AMERICAN WOMAN'S HOME: OR, PRINCIPLES OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE;

BEING A GUIDE TO THE FORMATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ECONOMICAL, HEALTHFUL, BEAUTIFUL, AND CHRISTIAN HOMES. 

BY CATHERINE E. BEECHER AND HARRIET BEECHER STOWE

TO THE WOMEN OF AMERICA, IN WHOSE HANDS REST THE REAL DESTINIES OFTHE REPUBLIC, AS MOULDED BY THE EARLY TRAINING AND PRESERVED AMIDTHE MATURER INFLUENCES OF HOME, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELYINSCRIBED. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

_INTRODUCTION. _

The chief cause of woman's disabilities and sufferings, that women arenot trained, as men are, for their peculiar duties--Aim of this volumeto elevate the honor and remuneration of domestic employment--Woman'sduties, and her utter lack of training for them--Qualifications of thewriters of this volume to teach the matters proposed--Experience andstudy of woman's work--Conviction of the dignity and importance ofit--The great social and moral power in her keeping--The principlesand teachings of Jesus Christ the true basis of woman's rights andduties. 

I. 

_THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY. _

Object of the Family State--Duty of the elder and stronger to raisethe younger, weaker, and more ignorant to an equality ofadvantages--Discipline of the family--The example of Christ one ofself-sacrifice as man's elder brother--His assumption of a lowestate--His manual labor--His trade--Woman the chief minister of thefamily estate--Man the out-door laborer and provider--Labor andself-denial in the mutual relations of home-life, honorable, healthful, economical, enjoyable, and Christian. 

II. 

_A CHRISTIAN HOUSE. _

True wisdom in building a home--Necessity of economizing time, labor, and expense, by the close packing of conveniences--Plan of a modelcottage--Proportions--Piazzas--Entry--Stairs and landings--Largeroom--Movable Screen--Convenient bedsteads--A good mattress--A cheapand convenient ottoman--Kitchen and stove-room--The stove-room andits arrangements--Second or attic story--Closets, cornerdressing-tables, windows, balconies, water and earth-closets, shoe-bag, piece-bag--Basement, closets, refrigerator, washtubs, etc. --Laundry--General wood-work--Conservatories-Average estimate ofcost. 

III. 

_A HEALTHFUL HOME. _

Household murder--Poisoning and starvation the inevitable result ofbad air in public halls and private homes--Good air as needful as goodfood--Structure and operations of the lungs and their capillaries andair-cells--How people in a confined room will deprive the air of oxygenand overload it with refuse carbonic acid-Starvation of the livingbody deprived of oxygen--The skin and its twenty-eight miles ofperspiratory tubes--Reciprocal action of plants and animals--Historicalexamples of foul-air poisoning--Outward effects of habitual breathingof bad air--Quotations from scientific authorities. 

IV. 

_SCIENTIFIC DOMESTIC VENTILATION. _

An open fireplace secures due ventilation--Evils of substitutingair-tight stoves and furnace heating--Tendency of warm air to rise andof cool air to sink--Ventilation of mines--Ignorance of architects--Poorventilation in most houses--Mode of ventilating laboratories--Creationof a current of warm air in a flue open at top and bottom of theroom--Flue to be built into chimney: method of utilizing it. 

V. STOVES, FURNACES, AND CHIMNEYS. 

The general properties of heat, conduction, convection, radiation, reflection--Cooking done by radiation the simplest but most wastefulmode: by convection (as in stoves and furnaces) the cheapest--Therange--The model cooking-stove--Interior arrangements andprinciples--Contrivances for economizing heat, labor, time, fuel, trouble, and expense--Its durability, simplicity, etc. --Chimneys: whythey smoke and how to cure them--Furnaces: the dryness of theirheat--Necessity of moisture in warm air--How to obtain and regulate it. 

VI. 

_HOME DECORATION. _

Significance of beauty in making home attractive and useful ineducation--Exemplification of economical and tasteful furniture--Thecarpet, lounge, lambrequins, curtains, ottomans, easy-chair, centre-table--Money left for pictures--Chromes--Pretty frames--Engravings--Statuettes--Educatory influence of works of art--Naturaladornments--Materials in the woods and fields--Parlor-gardens--Hangingbaskets--Fern-shields--Ivy, its beauty and tractableness--Window, withflowers, vines, and pretty plants--Rustic stand for flowers--Ward'scase--How to make it economically--Bowls and vases of rustic work forgrowing plants--Ferns, how and when to gather them--General remarks. 

VII. 

_THE CARE OF HEALTH. _

Importance of some knowledge of the body and its needs--Fearfulresponsibility of entering upon domestic duties in ignorance--Thefundamental vital principle--Cell-life--Wonders of the microscope--Cell-multiplication--Constant interplay of decay and growth necessaryto life--The red and white cells of the blood--Secreting and convertingpower--The nervous system--The brain and the nerves--Structuralarrangement and functions--The ganglionic system--The nervousfluid--Necessity of properly apportioned exercise to nerves of sensationand of motion--Evils of excessive or insufficient exercise--Equaldevelopment of the whole. 

VIII. 

_DOMESTIC EXERCISE. _

Connection of muscles and nerves--Microscopic cellular muscularfibre--Its mode of action--Dependence on the nerves of voluntary andinvoluntary motion--How exercise of muscles quickens circulation ofthe blood which maintains all the processes of life--Dependence ofequilibrium upon proper muscular activity--Importance of securingexercise that will interest the mind. 

IX. 

_HEALTHFUL FOOD. _

Apportionment of elements in food: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, iron, silicon, etc. --Large proportion of water in the humanbody--Dr. Holmes on the interchange of death and life--Constituentparts of a kernel of wheat--Comparison of different kinds offood--General directions for diet--Hunger the proper guide and guardof appetite--Evils of over-eating--Structure and operations of thestomach--Times and quantity for eating--Stimulating and nourishingfood--Americans eat too much meat--Wholesome effects of Lentenfasting--Matter and manner of eating--Causes of debilitation frommisuse of food. 

X. 

_HEALTHFUL DRINKS. _

Stimulating drinks not necessary--Their immediate evil effects uponthe human body and tendency to grow into habitual desires--Thearguments for and against stimulus--Microscopic revelations of theeffects of alcohol on the cellular tissue of the brain--Opinions ofhigh scientific authorities against its use--No need of resorting tostimulants either for refreshment, nourishment, or pleasure--Tea andcoffee an extensive cause of much nervous debility and suffering--Tendto wasteful use in the kitchen--Are seldom agreeable at first tochildren--Are dangerous to sensitive, nervous organizations, and shouldbe at least regulated--Hot drinks unwholesome, debilitating, anddestructive to teeth, throat, and stomach--Warm drinks agreeable andnot unhealthful--Cold drinks not to be too freely used duringmeals--Drinking while eating always injurious to digestion. 

XI. 

_CLEANLINESS. _

Health and comfort depend on cleanliness--Scientific treatment of theskin, the most complicated organ of the body--Structure and arrangementof the skin, its layers, cells, nerves, capillaries, absorbents, oil-tubes, perspiration-tubes, etc. --The mucous membrane--Phlegm--Thesecreting organs--The liver, kidney, pancreas, salivary and lachrymalglands--Sympathetic connection of all the bodily organs--Intimateconnection of the skin with all the other organs--Proper mode oftreating the skin--Experiment showing happy effects of good treatment. 

XII. 

_CLOTHING. _

Fashion attacks the very foundation of the body, the bones--Bonescomposed of animal and mineral elements--General construction andarrangement--Health of bones dependent on nourishment and exerciseof body--Spine--Distortions produced by tight dressing--Pressure ofinterior organs upon each other and upon the bones--Displacement ofstomach, diaphragm, heart, intestines, and pelvic or lower organs--Womenliable to peculiar distresses--A well-fitted jacket to replace stiffcorsets, supporting the bust above and the under skirts below--Dressingof young children--Safe for a healthy child to wear as little clothingas will make it thoroughly comfortable--Nature the guide--The veryyoung and the very old need the most clothing. 

XIII. 

_GOOD COOKING. _

Bad cooking prevalent in America-Abundance of excellent material--General management of food here very wasteful and extravagant--Fivegreat departments of Cookery--_Bread_-What it should be, how tospoil and how to make it--Different modes of aeration--Baking--Evilsof hot bread. --_Butter_-Contrast between the butter of Americaand of European countries-How to make good butter. --_Meat_-Generallyused too newly killed--Lack of nicety in butcher's work--Economy ofFrench butchery, curving, and trimming--Modes of cooking meats--Thefrying-pan--True way of using it--The French art of making delicioussoups and stews--_Vegetables_--Their number and variety in America--Thepotato--How to cook it, a simple yet difficult operation--Roasted, boiled, fried. --_Tea_--Warm table drinks generally--Coffee--Tea--Chocolate. --_Confectionery_--Ornamental cookery--Pastry, ices, jellies. 

XIV. 

_EARLY RISING. _ A virtue peculiarly American and democratic--Inaristocratic countries, labor considered degrading--The hours ofsunlight generally devoted to labor by the working classes and to sleepby the indolent and wealthy--Sunlight necessary to health and growthwhether of vegetables or animals--Particularly needful for thesick--Substitution of artificial light and heat, by night, a greatwaste of money--Eight hours' sleep enough--Excessive sleepdebilitating--Early rising necessary to a well-regulated family, tothe amount of work to be done, to the community, to schools, and toall classes in American society. 

XV. 

_DOMESTIC MANNERS. _

Good manners the expression of benevolence in personalintercourse--Serious defects in manners of the Americans-Causes ofabrupt manners to be found in American life--Want of cleardiscrimination between men--Necessity for distinctions of superiority:and subordination--Importance that young mothers should seriouslyendeavor to remedy this defect, while educating theirchildren--Democratic principal of equal rights to be applied, not toour own interests but to those of others--The same courtesy to beextended to all classes--Necessary distinctions arising from mutualrelations to be observed--The strong to defer to the weak--Precedenceyielded by men to women in America--Good manners must be cultivatedin early life--Mutual relations of husband and wife--Parents andchildren--The rearing of children to courtesy--De Tocqueville onAmerican manners. 

XVI. 

_GOOD TEMPER IN THE HOUSEKEEPER. _

Easier for a household under the guidance of an equable temper in themistress---Dissatisfied looks and sharp tones destroy the comfort ofsystem, neatness, and economy--Considerations to aid thehousekeeper--Importance and dignity of her duties--Difficulties tobe overcome--Good policy to calculate beforehand upon the derangementof well-arranged plans--Object of housekeeping, the comfort andwell-being of the family--The end should not be sacrificed to securethe means--Possible to refrain from angry tones--Mild speech mosteffective--Exemplification--Allowances to be made for servants andchildren--Power of religion to impart dignity and importance to theordinary and petty details of domestic life. 

XVII. 

_HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. _

Relative importance and difficulty of the duties a woman is called toperform--Her duties not trivial--A habit of system and ordernecessary--Right apportionment of time--General principles--Christianity to be the foundation--Intellectual and social intereststo be preferred to gratification of taste or appetite--Neglect ofhealth a sin in the sight of God--Regular season of rest appointed bythe Creator--Divisions of time--Systematic arrangement of house articlesand other conveniences--Regular employment for each member of afamily--Children--Family work--Forming habits of system--Early risinga very great aid--Due apportionment of time to the several duties. 

XVIII. 

_GIVING IN CHARITY. _

No point of duty more difficult to fix by rule than charity--Firstconsideration--Object for which we are placed in this world--Self-denying Benevolence. --Second consideration--Natural principles not tobe exterminated, but regulated and controlled. --Thirdconsideration--Superfluities sometimes proper, and sometimesnot--Fourth consideration--No rule of duty right for one and not forall--The opposite of this principle tested--Some use of superfluitiesnecessary--Plan for keeping an account of necessities andsuperfluities--Untoward results of our actions do not always provethat we deserve blame--General principles to guide in deciding uponobjects of charity--Who are our neighbors--The most in need to befirst relieved--Not much need of charity for physical wants in thiscountry--Associated charities--Indiscriminate charity--Improprietyof judging the charities of others. 

XIX. 

_ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES_

Economy, value, and right apportionment of time--Laws appointed by Godfor the Jews--Christianity removes the restrictions laid on the Jews, but demands all our time to be devoted to our own best interests andthe good of our fellow-men--Enjoyment connected with every duty--Variousmodes of economizing time--System and order--Uniting several objectsin one employment--Odd intervals of time--Aiding others in economizingtime--Economy in expenses--Contradictory notions--General principlesin which all agree--Knowledge of income and expenses--Evils of wantof system and forethought--Young ladies should early learn to besystematic and economical. 

XX. 

_HEALTH OF MIND. _

Intimate connection between the body and mind--Brain excited by improperstimulants taken into the stomach--Mental faculties thenaffected--Causes of mental disease--Want of oxygenized blood--Freshair absolutely necessary--Excessive exercise of the intellect orfeelings--Such attention to religion as prevents the performance ofother duties, wrong--Unusual precocity in children usually the resultof a diseased brain--Idiocy often the result, or the precocious childsinks below the average of mankind--This evil yet prevalent in collegesand other seminaries--A medical man necessary in every seminary--Somepupils always needing restraint in regard to study--A third cause ofmental disease, the want of appropriate exercise of the variousfaculties of the mind--Extract from Dr. Combe--Beneficial results ofactive intellectual employments--Indications of a diseased mind. 

XXI. 

_THE CARE OF INFANTS. _

Herbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring--Absurdity of undertakingto rear children without any knowledge of how to do it--Foolishmanagement of parents generally the cause of evils ascribed toProvidence--Errors of management during the first two years--Food ofchild and of mother--Warning as to use of too much medicine--Fresh air--Care of the skin--Dress--Sleep--Bathing--Change of air--Habits--Dangersof the teething period--Constipation--Diarrhea--Teething--How to relieveits dangers--Feverishness--Use of water. 

XXII. 

_THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. _

Physical education of children--Animal diet to be avoided for the veryyoung--Result of treatment at Albany Orphan Asylum--Good ventilation ofnurseries and schools--Moral training to consist in forming _habits_ ofsubmission, self-denial, and benevolence-General suggestions--Extremesof sternness and laxity to be avoided--Appreciation of childish desiresand feelings--Sympathy--Partaking in games and employments--Inculcationof principles preferable to multiplication of commands--Rewards ratherthan penalties--Severe tones of voice--Children to be kepthappy--Sensitive children--Self-denial--Deceit and honesty--Immodestyand delicacy--Dreadful penalties consequent upon youthfulimpurities--Religious training. 

XXIII. 

_DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES. _

Children need more amusement than older persons--Its object, to affordrest and recreation to the mind and body--Example of Christ--Noamusements to be introduced that will tempt the weak or over-excitethe young--Puritan customs--Work followed by play--Dramatic exercises, dancing, and festivity wholesomely enjoyed--The nine o'clock bell--Thedrama and the dance--Card-playing--Novel-reading--Taste for solidreading--Cultivation of fruits and flowers--Music--Collecting of shells, plants, and minerals--Games--Exercise of mechanical skill forboys--Sewing, cutting, and fitting--General suggestions--Social anddomestic duties--Family attachments--Hospitality. 

XXIV. 

_CARE OF THE AGED. _

Preservation of the aged, designed to give opportunity for self-denialand loving care--Patience, sympathy, and labor for them to be regardedas privileges in a family--The young should respect and minister untothe aged--Treating them as valued members of the family--Engaging themin domestic Games and sports--Reading aloud-Courteous attention totheir opinions--Assistance in retarding decay of faculties by helpingthem to exercise--Keeping up interest of the infirm in domesticaffairs--Great care to preserve animal heat--Ingratitude to the aged, its baseness--Chinese regard for old age. 

XXV. 

_THE CARE OF SERVANTS. _

Origin of the Yankee term "help"--Days of good health and intelligenthouse-keeping--Growth of wealth tends to multiply hired service--American young women should be trained in housekeeping for the guidanceof ignorant and shiftless servants--Difficulty of teachingservants--Reaction of society in favor of women's intellectuality, indanger of causing a new reaction--American girls should do morework--Social estimate of domestic service--Dearth of intelligentdomestic help--Proper mode of treating servants--General rules andspecial suggestions--Hints from experience--Woman's first "right, "liberty to do what she can--Domestic duties not to be neglected foroperations in other spheres--Servants to be treated with respect--Errorsof heartless and of too indulgent employers--Mistresses of Americanfamilies necessarily missionaries and instructors. 

XXVI. 

_CARE Of THE SICK. _

Prominence given to care and cure of the sick by our Saviour--Everywoman should know what to do in the case of illness--Simple remediesbest--Fasting and perspiration--Evils of constipation--Modes ofrelieving it--Remedies for colds--Unwise to tempt the appetite of thesick--Suggestion for the sick-room--Ventilation--Needful articles--Theroom, bed, and person of the patient to be kept neat--Care to preserveanimal warmth--The sick, the delicate, the aged--Food always to becarefully prepared and neatly served--Little modes of refreshment--Implicit obedience to the physician--Care in purchasing medicines--Exhibition of cheerfulness, gentleness, and sympathy--Knowledge andexperience of mind--Lack of competent nurses--Failings of nurses--Sensitiveness of the sick--"Sisters of Charity, " the reason why they aresuch excellent nurses--Illness in the family a providential opportunityof training children to love and usefulness. 

XXVII. 

_ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. _

Mode of treating cuts, wounds, severed arteries--Bad bruises to bebathed In hot water--Sprains treated with hot fomentation andrest--Burns cured by creosote, wood-soot, or flour--Drowning; mostapproved mode of treatment--Poisons and their antidotes--Soda, saleratus, potash, sulphuric or oxalic acid, lime or baryta, iodineor iodide of potassium, prussic acid, antimony, arsenic, lead, nitrateof silver, phosphorus, alcohol, tobacco, opium, strychnia--Bleedingat the lungs, stomach, throat, nose--Accidents from lightning--Stupefaction, from coal-gas or foul air--Fire--Fainting--Coolness andpresence of mind. 

XXVIII. 

_SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. _

Different kinds of Stitch--Overstitch--Hems--Tucks--Fells--Gores--Buttonholes--Whipping--Gathering--Darning--Basting--Sewing--Work-baskets--To make a frock--Patterns--Fitting--Lining--Thin Silks--Fitted and plain silks--Plaids--Stripes--Linen and Cotton--How tobuy--Shirts--Chemises--Night-gowns--Under-skirts--Mending--Silkdresses--Broadcloth--Hose--Shoes, etc. --Bedding--Mattresses--Sheeting--Bed-linen. 

XXIX. 

_FIRES AND LIGHTS. _

Wood fires--Shallow fireplaces--Utensils--The best wood for fires--How to measure a load--Splitting and piling--Ashes--Cleaning up--Stoves and grates--Ventilation--Moisture--Stove-pipe thimbles--Anthracite coal--Bituminous coal--Care to be used in erecting stovesand pipes--Lights--Poor economy to use bad light--Gas--Oil--Kerosene--Points to be considered: Steadiness, Color, Heat--Argand burners--Dangers of kerosene--Tests of its safety and light-giving qualities--Care of lamps--Utensils needed--Shades--Night-lamps--How to makecandles--Moulded--Dipped--Rush-lights. 

XXX. 

_THE CARE OF ROOMS. _

Parlors--Cleansing--Furniture--Pictures--Hearths and jambs--Stains inmarble--Carpets--Chambers and bedrooms--Ventilation--How to make a bedproperly--Servants should have single beds and comfortablerooms--Kitchens--Light--Air--Cleanliness--How to make a cheapoil-cloth--The sink--Washing dishes--Kitchen furniture--Crockery--Ironware--Tinware--Basketware--Other articles--Closets--Cellars--Drynessand cleanliness imperative necessities--Store-rooms--Modes of destroyinginsects and vermin. 

XXXI. 

_THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. _

Preparation of soil for pot-plants--For hot-beds--For planting flowerseeds--For garden seeds--Transplanting--To re-pot house plants--Thelaying out of yards and gardens--Transplanting trees--The care ofhouse plants. 

XXXII. 

_THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. _

Propagation of bulbous roots--Propagation of plants by shoots--Bylayers-Budding and grafting--The outer and inner bark--Detaileddescription of operations--Seed-fruit--Stone-fruit--Rose hushes--Ingrafting--Stock grafting--Pruning--Perpendicular shoots to be takenout, horizontal or curved shoots retained--All fruit-buds coming outafter midsummer to be rubbed off--Suckers--Pruning to be done aftersap is in circulation. --Thinning--Leaves to be removed when they shadefruit near maturity--Fruit to be removed when too abundant for goodquality--How to judge. 

XXXIII. 

_THE CULTIVATION OF FRUIT. _

A pleasant, easy, and profitable occupation--Soil for a nursery--Planting of seeds--Transplanting--Pruning--Filberts--Figs--Currants--Gooseberries--Raspberries--Strawberries--Grapes--Modes of preservingfruit trees--The yellows--Moths--Caterpillars--Brulure-Curculio--Canker-worm. 

XXXIV. 

_THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. _

Interesting association of animals with man, from childhood toage--Domestic animals apt to catch the spirit of their masters--Important necessities--Good feeding--Shelter--Cleanliness--Destructionof parasitic vermin--Salt and water--Light--Exercise--Rule forbreeding--Care of Horses: feeding, grooming, special treatment--Cows:stabling, feed, calving, milking, tethering--Swine: naturally cleanly, breeding, fresh water, charcoal, feeding--Sheep: winter treatment--Diet--Sorting--Use of sheep in clearing land-Pasture--Hedges andfences--Poultry--Turkeys--Geese--Ducks--Fowls--Dairy workgenerally--Bees--Care of domestic animals, occupation for women. 

XXXV. 

_EARTH-CLOSETS. _

Deodorization and preservation of excrementitious matter--Theearth-closet--Waring's pamphlet--The agricultural argument--Necessityof returning to the soil the elements taken from it--Earth-closetbased on power of clay and inorganic matter to absorb and retain odorsand fertilizing matter--Its construction--Mode of use--The ordinaryprivy--The commode or portable house-privy--Especial directions:things to be observed--Repeated use of earth--Otheradvantages--Sick-rooms--House-labor--Cleanliness--Economy. 

XXXVI. 

_WARMING AND VENTILATION. _

Open fireplace nearest to natural mode by which earth is warmed andventilated--Origin of diseases--Necessity of pure air to life--Statistics--General principles of ventilation--Mode of LewisLeeds--Ventilation of buildings planned in this work--The pure-airconductor--The foul-air exhausting-flue--Stoves--Detailedarrangements--Warming--Economy of time, labor, and expense in thecottage plan--After all schemes, the open fireplace the best. 

XXXVII. 

_CARE OF THE HOMELESS, THE HELPLESS, AND THE VICIOUS. _

Recommendations of the Massachusetts Board of State Charities--Pauperand criminal classes should be scattered in Christian homes insteadof gathered into large institutions--Facts recently published concerningthe poor of New-York--Sufferings of the poor, deterioration of therich--Christian principles of benevolence--Plan for a Christian cityhouse--Suggestions to wealthy and unoccupied women--Roman Catholicworks--Protestant duties--The highest mission of woman. XXXVIII. 

_THE CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORHOOD. _

Spirit of Christian Missions--Present organizations under churchdirection too mechanical--Christian family influence the true instrumentof Gospel propagation--Practical suggestions for gathering a Christianfamily in neglected neighborhoods--Plan of church, school-house, andfamily-dwelling in one building--Mode of use for variouspurposes--Nucleus and gathering of a family--Christian work forChristian women--Children--Orphans--Servants--Neglected ones--Householdtraining--Roman Catholic Nuns--The South--The West--The neglectedinterior of older States--Power of such examples--Rapid spread of theirinfluence--Anticipation of the glorious consummation to be hopedfor--Prophecy in the Scriptures--Cowper's noble vision of the millennialglory. 

APPEAL TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 

GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION. 

The authors of this volume, while they sympathize with every honesteffort to relieve the disabilities and sufferings of their sex, areconfident that the chief cause of these evils is the fact that thehonor and duties of the family state are not duly appreciated, thatwomen are not trained for these duties as men are trained for theirtrades and professions, and that, as the consequence, family labor ispoorly done, poorly paid, and regarded as menial and disgraceful. 

To be the nurse of young children, a cook, or a housemaid, is regardedas the lowest and last resort of poverty, and one which no woman ofculture and position can assume without loss of caste andrespectability. 

It is the aim of this volume to elevate both the honor and theremuneration of all the employments that sustain the many difficultand sacred duties of the family state, and thus to render eachdepartment of woman's true profession as much desired and respectedas are the most honored professions of men. 

When the other sex are to be instructed in law, medicine, or divinity, they are favored with numerous institutions richly endowed, withteachers of the highest talents and acquirements, with extensivelibraries, and abundant and costly apparatus. With such advantagesthey devote nearly ten of the best years of life to preparing themselvesfor their profession; and to secure the public from unqualified membersof these professions, none can enter them until examined by a competentbody, who certify to their due preparation for their duties. 

Woman's profession embraces the care and nursing of the body in thecritical periods of infancy and sickness, the training of the humanmind in the most impressible period of childhood, the instruction andcontrol of servants, and most of the government and economies of thefamily state. These duties of woman are as sacred and important as anyordained to man; and yet no such advantages for preparation have beenaccorded to her, nor is there any qualified body to certify the publicthat a woman is duly prepared to give proper instruction in herprofession. 

This unfortunate want, and also the questions frequently askedconcerning the domestic qualifications of both the authors of thiswork, who have formerly written upon such topics, make it needful togive some account of the advantages they have enjoyed in preparationfor the important office assumed as teachers of woman's domestic duties. 

The sister whose name is subscribed is the eldest of nine children byher own mother, and of four by her step-mother; and having a naturallove for children, she found it a pleasure as well as a duty to aidin the care of infancy and childhood. At sixteen, she was deprived ofa mother, who was remarkable not only for intelligence and culture, but for a natural taste and skill in domestic handicraft. Her placewas awhile filled by an aunt remarkable for her habits of neatness andorder, and especially for her economy. She was, in the course of time, replaced by a stepmother, who had been accustomed to a superior styleof housekeeping, and was an expert in all departments of domesticadministration. 

Under these successive housekeepers, the writer learned not only toperform in the most approved manner all the manual employments ofdomestic life, but to honor and enjoy these duties. 

At twenty-three, she commenced the institution which ever since hasflourished as "The Hartford Female Seminary, " where, at the age oftwelve, the sister now united with her in the authorship of this workbecame her pupil, and, after a few years, her associate. The removalof the family to the West, and failure of health, ended a connectionwith the Hartford Seminary, and originated a similar one in Cincinnati, of which the younger authoress of this work was associate principaltill her marriage. 

At this time, the work on _Domestic Economy_, of which this volumemay be called an enlarged edition, although a great portion of it isentirely new, embodying the latest results of science, was preparedby the writer as a part of the _Massachusetts School Library_, and has since been extensively introduced as a text-book into publicschools and higher female seminaries. It was followed by its sequel, _The Domestic Receipt-Book_, widely circulated by the Harpers inevery State of the Union. 

These two works have been entirely remodeled, former topics rewritten, and many new ones introduced, so as to include all that is properlyembraced in a complete Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy. 

In addition to the opportunities mentioned, the elder sister, for manyyears, has been studying the causes and the remedies for the decay ofconstitution and loss of health so increasingly prevalent among Americanwomen, aiming to promote the establishment of _endowed_ institutions, inwhich women shall be properly trained for their profession, as bothhousekeepers and health-keepers. What advantages have thus been receivedand the results thus obtained will appear in succeeding pages. 

During the upward progress of the age, and the advance of a moreenlightened Christianity, the writers of this volume have gained moreelevated views of the true mission of woman--of the dignity andimportance of her distinctive duties, and of the true happiness whichwill be the reward of a right appreciation of this mission, and aproper performance of these duties. 

There is at the present time an increasing agitation of the publicmind, evolving many theories and some crude speculations as to woman'srights and duties. That there is a great social and moral power in herkeeping, which is now seeking expression by organization, is manifest, and that resulting plans and efforts will involve some mistakes, somecollisions, and some failures, all must expect. 

But to intelligent, reflecting, and benevolent women--whose faith restson the character and teachings of Jesus Christ--there are greatprinciples revealed by Him, which in the end will secure the grandresult which He taught and suffered to achieve. It is hoped that inthe following pages these principles will be so exhibited andillustrated as to aid in securing those rights and advantages whichChrist's religion aims to provide for all, and especially for the mostweak and defenseless of His children. 

CATHARINE E. BEECHER. 

[Illustration]

CHAPTER I. 

THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY. 

It is the aim of this volume to elevate both the honor and theremuneration of all employments that sustain the many difficult andvaried duties of the family state, and thus to render each departmentof woman's profession as much desired and respected as are the mosthonored professions of men. 

What, then, is the end designed by the family state which Jesus Christcame into this world to secure?

It is to provide for the training of our race to the highest possibleintelligence, virtue, and happiness, by means of the self-sacrificinglabors of the wise and good, and this with chief reference to a futureimmortal existence. The distinctive feature of the family isself-sacrificing labor of the stronger and wiser members to raise theweaker and more ignorant to equal advantages. The father undergoestoil and self-denial to provide a home, and then the mother becomesa self-sacrificing laborer to train its inmates. The useless, troublesome infant is served in the humblest offices; while both parentsunite in training it to an equality with themselves in every advantage. Soon the older children become helpers to raise the younger to a levelwith their own. When any are sick, those who are well becomeself-sacrificing ministers. When the parents are old and useless, thechildren become their self-sacrificing servants. 

Thus the discipline of the family state is one of daily self-devotionof the stronger and wiser to elevate and support the weaker members. Nothing could be more contrary to its first principles than for theolder and more capable children to combine to secure to themselves thehighest advantages, enforcing the drudgeries on the younger, at thesacrifice of their equal culture. 

Jesus Christ came to teach the fatherhood of God and consequentbrotherhood of man. He came as the "first-born Son" of God and theElder Brother of man, to teach by example the self-sacrifice by whichthe great family of man is to be raised to equality of advantages aschildren of God. For this end, he "humbled himself" from the highestto the lowest place. He chose for his birthplace the most despisedvillage; for his parents the lowest in rank; for his trade, to laborwith his hands as a carpenter, being "subject to his parents" thirtyyears. And, what is very significant, his trade was that which preparesthe family home, as if he would teach that the great duty of man islabor--to provide for and train weak and ignorant creatures. JesusChrist worked with his hands nearly thirty years, and preached lessthan three. And he taught that his kingdom is exactly opposite to thatof the world, where all are striving for the highest positions. "Whosowill be great shall be your minister, and whoso will be chiefest shallbe servant of all. "

The family state then, is the aptest earthly illustration of theheavenly kingdom, and in it woman is its chief minister. Her greatmission is self-denial, in training its members to self-sacrificinglabors for the ignorant and weak: if not her own children, then theneglected children of her Father in heaven. She is to rear all underher care to lay up treasures, not on earth, but in heaven. All thepleasures of this life end here; but those who train immortal mindsare to reap the fruit of their labor through eternal ages. 

To man is appointed the out-door labor--to till the earth, dig themines, toil in the foundries, traverse the ocean, transport merchandise, labor in manufactories, construct houses, conduct civil, municipal, and state affairs, and all the heavy work, which, most of the day, excludes him from the comforts of a home. But the great stimulus toall these toils, implanted in the heart of every true man, is thedesire for a home of his own, and the hopes of paternity. Every manwho truly lives for immortality responds to the beatitude, "Childrenare a heritage from the Lord: blessed is the man that hath his quiverfull of them!" The more a father and mother live under the influenceof that "immortality which Christ hath brought to light, " the more isthe blessedness of rearing a family understood and appreciated. Everychild trained aright is to dwell forever in exalted bliss with thosethat gave it life and trained it for heaven. 

The blessed privileges of the family state are not confined to thosewho rear children of their own. Any woman who can earn a livelihood, as every woman should be trained to do, can take a properly qualifiedfemale associate, and institute a family of her own, receiving to itsheavenly influences the orphan, the sick, the homeless, and the sinful, and by motherly devotion train them to follow the self-denying exampleof Christ, in educating his earthly children for true happiness inthis life and for his eternal home. 

And such is the blessedness of aiding to sustain a truly Christianhome, that no one comes so near the pattern of the All-perfect One asthose who might hold what men call a higher place, and yet humblethemselves to the lowest in order to aid in training the young, "notas men-pleasers, but as servants to Christ, with good-will doing serviceas to the Lord, and not to men. " Such are preparing for high placesin the kingdom of heaven. "Whosoever will be chiefest among you, lethim be your servant. "

It is often the case that the true humility of Christ is not understood. It was not in having a low opinion of his own character and claims, but it was in taking a low place in order to raise others to a higher. The worldling seeks to raise himself and family to an equality withothers, or, if possible, a superiority to them. The true follower ofChrist comes down in order to elevate others. 

The maxims and institutions of this world have ever been antagonisticto the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Men toil for wealth, honor, and power, not as means for raising others to an equality withthemselves, but mainly for earthly, selfish advantages. Although theexperience of this life shows that children brought up to labor havethe fairest chance for a virtuous and prosperous life, and for hopeof future eternal blessedness, yet it is the aim of most parents whocan do so, to lay up wealth that their children need not labor withthe hands as Christ did. And although exhorted by our Lord not to layup treasure on earth, but rather the imperishable riches which aregained in toiling to train the ignorant and reform the sinful, as yeta large portion of the professed followers of Christ, like his firstdisciples, are "slow of heart to believe. "

Not less have the sacred ministries of the family state been undervaluedand warred upon in other directions; for example, the Romish Churchhas made celibacy a prime virtue, and given its highest honors to thosewho forsake the family state as ordained by God. Thus came greatcommunities of monks and nuns, shut out from the love and labors ofa Christian home; thus, also, came the monkish systems of education, collecting the young in great establishments away from the watch andcare of parents, and the healthful and self-sacrificing labors of ahome. Thus both religion and education have conspired to degrade thefamily state. 

Still more have civil laws and social customs been opposed to theprinciples of Jesus Christ. It has ever been assumed that the learned, the rich, and the powerful are not to labor with the hands, as Christdid, and as Paul did when he would "not eat any man's bread for naught, but wrought with labor, not because we have not power "[to livewithout hand-work, ]" but to make ourselves an example. "(2 Thess. 3. )

Instead of this, manual labor has been made dishonorable and unrefinedby being forced on the ignorant and poor. Especially has the mostimportant of all hand-labor, that which sustains the family, been thusdisgraced; so that to nurse young children, and provide the food ofa family by labor, is deemed the lowest of all positions in honor andprofit, and the last resort of poverty. And so our Lord, who himselftook the form of a servant, teaches, "How hardly shall they that haveriches enter the kingdom of heaven!"--that kingdom in which all aretoiling to raise the weak, ignorant, and sinful to such equality withthemselves as the children of a loving family enjoy. One mode inwhich riches have led to antagonism with the true end of the family stateis in the style of living, by which the hand-labor, most important tohealth, comfort, and beauty, is confined to the most ignorant andneglected members of society, without any effort being made to raisethem to equal advantages with the wise and cultivated. 

And, the higher civilization has advanced, the more have children beentrained to feel that to labor, as did Christ and Paul, is disgraceful, and to be made the portion of a degraded class. Children, of the richgrow up with the feeling that servants are to work for them, and theythemselves are not to work. To the minds of most children and servants, "to be a lady, " is almost synonymous with "to be waited on, and do nowork, " It is the earnest desire of the authors of this volume to makeplain the falsity of this growing popular feeling, and to show howmuch happier and more efficient family life will become when it isstrengthened, sustained, and adorned by family work. 

II. 

A CHRISTIAN HOUSE. 

In the Divine Word it is written, "The wise woman buildeth her house. "To be "wise, " is "to choose the best means for accomplishing the bestend. " It has been shown that the best end for a woman to seek is thetraining of God's children for their eternal home, by guiding them tointelligence, virtue, and true happiness. When, therefore, the wisewoman seeks a home in which to exercise this ministry, she will aimto secure a house so planned that it will provide in the best mannerfor health, industry, and economy, those cardinal requisites of domesticenjoyment and success. To aid in this, is the object of the followingdrawings and descriptions, which will illustrate a style of livingmore conformed to the great design for which the family is institutedthan that which ordinarily prevails among those classes which take thelead in forming the customs of society. The aim will be to exhibitmodes of economizing labor, time, and expenses, so as to secure health, thrift, and domestic happiness to persons of limited means, in a measurerarely attained even by those who possess wealth. 

At the head of this chapter is a sketch of what may be properly calleda Christian house; that is, a house contrived for the express purposeof enabling every member of a family to labor with the hands for thecommon good, and by modes at once healthful, economical, and tasteful. Of course, much of the instruction conveyed in the following pages ischiefly applicable to the wants and habits of those living either inthe country or in such suburban vicinities as give space of ground forhealthful outdoor occupation in the family service, although the generalprinciples of house-building and house-keeping are of necessityuniversal in their application--as true in the busy confines of thecity as in the freer and purer quietude of the country. So far ascircumstances can be made to yield the opportunity, it will be assumedthat the family state demands some outdoor labor for all. Thecultivation of flowers to ornament the table and house, of fruits andvegetables for food, of silk and cotton for clothing, and the care ofhorse, cow, and dairy, can be so divided that each and all of thefamily, some part of the day, can take exercise in the pure air, underthe magnetic and healthful rays of the sun. Every head of a familyshould seek a soil and climate which will afford such opportunities. Railroads, enabling men toiling in cities to rear families in thecountry, are on this account a special blessing. So, also, is theopening of the South to free labor, where, in the pure and mild climateof the uplands, open-air labor can proceed most of the year, and womenand children labor out of doors as well as within. 

In the following drawings are presented modes of economizing time, labor, and expense by the close packing of conveniences. By suchmethods, small and economical houses can be made to secure most of thecomforts and many of the refinements of large and expensive ones. Thecottage at the head of this chapter is projected on a plan which canbe adapted to a warm or cold climate with little change. By addinganother story, it would serve a large family. 

[Illustration: Fig. 1. ]

Fig. 1 shows the ground-plan of the first floor. On the inside it isforty-three feet long and twenty-five wide, excluding conservatoriesand front and back projections. Its inside height from floor to ceilingis ten feet. The piazzas each side of the front projection havesliding-windows to the floor, and can, by glazed sashes, be madegreen-houses in winter. In a warm climate, piazzas can be made at theback side also. 

In the description and arrangement, the leading aim is to show howtime, labor, and expense are saved, not only in the building but infurniture and its arrangement. With this aim, the ground-floor and itsfurniture will first be shown, then the second story and its furniture, and then the basement and its conveniences. The conservatories areappendages not necessary to housekeeping, but useful in many wayspointed out more at large in other chapters. 

[Illustration: Fig. 2]

The entry has arched recesses behind the front doors, (Fig. 2, )furnished with hooks for over-clothes in both--a box for over-shoesin one, and a stand for umbrellas in the other. The roof of the recessis for statuettes, busts, or flowers. The stairs turn twice with broadsteps, making a recess at the lower landing, whore a table is set witha vase of flowers, (Fig. 3. ) On one side of the recess is a closet, arched to correspond with the arch over the stairs. A bracket over thefirst broad stair, with flowers or statuettes, is visible from theentrance, and pictures can be hung as in the illustration. 

The large room on the left can be made to serve the purpose of severalrooms by means of a _movable screen_. By shifting this rolling screenfrom one part of the room to another, two apartments are alwaysavailable, of any desired size within the limits of the large room. One side of the screen fronts what may be used as the parlor orsitting-room; the other side is arranged for bedroom conveniences. Ofthis, Fig. 4 shows the front side;--covered first with strong canvas, stretched and nailed on. Over this is pasted panel-paper, and theupper part is made to resemble an ornamental cornice by fresco-paper. Pictures can be hung in the panels, or be pasted on and varnished withwhite varnish. To prevent the absorption of the varnish, a wash of gumisinglass (fish-glue) must be applied twice. 

[Illustration: Fig. 4. CLOSET, RECESS, STAIR LANDING. ]

[Illustration: Fig 5. ]

Fig. 5 shows the back or inside of the movable screen toward the partof the room used as the bedroom. On one side, and at the top and bottom, it has shelves with _shelf-boxes_, which are cheaper and better thandrawers, and much preferred by those using them. Handles are cut in thefront and back side, as seen in Fig. 6. Half an inch space must bebetween the box and the shelf over it, and as much each side, so that itcan be taken out and put in easily. The central part of the screen'sinterior is a wardrobe. 

[Image: Panel screens]

This screen must be so high as nearly to reach the ceiling, in orderto prevent it from overturning. It is to fill the width of the room, except two feet on each side. A projecting cleat or strip, reachingnearly to the top of the screen, three inches wide, is to be screwedto the front sides, on which light frame doors are to be hung, coveredwith canvas and panel-paper like the front of the screen. The insideof these doors is furnished with hooks for clothing, for which theprojection makes room. The whole screen is to be eighteen inches deepat the top and two feet deep at the base, giving a solid foundation. It is moved on four wooden rollers, one foot long and four inches indiameter. The pivots of the rollers and the parts where there isfriction must be rubbed with hard soap, and then a child can move thewhole easily. 

A curtain is to be hung across the whole interior of the screen byrings, on a strong wire. The curtain should be in three parts, withlead or large nails in the hems to keep it in place. The wood-workmust be put together with screws, as the screen is too large to passthrough a, door. 

[Illustration: Fig. 6. ][Illustration: Fig. 7. ][Illustration: Fig. 8. ]

At the end of the room, behind the screen, are two couches, to be runone under the other, as in Fig. 7. The upper one is made with fourposts, each three feet high and three inches square, set on casterstwo inches high. The frame is to be fourteen inches from the floor, seven feet long, two feet four inches wide, and three inches inthickness. At the head, and at the foot, is to be screwed a notchedtwo-inch board, three inches wide, as in Fig. 8. The mortises are tobe one inch wide and deep, and one inch apart, to revive slats madeof ash, oak, or spruce, one inch square, placed lengthwise of thecouch. The slats being small, and so near together, and runninglengthwise, make a better spring frame than wire coils. If they warp, they can be turned. They must not be fastened at the ends, except byinsertion in the notches. Across the posts, and of equal height withthem, are to be screwed head and foot-boards. 

The under couch is like the upper, except these dimensions: posts, nine inches high, including castors; frame, six feet two inches long, two feet four inches wide. The frame should be as near the floor aspossible, resting on the casters. 

[Illustration: Fig. 9. ]

The most healthful and comfortable mattress is made by a case, openin the centre and fastened together with buttons, as in Fig. 9; to befilled with oat straw, which is softer than wheat or rye. This can beadjusted to the figure, and often renewed. 

Fig. 10 represents the upper couch when covered, with the under couchput beneath it. The coverlid should match the curtain of the screen;and the pillows, by day, should have a case of the same. 

[Illustration: Fig. 10. ][Illustration: Fig. 11. ]

Fig. 11 is an ottoman, made as a box, with a lid on hinges. A cushionis fastened to this lid by strings at each corner, passing throughholes in the box lid and tied inside. The cushion to be cut square, with side pieces; stuffed with hair, and stitched through like amattress. Side handles are made by cords fastened inside with knots. The box must be two inches larger at the bottom than at the top, andthe lid and cushion the same size as the bottom, to give it a tastefulshape. This ottoman is set on casters, and is a great convenience forholding articles, while serving also as a seat. 

The expense of the screen, where lumber averages $4 a hundred, andcarpenter labor $3 a day, would be about $30, and the two couches about$6. The material for covering might be cheap and yet pretty. A womanwith these directions, and a son or husband who would use plane andsaw, could thus secure much additional room, and also what amounts totwo bureaus, two large trunks, one large wardrobe, and a wash-stand, for less than $20--the mere cost of materials. The screen and couchescan be so arranged as to have one room serve first as a large and airysleeping-room; then, in the morning, it may be used as sitting-roomone side of the screen, and breakfast-room the other; and lastly, through the day it can be made a large parlor on the front side, anda sewing or retiring-room the other side. The needless spaces usuallydevoted to kitchen, entries, halls, back-stairs, pantries, store-rooms, and closets, by this method would be used in adding to the size of thelarge room, so variously used by day and by night. 

[Illustration: Fig. 12. ]

Fig. 12 is an enlarged plan of the kitchen and stove-room. The chimneyand stove-room are contrived to ventilate the whole house, by a modeexhibited in another chapter. 

Between the two rooms glazed sliding-doors, passing each other, serveto shut out heat and smells from the kitchen. The sides of thestove-room must be lined with shelves; those on the side by the cellarstairs, to be one foot wide, and eighteen inches apart; on the otherside, shelves may be narrower, eight inches wide and nine inches apart. Boxes with lids, to receive stove utensils, must be placed near thestove. 

On these shelves, and in the closet and boxes, can be placed everymaterial used for cooking, all the table and cooking utensils, and allthe articles used in house work, and yet much spare room will be left. The cook's galley in a steamship has every article and utensil usedin cooking for two hundred persons, in a space not larger than thisstove-room, and so arranged that with one or two steps the cook canreach all he uses. 

In contrast to this, in most large houses, the table furniture, thecooking materials and utensils, the sink, and the eating-room, are atsuch distances apart, that half the time and strength is employed inwalking back and forth to collect and return the articles used. 

[Illustration: Fig. 13. ]

Fig. 13 is an enlarged plan of the sink and cooking-form. Two windowsmake a better circulation of air in warm weather, by having one openat top and the other at the bottom, while the light is better adjustedfor working, in case of weak eyes. 

The flour-barrel just fills the closet, which has a door for admission, and a lid to raise when used. Beside it, is the form for cooking, witha moulding-board laid on it; one side used for preparing vegetablesand meat, and the other for moulding bread. The sink has two pumps, for well and for rain-water--one having a forcing power to throw waterinto the reservoir in the garret, which supplies the water-closetand bath-room. On the other side of the sink is the dish-drainer, with aledge on the edge next the sink, to hold the dishes, and grooves cutto let the water drain into the sink. It has hinges, so that it caneither rest on the cook-form or be turned over and cover the sink. Under the sink are shelf-boxes placed on two shelves run into grooves, with other grooves above and below, so that one may move the shelvesand increase or diminish the spaces between. The shelf-boxes can beused for scouring-materials, dish-towels, and dish-cloths; also tohold bowls for bits of butter, fats, etc. Under these two shelves isroom for two pails, and a jar for soap-grease. 

Under the cook-form are shelves and shelf-boxes for unbolted wheat, corn-meal, rye, etc. Beneath these, for white and brown sugar, arewooden can-pails, which are the best articles in which to keep theseconstant necessities. Beside them is the tin molasses-can with a tight, movable cover, and a cork in the spout. This is much better than a jugfor molasses, and also for vinegar and oil, being easier to clean andto handle. Other articles and implements for cooking can be arrangedon or under the shelves at the side and front. A small cooking-tray, holding pepper, salt, dredging-box, knife and spoon, should stand closeat hand by the stove, (Fig. 14. )

[Illustration: Fig. 14. ][Illustration: Fig. 15. ]

The articles used for setting tables are to be placed on the shelvesat the front and side of the sink. Two tumbler-trays, made ofpasteboard, covered with varnished fancy papers and divided by wires, (as shown in Fig. 15, ) save many steps in setting and clearing table. Similar trays, (Fig. 16, ) for knives and forks and spoons, serve thesame purpose. 

[Illustration: Fig. 16. ]

The sink should be three feet long and three inches deep, its widthmatching the cook-form. 

[Illustration: Fig. 18. ]

Fig. 17 is the second or attic story. The main objection to attic roomsis their warmth in summer, owing to the heated roof. This is preventedby so enlarging the closets each side that their walls meet the ceilingunder the garret floor, thus excluding all the roof. In thebed-chambers, corner dressing-tables, as Fig. 18, instead of projectingbureaus, save much space for use, and give a handsome form and finishto the room. In the bath-room must be the opening to the garret, anda step-ladder to reach it. A reservoir in the garret, supplied by aforcing-pump in the cellar or at the sink, must be well supported bytimbers, and the plumbing must be well done, or much annoyance willensue. 

The large chambers are to be lighted by large windows or glazedsliding-doors, opening upon the balcony. A roof can be put over thebalcony and its sides inclosed by windows, and the chamber extend intoit, and be thus much enlarged. 

The water-closets must have the latest improvements for safe discharge, and there will be no trouble. They cost no more than an out-doorbuilding, and save from the most disagreeable house-labor. A great improvement, called _earth-closets_, will probably take theplace of water-closets to some extent; though at present the wateris the more convenient. A description of the earth-closet will be givenin another chapter relating to tenement-houses for the poor in largecities. 

The method of ventilating all the chambers, and also the cellar, willbe described in another chapter. 

[Illustration: Fig. 19. ]

Fig. 19 represents a shoe-bag, that can be fastened to the side of acloset or closet-door. 

[Illustration: Fig. 20. ]

Fig. 20 represents a piece-bag, and is a very great labor andspace-saving invention. It is made of calico, and fastened to the sideof a closet or a door, to hold all the bundles that are usually stowedin trunks and drawers. India-rubber or elastic tape drawn into hemsto hold the contents of the bag is better than tape-strings. Each bagshould be labeled with the name of its contents, written with indelibleink on white tape sewed on to the bag. Such systematic arrangementsaves much time and annoyance. Drawers or trunks to hold these articlescan not be kept so easily in good order, and moreover, occupy spacessaved by this contrivance. 

[Illustration: Fig. 21. Floor plan]

Fig. 21 is the basement. It has the floor and sides plastered, and islighted with glazed doors. A form is raised close by the cellar stairs, for baskets, pails, and tubs. Here, also, the refrigerator can beplaced, or, what is better, an ice-closet can be made, as designatedin the illustration. The floor of the basement must be an inclinedplane toward a drain, and be plastered with water-lime. The wash-tubshave plugs in the bottom to let off water, and cocks and pipes overthem bringing cold water from the reservoir in the garret and hot waterfrom the laundry stove. This saves much heavy labor of emptying tubsand carrying water. 

The laundry closet has a stove for heating irons, and also a kettleon top for heating water. Slides or clothes-frames are made to drawout to receive wet clothes, and then run into the closet to dry. Thissaves health as well as time and money, and the clothes are as whiteas when dried outdoors. 

The wood-work of the house, for doors, windows, etc. , should be oiledchestnut, butternut, white-wood, and pine. This is cheaper, handsomer, and more easy to keep clean than painted wood. 

In Fig. 21 are planned two conservatories, and few understand theirvalue in the training of the young. They provide soil, in whichchildren, through the winter months, can be starting seeds and plantsfor their gardens find raising valuable, tender plants. Every childshould cultivate flowers and fruits to sell and to give away, and thusbe taught to learn the value of money and to practice both economy andbenevolence. 

According to the calculation of a house-carpenter, in a place wherethe average price of lumber is $4 a hundred, and carpenter work $3 aday, such a house can be built for $1600. For those practicing theclosest economy, two small families could occupy it, by dividing thekitchen, and yet have room enough. Or one large room and the chamberover it can be left till increase of family and means requireenlargement. 

A strong horse and carryall, with a cow, garden, vineyard, and orchard, on a few acres, would secure all the substantial comforts found ingreat establishments, without the trouble of ill-qualified servants. 

And if the parents and children were united in the daily labors of thehouse, garden, and fruit culture; such thrift, health, and happinesswould be secured as is but rarely found among the rich. 

Let us suppose a colony of cultivated and Christian people, havingabundant wealth, who now are living as the wealthy usually do, emigrating to some of the beautiful Southern uplands, where are rocks, hills, valleys, and mountains as picturesque as those of New England, where the thermometer but rarely reaches 90 degrees in summer, and inwinter as rarely sinks below freezing-point, so that outdoor labor goeson all the year, where the fertile soil is easily worked, where richtropical fruits and flowers abound, where cotton and silk can be raisedby children around their home, where the produce of vineyards andorchards finds steady markets by railroads ready made; suppose sucha colony, with a central church and school-room, library, hall forsports, and a common laundry, (taking the most trying part of domesticlabor from each house, )--suppose each family to train the children tolabor with the hands as a healthful and honorable duty; suppose allthis, which is perfectly practicable, would not the enjoyment of thislife be increased, and also abundant treasures be laid up in heaven, by using the wealth thus economized in diffusing similar enjoymentsand culture among the poor, ignorant, and neglected ones in desolatedsections where many now are perishing for want of such Christian exampleand influences?

III. 

A HEALTHFUL HOME. 

When "the wise woman buildeth her house, " the first consideration willbe the health of the inmates. The first and most indispensable requisitefor health is pure air, both by day and night. 

If the parents of a family should daily withhold from their childrena large portion of food needful to growth and health, and every nightshould administer to each a small dose of poison, it would be calledmurder of the most hideous character. But it is probable that morethan one half of this nation are doing that very thing. The murderousoperation is perpetrated daily and nightly, in our parlors, ourbed-rooms, our kitchens, our schoolrooms; and even our churches areno asylum from the barbarity. Nor can we escape by our railroads, foreven there the same dreadful work is going on. 

The only palliating circumstance is the ignorance of those who committhese wholesale murders. As saith the Scripture, "The people do perishfor lack of knowledge. " And it is this lack of knowledge which it iswoman's special business to supply, in first training her householdto intelligence as the indispensable road to virtue and happiness. 

The above statements will be illustrated by some account of the mannerin which the body is supplied with healthful nutriment. There are twomodes of nourishing the body, one is by food and the other by air. Inthe stomach the food is dissolved, and the nutritious portion isabsorbed by the blood, and then is earned by blood-vessels to thelungs, where it receives oxygen from the air we breathe. This oxygenis as necessary to the nourishment of the body as the food for thestomach. In a full-grown man weighing one hundred and fifty-four pounds, one hundred and eleven pounds consists of oxygen, obtained chieflyfrom the air we breathe. Thus the lungs feed the body with oxygen, asreally as the stomach supplies the other food required. 

The lungs occupy the upper portion of the body from the collar-boneto the lower ribs, and between their two lobes is placed the heart. 

[Illustration: Fig. 22. ][Illustration: Fig. 23. ][Illustration: Fig. 24. ][Illustration: Fig. 25. ][Illustration: Fig. 26. ]

Fig. 22 shows the position of the lungs, though not the exact shape. On the right hand is the exterior of one of the lobes, and on the lefthand are seen the branching tubes of the interior, through which theair we breathe passes to the exceedingly minute air-cells of which thelungs chiefly consist. Fig. 23 shows the outside of a cluster of theseair-cells, and Fig. 24 is the inside view. The lining membrane of eachair-cell is covered by a network of minute blood-vessels called_capillaries_ which, magnified several hundred times, appear in themicroscope as at Fig. 25. Every air-cell has a blood-vessel that bringsblood from the heart, which meanders through its capillaries till itreaches another blood-vessel that carries it back to the heart, asseen in Fig. 26. In this passage of the blood through these capillaries, the air in the air-cell imparts its oxygen to the blood, and receivesin exchange carbonic acid and watery vapor. These latter are expiredat every breath into the atmosphere. 

By calculating the number of air cells in a small portion of the lungs, under a microscope, it is ascertained that there are no less thaneighteen million of these wonderful little purifiers and feeders ofthe body. By their ceaseless ministries, every grown person receives, each day, thirty-three hogsheads of air into the lungs to nourish andvitalize every part of the body, and also to carry off its impurities. 

But the heart has a most important agency in this operation. Fig. 27is a diagram of the heart, which is placed between the two lobes ofthe lungs. The right side of the heart receives the dark and impureblood, which is loaded with carbonic acid. It is brought from everypoint of the body by branching veins that unite in the upper and thelower _vena cava_, which discharge into the right side of the heart. This impure blood passes to the capillaries of the air-cells in thelungs, where it gives off carbonic acid, and, taking oxygen from theair, then returns to the left side of the heart, from whence it is sentout through the _aorta_ and its myriad branching arteries to every partof the body. When the upper portion of the heart contracts, it forcesboth the pure blood from the lungs, and the impure blood from the body, through the valves marked V, V, into the lower part. When the lowerportion contracts, it closes the valves and forces the impure blood intothe lungs on one side, and also on the other side forces the purifiedblood through the aorta and arteries to all parts of the body. 

As before stated, the lungs consist chiefly of air-cells, the wallsof which are lined with minute blood-vessels; and we know that in everyman these air-cells number _eighteen millions_. 

Now every beat of the heart sends two ounces of blood into the minute, hair-like blood-vessels, called capillaries, that line these air-cells, where the air in the air-cells gives its oxygen to the blood, and inits place receives carbonic acid. This gas is then expired by the lungsinto the surrounding atmosphere. 

Thus, by this powerful little organ, the heart, no less thantwenty-eight pounds of blood, in a common-sized man, is sent threetimes every hour through the lungs, giving out carbonic acid and wateryvapor, and receiving the life-inspiring oxygen. 

Whether all this blood shall convey the nourishing and invigoratingoxygen to every part of the body, or return unrelieved of carbonicacid, depends entirely on the pureness of the atmosphere that isbreathed. 

Every time we think or feel, this mental action dissolves some particlesof the brain and nerves, which pass into the blood to be thrown outof the body through the lungs and skin. In like manner, whenever wemove any muscle, some of its particles decay and pass away. It is inthe capillaries, which are all over the body, that this change takesplace. The blood-vessels that convey the pure blood from the heart, divide into myriads of little branches that terminate in capillaryvessels like those lining the air-cells of the lungs. The blood meandersthrough these minute capillaries, depositing the oxygen taken from thelungs and the food of the stomach, and receiving in return the decayedmatter, which is chiefly carbonic acid. 

This carbonic acid is formed by the union of oxygen with _carbon_ or_charcoal_, which forms a large portion of the body. Watery vapor isalso formed in the capillaries by the union of oxygen with the hydrogencontained in the food and drink that nourish the body. 

During this process in the capillaries, the bright red blood of thearteries changes to the purple blood of the veins, which is carriedback to the heart, to be sent to the lungs as before described. Aportion of the oxygen received in the lungs unites with the dissolvedfood sent from the stomach into the blood, and no food can nourish thebody till it has received a proper supply of oxygen in the lungs. Atevery breath a half-pint of blood receives its needed oxygen in thelungs, and at the same time gives out an equal amount of carbonic acidand water. 

Now, this carbonic acid, if received into the lungs, undiluted bysufficient air, is a fatal poison, causing certain death. When it ismixed with only a small portion of air, it is a slow poison, whichimperceptibly undermines the constitution. 

We now can understand how it is that all who live in houses where thebreathing of inmates has deprived the air of oxygen, and loaded itwith carbonic acid, may truly be said to be poisoned and starved;poisoned with carbonic acid, and starved for want of oxygen. 

Whenever oxygen unites with carbon to form carbonic acid, or withhydrogen to form water, heat is generated Thus it is that a land ofcombustion is constantly going on in the capillaries all over the body. It is this burning of the decaying portions of the body that causesanimal heat. It is a process similar to that which takes place whenlamps and candles are burning. The oil and tallows which are chieflycarbon and hydrogen, unite with the oxygen of the air and form carbonicacid and watery vapor, producing heat during the process. So in thecapillaries all over the body, the carbon and hydrogen supplied to theblood by the stomach, unite with the oxygen gained in the lungs, andcause the heat which is diffused all over the body. 

The skin also performs an office, similar to that of the lungs. In theskin of every adult there are no less than seven million minuteperspirating tubes, each one fourth of an inch long. If all these wereunited in one length, they would extend twenty-eight miles. Theseminute tubes are lined with capillary blood-vessels, which areconstantly sending out not only carbonic acid, but other gases andparticles of decayed matter. The skin and lungs together, in one dayand night, throw out three quarters of a pound of charcoal as carbonicacid, beside other gases and water. 

While the bodies of men and animals are filling the air with thepoisonous carbonic acid, and using up the life-giving oxygen, the treesand plants are performing an exactly contrary process; for they areabsorbing carbonic acid and giving out oxygen. Thus, by a wonderfularrangement of the beneficent Creator, a constant equilibrium ispreserved. What animals use is provided by vegetables, and whatvegetables require is furnished by animals; and all goes on, day andnight, without care or thought of man. 

The human race in its infancy was placed in a mild and genial clime, where each separate family dwelt in tents, and breathed, both day andnight, the pure air of heaven. And when they became scattered abroadto colder climes, the open fire-place secured a full supply of pureair. But civilization has increased economies and conveniences farahead of the knowledge needed by the common people for their healthfuluse. Tight sleeping-rooms, and close, air-tight stoves, are now starvingand poisoning more than one half of this nation. It seems impossibleto make people know their danger. And the remedy for this is the lightof knowledge and intelligence which it is woman's special mission tobestow, as she controls and regulates the ministries of a home. 

The poisoning process is thus exhibited in Mrs. Stowe's "House andHome Papers, " and can not be recalled too often:

"No other gift of God, so precious, so inspiring, is treated with suchutter irreverence and contempt in the calculations of us mortals asthis same air of heaven. A sermon on oxygen, if we had a preacher whounderstood the subject, might do more to repress sin than the mostorthodox discourse to show when and how and why sin came. A ministergets up in a crowded lecture-room, where the mephitic air almost makesthe candles burn blue, and bewails the deadness of the church--thechurch the while, drugged by the poisoned air, growing sleepier andsleepier, though they feel dreadfully wicked for being so. 

"Little Jim, who, fresh from his afternoon's ramble in the fields, last evening said his prayers dutifully, and lay down to sleep in amost Christian frame, this morning sits up in bed with his hairbristling with crossness, strikes at his nurse, and declares he won'tsay his prayers--that he don't want to be good. The simple differenceis, that the child, having slept in a close box of a room, his brainall night fed by poison, is in a mild state of moral insanity. Delicatewomen remark that it takes them till eleven or twelve o'clock to getup their strength in the morning. Query, Do they sleep with closedwindows and doors, and with heavy bed-curtains?

"The houses built by our ancestors were better ventilated in certainrespects than modern ones, with all their improvements. The greatcentral chimney, with its open fire-places in the different rooms, created a constant current which carried off foul and vitiated air. In these days, how common is it to provide rooms with only a flue fora stove! This flue is kept shut in summer, and in winter opened onlyto admit a close stove, which burns away the vital portion of the airquite as fast as the occupants breathe it away. The sealing up offire-places and introduction of air-tight stoves may, doubtless, bea saving of fuel; it saves, too, more than that; in thousands andthousands of cases it has saved people from all further human wants, and put an end forever to any needs short of the six feet of narrowearth which are man's only inalienable property. In other words, sincethe invention of air-tight stoves, thousands have died of slow poison. 

"It is a terrible thing to reflect upon, that our northern winterslast from November to May, six long months, in which many familiesconfine themselves to one room, of which every window-crack has beencarefully calked to make it air-tight, where an air-tight stove keepsthe atmosphere at a temperature between eighty and ninety; and theinmates, sitting there with all their winter clothes on, becomeenervated both by the heat and by the poisoned air, for which thereis no escape but the occasional opening of a door. 

"It is no wonder that the first result of all this is such a delicacyof skin and lungs that about half the inmates are obliged to give upgoing into the open air during the six cold months, because theyinvariably catch cold if they do so. It is no wonder that the coldcaught about the first of December has by the first of March becomea fixed consumption, and that the opening of the spring, which oughtto bring life and health, in so many cases brings death. 

"We hear of the lean condition in which the poor bears emerge fromtheir six months' wintering, during which they subsist on the fat whichthey have acquired the previous summer. Even so, in our long winters, multitudes of delicate people subsist on the daily waning strengthwhich they acquired in the season when windows and doors were open, and fresh air was a constant luxury. No wonder we hear of spring feverand spring biliousness, and have thousands of nostrums for clearingthe blood in the spring. All these things are the pantings andpalpitations of a system run down under slow poison, unable to get astep further. 

"Better, far better, the old houses of the olden time, with their greatroaring fires, and their bed-rooms where the snow came in and thewintry winds whistled. Then, to be sure, you froze your back while youburned your face, your water froze nightly in your pitcher, your breathcongealed in ice-wreaths on the blankets, and you could write yourname on the pretty snow-wreath that had sifted in through thewindow-cracks. But you woke full of life and vigor, you looked outinto the whirling snow-storms without a shiver, and thought nothingof plunging through drifts as high as your head on your daily way toschool. You jingled in sleighs, you snow-balled, you lived in snowlike a snow-bird, and your blood coursed and tingled, in full tide ofgood, merry, real life, through your veins--none of the slow-creeping, black blood which clogs the brain and lies like a weight on the vitalwheels!"

To illustrate the effects of this poison, the horrors of "the BlackHole of Calcutta" are often referred to, where one hundred and forty-sixmen were crowded into a room only eighteen feet square with but twosmall windows, and in a hot climate. After a night of such horribletorments as chill the blood to read, the morning showed a pile of onehundred and twenty-three dead men and twenty-three half dead that werefinally recovered only to a life of weakness and suffering. 

In another case, a captain of the steamer Londonderry, in 1848, fromsheer ignorance of the consequences, in a storm, shut up his passengersin a tight room without windows. The agonies, groans, curses, andshrieks that followed were horrible. The struggling mass finally burstthe door, and the captain found seventy-two of the two hundred alreadydead; while others, with blood starting from their eyes and ears, andtheir bodies in convulsions, were restored, many only to a life ofsickness and debility. 

It is ascertained by experiments that breathing bad air tends so toreduce all the processes of the body, that less oxygen is demanded andless carbonic acid sent out. This, of course, lessens the vitality andweakens the constitution; and it accounts for the fact that a personof full health, accustomed to pure air, suffers from bad air far morethan those who are accustomed to it. The body of strong and healthypersons demands more oxygen, and throws off more carbonic acid, andis distressed when the supply fails. But the one reduced by bad airfeels little inconvenience, because all the functions of life are soslow that less oxygen is needed, and less carbonic acid thrown out. And the sensibilities being deadened, the evil is not felt. Thisprovision of nature prolongs many lives, though it turns vigorousconstitutions into feeble ones. Were it not for this change in theconstitution, thousands in badly ventilated rooms and houses wouldcome to a speedy death. 

One of the results of unventilated rooms is _scrofula_, A distinguishedFrench physician, M. Baudeloque, states that:

"The repeated respiration of the same atmosphere is _the_ cause ofscrofula. If there be entirely pure air, there may be bad food, badclothing, and want of personal cleanliness, but scrofulous disease cannot exist. This disease _never_ attacks persons who pass their lives inthe open air, and always manifests itself when they abide in air whichis unrenewed. _Invariably_ it will be found that a truly scrofulousdisease is caused by vitiated air; and it is not necessary that thereshould be a prolonged stay in such an atmosphere. Often, several hourseach day is sufficient. Thus persons may live in the most healthycountry, pass most of the day in the open air, and yet become scrofulousby sleeping in a close room where the air is not renewed. This is thecase with many shepherds who pass their nights in small huts with noopening but a door closed tight at night. "

The same writer illustrates this, by the history of a French villagewhere the inhabitants all slept in close, unventilated houses. Nearlyall were seized with scrofula, and many families became wholly extinct, their last members dying "rotten with scrofula. " A fire destroyed alarge part of this village. Houses were then built to secure pure air, and scrofula disappeared from the part thus rebuilt. 

We are informed by medical writers that defective ventilation is onegreat cause of diseased joints, as well as of diseases of the eyes, ears, and skin. 

Foul air is the leading cause of tubercular and scrofulous consumption, so very common in our country. Dr, Guy, in his examination beforepublic health commissioners in Great Britain, says: "Deficientventilation I believe to be more fatal than _all other causes_ puttogether. " He states that consumption is twice as common amongtradesmen as among the gentry, owing to the bad ventilation of theirstores and dwellings. 

Dr. Griscom, in his work on Uses and Abuses of Air, says:

"Food carried from the stomach to the blood can not become _nutritive_till it is properly oxygenated in the lungs; so that a small quantity offood, even if less wholesome, may be made nutritive by pure air as itpasses through the lungs. But the best of food can not be changed intonutritive blood till it is vitalized by pure air in the lungs. "

And again:

"To those who have the care and instruction of the risinggeneration--the future fathers and mothers of men--this subject ofventilation commends itself with an interest surpassing every other. Nothing can more convincingly establish the belief in the existenceof something vitally wrong in the habits and circumstances of civilizedlife than the appalling fact that _one fourth_ of all who are born diebefore reaching the fifth year, and _one half_ the deaths of mankindoccur under the twentieth year. Let those who have these things incharge answer to their own consciences how they discharge their duty insupplying to the young a _pure atmosphere_, which is the _first_requisite for _healthy bodies_ and _sound minds_. "

On the subject of infant mortality the experience of savages shouldteach the more civilized. Professor Brewer, who traveled extensivelyamong the Indians of our western territories, states: "I have rarelyseen a sick boy among the Indians. " Catlin, the painter, who residedand traveled so much among these people, states that infant mortalityis very small among them, the reason, of course, being abundant exerciseand pure air. 

Dr. Dio Lewis, whose labors in the cause of health are well known, inhis very useful work, _Weak Lungs and How to Make them Strong_, says:

"As a medical man I have visited thousands of sickrooms, and have notfound in _one in a hundred_ of them a pure atmosphere. I have oftenreturned from church doubting whether I had not committed a sin inexposing myself so long to its poisonous air. There are in our greatcities churches costing $50, 000, in the construction of which, notfifty cents were expended in providing means for ventilation. Tenthousand dollars for ornament, but not ten cents for pure air!

"Unventilated parlors, with gas-burners, (each consuming as much oxygenas several men, ) made as tight as possible, and a party of ladies andgentlemen spending half the night in them! In 1861, I visited alegislative hall, the legislature being in session. I remained halfan hour in the most impure air I ever breathed. Our school-houses are, some of them, so vile in this respect, that I would prefer to have myson remain in utter ignorance of books rather than to breathe, sixhours every day, such a poisonous atmosphere. Theatres and concert-roomsare so foul that only reckless people continue to visit them. Twelvehours in a railway-car exhausts one, not by the journeying, but becauseof the devitalized air. While crossing the ocean in a Cunard steamer, I was amazed that men who knew enough to construct such ships did notknow enough to furnish air to the passengers. The distress ofsea-sickness is greatly intensified by the sickening air of the ship. Were carbonic acid _only black_, what a contrast there would bebetween our hotels in their elaborate ornament!"

"Some time since I visited an establishment where one hundred and fiftygirls, in a single room, were engaged in needle-work. Pale-faced, andwith low vitality and feeble circulation, they were unconscious thatthey were breathing air that at once produced in me dizziness and asense of suffocation. If I had remained a week with, them, I should, by reduced vitality, have become unconscious of the vileness of theair!"

There is a prevailing prejudice against _night air_ as unhealthfulto be admitted into sleeping-rooms, which is owing wholly to sheerignorance. In the night every body necessarily breathes night air andno other. When admitted from without into a sleeping-room it is colder, and therefore heavier, than the air within, so it sinks to the bottomof the room and forces out an equal quantity of the impure air, warmedand vitiated by passing through the lungs of inmates. Thus the questionis, Shall we shut up a chamber and breathe night air vitiated withcarbonic acid or night air that is pure? The only real difficulty aboutnight air is, that usually it is damper, and therefore colder and morelikely to chill. This is easily prevented by sufficient bed-clothing. 

One other very prevalent mistake is found even in books written bylearned men. It is often thought that carbonic acid, being heavierthan common air, sinks to the floor of sleeping-rooms, so that the lowtrundle-beds for children should not be used. This is all a mistake;for, as a fact, in close sleeping-rooms the purest air is below andthe most impure above. It is true that carbonic acid is heavier thancommon air, when pure; but this it rarely is except in chemicalexperiments. It is the property of all gases, as well as of the two(oxygen and nitrogen) composing the atmosphere, that when broughttogether they always are entirely mixed, each being equally diffusedexactly as it would be if alone. Thus the carbonic acid from the skinand lungs, being warmed in the body, rises as does the common air, with which it mixes, toward the top of a room; so that usually thereis more carbonic acid at the top than at the bottom of a room. [Footnote: Prof. Brewer, of the Tale Scientific School, says: "As afact, often demonstrated by analysis, there is generally more carbonicacid near the ceiling than near the floor. "] Both common air andcarbonic acid expand and become lighter in the same proportions; thatis, for every degree of added heat they expand at the rate of 1/480of their bulk. 

Here, let it be remembered, that in ill-ventilated rooms the carbonicacid is not the only cause of disease. Experiments seem to prove thatother matter thrown out of the body, through the lungs and skin, isas truly excrement and in a state of decay as that ejected from thebowels, and as poisonous to the animal system. Carbonic acid has noodor; but we are warned by the disagreeable effluvia of closesleeping-rooms of the other poison thus thrown into the air from theskin and lungs. There is one provision of nature that is littleunderstood, which saves the lives of thousands living in unventilatedhouses; and that is, the passage of pure air inward and impure airoutward through the pores of bricks, wood, stone, and mortar. Weresuch dwellings changed to tin, which is not thus porous, in less thana week thousands and tens of thousands would be in danger of perishingby suffocation. 

These statements give some idea of the evils to be remedied. But themost difficult point is _how_ to secure the remedy. For often theattempt to secure pure air by one class of persons brings chills, colds, and disease on another class, from mere ignorance ormismanagement. 

To illustrate this, it must be borne in mind that those who live inwarm, close, and unventilated rooms are much more liable to take coldfrom exposure to draughts and cold air than those of vigorous vitalityaccustomed to breathe pure air. 

Thus the strong and healthy husband, feeling the want of pure air inthe night, and knowing its importance, keeps windows open and makessuch draughts that the wife, who lives all day in a close room andthus is low in vitality, can not bear the change, has colds, andsometimes perishes a victim to wrong modes of ventilation. 

So, even in health-establishments, the patients will pass most of theirdays and nights in badly-ventilated rooms. But at times the physician, or some earnest patient, insists on a mode of ventilation that bringsmore evil than good to the delicate inmates. 

The grand art of ventilating houses is by some method that will emptyrooms of the vitiated air and bring in a supply of pure air _by smalland imperceptible currents_. 

But this important duty of a Christian woman is one that demands morescience, care, and attention than almost any other; and yet, to prepareher for this duty has never been any part of female education. Youngwomen are taught to draw mathematical diagrams and to solve astronomicalproblems; but few, if any, of them are taught to solve the problem ofa house constructed to secure pure and moist air by day and night forall its inmates. 

The heating and management of the air we breathe is one of the mostcomplicated problems of domestic economy, as will be farther illustratedin the succeeding chapter; and yet it is one of which, most Americanwomen are profoundly ignorant. 

IV. 

SCIENTIFIC DOMESTIC VENTILATION. 

We have seen in the preceding pages the process through which the airis rendered unhealthful by close rooms and want of ventilation. Everyperson inspires air about twenty times each minute, using half a pinteach time. At this rate, every pair of lungs vitiates one hogshead ofair every hour. The membrane that lines the multitudinous air-cellsof the lungs in which the capillaries are, should it be united in onesheet, would cover the floor of a room twelve feet square. Every breathbrings a surface of air in contact with this extent of capillaries, by which the air inspired gives up most of its oxygen and receivescarbonic acid in its stead. These facts furnish a guide for the properventilation of rooms. Just in proportion to the number of persons ina room or a house, should be the amount of air brought in and carriedout by arrangements for ventilation. But how rarely is this ruleregarded in building houses or in the care of families by housekeepers!

The evils resulting from the substitution of stoves instead of theopen fireplace, have led scientific and benevolent men to contrivevarious modes of supplying pure air to both public and private houses. But as yet little has been accomplished, except for a few of the moreintelligent and wealthy. The great majority of the American people, owing to sheer ignorance, are, for want of pure air, being poisonedand starved; the result being weakened constitutions, frequent disease, and shortened life. 

Whenever a family-room is heated by an open fire, it is duly ventilated, as the impure air is constantly passing off through the chimney, while, to supply the vacated space, the pure air presses in through the cracksof doors, windows, and floors. No such supply is gained for roomswarmed by stoves. And yet, from mistaken motives of economy, as wellas from ignorance of the resulting evils, multitudes of householdersare thus destroying health and shortening life, especially in regardto women and children who spend most of their time within-doors. 

The most successful modes of making "a healthful home" by a full supplyof pure air to every inmate, will now be described and illustrated. 

It is the common property of both air and water to expand, becomelighter and rise, just in proportion as they are heated; and thereforeit is the invariable law that cool air sinks, thus replacing the warmerair below. Thus, whenever cool air enters a warm room, it sinks downwardand takes the place of an equal amount of the warmer air, which isconstantly tending upward and outward. This principle of all fluidsis illustrated by the following experiment:

Take a glass jar about a foot high and three inches in diameter, andwith a wire to aid in placing it aright, sink a small bit of lightedcandle so as to stand in the centre at the bottom. (Fig. 28. ) Thecandle will heat the air of the jar, which will rise a little on oneside, while the colder air without will begin falling on the otherside. These two currents will so conflict as finally to cease, andthen the candle, having no supply of oxygen from fresh air, will beginto go out. Insert a bit of stiff paper so as to divide the mouth ofthe jar, and instantly the cold and warm air are not in conflict asbefore, because a current is formed each side of the paper; the coldair descending on one aide and the warm air ascending the other side, as indicated by the arrows. As long as the paper remains, the candlewill burn, and as soon as it is removed, it will begin to go out, andcan be restored by again inserting the paper. 

[Illustration: Fig. 28][Illustration: Fig. 29]

This illustrates the mode by which coal-mines are ventilated whenfilled with carbonic acid. A shaft divided into two passages, (Fig. 29, ) is let down into the mine, where the air is warmer than the outsideair. Immediately the colder air outside presses down into the mine, through the passage which is highest, being admitted by the escape ofan equal quantity of the warmer air, which rises through the lowerpassage of the shaft, this being the first available opening for itto rise through. A current is thus created, which continues as longas the inside air is warmer than that without the mine, and no longer. Sometimes a fire is kindled in the mine, in order to continue orincrease the warmth, and consequent upward current of its air. 

This illustrates one of the cases where a "wise woman that buildethher house" is greatly needed. For, owing to the ignorance of architects, house-builders, and men in general, they have been buildingschool-houses, dwelling-houses, churches, and colleges, with the mostabsurd and senseless contrivances for ventilation, and all from notapplying this simple principle of science. On this point, Prof. Brewer, of the Scientific School of Yale College, writes thus:

"I have been in public buildings, (I have one in mind now, filled withdormitories, ) which cost half a million, where they attempted toventilate every room by a flue, long and narrow, built into partitionwalls, and extending up into the capacious garret of the fifth story. Every room in the building had one such flue, with an opening into itat the floor and at the ceiling. It is needless to say that the wholeconcern was entirely useless. Had these flues been of properproportions, and properly divided, the desired ventilation would havebeen secured. "

And this piece of ignorant folly was perpetrated in the midst of learnedprofessors, teaching the laws of fluids and the laws of health. 

A learned physician also thus wrote to the author of this chapter:"The subject of the ventilation of our dwelling-houses is one of themost important questions of our times. How many thousands are victimsto a slow suicide and murder, the chief instrument of which is wantof ventilation! How few are aware of the fact that every person, everyday, vitiates thirty-three hogsheads of the air, and that eachinspiration takes one fifth of the oxygen, and returns as much carbonicacid, from every pair of lungs in a room! How few understand that afterair has received ten per cent of this fatal gas, if drawn into thelungs, it can no longer take carbonic acid from the capillaries! Nowonder there is so much impaired nervous and muscular energy, so muchscrofula, tubercles, catarrhs, dyspepsia, and typhoid diseases. I hopeyou can do much to remedy the poisonous air of thousands and thousandsof stove-heated rooms. "

In a cold climate and wintry weather, the grand impediment toventilating rooms by opening doors or windows is the dangerous currentsthus produced, which are so injurious to the delicate ones that fortheir sake it can not be done. Then, also, as a matter of economy, thepoor can not afford to practice a method which carries off the heatgenerated by their stinted store of fuel. Even in a warm season andclimate, there are frequent periods when the air without is damp andchilly, and yet at nearly the same temperature as that in the house. At such times, the opening of windows often has little effect inemptying a room of vitiated air. The ventilating-flues, such as areused in mines, have, in such cases, but little influence; for it isonly when outside air is colder that a current can be produced withinby this method. 

The most successful mode of ventilating a house is by creating a currentof warm air in a flue, into which an opening is made at both the topand the bottom of a room, while a similar opening for outside air ismade at the opposite side of the room. This is the mode employed inchemical laboratories for removing smells and injurious gases. 

The laboratory-closet is closed with glazed doors, and has an openingto receive pure air through a conductor from without. The stove orfurnace within has a pipe which joins a larger cast-iron chimney-pipe, which is warmed by the smoke it receives from this and other fires. This cast-iron pipe is surrounded by a brick flue, through which airpasses from below to be warmed by the pipe, and thus an upward currentof warm air is created. Openings are then made at the top and bottomof the laboratory-closet into the warm-air flue, and the gases andsmells are pressed by the colder air into this flue, and are carriedoff in the current of warm air. 

The same method is employed in the dwelling-house shown in a precedingchapter. A cast-iron pipe is made in sections, which are to be united, and the whole fastened at top and bottom in the centre of the warm-airflue by ears extending to the bricks, and fastened when the flue isin process of building. Projecting openings to receive the pipes ofthe furnace, the laundry stove, and two stoves in each story, shouldbe provided, which must be closed when not in use. A large opening isto be made into the warm-air fine, and through this the kitchenstove-pipe is to pass, and be joined to the cast-iron chimney-pipe. Thus the smoke of the kitchen stove will warm the iron chimney-pipe, and this will warm the air of the flue, causing a current upward, andthis current will draw the heat and smells of cooking out of the kitcheninto the opening of the warm-air flue. Every room surrounding thechimney has an opening at the top and bottom into the warm-air Hue forventilation, as also have the bathroom and water-closets. 

[Illustration: Fig. 30. ]

The writer has examined the methods most employed at the present time, which are all modifications of the two modes here described. One isthat of Robinson, patented by a Boston company, which is a modificationof the mining mode. It consists of the two ventilating tubes, such asare employed in mines, united in one shaft with a roof to keep outrain, and a valve to regulate the entrance and exit of air, asillustrated in Fig. 30. This method works well in certain circumstances, but fails so often as to prove very unreliable. Another mode is thatof Ruttan, which is effected by heating air. This also has certainadvantages and disadvantages. But the mode adopted for the precedingcottage plan is free from the difficulties of both the above methods, while it will surely ventilate every room in the house, both by dayand night, and at all seasons, without any risk to health, and requiringno attention or care from the family. 

By means of a very small amount of fuel in the kitchen stove, to bedescribed hereafter, the whole house can be ventilated, and all thecooking done both in warm and cold weather. This stove will also warmthe whole house, in the Northern States, eight or nine months in theyear. Two Franklin stoves, in addition, will warm the whole houseduring the three or four remaining coldest months. 

In a warm climate or season, by means of the non-conducting castings, the stove will ventilate the house and do all the cooking, withoutimparting heat or smells to any part of the house except thestove-closet. 

At the close of this volume, drawings, prepared by Mr. Lewis Leeds, are given, more fully to illustrate this mode of warming andventilation, and in so plain and simple a form that any intelligentwoman who has read this work can see that the plan is properly executed, even with workmen so entirely ignorant on this important subject asare most house-builders, especially in the newer territories. In thesame article, directions are given as to the best modes of ventilatinghouses that are already built without any arrangements for ventilation. 

V. THE CONSTRUCTION AND CARE OF STOVES, FURNACES, AND CHIMNEYS. 

If all American housekeepers could be taught how to select and managethe most economical and convenient apparatus for cooking and for warminga house, many millions now wasted by ignorance and neglect would besaved. Every woman should be taught the scientific principles in regardto heat, and then their application to practical purposes, for her ownbenefit, and also to enable her to train her children and servants inthis important duty of home life on which health and comfort so muchdepend. 

The laws that regulate the generation, diffusion, and preservation ofheat as yet are a sealed mystery to thousands of young women who imaginethey are completing a suitable education in courses of instructionfrom which most that is practical in future domestic life is whollyexcluded. We therefore give a brief outline of some of the leadingscientific principles which every housekeeper should understand andemploy, in order to perform successfully one of her most importantduties. 

Concerning the essential nature of heat, and its intimate relationswith the other great natural forces, light, electricity, etc. , we shallnot attempt to treat, but shall, for practical purposes, assume it tobe a separate and independent force. Heat or caloric, then, has certainpowers or principles. Let us consider them:

First, we find _Conduction_, by which heat passes from one particleto another next to it; as when one end of a poker is warmed by placingthe other end in the fire. The bodies which allow this power freecourse are called conductors, and those which do not are namednon-conductors, Metals are good conductors; feathers, wool, and fursare poor conductors; and water, air, and gases are non-conductors. 

Another principle of heat is _Convection_, by which water, air, andgases are warmed. This is, literally, the process of _conveying_ heatfrom one portion of a fluid body to another by currents resulting fromchanges of temperature. It is secured by bringing one portion of aliquid or gas into contact with a heated surface, whereby it becomeslighter and expanded in volume. In consequence, the cooler and heavierparticles above pressing downward, the lighter ones rise upward, whenthe former, being heated, rise in their turn, and give place to othersagain descending from above. Thus a constant motion of currents andinterchange of particles is produced until, as in a vessel of water, thewhole body comes to an equal temperature. Air is heated in the same way. In case of a hot stove, the air that touches it is heated, becomeslighter, and rises, giving place to cooler and heavier particles, which, when heated, also ascend. It is owing to this process that the air of aroom is warmest at the top and coolest at the bottom. It is owing tothis principle, also, that water and air can not be heated by fire fromabove. For the particles of these bodies, being non-conductors, do notimpart heat to each other; and when the warmest are at the top, they cannot take the place of cooler and heavier ones below. 

Another principle of heat (which it shares with light) is _Radiation_, by which all things send out heat to surrounding cooler bodies. Somebodies will absorb radiated heat, others will reflect it, and othersallow it to pass through them without either absorbing or reflectingThus, black and rough substances absorb heat, (or light, ) colored andsmooth articles reflect it, while air allows it to pass through withouteither absorbing or reflecting. It is owing to this, that rough andblack vessels boil water sooner than smooth and light-colored ones. 

