Chapter XXXII: Comfort for a Discouraged Housekeeper (1)

There is no doubt of the fact, that American housekeepers have far greater trials and difficulties to meet than those of any other nation. And it is probable that many of those who may read over the methods of thrift and economy adopted by some of the best housekeepers in our land, and detailed in this work, will with a sigh exclaim, that it is _impossible_ for them even to attempt any such plans.

Others may be stimulated by the advice and examples presented, and may start off with much hope and courage, to carry out a plan of great excellence and appropriateness, and, after trying a while, will become discouraged by the thousand obstacles in their way, and give up in despair.

A still greater number will like their own way best, and think it is folly to attempt to change.

For those who wish they _could_ become systematic, neat, and thorough housekeepers, and would like to follow out successfully the suggestions found in this work, and for those who have tried, or will try, and find themselves baffled and discouraged, these words of comfort are offered.

Perhaps you find yourself encompassed by such sort of trials as these: Your house is inconvenient, or destitute of those facilities for doing work well which you need, and you can not command the means to supply these deficiencies. Your domestics are so imperfectly qualified that they never can do any thing _just right_, unless you stand by and attend to every thing yourself, and you can not be present in parlor, nursery, and kitchen all at once. Perhaps you are frequently left without any cook, or without a chamber-maid, and sometimes without any hands but your own to do the work, and there is constant jostling and change from this cause. And perhaps you can not get supplies, either from garden or market, such as you need, and all your calculations fail in that direction.

And perhaps your children are sickly, and rob you of rest by night, or your health is so poor that you feel no energy or spirits to make exertions. And perhaps you never have had any training in domestic affairs, and can not understand how to work yourself, nor how to direct others. And when you go for aid to experienced housekeepers, or cookery-books, you are met by such sort of directions as these: “Take a _pinch_ of this, and a _little_ of that, and _considerable_ of the other, and cook them till they are done _about right_.” And when you can not succeed in following such indefinite instructions, you find your neighbors and husband wondering how it is that, when you have one, two, or three domestics, there should be so much difficulty about housekeeping, and such constant trouble, and miscalculation, and mistake. And then, perhaps, you lose your patience and your temper, and blame others, and others blame you, and so every thing seems to be in a snarl.

Now the first thing to be said for your comfort is, that you _really have_ great trials to meet; trials that entitle you to pity and sympathy, while it is the fault of others more than your own that you are in this very painful and difficult situation. You have been as cruelly treated as the Israelites were by Pharaoh, when he demanded bricks without furnishing the means to make them.

You are like a young, inexperienced lad who is required to superintend all the complicated machinery of a manufactory which he never was trained to understand, and on penalty of losing reputation, health, and all he values most.

Neither your parents, teachers, or husband have _trained_ you for the place you fill, nor furnished you with the knowledge or assistance needed to enable you to meet all the complicated and untried duties of your lot. A young woman who has never had the care of a child, never done house-work, never learned the numberless processes that are indispensable to keep domestic affairs in regular order, never done any thing but attend to books, drawing, and music at school, and visiting and company after she left school—such an one is as unprepared to take charge of a nursery, kitchen, and family establishment, as she is to take charge of a _man-of-war_. And the chief blame rests with those who placed her _so unprepared_ in such trying circumstances. Therefore, you have a right to feel that a large part of these evils are more your misfortune than your fault, and that they entitle you to sympathy rather than blame.

The next word of comfort is, the assurance that you _can_ do _every one_ of your duties, and do them well, and the following is the method by which you can do it. In the first place, make up your mind that it never is your duty to do any thing more than you _can_, or in any better manner than the best you can. And whenever you have done the best you can, you have done _well_; and it is all that man _should_ require, and certainly all that your heavenly Father _does_ require.

The next thing is, for you to make out an inventory of all the things that need to be done in your whole establishment. Then calculate what things you find you _can not_ do, and strike them off the list, as what are not among your _duties_. Of those that remain, select a certain number that you think you can do _exactly as they need to be done_, and among these be sure that you put the making of _good bread_. This every housekeeper can do, if she will only determine to do it.

Make a selection of certain things that you will _persevere_ in having done _as well as they can be done_, and let these be only so many as you feel sure you can succeed in attempting. Then make up your mind that all the rest must go along as they do, until you get more time, strength, and experience, to increase the list of things that you determine shall always be well done.

By this course you will have the comfort of feeling that in _some_ respects you are as good a housekeeper as you can be, while there will be a cheering progress in gaining on all that portion of your affairs that are left at loose ends. You will be able to measure a gradual advance, and be encouraged by success. Many housekeepers fail entirely by expecting to do _every thing well at first_, when neither their knowledge or strength is adequate, and so they fail everywhere, and finally give up in despair.

Are you not only a housekeeper, but a _mother_? Oh, sacred and beautiful name! how many cares and responsibilities are associated with it! And how many elevating and sublime anticipations and hopes are given to inspire and to cheer! You are training young minds whose plastic texture will receive and retain every impression you make; who will imitate your feelings, tastes, habits, and opinions; and who will transmit what they receive from you to their children, to pass again to the next generation, and then to the next, until _a whole nation_ may possibly receive its character and destiny from your hands! No imperial queen ever stood in a more sublime and responsible position than you now occupy in the eye of Him who reads the end from the beginning, and who is appointing all the trials and discipline of your lot, not for purposes which are visible to your limited ken, but in view of all the consequences that are to result from the character which you form, and are to transmit to your posterity!

And you who never are to bear a mother’s name, but must toil for the children of others with little earthly honor or reward, remember that the blessed Lord “took upon himself the form of a servant;” that he came “not to be ministered to, but to minister;” that those who voluntarily take the lowest place are most likely to stand highest at last; that all sincere service is accepted and precious; and that our labors in this life are to bear their fruits through everlasting ages.

Remember that you have a Father in heaven who sympathizes in all your cares, pities your griefs, makes allowances for your defects, and is endeavoring by trials, as well as by blessings, to fit you for the right fulfillment of your high and holy calling.

But the heaviest care and sorrow that ever oppress a woman who, as housekeeper, has the control of children and servants, are her responsibilities as to the eternal destiny of those guided by her teachings and example. Our cruel war took thousands of our noblest youth to terrible sufferings in prisons and battle-fields, and to a torturing death. Multitudes of these sacrificed their all to save their country as really as did our Lord when he suffered for the whole world. And yet many of these martyred heroes gave no evidence of that change which their bereaved parents were trained to believe could alone save their beloved ones from everlasting misery. How many mothers have hid in silent anguish this never-healed wound—this crushing sorrow!

