Marion Harland's Complete Cook Book: A Practical and Exhaustive Manual of Cookery and Housekeeping

feeling. Muslin curtains cost next to nothing. Hang them up at her window; give her a pretty cover for her bureau-top and a plain one for her washstand, and plenty of towels. The Golden Rule works well here—where does it not? [Illustration: RANGE-SCREEN PARTLY RAISED] I read a little story many, many years ago—before you were born, I think—a slight, commonplace affair, that has furnished two generations of busy housewives with a hard-worked _mot de famille_. Excuse the foreign phrase! We have none in English that exactly translates it. “Household word” comes nearer to it than anything else, without quite covering it. The tale was of a fidgety housekeeper of the sort stigmatized in the rough parlance of the sensible vulgar as “nasty particular.” A friend, calling upon her soon after breakfast, found her fairly beside herself with worry because guests she had expected at noon had telegraphed that they would be with her at eleven o’clock that morning. Distracted Martha “could never in the world be ready for them. There was so much to do that she did not know what to take hold of first. It was enough to drive a woman out of her senses,” etc., etc., etc. “But what have you to do?” “Do! Do! Do! Why—everything!” The visitor drew off her gloves. “I will stay and help you. Shan’t I get the spare room ready?” A gesture of disdain. “As if I would have put that off until today!” “Can I help about luncheon?” “Well! I should be ashamed of myself if the cook hadn’t her orders and materials and all before this!” “Perhaps I could dust the parlors? or polish silver? or—” glancing around the perfectly appointed dining-room, where the luncheon table was already laid—“I might arrange the flowers in the vases?” It finally transpired that the frantic and “forehanded” hostess could specify but one thing that remained to be done before everything should be in order for the visitors. She had “butter-balls to make” for luncheon. She always kept the paddles in ice-water for hours beforehand. I was young then and read the