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Scieutiflc aud Medical
Books, and Minerals.
DR. A. E.FOOTE,
Philadelphia, Pa.
«*"


'.. f »J
SURGEON GENERAL'S OFFICE

     LIBRARY.    '
Section,
Ab.
P'lO.

■fi '-4& 
< 
 
r
THE
HOUSE-KEEPERS'   GUIDE,
                 AND
    INDIAN   DOCTOR:
               CONTAINING
  THE VERY BEST DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING ALL KINDS OF
ICE CREAMS, PRESERVES, JELLIES, PER-
    FUMERY, AND ESSENCES, FANCY
          AND PLAIN SOAPS,
        AND AN EXCELLENT SYSTEM ON THE '
  TREATMENT  OF THE  HAIR;
            THE BEST METHOD OF
Cleaning Brass, Marble, Mahogany Fur-
    niture, Cutlery, Carpets, &c. &c.
          ALSO, A COMPLETE SYSTEM  OF
     GENUINE  INDIAN DOCTORING:
            TO WHICH IS ADDED
DIRECTIONS FOR LETTER WRITING UNDER VARIOUS
             CIRCUMSTANCES.
          THE BOOK CLOSES WITH THE
CELEBRATED CHEMICAL WASHIN^ j*fc|JftXRY
                   suaceoN generacs office
                  ,     DEC.-28-1897
        NEW YOR£ :      m ,___(
AMERICAN FAMILY PUBLIC ATI
             138 Nassau Str
                1855.
        John J. Reed, Printer, 16 Spruce Stree
ON ESTABBrSJIMESr.  4 
WBA
!2>55

    Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855,
              BY  E.  HUTCHINSON;
bi tho Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Souther IViitrict
                   of New York.
 
CONTENTS.
                A           PAGE
Alabaster, to clean...__.-------  38
Ants and other household vermin,
  to guard against...............-  47
Apples, preserved.........-----  14
Apples, transparent...............* 14
Apricots, to pickle...............-  22
Asthma...................-......  51

                B
Beer, common............-.......  19
Beer, Spring...........-..........  19
Beer,  Spruce.................---  20
Beer, Ginger, Quick.......------  20
Beer, Ginger,..........'.........—  20
Beer, Hop.-......................  20
Beer, Lemon..---------------  21
Beets, to pickle.................—  25
Blackball........................  36
Blacking, liquid.........-........  37
Bleeding at the stomach..........  56
Bowels, Inflammation of......---  49
Bowel  complaints.................  49
Brass utensils, to polish...........  46
Brass utensils, caution in using---  36
Breach or Burst on the Body......  58
Britannia, to polish...............  46
Broadcloth, to remove stains from. 39
Burn, salve for...................  54
Butter, to extract rancidity from. - 33
Butter, to pot for winter..........  33
Butternuts, to pickle.............  23
                 C
Cabbage, red, to pickle............  25
Candies..........................  27
Candies, to clarify sugar for.......  27
Candy, Hoarhound...............  28
Candy, Lemon, common..........   28
Candy, Lemon,...................  27
Candy, Molasses..................  27
Candy, Peppermint...............  28
Candy, Rock.....................  27
Candy, Rose.....................  28
Candy, Twist....................  28
Candy, Twist and common........  28
Canker, common.................  56
Canker, in the mouth.............  55
Catarrh, in the Head.............  57
Carpets, to clean................—  43
Catsup, Oyster...................  2j
Catsup, Tomato..................  %>
Catsup, Tomato, No. 2...........  %>
Catsup, Walnut.........--■-"".•  ?*
Cement for mouths of corked bot'ls 37
Cement, for alabaster............. 38
Cement, for iron ware.....-......  38
Cement for broken glass, china.... «S7
                             PAGE
Cement for Japanese, or Rice Glue  38
Cherries, preserved______.......  17
Cholera Morbus..................  49
Cholic Bilious....................  50
Clotted Cream....................   8
Cockroaches and other household
   vermin___________________  47
Complexion to make fair........  62
Consumption.....................  61
Corns______________________  65
Cologne Water...................  29
Cologne Water No. 2.............  30
Copper utensils, caution in using—  36
Cotton goods, to remove paint from  39
Cotton goods, white, to remove stains
  from...........................  40
Cough, hectic..............-.....  51
Coughs............----------.-  60
Cough, whooping.........------  61
Crab-apples, preserved.........—  14
Cramp, remedy for---...........  50
Cranberries, preserved...........  17
Crape, Italian, to restore when rusty 43
Creams.............—.............   7
Cream of Lilies.......-...........  61
Cream Snow.........—......---   8
Cream, to keep it sweet---------   8
Cream, to preserve at sea.....----  33
Cream, substitute for in coffee---  33
Cucumbers, to pickle........----  22
Currant Water Ice...............   8
Currants, preserved-----------  13
Cutlery, to remove rust from......  46
                D
Damsoms, preserved..............  17
Diabetes................--------  60
Diets,  Indian.......-----------  49
Drinks-......----------------  19
Dropsy, severe cases..............  69
Dysentery........................  49
                 E
Eau de Cologne—................  61
Eggs, to keep several months......  88
Eruptions, certain cure for........  63
Essence of Lemon................  29

Essential Oil of Flowers, to extract 29
Eye, film in......................  &J
Eye lashes, to blacken............. 68
Eyes, sore................-......- 56
                 F

Feather-beds, to clean............. 46
Febrile complaints——............  52
Felon or Runround...............  53 
IV
CONTENTS.
                             PAGE
Female Obstructions, &c..........  50
Fever,  bilious.....................  j?^
Fever,  intermittent...............  j?o
Fever,  scarlet.............'-.......  °^
Fits, convulsion.........-.........  J'
Floors, to extract grease from.....  4«
Freckles, to cure.....—--------  £?
Fruit, to preserve various kinds—  *>

                G

Gages, preserved...........Tl'"j
Glass, window, to remove paint and
  putty.............-............
Gloves, light kid, to clean.........
Gooseberries, preserved...........
Grapes, preserved.................
Gravel............................
Gums, excellent for...............
Gums  and teethj to clean..........
Hair, curling it...................  62
Hair, oil for......................  6}
Hair, falling  off, to prevent it......  61
Hair, treatment of---............  6*
Hasty Cream.....................   °
Head, cold in---*-...............  50
Herbs, to preserve.....----------  34
Hudson's Cold Cream.............  62
Ice Cream......................—   7
Ice Cream, No. 2.................   7
Ice Cream, Lemon................   7
Ice Cream, Vanilla...............   7
Indian Doctor.......------------  49
Inflammatory complaints--------  52
Ink, durable, for marking.........  36
Ink, to extract from floors.........  45
Itoh..............................  54
 Jayne-'s HairTonio...............  61
 Jellies............................   9
 Jellies, directions for sweetening—.   9
 Jelly, apple.......................  11
 Jelly, blackberry..................  12
 Jelly, calf s feet...................  12
 Jelly, cranberry...................  10
 Jelly, currant.....................  10
 Jelly, grape.......................  10
 Jelly, lemon......................  11
"Jelly, quince......................  10
 Jelly, raspberry...................  12
 Jolly, strawberry.................  12
 Joint, stiff, or shrunk sinew.......  59
 Joints, stiff.......................  64
lavender Water...............__  so
Lemonade........................  19
Letter from a young Miss to her Pa-
  rents---...................___  65
Letter from the same to her Parents
  on another occasion.............  65
Letter from a young  Miss  to her
  brother In the country..........  65
Letter In answer to the preceding..  66
Lotter from the Daughter to the
  Mother, excusing her neglect___  66
                              PAGE

Letter from a young Lady to ner
  Mother............-..........---•
Letterfrom a Mother in town to a
  Daughter at school in the country bi
Letter in answer to the above- - - «>»
Letter from  a  young Woman just
  gone to service in N. Y., to ner
  Mother in the country........... w>
Letter from the Mother in answer- 10
Letter from a young Woman, a ser
  vant in N.  Y., to her parents, for
  consent to  marry................ 7U
Letter of the Parents in answer... 71
Letter from a Daughter to her Fa-
  ther, pleading for ber Sister, who
  had married without his consent <l
Letter of the Father  in answer.-- 72
Letters on Love,  Courtship,  and
  Marriage.............------■— '3
Letter from a young Gentleman to a
  Lady with whom he is in love. — IS
Letter from the Lady in answer. - (4
Letter from a Gentleman  in reply- 7a  •
Letter from a Gentleman's mother
  to the young Lady---—........ J5
Letter from the lady in answer... - 77
Letter from the young Lady to the   _
  Gentleman............----..... 7'
    «     »      "      "    same 77
Letter fm the Gentleman  in answer 78
Letter fm the Lady after marriage,
  to an unmarried cousin.........  80
Letter from a young Merchant in N.
  York to a widow Lady in the
  country........--------.....--  81
Letter fm the Lady to her Brother,
  an attorney, on the above...---  SI
Letter from the Brother in answer  82
Letter fm the Lady to Mr. Moreton  83
Letter from a young Officer to  a
  Lady with whom he is  in love—  84
Letter f m the Officer to the Lady's
  Father.........................  85
Letter from the young Lady to her
  Lover........________________  86
 Letter from the Father in answer to
  theGentleman.................  87
 Letter from a young Man just out of
  his apprenticeship to his  Sweet-
  heart in the neighborhood......  88
 Letter in answer to one on p. 88---  90
 Letter from a Father to his Daugh-
   ters on courtship and  coquettish
   behaviour......................  90
 Letter from a Father to his Daugh-
   ters on the same.................  93
 Letterfrom a Lover  to his Mistress,
   lately recovered from  sickness.-   89
 Letter Writer....................   65
 Letters on Relationship.......___   65
 Lip Salve, No. 1..................   C4
 Lip 8alve, No. 2..................   04
 Lung complaints.................  60

                  M
  Mah ogany furniture, to  clean.....  4-1
  Mangoes, to pickle................  23
  Marble, to  clean..................  38
  Marble furniture, to clean.........  44
  Marmalade,  quince...............  12
  Marmalade, tomato...............  13
1  Mattresses, to clean....__________  45 
CONTENTS.
V
                               PAGE
Mead.............................  30
Miscellaneous Recipes............  33
Moths, to guard against...........  47
Mottoes, to make______________  29
Mustard, to make.................  25

                 N
Nails, to give color to__________  63

                 O
Oil,'bear's........................  62
Oil, cosmetic, compound for hair..  62
Onions, to pickle................—  22
Orgeat...........................  19
Ox Pomatum—.......___........  62
Oysters, to pickle......---------  26
Oysters, to pickle, No. 2..........  26

                  P
Pain in the breast or side..........  52
Palsy, numb-.......-.....-.......  57
Paper goods, to extract grease from  40
Peaches,  preserved____________  15
Peaches,  to pickle................  22
Pears, preserved---.......-......  18
Pears, Winter, Bell...............  18
Peppers, to pickle................  23
Perfumery.......................  29
 Perfume-bags....................  30
 Phials, to cleanse.................  46
 Pickling, directions for............   21
 Pie-plates, to cleanse..............   46
 Piles............................-  56
 Pimples, certain cure for--------  (63
 Pineapples, preserved.............   13
 Pippins, preserved................   15
 Plums, to pickle likeolives........   24
 Polypus in the nose...............  58
 Preserves___----------------   9
 Preserves, directions for sweetening   9
 Pumpkins, preserved..............  18

                  o,
 Quinces, preserved................  12
 Quinsy...........................  51

                  R
 Rattle-snake's bite................  54
 Recipe excellent for hair oil.......  62
 Recipes, practical Indian.......v  64
 Rheumatism, acute...............  56
 Rheumatism.....................  57
 Rheumatism, flying..............  55
 Rose Pomatum...................  62
 Rose Water......................  30

                  S
 Salt Rheum......................   55
 Shawls,  silk, to clean..............   42
 Shawls,  woolen, to clean..........   42
 Sherbert.........................   19
                              PAGE
Silk goods/directions for cleaning— 40
Silk goods, to remove paint from.. 39
Silk goods, to extract grease from. 40
Silk, colored to remove stains from. 40
Sinews, shrunken-................ 54
Small Pox........................ 53
Soap, bayberry................... 32
Soap, castile_____.........____ 31
Soap, cold........................ 31
Soap, cosmetic, for washing hands- 32
Soap, hard....................__ 31
Soap, labor-saving____......____ 31
Soap, myrtle...---...........__ 31
Soap, superior soft................ 31
Soap, Windsor................... 31
Soaps.......----------------- 31
Sores, old, poultice for............ 60
Starch, to make  it—-............ 41
Stone hearths, to clean---........ 44
Strawberries, preserved........... 13
Stopples of  Bottles, to loosen...... 39
Stoves, to clean.................— 44
Sweetmeats, to clarify sugar for.--   9
Sweetmeats, directions for making   9
Swellings, involuntary............  59
Syrup of Cream..................   8

                 T

Tea-kettles, to prevent a crust on—  39
Teeth, hollow, aching.............  54
Teeth, excellent for...............  64
Teeth, rotten, mixture for........  64
Throat, sore......................  50
Tomatoes, preserved..............  14
Tomatoes,  to pickle.........----  26
Tooth Paste,Orris'................  54
Tooth Powder-...................  64
 Tooth Wash, chlorine.............  64

                 U
 Ulcers, inward....................  55
 Ulcers, inwaid, No. 2.............  59

                 V

 Vegetables,to keep through the win-
   ter....................•.........  34
 Vinegar, aromatic—..........---  30
 Vinegar  cidertomake............  24

                 W
 Walnuts, to pickle................   23
 Warts, to remove.................  63
 Washing, famous chemical  recipe
    for..........................---  96
 Weakness, inward, and pain  in the
    side, back, and stomach- -.......  60
 Wen..............................  56
 Woollen goods, toextract paint f'm  39
 Woollen goods, scarlet, to  remove
    black stains from...............  39
 Woollen goods, to extract grease
    from..................-........  40
 Worms in children................  58 
 
                THE


INVALUABLE   FAMILY  GUIDE.
                    CREAMS.

  Ice Cream—May be thus made : Put milk over a
gentle fire to boil, and stir it occasionally ; beat four
eggs for each quart until very light, then stir them into
the boiling milk ; stir it  for a few minutes, then set it
to become cold ; make it very sweet, flavor it to taste,
then freeze it.   If it is flavored with the juice of ber-
ries or pineapple, bruise the fruit, strain the juice from
it, and put it to the cream when cold.
  Ice  Cream, No. 2.—Boil a quart of cream, make it
sveet  with white sugar, flavor with lemon, vanilla or
extract of orange-flower water ; when cold, freeze it as
directed to make " Ice Cream."   The yolks of three
egjs may be beaten, and  stirred  into  it when it is
boiling hot.
   Cream for freezing may be made boiling hot, then
made sweet with loaf sugar, and flavored with vanilla or
ierron extract, or with the juice of strawberries,-rasp-
berries, or pineapple ; the fruit should be braised and
strained, with a quarter of a pound of sugar to each
pint of juice, and stirred into the cream when it is cold.
   Vmilla or Lemon Ice Cream.—Take two drachms
of vanilla or lemon peel, one quart of milk, half a pound
of sugar, a pint of cream, and the yolks of three eggs ;
beat ihe yolks well,  and stir them with the milk, then 
8          THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S  GUIDE.
add the other ingredients ; set it over a moderate fire,
and stir it constantly with a silver spoon until it is boil-
ing hot, then take out the lemon peel or vanilla, and
when cold, freeze it.
  Cream Snow.—Take a pint of sweet cream, mix with
it  eight teaspoonfuls  of white powdered sugar, the
whites of two eggs,  and a  tablespoonful of  orange-
flower water,  or a teaspoonful of  lemon or vanilla
extract; whip it, take off the froth as it rises, and
continue to beat it until you have enough.
  Syrup of Cream.—Put a pound of white sugar to
each pint of fresh sweet cream, boil it, stirring it all
the time ; put it in a  cool place until it is perfectly
cold, then put it in one or two-ounce phials, cork and
seal them.  Prepared in this way, it may be kept for
several weeks.
   Currant-water Ice.—Press the juice from ripe cur-
rants, strain it clear; to one  pint of juice put a pound
of loaf sugar, put to it a pint of water,  and freeze as
directed for cream.
  Hasty Cream.—Take a gallon of milk warm from-
the cow, set it over the fire  ; when it begins to rise,
take it off, and set it by ; skim off all the cream, and
put it on a plate, then set the stew-pan over the fire
again ; as soon as it is  ready to boil, take it off, and
skim  again, repeat the skimming until no more crean
rises.  The milk must not boil.
   To Keep Cream Sweet.—Cream may be kept sweet
twenty-four hours, by scalding it without sugar ; by
adding as much powdered lump sugar as will mak< it
quite sweet, it may be kept for two days in a cool place.
   Clo%ted Cream.—Take four quarts of new milk fiom
the cow, put it  in a pan, and let it stand until the
next day; then set it  over a very slow fire for half an
hour, make it nearly hot, then  put it away until it is
cold ;  take  off  the   cream free from  milk, belt it
smooth with a spoon, sweeten it to taste, and  serve
with preserves or fruit. 
JELLIES,  PRESERVES, &C,            9
            JELLIES,  PRESERVES,  &a
  Directions for Sweetening, dec.—The sugar used for
the nicest sweetmeats should be the best double-refin-
ed ; but if the pure, amber colored sugar-house syrup,,
from the West Indies, can be gotten, it is far prefer-
able. It never ferments. The trouble is very much less-
ened by having ready-made syrup,  in  which it is only
necessary to boil the fruit till clear.  All delicate fruit
should be done gently, and not allowed to remain over
half an hour after it begins to simmer, before it is laid
on dishes to cool.   It must be put in  the syrup again
another half hour.   Continue to do so until it is  suffi-
ciently transparent.  The preserves are less liable to
boil to pieces than  if done  by one continued boiling.
  In preparing sugar for sweetmeats, let  it be quite
dissolved before you put it on the fire.   If dissolved
in water, allow a tumbler of water to a pound of sugar.
If you boil the sugar before adding the fruit, it will be
improved in clearness by passing it through a flannel
bag.   Skim off the brown scum, all the time it is bod-
ing.  If sweetmeats are boiled too long, they lose their
flavor and become dark.   If not boiled long enough,
they will not keep.   You may know when jelly is done,
by dropping a teaspoonful  cold into a glass of water.
If it spreads and mixes with the water, it needs  more
boiling ; if it sinks to the bottom in a lump, it is done
enough..  Raspberry jelly needs most boiling of any
kind;  black currant the least.
   Keep your sweetmeats cool and dry, in glass, China,
or stone jars.   Delicate preserves should  be  kept in
small glasses or pots that will not hold move than one
or two pounds:  the admission of air injures  them.
Glass is best.
   Cover the top, after sprinkling it over with sugar,
with white paper dipped in hot, clarified sugar.   It id
far better than rum or brandy.   Over the  whole con-
fine a  cover so close as to entirely  exclude the aie. 
10         THE  HOUSE-KEEPER'S  GUIDE.

