it causes the burning of gases in the smoke,\nand thus increases heat. When wood or bituminous coal is used,\nperforated metal linings are put in the fire-box, and the result is\nthe burning of smoke and gases that otherwise would pass into the\nchimney. This is a great discovery in the economy of fuel, which can\nbe applied in many ways.\n\nHeretofore, most cooking-stoves have had dumping-grates, which are\ninconvenient from the dust produced, are uneconomical in the use of\nfuel, and disadvantageous from too many or too loose joints. But\nrecently this stove has been provided with a dumping-grate which\nalso will sift ashes, and can be cleaned without dust and the other\nobjectionable features of dumping-grates. A further account of this\nstove, and the mode of purchasing and using it, will be given at the\nclose of the book.\n\nThose who are taught to manage the stove properly keep the fire going\nall night, and equally well with wood or coal, thus saving the expense\nof kindling and the trouble of starting a new fire. When the fuel is\nof good quality, all that is needed in the morning is to draw the\nback-damper, snake the grate, and add more fuel.\n\nAnother remarkable feature of this store is the extension-top, on which\nis placed a water reservoir, constantly heated by the smoke as it\npasses from the stove, through one or two uniting passages, to the\nsmoke-pipe. Under this is placed a closet for warming and keeping hot\nthe dishes, vegetables, meats, etc., while preparing for dinner. It\nis also very useful in drying fruit; and when large baking is required,\na small appended pot for charcoal turns it into a fine large oven,\nthat bakes as nicely as a brick oven.\n\nAnother useful appendage is a common tin oven, in which roasting can\nbe done in front of the stove, the oven-doors being removed for the\npurpose. The roast will be done as perfectly as by an open fire.\n\nThis stove is furnished with pipes for heating water, like the\nwater-back of ranges, and these can be taken or left out at pleasure.\nSo also the top covers, the baking-stool and pot, and the summer-back,\nbottom, and side-casings can be used or omitted as preferred.\n\n[Illustration Fig 37]\n\nFig. 37 exhibits the stove completed, with all its appendages, as they\nmight be employed in cooking for a large number.\n\nIts capacity, convenience, and economy as a stove may be estimated by\nthe following fact: With proper management of dampers, one\nordinary-sized coal-hod of anthracite coal will, for twenty-four hours,\nkeep the stove running, keep seventeen gallons of water hot at all\nhours, bake pies and puddings in the warm closet, heat flat-irons under\nthe back cover, boil tea-kettle and one pot under the front cover,\nbake bread in the oven, and cook a turkey in the tin roaster in front.\nThe author has numerous friends, who, after trying the best ranges,\nhave dismissed them for this stove, and in two or three years cleared\nthe whole expense by the saving of fuel.\n\nThe remarkable durability of this stove is another economic feature.\nFor in addition to its fine castings and nice-fitting workmanship, all\nthe parts liable to burn out are so protected by linings, and other\ncontrivances easily renewed, that the stove itself may pass from one\ngeneration to another, as do ordinary chimneys. The writer has visited\nin families where this stove had been in constant use for eighteen and\ntwenty years, and was still as good as new. In most other families the\nstoves are broken, burnt-out, or thrown aside for improved patterns\nevery four, five, or six years, and sometimes, to the knowledge of the\nwriter, still oftener.\n\nAnother excellent point is that, although it is so complicated in its\nvarious contrivances as to demand intelligent management in order to\nsecure all its advantages, it also can be used satisfactorily even\nwhen the mistress and maid are equally careless and ignorant of its\ndistinctive merits. To such it offers all the advantages of ordinary\ngood stoves, and is extensively used by those who take no pains to\nunderstand and apply its peculiar advantages.\n\nBut the writer has managed the stove herself in all the details of\ncooking, and is confident that any housekeeper of common sense, who\nis instructed properly, and who also aims to have her kitchen affairs\nmanaged with strict economy, can easily train any servant who is willing\nto learn, so as to gain the full advantages offered. And even without\nany instructions at all, except the printed directions sent with the\nstove, an intelligent woman can, by due attention, though not without,\nboth manage it, and teach her children and servants to do likewise.\nAnd whenever this stove has failed to give the highest satisfaction,\nit has been, either because the housekeeper was not apprized of its\npeculiarities, or because she did not give sufficient attention to the\nmatter, or was not able or willing to superintend and direct its\nmanagement.\n\nThe consequence has been that, in families where this stove has been\nunderstood and managed aright, it has saved nearly one half of the\nfuel that would be used in ordinary stoves, constructed with the usual\ndisregard of scientific and economic laws. And it is because we know\nthis particular stove to be convenient, reliable, and economically\nefficient beyond ordinary experience, in the important housekeeping\nelement of kitchen labor, that we devote to it so much space and pains\nto describe its advantageous points.\n\nCHIMNEYS.\n\nOne of the most serious evils in domestic life is often found in\nchimneys that will not properly draw the smoke of a fire or stove.\nAlthough chimneys have been building for a thousand years, the artisans\nof the present day seem strangely ignorant of the true method of\nconstructing them so as always to carry smoke upward instead of\ndownward. It is rarely the case that a large house is built in which\nthere is not some flue or chimney which \"will not draw.\" One of the\nreasons why the stove described as excelling all others is sometimes\ncast aside for a poorer one is, that it requires a properly constructed\nchimney, and multitudes of women do not know how to secure it. The\nwriter in early life shed many a bitter tear, drawn forth by smoke\nfrom an ill-constructed kitchen-chimney, and thousands all over the\nland can report the same experience.\n\nThe following are some of the causes and the remedies for this evil.\n\nThe most common cause of poor chimney draughts is too large an opening\nfor the fireplace, either too wide or too high in front, or having too\nlarge a throat for the smoke. In a lower story, the fireplace should\nnot be larger than thirty inches wide, twenty-five inches high, and\nfifteen deep. In the story above, it should be eighteen inches square\nand fifteen inches deep.\n\nAnother cause is too short a flue, and the remedy is to lengthen it.\nAs a general rule, the longer the flue the stronger the draught. But\nin calculating the length of a flue, reference must be had to\nside-flues, if any open into it. Where this is the case, the length\nof the main flue is to be considered as extending only from the bottom\nto the point where the upper flue joins it, and where the lower will\nreceive air from the upper flue. If a smoky flue can not be increased\nin length, either by closing an upper flue or lengthening the chimney,\nthe fireplace must be contracted so that all the air near the fire\nwill be heated and thus pressed upward.\n\nIf a flue has more than one opening, in some cases it is impossible\nto secure a good draught. Sometimes it will work well and sometimes\nit will not. The only safe rule is to have a separate flue to each\nfire.\n\nAnother cause of poor draughts is too tight a room, so that the cold\nair from without can not enter to press the warm air up the chimney.\nThe remedy is to admit a small current of air from without.\n\nAnother cause is two chimneys in one room, or in rooms opening together,\nin which the draught in one is much stronger than in the other. In\nthis case, the stronger draught will draw away from the weaker. The\nremedy is, for each room to have a proper supply of outside air; or,\nin a single room, to stop one of the chimneys.\n\nAnother cause is the too close vicinity of a hill or buildings higher\nthan the top of the chimney, and the remedy for this is to raise the\nchimney.\n\nAnother cause is the descent, into unused fireplaces, of smoke from\nother chimneys near. The remedy is to close the throat of the unused\nchimney.\n\nAnother cause is a door opening toward the fireplace, on the same side\nof the room, so that its draught passes along the wall and makes a\ncurrent that draws out the smoke. The remedy is to change the hanging\nof the door so as to open another way.\n\nAnother cause is strong winds. The remedy is a turn-cap on top of the\nchimney.\n\nAnother cause is the roughness of the inside of a chimney, or\nprojections which impede the passage of the smoke. Every chimney should\nbe built of equal dimensions from bottom to top, with no projections\ninto it, with as few bends as possible, and with the surface of the\ninside as smooth as possible.\n\nAnother cause of poor draughts is openings into the chimney of chambers\nfor stove-pipes. The remedy is to close them, or insert stove-pipes\nthat are in use.\n\nAnother cause is the falling out of brick in some part of the chimney\nso that outer air is admitted. The remedy is to close the opening.\n\nThe draught of a stove may be affected by most of these causes. It\nalso demands that the fireplace have a tight fire-board, or that the\nthroat he carefully filled. For neglecting this, many a good stove has\nbeen thrown aside and a poor one taken in its place.\n\nIf all young women had committed to memory these causes of evil and\ntheir remedies, many a badly-built chimney might have been cured, and\nmany smoke-drawn tears, sighs, ill-tempers, and irritating words\navoided.\n\nBut there are dangers in this direction which demand special attention.\nWhere one flue has two stoves or fireplaces, in rooms one above the\nother, in certain states of the atmosphere, the lower room, being the\nwarmer, the colder air and carbonic acid in the room above will pass\ndown into the lower room through the opening for the stove or the\nfireplace.\n\nThis occurred not long since in a boarding-school, when the gas in a\nroom above flowed into a lower one, and suffocated several to death.\nThis room had no mode of ventilation, and several persons slept in it,\nand were thus stifled. Professor Brewer states a similar case in the\nfamily of a relative. An anthracite stove was used in the upper room;\nand on one still, close night, the gas from this stove descended through\nthe flue and the opening into a room below, and stifled two persons\nto insensibility, though, by proper efforts, their lives were saved.\nMany such cases have occurred where rooms have been thus filled with\npoisonous gases, and servants and children destroyed, or their\nconstitutions injured, simply because housekeepers are not properly\ninstructed in this important branch of their profession.\n\n\nFURNACES.\n\nThere is no improved mechanism in the economy of domestic life requiring\nmore intelligent management than furnaces. Let us then consider some\nof the principles involved.\n\nThe earth is heated by radiation from the sun. The air is not warmed\nby the passage of the sun's heat through it, but by convection from\nthe earth, in the same way that it is warmed by the surfaces of stoves.\nThe lower stratum of air is warmed by the earth and by objects which\nhave been warmed by radiated heat from the sun. The particles of air\nthus heated expand, become lighter, and rise, being replaced by the\ndescent of the cooler and heavier particles from above, which, on being\nwarmed also rise, and give place to others. Owing to this process, the\nair is warmest nearest the earth, and grows cooler as height increases.\n\nThe air has a strong attraction for water, and always holds a certain\nquantity as invisible vapor. The warmer the air, the more moisture it\ndemands, and it will draw it from all objects within reach. The air\nholds water according to its temperature. Thus, at fifty-two degrees,\nFahrenheit's thermometer, it holds half the moisture it can sustain;\nbut at thirty-six degrees, it will hold only one eighty-sixth part.\nThe earth and all plants and trees are constantly sending out moisture;\nand when the air has received all it can hold, without depositing it\nas dew, it is said to be _saturated_, and the point of temperature\nat which dew begins to form, by condensation, upon the surface of the\nearth and its vegetation, is called the _dew-point_. When air,\nat a given temperature, has only forty per cent of the moisture it\nrequires for saturation, it is said to be dry. In a hot summer day,\nthe air will hold far more moisture than in cool days. In summer,\nout-door air rarely holds less than half its volume of water. In 1838,\nat Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New-Haven, Connecticut, at seventy\ndegrees, Fahrenheit, the air held eighty per cent of moisture.\n\nIn New Orleans, the air often retains ninety per cent of the moisture\nit is capable of holding; and in cool days at the North, in foggy\nweather, the air is sometimes wholly saturated.\n\nWhen air holds all the moisture it can, without depositing dew, its\nmoisture is called 100. When it holds three fourths of this, it is\nsaid to be at seventy-five per cent. When it holds only one half, it\nis at fifty per cent. When it holds only one fourth, it is at\ntwenty-five per cent, etc.\n\nSanitary observers teach that the proper amount of moisture in the air\nranges from forty to seventy per cent of saturation.\n\nNow, furnaces, which are of course used only in winter, receive outside\nair at a low temperature, holding little moisture; This it sucks up,\nlike a sponge, from the walls and furniture of a house. If it is taken\ninto the human lungs, it draws much of its required moisture from the\nbody, often causing dryness of lips and throat, and painfully affecting\nthe lungs. Prof. Brewer, of the Scientific School of New-Haven, who\nhas experimented extensively on this subject, states that, while forty\nper cent of moisture is needed in air to make it healthful, most stoves\nand furnaces do not, by any contrivances, supply one half of this, or\nnot twenty per cent. He says most furnace-heated air is dryer than is\never breathed in the hottest deserts of Sahara.\n\nThus, for want of proper instruction, most American housekeepers not\nonly poison their families with carbonic acid and starve them for want\nof oxygen, but also diminish health and comfort for want of a due\nsupply of moisture in the air. And often when a remedy is sought, by\nevaporating water in the furnace, it is without knowing that the amount\nevaporated depends, not on the quantity of water in the vessel, but\non the extent of evaporating surface exposed to the air. A quart of\nwater in a wide shallow pan will give more moisture than two gallons\nwith a small surface exposed to heat.\n\nThere is also no little wise economy in expense attained by keeping\na proper supply of moisture in the air. For it is found that the body\nradiates its heat less in moist than in dry air, so that a person feels\nas warm at a lower temperature when the air has a proper supply of\nmoisture, as in a much higher temperature of dry air. Of course, less\nfuel is needed to warm a house when water is evaporated in stove and\nfurnace-heated rooms. It is said by those who have experimented, that\nthe saving in fuel is twenty per cent when the air is duly supplied\nwith moisture.\n\nThere is a very ingenious instrument, called the hygrodeik, which\nindicates the exact amount of moisture in the air. It consists of two\nthermometers side by side, one of which has its bulb surrounded by\nfloss-silk wrapping, which is kept constantly wet by communication\nwith a cup of water near it. The water around the bulb evaporates just\nin proportion to the heat of the air around it. The changing of water\nto vapor draws heat from the nearest object, and this being the bulb\nof the thermometer, the mercury is cooled and sinks. Then the difference\nbetween the two thermometers shows the amount of moisture in the air\nby a pointer on a dial-plate constructed by simple mechanism for this\npurpose.\n\nThere is one very important matter in regard to the use of furnaces,\nwhich is thus stated by Professor Brewer:\n\n\"I think it is a well-established fact that carbonic oxide will\npass through iron. It is always formed in great abundance in any\n_anthracite_ fire, but especially in anthracite stoves and furnaces.\nMoreover, furnaces _always_ leak, more or less; how much they leak\ndepending on the care and skill with which they are managed. Carbonic\noxide is much more poisonous than carbonic acid. Doubtless some carbonic\noxide finds its way into all furnace-heated houses, especially where\nanthracite is used; the amount varying with the kind of furnace and its\nmanagement. As to how much escapes into a room, and its specific effect\nupon the health of its occupants, we have no accurate data, no analysis\nto show the quantity, and no observations to show the relation between\nthe quantity inhaled and the health of those exposed; all is mere\nconjecture upon this point; but the inference is very strong that it has\na very injurious effect, producing headaches, weariness, and other\nsimilar symptoms.\n\n\"Recent pamphlets lay the blame of all the bad effects of anthracite\nfurnaces and stoves to the carbonic oxide mingled in the air. I think\nthese pamphlets have a bad influence. _Excessive dryness_ also has bad\neffects. So also the excessive heat in the evenings and coolness in the\nmornings has a share in these evils. But how much in addition is owing\nto carbonic oxide, we can not know, until we know something of the\nactual amount of this gas in rooms, and as yet we know absolutely\nnothing definite. In fact, it will be a difficult thing to _prove_.\"\n\nThere are other difficulties connected with furnaces which should be\nconsidered. It is necessary to perfect health that an equal circulation\nof the blood be preserved. The greatest impediment to this is keeping\nthe head warmer than the feet. This is especially to be avoided in a\nnation where the brain is by constant activity drawing the blood from\nthe extremities. And nowhere is this more important than in schools,\nchurches, colleges, lecture and recitation-rooms, where the brain is\ncalled into active exercise. And yet, furnace-heated rooms always keep\nthe feet in the coldest air, on cool floors, while the head is in the\nwarmest air.\n\nAnother difficulty is the fact that all bodies tend to radiate their\nheat to each other, till an equal temperature exists. Thus, the human\nbody is constantly radiating its heat to the walls, floors, and cooler\nbodies around. At the same time, a thermometer is affected in the same\nway, radiating its heat to cooler bodies around, so that it always\nmarks a lower degree of heat than actually exists in the warm air\naround it. Owing to these facts, the injected air of a furnace is\nalways warmer than is good for the lungs, and much warmer than is ever\nneeded in rooms warmed by radiation from fires or heated surfaces. The\ncooler the air we inspire, the more oxygen is received, the faster the\nblood circulates, and the greater is the vigor imparted to brain,\nnerves, and muscles.\n\nScientific men have been contriving various modes of meeting these\ndifficulties, and at the close of this volume some results will be\ngiven to aid a woman in selecting and managing the most healthful and\neconomical furnace, or in providing some better method of warming a\nhouse. Some account will also be given of the danger involved in\ngas-stoves, and some other recent inventions for cooking and heating.\n\n\n\n\nVI.\n\nHOME DECORATION.\n\n\nHaving duly arranged for the physical necessities of a healthful and\ncomfortable home, we next approach the important subject of _beauty_ in\nreference to the decoration of houses. For while the aesthetic element\nmust be subordinate to the requirements of physical existence, and, as a\nmatter of expense, should be held of inferior consequence to means of\nhigher moral growth; it yet holds a place of great significance among\nthe influences which make home happy and attractive, which give it a\nconstant and wholesome power over the young, and contributes much to the\neducation of the entire household in refinement, intellectual\ndevelopment, and moral sensibility.\n\nHere we are met by those who tell us that of course they want their\nhouses handsome, and that, when they get money enough, they intend to\nhave them so, but at present they are too poor, and because they are\npoor they dismiss the subject altogether, and live without any regard\nto it.\n\nWe have often seen people who said that they could not afford to make\ntheir houses beautiful, who had spent upon them, outside or in, an\namount of money which did not produce either beauty or comfort, and\nwhich, if judiciously applied, might have made the house quite charming.\n\nFor example, a man, in building his house, takes a plan of an architect.\nThis plan includes, on the outside, a number of what Andrew Fairservice\ncalled \"curlywurlies\" and \"whigmaliries,\" which make the house neither\nprettier nor more comfortable, and which take up a good deal of money.\nWe would venture to say that we could buy the chromo of Bierstadt's\n\"Sunset in the Yosemite Valley,\" and four others like it, for half the\nsum that we have sometimes seen laid out on a very ugly, narrow, awkward\nporch on the outside of a house. The only use of this porch was to\ncost money, and to cause every body who looked at it to exclaim as\nthey went by, \"What ever induced that man to put a thing like that on\nthe outside of his house?\"\n\nThen, again, in the inside of houses, we have seen a dwelling looking\nvery bald and bare, when a sufficient sum of money had been expended\non one article to have made the whole very pretty: and it has come\nabout in this way.\n\nWe will suppose the couple who own the house to be in the condition\nin which people generally are after they have built a house--having\nspent more than they could afford on the building itself, and yet\nfeeling themselves under the necessity of getting some furniture.\n\"Now,\" says the housewife, \"I must at least have a parlor-carpet. We\nmust get that to begin with, and other things as we go on.\" She goes\nto a store to look at carpets. The clerks are smiling and obliging,\nand sweetly complacent. The storekeeper, perhaps, is a neighbor or a\nfriend, and after exhibiting various patterns, he tells her of a\nBrussels carpet he is selling wonderfully cheap--actually a dollar\nand a quarter less a yard than the usual price of Brussels, and the\nreason is that it is an unfashionable pattern, and he has a good deal\nof it, and wishes to close it off.\n\nShe looks at it and thinks it is not at all the kind of carpet she\nmeant to buy, but then it is Brussels, and so cheap! And as she\nhesitates, her friend tells her that she will find it \"cheapest in the\nend--that one Brussels carpet will outlast three or four ingrains,\"\netc., etc.\n\nThe result of all this is, that she buys the Brussels carpet, which,\nwith all its reduction in price, is one third dearer than the ingrain\nwould have been, and not half so pretty. When she comes home, she will\nfind that she has spent, we will say eighty dollars, for a very homely\ncarpet whose greatest merit it is an affliction to remember--namely,\nthat it will outlast three ordinary carpets. And because she has bought\nthis carpet she can not afford to paper the walls or put up any\nwindow-curtains, and can not even begin to think of buying any pictures.\n\nNow let us see what eighty dollars could have done for that room. We\nwill suppose, in the first place, she invests in thirteen rolls of\nwall-paper of a lovely shade of buff, which will make the room look\nsunshiny in the day-time, and light up brilliantly in the evening.\nThirteen rolls of good satin paper, at thirty-seven cents a roll,\nexpends four dollars and eighty-one cents. A maroon bordering, made\nin imitation of the choicest French style, which can not at a distance\nbe told from it, can be bought for six cents a yard. This will bring\nthe paper to about five dollars and a half; and our friends will give\na day of their time to putting it on. The room already begins to look\nfurnished.\n\nThen, let us cover the floor with, say, thirty yards of good matting,\nat fifty cents a yard. This gives us a carpet for fifteen dollars. We\nare here stopped by the prejudice that matting is not good economy,\nbecause it wears out so soon. We humbly submit that it is precisely\nthe thing for a parlor, which is reserved for the reception-room of\nfriends, and for our own dressed leisure hours. Matting is not good\neconomy in a dining-room or a hard-worn sitting-room; but such a parlor\nas we are describing is precisely the place where it answers to the\nvery best advantage.\n\nWe have in mind one very attractive parlor which has been, both for\nsummer and winter, the daily sitting-room for the leisure hours of a\nhusband and wife, and family of children, where a plain straw matting\nhas done service for seven years. That parlor is in a city, and these\nfriends are in the habit of receiving visits from people who live upon\nvelvet and Brussels; but they prefer to spend the money which such\ncarpets would cost on other modes of embellishment; and this parlor\nhas often been cited to us as a very attractive room.\n\nAnd now our friends, having got thus far, are requested to select some\none tint or color which shall be the prevailing one in the furniture\nof the room. Shall it be green? Shall it be blue? Shall it be crimson?\nTo carry on our illustration, we will choose green, and we proceed\nwith it to create furniture for our room. Let us imagine that on one\nside of the fireplace there be, as there is often, a recess about six\nfeet long and three feet deep. Fill this recess with a rough frame\nwith four stout legs, one foot high, and upon the top of the frame\nhave an elastic rack of slats. Make a mattress for this, or, if you\nwish to avoid that trouble, you can get a nice mattress for the sum\nof two dollars, made of cane-shavings or husks. Cover this with a\ngreen English furniture print. The glazed English comes at about\ntwenty-five cents a yard, the glazed French at seventy-five cents a\nyard, and a nice article of yard-wide French twill (very strong) is\nfrom seventy-five to eighty cents a yard.\n\nWith any of these cover your lounge. Make two large, square pillows\nof the same substance as the mattress, and set up at the back. If you\nhappen to have one or two feather pillows that you can spare for the\npurpose, shake them down into a square shape and cover them with the\nsame print, and you will then have for pillows for your lounge--one\nat each end, and two at the back, and you will find it answers for all\nthe purposes of a sofa.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 38.]\n\nIt will be a very pretty thing, now, to cut out of the same material\nas your lounge, sets of lambrequins (or, as they are called,\n_lamberkins_,) a land of pendent curtain-top, as shown in the\nillustration, to put over the windows, which are to be embellished\nwith white muslin curtains. The cornices to your windows can be simply\nstrips of wood covered with paper to match the bordering of your room,\nand the lambrequins, made of chintz like the lounge, can be trimmed\nwith fringe or gimp of the same color. The patterns of these can be\nvaried according to fancy, but simple designs are usually the prettiest.\nA tassel at the lowest point improves the appearance.\n\nThe curtains can be made of plain white muslin, or some of the many\nstyles that come for this purpose. If plain muslin is used, you can\nornament them with hems an inch in width, in which insert a strip of\ngingham or chambray of the same color as your chintz. This will wash\nwith the curtains without losing its color, or should it fade, it can\neasily be drawn out and replaced.\n\nThe influence of white-muslin curtains in giving an air of grace and\nelegance to a room is astonishing. White curtains really create a room\nout of nothing. No matter how coarse the muslin, so it be white and\nhang in graceful folds, there is a charm in it that supplies the want\nof multitudes of other things.\n\nVery pretty curtain-muslin can be bought at thirty-seven cents a yard.\nIt requires six yards for a window.\n\nLet your men-folk knock up for you, out of rough, unplaned boards,\nsome ottoman frames, as described in Chapter II; stuff the tops with\njust the same material as the lounge, and cover them with the self-same\nchintz.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 39.]\n\nNow you have, suppose your selected color to be green, a green lounge\nin the corner and two green ottomans; you have white muslin curtains,\nwith green lambrequins and borders, and your room already looks\nfurnished. If you have in the house any broken-down arm-chair, reposing\nin the oblivion of the garret, draw it out--drive a nail here and\nthere to hold it firm--stuff and pad, and stitch the padding through\nwith a long upholsterer's needle, and cover it with the chintz like\nyour other furniture. Presto--you create an easy-chair.\n\nThus can broken and disgraced furniture reappear, and, being put into\nuniform with the general suit of your room, take a new lease of life.\n\nIf you want a centre-table, consider this--that any kind of table,\nwell concealed beneath the folds of _handsome drapery of a color\ncorresponding to the general hue of the room,_ will look well.\nInstead of going to the cabinet-maker and paying from thirty to forty\ndollars upon a little, narrow, cold, marble-topped stand, that gives\njust room enough to hold a lamp and a book or two, reflect within\nyourself what a centre-table is made for. If you have in your house\na good, broad, generous-topped table, take it, cover it with an ample\ncloth of green broadcloth. Such a cover, two and a half yards square,\nof fine green broadcloth, figured with black and with a pattern-border\nof grape-leaves, has been bought for ten dollars. In a room we wot of,\nit covers a cheap pine table, such as you may buy for four or five\ndollars any day; but you will be astonished to see how handsome an\nobject this table makes under its green drapery. Probably you could\nmake the cover more cheaply by getting the cloth and trimming its edge\nwith a handsome border, selected for the purpose; but either way, it\nwill be an economical and useful ornament. We set down our centre-table,\ntherefore, as consisting mainly of a nice broadcloth cover, matching\nour curtains and lounge.\n\nWe are sure that any one with \"a heart that is humble\" may command\nsuch a centre-table and cloth for fifteen dollars or less, and a family\nof five or six may all sit and work, or read, or write around it, and\nit is capable of entertaining a generous allowance of books and\nknick-knacks.\n\nYou have now for your parlor the following figures:\n\n  Wall-paper and border,.................................... $5.50\n  Thirty yards matting,..................................... 15.00\n  Centre-table and cloth,................................... 15.00\n  Muslin for three windows,.................................. 6.75\n  Thirty yards green English chintz, at 25 cents,............ 7.50\n  Six chairs, at $2 each,................................... 12.00\n\n  Total,....................................................$61.75\nSubtracted from eighty dollars, which we set down as the price of the\ncheap, ugly Brussels carpet, we have our whole room papered, carpeted,\ncurtained, and furnished, and we have nearly twenty dollars remaining\nfor pictures.\n\nAs a little suggestion in regard to the selection, you can got Miss\nOakley's charming little cabinet picture of\n\n  \"The Little Scrap-Book Maker\" for........................ $7 50\n  Eastman Johnson's \"Barefoot Boy,\"................. (Prang) 5 00\n  Newman's \"Blue-fringed Gentians,\"..................(Prang) 6 00\n  Bierstadt's \"Sunset in the Yo Semite Valley,\"......(Prang)12 00\n\nHere are thirty dollars' worth of really admirable pictures of some\nof our best American artists, from which you can choose at your leisure.\nBy sending to any leading picture-dealer, lists of pictures and prices\nwill be forwarded to you. These chromos, being all varnished, can wait\nfor frames until you can afford them. Or, what is better, because it\nis at once cheaper and a means of educating the ingenuity and the\ntaste, you can make for yourselves pretty rustic frames in various\nmodes. Take a very thin board, of the right size and shape, for the\nfoundation or \"mat;\" saw out the inner oval or rectangular form to\nsuit the picture. Nail on the edge a rustic frame made of branches of\nhard, seasoned wood, and garnish the corners with some pretty device;\nsuch, for instance, as a cluster of acorns; or, in place of the branches\nof trees, fasten on with glue small pine cones, with larger ones for\ncorner ornaments. Or use the mosses of the wood or ocean shells for\nthis purpose. It may be more convenient to get the mat or inner moulding\nfrom a framer, or have it made by your carpenter, with a groove behind\nto hold a glass. Here are also picture-frames of pretty effect, and\nvery simply made. The one in Fig. 42 is made of either light or dark\nwood, neat, thin, and not very wide, with the ends simply broken, off,\nor cut so as to resoluble a rough break. The other is white pine, sawn\ninto simple form, well smoothed, and marked with a delicate black\ntracery, as suggested in Fig. 43. This should also be varnished, then\nit will take a rich, yellow tinge, which harmonizes admirably with\nchromos, and lightens up engravings to singular advantage. Besides the\nAmerican and the higher range of German and English chromos, there are\nvery many pretty little French chromos, which can be had at prices\nfrom $1 to $5, including black walnut frames.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 40]\n[Illustration: Fig. 41]\n[Illustration: Fig. 42]\n[Illustration: Fig. 43]\n\nWe have been through this calculation merely to show our readers how\nmuch beautiful effect may be produced by a wise disposition of color\nand skill in arrangement. If any of our friends should ever carry it\nout, they will find that the buff paper, with its dark, narrow border;\nthe green chintz repeated in the lounge, the ottomans, and lambrequins;\nthe flowing, white curtains; the broad, generous centre-table, draped\nwith its ample green cloth, will, when arranged together, produce an\neffect of grace and beauty far beyond what any one piece or even half\na dozen pieces of expensive cabinet furniture could. The great, simple\nprinciple of beauty illustrated in this room is _harmony of color_.\n\nYou can, in the same way, make a red room by using Turkey red for your\ndraperies; or a blue room by using blue chintz. Let your chintz be of\na small pattern, and one that is decided in color.\n\nWe have given the plan of a room with matting on the floor because\nthat is absolutely the cheapest cover. The price of thirty yards plain,\ngood ingrain carpet, at $1.50 per yard, would be forty-five dollars;\nthe difference between forty-five and fifteen dollars would _furnish_ a\nroom with pictures such as we have instanced. However, the same\nprogramme can be even better carried out with a green ingrain carpet as\nthe foundation of the color of the room.\n\nOur friends, who lived seven years upon matting, contrived to give\ntheir parlor in winter an effect of warmth and color by laying down,\nin front of the fire, a large square of carpeting, say three breadths,\nfour yards long. This covered the gathering-place around the fire where\nthe winter circle generally sits, and gave an appearance of warmth to\nthe room.\n\nIf we add this piece of carpeting to the estimates for our room, we\nstill leave a margin for a picture, and make the programme equally\nadapted to summer and winter.\n\nBesides the chromos, which, when well selected and of the best class,\ngive the charm of color which belongs to expensive paintings, there\nare engravings which finely reproduce much of the real spirit and\nbeauty of the celebrated pictures of the world. And even this does not\nexhaust the resources of economical art; for there are few of the\nrenowned statues, whether of antiquity or of modern times, that have\nnot been accurately copied in plaster casts; and a few statuettes,\ncosting perhaps five or six dollars each, will give a really elegant\nfinish to your rooms-providing always that they are selected with\ndiscrimination and taste.\n\nThe educating influence of these works of art can hardly be over-\nestimated. Surrounded by such suggestions of the beautiful, and such\nreminders of history and art, children are constantly trained to\ncorrectness of tote and refinement of thought, and stimulated--sometimes\nto efforts at artistic imitation, always to the eager and intelligent\ninquiry about the scenes, the places, the incidents represented. Just\nhere, perhaps, we are met by some who grant all that we say on the\nsubject of decoration by works of art, and who yet impatiently exclaim,\n\"But I have _no_ money to spare for any thing of this sort. I am\ncondemned to an absolute bareness, and beauty in my case is not to be\nthought of.\"\n\nAre you sure, my friend? If you live in the country, or can get into\nthe country, and have your eyes opened and your wits about you, your\nhouse need not be condemned to an absolute bareness. Not so long as\nthe woods are full of beautiful ferns and mosses, while every swamp\nshakes and nods with tremulous grasses, need you feel yourself an\nutterly disinherited child of nature, and deprived of its artistic use.\n\nFor example: Take an old tin pan condemned to the retired list by\nreason of holes in the bottom, get twenty-five cents' worth of green\npaint for this and other purposes, and paint it. The holes in the\nbottom are a recommendation for its new service. If there are no holes,\nyou must drill two or three, as drainage is essential. Now put a layer\none inch deep of broken charcoal and potsherds over the bottom, and\nthen soil, in the following proportions:\n\nTwo fourths wood-soil, such as you find in forests, under trees.\n\nOne fourth clean sand.\n\nOne fourth meadow-soil, taken from under fresh turf. Mix with this\nsome charcoal dust.\n\nIn this soil plant all sorts of ferns, together with some few\nswamp-grasses; and around the edge put a border of money-plant or\nperiwinkle to hang over. This will need to be watered once or twice\na week, and it will grow and thrive all summer long in a corner of\nyour room. Should you prefer, you can suspend it by wires and make a\nhanging-basket.--Ferns and wood-grasses need not have sunshine--they\ngrow well in shadowy places.\n\nOn this same principle you can convert a salt-box or an old drum of\nfigs into a hanging-basket. Tack bark and pine-cones and moss upon the\noutside of it, drill holes and pass wires through it, and you have a\nwoodland hanging-basket, which will hang and grow in any corner of\nyour house.\n\nWe have been into rooms which, by the simple disposition of articles\nof this kind, have been made to have an air so poetical and attractive\nthat they seemed more like a nymph's cave than any thing in the real\nworld.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 44.]\n\nAnother mode of disposing of ferns is this: Take a flat piece of board\nsawed out something like a shield, with a hole at the top for hanging\nit up. Upon the board nail a wire pocket made of an ox-muzzle flattened\non one side; or make something of the kind with stiff wire. Line this\nwith a sheet of close moss, which appears green behind the wire\nnet-work. Then you fill it with loose, spongy moss, such as you find\nin swamps, and plant therein great plumes of fern and various\nswamp-grasses; they will continue to grow there, and hang gracefully\nover. When watering, set a pail under for it to drip into. It needs\nonly to keep this moss always damp, and to sprinkle these ferns\noccasionally with a whisk-broom, to have a most lovely ornament for\nyour room or hall.\n\nThe use of ivy in decorating a room is beginning to be generally\nacknowledged. It needs to be planted in the kind of soil we have\ndescribed, in a well-drained pot or box, and to have its leaves\nthoroughly washed once or twice a year in strong suds made with\nsoft-soap, to free it from dust and scale-bug; and an ivy will live\nand thrive and wind about in a room, year in and year out, will grow\naround pictures, and do almost any thing to oblige you that you can\nsuggest to it. For instance, in a March number of _Hearth and Home_,\n[Footnote: A beautifully illustrated agricultural and family weekly\npaper, edited by Donald G. Mitchell(Ik Marvel) and Mrs. H. B. Stowe,]\nthere is a picture of the most delightful library-window imaginable,\nwhose chief charm consists in the running vines that start from a\nlongitudinal box at the bottom of the window, and thence clamber\nup and about the casing and across the rustic frame-work erected for\nits convenience. On the opposite page we present another plain kind\nof window, ornamented with a variety of these rural economical\nadornings.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 45.]\nIn the centre is a Ward's case. On one side is a pot of _Fuchsia_.\nOn the other side is a Calla Lily. In the hanging-baskets and on the\nbrackets are the ferns and flowers that flourish in the deep woods,\nand around the window is the ivy, running from two boxes; and, in case\nthe window has some sun, a _Nasturtium_ may spread its bright blossoms\namong the leaves. Then, in the winter, when there is less sun, the\n_Striped Spider-wort_, the _Smilax_ and the _Saxifraga_. _Samantosa_ (or\n_Wandering Jew_) may be substituted. Pretty brackets can be made of\ncommon pine, ornamented with odd-growing twigs or mosses or roots,\nscraped and varnished, or in their native state.\n\nA beautiful ornament for a room with pictures is German ivy. Slips of\nthis will start without roots in bottles of water. Slide the bottle\nbehind the picture, and the ivy will seem to come from fairyland, and\nhang its verdure in all manner of pretty curves around the picture.\nIt may then be trained to travel toward other ivy, and thus aid in\nforming green cornice along the ceiling. We have seen some rooms that\nhad an ivy cornice around the whole, giving the air of a leafy bower.\n\nThere are some other odd devices to ornament a room. For example, a\nsponge, kept wet by daily immersion, can be filled with flax-seed and\nsuspended by a cord, when it will ere long be covered with verdure and\nafterward with flowers.\n\nA sweet potato, laid in a bowl of water on a bracket, or still better,\nsuspended by a knitting-needle, run through or laid across the bowl\nhalf in the water, will, in due time, make a beautiful verdant ornament.\nA large carrot, with the smallest half cut off, scooped out to hold\nwater and then suspended with cords, will send out graceful shoots in\nrich profusion.\n\nHalf a cocoa-nut shell, suspended, will hold earth or water for plants\nand make a pretty hanging-garden.\n\nIt may be a very proper thing to direct the ingenuity and activity of\nchildren into the making of hanging-baskets and vases of rustic work.\nThe best foundations are the cheap wooden bowls, which are quite easy\nto get, and the walks of children in the woods can be made interesting\nby their bringing home material for this rustic work. Different colored\ntwigs and sprays of trees, such as the bright scarlet of the dog-wood,\nthe yellow of the willow, the black of the birch, and the silvery gray\nof the poplar, may be combined in fanciful net-work. For this sort of\nwork, no other investment is needed than a hammer and an assortment\nof different-sized tacks, and beautiful results will be produced.\nFig. 46 is a stand for flowers, made of roots, scraped and varnished.\nBut the greatest and cheapest and most delightful fountain of beauty\nis a \"Ward case.\"\n\n[Illustration: Fig 46.]\n\nNow, immediately all our economical friends give up in despair. Ward's\ncases sell all the way along from eighteen to fifty dollars, and are,\nlike every thing else in this lower world, regarded as the sole\nperquisites of the rich.\n\nLet us not be too sure. Plate-glass, and hot-house plants, and rare\npatterns, _are_ the especial inheritance of the rich; but any family may\ncommand all the requisites of a Ward case for a very small sum. Such a\ncase is a small glass closet over a well-drained box of soil. You make a\nWard case on a small scale when you turn a tumbler over a plant. The\nglass keeps the temperature moist and equable, and preserves the plants\nfrom dust, and the soil being well drained, they live and thrive\naccordingly. The requisites of these are the glass top and the bed of\nwell-drained soil.\n\nSuppose you have a common cheap table, four feet long and two wide.\nTake off the top boards of your table, and with them board the bottom\nacross tight and firm; then line it with zinc, and you will have a\nsort of box or sink on legs. Now make a top of common window-glass\nsuch as you would get for a cucumber-frame; let it be two and a half\nfeet high, with a ridge-pole like a house, and a slanting roof of glass\nresting on this ridge-pole; on one end let there be a door two feet\nsquare.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 47.]\n\nWe have seen a Ward case made in this way, in which the capabilities\nfor producing ornamental effect were greatly beyond many of the most\nelaborate ones of the shops. It was large, and roomy, and cheap. Common\nwindow-sash and glass are not dear, and any man with moderate ingenuity\ncould fashion such a glass closet for his wife; or a woman, not having\nsuch a husband, can do it herself.\n\nThe sink or box part must have in the middle of it a hole of good size\nfor drainage. In preparing for the reception of plants, first turn a\nplant-saucer over this hole, which may otherwise become stopped. Then,\nas directed for the other basket, proceed with a layer of broken\ncharcoal and pot-sherds for drainage, two inches deep, and prepare the\nsoil as directed above, and add to it some pounded charcoal, or the\nscrapings of the charcoal-bin. In short, more or less charcoal and\ncharcoal-dust is always in order in the treatment of these moist\nsubjects, as it keeps them from fermenting and growing sour.\n\nNow for filling the case.\n\nOur own native forest-ferns have a period in the winter months when\nthey cease to grow. They are very particular in asserting their right\nto this yearly nap, and will not, on any consideration, grow for you\nout of their appointed season.\n\nNevertheless, we shall tell you what we have tried ourselves, because\ngreenhouse ferns are expensive, and often great cheats when you have\nbought them, and die on your hands in the most reckless and shameless\nmanner. If you make a Ward case in the spring, your ferns will grow\nbeautifully in it all summer; and in the autumn, though they stop\ngrowing, and cease to throw out leaves, yet the old leaves will remain\nfresh and green till the time for starting the new ones in the spring.\n\nBut, supposing you wish to start your case in the fall, out of such\nthings as you can find in the forest; by searching carefully the rocks\nand clefts and recesses of the forest, you can find a quantity of\nbeautiful ferns whose leaves the frost has not yet assailed. Gather\nthem carefully, remembering that the time of the plant's sleep has\ncome, and that you must make the most of the leaves it now has, as you\nwill not have a leaf more from it till its waking-up time in February\nor March. But we have succeeded, and you will succeed, in making a\nvery charming and picturesque collection. You can make in your Ward\ncase lovely little grottoes with any bits of shells, and minerals, and\nrocks you may have; you can lay down, here and there, fragments of\nbroken looking-glass for the floor of your grottoes, and the effect\nof them will be magical. A square of looking-glass introduced into the\nback side of your case will produce charming effects.\n\nThe trailing arbutus or May-flower, if cut up carefully in sods, and\nput into this Ward case, will come into bloom there a month sooner\nthan it otherwise would, and gladden your eyes and heart.\n\nIn the fall, if you can find the tufts of eye-bright or houstonia\ncerulia, and mingle them in with your mosses, you will find them\nblooming before winter is well over.\n\nBut among the most beautiful things for such a case is the\npartridge-berry, with its red plums. The berries swell and increase\nin the moist atmosphere, and become intense in color, forming an\nadmirable ornament.\n\nThen the ground pine, the princess pine, and various nameless pretty\nthings of the woods, all flourish in these little conservatories. In\ngetting your sod of trailing arbutus, remember that this plant forms\nits buds in the fall. You must, therefore, examine your sod carefully,\nand see if the buds are there; otherwise you will find no blossoms in\nthe spring.\n\nThere are one or two species of violets, also, that form their buds\nin the fall, and these too, will blossom early for you.\n\nWe have never tried the wild anemones, the crowfoot, etc.; but as they\nall do well in moist, shady places, we recommend hopefully the\nexperiment of putting some of them in.\n\nA Ward case has this recommendation over common house-plants, that it\ntakes so little time and care. If well made in the outset, and\nthoroughly drenched with water when the plants are first put in, it\nwill after that need only to be watered about once a month, and to be\nventilated by occasionally leaving open the door for a half-hour or\nhour when the moisture obscures the glass and seems in excess.\n\nTo women embarrassed with the care of little children, yet longing for\nthe refreshment of something growing and beautiful, this indoor garden\nwill be an untold treasure. The glass defends the plant from the\ninexpedient intermeddling of little fingers; while the little eyes,\njust on a level with the panes of glass, can look through and learn\nto enjoy the beautiful, silent miracles of nature.\n\nFor an invalid's chamber, such a case would be an indescribable comfort.\nIt is, in fact, a fragment of the green woods brought in and silently\ngrowing; it will refresh many a weary hour to watch it.\n\n\n\nVII.\n\nTHE CARE OF HEALTH.\n\nThere is no point where a woman is more liable to suffer from a want\nof knowledge and experience than in reference to the health of a family\ncommitted to her care. Many a young lady who never had any charge of\nthe sick; who never took any care of an infant; who never obtained\ninformation on these subjects from books, or from the experience of\nothers; in short, with little or no preparation, has found herself the\nprincipal attendant in dangerous sickness, the chief nurse of a feeble\ninfant, and the responsible guardian of the health of a whole family.\n\nThe care, the fear, the perplexity of a woman suddenly called to these\nunwonted duties, none can realize till they themselves feel it, or\ntill they see some young and anxious novice first attempting to meet\nsuch responsibilities. To a woman of age and experience these duties\noften involve a measure of trial and difficulty at times deemed almost\ninsupportable; how hard, then, must they press on the heart of the\nyoung and inexperienced!\n\nThere is no really efficacious mode of preparing a woman to take a\nrational care of the health of a family, except by communicating that\nknowledge in regard to the construction of the body and the laws of\nhealth which is the basis of the medical profession. Not that a woman\nshould undertake the minute and extensive investigation requisite for\na physician; but she should gain a general knowledge of first\nprinciples, as a guide to her judgment in emergencies when she can\nrely on no other aid.\n\nWith this end in view, in the preceding chapters some portions of the\norgans and functions of the human body have been presented, and others\nwill now follow in connection with the practical duties which result\nfrom them.\n\nOn the general subject of health, one recent discovery of science may\nhere be introduced as having an important relation to every organ and\nfunction of the body, and as being one to which frequent reference\nwill be made; and that is, the nature and operation of _cell-life_.\n\nBy the aid of the microscope, we can examine the minute construction\nof plants and animals, in which we discover contrivances and operations,\nif not so sublime, yet more wonderful and interesting, than the vast\nsystems of worlds revealed by the telescope.\n\nBy this instrument it is now seen that the first formation, as well\nas future changes and actions, of all plants and animals are\naccomplished by means of small cells or bags containing various kinds\nof liquids. These cells are so minute that, of the smallest, some\nhundreds would not cover the dot of a printed _i_ on this page.\nThey are of diverse shapes and contents, and perform various different\noperations.\n\n[Illustration: Fig 48.]\n\nThe first formation of every animal is accomplished by the agency of\ncells, and may be illustrated by the egg of any bird or fowl. The\nexterior consists of a hard shell for protection, and this is lined\nwith a tough skin, to which is fastened the yelk, (which means the\n_yellow_,) by fibrous strings, as seen at _a_, _a_, in the diagram. In\nthe yelk floats the germ-cell, _b_, which is the point where the\nformation of the future animal commences. The yelk, being lighter than\nthe white, rises upward, and the germ being still lighter, rises in the\nyelk. This is to bring both nearer to the vitalizing warmth of the\nbrooding mother.\n\nNew cells are gradually formed from the nourishing yelk around the\ngerm, each being at first roundish in shape, and having a spot near\nthe centre, called the nucleus. The reason why cells increase must\nremain a mystery, until we can penetrate the secrets of vital\nforce--probably forever. But the mode in which they multiply is as\nfollows: The first change noticed in a cell, when warmed into vital\nactivity, is the appearance of a second nucleus within it, while the\ncell gradually becomes oval in form, and then is drawn inward at the\nmiddle, like an hour-glass, till the two sides meet. The two portions\nthen divide, and two cells appear, each containing its own germinal\nnucleus. These both divide again in the same manner, proceeding in the\nratio of 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on, until most of the yelk becomes a mass\nof cells.\n\nThe central point of this mass, where the animal itself commences to\nappear, shows, first, a round-shaped figure, which soon assumes form\nlike a pear, and then like a violin. Gradually the busy little cells\narrange themselves to build up heart, lungs, brain, stomach, and limbs,\nfor which the yelk and white furnish nutriment. There is a small bag\nof air fastened to one end inside of the shell; and when the animal\nis complete, this air is taken into its lungs, life begins, and out\nwalks little chick, all its powers prepared, and ready to run, eat,\nand enjoy existence. Then, as soon as the animal uses its brain to\nthink and feel, and its muscles to move, the cells which have been\nmade up into these parts begin to decay, while new cells are formed\nfrom the blood to take their place. Time with life commences the\nconstant process of decay and renewal all over the body.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 49.]\n\nThe liquid portion of the blood consists of material formed from food,\nair, and water. From this material the cells of the blood are formed:\nfirst, the white cells, which are incomplete in formation; and then\nthe red cells, which are completed by the addition of the oxygen\nreceived from air in the lungs. Fig. 49 represents part of a magnified\nblood-vessel, _a_, _a_, in which the round cells are the white, and the\noblong the red cells, floating in the blood. Surrounding the blood-\nvessels are the cells forming the adjacent membrane, _bb_, each having a\nnucleus in its centre.\n\nCells have different powers of selecting and secreting diverse materials\nfrom the blood. Thus, some secrete bile to carry to the liver, others\nsecrete saliva for the mouth, others take up the tears, and still\nothers take material for the brain, muscles, and all other organs.\nCells also have a converting power, of taking one kind of matter from\nthe blood, and changing it to another kind. They are minute chemical\nlaboratories all over the body, changing materials of one kind to\nanother form in which they can be made useful.\n\nBoth animal and vegetable substances are formed of cells. But the\nvegetable cells take up and use unorganized or simple, natural matter;\nwhereas the animal cell only takes substances already organized into\nvegetable or animal life, and then changes one compound into another\nof different proportions and nature.\n\nThese curious facts in regard to cell-life have important relations\nto the general subject of the care of health, and also to the cure of\ndisease, as will be noticed in following chapters.\n\n\nTHE NERVOUS SYSTEM.\n\nThere is another portion of the body, which is so intimately connected\nwith every other that it is placed in this chapter as also having\nreference to every department in the general subject of the care of\nhealth.\n\nThe body has no power to move itself, but is a collection of instruments\nto be used by the mind in securing various kinds of knowledge and\nenjoyment. The organs through which the mind thus operates are the\n_brain_ and _nerves_. The drawing (Fig. 50) represents them.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 50.]\n\nThe brain lies in the skull, and is divided into the large or upper\nbrain, marked 1, and the small or lower brain, marked 2. From the brain\nruns the spinal marrow through the spine or backbone. From each side\nof the spine the large nerves run out into innumerable smaller branches\nto every portion of the body. The drawing shows only some of the larger\nbranches. Those marked 3 run to the neck and organs of the chest; those\nmarked 4 go to the arms; those below the arms, marked 3, go to the\ntrunk; and those marked 5 go to the legs.\n\nThe brain and nerves consist of two kinds of nervous matter--the _gray_,\nwhich is supposed to be the portion that originates and controls a\nnervous fluid which imparts power of action; and the _white_, which\nseems to conduct this fluid to every part of the body.\n\nThe brain and nervous system are divided into distinct portions, each\nhaving different offices to perform, and each acting independently of\nthe others; as, for example, one portion is employed by the mind in\nthinking, and in feeling pleasurable or painful mental emotions; another\nin moving the muscles; while the nerves that run to the nose, ears,\neyes, tongue, hands, and surface generally, are employed in seeing,\nhearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling all physical sensations.\n\nThe _back_ portion of the spinal marrow and the nerves that run from it\nare employed in _sensation_, or the _sense of feeling_. These nerves\nextend over the whole body, but are largely developed in the network of\nnerves in the skin. The _front_ portion of the spinal marrow and its\nbranches are employed in moving those muscles in all parts of the body\nwhich are controlled by the _will_ or _choice_ of the mind. These are\ncalled the _nerves of motion_.\n\nThe nerves of sensation and nerves of motion, although they start from\ndifferent portions of the spine, are united in the same _sheath_ or\n_cover_, till they terminate in the muscles. Thus, every muscle is moved\nby nerves of motion; while alongside of this nerve, in the same sheath,\nis a nerve of sensation. All the nerves of motion and sensation are\nconnected with those portions of the brain used when we think, feel, and\nchoose. By this arrangement the mind _knows_ what is wanted in all parts\nof the body by means of the nerves of sensation, and then it _acts_ by\nmeans of the nerves of motion.\n\nFor example, when we feel the cold air on the skin, the nerves of\nsensation report to the brain, and thus to the mind, that the body is\ngrowing cold. The mind thus knows that more clothing is needed, and\n_wills_ to have the eyes look for it, and the hands and feet move\nto get it. This is done by the nerves of sight and of motion.\n\nNext are the nerves of _involuntary motion_, which move all those\nparts of the head, face, and body that are used in breathing, and in\nother operations connected with it. By these we continue to breathe\nwhen asleep, and whether we will to do so or not. There are also some\nof the nerves of voluntary motion that are mixed with these, which\nenable the mind to stop respiration, or to regulate it to a certain\nextent. But the mind has no power to stop it for any great length of\ntime.\n\nThere is another large and important system of nerves called the\n_sympathetic_ or _ganglionic_ system. It consists of small masses of\ngray and white nervous matter, that seem to be small brains with nerves\nrunning from them. These are called _ganglia_, and are arranged on each\nside of the spine, while small nerves from the spinal marrow run into\nthem, thus uniting the sympathetic system with the nerves of the spine.\nThese ganglia are also distributed around in various parts of the\ninterior of the body, especially in the intestines, and all the\ndifferent ganglia are connected with each other by nerves, thus making\none system. It is the ganglionic system that carries on the circulation\nof the blood, the action of the capillaries, lymphatics, arteries, and\nveins, together with the work of secretion, absorption, and most of the\ninternal working of the body, which goes forward without any knowledge\nor control of the mind.\n\nEvery portion of the body has nerves of sensation coming from the\nspine, and also branches of the sympathetic or ganglionic system. The\nobject of this is to form a sympathetic communication between the\nseveral parts of the body, and also to enable the mind to receive,\nthrough the brain, some general knowledge of the state of the whole\nsystem. It is owing to this that, when one portion of the body is\naffected, other portions sympathize. For example, if one part of the\nbody is diseased, the stomach may so sympathize as to lose all appetite\nuntil the disease is removed.\n\nAll the operations of the nervous system are performed by the influence\nof the nervous fluid, which is generated in the gray portions of the\nbrain and ganglia. Whenever a nerve is cut off from its connection\nwith these nervous centres, its power is gone, and the part to which\nit ministered becomes lifeless and incapable of motion.\n\nThe brain and nerves can be overworked, and can also suffer for want\nof exercise, just as the muscles do. It is necessary for the perfect\nhealth of the brain and nerves that the several portions he exercised\nsufficiently, and that no part be exhausted by over-action. For\nexample, the nerves of sensation may be very much exercised, and the\nnerves of motion have but little exercise. In this ease, one will be\nweakened by excess of work, and the other by the want of it.\n\nIt is found by experience that the proper exercise of the nerves of\nmotion tends to reduce any extreme susceptibility of the nerves of\nsensation. On the contrary, the neglect of such exercise tends to\nproduce an excessive sensibility in the nerves of sensation.\n\nWhenever that part of the brain which is employed in thinking, feeling,\nand willing, is greatly exercised by hard study, or by excessive care\nor emotion, the blood tends to the brain to supply it with increased\nnourishment, just as it flows to the muscles when they are exercised.\nOver-exercise of this portion of the brain causes engorgement of the\nblood-vessels. This is sometimes indicated by pain, or by a sense of\nfullness in the head; but oftener the result is a debilitating drain\non the nervous system, which depends for its supply on the healthful\nstate of the brain.\n\nThe brain has, as it were, a fountain of supply for the nervous fluid,\nwhich flows to all the nerves, and stimulates them to action. Some\nbrains have a larger, and some a smaller fountain; so that a degree\nof mental activity that would entirely exhaust one, would make only\na small and healthful drain upon another.\n\nThe excessive use of certain portions of the brain tends to withdraw\nthe nervous energy from other portions; so that when one part is\ndebilitated by excess, another fails by neglect. For example, a person\nmay so exhaust the brain power in the excessive use of the nerves of\nmotion by hard work, as to leave little for any other faculty. On the\nother hand, the nerves of feeling and thinking may be so used as to\nwithdraw the nervous fluid from the nerves of motion, and thus\ndebilitate the muscles.\n\nSome animal propensities may be indulged to such excess as to produce\na constant tendency of the blood to a certain portion of the brain,\nand to the organs connected with it, and thus cause a constant and\nexcessive excitement, which finally becomes a disease. Sometimes a\nparalysis of this portion of the brain results from such an entire\nexhaustion of the nervous fountain and of the overworked nerves.\n\nThus, also, the thinking portion of the brain may be so overworked as\nto drain the nervous fluid from other portions, which become debilitated\nby the loss. And in this way, also, the overworked portion may be\ndiseased or paralyzed by the excess.\n\nThe necessity for the _equal development_ of all portions of the brain\nby an appropriate exercise of _all_ the faculties of mind and body, and\nthe influence of this upon happiness, is the most important portion of\nthis subject, and will be more directly exhibited in another chapter.\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\nDOMESTIC EXERCISE.\n\n\nIn a work which aims to influence women to train the young to honor\ndomestic labor and to seek healthful exercise in home pursuits, there\nis special reason for explaining the construction of the muscles and\ntheir connection with the nerves, these being the chief organs of\nmotion.\n\nThe muscles, as seen by the naked eye, consist of very fine fibres or\nstrings, bound up in smooth, silky casings of thin membrane. But each\nof these visible fibres or strings the microscope shows to be made up\nof still finer strings, numbering from five to eight hundred in each\nfibre. And each of these microscopic fibres is a series or chain of\nelastic cells, which are so minute that one hundred thousand would\nscarcely cover a capital O on this page.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 51.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 52.]\n\nThe peculiar property of the cells which compose the muscles is their\nelasticity, no other cells of the body having this property. At Fig.\n51 is a diagram representing a microscopic muscular fibre, in which\nthe cells are relaxed, as in the natural state of rest. But when the\nmuscle contracts, each of its numberless cells in all its small fibres\nbecomes widened, making each fibre of the muscle shorter and thicker,\nas at Fig. 52. This explains the cause of the swelling out of muscles\nwhen they act.\n\nEvery motion in every part of the body has a special muscle to produce\nit, and many have other muscles to restore the part moved to its natural\nstate. The muscles that move or bend any part are called _flexors_,\nand those that restore the natural position are called _extensors_.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 53]\n\nFig. 53 represents the muscles of the arm after the skin and flesh are\nremoved. They are all in smooth silky cases, laid over each other, and\nseparated both by the smooth membranes that encase them and by layers\nof fat, so as to move easily without interfering with each other. They\nare fastened to the bones by strong tendons and cartilages; and around\nthe wrist, in the drawing, is shown a band of cartilage to confine\nthem in place. The muscle marked 8 is the extensor that straightens\nthe fingers after they have been closed by a flexor the other side of\nthe arm. In like manner, each motion of the arm and fingers has one\nmuscle to produce it and another to restore to the natural position.\n\nThe muscles are dependent on the brain and nerves for power to move.\nIt has been shown that the gray matter of the brain and spinal marrow\nfurnishes the stimulating power that moves the muscles, and causes\nsensations of touch on the skin, and the other sensations of the several\nsenses. The white part of the brain and spinal marrow consists solely\nof conducting tubes to transmit this influence. Each of the minute\nfibrils of the muscles has a small conducting nerve connecting it with\nthe brain or spinal marrow, and in this respect each muscular fibril\nis separate from every other.\n\nWhen, therefore, the mind wills to move a flexor muscle of the arm,\nthe gray matter sends out the stimulus through the nerves to the cells\nof each individual fibre of that muscle, and they contract. When this\nis done, the nerve of sensation reports it to the brain and mind. If\nthe mind desires to return the arm to its former position, then follows\nthe willing, and consequent stimulus sent through the nerves to the\ncorresponding muscle; its cells contract, and the limb is restored.\n\nWhen the motion is a compound one, involving the action of several\nmuscles at the same time, a multitude of impressions are sent back and\nforth to and from the brain through the nerves. But the person acting\nthus is unconscious of all this delicate and wonderful mechanism. He\nwills the movement, and instantly the requisite nervous power is sent\nto the required cells and fibres, and they perform the motions required.\nMany of the muscles are moved by the sympathetic system, over which\nthe mind has but little control.\n\nAmong the muscles and nerves so intimately connected, run the minute\ncapillaries of the blood, which furnish nourishment to all.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 54]\n\nFig. 54 represents an artery a _a_, which brings pure blood to a muscle\nfrom the heart. After meandering through the capillaries at _c_, to\ndistribute oxygen and food from the stomach, the blood enters the vein,\n_b_, loaded with carbonic acid and water taken up in the capillaries, to\nbe carried to the lungs or skin, and thrown out into the air.\n\nThe manner in which the exercise of the muscles quickens the circulation\nof the blood will now be explained. The veins abound in every part of\nevery muscle, and the large veins have _valves_ which prevent the\nblood from flowing backward. If the wrist is grasped tightly, the veins\nof the hand are immediately swollen. This is owing to the fact that\nthe blood is prevented from flowing toward the heart by this pressure,\nand by the vein-valves from returning into the arteries; while the\narteries themselves, being placed deeper down, are not so compressed,\nand continue to send the blood into the hand, and thus it accumulates.\nAs soon as this pressure is removed, the blood springs onward from the\nrestraint with accelerated motion. This same process takes place when\nany of the muscles are exercised. The contraction of any muscle presses\nsome of the veins, so that the blood can not flow the natural way,\nwhile the valves in the veins prevent its flowing backward. Meantime\nthe arteries continue to press the blood along until the veins become\nswollen. Then, as soon as the muscle ceases its contraction, the blood\nflows faster from the previous accumulation.\n\nIf, then, we use a number of muscles, and use them strongly and quickly,\nthere are so many veins affected in this way as to quicken the whole\ncirculation. The heart receives blood faster, and sends it to the lungs\nfaster. Then the lungs work quicker, to furnish the oxygen required\nby the greater amount of blood. The blood returns with greater speed\nto the heart, and the heart sends it out with quicker action through\nthe arteries to the capillaries. In the capillaries, too, the decayed\nmatter is carried off faster, and then the stomach calls for more food\nto furnish new and pure blood. Thus it is that exercise gives new life\nand nourishment to every part of the body.\n\nIt is the universal law of the human frame that _exercise_ is\nindispensable to the health of the several parts. Thus, if a\nblood-vessel be tied up, so as not to be used, it shrinks, and becomes\na useless string; if a muscle be condemned to inaction, it shrinks in\nsize and diminishes in power; and thus it is also with the bones.\nInactivity produces softness, debility, and unfitness for the functions\nthey are designed to perform.\n\nNow, the nerves, like all other parts of the body, gain and lose\nstrength according as they are exercised. If they have too much or too\nlittle exercise, they lose strength; if they are exercised to a proper\ndegree, they gain strength. When the mind is continuously excited, by\nbusiness, study, or the imagination, the nerves of emotion and sensation\nare kept in constant action, while the nerves of motion are unemployed.\nIf this is continued for a long time, the nerves of sensation lose\ntheir strength from over-action, and the nerves of motion lose their\npower from inactivity. In consequence, there is a morbid excitability\nof the nervous, and a debility of the muscular system, which make all\nexertion irksome and wearisome.\n\nThe only mode of preserving the health of these systems is to keep up\nin them an equilibrium of action. For this purpose, occupations must\nbe sought which exercise the muscles and interest the mind; and thus\nthe equal action of both kinds of nerves is secured. This shows why\nexercise is so much more healthful and invigorating when the mind is\ninterested, than when it is not. As an illustration, let a person go\nshopping with a friend, and have nothing to do but look on. How soon\ndo the continuous walking and standing weary! But, suppose one, thus\nwearied, hears of the arrival of a very dear friend: she can instantly\nwalk off a mile or two to meet her, without the least feeling of\nfatigue. By this is shown the importance of furnishing, for young\npersons, exercise in which they will take an interest. Long and formal\nwalks, merely for exercise, though they do some good, in securing fresh\nair, and some exercise of the muscles, would be of triple benefit if\nchanged to amusing sports, or to the cultivation of fruits and flowers,\nin which it is impossible to engage without acquiring a great interest.\n\nIt shows, also, why it is far better to trust to useful domestic\nexercise at home than to send a young person out to walk for the mere\npurpose of exercise. Young girls can seldom be made to realize the\nvalue of health, and the need of exercise to secure it, so as to feel\nmuch interest in walking abroad, when they have no other object. But,\nif they are brought up to minister to the comfort and enjoyment of\nthemselves and others, by performing domestic duties, they will\nconstantly be interested and cheered in their exercise by the feeling\nof usefulness and the consciousness of having performed their duty.\n\nThere are few young persons, it is hoped, who are brought up with such\nmiserable habits of selfishness and indolence that they can not be\nmade to feel happier by the consciousness of being usefully employed.\nAnd those who have never been accustomed to think or care for any one\nbut themselves, and who seem to feel little pleasure in making\nthemselves useful, by wise and proper influences can often be gradually\nawakened to the new pleasure of benevolent exertion to promote the\ncomfort and enjoyment of others. And the more this sacred and elevating\nkind of enjoyment is tasted, the greater is the relish induced. Other\nenjoyments often cloy; but the heavenly pleasure secured by virtuous\nindustry and benevolence, while it satisfies at the time, awakens fresh\ndesires for the continuance of so ennobling a good.\n\n\n\n\nIX.\n\nHEALTHFUL FOOD.\n\n\nThe person who decides what shall be the food and drink of a family,\nand the modes of its preparation, is the one who decides, to a greater\nor less extent, what shall be the health of that family. It is the\nopinion of most medical men, that intemperance in eating is one of the\nmost fruitful of all causes of disease and death. If this be so, the\nwoman who wisely adapts the food and cooking of her family to the laws\nof health removes one of the greatest risks which threatens the lives\nof those under her care. But, unfortunately, there is no other duty\nthat has been involved in more doubt and perplexity. Were one to believe\nall that is said and written on this subject, the conclusion probably\nwould be, that there is not one solitary article of food on God's earth\nwhich it is healthful to eat. Happily, however, there are general\nprinciples on this subject which, if understood and applied, will prove\na safe guide to any woman of common sense; and it is the object of the\nfollowing chapter to set forth these principles.\n\nAll material things on earth, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, can\nbe resolved into sixty-two simple substances, only fourteen of which\nare in the human body; and these, in certain proportions, in all\nmankind.\n\nThus, in a man weighing 154 lbs. are found, 111 lbs. oxygen gas, and\n14 lbs. hydrogen gas, which, united, form water; 21 lbs. carbon; 3\nlbs. 8 oz. nitrogen gas; 1 lb. 12 oz. 190 grs. phosphorus; 2 lbs.\ncalcium, the chief ingredient of bones; 2 oz. fluorine; 2 oz. 219 grs.\nsulphur; 2 oz 47 grs. chlorine; 2 oz. 116 grs. sodium; 100 grs. iron;\n290 grs. potassium; 12 grs. magnesium; and 2 grs. silicon.\n\nThese simple substances are constantly passing out of the body through\nthe lungs, skin, and other excreting organs.\n\nIt is found that certain of these simple elements are used for one\npart of the body, and others for other parts, and this in certain\nregular proportions. Thus, carbon is the chief element of fat, and\nalso supplies the fuel that combines with oxygen in the capillaries\nto produce animal heat. The nitrogen which we gain from our food and\nthe air is the chief element of muscle; phosphorus is the chief element\nof brain and nerves; and calcium or lime is the hard portion of the\nbones. Iron is an important element of blood, and silicon supplies the\nhardest parts of the teeth, nails, and hair.\n\nWater, which is composed of the two gases, oxygen and hydrogen, is the\nlargest portion of the body, forming its fluids; there is four times\nas much of carbon as there is of nitrogen in the body; while there is\nonly two per cent as much phosphorus as carbon. A man weighing one\nhundred and fifty-four pounds, who leads an active life, takes into\nhis stomach daily from two to three pounds of solid food, and from\nfive to six pounds of liquid. At the same time he takes into his lungs,\ndaily, four or five thousand gallons of air. This amounts to three\nthousand pounds of nutriment received through stomach and lungs, and\nthen expelled from the body, in one year; or about twenty times the\nman's own weight.\n\nThe change goes on in every minute point of the body, though in some\nparts much faster than in others; as set forth in the piquant and\nsprightly language of Dr. O. W. Holmes [Footnote: Atlantic Almanac,\n1869, p. 40.], who, giving a vivid picture of the constant decay and\nrenewal of the body, says:\n\n\"_Every organized being always lives immersed in a strong solution\nof its own elements._\"\n\n\"Sometimes, as in the case of the air-plant, the solution contains all\nits elements; but in higher plants, and in animals generally, some of\nthe principal ones only. Take our own bodies, and we find the atmosphere\ncontains the oxygen and the nitrogen, of which we are so largely made\nup, as its chief constituents; the hydrogen, also, in its watery vapor;\nthe carbon, in its carbonic acid. What our air-bath does not furnish\nus, we must take in the form of nourishment, supplied through the\ndigestive organs. But the first food we take, after we have set up for\nourselves, is air, and the last food we take is air also. We are all\nchameleons in our diet, as we are all salamanders in our _habitats_,\ninasmuch as we live always in the fire of our own smouldering\ncombustion; a gentle but constant flame, fanned every day by the same\nforty hogsheads of air which furnish us not with our daily bread, which\nwe can live more than a day without touching, but with our momentary,\nand oftener than momentary, aliment, without which we can not live five\nminutes.\"\n\n\"We are perishing and being born again at every instant. We do literally\nenter over and over again into the womb of that great mother, from\nwhom we get our bones, and flesh, and blood, and marrow. 'I die daily'\nis true of all that live. If we cease to die, particle by particle,\nand to be born anew in the same proportion, the whole movement of life\ncomes to an end, and swift, universal, irreparable decay resolves\nour frames into the parent elements.\"\n\n\"The products of the internal fire which consumes us over and over\nagain every year, pass off mainly in smoke and steam from the lungs\nand the skin. The smoke is only invisible, because the combustion is\nso perfect. The steam is plain enough in our breaths on a frosty\nmorning; and an over-driven horse will show us, on a larger scale, the\ncloud that is always arising from own bodies.\"\n\n\"Man walks, then, not only in a vain show, but wrapped in an uncelestial\naureole of his own material exhalations. A great mist of gases and of\nvapor rises day and night from the whole realm of living nature. The\nwater and the carbonic acid which animals exhale become the food of\nplants, whose leaves are at once lungs and mouths. The vegetable world\nreverses the breathing process of the animal creation, restoring the\nelements which that has combined and rendered effete for its own\npurposes, to their original condition. The salt-water ocean is a great\naquarium. The air ocean in which we live is a 'Wardian case,' of larger\ndimensions.\"\n\nIt is found that the simple elements will not nourish the body in their\nnatural state, but only when organized, either as vegetable or animal\nfood; and, to the dismay of the Grahamite or vegetarian school, it is\nnow established by chemists that animal and vegetable food contain the\nsame elements, and in nearly the same proportions.\n\nThus, in animal food, carbon predominates in fats, while in vegetable\nfood it shows itself in sugar, starch, and vegetable oils. Nitrogen\nis found in animal food in the albumen, fibrin, and caseine; while in\nvegetables it is in gluten, albumen, and caseine.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 55]\n\nIt is also a curious fact that, in all articles of food, the elements\nthat nourish diverse parts of the body are divided into separable\nportions, and also that the proportions correspond in a great degree\nto the wants of the body. For example, a kernel of wheat contains all\nthe articles demanded for every part of the body. Fig. 55 represents,\nupon an enlarged scale, the position and proportions of the chief\nelements required. The white central part is the largest in quantity,\nand is chiefly carbon in the form of starch, which supplies fat and\nfuel for the capillaries. The shaded outer portion is chiefly nitrogen,\nwhich nourishes the muscles, and the dark spot at the bottom is\nprincipally phosphorus, which nourishes the brain and nerves. And these\nelements are in due proportion to the demands of the body. A portion\nof the outer covering of a wheat-kernel holds lime, silica, and iron,\nwhich are needed by the body, and which are found in no other part of\nthe grain. The woody fibre is not digested, but serves by its bulk and\nstimulating action to facilitate digestion. It is therefore evident\nthat bread made of unbolted flour is more healthful than that made of\nsuperfine flour. The process of bolting removes all the woody fibre;\nthe lime needed for the bones; the silica for hair, nails, and teeth;\nthe iron for the blood; and most of the nitrogen and phosphorus needed\nfor muscles, brain, and nerves.\n\nExperiments on animals prove that fine flour alone, which is chiefly\ncarbon, will not sustain life more than a month, while unbolted flour\nfurnishes all that is needed for every part of the body. There are\ncases where persons can not use such coarse bread, on account of its\nirritating action on inflamed coats of the stomach. For such, a kind\nof wheaten grit is provided, containing all the kernel of the wheat,\nexcept the outside woody fibre.\n\nWhen the body requires a given kind of diet, specially demanded by\nbrain, lungs, or muscles, the appetite will crave food for it until\nthe necessary amount of this article is secured. If, then, the food\nin which the needed aliment abounds is not supplied, other food will\nbe taken in larger quantities than needed until that amount is gained.\nFor all kinds of food have supplies for every want of the body, though\nin different proportions. Thus, for example, if the muscles are worked\na great deal, food in which nitrogen abounds is required, and the\nappetite will continue until the requisite amount of nitrogen is\nsecured. If, then, food is taken which has not the requisite quantity,\nthe consequence is, that more is taken than the system can use, while\nthe vital powers are needlessly taxed to throw off the excess.\n\nThese facts were ascertained by Liebig, a celebrated German chemist\nand physicist, who, assisted by his government, conducted experiments\non a large scale in prisons, in armies, and in hospitals. Among other\nresults, he states that those who use potatoes for their principal\nfood eat them in very much larger quantities than their bodies would\ndemand if they used also other food. The reason is, that the potato\nhas a very large proportion of starch that supplies only fuel for the\ncapillaries and very little nitrogen to feed the muscles. For this\nreason lean meat is needed with potatoes.\n\nIn comparing wheat and potatoes we find that in one hundred parts wheat\nthere are fourteen parts nitrogen for muscle, and two parts phosphorus\nfor brain and nerves. But in the potato there is only one part in one\nhundred for muscle, and nine tenths of one part of phosphorus for brain\nand nerves.\n\nThe articles containing most of the three articles needed generally\nin the body are as follows: for fat and heat-making--butter, lard,\nsugar, and molasses; for muscle-making--lean meat, cheese, peas, beans,\nand lean fishes; for brain and nerves--shell-fish, lean meats, peas,\nbeans, and very active birds and fishes who live chiefly on food in\nwhich phosphorus abounds. In a meat diet, the fat supplies carbon for\nthe capillaries and the lean furnishes nutriment for muscle, brain,\nand nerves. Green vegetables, fruits, and berries furnish the acid and\nwater needed.\n\nIn grains used for food, the proportions of useful elements are varied;\nthere is in some more of carbon and in others more of nitrogen and\nphosphorus. For example, in oats there is more of nitrogen for the\nmuscles, and less carbon for the lungs, than can be found in wheat.\nIn the corn of the North, where cold weather demands fuel for lungs\nand capillaries, there is much more carbon to supply it than is found\nin the Southern corn.\n\nFrom these statements it may be seen that one of the chief mistakes\nin providing food for families has been in changing the proportions\nof the elements nature has fitted for our food. Thus, fine wheat is\ndeprived by bolting of some of the most important of its nourishing\nelements, leaving carbon chiefly, which, after supplying fuel fur the\ncapillaries, must, if in excess, be sent out of the body; thus\nneedlessly taxing all the excreting organs. So milk, which contains\nall the elements needed by the body, has the cream taken out and used\nfor butter, which again is chiefly carbon. Then, sugar and molasses,\ncakes and candies, are chiefly carbon, and supply but very little of\nother nourishing elements, while to make them safe much exercise in\ncold and pure air is necessary. And yet it is the children of the rich,\nhoused in chambers and school-rooms most of their time, who are fed\nwith these dangerous dainties, thus weakening their constitutions, and\ninducing fevers, colds, and many other diseases. The proper digestion\nof food depends on the wants of the body, and on its power of\nappropriating the aliment supplied. The best of food can not be properly\ndigested when it is not needed. All that the system requires will be\nused, and the rest will be thrown out by the several excreting organs,\nwhich thus are frequently over-taxed, and vital forces are wasted.\nEven food of poor quality may digest well if the demands of the system\nare urgent. The way to increase digestive power is to increase the\ndemand for food by pure air and exercise of the muscles, quickening\nthe blood, and arousing the whole system to a more rapid and vigorous\nrate of life.\n\nRules for persons in full health, who enjoy pure air and exercise, are\nnot suitable for those whose digestive powers are feeble, or who are\ndiseased. On the other hand, many rules for invalids are not needed\nby the healthful, while rules for one class of invalids will not avail\nfor other classes. Every weak stomach has its peculiar wants, and can\nnot furnish guidance for others.\n\nWe are now ready to consider intelligently the following general\nprinciples in regard to the proper selection of food:\n\nVegetable and animal food are equally healthful if apportioned to the\ngiven circumstances.\n\nIn cold weather, carbonaceous food, such as butter, fats, sugar,\nmolasses, etc., can be used more safely than in warm weather. And they\ncan be used more safely by those who exercise in the open air than by\nthose of confined and sedentary habits.\n\nStudents who need food with little carbon, and women who live in the\nhouse, should always seek coarse bread, fruits, and lean meats, and\navoid butter, oils, sugar, and molasses, and articles containing them.\n\nMany students and women using little exercise in the open air, grow\nthin and weak, because the vital powers are exhausted in throwing off\nexcess of food, especially of the carbonaceous. The liver is especially\ntaxed in such cases, being unable to remove all the excess of\ncarbonaceous matter from, the blood, and thus \"biliousness\" ensues,\nparticularly on the approach of warm weather, when the air brings less\noxygen than in cold.\n\nIt is found, by experiment, that the supply of gastric juice, furnished\nfrom the blood by the arteries of the stomach, is proportioned, not\nto the amount of food put into the stomach, but to the wants of the\nbody; so that it is possible to put much more into the stomach than\ncan be digested. To guide and regulate in this matter, the sensation\ncalled _hunger_ is provided. In a healthy state of the body, as\nsoon as the blood has lost its nutritive supplies, the craving of\nhunger is felt, and then, if the food is suitable, and is taken in the\nproper manner, this sensation ceases as soon as the stomach has received\nenough to supply the wants of the system. But our benevolent Creator,\nin this, as in our other duties, has connected enjoyment with the\noperation needful to sustain our bodies. In addition to the allaying\nof hunger, the gratification of the palate is secured by the immense\nvariety of food, some articles of which are far more agreeable than\nothers.\n\nThis arrangement of Providence, designed for our happiness, has become,\neither through ignorance, or want of self-control, the chief cause of\nthe many diseases and suffering which afflict those classes who have\nthe means of seeking a variety to gratify the palate. If mankind had\nonly one article of food, and only water to drink, though they would\nhave less enjoyment in eating, they would never be tempted to put any\nmore into the stomach than the calls of hunger require. But the customs\nof society, which present an incessant change, and a great variety of\nfood, with those various condiments which stimulate appetite, lead\nalmost every person very frequently to eat merely to gratify the palate,\nafter the stomach has been abundantly supplied, so that hunger has\nceased.\n\nWhen too great a supply of food is put into the stomach, the gastric\njuice dissolves only that portion which the wants of the system demand.\nMost of the remainder is ejected, in an unprepared state; the absorbents\ntake portions of it into the system; and all the various functions of\nthe body, which depend on the ministries of the blood, are thus\ngradually and imperceptibly injured. Very often, intemperance in eating\nproduces immediate results, such as colic, headaches, pains of\nindigestion, and vertigo.\n\nBut the more general result is a gradual undermining of all parts of\nthe human frame; this imperceptibly shortening life, by so weakening\nthe constitution, that it is ready to yield, at every point, to any\nuncommon risk or exposure. Thousands and thousands are parsing out of\nthe world, from diseases occasioned by exposures which a healthy\nconstitution could meet without any danger. It is owing to these\nconsiderations, that it becomes the duty of every woman, who has the\nresponsibility of providing food for a family, to avoid a variety of\ntempting dishes. It is a much safer rule, to have only one kind of\nhealthy food, for each meal, than the too abundant variety which is\noften met at the tables of almost all classes in this country. When\nthere is to be any variety of dishes, they ought not to be successive,\nbut so arranged as to give the opportunity of selection. How often is\nit the case, that persons, by the appearance of a favorite article,\nare tempted to eat merely to gratify the palate, when the stomach is\nalready adequately supplied. All such intemperance wears on the\nconstitution, and shortens life. It not infrequently happens that\nexcess in eating produces a morbid appetite, which must constantly be\ndenied.\n\nBut the organization of the digestive organs demands, not only that\nfood should be taken in proper quantities, but that it be taken at\nproper times.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 56.]\n\nFig. 56 shows one important feature of the digestive organs relating\nto this point. The part marked LM shows the muscles of the inner coat\nof the stomach, which run in one direction, and CM shows the muscles\nof the outer coat, running in another direction.\n\nAs soon as the food enters the stomach, the muscles are excited by the\nnerves, and the _peristaltic motion_ commences. This is a powerful\nand constant exercise of the muscles of the stomach, which continues\nuntil the process of digestion is complete. During this time the blood\nis withdrawn from other parts of the system, to supply the demands of\nthe stomach, which is laboring hard with all its muscles. When this\nmotion ceases, and the digested food has gradually passed out, nature\nrequires that the stomach should have a period of repose. And if another\nmeal be eaten immediately after one is digested, the stomach is set\nto work again before it has had time to rest, and before a sufficient\nsupply of gastric juice is provided.\n\nThe general rule, then, is, that three hours be given to the stomach\nfor labor, and two for rest; and in obedience to this, five hours, at\nleast, ought to elapse between every two regular meals. In cases where\nexercise produces a flow of perspiration, more food is needed to supply\nthe loss; and strong laboring men may safely eat as often as they feel\nthe want of food. So, young and healthy children, who gambol and\nexercise ranch and whose bodies grow fast, may have a more frequent\nsupply of food. But, as a general rule, meals should be five hours\napart, and eating between meals avoided. There is nothing more unsafe,\nand wearing to the constitution, than a habit of eating at any time\nmerely to gratify the palate. When a tempting article is presented,\nevery person should exercise sufficient self-denial to wait till the\nproper time for eating arrives. Children, as well as grown persons,\nare often injured by eating between their regular meals, thus weakening\nthe stomach by not affording it any time for rest.