Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-11-24
Virtues OF Housekeeping.

AS it is the fate of most of the women
of to-day to have charge of house, is
it not proper that each should under
stand the duties entailed by her posi-
tionP
Housekeeping should soften the char
acter, and while attending to the wants
of others, we should learn patience and
charity. THAT charity that thinketh no
evil" l am not one of those who think
that because woman has husband
who is inclined to be disagreeable, she
should constitute herself his meek and
humble servant. Yet we all know that
there is work to be done that can only
be done by woman, but there is no
necessity Tor fretting about it. How
many faces once lovely, how many
amiable dispositions become entirely
transformed from constant repinings at
what can not be helped.
Domestic avocations, if properly en-
gagged in,. will not in ure the dOer. Such
life affords opportunities for excellent
discipline, and every woman should
make it the aim and purpose of her life
to attain perfection in her home. A
day for mending, a day for washing,
another for ironing, for sewing, and so
on, and at once the work becomes SIM
plified and less of a hardship. "Oh,
dear, tomorrow is wash-day! How 1
hate it!' This is a common saying,
and there is nothing very wrong about
it, for no one will assert that washing is
an agreeable pastime. Yet it must be
done, so it is worse than useless to fret
over 1T; as consequence every sensi-
bic woman should determine to look on
the bright side of the wash-tub and
soapsuds. Make a few good rules and
keep them. Determine not to put the
whole house in disorder and to make
every one else miserable, because the
clothes must be washed, the bread
baked, etc.
Suppose dinner is to be served at a
certain hour, and dear husband forgets
all about it and arrives in the best of
humor when everything is cold. Don't
cry and scold, but make the best of it
As he is in a lively mood, cold meat and
sauce will not in the least cool his ardor,
and he will find as much enjoyment in
the meat as though it were nice and
warm 1t is also most probable that
the stimulating effects of the home
ward journey are all sufficient without
any addition from a woman tongue. A"
We all know women who are constantly
finding fault with something or other,
and who are never happy unless there is
something to scold about But every
such little wcrry. every harsh word,
every disagreeable look, makes life
harder. and but deepens the lines of
trouble about the eyes and mouth.
There are plenty of real troubles to be
met with. without allowing household
cares TO become a source OF torment.
| A well-ordered home and happy one
Is one OF the blessings of earth, and il
Is a blessing easily obtained. A we'll
ordered house does not necessarily i'm
ply place where the chairs and tables
are never dusty, the floors never soiled.
A place. in fact where a man cannot
walk without doing some damage.
Such daintily arranged home means a
| place too awfully nice for common NOR
tails. Dust and dirt are necessary evils
OF our existence and as such must be
endured. 1t is truly enorgh to pro-
woke saint to see a man In the most
indifferent manner in the world stem
across floor that has Just been secured.
This Is not done out of meanness, it is
mere thoughtlessness, so kindly remind
him of his failing, and, In time. Won
will reap the benefit of gentle admoni-
tons. Harshness will never have thele least
effect upon him, and il by kindness Won
cannot make him understand that the
neatness OF home Is due to hard labor
on your part he is, indeed. sway be.
yond redemption Cor. Cincinsat
Times Star.