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San Francisco, California
2006

THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

HIGHLY INTERESTING WORK FOR HOUSEWIVES.
Numerous Illustrations, crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. Gd.,

THE HOUSEWIFE'S EEASON WHY

DOMESTIC SCIENCE.

The Author of " The Reason Why Series " has made very wide researches, in order to
bring within the pages of this Volume, in the most simple but expressive language,
all those illustrations of scientific principles which bear upon the Housewife's duties; so
that she may .not only know that she should do a thing, but WHY she should do it ;
and knowing WHY, perform it all the more willingly.

EXAMPLE.

Why is the mixture of alum with bread
injurious f

Why are baked apples useful to dyspeptic
persons ?

Why should bedsteads not be placed against
walls ?

Why do chimneys smoke?

Why does salt improve digestion?

Why does biliousness frequently attack
people at forty years of age ?

Why are complexions influenced by the
colours of dress?

Why should not infants be placed on
their backs in their cradles or beds?

Why is roasted meat more digestible than
boiled?

This Volume answers 1500 similar Questions.

" To understand the Economy of Household Affairs is not only
essential to a woman's proper and pleasant performance of the
duties of a "Wife and a Mother, but is indispensable to the comfort,
respectability, and welfare of all Families, whatever be their circum
stances." Dr. Kitchiner.

THE

PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE

A COMPLETE

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY

FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE

THE ORIGINAL EDITOR OF THE "FAMILY' FRIEND,"
THE "HOUSEWIFE'S REASON WHY," ETC.

NEW EDITION, REVISED AND GREATLY ENLARGED.

LONDON : HOULSTON & WRIGHT.

PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT &. CO,

Author's Edition.

THE REASON WHY SERIES

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THIS BOOK,

THE RESULT OF HUNDREDS OF VALUED CONTRIBUTIONS,
ACCUMULATED AND APPROVED DURING THE LAST TEN YEARS,

is

DEDICATED TO EVEEY HOUSEWIFE,

BY THE

ORIGINAL EDITOR OF THE "FAMILY FRIEND,"

IN THE BELIEF THAT IT WILL

LESSEN THE CARES OF DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT,
AID THE PRACTICE OF HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY,

AND

PROVE A HELP IN MANY EMERGENCIES,
WHICH MAY AFFECT THE COMFORT OF HOME.

LONDON, October, 1860.

PREFACE.

EVERY Englishman's house is his Castle ; the Husband has
to do battle with the struggles and competition of life ; to pro
vide for the wants of his little fortress ; and to keep those
formidable enemies Debt, Discontent, and Poverty, from the
door. And many and arduous are the battles which he has
to brave ; frequently testing to their utmost the powers of
heart and mind.

At the right hand of the Master of the citadel stands the
Housewife, his help-meet, companion, and comforter. Upon her
devolves the duty of keeping away the more subtile enemies
that attack the dwellers of the citadel within : Disease, Unclean-
liness, and Waste, are among the silent but stubborn foes which,
unless they are fairly resisted at their first approach, destroy
the foundation, shatter the walls, and reduce to ruin, both in
a moral and a material sense, the Domestic stronghold which it
is Man's mission to erect and defend, and Woman's mission to
preserve in all its happiness and integrity.

'The "PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE," which we now present to
the public in a greatly enlarged and much improved form, is
a Hand-book to guide the Wife in the discharge of those duties
upon which the well-being of Home depends ; and without the
proper fulfilment of which the most earnest efforts of the best
Husband will ever fail to secure their reward. In proof that
we do not over-estimate the importance of Woman's influence in

Viii PREFACE.

the household, remember the words of Solomon : " Every wise
woman buildeth her house : but the foolish plucketh it down
with her hands."

In the following pages will be found some excellent Thoughts
and Maxims upon Housekeeping; Advice upon the Domestic
Treatment of the Sick ; the Management of Children, &c. ;
a series of very instructive papers upon Domestic Manipulation,
together with Directions for Cookery and the Choice of Food,
in accordance with the Seasons of the Year; also ample Direc
tions upon Carving, and the Arrangement of Tables, &c., with
a large number of tried and approved Receipts in almost every
description of Domestic Preparation.

The married lady who carefully studies these pages, cannot
fail to become a " Practical Housewife," one of those wise
women who " buildeth her house," increaseth happiness in all
around her, and is followed, when she is called heavenward, by
the throbbing heart-love of all who felt her blessed influence.

It is obvious that the subject of NEEDLEWORK, intricate as
are its operations, and voluminous as its written descriptions
must be, could not be included in the present volume. The
subject has been elaborately treated and profusely illustrated
in the " TREASURES IN NEEDLEWORK," containing several
hundreds of designs by Mrs. WARREN, Mrs. PULLAN, and other
eminent artists.

Commending our Volume to the Housewives of Great Britain,
in the fullest confidence that every page will bear the closest
examination, and be found unusually instructive, we pray for
the increase of those Domestic Virtues which are the proud
characteristic of the British Nation.

LONDON, October, 1860.

INDEX.

Ablution, importance of ...

Ague

Air, importance of fresh ...

Ale, devilled

Aleberry

Ale, mulled

Page

... 22

... 72

... 22

... 227

... 225

226

228

Almond soap 276

American biscuits 297

Ants, expelling 188

Antwerp cream 301

Aperient electuary 130

Aperient for children ... 130

Aperient, infant's 127

Aperient pills 126

Aperients, spring 126

Aperient, tonic 126

Apoplexy 74

Appleade 223

Apple fool 265

Apple jelly 270

Apricot beverage 223

Apricot pudding 275

April, food and cookery for 262

Arrack, mock 226

Arrow-root 144

Artichokes, boiled 287

Artichoke bottom ragout 299

Artichokes fricasseed 269

Asparagus, boiled 264

Asparagus soup 266

Asses' milk, imitative 145

Asthma , ... 49

Asthma, relief of 127

Atholbrose 226

August, food and cookery for 280

Baked milk 145

Baking 238

Bandages 112

Bandoline 140

Bang 226

Barbel, to fry 249

Barley gruel 144

Barley milk 145

Barley water 223

Barley water, to make 245

Bath bung 256

Batter pudding 271,283

Beads, to clean 214

Beans, French, a la Creme 274

Beans, kidney, boiled 274

Bear's grease 141

Bedding, &c., choice of ... 8

Beef steaks, Staffordshire 288

Bedrooms, management of 14

Beds, to detect dampness in 188

Beef broth 254

Beef collops 259

Beef hams ... 287

Beef, pressed 278

Beef, spiced 270

Beef stock 253

Beef tea 147

Bees, to avoid injury from 135

Beverages, summer 221

Beverages, winter 221

Biliousness 54

Bishop 226

Blackberry jam 306

Black caps 292

Black draught 127

Blacking for dress boots and shoes ... 188

Blacking to preserve leather 188

Blanching 239

Bleeding at the nose 134

Blisters 113

Boiling 172,235

Books, to remove stains from 213

Boring 2 39

Bottles, to clean 143

Bottles, to make air-tight 1 89

Bowel complaints 57

Brain fever 04

Braising 239

Brass ornaments, to clean 211

Brass, to clean 212

Brawns, mock 266

Bread and butter pudding 297

Bread pudding 251

Breath, remedy for shortness of the ... 128

Brentford rolls 275

Brill, fried 235, 298

Broiling 2 37

Bronchitis 59

Bronchitis, acute 51

Bronchitis, chronic 51

Broth for invalids 145

Broth of calf 's feet 147

Broth of chickens 147

Browning for soups 254

Bruises and sprains, remedy for ... 133

Bruises, cure for 132

Brushes, to clean 142

Bugs, to destroy 139

Bullace tart 293

Burns, lime liniment for 133

Burns, to heal 134

Butcher's [meat, economy in the use of 245

INDEX.

Page

Cabinet pudding 271

Cake, good common 283

Cakes: see under various names, as
Shrewsbury, Banbury, currant, &c. ... 261

Calf s feet and milk 145

Calf s head 276,294

Calf's head cheese 269

Calf s head, fricasseed 264

Calf s head pie 300

Calf s heart, baked 292

Candles, hints about 190

Candles, to improve 190

Candlesticks, to clean 213

Capillaire, mock 224

Carbuncles 115

Cardinal 226

Cardoons a la fromage 296

Cardoons, fried 292

Carp, fried 295

Carp, stewed 254, 268

Carrot soup 254

Carrots, boiled 282

Carrots, Flemish way 872

Carving 320

Casks, to sweeten 215

Caudle 144,226

Caudle, brown 226

Caudle, rice 227

Caudle, cold 227

Caudle, flour 227

Caudle, flummery 227

Caudle, oatmeal 227

Caudle, tea 227

Caudle, white 227

Cauliflowers, boiled 269

Celery, fried ... 296

Celery with cream 261

Cement for iron utensils 189

Cement, manufacture and use of ... 159

Cements, waterproof 161

Chairs, restoring 194

Chapped hands, cerate for 137

Cherry drink 224

Chervil, boiled 274

Cheshire puffs 275

Chicken fricassee 286

Chicken-pox ... ... 48

Chicken, roasted 278

Chilblains 107

Chilblains, household cure for 130

Children, cookery for 303

Children, management of 22

Chimneys on fire, means of extinguish
ing f 191

Chimneys, cure for smoky 191

China, &c., choice of 8

China, to mend broken 190

China, to pack 192

Page

Chintz, to wash 203

Choking 109

Cholera 62

Cholera and bowel complaints, prescrip
tion for 127

Chopping 165

Christmas cake 301

Cleaning 148, 180

Cleanliness, importance of ... ... 14

Cloth, scouring balls to take grease

from 207

Clothes, management of wet 208

Clothes brushes, to clean 142

Clothes, to brush 209

Clothing, hints respecting 22

Coats, to renovate 207

Coat, to pack properly 208

Cock-a-leekie soup 294

Cockles, pickled 285

Cockroaches, expelling 188

Cod sounds, boiled 299

Cod sounds ragout 299

Cod, to cure 295

Colds and coughs 127

Coloured prints, &c., to prevent from

running 202

Colours of dresses, preserving 203

Combs, to clean 142

Consumption 45

Consumption, watercresses recommen
ded 128

Cookery for the months 248

Cookery, rudiments of 232

Cool tankard 224

Copper saucepans, danger from ... 239

Corking ug

Corns, cure for ... ., 130

Corns, cure for soft 131

Cough 48

Cough mixture 128

Cough, recipe for a 127

Court-plaster / 140

Crab soup ... 258

Crabs, dressed 267

Crackers, bon-bon 301

Crambambull 226

Cramp, cure for 134

Cranberry drink 224

Crape, to remove stains from 207

Cream, cold 139

Cream, housewife's 279

Croup 44

Cucumbers, stewed 274

Cumberland pudding 275

Curds and whey 224

Curling fluid 133

Currant water 225

Curried beef 256

INDEX.

Curries, various . . .

Page
... 237

Eggs for invalids

Page
147

... 250

Elder flower ointment

140

Custard pudding
Cutlery, choice of
Cutting glass

... 283
8
... 152

Elder wine, mulled
Embroidery, to clean
Endive, stewed

228
200
282
75

37

Dace, to marinade
Damascus biscuits
Damson or plum cheese
Deafness from deficient wax
Deafness, remedy for
Decanters, to clean

... 249
... 279
... 257
,.. 130
... 130
... 210
... 153

Excoriation
Expenditure and income
Eye, affections of the
Eyes, inflammation of the
Eye-wash
Eyes, wash for weak

116

8
79
128
138
138

December, food and cookery for

... 297

Face, affections of the
Fainting

78

77

Delirium
Delirium tremens
Derbyshire bread
Derby short cakes
Devonshire junket

... 66
... 67

... 279
... 288
... 295

Feathers, to make muffs and tippets of
February, food and cookery for
Feet, care of the
Feet, cold, means of preventing at bed
time ...

204
253
91

130

Diarrhoaa
Diarrhoea in infants
Dinners

... 61
... 129
14

Feet, cure for blistered
Female clothing, to render uninflam-

129

Disinfecting
Disinfecting liquid
Disinfecting sewage
Distilling

... 180
... 136
... 135
... 185

Fermenting
Fever
Fever, brain

185
63
64

Dividing
Divine drink
Dory, boiled
Dory cutlets
Dory, fried

... 163
... 225

... 290
... 268

Filtering
Fire-proof and water-proof cement ...
Firmity
Fish jelly, savoury

155
218
265
263

Doubing

... 239

Fish salt

Dresses, to preserve the colours of
Drying

print 200
... 148

Fish, selection of
Fish stock ... ...

17

276

Ducklings, roasted
Ducks, roasted
Ducks, Nottingham fashion
Durham pie
Dye for woods and veneers
Dyes, various ... ... ...

... 263
... 255
... 295

... 300
... 195
... 191

Flannel, to shrink new
Flannels, to wash
Flap
Flatulence
Flies, to destroy

192
209
225
59
135

Dysentery ... ... . . ...

61

Dyspepsia

... 60

Ear-ache, remedy for ... ...
Early rising recommended

... 131
14

Food for the months
Forks, cleaning

248
182
273

Ears, affections of the
Eau de Cologne
Eau sucre
Economy, importance of
Eel pie ... ... ... ...

... 80
... 141
... 225
3

... 262

Fowl, dressed cold
Fowls, forced ... ....
Fowls, roast
French pastry
Fricadel

268
299
259
256
260

Eel soup ... ... . .

... 258

250

Eels, broiled
Eels collared .

