HOUSEHOLD HINTS
There is nothing like spring sunshine for bringing out scratches and blemishes on the furniture and marks of wear and tear on carpets and upholstery. Possibly the housekeeper’s eye is quickened by the approach of housecleaning paraphernalia, but certain it is that the room that has worn a respectable air through the winter with the first ardent glance of old Sol will suddenly reveal no end of defects. For restoring furniture there are several excellent preparations to be found in the market, and nearly every housekeeper has her own preference among them. With one of the good oil polishes, a soft cloth, and plenty of what is popularly known as “elbow-grease,” very obstinate scratches will disappear. A vigorous rubbing with a clean flannel cloth should follow the application of the preparation in all cases.
A mixture of oil and turpentine is the best of restoratives for wood that has become grimy and dull. The usual formula is three parts of paraffine oil to one part of turpentine. Be sure that all dust is removed before the work begins. Moisten a flannelcloth in the mixture, and apply it to all parts of the wood. In obstinate cases let the preparation remain on the wood for a time then dust with rottenstone, moisten again with oil and rub quickly after the oil is applied. Do not let the rottenstone become dry, or it will still further blemish the wood. When the work with the rottenstone and oil is over, follow it up with rubbings with a clean, soft cloth and then with a polishing with the oil and turpentine described above. There is no objection to mixing the rottenstone and oil in a dish before the work begins.
To clean furniture that may have come from the second-hand store or store-room, where it has been badly soiled, make a mixture of beeswax and kitchen soap—an ounce of the wax to a quarter of a pound of the soap. Dissolve the two together over the fire and then stir in half an ounce of sal-soda. Stir the mixture until it is cold and then mix with it an equal part of turpentine. A little of this on a soft cloth will work wonders with old furniture.
The dark fumed oak of the Mission and other popular furniture shapes sometimes gets marred below its stain. In such cases common oil paints sold to amateurs for 10 cents and 5 cents a tube may be rung into service. Burnt umber and lampblack will give the fumed-oak shade. Drop the umber in a saucer and mix to the desired shade with lampblack, thinning with linseed oil. Burnt sienna and lampblack toned with yellow ochre will give mahogany color. Burnt sienna, burnt umber, lampblack, and yellow ochre mixed in the right proportions give black-walnuttone. Burnt sienna is about the color of cherry. Raw umber will answer for most light woods such as ash, oak, and maple. Use brush or cloth in putting on the colors, according to convenience.
Natural finished willow furniture may be cleaned with soapsuds in which borax has been dissolved. It should be applied with a scrubbing-brush. The pieces should be dried very speedily in the sun. Before the cleaning with water begins, the piece should be thoroughly dusted. This rule holds good with any article at all that is being washed. All loose dust should be shaken or brushed off or out before water is applied.
Natural wood should be freed from all loose dust before cleaning and then may be wiped off with a woollen cloth moistened with oil and turpentine or with wood alcohol. This treatment should be followed by a rubbing with a dry woollen cloth to bring out the polish. A woman who found several dents in the hardwood of her dining-room wainscoting restored it by laying over each dent a thick pad of wet brown paper, a wet cloth folded several times over that, and then applying a hot iron over all. When the pad was about dry it was removed, and if the place still showed a mar the treatment was repeated.
One housekeeper who is successful in keeping her furniture in polish washes the varnished-wood frames twice a year with potato water and then rubs themdry and bright with woollen cloths. The piano receives the same treatment. The potato water is prepared by soaking uncooked potatoes sliced thin in cold water for two or three hours and then straining the water.
An old housekeeper who has several choice Oriental rugs, some of light color, sees to the cleaning of them herself. They are first swept thoroughly on both sides on the grass of the back yard. Then, if they are light-colored, they are covered with cornstarch which has a small mixture of prepared chalk, and are left for several hours. At the end of that time they are brushed free from the powder, shaken well and beaten carefully. Dark ones are covered with hardwood sawdust and left over night. The next day they are swept with a stiff clean broom, and then wiped off with a towel wrung out of hot water.