The most available remedy for such distress is much that is suggested in Chapters XXV. and XXVIII.; and the following queries may aid in obtaining the true teachings of the Bible on these momentous questions:

Are the definitions given in those chapters of the words _right_, _righteous_, _love_, _faith_, and _repentance_, in reference to future eternal safety, sustained by common use and by our dictionaries? What texts illustrate the distinction between _right_ as to motives, or intention and _right_ as to resulting consequences?

What texts show that wrong actions, owing to mistaken opinions as to what is right, do not necessarily destroy evidence of a righteous or virtuous character?

What texts show that the righteous character which secures eternal safety consists, not chiefly in emotional love to God, but rather in a controlling principle of obedience to his will, as manifested in both his natural and revealed laws?

What texts show that at some future period (it may be millions of ages hence) there will be a final separation of the righteous and the wicked?

Are there any texts which show that in the intervening ages there will be no improvement of character for those who fail in this life? and are there any which show that there may be for some, if not for all?

Are there any texts which show that the character of every human being is fixed at death?

Are there any texts which show that some of mankind will be forever sinful, and forever separated from the righteous?

Are there any texts which show that all mankind will finally become righteous, and thus forever happy?

When all the texts in the Bible on these questions are collected and arranged, when applying the rules of interpretation, these considerations are to be noticed:

1. That the word “Hades,” in many cases, is translated “Hell,” when its proper translation is “the place of departed spirits.” The story of Dives and Lazarus, and of the repentant thief, can be properly explained only by ascertaining the meaning the Jews attached to the words Hades and Paradise; for Christ, of course, expected them to be thus understood.

Again, the meaning of many texts depends on the subject before the mind of the speaker. Thus when Christ replied to the question, “Are there few that be saved?” did he refer to all beings in the whole universe, or to the present world, and to that present time when “the righteous” were comparatively a small portion of mankind?

Again much that relates to the spirit-world can not be fully taught or comprehended. St. Paul says that, when caught up into the third heaven, he saw, not, as in our translation, things not “lawful” to utter, but, in the original Greek, “impossible” to utter.

Again, the results thus gained from the Bible should be considered in connection with the analogies of nature and God’s providence in regard to the continued development of mind and character, which in this life has so short and imperfect a period, and in most cases so many and great disadvantages.

In completing such an investigation, much time and mental effort may be required, but is there any employment of time and intellect so important as this end?

* * * * *

In offering these suggestions, the author may refer to her own extended observation of the results of _religious_ educational training in the family, as witnessed in the diverse sects with which she has mingled, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish; for she counts excellent and intelligent friends in _all_.

She finds all united in the belief of _a future life_ in which the character formed in this life controls the eternal well-being; so that those who are trained to truth, justice, and mercy will be forever happier than those who grow up in sin and wickedness.

She finds that the right education of children and servants is more and more an object of care and effort; and that, as the consequence, the world is growing better rather than worse.

And finally, she rejoices in the increasingly open avenues to useful and remunerating occupations for women, enabling them to establish _homes of their own_, where, if not as the natural mother, yet as a Christ-mother, they may take in neglected ones, and train future mothers, teachers, and missionaries for the world.

NOTE A.

VIEWS OF MEDICAL WRITERS

The American Woman’s Educational Association has for its object “the establishment of institutions having _endowed_ departments supporting ladies of superior character and education who shall add to a collegiate course both scientific and practical training, in all relating to the distinctive duties of woman as housekeeper, wife, mother, nurse of infants and the sick, trainer of servants, and chief religious minister of the family state.” As Secretary of this Association, the author requested the views of Mrs. Dr. Gleason, of the Elmira Water-cure, on the topics that follow. This lady, as wife, mother, and highly-educated physician, during over twenty years has had patients of her own sex, probably counting by thousands, and has often, by request, lectured to graduating classes in the Ingham University, the Elmira College, and other popular institutions for women. The following are extracts from her reply:

_Treatment of Pelvic Diseases._

“The pelvic organs, when diseased, all have so many symptoms in common, that it requires not only good anatomical, pathological, and physiological knowledge, but close and well-cultivated diagnostic powers to decide _which_ organ is diseased, and _how_ it is diseased. For example, sometimes a displacement of the uterus will cause a sense of weight, dragging, and throbbing, accompanied by pain in the back and in front of the hips. But inflammation, ulceration, and induration of this organ will produce precisely the same results; and sometimes _mere nervous debility_ in these parts will induce these symptoms, especially when the imagination is excited in reference to the subject. It also is often the case that extreme prolapsus occurs _in which there is no pain at all_.

“So also disease of the urinary cyst is indicated by symptoms precisely similar to those which mark the disease of the adjacent organ. These organs lying in close proximity, and supplied with nerves from the same source, would necessarily sympathize, and show disease by similar symptoms. Just as in the toothache, many a one has been unable to point out the diseased tooth. How much more difficulty exists in a case where most women are profoundly ignorant on the subject!

“It has become a very common notion that when any local displacement of the pelvic organs occurs, a woman must cease to use her arms, cease to exercise vigorously, and keep herself on the bed much of her time. All which, in most cases, is exactly the three things which she ought not to do. And thus it is that, when from want of fresh air and exercise, and from the many pernicious practices that debilitate the female constitution, the pelvic organs indicate debility, and these nerves begin to ache. Immediately a harness is put on for local support, and the bed becomes the constant resort; and thus the muscular debility and nervous irritability are increased. And yet, all that is needed is fresh air, exercise, simple diet, and _proper_ mental occupation.

“In this condition, perhaps, resort is had to some ignorant or inexperienced practitioner, who has some patent supporter to sell, or who has some secret and wonderful method of curing such diseases. Then commences, in many cases, a kind of local treatment most trying to the feelings, _which is but seldom required_, and which, in a majority of cases, results in no benefit.

“Many a one has recited to me the mental and physical suffering she has endured for months in such a course of treatment, and all to no purpose. A touching case of this kind recently occurred, in the case of a beautiful young lady who was a listener to a course of lectures on the pelvis and its diseases, given by me to the graduating class of a female seminary. At the close she came to me, and, with tearful eyes and a quivering lip, said, ‘I see now why all I have suffered, in body and mind is worse than useless. I see now that I have never had the disease for which I have been treated.’

