You summon the girl, trying all the time to school your heart and voice to patience. You show her the dust, and, taking the work into your own hands, proceed to give her practical demonstration of how the work can and must be done. As you pass from one article to another, you explain the injury to furniture and ornaments which will follow careless dusting. Point out how speedily dust hides in the moldings and carvings, and show her how to gain access to all the intricate and troublesome ornamental work. As you proceed she sees how easily and perfectly it can be done; but do not flatter yourself that this lesson, so thoroughly and plainly given, will relieve you from the responsibility of following up your chambermaid with continued watchfulness and reminders. Be prepared to repeat this lesson every week, and at the end of months find the repetition still necessary. If you do not find this so, you may thank God and take courage, for you have secured a treasure which you will do well to cherish.
It is because our servants are so inclined to slight this seemingly small, but really very important part of domestic economy, that we think mothers should begin early to teach their little daughters how to dust a room, and polish, by thorough dusting, all the furniture and articles of beauty. Let them take first lessons in learning to keep their play-room and playthings free from dust, and the knowledge thus gained in play will soon be of much practical and valuable assistance to their mothers. We know there are some children naturally careless and flighty, while others are born neat and methodical. This difference is very observable in children of the same family, trained by the same mother, with equal care; and mothers soon understand that one child must be looked after, in every step of her way toward becoming a practical, useful, helpful daughter and woman, more than the other. Such children draw very heavily on their mother’s strength, patience, and hopefulness; but if the child is of an affectionate disposition, in the end love and experience will conquer.
There is great need that mothers be not discouraged in their endeavors to teach their daughters all that pertains to practical domestic economy; for, if we are not greatly mistaken, the time is not far off when we shall all feel the necessity of looking to our daughters to assist us in the nicer parts of housework, if we would have comfortable, happy homes; relying on servants only for the coarser, harder parts that would tax our strength too severely, or engross our time too much, to leave any for social life or intellectual improvement. These must receive their full share of our attention; but the home cares have equal claims. Let there be an equal distribution, giving to each her portion in due season, and there will be less waste and extravagance, and lighter hearts and happier homes.
LXXVI.
A CHAPTER ON SOUPS.
HESITATION in taking the first steps in any new enterprise or new work is very common. With some it springs from great caution; with others, from lack of confidence in their own ability. They magnify troubles which may arise, and imagine all manner of difficulties, until very small and easy duties are clothed in a mystery which they shrink from solving.
In working, a novice, if at all timid or lacking self-reliance, often keeps herself in a constant state of alarm lest she make some great mistake, and, strange as it may seem, few things in the whole round of cooking-experiments assume a more formidable aspect than the simple act of making a soup. It is a mystery which grows more uncanny the longer it is looked at from a distance; but lay your hand upon it, and you will soon learn that you have been frightened at a shadow.
There are several things preliminary to making soup which are quite essential. First of all, it is desirable, though not absolutely indispensable, that you provide yourself with the best and most convenient utensils.
A stock-pot is usually a large, round kettle, with a closely fitting cover, into which the meat or bones and odd bits for preparing the stock or broth for soups are put, to be cooked. It is generally made of iron or copper.
A soup-digester is a kind of stock-pot made wholly of iron. The lid fits closely into a groove in the top of the digester, with a projecting piece which, when turned till it meets the socket or notch on each side of the groove, acts like a lock, holding the lid on tightly. In that respect it is far better than the stock-pot, for nothing can boil over in the digester, and no steam escapes except through the valve at the top of the cover. They are to be obtained at almost all hardware stores, and are of all sizes, from three quarts to ten gallons.
Next, having provided the utensils, good “stock” of various kinds should be kept constantly on hand, regulating the quantity prepared at one time by the state of the weather and the size of your family. In summer, in a cool cellar, it will keep, by frequent scalding, several days. In winter it is safe to keep it much longer, only, like everything else, it requires to be looked after carefully. Few soups can be of the best quality without a strong stock to start with. Liebig’s Extracts of Meat answers very well for a substitute, but is better used in connection with the stock.