\n\nIn deciding as to _quantity_ of food, there is one great difficulty\nto be met by a large portion of the community. The exercise of every\npart of the body is necessary to its health and perfection. The bones,\nthe muscles, the nerves, the organs of digestion and respiration, and\nthe skin, all demand exercise, in order properly to perform their\nfunctions. When the muscles of the body are called into action, all\nthe blood-vessels entwined among them are frequently compressed. As\nthe veins have valves so contrived that the blood can not run back,\nthis compression hastens it forward toward the heart; which is\nimmediately put in quicker motion, to send it into the lungs; and they,\nalso, are thus stimulated to more rapid action, which is the cause of\nthat panting which active exercise always occasions. The blood thus\ncourses with greater celerity through the body, and sooner loses its\nnourishing properties. Then the stomach issues its mandate of hunger,\nand a new supply of food must be furnished.\n\nThus it appears, as a general rule, that the quantity of food actually\nneeded by the body depends on the amount of muscular exercise taken.\nA laboring man, in the open fields, probably throws off from his skin\nand lungs a much larger amount than a person of sedentary pursuits.\nIn consequence of this, he demands a greater amount of food and drink.\n\nThose persons who keep their bodies in a state of health by sufficient\nexercise can always be guided by the calls of hunger. They can eat\nwhen they feel hungry, and stop when hunger ceases; and thus they will\ncalculate exactly right. But the difficulty is, that a large part of\nthe community, especially women, are so inactive in their habits that\nthey seldom feel the calls of hunger. They habitually eat, merely to\ngratify the palate. This produces such a state of the system that they\nlose the guide which Nature has provided. They are not called to eat\nby hunger, nor admonished, by its cessation, when to stop. In\nconsequence of this, such persons eat what pleases the palate, till\nthey feel no more inclination for the article. It is probable that\nthree fourths of the women in the wealthier circles sit down to each\nmeal without any feeling of hunger, and eat merely on account of the\ngratification thus afforded them. Such persons find their appetite to\ndepend almost solely upon the kind of food on the table. This is not\nthe case with those who take the exercise which Nature demands. They\napproach their meals in such a state that almost any kind of food is\nacceptable.\n\nThe question then arises, How are persons, who have lost the guide\nwhich Nature has provided, to determine as to the proper amount of\nfood they shall take?\n\nThe best method is for several days to take their ordinary exercise\nand eat only one or two articles of simple food, such as bread and\nmilk, or bread and butter with cooked fruit, or lean meat with bread\nand vegetables, and at the same time eat less than the appetite demands.\nThen on the following two days, take just enough to satisfy the\nappetite, and on the third day notice the quantity which satisfies.\nAfter this, decide before eating that only this amount of simple food\nshall be taken.\n\nPersons who have a strong constitution, and take much exercise, may\neat almost any thing with apparent impunity; but young children who\nare forming their constitutions, and persons who are delicate, and who\ntake but little exercise, are very dependent for health on a proper\nselection of food.\n\nIt is found that there are some kinds of food which afford nutriment\nto the blood, and do not produce any other effect on the system. There\nare other kinds, which are not only nourishing, but _stimulating_,\nso that they quicken the functions of the organs on which they operate.\nThe condiments used in cookery, such as pepper, mustard, and spices,\nare of this nature. There are certain states of the system when these\nstimulants may be beneficial; such cases can only be pointed out by\nmedical men.\n\nPersons in perfect health, and especially young children, never receive\nany benefit from such kind of food; and just in proportion as condiments\noperate to quicken the labors of the internal organs, they tend to\nwear down their powers. A person who thus keeps the body working under\nan unnatural excitement, _live faster_ than Nature designed, and\nthe constitution is worn out just so much the sooner. A woman,\ntherefore, should provide dishes for her family which are free from\nthese stimulating condiments.\n\nIt is also found, by experience, that the lean part of animal food is\nmore stimulating than vegetable. This is the reason why, in cases of\nfevers or inflammations, medical men forbid the use of meat. A person\nwho lives chiefly on animal food is under a higher degree of stimulus\nthan if his food was chiefly composed of vegetable substances. His\nblood will flow faster, and all the functions of his body will be\nquickened. This makes it important to secure a proper proportion of\nanimal and vegetable diet. Some medical men suppose that an exclusively\nvegetable diet is proved, by the experience of many individuals, to\nbe fully sufficient to nourish the body; and bring, as evidence, the\nfact that some of the strongest and most robust men in the world are\nthose who are trained, from infancy, exclusively on vegetable food.\nFrom this they infer that life will be shortened just in proportion\nas the diet is changed to more stimulating articles; and that, all\nother things being equal, children will have a better chance of health\nand long life if they are brought up solely on vegetable food.\n\nBut, though this is not the common opinion of medical men, they all\nagree that, in America, far too large a portion of the diet consists\nof animal food. As a nation, the Americans are proverbial for the gross\nand luxurious diet with which they load their tables; and there can\nbe no doubt that the general health of the nation would be increased\nby a change in our customs in this respect. To take meat but once a\nday, and this in small quantities, compared with the common practice,\nis a rule, the observance of which would probably greatly reduce the\namount of fevers, eruptions, headaches, bilious attacks, and the many\nother ailments which are produced or aggravated by too gross a diet.\n\nThe celebrated Roman physician, Baglivi, (who, from practicing\nextensively among Roman Catholics, had ample opportunities to observe,)\nmentions that, in Italy, an unusual number of people recover their\nhealth in the forty days of Lent, in consequence of the lower diet\nwhich is required as a religious duty. An American physician remarks,\n\"For every reeling drunkard that disgraces our country, it contains\none hundred gluttons--persons, I mean, who eat to excess, and suffer\nin consequence.\" Another distinguished physician says, \"I believe that\nevery stomach, not actually impaired by organic disease, will perform\nits functions, if it receives reasonable attention; and when we perceive\nthe manner in which diet is generally conducted, both in regard to\n_quantity_ and _variety_ of articles of food and drink, which are mixed\nup in one heterogeneous mass--instead of being astonished at the\nprevalence of indigestion, our wonder must rather be that, in such\ncircumstances, any stomach is capable of digesting at all.\"\n\nIn regard to articles which are the most easily digested, only general\nrules can be given. Tender meats are digested more readily than those\nwhich are tough, or than many kinds of vegetable food. The farinaceous\narticles, such as rice, flour, corn, potatoes, and the like, are the\nmost nutritious, and most easily digested. The popular notion, that\nmeat is more nourishing than bread, is a great mistake. Good bread\ncontains more nourishment than butcher's meat. The meat is more\n_stimulating_, and for this reason is more readily digested.\n\nA perfectly healthy stomach can digest almost any healthful food; but\nwhen the digestive powers are weak, every stomach has its peculiarities,\nand what is good for one is hurtful to another. In such cases,\nexperiment alone can decide which are the most digestible articles of\nfood. A person whose food troubles him must deduct one article after\nanother, till he learns, by experience, which is the best for digestion.\nMuch evil has been done, by assuming that the powers of one stomach\nare to be made the rule in regulating every other.\n\nThe most unhealthful kinds of food are those which, are made so by bad\ncooking; such as sour and heavy bread, cakes, pie-crust, and other\ndishes consisting of fat mixed and cooked with flour. Rancid butter\nand high-seasoned food are equally unwholesome. The fewer mixtures\nthere are in cooking, the more healthful is the food likely to be.\n\nThere is one caution as to the _mode_ of eating which seems peculiarly\nneedful to Americans. It is indispensable to good digestion, that food\nbe well chewed and taken slowly. It needs to be thoroughly chewed and\nmixed with saliva, in order to prepare it for the action of the gastric\njuice, which, by the peristaltic motion, will be thus brought into\ncontact with every one of the minute portions.\n\nIt has been found that a solid lump of food requires much more time\nand labor of the stomach for digestion than divided substances. It has\nalso been found, that as each bolus, or mouthful, enters the stomach,\nthe latter closes, until the portion received has had some time to\nmove around and combine with the gastric juice, and that the orifice\nof the stomach resists the entrance of any more till this is\naccomplished. But, if the eater persists in swallowing fast, the stomach\nyields; the food is then poured in more rapidly than the organ can\nperform its duty of preparative digestion; and evil results are sooner\nor later developed. This exhibits the folly of those hasty meals, so\ncommon to travelers and to men of business, and shows why children\nshould be taught to eat slowly.\n\nAfter taking a full meal, it is very important to health that no great\nbodily or mental exertion be made till the labor of the stomach is\nover. Intense mental effort draws the blood to the head, and muscular\nexertions draw it to the muscles; and in consequence of this, the\nstomach loses the supply which it requires when performing its office.\nWhen the blood with its stimulating effects is thus withdrawn from the\nstomach, the adequate supply of gastric juice is not afforded, and\nindigestion is the result. The heaviness which follows a full meal is\nthe indication which Nature gives of the need of quiet. When the meal\nis moderate, a sufficient quantity of gastric juice is exuded in an\nhour, or an hour and a half; after which, labor of body and mind may\nsafely be resumed.\n\nWhen undigested food remains in the stomach, and is at last thrown out\ninto the bowels, it proves an irritating substance, producing an\ninflamed state in the lining of the stomach and other organs.\n\nIt is found that the stomach has the power of gradually accommodating\nindigestive powers to the food it habitually receives. Thus, animals\nwhich live on vegetables can gradually become accustomed to animal\nfood; and the reverse is equally true. Thus, too, the human stomach\ncan eventually accomplish the digestion of some kinds of food, which,\nat first, were indigestible.\n\nBut any changes of this sort should be gradual; as those which are\nsudden are trying to the powers of the stomach, by furnishing matter\nfor which its gastric juice is not prepared.\n\nExtremes of heat or cold are injurious to the process of digestion.\nTaking hot food or drink, habitually, tends to debilitate all the\norgans thus needlessly excited. In using cold substances, it is found\nthat a certain degree of warmth in the stomach is indispensable to\ntheir digestion; so that, when the gastric juice is cooled below this\ntemperature, it ceases to act. Indulging in large quantities of cold\ndrinks, or eating ice-creams, after a meal, tends to reduce the\ntemperature of the stomach, and thus to stop digestion. This shows the\nfolly of those refreshments, in convivial meetings, where the guests\nare tempted to load the stomach with a variety such as would require\nthe stomach of a stout farmer to digest; and then to wind up with ice-\ncreams, thus lessening whatever ability might otherwise have existed\nto digest the heavy load. The fittest temperature for drinks, if taken\nwhen the food is in the digesting process, is blood heat. Cool drinks,\nand even ice, can be safely taken at other times, if not in excessive\nquantity. When the thirst is excessive, or the body weakened by fatigue,\nor when in a state of perspiration, large quantities of cold drinks\nare injurious.\n\nFluids taken into the stomach are not subject to the slow process of\ndigestion, but are immediately absorbed and carried into the blood.\nThis is the reason why liquid nourishment, more speedily than solid\nfood, restores from exhaustion. The minute vessels of the stomach\nabsorb its fluids, which are carried into the blood, just as the minute\nextremities of the arteries open upon the inner surface of the stomach,\nand there exude the gastric juice from the blood.\n\nWhen food is chiefly liquid, (soup, for example,) the fluid part is\nrapidly absorbed. The solid parts remain, to be acted on by the gastric\njuice. In the case of St. Martin, [Footnote: The individual here\nreferred to--Alexis St. Martin--was a young Canadian, eighteen years\nof age, of a good constitution and robust health, who, in 1822, was\naccidentally wounded by the discharge of a musket which: carried away\na part of the ribs, lacerated one of two lobes of the lungs, and\nperforated the stomach, making a large aperture, which never closed;\nand which enabled Dr. Beaumont (a surgeon of the American army,\nstationed at Michilimackanac, under whose care the patient was placed)\nto witness all the processes of digestion and other functions of the\nbody for several years.] in fifty minutes after taking soup, the fluids\nwere absorbed, and the remainder was even thicker than is usual after\neating solid food. This is the reason why soups are deemed bad for\nweak stomachs; as this residuum is more difficult of digestion than\nordinary food.\n\nHighly-concentrated food, having much nourishment in a small bulk, is\nnot favorable to digestion, because it can not be properly acted on\nby the muscular contractions of the stomach, and is not so minutely\ndivided as to enable the gastric juice to act properly. This is the\nreason why a certain _bulk_ of food is needful to good digestion;\nand why those people who live on whale-oil and other highly nourishing\nfood, in cold climates, mix vegetables and even sawdust with it to\nmake it more acceptable and digestible. So in civilized lands, fruits\nand vegetables are mixed with more highly concentrated nourishment.\nFor this reason also, soups, jellies, and arrow-root should have bread\nor crackers mixed with them. This affords another reason why coarse\nbread, of unbolted wheat, so often proves beneficial. Where, from\ninactive habits or other causes, the bowels become constipated and\nsluggish, this kind of food proves the appropriate remedy.\n\nOne fact on this subject is worthy of notice. In England, under the\nadministration of William Pitt, for two years or more there was such\na scarcity of wheat that, to make it hold out longer, Parliament passed\na law that the army should have all their bread made of unbolted flour.\nThe result was, that the health of the soldiers improved so much as\nto be a subject of surprise to themselves, the officers, and the\nphysicians. These last came out publicly and declared that the soldiers\nnever before were so robust and healthy; and that disease had nearly\ndisappeared from the army. The civic physicians joined and pronounced\nit the healthiest bread; and for a time schools, families, and public\ninstitutions used it almost exclusively. Even the nobility, convinced\nby these facts, adopted it for their common diet, and the fashion\ncontinued a long time after the scarcity ceased, until more luxurious\nhabits resumed their sway.\n\nWe thus see why children should not have cakes and candies allowed\nthem between meals. Besides being largely carbonaceous, these are\nhighly concentrated nourishments, and should be eaten with more bulky\nand less nourishing substances. The most indigestible of all kinds of\nfood are fatty and oily substances, if heated. It is on this account\nthat pie-crust and articles boiled and fried in fat or butter are\ndeemed not so healthful as other food.\n\nThe following, then, may be put down as the causes of a debilitated\nconstitution from the misuse of food. Eating _too much,_ eating _too\noften,_ eating _too fast,_ eating food and condiments that are _too\nstimulating,_ eating food that is _too warm_ or _too cold,_ eating food\nthat is _highly concentrated,_ without a proper admixture of less\nnourishing matter, and eating hot food that is _difficult of digestion._\n\n\n\n\nX.\n\nHEALTHFUL DRINKS.\n\n\nThere is no direction in which a woman more needs both scientific\nknowledge and moral force than in using her influence to control her\nfamily in regard to stimulating beverages.\n\nIt is a point fully established by experience that the full development\nof the human body and the vigorous exercise of all its functions can\nbe secured without the use of stimulating drinks. It is, therefore,\nperfectly safe to bring up children never to use them, no hazard being\nincurred by such a course.\n\nIt is also found by experience that there are two evils incurred by\nthe use of stimulating drinks. The first is, their positive effect on\nthe human system. Their peculiarity consists in so exciting the nervous\nsystem that all the functions of the body are accelerated, and the\nfluids are caused to move quicker than at their natural speed. This\nincreased motion of the animal fluids always produces an agreeable\neffect on the mind. The intellect is invigorated, the imagination is\nexcited, the spirits are enlivened; and these effects are so agreeable\nthat all mankind, after having once experienced them, feel a great\ndesire for their repetition.\n\nBut this temporary invigoration of the system is always followed by\na diminution of the powers of the stimulated organs; so that, though\nin all cases this reaction may not be perceptible, it is invariably\nthe result. It may be set down as the unchangeable rule of physiology,\nthat stimulating drinks deduct from the powers of the constitution in\nexactly the proportion in which they operate to produce temporary\ninvigoration.\n\nThe second evil is the temptation which always attends the use of\nstimulants. Their effect on the system is so agreeable, and the evils\nresulting are so imperceptible and distant, that there is a constant\ntendency to increase such excitement both in frequency and power. And\nthe more the system is thus reduced in strength, the more craving is\nthe desire for that which imparts a temporary invigoration. This process\nof increasing debility and increasing craving for the stimulus that\nremoves it, often goes to such an extreme that the passion is perfectly\nuncontrollable, and mind and body perish under this baleful habit.\n\nIn this country there are three forms in which the use of such\nstimulants is common; namely, _alcoholic drinks, opium mixtures_, and\n_tobacco_. These are all alike in the main peculiarity of imparting that\nextra stimulus to the system which tends to exhaust its powers.\n\nMultitudes in this nation are in the habitual use of some one of these\nstimulants; and each person defends the indulgence by certain arguments:\n\nFirst, that the desire for stimulants is a natural propensity implanted\nin man's nature, as is manifest from the universal tendency to such\nindulgences in every nation. From this, it is inferred that it is an\ninnocent desire, which ought to be gratified to some extent, and that\nthe aim should be to keep it within the limits of temperance, instead\nof attempting to exterminate a natural propensity.\n\nThis is an argument which, if true, makes it equally proper for not\nonly men, but women and children, to use opium, brandy, or tobacco as\nstimulating principles, provided they are used temperately. But if it\nbe granted that perfect health and strength can be gained and secured\nwithout these stimulants, and that their peculiar effect is to diminish\nthe power of the system in exactly the same proportion as they stimulate\nit, then there is no such thing as a temperate use, unless they are\nso diluted as to destroy any stimulating power; and in this form they\nare seldom desired.\n\nThe other argument for their use is, that they are among the good\nthings provided by the Creator for our gratification; that, like all\nother blessings, they are exposed to abuse and excess; and that we\nshould rather seek to regulate their use than to banish them entirely.\n\nThis argument is based on the assumption that they are, like healthful\nfoods and drinks, necessary to life and health, and injurious only by\nexcess. But this is not true; for whenever they are used in any such\nstrength as to be a gratification, they operate to a greater or less\nextent as stimulants; and to just such extent they wear out the powers\nof the constitution; and it is abundantly proved that they are not,\nlike food and drink, necessary to health. Such articles are designed\nfor medicine and not for common use. There can be no argument framed\nto defend the use of one of them which will not justify women and\nchildren in most dangerous indulgences.\n\nThere are some facts recently revealed by the microscope in regard to\nalcoholic drinks, which every woman should understand and regard. It\nhas been shown in a previous chapter that every act of mind, either\nby thought, feeling, or choice, causes the destruction of certain cells\nin the brain and nerves. It now is proved by microscopic science\n[Footnote: For those statements the writer is indebted to Maudsley,\na recent writer on Microscopic Physiology.] that the kind of nutrition\nfurnished to the brain by the blood to a certain extent decides future\nfeelings, thoughts, and volitions. The cells of the brain not only\nabstract from the blood the healthful nutrition, but also are affected\nin shape, size, color, and action by unsuitable elements in the blood.\nThis is especially the case when alcohol is taken into the stomach,\nfrom whence it is always carried to the brain. The consequence is,\nthat it affects the nature and action of the brain-cells, until a habit\nis formed which is _automatic_; that is, the mind loses the power of\ncontrolling the brain, in its development of thoughts, feelings, and\nchoices as it would in the natural state, and is itself controlled\nby the brain. In this condition a real disease of the brain is created,\ncalled _oino-mania_, (see _Glossary_,) and the only remedy is total\nabstinence, and that for a long period, from the alcoholic poison. And\nwhat makes the danger more fearful is, that the brain-cells never are so\nrenewed but that this pernicious stimulus will bring back the disease in\nfull force, so that a man once subject to it is never safe except by\nmaintaining perpetual and total abstinence from every kind of alcoholic\ndrink. Dr. Day, who for many years has had charge of an inebriate\nasylum, states that he witnessed the dissection of the brain of a man\nonce an inebriate, but for many years in practice of total abstinence,\nand found its cells still in the weak and unnatural state produced by\nearlier indulgences.\n\nThere has unfortunately been a difference of opinion among medical men\nas to the use of alcohol. Liebig, the celebrated writer on animal\nchemistry, having found that both sugar and alcohol were heat-producing\narticles of food, framed a theory that alcohol is burnt in the lungs,\ngiving off carbonic acid and water, and thus serving to warm the body.\nBut modern science has proved that it is in the capillaries that animal\nheat is generated, and it is believed that alcohol lessens instead of\nincreasing the power of the body to bear the cold. Sir John Koss, in\nhis Arctic voyage, proved by his own experience and that of his men\nthat cold-water drinkers could bear cold longer and were stronger than\nany who used alcohol.\n\nCarpenter, a standard writer on physiology, says the objection to a\nhabitual use of even small quantities of alcoholic drinks is, that\n\"they are universally admitted to possess a poisonous character,\" and\n\"tend to produce a morbid condition of body;\" while \"the capacity for\nenduring extremes of heat and cold, or of mental or bodily labor, is\ndiminished rather than increased by their habitual employment.\"\n\nProf. J. Bigelow, of Harvard University, says, \"Alcohol is highly\nstimulating, heating, and intoxicating, and its effects are so\nfascinating that when once experienced there is danger that the desire\nfor them may be perpetuated.\"\n\nDr. Bell and Dr. Churchill, both high medical authorities, especially\nin lung disease, for which whisky is often recommended, come to the\nconclusion that \"the opinion that alcoholic liquors have influence in\npreventing the deposition of tubercle is destitute of any foundation;\non the contrary, their use predisposes to tubercular deposition.\" And\n\"where tubercle exists, alcohol has no effect in modifying the usual\ncourse, neither does it modify the morbid effects on the system.\"\n\nProf. Youmans, of New-York, says: \"It has been demonstrated that\nalcoholic drinks prevent the natural changes in the blood, and obstruct\nthe nutritive and reparative functions.\" He adds, \"Chemical experiments\nhave demonstrated that the action of alcohol on the digestive fluid\nis to destroy its active principle, the _pepsin, thus confirming the\nobservations of physiologists, that its use gives rise to serious\ndisorders of the stomach and malignant aberration of the whole economy.\"\n\nWe are now prepared to consider the great principles of science, common\nsense, and religion, which should guide every woman who has any kind\nof influence or responsibility on this subject. It is allowed by all\nmedical men that pure water is perfectly healthful and supplies all\nthe liquid needed by the body; and also that by proper means, which\nordinarily are in the reach of all, water can be made sufficiently\npure.\n\nIt is allowed by all that milk, and the juices of fruits, when taken\ninto the stomach, furnish water that is always pure, and that our bread\nand vegetable food also supply it in large quantities. There are besides\na great variety of agreeable and healthful beverages, made from the\njuices of fruit, containing no alcohol, and agreeable drinks, such as\nmilk, cocoa, and chocolate, that contain no stimulating principles,\nand which are nourishing and healthful.\n\nAs one course, then, is perfectly safe and another involves great\ndanger, it is wrong and sinful to choose the path of danger. There is\nno peril in drinking pure water, milk, the juices of fruits, and\ninfusions that are nourishing and harmless. But there is great danger\nto the young, and to the commonwealth, in patronizing the sale and use\nof alcoholic drinks. The religion of Christ, in its distinctive feature,\ninvolves generous self-denial for the good of others, especially for\nthe weaker members of society. It is on this principle that St. Paul\nsets forth his own example, \"If meat make my brother to offend, I will\neat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to\noffend.\" And again he teaches, \"We, then, that are strong ought to\nbear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.\"\n\nThis Christian principle also applies to the common drinks of the\nfamily, tea and coffee.\n\nIt has been shown that the great end for which Jesus Christ came, and\nfor which he instituted the family state, is the training of our whole\nrace to virtue and happiness, with chief reference to an immortal\nexistence. In this mission, of which woman is chief minister, as before\nstated, the distinctive feature is self-sacrifice of the wiser and\nstronger members to save and to elevate the weaker ones. The children\nand the servants are these weaker members, who by ignorance and want\nof habits of self-control are in most danger. It is in this aspect\nthat we are to consider the expediency of using tea and coffee in a\nfamily.\n\nThese drinks are a most extensive cause of much of the nervous debility\nand suffering endured by American women; and relinquishing them, would\nsave an immense amount of such suffering. Moreover, all housekeepers\nwill allow that they can not regulate these drinks in their kitchens,\nwhere the ignorant use them to excess. There is little probability\nthat the present generation will make so decided a change in their\nhabits as to give up these beverages; but the subject is presented\nrather in reference to forming the habits of children.\n\nIt is a fact that tea and coffee are at first seldom or never agreeable\nto children. It is the mixture of milk, sugar, and water, that\nreconciles them to a taste, which in this manner gradually becomes\nagreeable. Now suppose that those who provide for a family conclude\nthat it is not _their_ duty to give up entirely the use of stimulating\ndrinks, may not the case appear different in regard to teaching their\nchildren to love such drinks? Let the matter be regarded thus: The\nexperiments of physiologists all prove that stimulants are not needful\nto health, and that, as the general rule, they tend to debilitate the\nconstitution. Is it right, then, for a parent to tempt a child to drink\nwhat is not needful, when there is a probability that it will prove, to\nsome extent, an undermining drain on the constitution? Some\nconstitutions can bear much less excitement than others; and in every\nfamily of children, there is usually one or more of delicate\norganization, and consequently peculiarly exposed to dangers from this\nsource. It is this child who ordinarily becomes the victim to\nstimulating drinks. The tea and coffee which the parents and the\nhealthier children can use without immediate injury, gradually sap the\nenergies of the feebler child, who proves either an early victim or\na living martyr to all the sufferings that debilitated nerves inflict.\nCan it be right to lead children where all allow that there is some\ndanger, and where in many cases disease and death are met, when, another\npath is known to be perfectly safe?\n\nThe impression common in this country, that _warm drinks_, especially in\nwinter, are more healthful than cold, is not warranted by any\nexperience, nor by the laws of the physical system. At dinner, cold\ndrinks are universal, and no one deems them injurious. It is only\nat the other two meals that they are supposed to be hurtful.\n\nThere is no doubt that _warm_ drinks are healthful, and more agreeable\nthan cold, at certain times and seasons; but it is equally true that\ndrinks above blood-heat are not healthful. If a person should bathe in\nwarm water every day, debility would inevitably follow; for the frequent\napplication of the stimulus of heat, like all other stimulants,\neventually causes relaxation and weakness. If, therefore, a person is in\nthe habit of drinking hot drinks twice a day, the teeth, throat, and\nstomach are gradually debilitated. This, most probably, is one of the\ncauses of an early decay of the teeth, which is observed to be much more\ncommon among American ladies, than among those in European countries.\n\nIt has been stated to the writer, by an intelligent traveler who had\nvisited Mexico, that it was rare to meet an individual with even a\ntolerable set of teeth, and that almost every grown person he met in\nthe street had merely remnants of teeth. On inquiry into the customs\nof the country, it was found that it was the universal practice to\ntake their usual beverage at almost the boiling-point; and this\ndoubtless was the chief cause of the almost entire want of teeth in\nthat country. In the United States, it can not be doubted that much\nevil is done in this way by hot drinks. Most tea-drinkers consider tea\nas ruined if it stands until it reaches the healthful temperature for\ndrink.\n\nThe following extract, from Dr. Andrew Combe, presents the opinion of\nmost intelligent medical men on this subject. [Footnote: The writer\nwould here remark, in reference to extracts made from various authors,\nthat, for the sake of abridging, she has often left out parts of a\nparagraph, but never so as to modify the meaning of the author. Some\nideas, not connected with the subject in hand, are omitted, but none\nare altered.]\n\n\"_Water_ is a safe drink for all constitutions, provided it be resorted\nto in obedience to the dictates of natural thirst only, and not of\nhabit. Unless the desire for it is felt, there is no occasion for its\nuse during a meal.\"\n\n\"The primary effect of all distilled and fermented liquors is to\n_stimulate the nervous system and quicken the circulation_. In\ninfancy and childhood, the circulation is rapid and easily excited; and\nthe nervous system is strongly acted upon even by the slightest\nexternal impressions. Hence, slight causes of irritation readily excite\nfebrile and convulsive disorders. In youth, the natural tendency of\nthe constitution is still to excitement, and consequently, as a general\nrule, the stimulus of fermented liquors is injurious.\"\n\nThese remarks show that parents, who find that stimulating drinks are\nnot injurious to themselves, may mistake in inferring from this that\nthey will not be injurious to their children.\n\nDr. Combe continues thus: \"In mature age, when digestion is good, and\nthe system in full vigor, if the mode of life be not too exhausting,\nthe nervous functions and general circulation are in their best\ncondition, and require no stimulus for their support. The bodily energy\nis then easily sustained by nutritious food and a regular regimen, and\nconsequently artificial excitement only increases the wasting of the\nnatural strength.\"\n\nIt may be asked, in this connection, why the stimulus of animal food\nis not to be regarded in the same light as that of stimulating drinks.\nIn reply, a very essential difference may he pointed out. Animal food\nfurnishes nutriment to the organs which it stimulates, but stimulating\ndrinks excite the organs to quickened action without affording any\nnourishment.\n\nIt has been supposed by some that tea and coffee have, at least, a\ndegree of nourishing power. But it is proved that it is the milk and\nsugar, and not the main portion of the drink, which imparts the\nnourishment. Tea has not one particle of nourishing properties; and\nwhat little exists in the coffee-berry is lost by roasting it in the\nusual mode. All that these articles do, is simply _to stimulate without\nnourishing_.\n\nAlthough there is little hope of banishing these drinks, there is still\na chance that something may be gained in attempts to regulate their\nuse by the rules of temperance. If, then, a housekeeper can not banish\ntea and coffee entirely, she may use her influence to prevent excess,\nboth by her instructions, and by the power of control committed more\nor less to her hands.\n\nIt is important for every housekeeper to know that the health of a\nfamily very much depends on the _purity_ of water used for cooking\nand drinking. There are three causes of impure and unhealthful water.\nOne is, the existence in it of vegetable or animal matter, which can\nbe remedied by filtering through sand and charcoal. Another cause is,\nthe existence of mineral matter, especially in limestone countries,\nproducing diseases of the bladder. This is remedied in a measure by\nboiling, which secures a deposit of the lime on the vessel used. The\nthird cause is, the corroding of zinc and lead used in pipes and\nreservoirs, producing oxides that are slow poisons. The only remedy\nis prevention, by having supply-pipes made of iron, like gas-pipe,\ninstead of zinc and lead; or the lately invented lead pipe lined with\ntin, which metal is not corrosive. The obstacle to this is, that the\ntrade of the plumbers would be greatly diminished by the use of reliable\npipes. When water must be used from supply-pipes of lead or zinc, it\nis well to let the water run some time before drinking it and to use\nas little as possible, taking milk instead; and being further satisfied\nfor inner necessities by the water supplied by fruits and vegetables.\nThe water in these is always pure. But in using milk as a drink, it\nmust be remembered that it is also rich food, and that less of other\nfood must be taken when milk is thus used, or bilious troubles will\nresult from excess of food.\n\nThe use of opium, especially by women, is usually caused at first by\nmedical prescriptions containing it. All that has been stated as to\nthe effect of alcohol in the brain is true of opium; while, to break\na habit thus induced is almost hopeless, Every woman who takes or who\nadministers this drug, is dealing as with poisoned arrows, whose wounds\nare without cure.\n\nThe use of tobacco in this country, and especially among young boys,\nis increasing at a fearful rate. On this subject, we have the unanimous\nopinion of all medical men; the following being specimens.\n\nA distinguished medical writer thus states the case: \"Every physician\nknows that the agreeable sensations that tempt to the use of tobacco\nare caused by _nicotine_, which is a rank poison, as much so as\nprussic acid or arsenic. When smoked, the poison is absorbed by the\nblood of the mouth, and carried to the brain. When chewed, the nicotine\npasses to the blood through the mouth and stomach. In both cases, the\nwhole nervous system is thrown, into abnormal excitement to expel the\npoison, and it is this excitement that causes agreeable sensations.\nThe excitement thus caused is invariably followed by a diminution of\nnervous power, in exact proportion to the preceding excitement to expel\nthe evil from the system.\"\n\nFew will dispute the general truth and effect of the above statement,\nso that the question is one to be settled on the same principle as\napplies to the use of alcoholic drinks. Is it, then, according to the\ngenerous principles of Christ's religion, for those who are strong and\nable to bear this poison, to tempt the young, the ignorant, and the\nweak to a practice not needful to any healthful enjoyment, and which\nleads multitudes to disease, and often to vice? For the use of tobacco\ntends always to lessen nerve-power, and probably every one out of five\nthat indulges in its use awakens a morbid craving for increased\nstimulus, lessens the power of self-control, diminishes the strength\nof the constitution, and sets an example that influences the weak to\nthe path of danger and of frequent ruin.\n\nThe great danger of this age is an increasing, intense worldliness,\nand disbelief in the foundation principle of the religion of Christ,\nthat we are to reap through everlasting ages the consequences of habits\nformed in this life. In the light of his word, they only who are truly\nwise \"shall shine as the firmament, and they that turn many to\nrighteousness, as the stars, forever and ever.\"\n\nIt is increased _faith_ or _belief_ in the teachings of Christ's\nreligion, as to the influence of this life upon the _life to come_,\nwhich alone can save our country and the world from that inrushing tide\nof sensualism and worldliness, now seeming to threaten the best hopes\nand prospects of our race.\n\nAnd woman, as the chief educator of our race, and the prime minister\nof the family state, is bound in the use of meats and drinks to employ\nthe powerful and distinctive motives of the religion of Christ in\nforming habits of temperance and benevolent self-sacrifice for the\ngood of others.\n\n\n\n\nXI.\n\nCLEANLINESS.\n\n\nBoth the health and comfort of a family depend, to a great extent, on\ncleanliness of the person and the family surroundings. True cleanliness\nof person involves the scientific treatment of the skin. This is the\nmost complicated organ of the body, and one through which the health\nis affected more than through any other; and no persons can or will\nhe be so likely to take proper care of it as those by whom its\nconstruction and functions are understood.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 57.]\n\nFig. 57 is a very highly magnified portion of the skin. The layer\nmarked 1 is the outside, very thin skin, called the _cuticle_ or _scarf\nskin_. This consists of transparent layers of minute cells, which are\nconstantly decaying and being renewed, and the white scurf that passes\nfrom the skin to the clothing is a decayed portion of these cells. This\npart of the skin has neither nerves nor blood-vessels.\n\nThe dark layer, marked 2, 7, 8, is that portion of the true skin which\ngives the external color marking diverse races. In the portion of the\ndark layer marked 3, 4, is seen a network of nerves which run from two\nbranches of the nervous trunks coming from the spinal marrow. These\narc nerves of sensation, by which the sense of touch or feeling is\nperformed. Fig. 58 represents the blood-vessels, (intermingled with\nthe nerves of the skin,) which divide into minute capillaries that\nact like the capillaries of the lungs, taking oxygen from the air, and\ngiving out carbonic acid. At _a_, and _b_ are seen the roots of two\nhairs, which abound in certain parts of the skin, and are nourished by\nthe blood of the capillaries.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 58.]\n[Illustration: Fig. 59.]\n\nAt Fig. 59 is a magnified view of another set of vessels, called the\nlymphatics or absorbents. These are extremely minute vessels that\ninterlace with the nerves and blood-vessels of the skin. Their office\nis to aid in collecting the useless, injurious, or decayed matter, and\ncarry it to certain reservoirs, from which it passes into some of the\nlarge veins, to be thrown out through the lungs, bowels, kidneys, or\nskin. These _absorbent_ or _lymphatic_; vessels have mouths opening on\nthe surface of the true skin, and, though covered by the cuticle, they\ncan absorb both liquids and solids that are placed in close contact with\nthe skin. In proof of this, one of the main trunks of the lymphatics in\nthe hand can be cut off from all communication with other portions, and\ntied up: and if the hand is immersed in milk a given time, it will be\nfound that the milk has been, absorbed through the cuticle and fills the\nlymphatics. In this way, long-continued blisters on the skin will\nintroduce the blistering matter into the blood through the absorbents,\nand then the kidneys will take it up from the blood passing through them\nto carry it out of the body, and thus become irritated and inflamed by\nit.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 60]\n\nThere are also oil-tubes, imbedded in the skin, that draw off oil from\nthe blood. This issues on the surface and spreads over the cuticle to\nkeep it soft and moist. But the most curious part of the skin is the\nsystem of innumerable minute perspiration-tubes. Fig. 60 is a drawing\nof one very greatly magnified. These tubes open on the cuticle, and\nthe openings are called pores of the skin. They descend into the true\nskin, and there form a coil, as is seen in the drawing. These tubes\nare hollow, like a pipe-stem, and their inner surface consists of\nwonderfully minute capillaries filled with the impure venous blood.\nAnd in these small tubes the same process is going on as takes places\nwhen the carbonic acid and water of the blood are exhaled from the\nlungs. The capillaries of these tubes through the whole skin of the\nbody are thus constantly exhaling the noxious and decayed particles\nof the body, just as the lungs pour them out through the mouth and\nnose.\n\nIt has been shown that the perspiration-tubes are coiled up into a\nball at their base. The number and extent of these tubes are\nastonishing. In a square inch on the palm of the hand have been counted,\nthrough a microscope, thirty-five hundred of these tubes. Each one of\nthem is about a quarter of an inch in length, including its coils.\nThis makes the united lengths of these little tubes to be seventy-three\nfeet to a square inch. Their united length, over the whole body is\nthus calculated to be equal to _twenty-eight miles_. What a wonderful\napparatus this! And what mischiefs must ensue when the drainage from the\nbody of such an extent as this becomes obstructed!\n\nBut the inside of the body also has a skin, as have all its organs.\nThe interior of the head, the throat, the gullet, the lungs, the\nstomach, and all the intestines, are lined with a skin. This is called\nthe _mucous membrane_, because it is constantly secreting from the blood\na slimy substance called _mucus_. When it accumulates in the lungs, it\nis called _phlegm_. This inner skin also has nerves, blood-vessels, and\nlymphatics. The outer skin joins to the inner at the month, the nose,\nand other openings of the body, and there is a constant sympathy between\nthe two skins, and thus between the inner organs and the surface of the\nbody.\n\n\nSECRETING ORGANS.\n\nThose vessels of the body which draw off certain portions of the blood\nand change it into a new form, to be employed for service or to be\nthrown out of the body, are called _secreting organs_. The skin in this\nsense is a secreting organ, as its perspiration-tubes secrete or\nseparate the bad portions of the blood, and send them off.\n\nOf the internal secreting organs, the _liver_ is the largest. Its chief\noffice is to secrete from the blood all matter not properly supplied\nwith oxygen. For this purpose, a set of veins carries the blood of all\nthe lower intestines to the liver, where the imperfectly oxidized matter\nis drawn off in the form of _bile_, and accumulated in a reservoir\ncalled the _gall-bladder_. Thence it passes to the place where the\nsmaller intestines receive the food from the stomach, and there it mixes\nwith this food. Then it passes through the long intestines, and is\nthrown out of the body through the rectum. This shows how it is, that\nwant of pure and cool air and exercise causes excess of bile, from lack\nof oxygen. The liver also has arterial blood sent to nourish it, and\ncorresponding veins to return this blood to the heart. So there are two\nsets of blood-vessels for the liver--one to secrete the bile, and the\nother to nourish the organ itself.\n\nThe kidneys secrete from the arteries that pass, through them all\nexcess of water in the blood, and certain injurious substances. These\nare carried through small tubes to the bladder, and thence thrown out\nof the body.\n\nThe _pancreas_, a whitish gland, situated in the abdomen below\nthe stomach, secretes from the arteries that pass through it the\npancreatic juice, which unites with the bile from the liver, in\npreparing the food for nourishing the body.\n\nThere are certain little glands near the eyes that secrete the tears,\nand others near the mouth that secrete the saliva, or spittle.\n\nThese organs all have arteries sent to them to nourish them, and also\nveins to carry away the impure blood. At the same time, they secrete\nfrom the arterial blood the peculiar fluid which it is their office\nto supply.\n\nAll the food that passes through the lower intestines which is not\ndrawn off by the lacteals or by some of these secreting organs, passes\nfrom the body through a passage called the rectum.\n\nLearned men have made very curious experiments; to ascertain how much\nthe several organs throw out of the body, It is found that the skin\nthrows off five out of eight pounds of the food and drink, or probably\nabout three or four pounds a day. The lungs throw off one quarter as\nmuch as the skin, or about a pound a day. The remainder is carried off\nby the kidneys and lower intestines.\n\nThere is such a sympathy and connection between all the organs of the\nbody, that when one of them is unable to work, the others perform the\noffice of the feeble one. Thus, if the skin has its perspiration-tubes\nclosed up by a chill, then all the poisonous matter that would have\nbeen thrown out through them must be emptied out either by the lungs,\nkidneys, or bowels.\n\nWhen all these organs are strong and healthy, they can bear this\nincreased labor without injury. But if the lungs are weak, the blood\nsent from the skin by the chill engorges the weak blood-vessels, and\nproduces an inflammation of the lungs. Or it increases the discharge\nof a slimy mucous substance, that exudes from the skin of the lungs.\nThis fills up the air-vessels, and would very soon end life, were it\nnot for the spasms of the lungs, called _coughing_, which throw off this\nsubstance.\n\nIf, on the other hand, the bowels are weak, a chill of the skin sends\nthe blood into all the blood-vessels of the intestines, and produces\ninflammation there, or else an excessive secretion of the mucous\nsubstance, which is called a _diarrhea._ Or if the kidneys are\nweak, there is an increased secretion and discharge from them, to an\nunhealthy and injurious extent.\n\nThis connection between the skin and internal organs is shown, not\nonly by the internal effects of a chill on the skin; but by the\nsympathetic effect on the skin when these internal organs suffer. For\nexample, there are some kinds of food that will irritate and influence\nthe stomach or the bowels; and this, by sympathy, will produce an\nimmediate eruption on the skin. Some persons, on eating strawberries,\nwill immediately be affected with a nettle-rash. Others can not eat\ncertain shell-fish without being affected in this way. Many humors on\nthe face are caused by a diseased state of the internal organs with\nwhich the skin sympathizes.\n\nThis short account of the construction of the skin, and of its intimate\nconnection with the internal organs, shows the philosophy of those\nmodes of medical treatment that are addressed to this portion of the\nbody.\n\nIt is on this powerful agency that the steam-doctors rely, when, by\nmoisture and heat, they stimulate all the innumerable perspiration-tubes\nand lymphatics to force out from the body a flood of unnaturally excited\nsecretions; while it is \"kill or cure,\" just as the chance may meet\nor oppose the demands of the case. It is the skin also that is the\nchief basis of medical treatment in the Water Cure, whose slow processes\nare as much safer as they are slower.\n\nAt the same time it is the ill-treatment or neglect of the skin which,\nprobably, is the cause of disease and decay to an incredible extent.\nThe various particulars in which this may be seen will now be pointed\nout. In the management and care of this wonderful and complex part of\nthe body, many mistakes have been made.\n\nThe most common one is the misuse of the bath, especially since cold\nwater cures have come into use. This mode of medical treatment\noriginated with an ignorant peasant, amid a population where outdoor\nlabor had strengthened nerves and muscles and imparted rugged powers\nto every part of the body. It was then introduced into England and\nAmerica without due consideration or knowledge of the diseases habits,\nor real condition of patients, especially of women. The consequence\nwas a mode of treatment too severe and exhausting; and many practices\nwere spread abroad not warranted by true medical science.\n\nBut in spite of these mistakes and abuses, the treatment of the skin\nfor disease by the use of cold water has become an accepted doctrine\nof the most learned medical practitioners. It is now held by all such\nthat fevers can be detected in their distinctive features by the\nthermometer, and that all fevers can be reduced by cold baths and\npacking in the wet sheet, in the mode employed in all water-cures.\nDirections for using this method will be given in another place.\n\nIt has been supposed that large bath-tubs for immersing the whole\nperson are indispensable to the proper cleaning of the skin. This is\nnot so. A wet towel, applied every morning to the skin, followed by\nfriction in pure air, is all that is absolutely needed; although a\nfull bath is a great luxury. Access of air to every part of the skin\nwhen its perspiratory tubes are cleared and its blood-vessels are\nfilled by friction is the best ordinary bath.\n\nIn early life, children should be washed all over, every night or\nmorning, to remove impurities from the skin. But in this process,\ncareful regard should be paid to the peculiar constitution of a child.\nVery nervous children sometimes revolt from cold water, and like a\ntepid bath. Others prefer a cold bath; and nature should be the guide.\nIt must be remembered that the skin is the great organ of sensation,\nand in close connection with brain, spine, and nerve-centres: so that\nwhat a strong nervous system can bear with advantage is too powerful\nand exhausting for another. As age advances, or as disease debilitates\nthe body, great care should be taken not to overtax the nervous system\nby sudden shocks, or to diminish its powers by withdrawing animal heat\nto excess. Persons lacking robustness should bathe or use friction in\na warm room; and if very delicate, should expose only a portion of the\nbody at once to cold air.\n\nJohnson, a celebrated writer on agricultural chemistry, tells of an\nexperiment by friction on the skin of pigs, whose skins are like that\nof the human race. He treated six of these animals with a curry-comb\nseven weeks, and left three other pigs untouched. The result was a\ngain of thirty-three pounds more of weight, with the use of five bushels\nless of food for those curried, than for the neglected ones. This\nresult was owing to the fact that all the functions of the body were\nmore perfectly performed when, by friction, the skin was kept free\nfrom filth and the blood in it exposed to the air. The same will be\ntrue of the human skin. A calculation has been made on this fact, by\nwhich it is estimated that a man, by proper care of his skin, would\nsave over thirty-one dollars in food yearly, which is the interest on\nover five hundred dollars. If men will give as much care to their own\nskin, as they give to currying a horse, they will gain both health and\nwealth.\n\n\n\n\nXII.\n\nCLOTHING.\n\nThere is no duty of those persons having control of a family where\nprinciple and practice are more at variance than in regulating the\ndress of young girls, especially at the most important and critical\nperiod of life. It is a difficult duty for parents and teachers to\ncontend with the power of fashion, which at this time of a young girl's\nlife is frequently the ruling thought, and when to be out of the\nfashion, to be odd and not dress as all her companions do, is a\nmortification and grief that no argument or instructions can relieve.\nThe mother is often so overborne that, in spite of her better wishes,\nthe daughter adopts modes of dress alike ruinous to health and to\nbeauty.\n\nThe greatest protection against such an emergency is to train a child\nto understand the construction of her own body and to impress upon\nher, in early days, her obligations to the invisible Friend and Guardian\nof her life, the \"Former of her body and the Father of her spirit,\"\nwho has committed to her care so precious and beautiful a casket. And\nthe more she can be made to realize the skill and beauty of construction\nshown in her earthly frame, the more will she feel the obligation to\nprotect it from injury and abuse.\n\nIt is a singular fact that the war of fashion has attacked most fatally\nwhat seems to be the strongest foundation, and defense of the body,\nthe bones. For this reason, the construction and functions of this\npart of the body will now receive attention.\n\nThe bones are composed of two substances, one animal, and the other\nmineral. The animal part is a very fine network, called _cellular\nmembrane._ In this are deposited the harder mineral substances,\nwhich are composed principally of carbonate and phosphate of lime. In\nvery early life, the bones consist chiefly of the animal part, and are\nthen soft and pliant. As the child advances in age, the bones grow\nharder, by the gradual deposition of the phosphate of lime, which is\nsupplied by the food, and carried to the bones by the blood. In old\nage, the hardest material preponderates; malting the bones more brittle\nthan in earlier life.\n\nThe bones are covered with a thin skin or membrane, filled with small\nblood-vessels which convey nourishment to them,\n\nWhere the hones unite with others to form joints, they are covered\nwith _cartilage,_ which is a smooth, white, elastic substance. This\nenables the joints to move smoothly, while its elasticity prevents\ninjuries from sudden jars.\n\nThe joints are bound together by strong, elastic bands called\n_ligaments,_ which hold them firmly and prevent dislocation.\n\nBetween the ends of the bones that unite to form joints are small sacks\nor bags, that contain a soft lubricating fluid. This answers the same\npurpose fur the joints as oil in making machinery work smoothly, while\nthe supply is constant and always in exact proportion to the demand.\n\nIf you will examine the leg of some fowl, you can see the cartilage\nthat covers the ends of the bones at the joints, and the strong white\nligaments that bind the joints together.\n\nThe health, of the bones depends on the proper nourishment and exercise\nof the body as much as that of any other part. When a child is feeble\nand unhealthy, or when it grows up without exercise, the bones do not\nbecome firm and hard as they are when the body is healthfully developed\nby exercise. The size as well as the strength of the bones, to a certain\nextent, also depend upon exercise and good health.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 61]\n\nThe chief supporter of the body is the spine, which consists of\ntwenty-four small bones, interlocked or hooked into each other, while\nbetween them are elastic cushions of cartilage which aid in preserving\nthe upright, natural position. Fig. 61 shows three of the spinal bones,\nhooked into each other, the dark spaces showing the disks or flat\ncircular plates of cartilage between them.\n\nThe spine is held in its proper position, partly by the ribs, partly\nby muscles, partly by aid of the elastic disks, and partly by the close\npacking of the intestines in front of it.\n\nThe upper part of the spine is often thrown out of its proper position\nby constant stooping of the head over books or work. This affects the\nelastic disks so that they grow thick at the back side and thinner at\nthe front side by such constant pressure. The result is the awkward\nprojection of the head forward which is often seen in schools and\ncolleges.\n\nAnother distortion of the spine is produced by tight dress around the\nwaist. The liver occupies the right side of the body and is a solid\nmass, while on the other side is the larger part of the stomach, which\nis often empty. The consequence of tight dress around the waist is a\nconstant pressure of the spine toward the unsupported part where the\nstomach lies. Thus the elastic dials again are compressed; till they\nbecome thinner on one side than the other, and harden into that\ncondition. This produces what is called the _lateral curvature of the\nspine,_ making one shoulder higher than the other.\n\nThe compression of the lower part of the waist is especially dangerous\nat the time young girls first enter society and are tempted to dress\naccording to the fashion. Many a school-girl, whose waist was originally\nof a proper and healthful size, has gradually pressed the soft bones\nof youth until the lower ribs that should rise and fall with every\nbreath, become entirely unused. Then the abdominal breathing, performed\nby the lower part of the lungs, ceases; the whole system becomes reduced\nin strength; the abdominal muscles that hold up the interior organs\nbecome weak, and the upper ones gradually sink upon the lower. This\npressure of the upper interior organs upon the lower ones, by tight\ndress, is increased by the weight of clothing resting on the hips and\nabdomen. Corsets, as usually worn, have no support from the shoulders,\nand consequently all the weight of dress resting upon or above them\npresses upon the hips and abdomen, and this in such a way as to throw\nout of use and thus weaken the most important supporting muscles of\nthe abdomen, and impede abdominal breathing.\n\nThe diaphragm is a kind of muscular floor, extending across the centre\nof the body, on which the heart and lungs rest. Beneath it are the\nliver, stomach, and the abdominal viscera, or intestines, which are\nsupported by the abdominal muscles, running upward, downward, and\ncrosswise. When these muscles are thrown out of use, they lose their\npower, the whole system of organs mainly resting on them for support\ncan not continue in their naturally snug, compact, and rounded form,\nbut become separated, elongated, and unsupported. The stomach begins\nto draw from above instead of resting on the viscera beneath. This in\nsome cases causes dull and wandering pains, a sense of pulling at the\ncentre of the chest, and a drawing downward at the pit of the stomach.\nThen as the support beneath is really _gone,_ there is what is often\ncalled \"a feeling of _goneness.\"_ This is sometimes relieved by food,\nwhich, so long as it remains in a solid form, helps to hold up the\nfalling superstructure. This displacement of the stomach, liver, and\nspleen interrupts their healthful functions, and dyspepsia and biliary\ndifficulties not unfrequently are the result.\n\nAs the stomach and its appendages fall downward, the _diaphragm_,\nwhich holds up the heart and lungs, must descend also. In this state\nof things, the inflation of the lungs is less and less aided by the\nabdominal muscles, and is confined chiefly to their upper portion.\nBreathing sometimes thus becomes quicker and shorter on account of the\nelongated or debilitated condition of the assisting organs. Consumption\nnot unfrequently results from this cause.\n\nThe _heart_ also feels the evil. \"Palpitations,\" \"flutterings,\"\n\"sinking feelings,\" all show that, in the language of Scripture, \"the\nheart trembleth, and is moved out of its place.\"\n\nBut the _lower intestines_ are the greatest sufferers from this\ndreadful abuse of nature. Having the weight of all the unsupported\norgans above pressing them into unnatural and distorted positions, the\npassage of the food is interrupted, and inflammations, indurations,\nand constipation, are the frequent result. Dreadful ulcers and cancers\nmay be traced in some instances to this cause.\n\nAlthough these internal displacements are most common among women,\nsome foolish members of the other sex are adopting customs of dress,\nin girding the central portion of the body, that tend to similar\nresults.\n\nBut this distortion brings upon woman peculiar distresses. The pressure\nof the whole superincumbent mass on the pelvic or lower organs induces\nsufferings proportioned in acuteness to the extreme delicacy and\nsensitiveness of the parts thus crushed. And the intimate connection\nof these organs with the brain and whole nervous system renders injuries\nthus inflicted the causes of the most extreme anguish, both of body\nand mind. This evil is becoming so common, not only among married\nwomen, but among young girls, as to be a just cause for universal\nalarm.\n\nHow very common these sufferings are, few but the medical profession\ncan realize, because they are troubles that must be concealed. Many\na woman is moving about in uncomplaining agony who, with any other\ntrouble involving equal suffering, would be on her bed surrounded by\nsympathizing friends.\n\nThe terrible sufferings that are sometimes thus induced can never be\nconceived of, or at all appreciated from, any use of language. Nothing\nthat the public can be made to believe on this subject will ever equal\nthe reality. Not only mature persons and mothers, but fair young girls\nsometimes, are shut up for months and years as helpless and suffering\ninvalids from this cause. This may be found all over the land. And\nthere frequently is a horrible extremity of suffering in certain forms\nof this evil, which no woman of feeble constitution can ever be certain\nmay not be her doom. Not that in all cases this extremity is involved,\nbut none can say who will escape it.\n\nIn regard to this, if one must choose for a friend or a child, on the\none hand, the horrible torments inflicted by savage Indians or cruel\ninquisitors on their victims, or, on the other, the protracted agonies\nthat result from such deformities and displacements, sometimes the\nformer would be a merciful exchange.\n\nAnd yet this is the fate that is coming to meet the young as well as\nthe mature in every direction. And tender parents are unconsciously\nleading their lovely and hapless daughters to this awful doom.\n\nThere is no excitement of the imagination in what is here indicated.\nIf the facts and details could be presented, they would send a groan\nof terror all over the land. For it is not one class, or one section,\nthat is endangered. In every part of our country the evil is\nprogressing.\n\nAnd, as if these dreadful ills were not enough, there have been added\nmethods of medical treatment at once useless, torturing to the mind,\nand involving great liability to immoralities.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 62.]\n\nIn hope of abating these evils, drawings are given (Fig. 62 and Fig.\n63) of the front and back of a jacket that will preserve the advantages\nof the corset without its evils. This jacket may at first be fitted\nto the figure with corsets underneath it, just like the waist of a\ndress. Then, delicate whalebones can be used to stiffen the jacket,\nso that it will take the proper shape, when the corset may be dispensed\nwith. The buttons below are to hold all articles of dress below the\nwaist by button-holes. By this method, the bust is supported as well\nas by corsets, while the shoulders support from above, as they should\ndo, the weight of the dress below. No stiff bone should be allowed to\npress in front, and the jacket should be so loose that a full breath\ncan be inspired with ease, while in a sitting position.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 63.]\n\nThe proper way to dress a young girl is to have a cotton or flannel\nclose-fitting jacket next the body, to which the drawers should be\nbuttoned. Over this, place the chemise; and over that, such a jacket\nas the one here drawn, to which should be buttoned the hoops and other\nskirts. Thus every article of dress will be supported by the shoulders.\nThe sleeves of the jacket can be omitted, and in that ease a strong\nlining, and also a tape binding, must surround the arm-hole, which\nshould be loose.\n\nIt is hoped that increase of intelligence and moral power among mothers,\nand a combination among them to regulate fashions, may banish the\npernicious practices that have prevailed. If a school-girl dress\nwithout corsets and without tight belts could be established as a\nfashion, it would be one step gained in the right direction. Then if\nmothers could secure daily domestic exercise in chambers, eating-rooms\nand parlors in loose dresses, a still farther advance would be secured.\n\nA friend of the writer informs her that her daughter had her wedding\noutfit made up by a fashionable milliner in Paris, and every dress was\nbeautifully fitted to the form, and yet was not compressing to any\npart. This was done too without the use of corsets, the stiffening\nbeing delicate and yielding whalebones.\n\nNot only parents but all having the care of young girls, especially\nthose at boarding-schools, have a fearful responsibility resting upon\nthem in regard to this important duty.\n\nIn regard to the dressing of young children, much discretion is needed\nto adapt dress to circumstances and peculiar constitutions. The leading\nfact must be borne in mind that the skin is made strong and healthful\nby exposure to light and pure air, while cold air, if not excessive,\nhas a tonic influence. If the skin of infants is rubbed with the hand\ntill red with blood, and then exposed naked to sun and air in a\nwell-ventilated room, it will be favorable to health.\n\nThere is a constitutional difference in the skin of different children\nin regard to retaining the animal heat manufactured within, so that\nsome need more clothing than others for comfort. Nature is a safe guide\nto a careful nurse and mother, and will indicate by the looks and\nactions of a child when more clothing is needful. As a general rule,\nit is safe for a healthful child to wear as little clothing as suffices\nto keep it from complaining of cold. Fifty years ago, it was not common\nfor children to wear as much under-clothing as they now do. The writer\nwell remembers how even girls, though not of strong constitutions,\nused to play for hours in the snow-drifts without the protection of\ndrawers, kept warm by exercise and occasional runs to an open fire.\nAnd multitudes of children grew to vigorous maturity through similar\nexposures to cold air-baths, and without the frequent, colds and\nsicknesses so common among children of the present day, who are more\ncarefully housed and warmly dressed. But care was taken that the feet\nshould be kept dry and warmly clad, because, circulation being feebler\nin the extremities, this precaution was important.\n\nIt must also be considered that age brings with it decrease in vigor\nof circulation, and the consequent generation of heat, so that more\nwarmth of air and clothing is needed at an advanced period of life\nthan is suitable for the young.\n\nThese are the general principles which must be applied with modification\nto each individual case. A child of delicate constitution must have\nmore careful protection from cold air than is desirable for one more\nvigorous, while the leading general principle is retained that cold\nair is a healthful tonic for the skin whenever it does not produce an\nuncomfortable chilliness.\n\n\n\n\nXIII.\n\nGOOD COOKING.\n\n\nThere are but a few things on which health, and happiness depend more\nthan on the manner in which food is cooked. You may make houses\nenchantingly beautiful, hang them with pictures, have them clean and\nairy and convenient; but if the stomach is fed with sour bread and\nburnt meats, it will raise such rebellions that the eyes will see no\nbeauty anywhere. The abundance of splendid material we have in America\nis in great contrast with the style of cooking most prevalent in our\ncountry. How often, in journeys, do we sit down to tables loaded with\nmaterial, originally of the very best kind, winch has been so spoiled\nin the treatment that there is really nothing to eat! Green biscuits\nwith acrid spots of alkali; sour yeast-bread; meat slowly simmered in\nfat till it seemed like grease itself, and slowly congealing in cold\ngrease; and above all, that unpardonable enormity, strong butter! How\none longs to show people what might have been done with the raw material\nout of which all these monstrosities were concocted!\n\nThere is no country where an ample, well-furnished table is more easily\nspread, and for that reason, perhaps, none where the bounties of\nProvidence are more generally neglected. Considering that our resources\nare greater than those of any other civilized people, our results are\ncomparatively poorer.\n\nIt is said that a list of the summer vegetables which are exhibited\non New-York hotel-tables being shown to a French _artiste_, he\ndeclared that to serve such a dinner properly would take till midnight.\nA traveler can not but be struck with our national plenteousness, on\nreturning from a Continental tour, and going directly from the ship\nto a New-York hotel, in the bounteous season of autumn. For months\nhabituated to neat little bits of chop or poultry, garnished with the\ninevitable cauliflower or potato, which seemed to be the sole\npossibility after the reign of green peas was over; to sit down all\nat once to such a carnival! to such ripe, juicy tomatoes, raw or cooked;\ncucumbers in brittle slices; rich, yellow sweet-potatoes; broad\nlima-beans, and beans of other and various names; tempting ears of\nIndian-corn steaming in enormous piles; great smoking tureens of the\nsavory succotash, an Indian gift to the table for which civilization\nneed not blush; sliced egg-plant in delicate fritters; and marrow-\nsquashes, of creamy pulp and sweetness; a rich variety, embarrassing\nto the appetite, and perplexing to the choice.\n\nVerily, the thought must often occur that the vegetarian doctrine\npreached in America leaves a man quite as much as he has capacity to\neat or enjoy, and that in the midst of such tantalizing abundance he\nhas really lost the apology, which elsewhere bears him out in preying\nupon his less gifted and accomplished animal neighbors.\n\nBut with all this, the American table, taken as a whole, is inferior\nto that of England or France. It presents a fine abundance of material,\ncarelessly and poorly treated. The management of food is nowhere in\nthe world, perhaps, more slovenly and wasteful. Every thing betokens\nthat want of care that waits on abundance; there are great capabilities\nand poor execution. A tourist through England can seldom fail, at the\nquietest country-inn, of finding himself served with the essentials\nof English table-comfort--his mutton-chop done to a turn, his steaming\nlittle private apparatus for concocting his own tea, his choice pot\nof marmalade or slice of cold ham, and his delicate rolls and creamy\nbutter, all served with care and neatness. In France, one never asks\nin vain for delicious _cafe-au-lait_, good bread and butter, a\nnice omelet, or some savory little portion of meat with a French name.\nBut to a tourist taking like chance in American country-fare, what is\nthe prospect? What is the coffee? what the tea? and the meat? and above\nall, the butter?\n\nIn writing on cooking, the main topics should be first, bread; second,\nbutter; third, meat; fourth, vegetables; and fifth, tea--by which\nlast is meant, generally, all sorts of warm, comfortable drinks served\nout in tea-cups, whether they be called tea, coffee, chocolate, broma,\nor what not.\n\nIf these five departments are all perfect, the great ends of domestic\ncookery are answered, so far as the comfort and well-being of life\nare concerned. There exists another department, which is often regarded\nby culinary amateurs and young aspirants as the higher branch and very\ncollegiate course of practical cookery; to wit, confectionery, by which\nis designated all pleasing and complicated compounds of sweets and\nspices, devised not for health and nourishment, and strongly suspected\nof interfering with both--mere tolerated gratifications of the palate,\nwhich we eat, not with the expectation of being benefited, but only\nwith the hope of not being injured by them. In this large department\nrank all sorts of cakes, pies, preserves, etc., whose excellence is\noften attained by treading under foot and disregarding the five grand\nessentials.\n\nThere is many a table garnished with three or four kinds of well-made\ncake, compounded with citron and spices and all imaginable good things,\nwhere the meat was tough and greasy, the bread some hot preparation\nof flour, lard, saleratus, and acid, and the butter unutterably\ndetestable, where, if the mistress of the feast had given the care,\ntime, and labor to preparing the simple items of bread, butter, and\nmeat, that she evidently had given to the preparation of these extras,\nthe lot of her guests and family might be much more comfortable. But\nshe does not think of these common articles as constituting a good\ntable. So long as she has puff pastry, rich black cake, clear jelly\nand preserves, she considers that such unimportant matters as bread,\nbutter, and meat may take care of themselves. It is the same inattention\nto common things as that which leads people to build houses with stone\nfronts, and window-caps and expensive front-door trimmings, without\nbathing-rooms or fireplaces, or ventilators.\n\nThose who go into the country looking for summer board in farm-houses\nknow perfectly well that a table where the butter is always fresh, the\ntea and coffee of the best kinds and well made, and the meats properly\nkept, dressed, and served, is the one table of a hundred, the fabulous\nenchanted island. It seems impossible to get the idea into the minds\nof many people that what is called common food, carefully prepared,\nbecomes, in virtue of that very care and attention, a delicacy,\nsuperseding the necessity of artificially compounded dainties. To\nbegin, then, with the very foundation of a good table:\n\n--_Bread:_ What ought it to be?\n\nIt should be light, sweet, and tender. This matter of lightness is the\ndistinctive line between savage and civilized bread. The savage mixes\nsimple flour and water into balls of paste, which he throws into boiling\nwater, and which come out solid, glutinous masses, of which his common\nsaying is, \"Man eat dis, he no die,\" which a facetious traveler who\nwas obliged to subsist on it interpreted to mean, \"Dis no kill you,\nnothing will.\" In short, it requires the stomach of a wild animal or\nof a savage to digest this primitive form of bread, and of course more\nor less attention in all civilized modes of bread-making is given to\nproducing lightness. By lightness is meant simply that in order to\nfacilitate digestion the particles are to be separated from each other\nby little holes or air-cells; and all the different methods of making\nlight bread are neither more nor less than the formation of bread with\nthese air-cells.\n\nSo far as we know, there are four practicable methods of aerating\nbread; namely, by fermentation; by effervescence of an acid and an\nalkali; by aerated egg, or egg which has been filled with air by the\nprocess of beating; and lastly, by pressure of some gaseous substance\ninto the paste, by a process much resembling the impregnation of water\nin a soda-fountain. All those have one and the same object--to give\nus the cooked particles of our flour separated by such permanent\nair-cells as will enable the stomach more readily to digest them.\n\nA very common mode of aerating bread in America is by the effervescence\nof an acid and an alkali in the flour. The carbonic acid gas time\nformed products minute air-cells in the bread, or, as the cook says,\nmakes it light. When this process is performed with exact attention\nto chemical laws, so that the acid and alkali completely neutralize\neach other, leaving no overplus of either, the result is often very\npalatable. The difficulty is, that this is a happy conjunction of\ncircumstances which seldom occurs. The acid most commonly employed is\nthat of sour milk, and, as milk has many degrees of sourness, the rule\nof a certain quantity of alkali to the pint must necessarily produce\nvery different results at different times. As an actual fact where\nthis mode of making bread prevails, as we lament to say it does to a\ngreat extent in this country, one finds five cases of failure to one\nof success.\n\nIt is a woeful thing that the daughters of our land have abandoned the\nold respectable mode of yeast-brewing and bread-raising for this\nspecious substitute, so easily made, and so seldom well made. The\ngreen, clammy, acrid substance, called biscuit, which many of our\nworthy republicans are obliged to eat in these days, is wholly unworthy\nof the men and women of the republic. Good patriots ought not to\nbe put off in that way--they deserve better fare.\n\nAs an occasional variety, as a household convenience for obtaining\nbread or biscuit at a moment's notice, the process of effervescence\nmay be retained; but, we earnestly entreat American housekeepers, in\nscriptural language, to stand in the way and ask for the old paths,\nand return to the good yeast-bread of their sainted grandmothers.\n\nIf acid and alkali must be used, by all means let them be mixed in due\nproportions. No cook should be left to guess and judge for herself\nabout this matter. There are articles made by chemical rule which\nproduce very perfect results, and the use of them obviates the worst\ndangers in making bread by effervescence.\n\nOf all processes of aeration in bread-making, the oldest and most\ntime-honored mode is by fermentation. That this was known in the days\nof our Saviour is evident from the forcible simile in which he compares\nthe silent permeating force of truth in human, society to the very\nfamiliar household process of raising bread by a little yeast.\n\nThere is, however, one species of yeast, much used in some parts of\nthe country, against which protest should be made. It is called\nsalt-risings, or milk-risings, and is made by mixing flour, milk, and\na little salt together, and leaving them to ferment. The bread thus\nproduced is often, very attractive, when new and made with great care.\nIt is white and delicate, with fine, even air-cells. It has, however,\nwhen kept, some characteristics which remind us of the terms in which\nour old English Bible describes the effect of keeping the manna of the\nancient Israelites, which we are informed, in words more explicit than\nagreeable, \"stank, and bred worms.\" If salt-rising bread does not\nfulfill the whole of this unpleasant description, it certainly does\nemphatically a part of it. The smell which it has in baking, and when\nmore than a day old, suggests the inquiry, whether it is the saccharine\nor the putrid fermentation with which it is raised. Whoever breaks a\npiece of it after a day or two, will often see minute filaments or\nclammy strings drawing out from the fragments, which, with the\nunmistakable smell, will cause him to pause before consummating a\nnearer acquaintance.\n\nThe fermentation of flour by means of brewer's or distiller's yeast\nproduces, if rightly managed, results far more palatable and wholesome.\nThe only requisites for success in it are, first, good materials, and,\nsecond, great care in small things. There are certain low-priced or\ndamaged kinds of flour which can never by any kind of domestic chemistry\nbe made into good broad; and to those persons whose stomachs forbid\nthem to eat gummy, glutinous paste, under the name of bread, there is\nno economy in buying these poor brands, even at half the price of good\nflour.\n\nBut good flour and good yeast being supposed, with a temperature\nfavorable to the development of fermentation, the whole success of the\nprocess depends on the thorough diffusion of the proper proportion of\nyeast through the whole mass, and on stopping the subsequent\nfermentation at the precise and fortunate point. The true housewife\nmakes her bread the sovereign of her kitchen--its behests must be\nattended to in all critical points and moments, no matter what else\nbe postponed.\n\nShe who attends to her bread only when she has done this, and arranged\nthat, and performed the other, very often finds that the forces of\nnature will not wait for her. The snowy mass, perfectly mixed, kneaded\nwith care and strength, rises in its beautiful perfection till the\nmoment comes for filling the air-cells by baking. A few minutes now,\nand the acetous fermentation will begin, and the whole result be\nspoiled. Many bread-makers pass in utter carelessness over this sacred\nand mysterious boundary. Their oven has cake in it, or they are skimming\njelly, or attending to some other of the so-called higher branches of\ncookery, while the bread is quickly passing into the acetous stage.\nAt last, when they are ready to attend to it, they find that it has\nbeen going its own way,--it is so sour that the pungent smell is plainly\nperceptible. Now the saleratus-bottle is handed down, and a quantity\nof the dissolved alkali mixed with the paste--an expedient sometimes\nmaking itself too manifest by greenish streaks or small acrid spots\nin the bread. As the result, we have a beautiful article spoiled--bread\nwithout sweetness, if not absolutely sour.\n\nIn the view of many, lightness is the only property required in this\narticle. The delicate refined sweetness which exists in carefully\nkneaded bread, baked just before it passes to the extreme point of\nfermentation, is something, of which they have no conception; and thus\nthey will even regard this process of spoiling the paste by the acetous\nfermentation, and then rectifying that acid by effervescence with an\nalkali, as something positively meritorious. How else can they value\nand relish bakers' loaves, such as some are, drugged with ammonia and\nother disagreeable things; light indeed, so light that they seem to\nhave neither weight nor substance, but with no more sweetness or taste\nthan so much cotton wool?\n\nSome persons prepare bread for the oven by simply mixing it in the\nmass, without kneading, pouring it into pans, and suffering it to rise\nthere. The air-cells in bread thus prepared are coarse and uneven; the\nbread is as inferior in delicacy and nicety to that which is well\nkneaded as a raw servant to a perfectly educated and refined lady. The\nprocess of kneading seems to impart an evenness to the minute air-cells,\na fineness of texture, and a tenderness and pliability to the whole\nsubstance, that can be gained in no other way.\n\nThe divine principle of beauty has its reign over bread as well as\nover all other things; it has its laws of aesthetics; and that bread\nwhich is so prepared that it can be formed into separate and\nwell-proportioned loaves, each one carefully worked and moulded, will\ndevelop the most beautiful results. After being moulded, the loaves\nshould stand usually not over ten minutes, just long enough to allow\nthe fermentation going on in them to expand each little air-cell to\nthe point at which it stood before it was worked down, and then they\nshould be immediately put into the oven.\n\nMany a good thing, however, is spoiled in the oven. We can not but\nregret, for the sake of bread, that our old steady brick ovens have\nbeen almost universally superseded by those of ranges and\ncooking-stoves, which are infinite in their caprices, and forbid all\ngeneral rules. One thing, however, may be borne in mind as\na principle--that the excellence of bread in all its varieties, plain\nor sweetened, depends on the perfection of its air-cells, whether\nproduced by yeast, egg, or effervescence; that one of the objects of\nbaking is to fix these air-cells, and that the quicker this can be\ndone through the whole mass, the better will the result be. When cake\nor bread is made heavy by baking too quickly, it is because the\nimmediate formation of the top crust hinders the exhaling of the\nmoisture in the centre, and prevents the air-cells from cooking. The\nweight also of the crust pressing down on the doughy air-cells below\ndestroys them, producing that horror of good cooks, a heavy streak.\nThe problem in baking, then, is the quick application of heat rather\nbelow than above the loaf, and its steady continuance till all the\nair-cells are thoroughly dried into permanent consistency. Every\nhousewife must watch her own oven to know how this can be best\naccomplished.\n\nBread-making can be cultivated to any extent as a fine art--and the\nvarious kinds of biscuit, tea-rusks, twists, rolls, into which bread\nmay be made, are much better worth a housekeeper's ambition than the\ngetting-up of rich and expensive cake or confections. There are also\nvarieties of material which are rich in good effects. Unbolted flour,\naltogether more wholesome than the fine wheat, and when properly\nprepared more palatable--rye-flour and corn-meal, each affording a\nthousand attractive possibilities--all of these come under the general\nlaws of bread-stuffs, and are worth a careful attention.\n\nA peculiarity of our American table, particularly in the Southern and\nWestern States, is the constant exhibition of various preparations of\nhot bread. In many families of the South and West, bread in loaves to\nbe eaten cold is an article quite unknown. The effect of this kind of\ndiet upon the health has formed a frequent subject of remark among\ntravelers; but only those know the full mischiefs of it who have been\ncompelled to sojourn for a length of time in families where it is\nmaintained. The unknown horrors of dyspepsia from bad bread are a topic\nover which we willingly draw a veil.\n\nNext to Bread comes _Butter_--on which we have to say, that, when\nwe remember what butter is in civilized Europe, and compare it with\nwhat it is in America, we wonder at the forbearance and lenity of\ntravelers in their strictures on our national commissariat.\n\nButter, in England, France, and Italy, is simply solidified cream,\nwith all the sweetness of the cream in its taste, freshly churned each\nday, and unadulterated by salt. At the present moment, when salt is\nfive cents a pound and butter fifty, we Americans are paying, at high\nprices, for about one pound of salt to every ten of butter, and those\nof us who have eaten the butter of France and England do this with\nrueful recollections.\n\nThere is, it is true, an article of butter made in the American style\nwith salt, which, in its own kind and way, has a merit not inferior\nto that of England and France. Many prefer it, and it certainly takes\na rank equally respectable with the other. It is yellow, hard, and\nworked so perfectly free from every particle of buttermilk that it\nmight make the voyage of the world without spoiling. It is salted, but\nsalted with care and delicacy, so that it may be a question whether\neven a fastidious Englishman might not prefer its golden solidity to\nthe white, creamy freshness of his own. But it is to be regretted that\nthis article is the exception, and not the rule, on our tables.\n\nAmerica must have the credit of manufacturing and putting into market\nmore bad butter than all that is made in all the rest of the world\ntogether. The varieties of bad tastes and smells which prevail in it\nare quite a study. This has a cheesy taste, that a mouldy, this is\nflavored with cabbage, and that again with turnip, and another has the\nstrong, sharp savor of rancid animal fat. These varieties probably\ncome from the practice of churning only at long intervals, and keeping\nthe cream meanwhile in unventilated cellars or dairies, the air of\nwhich is loaded with the effluvia of vegetable substances. No domestic\narticles are so sympathetic as those of the milk tribe: they readily\ntake on the smell and taste of any neighboring substance, and hence\nthe infinite variety of flavors on which one mournfully muses who has\nlate in autumn to taste twenty firkins of butter in hopes of finding\none which will simply not be intolerable on his winter table.\n\nA matter for despair as regards bad butter is, that at the tables where\nit is used it stands sentinel at the door to bar your way to every\nother kind of food. You turn from your dreadful half-slice of bread,\nwhich fills your mouth with bitterness, to-your beef-steak, which\nproves virulent with the same poison; you think to take refuge in\nvegetable diet, and find the butter in the string-beans, and polluting\nthe innocence of early peas; it is in the corn, hi the succotash, in\nthe squash; the beets swim in it, the onions have it poured over them.\nHungry and miserable, you think to solace yourself at the dessert; but\nthe pastry is cursed, the cake is acrid with the same plague. You are\nready to howl with despair, and your misery is great upon\nyou--especially if this is a table where you have taken board for three\nmonths with your delicate wife and four small children. Your case is\ndreadful, and it is hopeless, because long usage and habit have rendered\nyour host perfectly incapable of discovering what is the matter. \"Don't\nlike the butter, sir? I assure you I paid an extra price for it, and\nit's the very best in the market. I looked over as many as a hundred\ntubs, and picked out this one.\" You are dumb, but not less despairing.\n\nYet the process of making good butter is a very simple one. To keep\nthe cream in a perfectly pure, cool atmosphere, to churn while it is\nyet sweet, to work out the buttermilk thoroughly, and to add salt with\nsuch discretion as not to ruin the fine, delicate flavor of the fresh\ncream--all this is quite simple, so simple that one wonders at thousands\nand millions of pounds of butter yearly manufactured which are merely\na hobgoblin bewitchment of cream into foul and loathsome poisons.\n\nThe third head of my discourse is that of _Meat_, of which America\nfurnishes, in the gross material, enough to spread our tables royally,\nwere it well cared for and served.\n\nThe faults in the meat generally furnished to us are, first, that it\nis too new. A beef steak, which three or four days of keeping might\nrender palatable, is served up to us palpitating with freshness, with\nall the toughness of animal muscle yet warm.\n\nIn the next place, there is a woeful lack of nicety in the butcher's\nwork of cutting and preparing meat. Who that remembers the neatly\ntrimmed mutton-chop of an English inn, or the artistic little circle\nof lamb-chop fried in bread-crumbs coiled around a tempting centre of\nspinach which may always be found in France, can recognize any family\nresemblance to those dapper, civilized preparations, in these coarse,\nroughly-hacked strips of bone, gristle, and meat which are commonly\ncalled mutton-chop in America? There seems to be a large dish of\nsomething resembling meat, in which each fragment has about two or\nthree edible morsels, the rest being composed of dry and burnt skin,\nfat, and ragged bone.\n\nIs it not time that civilization should learn to demand somewhat more\ncare and nicety in the modes of preparing what is to be cooked and\neaten? Might not some of the refinement and trimness which characterize\nthe preparations of the European market be with advantage introduced\ninto our own? The housekeeper who wishes to garnish her table with\nsome of those nice things is stopped in the outset by the butcher.\nExcept in our large cities, where some foreign travel may have created\nthe demand, it seems impossible to get much in this line that is\nproperly prepared.\n\nIf this is urged on the score of aesthetics, the ready reply will be,\n\"Oh! we can't give time here in America to go into niceties and French\nwhim-whams!\" But the French mode of doing almost all practical things\nis based on that true philosophy and utilitarian good sense which\ncharacterize that seemingly thoughtless people. Nowhere is economy a\nmore careful study, and their market is artistically arranged to this\nend. The rule is so to cut their meats that no portion designed to be\ncooked in a certain manner shall have wasteful appendages which that\nmode of cooking will spoil. The French soup-kettle stands ever ready\nto receive the bones, the thin fibrous flaps, the sinewy and gristly\nportions, which are so often included in our roasts or broilings, which\nfill our plates with unsightly _debris_, and finally make an amount of\nblank waste for which we pay our butcher the same price that we pay for\nwhat we have eaten.\n\nThe dead waste of our clumsy, coarse way of cutting meats is immense.\nFor example, at the beginning of the season, the part of a lamb\ndenominated leg and loin, or hind-quarter, may sell for thirty cents\na pound. Now this includes, besides the thick, fleshy portions, a\nquantity of bone, sinew, and thin fibrous substance, constituting full\none third of the whole weight. If we put it into the oven entire, in\nthe usual manner, we have the thin parts over-done, and the skinny\nand fibrous parts utterly dried up, by the application of the amount\nof heat necessary to cook the thick portion. Supposing the joint to\nweigh six pounds, at thirty cents, and that one third of the weight\nis so treated as to become perfectly useless, we throw away sixty\ncents. Of a piece of beef at twenty-five cents a pound, fifty cents'\nworth is often lost in bone, fat, and burnt skin.\n\nThe fact is, this way of selling and cooking meat in large,\ngross portions is of English origin, and belongs to a country where all\nthe customs of society spring from a class who have no particular\noccasion for economy. The practice of minute and delicate division\ncomes from a nation which acknowledges the need of economy, and has\nmade it a study. A quarter of lamb in this mode of division would be\nsold in three nicely prepared portions. The thick part would be sold\nby itself, for a neat, compact little roast; the rib-bones would be\nartistically separated, and all the edible matter would form those\ndelicate dishes of lamb-chop, which, fried in bread-crumbs to a golden\nbrown, are so ornamental and palatable a side-dish; the trimmings which\nremain after this division would be destined to the soup-kettle or\nstew-pan.\n\nIn a French market is a little portion for every purse, and the\nfar-famed and delicately flavored soups and stews which have arisen\nout of French economy are a study worth a housekeeper's attention. Not\none atom of food is wasted in the French modes of preparation; even\ntough animal cartilages and sinews, instead of appearing burned and\nblackened in company with the roast meat to which they happen to be\nrelated, are treated according to their own laws, and come out either\nin savory soups, or those fine, clear meat-jellies which form a garnish\nno less agreeable to the eye than palatable to the taste.