The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-06-10
About Bags.

GOln9 10 housekeeping Is certalnly ihuch
easier than it used to be- What with
dados and brasses, with hardwood floors,
wardrobes, washstands, tubs and bookcases,
with ireplaces and heaters and refrigera-
tor, with color and artistic effects, all sup
piled by the builder, and to rent with the
roof, the house is half furnished, and it is
is only necessary to provide beds and tables,
water cooler and big chair, cord of
oak wood and some curtains and the work
is done.
As to moving, the question of fires as a
comparison has lost all value A local express
and a couple of messenger boys take the
place of long line of furniture cars, and
everything can be folded except the bu-
reau4m There is no fitting of carpets, as a
square rug lies anywhere, and the amount
of china depends on the number in family
and not on the size of ''the set The day
when quantity ruled the supplies has gone
BY. In those times the housekeeper not
only had linen enough for the tables and
the beds, bus enough to keep her press full;
so many table cloths for use, SO many in the
chest The bride counted her clothing by
the dozen, and if it was monotonous in
style there was plenty of it,
All this is changed 1t is still best to
have enough, but no one buys to put away
for future condemnation as out of style.
1t is possible that before the wash ''eomes
up that the bureau drawers are but scam
tiiy filed, yet no one feels disgraced. Of
course there has To be plenty of bric-a-brac,
but it makes its own destiny, and in course
of time falls to pieces and goes quietly to
the dust heap
But after all, the great convenience, the
fashion that makes life easy aud house
keeping simple, is-the bag. There are
people who look for deliveranee to a Swede
or chinese, to the graduate of cooking
school OF to some patent, or new soap, but
they are all mistaken and deluded. IL Is
the bag that delivers US and giyse us time
to do our sewing or to study true and
the beautiful
In the first place there is the rag-bag.
II used to be made of dingy calico and hung
in some remote closet, with coat or an old
basque hung ON the same hook. When
the woman sewed their cuttings fell on the
floor. and BY twelve O'Clock they would
have gone to the bag rather than admitted
a caller into the room When night came
they cleared up, and rolled the scraps into
a newspaper and packed them in the closet
Behind the bureau was wrapping paper and
busters, and the lower shelves of the closet
held las, weeks newspapers. When the
cleaning up came the rags went to the
bag and the newspapers into a bundle,
Everywhere the debris of wear and tear
had to be collected; but this elimaxiag,
agonizing upheaval was a matter of course
as every good housekeeper cleaned house as
she bought a spring bonnet or prayed for
her relations. and the more there was 80
do the more praise-worthy the doing.
Now the bag comes as an organizer, 1t
Is not dingy, it Is not held tightly BY draw
ing strings, and it hangs in each room ON
hook Of It's own. Il Is pretty and eapa-
cious, and the little brass rings hold il open
and ready. II hangs on the sewing ma
chine, and gathers the clippings As they are
made. II Is made thing Of beauty for
the parlor, and all the shreds the mistress
once carried away in her pocket goes into
il. There l. q newspaper hag or box, and
that keeps the closets and tables clear and
as for the duster, it is keeping company
with the apron, gloves and cap in bag Of
Of its own
In the kitchen is bag for strings and a
set Of pockets for grocery paper. In the
bedrooms are bags for hair, for spent
matches. for brushes and whisks and slip
pers, aud il Is 40 easy to put things in their
place at once that il can be done from pure
laziness.
There Is no trouble about emptying the
bags. aud il is never done all at once, and
there is little cleaning out of corners or
closets. When moving day comes a child
can carry them or they can be given to the
eharwoman, for next To the emancipation
offered by bags-yes, even before it's
the JOY Of making chem Otp C6RtiReaf.