The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1905-07-15
BY KATE UPsoN CLARK,

Copyright, 1905, by Joseph b. Bowles.)
'Oh, you know nothing of the COM
plexities of life!" sighed the Mother of
Girls to the Mother of Boys. II you
had three young lady daughters, as
have, you would find that the simple
life,' is an idle dream Girls have to
have so many 'things!' Girls are so
critical, Girls have to do so much en-
tertaining! Girls must not be talked
about They cannot go about alone. l
long to simplify their lives and my own
but society demands so much from girls
| and their mothers!"
This is unfortunately true. Nobody
can realize how true until he has lived
right in the inner circle and seen just
what the requirements of the position
are.
How can the simplifying be done?
There are three chief things which
an average housemother has to attend
to. She must see that the actual daily
work of the family is done. She must
see that expenses are kept within q GER
tain limit; and she must make her mind
into an animated memorandum book on
which she carries not only these two
prime departments, but also the health,
the intellectual welfare and the moral
condition of her family. to say nothing
of their clothing and their social en-
gagements and standing.
The oversight and ordering of the
table are the first duty. The family
must be fed before much can be done
10 elevate or purify it. In. households
where professional cook is kept, there
is small hope of simplifying the cuisine.
The professional cook generally insists
upon cooking more courses -of more
elaborate things than are wanted, in or
der to show his skill. One high-priced
chef left good place because the family
liked plain living every day. He thor
oughly despised them, and told outsiders
that they were low"
But In the ordinary home In which two
servants or one or no servant may be
kept, a little hard daily thought upon
menu which shall be nourishing and
toothsome, and yet require little work,
would pay in every way.
On this point our excellent friends of
the "uncooked food" cult can help us
greatly Nuts used to be considered, in
many quarters, unsafe and indigestible.
Now the "uncooked foodists'' have
demonstrated that one or two dozen
nuts, judiciously dipped in salt and
thoroughly masticated, may take the,
place of slice of roast beef. and allow
us to snap orr fingers at the beef trust;
that salad and an apple are more
wholesome and really more savory than
pie andcake; and that raisins and prunes.
with grains of wheat or rye, we'll masti-
Gated, make a fine breakfast. They al
low coarse breads, and some of them, as
a great concession, will let yon soft-boil
your egg, instead of swallowing 1t raw
You may drink milk or koumiss. But
they have fully demonstrated that not
only may life be supported on their easy
diet, but many diseases may be cured by
it, and that the normal development of
the body, from too much adipose tissue
or too great ieanness, may be promoted
by 1t.
Without going to the length of full
nedged follower of this harmless ism"
the wise householder may borrow many
simplifying" ideas from it. Elaborate
cooking consumes an enormous amount
of time and strength uselessly, and even
hurtfully. Girls often imagine that the
elegance" of household is enhanced
by it. Young men, much as they enjoy
good things to eat. are not half the
stickiers for style" that their sisters
of the same age are. Simple. cookery,
plain, neat serving, few dishes, ample
In quantity, good in quality-these are
all that most men will require. Many
women, especially young and socially
ambitious women, insist on much more
than this, and hence arises one impor-
tant element in the completely of mod
ern life.
The washing and ironing are another
terrible problem. When one may send
everything to a laundry. or when one
can keep a laundress for nothing else
but her special work, the trouble is
trifiing. But in the ordinary American
household, again, with its two servants,
or its one or no servant, the weekly
washing" is bugbear.
The more elaborate "starched pieces"
are usually beyond the capacity of the
common hand. Do the girls and their
mother see to it that the undertaking
is made as plainly as is consistent with
comeliness? And do the girls try to
wear silk and brilliantine petticoats
whenever they can, in order to reduce
the number of white skirts in the
"wash?" If they could be forced to do
up" these back-breaking and nerve-try-