\n\nWhether this careful, economical, practical style of meat-cooking can\never to any great extent be introduced into our kitchens now is a\nquestion. Our butchers are against it; our servants are wedded to the\nold wholesale wasteful ways, which seem to them easier because they\nare accustomed to them. A cook who will keep and properly tend a\nsoup-kettle which shall receive and utilize all that the coarse\npreparations of the butcher would require her to trim away, who\nunderstands the art of making the most of all these remains, is a\ntreasure scarcely to be hoped for. If such things are to be done, it\nmust be primarily through the educated brain of cultivated women who\ndo not scorn to turn their culture and refinement upon domestic\nproblems.\n\nWhen meats have been properly divided, so that each portion can receive\nits own appropriate style of treatment, next comes the consideration\nof the modes of cooking. These may be divided into two great general\nclasses: those where it is desired to keep the juices within the meat,\nas in baking, broiling, and frying--and those whose object is to extract\nthe juice and dissolve the fibre, as in the making of soups and stews.\nIn the first class of operations, the process must be as rapid as may\nconsist with the thorough cooking of all the particles. In this branch\nof cookery, doing quickly is doing well. The fire must be brisk, the\nattention alert. The introduction of cooking-stoves offers to careless\ndomestics facilities for gradually drying-up meats, and despoiling\nthem of all flavor and nutriment--facilities which appear to be very\ngenerally accepted. They have almost banished the genuine, old-fashioned\nroast-meat from our tables, and left in its stead dried meats with\ntheir most precious and nutritive juices evaporated. How few cooks,\nunassisted, are competent to the simple process of broiling a beefsteak\nor mutton-chop! how very generally one has to choose between these\nmeats gradually dried away, or burned on the outside and raw within!\nYet in England these articles _never_ come on the table done amiss;\ntheir perfect cooking is as absolute a certainty as the rising of the\nsun.\n\nNo one of these rapid processes of cooking, however, is so generally\nabused as frying. The frying-pan has awful sins to answer for. What\nuntold horrors of dyspepsia have arisen from its smoky depths, like\nthe ghost from witches' caldrons! The fizzle of frying meat is a warning\nknell on many an ear, saying, \"Touch not, taste not, if you would not\nburn and writhe!\"\n\nYet those who have traveled abroad remember that some of the lightest,\nmost palatable, and most digestible preparations of meat have come\nfrom this dangerous source. But we fancy quite other rites and\nceremonies inaugurated the process, and quite other hands performed\nits offices, than those known to our kitchens. Probably the delicate\n_cotelettes_ of France are not flopped down into half-melted\ngrease, there gradually to warm and soak and fizzle, while Biddy goes\nin and out on her other ministrations, till finally, when they are\nthoroughly saturated, and dinner-hour impends, she bethinks herself,\nand crowds the fire below to a roaring heat, and finishes the process\nby a smart burn, involving the kitchen and surrounding precincts in\nvolumes of Stygian gloom. From such preparations has arisen the very\ncurrent medical opinion that fried meats are indigestible. They are\nindigestible, if they are greasy; but French cooks have taught us that\na thing has no more need to be greasy because emerging from grease\nthan Venus had to be salt because she rose from the sea.\n\nThere are two ways of frying employed by the French cook. One is, to\nimmerse the article to be cooked in _boiling_ fat, with an emphasis\non the present participle--and the philosophical principle is, so\nimmediately to crisp every pore, at the first moment or two of\nimmersion, as effectually to seal the interior against the intrusion\nof greasy particles; it can then remain as long as may be necessary\nthoroughly to cook it, without imbibing any more of the boiling fluid\nthan if it were inclosed in an egg-shell. The other method is to rub\na perfectly smooth iron surface with just enough of some oily substance\nto prevent the meat from adhering, and cook it with a quick heat, as\ncakes are baked, on a griddle. In both these cases there must be the\nmost rapid application of heat that can be made without burning, and\nby the adroitness shown in working out this problem the skill of the\ncook is tested. Any one whose cook attains this important secret will\nfind fried things quite as digestible, and often more palatable, than\nany other.\n\nIn the second department of meat-cookery, to wit, the slow and gradual\napplication of heat for the softening and dissolution of its fibre and\nthe extraction of its juices, common cooks are equally untrained. Where\nis the so-called cook who understands how to prepare soups and stews?\nThese are precisely the articles in which a French kitchen excels. The\nsoup-kettle, made with a double bottom, to prevent burning, is a\npermanent, ever-present institution, and the coarsest and most\nimpracticable meats distilled through that alembic come out again in\nsoups, jellies, or savory stews. The toughest cartilage, even the\nbones, being first cracked, are here made to give forth their hidden\nvirtues, and to rise in delicate and appetizing forms.\n\nOne great law governs all these preparations: the application of heat\nmust be gradual, steady, long protracted, never reaching the point of\nactive boiling. Hours of quiet simmering dissolve all dissoluble parts,\nsoften the sternest fibre, and unlock every minute cell in which Nature\nhas stored away her treasures of nourishment. This careful and\nprotracted application of heat and the skillful use of flavors\nconstitute the two main points in all those nice preparations of meat\nfor which the French have so many names--processes by which a delicacy\ncan be imparted to the coarsest and cheapest food superior to that of\nthe finest articles under less philosophic treatment.\n\nFrench soups and stews are a study, and they would not be an\nunprofitable one to any person who wishes to live with comfort and\neven elegance on small means.\n\nThere is no animal fibre that will not yield itself up to long-\ncontinued, steady heat. But the difficulty with almost any of the\ncommon servants who call themselves cooks is, that they have not the\nsmallest notion of the philosophy of the application of heat. Such a\none will complacently tell you concerning certain meats, that the\nharder you boil them the harder they grow--an obvious fact which, under\nher mode of treatment by an indiscriminate galloping boil, has\nfrequently come under her personal observation. If you tell her that\nsuch meat must stand for six hours in a heat just below the boiling\npoint, she will probably answer, \"Yes, ma'am,\" and go on her own way.\nOr she will let it stand till it burns to the bottom of the kettle--a\nmost common termination of the experiment.\n\nThe only way to make sure of the matter is, either to obtain a French\nkettle, or to fit into an ordinary kettle a false bottom, such as any\ntinman may make, that shall leave a space of an inch or two between\nthe meat and the fire. This kettle may be maintained in a constant\nposition on the range, and into it the cook maybe instructed to throw\nall the fibrous trimmings of meat, all the gristle, tendons, and bones,\nhaving previously broken up these last with a mallet. Such a kettle,\nthe regular occupant of a French cooking-stove, which they call the\n_pot au feu_, will furnish the basis for clear, rich soups, or other\npalatable dishes. This is ordinarily called \"stock.\"\n\nClear soup consists of the dissolved juices of the meat and gelatine\nof the bones, cleared from the fat and fibrous portions by straining.\nThe grease, which rises to the top of the fluid, may be easily removed\nwhen cold.\n\nEnglish and American soups are often heavy and hot with spices. There\nare appreciable tastes in them. They burn your mouth with cayenne, or\nclove, or allspice. You can tell at once what is in them, oftentimes\nto your sorrow. But a French soup has a flavor which one recognizes\nat once as delicious, yet not to be characterized as due to any single\ncondiment; it is the just blending of many things. The same remark\napplies to all their stews; ragouts, and other delicate preparations.\nNo cook will ever study these flavors; but perhaps many cooks'\nmistresses may, and thus, be able to impart delicacy and comfort to\neconomy.\n\nAs to those things called hashes, commonly manufactured by unwatched,\nuntaught cooks out of the remains of yesterday's meal, let us not dwell\ntoo closely on their memory--compounds of meat, gristle, skin, fat,\nand burnt fibre, with a handful of pepper and salt flung at them,\ndredged with lumpy flour, watered from the spout of the tea-kettle,\nand left to simmer at the cook's convenience while she is otherwise\noccupied. Such are the best performances a housekeeper can hope for\nfrom an untrained cook.\n\nBut the cunningly devised minces, the artful preparations choicely\nflavored, which may be made of yesterday's repast--by these is the\ntrue domestic artist known. No cook untaught by an educated brain ever\nmakes these, and yet economy is a great gainer by them.\n\nAs regards the department of _Vegetables_, their number and variety\nin America are so great that a table might almost be furnished by these\nalone. Generally speaking, their cooking is a more simple art, and\ntherefore more likely to be found satisfactorily performed, than that\nof meats. If only they are not drenched with rancid butter, their own\nnative excellence makes itself known in most of the ordinary modes of\npreparation.\n\nThere is, however, one exception. Our staunch old friend, the potato,\nis to other vegetables what bread is on the table. Like bread, it is\nheld as a sort of _sine-qua-non_; like that, it may be made invariably\npalatable by a little care in a few plain particulars, through neglect\nof which it often becomes intolerable. The soggy, waxy, indigestible\nviand that often appears in the potato-dish is a downright sacrifice of\nthe better nature of this vegetable.\n\nThe potato, nutritive and harmless as it appears, belongs to a family\nsuspected of very dangerous traits. It is a family connection of the\ndeadly-nightshade and other ill-reputed gentry, and sometimes shows\nstrange proclivities to evil--now breaking out uproariously, as in the\nnoted potato-rot, and now more covertly, in various evil affections.\nFor this reason scientific directors bid us beware of the water in\nwhich potatoes are boiled-into which, it appears, the evil principle\nis drawn off; and they caution us not to shred them into stews without\npreviously suffering the slices to lie for an hour or so in salt and\nwater. These cautions are worth attention.\n\nThe most usual modes of preparing the potato for the table are by\nroasting or boiling. These processes are so simple that it is commonly\nsupposed every cook understands them without special directions; and\nyet there is scarcely an uninstructed cook who can boil or roast a\npotato.\n\nA good roasted potato is a delicacy worth a dozen compositions of the\ncook-book; yet when we ask for it, what burnt, shriveled abortions are\npresented to us! Biddy rushes to her potato-basket and pours out two\ndozen of different sizes, some having in them three times the amount\nof matter of others. These being washed, she tumbles them into her\noven at a leisure interval, and there lets them lie till it is time\nto serve breakfast, whenever that may be. As a result, if the largest\nare cooked, the smallest are presented in cinders, and the intermediate\nsizes are withered and watery. Nothing is so utterly ruined by a few\nmoments of overdoing. That which at the right moment was plump with\nmealy richness, a quarter of an hour later shrivels and becomes watery--\nand it is in this state that roast potatoes are most frequently served.\n\nIn the same manner we have seen boiled potatoes from an untaught cook\ncoming upon the table like lumps of yellow wax--and the same article,\nunder the directions of a skillful mistress, appearing in snowy balls\nof powdery whiteness. In the one case, they were thrown in their skins\ninto water, and suffered to soak or boil, as the case might be, at the\ncook's leisure, and after they were boiled to stand in the water till\nshe was ready to peel them. In the other case, the potatoes being first\npeeled were boiled as quickly as possible in salted water, which the\nmoment they were done was drained off, and then they were gently shaken\nfor a moment or two over the fire to dry them still more thoroughly.\nWe have never yet seen the potato so depraved and given over to evil\nthat it could not be reclaimed by this mode of treatment.\n\nAs to fried potatoes, who that remembers the crisp, golden slices of\nthe French restaurant, thin as wafers and light as snow-flakes, does\nnot speak respectfully of them? What cousinship with these have those\ncoarse, greasy masses of sliced potato, wholly soggy and partly burnt,\nto which we are treated under the name of fried potatoes in America?\nIn our cities the restaurants are introducing the French article to\ngreat acceptance, and to the vindication of the fair fame of this queen\nof vegetables.\n\nFinally, we arrive at the last great head of our subject, to wit--\n_Tea_--meaning thereby, as before observed, what our Hibernian\nfriend did in the inquiry, \"Will y'r honor take 'tay tay' or coffee\ntay?\"\n\nWe are not about to enter into the merits of the great tea-and-coffee\ncontroversy, further than in our general caution concerning them in\nthe chapter on Healthful Drinks; but we now proceed to treat of them\nas actual existences, and speak only of the modes of making the best\nof them. The French coffee is reputed the best in the world; and a\nthousand voices have asked, What is it about the French coffee?\n\nIn the first place, then, the French coffee is coffee, and not chickory,\nor rye, or beans, or peas. In the second place, it is freshly roasted,\nwhenever made--roasted with great care and evenness in a little\nrevolving cylinder which makes part of the furniture of every kitchen,\nand which keeps in the aroma of the berry. It is never overdone, so\nas to destroy the coffee-flavor, which is in nine cases out of tent\nthe fault of the coffee we meet with. Then it is ground, and placed\nin a coffee-pot with a filter through which, when it has yielded up\nits life to the boiling water poured upon it, the delicious extract\npercolates in clear drops, the coffee-pot standing on a heated stove\nto maintain the temperature. The nose of the coffee-pot is stopped up\nto prevent the escape of the aroma during this process. The extract\nthus obtained is a perfectly clear, dark fluid, known as _caf\nnoir_, or black coffee. It is black only because of its strength,\nbeing in fact almost the very essential oil of coffee. A table-spoonful\nof this in boiled milk would make what is ordinarily called a strong\ncup of coffee. The boiled milk is prepared with no less care. It must\nbe fresh and new, not merely warmed or even brought to the\nboiling-point, but slowly simmered till it attains a thick, creamy\nrichness. The coffee mixed with this, and sweetened with that sparkling\nbeet-root sugar which ornaments a French table, is the celebrated\n_cafe-au-lait_, the name of which has gone round the world.\n\nAs we look to France for the best coffee, so we must look to England\nfor the perfection of tea. The tea-kettle is as much an English\ninstitution as aristocracy or the Prayer-Book; and when one wants to\nknow exactly how tea should he made, one has only to ask how a fine\nold English house-keeper makes it.\n\nThe first article of her faith is, that the water must not merely be\nhot, not merely _have boiled_ a few moments since, but be actually\n_boiling_ at the moment it touches the tea. Hence, though servants\nin England are vastly better trained than with us, this delicate mystery\nis seldom left to their hands. Tea-making belongs to the drawing-room,\nand high-born ladies preside at \"the bubbling and loud hissing urn,\"\nand see that all due rites and solemnities are properly performed--that\nthe cups are hot, and that the infused tea waits the exact time before\nthe libations commence.\n\nOf late, the introduction of English breakfast-tea has raised a new\nsect among the tea-drinkers, reversing some of the old canons.\nBreakfast-tea must be boiled! Unlike the delicate article of olden\ntime, which required only a momentary infusion to develop its richness,\nthis requires a longer and severer treatment to bring out its\nstrength--thus confusing all the established usages, and throwing the\nwork into the hands of the cook in the kitchen. The faults of tea, as\ntoo commonly found at our hotels and boarding-houses, are, that it\nis made in every way the reverse of what it should be. The water is\nhot, perhaps, but not boiling; the tea has a general flat, stale, smoky\ntaste, devoid of life or spirit; and it is served usually with thin\nmilk, instead of cream. Cream is an essential to the richness of tea\nas of coffee. Lacking cream, boiled milk is better than cold.\n\nChocolate is a French and Spanish article, and one seldom served on\nAmerican tables. We in America, however, make an article every way\nequal to any which can be imported from Paris, and he who buys the\nbest vanilla-chocolate may rest assured that no foreign land can furnish\nany thing better. A very rich and delicious beverage may be made by\ndissolving this in milk, slowly boiled down after the French fashion.\n\nA word now under the head of _Confectionery_, meaning by this the\nwhole range of ornamental cookery--or pastry, ices, jellies, preserves,\netc. The art of making all these very perfectly is far better understood\nin America than the art of common cooking. There are more women who\nknow how to make good cake than good bread--more who can furnish you\nwith a good ice-cream than a well-cooked mutton-chop; a fair\ncharlotte-russe is easier to gain than a perfect cup of coffee; and\nyou shall find a sparkling jelly to your dessert where you sighed in\nvain for so simple a luxury as a well-cooked potato.\n\nOur fair countrywomen might rest upon their laurels in these higher\nfields, and turn their great energy and ingenuity to the study of\nessentials. To do common things perfectly is far better worth our\nendeavor than to do uncommon things respectably. We Americans in many\nthings as yet have been a little inclined to begin making our shirt\nat the ruffle; but, nevertheless, when we set about it, we can make\nthe shirt as nicely as any body; it needs only that we turn our\nattention to it, resolved that, ruffle or no ruffle, the shirt we will\nhave.\n\nA few words as to the prevalent ideas in respect to French cookery.\nHaving heard much of it, with no very distinct idea of what it is, our\npeople have somehow fallen into the notion that its _forte_ lies in high\nspicing--and so when our cooks put a great abundance of clove, mace,\nnutmeg, and cinnamon into their preparations, they fancy that they are\ngrowing up to be French cooks. But the fact is, that the Americans and\nEnglish are far more given to spicing than the French. Spices in our\nmade dishes are abundant, and their taste is strongly pronounced. Living\na year in France one forgets the taste of nutmeg, clove, and allspice,\nwhich abounds in so many dishes in America. The English and Americans\ndeal in _spices_, the French in _flavors_--flavors many and flue,\nimitating often in their delicacy those subtle blendings which nature\nproduces in high-flavored fruits. The recipes of our cookery-books are\nmost of them of English origin, coming down from the times of our\nphlegmatic ancestors, when the solid, burly, beefy growth of the foggy\nisland required the heat of fiery condiments, and could digest heavy\nsweets. Witness the national recipe for plum-pudding: which may be\nrendered: Take a pound of every indigestible substance you can think of,\nboil into a cannon-ball, and serve in flaming brandy. So of the\nChristmas mince-pie, and many other national dishes. But in America,\nowing to our brighter skies and more fervid climate, we have developed\nan acute, nervous delicacy of temperament far more akin to that of\nFrance than of England.\n\nHalf of the recipes in our cook-books are mere murder to such\nconstitutions and stomachs as we grow here. We require to ponder these\nthings, and think how we, in our climate and under our circumstances,\nought to live; and in doing so, we may, without accusation of foreign\nfoppery, take some leaves from many foreign books.\n\n\n\n\nXIV.\n\nEARLY RISING\n\n\nThere is no practice which has been more extensively eulogized in all\nages than early rising; and this universal impression is an indication\nthat it is founded on true philosophy. For it is rarely the case that\nthe common sense of mankind fastens on a practice as really beneficial,\nespecially one that demands self-denial, without some substantial\nreason.\n\nThis practice, which may justly be called a domestic virtue, is one\nwhich has a peculiar claim to be styled American and democratic. The\ndistinctive mark of aristocratic nations is a disregard of the great\nmass, and a disproportionate regard for the interests of certain\nprivileged orders. All the customs and habits of such a nation are,\nto a greater or less extent, regulated by this principle. Now the mass\nof any nation must always consist of persons who labor at occupations\nwhich demand the light of day. But in aristocratic countries, especially\nin England, labor is regarded as the mark of the lower classes, and\nindolence is considered as one mark of a gentleman. This impression\nhas gradually and imperceptibly, to a great extent, regulated their\ncustoms, so that, even in their hours of meals and repose, the higher\norders aim at being different and distinct from those who, by laborious\npursuits, are placed below them. From this circumstance, while the\nlower orders labor by day and sleep at night, the rich, the noble, and\nthe honored sleep by day, and follow their pursuits and pleasures by\nnight.\n\nIt will be found that the aristocracy of London breakfast near midday,\ndine after dark, visit and go to Parliament between ten and twelve at\nnight, and retire to sleep toward morning. In consequence of this, the\nsubordinate classes who aim at gentility gradually fall into the same\npractice. The influence of this custom extends across the ocean, and\nhere, in this democratic land, we find many who measure their grade\nof gentility by the late hour at which they arrive at a party. And\nthis aristocratic folly is growing upon us, so that, throughout the\nnation, the hours for visiting and retiring are constantly becoming\nlater, while the hours for rising correspond in lateness.\n\nThe question, then, is one which appeals to American women, as a matter\nof patriotism and as having a bearing on those great principles of\ndemocracy which we conceive to be equally the principles of\nChristianity. Shall we form our customs on the assumption that labor\nis degrading and indolence genteel? Shall we assume, by our practice,\nthat the interests of the great mass are to be sacrificed for the\npleasures and honors of a privileged few? Shall we ape the customs of\naristocratic lands, in those very practices which result from principles\nand institutions that we condemn? Shall we not rather take the place\nto which we are entitled, as the leaders, rather than the followers,\nin the customs of society, turn back the tide of aristocratic inroads,\nand carry through the whole, not only of civil and political but of\nsocial and domestic life, the true principles of democratic freedom\nand equality? The following considerations may serve to strengthen an\naffirmative decision.\n\nThe first relates to the health of a family. It is a universal law of\nphysiology, that all living things flourish best in the light.\nVegetables, in a dark cellar, grow pale and spindling. Children brought\nup in mines are always wan and stunted, while men become pale and\ncadaverous who live under ground. This indicates the folly of losing\nthe genial influence which the light of day produces on all animated\ncreation.\n\nSir James Wylie, of the Russian imperial service, states that in the\nsoldiers' barracks, three times as many were taken sick on the shaded\nside as on the sunny side; though both sides communicated, and\ndiscipline, diet, and treatment were the same. The eminent French\nsurgeon, Dupuytren, cured a lady whose complicated diseases baffled\nfor years his own and all other medical skill, by taking her from a\ndark room to an abundance of daylight.\n\nFlorence Nightingale writes: \"Second only to fresh air in importance\nfor the sick is light. Not only daylight but direct sunlight is\nnecessary to speedy recovery, except in a small number of cases.\nInstances, almost endless, could be given where, in dark wards, or\nwards with only northern exposure, or wards with borrowed light, even\nwhen properly ventilated, the sick could not be, by any means, made\nspeedily to recover.\"\n\nIn the prevalence of cholera, it was invariably the case that deaths\nwere more numerous in shaded streets or in houses having only northern\nexposures than in those having sunlight. Several physicians have stated\nto the writer that, in sunny exposures, women after childbirth gained\nstrength much faster than those excluded from sunlight. In the writer's\nexperience, great nervous debility has been always immediately lessened\nby sitting in the sun, and still more by lying on the earth and in\nopen air, a blanket beneath, and head and eyes protected, under the\ndirect rays of the sun.\n\nSome facts in physiology and natural philosophy have a bearing on this\nsubject. It seems to be settled that the red color of blood is owing\nto iron contained in the red blood-cells, while it is established as\na fact that the sun's rays are metallic, having \"vapor of iron\" as one\nelement. It is also true that want of light causes a diminution of the\nred and an increase of the imperfect white blood-cells, and that this\nsometimes results in a disease called _leucoemia_, while all who\nlive in the dark have pale and waxy skins, and flabby, weak muscles.\nThus it would seem that it is the sun that imparts the iron and color\nto the blood. These things being so, the customs of society that bring\nsleeping hours into daylight, and working and study hours into the\nnight, are direct violations of the laws of health. The laws of health\nare the laws of God, and \"sin is the transgression of law.\"\n\nTo this we must add the great neglect of economy as well as health in\nsubstituting unhealthful gaslight, poisonous, anthracite warmth, for\nthe life-giving light and warmth of the sun. Millions and millions\nwould be saved to this nation in fuel and light, as well as in health,\nby returning to the good old ways of our forefathers, to rise with the\nsun, and retire to rest \"when the bell rings for nine o'clock.\"\n\nThe observations of medical men, whose inquiries have been directed\nto this point, have decided that from six to eight hours is the amount\nof sleep demanded by persons in health. Some constitutions require as\nmuch as eight, and others no more than six hours of repose. But eight\nhours is the maximum for all persons in ordinary health, with ordinary\noccupations. In cases of extra physical exertions, or the debility of\ndisease, or a decayed constitution, more than this is required. Let\neight hours, then, be regarded as the ordinary period required for\nsleep by an industrious people like the Americans.\n\nIt thus appears that the laws of our political condition, the laws ofthe\nnatural world, and the constitution of our bodies, alike demand\nthat we rise with the light of day to prosecute our employments, and\nthat we retire in time for the requisite amount of sleep.\n\nIn regard to the effects of protracting the time spent in repose, many\nextensive and satisfactory investigations have been made. It has been\nshown that, during sleep, the body perspires most freely, while yet\nneither food nor exercise are ministering to its wants. Of course, if\nwe continue our slumbers beyond the time required to restore the body\nto its usual vigor, there is an unperceived undermining of the\nconstitution, by this protracted and debilitating exhalation. This\nprocess, in a course of years, readers the body delicate and less able\nto withstand disease, and in the result shortens life. Sir John\nSinclair, who has written a large work on the Causes of Longevity,\nstates, as one result of his extensive investigations, that he has\nnever yet heard or read of a single case of great longevity where the\nindividual was not an early riser. He says that he has found cases in\nwhich the individual has violated some one of all the other laws of\nhealth, and yet lived to great age; but never a single instance in\nwhich any constitution has withstood that undermining consequent on\nprotracting the hours of repose beyond the demands of the system.\n\nAnother reason for early rising is, that it is indispensable to a\nsystematic and well-regulated family. At whatever hour the parents\nretire, children and domestics, wearied by play or labor, must retire\nearly. Children usually awake with the dawn of light, and commence\ntheir play, while domestics usually prefer the freshness of morning\nfor their labors. If, then, the parents rise at a late hour, they\neither induce a habit of protracting sleep in their children and\ndomestics, or else the family are up, and at their pursuits, while\ntheir supervisors are in bed.\n\nAny woman who asserts that her children and domestics, in the first\nhours of day, when their spirits are freshest, will be as well regulated\nwithout her presence as with it, confesses that which surely is little\nfor her credit. It is believed that any candid woman, whatever may be\nher excuse for late rising, will concede that if she could rise early\nit would be for the advantage of her family. A late breakfast puts\nback the work, through the whole day, for every member of a family;\nand if the parents thus occasion the loss of an hour or two to each\nindividual who, but for their delay in the morning, would be usefully\nemployed, they alone are responsible for all this waste of time.\n\nBut the practice of early rising has a relation to the general interests\nof the social community, as well as to that of each distinct family.\nAll that great portion of the community who are employed in business\nand labor find it needful to rise early; and all their hours of meals,\nand their appointments for business or pleasure, must be accommodated\nto these arrangements. Now, if a small portion of the community\nestablish very different hours, it makes a kind of jostling in all the\nconcerns and interests of society. The various appointments for the\npublic, such as meetings, schools, and business hours, must be\naccommodated to the mass, and not to individuals. The few, then, who\nestablish domestic habits at variance with the majority, are either\nconstantly interrupted in their own arrangements, or else are\ninterfering with the rights and interests of others. This is exemplified\nin the case of schools. In families where late rising is practiced,\neither hurry, irregularity, and neglect are engendered in the family,\nor else the interests of the school, and thus of the community, are\nsacrificed. In this, and many other matters, it can be shown that the\nwell-being of the bulk of the people is, to a greater or less extent,\nimpaired by this self-indulgent practice. Let any teacher select the\nunpunctual scholars--a class who most seriously interfere with the\ninterests of the school--and let men of business select those who cause\nthem most waste of time and vexation, by unpunctuality; and it will\nbe found that they are generally among the late risers, and rarely\namong those who rise early. Thus, late rising not only injures the\nperson and family which indulge in it, but interferes with the rights\nand convenience of the community; while early rising imparts\ncorresponding benefits of health, promptitude, vigor of action, economy\nof time, and general effectiveness both to the individuals who practice\nit and to the families and community of which they are a part.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nDOMESTIC MANNERS.\n\nGood manners are the expressions of benevolence in personal intercourse,\nby which we endeavor to promote the comfort and enjoyment of others,\nand to avoid all that gives needless uneasiness. It is the exterior\nexhibition of the divine precept, which requires us to do to others\nas we would that they should do to us. It is saying, by our deportment,\nto all around, that we consider their feelings, tastes, and\nconveniences, as equal in value to our own.\n\nGood manners lead us to avoid all practices which offend the taste of\nothers; all unnecessary violations of the conventional rules of\npropriety; all rude and disrespectful language and deportment; and all\nremarks which would tend to wound the feelings of others.\n\nThere is a serious defect in the manners of the American people,\nespecially among the descendants of the Puritan settlers of New England,\nwhich can never be efficiently remedied, except in the domestic circle,\nand during early life. It is a deficiency in the free expression of\nkindly feelings and sympathetic emotions, and a want of courtesy in\ndeportment. The causes which have led to this result may easily be\ntraced.\n\nThe forefathers of this nation, to a wide extent, were men who were\ndriven from their native land by laws and customs which they believed\nto be opposed both to civil and religious freedom. The sufferings they\nwere called to endure, the subduing of those gentler feelings which\nbind us to country, kindred, and home; and the constant subordination\nof the passions to stern principle, induced characters of great firmness\nand self-control. They gave up the comforts and refinements of a\ncivilized country, and came as pilgrims to a hard soil, a cold clime,\nand a heathen shore. They were continually forced to encounter danger,\nprivations, sickness, loneliness, and death; and all these their\nreligion taught them to meet with calmness, fortitude, and submission.\nAnd thus it became the custom and habit of the whole mass, to repress\nrather than to encourage the expression of feeling.\n\nPersons who are called to constant and protracted suffering and\nprivation are forced to subdue and conceal emotion; for the free\nexpression of it would double their own suffering, and increase the\nsufferings of others. Those, only, who are free from care and anxiety,\nand whose minds are mainly occupied by cheerful emotions, are at full\nliberty to unveil their feelings.\n\nIt was under such stern and rigorous discipline that the first children\nin New England were reared; and the manners and habits of parents are\nusually, to a great extent, transmitted to children. Thus it comes to\npass, that the descendants of the Puritans, now scattered over every\npart of the nation, are predisposed to conceal the gentler emotions,\nwhile their manners are calm, decided, and cold, rather than free and\nimpulsive. Of course, there are very many exceptions to these\npredominating characteristics.\n\nOther causes to which we may attribute a general want of courtesy in\nmanners are certain incidental results of our domestic institutions.\nOur ancestors and their descendants have constantly been combating the\naristocratic principle which would exalt one class of men at the expense\nof another. They have had to contend with this principle, not only in\ncivil but in social life. Almost every American, in his own person as\nwell as in behalf of his class, has had to assume and defend the main\nprinciple of democracy--that every man's feelings and interests are\nequal in value to those of every other man. But, in doing this, there\nhas been some want of clear discrimination. Because claims based on\ndistinctions of mere birth, fortune, or position, were found to be\ninjurious, many have gone to the extreme of inferring that all\ndistinctions, involving subordinations, are useless. Such would\nwrongfully regard children as equals to parents, pupils to teachers,\ndomestics to their employers, and subjects to magistrates--and that,\ntoo, in all respects.\n\nThe fact that certain grades of superiority and subordination are\nneedful, both for individual and public benefit, has not been clearly\ndiscerned; and there has been a gradual tendency to an extreme of the\nopposite view which has sensibly affected our manners. All the\nproprieties and courtesies which depend on the recognition of the\nrelative duties of superior and subordinate have been warred upon; and\nthus we see, to an increasing extent, disrespectful treatment of\nparents, by children; of teachers, by pupils; of employers, by\ndomestics; and of the aged, by the young. In all classes and circles,\nthere is a gradual decay in courtesy of address.\n\nIn cases, too, where kindness is rendered, it is often accompanied\nwith a cold, unsympathizing manner, which greatly lessens its value;\nwhile kindness or politeness is received in a similar style of coolness,\nas if it were but the payment of a just due.\n\nIt is owing to these causes that the American people, especially the\ndescendants of the Puritans, do not do themselves justice. For, while\nthose who are near enough to learn their real character and feelings\ncan discern the most generous impulses, and the most kindly sympathies,\nthey are often so veiled behind a composed and indifferent demeanor,\nas to be almost entirely concealed from strangers.\n\nThese defects in our national manners it especially falls to the care\nof mothers, and all who have charge of the young, to rectify; and if\nthey seriously undertake the matter, and wisely adapt means to ends,\nthese defects will be remedied. With reference to this object, the\nfollowing ideas are suggested.\n\nThe law of Christianity and of democracy, which teaches that all men\nare born equal in rights, and that their interests and feelings should\nbe regarded as of equal value, seems to be adopted in aristocratic\ncircles, with exclusive reference to the class in which the individual\nmoves. The courtly gentleman addresses all of his own class with\npoliteness and respect; and in all his actions, seems to allow that\nthe feelings and convenience of these others are to be regarded the\nsame as his own. But his demeanor to those of inferior station is not\nbased on the same rule.\n\nAmong those who make up aristocratic circles, such as are above them\nare deemed of superior, and such as are below of inferior, value. Thus,\nif a young, ignorant, and vicious coxcomb happens to have been born\na lord, the aged, the virtuous, the learned, and the well-bred of\nanother class must give his convenience the precedence, and must address\nhim in terms of respect. So sometimes, when a man of \"noble birth\" is\nthrown among the lower classes, he demeans himself in a style which,\nto persons of his own class, would be deemed the height of assumption\nand rudeness.\n\nNow, the principles of democracy require that the same courtesy which\nwe accord to our own circle shall be extended to every class and\ncondition; and that distinctions of superiority and subordination shall\ndepend, not on accidents of birth, fortune, or occupation, but solely\non those mutual relations which the good of all classes equally require.\nThe distinctions demanded in a democratic state are simply those which\nresult from relations that are common to every class, and are for the\nbenefit of all.\n\nIt is for the benefit of every class that children be subordinate to\nparents, pupils to teachers, the employed to their employers, and\nsubjects to magistrates. In addition to this, it is for the general\nwell-being that the comfort or convenience of the delicate and feeble\nshould be preferred to that of the strong and healthy, who would suffer\nless by any deprivation; that precedence should be given to their\nelders by the young; and that reverence should be given to the hoary\nhead.\n\nThe rules of good-breeding, in a democratic state, must be founded on\nthese principles. It is indeed assumed that the value of the happiness\nof each individual is the same as that of every other; but as there\nmust be occasions where there are advantages which all can not enjoy,\nthere must be general rules for regulating a selection. Otherwise,\nthere would be constant scrambling among those of equal claims, and\nbrute force must be the final resort; in which case, the strongest\nwould have the best of every thing. The democratic rule, then, is,\nthat superiors in age, station, or office have precedence of\nsubordinates; age and feebleness, of youth and strength; and the feebler\nsex, of more vigorous man. [Footnote: The universal practice of this\nnation, in thus giving precedence to woman has been severely commented\non by foreigners, and by some who would transfer all the business of\nthe other sex to women, and then have them treated like men. But we\nhope this evidence of our superior civilization and Christianity may\nincrease rather than diminish.]\n\nThere is, also, a style of deportment and address which is appropriate\nto these different relations. It is suitable for a superior to secure\ncompliance with his wishes from those subordinate to him by commands;\nbut a subordinate must secure compliance with his wishes from a superior\nby requests. (Although the kind and considerate manner to subordinates\nwill always be found the most effective as well as the pleasantest,\nby those in superior station.) It is suitable for a parent, teacher,\nor employer to admonish for neglect of duty; but not for an inferior\nto adopt such a course toward a superior. It is suitable for a superior\nto take precedence of a subordinate, without any remark; but not for\nan inferior, without previously asking leave, or offering an apology.\nIt is proper for a superior to use language and manners of freedom and\nfamiliarity, which would be improper from a subordinate to a superior.\n\nThe want of due regard to these proprieties occasions a great defect\nin American manners. It is very common to hear children talk to their\nparents in a style proper only between companions and equals; so, also,\nthe young address their elders; those employed, their employers; and\ndomestics, the members of the family and their visitors, in a style\nwhich is inappropriate to their relative positions. But courteous\naddress is required not merely toward superiors; every person desires\nto be thus treated, and therefore the law of benevolence demands such\ndemeanor toward all whom we meet in the social intercourse of life.\n\"Be ye courteous,\" is the direction of the apostle in reference to our\ntreatment of _all_.\n\nGood manners can be successfully cultivated only in early life and in\nthe domestic circle. There is nothing which depends so much upon\n_habit_ as the constantly recurring proprieties of good breeding;\nand if a child grows up without forming such habits, it is very rarely\nthe case that they can be formed at a later period. The feeling that\nit is of little consequence how we behave at home if we conduct\nourselves properly abroad, is a very fallacious one. Persons who are\ncareless and ill-bred at home may imagine that they can assume good\nmanners abroad; but they mistake. Fixed habits of tone, manner,\nlanguage, and movements can not be suddenly altered; and those who are\nill-bred at home, even when they try to hide their bad habits, are\nsure to violate many of the obvious rules of propriety, and yet be\nunconscious of it.\n\nAnd there is nothing which would so effectually remove prejudice against\nour democratic institutions as the general cultivation of good-breeding\nin the domestic circle. Good manners are the exterior of benevolence,\nthe minute and constant exhibitions of \"peace and good-will;\" and the\nnation, as well as the individual, which most excels in the external\ndemonstration, as well as the internal principle, will be most respected\nand beloved.\n\nIt is only the training of the family state according to its true end\nand aim that is to secure to woman her true position and rights. When\nthe family is instituted by marriage, it is man who is the head and\nchief magistrate by the force of his physical power and requirement\nof the chief responsibility; not less is he so according to the\nChristian law, by which, when differences arise, the husband has the\ndeciding control, and the wife is to obey. \"Where love is, there is\nno law;\" but where love is not, the only dignified and peaceful course\nis for the wife, however much his superior, to \"submit, as to God and\nnot to man.\"\n\nBut this power of nature and of religion, given to man as the\ncontrolling head, involves the distinctive duty of the family state,\n_self-sacrificing love_. The husband is to \"honor\" the wife, to\nlove her as himself, and thus account her wishes and happiness as of\nequal value with his own. But more than this, he is to love her \"as\nChrist loved the Church;\" that is, he is to \"suffer\" for her, if need\nbe, in order to support and elevate and ennoble her. The father then\nis to set the example of self-sacrificing love and devotion; and the\nmother, of Christian obedience when it is required. Every boy is to\nbe trained for his future domestic position by labor and sacrifices\nfor his mother and sisters. It is the brother who is to do the hardest\nand most disagreeable work, to face the storms and perform the most\nlaborious drudgeries. In the family circle, too, he is to give his\nmother and sister precedence in all the conveniences and comforts of\nhome life.\n\nIt is only those nations where the teachings and example of Christ\nhave had most influence that man has ever assumed his obligations of\nself-sacrificing benevolence in the family. And even in Christian\ncommunities, the duty of wives to obey their husbands has been more\nstrenuously urged than the obligations of the husband to love his wife\n\"as Christ loved the Church.\"\n\nHere it is needful to notice that the distinctive duty of obedience\nto man does not rest on women who do not enter the relations of married\nlife. A woman who inherits property, or who earns her own livelihood,\ncan institute the family state, adopt orphan children and employ\nsuitable helpers in training them; and then to her will appertain the\nauthority and rights that belong to man as the head of a family. And\nwhen every woman is trained to some self-supporting business, she will\nnot be tempted to enter the family state as a subordinate, except by\nthat love for which there is no need of law.\n\nThese general principles being stated, some details in regard to\ndomestic manners will be enumerated. In the first place, there should\nbe required in the family a strict attention to the rules of precedence,\nand those modes of address appropriate to the various relations to be\nsustained. Children should always be required to offer their superiors,\nin age or station, the precedence in all comforts and conveniences,\nand always address them in a respectful tone and manner. The custom\nof adding, \"Sir,\" or \"Ma'am,\" to \"Yes,\" or \"No,\" is valuable, as a\nperpetual indication of a respectful recognition of superiority. It\nis now going out of fashion, even among the most well bred people;\nprobably from a want of consideration of its importance. Every remnant\nof courtesy of address, in our customs, should be carefully cherished,\nby all who feel a value for the proprieties of good breeding.\n\nIf parents allow their children to talk to them, and to the grown\npersons in the family, in the same style in which they address each\nother, it will be in vain to hope for the courtesy of manner and tone\nwhich good breeding demands in the general intercourse of society. In\na large family, where the elder children are grown up, and the younger\nare small, it is important to require the latter to treat the elder\nin some sense as superiors. There are none so ready as young children\nto assume airs of equality; and if they are allowed to treat one class\nof superiors in age and character disrespectfully, they will soon use\nthe privilege universally. This is the reason, why the youngest children\nof a family are most apt to be pert, forward, and unmannerly.\n\nAnother point to be aimed at is, to require children always to\nacknowledge every act of kindness and attention, either by words or\nmanner. If they are so trained as always to make grateful\nacknowledgments, when receiving favors, one of the objectionable\nfeatures in American manners will be avoided.\n\nAgain, children should be required to ask leave, whenever they wish\nto gratify curiosity, or use an article which belongs to another. And\nif cases occur, when they can not comply with the rules of\ngood-breeding, as, for instance, when they must step between a person\nand the fire, or take the chair of an older person, they should be\ntaught either to ask leave, or to offer an apology.\n\nThere is another point of good-breeding, which can not, in all cases,\nbe understood and applied by children in its widest extent. It is that\nwhich requires us to avoid all remarks which tend to embarrass, vex,\nmortify, or in any way wound the feelings of another. To notice personal\ndefects; to allude to others' faults, or the faults of their friends;\nto speak disparagingly of the sect or party to which a person belongs;\nto be inattentive when addressed in conversation; to contradict flatly;\nto speak in contemptuous tones of opinions expressed by another; all\nthese are violations of the rules of good-breeding, which children\nshould be taught to regard. Under this head comes the practice of\nwhispering and staring about, when a teacher, or lecturer, or clergyman\nis addressing a class or audience. Such inattention is practically\nsaying that what the person is uttering is not worth attending to; and\npersons of real good-breeding always avoid it. Loud talking and laughing\nin a large assembly, even when no exercises are going on; yawning and\ngaping in company; and not looking in the face a person who is\naddressing you, are deemed marks of ill-breeding.\n\nAnother branch of good manners relates to the duties of hospitality.\nPoliteness requires us to welcome visitors with cordiality; to offer\nthem the best accommodations; to address conversation to them; and to\nexpress, by tone and manner, kindness and respect. Offering the hand\nto all visitors at one's own house is a courteous and hospitable custom;\nand a cordial shake of the hand, when friends meet, would abate much\nof the coldness of manner ascribed to Americans.\n\nAnother point of good breeding refers to the conventional rules of\npropriety and good taste. Of these, the first class relates to the\navoidance of all disgusting or offensive personal habits: such as\nfingering the hair; obtrusively using a toothpick, or carrying one in\nthe mouth after the needful use of it; cleaning the nails in presence\nof others; picking the nose; spitting on carpets; snuffing instead of\nusing a handkerchief, or using the article in an offensive manner;\nlifting up the boots or shoes, as some men do, to tend them on the\nknee, or to finger them: all these tricks, either at home or in society,\nchildren should be taught to avoid.\n\nAnother topic, under this head, may be called _table manners_.\nTo persons of good-breeding, nothing is more annoying than violations\nof the conventional proprieties of the table. Reaching over another\nperson's plate; standing up, to reach distant articles, instead of\nasking to have them passed; using one's own knife and spoon for butter,\nsalt, or sugar, when it is the custom of the family to provide separate\nutensils for the purpose; setting cups with the tea dripping from them,\non the table-cloth, instead of the mats or small plates furnished;\nusing the table-cloth instead of the napkins; eating fast, and in a\nnoisy manner; putting large pieces in the mouth; looking and eating\nas if very hungry, or as if anxious to get at certain dishes; sitting\nat too great a distance from the table, and dropping food; laying the\nknife and fork on the table-cloth, instead of on the edge of the plate;\npicking the teeth at table: all these particulars children should be\ntaught to avoid.\n\nIt is always desirable, too, to train children, when at table with\ngrown persons, to be silent, except when addressed by others; or else\ntheir chattering will interrupt the conversation and comfort of their\nelders. They should always be required, too, to wait in silence, till\nall the older persons are helped.\n\nWhen children are alone with their parents, it is desirable to lead\nthem to converse and to take this as an opportunity to form proper\nconversational habits. But it should be a fixed rule that, when\nstrangers are present, the children are to listen in silence and only\nreply when addressed. Unless this is secured, visitors will often be\ncondemned to listen to puerile chattering, with small chance of the\nproper attention due to guests and superiors in age and station.\n\nChildren should be trained, in preparing themselves for the table or\nfor appearance among the family, not only to put their hair, face, and\nhands in neat order, but also their nails, and to habitually attend\nto this latter whenever they wash their hands.\n\nThere are some very disagreeable tricks which many children practice\neven in families counted well-bred. Such, for example, are drumming\nwith the fingers on some piece of furniture, or humming a tune while\nothers are talking, or interrupting conversation by pertinacious\nquestions, or whistling in the house instead of out-doors, or speaking\nseveral at once and in loud voices to gain attention. All these are\nviolations of good-breeding, which children should be trained to\navoid, lest they should not only annoy as children, but practice the\nsame kind of ill manners when mature. In all assemblies for public\ndebate, a chairman or moderator is appointed whose business it is to\nsee that only one person speaks at a time, that no one interrupts a\nperson when speaking, that no needless noises are made, and that all\nindecorums are avoided. Such an officer is sometimes greatly needed\nin family circles.\n\nChildren should be encouraged freely to use lungs and limbs out-doors,\nor in hours for sport in the house. But at other times, in the domestic\ncircle, gentle tones and manners should be cultivated. The words\n_gentleman_ and _gentlewoman_ came originally from the fact that the\nuncultivated and ignorant classes used coarse and loud tones, and rough\nwords and movements; while only the refined circles habitually used\ngentle tones and gentle manners. For the same reason, those born in the\nhigher circles were called \"of gentle blood.\" Thus it came that a coarse\nand loud voice, and rough, ungentle manners, are regarded as vulgar and\nplebeian.\n\nAll these things should be taught to children, gradually, and with\ngreat patience and gentleness. Some parents, with whom good manners\nare a great object, are in danger of making their children perpetually\nuncomfortable, by suddenly surrounding them with so many rules that\nthey must inevitably violate some one or other a great part of the\ntime. It is much better to begin with a few rules, and be steady and\npersevering with these, till a habit is formed, and then take a few\nmore, thus making the process easy and gradual. Otherwise, the temper\nof children will be injured; or, hopeless of fulfilling so many\nrequisitions, they will become reckless and indifferent to all.\n\nIf a few brief, well-considered, and sensible rules of good manners\ncould be suspended in every school-room, and the children all required\nto commit them to memory, it probably would do more to remedy the\ndefects of American manners and to advance universal good-breeding\nthan any other mode that could be so easily adopted.\n\nBut, in reference to those who have enjoyed advantages for the\ncultivation of good manners, and who duly estimate its importance, one\ncaution is necessary. Those who never have had such habits formed in\nyouth are under disadvantages which no benevolence of temper can\naltogether remedy. They may often violate the tastes and feelings of\nothers, not from a want of proper regard for them, but from ignorance\nof custom, or want of habit, or abstraction of mind, or from other\ncauses which demand forbearance and sympathy, rather than displeasure.\nAn ability to bear patiently with defects in manners, and to make\ncandid and considerate allowance for a want of advantages, or for\npeculiarities in mental habits, is one mark of the benevolence of real\ngood-breeding.\n\nThe advocates of monarchical and aristocratic institutions have always\nhad great plausibility given to their views, by the seeming tendencies\nof our institutions to insubordination and bad manners. And it has\nbeen too indiscriminately conceded, by the defenders of the latter,\nthat such are these tendencies, and that the offensive points in\nAmerican manners are the necessary result of democratic principles.\n\nBut it is believed that both facts and reasoning are in opposition to\nthis opinion. The following extract from the work of De Tocqueville,\nthe great political philosopher of France, exhibits the opinion of an\nimpartial observer, when comparing American manners with those of the\nEnglish, who are confessedly the most aristocratic of all people.\n\nHe previously remarks on the tendency of aristocracy to make men more\nsympathizing with persons of their own peculiar class, and less so\ntoward those of lower degree; and he then contrasts American manners\nwith the English, claiming that the Americans are much the more affable,\nmild, and social. \"In America, where the privileges of birth never\nexisted and where riches confer no peculiar rights on their possessors,\nmen acquainted with each other are very ready to frequent the same\nplaces, and find neither peril nor disadvantage in the free interchange\nof their thoughts. If they meet by accident, they neither seek nor\navoid intercourse; their manner is therefore natural, frank, and open.\"\n\"If their demeanor is often cold and serious, it is never haughty or\nconstrained.\" But an \"aristocratic pride is still extremely great among\nthe English; and as the limits of aristocracy are still ill-defined,\nevery body lives in constant dread, lest advantage should be taken of\nhis familiarity. Unable to judge, at once, of the social position of\nthose he meets, an Englishman prudently avoids all contact with him.\nMen are afraid, lest some slight service rendered should draw them\ninto an unsuitable acquaintance; they dread civilities, and they avoid\nthe obtrusive gratitude of a stranger, as much as his hatred.\"\n\nThus, _facts_ seem to show that when the most aristocratic nation\nin the world is compared, as to manners, with the most democratic, the\njudgment of strangers is in favor of the latter. And if good manners\nare the outward exhibition of the democratic principle of impartial\nbenevolence and equal rights, surely the nation which adopts this rule,\nboth in social and civil life, is the most likely to secure the\ndesirable exterior. The aristocrat, by his principles, extends the\nexterior of impartial benevolence to his own class only; the democratic\nprinciple requires it to be extended _to all_.\n\nThere is reason, therefore, to hope and expect more refined and polished\nmanners in America than in any other land; while all the developments\nof taste and refinement, such as poetry, music, painting, sculpture,\nand architecture, it may be expected, will come to as high a state of\nperfection here as in any other nation.\n\nIf this country increases in virtue and intelligence, as it may, there\nis no end to the wealth which will pour in as the result of our\nresources of climate, soil, and navigation, and the skill, industry,\nenergy, and enterprise of our countrymen. This wealth, if used as\nintelligence and virtue dictate, will furnish the means for a superior\neducation to all classes, and every facility for the refinement of\ntaste, intellect, and feeling.\n\nMoreover, in this country, labor is ceasing to be the badge of a lower\nclass; so that already it is disreputable for a man to be \"a lazy\ngentleman.\" And this feeling must increase, till there is such an\nequalization of labor as will afford all the time needful for every\nclass to improve the many advantages offered to them. Already through\nthe munificence of some of our citizens, there are literary and\nscientific advantages offered to all classes, rarely enjoyed elsewhere.\nIn most of our large cities and towns, the advantages of education,\nnow offered to the poorest classes, often without charge, surpass what,\nsome years ago, most wealthy men could purchase for any price. And it\nis believed that a time will come when the poorest boy in America can\nsecure advantages, which will equal what the heir of the proudest\npeerage can now command.\n\nThe records of the courts of France and Germany, (as detailed by the\nDuchess of Orleans,) in and succeeding the brilliant reign of Louis\nthe Fourteenth--a period which was deemed the acme of elegance and\nrefinement--exhibit a grossness, a vulgarity, and a coarseness, not\nto be found among the very lowest of our respectable poor. And the\nbiography of the English Beau Nash, who attempted to reform the manners\nof the gentry, in the times of Queen Anne, exhibits violations of the\nrules of decency among the aristocracy, which the commonest yeoman of\nthis land would feel disgraced in perpetrating.\n\nThis shows that our lowest classes, at this period, are more refined\nthan were the highest in aristocratic lands, a hundred years ago; and\nanother century may show the lowest classes, in wealth, in this country,\nattaining as high a polish as adorns those who now are leaders of good\nmanners in the courts of kings.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nTHE PRESERVATION OF GOOD TEMPER IN THE HOUSEKEEPER.\n\nThere is nothing which has a more abiding influence on the happiness\nof a family than the preservation of equable and cheerful temper and\ntones in the housekeeper. A woman who is habitually gentle,\nsympathizing, forbearing, and cheerful, carries an atmosphere about\nher which imparts a soothing and sustaining influence, and renders it\neasier for all to do right, under her administration, than in any other\nsituation.\n\nThe writer has known families where the mother's presence seemed the\nsunshine of the circle around her; imparting a cheering and vivifying\npower, scarcely realized till it was withdrawn. Every one, without\nthinking of it, or knowing why it was so, experienced a peaceful and\ninvigorating influence as soon as he entered the sphere illumined by\nher smile, and sustained by her cheering kindness and sympathy. On the\ncontrary, many a good housekeeper, (good in every respect but this,)\nby wearing a countenance of anxiety and dissatisfaction, and by\nindulging in the frequent use of sharp and reprehensive tones, more\nthan destroys all the comfort which otherwise would result from her\nsystem, neatness, and economy.\n\nThere is a secret, social sympathy which every mind, to a greater or\nless degree, experiences with the feelings of those around, as they\nare manifested by the countenance and voice. A sorrowful, a\ndiscontented, or an angry countenance produces a silent, sympathetic\ninfluence, imparting a sombre shade to the mind, while tones of anger\nor complaint still more effectually jar the spirits.\n\nNo person can maintain a quiet and cheerful frame of mind while tones\nof discontent and displeasure are sounding on the ear. We may gradually\naccustom ourselves to the evil till it is partially diminished; but\nit always is an evil which greatly interferes with the enjoyment of\nthe family state. There are sometimes cases where the entrance of the\nmistress of a family seems to awaken a slight apprehension in every\nmind around, as if each felt in danger of a reproof, for something\neither perpetrated or neglected. A woman who should go around her house\nwith a small stinging snapper, which she habitually applied to those\nwhom she met, would be encountered with feelings very much like those\nwhich are experienced by the inmates of a family where the mistress\noften uses her countenance and voice to inflict similar penalties for\nduties neglected.\n\nYet there are many allowances to be made for housekeepers, who sometimes\nimperceptibly and unconsciously fall into such habits. A woman who\nattempts to carry out any plans of system, order, and economy, and who\nhas her feelings and habits conformed to certain rules, is constantly\nliable to have her plans crossed, and her taste violated, by the\ninexperience or inattention of those about her. And no housekeeper,\nwhatever may be her habits, can escape the frequent recurrence of\nnegligence or mistake, which interferes with her plans.\n\nIt is probable that there is no class of persons in the world who have\nsuch incessant trials of temper, and temptations to be fretful, as\nAmerican housekeepers. For a housekeeper's business is not, like that\nof the other sex, limited to a particular department, for which previous\npreparation is made. It consists of ten thousand little disconnected\nitems, which can never be so systematically arranged that there is no\ndaily jostling somewhere. And in the best-regulated families, it is\nnot unfrequently the case that some act of forgetfulness or\ncarelessness, from some member, will disarrange the business of the\nwhole day, so that every hour will bring renewed occasion for annoyance.\nAnd the more strongly a woman realizes the value of time, and the\nimportance of system and order, the more will she be tempted to\nirritability and complaint.\n\nThe following considerations may aid in preparing a woman to meet such\ndaily crosses with even a cheerful temper and tones.\n\nIn the first place, a woman who has charge of a large household should\nregard her duties as dignified, important, and difficult. The mind is\nso made as to be elevated and cheered by a sense of far-reaching\ninfluence and usefulness. A woman who feels that she is a cipher, and\nthat it makes little difference how she performs her duties, has far\nless to sustain and invigorate her, than one who truly estimates the\nimportance of her station. A man who feels that the destinies of a\nnation are turning on the judgment and skill with which he plans and\nexecutes, has a pressure of motive and an elevation of feeling which\nare great safeguards against all that is low, trivial, and degrading.\n\nSo, an American mother and housekeeper who rightly estimates the long\ntrain of influence which will pass down to thousands, whose destinies,\nfrom generation to generation, will be modified by those decisions of\nher will which regulate the temper, principles, and habits of her\nfamily, must be elevated above petty temptations which would otherwise\nassail her.\n\nAgain, a housekeeper should feel that she really has great difficulties\nto meet and overcome. A person who wrongly thinks there is little\ndanger, can never maintain so faithful a guard as one who rightly\nestimates the temptations which beset her. Nor can one who thinks that\nthey are trifling difficulties which she has to encounter, and trivial\ntemptations to which she must yield, so much enjoy the just reward of\nconscious virtue and self-control as one who takes an opposite view\nof the subject.\n\nA third method is, for a woman deliberately to calculate on having her\nbest-arranged plans interfered with very often; and to be in such a\nstate of preparation that the evil will not come unawares. So\ncomplicated are the pursuits and so diverse the habits of the various\nmembers of a family, that it is almost impossible for every one to\navoid interfering with the plans and taste of a housekeeper, in some\none point or another. It is, therefore, most wise for a woman to keep\nthe loins of her mind ever girt, to meet such collisions with a cheerful\nand quiet spirit.\n\nAnother important rule is, to form all plans and arrangements in\nconsistency with the means at command, and the character of those\naround. A woman who has a heedless husband, and young children, and\nincompetent domestics, ought not to make such plans as one may properly\nform who will not, in so many directions, meet embarrassment. She must\naim at just as much as she can probably attain, and no more; and thus\nshe will usually escape much temptation, and much of the irritation\nof disappointment.\n\nThe fifth, and a very important consideration, is, that system, economy,\nand neatness are valuable, only so far as they tend to promote the\ncomfort and well-being of those affected. Some women seem to act\nunder the impression that these advantages _must_ be secured, at all\nevents, even if the comfort of the family be the sacrifice. True, it\nis very important that children grow up in habits of system, neatness,\nand order; and it is very desirable that the mother give them every\nincentive, both by precept and example; but it is still more important\nthat they grow up with amiable tempers, that they learn to meet the\ncrosses of life with patience and cheerfulness; and nothing has a\ngreater influence to secure this than a mother's example. Whenever,\ntherefore, a woman can not accomplish her plans of neatness and order\nwithout injury to her own temper or to the temper of others, she ought\nto modify and reduce them until she can.\n\nThe sixth method relates to the government of the tones of voice. In\nmany cases, when a woman's domestic arrangements are suddenly and\nseriously crossed, it is impossible not to feel some irritation. But\nit _is_ always possible to refrain from angry tones. A woman can\nresolve that, whatever happens, she will not speak till she can do it\nin a calm and gentle manner. _Perfect silence_ is a safe resort,\nwhen such control can not be attained as enables a person to speak\ncalmly; and this determination, persevered in, will eventually be\ncrowned with success.\n\nMany persons seem to imagine that tones of anger are needful, in order\nto secure prompt obedience. But observation has convinced the writer\nthat they are _never_ necessary; that _in all cases_, reproof,\nadministered in calm tones, would be better. A case will be given in\nillustration.\n\nA young girl had been repeatedly charged to avoid a certain arrangement\nin cooking. On one day, when company was invited to dine, the direction\nwas forgotten, and the consequence was an accident, which disarranged\nevery thing, seriously injured the principal dish, and delayed dinner\nfor an hour. The mistress of the family entered the kitchen just as\nit occurred, and at a glance, saw the extent of the mischief. For a\nmoment, her eyes flashed, and her cheeks glowed; but she held her\npeace. After a minute or so, she gave directions in a calm voice, as\nto the best mode of retrieving the evil, and then left, without a word\nsaid to the offender.\n\nAfter the company left, she sent for the girl, alone, and in a calm\nand kind manner pointed out the aggravations of the case, and described\nthe trouble which had been caused to her husband, her visitors, and\nherself. She then portrayed the future evils which would result from\nsuch habits of neglect and inattention, and the modes of attempting\nto overcome them; and then offered a reward for the future, if, in a\ngiven time, she succeeded in improving in this respect. Not a tone of\nanger was uttered; and yet the severest scolding of a practiced Xantippe\ncould not have secured such contrition, and determination to reform,\nas were gained by this method.\n\nBut similar negligence is often visited by a continuous stream of\ncomplaint and reproof, which, in most cases, is met either by sullen\nsilence or impertinent retort, while anger prevents any contrition or\nany resolution of future amendment.\n\nIt is very certain, that some ladies do carry forward a most efficient\ngovernment, both of children and domestics, without employing tones\nof anger; and therefore they are not indispensable, nor on any account\ndesirable.\n\nThough some ladies of intelligence and refinement do fall unconsciously\ninto such a practice, it is certainly very unlady-like, and in very\nbad taste, to _scold_; and the further a woman departs from all\napproach to it, the more perfectly she sustains her character as a\nlady.\n\nAnother method of securing equanimity, amid the trials of domestic\nlife is, to cultivate a habit of making allowances for the difficulties,\nignorance, or temptations of those who violate rule or neglect duty.\nIt is vain, and most unreasonable, to expect the consideration and\ncare of a mature mind in childhood and youth; or that persons of such\nlimited advantages as most domestics have enjoyed should practice\nproper self-control and possess proper habits and principles.\n\nEvery parent and every employer needs daily to cultivate the spirit\nexpressed in the divine prayer, \"Forgive us our trespasses, as we\nforgive those who trespass against us.\" The same allowances and\nforbearance which we supplicate from our Heavenly Father, and desire\nfrom our fellow-men in reference to our own deficiencies, we should\nconstantly aim to extend to all who cross our feelings and interfere\nwith our plans.\n\nThe last and most important mode of securing a placid and cheerful\ntemper and tones is, by a constant belief in the influence of a\nsuperintending Providence. All persons are too much in the habit of\nregarding the more important events of life exclusively as under the\ncontrol of Perfect Wisdom. But the fall of a sparrow, or the loss of\na hair, they do not feel to be equally the result of his directing\nagency. In consequence of this, Christian persons who aim at perfect\nand cheerful submission to heavy afflictions, and who succeed to the\nedification of all about them, are sometimes sadly deficient under\npetty crosses. If a beloved child be laid in the grave, even if its\ndeath resulted from the carelessness of a domestic or of a physician,\nthe eye is turned from the subordinate agent to the Supreme Guardian\nof all; and to him they bow, without murmur or complaint. But if a\npudding be burnt, or a room badly swept, or an errand forgotten, then\nvexation and complaint are allowed, just as if these events were not\nappointed by Perfect Wisdom as much as the sorer chastisement.\n\nA woman, therefore, needs to cultivate the _habitual_ feeling\nthat all the events of her nursery and kitchen are brought about by\nthe permission of our Heavenly Father, and that fretfulness or complaint\nin regard to these is, in fact, complaining at the appointments of\nGod, and is really as sinful as unsubmissive murmurs amid the sorer\nchastisements of his hand. And a woman who cultivates this habit of\nreferring all the minor trials of life to the wise and benevolent\nagency of a heavenly Parent, and daily seeks his sympathy and aid to\nenable her to meet them with a quiet and cheerful spirit, will soon\nfind it the perennial spring of abiding peace and content.\n\nThe power of religion to impart dignity and importance to the ordinary\nand seemingly petty details of domestic life, greatly depends upon the\ndegree of faith in the reality of a life to come, and of its eternal\nresults. A woman who is training a family simply with reference to\nthis life may find exalted motives as she looks forward to unborn\ngenerations whose temporal prosperity and happiness are depending upon\nher fidelity and skill. But one who truly and firmly believes that\nthis life is but the beginning of an eternal career to every immortal\ninmate of her home, and that the formation of tastes, habits, and\ncharacter, under her care, will bring forth fruits of good or ill, not\nonly through earthly generations, but through everlasting ages; such\na woman secures a calm and exalted principle of action, which no earthly\nmotives can impart.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nHABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER.\n\nAny discussion of the equality of the sexes, as to intellectual\ncapacity, seems frivolous and useless, both because it can never be\ndecided, and because there would be no possible advantage in the\ndecision. But one topic, which is often drawn into this discussion,\nis of far more consequence; and that is, the relative importance and\ndifficulty of the duties a woman is called to perform.\n\nIt is generally assumed, and almost as generally conceded, that a\nhousekeeper's business and cares are contracted and trivial; and that\nthe proper discharge of her duties demands far less expansion of mind\nand vigor of intellect than the pursuits of the other sex. This idea\nhas prevailed because women, as a mass, have never been educated with\nreference to their most important duties; while that portion of their\nemployments which is of least value has been regarded as the chief,\nif not the sole, concern of a woman. The covering of the body, the\nconvenience of residences, and the gratification of the appetite, have\nbeen too much regarded as the chief objects on which her intellectual\npowers are to be exercised.\n\nBut as society gradually shakes off the remnants of barbarism and the\nintellectual and moral interests of man rise, in estimation, above the\nmerely sensual, a truer estimate is formed of woman's duties, and of\nthe measure of intellect requisite for the proper discharge of them.\nLet any man of sense and discernment become the member of a large\nhousehold, in which a well-educated and pious woman is endeavoring\nsystematically to discharge her multiform duties; let him fully\ncomprehend all her cares, difficulties, and perplexities; and it is\nprobable he would coincide in the opinion that no statesman, at the\nhead of a nation's affairs, had more frequent calls for wisdom,\nfirmness, tact, discrimination, prudence, and versatility of talent,\nthan such a woman.\n\nShe has a husband, to whose peculiar tastes and habits she must\naccommodate herself; she has children whose health she must guard,\nwhose physical constitutions she must study and develop, whose temper\nand habits she must regulate, whose principles she must form, whose\npursuits she must guide. She has constantly changing domestics, with\nall varieties of temper and habits, whom she must govern, instruct,\nand direct; she is required to regulate the finances of the domestic\nstate, and constantly to adapt expenditures to the means and to the\nrelative claims of each department. She has the direction of the\nkitchen, where ignorance, forgetfulness, and awkwardness are to be so\nregulated that the various operations shall each start at the right\ntime, and all be in completeness at the same given hour. She has the\nclaims of society to meet, visits to receive and return, and the duties\nof hospitality to sustain. She has the poor to relieve; benevolent\nsocieties to aid; the schools of her children to inquire and decide\nabout; the care of the sick and the aged; the nursing of infancy; and\nthe endless miscellany of odd items, constantly recurring in a large\nfamily.\n\nSurely, it is a pernicious and mistaken idea, that the duties which\ntax a woman's mind are petty, trivial, or unworthy of the highest grade\nof intellect and moral worth. Instead of allowing this feeling, every\nwoman should imbibe, from early youth, the impression that she is in\ntraining for the discharge of the most important, the most difficult,\nand the most sacred and interesting duties that can possibly employ\nthe highest intellect. She ought to feel that her station and\nresponsibilities in the great drama of life are second to none, either\nas viewed by her Maker, or in the estimation of all minds whose judgment\nis most worthy of respect.\n\nShe who is the mother and housekeeper in a large family is the sovereign\nof an empire, demanding more varied cares, and involving more difficult\nduties, than are really exacted of her who wears a crown and professedly\nregulates the interests of the greatest nation on earth.\n\nThere is no one thing more necessary to a housekeeper in performing\nher varied duties, than _a habit of system and order_; and yet,\nthe peculiarly desultory nature of women's pursuits, and the\nembarrassments resulting from the state of domestic service in this\ncountry, render it very difficult to form such a habit. But it is\nsometimes the case that women who could and would carry forward a\nsystematic plan of domestic economy do not attempt it, simply from a\nwant of knowledge of the various modes of introducing it. It is with\nreference to such, that various modes of securing system and order,\nwhich the writer has seen adopted, will be pointed out.\n\nA wise economy is nowhere more conspicuous, than in a systematic\n_apportionment of time_ to different pursuits. There are duties\nof a religious, intellectual, social, and domestic nature, each having\ndifferent relative claims on attention. Unless a person has some general\nplan of apportioning these claims, some will intrench on others, and\nsome, it is probable, will be entirely excluded. Thus, some find\nreligious, social, and domestic duties so numerous, that no time is\ngiven to intellectual improvement. Others find either social, or\nbenevolent, or religious interests excluded by the extent and variety\nof other engagements.\n\nIt is wise, therefore, for all persons to devise a systematic plan,\nwhich they will at least keep in view, and aim to accomplish; and by\nwhich a proper proportion of time shall be secured for all the duties\nof life.\n\nIn forming such a plan, every woman must accommodate herself to the\npeculiarities of her situation. If she has a large family and a small\nincome, she must devote far more time to the simple duty of providing\nfood and raiment than would be right were she in affluence, and with\na small family. It is impossible, therefore, to draw out any general\nplan, which all can adopt. But there are some _general principles,_\nwhich ought to be the guiding rules, when a woman arranges her domestic\nemployments. These principles are to be based on Christianity, which\nteaches us to \"seek first the kingdom of God,\" and to deem food,\nraiment, and the conveniences of life, as of secondary account. Every\nwoman, then, ought to start with the assumption, that the moral and\nreligious interests of her family are of more consequence than any\nworldly concern, and that, whatever else may be sacrificed, these shall\nbe the leading object, in all her arrangements, in respect to time,\nmoney, and attention.\n\nIt is also one of the plainest requisitions of Christianity, that we\ndevote some of our time and efforts to the comfort and improvement of\nothers. There is no duty so constantly enforced, both in the Old and\nNew Testament, as that of charity, in dispensing to those who are\ndestitute of the blessings we enjoy. In selecting objects of charity,\nthe same rule applies to others as to ourselves; their moral and\nreligions interests are of the highest moment, and for them, as well\nas for ourselves, we are to \"seek first the kingdom of God.\"\n\nAnother general principle is, that our intellectual and social interests\nare to be preferred to the mere gratification of taste or appetite.\nA portion of time, therefore, must be devoted to the cultivation of\nthe intellect and the social affections.\n\nAnother is, that the mere gratification of appetite is to be placed\nlast in our estimate; so that, when a question arises as to which shall\nbe sacrificed, some intellectual, moral, or social advantage, or some\ngratification of sense, we should invariably sacrifice the last.\n\nAs health is indispensable to the discharge of every duty, nothing\nwhich sacrifices that blessing is to be allowed in order to gain any\nother advantage or enjoyment. There are emergencies, when it is right\nto risk health and life, to save ourselves and others from greater\nevils; but these are exceptions, which do not militate against the\ngeneral rule. Many persons imagine that, if they violate the laws of\nhealth, in order to attend to religious or domestic duties, they are\nguiltless before God. But such greatly mistake. We directly violate\nthe law, \"Thou shalt not kill,\" when we do what tends to risk or shorten\nour own life. The life and happiness of all his creatures are dear to\nour Creator; and he is as much displeased when we injure our own\ninterests, as when we injure those of others. The idea, therefore,\nthat we are excusable if we harm no one but ourselves, is false and\npernicious. These, then, are some general principles, to guide a woman\nin systematizing her duties and pursuits.\n\nThe Creator of all things is a Being of perfect system and order; and,\nto aid us in our duty in this respect, he has divided our time, by a\nregularly returning day of rest from worldly business. In following\nthis example, the intervening six days maybe subdivided to secure\nsimilar benefits. In doing this, a certain portion of time must be\ngiven to procure the means of livelihood, and for preparing food,\nraiment, and dwellings. To these objects, some must devote more, and\nothers less, attention. The remainder of time not necessarily thus\nemployed, might be divided somewhat in this manner: The leisure of two\nafternoons and evenings could be devoted to religious and benevolent\nobjects, such as religious meetings, charitable associations, school\nvisiting, and attention to the sick and poor. The leisure of two other\ndays might be devoted to intellectual improvement, and the pursuits\nof taste. The leisure of another day might be devoted to social\nenjoyments, in making or receiving visits; and that of another, to\nmiscellaneous domestic pursuits, not included in the other particulars.\n\nIt is probable that few persons could carry out such an arrangement\nvery strictly; but every one can make a systematic apportionment of\ntime, and at least _aim_ at accomplishing it; and they can also\ncompare with such a general outline, the time which they actually\ndevote to these different objects, for the purpose of modifying any\nmistaken proportions.\n\nWithout attempting any such systematic employment of time, and carrying\nit out, so far as they can control circumstances, most women are rather\ndriven along by the daily occurrences of life; so that, instead of\nbeing the intelligent regulators of their own time, they are the mere\nsport of circumstances. There is nothing which so distinctly marks the\ndifference between weak and strong minds as the question, whether they\ncontrol circumstances or circumstances control them.\n\nIt is very much to be feared, that the apportionment of time actually\nmade by most women exactly inverts the order required by reason and\nChristianity. Thus, the furnishing a needless variety of food, the\nconveniences of dwellings, and the adornments of dress, often take a\nlarger portion of time than is given to any other object. Next after\nthis, comes intellectual improvement; and, last of all, benevolence\nand religion.\n\nIt may be urged, that it is indispensable for most persons to give\nmore time to earn a livelihood, and to prepare food, raiment, and\ndwellings, than, to any other object. But it may be asked, how much\nof the time, devoted to these objects, is employed in preparing\nvarieties of food not necessary, but rather injurious, and how much\nis spent for those parts of dress and furniture not indispensable, and\nmerely ornamental? Let a woman subtract from her domestic employments\nall the time given to pursuits which are of no use, except as they\ngratify a taste for ornament, or minister increased varieties to tempt\nthe appetite, and she will find that much which she calls \"domestic\nduty,\" and which prevents her attention to intellectual, benevolent,\nand religious objects, should be called by a very different name.\n\nNo woman has a right to give up attention to the higher interests of\nherself and others, for the ornaments of person or the gratification\nof the palate. To a certain extent, these lower objects are lawful and\ndesirable; but when they intrude on nobler interests, they become\nselfish and degrading. Every woman, then, when employing her hands in\nornamenting her person, her children, or her house, ought to calculate\nwhether she has devoted as _much_ time to the really more important\nwants of herself and others. If she has not, she may know that she is\ndoing wrong, and that her system for apportioning her time and pursuits\nshould be altered.\n\nSome persons endeavor to systematize their pursuits by apportioning\nthem to particular hours of each day. For example, a certain period\nbefore breakfast, is given to devotional duties; after breakfast,\ncertain hours are devoted to exercise and domestic employments; other\nhours, to sewing, or reading, or visiting; and others, to benevolent\nduties. But in most cases, it is more difficult to systematize the\nhours of each day, than it is to secure some regular division of the\nweek.\n\nIn regard to the minutia of family work, the writer has known the\nfollowing methods to be adopted. Monday, with some of the best\nhousekeepers, is devoted to preparing for the labors of the week. Any\nextra cooking, the purchasing of articles to be used during the week,\nthe assorting of clothes for the wash, and mending such as would\notherwise be injured--these, and similar items, belong to this day.\nTuesday is devoted to washing, and Wednesday to ironing. On Thursday,\nthe ironing is finished off, the clothes are folded and put away, and\nall articles which need mending are put in the mending-basket, and\nattended to. Friday is devoted to sweeping and house-cleaning. On\nSaturday, and especially the last Saturday of every month, every\ndepartment is put in order; the casters and table furniture are\nregulated, the pantry and cellar inspected, the trunks, drawers, and\nclosets arranged, and every thing about the house put in order for\nSunday. By this regular recurrence of a particular time for inspecting\nevery thing, nothing is forgotten till ruined by neglect.\nAnother mode of systematizing relates to providing proper supplies of\nconveniences, and proper places in which to keep them. Thus, some\nladies keep a large closet, in which are placed the tubs, pails,\ndippers, soap-dishes, starch, blueing, clothes-lines, clothes-pins,\nand every other article used in washing; and in the same, or another\nplace, is kept every convenience for ironing. In the sewing department,\na trunk, with suitable partitions, is provided, in which are placed,\neach in its proper place, white thread of all sizes, colored thread,\nyarns for mending, colored and black sewing-silks and twist, tapes and\nbobbins of all sizes, white and colored welting-cords, silk braids and\ncords, needles of all sizes, papers of pins, remnants of linen and\ncolored cambric, a supply of all kinds of buttons used in the family,\nblack and white hooks and eyes, a yard measure, and all the patterns\nused in cutting and fitting. These are done up in separate parcels,\nand labeled. In another trunk, or in a piece-bag, such as has been\npreviously described, are kept all pieces used in mending, arranged\nin order. A trunk, like the first mentioned, will save many steps, and\noften much time and perplexity; while by purchasing articles thus by\nthe quantity, they come much cheaper than if bought in little portions\nas they are wanted. Such a trunk should be kept locked, and a smaller\nsupply for current use retained in a work-basket.\n\nA full supply of all conveniences in the kitchen and cellar, and a\nplace appointed for each article, very much facilitate domestic labor.\nFor want of this, much vexation and loss of time is occasioned while\nseeking vessels in use, or in cleansing those employed by different\npersons for various purposes. It would be far better for a lady to\ngive up some expensive article in the parlor, and apply the money thus\nsaved for kitchen conveniences, than to have a stinted supply where\nthe most labor is to be performed, If our countrywomen would devote\nmore to comfort and convenience, and less to show, it would be a great\nimprovement. Expensive mirrors and pier-tables in the parlor, and an\nunpainted, gloomy, ill-furnished kitchen, not unfrequently are found\nunder the same roof.\n\nAnother important item in systematic economy is, the apportioning of\n_regular_ employment to the various members of a family. If a\nhousekeeper can secure the cooperation of _all_ her family, she will\nfind that \"many hands make light work.\" There is no greater mistake\nthan in bringing up children to feel that they must be taken care of,\nand waited on by others, without any corresponding obligations on their\npart. The extent to which young children can be made useful in a family\nwould seem surprising to those who have never seen a _systematic_ and\n_regular_ plan for utilizing their services. The writer has been in a\nfamily where a little girl, of eight or nine years of age, washed and\ndressed herself and young brother, and made their small beds, before\nbreakfast; set and cleared all the tables for meals, with a little help\nfrom a grown person in moving tables and spreading cloths; while all the\ndusting of parlors and chambers was also neatly performed by her. A\nbrother of ten years old brought in and piled all the wood used in the\nkitchen and parlor, brushed the boots and shoes, went on errands, and\ntook all the care of the poultry. They were children whose parents could\nafford to hire servants to do this, but who chose to have their children\ngrow up healthy and industrious, while proper instruction, system, and\nencouragement made these services rather a pleasure than otherwise, to\nthe children.\n\nSome parents pay their children for such services; but this is\nhazardous, as tending to make them feel that they are not bound to be\nhelpful without pay, and also as tending to produce a hoarding,\nmoney-making spirit. But where children have no hoarding propensities,\nand need to acquire a sense of the value of property, it may be well\nto let them earn money for some extra services rather as a favor. When\nthis is done, they should be taught to spend it for others, as well\nas for themselves; and in this way, a generous and liberal spirit will\nbe cultivated.\n\nThere are some mothers who take pains to teach their boys most of\nthe domestic arts which their sisters learn. The writer has seen boys\nmending their own garments and aiding their mother or sisters in the\nkitchen, with great skill and adroitness; and, at an early age, they\nusually very much relish joining in such occupations. The sons of such\nmothers, in their college life, or in roaming about the world, or in\nnursing a sick wife or infant, find occasion to bless the forethought\nand kindness which prepared them for such emergencies. Few things are\nin worse taste than for a man needlessly to busy himself in women's\nwork; and yet a man never appears in a more interesting attitude than\nwhen, by skill in such matters, he can save a mother or wife from care\nand suffering. The more a boy is taught to use his hands, in every\nvariety of domestic employment, the more his faculties, both of mind\nand body, are developed; for mechanical pursuits exercise the intellect\nas well as the hands. The early training of New-England boys, in which\nthey turn their hand to almost every thing, is one great reason of the\nquick perceptions, versatility of mind, and mechanical skill, for which\nthat portion of our countrymen is distinguished.\n\nIt is equally important that young girls should be taught to do some\nspecies of handicraft that generally is done by men, and especially\nwith reference to the frequent emigration to new territories where\nwell-trained mechanics are scarce. To hang wall-paper, repair locks,\nglaze windows, and mend various household articles, requires a skill\nin the use of tools which every young girl should acquire. If she never\nhas any occasion to apply this knowledge and skill by her own hands,\nshe will often find it needful in directing and superintending\nincompetent workmen.