... 281
. . 295

Fruit stains, to remove from the fingers

213

306

... 263

237

Eels, to pot ...

... 281
... 272

Fumigation
Furniture taste in the selection of ...

135
3

Egg wine

... 228

Furniture, wax for polishing

195

xii

INDEX.

Page
204

Hands, care of the
Hands, to whiten the
Hare collops
Hare-lip

Page
... 89
... 138
... 286

... 118

Furs, to preserve
Galling, to prevent

... 204

... 129
... 89

German puffs ...
German silver, to clean
Giblet soup
Ginger beer
Ginger beer, Indian
Ginger beer powders
Gingerbread

... 275

... 211
... 258
... 221
... 225
... 221
... 256
. 301

Hare, roasted
Hare soup
Harness, polish for
Hats, to take care of beaver
Heart, disease of the
Heart, ox, roasted

... 286
... 249
... 18S
... 207
... 91
... 278
... 129

Heat, economy of
Herb pie

... 175

... 278
... 290

Gingerbread snaps
Gingerbread, spiced
Ginger cakes

... 301
... 283
... 257
222

... 290

Hessian soup

... 284
128

... 152

Glass, grinding
Glass, to mend broken

... 152
... 190
... 192

... 222

Hoarseness

... 128

an

Glass, writing on

... 152
... 239
... 260
... 205
... 1G1
... 161
. 160

Hooping-cough, mixture for 128
House, taking a 3
Household receipts 126
Housekeepers, suggestions to 242
Housekeeping, thoughts and maxims on 1
Hydrophobia 71, 134
Hypochondriasis 69
Hysteria, draught for 130

Glazing for hams, tongues, &c. ...
Gloves, to clean kid
Glue, common ...
Glue, liquid

Glue that will resist moisture ...

... 189
... 117

Gold lace, to clean
Goose, green, roasted
Goose, roasted
Gooseberry fool
Gooseberry fool, with the wood in it
Gout . . ...

... 199
... 263
... 255
... 270
... 270
96

Imperial

Incombustible varnish for wood
Income and expenditure
Indigestion, prescription for
Inflammation

... 222
... 216
8
... 129
... 118
53

Grease spots, means of removing

... 194

Ink stains, to remove from books, &c
Inks, indelible

213
... 193

Grinding glass
Grouse, potted
Grouse, roasted ...
Gruel
Gudgeon, fried
Guinea fowl, roasted

Haddock, to boil
Hair dyes
Hair, preservation of the

... 152
... 286
... 282
... 143
... 295
... 299

... 249
... 136

... 84
137

... 193

... 192

70

Insects, bites of
Insects, expelling
Invalids, food for
Iron-moulds, to remove
Iron-moulds in linen, to remove
Iron-work, cleaning

... 132

... 188
20, 143
... 213
... 200
... 181
... 145

262

Hair, to promote the growth of

... 137
... 137

... 267

Itch
Ivory, to restore

January, food and cookery for ...
Japanese cement
Japanned goods, cleaning

... 37
... 214

... 24S

... 189
... 182

Hake baked

... 299

Hake cutlets
Hake pie

... 249
293

Ham, boiled
Ham for Christmas
Hamburg beef
Hampshire cheese snaps

282, 292
... 300
... 300
... 265

... 145

INDEX.

XV

Page

Rabbits, mumbled 278

Rabbits, stewed 250

Ramakins 261

Raspberry vinegar 223

Ratafia pudding 293

Receipts, medical and household ... 126

Renovating balls 197

Rheumatic fever 98

Rheumatism 97

Rheumatism, prescription for 129

Rhubarb'fool 270

Ribbons, to take creases out of 198

Rice and apples for children 306

Rice glue 189

Rice milk 145

Rice, plain 262

Ringworm 105

Roasting 236

Rust, precautions against 218

Rust, to take from iron or steel 212

Sack posset

Sago

Sago milk

Salads, hints upon

Salmon, collared

Salmon, pickled

Salmon, potted .,

Salmon trout pie

Sanders

Sandwiches, Victoria

Saute", or gravy soup

Sausages, Bologna

Sausages, Oxford

Saucepans, to clean

Sauces, see under the different heads,
oysters, lobsters, shrimps, &c.

Scalds, lime liniment for

Scarlet fever

Scorbutic eruptions

Scotch leek

Scrofula

Sea cookery

Sea pie

Seidlitz powders

Senna and manna, to make palatable ,
September, food and cookery for

Servants , and mistresses

Servants' duties, routine of
Servants, management of

Sewage, to disinfect k

Shell-fish, selection of

Sherry cobbler

Shoes, French polish for

Shortbread

Shrewsbury cakes

Shrimps, to boil

Sick, care of the

229
144
144
269
263
277
273
290
264
270
272
259
274
212

133

33
130
281

47
271
271
222
307
284
8

18

8

135

17
224
188
256
261
273

16

Paga

Side, remedy for pain in the 132

Silk lace, to wash ... 198

Silks, various ways of dyeing 197

Silks, various ways of cleaning ... 197

Silks, various ways of renovating ... 197

Silver, to clean 212

Simnel, to make a 257

Sippets 14G

Sirloin of beef 250

Skate, boiled 263

Skate, fried 273

Skin, remedy for chapped 130

Skin, to prevent discoloration of, after

blows 133

Skin, to remove black stains from the 215

Small-pox ... .'.. 39

Smelling bottles, to loosen the stop
pers of ... , 142

Snipe ragout 259

Snipe, roast ... .... 259

Snuffers, to clean 213

Soda cake 270

Soda powders 222

Soup a la Chartre 280

Soup a la sap ... 254

Soup, baked 298

Soup, common ... 248

Soup for the poor 298

Soups, Flemish 239

Soups, see under various names, as hare,
giblet, &c.

Spanish pea 262

Spasms, remedy for 132

Spinach 272

Spinach, boiled 265

Spinach, stewed 205

Spinach steAved with eggs 299

Sponges, to clean 143

Sprains ...* 106

Spruce beer powders 222

Spruce beer, white 225

Stain mixture ... 202

Stains, means of removing 194

Steel goods, to clean 211

Stew for invalids 147

Stew, first watch 271

Stewing 172, 238

Stings, remedy for 136

Stockings, to clean silk 198

Stoppering, &c 148

Straining 155

Suet milk 145

Summer beverages 221

Sweetbreads, larded 275

Syllabub 265

Syllabub, Somersetshire 297

Syllabub, Devonshire 279

Syllabub, London 279

Syrup pie 278

XVI

INDEX.

... 214
... 138
... 139

82

... 32
... 129

14
3

... 250
... 263
295, 299

Page

Tables, laying out and arranging for
breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, teas,

suppers, &c 309

Tamarind drink 225

Tapioca 144

Tea cakes 256

Tea-trays, to clean

Teeth, to fill decayed

Teeth, to remove tartar from the
Teeth, preservation of the

Teething

Teething mixture

Temperance in meats and drinks

Tenant and landlord

Tench, as water souchy

Tench, fried

Tench, stewed

Throat, affections of the

Throat, remedy for sore
Thrush

Tic-douloureux

Tic-douloureux, remedy for

Tin covers, to clean

Toasting well

Toddy, buttered

Toffee, for hooping cough

Toilette receipts

Tomato 290

Tomatoes, stuffed 292

Tooth-ache, cure for 131

Tooth powders 139

Trafalgar cakes 293

Treacle beer 223

Tripe, stewed 275

Tripe, soused 288

Tripe, stuffed and roasted 288

Trotters, sheep's 145

Trout, boiled 2G8

Trout, pickled ' 277

Trussing 320

Turbot, pickled 299

Turbot, boiled 282

Turkey, Dutch way 273

Turkey patties 250

Turnip pie ... 29G

Turnips, boiled and mashed ... ... 274

Tying down ... 148

Typhus fever, to prevent infection
from 135

Ulcers, ointment for

131
36
100
131
211
240
281
128
136

Varnishes, various

Varnish for baskets and straw hats

Varnish, incombustible

Varnish, for plaster figures

Varnish, for harness

Veal broth

Veal cake

Veal cutlets a la Maintencn

Veal, larded

Veal olives

Veal sausages

Veal stock

Veal tea

Vegetable marrow

Vegetable pudding

Vegetables, observations on cooking

Vegetables, selection of

Velvet, to iron

Velvet, to raise the pile of

Velvet, to restore

Venison

Venison, fried

Ventilation

Vermicelli

Warmth, in relation to health ...

Warts, cure for

Wasp, to cure the sting of a
Water, a corrective for bad

Water, hints respecting

Waterproof boots

Waterproof cements

Waterproof cloth

Waterproofing cloth, Chinese method

Whey, lemon ...

Whey, vinegar

Whey, mustard

Whisky toddy

Whitebait, fried

White-ears, roasted

Whiting, boiled

Whiting, fried

Wine whey

Wine, mulled

Winter beverages

Wood, to colour black

Woodcocks ragout

Woodcock, roasted

Wounds, ointment for

Zinc ointment

Page

216

216

216

216

216

258

264

279

296

260

251

253

147

, 274

, 261

260

17

207

207

, 207

, 251

, 292

14

. 262

, 22

, 132

, 135

. 217

. 172

, 217

, 161

. 217

. 218

. 231

. 231

. 231

. 231

. 273

, 282

, 268

. 26

. 231

, 231

. 221

, 195

, 296

. 291

, 134

. 130

THE

PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING.

CHAPTER I.

Importance of the Subject Deficiencies in Practical Training The Happiness of Home mainly
depends upon the Housewife.

THE superintendence of a house, and the management, forethought,
economy, and good sterling sense requisite properly to achieve this,
demand as much study and perseverance as the acquisition of music,
painting, or any other accomplishment. The latter are taught most
sedulously ; young girls are educated to delight our eyes and ears, and
to shine in society : would it not be well if they were also educated to
sustain a woman's home, and often homely, duties ?

In no country is domestic comfort so prized as in England. It is in
our happy land that the word Home is best felt and enjoyed ; from the
wealthy merchant to the peasant, home is the centre around which all
else revolves ; yet, strange to say, in all ranks there are thousands of
girls brought up utterly in ignorance of home-duties. They are taught
a trade, or are educated for governesses, until that branch of female
employment is so crowded with competitors, that upper servants obtain
a better salary and are treated with more respect ; or they are crammed
with brilliant accomplishments and skilled in ornamental work, but of
domestic duties they know little or nothing. Why is this ? Surely
elegance and utility are not incompatible.

It is not alone the wife or mother who should be skilled in household
knowledge. Every girl who has emerged from childhood, and who is
approaching towards womanhood, is liable to be called upon to assume
the reins of domestic government ; the mother may be ill, bed-ridden,
or die : why should the father, who has perhaps one or two daughters
of sixteen years old or thereabouts, be obliged to seek elsewhere for
a housekeeper?

B

2 THE PKACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

We trust that our readers will not for a moment imagine that -we
have any objection to accomplishments, that we would have a woman
be merely an upper servant in the house it is her province to guide,
that we consider the kitchen her only sphere, or that we undervalue
intellectual acquirements, and elegant occupations. Far from it ; but
we would have our model housewife familiar with all the routine of
domestic duties, well acquainted with the minutiae of household
economy, and perfectly competent to direct, or if need be, teach her
servants ay, even in cases of necessity, to do things herself.

Every now and then we hear of a great stir being made about the
" rights of women," and claims made for their having an equal amount
of power, and an equally active part in the business of life with men.
It is by no means our intention to enter into the merits or demerits
of that subject, but what we have to say is this, that if women were,
from the highest to the lowest, more systematically educated to wield
properly the great amount of power they do possess, and if they were
habituated actively and energetically to enter into that portion of the
business of life which is their own peculiar sphere, this world would
be a much happier and better one.

There is a medium, however, in all things. A woman who worries
all within her reach by her ultra-housewifery, who damps one down
with soap and water, poisons one with furniture polish, takes away
one's appetite by the trouble there is about cooking the simplest thing,
and fidgets one by over-done preciseness and cleanliness, is almost as
much to be avoided as a downright sluggard, or the veriest simpleton.

Neither would we have domestic economy and home duties vaunted,
or made the constant theme of conversation ; they are the private
employments gf woman ; she must study other things in order to
entertain her relatives and friends. Those who talk most of their
duties are generally those who perform them most imperfectly. When
a man returns to his home, or enters his sitting-room, fatigued and
perhaps disappointed by the business of the day, he does not want
to be annoyed by the details of domestic accidents, the misdemeanours
of servants, and the cheating of tradespeople. He has had his worries
during the day, too, and, with that pride, or reserve, or want of coih-
fidence which is peculiar to most men, he keeps them to himself.

Many a girl can make good pastry, or dress up jellies, and such
like, for an evening party, and being much complimented for her
labours by those who relish the produce, forthwith fancies herself a
capital housewife, while in all probability, she scarcely knows how
vegetables are cooked, is profoundly ignorant of the prices of the
commonest articles of daily consumption, and could not tell of what
material a house-cloth should be made.

And how few there are who could, in case of need, make a cup of
good gruel, or a glass of white-wine whey, or even a little broth or
barley-water. We do not say that they could not manage to produce
something resembling these things, but the capricious appetite of
the invalid rejects the tasteless messes.