   To Clarify Sugar for Sweetmeats.—Put your sugar
into the preserving kettle, pour in  as much cold water
as you think may be wanted to cover the fruit to be
preserved—a gill to a pound of sugar; beat the whites
of eggs to a froth, allowing one egg to three pounds of
sugar ;  mix the whites with the sugared water; set it
on a slow fire, stirring the whole well together ; then
set it where it will boil.  As soon  as it  boils up well,
take it from the fire, let it remain for a minute, then
take off the scum; set it back on the fire, and let it boil
a minute, then take it off and skim it again.  Repeat
this operation till the sirup is clear ; and put the fruit
in when it is cold. • The fruit should not be  crowded
while doing; and if there is not sufficient sirup to cover
the fruit, take it out of the sirup, and put in more water
and boil it with the sirup before putting back the fruit.
  Directions for  making Sweetmeats.—For  preserv-
ing most kinds of fruit, a  pound of sugar to a pound
of fruit is sufficient.  Some kinds of fruit require more,
and some  will do  with less, than  their weight of sugar.
Good brown sugar,  if claiified before putting in the
fruit, does very well for most kinds of fruit;  and for
fatnily use, three-quarters' of a pound of sugar to a pound
of fruit does very well.  The nicest white sugar needs
not to be clarified.  All kinds of fire-proof ware, ex-
cept iron ware, will do to preserve in.  Enameled ket-
tles of iron lined with china, called  preserve kettles,
are best.  The fruit should be turned out of the pre-
serving kettle as  soon  as  done, and  set  away.  It
should be "looked  to often, to see that it does not fer-
ment.   Whenever it does, the sirup should be turned
off and scalded, and turned back while hot.
   Cranberry, Grape, and Currant Jelly.—Wash, and
drain the fruit till nearly dry; put it in an earthen jar;
put the jar in a kettle of water ; set the kettle where
the water will boil, taking care that none of it gets
into the jar.   When the fruit breaks, pour it into a
flannel bag  to drain, without squeezing  it.  When
strained, add to each pint of juice a pound and a half
of white sugar,, and half the beaten white of an egg. 
              JELLIES, PRESERVES, &C.           11

Boil the sirup gently, taking it back from the fire as
fast as any scum rises, and skim it clear.  After boil-
ing fifteen or twenty minutes, drop a teaspoonful of
it, cold,  into a tumbler of water, to ascertain if it is
jelly. Jellies are improved by being set in the sun a
few days.  Currant jelly is best made of equal quan-
tities of white and red currants.  The  juice of black
currants requires but about half the  sugar, and half
the time to boil it, that the red does.
  Lemon Jelly.—Set on a  slow fire a pint of water,
with one ounce of rinsed isinglass, in small pieces, and
the rind of six lemons ; stir constantly till the isinglass
is dissolved  ; add a pint of lemon juice, and sweeten
it to the taste, with loaf sugar.  Boil all, four or five
minutes  ; color with the tincture of  saffron, and pass
it through a flannel bag, without squeezing it.  Fill
your jelly glasses with it when partly cool.
  Apple and Quince Jelly.—Crab-apples make  the
nicest apple jelly.  Wash them, cut out the defects,
the stem, the blossom end, and  the seeds, quartering
the apples,  but neither pare them nor take  out  the
hulls ; lay them in your preserving kettle, and put to
them just sufficient water to cover them. Boil till soft
but not  till they break.   Drain off the water through
a colander;  mash the apples with the back of a spoon;
put them in a jelly bag, place a deep  dish under it,
and squeeze out the juice. To every pint of juice, al-
low a pound of loaf sugar ; boil slowly, skimming it
well, about ten or twenty minutes, or until it is a jelly.
Dip it out while boiling, with a silver spoon, into your
tumblers and moulds; cover with a prepared paper, and
tie  another paper close over the glass.  Quince jelly
is made in  the same way.   Pippins ^ind bellflowers
make good jelly.   Add lemon peel, if you like.
  Strawberry, Raspberry  and Blackberry  Jelly.—
The jellies of all these berries are  made in  a similar
manner.  Take the berries when ripe, and such as are
prime, mash them, and let them drain through a flannel
bag without squeezing it.   Put to a pint of the juice,
a pound of loaf sugar and one-third of the white of an 
12
THE  HOUSE-KEEPEB'S  GUIDE.
egg ;  set it on the fire ; on boiling up well, remove it
from the fire and skim it clear;  set it back; if more
scum rises, remove it from the fire again, and skim it
off.   Boil till it becomes a jelly.  If, when cold,  on
dropping it into a tumbler of cold water, it falls to the
bottom in solid form, it is jellied.  Tie up with clari-
fied or brandy paper.
   Calf's Feet Jelly.—Take four scalded feet, perfectly
clean; boil them in four quarts of water till reduced to
one, or till they are very tender  ; take them from the
fire, and let them remain till perfectly cold;'then take
off all the fat, and scrape off the dregs that stick to the
jelly.   Put it in a preserving kettle, and place it on a
slow fire.  On melting, take it from the fire;  mix with
it half a pint of white wine,  the juice and grated rind
of two fresh lemons, and a stick of cinnamon or blade
of mace. Wash and wipe dry six eggs; stir the whites,
beaten to a froth, into the jelly when cold; bruise the
shells and add them; then set it on a few coals; when
hot,  sweeten to the taste.   Let  all boil  slowly fifteen
minutes, without  stirring it;  then suspend a flannel
bag, and let the jelly drain  through it into a pitcher
or deep dish.  If it is not clear, wash the bag and pass
it through till it is perfectly so.   Do not squeeze the
bag.   When transparent, turn it into glasses, and set
them, if the weather is hot,  into cold water, and keep
them in a cool place. It  will keep*but a few days in
warm weather.
   Some take the feet of two calves, a pint of white
wine, three lemons,  the whites  of  six  eggs, half an
ounce of cinnamon, half a pound of loaf sugar, with
only three quarts of water,  and  proceed in  a  similar
way, adding twu  spoonfuls of French brandy, and re-
duce the whole to one quart.
   A knuckle of veal, or sheep's feet, make a nice jelly.
When jelly is perfectly congealed, dip the mould an
instant into boiling water, to loosen it.
   Raspberry, Blackberry,  and  Strawberry Jam.—
For each pound of fruit allow a  pound of sugar; make
alternate layers of sugar and berries in  your preserv- 
JELLIES,  PRESERVES,  &C.           13
ing dish ; let them remain half  an hour, then boil
them slowly about half an hour, stirring them fre-
quently.  Put  a little in a cup, and set it in  a dish
of cold water for trial.  Boil till  it  becomes the con-
sistency of thick jelly.
   Quince Marmalade.—The fruit should not be over
ripe—not mellow.  Gather it on a dry day, and after
a dry day.  Some make this  preserve by covering the
fruit and sugar close in a wide-mouthed jar, and  then
setting  the jar in a kettle of cold water, and thus boil-
ing the  fruit  till tender.   This preserves its flavor.
   Wash and quarter  the quinces, without paring; set
them on the fire with just sufficient water to stew them;
rub them through a sieve  when soft, and put to  each
pound»of the pulp a pound of brown sugar; set  it on a
few coals, stew slowly and stir  constantly.  When it
has simmered an hour, take out a little and cool it;
if it then cuts smooth, it is sufficiently done.
   Preserved Quinces.—Pare and core your quinces,
taking out the parts that are knotty and defective; cut
them in quarters, or round slices  ; put them in your
preserving kettle; cover them with the parings and a
very little water; lay  a large plate over them to keep
in the steam, and boil them till they are tender. Take
out the quinces, and strain the liquor through  a  bag.
To every pint of liquor, allow a pound of  loaf sugar.
Boil the juice and sugar together about ten minutes,
skimming it well; put in  the quinces  and boil them
gently twenty minutes.  When the sugar has com-
pletely  penetrated them, take them out, put them in
a glass jar, and turn the juice over them warm.  Tie
them up when cold, with paper dipped in clarified sugar.
   Preserved Strawberries.—To each pound of  picked
strawberries,  allow a  pound  of powdered  loaf sugar.
Strew half of the sugar over the strawberries, and let
them stand in a cool  place two or three hours ;  put
them in a preserving  kettle, over a  slow fire, and by
degrees  strew it on the rest of the sugar ; boil them
fifteen or twenty minutes, and skim them well.  Put 
 14          THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.

 them in wide-mouthed bottles, and when cold, seal the
 corks.   If you wish to do them whole, take them care-
 fully out of the sirup (one by one) while boiling, spread
 them to cool on long dishes, not letting the strawber-
 ries touch each other ; when cool, return them to the
 sirup, and boil them a little  longer,   Repeat  this
 several times.  Keep the bottles in dry sand.
   Gooseberries,  currants, cherries, grapes, and rasp-
 berries may be done in the same  way.
   Preserved Pineapples.—Having pared your pine-
 apples, slice them, and take out the core from the mid-
 dle of each slice.   To each pound of pineapple allow a
 pound of loaf sugar.  Mix half the sugar with the
 pineapple, and let them lie all  night, to extract the
juice ; then mix them with the remaining half of the
 sugar, and put the whole in a preserving kettle.  Boil
 it till clear and tender, but not  till  the  slices break.
 Skim it well ; set it away to cool; put  it in large
 glass jars, and tie over clarified paper.
   Preserved Currants.—Take ripe currants, in their
 prime ;  strip them off their stems, rejecting the bad
ones ;  make a sirup of sugar and very little water, al-
lowing a pound of sugar to each  pound  of currants,
and let them boil a few minutes.  In a few days turn
the sirup from them, scald  it, and turn it back, while
hot, on the currants.  Preserved currants, mixed with
water, are an excellent drink in  fevers.   Dried  cur-
rants are also good, made into a tea, for the same use.
   Tomato Marmalade.—Take full  grown tomatoes
while quite green, cut out the stems, stew them till soft,
rub them through a sieve, set the pulp on the fire, sea-
soned highly with salt, pepper, pounded  cloves, and
garlic, if liked, and stew altogether till  thick.  It is
excellent for seasoning gravies, &c. and keeps well.
   Preserved Tomatoes.—Take tomatoes quite small
and green, and if fully ripe they are nice ; put them in
cold, clarified sirup, with one orange, cut in slices, to
every two pounds of tomatoes; simmer them gently two
or three hours, allowing equal weights of sugar and to- 
JELLIES,  PRESERVES, &C.
15
 matoes, and more than barely enough water to cover
 the tomatoes for the sirup.
   Another very nice method of preserving them is:
 allow two fresh lemons to three pounds of the tomatoes;
 pare off only the yellow part of the rind ;  squeeze out
 the juice, and mix the rind and juice with enough cold
 water to cover the  tomatoes, and add a few peach
 leaves and powdered ginger tied up in bags.  Boil all
 gently  together forty-five minutes, take out the toma-
 toes, strain  the liquor, and  put to it a pound and a
 half of white sugar, for each pound of tomatoes ;  put
 in the tomatoes, and boil them gently till the sirup ap-
 pears to have penetrated them.  In about a week turn
 off  the sirup, scald it, and turn it back.   Thus  pre-
 served, tomatoes appear like West India sweetmeats.
   Preserved Apples.—Take  equal  weights of  good
 brown sugar and of apples ; peel or wash, core and chop
 the  apples fine ; allow to every three pounds of sugar a
 pint of water; dissolve, then boil the sugar pretty thick,
 skimming it well ; add the apples, the grated peel of
 one or two  lemons, and two or  three pieces of white
 ginger, and boil till the apples look clear  and yellow.
 This will keep for  years.   Crab-apples done  in  this
 way, without paring, are next to cranberries.
  Transparent Apples.—Dissolve and boil a pound of
 loaf sugar in a quart of water - skim it ; put in select
 apples, pared, quartered and  cored, with  the juice of
 a lemon, and let them boil, uncovered, till tender.
  Preserved Crab-apples.—Wash the apples ; cover
 the bottom of your preserving kettle with grape leaves;
 put  them in; place them over the fire, with a very little
 water, covering them closely ;  simmer them gently till
yellow ; take them out and spread them on a large dish
 to cool; pare and core them ; put them again into your
 kettle, with fresh vine leaves under and over them, and
 a very little water,and hang them over the fire till they
are green, but do not let them boil.  When green,take
 them out ;  allow a pound of loaf sugar to a pound of
apple ;  dissolve the sugar in just sufficient water ;  put 
16*          THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
it over the fire when dissolved ; boil and skim it ; put
in your apples, and boil them till quite clear and ten-
der.  Put them in jars, turn the juice over them, and
when cold, tie them up.
  Preserved Pippins.—Pare and core some of the
finest ; put them in your preserving kettle, with some
lemon peel and all the parings; add a very little water,
cover closely, boil till tender, taking care that they do
not burn ;  take  out the apples,  spreading them on a
large dish to cool ; pour the liquor into a bag and strain
it;  put it in your kettle with a pound of loaf sugar to
a pint of juice, adding lemon juice to the  taste ;  boil
them slowly half an hour, or till they are quite soft and
clear; put them with the liquor into your jar, and when
quite cold, tie them up with clarified or with brandy
paper.  They are not intended for long keeping.
  Hard pears may be done in the same  way, either
whole or halved, flavoring them  to the taste.
  Preserved Peaches.—Select the largest and nicest
free stone peaches, fully grown but not  mellqw, pare,
halve, or quarter them ; crack the stones, take out and
break the kernels ; put parings and all into your pre-
serving kettle, with a very little water; boil till tender;
then take out and spread the peaches on a large dish
to cool.  Strain the liquor through a sieve or bag; next
day, put  to each  pint  of the liquor a pound  of  loaf
sugar.  Put the liquor and  sugar, dissolved, into the
kettle with the peaches, and boil them slowly till they
are  quite  soft, skimming all the time ; take the peaches
out, put  them into your jars, and turn the liquor over
them warm.  When cold, tie them  up with  clarified
paper.  If boiled too long, they will be of a dark color.
To  preserve peaches whole, thrust out the  stones with
a skewer, and put in their place, after done, the ker-
nels blanched.   Broad, shallow stone pots keep large
fruit the best.
  If the juice is not wished  very thick, boil the sugar
alone, with only sufficient water to dissolve it, and skim
it well ;  then put in your fruit and juice, and boil till
the fruit is completely penetrated  with the sugar. 
JELLIES, PRESERVES, &C.           17
  Preserved Cranberries.—Allow to each  pound of
washed cranberries a pound of loaf sugar, dissolved in
about a gill of water, first boiling the sugar and skim-
ming it  well, about ten minutes,  then adding the
cranberries.  Boil slowly, till they are quite soft and
of a fine color.   Put them  up warm.  When cold tie
them up.  Common glass tumblers are very convenient
for preserved small fruits and jellies.
  Preserved Gages.—Take equal weights of gages and
sugar ; dissolve the sugar in  just sufficient  water to
cover the plums ; boil them  slowly in  the sirup ten
minutes ;  turn them into a dish, and let them remain
four or five days ; boil them again,  till the sirup ap-
pears to have entered the plums ; put them up ;  in
a week, turn the sirup  from them, scald it, turn it
over them hot ; and when cold tie them up.
  Preserved Damsons—Allow for every pound of dam-
sons three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar  ; put
alternate layers of fruit  and  sugar  into jars,  or well
glazed earthen pots ; tie over strong paper, or cloth,
and set them in the oven after the bread is drawn, and
let them stand till  the oven  is cold.  The  next day
strain  off the sirup, boil it till thick, turn it warm
over the  fruit jars, and when cold tie up.
  Preserved Gooseberries.—Take gooseberries before
ripe ;  allow a pound of  sugar to a pound of fruit.—
Stew them till quite clear, and till  the sirup becomes
thick.   They make nice  tarts.
  Preserved Cherries-Take cherries before dead ripe ;
allow a pound of white sugar to a pound of fruit; dis-
solve and boil the  sugar, having it thick ; put in the
cherries, with the stems on,  and let them boil till trans-
parent.  Tie them up in glass jars. The carnation and
common light red, if done  carefully, will be so trans-
parent that the stones may be seen through them.
  To preserve them without  the stones, take such as
are  very  ripe, push out the stone carefully with a
darning needle, make sirup of the juice, and then boil
the cherries to a thick consistency.
                        2 
18         THE  HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
   Preserved Pears.—Allow three-quarters of a pound
 of sugar to a pound of pears.   Clarify the sugar, if
 brown is used ;  then put in the fruit, and boil it till
 tender. A few pieces of ginger, or fine ginger tied up in
 bags, may be boiled with the pears, to flavor them.—
 Vergouleuse and choke pears are the best for preser-
 ving.
   Winter Bell Pears.—Take some of the nicest, put
 them in an iron pot, filling it about half full, cover them
 with water, and boil them.  After giving them a thor-
 ough boiling, and making them tender, let them steam
 over a slow fire, covering the pot close to confine the
 steam, five or six hours, till but just sufficient juice
 remains to prevent their burning.  If done right, they
 will be as red as cranberry  preserves, retaining all the
 rich, natural flavor of the pear, and will require  care
 in taking up to  prevent their  breaking.  They are
 nice thus plainly cooked ; but, if preferred, a little
 molasses may be a'dded toward the last.

   Preserved Grapes.—Allow a  pound  of sugar to a
 pound of grapes ; squeeze  out the pulp, and boil it
 till quite soft ; strain it through cloth  ; to this add
 your sugar, and  clarify it ;  then throw in your skins,
 and boil  till thick enough to please.

   Preserved Pumpkins.—Cut slices from a nice high-
 colored pumpkin, and cut the slices into chips about the
 thickness of a dollar ; have the chips of an equal size,
 six inches in length, and an inch broad.   Put to each
 pound of fruit a pound of loaf sugar.  Pare off and lay
 aside the yellow rmd of some lemons ; squeeze out the
 juice, allowing a gill to a pound of pumpkin. Put the
 pumpkin into a broad pan, laying the sugar among it ;
 turn the lemon juice over it ; cover the pan, and let the
 whole set all night.   In the morning pub the whole in
 a preserving pan, and boil,  skimming it well, till the
.pumpkin becomes clear and crisp, but not till it breaks.
 It should have the appearance of lemon candy ; and if
 liked, some lemon peel, cut in very fine pieces, may be
 added.  About half an hour's boiling is sufficient.— 
EXCELLENT DRINKS.
19
When done, take out the  pumpkin, spread it  on a
large dish, and strain the sirup through  a bag • put
it into jars, turn the  sirup over it, and tie up ' It is
very nice  ; may be eaten without cream, or laid on
puff paste shells after they are baked.
                EXCELLENT DRINKS.

  ^  Orgeat.—[This is an excellent refreshment for par*
 ties.]  Boil two quarts of milk with a stick of cinna-
 mon, and let  it stand to be quite cold, taking out the
 cinnamon.  Blanch four ounces of the best sweet al-
 monds ; pound them in a marble mortar, with a little
 rose  water ; mix them well with the milk ;  sweeten
 it  to your taste ;  let  it boil only a few  minutes ;
 strain it through a very fine sieve  till quite  smooth,
 and  free from the almonds ; and serve it  up either
 cold  or lukewarm, in handled glasses.
   Sherbert.—Boil in three  pints of water six or eight
 stalks of green rhubarb, and four ounces  of raisins or
 figs ; when the water has boiled  about half an hour
 strain it, and  mix it with a  teaspoonful of rose-water,
 and orange or lemon sirup to the taste. Drink it cold.
   Lemonade.—Mix the juice of two lemons with a pint
 of water,  sweetening to the  taste.   Some like nutmeg
 grated on it, or some of the  squeezed lemon cut in it.
   Common Beer.—Allow at the rate of two gallons of
 water to a handful of hops, a little fresh spruce,  or
 sweet fern,  and a quart of bran ; boil it two or three
 hours ;  strain  it through a sieve ; stir in, while hot, a
 teacup of molasses  to each  gallon  of liquor ; let it
 stand till lukewarm ; turn it into a clean barrel ; add
 a pint of good yeast  to the barrel ;  shake it well  to-
 gether, and it  may be used next day.
  Spring Beer.—Take  a small  bunch of sweet fern,
sarsaparilla, wintergreen, sassafras, prince's pine, cum- 
20         THE house-keeper's guide.

frey root, burdock  root, nettle  root, Solomon's seal,
spice-bush, and black birch ; boil part, or all of them,
in three  or four gallons  of water, with two or three
ounces of hops, and two or three raw potatoes,  pared
and cut in slices.   Their strength is better extracted
by boiling in two waters ; for when the liquor is satu-
rated with the hops, it will rather bind up the roots
than extract their juices.  Boil  the  roots five  or six
hours ; strain the liquor, and add a quart of molasses
to three gallons of beer.   To have the beer very rich,
brown half a pound of bread and  put it into the liquor.
If the liquor is too  thick, dilute  it with cold water.—
When lukewarm, put in  a pint  of fresh, lively yeast.
Place in a  temperate situation, covered, but not so
closely as to retard fermentation.   After fermenta-
tion, bottle it close, or keep it in a tight keg.
   Quick  Ginger Beer.—To a pail  of water add  two
ounces of ginger, one pint of molasses, and a gill of
good yeast.   In two hours it is lit for use.
  Spruce Beer.—Boil  one handful  of hops, and  two
of the chips  of sassafras root, in  ten gallons of water ;
strain it, and turn on, while  hot, a gallon of molasses,
two spoonfuls of the essence of spruce, two spoonfuls
of ginger, and one  of pounded allspice.  Put  it into
a cask ; and when  cold enough, add half a  pint of
good yeast ;   stir it well;  stop it close ; when clear,
bottle and cork it.
   Ginger Beer.—Turn two gallons of boiling water on
two pounds  of brown sugar or to a quart of molasses,
add one and a half ounces of cream of tartar, aud the
same of ginger ;  stir them well, and put it into a cask.
When milkwarm, put in half a pint of good yeast, stop-
ping the cask close, and sha,king it well.  Bottle it in
about twenty-four  hours.  In ten days it will sparkle
like champaign.   One  or two lemons sliced  in,  will
much improve it.  It is excellent in warm weather-
   Hop Beer.—Turn five quarts of water on six ounces
of hops ; boil three hours ; strain off the liquor ; turn
on four quark, more of water, and twelve spoonfuls of 
             directions  for pickling.          21

ginger, and boil the hops three hours longer; strain
and mix it with the other liquor, and stir in two quarts
of molasses.  Brown very dry half a pound of bread,
and put in ; rusked bread is best. Pound it fine, and
brown it in a pot, like coffee.  After cooling, to be about
lukewarm, add a pint of new yeast that is free  from
salt.   Keep the beer covered, in a temperate situation,
till fermentation has ceased, which is known by the
settling of the froth ;  then turn it into a keg or bot-
tles, and keep it in a cool place.

   Lemon Beer.—To  a gallon  of water add a sliced
lemon, a spoonful of ginger, half a pint of yeast,  and
sugar enough to make it quite sweet.
            DIRECTIONS FOR PICKLING.
   Directions.—Vinegar for pickling should be good,
but not of the sharpest kind.  Brass utensils should be
used for pickling.  They should be thoroughly cleaned
before using, and no vinegar should be allowed to cool
in them, as the rust formed by so doing is very poison-
ous.   Boil alum and salt in the vinegar, in the propor-
tion  of half a teacup  of salt and a table-spoonful of
alum to three gallons  of vinegar.  Stone and wooden
vessels are the only kinds of utensils that are good to
keep pickles in.  Vessels that have had any grease in
them will not do for pickles, as no washing will kill the
grease that the pot has absorbed. All kinds of pickles
should be stirred up occasionally.  If there is any soft
ones among them they  should be taken out, the vinegar
scalded, and turned back while hot; if very weak, throw
it  away, and use fresh  vinegar.  Whenever any scum
rises the vinegar needs scalding.  If you do not wish to
have all your pickles spiced, it  is a good plan to keep a
stone pot of spiced vinegar by itself, and put in a few
of your pickles a short time before they are to be eaten. 
 22          THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.

