The following are the dimensions. Six feet long. Seat two feet wide, and sixteen inches high. The parts c c pass within the ends d d. The seat a, when it is shut up, rests on the ledge that runs along the back at b. The bed and bed-clothing are at the bottom of the box, and are shut up in it by day.
At Fig. 11 is represented a kitchen table, with shelves and drawers fastened over it, which, if made and furnished in the manner described, every housekeeper would find an invaluable aid to system, and it would save many steps, and much inconvenience. The shelves are to be nailed or screwed on the wall at a convenient height over the table.
The following are the dimensions of the two articles.
Table.—Six feet long. Three feet two inches broad. Thirty inches high. The top to project only two inches over the frame. The box divided by three drawers. Two of the drawers divided by partitions into three equal parts, as seen by the dotted lines in the drawing.
The shelves over the table are three feet in height, three feet six inches wide, and a foot deep. The drawers are four inches deep, and the part above the drawers is divided by the shelves into three equal portions. It is better to have two doors in front of the shelves to shut the dust out. Some would prefer a curtain to slide on an iron wire. At A is hung the salt box, made with a lid, and at B is the coffee mill, and the other side the soap dish is at C.
To furnish this complete, there should be tin boxes made with tight lapping covers, like that at Fig. 12, and of three sizes. The largest should be eight inches in height, and three and a half in diameter. The next size should be six inches high and three inches in diameter. The next should be four inches high and two inches in diameter. These can all be made at a tinner’s for a small sum. In the largest size put two kinds of sugar, and the starch. In the medium size keep tea and coffee, table salt and ginger. In the smallest size keep cream tartar, indigo, mustard, sweet herbs, and spices. In junk bottles, keep a supply of vinegar, molasses, and catsup. In a wide-mouth glass jar, with tight glass stopper, keep soda, or saleratus. Write labels and paste on to each, and arrange them on these shelves in one division. On the shelves of the other division, put the following articles:—those that can be suspended, hang on nails at the side, over the shelves. A dredging box, kitchen pepper box, two-sized graters, two small sieves, a bottle brush, a vial funnel, a larger funnel, a quart, pint, and gill measure, a gravy strainer, a corkscrew, half a dozen bowls, as many cups, saucers, and two small pitchers. On the top of the shelves put the spice mill, and the balance and weights. Fig. 16 shows the best kind. In one of the drawers of the shelves, put needles, thread, twine, wax, and bits of cotton and linen. In the other drawer put the Receipt Book, bits of paper and pencil for writing notes and memoranda, an account book, and a pen and ink.
In the table drawer which is not subdivided, put these articles:—Rolling-pin, griddle spad, iron meat fork, coffee stick, mush stick, gridiron scraper, skewers, saw knife, chopping knife, egg and cake beaters, apple corer, potato beetle, meat hammer, butter spad, whetstone.
In the middle drawer, put, in the front part, the kitchen knives and forks, and carver, the iron spoons, and other spoons used in the kitchen. In the centre part of this drawer put the kitchen table-cloths, and in the back part, the bags for all kinds of family uses, the pudding cloths, jelly strainer, and starch strainers.
In the other drawer, keep in one division, the clean dish cloths and towels; in another, the roller and tumbler towels, and in another the clean lamp towels, and a good supply of holders and dust cloths. Let the cleaver and board be kept on the top of the shelves.
By this arrangement the cook will find every article she has occasion to use close at hand, and when she washes dishes, her towels and soap, and the place where to lay up all utensils as she washes them, are in immediate reach. No one knows, without trial, how many steps are saved, and how much confusion and waste avoided, by such an arrangement. And the expense for securing it is a trifle, far less than is often spent for some showy but useless article for the parlor.
Another arrangement is a great aid to system and order. Have a closet made as represented at Fig. 13. In these partitions place these articles, the largest in the largest part, and hanging all that can be suspended, on pegs. A large and small clothes frame. A skirt board. A bosom board. A press board. A yard stick. Three or four brooms. A floor brush for sweeping oil cloths and painted floors. A cobweb brush. A long brush to wash windows outside. A carpet stretcher. A whitewash brush. A long-handle upright dust pan, and a common dust pan. A rag bag. Scrubbing brushes.
In the part with shelves, place, in the upper partitions, in one, the shoes, brushes, and blacking. In another, articles for cleaning brass and silver. In another, sponges, rags, and stain mixtures. In the next division, below, put the lamps and candlesticks, and the waiter containing all the articles used in cleaning lamps.
At the bottom of this closet, keep a box containing the following articles:—A hammer, a small saw, three sizes of gimlets, papers of tacks, nails, screws, two chisels, a bedscrew, a carpet claw.
In another box, keep old newspaper, wrapping paper, and a large ball of twine.
Have a clothes broom and clothes brush hung here, and keep the table-rug here.
All other articles in common use are to be kept in the pantry, or china closet, or in the pot closet.
By thus arranging articles together in one place, and with so complete an assortment, much time and many steps are saved, while they are preserved in good order. A housekeeper who chooses to do without some of these conveniences, and spend the money saved in parlor adornments, has a right to do so, and others have a right to think she in this shows herself deficient in good sense.
The accompanying drawings are designed to show some of the most convenient kitchen and other utensils.
Fig. 14 represents a Tin Baker, or Reflector. The iron hooks running out in front, fit it to use with grates. It can be made without them, or made so that they can be drawn out and put in. This bakes bread, cakes, apples, &c., as well as an oven.
Fig. 15, called a Footman, is made of brass, or sheet iron, and is used with a grate, to heat irons, and for other purposes.
Fig. 16 is the best kind of Balances to use in weighing cake, and for other purposes.
Fig. 17 is a tall-handle Dust Pan. The pan is half a yard in length, ten inches in width, and the handle two feet high, and set up perpendicularly. It is a very economical arrangement to save carpets and labor, as it is set down in spots, and the common broom used to throw the dust and rubbing from the carpet on to it, instead of brushing them all across the carpet.