\n\nThe writer has known one mode of systematizing the aid of the older\nchildren in a family, which, in some cases of very large families, it\nmay be well to imitate. In the case referred to, when the oldest\ndaughter was eight or nine years old, an infant sister was given to\nher, as her special charge. She tended it, made and mended its clothes,\ntaught it to read, and was its nurse and guardian, through all its\nchildhood. Another infant was given to the next daughter, and thus the\nchildren were all paired in this interesting relation. In addition to\nthe relief thus afforded to the mother, the elder children, were in\nthis way qualified for their future domestic relations, and both older\nand younger bound to each other by peculiar ties of tenderness and\ngratitude.\n\nIn offering these examples of various modes of systematizing, one\nsuggestion may be worthy of attention. It is not unfrequently the case,\nthat ladies, who find themselves cumbered with oppressive cares, after\nreading remarks on the benefits of system, immediately commence the\ntask of arranging their pursuits, with great vigor and hope. They\ndivide the day into regular periods, and give each hour its duty; they\nsystematize their work, and endeavor to bring every thing into a regular\nroutine. But, in a short time, they find themselves baffled,\ndiscouraged, and disheartened, and finally relapse into their former\ndesultory ways, in a sort of resigned despair.\n\nThe difficulty, in such cases, is, that they attempt too much at a\ntime. There is nothing which so much depends upon _habit,_ as a\nsystematic mode of performing duty; and where no such habit has been\nformed, it is impossible for a novice to start, at once, into a\nuniversal mode of systematizing, which none but an adept could carry\nthrough. The only way for such persons is to begin with a little at\na time. Let them select some three or four things, and resolutely\nattempt to conquer at these points. In time, a habit will be formed,\nof doing a few things at regular periods, and in a systematic way.\nThen it will be easy to add a few more; and thus, by a gradual process,\nthe object can be secured, which it would be vain to attempt by a more\nsummary course.\n\nEarly rising is almost an indispensable condition to success, in such\nan effort; but where a woman lacks either the health or the energy to\nsecure a period for devotional duties before breakfast, let her select\nthat hour of the day in which she will be least liable to interruption,\nand let her then seek strength and wisdom from the only true Source.\nAt this time, let her take a pen, and make a list of all the things\nwhich she considers as duties. Then, let a calculation be made, whether\nthere be time enough, in the day or the week, for all these duties.\nIf there be not, let the least important be stricken from the list,\nas not being duties, and therefore to be omitted. In doing this, let\na woman remember that, though \"what we shall eat, and what we shall\nthink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed,\" are matters requiring due\nattention, they are very apt to obtain a wrong relative importance,\nwhile intellectual, social, and moral interests receive too little\nregard.\n\nIn this country, eating, dressing, and household furniture and\nornaments, take far too large a place in the estimate of relative\nimportance; and it is probable that most women could modify their views\nand practice, so as to come nearer to the Saviour's requirements. No\nwoman has a right to put a stitch of ornament on any article of dress\nor furniture, or to provide one superfluity in food, until she is sure\nshe can secure time for all her social, intellectual benevolent, and\nreligions duties. If a woman will take the trouble to make such a\ncalculation as this, she will usually find that she has time enough\nto perform all her duties easily and well.\n\nIt is impossible for a conscientious woman to secure that peaceful\nmind and cheerful enjoyment of life which all should seek, who is\nconstantly finding her duties jarring with each other, and much\nremaining undone, which she feels that she ought to do. In consequence\nof this, there will be a secret uneasiness, which will throw a shade\nover the whole current of life, never to be removed, till she so\nefficiently defines and regulates her duties that she can fulfill them\nall.\n\nAnd here the writer would urge upon young ladies the importance of\nforming habits of system, while unembarrassed with those multiplied\ncares which will make the task so much, more difficult and hopeless.\nEvery young lady can systematize her pursuits, to a certain extent.\nShe can have a particular day for mending her wardrobe, and for\narranging her trunks, closets, and drawers. She can keep her\nwork-basket, her desk at school, and all her other conveniences, in\ntheir proper places, and in regular order. She can have regular periods\nfor reading, walking, visiting, study, and domestic pursuits. And by\nfollowing this method in youth, she will form a taste for regularity\nand a habit of system, which will prove a blessing to her through life.\n\n\n\nXVIII.\n\nGIVING IN CHARITY.\n\n\nIt is probable that there is no point of duty whereon conscientious\npersons differ more in opinion, or where they find it more difficult\nto form discriminating and decided views, than on the matter of charity.\nThat we are bound to give some of our time, money, and efforts, to\nrelieve the destitute, all allow. But, as to how much we are to give,\nand on whom our charities shall be bestowed, many a reflecting mind\nhas been at a loss. Yet it seems very desirable that, in reference to\na duty so constantly and so strenuously urged by the Supreme Ruler,\nwe should be able so to fix metes and bounds, as to keep a conscience\nvoid of offense, and to free the mind from disquieting fears of\ndeficiency.\n\nThe writer has found no other topic of investigation so beset with\ndifficulty, and so absolutely without the range of definite rules which\ncan apply to all, in all circumstances. But on this, as on previous\ntopics, there seem to be _general principles_, by the aid of which\nany candid mind, sincerely desirous of obeying the commands of Christ,\nhowever much self-denial may be involved, can arrive at definite\nconclusions as to its own individual obligations; so that when these\nare fulfilled, the mind may be at peace.\n\nBut for a mind that is worldly, living mainly to seek its own pleasures\ninstead of living to please God, no principles can be so fixed as not\nto leave a ready escape from all obligation. Such minds, either by\nindolence (and consequent ignorance) or by sophistry, will convince\nthemselves that a life of engrossing self-indulgence, with perhaps the\ngift of a few dollars and a few hours of time, may suffice to fulfill\nthe requisitions of the Eternal Judge.\n\nFor such minds, no reasonings will avail, till the heart is so changed\nthat to learn the will and follow the example of Jesus Christ become\nthe leading objects of interest and effort. It is to aid those who\nprofess to possess this temper of mind that the following suggestions\nare offered.\n\nThe first consideration which gives definiteness to this subject is\na correct view of the object for which we are placed in this world.\nA great many, even of professed Christians, seem to be acting on the\nsupposition that the object of life is to secure as ranch as possible\nof all the various enjoyments placed within reach. Not so teaches\nreason or revelation. From these we learn that, though the happiness\nof his creatures is the end for which God created and sustains them,\nyet this happiness depends not on the various modes of gratification\nput within our reach, but mainly on _character_. A man may possess\nall the resources for enjoyment which this world can afford, and yet\nfeel that \"all is vanity and vexation of spirit,\" and that he is\nsupremely wretched. Another may be in want of all things, and yet\npossess that living spring of benevolence, faith, and hope, which will\nmake an Eden of the darkest prison.\n\nIn order to be perfectly happy, man must attain that character which\nChrist exhibited; and the nearer he approaches it, the more will\nhappiness reign in his breast.\n\nBut what was the grand peculiarity of the character of Christ? It was\n_self-denying benevolence_. He came not to \"seek his own;\" He\n\"went about doing good,\" and this was his \"meat and drink;\" that is,\nit was this which sustained the health and life of his mind, as food\nand drink sustain the health and life of the body. Now, the mind of\nman is so made that it can gradually be transformed into the same\nlikeness. A selfish being, who, for a whole life, has been nourishing\nhabits of indolent self-indulgence, can, by taking Christ as his\nexample, by communion with him, and by daily striving to imitate his\ncharacter and conduct, form such a temper of mind that \"doing good\"\nwill become the chief and highest source of enjoyment. And this heavenly\nprinciple will grow stronger and stronger, until self-denial loses the\nmore painful part of its character; and then, _living to make\nhappiness_ will be so delightful and absorbing a pursuit, that all\nexertions, regarded as the means to this end, will be like the joyous\nefforts of men when they strive for a prize or a crown, with the full\nhope of success.\n\nIn this view of the subject, efforts and self-denial for the good of\nothers are to be regarded not merely as duties enjoined for the benefit\nof others, but as the moral training indispensable to the formation\nof that character on which depends our own happiness. This view exhibits\nthe full meaning of the Saviour's declaration, \"How hardly shall they\nthat have riches enter into the kingdom of God!\" He had before taught\nthat the kingdom of heaven consisted not in such enjoyments as the\nworldly seek, but in the temper of self-denying benevolence, like his\nown; and as the rich have far greater temptations to indolent\nself-indulgence, they are far less likely to acquire this temper than\nthose who, by limited means, are inured to some degree of self-denial.\n\nBut on this point, one important distinction needs to be made; and\nthat is, between the self-denial which has no other aim than mere\nself-mortification, and that which is exercised to secure greater good\nto ourselves and others. The first is the foundation of monasticism,\npenances, and all other forms of asceticism; the latter, only, is that\nwhich Christianity requires.\n\nA second consideration, which may give definiteness to this subject,\nis, that the formation of a perfect character involves, not the\nextermination of any principles of our nature, but rather the regulating\nof them, according to the rules of reason and religion; so that the\nlower propensities shall always be kept subordinate to nobler\nprinciples. Thus we are not to aim at destroying our appetites, or at\nneedlessly denying them, but rather so to regulate them that they shall\nbest secure the objects for which they were implanted. We are not to\nannihilate the love of praise and admiration; but so to control it\nthat the favor of God shall be regarded more than the estimation of\nmen. We are not to extirpate the principle of curiosity, which leads\nus to acquire knowledge; but so to direct it, that all our acquisitions\nshall be useful and not frivolous or injurious. And thus with all the\nprinciples of the mind: God has implanted no desires in our constitution\nwhich are evil and pernicious. On the contrary, all our constitutional\npropensities, either of mind or body, he designed we should gratify,\nwhenever no evils would thence result, either to ourselves or others.\nSuch passions as envy, selfish ambition, contemptuous pride, revenge,\nand hatred, are to be exterminated; for they are either excesses or\nexcrescences, not created by God, but rather the result of our own\nneglect to form habits of benevolence and self-control.\n\nIn deciding the rules of our conduct, therefore, we are ever to bear\nin mind that the development of the nobler principles, and the\nsubjugation of inferior propensities to them, is to be the main object\nof effort both for ourselves and for others. And in conformity with\nthis, in all our plans we are to place religious and moral interests\nas first in estimation, our social and intellectual interests next,\nand our physical gratifications as subordinate to all.\n\nA third consideration is that, though the means for sustaining life\nand health are to be regarded as necessaries, without which no other\nduties can be performed, yet a very large portion of the time spent\nby most persons in easy circumstances for food, raiment, and dwellings,\nis for mere _superfluities;_ which are right when they do not\ninvolve the sacrifice of higher interests, and wrong when they do.\nLife and health can be sustained in the humblest dwellings, with the\nplainest dress, and the simplest food; and, after taking from our means\nwhat is necessary for life and health, the remainder is to be so\ndivided, that the larger portion shall be given to supply the moral\nand intellectual wants of ourselves and others, together with the\nphysical requirements of the destitute, and the smaller share to procure\nthose additional gratifications of taste and appetite which are\ndesirable but not indispensable. Mankind, thus far, have never made\nthis apportionment of their means; although, just as fast as they have\nrisen from a savage state, mere physical wants have been made, to an\nincreasing extent, subordinate to higher objects.\n\nAnother very important consideration is that, in urging the duty of\ncharity and the prior claims of moral and religious objects, no rule\nof duty should be maintained which it would not be right and wise for\n_all_ to follow. And we are to test the wisdom of any general rule by\ninquiring what would be the result if all mankind should practice\naccording to it. In view of this, we are enabled to judge of the\ncorrectness of those who maintain that, to be consistent, men believing\nin the perils of all those of our race who are not brought under the\ninfluence of the Christian system should give up not merely the\nelegancies but all the superfluities of life, and devote the whole of\ntheir means not indispensable to life and health to the propagation\nof Christianity.\n\nBut if this is the duty of any, it is the duty of all; and we are to\ninquire what would be the result, if all conscientious persons gave\nup the use of all superfluities. Suppose that two millions of the\npeople of the United States were conscientious persons, and relinquished\nthe use of every thing not absolutely necessary to life and health.\nBesides reducing the education of the people in all the higher walks\nof intellectual, social, and even moral development, to very narrow\nlimits, it would instantly throw out of employment one half of the\nwhole community. The writers, book-makers, manufacturers, mechanics,\nmerchants agriculturists, and all the agencies they employ, would be\nbeggared, and one half of those not reduced to poverty would be obliged\nto spend all their extra means in-simply supplying necessaries to the\nother half. The use of superfluities, therefore, to a certain extent,\nis as indispensable to promote industry, virtue, and religion, as any\ndirect giving of money or time; and it is owing entirely to a want of\nreflection and of comprehensive views, that any men ever make so great\na mistake as is here exhibited.\n\nInstead, then, of urging a rule of duty which is at once irrational\nand impracticable, there is another course, which commends itself to\nthe understandings of all. For whatever may be the practice of\nintelligent men, they universally concede the principle, that our\nphysical gratifications should always be made subordinate to social,\nintellectual, and moral advantages. And all that is required for the\nadvancement of our whole race to the most perfect state of society is,\nsimply, that men should act in agreement with this principle. And if\nonly a very small portion of the most intelligent of our race should\nact according to this rule, under the control of Christian benevolence,\nthe immense supplies furnished for the general good would be far beyond\nwhat any would imagine who had never made any calculations on the\nsubject. In this nation alone, suppose the one million and more of\nprofessed followers of Christ should give a larger portion of their\nmeans for the social, intellectual, and moral wants of mankind, than\nfor the superfluities that minister to their own taste, convenience,\nand appetite; it would be enough to furnish all the schools, colleges,\nBibles, ministers, and missionaries, that the whole world could demand;\nor, at least, it would be far more than properly qualified agents to\nadminister it could employ.\n\nBut it may be objected that, though this view in the abstract looks\nplausible and rational, not one in a thousand can practically adopt\nit. How few keep any account, at all, of their current expenses! How\nimpossible it is to determine, exactly, what are necessaries and what\nare superfluities! And in regard to women, how few have the control\nof an income, so as not to be bound by the wishes of a parent or a\nhusband!\n\nIn reference to these difficulties, the first remark is, that we are\nnever under obligations to do what is entirely out of our power; so\nthat those persons who can not regulate their expenses or their\ncharities are under no sort of obligation to attempt it. The second\nremark is that, when a rule of duty is discovered, if we can not fully\nattain to it, we are bound to _aim_ at it, and to fulfill it just\nso far as we can. We have no right to throw it aside because we shall\nfind some difficult cases when we come to apply it. The third remark\nis, that no person can tell how much can be done, till a faithful trial\nhas been made. If a woman has never kept any accounts, nor attempted\nto regulate her expenditures by the right rule, nor used her influence\nwith those that control her plans, to secure this object, she has no\nright to say how much she can or can not do, till after a fair trial\nhas been made.\n\nIn attempting such a trial, the following method can be taken. Let a\nwoman, keep an account of all she spends, for herself and her family,\nfor a year, arranging the items under three general heads. Under the\nfirst, put all articles of food, raiment, rent, wages, and all\nconveniences. Under the second, place all sums paid in securing an\neducation, and books, and other intellectual advantages. Under the\nthird head, place all that is spent for benevolence and religion. At\nthe end of the year, the first and largest account will show the mixed\nitems of necessaries and superfluities, which can be arranged so as\nto gain some sort of idea how much has been spent for superfluities\nand how much for necessaries. Then, by comparing what is spent for\nsuperfluities, with what is spent for intellectual and moral advantages,\ndata will be gained for judging of the past and regulating the future.\n\nDoes a woman say she can not do this? let her think whether the offer\nof a thousand dollars, as a reward-for attempting it one year, would\nnot make her undertake to do it; and if so, let her decide, in her own\nmind, which is most valuable, a clear conscience, and the approbation\nof God, in this effort to do his will, or one thousand dollars. And\nlet her do it, with this warning of the Saviour before her eyes--\"No\nman can serve two masters.\" \"Ye can not serve God and Mammon.\"\n\nIs it objected, How can we decide between superfluities and necessities,\nin this list? It is replied, that we are not required to judge exactly,\nin all cases. Our duty is, to use the means in our power to assist us\nin forming a correct judgment; to seek the divine aid in freeing our\nminds from indolence and selfishness; and then to judge, as well as\nwe can, in our endeavors rightly to apportion and regulate our expenses.\nMany persons seem to feel that they are bound to do better than they\nknow how. But God is not so hard a master; and after we have used all\nproper means to learn the right way, if we then follow it according\nto our ability, we do wrong to feel misgivings, or to blame ourselves,\nif results come out differently from what seems desirable.\n\nThe results of our actions, alone, can never prove as deserving of\nblame. For men are often so placed that, owing to lack of intellect\nor means, it is impossible for them to decide correctly. To use all\nthe means of knowledge within our reach, and then to judge, with a\ncandid and conscientious spirit, is all that God requires; and when\nwe have done this, and the event seems to come out wrong, we should\nnever wish that we had decided otherwise. For this would be the same\nas wishing that we had not followed the dictates of judgment and\nconscience. As this is a world designed for discipline and trial,\nuntoward events are never to be construed as indications of the\nobliquity of our past decisions.\n\nBut it is probable that a great portion of the women of this nation\ncan not secure any such systematic mode of regulating their expenses.\nTo such, the writer would propose one inquiry: Can not you calculate\nhow much _time_ and _money_ you spend for what is merely ornamental, and\nnot necessary, for yourself, your children, and your house? Can not you\ncompare this with the time and money you spend for intellectual and\nbenevolent purposes? and will not this show the need of some change? In\nmaking this examination, is not this brief rule, deducible from the\nprinciples before laid down, the one which should regulate you? Every\nperson does right in spending some portion of time and means in securing\nthe conveniences and adornments of taste; but the amount should never\nexceed what is spent in securing our own moral and intellectual\nimprovement, nor what is spent in benevolent efforts to supply the\nphysical and moral wants of our fellow-men.\n\nIn making an examination on this subject, it is sometimes the case\nthat a woman will count among the _necessaries_ of life all the\nvarious modes of adorning the person or house, practiced in the circle\nin which she moves; and, after enumerating the many _duties_ which\ndemand attention, counting these as a part, she will come to the\nconclusion that she has no time, and but little money, to devote to\npersonal improvement or to benevolent enterprises. This surely is not\nin agreement with the requirements of the Saviour, who calls on us to\nseek for others, as well as ourselves, _first of all_, \"the kingdom\nof God, and his righteousness.\"\n\nIn order to act in accordance with the rule here presented, it is true\nthat many would be obliged to give up the idea of conforming to the\nnotions and customs of those with whom they associate, and compelled\nto adopt the maxim, \"Be not conformed to this world.\" In many cases\nit would involve an entire change in the style of living. And the\nwriter has the happiness of knowing more cases than one, where persons\nwho have come to similar views on this subject, have given up large\nand expensive establishments, disposed of their carriages, dismissed\na portion of their domestics, and modified all their expenditures,\nthat they might keep a pure conscience, and regulate their charities\nmore according to the requirements of Christianity. And there are\npersons, well known in the religious world, who save themselves all\nlabor of minute calculation, by devoting so large a portion of their\ntime and means to benevolent objects, that they find no difficulty in\nknowing that they give more for religious, benevolent, and intellectual\npurposes than for superfluities.\n\nIn deciding what particular objects shall receive our benefactions,\nthere are also general principles to guide us. The first is that\npresented by our Saviour, when, after urging the great law of\nbenevolence, he was asked, \"And who is my neighbor?\" His reply, in the\nparable of \"the Good Samaritan,\" teaches us that any human being whose\nwants are brought to our knowledge is our neighbor. The wounded man\nin that parable was not only a stranger, but he belonged to a foreign\nnation, peculiarly hated; and he had no claim, except that his wants\nwere brought to the knowledge of the wayfaring man. From this we learn\nthat the destitute of all nations become our neighbors, as soon as\ntheir wants are brought to our knowledge.\n\nAnother general principle is this, that those who are most in need\nmust be relieved in preference to those who are less destitute. On\nthis principle it is, that we think the followers of Christ should\ngive more to supply those who are suffering for want of the bread of\neternal life, than for those who are deprived of physical enjoyments.\nAnd another reason for this preference is the fact that many who give\nin charity have made such imperfect advances in civilization and\nChristianity that the intellectual and moral wants of our race make\nbut a feeble impression on the mind. Relate a pitiful tale of a family\nreduced to live for weeks on potatoes only, and many a mind would awake\nto deep sympathy and stretch forth the hand of charity. But describe\ncases where the immortal mind is pining in stupidity and ignorance,\nor racked with the fever of baleful passions, and how small the number\nso elevated in sentiment and so enlarged in their views as to appreciate\nand sympathize in these far greater misfortunes! The intellectual and\nmoral wants of our fellow-men, therefore, should claim the first place\nin general Christian attention, both because they are most important,\nand because they are most neglected; while it should not be forgotten,\nin giving personal attention to the wants of the poor, that the relief\nof immediate physical distress, is often the easiest way of touching\nthe moral sensibilities of the destitute.\n\nAnother consideration to be borne in mind is that, in this country,\nthere is much less real need of charity in supplying physical\nnecessities than is generally supposed by those who have not learned\nthe more excellent way. This land is so abundant in supplies, and labor\nis in such demand, that every healthy person can earn a comfortable\nsupport. And if all the poor were instantly made virtuous, it is\nprobable that there would be few physical wants which could not readily\nbe supplied by the immediate friends of each sufferer. The sick, the\naged, and the orphan would be the only objects of charity. In this\nview of the case, the primary effort in relieving the poor should be\nto furnish them the means of earning their own support, and to supply\nthem with those moral influences which are most effectual in securing\nvirtue and industry.\n\nAnother point to be attended to is the importance of maintaining a\nsystem of _associated_ charities. There is no point in which the economy\nof charity has more improved than in the present mode of combining many\nsmall contributions, for sustaining enlarged and systematic plans of\ncharity. If all the half-dollars which are now contributed to aid in\norganized systems of charity were returned to the donors, to be applied\nby the agency and discretion of each, thousands and thousands of the\ntreasures, now employed to promote the moral and intellectual wants of\nmankind, would become entirely useless in a democracy like ours, where\nfew are very rich and the majority are in comfortable circumstances,\nthis collecting and dispensing of drops and rills is the mode by which,\nin imitation of nature, the dews and showers are to distill on parched\nand desert lands. And every person, while earning a pittance to unite\nwith many more, may be cheered with the consciousness of sustaining a\ngrand system of operations which must have the most decided influence in\nraising all mankind to that perfect state of society which Christianity\nis designed to bring about.\n\nAnother consideration relates to the indiscriminate bestowal of charity.\nPersons who have taken pains to inform themselves, and who devote their\nwhole time to dispensing charities, unite in declaring that this is\none of the most fruitful sources of indolence, vice, and poverty. From\nseveral of these the writer has learned that, by their own personal\ninvestigations, they have ascertained that there are large\nestablishments of idle and wicked persons in most of our cities, who\nassociate together to support themselves by every species of imposition.\nThey hire large houses, and live in constant rioting on the means thus\nobtained. Among them are women who have or who hire the use of infant\nchildren; others, who are blind, or maimed, or deformed, or who can\nadroitly feign such infirmities; and, by these means of exciting pity,\nand by artful tales of woe, they collect alms, both in city and country,\nto spend in all manner of gross and guilty indulgences. Meantime many\npersons, finding themselves often duped by impostors, refuse to give\nat all; and thus many benefactions are withdrawn, which a wise economy\nin charity would have secured. For this and other reasons, it is wise\nand merciful to adopt the general rule, never to give alms till we\nhave had some opportunity of knowing how they will be spent. There are\nexceptions to this, as to every general rule, which a person of\ndiscretion can determine. But the practice so common among benevolent\npersons, of giving at least a trifle to all who ask, lest perchance\nthey may turn away some who are really sufferers, is one which causes\nmore sin and misery than it cures.\n\nThe writer has never known any system for dispensing charity so\nsuccessful as the one by which a town or city is divided into districts;\nand each district is committed to the care of two ladies, whose duty\nit is, to call on each family and leave a book for a child, or do some\nother deed of neighborly kindness, and make that the occasion for\nentering into conversation, and learning the situation of all residents\nin the district. By this method, the ignorant, the vicious, and the\npoor are discovered, and their physical, intellectual, and moral wants\nare investigated. In some places where the writer has known this mode\npursued, each person retained the same district, year after year, so\nthat every poor family in the place was under the watch and care of\nsome intelligent and benevolent lady, who used all her influence to\nsecure a proper education for the children, to furnish them with\nsuitable reading, to encourage habits of industry and economy, and to\nsecure regular attendance on public religious instruction. Thus, the\nrich and the poor were brought in contact, in a way advantageous to\nboth parties; and if such a system could be universally adopted, more\nwould be done for the prevention of poverty and vice than all the\nwealth of the nation could avail for their relief. But this plan can\nnot be successfully carried out, in this manner, unless there is a\nlarge proportion of intelligent, benevolent, and self-denying persons,\nwho unite in a systematic plan.\n\nBut there is one species of \"charity\" which needs especial\nconsideration. It is that spirit of kindly love which induces us to\nrefrain from judging of the means and the relative charities of other\npersons. There have been such indistinct notions, and so many different\nstandards of duty, on this subject, that it is rare for two persons\nto think exactly alike, in regard to the rule of duty. Each person is\nbound to inquire and judge for himself, as to his own duty or\ndeficiencies; but as both the resources and the amount of the actual\ncharities of others are beyond our ken, it is as indecorous as it is\nuncharitable to sit in judgment on their decisions.\n\n\n\n\nXIX.\n\nECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES.\n\nThe value of time, and our obligation to spend every hour for some\nuseful end, are what few minds properly realize. And those who have\nthe highest sense of their obligations in this respect, sometimes\ngreatly misjudge in their estimate of what are useful and proper modes\nof employing time. This arises from limited views of the importance\nof some pursuits, which they would deem frivolous and useless, but\nwhich are in reality necessary to preserve the health of body and mind\nand those social affections which it is very important to cherish.\nChristianity teaches that, for all the time afforded us, we must give\naccount to God; and that we have no right to waste a single hour. But\ntime which is spent in rest or amusement is often as usefully employed\nas if it were devoted to labor or devotion. In employing our time, we\nare to make suitable allowance for sleep, for preparing and taking\nfood, for securing the means of a livelihood, for intellectual\nimprovement, for exercise and amusement, for social enjoyments, and\nfor benevolent and religious duties. And it is the _right apportionment_\nof time, to these various duties, which constitutes its true economy.\n\nIn deciding respecting the rectitude of our pursuits, we are bound to\naim at some practical good, as the ultimate object. With every duty\nof this life, our benevolent Creator has connected some species of\nenjoyment, to draw us to perform it. Thus, the palate is gratified,\nby performing the duty of nourishing our bodies; the principle of\ncuriosity is gratified in pursuing useful knowledge; the desire of\napprobation is gratified, when we perform general social duties; and\nevery other duty has an alluring enjoyment connected with it. But the\ngreat mistake of mankind has consisted in seeking the pleasures\nconnected with these duties, as the sole aim, without reference to the\nmain end that should be held in view, and to which the enjoyment should\nbe made subservient. Thus, men gratify the palate, without reference\nto the question whether the body is properly nourished: and follow\nafter knowledge, without inquiring whether it ministers to good or\nevil; and seek amusement without reference to results.\n\nIn gratifying the implanted desires of our nature, we are bound so to\nrestrain ourselves, by reason and conscience, as always to seek the\nmain objects of existence--the highest good of ourselves and others;\nand never to sacrifice this for the mere gratification of our desires.\nWe are to gratify appetite, just so far as is consistent with health\nand usefulness; and the desire for knowledge, just so far as will\nenable us to do most good by our influence and efforts; and no farther.\nWe are to seek social intercourse, to that extent which will best\npromote domestic enjoyment and kindly feelings among neighbors and\nfriends; and we are to pursue exercise and amusement, only so far as\nwill best sustain the vigor of body and mind.\n\nThe laws of the Supreme Ruler, when he became the civil as well as the\nreligious Head of the Jewish theocracy, furnish an example which it\nwould be well for all attentively to consider, when forming plans for\nthe apportionment of time and property. To properly estimate this\nexample, it must be borne in mind, that the main object of God was,\nto set an example of the temporal rewards that follow obedience to the\nlaws of the Creator, and at the same time to prepare religious teachers\nto extend the true religion to the whole race of man.\n\nBefore Christ came, the Jews were not required to go forth to other\nnations as teachers of religion, nor were the Jewish nation led to\nobedience by motives of a life to come. To them God was revealed, both\nas a father and a civil ruler, and obedience to laws relating solely\nto this life was all that was required. So low were they in the scale\nof civilization and mental development, that a system which confined\nthem to one spot, as an agricultural people, and prevented their growing\nvery rich, or having extensive commerce with other nations, was\nindispensable to prevent their relapsing into the low idolatries and\nvices of the nations around them, while temporal rewards and penalties\nwere more effective than those of a life to come.\n\nThe proportion of time and property, which every Jew was required to\ndevote to intellectual, benevolent, and religious purposes, was as\nfollows:\n\nIn regard to property, they were required to give one tenth of all\ntheir yearly income to support the Levites, the priests, and the\nreligious service. Next, they were required to give the first-fruits\nof all their corn, wine, oil, and fruits, and the first-born of all\ntheir cattle, for the Lord's treasury, to be employed for the priests,\nthe widow, the fatherless, and the stranger. The first-born, also, of\ntheir children, were the Lord's, and were to be redeemed by a specified\nsum, paid into the sacred treasury. Besides this, they were required\nto bring a free-will offering to God, every time they went up to the\nthree great yearly festivals. In addition to this, regular yearly\nsacrifices of cattle and fowls were required of each family, and\noccasional sacrifices for certain sins or ceremonial Impurities. In\nreaping their fields, they were required to leave unreaped, for the\npoor, the corners; not to glean their fields, oliveyards, or vineyards;\nand, if a sheaf was left by mistake, they were not to return for it\nbut leave it for the poor.\n\nOne twelfth of the people were set apart, having no landed property,\nto be priests and teachers; and the other tribes were required to\nsupport them liberally.\n\nIn regard to the time taken from secular pursuits, for the support of\neducation and religion, an equally liberal amount was demanded. In the\nfirst place, one seventh part of their time was taken for the weekly\nsabbath, when no kind of work was to be done. Then the whole nation\nwere required to meet at the appointed place three times a year, which,\nincluding their journeys and stay there, occupied eight weeks, or\nanother seventh part of their time. Then the sabbatical year, when no\nagricultural labor was to be done, took another seventh of their time\nfrom their regular pursuits, as they were an agricultural people. This\nwas the amount of time and property demanded by God, simply to sustain\neducation, religion, and morality within the bounds of one nation. It\nwas promised to this nation and fulfilled by constant miraculous\ninterpositions, that in this life, obedience to God's laws should\nsecure health, peace, prosperity, and long life; while for disobedience\nwas threatened war, pestilence, famine, and all temporal evils. These\npromises were constantly verified, and in the day of Solomon, when,\nthis nation was most obedient, the whole world was moved with wonder\nat its wealth and prosperity. But up to this time, no attempt was made\nby God to govern the Israelites by the rewards and penalties of the\nworld to come.\n\nBut \"when the fullness of time had come,\" and the race of man was\nprepared to receive higher responsibilities, Jesus Christ came and\n\"brought life and immortality to light\" with a clearness never before\nrevealed. At the same time was revealed the fatherhood of God, not to\nthe Jews alone, but to the whole human race, and the consequent\nbrotherhood of man; and these revelations in many respects changed the\nwhole standard of duty and obligation.\n\nChrist came as \"God manifest in the flesh,\" to set an example of\nself-sacrificing love, in rescuing the whole family of man from the\ndangers of the unseen world, and also to teach and train his disciples\nthrough all time to follow his example. And those who conform the most\nconsistently to his teachings and example will aim at a standard of\nlabor and self-denial far beyond that demanded of the Jews.\n\nIt is not always that men understand the economy of Providence, in\nthat unequal distribution of property which, even under the most perfect\nform of government, will always exist. Many, looking at the present\nstate of things, imagine that the rich, if they acted in strict\nconformity to the law of benevolence, would share all their property\nwith their suffering fellow-men. But such do not take into account the\ninspired declaration that \"a man's life consisteth not in the abundance\nof the things which he possesseth,\" or, in other words, life is made\nvaluable, not by great possessions, but by such a character as prepares\na man to enjoy what he holds. God perceives that human character can\nbe most improved by that kind of discipline which exists when there\nis something valuable to be gained by industrious efforts. This stimulus\nto industry could never exist in a community where all are just alike,\nas it does in a state of society where every man sees possessed by\nothers enjoyments which he desires and may secure by effort and\nindustry. So, in a community where all are alike as to property, there\nwould be no chance to gain that noblest of all attainments, a habit\nof self-denying benevolence which toils for the good of others, and\ntakes from one's own store to increase the enjoyments of another.\n\nInstead, then, of the stagnation, both of industry and of benevolence,\nwhich would follow the universal and equable distribution, of property,\nsome men, by superior advantages of birth, or intellect, or patronage,\ncome into possession of a great amount of capital. With these means\nthey are enabled, by study, reading, and travel, to secure expansion\nof mind and just views of the relative advantages of moral,\nintellectual, and physical enjoyments. At the same time, Christianity\nimposes obligations corresponding with the increase of advantages and\nmeans. The rich are not at liberty to spend their treasures chiefly\nfor themselves. Their wealth is given, by God, to be employed for the\nbest good of mankind; and their intellectual advantages are designed,\nprimarily, to enable them to judge correctly in employing their means\nmost wisely for the general good.\n\nNow, suppose a man of wealth inherits ten thousand acres of real estate;\nit is not his duty to divide it among his poor neighbors and tenants.\nIf he took this course, it is probable that most of them would spend\nall in thriftless waste and indolence, or in mere physical enjoyments.\nInstead, then, of thus putting his capital out of his hands, he is\nbound to retain and so to employ it as to raise his family and his\nneighbors to such a state of virtue and intelligence that they can\nsecure far more, by their own efforts and industry, than he, by dividing\nhis capital, could bestow upon them.\n\nIn this view of the subject, it is manifest that the unequal\ndistribution of property is no evil. The great difficulty is, that so\nlarge a portion of those who hold much capital, instead of using their\nvarious advantages for the greatest good of those around them, employ\nthem for mere selfish indulgences; thus inflicting as much mischief\non themselves as results to others from their culpable neglect. A great\nportion of the rich seem to be acting on the principle that the more\nGod bestows on them the less are they under obligation to practice any\nself-denial in fulfilling his benevolent plan of raising our race to\nintelligence and virtue.\n\nBut there are cheering examples of the contrary spirit and prejudice,\nsome of which will be here recorded to influence and encourage others.\n\nA lady of great wealth, high position, and elegant culture, in one of\nour large cities, hired and furnished a house adjacent to her own,\nand, securing the aid of another benevolent and cultivated woman, took\ntwelve orphan girls, of different ages, and educated them under their\njoint care. Not only time and money were given, but love and labor,\njust as if these were their own children; and as fast as one was\nprovided for, another was taken.\n\nIn another city, a young lady with property of her own hired a house\nand made it a home for homeless and unprotected women, who paid board\nwhen they could earn it, and found a refuge when out of employment.\n\nIn another city, the wife of one of its richest merchants, living in\nprincely style, took two young girls from the certain road to ruin\namong the vicious poor. She boarded them with a respectable farmer,\nand sent them to school, and every week went out, not only to supervise\nthem, but to aid in training them to habits of neatness, industry, and\nobedience, just as if they were her own children. Next, she hired a\nlarge house near the most degraded part of the city, furnished it\nneatly and with all suitable conveniences to work, and then rented to\nthose among the most degraded whom she could bring to conform to a few\nsimple rules of decency, industry, and benevolence--one of these rules\nbeing that they should pay her the rent every Saturday night. To this\nmotley gathering she became chief counselor and friend, quieted their\nbrawls, taught them to aid each other in trouble or sickness, and\nstrove to introduce among them that law of patient love and kindness,\nillustrated by her own example. The young girls in this tenement she\nassembled every Saturday at her own house--taught them to sing, heard\nthem recite their Sunday-school lessons, to be sure these were properly\nlearned; taught them to make and mend their own clothing, trimmed their\nbonnets, and took charge of their Sunday dress, that it might always\nbe in order. Of course, such benevolence drew a stream of ignorance\nand misery to her door; and so successful was her labor that she hired\na second house, and managed it on the same plan. One hot day in August,\na friend found her combing the head of a poor, ungainly, foreign girl.\nShe had persuaded a friend to take her from compassion, and she was\nreturned because her head was in such in a state. Finding no one else\nto do it, the lady herself bravely met the difficulty, and persevered\nin this daily ministry till the evil was remedied, and the poor girl\nthus secured a comfortable home and wages.\n\nA young lady of wealth and position, with great musical culture and\ntaste, found among the poor two young girls with fine voices and great\nmusical talent. Gaining her parents' consent, the young lady took one\nof them home, trained her in music, and saw that her school education\nwas secured, so that when expensive masters and instruments were needed\nthe girl herself earned the money required, as a governess in a family\nof wealthy friends. Then she aided the sister; and, as the result, one\nof them is married happily to a man of great wealth, and the other is\nreceiving a large income as a popular musical artist.\n\nAnother young girl, educated as a fine musician by her wealthy parents,\nat the age of sixteen was afflicted with weak eyes and a heart\ncomplaint. She strove to solace herself by benevolent ministries. By\nteaching music to children of wealthy friends she earned the means to\nrelieve and instruct the suffering, ignorant, and poor.\n\nThese examples may suffice to show that, even among the most wealthy,\nabundant modes of self-denying benevolence may be found where there\nis a heart to seek them.\n\nThere is no direction in which a true Christian economy of time and\nmoney is more conspicuous than in the style of living adopted in the\nfamily state.\n\nThose who build stately mansions, and lay out extensive grounds, and\nmultiply the elegancies of life, to be enjoyed by themselves and a\nselect few, \"have their reward\" in the enjoyments that end in this\nlife. But those who with, equal means adopt a style that enables them\nlargely to devote time and wealth to the elevation and improvement of\ntheir fellow-men, are laying up never-failing treasures in heaven.\n\n\n\nXX.\n\nHEALTH OF MIND.\n\nThere is such an intimate connection between the body and mind that\nthe health of one can not be preserved without a proper care of the\nother. And it is from a neglect of this principle, that some of the\nmost exemplary and conscientious persons in the world suffer a thousand\nmental agonies from a diseased state of body, while others ruin the\nhealth of the body by neglecting the proper care of the mind.\n\nWhen the mind is excited by earnest intellectual effort, or by strong\npassions, the blood rushes to the head and the brain is excited. Sir\nAstley Cooper records that, in examining the brain of a young man who\nhad lost a portion of his skull, whenever \"he was agitated by some\nopposition to his wishes,\" \"the blood was sent with increased force\nto his brain,\" and the pulsations \"became frequent and violent.\" The\nsame effect was produced by any intellectual effort; and the flushed\ncountenance which attends earnest study or strong emotions of interest\nof any kind, is an external indication of the suffused state of the\nbrain from such causes.\n\nIn exhibiting the causes which injure the health of the mind, we shall\nfind them to be partly physical, partly intellectual, and partly moral.\n\nThe first cause of mental disease and suffering is not unfrequently\nin the want of a proper supply of duly oxygenized blood. It has been\nshown that the blood, in passing through the lungs, is purified by the\noxygen of the air combining with the superabundant hydrogen and carbon\nof the venous blood, thus forming carbonic acid and water, which are\nexpired into the atmosphere. Every pair of lungs is constantly\nwithdrawing from the surrounding atmosphere its healthful principle,\nand returning one which is injurious to human life.\n\nWhen, by confinement and this process, the air is deprived of its\nappropriate supply of oxygen, the purification of the blood is\ninterrupted, and it passes without being properly prepared into the\nbrain, producing languor, restlessness, and inability to exercise the\nintellect and feelings. Whenever, therefore, persons sleep in a close\napartment, or remain for a length of time in a crowded or ill-ventilated\nroom, a most pernicious influence is exerted on the brain, and, through\nthis, on the mind. A person who is often exposed to such influences\ncan never enjoy that elasticity and vigor of mind which is one of the\nchief indications of its health. This is the reason why all rooms for\nreligious meetings, and all school-rooms and sleeping apartments should\nbe so contrived as to secure a constant supply of fresh air from\nwithout. The minister who preaches in a crowded and ill-ventilated\napartment loses much of his power to feel and to speak, while the\naudience are equally reduced in their capability of attending. The\nteacher who confines children in a close apartment diminishes their\nability to study, or to attend to instructions. And the person who\nhabitually sleeps in a close room impairs mental energy in a similar\ndegree. It is not unfrequently the case that depression of spirits and\nstupor of intellect are occasioned solely by inattention to this\nsubject.\n\nAnother cause of mental disease is the excessive exercise of the\nintellect or feelings. If the eye is taxed beyond its strength by\nprotracted use, its blood-vessels become gorged, and the bloodshot\nappearance warns of the excess and the need of rest. The brain is\naffected in a similar manner by excessive use, though the suffering\nand inflamed organ can not make its appeal to the eye. But there are\nsome indications which ought never to be misunderstood or disregarded.\nIn cases of pupils at school or at college, a diseased state, from\nover-action, is often manifested by increased clearness of mind, and\ntemporary ease and vigor of mental action. In one instance, known to\nthe writer, a most exemplary and industrious pupil, anxious to improve\nevery hour and ignorant or unmindful of the laws of health, first\nmanifested the diseased state of her brain and mind by demands for\nmore studies, and a sudden and earnest activity in planning modes of\nimprovement for herself and others. When warned of her danger, she\nprotested that she never was better in her life; that she took regular\nexercise in the open air, went to bed in season, slept soundly, and\nfelt perfectly well; that her mind was never before so bright and\nclear, and study never so easy and delightful. And at this time, she\nwas on the verge of derangement, from which she was saved only by an\nentire cessation of all intellectual efforts.\n\nA similar case occurred, under the eye of the writer, from over-excited\nfeelings. It was during a time of unusual religious interest in the\ncommunity, and the mental disease was first manifested by the pupil\nbringing her hymn-book or Bible to the class-room, and making it her\nconstant resort, in every interval of school duty. It finally became\nimpossible to convince her that it was her duty to attend to any thing\nelse; her conscience became morbidly sensitive, her perceptions\nindistinct, her deductions unreasonable; and nothing but entire change\nof scene and exercise, and occupation of her mind by amusement, saved\nher. When the health of the brain was restored, she found that she\ncould attend to the \"one thing needful,\" not only without interruption\nof duty or injury to health, but rather so as to promote both. Clergymen\nand teachers need most carefully to notice and guard against the dangers\nhere alluded to.\n\nAny such attention to religion as prevents the performance of daily\nduties and needful relaxation is dangerous, and tends to produce such\na state of the brain as makes it impossible to feel or judge correctly.\nAnd when any morbid and unreasonable pertinacity appears, much exercise\nand engagement in other interesting pursuits should be urged, as the\nonly mode of securing the religious benefits aimed at. And whenever\nany mind is oppressed with care, anxiety, or sorrow, the amount of\nactive exercise in the fresh air should be greatly increased, that the\naction of the muscles may withdraw the blood which, in such seasons,\nis constantly tending too much to the brain.\n\nThere has been a most appalling amount of suffering, derangement,\ndisease, and death, occasioned by a want of attention to this subject,\nin teachers and parents. Uncommon precocity in children is usually the\nresult of an unhealthy state of the brain; and in such cases medical\nmen would now direct that the wonderful child should be deprived of\nall books and study, and turned to play out in the fresh air. Instead\nof this, parents frequently add fuel to the fever of the brain, by\nsupplying constant mental stimulus, until the victim finds refuge in\nidiocy or an early grave. Where such fatal results do not occur, the\nbrain in many cases is so weakened that the prodigy of infancy sinks\nbelow the medium of intellectual powers in afterlife.\n\nIn our colleges, too, many of the most promising minds sink to an early\ngrave, or drag out a miserable existence, from this same cause. And\nit is an evil as yet little alleviated by the increase of physiological\nknowledge. Every college and professional school, and every seminary\nfor young ladies, needs a medical man or woman, not only to lecture\non physiology and the laws of health, but empowered by official capacity\nto investigate the case of every pupil, and, by authority, to enforce\nsuch a course of study, exercise and repose, as the physical system\nrequires. The writer has found by experience that in a large institution\nthere is one class of pupils who need to be restrained by penalties\nfrom late hours and excessive study, as much as another class need\nstimulus to industry.\n\nUnder the head of excessive mental action, must be placed the indulgence\nof the imagination in novel-reading and \"castle-building.\" This kind\nof stimulus, unless counterbalanced by physical exercise, not only\nwastes time and energies, but undermines the vigor of the nervous\nsystem. The imagination was designed by our wise Creator as a charm\nand stimulus to animate to benevolent activity; and its perverted\nexercise seldom fails to bring a penalty.\n\nAnother cause of mental disease is the want of the appropriate exercise\nof the various faculties of the mind. On this point, Dr. Combe remarks:\n\"We have seen that, by disuse, muscles become emaciated, bone softens,\nblood-vessels are obliterated, and nerves lose their characteristic\nstructure. The brain is no exception to this general rule. The tone\nof it is also impaired by permanent inactivity, and it becomes less\nfit to manifest the mental powers with readiness and energy.\" It is\n\"the withdrawal of the stimulus necessary for its healthy exercise\nwhich renders solitary confinement so severe a punishment, even to the\nmost daring minds. It is a lower degree of the same cause which renders\ncontinuous seclusion from society so injurious to both mental and\nbodily health.\"\n\n\"Inactivity of intellect and of feeling is a very frequent predisposing\ncause of every form of nervous disease. For demonstrative evidence of\nthis position, we have only to look at the numerous victims to be found\namong persons who have no call to exertion in gaining the means of\nsubsistence, and no objects of interest on which to exercise their\nmental faculties, and who consequently sink into a state of mental\nsloth and nervous weakness.\" \"If we look abroad upon society, we shall\nfind innumerable examples of mental and nervous debility from this\ncause. When a person of some mental capacity is confined for a long\ntime to an unvarying round of employment which affords neither scope\nnor stimulus for one half of the faculties, and, from want of education\nor society, has no external resources; the mental powers, for want of\nexercise, become blunted, and the perceptions slow and dull.\" \"The\nintellect and feelings, not being provided with interests external to\nthemselves, must either become inactive and weak, or work upon\nthemselves and become diseased.\"\n\n\"The most frequent victims of this kind of predisposition are females\nof the middle and higher ranks, especially those of a nervous\nconstitution and good natural abilities; but who, from an ill-directed\neducation, possess nothing more solid than mere accomplishments, and\nhave no materials for thought,\" and no \"occupation to excite interest\nor demand attention.\" \"The liability of such persons to melancholy,\nhysteria, hypochondriasis, and other varieties of mental distress,\nreally depends on a state of irritability of the brain, induced by\nimperfect exercise.\"\n\nThese remarks of a medical man illustrate the principles before\nindicated; namely, that the demand of Christianity, that we live to\npromote the general happiness, and not merely for selfish indulgence,\nhas for its aim not only the general good, but the highest happiness\nof the individual of whom it is required in offering abundant exercise\nfor all the noblest faculties.\n\nA person possessed of wealth, who has nothing more noble to engage\nattention than seeking personal enjoyment, subjects the mental powers\nand moral feelings to a degree of inactivity utterly at war with health\nand mind. And the greater the capacities, the greater are the sufferings\nwhich result from this cause. Any one who has read the misanthropic\nwailings of Lord Byron has seen the necessary result of great and noble\npowers bereft of their appropriate exercise, and, in consequence,\nbecoming sources of the keenest suffering.\n\nIt is this view of the subject which has often awakened feelings of\nsorrow and anxiety in the mind of the writer, while aiding in the\ndevelopment and education of superior feminine minds, in the wealthier\ncircles. Not because there are not noble objects for interest and\neffort, abundant, and within reach of such minds; but because\nlong-established custom has made it seem so quixotic to the majority,\neven of the professed followers of Christ, for a woman of wealth to\npractice any great self-denial, that few have independence of mind and\nChristian principle sufficient to overcome such an influence. The more\na mind has its powers developed, the more does it aspire and pine after\nsome object worthy of its energies and affections; and they are\ncommonplace and phlegmatic characters who are most free from such\ndeep-seated wants. Many a young woman, of fine genius and elevated\nsentiment, finds a charm in Lord Byron's writings, because they present\na glowing picture of what, to a certain extent, must be felt by every\nwell-developed mind which has no nobler object in life than the pursuit\nof self-gratification.\n\nIf young ladies of wealth could pursue their education under the full\nconviction that the increase of their powers and advantages increased\ntheir obligations to use all for the good of society, and with some\nplan of benevolent enterprise in view, what new motives of interest\nwould be added to their daily pursuits! And what blessed results would\nfollow to our beloved country, if all well-educated women, carried out\nthe principles of Christianity, in the exercise of their developed\npowers!\n\nThe benevolent activities called forth in our late dreadful war\nillustrate the blessed influence on character and happiness in having\na noble object for which to labor and suffer. In illustration of this,\nmay be mentioned the experience of one of the noble women who, in a\nsickly climate and fervid season, devoted herself to the ministries\nof a military hospital. Separated from an adored husband, deprived of\nwonted comforts and luxuries, and toiling in humble and unwonted labors,\nshe yet recalls this as one of the happiest periods of her life. And\nit was not the mere exercise of benevolence and piety in ministering,\ncomfort and relieving suffering. It was, still more, the elevated\nenjoyment which only an enlarged and cultivated mind can attain, in\nthe inspirations of grand and far-reaching results purchased by such\nsacrifice and suffering. It was in aiding to save her well-loved\ncountry from impending ruin, and to preserve to coming generations the\nblessings of true liberty and self-government, that toils and suffering\nbecame triumphant joys.\n\nEvery Christian woman who \"walks by faith and not by sight,\" who looks\nforward to the results of self-sacrificing labor for the ignorant and\nsinful as they will enlarge and expand through everlasting ages, may\nrise to the same elevated sphere of experience and happiness. On the\ncontrary, the more highly cultivated the mind devoted to mere selfish\nenjoyment, the more are the sources of true happiness closed and the\nsoul left to helpless emptiness and unrest.\n\nThe indications of a diseased mind, owing to the want of the proper\nexercise of its powers, are apathy, discontent, a restless longing for\nexcitement, a craving for unattainable good, a diseased and morbid\naction of the imagination, dissatisfaction with the world, and\nfactitious interest in trifles which the mind feels to be unworthy of\nits powers. Such minds sometimes seek alleviation in exciting\namusements; others resort to the grosser enjoyments of sense. Oppressed\nwith the extremes of languor, or over-excitement, or apathy, the body\nfails under the wearing process, and adds new causes of suffering to\nthe mind. Such, the compassionate Saviour calls to his service, in the\nappropriate terms, \"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy\nladen, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of\nme,\" \"and ye shall find rest unto your souls.\"\n\n\n\n\nXXI.\n\nTHE CARE OF INFANTS.\n\n\nThe topic of this chapter may well be prefaced by an extract from\nHerbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring. He first supposes that\nsome future philosophic speculator, examining the course of education\nof the present period, should find nothing relating to the training\nof children, and that his natural inference would be that our schools\nwere all for monastic orders, who have no charge of infancy and\nchildhood. He then remarks, \"Is it not an astonishing fact that, though\non the treatment of offspring depend their lives or deaths and their\nmoral welfare or ruin, yet not one word of instruction on the treatment\nof offspring is ever given, to those who will hereafter be parents?\nIs it not monstrous that the fate of a new generation should be left\nto the chances of unreasoning custom, or impulse, or fancy, joined\nwith the suggestions of ignorant nurses and the prejudiced counsel of\ngrandmothers?\n\n\"If a merchant should commence business without any knowledge of\narithmetic or book-keeping, we should exclaim at his folly and look\nfor disastrous consequences. Or if, without studying anatomy, a man\nset up as a surgeon, we should wonder at his audacity and pity his\npatients. But that parents should commence the difficult work of rearing\nchildren without giving any attention to the principles, physical,\nmoral, or intellectual, which ought to guide them, excites neither\nsurprise at the actors nor pity for the victims.\"\n\n\"To tens of thousands that are killed add hundreds of thousands that\nsurvive with feeble constitutions, and millions not so strong as they\nshould be; and you will have some idea of the curse inflicted on their\noffspring, by parents ignorant of the laws of life. Do but consider\nfor a moment that the regimen to which children are subject is hourly\ntelling upon them to their life-long injury or benefit, and that there\nare twenty ways of going wrong to one way of going right, and you will\nget some idea of the enormous mischief that is almost everywhere\ninflicted by the thoughtless, hap-hazard system in common use.\"\n\n\"When sons and daughters grow up sickly and feeble, parents commonly\nregard the event as a visitation of Providence. They assume that these\nevils come without cause, or that the cause is supernatural. Nothing\nof the kind. In some cases causes are inherited, but in most cases\nfoolish management is the cause. Very generally parents themselves are\nresponsible for this pain, this debility, this depression, this misery.\nThey have undertaken to control the lives of their offspring, and with\ncruel carelessness have neglected to learn those vital processes which\nthey are daily affecting by their commands and prohibitions. In utter\nignorance of the simplest physiological laws, they have been, year by\nyear, undermining the constitutions of their children, and so have\ninflicted disease and premature death, not only on them but also on\ntheir descendants.\n\n\"Equally great are the ignorance and consequent injury, when we turn\nfrom the physical to the moral training. Consider the young, untaught\nmother and her nursery legislation. A short time ago she was at school,\nwhere her memory was crammed with words and names and dates, and her\nreflective faculties scarcely in the slightest degree exercised--where\nnot one idea was given her respecting the methods of dealing with the\nopening mind of childhood, and where her discipline did not in the\nleast fit her for thinking out methods of her own. The intervening\nyears have been spent in practicing music, fancy work, novel-reading\nand party-going, no thought having been given, to the grave\nresponsibilities of maternity, and scarcely any of that solid\nintellectual culture obtained which would fit her for such\nresponsibilities; and now see her with an unfolding human character\ncommitted to her charge, see her profoundly ignorant of the phenomena\nwith which she has to deal, undertaking to do that which can be done\nbut imperfectly even with the aid of the profoundest knowledge!\"\n\nIn view of such considerations, every young lady ought to learn how\nto take proper care of an infant; for, even if she is never to become\nthe responsible guardian of a nursery, she will often be in situations\nwhere she can render benevolent aid to others, in this most fatiguing\nand anxious duty.\n\nThe writer has known instances in which young ladies, who had been\ntrained by their mothers properly to perform this duty, were in some\ncases the means of saving the lives of infants, and in others, of\nrelieving sick mothers from intolerable care and anguish by their\nbenevolent aid.\n\nOn this point, Dr. Combe remarks, \"All women are not destined, in the\ncourse of nature, to become mothers; but how very small is the number\nof those who are unconnected, by family ties, friendship, or sympathy,\nwith the children of others! How very few are there, who, at some time\nor other of their lives, would not find their usefulness and happiness\nincreased, by the possession of a kind of knowledge intimately allied\nto their best feelings and affections! And how important is it, to the\nmother herself, that her efforts should be seconded by intelligent,\ninstead of ignorant assistants!\"\n\nIn order to be prepared for such benevolent ministries, every young\nlady should improve the opportunity, whenever it is afforded her, for\nlearning how to wash, dress, and tend a young infant; and whenever she\nmeets with such a work as Dr. Combe's, on the management of infants,\nshe ought to read it, and _remember_ its contents.\n\nIt was the design of the author to fill this chapter chiefly with\nextracts from various medical writers, giving some of the most important\ndirections on this subject; but finding these extracts too prolix for\na work of this kind, she has condensed them into a shorter compass.\nSome are quoted verbatim, and some are abridged, from the most approved\nwriters on this subject.\n\n\"Nearly one half of the deaths, Occurring during the first two years\nof existence, are ascribable to mismanagement, and to errors in diet.\nAt birth, the stomach is feeble, and as yet unaccustomed to food; its\ncravings are consequently easily satisfied, and frequently renewed.\"\n\"At that early age, there ought to be no fixed time for giving\nnourishment. The stomach can not be thus satisfied.\" \"The active call\nof the infant is a sign, which needs never be mistaken.\"\n\n\"But care must be taken to determine between, the crying of pain or\nuneasiness, and the call for food; and the practice of giving an infant\nfood, to stop its cries, is often the means of increasing its\nsufferings. After a child has satisfied its hunger, from two to four\nhours should intervene before another supply is given.\"\n\n\"At birth, the stomach and bowels, never having been used, contain a\nquantity of mucous secretion, which requires to be removed. To effect\nthis, Nature has rendered the first portions of the mother's milk\npurposely watery and laxative. Nurses, however, distrusting Nature,\noften hasten to administer some active purgative; and the consequence\noften is, irritation in the stomach and bowels, not easily subdued.\"\nIt is only where the child is deprived of its mother's milk, as the\nfirst food, that some gentle laxative should be given.\n\n\"It is a common mistake, to suppose that because a woman is nursing,\nshe ought to live very fully, and to add an allowance of wine, porter,\nor other fermented liquor, to her usual diet. The only result of this\nplan is, to cause an unnatural fullness in the system, which places\nthe nurse on the brink of disease, and retards rather than increases\nthe food of the infant. More will be gained by the observance of the\nordinary laws of health, than by any foolish deviation, founded on\nignorance.\"\n\nThere is no point on which medical men so emphatically lift the voice\nof warning as in reference to administering medicines to infants. It\nis so difficult to discover what is the matter with an infant, its\nframe is so delicate and so susceptible, and slight causes have such\na powerful influence, that it requires the utmost skill and judgment\nto ascertain what would be proper medicines, and the proper quantity\nto be given.\n\nSays Dr. Combe, \"That there are cases in which active means must be\npromptly used to save the child, is perfectly true. But it is not less\ncertain that these are cases of which no mother or nurse ought to\nattempt the treatment. As a general rule, where the child is well\nmanaged, medicine, of any kind, is very rarely required; and if disease\nwere more generally regarded in its true light, not as something thrust\ninto the system, which requires to be expelled by force, but as an\naberration from a natural mode of action, produced by some external\ncause, we should be in less haste to attack it by medicine, and more\nwatchful in its prevention. Accordingly, where a constant demand for\nmedicine exists in a nursery, the mother may rest assured that there\nis something essentially wrong in the treatment of her children.\"\n\n\"Much havoc is made among infants, by the abuse of calomel and other\nmedicines, which procure momentary relief but end by producing incurable\ndisease; and it has often excited my astonishment, to see how recklessly\nremedies of this kind are had recourse to, on the most trifling\noccasions, by mothers and nurses, who would be horrified if they knew\nthe nature of the power they are wielding, and the extent of injury\nthey are inflicting.\"\n\nInstead, then, of depending on medicine for the preservation of the\nhealth and life of an infant, the following precautions and preventives\nshould be adopted.\n\n\"Take particular care of the _food_ of an infant. If it is nourished by\nthe mother, her own diet should be simple, nourishing, and temperate. If\nthe child be brought up 'by hand,' the milk of a new-milch cow, mixed\nwith one third water, and sweetened a little with _white_ sugar, should\nbe the only food given, until the teeth come. This is more suitable than\nany preparations of flour or arrowroot, the nourishment of which is too\nhighly concentrated. Never give a child _bread, cake,_ or _meat_, before\nthe teeth appear. If the food appear to distress the child after eating,\nfirst ascertain if the milk be really from a new-milch cow, as it may\notherwise be too old. Learn, also, whether the cow lives on proper food.\nCows that are fed on _still-slops_, as is often the case in cities,\nfurnish milk which is very unhealthful.\"\n\nBe sure and keep a good supply of pure and fresh air in the nursery.\nOn this point, Dr. Bell remarks, respecting rooms constructed without\nfireplaces and without doors or windows to let in pure air from without,\n\"The sufferings of children of feeble constitutions are increased\nbeyond measure, by such lodgings as these. An action, brought by the\ncommonwealth, ought to lie against those persons who build houses for\nsale or rent, in which rooms are so constructed as not to allow of\nfree ventilation; and a writ of lunacy taken out against those who,\nwith the commonsense experience which all have on this head, should\nspend any portion of their time, still more, should sleep, in rooms\nthus nearly air-tight.\"\n\nAfter it is a month or two old, take an infant out to walk, or ride,\nin a little wagon, every fair and warm day; but be very careful that\nits feet, and every part of its body, are kept warm; and be sure that\nits eyes are well protected from the light. Weak eyes, and sometimes\nblindness, are caused by neglecting this precaution. Keep the head of\nan infant cool, never allowing too warm bonnets, nor permitting it to\nsink into soft pillows when asleep. Keeping an infant's head too warm\nvery much increases nervous irritability; and this is the reason why\nmedical men forbid the use of caps for infants. But the head of an\ninfant should, especially while sleeping, be protected from draughts\nof air, and from getting cold.\n\nBe very careful of the skin of an infant, as nothing tends so\neffectually to prevent disease. For this end, it should be washed all\nover every morning, and then gentle friction should be applied with\nthe hand, to the back, stomach, bowels, and limbs. The head should be\nthoroughly washed every day, and then brushed with a soft hair-brush,\nor combed with a fine comb. If, by neglect, dirt accumulates under the\nhair, apply with the finger the yolk of an egg, and then the fine comb\nwill remove it all, without any trouble.\n\nDress the infant so that it will be always warm, but not so as to cause\nperspiration. Be sure and keep its feet _always_ warm; and for this\noften warm them at a fire, and use long dresses. Keep the neck and arms\ncovered. For this purpose, wrappers, open in front, made high in the\nneck, with long sleeves, to put on over the frock, are now very\nfashionable.\n\nIt is better for both mother and child, that it should not sleep on\nthe mother's arm at night, unless the weather be extremely cold. This\npractice keeps the child too warm, and leads it to seek food too\nfrequently. A child should ordinarily take nourishment but twice in\nthe night. A crib beside the mother, with plenty of warm and light\ncovering, is best for the child; but the mother must be sure that it\nis always kept warm.\n\nNever cover a child's head, so that it will inhale the air of its own\nlungs. In very warm weather, especially in cities, great pains should\nbe taken to find fresh and cool air by rides and sailing. Walks in a\npublic square in the cool of the morning, and frequent excursions in\nferry or steamboats, would often save a long bill for medical\nattendance.\n\nIn hot nights, the windows should be kept open, and the infant laid\non a mattress, or on folded blankets. A bit of straw matting, laid\nover a feather bed and covered with the under sheet, makes a very cool\nbed for an infant.\n\nCool bathing, in hot weather, is very useful; but the water should be\nvery little cooler than the skin of the child. When the constitution\nis delicate, the water should be slightly warmed. Simply sponging the\nbody freely in a tub, answers the same purpose as a regular bath. In\nvery warm weather, this should be done two or three times a day, always\nwaiting two or three hours after food has been given.\n\n\"When the stomach is peculiarity irritable, (from teething,) it is of\nparamount necessity to withhold all the nostrums which have been so\nfalsely lauded as 'sovereign cures for _cholera infantum_.' The\ntrue restoratives for a child threatened with disease are cool air,\ncool bathing, and cool drinks of simple water, in addition to\n_proper_ food, at stated intervals.\"\n\nIn many cases, change of air from sea to mountain, or the reverse, has\nan immediate healthful influence and is superior to every other\ntreatment. Do not take the advice of mothers who tell of this, that,\nand the other thing which have proved excellent remedies in their\nexperience. Children have different constitutions, and there are\nmultitudes of different causes for their sickness; and what might cure\none child, might kill another, which appeared to have the same\ncomplaint. A mother should go on the general rule of giving an infant\nvery little medicine, and then only by the direction of a discreet and\nexperienced physician. And there are cases, when, according to the\nviews of the most distinguished and competent practitioners, physicians\nthemselves are much too free in using medicines, instead of adopting\npreventive measures.\n\nDo not allow a child to form such habits that it will not be quiet\nunless tended and amused. A healthy child should be accustomed to lie\nor sit in its cradle much of the time; but it should occasionally be\ntaken up and tossed, or carried about for exercise and amusement. An\ninfant should be encouraged to _creep_, as an exercise very\nstrengthening and useful. If the mother fears the soiling of its nice\ndresses, she can keep a long slip or apron which will entirely cover\nthe dress, and can be removed when the child is taken in the arms. A\nchild should not be allowed, when quite young, to bear its weight on\nits feet very long at a time, as this tends to weaken and distort the\nlimbs.\n\nMany mothers, with a little painstaking, succeed in putting their\ninfants into their cradle while awake, at regular hours for sleep; and\ninduce regularity in other habits, which saves much trouble. During\nthis training process a child may cry, at first, a great deal; but for\na healthy child, this use of the lungs does no harm and tends rather\nto strengthen than to injure them, unless it becomes exceedingly\nviolent. A child who is trained to lie or sit and amuse itself, is\nhappier than one who is carried and tended a great deal, and thus\nrendered restless and uneasy when not so indulged.\n\nThe most critical period in the life of an infant is that of dentition\nor teething, especially at the early stages. An adult has thirty-two\nteeth, but young children have only twenty, which gradually loosen and\nare followed by the permanent teeth. When the child has ten teeth on\neach jaw, all that are added are the permanent set, which should be\ncarefully preserved; this caution is needful, as sometimes decay in\nthe first double teeth of the second set are supposed to be of the\ntransient set, and are so neglected, or are removed instead of being\npreserved by plugging. When the first teeth rise so as to press against\nthe gums, there is always more or less inflammation, causing nervous\nfretfulness, and the impulse to put everything into the mouth. Usually\nthere is disturbed sleep, a slight fever, and greater flow of saliva;\nthis is often relieved by letting the child have ice to bite, tied in\na rag.\n\nSometimes the disorder of the mouth extends to the whole system. In\ndifficult teething, one symptom is the jerking back of the head when\ntaking the breath, as if in pain, owing to the extreme soreness of the\ngums. This is, in extreme cases, attended with increased saliva and\na gummy secretion in the corners of the eyes, itching of the nose,\nredness of cheeks, rash, convulsive twitching of lips and the muscles\ngenerally, fever, constipation, and sometimes by a diarrhea, which\nlast is favorable if slight; difficulty of breathing, dilation of the\npupils of the eyes, restless motion and moaning; and finally, if not\nrelieved, convulsions and death. The most effective relief is gained\nby lancing the gums. Every woman, and especially every mother, should\nknow the time and order in which the infant teeth come, and, when any\nof the above symptoms appear, should examine the mouth, and if a gum\nis swollen and inflamed, should either have a physician lance it, or\nif this can not be done, should perform the operation herself. A sharp\npen-knife and steady hand making incision to touch the rising tooth\nwill cause no more pain than a simple scratch of the gum, and usually\nwill give speedy relief.\n\nThe temporary teeth should not be removed until the new ones appear,\nas it injures the jaw and coming teeth; but as soon as a new tooth is\nseen pressing upward, the temporary tooth should be removed, or the\nnew tooth will come out of its proper place. If there is not room where\nthe new tooth appears, the next temporary tooth must be taken out.\nGreat mischief has been done by removing the first teeth before the\nsecond appear, thus making a contraction of the jaw.\n\nMost trouble with, the teeth of young children comes from neglect to\nuse the brush to remove the tartar that accumulates near the gum,\ncausing disease and decay. This disease is sometimes called _scurvy_,\nand is shown by an accumulation around the teeth and by inflamed gums\nthat bleed easily. Removal of the tartar by a dentist and cleaning the\nteeth after every meal with a brush will usually cure this evil, which\ncauses loosening of the teeth and a bad breath.\n\nMuch injury is often done to teeth by using improper tooth-powder.\nPowdered chalk sifted through muslin is approved by all dentists, and\nshould be used once every day. The tooth-brush should be used after\nevery meal, and floss silk pressed between the teeth to remove food\nlodged there. This method will usually save the teeth from decay till\nold age.\n\nWhen an infant seems ill during the period of dentition, the following\ndirections from an experienced physician may be of service. It is now\nan accepted principle of all the medical world that fevers are to be\nreduced by cold applications; but an infant demands careful and\njudicious treatment in this direction; some have extremely sensitive\nnerves, and cold is painful. For such, tepid sponging should be used\nnear a fire, and the coldness increased gradually. The sensations of\nthe child should be the guide. Usually, but not always, children that\nare healthy will learn by degrees to prefer cold water, and then it\nmay safely be used.\n\nWhen an infant becomes feverish, wrapping its body in a towel wrung\nout in warm, or tepid water, and then keeping it warm in a woolen\nblanket, is a very safe and soothing remedy.\n\nIn case of constipation, this preparation of food is useful:\n\nOne table-spoonful of unbolted flour wet with cold water. Add one pint\nof hot water, and boil twenty minutes. Add when taken up, one pint of\nmilk. If the stomach seems delicate and irritable, strain out the bran,\nbut in most cases, retain it.\n\nIn case of diarrhea, walk with the child in arms a great deal in the\nopen air, and give it rice-water to drink.\n\nThe warmth and vital influences of the nurse are very important, and\nmake this mode of exercise both more soothing and more efficacious,\nespecially in the open air, the infant being warmly clad.\n\nIn case of feverishness from teething or from any other cause, wrap\nthe infant in a towel wrung out in tepid water and then wrap it in a\nwoolen blanket. The water may be cooler according as the child is older\nand stronger. The evaporation of the water draws off the heat, while\nthe moisture soothes the nerves, and usually the child will fall into\na quiet sleep. As soon as it becomes restless, change the wet towel\nand proceed as before.\n\nThe leading physicians of Europe and of this country, in all cases of\nfevers, use water to reduce them, by this and other modes of\napplication. This method is more soothing than any other, and is as\neffective for adults as for infants.\n\nSome of the most distinguished physicians of New-York who have examined\nthis chapter give their full approval of the advice given. If there\nis still distrust as to this mode of using water to reduce fevers, it\nwill be advantageous to read an address on the use of cold applications\nin fevers, delivered by Dr. William Neftel, before the New-York Academy\nof Medicine, published in the _New York Medical Record_ for November,\n1868: this can be obtained by inclosing twenty cents to the editor, with\nthe post-office address of the applicant.\n\n\n\n\nXXII.\n\nTHE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN.\n\n\nIn regard to the physical education of children, Dr. Clarke, Physician\nin Ordinary to the Queen of England, expresses views on one point, in\nwhich most physicians would coincide. He says, \"There is no greater\nerror in the management of children, than that of giving them animal\ndiet very early. By persevering in the use of an over-stimulating diet\nthe digestive organs become irritated, and the various secretions\nimmediately connected with digestion, and necessary to it, are\ndiminished, especially the _biliary secretion_. Children so fed\nbecome very liable to attacks of fever, and inflammation, affecting\nparticularly the mucous membranes; and measles and other diseases\nincident to childhood, are generally severe in their attacks.\"\n\nThe result of the treatment of the inmates of the Orphan Asylum, at\nAlbany, is one which all who have the care of young children should\ndeeply ponder. During the first six years of the existence of this\ninstitution, its average number of children was eighty. For the first\nthree years, their diet was meat once a day, fine bread, rice, Indian\npuddings, vegetables, fruit, and milk. Considerable attention was\ngiven to clothing, fresh air, and exercise; and they were bathed once\nin three weeks. During these three years, from four to six children,\nand sometimes more, were continually on the sick-list; one or two\nassistant nurses were necessary; a physician was called two or three\ntimes a week; and, in this time, there were between thirty and forty\ndeaths. At the end of this period, the management was changed, in these\nrespects; daily ablutions of the whole body were practiced; bread of\nunbolted flour was substituted for that of fine wheat; and all animal\nfood was banished. More attention also was paid to clothing, bedding,\nfresh air, and exercise.\n\nThe result was, that the nursery was vacated; the nurse and physician\nwere no longer needed; and, for two years, not a single case of sickness\nor death occurred. The third year also, there were no deaths, except\nthose of two idiots and one other child, all of whom were new inmates,\nwho had not been subjected to this treatment. The teachers of the\nchildren also testified there was a manifest increase of intellectual\nvigor and activity, while there was much less irritability of temper.\n\nLet parents, nurses, and teachers reflect on the above statement, and\nbear in mind that stupidity of intellect, and irritability of temper,\nas well as ill-health, are often caused by the mismanagement of the\nnursery in regard to the physical training of children.\n\nThere is probably no practice more deleterious, than that of allowing\nchildren to eat at short intervals, through, the day. As the stomach\nis thus kept constantly at work, with no time for repose, its functions\nare deranged, and a weak or disordered stomach is the frequent result.\nChildren should be required to keep cakes, nuts, and other good things,\nwhich should be sparingly given, till just before a meal, and then\nthey will form a part of their regular supply. This is better than to\nwait till after their hunger is satisfied by food, when they will eat\nthe niceties merely to gratify the palate, and thus overload the stomach\nand interrupt digestion.\n\nIn regard to the intellectual training of young children, some\nmodification in the common practice is necessary, with reference to\ntheir physical well-being. More care is needful, in providing\n_well-ventilated_ school-rooms, and in securing more time for\nsports in the open air, during school hours. It is very important to\nmost mothers that their young children should be removed from their\ncare during certain school hours; and it is very useful for quite young\nchildren, to be subjected to the discipline of a school, and to\nintercourse with other children of their own age. And, with a suitable\nteacher, it is no matter how early children are sent to school, provided\ntheir health is not endangered by impure air, too much confinement,\nand too great mental stimulus, which is the chief danger of the present\nage.\n\nIn regard to the formation of the moral character, it has been too\nmuch the case that the discipline of the nursery has consisted of\ndisconnected efforts to make children either do, or refrain from doing,\ncertain particular acts. Do this, and be rewarded; do that, and be\npunished; is the ordinary routine of family government.\n\nBut children can be very early taught that their happyness, both now\nand hereafter, depends on the formation of _habits_ of submission,\nself-denial, and benevolence. And all the discipline of the nursery\ncan be conducted by parents, not only with this general aim in their\nown minds, but also with the same object daily set before the minds\nof the children. Whenever their wishes are crossed, or their wills\nsubdued, they can be taught that all this is done, not merely to please\nthe parent, or to secure some good to themselves or to others; but as\na part of that merciful training which is designed to form such a\ncharacter, and such habits, that they can hereafter find their chief\nhappiness in giving up their will to God, and in living to do good to\nothers, instead of living merely to please themselves.\n\nIt can be pointed out to them, that they must always submit their will\nto the will of God, or else be continually miserable. It can be shown\nhow, in the nursery, and in the school, and through all future days,\na child must practice the giving up of his will and wishes, when they\ninterfere with the rights and comfort of others; and how important it\nis, early to learn to do this, so that it will, by habit, become easy\nand agreeable. It can be shown how children who are indulged in all\ntheir wishes, and who are never accustomed to any self-denial, always\nfind it hard to refrain from what injures themselves and others. It\ncan be shown, also, how important it is for every person to form such\nhabits of benevolence toward others that self-denial in doing good\nwill become easy.\n\nParents have learned, by experience, that children can be constrained\nby authority and penalties to exercise self-denial, for _their own_\ngood, till a habit is formed which makes the duty comparatively easy.\nFor example, well trained children can be accustomed to deny themselves\ntempting articles of food, which are injurious, until the practice\nceases to be painful and difficult. Whereas, an indulged child would\nbe thrown into fits of anger or discontent, when its wishes were crossed\nby restraints of this kind.\n\nBut it has not been so readily discerned, that the same method is\nneedful in order to form a habit of self-denial in doing good to others.\nIt has been supposed that while children must be forced, by _authority_,\nto be self-denying and prudent in regard to their own happiness, it may\nproperly be left to their own discretion, whether they will practice any\nself-denial in doing good to others. But the more difficult a duty is,\nthe greater is the need of parental authority in forming a habit which\nwill make that duty easy.\n\nIn order to secure this, some parents turn their earliest efforts to\nthis object. They require the young child always to offer to others\na part of every thing which it receives; always to comply with all\nreasonable requests of others for service; and often to practice little\nacts of self-denial, in order to secure some enjoyment for others. If\none child receives a present of some nicety, he is required to share\nit with all his brothers and sisters. If one asks his brother to help\nhim in some study or sport, and is met with a denial, the parent\nrequires the unwilling child to act benevolently, and give up some of\nhis time to increase his brother's enjoyment. Of course, in such an\neffort as this, discretion must be used as to the frequency and extent\nof the exercise of authority, to induce a habit of benevolence. But\nwhere parents deliberately aim at such an object, and wisely conduct\ntheir instructions and discipline to secure it, very much will be\naccomplished.\n\nIn regard to forming habits of obedience, there have been two extremes,\nboth of which need to be shunned. One is, a stern and unsympathizing\nmaintenance of parental authority, demanding perfect and constant\nobedience, without any attempt to convince a child of the propriety\nand benevolence of the requisitions, and without any manifestation of\nsympathy and tenderness for the pain and difficulties which are to be\nmet. Under such discipline, children grow up to fear their parents,\nrather than to love and trust them; while some of the most valuable\nprinciples of character are chilled, or forever blasted.\n\nIn shunning this danger, other parents pass to the opposite extreme.\nThey put themselves too much on the footing of equals with their\nchildren, as if little were due to superiority of relation, age, and\nexperience. Nothing is exacted, without the implied concession that\nthe child is to be a judge of the propriety of the requisition; and\nreason and persuasion are employed, where simple command and obedience\nwould be far better. This system produces a most pernicious influence.\nChildren soon perceive the position thus allowed them, and take every\nadvantage of it. They soon learn to dispute parental requirements,\nacquire habits of forwardness and conceit, assume disrespectful manners\nand address, maintain their views with pertinacity, and yield to\nauthority with ill-humor and resentment, as if their rights were\ninfringed upon.\n\nThe medium course is for the parent to take the attitude of a superior\nin age, knowledge, and relation, who has a perfect _right_ to control\nevery action of the child, and that, too, without giving any reason for\nthe requisitions. \"Obey _because your parent commands_,\" is always a\nproper and sufficient reason: though not always the best to give.\n\nBut care should be taken to convince the child that the parent is\nconducting a course of discipline, designed to make him happy; and in\nforming habits of implicit obedience, self-denial, and benevolence,\nthe child should have the reasons for most requisitions kindly stated;\nnever, however, on the demand of it from the child, as a right, but\nas an act of kindness from the parent.\n\nIt is impossible to govern children properly, especially those of\nstrong and sensitive feelings, without a constant effort to appreciate\nthe value which they attach to their enjoyments and pursuits. A lady\nof great strength of mind and sensibility once told the writer that\none of the most acute periods of suffering in her whole life was\noccasioned by the burning up of some milkweed-silk, by her mother.\nThe child had found, for the first time, some of this shining and\nbeautiful substance; was filled with delight at her discovery; was\narranging it in parcels; planning its future use, and her pleasure in\nshowing it to her companions--when her mother, finding it strewed over\nthe carpet, hastily swept it into the fire, and that, too, with so\nindifferent an air, that the child fled away, almost distracted with\ngrief and disappointment. The mother little realized the pain she had\ninflicted, but the child felt the unkindness so severely that for\nseveral days her mother was an object, almost of aversion. While,\ntherefore, the parent needs to carry on a steady course, which will\noblige the child always to give up its will, whenever its own good or\nthe greater claims of others require it, this should be constantly\nconnected with the expression of a tender sympathy for the trials and\ndisappointments thus inflicted.