   Cucumbers.—Gather those that are small and green,
... and of a quick growth.  Turn boiling water on them as
 soon as picked.  Let them remain in it four or five
 hours,  then put them in cold vinegar, with alum and
 salt, in the proportion of a table-spoonful of the former
 and a teacup of the latter, to every gallon of vinegar.
 When  you have done  collecting  the cucumbers  for
 pickling, turn the vinegar from the cucumbers,  scald
 and skim it till clear, then put  in the pickles, let them
 scald without boiling, for a few minutes ; then  turn
 them while hot into the vessel you intend to keep them
 in.  A few peppers, or peppercorns, improve the  taste
 of the cucumbers.  Cucumbers to be brittle need scald-
 ing several times.   If the vinegar is weak, it should sbe
 thrown away, and  fresh put to the cucumbers,  with
 more alum and salt.   Another method  of pickling
 cucumbers, which is good, is to put them in salt and
 water as you pick them—changing the salt and water
 once in three or four days.  When you have done col-
 lecting your cucumbers for pickling, take them out of
 the salt and water,  turn on scalding hot vinegar, with
 alum, salt,  and peppercorns in it.
   Onions.—Peel and boil them in milk and water ten
 minutes. To a gallon of vinegar put half an ounce of
 cinnamon and mace, a quarter  of an ounce of cloves,
 a  small teacup of salt, and half an  ounce of alum.—
 Heat the vinegar, together with the spices, scalding
 hot, and turn it on the onions,  which should previous-
 ly have the  water  and milk drained from  them.-—
 Cover them tight till cold.
   Peaches and Apricots.—Take those of a full growth,
 but perfectly green, put them in salt and water, strong
 enough to bear up an egg.  When they have been in a
 week, take them out, and wipe them carefully with a
 soft  cloth.   Lay them in a pickle jar.  Put to a gallon
 of vinegar half an ounce of cloves, the same quantity of
 peppercorns, sliced ginger and mustard seed—add salt,
 and  boil the vinegar—then turn it on to the  peaches
 scalding hot.   Turn  the  vinegar from them several
 times. Heat it scalding hot, and turn it back while hot. 
DIRECTIONS FOR PICKLING.
23
  To Pickle Butternuts and  Walnuts.—The nuts for
pickling should be gathered as early as July, unless the
season is very backward.  When a pin will go through
them easily, they are young enough to pickle.   Soak
them in salt and water a week—then drain it off.  Rub
them with a cloth, to  get off the roughness.   To a
gallon of vinegar, put a teacup of salt, a table-spoonful
of powdered cloves and mace, mixed together, half an
ounce of allspice and peppercorns.   Boil the vinegar
and spices, and turn it while hot on to the nuts.  In
the course of a week,  scald the vinegar, and turn it
back  on them while hot.   They will be fit to eat in the
course of a fortnight.
  To Pickle Peppers.—Procure those that are fresh
and green.  If you do not like them very fiery, cut a
small slit  in them, and take  the  seeds out carefully
with a small knife, so as not to mangle the peppers.
Soak them in salt and water, eight or nine days, chang-
ing the water each day. Keep them in a warm place.
If you like them stuffed, chop white cabbage fine, season
it  highly  with cloves, cinnamon, mace, and fill the
peppers with it—add nasturtions if you like—sew them
up carefully, and put them in cold spiced vinegar.—
Tomatoes, when very small  and green,  are good
pickled with the peppers.
  Mangoes.—Procure muskmelons as late in the season
as possible—if picked early, they are not apt to keep
well.   Cut a small piece  from the side that lies upon
the ground while growing, take out the seeds,  and if
the citron or nutmeg melons are used for mangoes,
the rough part should be scraped off. The long,common
muskmelons make the best mangoes.  Soak the melons
in salt and water, three or four days ; then take them
out of the water ; sprinkle on the inside of the melons,
powdered cloves, pepper, nutmeg; fill them with small
strips of horseradish, cinnamon,and small'string beans,
Flag root, nasturtions, and radish tops, are also nice to
fill them with.  Fill the crevices with American mus-
tard seed. Put  back the pieces of melon that were cut
off,  and bind the melon  up  tight with white  cotton 
24         THE  house-keeper's guide.

cloth sew it on.   Lay the melons in a stone jar, with
the part that the covers are on, up.   Put into vinegar
for the mangoes,  alum, salt  and peppercorns, in the
same proportion  as  for cucumbers—heat it scalding
hot,  then turn it on to the melons.  Barberries or
radish tops, pickled in bunches, are a pretty  garnish
for mangoes.  The barberries preserve their  natural
color best by being first dried.   Whenever you  wish
to use them, turn boiling vinegar on them,  and let
them lie in it several hours to swell out.
   To Pickle Plums  Like Olives.—Make a pickle of
vinegar,  mustard  seed, and a little salt, make it boil-
ing hot, then put it over green plums, gathered before
they begin to turn, let them remain one night,  then
drain off the vinegar, make it hot again,  and pour it
over  the  plums ;  when cold, cover close.  Plums may
be taken before the  stone is  formed, and pickled in
the same manner.
   Walnut Catsup.—Bruise  to  a mass one hundred
and twenty  green walnuts, gathered when a pin could
pierce one ;  put to it three-quarters of a pound of salt
and a quart of good  vinegar ; stir them every day for
a fortnight,  then  strain and  squeeze the  liquor  from
them through a cloth, and set  it aside; put to the husks
half a pint of vinegar, and let it stand all night, then
strain and squeeze them as before ; put the liquor from
them to that which was put aside ; add to it one ounce
and  a quarter of whole pepper, forty cloves,  half an
ounce of nutmeg, sliced, and  half an ounce of ginger,
and boil  it for half an hour closely covered, then strain
it  ; when cold, bottle it for use.
   Secure the  bottles with new corks, and  dip them
in melted rosin.
   To Make  Cider Vinegar.—After cider has become
too sour  for  use,  set it in a warm place, put to it oc-
casionally the rinsings of the sugar basin or molasses
jug, and any remains of ale or cold tea ; let it remain
with the bung open, and you will soon have the best
of vinegar. 
DIRECTIONS FOR PICKLING.
25
   Tomato Catsup.—Take one gallon of skinned to-
matoes, four table-spoonfuls of salt, four ditto of whole
black  pepper, half a spoonful of allspice, eight pods
of red pepper, and three spoonfuls of mustard ;  boil
thenV together for one hour, then strain  it through a
sieve or coarse cloth, and when cold, bottle for use ;
have the best velvet corks.
   Another Tomato Catsup.—Take ripe  tomatoes to
fill a jar, put them in a moderate oven, and bake them
until they are dissolved ; then strain them through a
coarse cloth or sieve ; to every pint of juice put a pint
of vinegar, half an ounce of garlic sliced, a  quarter of
an ounce of salt,  and the same of white pepper finely
ground; boil it for one hour, then rub it through a sieve,
boil  it again to the consistency of cream  ; when cold,
bottle it, put a teaspoonful of sweet oil in each bottle,
cork them tight and keep in  a dry place.
   Oyster Catsup.—Take fine fresh oysters,  rinse them
in their own liquor, then pound them in a marble mor-
tar, and to a pint of oysters put a pint of  cherry wine  ;
boil  them up, add an ounce of salt, two drachm s.of cay-
enne pepper, let it  boil up once again, rub it through a
sieve ; when cold, put it in bottles, and cork and seal
them.
   To Make Mustard.—Put a large table-spoonful of
the flour of mustard into a teacup, with a  large salt-
spoonful of salt, mix with it gradually  enough cold
water to make a smooth, thin paste.

  To Pickle  Red Cabbage.—Cut the cabbage  in thin
slices across, put a layer of it in a stone pot,  strew a
little pepper and salt over, then put another layer of
sliced cabbage,  strew it  with  salt and pepper,  and so
continue until you have enough, then cover with cold
vinegar ; turn a plate (large enough to cover it) upon
the cabbage, and cover the pot.

  To Pickle Beets.—Wash beets in cold water, take
them of as nearly one size as  possible  ; boil them  ac-
cording to the size, from three quarters of an hour to 
26         THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
an hour and a half, then put them  into a pan of cold
water, rub off the skins with your hands, then cut them
in halves, or quarters, lengthwise, and put them into
cold vinegar, with whole pepper and some salt. Beets
must not be cut  before boiling—only washed clean ;
old beets, which have been kept in earth,  should  be
laid in soak the night before boiling.
  To Pickle Tomatoes^—Take the round, smooth, green
tomatoes ; put them in salt and water, cover the vessel
and put them over the fire to scald—that is, to let the
water become boiling hot, then set the kettle off;  take
them from the pot into a basin of cold water ; to en-
ough cold vinegar to cover them, put whole  pepper
and mustard seed ;  when  the tomatoes are cold,  take
them from the water, cut each in two across, shake out
the seeds and wipe  the inside  dry with a cloth,  then
put them into glass jars, and cover with the vinegar;
cork them close or with a  close fitting tin cover.
  Pickled Oysters.—Scald the oysters  in their  own
liquor ; make some  vinegar boiling hot, with some
whole pepper, allspice, mace, and a  little salt.   Take
the oysters from their liquor into a bowl, and pour the
hot viaegar over them.   Serve celery with them.—
They are fit to eat as soon as cold.
  To Pickle  Oysters.—Procure some of  the largest
sort of oysters ; wash four dozen in their own  liquor,
and lay them on  a folded  napkin to dry;  strain the
liquor ; add to it a dessert-spoonful  of  pepper, two
blades of mace, three  table-spoonfuls of white wine,
and a wineglass of vinegar, and, if  the  liquor is not
salt, a table-spoonful of salt ;  simmer the oysters for
a few minutes in  this liquor, then put them into jars,
boil up the  pickle, skim it and pour it over the oys-
ters.  Cover them closely. 
CANDIES.
27
                     CANDIES.

   To Clarify Sugar for Candies.—To every pound
 of sugar, put a large cup of water, and put it in a
 brass or copper kettle, over  a slow fire, for half an
 hour ; pour  into it a small quantity of isinglass and
 gum Arabic, dissolved together.   This will cause all
 impurities to rise to the surface ; skim  it  as it rises.
 Flavor according to taste.
   All kinds  of sugar, for candy, are boiled as above
 directed.   When boiling loaf sugar, add a table-spoon-
 ful of rum or vinegar,  to  prevent its  becoming too
 brittle whilst making.
   You may make birds and such things, of loaf sugar,
 in this way.   By pulling loaf sugar  after it is boiled
 to candy, you may make it as white as snow.
   Loaf sugar, when  boiled, by pulling it very well,
 making it in small rolls, and twisting it a little, will
 make what is commonly termed little rock or snow.
   Sugar, when boiled to candy, may be twisted, pull-
 ed, rolled,  and cut in whatever forms you choose.
   Molasses Candy.—Put a pint of common molasses
 over a slow fire; let it boil; stir it to prevent its run-
 ning over the top  of the bottle.  When it has boiled
 for some time, try it, by taking  some in a saucer : when
 cold, if it is brittle and  hard, it is done.  Flavor with
 essence of  lemon,  and stir shelled pea-nuts (ground
 nuts) or almonds,  into it, and  pour it into a buttered
 basin, or square tin pans, to cool.
   Or, it  may be made a light  color by pulling  it in
 your hands, after first having  rubbed them over with
 sweet butter, to prevent the candy from  sticking to
 them during the process.
  Lemon Candy, or Rock Candy.—To one pound of
 loaf sugar put a large cup of water, and set it over a
slow fire for half an hour.  Clear it with a little  hot
rum or vinegar.   Take off the  scum as it rises.
  Try, when it is done enough,  by dipping a spoon in it 
28          THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
and raising it ; if the threads thus formed snap like
glass, it is done enough.   Then pour it out into a tin
pan ; when nearly cold, mark it in narrow strips with
a knife.
  Before pouring it into the pans, chopped cocoanut,
almonds, or picked hickory-nuts may be stirred into it.
Brazi)-nuts, taken from the shells, cut in slices, and
added to it, are very good.
  Twist Candy.—To three pounds of  loaf sugar put
half a pint of water ; set it over a* slow fire for half an
hour ;  then  add  to it a  teaspoonful of gum Arabic,
dissolved, and a tablespoonful of vinegar.  When boil-
ed to candy, bright and clear, take it off.  Flavor with
vanilla, rose, lemon, or orange.
  Rub the hands over with a bit of sweet butter, and
pull  it'until it is white ; then make it in rolls, and
twist or braid it  ; then cut it in lengths.
  Common  Lemon  Candy.—Take three pounds  of
coarse, brown sugar ; add to it three teacups full of
water, aud set it over a slow fire for half an hour ; put
to it  a  little gum  Arabic, dissolved in hot water : this
is to clear it.  Continue to take off the scum as long
as any  rises.  When perfectly clear, try it by dipping
a pipe-stem first into it, and then  into cold water, or
by taking a spoonful of it into a saucer ; if it is done,
it will  snap like glass.  Flavor with essence of lemon,
and cut it in sticks.
  Common  Twist.—Boil three pounds of common
sugar and one pint of water, over a slow fire, for half
an hour, without skimming.  When boiled enough,
take it off; rub the hands over with butter ;  take that
which is  a little cooled, and pull it as you would mo-
lasses candy, until it is white ; then twist or braid it,
and cut it in strips.
  Peppermint, Rose, or Hoarhound Candy.—They
may be made as lemon candy.  Flavor with essence of
rose, or peppermint, or finely powdered hoarhound.
  Pour it out in a buttered paper, placed in a square
tin pan. 
ESSENCES, PERFUMERY, &C.          29
  To make Mottoes.—Cut colored  tissue paper  in
pieces of about four inches width and five long ; cut
the ends in fine fringe of one inch depth ; put. in the
centre of each  a sugared almond or any other candy,
and a motto verse or  two ; fold  the  paper around it^
and twist each end  close to the candy ; so continue
until you have  enough.
            ESSENCES,  PERFUMERY, &C.
   Essence of Lemon.—Turn gradually two ounces of
strong rectified spirit on a drachm of the best oil of
lemons.   But the best way of obtaining the essence of
lemon peel, is to rub all the yellow part  of the  peel
off, with lumps of white sugar, and scrape off the sur-
face of the sugar into a  preserving pot, as fast as it
becomes saturated with  the oil of  lemon.  Press  the
sugar close, and cover it tight.   A little of this sugar
imparts a fine flavor to puddings,  pies, and cakes. This
is the preferable mode of obtaining and preserving the
essence of lemon.   You have the fine aromatic flavor
of the peel, without the alloy of the spirit.
   To Extract the Essential Oil of  Floioers.—Take a
quantity of fresh, fragrant leaves, both the stalk and
flower leaves ; cord very thin layers of cotton, and dip
them in  fine Florence oil; put alternate layers of the
cotton and leaves in a  glass jar, or large tumbler ;
sprinkle  a very little fine salt on each  layer  of  the
flowers ; cover the jar close,  and  place it in a window
exposed to the sun.  In two weeks a fragrant oil may
be squeezed out of the cotton.   Rose leaves, migno-
nette, and sweet scented clover,  make nice perfumes.
   Cologne Water.—Pour a quart of alcohol gently on
the following oils :—on two drachms of the oil of rose-
mary, two of the oil of lemon, or orange-flower  water,
one drachm of lavender, ten  of cinnamon, and  a tea- 
30          THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
spoonful of rose-water.   Stop all tight  in a bottle ;
shake it up well.
   Another way.  Put into a quart of highly rectified
spirits of wine, the  following oils :—two  drachms of
oil of lemon,  two of rosemary, one of lavender, two of
bergamot, ten drops of cinnamon, ten of  cloves, two
of roses, and eight of the tincture of cinnamon.   If
wished very strong, put double  the quantity of oils to
a pint only of the spirits.
   Rose Water.—On a dry day, gather fragrant, full-
blown roses ; pick off the leaves ; to each peck put a
quart of water ;  put the whole  in a cold still, and set
the still on a moderate fire—the slower they are dis-
tilled, the better will be the rose water.   Bottle the
water immediately.after it  is distilled.
   Aromatic Vinegar.—Mix with a spoonful of vinegar
powdered chalk sufficient to destroy its acidity ; let it
settle ;  turn off the vinegar from the chalk with care,
and dry it.   To purify an infected room, put in a few
drops of sulphuric acid.   The  fumes arising from it
will purify a room where there has been any infectious
disorder.  In  using  it,  be  very careful not to inhale
the fumes, or to soil your garments with the acid.  It
will corrode whatever it touches.
   Lavender Water-—Pour a pint of alcohol moder-
ately to an  ounce and a half of the oil of lavender, and
two drachms  of ambergris.   Keep it in a bottle tight-
ly corked ;  shake it up well on  putting it  in.
  Perfume Bags.—Take rose and sweet scented clo-
ver leaves, dried in the shade, then mixed with pow-
dered mace, cloves, and cinnamon, and pressed in small
bags, and lay the bags in chests of linen, or in draw-
ers of clothes.  They make a nice perfume.
   Mead.—Put to a pound of  honey three pints  of
warm water—stir it up well, and let it remain till the
honey is held in  complete solution—then turn it into
a cask, leaving the  bung out.   Let  it ferment in a
temperate  situation—bottle it  as soon as fermented,
and cork it up very tight. 
SOAPS.
31
                      SOAPS,

   Labor-saving Soap.—Take two pounds of sal-soda,
two pounds of yellow bar soap, and ten quarts of water;
cut the soap into  thin  slices, and boil together two
hours ;  strain,  and it  will  be fit for  use.  Put the
cloth es in soak the night before you wash, and to every
pail of  water in which you boil them add a pound of
soap.  They will need no rubbing ; merely rinse them
out, and they will be perfectly clean and white.
   Superior Soft Soap .-Cut in small pieces a pound
and a half of bar soap; put into four quarts of rainwater;
add  four  ounces  of pure carbonate of soda ;  and
dissolve them over the  fire,  and when  dissolved, stir
in one spoonful of salt.  This is very nice for woollens
and calicoes.
   Cold Soap.—Mix  twenty-six pounds of melted and
strained grease with four pailfuls of lye, made of twenty
pounds  of white potash.  Let the whole stand in the
sun, stirring  it frequently.   In the course of the week,
fill the barrel with weak lye.  It is much easier than
to make a lye of your ashes, while quite as cheap as
to dispose of your ashes to the soap-boiler,
   Windsor and Castile Soap.—So  make the cele-
brated Windsor soap, nothing more is necessary than
to slice  the best white  soap as thin  as possible, and
melt it over a slow fire.   Take it from  the fire when
melted, and when it  is just lukewarm,  add enough of
the oil of caraway to scent it.  If any  other fragrant
oil is liked better, it may be substituted.  Turn  it
into moulds,  and let  it remain in a dry situation for
five or six days.  To make Castile soap, boil common,
soft soap in lamp oil  three hours and a half.
   Hard Soap.—Dissolve twenty weight of white pot-
ash in three pailfuls of water.  Heat twenty pounds of
strained grease, then mix it with the  dissolved potash,
and boil them together till the whole becomes a thick 
32          THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
jelly, which is ascertained by taking a little of it out
to get cold.  Take it from the fire, stir in cold water
till it grows thin, then put to each pailful of soap a
pint of blown salt; stir it in well. The succeeding clay,
separate'it from the lye, and heat  it over a slow fire.
Let it boil a quarter of an hour, then take it from the
fire.  If you wish to have it a yellow color, put in a
little palm oil, and turn it out into wooden vessels.
When cold, separate it  again from the lye, and cut it
into bars.  Let them remain in the sun  several days
to dry.
   Bayberry, or Myrtle  Soap.—Dissolve two pounds
and a quarter  of white potash in five quarts of water,
then mix it with ten pounds of myrtle wax, or bayberry
tallow.   Boil the whole over a slow fire till it turns to
soap, then  add a teacup of cold water ; let it boil ten
minutes longer ; at the end of that time, turn it into
tin moulds or  pans, and let them remain a week or ten
days to dry; then turn them out of the moulds.   If you
wish to have the soap scented, stir into it an essential
oil that has an agreeable smell, just before you turn it
into the moulds.   This  kind of soap  is excellent  for
shaving, and for chapped hands ; it  is also good  for
eruptions on the face.   It will  be  fit for use in the
course of three or four weeks after it is made, but  it
is better for being kept  ten or twelve months.
   Cosmetic Soap, for Washing the Hands.—Take a
pound of Castile soap,  or any other  nice  old  soap ;
scrape it fine ; put it on the fire with a little water ;
stir it to a smooth paste ;  turn it  into a  bowl ; when
cold, add some lavender water, or any kind of essence:
beat it with a silver spoon till well mixed ; thicken it
with Indian meal, and keep it in small pots, closely cov-
ered ;  exposure  to the air will harken it. 
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.           33
             MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.

