The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1879-04-17
Housekeeping.

If a woman complains Of the trials
Of housekeeping, how apt man IS u
/ meet her with with an indulgent
| smile and skeptical glance. House
: keeping. why. that is nothing; q room
= or two TO keep in order, see after
things little, sit il the rOckihg-chaiE
T the rest Of the day-this is his iGeI Of
housekeeping.
| always wish when ] see y man is
: sumc this mal:Her t:laL ! could turn
r the tables and make him keep house
just for one day. Wouldn't = ciilnge
come Ger the spirit of his dream
. Now, he goes down town in the morn
ing-if a physician, he visits his pa
tie1tS; if a lawyer, he tends TO his
DrNfs; if merchant, sells his dry
goods; but if ne were asked suddenly
- take the position of head of AN es-
tabllshlnent where he must keep Il
tirSt-clas5 restaurant, a tsilOring COLI
ccTil and kindergarten, al under one
roof, besides getting up dress parade
every day at 3 o'clock, l think he
would go mad. And yet this is what
the average American housewife does.
For isn't seeing that three meals a day
are nicely cooked and ser :ed, kind of
restaurant keeping? Isn't cutting out
| anu dAll Tic uDu5tHOlu
garments, and many of the outside
ones, kind of tailoring? And teach
ing and training troublesome little
ones, isn't this keeping kindergarten
| Then the dress parade; every after
noon, no matter how tired or jaded the
poor lady feels, she must be ready to
receive her inspecting officer. j. e., the
critical caller, who comes to review
| the trOops-in other words, to pass
! judgmeut upon her parlOTs, her chill
dren, herself and her toilet. And woe
be unto her il they do not PISS muster.
She is cOurt-martialed by The tongues
of society"
mo, | tell you Housekeeping Is
equal to half dozen masculine en-
| plOyInents rubbed into one. Not
that find fault with it-by no means
The walnan's kingdom Miss MulOck
says 1t is Love; somebody said the
other day it was Art; say il is house
keeping. And very turbulant little
kingdom it is, with its rebelliOns that
must he suppressed I'm the Biddy bri-
gade); with its subjects that must have
a strong hand to train into useful cit
iZenS; with supplies that must be dis
tributed with an eye to domestic econ
Omy; with the foreign diplOmateS that
must not he slighted (Mrs. Grundy,
&C.) All, you men know nothing about
! it. / say that the woman who governs
a household well, and one too with
all the perpleXing intricacies of this
| Nineteenth Century of ours, Is the
Queen, and worthy of honor. Let US
take Oft our hats TO her, and sing God
Save the Queen"
At this season of the year, particu-
larry, how much there is to do. Spring
hOuSe-cleaning clasps hand with straw
berry Jam. which is the first link in
the chain that binds the busy house
wife, and whose last is called "quinces."
1t is as strong as steel, and makes a
slave of the queen all the long summer
hOurs-that is if she ia q good queen
Wha doesn't depend upon the corner
| grocery for her canned fruit.
"Deeelte, weeping, God hath given
70 woman kindly, while that she may llYen,n
We will leave the deeeite out, and
substitute sewing and canning" for
the IeepiHg and spinning of Chau-
GERS time, and this couplet will do for
| to-day.
WOman's rightsi BAH how sick those
/ two words make me. If every woman
| in America, be she wife, sister, mother
or old maid, would turn right-abOut-
face and take hold of the house she is
nearest and keep it, she would not have
much time for any more rights. Why,
the household is the pinnacle of all
civilization! For it the white wings
of commerce fly backwards and for
wards, bringing its argOsies of fruits,
\ spices, silks and all manner of precious
Out-land things to offer in its altar,
For it the miner delves deep under
ground that it may have gold and sill
yer for its adpTning and hOmelieE
metals for its use. To keep it safe and
strong do men 90 forth and study,
strive and struggle in the busy world.
Yes, 1t is q kingdom to be proud of,and
Let her who is At its head try to govern
it wisely and we'll, and men shall rise
up and call her blessed-that is, they
ought to, but as l said at the beginning
of this article, so many are apt to think
the WOman's part in its maintenance a
very little thing. just let them try it
for one day, say /.
My pen pauses here dOBbtfully.
THAT last was q neat BeF0Eall0n,p It
says; astop here,a But have some
thing 10 say about atmosphere" and
nothing is perfect these days without
touch of sanitary suggestion, so coax
it to go on. But it is bit of deception
on my part, for the atmosphere l am
going to speak of is not gagged by the
barometer. 1t is that je ne SGlS quOi
which gives you the blues or etheIWise,
and may he called the Spiritual atmOs-
pheEe of 9 house. You feel its influence
the moment you step in, and are re-
PEELED as by a chill of discomfort or
wrapped as in a mantle Of peace,
| know . large, square, old-faShi0ned
sitting=rOom, where when you enter
you seem to experience o sense OF rest.
fulness and content. You sit down
and would like to stay there. In what
does the charm cOnsiSti 1t Is not in |
the furniShing-nO, the carpet is only
three-ply, the chairs ordinary, the |
prints commonplace. But some won
derful magnetism perYades everything !
1t lg4ka ia tbs CURTAINS, greeIs 0Yef |
the floor, h0yors above the pictures, |
Until YOU love to look upon them and |
be near them. I tried to solve the rid |
die one day.
peace on earth. good will to men,"
This WAS the motto Gf tha house; il |
K;ts hot trlnibd and hung Up ih one of |
those hideous Illuminated texts, but |
had become Il spiritual presence, which |
seemed TO breathe and have its being |
there; No wonder penRle FELT haRny IN
The old uoOnl.
/ know Of another room where once |
upon a time | used TO visit, Here |
everything was grand-mirFGrs, dam. |
ask, Wilton carpet-hut | never felt
at home in 1t, and was always glad to |
get out of it. Yet its mistress was
good friend. and a good woman. But
somehow she lacked the faculty of
wOoing the Zephyrs of this impalpable |
atmosphere, and her grand parlor was
As dry and pnintereSting as the leseTt
IF SstlI9TsI, ''
Mrs. Stowe has written admirably in |
her "H0lIse and Home Papers to Young
HouSekeeperS" of the secret of making |
these places attractive; and rs she has
done il so much better than l could
ever hope to do, l refer any young
reader who wishes to find out the art |
of doing so to her. Perhaps she has
some recipe for the manufacture Of |
this nameless something, this spiritual
atmosphere, without which no room is
perfect.-CiR. Commercial.