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 3

Some persons affirm that they have no capacity for this matter,
no taste for that. To such we would reply, If the things alluded to
are necessary parts of duty, cultivate a taste, persevere in endeavouring
to improve a capacity fur them. This world is a beautiful one, in
spite of what grumblers say, and thousands would find it a much
happier one if they studied their duties more, and sought their pleasure
or indulged their fancies less. To all of us it is intended to be a place
of trial and probation, and every human being in it exercises a greater
or less influence upon the character, the happiness, and the destinies
of many others, and is accountable for opportunities wasted, and bless
ings neglected or transformed ; and women, especially so

From the peeress to the peasant, a highly principled, sensible woman,
is, or may be, a blessing to numbers ; and not so much by great
deeds or extraordinary exertions, but simply by a quiet, straightforward
performance of those duties which God has given her to do.

Thus far we have gone with our exordium ; but in subsequent papers
we shall proceed seriatim through the various duties and business
appertaining to a house, endeavouring to map out a clear chart of
what these are, to point to the sudden rocks, and show as simply
and tersely as possible how these may be avoided, and the vessel
floated always in tolerably peaceful waters.

As it is the province of man to promote the necessaries and comforts
of home, so it is the province of woman wisely to dispense them ;
and upon the due performance of her onerous duties rests the social
joy and peace of the home, while nothing but muddle, misery, and
ruin can follow neglect of them. For her guidance we have at
much labour brought before her information upon subjects that fall
within the true scope of housekeeping, and multifarious as those
subjects are, it is our belief that in consulting the Index she will find
a reference to most of those subjects upon which she may require
information.

CHAPTER II.

The Beginning of House keeping Importance of a proper Appreciation of Economy at the
Commencement Taking a House Choice of Locality Agreement with the Landlord
Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Furnished Lodgings Economy, and Taste in the
Selection of Furniture Importance of a. proper Selection of Kitchen Utensils.

THAT sensible and oft-quoted old lady, Mrs. Glasse, in one of her
recipes begins thus: " First catch your hare." Acting, upon so good
an example, we will first take a> house and furnish it, previously to
laying down axioms for its management.

Before any steps are taken, the income or pecuniary means of the
parties about to commence housekeeping, should be well considered.
We know that by young " brides elect," and rash youths bent on

B 2

4 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

matrimony, such s. d. matters will be deemed dreadfully sublunary ;
they have a notion that if once they are married, all will be sure to
go right. A young clerk, rejoicing in an income of 80 or 100 pel-
annum, more or less, every penny of which he has been in the habit
of seeing annually swallowed up by his own expenses, falls in love
with the daughter of a well-to-do tradesman, a surgeon, or a lawyer
in tolerable practice. The young lady can sing and play, speak French,
Italian, and German a little, produce marvels in the way of crochet
and ornamental work, loves poetry and romance, and can trim herself
a smart bonnet, which, however, often costs more than if she had
purchased one ready made. But she has been at boarding-school,
and knows little or nothing of life as it is ; her wants have been
provided for, there have been servants to wait upon, and parents to
love and cherish her ; and now, to crown all, she has a lover to adore
her, to write " sonnets to her eyebrow," sing a second to her duets,
and flatter her caprices and pretty whims.

If the father is a shrewd, worldly man, he soon nips this promising
bit of flirtation in the bud ; but if he is an easy-going sort of person,
or one with a family of daughters who will, he knows, at his death,
be but poorly provided for, he lets matters take their course. The
young man proposes, feeling certain in his own mind that a wife will
be an actual saving to him single men are so imposed upon ! The
heads of the families meet in grave consultation on the subject of
" ways and means," and not seeing their way clearly, separate without
coming to any resolution. The young people are importunate ; they
urge all sorts of hopeful, inexperienced arguments, and become eloquent
under the enthusiasm of love. He wilfully ignores the fact that he
has been accustomed to spend half his income on clothes and amuse
ments, and that a merely nominal sum had been paid to his parents
for board and lodging, and all the comforts of a good home, and the
rest frittered away he scarcely knows how. She forgets how much
she spends on gloves, ribbons, perfumes, and other finery, not to mention
actual necessaries, and persists in seeing an el dorado in the income
of her lover.

They overcome all obstacles and are married, and with eclat, or it
would not be comme il faut. As much is spent on the bridal dress and
the hired coaches, and the breakfast, as would keep the newly-married
pair comfortably for a month ; then off they go into the country to spend
in travelling, hotel-bills, &c., some 20 or 30, and fulfil all the require
ments of the etiquette of this enlightened age, which often imperiously
demands reckless expenditure when common sense would advise more
than usual economy.

However, we do not consider it our mission to enter on Quixotic
quarrels with the ways of the world. It is, as our young people soon
find

" A very good world to live in,
To lend, to spend, or to give in ;
But to beg, or borrow, or get one's own,
"Tis the very worst world that ever was known."

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 5

In taking a house, the first matters to be considered are, the rent we
can afford to give, and whether we are bottfid to any particular locality.
Having settled this, we may begin our search accordingly. Where
locality is not specified, always choose one as open and airy as may be,
and where the soil, or at any rate the subsoil, is not clay, where the
drainage is good, and there is an ample supply of water, and no
neighbouring factories giving out noxious gases and poisonous smoke
and vapour. Too close a vicinity to a churchyard is likewise to be
avoided. Of course, the house must be capable of accommodating the
family who are to occupy it, and there should always be a spare room
or two which can be used for bed-rooms, or other purposes in case of
emergency. There should be closets, cellars, &c., and good ventilation
front and back. A fee to a well-qualified surveyor is often well
bestowed, for he may detect serious faults in a house, which, to. an
ordinary observer, seems well-built and comfortable.

The agreement with the landlord should be clearly understood, and
all liabilities as to parochial and other taxes, local rates, house repairs,
with charges for fixtures, &c., inquired into, and definitely arranged,,
before the agreement is signed.

It sometimes happens that the chief rooms are not papered and
painted until the house is let. In such case the in-coming tenant
generally has the power of choosing the papers, or panellings, and
paint. He will, of course, select such as will best harmonize with the
colour which the furniture and hangings should have.

Having taken our house, it generally wants a thorough cleaning and.
airing. The former may sometimes be got out of the landlord ; the
latter must always be done by the tenant ; and in spring, autumn, and
winter, fires should be kept for three or four days, according to the time
the house has been empty, and to the repairs it has undergone during
that interval ; for, of course, nobody takes a house in the state of dirt
and dis -repair in which it is usually left by an out- go ing tenant, or if
they do so under the notion that the landlord will set it all to rights
after they are in, they will find out their mistake, and repent their
confidence.

We will now suppose the house taken, cleaned thoroughly, and well
aired, and will proceed to furnish it. But first we must pause to observe
that young people will do well carefully to consider matters before they
take upon themselves the troubles and responsibilities of housekeepers.
Where their joint savings, or some sum especially bestowed for the
purpose by friends or parents, enable them to make the necessary outlay
for furniture, linen, &c., and yet have something left to put by for " a wet
day," and the rent and taxes can be afforded by the income of the husband,
it is all well and good. But if money must be borrowed, or debts incurred,
or the income mortgaged, begin life in the quietest way rather than,
with this responsibility, or with these incumbrances. Take furnished
apartments for awhile, until you see your way. Thirty pounds a year
will pay for two rooms on the ground-floor, and fifty for two on the
drawing-room floor, in a respectable locality, and this covers rent, wear
and tear of furniture, and attendance.

6 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

"We know that it is customary to say that people are victimized,
cheated, ill-nsed and abused in furnished lodgings ; poisoned with dirt,
and devoured by vermin. It may be so in some places, but all we have
to say is, that the first four years of our married life were passed in
them, and now every autumn, for a month or six weeks, we dwell in
furnished lodgings at some watering-place, and that we have found the
trials of housekeeping pretty much the same, whether in lodgings or
in a house, with one's own servants ; the expenses in the former were
fewer, so were the comforts, and the waste and cheating are about the
same in both cases, when strict surveillance is not exercised.

Of course, if people will permit themselves to be cheated, and do not
know how much or how little of each article of food or grocery ought
to be consumed per day or per week, or what its cost is, they will be
cheated by lodging-house keepers, and also their own servants.
Neither is it wise to go into an actual lodging-house, where the
proprietors avowedly live by, or, in other words, on their lodgers.
There are always respectable families to be found who only let. one set
of apartments, and with whom it is very possible to get along
comfortably. As to the much-decried attendance in lodgings, we found 1
generally, that by keeping our boxes and drawers locked, and throwing
as little temptation in the servants' way as possible, we were seldom
robbed ; and that, by consideration for and patience with the household
drudge, aided by the occasional spur of some little gift or gratuity, we
got a fair share of her services.

But to our furnishing business. Here, again, those unsentimental
letters s. d. present themselves, and say, " Thus far shalt thou go,
and no farther," and that limit is dependent upon the funds in hand, and
which may, without incurring debts or emptying the purse, be expended.

For bed-room furniture, mahogany, maple-wood, and oak are the best
and prettiest ; there are also very serviceable, well-polished, stained
wood imitations of all these three ; and there are, too, very common
and trumpery imitations, which turn shabby in a few months, and are
generally badly put together, and do no service ;, two good chairs are
worth a dozen of such rubbish as these latter.

As a general rule, we should advise avoidance of all cheap, showy,
furnishing establishments ; likewise, unless you are wealthy, of all
fashionable upholsterers;

Patronize good, old-established houses of business, and do not, to.
spare trouble, enter a large emporium, which too often, like Jack-of-all-
trades, does everything, but nothing well ; seek for separate articles,
at the establishments of various respectable tradespeople.

Never buy second-hand bedsteads, bedding, or hangings, unless you.
are well convinced that no more than you bargain for is included in
the purchase.

Iron and brass bedsteads, which can now be had of every size, form,
and price, are far preferable, both as regards health, cleanliness, and
lightness, to any others.

Chintz or dimity are better for bed-furniture than damask, moreen, or

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 7

any fabric containing wool ; they harbour less dust, and are less liable
to hide vermin. f

Kidderminster carpets are best adapted for bed-rooms. Never place
carpet under a bed, or you provide a resting-place for all the dust and
flock which daily falls from the mattresses, and establish a nice hot-bed
for fleas. Let the carpet be composed of about three pieces, in order
that it may be frequently taken up and beaten or shaken, and the
floor scrubbed clean.

Those who value health will not have a feather-bed in their house.
Good mattresses of wool, and wool and horsehair, iron bedsteads, and
as little bed-furniture, curtains, &c., as may be, with a light quilt, are
the best preventives against rising languid, inert, .and unfit in the
morning for the duties of the day.

Never crowd a bedroom with furniture ; have that which is really
useful and requisite, and no more ; and in fitting it up, always
remember that illness often comes when we -least expect it, and take 5
care that your room shall possess such articles as will then be needful
for comfort and ease.

A dining-room requires little furniture ; but that little should be
good and handsome, and of mahogany.

About furnishing drawing-rooms, we can give no directions, so much
depends upon taste. We would only reiterate our warning to beware
of showy, veneered, vamped-up furniture ; or, when the room has had
a fire in it some dozen times, you will be startled occasionally by
reports, as if small cannon were discharged, and on rising to investigate
such alarming noises, you will find, perhaps, a crack across one door of
the beautiful rosewood cheffonier, or a gaping chasm in that lovely
loo-table, or a piece of carved work flown off the card-table, showing
only deal beneath !

Here, again, a little furniture tastefully arranged, is far better than a
crowd of articles ; besides, in one's course through life, furniture
accumulates gradually, and if it is necessary to sell one thing in order
to make way for another, that is a very unprofitable business.

We now come to the kitchens, where the wants are multifarious, for
here must be accumulated means of feeding, and cleaning, and keeping
in order the whole house. Of course we can give no detailed account
of what will be required, as all depends upon the extent and style of the
household ; all we can do, therefore, is to make one or two general
remarks on the durability of different wares.

As few copper cooking utensils as possible should be had, and those
few should be most thoroughly tinned in the inside, and always carefully
cleaned and dried before being put away. For ourselves, we prefer
block tin to anything else for saucepans, pots, and kettles generally.
Iron does not so quickly or plainly tell any tale of dirt or neglect ;
cast iron is very brittle, and cannot be repaired when broken ; and
copper is so likely to harbour verdigris. A good double block tin
saucepan should always have the cover, the handle, and the back,
kept bright as silver, and the top, spout, front, and handle of the

8 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

kettle, should also be kept bright ; for, besides that a polished surface
maintains heat better than an uneven, blackened one, it looks wonder
fully better ; and if the smoke is never allowed to gather on these
parts, it is easy to keep the utensils as bright as they were at first.

For stewpans, iron tinned on the inside is most useful.

Candlesticks for common house or kitchen use should be of tin or
brass, and large enough to prevent grease spots. There is no wear
in japan.

Wooden bowls for washing glass and china, and block tin or zinc
hand-bowls, will be found most serviceable.

All utensils for the conveyance of water about a house should be of
metal, as water-cans of different sizes, hot-water jugs with covers,
shaving-mugs, &c., since thereby much breakage will be saved ; and
these, if bought good at first, will, with ordinary care, last a very
long time. The same remark applies to foot-baths. Very pretty
loilet sets for the wash-stand are now also made in zinc, and
beautifully painted or japanned.

Sarcophagus, and other extraordinarily shaped coalscuttles, are to be
avoided as most troublesome and awkward affairs, out of which it is
next to impossible to extract coals conveniently.

In the " Housewife's Reason Why," the advice which is here
given arbitrarily, is supported by the explanation of principles, or
reasons, with which every Housewife should be acquainted, and a
knowledge of which will impart a quickening interest to every duty
she is called upon to perform.

CHAPTER III.

