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The Commoner.
Vol. a, No. a8.
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THE HOME DEPARTMENT.
Ilavlnjt no Time.
It Is a constant complaint among
woman, wliothor thoy lccop ono servant
or nono, that thoy "havo no time"
that thoy aro "hurried to death," "tied
down" and ovorburdenod with- tasks
thoy hardly hopo over to see finished.
Indeed, the avorago woman at homo or
abroad would seem to bo "ovorlaBting
y at it," for sho carries her work, or
tho worry of it, with hor, wherever
sho go 08.
Thoro aro always a hundred things
uncommonccd, or unfinished that de
mand her attontion and command tho
employment of hor hands. Outsido of
hor regular routine work thoro arise
numberless unloolced for, unforsocn,
and utterly unprepared for Interrup
tions which involve a great loss cf
timo as woll as an upsetting of all
woll regulated theorios, yet which can
not bo sot aside or ignored. There
must bo numberless turnings asido
to meet thoso oxtra issues, and In the
meantime her regular duties must go
on, or tho neglecting of thorn involves
an immonso loss of timo, besides n
practical and very Borious disturbance
of tho housohold economies.
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A woman's work is largely composed
of details and endless repetitions, and
thoro is no hour in tho twenty-four in
which sho can say hor day's work io
finished, and fold her hands in perfect
conildenco that no duty lies in wait
tor thorn. From the very nature of
"bar-work, sho must go on, constantly
'struggling, constantly failing, con
stantly hoping. If sho is not partic
ularly clear-lioaded, hor work becomes
confused, hor tasks entangled, and the
knowledge that thoy are constantly
falling behind in performance affects
hor spirits, until she becomes nervous
and discouraged, and it is only by hop
ing against hopo that she is enabled
to go on with tho losing battle.
ago of tho odd moments tho little
odd bits of timo so often sandwiched
in between tho important things. Sho
doos not understand .how to piece to
gether theso pieces of hours into ono
perfect wholo. Sho lias never
boon taught to economize hor
work, or herself, and in her
prodigal spreading out of both, she
is very , extravagant of all. Extrava
ganco in any lino moans "waste, and
this continual waBto of timo and ener
gies by unsystematic and irregular
performance of ziz-zag tasks creates a
very groat want a lack which nothing
but increased ability can supply.
However woman may bo wanting in
other directions, sho is not lacking in
courage, and, nothing daunted, sho
works bravely on in tho face of diffi
culties that would create a panic in
tho mind of tho avorago man. Sho. is
cheerful in the midst of disappoint
ments, and no matter how disheart
ening" her repeated failures may bo,
sho still courageously looks forward
to a timo when hor persistence shall
bo rewarded she will "get through,"
"catch up," and thon sho "will havo
"plenty of time."
Now, thoro ought to be a remedy for
all this, but I am afraid I cannot suc
cessfully prescribe for tho disease. Not
many women are willing to "take their
medicine." If 1 were to advise, it
1 would bo that my sister should not
attempt so mucn. lr tnoy wouia un
dertake only what they aro reasonably
suro they can complete, it would ba
bettor for all. There is a great deal
of useless work done In very home,
and more often than not, it is" tho use
less work thoy like best to do. And
1 am not suro I should call it use-
loss, for it serves tho purpose or satis
fying their lovo of beautiful thing3,
and is often tho only real selfish pleas
ure they havo.
Of course, a woman has all tho tlrao
j.v -. tn 'nrl it fViorn worn t.wlo.n &8
manv hours, matters would not ho
mended; there would be twice as many
duties to fill them. Occasionally, a
woman is so energetic, so practical,
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There are many things that could bo
left undone, things that aro not ma
terial to tho real comfort of tho fam
ily; thoro aro others that might bo
relegated to others, though less skill-
possossed of such executive power ful nands We Bnouia iearn to onduro
that sho can push right ahead, over
coming obstacles and bringing order
out of chaos by tho mere exercise of
her superabundant "go-ahead-active-ness'
and by her good generalship,
keeping her affairs so well in hand
that Bho does not fear a few extra
demands, but this kind of woman is
not the "average." Sho can, and does,
take care of herself she thinks as
forcibly as she acts. She Is one of the
"generals" In the great army of house
keepers, and is fully worthy of her
rank. I know it is the custom to say
the blamo all or at least In a great
measure lies with the woman hor
self ; but of this I am not so sure. Tho
general is the exception the rank and
file are the rule, and a failing or lack
is not a fault. Tho average woman
lacks system; she cannot "manage;"
she has not the ability to tako advant-
the fact that some work is but half
dono, or poorly executed. The really
necessary, and that which cannot, and
should not bo shirked, will fill our
hands full enough, and one can learn
to endure almost anything, if she
tries hard enough and long enough.
Meantime, there aro some lessons she
should bo diligently learning. A
woman quick in thought and rapid in
execution can learn to take advantage
of the odd moments between tho vari
ous kinds of work; sho can learn to
avail herself of opportunities that of
fer, in simplifying and systematizing
her daily tasks. Many kinds of work
can be "taken up at odd intervals,
quickly laid asido and as quickly re
sumed, and one will not miss the timo
devoted to its completion because it is
composed of minutes that would other-
Iwlse be lost. It is the little things
that help, and it Is tho little that,
neglected, so ofton causo us extra
work, and often great loss of time.