   To Pot Butter for Winter Use.—Mix a large spoon-
ful of salt, a table-spoonful of powdered white sugar,
and one of saltpetre.   Work this quantity  into six
pounds of fresh-made butter.   Put  the butter into a
stone pot that is thoroughly cleansed. When you have
finished putting down your butter, cover it with a layer
of salt, and  let it remain covered until cold weather.
   To Extract Rancidity from Butter.—Take a small
quantity that is wanted for immediate use. For a pound
of the tmtter, dissolve a couple of teaspoonfuls of sahe-
ratus in a quart of boiling water, put in the butter, mix
it well with th6 salseratus water, and let it remain till
cold ; then take it off carefully, and work a teaspoonful
of salt into it.  Butter treated in this manner answers
very well to use in cooking.
   To Preserve Cream for Sea Voyages.—Take rich,
fresh cream, and mix it with half its weight of white
powdered sugar. When well mixed in, put it in bottles
and cork them  tight.   When used for tea or coffee,
it will make them  sufficiently sweet without any  ad-
ditional sugar.
   Substitute for Cream in Coffee.—Beat  the white of
an egg to a froth; put to it a small lump of butter, and
turn the coffee to it gradually, so that it may not cur-
dle.   It is difficult to distinguish the taste from fresh
cream.
   To Keep Eggs Several Months.—It is  a good plan
to buy eggs  for family use when cheap, and  preserve
them in the following manner :  Mix half a pint of un-
slackedlime with the same quantity of salt and a couple
of gallons of water.  The water should be turned on
boiling hot.  When cold, put in the eggs, which should
be perfectly fresh, and care  should be taken not to
crack any of them ; if cracked, they will spoil directly.
The eggs should be entirely covered with the lime- 
34         THE house-keeper's guide.
water, and kept in a stone pot, and the pot set in a cool
place.   If the above directions are striotly attended to,
the eggs will keep good five months.  The lime-water
should not be so strong as to eat the shell, and all the
eggs should be perfectly fresh when put in, as one bad
egg will spoil the whole.
  To Pot Cheese.—Cheese  that has begun to mould,
can be kept from becoming any more so by being treated
in the following manner : Cut off the mouldy part, and
if the cheese is dry grate it ;  if not, pound it fine in a
mortar, together with the crust.  To each pound of
it, when fine, put a table-spoonful of brandy ;  mix it
in well with the cheese, then press it down tight, in a
clean stone pot, and tey a paper wet in brandy on the
top of it.  Cover the pot up tight, and keep it in a cool,
dry place.   This is also a good way to treat dry pieces
of cheese.  Potted cheese is best when a year old.  It
will keep several years,  without danger of its  breed-
ing insects.
  To keep Vegetables through the Winter.—Succulent
vegetables are preserved best in a cool,  shady place,
that is damp.   Turnips, Irish  potatoes, and  similar
vegetables, should be protected from the air and frost
by being buried up in  sand,x and in very severe cold
weather covered over with a linen cloth. It is.said that
the dust  of charcoal, sprinkled over potatoes, will keep
them from sprouting.    I have also heard it said, that
Carolina potatoes may be kept a number of months  if
treated in the following manner :  Take those that are
large and perfectly free from  decay ; pack them in
boxes of dry sand, and set the boxes  in a place  expo-
sed to the influence of smoke and inact essible to frost.
  To Preserve Herbs.—All kinds of herbs should be
gathered on a dry day, just before,  or while  in blos-
som.  Tie them in bundles, and suspend them in a dry,
airy place, with the blossoms downwards.  When per-
fectly dry, wrap the medicinal ones in paper, and keep
them from the air.  Pick off the leaves of those which
are to be used in cooking, pound and sift them fine,
and keep the powder in bottles, corked up tight. 
MISCELLANEOUS recipes.
35
   To Preserve  various kinds of Fruit through  the
 Winter.—Apples can be kept till June, by taking only
those that are hard and sound, wiping them dry, then
packing them in tight barrels, with a layer of bran to
each layer of apples.   Envelope the barrel in a linen
cloth, to protect it from frost, and keep it in a cool
place, but not so cold as to freeze  the apples.   It is
said that mortar, laid over the top of a barrel of apples,
is a good thing to preserve them, as  it draws  the  air
from them, which is the principal cause of their decay-
ing.  Care should be taken not to have it come in con-
tact with the apples.  To preserve oranges and lemons
several months, take those that are perfectly fresh, and
wrap each one in soft  paper;  pi|t them in glass jars, or
a very tight box, with white sand, that has been previ-
ously dried in an oven a few  hours, after it has  been
baked in.  The sand should be strewed thick over each
one of the oranges, as they are laid in the jar, and the
whole covered up with a thick layer of it.  Close the jar
up tight, and keep it in a cool dry place, but not so cool
as to freeze the fruit.  To preserve grapes, gather them
on a dry day, when' they are  not quite dead ripe, and
pick those that are not fair off from  the stems.  Lay
the bunches of  grapes  in  a glass jar, and sprinkle
around eaoh of them a thick  layer of dry bran, so that
they will not touch each other.  Have a thick layer of
bran on the top, and cork and seal the jar very tight, so
that the air may be entirely excluded.  Whenever they
are to be eaten, restore them  to their freshness by cut-
ting off a small piece  from  the end of the stalks, and
immerse the stalks of each  bunch in sweet wine for a
few minutes.  The stalks will imbibe the wine, and
make the grapes fresh and juicy.  Various kinds  of
fruit, taken when green, such as grapes, gooseberries,
currants, and plums,  can be  kept through the winter,
by being treated in the following manner : Fill junk
bottles with them, and set them in an oven six or seven
hours, after having baked in  it.  Let them remain till
they begin to shrink, then take the fruit from one bottle
to fill the others quite full.  Cork and seal up the bot- 
26         THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S JtUIDE.

ties.  Whenever you wish to make pies of them, put
the quantity you wish to use into a tin  pan, turn on
boilmgwateV sufficient to cover them, and stewthemin
it till soft ; then sweeten, and make them into pies.
Ripe blackberries and whortleberries, to be kept long,
should be dried  perfectly in  the sun, then tied up in
bags that are thick enough to exclude the air. When
used for pies, treat them in  the same manner as the
green fruit.   Ripe currants  dried on the stalks, then
picked off and put  in bags, will keep nice for pies dur-
ing the winter; they also make a fine tea for persons
that have afever, particularly the hecticfever.   It is also
an excellent thing to counteract the effects of opium.
  Cautions Relative to* the Use of Brass and Copper
Cooking  Utensils.—Cleanliness has been aptly  sryled
the cardinal virtue of cooks. Food is more healthy, as
well as palatable,  cooked in a cleanly manner.  Many
lives have b^jn lost iu consequence of carelessness in
using brass, copper, and glazed earthen  cooking uten-
sils. The two first should be thoroughly cleansed with
salt and hot vinegar before cooking in them, and no
oily or acid substance, after  being cooked, should be
allowed to cool or  remain in any of them.
  Durable Ink for Marking  Linen.—Dissolve  a
couple of drachms of lunar caustic, and half an ounce
of gum Arabic, in  a gill of rain water   Dip whatever
is to be marked in strong pearlash water. When  per-
fectly dry, iron it  very smooth ;  the pearlash water
turns it a dark color,  but  washing will efface it. After
marking the  linen, put it near a lire, or  in the sun, to
dry.   lied ink,  for marking linen, is made by mixing
and reducing to a fine powder half an ounce of veruiil-
lion, a drachm of  the salt of steel, and linseed oil to
render it of the  consistency  of black, durable ink.
   Black Ball.—Melt together, moderately, ten ounces
of  Bayberry  tallow, five ounces of  beeswax,  aud one
ounce'of mutton tallow.   Wheu  melted, add lamp or
ivory black to give it a  good black color.   Stir the
whole well together, and add, when  taken  from the
fire, half a glass of rum. 
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.           37
   Liquid Blacking.—Mix  a quarter of a pound of
 ivory black, six gills of vinegar, a table-spoonful of
 sweet oil, and two large  spoonfuls of molasses.  Stir
 the whole well together, and it will then be fit for use.

   Cement for Mending  Broken Vessels.—To half a
 pint of milk put a sufficient quantity of vinegar to cur-
 dle  it ; separate the  curd from the whey, and mix the
 whey with the whites of  four eggs, beating the whole
 well together ; when mixed, add a little  quick  lime
 through a sieve, until it acquires the consistency of a
 paste.  With this cement broken vessels or cracks can
 be repaired ; it dries quickly, and resists the action of
 fire and water.

   Cement for the Mouths of Corked Bottles.—Melt to-
 gether a quarter of a pound of sealing-wax, the same
 quantity of rosin, and a couple of ounces of beeswax.
 When it froths, stir  it with a tallow candle.   As soon
 as it melts, dip the mouths of the corked bottles into
 it.   This is  an  excellent way to exclude the air from
 such things  as are injured by being exposed to it.

   Cement for  Broken China,  Glass, and Earthen-
 ware.—Rub the edge of the  china  or glass with  the
 beaten white of an egg. Tie very finely powdered quick
 lime in a muslin bag, and sift it thick over the edges
 of the dishes that have  been  previously rubbed with
 the egg.   Match and bind the pieces together, and let
 it remain sound several weeks.  This is goo.d cement
 for every kind of crockery but  thick, heavy glass and
 coarse earthenware ;  the former cannot be cemented
 with anything: for the latter, white paint will answer.
 Paint and match  the broken edges, bind them tight
 together, and let them remain until the paint becomes
 dry and 'hard.  Milk is a good  cement for crockery ;
 the pieces should be matched and bound together tight,
 then put in cold milk, and let the milk set where it will
 boil for half an hour  ; then take it from the fire, and
 let the crockery remain till the milk is cold.   Let the
 crockery remain bound for several weeks.  The Cljinese
. method of mending broken china is to grind flint glass, 
THE  HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
on a painter's stone, till it is reduced to an impalpable
powder ; then beat it with the white of an egg, to a
froth, and  lay it on the edge of the broken  pieces ;
match and  bind  them firmly together, and let them
remain several weeks.   It is said that no art will then
be able to break it in the same place.
  Japanese Cement, or  Rice  Glue.—Mix rice flour
with cold water, to a smooth paste, and boil it gently.
It answers all the purposes of wheat flour paste, while
it is far superior in point of transparency and smooth-
ness.   This composition, made with so small a pro-
portion of  water  as to have it of the consistency of
plastic clay, may be used to form models, busts, basso-
relievos, and similar articles.   When made of it, they
are susceptible of a very high polish.   Poland starch
is a nice cement for pasting layers of paper together,
or any fancy articles.
   Cement for Alabaster.—Take of white beeswax one
pound, of rosin a pound, and three-quarters of a pound
of alabaster.  Melt the wax and rosin, then strew the
alabaster over it lightly (which should be previously
reduced to a fine powder). Stir the whole well together,
then knead the mass in water, in order to  incorporate
the alabaster thoroughly with the rosin and wax.  The
alabaster, when mended, should be perfectly dry, and
heated.  The cement, when applied, should also  be
heated.  Join the  broken pieces,  bind them, and let
them remain a week.  This composition, when pro-
perly managed, forms an extremely strong cement.
  To Clean Alabaster, or any other kinds of Marble.—
Pound pumice stone to a fine powder, and mix it with
verjuice.  Let it remain  several hours, then dip in a
perfectly clean sponge, and rub the marble with it till
clean.   Rinse it off with clear fresh water, and rub it
dry with a clean linen cloth.
   Cement for Iron-ware.—Beat the whites of eggs to
a froth, then stir into them enough quicklime to make
a consistent paste, and then add iron file dust to make
a thick paste.  The quicklime should be reduced to a 
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.           39
fine powder before mixing it with the eggs.   Fill the
cracks in iron-ware with this cement, and let them re-
main several weeks before using them.
  To Loosen the Stopples of Decanters and  Smelling
Bottles, that are wedged in tight.—Dip  the  end of a
feather in oil, and rub it round the stopple close to the
mouth of the bottle ;  then put the bottle about a cou-
ple of feet from the fire, having the mouth towards it.
The heat will cause the oil to  run down  between the
stopple and mouth of the bottle.  When warm, strike
the bottle gently on both sides, with any light wooden in-
strument that you may happen  to have.   If the stopple
cannot be taken out with the hand at the end of this
process, repeat it, and you will finally succeed by per-
severing in it, however firmly  it may be wedged in.
  To Prevent  the Formation  of a Crust on Tea-ket-
tles.—Keep an oyster-shell in your tea-kettle, and  it
will prevent the formation  of a crust on  the inside  of
it, by attracting the stony particles to itself.
  To   Remove  Stains from  Broadcloth.—Take  an
ounce of pipe clay that has been ground fine, and mix
it with twelve drops of alcohol, and the same quantity
of spirits  of turpentine.   Whenever you wish to re-
move  any stains from cloth, moisten a little  of this
mixture with alcohol,  and rub  it on the spots.   Let it
remain till  dry, then rub it off with a woollen cloth,
and the spots will disappear.
  To Extract  Paint from  Cotton, Silk,  and Woollen
Goods.—Saturate the spot with spirits of turpentine,
and let it remain several hours, then rub it between
the hands.  It will crumble away, without injuring
either  the color or texture of the article.
  To Remove Black Stains on Scarlet  Woolen Goods.
—Mix tartaric with water, to  give it a pleasant acid
taste, then  saturate the black  spots with it, taking
care not to have it touch the clean part of the garment.
Rinse  the  spots immediately, in fair water.   Weak
pearlash water is good to remove stains that are pro-
duced  by acids. 
40          THE house-keeper's guide.
   To Extract  Grease from Silks,  Paper,  Woollen
 Goods,  and  Floors.—To remove grease  spots  from
 goods and paper, grate  on  them, very thick, French
 chalk (common'chalk will answer, but is not as good as
 the French chalk).  Cover the spots with brown paper,
 and set on a moderately warm iron, and let it remain
 till cold.  Care must  be  taken not to have the iron so
 hot as to scorch or change the color  of the cloth.  If
 the grease does not appear to be out on removing the
 iron, grate on more chalk, heat the iron again, and put
 it on.   Repeat the process till the grease is entirely
 out.  Strong pearlash water, mixed with sand, and
 rubbed  on grease  spots in floors, is one of the  most
 effective things that can be used to extract the grease.
   To Extract Stains from  White Cotton Goods and
 Colored Silks.—Salts  of ammonia,mixed with lime,will
 take out the stains of wine from silk.  Spirits of tur-
 pentine, alcohol, and  clear  ammonia, are all good to
 remove  stains on colored  silks.  Spots of  common or
 durable ink can be removed by saturating them with
 lemon juice, and rubbing on salt, and then putting them
 where the sun will shine on them hot for several hours.
 As fast  as it  dries, put on more lemon juice and salt.
 When lemon juice cannot be obtained, citric acid is a
 good substitute.  Iron mould may be removed in the
 same way.   Mildew and most other stains can be re-
 moved by  rubbing on soft soap and salt, and placing it
 where the sun will shine  on  it hot.  Where soap and
 salt will not remove stains, lemon juice and salt will
 generally answer.   The above things  will  only remove
 stains in warm, clear weather, when the sun is hot.—
 Sulphuric acid, diluted with water, is very effectual in
removing fruit  stains.  Care should  be taken not  to
have it so strong as to eat a hole in the garment ; and
as soon as the stain is  out, it should be rinsed in pearl-
ash water, and then in fair  water.  Colored cotton
goods, that have common ink spilt on them, should be
soaked in lukewarm, sour milk.
  Directions for  Cleaning  Silk Goods.—When silk
cushions, or silk coverings to furniture, become dingy, 
              MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.            41

rub  dry bran  on it gently, with a woollen cloth,  till
clean.   Remove grease spots and stains as in directions
at top of page 40.  Silk garments should have the spots
extracted before being washed ; use hard soap for all
colors but yellow, for which soft soap is the best. Put
the soap into hot water, beat it till it is perfectly dis-
solved, then add sufficient cold water to make it just
lukewarm.  Put in the silks, and rub them  in it  till
clean ; take them out without wringing, and rinse them
in fair  lukewarm water.  \Rinse it in another water,
and  for  bright yellows, crimsons, and  maroons, add
sulphuric acid  enough to  the water to give it an acid
taste, before rinsing the garment in it.  To restore  the
colors of the different shades of pink, put in the second
rinsing  water a little vinegar or lemon-juice.  For
scarlet, use a solution of tin ; for blues, purples, and
their shades, use pearlash ; and for olive-greens, dis-
solve verdigris  in the rinsing water ;  fawn and frowns
should be rinsed in pure water.  Dip the silks up and
down in the rinsing water ; take them out of it without
wringing, and dry them in the shade.  Fold  them up
while damp ;  let them remain to have the dampness
strike through all parts of them alike, then put them
in a mangier ;  if you have not one, iron them on  the
wrong side,with an iron only just hot enough to smooth
them.   A little isinglass  or gum arabic, dissolved in
the rinsing water of gauze shawls and ribbons, is good
to stiffen  them.  The water in which pared potatoes
have been boiled,  is an excellent thing to wash black
silks in ; it stiffens, and makes them glossy and black.
Beef's gall and lukewarm water is also a nice thing to
restore  rusty silk, and  soap-suds  answers very well.
They look better not to be rinsed in  clear water,  but
they should be washed in two different waters.
  Starch.—To make good flour starch, mix flour gradu-
ally with cold water, so that it may be freed from lumps.
Stir in cold water till it will pour easily; then stir it
into a pot of boiling water, and let it boil five or six
minutes, stirring it frequently.  A tallow or spermaceti
candle, stirred round in the starch several times, will 
42          THE house-keeper's guide.
 make it smoother ;  strain it through a thick clotA.—
 Starch made in this manner will answer for both cotton
 and linen very well.   Some people do not boil their
 starch, but merely  turn boiling water on  the mixed
 flour and water, but it does not make clothes look nice.
 Poland starch is made in the same manner as wheat
 starch.  When rice is boiled in a pot without  being
 tied up in a bag, the water in which it is boiled is as
 good as Poland starch for clear-starching  muslins, if
 boiled to a thick consistency after it is turned off from
 the boiled rice, and then strained.  Muslins, to look
 clear, should  be starched and clapped dry while  the
 starch is hot, then folded in a very damp cloth, and suf-
 fered to remain in it till they become quite damp, before
 ironing them.  If muslins are sprinkled, they are apt
 to look spotted.  Garments that are not worn, when
 laid by, should not be starched, as it rots them  when
 not exposed' to the air.

   To Clean Woollen and Silk Shawis.—Pare and grate      «
 raw,  mealy potatoes, and put*to each  pint of the  po-
 tato pulp a couple of quarts of cold water. Let it stand
 five hours, then strain the water through a sieve, and
 rub as much of the potato pulp through as possible ;
 let the strained watei1 stand to settle again ;  when very
 clear, turn the water off from the dregs carefully. Put
 a clean, white cotton sheet on a  perfectly clean table ;
 lay on the shawl which you wish to clean, and pin it
 down tight.   Dip a sponge that has never been used
 into the potato water, and rub  the shawl with it  till
t clean ;  then rinse the  shawl in clear water, with a tea-
 cup of salt to a pailful of the water.   Spread it on a
 clean, level place, where it will dry quick ;  if hung up
 to dry, the colors are apt to run, and make the shawl
 streaked.  Fold it up while damp, let it remain half an
 hour, and then put it  in a mangier ; if you have not
 one, wrap it in a clean, white cloth, and put it under
 a weight, and let it  remain till dry.  If there are any
 grease spots on the shawl, they should be extracted be-
 fore the shawl is washed. 
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.
43
  Directions for Carpets.—Carpets should be taken
up and shaken thoroughly, if in constant use, as often
as three or four times in a year, as the dirt that collects
underneath them wears them out  very fast.   Straw,
kept under carpets, will make them wear much longer,
as the dirt will sift through and keep it from grinding
out.   Carpets should be taken  up as often as once  a
year, even if not much used, as there is danger of moths
getting into them.  If there is any appearance of moths
in carpets when they are taken up, sprinkle tobacco or
black pepper on the floor before the carpets  are  put
down, and let it remain after they are laid down. When
the dust is well shaken out of carpets, if there are any
grease  spots on them, grate on potter's clay very thick,
cover them with a brown paper, and set on a warm iron.
It will be necessary to repeat this process several times,
to get out all  the grease.  If the carpets are so much
soiled,  as to require cleaning all over, after the dirt has
been shaken out, spread them on a clean floor, and rub
on them, with a new broom, pared and grated raw pota-
toes.   Let the carpet remain  till perfectly dry, before
walking on them.

  To  Clean Light  Kid Gloves.—Magnesia,  moist
bread,  and India rubber, are all of them good to clean
light kid gloves.  They should be rubbed on the gloves
thoroughly.   If so much soiled that they cannot be
cleaned, sew up the tops of the gloves, and rub them
over with a sponge dipped in a decoction of saffron and
water.   The gloves will be yellow or brown, accord-
ing to  the strength of the decoction.

  To Restore  Rusty Italian Crape.—Heat skim milk
and water—dissolve in half a pint of it a piece of glue
an inch square, then take it from the fire.  Rinse the
crape out in vinegar to clean  it; then, to stiffen it, put
it in the mixed glue and milk.  Wring it out, and clap
it till dry, then smooth it out with a hot iron—a paper
should be laid over it when it is ironed. Gin is an ex-
cellent thing to restore rusty crape ; dip it  in,  and
let it get saturated with it ;  then clap it till dry, and 
 44         the  house-keeper's  guide.

 smooth it out with a moderately hot iron.  Italian crape
 can be dyed to look as nice as that which is new.
   To Clean Mahogany and Marble Furniture.—No
 soap should ever be used for them ; they should be
 washed in fair water, and rubbed  with a clean,  soft
 cloth, till dry.   A little sweet  oil, rubbed  on occa-
 sionally, gives them a fine polish. The furniture should
 be rubbed over with a cloth dipped in oil, then rubbed
 over with a clean  cloth till it appears dry and polished.
 White spots on varnished furniture may be removed by
 rubbing them with a warm flannel dipped in spirits of
 turpentine.   Ink spats  may be  removed  by  rubbing
 them with a woollen cloth, dipped in oil of vitriol and
 water mixed, being careful not to touch any part of the
 furniture that is not Spotted.  A?- soon as the ink is
 extracted, rinse the spot with pearlash water, and then
 with fair water. It is said that blotting paper alone will
 extiact the ink, if rolled up tight,  and rubbed hard on
 the spots.   If it answers the purpose, it is altogether
 best to use it, as  there is always danger attending the
 use of oil of vitriol, it being so powerful as to corrode
 whatever it may get dropped on, without its effects are
 destroyed by the use of an alkali.
  To Clean Stoves and Stone Hearths.—Varnished
 stoves should have several coats  of varnish put on in
 summer, in  order to  have  it get  hard, before being
 used. They  should be washed in warm water, without
 soap; a little oil rubbed  on them occasionally,  makes
 them look nice, and tends to keep the varnish from
 wearing off.   Black Lead and British Lustre are both
 of them good to black stoves which have  never been
 varnished; if they have been, it will not answer. They
 should be mixed with cold water, to form a paste, then
rubbed on the stoves, and remain till quite dry ; they
 should then  be rubbed with a dry, stiff,  and flat brush,
till  clean and polished.   If you wish to preserve the
 color of free-stone hearths, wash themin water, without
any soap ; then rub on them, while damp, free-stone,
that has  been reduced to a  powder; let it remain till 
MISCELLANEOUS recipes.
45
dry, then rub it off.  If the hearths are  stained rub
them hard with a piece of free-stone.  If you wish to
have yv.ir hearth look dark, rub it over with hot soft
soap, alone, or diluted with water. For brick hearths,
use redding, mixed with thin hot starch and milk.
   To Extract Ink from Floors.—Ink spots  on  floors
can be removed by scouring them with sand wet in oil
of vitriol, and water  mixed.   Rinse them, when the
ink is extracted, with strong pearl ash water.
   To  Remove  Paint  and  Putty from  Window
Glass.—Put  sufficient  pearlash into  hot water, to
make it very strong of it; then saturate the paint, which
is daubed on the. glass, with it.  Let  it remain till
nearly dry, then rub it off hard, with a woollen  cloth.
Pearlash water is also good to remove putty before it
is dried on the glass.  If it dries on, whiting is good
to remove it.
   To Cleanse Feather Beds and Mattresses.—When
feather beds become soiled or heavy, they may be made
clean and light by being treated in the following man-
ner :  Rub them over with a stiff brush, dipped  in hot
soap suds.   When clean, lay them on  a shed, or  any
other clean place,  where the rain will fall on  the.m.
When thoroughly soaked, let them dry in a hot sun for
six or seven successive days, shaking them up well, and
turning them over each  day.  They should be covered
over with a thick cloth during the night ; if exposed to
the night air, they will become damp, and mildew.
This  way of washing the bed-ticking  and  feathers,
makes them very fresh and light, and is much  easier
than the old-fashioned way of emptying the beds, and
washing the feathers separately, while it answers quite
as well.  Care must be taken to dry the bed perfectly,
before sleeping on it.   Hair mattresses that have be-
come hard and dirty,  can  be made nearly as good as
new by ripping them, washing the ticking, and picking
the hair free from bunches, and keeping it in  a dry,
airy place several days.   Whenever  the  ticking gets
dry, fill it lightly with the hair, and tack it together. 
46         the house-keeper's guide.