Cure of Plate Choice of Cutlery Crockery, China, Glass, Ornaments Linen, Bedding
Uses for Old Linen Brushes Miscellanies Income and Expenditure Mistresses and
Servants -Hiring Servants Management of Servants Watchfulness a Leading Principle in
Economy.

regard to all those articles which fall under the general
denomination of " plate," we should advise that all imitations be
avoided ; let those who cannot afford silver or plated goods be content
to use simple metal, which does not pretend to be more than it really
is. All the imitations of silver will, even with the utmost care, betray
themselves in a very short time, and have a would-be-genteel-if-I-could
eort of air, which is far less respectable than the plainest of all
materials ; besides, the money they cost would purchase a few real
articles, which are always worth their weight in silver, whereas the
imitations have only a nominal value, and lose even that as they
become discoloured and dull.

London : Houlston & Wright.

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 9

Metal tea and coffee pots may be had very good, and in very hand
some patterns, and they are far more durable than china, drawing
better, and retaining heat longer.

Cheap cutlery is mistaken economy. Good knives and forks will,
with ordinary care, last for years ; common ones have no wear in
them, and never can be made to cut well.

Crockery, china, and glass, we need say little about, for they may be
had at all prices and of all qualities. The moulded or cast glass looks
as well as cut glass, if not placed in contrast with it, and wears as long,
and costs considerably less. For dishes, jugs, butter-coolers, &c., we
should always use it ; decanters, wine-glasses, and tumblers, do not
look so well in it.

As regards ornamental china, or glass, or what not, little can be
said, these things are so much matters of taste ; but better 'have but
one, and let that one be really handsome and good, than have a crowd
of cheap, showy trifles ; besides, these, again, are things which gradually
accumulate, and therefore it is always better to devote the money in
hand to necessary articles, and leave the more ornamental ones for
after consideration. A good clock for the kitchen, and a handsome
one for the drawing room, are useful and necessary things, especially
the former.

In household linen, again, it is false economy to buy common or
cheap materials. For sheets, linen, union, calico, and Swiss twilled
calico are used ; these substances are now woven wide enough to
render a seam unnecessary, and all we have to do is to measure the
width of the beds and allow an extra half yard ; the ordinary length
of a sheet is three yards and a half. The pillow-cases must be of
the same material as the sheets. Marseilles quilts are too heavy to
be beneficial to health ; any industrious housewife may knit very
serviceable and pretty counterpanes in squares or shell-shaped pieces,
during those periods when she is chatting, or between the lights, or
at hours when she would otherwise most probably be doing nothing.
It is for such useful purposes as these we value knitting, crochet, &c.,
for they can be made the means of economy and usefulness, instead
of being, as they too often are, employed on useless expensive trifles.

Table-cloths, tray-cloths, and dinner napkins will of course come
under the category of " linen," and can be obtained at very reason
able prices compared with what they were twenty years since. Towels,
too, are included in this list. In the case of chamber towels, again,
comes diversity of opinion, some preferring a soft, some a hard, some
a rough, and some a smooth towel ; damask and diaper are not soft
enough for some delicate skins. For our own part we like towels
which administer a certain amount of friction to the skin, and all
medical men agree that this is requisite to health. For the kitchen,
round towels, tea-cloths, and glass-cloths, will be required, as well
as dusters, pudding-cloths, knife-cloths, house-cloths, and flannels for
cleaning. These, although they do not come precisely under the
head of " linen," will have, by young housekeepers newly furnishing,
t? be purchased at the same time, and therefore may as well be

10 THE FfiACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

mentioned here. Old sheets make good glass-cloths ; old table-cloths
make nice soft towels ; all dresses of cotton, or old dress-linings, will
serve for dusters, and old blankets for house-flannels.

Besides these, there are needed toilet-covers for chamber tables,
chests of drawers, &c., carpet covers, muslin for chamber window-
curtains, muslin for drapery for the toilet-table, coarse sheeting for
dusting-sheets to cover the beds or drawing-room furniture when
sweeping and cleaning ; a yet coarser sheet to lay down in front of
the stoves when they are being cleaned, chamois leathers for cleaning
the plate, brass, steel, and windows ; and bags for the best brooms.

Then we come to brushes, and their name is legion. Oh, this
furnishing a house is a serious affair ! a carpet-broom, a short handled
one for the stair carpets, a hair-broom for the bed-rooms, and another
for the passages and kitchens ; feather brushes, dusting-brushes, stove-
brushes, hearth-brushes, shoe-brushes, plate-brushes, paste-brushes,
clothes-brushes, a hat-brush, and a table-brush to remove the crumbs
from the table-cloth, are all needed ; and these should be bought at
a good warehouse, and of good quality, if we would have them do us
service, and not fall to pieces, or lose their hair, as soon as they are
fairly brought into use.

There are many items yet unmentioned, but it will not be requisite
for us to waste our time, or that of our readers, by enumerating them
all seriatim ; we will therefore proceed to other matters.

Supposing now that we have our house, and it is furnished, the
next thing to determine is how many servants can be afforded. Must
we be content with one, a " general servant ; " or can we afford a cook
and housemaid, or even aspire to the gentility of a man-servant or
a page ? Beware of this latter individual, young housekeepers, if you
value your comfort ; for if you chance to get a quick, clever lad, he
will have more tricks than a monkey : and as for the stupid variety
of the " genus page," it is a torment indeed.

The expenses must be determined by the sum which can, without
incurring debts or living too closely up to one's income, be devoted
to " housekeeping," under which head we include rent, taxes, wages,
and every outlay appertaining to the house. Now, in reckoning the
expense of a servant, the question of wages is not the only one to be
considered ; there is the board and washing ; and 30, exclusive of
wages, is the lowest at which the keep of each servant can be
estimated.

We know it is the fashion to speak of servants as " necessary evils,"
and to decry them as " a bad set." Surely, if there is any truth in
old proverbs, there must be faults in the mistresses as well as the
domestics, for we have heard that " good mistresses make good ser
vants : " how comes it, then, that there are so many bad ones ? Firstly,
from the defective education of that class whence female servants are
generally taken. Born in those miserable localities where poverty is
compelled to dwell ; reared among scenes of vice, often in the midst
dirt, misery, and temptation ; taught to read at some Sunday-school,
the moral lessons of which were but u feather in the balance against

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 11

the worldly lessons of the other six days ; fed afterwards on that
pernicious cheap literature which puts all sorts of idle and vain follies,
desires, and passions,' into the head, the girl is at fourteen hired for
some trifling sum to nurse a baby, -and idles about the streets with
others of her own age, gossiping ; or is errand girl to a dressmaker,
and thus pursues her studies of human life ; or is engaged to help
the mistress of some small lodging-house, and generally works hard,
and fares hard too, and gets plenty of hard words. Kone of these
people in general regard her as a fellow-creature having, like their
own children, need of teaching, of guidance, of patience, and kindness ;
if she does pretty well, why, it is her duty ! if she does badly, she is
discharged ! Many a girl would have become a valuable servant, a
respectable and reasonable individual, if in her first service she had
found a mistress who knew what the duties of a Christian woman at
the head of a house were. Of course, there are characters which no
treatment, however judicious, can permanently benefit ; but still we
ought to try what we can do ere we despair ; and the influence of a
steady pursuance of duty is always, more or less, felt by all within
its power.

In hiring servants be particular in inquiring as to their characters,
and, if possible, learn something of the people with whom they have
lived; let all stipulations as to wages, extras, holidays, and such
matters, be clearly specified and rightly understood.

As a country cannot be governed 'without laws, neither can a house
hold, and the mistress should be as absolute in her own house as a
sovereign in her dominions. Order and regularity are the key- stones
to comfort, and our housewife must carefully arrange and digest her
scheme of government in the first place, and be always alive to any
modifications which emergencies, or prudence, or circumstances, may
call for. And she must undersicmd what she is about, or her scheme
will be worthless ; she must be able to teach, nay, to demonstrate upon
occasions ; she must be regular in her own habits if she would have
those about her regular, neat in all that concerns herself, attentive to
the details of housekeeping, economical, just, active, and considerate.
She must neither hold the reins of government loosely and negligently,
nor too sternly, but must quietly exercise a general and regular surveil
lance over every part of her house and household ; and this can be
done without tyranny, without vexatious interference, or ebullitions of
temper. Let the servants once feel that this is her habit, and they
will act accordingly ; and if the place is good, conduct themselves so
as to endeavour to please and keep it. And it is the interest, as well
as duty, of every mistress, to make her servants comfortable, to see
that they have a sufficiency of good food, that they are well lodged,
that they have time to mend and wash their own clothes, hay, that
they know how to do so, and do it.

A mistress need never forget herself, or weaken her authority, or
show any false indulgence ; but in numberless ways she will have
the opportunity of endeavouring to guide, to advise, and to benefit
those dependent upon her ; but she must be patient, if she would

12 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

really do good. She must remember what may have been the
early education, the trials and temptations, the experiences of those
girls, and must not expect too much from them. As we have
before said, she must hold the reins of government with a firm hand ;
she must not overlook neglect of duties, irregularities of conduct,
want of order or cleanliness, or inattention to her commands ; but
she can notice these things quietly, without loss of temper, and
when alone with the offender ; she can also notice and praise
neatness, attention, obedience, and such like, and not accept the
good as mere matters of course, and only mark the evil. She
should likewise endeavour to induce her servants, by example and
precept, to be regular in attendance on religious worship, and make
Sunday to them in some degree a day of rest instead of one of extra
cooking and work, and have a supply of those excellent little works
to lend them, which are published by the religious societies. While
she inculcates economy in things relating to herself, she should try
to induce them to save, to put by regularly a certain portion of
their wages, and not be extravagant in clothes, but make and mend
their things properly.

There is little saved by giving paltry wages ; a useful servant will
not accept them, and those who do, cannot clothe themselves respectably
on six or seven pounds a-year, and will too often eke out their means
by peculation. It is well to begin with moderate wages, as nine
or ten pounds, and promise an annual increase, which promise both
induces a wish to please, and takes away one great excuse for leaving,
viz., a desire of " bettering herself."

The amount of the income will determine what sum can be allowed
per annum for housekeeping, for besides, there will be clothing ex
penses to be provided for, sundries of various kinds, expenses of
illness, on which we must all reckon, and there ought to be a reserve
fund regularly laid by to provide for any unforeseen emergency, or
form the " nest egg " of a provision for a rising family. Well, suppose
the sum determined ! the next question is, how to apportion it so
as to combine economy with comfort, and secure a regular and uniform
style of living, not luxuries to-day and parsimony to-morrow. Now,
how can our young housekeeper do this if she knows little or nothing
of the prices of provisions ; if she scarcely remembers when things
are in season and may be purchased at a reasonable rate, and when
they are actual extravagances ; if she has no idea what quantity of
this or that ought to be consumed, by a family of a certain size,
per week or per month ; and, above all, if she has little aptitude
for domestic management, and considerable contempt for all such
vulgar details ? Few who have read that truthful sketch of Dickens's,
the " child-wife," will forget the pretty helplessness of Dora ; but,
although this reads well in a novel, very few such girls, and there
are many of them, will meet with husbands as indulgent ; for men
do like "to see their home well ordered, and to feel the comforts
of good management.

Every housekeeper should keep a strict account of all her expen-

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 13

diture ; should see that each bill be receipted when paid ; and file
all receipts, and keep them for a year at least we should rather
say two or three. All housekeeping bills should be paid every week,
for it is easier to pay small sums than large ones ; and besides,
then the correctness of the bills can be ascertained. The mistress
should look each one over herself, as thus she will detect, and can
check, any inaccuracy on the part of the tradesmen, or extravagance
on the part of her servants. Should she be her own housekeeper,
she should deal regularly with respectable tradesmen, for they will
rarely risk losing a good customer by selling bad articles. Bargain
hunting is always perilous, even to good judges ; " cheap and nasty " is
perhaps a vulgar proverb, but it is a true one. Cheap tea, coffee,
sugar, &c., are all adulterated ; cheap vegetables and fruit are
generally stale ; cheap meat is that which has been sent ready killed
to the market, and, therefore, is by no means as fresh as might be
wished ; and cheap poultry and fish are to be regarded with very
great suspicion ; all, therefore, injure the health.

Those who have store-closets, will find their advantage in purchasing
some things wholesale. Candles should be bought in the latter part of
summer, when they are usually cheaper, and a store laid in, for they im
prove by keeping. So does soap. Coals, too, should be ordered in July
or August, and if there is cellarage, a stock for the winter laid in. Many
articles of grocery may often be purchased in quantities at considerable
saving. The same remark applies to bacon, butter, and cheese ;
but, unless there are good dry store-rooms, these latter cannot be
kept. It is useless to make pickles or preserves unless the house is
dry in damp localities these things mildew and spoil ; nor are we
sure that in small families it is economical to buy them at all, they
can be bought so reasonably now. All stores should be kept by
the mistress, and given out as required.

All good housekeepers will provide themselves with weights and
scales, and thus be prepared to check the quantities of goods sent
them by their tradespeople, who are as liable to make errors
in. weighing as in casting their bills. We cannot too particularly
impress this upon the attention of our readers, as an essential means
to protect themselves against errors in weight, whether arising from
accident or design. Many heads of families are exceedingly particular
about the price of their purchases, who are utterly regardless whether
or not they have the weight they paid for. Tradesmen are aware of
this trust imposed in them, and too often take advantage of it.

14 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

CHAPTER IV.

Order, Cleanliness, Punctuality Early Rising Temperance in Meats and Drinks Ventilation
^BedroomsNurseries Light Influence of Good Management upon Domestic Love and
Happiness The Dinner Question Going to Market Dinner Parties Evening Parties.

