American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-02-28
A Home Center.

whether its appointments be plain or lux
urious, one spot to which everybody may
come as to a general center OF interest. A
home, to be complete, needs to afford to
all its inmates the possibility both of en-
tire seclusion and of delightful social in
tercourse. There are times when we all
want to be alone. Solitude is sometimes
the necessity of many natures, and no
nature ever grows strong and broad and
strikes its roots deep that has not its &C.
casional moods of separateness from its
kind and its hours for communion with
itself and God. A house in which one
never can be sure of being five minutes
alone, no matter how pleasant it is in
other regards, misses one of the great
charms of true home. There are fami-
lies, unfortunately, where to like TO stay
alone in ones own room is regarded
either as a pitiful idiosyncrasy or a crime
against good fellowship, and where one
never dares lock the door or feels at all
certain, unless by happy accident, of
having half hour free from the incur
sions of the children or the friendly visits
of sisters or guests. OF course there may
be a selfish desire for ease and selfish
Sinking of duties in staying alone very
much of the time, but that is point for
the individual conscience to decide upon.
The opportunity should remain, and every
household, even the cramped and crowd
ed household, should by some good man.
agement preserve for parents and chill
dren, each and all, the chance to with
draw at pleasure from the circle by the
fireside.
BY the fireside, formerly literal, has
become in many parts of our country only
figurative expression. There still are,
in some parts of the land, great cavernous
fireplaces where it takes scientific skill
to place the backlog and arrange the fore
sticks and build the careful structure
through which the fiery tongues of flame
shall leap and blaze in sheer delight of
warmth and cheer; where nuts can burn
together, and apples fizzle and sputter, and
sweet potatoes grow mealy in the heart
of the ashes; and where boys and girls
can cluster round to tell stories and to
solve cOnunurums; where you can act
ually feel the thrill of sovereignty that
comes only to him who has a poker, and
can poke the fire, with none to modest
him or make him afraid. Pleasant are
our memories of such fireplaces and of
| evenings around them, albeit we did, as
the cynIc reminds us, too often toast our
| faces while our backs were cold, and not
withstanding that some of the heat did go
up the chimney instead of out into the
room. We remember them regretfully-
those fires-because they were beautiful,
and because they drew everybody close
| around their friendly blaze. We can do
| without them very well, but the thing
they made necessity in family life we
cannot afford to let go.
The home center may be round the
evening lamp, in a pleasant city dining
room, a cosy back parlor, or plainly
| furnished library-in any room, in fact,
which is not too fine for use and which
is accessible to everybody. Sometimes il
| is convenient to have it in mothers room,
| SO that she may hear readily, and not
have too many steps to take if the little
! sleeper in the crib stir or cry out 1t
may be in the kitchen, as it used to be
| often; and where ladies do their own
| work, and everything in the kitchen is
furniture should always be, there can be
no more inviting place, Wherever it be,
| there let the family gather, and let each
contribute in some way to the common
entertainment Let the father read aloud
| from the newspaper, and encourage com
ment, argument, and discussion, the con-
tact of mind with mind striking fire as
| flint and steel; let the mother, with her
gentle voice and excellent sense, take her
part in the conversation; let the girls
have their fancy-work or their geometry,
as their tastes incline them to, and the
boys study, sketch, read or write, as they
please. BY all means let there be music
in this home hour-the music of a good
instrument, if you have one, and the con-
| cord of sweet voices. Don't be afraid OF
| a little fun, even if it be rather uprOariOus
now and then. 1t is healthful, cheerful,
exhilerating, and really indispensable to
| success in life TO have good time at
home.
We sympathiZe somewhat with the
careful hOusekeepers who can not make
| up their minds, in these days of new
| fashioned ideas, to use the parlor for COM
| mon. 1t is nice to feel that there is one
| sacred place in the house where you can
! put the frail, pretty things, and the costly
| useless things out of harms way. Have
that place if you can, by all means; but
| if you want your home to be the most at
| tractive place under heaven to your chill
dren, your husband and yourself, don't
keep the piano there nor the best books
nor all the rocking chairs. Let them be
in your home center, the room of the
household. We are afraid it is heterodox
| to say so, but how many of us, poetry
aside, think of home as little beyond an
hostelry, place to eat and sleep in, sort
| of perch to stay upon when we are too
| tired to go anywhere else. And so there
is to us no place like home; no place so
dull, so slow, so commonplace, and so
stupid. Yet we can make our homes
what We choose-as bright and as full of
| novelty, rest, and charm as we wish, if
we only consider it worth while to give
our minds to it-HearM and Home
Forest Management.
TuIs interaStino anI LITTLE understood