\n\nThose, again, who will join with children and help them in their sports,\nwill learn by this mode to understand the feelings and interests of\nchildhood; while at the same time, they secure a degree of confidence\nand affection which can not be gained so easily in any other way. And\nit is to be regretted that parents so often relinquish this most\npowerful mode of influence to domestics and playmates, who often use\nit in the most pernicious manner. In joining in such sports, older\npersons should never yield entirely the attitude of superiors, or allow\ndisrespectful manners or address. And respectful deportment is never\nmore cheerfully accorded, than in seasons when young hearts are pleased\nand made grateful by having their tastes and enjoyments so efficiently\npromoted.\n\nNext to the want of all government, the two most fruitful sources of\nevil to children are, _unsteadiness_ in government and _over-\ngovernment_. Most of the cases in which the children of sensible and\nconscientious parents turn out badly, result from one or the other of\nthese causes. In cases of unsteady government, either one parent is very\nstrict, severe and unbending, and the other excessively indulgent, or\nelse the parents are sometimes very strict and decided, and at other\ntimes allow disobedience to go unpunished. In such cases, children,\nnever knowing exactly when they can escape with impunity, are constantly\ntempted to make the trial.\n\nThe bad effects of this can be better appreciated by reference to one\nimportant principle of the mind. It is found to be universally true,\nthat, when any object of desire is put entirely beyond the reach of\nhope or expectation, the mind very soon ceases to long for it, and\nturns to other objects of pursuit. But so long as the mind is hoping\nfor some good, and making efforts to obtain it, any opposition excites\nirritable feelings. Let the object be put entirely beyond all hope,\nand this irritation soon ceases.\n\nIn consequence of this principle, those children who are under the\ncare of persons of steady and decided government know that whenever\na thing is forbidden or denied, it is out of the reach of hope; the\ndesire, therefore, soon ceases, and they turn to other objects. But\nthe children of undecided, or of over-indulgent parents, never enjoy\nthis preserving aid. When a thing is denied, they never know hut either\ncoaxing may win it, or disobedience secure it without any penalty, and\nso they are kept in that state of hope and anxiety which produces\nirritation and tempts to insubordination. The children of very indulgent\nparents, and of those who are undecided and unsteady in government,\nare very apt to become fretful, irritable, and fractious.\n\nAnother class of persons, in shunning this evil, go to the other\nextreme, and are very strict and pertinacious in regard to every\nrequisition. With them, fault-finding and penalties abound, until the\nchildren are either hardened into indifference of feeling, and\nobtuseness of conscience, or else become excessively irritable or\nmisanthropic.\n\nIt demands great wisdom, patience, and self-control, to escape these\ntwo extremes. In aiming at this, there are parents who have found the\nfollowing maxims of very great value:\n\nFirst: Avoid, as much as possible, the multiplication of rules and\nabsolute commands. Instead of this, take the attitude of advisers. \"My\nchild, this is improper, I wish you would remember not to do it.\" This\nmode of address answers for all the little acts of heedlessness,\nawkwardness, or ill-manners so frequently occurring with children.\nThere are cases, when direct and distinct commands are needful; and\nin such cases, a penalty for disobedience should be as steady and sure\nas the laws of nature. Where such steadiness and certainty of penalty\nattend disobedience, children no more think of disobeying than they\ndo of putting their fingers into a burning candle.\n\nThe next maxim is, Govern by rewards more than by penalties. Such\nfaults as willful disobedience, lying, dishonesty, and indecent or\nprofane language, should be punished with severe penalties, after a\nchild has been fully instructed in the evil of such practices. But all\nthe constantly recurring faults of the nursery, such as ill-humor,\nquarreling, carelessness, and ill-manners, may, in a great many cases,\nbe regulated by gentle and kind remonstrances, and by the offer of\nsome reward for persevering efforts to form a good habit. It is very\ninjurious and degrading to any mind to be kept under the constant fear\nof penalties. _Love_ and _hope_ are the principles that should be mainly\nrelied on, in forming the habits of childhood.\n\nAnother maxim, and perhaps the most difficult, is, Do not govern by\nthe aid of severe and angry tones. A single example will be given to\nillustrate this maxim. A child is disposed to talk and amuse itself\nat table. The mother requests it to be silent, except when needing to\nask for food, or when spoken to by its older friends. It constantly\nforgets. The mother, instead of rebuking in an impatient tone, says,\n\"My child, you must remember not to talk. I will remind you of it four\ntimes more, and after that, whenever you forget, you must leave the\ntable and wait till we are done.\" If the mother is steady in her\ngovernment, it is not probable that she will have to apply this slight\npenalty more than once or twice. This method is far more effectual\nthan the use of sharp and severe tones, to secure attention and\nrecollection, and often answers the purpose as well as offering some\nreward.\n\nThe writer has been in some families where the most efficient and steady\ngovernment has been sustained without the use of a cross or angry tone;\nand in others, where a far less efficient discipline was kept up, by\nfrequent severe rebukes and angry remonstrances. In the first case,\nthe children followed the example set them, and seldom used severe\ntones to each other; in the latter, the method employed by the parents\nwas imitated by the children, and cross words and angry tones resounded\nfrom morning till night, in every portion of the household.\n\nAnother important maxim is, Try to keep children in a happy state of\nmind. Every one knows, by experience, that it is easier to do right\nand submit to rule when cheerful and happy, than when irritated. This\nis peculiarly true of children; and a wise mother, when she finds her\nchild fretful and impatient, and thus constantly doing wrong, will\noften remedy the whole difficulty, by telling some amusing story, or\nby getting the child engaged in some amusing sport. This strongly shows\nthe importance of learning to govern children without the employment\nof angry tones, which always produce irritation.\n\nChildren of active, heedless temperament, or those who are odd, awkward,\nor unsuitable in their remarks and deportment, are often essentially\ninjured by a want of patience and self-control in those who govern\nthem. Such children often possess a morbid sensibility which they\nstrive to conceal, or a desire of love and approbation, which preys\nlike a famine on the soul. And yet, they become objects of ridicule\nand rebuke to almost every member of the family, until their\nsensibilities are tortured into obtuseness or misanthropy. Such\nchildren, above all others, need tenderness and sympathy. A thousand\ninstances of mistake or forgetfulness should be passed over in silence,\nwhile opportunities for commendation and encouragement should be\ndiligently sought.\n\nIn regard to the formation of habits of self-denial in childhood, it\nis astonishing to see how parents who are very sensible often seem to\nregard this matter. Instead of inuring their children to this duty in\nearly life, so that by habit it may be made easy in after-days, they\nseem to be studiously seeking to cut them off from every chance to\nsecure such a preparation. Every wish of the child is studiously\ngratified; and, where a necessity exists of crossing its wishes, some\ncompensating pleasure is offered, in return. Such parents often maintain\nthat nothing shall be put on their table, which their children may not\njoin them in eating. But where, so easily and surely as at the daily\nmeal, can that habit of self-denial be formed, which is so needful in\ngoverning the appetites, and which children must acquire, or be ruined?\nThe food which is proper for grown persons, is often unsuitable for\nchildren; and this is a sufficient reason for accustoming them to see\nothers partake of delicacies, which they must not share. Requiring\nchildren, to wait till others are helped, and to refrain from,\nconversation at table, except when addressed by their elders, is another\nmode of forming habits of self-denial and self-control. Requiring them\nto help others first, and to offer the best to others, has a similar\ninfluence.\n\nIn forming the moral habits of children, it is wise to take into account\nthe peculiar temptations to which they are to be exposed. The people\nof this nation are eminently a trafficking people; and the present\nstandard of honesty, as to trade and debts, is very low, and every\nyear seems sinking still lower. It is, therefore, preeminently\nimportant, that children should be trained to strict _honesty_,\nboth in word and deed. It is not merely teaching children to avoid\nabsolute lying, which is needed: _all kinds of deceit_ should be\nguarded against; and all kinds of little dishonest practices be\nstrenuously opposed. A child should be brought up with the determined\nprinciple, never to _run in debt_, but to be content to live in\na humbler way, in order to secure that true independence, which should\nbe the noblest distinction of an American citizen.\n\nThere is no more important duty devolving upon a mother, than the\ncultivation of habits of modesty and propriety in young children. All\nindecorous words or deportment should be carefully restrained; and\ndelicacy and reserve studiously cherished. It is a common notion, that\nit is important to secure these virtues to one sex, more than to the\nother; and, by a strange inconsistency, the sex most exposed to danger\nis the one selected as least needing care. Yet a wise mother will be\nespecially careful that her sons are trained to modesty and purity of\nmind.\n\nYet few mothers are sufficiently aware of the dreadful penalties which\noften result from indulged impurity of thought. If children, in _future_\nlife, can be preserved from licentious associates, it is supposed that\ntheir safety is secured. But the records of our insane retreats, and the\npages of medical writers, teach that even in solitude, and without being\naware of the sin or the danger, children may inflict evils on\nthemselves, which not unfrequently terminate in disease, delirium, and\ndeath.\n\nThere is no necessity for explanations on this point any farther than\nthis; that certain parts of the body are not to be touched except for\npurposes of cleanliness, and that the most dreadful suffering comes\nfrom disobeying these commands. So in regard to practices and sins of\nwhich a young child will sometimes inquire, the wise parent will say,\nthat this is what children can not understand, and about which they\nmust not talk or ask questions. And they should be told that it is\nalways a bad sign, when children talk on matters which parents call\nvulgar and indecent, and that the company of such children should be\navoided. Disclosing details of wrong-doing to young and curious\nchildren, often leads to the very evils feared. But parents and\nteachers, in this age of danger, should be well informed and watchful;\nfor it is not unfrequently the case, that servants and school-mates\nwill teach young children practices, which exhaust the nervous system\nand bring on paralysis, mania, and death.\n\nAnd finally, in regard to the early religious training of children,\nthe examples of the Creator in the early training of our race may\nsafely be imitated. That \"He is, and is a rewarder\"--that he is\neverywhere present--that he is a tender Father in heaven, who is grieved\nwhen any of his children do wrong, yet ever ready to forgive those who\nare striving to please him by well-doing, these are the most effective\nmotives to save the young from the paths of danger and sin. The rewards\nand penalties of the life to come are better adapted to maturer age,\nthan to the imperfect and often false and fearful conceptions of the\nchildish mind.\n\n\n\n\nXXIII.\n\nDOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES.\n\nWhenever the laws of body and mind are properly understood, it will\nbe allowed that every person needs some kind of recreation; and that,\nby seeking it, the body is strengthened, the mind is invigorated, and\nall our duties are more cheerfully and successfully performed.\n\nChildren, whose bodies are rapidly growing and whose nervous system\nis tender and excitable, need much more amusement than persons of\nmature age. Persons, also, who are oppressed with great responsibilities\nand duties, or who are taxed by great intellectual or moral excitement,\nneed recreations which physically exercise and draw off the mind from\nabsorbing interests. Unfortunately, such persons are those who least\nresort to amusements, while the idle, gay, and thoughtless seek those\nwhich are not needed, and for which useful occupation would be a most\nbeneficial substitute.\n\nAs the only legitimate object of amusement is to prepare mind and body\nfor the proper discharge of duty, the protracting of such as interfere\nwith regular employments, or induce excessive fatigue, or weary the\nmind, or invade the proper hours for repose, must be sinful.\n\nIn deciding what should be selected, and what avoided, the following\nare guiding principles. In the first place, no amusements which inflict\nneedless pain should ever be allowed. All tricks which cause fright\nor vexation, and all sports which involve suffering to animals, should\nbe utterly forbidden. Hunting and fishing, for mere sport, can never\nbe justified. If a man can convince his children that he follows these\npursuits to gain food or health, and not for amusement, his example\nmay not be very injurious. But when children see grown persons kill\nand frighten animals, for sport, habits of cruelty, rather than feelings\nof tenderness and benevolence, are cultivated.\n\nIn the next place, we should seek no recreations which endanger life,\nor interfere with important duties. As the legitimate object of\namusements is to promote health and prepare for some serious duties,\nselecting those which have a directly opposite tendency, can not be\njustified. Of course, if a person feels that the previous day's\ndiversion has shortened the hours of needful repose, or induced a\nlassitude of mind or body, instead of invigorating them, it is certain\nthat an evil has been done which should never be repeated.\n\nAnother rule which has been extensively adopted in the religious world\nis, to avoid those amusements which experience has shown to be so\nexciting, and connected with so many temptations, as to be pernicious\nin tendency, both to the individual and to the community. It is on\nthis ground, that horse-racing and circus-riding have been excluded.\nNot because there is any thing positively wrong in having men and\nhorses run and perform feats of agility, or in persons looking on for\nthe diversion: but because experience has shown so many evils connected\nwith these recreations, that they should be relinquished. So with\ntheatres. The enacting of characters and the amusement thus afforded\nin themselves may be harmless; and possibly, in certain cases, might\nbe useful: but experience has shown so many evils to result from this\nsource, that it has been deemed wrong to patronize it. So, also, with\nthose exciting games of chance which are employed in gambling.\n\nUnder the same head comes dancing, in the estimation of the great\nmajority of the religious world. Still, there are many intelligent,\nexcellent, and conscientious persons who hold a contrary opinion. Such\nmaintain that it is an innocent and healthful amusement, tending to\npromote ease of manners, cheerfulness, social affection, and health\nof mind and body; that evils are involved only in its excess; that\nlike food, study, or religions excitement, it is only wrong when not\nproperly regulated; and that, if serious and intelligent people would\nstrive to regulate, rather than banish, this amusement, much more good\nwould be secured.\n\nOn the other side, it is objected, not that dancing is a sin, in itself\nconsidered, for it was once a part of sacred worship; not that it would\nbe objectionable, if it were properly regulated; not that it does not\ntend, when used in a proper manner, to health of body and mind, to\ngrace of manners; and to social enjoyment: all these things are\nconceded. But it is objected to, on the same ground as horse-racing\nand theatrical entertainments; that we are to look at amusements as\nthey are, and not as they might be. Horse-races might be so managed\nas not to involve cruelty, gambling, drunkenness, and other vices. And\nso might theatres. And if serious and intelligent persons undertook\nto patronize these, in order to regulate them, perhaps they would be\nsomewhat raised from the depths to which they have sunk. But such\npersons believe that, with the weak sense of moral obligation existing\nin the mass of society, and the imperfect ideas mankind have of the\nproper use of amusements, and the little self-control which men or\nwomen or children practice, these will not, in fact, be thus regulated.\n\nAnd they believe dancing to be liable to the same objections. As this\nrecreation is actually conducted, it does not tend to produce health\nof body or mind, but directly the contrary. If young and old went out\nto dance together in open air, as the French peasants do, it would be\na very different sort of amusement from that which often is witnessed\nin a room furnished with many lights and filled with guests, both\nexpending the healthful part of the atmosphere, where the young collect,\nin their tightest dresses, to protract for several hours a kind of\nphysical exertion which is not habitual to them. During this process,\nthe blood is made to circulate more swiftly than usual, in circumstances\nwhere it is less perfectly oxygenized than health requires; the pores\nof the skin are excited by heat and exercise; the stomach is loaded\nwith indigestible articles, and the quiet, needful to digestion,\nwithheld; the diversion is protracted beyond the usual hour for repose;\nand then, when the skin is made the most highly susceptible to damps\nand miasms, the company pass from a warm room to the cold night-air.\nIt is probable that no single amusement can be pointed out combining\nso many injurious particulars as this, which is so often defended as\na healthful one. Even if parents, who train their children to dance,\ncan keep them from public balls, (which is seldom the case,) dancing,\nas ordinarily conducted in private parlors, in most cases is subject\nto nearly all the same mischievous influences.\n\nThe spirit of Christ is that of self-denying benevolence; and his great\naim, by his teachings and example, was to train his followers to avoid\nall that should lead to sin, especially in regard to the weaker ones\nof his family. Yet he made wine at a wedding, attended a social feast\non the Sabbath, [Footnote: Luke xiv. In reading this passage, please\nnotice what kind of guests are to be invited to the feast that Jesus\nChrist recommends.] reproved excess of strictness in Sabbath-keeping\ngenerally, and forbade no safe and innocent enjoyment. In following\nhis example, the rulers of the family, then, will introduce the most\nhighly exciting amusements only in circumstances where there are such\nstrong principles and habits of self-control that the enjoyment will\nnot involve sin in the actor or needless temptation to the weak.\n\nThe course pursued by our Puritan ancestors, in the period succeeding\ntheir first perils amid sickness and savages, is an example that may\nsafely be practiced at the present day. The young of both sexes were\neducated in the higher branches, in country academies, and very often\nthe closing exercises were theatricals, in which the pupils were\nperformers and their pastors, elders, and parents, the audience. So,\nat social gatherings, the dance was introduced before minister and\nwife, with smiling approval. The roaring fires and broad chimneys\nprovided pure air, and the nine o'clock bell ended the festivities\nthat gave new vigor and zest to life, while the dawn of the next day's\nlight saw all at their posts of duty, with heartier strength and blither\nspirits.\n\nNo indecent or unhealthful costumes offended the eye, no half-naked\ndancers of dubious morality were sustained in a life of dangerous\nexcitement, by the money of Christian people, for the mere amusement\nof their night hours. No shivering drivers were deprived of comfort\nand sleep, to carry home the midnight followers of fashion; nor was\nthe quiet and comfort of servants in hundreds of dwellings invaded for\nthe mere amusement of their superiors in education and advantages. The\ncommand \"we that are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak,\nand not to please ourselves,\" was in those days not reversed. Had the\ndrama and the dance continued to be regulated by the rules of\ntemperance, health, and Christian benevolence, as in the days of our\nforefathers, they would not have been so generally banished from the\nreligious world. And the question is now being discussed, whether they\ncan be so regulated at the present time as not to violate the laws,\neither of health or benevolence. [Footnote: Fanny Kemble Butler remarked\nto the present writer that she regarded theatres wrong, chiefly because\nof the injury involved to the actors. Can a Christian mother contribute\nmoney to support young women in a profession from which she would\nprotect her own daughter, as from degradation, and that, too, simply\nfor the amusement of herself and family? Would this be following the\nself-sacrificing benevolence of Christ and his apostles?]\n\nIn regard to home amusements, card-playing is now indulged in, in many\nconscientious families from which it formerly was excluded, and for\nthese reasons: it is claimed that this is a quiet home amusement, which\nunites pleasantly the aged with the young; that it is not now employed\nin respectable society for gambling, as it formerly was; that to some\nyoung minds it is a peculiarly fascinating game, and should be first\npracticed under the parental care, till the excitement of novelty is\npast, thus rendering the danger to children less, when going into the\nworld; and, finally, that habits of self-control in exciting\ncircumstances may and should be thus cultivated in the safety of home.\nMany parents who have taken this course with their sons in early life,\nbelieve that it has proved rather a course of safety than of danger.\nStill, as there is great diversity of opinion, among persons of equal\nworth and intelligence, a mutual spirit of candor and courtesy should\nbe practiced. The sneer at bigotry and narrowness of views, on one\nside, and the uncharitable implication of want of piety, or sense, on\nthe other, are equally ill-bred and unchristian. Truth on this subject\nis best promoted, not by ill-natured crimination and rebuke, but by\ncalm reason, generous candor, forbearance, and kindness.\n\nThere is another species of amusement, which a large portion of the\nreligious world formerly put under the same condemnation as the\npreceding. This is novel-reading. The confusion and difference of\nopinion on this subject have arisen from a want of clear and definite\ndistinctions. Now, as it is impossible to define what are novels and\nwhat are not, so as to include one class of fictitious writings and\nexclude every other, it is impossible to lay down any rule respecting\nthem. The discussion, in fact, turns on the use of those works of\nimagination which belong to the class of fictitious narratives. That\nthis species of reading is not only lawful but necessary and useful,\nis settled by divine examples, in the parables and allegories of\nScripture. Of course, the question must be, what kind of fabulous\nwritings must be avoided, and what allowed.\n\nIn deciding this, no specific rules can be given; but it must be a\nmatter to be regulated by the nature and circumstances of each case.\nNo works of fiction which tend to throw the allurements of taste and\ngenius around vice and crime should ever be tolerated; and all that\ntend to give false views of life and duty should also be banished. Of\nthose which are written for mere amusement, presenting scenes and\nevents that are interesting and exciting and having no bad moral\ninfluence, much must depend on the character and circumstances of the\nreader. Some minds are torpid and phlegmatic, and need to have the\nimagination stimulated: such would be benefited by this kind of reading.\nOthers have quick and active imaginations, and would be as much injured\nby excess. Some persons are often so engaged in absorbing interests,\nthat any thing innocent, which will for a short time draw off the mind,\nis of the nature of a medicine; and, in such cases, this kind of reading\nis useful.\n\nThere is need, also, that some men should keep a supervision of the\ncurrent literature of the day, as guardians, to warn others of danger.\nFor this purpose, it is more suitable for editors, clergymen, and\nteachers to read indiscriminately, than for any other class of persons;\nfor they are the guardians of the public weal in matters of literature,\nand should be prepared to advise parents and young persons of the evils\nin one direction and the good in another. In doing this, however, they\nare bound to go on the same principles which regulate physicians, when\nthey visit infected districts--using every precaution to prevent injury\nto themselves; having as little to do with pernicious exposures, as\na benevolent regard to others will allow; and faithfully employing all\nthe knowledge and opportunities thus gained for warning and preserving\nothers. There is much danger, in taking this course, that men will\nseek the excitement of the imagination for the mere pleasure it affords,\nunder the plea of preparing to serve the public, when this is neither\nthe aim nor the result.\n\nIn regard to the use of such works by the young, as a general rule,\nthey ought not to be allowed, to any except those of a dull and\nphlegmatic temperament, until the solid parts of education are secured\nand a taste for more elevated reading is acquired. If these stimulating\ncondiments in literature be freely used in youth, all relish for more\nsolid reading will in a majority of cases be destroyed. If parents\nsucceed in securing habits of cheerful and implicit obedience, it will\nbe very easy to regulate this matter, by prohibiting the reading of\nany story-book, until the consent of the parent is obtained.\n\nThe most successful mode of forming a taste for suitable reading, is\nfor parents to select interesting works of history and travels, with\nmaps and pictures suited to the age and attainments of the young, and\nspend an hour or two each day or evening, in aiming to make truth as\ninteresting as fiction. Whoever has once tried this method will find\nthat the uninjured mind of childhood is better satisfied with what\nthey know is true, when wisely presented, than with the most exciting\nnovels, which they know are false.\n\nPerhaps there has been some just ground of objection to the course\noften pursued by parents in neglecting to provide suitable and agreeable\nsubstitutes for the amusements denied. But there is a great abundance\nof safe, healthful, and delightful recreations, which all parents may\nsecure for their children. Some of these will here be pointed out.\n\nOne of the most useful and important, is the cultivation of flowers\nand fruits. This, especially for the daughters of a family, is greatly\npromotive of health and amusement. It is with the hope that many young\nladies, whose habits are now so formed that they can never be induced\nto a course of active domestic exercise so long as their parents are\nable to hire domestic service, may yet be led to an employment which\nwill tend to secure health and vigor of constitution, that much space\nwill be given in the second volume of this work, to directions for the\ncultivation of fruits and flowers.\n\nIt would be a most desirable improvement, if all schools for young\nwomen could be furnished with suitable grounds and instruments for the\ncultivation of fruits and flowers, and every inducement offered to\nengage the pupils in this pursuit. No father, who wishes to have his\ndaughters grow up to be healthful women, can take a surer method to\nsecure this end. Let him set apart a portion of his ground for fruits\nand flowers, and see that the soil is well prepared and dug over, and\nall the rest may be committed to the care of the children. These would\nneed to be provided with a light hoe and rake, a dibble or garden\ntrowel, a watering-pot, and means and opportunities for securing seeds,\nroots, bulbs, buds, and grafts, all which might be done at a trifling\nexpense. Then, with proper encouragement and by the aid of a few\nintelligible and practical directions, every man who has even half an\nacre could secure a small Eden around his premises.\n\nIn pursuing this amusement children can also be led to acquire many\nuseful habits. Early rising would, in many cases, be thus secured; and\nif they were required to keep their walks and borders free from weeds\nand rubbish, habits of order and neatness would be induced. Benevolent\nand social feelings could also be cultivated, by influencing children\nto share their fruits and flowers with friends and neighbors, as well\nas to distribute roots and seeds to those who have not the means of\nprocuring them. A woman or a child, by giving seeds or slips or roots\nto a washerwoman, or a farmer's boy, thus inciting them to love and\ncultivate fruits and flowers, awakens a new and refining source of\nenjoyment in minds which have few resources more elevated than mere\nphysical enjoyments. Our Saviour directs us in making feasts, to call,\nnot the rich who can recompense again, but the poor who can make no\nreturns. So children should be taught to dispense their little treasures\nnot alone to companions and friends, who will probably return similar\nfavors; but to those who have no means of making any return. If the\nrich, who acquire a love for the enjoyments of taste and have the means\nto gratify it, would aim to extend among the poor the cheap and simple\nenjoyment of fruits and flowers, our country would soon literally\n\"blossom as the rose.\"\n\nIf the ladies of a neighborhood would unite small contributions, and\nsend a list of flower-seeds and roots to some respectable and honest\nflorist, who would not be likely to turn them off with trash, they\ncould divide these among themselves and their poor neighbors, so as\nto secure an abundant variety at a very small expense. A bag of\nflower-seeds, which can be obtained at wholesale for four cents, would\nabundantly supply a whole neighborhood; and by the gathering of seeds\nin the autumn, could be perpetuated.\n\nAnother very elevating and delightful recreation for the young is found\nin _music_. Here the writer would protest against the practice common in\nmany families, of having the daughters learn to play on the piano\nwhether they have a taste and an ear for music, or not. A young lady who\ndoes not sing well, and has no great fondness for music, does nothing\nbut waste time, money, and patience in learning to play on the piano.\nBut all children can be taught to sing in early childhood, if the\nscientific mode of teaching music in schools could be more widely\nintroduced, as it is in Prussia, Germany, and Switzerland. Then young\nchildren could read and sing music as easily as they can read language;\nand might take any tune, dividing themselves into bands, and sing off\nat sight the endless variety of music which is prepared. And if parents\nof wealth would take pains to have teachers qualified for the purpose,\nwho should teach all the young children in the community, much would\nbe done for the happiness and elevation of the rising generation. This\nis an element of education which we are glad to know is, year by year,\nmore extensively and carefully cultivated; and it is not only a means\nof culture, but also an amusement, which children relish in the highest\ndegree; and which they can enjoy at home, in the fields, and in visits\nabroad.\n\nAnother domestic amusement is the collecting of shells, plants, and\nspecimens in geology and mineralogy, for the formation of cabinets.\nIf intelligent parents would procure the simpler works which have been\nprepared for the young, and study them with their children, a taste\nfor such recreations would soon be developed. The writer has seen young\nboys, of eight and ten years of age, gathering and cleaning shells\nfrom rivers, and collecting plants and mineralogical specimens, with\na delight bordering on ecstasy; and there are few, if any, who by\nproper influences would not find this a source of ceaseless delight\nand improvement.\n\nAnother resource for family diversion is to be found in the various\ngames played by children, and in which the joining of older members\nof the family is always a great advantage to both parties, especially\nthose in the open air.\n\nAll medical men unite in declaring that nothing is more beneficial to\nhealth than hearty laughter; and surely our benevolent Creator would\nnot have provided risibles, and made it a source of health and enjoyment\nto use them, if it were a sin so to do. There has been a tendency to\nasceticism, on this subject, which needs to be removed. Such commands\nas forbid _foolish_ laughing and jesting, \"_which are not convenient_\"\nand which forbid all idle words and vain conversation, can not apply to\nany thing except what is foolish, vain, and useless. But jokes,\nlaughter, and sports, when used in such a degree as tends only to\npromote health and happiness, are neither vain, foolish, nor \"not\nconvenient.\" It is the excess of these things, and not the moderate\nuse of them, which Scripture forbids. The prevailing temper of the\nmind should be serious, yet cheerful; and there are times when\nrelaxation and laughter are not only proper but necessary and right\nfor all. There is nothing better for this end than that parents and\nolder persons should join in the sports of childhood. Mature minds can\nalways make such diversions more entertaining to children, and can\nexert a healthful moral influence over their minds; and at the same\ntime can gain exercise and amusement for themselves. How lamentable\nthat so many fathers, who could be thus useful and happy with their\nchildren, throw away such opportunities, and wear out soul and body\nin the pursuit of gain or fame!\n\nAnother resource for children is the exercise of mechanical skill.\nFathers, by providing tools for their boys, and showing them how to\nmake wheelbarrows, carts, sleds, and various other articles, contribute\nboth to the physical, moral, and social improvement of their children.\nAnd in regard to little daughters, much more can be done in this way\nthan many would imagine. The writer, blessed with the example of a\nmost ingenious and industrious mother, had not only learned before the\nage of twelve to make dolls, of various sorts and sizes, but to cut\nand fit and sew every article that belongs to a doll's wardrobe. This,\nwhich was done by the child for mere amusement, secured such a facility\nin mechanical pursuits, that, ever afterward, the cutting and fitting\nof any article of dress, for either sex, was accomplished with entire\nease.\n\nWhen a little girl begins to sew, her mother can promise her a small\nbed and pillow, as soon as she has sewed a patch quilt for them; and\nthen a bedstead, as soon as she has sewed the sheets and cases for\npillows; and then a large doll to dress, as soon as she has made the\nundergarments; and thus go on till the whole contents of the baby-house\nare earned by the needle and skill of its little owner. Thus the task\nof learning to sew will become a pleasure; and every new toy will be\nearned by useful exertion. A little girl can be taught, by the aid of\npatterns prepared for the purpose, to cut and fit all articles necessary\nfor her doll. She can also be provided with a little wash-tub and irons\nand thus keep in proper order a complete miniature domestic\nestablishment.\n\nBesides these recreations, there are the enjoyments secured in walking,\nriding, visiting, and many other employments which need not be\nrecounted. Children, if trained to be healthful and industrious, will\nnever fail to discover resources of amusement; while their guardians\nshould lend their aid to guide and restrain them from excess.\n\nThere is need of a very great change of opinion and practice in this\nnation in regard to the subject of social and domestic duties. Many\nsensible and conscientious men spend all their time abroad in business;\nexcept perhaps an hour or so at night, when they are so fatigued as\nto be unfitted for any social or intellectual enjoyment. And some of\nthe most conscientious men in the country will add to their professional\nbusiness public or benevolent enterprises, which demand time, effort,\nand money; and then excuse themselves for neglecting all care of their\nchildren, and efforts for their own intellectual improvement, or for\nthe improvement of their families, by the plea that they have no time\nfor it.\n\nAll this arises from the want of correct notions of the binding\nobligation of our social and domestic duties. The main object of life\nis not to secure the various gratifications of appetite or taste, but\nto form such a character, for ourselves and others, as will secure the\ngreatest amount of present and future happiness. It is of far more\nconsequence, then, that parents should be intelligent, social,\naffectionate, and agreeable at home and to their friends, than that\nthey should earn money enough to live in a large house and have handsome\nfurniture. It is far more needful for children that a father should\nattend to the formation of their character and habits, and aid in\ndeveloping their social, intellectual, and moral nature, than it is\nthat he should earn money to furnish them with handsome clothes and\na variety of tempting food.\n\nIt will be wise for those parents who find little time to attend to\ntheir children, or to seek amusement and enjoyment in the domestic and\nsocial circle, because their time is so much occupied with public cares\nor benevolent objects, to inquire whether their first duty is not to\ntrain up their own families to be useful members of society. A man who\nneglects the mind and morals of his children, to take care of the\npublic, is in great danger of coming under a similar condemnation to\nthat of him who, neglecting to provide for his own household, has\n\"denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.\"\n\nThere are husbands and fathers who conscientiously subtract time from\ntheir business to spend at home, in reading with their wives and\nchildren, and in domestic amusements which at once refresh and improve.\nThe children of such parents will grow up with a love of home and\nkindred which will be the greatest safeguard against future temptations,\nas well as the purest source of earthly enjoyment.\n\nThere are families, also, who make it a definite object to keep up\nfamily attachments, after the children are scattered abroad; and, in\nsome cases, secure the means for doing this by saving money which would\notherwise have been spent for superfluities of food or dress. Some\nfamilies have adopted, for this end, a practice which, if widely\nimitated, would be productive of much enjoyment. The method is this:\nOn the first day of each month, some member of the family, at each\nextreme point of dispersion, takes a folio sheet, and fills a part of\na page. This is sealed and mailed to the next family, who read it, add\nanother contribution, and then mail it to the next. Thus the family\ncircular, once a month, goes from each extreme to all the members of\na widely-dispersed family, and each member becomes a sharer in the\njoys, sorrows, plans, and pursuits of all the rest. At the same time,\nfrequent family meetings are sought; and the expense thus incurred is\ncheerfully met by retrenchments in other directions. The sacrifice of\nsome unnecessary physical indulgence will often purchase many social\nand domestic enjoyments, a thousand times more elevating and delightful\nthan the retrenched luxury.\n\nThere is no social duty which the Supreme Law-giver more strenuously\nurges than hospitality and kindness to strangers, who are classed with\nthe widow and the fatherless as the special objects of Divine\ntenderness. There are some reasons why this duty peculiarly demands\nattention from the American people.\n\nReverses of fortune, in this land, are so frequent and unexpected, and\nthe habits of the people are so migratory, that there are very many\nin every part of the country who, having seen all their temporal plans\nand hopes crushed, are now pining among strangers, bereft of wonted\ncomforts, without friends, and without the sympathy and society so\nneedful to wounded spirits. Such, too frequently, sojourn long and\nlonely, with no comforter but Him who \"knoweth the heart of a stranger.\"\n\nWhenever, therefore, new-comers enter a community, inquiry should\nimmediately be made as to whether they have friends or associates, to\nrender sympathy and kind attentions; and, when there is any need for\nit, the ministries of kind neighborliness should immediately be offered.\nAnd it should be remembered that the first days of a stranger's sojourn\nare the most dreary, and that civility and kindness are doubled in\nvalue by being offered at an early period.\n\nIn social gatherings the claims of the stranger are too apt to be\nforgotten; especially in cases where there are no peculiar attractions\nof personal appearance, or talents, or high standing. Such a one should\nbe treated with attention, _because_ he is a stranger; and when\ncommunities learn to act more from principle, and less from selfish\nimpulse, on this subject, the sacred claims of the stranger will be\nless frequently forgotten.\n\nThe most agreeable hospitality to visitors who become inmates of a\nfamily, is that which puts them entirely at ease. This can never be\nthe case where the guest perceives that the order of family arrangement\nis essentially altered, and that time, comfort, and convenience are\nsacrificed for his accommodation.\n\nOffering the best to visitors, showing a polite regard to every wish\nexpressed, and giving precedence to them, in all matters of comfort\nand convenience, can be easily combined with the easy freedom which\nmakes the stranger feel at home; and this is the perfection of\nhospitable entertainment.\n\n\n\n\nXXIV.\n\nCARE OF THE AGED.\n\nOne of the most interesting and instructive illustrations of the design\nof our Creator, in the institution of the family state, is the\npreservation of the aged after their faculties decay and usefulness\nin ordinary modes seems to be ended. By most persons this period of\ninfirmities and uselessness is anticipated with apprehension, especially\nin the case of those who have lived an active, useful life, giving\nlargely of service to others, and dependent for most resources of\nenjoyment on their own energies.\n\nTo lose the resources of sight or hearing, to become feeble in body,\nso as to depend on the ministries of others, and finally to gradually\ndecay in mental force and intelligence, to many seems far worse than\ndeath. Multitudes have prayed to be taken, from this life when their\nusefulness is thus ended.\n\nBut a true view of the design of the family state, and of the ministry\nof the aged and helpless in carrying out this design, would greatly\nlessen such apprehensions, and might be made a source of pure and\nelevated enjoyment.\n\nThe Christian virtues of patience with the unreasonable, of self-\ndenying labor for the weak, and of sympathy with the afflicted, are\ndependent, to a great degree, on cultivation and habit, and these can\nbe gained only in circumstances demanding the daily exercise of these\ngraces. In this aspect, continued life in the aged and infirm should\nbe regarded as a blessing and privilege to a family, especially to the\nyoung, and the cultivation of the graces that are demanded by that\nrelation should be made a definite and interesting part of their\neducation. A few of the methods to be attempted for this end will be\nsuggested.\n\nIn the first place, the object for which the aged are preserved in\nlife, when in many cases they would rejoice to depart, should be\ndefinitely kept in recollection, and a sense of gratitude and obligation\nbe cultivated. They should be looked up to and treated as ministers\nsustained by our Heavenly Father in a painful experience, expressly\nfor the good of those around them. This appreciation of their ministry\nand usefulness will greatly lessen their trials and impart consolation.\nIf in hours of weariness and infirmity they wonder why they are kept\nin a useless and helpless state to burden others around, they should\nbe assured that they are not useless; and this is not only by word,\nbut, better still, by the manifestation of those virtues which such\nopportunities alone can secure.\n\nAnother mode of cheering the aged is to engage them in the domestic\ngames and sports which unite the old and the young in amusement. Many\na weary hour may thus be enlivened for the benefit of all concerned.\nAnd here will often occur opportunities of self-denying benevolence\nin relinquishing personal pursuits and gratification thus to promote\nthe enjoyment of the infirm and dependent. Reading aloud is often a\ngreat source of enjoyment to those who by age are deprived of reading\nfor themselves. So the effort to gather news of the neighborhood and\nimpart it, is another mode of relieving those deprived of social\ngatherings.\n\nThere is no period in life when those courtesies of good breeding which\nrecognize the relations of superior and inferior should be more\ncarefully cherished than when there is need of showing them toward\nthose of advancing age. To those who have controlled a household, and\nstill more to those who in public life have been honored and admired,\nthe decay of mental powers is peculiarly trying, and every effort\nshould be made to lessen the trial by courteous attention to their\nopinions, and by avoiding all attempts to controvert them, or to make\nevident any weakness or fallacy in their conversation.\n\nIn regard to the decay of bodily or mental faculties, much more can\nbe done to prevent or retard them than is generally supposed, and some\nmethods for this end which have been gained by observation or experience\nwill be presented.\n\nAs the exercise of all our faculties tends to increase their power,\nunless it be carried to excess, it is very important that the aged\nshould be provided with useful employment, suited to their strength\nand capacity. Nothing hastens decay so fast as to remove the\n_stimulus_ of useful activity. It should become a study with those\nwho have the care of the aged to interest them in some useful pursuit,\nand to convince them that they are in some measure actively contributing\nto the general welfare. In the country and in families where the larger\npart of the domestic labor is done without servants, it is very easy\nto keep up an interest in domestic industrial employments. The tending\nof a small garden in summer--the preparation of fuel and food, the\nmending of household utensils--these and many other occupations of the\nhands will keep alive activity and interest, in a man; while for women\nthere are still more varied resources. There is nothing that so soon\nhastens decay and lends acerbity to age as giving up all business and\nresponsibility, and every mode possible should be devised to prevent\nthis result.\n\nAs age advances, all the bodily functions move more slowly, and\nconsequently the generation of animal heat, by the union of oxygen and\ncarbon in the capillaries, is in smaller proportion than in the midday\nof life. For this reason some practices, safe for the vigorous, must\nbe relinquished by the aged; and one of these is the use of the cold\nbath. It has often been the case that rheumatism has been caused by\nneglect of this caution. More than ordinary care should be taken to\npreserve animal heat in the aged, especially in the hands and the feet.\n\nIn many families will be found an aged brother, or sister, or other\nrelative who has no home, and no claim to a refuge in the family circle\nbut that of kindred. Sometimes they are poor and homeless, for want\nof a faculty for self-supporting business; and sometimes they have\npeculiarities of person or disposition which render their society\nundesirable. These are cases where the pitying tenderness of the Saviour\nshould be remembered, and for his sake patient kindness and tender\ncare be given, and he will graciously accept it as an offering of love\nand duty to himself. \"Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these\nmy brethren, ye have done it to me.\"\n\nIt is sometimes the case that even parents in old age have had occasion\nto say with the forsaken King Lear, \"How sharper than a serpent's tooth\nit is to have a thankless child!\" It is right training in early life\nalone that will save from this.\n\nIn the opening of China and the probable influx of its people, there\nis one cause for congratulation to a nation that is failing in the\nvirtue of reverence. The Chinese are distinguished above all other\nnations for their respect for the aged, and especially for their\nreverence for aged parents and conformity to their authority, even to\nthe last. This virtue is cultivated to a degree that is remarkable,\nand has produced singular and favorable results on the national\ncharacter, which it is hoped may be imparted to the land to which they\nare flocking in such multitudes. For with all their peculiarities of\npagan philosophy and their oriental eccentricities of custom and\npractical life, they are everywhere renowned for their uniform and\nelegant courtesy--a most commendable virtue, and one arising from\nhabitual deference to the aged more than from any other source.\n\n\n\n\nXXV.\n\nTHE CASE OF SERVANTS.\n\nAlthough in earlier ages the highest born, wealthiest, and proudest\nladies were skilled in the simple labors of the household, the advance\nof society toward luxury has changed all that in lands of aristocracy\nand classes, and at the present time America is the only country where\nthere is a class of women who may be described as _ladies_ who do their\nown work. By a lady we mean a woman of education, cultivation, and\nrefinement, of liberal tastes and ideas, who, without any very material\nadditions or changes, would be recognized as a lady in any\ncircle of the Old World or the New.\n\nThe existence of such a class is a fact peculiar to American society,\na plain result of the new principles involved in the doctrine of\nuniversal equality.\n\nWhen the colonists first came to this country, of however mixed\ningredients their ranks might have been composed, and however imbued\nwith the spirit of feudal and aristocratic ideas, the discipline of\nthe wilderness soon brought them to a democratic level; the gentleman\nfelled the wood for his log-cabin side by side with the plowman, and\nthews and sinews rose in the market. \"A man was deemed honorable in\nproportion as he lifted his hand upon the high trees of the forest.\"\nSo in the interior domestic circle. Mistress and maid, living in a\nlog-cabin together, became companions, and sometimes the maid, as the\none well-trained in domestic labor, took precedence of the mistress.\nIt also became natural and unavoidable that children should begin to\nwork as early as they were capable of it.\n\nThe result was a generation of intelligent people brought up to labor\nfrom necessity, but devoting to the problem of labor the acuteness of\na disciplined brain. The mistress, outdone in sinews and muscles by\nher maid, kept her superiority by skill and contrivance. If she could\nnot lift a pail of water, she could invent methods which made lifting\nthe pail unnecessary,--if she could not take a hundred steps without\nweariness, she could make twenty answer the purpose of a hundred.\n\nSlavery, it is true, was to some extent introduced into New England,\nbut it never suited the genius of the people, never struck deep root\nor spread so as to choke the good seed of self-helpfulness. Many were\nopposed to it from conscientious principle--many from far-sighted\nthrift, and from a love of thoroughness and well-doing which despised\nthe rude, unskilled work of barbarians. People, having once felt the\nthorough neatness and beauty of execution which came of free, educated,\nand thoughtful labor, could not tolerate the clumsiness of slavery.\n\nThus it came to pass that for many years the rural population of\nNew-England, as a general rule, did their own work, both out-doors and\nin. If there were a black man or black woman or bound girl, they were\nemphatically only the _helps_, following humbly the steps of master and\nmistress, and used by them as instruments of lightening certain portions\nof their toil. The master and mistress, with their children, were the\nhead workers.\n\nGreat merriment has been excited in the old country because, years\nago, the first English travelers found that the class of persons by\nthem denominated servants, were in America denominated _help_,\nor helpers. But the term was the very best exponent of the state of\nsociety. There were few servants, in the European sense of the word;\nthere was a society of educated workers, where all were practically\nequal, and where, if there was a deficiency in one family and an excess\nin another, a _helper_, not a servant in the European sense, was\nhired. Mrs. Brown, who has several sons and no daughters, enters into\nagreement with Mrs. Jones, who has several daughters and no sons. She\nborrows a daughter, and pays her good wages to help in her domestic\ntoil, and sends a son to help the labors of Mr. Jones. These two young\npeople go into the families in which they are to be employed in all\nrespects as equals and companions, and so the work of the community\nis equalized. Hence arose, and for many years continued, a state of\nsociety more nearly solving than any other ever did the problem of\ncombining the highest culture of the mind with the highest culture ofthe\nmuscles and the physical faculties.\n\nThen were to be seen families of daughters, handsome, strong women,\nrising each day to their in-door work with cheerful alertness--one to\nsweep the room, another to make the fire, while a third prepared the\nbreakfast for the father and brothers who were going out to manly\nlabor: and they chatted meanwhile of books, studies, embroidery;\ndiscussed the last new poem, or some historical topic started by graver\nreading, or perhaps a rural ball that was to come off next week. They\nspun with the book tied to the distaff; they wove; they did all manner\nof fine needle-work; they made lace, painted flowers, and, in short,\nin the boundless consciousness of activity, invention, and perfect\nhealth, set themselves to any work they had ever read or thought of.\nA bride in those days was married with sheets and tablecloths of her\nown weaving, with counterpanes and toilet-covers wrought in divers\nembroidery by her own and her sisters' hands. The amount of fancy-work\ndone in our days by girls who have nothing else to do, will not equal\nwhat was done by these who performed, besides, among them, the whole\nwork of the family.\n\nIn those former days most women were in good health, debility and\ndisease being the exception. Then, too, was seen the economy of daylight\nand its pleasures. They were used to early rising, and would not lie\nin bed, if they could. Long years of practice made them familiar with\nthe shortest, neatest, most expeditious method of doing every household\noffice, so that really for the greater part of the time in the house\nthere seemed, to a looker-on, to be nothing to do. They rose in the\nmorning and dispatched husband, father, and brothers to the farm or\nwoodlot; went sociably about, chatting with each other, skimmed the\nmilk, made the butter, and turned the cheeses. The forenoon was long;\nten to one, all the so-called morning work over, they had leisure for\nan hour's sewing or reading before it was time to start the dinner\npreparations. By two o'clock the house-work was done, and they had the\nlong afternoon for books, needle-work, or drawing--for perhaps there\nwas one with a gift at her pencil. Perhaps one read aloud while others\nsewed, and managed in that way to keep up a great deal of reading.\n\nIt is said that women who have been accustomed to doing their own work\nbecome hard mistresses. They are certainly more sure of the ground\nthey stand on--they are less open to imposition--they can speak and\nact in their own houses more as those \"having authority,\" and therefore\nare less afraid to exact what is justly their due, and less willing\nto endure impertinence and unfaithfulness. Their general error lies\nin expecting that any servant ever will do as well for them as they\nwill do for themselves, and that an untrained, undisciplined human\nbeing ever _can_ do house-work, or any other work, with the neatness and\nperfection, that a person of trained intelligence can.\n\nIt has been remarked in our armies that the men of cultivation, though\nbred in delicate and refined spheres, can bear up under the hardships\nof camp-life better and longer than rough laborers. The reason is,\nthat an educated mind knows how to use and save its body, to work it\nand spare it, as an uneducated mind can not; and so the college-bred\nyouth brings himself safely through fatigues which kill the unreflective\nlaborer.\n\nCultivated, intelligent women, who are brought up to do the work of\ntheir own families, are labor-saving institutions. They make the head\nsave the wear of the muscles. By forethought, contrivance, system, and\narrangement they lessen the amount to be done, and do it with less\nexpense of time and strength than others. The old New-England motto,\n_Get your work done up in the forenoon_, applied to an amount of\nwork which would keep a common Irish servant toiling from daylight to\nsunset.\n\nA lady living in one of our obscure New-England towns, where there\nwere no servants to be hired, at last, by sending to a distant city,\nsucceeded in procuring a raw Irish maid-of-all-work, a creature of\nimmense bone and muscle, but of heavy, unawakened brain. In one\nfortnight she established such a reign of Chaos and old Night in the\nkitchen and through the house that her mistress, a delicate woman,\nencumbered with the care of young children, began seriously to think\nthat she made more work each day than she performed, and dismissed\nher. What was now to be done? Fortunately, the daughter of a neighboring\nfarmer was going to be married in six months, and wanted a little ready\nmoney for her _trousseau_. The lady was informed that Miss So-and-so\nwould come to her, not as a servant, but as hired \"help.\" She was fain\nto accept any help with gladness.\n\nForthwith came into the family-circle a tall, well-dressed young person,\ngrave, unobtrusive, self-respecting, yet not in the least presuming,\nwho sat at the family table and observed all its decorums with the\nmodest self-possession of a lady. The new-comer took a survey of the\nlabors of a family of ten members, including four or five young\nchildren, and, looking, seemed at once to throw them into system;\nmatured her plans, arranged her hours of washing, ironing, baking, and\ncleaning; rose early, moved deftly; and in a single day the slatternly\nand littered kitchen assumed that neat, orderly appearance that so\noften strikes one in New England farm-houses. The work seemed to be\nall gone. Every thing was nicely washed, brightened, put in place, and\nstaid in place; the floors, when cleaned; remained clean; the work was\nalways done, and not doing; and every afternoon the young lady sat\nneatly dressed in her own apartment, either quietly writing letters\nto her betrothed, or sewing on her bridal outfit. Such is the result\nof employing those who have been brought up to do their own work. That\ntall, fine-looking girl, for aught we know, may yet be mistress of a\nfine house on Fifth Avenue; and if she is, she will, we fear, prove\nrather an exacting mistress to Irish Bridget; but she will never be\nthreatened by her cook and chambermaid, after the first one or two\nhave tried the experiment.\n\nThose remarkable women of old were made by circumstances. There were,\ncomparatively speaking, no servants to be had, and so children were\ntrained to habits of industry and mechanical adroitness from the cradle,\nand every household process was reduced to the very minimum of labor.\nEvery step required in a process was counted, every movement calculated;\nand she who took ten steps, when one would do, lost her reputation for\n\"faculty.\" Certainly such an early drill was of use in developing the\nhealth and the bodily powers, as well as in giving precision to the\npractical mental faculties. All household economies were arranged with\nequal niceness in those thoughtful minds. A trained housekeeper knew\njust how many sticks of hickory of a certain size were required to\nheat her oven, and how many of each different kind of wood. She knew\nby a sort of intuition just what kinds of food would yield the most\npalatable nutriment with the least outlay of accessories in cooking.\nShe knew to a minute the time when each article must go into and be\nwithdrawn from her oven; and if she could only lie in her chamber and\ndirect, she could guide an intelligent child through the processes\nwith mathematical certainty.\n\nIt is impossible, however, that any thing but early training and long\nexperience can produce these results, and it is earnestly to be wished\nthat the grandmothers of New-England had written down their experiences\nfor our children; they would have been a mine of maxims and traditions\nbetter than any other \"traditions of the elders\" which we know of.\n\nIn this country, our democratic institutions have removed the\nsuperincumbent pressure which in the Old World confines the servants\nto a regular orbit. They come here feeling that this is somehow a land\nof liberty, and with very dim and confused notions of what liberty is.\nThey are very extensively the raw, untrained Irish peasantry, and the\nwonder is, that, with all the unreasoning heats and prejudices of the\nCeltic blood, all the necessary ignorance and rawness, there should\nbe the measure of comfort and success there is in our domestic\narrangements.\n\nBut, as long as things are so, there will be constant changes and\ninterruptions in every domestic establishment, and constantly recurring\ninterregnums when the mistress must put her own hand to the work,\nwhether the hand be a trained or an untrained one. As matters now are,\nthe young housekeeper takes life at the hardest. She has very little\nstrength,--no experience to teach her how to save her strength. She\nknows nothing experimentally of the simplest processes necessary to\nkeep her family comfortably fed and clothed; and she has a way of\nlooking at all these things which makes them particularly hard and\ndistasteful to her. She does not escape being obliged to do house-work\nat intervals, but she does it in a weak, blundering, confused way,\nthat makes it twice as hard and disagreeable as it need be.\n\nNow, if every young woman learned to do house-work, and cultivated her\npractical faculties in early life, she would, in the first place, be\nmuch more likely to keep her servants, and, in the second place, if\nshe lost them temporarily, would avoid all that wear and tear of the\nnervous system which comes from constant ill-success in those\ndepartments on which family health and temper mainly depend. This is\none of the peculiarities of our American life, which require a peculiar\ntraining. Why not face it sensibly?\n\nOur land is now full of motorpathic institutions to which women are\nsent at a great expense to have hired operators stretch and exercise\ntheir inactive muscles. They lie for hours to have their feet twigged,\ntheir arms flexed, and all the different muscles of the body worked\nfor them, because they are so flaccid and torpid that the powers of\nlife do not go on. Would it not be quite as cheerful, and a less\nexpensive process, if young girls from early life developed the muscles\nin sweeping, dusting, starching, ironing, and all the multiplied\ndomestic processes which our grandmothers knew of? A woman who did all\nthese, and diversified the intervals with spinning on the great and\nlittle wheel, did not need the gymnastics of Dio Lewis or of the Swedish\nMovement Cure, which really are a necessity now. Does it not seem poor\neconomy to pay servants for letting our muscles grow feeble, and then\nto pay operators to exercise them for us? I will venture to say that\nour grandmothers in a week went over every movement that any gymnast\nhas invented, and went over them to some productive purpose too.\n\nThe first business of a housekeeper in America is that of a teacher.\nShe can have a good table only by having practical knowledge, and tact\nin imparting it. If she understands her business practically and\nexperimentally, her eye detects at once the weak spot; it requires\nonly a little tact, some patience, some clearness in giving directions,\nand all comes right.\n\nIf we carry a watch to a watchmaker, and undertake to show him how to\nregulate the machinery, he laughs and goes on his own way; but if a\nbrother-machinist makes suggestions, he listens respectfully. So, when\na woman who knows nothing of woman's work undertakes to instruct one\nwho knows more than she does, she makes no impression; but a woman who\nhas been trained experimentally, and shows she understands the matter\nthoroughly, is listened to with respect.\n\nLet a woman make her own bread for one month, and, simple as the process\nseems, it will take as long as that to get a thorough knowledge of all\nthe possibilities in the case; but after that, she will be able to\ncommand good bread by the aid of all sorts of servants; in other words,\nwill be a thoroughly prepared teacher.\n\nAlthough bread-making seems a simple process, it yet requires delicate\ncare and watchfulness. There are fifty ways to spoil good bread; There\nare a hundred little things to be considered and allowed for, that\nrequire accurate observation and experience. The same process that\nwill raise good bread in cold weather will make sour bread in the heat\nof summer; different qualities of flour require variations in treatment\nas also different sorts and conditions of yeast; and when all is done,\nthe baking presents another series of possibilities which require exact\nattention.\n\nA well-trained mind, accustomed to reflect, analyze, and generalize,\nhas an advantage over uncultured minds even of double experience. Poor\nas your cook is, she now knows more of her business than you do. After\na very brief period of attention and experiment, you will not only\nknow more than she does, but you will convince her that you do, which\nis quite as much to the purpose.\n\nIn the same manner, lessons must be given on the washing of silver and\nthe making of beds. Good servants do not often come to us; they must\nbe _made_ by patience and training; and if a girl has a good disposition\nand a reasonable degree of handiness, and the housekeeper understands\nher profession, a good servant may be made out of an indifferent one.\nSome of the best girls have been those who came directly from the ship,\nwith no preparation but docility and some natural quickness. The hardest\ncases to be managed are not of those who have been taught nothing, but\nof those who have been taught wrongly--who come self-opinionated, with\nways which are distasteful, and contrary to the genius of one's\nhousekeeping. Such require that their mistress shall understand at least\nso much of the actual conduct of affairs as to prove to the servant that\nthere are better ways than those in which she has been trained.\n\nSo much has been said of the higher sphere of woman, and so much has\nbeen done to find some better work for her that, insensibly, almost\nevery body begins to feel that it is rather degrading for a woman in\ngood society to be much tied down to family affairs; especially since\nin these Woman's Rights Conventions there is so much dissatisfaction\nexpressed at those who would confine her ideas to the kitchen and\nnursery.\n\nYet these Woman's Rights Conventions are a protest against many former\nabsurd, unreasonable ideas--the mere physical and culinary idea of\nwomanhood as connected only with puddings and shirt-buttons, the\nunjust and unequal burdens which the laws of harsher ages had cast\nupon the sex. Many of the women connected with these movements are as\nsuperior in every thing properly womanly as they are in exceptional\ntalent and culture. There is no manner of doubt that the sphere of\nwoman is properly to be enlarged. Every woman has rights as a human\nbeing which belong to no sex, and ought to be as freely conceded to\nher as if she were a man,--and first and foremost, the great right of\ndoing any thing which God and nature evidently have fitted her to excel\nin. If she be made a natural orator, like Miss Dickinson, or an\nastronomer, like Mrs. Somerville, or a singer, like Grisi, let not the\ntechnical rules of womanhood be thrown in the way of her free use of\nher powers.\n\nStill, _per contra_, there has been a great deal of crude, disagreeable\ntalk in these conventions, and too great tendency of the age to make the\neducation of woman anti-domestic. It seems as if the world never could\nadvance, except like ships under a head-wind, tacking and going too far,\nnow in this direction, and now in the opposite. Our common-school system\nnow rejects sewing from the education of girls, which very properly used\nto occupy many hours daily in school a generation ago. The daughters of\nlaborers and artisans are put through algebra, geometry, trigonometry,\nand the higher mathematics, to the entire neglect of that learning which\nbelongs distinctively to woman. A girl of ten can not keep pace with her\nclass, if she gives any time to domestic matters; and accordingly she is\nexcused from them all during the whole term of her education. The boy of\na family, at an early age, is put to a trade, or the labors of a farm;\nthe father becomes impatient of his support, and requires of him to take\ncare for himself. Hence an interrupted education--learning coming by\nsnatches in the winter months or in the intervals of work.\n\nAs the result, the young women in some of our country towns are, in\nmental culture, much in advance of the males of the same household;\nbut with this comes a physical delicacy, the result of an exclusive\nuse of the brain and a neglect of the muscular system, with great\ninefficiency in practical domestic duties. The race of strong, hardy,\ncheerful girls, that used to grow up in country places, and made the\nbright, neat, New-England kitchens of old times--the girls that could\nwash, iron, brew, bake, harness a horse and drive him, no less than\nbraid straw, embroider, draw, paint, and read innumerable books--this\nrace of women, pride of olden time, is daily lessening; and in their\nstead come the fragile, easily-fatigued, languid girls of a modern\nage, drilled in book-learning, ignorant of common things. The great\ndanger of all this, and of the evils that come from it, is, that\nsociety, by and by, will turn as blindly against female intellectual\nculture as it now advocates it, and having worked disproportionately\none way, will work disproportionately in the opposite direction.\n\nDomestic service is the great problem of life herein America; the\nhappiness of families, their thrift, well-being, and comfort, are more\naffected by this than by any one thing else. The modern girls, as they\nhave been brought up, can not perform the labor of their own families\nas in those simpler, old-fashioned days; and what is worse, they have\nno practical skill with which to instruct servants, who come to us,\nas a class, raw and untrained. In the present state of prices, the\nboard of a domestic costs double her wages, and the waste she makes\nis a more serious matter still.\n\nMany of the domestic evils in America originate, in the fact that,\nwhile society here is professedly based on new principles which ought\nto make social life in every respect different from the life of the\nOld World, yet these principles have never been so thought out and\napplied as to give consistency and harmony to our daily relations.\nAmerica starts with a political organization based oh a declaration\nof the primitive freedom and equality of all men. Every human being,\naccording to this principle, stands on the same natural level with\nevery other, and has the same chance to rise according to the degree\nof power or capacity given by the Creator. All our civil institutions\nare designed to preserve this equality, as far as possible, from\ngeneration to generation: there is no entailed property, there are no\nhereditary titles, no monopolies, no privileged classes--all are to\nbe as free to rise and fall as the waves of the sea.\n\nThe condition of domestic service, however, still retains about it\nsomething of the influences from feudal times, and from the near\npresence of slavery in neighboring States. All English literature of\nthe world describes domestic service in the old feudal spirit and with\nthe old feudal language, which regarded the master as belonging to a\nprivileged class and the servant to an inferior one. There is not a\nplay, not a poem, not a novel, not a history, that does not present\nthis view. The master's rights, like the rights of kings, were supposed\nto rest in his being born in a superior rank. The good servant was one\nwho, from childhood, had learned \"to order himself lowly and reverently\nto all his betters.\" When New-England brought to these shores the\ntheory of democracy, she brought, in the persons of the first pilgrims,\nthe habits of thought and of action formed in aristocratic communities.\nWinthrop's Journal, and all the old records of the earlier colonists,\nshow households where masters and mistresses stood on the \"right divine\"\nof the privileged classes, howsoever they might have risen up against\nauthorities themselves.\n\nThe first consequence of this state of things was a universal rejection\nof domestic service in all classes of American-born society. For a\ngeneration or two there was, indeed, a sort of interchange of family\nstrength,--sons and daughters engaging in the service of neighboring\nfamilies, in default of a sufficient working-force of their own, but\nalways on conditions of strict equality. The assistant was to share\nthe table, the family sitting-room, and every honor and attention that\nmight be claimed by son or daughter. When families increased in\nrefinement and education so as to make these conditions of close\nintimacy with more uncultured neighbors disagreeable, they had to\nchoose between such intimacies and the performance of their own domestic\ntoil. No wages could induce a son or daughter of New-England to take\nthe condition of a servant on terms which they thought applicable to\nthat of a slave. The slightest hint of a separate table was resented\nas an insult; not to enter the front door, and not to sit in the front\nparlor on state occasions, was bitterly commented on as a personal\nindignity.\n\nThe well-taught, self-respecting daughters of farmers, the class most\nvaluable in domestic service, gradually retired from it. They preferred\nany other employment, however laborious. Beyond all doubt, the labors\nof a well-regulated family are more healthy, more cheerful, more,\ninteresting, because less monotonous, than the mechanical toils of a\nfactory; yet the girls of New-England, with one consent, preferred the\nfactory, and left the whole business of domestic service to a foreign\npopulation; and they did it mainly because they would not take positions\nin families as an inferior laboring-class by the side of others of\ntheir own age who assumed as their prerogative to live without labor.\n\n\"I can't let you have one of my daughters,\" said an energetic matron\nto her neighbor from the city, who was seeking for a servant in her\nsummer vacation; \"if you hadn't daughters of your own, may be I would;\nbut my girls are not going to work so that your girls may live in\nidleness.\"\n\nIt was vain to offer money. \"We don't need your money, ma'am; we can\nsupport ourselves in other ways; my girls can braid straw, and bind\nshoes, but they are not going to be slaves to any body.\"\n\nIn the Irish and German servants who took the place of Americans in\nfamilies, there was, to begin with, the tradition of education in favor\nof a higher class; but even the foreign population became more or less\ninfected with the spirit of democracy. They came to this country with\nvague notions of freedom and equality, and in ignorant and uncultivated\npeople such ideas are often more unreasonable for being vague. They\ndid not, indeed, claim a seat at the table and in the parlor, but they\nrepudiated many of those habits of respect and courtesy which belonged\nto their former condition, and asserted their own will and way in the\nround, unvarnished phrase which they supposed to be their right as\nrepublican citizens. Life became a sort of domestic wrangle and struggle\nbetween the employers, who secretly confessed their weakness, but\nendeavored openly to assume the air and bearing of authority, and the\nemployed, who knew their power and insisted on their privileges.\n\nFrom this cause domestic service in America has had less of mutual\nkindliness titan in old countries. Its terms have been so ill-\nunderstood and defined that both parties have assumed the defensive;\nand a common topic of conversation in American female society has often\nbeen the general servile war which in one form or another was going\non in their different families--a war as interminable as would be a\nstruggle between aristocracy and common people, undefined by any bill\nof rights or constitution, and therefore opening fields for endless\ndisputes.\n\nIn England, the class who go to service _are_ a class, and service\nis a profession; the distance between them and their employers is so\nmarked and defined, and all the customs and requirements of the position\nare so perfectly understood, that the master or mistress has no fear\nof being compromised by condescension, and no need of the external\nvoice or air of authority. The higher up in the social scale one goes,\nthe more courteous seems to become the intercourse of master and\nservant; the more perfect and real the power, the more is it veiled\nin outward expression--commands are phrased as requests, and gentleness\nof voice and manner covers an authority which no one would think of\noffending without trembling.\n\nBut in America all is undefined. In the first place, there is no class\nwho mean to make domestic service a profession to live and die in. It\nis universally an expedient, a stepping-stone to something higher;\nyour best servants always have some thing else in view as soon as they\nhave laid by a little money; some form of independence which shall\ngive them a home of their own is constantly in mind. Families look\nforward to the buying of landed homesteads, and the scattered brothers\nand sisters work awhile in domestic service to gain, the common fund\nfor the purpose; your seamstress intends to become a dressmaker, and\ntake in work at her own house; your cook is pondering a marriage with\nthe baker, which shall transfer her toils from your cooking-stove to\nher own.\n\nYoung women are eagerly rushing into every other employment, till\nfeminine trades and callings are all over-stocked. We are continually\nharrowed with tales of the sufferings of distressed needle-women, of\nthe exactions, and extortions practiced on the frail sex in the many\nbranches of labor and trade at which they try their hands; and yet\nwomen will encounter all these chances of ruin and starvation rather\nthan make up their minds to permanent domestic service.\n\nNow, what is the matter with domestic service? One would think, on the\nface of it, that a calling which gives a settled home, a comfortable\nroom, rent-free, with fire and lights, good board and lodging, and\nsteady, well-paid wages, would certainly offer more attractions than\nthe making of shirts for tenpence, with all the risks of providing\none's own sustenance and shelter.\n\nIs it not mainly from the want of a definite idea of the true position\nof a servant under our democratic institutions that domestic service\nis so shunned and avoided in America, and that it is the very last\nthing which an intelligent young woman will look to for a living? It\nis more the want of personal respect toward, those in that position\nthan the labor incident to it which repels our people from it. Many\nwould be willing to perform these labors, but they are not willing to\nplace themselves in a situation where their self-respect is hourly\nwounded by the implication of a degree of inferiority, _which does\nnot follow any kind of labor or service in this country but that of\nthe family_.\n\nThere exists in the minds of employers an unsuspected spirit of\nsuperiority, which is stimulated into an active form by the resistance\nwhich democracy inspires in the working-class. Many families think of\nservants only as a necessary evil, their wages as exactions, and all\nthat is allowed them as so much taken from the family; and they seek\nin every way to get from them as much and to give them as little as\npossible. Their rooms are the neglected, ill-furnished, incommodious\nones--and the kitchen is the most cheerless and comfortless place in\nthe house.\n\nOther families, more good-natured and liberal, provide their domestics\nwith more suitable accommodations, and are more indulgent; but there\nis still a latent spirit of something like contempt for the position.\nThat they treat their servants with so much consideration seems to\nthem a merit entitling them to the most prostrate gratitude; and they\nare constantly disappointed and shocked at that want of sense of\ninferiority on the part of these people which leads them to appropriate\npleasant rooms, good furniture, and good living as mere matters of\ncommon justice.\n\nIt seems to be a constant surprise to some employers that servants\nshould insist on having the same human wants as themselves. Ladles who\nyawn in their elegantly furnished parlors, among books and pictures,\nif they have not company, parties, or opera to diversify the evening,\nseem astonished and half indignant that cook and chambermaid are more\ndisposed to go out for an evening gossip than to sit on hard chairs\nin the kitchen where they have been toiling all day. The pretty\nchambermaid's anxieties about her dress, the minutes she spends at her\nsmall and not very clear mirror, are sneeringly noticed by those whose\ntoilet-cares take up serious hours; and the question has never\napparently occurred to them why a serving-maid should not want to look\npretty as well as her mistress. She is a woman as well as they, with,\nall a woman's wants and weaknesses; and her dress is as much to her\nas theirs to them.\n\nA vast deal of trouble among servants arises; from impertinent\ninterferences and petty tyrannical enactions on the part of employers.\nNow, the authority of the master and mistress of a house in regard to\ntheir domestics extends simply to the things they have contracted to\ndo and the hours during which they have contracted to serve; otherwise\nthan this, they have no more right to interfere with them in the\ndisposal of their time than with any mechanic whom they employ. They\nhave, indeed, a right to regulate the hours of their own household,\nand servants can choose between conformity to these hours and the loss\nof their situation; but, within reasonable limits, their right to come\nand go at their own discretion, in their own time, should be\nunquestioned.\n\nIf employers are troubled by the fondness of their servants for dancing,\nevening company, and late hours, the proper mode of proceeding is to\nmake these matters a subject of distinct contract in hiring. The more\nstrictly and perfectly the business matters of the first engagement\nof domestics are conducted, the more likelihood there is of mutual\nquiet and satisfaction in the relation. It is quite competent to every\nhousekeeper to say what practices are or are not consistent with the\nrules of her family, and what will be inconsistent with the service\nfor which she agrees to pay. It is much better to regulate such affairs\nby cool contract in the outset than by warm altercations and protracted\ndomestic battles.\n\nAs to the terms of social intercourse, it seems somehow to be settled\nin the minds of many employers that their servants owe them and their\nfamily more respect than they and the family owe to the servants. But\ndo they? What is the relation of servant to employer in a democratic\ncountry? Precisely that of a person who for money performs any kind\nof service for you. The carpenter comes into your house to put up a\nset of shelves--the cook comes into your kitchen to cook your dinner.\nYou never think that the carpenter owes you any more respect than you\nowe to him because he is in your house doing your behests; he is your\nfellow-citizen, you treat him with respect, you expect to be treated\nwith respect by him. You have a claim on him that he shall do your\nwork according to your directions--no more.\n\nNow, I apprehend that there is a very common notion as to the position\nand rights of servants which is quite different from this. Is it not\na common feeling that a servant is one who may he treated with a degree\nof freedom by every member of the family which he or she may not return?\nDo not people feel at liberty to question servants about their private\naffairs, to comment on their dress and appearance, in a manner which\nthey would feel to be an impertinence, if reciprocated? Do they not\nfeel at liberty to express dissatisfaction with their performances in\nrude and unceremonious terms, to reprove them in the presence of\ncompany, while yet they require that the dissatisfaction of servants\nshall be expressed only in terms of respect? A woman would not feel\nherself at liberty to talk to her milliner or her dress-maker in\nlanguage as devoid of consideration as she will employ toward her cook\nor chambermaid. And yet both are rendering her a service which she\npays for in money, and one is no more made her inferior thereby than\nthe other. Both have an equal right to be treated with courtesy. The\nmaster and mistress of a house have a right to require courteous\ntreatment from all whom their roof shelters; but they have no more\nright to exact it of servants than of every guest and every child, and\nthey themselves owe it as much to servants as to guests.\n\nIn order that servants may be treated with respect and courtesy, it\nis not necessary, as in simpler patriarchal days, that they sit at the\nfamily-table. Your carpenter or plumber does not feel hurt that you\ndo not ask him to dine with you, nor your milliner and mantua-maker\nthat you do not exchange ceremonious calls and invite them to your\nparties. It is well understood that your relations with them are of\na mere business character. They never take it as an assumption of\nsuperiority on your part that you do not admit them to relations of\nprivate intimacy. There may be the most perfect respect and esteem and\neven friendship between then and you, notwithstanding. So it may be\nin the case of servants. It is easy to make any person understand that\nthere are quite other reasons than the assumption of personal\nsuperiority for not wishing to admit servants to the family privacy.\nIt was not, in fact, to sit in the parlor or at the table in themselves\nconsidered, that was the thing aimed at by New--England girls; these\nwere valued only as signs that they were deemed worthy of respect and\nconsideration, and, where freely conceded, were often in point of fact\ndeclined.\n\nLet servants feel, in their treatment by their employers and in the\natmosphere of the family, that their position is held to be a\nrespectable one; let them feel, in the mistress of the family, the\ncharm of unvarying consideration and good manners; let their work-\nrooms be made convenient and comfortable, and their private apartments\nbear some reasonable comparison in point of agreeableness to those of\nother members of the family, and domestic service will be more\nfrequently sought by a superior and self-respecting class. There are\nfamilies in which such a state of things prevails; and such families,\namid the many causes which unite to make the tenure of service\nuncertain, have generally been able to keep good permanent servants.\nThere is an extreme into which kindly disposed people often run with\nregard to servants which may be mentioned here. They make pets of them.\nThey give extravagant wages and indiscreet indulgences, and, through\nindolence and easiness of temper, tolerate neglect of duty. Many of\nthe complaints of the ingratitude of servants come from those who have\nspoiled them in this way; while many of the longest and most harmonious\ndomestic unions have sprung from a simple, quiet course of Christian\njustice and benevolence, a recognition of servants as fellow-beings\nand fellow-Christians, and a doing to them as we would in like\ncircumstances that they should do to us.\n\nThe mistresses of American families, whether they like it or not, have\nthe duties of missionaries imposed upon them by that class from which\nour supply of domestic servants is drawn. They may as well accept the\nposition cheerfully, and, as one raw, untrained hand after another\npasses through their family, and is instructed by them in the mysteries\nof good house-keeping, comfort themselves with the reflection that\nthey are doing something to form good wives and mothers for the\nrepublic.\n\nThe complaints made of Irish girls are numerous and loud; the failings\nof green Erin, alas! are but too open and manifest; yet, in arrest of\njudgment, let us move this consideration: let us imagine our own\ndaughters between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four, untaught and\ninexperienced in domestic affairs as they commonly are, shipped to a\nforeign shore to seek service in families. It may be questioned whether,\nas a whole, they would do much better. The girls that fill our families\nand do our house-work are often of the age of our own daughters,\nstanding for themselves, without mothers to guide them, in a foreign\ncountry, not only bravely supporting themselves, but sending home in\nevery ship remittances to impoverished friends left behind. If our\ndaughters did as much for us, should we not be proud of their energy\nand heroism?\n\nWhen we go into the houses of our country, we find a majority of\nwell-kept, well-ordered, and even elegant establishments, where the\nonly hands employed are those of the daughters of Erin. True, American\nwomen have been their instructors, and many a weary hour of care have\nthey had in the discharge of this office; but the result on the whole\nis beautiful and good, and the end of it, doubtless, will be peace.\n\nInstead, then, of complaining that we can not have our own peculiar\nadvantages and those of other nations too, or imagining how much better\noff we should be if things were different from what they are, it is\nmuch wiser and more Christian-like to strive cheerfully to conform to\nactual circumstances; and, after remedying all that we can control,\npatiently to submit to what is beyond our power. If domestics are found\nto be incompetent, unstable, and unconfirmed to their station, it is\nPerfect Wisdom which appoints these trials to teach us patience,\nfortitude, and self-control; and if the discipline is met in a proper\nspirit, it will prove a blessing rather than an evil.\n\nBut to judge correctly in regard to some of the evils involved in the\nstate of domestic service in this country, we should endeavor to\nconceive ourselves placed in the situation of those of whom complaint\nis made, that we may not expect from them any more than it would seem\nright should be exacted from us in similar circumstances.\n\nIt is sometimes urged against domestics that they exact exorbitant\nwages. But what is the rule of rectitude on this subject? Is it not\nthe universal law of labor and of trade that an article is to be valued\naccording to its scarcity and the demand? When wheat is scarce, the\nfarmer raises his price; and when a mechanic offers services difficult\nto be obtained, he makes a corresponding increase of price. And why\nis it not right for domestics to act according to a rule allowed to\nbe correct in reference to all other trades and professions? It is a\nfact, that really good domestic service must continue to increase in\nvalue just in proportion as this country waxes rich and prosperous;\nthus making the proportion of those who wish to hire labor relatively\ngreater, and the number of those willing to go to service less.\n\nMoney enables the rich to gain many advantages which those of more\nlimited circumstances can not secure. One of these is, securing good\nservants by offering high wages; and this, as the scarcity of this\nclass increases, will serve constantly to raise the price of service.\nIt is right for domestics to charge the market value, and this value\nis always decided by the scarcity of the article and the amount of\ndemand. Right views of this subject will sometimes serve to diminish\nhard feelings toward those who would otherwise be wrongfully regarded\nas unreasonable and exacting.\n\nAnother complaint against servants is that of instability and\ndiscontent, leading to perpetual change. But in reference to this, let\na mother or daughter conceive of their own circumstances as so changed\nthat the daughter must go out to service. Suppose a place is engaged,\nand it is then found that she must sleep in a comfortless garret; and\nthat, when a new domestic comes, perhaps a coarse and dirty foreigner,\nshe must share her bed with her. Another place is offered, where she\ncan have a comfortable room and an agreeable room-mate; in such a case,\nwould not both mother and daughter think it right to change?\n\nOr suppose, on trial, it was found that the lady of the house was\nfretful or exacting and hard to please, or that her children were so\nungoverned as to be perpetual vexations; or that the work was so heavy\nthat no time was allowed for relaxation and the care of a wardrobe;\nand another place offers where those evils can be escaped; would not\nmother and daughter here think it right to change? And is it not right\nfor domestics, as well as their employers, to seek places where they\ncan be most comfortable?\n\nIn some cases, this instability and love of change would be remedied,\nif employers would take more pains to make a residence with them\nagreeable, and to attach servants to the family by feelings of gratitude\nand affection. There are ladies, even where well-qualified domestics\nare most rare, who seldom find any trouble in keeping good and steady\nones. And the reason is, that their servants know they can not better\ntheir condition by any change within reach. It is not merely by giving\nthem comfortable rooms, and good food, and presents, and privileges,\nthat the attachment of domestic servants is secured; it is by the\nmanifestation of a friendly and benevolent interest in their comfort\nand improvement. This is exhibited in bearing patiently with their\nfaults; in kindly teaching them how to improve; in showing them how\nto make and take proper care of their clothes; in guarding their health;\nin teaching them to read if necessary, and supplying them with proper\nbooks; and in short, by endeavoring, so far as may be, to supply the\nplace of parents. It is seldom that such a course would fail to secure\nsteady service, and such affection and gratitude that even higher wages\nwould be ineffectual to tempt them away. There would probably be some\nleases of ungrateful returns; but there is no doubt that the course\nindicated, if generally pursued, would very much lessen the evil in\nquestion.