IN the realm which our housewife is to govern, order, cleanliness,

E actuality and economy must be the fundamental principles which,
precept and practice, she endeavours to enforce. It matters little
ether her subjects are limited to a single maid-of- all-work, or
general servant, as it is now the fashion to call this class of domestic,
or whether she reigns over two, three, or more " helps," the principle
must still be the same ; a certain routine of daily and weekly duties
must be laid down, and it lies with the mistress to see that not only
these are performed properly, but that all incidental matters are
likewise attended to. However wealthy a family may be, they are
not willing that their houses and furniture should be injured by neglect
or mismanagement, therefore must care be taken. Money can enable
a man to hire more domestics, but it cannot secure -that these persons
shall be cleanly, diligent, trustworthy, and painstaking ; it cannot
secure him from the consequences of their ignorance, their carelessness,
their extravagance. Nothing but the supervision of the mistress,
or a good housekeeper, can do this. If, then, a rich man, who can
pay the best wages, and hire the most experienced servants, finds
still that he lacks something, how much more so will one of moderate
income or of limited means suffer, should he not find in his wife a
practical housewife ?

What I am now about to say, some of my readers may perhaps
think out of place ; nevertheless I shall say it. A woman cannot
really do her duty as a wife, mother, or mistress of a family, unless
she is folly sensible of the importance of [health, and gives to all
sanitary measures their due attention. "With loss of health come
diminished powers of usefulness. Languor and delicacy in a wife
may call forth the sympathies, but do not increase the comforts or
happiness of a professional or business man ; neither do they render
a woman more inclined for, or equal to, the performance of her part
in domestic life. And too many of our young girls render themselves
languid, feeble, and delicate, by inattention to the commonest requisites
of human nature. The crying evil of towns is usually the want of
baths attached to houses, and the small size of bed-rooms ; now these
are in general accepted as things which must be endured, and little
or no attempt is made to palliate them. All medical men, however,
agree that plentiful ablutions of the body with cold or tepid water, and
a good supply of fresh air in every sleeping and living room, do more
to preserve health than all the drugs in the pharmacopoeia. And
next to these come early rising, avoidance of late hours and crowded
assemblies, regular exercise in the open air, and attention to diet.

THOUGHTS AND 31AXILI8 ON HOUSEKEEPING. 15

By this latter we do not mean actual eating,, but abstinence from per
nicious viands, as pastry, sweetmeats, rich gravies, unripe fruit, &c.
Pork, veal, and various kinds of vegetables can only be eaten sparingly
and occasionally by some persons. Spirits should only be used medi
cinally, that is to say, at times when common sense tells us they might
be of benefit. To take them habitually is equivalent to slow poison.
Besides the benefit a woman derives in her health and person from
attention to all matters relative to personal care, she will gain another
iu the effect of her example upon her dependants ; for we are all, to
a certain extent, creatures of imitation, and prone to follow example,
be it good or bad. Servants who see before them one who consistently
practises the virtues of economy, regularity, personal cleanliness, and
general neatness, will never run diametrically counter to all this,
out will in some degree shape their conduct accordingly ; while all
the precepts in the world, without practice, will but go in at one ear
and out at the other.

Where only one or two servants are kept, the mistress will do
well not to leave her chamber before she has opened her windows and
laid the bed-clothes back over two chairs, so as to ensure the sheets
and blankets, heated by the contact with the body all night, being
well aired and cooled, No bed should be made, or night-dress folded
up, until it has been aired, and suffered thoroughly to cool for at
least two hours. Nurseries should be aired while the children are
at breakfast, and while they are taking their morning walk. Dining
and drawing-rooms require a current of fresh air passed through them
at least once every day, to dislodge all the vitiated air tainted
by the smell of food, flowers, &c., and by having been inhaled by
those using the rooms. Many of our readers have doubtless been
struck, on entering some houses, by the close r faint, unwholesome
smell they, coming from the fresh air, at once perceive. Those who
dwell in it habitually are not conscious of it. They dread the chill
of fresh air, or the dust or smuts it will bring with it into their rooms ;
and therefore shut it carefully out, and cherish in its stead a species of
slow poison a heavy atmosphere loaded with all sorts of pernicious gases.
Light, too, is another forbidden luxury in some houses. Heavy
Venetian blinds jealously protect the delicate hues of the curtains
and carpets from its influence, and the inmates consequently fade,
instead of the upholstery ; for a human being can no more do without
light than can a flower, and we only need place this latter in a cellar
for a few days, and we shall see how it will look. It must not, how
ever, be supposed that we would recklessly suffer the noonday sun to
shine on our damask curtains or tapestry carpets, or that we should
open our windows when rain, hail, or snow beat full upon them ; all
we wish to do is to advise such a use of God's choicest gifts as health
requires, and common sense dictates.

Nor is it only with a view to exercising a salutary influence upon
her domestics, and strengthening herself, that we would counsel our
housewife to pay strict attention to all matters of sanitary importance.
A female writer of some celebrity has said^-" If before marriage a

16 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

woman has been deluded into the notion that a multiplicity of small
ailments invested her character with an interesting kind of delicacy,
the sooner she becomes well after marriage the better for herself and
all around her."

Now we do not intend to assert that there are not many men who
are unwearied in their tenderness in time of illness ; but this we must
say, that there are thousands more who " vote sickness a bore," who
have little sympathy with, little tolerance for it ; who married to have
a cheerful companion, not a drooping, languid invalid to come home
to ; and who soon begin to seek elsewhere that companionship and
that cheerfulness they have failed to find at home. And alas ! when
a man's love has once been dimmed, or alienated from his wife, it
never wholly recovers its lost lustre, but remains a mere mechanical
matter of duty or honour, and too often not even that. Matrimony
may bind a man to his wife legally, but herself only can retain her
empire over his heart ; and to do this, she will need even more than
her former charms, and attractions, and fascination, besides a vast
variety of other attributes which her new position will require of her.
Our great poet, Shakspere, says

" Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign ; one that cares for thee
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land,
While thou ly'st warm at home, secure and safe ;
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks, and true obedience."

Women little dream what they peril when, after marriage, they
neglect the accomplishments, the tasteful dress and adornments,
the charming coquetterie of manner which enthralled the lover.
They not only risk their happiness, for it depends on him, but they
neglect what ought to be their highest ambition that of proving
how much dearer is the wife than the mistress, and of rendering
home a refuge from cares, a scene of tranquil happiness, social
enjoyment, and real comfort.

There are few things more perplexing at first to young housewives
than the momentous question of dinner. Now, a good cookery book,
a short walk round the region where the marketing is done, and a
knowledge of family likes and dislikes, will generally enable even
a novice to arrange this important matter, at least so far as the
ordering goes, the cooking being another consideration. A glance
at those pages in which we give a list of the things in season for
each month, will assist the housewife in her selection for the table,
and enable her to cater for variety, whilst a visit to the market will
enable her to expend her money economically. Things must not
only be " in season," but " in reason," to make a moderate income
productive of the grea^et degree of comfort.

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 17

Joints should always, when weather permits, be purchased fresh,
and then hung as long as is deemed requisite to fit them for eating.
A knowledge of the sauces and condiments appropriate to every dish,
is a subject well worth attention.

Fish should be chosen by touch and look. If it feels flabby and
looks pale about the gills, and dull about the eyes, it is to be avoided ;
firmness of body, brightness and fulness of eyes, and ruddiness of
the gills, are signs of freshness.

Crabs and lobsters must be selected by weight, not size ; and the
olfactory organs must be employed to test their sweetness.

The cooking of vegetables is an important point, and one in which
we may derive much useful instruction from our continental neighbours.
Vegetables cannot be too fresh ; in large towns we can form no idea
of the real flavour and delicacy of green vegetables, accustomed as we
are to have them at least a day after they are cut.

We have already spoken of the desirableness of dealing regularly
with respectable tradesmen, but no rule is without its exception ;
and those who are pretty good judges of articles of provision, may
often obtain some variety by looking about for them.

Servants should always be accustomed to lay the cloth and serve
dinner as neatly when the family is alone as when company is expected ;
they should likewise be taught to bring up and place on the table
or sideboard everything likely to be required during the meal, and
not have to leave the room repeatedly on trifling errands. The
mistress should glance around to see that all is there ; and if she
perceives omissions, mention them before dinner commences. Servants
should also be taught to wait at table without bustle or noise ; to
remove plates, &c., without rattling them ; to open and close the doors
gently ; to lift covers from dishes so as not to let the drops of con
densed steam fall on the table or those seated at it. If these things
are ordinarily insisted upon, the mistress of the house will not, when
she gives a dinner party, sit on thorns, trembling lest some gaucherie
be committed.

Those who would give dinner parties must generally speaking, if
their menage is small, hire a cook. A small, well-cooked, well-chosen
dinner, is far preferable to a table crowded with dishes. Symmetrical
arrangement of the dinner table, too, is a powerful adjunct. The
silver should be bright, the glass sparkling, the table-linen pure and
snowy, the room well lighted, of comfortable temperature, and well
ventilated. The pleasure of eating a good dinner is greatly enhanced
when comfort is studied, and taste gratified.

The wines should be good ; it is better to give only one or two
kinds, and -let those be choice, even though they be only old-fashioned
port and sherry, than to aim at greater things, and set before the
guest those " cheap and nasty " productions of other vintages.

The reduction of duty upon French wines has rendered available
for the English table many choice and light wines hitherto prohibited.
English taste, however, has not yet been cultivated in this direction
to such an extent as to render these liqueurs universally palatable.

18 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

They should be made subsidiary to the more established wines, and
should be introduced principally in warm weather.

Choose the company carefully. Ill-assorted guests are difficult
to please, while persons who assimilate find additional zest in their
social enjoyment.

The dessert should be well selected and more choice than plentiful.
By choice, do not let us be understood to mean extravagant, consisting
of fruits not yet in season or having their proper flavour, or of pre
served fruits or fancy confectionery. All these are prejudicial to
health, and we cannot understand why people who dine out should
be tempted to eat indigestible things, or those which will disagree
with them ; why what ought to be a means of social enjoyment,
should be made* a matter of form, ostentation, and discomfort. Let
the dessert consist of fine specimens of the fruits in season, backed
in winter by a few dried fruits and biscuits.

There are so many varieties of evening parties that no directions
can be given respecting them. As a general rule, we should advise
that they should be as simple, unostentatious, and social, as possible.
It is the extravagance which has been introduced into these matters,
the insane desire of outvying each other felt by individuals, that
is the bar to real social enjoyment, and prevents us from being
as lively a people as our continental neighbours. Why cannot we
meet to converse, have music, dance, or amuse ourselves in any
rational way, and be content with light, simple refreshments, and a
sincere welcome ? Surely such reunions are more enjoyable than
crowds, grand suppers, superb toilettes which are scarcely seen in
the crush, and suffocating heat or currents of cold air. Such assemblies
upset the house of the party-giver for a week at least, weary and
worry her, and are criticised most severely by all her " dear friends "
who *did not enjoy themselves, or receive the attention they expected.
In them all is most certainly " vanity and vexation of spirit ;" there
is no pleasant converse, no comfort, no intellectual enjoyment ;
weariness, lassitude, headache, and expense, are the concomitants
of such parties. May our " practical housewife " have courage to
reject them altogether.

CHAPTER V.

Routine of a Servant's Duties Importance of the Mistress's Example.

EARLY rising is indispensable, if a servant would do her duty ; it is
not possible that the rooms can be dusted, the fires lit, the breakfast
got ready, and all the little incidental trifles done, unless a servant is
down stairs at least two hours before breakfast-time. We should fix
six o'clock as the proper hour at which work should begin all the year
round ; for in winter even more has to be done than in summer, and few

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 19

things are more unpleasant than to have servants muddling about their
work all day, instead of getting through the chief and dirtiest part of
it in the morning hours. If we make a call, which gives us the most
favourable impression of the family, to see a tidy -looking, clean
servant, answer the door ; or to have it opened by one who looks as if
she had deemed it necesstiry when blacking the stoves to black her own
person also ?

A servant should be trained to rise about half-past five, throw open
her bed, and her window, too, when the weather permits ; unclose the
shutters of the staircase and dining-room, open the windows of this
latter to air it ; pass into the kitchen, and open the shutters and
windows there ; light the kitchen fire ; well rinse the 'kettle, and fill it
with fresh water ; see that the boiler is well supplied with water, and
then proceed to prepare the room required for breakfast.

The rug must be folded up and removed, and the proper cloth laid
down in front of the fire-place before the grate is touched (we are
supposing that it is winter) ; the box containing the black-lead and
brushes for a black stove, or the emery paste, and leather, brushes,
cloth, &c., for a polished stove, and the scuttle containing coals, wood,
&c., must be brought up. Once a-week, at least, the soot should be
gently swept down from the chimney into a shovel, as it otherwise
gathers all round the lower ledges, and is very apt to take fire ; the
stove must be polished with a brush or a cloth, according to its nature,
every morning, and thoroughly cleaned at least once a week. The fire
may then be laid and lighted, and in doing this there is some art.
Where one girl will light and re-light the same fire three or four times
over, consuming in each attempt a quantity of wood and paper, another
will, with a quarter of a bundle of common wood, or one wheel of the
patent wood, kindle a brisk fire at once. Success lies in obtaining
a perfect draught of air through the pile of materials, and placing those
in juxta-position which are most combustible in nature. Where this is
properly done there will be little smoke, and great saving of fuel ; but
fire-lighting requires the use of one's senses and some skill, common
place a matter as we may think it.