Another principle is _Reflection_, by which heat radiated to asurface is turned back from it when not absorbed or allowed to passthrough; just as a ball rebounds from a wall; just as sound is thrownback from a hill, making echo; just as rays of light are reflectedfrom a mirror. And, as with light, the rays of heat are always reflectedfrom a surface in an angle exactly corresponding to the direction inwhich it strikes that surface. Thus, if heated are comes to an objectperpendicularly--that is, at right angles, it will be reflected backin the same line. If it strikes obliquely, it is reflected obliquely, at an angle with the surface precisely the same as the angle with whichit first struck. And, of course, if it moves toward the surface andcomes upon it in a line having so small an angle with it as to bealmost parallel with it, the heated air is spread wide and diffusedthrough a larger space than when the angles are greater and the widthof reflection less. 

[Illustration: Fig. 31. ][Illustration: Fig. 32. ][Illustration: Fig. 33. ]

The simplest mode of warming a house and cooking food is by radiatedheat from fires; but this is the most wasteful method, as respectstime, labor, and expense. The most convenient, economical, andlabor-saving mode of employing heat is by convection, as applied instoves and furnaces. But for want of proper care and scientificknowledge this method has proved very destructive to health. Whenwarming and cooking were done by open fires, houses were well suppliedwith pure air, as is rarely the case in rooms heated by stoves. Forsuch is the prevailing ignorance on this subject that, as long asstoves save labor and warm the air, the great majority of people, especially among the poor, will use them in ways that involvedebilitated constitutions and frequent disease. 

The most common modes of cooking, where open fires are relinquished, are by the range and the cooking-stove. The range is inferior to thestove in these respects: it is less economical, demanding much morefuel; it endangers the dress of the cook while standing near for variousoperations; it requires more stooping than the stove while cooking;it will not keep a fire all night, as do the best stoves; it will notburn wood and coal equally well; and lastly, if it warms the kitchensufficiently in winter, it is too warm for summer. Some prefer itbecause the fumes of cooking can be carried off; but stoves properlyarranged accomplish this equally well. 

After extensive inquiry and many personal experiments, the author hasfound a cooking-stove constructed on true scientific principles, whichunites convenience, comfort, and economy in a remarkable manner. Ofthis stove, drawings and descriptions will now be given, as the bestmode of illustrating the practical applications of these principlesto the art of cooking, and to show how much American women have sufferedand how much they have been imposed upon for want of proper knowledgein this branch of their profession. And every woman can understandwhat follows with much less effort than young girls at high-schoolsgive to the first problems of Geometry--for which they will never haveany practical use, while attention to this problem of home affairswill cultivate the intellect quite as much as the abstract reasoningsof Algebra and Geometry. , [Illustration: Fig. 34. ]

Fig. 34 represents a portion of the interior of this cooking-stove. First, notice the fire-box, which has corrugated (literally, wrinkled)sides, by which space is economized, so that as much heating surfaceis secured as if they were one third larger; as the heat radiates fromevery part of the undulating surface, which is one third greater insuperficial extent than if it were plane. The shape of the fire-boxalso secures more heat by having oblique sides--which radiate moreeffectively into the oven beneath than if they were perpendicular, asillustrated below--while also it is sunk into the oven, so as to radiatefrom three instead of from two sides, as in most other stoves, thefront of whose fire-boxes with their grates are built so as to be thefront of the stove itself. 

[Illustration: Fig 35. Model Stove][Illustration: Fig 36. Ordinary Stove]

The oven is the space under and around the back and front sides of thefire-box. The oven-bottom is not introduced in the diagram, but it isa horizontal plate between the fire-box and what is represented as the"flue-plate, " which separates the oven from the bottom of the stove. The top of the oven is the horizontal corrugated plate passing fromthe rear edge of the fire-box to the back flues. These are three innumber--the back centre-flue, which is closed to the heat and smokecoming over the oven from the fire-box by a damper--and the two backcorner-flues. Down these two corner-flues passes the current of hotair and smoke, having first drawn across the corrugated oven-top. Thearrows show its descent through these flues, from which it obliquelystrikes and passes over the flue-plate, then under it, and then outthrough the centre back-flue, which is open at the bottom, up into thesmoke-pipe. 

The flue-plate is placed obliquely, to accumulate heat by forcing andcompression; for the back space where the smoke enters from thecorner-flues is largest, and decreases toward the front, so that thehot current is compressed in a narrow space, between the oven-bottomand the flue-plate at the place where the bent arrows are seen. Hereagain it enters a wider space, under the flue-plate, and proceeds toanother narrow one, between the flue-plate and the bottom of the stove, and thus is compressed and retained longer than if not impeded by thesevarious contrivances. The heat and smoke also strike the plateobliquely, and thus, by reflection from its surface, impart more heatthan if the passage was a horizontal one. 

The external radiation is regulated by the use of nonconducting plasterapplied to the flue-plate and to the sides of the corner-flues, sothat the heat is prevented from radiating in any direction excepttoward the oven. The doors, sides, and bottom of the stove are linedwith tin casings, which hold a stratum of air, also a non-conductor. These are so arranged as to be removed whenever the weather becomescold, so that the heat may then radiate into the kitchen. The outeredges of the oven are also similarly protected from loss of heat bytin casings and air-spaces, and the oven-doors opening at the frontof the store are provided with the same economical savers of heat. High tin covers placed on the top prevent the heat from radiating abovethe stove. These are exceedingly useful, as the space under them iswell heated and arranged for baking, for heating irons, and many otherincidental necessities. Cake and pies can be baked on the top, whilethe oven is used for bread or for meats. When all the casings andcovers are on, almost all the heat is confined within the stove, andwhenever heat for the room is wanted, opening the front oven-doorsturns it out into the kitchen. 

Another contrivance is that of ventilating-holes in the front doors, through which fresh air is brought into the oven. This secures severalpurposes: it carries off the fumes of cooking meats, and prevents themixing of flavors when different articles are cooked in the oven; itdrives the heat that accumulates between the fire-box and front doorsdown around the oven, and equalizes its heat, so that articles neednot be moved while baking; and lastly, as the air passes through theholes of the fire-box, it causes the burning of gases in the smoke, and thus increases heat. When wood or bituminous coal is used, perforated metal linings are put in the fire-box, and the result isthe burning of smoke and gases that otherwise would pass into thechimney. This is a great discovery in the economy of fuel, which canbe applied in many ways. 

Heretofore, most cooking-stoves have had dumping-grates, which areinconvenient from the dust produced, are uneconomical in the use offuel, and disadvantageous from too many or too loose joints. Butrecently this stove has been provided with a dumping-grate whichalso will sift ashes, and can be cleaned without dust and the otherobjectionable features of dumping-grates. A further account of thisstove, and the mode of purchasing and using it, will be given at theclose of the book. 

Those who are taught to manage the stove properly keep the fire goingall night, and equally well with wood or coal, thus saving the expenseof kindling and the trouble of starting a new fire. When the fuel isof good quality, all that is needed in the morning is to draw theback-damper, snake the grate, and add more fuel. 

Another remarkable feature of this store is the extension-top, on whichis placed a water reservoir, constantly heated by the smoke as itpasses from the stove, through one or two uniting passages, to thesmoke-pipe. Under this is placed a closet for warming and keeping hotthe dishes, vegetables, meats, etc. , while preparing for dinner. Itis also very useful in drying fruit; and when large baking is required, a small appended pot for charcoal turns it into a fine large oven, that bakes as nicely as a brick oven. 

Another useful appendage is a common tin oven, in which roasting canbe done in front of the stove, the oven-doors being removed for thepurpose. The roast will be done as perfectly as by an open fire. 

This stove is furnished with pipes for heating water, like thewater-back of ranges, and these can be taken or left out at pleasure. So also the top covers, the baking-stool and pot, and the summer-back, bottom, and side-casings can be used or omitted as preferred. 

[Illustration Fig 37]

Fig. 37 exhibits the stove completed, with all its appendages, as theymight be employed in cooking for a large number. 

Its capacity, convenience, and economy as a stove may be estimated bythe following fact: With proper management of dampers, oneordinary-sized coal-hod of anthracite coal will, for twenty-four hours, keep the stove running, keep seventeen gallons of water hot at allhours, bake pies and puddings in the warm closet, heat flat-irons underthe back cover, boil tea-kettle and one pot under the front cover, bake bread in the oven, and cook a turkey in the tin roaster in front. The author has numerous friends, who, after trying the best ranges, have dismissed them for this stove, and in two or three years clearedthe whole expense by the saving of fuel. 

The remarkable durability of this stove is another economic feature. For in addition to its fine castings and nice-fitting workmanship, allthe parts liable to burn out are so protected by linings, and othercontrivances easily renewed, that the stove itself may pass from onegeneration to another, as do ordinary chimneys. The writer has visitedin families where this stove had been in constant use for eighteen andtwenty years, and was still as good as new. In most other families thestoves are broken, burnt-out, or thrown aside for improved patternsevery four, five, or six years, and sometimes, to the knowledge of thewriter, still oftener. 

Another excellent point is that, although it is so complicated in itsvarious contrivances as to demand intelligent management in order tosecure all its advantages, it also can be used satisfactorily evenwhen the mistress and maid are equally careless and ignorant of itsdistinctive merits. To such it offers all the advantages of ordinarygood stoves, and is extensively used by those who take no pains tounderstand and apply its peculiar advantages. 

But the writer has managed the stove herself in all the details ofcooking, and is confident that any housekeeper of common sense, whois instructed properly, and who also aims to have her kitchen affairsmanaged with strict economy, can easily train any servant who is willingto learn, so as to gain the full advantages offered. And even withoutany instructions at all, except the printed directions sent with thestove, an intelligent woman can, by due attention, though not without, both manage it, and teach her children and servants to do likewise. And whenever this stove has failed to give the highest satisfaction, it has been, either because the housekeeper was not apprized of itspeculiarities, or because she did not give sufficient attention to thematter, or was not able or willing to superintend and direct itsmanagement. 

The consequence has been that, in families where this stove has beenunderstood and managed aright, it has saved nearly one half of thefuel that would be used in ordinary stoves, constructed with the usualdisregard of scientific and economic laws. And it is because we knowthis particular stove to be convenient, reliable, and economicallyefficient beyond ordinary experience, in the important housekeepingelement of kitchen labor, that we devote to it so much space and painsto describe its advantageous points. 

CHIMNEYS. 

One of the most serious evils in domestic life is often found inchimneys that will not properly draw the smoke of a fire or stove. Although chimneys have been building for a thousand years, the artisansof the present day seem strangely ignorant of the true method ofconstructing them so as always to carry smoke upward instead ofdownward. It is rarely the case that a large house is built in whichthere is not some flue or chimney which "will not draw. " One of thereasons why the stove described as excelling all others is sometimescast aside for a poorer one is, that it requires a properly constructedchimney, and multitudes of women do not know how to secure it. Thewriter in early life shed many a bitter tear, drawn forth by smokefrom an ill-constructed kitchen-chimney, and thousands all over theland can report the same experience. 

The following are some of the causes and the remedies for this evil. 

The most common cause of poor chimney draughts is too large an openingfor the fireplace, either too wide or too high in front, or having toolarge a throat for the smoke. In a lower story, the fireplace shouldnot be larger than thirty inches wide, twenty-five inches high, andfifteen deep. In the story above, it should be eighteen inches squareand fifteen inches deep. 

Another cause is too short a flue, and the remedy is to lengthen it. As a general rule, the longer the flue the stronger the draught. Butin calculating the length of a flue, reference must be had toside-flues, if any open into it. Where this is the case, the lengthof the main flue is to be considered as extending only from the bottomto the point where the upper flue joins it, and where the lower willreceive air from the upper flue. If a smoky flue can not be increasedin length, either by closing an upper flue or lengthening the chimney, the fireplace must be contracted so that all the air near the firewill be heated and thus pressed upward. 

If a flue has more than one opening, in some cases it is impossibleto secure a good draught. Sometimes it will work well and sometimesit will not. The only safe rule is to have a separate flue to eachfire. 

Another cause of poor draughts is too tight a room, so that the coldair from without can not enter to press the warm air up the chimney. The remedy is to admit a small current of air from without. 

Another cause is two chimneys in one room, or in rooms opening together, in which the draught in one is much stronger than in the other. Inthis case, the stronger draught will draw away from the weaker. Theremedy is, for each room to have a proper supply of outside air; or, in a single room, to stop one of the chimneys. 

Another cause is the too close vicinity of a hill or buildings higherthan the top of the chimney, and the remedy for this is to raise thechimney. 

Another cause is the descent, into unused fireplaces, of smoke fromother chimneys near. The remedy is to close the throat of the unusedchimney. 

Another cause is a door opening toward the fireplace, on the same sideof the room, so that its draught passes along the wall and makes acurrent that draws out the smoke. The remedy is to change the hangingof the door so as to open another way. 

Another cause is strong winds. The remedy is a turn-cap on top of thechimney. 

Another cause is the roughness of the inside of a chimney, orprojections which impede the passage of the smoke. Every chimney shouldbe built of equal dimensions from bottom to top, with no projectionsinto it, with as few bends as possible, and with the surface of theinside as smooth as possible. 

Another cause of poor draughts is openings into the chimney of chambersfor stove-pipes. The remedy is to close them, or insert stove-pipesthat are in use. 

Another cause is the falling out of brick in some part of the chimneyso that outer air is admitted. The remedy is to close the opening. 

The draught of a stove may be affected by most of these causes. Italso demands that the fireplace have a tight fire-board, or that thethroat he carefully filled. For neglecting this, many a good stove hasbeen thrown aside and a poor one taken in its place. 

If all young women had committed to memory these causes of evil andtheir remedies, many a badly-built chimney might have been cured, andmany smoke-drawn tears, sighs, ill-tempers, and irritating wordsavoided. 

But there are dangers in this direction which demand special attention. Where one flue has two stoves or fireplaces, in rooms one above theother, in certain states of the atmosphere, the lower room, being thewarmer, the colder air and carbonic acid in the room above will passdown into the lower room through the opening for the stove or thefireplace. 

This occurred not long since in a boarding-school, when the gas in aroom above flowed into a lower one, and suffocated several to death. This room had no mode of ventilation, and several persons slept in it, and were thus stifled. Professor Brewer states a similar case in thefamily of a relative. An anthracite stove was used in the upper room;and on one still, close night, the gas from this stove descended throughthe flue and the opening into a room below, and stifled two personsto insensibility, though, by proper efforts, their lives were saved. Many such cases have occurred where rooms have been thus filled withpoisonous gases, and servants and children destroyed, or theirconstitutions injured, simply because housekeepers are not properlyinstructed in this important branch of their profession. 

FURNACES. 

There is no improved mechanism in the economy of domestic life requiringmore intelligent management than furnaces. Let us then consider someof the principles involved. 

The earth is heated by radiation from the sun. The air is not warmedby the passage of the sun's heat through it, but by convection fromthe earth, in the same way that it is warmed by the surfaces of stoves. The lower stratum of air is warmed by the earth and by objects whichhave been warmed by radiated heat from the sun. The particles of airthus heated expand, become lighter, and rise, being replaced by thedescent of the cooler and heavier particles from above, which, on beingwarmed also rise, and give place to others. Owing to this process, theair is warmest nearest the earth, and grows cooler as height increases. 

The air has a strong attraction for water, and always holds a certainquantity as invisible vapor. The warmer the air, the more moisture itdemands, and it will draw it from all objects within reach. The airholds water according to its temperature. Thus, at fifty-two degrees, Fahrenheit's thermometer, it holds half the moisture it can sustain;but at thirty-six degrees, it will hold only one eighty-sixth part. The earth and all plants and trees are constantly sending out moisture;and when the air has received all it can hold, without depositing itas dew, it is said to be _saturated_, and the point of temperatureat which dew begins to form, by condensation, upon the surface of theearth and its vegetation, is called the _dew-point_. When air, at a given temperature, has only forty per cent of the moisture itrequires for saturation, it is said to be dry. In a hot summer day, the air will hold far more moisture than in cool days. In summer, out-door air rarely holds less than half its volume of water. In 1838, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New-Haven, Connecticut, at seventydegrees, Fahrenheit, the air held eighty per cent of moisture. 

In New Orleans, the air often retains ninety per cent of the moistureit is capable of holding; and in cool days at the North, in foggyweather, the air is sometimes wholly saturated. 

When air holds all the moisture it can, without depositing dew, itsmoisture is called 100. When it holds three fourths of this, it issaid to be at seventy-five per cent. When it holds only one half, itis at fifty per cent. When it holds only one fourth, it is attwenty-five per cent, etc. 

Sanitary observers teach that the proper amount of moisture in the airranges from forty to seventy per cent of saturation. 

Now, furnaces, which are of course used only in winter, receive outsideair at a low temperature, holding little moisture; This it sucks up, like a sponge, from the walls and furniture of a house. If it is takeninto the human lungs, it draws much of its required moisture from thebody, often causing dryness of lips and throat, and painfully affectingthe lungs. Prof. Brewer, of the Scientific School of New-Haven, whohas experimented extensively on this subject, states that, while fortyper cent of moisture is needed in air to make it healthful, most stovesand furnaces do not, by any contrivances, supply one half of this, ornot twenty per cent. He says most furnace-heated air is dryer than isever breathed in the hottest deserts of Sahara. 

Thus, for want of proper instruction, most American housekeepers notonly poison their families with carbonic acid and starve them for wantof oxygen, but also diminish health and comfort for want of a duesupply of moisture in the air. And often when a remedy is sought, byevaporating water in the furnace, it is without knowing that the amountevaporated depends, not on the quantity of water in the vessel, buton the extent of evaporating surface exposed to the air. A quart ofwater in a wide shallow pan will give more moisture than two gallonswith a small surface exposed to heat. 

There is also no little wise economy in expense attained by keepinga proper supply of moisture in the air. For it is found that the bodyradiates its heat less in moist than in dry air, so that a person feelsas warm at a lower temperature when the air has a proper supply ofmoisture, as in a much higher temperature of dry air. Of course, lessfuel is needed to warm a house when water is evaporated in stove andfurnace-heated rooms. It is said by those who have experimented, thatthe saving in fuel is twenty per cent when the air is duly suppliedwith moisture. 

There is a very ingenious instrument, called the hygrodeik, whichindicates the exact amount of moisture in the air. It consists of twothermometers side by side, one of which has its bulb surrounded byfloss-silk wrapping, which is kept constantly wet by communicationwith a cup of water near it. The water around the bulb evaporates justin proportion to the heat of the air around it. The changing of waterto vapor draws heat from the nearest object, and this being the bulbof the thermometer, the mercury is cooled and sinks. Then the differencebetween the two thermometers shows the amount of moisture in the airby a pointer on a dial-plate constructed by simple mechanism for thispurpose. 

There is one very important matter in regard to the use of furnaces, which is thus stated by Professor Brewer:

"I think it is a well-established fact that carbonic oxide willpass through iron. It is always formed in great abundance in any_anthracite_ fire, but especially in anthracite stoves and furnaces. Moreover, furnaces _always_ leak, more or less; how much they leakdepending on the care and skill with which they are managed. Carbonicoxide is much more poisonous than carbonic acid. Doubtless some carbonicoxide finds its way into all furnace-heated houses, especially whereanthracite is used; the amount varying with the kind of furnace and itsmanagement. As to how much escapes into a room, and its specific effectupon the health of its occupants, we have no accurate data, no analysisto show the quantity, and no observations to show the relation betweenthe quantity inhaled and the health of those exposed; all is mereconjecture upon this point; but the inference is very strong that it hasa very injurious effect, producing headaches, weariness, and othersimilar symptoms. 

"Recent pamphlets lay the blame of all the bad effects of anthracitefurnaces and stoves to the carbonic oxide mingled in the air. I thinkthese pamphlets have a bad influence. _Excessive dryness_ also has badeffects. So also the excessive heat in the evenings and coolness in themornings has a share in these evils. But how much in addition is owingto carbonic oxide, we can not know, until we know something of theactual amount of this gas in rooms, and as yet we know absolutelynothing definite. In fact, it will be a difficult thing to _prove_. "

There are other difficulties connected with furnaces which should beconsidered. It is necessary to perfect health that an equal circulationof the blood be preserved. The greatest impediment to this is keepingthe head warmer than the feet. This is especially to be avoided in anation where the brain is by constant activity drawing the blood fromthe extremities. And nowhere is this more important than in schools, churches, colleges, lecture and recitation-rooms, where the brain iscalled into active exercise. And yet, furnace-heated rooms always keepthe feet in the coldest air, on cool floors, while the head is in thewarmest air. 

Another difficulty is the fact that all bodies tend to radiate theirheat to each other, till an equal temperature exists. Thus, the humanbody is constantly radiating its heat to the walls, floors, and coolerbodies around. At the same time, a thermometer is affected in the sameway, radiating its heat to cooler bodies around, so that it alwaysmarks a lower degree of heat than actually exists in the warm airaround it. Owing to these facts, the injected air of a furnace isalways warmer than is good for the lungs, and much warmer than is everneeded in rooms warmed by radiation from fires or heated surfaces. Thecooler the air we inspire, the more oxygen is received, the faster theblood circulates, and the greater is the vigor imparted to brain, nerves, and muscles. 

Scientific men have been contriving various modes of meeting thesedifficulties, and at the close of this volume some results will begiven to aid a woman in selecting and managing the most healthful andeconomical furnace, or in providing some better method of warming ahouse. Some account will also be given of the danger involved ingas-stoves, and some other recent inventions for cooking and heating. 

VI. 

HOME DECORATION. 

Having duly arranged for the physical necessities of a healthful andcomfortable home, we next approach the important subject of _beauty_ inreference to the decoration of houses. For while the aesthetic elementmust be subordinate to the requirements of physical existence, and, as amatter of expense, should be held of inferior consequence to means ofhigher moral growth; it yet holds a place of great significance amongthe influences which make home happy and attractive, which give it aconstant and wholesome power over the young, and contributes much to theeducation of the entire household in refinement, intellectualdevelopment, and moral sensibility. 

Here we are met by those who tell us that of course they want theirhouses handsome, and that, when they get money enough, they intend tohave them so, but at present they are too poor, and because they arepoor they dismiss the subject altogether, and live without any regardto it. 

We have often seen people who said that they could not afford to maketheir houses beautiful, who had spent upon them, outside or in, anamount of money which did not produce either beauty or comfort, andwhich, if judiciously applied, might have made the house quite charming. 

For example, a man, in building his house, takes a plan of an architect. This plan includes, on the outside, a number of what Andrew Fairservicecalled "curlywurlies" and "whigmaliries, " which make the house neitherprettier nor more comfortable, and which take up a good deal of money. We would venture to say that we could buy the chromo of Bierstadt's"Sunset in the Yosemite Valley, " and four others like it, for half thesum that we have sometimes seen laid out on a very ugly, narrow, awkwardporch on the outside of a house. The only use of this porch was tocost money, and to cause every body who looked at it to exclaim asthey went by, "What ever induced that man to put a thing like that onthe outside of his house?"

Then, again, in the inside of houses, we have seen a dwelling lookingvery bald and bare, when a sufficient sum of money had been expendedon one article to have made the whole very pretty: and it has comeabout in this way. 

We will suppose the couple who own the house to be in the conditionin which people generally are after they have built a house--havingspent more than they could afford on the building itself, and yetfeeling themselves under the necessity of getting some furniture. "Now, " says the housewife, "I must at least have a parlor-carpet. Wemust get that to begin with, and other things as we go on. " She goesto a store to look at carpets. The clerks are smiling and obliging, and sweetly complacent. The storekeeper, perhaps, is a neighbor or afriend, and after exhibiting various patterns, he tells her of aBrussels carpet he is selling wonderfully cheap--actually a dollarand a quarter less a yard than the usual price of Brussels, and thereason is that it is an unfashionable pattern, and he has a good dealof it, and wishes to close it off. 

She looks at it and thinks it is not at all the kind of carpet shemeant to buy, but then it is Brussels, and so cheap! And as shehesitates, her friend tells her that she will find it "cheapest in theend--that one Brussels carpet will outlast three or four ingrains, "etc. , etc. 

The result of all this is, that she buys the Brussels carpet, which, with all its reduction in price, is one third dearer than the ingrainwould have been, and not half so pretty. When she comes home, she willfind that she has spent, we will say eighty dollars, for a very homelycarpet whose greatest merit it is an affliction to remember--namely, that it will outlast three ordinary carpets. And because she has boughtthis carpet she can not afford to paper the walls or put up anywindow-curtains, and can not even begin to think of buying any pictures. 

Now let us see what eighty dollars could have done for that room. Wewill suppose, in the first place, she invests in thirteen rolls ofwall-paper of a lovely shade of buff, which will make the room looksunshiny in the day-time, and light up brilliantly in the evening. Thirteen rolls of good satin paper, at thirty-seven cents a roll, expends four dollars and eighty-one cents. A maroon bordering, madein imitation of the choicest French style, which can not at a distancebe told from it, can be bought for six cents a yard. This will bringthe paper to about five dollars and a half; and our friends will givea day of their time to putting it on. The room already begins to lookfurnished. 

Then, let us cover the floor with, say, thirty yards of good matting, at fifty cents a yard. This gives us a carpet for fifteen dollars. Weare here stopped by the prejudice that matting is not good economy, because it wears out so soon. We humbly submit that it is preciselythe thing for a parlor, which is reserved for the reception-room offriends, and for our own dressed leisure hours. Matting is not goodeconomy in a dining-room or a hard-worn sitting-room; but such a parloras we are describing is precisely the place where it answers to thevery best advantage. 

We have in mind one very attractive parlor which has been, both forsummer and winter, the daily sitting-room for the leisure hours of ahusband and wife, and family of children, where a plain straw mattinghas done service for seven years. That parlor is in a city, and thesefriends are in the habit of receiving visits from people who live uponvelvet and Brussels; but they prefer to spend the money which suchcarpets would cost on other modes of embellishment; and this parlorhas often been cited to us as a very attractive room. 

And now our friends, having got thus far, are requested to select someone tint or color which shall be the prevailing one in the furnitureof the room. Shall it be green? Shall it be blue? Shall it be crimson?To carry on our illustration, we will choose green, and we proceedwith it to create furniture for our room. Let us imagine that on oneside of the fireplace there be, as there is often, a recess about sixfeet long and three feet deep. Fill this recess with a rough framewith four stout legs, one foot high, and upon the top of the framehave an elastic rack of slats. Make a mattress for this, or, if youwish to avoid that trouble, you can get a nice mattress for the sumof two dollars, made of cane-shavings or husks. Cover this with agreen English furniture print. The glazed English comes at abouttwenty-five cents a yard, the glazed French at seventy-five cents ayard, and a nice article of yard-wide French twill (very strong) isfrom seventy-five to eighty cents a yard. 

With any of these cover your lounge. Make two large, square pillowsof the same substance as the mattress, and set up at the back. If youhappen to have one or two feather pillows that you can spare for thepurpose, shake them down into a square shape and cover them with thesame print, and you will then have for pillows for your lounge--oneat each end, and two at the back, and you will find it answers for allthe purposes of a sofa. 

[Illustration: Fig. 38. ]

It will be a very pretty thing, now, to cut out of the same materialas your lounge, sets of lambrequins (or, as they are called, _lamberkins_, ) a land of pendent curtain-top, as shown in theillustration, to put over the windows, which are to be embellishedwith white muslin curtains. The cornices to your windows can be simplystrips of wood covered with paper to match the bordering of your room, and the lambrequins, made of chintz like the lounge, can be trimmedwith fringe or gimp of the same color. The patterns of these can bevaried according to fancy, but simple designs are usually the prettiest. A tassel at the lowest point improves the appearance. 

The curtains can be made of plain white muslin, or some of the manystyles that come for this purpose. If plain muslin is used, you canornament them with hems an inch in width, in which insert a strip ofgingham or chambray of the same color as your chintz. This will washwith the curtains without losing its color, or should it fade, it caneasily be drawn out and replaced. 

The influence of white-muslin curtains in giving an air of grace andelegance to a room is astonishing. White curtains really create a roomout of nothing. No matter how coarse the muslin, so it be white andhang in graceful folds, there is a charm in it that supplies the wantof multitudes of other things. 

Very pretty curtain-muslin can be bought at thirty-seven cents a yard. It requires six yards for a window. 

Let your men-folk knock up for you, out of rough, unplaned boards, some ottoman frames, as described in Chapter II; stuff the tops withjust the same material as the lounge, and cover them with the self-samechintz. 

[Illustration: Fig. 39. ]

Now you have, suppose your selected color to be green, a green loungein the corner and two green ottomans; you have white muslin curtains, with green lambrequins and borders, and your room already looksfurnished. If you have in the house any broken-down arm-chair, reposingin the oblivion of the garret, draw it out--drive a nail here andthere to hold it firm--stuff and pad, and stitch the padding throughwith a long upholsterer's needle, and cover it with the chintz likeyour other furniture. Presto--you create an easy-chair. 

Thus can broken and disgraced furniture reappear, and, being put intouniform with the general suit of your room, take a new lease of life. 

If you want a centre-table, consider this--that any kind of table, well concealed beneath the folds of _handsome drapery of a colorcorresponding to the general hue of the room, _ will look well. Instead of going to the cabinet-maker and paying from thirty to fortydollars upon a little, narrow, cold, marble-topped stand, that givesjust room enough to hold a lamp and a book or two, reflect withinyourself what a centre-table is made for. If you have in your housea good, broad, generous-topped table, take it, cover it with an amplecloth of green broadcloth. Such a cover, two and a half yards square, of fine green broadcloth, figured with black and with a pattern-borderof grape-leaves, has been bought for ten dollars. In a room we wot of, it covers a cheap pine table, such as you may buy for four or fivedollars any day; but you will be astonished to see how handsome anobject this table makes under its green drapery. Probably you couldmake the cover more cheaply by getting the cloth and trimming its edgewith a handsome border, selected for the purpose; but either way, itwill be an economical and useful ornament. We set down our centre-table, therefore, as consisting mainly of a nice broadcloth cover, matchingour curtains and lounge. 

We are sure that any one with "a heart that is humble" may commandsuch a centre-table and cloth for fifteen dollars or less, and a familyof five or six may all sit and work, or read, or write around it, andit is capable of entertaining a generous allowance of books andknick-knacks. 

You have now for your parlor the following figures:

 Wall-paper and border, . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . $5. 50 Thirty yards matting, . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 15. 00 Centre-table and cloth, . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 15. 00 Muslin for three windows, . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 6. 75 Thirty yards green English chintz, at 25 cents, . .. .. .. .. .. . 7. 50 Six chairs, at $2 each, . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 12. 00

 Total, . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . $61. 75Subtracted from eighty dollars, which we set down as the price of thecheap, ugly Brussels carpet, we have our whole room papered, carpeted, curtained, and furnished, and we have nearly twenty dollars remainingfor pictures. 

As a little suggestion in regard to the selection, you can got MissOakley's charming little cabinet picture of

 "The Little Scrap-Book Maker" for. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . $7 50 Eastman Johnson's "Barefoot Boy, ". .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. (Prang) 5 00 Newman's "Blue-fringed Gentians, ". .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . (Prang) 6 00 Bierstadt's "Sunset in the Yo Semite Valley, ". .. .. . (Prang)12 00

Here are thirty dollars' worth of really admirable pictures of someof our best American artists, from which you can choose at your leisure. By sending to any leading picture-dealer, lists of pictures and priceswill be forwarded to you. These chromos, being all varnished, can waitfor frames until you can afford them. Or, what is better, because itis at once cheaper and a means of educating the ingenuity and thetaste, you can make for yourselves pretty rustic frames in variousmodes. Take a very thin board, of the right size and shape, for thefoundation or "mat;" saw out the inner oval or rectangular form tosuit the picture. Nail on the edge a rustic frame made of branches ofhard, seasoned wood, and garnish the corners with some pretty device;such, for instance, as a cluster of acorns; or, in place of the branchesof trees, fasten on with glue small pine cones, with larger ones forcorner ornaments. Or use the mosses of the wood or ocean shells forthis purpose. It may be more convenient to get the mat or inner mouldingfrom a framer, or have it made by your carpenter, with a groove behindto hold a glass. Here are also picture-frames of pretty effect, andvery simply made. The one in Fig. 42 is made of either light or darkwood, neat, thin, and not very wide, with the ends simply broken, off, or cut so as to resoluble a rough break. The other is white pine, sawninto simple form, well smoothed, and marked with a delicate blacktracery, as suggested in Fig. 43. This should also be varnished, thenit will take a rich, yellow tinge, which harmonizes admirably withchromos, and lightens up engravings to singular advantage. Besides theAmerican and the higher range of German and English chromos, there arevery many pretty little French chromos, which can be had at pricesfrom $1 to $5, including black walnut frames. 

[Illustration: Fig. 40][Illustration: Fig. 41][Illustration: Fig. 42][Illustration: Fig. 43]

We have been through this calculation merely to show our readers howmuch beautiful effect may be produced by a wise disposition of colorand skill in arrangement. If any of our friends should ever carry itout, they will find that the buff paper, with its dark, narrow border;the green chintz repeated in the lounge, the ottomans, and lambrequins;the flowing, white curtains; the broad, generous centre-table, drapedwith its ample green cloth, will, when arranged together, produce aneffect of grace and beauty far beyond what any one piece or even halfa dozen pieces of expensive cabinet furniture could. The great, simpleprinciple of beauty illustrated in this room is _harmony of color_. 

You can, in the same way, make a red room by using Turkey red for yourdraperies; or a blue room by using blue chintz. Let your chintz be ofa small pattern, and one that is decided in color. 

We have given the plan of a room with matting on the floor becausethat is absolutely the cheapest cover. The price of thirty yards plain, good ingrain carpet, at $1. 50 per yard, would be forty-five dollars;the difference between forty-five and fifteen dollars would _furnish_ aroom with pictures such as we have instanced. However, the sameprogramme can be even better carried out with a green ingrain carpet asthe foundation of the color of the room. 

Our friends, who lived seven years upon matting, contrived to givetheir parlor in winter an effect of warmth and color by laying down, in front of the fire, a large square of carpeting, say three breadths, four yards long. This covered the gathering-place around the fire wherethe winter circle generally sits, and gave an appearance of warmth tothe room. 

If we add this piece of carpeting to the estimates for our room, westill leave a margin for a picture, and make the programme equallyadapted to summer and winter. 

Besides the chromos, which, when well selected and of the best class, give the charm of color which belongs to expensive paintings, thereare engravings which finely reproduce much of the real spirit andbeauty of the celebrated pictures of the world. And even this does notexhaust the resources of economical art; for there are few of therenowned statues, whether of antiquity or of modern times, that havenot been accurately copied in plaster casts; and a few statuettes, costing perhaps five or six dollars each, will give a really elegantfinish to your rooms-providing always that they are selected withdiscrimination and taste. 

The educating influence of these works of art can hardly be over-estimated. Surrounded by such suggestions of the beautiful, and suchreminders of history and art, children are constantly trained tocorrectness of tote and refinement of thought, and stimulated--sometimesto efforts at artistic imitation, always to the eager and intelligentinquiry about the scenes, the places, the incidents represented. Justhere, perhaps, we are met by some who grant all that we say on thesubject of decoration by works of art, and who yet impatiently exclaim, "But I have _no_ money to spare for any thing of this sort. I amcondemned to an absolute bareness, and beauty in my case is not to bethought of. "

Are you sure, my friend? If you live in the country, or can get intothe country, and have your eyes opened and your wits about you, yourhouse need not be condemned to an absolute bareness. Not so long asthe woods are full of beautiful ferns and mosses, while every swampshakes and nods with tremulous grasses, need you feel yourself anutterly disinherited child of nature, and deprived of its artistic use. 

For example: Take an old tin pan condemned to the retired list byreason of holes in the bottom, get twenty-five cents' worth of greenpaint for this and other purposes, and paint it. The holes in thebottom are a recommendation for its new service. If there are no holes, you must drill two or three, as drainage is essential. Now put a layerone inch deep of broken charcoal and potsherds over the bottom, andthen soil, in the following proportions:

Two fourths wood-soil, such as you find in forests, under trees. 

One fourth clean sand. 

One fourth meadow-soil, taken from under fresh turf. Mix with thissome charcoal dust. 

In this soil plant all sorts of ferns, together with some fewswamp-grasses; and around the edge put a border of money-plant orperiwinkle to hang over. This will need to be watered once or twicea week, and it will grow and thrive all summer long in a corner ofyour room. Should you prefer, you can suspend it by wires and make ahanging-basket. --Ferns and wood-grasses need not have sunshine--theygrow well in shadowy places. 

On this same principle you can convert a salt-box or an old drum offigs into a hanging-basket. Tack bark and pine-cones and moss upon theoutside of it, drill holes and pass wires through it, and you have awoodland hanging-basket, which will hang and grow in any corner ofyour house. 

We have been into rooms which, by the simple disposition of articlesof this kind, have been made to have an air so poetical and attractivethat they seemed more like a nymph's cave than any thing in the realworld. 

[Illustration: Fig. 44. ]

Another mode of disposing of ferns is this: Take a flat piece of boardsawed out something like a shield, with a hole at the top for hangingit up. Upon the board nail a wire pocket made of an ox-muzzle flattenedon one side; or make something of the kind with stiff wire. Line thiswith a sheet of close moss, which appears green behind the wirenet-work. Then you fill it with loose, spongy moss, such as you findin swamps, and plant therein great plumes of fern and variousswamp-grasses; they will continue to grow there, and hang gracefullyover. When watering, set a pail under for it to drip into. It needsonly to keep this moss always damp, and to sprinkle these fernsoccasionally with a whisk-broom, to have a most lovely ornament foryour room or hall. 

The use of ivy in decorating a room is beginning to be generallyacknowledged. It needs to be planted in the kind of soil we havedescribed, in a well-drained pot or box, and to have its leavesthoroughly washed once or twice a year in strong suds made withsoft-soap, to free it from dust and scale-bug; and an ivy will liveand thrive and wind about in a room, year in and year out, will growaround pictures, and do almost any thing to oblige you that you cansuggest to it. For instance, in a March number of _Hearth and Home_, [Footnote: A beautifully illustrated agricultural and family weeklypaper, edited by Donald G. Mitchell(Ik Marvel) and Mrs. H. B. Stowe, ]there is a picture of the most delightful library-window imaginable, whose chief charm consists in the running vines that start from alongitudinal box at the bottom of the window, and thence clamberup and about the casing and across the rustic frame-work erected forits convenience. On the opposite page we present another plain kindof window, ornamented with a variety of these rural economicaladornings. 

[Illustration: Fig. 45. ]In the centre is a Ward's case. On one side is a pot of _Fuchsia_. On the other side is a Calla Lily. In the hanging-baskets and on thebrackets are the ferns and flowers that flourish in the deep woods, and around the window is the ivy, running from two boxes; and, in casethe window has some sun, a _Nasturtium_ may spread its bright blossomsamong the leaves. Then, in the winter, when there is less sun, the_Striped Spider-wort_, the _Smilax_ and the _Saxifraga_. _Samantosa_ (or_Wandering Jew_) may be substituted. Pretty brackets can be made ofcommon pine, ornamented with odd-growing twigs or mosses or roots, scraped and varnished, or in their native state. 

A beautiful ornament for a room with pictures is German ivy. Slips ofthis will start without roots in bottles of water. Slide the bottlebehind the picture, and the ivy will seem to come from fairyland, andhang its verdure in all manner of pretty curves around the picture. It may then be trained to travel toward other ivy, and thus aid informing green cornice along the ceiling. We have seen some rooms thathad an ivy cornice around the whole, giving the air of a leafy bower. 

There are some other odd devices to ornament a room. For example, asponge, kept wet by daily immersion, can be filled with flax-seed andsuspended by a cord, when it will ere long be covered with verdure andafterward with flowers. 

A sweet potato, laid in a bowl of water on a bracket, or still better, suspended by a knitting-needle, run through or laid across the bowlhalf in the water, will, in due time, make a beautiful verdant ornament. A large carrot, with the smallest half cut off, scooped out to holdwater and then suspended with cords, will send out graceful shoots inrich profusion. 

Half a cocoa-nut shell, suspended, will hold earth or water for plantsand make a pretty hanging-garden. 

It may be a very proper thing to direct the ingenuity and activity ofchildren into the making of hanging-baskets and vases of rustic work. The best foundations are the cheap wooden bowls, which are quite easyto get, and the walks of children in the woods can be made interestingby their bringing home material for this rustic work. Different coloredtwigs and sprays of trees, such as the bright scarlet of the dog-wood, the yellow of the willow, the black of the birch, and the silvery grayof the poplar, may be combined in fanciful net-work. For this sort ofwork, no other investment is needed than a hammer and an assortmentof different-sized tacks, and beautiful results will be produced. Fig. 46 is a stand for flowers, made of roots, scraped and varnished. But the greatest and cheapest and most delightful fountain of beautyis a "Ward case. "

[Illustration: Fig 46. ]

Now, immediately all our economical friends give up in despair. Ward'scases sell all the way along from eighteen to fifty dollars, and are, like every thing else in this lower world, regarded as the soleperquisites of the rich. 

Let us not be too sure. Plate-glass, and hot-house plants, and rarepatterns, _are_ the especial inheritance of the rich; but any family maycommand all the requisites of a Ward case for a very small sum. Such acase is a small glass closet over a well-drained box of soil. You make aWard case on a small scale when you turn a tumbler over a plant. Theglass keeps the temperature moist and equable, and preserves the plantsfrom dust, and the soil being well drained, they live and thriveaccordingly. The requisites of these are the glass top and the bed ofwell-drained soil. 

Suppose you have a common cheap table, four feet long and two wide. Take off the top boards of your table, and with them board the bottomacross tight and firm; then line it with zinc, and you will have asort of box or sink on legs. Now make a top of common window-glasssuch as you would get for a cucumber-frame; let it be two and a halffeet high, with a ridge-pole like a house, and a slanting roof of glassresting on this ridge-pole; on one end let there be a door two feetsquare. 

[Illustration: Fig. 47. ]

We have seen a Ward case made in this way, in which the capabilitiesfor producing ornamental effect were greatly beyond many of the mostelaborate ones of the shops. It was large, and roomy, and cheap. Commonwindow-sash and glass are not dear, and any man with moderate ingenuitycould fashion such a glass closet for his wife; or a woman, not havingsuch a husband, can do it herself. 

The sink or box part must have in the middle of it a hole of good sizefor drainage. In preparing for the reception of plants, first turn aplant-saucer over this hole, which may otherwise become stopped. Then, as directed for the other basket, proceed with a layer of brokencharcoal and pot-sherds for drainage, two inches deep, and prepare thesoil as directed above, and add to it some pounded charcoal, or thescrapings of the charcoal-bin. In short, more or less charcoal andcharcoal-dust is always in order in the treatment of these moistsubjects, as it keeps them from fermenting and growing sour. 

Now for filling the case. 

Our own native forest-ferns have a period in the winter months whenthey cease to grow. They are very particular in asserting their rightto this yearly nap, and will not, on any consideration, grow for youout of their appointed season. 

Nevertheless, we shall tell you what we have tried ourselves, becausegreenhouse ferns are expensive, and often great cheats when you havebought them, and die on your hands in the most reckless and shamelessmanner. If you make a Ward case in the spring, your ferns will growbeautifully in it all summer; and in the autumn, though they stopgrowing, and cease to throw out leaves, yet the old leaves will remainfresh and green till the time for starting the new ones in the spring. 

But, supposing you wish to start your case in the fall, out of suchthings as you can find in the forest; by searching carefully the rocksand clefts and recesses of the forest, you can find a quantity ofbeautiful ferns whose leaves the frost has not yet assailed. Gatherthem carefully, remembering that the time of the plant's sleep hascome, and that you must make the most of the leaves it now has, as youwill not have a leaf more from it till its waking-up time in Februaryor March. But we have succeeded, and you will succeed, in making avery charming and picturesque collection. You can make in your Wardcase lovely little grottoes with any bits of shells, and minerals, androcks you may have; you can lay down, here and there, fragments ofbroken looking-glass for the floor of your grottoes, and the effectof them will be magical. A square of looking-glass introduced into theback side of your case will produce charming effects. 

The trailing arbutus or May-flower, if cut up carefully in sods, andput into this Ward case, will come into bloom there a month soonerthan it otherwise would, and gladden your eyes and heart. 

In the fall, if you can find the tufts of eye-bright or houstoniacerulia, and mingle them in with your mosses, you will find themblooming before winter is well over. 

But among the most beautiful things for such a case is thepartridge-berry, with its red plums. The berries swell and increasein the moist atmosphere, and become intense in color, forming anadmirable ornament. 

Then the ground pine, the princess pine, and various nameless prettythings of the woods, all flourish in these little conservatories. Ingetting your sod of trailing arbutus, remember that this plant formsits buds in the fall. You must, therefore, examine your sod carefully, and see if the buds are there; otherwise you will find no blossoms inthe spring. 

There are one or two species of violets, also, that form their budsin the fall, and these too, will blossom early for you. 

We have never tried the wild anemones, the crowfoot, etc. ; but as theyall do well in moist, shady places, we recommend hopefully theexperiment of putting some of them in. 

A Ward case has this recommendation over common house-plants, that ittakes so little time and care. If well made in the outset, andthoroughly drenched with water when the plants are first put in, itwill after that need only to be watered about once a month, and to beventilated by occasionally leaving open the door for a half-hour orhour when the moisture obscures the glass and seems in excess. 

To women embarrassed with the care of little children, yet longing forthe refreshment of something growing and beautiful, this indoor gardenwill be an untold treasure. The glass defends the plant from theinexpedient intermeddling of little fingers; while the little eyes, just on a level with the panes of glass, can look through and learnto enjoy the beautiful, silent miracles of nature. 

For an invalid's chamber, such a case would be an indescribable comfort. It is, in fact, a fragment of the green woods brought in and silentlygrowing; it will refresh many a weary hour to watch it. 

VII. 

THE CARE OF HEALTH. 

There is no point where a woman is more liable to suffer from a wantof knowledge and experience than in reference to the health of a familycommitted to her care. Many a young lady who never had any charge ofthe sick; who never took any care of an infant; who never obtainedinformation on these subjects from books, or from the experience ofothers; in short, with little or no preparation, has found herself theprincipal attendant in dangerous sickness, the chief nurse of a feebleinfant, and the responsible guardian of the health of a whole family. 

The care, the fear, the perplexity of a woman suddenly called to theseunwonted duties, none can realize till they themselves feel it, ortill they see some young and anxious novice first attempting to meetsuch responsibilities. To a woman of age and experience these dutiesoften involve a measure of trial and difficulty at times deemed almostinsupportable; how hard, then, must they press on the heart of theyoung and inexperienced!

There is no really efficacious mode of preparing a woman to take arational care of the health of a family, except by communicating thatknowledge in regard to the construction of the body and the laws ofhealth which is the basis of the medical profession. Not that a womanshould undertake the minute and extensive investigation requisite fora physician; but she should gain a general knowledge of firstprinciples, as a guide to her judgment in emergencies when she canrely on no other aid. 

With this end in view, in the preceding chapters some portions of theorgans and functions of the human body have been presented, and otherswill now follow in connection with the practical duties which resultfrom them. 

On the general subject of health, one recent discovery of science mayhere be introduced as having an important relation to every organ andfunction of the body, and as being one to which frequent referencewill be made; and that is, the nature and operation of _cell-life_. 

By the aid of the microscope, we can examine the minute constructionof plants and animals, in which we discover contrivances and operations, if not so sublime, yet more wonderful and interesting, than the vastsystems of worlds revealed by the telescope. 

By this instrument it is now seen that the first formation, as wellas future changes and actions, of all plants and animals areaccomplished by means of small cells or bags containing various kindsof liquids. These cells are so minute that, of the smallest, somehundreds would not cover the dot of a printed _i_ on this page. They are of diverse shapes and contents, and perform various differentoperations. 

[Illustration: Fig 48. ]

The first formation of every animal is accomplished by the agency ofcells, and may be illustrated by the egg of any bird or fowl. Theexterior consists of a hard shell for protection, and this is linedwith a tough skin, to which is fastened the yelk, (which means the_yellow_, ) by fibrous strings, as seen at _a_, _a_, in the diagram. Inthe yelk floats the germ-cell, _b_, which is the point where theformation of the future animal commences. The yelk, being lighter thanthe white, rises upward, and the germ being still lighter, rises in theyelk. This is to bring both nearer to the vitalizing warmth of thebrooding mother. 

New cells are gradually formed from the nourishing yelk around thegerm, each being at first roundish in shape, and having a spot nearthe centre, called the nucleus. The reason why cells increase mustremain a mystery, until we can penetrate the secrets of vitalforce--probably forever. But the mode in which they multiply is asfollows: The first change noticed in a cell, when warmed into vitalactivity, is the appearance of a second nucleus within it, while thecell gradually becomes oval in form, and then is drawn inward at themiddle, like an hour-glass, till the two sides meet. The two portionsthen divide, and two cells appear, each containing its own germinalnucleus. These both divide again in the same manner, proceeding in theratio of 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on, until most of the yelk becomes a massof cells. 

The central point of this mass, where the animal itself commences toappear, shows, first, a round-shaped figure, which soon assumes formlike a pear, and then like a violin. Gradually the busy little cellsarrange themselves to build up heart, lungs, brain, stomach, and limbs, for which the yelk and white furnish nutriment. There is a small bagof air fastened to one end inside of the shell; and when the animalis complete, this air is taken into its lungs, life begins, and outwalks little chick, all its powers prepared, and ready to run, eat, and enjoy existence. Then, as soon as the animal uses its brain tothink and feel, and its muscles to move, the cells which have beenmade up into these parts begin to decay, while new cells are formedfrom the blood to take their place. Time with life commences theconstant process of decay and renewal all over the body. 

[Illustration: Fig. 49. ]

The liquid portion of the blood consists of material formed from food, air, and water. From this material the cells of the blood are formed:first, the white cells, which are incomplete in formation; and thenthe red cells, which are completed by the addition of the oxygenreceived from air in the lungs. Fig. 49 represents part of a magnifiedblood-vessel, _a_, _a_, in which the round cells are the white, and theoblong the red cells, floating in the blood. Surrounding the blood-vessels are the cells forming the adjacent membrane, _bb_, each having anucleus in its centre. 

Cells have different powers of selecting and secreting diverse materialsfrom the blood. Thus, some secrete bile to carry to the liver, otherssecrete saliva for the mouth, others take up the tears, and stillothers take material for the brain, muscles, and all other organs. Cells also have a converting power, of taking one kind of matter fromthe blood, and changing it to another kind. They are minute chemicallaboratories all over the body, changing materials of one kind toanother form in which they can be made useful. 

Both animal and vegetable substances are formed of cells. But thevegetable cells take up and use unorganized or simple, natural matter;whereas the animal cell only takes substances already organized intovegetable or animal life, and then changes one compound into anotherof different proportions and nature. 

These curious facts in regard to cell-life have important relationsto the general subject of the care of health, and also to the cure ofdisease, as will be noticed in following chapters. 

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

There is another portion of the body, which is so intimately connectedwith every other that it is placed in this chapter as also havingreference to every department in the general subject of the care ofhealth. 

The body has no power to move itself, but is a collection of instrumentsto be used by the mind in securing various kinds of knowledge andenjoyment. The organs through which the mind thus operates are the_brain_ and _nerves_. The drawing (Fig. 50) represents them. 

[Illustration: Fig. 50. ]

The brain lies in the skull, and is divided into the large or upperbrain, marked 1, and the small or lower brain, marked 2. From the brainruns the spinal marrow through the spine or backbone. From each sideof the spine the large nerves run out into innumerable smaller branchesto every portion of the body. The drawing shows only some of the largerbranches. Those marked 3 run to the neck and organs of the chest; thosemarked 4 go to the arms; those below the arms, marked 3, go to thetrunk; and those marked 5 go to the legs. 

The brain and nerves consist of two kinds of nervous matter--the _gray_, which is supposed to be the portion that originates and controls anervous fluid which imparts power of action; and the _white_, whichseems to conduct this fluid to every part of the body. 

The brain and nervous system are divided into distinct portions, eachhaving different offices to perform, and each acting independently ofthe others; as, for example, one portion is employed by the mind inthinking, and in feeling pleasurable or painful mental emotions; anotherin moving the muscles; while the nerves that run to the nose, ears, eyes, tongue, hands, and surface generally, are employed in seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling all physical sensations. 

The _back_ portion of the spinal marrow and the nerves that run from itare employed in _sensation_, or the _sense of feeling_. These nervesextend over the whole body, but are largely developed in the network ofnerves in the skin. The _front_ portion of the spinal marrow and itsbranches are employed in moving those muscles in all parts of the bodywhich are controlled by the _will_ or _choice_ of the mind. These arecalled the _nerves of motion_. 

The nerves of sensation and nerves of motion, although they start fromdifferent portions of the spine, are united in the same _sheath_ or_cover_, till they terminate in the muscles. Thus, every muscle is movedby nerves of motion; while alongside of this nerve, in the same sheath, is a nerve of sensation. All the nerves of motion and sensation areconnected with those portions of the brain used when we think, feel, andchoose. By this arrangement the mind _knows_ what is wanted in all partsof the body by means of the nerves of sensation, and then it _acts_ bymeans of the nerves of motion. 

For example, when we feel the cold air on the skin, the nerves ofsensation report to the brain, and thus to the mind, that the body isgrowing cold. The mind thus knows that more clothing is needed, and_wills_ to have the eyes look for it, and the hands and feet moveto get it. This is done by the nerves of sight and of motion. 

Next are the nerves of _involuntary motion_, which move all thoseparts of the head, face, and body that are used in breathing, and inother operations connected with it. By these we continue to breathewhen asleep, and whether we will to do so or not. There are also someof the nerves of voluntary motion that are mixed with these, whichenable the mind to stop respiration, or to regulate it to a certainextent. But the mind has no power to stop it for any great length oftime. 

There is another large and important system of nerves called the_sympathetic_ or _ganglionic_ system. It consists of small masses ofgray and white nervous matter, that seem to be small brains with nervesrunning from them. These are called _ganglia_, and are arranged on eachside of the spine, while small nerves from the spinal marrow run intothem, thus uniting the sympathetic system with the nerves of the spine. These ganglia are also distributed around in various parts of theinterior of the body, especially in the intestines, and all thedifferent ganglia are connected with each other by nerves, thus makingone system. It is the ganglionic system that carries on the circulationof the blood, the action of the capillaries, lymphatics, arteries, andveins, together with the work of secretion, absorption, and most of theinternal working of the body, which goes forward without any knowledgeor control of the mind. 

Every portion of the body has nerves of sensation coming from thespine, and also branches of the sympathetic or ganglionic system. Theobject of this is to form a sympathetic communication between theseveral parts of the body, and also to enable the mind to receive, through the brain, some general knowledge of the state of the wholesystem. It is owing to this that, when one portion of the body isaffected, other portions sympathize. For example, if one part of thebody is diseased, the stomach may so sympathize as to lose all appetiteuntil the disease is removed. 

All the operations of the nervous system are performed by the influenceof the nervous fluid, which is generated in the gray portions of thebrain and ganglia. Whenever a nerve is cut off from its connectionwith these nervous centres, its power is gone, and the part to whichit ministered becomes lifeless and incapable of motion. 

The brain and nerves can be overworked, and can also suffer for wantof exercise, just as the muscles do. It is necessary for the perfecthealth of the brain and nerves that the several portions he exercisedsufficiently, and that no part be exhausted by over-action. Forexample, the nerves of sensation may be very much exercised, and thenerves of motion have but little exercise. In this ease, one will beweakened by excess of work, and the other by the want of it. 

It is found by experience that the proper exercise of the nerves ofmotion tends to reduce any extreme susceptibility of the nerves ofsensation. On the contrary, the neglect of such exercise tends toproduce an excessive sensibility in the nerves of sensation. 

Whenever that part of the brain which is employed in thinking, feeling, and willing, is greatly exercised by hard study, or by excessive careor emotion, the blood tends to the brain to supply it with increasednourishment, just as it flows to the muscles when they are exercised. Over-exercise of this portion of the brain causes engorgement of theblood-vessels. This is sometimes indicated by pain, or by a sense offullness in the head; but oftener the result is a debilitating drainon the nervous system, which depends for its supply on the healthfulstate of the brain. 

The brain has, as it were, a fountain of supply for the nervous fluid, which flows to all the nerves, and stimulates them to action. Somebrains have a larger, and some a smaller fountain; so that a degreeof mental activity that would entirely exhaust one, would make onlya small and healthful drain upon another. 

The excessive use of certain portions of the brain tends to withdrawthe nervous energy from other portions; so that when one part isdebilitated by excess, another fails by neglect. For example, a personmay so exhaust the brain power in the excessive use of the nerves ofmotion by hard work, as to leave little for any other faculty. On theother hand, the nerves of feeling and thinking may be so used as towithdraw the nervous fluid from the nerves of motion, and thusdebilitate the muscles. 

Some animal propensities may be indulged to such excess as to producea constant tendency of the blood to a certain portion of the brain, and to the organs connected with it, and thus cause a constant andexcessive excitement, which finally becomes a disease. Sometimes aparalysis of this portion of the brain results from such an entireexhaustion of the nervous fountain and of the overworked nerves. 

Thus, also, the thinking portion of the brain may be so overworked asto drain the nervous fluid from other portions, which become debilitatedby the loss. And in this way, also, the overworked portion may bediseased or paralyzed by the excess. 

The necessity for the _equal development_ of all portions of the brainby an appropriate exercise of _all_ the faculties of mind and body, andthe influence of this upon happiness, is the most important portion ofthis subject, and will be more directly exhibited in another chapter. 

VIII. 

DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 

In a work which aims to influence women to train the young to honordomestic labor and to seek healthful exercise in home pursuits, thereis special reason for explaining the construction of the muscles andtheir connection with the nerves, these being the chief organs ofmotion. 

The muscles, as seen by the naked eye, consist of very fine fibres orstrings, bound up in smooth, silky casings of thin membrane. But eachof these visible fibres or strings the microscope shows to be made upof still finer strings, numbering from five to eight hundred in eachfibre. And each of these microscopic fibres is a series or chain ofelastic cells, which are so minute that one hundred thousand wouldscarcely cover a capital O on this page. 

[Illustration: Fig. 51. ][Illustration: Fig. 52. ]

The peculiar property of the cells which compose the muscles is theirelasticity, no other cells of the body having this property. At Fig. 51 is a diagram representing a microscopic muscular fibre, in whichthe cells are relaxed, as in the natural state of rest. But when themuscle contracts, each of its numberless cells in all its small fibresbecomes widened, making each fibre of the muscle shorter and thicker, as at Fig. 52. This explains the cause of the swelling out of muscleswhen they act. 

Every motion in every part of the body has a special muscle to produceit, and many have other muscles to restore the part moved to its naturalstate. The muscles that move or bend any part are called _flexors_, and those that restore the natural position are called _extensors_. 

[Illustration: Fig. 53]

Fig. 53 represents the muscles of the arm after the skin and flesh areremoved. They are all in smooth silky cases, laid over each other, andseparated both by the smooth membranes that encase them and by layersof fat, so as to move easily without interfering with each other. Theyare fastened to the bones by strong tendons and cartilages; and aroundthe wrist, in the drawing, is shown a band of cartilage to confinethem in place. The muscle marked 8 is the extensor that straightensthe fingers after they have been closed by a flexor the other side ofthe arm. In like manner, each motion of the arm and fingers has onemuscle to produce it and another to restore to the natural position. 

The muscles are dependent on the brain and nerves for power to move. It has been shown that the gray matter of the brain and spinal marrowfurnishes the stimulating power that moves the muscles, and causessensations of touch on the skin, and the other sensations of the severalsenses. The white part of the brain and spinal marrow consists solelyof conducting tubes to transmit this influence. Each of the minutefibrils of the muscles has a small conducting nerve connecting it withthe brain or spinal marrow, and in this respect each muscular fibrilis separate from every other. 

When, therefore, the mind wills to move a flexor muscle of the arm, the gray matter sends out the stimulus through the nerves to the cellsof each individual fibre of that muscle, and they contract. When thisis done, the nerve of sensation reports it to the brain and mind. Ifthe mind desires to return the arm to its former position, then followsthe willing, and consequent stimulus sent through the nerves to thecorresponding muscle; its cells contract, and the limb is restored. 

When the motion is a compound one, involving the action of severalmuscles at the same time, a multitude of impressions are sent back andforth to and from the brain through the nerves. But the person actingthus is unconscious of all this delicate and wonderful mechanism. Hewills the movement, and instantly the requisite nervous power is sentto the required cells and fibres, and they perform the motions required. Many of the muscles are moved by the sympathetic system, over whichthe mind has but little control. 

Among the muscles and nerves so intimately connected, run the minutecapillaries of the blood, which furnish nourishment to all. 

[Illustration: Fig. 54]

Fig. 54 represents an artery a _a_, which brings pure blood to a musclefrom the heart. After meandering through the capillaries at _c_, todistribute oxygen and food from the stomach, the blood enters the vein, _b_, loaded with carbonic acid and water taken up in the capillaries, tobe carried to the lungs or skin, and thrown out into the air. 

The manner in which the exercise of the muscles quickens the circulationof the blood will now be explained. The veins abound in every part ofevery muscle, and the large veins have _valves_ which prevent theblood from flowing backward. If the wrist is grasped tightly, the veinsof the hand are immediately swollen. This is owing to the fact thatthe blood is prevented from flowing toward the heart by this pressure, and by the vein-valves from returning into the arteries; while thearteries themselves, being placed deeper down, are not so compressed, and continue to send the blood into the hand, and thus it accumulates. As soon as this pressure is removed, the blood springs onward from therestraint with accelerated motion. This same process takes place whenany of the muscles are exercised. The contraction of any muscle pressessome of the veins, so that the blood can not flow the natural way, while the valves in the veins prevent its flowing backward. Meantimethe arteries continue to press the blood along until the veins becomeswollen. Then, as soon as the muscle ceases its contraction, the bloodflows faster from the previous accumulation. 

If, then, we use a number of muscles, and use them strongly and quickly, there are so many veins affected in this way as to quicken the wholecirculation. The heart receives blood faster, and sends it to the lungsfaster. Then the lungs work quicker, to furnish the oxygen requiredby the greater amount of blood. The blood returns with greater speedto the heart, and the heart sends it out with quicker action throughthe arteries to the capillaries. In the capillaries, too, the decayedmatter is carried off faster, and then the stomach calls for more foodto furnish new and pure blood. Thus it is that exercise gives new lifeand nourishment to every part of the body. 

It is the universal law of the human frame that _exercise_ isindispensable to the health of the several parts. Thus, if ablood-vessel be tied up, so as not to be used, it shrinks, and becomesa useless string; if a muscle be condemned to inaction, it shrinks insize and diminishes in power; and thus it is also with the bones. Inactivity produces softness, debility, and unfitness for the functionsthey are designed to perform. 

Now, the nerves, like all other parts of the body, gain and losestrength according as they are exercised. If they have too much or toolittle exercise, they lose strength; if they are exercised to a properdegree, they gain strength. When the mind is continuously excited, bybusiness, study, or the imagination, the nerves of emotion and sensationare kept in constant action, while the nerves of motion are unemployed. If this is continued for a long time, the nerves of sensation losetheir strength from over-action, and the nerves of motion lose theirpower from inactivity. In consequence, there is a morbid excitabilityof the nervous, and a debility of the muscular system, which make allexertion irksome and wearisome. 

The only mode of preserving the health of these systems is to keep upin them an equilibrium of action. For this purpose, occupations mustbe sought which exercise the muscles and interest the mind; and thusthe equal action of both kinds of nerves is secured. This shows whyexercise is so much more healthful and invigorating when the mind isinterested, than when it is not. As an illustration, let a person goshopping with a friend, and have nothing to do but look on. How soondo the continuous walking and standing weary! But, suppose one, thuswearied, hears of the arrival of a very dear friend: she can instantlywalk off a mile or two to meet her, without the least feeling offatigue. By this is shown the importance of furnishing, for youngpersons, exercise in which they will take an interest. Long and formalwalks, merely for exercise, though they do some good, in securing freshair, and some exercise of the muscles, would be of triple benefit ifchanged to amusing sports, or to the cultivation of fruits and flowers, in which it is impossible to engage without acquiring a great interest. 

It shows, also, why it is far better to trust to useful domesticexercise at home than to send a young person out to walk for the merepurpose of exercise. Young girls can seldom be made to realize thevalue of health, and the need of exercise to secure it, so as to feelmuch interest in walking abroad, when they have no other object. But, if they are brought up to minister to the comfort and enjoyment ofthemselves and others, by performing domestic duties, they willconstantly be interested and cheered in their exercise by the feelingof usefulness and the consciousness of having performed their duty. 

There are few young persons, it is hoped, who are brought up with suchmiserable habits of selfishness and indolence that they can not bemade to feel happier by the consciousness of being usefully employed. And those who have never been accustomed to think or care for any onebut themselves, and who seem to feel little pleasure in makingthemselves useful, by wise and proper influences can often be graduallyawakened to the new pleasure of benevolent exertion to promote thecomfort and enjoyment of others. And the more this sacred and elevatingkind of enjoyment is tasted, the greater is the relish induced. Otherenjoyments often cloy; but the heavenly pleasure secured by virtuousindustry and benevolence, while it satisfies at the time, awakens freshdesires for the continuance of so ennobling a good. 

IX. 

HEALTHFUL FOOD. 

The person who decides what shall be the food and drink of a family, and the modes of its preparation, is the one who decides, to a greateror less extent, what shall be the health of that family. It is theopinion of most medical men, that intemperance in eating is one of themost fruitful of all causes of disease and death. If this be so, thewoman who wisely adapts the food and cooking of her family to the lawsof health removes one of the greatest risks which threatens the livesof those under her care. But, unfortunately, there is no other dutythat has been involved in more doubt and perplexity. Were one to believeall that is said and written on this subject, the conclusion probablywould be, that there is not one solitary article of food on God's earthwhich it is healthful to eat. Happily, however, there are generalprinciples on this subject which, if understood and applied, will provea safe guide to any woman of common sense; and it is the object of thefollowing chapter to set forth these principles. 

All material things on earth, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, canbe resolved into sixty-two simple substances, only fourteen of whichare in the human body; and these, in certain proportions, in allmankind. 

Thus, in a man weighing 154 lbs. Are found, 111 lbs. Oxygen gas, and14 lbs. Hydrogen gas, which, united, form water; 21 lbs. Carbon; 3lbs. 8 oz. Nitrogen gas; 1 lb. 12 oz. 190 grs. Phosphorus; 2 lbs. Calcium, the chief ingredient of bones; 2 oz. Fluorine; 2 oz. 219 grs. Sulphur; 2 oz 47 grs. Chlorine; 2 oz. 116 grs. Sodium; 100 grs. Iron;290 grs. Potassium; 12 grs. Magnesium; and 2 grs. Silicon. 

These simple substances are constantly passing out of the body throughthe lungs, skin, and other excreting organs. 

It is found that certain of these simple elements are used for onepart of the body, and others for other parts, and this in certainregular proportions. Thus, carbon is the chief element of fat, andalso supplies the fuel that combines with oxygen in the capillariesto produce animal heat. The nitrogen which we gain from our food andthe air is the chief element of muscle; phosphorus is the chief elementof brain and nerves; and calcium or lime is the hard portion of thebones. Iron is an important element of blood, and silicon supplies thehardest parts of the teeth, nails, and hair. 

Water, which is composed of the two gases, oxygen and hydrogen, is thelargest portion of the body, forming its fluids; there is four timesas much of carbon as there is of nitrogen in the body; while there isonly two per cent as much phosphorus as carbon. A man weighing onehundred and fifty-four pounds, who leads an active life, takes intohis stomach daily from two to three pounds of solid food, and fromfive to six pounds of liquid. At the same time he takes into his lungs, daily, four or five thousand gallons of air. This amounts to threethousand pounds of nutriment received through stomach and lungs, andthen expelled from the body, in one year; or about twenty times theman's own weight. 

The change goes on in every minute point of the body, though in someparts much faster than in others; as set forth in the piquant andsprightly language of Dr. O. W. Holmes [Footnote: Atlantic Almanac, 1869, p. 40. ], who, giving a vivid picture of the constant decay andrenewal of the body, says:

"_Every organized being always lives immersed in a strong solutionof its own elements. _"

"Sometimes, as in the case of the air-plant, the solution contains allits elements; but in higher plants, and in animals generally, some ofthe principal ones only. Take our own bodies, and we find the atmospherecontains the oxygen and the nitrogen, of which we are so largely madeup, as its chief constituents; the hydrogen, also, in its watery vapor;the carbon, in its carbonic acid. What our air-bath does not furnishus, we must take in the form of nourishment, supplied through thedigestive organs. But the first food we take, after we have set up forourselves, is air, and the last food we take is air also. We are allchameleons in our diet, as we are all salamanders in our _habitats_, inasmuch as we live always in the fire of our own smoulderingcombustion; a gentle but constant flame, fanned every day by the sameforty hogsheads of air which furnish us not with our daily bread, whichwe can live more than a day without touching, but with our momentary, and oftener than momentary, aliment, without which we can not live fiveminutes. "

"We are perishing and being born again at every instant. We do literallyenter over and over again into the womb of that great mother, fromwhom we get our bones, and flesh, and blood, and marrow. 'I die daily'is true of all that live. If we cease to die, particle by particle, and to be born anew in the same proportion, the whole movement of lifecomes to an end, and swift, universal, irreparable decay resolvesour frames into the parent elements. "

"The products of the internal fire which consumes us over and overagain every year, pass off mainly in smoke and steam from the lungsand the skin. The smoke is only invisible, because the combustion isso perfect. The steam is plain enough in our breaths on a frostymorning; and an over-driven horse will show us, on a larger scale, thecloud that is always arising from own bodies. "

"Man walks, then, not only in a vain show, but wrapped in an uncelestialaureole of his own material exhalations. A great mist of gases and ofvapor rises day and night from the whole realm of living nature. Thewater and the carbonic acid which animals exhale become the food ofplants, whose leaves are at once lungs and mouths. The vegetable worldreverses the breathing process of the animal creation, restoring theelements which that has combined and rendered effete for its ownpurposes, to their original condition. The salt-water ocean is a greataquarium. The air ocean in which we live is a 'Wardian case, ' of largerdimensions. "

It is found that the simple elements will not nourish the body in theirnatural state, but only when organized, either as vegetable or animalfood; and, to the dismay of the Grahamite or vegetarian school, it isnow established by chemists that animal and vegetable food contain thesame elements, and in nearly the same proportions. 

Thus, in animal food, carbon predominates in fats, while in vegetablefood it shows itself in sugar, starch, and vegetable oils. Nitrogenis found in animal food in the albumen, fibrin, and caseine; while invegetables it is in gluten, albumen, and caseine. 

[Illustration: Fig. 55]

It is also a curious fact that, in all articles of food, the elementsthat nourish diverse parts of the body are divided into separableportions, and also that the proportions correspond in a great degreeto the wants of the body. For example, a kernel of wheat contains allthe articles demanded for every part of the body. Fig. 55 represents, upon an enlarged scale, the position and proportions of the chiefelements required. The white central part is the largest in quantity, and is chiefly carbon in the form of starch, which supplies fat andfuel for the capillaries. The shaded outer portion is chiefly nitrogen, which nourishes the muscles, and the dark spot at the bottom isprincipally phosphorus, which nourishes the brain and nerves. And theseelements are in due proportion to the demands of the body. A portionof the outer covering of a wheat-kernel holds lime, silica, and iron, which are needed by the body, and which are found in no other part ofthe grain. The woody fibre is not digested, but serves by its bulk andstimulating action to facilitate digestion. It is therefore evidentthat bread made of unbolted flour is more healthful than that made ofsuperfine flour. The process of bolting removes all the woody fibre;the lime needed for the bones; the silica for hair, nails, and teeth;the iron for the blood; and most of the nitrogen and phosphorus neededfor muscles, brain, and nerves. 

Experiments on animals prove that fine flour alone, which is chieflycarbon, will not sustain life more than a month, while unbolted flourfurnishes all that is needed for every part of the body. There arecases where persons can not use such coarse bread, on account of itsirritating action on inflamed coats of the stomach. For such, a kindof wheaten grit is provided, containing all the kernel of the wheat, except the outside woody fibre. 

When the body requires a given kind of diet, specially demanded bybrain, lungs, or muscles, the appetite will crave food for it untilthe necessary amount of this article is secured. If, then, the foodin which the needed aliment abounds is not supplied, other food willbe taken in larger quantities than needed until that amount is gained. For all kinds of food have supplies for every want of the body, thoughin different proportions. Thus, for example, if the muscles are workeda great deal, food in which nitrogen abounds is required, and theappetite will continue until the requisite amount of nitrogen issecured. If, then, food is taken which has not the requisite quantity, the consequence is, that more is taken than the system can use, whilethe vital powers are needlessly taxed to throw off the excess. 

These facts were ascertained by Liebig, a celebrated German chemistand physicist, who, assisted by his government, conducted experimentson a large scale in prisons, in armies, and in hospitals. Among otherresults, he states that those who use potatoes for their principalfood eat them in very much larger quantities than their bodies woulddemand if they used also other food. The reason is, that the potatohas a very large proportion of starch that supplies only fuel for thecapillaries and very little nitrogen to feed the muscles. For thisreason lean meat is needed with potatoes. 

In comparing wheat and potatoes we find that in one hundred parts wheatthere are fourteen parts nitrogen for muscle, and two parts phosphorusfor brain and nerves. But in the potato there is only one part in onehundred for muscle, and nine tenths of one part of phosphorus for brainand nerves. 

The articles containing most of the three articles needed generallyin the body are as follows: for fat and heat-making--butter, lard, sugar, and molasses; for muscle-making--lean meat, cheese, peas, beans, and lean fishes; for brain and nerves--shell-fish, lean meats, peas, beans, and very active birds and fishes who live chiefly on food inwhich phosphorus abounds. In a meat diet, the fat supplies carbon forthe capillaries and the lean furnishes nutriment for muscle, brain, and nerves. Green vegetables, fruits, and berries furnish the acid andwater needed. 

In grains used for food, the proportions of useful elements are varied;there is in some more of carbon and in others more of nitrogen andphosphorus. For example, in oats there is more of nitrogen for themuscles, and less carbon for the lungs, than can be found in wheat. In the corn of the North, where cold weather demands fuel for lungsand capillaries, there is much more carbon to supply it than is foundin the Southern corn. 

From these statements it may be seen that one of the chief mistakesin providing food for families has been in changing the proportionsof the elements nature has fitted for our food. Thus, fine wheat isdeprived by bolting of some of the most important of its nourishingelements, leaving carbon chiefly, which, after supplying fuel fur thecapillaries, must, if in excess, be sent out of the body; thusneedlessly taxing all the excreting organs. So milk, which containsall the elements needed by the body, has the cream taken out and usedfor butter, which again is chiefly carbon. Then, sugar and molasses, cakes and candies, are chiefly carbon, and supply but very little ofother nourishing elements, while to make them safe much exercise incold and pure air is necessary. And yet it is the children of the rich, housed in chambers and school-rooms most of their time, who are fedwith these dangerous dainties, thus weakening their constitutions, andinducing fevers, colds, and many other diseases. The proper digestionof food depends on the wants of the body, and on its power ofappropriating the aliment supplied. The best of food can not be properlydigested when it is not needed. All that the system requires will beused, and the rest will be thrown out by the several excreting organs, which thus are frequently over-taxed, and vital forces are wasted. Even food of poor quality may digest well if the demands of the systemare urgent. The way to increase digestive power is to increase thedemand for food by pure air and exercise of the muscles, quickeningthe blood, and arousing the whole system to a more rapid and vigorousrate of life. 

Rules for persons in full health, who enjoy pure air and exercise, arenot suitable for those whose digestive powers are feeble, or who arediseased. On the other hand, many rules for invalids are not neededby the healthful, while rules for one class of invalids will not availfor other classes. Every weak stomach has its peculiar wants, and cannot furnish guidance for others. 

We are now ready to consider intelligently the following generalprinciples in regard to the proper selection of food:

Vegetable and animal food are equally healthful if apportioned to thegiven circumstances. 

In cold weather, carbonaceous food, such as butter, fats, sugar, molasses, etc. , can be used more safely than in warm weather. And theycan be used more safely by those who exercise in the open air than bythose of confined and sedentary habits. 

Students who need food with little carbon, and women who live in thehouse, should always seek coarse bread, fruits, and lean meats, andavoid butter, oils, sugar, and molasses, and articles containing them. 

Many students and women using little exercise in the open air, growthin and weak, because the vital powers are exhausted in throwing offexcess of food, especially of the carbonaceous. The liver is especiallytaxed in such cases, being unable to remove all the excess ofcarbonaceous matter from, the blood, and thus "biliousness" ensues, particularly on the approach of warm weather, when the air brings lessoxygen than in cold. 

It is found, by experiment, that the supply of gastric juice, furnishedfrom the blood by the arteries of the stomach, is proportioned, notto the amount of food put into the stomach, but to the wants of thebody; so that it is possible to put much more into the stomach thancan be digested. To guide and regulate in this matter, the sensationcalled _hunger_ is provided. In a healthy state of the body, assoon as the blood has lost its nutritive supplies, the craving ofhunger is felt, and then, if the food is suitable, and is taken in theproper manner, this sensation ceases as soon as the stomach has receivedenough to supply the wants of the system. But our benevolent Creator, in this, as in our other duties, has connected enjoyment with theoperation needful to sustain our bodies. In addition to the allayingof hunger, the gratification of the palate is secured by the immensevariety of food, some articles of which are far more agreeable thanothers. 

This arrangement of Providence, designed for our happiness, has become, either through ignorance, or want of self-control, the chief cause ofthe many diseases and suffering which afflict those classes who havethe means of seeking a variety to gratify the palate. If mankind hadonly one article of food, and only water to drink, though they wouldhave less enjoyment in eating, they would never be tempted to put anymore into the stomach than the calls of hunger require. But the customsof society, which present an incessant change, and a great variety offood, with those various condiments which stimulate appetite, leadalmost every person very frequently to eat merely to gratify the palate, after the stomach has been abundantly supplied, so that hunger hasceased. 

When too great a supply of food is put into the stomach, the gastricjuice dissolves only that portion which the wants of the system demand. Most of the remainder is ejected, in an unprepared state; the absorbentstake portions of it into the system; and all the various functions ofthe body, which depend on the ministries of the blood, are thusgradually and imperceptibly injured. Very often, intemperance in eatingproduces immediate results, such as colic, headaches, pains ofindigestion, and vertigo. 

But the more general result is a gradual undermining of all parts ofthe human frame; this imperceptibly shortening life, by so weakeningthe constitution, that it is ready to yield, at every point, to anyuncommon risk or exposure. Thousands and thousands are parsing out ofthe world, from diseases occasioned by exposures which a healthyconstitution could meet without any danger. It is owing to theseconsiderations, that it becomes the duty of every woman, who has theresponsibility of providing food for a family, to avoid a variety oftempting dishes. It is a much safer rule, to have only one kind ofhealthy food, for each meal, than the too abundant variety which isoften met at the tables of almost all classes in this country. Whenthere is to be any variety of dishes, they ought not to be successive, but so arranged as to give the opportunity of selection. How often isit the case, that persons, by the appearance of a favorite article, are tempted to eat merely to gratify the palate, when the stomach isalready adequately supplied. All such intemperance wears on theconstitution, and shortens life. It not infrequently happens thatexcess in eating produces a morbid appetite, which must constantly bedenied. 

But the organization of the digestive organs demands, not only thatfood should be taken in proper quantities, but that it be taken atproper times. 

[Illustration: Fig. 56. ]

Fig. 56 shows one important feature of the digestive organs relatingto this point. The part marked LM shows the muscles of the inner coatof the stomach, which run in one direction, and CM shows the musclesof the outer coat, running in another direction. 

As soon as the food enters the stomach, the muscles are excited by thenerves, and the _peristaltic motion_ commences. This is a powerfuland constant exercise of the muscles of the stomach, which continuesuntil the process of digestion is complete. During this time the bloodis withdrawn from other parts of the system, to supply the demands ofthe stomach, which is laboring hard with all its muscles. When thismotion ceases, and the digested food has gradually passed out, naturerequires that the stomach should have a period of repose. And if anothermeal be eaten immediately after one is digested, the stomach is setto work again before it has had time to rest, and before a sufficientsupply of gastric juice is provided. 

The general rule, then, is, that three hours be given to the stomachfor labor, and two for rest; and in obedience to this, five hours, atleast, ought to elapse between every two regular meals. In cases whereexercise produces a flow of perspiration, more food is needed to supplythe loss; and strong laboring men may safely eat as often as they feelthe want of food. So, young and healthy children, who gambol andexercise ranch and whose bodies grow fast, may have a more frequentsupply of food. But, as a general rule, meals should be five hoursapart, and eating between meals avoided. There is nothing more unsafe, and wearing to the constitution, than a habit of eating at any timemerely to gratify the palate. When a tempting article is presented, every person should exercise sufficient self-denial to wait till theproper time for eating arrives. Children, as well as grown persons, are often injured by eating between their regular meals, thus weakeningthe stomach by not affording it any time for rest. 

In deciding as to _quantity_ of food, there is one great difficultyto be met by a large portion of the community. The exercise of everypart of the body is necessary to its health and perfection. The bones, the muscles, the nerves, the organs of digestion and respiration, andthe skin, all demand exercise, in order properly to perform theirfunctions. When the muscles of the body are called into action, allthe blood-vessels entwined among them are frequently compressed. Asthe veins have valves so contrived that the blood can not run back, this compression hastens it forward toward the heart; which isimmediately put in quicker motion, to send it into the lungs; and they, also, are thus stimulated to more rapid action, which is the cause ofthat panting which active exercise always occasions. The blood thuscourses with greater celerity through the body, and sooner loses itsnourishing properties. Then the stomach issues its mandate of hunger, and a new supply of food must be furnished. 

Thus it appears, as a general rule, that the quantity of food actuallyneeded by the body depends on the amount of muscular exercise taken. A laboring man, in the open fields, probably throws off from his skinand lungs a much larger amount than a person of sedentary pursuits. In consequence of this, he demands a greater amount of food and drink. 

Those persons who keep their bodies in a state of health by sufficientexercise can always be guided by the calls of hunger. They can eatwhen they feel hungry, and stop when hunger ceases; and thus they willcalculate exactly right. But the difficulty is, that a large part ofthe community, especially women, are so inactive in their habits thatthey seldom feel the calls of hunger. They habitually eat, merely togratify the palate. This produces such a state of the system that theylose the guide which Nature has provided. They are not called to eatby hunger, nor admonished, by its cessation, when to stop. Inconsequence of this, such persons eat what pleases the palate, tillthey feel no more inclination for the article. It is probable thatthree fourths of the women in the wealthier circles sit down to eachmeal without any feeling of hunger, and eat merely on account of thegratification thus afforded them. Such persons find their appetite todepend almost solely upon the kind of food on the table. This is notthe case with those who take the exercise which Nature demands. Theyapproach their meals in such a state that almost any kind of food isacceptable. 

The question then arises, How are persons, who have lost the guidewhich Nature has provided, to determine as to the proper amount offood they shall take?

The best method is for several days to take their ordinary exerciseand eat only one or two articles of simple food, such as bread andmilk, or bread and butter with cooked fruit, or lean meat with breadand vegetables, and at the same time eat less than the appetite demands. Then on the following two days, take just enough to satisfy theappetite, and on the third day notice the quantity which satisfies. After this, decide before eating that only this amount of simple foodshall be taken. 

Persons who have a strong constitution, and take much exercise, mayeat almost any thing with apparent impunity; but young children whoare forming their constitutions, and persons who are delicate, and whotake but little exercise, are very dependent for health on a properselection of food. 

It is found that there are some kinds of food which afford nutrimentto the blood, and do not produce any other effect on the system. Thereare other kinds, which are not only nourishing, but _stimulating_, so that they quicken the functions of the organs on which they operate. The condiments used in cookery, such as pepper, mustard, and spices, are of this nature. There are certain states of the system when thesestimulants may be beneficial; such cases can only be pointed out bymedical men. 

Persons in perfect health, and especially young children, never receiveany benefit from such kind of food; and just in proportion as condimentsoperate to quicken the labors of the internal organs, they tend towear down their powers. A person who thus keeps the body working underan unnatural excitement, _live faster_ than Nature designed, andthe constitution is worn out just so much the sooner. A woman, therefore, should provide dishes for her family which are free fromthese stimulating condiments. 

It is also found, by experience, that the lean part of animal food ismore stimulating than vegetable. This is the reason why, in cases offevers or inflammations, medical men forbid the use of meat. A personwho lives chiefly on animal food is under a higher degree of stimulusthan if his food was chiefly composed of vegetable substances. Hisblood will flow faster, and all the functions of his body will bequickened. This makes it important to secure a proper proportion ofanimal and vegetable diet. Some medical men suppose that an exclusivelyvegetable diet is proved, by the experience of many individuals, tobe fully sufficient to nourish the body; and bring, as evidence, thefact that some of the strongest and most robust men in the world arethose who are trained, from infancy, exclusively on vegetable food. From this they infer that life will be shortened just in proportionas the diet is changed to more stimulating articles; and that, allother things being equal, children will have a better chance of healthand long life if they are brought up solely on vegetable food. 

But, though this is not the common opinion of medical men, they allagree that, in America, far too large a portion of the diet consistsof animal food. As a nation, the Americans are proverbial for the grossand luxurious diet with which they load their tables; and there canbe no doubt that the general health of the nation would be increasedby a change in our customs in this respect. To take meat but once aday, and this in small quantities, compared with the common practice, is a rule, the observance of which would probably greatly reduce theamount of fevers, eruptions, headaches, bilious attacks, and the manyother ailments which are produced or aggravated by too gross a diet. 

The celebrated Roman physician, Baglivi, (who, from practicingextensively among Roman Catholics, had ample opportunities to observe, )mentions that, in Italy, an unusual number of people recover theirhealth in the forty days of Lent, in consequence of the lower dietwhich is required as a religious duty. An American physician remarks, "For every reeling drunkard that disgraces our country, it containsone hundred gluttons--persons, I mean, who eat to excess, and sufferin consequence. " Another distinguished physician says, "I believe thatevery stomach, not actually impaired by organic disease, will performits functions, if it receives reasonable attention; and when we perceivethe manner in which diet is generally conducted, both in regard to_quantity_ and _variety_ of articles of food and drink, which are mixedup in one heterogeneous mass--instead of being astonished at theprevalence of indigestion, our wonder must rather be that, in suchcircumstances, any stomach is capable of digesting at all. "

In regard to articles which are the most easily digested, only generalrules can be given. Tender meats are digested more readily than thosewhich are tough, or than many kinds of vegetable food. The farinaceousarticles, such as rice, flour, corn, potatoes, and the like, are themost nutritious, and most easily digested. The popular notion, thatmeat is more nourishing than bread, is a great mistake. Good breadcontains more nourishment than butcher's meat. The meat is more_stimulating_, and for this reason is more readily digested. 

