Part 6

MENUS FOR DINNER

GRAPE-FRUIT RELISHES CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP BAKED BLUEFISH--SAUCE HOLLANDAISE ROMAN PUNCH TURKEY--CRANBERRY JELLY POTATOES SPINACH LETTUCE SALAD CHARLOTTE GLACÉ CAKES FRUITS BLACK COFFEE

_E. F. S._

OYSTERS ON HALF SHELL SALTED ALMONDS OLIVES BOUILLON EN TASSE STUFFED TOMATOES ON LETTUCE LEAVES DRESSED SQUAB POTATOES PARISIENNE CAULIFLOWER ASPARAGUS--MAYONNAISE NUTS SMALL CAKES ICES FRUITS BLACK COFFEE CLARET OR WHITE WINE

_Mrs. H. J. S._

HORS-D’ŒUVRE RADISHES OLIVES CELERY SAUTERNE FISH TIMBALES POTATO BALLS CLARET SWEETBREADS WITH MUSHROOMS FILET DE BŒUF PETIT POIS LETTUCE SALAD NESSELRODE PUDDING FRUITS COFFEE TOASTED CRACKERS FROMAGE

_Mrs. H. Siegel_

MENUS FOR LUNCH

LAMB CHOPS BAKED POTATOES SALAD CHEESE CRACKERS NUT CAKE TEA

_E. F. S._

FRIED FISH POTATO BALLS OMELET FRUIT CAKE, JELLY, OR JAM TEA OR COFFEE

_E. F. S._

COLD MEATS OR POULTRY PICKLES FRIED POTATOES PRESERVES COOKIES TEA OR COFFEE

_E. F. S._

BREAKFAST MENUS

FRUIT OATMEAL BOILED EGGS BREAD BUTTER COFFEE

_Mrs. Joe N._

FRUIT OMELET ROLLS BUTTER COFFEE

_Mrs. Joe N._

FRUITS HOT CAKES FRIED FISH TOAST COFFEE

_Mrs. Joe N._

MENUS FOR RESTRICTED WHIST

CREAM CHEESE ON LETTUCE LEAVES FRENCH ROLLS BUTTER BALLS FRUIT CAKE COFFEE

_H. I. S._

TONGUE SANDWICHES OLIVES FANCY CAKES COFFEE

_H. I. S._

LOBSTER À LA NEWBURG IN RAMEQUINS HARD-BOILED EGGS SERVED IN LETTUCE NEST CHEESE STRAWS SALTED ALMONDS ORANGE LAYER CAKE COFFEE

_H. I. S._

HOUSEHOLD HINTS

ITEMS OF INTEREST AND VALUE

There is nothing like spring sunshine for bringing out scratches and blemishes on the furniture and marks of wear and tear on carpets and upholstery. Possibly the housekeeper’s eye is quickened by the approach of housecleaning paraphernalia, but certain it is that the room that has worn a respectable air through the winter with the first ardent glance of old Sol will suddenly reveal no end of defects. For restoring furniture there are several excellent preparations to be found in the market, and nearly every housekeeper has her own preference among them. With one of the good oil polishes, a soft cloth, and plenty of what is popularly known as “elbow-grease,” very obstinate scratches will disappear. A vigorous rubbing with a clean flannel cloth should follow the application of the preparation in all cases.

A mixture of oil and turpentine is the best of restoratives for wood that has become grimy and dull. The usual formula is three parts of paraffine oil to one part of turpentine. Be sure that all dust is removed before the work begins. Moisten a flannel cloth in the mixture, and apply it to all parts of the wood. In obstinate cases let the preparation remain on the wood for a time then dust with rottenstone, moisten again with oil and rub quickly after the oil is applied. Do not let the rottenstone become dry, or it will still further blemish the wood. When the work with the rottenstone and oil is over, follow it up with rubbings with a clean, soft cloth and then with a polishing with the oil and turpentine described above. There is no objection to mixing the rottenstone and oil in a dish before the work begins.