   To Cleanse Phials and  Pie Plates.—Bottles and
phials that have had medicine in them, maybe cleansed
by putting ashes in eachvone, and immersing them in a
pot of cold water, then  heating the water gradually,
until it boils ;  when  they have boiled in it  an  hour,
take it from the fire, and let them remain in it till cold;
then wash them in  soap-suds,  and rinse them in fair
water till clear.  Pie plates that have been used much
for baking, are apt to impart an unpleasant taste to the
pies, which is owing to the lard and butter of the crust
soaking into them, and becoming rancid.   It may be
removed by putting them in a brass kettle, with ashes
and cool water, and boiling  them in it an  hour.

  To Polish Brass, Britannia, and Silver Utensils.—•
Rotten  stone, mixed  with  a little spirit, is  the best
thing to clean brass with ; rotten stone and oil does
very well.  They should be polished with dry rotten
stone, and a dry cloth.  Hot vinegar and milk make
brass look nice ; it should be rinsed off, wiped dry, and
rubbed over with chalk to kill the acid,  and  give the
brass a polish.   Brass looks very nice cleaned in this
manner, and will keep clean a long time, provided all
the acid is killed ;  if not, they will turn very soon.—
When brass utensils are not  in  use, they should be
thoroughly cleaned  with rotten stone  and oil, and
wrapped up tight to exclude the air. Whiting or chalk
is good to polish silver. If the silver is spotted wet the
chalk (which should be powdered), rub  it on the sil-
ver,  and let it remain until  dry ; then rub it off with
a clean, dry cloth. When chalk will not remove spots
hot ashes will.   Britannia ware should be rubbed with
a flannel rag dipped in sweet or linseed oil, if spotted,
then washed in soap-suds, and wiped dry.   To give
it  a polish, rub it over with dry powdered  chalk, or
whiting, using a.clean, dry rag.

   To Remove or Keep  Rust from Cutlery.—Bristol
brick is good to remove rust, and give a polish to steel
utensils.  It should be powdered fine, and rubbed on
dry, with a woollen cloth.   Knives should be rubbed 
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.
47
on a board, with a thick leather covered over it, and
fastened down tight.  The brick should be dry, and
powdered fine, and the knives should not be wet after
cleaning, but merely wiped  with  a dry clean cloth.
To make the handles smooth, wipe them with a cloth
that is a little damp, being careful not to touch the
blades, as it will tarnish them.  Knives look very nice
cleaned in this manner, and the edge will keep sharp.
Ivory-handled knives should never have the handles
put into hot water, as it will turn them yellow.  If,
through misuse, they turn yellow, rub them with sand-
paper.  When Bristol brick will not remove rust from
steelj rub the spots with sand-paper or emery, or else
rub on sweet oil, and let it remain a day; then rub it off
with powdered quicklime.  To keep steel utensils (that
are not in constant use) from contracting rust,  clean
them thoroughly with Bristol brick, wipe them on a
perfectly dry cloth, and rub them over with sweet oil,
and cover them with brown paper, so as to exclude the
air.  Knives and forks should be wrapped up in brown
paper, each one by itself.

   Preservative Against the Ravages  of  Moths.—
Moths are very apt to' eat woollen and fur garments
early in the summer.  To keep them from the garments,
take them late in the spring, when not worn, and put
them in a  chest, with  considerable  camphor  gum.
Cedar chips, or tobacco leaves, are also good for this
purpose.  When moths get into  garments,  the  best
thing to destroy them is to  hang the garments in a
closet, and make a strong smoke of tobacco leaves un-
der them ; in order to do it, have a pan of live coals
in the closet, and sprinkle on the tobacco leaves.

   To Destroy Cockroaches, Ants, and other House-
hold Vermin.—Hellebore, rubbed over with molasses,
and put round the places that cockroaches frequent, is
a very effectual poison for them.  Arsenic, spread on
bread and butter, and placed around rat or mouse holes,
will soon put a stop to their ravages.  Quicksilver and
the white of an egg, beat together, and laid with a 
48          the housekeeper's GUIDE.

feather round  the crevices of the bedsteads and  the
sacking, is very effectual in destroying bugs in them.
To  kill Hies, when so numerous as to be troublesome,
keep cobalt, wet with spirits, in a large shallow plate.
The spirits will attract the flies, and the cobalt will kill
them veiy  soon.   Black  pepper is said to be good to
destroy them ; it should be mixed,  so as to be very
strong, with a little cream and sugar.  Great care is
necessary in using the above poisons, where there are
any children, as  they are so apt to eat any thing that
comes in their way, and  these  poisons will  prove as
fatal to them  as to vermin  (excepting the  pepper).
The flour of sulphur is said to be good to- drive  ants
away, if sprinkled round the places that they frequent.
Sage is also good.  Weak  brine will kill worms in
gravel walks,  if  kept moist with it a week in  the
spring, and three or four days in the fall.

  Self-sealing Envelopes.—These are the  greatest
conveniences among small things that have ever been
invented.   Those who have once used them will uevei
do without a^-ain.  They may be prepared without any
trouble, and by any child. Envelopes should be bought
by the hundred,  as they come much less than if pur-
chased in small quantities.   Dissolve a  cent's worth
of gum arabic  in a very little water—just enough to
make a thickish. paste.   With the linger apply a little
of the  gum to  the fly leaf of the envelope, at the spot
where the wafer would come. When dry, you will have
a self-sealing envelope.  When wanted for use, wet the
guru with the  tongue, and the letter will seal without
further trouble.  It will take but a few minutes to pre-
pare a hundred envelopes in this manner, and when
finished you will have saved yourself the trouble of
hunting up your wafers, wax  and sealing stamp one
hundred times.  You will have  saved  something in
cash also, and  much in time. 
THE  INDIAN DOCTOR.
              DIETS AND REMEDIES,

  Bowel Complaints.—Tea and coffee, and toast with-
out butter, arrow-root, crackers of any kind, and chicken
broth, or anything else of that nature, will not be inju-
rious ;  and enough of it  should be taken to keep  the
strength and spirits as much unimpaired as possible, as
no treatment is more dangerous than to have nothing
to eat ; but on no account should a patient be permit-
ted to have access to fruit of any kind (with the excep-
tion, perhaps, of figs, which may be eaten freely), or
to use meat, until recovered.
  Inflammation of the  Bowels.—Apply a mustard
plaster until sufficient irritation is produced, and, on
taking it off, flannel dipped in hot water should be ap-
plied every half hour, until relief is obtained.   Great
care should be used as to diet, the simplest and most
nutritious alone being safe ;  and on no account should
any fruit be allowed to pass into the bowels while
suffering from this complaint.
   Cholera Morbus.—Take two ounces  of the leaves
of the  Bene plant, put them in  half a  pint  of cold
water, and let them soak an hour.  Give two table-
spoonfuls hourly, until relief is experienced.
   Dysentery.—In diseases of this kind, the Indians
use the roots and leaves of the blackberry  bush—a
decoction of which in hot water,  well boiled down,  is
taken in doses of a gill  before each meal, and before
retiring to bed.  It is an almost infallible cure. 
50          THE HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE.
   Cramp Remedy.—Ten drops of the oil of lavender,
taken in a gill of French brandy, and repeated hourly
if necessary.
   Bilious Cholic.—A mixture in equal parts  of gum
opium,  gam camphor, and spirits of turpentine, dis-
solved in spirits, is an excellent remedy.  Chamomile
tea, very strong, is also good in this  complaint.
   Lung  Complaints.—In  pulmonary  consumption,
asthma,  or whooping  cough, entirely avoid roasted
meats of any description, and rely upon vegetables as
the principal articles to be used, varied occasionally  by
a tender piece of beef or mutton well boiled.
   Flannel should be worn at all seasons of the year,
by those predisposed to these complaints.
   Sore Throat.—Put a mustard plaster over the pain-
ful part, and take a dose of salts, followed by a drink
of cream of tartar.  On retiring to bed, soak your feet
well in warm water, and taking off the plaster, put in
its place a flannel rag dipped in liniment;  and  be
careful not to expose yourself to cold for a  few days.
Or boil a pint of vinegar and a quarter of a pound of
sugar together,  in a vessel  with  a  spout; and when
boiling hot, inhale the  steam about  fifteen minutes,
taking care not to scald your throat.
   Cold in the Head.—Boil an ounce  of hoarhound  in
a pint of water until half boiled away.  Add a tea-
spoonful of cayenne  pepper, sweeten  it well and drink
it, following it immediately with a draught  of milk to
allay the burning of the throat. It should be taken  on
retiring to bed, and  the person should be carefully
wrapped in blankets, thus producing  a copious per-
spiration.

   Coughs.—For this old Indian  remedy, take half a
pound of liquorice root, half a pound of brook liverwort,
two ounces of elecampane, a quarter of a pound of Sol-
omon's seal, half a pound of spikenard,  and a  quarter
of a pound of gumfire ;  add a gallon  of water, boil it
down to a quart, and then  add two pounds of strained 
THE  INDIAN DOCTOR.
51
honey and a pint of old brandy.  Take half a  glass
before each meal.
   Whooping Cough.—Mix a  quarter of a pound of
ground elecampane root in half a pint of strained honey
and half a pint of water.   Put them in a glazed earthen
pot, and place it in a  stove  oven, with half the  heat
required to bake bread. Let it bake until about the con-
sistency of strained honey, and take it  out.   Admin-
ister in doses of a teaspoonful before each meal,  to a
child  ; if an adult, double the dose.
   Quinsy.—Boil half a pound of spotted cardis bark in
a quart of water for fifteen minutes.  Hold a teapot
containing the hot liquid so as  to inhale the steam for
fifteen minutes, repeating the operation three or four
times, when the swelling will disappear. Apply a  piece
of flannel  dipped in liniment to your throat,  and  keep
it bound on three or four days.
   Asthma.—This Indian remedy is compounded of one
ounce each of spikenard root, sweet flag root, elecam-
pane  root, and common chalk,  beaten or ground very
fine, with  the addition of half a pound of strained ho-
ney.   Dose :  a teaspoonful  after each meal and just
before retiring to bed.  When it  is inconvenient to
procure the above articles, for temporary relief, an ap-
plication of a mustard plaster to the chest, and immer-
sion of the feet in  hot water, with a handful of  mus-
tard thrown in, will be  found useful.   A warm  room
and plenty of covering at night are absolutely neces-
sary in treatments for this disease.
   Consumption.—Take  a peck of barley malt, add to
it nine gallons of water  boiling hot.  Let it stand six
hours, then add to the water in which the malt was
soaked a peck of white pine bark, half a pound of spike-
nard root, and half a pound of  Syria grass. Boil  half ^
away, then put the liquid part into a  keg,  adding a'
quart of brewers' yeast.
  Hectic Cough.—Mix the yolk of three eggs, a gill
of honey, and  a table-spoonful of tar together,  then
add to them half a pint of Port wine. Place them over a 
52         THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
slow fire about three minutes, stirring the compound
well, then bottle it.   Use a teaspoonful of the  mix-
ture three times a day, before each meal; and at night,
on going to bed, take a  teaspoonful of cayenne  pep-
per in half a pint of hot water.  Great relief will be
found from the practice of  rubbing the breast with a
coarse towel every morning on rising,  until warmth is
produced by the friction.
  Pain in the Breast or Side.—The  Indian remedy
for this is, two pounds of fir boughs,a quarter of a pound
of spikenard, half a pound of red clover, and a gallon
of sweet cider, boiled to three pints. Drink half a gill
of the mixture each night on going to bed, and morn-
ing, on getting up.

  Febrile and Inflammatory Complaints.—Rice, ar-
row root, and other farinaceous substances, are the best
in all diseases of this class ; and where the patient  is
much debilitated, beef broth in  small quantities is re-
commended.   Acid drinks,  such as lem< nade, cream
of tartar, and orange water, are  very good, as also the
usual tea and  coffee—the latter only at meal times,
and not made strong.   Oranges, and in fact anything
of that nature,  may be eaten freely during the preva-
lence of heat  in  the system, but  during the chilis aud
sweating turn of fevers, the drinks should be warm-
ing, and of such a  character as to induce an increase
of perspiration.
  Preventive of Bilious Fever.—If you are bilious in
the spring, it will  be well to physic with a sirup made
of four ounces of rhubarb, fmr ounces  of  blood  root,
four ounces of mandrake rout, ground or pounded fine,
and stirred in half a pint  of molasses, ofwnich two table-
spoonfuls is a dose. Then loaue  a  beer of equal parts
of elder roots,burdock roots,sarsaparilla,and spikenard
roots,and white-ash bark and hops,and four times their
weight  of  spruce  boughs : add  sufficient water,  and
place over a tire until sufficient mix. ure and extraction
of the strength of the ingredients has taken place, then
add yeast aud put into a keg.   Afier  it is fit for use, 
THE INDIAN DOCTOR.             53
drink three glasses a day, and we apprehend you will
never have occasion to call a doctor in a bilious  com-
plaint.
   Scarlet Fever.—The Indian remedy for this disease
is white birch root, pulverized fine, and taken in honey
in doses of a teaspoonful four times a day, in the first
stages of the complaint ; and when the fever comes on,
administer rattlesnake's gall, three grains for a dose,
three times a day.
   Intermittent Fever.—Take, on the first appearance
of the symptoms, a dose of rhubarb and magnesia,  or
epsom salts ; and after they have operated, place the
feet in warm water thirty minutes, and give warming
drinks, such as decoction of pennyroyal, sage, catnip,
and boneset, in equal parts, for three or four hours ;
then go to  bed, and  keep well covered up, so as  to
perspire freely.
   Small Pox.—In this disease the symptoms are gen-
erally a quickened respiration, and feverish heat of the
body, in the first place.  Immediately, on any appre-
hension being felt, put the patient's feet into  warm
water ; then put him into a warm bed, so as to run  no
risk of his catching cold, and send for a doctor. This is
probably the safest prescription we can give in this
disease, as the different phases of it require such varied
treatment, that it would be trifling with the subject
to attempt a prescription here.
   Felon or Run-round.—Stew four ounces each of blue
flag root and wild turnip root in a pint of hog's lard,
strain and add to it a gill of tar, and simmer them to-
gether.  Apply this preparation to the felon for about
a week, and it will break.   Add rosin  and beeswax to
the ointment for a dressing salve, afterit  is broken.
Tins is a certain cure,  without losing  a joint 
54       THE HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE.
           PRACTICAL INDIAN RECIPES.

  Salvufor a Burn.—Take of green elder bark, wild
lavender, chamomile, and parsley, equal parts, stewing
them in fresh butter fifteen minutes.   Strain, and add
beeswax, rosin, and white diachylon, equal parts.  If
the burn has troubled you some time and discharged
freely, take mutton suet fresh from the sheep, pound it
with chalk to the consistency of salve.  This will cure
the most inveterate old sores of the kind.
  Stiff Joints and Shrunken Sinews.—To make this
ointment, take two pounds of hog's lard, put into it four
ounces of melilot (green), stew it well fifteen minutes.
Strain it ; add two ounces of rattlesnake's oil, same of
olive oil, and  ten  drops of the oil of lavender, mixed
well together.   Anoint the part affected three times a
day, and rub it in well with the  hand, and in two
weeks the cure will be effected.
  Rattlesnake's Bite.—Take  green hoarhound tops
and pound them fine ;  press out the juice, and let the
patient drink a table-spoonful three times a day, before
breakfast, dinner, and just on going to bed, and apply
the pounded herb to the bite as a poultice twice a day.
This remedy seldom fails to cure the most deadly bites,
and in the standing remedy among the Indians.
  Itch.—Take a quarter of a  pound of hog's lard, two
ounces of turpentine, one ounce of flour of sulphur, and
mix them together thoroughly.  Apply it to the wrists,
knees, ancles, and elbows,  and rub it on the palms of
the hands, if there  are any raw spots.  Continue  it
three or four nights, and a cure is accomplished.
   Hollow, Aching Teeth.—Mix equal parts  of gum
camphor, gum opium, and spirits of turpentine  ; rub
them in a mortar to  a paste, dip raw cotton in the
paste, and put it into the hollow tooth  each time af-
ter eating.  Use  it regularly one week, and the tooth
will be  effectually cured.
• 
THE  INDIAN DOCTOR.             55
  Canker in the Mouth.—Put one pound of fresh but-
ter into a glazed earthen vessel, set it on the fire until
it boils, then add four common green frogs and let them
stew until they are dry ; take out the frogs, and add a
little chamomile and parsley.  When cold, stir in one
ounce of pulverized alum; and if the fever is high, give
a dose of rattlesnake's gall, dried in chalk.  This is the
Indian remedy for canker  in the mouth,  throat, or
stomach ; and although  perhaps  disagreeable  to the
fastidious, on account of some of the ingredients, it is
said to be infallible.
  Corns.—Take white pine turpentine and spread  a
plaster, applying it to the corn, after washing the foot
thoroughly with warm water and  soap, and let it stay
on until it comes off of  itself.  Repeat the operation
three times.
  Inward Ulcers—Take a quarter of a pound of sas-
safras root bark, a quarter of a pound of colt's foot root,
two ounces of gum myrrh,  two ounces of winter bark,
and two ounces of succatrine aloes ;  boil them well in
four quarts of spirits, and drink a small glass every
morning,  fasting.
  Flying Rheumatism.—A  quarter of a pound each
of prince's pine tops, horse-radish roots, elecampane
roots, prickly ash bark, bitter sweet^bark off the roots,
wild cherry bark, and a small handful of mustard seed.
Stew them well in four quarts of vinegar, strain off the
liquor, and bind the ingredients on parts where the pain
is felt, rubbing the liquid all over the person  with  a
coarse towel wet in it,    Drink a mixture of tar water
and brandy.
  Salt Rheum.—Take half a pound of swamp sassafras
bark, and boil it in enough fresh water to cover it, for
the space of half an hour. Take of the water, and tho-
roughly wash the part affected. Add hog's lard to some
of the water, and simmer it over  a moderate fire until
the water is evaporated.  Anoint the part affected, con-
tinuing the washing and anointing four days,  and  a
cure is certain. 
 56         THE  HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.

   Acute Rheumatism.—The best remedy for this dis-
 tressing complaint is a plant commonly known by the
 name of smart-weed.  Take a quantity of the leaves
 of this plant (which may be found in almost any low
 marshy ground, and wilt them down, a few minutes on
 a shovel, over a hot fire ; then add enough strong vine-
 gar to moisten them thoroughly, and apply a poultice
 of them, laid on a linen rag, to the parts'in which the
 pain is felt, changing the  poultice three times a day.
 Drink a tea made of the same  herb three times a day,
 and it is almost sure to effect a cure.
   Wen.—Burn a quantity of clean lirien rags on a pew-
 ter dish, then gather the oil from the dish with a little
 lint, and cover the wen with it three times a day for
 two weeks, and the  wen  will  drop out  witnout any
 trouble.

   Piles.—Make an ointment of equal parts of sage,
 parsley, burdock, and chamomile leaves, simmer half
 an hour in fresh butter or sweet oil and lard ;  then rub
 the parts affected with it, and drink half a gill of tar
 water twice a day ;  if the piles are inward,  take the
 same quantity of tar water, and half a small glass of
 the essence of fir  each night, on going to bed.   Con-
 tinue this course  two months,  and it will do you more
 good than all the quack medicines in existence.

   Common Canker.—Take a pound  of  canker root,
 wash it well and pound it fine.  Soak it in warm water
 three hours, stirring it up well occasionally, so as to ex-
 tract its strength. Wash the canker with it, and drink
 of it three times a day for a week.

   Gravel.—Make a strong tea of the root of the plant
 called Jacob's ladder, and drink five or six times a day,
in doses of half a pint at  a time.  It is an  infallible
 cure.