\n\nWhen servants are forward and bold in manners and disrespectful in\naddress, they may be considerately taught that those who are among the\nbest-bred and genteel have courteous and respectful manners and language\nto all they meet: while many who have wealth, are regarded as vulgar,\nbecause they exhibit rude and disrespectful manners. The very term\n_gentle man_ indicates the refinement and delicacy of address which\ndistinguishes the high-bred from the coarse and vulgar.\n\nIn regard to appropriate dress, in most cases it is difficult for an\nemployer to interfere, _directly_, with comments or advice. The\nmost successful mode is to offer some, service in mending or making\na wardrobe, and when a confidence in the kindness of feeling is thus\ngained, remarks and suggestions will generally be properly received,\nand new views of propriety and economy can be imparted. In some cases\nit may be well for an employer who, from appearances, anticipates\ndifficulty of this kind, in making the preliminary contract or agreement\nto state that she wishes to have the room, person, and dress of her\nservants kept neat and in order, and that she expects to remind them\nof their duty, in this particular, if it is neglected. Domestic servants\nare very apt to neglect the care of their own chambers and clothing;\nand such habits have a most pernicious influence on their well-being\nand on that of their children in future domestic life. An employer,\nthen, is bound to exercise a parental care over them, in these respects.\n\nThere is one great mistake, not unfrequently made, in the management\nboth of domestics and of children, and that is, in supposing that the\nway to cure defects is by finding fault as each failing occurs. But\ninstead of this being true, in many cases the directly opposite course\nis the best; while, in all instances, much good judgment is required\nin order to decide when to notice faults and when to let them pass\nunnoticed. There are some minds very sensitive, easily discouraged,\nand infirm of purpose. Such persons, when they have formed habits of\nnegligence, haste, and awkwardness, often need expressions of sympathy\nand encouragement rather than reproof. They have usually been found\nfault with so much that they have become either hardened or desponding;\nand it is often the case, that a few words of commendation will awaken\nfresh efforts and renewed hope. In almost every case, words of kindness,\nconfidence, and encouragement should be mingled with the needful\nadmonitions or reproof.\n\nIt is a good rule, in reference to this point, to _forewarn_ instead of\nfinding fault. Thus, when a thing has been done wrong, let it pass\nunnoticed, till it is to be done again; and then, a simple request to\nhave it done in the right way will secure quite as much, and probably\nmore, willing effort, than a reproof administered for neglect. Some\npersons seem to take it for granted that young and inexperienced minds\nare bound to have all the forethought and discretion of mature persons;\nand freely express wonder and disgust when mishaps occur for want of\nthese traits. But it would be far better to save from mistake or\nforgetfulness by previous caution and care on the part of those who have\ngained experience and forethought; and thus many occasions of complaint\nand ill-humor will be avoided.\n\nThose who fill the places of heads of families are not very apt to\nthink how painful it is to be chided for neglect of duty or for faults\nof character. If they would sometimes imagine themselves in the place\nof those whom they control, with some person daily administering reproof\nto them, in the same _tone and style_ as they employ to those who\nare under them, it might serve as a useful cheek to their chidings.\nIt is often the ease, that persons who are most strict and exacting\nand least able to make allowances and receive palliations, are\nthemselves peculiarly sensitive to any tiling which implies that they\nare in fault. By such, the spirit implied in the Divine petition,\n\"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against\nus,\" needs especially to be cherished.\n\nOne other consideration is very important. There is no duty more binding\non Christians than that of patience and meekness under provocations\nand disappointment. Now, the tendency of every sensitive mind, when\nthwarted in its wishes, is to complain and find fault, and that often\nin tones of fretfulness or anger. But there are few servants who have\nnot heard enough of the Bible to know that angry or fretful\nfault-finding from the mistress of a family, when her work is not done\nto suit her, is not in agreement with the precepts of Christ. They\nnotice and feel the inconsistency; and every woman, when she gives way\nto feelings of anger and impatience at the faults of those around her,\nlowers herself in their respect, while her own conscience, unless very\nmuch blinded, can not but suffer a wound.\n\nIn speaking of the office of the American mistress as being a missionary\none, we are far from, recommending any controversial interference with\nthe religious faith of our servants. It is far better to incite them\nto be good Christians in their own way than to run the risk of shaking\ntheir faith in all religion by pointing out to them what seem to us\nthe errors of that in which they have been educated. The general purity\nof life and propriety of demeanor of so many thousands of undefended\nyoung girls cast yearly upon our shores, with no home but their church,\nand no shield but their religion, are a sufficient proof that this\nreligion exerts an influence over them not to be lightly trifled with.\nBut there is a real unity even in opposite Christian forms; and the\nRoman Catholic servant and the Protestant mistress, if alike possessed\nby the spirit of Christ, and striving to conform to the Golden Rule,\ncan not help being one in heart, though one go to mass and the other\nto meeting.\n\nFinally, the bitter baptism through which we have passed, the life-blood\ndearer than our own which has drenched distant fields, should remind\nus of the preciousness of distinctive American ideas. They who would\nseek in their foolish pride to establish the pomp of liveried servants\nin America are doing that which is simply absurd. A servant can never\nin our country be the mere appendage to another man, to be marked like\na sheep with the color of his owner; he must be a fellow-citizen, with\nan established position of his own, free to make contracts, free to\ncome and go, and having in his sphere titles to consideration and\nrespect just as definite as those of any trade or profession whatever.\n\nMoreover, we can not in this country maintain to any great extent large\nretinues of servants. Even with ample fortunes, they are forbidden by\nthe general character of society here, which makes them cumbrous and\ndifficult to manage. Every mistress of a family knows that her cares\nincrease with every additional servant. Two keep the peace with each\nother and their employer; three begin a possible discord, which\npossibility increases with four, and becomes certain with five or six.\nTrained housekeepers, such as regulate the complicated establishments\nof the old world, form a class that are not, and from the nature of\nthe case never will be, found in any great numbers in this country.\nAll such women, as a general thing, are keeping, and prefer to keep,\nhouses of their own.\n\nA moderate style of housekeeping, small, compact, and simple domestic\nestablishments, must necessarily be the general order of life in\nAmerica. So many openings of profit are to be found in this country,\nthat domestic service necessarily wants the permanence which forms so\nagreeable a feature of it in the old world.\n\nThis being the case, it should be an object in American to exclude\nfrom the labors of the family all that can, with greater advantage,\nbe executed out of it by combined labor.\n\nFormerly, in New England, soap and candles were to be made in each\nseparate family; now, comparatively few take this toil upon them. We\nbuy soap of the soap-maker, and candles of the candle-factor. This\nprinciple might be extended much further. In France, no family makes\nits own bread, and better bread can not be eaten than can be bought\nat the appropriate shops. No family does its own washing; the family's\nlinen is all sent to women who, making this their sole profession, get\nit up with a care and nicety which can seldom be equaled in any family.\n\nHow would it simplify the burdens of the American housekeeper to have\nwashing and ironing day expunged from her calendar! How much more\nneatly and compactly could the whole domestic system be arranged! If\nall the money that each separate family spends on the outfit and\naccommodations for washing and ironing, on fuel, soap, starch, and the\nother requirements, were united in a fund to create a laundry for every\ndozen families, one or two good women could do in first rate style\nwhat now is very indifferently done by the disturbance and\ndisarrangement of all other domestic processes in these families.\nWhoever sets neighborhood laundries on foot will do much to solve the\nAmerican housekeeper's hardest problem.\n\nAgain, American women must not try with three servants to carry on\nlife in the style which in the old world requires sixteen; they must\nthoroughly understand, and be prepared _to teach_, every branch\nof housekeeping; they must study to make domestic service desirable,\nby treating their servants in a way to lead them to respect themselves\nand to feel themselves respected; and there will gradually be evolved\nfrom the present confusion, a solution of the domestic problem which\nshall be adapted to the life of a new and growing world.\n\n\n\n\nXXVI.\n\nCARE OF THE SICK.\n\n\nIt is interesting to notice in the histories of our Lord the prominent\nplace given to the care of the sick. When he first sent out the\napostles, it was to heal the sick as well as to preach. Again, when,\nhe sent out the seventy, their first command was to \"heal the sick,\"\nand next to say, \"the kingdom of God has come nigh unto you.\" The body\nwas to be healed first, in order to attend to the kingdom of God, even\nwhen it was \"brought nigh.\"\n\nJesus Christ spent more time and labor in the cure of men's bodies\nthan in preaching, even, if we subtract those labors with his earthly\nfather by which family homes were provided. When he ascended to the\nheavens, his last recorded, words to his followers, as given by Mark,\nwere, that his disciples should \"lay hands on the sick,\" that they\nmight recover. Still more directly is the duty of care for the sick\nexhibited in the solemn allegorical description of the last day. It\nwas those who visited the sick that were the blessed; it was those who\ndid not visit the sick who were told to \"depart.\" Thus are we abundantly\ntaught that one of the most sacred duties of the Christian family is\nthe training of its inmates to care and land attention to the sick.\n\nEvery woman who has the care of young children, or of a large family,\nis frequently called upon to advise what shall be done for some one\nwho is indisposed; and often, in circumstances where she must trust\nsolely to her own judgment. In such cases, some err by neglecting to\ndo any thing at all, till the patient is quite sick; but a still greater\nnumber err from excessive and injurious dosing.\n\nThe two great causes of the ordinary slight attacks of illness in a\nfamily, are, sudden chills, which close the pores of the skin, and\nthus affect the throat, lungs, or bowels; and the excessive or improper\nuse of food. In most cases of illness from the first cause, bathing\nthe feet, and some aperient drink to induce perspiration, are suitable\nremedies.\n\nIn case of illness from improper food, or excess in eating, fasting\nfor one or two meals, to give the system time and chance to relieve\nitself, is the safest remedy. Some-times, a gentle cathartic of\ncastor-oil may be needful; but it is best first to try fasting. A safe\nrelief from injurious articles in the stomach is an emetic of warm\nwater; but to be effective, several tumblerfuls must be given in quick\nsuccession, and till the stomach can receive no more.\n\nThe following extract from a discourse of Dr. Burne, before the London\nMedical Society, contains important, information: \"In civilized life,\nthe causes which are most generally and continually operating in the\nproduction of diseases are, affections of the mind, improper diet, and\nretention of the intestinal excretions. The undue retention of\nexcrementitious matter allows of the absorption of its more liquid\nparts, which is a cause of great impurity to the blood, and the\nexcretions, thus rendered hard and knotty, act more or less as\nextraneous substances, and, by their irritation, produce a determination\nof blood to the intestines and to the neighboring viscera, which\nultimately ends in inflammation. It also has a great effect on the\nwhole system; causes a determination of blood to the head, which\noppresses the brain, and dejects the mind; deranges the functions of\nthe stomach; causes flatulency; and produces a general state of\ndiscomfort.\"\n\nDr. Combe remarks on this subject: \"In the natural and healthy state,\nunder a proper system of diet, and with sufficient exercise, the bowels\nare relieved regularly, once every day.\" _Habit_ \"is powerful in\nmodifying the result, and in sustaining healthy action when once fairly\nestablished. Hence the obvious advantage of observing as much regularity\nin relieving the system, as in taking our meals.\" It is often the ease\nthat soliciting nature at a regular period, once a day, will remedy\nconstipation without medicine, and induce a regular and healthy state\nof the bowels. \"When, however, as most frequently happens, the\nconstipation arises from the absence of all assistance from the\nabdominal and respiratory muscles, the first step to be taken is, again\nto solicit their aid; first, by removing all impediments to free\nrespiration, such as stays, waistbands, and belts; secondly, by\nresorting to such active exercise as shall call the muscles into full\nand regular action; [Footnote: The most effective mode of exercising\nthe abdominal and respiratory muscles, in order to remedy constipation,\nis by a continuous alternate contraction of the muscles of the abdomen,\nand diaphragm. By contracting the muscles of the abdomen, the intestines\naxe pressed inward and upward, and then the muscles of the diaphragm\nabove contract and press them downward and outward. Thus the blood is\ndrawn to the torpid parts to stimulate to the healthful action, while\nthe agitation moves their contents downward. An invalid can thus\nexercise the abdominal muscles in bed. The proper time is just after\na meal. This exercise, continued ten minutes a day, including short\nintervals of rest, and persevered in for a week or two, will cure most\nordinary cases of constipation, provided proper food is taken. Coarse\nbread and fruit are needed for this purpose in most cases.] and lastly,\nby proportioning the quantity of food to the wants of the system, and\nthe condition of the digestive organs.\n\n\"If we employ these means, systematically and perseveringly, we shall\nrarely fail in at last restoring the healthy action of the bowels,\nwith little aid from medicine. But if we neglect these modes, we may\ngo on for years, adding pill to pill, and dose to dose, without ever\nattaining the end at which we aim.\"\n\n\"There is no point in which a woman needs more knowledge and discretion\nthan in administering remedies for what seem slight attacks, which are\nnot supposed to require the attention of a physician. It is little\nrealized that purgative drugs are unnatural modes of stimulating the\ninternal organs, tending to exhaust them of their secretions, and to\ndebilitate and disturb the animal economy. For this reason, they should\nbe used as little as possible; and fasting, and perspiration, and the\nother methods pointed out, should always be first resorted to.\"\n\nWhen medicine must be given, it should be borne in mind that there are\nvarious classes of purgatives, which produce very diverse effects.\nSome, like salts, operate to thin the blood, and reduce the system;\nothers are stimulating; and others have a peculiar operation on certain\norgans. Of course, great discrimination and knowledge are needed, in\norder to select the kind which is suitable to the particular disease,\nor to the particular constitution of the invalid. This shows the folly\nof using the many kinds of pills, and other quack medicines, where no\nknowledge can be had of their composition. Pills which are good for\none kind of disease, might operate as poison in another state of the\nsystem.\n\nIt is very common in cases of colds, which affect the lungs or throat,\nto continue to try one dose after another for relief. It will be well\nto hear in mind at such times, that all which goes into the stomach\nmust be first absorbed into the blood before it can reach the diseased\npart; and that there is some danger of injuring the stomach, or other\nparts of the system, by such a variety of doses, many of which, it is\nprobable, will be directly contradictory in their nature, and thus\nneutralize any supposed benefit they might separately impart.\n\nWhen a cold affects the head and eyes, and also impedes breathing\nthrough the nose, great relief is gained by a wet napkin spread over\nthe upper part of the face, covering the nose except an opening for\nbreath. This is to be covered by folds of flannel fastened over the\nnapkin with a handkerchief. So also a wet towel over the throat and\nwhole chest, covered with folds of flannel, often relieves oppressed\nlungs.\n\nOrdinarily, a cold can be arrested on its first symptoms by coverings\nin bed and a bottle of hot water, securing free perspiration. Often,\nat its first appearance, it can be stopped by a spoonful or two of\nwhisky, or any alcoholic liquor, in hot water, taken on going to bed.\nWarm covering to induce perspiration will assist the process. These\nsimple remedies are safest. Perspiration should always be followed by\na towel-bath.\n\nIt is very unwise to tempt the appetite of a person who is indisposed.\nThe cessation of appetite is the warning of nature that the system is\nin such a state that food can not be digested. When food is to be given\nto one who has no desire for it, beef-tea is the best in most cases.\n\nThe following suggestions may be found useful in regard to nursing the\nsick. As nothing contributes more to the restoration of health than\npure air, it should be a primary object to keep a sick-room well\nventilated. At least twice in the twenty-four hours, the patient should\nbe well covered, and fresh air freely admitted from out of doors. After\nthis, if need be, the room should be restored to a proper temperature,\nby the aid of an open fire. Bedding and clothing should also be well\naired, and frequently changed; as the exhalations from the body, in\nsickness, are peculiarly deleterious. Frequent ablutions of the whole\nbody, if possible, are very useful; and for these, warm water may be\nemployed, when cold water is disagreeable.\n\nA sick-room should always be kept very neat and in perfect order; and\nall haste, noise, and bustle should be avoided. In order to secure\nneatness, order, and quiet, in case of long illness, the following\narrangement should be made. Keep a large box for fuel, which will need\nto be filled only twice in twenty-four hours. Provide also and keep\nin the room or an adjacent closet, a small, tea-kettle, a saucepan,\na pail of water for drinks and ablutions, a pitcher, a covered\nporringer, two pint bowls, two tumblers, two cups and saucers, two\nwine-glasses, two large and two small spoons; also a dish in which to\nwash these articles; a good supply of towels and a broom. Keep a\nslop-bucket near by to receive the wash of the room. Procuring all\nthese articles at once, will save much noise and confusion.\n\nWhenever medicine or food is given, spread a clean towel over the\nperson or bed-clothing, and get a clean handkerchief, as nothing is\nmore annoying to a weak stomach than the stickiness and soiling\nproduced by medicine and food.\n\nKeep the fire-place neat, and always wash all articles and put them\nin order as soon as they are out of use. A sick person has nothing to\ndo but look about the room; and when every thing is neat and in order,\na feeling of comfort is induced, while disorder, filth, and neglect\nare constant objects of annoyance which, if not complained of, are yet\nfelt.\n\nOne very important particular in the case of those who are delicate\nin constitution, as well as in the case of the sick, is the preservation\nof warmth, especially in the hands and the feet. The _equal_\ncirculation of the blood is an important element for good health, and\nthis is impossible when the extremities are habitually or frequently\ncold. It is owing to this fact that the coldness caused by wetting the\nfeet is so injurious. In cases where disease or a weak constitution\ncauses a feeble or imperfect circulation, great pains should be taken\nto dress the feet and hands warmly, especially around the wrists and\nankles, where the blood-vessels are nearest to the surface and thus\nmost exposed to cold. Warm elastic wristlets and anklets would save\nmany a feeble person from increasing decay or disease.\n\nWhen the circulation is feeble from debility or disease, the union of\ncarbon and oxygen in the capillaries is slower than in health, and\ntherefore care should be taken to preserve the heat thus generated by\nwarm clothing and protection from cold draughts. In nervous debility,\nit is peculiarly important to preserve the animal heat, for its\nexcessive loss especially affects weak nerves. Many an invalid is\ncarelessly and habitually suffering cold feet, who would recover health\nby proper care to preserve animal heat, especially in the extremities.\n\nThe following are useful directions for dressing a blister. Spread\nthinly, on a linen cloth, an ointment composed of one third of beeswax\nto two thirds of tallow; lay this upon a linen cloth folded many times.\nWith a sharp pair of scissors make an aperture in the lower part of\nthe blister-bag, with a little hole above to give it vent. Break the\nraised skin as little as possible. Lay on the cloth spread as directed.\nThe blister at first should be dressed as often as three times in a\nday, and the dressing renewed each time. Hot fomentations in most cases\nwill be as good as a blister, less painful, and safer.\n\nAlways prepare food for the sick in the neatest and most careful manner.\nIt is in sickness that the senses of smell and taste are most\nsusceptible of annoyance; and often, little mistakes or negligences\nin preparing food will take away all appetite.\n\nFood for the sick should be cooked on coals, that no smoke may have\naccess to it; and great care must be taken to prevent, by stirring,\nany adherence to the bottom of the cooking vessel, as this always gives\na disagreeable taste.\n\nKeeping clean handkerchiefs and towels at hand, cooling the pillows,\nsponging the hands with water, (with care to dry them thoroughly,)\nswabbing the mouth with a clean linen rag on the end of a stick, are\nmodes of increasing the comfort of the sick. Always throw a shawl over\na sick person when raised up.\n\nBe careful to understand a physician's directions, and _to obey them\nimplicitly_. If it be supposed that any other person knows better\nabout the case than the physician, dismiss the physician, and employ\nthat person in his stead.\n\nIt is always best to consult the physician as to where medicines shall\nbe purchased, and to show the articles to him before using them, as\ngreat impositions are practiced in selling old, useless, and adulterated\ndrugs. Always put labels on vials of medicine, and keep them out of\nthe reach of children.\n\nBe careful to label all powders, and particularly all _white powders_,\nas many poisonous medicines in this form are easily mistaken for others\nwhich are harmless.\n\nIn nursing the sick, always speak gently and cheeringly; and, while\nyou express sympathy for their pain and trials, stimulate them to bear\nsill with fortitude, and with resignation to the Heavenly Father who\n\"doth not willingly afflict,\" and \"who causeth all things to work\ntogether for good to them that love him.\" Offer to read the Bible or\nother devotional books, whenever it is suitable, and will not be deemed\nobtrusive.\n\nMiss Ann Preston, one of the most refined as well as talented and\nlearned female physicians, in a published article, gives valuable\ninstruction as to the training, of nurses. She claims that every woman\nshould be trained for this office, and that some who have special\ntraits that fit them for it should make it their daily professional\nbusiness. She remarks that the indispensable qualities in a good nurse\nare common sense, conscientiousness, and sympathetic benevolence: and\nthus continues:\n\n\"God himself made and commissioned one set of nurses; and in doing\nthis and adapting them to utter helplessness and weakness, what did\nhe do? He made them to love the dependence and to see something to\nadmire in the very perversities of their charge. He made them to humor\nthe caprices and regard both reasonable and unreasonable complainings.\nHe made them to bend tenderly over the disturbed and irritated, and\nfold them to quiet assurance in arms made soft with love; in a word,\nhe made _mothers!_ And, other things being equal, whoever has most\nmaternal tenderness and warm sympathy with the sufferer is the best\nnurse.\" And it is those most nearly endowed by nature with these\ntraits who should be selected to be trained for the sacred office of\nnurse to the sick, while, in all the moral training of womanhood, this\nideal should be the aim.\n\nAgain, Miss Preston wisely suggests that \"persons may be conscientious\nand benevolent and possess good judgment in many respects, and yet be\nmiserable nurses of the sick for want of training and right knowledge.\n\n\"_Knowledge_, the assurance that one knows what to do, always gives\n_presence of mind_--and presence of mind is important not only in a\nsick-room but in every home. Who has not known consternation in a family\nwhen some one has fainted, or been burned, or cut, while none were\npresent who knew how to stop the flowing blood, or revive the fainting,\nor apply the saving application to the burn? And yet knowledge and\nefficiency in such cases would save many a life, and be a most fitting\nand desirable accomplishment in every woman.\"\n\n\"We are slow to learn the mighty influence of common agencies, and the\ngreatness of little things, in their bearing upon life and health. The\nwoman who believes it takes no strength to bear a little noise or some\ndisagreeable announcements, and loses patience with the weak, nervous\ninvalid who is agonized with creaking doors or shoes, or loud, shrill\nvoices, or rustling papers, or sharp, fidgety motions, or the whispering\nso common in sick-rooms and often so acutely distressing to the\nsufferer, will soon correct such misapprehensions by herself\nexperiencing a nervous fever.\"\n\nHere the writer would put in a plea for the increasing multitudes of\nnervous sufferers not confined to a sick-room, and yet exposed to all\nthe varied sources of pain incident to an exhausted nervous system,\nwhich often cause more intolerable and also more wearing pain than\nother kinds of suffering.\n\n\"An exceeding acuteness of the senses is the result of many forms of\nnervous disease. A heavy breath, an unwashed hand, a noise that would\nnot have been noticed in health, a crooked table-cover or bed-spread\nmay disturb or oppress; and more than one invalid has spoken in my\nhearing of the sickening effect produced by the nurse tasting her food,\nor blowing in her drinks to make them cool. One woman, and a sensible\nwoman too, told me her nurse had turned a large cushion upon her bureau\nwith the back part in front. She determined not to be disturbed nor\nto speak of such a trifle, but after struggling _three hours_ in\nvain to banish the annoyance, she was forced to ask to have the cushion\nplaced right.\"\n\nIn this place should be mentioned the suffering caused to persons of\nreduced nervous power not only by the smoke of tobacco, but by the\nfetid effluvium of it from the breath and clothing of persons who\nsmoke. Many such are sickened in society and in car-traveling, and to\na degree little imagined by those who gain a dangerous pleasure at the\nfrequent expense of the feeble and suffering.\n\nMiss Preston again remarks, \"It is often exceedingly important to the\nvery weak, who can take but very little nutriment, to have that little\nwhenever they want it. I have known invalids sustain great injury and\nsuffering; when exhausted for want of food, they have had to wait and\nwait, feeling as if every minute was an hour, while some well-fed nurse\ndelayed its coming. Said a lady, 'It makes me hungry now to think of\nthe meals she brought me upon that little waiter when I was sick, such\nbrown thin toast, such good broiled beef, such fragrant tea, and every\nthing looking so exquisitely nice! If at any time I did not think of\nany thing I wanted, nor ask for food, she did not annoy me with\nquestions, but brought some little delicacy at the proper time, and\nwhen it came, I could take it.'\n\n\"If there is one purpose of a personal kind for which it is especially\ndesirable to lay up means, it is for being well nursed in sickness;\nyet in the present state of society, this is absolutely impossible,\neven to the wealthy, because of the scarcity of competent nurses.\nFamilies worn down with the long and extreme illness of a member require\nrelief from one whose feelings will be less taxed, and who can better\nendure the labor.\n\n\"But alas! how often is it impossible, for love or money, to obtain\none capable of taking the burden from the exhausted sister or mother\nor daughter, and how often in consequence they have died prematurely\nor struggled through weary years with a broken constitution. Appeal\nto those who have made the trial, and you will find that very seldom\nhave they been able to have those who by nature or by training were\ncompetent for their duties. Ignorant, unscrupulous, inattentive--how\noften they disturb and injure the patient! A physician told me that\none of his patients had died because the nurse, contrary to orders,\nhad at a critical period washed her with cold water. I have known one\nwho, by stealth, quieted a fretful child with laudanum, and of others\nwho exhausted the sick by incessant talking. One lady said that when,\nto escape this distressing garrulity, she closed her eyes, the nurse\nexclaimed aloud, 'Why, she is going to sleep while I am talking to\nher.'\n\n\"A few only of the sensible, quiet, and loving women, whose presence\neverywhere is a blessing, have qualified themselves and followed nursing\nas a business. Heaven bless that few! What a sense of relief have I\nseen pervade a family when such a one has been procured; and what a\ntreasure seemed found!\n\n\"There is very commonly an extreme susceptibility in the sick to the\n_moral atmosphere_ about them. They feel the healthful influence\nof the presence of a true-hearted attendant and repose in it, though\nthey may not be able to define the cause; while dissimulation,\nfalsehood, recklessness, coarseness, jar terribly and injuriously on\ntheir heightened sensibilities. 'Are the Sisters of Charity really\nbetter nurses than most other women?' I asked an intelligent lady who\nhad seen much of our military hospitals. 'Yes, they are,' was her\nreply. 'Why should it be so?' 'I think it is because with them it is\na work of self-abnegation, and of duty to God, and they are so quiet\nand self-forgetful in its exercise that they do it better, while many\nother women show such self-consciousness and are so fussy!\"\n\nIs there any reason why every Protestant woman should not be trained\nfor this self-denying office as _a duty owed to God?_ We can not better\nclose this chapter than by one more quotation from the same intelligent\nand attractive writer: \"The good nurse is an artist. O the pillowy,\nsoothing softness of her touch, the neatness of her simple, unrustling\ndress, the music of her assured yet gentle voice and tread, the sense of\nsecurity and rest inspired by her kind and hopeful face, the promptness\nand attention to every want, the repose that like an atmosphere\nencircles her, the evidence of heavenly goodness, and love that she\ndiffuses!\" Is not such an art as this worth much to attain?\n\nIn training children to the Christian life, one very important\nopportunity occurs whenever sickness appears, in the family or\nneighborhood. The repression of disturbing noises, the speaking in\ntones of gentleness and sympathy, the small offices of service or\nnursing in which children can aid, should be inculcated as ministering\nto the Lord and Elder Brother of man, who has said, \"Inasmuch as ye\nhave done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done\nit to me.\"\n\nOne of the blessed opportunities for such ministries is given to\nchildren in the cultivation of flowers. The entrance into a sick-room\nof a smiling, healthful child, bringing an offering of flowers raised\nby its own labor, is like an angel of comfort and love, \"and alike it\nblesseth him who gives and him who takes.\"\n\nA time is coming when the visitation of the sick, as a part of the\nChristian life, will hold a higher consideration than is now generally\naccorded, especially in the cases of uninteresting sufferers who have\nnothing to attract kind attentions, except that they are suffering\nchildren of our Father in heaven, and \"one of the least\" of the brethren\nof Jesus Christ.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\nACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES.\n\n\nChildren should be taught the following modes of saving life, health\nand limbs in cases of sudden emergency, before a medical adviser can\nbe summoned.\n\nIn case of a common cut, bind the lips of the wound together with a\nrag, and put on nothing else. If it is large, lay narrow strips of\nsticking-plaster obliquely across the wound. In some cases it is needful\nto draw a needle and thread through the lips of the wound, and tie the\ntwo sides together.\n\nIf an artery be cut, it must be tied as quickly as possible, or the\nperson will soon bleed to death. The blood from an artery is a brighter\nred than that from the veins, and spirts out in jets at each beat of\nthe heart. Take hold of the end of the artery and tie it or hold it\ntight till a surgeon comes. In this case, and in all cases of bad\nwounds that bleed much, tie a tight bandage near and above the wound,\ninserting a stick into the bandage and twisting as tight as can be\nborne, to stop the immediate effusion of blood.\n\nBathe bad bruises in hot water. Arnica water hastens a cure, but is\ninjurious and weakening to the parts when used too long and too freely.\n\nA sprain is relieved from the first pains by hot fomentations, or the\napplication of very hot bandages, but entire rest is the chief permanent\nremedy. The more the limb is used, especially at first, the longer the\ntime required for the small broken fibres to knit together. The sprained\nleg should be kept in a horizontal position. When a leg is broken, tie\nit to the other leg, to keep it still till a surgeon comes. Tie a\nbroken arm to a piece of thin wood, to keep it still till set.\n\nIn the case of bad burns that take off the skin, creosote water is the\nbest remedy. If this is not at hand, wood-soot (not coal) pounded,\nsifted, and mixed with lard is nearly as good, as such soot contains\ncreosote. When a dressing is put on, do not remove it till a skin is\nformed under it. If nothing else is at hand for a bad burn, sprinkle\nflour over the place where the skin is off and then let it remain,\nprotected by a bandage. The chief aim is to keep the part without skin\nfrom the air.\n\nIn case of drowning, the aim should be to clear the throat, mouth and\nnostrils, and then produce the natural action of the lungs in breathing\nas soon as possible, at the same time removing wet clothes and applying\nwarmth and friction to the skin, especially the hands and feet, to\nstart the circulation. The best mode of cleansing the throat and month\nof choking water is to lay the person on the face, and raise the head\na little, clearing the mouth and nostrils with the finger, and then\napply hartshorn or camphor to the nose. This is safer and surer than\na common mode of lifting the body by the feet, or rolling on a barrel\nto empty out the water.\n\nTo start the action of the lungs, first lay the person on the face and\npress the back along the spine to expel all air from the lungs. Then\nturn the body nearly, but not quite over on to the back, thus opening\nthe chest so that the air will rush in if the mouth is kept open. Then\nturn the body to the face again and expel the air, and then again\nnearly over on to the back; and so continue for a long time. Friction,\ndry and warm clothing, and warm applications should be used in\nconnection with this process. This is a much better mode than using\nbellows, which sometimes will close the opening to the windpipe. The\nabove is the mode recommended by Dr. Marshall Hall, and is approved\nby the best medical authorities.\n\nCertain articles are often kept in the house for cooking or medical\npurposes, and sometimes by mistake are taken in quantities that are\npoisonous.\n\n_Soda, saleratus, potash,_ or any other alkali can be rendered\nharmless in the stomach by vinegar, tomato-juice, or any other acid.\nIf sulphuric or oxalic acid are taken, pounded chalk in water is the\nbest antidote. If those are not at hand, strong soapsuds have been\nfound effective. Large quantities of tepid water should be drank after\nthese antidotes are taken, so as to produce vomiting.\n\n_Lime_ or _baryta_ and its compounds demand a solution of glauber salts\nor of sulphuric acid.\n\n_Iodine_ or _Iodide of Potassium_ demands large draughts of wheat flour\nor starch in water, and then vinegar and water. The stomach should then\nbe emptied by vomiting with as much tepid water as the stomach can hold.\n\n_Prussic acid_, a violent poison, is sometimes taken by children in\neating the pits of stone fruits or bitter almonds which contain it.\nThe antidote is to empty the stomach by an emetic, and give water of\nammonia or chloric water. Affusions of cold water all over the body,\nfollowed by warm hand friction, is often a remedy alone, but the above\nshould be added if at command. _Antimony_ and its compounds demand\ndrinks of oak bark, or gall nuts, or very strong green tea.\n\n_Arsenic_ demands oil or melted fat, with magnesia or lime water in\nlarge quantities, till vomiting occurs.\n\n_Corrosive Sublimate_, (often used to kill vermin,) and any other form\nof mercury, requires milk or whites of eggs in large quantities. The\nwhites of twelve eggs in two quarts of water, given in the largest\npossible draughts every three minutes till free vomiting occurs, is\na good remedy. Flour and water will answer, though not so surely as\nthe above. Warm water will help, if nothing else is in reach. The same\nremedy answers when any form of copper, or tin, or zinc poison is\ntaken, and also for creosote.\n\n_Lead_ and its compounds require a dilution of Epsom or Glauber salts,\nor some strong, acid drink, as lemon or tomatoes.\n\n_Nitrate of Silver_ demands salt water drank till vomiting occurs.\n\n_Phosphorus_ (sometimes taken by children from matches) needs magnesia\nand copious drinks of gum Arabic, or gum water of any sort.\n\n_Alcohol_, in dangerous quantities, demands vomiting with warm water.\n\nWhen one is violently sick from excessive use of _tobacco_, vomiting is\na relief, if it arise spontaneously. After that, or in case it does not\noccur, the juice of a lemon and perfect rest, in a horizontal position\non the back, will relieve the nausea and faintness, generally soothing\nthe foolish and over-wrought patient into a sleep.\n\n_Opium_ demands a quick emetic. The best is a heaping table-spoonful of\npowdered mustard, in a tumblerful of warm water; or powdered alum in\nhalf-ounce doses and strong coffee alternately in warm water. Give acid\ndrinks after vomiting. If vomiting is not elicited thus, a stomach pump\nis demanded. Dash cold water on the head, apply friction, and use all\nmeans to keep the person awake and in motion.\n\n_Strychnia_ demands also quick emetics.\n\nThe stomach should be emptied always after taking any of these\nantidotes, by a warm water emetic.\n\nIn case of bleeding at the lungs, or stomach, or throat, give a\ntea-spoonful of dry salt, and repeat it often. For bleeding at the\nnose, put ice, or pour cold water on the back of the neck, keeping the\nhead elevated.\n\nIf a person be struck with lightning, throw pailfuls of cold water on\nthe head and body, and apply mustard poultices on the stomach, with\nfriction of the whole body and inflation of the lungs, as in the case\nof drowning. The same mode is to be used when persons are stupefied\nby fumes of coal, or bad air.\n\nIn thunderstorms, shut the doors and windows. The safest part of a\nroom is its centre; and where there is a feather-bed in the apartment,\nthat will be found the most secure resting-place.\n\nA lightning-rod if it be well pointed, and run deep into the earth,\nis a certain protection to a circle, around it, whose diameter equals\nthe height of the rod above the highest chimney. But it protects _no\nfarther_ than this extent.\n\nIn case of fire, wrap about you a blanket, a shawl, a piece of carpet,\nor any other woolen cloth, to serve as protection. Never read in bed,\nlest you fall asleep, and the bed be set on fire. If your clothes get\non fire, never run, but lie down, and roll about till you can reach\na bed or carpet to wrap yourself in, and thus put out the fire. Keep\nyoung children in woolen dresses, to save them from the risk of fire.\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII.\n\nSEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING.\n\n\nEvery young girl should be taught to do the following kinds of stitch\nwith propriety: Over-stitch, hemming, running, felling, stitching,\nback-stitch and run, buttonhole-stitch, chain-stitch, whipping, darning,\ngathering, and cross-stitch.\n\nIn doing over-stitch, the edges should always be first fitted, either\nwith pins or basting, to prevent puckering. In turning wide hems, a\npaper measure should be used, to make them even. Tucks, also, should\nbe regulated by a paper measure. A fell should be turned, before the\nedges are put together, and the seam should be over-sewed before\nfelling. All biased or goring seams should be felled, for stitching,\ndraw a thread, and take up two or three threads at a stitch.\n\nIn cutting buttonholes, it is best to have a pair of scissors, made\nfor the purpose, which cut very neatly. For broadcloth, a chisel and\nboard are better. The best stitch is made by putting in the needle,\nand then turning the thread round it near the eye. This is better than\nto draw the needle through, and then take up a loop. A stay thread\nshould first be put across each side of the buttonhole, and also a bar\nat each end before working it. In working the buttonhole, keep the\nstay thread as far from the edge as possible. A small bar should be\nworked at each end.\n\nWhipping is done better by sewing _over_, and not under. The roll\nshould be as fine as possible, the stitches short, the thread strong,\nand in sewing, every gather should be taken up.\n\nThe rule for _gathering_ in shirts is, to draw a thread, and then take\nup two threads and skip four. In _darning_, after the perpendicular\nthreads are run, the crossing threads should interlace exactly, taking\none thread and leaving one, like woven threads. It is better to run a\nfine thread around a hole and draw it together, and then darn across it.\n\nThe neatest sewers always fit and baste their work before sewing; and\nthey say they always save time in the end by so doing, as they never\nhave to pick out work on account of mistakes.\n\nIt is wise to sew closely and tightly all new garments which will never\nbe altered in shape; but some are more nice than wise, in sewing frocks\nand old garments in the same style. However, this is the least common\nextreme. It is much more frequently the case that articles which ought\nto be strongly and neatly made are sewed so that a nice sewer would\nrather pick out the threads and sew over again than to be annoyed with\nthe sight of grinning stitches, and vexed with constant rips.\n\nIf the thread kinks in sewing, break it off and begin at the other\nend. In using spool-cotton, thread the needle with the end which comes\noff first, and not the end where you break it off. This often prevents\nkinks.\n\n_Work-baskets_.--It is very important to neatness, comfort, and\nsuccess in sewing, that a lady's work-basket should be properly fitted\nup. The following articles are needful to the mistress of a family:\na large basket to hold work; having in it fastened a smaller basket\nor box, containing a needle-book in which are needles of every size,\nboth blunts and sharps, with a larger number of those sizes most used;\nalso small and large darning-needles, for woolen, cotton, and silk;\ntwo tape needles, large and small; nice scissors for fine work,\nbutton-hole scissors; an emery bag; two balls of white and yellow wax;\nand two thimbles, in case one should be mislaid. When a person is\ntroubled with damp fingers, a lump of soft chalk in a paper is useful\nto rub on the ends of the fingers.\n\nBesides this box, keep in the basket common scissors; small shears;\na bag containing tapes of all colors and sizes, done up in rolls; bags,\none containing spools of white and another of colored cotton thread,\nand another for silks wound on spools or papers; a box or bag for nice\nbuttons, and another for more common ones; a hag containing silk braid,\nwelting cords, and galloon binding. Small rolls of pieces of white and\nbrown linen and cotton are also often needed. A brick pin-cushion is\na great convenience in sewing, and better than screw cushions. It is\nmade by covering half a brick with cloth, putting a cushion on the\ntop, and covering it tastefully. It is very useful to hold pins and\nneedles while sewing, and to fasten long seams when basting and sewing.\n\n_To make a Frock_.--The best way for a novice is to get a dress fitted\n(not sewed) at the best mantua-maker's. Then take out a sleeve, rip it\nto pieces, and cut out a paper pattern. Then take out half of the waist,\n(it must have a seam in front,) and cut out a pattern of the back and\nfore-body, both lining and outer part. In cutting the patterns, iron the\npieces smooth, let the paper be stiff, and with a pin; prick holes in\nthe paper, to show the gore in front and the depths of the seams. With a\npen and ink, draw lines from each pin-hole to preserve this mark. Then\nbaste the parts together again, in doing which the unbasted half will\nserve as a pattern. When this is done, a lady of common ingenuity can\ncut and fit a dress by these patterns. If the waist of a dress be too\ntight, the seam under the arm must be let out; and in cutting a dress an\nallowance should be made for letting it out if needful, at this seam.\n\nThe linings for the waists of dresses should be stiffened with cotton\nor linen. In cutting bias-pieces for trimming, they will not set well\nunless they are exact. In cutting them use a long rule, and a lead\npencil or piece of chalk. Welting-cords should be covered with\nbias-pieces; and it saves time, in many cases, to baste on the\nwelting-cord at the same time that you cover it. The best way, to put\non hooks and eyes is to sew thorn on double broad tape, and sew this\non the frock lining. They can be moved easily, and do not show where\nthey are sewed on.\n\nIn putting on linings of skirts at the bottom, be careful to have it\na very little fuller than the dress, or it will shrink and look badly.\nAll thin silks look much better with lining, and last much longer, as\ndo aprons also. In putting a lining to a dress, baste it on each\nseparate breadth, and sew it at the seams, and it looks much better\nthan to have it fastened only at the bottom. Hake notches in selvedge,\nto prevent it from drawing up the breadth. Dresses which are to be\nwashed should not be lined.\n\nFigured silks do not generally wear well if the figure be large and\nsatin-like. Black and plain-colored silks can be tested by procuring\nsamples, and making creases in them; fold the creases in a bunch, and\nrub them against a rough surface of moreen or carpeting. Those which\nare poor will soon wear off at the creases.\n\nPlaids look becoming for tall women, as they shorten the appearance\nof the figure. Stripes look becoming on a large person, as they reduce\nthe apparent size. Pale, persons should not wear blue or green, and\nbrunettes should not wear light delicate colors, except shades of buff,\nfawn, or straw color. Pearl white is not good for any complexion. Dead\nwhite and black look becoming on almost all persons. It is best to try\ncolors by candle-light for evening dresses, as some colors which look\nvery handsome in the daylight are very homely when seen by candle-light.\nNever be in haste to be first in a fashion, and never go to the\nextremes.\n\n_Linen and Cotton_.--In buying linen, seek for that which has a\nround close thread and is perfectly white; for if it be not white at\nfirst, it will never afterward become so. Much that is called linen\nat the shops is half cotton, and does not wear so well as cotton alone.\nCheap linens are usually of this kind. It is difficult to discover\nwhich are all linen; but the best way is to find a lot presumed to be\ngood, take a sample, wash it, and ravel it. If this be good, the rest\nof the same lot will probably be so. If you can not do this, draw a\nthread each way, and if both appear equally strong it is probably all\nlinen. Linen and cotton must be put in clean water, and boiled, to get\nout the starch, and then ironed.\n\nA \"long piece\" of linen, a yard wide, will, with care and calculation,\nmake eight shirts. In cutting it, take a shirt of the right size as\na guide in fitting and basting. Bosom-pieces and false collars must\nbe cut and fitted by patterns which suit the person for whom, the\narticles are designed. Gentlemen's night-shirts are made like other\nshirts, except that they are longer, and do not have bosoms and cuffs\nfor starching.\n\nIn cutting chemises, if the cotton or linen is a yard wide, cut off\nsmall half-gores at the top of the breadths and set them on the bottom.\nUse a long rule and a pencil in cutting gores. In cutting cotton winch\nis quite wide, a seam can be saved by cutting out two at once, in this\nmanner: cut off three breadths, and with a long rule and a pencil,\nmark and cut off the gores; thus from one breadth cut off two gores\nthe whole length, each gore one fourth of the breadth at the bottom,\nand tapering off to a point at the top. The other two breadths are to\nhave a gore cut off from each, which is one fourth wide at the top and\ntwo fourths at bottom. Arrange these pieces right and they will make\ntwo chemises, one having four seams and the other three. This is a\nmuch easier way of cutting than sewing the three breadths together in\nbag fashion, as is often done. The biased or goring seams must always\nbe felled. The sleeves and neck can be cut according to the taste of\nthe wearer, by another, chemise for a pattern. There should be a lining\naround the armholes and stays at all corners. Six yards of yard width\nwill make two chemises.\n\nLong night-gowns are best cut a little goring. It requires five yards\nfor a long night-gown, and two and a half for a short one. Linen night\ncaps wear longer than cotton ones, and do not like them turn yellow.\nThey should be ruffled with linen, as cotton borders will not last so\nlong as the cap. A double-quilted wrapper is a great comfort, in case\nof sickness. It may be made of two old dresses. It should not be cut\nfull, but rather like a gentleman's study-gown, having no gathers or\nplaits, but large enough to slip off and on with ease. A double-gown\nof calico is also very useful. Most articles of dress, for grown persons\nor children, require patterns.\n\nOld silk dresses quilted for skirts are very serviceable, White flannel\nis soiled so easily and shrinks so much in washing that it is a good\nplan to color it. Cotton flannel is also good for common skirts. In\nmaking up flannel, back-stitch and run the seams and then cross-stitch\nthem open. Nice flannel for infants can be ornamented with very little\nexpense of time, by turning up the hem on the right side and making\na little vine at the edge with saddler's silk The stitch of the vine\nis a modification of button-hole stitch.\n\n_Mending_. Silk dresses will last much longer, by ripping out the\nsleeves when thin, and changing the arms and also the breadths of the\nskirt. Tumbled black silk, which is old and rusty, should be dipped\nin water, then be drained for a few minutes, without squeezing or\npressing, and then ironed. Coffee or cold tea is better than water.\nSheets when worn thin in the middle should be ripped, and the other\nedges sewed together. Window-curtains last much longer if lined, as\nthe sun fades and rots them.\n\nBroadcloth should be cut with reference to the way the nap runs. When\npantaloons are thin, it is best to newly seat them, cutting the piece\ninserted in a curve, as corners are difficult to fit. Hose can be cut\ndown when the feet are worn. Take an old stocking and cut it up for\na pattern. Make the heel short. In sewing, turn each edge and run it\ndown, and then sew over the edges. This is better than to stitch and\nthen cross-stitch. \"Run\" thin places in stockings, and it will save\ndarning a hole. If shoes are worn through on the sides, in the\nupper-leather, slip pieces of broadcloth under, and sew them around\nthe holes.\n\n_Bedding_. The best beds are thick hair mattresses, which for persons in\nhealth are good for winter as well as summer use. Mattresses may also be\nmade of husks, dried and drawn into shreds; also of alternate layers of\ncotton and moss. The most profitable sheeting is the Russian, which will\nlast three times as long as any other. It is never perfectly white.\nUnbleached cotton is good for winter. It is poor economy to make narrow\nand short sheets, as children and domestics will always slip them off,\nand soil the bed-tick and bolster. They should be three yards long, and\ntwo and a half wide, so that they can be tucked in all around. All bed-\nlinen should be marked and numbered, so that a bed can always be made\nproperly, and all missing articles be known.\n\n\n\nXXIX.\n\nFIRES AND LIGHTS.\n\n\nA shallow fireplace saves wood and gives out more heat than a deeper\none. A false back of brick may be put up in a deep fireplace. Hooks\nfor holding up the shovel and tongs, a hearth-brush and bellows, and\nbrass knobs to hang them on, should be furnished to every fireplace.\nAn iron bar across the andirons aids in keeping the fire safe and in\ngood order. Steel furniture is neater, handsomer, and more easily kept\nin order than that made of brass.\n\nUse green wood for logs, and mix green and dry wood for the fire; and\nthen the wood-pile will last much longer. Walnut, maple, hickory, and\noak wood are best; chestnut or hemlock is bad, because it snaps. Do\nnot buy a load in which there are many crooked sticks. Learn how to\nmeasure and calculate the solid contents of a load, so as not to be\ncheated. A cord of wood should be equivalent to a pile eight feet long,\nfour feet wide and four feet high; that is, it contains (8 X 4 X 4 =\n128) one hundred and twenty-eight cubic or solid feet. A city \"load\"\nis usually one third of a cord. Have all your wood split and piled\nunder cover for winter. Have the green wood logs in one pile, dry wood\nin another, oven wood in another, kindlings and chips in another, and\na supply of charcoal to use for broiling and ironing in another place.\nHave a brick bin for ashes, and never allow them to be put in wood.\nWhen quitting fires at night, never leave a burning stick across the\nandirons, nor on its end, without quenching it. See that no fire adheres\nto the broom or brush, remove all articles from the fire, and have two\npails filled with water in the kitchen where they will not freeze.\n\n\nSTOVES AND GRATES.\n\nRooms heated by stoves should always have some opening for the admission\nof fresh air, or they will be injurious to health. The dryness of the\nair, which they occasion, should be remedied by placing a vessel filled\nwith water on the stove, otherwise, the lungs or eyes will be injured.\nA large number of plants in a room prevents this dryness of the air.\nWhere stove-pipes pass through fire-boards, the hole in the wood should\nbe much larger than the pipe, so that there may be no danger of the\nwood taking fire. The unsightly opening thus occasioned should be\ncovered with tin. When pipes are carried through floors or partitions,\nthey should always pass either through earthen crocks, or what are\nknown as tin stove-pipe thimbles, which may be found in any stove store\nor tinsmith's. Lengthening a pipe will increase its draught.\n\nFor those who use _anthracite_ coal, that which is broken or screened is\nbest for grates, and the nut-coal for small stoves. Three tons are\nsufficient in the Middle States, and four tons in the Northern, to keep\none fire through the winter. That which is bright, hard, and clean is\nbest; and that which is soft, porous, and covered with damp dust is\npoor. It will be well to provide two barrels of charcoal for kindling to\nevery ton of anthracite coal. Grates for _bituminous coal_ should have a\nflue nearly as deep as the grate; and the bars should be round and not\nclose together. The better draught there is, the less coal-dust is made.\nEvery grate should be furnished with a poker, shovel, tongs, blower,\ncoal-scuttle, and holder for the blower. The latter may be made of\nwoolen, covered with old silk; and hung near the fire.\n\nCoal-stoves should be carefully put up, as cracks in the pipe,\nespecially in sleeping rooms, are dangerous.\n\n\nLIGHTS\n\nProfessor Phin, of the _Manufacturer and Builder_, has kindly given us\nsome late information on this important topic, which will be found\nvaluable.\n\nIn choosing the source of our light, the great points to be considered\nare, first, the influence on the eyes, and secondly, economy. It is\npoor economy to use a bad light. Modern houses in cities, and even in\nlarge villages, are furnished with gas; where gas is not used,\nsperm-oil, kerosene or coal-oil, and candles are employed. Gas is the\ncheapest, (or ought to be;) and if properly used, is as good as any.\nGood sperm-oil burned in an Argand lamp--that is, a lamp with a\ncircular wick, like the astral lamp and others--is perhaps the best;\nbut it is expensive and attended with many inconveniences. Good kerosene\noil gives a light which leaves little to be desired. Candles are used\nonly on rare occasions, though many families prefer to manufacture\ninto candles the waste grease that accumulates in the household. The\neconomy of any source of light will depend so much upon local\ncircumstances that no absolute directions can be given.\n\nThe effect produced by light on the eyes depends upon the following\npoints: First, _Steadiness_. Nothing is more injurious to the\neyes than a flickering, unsteady flame. Hence, all flames used for\nlight-giving purposes ought to be surrounded with glass chimneys or\nsmall shades. No naked flame can ever be steady. Second, _Color_.\nThis depends greatly upon the temperature of the flame. A hot flame\ngives a bright, white light; a flame which has not a high temperature\ngives a dull, yellow light, which is very injurious to the eyes. In\nthe naked gas-jet a large portion of the flame burns at a low\ntemperature, and the same is the case with the flame of the kerosene\nlamp when the height of the chimney is not properly proportioned to\nthe amount of oil consumed; a high wick needs a high chimney. In the\ncase of a well-trimmed Argand oil-lamp, or an Argand burner for gas,\nthe flame is in general most intensely hot, and the light is of a clear\nwhite character.\n\nThe third point which demands attention is the _amount of heat_\ntransmitted from the flame to the eyes. It often happens that people,\nin order to economize light, bring the lamp quite close to the face.\nThis is a very bad habit. The heat is more injurious than the light.\nBetter burn a larger flame, and keep it at a greater distance. It is\nalso well that various sized lamps should be provided to serve the\nvarying necessities of the household in regard to quantity of light.\nOne of the very best forms of lamp is that known as the \"student's\nreading-lamp,\" which is, in the burner, an Argand. Provide small lamps\nwith handles for carrying about, and broad-bottomed lamps for the\nkitchen, as these are not easily upset. Hand and kitchen lamps are\nbest made of metal, unless they are to be used by very careful persons.\n\nSperm-oil, lard, tallow, etc., have been superseded to such an extent\nby kerosene that it is scarcely worth while to give any special\ndirections in regard to them. In the choice of kerosene, attention\nshould be paid to two points: its _safety_ and its _light-giving\nqualities_. Kerosene is not a simple fluid, like water; but is a\nmixture of several liquids, all of which boil at different temperatures.\nGood kerosene oil should be purified from all that portion which boils\nor evaporates at a low temperature; for it is the production of this\nvapor, and its mixture with atmospheric air, that gives rise to those\nterrible explosions which sometimes occur when a light is brought near\na can of poor oil. To test the oil in this respect, pour a little into\nan iron spoon, and heat it over a lamp until it is moderately warm to\nthe touch. If the oil produces vapor which can be set on fire by means\nof a flame held a short distance above the surface of the liquid, it\nis bad. Good oil poured into a teacup or on the floor does not easily\ntake fire when a light is brought in contact with it. Poor oil will\ninstantly ignite under the same circumstances, and hence, the breaking\nof a lamp filled with poor oil is always attended by great peril of\na conflagration. Not only the safety but also the light-giving qualities\nof kerosene are greatly enhanced by the removal of these volatile and\ndangerous oils. Hence, while good kerosene should be clear in color\nand free from all matters which can gum up the wick and thus interfere\nwith free circulation and combustion, it should also be perfectly safe.\nIt ought to be kept in a cool, dark place, and carefully excluded from\nthe air.\n\nThe care of lamps requires so much attention and discretion, that many\nladies choose to do this work themselves, rather than trust it with\ndomestics. To do it properly, provide the following things: an old\nwaiter to hold all the articles used; a lamp-filler, with a spout,\nsmall at the end, and turned up to prevent oil from dripping; proper\nwicks, and a basket or box to hold them; a lamp-trimmer made for the\npurpose, or a pair of _sharp_ scissors; a small soap-cup and soap;\nsome washing soda in a broad-mouthed bottle; and several soft cloths\nto wash the articles and towels to wipe them. If every thing, after\nbeing used, is cleansed from oil and then kept neatly, it will not be\nso unpleasant a task as it usually is, to take care of lamps.\n\nThe inside of lamps and oil-cans should be cleansed with soda dissolved\nin water. Be careful to drain them well, and not to let any gilding\nor bronze be injured by the soda coming in contact with it. Put one\ntable-spoonful of soda to one quart of water. Take the lamp to pieces\nand clean it as often as necessary. Wipe the chimney at least once a\nday, and wash it whenever mere wiping fails to cleanse it. Some persons,\nowing to the dirty state of their chimneys, lose half the light which\nis produced. Keep dry fingers in trimming lamps. Renew the wicks before\nthey get too short. They should never be allowed to burn shorter than\nan inch and a half.\n\nIn regard to _shades_, which are always well to use, on lamps or\ngas, those made of glass or porcelain are now so cheap that we can\nrecommend them as the best without any reservation. Plain shades,\nmaking the light soft and even, do not injure the eyes. Lamps should\nbe lighted with a strip of folded or rolled paper, of which a quantity\nshould be kept on the mantelpiece. Weak eyes should always be especially\nshaded from the lights. Small screens, made for the purpose, should\nbe kept at hand. A person with weak eyes can use them safely much\nlonger when they are protected from the glare of the light. Fill the\nentry-lamp every day, and cleanse and fill night-lanterns twice a week,\nif used often. A good night-lamp is made with a small one-wicked lamp\nand a roll of tin to set over it. Have some holes made in the bottom\nof this cover, and it can then be used to heat articles. Very cheap\nfloating tapers can he bought to burn in a teacup of oil through the\nnight.\n\n\nTO MAKE CANDLES.\n\nThe nicest candles are those run in moulds. For this purpose, melt\ntogether one quarter of a pound of white wax, one quarter of an ounce\nof camphor, two ounces of alum, and ten ounces of suet or mutton-tallow.\nSoak the wicks in lime-water and saltpetre, and when dry, fix them in\nthe moulds and pour in the melted tallow. Let them remain one night\nto cool; then warm them a little to loosen them, draw them out, and\nwhen they are hard, put them in a box in a dry and cool place.\n\nTo make dipped candles, cut the wicks of the right length, double them\nover rods, and twist them. They should first be dipped in lime-water\nor vinegar, and dried. Melt the tallow in a large kettle, filling it\nto the top with hot water, when the tallow is melted. Put in wax and\npowdered alum, to harden them. Keep the tallow hot over a portable\nfurnace, and fill the kettle with hot water as fast as the tallow is\nused up. Lay two long strips of narrow board on which to hang the rods;\nand set flat pans under, on the floor, to catch the grease. Take several\nrods at once, and wet the wicks in the tallow; straighten and smooth\nthem when cool. Then dip them as fast as they cool, until they become\nof the proper size. Plunge them obliquely and not perpendicularly; and\nwhen the bottoms are too large, hold them in the hot grease till a\npart melts off. Let them remain one night to cool; then cut off the\nbottoms, and keep them in a dry, cool place. Cheap lights are made,\nby dipping rushes in tallow; the rushes being first stripped of nearly\nthe whole of the hard outer covering and the pith alone being retained\nwith just enough of the tough bark to keep it stiff.\n\n\n\n\nXXX.\n\nTHE CARE OF ROOMS.\n\n\nIt would be impossible in a work dealing, as this does, with general\nprinciples of house-keeping, to elaborate in full the multitudinous\ndetails which arise for attention and intelligent care. These will be\nmore largely treated of in the book soon to be published for the present\nwriter, (the senior authoress of this volume.) Yet, in the different\ndepartments of family labor, there are certain leading matters\nconcerning which a few hints may be found useful in aiding the reader\nto carry into operation the instructions and ideas of the earlier\nchapters of this book, and in promoting the general comfort and\nconvenience of families.\n\nAnd first, asking the reader to bear in mind that these suggestions\nare chiefly applicable to country homes, not within easy reach of all\nthe conveniences which go under the name of \"modern improvements,\" we\nwill say a few words on the care of _Parlors_.\n\nIn hanging pictures, put them so that the lower part shall be opposite\nthe eye. Cleanse the glass of pictures with whiting, as water endangers\nthe pictures. Gilt frames can be much better preserved by putting on\na coat of copal varnish, which with proper brushes, can be bought of\ncarriage or cabinet-makers. When dry, it can be washed with fair water.\nWash the brush in spirits of turpentine.\n\nCurtains, ottomans, and sofas covered with worsted, can be cleansed\nwith wheat bran, rubbed on with flannel. Shades of linen or cotton,\non rollers and pulleys, are always useful to shut out the sun from\ncurtains and carpets. Paper curtains, pasted on old cotton, are good\nfor chambers. Put them on rollers, having cords nailed to them, so\nthat when the curtain falls, the cord will be wound up. Then, by pulling\nthe cord, the curtain will be rolled up.\n\nVarnished furniture should be rubbed only with silk, except\noccasionally, when a little sweet-oil should be rubbed over, and wiped\noff carefully. For unvarnished furniture, use bees-wax, a little\nsoftened with sweet-oil; rub it in with a hard brush, and polish with\nwoolen and silk rags. Some persons rub in linseed-oil; others mix\nbees-wax with a little spirits of turpentine and rosin, making it so\nthat it can be put on with a sponge, and wiped off with a soft rag.\nOthers keep in a bottle the following mixture: two ounces of spirits\nof turpentine, four table-spoonfuls of sweet-oil, and one quart of\nmilk. This is applied with a sponge, and wiped off with a linen rag.\n\nHearths and jambs, of brick, look best painted over with black lead,\nmixed with soft-soap. Wash the bricks which are nearest the fire with\nredding and milk, using a painter's brush. A sheet of zinc, covering\nthe whole hearth, is cheap, saves work, and looks very well. A tinman\ncan fit it properly.\n\nStone hearths should be rubbed with a paste of powdered stone, (to be\nprocured of the stone-cutters,) and then brushed with a stiff brush.\nKitchen hearths, of stone, are improved by rubbing in lamp-oil.\n\nStains can be removed from marble, by oxalic acid and water, or oil\nof vitriol and water, left on a few minutes, and then rubbed dry. Gray\nmarble is improved by linseed-oil. Grease can be taken from marble,\nby ox-gall and potter's clay wet with soapsuds, (a gill of each.) It\nis better to add, also, a gill of spirits of turpentine. It improves\nthe looks of marble, to cover it with this mixture, leaving it two\ndays, and then rubbing it off.\n\nUnless a parlor is in constant use, it is best to sweep it only once\na week, and at other times use a whisk-broom and dust-pan. When a\nparlor with handsome furniture is to be swept, cover the sofas, centre\ntable, piano, books, and mantelpiece with old cottons kept for the\npurpose. Remove the rugs and shake them, and clean the jambs, hearth,\nand fire-furniture. Then sweep the room, moving every article. Dust\nthe furniture with a dust-brush and a piece of old silk. A painter's\nbrush should be kept, to remove dust from ledges and crevices. The\ndust-cloths should be often shaken and washed, or else they will soil\nthe walls and furniture when they are used. Dust ornaments and fine\nbooks with feather brushes, used for no other purpose.\n\n_Chambers and Bedrooms_ are of course a portion of the house to\nbe sedulously and scrupulously attended to, if either health or comfort\nare aimed at in the family. And first, every mistress of a family\nshould see, not only that all sleeping-rooms in her house _can be_\nwell ventilated at night, but that they actually are so. Where there\nis no provision made for the introduction of pure air, in the\nconstruction of the house, and in the bedroom itself no open fire-place\nto allow the easy exit of foul air, a door should be left open into\nan entry or room where fresh air is admitted; or else a small opening\nshould be made in a window, taking care not to allow a draught of air\nto cross the bed. The debility of childhood, the lassitude of domestics,\nand the ill-health of families, are often caused by neglecting to\nprovide a supply of pure air.\n\nIt is not deemed necessary to add much to the earlier chapters treating\nof bedroom conveniences; but one subject is of marked importance, as\nbeing characteristic of good or poor housekeeping--that is, the _making\nof beds_.\n\nFew servants will make a bed properly, without much attention from the\nmistress of the family; and every young woman who expects to have a\nhousehold of her own to manage should be able to do it well herself,\nand to instruct others in doing it. The following directions should\nbe given to those who do this work:\n\nOpen the windows, and lay off the bed-covering on two chairs, at the\nfoot of the bed. If it be a feather-bed, after it is well aired, shake\nthe feathers from each corner to the middle; then take up the middle,\nshake it well, and turn the bed over. Then push the feathers in place,\nmaking the head higher than the foot, and the sides even, and as high\nas the middle part. A mattress, whether used on top of a feather-bed\nor by itself, should in like manner be well aired and turned. Then put\non the bolster and the under sheet, so that the wrong side of the sheet\nshall go next the bed, and the _marking_ always come at the head,\ntucking in all around. Then put on the pillows, evenly, so that the\nopen ends shall come to the sides of the bed, and spread on the upper\nsheet so that the wrong side shall be next the blankets, and the marked\nend always at the head. This arrangement of sheets is to prevent the\npart where the feet lie from being reversed, so as to come to the face;\nand also to prevent the parts soiled by the body from coming to the\nbedtick and blankets. Put on the other covering, except the outer one,\ntucking in all around, and then turn over the upper sheet at the head,\nso as to show a part of the pillows. When the pillow-cases are clean\nand smooth, they look best outside of the cover, but not otherwise.\nThen draw the hand along the side of the pillows, to make an even\nindentation, and then smooth and shape the whole outside. A nice\nhousekeeper always notices the manner in which a bed is made; and in\nsome parts of the country, it is rare to see this work properly\nperformed.\n\nThe writer would here urge every mistress of a family, who keeps more\nthan one domestic servant, to provide them with single beds, that they\nmight not be obliged to sleep with all the changing domestics, who\ncome and go so often. Where the room is too small for two beds, a\nnarrow truckle-bed kept under another during the day will answer.\nDomestics should be furnished with washing conveniences in their\nchambers, and be encouraged to keep their persons and rooms neat and\nin order.\n\n_The care of the Kitchen, Cellar, and Store-room is necessarily the\nfoundation of all proper housekeeping._\n\nIf parents wish their daughters to grow up with good domestic habits,\nthey should have, as one means of securing this result, a neat and\ncheerful kitchen. A kitchen should always, if possible, be entirely\nabove-ground, and well lighted. It should have a large sink, with a\ndrain running under-ground, so that all the premises may be kept sweet\nand clean. If flowers and shrubs be cultivated around the doors and\nwindows, and the yard near them be kept well turfed, it will add very\nmuch to their agreeable appearance. The walls should often be cleaned\nand white-washed, to promote a neat look and pure air. The floor of\na kitchen should be painted, or, what is better, covered with an\noilcloth. To procure a kitchen oilcloth as cheaply as possible, buy\ncheap tow cloth, and fit it to the size and shape of the kitchen. Then\nhave it stretched, and nailed to the south side of the barn, and, with\na brush, cover it with a coat of thin rye paste. When this is dry, put\non a coat of yellow paint, and let it dry for a fortnight. It is safest\nto first try the paint, and see if it dries well, as some paint never\nwill dry. Then put on a second coat, and at the end of another\nfortnight, a third coat. Then let it hang two months, and it will last,\nuninjured, for many years. The longer the paint is left to dry, the\nbetter. If varnished, it will last much longer.\n\nA sink should be scalded out every day, and occasionally with hot lye.\nOn nails, over the sink, should be hung three good dish-cloths, hemmed,\nand furnished with loops; one for dishes not greasy, one for greasy\ndishes, and one for washing greasy pots and kettles. These should be\nput in the wash every week. The lady who insists upon this will not\nbe annoyed by having her dishes washed with dark, musty and greasy\nrags, as is too frequently the case.\n\nUnder the sink should be kept a slop-pail; and, on a shelf by it, a\nsoap-dish and two water-pails. A large boiler of warm soft water should\nalways be kept over the fire, well covered, and a hearth-broom and\nbellows be hung near the fire. A clock is a very important article in\nthe kitchen, in order to secure regularity at meals.\n\n\nWASHING DISHES.\n\nNo item of domestic labor is so frequently done in a negligent manner,\nby domestics, as this. A full supply of conveniences will do much\ntoward the remedy of this evil. A swab, made of strips of linen tied\nto a stick, is useful to wash nice dishes, especially small, deep\narticles. Two or three towels, and three dish-cloths should be used.\nTwo large tin tubs, painted on the outside, should be provided; one\nfor washing, and one for rinsing; also, a large old waiter, on which\nto drain the dishes. A soap-dish, with hard soap, and a fork, with\nwhich to use it, a slop-pail, and two pails for water, should also be\nfurnished. The following rules for washing dishes will aid in promoting\nthe desired care and neatness:\n\n1. Scrape the dishes, putting away any food which may remain on them,\nand which it may be proper to save for future use. Put grease into the\ngrease-pot, and whatever else may be on the plates into the slop-pail.\nSave tea-leaves for sweeping. Set all the dishes, when scraped, in\nregular piles, the smallest at the top.\n\n2. Put the nicest articles in the wash-dish, and wash them in hot suds\nwith the swab or nicest dish-cloth. Wipe all metal articles as soon\nas they are washed. Put all the rest into the rinsing-dish, which\nshould be filled with hot water. When they are taken out, lay them to\ndrain on the waiter. Then rinse the dish-cloth, and hang it up, wipe\nthe articles washed, and put them in their places.\n\n3. Pour in more hot water, wash the greasy dishes with the dish-cloth\nmade for them, rinse them, and set them to drain. Wipe them, and set\nthem away. Wash the knives and forks, _being careful that the handles\nare never put in water_; wipe them, and then lay them in a\nknife-dish, to be scoured.\n\n4. Take a fresh supply of clean suds, in which wash the milk-pans,\nbuckets, and tins. Then rinse and hang up this dish-cloth, and take\nthe other, with which, wash the roaster, gridiron, pots, and kettles.\nThen wash and rinse the dish-cloth, and hang it up. Empty the\nslop-bucket, and scald it. Dry metal teapots and tins before the fire.\nThen put the fire-place in order, and sweep and dust the kitchen.\n\nSome persons keep a deep and narrow vessel, in which to wash knives\nwith a swab, so that a careless servant _can not_ lay them in the\nwater while washing them. This article can be carried into the\neating-room, to receive the knives and forks when they are taken from\nthe table.\n\n\nKITCHEN FURNITURE.\n\n_Crockery_.--Brown earthen pans are said to be best for milk and\nfor cooking. Tin pans are lighter, and more convenient, but are too\ncold for many purposes. Tall earthen jars, with covers, are good to\nhold butter, salt, lard, etc. Acids should never be put into the red\nearthen ware, as there is a poisonous ingredient in the glazing which\nthe acid takes off. Stone ware is better and stronger, and safer every\nway than any other kind.\n\n_Iron Ware_.--Many kitchens are very imperfectly supplied with\nthe requisite conveniences for cooking. When a person has sufficient\nmeans, the following articles are all desirable: A nest of iron pots,\nof different sizes, (they should be slowly heated when new,) a long\niron fork, to take out articles from boiling water; an iron hook, with\na handle, to lift pots from the crane; a large and small gridiron,\nwith grooved bars, and a trench to catch the grease; a Dutch oven,\ncalled also a bake-pan; two skillets, of different sizes, and a spider,\nor flat skillet, for frying; a griddle, a waffle-iron, tin and iron\nbake and bread pans; two ladles, of different sizes; a skimmer; iron\nskewers; a toasting-iron; two teakettles, one small and one large\none; two brass kettles, of different sizes, for soap-boiling, etc.\nIron kettles, lined with porcelain, are better for preserves. The\nGerman are the best. Too hot a fire will crack them, but with care in\nthis respect, they will last for many years.\n\nPortable charcoal furnaces, of iron or clay, are very useful in summer,\nin washing, ironing, and stewing, or making preserves. If used in the\nhouse, a strong draught must be made, to prevent the deleterious effects\nof the charcoal. A box and mill, for spice, pepper, and coffee, are\nneedful to those who use these articles. Strong knives and forks, a\nsharp carving-knife, an iron cleaver and board, a fine saw, steelyards,\nchopping-tray and knife, an apple-parer, steel for sharpening knives,\nsugar-nippers, a dozen iron spoons, also a large iron one with a long\nhandle, six or eight flat-irons, one of them very small, two\niron-stands, a ruffle-iron, a crimping-iron, are also desirable.\n\n_Tin Ware_.--Bread-pans; large and small patty-pans; cake-pans,\nwith a centre tube to insure their baking well; pie-dishes, (of\nblock-tin;) a covered butter-kettle; covered kettles to hold berries;\ntwo sauce-pans; a large oil-can; (with a cock;) a lamp-filler; a\nlantern; broad bottomed candlesticks for the kitchen; a candle-box;\na funnel; a reflector for baking warm cakes; an oven or tin-kitchen;\nan apple-corer; an apple-roaster; an egg-boiler; two sugar-scoops, and\nflour and meal-scoop; a set of mugs; three dippers; a pint, quart, and\ngallon measure; a set of scales and weights; three or four pails,\npainted on the outside; a slop-bucket with a tight cover, painted on\nthe outside; a milk-strainer; a gravy-strainer; a colander; a\ndredging-box; a pepper-box; a large and small grater; a cheese-box;\nalso a large box for cake, and a still larger one for bread, with tight\ncovers. Bread, cake, and cheese, shut up in this way, will not grow\ndry as in the open air.\n\n_Wooden Ware_.--A nest of tubs; a set of pails and bowls; a large\nand small sieve; a beetle for mashing potatoes; a spade or stick for\nstirring butter and sugar; a bread-board, for moulding bread and making\npie-crust; a coffee-stick; a clothes-stick; a mush-stick; a meat-beetle,\nto pound tough meat; an egg-beater; a ladle, for working butter; a\nbread-trough, (for a large family;) flour-buckets, with lids, to hold\nsifted flour and Indian meal; salt-boxes; sugar-boxes; starch and\nindigo-boxes; spice-boxes; a bosom-board; a skirt-board; a large\nironing-board; two or three clothes-frames; and six dozen clothes-pins.\n\n_Basket Ware_.--Baskets of all sizes, for eggs, fruit, marketing,\nclothes, etc.; also chip-baskets. When often used, they should be\nwashed in hot suds.\n\n_Other Articles_.--Every kitchen needs a box containing balls of\nbrown thread and twine, a large and small darning needle, rolls of\nwaste paper and old linen and cotton, and a supply of common holders.\nThere should also be another box, containing a hammer, carpet-tacks,\nand nails of all sizes, a carpet-claw, screws and a screw-driver,\npincers, gimlets of several sizes, a bed-screw, a small saw, two\nchisels, (one to use for button-holes in broadcloth,) two awls and two\nfiles.\n\nIn a drawer or cupboard should be placed cotton table-cloths for kitchen\nuse; nice crash towels for tumblers, marked T T; coarser towels for\ndishes marked T; six large roller-towels; a dozen hand-towels, marked\nH T; and a dozen hemmed dish-cloths with loops. Also two thick linen\npudding or dumpling-cloths, a jelly-bag made of white flannel, to\nstrain jelly, a starch-strainer, and a bag for boiling clothes.\n\nIn a closet should be kept, arranged in order, the following articles:\nthe dust-pan, dust-brush, and dusting-cloths, old flannel and cotton\nfor scouring and rubbing, large sponges for washing windows and\nlooking-glasses, a long brush for cobwebs, and another for washing the\noutside of windows, whisk-brooms, common brooms, a coat-broom or brush,\na whitewash-brush, a stove-brush, shoe-brushes and blacking, articles\nfor cleaning tin and silver, leather for cleaning metals, bottles\ncontaining stain-mixtures and other articles used in cleansing.\n\n\nCARE OF THE CELLAR.\n\nA cellar should often be whitewashed, to keep it sweet. It should have\na drain to keep it perfectly dry, as standing water in a cellar is a\nsure cause of disease in a family. It is very dangerous to leave decayed\nvegetables in a cellar. Many a fever has been caused by the poisonous\nmiasm thus generated. The following articles are desirable in a cellar:\na safe, or movable closet, with sides of wire or perforated tin, in\nwhich cold meats, cream, and other articles should be kept; (if ants\nbe troublesome, set the legs in tin cups of water;) a refrigerator,\nor a large wooden-box, on feet, with a lining of tin or zinc, and a\nspace between the tin and wood filled with powdered charcoal, having\nat the bottom a place for ice, a drain to carry off the water, and\nalso movable shelves and partitions. In this, articles are kept cool.\nIt should be cleaned once a week. Filtering jars to purify water should\nalso be kept in the cellar. Fish and cabbages in a cellar are apt to\nscent a house, and give a bad taste to other articles.\n\n\nSTOREROOM.\n\nEvery house needs a storeroom, in which to keep tea, coffee, sugar,\nrice, candles, etc. It should be furnished with jars, having labels,\na large spoon, a fork, sugar and flour-scoops, a towel, and a\ndish-cloth.\n\n\nMODES OF DESTROYING INSECTS AND VERMIN.\n\n_Bed-bugs_ should be kept away, by filling every chink in the bedstead\nwith putty, and if it be old, painting it over. Of all the mixtures for\nkilling them, _corrosive sublimate and alcohol_ is the surest. This is a\nstrong poison.\n\n_Cockroaches_ may be destroyed by pouring boiling water into their\nhaunts, or setting a mixture of arsenic mixed with Indian meal and\nmolasses where they are found. Chloride of lime and sweetened water\nwill also poison them.\n\n_Fleas_.--If a dog be infected with these insects, put him in a\ntub of warm soapsuds, and they will rise to the surface. Take them\noff, and burn them. Strong perfumes about the person diminish their\nattacks. When caught between the fingers, plunge them in water, or\nthey will escape.\n\n_Crickets_.--Scalding, and sprinkling Scotch snuff about the haunts of\nthese insects, are remedies for the annoyance caused by them.\n\n_Flies_ can be killed in great quantities, by placing about the house\nvessels filled with sweetened water and _cobalt_. Six cents' worth of\ncobalt is enough for a pint of water. It is very poisonous.\n\n_Mosquitoes_.--Close nets around a bed are the only sure protection\nat night against these insects. Spirits of hartshorn is the best\nantidote for their bite. Salt and water is good.\n\n_Red or Black Ants_ may be driven away by scalding their haunts,\nand putting Scotch snuff wherever they go for food. Set the legs of\nclosets and safes in pans of water, and they can not get at them.\n\n_Moths_.--Airing clothes does not destroy moths, but laying them\nin a hot sun does. If articles be tightly sewed up in linen when laid\naway, and fine tobacco put about them, it is a sure protection. This\nshould be done in April.\n\n_Rats and Mice_.--A good cat is the best remedy for these annoyances.\nEqual quantities of hemlock (or _cicuta_) and old cheese will poison\nthem; but this renders the house liable to the inconvenience of a bad\nsmell. This evil, however, may be lessened, by placing a dish containing\noil of vitriol poured on saltpetre where the smell is most annoying.\nChloride of lime and water is also good.\n\nIn using any of the above-mentioned poisons, great care should be taken\nto guard against their getting into any article of food or any utensil\nor vessel used for cooking or keeping food, or where children can get\nat them.\n\n\n\n\nXXXI.\n\nTHE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS.\n\n\nFirst, let us say a few words on the _Preparation of Soil_. If\nthe garden soil be clayey and adhesive, put on a covering of sand,\nthree inches thick, and the same depth of well-rotted manure. Spade\nit in as deep as possible, and mix it well. If the soil be sandy and\nloose, spade in clay and ashes. Ashes are good for all kinds of soil,\nas they loosen those which are close, hold moisture in those which are\nsandy, and destroy insects. The best kind of soil is that which will\nhold water the longest without becoming hard when dry.\n\n_To prepare Soil for Pot-plants_, take one fourth part of common\nsoil, one fourth part of well-decayed manure, and one half of vegetable\nmould, from the woods or from a chip-yard. Break up the manure fine,\nand sift it through a lime-screen, (or coarse wire sieve.) These\nmaterials must be thoroughly mixed. When the common soil which is used\nis adhesive, and indeed in most other cases, it is necessary to add\nsand, the proportion of which must depend on the nature of the soil.\n\n_To Prepare a Hot-Bed_, dig a pit six feet long, five feet wide,\nand thirty inches deep. Make a frame of the same size, with the back\ntwo feet high, the front fifteen inches, and the sides sloped from the\nback to the front. Make two sashes, each three feet by five, with the\npanes of glass lapping like shingles instead of having cross-bars. Set\nthe frame over the pit, which should then be filled with fresh\nhorse-dung, which has not lain long nor been sodden by water. Tread\nit down hard; then put into the frame light and very rich soil, six\nor eight inches deep, and cover it with the sashes for two or three\ndays. Then stir the soil, and sow the seeds in shallow drills, placing\nsticks by them, to mark the different kinds. Keep the frame covered\nwith the glass whenever it is cold enough to chill the plants; but at\nall other times admit fresh air, which is indispensable to their health.\nWhen the sun is quite warm, raise the glasses enough to admit air, and\ncover them with matting or blankets, or else the sun may kill the young\nplants. Water the bed at evening with water which has stood all day,\nor, if it be fresh drawn, add a little warm water. If there be too\nmuch heat in the bed, so as to scorch or wither the plants, lift the\nsashes, water freely, shade by day; make deep holes with stakes, and\nfill them up when the heat is reduced. In very cold nights, cover the\nsashes and frame with straw-mats.\n\n_For Planting Flower Seeds_.--Break up the soil, till it is very\nsoft, and free from lumps. Rub that nearest the surface between the\nhands, to make it fine. Make a circular drill a foot in diameter. Seeds\nare to be planted either deeper or nearer the surface, according to\ntheir size. For seeds as large as sweet peas, the drill should be half\nan inch deep. The smallest seeds must be planted very near the surface,\nand a very little fine earth be sifted over them. After covering them\nwith soil, beat them down with a trowel, so as to make the earth as\ncompact as it is after a heavy shower. Set up a stick in the middle\nof the circle, with the name of the plant heavily written upon it with\na dark lead pencil. This remains more permanent if white-lead be first\nrubbed over the surface. Never plant when the soil is very wet. In\nvery dry times, water the seeds at night. Never use very cold water.\nWhen the seeds are small, many should be planted together, that they\nmay assist each other in breaking the soil. When the plants are an\ninch high, thin them out, leaving only one or two, if the plant be a\nlarge one, like the balsam; five or six, when it is of a medium size;\nand eighteen or twenty of the smaller size. Transplanting, unless the\nplant be lifted with a ball of earth, retards the growth about a\nfortnight. It is best to plant at two different times, lest the first\nplanting should fail, owing to wet or cold weather.\n\n_To plant Garden-Seeds_, make the beds from one to three yards\nwide; lay across them a board a foot wide, and with a stick, make a\nfurrow on each side of it, one inch deep. Scatter the seeds in this\nfurrow, and cover them. Then lay the board over them, and step on it,\nto press down the earth. When the plants are an inch high, thin them\nout, leaving spaces proportioned to their sizes. Seeds of similar\nspecies, such as melons and squashes, should not be planted very near\nto each other, as this causes them to degenerate. The same kinds of\nvegetables should not be planted in the same place for two years in\nsuccession. The longer the rows are, the easier is the after culture.\n\n_Transplanting_ should be done at evening, or which is better,\njust before a shower. Take a round stick sharpened at the point, and\nmake openings to receive the plants. Set them a very little deeper\nthan they were before, and press the soil firmly round them. Then water\nthem, and cover them for three or four days, taking care that sufficient\nair be admitted. If the plant can be removed without disturbing the\nsoil around the root, it will not be at all retarded by transplanting.\nNever remove leaves and branches, unless a part of the roots be lost.\n\n_To Re-pot House-Plants, renew the soil every year, soon after the\ntime of blossoming. Prepare soil as previously directed. Loosen the\nearth from the pot by passing a knife around the skies. Turn the plant\nupside down, and remove the pot. Then remove all the matted fibres at\nthe bottom, and all the earth, except that which adheres to the roots.\nFrom woody plants, like roses, shake off all the earth. Take the new\npot, and put a piece of broken earthen-ware over the hole at the bottom,\nand then, holding the plant in the proper position, shake in the earth\naround it. Then pour in water to settle the earth, and heap on fresh\nsoil, till the pot is even full. Small pots are considered better than\nlarge ones, as the roots are not so likely to rot, from excess of\nmoisture.\n\n_In the Laying out of Yards and Gardens_, there is room for much\njudgment and taste. In planting trees in a yard, they should be arranged\nin groups, and never planted in straight lines, nor sprinkled about\nas solitary trees. The object of this arrangement is to imitate Nature,\nand secure some spots of dense shade and some of clear turf. In yards\nwhich are covered with turf, beds can be cut out of it, and raised for\nflowers. A trench should be made around, to prevent the grass from\nrunning on them. These beds can be made in the shape of crescents,\novals, or other fanciful forms.\n\nIn laying out beds in gardens and yards, a very pretty bordering can\nbe made, by planting them with common flax-seed, in a line about three\ninches from the edge. This can be trimmed with shears, when it grows\ntoo high.\n\n_For Transplanting Trees_, the autumn is the best time. Take as much of\nthe root as possible, especially the little fibres, which should never\nbecome dry. If kept long before they are set out, put wet moss around\nthem and water them. Dig holes larger than the extent of the roots; let\none person hold the tree in its former position, and another place the\nroots carefully as they were before, cutting off any broken or wounded\nroot. _Be careful not to let the tree be more than an inch deeper them\nit was before_. Let the soil be soft and well manured; shake the tree as\nthe soil is shaken in, that it may mix well among the small fibres. Do\nnot tread the earth down, while filling the hole; but, when it is full,\nraise a slight mound of say four inches deep around the stem to hold\nwater, and fill it. Never cut off leaves nor branches, unless some of\nthe roots are lost. Tie the trees to a stake, and they will be more\nlikely to live. Water them often.