To clean furniture that may have come from the second-hand store or store-room, where it has been badly soiled, make a mixture of beeswax and kitchen soap--an ounce of the wax to a quarter of a pound of the soap. Dissolve the two together over the fire and then stir in half an ounce of sal-soda. Stir the mixture until it is cold and then mix with it an equal part of turpentine. A little of this on a soft cloth will work wonders with old furniture.

The dark fumed oak of the Mission and other popular furniture shapes sometimes gets marred below its stain. In such cases common oil paints sold to amateurs for 10 cents and 5 cents a tube may be rung into service. Burnt umber and lampblack will give the fumed-oak shade. Drop the umber in a saucer and mix to the desired shade with lampblack, thinning with linseed oil. Burnt sienna and lampblack toned with yellow ochre will give mahogany color. Burnt sienna, burnt umber, lampblack, and yellow ochre mixed in the right proportions give black-walnut tone. Burnt sienna is about the color of cherry. Raw umber will answer for most light woods such as ash, oak, and maple. Use brush or cloth in putting on the colors, according to convenience.

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Natural finished willow furniture may be cleaned with soapsuds in which borax has been dissolved. It should be applied with a scrubbing-brush. The pieces should be dried very speedily in the sun. Before the cleaning with water begins, the piece should be thoroughly dusted. This rule holds good with any article at all that is being washed. All loose dust should be shaken or brushed off or out before water is applied.

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Natural wood should be freed from all loose dust before cleaning and then may be wiped off with a woollen cloth moistened with oil and turpentine or with wood alcohol. This treatment should be followed by a rubbing with a dry woollen cloth to bring out the polish. A woman who found several dents in the hardwood of her dining-room wainscoting restored it by laying over each dent a thick pad of wet brown paper, a wet cloth folded several times over that, and then applying a hot iron over all. When the pad was about dry it was removed, and if the place still showed a mar the treatment was repeated.

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One housekeeper who is successful in keeping her furniture in polish washes the varnished-wood frames twice a year with potato water and then rubs them dry and bright with woollen cloths. The piano receives the same treatment. The potato water is prepared by soaking uncooked potatoes sliced thin in cold water for two or three hours and then straining the water.

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An old housekeeper who has several choice Oriental rugs, some of light color, sees to the cleaning of them herself. They are first swept thoroughly on both sides on the grass of the back yard. Then, if they are light-colored, they are covered with cornstarch which has a small mixture of prepared chalk, and are left for several hours. At the end of that time they are brushed free from the powder, shaken well and beaten carefully. Dark ones are covered with hardwood sawdust and left over night. The next day they are swept with a stiff clean broom, and then wiped off with a towel wrung out of hot water.

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The silver desk furnishings, vases, etc., will retain their gloss with little extra cleaning if they are polished with a piece of soft silk several times a week.

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Silver should always be thoroughly washed after any cleansing powder or liquid is used on it.

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To clean copper kettles, rub the kettle with a cut lemon dipped in powdered bath brick. When all stains are removed, wash in warm soapy water; then dry and polish with powdered bath brick and a soft cloth.

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To polish brass trimmings, such as hinges, handles, and other ornaments of furniture, without marring the wood during the work requires that the polish shall be beneficial to the wood as well as to the metal. A mixture of half as much naphtha as paraffine oil and enough powdered rottenstone to make a soft, thick cream will accomplish the purpose. It should be applied with wool and should be followed by a rubbing with a soft cloth. Before polishing the last time it is well to make an application of dry rottenstone powder to remove all traces of the naphtha. Unless this is done, the brass will tarnish soon.

* * * * *

White wax packed with white silk or satin will keep the material from yellowing. It is an old custom to put away the wedding gown in this way.

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To take out a blood-stain, cover the spot with cold raw starch, just wet enough to make a paste, and leave it until it is dry.

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To remove wine-stains, spread the blemished fabric over a bowl and pour boiling salt water through it from a height.

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Machine oil should be washed out in cold water before the article stained with it goes to the laundress.

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Javelle water is an antidote for iron rust.

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Valuable plaster casts are best cleaned by professional plaster-workers. Small pieces that have become soiled may be made more sightly by covering them with whiting and fuller’s earth, wrapping them in a cloth and leaving them for two or three days. When the powder is brushed off much of the grime will go with it.