The silver desk furnishings, vases, etc., will retain their gloss with little extra cleaning if they are polished with a piece of soft silk several times a week.
Silver should always be thoroughly washed after any cleansing powder or liquid is used on it.
To clean copper kettles, rub the kettle with a cut lemon dipped in powdered bath brick. When all stains are removed, wash in warm soapy water; then dry and polish with powdered bath brick and a soft cloth.
To polish brass trimmings, such as hinges, handles, and other ornaments of furniture, without marring the wood during the work requires that the polish shall be beneficial to the wood as well as to the metal. A mixture of half as much naphtha as paraffine oil and enough powdered rottenstone to make a soft, thick cream will accomplish the purpose. It should be applied with wool and should be followed by a rubbing with a soft cloth. Before polishing the last time it is well to make an application of dry rottenstone powder to remove all traces of the naphtha. Unless this is done, the brass will tarnish soon.
White wax packed with white silk or satin will keep the material from yellowing. It is an old custom to put away the wedding gown in this way.
To take out a blood-stain, cover the spot with cold raw starch, just wet enough to make a paste, and leave it until it is dry.
To remove wine-stains, spread the blemished fabric over a bowl and pour boiling salt water through it from a height.
Machine oil should be washed out in cold water before the article stained with it goes to the laundress.
Javelle water is an antidote for iron rust.
Valuable plaster casts are best cleaned by professional plaster-workers. Small pieces that have becomesoiled may be made more sightly by covering them with whiting and fuller’s earth, wrapping them in a cloth and leaving them for two or three days. When the powder is brushed off much of the grime will go with it.
In opening a jar of fruit with a knife always insert the blade between jar and rubber. Prying against the thin edge of the cover bends it out of shape, perhaps ruining it for future use, and is likely to break the glass.
To cut a piece of plate glass it is thought a diamond-cutter is necessary, but it is not. If the glass is not very thick it can be cut with a pair of scissors, a large pair being preferable. While cutting hold the glass beneath half a foot or more of water, and it can be readily cut any shape desired. A round piece of glass has been cut out of a good-sized pane in just this manner. The scissors do not have to be extra sharp.
“Success.”
Stained table linen follows the return of the fresh-fruit season as surely “as night follows day.” For removing such stains there is nothing more effective than the sulphur bleach. Lay a spoonful of sulphur on a plate, and sprinkle with a few drops of alcohol. Over this place a tin funnel with the point upward. Touch alighted match to the alcohol; wet the stained linen, and hold the spot over the opening in the point of the funnel. The sulphur fumes will remove the most obstinate stain, seldom requiring more than one application. Rinse and wash the linen at once, to prevent rotting the material.
“Woman’s Home Companion” for September.
Nitrate of soda will rapidly improve the appearance of house plants that have become sickly. A piece about the size of a marble is enough for a plant taking a twelve-inch pot.
A good solution to kill all insects is to take two pounds of alum and dissolve it in three or four quarts of boiling water; let it stand on the stove until the alum is all melted, then apply it with a brush while very hot to the wainscoting and floor and wherever the vermin abound.
It is also good to use on pantry shelves and bedsteads, and is a sure cure for the pests of fleas that are apt to swarm a closed house after a damp spell in the summer time.
In darning a shirtwaist or other garment where it is important that the place shall not be seen, do the work without putting a piece under the hole and use very fine thread. If the darning is done well, the spotwill be as strong as the fabric around it and when it is ironed will be scarcely noticeable. The edges of the material, of course, must be drawn together in their original position. In mending any fabric, the direction of the threads should follow, as much as possible, the lines of the warp and woof. It is advisable sometimes to ravel a thread from the fabric itself and use it in darning. At other times, when silk is to be used, it is well to split silk in order to have a flat thread instead of a round one. It is an old-fashioned idea worth remembering to use a hair in darning fine wool.