Fig. 18 is a Saw Knife, being a saw on one side, and a knife on the other. It is very useful in preparing meats.
Fig. 19 is a Lemon Squeezer. At A is a concave place with holes bored through. At B is a convex projection to fit into the concave portion, and here the half lemon is put to be squeezed.
Fig. 20, a Case for lamplighters. It is made of tin, like a tumbler, with a lid fastened at the top by a hinge. It stands in the parlor, to receive the remnants of extinguished lamplighters and matches, to prevent smoke and rubbish, and is a great convenience. It can be made for a trifle at a tinner’s.
Fig. 21 is a tin Match Safe, which should be hung in the kitchen, and the matches be kept in it. It is not only convenient, but important for safety.
Fig. 22 is a Meat Mallet, or beef steak hammer. It is a block of wood six inches square, cut in checks, so as to make sharp points on the face, and is used to make tough steaks more tender.
Fig. 23 is an Egg Beater. It is made of iron wire, fastened to a tin handle. It is fine for beating eggs and cake, and saves labor. The tin should be six inches long and an inch wide.
Fig. 24 is a small brush, useful to dust ledges in parlors, and the frames of windows.
Fig. 25 is an Apple Corer. It is a scroll of tin soldered together, about seven inches long, an inch in diameter at the largest end, and tapering to half an inch at the smaller end, where it is cut off obliquely. It costs but a dime, and every housekeeper can have one made at a tinner’s, and needs one.
Fig. 26 is a Gridiron Scraper. It is fitted to the bars of gridirons that have scooped bars. It has a convex scraper on one end of the transverse piece of iron, and a concave one at the other, so as to fit both sides of the gridiron bars.
Fig. 27 shows the best shape for a Rolling Pin.
Fig. 28 shows a Fish Kettle, with the strainer drawn out above it. It should be large enough to use sometimes for boiling a ham. This and the sauce pans following can be used on a cooking stove, or be set on a trivet when an open fire is used.
Fig. 29 is a Preserving Kettle with a cover.
Fig. 30 is another Preserving Kettle, without a cover. The advantage of these is, that they are shallow, so that the fruit will not need to be piled. The cover preserves the flavor more perfectly. The best are of copper or bell metal. Porcelain ones are apt to crack.
Fig. 31 is a Cast Iron Sauce-pan, lined with tin.
Fig. 32 is a Tin Sauce-pan.
Fig. 33 is a Copper Sauce-pan.
Every housekeeper needs at least four different sizes of sauce-pans. The copper ones are the best, and most durable. The iron lined with tin the next best. The tin are the poorest.
Fig. 34 is a Trivet, and is very useful in heating articles over coals to prevent burning. Three or four of different sizes are needed with an open fire. Food cooked for the sick demands them.
Fig. 35 is a Tin Bonnet, and is very useful to keep articles warm, to roast apples, to warm plates, &c. Two or three will be kept in constant use when it is found how useful they are.
Fig. 36 is a brush to clean bottles, made of bristles twisted into wire.
Fig. 37 is a Tin Safe. It is to be made five feet high, five feet wide, a division in the middle, and three shelves each side. Two doors in front, with a lock and key, and all the panels of perforated tin. It is very useful to preserve food in hot weather, and to protect it also from mice.
Refrigerators are very excellent to keep meat, butter, milk, and cream, during hot weather. They are made in a superior manner, and kept for sale, but the following is a mode of securing a cheap one.
Take a barrel and bore holes in the bottom. Lay some small sticks crossing, and set a half barrel within, with holes bored in the bottom. Nail list along the edge of each, and make a cover to lay on each, so that the cover resting on the list will make it very close. Then put ice into the inner one, and the water will filter through the holes in the bottom, and while the ice is preserved, it will make the inner half barrel a perfect refrigerator. Those who buy ice every day will find this a great convenience if they have no other refrigerator.
Fig. 38 represents an excellent pattern for a Sofa Bedstead, such as a common carpenter can make. Its dimensions are as follows:—Length, six feet. Width, two feet two inches. Height of the seat from the floor, fifteen inches. Height of the back and sides from the seat, eighteen inches. The seat is a frame with slats to be laid across lengthwise, as this gives more ease than crosswise slats. The back is a frame, with slats crosswise, with two frame legs, as at A and B, swinging on hinges, and when pulled out they serve to support the back. The back is hooked up to the sides, and when laid down rests on the frame legs A B. These legs turn with pintles, or wood hinges. The ends of the sofa have grooved slides for the head and foot boards to slide in, as at C C, and have brown linen nailed on both inside and outside, on which to fasten the sofa cover. Two thick cushions of hair, or of moss and cotton, are made, one to serve for the seat, one to set up against the back. These serve for the bed when the back is laid down. A frill is fastened around the frame of the seat, and the box D, underneath, is to hold the bedclothes, and runs on castors, as also does the sofa.
Fig. 39 is a very convenient and cheap article for a light seat to use in a chamber, or in gardening. It is made just like a cross bedstead or cot, with a bit of stair carpeting used as the seat. Handles fastened to it make it more convenient to carry about, as it can be doubled up, and taken in one hand. These are the dimensions: Sticks for the seat, one foot long. Sticks for the legs, one foot six inches long.
Fig. 40 is an article for a bedchamber, and remarkably convenient for dressing the feet. In one drawer are kept stockings of all sorts, and in the other shoes; it has a cushion and handles, and is set on castors. It is to stand by the bedside, and a person can change the dress of the feet with the greatest comfort and convenience. These are the dimensions:—Twenty inches square and twelve inches high from castors to cushion.
Housekeepers are much troubled to keep dippers in order. The only sure mode is to have two made of copper, with iron handles fastened on very tight, one to hold a pint, and another two or three quarts. These will never rust or leak, and may be kept for years. Let them be hung by the fire. Keep trivets on which to set kettles over coals, so as not to burn the articles while cooking.