“Woman’s trusting, confiding nature is beautiful; but oh, how much it needs to be protected by an intelligence on such subjects that will enable her properly to exercise her own judgment! And surely, in such cases, above all others, a woman should be sure that her medical adviser has had a proper education, and possesses a well-established moral character.

_Effects of Imagination in Reference to these Diseases._

“Besides the evils of misunderstanding and mistreating these affections, we have a host of evils from the effects of imagination. Multitudes of women, who hear terrific accounts of the nature of these complaints, and of the treatment that is inevitable, have their imagination so excited that aches and pains that are really trifling become magnified into all the symptoms of the dreaded evil. They betake themselves to bed, become more and more nervous as they give up air, exercise, and occupation, and thus drag out a useless life, a burden to themselves and to their families. Again and again I have had such cases brought to me, where for years they could not leave their beds or walk at all, when I had nothing to do _but make them understand their own organism_, and convince them that they needed little else except to get up and _go to work_, in order to be healthy women. It is such cases that furnish a large portion of the ‘wonderful cures’ that attract patients into the hands of poorly-qualified practitioners.

“It is probable that thousands of women who are suffering from pain in the back and pelvic evils, and who either will soon be invalids or imagine themselves so, could be relieved entirely by obeying these directions:

“Wash the whole person, on rising, in cool water, and, if nervous or debilitated, by a fire; dress loosely, and let _all_ the weight of clothing rest on the shoulders; sleep in a well-ventilated room; exercise the muscles a great deal, especially those of the arms and trunk, taking care to lie down and rest as soon as fatigue is felt; eat simple food, at regular hours; pursue useful employments, with intervals of social and healthful amusement; sleep enough, and at the proper hours; and sit often in the sun.

_Peculiar Instruction needed by Young Children._

“Through information gained from my husband, from other physicians, from teachers, from medical writers, and from the reports of insane hospitals, it has become clear to my mind that there are secret and terrific causes preying extensively upon the health and nervous energy of childhood and youth of both sexes such as did not formerly exist, and such as demand new efforts to eradicate and prevent.

“Parents and teachers all over the land need to be made aware that a secret vice is becoming frequent among children of both sexes that is taught by servants and communicated by children at school. Indeed, it may result from accident or disease, with an innocent unconsciousness of the evil done, on the part of the child, while the practice may thus ignorantly be perpetuated to maturity. This practice leads to diseases of the most horrible description, to mania, and to fatuity. Death and the mad-house are the last resort of these most miserable victims.

“To protect childhood and youth from this, it is not only needful to cultivate purity of mind and personal modesty, but to teach them while quite young that any fingering of the parts referred to involves terrible penalties. No such explicit information should be given as would tempt the incautious curiosity of childhood, but the child should be impressed with a sense of guilt and awful punishment as connected with _any thing_ of this kind, that would instantly recur to mind, if led by accident or instruction to this vice.

“In regard to those who have already become victims, to a greater or less degree, to this vice, one caution is very important. Medical writers and others who have attempted to guard the young in this direction have painted not only the danger but the wickedness of this practice in such strong colors that, when a young person first discovers the nature of a practice that has been indulged with little conception of the danger or wrong, overaction on the fears and the conscience is not unfrequently the result. Such horror and despair sometimes ensue as almost paralyze any effort on the part of medical advisers to remedy the evil.

“In all such cases, it is safest and best to assume that the sin is one of ignorance, and that the cure is almost certain, if the directions given are strictly obeyed. Unstimulating diet, a great deal of exercise in the open air, daily ablution of the whole person, control of the imagination, and occupation of the mind in useful pursuits, will usually remedy the evil, after its nature is understood.”

[A lady, after reading the above, stated that within the last year a little boy under her care, of very delicate mind and susceptible temperament, was sent to the country to a private boarding-school, under the care of a most excellent gentleman and his wife, who were eminently faithful, so far as they knew how to be. The child staid only six weeks, and returned sick, depressed, and with a burden on his mind that could not be discovered. After learning that he would not be sent back, he revealed the shocking story, and also the fact that the boys had threatened to kill him if he ever told any one.

Another lady, after reading this article, related a similar story of a large and highly respected boarding-school for boys, and gave several mournful incidents to show the effects of such evils on the health of the pupils. Parents whose young sons are at boarding-school _can not_ be too much alarmed on this subject.]

_Instructions at a more Mature Age._

“You wish my views and experience in reference to instructions that should be communicated to the young, on such topics, at a more mature age.

“The terrible effects I have seen from _simple ignorance_, both on individual and domestic happiness, convince me that a great work is to be attempted in this direction. More than half the cases of extreme suffering which have come under my care could have been saved, had the course that is aimed at by you and your associates have been secured by them. I have been called repeatedly to lecture to young ladies, near the close of a school education, on subjects so important to their future health and happiness, and I never found the least difficulty, either on their part or my own.

“When the proper discriminations are made between _true_ delicacy and propriety, and a fastidious and mawkish imitation of them, there is no difficulty in making them understood and appreciated. I have found, on such occasions, if a person was present known to be wanting in purity and delicacy, it was such only who made very offensive protestations against the course pursued in such instructions.

“In reference to _social_ as well as secret vices of this description, it seems to me the protection of ignorance should be preserved as long as possible, and yet so that, when such knowledge dawns, there shall immediately recur the needful impression of danger and sin. These duties belong especially to parents and teachers; and the circulation of books and papers with the gross and pernicious information that many have recommended and practiced involves, as it seems to me, most hazardous results.

“The implanted principles which establish the family state are connected with the highest rewards when rightly regulated, and with most dreadful penalties when perverted or abused. And the prosperity of individuals, of families, and of nations, for this life and the life to come, depends more on the proper control and regulation of these principles than on any other social or moral duty.

“And yet there is no point of morals and religion so widely abused and so fruitful of misery and sin as much that is connected with these principles. Instead of being regulated by correct knowledge and well-formed habits of thought and action, all seems left to the mistakes of ignorance or the control of worldly fashion.

