The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-09-26
MODEL HOUSEWIVES.
Industry and Piety of the Women o.
Armenia.

Industry ana EIeIy OF tEe "ohAS1 w I
Armenia.
The school of the Armenian woman
is the home and the first character
istic of the home, after its plety, IS ltS
industry. The households are IHrgeF
sons bringing home their wives ana
grandsons, theirs making up family
often of from forty to sixty persons.
In the interior villages amozR the
peasantrv, the number is often much
larger. This condition is relic OF
Biblical times. and is still necessary IN
many parts of Armenia for mutual
protection and economy of living IN
country where life is often dependent
upon resistance to barbarous tribes
and money and food products are sub
ject to the justice (?l of Turkish taxa
ton
With primitive utensils and incon-
venient methods of living II may be
seen that industry is a necessity IN
such great establishments. and abso-
lutte cleanliness goes with IT.
Frenchwoman, Nine. Chantre, who
spent months in Armenia with her
husband, an oculist. and had an UNI
usual opportunity to study the ways of
the people, speaks emphatically of
this element of the Armenian home.
THE Armenian women" says she,
''are perfect housekeepcrs Their
houses are marvelously clean q
The servant problem DOES not Ell
in Armenia. All well-to-do households
employ servants who come from the
peasantry, and are trained in the
! service of family and become a part
of it. They know their place, as is
said here. and yield all respect to their
| masters and mistresses; on the other
! hand their place" is known and re-
! spected by every member of the
+ family,
The Armenian women are expert
and sl<illful cooks. prominent for
eigner who has travelled much through
the country has said; 'No one has
eaten good dinner who has not
eaten one cooked by an Armenian
The chief meal of the day is eaten in
the evening after the work of the day
is done At this are served rich cereals
and vegetables cooked with sur.
passing delicacy and relish. and
fruits, preserved and in their sea
son. of the most luscious and tempting
varieties Meat is used but not so much
as here. Armenia is land of fruit and
flowers and the Armenian woman is
deeply skilled in the art of preserving
fruits and making CONNECTIONS from
flowers The time OF such compound
ing and preparation is a sort of holi
dav. The whole household gathers fol
the ceremony: the fruit is prepared
and put into great caldrons over which
presides some experienced aunt o.
other relative specially secured for Thu
occasion. The rest of the women as
sist according to the degree of thet
experiences, down to the younge.
daughters of the home, who can only
earnestly watch and admire the ski
which ii is their ambition to emulate
some day At the critical moments q
the operation, when a drop more o
less of lemon juice or an added degre'
of heat too soon or too late may b
fatal. care and watchfulness are in
tensifed to the superlative degres
Silence reigns while tastes and test
are taken, and the weight of a natio
can hardly burden its bearer NOR
than the responsibility of her on whor
rests the final decisive step.
For the children it is holiday pur
and simple. Fruits and sweets boun
and saucerfuls of the corrections a
various stages of the process are ger
erously dealt out.
These preserves are offered to a
who are guests of the household
Ceremonious visits would not be con
plete without them. Two fine glas
bowls are set out containing each
, choice variety Of the sweetmeats, wit
, an ample supply of silver spoons an
| an array of crystal goblets filed wit
water. 4 spoonful of the sweet
, taken by each guest and a sip of W;
, ter, then Turkish coffee is hande
round-N. Y. Times.