The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1880-01-23
TRIALS OF A YOUNG HoUsEKEEpER.
BY MRS. DEACON QUEER.


doubt if any young girl, who has just
taken on herself the VOWS Of wife, and is
about entering on the possession of q new
home, ever allows herself to think of the
cares, trials and responsibilities, which form
so large share of every housekeeper's life.
She has dreamed long bright dreams Of the
new home to which every woman looks for
ward she has painted glowing pictures of
the cheerful freside, where Lows and Peace
slall sit as daily welcome guests; she has
imagined everything bright aud hopeful,
and has persistently refused to believe that
her dreams may not be fulfilled, that her
hopes may fail Of fruition. And yet, to the
shame OF our modern education be it said,
the young wife's first experience in her own
home is not ouly humiliatiug in the extreme,
but one that is calculated to send the bright
dreams flying "like leaves before the wind"
Nearly every girl is versed in the poetry
OF housekeeping. 1t is usually called "help-
ing mother" aud consists in dustiug the
parlor furniture, filling the vases, arranging
the lights and shades, so as to show the
| room off in the most attractive manner in
the setting of the table so that napkins, sill
yer, and glassware shall be disposed of to
tho best advantage; in going into the kitch-
en- at stated Intervals, enveloped in long
apron, and an air Of Importance, to concoct
dessert which shall testify to her skill,
and at the same time form dainty and
toothsome ending to a meal which has been
the perfection of cookery.
But Of the prose-the serious, important
part-she is either wholly ignorant, or her
knowledge is so limited, as to be Of NJ avail.
But what one doesn't know one must learn,
and SO the young housekceper marches
boldly into her kitchen with the feeling of
one who is determined to "do and dare"
but who would prefer to "cut and run"
The Kitchen! What valley ofhumiliation
it has been to thousands Of young housekeep-
ers, and will continue to be to many more,
until the mothers Of the land grow wise
enough to give their daughters that thor
ough training which they so we'll know
is essential to the comfort and welfare of
family.
The first trouble is generally with the
stove. New stoves-for, of course, no one
would allow an old stove to come into the
polished brightness of her new kitchen
have habit of getting red-hot, and icy
cold, in very short space of time, which
is trying enough to those who are accus-
toned to the use of stoves, but simply ter
| rifying t, those who are not.
Then tie "good fire." of which the cook
books constantly speak, is understood as
the gentle, steady fame, SLOWING down"
as the end approaches, till by the time din
ner is ready only a little wreath Of steam,
| or q faint simmer. indicates the presence of
tre at all. In consequences Uf >i,;s misun.
derstanding, or rather owing to tho neglect
of the cook books in failing to make things
SO plain that they cannot be misunderstood,
| a great many dinners find their way to the
! swill barrel. The tender, juicy roast comes
forth from its baptism of fire hard and
black on top and raw az the bottom. The
biscuit shrivel into fiat, hard Jumps, which
yet have half apologetic look, as much as
to say: Don't blame us If you had
only transferred that awful top.heat to the
bottom, we should have risen up as white
and puffy as heart could desire" And the
bread, which was to have been so light and
wholesome, "just like mothers bread"
splinters its crust, and spreads its heart Of
dough along the knife, which has vainly
cndeavored to cut it. OF course, only
enough is eaten to keep down the pangs of
pig, while somebody's darling for whom it
was prepared, grows dyspeptic, begins to
look at life through the eyes of doubt, and
to wcnder vaguely, if a state of single bles-
scdness is not, after all, the one to be de-
sired
When things come to this pass, the
young wife had better pause and take coun.
sci with herself, because it is one of the
most dangerous times that ever comes to
any woman. A single hasty stop now, and
broken home and bitter memories may be
the result
The best thing you can do is to shut up
your house, so right back to your mother
and let her do for you what she should have
Done long ago, teach you letter by letter
the alphabet of housekeeping. Or, if that
is impossible, cultivate the acquaintance of
some wise, experienced housekeeper, buy
good cook book, nice little note book and
a new lead pencil and begin your educa-
tion. The friend will open her store.house
of information, will make clear to you the
mysteries of the cook book-and it is full
OF mysteries to the uninitiated-teach you
to obtain the controlling power over that
stove, and so aid you that your work will
be greatly lesscned. The little note book
| will gather within its cover the most valua-
bic Of your own private experiments, all
your observations, all that you read or hear
on the subject, in short everything that will
be useful to you, or any one else, and in
after-tine its "wisdom written pages" will
be worth more to you than you can imagine
now.
Finally, when the hard times are past,
and the machinery moves smoothly, with.