A perfectly healthy stomach can digest almost any healthful food; butwhen the digestive powers are weak, every stomach has its peculiarities, and what is good for one is hurtful to another. In such cases, experiment alone can decide which are the most digestible articles offood. A person whose food troubles him must deduct one article afteranother, till he learns, by experience, which is the best for digestion. Much evil has been done, by assuming that the powers of one stomachare to be made the rule in regulating every other. 

The most unhealthful kinds of food are those which, are made so by badcooking; such as sour and heavy bread, cakes, pie-crust, and otherdishes consisting of fat mixed and cooked with flour. Rancid butterand high-seasoned food are equally unwholesome. The fewer mixturesthere are in cooking, the more healthful is the food likely to be. 

There is one caution as to the _mode_ of eating which seems peculiarlyneedful to Americans. It is indispensable to good digestion, that foodbe well chewed and taken slowly. It needs to be thoroughly chewed andmixed with saliva, in order to prepare it for the action of the gastricjuice, which, by the peristaltic motion, will be thus brought intocontact with every one of the minute portions. 

It has been found that a solid lump of food requires much more timeand labor of the stomach for digestion than divided substances. It hasalso been found, that as each bolus, or mouthful, enters the stomach, the latter closes, until the portion received has had some time tomove around and combine with the gastric juice, and that the orificeof the stomach resists the entrance of any more till this isaccomplished. But, if the eater persists in swallowing fast, the stomachyields; the food is then poured in more rapidly than the organ canperform its duty of preparative digestion; and evil results are sooneror later developed. This exhibits the folly of those hasty meals, socommon to travelers and to men of business, and shows why childrenshould be taught to eat slowly. 

After taking a full meal, it is very important to health that no greatbodily or mental exertion be made till the labor of the stomach isover. Intense mental effort draws the blood to the head, and muscularexertions draw it to the muscles; and in consequence of this, thestomach loses the supply which it requires when performing its office. When the blood with its stimulating effects is thus withdrawn from thestomach, the adequate supply of gastric juice is not afforded, andindigestion is the result. The heaviness which follows a full meal isthe indication which Nature gives of the need of quiet. When the mealis moderate, a sufficient quantity of gastric juice is exuded in anhour, or an hour and a half; after which, labor of body and mind maysafely be resumed. 

When undigested food remains in the stomach, and is at last thrown outinto the bowels, it proves an irritating substance, producing aninflamed state in the lining of the stomach and other organs. 

It is found that the stomach has the power of gradually accommodatingindigestive powers to the food it habitually receives. Thus, animalswhich live on vegetables can gradually become accustomed to animalfood; and the reverse is equally true. Thus, too, the human stomachcan eventually accomplish the digestion of some kinds of food, which, at first, were indigestible. 

But any changes of this sort should be gradual; as those which aresudden are trying to the powers of the stomach, by furnishing matterfor which its gastric juice is not prepared. 

Extremes of heat or cold are injurious to the process of digestion. Taking hot food or drink, habitually, tends to debilitate all theorgans thus needlessly excited. In using cold substances, it is foundthat a certain degree of warmth in the stomach is indispensable totheir digestion; so that, when the gastric juice is cooled below thistemperature, it ceases to act. Indulging in large quantities of colddrinks, or eating ice-creams, after a meal, tends to reduce thetemperature of the stomach, and thus to stop digestion. This shows thefolly of those refreshments, in convivial meetings, where the guestsare tempted to load the stomach with a variety such as would requirethe stomach of a stout farmer to digest; and then to wind up with ice-creams, thus lessening whatever ability might otherwise have existedto digest the heavy load. The fittest temperature for drinks, if takenwhen the food is in the digesting process, is blood heat. Cool drinks, and even ice, can be safely taken at other times, if not in excessivequantity. When the thirst is excessive, or the body weakened by fatigue, or when in a state of perspiration, large quantities of cold drinksare injurious. 

Fluids taken into the stomach are not subject to the slow process ofdigestion, but are immediately absorbed and carried into the blood. This is the reason why liquid nourishment, more speedily than solidfood, restores from exhaustion. The minute vessels of the stomachabsorb its fluids, which are carried into the blood, just as the minuteextremities of the arteries open upon the inner surface of the stomach, and there exude the gastric juice from the blood. 

When food is chiefly liquid, (soup, for example, ) the fluid part israpidly absorbed. The solid parts remain, to be acted on by the gastricjuice. In the case of St. Martin, [Footnote: The individual herereferred to--Alexis St. Martin--was a young Canadian, eighteen yearsof age, of a good constitution and robust health, who, in 1822, wasaccidentally wounded by the discharge of a musket which: carried awaya part of the ribs, lacerated one of two lobes of the lungs, andperforated the stomach, making a large aperture, which never closed;and which enabled Dr. Beaumont (a surgeon of the American army, stationed at Michilimackanac, under whose care the patient was placed)to witness all the processes of digestion and other functions of thebody for several years. ] in fifty minutes after taking soup, the fluidswere absorbed, and the remainder was even thicker than is usual aftereating solid food. This is the reason why soups are deemed bad forweak stomachs; as this residuum is more difficult of digestion thanordinary food. 

Highly-concentrated food, having much nourishment in a small bulk, isnot favorable to digestion, because it can not be properly acted onby the muscular contractions of the stomach, and is not so minutelydivided as to enable the gastric juice to act properly. This is thereason why a certain _bulk_ of food is needful to good digestion;and why those people who live on whale-oil and other highly nourishingfood, in cold climates, mix vegetables and even sawdust with it tomake it more acceptable and digestible. So in civilized lands, fruitsand vegetables are mixed with more highly concentrated nourishment. For this reason also, soups, jellies, and arrow-root should have breador crackers mixed with them. This affords another reason why coarsebread, of unbolted wheat, so often proves beneficial. Where, frominactive habits or other causes, the bowels become constipated andsluggish, this kind of food proves the appropriate remedy. 

One fact on this subject is worthy of notice. In England, under theadministration of William Pitt, for two years or more there was sucha scarcity of wheat that, to make it hold out longer, Parliament passeda law that the army should have all their bread made of unbolted flour. The result was, that the health of the soldiers improved so much asto be a subject of surprise to themselves, the officers, and thephysicians. These last came out publicly and declared that the soldiersnever before were so robust and healthy; and that disease had nearlydisappeared from the army. The civic physicians joined and pronouncedit the healthiest bread; and for a time schools, families, and publicinstitutions used it almost exclusively. Even the nobility, convincedby these facts, adopted it for their common diet, and the fashioncontinued a long time after the scarcity ceased, until more luxurioushabits resumed their sway. 

We thus see why children should not have cakes and candies allowedthem between meals. Besides being largely carbonaceous, these arehighly concentrated nourishments, and should be eaten with more bulkyand less nourishing substances. The most indigestible of all kinds offood are fatty and oily substances, if heated. It is on this accountthat pie-crust and articles boiled and fried in fat or butter aredeemed not so healthful as other food. 

The following, then, may be put down as the causes of a debilitatedconstitution from the misuse of food. Eating _too much, _ eating _toooften, _ eating _too fast, _ eating food and condiments that are _toostimulating, _ eating food that is _too warm_ or _too cold, _ eating foodthat is _highly concentrated, _ without a proper admixture of lessnourishing matter, and eating hot food that is _difficult of digestion. _

X. 

HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 

There is no direction in which a woman more needs both scientificknowledge and moral force than in using her influence to control herfamily in regard to stimulating beverages. 

It is a point fully established by experience that the full developmentof the human body and the vigorous exercise of all its functions canbe secured without the use of stimulating drinks. It is, therefore, perfectly safe to bring up children never to use them, no hazard beingincurred by such a course. 

It is also found by experience that there are two evils incurred bythe use of stimulating drinks. The first is, their positive effect onthe human system. Their peculiarity consists in so exciting the nervoussystem that all the functions of the body are accelerated, and thefluids are caused to move quicker than at their natural speed. Thisincreased motion of the animal fluids always produces an agreeableeffect on the mind. The intellect is invigorated, the imagination isexcited, the spirits are enlivened; and these effects are so agreeablethat all mankind, after having once experienced them, feel a greatdesire for their repetition. 

But this temporary invigoration of the system is always followed bya diminution of the powers of the stimulated organs; so that, thoughin all cases this reaction may not be perceptible, it is invariablythe result. It may be set down as the unchangeable rule of physiology, that stimulating drinks deduct from the powers of the constitution inexactly the proportion in which they operate to produce temporaryinvigoration. 

The second evil is the temptation which always attends the use ofstimulants. Their effect on the system is so agreeable, and the evilsresulting are so imperceptible and distant, that there is a constanttendency to increase such excitement both in frequency and power. Andthe more the system is thus reduced in strength, the more craving isthe desire for that which imparts a temporary invigoration. This processof increasing debility and increasing craving for the stimulus thatremoves it, often goes to such an extreme that the passion is perfectlyuncontrollable, and mind and body perish under this baleful habit. 

In this country there are three forms in which the use of suchstimulants is common; namely, _alcoholic drinks, opium mixtures_, and_tobacco_. These are all alike in the main peculiarity of imparting thatextra stimulus to the system which tends to exhaust its powers. 

Multitudes in this nation are in the habitual use of some one of thesestimulants; and each person defends the indulgence by certain arguments:

First, that the desire for stimulants is a natural propensity implantedin man's nature, as is manifest from the universal tendency to suchindulgences in every nation. From this, it is inferred that it is aninnocent desire, which ought to be gratified to some extent, and thatthe aim should be to keep it within the limits of temperance, insteadof attempting to exterminate a natural propensity. 

This is an argument which, if true, makes it equally proper for notonly men, but women and children, to use opium, brandy, or tobacco asstimulating principles, provided they are used temperately. But if itbe granted that perfect health and strength can be gained and securedwithout these stimulants, and that their peculiar effect is to diminishthe power of the system in exactly the same proportion as they stimulateit, then there is no such thing as a temperate use, unless they areso diluted as to destroy any stimulating power; and in this form theyare seldom desired. 

The other argument for their use is, that they are among the goodthings provided by the Creator for our gratification; that, like allother blessings, they are exposed to abuse and excess; and that weshould rather seek to regulate their use than to banish them entirely. 

This argument is based on the assumption that they are, like healthfulfoods and drinks, necessary to life and health, and injurious only byexcess. But this is not true; for whenever they are used in any suchstrength as to be a gratification, they operate to a greater or lessextent as stimulants; and to just such extent they wear out the powersof the constitution; and it is abundantly proved that they are not, like food and drink, necessary to health. Such articles are designedfor medicine and not for common use. There can be no argument framedto defend the use of one of them which will not justify women andchildren in most dangerous indulgences. 

There are some facts recently revealed by the microscope in regard toalcoholic drinks, which every woman should understand and regard. Ithas been shown in a previous chapter that every act of mind, eitherby thought, feeling, or choice, causes the destruction of certain cellsin the brain and nerves. It now is proved by microscopic science[Footnote: For those statements the writer is indebted to Maudsley, a recent writer on Microscopic Physiology. ] that the kind of nutritionfurnished to the brain by the blood to a certain extent decides futurefeelings, thoughts, and volitions. The cells of the brain not onlyabstract from the blood the healthful nutrition, but also are affectedin shape, size, color, and action by unsuitable elements in the blood. This is especially the case when alcohol is taken into the stomach, from whence it is always carried to the brain. The consequence is, that it affects the nature and action of the brain-cells, until a habitis formed which is _automatic_; that is, the mind loses the power ofcontrolling the brain, in its development of thoughts, feelings, andchoices as it would in the natural state, and is itself controlledby the brain. In this condition a real disease of the brain is created, called _oino-mania_, (see _Glossary_, ) and the only remedy is totalabstinence, and that for a long period, from the alcoholic poison. Andwhat makes the danger more fearful is, that the brain-cells never are sorenewed but that this pernicious stimulus will bring back the disease infull force, so that a man once subject to it is never safe except bymaintaining perpetual and total abstinence from every kind of alcoholicdrink. Dr. Day, who for many years has had charge of an inebriateasylum, states that he witnessed the dissection of the brain of a manonce an inebriate, but for many years in practice of total abstinence, and found its cells still in the weak and unnatural state produced byearlier indulgences. 

There has unfortunately been a difference of opinion among medical menas to the use of alcohol. Liebig, the celebrated writer on animalchemistry, having found that both sugar and alcohol were heat-producingarticles of food, framed a theory that alcohol is burnt in the lungs, giving off carbonic acid and water, and thus serving to warm the body. But modern science has proved that it is in the capillaries that animalheat is generated, and it is believed that alcohol lessens instead ofincreasing the power of the body to bear the cold. Sir John Koss, inhis Arctic voyage, proved by his own experience and that of his menthat cold-water drinkers could bear cold longer and were stronger thanany who used alcohol. 

Carpenter, a standard writer on physiology, says the objection to ahabitual use of even small quantities of alcoholic drinks is, that"they are universally admitted to possess a poisonous character, " and"tend to produce a morbid condition of body;" while "the capacity forenduring extremes of heat and cold, or of mental or bodily labor, isdiminished rather than increased by their habitual employment. "

Prof. J. Bigelow, of Harvard University, says, "Alcohol is highlystimulating, heating, and intoxicating, and its effects are sofascinating that when once experienced there is danger that the desirefor them may be perpetuated. "

Dr. Bell and Dr. Churchill, both high medical authorities, especiallyin lung disease, for which whisky is often recommended, come to theconclusion that "the opinion that alcoholic liquors have influence inpreventing the deposition of tubercle is destitute of any foundation;on the contrary, their use predisposes to tubercular deposition. " And"where tubercle exists, alcohol has no effect in modifying the usualcourse, neither does it modify the morbid effects on the system. "

Prof. Youmans, of New-York, says: "It has been demonstrated thatalcoholic drinks prevent the natural changes in the blood, and obstructthe nutritive and reparative functions. " He adds, "Chemical experimentshave demonstrated that the action of alcohol on the digestive fluidis to destroy its active principle, the _pepsin, thus confirming theobservations of physiologists, that its use gives rise to seriousdisorders of the stomach and malignant aberration of the whole economy. "

We are now prepared to consider the great principles of science, commonsense, and religion, which should guide every woman who has any kindof influence or responsibility on this subject. It is allowed by allmedical men that pure water is perfectly healthful and supplies allthe liquid needed by the body; and also that by proper means, whichordinarily are in the reach of all, water can be made sufficientlypure. 

It is allowed by all that milk, and the juices of fruits, when takeninto the stomach, furnish water that is always pure, and that our breadand vegetable food also supply it in large quantities. There are besidesa great variety of agreeable and healthful beverages, made from thejuices of fruit, containing no alcohol, and agreeable drinks, such asmilk, cocoa, and chocolate, that contain no stimulating principles, and which are nourishing and healthful. 

As one course, then, is perfectly safe and another involves greatdanger, it is wrong and sinful to choose the path of danger. There isno peril in drinking pure water, milk, the juices of fruits, andinfusions that are nourishing and harmless. But there is great dangerto the young, and to the commonwealth, in patronizing the sale and useof alcoholic drinks. The religion of Christ, in its distinctive feature, involves generous self-denial for the good of others, especially forthe weaker members of society. It is on this principle that St. Paulsets forth his own example, "If meat make my brother to offend, I willeat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother tooffend. " And again he teaches, "We, then, that are strong ought tobear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. "

This Christian principle also applies to the common drinks of thefamily, tea and coffee. 

It has been shown that the great end for which Jesus Christ came, andfor which he instituted the family state, is the training of our wholerace to virtue and happiness, with chief reference to an immortalexistence. In this mission, of which woman is chief minister, as beforestated, the distinctive feature is self-sacrifice of the wiser andstronger members to save and to elevate the weaker ones. The childrenand the servants are these weaker members, who by ignorance and wantof habits of self-control are in most danger. It is in this aspectthat we are to consider the expediency of using tea and coffee in afamily. 

These drinks are a most extensive cause of much of the nervous debilityand suffering endured by American women; and relinquishing them, wouldsave an immense amount of such suffering. Moreover, all housekeeperswill allow that they can not regulate these drinks in their kitchens, where the ignorant use them to excess. There is little probabilitythat the present generation will make so decided a change in theirhabits as to give up these beverages; but the subject is presentedrather in reference to forming the habits of children. 

It is a fact that tea and coffee are at first seldom or never agreeableto children. It is the mixture of milk, sugar, and water, thatreconciles them to a taste, which in this manner gradually becomesagreeable. Now suppose that those who provide for a family concludethat it is not _their_ duty to give up entirely the use of stimulatingdrinks, may not the case appear different in regard to teaching theirchildren to love such drinks? Let the matter be regarded thus: Theexperiments of physiologists all prove that stimulants are not needfulto health, and that, as the general rule, they tend to debilitate theconstitution. Is it right, then, for a parent to tempt a child to drinkwhat is not needful, when there is a probability that it will prove, tosome extent, an undermining drain on the constitution? Someconstitutions can bear much less excitement than others; and in everyfamily of children, there is usually one or more of delicateorganization, and consequently peculiarly exposed to dangers from thissource. It is this child who ordinarily becomes the victim tostimulating drinks. The tea and coffee which the parents and thehealthier children can use without immediate injury, gradually sap theenergies of the feebler child, who proves either an early victim ora living martyr to all the sufferings that debilitated nerves inflict. Can it be right to lead children where all allow that there is somedanger, and where in many cases disease and death are met, when, anotherpath is known to be perfectly safe?

The impression common in this country, that _warm drinks_, especially inwinter, are more healthful than cold, is not warranted by anyexperience, nor by the laws of the physical system. At dinner, colddrinks are universal, and no one deems them injurious. It is onlyat the other two meals that they are supposed to be hurtful. 

There is no doubt that _warm_ drinks are healthful, and more agreeablethan cold, at certain times and seasons; but it is equally true thatdrinks above blood-heat are not healthful. If a person should bathe inwarm water every day, debility would inevitably follow; for the frequentapplication of the stimulus of heat, like all other stimulants, eventually causes relaxation and weakness. If, therefore, a person is inthe habit of drinking hot drinks twice a day, the teeth, throat, andstomach are gradually debilitated. This, most probably, is one of thecauses of an early decay of the teeth, which is observed to be much morecommon among American ladies, than among those in European countries. 

It has been stated to the writer, by an intelligent traveler who hadvisited Mexico, that it was rare to meet an individual with even atolerable set of teeth, and that almost every grown person he met inthe street had merely remnants of teeth. On inquiry into the customsof the country, it was found that it was the universal practice totake their usual beverage at almost the boiling-point; and thisdoubtless was the chief cause of the almost entire want of teeth inthat country. In the United States, it can not be doubted that muchevil is done in this way by hot drinks. Most tea-drinkers consider teaas ruined if it stands until it reaches the healthful temperature fordrink. 

The following extract, from Dr. Andrew Combe, presents the opinion ofmost intelligent medical men on this subject. [Footnote: The writerwould here remark, in reference to extracts made from various authors, that, for the sake of abridging, she has often left out parts of aparagraph, but never so as to modify the meaning of the author. Someideas, not connected with the subject in hand, are omitted, but noneare altered. ]

"_Water_ is a safe drink for all constitutions, provided it be resortedto in obedience to the dictates of natural thirst only, and not ofhabit. Unless the desire for it is felt, there is no occasion for itsuse during a meal. "

"The primary effect of all distilled and fermented liquors is to_stimulate the nervous system and quicken the circulation_. Ininfancy and childhood, the circulation is rapid and easily excited; andthe nervous system is strongly acted upon even by the slightestexternal impressions. Hence, slight causes of irritation readily excitefebrile and convulsive disorders. In youth, the natural tendency ofthe constitution is still to excitement, and consequently, as a generalrule, the stimulus of fermented liquors is injurious. "

These remarks show that parents, who find that stimulating drinks arenot injurious to themselves, may mistake in inferring from this thatthey will not be injurious to their children. 

Dr. Combe continues thus: "In mature age, when digestion is good, andthe system in full vigor, if the mode of life be not too exhausting, the nervous functions and general circulation are in their bestcondition, and require no stimulus for their support. The bodily energyis then easily sustained by nutritious food and a regular regimen, andconsequently artificial excitement only increases the wasting of thenatural strength. "

It may be asked, in this connection, why the stimulus of animal foodis not to be regarded in the same light as that of stimulating drinks. In reply, a very essential difference may he pointed out. Animal foodfurnishes nutriment to the organs which it stimulates, but stimulatingdrinks excite the organs to quickened action without affording anynourishment. 

It has been supposed by some that tea and coffee have, at least, adegree of nourishing power. But it is proved that it is the milk andsugar, and not the main portion of the drink, which imparts thenourishment. Tea has not one particle of nourishing properties; andwhat little exists in the coffee-berry is lost by roasting it in theusual mode. All that these articles do, is simply _to stimulate withoutnourishing_. 

Although there is little hope of banishing these drinks, there is stilla chance that something may be gained in attempts to regulate theiruse by the rules of temperance. If, then, a housekeeper can not banishtea and coffee entirely, she may use her influence to prevent excess, both by her instructions, and by the power of control committed moreor less to her hands. 

It is important for every housekeeper to know that the health of afamily very much depends on the _purity_ of water used for cookingand drinking. There are three causes of impure and unhealthful water. One is, the existence in it of vegetable or animal matter, which canbe remedied by filtering through sand and charcoal. Another cause is, the existence of mineral matter, especially in limestone countries, producing diseases of the bladder. This is remedied in a measure byboiling, which secures a deposit of the lime on the vessel used. Thethird cause is, the corroding of zinc and lead used in pipes andreservoirs, producing oxides that are slow poisons. The only remedyis prevention, by having supply-pipes made of iron, like gas-pipe, instead of zinc and lead; or the lately invented lead pipe lined withtin, which metal is not corrosive. The obstacle to this is, that thetrade of the plumbers would be greatly diminished by the use of reliablepipes. When water must be used from supply-pipes of lead or zinc, itis well to let the water run some time before drinking it and to useas little as possible, taking milk instead; and being further satisfiedfor inner necessities by the water supplied by fruits and vegetables. The water in these is always pure. But in using milk as a drink, itmust be remembered that it is also rich food, and that less of otherfood must be taken when milk is thus used, or bilious troubles willresult from excess of food. 

The use of opium, especially by women, is usually caused at first bymedical prescriptions containing it. All that has been stated as tothe effect of alcohol in the brain is true of opium; while, to breaka habit thus induced is almost hopeless, Every woman who takes or whoadministers this drug, is dealing as with poisoned arrows, whose woundsare without cure. 

The use of tobacco in this country, and especially among young boys, is increasing at a fearful rate. On this subject, we have the unanimousopinion of all medical men; the following being specimens. 

A distinguished medical writer thus states the case: "Every physicianknows that the agreeable sensations that tempt to the use of tobaccoare caused by _nicotine_, which is a rank poison, as much so asprussic acid or arsenic. When smoked, the poison is absorbed by theblood of the mouth, and carried to the brain. When chewed, the nicotinepasses to the blood through the mouth and stomach. In both cases, thewhole nervous system is thrown, into abnormal excitement to expel thepoison, and it is this excitement that causes agreeable sensations. The excitement thus caused is invariably followed by a diminution ofnervous power, in exact proportion to the preceding excitement to expelthe evil from the system. "

Few will dispute the general truth and effect of the above statement, so that the question is one to be settled on the same principle asapplies to the use of alcoholic drinks. Is it, then, according to thegenerous principles of Christ's religion, for those who are strong andable to bear this poison, to tempt the young, the ignorant, and theweak to a practice not needful to any healthful enjoyment, and whichleads multitudes to disease, and often to vice? For the use of tobaccotends always to lessen nerve-power, and probably every one out of fivethat indulges in its use awakens a morbid craving for increasedstimulus, lessens the power of self-control, diminishes the strengthof the constitution, and sets an example that influences the weak tothe path of danger and of frequent ruin. 

The great danger of this age is an increasing, intense worldliness, and disbelief in the foundation principle of the religion of Christ, that we are to reap through everlasting ages the consequences of habitsformed in this life. In the light of his word, they only who are trulywise "shall shine as the firmament, and they that turn many torighteousness, as the stars, forever and ever. "

It is increased _faith_ or _belief_ in the teachings of Christ'sreligion, as to the influence of this life upon the _life to come_, which alone can save our country and the world from that inrushing tideof sensualism and worldliness, now seeming to threaten the best hopesand prospects of our race. 

And woman, as the chief educator of our race, and the prime ministerof the family state, is bound in the use of meats and drinks to employthe powerful and distinctive motives of the religion of Christ informing habits of temperance and benevolent self-sacrifice for thegood of others. 

XI. 

CLEANLINESS. 

Both the health and comfort of a family depend, to a great extent, oncleanliness of the person and the family surroundings. True cleanlinessof person involves the scientific treatment of the skin. This is themost complicated organ of the body, and one through which the healthis affected more than through any other; and no persons can or willhe be so likely to take proper care of it as those by whom itsconstruction and functions are understood. 

[Illustration: Fig. 57. ]

Fig. 57 is a very highly magnified portion of the skin. The layermarked 1 is the outside, very thin skin, called the _cuticle_ or _scarfskin_. This consists of transparent layers of minute cells, which areconstantly decaying and being renewed, and the white scurf that passesfrom the skin to the clothing is a decayed portion of these cells. Thispart of the skin has neither nerves nor blood-vessels. 

The dark layer, marked 2, 7, 8, is that portion of the true skin whichgives the external color marking diverse races. In the portion of thedark layer marked 3, 4, is seen a network of nerves which run from twobranches of the nervous trunks coming from the spinal marrow. Thesearc nerves of sensation, by which the sense of touch or feeling isperformed. Fig. 58 represents the blood-vessels, (intermingled withthe nerves of the skin, ) which divide into minute capillaries thatact like the capillaries of the lungs, taking oxygen from the air, andgiving out carbonic acid. At _a_, and _b_ are seen the roots of twohairs, which abound in certain parts of the skin, and are nourished bythe blood of the capillaries. 

[Illustration: Fig. 58. ][Illustration: Fig. 59. ]

At Fig. 59 is a magnified view of another set of vessels, called thelymphatics or absorbents. These are extremely minute vessels thatinterlace with the nerves and blood-vessels of the skin. Their officeis to aid in collecting the useless, injurious, or decayed matter, andcarry it to certain reservoirs, from which it passes into some of thelarge veins, to be thrown out through the lungs, bowels, kidneys, orskin. These _absorbent_ or _lymphatic_; vessels have mouths opening onthe surface of the true skin, and, though covered by the cuticle, theycan absorb both liquids and solids that are placed in close contact withthe skin. In proof of this, one of the main trunks of the lymphatics inthe hand can be cut off from all communication with other portions, andtied up: and if the hand is immersed in milk a given time, it will befound that the milk has been, absorbed through the cuticle and fills thelymphatics. In this way, long-continued blisters on the skin willintroduce the blistering matter into the blood through the absorbents, and then the kidneys will take it up from the blood passing through themto carry it out of the body, and thus become irritated and inflamed byit. 

[Illustration: Fig. 60]

There are also oil-tubes, imbedded in the skin, that draw off oil fromthe blood. This issues on the surface and spreads over the cuticle tokeep it soft and moist. But the most curious part of the skin is thesystem of innumerable minute perspiration-tubes. Fig. 60 is a drawingof one very greatly magnified. These tubes open on the cuticle, andthe openings are called pores of the skin. They descend into the trueskin, and there form a coil, as is seen in the drawing. These tubesare hollow, like a pipe-stem, and their inner surface consists ofwonderfully minute capillaries filled with the impure venous blood. And in these small tubes the same process is going on as takes placeswhen the carbonic acid and water of the blood are exhaled from thelungs. The capillaries of these tubes through the whole skin of thebody are thus constantly exhaling the noxious and decayed particlesof the body, just as the lungs pour them out through the mouth andnose. 

It has been shown that the perspiration-tubes are coiled up into aball at their base. The number and extent of these tubes areastonishing. In a square inch on the palm of the hand have been counted, through a microscope, thirty-five hundred of these tubes. Each one ofthem is about a quarter of an inch in length, including its coils. This makes the united lengths of these little tubes to be seventy-threefeet to a square inch. Their united length, over the whole body isthus calculated to be equal to _twenty-eight miles_. What a wonderfulapparatus this! And what mischiefs must ensue when the drainage from thebody of such an extent as this becomes obstructed!

But the inside of the body also has a skin, as have all its organs. The interior of the head, the throat, the gullet, the lungs, thestomach, and all the intestines, are lined with a skin. This is calledthe _mucous membrane_, because it is constantly secreting from the blooda slimy substance called _mucus_. When it accumulates in the lungs, itis called _phlegm_. This inner skin also has nerves, blood-vessels, andlymphatics. The outer skin joins to the inner at the month, the nose, and other openings of the body, and there is a constant sympathy betweenthe two skins, and thus between the inner organs and the surface of thebody. 

SECRETING ORGANS. 

Those vessels of the body which draw off certain portions of the bloodand change it into a new form, to be employed for service or to bethrown out of the body, are called _secreting organs_. The skin in thissense is a secreting organ, as its perspiration-tubes secrete orseparate the bad portions of the blood, and send them off. 

Of the internal secreting organs, the _liver_ is the largest. Its chiefoffice is to secrete from the blood all matter not properly suppliedwith oxygen. For this purpose, a set of veins carries the blood of allthe lower intestines to the liver, where the imperfectly oxidized matteris drawn off in the form of _bile_, and accumulated in a reservoircalled the _gall-bladder_. Thence it passes to the place where thesmaller intestines receive the food from the stomach, and there it mixeswith this food. Then it passes through the long intestines, and isthrown out of the body through the rectum. This shows how it is, thatwant of pure and cool air and exercise causes excess of bile, from lackof oxygen. The liver also has arterial blood sent to nourish it, andcorresponding veins to return this blood to the heart. So there are twosets of blood-vessels for the liver--one to secrete the bile, and theother to nourish the organ itself. 

The kidneys secrete from the arteries that pass, through them allexcess of water in the blood, and certain injurious substances. Theseare carried through small tubes to the bladder, and thence thrown outof the body. 

The _pancreas_, a whitish gland, situated in the abdomen belowthe stomach, secretes from the arteries that pass through it thepancreatic juice, which unites with the bile from the liver, inpreparing the food for nourishing the body. 

There are certain little glands near the eyes that secrete the tears, and others near the mouth that secrete the saliva, or spittle. 

These organs all have arteries sent to them to nourish them, and alsoveins to carry away the impure blood. At the same time, they secretefrom the arterial blood the peculiar fluid which it is their officeto supply. 

All the food that passes through the lower intestines which is notdrawn off by the lacteals or by some of these secreting organs, passesfrom the body through a passage called the rectum. 

Learned men have made very curious experiments; to ascertain how muchthe several organs throw out of the body, It is found that the skinthrows off five out of eight pounds of the food and drink, or probablyabout three or four pounds a day. The lungs throw off one quarter asmuch as the skin, or about a pound a day. The remainder is carried offby the kidneys and lower intestines. 

There is such a sympathy and connection between all the organs of thebody, that when one of them is unable to work, the others perform theoffice of the feeble one. Thus, if the skin has its perspiration-tubesclosed up by a chill, then all the poisonous matter that would havebeen thrown out through them must be emptied out either by the lungs, kidneys, or bowels. 

When all these organs are strong and healthy, they can bear thisincreased labor without injury. But if the lungs are weak, the bloodsent from the skin by the chill engorges the weak blood-vessels, andproduces an inflammation of the lungs. Or it increases the dischargeof a slimy mucous substance, that exudes from the skin of the lungs. This fills up the air-vessels, and would very soon end life, were itnot for the spasms of the lungs, called _coughing_, which throw off thissubstance. 

If, on the other hand, the bowels are weak, a chill of the skin sendsthe blood into all the blood-vessels of the intestines, and producesinflammation there, or else an excessive secretion of the mucoussubstance, which is called a _diarrhea. _ Or if the kidneys areweak, there is an increased secretion and discharge from them, to anunhealthy and injurious extent. 

This connection between the skin and internal organs is shown, notonly by the internal effects of a chill on the skin; but by thesympathetic effect on the skin when these internal organs suffer. Forexample, there are some kinds of food that will irritate and influencethe stomach or the bowels; and this, by sympathy, will produce animmediate eruption on the skin. Some persons, on eating strawberries, will immediately be affected with a nettle-rash. Others can not eatcertain shell-fish without being affected in this way. Many humors onthe face are caused by a diseased state of the internal organs withwhich the skin sympathizes. 

This short account of the construction of the skin, and of its intimateconnection with the internal organs, shows the philosophy of thosemodes of medical treatment that are addressed to this portion of thebody. 

It is on this powerful agency that the steam-doctors rely, when, bymoisture and heat, they stimulate all the innumerable perspiration-tubesand lymphatics to force out from the body a flood of unnaturally excitedsecretions; while it is "kill or cure, " just as the chance may meetor oppose the demands of the case. It is the skin also that is thechief basis of medical treatment in the Water Cure, whose slow processesare as much safer as they are slower. 

At the same time it is the ill-treatment or neglect of the skin which, probably, is the cause of disease and decay to an incredible extent. The various particulars in which this may be seen will now be pointedout. In the management and care of this wonderful and complex part ofthe body, many mistakes have been made. 

The most common one is the misuse of the bath, especially since coldwater cures have come into use. This mode of medical treatmentoriginated with an ignorant peasant, amid a population where outdoorlabor had strengthened nerves and muscles and imparted rugged powersto every part of the body. It was then introduced into England andAmerica without due consideration or knowledge of the diseases habits, or real condition of patients, especially of women. The consequencewas a mode of treatment too severe and exhausting; and many practiceswere spread abroad not warranted by true medical science. 

But in spite of these mistakes and abuses, the treatment of the skinfor disease by the use of cold water has become an accepted doctrineof the most learned medical practitioners. It is now held by all suchthat fevers can be detected in their distinctive features by thethermometer, and that all fevers can be reduced by cold baths andpacking in the wet sheet, in the mode employed in all water-cures. Directions for using this method will be given in another place. 

It has been supposed that large bath-tubs for immersing the wholeperson are indispensable to the proper cleaning of the skin. This isnot so. A wet towel, applied every morning to the skin, followed byfriction in pure air, is all that is absolutely needed; although afull bath is a great luxury. Access of air to every part of the skinwhen its perspiratory tubes are cleared and its blood-vessels arefilled by friction is the best ordinary bath. 

In early life, children should be washed all over, every night ormorning, to remove impurities from the skin. But in this process, careful regard should be paid to the peculiar constitution of a child. Very nervous children sometimes revolt from cold water, and like atepid bath. Others prefer a cold bath; and nature should be the guide. It must be remembered that the skin is the great organ of sensation, and in close connection with brain, spine, and nerve-centres: so thatwhat a strong nervous system can bear with advantage is too powerfuland exhausting for another. As age advances, or as disease debilitatesthe body, great care should be taken not to overtax the nervous systemby sudden shocks, or to diminish its powers by withdrawing animal heatto excess. Persons lacking robustness should bathe or use friction ina warm room; and if very delicate, should expose only a portion of thebody at once to cold air. 

Johnson, a celebrated writer on agricultural chemistry, tells of anexperiment by friction on the skin of pigs, whose skins are like thatof the human race. He treated six of these animals with a curry-combseven weeks, and left three other pigs untouched. The result was again of thirty-three pounds more of weight, with the use of five bushelsless of food for those curried, than for the neglected ones. Thisresult was owing to the fact that all the functions of the body weremore perfectly performed when, by friction, the skin was kept freefrom filth and the blood in it exposed to the air. The same will betrue of the human skin. A calculation has been made on this fact, bywhich it is estimated that a man, by proper care of his skin, wouldsave over thirty-one dollars in food yearly, which is the interest onover five hundred dollars. If men will give as much care to their ownskin, as they give to currying a horse, they will gain both health andwealth. 

XII. 

CLOTHING. 

There is no duty of those persons having control of a family whereprinciple and practice are more at variance than in regulating thedress of young girls, especially at the most important and criticalperiod of life. It is a difficult duty for parents and teachers tocontend with the power of fashion, which at this time of a young girl'slife is frequently the ruling thought, and when to be out of thefashion, to be odd and not dress as all her companions do, is amortification and grief that no argument or instructions can relieve. The mother is often so overborne that, in spite of her better wishes, the daughter adopts modes of dress alike ruinous to health and tobeauty. 

The greatest protection against such an emergency is to train a childto understand the construction of her own body and to impress uponher, in early days, her obligations to the invisible Friend and Guardianof her life, the "Former of her body and the Father of her spirit, "who has committed to her care so precious and beautiful a casket. Andthe more she can be made to realize the skill and beauty of constructionshown in her earthly frame, the more will she feel the obligation toprotect it from injury and abuse. 

It is a singular fact that the war of fashion has attacked most fatallywhat seems to be the strongest foundation, and defense of the body, the bones. For this reason, the construction and functions of thispart of the body will now receive attention. 

The bones are composed of two substances, one animal, and the othermineral. The animal part is a very fine network, called _cellularmembrane. _ In this are deposited the harder mineral substances, which are composed principally of carbonate and phosphate of lime. Invery early life, the bones consist chiefly of the animal part, and arethen soft and pliant. As the child advances in age, the bones growharder, by the gradual deposition of the phosphate of lime, which issupplied by the food, and carried to the bones by the blood. In oldage, the hardest material preponderates; malting the bones more brittlethan in earlier life. 

The bones are covered with a thin skin or membrane, filled with smallblood-vessels which convey nourishment to them, Where the hones unite with others to form joints, they are coveredwith _cartilage, _ which is a smooth, white, elastic substance. Thisenables the joints to move smoothly, while its elasticity preventsinjuries from sudden jars. 

The joints are bound together by strong, elastic bands called_ligaments, _ which hold them firmly and prevent dislocation. 

Between the ends of the bones that unite to form joints are small sacksor bags, that contain a soft lubricating fluid. This answers the samepurpose fur the joints as oil in making machinery work smoothly, whilethe supply is constant and always in exact proportion to the demand. 

If you will examine the leg of some fowl, you can see the cartilagethat covers the ends of the bones at the joints, and the strong whiteligaments that bind the joints together. 

The health, of the bones depends on the proper nourishment and exerciseof the body as much as that of any other part. When a child is feebleand unhealthy, or when it grows up without exercise, the bones do notbecome firm and hard as they are when the body is healthfully developedby exercise. The size as well as the strength of the bones, to a certainextent, also depend upon exercise and good health. 

[Illustration: Fig. 61]

The chief supporter of the body is the spine, which consists oftwenty-four small bones, interlocked or hooked into each other, whilebetween them are elastic cushions of cartilage which aid in preservingthe upright, natural position. Fig. 61 shows three of the spinal bones, hooked into each other, the dark spaces showing the disks or flatcircular plates of cartilage between them. 

The spine is held in its proper position, partly by the ribs, partlyby muscles, partly by aid of the elastic disks, and partly by the closepacking of the intestines in front of it. 

The upper part of the spine is often thrown out of its proper positionby constant stooping of the head over books or work. This affects theelastic disks so that they grow thick at the back side and thinner atthe front side by such constant pressure. The result is the awkwardprojection of the head forward which is often seen in schools andcolleges. 

Another distortion of the spine is produced by tight dress around thewaist. The liver occupies the right side of the body and is a solidmass, while on the other side is the larger part of the stomach, whichis often empty. The consequence of tight dress around the waist is aconstant pressure of the spine toward the unsupported part where thestomach lies. Thus the elastic dials again are compressed; till theybecome thinner on one side than the other, and harden into thatcondition. This produces what is called the _lateral curvature of thespine, _ making one shoulder higher than the other. 

The compression of the lower part of the waist is especially dangerousat the time young girls first enter society and are tempted to dressaccording to the fashion. Many a school-girl, whose waist was originallyof a proper and healthful size, has gradually pressed the soft bonesof youth until the lower ribs that should rise and fall with everybreath, become entirely unused. Then the abdominal breathing, performedby the lower part of the lungs, ceases; the whole system becomes reducedin strength; the abdominal muscles that hold up the interior organsbecome weak, and the upper ones gradually sink upon the lower. Thispressure of the upper interior organs upon the lower ones, by tightdress, is increased by the weight of clothing resting on the hips andabdomen. Corsets, as usually worn, have no support from the shoulders, and consequently all the weight of dress resting upon or above thempresses upon the hips and abdomen, and this in such a way as to throwout of use and thus weaken the most important supporting muscles ofthe abdomen, and impede abdominal breathing. 

The diaphragm is a kind of muscular floor, extending across the centreof the body, on which the heart and lungs rest. Beneath it are theliver, stomach, and the abdominal viscera, or intestines, which aresupported by the abdominal muscles, running upward, downward, andcrosswise. When these muscles are thrown out of use, they lose theirpower, the whole system of organs mainly resting on them for supportcan not continue in their naturally snug, compact, and rounded form, but become separated, elongated, and unsupported. The stomach beginsto draw from above instead of resting on the viscera beneath. This insome cases causes dull and wandering pains, a sense of pulling at thecentre of the chest, and a drawing downward at the pit of the stomach. Then as the support beneath is really _gone, _ there is what is oftencalled "a feeling of _goneness. "_ This is sometimes relieved by food, which, so long as it remains in a solid form, helps to hold up thefalling superstructure. This displacement of the stomach, liver, andspleen interrupts their healthful functions, and dyspepsia and biliarydifficulties not unfrequently are the result. 

As the stomach and its appendages fall downward, the _diaphragm_, which holds up the heart and lungs, must descend also. In this stateof things, the inflation of the lungs is less and less aided by theabdominal muscles, and is confined chiefly to their upper portion. Breathing sometimes thus becomes quicker and shorter on account of theelongated or debilitated condition of the assisting organs. Consumptionnot unfrequently results from this cause. 

The _heart_ also feels the evil. "Palpitations, " "flutterings, ""sinking feelings, " all show that, in the language of Scripture, "theheart trembleth, and is moved out of its place. "

But the _lower intestines_ are the greatest sufferers from thisdreadful abuse of nature. Having the weight of all the unsupportedorgans above pressing them into unnatural and distorted positions, thepassage of the food is interrupted, and inflammations, indurations, and constipation, are the frequent result. Dreadful ulcers and cancersmay be traced in some instances to this cause. 

Although these internal displacements are most common among women, some foolish members of the other sex are adopting customs of dress, in girding the central portion of the body, that tend to similarresults. 

But this distortion brings upon woman peculiar distresses. The pressureof the whole superincumbent mass on the pelvic or lower organs inducessufferings proportioned in acuteness to the extreme delicacy andsensitiveness of the parts thus crushed. And the intimate connectionof these organs with the brain and whole nervous system renders injuriesthus inflicted the causes of the most extreme anguish, both of bodyand mind. This evil is becoming so common, not only among marriedwomen, but among young girls, as to be a just cause for universalalarm. 

How very common these sufferings are, few but the medical professioncan realize, because they are troubles that must be concealed. Manya woman is moving about in uncomplaining agony who, with any othertrouble involving equal suffering, would be on her bed surrounded bysympathizing friends. 

The terrible sufferings that are sometimes thus induced can never beconceived of, or at all appreciated from, any use of language. Nothingthat the public can be made to believe on this subject will ever equalthe reality. Not only mature persons and mothers, but fair young girlssometimes, are shut up for months and years as helpless and sufferinginvalids from this cause. This may be found all over the land. Andthere frequently is a horrible extremity of suffering in certain formsof this evil, which no woman of feeble constitution can ever be certainmay not be her doom. Not that in all cases this extremity is involved, but none can say who will escape it. 

In regard to this, if one must choose for a friend or a child, on theone hand, the horrible torments inflicted by savage Indians or cruelinquisitors on their victims, or, on the other, the protracted agoniesthat result from such deformities and displacements, sometimes theformer would be a merciful exchange. 

And yet this is the fate that is coming to meet the young as well asthe mature in every direction. And tender parents are unconsciouslyleading their lovely and hapless daughters to this awful doom. 

There is no excitement of the imagination in what is here indicated. If the facts and details could be presented, they would send a groanof terror all over the land. For it is not one class, or one section, that is endangered. In every part of our country the evil isprogressing. 

And, as if these dreadful ills were not enough, there have been addedmethods of medical treatment at once useless, torturing to the mind, and involving great liability to immoralities. 

[Illustration: Fig. 62. ]

In hope of abating these evils, drawings are given (Fig. 62 and Fig. 63) of the front and back of a jacket that will preserve the advantagesof the corset without its evils. This jacket may at first be fittedto the figure with corsets underneath it, just like the waist of adress. Then, delicate whalebones can be used to stiffen the jacket, so that it will take the proper shape, when the corset may be dispensedwith. The buttons below are to hold all articles of dress below thewaist by button-holes. By this method, the bust is supported as wellas by corsets, while the shoulders support from above, as they shoulddo, the weight of the dress below. No stiff bone should be allowed topress in front, and the jacket should be so loose that a full breathcan be inspired with ease, while in a sitting position. 

[Illustration: Fig. 63. ]

The proper way to dress a young girl is to have a cotton or flannelclose-fitting jacket next the body, to which the drawers should bebuttoned. Over this, place the chemise; and over that, such a jacketas the one here drawn, to which should be buttoned the hoops and otherskirts. Thus every article of dress will be supported by the shoulders. The sleeves of the jacket can be omitted, and in that ease a stronglining, and also a tape binding, must surround the arm-hole, whichshould be loose. 

It is hoped that increase of intelligence and moral power among mothers, and a combination among them to regulate fashions, may banish thepernicious practices that have prevailed. If a school-girl dresswithout corsets and without tight belts could be established as afashion, it would be one step gained in the right direction. Then ifmothers could secure daily domestic exercise in chambers, eating-roomsand parlors in loose dresses, a still farther advance would be secured. 

A friend of the writer informs her that her daughter had her weddingoutfit made up by a fashionable milliner in Paris, and every dress wasbeautifully fitted to the form, and yet was not compressing to anypart. This was done too without the use of corsets, the stiffeningbeing delicate and yielding whalebones. 

Not only parents but all having the care of young girls, especiallythose at boarding-schools, have a fearful responsibility resting uponthem in regard to this important duty. 

In regard to the dressing of young children, much discretion is neededto adapt dress to circumstances and peculiar constitutions. The leadingfact must be borne in mind that the skin is made strong and healthfulby exposure to light and pure air, while cold air, if not excessive, has a tonic influence. If the skin of infants is rubbed with the handtill red with blood, and then exposed naked to sun and air in awell-ventilated room, it will be favorable to health. 

There is a constitutional difference in the skin of different childrenin regard to retaining the animal heat manufactured within, so thatsome need more clothing than others for comfort. Nature is a safe guideto a careful nurse and mother, and will indicate by the looks andactions of a child when more clothing is needful. As a general rule, it is safe for a healthful child to wear as little clothing as sufficesto keep it from complaining of cold. Fifty years ago, it was not commonfor children to wear as much under-clothing as they now do. The writerwell remembers how even girls, though not of strong constitutions, used to play for hours in the snow-drifts without the protection ofdrawers, kept warm by exercise and occasional runs to an open fire. And multitudes of children grew to vigorous maturity through similarexposures to cold air-baths, and without the frequent, colds andsicknesses so common among children of the present day, who are morecarefully housed and warmly dressed. But care was taken that the feetshould be kept dry and warmly clad, because, circulation being feeblerin the extremities, this precaution was important. 

It must also be considered that age brings with it decrease in vigorof circulation, and the consequent generation of heat, so that morewarmth of air and clothing is needed at an advanced period of lifethan is suitable for the young. 

These are the general principles which must be applied with modificationto each individual case. A child of delicate constitution must havemore careful protection from cold air than is desirable for one morevigorous, while the leading general principle is retained that coldair is a healthful tonic for the skin whenever it does not produce anuncomfortable chilliness. 

XIII. 

GOOD COOKING. 

There are but a few things on which health, and happiness depend morethan on the manner in which food is cooked. You may make housesenchantingly beautiful, hang them with pictures, have them clean andairy and convenient; but if the stomach is fed with sour bread andburnt meats, it will raise such rebellions that the eyes will see nobeauty anywhere. The abundance of splendid material we have in Americais in great contrast with the style of cooking most prevalent in ourcountry. How often, in journeys, do we sit down to tables loaded withmaterial, originally of the very best kind, winch has been so spoiledin the treatment that there is really nothing to eat! Green biscuitswith acrid spots of alkali; sour yeast-bread; meat slowly simmered infat till it seemed like grease itself, and slowly congealing in coldgrease; and above all, that unpardonable enormity, strong butter! Howone longs to show people what might have been done with the raw materialout of which all these monstrosities were concocted!

There is no country where an ample, well-furnished table is more easilyspread, and for that reason, perhaps, none where the bounties ofProvidence are more generally neglected. Considering that our resourcesare greater than those of any other civilized people, our results arecomparatively poorer. 

It is said that a list of the summer vegetables which are exhibitedon New-York hotel-tables being shown to a French _artiste_, hedeclared that to serve such a dinner properly would take till midnight. A traveler can not but be struck with our national plenteousness, onreturning from a Continental tour, and going directly from the shipto a New-York hotel, in the bounteous season of autumn. For monthshabituated to neat little bits of chop or poultry, garnished with theinevitable cauliflower or potato, which seemed to be the solepossibility after the reign of green peas was over; to sit down allat once to such a carnival! to such ripe, juicy tomatoes, raw or cooked;cucumbers in brittle slices; rich, yellow sweet-potatoes; broadlima-beans, and beans of other and various names; tempting ears ofIndian-corn steaming in enormous piles; great smoking tureens of thesavory succotash, an Indian gift to the table for which civilizationneed not blush; sliced egg-plant in delicate fritters; and marrow-squashes, of creamy pulp and sweetness; a rich variety, embarrassingto the appetite, and perplexing to the choice. 

Verily, the thought must often occur that the vegetarian doctrinepreached in America leaves a man quite as much as he has capacity toeat or enjoy, and that in the midst of such tantalizing abundance hehas really lost the apology, which elsewhere bears him out in preyingupon his less gifted and accomplished animal neighbors. 

But with all this, the American table, taken as a whole, is inferiorto that of England or France. It presents a fine abundance of material, carelessly and poorly treated. The management of food is nowhere inthe world, perhaps, more slovenly and wasteful. Every thing betokensthat want of care that waits on abundance; there are great capabilitiesand poor execution. A tourist through England can seldom fail, at thequietest country-inn, of finding himself served with the essentialsof English table-comfort--his mutton-chop done to a turn, his steaminglittle private apparatus for concocting his own tea, his choice potof marmalade or slice of cold ham, and his delicate rolls and creamybutter, all served with care and neatness. In France, one never asksin vain for delicious _cafe-au-lait_, good bread and butter, anice omelet, or some savory little portion of meat with a French name. But to a tourist taking like chance in American country-fare, what isthe prospect? What is the coffee? what the tea? and the meat? and aboveall, the butter?

In writing on cooking, the main topics should be first, bread; second, butter; third, meat; fourth, vegetables; and fifth, tea--by whichlast is meant, generally, all sorts of warm, comfortable drinks servedout in tea-cups, whether they be called tea, coffee, chocolate, broma, or what not. 

If these five departments are all perfect, the great ends of domesticcookery are answered, so far as the comfort and well-being of lifeare concerned. There exists another department, which is often regardedby culinary amateurs and young aspirants as the higher branch and verycollegiate course of practical cookery; to wit, confectionery, by whichis designated all pleasing and complicated compounds of sweets andspices, devised not for health and nourishment, and strongly suspectedof interfering with both--mere tolerated gratifications of the palate, which we eat, not with the expectation of being benefited, but onlywith the hope of not being injured by them. In this large departmentrank all sorts of cakes, pies, preserves, etc. , whose excellence isoften attained by treading under foot and disregarding the five grandessentials. 

There is many a table garnished with three or four kinds of well-madecake, compounded with citron and spices and all imaginable good things, where the meat was tough and greasy, the bread some hot preparationof flour, lard, saleratus, and acid, and the butter unutterablydetestable, where, if the mistress of the feast had given the care, time, and labor to preparing the simple items of bread, butter, andmeat, that she evidently had given to the preparation of these extras, the lot of her guests and family might be much more comfortable. Butshe does not think of these common articles as constituting a goodtable. So long as she has puff pastry, rich black cake, clear jellyand preserves, she considers that such unimportant matters as bread, butter, and meat may take care of themselves. It is the same inattentionto common things as that which leads people to build houses with stonefronts, and window-caps and expensive front-door trimmings, withoutbathing-rooms or fireplaces, or ventilators. 

Those who go into the country looking for summer board in farm-housesknow perfectly well that a table where the butter is always fresh, thetea and coffee of the best kinds and well made, and the meats properlykept, dressed, and served, is the one table of a hundred, the fabulousenchanted island. It seems impossible to get the idea into the mindsof many people that what is called common food, carefully prepared, becomes, in virtue of that very care and attention, a delicacy, superseding the necessity of artificially compounded dainties. Tobegin, then, with the very foundation of a good table:

--_Bread:_ What ought it to be?

It should be light, sweet, and tender. This matter of lightness is thedistinctive line between savage and civilized bread. The savage mixessimple flour and water into balls of paste, which he throws into boilingwater, and which come out solid, glutinous masses, of which his commonsaying is, "Man eat dis, he no die, " which a facetious traveler whowas obliged to subsist on it interpreted to mean, "Dis no kill you, nothing will. " In short, it requires the stomach of a wild animal orof a savage to digest this primitive form of bread, and of course moreor less attention in all civilized modes of bread-making is given toproducing lightness. By lightness is meant simply that in order tofacilitate digestion the particles are to be separated from each otherby little holes or air-cells; and all the different methods of makinglight bread are neither more nor less than the formation of bread withthese air-cells. 

So far as we know, there are four practicable methods of aeratingbread; namely, by fermentation; by effervescence of an acid and analkali; by aerated egg, or egg which has been filled with air by theprocess of beating; and lastly, by pressure of some gaseous substanceinto the paste, by a process much resembling the impregnation of waterin a soda-fountain. All those have one and the same object--to giveus the cooked particles of our flour separated by such permanentair-cells as will enable the stomach more readily to digest them. 

A very common mode of aerating bread in America is by the effervescenceof an acid and an alkali in the flour. The carbonic acid gas timeformed products minute air-cells in the bread, or, as the cook says, makes it light. When this process is performed with exact attentionto chemical laws, so that the acid and alkali completely neutralizeeach other, leaving no overplus of either, the result is often verypalatable. The difficulty is, that this is a happy conjunction ofcircumstances which seldom occurs. The acid most commonly employed isthat of sour milk, and, as milk has many degrees of sourness, the ruleof a certain quantity of alkali to the pint must necessarily producevery different results at different times. As an actual fact wherethis mode of making bread prevails, as we lament to say it does to agreat extent in this country, one finds five cases of failure to oneof success. 

It is a woeful thing that the daughters of our land have abandoned theold respectable mode of yeast-brewing and bread-raising for thisspecious substitute, so easily made, and so seldom well made. Thegreen, clammy, acrid substance, called biscuit, which many of ourworthy republicans are obliged to eat in these days, is wholly unworthyof the men and women of the republic. Good patriots ought not tobe put off in that way--they deserve better fare. 

As an occasional variety, as a household convenience for obtainingbread or biscuit at a moment's notice, the process of effervescencemay be retained; but, we earnestly entreat American housekeepers, inscriptural language, to stand in the way and ask for the old paths, and return to the good yeast-bread of their sainted grandmothers. 

If acid and alkali must be used, by all means let them be mixed in dueproportions. No cook should be left to guess and judge for herselfabout this matter. There are articles made by chemical rule whichproduce very perfect results, and the use of them obviates the worstdangers in making bread by effervescence. 

Of all processes of aeration in bread-making, the oldest and mosttime-honored mode is by fermentation. That this was known in the daysof our Saviour is evident from the forcible simile in which he comparesthe silent permeating force of truth in human, society to the veryfamiliar household process of raising bread by a little yeast. 

There is, however, one species of yeast, much used in some parts ofthe country, against which protest should be made. It is calledsalt-risings, or milk-risings, and is made by mixing flour, milk, anda little salt together, and leaving them to ferment. The bread thusproduced is often, very attractive, when new and made with great care. It is white and delicate, with fine, even air-cells. It has, however, when kept, some characteristics which remind us of the terms in whichour old English Bible describes the effect of keeping the manna of theancient Israelites, which we are informed, in words more explicit thanagreeable, "stank, and bred worms. " If salt-rising bread does notfulfill the whole of this unpleasant description, it certainly doesemphatically a part of it. The smell which it has in baking, and whenmore than a day old, suggests the inquiry, whether it is the saccharineor the putrid fermentation with which it is raised. Whoever breaks apiece of it after a day or two, will often see minute filaments orclammy strings drawing out from the fragments, which, with theunmistakable smell, will cause him to pause before consummating anearer acquaintance. 

The fermentation of flour by means of brewer's or distiller's yeastproduces, if rightly managed, results far more palatable and wholesome. The only requisites for success in it are, first, good materials, and, second, great care in small things. There are certain low-priced ordamaged kinds of flour which can never by any kind of domestic chemistrybe made into good broad; and to those persons whose stomachs forbidthem to eat gummy, glutinous paste, under the name of bread, there isno economy in buying these poor brands, even at half the price of goodflour. 

But good flour and good yeast being supposed, with a temperaturefavorable to the development of fermentation, the whole success of theprocess depends on the thorough diffusion of the proper proportion ofyeast through the whole mass, and on stopping the subsequentfermentation at the precise and fortunate point. The true housewifemakes her bread the sovereign of her kitchen--its behests must beattended to in all critical points and moments, no matter what elsebe postponed. 

She who attends to her bread only when she has done this, and arrangedthat, and performed the other, very often finds that the forces ofnature will not wait for her. The snowy mass, perfectly mixed, kneadedwith care and strength, rises in its beautiful perfection till themoment comes for filling the air-cells by baking. A few minutes now, and the acetous fermentation will begin, and the whole result bespoiled. Many bread-makers pass in utter carelessness over this sacredand mysterious boundary. Their oven has cake in it, or they are skimmingjelly, or attending to some other of the so-called higher branches ofcookery, while the bread is quickly passing into the acetous stage. At last, when they are ready to attend to it, they find that it hasbeen going its own way, --it is so sour that the pungent smell is plainlyperceptible. Now the saleratus-bottle is handed down, and a quantityof the dissolved alkali mixed with the paste--an expedient sometimesmaking itself too manifest by greenish streaks or small acrid spotsin the bread. As the result, we have a beautiful article spoiled--breadwithout sweetness, if not absolutely sour. 

In the view of many, lightness is the only property required in thisarticle. The delicate refined sweetness which exists in carefullykneaded bread, baked just before it passes to the extreme point offermentation, is something, of which they have no conception; and thusthey will even regard this process of spoiling the paste by the acetousfermentation, and then rectifying that acid by effervescence with analkali, as something positively meritorious. How else can they valueand relish bakers' loaves, such as some are, drugged with ammonia andother disagreeable things; light indeed, so light that they seem tohave neither weight nor substance, but with no more sweetness or tastethan so much cotton wool?

Some persons prepare bread for the oven by simply mixing it in themass, without kneading, pouring it into pans, and suffering it to risethere. The air-cells in bread thus prepared are coarse and uneven; thebread is as inferior in delicacy and nicety to that which is wellkneaded as a raw servant to a perfectly educated and refined lady. Theprocess of kneading seems to impart an evenness to the minute air-cells, a fineness of texture, and a tenderness and pliability to the wholesubstance, that can be gained in no other way. 

The divine principle of beauty has its reign over bread as well asover all other things; it has its laws of aesthetics; and that breadwhich is so prepared that it can be formed into separate andwell-proportioned loaves, each one carefully worked and moulded, willdevelop the most beautiful results. After being moulded, the loavesshould stand usually not over ten minutes, just long enough to allowthe fermentation going on in them to expand each little air-cell tothe point at which it stood before it was worked down, and then theyshould be immediately put into the oven. 

Many a good thing, however, is spoiled in the oven. We can not butregret, for the sake of bread, that our old steady brick ovens havebeen almost universally superseded by those of ranges andcooking-stoves, which are infinite in their caprices, and forbid allgeneral rules. One thing, however, may be borne in mind asa principle--that the excellence of bread in all its varieties, plainor sweetened, depends on the perfection of its air-cells, whetherproduced by yeast, egg, or effervescence; that one of the objects ofbaking is to fix these air-cells, and that the quicker this can bedone through the whole mass, the better will the result be. When cakeor bread is made heavy by baking too quickly, it is because theimmediate formation of the top crust hinders the exhaling of themoisture in the centre, and prevents the air-cells from cooking. Theweight also of the crust pressing down on the doughy air-cells belowdestroys them, producing that horror of good cooks, a heavy streak. The problem in baking, then, is the quick application of heat ratherbelow than above the loaf, and its steady continuance till all theair-cells are thoroughly dried into permanent consistency. Everyhousewife must watch her own oven to know how this can be bestaccomplished. 

Bread-making can be cultivated to any extent as a fine art--and thevarious kinds of biscuit, tea-rusks, twists, rolls, into which breadmay be made, are much better worth a housekeeper's ambition than thegetting-up of rich and expensive cake or confections. There are alsovarieties of material which are rich in good effects. Unbolted flour, altogether more wholesome than the fine wheat, and when properlyprepared more palatable--rye-flour and corn-meal, each affording athousand attractive possibilities--all of these come under the generallaws of bread-stuffs, and are worth a careful attention. 

A peculiarity of our American table, particularly in the Southern andWestern States, is the constant exhibition of various preparations ofhot bread. In many families of the South and West, bread in loaves tobe eaten cold is an article quite unknown. The effect of this kind ofdiet upon the health has formed a frequent subject of remark amongtravelers; but only those know the full mischiefs of it who have beencompelled to sojourn for a length of time in families where it ismaintained. The unknown horrors of dyspepsia from bad bread are a topicover which we willingly draw a veil. 

Next to Bread comes _Butter_--on which we have to say, that, whenwe remember what butter is in civilized Europe, and compare it withwhat it is in America, we wonder at the forbearance and lenity oftravelers in their strictures on our national commissariat. 

Butter, in England, France, and Italy, is simply solidified cream, with all the sweetness of the cream in its taste, freshly churned eachday, and unadulterated by salt. At the present moment, when salt isfive cents a pound and butter fifty, we Americans are paying, at highprices, for about one pound of salt to every ten of butter, and thoseof us who have eaten the butter of France and England do this withrueful recollections. 

There is, it is true, an article of butter made in the American stylewith salt, which, in its own kind and way, has a merit not inferiorto that of England and France. Many prefer it, and it certainly takesa rank equally respectable with the other. It is yellow, hard, andworked so perfectly free from every particle of buttermilk that itmight make the voyage of the world without spoiling. It is salted, butsalted with care and delicacy, so that it may be a question whethereven a fastidious Englishman might not prefer its golden solidity tothe white, creamy freshness of his own. But it is to be regretted thatthis article is the exception, and not the rule, on our tables. 

America must have the credit of manufacturing and putting into marketmore bad butter than all that is made in all the rest of the worldtogether. The varieties of bad tastes and smells which prevail in itare quite a study. This has a cheesy taste, that a mouldy, this isflavored with cabbage, and that again with turnip, and another has thestrong, sharp savor of rancid animal fat. These varieties probablycome from the practice of churning only at long intervals, and keepingthe cream meanwhile in unventilated cellars or dairies, the air ofwhich is loaded with the effluvia of vegetable substances. No domesticarticles are so sympathetic as those of the milk tribe: they readilytake on the smell and taste of any neighboring substance, and hencethe infinite variety of flavors on which one mournfully muses who haslate in autumn to taste twenty firkins of butter in hopes of findingone which will simply not be intolerable on his winter table. 

A matter for despair as regards bad butter is, that at the tables whereit is used it stands sentinel at the door to bar your way to everyother kind of food. You turn from your dreadful half-slice of bread, which fills your mouth with bitterness, to-your beef-steak, whichproves virulent with the same poison; you think to take refuge invegetable diet, and find the butter in the string-beans, and pollutingthe innocence of early peas; it is in the corn, hi the succotash, inthe squash; the beets swim in it, the onions have it poured over them. Hungry and miserable, you think to solace yourself at the dessert; butthe pastry is cursed, the cake is acrid with the same plague. You areready to howl with despair, and your misery is great uponyou--especially if this is a table where you have taken board for threemonths with your delicate wife and four small children. Your case isdreadful, and it is hopeless, because long usage and habit have renderedyour host perfectly incapable of discovering what is the matter. "Don'tlike the butter, sir? I assure you I paid an extra price for it, andit's the very best in the market. I looked over as many as a hundredtubs, and picked out this one. " You are dumb, but not less despairing. 

Yet the process of making good butter is a very simple one. To keepthe cream in a perfectly pure, cool atmosphere, to churn while it isyet sweet, to work out the buttermilk thoroughly, and to add salt withsuch discretion as not to ruin the fine, delicate flavor of the freshcream--all this is quite simple, so simple that one wonders at thousandsand millions of pounds of butter yearly manufactured which are merelya hobgoblin bewitchment of cream into foul and loathsome poisons. 

The third head of my discourse is that of _Meat_, of which Americafurnishes, in the gross material, enough to spread our tables royally, were it well cared for and served. 

The faults in the meat generally furnished to us are, first, that itis too new. A beef steak, which three or four days of keeping mightrender palatable, is served up to us palpitating with freshness, withall the toughness of animal muscle yet warm. 

In the next place, there is a woeful lack of nicety in the butcher'swork of cutting and preparing meat. Who that remembers the neatlytrimmed mutton-chop of an English inn, or the artistic little circleof lamb-chop fried in bread-crumbs coiled around a tempting centre ofspinach which may always be found in France, can recognize any familyresemblance to those dapper, civilized preparations, in these coarse, roughly-hacked strips of bone, gristle, and meat which are commonlycalled mutton-chop in America? There seems to be a large dish ofsomething resembling meat, in which each fragment has about two orthree edible morsels, the rest being composed of dry and burnt skin, fat, and ragged bone. 

Is it not time that civilization should learn to demand somewhat morecare and nicety in the modes of preparing what is to be cooked andeaten? Might not some of the refinement and trimness which characterizethe preparations of the European market be with advantage introducedinto our own? The housekeeper who wishes to garnish her table withsome of those nice things is stopped in the outset by the butcher. Except in our large cities, where some foreign travel may have createdthe demand, it seems impossible to get much in this line that isproperly prepared. 

If this is urged on the score of aesthetics, the ready reply will be, "Oh! we can't give time here in America to go into niceties and Frenchwhim-whams!" But the French mode of doing almost all practical thingsis based on that true philosophy and utilitarian good sense whichcharacterize that seemingly thoughtless people. Nowhere is economy amore careful study, and their market is artistically arranged to thisend. The rule is so to cut their meats that no portion designed to becooked in a certain manner shall have wasteful appendages which thatmode of cooking will spoil. The French soup-kettle stands ever readyto receive the bones, the thin fibrous flaps, the sinewy and gristlyportions, which are so often included in our roasts or broilings, whichfill our plates with unsightly _debris_, and finally make an amount ofblank waste for which we pay our butcher the same price that we pay forwhat we have eaten. 

The dead waste of our clumsy, coarse way of cutting meats is immense. For example, at the beginning of the season, the part of a lambdenominated leg and loin, or hind-quarter, may sell for thirty centsa pound. Now this includes, besides the thick, fleshy portions, aquantity of bone, sinew, and thin fibrous substance, constituting fullone third of the whole weight. If we put it into the oven entire, inthe usual manner, we have the thin parts over-done, and the skinnyand fibrous parts utterly dried up, by the application of the amountof heat necessary to cook the thick portion. Supposing the joint toweigh six pounds, at thirty cents, and that one third of the weightis so treated as to become perfectly useless, we throw away sixtycents. Of a piece of beef at twenty-five cents a pound, fifty cents'worth is often lost in bone, fat, and burnt skin. 

The fact is, this way of selling and cooking meat in large, gross portions is of English origin, and belongs to a country where allthe customs of society spring from a class who have no particularoccasion for economy. The practice of minute and delicate divisioncomes from a nation which acknowledges the need of economy, and hasmade it a study. A quarter of lamb in this mode of division would besold in three nicely prepared portions. The thick part would be soldby itself, for a neat, compact little roast; the rib-bones would beartistically separated, and all the edible matter would form thosedelicate dishes of lamb-chop, which, fried in bread-crumbs to a goldenbrown, are so ornamental and palatable a side-dish; the trimmings whichremain after this division would be destined to the soup-kettle orstew-pan. 

In a French market is a little portion for every purse, and thefar-famed and delicately flavored soups and stews which have arisenout of French economy are a study worth a housekeeper's attention. Notone atom of food is wasted in the French modes of preparation; eventough animal cartilages and sinews, instead of appearing burned andblackened in company with the roast meat to which they happen to berelated, are treated according to their own laws, and come out eitherin savory soups, or those fine, clear meat-jellies which form a garnishno less agreeable to the eye than palatable to the taste. 

Whether this careful, economical, practical style of meat-cooking canever to any great extent be introduced into our kitchens now is aquestion. Our butchers are against it; our servants are wedded to theold wholesale wasteful ways, which seem to them easier because theyare accustomed to them. A cook who will keep and properly tend asoup-kettle which shall receive and utilize all that the coarsepreparations of the butcher would require her to trim away, whounderstands the art of making the most of all these remains, is atreasure scarcely to be hoped for. If such things are to be done, itmust be primarily through the educated brain of cultivated women whodo not scorn to turn their culture and refinement upon domesticproblems. 

When meats have been properly divided, so that each portion can receiveits own appropriate style of treatment, next comes the considerationof the modes of cooking. These may be divided into two great generalclasses: those where it is desired to keep the juices within the meat, as in baking, broiling, and frying--and those whose object is to extractthe juice and dissolve the fibre, as in the making of soups and stews. In the first class of operations, the process must be as rapid as mayconsist with the thorough cooking of all the particles. In this branchof cookery, doing quickly is doing well. The fire must be brisk, theattention alert. The introduction of cooking-stoves offers to carelessdomestics facilities for gradually drying-up meats, and despoilingthem of all flavor and nutriment--facilities which appear to be verygenerally accepted. They have almost banished the genuine, old-fashionedroast-meat from our tables, and left in its stead dried meats withtheir most precious and nutritive juices evaporated. How few cooks, unassisted, are competent to the simple process of broiling a beefsteakor mutton-chop! how very generally one has to choose between thesemeats gradually dried away, or burned on the outside and raw within!Yet in England these articles _never_ come on the table done amiss;their perfect cooking is as absolute a certainty as the rising of thesun. 

No one of these rapid processes of cooking, however, is so generallyabused as frying. The frying-pan has awful sins to answer for. Whatuntold horrors of dyspepsia have arisen from its smoky depths, likethe ghost from witches' caldrons! The fizzle of frying meat is a warningknell on many an ear, saying, "Touch not, taste not, if you would notburn and writhe!"

Yet those who have traveled abroad remember that some of the lightest, most palatable, and most digestible preparations of meat have comefrom this dangerous source. But we fancy quite other rites andceremonies inaugurated the process, and quite other hands performedits offices, than those known to our kitchens. Probably the delicate_cotelettes_ of France are not flopped down into half-meltedgrease, there gradually to warm and soak and fizzle, while Biddy goesin and out on her other ministrations, till finally, when they arethoroughly saturated, and dinner-hour impends, she bethinks herself, and crowds the fire below to a roaring heat, and finishes the processby a smart burn, involving the kitchen and surrounding precincts involumes of Stygian gloom. From such preparations has arisen the verycurrent medical opinion that fried meats are indigestible. They areindigestible, if they are greasy; but French cooks have taught us thata thing has no more need to be greasy because emerging from greasethan Venus had to be salt because she rose from the sea. 

There are two ways of frying employed by the French cook. One is, toimmerse the article to be cooked in _boiling_ fat, with an emphasison the present participle--and the philosophical principle is, soimmediately to crisp every pore, at the first moment or two ofimmersion, as effectually to seal the interior against the intrusionof greasy particles; it can then remain as long as may be necessarythoroughly to cook it, without imbibing any more of the boiling fluidthan if it were inclosed in an egg-shell. The other method is to ruba perfectly smooth iron surface with just enough of some oily substanceto prevent the meat from adhering, and cook it with a quick heat, ascakes are baked, on a griddle. In both these cases there must be themost rapid application of heat that can be made without burning, andby the adroitness shown in working out this problem the skill of thecook is tested. Any one whose cook attains this important secret willfind fried things quite as digestible, and often more palatable, thanany other. 

In the second department of meat-cookery, to wit, the slow and gradualapplication of heat for the softening and dissolution of its fibre andthe extraction of its juices, common cooks are equally untrained. Whereis the so-called cook who understands how to prepare soups and stews?These are precisely the articles in which a French kitchen excels. Thesoup-kettle, made with a double bottom, to prevent burning, is apermanent, ever-present institution, and the coarsest and mostimpracticable meats distilled through that alembic come out again insoups, jellies, or savory stews. The toughest cartilage, even thebones, being first cracked, are here made to give forth their hiddenvirtues, and to rise in delicate and appetizing forms. 

One great law governs all these preparations: the application of heatmust be gradual, steady, long protracted, never reaching the point ofactive boiling. Hours of quiet simmering dissolve all dissoluble parts, soften the sternest fibre, and unlock every minute cell in which Naturehas stored away her treasures of nourishment. This careful andprotracted application of heat and the skillful use of flavorsconstitute the two main points in all those nice preparations of meatfor which the French have so many names--processes by which a delicacycan be imparted to the coarsest and cheapest food superior to that ofthe finest articles under less philosophic treatment. 

French soups and stews are a study, and they would not be anunprofitable one to any person who wishes to live with comfort andeven elegance on small means. 

There is no animal fibre that will not yield itself up to long-continued, steady heat. But the difficulty with almost any of thecommon servants who call themselves cooks is, that they have not thesmallest notion of the philosophy of the application of heat. Such aone will complacently tell you concerning certain meats, that theharder you boil them the harder they grow--an obvious fact which, underher mode of treatment by an indiscriminate galloping boil, hasfrequently come under her personal observation. If you tell her thatsuch meat must stand for six hours in a heat just below the boilingpoint, she will probably answer, "Yes, ma'am, " and go on her own way. Or she will let it stand till it burns to the bottom of the kettle--amost common termination of the experiment. 

The only way to make sure of the matter is, either to obtain a Frenchkettle, or to fit into an ordinary kettle a false bottom, such as anytinman may make, that shall leave a space of an inch or two betweenthe meat and the fire. This kettle may be maintained in a constantposition on the range, and into it the cook maybe instructed to throwall the fibrous trimmings of meat, all the gristle, tendons, and bones, having previously broken up these last with a mallet. Such a kettle, the regular occupant of a French cooking-stove, which they call the_pot au feu_, will furnish the basis for clear, rich soups, or otherpalatable dishes. This is ordinarily called "stock. "

Clear soup consists of the dissolved juices of the meat and gelatineof the bones, cleared from the fat and fibrous portions by straining. The grease, which rises to the top of the fluid, may be easily removedwhen cold. 

English and American soups are often heavy and hot with spices. Thereare appreciable tastes in them. They burn your mouth with cayenne, orclove, or allspice. You can tell at once what is in them, oftentimesto your sorrow. But a French soup has a flavor which one recognizesat once as delicious, yet not to be characterized as due to any singlecondiment; it is the just blending of many things. The same remarkapplies to all their stews; ragouts, and other delicate preparations. No cook will ever study these flavors; but perhaps many cooks'mistresses may, and thus, be able to impart delicacy and comfort toeconomy. 

As to those things called hashes, commonly manufactured by unwatched, untaught cooks out of the remains of yesterday's meal, let us not dwelltoo closely on their memory--compounds of meat, gristle, skin, fat, and burnt fibre, with a handful of pepper and salt flung at them, dredged with lumpy flour, watered from the spout of the tea-kettle, and left to simmer at the cook's convenience while she is otherwiseoccupied. Such are the best performances a housekeeper can hope forfrom an untrained cook. 

But the cunningly devised minces, the artful preparations choicelyflavored, which may be made of yesterday's repast--by these is thetrue domestic artist known. No cook untaught by an educated brain evermakes these, and yet economy is a great gainer by them. 

As regards the department of _Vegetables_, their number and varietyin America are so great that a table might almost be furnished by thesealone. Generally speaking, their cooking is a more simple art, andtherefore more likely to be found satisfactorily performed, than thatof meats. If only they are not drenched with rancid butter, their ownnative excellence makes itself known in most of the ordinary modes ofpreparation. 

There is, however, one exception. Our staunch old friend, the potato, is to other vegetables what bread is on the table. Like bread, it isheld as a sort of _sine-qua-non_; like that, it may be made invariablypalatable by a little care in a few plain particulars, through neglectof which it often becomes intolerable. The soggy, waxy, indigestibleviand that often appears in the potato-dish is a downright sacrifice ofthe better nature of this vegetable. 

The potato, nutritive and harmless as it appears, belongs to a familysuspected of very dangerous traits. It is a family connection of thedeadly-nightshade and other ill-reputed gentry, and sometimes showsstrange proclivities to evil--now breaking out uproariously, as in thenoted potato-rot, and now more covertly, in various evil affections. For this reason scientific directors bid us beware of the water inwhich potatoes are boiled-into which, it appears, the evil principleis drawn off; and they caution us not to shred them into stews withoutpreviously suffering the slices to lie for an hour or so in salt andwater. These cautions are worth attention. 

The most usual modes of preparing the potato for the table are byroasting or boiling. These processes are so simple that it is commonlysupposed every cook understands them without special directions; andyet there is scarcely an uninstructed cook who can boil or roast apotato. 

A good roasted potato is a delicacy worth a dozen compositions of thecook-book; yet when we ask for it, what burnt, shriveled abortions arepresented to us! Biddy rushes to her potato-basket and pours out twodozen of different sizes, some having in them three times the amountof matter of others. These being washed, she tumbles them into heroven at a leisure interval, and there lets them lie till it is timeto serve breakfast, whenever that may be. As a result, if the largestare cooked, the smallest are presented in cinders, and the intermediatesizes are withered and watery. Nothing is so utterly ruined by a fewmoments of overdoing. That which at the right moment was plump withmealy richness, a quarter of an hour later shrivels and becomes watery--and it is in this state that roast potatoes are most frequently served. 

In the same manner we have seen boiled potatoes from an untaught cookcoming upon the table like lumps of yellow wax--and the same article, under the directions of a skillful mistress, appearing in snowy ballsof powdery whiteness. In the one case, they were thrown in their skinsinto water, and suffered to soak or boil, as the case might be, at thecook's leisure, and after they were boiled to stand in the water tillshe was ready to peel them. In the other case, the potatoes being firstpeeled were boiled as quickly as possible in salted water, which themoment they were done was drained off, and then they were gently shakenfor a moment or two over the fire to dry them still more thoroughly. We have never yet seen the potato so depraved and given over to evilthat it could not be reclaimed by this mode of treatment. 

As to fried potatoes, who that remembers the crisp, golden slices ofthe French restaurant, thin as wafers and light as snow-flakes, doesnot speak respectfully of them? What cousinship with these have thosecoarse, greasy masses of sliced potato, wholly soggy and partly burnt, to which we are treated under the name of fried potatoes in America?In our cities the restaurants are introducing the French article togreat acceptance, and to the vindication of the fair fame of this queenof vegetables. 

Finally, we arrive at the last great head of our subject, to wit--_Tea_--meaning thereby, as before observed, what our Hibernianfriend did in the inquiry, "Will y'r honor take 'tay tay' or coffeetay?"

We are not about to enter into the merits of the great tea-and-coffeecontroversy, further than in our general caution concerning them inthe chapter on Healthful Drinks; but we now proceed to treat of themas actual existences, and speak only of the modes of making the bestof them. The French coffee is reputed the best in the world; and athousand voices have asked, What is it about the French coffee?

In the first place, then, the French coffee is coffee, and not chickory, or rye, or beans, or peas. In the second place, it is freshly roasted, whenever made--roasted with great care and evenness in a littlerevolving cylinder which makes part of the furniture of every kitchen, and which keeps in the aroma of the berry. It is never overdone, soas to destroy the coffee-flavor, which is in nine cases out of tentthe fault of the coffee we meet with. Then it is ground, and placedin a coffee-pot with a filter through which, when it has yielded upits life to the boiling water poured upon it, the delicious extractpercolates in clear drops, the coffee-pot standing on a heated stoveto maintain the temperature. The nose of the coffee-pot is stopped upto prevent the escape of the aroma during this process. The extractthus obtained is a perfectly clear, dark fluid, known as _cafnoir_, or black coffee. It is black only because of its strength, being in fact almost the very essential oil of coffee. A table-spoonfulof this in boiled milk would make what is ordinarily called a strongcup of coffee. The boiled milk is prepared with no less care. It mustbe fresh and new, not merely warmed or even brought to theboiling-point, but slowly simmered till it attains a thick, creamyrichness. The coffee mixed with this, and sweetened with that sparklingbeet-root sugar which ornaments a French table, is the celebrated_cafe-au-lait_, the name of which has gone round the world. 

As we look to France for the best coffee, so we must look to Englandfor the perfection of tea. The tea-kettle is as much an Englishinstitution as aristocracy or the Prayer-Book; and when one wants toknow exactly how tea should he made, one has only to ask how a fineold English house-keeper makes it. 

The first article of her faith is, that the water must not merely behot, not merely _have boiled_ a few moments since, but be actually_boiling_ at the moment it touches the tea. Hence, though servantsin England are vastly better trained than with us, this delicate mysteryis seldom left to their hands. Tea-making belongs to the drawing-room, and high-born ladies preside at "the bubbling and loud hissing urn, "and see that all due rites and solemnities are properly performed--thatthe cups are hot, and that the infused tea waits the exact time beforethe libations commence. 

Of late, the introduction of English breakfast-tea has raised a newsect among the tea-drinkers, reversing some of the old canons. Breakfast-tea must be boiled! Unlike the delicate article of oldentime, which required only a momentary infusion to develop its richness, this requires a longer and severer treatment to bring out itsstrength--thus confusing all the established usages, and throwing thework into the hands of the cook in the kitchen. The faults of tea, astoo commonly found at our hotels and boarding-houses, are, that itis made in every way the reverse of what it should be. The water ishot, perhaps, but not boiling; the tea has a general flat, stale, smokytaste, devoid of life or spirit; and it is served usually with thinmilk, instead of cream. Cream is an essential to the richness of teaas of coffee. Lacking cream, boiled milk is better than cold. 

Chocolate is a French and Spanish article, and one seldom served onAmerican tables. We in America, however, make an article every wayequal to any which can be imported from Paris, and he who buys thebest vanilla-chocolate may rest assured that no foreign land can furnishany thing better. A very rich and delicious beverage may be made bydissolving this in milk, slowly boiled down after the French fashion. 

A word now under the head of _Confectionery_, meaning by this thewhole range of ornamental cookery--or pastry, ices, jellies, preserves, etc. The art of making all these very perfectly is far better understoodin America than the art of common cooking. There are more women whoknow how to make good cake than good bread--more who can furnish youwith a good ice-cream than a well-cooked mutton-chop; a faircharlotte-russe is easier to gain than a perfect cup of coffee; andyou shall find a sparkling jelly to your dessert where you sighed invain for so simple a luxury as a well-cooked potato. 

Our fair countrywomen might rest upon their laurels in these higherfields, and turn their great energy and ingenuity to the study ofessentials. To do common things perfectly is far better worth ourendeavor than to do uncommon things respectably. We Americans in manythings as yet have been a little inclined to begin making our shirtat the ruffle; but, nevertheless, when we set about it, we can makethe shirt as nicely as any body; it needs only that we turn ourattention to it, resolved that, ruffle or no ruffle, the shirt we willhave. 

A few words as to the prevalent ideas in respect to French cookery. Having heard much of it, with no very distinct idea of what it is, ourpeople have somehow fallen into the notion that its _forte_ lies in highspicing--and so when our cooks put a great abundance of clove, mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon into their preparations, they fancy that they aregrowing up to be French cooks. But the fact is, that the Americans andEnglish are far more given to spicing than the French. Spices in ourmade dishes are abundant, and their taste is strongly pronounced. Livinga year in France one forgets the taste of nutmeg, clove, and allspice, which abounds in so many dishes in America. The English and Americansdeal in _spices_, the French in _flavors_--flavors many and flue, imitating often in their delicacy those subtle blendings which natureproduces in high-flavored fruits. The recipes of our cookery-books aremost of them of English origin, coming down from the times of ourphlegmatic ancestors, when the solid, burly, beefy growth of the foggyisland required the heat of fiery condiments, and could digest heavysweets. Witness the national recipe for plum-pudding: which may berendered: Take a pound of every indigestible substance you can think of, boil into a cannon-ball, and serve in flaming brandy. So of theChristmas mince-pie, and many other national dishes. But in America, owing to our brighter skies and more fervid climate, we have developedan acute, nervous delicacy of temperament far more akin to that ofFrance than of England. 

Half of the recipes in our cook-books are mere murder to suchconstitutions and stomachs as we grow here. We require to ponder thesethings, and think how we, in our climate and under our circumstances, ought to live; and in doing so, we may, without accusation of foreignfoppery, take some leaves from many foreign books. 

XIV. 

EARLY RISING

There is no practice which has been more extensively eulogized in allages than early rising; and this universal impression is an indicationthat it is founded on true philosophy. For it is rarely the case thatthe common sense of mankind fastens on a practice as really beneficial, especially one that demands self-denial, without some substantialreason. 

This practice, which may justly be called a domestic virtue, is onewhich has a peculiar claim to be styled American and democratic. Thedistinctive mark of aristocratic nations is a disregard of the greatmass, and a disproportionate regard for the interests of certainprivileged orders. All the customs and habits of such a nation are, to a greater or less extent, regulated by this principle. Now the massof any nation must always consist of persons who labor at occupationswhich demand the light of day. But in aristocratic countries, especiallyin England, labor is regarded as the mark of the lower classes, andindolence is considered as one mark of a gentleman. This impressionhas gradually and imperceptibly, to a great extent, regulated theircustoms, so that, even in their hours of meals and repose, the higherorders aim at being different and distinct from those who, by laboriouspursuits, are placed below them. From this circumstance, while thelower orders labor by day and sleep at night, the rich, the noble, andthe honored sleep by day, and follow their pursuits and pleasures bynight. 