A sand-bag as a warmer is said to be greatly superior to a hot-water bottle, which many people prize so highly. Get some clean, fine sand; dry it thoroughly; make a bag about eight inches square of flannel, fill it with dry sand, sew the opening carefully together, and cover the bag with cotton or linen cloth. This will prevent the sand from sifting out, and also enable any one to heat the bag quickly by placing it in an oven or on top of a stove. The sand holds the heat for a long time.
“Health.”
There are few housekeepers who are not familiar with some of the numerous uses of turpentine, and as its odor is clean and wholesome it has the advantage over many remedies whose odors are offensive.
Turpentine and soap will remove ink-stains from linen.
A few drops added to water in which clothes are boiled will whiten them.
It will exterminate roaches if sprinkled in their haunts.
Turpentine will remove wheel-grease, pitch, and tar.
A few drops on a woollen cloth will clean tan shoes nicely.
Clean gilt frames with a cloth moistened in turpentine.
Carpets can be cleaned and colors restored by going over occasionally with a broom dipped in warm water in which a little turpentine is added.
An equal mixture of turpentine and linseed oil will remove white marks from furniture caused by water.
Avoid biting the thread; it is harmful to the teeth.
Never leave matches where rats can get at them.
To remove ink-stains from clothing, soak the spot in sour milk.
Salt and vinegar will be found excellent for scouring copper kettles.
Keep an oyster shell in your tea kettle to prevent the forming of crust.
Delicate glass can be safely washed in very hot water if slipped in edgewise.
Fill vases one-fourth full of sand to prevent them from being knocked over and broken.
A little powdered charcoal put in the sink occasionally will keep it clean and free from odors.
Rubbing chilblains thoroughly with paraffine oil every night for a week is said to effect a cure.
A little kerosene added to the water with which you wash your windows will make them much brighter.
A few drops of oil of lavender poured into a glass of hot water and set in the sick-room will purify it greatly.
Soaking new brooms in strong hot salt water before using them is said to toughen the bristles, making the brooms more durable.
If smoke is seen pouring out from under a door, do not rush and open that door. Remember that by so doing you cause a draught which will fan smouldering timbers into flame. Shut and keep shut all doors and windows, or other air-channels.
If you have not a hand pump or fire grenades handy, collect as many pails or jugs of water as possible outside the closed door of the room which is afire.
Meantime, remember that smoke is almost as dangerous to life as fire. A soaking-wet towel knotted round the face and nostrils is an excellent rough-and-ready protection against breathing smoke. So is a wet sponge.
Remember also that smoke rises. Therefore, it is least thick near the floor. If the smoke be very thick, crawl with your face close against the floor.
The commonest cause of fire is the upsetting of an oil lamp. Water will only spread the flames ofburning oil, but a hearth-rug will extinguish them promptly, says “Home Chat.”
Milk will also extinguish burning oil.
Sand or earth or common salt are useful aids to fire-fighting. The contents of an ordinary flower-pot will stop the spread of the flames of oil.
It takes a hundred men to make an encampment, but one woman can make a home. I not only admire woman as the most beautiful creature that was ever created, but I reverence her as the redeeming glory of humanity, the sanctuary of all the virtues, the pledge of all perfect qualities of heart and head. It is not just nor right to lay the sins of men at the feet of woman. It is because women are so much better than men, that their faults are considered greater. A man’s desire is the foundation of his love, but a woman’s desire is born of her love. The one thing in this world that is constant, the one peak that arises above all clouds, the one window in which the light forever burns, the one star that darkness cannot quench, is woman’s love. It rises to the greatest height, it sinks to the lowest depths, it forgives the most injuries. It is perennial of life and grows in every climate. Neither coldness nor neglect, harshness nor cruelty, can extinguish it. A woman’s love is the perfume of the heart. This is the real love that subdues the earth; the love that has wrought all miracles of art; that gives us music all the way fromthe cradle song to the grand closing symphony that bears the soul away on wings of fire. A love that is greater than power, sweeter than life, and stronger than death.—Robert G. Ingersoll.
America possesses thousands of girls who find a large part of their physical culture to perfection in “helping mother,” and they are not blushing because they do so. For them the vista of possibilities is long and alluring.