\n\n_The Care of House-Plants_ is a matter of daily attention, and well\nrepays all labor expended upon it. The soil of house-plants should be\nrenewed every year as previously directed. In winter, they should be\nkept as dry as they can be without wilting. Many house-plants are\ninjured by giving them too much water, when they have little light\nand fresh air. This makes them grow spindling. The more fresh air,\nwarmth and light they have, the more water is needed. They ought not\nto be kept very warm in winter, nor exposed to great changes of\natmosphere. Forty degrees is a proper temperature for plants in winter,\nwhen they have little sun and air. When plants have become spindling,\ncut off their heads entirely, and cover the pot in the earth, where\nit has the morning sun only. A new and flourishing head will spring\nout. Few houseplants can bear the sun at noon. When insects infest\nplants, set them in a closet or under a barrel, and burn tobacco under\nthem. The smoke kills any insect enveloped in it. When plants are\nfrozen, cold water and a gradual restoration of warmth are the best\nremedies. Never use very cold water for plants at any season.\n\n\n\n\nXXXII.\n\nTHE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS.\n\nThis is an occupation requiring much attention and constant care.\nBulbous roots are propagated by offsets; some growing on the top,\nothers around the sides. Many plants are propagated by cutting off\ntwigs, and setting them in earth, so that two or three eyes are covered.\nTo do this, select a side shoot, ten inches long, two inches of it\nbeing of the preceding year's growth, and the rest the growth of the\nseason when it is set. Do this when the sap is running, and put a piece\nof crockery at the bottom of the shoot, when it is buried. One eye,\nat least, must be under the soil. Water it and shade it in hot weather.\n\nPlants are also propagated by layers. To do this, take a shoot which\ncomes up near the root, bend it down so as to bring several eyes under\nthe soil, leaving the top above-ground. If the shoot be cut half\nthrough, in a slanting direction, at one of these eyes, before burying\nit, the result is more certain. Roses, honeysuckles, and many other\nshrubs are readily propagated thus. They will generally take root by\nbeing simply buried; but cutting them as here directed is the best\nmethod. Layers are more certain than cuttings.\n\n_Budding and Grafting_, for all woody plants, are favorite methods\nof propagation. In all such plants, there is an outer and inner bark,\nthe latter containing the sap vessels, in which the nourishment of the\ntree ascends. The success of grafting or inoculating consists in so\nplacing the bud or graft that the sap vessels of the inner bark shall\nexactly join those of the plant into which they are grafted; so that\nthe sap may pass from one into the other.\n\nThe following are directions for _budding_, which may be performed\nat any time from July to September:\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 64]\n\nSelect a smooth place on the stock into which you are to insert the\nbud. Make a horizontal cut across the rind through to the firm wood;\nand from the middle of this, make a slit downward perpendicularly, an\ninch or more long, through to the wood. Raise the bark of the stock\non each side of the perpendicular cut, for the admission of the bud,\nas is shown in the annexed engraving, (Fig. 64.) Then take a shoot of\nthis year's growth, and slice from it a bud, taking an inch below and\nan inch above it, and some portion of the wood under it. Then, carefully\nslip off the woody part under the bud. Examine whether the eye or germ\nof the bud be perfect. If a little hole appear in that part, the bud\nhas lost its root, and another must be selected. Insert the bud, so\nthat _a_, of the bud, shall pass to a, of the stock; then _b_,\nof the bud, must be cut off, to match the cut b, in the stock, and\nfitted exactly to it, as it is this alone which insures success. Bind\nthe parts with fresh bass or woolen yarn, beginning a little below the\nbottom, of the perpendicular slit, and winding it closely around every\npart, except just over the eye of the bud, until you arrive above the\nhorizontal cut. Do not bind it too tightly, but just sufficient to\nexclude air, sun, and wet. This is to be removed after the bud is\nfirmly fixed, and begins to grow.\n\nSeed-fruit can be budded into any other seed-fruit, and stone-fruit\ninto any other stone-fruit; but stone and seed-fruits can not be thus\nmingled.\n\nRose-bushes can have a variety of kinds budded into the same stock.\nHardy roots are the best stocks. The branch above the bud must be cut\noff the next March or April after the bud is put in. Apples and pears\nare more easily propagated by ingrafting than by budding.\n\n_Ingrafting_ is a similar process to budding, with this advantage,\nthat it can be performed on large trees, whereas budding can be applied\nonly on small ones. The two common kinds of ingrafting are whip-grafting\nand split-grafting. The first kind is for young trees, and the other\nfor large ones.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 65.]\n\nThe time for ingrafting is from May to October. The cuttings must be\ntaken from horizontal shoots, between Christmas and March, and kept\nin a damp cellar. In performing the operation, cut off in a sloping\ndirection (as seen in Fig. 65) the tree or limb to be grafted. Then\ncut off in a corresponding slant the slip to be grafted on. Then put\nthem together, so that the inner bark of each shall match exactly on\none side, and tie them firmly together with yellow yarn. It is not\nessential that both be of equal size; if the bark of each meet together\nexactly on _one_ side, it answers the purpose. But the two must\nnot differ much in size. The slope should be an inch and a half, or\nmore, in length. After they are tied together, the place should be\ncovered with a salve or composition of bees-wax and rosin. A mixture\nof clay and cow-dung will answer the same purpose. This last must be\ntied on with a cloth. Grafting is more convenient than budding, as\ngrafts can be sent from a great distance; whereas buds must be taken,\nin July or August, from a shoot of the present year's growth, and can\nnot be sent to any great distance.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 66]\n\nThis engraving (Fig. 66) exhibits the mode called stock-grafting;\n_a_ being the limb of a large tree, which is sawed off and split,\nand is to be held open by a small wedge till the grafts are put in.\nA graft inserted in the limb is shown at _b_, and at _c_ is one not\ninserted, but designed to be put in at _d_, as two grafts can be put\ninto a large stock. In inserting the graft, be careful to make the edge\nof the inner bark of the graft meet exactly the edge of the inner bark\nof the stock; for on this success depends. After the grafts are put in,\nthe wedge must be withdrawn, and the whole of the stock be covered with\nthe thick salve or composition before mentioned, reaching from where the\ngrafts are inserted to the bottom of the slit. Be careful not to knock\nor move the grafts after they are put in.\n\n_Pruning_ is an operation of constant exercise, for keeping plants\nand trees in good condition. The following rules are from a\ndistinguished horticulturist: Prune off all dead wood, and all the\nlittle twigs on the main limbs. Retrench branches, so as to give light\nand ventilation to the interior of the tree. Cut out the straight and\nperpendicular shoots, which give little or no fruit; while those which\nare most nearly horizontal, and somewhat curving, give fruit abundantly\nand of good quality, and should be sustained. Superfluous and ill-placed\nbuds may be rubbed off at any time; and no buds pushing out after\nmidsummer should be spared. In choosing between shoots to be retained,\npreserve the lowest placed, and on lateral shoots, those which are\nnearest the origin. When branches cross each other so as to rub, remove\none or the other. Remove all suckers from the roots of trees or shrubs.\nPrune after the sap is in full circulation, (except in the case of\ngrapes,) as the wounds then heal best. Some think it best to prune\nbefore the sap begins to run. Pruning-shears, and a pruning-pole, with\na chisel at the end, can be procured of those who deal in agricultural\nutensils.\n\n_Thinning_ is also an important but very delicate operation. As\nit is the office of the leaves to absorb nourishment from the\natmosphere, they should never be removed, except to mature the wood\nor fruit. In doing this, remove such leaves as shade the fruit, as\nsoon as it is ready to ripen. To do it earlier impairs the growth. Do\nit gradually at two different times. Thinning the fruit is important,\nas tending to increase its size and flavor, and also to promote the\nlongevity of the tree. If the fruit be thickly set, take off one half\nat the time of setting. Revise in June, and then in July, taking off\nall that may be spared. One _very large_ apple to every square\nfoot is a rule that may be a sort of guide in other cases. According\nto this, two hundred large apples would be allowed to a tree whose\nextent is fifteen feet by twelve. If any person think this thinning\nexcessive, let him try two similar trees, and thin one as directed and\nleave the other unthinned. It will be found that the thinned tree will\nproduce an equal weight, and fruit of much finer flavor.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIII.\n\nTHE CULTIVATION OF FRUIT.\n\n\nBy a little attention to this matter, a lady with the help of her\nchildren can obtain a rich abundance of all kinds of fruit. The writer\nhas resided in families where little boys of eight, ten, and twelve\nyears old amused themselves, under the direction of their mother, in\nplanting walnuts, chestnuts, and hazelnuts, for future time; as well\nas in planting and inoculating young fruit-trees of all descriptions.\nA mother who will take pains to inspire a love for such pursuits in\nher children, and who will aid and superintend them, will save them\nfrom many temptations, and at a trifling expense secure to them and\nherself a rich reward in the choicest fruits. The information given\nin this work on this subject may be relied on as sanctioned by the\nmost experienced nursery-men.\n\nThe soil for a nursery should be rich, well dug, dressed with\nwell-decayed manure, free from weeds, and protected from cold winds.\nFruit-seeds should be planted in the autumn, an inch and a half or two\ninches deep, in ridges four or five feet apart, pressing the earth\nfirmly over the seeds. While growing, they should be thinned out,\nleaving the best ones a foot and a half apart. The soil should be kept\nloose, soft, and free from weeds. They should be inoculated or ingrafted\nwhen of the size of a pipe stem; and in a year after this may be\ntransplanted to their permanent stand. Peach-trees sometimes bear in\ntwo years from budding, and in four years from planting if well kept.\n\nIn a year after transplanting, take pains to train the head aright.\nStraight upright branches produce _gourmands_, or twigs bearing\nonly leaves. The side branches which are angular or curved yield the\nmost fruit. For this reason, the limbs should be trained in curves,\nand perpendicular twigs should be cut off if there be need of pruning.\nThe last of June is the time for this. Grass should never be allowed\nto grow within four feet of a large tree, and the soil should be kept\nloose to admit air to the roots. Trees in orchards should be twenty-five\nfeet apart. The soil _under_ the top soil has much to do with the\nhealth of the trees. If it be what is called _hard-pan_, the trees\nwill deteriorate. Trees need to be manured and to have the soil kept\nopen and free from weeds.\n\n_Filberts_ can be raised in any part of this country.\n\n_Figs_ can be raised in the Middle, Western, and Southern States.\nFor this purpose, in the autumn loosen the roots on one side, and bend\nthe tree down to the earth on the other; then cover it with a mound\nof straw, earth, and boards, and early in the spring raise it up and\ncover the roots.\n\n_Currants_ grow well in any but a wet soil. They are propagated\nby cuttings. The old wood should be thinned in the fall and manure be\nput on. They can be trained into small trees.\n\n_Gooseberries_ are propagated by layers and cuttings. They are\nbest when kept from suckers and trained like trees. One third of the\nold wood should be removed every autumn.\n\n_Raspberries_ do best when shaded during a part of the day. They\nare propagated by layers, slips, and suckers. There is one kind which\nbears monthly; but the varieties of this and all other fruits are now\nso numerous that we can easily find those which are adapted to the\nspecial circumstances of the case.\n\n_Strawberries_ require a light soil and vegetable manure. They should be\ntransplanted in April or September, and be set eight inches apart, in\nrows nine inches asunder, and in beds which are two feet wide, with\nnarrow alleys between them. A part of these plants are _non-bearers_.\nThese have large flowers with showy stamens and high black anthers. The\n_bearers_ have short stamens, a great number of pistils, and the flowers\nare every way less showy. In blossom-time, pull out all the non-bearers.\nSome think it best to leave one non-bearer to every twelve bearers, and\nothers pull them all out. Many beds never produce any fruit, because all\nthe plants in them are non-bearers. Weeds should be kept from the vines.\nWhen the vines are matted with young plants, the best way is to dig over\nthe beds in cross lines, so as to leave some of the plants standing in\nlittle squares, while the rest are turned under the soil. This should be\ndone over a second time in the same year.\n\n_To Raise Grapes_, manure the soil, and keep it soft and free\nfrom weeds. A gravelly or sandy soil, and a south exposure are best.\nTransplant the vines in the early spring, or better in the fall. Prune\nthem the first year so as to have only two main branches, taking off\nall other shoots as fast as they come. In November, cut off all of\nthese two branches except four eyes. The second year, in the spring,\nloosen the earth around the roots, and allow only two branches to grow,\nand every month take off all side shoots. When they are very strong,\npreserve only a part, and cut off the rest in the fall. In November,\ncut off all the two main stems except eight eyes. After the second\nyear, no more pruning is needed, except to reduce the side shoots, for\nthe purpose of increasing the fruit. All the pruning of grapes (except\nnipping side shoots) must be done when the sap is not running, or they\nwill bleed to death. Train, them on poles, or lattices, to expose them\nto the air and sun. Cover tender vines in the autumn. Grapes are\npropagated by cuttings, layers, and seeds. For cuttings, select in the\nautumn well-ripened wood of the former year, and take fire joints for\neach. Bury them till April; then soak them for some hours, and set\nthem out _aslant_, so that all the eyes but one shall be covered.\n\nApples, grapes, and such like fruit can be preserved in their natural\nstate by packing them when dry and solid in dry sand or saw-dust,\nputting alternate layers of fruit and cotton, saw-dust or sand. Some\nsaw-dust gives a bad flavor to the fruit.\n\n_Modes of Preserving Fruit-Trees_.--Heaps of ashes or tanner's bark\naround peach-trees prevent the attack of the worm. The _yellows_ is a\ndisease of peach-trees, which is spread by the pollen of the blossom.\nWhen a tree begins to turn yellow, take it away with all its roots,\nbefore it blossoms again, or it will infect other trees. Planting tansy\naround the roots of fruit-trees is a sure protection against worms, as\nit prevents the moth from depositing her egg. Equal quantities of salt\nand saltpetre, put around the trunk of a peach-tree, half a pound to a\ntree, improve the size and flavor of the fruit. Apply this about the\nfirst of April; and if any trees have worms already in them, put on half\nthe quantity in addition in June. To young trees just set out, apply one\nounce in April, and another in June, close to the stem. Sandy soil is\nbest for peaches.\n\nApple-trees are preserved from insects by a wash of strong lye to the\nbody and limbs, which, if old, should be first scraped. Caterpillars\nshould be removed by cutting down their nests in a damp day. Boring\na hole in a tree infested with worms, and filling it with sulphur,\nwill often drive them off immediately.\n\nThe _fire-blight_, or _brulure_ in pear-trees can be stopped by cutting\noff all the blighted branches. It is supposed by some to be owing to an\nexcess of sap, which is remedied by diminishing the roots.\n\nThe _curculio_, which destroys plums and other stone-fruit, can be\nchecked only by gathering up all the fruit that falls, (which contains\ntheir eggs,) and destroying it. The _canker-worm_ can be checked by\napplying a bandage around the body of the tree, and every evening\nsmearing it with fresh tar.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIV.\n\nTHE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS.\n\n\nOne of the most interesting illustrations of the design of our\nbenevolent Creator in establishing the family state is the nature of\nthe domestic animals connected with it. At the very dawn of life, the\ninfant watches with delight the graceful gambols of the kitten, and\nsoon makes it a playmate. Meantime, its out-cries when hurt appeal to\nkindly sympathy, and its sharp claws to fear; while the child's mother\nhas a constant opportunity to inculcate kindness and care for weak and\nignorant creatures. Then the dog becomes the out-door playmate and\nguardian of early childhood, and he also guards himself by cries of\npain, and protects himself by his teeth. At the same time, his faithful\nloving nature and caresses awaken corresponding tenderness and care;\nwhile the parent again has a daily opportunity to inculcate these\nvirtues toward the helpless and dependent. As the child increases in\nknowledge and reason, the horse, cows, poultry, and other domestic\nanimals come under his notice. These do not ordinarily express their\nhunger or other sufferings by cries of distress, but depend more on\nthe developed reason and humanity of man. And here the parent is called\nupon to instruct a child in the nature and wants of each, that he may\nintelligently provide for their sustenance and for their protection\nfrom injury and disease.\n\nTo assist in this important duty of home life, which so often falls\nto the supervision of woman, the following information is prepared\nthrough the kindness of one of the editors of a prominent, widely\nknown, agricultural paper.\n\nDomestic animals are very apt to catch the spirit and temper of their\nmasters. A surly man will be very likely to have a cross dog and a\nbiting horse. A passionate man will keep all his animals in moral fear\nof him, making them, snappish, and liable to hurt those of whom they\nare not afraid.\n\nIt is, therefore, most important that all animals should be treated\nuniformly with kindness. They are all capable of returning affection,\nand will show it very pleasantly if we manifest affection for them.\nThey also have intuitive perceptions of our emotions which we can not\nconceal. A sharp, ugly dog will rarely bite a person who has no fear\nof him. A horse knows the moment a man mounts or takes the reins whether\nhe is afraid or not; and so it is with other animals.\n\nIf live stock can not be well fed, they ought not to be kept. One well\nwintered horse is worth as much, as two that drag through on straw,\nand by browsing the hedgerows. The same is true of oxen, and\nemphatically so of cows. The owner of a half-starved dog loses the use\nof him almost altogether; for, at the very time--the night--when lie\nis most needed as a guard, he must be off scouring the country for\nfood.\n\n_Shelter_ in winter is most important for cows. They should have\ngood tight stables or byres, well ventilated, and so warm that water\nin a pail will only freeze a little on the top the severest nights.\nOxen should have the same stabling, though they bear cold better.\nHorses in stables will bear almost any degree of cold, if they have\nall they can eat. Sheep, except young lambs, are well enough sheltered\nin dry sheds, with one end open. Cattle, sheep, and dogs do not sweat\nas horses do, they \"loll;\" that is, water or slobber runs from their\ntongues; hence, they are not liable to take cold as the horse is. Hogs\nbear cold pretty well; but they eat enough to convince any one that\ntrue economy lies in giving them warm sties in winter, for the colder\nthey are the more they eat. Fowls will not lay in cold weather unless\nthey have light and warm quarters.\n\n_Cleanliness_ is indispensable, if one would keep his animals healthy.\nIn their wild state all our domestic animals are very clean, and, at the\nsame time, very healthy. The hog is not naturally a dirty animal, but\nquite the reverse. He enjoys currying as much as a horse or a cow, and\nwould be as careful of his litter as a cat if he had a fair chance.\nHorses ought to be groomed daily; cows and oxen as often as twice a\nweek; dogs should be washed with soapsuds frequently. Stables should be\ncleaned out daily. Absorbents of liquid in stables should be removed as\noften as they become wet. Dry earth is one of the best absorbents, and\nis especially useful in the fowl-house. Hogs in pens should have straw\nfor their rests or lairs, and it should be often renewed.\n\n_Parasitic Vermin_.--These are lice, fleas, ticks, the scale insects,\nand other pests which afflict our live stock. There are many ways of\ndestroying them; the best and safest is a free use of _carbolic acid\nsoap_. The larger animals, as well as hogs, dogs, and sheep may be\nwashed in strong suds of this soap, without fear, and the application\nrepeated after a week. This generally destroys both the creatures and\ntheir eggs. Hen lice are best destroyed by greasing the fowls, and\ndusting them with flowers of sulphur. Sitting hens must never be\ngreased, but the sulphur may be dusted freely in their nests,\nand it is well to put it in all hens' nests.\n\n_Salt and Water_.--All animals except poultry require salt, and all,\nfree supplies of fresh water.\n\n_Light_.--Stables, or places where any kind of animals are confined,\nshould have plenty of light. Windows are not more important in a house\nthan in a barn. The _sun_ should come in freely; and if it shines\ndirectly upon the stock, all the better. When beeves and sheep are\nfattening very rapidly, the exclusion of the light makes them more\nquiet, and fatten faster; but their state is an unnatural and hardly a\nhealthy one.\n\n_Exercise_ in the open air is important for breeding animals. It\nis especially necessary for horses of all kinds. Cows need very little\nand swine none, unless kept for breeding.\n\n_Breeding_,--Always use thorough-bred males, and improvement is certain.\n\n_Horses_.--The care which horses require varies with the circumstances\nin which the owner is placed, and the uses to which they are put. In\ngeneral, if kept stabled, they should be fed with good upland hay,\nalmost as much as they will eat; and if absent from the stable, and at\nwork most of the day, they should have all they will eat of hay,\ntogether with four to eight quarts of oats or an equal weight of other\ngrain or meal. Barley is good for horses, and so is dry corn. Corn-meal\nput upon cut hay, wet and well-mixed, is good, steady feed, if not in\ntoo large quantities. Four quarts a day may be fed unmixed with other\ngrain; but if the horse be hard worked and needs more, mix the meal with\nwheat bran, or linseed oil-cake meal, or use corn and oats ground\ntogether; carrots are especially wholesome. A quart of linseed oil-cake\nmeal, daily, is an excellent occasional addition to a horse's food, when\ncarrots can not be had. It gives a lustre to his coat, and brings the\nnew coat of hair out in the spring. A stabled horse needs daily\nexercise, as much as to trot three miles. Where a horse is traveling, it\nis well to give him six quarts of oats in the morning, four at noon, and\nsix at night.\n\nThorough grooming is indispensable to the health of horses. Especial\ncare should be taken of the legs and fetlocks, that no dirt remain to\ncause that distressing disease, _grease_ or _scratches_, which results\nfrom filthy fetlocks and standing in dirty stables. When a horse comes\nin from work on muddy roads with dirty legs, they should be immediately\ncleaned, the dirt brushed off, then rubbed with straw; then, if very\ndirty, washed clean and rubbed dry with a piece of sacking. A horse\nshould never stand in a draught of cold air, if he can not turn and put\nhis back to it. If sweaty or warm from work, he should be blanketed, if\nhe is to stand a minute in the winter air. If put at once into the\nstable, he should be stripped and rubbed down with straw actively for\nfive minutes or more, and then blanketed. The blanket must be removed in\nan hour, and the horse given water and feed, if it is the usual time. It\nwill not hurt him to eat hay when hot, unless he be thoroughly\nexhausted, when all food should be withheld for a while.\n\nIt is very comforting to a tired horse, when he is too hot to drink,\nto sponge out his mouth with cool water. A horse should never drink\nwhen very hot, nor be turned into a yard to \"cool off,\" even in summer,\nneither should he be turned out to pasture before he is quite cool.\n\n_Cows_.--Gentle but firm treatment will make a cow easy to milk\nand to handle in every way. If stabled or yarded, cows should have\naccess to water at all times, or have it frequently offered to them.\nClover hay is probably the best steady food for milk cows. Cornstalks\ncut up, thoroughly soaked with water for half a day, and then sprinkled\nwith corn or oil-cake meal is perhaps unsurpassed as good winter food\nfor milk cows. The amount of meal may vary. With plenty of oil-meal,\nthere is little danger of feeding too much, as that is loosening to\nthe bowels and a safe nutritious article. Corn-meal alone, in large\nquantities, is too heating. Roots should, if possible, form part of\nthe diet of a milch cow, especially before and soon after calving;\nfeed well before this period, yet not to make the cow very fat; but\nit is better to err in that way than to have her \"come in\" thin. Take\nthe calf away from the mother as soon as it stands tip, and the\nseparation will worry neither dam nor young. This is always best,\nunless the calf is to be kept with the cow. The calf will soon learn\nto drink its food, if two fingers be held in its mouth. Let it have\nall the first drawn milk for three days as soon as milked; after this,\nskimmed milk warmed to blood heat. Soon a little fine scalded meal may\nbe mixed with the milk; and it will, at three to five weeks old, nibble\nhay and grass. It is well also to keep a box containing some dry\nwheat-bran and fine corn-meal mixed in the calf-pen, so that calves\nmay take as much as they like.\n\nIn milking, put the fingers around the teat close to the bag; then\nfirmly close the forefingers of each hand alternately, immediately\nsqueezing with the other fingers. The forefingers prevent the milk\nflowing back into the bag, while the others press it out. Sit with the\nleft knee close to the right hind leg of the cow, the head pressed\nagainst her flank, the left hand always ready to ward off a blow from\nher feet, which the gentlest cow may give almost without knowing it,\nif her tender teats be cut by long nails, or if a wart be hurt, or her\nbag be tender. She must be stripped dry every time she is milked, or\nshe will dry up; and if she gives much milk, it pays to milk three\ntimes a day, as nearly eight hours apart as possible. Never stop while\nmilking till done, as this will cause the cow to stop giving milk.\n\nTo tether a cow, tie her by one hind leg, making the rope fast above\nthe fetlock joint, and protecting the limb with a piece of an old\nbootleg or similar thing. The knot must be one that will not slip;\nregular fetters of iron bound with leather are much better.\n\nA cow should go unmilked two months before calving, and her milk should\nnot be used by the family till four days after that time.\n\n_Swine_.--The filthy state of hog-pens is allowed on account of\nthe amount of manure they will make by working over all sorts of\nvegetable matter, spoiled hay, weeds, etc., etc. This is unhealthy for\nthe family near and also for the animal. The hog is, naturally, a\ncleanly animal, and if given a chance he will keep himself very neat\nand clean. Breeding sows should have the range of a small pasture, and\nbe regularly fed. They need fresh water constantly, and often suffer\nfor lack of it when they have liquid swill, which they do not like to\ndrink. All hogs should have a warm, dry, well-littered pen to lie in,\naway from flies and disturbance of any kind. They are fond of charcoal,\nand it is worth while frequently to throw a few handfuls where they\ncan get at it. It has a very beneficial effect on the appetite,\nregulates the tone of the stomach and digestive organs, and can not\ndo any harm. Pigs ought always to be well fed and kept growing fast;\nand when being fattened, they should be penned always, the herd being\nsorted so that all may have an equal chance. It is well to feed soft\ncorn in the ear; but hard corn should always be ground and cooked for\npigs.\n\n_Sheep_.--In the winter, sheep need deep, well-littered, dry\nsheds, dry yards, and hay, wheat, or oat straw, as much as they will\neat. They should be kept gaining by grain regularly fed to them, and\nso distributed that each gets its share. Corn, either whole or ground,\nor oil-cake meal, or both, are used for fattening sheep. They will\neasily surfeit themselves on any grain except oil-meal, which is very\nsafe feed for them, and usually economical. Strong sheep will often\ndrive the weaker ones away, and so get more than their share of food\nand make themselves sick. This must be guarded against, and the flock\nsorted, keeping the weaker and stronger apart.\n\nSheep are very useful in clearing land of brush and certain weeds,\nwhich they gnaw down, and kill. To accomplish this, the land must be\noverstocked, and it is best not to keep sheep on short pasturage more\nthan a few weeks at a time; but if they are returned after a few days,\nit will serve as good a purpose as if they were to be kept on all the\ntime. Sheep at pasture must be restrained by good fences, or they will\nbe a great nuisance. Dog-proof hedge fences of Osage orange are to\nbe highly recommended, wherever this plant will grow. Mutton sheep\nwill generally pay better to raise than merinos, but they need more\ncare.\n\n_Poultry_.--Few objects of labor are more remunerative than poultry,\nraised on a moderate scale. _Turkeys_, when young, need great care; some\nanimal food, dry, warm quarters, and must be kept out of the wet grass,\nand kept in when it rains. As soon as fledged, they become very hardy,\nand, with free range, will almost take care of themselves. _Geese_ need\nwater and good grass pasture. _Ducks_ do very well without water to swim\nin, if they have all they need to drink. They will lay a great many eggs\nif kept shut in a pen until say eight o'clock in the morning. If let out\nearlier, they wander away, and will hide their nests, and lay only about\nas many eggs as they can cover. It is best to set duck's eggs under\nhens, and to keep young ducks shut up in a dry roomy pen for four weeks,\nat least. _Fowls_ need light, warm, dry quarters in winter, plenty of\nfeed, but not too much. They relish animal food, and ought to have some\nfrequently to make them lay. Pork or beef scrap-cake can be bought for\ntwo to three cents a pound, and is very good for them. Any kind of grain\nis good for poultry. Nothing is better than wheat screenings. Early\nhatched chickens must be kept in a warm, dry, sunny room, with plenty of\ngravel, and the hen should have no more than eight or nine chickens to\nbrood; though in summer, one hen will take good care of fifteen. Little,\nchickens, turkeys, and ducks need frequent feeding, and must have their\nwater changed often. It is well to grease the body of the hen and the\nheads of the chicks with lard, in order to prevent their becoming\nlousy.\n\nHens set about twenty days, and should be well fed and watered. Cold\nor damp weather is bad for young fowls, and when they have been chilled,\npepper-corns are a good remedy, in addition to the warmth of an\ninclosed dry place.\n\nThe most absorbing part of the \"Woman's question\" of the present time\nis the remedy for the varied sufferings of women who are widows or\nunmarried, and without means of support. As yet, few are aware how\nmany sources of lucrative enterprise and industry lie open to woman\nin the employments directly connected with the family state. A woman\ncan invest capital in the dairy and qualify herself to superintend a\ndairy farm as well as a man. And if she has no capital of her own, if\nwell trained for this business, she can find those who have capital\nready to furnish--an investment that well managed will become\nprofitable. And, too, the raising of poultry, of dogs, and of sheep\nare all within the reach of a woman with proper abilities and training\nfor this business. So that if a woman chooses, she can find employment\nboth interesting and profitable in studying the care of domestic\nanimals.\n\n_Bees_.--But one of the most profitable as well as interesting\nkinds of business for a woman is the care of bees. In a recent\nagricultural report, it is stated that one lady bought four hives for\nten dollars, and in five years she was offered one thousand five hundred\ndollars for her stock, and refused it as not enough. In addition to\nthis increase of her capital, in one of these five years she sold\ntwenty-two hives and four hundred and twenty pounds of honey. It is\nalso stated that in five years one man, from six colonies of bees to\nstart with, cleared eight thousand pounds of honey and one hundred and\nfifty-four colonies of bees.\n\nThe raising of bees and their management is so curious and as yet\nunknown an art in most parts of our country, that any directions or\nadvice will be omitted in this volume, as requiring too much space,\nand largely set forth and illustrated in the second part. When properly\ninstructed, almost any woman in the city, as easily as in the country,\ncan manage bees, and make more profit than in any other method demanding\nso little time and labor. But in the modes ordinarily practiced, few\ncan make any great profit in this employment.\n\nIt is hoped a time is at hand when every woman will be trained to some\nemployment by which she can secure to herself an independent home and\nmeans to support a family, in case she does not marry, or is left a\nwidow, with herself and a family to support.\n\n\n\n\nXXXV.\n\nEARTH-CLOSETS.\n\n\nIn some particulars, the Chinese are in advance of our own nation in\nneatness, economy, and healthful domestic arrangements. In China, nota\nparticle of manure is wasted, and all that with us is sent off in\ndrains and sewers from water-closets and privies, is collected in a\nneat manner and used for manure. This is one reason that the compact\nand close packing of inhabitants in their cities is practicable, and\nit also accounts for the enormous yields of some of their crops.\n\nThe earth-closet is an invention which relieves the most disagreeable\nitem in domestic labor, and prevents the disagreeable and unhealthful\neffluvium which is almost inevitable in all family residences, The\ngeneral principle of construction is somewhat like that of a\nwater-closet, except that in place of water is used dried earth. The\nresulting compost is without disagreeable odor, and is the richest\nspecies of manure. The expense of its construction and use is no greater\nthan that of the common water-closet; indeed, when the outlays for\nplumber's work, the almost inevitable troubles and disorders of\nwater-pipes in a house, and the constant stream of petty repairs\nconsequent upon careless construction or use of water-works are\nconsidered, the earth-closet is in itself much cheaper, besides being\nan accumulator of valuable matter.\n\nTo give a clear idea of its principles, mode of fabrication, and use,\nwe can not do better than to take advantage of the permission given\nby Mr. George E. Waring, Jr., of Newport, R. I., author of an admirable\npamphlet on the subject, published in 1868 by \"The Tribune Association\"\nof New-York. Mr. Waring was formerly Agricultural Engineer of the\nNew-York Central Park, and has given much attention to sanitary and\nagricultural engineering, having published several valuable works\nbearing in the same general direction. He is now consulting director\nof \"The Earth-Closet Company,\" Hartford, Ct., which manufactures the\napparatus and all things appertaining to it--any part which might be\nneeded to complete a home-built structure. But with generous and no\nless judicious freedom, they are endeavoring to extend the knowledge\nof this wholesome and economical process of domestic sanitary\nengineering as widely as possible, and so allow us to present the\nfollowing instructions for those who may desire to construct their own\napparatus.\n\nIn the brief introduction to his pamphlet, Mr. Waring says:\n\n\"It is sufficiently understood, by all who have given the least thought\nto the subject, that the waste of the most vital elements of the soil's\nfertility, through our present practice of treating human excrement\nas a thing that is to be hurried into the sea, or buried in underground\nvaults, or in some other way put out of sight and out of reach, is\nfull of danger to our future prosperity.\n\n\"Our bodies have come out of our fertile fields; our prosperity is\nbased on the production and the exchange of the earth's fruits; and\nall our industry has its foundation in arts and interests connected\nwith, or dependent on, a successful agriculture.\n\n\"Liebig asserts that the greatness of the Roman empire was sapped by\nthe _Cloaca Maxima_, through which the entire sewage of Rome was\nwashed into the Tiber. The yearly decrease of productive power in the\nolder grain regions of the West, and the increasing demand for manures\nin the Atlantic States, sufficiently prove that our own country is no\nexception to the rule that has established its sway over Europe.\n\n\"The large class who will fail to feel the force of the agricultural\nreasons in favor of the reform which this pamphlet is written to uphold,\nwill realize, more clearly than farmers will, the importance of\nprotecting dwellings against the gravest annoyance, the most fertile\nsource of disease, and the most certain vehicle of contagion.\"\n\nNevertheless, Mr. Waring thinks that the agricultural argument is no\nmean or unimportant one, and says:\n\n\"The importance of any plan by which the excrement of our bodies may\nbe returned to our fields is in a measure shown in the following extract\nfrom an article that I furnished for the _American Agricultural Annual_\nfor 1868.\n\n\"The average population of New York City--including its temporary\nvisitors--is probably not less than 1,000,000. This population consumes\nfood equivalent to at least 30,000,000 bushels of corn in a year.\nExcepting the small proportion that is stored up in the bodies of the\ngrowing young, which is fully offset by that contained in the bodies\nof the dead, the constituents of the food are returned to the air by\nthe lungs and skin, or are voided as excrement. That which goes to the\nair was originally taken from the air by vegetation, and will be so\ntaken again: here is no waste. The excrement contains all that was\nfurnished by the mineral elements of the soil oil which the food was\nproduced. This all passes into the sewers, and is washed into the sea.\nIts loss to the present generation is complete.\"\n\n... \"30,000,000 bushels of corn contain, among other minerals, nearly\n7000 tons of phosphoric acid, and this amount is annually lost in the\nwasted night-soil of New-York City. [Footnote: Other mineral\nconstituents of food--important ones, too--are washed away in even\ngreater quantities through the same channels; but this element is the\nbest for illustration, because its effect in manure is the most\nstriking, even so small a dressing as twenty pounds per acre, producing\na marked effect on all cereal crops. Ammonia, too, which is so important\nthat it is usual in England to estimate the value of manure in exact\nproportion to its supply of this element, is largely yielded by human\nexcrement.]\n\n\"Practically the human excrement of the whole country is nearly all\nso disposed of as to be lost to the soil. The present population of\nthe United States is not far from 35,000,000. On the basis of the above\ncalculation, their annual food contains 200,000 tons of phosphoric\nacid, being the amount contained in about 900,000 tons of bones, which,\nat the price of the best flour of bone, (for manure,) would be worth\nover $50,000,000. It would be a moderate estimate to say that the other\nconstituents of food are of at least equal value with the other\nconstituents of the bone, and to assume $50,000,000 as the money value\nof the wasted night-soil of the United States every year.\n\n\"In another view, the importance of this waste can not be estimated\nin money. Money values apply, rather, to the products of labor and to\nthe exchange of these products. The waste of fertilizing matter reaches\nfarther than the destruction or exchange of products: it lessens the\nability to produce.\n\n\"If mill-streams were failing year by year, and steam were yearly\nlosing force, and the ability of men to labor were yearly growing less,\nthe doom of our prosperity would not be more plainly written, than if\nthis slow but certain impoverishment of our soil were sure to continue.\n\n.... \"But the good time is coming, when (as now in China and Japan)\nmen must accept the fact that the soil is not a warehouse to be\nplundered--only a factory to be worked. Then they will save their raw\nmaterial, instead of wasting it, and, aided by nature's wonderful laws,\nwill weave over and over again the fabric by which we live and prosper.\nMen will build up as fast as men destroy; old matters will be reproduced\nin new forms, and, as the decaying forests feed the growing wood, so\nwill all consumed food yield food again.\"\n\nWith the above brief extract, we shall cease using marks of quotation,\nas the following information and statements are appropriated bodily,\neither directly or with mere modifications for brevity, from the little\npamphlet of Mr. Waring.\n\nThe earth-closet is the invention of the Rev. Henry Moule, of Fordington\nVicarage, Dorsetshire, England.\n\nIt is based on the power of clay, and the decomposed organic matter\nfound in the soil, to absorb and retain all offensive odors and all\nfertilizing matters; and it consists, essentially, of a mechanical\ncontrivance (attached to the ordinary seat) for measuring out and\ndischarging into the vault or pan below a sufficient quantity of sifted\ndry earth to entirely cover the solid ordure and to absorb the urine.\n\nThe discharge of earth is effected by an ordinary pull-up similar to\nthat used in the water-closet, or (in the self-acting apparatus) by\nthe rising of the seat when the weight of the person is removed.\n\nThe vault or pan under the seat is so arranged that the accumulation\nmay be removed at pleasure.\n\nFrom the moment when the earth is discharged, and the evacuation is\ncovered, all offensive exhalation entirely ceases. Under certain\ncircumstances, there may be, at times, a slight odor as of guano mixed\nwith earth; but this is so trifling and so local, that a commode\narranged on this plan may, without the least annoyance, be kept in use\nin any room.\n\nThis statement is made as the result of personal experience. Mr. Waring\nsays:\n\n\"I have in constant use in a room in my house an earth-closet commode;\nand even when the pan is entirely full, with the accumulation of a\nweek's use, visitors examining it invariably say, with some surprise,\n'You don't mean that this particular one has been used!'\"\n\n\nHOW TO MAKE AN EARTH-CLOSET.\n\nThe principle on which the earth-closet is based is as free to all as\nis the earth itself, and any person may adopt his own method of applying\nit. All that is necessary is to have a supply of coarsely sifted\nsun-dried earth with which to cover the bottom of the vessel to be\nused, and after use to cover the deposit. A small box of earth, and\na tin scoop are sufficient to prevent the gravest annoyance of the\nsickroom. But, of course, for constant use, it is desirable to have\na more convenient apparatus--something which requires less care, and\nis less troublesome in many ways.\n\nTo this end, the patent invention of Mr. Moule is applicable. This\ncomprises a tight receptacle under the seat, a reservoir for storing\ndry earth, and an apparatus to measure out the requisite quantity, and\nthrow it upon the deposit.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 67.]\n\nThe arrangement at the mechanism is shown in Fig. 67. A hopper-shaded\nreservoir, made of galvanized iron, is supported by a framework at the\nback of the seat, which rests on the framework _a_, _a_. Connected with\nthe handle at the right-hand side, there is an iron lever, which\noperates a movable box at the bottom of the reservoir, and causes it to\ndischarge its contents directly under the seat. When the handle is\ndropped, the box returns to its position, and is immediately filled\npreparatory to another use.\n\nThe hopper-shaped reservoir is supported by two pivots, and has a\nslight rocking or vibrating motion imparted to it by each lifting of\nthe lever. This prevents the earth from becoming clogged, and insures\nits regular delivery.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 68 THE \"PULL-UP\" APPARATUS.]\n\nThe construction is more clearly shown in Fig. 68.\n\nIn this figure, A is the vibrating hopper for holding the earth. Its\ncapacity may be increased to any desired extent by building above it\na straight-sized box of any height. It is not unusual, in fixed privies,\nto make this reservoir large enough to hold a supply for several months.\nAs the earth is dry, there is no occasion for the use of any thing\nbetter than common pine boards in making this addition to the reservoir.\n\nB is one side of the wooden, frame by which the hopper is supported\nand it may be made of one inch pine or spruce.\n\nC is a box of lacquered or galvanized iron, without either top or\nbottom. It moves on two pivots, one of winch is shown on its exposed\nside. In its present position, its upper end opens into the hopper,\nand its lower end is dosed by the stationary board over which it stands.\nWhen the handle is pulled up, the lever, which is connected with the\nbox, jerks it rapidly up, so that its back side closes the opening of\nthe reservoir, and its bottom opens to the front. In its movement it\ndischarges its contents of earth forward under the seat. When the\nhandle is dropped, the box returns to its natural position, and is\ncharged again.\n\nD is one of the pivots--a corresponding one being on the other side--by\nwhich the hopper is supported, and on which it vibrates.\n\n_a_, _a_, _a_, _a_, _a_, _a_, are the parts of the framework, the\ndimensions of which in feet and inches are given.\n\nThe only essential part not shown is an earthen-ware pan without a\nbottom, similar to the pan of a water-closet, only not so deep and\nwith a larger opening, which is attached to the under side of the seat,\nand which in a measure prevents the rising of dust, and conducts the\nurine to the point at which the most earth falls. This is the least\nimportant part of the invention, but it has a certain advantage.\n\nThe self-acting apparatus is more complicated, and persons wishing it\nwould do best to apply directly to the Company.\n\n\nTHE ORDINARY PRIVY.\n\nIn the circular published by the Earth-Closet Company, the following\ndirections are given:\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 69.--Commode, 3 ft. 3 in. high, 1 ft. 11 in. wide,\n2 ft. 2 in. deep.]\n\n\"An ordinary fixed closet requires the apparatus to be placed at the\nback of, and in connection with, the usual seat; the reservoir for\ncontaining the earth being placed above it. Under it there should be\na chamber or vault about four feet by three wide, and of any convenient\ndepth, with a paved or asphalted bottom, and the sides lined with\ncement. Should there be an existing cesspool, it may be altered to the\nabove dimensions. Into this the deposit and earth fall, and may remain\nthere three, six, or twelve months, and continue perfectly inodorous\nand innoxious, merely requiring to be occasionally leveled by a rake\nor hoe. If, however, it should be found impossible or inconvenient to\nhave a vault underneath, a movable trough, of iron or tarred wood, on\nwheels, may be substituted. In this case, it will be advisable to raise\nthe seat somewhat above the floor, to allow the trough to be of\nsufficient size.\n\n\"By one form of construction, (the 'pull-up,') the pulling up of a\nhandle releases a sufficient quantity of the dry earth, which is thrown\ninto the pit or vault, covering the deposit and completely preventing\nall smell. By another, (the 'self-acting,') the same effect is produced\nby the action of the seat. The apparatus may be placed in, and adapted\nto, almost any existing closet or privy, and so arranged that the\nsupply and removal of earth may be carried on inside or outside as\ndesired.\"\n\nThe following is taken from the company's circular:\n\n\"In the commode, the apparatus and earth-reservoir are self-contained,\nand a movable pail takes the place of the chamber or vault above\ndescribed. This must be emptied as often as necessary, and the contents\nmay be applied to the garden or field, or be allowed to accumulate in\na heap under cover until wanted for use. This accumulation is inodorous,\nand rapidly becomes dry. The commode can stand in any convenient place\nin or out of doors. For use in bedrooms, hospital wards, infirmaries,\netc., the commode is invaluable. It is entirely free from those faint,\ndepressing odors common to portable water-closets and night-stools,\nand through its admission one of the greatest miseries of human life,\nthe foul smells of the sick-room, and one of the most frequent means\nof communicating infection, may be entirely prevented. It is invariably\nfound that, if any failure takes place, it arises from the earth _not\nbeing properly dry_. Too much importance can not be attached to\nthis requirement. The earth-commode will no more act properly without\ndry earth, than will a water-closet without water.\n\n\"These commodes are made in a variety of patterns, from the cottage\ncommode to the more expensive ones in mahogany or oak, and vary in\nprice accordingly. They are made to act either by a handle, as in the\nordinary water-closet, or self-acting on rising from the seat. The\nearth-reservoir is calculated to hold enough for about twenty-five\ntimes; and where earth is scarce, or the manure required of\nextraordinary strength, the product may be dried as many as seven\ntimes, and without losing any of its deodorizing properties.\n\n\"If care be taken to cast one service of earth into the pail when first\nplaced in the commode, and to have the commonest regard to cleanliness,\nnot the least offensive smell will be perceptible, though the receptacle\nremain unemptied for weeks. Care must also be taken, that no liquid,\nbut that which they are intended to receive, be thrown into the pails.\"\n\nThe pail used in the commode is made of galvanized iron, and is shaped\nvery much like an ordinary coal-hod. It has a cover of the same\nmaterial, and it may be carried from an upper floor with no more\noffensiveness than a hodful of common earth.\n\nFig. 70 represents a cross-section of the commode, and will enable the\nreader more clearly to understand the construction and operation of\nthe apparatus.\n\n_a_ is the opening in the seat; _b_, the \"pan;\" _c_, the pail for\nreceiving the deposit; _d_, the hopper for containing the earth supply;\n_e_, the box by which the earth is measured, and by which it is thrown\ninto the pail when moved to the position _e'_ by the operation of the\n\"pull-up;\" _f_, a door by which the pail is shut in; _g_, the cover of\nthe seat; _h_, the cover of the hopper; _i_ a platform which prevents\nthe escape of earth from _e_.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 70 HOW TO USE THE EARTH-CLOSET.]\n\nUnder this head, the circular issued by the original London company\ncontains the following:\n\n\"The first requirement for the proper working of the earth-closet is\nearth perfectly dry and sifted. Earth alone is proved to be the best\ndeodorizer, and far superior to any disinfectants; but where it is\ndifficult to obtain earth abundantly, sifted ashes, as before stated,\nmay be mixed with, it in proportion of two of earth to one of ashes.\n\n\"As the first requirement is _dry earth sifted_, and as this is\nusually thought to be a great difficulty in the way of the adoption\nof the dry earth system, the following remarks will at once remove\nsuch an impression.\n\n\"The earth-commode and closet, if used by six persons daily, will\nrequire, on an average, about one hundred weight of earth per week.\nThis may be dried for family use in a drawer made to fit under the\nkitchen range, and which may be filled with earth one morning and left\nuntil the next. The drawer should reach to within two inches of the\nbottom bar of the grate. A frame with a handle, covered with fine\nwire-netting, forming a kind of shovel, should be placed on this drawer;\nthe finer ashes will fall through, mixing with the earth, whilst the\ncinders will remain on the top, to be, from time to time, thrown on\nthe fire.\n\n\"Of course, the most economical method is to provide in the summer-time\na winter store of dry earth, which may be kept in an out-house, shed,\nor other convenient place, just as we lay in a winter store of coals.\n\n\"THINGS TO BE OBSERVED\n\n \"Let one fall of earth be in the pail before using.\n \"The earth must be dry and sifted.\n \"Sand must not be used.\n \"No 'slops' must be thrown down.\n \"The handle must be pulled up with a jerk, and let fall sharply.\"\n\n\nREPEATED USE OF EARTH\n\nConcerning the value and use of the product of the earth-closet, the\nfollowing is copied from the London company's circular. (It will be\nnoticed that reference is made, to _the repeated use of the same\nearth._ When the ordure is completely dried and decomposed, it has\nnot only lost its odor, but it has become, like all decomposed organic\nmatter, an excellent disinfectant, and the fifth or sixth time that\nthe same earth is passed through the closet it is fully as effective\nin destroying odors as it was when used for the first time, and of\ncourse each use adds to its value as manure, until it becomes as strong\nas Peruvian guano, which is now worth seventy-five dollars per ton.\nIn fact, it may be made so rich that _one hundred pounds will be a\ngood dressing for an acre of land_.)\n\n\"If the closet is over a water-tight cesspool or pit, it will require\nemptying at the end of three or six months. The produce, which will\nbe quite inodorous, should be thrown, together in a heap, sheltered\nfrom wet, and occasionally turned over. At the end of a few weeks, it\nwill be dry and fit for use.\n\n\"If the receptacle be an iron trough or pail, the contents should be\nthrown together, re-dried, and used over again, four or five times.\nIn a few weeks they will be dry and fit for use; the value being\nincreased by repeated action. The condition of the manure should be\nmuch the same as that of guano, and fit for drilling.\"\n\nThe inventor of the earth-closet, Rev. Mr. Moule, says:\n\n\"It was to this point (the power of earth or clay to absorb the products\nof the decomposition of manure) but particularly to the _repeated\naction_, and consequently the repeated use of the same earth, that\nI first directed the attention of the public. I then pointed out:\nFirst. That a very small portion of dry and sifted earth (one and a\nhalf pints) is sufficient by covering the deposit, to prevent\nfermentation, (which so soon sets in whenever water is used,) and the\nconsequent generation and emission of noxious gases. Second. That if\nwithin a few hours, or even a few days, the mass that would be formed\nby the repeated layers of deposit, be intimately mixed by a coarse\nrake or spade, or by a mixer made for the purpose, then, in five or\nten minutes, neither to the eye or sense of smell is any thing\nperceptible but so much earth.... When about three cart-loads of sifted\nearth had thus been used for my family, (which averaged fifteen\npersons,) and left under a shed, I found that the material first\nemployed was sufficiently dried to be used again. This process of\nalternate mixing and drying was renewed five times, the earth still\nretaining its absorbent powers apparently unimpaired. Of the visitors\ntaken to the spot, none could guess the nature of the compost, though\nin some cases the heap which they visited in the afternoon had been\nturned over that same morning ...\n\n\"It is only in towns, where the delivery, stowage, and removal of earth\nis attended with cost and difficulty, that any artificial aid for\ndrying the compost would be desirable. On premises not cramped for\nspace, the atmosphere, especially with a glass roof to the shed, will\nact sufficiently fast.\n\n\"You may by means of it (the earth system) have a privy close to the\nhouse and a closet up-stairs, from neither of which shall proceed any\noffensive smell or any noxious gas. A projection from the back of the\ncottage, eight feet long and six feet wide, would be amply sufficient\nfor this purpose. The nearer three or four feet down-stairs, would be\noccupied by the privy, in which, by the seat, would be a receptacle\nfor dry earth. The 'soil' and earth would fall into the further five\nor four feet, which would form the covered and closed shed for mixing\nand drying. Up-stairs, the arrangement would be much the same, the\ndeposit being made to fall clear of every wall. Through, this closet\nthe removal of noxious and offensive matters in time of sickness, and\nof slop-buckets, would be immediate and easy; and if the shed below\nbe kept well supplied with earth, all effluvium would be almost\nimmediately checked. As to the trouble which this will cause, a very\nlittle experience will convince the cottager that it is less instead\nof greater, than the women generally go through at present, while the\nvalue of the manure will afford an inducement to exertion.\n\n     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .\n\n\"The truth is, that the machinery is more simple, much less expensive,\nand far less liable to injury than that of the water-closet. The\nsupply of earth to the house is as easy as that of coals. To the closet\nit may be supplied more easily than water is supplied by a forcing-pump,\nand to the commode it can be conveyed just as coal is carried to the\nchamber. After use, it can be removed in either case by the bucket or\nbox placed under the seat, or from the fixed reservoir, with less\noffense than that of the ordinary slop-bucket--indeed, (I speak after\nfour years' experience,) with as little offense as is found in the\nremoval of coal-ashes. So that, while servants and others will shrink\nfrom novelty and at first imagine difficulties, yet many, to my\nknowledge, would now vastly prefer the daily removal of the bucket or\nthe soil to either the daily working of a forcing-pump or to being\ncalled upon once a year, or once in three years, to assist in emptying\na vault or cesspool.\"\n\nTo the above complete and convincingly apt arguments and statements\nof fact, we do not care to add any thing. All that we desire is to\ndirect public attention to the admirable qualities of this Earth System,\nand to suggest that, at least for those living in the country away\nfrom the many conveniences of city life, great water power, and\nmechanical assistance, the use of it will conduce largely to the economy\nof families, the health of neighborhoods, and the increasing fertility\nand prosperity of the country round about.\n\n\n\n\nXXXVI.\n\nWARMING AND VENTILATION\n\n\nThere is no department of science, as applied to practical matters,\nwhich has so often baffled experimenters as the healthful mode of\nwarming and ventilating houses. The British nation spent over a million\non the House of Parliament for this end, and failed. Our own government\nhas spent half a million on the Capitol, with worse failure; and now\nit is proposed to spend a million more. The reason is, that the old\nopen fireplace has been supplanted by less expensive modes of heating,\ndestructive to health; and science has but just begun experiments to\nsecure a remedy for the evil.\n\nThe open fire warms the person, the walls, the floors and the furniture\nby radiation, and these, together with the fire, warm the air by\nconvection. For the air resting on the heated surfaces is warmed by\nconvection, rises and gives place to cooler particles, causing a\nconstant heating of its particles by movement. Thus in a room with an\nopen fire, the person is warmed in part by radiation from the fire and\nthe surrounding walls and furniture, and in part by the warm air\nsurrounding the body.\n\nIn regard to the warmth of air, the thermometer is not an exact index\nof its temperature. For all bodies are constantly radiating their heat\nto cooler adjacent surfaces until all come to the same temperature.\nThis being so, the thermometer is radiating its heat to walls and\nsurrounding objects, in addition to what is subtracted by the air that\nsurrounds it, and thus the air is really several degrees warmer than\nthe thermometer indicates. A room at 70 degrees by the thermometer is\nusually filled with air five or more degrees warmer than this.\n\nNow, the cold air is denser than warm, and therefore contains more\noxygen. Consequently, the cooler the air inspired, the larger the\nsupply of oxygen and of the vitality and vigor which it imparts. Thus,\nthe great problem for economy of health is to warm the person as much\nas possible by radiated heat, and supply the lungs with cool air. For\nwhen we breathe air at from 16 to 20 degrees, we take double the amount\nof oxygen that we do when we inhale it at 80 to 90 degrees, and\nconsequently can do double the amount of muscle and brain work.\n\nWarming by an open fire is nearest to the natural mode of the Creator,\nwho heats the earth and its furniture by the great central fire of\nheaven, and sends cool breezes for our lungs. But open fires involve\ngreat destruction of fuel and expenditure of money, and in consequence\neconomic methods have been introduced to the great destruction of\nhealth and life.\n\nOf these methods, the most popular is that by which radiated heat is\nbanished, and all warmth is gained by introducing heated air. This is\nthe method employed in our national Capitol, where both warming and\nventilation are attempted by means of _fans_ worked by steam, which\nforce in the heated air. This is an expensive mode, used only for large\nestablishments, and its entire failure at our capitol will probably\nprevent in future any very extensive use of it.\n\nBut the most common mode of warming is by heated air introduced from\na furnace. The chief objection to this is the loss of all radiated\nheat, and the consequent necessity of breathing air which is\ndebilitating both from its heat and also from being usually deprived\nof the requisite moisture provided by the Creator in all out-door air.\nAnother objection is the fact that it is important to health to preserve\nan equal circulation of the blood, and the greatest impediment to this\nis a mode of heating which keeps the head in warmer air than the feet.\nThis is especially deleterious in an age and country where active\nbrains are constantly drawing blood from the extremities to the head.\nAll furnace-heated rooms have coldest air at the feet, and warmest\naround the head. It is also rarely the case that furnace-heated houses\nhave proper arrangements for carrying off the vitiated air.\n\nThere are some recent scientific discoveries that relate to impure air\nwhich may properly be introduced here. It is shown by the microscope\nthat _fermentation_ is a process which generates extremely minute\nplants, that gradually increase till the whole mass is pervaded by\nthis vegetation. The microscope also has revealed the fact that, in\ncertain diseases, these microscopic plants are generated in the blood\nand other fluids of the body, in a mode similar to the ordinary process\nof fermentation.\n\nAnd, what is very curious, each of these peculiar diseases generates\ndiverse kinds of plants. Thus in the typhoid fever, the microscope\nreveals in the fluids of the patient a plant that resembles in form\nsome kinds of seaweed. In chills and fever, the microscopic plant has\nanother form, and in small-pox still another. A work has recently been\npublished in Europe, in which representations of these various\nmicroscopic plants generated in the fluids of the diseased persons are\nexhibited, enlarged several hundred times by the microscope. All\ndiseases that exhibit these microscopic plants are classed together,\nand are called _Zymotic_, from a Greek word signifying _to ferment_.\n\nThese zymotic diseases sometimes have a _local_ origin, as in the case\nof ague caused by miasma of swamps; and then they are named _endemic_.\nIn other cases, they are caused by personal contact with the diseased\nbody or its clothing, as the itch or small-pox; or else by effluvia from\nthe sick, as in measles. Such are called _contagious_ or _infectious_.\nIn other cases, diseases result from some unknown cause in the\natmosphere, and affect numbers of people at the same time, as in\ninfluenza or scarlet fever, and these are called _epidemics_.\n\nIt is now regarded as probable that most of these diseases are generated\nby the microscopic plants which float in an impure or miasmatic\natmosphere, and are taken into the blood by breathing.\n\nRecent scientific investigations in Great Britain and other countries\nprove that the _power of resisting_ these diseases depends upon the\npurity of the air which has been _habitually_ inspired. The human body\ngradually accommodates itself to unhealthful circumstances, so that\npeople can live a long time in bad air. But the \"reserve power\" of the\nbody, that is, the power of resisting disease, is under such\ncircumstances gradually destroyed, and then an epidemic easily sweeps\naway those thus enfeebled. The plague of London, that destroyed\nthousands every day, came immediately after a long period of damp,\nwarm days, when there was no wind to carry off the miasma thus\ngenerated; while the people, by long breathing of bad air, were all\nprepared, from having sunk into a low vitality, to fall before the\npestilence.\n\nMultitudes of public documents show that the fatality of epidemics is\nalways proportioned to the degree in which impure air has previously\nbeen respired. Sickness and death are therefore regulated by the degree\nin which air is kept pure, especially in case of diseases in which\nmedical treatment is most uncertain, as in cholera and malignant fevers.\n\nInvestigations made by governmental authority, and by boards of health\nin this country and in Great Britain, prove that zymotic diseases\nordinarily result from impure air generated by vegetable or animal\ndecay, and that in almost all cases they can be prevented by keeping\nthe air pure. The decayed animal matter sent off from the skin and\nlungs in a close, unventilated bedroom is one thing that generates\nthese zymotic diseases. The decay of animal and vegetable matter in\ncellars, sinks, drains, and marshy districts is another cause; and the\ndecayed vegetable matter thrown up by plowing up of decayed vegetable\nmatter in the rich soil in new countries is another.\n\nIn the investigations made in certain parts of Great Britain, it\nappeared that in districts where the air is pure the deaths average\n11 in 1000 each year; while in localities most exposed to impure miasma,\nthe mortality was 45 in every thousand. At this rate, thirty-four\npersons in every thousand died from poisoned air, who would have\npreserved health and life by well-ventilated homes in a pure atmosphere.\nAnd, out of all who died, the proportion who owed their deaths to foul\nair was more than three fourths. Similar facts have been obtained by\nboards of health in our own country.\n\nMr. Leeds gives statistics showing, that in Philadelphia, by improved\nmodes of ventilation and other sanitary methods, there was a saving\nof 3237 lives in two years; and a saving of three fourths of a million\nof dollars, which would pay the whole expense of the public schools.\nPhiladelphia being previously an unusually cleanly and well-ventilated\ncity, what would be the saving of life, health, and wealth were such\na city as New-York perfectly cleansed and ventilated?\n\nHere it is proper to state again that conflicting opinions are found\nin many writers on ventilation, in regard to the position of ventilating\nregisters to carry off vitiated air. Most writers state that the impure\nair is heavier, and falls to the bottom of a room. After consulting\nscientific men extensively on this point, the writer finds the true\nresult to be as follows: Carbonic acid is heavier than common air,\nand, unmixed, falls to the floor. But by the principle of _diffusion\nof gases_, the air thrown from the lungs, though at first it sinks\na little, is gradually diffused, and in a heated room, in the majority\nof cases, it is found more abundantly at the top than at the bottom\nof the room, though in certain circumstances it is more at the bottom.\nFor this reason, registers to carry off impure air should be placed\nat both the top and bottom of a room.\n\nIn arranging for pure air in dwellings, it is needful to proportion\nthe air admitted and discharged to the number of persons. As a guide\nto this, we have the following calculation: On an average, every adult\nvitiates about half a pint of air at each inspiration, and inspires\ntwenty times a minute. This would amount to one hogshead of air vitiated\nevery hour by every grown person. To keep the air pure, this amount\nshould enter and be carried out every hour for each person. If, then,\nten persons assemble in a dining-room, ten hogsheads of air should\nenter and ten be discharged each hour. By the same rule, a gathering\nof five hundred persons demands the entrance and discharge of five\nhundred hogsheads of air every hour, and a thousand persons require\na thousand hogsheads of air every hour.\n\nIn calculating the size of registers and conductors, then, we must\nhave reference to the number of persons who are to abide in a dwelling;\nwhile for rooms or halls intended for large gatherings, a far greater\nallowance must be made.\n\nThe most successful mode before the public, both for warming and\nventilation, is that of Lewis Leeds, who was employed by government\nto ventilate the military hospitals and also the treasury building at\nWashington. This method has been adopted in various school-houses, and\nalso by A. T. Stewart in his hotel for women in New-York City. The\nLeeds plan embraces the mode of heating both by radiation and\nconvection, very much resembling the open fireplace in operation, and\nyet securing great economy. It is modeled strictly after the mode\nadopted by the Creator in warming and ventilating the earth, the home\nof his great earthly family. It aims to have a passage of pure air\nthrough, every room, as the breezes pass over the hills, and to have\na method of warming chiefly by radiation, as the earth is warmed by\nthe sun. In addition to this, the air is to be provided with moisture,\nas it is supplied out-doors by exhalations from the earth, and its\ntrees and plants.\n\nThe mode of accomplishing this is by placing coils of steam, or hot\nwater pipes, under windows, which warm the parlor walls and furniture,\npartly by radiation, and partly by the air warmed on the heated surfaces\nof the coils. At the same time, by regulating registers, or by simply\nopening the lower part of the window, the pure air, guarded from\nimmediate entrance into the room, is admitted directly upon the coils,\nso that it is partially warmed before it reaches the person: and thus\ncold drafts are prevented. Then the vitiated air is drawn off through\nregisters both at the top and bottom of the room, opening into a heated\nexhausting flue, through which the constantly ascending current of\nwarm air carries it off. These heated coils are often used for warming\nhouses without any arrangement for carrying off the vitiated air, when,\nof course, their peculiar usefulness is gone.\n\nThe moisture may be supplied by a broad vessel placed on or close to\nthe heated coils, giving a large surface for evaporation. When rooms\nare warmed chiefly by radiated heat, the air can be borne much cooler\nthan in rooms warmed by hot-air furnaces, just as a person in the\nradiating sun can bear much cooler air than in the shade. A time will\ncome when walls and floors will be contrived to radiate heat instead\nof absorbing it from the occupants of houses, as is generally the case\nat the present time, and then all can breathe pure and cool air.\n\nWe are now prepared to examine more in detail the modes of warming and\nventilation employed in the dwellings planned for this work.\n\nIn doing this, it should be remembered that the aim is not to give\nplans of houses to suit the architectural taste or the domestic\nconvenience of persons who intend to keep several servants, and care\nlittle whether they breathe pure or bad air, nor of persons who do not\nwish to educate their children to manual industry or to habits of close\neconomy.\n\nOn the contrary, the aim is, first, to secure a house in which every\nroom shall be perfectly ventilated both day and night, and that too\nwithout the watchful care and constant attention and intelligence\nneedful in houses not provided with a proper and successful mode of\nventilation.\n\nThe next aim is, to arrange the conveniences of domestic labor so as\nto save time, and also to render such work less repulsive than it is\nmade by common methods, so that children can be trained to love\nhouse-work. And lastly, economy of expense in house-building is sought.\nThese things should be borne in mind in examining the plans of this\nwork.\n\nIn the Cottage plan, (Chap II. Fig. 1,) the pure air for rooms on the\nground floor is to be introduced by a wooden conductor one foot square,\nrunning under the floor from the front door to the stove-room; with\ncross branches to the two large rooms. The pure air passes through\nthis, protected outside by wire netting, and delivered inside through\nregisters in each room, as indicated in Fig. 1.\n\nIn case open Franklin stoves are used in the large rooms, the pure air\nfrom the conductor should enter behind them, and thus be partially\nwarmed. The vitiated air is carried off at the bottom of the room\nthrough the open stoves, and also at the top by a register opening\ninto a conductor to the exhausting warm-air shaft, which, it will be\nremembered, is the square chimney, containing the iron pipe which\nreceives the kitchen stove-pipe. The stove-room receives pure air from\nthe conductor, and sends off impure air and the smells of cooking by\na register opening directly into the exhausting shaft; while its hot\nair and smoke, passing through the iron pipe, heat the air of the\nshaft, and produce the exhausting current. The construction of the\nexhausting or warm-air shaft is described on page 63.\n\nThe large chambers on the second floor (Fig. 12) have pure air conducted\nfrom the stove-room through registers that can be closed if the heat\nor smells of cooking are unpleasant. The air in the stove-room will\nalways be moist from the water of the stove boiler,\n\nThe small chambers have pure air admitted from windows sunk at top\nhalf an inch; and the warm, vitiated air is conducted by a register\nin the ceiling which opens into a conductor to the exhausting warm-air\nshaft at the centre of the house, as shown in Fig. 17.\n\nThe basement or cellar is ventilated by an opening into the exhausting\nair shaft, to remove impure air, and a small opening over each glazed\ndoor to admit pure air. The doors open out into a \"well,\" or recess,\nexcavated in the earth before the cellar, for the admission of light\nand air, neatly bricked up and whitewashed. The doors are to be made\nentirely of strong, thick glass sashes, and this will give light enough\nfor laundry work; the tubs and ironing-table being placed close to the\nglazed door. The floor must be plastered with water-lime, and the walls\nand ceiling be whitewashed, which will add reflected light to the room.\nThere will thus be no need of other windows, and the house need not\nbe raised above the ground. Several cottages have been built thus, so\nthat the ground floors and conservatories are nearly on the same level;\nand all agree that they are pleasanter than when raised higher.\n\nWhen a window in any room is sunk at the top, it should have a narrow\nshelf in front inclined to the opening, so as to keep out the rain.\nIn small chambers for one person, an inch opening is sufficient, and\nin larger rooms for two persons, a two-inch opening is needed. The\nopenings into the exhausting air flue should vary from eight inches\nto twelve inches square, or more, according to the number of persons\nwho are to sleep in the room.\n\nThe time when ventilation is most difficult is the medium weather in\nspring and fall, when the air, though damp, is similar in temperature\noutside and in. Then the warm-air flue is indispensable to proper\nventilation. This is especially needed in a room used for school or\nchurch purposes.\n\nEvery room used for large numbers should have its air regulated not\nonly as to its warmth and purity, but also as to its supply of moisture;\nand for this purpose will be found very convenient the instrument\ncalled the Hygrodeik, [Footnote: It is manufactured by N. M. Lowe,\nBoston, and sold by him: and J. Queen & Co., Philadelphia.] which shows\nat once the temperature and the moisture. A work by Dr. Derby on\nAnthracite Coal, scientific men say has done much mischief by an\n_unproved_ theory that the discomfort of furnace heat is caused by the\npassage of carbonic _oxide_ through the iron of the furnace heaters, and\n_not_ by want of moisture. God made the air right, and taking out its\nmoisture _must_ be wrong.\n\nThe preceding remarks illustrate the advantages of the cottage plan\nin respect to ventilation. The economy of the mode of warming next\ndemands attention. In the first place, it should be noted that the\nchimney being at the centre of the house, no heat is lost by its\nradiation through outside walls into open air, as is the case with all\nfireplaces and grates that have their backs and flues joined to an\noutside wall.\n\nIn this plan, all the radiated heat from the stove serves to warm the\nwalls of adjacent rooms in cold weather; while in the warm season, the\nnon-conducting summer casings of the stove send all the heat not used\nin cooking either into the exhausting warm-air shaft or into the central\ncast-iron pipe. In addition to this, the sliding doors of the stove-room\n(which should be only six feet high, meeting the partition coming from\nthe ceiling) can be opened in cool days, and then the heat from the\nstove would temper the rooms each side of the kitchen. In hot weather,\nthey could be kept closed except when the stove is used, and then\nopened only for a short time. The Franklin stoves in the large room\nwould give the radiating warmth and cheerful blaze of an open fire,\nwhile radiating heat also from all their surfaces. In cold weather,\nthe air of the larger chambers could be tempered by registers admitting\nwarm air from the stove-room, which would always be sufficiently\nmoistened by evaporation from the stationary boiler. The conservatories\nin winter, protected from frost by double sashes, would contribute\nagreeable moisture to the larger rooms. In case the size of a family\nrequired more rooms, another story could be ventilated and warmed by\nthe same mode, with little additional expense.\n\nWe will next notice the economy of time, labor, and expense secured\nby this cottage plan. The laundry work being done in the basement, all\nthe cooking, dish-washing, etc., can be done in the kitchen and\nstove-room on the ground floor. But in case a larger kitchen is needed,\nthe lounges can be put in the front part of the large room, and the\nmovable screen placed so as to give a work-room adjacent to the\nkitchen, and the front side of the same be used for the eating-room.\nWhere the movable screen is used, the floor should be oiled wood. A\nsquare piece of carpet can be put in the centre of the front part of\nthe room, to keep the feet warm when sitting around the table, and\nsmall rugs can be placed before the lounges or other sitting-places,\nfor the same purpose.\n\nMost cottages are so divided by entries, stairs, closets, etc., that\nthere can be no large rooms. But in this plan, by the use of the movable\nscreen, two fine large rooms can be secured whenever the family work\nis over, while the conveniences for work will very much lessen the\ntime required.\n\nIn certain cases, where the closest economy is needful, two small\nfamilies can occupy the cottage, by having a movable screen in both\nrooms, and using the kitchen in common, or divide it and have two\nsmaller stoves. Each kitchen will then have a window and as much room\nas is given to the kitchen in great steamers that provide for several\nhundred.\n\nWhoever plans a house with a view to economy must arrange rooms around\na central chimney, and avoid all projecting appendages. Dormer windows\nare far more expensive than common ones, and are less pleasant. Every\naddition projecting from a main building greatly increases expense of\nbuilding, and still more of warming and ventilating.\n\nIt should be introduced, as one school exercise in every female\nseminary, to plan houses with reference to economy of time, labor, and\nexpense, and also with reference to good architectural taste; and the\nteacher should be qualified to point out faults and give the instruction\nneeded to prevent such mistakes in practical life. Every girl should\nbe trained to be \"a wise woman\" that \"buildeth her house\" aright.\n\nThere is but one mode of ventilation yet tried, that will, at all\nseasons of the year and all hours of the day and night, secure pure\nair without dangerous draughts, and that is by an exhausting warm-air\nflue. This is always secured by an open fireplace, so long as its\nchimney is kept warm by any fire. And in many cases, a fireplace with\na flue of a certain dimension and height will secure good ventilation\nexcept when the air without and within are at the same temperature.\n\nWhen no exhausting warm-air flue can be used, the opening of doors and\nwindows is the only resort. Every sleeping-room _without a fireplace\nthat draws smoke well_ should have a window raised at the bottom\nor sunk at the top at least an inch, with an inclined shelf outside\nor in, to keep out rain, and then it is properly ventilated. Or a door\nshould be kept opened into a hall with an open window. Let the\nbed-clothing be increased, so as to keep warm in bed, and protect the\nhead also, and then the more air comes into a sleeping-room the better\nfor health.\n\nIn reference to the warming of rooms and houses already built, there\nis no doubt that stoves are the most economical mode, as they radiate\nheat and also warm by convection. The grand objection to their use is\nthe difficulty of securing proper ventilation. If a room is well warmed\nby a stove and then a suitable opening made for the entrance of a good\nsupply of out-door air, and by a mode that will prevent dangerous\ndraughts, all is right as to pure air. But in this case, the feet are\nalways on cold floors, surrounded by the coldest air, while the head\nis in air of much higher temperature.\n\nThere is a great difference as to healthfulness and economy in the\ngreat variety of stoves with which the market is filled. The competition\nin this manufacture is so stringent, and so many devices are employed\nby agents, that there is constant and enormous imposition on the public\nand an incredible outlay on poor stoves, that soon burn out or break,\nwhile they devour fuel beyond calculation. If some benevolent and\nscientific organization could be formed that would, from disinterested\nmotives, afford some reliable guidance to the public, it probably would\nsave both millions of money and much domestic discomfort.\n\nThe stove described in Chapter V. is protected by patents in its chief\nadvantages, but this has not restrained many of the trade from\nincorporating some of its leading excellencies and claiming to have\nadded superior elements. Others will inform any who inquire for it,\nthat it is out of market, because later stoves have proved superior.\nShould any who read this work wish to be sure of securing this stove,\nand also of gaining minute directions for its use, they may apply to\nthe writer, Miss C. E. Beecher, 69 West 38th Street, New-York, inclosing\n25 cents.\n\nShe will then forward the manufacturers' printed descriptive circulars,\nand her own advice as to the best selection from the different sizes,\nand directions for its use, based on her own personal experience and\nthat of many friends. Should any purchases be made through this medium,\nthe manufacturers have agreed to pay a certain percentage into the\ntreasury of the Benevolent Association mentioned at the close of this\nvolume.\n\nThere is no more dangerous mode of heating a room than by a gas-stove.\nThere is inevitably more or less leakage of the gas which it is\nunhealthful to breathe. And proper ventilation is scarcely ever secured\nby those who use such stoves. The same fatal elements of imperfect\nventilation with its attendant horrors of disease, extravagant\nwastefulness of material, of fuel, of labor, of time, and of destruction\nto the apparatus itself, seem concomitants of all ordinary stoves and\ncooking arrangements of the present day, unless those who use them are\nconstant and unremitting in the exercise of intelligent watchfulness,\nguarding against these evils. And in view of the almost inevitable\nstupidity and carelessness of servants, who generally have charge of\nsuch things, and the frequent thoughtlessness even of intelligent women\nwho manage their own kitchens, the writer believes she is doing a\npublic service by offering her own experience as a guide to simpler,\ncheaper, and more wholesome means of living and preparing the family\nfood.\n\n\n\n\nXXXVII.\n\nCARE OF THE HOMELESS, THE HELPLESS, AND THE VICIOUS.\n\n\nIn considering the duties of the Christian family in regard to the\nhelpless and vicious classes, some recently developed facts need to\nbe considered. We have stated that the great end for which, the family\nwas instituted is the training to virtue and happiness of our whole\nrace, as the children of our Heavenly Father, and this with chief\nreference to their eternal existence after death. In the teachings of\nour Lord we find that it is for sinners--for the lost and wandering\nsheep, that he is most tenderly concerned. It is not those who by\ncareful training and happy temperaments have escaped the dangers of\nlife that God and good angels most anxiously watch. \"For there is more\njoy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety and nine\nthat went not astray.\"\n\nThe hardest work of all is to restore a guilty, selfish, hardened\nspirit to honor, truth, and purity; and this is the divine labor to\nwhich the pitying Saviour calls all his true followers; to lift up the\nfallen, to sustain the weak, to protect the tempted, to bind up the\nbroken-hearted, and especially to rescue the sinful. This is the\npeculiar privilege of woman in the sacred retreat of a \"Christian\nhome.\" And it is for such self-denying ministries that she is to train\nall who are under her care and influence, both by her teaching and by\nher example.\n\nIn connection with these distinctive principles of Christ for which\nthe family state was instituted, let the following facts be considered.\nThe Massachusetts Board of State Charities, consisting of some of the\nmost benevolent and intelligent gentlemen of that State, in pursuance\nof their official duty visited all the State institutions, and held\ntwenty-five meetings during the year 1867-8. By these visits and\nconsequent discussions they arrived at certain conclusions, which may\nbe briefly condensed as follows.\n\nNo state or nation excels Massachusetts in a wise and generous care\nof the helpless, poor, and vicious. The agents employed for this end\nare frugal, industrious, intelligent, and benevolent men and women,\nwith high moral principles. The pauper and criminal classes requiring\nto be cared for by Massachusetts are less in proportion to the whole\nnumber of inhabitants than in any other state or nation. Yet, admirable\nas are these comparative results, there is room for improvement in a\nmost important particular. The report of the Board urges that the\npresent mode of collecting special classes in great establishments,\nthough it may be the best in a choice of evils, is not the best method\nfor the physical, social, and moral improvement of those classes; as\nit involves many unfortunate influences (which are stated at large:)\nand the report suggests that a better way would be to scatter these\nunfortunates from temporary receiving asylums into families of Christian\npeople all over the State.\n\nIt is suggested in view of the above, that collecting fallen women\ninto one large community is not the best way to create a pure moral\natmosphere; and that gathering one or two hundred children in one\nestablishment is not so good for them as to give each child a home in\nsome loving Christian family. So of the aged and the sick, the blessings\nof a quiet home, and the tender, patient nursing of true Christian\nlove, must be sought in a Christian family; not in a great asylum.\n\nIn view of these important facts and suggestions, it may be inquired,\nif the great end and aim of the family state is to train the inmates\nto self-denying love and labor for the weak, the suffering, and the\nsinful, how can it be done where there are no young children, no aged\npersons, no invalids, and no sinful ones for whom such sacrifices are\nto be made?\n\nWhy are orphan children thrown upon the world, why are the aged held\nin a useless, suffering life, except that they may aid in cultivating\ntender love and labor for the helpless, and reverence for the hoary\nhead? And yet, how few children are trained thus to regard the orphan,\nthe aged, the helpless, and the vicious around them!\n\nGreat houses are built for these destitute ones, and all the labor and\nself-denial in taking care of them is transferred to paid agents, while\nthousands of families are thus deprived of all opportunity to cultivate\nthe distinctive virtues of the Christian household.\n\nIn this connection, let us look at some facts recently published in\nthe city of New-York.\n\nThe writer, Rev. W. O. Van Meter, says in his report:\n\n\"The following astounding statistics are carefully selected from the\nReports of the Police, Board of Health, Citizens' Association, and\nmore than twelve years' personal experience.\"\n\nHe then gives the following description of a section of the city only\na few rods from the stores and residences of those who count their\nwealth by hundreds of thousands and millions, many of them professing\nto be followers of Christ:\n\n\"First, we see old sheds, stable lofts, dilapidated buildings, too\nworthless to be repaired, lofts over warehouses and shops; cellars,\ntoo worthless for business purposes, and too unhealthy for horses or\npigs, and therefore occupied by human beings at high rent.--Second,\nhouses erected for tenant purposes. Take one near our Mission, as a\nfair specimen of the better class of '_model_' tenant houses. It\ncontains one hundred and twenty-six families--is entered at the sides\nfrom alleys eight feet wide; and by reason of another barrack of equal\nheight, the rooms are so darkened, that on a cloudy day it is impossible\nto sew in them without artificial light. It has not one room that can\nbe thoroughly ventilated.\n\n\"The vaults and sewers which are to carry off the filth of one hundred\nand twenty-six families have grated openings in the alleys, and doorways\nin the cellars, through which the deadly miasma penetrates and poisons\nthe air of the house and courts. The water-closets for the whole vast\nestablishment are a range of stalls, without doors, and accessible not\nonly from the building, but even from the street. Comfort here is out\nof the question; common decency impossible, and the horrid brutalities\nof the passenger-ship are day after day repeated, but on a larger\nscale.\n\n\"In similar dwellings are living five hundred and ten thousand persons,\n(nearly one half of the inhabitants of the city,) chiefly from the\nlaboring classes, of very moderate means, and also the uncounted\nthousands of those who do not know to-day what they shall have to live\non to-morrow. This immense population is found chiefly in an area of\nless than four square miles. The vagrant and neglected children among\nthem would form a procession in double file eight miles long from the\nBattery to Harlem.\n\n\"In the Fourth ward, the tenant-house population is crowded at the\nrate of two hundred and ninety thousand inhabitants to the square mile.\nSuch packing was probably never equaled in any other city. Were the\nbuildings occupied by these miserable creatures removed, and the people\nplaced by each other, there would be but one and two ninths of a square\nyard for each, and this unparalleled packing is _increasing_. Two\nhundred and twenty-four families in the ward live below the sidewalk,\nmany of them _below high-water mark_. Often in very high tide they are\ndriven from their cellars or lie in bed until the tide ebbs. Not one\nhalf of the houses have any drain or connection with the sewer. The\nliquid refuse is emptied on the sidewalk or into the street, giving\nforth sickening exhalations, and uniting its fetid streams with others\nfrom similar sources. There are more than four hundred families in\nthis ward whose homes can only be reached by wading through a disgusting\ndeposit of filthy refuse. 'In one tenant-house one hundred and forty-six\nwere sick with small-pox, typhus fever, scarlatina, measles, marasmus,\nphthisis pulmonalis, dysentery, and chronic diarrhea. In another,\ncontaining three hundred and forty-nine persons, _one in nineteen died_\nduring the year, and on the day of inspection, which was during the most\nhealthy season of the year, there were one hundred and fifteen persons\nsick! In another (in the Sixth Ward, but near us,) are sixty-five\nfamilies; seventy-seven persons were sick or diseased at the time of\ninspection, and one in four _always_ sick. In fifteen of these families\ntwenty-five children were living, thirty-seven had died.'\n\n\"Here are found the lowest class of sailor boarding-houses, dance-\nhouses, and dens of infamy. There are _less than two dwelling-houses\nfor each rum-hole_. Here are the poorest, vilest, most degraded,\nand desperate representatives of all nations. In the homes of thousands\nhere, a ray of sunlight never shines, a flower never blooms, a bird\nsong is never heard, a breath of pure air never breathed.\" A procession\nof vagrant and neglected children that in double file would reach eight\nmiles, living in such filth, vice, and unhealthful pollution; all of\nthem God's children, all Christ's younger brethren, to save whom he\nhumbled himself, even to the shameful death of the cross!\n\nMeantime, the city of New York has millions of wealth placed in the\nhands of men and women who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ,\nand to have consecrated themselves, their time, and their wealth to\nhis service. And they daily are passing and repassing within a stone's\nthrow of the streets where all this misery and sin are accumulated!\n\nSo in all our large cities and towns all over the land are found\nsimilar, if not so extensive, collections of vice and misery. And even\nwhere there are not such extremes of degradation, there are contrasts\nof condition that should \"give us pause.\" For example, in the vicinity\nof our large towns and cities will be seen spacious mansions inhabited\nby professed followers of Jesus Christ, each surrounded by ornamented\ngrounds. Not far from them will be seen small tenement-houses, abounding\nwith children, each house having about as many square yards of land\nas the large houses have square acres. In the small tenements, the\nboys rise early and go forth with the father to work from eight to ten\nhours, with little opportunity for amusement or for reading or study.