It will be found that the aristocracy of London breakfast near midday, dine after dark, visit and go to Parliament between ten and twelve atnight, and retire to sleep toward morning. In consequence of this, thesubordinate classes who aim at gentility gradually fall into the samepractice. The influence of this custom extends across the ocean, andhere, in this democratic land, we find many who measure their gradeof gentility by the late hour at which they arrive at a party. Andthis aristocratic folly is growing upon us, so that, throughout thenation, the hours for visiting and retiring are constantly becominglater, while the hours for rising correspond in lateness. 

The question, then, is one which appeals to American women, as a matterof patriotism and as having a bearing on those great principles ofdemocracy which we conceive to be equally the principles ofChristianity. Shall we form our customs on the assumption that laboris degrading and indolence genteel? Shall we assume, by our practice, that the interests of the great mass are to be sacrificed for thepleasures and honors of a privileged few? Shall we ape the customs ofaristocratic lands, in those very practices which result from principlesand institutions that we condemn? Shall we not rather take the placeto which we are entitled, as the leaders, rather than the followers, in the customs of society, turn back the tide of aristocratic inroads, and carry through the whole, not only of civil and political but ofsocial and domestic life, the true principles of democratic freedomand equality? The following considerations may serve to strengthen anaffirmative decision. 

The first relates to the health of a family. It is a universal law ofphysiology, that all living things flourish best in the light. Vegetables, in a dark cellar, grow pale and spindling. Children broughtup in mines are always wan and stunted, while men become pale andcadaverous who live under ground. This indicates the folly of losingthe genial influence which the light of day produces on all animatedcreation. 

Sir James Wylie, of the Russian imperial service, states that in thesoldiers' barracks, three times as many were taken sick on the shadedside as on the sunny side; though both sides communicated, anddiscipline, diet, and treatment were the same. The eminent Frenchsurgeon, Dupuytren, cured a lady whose complicated diseases baffledfor years his own and all other medical skill, by taking her from adark room to an abundance of daylight. 

Florence Nightingale writes: "Second only to fresh air in importancefor the sick is light. Not only daylight but direct sunlight isnecessary to speedy recovery, except in a small number of cases. Instances, almost endless, could be given where, in dark wards, orwards with only northern exposure, or wards with borrowed light, evenwhen properly ventilated, the sick could not be, by any means, madespeedily to recover. "

In the prevalence of cholera, it was invariably the case that deathswere more numerous in shaded streets or in houses having only northernexposures than in those having sunlight. Several physicians have statedto the writer that, in sunny exposures, women after childbirth gainedstrength much faster than those excluded from sunlight. In the writer'sexperience, great nervous debility has been always immediately lessenedby sitting in the sun, and still more by lying on the earth and inopen air, a blanket beneath, and head and eyes protected, under thedirect rays of the sun. 

Some facts in physiology and natural philosophy have a bearing on thissubject. It seems to be settled that the red color of blood is owingto iron contained in the red blood-cells, while it is established asa fact that the sun's rays are metallic, having "vapor of iron" as oneelement. It is also true that want of light causes a diminution of thered and an increase of the imperfect white blood-cells, and that thissometimes results in a disease called _leucoemia_, while all wholive in the dark have pale and waxy skins, and flabby, weak muscles. Thus it would seem that it is the sun that imparts the iron and colorto the blood. These things being so, the customs of society that bringsleeping hours into daylight, and working and study hours into thenight, are direct violations of the laws of health. The laws of healthare the laws of God, and "sin is the transgression of law. "

To this we must add the great neglect of economy as well as health insubstituting unhealthful gaslight, poisonous, anthracite warmth, forthe life-giving light and warmth of the sun. Millions and millionswould be saved to this nation in fuel and light, as well as in health, by returning to the good old ways of our forefathers, to rise with thesun, and retire to rest "when the bell rings for nine o'clock. "

The observations of medical men, whose inquiries have been directedto this point, have decided that from six to eight hours is the amountof sleep demanded by persons in health. Some constitutions require asmuch as eight, and others no more than six hours of repose. But eighthours is the maximum for all persons in ordinary health, with ordinaryoccupations. In cases of extra physical exertions, or the debility ofdisease, or a decayed constitution, more than this is required. Leteight hours, then, be regarded as the ordinary period required forsleep by an industrious people like the Americans. 

It thus appears that the laws of our political condition, the laws ofthenatural world, and the constitution of our bodies, alike demandthat we rise with the light of day to prosecute our employments, andthat we retire in time for the requisite amount of sleep. 

In regard to the effects of protracting the time spent in repose, manyextensive and satisfactory investigations have been made. It has beenshown that, during sleep, the body perspires most freely, while yetneither food nor exercise are ministering to its wants. Of course, ifwe continue our slumbers beyond the time required to restore the bodyto its usual vigor, there is an unperceived undermining of theconstitution, by this protracted and debilitating exhalation. Thisprocess, in a course of years, readers the body delicate and less ableto withstand disease, and in the result shortens life. Sir JohnSinclair, who has written a large work on the Causes of Longevity, states, as one result of his extensive investigations, that he hasnever yet heard or read of a single case of great longevity where theindividual was not an early riser. He says that he has found cases inwhich the individual has violated some one of all the other laws ofhealth, and yet lived to great age; but never a single instance inwhich any constitution has withstood that undermining consequent onprotracting the hours of repose beyond the demands of the system. 

Another reason for early rising is, that it is indispensable to asystematic and well-regulated family. At whatever hour the parentsretire, children and domestics, wearied by play or labor, must retireearly. Children usually awake with the dawn of light, and commencetheir play, while domestics usually prefer the freshness of morningfor their labors. If, then, the parents rise at a late hour, theyeither induce a habit of protracting sleep in their children anddomestics, or else the family are up, and at their pursuits, whiletheir supervisors are in bed. 

Any woman who asserts that her children and domestics, in the firsthours of day, when their spirits are freshest, will be as well regulatedwithout her presence as with it, confesses that which surely is littlefor her credit. It is believed that any candid woman, whatever may beher excuse for late rising, will concede that if she could rise earlyit would be for the advantage of her family. A late breakfast putsback the work, through the whole day, for every member of a family;and if the parents thus occasion the loss of an hour or two to eachindividual who, but for their delay in the morning, would be usefullyemployed, they alone are responsible for all this waste of time. 

But the practice of early rising has a relation to the general interestsof the social community, as well as to that of each distinct family. All that great portion of the community who are employed in businessand labor find it needful to rise early; and all their hours of meals, and their appointments for business or pleasure, must be accommodatedto these arrangements. Now, if a small portion of the communityestablish very different hours, it makes a kind of jostling in all theconcerns and interests of society. The various appointments for thepublic, such as meetings, schools, and business hours, must beaccommodated to the mass, and not to individuals. The few, then, whoestablish domestic habits at variance with the majority, are eitherconstantly interrupted in their own arrangements, or else areinterfering with the rights and interests of others. This is exemplifiedin the case of schools. In families where late rising is practiced, either hurry, irregularity, and neglect are engendered in the family, or else the interests of the school, and thus of the community, aresacrificed. In this, and many other matters, it can be shown that thewell-being of the bulk of the people is, to a greater or less extent, impaired by this self-indulgent practice. Let any teacher select theunpunctual scholars--a class who most seriously interfere with theinterests of the school--and let men of business select those who causethem most waste of time and vexation, by unpunctuality; and it willbe found that they are generally among the late risers, and rarelyamong those who rise early. Thus, late rising not only injures theperson and family which indulge in it, but interferes with the rightsand convenience of the community; while early rising impartscorresponding benefits of health, promptitude, vigor of action, economyof time, and general effectiveness both to the individuals who practiceit and to the families and community of which they are a part. 

CHAPTER XV. 

DOMESTIC MANNERS. 

Good manners are the expressions of benevolence in personal intercourse, by which we endeavor to promote the comfort and enjoyment of others, and to avoid all that gives needless uneasiness. It is the exteriorexhibition of the divine precept, which requires us to do to othersas we would that they should do to us. It is saying, by our deportment, to all around, that we consider their feelings, tastes, andconveniences, as equal in value to our own. 

Good manners lead us to avoid all practices which offend the taste ofothers; all unnecessary violations of the conventional rules ofpropriety; all rude and disrespectful language and deportment; and allremarks which would tend to wound the feelings of others. 

There is a serious defect in the manners of the American people, especially among the descendants of the Puritan settlers of New England, which can never be efficiently remedied, except in the domestic circle, and during early life. It is a deficiency in the free expression ofkindly feelings and sympathetic emotions, and a want of courtesy indeportment. The causes which have led to this result may easily betraced. 

The forefathers of this nation, to a wide extent, were men who weredriven from their native land by laws and customs which they believedto be opposed both to civil and religious freedom. The sufferings theywere called to endure, the subduing of those gentler feelings whichbind us to country, kindred, and home; and the constant subordinationof the passions to stern principle, induced characters of great firmnessand self-control. They gave up the comforts and refinements of acivilized country, and came as pilgrims to a hard soil, a cold clime, and a heathen shore. They were continually forced to encounter danger, privations, sickness, loneliness, and death; and all these theirreligion taught them to meet with calmness, fortitude, and submission. And thus it became the custom and habit of the whole mass, to repressrather than to encourage the expression of feeling. 

Persons who are called to constant and protracted suffering andprivation are forced to subdue and conceal emotion; for the freeexpression of it would double their own suffering, and increase thesufferings of others. Those, only, who are free from care and anxiety, and whose minds are mainly occupied by cheerful emotions, are at fullliberty to unveil their feelings. 

It was under such stern and rigorous discipline that the first childrenin New England were reared; and the manners and habits of parents areusually, to a great extent, transmitted to children. Thus it comes topass, that the descendants of the Puritans, now scattered over everypart of the nation, are predisposed to conceal the gentler emotions, while their manners are calm, decided, and cold, rather than free andimpulsive. Of course, there are very many exceptions to thesepredominating characteristics. 

Other causes to which we may attribute a general want of courtesy inmanners are certain incidental results of our domestic institutions. Our ancestors and their descendants have constantly been combating thearistocratic principle which would exalt one class of men at the expenseof another. They have had to contend with this principle, not only incivil but in social life. Almost every American, in his own person aswell as in behalf of his class, has had to assume and defend the mainprinciple of democracy--that every man's feelings and interests areequal in value to those of every other man. But, in doing this, therehas been some want of clear discrimination. Because claims based ondistinctions of mere birth, fortune, or position, were found to beinjurious, many have gone to the extreme of inferring that alldistinctions, involving subordinations, are useless. Such wouldwrongfully regard children as equals to parents, pupils to teachers, domestics to their employers, and subjects to magistrates--and that, too, in all respects. 

The fact that certain grades of superiority and subordination areneedful, both for individual and public benefit, has not been clearlydiscerned; and there has been a gradual tendency to an extreme of theopposite view which has sensibly affected our manners. All theproprieties and courtesies which depend on the recognition of therelative duties of superior and subordinate have been warred upon; andthus we see, to an increasing extent, disrespectful treatment ofparents, by children; of teachers, by pupils; of employers, bydomestics; and of the aged, by the young. In all classes and circles, there is a gradual decay in courtesy of address. 

In cases, too, where kindness is rendered, it is often accompaniedwith a cold, unsympathizing manner, which greatly lessens its value;while kindness or politeness is received in a similar style of coolness, as if it were but the payment of a just due. 

It is owing to these causes that the American people, especially thedescendants of the Puritans, do not do themselves justice. For, whilethose who are near enough to learn their real character and feelingscan discern the most generous impulses, and the most kindly sympathies, they are often so veiled behind a composed and indifferent demeanor, as to be almost entirely concealed from strangers. 

These defects in our national manners it especially falls to the careof mothers, and all who have charge of the young, to rectify; and ifthey seriously undertake the matter, and wisely adapt means to ends, these defects will be remedied. With reference to this object, thefollowing ideas are suggested. 

The law of Christianity and of democracy, which teaches that all menare born equal in rights, and that their interests and feelings shouldbe regarded as of equal value, seems to be adopted in aristocraticcircles, with exclusive reference to the class in which the individualmoves. The courtly gentleman addresses all of his own class withpoliteness and respect; and in all his actions, seems to allow thatthe feelings and convenience of these others are to be regarded thesame as his own. But his demeanor to those of inferior station is notbased on the same rule. 

Among those who make up aristocratic circles, such as are above themare deemed of superior, and such as are below of inferior, value. Thus, if a young, ignorant, and vicious coxcomb happens to have been borna lord, the aged, the virtuous, the learned, and the well-bred ofanother class must give his convenience the precedence, and must addresshim in terms of respect. So sometimes, when a man of "noble birth" isthrown among the lower classes, he demeans himself in a style which, to persons of his own class, would be deemed the height of assumptionand rudeness. 

Now, the principles of democracy require that the same courtesy whichwe accord to our own circle shall be extended to every class andcondition; and that distinctions of superiority and subordination shalldepend, not on accidents of birth, fortune, or occupation, but solelyon those mutual relations which the good of all classes equally require. The distinctions demanded in a democratic state are simply those whichresult from relations that are common to every class, and are for thebenefit of all. 

It is for the benefit of every class that children be subordinate toparents, pupils to teachers, the employed to their employers, andsubjects to magistrates. In addition to this, it is for the generalwell-being that the comfort or convenience of the delicate and feebleshould be preferred to that of the strong and healthy, who would sufferless by any deprivation; that precedence should be given to theirelders by the young; and that reverence should be given to the hoaryhead. 

The rules of good-breeding, in a democratic state, must be founded onthese principles. It is indeed assumed that the value of the happinessof each individual is the same as that of every other; but as theremust be occasions where there are advantages which all can not enjoy, there must be general rules for regulating a selection. Otherwise, there would be constant scrambling among those of equal claims, andbrute force must be the final resort; in which case, the strongestwould have the best of every thing. The democratic rule, then, is, that superiors in age, station, or office have precedence ofsubordinates; age and feebleness, of youth and strength; and the feeblersex, of more vigorous man. [Footnote: The universal practice of thisnation, in thus giving precedence to woman has been severely commentedon by foreigners, and by some who would transfer all the business ofthe other sex to women, and then have them treated like men. But wehope this evidence of our superior civilization and Christianity mayincrease rather than diminish. ]

There is, also, a style of deportment and address which is appropriateto these different relations. It is suitable for a superior to securecompliance with his wishes from those subordinate to him by commands;but a subordinate must secure compliance with his wishes from a superiorby requests. (Although the kind and considerate manner to subordinateswill always be found the most effective as well as the pleasantest, by those in superior station. ) It is suitable for a parent, teacher, or employer to admonish for neglect of duty; but not for an inferiorto adopt such a course toward a superior. It is suitable for a superiorto take precedence of a subordinate, without any remark; but not foran inferior, without previously asking leave, or offering an apology. It is proper for a superior to use language and manners of freedom andfamiliarity, which would be improper from a subordinate to a superior. 

The want of due regard to these proprieties occasions a great defectin American manners. It is very common to hear children talk to theirparents in a style proper only between companions and equals; so, also, the young address their elders; those employed, their employers; anddomestics, the members of the family and their visitors, in a stylewhich is inappropriate to their relative positions. But courteousaddress is required not merely toward superiors; every person desiresto be thus treated, and therefore the law of benevolence demands suchdemeanor toward all whom we meet in the social intercourse of life. "Be ye courteous, " is the direction of the apostle in reference to ourtreatment of _all_. 

Good manners can be successfully cultivated only in early life and inthe domestic circle. There is nothing which depends so much upon_habit_ as the constantly recurring proprieties of good breeding;and if a child grows up without forming such habits, it is very rarelythe case that they can be formed at a later period. The feeling thatit is of little consequence how we behave at home if we conductourselves properly abroad, is a very fallacious one. Persons who arecareless and ill-bred at home may imagine that they can assume goodmanners abroad; but they mistake. Fixed habits of tone, manner, language, and movements can not be suddenly altered; and those who areill-bred at home, even when they try to hide their bad habits, aresure to violate many of the obvious rules of propriety, and yet beunconscious of it. 

And there is nothing which would so effectually remove prejudice againstour democratic institutions as the general cultivation of good-breedingin the domestic circle. Good manners are the exterior of benevolence, the minute and constant exhibitions of "peace and good-will;" and thenation, as well as the individual, which most excels in the externaldemonstration, as well as the internal principle, will be most respectedand beloved. 

It is only the training of the family state according to its true endand aim that is to secure to woman her true position and rights. Whenthe family is instituted by marriage, it is man who is the head andchief magistrate by the force of his physical power and requirementof the chief responsibility; not less is he so according to theChristian law, by which, when differences arise, the husband has thedeciding control, and the wife is to obey. "Where love is, there isno law;" but where love is not, the only dignified and peaceful courseis for the wife, however much his superior, to "submit, as to God andnot to man. "

But this power of nature and of religion, given to man as thecontrolling head, involves the distinctive duty of the family state, _self-sacrificing love_. The husband is to "honor" the wife, tolove her as himself, and thus account her wishes and happiness as ofequal value with his own. But more than this, he is to love her "asChrist loved the Church;" that is, he is to "suffer" for her, if needbe, in order to support and elevate and ennoble her. The father thenis to set the example of self-sacrificing love and devotion; and themother, of Christian obedience when it is required. Every boy is tobe trained for his future domestic position by labor and sacrificesfor his mother and sisters. It is the brother who is to do the hardestand most disagreeable work, to face the storms and perform the mostlaborious drudgeries. In the family circle, too, he is to give hismother and sister precedence in all the conveniences and comforts ofhome life. 

It is only those nations where the teachings and example of Christhave had most influence that man has ever assumed his obligations ofself-sacrificing benevolence in the family. And even in Christiancommunities, the duty of wives to obey their husbands has been morestrenuously urged than the obligations of the husband to love his wife"as Christ loved the Church. "

Here it is needful to notice that the distinctive duty of obedienceto man does not rest on women who do not enter the relations of marriedlife. A woman who inherits property, or who earns her own livelihood, can institute the family state, adopt orphan children and employsuitable helpers in training them; and then to her will appertain theauthority and rights that belong to man as the head of a family. Andwhen every woman is trained to some self-supporting business, she willnot be tempted to enter the family state as a subordinate, except bythat love for which there is no need of law. 

These general principles being stated, some details in regard todomestic manners will be enumerated. In the first place, there shouldbe required in the family a strict attention to the rules of precedence, and those modes of address appropriate to the various relations to besustained. Children should always be required to offer their superiors, in age or station, the precedence in all comforts and conveniences, and always address them in a respectful tone and manner. The customof adding, "Sir, " or "Ma'am, " to "Yes, " or "No, " is valuable, as aperpetual indication of a respectful recognition of superiority. Itis now going out of fashion, even among the most well bred people;probably from a want of consideration of its importance. Every remnantof courtesy of address, in our customs, should be carefully cherished, by all who feel a value for the proprieties of good breeding. 

If parents allow their children to talk to them, and to the grownpersons in the family, in the same style in which they address eachother, it will be in vain to hope for the courtesy of manner and tonewhich good breeding demands in the general intercourse of society. Ina large family, where the elder children are grown up, and the youngerare small, it is important to require the latter to treat the elderin some sense as superiors. There are none so ready as young childrento assume airs of equality; and if they are allowed to treat one classof superiors in age and character disrespectfully, they will soon usethe privilege universally. This is the reason, why the youngest childrenof a family are most apt to be pert, forward, and unmannerly. 

Another point to be aimed at is, to require children always toacknowledge every act of kindness and attention, either by words ormanner. If they are so trained as always to make gratefulacknowledgments, when receiving favors, one of the objectionablefeatures in American manners will be avoided. 

Again, children should be required to ask leave, whenever they wishto gratify curiosity, or use an article which belongs to another. Andif cases occur, when they can not comply with the rules ofgood-breeding, as, for instance, when they must step between a personand the fire, or take the chair of an older person, they should betaught either to ask leave, or to offer an apology. 

There is another point of good-breeding, which can not, in all cases, be understood and applied by children in its widest extent. It is thatwhich requires us to avoid all remarks which tend to embarrass, vex, mortify, or in any way wound the feelings of another. To notice personaldefects; to allude to others' faults, or the faults of their friends;to speak disparagingly of the sect or party to which a person belongs;to be inattentive when addressed in conversation; to contradict flatly;to speak in contemptuous tones of opinions expressed by another; allthese are violations of the rules of good-breeding, which childrenshould be taught to regard. Under this head comes the practice ofwhispering and staring about, when a teacher, or lecturer, or clergymanis addressing a class or audience. Such inattention is practicallysaying that what the person is uttering is not worth attending to; andpersons of real good-breeding always avoid it. Loud talking and laughingin a large assembly, even when no exercises are going on; yawning andgaping in company; and not looking in the face a person who isaddressing you, are deemed marks of ill-breeding. 

Another branch of good manners relates to the duties of hospitality. Politeness requires us to welcome visitors with cordiality; to offerthem the best accommodations; to address conversation to them; and toexpress, by tone and manner, kindness and respect. Offering the handto all visitors at one's own house is a courteous and hospitable custom;and a cordial shake of the hand, when friends meet, would abate muchof the coldness of manner ascribed to Americans. 

Another point of good breeding refers to the conventional rules ofpropriety and good taste. Of these, the first class relates to theavoidance of all disgusting or offensive personal habits: such asfingering the hair; obtrusively using a toothpick, or carrying one inthe mouth after the needful use of it; cleaning the nails in presenceof others; picking the nose; spitting on carpets; snuffing instead ofusing a handkerchief, or using the article in an offensive manner;lifting up the boots or shoes, as some men do, to tend them on theknee, or to finger them: all these tricks, either at home or in society, children should be taught to avoid. 

Another topic, under this head, may be called _table manners_. To persons of good-breeding, nothing is more annoying than violationsof the conventional proprieties of the table. Reaching over anotherperson's plate; standing up, to reach distant articles, instead ofasking to have them passed; using one's own knife and spoon for butter, salt, or sugar, when it is the custom of the family to provide separateutensils for the purpose; setting cups with the tea dripping from them, on the table-cloth, instead of the mats or small plates furnished;using the table-cloth instead of the napkins; eating fast, and in anoisy manner; putting large pieces in the mouth; looking and eatingas if very hungry, or as if anxious to get at certain dishes; sittingat too great a distance from the table, and dropping food; laying theknife and fork on the table-cloth, instead of on the edge of the plate;picking the teeth at table: all these particulars children should betaught to avoid. 

It is always desirable, too, to train children, when at table withgrown persons, to be silent, except when addressed by others; or elsetheir chattering will interrupt the conversation and comfort of theirelders. They should always be required, too, to wait in silence, tillall the older persons are helped. 

When children are alone with their parents, it is desirable to leadthem to converse and to take this as an opportunity to form properconversational habits. But it should be a fixed rule that, whenstrangers are present, the children are to listen in silence and onlyreply when addressed. Unless this is secured, visitors will often becondemned to listen to puerile chattering, with small chance of theproper attention due to guests and superiors in age and station. 

Children should be trained, in preparing themselves for the table orfor appearance among the family, not only to put their hair, face, andhands in neat order, but also their nails, and to habitually attendto this latter whenever they wash their hands. 

There are some very disagreeable tricks which many children practiceeven in families counted well-bred. Such, for example, are drummingwith the fingers on some piece of furniture, or humming a tune whileothers are talking, or interrupting conversation by pertinaciousquestions, or whistling in the house instead of out-doors, or speakingseveral at once and in loud voices to gain attention. All these areviolations of good-breeding, which children should be trained toavoid, lest they should not only annoy as children, but practice thesame kind of ill manners when mature. In all assemblies for publicdebate, a chairman or moderator is appointed whose business it is tosee that only one person speaks at a time, that no one interrupts aperson when speaking, that no needless noises are made, and that allindecorums are avoided. Such an officer is sometimes greatly neededin family circles. 

Children should be encouraged freely to use lungs and limbs out-doors, or in hours for sport in the house. But at other times, in the domesticcircle, gentle tones and manners should be cultivated. The words_gentleman_ and _gentlewoman_ came originally from the fact that theuncultivated and ignorant classes used coarse and loud tones, and roughwords and movements; while only the refined circles habitually usedgentle tones and gentle manners. For the same reason, those born in thehigher circles were called "of gentle blood. " Thus it came that a coarseand loud voice, and rough, ungentle manners, are regarded as vulgar andplebeian. 

All these things should be taught to children, gradually, and withgreat patience and gentleness. Some parents, with whom good mannersare a great object, are in danger of making their children perpetuallyuncomfortable, by suddenly surrounding them with so many rules thatthey must inevitably violate some one or other a great part of thetime. It is much better to begin with a few rules, and be steady andpersevering with these, till a habit is formed, and then take a fewmore, thus making the process easy and gradual. Otherwise, the temperof children will be injured; or, hopeless of fulfilling so manyrequisitions, they will become reckless and indifferent to all. 

If a few brief, well-considered, and sensible rules of good mannerscould be suspended in every school-room, and the children all requiredto commit them to memory, it probably would do more to remedy thedefects of American manners and to advance universal good-breedingthan any other mode that could be so easily adopted. 

But, in reference to those who have enjoyed advantages for thecultivation of good manners, and who duly estimate its importance, onecaution is necessary. Those who never have had such habits formed inyouth are under disadvantages which no benevolence of temper canaltogether remedy. They may often violate the tastes and feelings ofothers, not from a want of proper regard for them, but from ignoranceof custom, or want of habit, or abstraction of mind, or from othercauses which demand forbearance and sympathy, rather than displeasure. An ability to bear patiently with defects in manners, and to makecandid and considerate allowance for a want of advantages, or forpeculiarities in mental habits, is one mark of the benevolence of realgood-breeding. 

The advocates of monarchical and aristocratic institutions have alwayshad great plausibility given to their views, by the seeming tendenciesof our institutions to insubordination and bad manners. And it hasbeen too indiscriminately conceded, by the defenders of the latter, that such are these tendencies, and that the offensive points inAmerican manners are the necessary result of democratic principles. 

But it is believed that both facts and reasoning are in opposition tothis opinion. The following extract from the work of De Tocqueville, the great political philosopher of France, exhibits the opinion of animpartial observer, when comparing American manners with those of theEnglish, who are confessedly the most aristocratic of all people. 

He previously remarks on the tendency of aristocracy to make men moresympathizing with persons of their own peculiar class, and less sotoward those of lower degree; and he then contrasts American mannerswith the English, claiming that the Americans are much the more affable, mild, and social. "In America, where the privileges of birth neverexisted and where riches confer no peculiar rights on their possessors, men acquainted with each other are very ready to frequent the sameplaces, and find neither peril nor disadvantage in the free interchangeof their thoughts. If they meet by accident, they neither seek noravoid intercourse; their manner is therefore natural, frank, and open. ""If their demeanor is often cold and serious, it is never haughty orconstrained. " But an "aristocratic pride is still extremely great amongthe English; and as the limits of aristocracy are still ill-defined, every body lives in constant dread, lest advantage should be taken ofhis familiarity. Unable to judge, at once, of the social position ofthose he meets, an Englishman prudently avoids all contact with him. Men are afraid, lest some slight service rendered should draw theminto an unsuitable acquaintance; they dread civilities, and they avoidthe obtrusive gratitude of a stranger, as much as his hatred. "

Thus, _facts_ seem to show that when the most aristocratic nationin the world is compared, as to manners, with the most democratic, thejudgment of strangers is in favor of the latter. And if good mannersare the outward exhibition of the democratic principle of impartialbenevolence and equal rights, surely the nation which adopts this rule, both in social and civil life, is the most likely to secure thedesirable exterior. The aristocrat, by his principles, extends theexterior of impartial benevolence to his own class only; the democraticprinciple requires it to be extended _to all_. 

There is reason, therefore, to hope and expect more refined and polishedmanners in America than in any other land; while all the developmentsof taste and refinement, such as poetry, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture, it may be expected, will come to as high a state ofperfection here as in any other nation. 

If this country increases in virtue and intelligence, as it may, thereis no end to the wealth which will pour in as the result of ourresources of climate, soil, and navigation, and the skill, industry, energy, and enterprise of our countrymen. This wealth, if used asintelligence and virtue dictate, will furnish the means for a superioreducation to all classes, and every facility for the refinement oftaste, intellect, and feeling. 

Moreover, in this country, labor is ceasing to be the badge of a lowerclass; so that already it is disreputable for a man to be "a lazygentleman. " And this feeling must increase, till there is such anequalization of labor as will afford all the time needful for everyclass to improve the many advantages offered to them. Already throughthe munificence of some of our citizens, there are literary andscientific advantages offered to all classes, rarely enjoyed elsewhere. In most of our large cities and towns, the advantages of education, now offered to the poorest classes, often without charge, surpass what, some years ago, most wealthy men could purchase for any price. And itis believed that a time will come when the poorest boy in America cansecure advantages, which will equal what the heir of the proudestpeerage can now command. 

The records of the courts of France and Germany, (as detailed by theDuchess of Orleans, ) in and succeeding the brilliant reign of Louisthe Fourteenth--a period which was deemed the acme of elegance andrefinement--exhibit a grossness, a vulgarity, and a coarseness, notto be found among the very lowest of our respectable poor. And thebiography of the English Beau Nash, who attempted to reform the mannersof the gentry, in the times of Queen Anne, exhibits violations of therules of decency among the aristocracy, which the commonest yeoman ofthis land would feel disgraced in perpetrating. 

This shows that our lowest classes, at this period, are more refinedthan were the highest in aristocratic lands, a hundred years ago; andanother century may show the lowest classes, in wealth, in this country, attaining as high a polish as adorns those who now are leaders of goodmanners in the courts of kings. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE PRESERVATION OF GOOD TEMPER IN THE HOUSEKEEPER. 

There is nothing which has a more abiding influence on the happinessof a family than the preservation of equable and cheerful temper andtones in the housekeeper. A woman who is habitually gentle, sympathizing, forbearing, and cheerful, carries an atmosphere abouther which imparts a soothing and sustaining influence, and renders iteasier for all to do right, under her administration, than in any othersituation. 

The writer has known families where the mother's presence seemed thesunshine of the circle around her; imparting a cheering and vivifyingpower, scarcely realized till it was withdrawn. Every one, withoutthinking of it, or knowing why it was so, experienced a peaceful andinvigorating influence as soon as he entered the sphere illumined byher smile, and sustained by her cheering kindness and sympathy. On thecontrary, many a good housekeeper, (good in every respect but this, )by wearing a countenance of anxiety and dissatisfaction, and byindulging in the frequent use of sharp and reprehensive tones, morethan destroys all the comfort which otherwise would result from hersystem, neatness, and economy. 

There is a secret, social sympathy which every mind, to a greater orless degree, experiences with the feelings of those around, as theyare manifested by the countenance and voice. A sorrowful, adiscontented, or an angry countenance produces a silent, sympatheticinfluence, imparting a sombre shade to the mind, while tones of angeror complaint still more effectually jar the spirits. 

No person can maintain a quiet and cheerful frame of mind while tonesof discontent and displeasure are sounding on the ear. We may graduallyaccustom ourselves to the evil till it is partially diminished; butit always is an evil which greatly interferes with the enjoyment ofthe family state. There are sometimes cases where the entrance of themistress of a family seems to awaken a slight apprehension in everymind around, as if each felt in danger of a reproof, for somethingeither perpetrated or neglected. A woman who should go around her housewith a small stinging snapper, which she habitually applied to thosewhom she met, would be encountered with feelings very much like thosewhich are experienced by the inmates of a family where the mistressoften uses her countenance and voice to inflict similar penalties forduties neglected. 

Yet there are many allowances to be made for housekeepers, who sometimesimperceptibly and unconsciously fall into such habits. A woman whoattempts to carry out any plans of system, order, and economy, and whohas her feelings and habits conformed to certain rules, is constantlyliable to have her plans crossed, and her taste violated, by theinexperience or inattention of those about her. And no housekeeper, whatever may be her habits, can escape the frequent recurrence ofnegligence or mistake, which interferes with her plans. 

It is probable that there is no class of persons in the world who havesuch incessant trials of temper, and temptations to be fretful, asAmerican housekeepers. For a housekeeper's business is not, like thatof the other sex, limited to a particular department, for which previouspreparation is made. It consists of ten thousand little disconnecteditems, which can never be so systematically arranged that there is nodaily jostling somewhere. And in the best-regulated families, it isnot unfrequently the case that some act of forgetfulness orcarelessness, from some member, will disarrange the business of thewhole day, so that every hour will bring renewed occasion for annoyance. And the more strongly a woman realizes the value of time, and theimportance of system and order, the more will she be tempted toirritability and complaint. 

The following considerations may aid in preparing a woman to meet suchdaily crosses with even a cheerful temper and tones. 

In the first place, a woman who has charge of a large household shouldregard her duties as dignified, important, and difficult. The mind isso made as to be elevated and cheered by a sense of far-reachinginfluence and usefulness. A woman who feels that she is a cipher, andthat it makes little difference how she performs her duties, has farless to sustain and invigorate her, than one who truly estimates theimportance of her station. A man who feels that the destinies of anation are turning on the judgment and skill with which he plans andexecutes, has a pressure of motive and an elevation of feeling whichare great safeguards against all that is low, trivial, and degrading. 

So, an American mother and housekeeper who rightly estimates the longtrain of influence which will pass down to thousands, whose destinies, from generation to generation, will be modified by those decisions ofher will which regulate the temper, principles, and habits of herfamily, must be elevated above petty temptations which would otherwiseassail her. 

Again, a housekeeper should feel that she really has great difficultiesto meet and overcome. A person who wrongly thinks there is littledanger, can never maintain so faithful a guard as one who rightlyestimates the temptations which beset her. Nor can one who thinks thatthey are trifling difficulties which she has to encounter, and trivialtemptations to which she must yield, so much enjoy the just reward ofconscious virtue and self-control as one who takes an opposite viewof the subject. 

A third method is, for a woman deliberately to calculate on having herbest-arranged plans interfered with very often; and to be in such astate of preparation that the evil will not come unawares. Socomplicated are the pursuits and so diverse the habits of the variousmembers of a family, that it is almost impossible for every one toavoid interfering with the plans and taste of a housekeeper, in someone point or another. It is, therefore, most wise for a woman to keepthe loins of her mind ever girt, to meet such collisions with a cheerfuland quiet spirit. 

Another important rule is, to form all plans and arrangements inconsistency with the means at command, and the character of thosearound. A woman who has a heedless husband, and young children, andincompetent domestics, ought not to make such plans as one may properlyform who will not, in so many directions, meet embarrassment. She mustaim at just as much as she can probably attain, and no more; and thusshe will usually escape much temptation, and much of the irritationof disappointment. 

The fifth, and a very important consideration, is, that system, economy, and neatness are valuable, only so far as they tend to promote thecomfort and well-being of those affected. Some women seem to actunder the impression that these advantages _must_ be secured, at allevents, even if the comfort of the family be the sacrifice. True, itis very important that children grow up in habits of system, neatness, and order; and it is very desirable that the mother give them everyincentive, both by precept and example; but it is still more importantthat they grow up with amiable tempers, that they learn to meet thecrosses of life with patience and cheerfulness; and nothing has agreater influence to secure this than a mother's example. Whenever, therefore, a woman can not accomplish her plans of neatness and orderwithout injury to her own temper or to the temper of others, she oughtto modify and reduce them until she can. 

The sixth method relates to the government of the tones of voice. Inmany cases, when a woman's domestic arrangements are suddenly andseriously crossed, it is impossible not to feel some irritation. Butit _is_ always possible to refrain from angry tones. A woman canresolve that, whatever happens, she will not speak till she can do itin a calm and gentle manner. _Perfect silence_ is a safe resort, when such control can not be attained as enables a person to speakcalmly; and this determination, persevered in, will eventually becrowned with success. 

Many persons seem to imagine that tones of anger are needful, in orderto secure prompt obedience. But observation has convinced the writerthat they are _never_ necessary; that _in all cases_, reproof, administered in calm tones, would be better. A case will be given inillustration. 

A young girl had been repeatedly charged to avoid a certain arrangementin cooking. On one day, when company was invited to dine, the directionwas forgotten, and the consequence was an accident, which disarrangedevery thing, seriously injured the principal dish, and delayed dinnerfor an hour. The mistress of the family entered the kitchen just asit occurred, and at a glance, saw the extent of the mischief. For amoment, her eyes flashed, and her cheeks glowed; but she held herpeace. After a minute or so, she gave directions in a calm voice, asto the best mode of retrieving the evil, and then left, without a wordsaid to the offender. 

After the company left, she sent for the girl, alone, and in a calmand kind manner pointed out the aggravations of the case, and describedthe trouble which had been caused to her husband, her visitors, andherself. She then portrayed the future evils which would result fromsuch habits of neglect and inattention, and the modes of attemptingto overcome them; and then offered a reward for the future, if, in agiven time, she succeeded in improving in this respect. Not a tone ofanger was uttered; and yet the severest scolding of a practiced Xantippecould not have secured such contrition, and determination to reform, as were gained by this method. 

But similar negligence is often visited by a continuous stream ofcomplaint and reproof, which, in most cases, is met either by sullensilence or impertinent retort, while anger prevents any contrition orany resolution of future amendment. 

It is very certain, that some ladies do carry forward a most efficientgovernment, both of children and domestics, without employing tonesof anger; and therefore they are not indispensable, nor on any accountdesirable. 

Though some ladies of intelligence and refinement do fall unconsciouslyinto such a practice, it is certainly very unlady-like, and in verybad taste, to _scold_; and the further a woman departs from allapproach to it, the more perfectly she sustains her character as alady. 

Another method of securing equanimity, amid the trials of domesticlife is, to cultivate a habit of making allowances for the difficulties, ignorance, or temptations of those who violate rule or neglect duty. It is vain, and most unreasonable, to expect the consideration andcare of a mature mind in childhood and youth; or that persons of suchlimited advantages as most domestics have enjoyed should practiceproper self-control and possess proper habits and principles. 

Every parent and every employer needs daily to cultivate the spiritexpressed in the divine prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses, as weforgive those who trespass against us. " The same allowances andforbearance which we supplicate from our Heavenly Father, and desirefrom our fellow-men in reference to our own deficiencies, we shouldconstantly aim to extend to all who cross our feelings and interferewith our plans. 

The last and most important mode of securing a placid and cheerfultemper and tones is, by a constant belief in the influence of asuperintending Providence. All persons are too much in the habit ofregarding the more important events of life exclusively as under thecontrol of Perfect Wisdom. But the fall of a sparrow, or the loss ofa hair, they do not feel to be equally the result of his directingagency. In consequence of this, Christian persons who aim at perfectand cheerful submission to heavy afflictions, and who succeed to theedification of all about them, are sometimes sadly deficient underpetty crosses. If a beloved child be laid in the grave, even if itsdeath resulted from the carelessness of a domestic or of a physician, the eye is turned from the subordinate agent to the Supreme Guardianof all; and to him they bow, without murmur or complaint. But if apudding be burnt, or a room badly swept, or an errand forgotten, thenvexation and complaint are allowed, just as if these events were notappointed by Perfect Wisdom as much as the sorer chastisement. 

A woman, therefore, needs to cultivate the _habitual_ feelingthat all the events of her nursery and kitchen are brought about bythe permission of our Heavenly Father, and that fretfulness or complaintin regard to these is, in fact, complaining at the appointments ofGod, and is really as sinful as unsubmissive murmurs amid the sorerchastisements of his hand. And a woman who cultivates this habit ofreferring all the minor trials of life to the wise and benevolentagency of a heavenly Parent, and daily seeks his sympathy and aid toenable her to meet them with a quiet and cheerful spirit, will soonfind it the perennial spring of abiding peace and content. 

The power of religion to impart dignity and importance to the ordinaryand seemingly petty details of domestic life, greatly depends upon thedegree of faith in the reality of a life to come, and of its eternalresults. A woman who is training a family simply with reference tothis life may find exalted motives as she looks forward to unborngenerations whose temporal prosperity and happiness are depending uponher fidelity and skill. But one who truly and firmly believes thatthis life is but the beginning of an eternal career to every immortalinmate of her home, and that the formation of tastes, habits, andcharacter, under her care, will bring forth fruits of good or ill, notonly through earthly generations, but through everlasting ages; sucha woman secures a calm and exalted principle of action, which no earthlymotives can impart. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 

Any discussion of the equality of the sexes, as to intellectualcapacity, seems frivolous and useless, both because it can never bedecided, and because there would be no possible advantage in thedecision. But one topic, which is often drawn into this discussion, is of far more consequence; and that is, the relative importance anddifficulty of the duties a woman is called to perform. 

It is generally assumed, and almost as generally conceded, that ahousekeeper's business and cares are contracted and trivial; and thatthe proper discharge of her duties demands far less expansion of mindand vigor of intellect than the pursuits of the other sex. This ideahas prevailed because women, as a mass, have never been educated withreference to their most important duties; while that portion of theiremployments which is of least value has been regarded as the chief, if not the sole, concern of a woman. The covering of the body, theconvenience of residences, and the gratification of the appetite, havebeen too much regarded as the chief objects on which her intellectualpowers are to be exercised. 

But as society gradually shakes off the remnants of barbarism and theintellectual and moral interests of man rise, in estimation, above themerely sensual, a truer estimate is formed of woman's duties, and ofthe measure of intellect requisite for the proper discharge of them. Let any man of sense and discernment become the member of a largehousehold, in which a well-educated and pious woman is endeavoringsystematically to discharge her multiform duties; let him fullycomprehend all her cares, difficulties, and perplexities; and it isprobable he would coincide in the opinion that no statesman, at thehead of a nation's affairs, had more frequent calls for wisdom, firmness, tact, discrimination, prudence, and versatility of talent, than such a woman. 

She has a husband, to whose peculiar tastes and habits she mustaccommodate herself; she has children whose health she must guard, whose physical constitutions she must study and develop, whose temperand habits she must regulate, whose principles she must form, whosepursuits she must guide. She has constantly changing domestics, withall varieties of temper and habits, whom she must govern, instruct, and direct; she is required to regulate the finances of the domesticstate, and constantly to adapt expenditures to the means and to therelative claims of each department. She has the direction of thekitchen, where ignorance, forgetfulness, and awkwardness are to be soregulated that the various operations shall each start at the righttime, and all be in completeness at the same given hour. She has theclaims of society to meet, visits to receive and return, and the dutiesof hospitality to sustain. She has the poor to relieve; benevolentsocieties to aid; the schools of her children to inquire and decideabout; the care of the sick and the aged; the nursing of infancy; andthe endless miscellany of odd items, constantly recurring in a largefamily. 

Surely, it is a pernicious and mistaken idea, that the duties whichtax a woman's mind are petty, trivial, or unworthy of the highest gradeof intellect and moral worth. Instead of allowing this feeling, everywoman should imbibe, from early youth, the impression that she is intraining for the discharge of the most important, the most difficult, and the most sacred and interesting duties that can possibly employthe highest intellect. She ought to feel that her station andresponsibilities in the great drama of life are second to none, eitheras viewed by her Maker, or in the estimation of all minds whose judgmentis most worthy of respect. 

She who is the mother and housekeeper in a large family is the sovereignof an empire, demanding more varied cares, and involving more difficultduties, than are really exacted of her who wears a crown and professedlyregulates the interests of the greatest nation on earth. 

There is no one thing more necessary to a housekeeper in performingher varied duties, than _a habit of system and order_; and yet, the peculiarly desultory nature of women's pursuits, and theembarrassments resulting from the state of domestic service in thiscountry, render it very difficult to form such a habit. But it issometimes the case that women who could and would carry forward asystematic plan of domestic economy do not attempt it, simply from awant of knowledge of the various modes of introducing it. It is withreference to such, that various modes of securing system and order, which the writer has seen adopted, will be pointed out. 

A wise economy is nowhere more conspicuous, than in a systematic_apportionment of time_ to different pursuits. There are dutiesof a religious, intellectual, social, and domestic nature, each havingdifferent relative claims on attention. Unless a person has some generalplan of apportioning these claims, some will intrench on others, andsome, it is probable, will be entirely excluded. Thus, some findreligious, social, and domestic duties so numerous, that no time isgiven to intellectual improvement. Others find either social, orbenevolent, or religious interests excluded by the extent and varietyof other engagements. 

It is wise, therefore, for all persons to devise a systematic plan, which they will at least keep in view, and aim to accomplish; and bywhich a proper proportion of time shall be secured for all the dutiesof life. 

In forming such a plan, every woman must accommodate herself to thepeculiarities of her situation. If she has a large family and a smallincome, she must devote far more time to the simple duty of providingfood and raiment than would be right were she in affluence, and witha small family. It is impossible, therefore, to draw out any generalplan, which all can adopt. But there are some _general principles, _which ought to be the guiding rules, when a woman arranges her domesticemployments. These principles are to be based on Christianity, whichteaches us to "seek first the kingdom of God, " and to deem food, raiment, and the conveniences of life, as of secondary account. Everywoman, then, ought to start with the assumption, that the moral andreligious interests of her family are of more consequence than anyworldly concern, and that, whatever else may be sacrificed, these shallbe the leading object, in all her arrangements, in respect to time, money, and attention. 

It is also one of the plainest requisitions of Christianity, that wedevote some of our time and efforts to the comfort and improvement ofothers. There is no duty so constantly enforced, both in the Old andNew Testament, as that of charity, in dispensing to those who aredestitute of the blessings we enjoy. In selecting objects of charity, the same rule applies to others as to ourselves; their moral andreligions interests are of the highest moment, and for them, as wellas for ourselves, we are to "seek first the kingdom of God. "

Another general principle is, that our intellectual and social interestsare to be preferred to the mere gratification of taste or appetite. A portion of time, therefore, must be devoted to the cultivation ofthe intellect and the social affections. 

Another is, that the mere gratification of appetite is to be placedlast in our estimate; so that, when a question arises as to which shallbe sacrificed, some intellectual, moral, or social advantage, or somegratification of sense, we should invariably sacrifice the last. 

As health is indispensable to the discharge of every duty, nothingwhich sacrifices that blessing is to be allowed in order to gain anyother advantage or enjoyment. There are emergencies, when it is rightto risk health and life, to save ourselves and others from greaterevils; but these are exceptions, which do not militate against thegeneral rule. Many persons imagine that, if they violate the laws ofhealth, in order to attend to religious or domestic duties, they areguiltless before God. But such greatly mistake. We directly violatethe law, "Thou shalt not kill, " when we do what tends to risk or shortenour own life. The life and happiness of all his creatures are dear toour Creator; and he is as much displeased when we injure our owninterests, as when we injure those of others. The idea, therefore, that we are excusable if we harm no one but ourselves, is false andpernicious. These, then, are some general principles, to guide a womanin systematizing her duties and pursuits. 

The Creator of all things is a Being of perfect system and order; and, to aid us in our duty in this respect, he has divided our time, by aregularly returning day of rest from worldly business. In followingthis example, the intervening six days maybe subdivided to securesimilar benefits. In doing this, a certain portion of time must begiven to procure the means of livelihood, and for preparing food, raiment, and dwellings. To these objects, some must devote more, andothers less, attention. The remainder of time not necessarily thusemployed, might be divided somewhat in this manner: The leisure of twoafternoons and evenings could be devoted to religious and benevolentobjects, such as religious meetings, charitable associations, schoolvisiting, and attention to the sick and poor. The leisure of two otherdays might be devoted to intellectual improvement, and the pursuitsof taste. The leisure of another day might be devoted to socialenjoyments, in making or receiving visits; and that of another, tomiscellaneous domestic pursuits, not included in the other particulars. 

It is probable that few persons could carry out such an arrangementvery strictly; but every one can make a systematic apportionment oftime, and at least _aim_ at accomplishing it; and they can alsocompare with such a general outline, the time which they actuallydevote to these different objects, for the purpose of modifying anymistaken proportions. 

Without attempting any such systematic employment of time, and carryingit out, so far as they can control circumstances, most women are ratherdriven along by the daily occurrences of life; so that, instead ofbeing the intelligent regulators of their own time, they are the meresport of circumstances. There is nothing which so distinctly marks thedifference between weak and strong minds as the question, whether theycontrol circumstances or circumstances control them. 

It is very much to be feared, that the apportionment of time actuallymade by most women exactly inverts the order required by reason andChristianity. Thus, the furnishing a needless variety of food, theconveniences of dwellings, and the adornments of dress, often take alarger portion of time than is given to any other object. Next afterthis, comes intellectual improvement; and, last of all, benevolenceand religion. 

It may be urged, that it is indispensable for most persons to givemore time to earn a livelihood, and to prepare food, raiment, anddwellings, than, to any other object. But it may be asked, how muchof the time, devoted to these objects, is employed in preparingvarieties of food not necessary, but rather injurious, and how muchis spent for those parts of dress and furniture not indispensable, andmerely ornamental? Let a woman subtract from her domestic employmentsall the time given to pursuits which are of no use, except as theygratify a taste for ornament, or minister increased varieties to temptthe appetite, and she will find that much which she calls "domesticduty, " and which prevents her attention to intellectual, benevolent, and religious objects, should be called by a very different name. 

No woman has a right to give up attention to the higher interests ofherself and others, for the ornaments of person or the gratificationof the palate. To a certain extent, these lower objects are lawful anddesirable; but when they intrude on nobler interests, they becomeselfish and degrading. Every woman, then, when employing her hands inornamenting her person, her children, or her house, ought to calculatewhether she has devoted as _much_ time to the really more importantwants of herself and others. If she has not, she may know that she isdoing wrong, and that her system for apportioning her time and pursuitsshould be altered. 

Some persons endeavor to systematize their pursuits by apportioningthem to particular hours of each day. For example, a certain periodbefore breakfast, is given to devotional duties; after breakfast, certain hours are devoted to exercise and domestic employments; otherhours, to sewing, or reading, or visiting; and others, to benevolentduties. But in most cases, it is more difficult to systematize thehours of each day, than it is to secure some regular division of theweek. 

In regard to the minutia of family work, the writer has known thefollowing methods to be adopted. Monday, with some of the besthousekeepers, is devoted to preparing for the labors of the week. Anyextra cooking, the purchasing of articles to be used during the week, the assorting of clothes for the wash, and mending such as wouldotherwise be injured--these, and similar items, belong to this day. Tuesday is devoted to washing, and Wednesday to ironing. On Thursday, the ironing is finished off, the clothes are folded and put away, andall articles which need mending are put in the mending-basket, andattended to. Friday is devoted to sweeping and house-cleaning. OnSaturday, and especially the last Saturday of every month, everydepartment is put in order; the casters and table furniture areregulated, the pantry and cellar inspected, the trunks, drawers, andclosets arranged, and every thing about the house put in order forSunday. By this regular recurrence of a particular time for inspectingevery thing, nothing is forgotten till ruined by neglect. Another mode of systematizing relates to providing proper supplies ofconveniences, and proper places in which to keep them. Thus, someladies keep a large closet, in which are placed the tubs, pails, dippers, soap-dishes, starch, blueing, clothes-lines, clothes-pins, and every other article used in washing; and in the same, or anotherplace, is kept every convenience for ironing. In the sewing department, a trunk, with suitable partitions, is provided, in which are placed, each in its proper place, white thread of all sizes, colored thread, yarns for mending, colored and black sewing-silks and twist, tapes andbobbins of all sizes, white and colored welting-cords, silk braids andcords, needles of all sizes, papers of pins, remnants of linen andcolored cambric, a supply of all kinds of buttons used in the family, black and white hooks and eyes, a yard measure, and all the patternsused in cutting and fitting. These are done up in separate parcels, and labeled. In another trunk, or in a piece-bag, such as has beenpreviously described, are kept all pieces used in mending, arrangedin order. A trunk, like the first mentioned, will save many steps, andoften much time and perplexity; while by purchasing articles thus bythe quantity, they come much cheaper than if bought in little portionsas they are wanted. Such a trunk should be kept locked, and a smallersupply for current use retained in a work-basket. 

A full supply of all conveniences in the kitchen and cellar, and aplace appointed for each article, very much facilitate domestic labor. For want of this, much vexation and loss of time is occasioned whileseeking vessels in use, or in cleansing those employed by differentpersons for various purposes. It would be far better for a lady togive up some expensive article in the parlor, and apply the money thussaved for kitchen conveniences, than to have a stinted supply wherethe most labor is to be performed, If our countrywomen would devotemore to comfort and convenience, and less to show, it would be a greatimprovement. Expensive mirrors and pier-tables in the parlor, and anunpainted, gloomy, ill-furnished kitchen, not unfrequently are foundunder the same roof. 

Another important item in systematic economy is, the apportioning of_regular_ employment to the various members of a family. If ahousekeeper can secure the cooperation of _all_ her family, she willfind that "many hands make light work. " There is no greater mistakethan in bringing up children to feel that they must be taken care of, and waited on by others, without any corresponding obligations on theirpart. The extent to which young children can be made useful in a familywould seem surprising to those who have never seen a _systematic_ and_regular_ plan for utilizing their services. The writer has been in afamily where a little girl, of eight or nine years of age, washed anddressed herself and young brother, and made their small beds, beforebreakfast; set and cleared all the tables for meals, with a little helpfrom a grown person in moving tables and spreading cloths; while all thedusting of parlors and chambers was also neatly performed by her. Abrother of ten years old brought in and piled all the wood used in thekitchen and parlor, brushed the boots and shoes, went on errands, andtook all the care of the poultry. They were children whose parents couldafford to hire servants to do this, but who chose to have their childrengrow up healthy and industrious, while proper instruction, system, andencouragement made these services rather a pleasure than otherwise, tothe children. 

Some parents pay their children for such services; but this ishazardous, as tending to make them feel that they are not bound to behelpful without pay, and also as tending to produce a hoarding, money-making spirit. But where children have no hoarding propensities, and need to acquire a sense of the value of property, it may be wellto let them earn money for some extra services rather as a favor. Whenthis is done, they should be taught to spend it for others, as wellas for themselves; and in this way, a generous and liberal spirit willbe cultivated. 

There are some mothers who take pains to teach their boys most ofthe domestic arts which their sisters learn. The writer has seen boysmending their own garments and aiding their mother or sisters in thekitchen, with great skill and adroitness; and, at an early age, theyusually very much relish joining in such occupations. The sons of suchmothers, in their college life, or in roaming about the world, or innursing a sick wife or infant, find occasion to bless the forethoughtand kindness which prepared them for such emergencies. Few things arein worse taste than for a man needlessly to busy himself in women'swork; and yet a man never appears in a more interesting attitude thanwhen, by skill in such matters, he can save a mother or wife from careand suffering. The more a boy is taught to use his hands, in everyvariety of domestic employment, the more his faculties, both of mindand body, are developed; for mechanical pursuits exercise the intellectas well as the hands. The early training of New-England boys, in whichthey turn their hand to almost every thing, is one great reason of thequick perceptions, versatility of mind, and mechanical skill, for whichthat portion of our countrymen is distinguished. 

It is equally important that young girls should be taught to do somespecies of handicraft that generally is done by men, and especiallywith reference to the frequent emigration to new territories wherewell-trained mechanics are scarce. To hang wall-paper, repair locks, glaze windows, and mend various household articles, requires a skillin the use of tools which every young girl should acquire. If she neverhas any occasion to apply this knowledge and skill by her own hands, she will often find it needful in directing and superintendingincompetent workmen. 

The writer has known one mode of systematizing the aid of the olderchildren in a family, which, in some cases of very large families, itmay be well to imitate. In the case referred to, when the oldestdaughter was eight or nine years old, an infant sister was given toher, as her special charge. She tended it, made and mended its clothes, taught it to read, and was its nurse and guardian, through all itschildhood. Another infant was given to the next daughter, and thus thechildren were all paired in this interesting relation. In addition tothe relief thus afforded to the mother, the elder children, were inthis way qualified for their future domestic relations, and both olderand younger bound to each other by peculiar ties of tenderness andgratitude. 

In offering these examples of various modes of systematizing, onesuggestion may be worthy of attention. It is not unfrequently the case, that ladies, who find themselves cumbered with oppressive cares, afterreading remarks on the benefits of system, immediately commence thetask of arranging their pursuits, with great vigor and hope. Theydivide the day into regular periods, and give each hour its duty; theysystematize their work, and endeavor to bring every thing into a regularroutine. But, in a short time, they find themselves baffled, discouraged, and disheartened, and finally relapse into their formerdesultory ways, in a sort of resigned despair. 

The difficulty, in such cases, is, that they attempt too much at atime. There is nothing which so much depends upon _habit, _ as asystematic mode of performing duty; and where no such habit has beenformed, it is impossible for a novice to start, at once, into auniversal mode of systematizing, which none but an adept could carrythrough. The only way for such persons is to begin with a little ata time. Let them select some three or four things, and resolutelyattempt to conquer at these points. In time, a habit will be formed, of doing a few things at regular periods, and in a systematic way. Then it will be easy to add a few more; and thus, by a gradual process, the object can be secured, which it would be vain to attempt by a moresummary course. 

Early rising is almost an indispensable condition to success, in suchan effort; but where a woman lacks either the health or the energy tosecure a period for devotional duties before breakfast, let her selectthat hour of the day in which she will be least liable to interruption, and let her then seek strength and wisdom from the only true Source. At this time, let her take a pen, and make a list of all the thingswhich she considers as duties. Then, let a calculation be made, whetherthere be time enough, in the day or the week, for all these duties. If there be not, let the least important be stricken from the list, as not being duties, and therefore to be omitted. In doing this, leta woman remember that, though "what we shall eat, and what we shallthink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed, " are matters requiring dueattention, they are very apt to obtain a wrong relative importance, while intellectual, social, and moral interests receive too littleregard. 

In this country, eating, dressing, and household furniture andornaments, take far too large a place in the estimate of relativeimportance; and it is probable that most women could modify their viewsand practice, so as to come nearer to the Saviour's requirements. Nowoman has a right to put a stitch of ornament on any article of dressor furniture, or to provide one superfluity in food, until she is sureshe can secure time for all her social, intellectual benevolent, andreligions duties. If a woman will take the trouble to make such acalculation as this, she will usually find that she has time enoughto perform all her duties easily and well. 

It is impossible for a conscientious woman to secure that peacefulmind and cheerful enjoyment of life which all should seek, who isconstantly finding her duties jarring with each other, and muchremaining undone, which she feels that she ought to do. In consequenceof this, there will be a secret uneasiness, which will throw a shadeover the whole current of life, never to be removed, till she soefficiently defines and regulates her duties that she can fulfill themall. 

And here the writer would urge upon young ladies the importance offorming habits of system, while unembarrassed with those multipliedcares which will make the task so much, more difficult and hopeless. Every young lady can systematize her pursuits, to a certain extent. She can have a particular day for mending her wardrobe, and forarranging her trunks, closets, and drawers. She can keep herwork-basket, her desk at school, and all her other conveniences, intheir proper places, and in regular order. She can have regular periodsfor reading, walking, visiting, study, and domestic pursuits. And byfollowing this method in youth, she will form a taste for regularityand a habit of system, which will prove a blessing to her through life. 

XVIII. 

GIVING IN CHARITY. 

It is probable that there is no point of duty whereon conscientiouspersons differ more in opinion, or where they find it more difficultto form discriminating and decided views, than on the matter of charity. That we are bound to give some of our time, money, and efforts, torelieve the destitute, all allow. But, as to how much we are to give, and on whom our charities shall be bestowed, many a reflecting mindhas been at a loss. Yet it seems very desirable that, in reference toa duty so constantly and so strenuously urged by the Supreme Ruler, we should be able so to fix metes and bounds, as to keep a consciencevoid of offense, and to free the mind from disquieting fears ofdeficiency. 

The writer has found no other topic of investigation so beset withdifficulty, and so absolutely without the range of definite rules whichcan apply to all, in all circumstances. But on this, as on previoustopics, there seem to be _general principles_, by the aid of whichany candid mind, sincerely desirous of obeying the commands of Christ, however much self-denial may be involved, can arrive at definiteconclusions as to its own individual obligations; so that when theseare fulfilled, the mind may be at peace. 

But for a mind that is worldly, living mainly to seek its own pleasuresinstead of living to please God, no principles can be so fixed as notto leave a ready escape from all obligation. Such minds, either byindolence (and consequent ignorance) or by sophistry, will convincethemselves that a life of engrossing self-indulgence, with perhaps thegift of a few dollars and a few hours of time, may suffice to fulfillthe requisitions of the Eternal Judge. 

For such minds, no reasonings will avail, till the heart is so changedthat to learn the will and follow the example of Jesus Christ becomethe leading objects of interest and effort. It is to aid those whoprofess to possess this temper of mind that the following suggestionsare offered. 

The first consideration which gives definiteness to this subject isa correct view of the object for which we are placed in this world. A great many, even of professed Christians, seem to be acting on thesupposition that the object of life is to secure as ranch as possibleof all the various enjoyments placed within reach. Not so teachesreason or revelation. From these we learn that, though the happinessof his creatures is the end for which God created and sustains them, yet this happiness depends not on the various modes of gratificationput within our reach, but mainly on _character_. A man may possessall the resources for enjoyment which this world can afford, and yetfeel that "all is vanity and vexation of spirit, " and that he issupremely wretched. Another may be in want of all things, and yetpossess that living spring of benevolence, faith, and hope, which willmake an Eden of the darkest prison. 

In order to be perfectly happy, man must attain that character whichChrist exhibited; and the nearer he approaches it, the more willhappiness reign in his breast. 

But what was the grand peculiarity of the character of Christ? It was_self-denying benevolence_. He came not to "seek his own;" He"went about doing good, " and this was his "meat and drink;" that is, it was this which sustained the health and life of his mind, as foodand drink sustain the health and life of the body. Now, the mind ofman is so made that it can gradually be transformed into the samelikeness. A selfish being, who, for a whole life, has been nourishinghabits of indolent self-indulgence, can, by taking Christ as hisexample, by communion with him, and by daily striving to imitate hischaracter and conduct, form such a temper of mind that "doing good"will become the chief and highest source of enjoyment. And this heavenlyprinciple will grow stronger and stronger, until self-denial loses themore painful part of its character; and then, _living to makehappiness_ will be so delightful and absorbing a pursuit, that allexertions, regarded as the means to this end, will be like the joyousefforts of men when they strive for a prize or a crown, with the fullhope of success. 

In this view of the subject, efforts and self-denial for the good ofothers are to be regarded not merely as duties enjoined for the benefitof others, but as the moral training indispensable to the formationof that character on which depends our own happiness. This view exhibitsthe full meaning of the Saviour's declaration, "How hardly shall theythat have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" He had before taughtthat the kingdom of heaven consisted not in such enjoyments as theworldly seek, but in the temper of self-denying benevolence, like hisown; and as the rich have far greater temptations to indolentself-indulgence, they are far less likely to acquire this temper thanthose who, by limited means, are inured to some degree of self-denial. 

But on this point, one important distinction needs to be made; andthat is, between the self-denial which has no other aim than mereself-mortification, and that which is exercised to secure greater goodto ourselves and others. The first is the foundation of monasticism, penances, and all other forms of asceticism; the latter, only, is thatwhich Christianity requires. 

A second consideration, which may give definiteness to this subject, is, that the formation of a perfect character involves, not theextermination of any principles of our nature, but rather the regulatingof them, according to the rules of reason and religion; so that thelower propensities shall always be kept subordinate to noblerprinciples. Thus we are not to aim at destroying our appetites, or atneedlessly denying them, but rather so to regulate them that they shallbest secure the objects for which they were implanted. We are not toannihilate the love of praise and admiration; but so to control itthat the favor of God shall be regarded more than the estimation ofmen. We are not to extirpate the principle of curiosity, which leadsus to acquire knowledge; but so to direct it, that all our acquisitionsshall be useful and not frivolous or injurious. And thus with all theprinciples of the mind: God has implanted no desires in our constitutionwhich are evil and pernicious. On the contrary, all our constitutionalpropensities, either of mind or body, he designed we should gratify, whenever no evils would thence result, either to ourselves or others. Such passions as envy, selfish ambition, contemptuous pride, revenge, and hatred, are to be exterminated; for they are either excesses orexcrescences, not created by God, but rather the result of our ownneglect to form habits of benevolence and self-control. 

In deciding the rules of our conduct, therefore, we are ever to bearin mind that the development of the nobler principles, and thesubjugation of inferior propensities to them, is to be the main objectof effort both for ourselves and for others. And in conformity withthis, in all our plans we are to place religious and moral interestsas first in estimation, our social and intellectual interests next, and our physical gratifications as subordinate to all. 

A third consideration is that, though the means for sustaining lifeand health are to be regarded as necessaries, without which no otherduties can be performed, yet a very large portion of the time spentby most persons in easy circumstances for food, raiment, and dwellings, is for mere _superfluities;_ which are right when they do notinvolve the sacrifice of higher interests, and wrong when they do. Life and health can be sustained in the humblest dwellings, with theplainest dress, and the simplest food; and, after taking from our meanswhat is necessary for life and health, the remainder is to be sodivided, that the larger portion shall be given to supply the moraland intellectual wants of ourselves and others, together with thephysical requirements of the destitute, and the smaller share to procurethose additional gratifications of taste and appetite which aredesirable but not indispensable. Mankind, thus far, have never madethis apportionment of their means; although, just as fast as they haverisen from a savage state, mere physical wants have been made, to anincreasing extent, subordinate to higher objects. 

Another very important consideration is that, in urging the duty ofcharity and the prior claims of moral and religious objects, no ruleof duty should be maintained which it would not be right and wise for_all_ to follow. And we are to test the wisdom of any general rule byinquiring what would be the result if all mankind should practiceaccording to it. In view of this, we are enabled to judge of thecorrectness of those who maintain that, to be consistent, men believingin the perils of all those of our race who are not brought under theinfluence of the Christian system should give up not merely theelegancies but all the superfluities of life, and devote the whole oftheir means not indispensable to life and health to the propagationof Christianity. 

But if this is the duty of any, it is the duty of all; and we are toinquire what would be the result, if all conscientious persons gaveup the use of all superfluities. Suppose that two millions of thepeople of the United States were conscientious persons, and relinquishedthe use of every thing not absolutely necessary to life and health. Besides reducing the education of the people in all the higher walksof intellectual, social, and even moral development, to very narrowlimits, it would instantly throw out of employment one half of thewhole community. The writers, book-makers, manufacturers, mechanics, merchants agriculturists, and all the agencies they employ, would bebeggared, and one half of those not reduced to poverty would be obligedto spend all their extra means in-simply supplying necessaries to theother half. The use of superfluities, therefore, to a certain extent, is as indispensable to promote industry, virtue, and religion, as anydirect giving of money or time; and it is owing entirely to a want ofreflection and of comprehensive views, that any men ever make so greata mistake as is here exhibited. 

Instead, then, of urging a rule of duty which is at once irrationaland impracticable, there is another course, which commends itself tothe understandings of all. For whatever may be the practice ofintelligent men, they universally concede the principle, that ourphysical gratifications should always be made subordinate to social, intellectual, and moral advantages. And all that is required for theadvancement of our whole race to the most perfect state of society is, simply, that men should act in agreement with this principle. And ifonly a very small portion of the most intelligent of our race shouldact according to this rule, under the control of Christian benevolence, the immense supplies furnished for the general good would be far beyondwhat any would imagine who had never made any calculations on thesubject. In this nation alone, suppose the one million and more ofprofessed followers of Christ should give a larger portion of theirmeans for the social, intellectual, and moral wants of mankind, thanfor the superfluities that minister to their own taste, convenience, and appetite; it would be enough to furnish all the schools, colleges, Bibles, ministers, and missionaries, that the whole world could demand;or, at least, it would be far more than properly qualified agents toadminister it could employ. 

But it may be objected that, though this view in the abstract looksplausible and rational, not one in a thousand can practically adoptit. How few keep any account, at all, of their current expenses! Howimpossible it is to determine, exactly, what are necessaries and whatare superfluities! And in regard to women, how few have the controlof an income, so as not to be bound by the wishes of a parent or ahusband!

In reference to these difficulties, the first remark is, that we arenever under obligations to do what is entirely out of our power; sothat those persons who can not regulate their expenses or theircharities are under no sort of obligation to attempt it. The secondremark is that, when a rule of duty is discovered, if we can not fullyattain to it, we are bound to _aim_ at it, and to fulfill it justso far as we can. We have no right to throw it aside because we shallfind some difficult cases when we come to apply it. The third remarkis, that no person can tell how much can be done, till a faithful trialhas been made. If a woman has never kept any accounts, nor attemptedto regulate her expenditures by the right rule, nor used her influencewith those that control her plans, to secure this object, she has noright to say how much she can or can not do, till after a fair trialhas been made. 

In attempting such a trial, the following method can be taken. Let awoman, keep an account of all she spends, for herself and her family, for a year, arranging the items under three general heads. Under thefirst, put all articles of food, raiment, rent, wages, and allconveniences. Under the second, place all sums paid in securing aneducation, and books, and other intellectual advantages. Under thethird head, place all that is spent for benevolence and religion. Atthe end of the year, the first and largest account will show the mixeditems of necessaries and superfluities, which can be arranged so asto gain some sort of idea how much has been spent for superfluitiesand how much for necessaries. Then, by comparing what is spent forsuperfluities, with what is spent for intellectual and moral advantages, data will be gained for judging of the past and regulating the future. 

Does a woman say she can not do this? let her think whether the offerof a thousand dollars, as a reward-for attempting it one year, wouldnot make her undertake to do it; and if so, let her decide, in her ownmind, which is most valuable, a clear conscience, and the approbationof God, in this effort to do his will, or one thousand dollars. Andlet her do it, with this warning of the Saviour before her eyes--"Noman can serve two masters. " "Ye can not serve God and Mammon. "

Is it objected, How can we decide between superfluities and necessities, in this list? It is replied, that we are not required to judge exactly, in all cases. Our duty is, to use the means in our power to assist usin forming a correct judgment; to seek the divine aid in freeing ourminds from indolence and selfishness; and then to judge, as well aswe can, in our endeavors rightly to apportion and regulate our expenses. Many persons seem to feel that they are bound to do better than theyknow how. But God is not so hard a master; and after we have used allproper means to learn the right way, if we then follow it accordingto our ability, we do wrong to feel misgivings, or to blame ourselves, if results come out differently from what seems desirable. 

The results of our actions, alone, can never prove as deserving ofblame. For men are often so placed that, owing to lack of intellector means, it is impossible for them to decide correctly. To use allthe means of knowledge within our reach, and then to judge, with acandid and conscientious spirit, is all that God requires; and whenwe have done this, and the event seems to come out wrong, we shouldnever wish that we had decided otherwise. For this would be the sameas wishing that we had not followed the dictates of judgment andconscience. As this is a world designed for discipline and trial, untoward events are never to be construed as indications of theobliquity of our past decisions. 

But it is probable that a great portion of the women of this nationcan not secure any such systematic mode of regulating their expenses. To such, the writer would propose one inquiry: Can not you calculatehow much _time_ and _money_ you spend for what is merely ornamental, andnot necessary, for yourself, your children, and your house? Can not youcompare this with the time and money you spend for intellectual andbenevolent purposes? and will not this show the need of some change? Inmaking this examination, is not this brief rule, deducible from theprinciples before laid down, the one which should regulate you? Everyperson does right in spending some portion of time and means in securingthe conveniences and adornments of taste; but the amount should neverexceed what is spent in securing our own moral and intellectualimprovement, nor what is spent in benevolent efforts to supply thephysical and moral wants of our fellow-men. 

In making an examination on this subject, it is sometimes the casethat a woman will count among the _necessaries_ of life all thevarious modes of adorning the person or house, practiced in the circlein which she moves; and, after enumerating the many _duties_ whichdemand attention, counting these as a part, she will come to theconclusion that she has no time, and but little money, to devote topersonal improvement or to benevolent enterprises. This surely is notin agreement with the requirements of the Saviour, who calls on us toseek for others, as well as ourselves, _first of all_, "the kingdomof God, and his righteousness. "

In order to act in accordance with the rule here presented, it is truethat many would be obliged to give up the idea of conforming to thenotions and customs of those with whom they associate, and compelledto adopt the maxim, "Be not conformed to this world. " In many casesit would involve an entire change in the style of living. And thewriter has the happiness of knowing more cases than one, where personswho have come to similar views on this subject, have given up largeand expensive establishments, disposed of their carriages, dismisseda portion of their domestics, and modified all their expenditures, that they might keep a pure conscience, and regulate their charitiesmore according to the requirements of Christianity. And there arepersons, well known in the religious world, who save themselves alllabor of minute calculation, by devoting so large a portion of theirtime and means to benevolent objects, that they find no difficulty inknowing that they give more for religious, benevolent, and intellectualpurposes than for superfluities. 

In deciding what particular objects shall receive our benefactions, there are also general principles to guide us. The first is thatpresented by our Saviour, when, after urging the great law ofbenevolence, he was asked, "And who is my neighbor?" His reply, in theparable of "the Good Samaritan, " teaches us that any human being whosewants are brought to our knowledge is our neighbor. The wounded manin that parable was not only a stranger, but he belonged to a foreignnation, peculiarly hated; and he had no claim, except that his wantswere brought to the knowledge of the wayfaring man. From this we learnthat the destitute of all nations become our neighbors, as soon astheir wants are brought to our knowledge. 

Another general principle is this, that those who are most in needmust be relieved in preference to those who are less destitute. Onthis principle it is, that we think the followers of Christ shouldgive more to supply those who are suffering for want of the bread ofeternal life, than for those who are deprived of physical enjoyments. And another reason for this preference is the fact that many who givein charity have made such imperfect advances in civilization andChristianity that the intellectual and moral wants of our race makebut a feeble impression on the mind. Relate a pitiful tale of a familyreduced to live for weeks on potatoes only, and many a mind would awaketo deep sympathy and stretch forth the hand of charity. But describecases where the immortal mind is pining in stupidity and ignorance, or racked with the fever of baleful passions, and how small the numberso elevated in sentiment and so enlarged in their views as to appreciateand sympathize in these far greater misfortunes! The intellectual andmoral wants of our fellow-men, therefore, should claim the first placein general Christian attention, both because they are most important, and because they are most neglected; while it should not be forgotten, in giving personal attention to the wants of the poor, that the reliefof immediate physical distress, is often the easiest way of touchingthe moral sensibilities of the destitute. 

Another consideration to be borne in mind is that, in this country, there is much less real need of charity in supplying physicalnecessities than is generally supposed by those who have not learnedthe more excellent way. This land is so abundant in supplies, and laboris in such demand, that every healthy person can earn a comfortablesupport. And if all the poor were instantly made virtuous, it isprobable that there would be few physical wants which could not readilybe supplied by the immediate friends of each sufferer. The sick, theaged, and the orphan would be the only objects of charity. In thisview of the case, the primary effort in relieving the poor should beto furnish them the means of earning their own support, and to supplythem with those moral influences which are most effectual in securingvirtue and industry. 

Another point to be attended to is the importance of maintaining asystem of _associated_ charities. There is no point in which the economyof charity has more improved than in the present mode of combining manysmall contributions, for sustaining enlarged and systematic plans ofcharity. If all the half-dollars which are now contributed to aid inorganized systems of charity were returned to the donors, to be appliedby the agency and discretion of each, thousands and thousands of thetreasures, now employed to promote the moral and intellectual wants ofmankind, would become entirely useless in a democracy like ours, wherefew are very rich and the majority are in comfortable circumstances, this collecting and dispensing of drops and rills is the mode by which, in imitation of nature, the dews and showers are to distill on parchedand desert lands. And every person, while earning a pittance to unitewith many more, may be cheered with the consciousness of sustaining agrand system of operations which must have the most decided influence inraising all mankind to that perfect state of society which Christianityis designed to bring about. 

Another consideration relates to the indiscriminate bestowal of charity. Persons who have taken pains to inform themselves, and who devote theirwhole time to dispensing charities, unite in declaring that this isone of the most fruitful sources of indolence, vice, and poverty. Fromseveral of these the writer has learned that, by their own personalinvestigations, they have ascertained that there are largeestablishments of idle and wicked persons in most of our cities, whoassociate together to support themselves by every species of imposition. They hire large houses, and live in constant rioting on the means thusobtained. Among them are women who have or who hire the use of infantchildren; others, who are blind, or maimed, or deformed, or who canadroitly feign such infirmities; and, by these means of exciting pity, and by artful tales of woe, they collect alms, both in city and country, to spend in all manner of gross and guilty indulgences. Meantime manypersons, finding themselves often duped by impostors, refuse to giveat all; and thus many benefactions are withdrawn, which a wise economyin charity would have secured. For this and other reasons, it is wiseand merciful to adopt the general rule, never to give alms till wehave had some opportunity of knowing how they will be spent. There areexceptions to this, as to every general rule, which a person ofdiscretion can determine. But the practice so common among benevolentpersons, of giving at least a trifle to all who ask, lest perchancethey may turn away some who are really sufferers, is one which causesmore sin and misery than it cures. 

The writer has never known any system for dispensing charity sosuccessful as the one by which a town or city is divided into districts;and each district is committed to the care of two ladies, whose dutyit is, to call on each family and leave a book for a child, or do someother deed of neighborly kindness, and make that the occasion forentering into conversation, and learning the situation of all residentsin the district. By this method, the ignorant, the vicious, and thepoor are discovered, and their physical, intellectual, and moral wantsare investigated. In some places where the writer has known this modepursued, each person retained the same district, year after year, sothat every poor family in the place was under the watch and care ofsome intelligent and benevolent lady, who used all her influence tosecure a proper education for the children, to furnish them withsuitable reading, to encourage habits of industry and economy, and tosecure regular attendance on public religious instruction. Thus, therich and the poor were brought in contact, in a way advantageous toboth parties; and if such a system could be universally adopted, morewould be done for the prevention of poverty and vice than all thewealth of the nation could avail for their relief. But this plan cannot be successfully carried out, in this manner, unless there is alarge proportion of intelligent, benevolent, and self-denying persons, who unite in a systematic plan. 

But there is one species of "charity" which needs especialconsideration. It is that spirit of kindly love which induces us torefrain from judging of the means and the relative charities of otherpersons. There have been such indistinct notions, and so many differentstandards of duty, on this subject, that it is rare for two personsto think exactly alike, in regard to the rule of duty. Each person isbound to inquire and judge for himself, as to his own duty ordeficiencies; but as both the resources and the amount of the actualcharities of others are beyond our ken, it is as indecorous as it isuncharitable to sit in judgment on their decisions. 

XIX. 

ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES. 

The value of time, and our obligation to spend every hour for someuseful end, are what few minds properly realize. And those who havethe highest sense of their obligations in this respect, sometimesgreatly misjudge in their estimate of what are useful and proper modesof employing time. This arises from limited views of the importanceof some pursuits, which they would deem frivolous and useless, butwhich are in reality necessary to preserve the health of body and mindand those social affections which it is very important to cherish. Christianity teaches that, for all the time afforded us, we must giveaccount to God; and that we have no right to waste a single hour. Buttime which is spent in rest or amusement is often as usefully employedas if it were devoted to labor or devotion. In employing our time, weare to make suitable allowance for sleep, for preparing and takingfood, for securing the means of a livelihood, for intellectualimprovement, for exercise and amusement, for social enjoyments, andfor benevolent and religious duties. And it is the _right apportionment_of time, to these various duties, which constitutes its true economy. 

In deciding respecting the rectitude of our pursuits, we are bound toaim at some practical good, as the ultimate object. With every dutyof this life, our benevolent Creator has connected some species ofenjoyment, to draw us to perform it. Thus, the palate is gratified, by performing the duty of nourishing our bodies; the principle ofcuriosity is gratified in pursuing useful knowledge; the desire ofapprobation is gratified, when we perform general social duties; andevery other duty has an alluring enjoyment connected with it. But thegreat mistake of mankind has consisted in seeking the pleasuresconnected with these duties, as the sole aim, without reference to themain end that should be held in view, and to which the enjoyment shouldbe made subservient. Thus, men gratify the palate, without referenceto the question whether the body is properly nourished: and followafter knowledge, without inquiring whether it ministers to good orevil; and seek amusement without reference to results. 

In gratifying the implanted desires of our nature, we are bound so torestrain ourselves, by reason and conscience, as always to seek themain objects of existence--the highest good of ourselves and others;and never to sacrifice this for the mere gratification of our desires. We are to gratify appetite, just so far as is consistent with healthand usefulness; and the desire for knowledge, just so far as willenable us to do most good by our influence and efforts; and no farther. We are to seek social intercourse, to that extent which will bestpromote domestic enjoyment and kindly feelings among neighbors andfriends; and we are to pursue exercise and amusement, only so far aswill best sustain the vigor of body and mind. 

The laws of the Supreme Ruler, when he became the civil as well as thereligious Head of the Jewish theocracy, furnish an example which itwould be well for all attentively to consider, when forming plans forthe apportionment of time and property. To properly estimate thisexample, it must be borne in mind, that the main object of God was, to set an example of the temporal rewards that follow obedience to thelaws of the Creator, and at the same time to prepare religious teachersto extend the true religion to the whole race of man. 

Before Christ came, the Jews were not required to go forth to othernations as teachers of religion, nor were the Jewish nation led toobedience by motives of a life to come. To them God was revealed, bothas a father and a civil ruler, and obedience to laws relating solelyto this life was all that was required. So low were they in the scaleof civilization and mental development, that a system which confinedthem to one spot, as an agricultural people, and prevented their growingvery rich, or having extensive commerce with other nations, wasindispensable to prevent their relapsing into the low idolatries andvices of the nations around them, while temporal rewards and penaltieswere more effective than those of a life to come. 

The proportion of time and property, which every Jew was required todevote to intellectual, benevolent, and religious purposes, was asfollows:

In regard to property, they were required to give one tenth of alltheir yearly income to support the Levites, the priests, and thereligious service. Next, they were required to give the first-fruitsof all their corn, wine, oil, and fruits, and the first-born of alltheir cattle, for the Lord's treasury, to be employed for the priests, the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger. The first-born, also, oftheir children, were the Lord's, and were to be redeemed by a specifiedsum, paid into the sacred treasury. Besides this, they were requiredto bring a free-will offering to God, every time they went up to thethree great yearly festivals. In addition to this, regular yearlysacrifices of cattle and fowls were required of each family, andoccasional sacrifices for certain sins or ceremonial Impurities. Inreaping their fields, they were required to leave unreaped, for thepoor, the corners; not to glean their fields, oliveyards, or vineyards;and, if a sheaf was left by mistake, they were not to return for itbut leave it for the poor. 

One twelfth of the people were set apart, having no landed property, to be priests and teachers; and the other tribes were required tosupport them liberally. 

In regard to the time taken from secular pursuits, for the support ofeducation and religion, an equally liberal amount was demanded. In thefirst place, one seventh part of their time was taken for the weeklysabbath, when no kind of work was to be done. Then the whole nationwere required to meet at the appointed place three times a year, which, including their journeys and stay there, occupied eight weeks, oranother seventh part of their time. Then the sabbatical year, when noagricultural labor was to be done, took another seventh of their timefrom their regular pursuits, as they were an agricultural people. Thiswas the amount of time and property demanded by God, simply to sustaineducation, religion, and morality within the bounds of one nation. Itwas promised to this nation and fulfilled by constant miraculousinterpositions, that in this life, obedience to God's laws shouldsecure health, peace, prosperity, and long life; while for disobediencewas threatened war, pestilence, famine, and all temporal evils. Thesepromises were constantly verified, and in the day of Solomon, when, this nation was most obedient, the whole world was moved with wonderat its wealth and prosperity. But up to this time, no attempt was madeby God to govern the Israelites by the rewards and penalties of theworld to come. 

But "when the fullness of time had come, " and the race of man wasprepared to receive higher responsibilities, Jesus Christ came and"brought life and immortality to light" with a clearness never beforerevealed. At the same time was revealed the fatherhood of God, not tothe Jews alone, but to the whole human race, and the consequentbrotherhood of man; and these revelations in many respects changed thewhole standard of duty and obligation. 

Christ came as "God manifest in the flesh, " to set an example ofself-sacrificing love, in rescuing the whole family of man from thedangers of the unseen world, and also to teach and train his disciplesthrough all time to follow his example. And those who conform the mostconsistently to his teachings and example will aim at a standard oflabor and self-denial far beyond that demanded of the Jews. 

It is not always that men understand the economy of Providence, inthat unequal distribution of property which, even under the most perfectform of government, will always exist. Many, looking at the presentstate of things, imagine that the rich, if they acted in strictconformity to the law of benevolence, would share all their propertywith their suffering fellow-men. But such do not take into account theinspired declaration that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundanceof the things which he possesseth, " or, in other words, life is madevaluable, not by great possessions, but by such a character as preparesa man to enjoy what he holds. God perceives that human character canbe most improved by that kind of discipline which exists when thereis something valuable to be gained by industrious efforts. This stimulusto industry could never exist in a community where all are just alike, as it does in a state of society where every man sees possessed byothers enjoyments which he desires and may secure by effort andindustry. So, in a community where all are alike as to property, therewould be no chance to gain that noblest of all attainments, a habitof self-denying benevolence which toils for the good of others, andtakes from one's own store to increase the enjoyments of another. 

Instead, then, of the stagnation, both of industry and of benevolence, which would follow the universal and equable distribution, of property, some men, by superior advantages of birth, or intellect, or patronage, come into possession of a great amount of capital. With these meansthey are enabled, by study, reading, and travel, to secure expansionof mind and just views of the relative advantages of moral, intellectual, and physical enjoyments. At the same time, Christianityimposes obligations corresponding with the increase of advantages andmeans. The rich are not at liberty to spend their treasures chieflyfor themselves. Their wealth is given, by God, to be employed for thebest good of mankind; and their intellectual advantages are designed, primarily, to enable them to judge correctly in employing their meansmost wisely for the general good. 

Now, suppose a man of wealth inherits ten thousand acres of real estate;it is not his duty to divide it among his poor neighbors and tenants. If he took this course, it is probable that most of them would spendall in thriftless waste and indolence, or in mere physical enjoyments. Instead, then, of thus putting his capital out of his hands, he isbound to retain and so to employ it as to raise his family and hisneighbors to such a state of virtue and intelligence that they cansecure far more, by their own efforts and industry, than he, by dividinghis capital, could bestow upon them. 