The most successful mode of securing the proper care of utensils, is to make a definite agreement with the cook, on hiring her, that after dinner, she shall examine kitchen, cellar, and pantry, and wash every article that needs cleansing; and that once a month she shall scour all that need scouring. Then, at least once a week, and once a month, the housekeeper should examine herself whether this agreement is fulfilled.
CHAPTER XXX.
SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO HIRED SERVICE.
There is no subject on which young housekeepers need wisdom and instruction more, than in regard to the management of domestics, and therefore some farther suggestions will be offered, in addition to those presented in the Domestic Economy.
Success in the management of domestics very much depends upon the manners of a housekeeper towards them. And here, two extremes are to be avoided. One is a severe and imperious mode of giving orders and finding fault, which is inconsistent both with lady-like good breeding, and with a truly amiable character. Few domestics, especially American domestics, will long submit to it, and many a good one has been lost, simply by the influence of this unfortunate manner.
The other extreme is apt to result from the great difficulty of retaining good domestics. In cases where this is experienced, there is a liability of becoming so fearful of displeasing one who is found to be good, that, imperceptibly, the relation is changed, and the domestic becomes the mistress. A housekeeper thus described this change in one whom she hired: “The first year she was an excellent servant; the second year, she was a kind mistress; the third year, she was an intolerable tyrant!”
There is no domestic so good that she will not be injured by perceiving that, through dependance upon her, and a fear of losing her services, the mistress of the family gives up her proper authority and control.
The happy medium is secured, by a course of real kindness in manner and treatment, attended with the manifestation of a calm determination, that the plans and will of the housekeeper, and not of the domestic, shall control the family arrangements.
When a good domestic first begins to insist that her views and notions shall be regarded, rather than those of the housekeeper, a kind but firm stand must be taken. A frank conversation should be sought, at a time when nothing has occurred to ruffle the temper on either side. Then the housekeeper can inquire what would be the view taken of this matter in case the domestic herself should become a housekeeper, and hire a person to help her; and when the matter is set before her mind in this light, let the “golden rule” be applied, and ask her whether she is not disposed to render to her present employer what she herself would ask from a domestic in similar circumstances.
Much trouble of this kind is saved by hiring persons on trial, in order to ascertain whether they are willing and able to do the work of the family in the manner which the housekeeper wishes; and in this case, such written cards as have been exhibited in previous pages can be read, or some member of the family can go around for a day or two, and show how everything is to be done.
There is no department of domestic life where a woman’s temper and patience are so sorely tried, as in the incompetence and constant changes of domestics. And therefore, there is no place where a reasonable and Christian woman will be more watchful, careful, and conscientious.
The cultivation of patience will be much promoted, by keeping in mind these considerations in reference to the incompetence and other failings of those who are hired.
In the first place, consider that the great object of life to us is not enjoyment, but the formation of a right character; that such a character cannot be formed, except by discipline, and that the trials and difficulties of domestic life, if met in a proper spirit and manner, will, in the end, prove blessings rather than evils, by securing a measure of elevation, dignity, patience, self-control, and benevolence, that could be gained by no other methods. The comfort gained by these virtues, and the rewards they bring, both in this and in a future life, are a thousand-fold richer than the easy, indolent life of indulgence, which we should choose for ourselves.
In the next place, instead of allowing the mind to dwell on the faults of those who minister to our comfort and convenience, cultivate a habit of making every possible benevolent allowance and palliation. Say to yourself—“Poor girl! she has never been instructed, either by parents or employers. Nobody has felt any interest in the formation of her habits, or kindly sought to rectify her faults. Why should I expect her to do those things well which no one has taken any care to teach her? She has no parent or friend now to aid her but myself. Let me bear her faults patiently, and kindly try to cure them.”
If a woman will cultivate the spirit expressed in such language, if she will benevolently seek the best good of those she employs, if she will interest herself in giving them instruction, if they need it, and good books to read if they are already qualified to understand them, if she will manifest a desire to have them made comfortable in the kitchen, and in their chambers, she certainly will receive her reward, and that in many ways. She will be improving her own character, she will set a good example to her family, and in the end, she will do something, and in some cases much, to improve the character and services of those whom she hires. And the good done in this way goes down from generation to generation, and goes also into the eternal world, to be known and rejoiced in, when every earthly good has come to an end.
It is sometimes the case, that the constant change of domestics, and the liability thus to have dishonest ones, makes it needful to keep stores under lock and key. This measure is often very offensive to those who are hired, as it is regarded by them as an evidence both of closeness and of suspicion of their honesty.
In such cases, it is a good plan, when first making an agreement with a domestic, to state the case in this way. That you have had dishonest persons in the family, and that when theft is committed, it is always a cause of disquiet to honest persons, because it exposes them to suspicion. You can then state your reasons as two-fold: one to protect yourself from pilfering when you take entire strangers, and the other is to protect honest persons from being suspected. When the matter is thus presented, at first hiring a person, no offence will be taken afterwards.
In some portions of our country, the great influx of foreigners of another language and another faith, and the ready entrance they find as domestics into American families, impose peculiar trials and peculiar duties on American housekeepers. In reference to such, it is no less our interest than our duty to cultivate a spirit of kindness, patience, and sympathy.
Especially should this be manifested in reference to their religion. However wrong, or however pernicious we may regard their system of faith, we should remember, that they have been trained to believe that it is what God commands them to obey, and so long as they do believe this, we should respect them for their conscientious scruples, and not try to tempt them to do what they suppose to be wrong. If we lead an ignorant and feeble mind to do what it believes to be wrong, in regard to the most sacred of all duties, those owed to God, how can we expect them to be faithful to us?