“One cause of this state of things is want of consistent rules and customs as to what constitutes _true modesty_. These are all dependent on a general principle of physiology either rarely recognized or inconsistently regarded. The principle is this:

“When the mind directs thought and volition toward any organ of the body the blood and nervous fluid tend to that organ. Thus, when the brain is used, or the eye, or the hand, the nervous fluid and blood tend to the organ to stimulate its action. If this stimulation is too frequent, or too long continued, or produced by unnatural methods, then debility or disease are the result. The capillaries of the misused organ become engorged, producing temporary or chronic inflammation or congestion.

“The same is true of those organs consecrated to marriage. Excess or unnatural abuse causes an engorgement of the capillaries, and then a resulting increase of excitement, and to a degree that sometimes baffles all efforts at self-control.

“It is owing to this physiological principle that the rules of personal modesty, of decorum, and of propriety in social intercourse have been established.

“On the principle above stated these sensibilities demand the control of the _thoughts_. For this reason it is that certain topics which lead to such thoughts are excluded from general conversation, or, if they are alluded to, are veiled in expressions that children do not understand. It is for this cause that novels, poetry, and pictures which direct the imagination to such topics are deemed objectionable, especially for the young.

“It is owing to this physiological fact that Jesus Christ declares that the guilt of adultery commences in the indulgence of the thoughts.

“Marriage is not allowable until there has been due instruction and a habit formed of regulating these sensibilities by rules of modesty, decency, and propriety, and also _knowledge_ imparted as to the dangers consequent on neglecting these rules. And here is the place where the customs and practices of society are most inconsistent, false, and destructive to health and morals. For in one direction there is excessive and dangerous laxness, and in another false and dangerous strictness and fastidiousness.

“The rule to guide is this, that whenever health, life, or duty demand it, all connected with these topics should be spoken of and done without restraint or embarrassment; but when there are no such demands, they are to be excluded. Thus all these topics are spoken of plainly in the Bible and read in public worship, and also in medical, surgical, and hospital practice; and it is deemed false modesty and false delicacy to express opposition or disapproval. But when there are no such demands to serve health or life, or to protect from future dangers, conversation, poetry, jokes, or coarse expressions on such topics are vulgar, indecent, and sinful.

“Direct violation of these rules are now pervading not only our popular amusements, our poetry, and novels, but extensively the weekly and daily press is every day drawing attention to topics dangerous and forbidden except for necessary instruction and wanting. The Bible as read in families and churches comes with solemn simplicity as instruction from God, and sins of all kinds are made known for warning and instruction. Very different in style and influence are the details of vices and crimes presented daily in newspapers, magazines, poetry, and novels.

“It would seem as if the Prince of Darkness had sent forth his minions to hide all that knowledge that would save from sin and suffering, and to expose all that tempts to danger and sin.

“In addition to the dangers of our popular literature, there is a wide-spread assumption that such is the constitution of man, that the unsullied purity of thought and conduct demanded of the weaker sex is not to be expected or scarcely required of the stronger. This pernicious opinion is not unfrequently implied in medical writers, especially those residing in the centres of European licentiousness.

“Therefore it is very important for parents to know, in the first place, that constitutional diversities exist, involving more temptations to some than to others; and in the next place, that _every_ child is so organized, that strict obedience to the laws of health, knowledge of danger from uncontrolled thoughts, useful occupation, and suitable moral and religious training, will secure the regulation of ordinary temptations, and self-control under extraordinary ones. Where in maturity this has not been the case, it has been owing to excess either in forbidden or in legal indulgence.

“There is nothing more difficult than to change customs and prejudices, especially in matters of delicacy and propriety. And it is woman more than man who has controlling influence in these respects. Whatever the cultivated and conscientious women of our country decide _ought_ to be done, and will _use their influence_ to have done, will surely be accomplished.

“The evils here indicated can never be appreciated until mothers and teachers gain that knowledge of the construction of the body and the dangers connected with the duties of the family state, which now is confined to the medical profession, while physicians, by the false customs and false modesty of women, are constrained to a dangerous reticence.

“I believe that the method proposed by your Association, of securing by endowments well-qualified ladies whose _official_ duty it shall be to train the young to be healthy, and to communicate all the knowledge that will fit them to fulfill healthfully and happily all their future duties and relations, will, so far as it is carried out, effectually remedy the evils, and secure the benefits designed.

“Oh, that all parents and teachers who are to train the _next_ generation could be made to understand these intimations, and save their daughters from the abounding anguish which has come upon such multitudes of those now upon the stage! Very truly yours,

R. B. GLEASON.”

These views of Mrs. Dr. Gleason are in accordance with those of the most influential, learned, and benevolent medical men.

Dr. George T. Elliott, late President of the New York County Medical Society, says of _muscular exercise_ (or, as Mrs. Gleason would say, “getting up and going to work”): “If this were properly carried out, the local treatment now so much in vogue, and the ever-ready resort to the speculum, might commonly be dispensed with.”

Dr. Thomas suggests similar views in an address before the Medical Society of New York County, in which he speaks of “the wonderful improvement exerted on cases _which have long resisted local means_, by sea-bathing, or a few months passed in the country. He also says: “The fact is notorious that the local treatment of these diseases is not as successful as we could wish;” and of uterine injections he says: “My impression is, they have done, and are going to do, _a great deal of harm. I see no necessity for them_.”

Dr. Peasely, of New York City, says: “Medical applications to the uterus are _often_ used in conditions not justifying them.”

The senior editor of the _Pacific Medical Journal_ says: “It is hoped that the fashion of women having recourse to local treatment has passed to its culmination. The highest authorities have taken the back course, and condemn their own uterine surgery in some respects.”

The editor of the _Medical Record_, of New York City, says: “In a majority of cases the speculum is used only because it is the fashion. The natural tendency of this is certainly _demoralizing_.”

Dr. George H. Taylor, author of an original work on diseases of women, says: “A large portion of the women treated by me for pelvic disease would, in certain stages, be cured by loose dresses supported from the shoulders, domestic exercise, and proper diet. And the _Movement Cure_, to a great extent, consists of exercises that would in many cases be as successful, and more useful, if performed in domestic labor. Moreover, in my experience, not more than one case in twenty of cures by movements requires either local examination or local treatment. A large portion of my patients could, by obeying my directions, cure themselves at home.”

Most medical men now agree that the modes of dress, and the excessive mental taxation of schools, unaccompanied by the healthful domestic labor of former days, largely account for the prevalence of diseases among young girls which formerly were confined to married women, and also for the alarming increase of such diseases.