In this view of the subject, it is manifest that the unequaldistribution of property is no evil. The great difficulty is, that solarge a portion of those who hold much capital, instead of using theirvarious advantages for the greatest good of those around them, employthem for mere selfish indulgences; thus inflicting as much mischiefon themselves as results to others from their culpable neglect. A greatportion of the rich seem to be acting on the principle that the moreGod bestows on them the less are they under obligation to practice anyself-denial in fulfilling his benevolent plan of raising our race tointelligence and virtue. 

But there are cheering examples of the contrary spirit and prejudice, some of which will be here recorded to influence and encourage others. 

A lady of great wealth, high position, and elegant culture, in one ofour large cities, hired and furnished a house adjacent to her own, and, securing the aid of another benevolent and cultivated woman, tooktwelve orphan girls, of different ages, and educated them under theirjoint care. Not only time and money were given, but love and labor, just as if these were their own children; and as fast as one wasprovided for, another was taken. 

In another city, a young lady with property of her own hired a houseand made it a home for homeless and unprotected women, who paid boardwhen they could earn it, and found a refuge when out of employment. 

In another city, the wife of one of its richest merchants, living inprincely style, took two young girls from the certain road to ruinamong the vicious poor. She boarded them with a respectable farmer, and sent them to school, and every week went out, not only to supervisethem, but to aid in training them to habits of neatness, industry, andobedience, just as if they were her own children. Next, she hired alarge house near the most degraded part of the city, furnished itneatly and with all suitable conveniences to work, and then rented tothose among the most degraded whom she could bring to conform to a fewsimple rules of decency, industry, and benevolence--one of these rulesbeing that they should pay her the rent every Saturday night. To thismotley gathering she became chief counselor and friend, quieted theirbrawls, taught them to aid each other in trouble or sickness, andstrove to introduce among them that law of patient love and kindness, illustrated by her own example. The young girls in this tenement sheassembled every Saturday at her own house--taught them to sing, heardthem recite their Sunday-school lessons, to be sure these were properlylearned; taught them to make and mend their own clothing, trimmed theirbonnets, and took charge of their Sunday dress, that it might alwaysbe in order. Of course, such benevolence drew a stream of ignoranceand misery to her door; and so successful was her labor that she hireda second house, and managed it on the same plan. One hot day in August, a friend found her combing the head of a poor, ungainly, foreign girl. She had persuaded a friend to take her from compassion, and she wasreturned because her head was in such in a state. Finding no one elseto do it, the lady herself bravely met the difficulty, and perseveredin this daily ministry till the evil was remedied, and the poor girlthus secured a comfortable home and wages. 

A young lady of wealth and position, with great musical culture andtaste, found among the poor two young girls with fine voices and greatmusical talent. Gaining her parents' consent, the young lady took oneof them home, trained her in music, and saw that her school educationwas secured, so that when expensive masters and instruments were neededthe girl herself earned the money required, as a governess in a familyof wealthy friends. Then she aided the sister; and, as the result, oneof them is married happily to a man of great wealth, and the other isreceiving a large income as a popular musical artist. 

Another young girl, educated as a fine musician by her wealthy parents, at the age of sixteen was afflicted with weak eyes and a heartcomplaint. She strove to solace herself by benevolent ministries. Byteaching music to children of wealthy friends she earned the means torelieve and instruct the suffering, ignorant, and poor. 

These examples may suffice to show that, even among the most wealthy, abundant modes of self-denying benevolence may be found where thereis a heart to seek them. 

There is no direction in which a true Christian economy of time andmoney is more conspicuous than in the style of living adopted in thefamily state. 

Those who build stately mansions, and lay out extensive grounds, andmultiply the elegancies of life, to be enjoyed by themselves and aselect few, "have their reward" in the enjoyments that end in thislife. But those who with, equal means adopt a style that enables themlargely to devote time and wealth to the elevation and improvement oftheir fellow-men, are laying up never-failing treasures in heaven. 

XX. 

HEALTH OF MIND. 

There is such an intimate connection between the body and mind thatthe health of one can not be preserved without a proper care of theother. And it is from a neglect of this principle, that some of themost exemplary and conscientious persons in the world suffer a thousandmental agonies from a diseased state of body, while others ruin thehealth of the body by neglecting the proper care of the mind. 

When the mind is excited by earnest intellectual effort, or by strongpassions, the blood rushes to the head and the brain is excited. SirAstley Cooper records that, in examining the brain of a young man whohad lost a portion of his skull, whenever "he was agitated by someopposition to his wishes, " "the blood was sent with increased forceto his brain, " and the pulsations "became frequent and violent. " Thesame effect was produced by any intellectual effort; and the flushedcountenance which attends earnest study or strong emotions of interestof any kind, is an external indication of the suffused state of thebrain from such causes. 

In exhibiting the causes which injure the health of the mind, we shallfind them to be partly physical, partly intellectual, and partly moral. 

The first cause of mental disease and suffering is not unfrequentlyin the want of a proper supply of duly oxygenized blood. It has beenshown that the blood, in passing through the lungs, is purified by theoxygen of the air combining with the superabundant hydrogen and carbonof the venous blood, thus forming carbonic acid and water, which areexpired into the atmosphere. Every pair of lungs is constantlywithdrawing from the surrounding atmosphere its healthful principle, and returning one which is injurious to human life. 

When, by confinement and this process, the air is deprived of itsappropriate supply of oxygen, the purification of the blood isinterrupted, and it passes without being properly prepared into thebrain, producing languor, restlessness, and inability to exercise theintellect and feelings. Whenever, therefore, persons sleep in a closeapartment, or remain for a length of time in a crowded or ill-ventilatedroom, a most pernicious influence is exerted on the brain, and, throughthis, on the mind. A person who is often exposed to such influencescan never enjoy that elasticity and vigor of mind which is one of thechief indications of its health. This is the reason why all rooms forreligious meetings, and all school-rooms and sleeping apartments shouldbe so contrived as to secure a constant supply of fresh air fromwithout. The minister who preaches in a crowded and ill-ventilatedapartment loses much of his power to feel and to speak, while theaudience are equally reduced in their capability of attending. Theteacher who confines children in a close apartment diminishes theirability to study, or to attend to instructions. And the person whohabitually sleeps in a close room impairs mental energy in a similardegree. It is not unfrequently the case that depression of spirits andstupor of intellect are occasioned solely by inattention to thissubject. 

Another cause of mental disease is the excessive exercise of theintellect or feelings. If the eye is taxed beyond its strength byprotracted use, its blood-vessels become gorged, and the bloodshotappearance warns of the excess and the need of rest. The brain isaffected in a similar manner by excessive use, though the sufferingand inflamed organ can not make its appeal to the eye. But there aresome indications which ought never to be misunderstood or disregarded. In cases of pupils at school or at college, a diseased state, fromover-action, is often manifested by increased clearness of mind, andtemporary ease and vigor of mental action. In one instance, known tothe writer, a most exemplary and industrious pupil, anxious to improveevery hour and ignorant or unmindful of the laws of health, firstmanifested the diseased state of her brain and mind by demands formore studies, and a sudden and earnest activity in planning modes ofimprovement for herself and others. When warned of her danger, sheprotested that she never was better in her life; that she took regularexercise in the open air, went to bed in season, slept soundly, andfelt perfectly well; that her mind was never before so bright andclear, and study never so easy and delightful. And at this time, shewas on the verge of derangement, from which she was saved only by anentire cessation of all intellectual efforts. 

A similar case occurred, under the eye of the writer, from over-excitedfeelings. It was during a time of unusual religious interest in thecommunity, and the mental disease was first manifested by the pupilbringing her hymn-book or Bible to the class-room, and making it herconstant resort, in every interval of school duty. It finally becameimpossible to convince her that it was her duty to attend to any thingelse; her conscience became morbidly sensitive, her perceptionsindistinct, her deductions unreasonable; and nothing but entire changeof scene and exercise, and occupation of her mind by amusement, savedher. When the health of the brain was restored, she found that shecould attend to the "one thing needful, " not only without interruptionof duty or injury to health, but rather so as to promote both. Clergymenand teachers need most carefully to notice and guard against the dangershere alluded to. 

Any such attention to religion as prevents the performance of dailyduties and needful relaxation is dangerous, and tends to produce sucha state of the brain as makes it impossible to feel or judge correctly. And when any morbid and unreasonable pertinacity appears, much exerciseand engagement in other interesting pursuits should be urged, as theonly mode of securing the religious benefits aimed at. And wheneverany mind is oppressed with care, anxiety, or sorrow, the amount ofactive exercise in the fresh air should be greatly increased, that theaction of the muscles may withdraw the blood which, in such seasons, is constantly tending too much to the brain. 

There has been a most appalling amount of suffering, derangement, disease, and death, occasioned by a want of attention to this subject, in teachers and parents. Uncommon precocity in children is usually theresult of an unhealthy state of the brain; and in such cases medicalmen would now direct that the wonderful child should be deprived ofall books and study, and turned to play out in the fresh air. Insteadof this, parents frequently add fuel to the fever of the brain, bysupplying constant mental stimulus, until the victim finds refuge inidiocy or an early grave. Where such fatal results do not occur, thebrain in many cases is so weakened that the prodigy of infancy sinksbelow the medium of intellectual powers in afterlife. 

In our colleges, too, many of the most promising minds sink to an earlygrave, or drag out a miserable existence, from this same cause. Andit is an evil as yet little alleviated by the increase of physiologicalknowledge. Every college and professional school, and every seminaryfor young ladies, needs a medical man or woman, not only to lectureon physiology and the laws of health, but empowered by official capacityto investigate the case of every pupil, and, by authority, to enforcesuch a course of study, exercise and repose, as the physical systemrequires. The writer has found by experience that in a large institutionthere is one class of pupils who need to be restrained by penaltiesfrom late hours and excessive study, as much as another class needstimulus to industry. 

Under the head of excessive mental action, must be placed the indulgenceof the imagination in novel-reading and "castle-building. " This kindof stimulus, unless counterbalanced by physical exercise, not onlywastes time and energies, but undermines the vigor of the nervoussystem. The imagination was designed by our wise Creator as a charmand stimulus to animate to benevolent activity; and its pervertedexercise seldom fails to bring a penalty. 

Another cause of mental disease is the want of the appropriate exerciseof the various faculties of the mind. On this point, Dr. Combe remarks:"We have seen that, by disuse, muscles become emaciated, bone softens, blood-vessels are obliterated, and nerves lose their characteristicstructure. The brain is no exception to this general rule. The toneof it is also impaired by permanent inactivity, and it becomes lessfit to manifest the mental powers with readiness and energy. " It is"the withdrawal of the stimulus necessary for its healthy exercisewhich renders solitary confinement so severe a punishment, even to themost daring minds. It is a lower degree of the same cause which renderscontinuous seclusion from society so injurious to both mental andbodily health. "

"Inactivity of intellect and of feeling is a very frequent predisposingcause of every form of nervous disease. For demonstrative evidence ofthis position, we have only to look at the numerous victims to be foundamong persons who have no call to exertion in gaining the means ofsubsistence, and no objects of interest on which to exercise theirmental faculties, and who consequently sink into a state of mentalsloth and nervous weakness. " "If we look abroad upon society, we shallfind innumerable examples of mental and nervous debility from thiscause. When a person of some mental capacity is confined for a longtime to an unvarying round of employment which affords neither scopenor stimulus for one half of the faculties, and, from want of educationor society, has no external resources; the mental powers, for want ofexercise, become blunted, and the perceptions slow and dull. " "Theintellect and feelings, not being provided with interests external tothemselves, must either become inactive and weak, or work uponthemselves and become diseased. "

"The most frequent victims of this kind of predisposition are femalesof the middle and higher ranks, especially those of a nervousconstitution and good natural abilities; but who, from an ill-directededucation, possess nothing more solid than mere accomplishments, andhave no materials for thought, " and no "occupation to excite interestor demand attention. " "The liability of such persons to melancholy, hysteria, hypochondriasis, and other varieties of mental distress, really depends on a state of irritability of the brain, induced byimperfect exercise. "

These remarks of a medical man illustrate the principles beforeindicated; namely, that the demand of Christianity, that we live topromote the general happiness, and not merely for selfish indulgence, has for its aim not only the general good, but the highest happinessof the individual of whom it is required in offering abundant exercisefor all the noblest faculties. 

A person possessed of wealth, who has nothing more noble to engageattention than seeking personal enjoyment, subjects the mental powersand moral feelings to a degree of inactivity utterly at war with healthand mind. And the greater the capacities, the greater are the sufferingswhich result from this cause. Any one who has read the misanthropicwailings of Lord Byron has seen the necessary result of great and noblepowers bereft of their appropriate exercise, and, in consequence, becoming sources of the keenest suffering. 

It is this view of the subject which has often awakened feelings ofsorrow and anxiety in the mind of the writer, while aiding in thedevelopment and education of superior feminine minds, in the wealthiercircles. Not because there are not noble objects for interest andeffort, abundant, and within reach of such minds; but becauselong-established custom has made it seem so quixotic to the majority, even of the professed followers of Christ, for a woman of wealth topractice any great self-denial, that few have independence of mind andChristian principle sufficient to overcome such an influence. The morea mind has its powers developed, the more does it aspire and pine aftersome object worthy of its energies and affections; and they arecommonplace and phlegmatic characters who are most free from suchdeep-seated wants. Many a young woman, of fine genius and elevatedsentiment, finds a charm in Lord Byron's writings, because they presenta glowing picture of what, to a certain extent, must be felt by everywell-developed mind which has no nobler object in life than the pursuitof self-gratification. 

If young ladies of wealth could pursue their education under the fullconviction that the increase of their powers and advantages increasedtheir obligations to use all for the good of society, and with someplan of benevolent enterprise in view, what new motives of interestwould be added to their daily pursuits! And what blessed results wouldfollow to our beloved country, if all well-educated women, carried outthe principles of Christianity, in the exercise of their developedpowers!

The benevolent activities called forth in our late dreadful warillustrate the blessed influence on character and happiness in havinga noble object for which to labor and suffer. In illustration of this, may be mentioned the experience of one of the noble women who, in asickly climate and fervid season, devoted herself to the ministriesof a military hospital. Separated from an adored husband, deprived ofwonted comforts and luxuries, and toiling in humble and unwonted labors, she yet recalls this as one of the happiest periods of her life. Andit was not the mere exercise of benevolence and piety in ministering, comfort and relieving suffering. It was, still more, the elevatedenjoyment which only an enlarged and cultivated mind can attain, inthe inspirations of grand and far-reaching results purchased by suchsacrifice and suffering. It was in aiding to save her well-lovedcountry from impending ruin, and to preserve to coming generations theblessings of true liberty and self-government, that toils and sufferingbecame triumphant joys. 

Every Christian woman who "walks by faith and not by sight, " who looksforward to the results of self-sacrificing labor for the ignorant andsinful as they will enlarge and expand through everlasting ages, mayrise to the same elevated sphere of experience and happiness. On thecontrary, the more highly cultivated the mind devoted to mere selfishenjoyment, the more are the sources of true happiness closed and thesoul left to helpless emptiness and unrest. 

The indications of a diseased mind, owing to the want of the properexercise of its powers, are apathy, discontent, a restless longing forexcitement, a craving for unattainable good, a diseased and morbidaction of the imagination, dissatisfaction with the world, andfactitious interest in trifles which the mind feels to be unworthy ofits powers. Such minds sometimes seek alleviation in excitingamusements; others resort to the grosser enjoyments of sense. Oppressedwith the extremes of languor, or over-excitement, or apathy, the bodyfails under the wearing process, and adds new causes of suffering tothe mind. Such, the compassionate Saviour calls to his service, in theappropriate terms, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavyladen, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn ofme, " "and ye shall find rest unto your souls. "

XXI. 

THE CARE OF INFANTS. 

The topic of this chapter may well be prefaced by an extract fromHerbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring. He first supposes thatsome future philosophic speculator, examining the course of educationof the present period, should find nothing relating to the trainingof children, and that his natural inference would be that our schoolswere all for monastic orders, who have no charge of infancy andchildhood. He then remarks, "Is it not an astonishing fact that, thoughon the treatment of offspring depend their lives or deaths and theirmoral welfare or ruin, yet not one word of instruction on the treatmentof offspring is ever given, to those who will hereafter be parents?Is it not monstrous that the fate of a new generation should be leftto the chances of unreasoning custom, or impulse, or fancy, joinedwith the suggestions of ignorant nurses and the prejudiced counsel ofgrandmothers?

"If a merchant should commence business without any knowledge ofarithmetic or book-keeping, we should exclaim at his folly and lookfor disastrous consequences. Or if, without studying anatomy, a manset up as a surgeon, we should wonder at his audacity and pity hispatients. But that parents should commence the difficult work of rearingchildren without giving any attention to the principles, physical, moral, or intellectual, which ought to guide them, excites neithersurprise at the actors nor pity for the victims. "

"To tens of thousands that are killed add hundreds of thousands thatsurvive with feeble constitutions, and millions not so strong as theyshould be; and you will have some idea of the curse inflicted on theiroffspring, by parents ignorant of the laws of life. Do but considerfor a moment that the regimen to which children are subject is hourlytelling upon them to their life-long injury or benefit, and that thereare twenty ways of going wrong to one way of going right, and you willget some idea of the enormous mischief that is almost everywhereinflicted by the thoughtless, hap-hazard system in common use. "

"When sons and daughters grow up sickly and feeble, parents commonlyregard the event as a visitation of Providence. They assume that theseevils come without cause, or that the cause is supernatural. Nothingof the kind. In some cases causes are inherited, but in most casesfoolish management is the cause. Very generally parents themselves areresponsible for this pain, this debility, this depression, this misery. They have undertaken to control the lives of their offspring, and withcruel carelessness have neglected to learn those vital processes whichthey are daily affecting by their commands and prohibitions. In utterignorance of the simplest physiological laws, they have been, year byyear, undermining the constitutions of their children, and so haveinflicted disease and premature death, not only on them but also ontheir descendants. 

"Equally great are the ignorance and consequent injury, when we turnfrom the physical to the moral training. Consider the young, untaughtmother and her nursery legislation. A short time ago she was at school, where her memory was crammed with words and names and dates, and herreflective faculties scarcely in the slightest degree exercised--wherenot one idea was given her respecting the methods of dealing with theopening mind of childhood, and where her discipline did not in theleast fit her for thinking out methods of her own. The interveningyears have been spent in practicing music, fancy work, novel-readingand party-going, no thought having been given, to the graveresponsibilities of maternity, and scarcely any of that solidintellectual culture obtained which would fit her for suchresponsibilities; and now see her with an unfolding human charactercommitted to her charge, see her profoundly ignorant of the phenomenawith which she has to deal, undertaking to do that which can be donebut imperfectly even with the aid of the profoundest knowledge!"

In view of such considerations, every young lady ought to learn howto take proper care of an infant; for, even if she is never to becomethe responsible guardian of a nursery, she will often be in situationswhere she can render benevolent aid to others, in this most fatiguingand anxious duty. 

The writer has known instances in which young ladies, who had beentrained by their mothers properly to perform this duty, were in somecases the means of saving the lives of infants, and in others, ofrelieving sick mothers from intolerable care and anguish by theirbenevolent aid. 

On this point, Dr. Combe remarks, "All women are not destined, in thecourse of nature, to become mothers; but how very small is the numberof those who are unconnected, by family ties, friendship, or sympathy, with the children of others! How very few are there, who, at some timeor other of their lives, would not find their usefulness and happinessincreased, by the possession of a kind of knowledge intimately alliedto their best feelings and affections! And how important is it, to themother herself, that her efforts should be seconded by intelligent, instead of ignorant assistants!"

In order to be prepared for such benevolent ministries, every younglady should improve the opportunity, whenever it is afforded her, forlearning how to wash, dress, and tend a young infant; and whenever shemeets with such a work as Dr. Combe's, on the management of infants, she ought to read it, and _remember_ its contents. 

It was the design of the author to fill this chapter chiefly withextracts from various medical writers, giving some of the most importantdirections on this subject; but finding these extracts too prolix fora work of this kind, she has condensed them into a shorter compass. Some are quoted verbatim, and some are abridged, from the most approvedwriters on this subject. 

"Nearly one half of the deaths, Occurring during the first two yearsof existence, are ascribable to mismanagement, and to errors in diet. At birth, the stomach is feeble, and as yet unaccustomed to food; itscravings are consequently easily satisfied, and frequently renewed. ""At that early age, there ought to be no fixed time for givingnourishment. The stomach can not be thus satisfied. " "The active callof the infant is a sign, which needs never be mistaken. "

"But care must be taken to determine between, the crying of pain oruneasiness, and the call for food; and the practice of giving an infantfood, to stop its cries, is often the means of increasing itssufferings. After a child has satisfied its hunger, from two to fourhours should intervene before another supply is given. "

"At birth, the stomach and bowels, never having been used, contain aquantity of mucous secretion, which requires to be removed. To effectthis, Nature has rendered the first portions of the mother's milkpurposely watery and laxative. Nurses, however, distrusting Nature, often hasten to administer some active purgative; and the consequenceoften is, irritation in the stomach and bowels, not easily subdued. "It is only where the child is deprived of its mother's milk, as thefirst food, that some gentle laxative should be given. 

"It is a common mistake, to suppose that because a woman is nursing, she ought to live very fully, and to add an allowance of wine, porter, or other fermented liquor, to her usual diet. The only result of thisplan is, to cause an unnatural fullness in the system, which placesthe nurse on the brink of disease, and retards rather than increasesthe food of the infant. More will be gained by the observance of theordinary laws of health, than by any foolish deviation, founded onignorance. "

There is no point on which medical men so emphatically lift the voiceof warning as in reference to administering medicines to infants. Itis so difficult to discover what is the matter with an infant, itsframe is so delicate and so susceptible, and slight causes have sucha powerful influence, that it requires the utmost skill and judgmentto ascertain what would be proper medicines, and the proper quantityto be given. 

Says Dr. Combe, "That there are cases in which active means must bepromptly used to save the child, is perfectly true. But it is not lesscertain that these are cases of which no mother or nurse ought toattempt the treatment. As a general rule, where the child is wellmanaged, medicine, of any kind, is very rarely required; and if diseasewere more generally regarded in its true light, not as something thrustinto the system, which requires to be expelled by force, but as anaberration from a natural mode of action, produced by some externalcause, we should be in less haste to attack it by medicine, and morewatchful in its prevention. Accordingly, where a constant demand formedicine exists in a nursery, the mother may rest assured that thereis something essentially wrong in the treatment of her children. "

"Much havoc is made among infants, by the abuse of calomel and othermedicines, which procure momentary relief but end by producing incurabledisease; and it has often excited my astonishment, to see how recklesslyremedies of this kind are had recourse to, on the most triflingoccasions, by mothers and nurses, who would be horrified if they knewthe nature of the power they are wielding, and the extent of injurythey are inflicting. "

Instead, then, of depending on medicine for the preservation of thehealth and life of an infant, the following precautions and preventivesshould be adopted. 

"Take particular care of the _food_ of an infant. If it is nourished bythe mother, her own diet should be simple, nourishing, and temperate. Ifthe child be brought up 'by hand, ' the milk of a new-milch cow, mixedwith one third water, and sweetened a little with _white_ sugar, shouldbe the only food given, until the teeth come. This is more suitable thanany preparations of flour or arrowroot, the nourishment of which is toohighly concentrated. Never give a child _bread, cake, _ or _meat_, beforethe teeth appear. If the food appear to distress the child after eating, first ascertain if the milk be really from a new-milch cow, as it mayotherwise be too old. Learn, also, whether the cow lives on proper food. Cows that are fed on _still-slops_, as is often the case in cities, furnish milk which is very unhealthful. "

Be sure and keep a good supply of pure and fresh air in the nursery. On this point, Dr. Bell remarks, respecting rooms constructed withoutfireplaces and without doors or windows to let in pure air from without, "The sufferings of children of feeble constitutions are increasedbeyond measure, by such lodgings as these. An action, brought by thecommonwealth, ought to lie against those persons who build houses forsale or rent, in which rooms are so constructed as not to allow offree ventilation; and a writ of lunacy taken out against those who, with the commonsense experience which all have on this head, shouldspend any portion of their time, still more, should sleep, in roomsthus nearly air-tight. "

After it is a month or two old, take an infant out to walk, or ride, in a little wagon, every fair and warm day; but be very careful thatits feet, and every part of its body, are kept warm; and be sure thatits eyes are well protected from the light. Weak eyes, and sometimesblindness, are caused by neglecting this precaution. Keep the head ofan infant cool, never allowing too warm bonnets, nor permitting it tosink into soft pillows when asleep. Keeping an infant's head too warmvery much increases nervous irritability; and this is the reason whymedical men forbid the use of caps for infants. But the head of aninfant should, especially while sleeping, be protected from draughtsof air, and from getting cold. 

Be very careful of the skin of an infant, as nothing tends soeffectually to prevent disease. For this end, it should be washed allover every morning, and then gentle friction should be applied withthe hand, to the back, stomach, bowels, and limbs. The head should bethoroughly washed every day, and then brushed with a soft hair-brush, or combed with a fine comb. If, by neglect, dirt accumulates under thehair, apply with the finger the yolk of an egg, and then the fine combwill remove it all, without any trouble. 

Dress the infant so that it will be always warm, but not so as to causeperspiration. Be sure and keep its feet _always_ warm; and for thisoften warm them at a fire, and use long dresses. Keep the neck and armscovered. For this purpose, wrappers, open in front, made high in theneck, with long sleeves, to put on over the frock, are now veryfashionable. 

It is better for both mother and child, that it should not sleep onthe mother's arm at night, unless the weather be extremely cold. Thispractice keeps the child too warm, and leads it to seek food toofrequently. A child should ordinarily take nourishment but twice inthe night. A crib beside the mother, with plenty of warm and lightcovering, is best for the child; but the mother must be sure that itis always kept warm. 

Never cover a child's head, so that it will inhale the air of its ownlungs. In very warm weather, especially in cities, great pains shouldbe taken to find fresh and cool air by rides and sailing. Walks in apublic square in the cool of the morning, and frequent excursions inferry or steamboats, would often save a long bill for medicalattendance. 

In hot nights, the windows should be kept open, and the infant laidon a mattress, or on folded blankets. A bit of straw matting, laidover a feather bed and covered with the under sheet, makes a very coolbed for an infant. 

Cool bathing, in hot weather, is very useful; but the water should bevery little cooler than the skin of the child. When the constitutionis delicate, the water should be slightly warmed. Simply sponging thebody freely in a tub, answers the same purpose as a regular bath. Invery warm weather, this should be done two or three times a day, alwayswaiting two or three hours after food has been given. 

"When the stomach is peculiarity irritable, (from teething, ) it is ofparamount necessity to withhold all the nostrums which have been sofalsely lauded as 'sovereign cures for _cholera infantum_. ' Thetrue restoratives for a child threatened with disease are cool air, cool bathing, and cool drinks of simple water, in addition to_proper_ food, at stated intervals. "

In many cases, change of air from sea to mountain, or the reverse, hasan immediate healthful influence and is superior to every othertreatment. Do not take the advice of mothers who tell of this, that, and the other thing which have proved excellent remedies in theirexperience. Children have different constitutions, and there aremultitudes of different causes for their sickness; and what might cureone child, might kill another, which appeared to have the samecomplaint. A mother should go on the general rule of giving an infantvery little medicine, and then only by the direction of a discreet andexperienced physician. And there are cases, when, according to theviews of the most distinguished and competent practitioners, physiciansthemselves are much too free in using medicines, instead of adoptingpreventive measures. 

Do not allow a child to form such habits that it will not be quietunless tended and amused. A healthy child should be accustomed to lieor sit in its cradle much of the time; but it should occasionally betaken up and tossed, or carried about for exercise and amusement. Aninfant should be encouraged to _creep_, as an exercise verystrengthening and useful. If the mother fears the soiling of its nicedresses, she can keep a long slip or apron which will entirely coverthe dress, and can be removed when the child is taken in the arms. Achild should not be allowed, when quite young, to bear its weight onits feet very long at a time, as this tends to weaken and distort thelimbs. 

Many mothers, with a little painstaking, succeed in putting theirinfants into their cradle while awake, at regular hours for sleep; andinduce regularity in other habits, which saves much trouble. Duringthis training process a child may cry, at first, a great deal; but fora healthy child, this use of the lungs does no harm and tends ratherto strengthen than to injure them, unless it becomes exceedinglyviolent. A child who is trained to lie or sit and amuse itself, ishappier than one who is carried and tended a great deal, and thusrendered restless and uneasy when not so indulged. 

The most critical period in the life of an infant is that of dentitionor teething, especially at the early stages. An adult has thirty-twoteeth, but young children have only twenty, which gradually loosen andare followed by the permanent teeth. When the child has ten teeth oneach jaw, all that are added are the permanent set, which should becarefully preserved; this caution is needful, as sometimes decay inthe first double teeth of the second set are supposed to be of thetransient set, and are so neglected, or are removed instead of beingpreserved by plugging. When the first teeth rise so as to press againstthe gums, there is always more or less inflammation, causing nervousfretfulness, and the impulse to put everything into the mouth. Usuallythere is disturbed sleep, a slight fever, and greater flow of saliva;this is often relieved by letting the child have ice to bite, tied ina rag. 

Sometimes the disorder of the mouth extends to the whole system. Indifficult teething, one symptom is the jerking back of the head whentaking the breath, as if in pain, owing to the extreme soreness of thegums. This is, in extreme cases, attended with increased saliva anda gummy secretion in the corners of the eyes, itching of the nose, redness of cheeks, rash, convulsive twitching of lips and the musclesgenerally, fever, constipation, and sometimes by a diarrhea, whichlast is favorable if slight; difficulty of breathing, dilation of thepupils of the eyes, restless motion and moaning; and finally, if notrelieved, convulsions and death. The most effective relief is gainedby lancing the gums. Every woman, and especially every mother, shouldknow the time and order in which the infant teeth come, and, when anyof the above symptoms appear, should examine the mouth, and if a gumis swollen and inflamed, should either have a physician lance it, orif this can not be done, should perform the operation herself. A sharppen-knife and steady hand making incision to touch the rising toothwill cause no more pain than a simple scratch of the gum, and usuallywill give speedy relief. 

The temporary teeth should not be removed until the new ones appear, as it injures the jaw and coming teeth; but as soon as a new tooth isseen pressing upward, the temporary tooth should be removed, or thenew tooth will come out of its proper place. If there is not room wherethe new tooth appears, the next temporary tooth must be taken out. Great mischief has been done by removing the first teeth before thesecond appear, thus making a contraction of the jaw. 

Most trouble with, the teeth of young children comes from neglect touse the brush to remove the tartar that accumulates near the gum, causing disease and decay. This disease is sometimes called _scurvy_, and is shown by an accumulation around the teeth and by inflamed gumsthat bleed easily. Removal of the tartar by a dentist and cleaning theteeth after every meal with a brush will usually cure this evil, whichcauses loosening of the teeth and a bad breath. 

Much injury is often done to teeth by using improper tooth-powder. Powdered chalk sifted through muslin is approved by all dentists, andshould be used once every day. The tooth-brush should be used afterevery meal, and floss silk pressed between the teeth to remove foodlodged there. This method will usually save the teeth from decay tillold age. 

When an infant seems ill during the period of dentition, the followingdirections from an experienced physician may be of service. It is nowan accepted principle of all the medical world that fevers are to bereduced by cold applications; but an infant demands careful andjudicious treatment in this direction; some have extremely sensitivenerves, and cold is painful. For such, tepid sponging should be usednear a fire, and the coldness increased gradually. The sensations ofthe child should be the guide. Usually, but not always, children thatare healthy will learn by degrees to prefer cold water, and then itmay safely be used. 

When an infant becomes feverish, wrapping its body in a towel wrungout in warm, or tepid water, and then keeping it warm in a woolenblanket, is a very safe and soothing remedy. 

In case of constipation, this preparation of food is useful:

One table-spoonful of unbolted flour wet with cold water. Add one pintof hot water, and boil twenty minutes. Add when taken up, one pint ofmilk. If the stomach seems delicate and irritable, strain out the bran, but in most cases, retain it. 

In case of diarrhea, walk with the child in arms a great deal in theopen air, and give it rice-water to drink. 

The warmth and vital influences of the nurse are very important, andmake this mode of exercise both more soothing and more efficacious, especially in the open air, the infant being warmly clad. 

In case of feverishness from teething or from any other cause, wrapthe infant in a towel wrung out in tepid water and then wrap it in awoolen blanket. The water may be cooler according as the child is olderand stronger. The evaporation of the water draws off the heat, whilethe moisture soothes the nerves, and usually the child will fall intoa quiet sleep. As soon as it becomes restless, change the wet toweland proceed as before. 

The leading physicians of Europe and of this country, in all cases offevers, use water to reduce them, by this and other modes ofapplication. This method is more soothing than any other, and is aseffective for adults as for infants. 

Some of the most distinguished physicians of New-York who have examinedthis chapter give their full approval of the advice given. If thereis still distrust as to this mode of using water to reduce fevers, itwill be advantageous to read an address on the use of cold applicationsin fevers, delivered by Dr. William Neftel, before the New-York Academyof Medicine, published in the _New York Medical Record_ for November, 1868: this can be obtained by inclosing twenty cents to the editor, withthe post-office address of the applicant. 

XXII. 

THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 

In regard to the physical education of children, Dr. Clarke, Physicianin Ordinary to the Queen of England, expresses views on one point, inwhich most physicians would coincide. He says, "There is no greatererror in the management of children, than that of giving them animaldiet very early. By persevering in the use of an over-stimulating dietthe digestive organs become irritated, and the various secretionsimmediately connected with digestion, and necessary to it, arediminished, especially the _biliary secretion_. Children so fedbecome very liable to attacks of fever, and inflammation, affectingparticularly the mucous membranes; and measles and other diseasesincident to childhood, are generally severe in their attacks. "

The result of the treatment of the inmates of the Orphan Asylum, atAlbany, is one which all who have the care of young children shoulddeeply ponder. During the first six years of the existence of thisinstitution, its average number of children was eighty. For the firstthree years, their diet was meat once a day, fine bread, rice, Indianpuddings, vegetables, fruit, and milk. Considerable attention wasgiven to clothing, fresh air, and exercise; and they were bathed oncein three weeks. During these three years, from four to six children, and sometimes more, were continually on the sick-list; one or twoassistant nurses were necessary; a physician was called two or threetimes a week; and, in this time, there were between thirty and fortydeaths. At the end of this period, the management was changed, in theserespects; daily ablutions of the whole body were practiced; bread ofunbolted flour was substituted for that of fine wheat; and all animalfood was banished. More attention also was paid to clothing, bedding, fresh air, and exercise. 

The result was, that the nursery was vacated; the nurse and physicianwere no longer needed; and, for two years, not a single case of sicknessor death occurred. The third year also, there were no deaths, exceptthose of two idiots and one other child, all of whom were new inmates, who had not been subjected to this treatment. The teachers of thechildren also testified there was a manifest increase of intellectualvigor and activity, while there was much less irritability of temper. 

Let parents, nurses, and teachers reflect on the above statement, andbear in mind that stupidity of intellect, and irritability of temper, as well as ill-health, are often caused by the mismanagement of thenursery in regard to the physical training of children. 

There is probably no practice more deleterious, than that of allowingchildren to eat at short intervals, through, the day. As the stomachis thus kept constantly at work, with no time for repose, its functionsare deranged, and a weak or disordered stomach is the frequent result. Children should be required to keep cakes, nuts, and other good things, which should be sparingly given, till just before a meal, and thenthey will form a part of their regular supply. This is better than towait till after their hunger is satisfied by food, when they will eatthe niceties merely to gratify the palate, and thus overload the stomachand interrupt digestion. 

In regard to the intellectual training of young children, somemodification in the common practice is necessary, with reference totheir physical well-being. More care is needful, in providing_well-ventilated_ school-rooms, and in securing more time forsports in the open air, during school hours. It is very important tomost mothers that their young children should be removed from theircare during certain school hours; and it is very useful for quite youngchildren, to be subjected to the discipline of a school, and tointercourse with other children of their own age. And, with a suitableteacher, it is no matter how early children are sent to school, providedtheir health is not endangered by impure air, too much confinement, and too great mental stimulus, which is the chief danger of the presentage. 

In regard to the formation of the moral character, it has been toomuch the case that the discipline of the nursery has consisted ofdisconnected efforts to make children either do, or refrain from doing, certain particular acts. Do this, and be rewarded; do that, and bepunished; is the ordinary routine of family government. 

But children can be very early taught that their happyness, both nowand hereafter, depends on the formation of _habits_ of submission, self-denial, and benevolence. And all the discipline of the nurserycan be conducted by parents, not only with this general aim in theirown minds, but also with the same object daily set before the mindsof the children. Whenever their wishes are crossed, or their willssubdued, they can be taught that all this is done, not merely to pleasethe parent, or to secure some good to themselves or to others; but asa part of that merciful training which is designed to form such acharacter, and such habits, that they can hereafter find their chiefhappiness in giving up their will to God, and in living to do good toothers, instead of living merely to please themselves. 

It can be pointed out to them, that they must always submit their willto the will of God, or else be continually miserable. It can be shownhow, in the nursery, and in the school, and through all future days, a child must practice the giving up of his will and wishes, when theyinterfere with the rights and comfort of others; and how important itis, early to learn to do this, so that it will, by habit, become easyand agreeable. It can be shown how children who are indulged in alltheir wishes, and who are never accustomed to any self-denial, alwaysfind it hard to refrain from what injures themselves and others. Itcan be shown, also, how important it is for every person to form suchhabits of benevolence toward others that self-denial in doing goodwill become easy. 

Parents have learned, by experience, that children can be constrainedby authority and penalties to exercise self-denial, for _their own_good, till a habit is formed which makes the duty comparatively easy. For example, well trained children can be accustomed to deny themselvestempting articles of food, which are injurious, until the practiceceases to be painful and difficult. Whereas, an indulged child wouldbe thrown into fits of anger or discontent, when its wishes were crossedby restraints of this kind. 

But it has not been so readily discerned, that the same method isneedful in order to form a habit of self-denial in doing good to others. It has been supposed that while children must be forced, by _authority_, to be self-denying and prudent in regard to their own happiness, it mayproperly be left to their own discretion, whether they will practice anyself-denial in doing good to others. But the more difficult a duty is, the greater is the need of parental authority in forming a habit whichwill make that duty easy. 

In order to secure this, some parents turn their earliest efforts tothis object. They require the young child always to offer to othersa part of every thing which it receives; always to comply with allreasonable requests of others for service; and often to practice littleacts of self-denial, in order to secure some enjoyment for others. Ifone child receives a present of some nicety, he is required to shareit with all his brothers and sisters. If one asks his brother to helphim in some study or sport, and is met with a denial, the parentrequires the unwilling child to act benevolently, and give up some ofhis time to increase his brother's enjoyment. Of course, in such aneffort as this, discretion must be used as to the frequency and extentof the exercise of authority, to induce a habit of benevolence. Butwhere parents deliberately aim at such an object, and wisely conducttheir instructions and discipline to secure it, very much will beaccomplished. 

In regard to forming habits of obedience, there have been two extremes, both of which need to be shunned. One is, a stern and unsympathizingmaintenance of parental authority, demanding perfect and constantobedience, without any attempt to convince a child of the proprietyand benevolence of the requisitions, and without any manifestation ofsympathy and tenderness for the pain and difficulties which are to bemet. Under such discipline, children grow up to fear their parents, rather than to love and trust them; while some of the most valuableprinciples of character are chilled, or forever blasted. 

In shunning this danger, other parents pass to the opposite extreme. They put themselves too much on the footing of equals with theirchildren, as if little were due to superiority of relation, age, andexperience. Nothing is exacted, without the implied concession thatthe child is to be a judge of the propriety of the requisition; andreason and persuasion are employed, where simple command and obediencewould be far better. This system produces a most pernicious influence. Children soon perceive the position thus allowed them, and take everyadvantage of it. They soon learn to dispute parental requirements, acquire habits of forwardness and conceit, assume disrespectful mannersand address, maintain their views with pertinacity, and yield toauthority with ill-humor and resentment, as if their rights wereinfringed upon. 

The medium course is for the parent to take the attitude of a superiorin age, knowledge, and relation, who has a perfect _right_ to controlevery action of the child, and that, too, without giving any reason forthe requisitions. "Obey _because your parent commands_, " is always aproper and sufficient reason: though not always the best to give. 

But care should be taken to convince the child that the parent isconducting a course of discipline, designed to make him happy; and informing habits of implicit obedience, self-denial, and benevolence, the child should have the reasons for most requisitions kindly stated;never, however, on the demand of it from the child, as a right, butas an act of kindness from the parent. 

It is impossible to govern children properly, especially those ofstrong and sensitive feelings, without a constant effort to appreciatethe value which they attach to their enjoyments and pursuits. A ladyof great strength of mind and sensibility once told the writer thatone of the most acute periods of suffering in her whole life wasoccasioned by the burning up of some milkweed-silk, by her mother. The child had found, for the first time, some of this shining andbeautiful substance; was filled with delight at her discovery; wasarranging it in parcels; planning its future use, and her pleasure inshowing it to her companions--when her mother, finding it strewed overthe carpet, hastily swept it into the fire, and that, too, with soindifferent an air, that the child fled away, almost distracted withgrief and disappointment. The mother little realized the pain she hadinflicted, but the child felt the unkindness so severely that forseveral days her mother was an object, almost of aversion. While, therefore, the parent needs to carry on a steady course, which willoblige the child always to give up its will, whenever its own good orthe greater claims of others require it, this should be constantlyconnected with the expression of a tender sympathy for the trials anddisappointments thus inflicted. 

Those, again, who will join with children and help them in their sports, will learn by this mode to understand the feelings and interests ofchildhood; while at the same time, they secure a degree of confidenceand affection which can not be gained so easily in any other way. Andit is to be regretted that parents so often relinquish this mostpowerful mode of influence to domestics and playmates, who often useit in the most pernicious manner. In joining in such sports, olderpersons should never yield entirely the attitude of superiors, or allowdisrespectful manners or address. And respectful deportment is nevermore cheerfully accorded, than in seasons when young hearts are pleasedand made grateful by having their tastes and enjoyments so efficientlypromoted. 

Next to the want of all government, the two most fruitful sources ofevil to children are, _unsteadiness_ in government and _over-government_. Most of the cases in which the children of sensible andconscientious parents turn out badly, result from one or the other ofthese causes. In cases of unsteady government, either one parent is verystrict, severe and unbending, and the other excessively indulgent, orelse the parents are sometimes very strict and decided, and at othertimes allow disobedience to go unpunished. In such cases, children, never knowing exactly when they can escape with impunity, are constantlytempted to make the trial. 

The bad effects of this can be better appreciated by reference to oneimportant principle of the mind. It is found to be universally true, that, when any object of desire is put entirely beyond the reach ofhope or expectation, the mind very soon ceases to long for it, andturns to other objects of pursuit. But so long as the mind is hopingfor some good, and making efforts to obtain it, any opposition excitesirritable feelings. Let the object be put entirely beyond all hope, and this irritation soon ceases. 

In consequence of this principle, those children who are under thecare of persons of steady and decided government know that whenevera thing is forbidden or denied, it is out of the reach of hope; thedesire, therefore, soon ceases, and they turn to other objects. Butthe children of undecided, or of over-indulgent parents, never enjoythis preserving aid. When a thing is denied, they never know hut eithercoaxing may win it, or disobedience secure it without any penalty, andso they are kept in that state of hope and anxiety which producesirritation and tempts to insubordination. The children of very indulgentparents, and of those who are undecided and unsteady in government, are very apt to become fretful, irritable, and fractious. 

Another class of persons, in shunning this evil, go to the otherextreme, and are very strict and pertinacious in regard to everyrequisition. With them, fault-finding and penalties abound, until thechildren are either hardened into indifference of feeling, andobtuseness of conscience, or else become excessively irritable ormisanthropic. 

It demands great wisdom, patience, and self-control, to escape thesetwo extremes. In aiming at this, there are parents who have found thefollowing maxims of very great value:

First: Avoid, as much as possible, the multiplication of rules andabsolute commands. Instead of this, take the attitude of advisers. "Mychild, this is improper, I wish you would remember not to do it. " Thismode of address answers for all the little acts of heedlessness, awkwardness, or ill-manners so frequently occurring with children. There are cases, when direct and distinct commands are needful; andin such cases, a penalty for disobedience should be as steady and sureas the laws of nature. Where such steadiness and certainty of penaltyattend disobedience, children no more think of disobeying than theydo of putting their fingers into a burning candle. 

The next maxim is, Govern by rewards more than by penalties. Suchfaults as willful disobedience, lying, dishonesty, and indecent orprofane language, should be punished with severe penalties, after achild has been fully instructed in the evil of such practices. But allthe constantly recurring faults of the nursery, such as ill-humor, quarreling, carelessness, and ill-manners, may, in a great many cases, be regulated by gentle and kind remonstrances, and by the offer ofsome reward for persevering efforts to form a good habit. It is veryinjurious and degrading to any mind to be kept under the constant fearof penalties. _Love_ and _hope_ are the principles that should be mainlyrelied on, in forming the habits of childhood. 

Another maxim, and perhaps the most difficult, is, Do not govern bythe aid of severe and angry tones. A single example will be given toillustrate this maxim. A child is disposed to talk and amuse itselfat table. The mother requests it to be silent, except when needing toask for food, or when spoken to by its older friends. It constantlyforgets. The mother, instead of rebuking in an impatient tone, says, "My child, you must remember not to talk. I will remind you of it fourtimes more, and after that, whenever you forget, you must leave thetable and wait till we are done. " If the mother is steady in hergovernment, it is not probable that she will have to apply this slightpenalty more than once or twice. This method is far more effectualthan the use of sharp and severe tones, to secure attention andrecollection, and often answers the purpose as well as offering somereward. 

The writer has been in some families where the most efficient and steadygovernment has been sustained without the use of a cross or angry tone;and in others, where a far less efficient discipline was kept up, byfrequent severe rebukes and angry remonstrances. In the first case, the children followed the example set them, and seldom used severetones to each other; in the latter, the method employed by the parentswas imitated by the children, and cross words and angry tones resoundedfrom morning till night, in every portion of the household. 

Another important maxim is, Try to keep children in a happy state ofmind. Every one knows, by experience, that it is easier to do rightand submit to rule when cheerful and happy, than when irritated. Thisis peculiarly true of children; and a wise mother, when she finds herchild fretful and impatient, and thus constantly doing wrong, willoften remedy the whole difficulty, by telling some amusing story, orby getting the child engaged in some amusing sport. This strongly showsthe importance of learning to govern children without the employmentof angry tones, which always produce irritation. 

Children of active, heedless temperament, or those who are odd, awkward, or unsuitable in their remarks and deportment, are often essentiallyinjured by a want of patience and self-control in those who governthem. Such children often possess a morbid sensibility which theystrive to conceal, or a desire of love and approbation, which preyslike a famine on the soul. And yet, they become objects of ridiculeand rebuke to almost every member of the family, until theirsensibilities are tortured into obtuseness or misanthropy. Suchchildren, above all others, need tenderness and sympathy. A thousandinstances of mistake or forgetfulness should be passed over in silence, while opportunities for commendation and encouragement should bediligently sought. 

In regard to the formation of habits of self-denial in childhood, itis astonishing to see how parents who are very sensible often seem toregard this matter. Instead of inuring their children to this duty inearly life, so that by habit it may be made easy in after-days, theyseem to be studiously seeking to cut them off from every chance tosecure such a preparation. Every wish of the child is studiouslygratified; and, where a necessity exists of crossing its wishes, somecompensating pleasure is offered, in return. Such parents often maintainthat nothing shall be put on their table, which their children may notjoin them in eating. But where, so easily and surely as at the dailymeal, can that habit of self-denial be formed, which is so needful ingoverning the appetites, and which children must acquire, or be ruined?The food which is proper for grown persons, is often unsuitable forchildren; and this is a sufficient reason for accustoming them to seeothers partake of delicacies, which they must not share. Requiringchildren, to wait till others are helped, and to refrain from, conversation at table, except when addressed by their elders, is anothermode of forming habits of self-denial and self-control. Requiring themto help others first, and to offer the best to others, has a similarinfluence. 

In forming the moral habits of children, it is wise to take into accountthe peculiar temptations to which they are to be exposed. The peopleof this nation are eminently a trafficking people; and the presentstandard of honesty, as to trade and debts, is very low, and everyyear seems sinking still lower. It is, therefore, preeminentlyimportant, that children should be trained to strict _honesty_, both in word and deed. It is not merely teaching children to avoidabsolute lying, which is needed: _all kinds of deceit_ should beguarded against; and all kinds of little dishonest practices bestrenuously opposed. A child should be brought up with the determinedprinciple, never to _run in debt_, but to be content to live ina humbler way, in order to secure that true independence, which shouldbe the noblest distinction of an American citizen. 

There is no more important duty devolving upon a mother, than thecultivation of habits of modesty and propriety in young children. Allindecorous words or deportment should be carefully restrained; anddelicacy and reserve studiously cherished. It is a common notion, thatit is important to secure these virtues to one sex, more than to theother; and, by a strange inconsistency, the sex most exposed to dangeris the one selected as least needing care. Yet a wise mother will beespecially careful that her sons are trained to modesty and purity ofmind. 

Yet few mothers are sufficiently aware of the dreadful penalties whichoften result from indulged impurity of thought. If children, in _future_life, can be preserved from licentious associates, it is supposed thattheir safety is secured. But the records of our insane retreats, and thepages of medical writers, teach that even in solitude, and without beingaware of the sin or the danger, children may inflict evils onthemselves, which not unfrequently terminate in disease, delirium, anddeath. 

There is no necessity for explanations on this point any farther thanthis; that certain parts of the body are not to be touched except forpurposes of cleanliness, and that the most dreadful suffering comesfrom disobeying these commands. So in regard to practices and sins ofwhich a young child will sometimes inquire, the wise parent will say, that this is what children can not understand, and about which theymust not talk or ask questions. And they should be told that it isalways a bad sign, when children talk on matters which parents callvulgar and indecent, and that the company of such children should beavoided. Disclosing details of wrong-doing to young and curiouschildren, often leads to the very evils feared. But parents andteachers, in this age of danger, should be well informed and watchful;for it is not unfrequently the case, that servants and school-mateswill teach young children practices, which exhaust the nervous systemand bring on paralysis, mania, and death. 

And finally, in regard to the early religious training of children, the examples of the Creator in the early training of our race maysafely be imitated. That "He is, and is a rewarder"--that he iseverywhere present--that he is a tender Father in heaven, who is grievedwhen any of his children do wrong, yet ever ready to forgive those whoare striving to please him by well-doing, these are the most effectivemotives to save the young from the paths of danger and sin. The rewardsand penalties of the life to come are better adapted to maturer age, than to the imperfect and often false and fearful conceptions of thechildish mind. 

XXIII. 

DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES. 

Whenever the laws of body and mind are properly understood, it willbe allowed that every person needs some kind of recreation; and that, by seeking it, the body is strengthened, the mind is invigorated, andall our duties are more cheerfully and successfully performed. 

Children, whose bodies are rapidly growing and whose nervous systemis tender and excitable, need much more amusement than persons ofmature age. Persons, also, who are oppressed with great responsibilitiesand duties, or who are taxed by great intellectual or moral excitement, need recreations which physically exercise and draw off the mind fromabsorbing interests. Unfortunately, such persons are those who leastresort to amusements, while the idle, gay, and thoughtless seek thosewhich are not needed, and for which useful occupation would be a mostbeneficial substitute. 

As the only legitimate object of amusement is to prepare mind and bodyfor the proper discharge of duty, the protracting of such as interferewith regular employments, or induce excessive fatigue, or weary themind, or invade the proper hours for repose, must be sinful. 

In deciding what should be selected, and what avoided, the followingare guiding principles. In the first place, no amusements which inflictneedless pain should ever be allowed. All tricks which cause frightor vexation, and all sports which involve suffering to animals, shouldbe utterly forbidden. Hunting and fishing, for mere sport, can neverbe justified. If a man can convince his children that he follows thesepursuits to gain food or health, and not for amusement, his examplemay not be very injurious. But when children see grown persons killand frighten animals, for sport, habits of cruelty, rather than feelingsof tenderness and benevolence, are cultivated. 

In the next place, we should seek no recreations which endanger life, or interfere with important duties. As the legitimate object ofamusements is to promote health and prepare for some serious duties, selecting those which have a directly opposite tendency, can not bejustified. Of course, if a person feels that the previous day'sdiversion has shortened the hours of needful repose, or induced alassitude of mind or body, instead of invigorating them, it is certainthat an evil has been done which should never be repeated. 

Another rule which has been extensively adopted in the religious worldis, to avoid those amusements which experience has shown to be soexciting, and connected with so many temptations, as to be perniciousin tendency, both to the individual and to the community. It is onthis ground, that horse-racing and circus-riding have been excluded. Not because there is any thing positively wrong in having men andhorses run and perform feats of agility, or in persons looking on forthe diversion: but because experience has shown so many evils connectedwith these recreations, that they should be relinquished. So withtheatres. The enacting of characters and the amusement thus affordedin themselves may be harmless; and possibly, in certain cases, mightbe useful: but experience has shown so many evils to result from thissource, that it has been deemed wrong to patronize it. So, also, withthose exciting games of chance which are employed in gambling. 

Under the same head comes dancing, in the estimation of the greatmajority of the religious world. Still, there are many intelligent, excellent, and conscientious persons who hold a contrary opinion. Suchmaintain that it is an innocent and healthful amusement, tending topromote ease of manners, cheerfulness, social affection, and healthof mind and body; that evils are involved only in its excess; thatlike food, study, or religions excitement, it is only wrong when notproperly regulated; and that, if serious and intelligent people wouldstrive to regulate, rather than banish, this amusement, much more goodwould be secured. 

On the other side, it is objected, not that dancing is a sin, in itselfconsidered, for it was once a part of sacred worship; not that it wouldbe objectionable, if it were properly regulated; not that it does nottend, when used in a proper manner, to health of body and mind, tograce of manners; and to social enjoyment: all these things areconceded. But it is objected to, on the same ground as horse-racingand theatrical entertainments; that we are to look at amusements asthey are, and not as they might be. Horse-races might be so managedas not to involve cruelty, gambling, drunkenness, and other vices. Andso might theatres. And if serious and intelligent persons undertookto patronize these, in order to regulate them, perhaps they would besomewhat raised from the depths to which they have sunk. But suchpersons believe that, with the weak sense of moral obligation existingin the mass of society, and the imperfect ideas mankind have of theproper use of amusements, and the little self-control which men orwomen or children practice, these will not, in fact, be thus regulated. 

And they believe dancing to be liable to the same objections. As thisrecreation is actually conducted, it does not tend to produce healthof body or mind, but directly the contrary. If young and old went outto dance together in open air, as the French peasants do, it would bea very different sort of amusement from that which often is witnessedin a room furnished with many lights and filled with guests, bothexpending the healthful part of the atmosphere, where the young collect, in their tightest dresses, to protract for several hours a kind ofphysical exertion which is not habitual to them. During this process, the blood is made to circulate more swiftly than usual, in circumstanceswhere it is less perfectly oxygenized than health requires; the poresof the skin are excited by heat and exercise; the stomach is loadedwith indigestible articles, and the quiet, needful to digestion, withheld; the diversion is protracted beyond the usual hour for repose;and then, when the skin is made the most highly susceptible to dampsand miasms, the company pass from a warm room to the cold night-air. It is probable that no single amusement can be pointed out combiningso many injurious particulars as this, which is so often defended asa healthful one. Even if parents, who train their children to dance, can keep them from public balls, (which is seldom the case, ) dancing, as ordinarily conducted in private parlors, in most cases is subjectto nearly all the same mischievous influences. 

The spirit of Christ is that of self-denying benevolence; and his greataim, by his teachings and example, was to train his followers to avoidall that should lead to sin, especially in regard to the weaker onesof his family. Yet he made wine at a wedding, attended a social feaston the Sabbath, [Footnote: Luke xiv. In reading this passage, pleasenotice what kind of guests are to be invited to the feast that JesusChrist recommends. ] reproved excess of strictness in Sabbath-keepinggenerally, and forbade no safe and innocent enjoyment. In followinghis example, the rulers of the family, then, will introduce the mosthighly exciting amusements only in circumstances where there are suchstrong principles and habits of self-control that the enjoyment willnot involve sin in the actor or needless temptation to the weak. 

The course pursued by our Puritan ancestors, in the period succeedingtheir first perils amid sickness and savages, is an example that maysafely be practiced at the present day. The young of both sexes wereeducated in the higher branches, in country academies, and very oftenthe closing exercises were theatricals, in which the pupils wereperformers and their pastors, elders, and parents, the audience. So, at social gatherings, the dance was introduced before minister andwife, with smiling approval. The roaring fires and broad chimneysprovided pure air, and the nine o'clock bell ended the festivitiesthat gave new vigor and zest to life, while the dawn of the next day'slight saw all at their posts of duty, with heartier strength and blitherspirits. 

No indecent or unhealthful costumes offended the eye, no half-nakeddancers of dubious morality were sustained in a life of dangerousexcitement, by the money of Christian people, for the mere amusementof their night hours. No shivering drivers were deprived of comfortand sleep, to carry home the midnight followers of fashion; nor wasthe quiet and comfort of servants in hundreds of dwellings invaded forthe mere amusement of their superiors in education and advantages. Thecommand "we that are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves, " was in those days not reversed. Had thedrama and the dance continued to be regulated by the rules oftemperance, health, and Christian benevolence, as in the days of ourforefathers, they would not have been so generally banished from thereligious world. And the question is now being discussed, whether theycan be so regulated at the present time as not to violate the laws, either of health or benevolence. [Footnote: Fanny Kemble Butler remarkedto the present writer that she regarded theatres wrong, chiefly becauseof the injury involved to the actors. Can a Christian mother contributemoney to support young women in a profession from which she wouldprotect her own daughter, as from degradation, and that, too, simplyfor the amusement of herself and family? Would this be following theself-sacrificing benevolence of Christ and his apostles?]

In regard to home amusements, card-playing is now indulged in, in manyconscientious families from which it formerly was excluded, and forthese reasons: it is claimed that this is a quiet home amusement, whichunites pleasantly the aged with the young; that it is not now employedin respectable society for gambling, as it formerly was; that to someyoung minds it is a peculiarly fascinating game, and should be firstpracticed under the parental care, till the excitement of novelty ispast, thus rendering the danger to children less, when going into theworld; and, finally, that habits of self-control in excitingcircumstances may and should be thus cultivated in the safety of home. Many parents who have taken this course with their sons in early life, believe that it has proved rather a course of safety than of danger. Still, as there is great diversity of opinion, among persons of equalworth and intelligence, a mutual spirit of candor and courtesy shouldbe practiced. The sneer at bigotry and narrowness of views, on oneside, and the uncharitable implication of want of piety, or sense, onthe other, are equally ill-bred and unchristian. Truth on this subjectis best promoted, not by ill-natured crimination and rebuke, but bycalm reason, generous candor, forbearance, and kindness. 

There is another species of amusement, which a large portion of thereligious world formerly put under the same condemnation as thepreceding. This is novel-reading. The confusion and difference ofopinion on this subject have arisen from a want of clear and definitedistinctions. Now, as it is impossible to define what are novels andwhat are not, so as to include one class of fictitious writings andexclude every other, it is impossible to lay down any rule respectingthem. The discussion, in fact, turns on the use of those works ofimagination which belong to the class of fictitious narratives. Thatthis species of reading is not only lawful but necessary and useful, is settled by divine examples, in the parables and allegories ofScripture. Of course, the question must be, what kind of fabulouswritings must be avoided, and what allowed. 

In deciding this, no specific rules can be given; but it must be amatter to be regulated by the nature and circumstances of each case. No works of fiction which tend to throw the allurements of taste andgenius around vice and crime should ever be tolerated; and all thattend to give false views of life and duty should also be banished. Ofthose which are written for mere amusement, presenting scenes andevents that are interesting and exciting and having no bad moralinfluence, much must depend on the character and circumstances of thereader. Some minds are torpid and phlegmatic, and need to have theimagination stimulated: such would be benefited by this kind of reading. Others have quick and active imaginations, and would be as much injuredby excess. Some persons are often so engaged in absorbing interests, that any thing innocent, which will for a short time draw off the mind, is of the nature of a medicine; and, in such cases, this kind of readingis useful. 

There is need, also, that some men should keep a supervision of thecurrent literature of the day, as guardians, to warn others of danger. For this purpose, it is more suitable for editors, clergymen, andteachers to read indiscriminately, than for any other class of persons;for they are the guardians of the public weal in matters of literature, and should be prepared to advise parents and young persons of the evilsin one direction and the good in another. In doing this, however, theyare bound to go on the same principles which regulate physicians, whenthey visit infected districts--using every precaution to prevent injuryto themselves; having as little to do with pernicious exposures, asa benevolent regard to others will allow; and faithfully employing allthe knowledge and opportunities thus gained for warning and preservingothers. There is much danger, in taking this course, that men willseek the excitement of the imagination for the mere pleasure it affords, under the plea of preparing to serve the public, when this is neitherthe aim nor the result. 

In regard to the use of such works by the young, as a general rule, they ought not to be allowed, to any except those of a dull andphlegmatic temperament, until the solid parts of education are securedand a taste for more elevated reading is acquired. If these stimulatingcondiments in literature be freely used in youth, all relish for moresolid reading will in a majority of cases be destroyed. If parentssucceed in securing habits of cheerful and implicit obedience, it willbe very easy to regulate this matter, by prohibiting the reading ofany story-book, until the consent of the parent is obtained. 

The most successful mode of forming a taste for suitable reading, isfor parents to select interesting works of history and travels, withmaps and pictures suited to the age and attainments of the young, andspend an hour or two each day or evening, in aiming to make truth asinteresting as fiction. Whoever has once tried this method will findthat the uninjured mind of childhood is better satisfied with whatthey know is true, when wisely presented, than with the most excitingnovels, which they know are false. 

Perhaps there has been some just ground of objection to the courseoften pursued by parents in neglecting to provide suitable and agreeablesubstitutes for the amusements denied. But there is a great abundanceof safe, healthful, and delightful recreations, which all parents maysecure for their children. Some of these will here be pointed out. 

One of the most useful and important, is the cultivation of flowersand fruits. This, especially for the daughters of a family, is greatlypromotive of health and amusement. It is with the hope that many youngladies, whose habits are now so formed that they can never be inducedto a course of active domestic exercise so long as their parents areable to hire domestic service, may yet be led to an employment whichwill tend to secure health and vigor of constitution, that much spacewill be given in the second volume of this work, to directions for thecultivation of fruits and flowers. 

It would be a most desirable improvement, if all schools for youngwomen could be furnished with suitable grounds and instruments for thecultivation of fruits and flowers, and every inducement offered toengage the pupils in this pursuit. No father, who wishes to have hisdaughters grow up to be healthful women, can take a surer method tosecure this end. Let him set apart a portion of his ground for fruitsand flowers, and see that the soil is well prepared and dug over, andall the rest may be committed to the care of the children. These wouldneed to be provided with a light hoe and rake, a dibble or gardentrowel, a watering-pot, and means and opportunities for securing seeds, roots, bulbs, buds, and grafts, all which might be done at a triflingexpense. Then, with proper encouragement and by the aid of a fewintelligible and practical directions, every man who has even half anacre could secure a small Eden around his premises. 

In pursuing this amusement children can also be led to acquire manyuseful habits. Early rising would, in many cases, be thus secured; andif they were required to keep their walks and borders free from weedsand rubbish, habits of order and neatness would be induced. Benevolentand social feelings could also be cultivated, by influencing childrento share their fruits and flowers with friends and neighbors, as wellas to distribute roots and seeds to those who have not the means ofprocuring them. A woman or a child, by giving seeds or slips or rootsto a washerwoman, or a farmer's boy, thus inciting them to love andcultivate fruits and flowers, awakens a new and refining source ofenjoyment in minds which have few resources more elevated than merephysical enjoyments. Our Saviour directs us in making feasts, to call, not the rich who can recompense again, but the poor who can make noreturns. So children should be taught to dispense their little treasuresnot alone to companions and friends, who will probably return similarfavors; but to those who have no means of making any return. If therich, who acquire a love for the enjoyments of taste and have the meansto gratify it, would aim to extend among the poor the cheap and simpleenjoyment of fruits and flowers, our country would soon literally"blossom as the rose. "

If the ladies of a neighborhood would unite small contributions, andsend a list of flower-seeds and roots to some respectable and honestflorist, who would not be likely to turn them off with trash, theycould divide these among themselves and their poor neighbors, so asto secure an abundant variety at a very small expense. A bag offlower-seeds, which can be obtained at wholesale for four cents, wouldabundantly supply a whole neighborhood; and by the gathering of seedsin the autumn, could be perpetuated. 

Another very elevating and delightful recreation for the young is foundin _music_. Here the writer would protest against the practice common inmany families, of having the daughters learn to play on the pianowhether they have a taste and an ear for music, or not. A young lady whodoes not sing well, and has no great fondness for music, does nothingbut waste time, money, and patience in learning to play on the piano. But all children can be taught to sing in early childhood, if thescientific mode of teaching music in schools could be more widelyintroduced, as it is in Prussia, Germany, and Switzerland. Then youngchildren could read and sing music as easily as they can read language;and might take any tune, dividing themselves into bands, and sing offat sight the endless variety of music which is prepared. And if parentsof wealth would take pains to have teachers qualified for the purpose, who should teach all the young children in the community, much wouldbe done for the happiness and elevation of the rising generation. Thisis an element of education which we are glad to know is, year by year, more extensively and carefully cultivated; and it is not only a meansof culture, but also an amusement, which children relish in the highestdegree; and which they can enjoy at home, in the fields, and in visitsabroad. 

Another domestic amusement is the collecting of shells, plants, andspecimens in geology and mineralogy, for the formation of cabinets. If intelligent parents would procure the simpler works which have beenprepared for the young, and study them with their children, a tastefor such recreations would soon be developed. The writer has seen youngboys, of eight and ten years of age, gathering and cleaning shellsfrom rivers, and collecting plants and mineralogical specimens, witha delight bordering on ecstasy; and there are few, if any, who byproper influences would not find this a source of ceaseless delightand improvement. 

Another resource for family diversion is to be found in the variousgames played by children, and in which the joining of older membersof the family is always a great advantage to both parties, especiallythose in the open air. 

All medical men unite in declaring that nothing is more beneficial tohealth than hearty laughter; and surely our benevolent Creator wouldnot have provided risibles, and made it a source of health and enjoymentto use them, if it were a sin so to do. There has been a tendency toasceticism, on this subject, which needs to be removed. Such commandsas forbid _foolish_ laughing and jesting, "_which are not convenient_"and which forbid all idle words and vain conversation, can not apply toany thing except what is foolish, vain, and useless. But jokes, laughter, and sports, when used in such a degree as tends only topromote health and happiness, are neither vain, foolish, nor "notconvenient. " It is the excess of these things, and not the moderateuse of them, which Scripture forbids. The prevailing temper of themind should be serious, yet cheerful; and there are times whenrelaxation and laughter are not only proper but necessary and rightfor all. There is nothing better for this end than that parents andolder persons should join in the sports of childhood. Mature minds canalways make such diversions more entertaining to children, and canexert a healthful moral influence over their minds; and at the sametime can gain exercise and amusement for themselves. How lamentablethat so many fathers, who could be thus useful and happy with theirchildren, throw away such opportunities, and wear out soul and bodyin the pursuit of gain or fame!

Another resource for children is the exercise of mechanical skill. Fathers, by providing tools for their boys, and showing them how tomake wheelbarrows, carts, sleds, and various other articles, contributeboth to the physical, moral, and social improvement of their children. And in regard to little daughters, much more can be done in this waythan many would imagine. The writer, blessed with the example of amost ingenious and industrious mother, had not only learned before theage of twelve to make dolls, of various sorts and sizes, but to cutand fit and sew every article that belongs to a doll's wardrobe. This, which was done by the child for mere amusement, secured such a facilityin mechanical pursuits, that, ever afterward, the cutting and fittingof any article of dress, for either sex, was accomplished with entireease. 

When a little girl begins to sew, her mother can promise her a smallbed and pillow, as soon as she has sewed a patch quilt for them; andthen a bedstead, as soon as she has sewed the sheets and cases forpillows; and then a large doll to dress, as soon as she has made theundergarments; and thus go on till the whole contents of the baby-houseare earned by the needle and skill of its little owner. Thus the taskof learning to sew will become a pleasure; and every new toy will beearned by useful exertion. A little girl can be taught, by the aid ofpatterns prepared for the purpose, to cut and fit all articles necessaryfor her doll. She can also be provided with a little wash-tub and ironsand thus keep in proper order a complete miniature domesticestablishment. 

Besides these recreations, there are the enjoyments secured in walking, riding, visiting, and many other employments which need not berecounted. Children, if trained to be healthful and industrious, willnever fail to discover resources of amusement; while their guardiansshould lend their aid to guide and restrain them from excess. 

There is need of a very great change of opinion and practice in thisnation in regard to the subject of social and domestic duties. Manysensible and conscientious men spend all their time abroad in business;except perhaps an hour or so at night, when they are so fatigued asto be unfitted for any social or intellectual enjoyment. And some ofthe most conscientious men in the country will add to their professionalbusiness public or benevolent enterprises, which demand time, effort, and money; and then excuse themselves for neglecting all care of theirchildren, and efforts for their own intellectual improvement, or forthe improvement of their families, by the plea that they have no timefor it. 

All this arises from the want of correct notions of the bindingobligation of our social and domestic duties. The main object of lifeis not to secure the various gratifications of appetite or taste, butto form such a character, for ourselves and others, as will secure thegreatest amount of present and future happiness. It is of far moreconsequence, then, that parents should be intelligent, social, affectionate, and agreeable at home and to their friends, than thatthey should earn money enough to live in a large house and have handsomefurniture. It is far more needful for children that a father shouldattend to the formation of their character and habits, and aid indeveloping their social, intellectual, and moral nature, than it isthat he should earn money to furnish them with handsome clothes anda variety of tempting food. 

It will be wise for those parents who find little time to attend totheir children, or to seek amusement and enjoyment in the domestic andsocial circle, because their time is so much occupied with public caresor benevolent objects, to inquire whether their first duty is not totrain up their own families to be useful members of society. A man whoneglects the mind and morals of his children, to take care of thepublic, is in great danger of coming under a similar condemnation tothat of him who, neglecting to provide for his own household, has"denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. "

There are husbands and fathers who conscientiously subtract time fromtheir business to spend at home, in reading with their wives andchildren, and in domestic amusements which at once refresh and improve. The children of such parents will grow up with a love of home andkindred which will be the greatest safeguard against future temptations, as well as the purest source of earthly enjoyment. 

There are families, also, who make it a definite object to keep upfamily attachments, after the children are scattered abroad; and, insome cases, secure the means for doing this by saving money which wouldotherwise have been spent for superfluities of food or dress. Somefamilies have adopted, for this end, a practice which, if widelyimitated, would be productive of much enjoyment. The method is this:On the first day of each month, some member of the family, at eachextreme point of dispersion, takes a folio sheet, and fills a part ofa page. This is sealed and mailed to the next family, who read it, addanother contribution, and then mail it to the next. Thus the familycircular, once a month, goes from each extreme to all the members ofa widely-dispersed family, and each member becomes a sharer in thejoys, sorrows, plans, and pursuits of all the rest. At the same time, frequent family meetings are sought; and the expense thus incurred ischeerfully met by retrenchments in other directions. The sacrifice ofsome unnecessary physical indulgence will often purchase many socialand domestic enjoyments, a thousand times more elevating and delightfulthan the retrenched luxury. 

There is no social duty which the Supreme Law-giver more strenuouslyurges than hospitality and kindness to strangers, who are classed withthe widow and the fatherless as the special objects of Divinetenderness. There are some reasons why this duty peculiarly demandsattention from the American people. 

Reverses of fortune, in this land, are so frequent and unexpected, andthe habits of the people are so migratory, that there are very manyin every part of the country who, having seen all their temporal plansand hopes crushed, are now pining among strangers, bereft of wontedcomforts, without friends, and without the sympathy and society soneedful to wounded spirits. Such, too frequently, sojourn long andlonely, with no comforter but Him who "knoweth the heart of a stranger. "

Whenever, therefore, new-comers enter a community, inquiry shouldimmediately be made as to whether they have friends or associates, torender sympathy and kind attentions; and, when there is any need forit, the ministries of kind neighborliness should immediately be offered. And it should be remembered that the first days of a stranger's sojournare the most dreary, and that civility and kindness are doubled invalue by being offered at an early period. 

In social gatherings the claims of the stranger are too apt to beforgotten; especially in cases where there are no peculiar attractionsof personal appearance, or talents, or high standing. Such a one shouldbe treated with attention, _because_ he is a stranger; and whencommunities learn to act more from principle, and less from selfishimpulse, on this subject, the sacred claims of the stranger will beless frequently forgotten. 

The most agreeable hospitality to visitors who become inmates of afamily, is that which puts them entirely at ease. This can never bethe case where the guest perceives that the order of family arrangementis essentially altered, and that time, comfort, and convenience aresacrificed for his accommodation. 

Offering the best to visitors, showing a polite regard to every wishexpressed, and giving precedence to them, in all matters of comfortand convenience, can be easily combined with the easy freedom whichmakes the stranger feel at home; and this is the perfection ofhospitable entertainment. 

XXIV. 

CARE OF THE AGED. 

One of the most interesting and instructive illustrations of the designof our Creator, in the institution of the family state, is thepreservation of the aged after their faculties decay and usefulnessin ordinary modes seems to be ended. By most persons this period ofinfirmities and uselessness is anticipated with apprehension, especiallyin the case of those who have lived an active, useful life, givinglargely of service to others, and dependent for most resources ofenjoyment on their own energies. 

To lose the resources of sight or hearing, to become feeble in body, so as to depend on the ministries of others, and finally to graduallydecay in mental force and intelligence, to many seems far worse thandeath. Multitudes have prayed to be taken, from this life when theirusefulness is thus ended. 

But a true view of the design of the family state, and of the ministryof the aged and helpless in carrying out this design, would greatlylessen such apprehensions, and might be made a source of pure andelevated enjoyment. 

The Christian virtues of patience with the unreasonable, of self-denying labor for the weak, and of sympathy with the afflicted, aredependent, to a great degree, on cultivation and habit, and these canbe gained only in circumstances demanding the daily exercise of thesegraces. In this aspect, continued life in the aged and infirm shouldbe regarded as a blessing and privilege to a family, especially to theyoung, and the cultivation of the graces that are demanded by thatrelation should be made a definite and interesting part of theireducation. A few of the methods to be attempted for this end will besuggested. 

In the first place, the object for which the aged are preserved inlife, when in many cases they would rejoice to depart, should bedefinitely kept in recollection, and a sense of gratitude and obligationbe cultivated. They should be looked up to and treated as ministerssustained by our Heavenly Father in a painful experience, expresslyfor the good of those around them. This appreciation of their ministryand usefulness will greatly lessen their trials and impart consolation. If in hours of weariness and infirmity they wonder why they are keptin a useless and helpless state to burden others around, they shouldbe assured that they are not useless; and this is not only by word, but, better still, by the manifestation of those virtues which suchopportunities alone can secure. 

Another mode of cheering the aged is to engage them in the domesticgames and sports which unite the old and the young in amusement. Manya weary hour may thus be enlivened for the benefit of all concerned. And here will often occur opportunities of self-denying benevolencein relinquishing personal pursuits and gratification thus to promotethe enjoyment of the infirm and dependent. Reading aloud is often agreat source of enjoyment to those who by age are deprived of readingfor themselves. So the effort to gather news of the neighborhood andimpart it, is another mode of relieving those deprived of socialgatherings. 

There is no period in life when those courtesies of good breeding whichrecognize the relations of superior and inferior should be morecarefully cherished than when there is need of showing them towardthose of advancing age. To those who have controlled a household, andstill more to those who in public life have been honored and admired, the decay of mental powers is peculiarly trying, and every effortshould be made to lessen the trial by courteous attention to theiropinions, and by avoiding all attempts to controvert them, or to makeevident any weakness or fallacy in their conversation. 

In regard to the decay of bodily or mental faculties, much more canbe done to prevent or retard them than is generally supposed, and somemethods for this end which have been gained by observation or experiencewill be presented. 

As the exercise of all our faculties tends to increase their power, unless it be carried to excess, it is very important that the agedshould be provided with useful employment, suited to their strengthand capacity. Nothing hastens decay so fast as to remove the_stimulus_ of useful activity. It should become a study with thosewho have the care of the aged to interest them in some useful pursuit, and to convince them that they are in some measure actively contributingto the general welfare. In the country and in families where the largerpart of the domestic labor is done without servants, it is very easyto keep up an interest in domestic industrial employments. The tendingof a small garden in summer--the preparation of fuel and food, themending of household utensils--these and many other occupations of thehands will keep alive activity and interest, in a man; while for womenthere are still more varied resources. There is nothing that so soonhastens decay and lends acerbity to age as giving up all business andresponsibility, and every mode possible should be devised to preventthis result. 

As age advances, all the bodily functions move more slowly, andconsequently the generation of animal heat, by the union of oxygen andcarbon in the capillaries, is in smaller proportion than in the middayof life. For this reason some practices, safe for the vigorous, mustbe relinquished by the aged; and one of these is the use of the coldbath. It has often been the case that rheumatism has been caused byneglect of this caution. More than ordinary care should be taken topreserve animal heat in the aged, especially in the hands and the feet. 

In many families will be found an aged brother, or sister, or otherrelative who has no home, and no claim to a refuge in the family circlebut that of kindred. Sometimes they are poor and homeless, for wantof a faculty for self-supporting business; and sometimes they havepeculiarities of person or disposition which render their societyundesirable. These are cases where the pitying tenderness of the Saviourshould be remembered, and for his sake patient kindness and tendercare be given, and he will graciously accept it as an offering of loveand duty to himself. "Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of thesemy brethren, ye have done it to me. "

It is sometimes the case that even parents in old age have had occasionto say with the forsaken King Lear, "How sharper than a serpent's toothit is to have a thankless child!" It is right training in early lifealone that will save from this. 

In the opening of China and the probable influx of its people, thereis one cause for congratulation to a nation that is failing in thevirtue of reverence. The Chinese are distinguished above all othernations for their respect for the aged, and especially for theirreverence for aged parents and conformity to their authority, even tothe last. This virtue is cultivated to a degree that is remarkable, and has produced singular and favorable results on the nationalcharacter, which it is hoped may be imparted to the land to which theyare flocking in such multitudes. For with all their peculiarities ofpagan philosophy and their oriental eccentricities of custom andpractical life, they are everywhere renowned for their uniform andelegant courtesy--a most commendable virtue, and one arising fromhabitual deference to the aged more than from any other source. 

XXV. 

THE CASE OF SERVANTS. 

Although in earlier ages the highest born, wealthiest, and proudestladies were skilled in the simple labors of the household, the advanceof society toward luxury has changed all that in lands of aristocracyand classes, and at the present time America is the only country wherethere is a class of women who may be described as _ladies_ who do theirown work. By a lady we mean a woman of education, cultivation, andrefinement, of liberal tastes and ideas, who, without any very materialadditions or changes, would be recognized as a lady in anycircle of the Old World or the New. 

The existence of such a class is a fact peculiar to American society, a plain result of the new principles involved in the doctrine ofuniversal equality. 

When the colonists first came to this country, of however mixedingredients their ranks might have been composed, and however imbuedwith the spirit of feudal and aristocratic ideas, the discipline ofthe wilderness soon brought them to a democratic level; the gentlemanfelled the wood for his log-cabin side by side with the plowman, andthews and sinews rose in the market. "A man was deemed honorable inproportion as he lifted his hand upon the high trees of the forest. "So in the interior domestic circle. Mistress and maid, living in alog-cabin together, became companions, and sometimes the maid, as theone well-trained in domestic labor, took precedence of the mistress. It also became natural and unavoidable that children should begin towork as early as they were capable of it. 

The result was a generation of intelligent people brought up to laborfrom necessity, but devoting to the problem of labor the acuteness ofa disciplined brain. The mistress, outdone in sinews and muscles byher maid, kept her superiority by skill and contrivance. If she couldnot lift a pail of water, she could invent methods which made liftingthe pail unnecessary, --if she could not take a hundred steps withoutweariness, she could make twenty answer the purpose of a hundred. 

Slavery, it is true, was to some extent introduced into New England, but it never suited the genius of the people, never struck deep rootor spread so as to choke the good seed of self-helpfulness. Many wereopposed to it from conscientious principle--many from far-sightedthrift, and from a love of thoroughness and well-doing which despisedthe rude, unskilled work of barbarians. People, having once felt thethorough neatness and beauty of execution which came of free, educated, and thoughtful labor, could not tolerate the clumsiness of slavery. 

Thus it came to pass that for many years the rural population ofNew-England, as a general rule, did their own work, both out-doors andin. If there were a black man or black woman or bound girl, they wereemphatically only the _helps_, following humbly the steps of master andmistress, and used by them as instruments of lightening certain portionsof their toil. The master and mistress, with their children, were thehead workers. 

Great merriment has been excited in the old country because, yearsago, the first English travelers found that the class of persons bythem denominated servants, were in America denominated _help_, or helpers. But the term was the very best exponent of the state ofsociety. There were few servants, in the European sense of the word;there was a society of educated workers, where all were practicallyequal, and where, if there was a deficiency in one family and an excessin another, a _helper_, not a servant in the European sense, washired. Mrs. Brown, who has several sons and no daughters, enters intoagreement with Mrs. Jones, who has several daughters and no sons. Sheborrows a daughter, and pays her good wages to help in her domestictoil, and sends a son to help the labors of Mr. Jones. These two youngpeople go into the families in which they are to be employed in allrespects as equals and companions, and so the work of the communityis equalized. Hence arose, and for many years continued, a state ofsociety more nearly solving than any other ever did the problem ofcombining the highest culture of the mind with the highest culture ofthemuscles and the physical faculties. 

Then were to be seen families of daughters, handsome, strong women, rising each day to their in-door work with cheerful alertness--one tosweep the room, another to make the fire, while a third prepared thebreakfast for the father and brothers who were going out to manlylabor: and they chatted meanwhile of books, studies, embroidery;discussed the last new poem, or some historical topic started by graverreading, or perhaps a rural ball that was to come off next week. Theyspun with the book tied to the distaff; they wove; they did all mannerof fine needle-work; they made lace, painted flowers, and, in short, in the boundless consciousness of activity, invention, and perfecthealth, set themselves to any work they had ever read or thought of. A bride in those days was married with sheets and tablecloths of herown weaving, with counterpanes and toilet-covers wrought in diversembroidery by her own and her sisters' hands. The amount of fancy-workdone in our days by girls who have nothing else to do, will not equalwhat was done by these who performed, besides, among them, the wholework of the family. 

In those former days most women were in good health, debility anddisease being the exception. Then, too, was seen the economy of daylightand its pleasures. They were used to early rising, and would not liein bed, if they could. Long years of practice made them familiar withthe shortest, neatest, most expeditious method of doing every householdoffice, so that really for the greater part of the time in the housethere seemed, to a looker-on, to be nothing to do. They rose in themorning and dispatched husband, father, and brothers to the farm orwoodlot; went sociably about, chatting with each other, skimmed themilk, made the butter, and turned the cheeses. The forenoon was long;ten to one, all the so-called morning work over, they had leisure foran hour's sewing or reading before it was time to start the dinnerpreparations. By two o'clock the house-work was done, and they had thelong afternoon for books, needle-work, or drawing--for perhaps therewas one with a gift at her pencil. Perhaps one read aloud while otherssewed, and managed in that way to keep up a great deal of reading. 

It is said that women who have been accustomed to doing their own workbecome hard mistresses. They are certainly more sure of the groundthey stand on--they are less open to imposition--they can speak andact in their own houses more as those "having authority, " and thereforeare less afraid to exact what is justly their due, and less willingto endure impertinence and unfaithfulness. Their general error liesin expecting that any servant ever will do as well for them as theywill do for themselves, and that an untrained, undisciplined humanbeing ever _can_ do house-work, or any other work, with the neatness andperfection, that a person of trained intelligence can. 

It has been remarked in our armies that the men of cultivation, thoughbred in delicate and refined spheres, can bear up under the hardshipsof camp-life better and longer than rough laborers. The reason is, that an educated mind knows how to use and save its body, to work itand spare it, as an uneducated mind can not; and so the college-bredyouth brings himself safely through fatigues which kill the unreflectivelaborer. 

Cultivated, intelligent women, who are brought up to do the work oftheir own families, are labor-saving institutions. They make the headsave the wear of the muscles. By forethought, contrivance, system, andarrangement they lessen the amount to be done, and do it with lessexpense of time and strength than others. The old New-England motto, _Get your work done up in the forenoon_, applied to an amount ofwork which would keep a common Irish servant toiling from daylight tosunset. 

A lady living in one of our obscure New-England towns, where therewere no servants to be hired, at last, by sending to a distant city, succeeded in procuring a raw Irish maid-of-all-work, a creature ofimmense bone and muscle, but of heavy, unawakened brain. In onefortnight she established such a reign of Chaos and old Night in thekitchen and through the house that her mistress, a delicate woman, encumbered with the care of young children, began seriously to thinkthat she made more work each day than she performed, and dismissedher. What was now to be done? Fortunately, the daughter of a neighboringfarmer was going to be married in six months, and wanted a little readymoney for her _trousseau_. The lady was informed that Miss So-and-sowould come to her, not as a servant, but as hired "help. " She was fainto accept any help with gladness. 

Forthwith came into the family-circle a tall, well-dressed young person, grave, unobtrusive, self-respecting, yet not in the least presuming, who sat at the family table and observed all its decorums with themodest self-possession of a lady. The new-comer took a survey of thelabors of a family of ten members, including four or five youngchildren, and, looking, seemed at once to throw them into system;matured her plans, arranged her hours of washing, ironing, baking, andcleaning; rose early, moved deftly; and in a single day the slatternlyand littered kitchen assumed that neat, orderly appearance that sooften strikes one in New England farm-houses. The work seemed to beall gone. Every thing was nicely washed, brightened, put in place, andstaid in place; the floors, when cleaned; remained clean; the work wasalways done, and not doing; and every afternoon the young lady satneatly dressed in her own apartment, either quietly writing lettersto her betrothed, or sewing on her bridal outfit. Such is the resultof employing those who have been brought up to do their own work. Thattall, fine-looking girl, for aught we know, may yet be mistress of afine house on Fifth Avenue; and if she is, she will, we fear, proverather an exacting mistress to Irish Bridget; but she will never bethreatened by her cook and chambermaid, after the first one or twohave tried the experiment. 