TO PREVENT BREAKING GLASS

In opening a jar of fruit with a knife always insert the blade between jar and rubber. Prying against the thin edge of the cover bends it out of shape, perhaps ruining it for future use, and is likely to break the glass.

TO CUT PLATE GLASS

To cut a piece of plate glass it is thought a diamond-cutter is necessary, but it is not. If the glass is not very thick it can be cut with a pair of scissors, a large pair being preferable. While cutting hold the glass beneath half a foot or more of water, and it can be readily cut any shape desired. A round piece of glass has been cut out of a good-sized pane in just this manner. The scissors do not have to be extra sharp.

“_Success._”

TO REMOVE FRUIT-STAINS

Stained table linen follows the return of the fresh-fruit season as surely “as night follows day.” For removing such stains there is nothing more effective than the sulphur bleach. Lay a spoonful of sulphur on a plate, and sprinkle with a few drops of alcohol. Over this place a tin funnel with the point upward. Touch a lighted match to the alcohol; wet the stained linen, and hold the spot over the opening in the point of the funnel. The sulphur fumes will remove the most obstinate stain, seldom requiring more than one application. Rinse and wash the linen at once, to prevent rotting the material.

_“Woman’s Home Companion” for September._

SICKLY PLANTS

Nitrate of soda will rapidly improve the appearance of house plants that have become sickly. A piece about the size of a marble is enough for a plant taking a twelve-inch pot.

TO KILL INSECTS

A good solution to kill all insects is to take two pounds of alum and dissolve it in three or four quarts of boiling water; let it stand on the stove until the alum is all melted, then apply it with a brush while very hot to the wainscoting and floor and wherever the vermin abound.

It is also good to use on pantry shelves and bedsteads, and is a sure cure for the pests of fleas that are apt to swarm a closed house after a damp spell in the summer time.

FINE DARNING

In darning a shirtwaist or other garment where it is important that the place shall not be seen, do the work without putting a piece under the hole and use very fine thread. If the darning is done well, the spot will be as strong as the fabric around it and when it is ironed will be scarcely noticeable. The edges of the material, of course, must be drawn together in their original position. In mending any fabric, the direction of the threads should follow, as much as possible, the lines of the warp and woof. It is advisable sometimes to ravel a thread from the fabric itself and use it in darning. At other times, when silk is to be used, it is well to split silk in order to have a flat thread instead of a round one. It is an old-fashioned idea worth remembering to use a hair in darning fine wool.

THE SAND-BAG AS A WARMER

A sand-bag as a warmer is said to be greatly superior to a hot-water bottle, which many people prize so highly. Get some clean, fine sand; dry it thoroughly; make a bag about eight inches square of flannel, fill it with dry sand, sew the opening carefully together, and cover the bag with cotton or linen cloth. This will prevent the sand from sifting out, and also enable any one to heat the bag quickly by placing it in an oven or on top of a stove. The sand holds the heat for a long time.

“_Health._”

USES FOR TURPENTINE

There are few housekeepers who are not familiar with some of the numerous uses of turpentine, and as its odor is clean and wholesome it has the advantage over many remedies whose odors are offensive.

Turpentine and soap will remove ink-stains from linen.

A few drops added to water in which clothes are boiled will whiten them.

It will exterminate roaches if sprinkled in their haunts.

Turpentine will remove wheel-grease, pitch, and tar.

A few drops on a woollen cloth will clean tan shoes nicely.

Clean gilt frames with a cloth moistened in turpentine.

Carpets can be cleaned and colors restored by going over occasionally with a broom dipped in warm water in which a little turpentine is added.

An equal mixture of turpentine and linseed oil will remove white marks from furniture caused by water.

THINGS TO AVOID

Avoid biting the thread; it is harmful to the teeth.

Never leave matches where rats can get at them.

To remove ink-stains from clothing, soak the spot in sour milk.

Salt and vinegar will be found excellent for scouring copper kettles.

Keep an oyster shell in your tea kettle to prevent the forming of crust.

Delicate glass can be safely washed in very hot water if slipped in edgewise.

Fill vases one-fourth full of sand to prevent them from being knocked over and broken.