  Bleeding at the Stomach.—Pound very fine sixteen
ounces of well dried yellow  dock root, and boil it fifteen
minutes in sweet  milk ; strain  it, sweeten it well, and
drink a gill three times a day.   Take, in addition,  a 
THE  INDIAN DOCTOR.
57
 pill of white pine turpentine every day, which will have
 the effect of healing the blood vessels from which the
 blood escapes.
   Convulsion Fits.—Make a strong tea of the root
 called convulsion root, and take it in doses of a half
 pint, whenever  there is any  appearance of  the  fit
 coming on.
   Sore Eyes.—A teaspoonful of  sugar of lead, same
 quantity of white vitriol, and two ounces of gunpowder,
 mixed well together in a quart of soft water, applied
 to the eyes as a wash three  times a day  for a  week,
 will cure the most inveterate cases.
   Numb Pulsy.—Bleed the patient freely, if it be pos-
 sible, and administer a table-spoonful of sulphur every
 hour, continually bathing the numb parts with spirits
 of hartshorn.   Boil a pound of roll brimstone in four
 quarts of water, until it is reduced to one quart; then
 give a table-spoonful every hour.  If you commence
 the course early, the complaint will soon yield.
   Catarrh in the Head.—Split half a pound of yellow
 dock root, and dry it in an oven; take four ounces each
 of dried blood root and scoke root, one ounce of cinna-
 mon, and half an ounce of cloves; powder them all fine,
 and mix well together ;  use it  as snuff eight or ten
 times a day, and sweat the head  with  an infusion of
 hemlock boughs, brandy and camphor.  Pour a little
 camphorated spirits in the hot water, to cause per-
 spiration.
   Rheumatism.—Equal  quantities horse-radish roots,
 elecampane roots, prince's pine leaves, prickly-ash bark,
 bitter-sweet root bark, wild cherry bark, mustard seed,
 and a pint of tar water; boiled in two quarts of brandy.
 Drink a wine glass  before each meal, and bathe  the
 part affected with salt and rum, before a large fire.
  A Film in the Eye.—Powder  sugar of lead very
fine. Cut an oat straw short so as to be hollow through,
and dipping one end of the strawinto the powder, blow
through it a small quantity, night and morning, into
the film. 
58          THE housekeeper's guide.
   Worms in Children.—Steep or boil in a pewter ves-
sel, over a moderate fire, very strong, the bark of spot-
ted alder or witch-hazel.  For a year old, a table-spoon-
ful ; increase the dose according to age.   Give four or
five times a day, for several days.   It is sure and safe.
Or fine powdered sage, mixed with honey ; a teaspoon-
ful for a dose.  Sweetened milk, with the addition of
a little alum, will turn the worms.  Flour of sulphur,
mixed with honey, is very good.   Heat very hot, in a
smith's furnace, a piece of steel ; lay on it a roll  of
brimstone, melt the steel, let it fall into water, and it
will be in round lumps. Pound them very fine, mix the
dust with molasses.  Give half a teaspoonful night and
morning, fasting.   Or, give  as much as will lie on a
six-pence,  of dried mandrake  roots, powdered and
mixed with honey, in the morning, three or four times
successively.  If a  child  have fits proceeding from
worms, give as much paragoric as it can bear ; it will
turn the worms and ease the child.  To prevent worms,
let children eat onions, raw  or cooked.   Raw are  the
best.   Salt and water will turn worms,  and a dose or
two of flour of sulphur after, will  bring them away,
without any other medicine.

   Polypus in the Nose.—Snuff up  the  nose the fol-
lowing compound : Two ounces of dried blood-root, a
quarter of an ounce of calix cinnamon, and two ounces
of scoke root. Mix well ; it will kill the polypus. Pull
it  out with foreceps, and  use the snuff until it gets
well.   If the nose is so closed that the snuff cannot be
drawn up, boil the ingredients and  gurgle the throat
with the liquor, and sweat  the head with the  same,
hot,  until it withers so as to use the snuff.

   A Breach or Burst on the Body.—Collect a parcel
of snails, such as may generally be found on old rotten
wood, or under loose barks or old logs, or under stones
in moist  places.   Lay enough of them to cover  the
breach on a linen cloth, and bind them  on, repeating
the process as often as the snails become dry.   Steep
in wine, or in water, as a tea, cinnamon, cloves, mace, 
THE  INDIAN DOCTOR.             59
 and Turkey root, and drink three times a day.  Be at-
 tentive to these  directions, aud you  may depend on
 effecting a cure.
   A Shrunk Sinew, or Stiff Joint.—Mix half an ounce
 each of green melilot, yellow besilicon, oil of amber,and
 a piece of blue vitriol as large as a thimble, well to-
 gether, simmer over a slow fire, to the consistency of
 salve, in two ounces of lard ; apply the salve (rubbing
 it in well each time to the shrunken part, and the
 joint next above it), at least three times a  day.
   Inward Ulcers, No. 2.—Steep two ounces each of
 colt's foot root, sassafras root bark, and blood-root, and
 one ounce of the gum myrrh, in two quarts of brandy.
 Drink a wine-glass  each  morning before breakfast ;
 and use  constantly a beer made of one peck of barley
 malt, two pounds each of burdock roots and  spikenard
 roots, one pound of Cumfrey root,same of angelica root,
 five pounds of black spruce boughs,  and four ounces
 of fennel seed, with ten gallons of water—drinking at
 least a quart a day,  and using  simple diet  and mod-
 erate exercise.
   Severe Cases of Dropsy.—Boil one pound each of
 prickly ash bark  and sassafras root bark, half a pound
 of spicewood root bark, three  ounces of  garlic, four
 ounces each of parsley root, horse radish root,and black
 birch bark, in three gallons of malt beep, for half an
 hour.  Strain off the  liquor and put it into a close
 vessel, making use of it in doses of a gill three times
 a day for two weeks, taking good care not  to catch
 cold, or drink too much cold water, while undergoing
 the above treatment.
   Involuntary Swellings.—Make an ointment of me-
lilot, saffron, sugar of lead, and  elder  tags, stewed in
hog's lard fifteen minutes, and strained.  Anoint 'the
swelling three times a day until it goes down.  It will
be best to give the patient something strengthening
to the stomach before you  apply the ointment, and
take care that he does not  take cold while under the
treatment. 
60          THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
  Female Obstructions, <fc.—Make a  sirup of equal
parts of heart's ease, spikenard roots with the pith out,
Turkey root, wild licorice, pond-lily root, a small part
of blood-root, and a double proportion of an herb called
female flowers.  The last often grows by the edges of
ponds, and has a leaf and blossoms similar to cowslips,
but grows single, one root or stalk by itself, and smaller
than the  cowslip. The blossom is yellow.  It is one of
the finest roots for females in the world.  Boil in fair
water until the substance is extracted, strain, sweeten
with honey, add as  much rum  as will  keep it from
souring ; drink half a gill on going to bed, every night.
It will strengthen the system, and throw off all obstruc-
tions.  A thick piece of flannel work, on the small of
the back, will be beneficial to persons thus affected.
  Diabetes.—Put the bladder  of a wether sheep in a
bottle with a quart of Madeira wine, and let  it soak
two days.  Drink half a gill at a dose, three times a
day, until all is used, when a cure will generally be
effected ; or if not, as the remedy is rather palatable,
repeat trie filling of the  bottle until a complete cure
is accomplished.
  Poultice for Old Sores.—Scrape a quantity of yellow
carrots and wilt them well in a pan until they are soft,
then mash them, put them on a clean linen  cloth and
bind them oh the sore, repeating the operation four or
five times.  It is also good for a sore breast.
  Inward Weakness, and Pain in the Side, Back, and
Stomach.—Put five lbs. fir boughs, four ounces spike-
nard root, and one lb. red clover, into two and a half
gallons of old cider.   Boil it well half an hour,  then
add two  lbs. brown sugar, and  keep  the liquid well
covered,  drinking it in doses of a gill every night and
morning  until the pain entirely ceases. 
          TREATMENT OF THE HALR, ETC.
   Oil for the Hair.—Take half a pound of southern-
 wood, slightly pounded, and boil it in a pound and a
 half of old olive oil, and half a pint of port wine.  When
 these ingredien is aro thoroughly impregnated take them
 from the fire and strain out the liquor well through a
 linen cloth.   Repeat  the operation three times with
 fresh southern-wood ;  and this being done, add to the
 filtered liquor two ounces of bear's grease or hog's lard.
   Another.—An excellent,  ready  made  oil for the
 hair, is made by mixing one part of brandy with three
 parts of sweet oil.  Add any scent you prefer.
   To  Prevent Hair from  Falling  Off.—Moisten it
 with a small quantity of fresh beer.  It also keeps the
 hair in curl.   When  first used,  it is apt to render the
 hair dry ; but a small quantity of bear's  oil will re-
 move  fckis objection.
   Jayne's Hair Tonic.—Add one ounce of spirits of
 hartshorn to  four ounces  of lard oil ;  shake it well
 together, and bottle tightly.
   Cream, of Lilies.—Take best white castor oil, add
 a  little  strong  solution of sal tartar in water, and
 shake  it until it looks thick and white.  Perfume it
 with oil of lavender.
   Eau de Cologne.—This  popular perfume may  be
 made as follows : Take  rectified spirits  of wine six
 pints,  spirits of rosemary one pint and three-fourths,
 eau de Mclisse de Cannes one pint and an eighth, es-
 sence of Neroli forty-five drops, essence of cedrat sixty
 drops,  essence of lemon  one drachm and a half, and
 oil of rosemary one drachm.   Mix these  ingredients,
and distil iu a water bath.   Care must be taken in re-
ceiving the product ;  and it should be kept for a short
time previous  to u.-ung in a cool cellar or ice-house.
Its real use is a  perfumo or flavory essence, although
its cosmetic powers are celebrated. 
62          THE house-keeper's  guide.

  Compound Cosmetic Oil.—Take  oil of sweet al-
monds four ounces, oil  of tartar per diliquium two
ounces, oil of rhodium four drops ; mix the whole to-
gether, and use it to cleanse and soften the skin.

  An Excellent Recipe.—Take a pint of cream, infuse
into it a few water lilies, bean flowers, and roses. Sim-
mer the whole together in a vapor bath, and keep the
oil that proceeds from it  in  a  phial, which is to' be
left for some time exposed to the evening dew.
  Rose Pomatum.—Melt one ounce of white wax with
one ounce of mutton suet, and add two ounces of sweet
oil.   Color the mass with alkanet, and perfume  with
oil of roses.
  Ox Pomatum.—Melt four ounces of ox marrow  with
one ounce of white wax and six ounces of lard.   Per-
fume the mass, when cooling, with oil of bergamot.
  Bear's Oil.—The best  description of lard oil, prop-
erly perfumed, is far preferable  to any other kind  of
oil.   Perfume as desired, but be sure to get a good,
sweet article.
  Hudson's Cold Cream.—Oil of almonds two ounces,
white wax and spermaceti one  drachm each ; melt,
and while  warm, add rose  water  two  ounces, and
orange flour water half an ounce.
  To Make the Complexion Fair.—Take emulsion of
bitter almonds one pint, oxymuriate of quicksilver two
and a half grains, and sal ammonia one drachm.  Use
moderately for pimples,freckles,tanned complexions,or
scurf on the skin, by means of a  sponge, after washing
the face or hands with soft soap and warm water.

  Curling the Hair.—At any  time  you* may make
your hair curl the more easily by rubbing it with the
beaten yolk of an egg, washed off afterwards with  clear
water, and then putting on  a little pomatum before
you put up your curls.   It is well always to go through
this process when you change to  curls, after  having
worn your hair plain. 
AMERICAN LETTER WRITER.
             LETTERS ON RELATIONSHIP.
           From a young Miss to her Parents.
  I hope that my dear papa and mamma will excuse
the badness of the writing of this letter, when they
shall be pleased to recollect  that this is my first at-
tempt since I have learned to join my letters together.
I have long been anxious to have the pleasure of being
able to write to you, and beg you will be pleased tc
accept this, my first humble offering.  As my constant
study ever has been, so shall it continue to be, to con-
vince you how much I am, my dearest parents,
     Your most affectionate and dutiful daughter.
      From the same to her Parents on another occasion.
   My dear papa and mamma will be pleased to accept
of my most respectful compliments on the close of the
old and commencement of the new year.   As it has
pleased God to  give you good  health  during the
course of the last year, I beseech Him to grant you
the same to the end of the present, and many more.
This is a happiness your family have most earnestly
to wish for, and in particular
         Your  most humble and dutiful daughter.
     From a young Miss to her Brother in the country.
   Dear William :  You seem to make good the old
proverb, " Out of sight, out of mind."  It is now two
months since I received a letter from you, and you ap-
pear to forget that we little maids do not like to be
treated with neglect.  You must not pretend to tell me
that, however fond you maybe of your books, you could 
66         the house-keeper's guide.
not find leisure to write me in all this time.. They tell
me that you spend a great part of your leisure time
with a little miss of about eight years of age, with whom
you are very fond of reading and  conversing.  Take
care, if I find she is withdrawing  your affection from
me, that I do not come down and pull her cap for her.
As for yourself, if you were within  the  reach of my
little tongue, I would give you such a peal as should
make you remember it for some time to come.  How-
ever, if you will write to me soon,  I may possibly for-
give all that is past, and still consider myself as
                    Your  most affectionate  sister.
               Answer to the preceding.
  Dear Sister :  I am very sorry that I hajj£ given
you so much reason to complain of my neglect of writing
to you ; but be assured that my affections for you are
the same they ever were.  I readily confess, that the
young lady you complain of, has in some measure been
the cause of it.  She is as fond of reading as I am, and
I believe loves you on my account ; is it then possible
my sister can be displeased with one so amiable?  I did
not tell her what  you threatened her with ; but I am
sure, were you to come here on that errand, instead of*
pulling her cap, you would embrace and love her. As
to what you say respecting your little tongue, I promise
you I do not wish to come within reach of the sound of
it, when anger sets it in motion.  As this is the only
thing which can render my sister less agreeable, I shall
be very cautious to avoid setting the little  alarum in
motion, especially when I shall pay you a visit. I have
bought you a most brilliant  doll, which I shall bring
up with me when I come to Hudson.
                  Your most affectionate brother.
  From the Daughter to the Mother, in excuse for her neglect
  Honored Madam :  I am ashamed I stayed to be
reminded of my duty by my brother's kind letter.   I
will offer no excuse for myself for not writing oftener,
though I have been strangely taken up by the kindness 
            AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.          67

and favor of your good  friends here, particularly my
aunt Willet ;  for well do I know that my duty to my
honored mother ought to take place of all other consid-
erations.  All I beg therefore, is, that you will be so
good as to forgive me on promise of amendment, and
to procure forgiveness also of my aunt Greenough and
all friends.  Believe me, madam, when I say that no
diversions here or elsewhere  shall make me forget the
duty I owe  to so good a mother and such kind rela-
tions ;  and that  I shall ever be
                  Your gratefully dutiful daughter.
  P. S. My aunt and cousins desire their kind love to
you, and due respects to all friends.

            From a young Lady lo her Mother.
  Honored Mother :  In my last  I  informed you
that my worthy benefactress,  Mrs. Walton had been
extremely ill; I have the pleasure to assure you that
she is now perfectly recovered.  The happiness of my
present situation may be conceived, but it is not in my
power to describe it. After we get up in the morning,
the family is called together, to render thanks to the
Almighty for his preserving them during the preceding
night, and to implore his protection the  remaining part
of the day ;  afterwards we retire to breakfast.  During
the forenoon, we young ones walk into the garden, or
the fields, while the good lady is employed in dispens-
ing medicines to her poor tenants.  Atone o'clock we
dine, and afterwards retire to the summer-house, when
each in her  turn reads some part of the best English
writers, whilst the others are employed in needlework.
I have received  a letter from my brother, and am glad
to hear he is settled in  so good a family.  I am, hon-
ored madam,
           Your affectionate and dutiful daughter.
From a Mother in town to a Daughter at school in the country,
          recommending the practice of Virtue.
  Dear Child :  Although we are separated in per-
son, yet you are never absent from my thoughts ; and 
   68          the house-keeper's guide.

   it is my continual  practice to recommend you to the
   care of that Being, whose eyes are on all his creatures,
   and to whom the secrets of all hearts are  open ; but
   I have been somewhat alarmed because your two last
   letters do not run in that strain of unaffected piety as
   formerly.  What, my dear, is  the reason*?   Does vir-
   tue appear  unpleasant  to  you ?   Is your beneficent
   Creator a hard  task-master, or  are you resolved to
   embark in fashionable follies of  a gay, unthinking
   world ?  Excuse me,  my dear ; I am a mother, and
   my concern for your happiness is inseparably connected
   with my own.  Perhaps I  am mistaken,  and  what  I
   have considered as a fault, may be only the  effusions
   of youthful gaiety.  I shall consider it in that light,
   and be extremely glad, yea, happy to find it so. Use-
   ful instructions are never too often inculcated, and,
   therefore, give me leave again to put you in mind' of
   that duty the  performance of which alone can make
H< you happy both in time and in eternity.
      Religion, my dear, is  a dedication of the whole soul
   to the will of God, and virtue is the actual operation
   of that truth, which diffuses itself through every part
   of  our conduct ; its  consequences are equally bene-
   ficial as its  promises : " Her ways are ways of pleas-
   antness and all her paths are peace."
      Whilst the gay, unthinking part of youth  are de-
   voting the whole of their time to fashionable pleasures,
   how happy shall I be to hear, that my child was reli-
   gious, without hypocritical austerity, and even  gay
   with  innocence.   Let me beg that you will spend at
   least one hour each day in perusing your Bible, and
   some of our best English writers ; and do not imagine
   that  religion is such a gloomy thing as some enthu-
   siasts  have represented ; no, it  indulges you in all
   rational  amusements  not inconsistent with morality :
   it forbids nothing but what is hurtful.
      I beg that you will consider attentively what I have
   written, and write to me as soon as possible.
                               Your anxious mother. 
AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.
69
                    The Answer.
  Honored Mother :  I am so much affected by tne
perusal of your kind parental advice, that I can scarcely
hold the pen to write an answer;  but duty to the best
of parents obliges me to make you easy in your mind
before I take any rest to myself.  That levity, so con-
spicuous in my former letters, is too true to be denied;
nor do I desire  to draw a veil over my own folly.  No,
madam, I freely confess it;  but, with great sincerity, I
must at the same time declare, that they were written in
a careless manner, without cqnsidering the character of
the person to whom they were addressed ;  I am fully
sensible of my error, and, on all future occasions, shall
endeavor to avoid giving the least offence.  The advice
you  sent me in your valuable letter, needs no enco-
mium ; all that I desire, is, to have it engraven on my
heart.  My dear madam, I  love religion, I love  virtue,
and  I hope  no  consideration will ever lead me from
those duties, in which alone I expect future happiness.
Let me beg to hear from you often, and I hope that my
whole future conduct will convince the best of parents
that I am what she wishes me to be.
           Your affectionate and dutiful daughter.
From a young Woman just gone to service in New York, to her
                Mother in the country.
  Dear Mother :  It is now a month that I have
been at  Mr. Eastman's, and I thank God that I like my
place so well.  Mr. and Mrs. Eastman are both worthy
people, and greatly respected by all their neighbors. At
my first coming here, I thought every thing strange,
and wondered to see such multitudes of people in the
streets ; but what I suffer most from is, the remem-
brance of your's and my father's kindness; but I begin
to get more reconciled to my state, as I know you were
not able to support  me at home.  I return you a thou-
sand  thanks for the kind advice you were so kind to
give me at parting,  and I shall endeavor to practice it
as long .as I live.  Let me hear from you as often as you 
70         THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.

have an opportunity; so, with my duty to you and my
father, and love to all friends,
       I remain ever, your most dutiful daughter.
                The Mothers Answer.
  My Dear Child : I am glad to hear that you have
got into so good a  family.   You know that we never
should have parted from you, had it not been for your
good.  If you continue virtuous and obliging, all the
family will  love and esteem you.  Keep yourself em-
ployed as much as you can, and be  always ready to
assist your fellow-servants.  Never speak ill of any
body, but when you hear a bad story, try to soften it
as much you can ;  do not repeat it  again, but let it
Blip out of  your mind as soon as possible.   I am in
great hopes that all the family are kind to you, from
the good  character I have heard of them. If you have
any time to spare from your business, I hope you will
spend some part of it in reading your Bible, and the
Whole Duty of Man.  I pray for you daily, and there
is nothing I desire more than  my dear  child's happi-
ness.  Remember, that the more faithful  you are in
the discharge of your duty as a servant, the better you
will prosper if you live to have a family of your own.
Your father desires his blessing, and  your brothers
and sisters  their kind love to you. Heaven bless you,
my dear child, and  continue you to  be a comfort to
us all, and particularly to
                       Your affectionate mother.
From a young Woman, a servant in New York, to her Parents,
            desiring their consent to marry.
   Honored Father and  Mother :  I  have  sent
this to Inform you, that one Mr. Blanchard, a young
man, a cabinet-maker, has paid his addresses to me and
now offers me marriage; I told him I  would do nothing
without your consent,  and  therefore, have  sent this
by Mr. Odlin, your  neighbor, who called on me, and
will inform you particularly of his circumstances.
  The young man has  been set  up in business about 
            AMERICAN LETTER WRITER.          71

two years, and is very regular and sober.  Most people
in the neighborhood esteem him, and his business is
daily increasing.  I think I could live extremely happy
with him, but do not choose to give him my promise,
until I have first heard from  you ;  whatever  answer
you send, shall be obeyed by
                      Your affectionate  daughter.
                The Parent's Answer.
  Dear Child .  We received your letter  by Mr.
Odlin, and the character he gives of the young man is
so agreeable that we have no objection to. your marrying
him—begging  that you will  seriously consider the
duties of that important state before it is too late to
repent. Consider well with yourself, that, according to
your conduct  to each other, you must be happy or
miserable as long as you liVe.   There are many occur-
rences in life, in which the best of men's tempers may
be ruffled, on account of losses or disappointments;
if your husband should at any time be so, endeavor to
make him  as easy as  possible.    Be careful of every
thing he commits to you ; and  never affect to appear
superior to your station ; for, although your circum-
stances may be easy, yet, whilst in trade, you will find
a continual want of money for many different purposes.
It is possible some of your more polite neighbors may
despise you for a while, but they will be forced in the
end to acknowledge, that your conduct was consistent
with the duties of a married state. But, above all, re-
member your duty to God, and then you may cheerfully
look for a blessing on your honest endeavor.  That God
may direct you in everything for the best, is the sincere
prayer of
                  Your loving father and mother.
From a Daughter to her Father, pleading for her Sister, who
            had married without his consent.
  Honored Sir : The kind indulgence you have al-
ways shown to your children, makes  me presume to
become an advocate for my sister, though not for her 
 72         the house-keeper's gjide.