The only lawful way to benefit those whom we regard as in an error, is, not to tempt them to do what they believe to be wrong, but to give them the light of knowledge, so that they may be qualified to judge for themselves. And the way to make them willing to receive this light, is to be kind to them. We should take care that their feelings and prejudices should in no way be abused, and that they be treated as we should wish to be, if thrown as strangers into a strange land, among a people of different customs and faith, and away from parents, home, and friends.
Remember that our Master, who is in heaven, especially claims to be the God of the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger, and has commanded, “If a stranger sojourn with you in your land, ye shall not vex him, but the stranger that dwelleth among you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself.”
There is one rule, which every housekeeper will find of incalculable value, not only in the case of domestics, but in the management of children, and that is, never to find fault at the time that a wrong thing is done. Wait until you are unexcited yourself, and until the vexation of the offender is also past, and then, when there is danger of a similar offence, forewarn, and point out the evils already done for want of proper care in this respect.
CHAPTER XXXI.
ON THE STYLE OF LIVING AND EXPENSES.
This work is designed primarily for young and inexperienced housekeepers, and the following suggestions are presented as the advice of many judicious and experienced matrons in our country, to their young countrywomen, who are to follow them in the trying duties of housekeeping.
Nothing in this country is a greater source of suffering to housekeepers, than bad taste in their style of living and expenditure. Good taste is that nice perception of fitness and propriety which leads a person to say and do whatever is suitable and appropriate in all possible circumstances. Such good taste is ordinarily the result of good feelings and well-cultivated mind, and an acquaintance with the world. Yet this correct taste is sometimes found in minds that have enjoyed but few advantages, but by nature are endowed with refined feelings and good common sense.
Where this good taste exists, it leads a woman to wish to have her house, furniture, and style of living, in all its parts, exactly conformed to her means, and her situation. If she is not rich, she will not wish to have a house, or furniture, or dress like those who are rich, and will find a pride and pleasure in making a small house, plain furniture, simple dress, and an economical table, so neat, and orderly, and comfortable, and tasteful, as to ensure comfort and satisfaction to all around her. If she cannot command good domestics, nor live comfortably in a house, and with furniture which requires them, she will aim to alter the style of her establishment, and adopt one which can be thoroughly and successfully carried out by such domestics as she can obtain.
Where good domestics are scarce, it is a very great mistake to attempt to live in a large house. The labor of house cleaning, and window cleaning, the sweeping, the care of furniture, and many other items of labor, are much increased by enlarging the size of the house. In the country, where good help is scarce, a house on the plan of one of the cottages drawn in the Domestic Economy, with bed presses instead of chambers, will be found to be a great saving of labor, and the expense that might be incurred in building, furnishing, and taking care of chambers, can be laid out in making conveniences for carrying water, and furnishing the kitchen properly. The drawings for this purpose in the Domestic Economy will be found useful in this respect.
In cities, nothing is more pernicious to a housekeeper’s health, than going up and down stairs, and a woman who has good taste and good sense, will not, for the sake of show, keep two parlors on the ground floor and her nursery above and kitchen below. One of these parlors will be taken for her nursery and bedroom, even should all her acquaintance wonder how it can be, that a wife and mother should think her health and duties of more importance than two dark parlors shut up for company.
When a woman has good sense and good taste, these are some of the things she will not do.
She will not be so anxious to obtain admission into any circle as to seek it by a conformity to its fashions, which will involve her in labor, or expenses that lessen domestic comfort, or are inappropriate to her income.
She will not be particularly anxious to know what the fashion is, in dress and furniture, nor give up any important duty or pursuit to conform to it. Nor will she be disturbed if found deficient in these particulars, nor disturb others by making apologies, or giving reasons.
She will not, while all that is in sight to visiters, or to out-door observers, is in complete order, and in expensive style, have her underclothing, her bedroom, her kitchen, and her nursery ill furnished, and all in disorder. She will not attempt to show that she is genteel, and belongs to the aristocracy, by a display of profusion, by talking as if she was indifferent to the cost of things, or by seeming ashamed to economize. These things are marks of a vulgar, unrefined person, that fancies that it is money, and not character, that makes the lady. And by persons of education and refinement, such things are always regarded as indicating a vulgar, uncultivated mind.
Let a young housekeeper, then, adopt these maxims as her guide in regulating the style of her dress, furniture, table, and the size of her house.
Do not begin housekeeping in the style in which you should end it, but begin on a plain and small scale, and increase your expenditures as your experience and means are increased.
Be determined to live within your income, and in such a style that you can secure time to improve your own mind, and impart some of your own advantages to others.
Try to secure symmetry in your dress, furniture, style of living, and charities. That is, do not be profuse in one direction, and close and pinching in another.
Cultivate a taste for intellectual pleasures, home pleasures, and the pleasures of benevolence.
Have some regular plan for the employment of your time, and in this plan have chief reference to making home pleasant to your husband and children. It will save them from a thousand snares, and you from many sorrows.
CHAPTER XXXII.
WORDS OF COMFORT FOR A DISCOURAGED HOUSEKEEPER.
There is no doubt of the fact, that American housekeepers have far greater trials and difficulties to meet than those of any other nation. And it is probable that many of those who may read over the methods of thrift and economy adopted by some of the best housekeepers in our land, and detailed in this work, will with a sigh exclaim, that it is impossible for them even to attempt any such plans.
Others may be stimulated by the advice and examples presented, and may start off with much hope and courage, to carry out a plan of great excellence and appropriateness, and after trying a while, will become discouraged by the thousand obstacles in their way, and give up in despair.
A still greater number will like their own way best, and think it is folly to attempt to change.
For those who wish they could become systematic, neat, and thorough housekeepers, and would like to follow out successfully the suggestions found in this work, and for those who have tried, or will try, and find themselves baffled and discouraged, these words of comfort are offered.