This much having been done, the sweeping comes next. Now, it will
not be requisite thoroughly to sweep the carpet all over above once
a-week; on the other six days, only those parts of the room chiefly
used, will require sweeping, and this may be done with a dust-pan and
a soft hand-brush. Then comes the dusting, and in doing this a
feather brush should be used for the frames and chair-covers, and
a duster for the furniture. On the cleaning day the carpet must be
well swept with a carpet-broom and tea-leaves, the furniture well
cleaned and rubbed, the mantel-piece and ledges washed, the inside of
the windows cleaned, and every ornament well dusted.

The street-door steps should be cleaned, the mats shaken, the passage
swept, and the brasses polished before the family come down.

The breakfast is then to be prepared ; the cloth laid, the breakfast
service properly arranged, the ham or eggs, or whatever it may be,

20 THE rilACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

cooked, the toast made, the butter set in clear, fresh water, the coffee
prepared, and the milk boiled.

The servant next proceeds to the bed-rooms, opens the windoAvs, lays
the bed-clothes back to air, and turns up the mattresses or feather-beds
in each room, then empties the slops, cleanses and rinses all basins, jugs,
bottles, &c., wipes up all slops, and brings fresh water to supply the
wants in each room. The beds are then to be made, and the rooms
dusted. On cleaning day, which should come for each room once a-week,
the chamber utensils must be well washed in warm water, the carpets
taken up and shaken, the floor scrubbed, the curtains shaken, and the
furniture cleaned. During the summer the floor under the bed should be
washed over three times a-week at least, to remove all dust and flue.

Before all this can be finished, the breakfast will have had to be
removed, and this should be methodically done ; the china being
gathered on to a tray without either fuss or rattle, the crumbs brushed
from the cloth, and this latter doubled up in its original folds, and any
crumbs which may have fallen on the floor swept up into a dust-pan.

The servant will now get her own breakfast, and then wash up and
put away the breakfast-things, having first set aside the eatables, giving
the scraps to the cat, and taking care that nothing is wasted.

The upstairs-work having been done, the candlesticks and lamps
should be cleaned and trimmed ; and then the knives cleaned. Where
only one servant is kept, she will ere this have had to think about
dinner, and manage so as to make the earlier preparations for that
important matter between whiles. A mistress should always early
inform her domestic what she intends having for dinner, otherwise
the servant cannot possibly arrange her daily duties in a proper
manner, so as to attend to the cooking ; and the mistress should, as
far as possible, endeavour to arrange her dinner so as to suit the
household duties of the particular day for which she is catering.
For each day should have its special duties ; as, Monday the wash for
towels, dusters, servants' clothes, &c., and looking up the clothes for
the laundress ; Tuesday, cleaning the attics ; Wednesday, the best
bedrooms ; Thursday, the drawing-rooms ; Friday, the dining-rooms
and plate ; and Saturday, the hall, staircase, and kitchens, and
covers, &c. Such regulations once laid down, the servant will know
what each day requires of her ; and the mistress, being aware what
has to be done, will be able to give her orders accordingly, for
nothing can be done without good management in a small household.
Both mistress and servant must exercise forethought, or the whole day
will be one scene of hurry and discomfort.

The next thing, then, is dinner, and this meal having been served
and removed, the servant must, if the family are in the habit of retiring
to the drawing-room, run up and see that all is right there ; the fires
burning and curtains let down, if in winter, or any little customary
summer arrangements made. Then comes washing up the dinner-
things, and preparing for tea, and serving that at the proper hour.

While the tea is in the sitting-room is the best time for the servant

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 21

to go up to the bed-rooms, turn down the beds, close windows, light
fires, or perform any other customary or neces%ary duty.

The tray has to be removed, and cups used at that meal washed up
and put away. The tea-leaves should be squeezed tolerably dry, and
put away in an old dish or basin, for sweeping. All window- shutters
should be closed and doors bolted at dusk, both in winter and summer.
If supper is taken, it is usually carried up on a tray covered with a
cloth ; after that comes the putting out of all fires and lamps, the
fastening the hall-door, and then to rest.

Any one who takes the trouble to reflect upon the multifarious occupa
tions of a female domestic, in a family where but one is kept, cannot but
perceive the absolute necessity of a regular plan of proceedings, and
also of the need there is for consideration, and patience, and kindness.
With all the activity and good-will in the world, it is physically
impossible that a girl can be in two places, at once ; and yet she may be
just performing some nice operation in cookery, while a visitor may be
knocking at the door, and her mistress ringing impatiently to have
something done towards tidying herself or the apartment. How is
this to be managed ? It can only be settled quietly by the mistress
bestirring herself and aiding in smoothing the difficulty. Where two
or more servants are kept, one should always be tidy and ready to
answer the door, and the lady of the house and her apartments should
always be mis d quatre epingles, or, in other words, in such order that a
visit from royalty itself would scarcely create any bustle. Indeed, the
test of a well-arranged establishment is the absence of all fuss. The
advent of relatives from the country, bent on finding a home and a bed
there, the arrival of unexpected guests to dinner, or any such-like
unexpected events, will, of course, slightly derange the economy of a
household, especially if it be a small one ; but our housewife will not
allow this to be visible. Quietly and without fuss she will take
opportunities of giving the necessary orders ; and if her servants are
regularly trained, they will comprehend and second her at once. In
ever} 7 house spare sheets, blankets, and bed-clothes should always be
kept aired, in case of their being required on any sudden emergency,
and this can be done by laying them between the palliasse and mattress
of any bed in regular use. We have before spoken of the advantage
of always having the store-closet well supplied. It is a great mistake
to fancy that anything is saved by purchasing articles that will keep in
small quantities, and certainly the loss of time incurred by having
constantly to send out for trifles, is both a great waste and a great
inconvenience. No servant can get through her work properly if she
has repeatedly to run out on errands, or if she is called off frequently
on some frivolous pretext. A mistress is quite right in exacting from
her servants a regular and proper fulfilment of all their duties ; but on
her part she must give them time and opportunity to do this. If she
sees they want method, she must try to teach them ; and, through all
this, must remember how defective their early education has too often
been, how little preparation they have received for the path of life they
have to follow, and be patient with them.

22 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

CHAPTER VI.

Management of Children Air, Warmth, Ablution, Clothing, Postures, Feeding, Food-
Teething Teaching to Walk Early Education Purity of Language in the Presence of
Children Unity of Parental Influence.

AMONG- the many duties a woman is called upon to fulfil, surely
none can be deemed of such paramount importance as those she owes
to her children. Now it is by no means our intention to write a
chapter of " advice to mothers," nor enter upon the subject of the
education and general management of little people ; all we have to do
with the matter here is to notice it as forming a branch of our subject ;
for the nursery is an important part of a house, and upon its good
management much of the comfort, as well as the health and well-being,
of every member of the family will depend.

If ever a woman has need of thought, care, and patience, it is when
she becomes a mother. Who can look upon that most helpless of all
created beings a new-born infant and not feel pity for it, interest
in it ; and surely no mother can bestow her first kiss on the little
unconscious innocent without feeling some sense of the responsibilities
which now rest on her for it is not only a human being, but an
immortal soul which is committed to her charge ?

Wherever such an arrangement can be made, a' good-sized airy
room should be set apart for the nursery, and always kept scrupulously
clean, well ventilated, and of an even, wholesome temperature. Warmth
is highly necessary to the health of infants and young children but
not the warmth of a close, over-heated room, for that oppresses their
lungs, and makes them delicate and very susceptible of cold. Let the
child be comfortably clad, and a natural temperature of body thus
maintained. The health of very many infants is impaired by the
foolish custom of exposing their little chests and arms by finely- worked
low bodies and very short sleeves, tied up so as effectually to render
them useless in the way of covering. Very young children have so little
natural heat, that they absolutely require that the temperature of their
bodies should be kept up, by means of clothing, to a proper standard.

Next to warmth, in the category of matters indispensable to health
is cleanliness. Morning and night, an infant or a child under three
years of age, should be bathed in tepid water in winter, and cold water
in summer. This operation should be performed both thoroughly and
quickly, and then the whole body wiped quite dry with a soft towel,
and the limbs and back gently rubbed with the hand. The skin of
an infant is so delicate that a little dirt, a slight accumulation of powder,
any dampness, any rough handling or friction with any coarse cloth,
will break or crack it, and often produce a humour which is not easily
got rid of. The clothes of an infant, and especially those in immediate
contact with its body, should be soft and clean. Its bed-clothes must
likewise be kept well aired, and free from damp and unpleasant smells.

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 23

Yery young children should be kept, as much as possible, in a
recumbent posture ; the less a child is allowed to sit upright for the
first six months, the stronger will be its back afterwards. Too strong
a light is prejudicial to young children ; neither in-doors nor out
should their eyes be exposed to anything like glare ; they ought like
wise to be shielded from high winds. Sleep is a great strengthener
of children, when it is natural, and care should be taken that they lie
comfortably as regards position ; be warm, and sheltered from all
draughts, and from light, though allowed sufficient air. In all things
endeavour to establish regular habits from the very first ; regular
hours for feeding, sleeping, dressing, and undressing, should be
observed. Few people can form an idea how much their own comfort
and the child's well-being will be advantaged by this. Of course, every
now and then illness, or some unforeseen event, will interfere with this
system, but it must be resumed again as soon as possible. We are
aware that many people will deem this regularity unnecessary, but
from the cradle to the grave we are all more or less the creatures of
habit ; and from the time a child first begins to take notice, its habits
may be said to commence.

When a child is fed, it should be from a proper bottle, and with
light thin food, not given too hot, or in large quantities. Farinaceous
substances of various kinds are best adapted for children of tender
age. For x the first twelvemonth these may be given in a fluid
and semi-fluid state, and afterwards' in the shape of puddings either
baked or boiled. Many children will not take meat, and they do
not appear to thrive less than others ; nature at this early age is
generally the best pilot, and we shall seldom greatly err if we follow
her lead.

The period of teething is always one of anxiety, and requires addi
tional care and watchfulness ; but plenty of fresh air, good and sufficient,
but not over-feeding, and an occasional warm bath or gentle aperient
when there appears to be a tendency to fever, will in most cases ward
off serious evils. The less physic a child takes the better, in a general
way not that we would advise mothers ever to slight any actual
premonitory symptoms of illness, infantine diseases being frequently
very rapid in their course.

There is no occasion to teach children to walk ; when they are
strong enough, they will invariably find out the proper use of their
feet ; let them lie on the floor, and then sit, and then crawl, and
by-and-bye they will stand up, and then walk along, holding by some
thing ; and then, when they appear capable of doing yet more, encourage
them to venture alone, but watch carefully that they do not fall, or they
may be frightened, and thrown back for some weeks.

After a child is a year old, it must cease to be regarded as an
irrational being by those about it ; a quick, lively baby is always
taking notice ; its intelligence is becoming daily and hourly developed ;
in a word, the first rudiments of education are entering its little
mind. This may sound extravagant and fanciful, but what says pro
verbial philosophy ? " With his mother's milk the child drinketh

24 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

education ;" and let any one take three children of from a year-and-a-
half to two years old, one of the three shall have been brought up by a
quiet or ignorant nurse, one by an affectionate and sensible mother,
and the other among a family of children ; the first, unless it be a
prodigy, will be far behind the second in quickness, and the third will
be as much before the second.

We would censure any one who mispronounced words before babies,
or taught them to call things or animals by ridiculous names ; and we
would doubly censure any one who instilled fear into the hearts of young
children by threats of " bogies," " black men," and such like nursery
monsters. Many a grown man and woman has found it difficult to
overcome the dislike to darkness implanted in them, when quite
children, by some nursery bug-bears. Teach a child rather to believe
that angels watch over it, induce it to be good from a fear of grieving
its parents, but never destroy or sully that sweet confidence which is
the most blessed part of childhood. Never tell a child a falsehood
either ; if you promise a thing, do it ; if you say a thing, act up to
it. Empty threats and vain promises made to quiet a child, teach it
afterwards, in its turn, to disregard truth, and make it distrust those
whom, next to God, it should love and honour ; whereas " example
is a constant monitor."

We are not advocates for " cramming " children too early with crude
dry learning ; but much may be taught without effort. " Line upon
line " may be instilled by such simple stories, such pleasant gossip as
children love to listen to, such bright pictures as they delight to look
upon and have explained to them. There is in the present age a royal
road to all the fundamental instruction needed by children for the first
eight or ten years of their lives ; the dull, uninteresting paths we had
to tread are 'now decked with so many flowers that they have become
attractive and pleasant. Even the very toys and games are made the
means of improvement ; and history, arithmetic, and geography may
now be learned as actual amusements.

The physical wants of growing children are a sufficiency of good
plain food at regular hours, exercise in the open air, well-ventilated
rooms, clothing warm enough to promote health, and sufficiently easy
in fit not to impede growth or a free use of the limbs ; strong shoes
or boots to protect the feet from damp, and a proper allowance of sleep
taken at regular hours, no child under six years of age being suffered
to sit up after eight o'clock, and all under twelve being safely in bed
by nine.

Late hours, hot crowded places, as theatres, &c., and children's
parties, are all very destructive of health ; irregularities of all kinds
are to be avoided, as, too long walks, any great excitement, or over-
fatigue ; for growing children require all their strength and energies
for natural purposes, and, being more excitable than grown persons,
exhaust themselves the sooner.

