PRELUDE OF MOTTOES EXPRESSIVE OF WHAT ALL GOOD MEN THINK OF WOMEN. IN garnering together these few mottoes, expressive of what all true and good men think of the gentle sex, I have had no difficulty. The brave and generous spirits of all times have ever been ready to speak out of the simple abundance of their hearts; hence I have had rather to curtail the riches of literature on this theme, than delve for it. And the motive I have for binding this bouquet together as a free-will offering to the maidens, the mothers, and the matrons of the world, is simply to let them know that loving specimens of each have ever existed, and will exist, to bless and humanize our rougher sex. A loving woman is an angel in the house, her presence and influence have ever been on the right side. From our earliest infancy woman moulds us, and the greatest men have ever willingly and cordially acknowledged a mother's love and early training. How great, then, is your responsibility! As you plant, so shall the harvest yield; as you bend, so shall the tree grow. Our future is undoubtedly in the hands of woman; and it could not be in better hands. How truly Shakspeare thought, when he wrote of you as 'the books, the arts, the academies, that show, contain, and nourish all the world'! Assuredly this is so, and with all my heart I endorse his most excellent judgment. I cannot do better than close these few proemial observations by quoting the inspired words of the wisest man who ever lived : 'A virtuous woman! her price is far above rubies. 'The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 'She will do him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. 'She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 'She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 'She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 'She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 'She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 'She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. 'She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 'She stretcheth out her hands to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 'She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 'She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 'Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 'She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchants. DEDICATED TO MY DAUGHTER JULIA IN HERSELF SHE DWELLETH NOT, ALTHO' NO HOME WERE HALF SO FAIR; NO SIMPLEST DUTY IS FORGOT: LIFE HATH NO DIM AND LOWLY SPOT THAT DOTH NOT IN HER SUNSHINE SHARE! OH! Thou whose merciful decree Hast knit our hearts in bonds of love, Our sure defence and safeguard be, Whate'er our wedded lot may prove. Without Thy blessing love is vain, Avert from us the spirit's chill, Each wand'ring thought and fickle mood; Mould every feeling to Thy will, Incline our hearts to every good. Implanting deep that perfect trust, Of love's rich soil the flower most dear; Turn all our promised joys to dust, But leave that root unwithered here. Blend with our love that gentleness PREFACE, Be on earth a poem of God's making.'-HERBERT. THE SPECTATOR, in one of those admirable papers which delighted a former generation, tells us that the utmost of a woman's character is contained in domestic life, and that there she is the most blameable or praiseworthy.' It is my design, in this Handbook of Domestic Management, to aid my Countrywomen, who aim to make an English home what it should be, in matters which are neither inconsiderable in themselves nor unimportant in their influence. Some of these will at once be accepted as worthy of consideration in the interesting affairs of home life; others may seem trivial to those who, from inexperience, scarcely know how trifles affect the general result, or how much the wise management of little things tells upon the comfort and happiness of a household. In these days of general progress we expect to find some degree of refinement, as well as of comfort, in the domestic arrangements of persons in the middle class of English society. A cultivated mind will by a touch add embellishment to common things, and surround them, without much more cost than that of a little thought and interest, with something of grace and beauty. If, therefore, in this work I may sometimes seem to treat of trivialities, I would apply to them the words of Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton): 'The world is wide, these things are small; They may be nothing, but they are all.' The object of this book is to make the management of domestic affairs easy and interesting. I have examined many treatises on the same subject. To the suggestions they have supplied I have added what occurs to me from my own experience and observation; and as the result, there will be found in the following pages much to promote |