Perhaps you find yourself encompassed by such sort of trials as these. Your house is inconvenient, or destitute of those facilities for doing work well which you need, and you cannot command the means to supply these deficiencies. Your domestics are so imperfectly qualified that they never can do anything just right, unless you stand by and attend to everything yourself, and you cannot be present in parlor, nursery, and kitchen all at once. Perhaps you are frequently left without any cook, or without a chambermaid, and sometimes without any hands but your own to do the work, and there is constant jostling and change from this cause. And perhaps you cannot get supplies, either from garden or market, such as you need, and all your calculations fail in that direction.
And perhaps your children are sickly, and rob you of rest by night, or your health is so poor that you feel no energy, or spirits to make exertions. And perhaps you never have had any training in domestic affairs, and cannot understand how to work yourself, nor how to direct others. And when you go for aid to experienced housekeepers, or cookery books, you are met by such sort of directions as these: “Take a pinch of this, and a little of that, and considerable of the other, and cook them till they are done about right.” And when you cannot succeed in following such indefinite instructions, you find your neighbors and husband wondering how it is, that when you have one, two, or three domestics, there should be so much difficulty about housekeeping, and such constant trouble, and miscalculation, and mistake. And then, perhaps, you lose your patience and your temper, and blame others, and others blame you, and so everything seems to be in a snarl.
Now the first thing to be said for your comfort is, that you really have great trials to meet; trials that entitle you to pity and sympathy, while it is the fault of others more than your own, that you are in this very painful and difficult situation. You have been as cruelly treated as the Israelites were by Pharaoh, when he demanded bricks without furnishing the means to make them.
You are like a young, inexperienced lad, who is required to superintend all the complicated machinery of a manufactory, which he never was trained to understand, and on penalty of losing reputation, health, and all he values most.
Neither your parents, teachers, or husband have trained you for the place you fill, nor furnished you with the knowledge or assistance needed to enable you to meet all the complicated and untried duties of your lot. A young woman who has never had the care of a child, never done housework, never learned the numberless processes that are indispensable to keep domestic affairs in regular order, never done anything but attend to books, drawing, and music, at school, and visiting and company after she left school, such an one is as unprepared to take charge of a nursery, kitchen, and family establishment, as she is to take charge of a man-of-war. And the chief blame rests with those who placed her so unprepared in such trying circumstances. Therefore, you have a right to feel that a large part of these evils are more your misfortune than your fault, and that they entitle you to sympathy rather than blame.
The next word of comfort is, the assurance that you can do every one of your duties, and do them well, and the following is the method by which you can do it. In the first place, make up your mind that it never is your duty to do anything more than you can, or in any better manner than the best you can. And whenever you have done the best you can, you have done well, and it is all that man should require, and certainly all that your Heavenly Father does require.
The next thing is, for you to make out an inventory of all the things that need to be done, in your whole establishment. Then calculate what things you find you cannot do, and strike them off the list, as what are not among your duties. Of those that remain, select a certain number that you think you can do exactly as they need to be done, and among these be sure that you put the making of good bread. This every housekeeper can do, if she will only determine to do it.
Make a selection of certain things that you will persevere in having done as well as they can be done, and let these be only so many as you feel sure you can succeed in attempting. Then make up your mind that all the rest must go along as they do, until you get more time, strength, and experience, to increase the list of things that you determine shall always be well done.
By this course, you will have the comfort of feeling that in some respects you are as good a housekeeper as you can be, while there will be a cheering progress in gaining on all that portion of your affairs, that are left at loose ends. You will be able to measure a gradual advance, and be encouraged by success. Many housekeepers fail entirely, by expecting to do everything well at first, when neither their knowledge or strength is adequate, and so they fail everywhere, and finally give up in despair.
Are you not only a housekeeper, but a mother? Oh, sacred and beautiful name! how many cares and responsibilities are associated with it! And how many elevating and sublime anticipations and hopes are given to inspire, and to cheer! You are training young minds whose plastic texture will receive and retain every impression you make, who will imitate your feelings, tastes, habits, and opinions, and who will transmit what they receive from you to their children, to pass again to the next generation, and then to the next, until a whole nation will have received its character and destiny from your hands! No imperial queen ever stood in a more sublime and responsible position than you now occupy, in the eye of Him who reads the end from the beginning, and who is appointing all the trials and discipline of your lot, not for purposes which are visible to your limited ken, but in view of all the consequences that are to result from the character which you form, and are to transmit to your posterity!
Remember, then, that you have a Father in heaven, who sympathizes in all your cares, pities your griefs, makes allowances for your defects, and is endeavoring by trials, as well as by blessings, to fit you for the right fulfilment of your high and holy calling.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
FRIENDLY COUNSELS FOR DOMESTICS.
My friends, you fill a very important and respectable station. The duties committed to you by God are very apt to be considered of small account, but they are indeed most solemn and important.
On your faithfulness and kindness depends the comfort of a whole family, and on you often depends the character and happiness of a whole flock of children. If you do your part faithfully in assisting the mother to carry forward her plans, she will be able to train them aright. If you fail to perform your part, she will be perplexed, discouraged, and disabled, and everything will go wrong.
Every person finds troubles and trials in their lot, and so you must find them in yours. But trials are sent by God, not for evil, but for good, so that we, by patiently bearing them, and by striving to improve under them, may grow wiser and better, and thus more happy than we could be without them.
Whenever, therefore, anything vexes, or troubles you, comfort yourselves by thinking that it is designed for your good, and reap at least one benefit, by bearing it with patience and cheerfulness.
In all your dealings with those who employ you, try to follow “the golden rule,” and do by them as you will wish to have others do by you, when you are the mistress of a family, and hire others to help you.