Those who live much among children should carefully purify their
every thought, word, and action, for the ductile and impressionable
nature of a child, chameleon-like, takes its hue from that of the

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 25

characters which surround it. " The seeds of first instructions are
dropped into the deepest furrows ; " therefore we cannot omit this
chapter of our " Thoughts and Maxims."

If we would cultivate a flower with success, we plant it in a fitting soil,
we water it at proper times, we give to it its due proportion of air and
sun ; shall we not equally study the constitution and physical require
ments of a child, in order to bestow upon it the requisite nurture ? for
children, like flowers, require care all are not equally hardy, equally
vigorous, equally beautiful. Some resemble hot-house plants, and are
frail and delicate ; others, like the evergreen, can bear' and brave
hardship and change of temperature. The system which would be
suitable for one of these natures would be injurious to the other
hence, judgment is needful.

A child who fears God and honours his parents, is armed for the
world's warfare with a breast-plate, which, if not invulnerable, at
least will turn aside many an arrow. Our favourite Tupper quaintly
but truly says : " When his reason yieldeth fruit, make thy child
thy friend, for a filial friend is double gain, a diamond set in gold.
As an infant thy mandate was enough ; as he grows in years, let
him hear thy reasons." Believe me, we wantonly trifle not only
with our own happiness, but with that of those little ones committed
to our charge, when we neglect to watch over the treasures we
ought so dearly to prize, when we trifle with the hearts, minds,
and souls of our children, ignoring their value, our responsibility,
and the awful reckoning which will be required of us. We are
all too apt to treat children as dolls, to dress and caress them one
hour, and send them out of our way the next, not deeming that
beneath the seeming thoughtless gaiety of those little ones there lurks
a world of feeling and sensibility. Kindness is as necessary to them
as daily food. We do not mean false indulgence, but considerate
kindness. An unjust, a cold or harsh word or action, especially if
undeserved, penetrates the heart of a child with as keen a sting as it
does ours ; and who shall say how many have grown up callous and
reckless from having their first affections blunted, their feelings and
wishes disregarded? Consistent practice is worth a whole world of
precept, and example will influence while words or coercion are
fruitless.

Once more,- then, we would beg " our housewife " to study what are
her duties towards children. We would entreat mothers so to train
their daughters that they may never have cause to blush and tremble
for their grandchildren. It is no figure of speech to say that " the
child is father of the man ; " study diligently, therefore, how best

"to render the tender thought,
To, teach the young idea how to shoot ;
To pour fresh instruction o'er the mind,
To breathe the enlivening spirit, and to fix
The generous purpose in the glowing breast."

26 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE

Nor let children, who should be our blessings, become our torments :

"While young our folly, and when old our fear."

Lastly, but not least in importance in the good training of children,
it should be rigidly observed by parents never to show any difference of
opinion in their treatment before them. Nothing can be more pernicious
to their moral culture, engendering in them habits of disobedience, for
they cannot obey one parent without disobeying the other. We
earnestly recommend attention to this observance, for, besides the evil
of disobedience that is almost sure to follow a difference in opinion
from those in authority over the child, the latter is sometimes prone to
disregard the instructions and admonitions of both, and set up
principles of his own more in accordance with his inclinations,
however erroneous they may be.

CHAPTER VII.

Care of the Sick Management of the Sick Room Food of. Invalids Adaptation of Management
to Particular Cases Nurses, and Things essential to Nursing Importance of Calmness and
Patience.

ANOTHER duty of great importance devolves on woman, namely, the
care of the sick. From the highest to the lowest none are, properly
speaking, exempt from this charge. It is true that those who are rich
can hire experienced nurses ; but still the responsibility, the anxiety,
rests with the mistress, for she cannot hire affection, thoughtful care,
and all those little attentions which make the sole comfort of an invalid ;
she can merely secure a species of human machine which mechanically
performs its duties, and between whiles eats, drinks, sleeps, and
comforts itself. There are many excellent and kind-hearted professional
nurses ; but there are also more who become, as it were, petrified by
the habitual contemplation of suffering, and who merely regard the
patient with a business-like eye.

In a sick room, the kindness and attention of the nurse often work
far greater marvels than the skill of the doctor, for she is there every
hour, she sees every change, and can minister to so many little wants ;
those trifles which make up the events of an invalid, those minor details
so unimportant to a person in health, those whims and desires, and
nervous susceptibilities which appear almost childish to lookers-on, will
be" studied by a good, conscientious nurse, and overlooked or disregarded
by one who either does not feel interested in the patient, or has not
sufficient sympathy to induce her to study these 'matters. In the
former case, the invalid will be .soothed and cheered ; in the latter,
irritated and depressed. Surely, it is not difficult to conceive which
influence must act most beneficially upon the system.

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 27

Gentleness, watchfulness, firmness, judgment, some delicacy of
feeling and savoir faire, and a truly Christian spirit, are the distin
guishing characteristics which will best adapt a woman for fulfilling
this phase of her duties. There are many who, from intense solicitude
and sense of duty, will give way to those impulses of feeling which
lead them to devote themselves so entirely to the nursing of some
beloved relative, that all other duties, and even self, are wholly forgotten.
What is the consequence of this error of judgment ? Their own health
succumbs, and they becomo not only useless, but render themselves
sources of trouble and anxiety. How much better to have husbanded
their strength, so as to be able to remain useful ! That despised
article, common sense, would teach us all so much if we would but stop
to listen, if we would not mount, each one, our own peculiar hobby, and
gallop off at a tremendous rate, heedless of all sign-posts, and often
regardless of even hedges and ditches. Affection ! feeling ! sentiment !
nerves ! how much has been done and left undone in these names,
especially as regards the subject we are now treating of, while poor
dear common sense has- been decried as a most unfeeling person, and
rudely ejected when she strove to make herself heard !

Yet in, few places is common sense a more valuable assistant than in
the sick, room ; aided by self-command and good feeling, she will
transform the most uninitiated person into an excellent and efficient
nurse. Let; us hear a few of her fundamental principles.

Speak in a low but perfectly distinct voice, both to the invalid and to
any one who enters the room, in order that, although no unnecessary
sound may be heard r the patient's ear may not be fatigued by striving
to catch the words, or excited by mutterings or whispers addressed to
some one else.

Let your countenance be calm and cheerful, your manner soothing
and hopeful, and your words such as may cheer or comfort the mind.
Avoid all fuss, all hasty movements, all noises that may startle or
disturb ; let even your dress and shoes be chosen with reference
to quiet.

Keep everything? in its place, so that in an instant you can put your
hand on it when required ; have hot water, clean cups, spoons, and
glasses, and well-aired body and bed linen always handy ; let the air of
the room be changed frequently ; avoid all bad smells, or remove them
as soon as possible ; pay strict attention to the temperature of the
chamber, and keep it as even as may be ; and regulate the light with
equal care.

All food offered to invalids should be daintily prepared, and
presented in the most careful manner. How often, when we have been
longing for food, have we turned from it with disgust, because we had
seen the nurse cool it with her breath, or taste it, and then drop the
spoon back into it, and present it to us ! Nor is it well to inquire of
invalids what shall be got for them. If they express a wish for some
particular thing, well and good, let it be got for them, if reasonable ;
but a trilling delicacy unexpectedly brought^ will often tempt the
appetite ; besides, a sick person, or even a convalescent, is often

28 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

too languid to be at the trouble of thinking about eating, and would
sooner go without ; or, if he or she chooses something, it may be the
very thing which would be improper or prejudicial, and then comes
disappointment, and a species of disgust of all else, for in illness the
appetite is ever capricious.

Nowhere is cleanliness of such paramount importance as in the
sick-room. Do not let us be misunderstood here. We do not mean
that an immensity of sweeping, scouring, and dusting is to be done, but
simply that the chamber must be kept clean and ventilated, that the
bed and body linen must, be changed often enough to refresh without
fatiguing the patient, and that the air must be purified by means of
vinegar, or other disinfectants.

As there are so many kinds of illness, no general rules can be laid
down, and our friend, common sense, must be allowed to be the special
adviser. In one case body and mind may be paralysed by weakness
or languor ; in another the body may be agonised, and yet the mind
clear and active ; while in a third the body may be sane, the mind
insane. Hence no one who is a mere machine, guided by certain
rules, can be a good and efficient nurse ; no one who does not study
how to minister to the mind as well as the body, who will not endeavour,
to a certain extent, to identify herself with the tastes, feelings, and
even prejudices of the patient, can be really useful.

What we have hitherto said applies chiefly to adult patients ; to
nurse a sick child may seem a far easier task, but is not so. What
gentleness, firmness, playfulness, and, above all, what patience is needed
in the sick chamber of a child ! for in time of illness, a child is doubly
a child, almost a baby again.

The nurse should be constantly watchful over the little sufferer,
and mark attentively those positions, and the particular treatment,
which most effectually alleviate its sufferings, so that the latter may
be repeated under a recurrence of similar circumstances. One great
principle in child-nursing is to avoid over-feeding and over-dosing.

Every housekeeper should have a store of old linen, cambric, and
calico rags, and old pieces of flannel ; these are easily obtained by
saving worn-out linen, flannel, and other garments, or at least the
useful portions of them, and treasuring old silk and cambric hand
kerchiefs. Such things are invaluable in time of sickness for poultices,
fomentations, leeches, &c. Those who have them not will do well
to visit a pawnshop, or the emporium of a purchaser of wardrobes ;
and having there found one or two articles of no value but to be
torn up, to buy these, bring them home, have them thoroughly washed,
and then put them away for use.

It is good for us at times to be serious, to turn from the contem
plation of life's pleasures and enjoyments, and look upon its darker
pages ; for it has been beautifully said by an eminent writer, that
" Suffering is not a slender dark thread, winding every now and then
through a warp of dazzling brightness, but it is interwoven with the
whole texture. It is not incidental, but designed for us ; it enters

THOUGHTS AND MAXIMS ON HOUSEKEEPING. 29

into God's purposes ; it has a great work to do, and we know nothing
of life until we comprehend its purposes." Again : " Suffering nourishes
the tenderest sympathies of our nature ; it rouses us to energy and a
consciousness of our own powers, and at the same time infuses the
meekest dependence on God ; it stimulates us to cherish and to prize
the blessings of this world, and at the same time weans us from and
lifts us above mere earthly things."

There is no home into which sickness may not come at any hour ;
and as it is to woman that the office of nurse is invariably delegated r
surely every woman ought to learn betimes all that will best qualify
her to become the ministering angel, whose presence shall bless the
long hours of pain and confinement. False delicacy, foolish weakness,
and all that can detract from usefulness, should be early overcome.
We have seen a daughter scream, and weep, and wring her hands, while
her mother lay fainting before her ; we have seen a mother shriek
and fall on her knees and utter words of agony, when some accident
happened to her child. But what did all this unavailing grief benefit
the sufferers ? How much better she who, controlling her feelings,
thinks calmly how she can administer relief, and performs her duties
in an intelligent and patient manner.

30 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

THE FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE.

UNDER this head directions will be given for the domestic management of some of the more
frequent ailments to which families are subject. Book-doctoring, is a very doubtful economy,
except where it is made the means of enabling the nurse or the mother to co-operate intelli
gently with the medical adviser. . But there are cases, as among emigrants, or persons residing
in remote places in the country, in which medical aid cannot readily be obtained. In such
cases, the following papers will be found of great value. A number of specific remedies for
various minor ailments, will be found appended to. the Medical Articles.

HOOPING-COUGH.

HOOPING-COUGH is thought to have been introduced into Europe
from Africa, and, like most other complaints, varies much in intensity.
It is a highly infectious disease, and grown persons are liable to its
influence ; but it commonly takes place between the ages of four
months and twelve years. It usually begins as a common cough,
and is attended with the general symptoms of having taken cold ;
but in its progress, soon becomes more severe ; though, the longer
it is discoverable by the hoop, the more favourable it is likely to be.
A frequent discharge from the mouth, nose, and eyes, food often rejected,
together with large quantities of phlegm, after which the child gene
rally appears pretty well, and eats his food heartily these are the
most common symptoms. When the disease is violent, they become
greatly aggravated, especially during the night, and the child will
appear almost strangled, becoming livid, and blood often starting
from the nose and eyes.

The following is a favourite prescription of the late Mr. Tuckwell,
of Oxford, who, for skill in his profession, courtesy of manners, and
kindness of heart, has had few equals, and who has left in that
University an almost imperishable memory :

Dissolve one scruple of salt of tartar, in a quarter of a pint of soft
water : add to it ten grains of cochineal finely powdered, and sweeten
it with lump sugar.

This medicine is also highly recommended in the Lancet. The dose
for an infant is a tea-spoonful four times a day ; from five years old
upwards, a table-spoonful may be taken : but as the paroxysms of
this complaint are much aggravated by the resistance of the child to

THE FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE. 31

swallow medicine, it is very desirable to abstain, if possible, from
giving any internal remedy.

The following embrocation was prescribed by a gentleman, one of
the leading practitioners in Oxford ; and for spasmodic coughs of all
kinds, as well as for inflammatory croup, it is invaluable :

Two drachms of Tincture of Opium.
Two ounces of Camphor Liniment.

A tea-spoonful to be rubbed in over the throat and chest every night
and morning, and cover the parts immediately with flannel. If the
chest is loaded with phlegm, an emetic must be given once, twice,
or three times a-week, as required. Ipecacuanha wine is most suitable,
and the dose for a child of four or five years is 2^ or 3 drachms.