INDEX.

Accidents and antidotes, 366.

Acids, how to be kept, 108.

Address of the author to readers, 15.

Aged, care of the, 301.

Air-cells, number in human lungs, 153.

Alcoholic drinks, 100;
the microscope, 228.

Alcoholic poisoning, antidote for, 368.

Almond and cocoa-nut cake, 86.

Amusements and social duties, 440, _et seq._

Angry tones avoidable, 277.

Antidotes for some poisons, 367.

Apple and bread dumplings, 79.

Apple-bread, 68.

Apple-custard, 68.

Apple-omelet, to make an, 63.

Apple-pie, 76.

Apple-sauce, 56.

Apple-tarts, spiced, 81.

Apple-trees, to preserve from insects, 360.

Apple-ice, 97.

Apple-jelly, 98.

Apple lemon-pudding, 97.

Apple-snow, 98.

Apples, to preserve, 92.

Apportionment of time, proper, 283.

Arrow-root, how purchased and kept, 105.

Arsenic, antidote for, 368.

Asparagus, how to cook, 63;
how dished, 111.

Associated charities, a system of, 387.

Attic story of a house, plan for, 144.

Bacon, the fat of good, 21.

Baked fish, 59.

Baked meats. See _Roasts_, 46.

Basement, plan for a, 147.

Basket-ware for kitchen, 347.

Baskets for flowers, 196;
and fruits, 333.

Bath, use and misuse of the, 240.

Baudeloque, M., on foul air, 158.

Beautifying a home, 192, _et seq._

Beds, arranging, 341.

Beef, selection of, 18;
different cuts of, 19;
economy in purchase of, 19;
stew, 30;
soups, 37;
hash, 40;
boiled, 43;
roast, 46;
pot-pie of, 47;
pie of cold, 48;
frizzled, 51.

Beef-tea, 102.

Beef’s-gall, to keep, 116.

Beefsteak, broiled, 50.

Bees, care of, 312.

Beets, how to cook, 61.

Biliousness, cause of, 217.

Bill of fare four weeks ahead, 125.

Bird’snest pudding, 78.

Biscuits—soda, yeast, potato, 69;
of sour milk and flour, 71.

Blackberry jam, 93.

Blanc-mange, 98;
of wheat flour, 97.

Bleeding from the lungs, throat, etc., 369.

Blood, the human, 150, _et seq._

Body, composition of the human, 214.

Boiled fish, 59.

Boiled meats—to cook tough beef, ham, beef, fowls, 43;
a leg or shoulder of veal, mutton, or lamb, calf’s liver and
sweet-breads, kidneys, pillau, smoked tongues, corned beef, 44;
partridges or pigeons, ducks, turkeys, 45.

Bologna sausages, to make, 26.

Bones, composition of, 243;
laws of health for the, 454.

Borax, for washing, 112.

Brain and nerves, 203.

Brain, laws of health for the, 457.

Brandy peaches, 91.

Bread, remarks regarding family, 64;
fine flour, 66;
middlings, or unbolted flour, raised with water only, 67;
rye and indian, third, rye, Oat-meal, pumpkin and apple,
corn-meal, 68;
sweet rolls of corn-meal, soda biscuit, yeast biscuit, potato
biscuit, buns, 69;
how to keep, 108.

Bread and apple dumplings, 79.

Bread and fruit pudding, 77.

Bread omelet, to make, 63.

Bread-crumbs and meat hash, 40.

Bread pudding, stale, 78;
for invalids, 81.

Breakfast dishes, 70-73.

Breakfast-rooms, care of, 335.

Breathing, the action in, 245.

Breeding of animals, 307.

Brewer, Professor, of Yale College, on ventilation, 169.

Brine or pickle for beef, pork, etc., 25.

Broccoli, to pickle, 55.

Broiled fish, 59.

Broiled mutton or lamb chops, beefsteak, fresh pork, ham,
sweet-breads, veal, pork relish, 50.

Broiled oysters, 58.

Bruises, remedies for, 366.

Brûlure, or fire-blight, 360.

Buckwheat, how produced and kept, 105.

Buckwheat cakes, 73.

Budding and grafting, 353.

Buns, to make, 69.

Burns, remedies for, 366.

Butler, Fanny Kemble, on theatre-going, 444.

Butter, to keep, 106; in hot weather, 123.

Butternut catsup, 56.

Cabbage, fine, pickled, 54.

Cabbage and cauliflower, to cook, 62.

Cake, general directions for making, 85;
one, two, three, four cake; chocolate, jelly, orange, almond, and
cocoa-nut, 86;
pound-cake, plain-cake, fruit, huckleberry, gold and silver,
rich sponge-cake, 87;
plain sponge-cake, gingerbread, fried cakes, cookies, etc., 88;
plain loaf-cake, rich loaf-cake, dough-cake, icing for cake, 89;
how to keep, 108.

Calf’s-foot, to cleanse, 23;
jelly, 44, 92;
to cook, 44.

Calf’s head and feet, to cleanse, 23;
soup, 38;
to cook, 48.

Calf’s liver and sweet-breads, to cook, 44.

Candied fruits, 99.

Candles, to make, 328.

Canker-worm, to check, 360.

Canned fruits, 91.

Capers, sauce of, mock, 57.

Capitol, ventilation and warming of the, 165.

Carbonaceous food, 217.

Carbonic acid, 153.

Card-playing as an amusement, 444.

Care of meats, 18, 22;
of the aged, 301;
of domestic animals, 305;
of the sick, 313;
of servants, 424.

Carpets, selection of, 330;
cutting and fitting, 330.

Carrots, how to cook, 61.

Carving, directions for, 338.

Castle-building, 296.

Catholic priests, care for servants, 438.

Catsup, walnut or butternut, 56;
tomato, 57.

Cauliflower, to pickle, 55;
to cook, 62.

Celery, to prepare, 62.

Cell-life, 200;
curious facts, 201;
important relations to health, 202.

Cellar, care of a, 348.

Cement, a good, 122.

Chairs, a use for old, 195.

Chambers and bedrooms, care of, 339.

Character, protection to, 410.

Charities, associated, 387, _et seq._

Charlotte russe, 96.

Cheese, how to keep, 108.

Cheese of veal, 51.

Cherries, to preserve, 93.

Cherry-pie, 79.