For the arms, fingers, and wrists, they find washing and wiping dishes admirable; perhaps water helps to make supple the joints, which is an advantage that dish-washing has over the drying. However, there is a fine elbow movement in the wiping, too.
Bed-making is still taught in the homely physical economics and cannot be too highly recommended. With the folding of the counterpane and sheets, the arms are stretched to their utmost, and while standing erect, with chest thrown out, breathing is bound to be correct.
Shoulder, torso, and limbs are developed in mattress-lifting, but it requires a strong woman to do this easily; any hint of spinal affection is an embargo on the exercise.
Sweeping gives much the same motion as is used in handling golf-clubs. For perfection of arms and shoulders there is nothing better.
Scrubbing, like lawn tennis, is rather violent and not to be attempted unless one is sure of the heart. In the beginning it will be as severe on the knees as is paddling a canoe, but so soon as one becomes familiar with the work it affords a subtle satisfaction all its own.
Running up and down stairs when mother needs anything is a first-class exercise; and an interesting diversion, as well as an upper-arm developer, may be found in egg-beating.
Dusting should have a chapter by itself. First you are down on all fours, then on tiptoe to see how far the cloth will reach. The tiptoeing for calf-development is superb.
You twist yourself into all sorts of positions to get at the corners of the carved furniture. You are on one knee, then on the other. Every muscle, every tendon is brought into service before you have finished.
A beautiful woman, who combines in her person a greater number of charms than do most fascinating women, gives her formula for keeping young and handsome in spite of a life of constant study, hard work, and comparatively no play: “Vigilance and determination and perhaps a little self-sacrifice are the price I pay for being considered a good-looking woman,” she says.
Remember, this beauty can act and is entitled to be called a star of the first magnitude. “I am everon the alert and when I discover traces of fatigue or any destroying symptoms, I set about at once to eradicate them. During the theatrical season I don’t attempt to be anything but a professional woman. I don’t receive, nor do I go to other people’s houses. I simply haven’t the time and I don’t make it.
“My mode of life is very simple. As a rule I sleep nine or ten hours out of the twenty-four, never less than eight. I eat regularly and avoid everything that will give me indigestion. You know that indigestion is one of beauty’s most powerful foes, a greater enemy than age, as great even as worry.
“I walk every day, rain or shine, wear a short skirt and low-heeled shoes. I keep the French heels for the stage. I try not to worry, no matter what happens, and never tire myself unnecessarily. My method has no frills or isms; perhaps few women would care to try it. As Turkish baths agree with me, I am devoted to them, and I consider a good complexion cream as important, almost, as cold water.”
On Sunday, she explained, she was not obliged to go to the theatre. “Yet I do not spend that day in idleness nor in receiving visitors. When one’s hair is five feet long and very thick, it is not an easy task to have it shampooed, so I am almost ashamed to confess the entire day is quite given over to self-preservation.
“How do I keep the same weight all the time? Why, by vigilance, determination, and a good pair of scales frequently consulted. If I gain a pound I immediately stop drinking at meals and give up sugar and sweets absolutely. Yes, even water istabooed. This all sounds very simple, but, of course, it precludes much pleasure and relaxation.”
There, mesdames, you have the beauty régime of a woman who always pleases her public and who possesses the love and admiration of countless friends. She is no longer in her girlhood, yet gives not the faintest indication of maturity. Her figure is slender and svelte, a succession of soft curves, with not a bone to disfigure its surface. Her skin is fresh and pink as a small child’s and her hair shows vigorous health.
While all women may not be beautiful, cleanliness and fine grooming and an ordinary amount of exercise will render them most attractive. Stout women should bathe oftener than lean ones, but let them avoid the use of hot water; it has a tendency to produce headache with the full-blooded individual. Always follow a warm bath with a dash of cold water—it contracts the pores and inspires circulation. For persons with weak nerves, sponging is better than tubbing or the shock of the shower. Cold water must be used with judgment.
