The brush has been wet to brush the hair, and then without drying shut from the air in the drawer. There is no smell so sickening! It pervades the whole bureau. No perfume can overcome it; and by using the brush, damp and uncleansed day after day, the odor is carried wherever this careless person goes. We have sat by people in church who have used such a brush, and could hardly remain during the service. The cause is unmistakable and cannot be concealed. If no other means can destroy this bad habit, we would recommend that any one so thoughtless should read an article we saw not long since in “Harper’s Bazar” on the vegetable growth, in brush, comb, hair, and scalp, produced by wetting the brush or hair, and leaving them undried or uncleansed. We think once reading that description would be sufficient cure.
The hair-brush should be combed free from hair or dandruff every time it is used, and laid by an open window till well aired and dried, if ladies will persist in wetting the hair or brush. A brisk movement of a dry brush through the hair will soon create a fine lustre on the hair, whereas wetting diminishes the gloss so beautiful in well-kept hair; but we forget that that is an old-fashioned idea. The progress of art and elegance teaches that a wilderness of fuzzy, frizzled hair is now the crowning beauty. Tastes differ, but no change in style or fashion will object, we hope, to a clean, sweet brush; and to secure that it must once a week, at least, be well washed in warm soapsuds, in which a little soda has been dissolved. Soda is better than ammonia, as it cleanses without stimulating the vegetable growth spoken of in the “Bazar,” to which we just referred. Comb the brush while washing, that the suds may penetrate to the roots of the bristles, and cleanse every part; then rinse in warm water, rub dry as you can, and put in the window, or by the fire if the weather is damp, to dry. This care should not be neglected by any one who makes any pretension to neatness.
The bureau drawers in this room are not in good order. You will lose much time, and we think a good deal of self-respect, when next you need a handkerchief or stockings, for everything here seems to have been stirred up by a whirl-wind or a sleep-walker. It will require some skill and more patience than you can spare to separate this wretched tangle.
The pipes in the wash-basin and bath-room are slimy and foul, indicative of neglect. They should be well washed every morning, and once a week a pail of boiling suds, with a spoonful or two of soda or potash, must be poured in, to eat away all impurities, and sweeten the pipes. In passing, let us say this care is more especially necessary in the kitchen sinks. They require a stronger suds, and more soda or lye, and more attention, to eat out all the grease that will accumulate in washing dishes.
The discoloration around the bell-pull, door-knobs, etc., shows that a careless girl has not protected the wall or paint while cleaning them, and the mistress has not kept her eyes open. A bit of oil-cloth, with a hole in the center, to slip over the knobs or bell-pulls while rubbing, would have saved this defacement of paint and paper. And the finger-marks on the doors also tell a sad story of neglect. They need to be washed off once a week—twice, if little fingers are about—with a soft flannel, wrung out of hot suds.
In the sitting-room, the mantel over the grate has not been washed every morning when the fire is lighted in the grate. It should be. See! the gas and smoke from coal or kindlings have turned the white marble quite yellow. Wash it in hot suds, strong with ammonia, to remove the spots, and then use a clean brush and hot suds every morning, and you will save much time, and be well rewarded with an unspotted mantel.
We can’t pry about any longer, but there is no knowing when we may be tempted again to meddle with our friends’ housekeeping.
XXXIII.
BUY YOUR CAGE BEFORE YOU CATCH YOUR BIRD.
A YOUNG lady writes that this old adage is often repeated to her “in connection with grave warnings against early engagements and early marriages,” and asks for our opinion and advice.
This old proverb sounds very wise, and if taken literally may, for aught we know, be correct doctrine; but when used as a warning, in the connection which our friend suggests, we don’t more than half believe in it. We are no advocate for very long engagements or unreasonably early marriages; but we do believe that the happiest marriages are of those between whom the love was early plighted, and that close observation will prove that such are the most likely to stand the test of time, and pass through the many rough and hazardous paths of married life with the most cheerful fortitude. Those who have delayed marriage till their habits have become too firmly established to yield kindly to another’s wishes or peculiarities have not, we think, so sure a prospect of a pleasant and harmonious life. We would sooner trust an early union to carry the wedded pair down to a peaceful old age, not only without losing the love that first united them, but with the firm hope that it would grow brighter and brighter until that perfect day when both, having passed over the river, shall stand with clearer vision and purified affection before the throne of God.