A woman should learn to' take ad
vantage of any holp, from whatever
source, and to realize that it is use
less to try to do overything herself.
In this harum-scarum, hurly-burly ex
istence, which keeps the wheels always
going around, wo must learn to look
upon ourselves as ono of tho 'smallest
of their many parts, and not try to
persuade ovon ourselves that we'aro
tho wholo wheel. ;
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Knowledge of Business netliods.
Women are Jbecoming daily more
impressed with their need of some
knowledge of business, methods in re
gard to tho management of property.
Aa a general rule, very few women
have any but a vague idea of what
thoir property rights aro, or in what
way they may safely Invest their earn
ings or inheritance in order to secure
from it a reasonable compensation, and
aro thus dependent upon tho honesty
and business integrity of some man in
whom thoy must blindly and ignorant
ly put thoir trust.
Tho right of married women to
property which is generally recognized
as her separate estate, are more or
loss protected in courts of equity all
over the country, but women's Ignor
ance of tho laws Is sometimes a great
temptation to tho ono to whom her
property is entrusted, and is not in
frequently taken criminal advantage
of, to her serious loss.
The "aversion of some men to allow
ing a woman a knowledge of business
transactions is very often founded
upon their own inability to attend suc
cessfully to affairs, and they reason
that if they tho natural business
manipulators make a muddle of af
fairs, a woman could hardly bo ex
pected to understand money matters.
Even husbands, brothers, and, less
frequently, sons, havo been known to
take advantage of this ignorance and
ir experience, and have appropriated
the trust funds to their own use, in
vesting her property In their own
names, and thus, in case of their
deavh or bankruptcy, leaving the wom
an penniless, or in very straightened
circumstances.
Every woman should have a knowl
edge of theso laws, for her own self-protection.
cracked ico, and have beside it an
other pan with a solve, standing in
another pan of cracked ico. Whip tho
cream with a syllabub churn, or a
Dover beater. Tho cream, bowl and
beater must bo icy cold, to begin with.
As fast as tho froth rises, skim it off
into the solve, and any liquid thau
drips through add again to the first'
pan to bo rebeaten. tack tho mousso
in a plain mold, which should havo
been rinsed in ico water tho freezer
can will do, heaping it in closely, but
lightly. Cover and pack as for mould
ihg ice cream. Set aside for four" hours
to harden, covering the can with suffic
ient salt and ice to extend a few
inches above the contents, covering
tho freezer with a blanket or piece oJB
carpet. , j
Office Work as Discipline.
Horer aro a few points offered in
favor of tho ..office girl as a homo-
keeper.
8hG has had thorough discipline In
tho way of doing, without question,
what is asked of her.
Sho knows thoroughly the worth of,
a dollar, having been a wage-worker
herself.
She will spend wisely, because oi
her knowledge of what a dollar costs.
If her husband meets with business
reverses and statistics show that 90
per cent of tho business men absolute
ly fail at some time of life she knows
how to sympathize with him, and by
her courage and assistance, she may;
help him to retrieve the lost position
in the business world.
She will have a. well-regulated, home,
as she knows tho value of systematic
work; her husband can safely trust
to her in all matters demanding punc
tuality and timely preparation, arid
will not lie late to his train.
Knowing the trials and temptationa
of a business life, as well as the nerve
tension and irritability incident thero-
,to, she will be a sympathetic and in
dulgent wife, because she has ex
perienced thes.e worries herself.
She will be a thoughtful and, in'
most cases, a hygienic cook, as she
knows that a business man's appetite
needs fostering and humoring.
Lastly, her husband can safely trust
in her, because, having spent a great
deal of time in the society of men,
she has studied their character and
realizes that they aro nono of thorn
angels just yet
Peach rieusse.
Choose very ripe peaches, pare and
slice enough to make a pint of pulp
when rubbed through a serve. Add
one cup of. sugar, and, if you like tho
flavor, one teaspoonful of noyan,
which is a cordial flavored with the
kernels of tho peach and apricot, espa
cially used for cookery. After mix
ing these .thoroughly, add ono quart
of cream whipped as dlreced for
mousse. Mousses are made of whipped
cream, frozen without stirring dur
ing the freezing process, producing a
light, moss-llko texture. The cream
must be free from milk, drained as
fast as it is whipped, for there must
be no liquid cream in the mousse.
Add one-half cup of powdered sugar
to one pint of cream. Set the bowl
containing the , cream in a pan of
Hints For the Housewife.
If your cake cracks open on top
while baking, either your oven is -too
hot, cooking the outside before heating
the inside, or your cake batter was
too stiff. To test the heat of your,
oven before putting in your cake mold,
throw a teaspoonful of flour on tho.
bottom of the oven, if it turns a dar'ir
brown or takes fire tho oven Is too
hot; if after about three minutes tho
flour should be a light brown, the
temperature is about right.
A can of boiling water set in tho
oven helps to prevent scorching.
Spread the beaten yolk of an egg on!
your rusks or pies just before putting
in tho oven to give them a rich, pol-t
lished appearance when done.
Nothing made of milk, sugar and
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