A little powdered charcoal put in the sink occasionally will keep it clean and free from odors.

Rubbing chilblains thoroughly with paraffine oil every night for a week is said to effect a cure.

A little kerosene added to the water with which you wash your windows will make them much brighter.

A few drops of oil of lavender poured into a glass of hot water and set in the sick-room will purify it greatly.

Soaking new brooms in strong hot salt water before using them is said to toughen the bristles, making the brooms more durable.

IN CASE OF FIRE

If smoke is seen pouring out from under a door, do not rush and open that door. Remember that by so doing you cause a draught which will fan smouldering timbers into flame. Shut and keep shut all doors and windows, or other air-channels.

If you have not a hand pump or fire grenades handy, collect as many pails or jugs of water as possible outside the closed door of the room which is afire.

Meantime, remember that smoke is almost as dangerous to life as fire. A soaking-wet towel knotted round the face and nostrils is an excellent rough-and-ready protection against breathing smoke. So is a wet sponge.

Remember also that smoke rises. Therefore, it is least thick near the floor. If the smoke be very thick, crawl with your face close against the floor.

The commonest cause of fire is the upsetting of an oil lamp. Water will only spread the flames of burning oil, but a hearth-rug will extinguish them promptly, says “Home Chat.”

Milk will also extinguish burning oil.

Sand or earth or common salt are useful aids to fire-fighting. The contents of an ordinary flower-pot will stop the spread of the flames of oil.

WOMAN

It takes a hundred men to make an encampment, but one woman can make a home. I not only admire woman as the most beautiful creature that was ever created, but I reverence her as the redeeming glory of humanity, the sanctuary of all the virtues, the pledge of all perfect qualities of heart and head. It is not just nor right to lay the sins of men at the feet of woman. It is because women are so much better than men, that their faults are considered greater. A man’s desire is the foundation of his love, but a woman’s desire is born of her love. The one thing in this world that is constant, the one peak that arises above all clouds, the one window in which the light forever burns, the one star that darkness cannot quench, is woman’s love. It rises to the greatest height, it sinks to the lowest depths, it forgives the most injuries. It is perennial of life and grows in every climate. Neither coldness nor neglect, harshness nor cruelty, can extinguish it. A woman’s love is the perfume of the heart. This is the real love that subdues the earth; the love that has wrought all miracles of art; that gives us music all the way from the cradle song to the grand closing symphony that bears the soul away on wings of fire. A love that is greater than power, sweeter than life, and stronger than death.--_Robert G. Ingersoll._

A WOMAN’S HOUSEWORK AS A PHYSICAL-CULTURE SCHOOL

America possesses thousands of girls who find a large part of their physical culture to perfection in “helping mother,” and they are not blushing because they do so. For them the vista of possibilities is long and alluring.

For the arms, fingers, and wrists, they find washing and wiping dishes admirable; perhaps water helps to make supple the joints, which is an advantage that dish-washing has over the drying. However, there is a fine elbow movement in the wiping, too.

Bed-making is still taught in the homely physical economics and cannot be too highly recommended. With the folding of the counterpane and sheets, the arms are stretched to their utmost, and while standing erect, with chest thrown out, breathing is bound to be correct.

Shoulder, torso, and limbs are developed in mattress-lifting, but it requires a strong woman to do this easily; any hint of spinal affection is an embargo on the exercise.

Sweeping gives much the same motion as is used in handling golf-clubs. For perfection of arms and shoulders there is nothing better.

Scrubbing, like lawn tennis, is rather violent and not to be attempted unless one is sure of the heart. In the beginning it will be as severe on the knees as is paddling a canoe, but so soon as one becomes familiar with the work it affords a subtle satisfaction all its own.

Running up and down stairs when mother needs anything is a first-class exercise; and an interesting diversion, as well as an upper-arm developer, may be found in egg-beating.

Dusting should have a chapter by itself. First you are down on all fours, then on tiptoe to see how far the cloth will reach. The tiptoeing for calf-development is superb.

You twist yourself into all sorts of positions to get at the corners of the carved furniture. You are on one knee, then on the other. Every muscle, every tendon is brought into service before you have finished.