Those remarkable women of old were made by circumstances. There were, comparatively speaking, no servants to be had, and so children weretrained to habits of industry and mechanical adroitness from the cradle, and every household process was reduced to the very minimum of labor. Every step required in a process was counted, every movement calculated;and she who took ten steps, when one would do, lost her reputation for"faculty. " Certainly such an early drill was of use in developing thehealth and the bodily powers, as well as in giving precision to thepractical mental faculties. All household economies were arranged withequal niceness in those thoughtful minds. A trained housekeeper knewjust how many sticks of hickory of a certain size were required toheat her oven, and how many of each different kind of wood. She knewby a sort of intuition just what kinds of food would yield the mostpalatable nutriment with the least outlay of accessories in cooking. She knew to a minute the time when each article must go into and bewithdrawn from her oven; and if she could only lie in her chamber anddirect, she could guide an intelligent child through the processeswith mathematical certainty. 

It is impossible, however, that any thing but early training and longexperience can produce these results, and it is earnestly to be wishedthat the grandmothers of New-England had written down their experiencesfor our children; they would have been a mine of maxims and traditionsbetter than any other "traditions of the elders" which we know of. 

In this country, our democratic institutions have removed thesuperincumbent pressure which in the Old World confines the servantsto a regular orbit. They come here feeling that this is somehow a landof liberty, and with very dim and confused notions of what liberty is. They are very extensively the raw, untrained Irish peasantry, and thewonder is, that, with all the unreasoning heats and prejudices of theCeltic blood, all the necessary ignorance and rawness, there shouldbe the measure of comfort and success there is in our domesticarrangements. 

But, as long as things are so, there will be constant changes andinterruptions in every domestic establishment, and constantly recurringinterregnums when the mistress must put her own hand to the work, whether the hand be a trained or an untrained one. As matters now are, the young housekeeper takes life at the hardest. She has very littlestrength, --no experience to teach her how to save her strength. Sheknows nothing experimentally of the simplest processes necessary tokeep her family comfortably fed and clothed; and she has a way oflooking at all these things which makes them particularly hard anddistasteful to her. She does not escape being obliged to do house-workat intervals, but she does it in a weak, blundering, confused way, that makes it twice as hard and disagreeable as it need be. 

Now, if every young woman learned to do house-work, and cultivated herpractical faculties in early life, she would, in the first place, bemuch more likely to keep her servants, and, in the second place, ifshe lost them temporarily, would avoid all that wear and tear of thenervous system which comes from constant ill-success in thosedepartments on which family health and temper mainly depend. This isone of the peculiarities of our American life, which require a peculiartraining. Why not face it sensibly?

Our land is now full of motorpathic institutions to which women aresent at a great expense to have hired operators stretch and exercisetheir inactive muscles. They lie for hours to have their feet twigged, their arms flexed, and all the different muscles of the body workedfor them, because they are so flaccid and torpid that the powers oflife do not go on. Would it not be quite as cheerful, and a lessexpensive process, if young girls from early life developed the musclesin sweeping, dusting, starching, ironing, and all the multiplieddomestic processes which our grandmothers knew of? A woman who did allthese, and diversified the intervals with spinning on the great andlittle wheel, did not need the gymnastics of Dio Lewis or of the SwedishMovement Cure, which really are a necessity now. Does it not seem pooreconomy to pay servants for letting our muscles grow feeble, and thento pay operators to exercise them for us? I will venture to say thatour grandmothers in a week went over every movement that any gymnasthas invented, and went over them to some productive purpose too. 

The first business of a housekeeper in America is that of a teacher. She can have a good table only by having practical knowledge, and tactin imparting it. If she understands her business practically andexperimentally, her eye detects at once the weak spot; it requiresonly a little tact, some patience, some clearness in giving directions, and all comes right. 

If we carry a watch to a watchmaker, and undertake to show him how toregulate the machinery, he laughs and goes on his own way; but if abrother-machinist makes suggestions, he listens respectfully. So, whena woman who knows nothing of woman's work undertakes to instruct onewho knows more than she does, she makes no impression; but a woman whohas been trained experimentally, and shows she understands the matterthoroughly, is listened to with respect. 

Let a woman make her own bread for one month, and, simple as the processseems, it will take as long as that to get a thorough knowledge of allthe possibilities in the case; but after that, she will be able tocommand good bread by the aid of all sorts of servants; in other words, will be a thoroughly prepared teacher. 

Although bread-making seems a simple process, it yet requires delicatecare and watchfulness. There are fifty ways to spoil good bread; Thereare a hundred little things to be considered and allowed for, thatrequire accurate observation and experience. The same process thatwill raise good bread in cold weather will make sour bread in the heatof summer; different qualities of flour require variations in treatmentas also different sorts and conditions of yeast; and when all is done, the baking presents another series of possibilities which require exactattention. 

A well-trained mind, accustomed to reflect, analyze, and generalize, has an advantage over uncultured minds even of double experience. Pooras your cook is, she now knows more of her business than you do. Aftera very brief period of attention and experiment, you will not onlyknow more than she does, but you will convince her that you do, whichis quite as much to the purpose. 

In the same manner, lessons must be given on the washing of silver andthe making of beds. Good servants do not often come to us; they mustbe _made_ by patience and training; and if a girl has a good dispositionand a reasonable degree of handiness, and the housekeeper understandsher profession, a good servant may be made out of an indifferent one. Some of the best girls have been those who came directly from the ship, with no preparation but docility and some natural quickness. The hardestcases to be managed are not of those who have been taught nothing, butof those who have been taught wrongly--who come self-opinionated, withways which are distasteful, and contrary to the genius of one'shousekeeping. Such require that their mistress shall understand at leastso much of the actual conduct of affairs as to prove to the servant thatthere are better ways than those in which she has been trained. 

So much has been said of the higher sphere of woman, and so much hasbeen done to find some better work for her that, insensibly, almostevery body begins to feel that it is rather degrading for a woman ingood society to be much tied down to family affairs; especially sincein these Woman's Rights Conventions there is so much dissatisfactionexpressed at those who would confine her ideas to the kitchen andnursery. 

Yet these Woman's Rights Conventions are a protest against many formerabsurd, unreasonable ideas--the mere physical and culinary idea ofwomanhood as connected only with puddings and shirt-buttons, theunjust and unequal burdens which the laws of harsher ages had castupon the sex. Many of the women connected with these movements are assuperior in every thing properly womanly as they are in exceptionaltalent and culture. There is no manner of doubt that the sphere ofwoman is properly to be enlarged. Every woman has rights as a humanbeing which belong to no sex, and ought to be as freely conceded toher as if she were a man, --and first and foremost, the great right ofdoing any thing which God and nature evidently have fitted her to excelin. If she be made a natural orator, like Miss Dickinson, or anastronomer, like Mrs. Somerville, or a singer, like Grisi, let not thetechnical rules of womanhood be thrown in the way of her free use ofher powers. 

Still, _per contra_, there has been a great deal of crude, disagreeabletalk in these conventions, and too great tendency of the age to make theeducation of woman anti-domestic. It seems as if the world never couldadvance, except like ships under a head-wind, tacking and going too far, now in this direction, and now in the opposite. Our common-school systemnow rejects sewing from the education of girls, which very properly usedto occupy many hours daily in school a generation ago. The daughters oflaborers and artisans are put through algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and the higher mathematics, to the entire neglect of that learning whichbelongs distinctively to woman. A girl of ten can not keep pace with herclass, if she gives any time to domestic matters; and accordingly she isexcused from them all during the whole term of her education. The boy ofa family, at an early age, is put to a trade, or the labors of a farm;the father becomes impatient of his support, and requires of him to takecare for himself. Hence an interrupted education--learning coming bysnatches in the winter months or in the intervals of work. 

As the result, the young women in some of our country towns are, inmental culture, much in advance of the males of the same household;but with this comes a physical delicacy, the result of an exclusiveuse of the brain and a neglect of the muscular system, with greatinefficiency in practical domestic duties. The race of strong, hardy, cheerful girls, that used to grow up in country places, and made thebright, neat, New-England kitchens of old times--the girls that couldwash, iron, brew, bake, harness a horse and drive him, no less thanbraid straw, embroider, draw, paint, and read innumerable books--thisrace of women, pride of olden time, is daily lessening; and in theirstead come the fragile, easily-fatigued, languid girls of a modernage, drilled in book-learning, ignorant of common things. The greatdanger of all this, and of the evils that come from it, is, thatsociety, by and by, will turn as blindly against female intellectualculture as it now advocates it, and having worked disproportionatelyone way, will work disproportionately in the opposite direction. 

Domestic service is the great problem of life herein America; thehappiness of families, their thrift, well-being, and comfort, are moreaffected by this than by any one thing else. The modern girls, as theyhave been brought up, can not perform the labor of their own familiesas in those simpler, old-fashioned days; and what is worse, they haveno practical skill with which to instruct servants, who come to us, as a class, raw and untrained. In the present state of prices, theboard of a domestic costs double her wages, and the waste she makesis a more serious matter still. 

Many of the domestic evils in America originate, in the fact that, while society here is professedly based on new principles which oughtto make social life in every respect different from the life of theOld World, yet these principles have never been so thought out andapplied as to give consistency and harmony to our daily relations. America starts with a political organization based oh a declarationof the primitive freedom and equality of all men. Every human being, according to this principle, stands on the same natural level withevery other, and has the same chance to rise according to the degreeof power or capacity given by the Creator. All our civil institutionsare designed to preserve this equality, as far as possible, fromgeneration to generation: there is no entailed property, there are nohereditary titles, no monopolies, no privileged classes--all are tobe as free to rise and fall as the waves of the sea. 

The condition of domestic service, however, still retains about itsomething of the influences from feudal times, and from the nearpresence of slavery in neighboring States. All English literature ofthe world describes domestic service in the old feudal spirit and withthe old feudal language, which regarded the master as belonging to aprivileged class and the servant to an inferior one. There is not aplay, not a poem, not a novel, not a history, that does not presentthis view. The master's rights, like the rights of kings, were supposedto rest in his being born in a superior rank. The good servant was onewho, from childhood, had learned "to order himself lowly and reverentlyto all his betters. " When New-England brought to these shores thetheory of democracy, she brought, in the persons of the first pilgrims, the habits of thought and of action formed in aristocratic communities. Winthrop's Journal, and all the old records of the earlier colonists, show households where masters and mistresses stood on the "right divine"of the privileged classes, howsoever they might have risen up againstauthorities themselves. 

The first consequence of this state of things was a universal rejectionof domestic service in all classes of American-born society. For ageneration or two there was, indeed, a sort of interchange of familystrength, --sons and daughters engaging in the service of neighboringfamilies, in default of a sufficient working-force of their own, butalways on conditions of strict equality. The assistant was to sharethe table, the family sitting-room, and every honor and attention thatmight be claimed by son or daughter. When families increased inrefinement and education so as to make these conditions of closeintimacy with more uncultured neighbors disagreeable, they had tochoose between such intimacies and the performance of their own domestictoil. No wages could induce a son or daughter of New-England to takethe condition of a servant on terms which they thought applicable tothat of a slave. The slightest hint of a separate table was resentedas an insult; not to enter the front door, and not to sit in the frontparlor on state occasions, was bitterly commented on as a personalindignity. 

The well-taught, self-respecting daughters of farmers, the class mostvaluable in domestic service, gradually retired from it. They preferredany other employment, however laborious. Beyond all doubt, the laborsof a well-regulated family are more healthy, more cheerful, more, interesting, because less monotonous, than the mechanical toils of afactory; yet the girls of New-England, with one consent, preferred thefactory, and left the whole business of domestic service to a foreignpopulation; and they did it mainly because they would not take positionsin families as an inferior laboring-class by the side of others oftheir own age who assumed as their prerogative to live without labor. 

"I can't let you have one of my daughters, " said an energetic matronto her neighbor from the city, who was seeking for a servant in hersummer vacation; "if you hadn't daughters of your own, may be I would;but my girls are not going to work so that your girls may live inidleness. "

It was vain to offer money. "We don't need your money, ma'am; we cansupport ourselves in other ways; my girls can braid straw, and bindshoes, but they are not going to be slaves to any body. "

In the Irish and German servants who took the place of Americans infamilies, there was, to begin with, the tradition of education in favorof a higher class; but even the foreign population became more or lessinfected with the spirit of democracy. They came to this country withvague notions of freedom and equality, and in ignorant and uncultivatedpeople such ideas are often more unreasonable for being vague. Theydid not, indeed, claim a seat at the table and in the parlor, but theyrepudiated many of those habits of respect and courtesy which belongedto their former condition, and asserted their own will and way in theround, unvarnished phrase which they supposed to be their right asrepublican citizens. Life became a sort of domestic wrangle and strugglebetween the employers, who secretly confessed their weakness, butendeavored openly to assume the air and bearing of authority, and theemployed, who knew their power and insisted on their privileges. 

From this cause domestic service in America has had less of mutualkindliness titan in old countries. Its terms have been so ill-understood and defined that both parties have assumed the defensive;and a common topic of conversation in American female society has oftenbeen the general servile war which in one form or another was goingon in their different families--a war as interminable as would be astruggle between aristocracy and common people, undefined by any billof rights or constitution, and therefore opening fields for endlessdisputes. 

In England, the class who go to service _are_ a class, and serviceis a profession; the distance between them and their employers is somarked and defined, and all the customs and requirements of the positionare so perfectly understood, that the master or mistress has no fearof being compromised by condescension, and no need of the externalvoice or air of authority. The higher up in the social scale one goes, the more courteous seems to become the intercourse of master andservant; the more perfect and real the power, the more is it veiledin outward expression--commands are phrased as requests, and gentlenessof voice and manner covers an authority which no one would think ofoffending without trembling. 

But in America all is undefined. In the first place, there is no classwho mean to make domestic service a profession to live and die in. Itis universally an expedient, a stepping-stone to something higher;your best servants always have some thing else in view as soon as theyhave laid by a little money; some form of independence which shallgive them a home of their own is constantly in mind. Families lookforward to the buying of landed homesteads, and the scattered brothersand sisters work awhile in domestic service to gain, the common fundfor the purpose; your seamstress intends to become a dressmaker, andtake in work at her own house; your cook is pondering a marriage withthe baker, which shall transfer her toils from your cooking-stove toher own. 

Young women are eagerly rushing into every other employment, tillfeminine trades and callings are all over-stocked. We are continuallyharrowed with tales of the sufferings of distressed needle-women, ofthe exactions, and extortions practiced on the frail sex in the manybranches of labor and trade at which they try their hands; and yetwomen will encounter all these chances of ruin and starvation ratherthan make up their minds to permanent domestic service. 

Now, what is the matter with domestic service? One would think, on theface of it, that a calling which gives a settled home, a comfortableroom, rent-free, with fire and lights, good board and lodging, andsteady, well-paid wages, would certainly offer more attractions thanthe making of shirts for tenpence, with all the risks of providingone's own sustenance and shelter. 

Is it not mainly from the want of a definite idea of the true positionof a servant under our democratic institutions that domestic serviceis so shunned and avoided in America, and that it is the very lastthing which an intelligent young woman will look to for a living? Itis more the want of personal respect toward, those in that positionthan the labor incident to it which repels our people from it. Manywould be willing to perform these labors, but they are not willing toplace themselves in a situation where their self-respect is hourlywounded by the implication of a degree of inferiority, _which doesnot follow any kind of labor or service in this country but that ofthe family_. 

There exists in the minds of employers an unsuspected spirit ofsuperiority, which is stimulated into an active form by the resistancewhich democracy inspires in the working-class. Many families think ofservants only as a necessary evil, their wages as exactions, and allthat is allowed them as so much taken from the family; and they seekin every way to get from them as much and to give them as little aspossible. Their rooms are the neglected, ill-furnished, incommodiousones--and the kitchen is the most cheerless and comfortless place inthe house. 

Other families, more good-natured and liberal, provide their domesticswith more suitable accommodations, and are more indulgent; but thereis still a latent spirit of something like contempt for the position. That they treat their servants with so much consideration seems tothem a merit entitling them to the most prostrate gratitude; and theyare constantly disappointed and shocked at that want of sense ofinferiority on the part of these people which leads them to appropriatepleasant rooms, good furniture, and good living as mere matters ofcommon justice. 

It seems to be a constant surprise to some employers that servantsshould insist on having the same human wants as themselves. Ladles whoyawn in their elegantly furnished parlors, among books and pictures, if they have not company, parties, or opera to diversify the evening, seem astonished and half indignant that cook and chambermaid are moredisposed to go out for an evening gossip than to sit on hard chairsin the kitchen where they have been toiling all day. The prettychambermaid's anxieties about her dress, the minutes she spends at hersmall and not very clear mirror, are sneeringly noticed by those whosetoilet-cares take up serious hours; and the question has neverapparently occurred to them why a serving-maid should not want to lookpretty as well as her mistress. She is a woman as well as they, with, all a woman's wants and weaknesses; and her dress is as much to heras theirs to them. 

A vast deal of trouble among servants arises; from impertinentinterferences and petty tyrannical enactions on the part of employers. Now, the authority of the master and mistress of a house in regard totheir domestics extends simply to the things they have contracted todo and the hours during which they have contracted to serve; otherwisethan this, they have no more right to interfere with them in thedisposal of their time than with any mechanic whom they employ. Theyhave, indeed, a right to regulate the hours of their own household, and servants can choose between conformity to these hours and the lossof their situation; but, within reasonable limits, their right to comeand go at their own discretion, in their own time, should beunquestioned. 

If employers are troubled by the fondness of their servants for dancing, evening company, and late hours, the proper mode of proceeding is tomake these matters a subject of distinct contract in hiring. The morestrictly and perfectly the business matters of the first engagementof domestics are conducted, the more likelihood there is of mutualquiet and satisfaction in the relation. It is quite competent to everyhousekeeper to say what practices are or are not consistent with therules of her family, and what will be inconsistent with the servicefor which she agrees to pay. It is much better to regulate such affairsby cool contract in the outset than by warm altercations and protracteddomestic battles. 

As to the terms of social intercourse, it seems somehow to be settledin the minds of many employers that their servants owe them and theirfamily more respect than they and the family owe to the servants. Butdo they? What is the relation of servant to employer in a democraticcountry? Precisely that of a person who for money performs any kindof service for you. The carpenter comes into your house to put up aset of shelves--the cook comes into your kitchen to cook your dinner. You never think that the carpenter owes you any more respect than youowe to him because he is in your house doing your behests; he is yourfellow-citizen, you treat him with respect, you expect to be treatedwith respect by him. You have a claim on him that he shall do yourwork according to your directions--no more. 

Now, I apprehend that there is a very common notion as to the positionand rights of servants which is quite different from this. Is it nota common feeling that a servant is one who may he treated with a degreeof freedom by every member of the family which he or she may not return?Do not people feel at liberty to question servants about their privateaffairs, to comment on their dress and appearance, in a manner whichthey would feel to be an impertinence, if reciprocated? Do they notfeel at liberty to express dissatisfaction with their performances inrude and unceremonious terms, to reprove them in the presence ofcompany, while yet they require that the dissatisfaction of servantsshall be expressed only in terms of respect? A woman would not feelherself at liberty to talk to her milliner or her dress-maker inlanguage as devoid of consideration as she will employ toward her cookor chambermaid. And yet both are rendering her a service which shepays for in money, and one is no more made her inferior thereby thanthe other. Both have an equal right to be treated with courtesy. Themaster and mistress of a house have a right to require courteoustreatment from all whom their roof shelters; but they have no moreright to exact it of servants than of every guest and every child, andthey themselves owe it as much to servants as to guests. 

In order that servants may be treated with respect and courtesy, itis not necessary, as in simpler patriarchal days, that they sit at thefamily-table. Your carpenter or plumber does not feel hurt that youdo not ask him to dine with you, nor your milliner and mantua-makerthat you do not exchange ceremonious calls and invite them to yourparties. It is well understood that your relations with them are ofa mere business character. They never take it as an assumption ofsuperiority on your part that you do not admit them to relations ofprivate intimacy. There may be the most perfect respect and esteem andeven friendship between then and you, notwithstanding. So it may bein the case of servants. It is easy to make any person understand thatthere are quite other reasons than the assumption of personalsuperiority for not wishing to admit servants to the family privacy. It was not, in fact, to sit in the parlor or at the table in themselvesconsidered, that was the thing aimed at by New--England girls; thesewere valued only as signs that they were deemed worthy of respect andconsideration, and, where freely conceded, were often in point of factdeclined. 

Let servants feel, in their treatment by their employers and in theatmosphere of the family, that their position is held to be arespectable one; let them feel, in the mistress of the family, thecharm of unvarying consideration and good manners; let their work-rooms be made convenient and comfortable, and their private apartmentsbear some reasonable comparison in point of agreeableness to those ofother members of the family, and domestic service will be morefrequently sought by a superior and self-respecting class. There arefamilies in which such a state of things prevails; and such families, amid the many causes which unite to make the tenure of serviceuncertain, have generally been able to keep good permanent servants. There is an extreme into which kindly disposed people often run withregard to servants which may be mentioned here. They make pets of them. They give extravagant wages and indiscreet indulgences, and, throughindolence and easiness of temper, tolerate neglect of duty. Many ofthe complaints of the ingratitude of servants come from those who havespoiled them in this way; while many of the longest and most harmoniousdomestic unions have sprung from a simple, quiet course of Christianjustice and benevolence, a recognition of servants as fellow-beingsand fellow-Christians, and a doing to them as we would in likecircumstances that they should do to us. 

The mistresses of American families, whether they like it or not, havethe duties of missionaries imposed upon them by that class from whichour supply of domestic servants is drawn. They may as well accept theposition cheerfully, and, as one raw, untrained hand after anotherpasses through their family, and is instructed by them in the mysteriesof good house-keeping, comfort themselves with the reflection thatthey are doing something to form good wives and mothers for therepublic. 

The complaints made of Irish girls are numerous and loud; the failingsof green Erin, alas! are but too open and manifest; yet, in arrest ofjudgment, let us move this consideration: let us imagine our owndaughters between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four, untaught andinexperienced in domestic affairs as they commonly are, shipped to aforeign shore to seek service in families. It may be questioned whether, as a whole, they would do much better. The girls that fill our familiesand do our house-work are often of the age of our own daughters, standing for themselves, without mothers to guide them, in a foreigncountry, not only bravely supporting themselves, but sending home inevery ship remittances to impoverished friends left behind. If ourdaughters did as much for us, should we not be proud of their energyand heroism?

When we go into the houses of our country, we find a majority ofwell-kept, well-ordered, and even elegant establishments, where theonly hands employed are those of the daughters of Erin. True, Americanwomen have been their instructors, and many a weary hour of care havethey had in the discharge of this office; but the result on the wholeis beautiful and good, and the end of it, doubtless, will be peace. 

Instead, then, of complaining that we can not have our own peculiaradvantages and those of other nations too, or imagining how much betteroff we should be if things were different from what they are, it ismuch wiser and more Christian-like to strive cheerfully to conform toactual circumstances; and, after remedying all that we can control, patiently to submit to what is beyond our power. If domestics are foundto be incompetent, unstable, and unconfirmed to their station, it isPerfect Wisdom which appoints these trials to teach us patience, fortitude, and self-control; and if the discipline is met in a properspirit, it will prove a blessing rather than an evil. 

But to judge correctly in regard to some of the evils involved in thestate of domestic service in this country, we should endeavor toconceive ourselves placed in the situation of those of whom complaintis made, that we may not expect from them any more than it would seemright should be exacted from us in similar circumstances. 

It is sometimes urged against domestics that they exact exorbitantwages. But what is the rule of rectitude on this subject? Is it notthe universal law of labor and of trade that an article is to be valuedaccording to its scarcity and the demand? When wheat is scarce, thefarmer raises his price; and when a mechanic offers services difficultto be obtained, he makes a corresponding increase of price. And whyis it not right for domestics to act according to a rule allowed tobe correct in reference to all other trades and professions? It is afact, that really good domestic service must continue to increase invalue just in proportion as this country waxes rich and prosperous;thus making the proportion of those who wish to hire labor relativelygreater, and the number of those willing to go to service less. 

Money enables the rich to gain many advantages which those of morelimited circumstances can not secure. One of these is, securing goodservants by offering high wages; and this, as the scarcity of thisclass increases, will serve constantly to raise the price of service. It is right for domestics to charge the market value, and this valueis always decided by the scarcity of the article and the amount ofdemand. Right views of this subject will sometimes serve to diminishhard feelings toward those who would otherwise be wrongfully regardedas unreasonable and exacting. 

Another complaint against servants is that of instability anddiscontent, leading to perpetual change. But in reference to this, leta mother or daughter conceive of their own circumstances as so changedthat the daughter must go out to service. Suppose a place is engaged, and it is then found that she must sleep in a comfortless garret; andthat, when a new domestic comes, perhaps a coarse and dirty foreigner, she must share her bed with her. Another place is offered, where shecan have a comfortable room and an agreeable room-mate; in such a case, would not both mother and daughter think it right to change?

Or suppose, on trial, it was found that the lady of the house wasfretful or exacting and hard to please, or that her children were soungoverned as to be perpetual vexations; or that the work was so heavythat no time was allowed for relaxation and the care of a wardrobe;and another place offers where those evils can be escaped; would notmother and daughter here think it right to change? And is it not rightfor domestics, as well as their employers, to seek places where theycan be most comfortable?

In some cases, this instability and love of change would be remedied, if employers would take more pains to make a residence with themagreeable, and to attach servants to the family by feelings of gratitudeand affection. There are ladies, even where well-qualified domesticsare most rare, who seldom find any trouble in keeping good and steadyones. And the reason is, that their servants know they can not bettertheir condition by any change within reach. It is not merely by givingthem comfortable rooms, and good food, and presents, and privileges, that the attachment of domestic servants is secured; it is by themanifestation of a friendly and benevolent interest in their comfortand improvement. This is exhibited in bearing patiently with theirfaults; in kindly teaching them how to improve; in showing them howto make and take proper care of their clothes; in guarding their health;in teaching them to read if necessary, and supplying them with properbooks; and in short, by endeavoring, so far as may be, to supply theplace of parents. It is seldom that such a course would fail to securesteady service, and such affection and gratitude that even higher wageswould be ineffectual to tempt them away. There would probably be someleases of ungrateful returns; but there is no doubt that the courseindicated, if generally pursued, would very much lessen the evil inquestion. 

When servants are forward and bold in manners and disrespectful inaddress, they may be considerately taught that those who are among thebest-bred and genteel have courteous and respectful manners and languageto all they meet: while many who have wealth, are regarded as vulgar, because they exhibit rude and disrespectful manners. The very term_gentle man_ indicates the refinement and delicacy of address whichdistinguishes the high-bred from the coarse and vulgar. 

In regard to appropriate dress, in most cases it is difficult for anemployer to interfere, _directly_, with comments or advice. Themost successful mode is to offer some, service in mending or makinga wardrobe, and when a confidence in the kindness of feeling is thusgained, remarks and suggestions will generally be properly received, and new views of propriety and economy can be imparted. In some casesit may be well for an employer who, from appearances, anticipatesdifficulty of this kind, in making the preliminary contract or agreementto state that she wishes to have the room, person, and dress of herservants kept neat and in order, and that she expects to remind themof their duty, in this particular, if it is neglected. Domestic servantsare very apt to neglect the care of their own chambers and clothing;and such habits have a most pernicious influence on their well-beingand on that of their children in future domestic life. An employer, then, is bound to exercise a parental care over them, in these respects. 

There is one great mistake, not unfrequently made, in the managementboth of domestics and of children, and that is, in supposing that theway to cure defects is by finding fault as each failing occurs. Butinstead of this being true, in many cases the directly opposite courseis the best; while, in all instances, much good judgment is requiredin order to decide when to notice faults and when to let them passunnoticed. There are some minds very sensitive, easily discouraged, and infirm of purpose. Such persons, when they have formed habits ofnegligence, haste, and awkwardness, often need expressions of sympathyand encouragement rather than reproof. They have usually been foundfault with so much that they have become either hardened or desponding;and it is often the case, that a few words of commendation will awakenfresh efforts and renewed hope. In almost every case, words of kindness, confidence, and encouragement should be mingled with the needfuladmonitions or reproof. 

It is a good rule, in reference to this point, to _forewarn_ instead offinding fault. Thus, when a thing has been done wrong, let it passunnoticed, till it is to be done again; and then, a simple request tohave it done in the right way will secure quite as much, and probablymore, willing effort, than a reproof administered for neglect. Somepersons seem to take it for granted that young and inexperienced mindsare bound to have all the forethought and discretion of mature persons;and freely express wonder and disgust when mishaps occur for want ofthese traits. But it would be far better to save from mistake orforgetfulness by previous caution and care on the part of those who havegained experience and forethought; and thus many occasions of complaintand ill-humor will be avoided. 

Those who fill the places of heads of families are not very apt tothink how painful it is to be chided for neglect of duty or for faultsof character. If they would sometimes imagine themselves in the placeof those whom they control, with some person daily administering reproofto them, in the same _tone and style_ as they employ to those whoare under them, it might serve as a useful cheek to their chidings. It is often the ease, that persons who are most strict and exactingand least able to make allowances and receive palliations, arethemselves peculiarly sensitive to any tiling which implies that theyare in fault. By such, the spirit implied in the Divine petition, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass againstus, " needs especially to be cherished. 

One other consideration is very important. There is no duty more bindingon Christians than that of patience and meekness under provocationsand disappointment. Now, the tendency of every sensitive mind, whenthwarted in its wishes, is to complain and find fault, and that oftenin tones of fretfulness or anger. But there are few servants who havenot heard enough of the Bible to know that angry or fretfulfault-finding from the mistress of a family, when her work is not doneto suit her, is not in agreement with the precepts of Christ. Theynotice and feel the inconsistency; and every woman, when she gives wayto feelings of anger and impatience at the faults of those around her, lowers herself in their respect, while her own conscience, unless verymuch blinded, can not but suffer a wound. 

In speaking of the office of the American mistress as being a missionaryone, we are far from, recommending any controversial interference withthe religious faith of our servants. It is far better to incite themto be good Christians in their own way than to run the risk of shakingtheir faith in all religion by pointing out to them what seem to usthe errors of that in which they have been educated. The general purityof life and propriety of demeanor of so many thousands of undefendedyoung girls cast yearly upon our shores, with no home but their church, and no shield but their religion, are a sufficient proof that thisreligion exerts an influence over them not to be lightly trifled with. But there is a real unity even in opposite Christian forms; and theRoman Catholic servant and the Protestant mistress, if alike possessedby the spirit of Christ, and striving to conform to the Golden Rule, can not help being one in heart, though one go to mass and the otherto meeting. 

Finally, the bitter baptism through which we have passed, the life-blooddearer than our own which has drenched distant fields, should remindus of the preciousness of distinctive American ideas. They who wouldseek in their foolish pride to establish the pomp of liveried servantsin America are doing that which is simply absurd. A servant can neverin our country be the mere appendage to another man, to be marked likea sheep with the color of his owner; he must be a fellow-citizen, withan established position of his own, free to make contracts, free tocome and go, and having in his sphere titles to consideration andrespect just as definite as those of any trade or profession whatever. 

Moreover, we can not in this country maintain to any great extent largeretinues of servants. Even with ample fortunes, they are forbidden bythe general character of society here, which makes them cumbrous anddifficult to manage. Every mistress of a family knows that her caresincrease with every additional servant. Two keep the peace with eachother and their employer; three begin a possible discord, whichpossibility increases with four, and becomes certain with five or six. Trained housekeepers, such as regulate the complicated establishmentsof the old world, form a class that are not, and from the nature ofthe case never will be, found in any great numbers in this country. All such women, as a general thing, are keeping, and prefer to keep, houses of their own. 

A moderate style of housekeeping, small, compact, and simple domesticestablishments, must necessarily be the general order of life inAmerica. So many openings of profit are to be found in this country, that domestic service necessarily wants the permanence which forms soagreeable a feature of it in the old world. 

This being the case, it should be an object in American to excludefrom the labors of the family all that can, with greater advantage, be executed out of it by combined labor. 

Formerly, in New England, soap and candles were to be made in eachseparate family; now, comparatively few take this toil upon them. Webuy soap of the soap-maker, and candles of the candle-factor. Thisprinciple might be extended much further. In France, no family makesits own bread, and better bread can not be eaten than can be boughtat the appropriate shops. No family does its own washing; the family'slinen is all sent to women who, making this their sole profession, getit up with a care and nicety which can seldom be equaled in any family. 

How would it simplify the burdens of the American housekeeper to havewashing and ironing day expunged from her calendar! How much moreneatly and compactly could the whole domestic system be arranged! Ifall the money that each separate family spends on the outfit andaccommodations for washing and ironing, on fuel, soap, starch, and theother requirements, were united in a fund to create a laundry for everydozen families, one or two good women could do in first rate stylewhat now is very indifferently done by the disturbance anddisarrangement of all other domestic processes in these families. Whoever sets neighborhood laundries on foot will do much to solve theAmerican housekeeper's hardest problem. 

Again, American women must not try with three servants to carry onlife in the style which in the old world requires sixteen; they mustthoroughly understand, and be prepared _to teach_, every branchof housekeeping; they must study to make domestic service desirable, by treating their servants in a way to lead them to respect themselvesand to feel themselves respected; and there will gradually be evolvedfrom the present confusion, a solution of the domestic problem whichshall be adapted to the life of a new and growing world. 

XXVI. 

CARE OF THE SICK. 

It is interesting to notice in the histories of our Lord the prominentplace given to the care of the sick. When he first sent out theapostles, it was to heal the sick as well as to preach. Again, when, he sent out the seventy, their first command was to "heal the sick, "and next to say, "the kingdom of God has come nigh unto you. " The bodywas to be healed first, in order to attend to the kingdom of God, evenwhen it was "brought nigh. "

Jesus Christ spent more time and labor in the cure of men's bodiesthan in preaching, even, if we subtract those labors with his earthlyfather by which family homes were provided. When he ascended to theheavens, his last recorded, words to his followers, as given by Mark, were, that his disciples should "lay hands on the sick, " that theymight recover. Still more directly is the duty of care for the sickexhibited in the solemn allegorical description of the last day. Itwas those who visited the sick that were the blessed; it was those whodid not visit the sick who were told to "depart. " Thus are we abundantlytaught that one of the most sacred duties of the Christian family isthe training of its inmates to care and land attention to the sick. 

Every woman who has the care of young children, or of a large family, is frequently called upon to advise what shall be done for some onewho is indisposed; and often, in circumstances where she must trustsolely to her own judgment. In such cases, some err by neglecting todo any thing at all, till the patient is quite sick; but a still greaternumber err from excessive and injurious dosing. 

The two great causes of the ordinary slight attacks of illness in afamily, are, sudden chills, which close the pores of the skin, andthus affect the throat, lungs, or bowels; and the excessive or improperuse of food. In most cases of illness from the first cause, bathingthe feet, and some aperient drink to induce perspiration, are suitableremedies. 

In case of illness from improper food, or excess in eating, fastingfor one or two meals, to give the system time and chance to relieveitself, is the safest remedy. Some-times, a gentle cathartic ofcastor-oil may be needful; but it is best first to try fasting. A saferelief from injurious articles in the stomach is an emetic of warmwater; but to be effective, several tumblerfuls must be given in quicksuccession, and till the stomach can receive no more. 

The following extract from a discourse of Dr. Burne, before the LondonMedical Society, contains important, information: "In civilized life, the causes which are most generally and continually operating in theproduction of diseases are, affections of the mind, improper diet, andretention of the intestinal excretions. The undue retention ofexcrementitious matter allows of the absorption of its more liquidparts, which is a cause of great impurity to the blood, and theexcretions, thus rendered hard and knotty, act more or less asextraneous substances, and, by their irritation, produce a determinationof blood to the intestines and to the neighboring viscera, whichultimately ends in inflammation. It also has a great effect on thewhole system; causes a determination of blood to the head, whichoppresses the brain, and dejects the mind; deranges the functions ofthe stomach; causes flatulency; and produces a general state ofdiscomfort. "

Dr. Combe remarks on this subject: "In the natural and healthy state, under a proper system of diet, and with sufficient exercise, the bowelsare relieved regularly, once every day. " _Habit_ "is powerful inmodifying the result, and in sustaining healthy action when once fairlyestablished. Hence the obvious advantage of observing as much regularityin relieving the system, as in taking our meals. " It is often the easethat soliciting nature at a regular period, once a day, will remedyconstipation without medicine, and induce a regular and healthy stateof the bowels. "When, however, as most frequently happens, theconstipation arises from the absence of all assistance from theabdominal and respiratory muscles, the first step to be taken is, againto solicit their aid; first, by removing all impediments to freerespiration, such as stays, waistbands, and belts; secondly, byresorting to such active exercise as shall call the muscles into fulland regular action; [Footnote: The most effective mode of exercisingthe abdominal and respiratory muscles, in order to remedy constipation, is by a continuous alternate contraction of the muscles of the abdomen, and diaphragm. By contracting the muscles of the abdomen, the intestinesaxe pressed inward and upward, and then the muscles of the diaphragmabove contract and press them downward and outward. Thus the blood isdrawn to the torpid parts to stimulate to the healthful action, whilethe agitation moves their contents downward. An invalid can thusexercise the abdominal muscles in bed. The proper time is just aftera meal. This exercise, continued ten minutes a day, including shortintervals of rest, and persevered in for a week or two, will cure mostordinary cases of constipation, provided proper food is taken. Coarsebread and fruit are needed for this purpose in most cases. ] and lastly, by proportioning the quantity of food to the wants of the system, andthe condition of the digestive organs. 

"If we employ these means, systematically and perseveringly, we shallrarely fail in at last restoring the healthy action of the bowels, with little aid from medicine. But if we neglect these modes, we maygo on for years, adding pill to pill, and dose to dose, without everattaining the end at which we aim. "

"There is no point in which a woman needs more knowledge and discretionthan in administering remedies for what seem slight attacks, which arenot supposed to require the attention of a physician. It is littlerealized that purgative drugs are unnatural modes of stimulating theinternal organs, tending to exhaust them of their secretions, and todebilitate and disturb the animal economy. For this reason, they shouldbe used as little as possible; and fasting, and perspiration, and theother methods pointed out, should always be first resorted to. "

When medicine must be given, it should be borne in mind that there arevarious classes of purgatives, which produce very diverse effects. Some, like salts, operate to thin the blood, and reduce the system;others are stimulating; and others have a peculiar operation on certainorgans. Of course, great discrimination and knowledge are needed, inorder to select the kind which is suitable to the particular disease, or to the particular constitution of the invalid. This shows the follyof using the many kinds of pills, and other quack medicines, where noknowledge can be had of their composition. Pills which are good forone kind of disease, might operate as poison in another state of thesystem. 

It is very common in cases of colds, which affect the lungs or throat, to continue to try one dose after another for relief. It will be wellto hear in mind at such times, that all which goes into the stomachmust be first absorbed into the blood before it can reach the diseasedpart; and that there is some danger of injuring the stomach, or otherparts of the system, by such a variety of doses, many of which, it isprobable, will be directly contradictory in their nature, and thusneutralize any supposed benefit they might separately impart. 

When a cold affects the head and eyes, and also impedes breathingthrough the nose, great relief is gained by a wet napkin spread overthe upper part of the face, covering the nose except an opening forbreath. This is to be covered by folds of flannel fastened over thenapkin with a handkerchief. So also a wet towel over the throat andwhole chest, covered with folds of flannel, often relieves oppressedlungs. 

Ordinarily, a cold can be arrested on its first symptoms by coveringsin bed and a bottle of hot water, securing free perspiration. Often, at its first appearance, it can be stopped by a spoonful or two ofwhisky, or any alcoholic liquor, in hot water, taken on going to bed. Warm covering to induce perspiration will assist the process. Thesesimple remedies are safest. Perspiration should always be followed bya towel-bath. 

It is very unwise to tempt the appetite of a person who is indisposed. The cessation of appetite is the warning of nature that the system isin such a state that food can not be digested. When food is to be givento one who has no desire for it, beef-tea is the best in most cases. 

The following suggestions may be found useful in regard to nursing thesick. As nothing contributes more to the restoration of health thanpure air, it should be a primary object to keep a sick-room wellventilated. At least twice in the twenty-four hours, the patient shouldbe well covered, and fresh air freely admitted from out of doors. Afterthis, if need be, the room should be restored to a proper temperature, by the aid of an open fire. Bedding and clothing should also be wellaired, and frequently changed; as the exhalations from the body, insickness, are peculiarly deleterious. Frequent ablutions of the wholebody, if possible, are very useful; and for these, warm water may beemployed, when cold water is disagreeable. 

A sick-room should always be kept very neat and in perfect order; andall haste, noise, and bustle should be avoided. In order to secureneatness, order, and quiet, in case of long illness, the followingarrangement should be made. Keep a large box for fuel, which will needto be filled only twice in twenty-four hours. Provide also and keepin the room or an adjacent closet, a small, tea-kettle, a saucepan, a pail of water for drinks and ablutions, a pitcher, a coveredporringer, two pint bowls, two tumblers, two cups and saucers, twowine-glasses, two large and two small spoons; also a dish in which towash these articles; a good supply of towels and a broom. Keep aslop-bucket near by to receive the wash of the room. Procuring allthese articles at once, will save much noise and confusion. 

Whenever medicine or food is given, spread a clean towel over theperson or bed-clothing, and get a clean handkerchief, as nothing ismore annoying to a weak stomach than the stickiness and soilingproduced by medicine and food. 

Keep the fire-place neat, and always wash all articles and put themin order as soon as they are out of use. A sick person has nothing todo but look about the room; and when every thing is neat and in order, a feeling of comfort is induced, while disorder, filth, and neglectare constant objects of annoyance which, if not complained of, are yetfelt. 

One very important particular in the case of those who are delicatein constitution, as well as in the case of the sick, is the preservationof warmth, especially in the hands and the feet. The _equal_circulation of the blood is an important element for good health, andthis is impossible when the extremities are habitually or frequentlycold. It is owing to this fact that the coldness caused by wetting thefeet is so injurious. In cases where disease or a weak constitutioncauses a feeble or imperfect circulation, great pains should be takento dress the feet and hands warmly, especially around the wrists andankles, where the blood-vessels are nearest to the surface and thusmost exposed to cold. Warm elastic wristlets and anklets would savemany a feeble person from increasing decay or disease. 

When the circulation is feeble from debility or disease, the union ofcarbon and oxygen in the capillaries is slower than in health, andtherefore care should be taken to preserve the heat thus generated bywarm clothing and protection from cold draughts. In nervous debility, it is peculiarly important to preserve the animal heat, for itsexcessive loss especially affects weak nerves. Many an invalid iscarelessly and habitually suffering cold feet, who would recover healthby proper care to preserve animal heat, especially in the extremities. 

The following are useful directions for dressing a blister. Spreadthinly, on a linen cloth, an ointment composed of one third of beeswaxto two thirds of tallow; lay this upon a linen cloth folded many times. With a sharp pair of scissors make an aperture in the lower part ofthe blister-bag, with a little hole above to give it vent. Break theraised skin as little as possible. Lay on the cloth spread as directed. The blister at first should be dressed as often as three times in aday, and the dressing renewed each time. Hot fomentations in most caseswill be as good as a blister, less painful, and safer. 

Always prepare food for the sick in the neatest and most careful manner. It is in sickness that the senses of smell and taste are mostsusceptible of annoyance; and often, little mistakes or negligencesin preparing food will take away all appetite. 

Food for the sick should be cooked on coals, that no smoke may haveaccess to it; and great care must be taken to prevent, by stirring, any adherence to the bottom of the cooking vessel, as this always givesa disagreeable taste. 

Keeping clean handkerchiefs and towels at hand, cooling the pillows, sponging the hands with water, (with care to dry them thoroughly, )swabbing the mouth with a clean linen rag on the end of a stick, aremodes of increasing the comfort of the sick. Always throw a shawl overa sick person when raised up. 

Be careful to understand a physician's directions, and _to obey themimplicitly_. If it be supposed that any other person knows betterabout the case than the physician, dismiss the physician, and employthat person in his stead. 

It is always best to consult the physician as to where medicines shallbe purchased, and to show the articles to him before using them, asgreat impositions are practiced in selling old, useless, and adulterateddrugs. Always put labels on vials of medicine, and keep them out ofthe reach of children. 

Be careful to label all powders, and particularly all _white powders_, as many poisonous medicines in this form are easily mistaken for otherswhich are harmless. 

In nursing the sick, always speak gently and cheeringly; and, whileyou express sympathy for their pain and trials, stimulate them to bearsill with fortitude, and with resignation to the Heavenly Father who"doth not willingly afflict, " and "who causeth all things to worktogether for good to them that love him. " Offer to read the Bible orother devotional books, whenever it is suitable, and will not be deemedobtrusive. 

Miss Ann Preston, one of the most refined as well as talented andlearned female physicians, in a published article, gives valuableinstruction as to the training, of nurses. She claims that every womanshould be trained for this office, and that some who have specialtraits that fit them for it should make it their daily professionalbusiness. She remarks that the indispensable qualities in a good nurseare common sense, conscientiousness, and sympathetic benevolence: andthus continues:

"God himself made and commissioned one set of nurses; and in doingthis and adapting them to utter helplessness and weakness, what didhe do? He made them to love the dependence and to see something toadmire in the very perversities of their charge. He made them to humorthe caprices and regard both reasonable and unreasonable complainings. He made them to bend tenderly over the disturbed and irritated, andfold them to quiet assurance in arms made soft with love; in a word, he made _mothers!_ And, other things being equal, whoever has mostmaternal tenderness and warm sympathy with the sufferer is the bestnurse. " And it is those most nearly endowed by nature with thesetraits who should be selected to be trained for the sacred office ofnurse to the sick, while, in all the moral training of womanhood, thisideal should be the aim. 

Again, Miss Preston wisely suggests that "persons may be conscientiousand benevolent and possess good judgment in many respects, and yet bemiserable nurses of the sick for want of training and right knowledge. 

"_Knowledge_, the assurance that one knows what to do, always gives_presence of mind_--and presence of mind is important not only in asick-room but in every home. Who has not known consternation in a familywhen some one has fainted, or been burned, or cut, while none werepresent who knew how to stop the flowing blood, or revive the fainting, or apply the saving application to the burn? And yet knowledge andefficiency in such cases would save many a life, and be a most fittingand desirable accomplishment in every woman. "

"We are slow to learn the mighty influence of common agencies, and thegreatness of little things, in their bearing upon life and health. Thewoman who believes it takes no strength to bear a little noise or somedisagreeable announcements, and loses patience with the weak, nervousinvalid who is agonized with creaking doors or shoes, or loud, shrillvoices, or rustling papers, or sharp, fidgety motions, or the whisperingso common in sick-rooms and often so acutely distressing to thesufferer, will soon correct such misapprehensions by herselfexperiencing a nervous fever. "

Here the writer would put in a plea for the increasing multitudes ofnervous sufferers not confined to a sick-room, and yet exposed to allthe varied sources of pain incident to an exhausted nervous system, which often cause more intolerable and also more wearing pain thanother kinds of suffering. 

"An exceeding acuteness of the senses is the result of many forms ofnervous disease. A heavy breath, an unwashed hand, a noise that wouldnot have been noticed in health, a crooked table-cover or bed-spreadmay disturb or oppress; and more than one invalid has spoken in myhearing of the sickening effect produced by the nurse tasting her food, or blowing in her drinks to make them cool. One woman, and a sensiblewoman too, told me her nurse had turned a large cushion upon her bureauwith the back part in front. She determined not to be disturbed norto speak of such a trifle, but after struggling _three hours_ invain to banish the annoyance, she was forced to ask to have the cushionplaced right. "

In this place should be mentioned the suffering caused to persons ofreduced nervous power not only by the smoke of tobacco, but by thefetid effluvium of it from the breath and clothing of persons whosmoke. Many such are sickened in society and in car-traveling, and toa degree little imagined by those who gain a dangerous pleasure at thefrequent expense of the feeble and suffering. 

Miss Preston again remarks, "It is often exceedingly important to thevery weak, who can take but very little nutriment, to have that littlewhenever they want it. I have known invalids sustain great injury andsuffering; when exhausted for want of food, they have had to wait andwait, feeling as if every minute was an hour, while some well-fed nursedelayed its coming. Said a lady, 'It makes me hungry now to think ofthe meals she brought me upon that little waiter when I was sick, suchbrown thin toast, such good broiled beef, such fragrant tea, and everything looking so exquisitely nice! If at any time I did not think ofany thing I wanted, nor ask for food, she did not annoy me withquestions, but brought some little delicacy at the proper time, andwhen it came, I could take it. '

"If there is one purpose of a personal kind for which it is especiallydesirable to lay up means, it is for being well nursed in sickness;yet in the present state of society, this is absolutely impossible, even to the wealthy, because of the scarcity of competent nurses. Families worn down with the long and extreme illness of a member requirerelief from one whose feelings will be less taxed, and who can betterendure the labor. 

"But alas! how often is it impossible, for love or money, to obtainone capable of taking the burden from the exhausted sister or motheror daughter, and how often in consequence they have died prematurelyor struggled through weary years with a broken constitution. Appealto those who have made the trial, and you will find that very seldomhave they been able to have those who by nature or by training werecompetent for their duties. Ignorant, unscrupulous, inattentive--howoften they disturb and injure the patient! A physician told me thatone of his patients had died because the nurse, contrary to orders, had at a critical period washed her with cold water. I have known onewho, by stealth, quieted a fretful child with laudanum, and of otherswho exhausted the sick by incessant talking. One lady said that when, to escape this distressing garrulity, she closed her eyes, the nurseexclaimed aloud, 'Why, she is going to sleep while I am talking toher. '

"A few only of the sensible, quiet, and loving women, whose presenceeverywhere is a blessing, have qualified themselves and followed nursingas a business. Heaven bless that few! What a sense of relief have Iseen pervade a family when such a one has been procured; and what atreasure seemed found!

"There is very commonly an extreme susceptibility in the sick to the_moral atmosphere_ about them. They feel the healthful influenceof the presence of a true-hearted attendant and repose in it, thoughthey may not be able to define the cause; while dissimulation, falsehood, recklessness, coarseness, jar terribly and injuriously ontheir heightened sensibilities. 'Are the Sisters of Charity reallybetter nurses than most other women?' I asked an intelligent lady whohad seen much of our military hospitals. 'Yes, they are, ' was herreply. 'Why should it be so?' 'I think it is because with them it isa work of self-abnegation, and of duty to God, and they are so quietand self-forgetful in its exercise that they do it better, while manyother women show such self-consciousness and are so fussy!"

Is there any reason why every Protestant woman should not be trainedfor this self-denying office as _a duty owed to God?_ We can not betterclose this chapter than by one more quotation from the same intelligentand attractive writer: "The good nurse is an artist. O the pillowy, soothing softness of her touch, the neatness of her simple, unrustlingdress, the music of her assured yet gentle voice and tread, the sense ofsecurity and rest inspired by her kind and hopeful face, the promptnessand attention to every want, the repose that like an atmosphereencircles her, the evidence of heavenly goodness, and love that shediffuses!" Is not such an art as this worth much to attain?

In training children to the Christian life, one very importantopportunity occurs whenever sickness appears, in the family orneighborhood. The repression of disturbing noises, the speaking intones of gentleness and sympathy, the small offices of service ornursing in which children can aid, should be inculcated as ministeringto the Lord and Elder Brother of man, who has said, "Inasmuch as yehave done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have doneit to me. "

One of the blessed opportunities for such ministries is given tochildren in the cultivation of flowers. The entrance into a sick-roomof a smiling, healthful child, bringing an offering of flowers raisedby its own labor, is like an angel of comfort and love, "and alike itblesseth him who gives and him who takes. "

A time is coming when the visitation of the sick, as a part of theChristian life, will hold a higher consideration than is now generallyaccorded, especially in the cases of uninteresting sufferers who havenothing to attract kind attentions, except that they are sufferingchildren of our Father in heaven, and "one of the least" of the brethrenof Jesus Christ. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 

Children should be taught the following modes of saving life, healthand limbs in cases of sudden emergency, before a medical adviser canbe summoned. 

In case of a common cut, bind the lips of the wound together with arag, and put on nothing else. If it is large, lay narrow strips ofsticking-plaster obliquely across the wound. In some cases it is needfulto draw a needle and thread through the lips of the wound, and tie thetwo sides together. 

If an artery be cut, it must be tied as quickly as possible, or theperson will soon bleed to death. The blood from an artery is a brighterred than that from the veins, and spirts out in jets at each beat ofthe heart. Take hold of the end of the artery and tie it or hold ittight till a surgeon comes. In this case, and in all cases of badwounds that bleed much, tie a tight bandage near and above the wound, inserting a stick into the bandage and twisting as tight as can beborne, to stop the immediate effusion of blood. 

Bathe bad bruises in hot water. Arnica water hastens a cure, but isinjurious and weakening to the parts when used too long and too freely. 

A sprain is relieved from the first pains by hot fomentations, or theapplication of very hot bandages, but entire rest is the chief permanentremedy. The more the limb is used, especially at first, the longer thetime required for the small broken fibres to knit together. The sprainedleg should be kept in a horizontal position. When a leg is broken, tieit to the other leg, to keep it still till a surgeon comes. Tie abroken arm to a piece of thin wood, to keep it still till set. 

In the case of bad burns that take off the skin, creosote water is thebest remedy. If this is not at hand, wood-soot (not coal) pounded, sifted, and mixed with lard is nearly as good, as such soot containscreosote. When a dressing is put on, do not remove it till a skin isformed under it. If nothing else is at hand for a bad burn, sprinkleflour over the place where the skin is off and then let it remain, protected by a bandage. The chief aim is to keep the part without skinfrom the air. 

In case of drowning, the aim should be to clear the throat, mouth andnostrils, and then produce the natural action of the lungs in breathingas soon as possible, at the same time removing wet clothes and applyingwarmth and friction to the skin, especially the hands and feet, tostart the circulation. The best mode of cleansing the throat and monthof choking water is to lay the person on the face, and raise the heada little, clearing the mouth and nostrils with the finger, and thenapply hartshorn or camphor to the nose. This is safer and surer thana common mode of lifting the body by the feet, or rolling on a barrelto empty out the water. 

To start the action of the lungs, first lay the person on the face andpress the back along the spine to expel all air from the lungs. Thenturn the body nearly, but not quite over on to the back, thus openingthe chest so that the air will rush in if the mouth is kept open. Thenturn the body to the face again and expel the air, and then againnearly over on to the back; and so continue for a long time. Friction, dry and warm clothing, and warm applications should be used inconnection with this process. This is a much better mode than usingbellows, which sometimes will close the opening to the windpipe. Theabove is the mode recommended by Dr. Marshall Hall, and is approvedby the best medical authorities. 

Certain articles are often kept in the house for cooking or medicalpurposes, and sometimes by mistake are taken in quantities that arepoisonous. 

_Soda, saleratus, potash, _ or any other alkali can be renderedharmless in the stomach by vinegar, tomato-juice, or any other acid. If sulphuric or oxalic acid are taken, pounded chalk in water is thebest antidote. If those are not at hand, strong soapsuds have beenfound effective. Large quantities of tepid water should be drank afterthese antidotes are taken, so as to produce vomiting. 

_Lime_ or _baryta_ and its compounds demand a solution of glauber saltsor of sulphuric acid. 

_Iodine_ or _Iodide of Potassium_ demands large draughts of wheat flouror starch in water, and then vinegar and water. The stomach should thenbe emptied by vomiting with as much tepid water as the stomach can hold. 

_Prussic acid_, a violent poison, is sometimes taken by children ineating the pits of stone fruits or bitter almonds which contain it. The antidote is to empty the stomach by an emetic, and give water ofammonia or chloric water. Affusions of cold water all over the body, followed by warm hand friction, is often a remedy alone, but the aboveshould be added if at command. _Antimony_ and its compounds demanddrinks of oak bark, or gall nuts, or very strong green tea. 

_Arsenic_ demands oil or melted fat, with magnesia or lime water inlarge quantities, till vomiting occurs. 

_Corrosive Sublimate_, (often used to kill vermin, ) and any other formof mercury, requires milk or whites of eggs in large quantities. Thewhites of twelve eggs in two quarts of water, given in the largestpossible draughts every three minutes till free vomiting occurs, isa good remedy. Flour and water will answer, though not so surely asthe above. Warm water will help, if nothing else is in reach. The sameremedy answers when any form of copper, or tin, or zinc poison istaken, and also for creosote. 

_Lead_ and its compounds require a dilution of Epsom or Glauber salts, or some strong, acid drink, as lemon or tomatoes. 

_Nitrate of Silver_ demands salt water drank till vomiting occurs. 

_Phosphorus_ (sometimes taken by children from matches) needs magnesiaand copious drinks of gum Arabic, or gum water of any sort. 

_Alcohol_, in dangerous quantities, demands vomiting with warm water. 

When one is violently sick from excessive use of _tobacco_, vomiting isa relief, if it arise spontaneously. After that, or in case it does notoccur, the juice of a lemon and perfect rest, in a horizontal positionon the back, will relieve the nausea and faintness, generally soothingthe foolish and over-wrought patient into a sleep. 

_Opium_ demands a quick emetic. The best is a heaping table-spoonful ofpowdered mustard, in a tumblerful of warm water; or powdered alum inhalf-ounce doses and strong coffee alternately in warm water. Give aciddrinks after vomiting. If vomiting is not elicited thus, a stomach pumpis demanded. Dash cold water on the head, apply friction, and use allmeans to keep the person awake and in motion. 

_Strychnia_ demands also quick emetics. 

The stomach should be emptied always after taking any of theseantidotes, by a warm water emetic. 

In case of bleeding at the lungs, or stomach, or throat, give atea-spoonful of dry salt, and repeat it often. For bleeding at thenose, put ice, or pour cold water on the back of the neck, keeping thehead elevated. 

If a person be struck with lightning, throw pailfuls of cold water onthe head and body, and apply mustard poultices on the stomach, withfriction of the whole body and inflation of the lungs, as in the caseof drowning. The same mode is to be used when persons are stupefiedby fumes of coal, or bad air. 

In thunderstorms, shut the doors and windows. The safest part of aroom is its centre; and where there is a feather-bed in the apartment, that will be found the most secure resting-place. 

A lightning-rod if it be well pointed, and run deep into the earth, is a certain protection to a circle, around it, whose diameter equalsthe height of the rod above the highest chimney. But it protects _nofarther_ than this extent. 

In case of fire, wrap about you a blanket, a shawl, a piece of carpet, or any other woolen cloth, to serve as protection. Never read in bed, lest you fall asleep, and the bed be set on fire. If your clothes geton fire, never run, but lie down, and roll about till you can reacha bed or carpet to wrap yourself in, and thus put out the fire. Keepyoung children in woolen dresses, to save them from the risk of fire. 

XXVIII. 

SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 

Every young girl should be taught to do the following kinds of stitchwith propriety: Over-stitch, hemming, running, felling, stitching, back-stitch and run, buttonhole-stitch, chain-stitch, whipping, darning, gathering, and cross-stitch. 

In doing over-stitch, the edges should always be first fitted, eitherwith pins or basting, to prevent puckering. In turning wide hems, apaper measure should be used, to make them even. Tucks, also, shouldbe regulated by a paper measure. A fell should be turned, before theedges are put together, and the seam should be over-sewed beforefelling. All biased or goring seams should be felled, for stitching, draw a thread, and take up two or three threads at a stitch. 

In cutting buttonholes, it is best to have a pair of scissors, madefor the purpose, which cut very neatly. For broadcloth, a chisel andboard are better. The best stitch is made by putting in the needle, and then turning the thread round it near the eye. This is better thanto draw the needle through, and then take up a loop. A stay threadshould first be put across each side of the buttonhole, and also a barat each end before working it. In working the buttonhole, keep thestay thread as far from the edge as possible. A small bar should beworked at each end. 

Whipping is done better by sewing _over_, and not under. The rollshould be as fine as possible, the stitches short, the thread strong, and in sewing, every gather should be taken up. 

The rule for _gathering_ in shirts is, to draw a thread, and then takeup two threads and skip four. In _darning_, after the perpendicularthreads are run, the crossing threads should interlace exactly, takingone thread and leaving one, like woven threads. It is better to run afine thread around a hole and draw it together, and then darn across it. 

The neatest sewers always fit and baste their work before sewing; andthey say they always save time in the end by so doing, as they neverhave to pick out work on account of mistakes. 

It is wise to sew closely and tightly all new garments which will neverbe altered in shape; but some are more nice than wise, in sewing frocksand old garments in the same style. However, this is the least commonextreme. It is much more frequently the case that articles which oughtto be strongly and neatly made are sewed so that a nice sewer wouldrather pick out the threads and sew over again than to be annoyed withthe sight of grinning stitches, and vexed with constant rips. 

If the thread kinks in sewing, break it off and begin at the otherend. In using spool-cotton, thread the needle with the end which comesoff first, and not the end where you break it off. This often preventskinks. 

_Work-baskets_. --It is very important to neatness, comfort, andsuccess in sewing, that a lady's work-basket should be properly fittedup. The following articles are needful to the mistress of a family:a large basket to hold work; having in it fastened a smaller basketor box, containing a needle-book in which are needles of every size, both blunts and sharps, with a larger number of those sizes most used;also small and large darning-needles, for woolen, cotton, and silk;two tape needles, large and small; nice scissors for fine work, button-hole scissors; an emery bag; two balls of white and yellow wax;and two thimbles, in case one should be mislaid. When a person istroubled with damp fingers, a lump of soft chalk in a paper is usefulto rub on the ends of the fingers. 

Besides this box, keep in the basket common scissors; small shears;a bag containing tapes of all colors and sizes, done up in rolls; bags, one containing spools of white and another of colored cotton thread, and another for silks wound on spools or papers; a box or bag for nicebuttons, and another for more common ones; a hag containing silk braid, welting cords, and galloon binding. Small rolls of pieces of white andbrown linen and cotton are also often needed. A brick pin-cushion isa great convenience in sewing, and better than screw cushions. It ismade by covering half a brick with cloth, putting a cushion on thetop, and covering it tastefully. It is very useful to hold pins andneedles while sewing, and to fasten long seams when basting and sewing. 

_To make a Frock_. --The best way for a novice is to get a dress fitted(not sewed) at the best mantua-maker's. Then take out a sleeve, rip itto pieces, and cut out a paper pattern. Then take out half of the waist, (it must have a seam in front, ) and cut out a pattern of the back andfore-body, both lining and outer part. In cutting the patterns, iron thepieces smooth, let the paper be stiff, and with a pin; prick holes inthe paper, to show the gore in front and the depths of the seams. With apen and ink, draw lines from each pin-hole to preserve this mark. Thenbaste the parts together again, in doing which the unbasted half willserve as a pattern. When this is done, a lady of common ingenuity cancut and fit a dress by these patterns. If the waist of a dress be tootight, the seam under the arm must be let out; and in cutting a dress anallowance should be made for letting it out if needful, at this seam. 

The linings for the waists of dresses should be stiffened with cottonor linen. In cutting bias-pieces for trimming, they will not set wellunless they are exact. In cutting them use a long rule, and a leadpencil or piece of chalk. Welting-cords should be covered withbias-pieces; and it saves time, in many cases, to baste on thewelting-cord at the same time that you cover it. The best way, to puton hooks and eyes is to sew thorn on double broad tape, and sew thison the frock lining. They can be moved easily, and do not show wherethey are sewed on. 

In putting on linings of skirts at the bottom, be careful to have ita very little fuller than the dress, or it will shrink and look badly. All thin silks look much better with lining, and last much longer, asdo aprons also. In putting a lining to a dress, baste it on eachseparate breadth, and sew it at the seams, and it looks much betterthan to have it fastened only at the bottom. Hake notches in selvedge, to prevent it from drawing up the breadth. Dresses which are to bewashed should not be lined. 

Figured silks do not generally wear well if the figure be large andsatin-like. Black and plain-colored silks can be tested by procuringsamples, and making creases in them; fold the creases in a bunch, andrub them against a rough surface of moreen or carpeting. Those whichare poor will soon wear off at the creases. 

Plaids look becoming for tall women, as they shorten the appearanceof the figure. Stripes look becoming on a large person, as they reducethe apparent size. Pale, persons should not wear blue or green, andbrunettes should not wear light delicate colors, except shades of buff, fawn, or straw color. Pearl white is not good for any complexion. Deadwhite and black look becoming on almost all persons. It is best to trycolors by candle-light for evening dresses, as some colors which lookvery handsome in the daylight are very homely when seen by candle-light. Never be in haste to be first in a fashion, and never go to theextremes. 

_Linen and Cotton_. --In buying linen, seek for that which has around close thread and is perfectly white; for if it be not white atfirst, it will never afterward become so. Much that is called linenat the shops is half cotton, and does not wear so well as cotton alone. Cheap linens are usually of this kind. It is difficult to discoverwhich are all linen; but the best way is to find a lot presumed to begood, take a sample, wash it, and ravel it. If this be good, the restof the same lot will probably be so. If you can not do this, draw athread each way, and if both appear equally strong it is probably alllinen. Linen and cotton must be put in clean water, and boiled, to getout the starch, and then ironed. 

A "long piece" of linen, a yard wide, will, with care and calculation, make eight shirts. In cutting it, take a shirt of the right size asa guide in fitting and basting. Bosom-pieces and false collars mustbe cut and fitted by patterns which suit the person for whom, thearticles are designed. Gentlemen's night-shirts are made like othershirts, except that they are longer, and do not have bosoms and cuffsfor starching. 

In cutting chemises, if the cotton or linen is a yard wide, cut offsmall half-gores at the top of the breadths and set them on the bottom. Use a long rule and a pencil in cutting gores. In cutting cotton winchis quite wide, a seam can be saved by cutting out two at once, in thismanner: cut off three breadths, and with a long rule and a pencil, mark and cut off the gores; thus from one breadth cut off two goresthe whole length, each gore one fourth of the breadth at the bottom, and tapering off to a point at the top. The other two breadths are tohave a gore cut off from each, which is one fourth wide at the top andtwo fourths at bottom. Arrange these pieces right and they will maketwo chemises, one having four seams and the other three. This is amuch easier way of cutting than sewing the three breadths together inbag fashion, as is often done. The biased or goring seams must alwaysbe felled. The sleeves and neck can be cut according to the taste ofthe wearer, by another, chemise for a pattern. There should be a liningaround the armholes and stays at all corners. Six yards of yard widthwill make two chemises. 

Long night-gowns are best cut a little goring. It requires five yardsfor a long night-gown, and two and a half for a short one. Linen nightcaps wear longer than cotton ones, and do not like them turn yellow. They should be ruffled with linen, as cotton borders will not last solong as the cap. A double-quilted wrapper is a great comfort, in caseof sickness. It may be made of two old dresses. It should not be cutfull, but rather like a gentleman's study-gown, having no gathers orplaits, but large enough to slip off and on with ease. A double-gownof calico is also very useful. Most articles of dress, for grown personsor children, require patterns. 

Old silk dresses quilted for skirts are very serviceable, White flannelis soiled so easily and shrinks so much in washing that it is a goodplan to color it. Cotton flannel is also good for common skirts. Inmaking up flannel, back-stitch and run the seams and then cross-stitchthem open. Nice flannel for infants can be ornamented with very littleexpense of time, by turning up the hem on the right side and makinga little vine at the edge with saddler's silk The stitch of the vineis a modification of button-hole stitch. 

_Mending_. Silk dresses will last much longer, by ripping out thesleeves when thin, and changing the arms and also the breadths of theskirt. Tumbled black silk, which is old and rusty, should be dippedin water, then be drained for a few minutes, without squeezing orpressing, and then ironed. Coffee or cold tea is better than water. Sheets when worn thin in the middle should be ripped, and the otheredges sewed together. Window-curtains last much longer if lined, asthe sun fades and rots them. 

Broadcloth should be cut with reference to the way the nap runs. Whenpantaloons are thin, it is best to newly seat them, cutting the pieceinserted in a curve, as corners are difficult to fit. Hose can be cutdown when the feet are worn. Take an old stocking and cut it up fora pattern. Make the heel short. In sewing, turn each edge and run itdown, and then sew over the edges. This is better than to stitch andthen cross-stitch. "Run" thin places in stockings, and it will savedarning a hole. If shoes are worn through on the sides, in theupper-leather, slip pieces of broadcloth under, and sew them aroundthe holes. 

_Bedding_. The best beds are thick hair mattresses, which for persons inhealth are good for winter as well as summer use. Mattresses may also bemade of husks, dried and drawn into shreds; also of alternate layers ofcotton and moss. The most profitable sheeting is the Russian, which willlast three times as long as any other. It is never perfectly white. Unbleached cotton is good for winter. It is poor economy to make narrowand short sheets, as children and domestics will always slip them off, and soil the bed-tick and bolster. They should be three yards long, andtwo and a half wide, so that they can be tucked in all around. All bed-linen should be marked and numbered, so that a bed can always be madeproperly, and all missing articles be known. 

XXIX. 

FIRES AND LIGHTS. 

A shallow fireplace saves wood and gives out more heat than a deeperone. A false back of brick may be put up in a deep fireplace. Hooksfor holding up the shovel and tongs, a hearth-brush and bellows, andbrass knobs to hang them on, should be furnished to every fireplace. An iron bar across the andirons aids in keeping the fire safe and ingood order. Steel furniture is neater, handsomer, and more easily keptin order than that made of brass. 

Use green wood for logs, and mix green and dry wood for the fire; andthen the wood-pile will last much longer. Walnut, maple, hickory, andoak wood are best; chestnut or hemlock is bad, because it snaps. Donot buy a load in which there are many crooked sticks. Learn how tomeasure and calculate the solid contents of a load, so as not to becheated. A cord of wood should be equivalent to a pile eight feet long, four feet wide and four feet high; that is, it contains (8 X 4 X 4 =128) one hundred and twenty-eight cubic or solid feet. A city "load"is usually one third of a cord. Have all your wood split and piledunder cover for winter. Have the green wood logs in one pile, dry woodin another, oven wood in another, kindlings and chips in another, anda supply of charcoal to use for broiling and ironing in another place. Have a brick bin for ashes, and never allow them to be put in wood. When quitting fires at night, never leave a burning stick across theandirons, nor on its end, without quenching it. See that no fire adheresto the broom or brush, remove all articles from the fire, and have twopails filled with water in the kitchen where they will not freeze. 

STOVES AND GRATES. 

Rooms heated by stoves should always have some opening for the admissionof fresh air, or they will be injurious to health. The dryness of theair, which they occasion, should be remedied by placing a vessel filledwith water on the stove, otherwise, the lungs or eyes will be injured. A large number of plants in a room prevents this dryness of the air. Where stove-pipes pass through fire-boards, the hole in the wood shouldbe much larger than the pipe, so that there may be no danger of thewood taking fire. The unsightly opening thus occasioned should becovered with tin. When pipes are carried through floors or partitions, they should always pass either through earthen crocks, or what areknown as tin stove-pipe thimbles, which may be found in any stove storeor tinsmith's. Lengthening a pipe will increase its draught. 

For those who use _anthracite_ coal, that which is broken or screened isbest for grates, and the nut-coal for small stoves. Three tons aresufficient in the Middle States, and four tons in the Northern, to keepone fire through the winter. That which is bright, hard, and clean isbest; and that which is soft, porous, and covered with damp dust ispoor. It will be well to provide two barrels of charcoal for kindling toevery ton of anthracite coal. Grates for _bituminous coal_ should have aflue nearly as deep as the grate; and the bars should be round and notclose together. The better draught there is, the less coal-dust is made. Every grate should be furnished with a poker, shovel, tongs, blower, coal-scuttle, and holder for the blower. The latter may be made ofwoolen, covered with old silk; and hung near the fire. 

Coal-stoves should be carefully put up, as cracks in the pipe, especially in sleeping rooms, are dangerous. 

LIGHTS

Professor Phin, of the _Manufacturer and Builder_, has kindly given ussome late information on this important topic, which will be foundvaluable. 

In choosing the source of our light, the great points to be consideredare, first, the influence on the eyes, and secondly, economy. It ispoor economy to use a bad light. Modern houses in cities, and even inlarge villages, are furnished with gas; where gas is not used, sperm-oil, kerosene or coal-oil, and candles are employed. Gas is thecheapest, (or ought to be;) and if properly used, is as good as any. Good sperm-oil burned in an Argand lamp--that is, a lamp with acircular wick, like the astral lamp and others--is perhaps the best;but it is expensive and attended with many inconveniences. Good keroseneoil gives a light which leaves little to be desired. Candles are usedonly on rare occasions, though many families prefer to manufactureinto candles the waste grease that accumulates in the household. Theeconomy of any source of light will depend so much upon localcircumstances that no absolute directions can be given. 

The effect produced by light on the eyes depends upon the followingpoints: First, _Steadiness_. Nothing is more injurious to theeyes than a flickering, unsteady flame. Hence, all flames used forlight-giving purposes ought to be surrounded with glass chimneys orsmall shades. No naked flame can ever be steady. Second, _Color_. This depends greatly upon the temperature of the flame. A hot flamegives a bright, white light; a flame which has not a high temperaturegives a dull, yellow light, which is very injurious to the eyes. Inthe naked gas-jet a large portion of the flame burns at a lowtemperature, and the same is the case with the flame of the kerosenelamp when the height of the chimney is not properly proportioned tothe amount of oil consumed; a high wick needs a high chimney. In thecase of a well-trimmed Argand oil-lamp, or an Argand burner for gas, the flame is in general most intensely hot, and the light is of a clearwhite character. 

The third point which demands attention is the _amount of heat_transmitted from the flame to the eyes. It often happens that people, in order to economize light, bring the lamp quite close to the face. This is a very bad habit. The heat is more injurious than the light. Better burn a larger flame, and keep it at a greater distance. It isalso well that various sized lamps should be provided to serve thevarying necessities of the household in regard to quantity of light. One of the very best forms of lamp is that known as the "student'sreading-lamp, " which is, in the burner, an Argand. Provide small lampswith handles for carrying about, and broad-bottomed lamps for thekitchen, as these are not easily upset. Hand and kitchen lamps arebest made of metal, unless they are to be used by very careful persons. 

Sperm-oil, lard, tallow, etc. , have been superseded to such an extentby kerosene that it is scarcely worth while to give any specialdirections in regard to them. In the choice of kerosene, attentionshould be paid to two points: its _safety_ and its _light-givingqualities_. Kerosene is not a simple fluid, like water; but is amixture of several liquids, all of which boil at different temperatures. Good kerosene oil should be purified from all that portion which boilsor evaporates at a low temperature; for it is the production of thisvapor, and its mixture with atmospheric air, that gives rise to thoseterrible explosions which sometimes occur when a light is brought neara can of poor oil. To test the oil in this respect, pour a little intoan iron spoon, and heat it over a lamp until it is moderately warm tothe touch. If the oil produces vapor which can be set on fire by meansof a flame held a short distance above the surface of the liquid, itis bad. Good oil poured into a teacup or on the floor does not easilytake fire when a light is brought in contact with it. Poor oil willinstantly ignite under the same circumstances, and hence, the breakingof a lamp filled with poor oil is always attended by great peril ofa conflagration. Not only the safety but also the light-giving qualitiesof kerosene are greatly enhanced by the removal of these volatile anddangerous oils. Hence, while good kerosene should be clear in colorand free from all matters which can gum up the wick and thus interferewith free circulation and combustion, it should also be perfectly safe. It ought to be kept in a cool, dark place, and carefully excluded fromthe air. 

The care of lamps requires so much attention and discretion, that manyladies choose to do this work themselves, rather than trust it withdomestics. To do it properly, provide the following things: an oldwaiter to hold all the articles used; a lamp-filler, with a spout, small at the end, and turned up to prevent oil from dripping; properwicks, and a basket or box to hold them; a lamp-trimmer made for thepurpose, or a pair of _sharp_ scissors; a small soap-cup and soap;some washing soda in a broad-mouthed bottle; and several soft clothsto wash the articles and towels to wipe them. If every thing, afterbeing used, is cleansed from oil and then kept neatly, it will not beso unpleasant a task as it usually is, to take care of lamps. 

The inside of lamps and oil-cans should be cleansed with soda dissolvedin water. Be careful to drain them well, and not to let any gildingor bronze be injured by the soda coming in contact with it. Put onetable-spoonful of soda to one quart of water. Take the lamp to piecesand clean it as often as necessary. Wipe the chimney at least once aday, and wash it whenever mere wiping fails to cleanse it. Some persons, owing to the dirty state of their chimneys, lose half the light whichis produced. Keep dry fingers in trimming lamps. Renew the wicks beforethey get too short. They should never be allowed to burn shorter thanan inch and a half. 

In regard to _shades_, which are always well to use, on lamps orgas, those made of glass or porcelain are now so cheap that we canrecommend them as the best without any reservation. Plain shades, making the light soft and even, do not injure the eyes. Lamps shouldbe lighted with a strip of folded or rolled paper, of which a quantityshould be kept on the mantelpiece. Weak eyes should always be especiallyshaded from the lights. Small screens, made for the purpose, shouldbe kept at hand. A person with weak eyes can use them safely muchlonger when they are protected from the glare of the light. Fill theentry-lamp every day, and cleanse and fill night-lanterns twice a week, if used often. A good night-lamp is made with a small one-wicked lampand a roll of tin to set over it. Have some holes made in the bottomof this cover, and it can then be used to heat articles. Very cheapfloating tapers can he bought to burn in a teacup of oil through thenight. 

TO MAKE CANDLES. 

The nicest candles are those run in moulds. For this purpose, melttogether one quarter of a pound of white wax, one quarter of an ounceof camphor, two ounces of alum, and ten ounces of suet or mutton-tallow. Soak the wicks in lime-water and saltpetre, and when dry, fix them inthe moulds and pour in the melted tallow. Let them remain one nightto cool; then warm them a little to loosen them, draw them out, andwhen they are hard, put them in a box in a dry and cool place. 

To make dipped candles, cut the wicks of the right length, double themover rods, and twist them. They should first be dipped in lime-wateror vinegar, and dried. Melt the tallow in a large kettle, filling itto the top with hot water, when the tallow is melted. Put in wax andpowdered alum, to harden them. Keep the tallow hot over a portablefurnace, and fill the kettle with hot water as fast as the tallow isused up. Lay two long strips of narrow board on which to hang the rods;and set flat pans under, on the floor, to catch the grease. Take severalrods at once, and wet the wicks in the tallow; straighten and smooththem when cool. Then dip them as fast as they cool, until they becomeof the proper size. Plunge them obliquely and not perpendicularly; andwhen the bottoms are too large, hold them in the hot grease till apart melts off. Let them remain one night to cool; then cut off thebottoms, and keep them in a dry, cool place. Cheap lights are made, by dipping rushes in tallow; the rushes being first stripped of nearlythe whole of the hard outer covering and the pith alone being retainedwith just enough of the tough bark to keep it stiff. 

XXX. 

THE CARE OF ROOMS. 

It would be impossible in a work dealing, as this does, with generalprinciples of house-keeping, to elaborate in full the multitudinousdetails which arise for attention and intelligent care. These will bemore largely treated of in the book soon to be published for the presentwriter, (the senior authoress of this volume. ) Yet, in the differentdepartments of family labor, there are certain leading mattersconcerning which a few hints may be found useful in aiding the readerto carry into operation the instructions and ideas of the earlierchapters of this book, and in promoting the general comfort andconvenience of families. 

And first, asking the reader to bear in mind that these suggestionsare chiefly applicable to country homes, not within easy reach of allthe conveniences which go under the name of "modern improvements, " wewill say a few words on the care of _Parlors_. 

In hanging pictures, put them so that the lower part shall be oppositethe eye. Cleanse the glass of pictures with whiting, as water endangersthe pictures. Gilt frames can be much better preserved by putting ona coat of copal varnish, which with proper brushes, can be bought ofcarriage or cabinet-makers. When dry, it can be washed with fair water. Wash the brush in spirits of turpentine. 

Curtains, ottomans, and sofas covered with worsted, can be cleansedwith wheat bran, rubbed on with flannel. Shades of linen or cotton, on rollers and pulleys, are always useful to shut out the sun fromcurtains and carpets. Paper curtains, pasted on old cotton, are goodfor chambers. Put them on rollers, having cords nailed to them, sothat when the curtain falls, the cord will be wound up. Then, by pullingthe cord, the curtain will be rolled up. 

Varnished furniture should be rubbed only with silk, exceptoccasionally, when a little sweet-oil should be rubbed over, and wipedoff carefully. For unvarnished furniture, use bees-wax, a littlesoftened with sweet-oil; rub it in with a hard brush, and polish withwoolen and silk rags. Some persons rub in linseed-oil; others mixbees-wax with a little spirits of turpentine and rosin, making it sothat it can be put on with a sponge, and wiped off with a soft rag. Others keep in a bottle the following mixture: two ounces of spiritsof turpentine, four table-spoonfuls of sweet-oil, and one quart ofmilk. This is applied with a sponge, and wiped off with a linen rag. 

Hearths and jambs, of brick, look best painted over with black lead, mixed with soft-soap. Wash the bricks which are nearest the fire withredding and milk, using a painter's brush. A sheet of zinc, coveringthe whole hearth, is cheap, saves work, and looks very well. A tinmancan fit it properly. 

Stone hearths should be rubbed with a paste of powdered stone, (to beprocured of the stone-cutters, ) and then brushed with a stiff brush. Kitchen hearths, of stone, are improved by rubbing in lamp-oil. 

Stains can be removed from marble, by oxalic acid and water, or oilof vitriol and water, left on a few minutes, and then rubbed dry. Graymarble is improved by linseed-oil. Grease can be taken from marble, by ox-gall and potter's clay wet with soapsuds, (a gill of each. ) Itis better to add, also, a gill of spirits of turpentine. It improvesthe looks of marble, to cover it with this mixture, leaving it twodays, and then rubbing it off. 

Unless a parlor is in constant use, it is best to sweep it only oncea week, and at other times use a whisk-broom and dust-pan. When aparlor with handsome furniture is to be swept, cover the sofas, centretable, piano, books, and mantelpiece with old cottons kept for thepurpose. Remove the rugs and shake them, and clean the jambs, hearth, and fire-furniture. Then sweep the room, moving every article. Dustthe furniture with a dust-brush and a piece of old silk. A painter'sbrush should be kept, to remove dust from ledges and crevices. Thedust-cloths should be often shaken and washed, or else they will soilthe walls and furniture when they are used. Dust ornaments and finebooks with feather brushes, used for no other purpose. 

_Chambers and Bedrooms_ are of course a portion of the house tobe sedulously and scrupulously attended to, if either health or comfortare aimed at in the family. And first, every mistress of a familyshould see, not only that all sleeping-rooms in her house _can be_well ventilated at night, but that they actually are so. Where thereis no provision made for the introduction of pure air, in theconstruction of the house, and in the bedroom itself no open fire-placeto allow the easy exit of foul air, a door should be left open intoan entry or room where fresh air is admitted; or else a small openingshould be made in a window, taking care not to allow a draught of airto cross the bed. The debility of childhood, the lassitude of domestics, and the ill-health of families, are often caused by neglecting toprovide a supply of pure air. 

It is not deemed necessary to add much to the earlier chapters treatingof bedroom conveniences; but one subject is of marked importance, asbeing characteristic of good or poor housekeeping--that is, the _makingof beds_. 

Few servants will make a bed properly, without much attention from themistress of the family; and every young woman who expects to have ahousehold of her own to manage should be able to do it well herself, and to instruct others in doing it. The following directions shouldbe given to those who do this work:

Open the windows, and lay off the bed-covering on two chairs, at thefoot of the bed. If it be a feather-bed, after it is well aired, shakethe feathers from each corner to the middle; then take up the middle, shake it well, and turn the bed over. Then push the feathers in place, making the head higher than the foot, and the sides even, and as highas the middle part. A mattress, whether used on top of a feather-bedor by itself, should in like manner be well aired and turned. Then puton the bolster and the under sheet, so that the wrong side of the sheetshall go next the bed, and the _marking_ always come at the head, tucking in all around. Then put on the pillows, evenly, so that theopen ends shall come to the sides of the bed, and spread on the uppersheet so that the wrong side shall be next the blankets, and the markedend always at the head. This arrangement of sheets is to prevent thepart where the feet lie from being reversed, so as to come to the face;and also to prevent the parts soiled by the body from coming to thebedtick and blankets. Put on the other covering, except the outer one, tucking in all around, and then turn over the upper sheet at the head, so as to show a part of the pillows. When the pillow-cases are cleanand smooth, they look best outside of the cover, but not otherwise. Then draw the hand along the side of the pillows, to make an evenindentation, and then smooth and shape the whole outside. A nicehousekeeper always notices the manner in which a bed is made; and insome parts of the country, it is rare to see this work properlyperformed. 

The writer would here urge every mistress of a family, who keeps morethan one domestic servant, to provide them with single beds, that theymight not be obliged to sleep with all the changing domestics, whocome and go so often. Where the room is too small for two beds, anarrow truckle-bed kept under another during the day will answer. Domestics should be furnished with washing conveniences in theirchambers, and be encouraged to keep their persons and rooms neat andin order. 

_The care of the Kitchen, Cellar, and Store-room is necessarily thefoundation of all proper housekeeping. _

If parents wish their daughters to grow up with good domestic habits, they should have, as one means of securing this result, a neat andcheerful kitchen. A kitchen should always, if possible, be entirelyabove-ground, and well lighted. It should have a large sink, with adrain running under-ground, so that all the premises may be kept sweetand clean. If flowers and shrubs be cultivated around the doors andwindows, and the yard near them be kept well turfed, it will add verymuch to their agreeable appearance. The walls should often be cleanedand white-washed, to promote a neat look and pure air. The floor ofa kitchen should be painted, or, what is better, covered with anoilcloth. To procure a kitchen oilcloth as cheaply as possible, buycheap tow cloth, and fit it to the size and shape of the kitchen. Thenhave it stretched, and nailed to the south side of the barn, and, witha brush, cover it with a coat of thin rye paste. When this is dry, puton a coat of yellow paint, and let it dry for a fortnight. It is safestto first try the paint, and see if it dries well, as some paint neverwill dry. Then put on a second coat, and at the end of anotherfortnight, a third coat. Then let it hang two months, and it will last, uninjured, for many years. The longer the paint is left to dry, thebetter. If varnished, it will last much longer. 