Do you find that many things are uncomfortable and unpleasant in your present lot? Remember that you never can find a place in this world where everything will be just as you want it, and that it is a bad thing for you, as well as for your employers, to keep roving about from one place to another. Stay where you are, and try to make those things that trouble you more tolerable, by enduring them with patience. Do not fret and be angry at your employers when they oppose your wishes, but wait until you feel in better humor, and then tell them what troubles you, and what you wish they would alter, and in a kind and respectful way, and you will be ten times more likely to gain what you desire.
Do you think that you are found fault with too much, and that your employer is so hard to please that you wish to change for another? Perhaps you do not know how often you do things different from what she wishes, when she does not complain. Perhaps she tells you only just what she thinks she ought to do, for your good. Perhaps she does not know that she does find fault a great deal, or that her manner is an unpleasant one. Perhaps she has a great many cares and troubles that you know not of, which try her nerves, and make her feel very irritable, and thus speak hastily when she does not intend it.
Be patient with her failings, if you think you see any, just as you wish to have her bear with your faults, when they trouble her. If you find your patience failing, it may be well in some cases, to say to your employer, that you should do better, if she would find fault less, and praise you more when you do well. But never say anything of this kind when you are angry yourself, or when you see that she is displeased.
Be careful, in all your dealings with children, always to speak the truth, and never let them hear from you any filthy or wicked language. Never promise to do a thing and then break your word, for this teaches them to break promises. Never tell them frightful stories, or try to make them mind you by saying what is not true. Never help them conceal what they have done that is wrong, but try to persuade them to confess their faults.
Never take the least thing that does not belong to you, and never tempt children to give you what does not belong to them.
Never tell tales out of the family, nor tell to your employers the bad things you have seen, or heard in other families, for this is mean and ungenerous.
Do not spend your money for useless and expensive things, but learn to be economical and prudent, that you may be preparing to be a good housekeeper, wife, and mother, if ever you have a family of your own.
Do not form a habit of roaming about to see company, but be industrious in hours not employed for those who hire you, in mending and making your own clothes.
Take care and keep your person clean, and your hair and clothes in order, and have your chamber always neat and tidy.
Do not be rude and boisterous in manners, but always speak politely to all, especially to those who employ you.
Do not waste any of the provisions, or property of your employers, nor let it spoil by neglect, and never lend or give away anything belonging to the family without leave.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Read your Bible daily, and try to obey its teachings.
Pray to God to forgive your past sins, and to help you keep all his commands, and live every day so that you will not be afraid to die.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE, AND SUPPLEMENTARY RECEIPTS.
Weights and Measures.
It is a good plan to have a particular measure cup kept for the purpose, and after once weighing all those receipts that are given by weight, to measure the quantity by this cup, and then write the measures in your receipt book, and keep the cup only for this purpose. The following is some guide in judging of the relative proportion between measures and weights.
A quart of flour, or of sifted loaf sugar, or of softened butter, each weigh about a pound. The flour, if sifted, must be heaped.
A pint equals eight ounces.
A half a pint equals four ounces.
One gill equals two ounces.
Half a gill equals one ounce.
A quart of brown sugar, or of Indian meal, equals a pound and two ounces of the same.
One great spoonful of flour, loaf sugar, or of melted butter, equals a quarter of an ounce of the same. It should be a little heaped.
Four spoonfuls equal an ounce, or half a gill.
Eight spoonfuls equal one gill.
Sixteen spoonfuls equal half a pint.
Spoons differ so much in size that this is an uncertain guide.
A medium-sized teaspoon holds sixty drops of water.
Ten eggs usually weigh a pound.
Four gills make a pint.
Two pints make a quart.
Four quarts make a gallon.
Eight quarts make a peck.
Four pecks make a bushel.
Avoirdupois Weight.
Sixteen drachms make an ounce.
Sixteen ounces make a pound.
Twenty-eight pounds make a quarter.
Four quarters make a hundred.
Twenty hundred make a ton.
Apothecaries’ Weight.
Twenty grains make a scruple.
Three scruples make a drachm.
Eight drachms make an ounce.
Twelve ounces make a pound.
On Purchasing Wood.
Wood that is straight and solid makes more in a load, and is the most profitable.
A cord of small crooked sticks does not contain half the wood there is in a load of solid logs.
The best wood for fires is the hickory, hard maple, white ash, black birch, yellow birch, beech, yellow oak, and locust. The best are placed first.
The following are inferior in quality. Elm, soft maple, white birch, pepperage, and pine.
The following are not fit to burn, either because they snap, or will not burn. Chestnut, butternut, cedar, sassafras, red oak, and buckeye.
Any person can learn to distinguish each kind by a little attention and instruction.
Wood is bought by measurement. A cord of wood is 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high.
To know the amount of a load, multiply the length by the breadth, and the product by the height, and you have the number of square feet. If it is 128 feet, it is a cord.
Items of Advice.
If you keep an account of your stores, and the dates when they are bought, you can know exactly how fast they are used, and when they are wasted, or stolen.
Stale bread is improved by steaming it half an hour or more.
Grate up dry cheese, and cheese crusts, moisten it with wine or brandy, and keep it in a jar for use. It is better than at first.
Boil old earthenware soaked with grease in hot lye, and it will cleanse it.
Wheat should always be washed before grinding.
When you clean house, begin with the highest rooms first, so that clean rooms be not soiled when done.
Repair house linen, turn sheets, and wash bedclothes in summer.
Clean house in the fall instead of spring, and you get rid of all the filth made by flies. But when you burn bituminous coal, spring is the proper time for house cleaning.
Keep coarse mats on the kitchen table for keeping it clean.
Use a coarse apron and gloves for cleaning grates. Have coal cinders sifted, and save the coarse part to burn again.
Buy your wood in August and September, when it usually is cheapest and plenty.
Have the backs of your chimneys kept clean by sweeping.
Never try a new dish for company.
To purify water, put common charcoal pounded in a common flower-pot, and fine sand over it, and let the water trickle through. Or, take an old sieve, and fill it with sand and pounded charcoal, and strain the water, and then cool it with ice.