Chickens, etc., stew, 31;
roast, 47;
pot-pie and rice-pie, 48.

Chicken salad, 57, 96.

Children talking to parents, 264, _et seq._;
the bath for, 241;
training the manners of, 269, _et seq._
See, also, _Young Children_.

Chimney, a central, 176.

Chimneys, 189, _et seq._

Chinese, respect for age, 304.

Chocolate, as a beverage, 101.

Chocolate-cake, 86.

Cholera, in the shade, 256.

Chowder, clam, 59.

Cider and toast, 101.

Circus-riding, about, 441.

Citron melons, to preserve, 93.

Clam soup, 37;
chowder, 59.

Clarify sugar, to, 99.

Clark, Dr. James, on physical education of children, 401.

Cleaning furniture, 332.

Cleanliness, 235, _et seq._;
for animals, 306.

Clothing, 243, _et seq._;
selection of family, 129.

Cloths, table, 109.

Coal, anthracite and bituminous, 325.

Coal mines, principle of ventilating, 168.

Cocoa, to make, 100.

Cocoa-nut pudding (plain), 78;
cake, 86.

Codfish, a relish, 51;
where to keep, 108.

Coffee, fish-skin for, 100;
cream for, 101;
to purchase, 107;
for children, 230;
as a beverage, 231.

Cold-meat hash, 39;
nice way of cooking, 41.

Colds, treatment of, 316.

Combe on the management of infants, 392.

Comfort for a discouraged housekeeper, 459.

Company, reception of, 333.

Conductors of heat, 164.

Constipation, cure for (_in note_), 315.

Convection, a principle of heat, 164.

Cookies, 88.

Cook-stove, to roast in, 46.

Cooking-stoves and ranges, 182, _et seq._

Cool, how to keep, 122.

Corn (green) soup, 36;
pudding, 81.

Corn-cake, sachem’s head, 73.

Corn-meal bread, 68;
sweet rolls of, 69;
pop-overs, 76;
for breakfast and supper, 70.

Corned-beef hash, 41;
boiled, 44.

Corrosive sublimate, antidote for, 368.

Cottage cheese, fine, 73.

Cows, care of, 309.

Crab-apple marmalade and jelly. See _Quince Marmalade_.

Cracked wheat, 71;
how purchased and kept, 105.

Cracker plum-pudding, 82.

Cranberry, 97;
sauce, 56.

Creaking hinges, to stop, 123.

Cream for coffee and tea, 101.

Cream tartar, beverage, 102.

Crockery for a kitchen, 346.

Crumpets, royal, 72.

Cucumbers, pickled, 53;
convenient way to pickle, 54;
to prepare, 62;
prepared for table, 110.

_Curculio_, the, in plum-trees, 360.

Curd pudding, English, 77.

Currant and raspberry pie, 79.

Currant jelly, 94;
whisk, 96.

Currants, to preserve, 93;
for cake, 107;
raised in a wet soil, 358.

Custard, plain, 77.

Cuts, remedies for, 366.

Cutting dresses, hints on, 361.

Dancing as an amusement, 441.

Death-rates, average of, 162, 163.

Decay, results of animal or vegetable, 162.

Dessert of rice and fruit, 80.

Desserts and evening parties, 95.

Diaphragm, the human, 246.

Digestion of food, 217.

Digestive organs, the, 219;
the laws of health for, 455.

Dining-rooms, care of, 335.

Discouraged housekeeper, comfort for, 459.

Domestic amusements and social duties, 440, _et seq._

Domestic animals, care of, 305, _et seq._

Domestic exercise, 208, _et seq._

Domestic manners, 260, _et seq._

Domestic service a great problem, 429.

Domestics’ rooms, 342.

Dormer-windows, 176.

Dough-cake, 89.

Doughnuts, 88.

Drawn butter, 110;
sauce, 56.

Dress appropriate to servants, 431.

Dress—fashion ruinous to health, 243.

Dressing a young girl, proper mode of, 251.

Drinks, etc., for the sick, 100.

Drop-cakes of fine wheat or rye, 72.

Drowning, in cases of, 367.

Ducks, to boil, 45.

Dumplings of bread and apples, 79.

Dwelling, construction of a family, 127;
ornamentation of furniture of, 128.

Early rising, 254;
recommended, 447.

Earth-closets, 145.

Eating too much, 214;
too fast, 222.

Economical breakfast-dish, 71.

Egg-plant, how to cook, 61.

Eggs, with meat-hash, 39;
omelet, 51;
with milk as sauce, 56;
modes of cooking, 63;
to preserve, 122.

Egg tea, egg coffee, and egg milk, 102.

English curd-pudding, 77.

Essences, how to be kept, 108.

Evening parties and desserts, 95.

Exercise indispensable to health, 211;
for animals, 307.

Expenses, family, 130.

Eyes, laws of health for the, 457.

Family attachments, 452.

Family religious training, 414, _et seq._

Fasting, a remedy for sickness, 314.

Fault-finding, mistakes of, 432.

Fever, drink for a, 102.

Figs, where raised, 358.

Filberts, where raised, 358.

Fine-flour bread, 66.

Fire, in case of, 369.

Fire-blight in pear-trees, 360.

Fire-places, the advantages of open, 166.

Fires and lights, 324.

Fish, selection of, 22;
to salt down, 23;
directions for cooking, 58.

Fishing as a sport, 440.

Fitting dresses, hints on, 361.

Flannel shirts save washing, 112.

Flavoring powders, 33.

Floating island, 98.

Flour, how it should be kept, 104.

Flour puddings, flour and fruit puddings, 75;
a rich, 80.

Flower-seeds, planting, 350.

Flowers, appropriate for baskets, 197;
in a room, to cultivate, 197.

Fluids as food, 224.

Flummery, 96.

Folding, sprinkling, and ironing, 118.

Folding clothing, directions for, 342.

Food, on the conversion of, into nourishment, 214;
responsibility as to, in a family, 214;
on taking too much, 214;
proportion of nutritive elements in, 215;
on one kind of, for each meal, 217;
quantity of, to be graduated by exercise, 217;
on the quality of, 221;
stimulating, 221;
animal and vegetable, 221;
kinds of,most easily digested, 222;
injurious, from bad cooking, 222;
on eating too fast, 222;
on exercise, after taking, 223;
on hot and cold, 223;
highly concentrated, 224;
for the sick, 318.

