The Practical Housewife

CHAPTER I.. Importance of the Subject—Deficiencies in Practical

Importance of the Subject—Deficiencies in Practical Training—The Happiness of Home mainly depends upon the Housewife.

The superintendence of a house, and the management, forethought, economy, and good sterling sense requisite properly to achieve this, demand as much study and perseverance as the acquisition of music, painting, or any other accomplishment. The latter are taught most sedulously; young girls are educated to delight our eyes and ears, and to shine in society: would it not be well if they were also educated to sustain a woman’s home, and often homely, duties?

In no country is domestic comfort so prized as in England. It is in our happy land that the word Home is best felt and enjoyed; from the wealthy merchant to the peasant, home is the centre around which all else revolves; yet, strange to say, in all ranks there are thousands of girls brought up utterly in ignorance of home duties. They are taught a trade, or are educated for governesses, until that branch of female employment is so crowded with competitors, that upper servants obtain a better salary and are treated with more respect; or they are crammed with brilliant accomplishments and skilled in ornamental work, but of domestic duties they know little or nothing. Why is this? Surely elegance and utility are not incompatible.

It is not alone the wife or mother who should be skilled in household knowledge. Every girl who has emerged from childhood, and who is approaching towards womanhood, is liable to be called upon to assume the reins of domestic government; the mother may be ill, bed-ridden, or die: why should the father, who has perhaps one or two daughters of sixteen years old or thereabouts, be obliged to seek elsewhere for a housekeeper?

We trust that our readers will not for a moment imagine that we have any objection to accomplishments, that we would have a woman be merely an upper servant in the house it is her province to guide, that we consider the kitchen her only sphere, or that we undervalue intellectual acquirements, and elegant occupations. Far from it; but we would have our model housewife familiar with all the routine of domestic duties, well acquainted with the minutiæ of household economy, and perfectly competent to direct, or if need be, teach her servants—ay, even in cases of necessity, to do things herself.

Every now and then we hear of a great stir being made about the “rights of women,” and claims made for their having an equal amount of power, and an equally active part in the business of life with men. It is by no means our intention to enter into the merits or demerits of that subject, but what we have to say is this, that if women were, from the highest to the lowest, more systematically educated to wield properly the great amount of power they do possess, and if they were habituated actively and energetically to enter into that portion of the business of life which is their own peculiar sphere, this world would be a much happier and better one.

There is a medium, however, in all things. A woman who worries all within her reach by her ultra-housewifery, who damps one down with soap and water, poisons one with furniture polish, takes away one’s appetite by the trouble there is about cooking the simplest thing, and fidgets one by over-done preciseness and cleanliness, is almost as much to be avoided as a downright sluggard, or the veriest simpleton.

Neither would we have domestic economy and home duties vaunted, or made the constant theme of conversation; they are the private employments of woman; she must study other things in order to entertain her relatives and friends. Those who talk most of their duties are generally those who perform them most imperfectly. When a man returns to his home, or enters his sitting-room, fatigued and perhaps disappointed by the business of the day, he does not want to be annoyed by the details of domestic accidents, the misdemeanours of servants, and the cheating of tradespeople. He has had his worries during the day, too, and with that pride, or reserve, or want of confidence which is peculiar to most men, he keeps them to himself.

Many a girl can make good pastry, or dress up jellies, and such like, for an evening party, and being much complimented for her labours by those who relish the produce, forthwith fancies herself a capital housewife, while in all probability, she scarcely knows how vegetables are cooked, is profoundly ignorant of the prices of the commonest articles of daily consumption, and could not tell of what material a house-cloth should be made.

And how few there are who could, in case of need, make a cup of good gruel, or a glass of white-wine whey, or even a little broth or barley water. We do not say that they could not manage to produce something resembling these things, but the capricious appetite of the invalid rejects the tasteless messes.

Some persons affirm that they have no capacity for this matter, no taste for that. To such we would reply, If the things alluded to are necessary parts of duty, cultivate a taste, persevere in endeavouring to improve a capacity for them. This world is a beautiful one, in spite of what grumblers say, and thousands would find it a much happier one if they studied their duties more, and sought their pleasure or indulged their fancies less. To all of us it is intended to be a place of trial and probation, and every human being in it exercises a greater or less influence upon the character, the happiness, and the destinies of many others, and is accountable for opportunities wasted, and blessings neglected or transformed; and women especially so.

From the peeress to the peasant, a highly principled, sensible woman, is, or may be, a blessing to numbers; and not so much by great deeds or extraordinary exertions, but simply by a quiet, straightforward performance of those duties which God has given her to do.

Thus far we have gone with our exordium; but in subsequent papers we shall proceed seriatim through the various duties and business appertaining to a house, endeavouring to map out a clear chart of what these are, to point to the sudden rocks, and show as simply and tersely as possible how these may be avoided, and the vessel floated always in tolerably peaceful waters.

As it is the province of man to promote the necessaries and comforts of home, so it is the province of woman wisely to dispense them; and upon the due performance of her onerous duties rests the social joy and peace of the home, while nothing but muddle, misery, and ruin can follow neglect of them. For her guidance we have at much labour brought before her information upon subjects that fall within the true scope of housekeeping, and multifarious as those subjects are, it is our belief that in consulting the Index she will find a reference to most of those subjects upon which she may require information.

CHAPTER II.. The Beginning of House Keeping—Importance of a Proper

The Beginning of House keeping—Importance of a proper Appreciation of Economy at the Commencement—Taking a House—Choice of Locality—Agreement with the Landlord—Relative Advantages and Disadvantages of Furnished Lodgings—Economy and Taste in the Selection of Furniture—Importance of a proper Selection of Kitchen Utensils.

That sensible and oft-quoted old lady, Mrs. Glasse, in one of her recipes begins thus:—“First catch your hare.” Acting upon so good an example, we will first take a house and furnish it, previously to laying down axioms for its management.

Before any steps are taken, the income or pecuniary means of the parties about to commence housekeeping, should be well considered. We know that by young “brides elect,” and rash youths bent on matrimony, such £ s. d. matters will be deemed dreadfully sublunary; they have a notion that if once they are married, all will be sure to go right. A young clerk, rejoicing in an income of £80 or £100 per annum, more or less, every penny of which he has been in the habit of seeing annually swallowed up by his own expenses, falls in love with the daughter of a well-to-do tradesman, a surgeon, or a lawyer in tolerable practice. The young lady can sing and play, speak French, Italian, and German a little, produce marvels in the way of crochet and ornamental work, loves poetry and romance, and can trim herself a smart bonnet, which, however, often costs more than if she had purchased one ready made. But she has been at boarding-school, and knows little or nothing of life as it is; her wants have been provided for, there have been servants to wait upon, and parents to love and cherish her; and now, to crown all, she has a lover to adore her, to write “sonnets to her eyebrow,” sing a second to her duets, and flatter her caprices and pretty whims.

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