KEEP YOUNG

A beautiful woman, who combines in her person a greater number of charms than do most fascinating women, gives her formula for keeping young and handsome in spite of a life of constant study, hard work, and comparatively no play: “Vigilance and determination and perhaps a little self-sacrifice are the price I pay for being considered a good-looking woman,” she says.

Remember, this beauty can act and is entitled to be called a star of the first magnitude. “I am ever on the alert and when I discover traces of fatigue or any destroying symptoms, I set about at once to eradicate them. During the theatrical season I don’t attempt to be anything but a professional woman. I don’t receive, nor do I go to other people’s houses. I simply haven’t the time and I don’t make it.

“My mode of life is very simple. As a rule I sleep nine or ten hours out of the twenty-four, never less than eight. I eat regularly and avoid everything that will give me indigestion. You know that indigestion is one of beauty’s most powerful foes, a greater enemy than age, as great even as worry.

“I walk every day, rain or shine, wear a short skirt and low-heeled shoes. I keep the French heels for the stage. I try not to worry, no matter what happens, and never tire myself unnecessarily. My method has no frills or isms; perhaps few women would care to try it. As Turkish baths agree with me, I am devoted to them, and I consider a good complexion cream as important, almost, as cold water.”

On Sunday, she explained, she was not obliged to go to the theatre. “Yet I do not spend that day in idleness nor in receiving visitors. When one’s hair is five feet long and very thick, it is not an easy task to have it shampooed, so I am almost ashamed to confess the entire day is quite given over to self-preservation.

“How do I keep the same weight all the time? Why, by vigilance, determination, and a good pair of scales frequently consulted. If I gain a pound I immediately stop drinking at meals and give up sugar and sweets absolutely. Yes, even water is tabooed. This all sounds very simple, but, of course, it precludes much pleasure and relaxation.”

There, mesdames, you have the beauty régime of a woman who always pleases her public and who possesses the love and admiration of countless friends. She is no longer in her girlhood, yet gives not the faintest indication of maturity. Her figure is slender and svelte, a succession of soft curves, with not a bone to disfigure its surface. Her skin is fresh and pink as a small child’s and her hair shows vigorous health.

While all women may not be beautiful, cleanliness and fine grooming and an ordinary amount of exercise will render them most attractive. Stout women should bathe oftener than lean ones, but let them avoid the use of hot water; it has a tendency to produce headache with the full-blooded individual. Always follow a warm bath with a dash of cold water--it contracts the pores and inspires circulation. For persons with weak nerves, sponging is better than tubbing or the shock of the shower. Cold water must be used with judgment.

A hot foot bath accompanied by vigorous rubbing is often beneficial in cases of insomnia. In bathing be careful to “go beneath the upper layer of the skin, get down to the underlying tissues,” and give them the benefit of the friction. The mere exercise attendant upon rubbing the body is salutary and helps in a great measure to keep circulation at top notch.

Laxity or downright laziness in home bathing is one of the sins of the age, though one may not deny that this century is the apotheosis of cleanliness as compared to the methods adopted by the beauties of long ago. A flick of the wash rag constituted their daily ablution, and the weekly bath was looked upon as a function.

Lean persons should be wary of the Turkish bath, while the victim of corpulency must avoid the Russian. The Roman bath, in reality an oil bath, is productive of flesh, therefore beneficial to badly nourished bodies. Bathing should never be indulged in directly after eating and never carried to the point of over-exertion.

After a fatiguing day a woman can do nothing which will more quickly restore tone to throbbing nerves, rob strained, tense muscles of their aching weariness, and refit her for the duties of housekeeper and hostess, than to take some kind of aromatic bath or to follow the ordinary warm bath by spraying the whole body with eau de cologne.

If the head aches, bathe the face in hot, perfumed water, do it slowly, rubbing the forehead and temples in a rotary motion and let the hot cloth linger behind the ears and on the nape of the neck. This treatment will do as much for you as an hour’s sleep.

A salt rub is also a tonic and should be taken in the morning, after a tepid bath; take a handful of damp sea salt and rub it vigorously upon the body. Follow this with a rapid sponging of the stinging spray.