* * * * *

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.

* * * * *

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.

* * * * *

Silver should always be thoroughly washed after any cleansing powder or

liquid is used on it.

* * * * *

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.

* * * * *

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.

* * * * *

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.

* * * * *

To remove wine-stains, spread the blemished fabric over a bowl and pour

boiling salt water through it from a height.

* * * * *

Machine oil should be washed out in cold water before the article

stained with it goes to the laundress.

* * * * *

Javelle water is an antidote for iron rust.

* * * * *

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.

Oatmeal bags are pleasant and easily prepared. At home you can make a

dozen for the price of one. They whiten the skin and give it a velvety

softness, besides imparting a delicate fragrance.

Make the bags of cheesecloth, about four inches square, and fill them

loosely with the following mixture: Five pounds of oatmeal, one pound

of powdered Florentine orris, one pound of almond meal and half a pound

of pure castile soap scraped to a powder. One bag will be sufficient

for a bath.

THE CARE OF THE HANDS

Many a woman who gives time and thought to the art of pleasing, who

bemoans natural shortcomings or physical defects, is unconscious of the

power and fascination that a well-developed and well-cared-for hand

wields in a most subtle fashion. Very often the soul speaks through the

hand when a halting tongue refuses speech. Conceal natural instincts as

you will, the hands ofttimes betray them. Hide them, transform them,

the hand, still true to nature, defies your efforts.

Lavater says: “The hand, whether in motion or repose, has an expression

of its own that is not to be mistaken. When in perfect rest it shows

what are our traits of character; its flexions betray what are our

actions and our passions.” In all ages homage has been paid to the

hand, and its study was held in honor by the wisest philosophers of

ancient Greece. Italy’s great poet Petrarch confessed that Laura’s

“beautiful hand made captive his heart.”

To the student or one blessed with natural discernment, the shape,

texture, and color of the hand reveal the secrets of the soul. Good

blood and breeding are to be discovered, and, though the poise of head

and grace of carriage be acquired, the contour of wrist, palm, and

finger remains obstinately natural.

What the mind conceives the hands put into execution, and what the

heart wills the hand makes possible. Upon the palm are found more or

less indications of the physical and mental attitudes of men--their

appetites, instincts, and ambitions. A narrow palm suggests feeble

temperament, lacking force of imagination, while too broad a one

denotes egotism and sensuality. A nature capable of great enjoyment

and the possessor of a lively imagination develops a supple and fairly

generous expanse of palm; but the hard, thick hand ofttimes lacks

intelligence.

Knotty fingers, when not the result of gout, indicate originality; the

smooth taper finger means love of art and a predominance of sentiment

over reason. Square fingers denote method, and the spatulate show

ability, tact, and action. Very rare is the psychic hand with its

slim tapering fingers, its snowy texture and wonderful softness. Well

for the world that it is uncommon, lacking as it does usefulness and

industry.

That the hands are capable of improvement, so far as texture is

concerned, is demonstrated by the secrets of my lady’s boudoir. There

are different exercises for relaxing and contracting the muscles, which

unite in imparting suppleness and expression. Given over to contact

with everything that can spoil, soil, and deform them, how shall one

keep their beauty? Cleanliness is the first and most important factor,

and pure castile soap is always reliable, but frequent washings are

unnecessary for softening the skin. The hands should be washed only

when necessary, in neither very hot nor very cold water. Avoid all

extremes of temperature. Soft water is imperative, however, and wheat,

bran, or almond meal thrown in the basin will be found beneficial;

after which rub the skin with almond oil, cold cream, or some simple

lotion. There is an old-fashioned but safe method of whitening the

hands. Take some horse chestnuts, peel, dry, and then pound them in a

mortar until they become a fine powder. A pinch of this flour thrown

into a pint of water and stirred will make it white and milky, a

delicious substitute for soap on a cold day, when the skin is apt to

chap unless great care be given to drying the hands.

Milk is also marvelous for bleaching, but it is a luxury not suited to

all purses. Lemon juice may be used to remove stains from the hands.

Tomatoes will produce the same effect. For a stubborn mark, rub gently

with a piece of fine toilet pumice; but beware of injuring the texture

of the skin.

After a thorough cleansing comes the manicuring of the nails, which

with a little experience may be accomplished at home with excellent

results. The flesh surrounding the nails should be pressed back very

gently to its proper place. Be careful not to tear or bruise it, else

a jagged appearance will result, necessitating clipping, which always

encourages growth. An orange stick is a necessary adjunct to the

toilet; by its aid the nails can be probed and cleaned without fear of

injury. A white crescent at the base, a rosy tint in the middle, and a

white transparent border with a polished (not too highly) surface are

the marks of well-cared-for nails.

Do not have them too long, else they are liable to break; curve on

either side, with the deepest portion projecting just far enough to

protect the ball of the finger. Do not scrape with pointed instruments

of steel. It takes a long time for a bruised surface to resume normal

conditions. Gloves, worn when unpleasant work is necessary, should be

loose. Before putting them on it is a good idea to cover the hands

with a light layer of oil of sweet almonds or vaseline. This prevents

callous spots, and the process of softening will be in progress during

the occupation.

YOUR “LAUGH” LINES

It was long the popular belief that wrinkles are caused chiefly

by sorrow and care. Up pops somebody in this twentieth century to

denounce that theory and to declare that the merry folk are far oftener

afflicted than the sorrowful and that laughter more frequently furrows

the face than tears.

It is a rather happy suggestion; not that wrinkles are welcome, but

that cheerfulness is a heaven-sent gift and should be received with

grateful hearts. Let laughter ring out loud and long. It is infectious.

It uplifts those who hear it. If it brings wrinkles, you may be sure it

displaces more hideous lines.

If home were made more cheerful, the law would clutch less often at

the throats of criminals and the institutions would open their doors

to fewer refugees. We know, when night comes, mothers are tired and

husbands fractious with bile and business. The good woman would like

to sit down to an interesting book and the man to his newspaper and

silence, each feeling the comfort is well deserved from duties well

performed.

But have they the right and is it safe to follow the natural bent? Boys

and girls will have fun; they will have room and place for noise and

laughter and the irresponsible bubbling of youthful spirits. If these

be not accorded to them in their home they will surely seek and find

diversion outside.

She is the wise mother who, in addition to her deeper anxieties and

solicitude, draws and holds with her own largeness of spirit the

expanding natures of her laughing girl and rollicking boy. To do this

she must be as quick to laugh as to cry with them, recognizing the

drollery of their wit and giving it welcome.