 fault.   She is very sensible of that, and sorry she has
 offended you ; but has great hopes that Mr. Stebbins
 will prove such a careful and loving husband to her, as
 may atone for her past wildness, and engage your for-
 giveness ; for all of your children are sensible of your
 parental kindness, and that you wish their good more
 for their sakes than your own.
 ,  This makes it the more wicked to offend so good a
 father; but, dear sir, be pleased to consider that it can-
 not now be helped, and that she may be made by your
 displeasure very miserable in  her choice ; and that his
 faults are owing to the inconsideration of youth: other-
 wise, it would not have been a very discreditable match,
 had it had your  approbation.   I  could humbly hope,
 for my poor sister's sake, that you will be pleased rather
 to encourage his present good resolutions  by your kind
 favor, than to make him despair of a reconciliation, and
 so perhaps treat her with a negligence which hitherto
 she is not apprehensive of; for he is really very fond
 of her, and I hope will continue so.  Yet is she dejected
for her fault to you, and wishes, yet dreads, to  have
your leave to throw herself at  your feet, to beg your
forgiveness and blessing,  which would  make the poor
dear offender quite happy.
   Pardon, sir, my interposing in  her favor, in which
my husband also joins.  She is my sister.   She is your
daughter ; though she has not done so worthily as  I
could wish.   Be pleased, sir, to forgive her, however ;
and also forgive me, pleading for her.
                     Your ever dutiful  daughter.
                 The Father's Answer.
  Dear Nancy : You must believe that your sister's
unadvised marriage, which she must know would  be
disagreeable to me, gives me no small concern ; and yet
I will assure you that it arises more from my affection
for her, than any other consideration.   In her educa-
tion, I took all the pains and care my circumstances
would admit, and often flattered myself with the hope
that the happy fruits of it would be made to appear in 
AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.          73
her prudent conduct.   What she has now done is not
vicious, but indiscreet; you must  remember, that I
have often  declared, in her hearing, that the wild as-
sertion of a rake making a good husband, was the most
dangerous opinion a young woman  could imbibe.
  I will not however, in pity to her, point out the many
ills I am afraid will attend her rashness, because it is
done, and cannot be  helped ; but wish she may be
happier than I  ever saw a woman who leaped so fatal
a precipice.
  Her husband has this morning been with me for her
fortune ; and it was with much decision I told him that,
as all she could hope for was at my disposal, I should
disburse it in such a manner as I thought would most
contribute to her advantage ; and  that, as he was a
stranger to me, I should choose to know how he deserv-
ed it, before he had the power over what I intended
for her.  He bit his lip, and with a hasty step was my
humble servant.    v
  Tell the rash girl I would not have her to  be afflicted
at this behavior in me  ; for I know it will contribute
to her advantage one way  or other ; if he married her
for her own sake,  she will  find no alteration of beha-
vior from this disappointment; but if he married only
for her-money, she will soon be glad to find it in my
possession,  rather than his.
  Your interposition in her  behalf is  very sisterly ;
and you see I have not the resentment  she might ex-
pect.   But I truly wish that she had acted with your
prudence ;  for her own sake I wish it.
                         I am your loving father.
   LETTERS ON LOVE, COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE.

 From a young Gentleman to a Lady with whom he is in love.

  Madam :  I have three times attempted to give you
a verbal relation of the contents of this letter ; but my
heart has as often  failed.  I know not in what light it 
74          THE house-keeper's  guide.

may be considered, only if I can form any notion of my
own heart from  the  impression made on it by your
many amiable accomplishments, my happiness in this
world will, in a great measure, depend on your answer.
I am not precipitate, madam, nor would I desire your
hand if your heart did not accompany it.  My circum-
stances are independent, my character hitherto unblem-
ished,of which you shall have the most undoubted proof.
You have already seen some of my relations at your
aunt's in Read  street, particularly my mother, with
whom I now live.  Your aunt will inform you concern-
ing our family, and if it is to your satisfaction, I shall
not only consider myself as extremely happy, but shall
also make it  the principal study of my future life to
spend my days in the company of her whom I do pre-
fer to all others in the world.  I wait for your answer
with the utmost  impatience, and am, madam,
                             Your real admirer.
                 The Lady's Answer.              t
   Sir : I received your letter last night, and as it was
on a subject I had not yet any thoughts of, you will not
wonder when I tell  you I was a good deal surprised.
Although I have seen  and familiarly conversed with
you at different times, yet I had not the most distant
thoughts of your making proposals of such a nature.
Some of your sex have often asserted that we are fond
of flattery, and very much pleased with praise ; I shall
therefore suppose you one of that class, and excuse you
for those encomiums bestowed upon me in your letter;
but am afraid, were I to comply with your proposals,
you would soon be convinced that the charms you men-
tion, and seem to value  so much, are merely exterior
appearances, which like the summer's flower, will very
soon fade, and all those mighty professions of love will
end at last either in indifference, or, which is worse,
disgust.  My worthy guardian, Mr. Melvill, is now at
his seat at Bloomingdale, and his conduct has been so
much like that of a parent, that I do not choose to take*
one step in an affair of such importance without both 
AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.          75
his consent and approbation.   There is an appearance
of sincerity running through your letter ; but there is
one particular to which I have a very strong objection:
you say that you live with your mother, yet you do not
say that you have either communicated your sentiments
to her or to your other relatives.   I must freely and
honestly tell you that as I would not disoblige my own
relatives, neither would I, on any consideration, admit
of any addresses contrary to the inclinations of yours.
If you can clear up this to my satisfaction, I shall send
you a more explicit answer, and am, sir,
              Your most obedient humble servant.
                The Gentleman's Reply.
  Dear Madam :  I return you a thousand thanks for
your letter, and it is with the greatest pleasure I can
clear up to your satisfaction the matter you doubted of.
Before I wrote to you, I communicated the affair to my
two cousins, but had not courage enough to mention it
to my mother ; but that is now over, and nothing, she
says,  would give her greater  pleasure than to see me
married to a young lady of your amiable character ;
nay, so far is she from  having any objection, that she
would have waited on you as the bearer of this, had I
not persuaded her against it, as she has been these
three days afflicted with a severe cold, and I was afraid
that if she ventured abroad so soon, it might be attend-
ed with dangerous consequences.  But to  convince you
of my sincerity, she has sent the enclosed,written with
her own hand ; and whatever may be the contents, I
solemnly assure you I am  totally ignorant, except that
she told me it was in approbation of my  suit.   If you
will give me leave to wait on you, I shall then be able
to explain things more particularly.
               I am, dear madam, your real lover.
   From the young Gentleman's Mother to the young Lady.
  Dear Miss:  If you find anything in  these  lines
improperly written,  you will  candidly excuse it, as 
76          the house-keeper's guide.

coming from the hands of a parent,  in behalf of an
only, beloved, and dutiful son.
  My dear Charles has told  me that  you have made
such an impression on him,  that he knows not how to
be happy in any one else, and it  gives me great hap-
piness to find  that he has placed his  affections on so
worthy an  object.   Indeed  it has been my principal
study to instruct him in 'the principles of our holy re-
ligion ; well knowing that those who do not fear God
will  never pay any regard to domestic  duties.   His
father died when  his son was only ten months  old,
and being deprived of the parent, all my consolation
was that I had his image left in the son.   I nursed
him with all the tenderness  possible, and even taught
him to read and write.  When he was of proper age,
I sent him to a boarding school, and afterwards to col-
lege.   Whilst he was prosecuting his studies, I daily
recommended  him  to the care of that God whose eyes
behold all his  creatures, and will reward and punish
according to their  merit. Ever since his return from
Princeton, he has  resided constantly with me, and his
conduct to every one with whom he has had any con-
nection has been equal to my utmost wishes.   At pre-
sent, my dear girl, I am in a very sickly condition,
and, although I have concealed it from him, yet, in all
human probability, my time in this world will not be
long.   Excuse the indulgent partiality of a mother,
when I tell you it  is  my real opinion you can never
place your affection on a more worthy young man than
my son.  He  is  endowed with more  real worth than
thousands of others whom I have known ; and I have
been told  of  instances  of his benevolence  which he
has industriously concealed.   I have only to add  fur-
ther, that the only  worldly consideration now upon my
mind' is to see him  happily  married, and  then  my
whole attention shall be fixed on that  place where I
hope we shall  all enjoy eternal felicity.
        I am, dear Miss, your sincere well wisher. 
AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.          77
               The young Lady's Answer.
  Madam :  I will  excuse  the  fondness  of a tender
mother for her only child.  I had heard before of the
unaffected piety and the many accomplishments of your
son, so that I was in nowise surprised at what you said
concerning him.  I do assure you, madam, that I would
prefer an alliance with you before even nobility itself
and I think it must be my own fault if I ever repent
calling you mother.  I was going to say that you had
known but few pleasures in this life, to be deprived of
your husband so soon, and  the rest of your life spent
under so many infirmities. But your letter convinces me
that you have felt more real pleasure in the practice of
virtue and resignation to the Divine will, than ever can
be had in any, nay, even the greatest temporal enjoy-
ments.  I have sent enclosed a few lines to your son, to
which I refer you for a more explicit answer, and am,
madam,                 Your sincere well-wisher.

         The young Lady to the young Gentleman.
  Sir :  I received yours, together with one enclosed
from your mother, and congratulate you on the happi-
ness you have had in being brought up under so pious
and indulgent a parent. I hope that her conduct will be
a pattern for you to copy after, in the whole of your fu-
ture life.  It is virtue alone, sir, which can make you
happy.  With respect to myself, I freely acknowledge
that I have not at present any reason to reject your
offer, although I cannot give you a positive answer until
I have first consulted with my guardian. Monday next
I set out for his seat at Bloomingdale, whence you may
be sure of hearing from me as soon as possible, and am
                        Your sincere well-wisher.
                   From the same.
  Sir :  In  my last  I  told  you that you should hear
from me as  soon as  possible, and therefore I now sit
down to fulfill my promise.  I communicated your pro-
posal to Mr. Mellvill, who, after he had written to his
correspondent in New  York, told me as follows : 
78          THE HOUSEKEEPER'S GUIDE.
  " Miss, I have inquired concerning the young gentle-
man, and the information I have received is such, that
I not  only approve of your choice, but must also con-
fess that if I  did  not do everything in my power to
forward your union, I should be acting contrary to the
request of your father when he lay on his death-bed :
' You  may,'  said  he,  ' communicate  this  to  your
lover as soon as you please; and may every happiness
attend you both, in time and in eternity.'"
  And now, sir, have I not told you enough ? Some,
perhaps, might think too much; but I am determined
to begin with as much Sincerity as  I  could wish to
practice if standing in the presence of my Maker. To
expect the same from you is reasonable; I look for it,
and shall  be  very unhappy if disappointed.  But I
will hope for the best, and doubt not but the religious
education bestowed on you by your worthy mother,
will operate on the whole of your future conduct in
life.   You may, therefore, lay aside  the tedious for-
mality of courtship, and write to me as one with whom
you mean to spend your time in this world.
  Ever since my arrival here, my time has been spent
in visiting the woods, the fields, and  cottages—medi-
tating on the unbounded goodness of the Almighty
Creator.  How infinite is his wisdom ! how unbounded
his liberality I Everything in nature conspires to ex-
alt his praise, and acknowledge with gratitude their de-
pendence upon him. But I will not tire you with such
dull descriptions of real  beauties.  Present my sin-
cere respects to your worthy mother. I hope she gets
the better of her disorder, and be assured that I am
          Yours and hers with  the greatest affection.
            The young Gentleman's Answer.
  My Dear Girl :  Is  there  any medium between
pleasure and pain ?  Can mourning and mirth be re-
conciled ?   Will you believe, my  dear, that whilst I
was reading your letter with the greatest pleasure, I
was shedding tears for an affectionate parent !  Thus
Divine Providence thinks proper to mix some gall with 
            AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.          79

our portion in life.  It is impossible for me to describe
the variety of passions now struggling in my breast.
Ten thousand blessings to my charmer on the one hand,
and as many tears to a beloved parent on the other.  I
conceived a notion of two impossibilities—one of which
I am obliged to struggle with, the other, thanks to you,
is over.  I thought I could not live without my dear
and honored mother, nor enjoy one moment's comfort
unless I could call you mine; but I am now obliged to
submit to the  one, whilst I have the pleasing prospect
of being in possession of the other.  Will my dear sym-
pathize with me, or will she bear with human passions?
And although all my hope of temporal happiness is cen-
tered in you, yet I doubt not! you will excuse my shed-
ding a tear over the remains of a dear parent, whom I
am  now going to commit to the tomb.  My dear crea-
ture, were it possible for me to describe the many vir-
tues of that worthy woman who is now no more,  you
would draw a veil over the partiality of filial duty. Her
last words were these:  " My dear child, I am now going
to pay that debt imposed on the whole human race, in
consequence of the disobedience of our first parents.
You know what instructions I have given you from time
to time, and let me beg of you to adhere to them so far
as they are consistent with the will of God, revealed in
his Word.  May you be happy in the possession of that
young lady on whom you have placed your affections;
but may both you and she remember, that real happi-
ness is not to be found in this world; and you must
consider  your  life  in this world as merely a state of
probation.  To the Almighty God I commend you."
  She was going on, when the thread of life was broken,
and she was no more.  Such was the  last end of my
dear mother, whose remains  are to be interred  this
evening ;  and as soon as  I can settle her affairs, with
her executors, I will, as it were, fly to meet you.  God
grant that our happiness in this life may be conducive
towards promoting our everlasting felicity hereafter.
I am, as before,
                        Yours while life  remains. 
80
THE  HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
   From the Lady after marriage, to an unmarried Cousin,
  Dear Cousin : I have now changed my name, and
instead  of liberty, must subscribe wife.   What an
awkward  expression, say some ;  how pleasing,  say
others.  But let that be as it may, I have been mar-
ried to my Charles these three months, and I can freely
acknowledge that I never knew happiness till now. To
have  a  real friend to whom I caxr communicate my
secrets,  and who,  on all  occasionspislpady to sympa-
thize with me, is what I nevelr before experienced.  All
these  benefits, my dear cousin, I have met  with in my
beloved husband.  His j^fccipal care seems to be, to do
everything possibly] to please  me ; and is there not
something called duty incumbent on me?  Perhaps
you will laugh at the word duty, and say that it imports
something like slavery;  but nothing is more false; for
even  the life  of a servant is as pleasant as any other,
when he obeys  from motives of love instead of fear.
For my own  part, my dear,  I cannot say that I am
unwilling  to be obedient, and yet I am not  commanded
to be  so by my husband.  You have often spoken con-
temptuously of the marriage state, and I believe your
reasons  were  that most of those you knew were un-
happy;  but that is an erroneous way of judging.  It
was designed by the Almighty that men  and  women
should live together in a state of society; that they
should become mutual helps to each other;  and if they
are blessed with children, to assist each other in giving
them  a virtuous education. Let me therefore beg that
my dear cousin will no  longer despise that state for
which she was designed, and which is calculated to
make  her  happy.  But  then, my dear, there are two
sorts of men you must studiously avoid: I mean misers
and rakes.  The first will take every opportunity of
abridging your necessary expenses, and the second will
leave you nothing for a subsistence.  The  first, by his
penuriousness, will cause you to suffer from imaginary
wants;  the second, by his prodigality, will  make you a
real beggar.   But your own good sense will point out
the propriety of what I have  mentioned.  Let me beg 
AMERICAN LETTER WRITER.          81
that you will come and spend a few weeks with us ;
and if you have any taste for rural and domestic life,
I doubt not you will be pleased.
                    I am your affectionate cousin.

From a young Merchant in  New York to a Widow Lady in the
                     Country.
  Madam :  Ever since I saw you at the Springs, when
I was on a journey tQ the north, my mind  has been
continually ruminating on your many accomplishments.
And although it is possible this may be  rejected, yet
I can no longer conceal  a  passion which has preyed
upon my spirits these six weeks.  I have been settled
in business about three  years ;  my success has been
equal to my expectations, and is likewise increasing.
My family is respectable, though not rich ; and as to
the disparity of  our ages,  a few years will not make
any difference, where  the affections are  placed  on so
lovely an object.   I can only say, madam, that I prefer
you to all the young ladies I have seen ; and if business
continues to increase, I  shall be greatly in  want of
one of your prudence  to manage my domestic affairs.
Be assured,  madam, that whatever time I can spare
from the necessary duties  of my profession, shall be
devoted to your company,  and every endeavor used to
make your life both agreeable and  happy.  As you
have relatives in New York, they will give you every
necessary information concerning my character and cir-
cumstances, although I have not the pleasure of being
known to them.   If you will favor me with an answer
to this,  it will be ever esteemed a  particular favor,
and acknowledged with the sincerest respect, by
                              Your real admirer.
The Lady's Letter to her Brother, an Attorney, concerning the.
                      above.
  Dear Brother : You know that  in all affairs of
importance,I have constantly acted by your advice,as I
am still determined to do ; and therefore have sent you
enclosed the copy of a letter which I received by the
post, from a young gentleman in New York, whom I 
 82         the housekeepers guide.

 have seen at the Springs.  His behavior here was polite
 without affectation, and an air of sincerity appeared
 in all he said.  With respect to the subject he writes
 of, I will give you my own thoughts, and delay send-
 ing an answer until I have had your opinion.
   I am at least a dozen years older than him, and pos-
 sibly love, contracted where there is su^h difference in
 the ages of the parties, may terminate in want of re-
 spect on one side,and jealousy on the other.  At present
 I am so pestered with rakes and coxcorHDs,that  I would
 almost willingly give my hand to the first worthy person
 that offers.  Indeed I have another reason for entering
 into the marriage state, and that is, I would choose,
 as  I advance in years, to have a friend to whom I
 might at all times be able to open my mind with free-
 dom, and who would treat me with that tenderness
 which my sex entitles me to.  I  have  been a widow
 six years, and what others may say, I  have found it
 attended with many inconveniences, and far from that
 pleasing life many are ready  to imagine.  But after
 all, I will be directed by you, as my, only real friend
 to whom I can apply ; if you think proper, you may
 inquire, and when I  hear from you, I will send him
 an  answer.
                    I am your affectionate sister.

