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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1904)
1 ' i ' ' ' ! : Is 1 ' .gg. ; i Housekeeping In Foreign Land. IMTOif AM womi'n tri vpll nir abroad A I observe at once thut there lire 1 mirl HITnrAtll-KIl In forolllTn modes of living and our own. Tliere Is none with so subtle vari ances an the keeping of a house in Europe and our own country. This id chiefly causei by the differences in architectural construc tion and In management. I had not been In Europe long when I was made conscious of these facts. On our arrival in one of the larger cities in Germany we were met by a friend, who, after he saw us comfortably settled, ex plained that he had to return to the. law courts, but that his wife would take his place. In less than a half hour his wife railed In response to her husband's com mands. Luncheon over, 8he suggested that we ride up the Elbe and see the houses and gardens along the river bank. It impressed me strangely that she should make so great a point of these people having houses; and I queried where else they should live. The answer came: "I am sure you will con sider our mode of living odd. Hut in our country few people enjoy houses of their own. Most of us occupy an etage or a floor." A German woman who has a house of her own considers heis If remaikably fortunate. A man must be wonderfully well to do be fore he will indulge in so great an extrav agance. Young couples usually begin with four or five rooms. They are satisfied if after many years of married life they nhare a house with four or five families. You pee," she continued laughingly, "marriage Is such a different arrangement In our country. Most of our men feel that our women get so much In winning their love they seldom bestow houses and lavish gifts on us as your men do. The short wedding Journey at nn end. we usually i,r...spkeetlnir at once. If a man owns a shop he often rents nn upper floor as his dwelling, so ho ran 1,0 nnar business. It Is unheard of his place of for a newly murrlpd eoi;nlc to live In a hotel or to go boarding so that the young woman may fcr a while be fre from household re sponsibilities. We start in nt once to learn the Intricacies of a household, usu ally assisted by one maid. This one ser vant is expected to manage with all the work, excepting the washing, which Is done out of the bouse. When the work be comes burdensome through an extra amount of cleaning, the housewife assists with the noonday meal or baking. "Tin re la considerable cooking l:i a Ger man household, ns the meals ore live In number. nlth ugh the first and second breakfasts are simple. The principal meal Is at noon, when German men always gi homo to their dinner. If the German housewife does not always prepare this . meal she is expected to look after the preparation. She and not the cook Is at fault if the soup is not well seasoned or tho meat is burned. The Ice box and larder are not accessible to the cook. These stores are kept under lock and key; and each day the cook receives so much flour, butter and eggs. "Besides the Immediate housekeeping most of us do the family mending and sew ing. To be sure, as the sixe of the fam ily Increases one maid is not held sufficient, but three are considered a great many. When tho number of maids la Increased to three the third usually acts aa a nursery governess, assisting the children in the preparation of their school work." Having shown us her home, she said: "I imagine from what I have hoard that your American bouses are far more pre tentious. I am aure we German women could not succeed In their management; but then yv women are more capable, and, besides, they enjoy carte blanche." Much as the German women have to do In their homes the task Is easy In compari son to the French. The managing of a Freimh household is no easy care. The French, like the German people, orUltuirl'y live In an etage; it Is only families of welth who enjoy an entire household. The Frenchman Is most particular about his home. He exnects that his place will be attractive in its furnishing and well cared for. He is even more fastidious about his meals. The menu must be chosen with care and tho dishes well prepared. For any fail ure in these appointments he will visit his wrath on his wife Instead of censuring the cook. He expects his dinner to be planued with so great thought that he can Invite his friends in to dinner without notifying his wife ahead of time. In spite of this nicety the Frenchman expects bin establishment to be run with the greatest of economy. The household doings are all planned with so great care that at the end of the month the most minute expenses are to be ac counted for. Notwithstanding that Holland is as