Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1889-11-06
CHAPTER ON DIRT.
Being "Inelezantry Clean"


cleanliness, so common with what are
called good housekeepers, is very far
from being a blessing to our homes.
Every woman has Just so much strength; /;
{ lies in her own hands to put that
strength TO its best use. No weary wo-
man Will contradict me when i say 1t Is
most desperately hard TO be bright and
pleasant when one is tIred-the down
right, achey kind of tired that Is not
such an unusual feeling TO many women
that it needs an accurate description to
De recognised
/ see no way to keep women, busy
ones, from being worried, but / also
see not one grain of sense or reason IN
the amount of weariness that most good
hOusekeepers experience, and, begging
the pardon of the orthodox good
housekeeper," / think she Is wrongly
named. To my mind no woman is q
Good housekeePer, IN the real, true
above the home" The true "house-
keeper" has too loving an idea of
home" TO make It all one struggle for
spotless floors and shining tins Ii is
TAR better 10 let the floor go unscrubbed,
the tins unsecured, the stove unblacken
ad than 20 be 50 weary that bright
words are the ones that come the slow
est
For instance. to be entirely specific,
| never yet saw a woman " no attempted
to both wash and iron on Monday who
WAS not cross tired when the day was
over. VIII 1 be thought shamefully
law, or some kindred word, II / adyo-
cate never doing any Of the ironing on
Monday AMI furthermore not to be
the least bIt grieved II part Of the iron
ing has 10 be run over INTO Wednes-
iay2
never could understand why the in
eNorahle law ut good house keeper"
should be that each Friday a house must
be swept from top 10 bottom Few
rooms need such frequent sweeping. If
they get dirty sweep them, # need be,
twice "a week, but IN the name Of com
mon sense don't sweep a room until It
needs 1t, though 1t should go unswept
three months.
There are plenty Of reasons why
house-cleuniug time should be a minia-
ture reign of terror" Ii would be
almost impossible TO keep the family
tsmpers from partaking of the fuss and
worry and general discomfort of that
most trying time. As | see no help for
"A generally uncomfortable time each
house-clcHuIug season, prepare for the
ordeal When the first tack Is lifted,
set your teeth, pitch IN, scour, scrub,
hammer and pound away and be done
with II. It Is well to consider however
It there was not good deal IN the re
mark of the southern lady, who upon
visiting n Northern town and taking a
walk through its streets saw its spring
time porch, roof ornaments, in the
shape OF innumerublc beds, the dusty
~.
grass plat. the furniture picnicking on
the porches and hearing the mournful
sound Of the tack hammer on every
side, exclaimed: The Northern people
are so Ineleguntly cleau,'
What burden cleanliness Is 10 chill
drenl Not one Of rs has forgotten the
woe the mere matter of clean face and
hands used to be. And how "a clean
that We were To keep clean,
used 10 subdue Us, Nv heart aches for
the child who can not do this or that for
fear 'I'u muss my dress" 4 dirty
child may not be AN attractive object
but did you ever notice how they seem
to thrive?
L number among my acquaintance
one who Is counted good housekeeper.
Her house is spotless her cooking ex-
cellent, her windows shine. Every day
her stove Is blacked, her dish-pans
secured and every lamp washed. Her
house Is In spOtless order and-but mol
there Is not any ''and" about 1t, unless
1t is, 'and" she Is tired. Does 1t pay?
L think not, Her stove does not need
blacking, her pans securing, her lamps
washing every day. Itwould have been
better to have had little dust, even
one or two terrible cobwebs, and at the
4. - .
was left neither strength nor inclina-
ton for smiles or song.
How well do l remember a visit paid
at the home Of an aunt, particular
womAnI Her especial detestation was
flies. L soon discovered my early train
ing had been at fault with regard to the
horror in which L should hold flies.
That woman made the whole household
wretched with the continual war she
waged with the few innocent flies that
dared to invade her domain. To keep
some bold fly from entering with us we
had 10 dodge In the doors and shut
them AZ quickly as though all the furies
we're behind us
The house was kept IN darkness for
the same reason and / used to go stumb-
ling through II, managing to run against
every table and chair that had sharp
corners within reach. The only com
fort IN the house was to stay out of 1t.
SO every mt day spent on the porch,
only entering the house Mt meal time,
when L lodged IN the doors with ali
possible speed and with all my care
heard more than one warning call to
shut that door quickly or the flies would
get IN
There were screens IN every window
and every window bind was either clos
ed or bowed. One night, after having
spent trying day from its exaspera-
ting cleanliness, l vowed L would throw
open every blind in my room AMI raise
every window and take out every screen
and have lust as much light and air as
wanted for once. / did IT too, so did
buff you only knew how heavy my
heart grew the next morning when /
saw the hiesl / packed up and came
home the next day and from my heart l
hate darkened rooms and screens.
Better let few flies IN and let them
bite than wear out your own life and
temper and those of all around you
fighting them
| don't believe We we're put here to
fight dirt to the exclusion of all else.
The buoyancy and gladness In US was
meant TO find vent in better things.
do not enter plea for orunnecessary dirt,
but | do beg do not make yourself un-
necessarily tired, and l beg 1t in the
name and for the sake of happy home;
asking you to strengthen my begging
by stopping, . busy tired woman, think
what home is and what 1t Is for, of the
farreaching effects the home will have
for good or for CUH. Then do you dare
make home the place that should be
above all others the happy, place, where