Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-07-03
DaiIu Kennetrr jnurnal.
Pleasant Homes.

Rich hanglngs ana clear mirrors, carving
and gliding make house splendid, but
unless kind faces peep from behind the
curtains and are reflected from the lustrous
glasses, tae place will not be pleasant.
The prettiest brio brac. easiest chairs
and best disposed lights will not render
the room attractive where frowns and
sharp words cut the air like an east wind
And even the pleasure given by the silent
company of pictures. books and flowers,
is vitiated if its harmonious peace Is
broken BY cross or peevish tones. Where
the atmosphere of love and sympathy fills
the house. where tenderness and forbear-
ance and mutual help are the habits OF the
inmates. the home must be sweet, If ever
so plain. and happy. no matter how splen'
did. This king of household furniture
must be Of the honest, solid wood to stand
the subtle tests OF the spirit. before which
pretense and affectation and surface polish
crack and wither away. For, of all the
mysterious conditions under which we
tread this mortal life, nothing is more
wonderful than the way in which. without
word, or look, or touch, We convey to one
another the knowledge Of the varying cur
rents of feeling that sway US. An aston
ishing amount of this knowledge is COM
municated by a slight infexion of the
voice, by a fleeing glance. tinge
of color. or the changing pres
sure of the hand, but deeper, more sub
tie. direct and spiritual than all these. is
that intimate perception of the inner state
of anothers feeling which comes in mere
presence and neighborhood. The ser
wants. too, must share in the general
kindliness. They who do our work tor
hire, who spend their time and strength
in saving us from hard, or repulsive, or
tedious daily labor, do not have their
rightful wages if nothing but money is
given them Words of praise when they
can be honestly said (and there is always
something to praise), are their due. and
help them to meet in the right spirit the
blame which, in the trail nature of earthly
things. must also be frequently bestowed.
Care for their comfort and consideration
for their feelings should not be looked
upon as favors, but debts to those from
whom we exact honesty patience, neat
ness, order, obedience-in short, all the
virtues-tor so much week. We are
right in exacting the virtues. but we
should pay also in kind. In the present
shifting condition of our experimental
social life in America, these relations are
apt to be so transilory as to afford little
chance tor the growth of much warm feel
ing on either side. but it is none the less
true that, where such feelings are found,
oil and balm are poured over the domes-
tic machinery, and that the cheerful and
ungrudging service of faithful and
attached servants goes great way
towards making life agreeable.
Turning to external matters, a look OF
freshness and care is important to the
pleasantness of the home. The founda-
ton reason why dust. cobwebs, shreds on
the floor. cigar ashes on the mantelpiece,
and general clutter are disagreeable is
that they look as if nobody cared, as il
nobody had it at heart to make the room
pleasant and inviting. On the other hand
the prim formality OF order which stiffen'
some houses is quite as bad, for it init
mates that precision OF chairs and tables
is the only thing cared for, to the exclus
ion Of all the sweet. easy, pleasant free
doms of domestic life Grace and wisdom
as usual. inhabt the middle ground. 1t i:
as pleasant to find music on the open piano
as it is disagreeable to see it tattered and
dusty on the floor; the work basket. the
drawing board. books and papers ready t.
the hand the cheerful litter of children's
toys (if these are kept within reasonable
bounds, and do not usurp all space and
time), these lend the true human charm
and interest to the room. AS general
rule, a family room where everything is
-, Il al, III md nil
" busted in the morning, and thoroughly
aired at both times, and where every one
takes just a little pains with the shreds
ar d crumbs, will be nice and orderly
enough. aud those of us who are our owr
housemaids find untold economy of time
and comfort in making all the arrange
ment possible over night. House work
done the last thing before going to bee
has great advantages. 1t Is not to be done
over again for nobody will disturb it. anC
il is not followed by fresh fatigue. but by
repose-repose deepened by the comfort
able sense of being what Yankee farmers
call "forehanded
We Americans are said to be an eXtrava
giant people. and perhaps the reproach i:
Just. Young people are apt to be extrav
agant, and we are still very young ma
ton. hardly knowing yet what is really
good. and what it is worth while to pay
for it. Certainly some OF our present bar
gains might be mended. as when. for the
sake of mere heat, we exchange the oper
fireplace. with its radiant cheer, its pre-
cious traditions. and its bountiful supply
of oxygen. invigoratibg alike to soul and
body. tor what Hawthorne well calls the
"sullen" stove, or tor subterranean rese
voir of hot air. or for the rafting prison
pipes of uncanny steam COLLINS. We gel
indeed the heat. and plenty of foul all
thrown in, but it costs us dear in head
aches and colds We do save fuel. bu
we pay in vitality. happiness and doctor:
bills. a truly extravagant price for the
way our rooms are warmed.
OF course it costs more in work anC
money to bring this element of delight
into house than to warm it with furna
ces and stoves. nor. with our modern hab
its. can we entirely dispense with these
bu, let its beauty and its use be more full
" understood and acknowledged. and We
shall feel that it ministers more to the
true endowment of lite than some Other
things which we are apt to think necessa
nv. But given-an open fire, a tidy room
and loving hearts, and the home cannot
fail to be pleasant. have known them
very pleasant even without the two first
but never where the third was wanting
MARY f DEWEY fH Good HOusekeepina