dirty as can be, the Dutch women are splendid housekeepers. Though as yet they have not taken to the cleaning of the streets, they know how to keep their steps white and their windows Fhirtng. It setis as though they are using Foap and water all the time. The Dutch houses are all made of brick, wood being scarce. They are tall, narrow and built with a great variety of roofs, so that one can lit Into the next without taking up much space. The Dutch maids are neat and thrifty. They arc never seen standing at the door or walking along the street without a white cap and nn upron. When their work U ever they take their large baskets and hasten to the mar ket. In Ixmdon most of the houses are not pretty, though they usual'y have an nlr of comfort about them. Only the leaders of English society live in spacious mansions, the home of the average Englishman being unostentutioiiH. Englishwomen are given more freedom In the management of their hoine than other foreign women. They also have more servunt to assist them. Outside of London, and especially I'l tho lake region, the houses are remarkably pretty and inviting. They are built of brick und rough stcne, always covered with ivy or some other graceful vine. The average English woman l.s simple in her forms of entertainment, especially so at the after noon receptions, when it in not unusual to serve tea and cake. It seems as though It icinains for the American women to burden themselves with mansions and retinues of servants. To some It may appear as a privilege to boast of twenty maid servants and endless sjltcs of rooms, but they offer responsibilities foreign women know not. Delia Austrian in Chicago Tribune. Some i.enn tear Maggesl Ions. HE FACT that this U the first leap year in eight years suggests that the fair sex may be Just a trifle out of practice In their pre rogative of making the tender avowal. Women should remember, first of all, that it Is no more than fair to give u man a chance. No truly gallant man can say "no" to a woman at such a time, even If he Is already pledged to some other woman. Therefore, It is the truest kindness to put the proposal in writing. This point nettled, the character of the rota should be carefully adapted to the circumstances. For Instance, in proposing to a money king and to a carjienter it would hardly bo good form to use tho name letter. To the former the wilter will nat urally say something like this: My Dear Mr. Hunker I have vainly en deavored to lift the mortgage that you have held for so long on my heart and hand. 1 now write to Inform you that I will Join with pleasure in a friendly suit to fore close and take possession. To tho carpenter If perchance the cor respondent should feel sufficiently moved to Indulge In rhyme she may ijutte properly write: My head's level, 1 ux you plane Awl on the square To wed me. JANE. Thus the avowal In each case Is in keep ing with the circumstances. It Is possible, however, thHt some tlmld maid may con sider Jane's proposal to the carpenter too outspoken. In that case a loss direct but equally effective appeal may bo constructed about some Ingenious and appropriate phruse. A rich woman, for Instance, can say to a real estate- dealer: "Why pay rent? It Is cheaper to have your own home," etc. A bashful tailor can be asked with entire propriety why lie does nut press biu uwu suit, etc. In short, lovely woman Intending to usn the privilege afforded this year by tho calendar Is hereby reminded that nil Is f ilr In war and leap year provided always that she writes her proposal. Chicago Inter Ocean. Itrlultt mid Uunlnt Mo in lie r Holies, m tE s'umber robe that women like best now i.s a i heerful-lonklng and co'y object of comfort. It I neither too delicate in color nor in material to stand hard wear. and it combines lightness of wiJght with warmth. A pretty now slumber robe Is of Itsllan make, cr an imitation of It. in broad strides of bright col irs, In which yellow appears and frequently red. It has a long, woolly, hairy surfact that Is soft in effect and warm to tho touch. Tho Italian slumber roles are selected with a view to the colors- In the room In which they wi'l be used, and hues are chosen which will become, the face of tho woman who snuggles under them. French slimmer robes are also fashion alio. These are more elaborate than thu other sort and cover a wldir rungo of de signs and materials. The French robe Is light and warm and also distinctly orna mi ntal. It often has wreaths ,f Mowers ill soft tints upon a delicate ground color, but, gnu rally speaking, Its colors are not so bright as tho.w In the Italian stripes. The afghan, which was once such a fa vorite, has come Into Its own once more, and sixiety not i-nly wraps Itse'f In nfghans when