Keep a receipt book for yourself, and write in it the improvements of your own experience.
Keep bits of potter’s clay in the house, to use for a paste to extract grease from carpets, floors, and broadcloths.
Dry bran around grapes and other fruit preserves it.
All fat should be tried up once a week, for cooking, or soap grease. Good fat saves butter.
When a stove-pipe or other iron is cracked, make a cement with ashes, salt, and water, and it will stop the opening.
Faded colors often are improved by strong salt and water.
Sal volatile, or spirits of hartshorn, will restore colors taken out by acids.
Eggs are preserved longer by packing them close, standing on their small ends. Another way is to pack them in fine salt, small end down. Another way is to pack them, small end down, and then pour on them a mixture of four quarts of cold water, four quarts of unslacked lime, two ounces of salt, and two ounces of cream-tartar. This will serve for nine dozen eggs. Try all these ways.
Rancid butter is said, by good judges, to be restored thus:—Put fifteen drops of chloride of lime to a pint of water, and work the butter in it till every particle has come in contact with the water. Then work it over in fair cold water.
Indelible Ink is thus prepared:—Buy three drachms of nitrate of silver, and put it in a vial with two spoonfuls of water. Let it stand a few days, then color it with a little ink, and add a tablespoonful of brandy. The preparation is made of strong pearlash water, stiffened with gum-arabic, and colored with red wafers.
Buy cheap red wafers, and scatter them about, and cockroaches will eat them and be destroyed. The roots of black hellebore scattered in their haunts is an infallible remedy.
Cold cream for sore lips, is made by mixing two ounces of oil of almonds, one ounce of spermaceti, one drachm of white wax, and melting them together, adding rose water to perfume them.
Jelly-bags should be made of flannel, and pudding cloths of thick linen, with strings sewed on to them.
Rose leaves should be gathered and preserved by crowding them into a jar with brandy, to use for cooking.
Potato starch is made by grating peeled potatoes, and rubbing them in water. Then pour off the water, after stirring it, and dry what sinks to the bottom.
Orange and lemon peel can be saved thus:—Dry it in an oven, pound it, and then bottle it close.
Orange or lemon water is prepared thus:—Pound the fresh skins in a mortar, pour in boiling water, cover close, and when cold bottle close. Or use wine or brandy.
Cologne water is made thus:—Buy at the apothecary’s one drachm each of oil of lavender, oil of lemon, oil of rosemary, and oil of cinnamon. Add two drachms of oil of bergamot. Mix in a vial, and add a pint of alcohol.
When Pearlash or Saleratus becomes damp, dissolve it in as much water as will just entirely dissolve it, and no more. A tablespoonful of this equals a teaspoonful of the solid. Keep it corked in a junk bottle.
The following is a very useful receipt for children who go to school where blackboards are used.
To make nice Crayons for Blackboards.
These directions are given by Prof. Turner, of the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, as follows:
“Take 5 pounds of Paris white, 1 pound of Wheat flour, wet with water, and knead it well; make it so stiff that it will not stick to the table, but not so stiff as to crumble and fall to pieces when it is rolled under the hand.
“To roll out the crayons to the proper size, two boards are needed, one to roll them on; the other to roll them with. The first should be a smooth pine board three feet long and nine inches wide. The other should also be pine, a foot long and nine inches wide, having nailed on the under side near each edge a slip of wood one-third of an inch thick, in order to raise it so much above the under board as that the crayon, when brought to its proper size, may lie between them without being flattened.
“The mass is rolled into a ball, and slices are cut from one side of it about one-third of an inch thick: these slices are again cut into strips about four inches long and one-third of an inch wide, and rolled separately between these boards until smooth and round.
“Near at hand should be another board 3 feet long and 4 inches wide, across which each crayon, as it is made, should be laid, so that the ends may project on each side—the crayons should be laid in close contact, and straight. When the board is filled, the ends should all be trimmed off so as to make the crayons as long as the width of the board. It is then laid in the sun, if in hot weather, or if in winter, near a stove or fireplace, where the crayons may dry gradually, which will require twelve hours. When thoroughly dry they are fit for use.
“An experienced hand will make 150 in an hour.” Young boys can make them and sell to their companions.
SOME EXCELLENT CHEAP DISHES.
Stewed Beef.
Take a shank or hock of beef, with all the meat belonging to it, and put it into a pot full of water early in the morning and throw in a tablespoonful of salt. Let it simmer very slowly, till the beef is soft, and cleaves from the bone, and the water is reduced to about two quarts. Then peel some potatoes, and cut them in quarters, and throw in with two teaspoonfuls of black pepper, two of sweet marjoram, and two of thyme, or summer savory. Add some celery flavor or sauce, and more salt if it requires it. Stew until the potatoes are cooked enough, but not till they are mashed. Then take dry bread, and throw in, breaking it into small pieces, and when soaked, take up the whole and serve it, and everybody will say it is about the best dish they ever tasted.
Those who love onions slice in three or four with the potatoes. Rice can be put in instead of bread.
Tomato Beef.
Stew a shank or hock of beef as above, except you put in nine or ten peeled tomatoes instead of potatoes and sweet herbs, and also leave out the bread. Some would add a little chopped onion. This is excellent and a very healthful mode of preparing beef, especially if it is tough.
A good Way to use Cold Rice.
Heat the rice in milk, add a well-beaten egg or two, a little salt, butter, and sugar, let it boil up once, and then grate on nutmeg.
To prepare Good Toast.
Toast the bread very quick, dip each slice in boiling water as soon as you have toasted it, and then lay thin bits of butter over. Cover and keep hot as you proceed. A tin bonnet is very useful for this. Make milk toast in the same way, keeping the milk at nearly boiling heat. It is better to spread the butter thin on to the toast after it is dipped in hot milk, than to melt it in it.
A Good Pudding.