\nIn the large houses, the boys sleep till a late breakfast, then lounge\nabout till school-time, then spend three hours in school, stimulating\nbrain and nerves. Then home to a hearty dinner, and then again to\nschool.\n\nSo with the girls: in the tenement-houses, they, go to kitchens and\nshops to work most of the day, with little chance for mental culture\nor the refinements of taste. In the large mansions, the daughters sleep\nlate, do little or no labor for the family, and spend their time in\nschool, or in light reading, ornamental accomplishments, or amusement.\n\nThus one class are trained to feel that they are a privileged few for\nwhom others are to work, while they do little or nothing to promote\nthe improvement or enjoyment of their poorer neighbors.\n\nThen, again, labor being confined chiefly to the unrefined and\nuncultivated, is disgraced and rendered unattractive to the young. One\nclass is overworked, and the body deteriorates from excess. The other\nclass overwork the brain and nerves, and the neglected muscles grow\nthin, flabby, and weak.\n\nNotice also the style in which they accumulate the elegances of\ncivilization without even an attempt to elevate their destitute\nneighbors to such culture and enjoyment. Their expensive pictures\nmultiply on their frescoed walls, their elegant books increase in their\nclosed bookcases, their fine pictures and prints remain shut in\nportfolios, to be only occasionally opened by a privileged few. Their\nhandsome equipages are for the comfortable and prosperous--not for\nthe feeble and poor who have none of their own. All their social\namusements are exclusive, and their expensive entertainments are for\nthose only who can return the same to them.\n\nOur Divine Master thus teaches, \"When thou makest a feast, call not\nthy kinsmen or thy rich neighbors, lest they also bid thee again, and\na recompense he made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor,\nfor they can not recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the\nresurrection of the just.\" Again, our Lord, after performing the most\nservile office, taught thus: \"If I, your Lord and Master, have washed\nyour feet, ye ought to wash one another's feet.\"\n\nIn all these large towns and cities are women of wealth and leisure,\nwho profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. Some of them, having\nproperty in their own right, live in large mansions, with equipage and\nservants demanding a large outlay. They travel abroad, and gather\naround themselves the elegant refinements of foreign lands. They give,\nperhaps, a tenth of their time and income (which is far less than was\nrequired of the Jews), for benevolent purposes, and then think and say\nthat they have consecrated themselves and _all_ they have to the\nservice of Christ.\n\nIf there is any thing plainly taught in the New Testament it is, that\nthe followers of Christ are to be different and distinct from the world\naround them; \"a peculiar people,\" and subject to opposition and ill-will\nfor their distinctive peculiarities.\n\nOf these peculiarities demanded, _humility_ and _meekness_ are\nconspicuous: \"Come and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly, and\nye shall find rest.\" Now, the grand aim of the rich, worldly, and\nambitious is to be at least equal, or else to rise higher than others,\nin wealth, honor, and position. This is the great struggle of humanity\nin all ages, especially in this country, and among all classes, to\n_rise higher_--to be as rich or richer than others--to be as well\ndressed--to be more learned, or in more honored positions than others.\nThis was the very thing that made contention among the apostles, even\nin the company of their Lord, as they walked and \"disputed who should\nbe the greatest.\" \"And Jesus sat down and called the twelve, and said\nunto them, If any man desire to be first, the same _shall be last\nand servant of all;_\" and \"he that is least among you shall be\ngreat.\"\n\nAt another time, the ambitious mother of two disciples came and asked\nthat her sons might have the _highest_ place in his kingdom, and the\nother disciples were \"moved with indignation.\" Then the Lord taught\nthem that the honor and glory of his kingdom was to be exactly the\nreverse of this world; and that whoever would be great must be a\n_minister_, and who would be chief must be a _servant_; even as the Son\nof Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister.\n\nAgain, he rebuked the love of high position and the desire of being\ncounted wise as teachers of others: \"Be not ye called Rabbi, neither\nbe ye called Master; but he that is greatest among you shall be your\nservant, and whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased.\"\n\nThen, as to the strife after wealth, into which all are now rushing\nso earnestly, the Lord teaches: \"Lay not up for yourselves treasures\non earth. Whosoever of you forsaketh not all that he hath can not be\nmy disciple. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves with\nbags that wax not old--a treasure in heaven that faileth not.\" To the\nrich young man, asking how to gain eternal life, the reply was, \"Sell\nall thou hast, and give to the poor, and come and follow me.\" When the\npoor widow cast in _all her living_ she was approved. When the\nfirst Christians were \"filled with the Holy Ghost,\" they sold all their\npossessions, to be distributed to those that had need, and were\napproved.\n\nAnd nowhere do we find any direction or approval of laying up money\nfor self or for children. A man is admonished to provide sustenance\nand education for his family, but never to lay up money for them; and\nthe history of the children of the rich is a warning that, even in a\ntemporal view, the chances are all against the results of such use of\nproperty. We are to spend all to _save the world_; For this we\nare to labor and sacrifice ease and wealth, and we are to train children\nto the same self-sacrificing labors; All that is spent for earthly\npleasure ends here. Nothing goes into the future world as a good secured\nbut training our own and other immortal minds. Thus only can we lay\nup treasures in heaven.\n\nThere is a crisis at hand in the history of individuals, of the church,\nand of our nation, which must inaugurate a new enterprise to save \"the\nwhole world.\" There must be something coming in the Christian churches\nmore consistent, more comprehensive, more in keeping with the command\nof our ascending Lord--\"Go ye (_all_ my followers) into _all the world_,\nand preach the gospel to every creature; he that believeth shall be\nsaved, and he that believeth not shall be damned!\"\n\nIt is in hope and anticipation of such a \"revival\" of the true,\nself-denying spirit of Christ and of his earnest followers, that plans\nhave been drawn for simple modes of living, in which both labor and\neconomy may be practiced for benevolent ends, and yet without\nsacrificing the refinements of high civilization. One method is\nexhibited in the first chapters, adapted to country residence. In what\nfollows will be presented a plan for a city home, having the same aim.\n\nThe chief points are to secure economy of labor and time by the\n_selection and close packing of conveniences_, and also economy\nof health by a proper mode of _warming and ventilation_. In this\nconnection will be indicated opportunities and modes that thus may be\nattained for aiding to save the vicious, comfort the suffering, and\ninstruct the ignorant. Fig. 71 is the ground plan, of a city tenement\noccupying two lots of twenty-two feet front, in which there can be no\nside windows; as is the case with most city houses. There are two front\nand two back-parlors, each twenty feet square, with a bedroom and\nkitchen appended to each: making four complete sets of living-rooms.\nA central hall runs from basement to roof, and is lighted by skylights.\nThere is also a ventilating recess running from basement to roof with\nwhitened walls, and windows opening into it secure both light and air\nto the bedrooms. On one end of this recess is a trash-flue closed with\na door in the basement, and opening into each story, which must be\nkept closed to prevent an upward draught, causing dust and light\narticles to rise. At the other end is a dumb-waiter, running from\ncellar to roof, and opening into the hall of each story. Four chimneys\nare constructed near the centre of the house, one for each suite of\nrooms, to receive a smoke-pipe of cast-iron or terra cotta, as described\npreviously, with a space around it for warm air; and this serves as\nthe exhausting-shaft to carry off the vitiated air from parlors,\nkitchens, bedrooms, and water-closets. In each kitchen is a stove such\nas is described in Chapter IV., its pipe connecting with the central\ncast-iron or terra cotta pipe. The stove can be inclosed by sliding\ndoors shutting off the heat in warm weather. These kitchen stoves, and\na large stove in the basement to warm the central hall, would suffice\nfor all the rooms, except in the coldest months, when a small terra\ncotta stove, made for this purpose, or even an ordinary iron stove,\nplaced by one window in each of the parlors, would give the additional\nheat needed; while fresh air could be admitted from the windows behind\nthe stove, and thus be partially warmed.\n\nThis exhibits the essential feature and peculiarity of Mr. Leeds's\nsystem of ventilation, before described. Fresh air, admitted at the\nbottom of a slightly raised window, is to enter below a window-seat\nwhich projects over the stove; the air being thus warmed before entering\nthe room. The flue of the stove is seen (in the finished corner of\nFig. 71, which is a model for the four other suites of rooms on each\nfloor) running along the wall to the _front_ chimney, which also\nreceives the corresponding stove-flue from the nearest window in the\nadjoining parlor: the same arrangement being repeated at the back of\nthe house. This, the two front and back chimneys are for the heating\nand ventilating parlor stoves; the four central chimneys for cooking,\nheating, and ventilation.\n\nWhen possible, in a large building, steam generated in the basement\nheater will be found better than the parlor stove. In this case, the\nroom will be heated by the coil of steam-pipe mentioned before; the\nslab covering it being the window-seat, or guard, under which the cool\nfresh air is conducted to be warmed before passing into the room.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 71 Diagram of living quarters.]\nFig. 72 shows one side of the parlor, giving a series of sliding-\ndoors, behind which are hooks, shelves, and \"shelf-boxes,\" as described\nearlier in the book.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 72.]\n\nThe recess occupied by the sofa stands between these two closets. In\ncase the room is used for sleeping, the double couch on page 30 might\nbe substituted for the sofa, serving as a lounge by day, and two single\nbeds by night. The curtain hanging above can be so fastened by rings\non a strong semi-circular wire as to be let down while dressing and\nundressing, as is done in some of our steamboats. Pockets and hooks\non the inside of the curtains may be made very useful.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 73.]\n\nFig. 73 represents another side of the same room where are two large\nwindows, each having a cushioned seat in its recess, (although one may\nbe occupied by a stove, as described above.) A study-table with drawers\nor both the front and back sides furnishes large accommodations for\nmany small articles.\n\nFig. 74 represents a third side of the same room, with sliding doors\nglazed from top to bottom to give light to the bedroom and kitchen.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 74.]\n\nThe fourth side appears on the ground plan (Fig. 71.) The ottomans and\na few chairs will complete the needful furniture.\n\nBy means of forms, shelves, and shelf-boxes, the kitchen, could hold\nall stores and implements for cooking and setting tables, on the method\nshown page 34. The eating table is close to the kitchen and sink, so\nthat few steps are required to bring and remove every article. Thus\nstove, sink, cooking materials, the table and its furniture, are all\nin close proximity, and yet, when the inmates are seated at table, the\nsliding-doors will shut out the kitchen, while the bad air and smells\nof cooking are earned off by the ventilating exhaust-shaft.\n\nThe bedroom has a bath-tub and water-closet. The tub need not be more\nthan four feet long, and a half-cover raised by a hinge will, when\ndown, hold wash-bowl and pitcher, when the tub is not in use. Around\nthe bedroom high and wide shelves and shelf-boxes near the ceiling\nserve to store large articles; and narrower shelves with pegs under\nthem for clothing, protected by a curtain, furnish other conveniences\nfor storage. The trash-flue serves to send off rubbish, with but few\nsteps, and the dumb waiter brings up fuel, stores, etc. Each bedroom\nmust be provided with a ventilating register at the top, connecting\nwith the warm foul-air flue in the chimney.\n\nFor a family of four persons, one parlor, with its kitchen and bedroom,\ncouches and side closets, would supply all needful accommodations. For\na larger family, sliding-doors into the adjacent parlor, its appended\nkitchen being arranged for another bedroom, would accommodate a family\nof ten persons.\n\nA front and a back entrance may be in the basement, which, can be used\nfor family stores, each family having one room. A general laundry with\ndrying closets could be provided in the attic, and lighted from the\nroof.\n\nSuch a building, four stories high, would accommodate sixteen families\nof four members, or eight larger families, and provide light, warmth,\nventilation, and more comforts and conveniences than are usually found\nin most city houses built for only one family. Here young married\npersons with frugal and benevolent tastes could commence housekeeping\nin a style of comfort and good taste rarely excelled in mansions of\nthe rich. The spaces usually occupied by stairs, entries, closets,\netc., would on this plan be thrown into fine large airy rooms, with\nevery convenience close at hand.\n\nIn one of our large cities is to be found a Christian lady who inherited\na handsome establishment with means to support it in the style common\nto the rich. In the spirit of Christ she \"sold all that she had, and\ngave to the poor,\" by establishing a _Home for Incurables_, and\nmaking her home with them, giving her time and wealth to promoting\ntheir temporal comfort and spiritual welfare. Was this doing _more_\nthan her duty--_more_ than the example and teachings of Christ require?\n\nSuppose several ladies of similar views and character in one city,\nhaving only moderate wealth, and leisure, unite to erect such a building\nas the one described, in a light and healthful part of the city of New\nYork, and then should take up their residence in it, and from the vast\naccumulation of misery and sin at hand on every side, should select\nthe orphans, the aged, the sick, and the sinful, and spend time and\nmoney for their temporal and spiritual elevation; would they do\n_more_ than the example and teachings of Christ enjoin? Or would\ntheir enjoyment, even in this life, be diminished by exchanging a\nroutine chiefly of personal gratification for such self-denying\nministries? It was \"for _the joy_ that was set before Him\" through\nthe everlasting ages that our Lord \"endured the cross,\" and it is to\nthe same supernal glories that he invites his followers, and by the\nsame path he trod.\n\nHere it probably will be said that all rich women can not do what is\nhere suggested, owing to multitudinous claims, or to incapacity of\nmind or body for carrying out such an attempt. It will also be said\nthat there are many other ways for practicing self-denial besides\nselling our homes and taking a humbler style of living. This is all\ntrue. But we are told that there are \"greatest\" and \"least\" in that\nkingdom of heaven where the chief happiness is in living to serve\nothers, and not for self. Those who can not change their expensive\nstyle of living, and are obliged to spend most of their thoughts and\nwealth on self and those who are a part of self, will be among the\nleast and lowest in happiness and honor, while those who take the low\nplaces on earth to raise others will be the happiest and most honored\nin the kingdom of heaven.\n\nThere are many residences in our large cities where women claiming to\nbe Christ's followers live in almost solitary grandeur till the warm\nseason, and then shut them up to spend their time at watering-places\nor country resorts. The property invested in such city establishments,\nand the income required to keep them up, would secure \"Christian homes\"\nto many suffering, neglected, homeless children of Christ, who are\nliving in impure air, with all the debasing influences found in city\ntenement-houses. Meantime, the owners of this wealth are suffering in\nmind and body for want of some grand and noble object in life. If such\ncould not personally live in such an establishment as is here described,\nby self-denying arrangements and combination with others they could\nprovide and superintend one.\n\nOur minds are created in the image of our Father in heaven, and capable\nof being made happy, as his is, by the outpouring of blessings on\nothers. And when we are invited by our divine Lord to take his yoke\nand bear his burden, it is for our own highest happiness as well as\nfor the good of others. And whoever truly obeys finds the yoke easy\nand the burden light, and that they bring rest to the soul. But those\nwho shrink from the true good, to live a life of self-indulgent ease,\nwill surely find that mere earthly enjoyments pall on the taste, that\nthey perish in the using, that they never satisfy the cravings of a\nsoul created for a higher sphere and nobler mission.\n\nThe Bible represents that there is an emergency-a great conflict in\nthe world unseen-and that we on earth, who are Christ's people, are\nto take a part in this conflict and in the \"fellowship of his\nsufferings,\" to redeem his children from the slavery of sin and eternal\ndeath; and there is the same call to labor and sacrifice now as there\nwas when he commanded, \"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel\nto _every_ creature.\"\n\nBut is not the larger part of the church--especially those who have\nwealth--practically living on no higher principles than the pious Jews\nand virtuous heathen? Are they not living just as if there were no\ngreat emergency, no terrible risks and danger to their fellow-men in\nthe life to, come? Are they not living just as if all men were safe\nafter they leave this world, and all we need to aim at is to make\nourselves and others virtuous and happy in this life, without disturbing\nanxiety about the life to come? And is the _training_ of most\nChristian families diverse from that of pious Jews, in reference to\nthe dangers of our fellow-men in the future state, and the consequent\nduty of labor and sacrifice in order to extend the true religion all\nover the earth?\n\nOne mode of avoiding self-denial in style of living is by the plea\nthat, if all rich Christiana gave up the expensive establishments\ncommon to this class and adopted such economies as are here suggested,\nit would tend to lower civilization and take away support from those\nliving by the fine arts. But while the world is rushing on to such\nprofuse expenditure, will not all these elegancies and refinements be\nabundantly supported, and is there as much danger in this direction\nas there is of avoiding the self-denying example of Christ and his\nearly followers? They gave up all they had, and \"were scattered abroad,\npreaching the word;\" and was there any reason existing then for\nself-denying labor that does not exist now? There are more idolaters\nand more sinful men now, in actual numbers, than there were then; while\nteaching them the way of eternal life does not now, as it did then,\ninvolve the \"loss of all things\" and \"deaths often.\"\n\nMoreover, would not the fine arts, in the end, he better supported by\nimparting culture and refined tastes to the neglected ones? Teaching\nindustry, thrift, and benevolence is far better than scattering alms,\nwhich often do more harm than good; and would not enabling the masses\nto enjoy the fine arts and purchase in a moderate style subserve the\ninterests of civilization as truly as for the rich to accumulate\ntreasures for themselves in the common exclusive style?\n\nSuppose some Protestant lady of culture and fortune should unite with\nan associate of congenial taste and benevolence to erect such a building\nas here described, and then devote her time and wealth to the elevation\nand salvation of the sinful and neglected, would she sacrifice as much\nas does a Lady of the Sacred Heart or a Sister of Charity, many of\nwhom have been the daughters of princes and nobles? They resign to\ntheir clergy and superiors not only the control of their wealth but\ntheir time, labor, and conscience. In doing this, the Roman Catholic\nlady is honored and admired as a saint, while taught that she is doing\nmore than her duty, and is thus laying up a store of good works to\nrepay for her own past deficiencies, and also to purchase grace and\npardon for humbler sinners. If this is really believed, how soothing\nto a wounded conscience! And what a strong appeal to generous and\nChristian feeling! And the more terrific the pictures of purgatory and\nhell, the stronger the appeal to these humane and benevolent principles.\n\nBut how would it be with the Protestant woman practicing such\nself-denial? For example, the lady of wealth and culture, who gave up\nher property and time to provide a home for incurables--would her\npastor say she was doing _more_ than her duty? and if not, would\nhe preach to other rich women who, in other ways, could humble\nthemselves to raise up the poor, the ignorant, and the sinful, that\nthey are doing _less_ than their duty?\n\nIs it not sometimes the case, that both minister and people, by example,\nat least, seem to teach that, the more riches increase, the less demand\nthere is for economy, labor, and self-denial for the benefit of the\ndestitute and the sinful?\n\nProtestants are little aware of the strong attractions which, are\ndrawing pious and benevolent women toward the Roman Catholic Church,\nTo the poor and neglected: in humble life are offered a quiet home,\nwith sympathy, and honored work. To the refined and ambitious are\noffered the best society and high positions of honor and trust. To the\nsinful are offered pardon for past offenses and a fresh supply of\n\"grace\" for all acts of penitence or of benevolence. To the anxiously\nconscientious, perplexed with contentions as to doctrines and duties,\nare offered an infallible pope and clergy to decide what is truth and.\nduty, and what is the true interpretation of the Bible, while they are\ntaught that the \"faith\" which saves the soul is implicit belief in the\nteachings of the Roman Catholic Church. All this enables many, even\nof the intelligent, to receive the other parts of a system that\ncontradicts both common sense and the Bible.\n\nMeantime, a highly educated priesthood, with no family ties to distract\nattention, are organizing and employing devoted, self-denying women,\nall over the land, to perform the distinctive work that Protestant\nwomen, if wisely trained and organized by their clergy, could carry\nout in thousands of scattered Christian homes and villages.\n\nIn the Protestant churches, women are educated only to be married; and\nwhen not married, there is no position provided which is deemed as\nhonorable as that of a wife. But in the Roman Catholic Church, the\nunmarried woman who devotes herself to works of Christian benevolence\nis the most highly honored, and has a place of comfort and\nrespectability provided which is suited to her education and capacity.\nThus come great nunneries, with lady superiors to control conscience\nand labor and wealth.\n\nBut a time is coming when the family state is to be honored and ennobled\nby single women, qualified to sustain it by their own industries; women\nwho will both support and train the children of their Lord and Master\nin the true style of Protestant independence, controlled by no superior\nbut Jesus Christ. And in the Bible they will find the Father of the\nfaithful, to both Jews and Gentiles, their great exemplar. For nearly\none hundred years Abraham had no child of his own; but his household,\nwhom he trained to the number of three hundred and eighteen, were\nchildren of others. And he was the friend of God, chosen to be father\nof many nations, because he would \"command his household to do justice\nand judgment and keep the way of the Lord.\"\n\nThe woman who from true love consents to resign her independence and\nbe supported by another, while she bears children and trains them for\nheaven, has a noble mission; but the woman who earns her own\nindependence that she may train the neglected children of her Lord and\nSaviour has a still higher one. And a day is coming when Protestant\nwomen will be _trained_ for this their highest ministry and profession\nas they never yet have been.\n\n\n\n\nXXXVII.\n\nTHE CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORHOOD.\n\n\nThe spirit of Christian missions to heathen lands and the organizations\nto carry them forward commenced, in most Protestant lands, within the\nlast century. The writer can remember the time when an annual collection\nfor domestic missions was all the call for such benefactions in a\nwealthy New-England parish; while such small pittances were customary\nthat the sight of a dollar-bill in the collection, even from the richest\nmen of the church-members, produced a sensation.\n\nIn the intervening period since that time, the usual mode of extending\nthe Gospel among the heathen has been for a few of the most\nself-sacrificing men and women to give up country and home and all the\ncomforts and benefits of a Christian community, and then commence the\nfamily state amid such vice and debasement that it was ruinous to\nchildren to be trained in its midst. And so the result has been, in\nmultitudes of cases, that children were born only to be sent from\nparents to be trained by strangers, and the true \"Christian family\"\ncould not be exhibited in heathen lands. And as a Christian\nneighborhood, in its strictest sense, consists of a collection of\nChristian families, such a community has been impossible in most cases\namong the heathen.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 75]\n\nWhen our Lord ascended, his last command was \"Go ye into all the world,\nand preach the Gospel to _every_ creature.\" For ages, most Christian\npeople have supposed this command was limited to the apostles.\nIn the present day, it has been extended to Include a few men and\nwomen, who should practice the chief labor and self-sacrifice, while\nmost of the church lived at ease, and supposed they were obeying this\ncommand, by giving a small portion of their abundance to support those\nwho performed the chief labor and self-sacrifice.\n\nBut a time is coming when Christian churches will under stand this\ncommand in a much more comprehensive sense; and the \"Christian family\"\nand \"Christian neighborhood\" will be the grand ministry of salvation.\nIn order to assist in making this a practicable anticipation, some\nadditional drawings are given in this chapter. The aim is to illustrate\none mode of commencing a Christian neighborhood that is so economical\nand practical that two or three ladies, with very moderate means, could\ncarry it out.\n\nA small church, a school-house, and a comfortable family dwelling may\nall be united in one building, and for a very moderate sum, as will\nbe illustrated by the following example.\n\nAt the head of the first chapter is a sketch which represents a\nperspective view of the kind of edifice indicated. On the opposite\npage (Fig. 75) is an enlarged and more exact view of the front elevation\nof the same, which is now building in one of the most Southern States,\nwhere tropical plants flourish. The three magnificent trees on the\ndrawing heading the first chapter are live-oaks adorned with moss,\nrising over one hundred feet high and being some thirty or more feet\nin circumference. Nearly under their shadow is the building to be\ndescribed.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 76.]\n\nFig. 76 is the ground plan, which includes one large room twenty-five\nfeet wide and thirty-five feet long, having a bow window at one end,\nand a kitchen at the other end. The bow-window has folding-doors,\nclosed during the week, and within is the pulpit for Sunday service.\nThe large room may be divided either by a movable screen or by sliding\ndoors with a large closet on either side. The doors make a more perfect\nseparation; but the screen affords more room for storing family\nconveniences, and also secured more perfect ventilation for the whole\nlarge room by the exhaust-flue.\n\nThus, through the week, the school can be in one division, and the\nother still a sizable room, and the kitchen be used for teaching\ndomestic economy and also for the eating-room. Oil Sunday, if there\nis a movable screen, it can be moved back to the fireplace; or\notherwise, the sliding--doors may be opened, giving the whole space\nto the congregation. The chimney is finished off outside as a steeple.\nIt incloses a cast-iron or terra cotta pipe, which receives the\nstove-pipe of the kitchen and also pipes connecting the two fireplaces\nwith the large pipe, and finds exit above the slats of the steeple at\nthe projections. Thus the chimney is made an exhaust shaft for carrying\noff vitiated air from all the rooms both above and below, which have\nopenings into it made for the purpose.\n\nTwo good-sized chambers are over the large lower story, as shown in\nFig. 77. Large closets are each side of these chambers, where are\nslatted openings to admit pure air; and under these openings are\nregisters placed to enable pure air to pass through the floor into the\nlarge room below. Thus a perfect mode of ventilation is secured for\na large number.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 77.]\n\nOn Sunday, the folding-doors of the bow-window are to be opened for\nthe pulpit, the sliding-doors opened, or the screen moved back, and\ncamp-chairs brought from the adjacent closet to seat a congregation\nof worshipers.\n\nDuring the week, the family work is to be done in the kitchen, and the\nroom adjacent be used for both a school and an eating-room. Here the\naim will be, during the week, to collect the children of the\nneighborhood, to be taught not only to read, write, and cipher, but\nto perform in the best manner all the practical duties of the family\nstate. Two ladies residing in this building can make an illustration\nof the highest kind of \"Christian family,\" by adopting two orphans,\nkeeping in training one or two servants to send out for the benefit\nof other families, and also providing for an invalid or aged member\nof Christ's neglected ones. Here also they could employ boys and girls\nin various kinds of floriculture, horticulture, bee-raising, and other\nout-door employments, by which an income could be received and young\nmen and women trained to industry and thrift, so as to earn an\nindependent livelihood.\n\nThe above attempt has been made where, in a circuit of fifty miles,\nwith a thriving population, not a single church is open for Sunday\nworship, and not a school to be found except what is provided by\nfaithful Roman Catholic nuns, who, indeed, are found engaged in similar\nlabors all over our country. The cost of such a building, where lumber\nis $50 a hundred and labor $3 a day, would not much exceed $1200.\n\nSuch destitute settlements abound all over the West and South, while,\nalong the Pacific coast, China and Japan are sending their pagan\nmillions to share our favored soil, climate, and government.\n\nMeantime, throughout our older States are multitudes of benevolent,\nwell-educated, Christian women in unhealthful factories, offices, and\nshops; and many, also, living in refined leisure, who yet are pining\nfor an opportunity to aid in carrying the Gospel to the destitute.\nNothing is needed but _funds_ that are in the keeping of thousands of\nChrist's professed disciples, and _organisations_ for this end, which\nare at the command of the Protestant clergy.\n\nLet such a truly \"Christian family\" be instituted in any destitute\nsettlement, and soon its gardens and fields would cause \"the desert\nto blossom as the rose,\" and around would soon gather a \"Christian\nneighborhood.\" The school-house would no longer hold the multiplying\nworshipers. A central church would soon appear, with its appended\naccommodations for literary and social gatherings and its appliances\nfor safe and healthful amusements.\n\nThe cheering example would soon spread, and ere long colonies from\nthese prosperous and Christian communities would go forth to shine as\n\"lights of the world\" in all the now darkened nations. Thus the\n\"Christian family,\" and \"Christian neighborhood\" would become the grand\nministry, as they were designed to be, in training our whole race for\nheaven.\n\nThis final chapter should not close without a few encouraging words\nto those who, in view of the many difficult duties urged in these\npages, sorrowfully review their past mistakes and deficiencies. None\ncan do this more sincerely than the writer. How many things have been\ndone unwisely even with good motives! How many have been left undone\nthat the light of present knowledge would have secured!\n\nIn this painful review, the good old Bible comes as the abundant\ncomforter. The Epistle to the Romans was written especially to meet\nsuch regrets and fears. It teaches that all men are sinners, in many\ncases from ignorance of what is right, and in many from stress of\ntemptation, so that neither Greek nor Jew can boast of his own\nrighteousness. For it is not \"by works of righteousness\" that we are\nto be considered and treated as righteous persons, but through a \"faith\nthat _works by love_;\" that _faith_ or _belief_ which is not a mere\nintellectual conviction, but a _controlling purpose_ or spiritual\nprinciple which _habitually controls_ the feelings and conduct. And so\nlong as there is this constant aim and purpose to obey Christ in all\nthings, mistakes in judgment as to what is right and wrong are pitied,\n\"even as a father pitieth his children,\" when from ignorance they run\ninto harm. And even the most guilty transgressors are freely forgiven\nwhen truly repentant and faithfully striving to forsake the error of\ntheir ways.\n\nMoreover, this tender and pitiful Saviour is the Almighty One who rules\nboth this and the invisible world, and who \"from every evil still\neduces good.\" This life is but the infant period of our race, and much\nthat we call evil, in his wise and powerful ruling may be for the\nhighest good of all concerned.\n\nThe Blessed Word also cheers us with pictures of a dawning day to which\nwe are approaching, when a voice shall be heard under the whole heavens,\nsaying, \"Alleluia\"--\"the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms\nof our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.\"\nAnd \"a great voice out of heaven\" will proclaim, \"Behold, the tabernacle\nof God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be\nhis people. And God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And\nGod shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no\nmore death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any\nmore pain; for the former things are passed away.\"\n\nThe author still can hear the echoes of early life, when her father's\nvoice read to her listening mother in exulting tones the poet's version\nof this millennial consummation, which was the inspiring vision of his\nlong life-labors--a consummation to which all their children were\nconsecrated, and which some of them may possibly live to behold.\n\n  \"O scenes surpassing fable, and yet true!\n  Scenes of accomplished bliss! which who can see,\n  Though but in distant prospect, and not feel\n  His soul refreshed with foretaste of the joy!\n\n  \"Rivers of gladness water all the earth,\n  And clothe all climes with beauty; the reproach\n  Of barrenness is past. The fruitful field\n  Laughs with abundance; and the land once lean,\n  Or fertile only in its own disgrace,\n  Exults to see its thistly curse repealed.\n\n  \"Error has no place:\n  That creeping pestilence is driven away;\n  The breath of Heaven has chased it. In the heart\n  No passion touches a discordant string,\n  But all is harmony and love. Disease\n  Is not: the pure and uncontaminate blood\n  Holds its due course, nor fears the frost of age.\n\n   One song employs all nations; and all cry,\n  'Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us!'\n  The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks\n  Shout to each other; and the mountain-tops\n  From distant mountains catch the flying joy;\n  Till, nation after nation taught the strain,\n\n  \"Behold the measure of the promise filled!\n  See Salem built, the labor of a God!\n  Bright as a sun the sacred city shines;\n  All kingdoms and all princes of the earth\n  Flock to that light; the glory of all lands\n  Flows into her; unbounded is her joy,\n  And endless her increase. Thy rams are there,\n  Nebaioth, and the flocks of Kedar there;\n  The looms of Ormus and the mines of Ind,\n  And Saba's spicy groves pay tribute there.\n\n  \"Praise is in all her gates: upon her walls,\n  And in her streets, and in her spacious courts,\n  Is heard salvation. Eastern Java there\n  Kneels with the native of the farthest west;\n  And Athiopia spreads abroad the hand,\n  And worships. Her report has traveled forth\n  Into all lands. From every clime they come\n  To see thy beauty, and to share thy joy,\n  O Zion! an assembly such as earth\n  Saw never, such as Heaven stoops down to see!\"\n  [Footnote: Cowper's _Task_.]\n\n\n\n\nAN APPEAL TO AMERICAN WOMEN BY THE SENIOR AUTHOR OF THIS VOLUME.\n\n\nMy honored countrywomen:\n\nIt is now over forty years that I have been seeking to elevate the\ncharacter and condition of our sex, relying, as to earthly aid, chiefly\non your counsel and cooperation. I am sorrowful at results that have\nfollowed these and similar efforts, and ask your sympathy and aid.\n\nLet me commence with a brief outline of the past. I commenced as an\neducator in the city of Hartford, Ct., when only the primary branches\nand one or two imperfect accomplishments were the ordinary school\neducation, and was among the first pioneers in seeking to introduce\nsome of the higher branches. The staid, conservative citizen's queried\nof what use to women were Latin, Geometry, and Algebra, and wondered\nat a request for six recitation rooms and a study-hall for a school\nof nearly a hundred, who had as yet only one room. The appeal was then\nmade to benevolent, intelligent women, and by their influence all that\nwas sought was liberally bestowed.\n\nBut the course of study then attempted was scarcely half of what is\nnow pursued in most of our colleges for young women, while there has\nbeen added a round and extent of accomplishments then unknown. Yet\nthis moderate amount so stimulated brain and nerves, and so excited\ncompetition, that it became needful to enforce a rule, requiring a\ndaily report, that only two hours a day had been devoted to study out\nof school hours. Even this did not avail to save from injured health\nboth the teacher who projected these improvements and many of her\npupils. This example and that of similar institutions spread all over\nthe nation, with constantly increasing demand for more studies, and\ndecreasing value and respect for domestic pursuits and duties.\n\nTen years of such intellectual excitement exhausted the nervous\nfountain, and my profession as a school-teacher was ended.\n\nThe next attempt was to introduce Domestic Economy as _a science to\nbe studied_ in schools for girls. For a while it seemed to succeed;\nbut ere long was crowded out by Political Economy and many other\neconomies, except those most needed to prepare a woman for her\ndifficult and sacred duties.\n\nIn the progress of years, it came to pass that the older States teemed\nwith educated women, qualified for no other department of woman's\nprofession but that of a schoolteacher, while the newer States abounded\nin children without schools.\n\nI again appealed to my countrywomen for help, addressing them through\nthe press and also by the assistance of a brother (in assemblies in\nmany chief cities) in order to raise funds to support an agent. The\nfunds were bestowed, and thus the services of Governor Slade were\nsecured, and, mainly by these agencies, nearly one thousand teachers\nwere provided with schools, chiefly in the West.\n\nMeantime, the intellectual taxation in both private and public schools,\nthe want of proper ventilation in both families and schools, the want\nof domestic exercise which is so valuable to the feminine constitution,\nthe pernicious modes of dress, and the prevailing neglect of the laws\nof health, resulted in the general decay of health among women. At the\nsame time, the overworking of the brain and nerves, and the \"cramming\"\nsystem of study, resulted in a deficiency of mental development which\nis very marked. It is now a subject of general observation that young\nwomen, at this day, are decidedly inferior in mental power to those\nof an earlier period, notwithstanding their increased advantages. For\nthe mind, crowded with undigested matter, is debilitated the same as\nis the body by over-feeding,\n\nRecent scientific investigations give the philosophy of these results.\nFor example, Professor Houghton, of Trinity College, Dublin, gives as\none item of protracted experiments in animal chemistry, that two hours\nof severe study abstracts as much vital strength as is demanded by a\nwhole day of manual labor. The reports of the Massachusetts Board of\nEducation add other facts that, in this connection, should be deeply\npondered. For example, in one public school of eighty-five pupils only\nfifty-four had refreshing sleep; fifty-nine had headaches or constant\nweariness, and only fifteen were perfectly well. In this school it was\nfound, and similar facts are common in all our public and high schools,\nthat, in addition to six school-hours, thirty-one studied three hours\nand a half; thirty-five, four hours; and twelve, from four to seven\nhours. And yet the most learned medical men maintain that the time\ndevoted to brain labor, daily, should not exceed six hours for healthy\nmen, and three hours for growing children.\n\nAlarmed at the dangerous tendencies of female education, I made another\nappeal to my sex, which resulted in the organization of the American\nWoman's Education Association, the object being to establish\n_endowed_ professional schools, in connection with literary\ninstitutions, in which woman's profession should be honored and taught\nas are the professions of men, and where woman should be trained for\nsome self-supporting business. From this effort several institutions\nof a high literary character have come into existence at the West, but\nthe organization and endowment of the professional schools is yet\nincomplete from many combining impediments, the chief being a want of\nappreciation of woman's profession, and of the _science_ and _training_\nwhich its high and sacred duties require. But the reports of the\nAssociation will show that never before were such superior intellectual\nadvantages secured to a new country by so economical an outlay.\n\nLet us now look at the dangers which are impending. And first, in\nregard to the welfare of the family state, the decay of the female\nconstitution and health has involved such terrific sufferings, in\naddition to former cares and pains of maternity, that multitudes of\nboth sexes so dread the risks of marriage as either to avoid it, or\nmeet them by methods _always_ injurious and often criminal. Not\nonly so, multitudes of intelligent and conscientious persons, in private\nand by the press, unaware of the penalties of violating nature, openly\nimpugn the inspired declaration, \"Children are a heritage of the Lord.\"\n\nAdd to these, other influences that are robbing home of its safe and\npeaceful enjoyments. Of such, the condition of domestic service is not\nthe least. We abound in domestic helpers from foreign shores, but they\nare to a large extent thriftless, ignorant, and unscrupulous, while\nas thriftless and inexperienced housekeepers, from boarding-school\nlife, have no ability to train or to control. Hence come antagonism\nand ceaseless \"worries\" in the parlor, nursery, and kitchen, while the\nhusband is wearied with endless complaints of breakage, waste of fuel\nand food, neglect, dishonesty, and deception, and home is any thing\nbut a harbor of comfort and peace. Thus come clubs to draw men from\ncomfortless homes, and, next, clubs for the deserted women.\n\nMeantime, domestic service--disgraced, on one side, by the stigma of\nour late slavery, and, on the other, by the influx into our kitchens\nof the uncleanly and ignorant--is shunned by the self-respecting and\nwell educated, many of whom prefer either a miserable pittance or the\ncareer of vice to this fancied degradation. Thus comes the overcrowding\nin all avenues for woman's work, and the consequent lowering of wages\nto starvation prices for long protracted toils.\n\nFrom this come diseases to the operatives, bequeathed often to their\noffspring. Factory girls must stand ten hours or more, and consequently\nin a few years debility and disease ensue, so that they never can rear\nhealthy children, while the foreigners who supplant them in kitchen\nlabor are almost the only strong and healthy women to rear large\nfamilies. The sewing-machine, hailed as a blessing, has proved a curse\nto the poor; for it takes away profits from needlewomen, while employers\ntestify that women who use this machine for steady work, in two years\nor less become hopelessly diseased and can rear no children. Thus it\nis that the controlling political majority of New-England is passing\nfrom the educated to the children of ignorant foreigners.\n\nAdd to these disastrous influences, the teachings of \"free love;\" the\nbaneful influence of spiritualism, so called; the fascinations of the\n_demi-monde_; the poverty of thousands of women who, but for\ndesperate temptations, would be pure--all these malign influences are\nsapping the foundations of the family state. Meantime, many intelligent\nand benevolent persons imagine that the grand remedy for the heavy\nevils that oppress our sex is to introduce woman to political power\nand office, to make her a party in primary political meetings, in\npolitical caucuses, and in the scramble and fight for political offices;\nthus bringing into this dangerous _melee_ the distinctive tempting\npower of her sex. Who can look at this new danger without dismay?\nBut it is neither generous nor wise to join in the calumny and ridicule\nthat are directed toward philanthropic and conscientious laborers for\nthe good of our sex, because we fear their methods are not safe. It\nwould be far wiser to show by example a better way.\n\nLet us suppose that our friends have gained the ballot and the powers\nof office: are there any real beneficent measures for our sex, which\nthey would enforce by law and penalties, that fathers, brothers, and\nhusbands would not grant to a united petition of our sex, or even to\na majority of the wise and good? Would these not confer what the wives,\nmothers, and sisters deemed best for themselves and the children they\nare to train, very much sooner than they would give power and office\nto our sex to enforce these advantages by law? Would it not be a wiser\nthing to _ask_ for what we need, before trying so circuitous and\ndangerous a method? God has given to man the physical power, so that\nall that woman may gain, either by petitions or by ballot, will be the\ngift of love or of duty; and the ballot never will be accorded till\nbenevolent and conscientious men are the majority--a millennial point\nfar beyond our present ken.\n\nThe American Woman's Education Association aims at a plan which its\nmembers believe, in its full development, will more effectually remedy\nthe \"wrongs of woman\" than any other urged on public notice. Its general\naim has been stated; its details will appear at another time and place.\nIts managers include ladies of high character and position from six\nreligious denominations, and also some of the most reliable business\nmen of New York. Any person who is desirous to aid by contributions\nto this object can learn more of the details of the plan by addressing\nme at No. 69 West Thirty-eighth Street. But it is needful to state\nthat letters from those who seek aid or employment of any sort can not\nbe answered at present, nor for some months to come.\n\nEvery woman who wishes to aid in this effort for the safety and\nelevation of our sex can do so by promoting the sale of this work, and\nits introduction as a text-book into schools. An edition for the use\nof schools will be in readiness next fall, which will contain school\nexercises, and questions that will promote thought and discussion in\nclassrooms, in reference to various topics included in the science of\nDomestic Economy. And it is hoped that a previous large sale of the\npresent volume will prepare the public mind to favor the introduction\nof this branch of study into both public and private schools. Ladies\nwho write for the press, and all those who have influence with editors,\ncan aid by directing general attention to this effort.\n\nAll the profits of the authors derived from the edition of this volume\nprepared for schools, will be paid into the Treasury of the A. W.E.\nAssociation, and the amount will be stated in the annual reports.\n\nThe complementary volume of this work will follow in a few months, and\nwill consist, to a great extent, of _receipts and directions_ in\nall branches of domestic economy, especially in the department of\n_healthful and economical cooking_. The most valuable receipts\nin my _Domestic Receipt Book_, heretofore published by the Harpers,\nwill be retained, and a very large number added of new ones, which are\nhealthful, economical, and in many cases ornamental. One special aim\nwill be to point out modes of _economizing labor_ in preparing food.\n\nMany directions will be given that will save from purchasing poisonous\nmilk, meats, beers, and other medicated drinks. Directions for detecting\npoisonous ingredients in articles for preserving the hair, and in\ncosmetics for the complexion, which now are ruining health, eyesight,\nand comfort all over the nation, will also be given.\n\nParticular attention will be given to modes of preparing and preserving\nclothing, at once economical, healthful, and in good taste.\n\nA large portion of the book will be devoted to instruction, in the\nvarious ways in which women may _earn an independent livelihood_,\nespecially in employments that can be pursued in sunlight and the open\nair.\n\nShould any who read this work wish for more minute directions in regard\nto ventilation of a house already built, or one projected, they can\nobtain his aid by addressing Lewis Leeds, No. 110 Broadway, New York\nCity. His associate, Mr. Herman Kreitler, who prepared the architectural\nplans in this work relating to Mr. Leeds's system, can be addressed\nat the same place.\n\nCATHARINE E. BEECHER.\n\nNEW YORK, June 1, 1869.\n\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\nGLOSSARY OF SUCH WORDS AND PHRASES AS MAY NOT EASILY BE UNDERSTOOD BY\nTHE YOUNG READER\n\n[Many words not contained in this GLOSSARY will be found explained in\nthe body of the work, in the places where they first occur.]\n\n\n_Action brought by the Commonwealth:_ A prosecution conducted in the\nname of the public, or by the authority of the State.\n\n_Albumen:_ Nourishing matter stored up between the undeveloped germ and\nits protecting wrappings in the seed of many plants. It is the flowery\npart of grain, the oily part of poppy seeds, the fleshy part in cocoa-\nnuts, etc.\n\n_Alcoholic:_ Made of or containing alcohol, an inflammable liquid which\nis the basis of ardent spirits.\n\n_Alkali,_ (plural, _alkalies:_) A chemical substance, which has the\nproperty of combining with and neutralizing the properties of acids,\nproducing salts by the combination. Alkalies change most of the\nvegetable blues and purples to green, red to purple, and yellow to\nbrown. _Caustic alkali:_ An alkali deprived of all impurities,\nbeing thereby rendered more caustic and violent in its operation. This\nterm is usually applied to pure potash. _Fixed alkali:_ An alkali\nthat emits no characteristic smell, and can not be volatilized or\nevaporated without great difficulty. Potash and soda are called the\nfixed alkalies. Soda is also called a _fossil_ or _mineral alkali,_ and\npotash the _vegetable alkali. Volatile alkali:_ An elastic, transparent,\ncolorless, and consequently an invisible gas, known by the name of\nammonia or ammoniacal gas. The odor of spirits of hartshorn is caused by\nthis gas.\n\n_Anglo-American:_ English-American, relating to Americans descended\nfrom English ancestors.\n\n_Anther:_ That part of the stamen of a flower which contains the pollen\nor farina, a sort of mealy powder or dust, which is necessary to the\nproduction of the flower.\n\n_Anthracite:_ One of the must valuable kinds of mineral coal, containing\nno bitumen. It is very abundant in the United States.\n\n_Aperient:_ Opening.\n\n_Archaology:_ A discourse or treatise on antiquities.\n\n_Arrow-root_: A white powder, obtained from the fecula or starch, of\nseveral species of tuberous plants in the East and West Indies, Bermuda,\nand other places. That from Bermuda is most highly esteemed. It is used\nas an article for the table, in the form of puddings, and also as a\nhighly nutritive, easily digested, and agreeable food for invalids. It\nderives its name from having been originally used by the Indians as a\nremedy for the poison of their arrows, by mashing and applying it to the\nwound.\n\n_Articulating process_: The protuberance or projecting part of a bone,\nby which it is so joined to another bone as to enable the two to move\nupon each other.\n\n_Asceticism_: The state of an ascetic or hermit, who flies from\nsociety and lives in retirement, or who practices a greater degree of\nmortification and austerity than others do, or who inflicts\nextraordinary severities upon himself.\n\n_Astral lamp_: A lamp, the principle of which was invented by\nBenjamin Thompson, (a native of Massachusetts, and afterward Count\nRumford,) in which the oil is contained in a large horizontal ring,\nhaving at the centre a burner which communicates with the ring by\ntubes. The ring is placed a little below the level of the flame, and\nfrom its large surface affords a supply of oil for many hours.\n\n_Astute_: Shrewd.\n\n_Auricles_: (From a Latin word, signifying the ear,) the name given to\ntwo appendages of the heart, from their fancied resemblance to the ear.\n\n_Baglivi, (George)_: An eminent physician, who was born at Ragusa,\nin 1668, and was educated at Naples and Paris. Pope Clement XIV., on\nthe ground of his great merit, appointed him, while a very young man,\nProfessor of Anatomy and Surgery in the College of Sapienza, at Rome.\nHe wrote several works, and did much to promote the cause of medical\nscience. He died A.D. 1706.\n\n_Bass_, or bass-wood: A large forest-tree of America, sometimes called\nthe lime-tree. The wood is white and soft, and the bark is sometimes\nused for bandages.\n\n_Bell, Sir Charles_: A celebrated surgeon, who was born in Edinburgh, in\nthe year 1778. He commenced his career in London, in 1806, as a lecturer\non Anatomy and Surgery. In 1830, he received the honors of knighthood,\nand in 1836 was appointed Professor of Surgery in the College of\nEdinburgh. He died near Worcester, in England, April 29th, 1842. His\nwritings are very numerous and have been, much celebrated. Among the\nmost important of these, to general readers, are his _Illustrations of\nPaley's Natural Theology_, and his treatise on _The Hand, its Mechanism\nand Vital Endowments, as evincing Design_.\n\n_Bergamot_: A fruit which was originally produced by ingrafting a branch\nof a citron or lemon-tree upon the stock of a peculiar kind of pear,\ncalled the bergamot pear.\n\n_Biased_: Cut diagonally from one corner to another of a square or\nrectangular piece of cloth.\n\n_Bias pieces_: Triangular pieces cut as above mentioned.\n\n_Bituminous_: Containing _bitumen_, which is an inflammable mineral\nsubstance, resembling tar or pitch in its properties and uses. Among\ndifferent bituminous substances, the names _naphtha_ and _petrolium_\nhave been given to those which are fluid, _maltha_, to that which has\nthe consistence of pitch, and _asphaltum_ to that which is solid.\n\n_Blight_: A disease in plants by which they are blasted, or prevented\nfrom producing fruit.\n\n_Blonde lace_: Lace made of silk.\n\n_Blood heat_: The temperature which the blood is always found to\nmaintain, or ninety-eight degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.\n\n_Blue vitriol_: Sulphate of copper.\n\n_Blunts_: Needles of a short and thick shape, distinguished from\n_Sharps_, which are long and slender.\n\n_Booking_: A kind of thin carpeting or coarse baize.\n\n_Botany_: (From a Greek word signifying an herb,) a knowledge of\nplants; the science which treats of plants.\n\n_Brazil wood_: The central part or heart of a large tree which\ngrows in Brazil, called the _Caesalpinia echinata_. It produces\nvery lively and beautiful red tints, but they are not permanent.\n\n_Bronze_: A metallic composition, consisting of copper and tin.\n\n_Brulure_: A French term, denoting a burning or scalding; a blasting of\nplants.\n\n_Brussels_, (carpet:) A kind of carpeting, so called from the city of\nBrussels, in Europe. Its basis is composed of a warp and woof of strong\nlinen threads, with the warp of which are intermixed about five times\nthe quantity of woolen threads of different colors.\n\n_Bulb_: A root with a round body, like the onion, turnip, or hyacinth.\n\n_Bulbous_: Having a bulb.\n\n_Byron, (George Gordon,) Lord_: A celebrated poet, who was born in\nLondon, January 23d, 1788, and died in Missolonghi, in Greece, April\n18th, 1824.\n\n_Calisthenics_: From two Greek words--_kalos_, beauty, and _sthenos_,\nstrength, being the union of both.\n\n_Camwood_: A dyewood, procured from a leguminous (or pod-bearing)\ntree, growing on the western coast of Africa, and called _Baphianitida_.\n\n _Canker-worm_: A worm which is very destructive to trees and plants.\nIt springs from an egg deposited by a miller that issues from the\nground, and in some years destroys the leaves and fruit of apple and\nother trees.\n\n_Capillary_: A minute, hair-like tube.\n\n_Carbon_: A simple, inflammable body, forming the principal part\nof wood and coal, and the whole of the diamond.\n\n_Carbonic acid:_ A compound gas, consisting of one part of carbon\nand two parts of oxygen; fatal to animal life. It has lately been\nobtained in a solid form.\n\n_Carbonic Oxide:_ A compound, consisting of one part of carbon and one\npart of oxygen; it is fatal to animal life. Burns with a pale, blue\nflame, forming carbonic acid.\n\n_Carmine:_ A crimson color, the most beautiful of all the reds. It is\nprepared from a decoction of the powdered cochineal insect, to which\nalum and other substances are added.\n\n_Caseine:_ One of the great forms of blood-making matter; the\ncheesy or curd-part of milk; found in both animal and vegetable\nkingdoms.\n\n_Caster:_ A small vial or vessel for the table, in which to put\nvinegar, mustard, pepper, etc. Also, a small wheel on a swivel-joint,\non which furniture may be turned in any direction.\n\n_Chancellor of the Exchequer: In England, the highest judge of the\nlaw; the principal financial minister of a government, and the one who\nmanages its revenue.\n\n_Chateau:_ A castle, a mansion.\n\n_Chemistry:_ The science which treats of the elementary constituents of\nbodies.\n\n_Chinese belle,_ deformities of: In China, it is the fashion to compress\nthe feet of female infants, to prevent their growth; in consequence of\nwhich, the feet of all the females of China are distorted, and so small\nthat the individuals can not walk with ease.\n\n_Chloride:_ A compound of chlorine and some other substance.\n\n_Chlorine_ is a simple substance, formerly called oxymuriatic acid. In\nits pure state, it is a gas of green color, (hence its name, from a\nGreek word signifying green.) Like oxygen, it supports the combustion of\nsome inflammable substances. _Chloride of lime_ in a compound of\nchlorine and lime.\n\n_Cholera infantum:_ A bowel-complaint to which infants are subject.\n\n_Chyle:_ A white juice formed from the chyme, and consisting of the\nfiner and more nutritious parts of the food. It is afterward converted\ninto blood.\n\n_Chyme:_ The result of the first process which food undergoes in the\nstomach previously to its being converted into chyle.\n\n_Cicuta:_ The common American hemlock, an annual plant of four or five\nfeet in height, and found commonly along walls and fences and about old\nruins and buildings. It is a virulent poison as well as one of the most\nimportant and valuable medicinal vegetables. It is a very different\nplant from the hemlock-tree or _Pinus Canadiensis_.\n\n_Clarke, (Sir Charles Mansfield,) Dr.:_ A distinguished English\nphysician and surgeon, who was born, in London, May 28th, 1783. Ha was\nappointed physician to Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV., in\n1830, and in 1831 he was created a baronet. He was the author of several\nvaluable medical works.\n\n_Cobalt:_ A brittle metal, of a reddish-gray color and weak\nmetallic lustre, used in coloring glass. It is not easily melted nor\noxidized in the air.\n\n_Cochineal:_ A color procured from the cochineal insect, (or\n_Coccus cacti,_) which feeds upon the leaves of several species\nof the plant called cactus, and which is supposed to derive its coloring\nmatter from its food. Its natural color is crimson; but, by the addition\nof a preparation of potash, it yields a rich scarlet dye.\n\n_Cologne-water:_ A fragrant perfume, which derives its name from\nhaving been originally made in the city of Cologne, which is situated\non the river Rhine, in Germany. The best kind is still procured from\nthat city.\n\n_Comparative anatomy:_ The science which has for its object a comparison\nof the anatomy, structure, and functions of the various organs of\nanimals, plants, etc., with those of the human body.\n\n_Confection:_ A sweetmeat; a preparation of fruit with sugar; also a\npreparation of medicine with honey, syrup, or similar saccharine\nsubstance, for the purpose of disguising the unpleasant taste of the\nmedicine.\n\n_Cooper, Sir Astley Paston:_ A celebrated English surgeon, who was born\nat Brooke, in Norfolk county, England, August 23d, 1768, and commenced\nthe practice of surgery in London, in 1792. He was appointed surgeon to\nKing George IV. in 1827, was created a baronet in 1831, and died\nFebruary 12th, 1841. He was the author of many valuable works.\n\n_Copal:_ A hard, shining, transparent resin, of a light citron color,\nbrought originally from Spanish-America, and now almost wholly from the\nEast-Indies. It is principally employed in the preparation of _copal\nvarnish._\n\n_Copper, Sulphate of:_ See _Sulphate of copper.\n\n_Copperas:_ (Sulphate of iron or green vitriol,) a bright green\nmineral substance, formed by the decomposition of a peculiar ore of\niron called pyrites, which is a sulphuret of iron. It is first in the\nform of a greenish-white powder or crust, which is dissolved in water,\nand beautiful green crystals of copperas are obtained by evaporation.\nIt is principally used in dyeing and in making black ink. Its solution,\nmixed with a decoction of oak bark, produces a black color.\n\n_Coronary:_ Relating to a crown or garland. In anatomy, it is\napplied to arteries which encompass the heart, in the manner, as it\nis fancied, of a garland.\n\n_Corrosive sublimate:_ A poisonous substance composed of chlorine\nand quicksilver.\n\n_Cosmetics:_ Preparations which, some people foolishly think will\npreserve and beautify the skin.\n\n_Cream of tartar_: See _Tartar_.\n\n_Curculio_: A weevil or worm, which affects the fruit of the\nplum-tree and sometimes that of the apple-tree, causing the unripe\nfruit to fall to the ground.\n\n_Cuvier, Baron_: The moat eminent naturalist of the present age;\nwas born A. D. 1769, and died A.D. 1832. He was Professor of Natural\nHistory in the College of France, and held various important posts\nunder the French government at different times. His works on Natural\nHistory are of the greatest value.\n\n_Cynosure_: The constellation of the Lesser Bear, containing the star\nnear the North Pole, by which sailors steer. It is used, in a figurative\nsense, as synonymous with _pole-star_ or _guide_, or anything to which\nthe eyes of many are directed.\n\n_De Tocqueville_: See _Tocqueville_.\n\n_Diamond cement_: A cement sold in the shops, and used for mending\nbroken glass and similar articles.\n\n_Drab_: A thick woolen cloth, of a light brown or dun color. The\nname is sometimes used for the color itself.\n\n_Dredging-box_: A box with holes in the top, used to sift or scatter\nflour on meat when roasting.\n\n_Drill_: (In husbandry,) to sow grain in rows, drills, or channels;\nthe row of grain so sowed.\n\n_Duchess of Orleans_: See _Orleans_.\n\nThe _East_, and the _Eastern States_: Those of the United States\nsituated in the north-east part of the country, including Maine,\nNew Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont.\n\n_Elevation_, (of a house:) A plan representing the upright view\nof a house, as a ground-plan shows its appearance on the ground.\n\n_Euclid_: A celebrated mathematician, who was born in Alexandria,\nin Egypt, about two hundred and eighty years before Christ. He\ndistinguished himself by his writings on music and geometry. The most\ncelebrated of his works is his _Elements of Geometry_, which is in use\nat the present day. He established a school at Alexandria, which became\nso famous that, from his time to the conquest of Alexandria by the\nSaracens, (A.D. 646,) no mathematician was found who had not studied\nat Alexandria. Ptolemy, King of Egypt, was one of his pupils; and it\nwas to a question of this king, whether there was not a shorter way\nof coming at geometry than by the study of his _Elements_, that Euclid\nmade the celebrated answer, \"There is no royal path to geometry.\"\n\n_Equator_ or _equinoctial line_: An imaginary line passing round the\nearth, from east to west and directly under the sun, which always shines\nnearly perpendicularly down upon all countries situated near the\nequator.\n\n_Evolve_: To throw off, to discharge.\n\n_Exchequer:_ A court in England in which the Chancellor presides, and\nwhere the revenues of and the debts due to the king, are recovered.\nThis court was originally established by King William, (called \"the\nConqueror,\") who died A.D. 1087; and its name is derived from a\ncheckered cloth (French _echiquier_, a chess-hoard, checker-work)\non the table.\n\n_Excretion:_ Something discharged from the body, a separation of animal\nmatters. _Excrementitious:_ Consisting of matter excreted from the body;\ncontaining excrements.\n\n_Fahrenheit, (Gabriel Daniel:)_ A celebrated natural philosopher,\nwho was born at Dantzig, A.D. 1686. He made great improvements in the\nthermometer, and his name is sometimes used for that instrument.\n\n_Farinaceous:_ Mealy, tasting like meal.\n\n_Fell:_ To turn down on the wrong side the raw edges of a seam after it\nhas been stitched, run, or sewed, and then to hem or sew it to the\ncloth.\n\n_Festivals_ of the Jews, the three great annual: These were, the\nFeast of the Passover, that of Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles; on\noccasion of which, all the males of the nation were required to visit\nthe temple at Jerusalem, in whatever part of the country they might\nreside. See Exodus 28:14, 17; 34:23; Leviticus 33: 4; Deuteronomy\n16:16. The Passover was kept in commemoration of the deliverance of\nthe Israelites from Egypt, and was so named because the night before\ntheir departure the destroying angel, who slew all the first-born of\nthe Egyptians, _passed over_ the houses of the Israelites without\nentering them. See Exodus 12. The Feast of Pentecost was so called\nfrom a word meaning _the fiftieth_, because it was celebrated on\nthe fiftieth day after the Passover, and was instituted in commemoration\nof the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day from the\ndeparture out of Egypt. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, because\nit was kept seven weeks after the Passover. See Exodus 34:32; Leviticus\n23: 15-21; Deuteronomy 16: 9, 10. The Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast\nof Tents, was so called because it was celebrated under tents or\ntabernacles of green boughs, and was designed to commemorate their\ndwelling in tents during their passage through the wilderness. At this\nfeast they also returned thanks, to God for the fruits of the earth\nafter they had been gathered. See Exodus 23: 16; Leviticus 33: 34-44;\nDeuteronomy 16:13; and also St. John 7: 2.\n\n_Fire-blight:_ A disease in the pear and some other fruit-trees,\nin which they appear burnt as if by fire. It is supposed, by some to\nbe caused by an insect, others suppose it to be caused by-an\nover-abundance of sap.\n\n_Fluting-iron:_ An instrument for making flutes, channels, furrows,\nor hollows in ruffles, etc.\n\n_Foundation muslin_: A nice kind of buckram, stiff and white, used for\nthe foundation or basis of bonnets, etc.\n\n_Free States_: A phrase formerly used to distinguish those States in\nwhich slavery was not allowed, as distinguished from Slave States, in\nwhich slavery did exist.\n\n_French chalk_: A variety of the mineral called talc, unctuous to the\ntouch, of greenish color, glossy, soft, and easily scratched, and\nleaving a silvery line when drawn on paper. It is used for marking\non cloth, and extracting grease-spots.\n\n_Fuller's earth_: A species of clay remarkable for its property of\nabsorbing oil, for which reason it is valuable for extracting grease\nfrom cloth, etc. It is used by fullers in scouring and cleansing\ncloth, whence its name.\n\n_Fustic_: The wood of a tree which grows in the West-Indies called\n_Morus tinctoria_. It affords a durable but not very brilliant\nyellow dye, and is also used in producing some greens and drab colors.\n\n_Gastric_: (From the Greek [Transliterated: gasths], _gaster_, the\nbelly,) belonging or relating to the belly, or stomach. _Gastric\njuice_: The fluid which dissolves the food in the stomach. It is\nlimpid, like water, of a saltish taste, and without odor.\n_Geology_: The science which treats of the formation of the earth.\n\n_Gluten_: The glue-like, sticky, tenacious substance which gives\nadhesiveness to dough. The principle of gelly, (now generally written\n_jelly_.)\n\n_Gore_: A triangular piece of cloth.\n\n_Goring_: Cut in a triangular shape.\n\n_Gothic_: A peculiar and strongly-marked style of architecture,\nsometimes called the ecclesiastical style, because it is most frequently\nused in cathedrals, churches, abbeys, and other religious edifices. Its\nprinciple seems to have originated in the imitation of groves and\nbowers, under which the ancients performed their sacred rites; its\nclustered pillars and pointed arches very well representing the trunks\nof trees and their in-locking branches.\n\n_Gourmand_ or _Gormand_: A glutton, a greedy eater. In agriculture, it\nis applied to twigs which take up the sap but bear only leaves.\n\n_Green vitriol_: See _Copperas_.\n\n_Griddle_: An iron pan, of a peculiarly broad and shallow construction,\nused for baking cakes.\n\n_Ground-plan_: The map or plan of the floor of any building, in which\nthe various apartments, windows, doors, fire-places, and other things\nare represented, like the rivers, towns, mountains, roads, etc., on a\nmap.\n\n_Gum Arabic_: A vegetable juice which exudes through the bark of\nthe _Acacia, Mimosa nilotica_, and some other similar trees growing\nin Arabia, Egypt, Senegal, and Central Africa. It is the purest of all\ngums.\n\n_Hardpan_: The hard, unbroken layer of earth below the mould or\ncultivated soil.\n\n_Hartshorn_, (spirits of:) A volatile alkali, originally prepared\nfrom the horns of the stag or hart, but now procured from various other\nsubstances. It is known by the name of ammonia or spirits of ammonia.\n\n_Hemlock_: see _Cicuta.\n\n_Horticulturist:_ One skilled in horticulture, or the art of cultivating\ngardens: horticulture being to the garden what agriculture is to the\nfarm, the application of labor and science to a limited spot, for\nconvenience, for profit, or for ornament--though implying a higher\nstate of cultivation than is common in agriculture. It includes the\ncultivation of culinary vegetables and of fruits, and forcing or exotic\ngardening as far as respects useful products.\n\n_Hydrogen_: A very light, inflammable gas, of which water is in part\ncomposed. It is used to inflate balloons.\n\n_Hypochondriasis_: Melancholy, dejection, a disorder of the imagination,\nin which the person supposes he is afflicted with various diseases.\n\n_Hysteria or hysterics_: A spasmodic, convulsive affection of the\nnerves, to which women are subject. It is somewhat similar to\nhypochondriasis in men.\n\n_Ingrain_: A kind of carpeting, in which the threads are dyed in\nthe grain or raw material before manufacture.\n\n_Ipecac_: (An abbreviation of _ipecacuanha_) an Indian medicinal plant,\nacting as an emetic.\n\n_Isinglass_: A fine kind of gelatin or glue, prepared from the\nswimming-bladders of fishes, used as a cement, and also as an ingredient\nin food and medicine. The name is sometimes applied to a transparent\nmineral substance called mica.\n\n_Jams_: A side-piece or post.\n\n_Kamtschadales_: Inhabitants of _Kamtschatka_, a large peninsula\nsituated on the north-eastern coast of Asia, having the North Pacific\nOcean on the east. It is remarkable for its extreme cold, which\nis heightened by a range of very lofty mountains extending the whole\nlength of the peninsula, several of which are volcanic. It is very\ndeficient in vegetable productions, but produces a great variety of\nanimals, from which the richest and most valuable furs are procured.\nThe inhabitants are in general below the common height, but have broad\nshoulders and large heads. It is under the dominion of Russia.\n\n_Kerosene_: Refined Petroleum, which see.\n\n_Kink_: A knotty twist in a thread or rope.\n\n_Lambrequin_: Originally a kind of pendent scarf or covering attached to\na helmet to protect and adorn it. Hence, a pendent ornamental curtain\nover a window.\n\n_Lapland_: A country at the extreme north part of Europe, where it is\nvery cold. It contains lofty mountains, some of which are covered with\nperpetual snow and ice.\n\n_Latin:_ The language of the Latins or inhabitants of Latium, the\nprincipal country of ancient Italy. After the building of Rome, that\ncity became the capital of the whole country.\n\n_Leguminous:_ Pod-bearing.\n\n_Lent:_ A fast of the Christian Church, (lasting forty days, from\nAsh-Wednesday to Easter,) in commemoration of our Saviour's miraculous\nfast of forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. The word Lent\nmeans spring, this fast always occurring at that season of the year.\n\n_Levite:_ One of the tribe of Levi, the son of Jacob, which tribe\nwas set apart from the others to minister in the services of the\nTabernacle, and the Temple at Jerusalem. The priests were taken from\nthis tribe. See Numbers 1: 47-53.\n\n_Ley:_ Water which has percolated through ashes, earth, or other\nsubstances, dissolving and imbibing a part of their contents. It is\ngenerally spelled _lye_.\n\n_Linnaeus, (Charles:)_ A native of Sweden, and the most celebrated\nnaturalist of his age. He was born May 13th, 1707, and died January\n11th, 1778. His life was devoted to the study of natural history. The\nscience of botany, in particular, is greatly indebted to his labors.\nHis _Amaenitates Academicae_ (Academical Recreations) is a collection of\nthe dissertations of his pupils, edited by himself, a work rich in\nmatters relating to the history and habits of plants. He was the first\nwho arranged Natural History into a regular system, which has been\ngenerally called by his name. His proper name was Linne.\n\n_Lobe:_ A division, a distinct part; generally applied to the two\ndivisions of the lungs.\n\n_Loire:_ The largest river of France, being about five hundred and fifty\nmiles in. length. It rises in the mountains of Cevennes, and empties\ninto the Atlantic Ocean about forty miles below the city of Nantes. It\ndivides France into two almost equal parts.\n\n_London Medical Society:_ A distinguished association, formed in 1773.\nIt has published some valuable volumes of its transactions. It has a\nlibrary of about 40,000 volumes, which is kept in a house presented to\nthe Society, in 1788, by the celebrated Dr. Lettsom, who was one of its\nfirst members.\n\n_Louis XIV.:_ A celebrated King of France and Navarre, who was born\nSeptember 5th, 1638, and died September 1st, 1715. His mother having\nbefore had no children, though she had been married twenty-two years,\nhis birth was considered as a particular favor from heaven, and he was\ncalled the \"Gift of God.\" He is sometimes styled \"Louis the Great,\" is\nnotorious as a period of licentiousness. He left behind him monuments of\nunprecedented splendor and expense, consisting of palaces, gardens, and\nother like works.\n\n_Lumbar:_(From the Latin lumbus, the loin,) relating or pertaining to\nthe loins.\n\n_Lunacy, writ of:_ A judicial proceeding to ascertain whether a person\nbe a lunatic.\n\n_Mademoiselle:_ The French word for miss, a young girl.\n\n_Magnesia:_ A light and white alkaline earth, which enters into the\ncomposition of many rocks, communicating to them a greasy or soapy\nfeeling and a striped texture, with sometimes a greenish color.\n\n_Malaria:_ (Italian, _mal/aria, bad air_,) a noxious vapor or\nexhalation; a state of the atmosphere or soil, or both, which, in\ncertain regions and in warm weather, produces fever, sometimes of great\nviolence.\n\n_Mammon:_ Riches, the Syrian god of riches. See Luke 16:11-13; St.\nMatthew 6:24. _Mexico:_ A country situated south-west of the United\nStates and extending to the Pacific Ocean.\n\n_Miasms:_ Such particles or atoms as are supposed to arise from\ndistempered, putrefying, or poisonous bodies.\n\n_Michilimackinac_ or _Mackinac:_ (Now frequently corrupted into\n_Mackinaw_, which is the usual pronunciation of the name,) a military\npost in the State of Michigan, situated upon an island, about nine miles\nin circuit, in the strait which connects Lakes Michigan and Huron. It is\nmuch resorted to by Indians and fur-traders. The highest summit of the\nisland is about three hundred feet above the lakes and commands an\nextensive view of them.\n\n_Midsummer:_ With us, the time when the sun arrives at his greatest\ndistance from the equator, or about the twenty-first of June, called,\nalso the summer solstice, (from the Latin _sol, the sun_ and _sto, to\nstop_ or _stand still_,) because when the sun reaches this point he\nseems to stand still for some time, and then appears to retrace his\nsteps. The days are then longer than at any other time.\n\n_Migrate:_ To remove from one place to another; to change residence.\n\n_Mildew:_ A disease of plants; a mould, spot, or stain in paper, cloths,\netc., caused by moisture.\n\n_Militate:_ To oppose, to operate against.\n\n_Millinet:_ A coarse kind of stiff muslin, formerly used for the\nfoundation or basis of bonnets, etc.\n\n_Mineralogy:_ A science which treats of the inorganic natural substances\nfound upon or in the earth, such as earths, salts, metals, etc., and\nwhich are called by the general name of minerals.\n\n_Minutiae:_ The smallest particulars.\n\n_Monasticism:_ Monastic life; religiously recluse life in a monastery or\nhouse of religious retirement.\n\n_Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley:_ One of the most celebrated among the\nfemale literary characters of England. She was daughter of Evelyn,\nDuke of Kingston, and was born about 1690, at Thoresby, in England She\ndisplayed uncommon abilities at a very early age, and was educated by\nthe best masters in the English, Latin, Greek, and French languages.\nShe accompanied her husband (Edward Wortley Montagu) on an embassy to\nConstantinople, and her correspondence with her friends was published\nand much admired. She introduced the practice of inoculation for the\nsmall-pox into England, which proved of great benefit to millions. She\ndied at the age of seventy-two, A.D. 1762.\n\n_Moral Philosophy:_ The science which treats of the motives and rules of\nhuman actions, and of the ends to which they ought to be directed.\n\n_Moreen: A kind of woolen stuff used for curtains, covers of cushions,\nbed hangings, etc.\n\n_Mortise: A cavity cut into a piece of timber to receive the end of\nanother piece called the _Tenon_.\n\n_Mucous:_ Having the nature of _mucus, a glutinous, sticky, thready,\ntransparent fluid, of a salt savor, produced by different membranes of\nthe body, and serving to protect the membranes and other internal parts\nagainst the action of the air, food, etc. The fluid of the mouth and\nnose is mucus.\n\n_Mucous membrane: That membrane which lines the mouth, nose, intestines,\nand other open cavities of the body.\n\n_Muriatic acid: An acid composed of chlorine and hydrogen, called also,\nhydrochloric acid and spirit of salt.\n\n_Mush-stick:_ A stick to use in stirring _mush, which is corn-meal\nboiled in water.\n\n_Nankeen_ or _Nankin:_ A light cotton cloth, originally brought from\nNankin, in China, whence its name.\n\n_Nash, (Richard:)_ Commonly called _Beau Nash, or King of Bath, a\ncelebrated leader of the fashions in England. He was born at Swansea,\nin South-Wales, October 8th, 1674, and died in the city of Bath,\n(England,) February 3d, 1761.\n\n_Natural History:_ The history of animals, plants, and minerals.\n\n_Natural Philosophy:_ The science which treats of the powers of nature,\nthe properties of natural bodies, and their action one upon another. It\nis sometimes called _physics_.\n\n_New-milch cow:_ A cow which has recently calved.\n\n_Newton, (Sir Isaac:)_ An eminent English philosopher and mathematician,\nwho was born on Christmas day, 1642, and died March. 20th, 1727. He was\nmuch distinguished for his very important discoveries in Optics and\nother branches of Natural Philosophy. See the first volume of _Pursuit\nof Knowledge under Difficulties_, forming the fourteenth volume of _The\nSchool Library_, larger series.\n\n_Night-Soil:_ Human excrement, so-called because usually removed from\nprivies by night.\n\n_Non-bearers:_ Plants which bear no flowers nor fruit.\n\n_Northern States_: Those of the United States situated in the northern\nand eastern part of the country.\n\n_Ordinary_: See _Physician in ordinary_.\n\n_Oil of Vitriol_: (sulphuric acid, or vitriolic acid,) an acid composed\nof oxygen and sulphur.\n\n_Oino-mania_: A disease of the brain produced by excessive use of\nalcoholic stimulants; derived from two Greek words, _oinos_, wine, and\n_mania_, madness. The same disease sometimes arises from overuse of\ntobacco and other stimulants of the nerves.\n\n_Orleans, (Elizabeth Charlotte de Baviere) Duchess of_: Second wife of\nPhilippe, the brother of Louis XIV., was born at Heidelberg, May 26th,\n1652, and died at the palace of St. Cloud, in Paris, December 8th, 1722.\nShe was author of several works; among which were _Memoirs and Anecdotes\nof the Court of Louis XIV._\n\n_Ottoman_: A kind of hassock or thick mat for kneeling upon; so-called\nfrom being used by the Ottomans or Turks.\n\n_Oxalic acid_: a vegetable acid, which exists in sorrel.\n\n_Oxide_: A compound of a substance with oxygen, though not enough\noxygen to produce an acid; for example, oxide of iron, or rust of\nmetals.\n\n_Oxidize_: To combine oxygen with a body without producing acidity.\n\n_Oxygen_: The vital element of air, a simple and very important\nsubstance which exists in the atmosphere and supports the breathing\nof animals and the burning of combustibles. It was called oxygen from\ntwo Greek words, signifying to produce acid, from its power of giving\nacidity to many compounds in which it predominates.\n\n_Oxygenized_: Combined with oxygen.\n\n_Pancreas_: A gland within the abdomen just below and behind the\nstomach, and providing a fluid to assist digestion. In animals, it is\ncalled the sweet-bread.\n\n_Pancreatic_: Belonging to the pancreas.\n\n_Parterre_: A level division of ground, a flower-garden.\n\n_Pearlash_: The common name for impure carbonate of potash, which in a\npurer form is called _Saleratus_.\n\n_Peristaltic_: Contracting in successive circles; worm-like.\n\n_Petroleum_: Rock oil, an inflammable, bituminous liquid exuding from\nrocks or from the earth in the neighborhood of the carboniferous or\ncoal-bearing formation.\n\n_Phosphorous_: One of the elementary substances.\n\n_Physician in Ordinary to the Queen_: The physician who attends the\nQueen in ordinary cases of illness.\n\n_Pitt, William_: A celebrated English statesman, son of the Earl\nof Chatham. He was born May 28th, 1759, and at the age of twenty-three\nwas made Chancellor of the Exchequer, and soon afterward Prime Minister.\nHe died January 23d, 1806.\n\n_Political Economy_: The science which treats of the general\ncauses affecting the production, distribution, and consumption of\narticles of exchangeable value, in reference to their effects upon\nnational wealth and welfare.\n\n_Pollen_: The fertilizing dust of flowers, produced by the stamens and\nfalling upon the pistils in order to render a flower capable of\nproducing fruit or seed.\n\n_Potter's clay_: The clay used in making articles of pottery.\n\n_Prairie_: A French word, signifying meadow. In the United States,\nit is applied to the remarkable natural meadows or plains which are\nfound in the Western States. In some of these vast and nearly level\nplains, the traveler may wander for days without meeting with wood or\nwater, and see no object rising above the plane of the horizon. They\nare very fertile.\n\n_Prime Minister_: The person appointed by the ruler of a nation\nto have the chief direction and management of the public affairs.\n\n_Process_: A protuberance or projecting part of a bone.\n\n_Pulmonary_: Belonging to or affecting the lungs.\n\n_Pulmonary artery_: An artery which passes through the lungs, being\ndivided into several branches, which form a beautiful network over the\nair-vessels, and finally empty themselves into the left auricle of the\nheart.\n\n_Puritans_: A sect which professed to follow the pure word of God\nin opposition to traditions, human constitutions, and other authorities.\nIn the reign, of Queen Elizabeth, part of the Protestants were desirous\nof introducing a simpler, and, as they considered it, a _purer_ form of\nchurch government and worship than that established by law, from which\ncircumstance they were called _Puritans_. In process of time, this party\nincreased in numbers and openly broke off from the church, laying aside\nthe English liturgy, and adopting a service-book published at Geneva by\nthe disciples of Calvin. They were treated with great rigor by the\ngovernment, and many of them left the kingdom and settled in Holland.\nFinding themselves not so eligibly situated in that country as they had\nexpected to be, a portion of them embarked for America, and were the\nfirst settlers of New England.\n\n_Quixotic_: Absurd, romantic, ridiculous; from _Don Quixote_, the hero\nof a celebrated fictitious work written by Cervantes, a distinguished\nSpanish writer, and intended to reform the tastes and opinions of his\ncountry-men.\n\n_Reeking_: Smoking, emitting vapor.\n\n_Residue_: The remainder or part which remains.\n\n_Routine_: A round or course of engagements, business, pleasure, etc.\n\n_To Run a seam_: To lay the two edges of a seam together and pass\nthe threaded needle out and in, with small stitches, a few threads\nbelow the edge and on a line with it.\n\n_To Run a stocking_: To pass a thread of yarn, with a needle, straight\nalong each row of the stocking, as far as is desired, taking up one loop\nand missing two or three, until tie row is completed, so as to double\nthe thickness at the part which is run.\n\n_Sabbatical year_: Every seventh year among the Jews, which was a year\nof rest for the land, when it was to be left without culture. In this\nyear, all debts were to be remitted, and slaves set at liberty. See\nExodus 21:2:23:10; Leviticus 25:2, 3, etc.; Deuteronomy 15:12; and\nother similar passages.\n\n_Saleratus_: See _Pearlash_.\n\n_Sal ammoniac_: A salt, called also muriate of ammonia, which derives\nits name from a district in Libya, Egypt, where there was a temple of\nJupiter Ammon, and where this salt was found.\n\n_Scotch Highlanders_: Inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland.\n\n_Selvedge_: The edge of cloth, a border. Improperly written _selvage_.\n\n_Service-book_: A book prescribing the order of public services in a\nchurch or congregation.\n\n_Sharps_: See _Blunts_.\n\n_Shorts_: The coarser part of wheat bran.\n\n_Shrubbery_: A plantation of shrubs.\n\n_Siberia_: A large country in the extreme northern part of Asia, having\nthe Frozen Ocean on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east, and\nforming a part of the Russian empire. The northern part is extremely\ncold, almost uncultivated, and contains but few inhabitants. It\nfurnishes fine skins, and some of the most valuable furs in the\nworld. It also contains rich mines of iron and copper, and several\nkinds of precious stones.\n\n_Sinclair, Sir John_: Of whom it was said, \"There is no greater name in\nthe annals of agriculture than his,\" was born in Caithness, Scotland,\nMay 10th, 1754, and became a member of the British Parliament in 1780.\nHe was strongly opposed to the measures of the British government toward\nAmerica, which produced the American Revolution. He was author of many\nvaluable publications on various subjects. He died December 21st, 1835.\n\n_Sirloin_: The loin of beef. The appellation \"sir\" is the title of a\nknight or baronet, and has been added to the word \"loin,\" when applied\nto beef, because a king of England, in a freak of good humor, once\nconferred the honor of knighthood upon a loin of beef.\n\n_Slack_: To loosen, to relax, to deprive of cohesion.\n\n_Soda_: An alkali, usually obtained from the ashes of marine plants.\n\nTo _Spade_: To throw out earth with a spade.\n\n_Spermaceti_: An oily substance found in the head of a species of whale\ncalled the spermaceti whale.\n\n_Spindling_: Shooting into a long, small stalk.\n\n_Spinous process_: A process or bony protuberance, resembling a spine or\nthorn, whence it derives its name.\n\n_Spool_: A piece of cane or reed or a hollow cylinder of wood, with a\nridge at each end, used to wind yarn and thread upon.\n\n_Stamen_, (plural, _stamens_ and _stamina_:) In _weaving_, the warp, the\nthread, any thing made of threads. In _botany_, that part of a flower on\nwhich the artificial classification is founded, consisting of the\nfilament or stalk, and the anther, which contains the pollen or\nfructifying powder.\n\n_Stigma_, (plural _stigmas_ and _stigmata_:) The summit or top of the\npistil of a flower.\n\n_Style_ or Stile: The part of the pistil between the germ and the\nstigma.\n\n_Sub-carbonate_: An imperfect carbonate.\n\n_Sulphate, Sulphates, Sulphites_: Salts formed by the combination\nof some base with sulphuric acid, as _Sulphate of copper_, (blue\nvitriol or blue stone,) a combination of sulphuric acid with copper.\n_Sulphate of iron_: Copperas or green vitriol. _Sulphate of lime_:\nGypsum or plaster of Paris. _Sulphate of magnesia_: Epsom salts.\n_Sulphate of potash_: A chemical salt, composed of sulphuric acid and\npotash. _Sulphate of soda_: Glauber's salts. _Sulphate of zinc_:\n\nWhite vitriol. _Sulphuret_: A combination of an alkaline earth\nor metal with sulphur, as _Sulphuret of iron_, a combination of\niron and sulphur. _Sulphuric acid_: Oil of vitriol, vitriolic\nacid.\n\n_Suture_: A sewing; the uniting of parts by stitching; the seamor\njoint which unites the flat bones of the skull, which are notched\nlike the teeth of a saw, and the notches, being united together, present\nthe appearance of a seam.\n\n_Tartar_: A substance, deposited on the inside of wine casks, consisting\nchiefly of tartaric acid and potash.\n\n_Cream of tartar_: The crude tartar separated from all its impurities by\nbeing dissolved in water and then crystallized, when it becomes a\nperfectly white powder.\n\n_Tartaric acid_: A vegetable acid which exists in the grape.\n\n_Technology_: A description of the arts, considered generally in\ntheir theory and practice as connected with moral, political, and\nphysical science.\n\n_Three-ply_ or _triple ingrain_: A kind of carpeting, in which the\nthreads are woven in such a manner as to make three thicknesses of the\ncloth.\n\n_Tic douloureux_: A painful affection of the nerves, mostly those\nof the face.\n\n_Tocqueville, (Alexis de:)_ A celebrated statesman and writer of\nFrance, and author of volumes on the political condition, and the\npenitentiaries of the United States, and other works.\n\n_Trachea_: The windpipe, so named (from a Greek word signifying\n_rough_) from the roughness or inequalities of the cartilages of\nwhich it is formed.\n\n_Truckle-bed_ or _Trundle-bed_: A bed that runs on wheels.\n\n_Tuber_: A solid, fleshy, roundish root, like the potato.\n\n_Tuberous_: Thick and fleshy; composed of or having tubers.\n\n_Tucks_, (improperly _Tacks_): Folds in garments.\n\n_Turmeric:_ The root of a plant called _Curcuma longa_, a native of the\nEast-Indies, used as a yellow dye.\n\n_Twaddle:_ Idle, foolish talk or conversation.\n\n_Unbolted:_ Unsifted. _Unslacked:_ Not loosened or deprived of cohesion.\nLime, when it has been slacked, crumbles to powder from being deprived\nof cohesion.\n\n_Valance:_ The drapery or fringe hanging round the cover of a bed,\ncouch, or other similar article.\n\n_Vascular:_ Relating to or full of vessels.\n\n_Venetian:_ A kind of carpeting, composed of a striped woolen warp on a\nthick woof of linen thread,\n\n_Verisimilitude:_ Probability, resemblance to truth.\n\n_Verbatim:_ Word for word.\n\n_Vice versa:_ The side being changed, or the question reversed, or the\nterms being exchanged.\n\n_Viscera_, (plural of _viscus:_) Organs contained in the great cavities\nof the body, the skull, the abdomen, and the chest. Generally applied to\nthe contents of the abdomen.\n\n_Vitriol:_ A compound mineral salt of a very caustic taste. _Blue\nVitriol_, sulphate of copper. _Green Vitriol_, see _Copperas. _Oil of\nVitriol_, sulphuric acid.\n\n_White Vitriol_, sulphate of zinc.\n\n_Waffle-iron:_ An iron utensil for the purpose of baking waffles,\nwhich are thin and soft cakes indented by the iron in which they are\nbaked.\n\n_Wash-leather:_ A soft, pliable leather dressed with oil, and in\nsuch a way that it may be washed without shrinking. It is used for\nvarious articles of dress, as undershirts, drawers, etc., and also for\nrubbing silver, and other articles having a high polish. The article\nknown in commerce as chamois or shammy leather is also called\nwash-leather.\n\n_Welting-cord:_ A cord sewed into the welt or border of a garment.\n\n_The West_ or _Western World_. When used in Europe, or in distinction\nfrom the Eastern World, it means America. When used in this country, the\nWest refers to the Western States of the Union.\n\n_Western Wilds:_ The wild, thinly-settled lands of the Western States.\n\n_White vitriol:_ see _Zinc.\n\n_Wilton carpet:_ A kind of carpets made in England, and so called from\nthe place which is the chief seat of their manufacture. They are woolen\nvelvets with variegated colors.\n\n_Writ of lunacy_. See _Lunacy.\n\n_Xantippe:_ The wife of Socrates, noted for her violent temper and\nscolding propensities. The name is frequently applied to a shrew,\nor peevish, turbulent, scolding woman.\n\n_Zinc:_ A bluish-white metal, which is used as a constituent of brass\nand some other alloys. _Sulphate of Zinc_ or _White vitriol_; A\ncombination of Zinc with sulphuric acid.","title":"American Woman's Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science;: Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":150975}