The Penn's Grove record., 1889-10-19

4 Good Dsd.
ArAnr hon those conceded reou,s,,..
. good conscience and good diarst;cr
there 10 another indispensable peoes.itv
10 all Who covef sleep, and Who have
passed the hey-day Of youth and the
buoyant health which youth claims ~
its peculiar dover. and that, need va
say? IL . good bed. When We remem.
Der that the ons elixir Of life, daily re.
peated, and constantly s~facacious in H.
beneicent results on brain, and nerves.
and within reech Of the poorest a. al
the richest, free ~ air, sunshine. And
water, is . good night,sr rest, tits strange
that we take so little thought about tie
means Of gettingik Housewives defer
for years the purchase Of . hair mat
tresa, sleeping or half sleeping on
knobby and protuberant beds Of straw.
corn husks, or excelsior, or smotherine
or tossing on feathers, which rise about
their wearied bodies in waves Of smoul-
dering FIRE, while money 10 spent lsyish-
Iy for gowns, trinkets, and superfIuous
table luxurieG. True, the first coat n !
mattress Of curled hair, laid over :
frame OF woven wire, is greater than
that of an inferior bed, but il lasts. with
proper care, an ordinary lifetime. need
ing only occasionally TO be taken apart
and made over, when 1t is as good as
new, and being always clean and sweet
is a pledge In itself Of refreshing rest.
Pillows, too, should be adapted to in
diyidual preferences II sleep is to come
without too much counting. An i'm
mense pillow which breaks ones neck.
so to speak, or . tiny little thing which
slips away and leaves the head uncom-
fortably low, Is In either case o mistake.
Blessings on the house-mother who al
lows to each member Of the family q
choice Is to pillows, and who, when en-.
acting the role Of hostess, gives the
guest at least two Of . kind from which
to make q selectioni
The comparative merits OF linen and
cotton sheets depend upon climate, and
also on the taste Of the sleeper, There
are those who shiver in linen, and dis
like 1t for Q certain clamminess even in
warm weather, while again to some peo-
pie the touch Of cotton is abhorrent.
Old and very delicate persons sometimes
sleep most comfortably between sheets
of soft fine flannel, the wool giving a
sense Of ease, and soothing the nerves
as no other fabric can, But whatever
material may go to fashion the sheets,
pray let there be enough Of it, SO that
they may be Of goodly length for tuck
ing in at the head and the foot of the
bed, and come well down at either side.
And beware OF wrinkles. A sheet should
fit the bed as smoothly a. the paper fits
the wall or the glove the hand. Sheets
are usually seamless, but are sometimes
made of two widths of narrow muslin,
~overhanded down the middle, and q
careless bed-maksf, With utter want of
thought putting the wrong side of the
seam uppermost, has succeeded in i'm
parting q great deal Of discomfort to the
unfortunate victim obliged to stretch q
tired body upon this corrugation.
Now q word about blankets. Why do
ten women out Of . dozen-intelligent
women, too, not merely unthinkine
peasants from the boys of old Ireland
or the skirts Of the Black Forest-in
making q bed, put the open end Of the
blankets at the foot and the doubled
end at the head Of the bedf The other
way Is obviously the right one, because
if one be too warm with both folds, q
single thickness Of the blanket will keep
off q chill, and toward morning, when
the air is always sensibly colder, one
may draw up the other fold, and be
comfortable. Which Of us has not had
often to instruct maids in this branch Of
bed-makinQ. often to have called atten-
ton to it as OF prime importance, when
boarding with sensible women and good
house-keepers in the country, having
been thought 'pernickity" for our
pains, but insisting nevertheless?
Another thing too often overlooked
the impropriety Of putting children to
sleep in the same bed with old or feeble
people, q course always detrimental to
the health Of the young. 1t is frequent
ly noted that the pale, an@mic condition
Of a young girls blood has been directly
traceable to the fact that she has slept,
for the sake of convenience, with her
grandmother, and phyncians will tell
youthat many cases of consumption may
be attributed to the sleeping OF q girl,
in apparently buoyant health, with Q
sister or mother whose lungs have felt
the morbid faint Of tuberculous deposit
and growth. Each child should, If pos
sible have his CT her own bed, and il
rooms are to be shared, then let ar
rangements for privacy be made by
screens or curtains, while plenty OF
fresh air is admitted by windows open
ng both at the TOP and bottom.