A hot foot bath accompanied by vigorous rubbing is often beneficial in cases of insomnia. In bathing be careful to “go beneath the upper layer of the skin, get down to the underlying tissues,” and give them the benefit of the friction. The mere exercise attendant upon rubbing the body is salutary and helps in a great measure to keep circulation at top notch.
Laxity or downright laziness in home bathing is one of the sins of the age, though one may not deny that this century is the apotheosis of cleanliness ascompared to the methods adopted by the beauties of long ago. A flick of the wash rag constituted their daily ablution, and the weekly bath was looked upon as a function.
Lean persons should be wary of the Turkish bath, while the victim of corpulency must avoid the Russian. The Roman bath, in reality an oil bath, is productive of flesh, therefore beneficial to badly nourished bodies. Bathing should never be indulged in directly after eating and never carried to the point of over-exertion.
After a fatiguing day a woman can do nothing which will more quickly restore tone to throbbing nerves, rob strained, tense muscles of their aching weariness, and refit her for the duties of housekeeper and hostess, than to take some kind of aromatic bath or to follow the ordinary warm bath by spraying the whole body with eau de cologne.
If the head aches, bathe the face in hot, perfumed water, do it slowly, rubbing the forehead and temples in a rotary motion and let the hot cloth linger behind the ears and on the nape of the neck. This treatment will do as much for you as an hour’s sleep.
A salt rub is also a tonic and should be taken in the morning, after a tepid bath; take a handful of damp sea salt and rub it vigorously upon the body. Follow this with a rapid sponging of the stinging spray.
Oatmeal bags are pleasant and easily prepared. At home you can make a dozen for the price of one. They whiten the skin and give it a velvety softness, besides imparting a delicate fragrance.
Make the bags of cheesecloth, about four inchessquare, and fill them loosely with the following mixture: Five pounds of oatmeal, one pound of powdered Florentine orris, one pound of almond meal and half a pound of pure castile soap scraped to a powder. One bag will be sufficient for a bath.
Many a woman who gives time and thought to the art of pleasing, who bemoans natural shortcomings or physical defects, is unconscious of the power and fascination that a well-developed and well-cared-for hand wields in a most subtle fashion. Very often the soul speaks through the hand when a halting tongue refuses speech. Conceal natural instincts as you will, the hands ofttimes betray them. Hide them, transform them, the hand, still true to nature, defies your efforts.
Lavater says: “The hand, whether in motion or repose, has an expression of its own that is not to be mistaken. When in perfect rest it shows what are our traits of character; its flexions betray what are our actions and our passions.” In all ages homage has been paid to the hand, and its study was held in honor by the wisest philosophers of ancient Greece. Italy’s great poet Petrarch confessed that Laura’s “beautiful hand made captive his heart.”
To the student or one blessed with natural discernment, the shape, texture, and color of the hand reveal the secrets of the soul. Good blood and breeding are to be discovered, and, though the poise of headand grace of carriage be acquired, the contour of wrist, palm, and finger remains obstinately natural.
What the mind conceives the hands put into execution, and what the heart wills the hand makes possible. Upon the palm are found more or less indications of the physical and mental attitudes of men—their appetites, instincts, and ambitions. A narrow palm suggests feeble temperament, lacking force of imagination, while too broad a one denotes egotism and sensuality. A nature capable of great enjoyment and the possessor of a lively imagination develops a supple and fairly generous expanse of palm; but the hard, thick hand ofttimes lacks intelligence.
Knotty fingers, when not the result of gout, indicate originality; the smooth taper finger means love of art and a predominance of sentiment over reason. Square fingers denote method, and the spatulate show ability, tact, and action. Very rare is the psychic hand with its slim tapering fingers, its snowy texture and wonderful softness. Well for the world that it is uncommon, lacking as it does usefulness and industry.
