The Life Beautiful in the Country 



SOME EMINENTLY ''PRACTICAL" EXPERIENCES 

 BY LOUIS E, VAN NORMAN 



IT clarifies one's idea of the life beau- 

 tiful a great deal to read tlie letters 

 sent in by the readers of Home and 

 Flowers in competition for the prize 

 recently offered to women liying in the 

 country. First of all^ no one will dispute 

 the fact that the life beautiful for woman 

 means, as one of the first essentials, relief 

 from the drudgery of housekeeping (not 

 housekeeping itself, but the drudgery of 

 it) which keeps her in virtual slavery to 

 the physical needs of the household. One 

 of the letter writers refers to "the unneces- 

 sary slaving habits transmitted to woman 

 as legacies from her forbears," and these 

 "unnecessary slaving habits,'' it is agreed, 

 are responsible for most of the ills and 

 insufficiencies of woman's home life. How 

 can woman be freed from all but such 

 physical labor as is absolutely necessary 

 for good healthful living, to make this 

 labor as light as possible, and thus have 

 energy and opportunity to develop her 

 intellectual and esthetic sensibilities? 



In the department, "The Well-Or- 

 dered Household" for this month. Miss 

 Van Eensselaer gives some very practical 

 advice as to saving steps. The letters 

 from the women in the country are side- 

 lights on this expert advice. These let- 

 ters do not advance finely-spun theories. 

 They are the chronicle of stern, hard, 

 "practical" experiences which have taught 

 never-to-be-forgotten lessons. Here is the 

 net advice of the letters. Take advantage 

 of all system and every possible device to 

 save labor, cultivate repose — and flowers- — 



eat plain, wholesome food, keep out of 

 debt, dwell as near as possible to nature's 

 heart, learn what is worth while. In short, 

 edit your life. 



* * * 



To receive and assimilate the subtle 

 influences of the life beautiful, woman 

 must keep her perspective correct, says 

 Mrs. Henry Wight (Georgia). 



"If she has money or social influence or 

 if she has not, she must learn to regard 

 them in their true relation, as very desir- 

 able adjuncts of life, but not as an ulti- 

 mate end and aim of all effort, nor as 

 determining factors of her conduct toward 

 others, except inasmuch as they may be 

 used for good. The woman in the country 

 in her nearness to nature has a beautiful 

 opportunity, if she will cultivate her per- 

 ceptive anci receptive faculties. . . . The 

 billowing' fields of grLin, the green of the 

 circling forest, the drift of bloom, and 

 the delight of perfect fruit hanging low 

 on the boughs, all have wonderful mes- 

 sages for her alone, if she will take the 

 time to see and learn them. She needs 

 correct perspective, also, in the ordering 

 of her home and her daily toil, in order 

 that she may distinguish between those 

 duties which are real and vital, and those 

 fancied obligations brought about by a fad 

 or fancy of passing endurance. The frills 

 and tucks on the little frocks will wear out 

 directly and be forgotten, and the tired 

 mother be none the richer, but the strolls 

 and sweet communion with each other 

 will draw the little ones very near to her. 

 very heart, and the loving initiation into 

 the_ benignity of nature, the patient and 

 delicate explainino: of the mysteries of life^ 

 and the inculcated reverence for the divine 

 source of all life and beauty, are things 

 which will endure, and bring forth fruit 

 an hundredfold." 



* * * 



Mrs. Margaret S. Organ, M. D. (^^ew 