A sink should be scalded out every day, and occasionally with hot lye. On nails, over the sink, should be hung three good dish-cloths, hemmed, and furnished with loops; one for dishes not greasy, one for greasydishes, and one for washing greasy pots and kettles. These should beput in the wash every week. The lady who insists upon this will notbe annoyed by having her dishes washed with dark, musty and greasyrags, as is too frequently the case. 

Under the sink should be kept a slop-pail; and, on a shelf by it, asoap-dish and two water-pails. A large boiler of warm soft water shouldalways be kept over the fire, well covered, and a hearth-broom andbellows be hung near the fire. A clock is a very important article inthe kitchen, in order to secure regularity at meals. 

WASHING DISHES. 

No item of domestic labor is so frequently done in a negligent manner, by domestics, as this. A full supply of conveniences will do muchtoward the remedy of this evil. A swab, made of strips of linen tiedto a stick, is useful to wash nice dishes, especially small, deeparticles. Two or three towels, and three dish-cloths should be used. Two large tin tubs, painted on the outside, should be provided; onefor washing, and one for rinsing; also, a large old waiter, on whichto drain the dishes. A soap-dish, with hard soap, and a fork, withwhich to use it, a slop-pail, and two pails for water, should also befurnished. The following rules for washing dishes will aid in promotingthe desired care and neatness:

1. Scrape the dishes, putting away any food which may remain on them, and which it may be proper to save for future use. Put grease into thegrease-pot, and whatever else may be on the plates into the slop-pail. Save tea-leaves for sweeping. Set all the dishes, when scraped, inregular piles, the smallest at the top. 

2. Put the nicest articles in the wash-dish, and wash them in hot sudswith the swab or nicest dish-cloth. Wipe all metal articles as soonas they are washed. Put all the rest into the rinsing-dish, whichshould be filled with hot water. When they are taken out, lay them todrain on the waiter. Then rinse the dish-cloth, and hang it up, wipethe articles washed, and put them in their places. 

3. Pour in more hot water, wash the greasy dishes with the dish-clothmade for them, rinse them, and set them to drain. Wipe them, and setthem away. Wash the knives and forks, _being careful that the handlesare never put in water_; wipe them, and then lay them in aknife-dish, to be scoured. 

4. Take a fresh supply of clean suds, in which wash the milk-pans, buckets, and tins. Then rinse and hang up this dish-cloth, and takethe other, with which, wash the roaster, gridiron, pots, and kettles. Then wash and rinse the dish-cloth, and hang it up. Empty theslop-bucket, and scald it. Dry metal teapots and tins before the fire. Then put the fire-place in order, and sweep and dust the kitchen. 

Some persons keep a deep and narrow vessel, in which to wash kniveswith a swab, so that a careless servant _can not_ lay them in thewater while washing them. This article can be carried into theeating-room, to receive the knives and forks when they are taken fromthe table. 

KITCHEN FURNITURE. 

_Crockery_. --Brown earthen pans are said to be best for milk andfor cooking. Tin pans are lighter, and more convenient, but are toocold for many purposes. Tall earthen jars, with covers, are good tohold butter, salt, lard, etc. Acids should never be put into the redearthen ware, as there is a poisonous ingredient in the glazing whichthe acid takes off. Stone ware is better and stronger, and safer everyway than any other kind. 

_Iron Ware_. --Many kitchens are very imperfectly supplied withthe requisite conveniences for cooking. When a person has sufficientmeans, the following articles are all desirable: A nest of iron pots, of different sizes, (they should be slowly heated when new, ) a longiron fork, to take out articles from boiling water; an iron hook, witha handle, to lift pots from the crane; a large and small gridiron, with grooved bars, and a trench to catch the grease; a Dutch oven, called also a bake-pan; two skillets, of different sizes, and a spider, or flat skillet, for frying; a griddle, a waffle-iron, tin and ironbake and bread pans; two ladles, of different sizes; a skimmer; ironskewers; a toasting-iron; two teakettles, one small and one largeone; two brass kettles, of different sizes, for soap-boiling, etc. Iron kettles, lined with porcelain, are better for preserves. TheGerman are the best. Too hot a fire will crack them, but with care inthis respect, they will last for many years. 

Portable charcoal furnaces, of iron or clay, are very useful in summer, in washing, ironing, and stewing, or making preserves. If used in thehouse, a strong draught must be made, to prevent the deleterious effectsof the charcoal. A box and mill, for spice, pepper, and coffee, areneedful to those who use these articles. Strong knives and forks, asharp carving-knife, an iron cleaver and board, a fine saw, steelyards, chopping-tray and knife, an apple-parer, steel for sharpening knives, sugar-nippers, a dozen iron spoons, also a large iron one with a longhandle, six or eight flat-irons, one of them very small, twoiron-stands, a ruffle-iron, a crimping-iron, are also desirable. 

_Tin Ware_. --Bread-pans; large and small patty-pans; cake-pans, with a centre tube to insure their baking well; pie-dishes, (ofblock-tin;) a covered butter-kettle; covered kettles to hold berries;two sauce-pans; a large oil-can; (with a cock;) a lamp-filler; alantern; broad bottomed candlesticks for the kitchen; a candle-box;a funnel; a reflector for baking warm cakes; an oven or tin-kitchen;an apple-corer; an apple-roaster; an egg-boiler; two sugar-scoops, andflour and meal-scoop; a set of mugs; three dippers; a pint, quart, andgallon measure; a set of scales and weights; three or four pails, painted on the outside; a slop-bucket with a tight cover, painted onthe outside; a milk-strainer; a gravy-strainer; a colander; adredging-box; a pepper-box; a large and small grater; a cheese-box;also a large box for cake, and a still larger one for bread, with tightcovers. Bread, cake, and cheese, shut up in this way, will not growdry as in the open air. 

_Wooden Ware_. --A nest of tubs; a set of pails and bowls; a largeand small sieve; a beetle for mashing potatoes; a spade or stick forstirring butter and sugar; a bread-board, for moulding bread and makingpie-crust; a coffee-stick; a clothes-stick; a mush-stick; a meat-beetle, to pound tough meat; an egg-beater; a ladle, for working butter; abread-trough, (for a large family;) flour-buckets, with lids, to holdsifted flour and Indian meal; salt-boxes; sugar-boxes; starch andindigo-boxes; spice-boxes; a bosom-board; a skirt-board; a largeironing-board; two or three clothes-frames; and six dozen clothes-pins. 

_Basket Ware_. --Baskets of all sizes, for eggs, fruit, marketing, clothes, etc. ; also chip-baskets. When often used, they should bewashed in hot suds. 

_Other Articles_. --Every kitchen needs a box containing balls ofbrown thread and twine, a large and small darning needle, rolls ofwaste paper and old linen and cotton, and a supply of common holders. There should also be another box, containing a hammer, carpet-tacks, and nails of all sizes, a carpet-claw, screws and a screw-driver, pincers, gimlets of several sizes, a bed-screw, a small saw, twochisels, (one to use for button-holes in broadcloth, ) two awls and twofiles. 

In a drawer or cupboard should be placed cotton table-cloths for kitchenuse; nice crash towels for tumblers, marked T T; coarser towels fordishes marked T; six large roller-towels; a dozen hand-towels, markedH T; and a dozen hemmed dish-cloths with loops. Also two thick linenpudding or dumpling-cloths, a jelly-bag made of white flannel, tostrain jelly, a starch-strainer, and a bag for boiling clothes. 

In a closet should be kept, arranged in order, the following articles:the dust-pan, dust-brush, and dusting-cloths, old flannel and cottonfor scouring and rubbing, large sponges for washing windows andlooking-glasses, a long brush for cobwebs, and another for washing theoutside of windows, whisk-brooms, common brooms, a coat-broom or brush, a whitewash-brush, a stove-brush, shoe-brushes and blacking, articlesfor cleaning tin and silver, leather for cleaning metals, bottlescontaining stain-mixtures and other articles used in cleansing. 

CARE OF THE CELLAR. 

A cellar should often be whitewashed, to keep it sweet. It should havea drain to keep it perfectly dry, as standing water in a cellar is asure cause of disease in a family. It is very dangerous to leave decayedvegetables in a cellar. Many a fever has been caused by the poisonousmiasm thus generated. The following articles are desirable in a cellar:a safe, or movable closet, with sides of wire or perforated tin, inwhich cold meats, cream, and other articles should be kept; (if antsbe troublesome, set the legs in tin cups of water;) a refrigerator, or a large wooden-box, on feet, with a lining of tin or zinc, and aspace between the tin and wood filled with powdered charcoal, havingat the bottom a place for ice, a drain to carry off the water, andalso movable shelves and partitions. In this, articles are kept cool. It should be cleaned once a week. Filtering jars to purify water shouldalso be kept in the cellar. Fish and cabbages in a cellar are apt toscent a house, and give a bad taste to other articles. 

STOREROOM. 

Every house needs a storeroom, in which to keep tea, coffee, sugar, rice, candles, etc. It should be furnished with jars, having labels, a large spoon, a fork, sugar and flour-scoops, a towel, and adish-cloth. 

MODES OF DESTROYING INSECTS AND VERMIN. 

_Bed-bugs_ should be kept away, by filling every chink in the bedsteadwith putty, and if it be old, painting it over. Of all the mixtures forkilling them, _corrosive sublimate and alcohol_ is the surest. This is astrong poison. 

_Cockroaches_ may be destroyed by pouring boiling water into theirhaunts, or setting a mixture of arsenic mixed with Indian meal andmolasses where they are found. Chloride of lime and sweetened waterwill also poison them. 

_Fleas_. --If a dog be infected with these insects, put him in atub of warm soapsuds, and they will rise to the surface. Take themoff, and burn them. Strong perfumes about the person diminish theirattacks. When caught between the fingers, plunge them in water, orthey will escape. 

_Crickets_. --Scalding, and sprinkling Scotch snuff about the haunts ofthese insects, are remedies for the annoyance caused by them. 

_Flies_ can be killed in great quantities, by placing about the housevessels filled with sweetened water and _cobalt_. Six cents' worth ofcobalt is enough for a pint of water. It is very poisonous. 

_Mosquitoes_. --Close nets around a bed are the only sure protectionat night against these insects. Spirits of hartshorn is the bestantidote for their bite. Salt and water is good. 

_Red or Black Ants_ may be driven away by scalding their haunts, and putting Scotch snuff wherever they go for food. Set the legs ofclosets and safes in pans of water, and they can not get at them. 

_Moths_. --Airing clothes does not destroy moths, but laying themin a hot sun does. If articles be tightly sewed up in linen when laidaway, and fine tobacco put about them, it is a sure protection. Thisshould be done in April. 

_Rats and Mice_. --A good cat is the best remedy for these annoyances. Equal quantities of hemlock (or _cicuta_) and old cheese will poisonthem; but this renders the house liable to the inconvenience of a badsmell. This evil, however, may be lessened, by placing a dish containingoil of vitriol poured on saltpetre where the smell is most annoying. Chloride of lime and water is also good. 

In using any of the above-mentioned poisons, great care should be takento guard against their getting into any article of food or any utensilor vessel used for cooking or keeping food, or where children can getat them. 

XXXI. 

THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 

First, let us say a few words on the _Preparation of Soil_. Ifthe garden soil be clayey and adhesive, put on a covering of sand, three inches thick, and the same depth of well-rotted manure. Spadeit in as deep as possible, and mix it well. If the soil be sandy andloose, spade in clay and ashes. Ashes are good for all kinds of soil, as they loosen those which are close, hold moisture in those which aresandy, and destroy insects. The best kind of soil is that which willhold water the longest without becoming hard when dry. 

_To prepare Soil for Pot-plants_, take one fourth part of commonsoil, one fourth part of well-decayed manure, and one half of vegetablemould, from the woods or from a chip-yard. Break up the manure fine, and sift it through a lime-screen, (or coarse wire sieve. ) Thesematerials must be thoroughly mixed. When the common soil which is usedis adhesive, and indeed in most other cases, it is necessary to addsand, the proportion of which must depend on the nature of the soil. 

_To Prepare a Hot-Bed_, dig a pit six feet long, five feet wide, and thirty inches deep. Make a frame of the same size, with the backtwo feet high, the front fifteen inches, and the sides sloped from theback to the front. Make two sashes, each three feet by five, with thepanes of glass lapping like shingles instead of having cross-bars. Setthe frame over the pit, which should then be filled with freshhorse-dung, which has not lain long nor been sodden by water. Treadit down hard; then put into the frame light and very rich soil, sixor eight inches deep, and cover it with the sashes for two or threedays. Then stir the soil, and sow the seeds in shallow drills, placingsticks by them, to mark the different kinds. Keep the frame coveredwith the glass whenever it is cold enough to chill the plants; but atall other times admit fresh air, which is indispensable to their health. When the sun is quite warm, raise the glasses enough to admit air, andcover them with matting or blankets, or else the sun may kill the youngplants. Water the bed at evening with water which has stood all day, or, if it be fresh drawn, add a little warm water. If there be toomuch heat in the bed, so as to scorch or wither the plants, lift thesashes, water freely, shade by day; make deep holes with stakes, andfill them up when the heat is reduced. In very cold nights, cover thesashes and frame with straw-mats. 

_For Planting Flower Seeds_. --Break up the soil, till it is verysoft, and free from lumps. Rub that nearest the surface between thehands, to make it fine. Make a circular drill a foot in diameter. Seedsare to be planted either deeper or nearer the surface, according totheir size. For seeds as large as sweet peas, the drill should be halfan inch deep. The smallest seeds must be planted very near the surface, and a very little fine earth be sifted over them. After covering themwith soil, beat them down with a trowel, so as to make the earth ascompact as it is after a heavy shower. Set up a stick in the middleof the circle, with the name of the plant heavily written upon it witha dark lead pencil. This remains more permanent if white-lead be firstrubbed over the surface. Never plant when the soil is very wet. Invery dry times, water the seeds at night. Never use very cold water. When the seeds are small, many should be planted together, that theymay assist each other in breaking the soil. When the plants are aninch high, thin them out, leaving only one or two, if the plant be alarge one, like the balsam; five or six, when it is of a medium size;and eighteen or twenty of the smaller size. Transplanting, unless theplant be lifted with a ball of earth, retards the growth about afortnight. It is best to plant at two different times, lest the firstplanting should fail, owing to wet or cold weather. 

_To plant Garden-Seeds_, make the beds from one to three yardswide; lay across them a board a foot wide, and with a stick, make afurrow on each side of it, one inch deep. Scatter the seeds in thisfurrow, and cover them. Then lay the board over them, and step on it, to press down the earth. When the plants are an inch high, thin themout, leaving spaces proportioned to their sizes. Seeds of similarspecies, such as melons and squashes, should not be planted very nearto each other, as this causes them to degenerate. The same kinds ofvegetables should not be planted in the same place for two years insuccession. The longer the rows are, the easier is the after culture. 

_Transplanting_ should be done at evening, or which is better, just before a shower. Take a round stick sharpened at the point, andmake openings to receive the plants. Set them a very little deeperthan they were before, and press the soil firmly round them. Then waterthem, and cover them for three or four days, taking care that sufficientair be admitted. If the plant can be removed without disturbing thesoil around the root, it will not be at all retarded by transplanting. Never remove leaves and branches, unless a part of the roots be lost. 

_To Re-pot House-Plants, renew the soil every year, soon after thetime of blossoming. Prepare soil as previously directed. Loosen theearth from the pot by passing a knife around the skies. Turn the plantupside down, and remove the pot. Then remove all the matted fibres atthe bottom, and all the earth, except that which adheres to the roots. From woody plants, like roses, shake off all the earth. Take the newpot, and put a piece of broken earthen-ware over the hole at the bottom, and then, holding the plant in the proper position, shake in the eartharound it. Then pour in water to settle the earth, and heap on freshsoil, till the pot is even full. Small pots are considered better thanlarge ones, as the roots are not so likely to rot, from excess ofmoisture. 

_In the Laying out of Yards and Gardens_, there is room for muchjudgment and taste. In planting trees in a yard, they should be arrangedin groups, and never planted in straight lines, nor sprinkled aboutas solitary trees. The object of this arrangement is to imitate Nature, and secure some spots of dense shade and some of clear turf. In yardswhich are covered with turf, beds can be cut out of it, and raised forflowers. A trench should be made around, to prevent the grass fromrunning on them. These beds can be made in the shape of crescents, ovals, or other fanciful forms. 

In laying out beds in gardens and yards, a very pretty bordering canbe made, by planting them with common flax-seed, in a line about threeinches from the edge. This can be trimmed with shears, when it growstoo high. 

_For Transplanting Trees_, the autumn is the best time. Take as much ofthe root as possible, especially the little fibres, which should neverbecome dry. If kept long before they are set out, put wet moss aroundthem and water them. Dig holes larger than the extent of the roots; letone person hold the tree in its former position, and another place theroots carefully as they were before, cutting off any broken or woundedroot. _Be careful not to let the tree be more than an inch deeper themit was before_. Let the soil be soft and well manured; shake the tree asthe soil is shaken in, that it may mix well among the small fibres. Donot tread the earth down, while filling the hole; but, when it is full, raise a slight mound of say four inches deep around the stem to holdwater, and fill it. Never cut off leaves nor branches, unless some ofthe roots are lost. Tie the trees to a stake, and they will be morelikely to live. Water them often. 

_The Care of House-Plants_ is a matter of daily attention, and wellrepays all labor expended upon it. The soil of house-plants should berenewed every year as previously directed. In winter, they should bekept as dry as they can be without wilting. Many house-plants areinjured by giving them too much water, when they have little lightand fresh air. This makes them grow spindling. The more fresh air, warmth and light they have, the more water is needed. They ought notto be kept very warm in winter, nor exposed to great changes ofatmosphere. Forty degrees is a proper temperature for plants in winter, when they have little sun and air. When plants have become spindling, cut off their heads entirely, and cover the pot in the earth, whereit has the morning sun only. A new and flourishing head will springout. Few houseplants can bear the sun at noon. When insects infestplants, set them in a closet or under a barrel, and burn tobacco underthem. The smoke kills any insect enveloped in it. When plants arefrozen, cold water and a gradual restoration of warmth are the bestremedies. Never use very cold water for plants at any season. 

XXXII. 

THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 

This is an occupation requiring much attention and constant care. Bulbous roots are propagated by offsets; some growing on the top, others around the sides. Many plants are propagated by cutting offtwigs, and setting them in earth, so that two or three eyes are covered. To do this, select a side shoot, ten inches long, two inches of itbeing of the preceding year's growth, and the rest the growth of theseason when it is set. Do this when the sap is running, and put a pieceof crockery at the bottom of the shoot, when it is buried. One eye, at least, must be under the soil. Water it and shade it in hot weather. 

Plants are also propagated by layers. To do this, take a shoot whichcomes up near the root, bend it down so as to bring several eyes underthe soil, leaving the top above-ground. If the shoot be cut halfthrough, in a slanting direction, at one of these eyes, before buryingit, the result is more certain. Roses, honeysuckles, and many othershrubs are readily propagated thus. They will generally take root bybeing simply buried; but cutting them as here directed is the bestmethod. Layers are more certain than cuttings. 

_Budding and Grafting_, for all woody plants, are favorite methodsof propagation. In all such plants, there is an outer and inner bark, the latter containing the sap vessels, in which the nourishment of thetree ascends. The success of grafting or inoculating consists in soplacing the bud or graft that the sap vessels of the inner bark shallexactly join those of the plant into which they are grafted; so thatthe sap may pass from one into the other. 

The following are directions for _budding_, which may be performedat any time from July to September:

[Illustration: Fig. 64]

Select a smooth place on the stock into which you are to insert thebud. Make a horizontal cut across the rind through to the firm wood;and from the middle of this, make a slit downward perpendicularly, aninch or more long, through to the wood. Raise the bark of the stockon each side of the perpendicular cut, for the admission of the bud, as is shown in the annexed engraving, (Fig. 64. ) Then take a shoot ofthis year's growth, and slice from it a bud, taking an inch below andan inch above it, and some portion of the wood under it. Then, carefullyslip off the woody part under the bud. Examine whether the eye or germof the bud be perfect. If a little hole appear in that part, the budhas lost its root, and another must be selected. Insert the bud, sothat _a_, of the bud, shall pass to a, of the stock; then _b_, of the bud, must be cut off, to match the cut b, in the stock, andfitted exactly to it, as it is this alone which insures success. Bindthe parts with fresh bass or woolen yarn, beginning a little below thebottom, of the perpendicular slit, and winding it closely around everypart, except just over the eye of the bud, until you arrive above thehorizontal cut. Do not bind it too tightly, but just sufficient toexclude air, sun, and wet. This is to be removed after the bud isfirmly fixed, and begins to grow. 

Seed-fruit can be budded into any other seed-fruit, and stone-fruitinto any other stone-fruit; but stone and seed-fruits can not be thusmingled. 

Rose-bushes can have a variety of kinds budded into the same stock. Hardy roots are the best stocks. The branch above the bud must be cutoff the next March or April after the bud is put in. Apples and pearsare more easily propagated by ingrafting than by budding. 

_Ingrafting_ is a similar process to budding, with this advantage, that it can be performed on large trees, whereas budding can be appliedonly on small ones. The two common kinds of ingrafting are whip-graftingand split-grafting. The first kind is for young trees, and the otherfor large ones. 

[Illustration: Fig. 65. ]

The time for ingrafting is from May to October. The cuttings must betaken from horizontal shoots, between Christmas and March, and keptin a damp cellar. In performing the operation, cut off in a slopingdirection (as seen in Fig. 65) the tree or limb to be grafted. Thencut off in a corresponding slant the slip to be grafted on. Then putthem together, so that the inner bark of each shall match exactly onone side, and tie them firmly together with yellow yarn. It is notessential that both be of equal size; if the bark of each meet togetherexactly on _one_ side, it answers the purpose. But the two mustnot differ much in size. The slope should be an inch and a half, ormore, in length. After they are tied together, the place should becovered with a salve or composition of bees-wax and rosin. A mixtureof clay and cow-dung will answer the same purpose. This last must betied on with a cloth. Grafting is more convenient than budding, asgrafts can be sent from a great distance; whereas buds must be taken, in July or August, from a shoot of the present year's growth, and cannot be sent to any great distance. 

[Illustration: Fig. 66]

This engraving (Fig. 66) exhibits the mode called stock-grafting;_a_ being the limb of a large tree, which is sawed off and split, and is to be held open by a small wedge till the grafts are put in. A graft inserted in the limb is shown at _b_, and at _c_ is one notinserted, but designed to be put in at _d_, as two grafts can be putinto a large stock. In inserting the graft, be careful to make the edgeof the inner bark of the graft meet exactly the edge of the inner barkof the stock; for on this success depends. After the grafts are put in, the wedge must be withdrawn, and the whole of the stock be covered withthe thick salve or composition before mentioned, reaching from where thegrafts are inserted to the bottom of the slit. Be careful not to knockor move the grafts after they are put in. 

_Pruning_ is an operation of constant exercise, for keeping plantsand trees in good condition. The following rules are from adistinguished horticulturist: Prune off all dead wood, and all thelittle twigs on the main limbs. Retrench branches, so as to give lightand ventilation to the interior of the tree. Cut out the straight andperpendicular shoots, which give little or no fruit; while those whichare most nearly horizontal, and somewhat curving, give fruit abundantlyand of good quality, and should be sustained. Superfluous and ill-placedbuds may be rubbed off at any time; and no buds pushing out aftermidsummer should be spared. In choosing between shoots to be retained, preserve the lowest placed, and on lateral shoots, those which arenearest the origin. When branches cross each other so as to rub, removeone or the other. Remove all suckers from the roots of trees or shrubs. Prune after the sap is in full circulation, (except in the case ofgrapes, ) as the wounds then heal best. Some think it best to prunebefore the sap begins to run. Pruning-shears, and a pruning-pole, witha chisel at the end, can be procured of those who deal in agriculturalutensils. 

_Thinning_ is also an important but very delicate operation. Asit is the office of the leaves to absorb nourishment from theatmosphere, they should never be removed, except to mature the woodor fruit. In doing this, remove such leaves as shade the fruit, assoon as it is ready to ripen. To do it earlier impairs the growth. Doit gradually at two different times. Thinning the fruit is important, as tending to increase its size and flavor, and also to promote thelongevity of the tree. If the fruit be thickly set, take off one halfat the time of setting. Revise in June, and then in July, taking offall that may be spared. One _very large_ apple to every squarefoot is a rule that may be a sort of guide in other cases. Accordingto this, two hundred large apples would be allowed to a tree whoseextent is fifteen feet by twelve. If any person think this thinningexcessive, let him try two similar trees, and thin one as directed andleave the other unthinned. It will be found that the thinned tree willproduce an equal weight, and fruit of much finer flavor. 

XXXIII. 

THE CULTIVATION OF FRUIT. 

By a little attention to this matter, a lady with the help of herchildren can obtain a rich abundance of all kinds of fruit. The writerhas resided in families where little boys of eight, ten, and twelveyears old amused themselves, under the direction of their mother, inplanting walnuts, chestnuts, and hazelnuts, for future time; as wellas in planting and inoculating young fruit-trees of all descriptions. A mother who will take pains to inspire a love for such pursuits inher children, and who will aid and superintend them, will save themfrom many temptations, and at a trifling expense secure to them andherself a rich reward in the choicest fruits. The information givenin this work on this subject may be relied on as sanctioned by themost experienced nursery-men. 

The soil for a nursery should be rich, well dug, dressed withwell-decayed manure, free from weeds, and protected from cold winds. Fruit-seeds should be planted in the autumn, an inch and a half or twoinches deep, in ridges four or five feet apart, pressing the earthfirmly over the seeds. While growing, they should be thinned out, leaving the best ones a foot and a half apart. The soil should be keptloose, soft, and free from weeds. They should be inoculated or ingraftedwhen of the size of a pipe stem; and in a year after this may betransplanted to their permanent stand. Peach-trees sometimes bear intwo years from budding, and in four years from planting if well kept. 

In a year after transplanting, take pains to train the head aright. Straight upright branches produce _gourmands_, or twigs bearingonly leaves. The side branches which are angular or curved yield themost fruit. For this reason, the limbs should be trained in curves, and perpendicular twigs should be cut off if there be need of pruning. The last of June is the time for this. Grass should never be allowedto grow within four feet of a large tree, and the soil should be keptloose to admit air to the roots. Trees in orchards should be twenty-fivefeet apart. The soil _under_ the top soil has much to do with thehealth of the trees. If it be what is called _hard-pan_, the treeswill deteriorate. Trees need to be manured and to have the soil keptopen and free from weeds. 

_Filberts_ can be raised in any part of this country. 

_Figs_ can be raised in the Middle, Western, and Southern States. For this purpose, in the autumn loosen the roots on one side, and bendthe tree down to the earth on the other; then cover it with a moundof straw, earth, and boards, and early in the spring raise it up andcover the roots. 

_Currants_ grow well in any but a wet soil. They are propagatedby cuttings. The old wood should be thinned in the fall and manure beput on. They can be trained into small trees. 

_Gooseberries_ are propagated by layers and cuttings. They arebest when kept from suckers and trained like trees. One third of theold wood should be removed every autumn. 

_Raspberries_ do best when shaded during a part of the day. Theyare propagated by layers, slips, and suckers. There is one kind whichbears monthly; but the varieties of this and all other fruits are nowso numerous that we can easily find those which are adapted to thespecial circumstances of the case. 

_Strawberries_ require a light soil and vegetable manure. They should betransplanted in April or September, and be set eight inches apart, inrows nine inches asunder, and in beds which are two feet wide, withnarrow alleys between them. A part of these plants are _non-bearers_. These have large flowers with showy stamens and high black anthers. The_bearers_ have short stamens, a great number of pistils, and the flowersare every way less showy. In blossom-time, pull out all the non-bearers. Some think it best to leave one non-bearer to every twelve bearers, andothers pull them all out. Many beds never produce any fruit, because allthe plants in them are non-bearers. Weeds should be kept from the vines. When the vines are matted with young plants, the best way is to dig overthe beds in cross lines, so as to leave some of the plants standing inlittle squares, while the rest are turned under the soil. This should bedone over a second time in the same year. 

_To Raise Grapes_, manure the soil, and keep it soft and freefrom weeds. A gravelly or sandy soil, and a south exposure are best. Transplant the vines in the early spring, or better in the fall. Prunethem the first year so as to have only two main branches, taking offall other shoots as fast as they come. In November, cut off all ofthese two branches except four eyes. The second year, in the spring, loosen the earth around the roots, and allow only two branches to grow, and every month take off all side shoots. When they are very strong, preserve only a part, and cut off the rest in the fall. In November, cut off all the two main stems except eight eyes. After the secondyear, no more pruning is needed, except to reduce the side shoots, forthe purpose of increasing the fruit. All the pruning of grapes (exceptnipping side shoots) must be done when the sap is not running, or theywill bleed to death. Train, them on poles, or lattices, to expose themto the air and sun. Cover tender vines in the autumn. Grapes arepropagated by cuttings, layers, and seeds. For cuttings, select in theautumn well-ripened wood of the former year, and take fire joints foreach. Bury them till April; then soak them for some hours, and setthem out _aslant_, so that all the eyes but one shall be covered. 

Apples, grapes, and such like fruit can be preserved in their naturalstate by packing them when dry and solid in dry sand or saw-dust, putting alternate layers of fruit and cotton, saw-dust or sand. Somesaw-dust gives a bad flavor to the fruit. 

_Modes of Preserving Fruit-Trees_. --Heaps of ashes or tanner's barkaround peach-trees prevent the attack of the worm. The _yellows_ is adisease of peach-trees, which is spread by the pollen of the blossom. When a tree begins to turn yellow, take it away with all its roots, before it blossoms again, or it will infect other trees. Planting tansyaround the roots of fruit-trees is a sure protection against worms, asit prevents the moth from depositing her egg. Equal quantities of saltand saltpetre, put around the trunk of a peach-tree, half a pound to atree, improve the size and flavor of the fruit. Apply this about thefirst of April; and if any trees have worms already in them, put on halfthe quantity in addition in June. To young trees just set out, apply oneounce in April, and another in June, close to the stem. Sandy soil isbest for peaches. 

Apple-trees are preserved from insects by a wash of strong lye to thebody and limbs, which, if old, should be first scraped. Caterpillarsshould be removed by cutting down their nests in a damp day. Boringa hole in a tree infested with worms, and filling it with sulphur, will often drive them off immediately. 

The _fire-blight_, or _brulure_ in pear-trees can be stopped by cuttingoff all the blighted branches. It is supposed by some to be owing to anexcess of sap, which is remedied by diminishing the roots. 

The _curculio_, which destroys plums and other stone-fruit, can bechecked only by gathering up all the fruit that falls, (which containstheir eggs, ) and destroying it. The _canker-worm_ can be checked byapplying a bandage around the body of the tree, and every eveningsmearing it with fresh tar. 

XXXIV. 

THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 

One of the most interesting illustrations of the design of ourbenevolent Creator in establishing the family state is the nature ofthe domestic animals connected with it. At the very dawn of life, theinfant watches with delight the graceful gambols of the kitten, andsoon makes it a playmate. Meantime, its out-cries when hurt appeal tokindly sympathy, and its sharp claws to fear; while the child's motherhas a constant opportunity to inculcate kindness and care for weak andignorant creatures. Then the dog becomes the out-door playmate andguardian of early childhood, and he also guards himself by cries ofpain, and protects himself by his teeth. At the same time, his faithfulloving nature and caresses awaken corresponding tenderness and care;while the parent again has a daily opportunity to inculcate thesevirtues toward the helpless and dependent. As the child increases inknowledge and reason, the horse, cows, poultry, and other domesticanimals come under his notice. These do not ordinarily express theirhunger or other sufferings by cries of distress, but depend more onthe developed reason and humanity of man. And here the parent is calledupon to instruct a child in the nature and wants of each, that he mayintelligently provide for their sustenance and for their protectionfrom injury and disease. 

To assist in this important duty of home life, which so often fallsto the supervision of woman, the following information is preparedthrough the kindness of one of the editors of a prominent, widelyknown, agricultural paper. 

Domestic animals are very apt to catch the spirit and temper of theirmasters. A surly man will be very likely to have a cross dog and abiting horse. A passionate man will keep all his animals in moral fearof him, making them, snappish, and liable to hurt those of whom theyare not afraid. 

It is, therefore, most important that all animals should be treateduniformly with kindness. They are all capable of returning affection, and will show it very pleasantly if we manifest affection for them. They also have intuitive perceptions of our emotions which we can notconceal. A sharp, ugly dog will rarely bite a person who has no fearof him. A horse knows the moment a man mounts or takes the reins whetherhe is afraid or not; and so it is with other animals. 

If live stock can not be well fed, they ought not to be kept. One wellwintered horse is worth as much, as two that drag through on straw, and by browsing the hedgerows. The same is true of oxen, andemphatically so of cows. The owner of a half-starved dog loses the useof him almost altogether; for, at the very time--the night--when lieis most needed as a guard, he must be off scouring the country forfood. 

_Shelter_ in winter is most important for cows. They should havegood tight stables or byres, well ventilated, and so warm that waterin a pail will only freeze a little on the top the severest nights. Oxen should have the same stabling, though they bear cold better. Horses in stables will bear almost any degree of cold, if they haveall they can eat. Sheep, except young lambs, are well enough shelteredin dry sheds, with one end open. Cattle, sheep, and dogs do not sweatas horses do, they "loll;" that is, water or slobber runs from theirtongues; hence, they are not liable to take cold as the horse is. Hogsbear cold pretty well; but they eat enough to convince any one thattrue economy lies in giving them warm sties in winter, for the colderthey are the more they eat. Fowls will not lay in cold weather unlessthey have light and warm quarters. 

_Cleanliness_ is indispensable, if one would keep his animals healthy. In their wild state all our domestic animals are very clean, and, at thesame time, very healthy. The hog is not naturally a dirty animal, butquite the reverse. He enjoys currying as much as a horse or a cow, andwould be as careful of his litter as a cat if he had a fair chance. Horses ought to be groomed daily; cows and oxen as often as twice aweek; dogs should be washed with soapsuds frequently. Stables should becleaned out daily. Absorbents of liquid in stables should be removed asoften as they become wet. Dry earth is one of the best absorbents, andis especially useful in the fowl-house. Hogs in pens should have strawfor their rests or lairs, and it should be often renewed. 

_Parasitic Vermin_. --These are lice, fleas, ticks, the scale insects, and other pests which afflict our live stock. There are many ways ofdestroying them; the best and safest is a free use of _carbolic acidsoap_. The larger animals, as well as hogs, dogs, and sheep may bewashed in strong suds of this soap, without fear, and the applicationrepeated after a week. This generally destroys both the creatures andtheir eggs. Hen lice are best destroyed by greasing the fowls, anddusting them with flowers of sulphur. Sitting hens must never begreased, but the sulphur may be dusted freely in their nests, and it is well to put it in all hens' nests. 

_Salt and Water_. --All animals except poultry require salt, and all, free supplies of fresh water. 

_Light_. --Stables, or places where any kind of animals are confined, should have plenty of light. Windows are not more important in a housethan in a barn. The _sun_ should come in freely; and if it shinesdirectly upon the stock, all the better. When beeves and sheep arefattening very rapidly, the exclusion of the light makes them morequiet, and fatten faster; but their state is an unnatural and hardly ahealthy one. 

_Exercise_ in the open air is important for breeding animals. Itis especially necessary for horses of all kinds. Cows need very littleand swine none, unless kept for breeding. 

_Breeding_, --Always use thorough-bred males, and improvement is certain. 

_Horses_. --The care which horses require varies with the circumstancesin which the owner is placed, and the uses to which they are put. Ingeneral, if kept stabled, they should be fed with good upland hay, almost as much as they will eat; and if absent from the stable, and atwork most of the day, they should have all they will eat of hay, together with four to eight quarts of oats or an equal weight of othergrain or meal. Barley is good for horses, and so is dry corn. Corn-mealput upon cut hay, wet and well-mixed, is good, steady feed, if not intoo large quantities. Four quarts a day may be fed unmixed with othergrain; but if the horse be hard worked and needs more, mix the meal withwheat bran, or linseed oil-cake meal, or use corn and oats groundtogether; carrots are especially wholesome. A quart of linseed oil-cakemeal, daily, is an excellent occasional addition to a horse's food, whencarrots can not be had. It gives a lustre to his coat, and brings thenew coat of hair out in the spring. A stabled horse needs dailyexercise, as much as to trot three miles. Where a horse is traveling, itis well to give him six quarts of oats in the morning, four at noon, andsix at night. 

Thorough grooming is indispensable to the health of horses. Especialcare should be taken of the legs and fetlocks, that no dirt remain tocause that distressing disease, _grease_ or _scratches_, which resultsfrom filthy fetlocks and standing in dirty stables. When a horse comesin from work on muddy roads with dirty legs, they should be immediatelycleaned, the dirt brushed off, then rubbed with straw; then, if verydirty, washed clean and rubbed dry with a piece of sacking. A horseshould never stand in a draught of cold air, if he can not turn and puthis back to it. If sweaty or warm from work, he should be blanketed, ifhe is to stand a minute in the winter air. If put at once into thestable, he should be stripped and rubbed down with straw actively forfive minutes or more, and then blanketed. The blanket must be removed inan hour, and the horse given water and feed, if it is the usual time. Itwill not hurt him to eat hay when hot, unless he be thoroughlyexhausted, when all food should be withheld for a while. 

It is very comforting to a tired horse, when he is too hot to drink, to sponge out his mouth with cool water. A horse should never drinkwhen very hot, nor be turned into a yard to "cool off, " even in summer, neither should he be turned out to pasture before he is quite cool. 

_Cows_. --Gentle but firm treatment will make a cow easy to milkand to handle in every way. If stabled or yarded, cows should haveaccess to water at all times, or have it frequently offered to them. Clover hay is probably the best steady food for milk cows. Cornstalkscut up, thoroughly soaked with water for half a day, and then sprinkledwith corn or oil-cake meal is perhaps unsurpassed as good winter foodfor milk cows. The amount of meal may vary. With plenty of oil-meal, there is little danger of feeding too much, as that is loosening tothe bowels and a safe nutritious article. Corn-meal alone, in largequantities, is too heating. Roots should, if possible, form part ofthe diet of a milch cow, especially before and soon after calving;feed well before this period, yet not to make the cow very fat; butit is better to err in that way than to have her "come in" thin. Takethe calf away from the mother as soon as it stands tip, and theseparation will worry neither dam nor young. This is always best, unless the calf is to be kept with the cow. The calf will soon learnto drink its food, if two fingers be held in its mouth. Let it haveall the first drawn milk for three days as soon as milked; after this, skimmed milk warmed to blood heat. Soon a little fine scalded meal maybe mixed with the milk; and it will, at three to five weeks old, nibblehay and grass. It is well also to keep a box containing some drywheat-bran and fine corn-meal mixed in the calf-pen, so that calvesmay take as much as they like. 

In milking, put the fingers around the teat close to the bag; thenfirmly close the forefingers of each hand alternately, immediatelysqueezing with the other fingers. The forefingers prevent the milkflowing back into the bag, while the others press it out. Sit with theleft knee close to the right hind leg of the cow, the head pressedagainst her flank, the left hand always ready to ward off a blow fromher feet, which the gentlest cow may give almost without knowing it, if her tender teats be cut by long nails, or if a wart be hurt, or herbag be tender. She must be stripped dry every time she is milked, orshe will dry up; and if she gives much milk, it pays to milk threetimes a day, as nearly eight hours apart as possible. Never stop whilemilking till done, as this will cause the cow to stop giving milk. 

To tether a cow, tie her by one hind leg, making the rope fast abovethe fetlock joint, and protecting the limb with a piece of an oldbootleg or similar thing. The knot must be one that will not slip;regular fetters of iron bound with leather are much better. 

A cow should go unmilked two months before calving, and her milk shouldnot be used by the family till four days after that time. 

_Swine_. --The filthy state of hog-pens is allowed on account ofthe amount of manure they will make by working over all sorts ofvegetable matter, spoiled hay, weeds, etc. , etc. This is unhealthy forthe family near and also for the animal. The hog is, naturally, acleanly animal, and if given a chance he will keep himself very neatand clean. Breeding sows should have the range of a small pasture, andbe regularly fed. They need fresh water constantly, and often sufferfor lack of it when they have liquid swill, which they do not like todrink. All hogs should have a warm, dry, well-littered pen to lie in, away from flies and disturbance of any kind. They are fond of charcoal, and it is worth while frequently to throw a few handfuls where theycan get at it. It has a very beneficial effect on the appetite, regulates the tone of the stomach and digestive organs, and can notdo any harm. Pigs ought always to be well fed and kept growing fast;and when being fattened, they should be penned always, the herd beingsorted so that all may have an equal chance. It is well to feed softcorn in the ear; but hard corn should always be ground and cooked forpigs. 

_Sheep_. --In the winter, sheep need deep, well-littered, drysheds, dry yards, and hay, wheat, or oat straw, as much as they willeat. They should be kept gaining by grain regularly fed to them, andso distributed that each gets its share. Corn, either whole or ground, or oil-cake meal, or both, are used for fattening sheep. They willeasily surfeit themselves on any grain except oil-meal, which is verysafe feed for them, and usually economical. Strong sheep will oftendrive the weaker ones away, and so get more than their share of foodand make themselves sick. This must be guarded against, and the flocksorted, keeping the weaker and stronger apart. 

Sheep are very useful in clearing land of brush and certain weeds, which they gnaw down, and kill. To accomplish this, the land must beoverstocked, and it is best not to keep sheep on short pasturage morethan a few weeks at a time; but if they are returned after a few days, it will serve as good a purpose as if they were to be kept on all thetime. Sheep at pasture must be restrained by good fences, or they willbe a great nuisance. Dog-proof hedge fences of Osage orange are tobe highly recommended, wherever this plant will grow. Mutton sheepwill generally pay better to raise than merinos, but they need morecare. 

_Poultry_. --Few objects of labor are more remunerative than poultry, raised on a moderate scale. _Turkeys_, when young, need great care; someanimal food, dry, warm quarters, and must be kept out of the wet grass, and kept in when it rains. As soon as fledged, they become very hardy, and, with free range, will almost take care of themselves. _Geese_ needwater and good grass pasture. _Ducks_ do very well without water to swimin, if they have all they need to drink. They will lay a great many eggsif kept shut in a pen until say eight o'clock in the morning. If let outearlier, they wander away, and will hide their nests, and lay only aboutas many eggs as they can cover. It is best to set duck's eggs underhens, and to keep young ducks shut up in a dry roomy pen for four weeks, at least. _Fowls_ need light, warm, dry quarters in winter, plenty offeed, but not too much. They relish animal food, and ought to have somefrequently to make them lay. Pork or beef scrap-cake can be bought fortwo to three cents a pound, and is very good for them. Any kind of grainis good for poultry. Nothing is better than wheat screenings. Earlyhatched chickens must be kept in a warm, dry, sunny room, with plenty ofgravel, and the hen should have no more than eight or nine chickens tobrood; though in summer, one hen will take good care of fifteen. Little, chickens, turkeys, and ducks need frequent feeding, and must have theirwater changed often. It is well to grease the body of the hen and theheads of the chicks with lard, in order to prevent their becominglousy. 

Hens set about twenty days, and should be well fed and watered. Coldor damp weather is bad for young fowls, and when they have been chilled, pepper-corns are a good remedy, in addition to the warmth of aninclosed dry place. 

The most absorbing part of the "Woman's question" of the present timeis the remedy for the varied sufferings of women who are widows orunmarried, and without means of support. As yet, few are aware howmany sources of lucrative enterprise and industry lie open to womanin the employments directly connected with the family state. A womancan invest capital in the dairy and qualify herself to superintend adairy farm as well as a man. And if she has no capital of her own, ifwell trained for this business, she can find those who have capitalready to furnish--an investment that well managed will becomeprofitable. And, too, the raising of poultry, of dogs, and of sheepare all within the reach of a woman with proper abilities and trainingfor this business. So that if a woman chooses, she can find employmentboth interesting and profitable in studying the care of domesticanimals. 

_Bees_. --But one of the most profitable as well as interestingkinds of business for a woman is the care of bees. In a recentagricultural report, it is stated that one lady bought four hives forten dollars, and in five years she was offered one thousand five hundreddollars for her stock, and refused it as not enough. In addition tothis increase of her capital, in one of these five years she soldtwenty-two hives and four hundred and twenty pounds of honey. It isalso stated that in five years one man, from six colonies of bees tostart with, cleared eight thousand pounds of honey and one hundred andfifty-four colonies of bees. 

The raising of bees and their management is so curious and as yetunknown an art in most parts of our country, that any directions oradvice will be omitted in this volume, as requiring too much space, and largely set forth and illustrated in the second part. When properlyinstructed, almost any woman in the city, as easily as in the country, can manage bees, and make more profit than in any other method demandingso little time and labor. But in the modes ordinarily practiced, fewcan make any great profit in this employment. 

It is hoped a time is at hand when every woman will be trained to someemployment by which she can secure to herself an independent home andmeans to support a family, in case she does not marry, or is left awidow, with herself and a family to support. 

XXXV. 

EARTH-CLOSETS. 

In some particulars, the Chinese are in advance of our own nation inneatness, economy, and healthful domestic arrangements. In China, notaparticle of manure is wasted, and all that with us is sent off indrains and sewers from water-closets and privies, is collected in aneat manner and used for manure. This is one reason that the compactand close packing of inhabitants in their cities is practicable, andit also accounts for the enormous yields of some of their crops. 

The earth-closet is an invention which relieves the most disagreeableitem in domestic labor, and prevents the disagreeable and unhealthfuleffluvium which is almost inevitable in all family residences, Thegeneral principle of construction is somewhat like that of awater-closet, except that in place of water is used dried earth. Theresulting compost is without disagreeable odor, and is the richestspecies of manure. The expense of its construction and use is no greaterthan that of the common water-closet; indeed, when the outlays forplumber's work, the almost inevitable troubles and disorders ofwater-pipes in a house, and the constant stream of petty repairsconsequent upon careless construction or use of water-works areconsidered, the earth-closet is in itself much cheaper, besides beingan accumulator of valuable matter. 

To give a clear idea of its principles, mode of fabrication, and use, we can not do better than to take advantage of the permission givenby Mr. George E. Waring, Jr. , of Newport, R. I. , author of an admirablepamphlet on the subject, published in 1868 by "The Tribune Association"of New-York. Mr. Waring was formerly Agricultural Engineer of theNew-York Central Park, and has given much attention to sanitary andagricultural engineering, having published several valuable worksbearing in the same general direction. He is now consulting directorof "The Earth-Closet Company, " Hartford, Ct. , which manufactures theapparatus and all things appertaining to it--any part which might beneeded to complete a home-built structure. But with generous and noless judicious freedom, they are endeavoring to extend the knowledgeof this wholesome and economical process of domestic sanitaryengineering as widely as possible, and so allow us to present thefollowing instructions for those who may desire to construct their ownapparatus. 

In the brief introduction to his pamphlet, Mr. Waring says:

"It is sufficiently understood, by all who have given the least thoughtto the subject, that the waste of the most vital elements of the soil'sfertility, through our present practice of treating human excrementas a thing that is to be hurried into the sea, or buried in undergroundvaults, or in some other way put out of sight and out of reach, isfull of danger to our future prosperity. 

"Our bodies have come out of our fertile fields; our prosperity isbased on the production and the exchange of the earth's fruits; andall our industry has its foundation in arts and interests connectedwith, or dependent on, a successful agriculture. 

"Liebig asserts that the greatness of the Roman empire was sapped bythe _Cloaca Maxima_, through which the entire sewage of Rome waswashed into the Tiber. The yearly decrease of productive power in theolder grain regions of the West, and the increasing demand for manuresin the Atlantic States, sufficiently prove that our own country is noexception to the rule that has established its sway over Europe. 

"The large class who will fail to feel the force of the agriculturalreasons in favor of the reform which this pamphlet is written to uphold, will realize, more clearly than farmers will, the importance ofprotecting dwellings against the gravest annoyance, the most fertilesource of disease, and the most certain vehicle of contagion. "

Nevertheless, Mr. Waring thinks that the agricultural argument is nomean or unimportant one, and says:

"The importance of any plan by which the excrement of our bodies maybe returned to our fields is in a measure shown in the following extractfrom an article that I furnished for the _American Agricultural Annual_for 1868. 

"The average population of New York City--including its temporaryvisitors--is probably not less than 1, 000, 000. This population consumesfood equivalent to at least 30, 000, 000 bushels of corn in a year. Excepting the small proportion that is stored up in the bodies of thegrowing young, which is fully offset by that contained in the bodiesof the dead, the constituents of the food are returned to the air bythe lungs and skin, or are voided as excrement. That which goes to theair was originally taken from the air by vegetation, and will be sotaken again: here is no waste. The excrement contains all that wasfurnished by the mineral elements of the soil oil which the food wasproduced. This all passes into the sewers, and is washed into the sea. Its loss to the present generation is complete. "

. .. "30, 000, 000 bushels of corn contain, among other minerals, nearly7000 tons of phosphoric acid, and this amount is annually lost in thewasted night-soil of New-York City. [Footnote: Other mineralconstituents of food--important ones, too--are washed away in evengreater quantities through the same channels; but this element is thebest for illustration, because its effect in manure is the moststriking, even so small a dressing as twenty pounds per acre, producinga marked effect on all cereal crops. Ammonia, too, which is so importantthat it is usual in England to estimate the value of manure in exactproportion to its supply of this element, is largely yielded by humanexcrement. ]

"Practically the human excrement of the whole country is nearly allso disposed of as to be lost to the soil. The present population ofthe United States is not far from 35, 000, 000. On the basis of the abovecalculation, their annual food contains 200, 000 tons of phosphoricacid, being the amount contained in about 900, 000 tons of bones, which, at the price of the best flour of bone, (for manure, ) would be worthover $50, 000, 000. It would be a moderate estimate to say that the otherconstituents of food are of at least equal value with the otherconstituents of the bone, and to assume $50, 000, 000 as the money valueof the wasted night-soil of the United States every year. 

"In another view, the importance of this waste can not be estimatedin money. Money values apply, rather, to the products of labor and tothe exchange of these products. The waste of fertilizing matter reachesfarther than the destruction or exchange of products: it lessens theability to produce. 

"If mill-streams were failing year by year, and steam were yearlylosing force, and the ability of men to labor were yearly growing less, the doom of our prosperity would not be more plainly written, than ifthis slow but certain impoverishment of our soil were sure to continue. 

. .. . "But the good time is coming, when (as now in China and Japan)men must accept the fact that the soil is not a warehouse to beplundered--only a factory to be worked. Then they will save their rawmaterial, instead of wasting it, and, aided by nature's wonderful laws, will weave over and over again the fabric by which we live and prosper. Men will build up as fast as men destroy; old matters will be reproducedin new forms, and, as the decaying forests feed the growing wood, sowill all consumed food yield food again. "

With the above brief extract, we shall cease using marks of quotation, as the following information and statements are appropriated bodily, either directly or with mere modifications for brevity, from the littlepamphlet of Mr. Waring. 

The earth-closet is the invention of the Rev. Henry Moule, of FordingtonVicarage, Dorsetshire, England. 

It is based on the power of clay, and the decomposed organic matterfound in the soil, to absorb and retain all offensive odors and allfertilizing matters; and it consists, essentially, of a mechanicalcontrivance (attached to the ordinary seat) for measuring out anddischarging into the vault or pan below a sufficient quantity of sifteddry earth to entirely cover the solid ordure and to absorb the urine. 

The discharge of earth is effected by an ordinary pull-up similar tothat used in the water-closet, or (in the self-acting apparatus) bythe rising of the seat when the weight of the person is removed. 

The vault or pan under the seat is so arranged that the accumulationmay be removed at pleasure. 

From the moment when the earth is discharged, and the evacuation iscovered, all offensive exhalation entirely ceases. Under certaincircumstances, there may be, at times, a slight odor as of guano mixedwith earth; but this is so trifling and so local, that a commodearranged on this plan may, without the least annoyance, be kept in usein any room. 

This statement is made as the result of personal experience. Mr. Waringsays:

"I have in constant use in a room in my house an earth-closet commode;and even when the pan is entirely full, with the accumulation of aweek's use, visitors examining it invariably say, with some surprise, 'You don't mean that this particular one has been used!'"

HOW TO MAKE AN EARTH-CLOSET. 

The principle on which the earth-closet is based is as free to all asis the earth itself, and any person may adopt his own method of applyingit. All that is necessary is to have a supply of coarsely siftedsun-dried earth with which to cover the bottom of the vessel to beused, and after use to cover the deposit. A small box of earth, anda tin scoop are sufficient to prevent the gravest annoyance of thesickroom. But, of course, for constant use, it is desirable to havea more convenient apparatus--something which requires less care, andis less troublesome in many ways. 

To this end, the patent invention of Mr. Moule is applicable. Thiscomprises a tight receptacle under the seat, a reservoir for storingdry earth, and an apparatus to measure out the requisite quantity, andthrow it upon the deposit. 

[Illustration: Fig. 67. ]

The arrangement at the mechanism is shown in Fig. 67. A hopper-shadedreservoir, made of galvanized iron, is supported by a framework at theback of the seat, which rests on the framework _a_, _a_. Connected withthe handle at the right-hand side, there is an iron lever, whichoperates a movable box at the bottom of the reservoir, and causes it todischarge its contents directly under the seat. When the handle isdropped, the box returns to its position, and is immediately filledpreparatory to another use. 

The hopper-shaped reservoir is supported by two pivots, and has aslight rocking or vibrating motion imparted to it by each lifting ofthe lever. This prevents the earth from becoming clogged, and insuresits regular delivery. 

[Illustration: Fig. 68 THE "PULL-UP" APPARATUS. ]

The construction is more clearly shown in Fig. 68. 

In this figure, A is the vibrating hopper for holding the earth. Itscapacity may be increased to any desired extent by building above ita straight-sized box of any height. It is not unusual, in fixed privies, to make this reservoir large enough to hold a supply for several months. As the earth is dry, there is no occasion for the use of any thingbetter than common pine boards in making this addition to the reservoir. 

B is one side of the wooden, frame by which the hopper is supportedand it may be made of one inch pine or spruce. 

C is a box of lacquered or galvanized iron, without either top orbottom. It moves on two pivots, one of winch is shown on its exposedside. In its present position, its upper end opens into the hopper, and its lower end is dosed by the stationary board over which it stands. When the handle is pulled up, the lever, which is connected with thebox, jerks it rapidly up, so that its back side closes the opening ofthe reservoir, and its bottom opens to the front. In its movement itdischarges its contents of earth forward under the seat. When thehandle is dropped, the box returns to its natural position, and ischarged again. 

D is one of the pivots--a corresponding one being on the other side--bywhich the hopper is supported, and on which it vibrates. 

_a_, _a_, _a_, _a_, _a_, _a_, are the parts of the framework, thedimensions of which in feet and inches are given. 

The only essential part not shown is an earthen-ware pan without abottom, similar to the pan of a water-closet, only not so deep andwith a larger opening, which is attached to the under side of the seat, and which in a measure prevents the rising of dust, and conducts theurine to the point at which the most earth falls. This is the leastimportant part of the invention, but it has a certain advantage. 

The self-acting apparatus is more complicated, and persons wishing itwould do best to apply directly to the Company. 

THE ORDINARY PRIVY. 

In the circular published by the Earth-Closet Company, the followingdirections are given:

[Illustration: Fig. 69. --Commode, 3 ft. 3 in. High, 1 ft. 11 in. Wide, 2 ft. 2 in. Deep. ]

"An ordinary fixed closet requires the apparatus to be placed at theback of, and in connection with, the usual seat; the reservoir forcontaining the earth being placed above it. Under it there should bea chamber or vault about four feet by three wide, and of any convenientdepth, with a paved or asphalted bottom, and the sides lined withcement. Should there be an existing cesspool, it may be altered to theabove dimensions. Into this the deposit and earth fall, and may remainthere three, six, or twelve months, and continue perfectly inodorousand innoxious, merely requiring to be occasionally leveled by a rakeor hoe. If, however, it should be found impossible or inconvenient tohave a vault underneath, a movable trough, of iron or tarred wood, onwheels, may be substituted. In this case, it will be advisable to raisethe seat somewhat above the floor, to allow the trough to be ofsufficient size. 

"By one form of construction, (the 'pull-up, ') the pulling up of ahandle releases a sufficient quantity of the dry earth, which is throwninto the pit or vault, covering the deposit and completely preventingall smell. By another, (the 'self-acting, ') the same effect is producedby the action of the seat. The apparatus may be placed in, and adaptedto, almost any existing closet or privy, and so arranged that thesupply and removal of earth may be carried on inside or outside asdesired. "

The following is taken from the company's circular:

"In the commode, the apparatus and earth-reservoir are self-contained, and a movable pail takes the place of the chamber or vault abovedescribed. This must be emptied as often as necessary, and the contentsmay be applied to the garden or field, or be allowed to accumulate ina heap under cover until wanted for use. This accumulation is inodorous, and rapidly becomes dry. The commode can stand in any convenient placein or out of doors. For use in bedrooms, hospital wards, infirmaries, etc. , the commode is invaluable. It is entirely free from those faint, depressing odors common to portable water-closets and night-stools, and through its admission one of the greatest miseries of human life, the foul smells of the sick-room, and one of the most frequent meansof communicating infection, may be entirely prevented. It is invariablyfound that, if any failure takes place, it arises from the earth _notbeing properly dry_. Too much importance can not be attached tothis requirement. The earth-commode will no more act properly withoutdry earth, than will a water-closet without water. 

"These commodes are made in a variety of patterns, from the cottagecommode to the more expensive ones in mahogany or oak, and vary inprice accordingly. They are made to act either by a handle, as in theordinary water-closet, or self-acting on rising from the seat. Theearth-reservoir is calculated to hold enough for about twenty-fivetimes; and where earth is scarce, or the manure required ofextraordinary strength, the product may be dried as many as seventimes, and without losing any of its deodorizing properties. 

"If care be taken to cast one service of earth into the pail when firstplaced in the commode, and to have the commonest regard to cleanliness, not the least offensive smell will be perceptible, though the receptacleremain unemptied for weeks. Care must also be taken, that no liquid, but that which they are intended to receive, be thrown into the pails. "

The pail used in the commode is made of galvanized iron, and is shapedvery much like an ordinary coal-hod. It has a cover of the samematerial, and it may be carried from an upper floor with no moreoffensiveness than a hodful of common earth. 

Fig. 70 represents a cross-section of the commode, and will enable thereader more clearly to understand the construction and operation ofthe apparatus. 

_a_ is the opening in the seat; _b_, the "pan;" _c_, the pail forreceiving the deposit; _d_, the hopper for containing the earth supply;_e_, the box by which the earth is measured, and by which it is throwninto the pail when moved to the position _e'_ by the operation of the"pull-up;" _f_, a door by which the pail is shut in; _g_, the cover ofthe seat; _h_, the cover of the hopper; _i_ a platform which preventsthe escape of earth from _e_. 

[Illustration: Fig. 70 HOW TO USE THE EARTH-CLOSET. ]

Under this head, the circular issued by the original London companycontains the following:

"The first requirement for the proper working of the earth-closet isearth perfectly dry and sifted. Earth alone is proved to be the bestdeodorizer, and far superior to any disinfectants; but where it isdifficult to obtain earth abundantly, sifted ashes, as before stated, may be mixed with, it in proportion of two of earth to one of ashes. 

"As the first requirement is _dry earth sifted_, and as this isusually thought to be a great difficulty in the way of the adoptionof the dry earth system, the following remarks will at once removesuch an impression. 

"The earth-commode and closet, if used by six persons daily, willrequire, on an average, about one hundred weight of earth per week. This may be dried for family use in a drawer made to fit under thekitchen range, and which may be filled with earth one morning and leftuntil the next. The drawer should reach to within two inches of thebottom bar of the grate. A frame with a handle, covered with finewire-netting, forming a kind of shovel, should be placed on this drawer;the finer ashes will fall through, mixing with the earth, whilst thecinders will remain on the top, to be, from time to time, thrown onthe fire. 

"Of course, the most economical method is to provide in the summer-timea winter store of dry earth, which may be kept in an out-house, shed, or other convenient place, just as we lay in a winter store of coals. 

"THINGS TO BE OBSERVED

 "Let one fall of earth be in the pail before using. "The earth must be dry and sifted. "Sand must not be used. "No 'slops' must be thrown down. "The handle must be pulled up with a jerk, and let fall sharply. "

REPEATED USE OF EARTH

Concerning the value and use of the product of the earth-closet, thefollowing is copied from the London company's circular. (It will benoticed that reference is made, to _the repeated use of the sameearth. _ When the ordure is completely dried and decomposed, it hasnot only lost its odor, but it has become, like all decomposed organicmatter, an excellent disinfectant, and the fifth or sixth time thatthe same earth is passed through the closet it is fully as effectivein destroying odors as it was when used for the first time, and ofcourse each use adds to its value as manure, until it becomes as strongas Peruvian guano, which is now worth seventy-five dollars per ton. In fact, it may be made so rich that _one hundred pounds will be agood dressing for an acre of land_. )

"If the closet is over a water-tight cesspool or pit, it will requireemptying at the end of three or six months. The produce, which willbe quite inodorous, should be thrown, together in a heap, shelteredfrom wet, and occasionally turned over. At the end of a few weeks, itwill be dry and fit for use. 

"If the receptacle be an iron trough or pail, the contents should bethrown together, re-dried, and used over again, four or five times. In a few weeks they will be dry and fit for use; the value beingincreased by repeated action. The condition of the manure should bemuch the same as that of guano, and fit for drilling. "

The inventor of the earth-closet, Rev. Mr. Moule, says:

"It was to this point (the power of earth or clay to absorb the productsof the decomposition of manure) but particularly to the _repeatedaction_, and consequently the repeated use of the same earth, thatI first directed the attention of the public. I then pointed out:First. That a very small portion of dry and sifted earth (one and ahalf pints) is sufficient by covering the deposit, to preventfermentation, (which so soon sets in whenever water is used, ) and theconsequent generation and emission of noxious gases. Second. That ifwithin a few hours, or even a few days, the mass that would be formedby the repeated layers of deposit, be intimately mixed by a coarserake or spade, or by a mixer made for the purpose, then, in five orten minutes, neither to the eye or sense of smell is any thingperceptible but so much earth. .. . When about three cart-loads of siftedearth had thus been used for my family, (which averaged fifteenpersons, ) and left under a shed, I found that the material firstemployed was sufficiently dried to be used again. This process ofalternate mixing and drying was renewed five times, the earth stillretaining its absorbent powers apparently unimpaired. Of the visitorstaken to the spot, none could guess the nature of the compost, thoughin some cases the heap which they visited in the afternoon had beenturned over that same morning . .. 

"It is only in towns, where the delivery, stowage, and removal of earthis attended with cost and difficulty, that any artificial aid fordrying the compost would be desirable. On premises not cramped forspace, the atmosphere, especially with a glass roof to the shed, willact sufficiently fast. 

"You may by means of it (the earth system) have a privy close to thehouse and a closet up-stairs, from neither of which shall proceed anyoffensive smell or any noxious gas. A projection from the back of thecottage, eight feet long and six feet wide, would be amply sufficientfor this purpose. The nearer three or four feet down-stairs, would beoccupied by the privy, in which, by the seat, would be a receptaclefor dry earth. The 'soil' and earth would fall into the further fiveor four feet, which would form the covered and closed shed for mixingand drying. Up-stairs, the arrangement would be much the same, thedeposit being made to fall clear of every wall. Through, this closetthe removal of noxious and offensive matters in time of sickness, andof slop-buckets, would be immediate and easy; and if the shed belowbe kept well supplied with earth, all effluvium would be almostimmediately checked. As to the trouble which this will cause, a verylittle experience will convince the cottager that it is less insteadof greater, than the women generally go through at present, while thevalue of the manure will afford an inducement to exertion. 

 . . . . . . . . . 

"The truth is, that the machinery is more simple, much less expensive, and far less liable to injury than that of the water-closet. Thesupply of earth to the house is as easy as that of coals. To the closetit may be supplied more easily than water is supplied by a forcing-pump, and to the commode it can be conveyed just as coal is carried to thechamber. After use, it can be removed in either case by the bucket orbox placed under the seat, or from the fixed reservoir, with lessoffense than that of the ordinary slop-bucket--indeed, (I speak afterfour years' experience, ) with as little offense as is found in theremoval of coal-ashes. So that, while servants and others will shrinkfrom novelty and at first imagine difficulties, yet many, to myknowledge, would now vastly prefer the daily removal of the bucket orthe soil to either the daily working of a forcing-pump or to beingcalled upon once a year, or once in three years, to assist in emptyinga vault or cesspool. "

To the above complete and convincingly apt arguments and statementsof fact, we do not care to add any thing. All that we desire is todirect public attention to the admirable qualities of this Earth System, and to suggest that, at least for those living in the country awayfrom the many conveniences of city life, great water power, andmechanical assistance, the use of it will conduce largely to the economyof families, the health of neighborhoods, and the increasing fertilityand prosperity of the country round about. 

XXXVI. 

WARMING AND VENTILATION

There is no department of science, as applied to practical matters, which has so often baffled experimenters as the healthful mode ofwarming and ventilating houses. The British nation spent over a millionon the House of Parliament for this end, and failed. Our own governmenthas spent half a million on the Capitol, with worse failure; and nowit is proposed to spend a million more. The reason is, that the oldopen fireplace has been supplanted by less expensive modes of heating, destructive to health; and science has but just begun experiments tosecure a remedy for the evil. 

The open fire warms the person, the walls, the floors and the furnitureby radiation, and these, together with the fire, warm the air byconvection. For the air resting on the heated surfaces is warmed byconvection, rises and gives place to cooler particles, causing aconstant heating of its particles by movement. Thus in a room with anopen fire, the person is warmed in part by radiation from the fire andthe surrounding walls and furniture, and in part by the warm airsurrounding the body. 

In regard to the warmth of air, the thermometer is not an exact indexof its temperature. For all bodies are constantly radiating their heatto cooler adjacent surfaces until all come to the same temperature. This being so, the thermometer is radiating its heat to walls andsurrounding objects, in addition to what is subtracted by the air thatsurrounds it, and thus the air is really several degrees warmer thanthe thermometer indicates. A room at 70 degrees by the thermometer isusually filled with air five or more degrees warmer than this. 

Now, the cold air is denser than warm, and therefore contains moreoxygen. Consequently, the cooler the air inspired, the larger thesupply of oxygen and of the vitality and vigor which it imparts. Thus, the great problem for economy of health is to warm the person as muchas possible by radiated heat, and supply the lungs with cool air. Forwhen we breathe air at from 16 to 20 degrees, we take double the amountof oxygen that we do when we inhale it at 80 to 90 degrees, andconsequently can do double the amount of muscle and brain work. 

Warming by an open fire is nearest to the natural mode of the Creator, who heats the earth and its furniture by the great central fire ofheaven, and sends cool breezes for our lungs. But open fires involvegreat destruction of fuel and expenditure of money, and in consequenceeconomic methods have been introduced to the great destruction ofhealth and life. 

Of these methods, the most popular is that by which radiated heat isbanished, and all warmth is gained by introducing heated air. This isthe method employed in our national Capitol, where both warming andventilation are attempted by means of _fans_ worked by steam, whichforce in the heated air. This is an expensive mode, used only for largeestablishments, and its entire failure at our capitol will probablyprevent in future any very extensive use of it. 

But the most common mode of warming is by heated air introduced froma furnace. The chief objection to this is the loss of all radiatedheat, and the consequent necessity of breathing air which isdebilitating both from its heat and also from being usually deprivedof the requisite moisture provided by the Creator in all out-door air. Another objection is the fact that it is important to health to preservean equal circulation of the blood, and the greatest impediment to thisis a mode of heating which keeps the head in warmer air than the feet. This is especially deleterious in an age and country where activebrains are constantly drawing blood from the extremities to the head. All furnace-heated rooms have coldest air at the feet, and warmestaround the head. It is also rarely the case that furnace-heated houseshave proper arrangements for carrying off the vitiated air. 

There are some recent scientific discoveries that relate to impure airwhich may properly be introduced here. It is shown by the microscopethat _fermentation_ is a process which generates extremely minuteplants, that gradually increase till the whole mass is pervaded bythis vegetation. The microscope also has revealed the fact that, incertain diseases, these microscopic plants are generated in the bloodand other fluids of the body, in a mode similar to the ordinary processof fermentation. 

And, what is very curious, each of these peculiar diseases generatesdiverse kinds of plants. Thus in the typhoid fever, the microscopereveals in the fluids of the patient a plant that resembles in formsome kinds of seaweed. In chills and fever, the microscopic plant hasanother form, and in small-pox still another. A work has recently beenpublished in Europe, in which representations of these variousmicroscopic plants generated in the fluids of the diseased persons areexhibited, enlarged several hundred times by the microscope. Alldiseases that exhibit these microscopic plants are classed together, and are called _Zymotic_, from a Greek word signifying _to ferment_. 

These zymotic diseases sometimes have a _local_ origin, as in the caseof ague caused by miasma of swamps; and then they are named _endemic_. In other cases, they are caused by personal contact with the diseasedbody or its clothing, as the itch or small-pox; or else by effluvia fromthe sick, as in measles. Such are called _contagious_ or _infectious_. In other cases, diseases result from some unknown cause in theatmosphere, and affect numbers of people at the same time, as ininfluenza or scarlet fever, and these are called _epidemics_. 

It is now regarded as probable that most of these diseases are generatedby the microscopic plants which float in an impure or miasmaticatmosphere, and are taken into the blood by breathing. 

Recent scientific investigations in Great Britain and other countriesprove that the _power of resisting_ these diseases depends upon thepurity of the air which has been _habitually_ inspired. The human bodygradually accommodates itself to unhealthful circumstances, so thatpeople can live a long time in bad air. But the "reserve power" of thebody, that is, the power of resisting disease, is under suchcircumstances gradually destroyed, and then an epidemic easily sweepsaway those thus enfeebled. The plague of London, that destroyedthousands every day, came immediately after a long period of damp, warm days, when there was no wind to carry off the miasma thusgenerated; while the people, by long breathing of bad air, were allprepared, from having sunk into a low vitality, to fall before thepestilence. 

Multitudes of public documents show that the fatality of epidemics isalways proportioned to the degree in which impure air has previouslybeen respired. Sickness and death are therefore regulated by the degreein which air is kept pure, especially in case of diseases in whichmedical treatment is most uncertain, as in cholera and malignant fevers. 

Investigations made by governmental authority, and by boards of healthin this country and in Great Britain, prove that zymotic diseasesordinarily result from impure air generated by vegetable or animaldecay, and that in almost all cases they can be prevented by keepingthe air pure. The decayed animal matter sent off from the skin andlungs in a close, unventilated bedroom is one thing that generatesthese zymotic diseases. The decay of animal and vegetable matter incellars, sinks, drains, and marshy districts is another cause; and thedecayed vegetable matter thrown up by plowing up of decayed vegetablematter in the rich soil in new countries is another. 

In the investigations made in certain parts of Great Britain, itappeared that in districts where the air is pure the deaths average11 in 1000 each year; while in localities most exposed to impure miasma, the mortality was 45 in every thousand. At this rate, thirty-fourpersons in every thousand died from poisoned air, who would havepreserved health and life by well-ventilated homes in a pure atmosphere. And, out of all who died, the proportion who owed their deaths to foulair was more than three fourths. Similar facts have been obtained byboards of health in our own country. 

Mr. Leeds gives statistics showing, that in Philadelphia, by improvedmodes of ventilation and other sanitary methods, there was a savingof 3237 lives in two years; and a saving of three fourths of a millionof dollars, which would pay the whole expense of the public schools. Philadelphia being previously an unusually cleanly and well-ventilatedcity, what would be the saving of life, health, and wealth were sucha city as New-York perfectly cleansed and ventilated?

Here it is proper to state again that conflicting opinions are foundin many writers on ventilation, in regard to the position of ventilatingregisters to carry off vitiated air. Most writers state that the impureair is heavier, and falls to the bottom of a room. After consultingscientific men extensively on this point, the writer finds the trueresult to be as follows: Carbonic acid is heavier than common air, and, unmixed, falls to the floor. But by the principle of _diffusionof gases_, the air thrown from the lungs, though at first it sinksa little, is gradually diffused, and in a heated room, in the majorityof cases, it is found more abundantly at the top than at the bottomof the room, though in certain circumstances it is more at the bottom. For this reason, registers to carry off impure air should be placedat both the top and bottom of a room. 

In arranging for pure air in dwellings, it is needful to proportionthe air admitted and discharged to the number of persons. As a guideto this, we have the following calculation: On an average, every adultvitiates about half a pint of air at each inspiration, and inspirestwenty times a minute. This would amount to one hogshead of air vitiatedevery hour by every grown person. To keep the air pure, this amountshould enter and be carried out every hour for each person. If, then, ten persons assemble in a dining-room, ten hogsheads of air shouldenter and ten be discharged each hour. By the same rule, a gatheringof five hundred persons demands the entrance and discharge of fivehundred hogsheads of air every hour, and a thousand persons requirea thousand hogsheads of air every hour. 

In calculating the size of registers and conductors, then, we musthave reference to the number of persons who are to abide in a dwelling;while for rooms or halls intended for large gatherings, a far greaterallowance must be made. 

The most successful mode before the public, both for warming andventilation, is that of Lewis Leeds, who was employed by governmentto ventilate the military hospitals and also the treasury building atWashington. This method has been adopted in various school-houses, andalso by A. T. Stewart in his hotel for women in New-York City. TheLeeds plan embraces the mode of heating both by radiation andconvection, very much resembling the open fireplace in operation, andyet securing great economy. It is modeled strictly after the modeadopted by the Creator in warming and ventilating the earth, the homeof his great earthly family. It aims to have a passage of pure airthrough, every room, as the breezes pass over the hills, and to havea method of warming chiefly by radiation, as the earth is warmed bythe sun. In addition to this, the air is to be provided with moisture, as it is supplied out-doors by exhalations from the earth, and itstrees and plants. 

The mode of accomplishing this is by placing coils of steam, or hotwater pipes, under windows, which warm the parlor walls and furniture, partly by radiation, and partly by the air warmed on the heated surfacesof the coils. At the same time, by regulating registers, or by simplyopening the lower part of the window, the pure air, guarded fromimmediate entrance into the room, is admitted directly upon the coils, so that it is partially warmed before it reaches the person: and thuscold drafts are prevented. Then the vitiated air is drawn off throughregisters both at the top and bottom of the room, opening into a heatedexhausting flue, through which the constantly ascending current ofwarm air carries it off. These heated coils are often used for warminghouses without any arrangement for carrying off the vitiated air, when, of course, their peculiar usefulness is gone. 

The moisture may be supplied by a broad vessel placed on or close tothe heated coils, giving a large surface for evaporation. When roomsare warmed chiefly by radiated heat, the air can be borne much coolerthan in rooms warmed by hot-air furnaces, just as a person in theradiating sun can bear much cooler air than in the shade. A time willcome when walls and floors will be contrived to radiate heat insteadof absorbing it from the occupants of houses, as is generally the caseat the present time, and then all can breathe pure and cool air. 

We are now prepared to examine more in detail the modes of warming andventilation employed in the dwellings planned for this work. 

In doing this, it should be remembered that the aim is not to giveplans of houses to suit the architectural taste or the domesticconvenience of persons who intend to keep several servants, and carelittle whether they breathe pure or bad air, nor of persons who do notwish to educate their children to manual industry or to habits of closeeconomy. 

On the contrary, the aim is, first, to secure a house in which everyroom shall be perfectly ventilated both day and night, and that toowithout the watchful care and constant attention and intelligenceneedful in houses not provided with a proper and successful mode ofventilation. 

The next aim is, to arrange the conveniences of domestic labor so asto save time, and also to render such work less repulsive than it ismade by common methods, so that children can be trained to lovehouse-work. And lastly, economy of expense in house-building is sought. These things should be borne in mind in examining the plans of thiswork. 

In the Cottage plan, (Chap II. Fig. 1, ) the pure air for rooms on theground floor is to be introduced by a wooden conductor one foot square, running under the floor from the front door to the stove-room; withcross branches to the two large rooms. The pure air passes throughthis, protected outside by wire netting, and delivered inside throughregisters in each room, as indicated in Fig. 1. 

In case open Franklin stoves are used in the large rooms, the pure airfrom the conductor should enter behind them, and thus be partiallywarmed. The vitiated air is carried off at the bottom of the roomthrough the open stoves, and also at the top by a register openinginto a conductor to the exhausting warm-air shaft, which, it will beremembered, is the square chimney, containing the iron pipe whichreceives the kitchen stove-pipe. The stove-room receives pure air fromthe conductor, and sends off impure air and the smells of cooking bya register opening directly into the exhausting shaft; while its hotair and smoke, passing through the iron pipe, heat the air of theshaft, and produce the exhausting current. The construction of theexhausting or warm-air shaft is described on page 63. 

The large chambers on the second floor (Fig. 12) have pure air conductedfrom the stove-room through registers that can be closed if the heator smells of cooking are unpleasant. The air in the stove-room willalways be moist from the water of the stove boiler, The small chambers have pure air admitted from windows sunk at tophalf an inch; and the warm, vitiated air is conducted by a registerin the ceiling which opens into a conductor to the exhausting warm-airshaft at the centre of the house, as shown in Fig. 17. 

The basement or cellar is ventilated by an opening into the exhaustingair shaft, to remove impure air, and a small opening over each glazeddoor to admit pure air. The doors open out into a "well, " or recess, excavated in the earth before the cellar, for the admission of lightand air, neatly bricked up and whitewashed. The doors are to be madeentirely of strong, thick glass sashes, and this will give light enoughfor laundry work; the tubs and ironing-table being placed close to theglazed door. The floor must be plastered with water-lime, and the wallsand ceiling be whitewashed, which will add reflected light to the room. There will thus be no need of other windows, and the house need notbe raised above the ground. Several cottages have been built thus, sothat the ground floors and conservatories are nearly on the same level;and all agree that they are pleasanter than when raised higher. 

When a window in any room is sunk at the top, it should have a narrowshelf in front inclined to the opening, so as to keep out the rain. In small chambers for one person, an inch opening is sufficient, andin larger rooms for two persons, a two-inch opening is needed. Theopenings into the exhausting air flue should vary from eight inchesto twelve inches square, or more, according to the number of personswho are to sleep in the room. 

The time when ventilation is most difficult is the medium weather inspring and fall, when the air, though damp, is similar in temperatureoutside and in. Then the warm-air flue is indispensable to properventilation. This is especially needed in a room used for school orchurch purposes. 

Every room used for large numbers should have its air regulated notonly as to its warmth and purity, but also as to its supply of moisture;and for this purpose will be found very convenient the instrumentcalled the Hygrodeik, [Footnote: It is manufactured by N. M. Lowe, Boston, and sold by him: and J. Queen & Co. , Philadelphia. ] which showsat once the temperature and the moisture. A work by Dr. Derby onAnthracite Coal, scientific men say has done much mischief by an_unproved_ theory that the discomfort of furnace heat is caused by thepassage of carbonic _oxide_ through the iron of the furnace heaters, and_not_ by want of moisture. God made the air right, and taking out itsmoisture _must_ be wrong. 

The preceding remarks illustrate the advantages of the cottage planin respect to ventilation. The economy of the mode of warming nextdemands attention. In the first place, it should be noted that thechimney being at the centre of the house, no heat is lost by itsradiation through outside walls into open air, as is the case with allfireplaces and grates that have their backs and flues joined to anoutside wall. 

In this plan, all the radiated heat from the stove serves to warm thewalls of adjacent rooms in cold weather; while in the warm season, thenon-conducting summer casings of the stove send all the heat not usedin cooking either into the exhausting warm-air shaft or into the centralcast-iron pipe. In addition to this, the sliding doors of the stove-room(which should be only six feet high, meeting the partition coming fromthe ceiling) can be opened in cool days, and then the heat from thestove would temper the rooms each side of the kitchen. In hot weather, they could be kept closed except when the stove is used, and thenopened only for a short time. The Franklin stoves in the large roomwould give the radiating warmth and cheerful blaze of an open fire, while radiating heat also from all their surfaces. In cold weather, the air of the larger chambers could be tempered by registers admittingwarm air from the stove-room, which would always be sufficientlymoistened by evaporation from the stationary boiler. The conservatoriesin winter, protected from frost by double sashes, would contributeagreeable moisture to the larger rooms. In case the size of a familyrequired more rooms, another story could be ventilated and warmed bythe same mode, with little additional expense. 

We will next notice the economy of time, labor, and expense securedby this cottage plan. The laundry work being done in the basement, allthe cooking, dish-washing, etc. , can be done in the kitchen andstove-room on the ground floor. But in case a larger kitchen is needed, the lounges can be put in the front part of the large room, and themovable screen placed so as to give a work-room adjacent to thekitchen, and the front side of the same be used for the eating-room. Where the movable screen is used, the floor should be oiled wood. Asquare piece of carpet can be put in the centre of the front part ofthe room, to keep the feet warm when sitting around the table, andsmall rugs can be placed before the lounges or other sitting-places, for the same purpose. 

Most cottages are so divided by entries, stairs, closets, etc. , thatthere can be no large rooms. But in this plan, by the use of the movablescreen, two fine large rooms can be secured whenever the family workis over, while the conveniences for work will very much lessen thetime required. 

In certain cases, where the closest economy is needful, two smallfamilies can occupy the cottage, by having a movable screen in bothrooms, and using the kitchen in common, or divide it and have twosmaller stoves. Each kitchen will then have a window and as much roomas is given to the kitchen in great steamers that provide for severalhundred. 

Whoever plans a house with a view to economy must arrange rooms arounda central chimney, and avoid all projecting appendages. Dormer windowsare far more expensive than common ones, and are less pleasant. Everyaddition projecting from a main building greatly increases expense ofbuilding, and still more of warming and ventilating. 

It should be introduced, as one school exercise in every femaleseminary, to plan houses with reference to economy of time, labor, andexpense, and also with reference to good architectural taste; and theteacher should be qualified to point out faults and give the instructionneeded to prevent such mistakes in practical life. Every girl shouldbe trained to be "a wise woman" that "buildeth her house" aright. 

There is but one mode of ventilation yet tried, that will, at allseasons of the year and all hours of the day and night, secure pureair without dangerous draughts, and that is by an exhausting warm-airflue. This is always secured by an open fireplace, so long as itschimney is kept warm by any fire. And in many cases, a fireplace witha flue of a certain dimension and height will secure good ventilationexcept when the air without and within are at the same temperature. 

When no exhausting warm-air flue can be used, the opening of doors andwindows is the only resort. Every sleeping-room _without a fireplacethat draws smoke well_ should have a window raised at the bottomor sunk at the top at least an inch, with an inclined shelf outsideor in, to keep out rain, and then it is properly ventilated. Or a doorshould be kept opened into a hall with an open window. Let thebed-clothing be increased, so as to keep warm in bed, and protect thehead also, and then the more air comes into a sleeping-room the betterfor health. 

In reference to the warming of rooms and houses already built, thereis no doubt that stoves are the most economical mode, as they radiateheat and also warm by convection. The grand objection to their use isthe difficulty of securing proper ventilation. If a room is well warmedby a stove and then a suitable opening made for the entrance of a goodsupply of out-door air, and by a mode that will prevent dangerousdraughts, all is right as to pure air. But in this case, the feet arealways on cold floors, surrounded by the coldest air, while the headis in air of much higher temperature. 

There is a great difference as to healthfulness and economy in thegreat variety of stoves with which the market is filled. The competitionin this manufacture is so stringent, and so many devices are employedby agents, that there is constant and enormous imposition on the publicand an incredible outlay on poor stoves, that soon burn out or break, while they devour fuel beyond calculation. If some benevolent andscientific organization could be formed that would, from disinterestedmotives, afford some reliable guidance to the public, it probably wouldsave both millions of money and much domestic discomfort. 

The stove described in Chapter V. Is protected by patents in its chiefadvantages, but this has not restrained many of the trade fromincorporating some of its leading excellencies and claiming to haveadded superior elements. Others will inform any who inquire for it, that it is out of market, because later stoves have proved superior. Should any who read this work wish to be sure of securing this stove, and also of gaining minute directions for its use, they may apply tothe writer, Miss C. E. Beecher, 69 West 38th Street, New-York, inclosing25 cents. 

She will then forward the manufacturers' printed descriptive circulars, and her own advice as to the best selection from the different sizes, and directions for its use, based on her own personal experience andthat of many friends. Should any purchases be made through this medium, the manufacturers have agreed to pay a certain percentage into thetreasury of the Benevolent Association mentioned at the close of thisvolume. 

There is no more dangerous mode of heating a room than by a gas-stove. There is inevitably more or less leakage of the gas which it isunhealthful to breathe. And proper ventilation is scarcely ever securedby those who use such stoves. The same fatal elements of imperfectventilation with its attendant horrors of disease, extravagantwastefulness of material, of fuel, of labor, of time, and of destructionto the apparatus itself, seem concomitants of all ordinary stoves andcooking arrangements of the present day, unless those who use them areconstant and unremitting in the exercise of intelligent watchfulness, guarding against these evils. And in view of the almost inevitablestupidity and carelessness of servants, who generally have charge ofsuch things, and the frequent thoughtlessness even of intelligent womenwho manage their own kitchens, the writer believes she is doing apublic service by offering her own experience as a guide to simpler, cheaper, and more wholesome means of living and preparing the familyfood. 

XXXVII. 

CARE OF THE HOMELESS, THE HELPLESS, AND THE VICIOUS. 

In considering the duties of the Christian family in regard to thehelpless and vicious classes, some recently developed facts need tobe considered. We have stated that the great end for which, the familywas instituted is the training to virtue and happiness of our wholerace, as the children of our Heavenly Father, and this with chiefreference to their eternal existence after death. In the teachings ofour Lord we find that it is for sinners--for the lost and wanderingsheep, that he is most tenderly concerned. It is not those who bycareful training and happy temperaments have escaped the dangers oflife that God and good angels most anxiously watch. "For there is morejoy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety and ninethat went not astray. "

The hardest work of all is to restore a guilty, selfish, hardenedspirit to honor, truth, and purity; and this is the divine labor towhich the pitying Saviour calls all his true followers; to lift up thefallen, to sustain the weak, to protect the tempted, to bind up thebroken-hearted, and especially to rescue the sinful. This is thepeculiar privilege of woman in the sacred retreat of a "Christianhome. " And it is for such self-denying ministries that she is to trainall who are under her care and influence, both by her teaching and byher example. 