That the hands are capable of improvement, so far as texture is concerned, is demonstrated by the secrets of my lady’s boudoir. There are different exercises for relaxing and contracting the muscles, which unite in imparting suppleness and expression. Given over to contact with everything that can spoil, soil, and deform them, how shall one keep their beauty? Cleanliness is the first and most important factor, and pure castile soap is always reliable, but frequent washings are unnecessary for softening the skin. The handsshould be washed only when necessary, in neither very hot nor very cold water. Avoid all extremes of temperature. Soft water is imperative, however, and wheat, bran, or almond meal thrown in the basin will be found beneficial; after which rub the skin with almond oil, cold cream, or some simple lotion. There is an old-fashioned but safe method of whitening the hands. Take some horse chestnuts, peel, dry, and then pound them in a mortar until they become a fine powder. A pinch of this flour thrown into a pint of water and stirred will make it white and milky, a delicious substitute for soap on a cold day, when the skin is apt to chap unless great care be given to drying the hands.
Milk is also marvelous for bleaching, but it is a luxury not suited to all purses. Lemon juice may be used to remove stains from the hands. Tomatoes will produce the same effect. For a stubborn mark, rub gently with a piece of fine toilet pumice; but beware of injuring the texture of the skin.
After a thorough cleansing comes the manicuring of the nails, which with a little experience may be accomplished at home with excellent results. The flesh surrounding the nails should be pressed back very gently to its proper place. Be careful not to tear or bruise it, else a jagged appearance will result, necessitating clipping, which always encourages growth. An orange stick is a necessary adjunct to the toilet; by its aid the nails can be probed and cleaned without fear of injury. A white crescent at the base, a rosy tint in the middle, and a white transparent border witha polished (not too highly) surface are the marks of well-cared-for nails.
Do not have them too long, else they are liable to break; curve on either side, with the deepest portion projecting just far enough to protect the ball of the finger. Do not scrape with pointed instruments of steel. It takes a long time for a bruised surface to resume normal conditions. Gloves, worn when unpleasant work is necessary, should be loose. Before putting them on it is a good idea to cover the hands with a light layer of oil of sweet almonds or vaseline. This prevents callous spots, and the process of softening will be in progress during the occupation.
It was long the popular belief that wrinkles are caused chiefly by sorrow and care. Up pops somebody in this twentieth century to denounce that theory and to declare that the merry folk are far oftener afflicted than the sorrowful and that laughter more frequently furrows the face than tears.
It is a rather happy suggestion; not that wrinkles are welcome, but that cheerfulness is a heaven-sent gift and should be received with grateful hearts. Let laughter ring out loud and long. It is infectious. It uplifts those who hear it. If it brings wrinkles, you may be sure it displaces more hideous lines.
If home were made more cheerful, the law would clutch less often at the throats of criminals and the institutions would open their doors to fewer refugees.We know, when night comes, mothers are tired and husbands fractious with bile and business. The good woman would like to sit down to an interesting book and the man to his newspaper and silence, each feeling the comfort is well deserved from duties well performed.
But have they the right and is it safe to follow the natural bent? Boys and girls will have fun; they will have room and place for noise and laughter and the irresponsible bubbling of youthful spirits. If these be not accorded to them in their home they will surely seek and find diversion outside.
She is the wise mother who, in addition to her deeper anxieties and solicitude, draws and holds with her own largeness of spirit the expanding natures of her laughing girl and rollicking boy. To do this she must be as quick to laugh as to cry with them, recognizing the drollery of their wit and giving it welcome.
There is the cheerful woman who puts herself out to be pleasant to her friends. Meet her on the street and she will treat you to a cheery smile and a soft greeting that has a sweet little melody all its own. Such a woman makes the nightingales sing in one’s heart. She doesn’t send souls into deep mourning as does the whiny woman or the grouchy person or the suffering sister with woes that bury you like an avalanche.
Plenty of persons have troubles, but they don’t shake them out and beat the dust out of them and hang them up in the air all the time and display them for the entertainment of their acquaintances. There is no such thing as being without troubles, and when yourun across a woman who gives you a smile and a bright little word don’t tell yourself that it is easy for her, that she hasn’t anything to worry about.
One never knows. She may have, all buried in the depths of her heart, more trouble to the square inch than you have ever heard about. It doesn’t pay to be grumpy. Not a bit of it. It doesn’t pay to be a member of the Tearful Society, either. The only thing that counts is a brave heart filled to the roof with simple, honest charity.
