The evening times., 1899-04-07
The Hou.ecleanins Microbe.

hhc houSeclcanhmG MlcTOOcs
Among the many microbes. germs. and
malignant insects which infest the balmy
air of spring, and range in size all the way
from a vibration to a mosquito, there is
one which is peculiar product OF civiliza-
tion. and is never found in uncivilized
lands. in uncultivated forests. or even in
the den of the undisciplined bachelor. But
every properly brought up married man is
familiar with it. 1t is the microbe of
spring housekeeping.
When our arboreal ancestor came down
out of the trees and learned to walk about
on the ground, he never dreamed that his
descendants would be afflicted with this
curious ailment. When his hut or his den
in the rocks became uninhabitable he SIM
ply gathered up his possessions and went
to another. and he did not have to hire
furniture van, either. He would have
regarded condition OF things which forced
him to live in an atmosphere of soapsuds
and fresh paint for a week or ten days as
one which called for immediate and merci-
day while he does not enjoy the smells
of publication. would regard the den Of
his primitive ancestor as quite intolerable
under any circumstances. But he has not
yet been educated up to the point at
which his nostrils can inhale the odor Of
fresh paint and saponaceous specifics of all
the patent kinds. and his expression re-
photograph.
In this day and generation the evils OF
housekeeping are mitigated. The custom of
a yearly hegira into the country is more
common than it used TO be- and the clean
ing can sometimes be done during the alb
sence of the family. There are also GER
tain alleviations in the way OF modern
conveniences. The condition of meek
man in the early fifties was worse, much
worse than il is today. He would go
to his business in tie morning. with a
serene face and happy expectation Of
coming home to q good dinner and romp
with the children. and before his return
the mistress OF the house would, for some
occult reason. have decided to begin house
cleaning. She always chose a particularly
bright and balmy spring day fer this in
teresting job. the sort of day which would
naturally move her husband to come home
early from his work and propose picnic.
Accordingly, when the husband returned.
an hour or two before his usual time, he
found operations in full swing. The chill
dren were sent TO their aunt's for the day.
all except the baby, who busily occupied
himself in crawling around in the dust
and wet. and eating soap and tin tacks.
The carpets were up. and the papers on
the library table dumped into a basket
without reference to the preferences Of
their owner. All the curtains were taken
down and either washed or aired. All the
things in all the cupboards were out and
sitting about on the tables. To cap the
climax the kitchen stove was in use for
heating water. and the family-what was
left of it-dned off hash and cold apple
pie. The next day, perhaps, painters and
paperers arrived to do their work, and the
wise man. at this stage of proceedings. ate
his dinner down town and returned not
till evening. The climax of il all usually
came when he let himself softly in on the
fourth day and discovered that the kitchen
stoycpipe for some reason best known to
itself had come down. and that he was
expected TO put it up.
Although the housekeeper of those days
had no woman's club or political problems
to perplex her and interfere with her
housework and the od-time servant was
still in existence. she somehow never could
get through domestic emergencies without
calling her husband in to help her Then. |
when he lost his temper with the stove
pipe aId said bad words, her nerves gave |
way and she burst into tears. House |
cleaning was a serious domestic cataclysm
in that family
There are some women nowadays who |
declare that spring housekeeping is not |
at all necessary; that with rugs all over |
the house and all the modern conveniences /
for living. the house can be kept clean |
all the time. without turning everything |
every year. This seems sensible, and
plausible and easy of accomplishment. |
There are few things which can be done
in the spring better than at any other
time because of the atmospheric oondi-
ions: but now that woman no longer is
picking and preserving, and the winter
in spinning weaving. and dressmaking.
why can she not distribute her housework
evenly throughout the year, instead Of tax
ing it by commissions? II she can, think
what gratitude will be aroused in the
hoSom of Iong-suffering mani