                The  Brother's  Answer.
   Dear Sister : I am glad to hear of your prudence
 in not being very hasty in an affair of so great impor-
 tance, and upon which your happiness or misery in this
 world will inevitably depend.  Your reasons against re-
 maining any longer in a state of widowhood are what
 I much  approve of,4 and it will give me great pleasure
 to promote your interest and happiness as far as I am
 able.  I have inquired concerning Mr.  Moreton, and
 every one gives him an excellent  character.   I have
likewise conversed with him, and find him a very sensi-
ble young man.  As to your objection concerning dis-
 parity of age, I do not think it has any great weight,
and upon the whole, I have but one reason against your 
AMERICAN LETTER WRITER.
83
:,,«iion, and that is, that there is nothing more precari-
ous than commerce, and the merchant who to-day has
unlimited credit, may be to-morrow in the list of bank-
rupts.  I do not  urge  this in order to prevent your
happiness, but only that whilst you are free, you may
take such measures as to secure a  sufficiency  against
the worst.   I would by no  means  dissuade you from
complying with -his request, as he seems every way
worthy of your choice, and I  really  think it  may be
for your mutual happiness.  These, dear sister, are my
sentiments concerning this affair ; but remember I
leave it entirely to yourself, not doubting but  you will
proceed with  the  same prudence which you have
heretofore shown.
                   I am your affectionate brother.
   P.  S.  I would advise  you  to  write to the young
man as soon as possible.
             From the Lady to Mr. Moreton.
   Sir : I received your letter, and my reason for de-
laying an answer, was, that  I wanted first to consult
my brother, whose opinion I had by the post yesterday.
I freely acknowledge that you are far from being disa-
greeable, and the  advantages on your part with re-
spect to accomplishments are, I think, superior to mine.
But these are but small matters when compared with
what is absolutely necessary to  make the  marriage
state happy.  I mean a union of minds.  We  have
not had many opportunities of conversing together,
and when you had, we did not  mention anything of
this.  I have no objection against marrying, were I
assured of being no worse than at present;  but there is
such a variety of unforeseen accidents happening in the
world, and all conspiring together to promote dissensions
in families that we can never be too careful how 'to fix
our choice.  I shall not, sir, from what I have seen of
your behavior, and heard of your character, have any
objection  against your request; but I confess I am,
afraid you have been rather too precipitate in  your
choice; and although my person may have engaged your 
84       the housekeeper's- guide,
attention, yet I am afraid all those charms you so much
extol are not sufficient to keep you loyal to the marriage
vow.  But I will hope the best, and believe you as vir-
tuous as you are represented;  nor will I give my hand
to ary;- but you.  In the meantime I shall be glad to
he. i that you continue your visits to my brother;  you
will find him  one of the most worthy persons you ever
conversed with, and much esteemed for his knowledge
in the law.   I have now given you leave to write as
often as you please', as  I hope all your letters will be
interesting; and as to the time to be fixed for anything
else, T leave it entirely to be settled by yourself and
my b;   ner, and am, dear sir, '    Yours sincerely.
   From a young Officer to a Lady with whom he is in love.
   Dear Sophia : When our regiment received orders
to march from West Point, I was almost in a state of
distraction.  To be  forced to leave her who is already
in possession of my heart, and separated by such a
distance, had almost induced me to give up my com-
mission ; nor have I any resource left but that of the
pen. After a long and tedious march, we arrived here,
where  we are to  remain till next summer.  But, alas!
how insignificant are all the allurements of the place,
and the gaiety of my  fellow  officers, when compared
with the } leasing moments  spent in your company.
How long, my dear, must I be unhappy?  Will not
your sympathizing  nature pity my distracted  mind ?
How lamentable the thought, that whilst I am writ-
ing this, some more fortunate lover may be making his
addresses to my charmer, and even obtaining an inter-
est in her heart!  But what am 1 saying?  Whither does
my delirium drive me?  No, my dear girl, I know the
generosity of your nature; 1 dare not suspect your sin-
ce rty,  and still believe you mine. The principal gen-
tlemen in New YTork invited the officers of our regiment
to a ball, and all but myself considered the entertain-
ment  as a  very  great honor;  each danced with his
partner, as I was told.   In order to avoid the company
without giving olibnce, I mounted guard for that day, 
AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.          85
and enjoyed myself either thinking of you, or convers-
ing with the soldiers.
   According to my promise, I have sent inclosed to
your father, and I doubt not of his being surprised,
unless you have mentioned it to him.  I am impatient
for his answer as well as yours.  Adieu, my  charmer;
let me hear from you immediately.
                             I am yours forever.
         The Officer's Letter to the Lady's Father.
  Honored Sir : The generosity which I experienced
from you whilst our regiment was stationed at West
Point, will ever lay me under the greatest obligations;
but at present I have something of more importance
to communicate, upon which all my happiness or mis-
ery in this world depends, and your answer will either
secure the one or hasten the other.
  The many amiable accomplishments of your beloved
Sophia stole insensibly on my heart, and I found my-
self passionately in love with her  before I was able to
make a declaration of my sentiments; nor did I do it
until the day we  were  ordered  to march.  I  hope,
therefore, you will forgive my not  mentioning it to
you;  I was  really so  much  agitated, as to be nearly
unable to attend to  my duty.  I doubt not that  one
of your  sensibility knows what it  is to be in love.
Your daughter, I freely acknowledge, is adorned with
so many virtues, that she is entitled to the best hus-
band in America; and although I dare not hope to
merit that appellation, yet I will make it my constant
study to promote her happiness.
   I  have often told you that my parents died whilst I
was young, and left me to the care of an uncle lately
returned from the East Indies, where he had acquired
a considerable fortune.  My inclination led me to the
army, and  my uncle  had procured me a commission.
Ever'since, he has treated me as his  own son ;  and
beino- a bachelor, has made a will in my favor.  He is
now°a Senator in Congress, and has given me leave to
chooso a wife for myself, without any other quanfica- 
86         the house-keeper's guide.
tions than virtue.  I have written to him concerning
your daughter, and his answer is, that he shall consider
me as  extremely happy in being connected with so
worthy a family as yours.  I hope you will not have
any objection against my being in the army.  It was
originally my own choice, and I doubt not of rising in
time to the command of a regiment.  There is a sort
of reverential fear upon my mind, whilst I am writing
to so  worthy a person  as the father of my beloved
Sophia.  Dear Sir, excuse my youth and the violence
of my passion.  Let me beg your answer, and oh I let
it  contain your approbation.
   I am, honored sir, yours with the greatest respect.
          The young Lady's Letter to her Lover.
   Dear William : Not more welcome is the appear-
ance of an inn to a weary traveler, than was your kind
letter to me.  But how is it possible that you should
harbor the least  suspicion of my fidelity!   Does my
William imagine that I would suffer the addresses of
any fop or coxcomb, after I was bound in the most sol-
emn manner—I mean by promise ?  and be assured I
pay the same regard to my word as my oath.  If there
is  ever an obstruction to our love, it must arise from
yourself.  My affections are too permanently fixed ever
to be removed from the beloved object; and my happi-
ness or misery will be in proportion to your conduct.
The enclosed, from my father, will, I hope, be agree-
able.   I have not seen it, and therefore can only judge
of its contents by the conversation last night at supper.
When your letter was delivered, my honored father was
extremely ill of a cold, so that I did not deliver it to
him till next morning at breakfast; he retired to his
closet to read it, and at dinner told me he would deliver
me an answer in the evening.  Accordingly, after sup-
per, and fhe servants being retired, the best of parents
spake as follows:  " My dear child, from the principles
of that education which you have received, I doubt not
but you must be convinced that  it is my duty to pro-
mote your interest so far as I am able; and how far my 
AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.          87
conduct as a father has been consistent with that rule,
I appeal to yourself;  your own conscience will witness
whether I have not at all times studied to promote your
interest; and it is with pleasure that I now say, that
your filial duty was equal to my highest wishes.  With
respect to the subject of the letter you gave me this
morning,  I can only say, that I have no objection to
your complying with the young gentleman's request, as
I think it may be for your mutual happiness.  Indeed,
I had some suspicion  of it  before he left this place ;
but being well convinced of his merit, I was almost as-
sured no step of that nature would be taken without
my consent.  That you have, and even my approbation,
May you  both be as  happy as I wish !  I desire  no
more." 'Here the good man stopped; tears hindered
him from proceeding, and  me from making a reply.
A scene of  tenderness ensued, which you may feel,
although I cannot describe it.  His own letter will con-
vince you, and you may make what use of it you please.
   I cannot conclude without mentioning your conduct
at the New York ball.  Were there none among so
many beauties able to attract my William's notice? and
will he at all times prefer my  company to  that of the
gay and the beautiful? I will hope so;  and happy shall
I be if not disappointed.  In hopes of hearing from you
soon, I shall subscribe myself       Yours forever.
        The Father's Answer to the ypung Gentleman.
  My Dear Young Friend :  Ever since I first had
the pleasure of your conversation, I considered you as a
young gentleman of real merit, who would not be guilty
of an ungenerous action, and to that was owing not only
the respect with which I always treated you, but the
common indulgence to converse freely with my daughter.
I can freely excuse your not communicating your sen-
timents to me before you left this place.  Your ardor
was somewhat precipitate, and,  as you well observe, I
know what it is to be in  love.   The  account of your
uncle and family I know to be true,  for I met with that
worthy  person who is your benefactor a few days ago 
88          THE  housekeeper's  guide.

at the stage-office in this city, and he confirms the truth
of all you have written.  My dear sir, if ever you live
to be a father, you will know what I feel on the present
occasion—a willingness to give her to you, from a firm
persuasion of your merit;  and anxiety for her preserva-
tion, from a conviction in my own mind that there is
nothing permanent in this world.  However, sir, you
have my free consent to marry my child, and may the
Divine Providence be your guide in the whole of your
progress  through  this life!  My ill state  of  health
serves as a  monitor to inform you that my time in this
world will be but short;  and there is nothing would
give me greater  pleasure than to see my  dear  Sophia
happily settled before I retire to the land of forget-
fulness, ivhere the wicked cease from troubling, and
where the weary are at rest.  How great, sir, is the
charge which I commit to your care; the image of a
beloved wife long since dead,  and the  hope of my
declining years !   Her education has been  consistent
with her rank in  life, and her conduct truly virtuous.
I have not  the least doubt of her  conjugal  duty, and
your felicity in acting conformably to the character of a
husband.   Upon  that supposition I leave her entirely
to you; and as soon as you can obtain leave from the
colonel, I shall expect to see you at this place, to re-
ceive from my hands all that is dear to me in this world.
Your uncle has likewise  promised to be here,  so that
all  things are according to your professed wishes.
                        I am, sir, yours sincerely.
From a young Man just out of 7iis Apprenticeship, to his Sweet-
               heart in the neighborhood.
  Dear Sally :  I have been long in love with you,
but was afraid to tell you.  I think of you all day, and
at night I dream  of my dear Sally.  I am well settled
in work, and my wages are eight dollars every week.
You and I can live  on that, and I shall bring it home
untouched on Saturday evening.  I will not go to any
tavern, but as soon as my work is done, return home to
my dearly beloved Sally.  I  hope, my  dear, you will 
AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.         89
not be angry, for I am  really in  love.  I cannot be
happy unless you are mine.   I was afraid to mention
this  to you, but if you will  leave an answer at my
lodgings, I will meet you next Wednesday after din-
ner,  at the Battery,  when we will  take  a walk to
Vauxhall  and drink tea.   How happy shall I be to
hear from  my charmer ; but  a thousand times more
to think she will be mine.
                   I am, my dear, your real lover.
  From a Lover to his Mistress, lately recovered from sickness.
  My Dear : This day's post has brought me the
joyful news of your happy recovery.  The indispensable
necessity I was under of attending my business at this
place hindered me from beholding, on a sick bed, all
that is dear to me in the world ;  but I need not per-
suade you to believe this, as I hope you have had suffi-
cient proofs of my fidelity.  When I took the letter in
my hand I  trembled ;  and, on opening it, you may
easily imagine what was my joy, when, instead of read-
ing an account of your death, it contained the delight-
ful  news of your recovery,  written by your father.  *
  Ah !  thought I, my charmer is still weak, or she
would not have employed another hand.
  This led me to fear a relapse ; but I hope that God,
whose great mercy has preserved you hitherto, will
perfect  your recovery.  You  are constantly  in  my
thoughts, and I pray for you every day.  That  I may
once more be happy in  seeing you, I  have sent for my
brother  to manage my business during my absence.  I
expect him here in about ten days, when nothing but
sickness shall prevent my coming.   You will receive by
the coach a small parcel containing some of the newest
patterns both of silks and laces, together with some
other things.  Such trifles are scarce worth mentioning;
but I hope you will accept them as a testimony of my
sincere love to her whom in a few months I hope to call
my own.   Present my duty to  your  honored parents,
and believe me to be, with the greatest sincerity,
                    Your ever affectionate lover. 
 ' 90         THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.

                     The Answer.
    Dear Jack :  I received your very kind letter, but
  I do not know, what !to  say in answer.   Although I
  would be .glad to marry, yet you men are so deceiving,
  that there is no such thing as trusting you.   There is
  Tom Timber  the  carpenter, and  Jack Hammer the
  smith, who have not, been married above six months,
  and every night come home drunk and beat their wives.
  What a miserable life is that, Jack, and how do I know
  but you may be as bad to me ?  How do I know but
  you, like them, may get drunk every night, and beat me
  black and blue before morning ?  I do assure you, Jack,
  if I thought that would be the case, I would scrub floors
  and scour saucepans, as long as I live.  But possibly
  you may not be so bad ; for there is Will Cooper the
  brazier, and Oliver Smith the painter, who are both
  very happy  with their wives ;  they are both home-
  bringing husbands, and have every day a hot joint of
  meat.  I know not yet what I shall do, but as I like to
  walk to Vauxhall,  I will meet you at the Battery on
^Wednesday  after dinner,  and then we will talk more
jjpf the matter.
       I am, dear Jack, your most humble servant.
From a Father to his Daughters, on Courtship and Coquettish
                     Behavior.
   Dear Daughters :  If you see evident proofs of a
gentleman's attachment, and are determined to shut
your heart against him, as you ever hope to be used
with generosity by the  person who shall engage, your
own heart, treat him honorably and humanely. Do not
let him linger in a miserable suspense, but be anxious
to let him know your sentiments with regard to him.
   However people's hearts may deceive them, there is
scarcely a person that can love for any time, without at
least some distant hope of success.  If you really wish
to undeceive a lover, you may do it in a variety of
ways : there is a certain species of familiarity in your
behavior, which may satisfy him, if he has any discern- 
AMERICAN LETTER-WRITER.
91
ment left, that he has nothing to hope for.  But per-
haps your particular temper may not permit of this—
you may easily show that you want to avoid his com-
pany, but if he is a man whose friendship you wish to
preserve, you may not  choose this method, because
then you lose him in every capacity.   You may get a
common friend to  explain  matters to him, or fall on
many other devices, if you are seriously anxious to
put him out  of suspense.
  But, if you are resolved against every such method,
at least do not shun opportunities of letting him ex-
plain himself. If you do this, you act barbarously and
unjustly.  If he bring you to an explanation, give him
a polite, but resolute and decisive answer.  In whatever
way you convey your sentiments to him, if he is a man
of spirit and  delicacy,  he will give you no further trou-
ble, nor apply to your friends for their intercession.
This last is a method of courtship which every man of
spirit will disdain.  He never will whine or sue for
your pity.  That would mortify almost as much as your
scorn.  In short, you may break such a heart, but you
can never bend it.  Great  pride always accompanies.
delicacy,  however concealed under the appearance of (
the utmost gentleness and modesty, and is the passion
of all others the most  difficult to conquer.
  There  is a case where a woman may coquette justi-
fiably to the  utmost verge which her  conscience will
allow.  It is where a gentleman purposely declines to
make his addresses till such time as he thinks himself
perfectly  sure  of  her  consent.    This at bottom is
intended to force a woman to give up the undoubted
privilege of her sex, the privilege of refusing it; it is
intended to force her to explain herself, in effect, before
the gentleman designs to do it, and by this means to
oblige her to violate the modesty and delicacy  of her
sex,  and  to invert  the clearest order of nature.  All
this sacrifice is proposed to be made, merely to gratify
a most despicable vanity in  a man, who would degrade
the very  woman whom he wishes to make his wife.
  It is of great importance to distinguish, whether a 
92         THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
gentleman who has the appearance of being your lover
delays  to  speak explicitly, from  the motive  I have
mentioned, or from  a diffidence inseparable from the
attachment. In the one case you can scarcely use him
too ill ; in the other you ought to use him with great
kindness :  and the greatest kindness you can show him,
if you are  determined not to listen to his addresses, is
to let him know it as soon as possible.
  I know the many excuses with which women endeavor
to justify  themselves to the world and to their own
consciences, when they act otherwise.  Sometimes they
plead ignorance, or at least uncertainty of the gentle-
man's real sentiments.  That, sometimes, may be the
case.  Sometimes they plead the decorum of their sex,
which enjoins an equal behavior to all men, and forbids
them to consider any man as a lover until he has
directly told them so.  Perhaps few women  carry their
ideas of female delicacy and decorum so far as I do.
But I must say you  are not entitled to plead the obli-
gation  of  these virtues in  opposition to the superior
ones of gratitude, justice and humanity. The man is
entitled to all these who prefers you to all the rest of
your sex, and perhaps whose greatest weakness is that
very preference.   The truth of the matter is, vanity
and the love of admiration is so prevailing a passion
amongst you, that you may be considered to make a
very great sacrifice, whenever you  give up a lover, till
after the art of coquetry fails to keep him, or till he
forces you to an explanation.  You can be fond of the
love, when you are indifferent to, or despise the lover.
But the deepest and most artful coquetry is employed
by women of superior taste and sense, to engage and
fix the heart of a man whom the world, and whom they
themselves esteem, although they are firmly determined
never to marry him.  But his conversation amuses
them, and his attachment is the highest gratification to
their vanity; nay, they can  sometimes be gratified with
the utter ruin  of his fortune,  fame and happiness.   I
am very certain I do not  think so of all your  sex; I
know many  of them have principles, have  generosity 
             AMERICAN  LETTER-WRITER.          93

and  dignity  of soul,  that  elevates them above the
worthless vanity of which I have been speaking.
   Such a woman, I am persuaded, may always convert
a lover, if she cannot give him her affections, into a
warm and steady friend,  provided he is a man of sense,
resolution and candor.   If she explains herself to him
with a generous openness and freedom, he must feel the
stroke as a man;  but he will likewise bear it as a man;
what he suffers he will  suffer in silence.  Every  sen-
timent of esteem will remain ;  but love, though it re-
quires very little food, and is easily surfeited with too
much, yet it  requires some.  He will view her in the
light of a married woman ; and though  passion  sub-
sides, yet a man of a candid and generous heart always
retains  a tenderness for a woman he has once loved,
and who has  used him well,  beyond what he feels for
any other of her sex.
  If he has not confided his secret to any body, he has
an undoubted title to ask you  not to divulge it.  If a
woman  chooses to trust any of her companions with
her own unfortunate  attachments, she may, as  it  is
her affair alone; but, if she has any generosity or  gra-
titude, she will not  betray a  secret which does not
belong to her.                     »   I am, &c.
         From the same to the same, on Marriage.
  Dear  Daughters :  I could  never pretend to ad-
vise whom you should marry; but I can with confidence
advise whom you should not marry.
  Avoid  a companion who may entail any hereditary
disease  on  your posterity;  particularly  that  most
dreadful  of all human calamities, madness.   It is the
height of imprudence to run into  such dangor; and,
in my opinion, highly criminal.
  Do not marry a fool; he is the most untractable of
all animals ; he is led by his passions and caprices, and
is incapable of hearing  the voice of reason.   It may
probably, too, hurt  your vanity to have husbands for
whom you have reason to blush and  tremble every time
they open their lips in company.   But the worst cir- 
94         THE  HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE.
cumstance that attends a fool is, his constant jealousy
of his wife's being thought to govern him.  This ren-
ders it impossible to lead him, and he is continually
doing absurd and disagreeable things, for no other rea-
son but to show he dares to do them.
   A rake is always a suspicious husband, because he
has only known  the most worthless of our sex.  He
likewise entails the worst of diseases on his wife and
children, if he has the misfortune to have any.
   If you have a sense of religion yourselves, do not
think of husbands who have none.   If they have tol-
erable  understandings, they will be  glad  that you
have religion, for their own sake,  and for the sake of
their families.   If they are  weak men, they will be
continually teasing and shocking you about your prin-
ciples. If you have children, you will suffer the most
bitter  distress in seeing all your endeavors to form
their minds to virtue and piety, all your endeavors to
secure their present and eternal happiness,  frustrated
and turned into  ridicule.
   As I look on your choice of a husband to be of the
greatest consequence to your happiness, I hope you will
make it with the utmost circumspection.  Do not give
way to a sudden sally of passion,  and dignify it with
the name of love.  Genuine love is not founded  in ca-
price ; it is founded in nature, on honorable views and
virtues, on similarity of taste and sympathy of soul.  If
you have these sentiments, you will never marry any
one when you are not in that situation, in point of for-
tune, which is necessary to the happiness of either of
you. What that competency may be, can only be de-
termined by your own tastes.  It would be ungenerous
in you to take advantage of a  lover's attachment to
plunge him  into distress ; and if he has any honor, no
personal gratification will ever tempt him to enter into
any connection which will render you unhappy.  If you
have as much between you as will satisfy all your de-
mands, it is sufficient.  I shall conclude with endeavor-
ing to remove a difficulty which must  occur to any
woman of reflection on the subject of marriage. 
            AMERICAN LETTER WRITER.          95

  What is to become of all those refinements of deli-
cacy, that dignity of manner which checked all famil-
iarities, and suspended desire in respectful and awful
admiration ?  In answer to this I shall only observe,
that if motives of interest or vanity have any share in
your resolutions to marry, none of  these  chimerical
notions will give you any  pain ; nay, they will very
quickly appear as ridiculous in your own eyes as they
probably always do  in  the eyes of your husband.—
They have been sentiments which floated in your im-
aginations, but have never  reached your hearts ; but
if these sentiments  have been  truly genuine, and if
you have had the singularly happy fate to attach those
who understand them, you have no reason to be afraid.
  I have thus given you my opinion on some of  the
most important articles of your future life,  chiefly cal-
culated for that period when you are just entering the
world.  But in  writing to  you, I am afraid my heart
has been too full and too warmly interested to allow
me to keep this resolution.  This may have produced
someembarrassment,and some seeming contradictions.
Wffiat I have written has been the amusement of some
solitary hours, and has served to divert some melan-
choly reflections.  I am  conscious I undertook a task
to  which I was very unequal ;  but I have discharged
a part of my duty.   You will at least be pleased with
it,  as the last mark of your father's love and attention.
                    I am your affectionate father. 
   THE  FAMOUS  CHEMICAL  WASHING  RECIPE.

                    ----o----

  Take a quarter  of a pound  of soap, a quarter of a
pound of soda, and a quarter of a pound of quick-lime.
Cut up the soap, and dissolve it in one quart of boiling
water ;  pour one quart of boiling water over the soda,
and three quarts of boiling water upon the quick-lime.
The lime must be quick and fresh ;  if it is good, it will
bubble up on pouring the hot water upon  it.  Each
must be  prepared in separate vessels.  The lime must
settle so as to leave the water on top perfectly clear ;
then strain it carefully (not disturbing the settlings)
into the  wash-boiler with the soda  and soap ; let it
scald long enough to  dissolve  the soap ; then add  six
gallons of soap water.   The clothes must  be  put  in
soak over night, after rubbing soap upon the dirtiest
parts of  them.   After having the above in  readiness,
wring out the clothes which have  been put in soak,
put them on to boil, and let each lot boil half an hour ;
the same water will answer for the whole washing.—■
After boiling each lot half an hour, drain them from
the boiling water, put them in a tub,  and  pour upon
them two or three pailfuls of clear,  hot water ;  after
this  they will want  but very little  rubb'ng ;  then
rinse them through two  waters, blueing  the  last.—■
When dried, they will be a  beautiful white.   After
washing the cleanest  part of  the white clothes, take
two pails of the suds in which they have been  washed,
put it over the fire and scald, and this will wash  all
the flannels  and  colored clothes, without  any extra
soap.  The white flannels, after being well washed in
the suds, will require  to  be scalded by turning on a
tea-kettle of boiling water.
  g3T This Washing Recipe has been used in the family of the Pub-
lisher for several months, and he knows it to be  all that it professes
to be.  There is no humbug or deception about it. It is richly worth
five times  the price of this book, and we have no fears that .Ladies
will highly value it, if they only try it—using care to follow the di-
rections exactly. 
 
 
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