The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-10-21

genuine, whole-souled apology would be
the means Of ayerting domestic or social
catastrophe, and prove blessing alike to
the one who utters it and the one who
listens to it., but 0ftentimes it is unsaid.
II, however. you are a woman, and have
dropped in at an unreasonable hour in the
forenoon to have q nice little chat with a
friend who has a family, but no domes-
tic, you will doubtless be RECALLED BY n lot
of apologies about the condition of the
rooms, her own and the children's app
pearance, etc., when you are the one who
should apologize; not she, says the House,
wife. What possible right had you to
intrude ON the busy morning hours of a
wonl,ln, whose duties are so numerous
that it is only by the most careful plan-
ming and strictest economy of time that
she can secure even part Of the after
noon hours to make the numerous tiny
garments which the family purse is too
slender to hire made
Perhaps you are one of those generous
souls who insist on coming right ont in
to the kitchen, never stopping to think
of the numerous petty shifts which are
perhaps resorted to in it's retired and
economic precincts, which, if prac ticed by
the wasteful, but well-paid cook in your
own kitchen, would insure your lasting
appreciation, but which, used by a poor
woman to make a tempting repast out of
the rather scant remains of u previous
dinner, seem to her so thoroughly pow
erty -stricken, that she would rather
the children late for school by the tarGli-
ness of the midday meal, than have you
witness it's preparation.
AT rare intervals, one meets a woman
who is so proud of her skill in con-
cocting tempting mOrsels from fragments
and condiments, that she rather enjoys
taking the friend who drops in near din
ner time out to see how she succeeds in
making a delicious soup from the bits of
meat and bones trimmed from the
breakfast steak, together with the pieces
of celery which were not quite nice for
the table, finely minced with little rice
to give it body; how she converts rem
nants of beef, pork and veal into such
appetizing crbquettes with just dash
of onion to season them; what creamy
mass her mashed potatoes are; and what
really nice dessert can be made from
biscuit dough cut in pretty shapes, on
each Of which a generous slice of apple
has been placed and baked in pudding
dish with the boiling water sugar, but
ter and grated nutmeg which would
have been required for a sauce, and with
which they may be basted while baking.
You stay and partake of the simple, but
daintily-served, meal which has been
prepared with such ease and celebrity,
forgetting that with this woman econo-
my is virtue, not a necessity. It is
with those who are compelled to scheme,
sacrifice and retrench that the little pen
ny shifts are such modification, and
one that might be avoided if guests, when
not specially invited, would select the
time when most leisure might be ex-
peeted, thus making their visits pleas
ure and recreation instead of {, dread and
interruption. - EZ. IL Is 49,
Then there are the busy women who
paint or write, who wish to devote the
fresh morning hours to their work, but.
not hndlng It necessary to occupy all their
time in that manner, are always ready
| and glad to see their friends in the tier.
noon. 1t was such a woman you heard
complaining that some one had dropped
in just as she was about half through putt
ting the sky on a large canvass The
stereotyped:; can't stay more than a
stopped her work, and dared not resume
lest it be taken as an indication of dis
missal, until two hours and a half Of
small gossip and platitudes, from WON
an she was not very fond of, had rem
dered her paint so ''tacky" she must eth
er let it dry and paint it all over, or else
take it all off the canvas. II. - 8.
The short calls indefinitely prolonged
are SO very misleading, Even if the
| guests are ones dear familiars, if they
are lin hurry and only stopped a mo-
ment as we were passing" you will hard
~ excuse yourself to finish the few little
| things you needed to do, or change your
dress, or arrange your disordered tresses,
all of which you might have done before
sitting down for good old-fashioned Wis
it, had you even family surmised three
hours instead of ten minutes would have
been its duration. ;S i 5## ~ IS j =
Because one leads leisurely existence
herself, or is so skiIlful in her manage
! ment as to render it possible to make
early forenoon visits, it does not always
follow that all of her friends are equally
at liberty; therefore, she should sedu-
lousy choose for such favors those whose
mornings are apt to be unoccupied, Sc
Letting more opportune season for visit
ing her busy friends.-Boston Herald.
Duties of a Wife in Home king.
- 10 e hnx az