1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



99 



<5ii 





litbks' llfjjaitmcnt. 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY; 



HOW TO ]\IAKE HOME PLEASANT. 



BY ANNE G. HALE. 



[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 

 18«6, by R. P. Eaton it Co., in the Clerlv's Office of the 

 District Court for the District of Massachusetts.] 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



As the duties of the housewife and mother re- 

 quire manj^ sorts of mechanical labor, sometimes 

 alone and sometimes in the family circle, her in- 

 struction and education should )je adapted to give 

 her niind activity and regularity, and the habit of 

 reflection, even upon the smallest matters. She 

 should also, however, learn to live with reference 

 to others, rather than to herself. She should be 

 conversable and sociable, cheerful and joyous, and 

 should bring cheerfulness and pleasure into life so 

 often troubled and burdensome. — Niemayer. 



Home is the central point for all the exertions of 

 the man. For home, he traverses, searches, con- 

 quers all the world. Within the house, within the 

 family, the wife is all ; she is the inspiring, em- 

 bellishing and controlling power. She rules by 

 goodness over the sanctuary for which man exerts 

 his powers ; she is the economical preserver of the 

 treasures which he earns. — Zschokke. 



A great responsibility lies upon the wife — 

 the mother of the family. She is expected to 

 attend to the wants of the whole household, and 

 to use and exjaend judiciously the means placed 

 in her hands for supplying those wants. There 

 are few who give the matter due consideration 

 who do not perceive that the happiness of 

 home-life depends mainly upon her manage- 

 ment. Yet, notwithstanding this, and the 

 nominal regard most women have for econo- 

 my, there is much useless expenditure — some- 

 times even wastefulness — in many departments 

 of housekeeping. 



We have all seen men sordid enough to car- 

 ry industry and economy to extremes, in their 

 eagerness to accumulate property ; and wo- 

 men, too, who, from a false estimate of the 

 uses of wealth, abate not their share of toil and 

 privation in order to contribute towards this 

 end. But by far the larger part of the com- 

 munity prefer to keep the middle path of mod- 

 eration, and endeavor to use with discretion 

 the good things which Providence has lent 

 them. 



Still there are times when even these, wish- 

 ing to appear generous, or afraid of being 

 called illiberal or mean, fall into a careless pro- 



digality, — only to be repented of when they 

 find they have bartered the peace and comfort 

 of home for a passing folly, and made the com- 

 ing future a source of anxious foreboding. 

 And beside this indulgence of a false pride — so 

 deserving of censure — there are frequently 

 large outlays for what seem innocent, in fact, 

 laudable purposes. 



But it is well to remember that nothing is 

 innocent, or hai-mless, that can plant another 

 thorn in the pillow of care, or add another 

 straw to the family burden ; and the truly pru- 

 dent woman is ready to yield many personal 

 gratifications, rather than to increase the dis- 

 comfort of her family, or in any way hinder the 

 interest of one of its members. 



She knows that the love of home and home 

 occupations wiU leave neither time, nor room, 

 for acquiring a fondness for amusement, or 

 pursuits, of an evil or a doubtful tendency ; — 

 so she endeavors to make eveiything about do- 

 mestic life pleasant and attractive. With that 

 real economy which seeks the best return for 

 all outlays, whether of time or money, she cal- 

 culates the effect of all her purchases, of all 

 her labors, upon the well-being of her house- 

 hold, and draws upon these resources accord- 

 ingly- 



She is aware that God has given us tastes 

 and fancies, as well as affections and sympa- 

 thies, and that these must be fed in a healthy 

 manner or they will find nourishment for them- 

 selves — perhaps hurtful and poisonous food : 

 and, therefore, she tries to surround them with 

 objects of a refining and elevating nature. 

 She does not provide costly ornaments, nor 

 exjjensive dresses for them ; but she exempli- 

 fies in her own person the beauty of a meek 

 and quiet spirit. She sets not before them 

 rich and luxurious repasts ; but her well-stored 

 mind yields, continually, an intellectual feast. 

 She may not buy costly books, nor rare paint- 

 ings, nor fine sculpture, nor ciu'ious inventions ; 

 but she teaches them to find in Nature beauty, 

 and grace, and elegance, and bids them put 

 forth efforts of their own in gathering and ar- 

 ranging somewhat of this free beauty and grace 

 and elegance for themselves and for others ; 

 thus increasing their sources of happiness, 

 and enlarging the sphere of their usefulness. 

 Many a woman, by giving such direction to the 

 faculties of her household, develops capabili- 

 ties of which she had never dreamed, and fre- 