During the first stages of this disorder, the patient should breathe
an equal temperature, as nearly as it can be managed, not too warm
and close, but equal ; and when the virulence of the disorder has
passed away, the open air (if the weather be mild) may be frequently
resorted to ; and a change of air, where it is practicable, will often
remove at once all remains of the complaint.

The only thing that remains to be mentioned, is the proper diet,
which is, indeed, of paramount importance ; and for children of even
six and seven years of age, ought to be little more than milk and broths.
These are nourishing, and more readily digested than meats or pud
dings. One prevalent error is, that milk engenders phlegm ; but
this is a mistake. Should the milk be found to curdle on the stomach,
a little common salt must be added ; or, better still, use asses' milk,
if it is attainable. These light nutriments quickly pass out of the
stomach, or if brought out by coughing twenty times during the day
(which is sometimes the case), the child will immediately take more
with avidity.

If thirst prevails, a little toast-and-water may be given. When
taken in time, and treated properly, hooping-cough is scarcely ever
fatal, indeed never, as long as the patient is free from fever, or other
disease. If the attack, from its length and severity, should cause a
loss of strength, health will soon be recruited by a cold infusion of
bark, gentle exercise, and pure uninfected air, and dieted with a
nourishing broth, made as follows :

Take three-quarters of a pound of veal, the same quantity of beef,
chopped very fine, and simmered for three hours in about two quarts
of water. Strain it, and let the invalid drink the clear liquid, hot
or cold, as may be most agreeable.

Mixture for Hooping -Cougli,

Ipecacuanha Wine .2 drachms.

Carbonate of Soda drachm.

Paregoric Elixir 2 drachms.

Water ....... 1 ounce.

A tea- spoonful or two (according to the age of the patient) may
be given three times a day.

32 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

TEETHING.

THIS natural process in a child's development, usually commences
about the third month, though it is seldom till the fifth or sixth that
the teeth make their appearance through the gums. The period when
the teeth may be expected is indicated by an increased irritability
of the infant, the gums become tense, shiny, and swollen ; while
the excited glands in the neighbourhood pour out so large a quantity
of saliva, that it overflows the mouth, causing the infant to drivel,
as the nurses call this natural salivation. At the same time the child,
as if to relieve the heat and irritation it feels, thrusts its hands into
its mouth in the attempt to do what the watchful mother will do for
it scratch the top of the gum with her nail, or, making a rasp of
a rough crust, or a proper gum-ring, rub it freely along the top ridge,
that, by abrading it of the binding cuticle, the imprisoned gum may
have the power to expand. As the only benefit that can accrue from
rubbing the child's gum is the tearing or relaxing this fine but
tenacious cuticle, all smooth surfaces, such as coral or ivory rings,
are perfectly useless ; such instruments to be of any service, should
be cut into small diamonds like a fine file, and used frequently by
the parent, exactly in that manner. The crust, though serviceable
from its roughness, is dangerous from the chance of crumbs breaking
off and getting into the infant's throat. After the irritation and
drivelling have continued for some weeks, a white line or a round
spot appears on the top of the gum of the lower jaw, and ultimately
of the upper ; through these white spots the teeth finally burst their
way in the following order: the two incisors of the lower jaw are the
first to make their appearance, though frequently several weeks elapse
between the advent of the first and second ; the next cut are the four
incisors of the upper, then the remaining two incisors of the lower
jaw, one on each side, but not joining. There is now a pause for a
short time in the process. The next in succession are the four eye
teeth in either jaw, thus completing the infantine set of sixteen teeth.
Another pause, usually of some months, succeeds before nature
resumes her active operations ; when she does, it is to place one
double tooth on each side of both jaws, thus perfecting the child's
complement of twenty teeth. When these are shed, and nature
completes her office, instead of the first ten she places sixteen teeth
in each jaw, thus doubling her first complement, and making the
adult set thirty-two. Each tooth as it is formed makes half a circle
on its axis, and rising sideways, pierces the gum with the extreme
point of its edge, revolving as it rises to the perpendicular.

The diseases that teething gives rise to in infants are very numerous,
and the consequences of so natural a process are some of the most
remarkable facts connected with the development of the human
economy. The disorders excited by difficult dentition are, diarrhoea,
convulsions, mesenteric disease, water on the brain, rickets, and

THE FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE. 33

remittent fever all of them to the infant fearfully mortal diseases.
Each of these affections, though so different in its locality, and so
opposite in its symptoms, is induced by the same cause long-continued
irritation in the gums reacting on the delicate organization of the
brain and nervous system. And, as this irritation is caused by the
difficulty the imprisoned tooth finds in escaping from the fibrous
membrane in which it is enveloped, and making its way through the
tightly bound gum, it becomes the duty of the medical man or parent,
as soon as the first constitutional disturbance manifests itself, to assist
the efforts of nature to effect the escape of the tooth, by dividing the
gum and leaving an aperture through which the new-formed tooth
may reach its destination. But, as lancing the gums, as the process
is called, will be worse than useless unless effectually clone, the gums
should never be cut unless the tooth can be plainly felt below, and,
to be of service, the incision must be carried down to the tooth,
or else the unyielding membrane in which it is encased will be
undivided, and the child put to the inconvenience of lancing without
effecting the slightest benefit. As, however, the irritation commences
from the first entrance of the tooth into the gum on emerging from
its bony socket, and long before the actual pressure of the tooth can
cause the graver mischief, or simply from the increased amount of
blood circulating in the parts, it is evident that lancing the gums in
so early a stage of formation is not only impolitic, but hurtful.

Another mode of relief, both for the diarrhoea and convulsions that
so frequently occur in weakly infants at this period, must be looked
for ; and that means, in all stages ot dentition, from the first to the
last, will be found either a source of instant relief or of certain
recovery ; that remedy is the hot bath, which, in all cases of infantine
suffering, is the mother's best hope, and should be her unshaken
reliance. The time a child should be kept in a hot bath should seldom
exceed two minutes ; and, as the object is to unload some congested
organ, or to relieve certain parts of their excess of blood by causing
a rapid determination to the skin, the water should be hot enough
to produce this effect as instantaneously as possible. When diarrhoea
continues in despite of the hot bath, a little magnesia or a few grains
of prepared chalk may be given two or three times a day until the
excessive action is checked ; or if unabated by these means, a few
drops of tincture of kino is to be administered, as prescribed for
diarrhoea.

SCARLET FEVER, OR SCARLATINA.

WHEN scarlet fever becomes epidemic among adults, children
rarely fail of being attacked by it in great numbers, and very fre
quently sink under it. It is, indeed, rather a child's disease, and is
very contagious amongst children ; but is not often communicated
from them to adults. This disease begins with the common symptoms of
fever, often with languor and disposition to fainting, shivering, sickness,

C

34 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

a quick pulse, and pain in the head ; there is frequently, very early in
the disorder, a stiffness in the muscles of the neck, which is soon
followed by some difficulty in swallowing. This affection of the
neck should be carefully inquired into, especially in young children ;
the soreness of the throat being sometimes not complained of in the
most severe attacks of the disease, until but little hope remains of
any mode of treatment being attended with success.

The fever generally increases in the evening, and is often accom
panied with delirium ; but some remission takes place towards morning,
and perspirations come on. There is no complaint in which delirium
is of so little consequence as in scarlatina. On the second or third
day the efflorescence (or redness) appears on the skin, and generally
first on the face, neck, and breast. Up to this period the disorder
is sometimes supposed to be measles, as many of the premonitory
symptoms are similar ; but scarlatina is readily distinguished by the
absence of that hoarse cough, frequent sneezing, and watery discharge
from the nose and eyes, which are the constant attendants on the
early stages of measles : in this latter complaint also, the skin is
covered with a distinct eruption, raised above the skin, leaving it clear
and well-defined between the marks, while in scarlatina, the redness
is on the skin, and its appearance seldom produces any remission
of fever.

When the complaint is to terminate in health, the fiery redness
abates gradually, and is succeeded by a brown colour, when the skin,
becoming rough, peels off in small scales, and health is generally
restored.

On the contrary, when it is to terminate fatally, the febrile symptoms
run very high from the first attack, the skin is intensely hot and dry,
the pulse is very frequent but small, great thirst prevails, the redness
appears on the second day or earlier, and about the third or fourth
is often interspersed with large livid spots, and the patient is cut off
about the sixth or eighth day. Sometimes a severe purging comes
on, which never fails to prove fatal. No complaint is more arbitrary
in its attacks, and none on which, humanly speaking, you can reckon
with so little certainty.

" To determine to the surface of the body, it will be right to give the
simple saline, made as follows : Take of

Citric Acid l drachm.

Bi-carbonate of Potash . . . . 2 drachms.

Water 1\ ounces.

Simple Syrup ounce.

Spirits of Nitre 2 drachms.

Mix, and take a sixth part every four hours. If the child is very young,
give half the dose.

On the first appearance of this disorder, it will be proper to administer
an emetic of ipecacuanha powder ; and for children of four years of age,
seven grains will be a sufficient quantity, and even a repetition of it

THE FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE. 35

may be the means of preventing any disposition to diarrhoea (purging).
Throughout the whole of this disease it will be advisable to make
frequent use of some detergent (cleansing) gargle, which in young
children must be thrown into the throat with a syringe.

Detergent Gargle.
Take of

Purified Alum . . . .1 drachm.

Barley Water . . .8 ounces (half a pint).

Honey of Roses . . .1 ounce.

Mix, and gargle the throat frequently.

Camphor is a medicine much employed in scarlatina, and with good
effect ; but more particularly where the pulse is very low, and the
redness disappears suddenly from off the skin. In these cases volatiles,
the aromatic confection, and wine will be proper remedies this latter
to be given in moderate quantity, according to the age and other
circumstances of the patient, and it should be given in the food, which
must consist of thin, nutritious aliments, such as sago, arrow-root,
barley-water with milk, &c., &c., arid thin warm barley-water, without
milk, should be often drunk, in order to induce moderate perspiration.

In a general way, a cordial plan is required throughout the disease ;
and where the throat is much affected, either with sloughs (discharges
of matter), or total blackness, bark is indispensably necessary, however
thick and florid the rash, however hot and dry the skin. Bark, in
moderate doses (for children of four years of age, six grains of Peruvian
bark may be given four times a day), reduces the fever in the milder
species of scarlatina, above eveiy other remedy ; and in the more
malignant scarlet fever, it supports the system until the regular stages
of the fever are accomplished, and a perfect crisis is formed. Should it
be disposed to act too freely on the child's bowels, one drop of opium
may be added.

An unpleasant turn in the complaint sometimes takes place in a
secondary Fever, and is often the consequence of administering bark
and wine too early, or too liberally, in the milder scarlatina.

As parents and nurses are naturally much alarmed at delirium, it
may be well to assure them that there is no disease in which delirium
is of so little consequence as in the one before us. In other fevers it
seldom comes on until they have arrived at a dangerous height, but it
sometimes accompanies scarlatina from the very first day, and many
of the patients never fail to be delirious every night, though, excepting
this, there exists no other unfavourable symptom from the beginning,
and during the illness.

c2

36 THE PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE.

THRUSH, OR APHTHAE.

THIS is a disease of the mucous membrane of the mouth, stomach,
and bowels ; and when severe, may be traced throughout the whole
alimentary canal. Though thrush may attack persons at any stage of
life, still it is regarded 'as a disease more peculiarly incident to child
hood and infancy ; and is generally induced by an abrupt change of
diet, or some cause impairing the nutritive quality of the mother's
milk, which produces this eruptive fever in the infant's digestive organs.
The symptoms of thrush 'are heat, pain, and restlessness, followed by a
series of small, raised, white spots, scattered over the mouth, tongue,
and lips ; sometimes there are but few, at others the whole mouth is
studded with them. After a day or two, they enlarge and become
distended with a white puriform fluid ; the eruption looking like a cross
of minute beads : this completes the suppurating or second stage ; after
which, the vesicles proceed to ulceration, when they burst, discharge
their fluid, and degenerate into small flat ulcers, causing throughout,,
but especially in this the last stage, considerable irritation and pain.

Treatment. Having, if possible found the immediate cause of the
disease, and if an improper food, removed it, the child must be carefully
fed on a diet that in no way can irritate the tender and inflamed lining
membrane ; and, if necessary, a few spoonfuls of beef tea are to be
given occasionally as a gentle stimulant. The medical treatment
consists in the exhibition of the subjoined powders and mixture, and
the employment, each evening, of the warm bath as a sedative to
the restless child. Take of

Grey Powder . . . . . . .8 grains.

Scammony ....... 6 grains.

Rhubarb 3 grains.

Mix and divide into nine powders for an infant from six to twelve
months, giving one powder twice a day ; into six powders for an
infant from one to two years old, one twice a day ; and into four
powders for a child of three years, to be given in the same manner.
Take of

Mucilage ounce.

Castor Oil 2 drachms.

Syrup 2 drachms.

Mix well in a mortar, and add

Dill Water . ounce.

Mix, and give a small tea- spoonful twice a day to an infant from six
to twelve months ; three times a day to one of from one to two years ;
and every six hours to a child of three years old. Should the thrash

THE FAMILY MEDICAL GUIDE. 37

have proceeded to ulceration, the mouth of the infant or child should
be washed out by a lotion, made by dissolving a small quantity of alum
or borax in water well sweetened with honey ; and then, by tying a
fold of lint to a piece of stick, and using it as a mop, to cleanse the
mouth, having first well wetted it in the lotion.

ITCH.

THIS cutaneous disease, the result of dirt and insufficient food,
is communicated by the merest contact ; and as this is a misfo