Martinsburg weekly independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1873-1875, 1875-02-27
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
Rridget's Shortcomings and
How 10 Remedy Thena---A
Short Chapter for Mothers
to Read.


the present day as the degercracy 81
servants. and various remedies are pro-
posed to tighten household cares, and
render the relative positions Of mistress
and maid more agreeable. lEumorists
dash off funny paragraphs descriptive OF
Bridget, her blunders and eccentricities,
and artists sketch lively cartoons Of her
in the various attitudes Of defiance to
her employer, who smiles yet shadders
at the truthfulness of the picture while
she knows not where to turn for remedy,
for housekeeping is about the only bus
mess which people think they can con-
duct without some previous.apprentiee-
ship or training. Whoever heard If a
girl being deferred from matrimony be-
cause she did not know how to keep
house
Every man whoundertakes to conduct
complicated business does and should
make himself thoroughly acquainted
With the most minnie details ere he can
insure success Fathers who arc album
dainty able to establish their sons insist
that they must have thorough insight
into the profit and loss ere they embark
their fortunes, 10 conduct daily Jour-
nal acceptably to hisreaders man must
not only be writer but proof-reader,
and possess judgment in regard to &C
cepting or declining articles written by
others 10 word, he must thoroughly
understand the miautia of his business.
But how isit with our daughters Do
we prepare them for the great duties Of
wives and mothers ? Most likely they
know how to prepared little salad dress
ing, and can mix up Q sponguu cake:
and then they are ready to be launched
on The sea Of matrimony,
Depend upon it the wome1 of the
present day are inefficient as housekeep-
ers, and herein lies the solution Of the
perplexing problem.
As girls school and lessons take their
time, aud at seventeen they are ready
fer society, when beaux, rides, walks and
matinces are the engrossing themes.
mamma, in the goodness of her heart,
thinks young people should enjoy them
selves, an engagement follows, the brief
period which elapses is scarce long
enough to prepare the costly tresseau at
which papa heayes many sigh. and the
wedding presents have scarce begun to
tarnish ere in her home she finds the mis-
take which experience has brought
And then comes this difficulty with
servants, constant changing, pofr cook
ing crockery breaking, exchange Of hard
words, which $50 far towards souring
the disposition md rendering home-life
other than it should be.
A woman may entertain her guests
with the wit of a De StaeI but if the roast
is burned, or the bread sour, my lord
will frown while he applauds madam's
gay sallics.
But how shall we remedy this existing
chaos, you ask, how evoke order out OF
this domestic muddle? We know we
have espoused the unpopular side Of the
question, that hard words fall naturally
to the maid and sympathy to the mis-
trcss. But we answer, but better and
more thorough education Of the womnn
of our nation in domestic affairs. Once
arrived at an understanding of the de-
tails Of housekeeping and you are mis-
tress Of the situation; let the maid see
that her perplexcd face is but the reflex
of your own, and she speedily concludes
that as you donJknow she 'front.' know,
and failure and success are the same.
Theories about housekeeping, reading
cook books and hints from veterans, are
all well enough, but this is the test Do
you so fully understand the details that
you can give clear directions, and, final
ly, do you know when an article of food
is cooked, and if the maid proves refrac-
tory are you sufficiently independent to
give her marching orders and doit your
self? The constant conflict with servants
is one Of the worst features Of the case.
| know well-educated, amiable women,
who are vindictive and ill-tempered as
soon as the domestic question is intro
duccd. No woman, unless she is slow
en-, can nd book with any degree Of
satisfaction while The house is in disor-
der, or have her mind attuned to listen
to the lecture after a skirmish in the
kitchen.
Far be it from me to advocate that
any woman should confne her whole
attention to housekeeping. There are
exceptional cases, Of course, but depend
upon it in every well-ordered family
where the labor is equally divided and
systematically performed, the head Of
that household will find time for indul-
gence and enjoyment, and be the better
physically for the exercise which such
labor enforces. Why one-half Of the
girls Of the day are brought up as hot
house plants, and at the first chill breath
they wither and die, or else drag out a
miserable existence as invalids.
Cease, then, to rail at Bridget and her
shortcomings and long-goings; aim to
be supreme IN your own household