Evening star., 1897-01-02
H 0 U S E EHOLD HINTS

Pack your cloth dresses never so care
fully when travelling, you are almost sure
to get them wrinkled, usually right down
the front. If the cloth has been sponged
before making up and is of a good safe col
or. the trouble and delay of waiting for a
hot iron may be avoided by damping the
hand in clear lukewarm water and spat-
ting the dress over the wrinkles Then lay
the spot over smooth surface and gently
smooth with the bare damp hand. Hang
smoothly over a chair for few moments
to dry and the wrinkles will have disap-
peared. Remember, the goods must be
good with black silk.
How many deserving people have you
helped these holiday times? Perhaps you
are far from rich yourself, but unless very
poor we each have something that we
might give to help those less well off than
ourselves. Look in your old boxes. There
are old coats that will make the wash
woman's little son a new jacket, trousers
that will cut down for the next boy, and
an old flannel petticoat that is frayed at
the bottom, but will cut over beautifully
for the shivering little maid who runs err
rands for you on occasion. Perhaps the
giving away Of these garments means
rug less for you-and nice Woolen rags
make such excellent rugs-but rugs only
serve to cover grease spots on the carpet
and kick up when you walk on them, and
the knowledge that one has helped even in
SO small manner q deserving person Is
worth whole acre of imitation Turkish
rugs.
Washing dishes is the bette noir of a
housekeeper's life. She dislikes to do dishes
herself, and her daughters inherit the dis
like. They all imagine in the first place
that it 'spoils the hands, which is heresy,
pure and simple. Using lot Of soap, run
Ihae.o,,u ming out in mt the cold with damp hands.
gloves. all these tend to ruin the hands,
but dishwashing, properly done, softens
them. The dishes should be gathered up,
cleaned Of all scraps. and neatly piled on
the dish table. Oceans of hot water will
be necessary, but not scrap of soap till
the pots and kettles come. Silver comes
first, pile in the dishpan and pour on scald-
ing water, stir about with the dish mop.
stand in pan, pour on more boiling water
and wipe on dry, clean towel. and on,
through the list throwing out each pan of
water and using fresh hot water for each
new supply Of dishes. The hot water takes
off the grease, and rinsing makes the dishes
shine. When it comes time to wash the
iron ware. set each greasy piece on the
stove and fill with hot water. Let this
simmer a few minutes while putting the
other dishes away. Then take the kettle
mop and rub the iron things briskly, and
throw the water out. More hot water, and,
If scraping Is necessary. use thick-lipped
oyster shell. More hot water with good,
pure soap in 1t, and clean mop, and the
iron things are soon cleaned. The real
secret Of easy dishwashing Is plenty of hot
water and clean dish cloths and mops
These should be washed and rinsed and
hung out in the air after each using.
The true hostess knows that to put her
A nervous, fidgety hostess will all but ruin
her evening by rushing at her guests and
Insisting that this one Is in draught, that
one has been served with cold Coffee re-
proving her servants, adjusting her attire,
and bemoaning little riffs that are always
coming in her Lutte, but never in that of her
friends. The true hostess greets her friends
graciously, her manner saying that she has
put forth her best efforts for their COM
fCrt. She is never effusive to any one, yet
makes each one feel that the occasion
would have been all but failure but for
the presence Of the last conner as well as
the first. She does not air her own trials
she uses tact in warding off the telling of
others woes to her.
Never lift a child by the arms! That ad-
wee is dinned in the ears of people from
the cradle to the grave. and yet you see
great Dig .I men na. Win tne e. strength & OF bears
swing them of into space. Just to show off
their prowess, regardless of the fact that
the tiniest wrench might put the shoulder
out of joint or break the collar bone. The
bones of children are not as tightly set in
the sockets as those of adults. and 1t takes
a very small twitch sometimes to dislocate
them. Many cases Of deformed backs and
high shoulders are traced by physicians
directly to the habit Of lifting or swinging
children by the arms.
It seems very odd that lair famine
should cause the death Of nearly a third of
the children who die before the age of
seven. Air is so free that the poorest may
have all he wants, yet the children of the
tO-dn n ia a
common thing to find mothers and nurses
who consider that cold air is pure air.
Really, cold air may be Of the impurest
character, and it certainly Is when 1T is
found in a cold but Theoretically sealed
nursery in the morning. Each sleeping
room should have cold air entrance from
the outside during the night. and the room
should be well aired In the morning as
well. The covering for children should be
light but warm, and they should never be
permitted to get in the habit Of sleeping
under" the covers; breathing the same air
over and over again. Even the wee bit Of
a baby should have it's small head covered
with warm cap and its nose and mouth
out to get fresh air.
Shoes that have stretched till they feel
'as big as barns." and make the wearer
feel that they are clumsy. may be made
comfortable again by cutting insoles out
OF an old felt hat and lining the sole, using
little mucilage to fasten them In 1t is
really better to leave them loose, however,
and to take them out each night to air
them.
For the tickling cough that breaks out at
inopportune moments carry in the card
case or pocket book few tiny shreds of
slippery elm. When the cough begins to
worry. take shred of the bark and chew
1t, and the effect will be felt almost at once
Poor child. she makes good many of
her own disappointments. and then broods
over them" said a mother not long since in
speaking of her discontented daughter Do
we not all do this thing? It is so human
to let our desires outrun our Judgment, and
when they fail Of fruition we brood over
them and spoil the sunshine for days at a
time. The very happiest people In the
world are those who refuse to see clouds,
ana who magnify each tiny ray Of happi-s
seems great sun at MONDAY. They are
not the very rich. either, but the plodding,