Line a buttered dish with slices of wheat bread, first dipped in milk. Fill the dish with sliced apple, and add sugar and spice. Cover with slices of bread soaked in milk, cover close with a plate, and bake three hours.
Loaf Pudding.
When bread is too stale, put a loaf in a pudding-bag and boil it in salted water an hour and a half, and eat it with hard pudding sauce.
A Plain Lemon Pudding.
Nine spoonfuls of grated apple, one grated lemon, (peel and pulp,) half a cup of butter, and three eggs. Mix and bake, with or without a crust, about an hour. Cream improves it.
An Excellent Indian Pudding without Eggs.
Take seven heaping spoonfuls of Indian meal, half a teaspoonful of salt, two spoonfuls of butter or sweet lard, a teacup of molasses, and two teaspoonfuls of ginger or cinnamon, to the taste. Pour into these a quart of milk while boiling hot. Mix well, and put it in a buttered dish. Just as you set it in the oven stir in a teacup of cold water, which will produce the same effect as eggs. Bake three quarters of an hour, in a dish that will not spread it out thin.
Pork and Potato Balls.
Take one-third chopped salt pork or ham, either raw or cooked, and two-thirds of cold cooked potatoes chopped fine. Mix them up with egg, a little salt and pepper, and then make into balls and fry, or merely cook in a skillet.
Chop cold potatoes fine, and then add some pork fat and a little pepper, salt, and water, and warm slowly, and it is very good.
Oyster Pie.
Make a crust by working flour into mashed boiled potatoes with a little salt. Line a deep dish with it, invert a small teacup in the middle to hold the juice in and to hold up the upper crust. Put in the oysters with a little pepper and butter, and dredge in some flour. Cover with crust, make a large slit on the top, and bake an hour.
Green Corn Patties (like Oysters).
Twelve ears of sweet corn grated. (Yellow corn will do, but not so well.)
One teaspoonful of salt and one of pepper.
One egg beaten into two tablespoonfuls of flour.
Mix, make into small cakes, and fry brown in butter or sweet lard.
Ohio Wedding Cake (Mrs. K.).
Two pounds of flour.
One pound of butter.
One pound of sugar—brown is best.
Two pounds of currants or one of raisins.
Ten eggs.
Two teacups of molasses.
One gill of wine, and one of brandy.
One gill of cream, spice and citron to the taste.
Mix the butter and sugar, add the molasses, then the beaten yolks of eggs, then the flour, then the spice, wine, and cream, then the whites of the eggs in a stiff froth. Put in the fruit in the manner previously directed, and the citron with it at the same time. This is a very fine cake.
Best Way of making Corn Cakes of all Sorts.
There is often a sharp and strong taste to corn meal, which is remedied by wetting it up the day before it is used. The best kind of corn cakes are made by wetting up a large quantity of Indian meal with milk, and letting it stand for several days. Take a quantity of it, and first make it as thin as you want, either for griddle cakes, or drop cakes, or thicker cakes. Add salt and a spoonful of melted butter or lard for every quart, also sugar to your taste. A little always improves all corn cakes. Then dissolve soda or salaratus, a teaspoonful for each quart. If it is very sour it will want more, and tasting is the surest guide. Just as you are ready to bake, stir in enough salaratus to sweeten it, and stir quickly and only long enough to mix it well, and then bake immediately in buttered tins.
Domestics often use too much salaratus, which is bad for the stomach, and the housekeeper should ascertain by trial the right quantity, and then direct to have it carefully measured every time. Corn cakes, made as above, just thick enough to form into round cakes half an inch thick and baked on a griddle, are excellent.
Molasses Candy.
As all children are fond of this article, the following directions may be acceptable. Boil the molasses (maple is the best) till it will, if dropped in cold water, become crisp. Then, for each quart, put into it an even teaspoonful of salaratus dissolved in a little warm water, and stir it till well mixed. This makes it tender and crisp. Take a part and cool it in a buttered pan, to work white and draw into sticks. Into the remainder stir roasted corn, either pounded or whole, or peanuts or almonds, or walnuts or hazelnuts.
Whole Popped corn made into cakes with candy is excellent. Roasted corn pounded and mixed with half the quantity of maple sugar is good, and some eat it thus in milk.
To make Simple Cerate.
Melt together equal quantities of white wax and spermaceti, and then add an equal quantity of sweet oil, or a little more.
Never use rancid oil.
Best Remedy for Burns.
Pound and sift wood soot, and mix it with sweet lard, and apply it, spread on linen rags. It will ease a burn quicker than anything. If the skin is off, the great thing is to keep it covered close from the air. If the burns are large and bad, give salts or cream tartar as a cathartic.
Ginger Tea.
Pour half a pint of boiling water on to a teaspoonful of ginger; add sugar and milk to the taste.
Indian Bannock.
Take one pint of Indian meal, and stir into it a pint of sour milk, half a teaspoonful of salt, a spoonful of molasses, and a spoonful of melted butter. Beat two eggs and add, and then stir in a pint of wheat flour. Then thin it with milk to the consistency of drop cakes, and when ready to bake, stir in a heaping teaspoonful of salaratus dissolved in hot water. Pour into square buttered tins an inch thick, and bake fifteen minutes.
Egg and Bread.
Put bread crumbs into a sauce pan, with cream, salt, and pepper, and a little grated nutmeg. When the bread has absorbed the cream, break in eight eggs and fry it like an omelet, or bake it in buttered tins, or muffin rings.
Floating Island.
Beat the whites of eggs till very stiff, then put in one tablespoonful of some acid jelly for each white, and beat it a good while. Boil rich sweetened milk, and put it in a glass dish, and when cold, put the jelly and eggs on the top.
A New Mode of cooking Cucumbers.
Pare them, cut them in quarters lengthwise, dip them in corn meal or wheat flour, pepper and salt them, and then fry them brown, and they are very fine.