Forewarn instead of find fault, 432.

Foul air, the evils of, 158, _et seq._

Fowls, boiled, 43;
fricasseed, 43.

Fragile ware, to preserve, 122.

French cooking, the peculiar excellence of, 34.

French vegetable soup, 38.

Fresh-meat hash, 39.

Fricasseed fowl, 43.

Fried meats and relishes, 50.

Fried oysters, 58.

Fritters of oysters, 58.

Frizzled beef, 51.

Fruit, cultivation of, 357.

Fruit and bread-crumb pudding, 79.

Fruit and rice dessert, 80.

Fruit-cake, 87.

Fruit pudding, boiled, 77.

Frying, unhealthful mode of cooking, 50.

Fuel saved by cottage stove, 188.

Furnace-heat pernicious, 178, _et seq._

Furniture, to cleanse or renovate, 122;
the selection of, 128, 330.

Games of skill for children, 449.

Garden seeds, planting, 350.

Gardening a recreation for the young, 447.

Gardens and yard, care of, 349.

Ganglionic system, the, 204.

Garnishing dishes, modes of, 111.

Gastric juice, supply of, 218.

Gherkins, pickled, 53.

Gingerbread, 88.

Ginger-snaps and seed cookies, 88.

Gold and silver cake, 87.

Good breeding, principles of, 260.

Gooseberries, how propagated, 358.

Gouffee’s recipes, 33.

Grafting and budding, 353.

Grapes, easy way to keep, 125;
to raise, 359.

Grates and stoves, 324.

Gravies, always to be strained, 46;
brown flour for meat, 46.

Grease and stains, mixtures for removing, 120, 124.

Grease-spots, to remove, 124.

Greens, how prepared, 111.

Green corn, how to cook, 61;
pudding, 81;
patties, 82.

Ground-plan of a house, 134.

Gruels, water and Oat-meal, 102.

Habits of system and order, 281, _et seq._

Hair, laws of health for the, 457.

Ham, selection of, 21;
recipe for molasses-cured, 24;
brine for pickling, 25;
to smoke, 26;
hash of cold, 41;
boiled, 43;
how to keep, 108;
broiled eggs for, 111.

Hard yeast, 66.

Hashes, common way of spoiling, 39;
fresh meat, cold meat and potatoes, with eggs, 39;
with tomatoes, nice beef, veal, rice and cold meat, bread-crumbs
and cold meat, cold beefsteak, 40;
cold mutton or venison, corned beef, cold ham, meats warmed over,
cold meats, 41;
souse, tripe, 42;
how to dish, 111.

Hasty pudding or mush, 77.

Health, the care of, 129, 199.

Healthful food, selection of, 129.

Health of mind, 293, _et seq._

Heart, the human, 152.

Heat, or caloric, explained, 164.

Helping at table, 338.

Hemming, hints on, 363.

Herrings, salt, 51;
smoked, 108.

Hominy for breakfast or supper, 70;
how purchased and kept, 105.

Hominy, or rice stew, 32.

Hop and potato yeast, 66.

Horses, care of, 307.

Horse-racing, about, 441.

Hosford’s method of making flour, 65.

Hospitality, the most agreeable, 453.

Hot-beds, to prepare, 349.

“House and Home Papers,” by Mrs. Stowe, 155, 425.

House-cleaning, 332.

House plants, care of, 352.

Houses, on the construction of, 133-149.

Huckleberry cake, 87.

Hunting as a sport, 440.

Hygrodeik, the, 175.

Hypochondriasis, 297.

Hysteria, 297.

Ice-cream, general directions for, 95;
strawberry ice, ice-cream without cream, 95;
fruit ice-cream, 96;
lemonade and other ices, 96.

Iced fruit, 98.

Icing for cake, 89.

Indian meal, how purchased and kept, 105.

Indian pudding boiled, without eggs, 79;
baked, 81.

Indiana pickles, 55.

Indigo, to purchase and keep, 107.

Industrial schools, 362.

Infants, pure air for, 268;
mortality among, 390;
on giving to the older children, 391;
ignorance of parents concerning, 391;
importance of knowing how to take care of, 392;
Combe and Bell cited, 393, _et seq._;
food for, 394;
medicines for, 394;
keeping warm, 395;
keeping their heads cool, 396;
bathing, 396;
to creep, 397;
habits, 397;
teething, 398;
constipation, 399;
diarrhœa, 399;
use of water in fever, 400.

Ingrafting, 355.

Ink, indelible, how to make, 122.

Ink-stains, to remove, 121.

Instinctive love, 372.

Intemperance in eating, 214, 218.

Involuntary motion, nerves of, 204.

Iodide of potassium, antidote for, 368.

Irish stew, 31.

Ironing, articles to be provided for, 117;
general directions for, 119.

Iron, to stop cracks in, 123.

Iron-ware for kitchen, 346.

Isinglass, to clarify, 98;
American, 105.

Jellies and preserves, to prepare, 90.

Jelly, white wine, 96;
apple, orange, 93;
what served with, 110.

Jelly-cake, 86.

Kid gloves, to clean, 121;
another way, 124.

Kidneys, function of the human, 238.

Kidneys, to cook, 44.

Kitchen, care of a, 343;
furniture for a, 346;
plan for a, 141.

Laces, to do up, 117.

Lamb chops, broiled, 50.

Lamb, to boil a shoulder or leg, 44.

Lamp-oil, to remove stains of, 121.

Lamps, oil and kerosene, 326.

Lard and drippings, to keep, 106.

Lard, to try out, 24.

Laughter is healthy, 449.

Laws of health, for the bones, for the muscles, 454;
for the lungs, for the digestive organs, 455;
for the skin, 456;
for the brain and nerves, for the teeth, eyes, and hair, 457.

Laying out yards and gardens, 351.

Lazy gentleman, a, 272.

Lead, antidote for, 368.

Leeds’s method of ventilation, 171.

Lemon pudding, 82;
jelly, 97;
peel, 107.

Lemonade ice, 96.

Lettuce salad, 57.

_Leucoemia_, 256.

Lewis, Dr. Dio, on ventilation, 159.

Light essential to health, 256.

Light for animals, 307.

Lightning, struck by, 369.

Lights for a house, 326.

Lime or baryta, antidote for, 368.

Liver, calf or pig, beef, to cook, 51.

