American Womans Home | Page 3

IN THE HOUSEKEEPER._
Easier for a household under the guidance of an equable temper in the mistress---Dissatisfied looks and sharp tones destroy the comfort of system, neatness, and economy--Considerations to aid the housekeeper--Importance and dignity of her duties--Difficulties to be overcome--Good policy to calculate beforehand upon the derangement of well-arranged plans--Object of housekeeping, the comfort and well-being of the family--The end should not be sacrificed to secure the means--Possible to refrain from angry tones--Mild speech most effective--Exemplification--Allowances to be made for servants and children--Power of religion to impart dignity and importance to the ordinary and petty details of domestic life.
XVII.
_HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER._
Relative importance and difficulty of the duties a woman is called to perform--Her duties not trivial--A habit of system and order necessary--Right apportionment of time--General principles-- Christianity to be the foundation--Intellectual and social interests to be preferred to gratification of taste or appetite--Neglect of health a sin in the sight of God--Regular season of rest appointed by the Creator--Divisions of time--Systematic arrangement of house articles and other conveniences--Regular employment for each member of a family--Children--Family work--Forming habits of system--Early rising a very great aid--Due apportionment of time to the several duties.
XVIII.
_GIVING IN CHARITY._
No point of duty more difficult to fix by rule than charity--First consideration--Object for which we are placed in this world--Self- denying Benevolence.--Second consideration--Natural principles not to be exterminated, but regulated and controlled.--Third consideration--Superfluities sometimes proper, and sometimes not--Fourth consideration--No rule of duty right for one and not for all--The opposite of this principle tested--Some use of superfluities necessary--Plan for keeping an account of necessities and superfluities--Untoward results of our actions do not always prove that we deserve blame--General principles to guide in deciding upon objects of charity--Who are our neighbors--The most in need to be first relieved--Not much need of charity for physical wants in this country--Associated charities--Indiscriminate charity--Impropriety of judging the charities of others.
XIX.
ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES Economy, value, and right apportionment of time--Laws appointed by God for the Jews--Christianity removes the restrictions laid on the Jews, but demands all our time to be devoted to our own best interests and the good of our fellow-men--Enjoyment connected with every duty--Various modes of economizing time--System and order--Uniting several objects in one employment--Odd intervals of time--Aiding others in economizing time--Economy in expenses--Contradictory notions--General principles in which all agree--Knowledge of income and expenses--Evils of want of system and forethought--Young ladies should early learn to be systematic and economical.
XX.
_HEALTH OF MIND._
Intimate connection between the body and mind--Brain excited by improper stimulants taken into the stomach--Mental faculties then affected--Causes of mental disease--Want of oxygenized blood--Fresh air absolutely necessary--Excessive exercise of the intellect or feelings--Such attention to religion as prevents the performance of other duties, wrong--Unusual precocity in children usually the result of a diseased brain--Idiocy often the result, or the precocious child sinks below the average of mankind--This evil yet prevalent in colleges and other seminaries--A medical man necessary in every seminary--Some pupils always needing restraint in regard to study--A third cause of mental disease, the want of appropriate exercise of the various faculties of the mind--Extract from Dr. Combe--Beneficial results of active intellectual employments--Indications of a diseased mind.
XXI.
_THE CARE OF INFANTS._
Herbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring--Absurdity of undertaking to rear children without any knowledge of how to do it--Foolish management of parents generally the cause of evils ascribed to Providence--Errors of management during the first two years--Food of child and of mother--Warning as to use of too much medicine--Fresh air-- Care of the skin--Dress--Sleep--Bathing--Change of air--Habits--Dangers of the teething period--Constipation--Diarrhea--Teething--How to relieve its dangers--Feverishness--Use of water.
XXII.
_THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN._
Physical education of children--Animal diet to be avoided for the very young--Result of treatment at Albany Orphan Asylum--Good ventilation of nurseries and schools--Moral training to consist in forming habits of submission, self-denial, and benevolence-General suggestions--Extremes of sternness and laxity to be avoided--Appreciation of childish desires and feelings--Sympathy--Partaking in games and employments--Inculcation of principles preferable to multiplication of commands--Rewards rather than penalties--Severe tones of voice--Children to be kept happy--Sensitive children--Self-denial--Deceit and honesty--Immodesty and delicacy--Dreadful penalties consequent upon youthful impurities--Religious training.
XXIII.
_DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES._
Children need more amusement than older persons--Its object, to afford rest and recreation to the mind and body--Example of Christ--No amusements to be introduced that will tempt the weak or over-excite the young--Puritan customs--Work followed by play--Dramatic exercises, dancing, and festivity wholesomely enjoyed--The nine o'clock bell--The drama and the dance--Card-playing--Novel-reading--Taste for solid reading--Cultivation of fruits and flowers--Music--Collecting of shells, plants, and minerals--Games--Exercise of mechanical skill for boys--Sewing, cutting, and fitting--General suggestions--Social and domestic duties--Family attachments--Hospitality.
XXIV.
_CARE OF THE AGED._
Preservation of the aged, designed to give opportunity for self-denial and loving care--Patience, sympathy, and labor for them to be regarded as privileges in a family--The young should respect and minister unto the aged--Treating them as valued members of the family--Engaging them in domestic Games and sports--Reading aloud-Courteous