it lies down for a sl-sta, but knits and crochets them as well. Hlumber nfghans are sometimes worked In broad stripes and sometimes In alternat ing lini of color, while various fancy ef fects are produced In alternating lines of color of contrasting hues. It Is also a fad cf the day to make these broader strli-cs with shaded sides, the cen ter lies of stitches being dark and the Bide lines gradually shading to an almost white edge. Another popular afghan pat tern has a zig-zag Htripe running from corner to corner Instead of from end to end. Slumber robes worked In cross stitch are even more stylish than the others ami re quire much more time to make and much more money to buy. To work u big mono gram In the center of a slumber rube and then work a border or corner pattern in large figures and bright colors, and finally to till In the ground with a dark wool In cross stitch Is to produce something as beautiful as It l serviceable and fashion able. 11 Is possible to get ft single blanket of a pretty color and work a cross stitch border to it upon scrim, with a design In the center. Itohes of Swedish flat stitch are worked In Ulff .rent tints and lighter onus from t rs stitch, and much more yellow Is seen In Swedish and Danish work. The slumber robes are treated In the same manner and with the same materials us If cross stitch was to lie worked, the coloring Ix-lng differ ently arranged for the reason that one stltcb mingles color where It pleases and the other works In llivs. The stitches for slumber robes are long and the wools, silks and yarns rather thick, so that the robe is not such a task to make, being tedious rather than troublesome. It Is quite a fad to mingle cross with flat stitch in slumber robos, and American Im patience is fairly well shown In the fact that more robes are mn-imctitcd with these fancy needlework stltcr.e. than are worked entirely with them. Womci. deft with the needle construct some dainty slumber robes of satin rib bons joined with fancy iietdlework stitches, mingling feather stitching, briar stitching, herring boning, chain stitching ami French knots, with any oilier stitch their Ingenuity may t-uggest. What Women Are IIoIkk. Tho favorite nli oe of Pop - Plus X, Ml Gilda I arolin, is about to le mnrrls I to a rich lanued proprietor of northern Italy. Mis. Jam:na Stoat of Eaglctuwn, Ind., Iihh Just oclhrsleil her i "2d br h uy In Mm house In whli h i lie has livi d c in nil m.sly for the past lilty-i.lx year.'. Th MMFsaohim Its icgti'.atu e Ins tuniJd down a woman suffrage re olu i n I y a heavy majority. The Kimiiasi point iuid against it wa- th it only f ur womea i lit of I'm asked for the privilege at a re. on lid inn ill lMJi. Mrs. Daniel Manning lias h I'l Was! I:itt'"i for Albany, N. V. Mr?. Manning is plan ning to take up liej ii stili lice al HI. l-oiiis ill the near fiituic so that sh may keep in close fcuich with work of the nqim: i n, with which she Is nellv.iy minuend us head of the bourd of woman manigers. Mr. Catherine K. Hteele, who din 1 re cently al l.yndebnroi'gh, N. II.. aged n-arly 1KI years, was a cumin of Fiankl n I'l -lie, fourteenth president of the l'nl:el Htati-l, and was the nhlc't Daughter of the Amer ican Itevoliilion In her tte. Her fitter, then scarcely more than a lad, fought at Hunker hill in Hturke's brigade. One of the hardest workers in an fast hide settlement,- New York, M Dr. Mir garet long, the daughter of John D. Ionir, former secretary of the navy. Bhe was graduated ns a physii Ian at the radical school of Johns Hopkins university In J u lift. 1MIX, and during I he last year she has found her greatipt pleasure in ministering to thu wants of the onr. Frills of Fashion. figured effects In veiling are Hinall the leaders Long handled parasols Hie promised con siderable vogue this season. Voile, i repe de chine, mcssaline are to be much worn during the coming spring and summer Veils with ribbon edge and others show ing a single thread of gold are among the season's leaders. A novelty in stock collars shows a Wind sor bow effect In moussellne, creK' de china and other soft fabrics. Helf-color with white is tho decorative scheme noticed on many of the new gowns from foreign modlsUa. The gold fad has extended to the parasol, ornamentation in gold thread appearing on some of the newest models. For the people who fancy silver Jewelry there are Mexican rings, pretty, delicate things done in filigree work. Gowns thut j re worn without coats will sport some very fancy yokes. They are not necessarily of Isee, but can be of shirrings, or of applications, or the yokes can 1 lit tle accoulion plaited capes fastened to the stock and allowed to fall over the should ers. This 1.4 a charming little style for the graceful woman.