Liver, use of the human, 238.

Loaf pudding, 82;
cake, 89.

Longevity, Sir John Sinclair on, 257.

Lungs, the human, 151;
laws of health for, 455.

Lye, to make, 115.

Macaroni, how purchased and kept, 105.

Macaroni pudding, 81.

Mahogany furniture, 333.

Mangoes, pickled, 54.

Manners at home and in society, 260, _et seq._

Manners to servants, 435.

Marketing, 18.

Marmalade, quince, 94;
orange, 97.

Martinoes, to pickle, 54.

Mattresses, 139, 341.

Measures of quantity, 28.

Meat and rusk puddings, 76.

Mechanical skill developed in children, 450.

Medicines, the use of, 314, _et seq._

Melancholy, condition of, 297.

Mental health and disease, 294, _et seq._

Metal dishes, never cool soup in, 35.

Mice and rats, to get rid of, 124.

Mildew, to remove, 119.

Milk and egg sauce, 56.

Milk, dangerous use of, 101;
as a drink, 233.

Milk lemonade, 101.

Mint sauce for lamb, 56.

Minute pudding of potato starch, 78.

Mock cream, 79.

Model ventilation, 172, _et seq._

Moisture in air necessary, 178.

Molasses, to purchase and keep, 106.

Moral character, what constitutes, 371.

Mucous membrane, the, 237.

Muffins, wheat, of flour, fine or unbolted, 72.

Muscles, laws of health for the, 454.

Muscular exercise, 208, _et seq._

Mush or hasty pudding, 77.

Mushrooms, pickled, 53.

Music, considered as a recreation, 448.

Muslin curtains, 194.

Muslins, to starch, 117.

Mutton—division of a sheep, 20;
selection of, 21;
and turnip stew, 30;
soup, 38;
hash, 41;
boiled leg or shoulder of, 44;
roast, 47;
pie, 48.

Mutton chops, broiled, 50.

Napkins, table, 109.

Nasturtions, pickled, 53.

Nerves, laws of health for the, 467.

Nervous system, the, described, 202.

Nervousness in sick people, 320.

Nettle-rash caused by food, 240.

Night air, prejudice against, 160.

Nitrate of silver, antidote for, 368.

Novel-reading, 296, 445.

Nursery, selection of helpers in the, 130.

Nursing the sick, 319.

Oat-meal bread, 68;
for breakfast or supper, 71;
how purchased and kept, 105.

Odds and ends, advice about, 124.

Oil, to purchase and keep, 106.

Oil-paint, to remove spots of, 151.

_Oino-mania_, disease of the brain, 228.

Olla podrida, recipe for, 32.

Omelet of eggs, 51;
plain, bread, apple, 63;
oysters, 58.

One, two, three, four cake, 86.

Onions, used as flavoring, 35;
pickled, 53;
to cook, 62.

Open fire-places, 165;
the advantages of, 166.

Opium, the use of, 233;
antidote for, 369.

Orange-cake, 86;
marmalade, 97;
jelly, 98;
peel, 107.

Ornamental froth, 98.

Ornamentation of a house, 128.

Orphan asylum at Albany, treatment of children in the, 401.

Oyster plant, or salsify, to cook, 61.

Oysters, stewed, fried, fritters, scalloped, broiled, omelet,
pickled, 58;
roast, 59.

Ox-muzzle made into an ornament, 196.

Oxygen, amount of in full-grown man, 150.

Packing and storing articles, 342.

Panada, 102.

Pancreas gland, the, 238.

Pan dowdy, 76.

Paper to keep preserves, 123.

Paralysis of portion of the brain, 206.

Parlor cheaply furnished, 195.

Parsley, as a garnish, 111.

Parsnips, how to cook, 62.

Partridges, to boil, 45.

Paste for puddings and pies should be banished from every table, 83;
pie-crusts, 83;
directions for making rich pie-crusts, 84

Patties of green corn, like oysters, 82.

Pea (green or dried) soup, 37.

Peaches, pickled, 52;
in pie, 79;
how to preserve, 91.

Pearl barley-water, 102.

Pearl barley and pearl wheat, how purchased and kept, 105.

Pearl wheat or cracked wheat, 71.

Pears, to preserve, 92.

Peppers, pickled, 53.

Perspiration tubes, length of, 237.

Philadelphia, death-rate of, 163.

Philanthropy, instances of true, 380.

Phin, Professor, on lighting houses, 326.

Phosphorus, antidote for, 368.

Pickle for cold fish, 59.

Pickled oysters, 58.

Pickles, general directions, 52, 110;
sweet, tomatoes, peaches, 52;
peppers, nasturtions, onions, gherkins, mushrooms, cucumbers,
walnuts, 53;
mangoes, cabbage, martinoes, cucumbers, 54;
Indiana, cauliflower, or broccoli, 55;
never keep in glazed ware, 106.

Pictures, the hanging of, 332.

Pie, potato, 48.

Pie-crusts, 83, 84.

Piece-bag, a, 146.

Pies—meat, mutton, beef, chicken, rice-chicken, 48.

Pigeons, to boil, 45.

Pigs, benefited by cleanliness, 241.

Pilaff, or Turkish stew, 32.

Pillau, a favorite dish in the South, 44.

Pine-apples, to preserve, 92.

Pitch, to remove spots of, 120.

Plain cake, raised with eggs, 87.

Planting flower and garden seeds, 350.

Plum pie, 79.

Plum pudding, cracker, 82.

Plums, to preserve, 92.

Poisons, antidotes for certain, 367.

Pop-overs, of corn-meal, 76.

Pork, divisions of a hog, 21;
selection of, 21;
to salt, 24, 25;
broiled, 50;
fresh, 110.

Potash soap, to make, 115.

Potato, various modes of cooking, 60;
soup, 36;
pie, 48;
biscuit, 69;
yeast, 66;
starch pudding, 78.

_Pot au feu_, or French stew, 32.

Pot-pie—beef, veal, or chicken, 47.

Poultry, selection of, 21;
when and how to be killed, 22;
boiled, 110;
care of, 311.

Pound-cake, 87.

Precocity, juvenile, 295.

Preserves and jellies, general directions, 90;
how to keep, 108.

Preserving fruit-trees, 360.

Propagation of plants, 353.

Property, on using properly, 378.

Pruning, 356.

Prussic acid, antidote for, 368.