You have seen those awful parlors, haven’t you, in the country districts, where the shades are always drawn and Mme. Moth has garden parties in every corner of the carpet and funereal pictures hang from the wall, and when you open the door you are struck deaf, dumb, blind, and senseless with the frightful mustiness that finally chases you out in the free air?
Some persons shut up their hearts just the same way. Open up the windows. Let sunshine fairies mob the place. Scatter the moths of mortal mind helter-skelter and dig out the bad-conscience corners. You will have a nice, clean, hygienic feeling after your heart housecleaning.
Suddenly you will find you are having a garden party there; you will find yourself entertaining beautiful thoughts, and you will wonder how you ever lived under the old régime when you displayed so little hospitality. It is a fine thing to know how to welcome the big feelings of life. Don’t forget that laughter is a good tonic and a near-panacea for many ills.
Take one-quarter pint of alcohol—the recipe can be doubled or tripled if desired—one ounce each of spirits of camphor and ammonia, two and a half ounces of sea salt and one pint of boiling water; mix thoroughly and always shake before using. If a woman comes in tired from a day’s shopping, a long walk, or any other wearying exertion, apply the tonic to the face and arms, and it will magically remove all of that “tired” feeling and put one in fine condition for the evening.
Another delightful and refreshing bath water, which is said to come from Portugal, is made from two and one-half ounces each of eau de rose and eau fleur d’orange, one and a quarter ounces of eau de myrte, one-half drachm of essence of ambergris and one-quarter drachm of essence of musk. After thoroughly commingling the ingredients, keep closely corked in a bottle for a week in the dark—it were better if it remained even two weeks—then pour off the clear liquid. A little poured into the basin of water in which the face is washed will revive and freshen the complexion wonderfully.
The philosophy of clothes is a serious study, and instead of being frowned upon by men, who invariably associate it with wild extravagance, it should be incorporated as first among the bylaws of home life. Womenin many cases are largely responsible for the troubles and misunderstandings which arise, brought about, as they often are, on the very threshold of married life.
When a husband admires the stylish appearance of his bride’s traveling gown she is apt to be tempted by the irresponsible imp of mischief to answer, “It cost but a trifle.” In fact, she may burst out with the fiction that she “never spends money on gowns.” This small and unnecessary explosion may win her a tithe of praise at the moment; but it also paves the way for an embarrassing future if she proposes to live up to the fairy tale.
It is curious that the most honest, frank, and truthful women will often hesitate or even fib when asking for domestic expenses, and the most generous and loyal fellow in the world, who lives to spend his dollars like the farmer sows his wheat, looks “concerned,” to be mild in our expression, when the woman whom he loves and trusts looks to him for the weekly stipend.
The wife of a millionaire, who never made anything but her own complexion, boasted that her husband was under the impression that she designed and made her own gowns and bonnets. This she had told him on their wedding journey, and she could never pluck up courage to undeceive him.
A little honesty at the start would make the financial side of matrimony much more pleasant; hence it is difficult to understand why a woman prevaricates when the broad way of truth is easier—unless, indeed, she be tied to a man who “rows” every time money is mentioned.
Perhaps he doesn’t mean it. So few of them understand that the very need of asking hurts and humiliates, even grieves, a proud woman.
A fine, jolly man rallied his wife once on her diffidence in this manner: “Ashamed to come to me for anything? Nonsense! You can come to me as you go to God.” And he never realized the supreme egotism of his speech. So long as she did not smile over it, all went well.
Women hesitate to discuss unpleasant matters with their husbands, and at an early stage they are made to feel that money is an extremely unpleasant subject. Hence they resort to all sorts of foolish subterfuges to obtain possession without open speech. This does not class them among deceivers. A woman is simply more careful than a man in her methods, fearing she will give offence.
Nature sets us an example for “all things new.” She never wears the castaway leaves of past seasons. There is no remade foliage on the trees, no flaunting of spring colors in November. The late skies are veiled in tints the summer never saw and the earth in her old age is as changeful as a merry maid in her teens.