In connection with these distinctive principles of Christ for whichthe family state was instituted, let the following facts be considered. The Massachusetts Board of State Charities, consisting of some of themost benevolent and intelligent gentlemen of that State, in pursuanceof their official duty visited all the State institutions, and heldtwenty-five meetings during the year 1867-8. By these visits andconsequent discussions they arrived at certain conclusions, which maybe briefly condensed as follows. 

No state or nation excels Massachusetts in a wise and generous careof the helpless, poor, and vicious. The agents employed for this endare frugal, industrious, intelligent, and benevolent men and women, with high moral principles. The pauper and criminal classes requiringto be cared for by Massachusetts are less in proportion to the wholenumber of inhabitants than in any other state or nation. Yet, admirableas are these comparative results, there is room for improvement in amost important particular. The report of the Board urges that thepresent mode of collecting special classes in great establishments, though it may be the best in a choice of evils, is not the best methodfor the physical, social, and moral improvement of those classes; asit involves many unfortunate influences (which are stated at large:)and the report suggests that a better way would be to scatter theseunfortunates from temporary receiving asylums into families of Christianpeople all over the State. 

It is suggested in view of the above, that collecting fallen womeninto one large community is not the best way to create a pure moralatmosphere; and that gathering one or two hundred children in oneestablishment is not so good for them as to give each child a home insome loving Christian family. So of the aged and the sick, the blessingsof a quiet home, and the tender, patient nursing of true Christianlove, must be sought in a Christian family; not in a great asylum. 

In view of these important facts and suggestions, it may be inquired, if the great end and aim of the family state is to train the inmatesto self-denying love and labor for the weak, the suffering, and thesinful, how can it be done where there are no young children, no agedpersons, no invalids, and no sinful ones for whom such sacrifices areto be made?

Why are orphan children thrown upon the world, why are the aged heldin a useless, suffering life, except that they may aid in cultivatingtender love and labor for the helpless, and reverence for the hoaryhead? And yet, how few children are trained thus to regard the orphan, the aged, the helpless, and the vicious around them!

Great houses are built for these destitute ones, and all the labor andself-denial in taking care of them is transferred to paid agents, whilethousands of families are thus deprived of all opportunity to cultivatethe distinctive virtues of the Christian household. 

In this connection, let us look at some facts recently published inthe city of New-York. 

The writer, Rev. W. O. Van Meter, says in his report:

"The following astounding statistics are carefully selected from theReports of the Police, Board of Health, Citizens' Association, andmore than twelve years' personal experience. "

He then gives the following description of a section of the city onlya few rods from the stores and residences of those who count theirwealth by hundreds of thousands and millions, many of them professingto be followers of Christ:

"First, we see old sheds, stable lofts, dilapidated buildings, tooworthless to be repaired, lofts over warehouses and shops; cellars, too worthless for business purposes, and too unhealthy for horses orpigs, and therefore occupied by human beings at high rent. --Second, houses erected for tenant purposes. Take one near our Mission, as afair specimen of the better class of '_model_' tenant houses. Itcontains one hundred and twenty-six families--is entered at the sidesfrom alleys eight feet wide; and by reason of another barrack of equalheight, the rooms are so darkened, that on a cloudy day it is impossibleto sew in them without artificial light. It has not one room that canbe thoroughly ventilated. 

"The vaults and sewers which are to carry off the filth of one hundredand twenty-six families have grated openings in the alleys, and doorwaysin the cellars, through which the deadly miasma penetrates and poisonsthe air of the house and courts. The water-closets for the whole vastestablishment are a range of stalls, without doors, and accessible notonly from the building, but even from the street. Comfort here is outof the question; common decency impossible, and the horrid brutalitiesof the passenger-ship are day after day repeated, but on a largerscale. 

"In similar dwellings are living five hundred and ten thousand persons, (nearly one half of the inhabitants of the city, ) chiefly from thelaboring classes, of very moderate means, and also the uncountedthousands of those who do not know to-day what they shall have to liveon to-morrow. This immense population is found chiefly in an area ofless than four square miles. The vagrant and neglected children amongthem would form a procession in double file eight miles long from theBattery to Harlem. 

"In the Fourth ward, the tenant-house population is crowded at therate of two hundred and ninety thousand inhabitants to the square mile. Such packing was probably never equaled in any other city. Were thebuildings occupied by these miserable creatures removed, and the peopleplaced by each other, there would be but one and two ninths of a squareyard for each, and this unparalleled packing is _increasing_. Twohundred and twenty-four families in the ward live below the sidewalk, many of them _below high-water mark_. Often in very high tide they aredriven from their cellars or lie in bed until the tide ebbs. Not onehalf of the houses have any drain or connection with the sewer. Theliquid refuse is emptied on the sidewalk or into the street, givingforth sickening exhalations, and uniting its fetid streams with othersfrom similar sources. There are more than four hundred families inthis ward whose homes can only be reached by wading through a disgustingdeposit of filthy refuse. 'In one tenant-house one hundred and forty-sixwere sick with small-pox, typhus fever, scarlatina, measles, marasmus, phthisis pulmonalis, dysentery, and chronic diarrhea. In another, containing three hundred and forty-nine persons, _one in nineteen died_during the year, and on the day of inspection, which was during the mosthealthy season of the year, there were one hundred and fifteen personssick! In another (in the Sixth Ward, but near us, ) are sixty-fivefamilies; seventy-seven persons were sick or diseased at the time ofinspection, and one in four _always_ sick. In fifteen of these familiestwenty-five children were living, thirty-seven had died. '

"Here are found the lowest class of sailor boarding-houses, dance-houses, and dens of infamy. There are _less than two dwelling-housesfor each rum-hole_. Here are the poorest, vilest, most degraded, and desperate representatives of all nations. In the homes of thousandshere, a ray of sunlight never shines, a flower never blooms, a birdsong is never heard, a breath of pure air never breathed. " A processionof vagrant and neglected children that in double file would reach eightmiles, living in such filth, vice, and unhealthful pollution; all ofthem God's children, all Christ's younger brethren, to save whom hehumbled himself, even to the shameful death of the cross!

Meantime, the city of New York has millions of wealth placed in thehands of men and women who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, and to have consecrated themselves, their time, and their wealth tohis service. And they daily are passing and repassing within a stone'sthrow of the streets where all this misery and sin are accumulated!

So in all our large cities and towns all over the land are foundsimilar, if not so extensive, collections of vice and misery. And evenwhere there are not such extremes of degradation, there are contrastsof condition that should "give us pause. " For example, in the vicinityof our large towns and cities will be seen spacious mansions inhabitedby professed followers of Jesus Christ, each surrounded by ornamentedgrounds. Not far from them will be seen small tenement-houses, aboundingwith children, each house having about as many square yards of landas the large houses have square acres. In the small tenements, theboys rise early and go forth with the father to work from eight to tenhours, with little opportunity for amusement or for reading or study. In the large houses, the boys sleep till a late breakfast, then loungeabout till school-time, then spend three hours in school, stimulatingbrain and nerves. Then home to a hearty dinner, and then again toschool. 

So with the girls: in the tenement-houses, they, go to kitchens andshops to work most of the day, with little chance for mental cultureor the refinements of taste. In the large mansions, the daughters sleeplate, do little or no labor for the family, and spend their time inschool, or in light reading, ornamental accomplishments, or amusement. 

Thus one class are trained to feel that they are a privileged few forwhom others are to work, while they do little or nothing to promotethe improvement or enjoyment of their poorer neighbors. 

Then, again, labor being confined chiefly to the unrefined anduncultivated, is disgraced and rendered unattractive to the young. Oneclass is overworked, and the body deteriorates from excess. The otherclass overwork the brain and nerves, and the neglected muscles growthin, flabby, and weak. 

Notice also the style in which they accumulate the elegances ofcivilization without even an attempt to elevate their destituteneighbors to such culture and enjoyment. Their expensive picturesmultiply on their frescoed walls, their elegant books increase in theirclosed bookcases, their fine pictures and prints remain shut inportfolios, to be only occasionally opened by a privileged few. Theirhandsome equipages are for the comfortable and prosperous--not forthe feeble and poor who have none of their own. All their socialamusements are exclusive, and their expensive entertainments are forthose only who can return the same to them. 

Our Divine Master thus teaches, "When thou makest a feast, call notthy kinsmen or thy rich neighbors, lest they also bid thee again, anda recompense he made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, for they can not recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at theresurrection of the just. " Again, our Lord, after performing the mostservile office, taught thus: "If I, your Lord and Master, have washedyour feet, ye ought to wash one another's feet. "

In all these large towns and cities are women of wealth and leisure, who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. Some of them, havingproperty in their own right, live in large mansions, with equipage andservants demanding a large outlay. They travel abroad, and gatheraround themselves the elegant refinements of foreign lands. They give, perhaps, a tenth of their time and income (which is far less than wasrequired of the Jews), for benevolent purposes, and then think and saythat they have consecrated themselves and _all_ they have to theservice of Christ. 

If there is any thing plainly taught in the New Testament it is, thatthe followers of Christ are to be different and distinct from the worldaround them; "a peculiar people, " and subject to opposition and ill-willfor their distinctive peculiarities. 

Of these peculiarities demanded, _humility_ and _meekness_ areconspicuous: "Come and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly, andye shall find rest. " Now, the grand aim of the rich, worldly, andambitious is to be at least equal, or else to rise higher than others, in wealth, honor, and position. This is the great struggle of humanityin all ages, especially in this country, and among all classes, to_rise higher_--to be as rich or richer than others--to be as welldressed--to be more learned, or in more honored positions than others. This was the very thing that made contention among the apostles, evenin the company of their Lord, as they walked and "disputed who shouldbe the greatest. " "And Jesus sat down and called the twelve, and saidunto them, If any man desire to be first, the same _shall be lastand servant of all;_" and "he that is least among you shall begreat. "

At another time, the ambitious mother of two disciples came and askedthat her sons might have the _highest_ place in his kingdom, and theother disciples were "moved with indignation. " Then the Lord taughtthem that the honor and glory of his kingdom was to be exactly thereverse of this world; and that whoever would be great must be a_minister_, and who would be chief must be a _servant_; even as the Sonof Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister. 

Again, he rebuked the love of high position and the desire of beingcounted wise as teachers of others: "Be not ye called Rabbi, neitherbe ye called Master; but he that is greatest among you shall be yourservant, and whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased. "

Then, as to the strife after wealth, into which all are now rushingso earnestly, the Lord teaches: "Lay not up for yourselves treasureson earth. Whosoever of you forsaketh not all that he hath can not bemy disciple. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves withbags that wax not old--a treasure in heaven that faileth not. " To therich young man, asking how to gain eternal life, the reply was, "Sellall thou hast, and give to the poor, and come and follow me. " When thepoor widow cast in _all her living_ she was approved. When thefirst Christians were "filled with the Holy Ghost, " they sold all theirpossessions, to be distributed to those that had need, and wereapproved. 

And nowhere do we find any direction or approval of laying up moneyfor self or for children. A man is admonished to provide sustenanceand education for his family, but never to lay up money for them; andthe history of the children of the rich is a warning that, even in atemporal view, the chances are all against the results of such use ofproperty. We are to spend all to _save the world_; For this weare to labor and sacrifice ease and wealth, and we are to train childrento the same self-sacrificing labors; All that is spent for earthlypleasure ends here. Nothing goes into the future world as a good securedbut training our own and other immortal minds. Thus only can we layup treasures in heaven. 

There is a crisis at hand in the history of individuals, of the church, and of our nation, which must inaugurate a new enterprise to save "thewhole world. " There must be something coming in the Christian churchesmore consistent, more comprehensive, more in keeping with the commandof our ascending Lord--"Go ye (_all_ my followers) into _all the world_, and preach the gospel to every creature; he that believeth shall besaved, and he that believeth not shall be damned!"

It is in hope and anticipation of such a "revival" of the true, self-denying spirit of Christ and of his earnest followers, that planshave been drawn for simple modes of living, in which both labor andeconomy may be practiced for benevolent ends, and yet withoutsacrificing the refinements of high civilization. One method isexhibited in the first chapters, adapted to country residence. In whatfollows will be presented a plan for a city home, having the same aim. 

The chief points are to secure economy of labor and time by the_selection and close packing of conveniences_, and also economyof health by a proper mode of _warming and ventilation_. In thisconnection will be indicated opportunities and modes that thus may beattained for aiding to save the vicious, comfort the suffering, andinstruct the ignorant. Fig. 71 is the ground plan, of a city tenementoccupying two lots of twenty-two feet front, in which there can be noside windows; as is the case with most city houses. There are two frontand two back-parlors, each twenty feet square, with a bedroom andkitchen appended to each: making four complete sets of living-rooms. A central hall runs from basement to roof, and is lighted by skylights. There is also a ventilating recess running from basement to roof withwhitened walls, and windows opening into it secure both light and airto the bedrooms. On one end of this recess is a trash-flue closed witha door in the basement, and opening into each story, which must bekept closed to prevent an upward draught, causing dust and lightarticles to rise. At the other end is a dumb-waiter, running fromcellar to roof, and opening into the hall of each story. Four chimneysare constructed near the centre of the house, one for each suite ofrooms, to receive a smoke-pipe of cast-iron or terra cotta, as describedpreviously, with a space around it for warm air; and this serves asthe exhausting-shaft to carry off the vitiated air from parlors, kitchens, bedrooms, and water-closets. In each kitchen is a stove suchas is described in Chapter IV. , its pipe connecting with the centralcast-iron or terra cotta pipe. The stove can be inclosed by slidingdoors shutting off the heat in warm weather. These kitchen stoves, anda large stove in the basement to warm the central hall, would sufficefor all the rooms, except in the coldest months, when a small terracotta stove, made for this purpose, or even an ordinary iron stove, placed by one window in each of the parlors, would give the additionalheat needed; while fresh air could be admitted from the windows behindthe stove, and thus be partially warmed. 

This exhibits the essential feature and peculiarity of Mr. Leeds'ssystem of ventilation, before described. Fresh air, admitted at thebottom of a slightly raised window, is to enter below a window-seatwhich projects over the stove; the air being thus warmed before enteringthe room. The flue of the stove is seen (in the finished corner ofFig. 71, which is a model for the four other suites of rooms on eachfloor) running along the wall to the _front_ chimney, which alsoreceives the corresponding stove-flue from the nearest window in theadjoining parlor: the same arrangement being repeated at the back ofthe house. This, the two front and back chimneys are for the heatingand ventilating parlor stoves; the four central chimneys for cooking, heating, and ventilation. 

When possible, in a large building, steam generated in the basementheater will be found better than the parlor stove. In this case, theroom will be heated by the coil of steam-pipe mentioned before; theslab covering it being the window-seat, or guard, under which the coolfresh air is conducted to be warmed before passing into the room. 

[Illustration: Fig. 71 Diagram of living quarters. ]Fig. 72 shows one side of the parlor, giving a series of sliding-doors, behind which are hooks, shelves, and "shelf-boxes, " as describedearlier in the book. 

[Illustration: Fig. 72. ]

The recess occupied by the sofa stands between these two closets. Incase the room is used for sleeping, the double couch on page 30 mightbe substituted for the sofa, serving as a lounge by day, and two singlebeds by night. The curtain hanging above can be so fastened by ringson a strong semi-circular wire as to be let down while dressing andundressing, as is done in some of our steamboats. Pockets and hookson the inside of the curtains may be made very useful. 

[Illustration: Fig. 73. ]

Fig. 73 represents another side of the same room where are two largewindows, each having a cushioned seat in its recess, (although one maybe occupied by a stove, as described above. ) A study-table with drawersor both the front and back sides furnishes large accommodations formany small articles. 

Fig. 74 represents a third side of the same room, with sliding doorsglazed from top to bottom to give light to the bedroom and kitchen. 

[Illustration: Fig. 74. ]

The fourth side appears on the ground plan (Fig. 71. ) The ottomans anda few chairs will complete the needful furniture. 

By means of forms, shelves, and shelf-boxes, the kitchen, could holdall stores and implements for cooking and setting tables, on the methodshown page 34. The eating table is close to the kitchen and sink, sothat few steps are required to bring and remove every article. Thusstove, sink, cooking materials, the table and its furniture, are allin close proximity, and yet, when the inmates are seated at table, thesliding-doors will shut out the kitchen, while the bad air and smellsof cooking are earned off by the ventilating exhaust-shaft. 

The bedroom has a bath-tub and water-closet. The tub need not be morethan four feet long, and a half-cover raised by a hinge will, whendown, hold wash-bowl and pitcher, when the tub is not in use. Aroundthe bedroom high and wide shelves and shelf-boxes near the ceilingserve to store large articles; and narrower shelves with pegs underthem for clothing, protected by a curtain, furnish other conveniencesfor storage. The trash-flue serves to send off rubbish, with but fewsteps, and the dumb waiter brings up fuel, stores, etc. Each bedroommust be provided with a ventilating register at the top, connectingwith the warm foul-air flue in the chimney. 

For a family of four persons, one parlor, with its kitchen and bedroom, couches and side closets, would supply all needful accommodations. Fora larger family, sliding-doors into the adjacent parlor, its appendedkitchen being arranged for another bedroom, would accommodate a familyof ten persons. 

A front and a back entrance may be in the basement, which, can be usedfor family stores, each family having one room. A general laundry withdrying closets could be provided in the attic, and lighted from theroof. 

Such a building, four stories high, would accommodate sixteen familiesof four members, or eight larger families, and provide light, warmth, ventilation, and more comforts and conveniences than are usually foundin most city houses built for only one family. Here young marriedpersons with frugal and benevolent tastes could commence housekeepingin a style of comfort and good taste rarely excelled in mansions ofthe rich. The spaces usually occupied by stairs, entries, closets, etc. , would on this plan be thrown into fine large airy rooms, withevery convenience close at hand. 

In one of our large cities is to be found a Christian lady who inheriteda handsome establishment with means to support it in the style commonto the rich. In the spirit of Christ she "sold all that she had, andgave to the poor, " by establishing a _Home for Incurables_, andmaking her home with them, giving her time and wealth to promotingtheir temporal comfort and spiritual welfare. Was this doing _more_than her duty--_more_ than the example and teachings of Christ require?

Suppose several ladies of similar views and character in one city, having only moderate wealth, and leisure, unite to erect such a buildingas the one described, in a light and healthful part of the city of NewYork, and then should take up their residence in it, and from the vastaccumulation of misery and sin at hand on every side, should selectthe orphans, the aged, the sick, and the sinful, and spend time andmoney for their temporal and spiritual elevation; would they do_more_ than the example and teachings of Christ enjoin? Or wouldtheir enjoyment, even in this life, be diminished by exchanging aroutine chiefly of personal gratification for such self-denyingministries? It was "for _the joy_ that was set before Him" throughthe everlasting ages that our Lord "endured the cross, " and it is tothe same supernal glories that he invites his followers, and by thesame path he trod. 

Here it probably will be said that all rich women can not do what ishere suggested, owing to multitudinous claims, or to incapacity ofmind or body for carrying out such an attempt. It will also be saidthat there are many other ways for practicing self-denial besidesselling our homes and taking a humbler style of living. This is alltrue. But we are told that there are "greatest" and "least" in thatkingdom of heaven where the chief happiness is in living to serveothers, and not for self. Those who can not change their expensivestyle of living, and are obliged to spend most of their thoughts andwealth on self and those who are a part of self, will be among theleast and lowest in happiness and honor, while those who take the lowplaces on earth to raise others will be the happiest and most honoredin the kingdom of heaven. 

There are many residences in our large cities where women claiming tobe Christ's followers live in almost solitary grandeur till the warmseason, and then shut them up to spend their time at watering-placesor country resorts. The property invested in such city establishments, and the income required to keep them up, would secure "Christian homes"to many suffering, neglected, homeless children of Christ, who areliving in impure air, with all the debasing influences found in citytenement-houses. Meantime, the owners of this wealth are suffering inmind and body for want of some grand and noble object in life. If suchcould not personally live in such an establishment as is here described, by self-denying arrangements and combination with others they couldprovide and superintend one. 

Our minds are created in the image of our Father in heaven, and capableof being made happy, as his is, by the outpouring of blessings onothers. And when we are invited by our divine Lord to take his yokeand bear his burden, it is for our own highest happiness as well asfor the good of others. And whoever truly obeys finds the yoke easyand the burden light, and that they bring rest to the soul. But thosewho shrink from the true good, to live a life of self-indulgent ease, will surely find that mere earthly enjoyments pall on the taste, thatthey perish in the using, that they never satisfy the cravings of asoul created for a higher sphere and nobler mission. 

The Bible represents that there is an emergency-a great conflict inthe world unseen-and that we on earth, who are Christ's people, areto take a part in this conflict and in the "fellowship of hissufferings, " to redeem his children from the slavery of sin and eternaldeath; and there is the same call to labor and sacrifice now as therewas when he commanded, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospelto _every_ creature. "

But is not the larger part of the church--especially those who havewealth--practically living on no higher principles than the pious Jewsand virtuous heathen? Are they not living just as if there were nogreat emergency, no terrible risks and danger to their fellow-men inthe life to, come? Are they not living just as if all men were safeafter they leave this world, and all we need to aim at is to makeourselves and others virtuous and happy in this life, without disturbinganxiety about the life to come? And is the _training_ of mostChristian families diverse from that of pious Jews, in reference tothe dangers of our fellow-men in the future state, and the consequentduty of labor and sacrifice in order to extend the true religion allover the earth?

One mode of avoiding self-denial in style of living is by the pleathat, if all rich Christiana gave up the expensive establishmentscommon to this class and adopted such economies as are here suggested, it would tend to lower civilization and take away support from thoseliving by the fine arts. But while the world is rushing on to suchprofuse expenditure, will not all these elegancies and refinements beabundantly supported, and is there as much danger in this directionas there is of avoiding the self-denying example of Christ and hisearly followers? They gave up all they had, and "were scattered abroad, preaching the word;" and was there any reason existing then forself-denying labor that does not exist now? There are more idolatersand more sinful men now, in actual numbers, than there were then; whileteaching them the way of eternal life does not now, as it did then, involve the "loss of all things" and "deaths often. "

Moreover, would not the fine arts, in the end, he better supported byimparting culture and refined tastes to the neglected ones? Teachingindustry, thrift, and benevolence is far better than scattering alms, which often do more harm than good; and would not enabling the massesto enjoy the fine arts and purchase in a moderate style subserve theinterests of civilization as truly as for the rich to accumulatetreasures for themselves in the common exclusive style?

Suppose some Protestant lady of culture and fortune should unite withan associate of congenial taste and benevolence to erect such a buildingas here described, and then devote her time and wealth to the elevationand salvation of the sinful and neglected, would she sacrifice as muchas does a Lady of the Sacred Heart or a Sister of Charity, many ofwhom have been the daughters of princes and nobles? They resign totheir clergy and superiors not only the control of their wealth buttheir time, labor, and conscience. In doing this, the Roman Catholiclady is honored and admired as a saint, while taught that she is doingmore than her duty, and is thus laying up a store of good works torepay for her own past deficiencies, and also to purchase grace andpardon for humbler sinners. If this is really believed, how soothingto a wounded conscience! And what a strong appeal to generous andChristian feeling! And the more terrific the pictures of purgatory andhell, the stronger the appeal to these humane and benevolent principles. 

But how would it be with the Protestant woman practicing suchself-denial? For example, the lady of wealth and culture, who gave upher property and time to provide a home for incurables--would herpastor say she was doing _more_ than her duty? and if not, wouldhe preach to other rich women who, in other ways, could humblethemselves to raise up the poor, the ignorant, and the sinful, thatthey are doing _less_ than their duty?

Is it not sometimes the case, that both minister and people, by example, at least, seem to teach that, the more riches increase, the less demandthere is for economy, labor, and self-denial for the benefit of thedestitute and the sinful?

Protestants are little aware of the strong attractions which, aredrawing pious and benevolent women toward the Roman Catholic Church, To the poor and neglected: in humble life are offered a quiet home, with sympathy, and honored work. To the refined and ambitious areoffered the best society and high positions of honor and trust. To thesinful are offered pardon for past offenses and a fresh supply of"grace" for all acts of penitence or of benevolence. To the anxiouslyconscientious, perplexed with contentions as to doctrines and duties, are offered an infallible pope and clergy to decide what is truth and. Duty, and what is the true interpretation of the Bible, while they aretaught that the "faith" which saves the soul is implicit belief in theteachings of the Roman Catholic Church. All this enables many, evenof the intelligent, to receive the other parts of a system thatcontradicts both common sense and the Bible. 

Meantime, a highly educated priesthood, with no family ties to distractattention, are organizing and employing devoted, self-denying women, all over the land, to perform the distinctive work that Protestantwomen, if wisely trained and organized by their clergy, could carryout in thousands of scattered Christian homes and villages. 

In the Protestant churches, women are educated only to be married; andwhen not married, there is no position provided which is deemed ashonorable as that of a wife. But in the Roman Catholic Church, theunmarried woman who devotes herself to works of Christian benevolenceis the most highly honored, and has a place of comfort andrespectability provided which is suited to her education and capacity. Thus come great nunneries, with lady superiors to control conscienceand labor and wealth. 

But a time is coming when the family state is to be honored and ennobledby single women, qualified to sustain it by their own industries; womenwho will both support and train the children of their Lord and Masterin the true style of Protestant independence, controlled by no superiorbut Jesus Christ. And in the Bible they will find the Father of thefaithful, to both Jews and Gentiles, their great exemplar. For nearlyone hundred years Abraham had no child of his own; but his household, whom he trained to the number of three hundred and eighteen, werechildren of others. And he was the friend of God, chosen to be fatherof many nations, because he would "command his household to do justiceand judgment and keep the way of the Lord. "

The woman who from true love consents to resign her independence andbe supported by another, while she bears children and trains them forheaven, has a noble mission; but the woman who earns her ownindependence that she may train the neglected children of her Lord andSaviour has a still higher one. And a day is coming when Protestantwomen will be _trained_ for this their highest ministry and professionas they never yet have been. 

XXXVII. 

THE CHRISTIAN NEIGHBORHOOD. 

The spirit of Christian missions to heathen lands and the organizationsto carry them forward commenced, in most Protestant lands, within thelast century. The writer can remember the time when an annual collectionfor domestic missions was all the call for such benefactions in awealthy New-England parish; while such small pittances were customarythat the sight of a dollar-bill in the collection, even from the richestmen of the church-members, produced a sensation. 

In the intervening period since that time, the usual mode of extendingthe Gospel among the heathen has been for a few of the mostself-sacrificing men and women to give up country and home and all thecomforts and benefits of a Christian community, and then commence thefamily state amid such vice and debasement that it was ruinous tochildren to be trained in its midst. And so the result has been, inmultitudes of cases, that children were born only to be sent fromparents to be trained by strangers, and the true "Christian family"could not be exhibited in heathen lands. And as a Christianneighborhood, in its strictest sense, consists of a collection ofChristian families, such a community has been impossible in most casesamong the heathen. 

[Illustration: Fig. 75]

When our Lord ascended, his last command was "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to _every_ creature. " For ages, most Christianpeople have supposed this command was limited to the apostles. In the present day, it has been extended to Include a few men andwomen, who should practice the chief labor and self-sacrifice, whilemost of the church lived at ease, and supposed they were obeying thiscommand, by giving a small portion of their abundance to support thosewho performed the chief labor and self-sacrifice. 

But a time is coming when Christian churches will under stand thiscommand in a much more comprehensive sense; and the "Christian family"and "Christian neighborhood" will be the grand ministry of salvation. In order to assist in making this a practicable anticipation, someadditional drawings are given in this chapter. The aim is to illustrateone mode of commencing a Christian neighborhood that is so economicaland practical that two or three ladies, with very moderate means, couldcarry it out. 

A small church, a school-house, and a comfortable family dwelling mayall be united in one building, and for a very moderate sum, as willbe illustrated by the following example. 

At the head of the first chapter is a sketch which represents aperspective view of the kind of edifice indicated. On the oppositepage (Fig. 75) is an enlarged and more exact view of the front elevationof the same, which is now building in one of the most Southern States, where tropical plants flourish. The three magnificent trees on thedrawing heading the first chapter are live-oaks adorned with moss, rising over one hundred feet high and being some thirty or more feetin circumference. Nearly under their shadow is the building to bedescribed. 

[Illustration: Fig. 76. ]

Fig. 76 is the ground plan, which includes one large room twenty-fivefeet wide and thirty-five feet long, having a bow window at one end, and a kitchen at the other end. The bow-window has folding-doors, closed during the week, and within is the pulpit for Sunday service. The large room may be divided either by a movable screen or by slidingdoors with a large closet on either side. The doors make a more perfectseparation; but the screen affords more room for storing familyconveniences, and also secured more perfect ventilation for the wholelarge room by the exhaust-flue. 

Thus, through the week, the school can be in one division, and theother still a sizable room, and the kitchen be used for teachingdomestic economy and also for the eating-room. Oil Sunday, if thereis a movable screen, it can be moved back to the fireplace; orotherwise, the sliding--doors may be opened, giving the whole spaceto the congregation. The chimney is finished off outside as a steeple. It incloses a cast-iron or terra cotta pipe, which receives thestove-pipe of the kitchen and also pipes connecting the two fireplaceswith the large pipe, and finds exit above the slats of the steeple atthe projections. Thus the chimney is made an exhaust shaft for carryingoff vitiated air from all the rooms both above and below, which haveopenings into it made for the purpose. 

Two good-sized chambers are over the large lower story, as shown inFig. 77. Large closets are each side of these chambers, where areslatted openings to admit pure air; and under these openings areregisters placed to enable pure air to pass through the floor into thelarge room below. Thus a perfect mode of ventilation is secured fora large number. 

[Illustration: Fig. 77. ]

On Sunday, the folding-doors of the bow-window are to be opened forthe pulpit, the sliding-doors opened, or the screen moved back, andcamp-chairs brought from the adjacent closet to seat a congregationof worshipers. 

During the week, the family work is to be done in the kitchen, and theroom adjacent be used for both a school and an eating-room. Here theaim will be, during the week, to collect the children of theneighborhood, to be taught not only to read, write, and cipher, butto perform in the best manner all the practical duties of the familystate. Two ladies residing in this building can make an illustrationof the highest kind of "Christian family, " by adopting two orphans, keeping in training one or two servants to send out for the benefitof other families, and also providing for an invalid or aged memberof Christ's neglected ones. Here also they could employ boys and girlsin various kinds of floriculture, horticulture, bee-raising, and otherout-door employments, by which an income could be received and youngmen and women trained to industry and thrift, so as to earn anindependent livelihood. 

The above attempt has been made where, in a circuit of fifty miles, with a thriving population, not a single church is open for Sundayworship, and not a school to be found except what is provided byfaithful Roman Catholic nuns, who, indeed, are found engaged in similarlabors all over our country. The cost of such a building, where lumberis $50 a hundred and labor $3 a day, would not much exceed $1200. 

Such destitute settlements abound all over the West and South, while, along the Pacific coast, China and Japan are sending their paganmillions to share our favored soil, climate, and government. 

Meantime, throughout our older States are multitudes of benevolent, well-educated, Christian women in unhealthful factories, offices, andshops; and many, also, living in refined leisure, who yet are piningfor an opportunity to aid in carrying the Gospel to the destitute. Nothing is needed but _funds_ that are in the keeping of thousands ofChrist's professed disciples, and _organisations_ for this end, whichare at the command of the Protestant clergy. 

Let such a truly "Christian family" be instituted in any destitutesettlement, and soon its gardens and fields would cause "the desertto blossom as the rose, " and around would soon gather a "Christianneighborhood. " The school-house would no longer hold the multiplyingworshipers. A central church would soon appear, with its appendedaccommodations for literary and social gatherings and its appliancesfor safe and healthful amusements. 

The cheering example would soon spread, and ere long colonies fromthese prosperous and Christian communities would go forth to shine as"lights of the world" in all the now darkened nations. Thus the"Christian family, " and "Christian neighborhood" would become the grandministry, as they were designed to be, in training our whole race forheaven. 

This final chapter should not close without a few encouraging wordsto those who, in view of the many difficult duties urged in thesepages, sorrowfully review their past mistakes and deficiencies. Nonecan do this more sincerely than the writer. How many things have beendone unwisely even with good motives! How many have been left undonethat the light of present knowledge would have secured!

In this painful review, the good old Bible comes as the abundantcomforter. The Epistle to the Romans was written especially to meetsuch regrets and fears. It teaches that all men are sinners, in manycases from ignorance of what is right, and in many from stress oftemptation, so that neither Greek nor Jew can boast of his ownrighteousness. For it is not "by works of righteousness" that we areto be considered and treated as righteous persons, but through a "faiththat _works by love_;" that _faith_ or _belief_ which is not a mereintellectual conviction, but a _controlling purpose_ or spiritualprinciple which _habitually controls_ the feelings and conduct. And solong as there is this constant aim and purpose to obey Christ in allthings, mistakes in judgment as to what is right and wrong are pitied, "even as a father pitieth his children, " when from ignorance they runinto harm. And even the most guilty transgressors are freely forgivenwhen truly repentant and faithfully striving to forsake the error oftheir ways. 

Moreover, this tender and pitiful Saviour is the Almighty One who rulesboth this and the invisible world, and who "from every evil stilleduces good. " This life is but the infant period of our race, and muchthat we call evil, in his wise and powerful ruling may be for thehighest good of all concerned. 

The Blessed Word also cheers us with pictures of a dawning day to whichwe are approaching, when a voice shall be heard under the whole heavens, saying, "Alleluia"--"the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdomsof our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. "And "a great voice out of heaven" will proclaim, "Behold, the tabernacleof God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall behis people. And God himself shall be with them, and be their God. AndGod shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be nomore death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be anymore pain; for the former things are passed away. "

The author still can hear the echoes of early life, when her father'svoice read to her listening mother in exulting tones the poet's versionof this millennial consummation, which was the inspiring vision of hislong life-labors--a consummation to which all their children wereconsecrated, and which some of them may possibly live to behold. 

 "O scenes surpassing fable, and yet true! Scenes of accomplished bliss! which who can see, Though but in distant prospect, and not feel His soul refreshed with foretaste of the joy!

 "Rivers of gladness water all the earth, And clothe all climes with beauty; the reproach Of barrenness is past. The fruitful field Laughs with abundance; and the land once lean, Or fertile only in its own disgrace, Exults to see its thistly curse repealed. 

 "Error has no place: That creeping pestilence is driven away; The breath of Heaven has chased it. In the heart No passion touches a discordant string, But all is harmony and love. Disease Is not: the pure and uncontaminate blood Holds its due course, nor fears the frost of age. 

 One song employs all nations; and all cry, 'Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us!' The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks Shout to each other; and the mountain-tops From distant mountains catch the flying joy; Till, nation after nation taught the strain, "Behold the measure of the promise filled! See Salem built, the labor of a God! Bright as a sun the sacred city shines; All kingdoms and all princes of the earth Flock to that light; the glory of all lands Flows into her; unbounded is her joy, And endless her increase. Thy rams are there, Nebaioth, and the flocks of Kedar there; The looms of Ormus and the mines of Ind, And Saba's spicy groves pay tribute there. 

 "Praise is in all her gates: upon her walls, And in her streets, and in her spacious courts, Is heard salvation. Eastern Java there Kneels with the native of the farthest west; And Athiopia spreads abroad the hand, And worships. Her report has traveled forth Into all lands. From every clime they come To see thy beauty, and to share thy joy, O Zion! an assembly such as earth Saw never, such as Heaven stoops down to see!" [Footnote: Cowper's _Task_. ]

AN APPEAL TO AMERICAN WOMEN BY THE SENIOR AUTHOR OF THIS VOLUME. 

My honored countrywomen:

It is now over forty years that I have been seeking to elevate thecharacter and condition of our sex, relying, as to earthly aid, chieflyon your counsel and cooperation. I am sorrowful at results that havefollowed these and similar efforts, and ask your sympathy and aid. 

Let me commence with a brief outline of the past. I commenced as aneducator in the city of Hartford, Ct. , when only the primary branchesand one or two imperfect accomplishments were the ordinary schooleducation, and was among the first pioneers in seeking to introducesome of the higher branches. The staid, conservative citizen's queriedof what use to women were Latin, Geometry, and Algebra, and wonderedat a request for six recitation rooms and a study-hall for a schoolof nearly a hundred, who had as yet only one room. The appeal was thenmade to benevolent, intelligent women, and by their influence all thatwas sought was liberally bestowed. 

But the course of study then attempted was scarcely half of what isnow pursued in most of our colleges for young women, while there hasbeen added a round and extent of accomplishments then unknown. Yetthis moderate amount so stimulated brain and nerves, and so excitedcompetition, that it became needful to enforce a rule, requiring adaily report, that only two hours a day had been devoted to study outof school hours. Even this did not avail to save from injured healthboth the teacher who projected these improvements and many of herpupils. This example and that of similar institutions spread all overthe nation, with constantly increasing demand for more studies, anddecreasing value and respect for domestic pursuits and duties. 

Ten years of such intellectual excitement exhausted the nervousfountain, and my profession as a school-teacher was ended. 

The next attempt was to introduce Domestic Economy as _a science tobe studied_ in schools for girls. For a while it seemed to succeed;but ere long was crowded out by Political Economy and many othereconomies, except those most needed to prepare a woman for herdifficult and sacred duties. 

In the progress of years, it came to pass that the older States teemedwith educated women, qualified for no other department of woman'sprofession but that of a schoolteacher, while the newer States aboundedin children without schools. 

I again appealed to my countrywomen for help, addressing them throughthe press and also by the assistance of a brother (in assemblies inmany chief cities) in order to raise funds to support an agent. Thefunds were bestowed, and thus the services of Governor Slade weresecured, and, mainly by these agencies, nearly one thousand teacherswere provided with schools, chiefly in the West. 

Meantime, the intellectual taxation in both private and public schools, the want of proper ventilation in both families and schools, the wantof domestic exercise which is so valuable to the feminine constitution, the pernicious modes of dress, and the prevailing neglect of the lawsof health, resulted in the general decay of health among women. At thesame time, the overworking of the brain and nerves, and the "cramming"system of study, resulted in a deficiency of mental development whichis very marked. It is now a subject of general observation that youngwomen, at this day, are decidedly inferior in mental power to thoseof an earlier period, notwithstanding their increased advantages. Forthe mind, crowded with undigested matter, is debilitated the same asis the body by over-feeding, Recent scientific investigations give the philosophy of these results. For example, Professor Houghton, of Trinity College, Dublin, gives asone item of protracted experiments in animal chemistry, that two hoursof severe study abstracts as much vital strength as is demanded by awhole day of manual labor. The reports of the Massachusetts Board ofEducation add other facts that, in this connection, should be deeplypondered. For example, in one public school of eighty-five pupils onlyfifty-four had refreshing sleep; fifty-nine had headaches or constantweariness, and only fifteen were perfectly well. In this school it wasfound, and similar facts are common in all our public and high schools, that, in addition to six school-hours, thirty-one studied three hoursand a half; thirty-five, four hours; and twelve, from four to sevenhours. And yet the most learned medical men maintain that the timedevoted to brain labor, daily, should not exceed six hours for healthymen, and three hours for growing children. 

Alarmed at the dangerous tendencies of female education, I made anotherappeal to my sex, which resulted in the organization of the AmericanWoman's Education Association, the object being to establish_endowed_ professional schools, in connection with literaryinstitutions, in which woman's profession should be honored and taughtas are the professions of men, and where woman should be trained forsome self-supporting business. From this effort several institutionsof a high literary character have come into existence at the West, butthe organization and endowment of the professional schools is yetincomplete from many combining impediments, the chief being a want ofappreciation of woman's profession, and of the _science_ and _training_which its high and sacred duties require. But the reports of theAssociation will show that never before were such superior intellectualadvantages secured to a new country by so economical an outlay. 

Let us now look at the dangers which are impending. And first, inregard to the welfare of the family state, the decay of the femaleconstitution and health has involved such terrific sufferings, inaddition to former cares and pains of maternity, that multitudes ofboth sexes so dread the risks of marriage as either to avoid it, ormeet them by methods _always_ injurious and often criminal. Notonly so, multitudes of intelligent and conscientious persons, in privateand by the press, unaware of the penalties of violating nature, openlyimpugn the inspired declaration, "Children are a heritage of the Lord. "

Add to these, other influences that are robbing home of its safe andpeaceful enjoyments. Of such, the condition of domestic service is notthe least. We abound in domestic helpers from foreign shores, but theyare to a large extent thriftless, ignorant, and unscrupulous, whileas thriftless and inexperienced housekeepers, from boarding-schoollife, have no ability to train or to control. Hence come antagonismand ceaseless "worries" in the parlor, nursery, and kitchen, while thehusband is wearied with endless complaints of breakage, waste of fueland food, neglect, dishonesty, and deception, and home is any thingbut a harbor of comfort and peace. Thus come clubs to draw men fromcomfortless homes, and, next, clubs for the deserted women. 

Meantime, domestic service--disgraced, on one side, by the stigma ofour late slavery, and, on the other, by the influx into our kitchensof the uncleanly and ignorant--is shunned by the self-respecting andwell educated, many of whom prefer either a miserable pittance or thecareer of vice to this fancied degradation. Thus comes the overcrowdingin all avenues for woman's work, and the consequent lowering of wagesto starvation prices for long protracted toils. 

From this come diseases to the operatives, bequeathed often to theiroffspring. Factory girls must stand ten hours or more, and consequentlyin a few years debility and disease ensue, so that they never can rearhealthy children, while the foreigners who supplant them in kitchenlabor are almost the only strong and healthy women to rear largefamilies. The sewing-machine, hailed as a blessing, has proved a curseto the poor; for it takes away profits from needlewomen, while employerstestify that women who use this machine for steady work, in two yearsor less become hopelessly diseased and can rear no children. Thus itis that the controlling political majority of New-England is passingfrom the educated to the children of ignorant foreigners. 

Add to these disastrous influences, the teachings of "free love;" thebaneful influence of spiritualism, so called; the fascinations of the_demi-monde_; the poverty of thousands of women who, but fordesperate temptations, would be pure--all these malign influences aresapping the foundations of the family state. Meantime, many intelligentand benevolent persons imagine that the grand remedy for the heavyevils that oppress our sex is to introduce woman to political powerand office, to make her a party in primary political meetings, inpolitical caucuses, and in the scramble and fight for political offices;thus bringing into this dangerous _melee_ the distinctive temptingpower of her sex. Who can look at this new danger without dismay?But it is neither generous nor wise to join in the calumny and ridiculethat are directed toward philanthropic and conscientious laborers forthe good of our sex, because we fear their methods are not safe. Itwould be far wiser to show by example a better way. 

Let us suppose that our friends have gained the ballot and the powersof office: are there any real beneficent measures for our sex, whichthey would enforce by law and penalties, that fathers, brothers, andhusbands would not grant to a united petition of our sex, or even toa majority of the wise and good? Would these not confer what the wives, mothers, and sisters deemed best for themselves and the children theyare to train, very much sooner than they would give power and officeto our sex to enforce these advantages by law? Would it not be a wiserthing to _ask_ for what we need, before trying so circuitous anddangerous a method? God has given to man the physical power, so thatall that woman may gain, either by petitions or by ballot, will be thegift of love or of duty; and the ballot never will be accorded tillbenevolent and conscientious men are the majority--a millennial pointfar beyond our present ken. 

The American Woman's Education Association aims at a plan which itsmembers believe, in its full development, will more effectually remedythe "wrongs of woman" than any other urged on public notice. Its generalaim has been stated; its details will appear at another time and place. Its managers include ladies of high character and position from sixreligious denominations, and also some of the most reliable businessmen of New York. Any person who is desirous to aid by contributionsto this object can learn more of the details of the plan by addressingme at No. 69 West Thirty-eighth Street. But it is needful to statethat letters from those who seek aid or employment of any sort can notbe answered at present, nor for some months to come. 

Every woman who wishes to aid in this effort for the safety andelevation of our sex can do so by promoting the sale of this work, andits introduction as a text-book into schools. An edition for the useof schools will be in readiness next fall, which will contain schoolexercises, and questions that will promote thought and discussion inclassrooms, in reference to various topics included in the science ofDomestic Economy. And it is hoped that a previous large sale of thepresent volume will prepare the public mind to favor the introductionof this branch of study into both public and private schools. Ladieswho write for the press, and all those who have influence with editors, can aid by directing general attention to this effort. 

All the profits of the authors derived from the edition of this volumeprepared for schools, will be paid into the Treasury of the A. W. E. Association, and the amount will be stated in the annual reports. 

The complementary volume of this work will follow in a few months, andwill consist, to a great extent, of _receipts and directions_ inall branches of domestic economy, especially in the department of_healthful and economical cooking_. The most valuable receiptsin my _Domestic Receipt Book_, heretofore published by the Harpers, will be retained, and a very large number added of new ones, which arehealthful, economical, and in many cases ornamental. One special aimwill be to point out modes of _economizing labor_ in preparing food. 

Many directions will be given that will save from purchasing poisonousmilk, meats, beers, and other medicated drinks. Directions for detectingpoisonous ingredients in articles for preserving the hair, and incosmetics for the complexion, which now are ruining health, eyesight, and comfort all over the nation, will also be given. 

Particular attention will be given to modes of preparing and preservingclothing, at once economical, healthful, and in good taste. 

A large portion of the book will be devoted to instruction, in thevarious ways in which women may _earn an independent livelihood_, especially in employments that can be pursued in sunlight and the openair. 

Should any who read this work wish for more minute directions in regardto ventilation of a house already built, or one projected, they canobtain his aid by addressing Lewis Leeds, No. 110 Broadway, New YorkCity. His associate, Mr. Herman Kreitler, who prepared the architecturalplans in this work relating to Mr. Leeds's system, can be addressedat the same place. 

CATHARINE E. BEECHER. 

NEW YORK, June 1, 1869. 

APPENDIX. 

GLOSSARY OF SUCH WORDS AND PHRASES AS MAY NOT EASILY BE UNDERSTOOD BYTHE YOUNG READER

[Many words not contained in this GLOSSARY will be found explained inthe body of the work, in the places where they first occur. ]

_Action brought by the Commonwealth:_ A prosecution conducted in thename of the public, or by the authority of the State. 

_Albumen:_ Nourishing matter stored up between the undeveloped germ andits protecting wrappings in the seed of many plants. It is the flowerypart of grain, the oily part of poppy seeds, the fleshy part in cocoa-nuts, etc. 

_Alcoholic:_ Made of or containing alcohol, an inflammable liquid whichis the basis of ardent spirits. 

_Alkali, _ (plural, _alkalies:_) A chemical substance, which has theproperty of combining with and neutralizing the properties of acids, producing salts by the combination. Alkalies change most of thevegetable blues and purples to green, red to purple, and yellow tobrown. _Caustic alkali:_ An alkali deprived of all impurities, being thereby rendered more caustic and violent in its operation. Thisterm is usually applied to pure potash. _Fixed alkali:_ An alkalithat emits no characteristic smell, and can not be volatilized orevaporated without great difficulty. Potash and soda are called thefixed alkalies. Soda is also called a _fossil_ or _mineral alkali, _ andpotash the _vegetable alkali. Volatile alkali:_ An elastic, transparent, colorless, and consequently an invisible gas, known by the name ofammonia or ammoniacal gas. The odor of spirits of hartshorn is caused bythis gas. 

_Anglo-American:_ English-American, relating to Americans descendedfrom English ancestors. 

_Anther:_ That part of the stamen of a flower which contains the pollenor farina, a sort of mealy powder or dust, which is necessary to theproduction of the flower. 

_Anthracite:_ One of the must valuable kinds of mineral coal, containingno bitumen. It is very abundant in the United States. 

_Aperient:_ Opening. 

_Archaology:_ A discourse or treatise on antiquities. 

_Arrow-root_: A white powder, obtained from the fecula or starch, ofseveral species of tuberous plants in the East and West Indies, Bermuda, and other places. That from Bermuda is most highly esteemed. It is usedas an article for the table, in the form of puddings, and also as ahighly nutritive, easily digested, and agreeable food for invalids. Itderives its name from having been originally used by the Indians as aremedy for the poison of their arrows, by mashing and applying it to thewound. 

_Articulating process_: The protuberance or projecting part of a bone, by which it is so joined to another bone as to enable the two to moveupon each other. 

_Asceticism_: The state of an ascetic or hermit, who flies fromsociety and lives in retirement, or who practices a greater degree ofmortification and austerity than others do, or who inflictsextraordinary severities upon himself. 

_Astral lamp_: A lamp, the principle of which was invented byBenjamin Thompson, (a native of Massachusetts, and afterward CountRumford, ) in which the oil is contained in a large horizontal ring, having at the centre a burner which communicates with the ring bytubes. The ring is placed a little below the level of the flame, andfrom its large surface affords a supply of oil for many hours. 

_Astute_: Shrewd. 

_Auricles_: (From a Latin word, signifying the ear, ) the name given totwo appendages of the heart, from their fancied resemblance to the ear. 

_Baglivi, (George)_: An eminent physician, who was born at Ragusa, in 1668, and was educated at Naples and Paris. Pope Clement XIV. , onthe ground of his great merit, appointed him, while a very young man, Professor of Anatomy and Surgery in the College of Sapienza, at Rome. He wrote several works, and did much to promote the cause of medicalscience. He died A. D. 1706. 

_Bass_, or bass-wood: A large forest-tree of America, sometimes calledthe lime-tree. The wood is white and soft, and the bark is sometimesused for bandages. 

_Bell, Sir Charles_: A celebrated surgeon, who was born in Edinburgh, inthe year 1778. He commenced his career in London, in 1806, as a lectureron Anatomy and Surgery. In 1830, he received the honors of knighthood, and in 1836 was appointed Professor of Surgery in the College ofEdinburgh. He died near Worcester, in England, April 29th, 1842. Hiswritings are very numerous and have been, much celebrated. Among themost important of these, to general readers, are his _Illustrations ofPaley's Natural Theology_, and his treatise on _The Hand, its Mechanismand Vital Endowments, as evincing Design_. 

_Bergamot_: A fruit which was originally produced by ingrafting a branchof a citron or lemon-tree upon the stock of a peculiar kind of pear, called the bergamot pear. 

_Biased_: Cut diagonally from one corner to another of a square orrectangular piece of cloth. 

_Bias pieces_: Triangular pieces cut as above mentioned. 

_Bituminous_: Containing _bitumen_, which is an inflammable mineralsubstance, resembling tar or pitch in its properties and uses. Amongdifferent bituminous substances, the names _naphtha_ and _petrolium_have been given to those which are fluid, _maltha_, to that which hasthe consistence of pitch, and _asphaltum_ to that which is solid. 

_Blight_: A disease in plants by which they are blasted, or preventedfrom producing fruit. 

_Blonde lace_: Lace made of silk. 

_Blood heat_: The temperature which the blood is always found tomaintain, or ninety-eight degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. 

_Blue vitriol_: Sulphate of copper. 

_Blunts_: Needles of a short and thick shape, distinguished from_Sharps_, which are long and slender. 

_Booking_: A kind of thin carpeting or coarse baize. 

_Botany_: (From a Greek word signifying an herb, ) a knowledge ofplants; the science which treats of plants. 

_Brazil wood_: The central part or heart of a large tree whichgrows in Brazil, called the _Caesalpinia echinata_. It producesvery lively and beautiful red tints, but they are not permanent. 

_Bronze_: A metallic composition, consisting of copper and tin. 

_Brulure_: A French term, denoting a burning or scalding; a blasting ofplants. 

_Brussels_, (carpet:) A kind of carpeting, so called from the city ofBrussels, in Europe. Its basis is composed of a warp and woof of stronglinen threads, with the warp of which are intermixed about five timesthe quantity of woolen threads of different colors. 

_Bulb_: A root with a round body, like the onion, turnip, or hyacinth. 

_Bulbous_: Having a bulb. 

_Byron, (George Gordon, ) Lord_: A celebrated poet, who was born inLondon, January 23d, 1788, and died in Missolonghi, in Greece, April18th, 1824. 

_Calisthenics_: From two Greek words--_kalos_, beauty, and _sthenos_, strength, being the union of both. 

_Camwood_: A dyewood, procured from a leguminous (or pod-bearing)tree, growing on the western coast of Africa, and called _Baphianitida_. 

 _Canker-worm_: A worm which is very destructive to trees and plants. It springs from an egg deposited by a miller that issues from theground, and in some years destroys the leaves and fruit of apple andother trees. 

_Capillary_: A minute, hair-like tube. 

_Carbon_: A simple, inflammable body, forming the principal partof wood and coal, and the whole of the diamond. 

_Carbonic acid:_ A compound gas, consisting of one part of carbonand two parts of oxygen; fatal to animal life. It has lately beenobtained in a solid form. 

_Carbonic Oxide:_ A compound, consisting of one part of carbon and onepart of oxygen; it is fatal to animal life. Burns with a pale, blueflame, forming carbonic acid. 

_Carmine:_ A crimson color, the most beautiful of all the reds. It isprepared from a decoction of the powdered cochineal insect, to whichalum and other substances are added. 

_Caseine:_ One of the great forms of blood-making matter; thecheesy or curd-part of milk; found in both animal and vegetablekingdoms. 

_Caster:_ A small vial or vessel for the table, in which to putvinegar, mustard, pepper, etc. Also, a small wheel on a swivel-joint, on which furniture may be turned in any direction. 

_Chancellor of the Exchequer: In England, the highest judge of thelaw; the principal financial minister of a government, and the one whomanages its revenue. 

_Chateau:_ A castle, a mansion. 

_Chemistry:_ The science which treats of the elementary constituents ofbodies. 

_Chinese belle, _ deformities of: In China, it is the fashion to compressthe feet of female infants, to prevent their growth; in consequence ofwhich, the feet of all the females of China are distorted, and so smallthat the individuals can not walk with ease. 

_Chloride:_ A compound of chlorine and some other substance. 

_Chlorine_ is a simple substance, formerly called oxymuriatic acid. Inits pure state, it is a gas of green color, (hence its name, from aGreek word signifying green. ) Like oxygen, it supports the combustion ofsome inflammable substances. _Chloride of lime_ in a compound ofchlorine and lime. 

_Cholera infantum:_ A bowel-complaint to which infants are subject. 

_Chyle:_ A white juice formed from the chyme, and consisting of thefiner and more nutritious parts of the food. It is afterward convertedinto blood. 

_Chyme:_ The result of the first process which food undergoes in thestomach previously to its being converted into chyle. 

_Cicuta:_ The common American hemlock, an annual plant of four or fivefeet in height, and found commonly along walls and fences and about oldruins and buildings. It is a virulent poison as well as one of the mostimportant and valuable medicinal vegetables. It is a very differentplant from the hemlock-tree or _Pinus Canadiensis_. 

_Clarke, (Sir Charles Mansfield, ) Dr. :_ A distinguished Englishphysician and surgeon, who was born, in London, May 28th, 1783. Ha wasappointed physician to Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV. , in1830, and in 1831 he was created a baronet. He was the author of severalvaluable medical works. 

_Cobalt:_ A brittle metal, of a reddish-gray color and weakmetallic lustre, used in coloring glass. It is not easily melted noroxidized in the air. 

_Cochineal:_ A color procured from the cochineal insect, (or_Coccus cacti, _) which feeds upon the leaves of several speciesof the plant called cactus, and which is supposed to derive its coloringmatter from its food. Its natural color is crimson; but, by the additionof a preparation of potash, it yields a rich scarlet dye. 

_Cologne-water:_ A fragrant perfume, which derives its name fromhaving been originally made in the city of Cologne, which is situatedon the river Rhine, in Germany. The best kind is still procured fromthat city. 

_Comparative anatomy:_ The science which has for its object a comparisonof the anatomy, structure, and functions of the various organs ofanimals, plants, etc. , with those of the human body. 

_Confection:_ A sweetmeat; a preparation of fruit with sugar; also apreparation of medicine with honey, syrup, or similar saccharinesubstance, for the purpose of disguising the unpleasant taste of themedicine. 

_Cooper, Sir Astley Paston:_ A celebrated English surgeon, who was bornat Brooke, in Norfolk county, England, August 23d, 1768, and commencedthe practice of surgery in London, in 1792. He was appointed surgeon toKing George IV. In 1827, was created a baronet in 1831, and diedFebruary 12th, 1841. He was the author of many valuable works. 

_Copal:_ A hard, shining, transparent resin, of a light citron color, brought originally from Spanish-America, and now almost wholly from theEast-Indies. It is principally employed in the preparation of _copalvarnish. _

_Copper, Sulphate of:_ See _Sulphate of copper. 

_Copperas:_ (Sulphate of iron or green vitriol, ) a bright greenmineral substance, formed by the decomposition of a peculiar ore ofiron called pyrites, which is a sulphuret of iron. It is first in theform of a greenish-white powder or crust, which is dissolved in water, and beautiful green crystals of copperas are obtained by evaporation. It is principally used in dyeing and in making black ink. Its solution, mixed with a decoction of oak bark, produces a black color. 

_Coronary:_ Relating to a crown or garland. In anatomy, it isapplied to arteries which encompass the heart, in the manner, as itis fancied, of a garland. 

_Corrosive sublimate:_ A poisonous substance composed of chlorineand quicksilver. 

_Cosmetics:_ Preparations which, some people foolishly think willpreserve and beautify the skin. 

_Cream of tartar_: See _Tartar_. 

_Curculio_: A weevil or worm, which affects the fruit of theplum-tree and sometimes that of the apple-tree, causing the unripefruit to fall to the ground. 

_Cuvier, Baron_: The moat eminent naturalist of the present age;was born A. D. 1769, and died A. D. 1832. He was Professor of NaturalHistory in the College of France, and held various important postsunder the French government at different times. His works on NaturalHistory are of the greatest value. 

_Cynosure_: The constellation of the Lesser Bear, containing the starnear the North Pole, by which sailors steer. It is used, in a figurativesense, as synonymous with _pole-star_ or _guide_, or anything to whichthe eyes of many are directed. 

_De Tocqueville_: See _Tocqueville_. 

_Diamond cement_: A cement sold in the shops, and used for mendingbroken glass and similar articles. 

_Drab_: A thick woolen cloth, of a light brown or dun color. Thename is sometimes used for the color itself. 

_Dredging-box_: A box with holes in the top, used to sift or scatterflour on meat when roasting. 

_Drill_: (In husbandry, ) to sow grain in rows, drills, or channels;the row of grain so sowed. 

_Duchess of Orleans_: See _Orleans_. 

The _East_, and the _Eastern States_: Those of the United Statessituated in the north-east part of the country, including Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont. 

_Elevation_, (of a house:) A plan representing the upright viewof a house, as a ground-plan shows its appearance on the ground. 

_Euclid_: A celebrated mathematician, who was born in Alexandria, in Egypt, about two hundred and eighty years before Christ. Hedistinguished himself by his writings on music and geometry. The mostcelebrated of his works is his _Elements of Geometry_, which is in useat the present day. He established a school at Alexandria, which becameso famous that, from his time to the conquest of Alexandria by theSaracens, (A. D. 646, ) no mathematician was found who had not studiedat Alexandria. Ptolemy, King of Egypt, was one of his pupils; and itwas to a question of this king, whether there was not a shorter wayof coming at geometry than by the study of his _Elements_, that Euclidmade the celebrated answer, "There is no royal path to geometry. "

_Equator_ or _equinoctial line_: An imaginary line passing round theearth, from east to west and directly under the sun, which always shinesnearly perpendicularly down upon all countries situated near theequator. 

_Evolve_: To throw off, to discharge. 

_Exchequer:_ A court in England in which the Chancellor presides, andwhere the revenues of and the debts due to the king, are recovered. This court was originally established by King William, (called "theConqueror, ") who died A. D. 1087; and its name is derived from acheckered cloth (French _echiquier_, a chess-hoard, checker-work)on the table. 

_Excretion:_ Something discharged from the body, a separation of animalmatters. _Excrementitious:_ Consisting of matter excreted from the body;containing excrements. 

_Fahrenheit, (Gabriel Daniel:)_ A celebrated natural philosopher, who was born at Dantzig, A. D. 1686. He made great improvements in thethermometer, and his name is sometimes used for that instrument. 

_Farinaceous:_ Mealy, tasting like meal. 

_Fell:_ To turn down on the wrong side the raw edges of a seam after ithas been stitched, run, or sewed, and then to hem or sew it to thecloth. 

_Festivals_ of the Jews, the three great annual: These were, theFeast of the Passover, that of Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles; onoccasion of which, all the males of the nation were required to visitthe temple at Jerusalem, in whatever part of the country they mightreside. See Exodus 28:14, 17; 34:23; Leviticus 33: 4; Deuteronomy16:16. The Passover was kept in commemoration of the deliverance ofthe Israelites from Egypt, and was so named because the night beforetheir departure the destroying angel, who slew all the first-born ofthe Egyptians, _passed over_ the houses of the Israelites withoutentering them. See Exodus 12. The Feast of Pentecost was so calledfrom a word meaning _the fiftieth_, because it was celebrated onthe fiftieth day after the Passover, and was instituted in commemorationof the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day from thedeparture out of Egypt. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, becauseit was kept seven weeks after the Passover. See Exodus 34:32; Leviticus23: 15-21; Deuteronomy 16: 9, 10. The Feast of Tabernacles, or Feastof Tents, was so called because it was celebrated under tents ortabernacles of green boughs, and was designed to commemorate theirdwelling in tents during their passage through the wilderness. At thisfeast they also returned thanks, to God for the fruits of the earthafter they had been gathered. See Exodus 23: 16; Leviticus 33: 34-44;Deuteronomy 16:13; and also St. John 7: 2. 

_Fire-blight:_ A disease in the pear and some other fruit-trees, in which they appear burnt as if by fire. It is supposed, by some tobe caused by an insect, others suppose it to be caused by-anover-abundance of sap. 

_Fluting-iron:_ An instrument for making flutes, channels, furrows, or hollows in ruffles, etc. 

_Foundation muslin_: A nice kind of buckram, stiff and white, used forthe foundation or basis of bonnets, etc. 

_Free States_: A phrase formerly used to distinguish those States inwhich slavery was not allowed, as distinguished from Slave States, inwhich slavery did exist. 

_French chalk_: A variety of the mineral called talc, unctuous to thetouch, of greenish color, glossy, soft, and easily scratched, andleaving a silvery line when drawn on paper. It is used for markingon cloth, and extracting grease-spots. 

_Fuller's earth_: A species of clay remarkable for its property ofabsorbing oil, for which reason it is valuable for extracting greasefrom cloth, etc. It is used by fullers in scouring and cleansingcloth, whence its name. 

_Fustic_: The wood of a tree which grows in the West-Indies called_Morus tinctoria_. It affords a durable but not very brilliantyellow dye, and is also used in producing some greens and drab colors. 

_Gastric_: (From the Greek [Transliterated: gasths], _gaster_, thebelly, ) belonging or relating to the belly, or stomach. _Gastricjuice_: The fluid which dissolves the food in the stomach. It islimpid, like water, of a saltish taste, and without odor. _Geology_: The science which treats of the formation of the earth. 

_Gluten_: The glue-like, sticky, tenacious substance which givesadhesiveness to dough. The principle of gelly, (now generally written_jelly_. )

_Gore_: A triangular piece of cloth. 

_Goring_: Cut in a triangular shape. 

_Gothic_: A peculiar and strongly-marked style of architecture, sometimes called the ecclesiastical style, because it is most frequentlyused in cathedrals, churches, abbeys, and other religious edifices. Itsprinciple seems to have originated in the imitation of groves andbowers, under which the ancients performed their sacred rites; itsclustered pillars and pointed arches very well representing the trunksof trees and their in-locking branches. 

_Gourmand_ or _Gormand_: A glutton, a greedy eater. In agriculture, itis applied to twigs which take up the sap but bear only leaves. 

_Green vitriol_: See _Copperas_. 

_Griddle_: An iron pan, of a peculiarly broad and shallow construction, used for baking cakes. 

_Ground-plan_: The map or plan of the floor of any building, in whichthe various apartments, windows, doors, fire-places, and other thingsare represented, like the rivers, towns, mountains, roads, etc. , on amap. 

_Gum Arabic_: A vegetable juice which exudes through the bark ofthe _Acacia, Mimosa nilotica_, and some other similar trees growingin Arabia, Egypt, Senegal, and Central Africa. It is the purest of allgums. 

_Hardpan_: The hard, unbroken layer of earth below the mould orcultivated soil. 

_Hartshorn_, (spirits of:) A volatile alkali, originally preparedfrom the horns of the stag or hart, but now procured from various othersubstances. It is known by the name of ammonia or spirits of ammonia. 

_Hemlock_: see _Cicuta. 

_Horticulturist:_ One skilled in horticulture, or the art of cultivatinggardens: horticulture being to the garden what agriculture is to thefarm, the application of labor and science to a limited spot, forconvenience, for profit, or for ornament--though implying a higherstate of cultivation than is common in agriculture. It includes thecultivation of culinary vegetables and of fruits, and forcing or exoticgardening as far as respects useful products. 

_Hydrogen_: A very light, inflammable gas, of which water is in partcomposed. It is used to inflate balloons. 

_Hypochondriasis_: Melancholy, dejection, a disorder of the imagination, in which the person supposes he is afflicted with various diseases. 

_Hysteria or hysterics_: A spasmodic, convulsive affection of thenerves, to which women are subject. It is somewhat similar tohypochondriasis in men. 

_Ingrain_: A kind of carpeting, in which the threads are dyed inthe grain or raw material before manufacture. 

_Ipecac_: (An abbreviation of _ipecacuanha_) an Indian medicinal plant, acting as an emetic. 

_Isinglass_: A fine kind of gelatin or glue, prepared from theswimming-bladders of fishes, used as a cement, and also as an ingredientin food and medicine. The name is sometimes applied to a transparentmineral substance called mica. 

_Jams_: A side-piece or post. 

_Kamtschadales_: Inhabitants of _Kamtschatka_, a large peninsulasituated on the north-eastern coast of Asia, having the North PacificOcean on the east. It is remarkable for its extreme cold, whichis heightened by a range of very lofty mountains extending the wholelength of the peninsula, several of which are volcanic. It is verydeficient in vegetable productions, but produces a great variety ofanimals, from which the richest and most valuable furs are procured. The inhabitants are in general below the common height, but have broadshoulders and large heads. It is under the dominion of Russia. 

_Kerosene_: Refined Petroleum, which see. 

_Kink_: A knotty twist in a thread or rope. 

_Lambrequin_: Originally a kind of pendent scarf or covering attached toa helmet to protect and adorn it. Hence, a pendent ornamental curtainover a window. 

_Lapland_: A country at the extreme north part of Europe, where it isvery cold. It contains lofty mountains, some of which are covered withperpetual snow and ice. 

_Latin:_ The language of the Latins or inhabitants of Latium, theprincipal country of ancient Italy. After the building of Rome, thatcity became the capital of the whole country. 

_Leguminous:_ Pod-bearing. 

_Lent:_ A fast of the Christian Church, (lasting forty days, fromAsh-Wednesday to Easter, ) in commemoration of our Saviour's miraculousfast of forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. The word Lentmeans spring, this fast always occurring at that season of the year. 

_Levite:_ One of the tribe of Levi, the son of Jacob, which tribewas set apart from the others to minister in the services of theTabernacle, and the Temple at Jerusalem. The priests were taken fromthis tribe. See Numbers 1: 47-53. 

_Ley:_ Water which has percolated through ashes, earth, or othersubstances, dissolving and imbibing a part of their contents. It isgenerally spelled _lye_. 

_Linnaeus, (Charles:)_ A native of Sweden, and the most celebratednaturalist of his age. He was born May 13th, 1707, and died January11th, 1778. His life was devoted to the study of natural history. Thescience of botany, in particular, is greatly indebted to his labors. His _Amaenitates Academicae_ (Academical Recreations) is a collection ofthe dissertations of his pupils, edited by himself, a work rich inmatters relating to the history and habits of plants. He was the firstwho arranged Natural History into a regular system, which has beengenerally called by his name. His proper name was Linne. 

_Lobe:_ A division, a distinct part; generally applied to the twodivisions of the lungs. 

_Loire:_ The largest river of France, being about five hundred and fiftymiles in. Length. It rises in the mountains of Cevennes, and emptiesinto the Atlantic Ocean about forty miles below the city of Nantes. Itdivides France into two almost equal parts. 

_London Medical Society:_ A distinguished association, formed in 1773. It has published some valuable volumes of its transactions. It has alibrary of about 40, 000 volumes, which is kept in a house presented tothe Society, in 1788, by the celebrated Dr. Lettsom, who was one of itsfirst members. 

_Louis XIV. :_ A celebrated King of France and Navarre, who was bornSeptember 5th, 1638, and died September 1st, 1715. His mother havingbefore had no children, though she had been married twenty-two years, his birth was considered as a particular favor from heaven, and he wascalled the "Gift of God. " He is sometimes styled "Louis the Great, " isnotorious as a period of licentiousness. He left behind him monuments ofunprecedented splendor and expense, consisting of palaces, gardens, andother like works. 

_Lumbar:_(From the Latin lumbus, the loin, ) relating or pertaining tothe loins. 

_Lunacy, writ of:_ A judicial proceeding to ascertain whether a personbe a lunatic. 

_Mademoiselle:_ The French word for miss, a young girl. 

_Magnesia:_ A light and white alkaline earth, which enters into thecomposition of many rocks, communicating to them a greasy or soapyfeeling and a striped texture, with sometimes a greenish color. 

_Malaria:_ (Italian, _mal/aria, bad air_, ) a noxious vapor orexhalation; a state of the atmosphere or soil, or both, which, incertain regions and in warm weather, produces fever, sometimes of greatviolence. 

_Mammon:_ Riches, the Syrian god of riches. See Luke 16:11-13; St. Matthew 6:24. _Mexico:_ A country situated south-west of the UnitedStates and extending to the Pacific Ocean. 

_Miasms:_ Such particles or atoms as are supposed to arise fromdistempered, putrefying, or poisonous bodies. 

_Michilimackinac_ or _Mackinac:_ (Now frequently corrupted into_Mackinaw_, which is the usual pronunciation of the name, ) a militarypost in the State of Michigan, situated upon an island, about nine milesin circuit, in the strait which connects Lakes Michigan and Huron. It ismuch resorted to by Indians and fur-traders. The highest summit of theisland is about three hundred feet above the lakes and commands anextensive view of them. 

_Midsummer:_ With us, the time when the sun arrives at his greatestdistance from the equator, or about the twenty-first of June, called, also the summer solstice, (from the Latin _sol, the sun_ and _sto, tostop_ or _stand still_, ) because when the sun reaches this point heseems to stand still for some time, and then appears to retrace hissteps. The days are then longer than at any other time. 

_Migrate:_ To remove from one place to another; to change residence. 

_Mildew:_ A disease of plants; a mould, spot, or stain in paper, cloths, etc. , caused by moisture. 

_Militate:_ To oppose, to operate against. 

_Millinet:_ A coarse kind of stiff muslin, formerly used for thefoundation or basis of bonnets, etc. 

_Mineralogy:_ A science which treats of the inorganic natural substancesfound upon or in the earth, such as earths, salts, metals, etc. , andwhich are called by the general name of minerals. 

_Minutiae:_ The smallest particulars. 

_Monasticism:_ Monastic life; religiously recluse life in a monastery orhouse of religious retirement. 

_Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley:_ One of the most celebrated among thefemale literary characters of England. She was daughter of Evelyn, Duke of Kingston, and was born about 1690, at Thoresby, in England Shedisplayed uncommon abilities at a very early age, and was educated bythe best masters in the English, Latin, Greek, and French languages. She accompanied her husband (Edward Wortley Montagu) on an embassy toConstantinople, and her correspondence with her friends was publishedand much admired. She introduced the practice of inoculation for thesmall-pox into England, which proved of great benefit to millions. Shedied at the age of seventy-two, A. D. 1762. 

_Moral Philosophy:_ The science which treats of the motives and rules ofhuman actions, and of the ends to which they ought to be directed. 

_Moreen: A kind of woolen stuff used for curtains, covers of cushions, bed hangings, etc. 

_Mortise: A cavity cut into a piece of timber to receive the end ofanother piece called the _Tenon_. 

_Mucous:_ Having the nature of _mucus, a glutinous, sticky, thready, transparent fluid, of a salt savor, produced by different membranes ofthe body, and serving to protect the membranes and other internal partsagainst the action of the air, food, etc. The fluid of the mouth andnose is mucus. 

_Mucous membrane: That membrane which lines the mouth, nose, intestines, and other open cavities of the body. 

_Muriatic acid: An acid composed of chlorine and hydrogen, called also, hydrochloric acid and spirit of salt. 

_Mush-stick:_ A stick to use in stirring _mush, which is corn-mealboiled in water. 

_Nankeen_ or _Nankin:_ A light cotton cloth, originally brought fromNankin, in China, whence its name. 

_Nash, (Richard:)_ Commonly called _Beau Nash, or King of Bath, acelebrated leader of the fashions in England. He was born at Swansea, in South-Wales, October 8th, 1674, and died in the city of Bath, (England, ) February 3d, 1761. 

_Natural History:_ The history of animals, plants, and minerals. 

_Natural Philosophy:_ The science which treats of the powers of nature, the properties of natural bodies, and their action one upon another. Itis sometimes called _physics_. 

_New-milch cow:_ A cow which has recently calved. 

_Newton, (Sir Isaac:)_ An eminent English philosopher and mathematician, who was born on Christmas day, 1642, and died March. 20th, 1727. He wasmuch distinguished for his very important discoveries in Optics andother branches of Natural Philosophy. See the first volume of _Pursuitof Knowledge under Difficulties_, forming the fourteenth volume of _TheSchool Library_, larger series. 

_Night-Soil:_ Human excrement, so-called because usually removed fromprivies by night. 

_Non-bearers:_ Plants which bear no flowers nor fruit. 

_Northern States_: Those of the United States situated in the northernand eastern part of the country. 

_Ordinary_: See _Physician in ordinary_. 

_Oil of Vitriol_: (sulphuric acid, or vitriolic acid, ) an acid composedof oxygen and sulphur. 

_Oino-mania_: A disease of the brain produced by excessive use ofalcoholic stimulants; derived from two Greek words, _oinos_, wine, and_mania_, madness. The same disease sometimes arises from overuse oftobacco and other stimulants of the nerves. 

_Orleans, (Elizabeth Charlotte de Baviere) Duchess of_: Second wife ofPhilippe, the brother of Louis XIV. , was born at Heidelberg, May 26th, 1652, and died at the palace of St. Cloud, in Paris, December 8th, 1722. She was author of several works; among which were _Memoirs and Anecdotesof the Court of Louis XIV. _

_Ottoman_: A kind of hassock or thick mat for kneeling upon; so-calledfrom being used by the Ottomans or Turks. 

_Oxalic acid_: a vegetable acid, which exists in sorrel. 

_Oxide_: A compound of a substance with oxygen, though not enoughoxygen to produce an acid; for example, oxide of iron, or rust ofmetals. 

_Oxidize_: To combine oxygen with a body without producing acidity. 

_Oxygen_: The vital element of air, a simple and very importantsubstance which exists in the atmosphere and supports the breathingof animals and the burning of combustibles. It was called oxygen fromtwo Greek words, signifying to produce acid, from its power of givingacidity to many compounds in which it predominates. 

_Oxygenized_: Combined with oxygen. 

_Pancreas_: A gland within the abdomen just below and behind thestomach, and providing a fluid to assist digestion. In animals, it iscalled the sweet-bread. 

_Pancreatic_: Belonging to the pancreas. 

_Parterre_: A level division of ground, a flower-garden. 

_Pearlash_: The common name for impure carbonate of potash, which in apurer form is called _Saleratus_. 

_Peristaltic_: Contracting in successive circles; worm-like. 

_Petroleum_: Rock oil, an inflammable, bituminous liquid exuding fromrocks or from the earth in the neighborhood of the carboniferous orcoal-bearing formation. 

_Phosphorous_: One of the elementary substances. 

_Physician in Ordinary to the Queen_: The physician who attends theQueen in ordinary cases of illness. 

_Pitt, William_: A celebrated English statesman, son of the Earlof Chatham. He was born May 28th, 1759, and at the age of twenty-threewas made Chancellor of the Exchequer, and soon afterward Prime Minister. He died January 23d, 1806. 

_Political Economy_: The science which treats of the generalcauses affecting the production, distribution, and consumption ofarticles of exchangeable value, in reference to their effects uponnational wealth and welfare. 

_Pollen_: The fertilizing dust of flowers, produced by the stamens andfalling upon the pistils in order to render a flower capable ofproducing fruit or seed. 

_Potter's clay_: The clay used in making articles of pottery. 

_Prairie_: A French word, signifying meadow. In the United States, it is applied to the remarkable natural meadows or plains which arefound in the Western States. In some of these vast and nearly levelplains, the traveler may wander for days without meeting with wood orwater, and see no object rising above the plane of the horizon. Theyare very fertile. 

_Prime Minister_: The person appointed by the ruler of a nationto have the chief direction and management of the public affairs. 

_Process_: A protuberance or projecting part of a bone. 

_Pulmonary_: Belonging to or affecting the lungs. 

_Pulmonary artery_: An artery which passes through the lungs, beingdivided into several branches, which form a beautiful network over theair-vessels, and finally empty themselves into the left auricle of theheart. 

_Puritans_: A sect which professed to follow the pure word of Godin opposition to traditions, human constitutions, and other authorities. In the reign, of Queen Elizabeth, part of the Protestants were desirousof introducing a simpler, and, as they considered it, a _purer_ form ofchurch government and worship than that established by law, from whichcircumstance they were called _Puritans_. In process of time, this partyincreased in numbers and openly broke off from the church, laying asidethe English liturgy, and adopting a service-book published at Geneva bythe disciples of Calvin. They were treated with great rigor by thegovernment, and many of them left the kingdom and settled in Holland. Finding themselves not so eligibly situated in that country as they hadexpected to be, a portion of them embarked for America, and were thefirst settlers of New England. 

_Quixotic_: Absurd, romantic, ridiculous; from _Don Quixote_, the heroof a celebrated fictitious work written by Cervantes, a distinguishedSpanish writer, and intended to reform the tastes and opinions of hiscountry-men. 

_Reeking_: Smoking, emitting vapor. 

_Residue_: The remainder or part which remains. 

_Routine_: A round or course of engagements, business, pleasure, etc. 

_To Run a seam_: To lay the two edges of a seam together and passthe threaded needle out and in, with small stitches, a few threadsbelow the edge and on a line with it. 

_To Run a stocking_: To pass a thread of yarn, with a needle, straightalong each row of the stocking, as far as is desired, taking up one loopand missing two or three, until tie row is completed, so as to doublethe thickness at the part which is run. 

_Sabbatical year_: Every seventh year among the Jews, which was a yearof rest for the land, when it was to be left without culture. In thisyear, all debts were to be remitted, and slaves set at liberty. SeeExodus 21:2:23:10; Leviticus 25:2, 3, etc. ; Deuteronomy 15:12; andother similar passages. 

_Saleratus_: See _Pearlash_. 

_Sal ammoniac_: A salt, called also muriate of ammonia, which derivesits name from a district in Libya, Egypt, where there was a temple ofJupiter Ammon, and where this salt was found. 

_Scotch Highlanders_: Inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland. 

_Selvedge_: The edge of cloth, a border. Improperly written _selvage_. 

_Service-book_: A book prescribing the order of public services in achurch or congregation. 

_Sharps_: See _Blunts_. 

_Shorts_: The coarser part of wheat bran. 

_Shrubbery_: A plantation of shrubs. 

_Siberia_: A large country in the extreme northern part of Asia, havingthe Frozen Ocean on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east, andforming a part of the Russian empire. The northern part is extremelycold, almost uncultivated, and contains but few inhabitants. Itfurnishes fine skins, and some of the most valuable furs in theworld. It also contains rich mines of iron and copper, and severalkinds of precious stones. 

_Sinclair, Sir John_: Of whom it was said, "There is no greater name inthe annals of agriculture than his, " was born in Caithness, Scotland, May 10th, 1754, and became a member of the British Parliament in 1780. He was strongly opposed to the measures of the British government towardAmerica, which produced the American Revolution. He was author of manyvaluable publications on various subjects. He died December 21st, 1835. 

_Sirloin_: The loin of beef. The appellation "sir" is the title of aknight or baronet, and has been added to the word "loin, " when appliedto beef, because a king of England, in a freak of good humor, onceconferred the honor of knighthood upon a loin of beef. 

_Slack_: To loosen, to relax, to deprive of cohesion. 

_Soda_: An alkali, usually obtained from the ashes of marine plants. 

To _Spade_: To throw out earth with a spade. 

_Spermaceti_: An oily substance found in the head of a species of whalecalled the spermaceti whale. 

_Spindling_: Shooting into a long, small stalk. 

_Spinous process_: A process or bony protuberance, resembling a spine orthorn, whence it derives its name. 

_Spool_: A piece of cane or reed or a hollow cylinder of wood, with aridge at each end, used to wind yarn and thread upon. 

_Stamen_, (plural, _stamens_ and _stamina_:) In _weaving_, the warp, thethread, any thing made of threads. In _botany_, that part of a flower onwhich the artificial classification is founded, consisting of thefilament or stalk, and the anther, which contains the pollen orfructifying powder. 

_Stigma_, (plural _stigmas_ and _stigmata_:) The summit or top of thepistil of a flower. 

_Style_ or Stile: The part of the pistil between the germ and thestigma. 

_Sub-carbonate_: An imperfect carbonate. 

_Sulphate, Sulphates, Sulphites_: Salts formed by the combinationof some base with sulphuric acid, as _Sulphate of copper_, (bluevitriol or blue stone, ) a combination of sulphuric acid with copper. _Sulphate of iron_: Copperas or green vitriol. _Sulphate of lime_:Gypsum or plaster of Paris. _Sulphate of magnesia_: Epsom salts. _Sulphate of potash_: A chemical salt, composed of sulphuric acid andpotash. _Sulphate of soda_: Glauber's salts. _Sulphate of zinc_:

White vitriol. _Sulphuret_: A combination of an alkaline earthor metal with sulphur, as _Sulphuret of iron_, a combination ofiron and sulphur. _Sulphuric acid_: Oil of vitriol, vitriolicacid. 

_Suture_: A sewing; the uniting of parts by stitching; the seamorjoint which unites the flat bones of the skull, which are notchedlike the teeth of a saw, and the notches, being united together, presentthe appearance of a seam. 

_Tartar_: A substance, deposited on the inside of wine casks, consistingchiefly of tartaric acid and potash. 

_Cream of tartar_: The crude tartar separated from all its impurities bybeing dissolved in water and then crystallized, when it becomes aperfectly white powder. 

_Tartaric acid_: A vegetable acid which exists in the grape. 

_Technology_: A description of the arts, considered generally intheir theory and practice as connected with moral, political, andphysical science. 

_Three-ply_ or _triple ingrain_: A kind of carpeting, in which thethreads are woven in such a manner as to make three thicknesses of thecloth. 

_Tic douloureux_: A painful affection of the nerves, mostly thoseof the face. 

_Tocqueville, (Alexis de:)_ A celebrated statesman and writer ofFrance, and author of volumes on the political condition, and thepenitentiaries of the United States, and other works. 

_Trachea_: The windpipe, so named (from a Greek word signifying_rough_) from the roughness or inequalities of the cartilages ofwhich it is formed. 

_Truckle-bed_ or _Trundle-bed_: A bed that runs on wheels. 

_Tuber_: A solid, fleshy, roundish root, like the potato. 

_Tuberous_: Thick and fleshy; composed of or having tubers. 

_Tucks_, (improperly _Tacks_): Folds in garments. 

_Turmeric:_ The root of a plant called _Curcuma longa_, a native of theEast-Indies, used as a yellow dye. 

_Twaddle:_ Idle, foolish talk or conversation. 

_Unbolted:_ Unsifted. _Unslacked:_ Not loosened or deprived of cohesion. Lime, when it has been slacked, crumbles to powder from being deprivedof cohesion. 

_Valance:_ The drapery or fringe hanging round the cover of a bed, couch, or other similar article. 

_Vascular:_ Relating to or full of vessels. 

_Venetian:_ A kind of carpeting, composed of a striped woolen warp on athick woof of linen thread, _Verisimilitude:_ Probability, resemblance to truth. 

_Verbatim:_ Word for word. 

_Vice versa:_ The side being changed, or the question reversed, or theterms being exchanged. 

_Viscera_, (plural of _viscus:_) Organs contained in the great cavitiesof the body, the skull, the abdomen, and the chest. Generally applied tothe contents of the abdomen. 

_Vitriol:_ A compound mineral salt of a very caustic taste. _BlueVitriol_, sulphate of copper. _Green Vitriol_, see _Copperas. _Oil ofVitriol_, sulphuric acid. 

_White Vitriol_, sulphate of zinc. 

_Waffle-iron:_ An iron utensil for the purpose of baking waffles, which are thin and soft cakes indented by the iron in which they arebaked. 

_Wash-leather:_ A soft, pliable leather dressed with oil, and insuch a way that it may be washed without shrinking. It is used forvarious articles of dress, as undershirts, drawers, etc. , and also forrubbing silver, and other articles having a high polish. The articleknown in commerce as chamois or shammy leather is also calledwash-leather. 

_Welting-cord:_ A cord sewed into the welt or border of a garment. 

_The West_ or _Western World_. When used in Europe, or in distinctionfrom the Eastern World, it means America. When used in this country, theWest refers to the Western States of the Union. 

_Western Wilds:_ The wild, thinly-settled lands of the Western States. 

_White vitriol:_ see _Zinc. 

_Wilton carpet:_ A kind of carpets made in England, and so called fromthe place which is the chief seat of their manufacture. They are woolenvelvets with variegated colors. 

_Writ of lunacy_. See _Lunacy. 

_Xantippe:_ The wife of Socrates, noted for her violent temper andscolding propensities. The name is frequently applied to a shrew, or peevish, turbulent, scolding woman. 

_Zinc:_ A bluish-white metal, which is used as a constituent of brassand some other alloys. _Sulphate of Zinc_ or _White vitriol_; Acombination of Zinc with sulphuric acid.