The influence of dress is greater than we will acknowledge. We feel better, act better and bring more honor to those who love us when we are properly gowned. An ill-dressed woman may possess the wisdom of a sage, or the beauty of a goddess; but among her sisters she is at a tremendous disadvantage unless she is like unto them in the glory of her raiment.
The Man—
Who goes home to grumble and growl;
Who thinks he can keep house much better than his wife;
Who cannot remember his wife’s birthday nor the anniversary of their marriage;
Who believes that no one below the status of an angel should be his helpmate;
Who decides his wife is “fixed” for the season if she has one new gown;
Who imagines a woman’s bonnet should cost about $1.95;
Who fancies that his wife exists for the comfort and convenience of his mother and sisters;
Who provides himself with a family and trusts in providence to produce a home and something to eat;
Who labors under the delusion that his wife’s money belongs to him;
Who advises his sick wife to be up and doing and she will feel ever so much better;
Who doesn’t know what a woman wants with ready cash when she has credit at a dry-goods store;
Who forgets his manners as soon as he steps across his own threshold;
Who thinks a dining-room carpet should last a lifetime;
Who constantly talks about supporting a wife, when she is working fourteen hours a day, including Sunday;
Who declares it all nonsense for a woman to wanta ten-cent bunch of violets when she hasn’t seen a flower for five months;
Who quotes the Apostle Paul on the “woman question” and firmly believes the mantle of the holy man has fallen upon his shoulders;
Who looks upon his wife as a mental waste-paper basket into which he dumps the chips of ideas he has collected during the day.
The Woman—
Who buys for the mere pleasure of buying;
Who expects a declaration of love three times a day;
Who anticipates in married life a good easy snap;
Who thinks it cheaper to buy bread than bake it;
Who would rather die than wear the same bonnet the second season;
Who wants to refurnish her house every spring;
Who stays at home only because she has no other place to visit;
Who would rather nurse a pug dog than a baby;
Who thinks she can get $5,000 worth of style out of a $1,000 salary;
Who does not realize how many pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and halves there are in $1;
Who marries in order to have some one pay her bills;
Who thinks embroidered centre-pieces and doylies are of more importance than sheets, pillow-cases, and blankets;
Who buys bric-à-brac for her drawing-room and borrows kitchen utensils from her neighbors;
Who cares more for the style of her winter furs than she does for the health and comfort of her family;
Who thinks the cook and nursemaid can run the house;
Who weeps over the woes of the heroine in a trashy novel while ignoring domestic tragedies directly under her own nose.
FOLLOW RULES AND BE HEALTHY AND WISE, IF NOT OTHERWISE
Don’t exercise after you feel exhausted.
Don’t fail to laugh at your husband’s jokes.
Don’t treat your family to a morning view of hair-curlers.
Don’t neglect the daily bath if you want a radiant complexion.
Don’t forget that diet, quiet, and sleep are the hand-maidens of beauty.
Don’t be afraid of sunshine and fresh air; they give bloom and color.
Don’t wear the high collar. It ruins the line and curve of the neck and hardens the flesh and often leaves its mark.
Don’t talk when you are hoarse. Your voice may be permanently lost or difficulties of the throat result.
Don’t ride in an open carriage or near the openwindow of a car after playing golf or exercising in a vigorous way.
Don’t exercise one part of the body too much and another not at all. Let the development be symmetrical.
Don’t become so burdened with the accumulation of knowledge that you cannot spare time for a good hearty laugh.
Don’t think any “old dress will do for home.” Always wear a pretty and becoming gown.
Don’t tell your husband you wish you hadn’t married him. The chances are that you don’t wish it any more than he does.
Don’t believe you can get rid of wrinkles by filling in the crevices with powder. Instead, give your face a warm bath and good scrub, night and morning.
Don’t take a long walk or undertake much household work before breakfast. Vitality is not at its best early in the morning. Strength increases as the sun rises and one is stronger about midday.