THE HOMES. LITERATURE AND ART.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12231, 28 March 1903, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE HOMES.

LITERATURE AND ART.

THE TABLE. "

Devilled Turkeys : Score the legs, cutting them lengthwise to the bone, and well press in the slits a seasoning made of mustard, salt, and cayenne. Grill them over a bright, clear fire until they are crisp and brown, and serve quickly and very hot.

Plain Bun Loaf: Four pounds of flour, three-quarters of a pound of lard, threequarters of a pound of sugar, one pound of raisins, one and a-quarter pound of currants, half-ounce of carbonate of soda, mixed with butter-milk, a little syrup in the buttermilk, six ounces of candied peel.

■ A Simple Savoury: Put one ounce of butter in a saucepan, and when it has melted stir in two eggs, a tablespoonful of anchovy essence, half a teaspoonful of chopped capers, and a pinch of red pepper. Stir till the mixture begins to set, then spread on hot buttered toast. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon rind. Average cost, Is.

Pancake Scones : Two teacupfuls of flour, half a teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of salt, half a teacupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of syrup, one egg (well beaten), one teaspoonful of butter. Mix with buttermilk into a batter, but not too stiff. Grease the girdle and make it hot, then pour mixture in two tablespoonfuls on girdle, and turn once.

Treacle Sponge-pudding:' Half a pound of flour, quarter of a pound of beef suet, one teacupful of black treacle, one egg, a little sugar, half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, and half a teacupful of milk. Put the flour into a basin and mix the carbonate of soda well with it. Then add the suet well chopped, treacle, and sugar. Mix all well together, and well-beaten egg and milk till rather sticky. Put in a greased basin and steam for two hours. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. How to Remove Iron-mould from Linen: Dip the article into water into which a little oxalic acid has been put. The linen should be well washed afterwards. The boilings of salt beef or pork make excellent pea-soup, if the salt be neutralised by the addition of some brown sugar and several carrots. No more faded blouses or coloured wash dresses. To prevent the delicate colour fading, put a little dye the shade of the blouse into the rinse-water. That is the secret of (never having faded blouses. Don't use too much soap oil the face. Three times a week is generally sufficient. Use warm water, then rinse with cold water after. The warm water cleanses ; cold water closes the pores again, and prevents the skin from chapping or getting rough. If a bath has got very dirty and shabby, sandpaper it well, then give two coatings of ordinaiy white paint, letting the first dry thoroughly before the second is applied. When the second is dry give a final coating of bath enamel. The bath will be like new.

To Wash Chamois Leather: Never rub soap on chamois leather. Instead, soak for .ten minutes when dirty in a lather made of one heaped tablespoonful of soap jelly, one teaspoonful of liquid ammonia, and half a gallon of hot water in which you can comfortably bear your hands. Then squeeze and souse in thin suds, next hi a similar suds prepared in the same way, and finally rinse, in warm water softened with a little ammonia. Of course, if rain-water is available no ammonia will be needed. Dry in a windy place, rubbing frequently to soften the ieather.

A HINT TO HOUSEKEEPERS. Many housekeepers constantly speak of " teaching a maid," when, they might with advantage allow the maid to teach them. As a rule the housekeeper has lived in but two houses, conducted much upon the same lines —her own and her mother's. The maid has seen* the innermost workings of many households. Sometimes she has seen better economy, better cooking,- more thorough cleaning. Accept a new idea from her now and then, and gratify her by saying: " I am so pleased Mrs. So-and-So taught you this it is a great help to me." If,'.on the contrary, you never allow her to tell what she acquired in former situations, you make her whole past life and experience of no account, something to forget and regret.

DETAILS OF LAUNDRY WORK. In no department , of the household does economy of time and labour count for more than in laundry work'; therefore here of all places there should be attention to proper outfitting. That is, all, utensils concerned therewith should be strong and good, and if machinery is used it should be of the best quality, with few complications.

For the ironing flats are always best for ordinary use or for laces when gas irons are too clumsy. The latter are more expensive, and there is extra charge for fitting, but the number required is less. There is a charcoal iron, which is clean, and when once heated will remain in condition for at least two hours without renewal; but it is heavy and needs to be supplemented by the small flats.

Care of the irons is important. They should be kept in a dry place, so that they will not become rusty. If they are not going to Be used for a long time they ought to be greased all over and wrapped in brown paper.

Where much ironing is to he done it is a good idea to have an ironing stove with a ledge to hold the iron bottoms upright to the heat. Such a stove once heated with wood may be kept up with coke, which is much cheaper. But unless much ironing is to be done a small gas stand is less expensive, and when gas or charcoal irons are used no stove is necessary.

A strong, steady surface is a necessity of the table, and the height is of such importance as only one who has ironed' can realise. To have to bend the back in' ironing is harmful to the ironer, but if the table is too high then the ironing suffers, for it is impossible to use sufficient pressure. To have just the right height the table should b- specially made, or else some ingenious woman must invent a table which can be regulated. The table must also stand in a good light, and for the covering there should be at least two thicknesses of blanket. The so-called " charity': blankets are good for this, because they are hard. The ironingsheet should have tapes at each corner to tie it to the table, and seams or patches should be avoided.

Iron-holders may be made of several folds of blanket, with a cotton cover, and if a piece of kid (the palm of an old glove) is laid between two of them, it will do much to protect the hand from the heat.

The ironing cloth and all the other fixings should always be put away at once after they have been used. The cloth should never be allowed to get wet, for fear of mildew ; the boiler should be wiped dry. Even the clothesline should 'be cared for, and the clothespins washed once in a while.

Among other details worth iollowing it is well to Keep a large supply of soap, for it improves with keeping, and does not waste s} much as fresh soap. That, and the blueing as well, should be kept in some dry place, and in laying in stores, soda, borax, and ammonia are needful with amateur laundresses, in whose hands the strong washing powders ought not to be trusted. . DOES HE REALLY EXIST ? The ■ ideal husband is thus described by a bright woman who'keeps her eyes open, and has a reprehensible —her friends say— of " takin' notes : " "A temperate, moral, intellectual, truthful, energetic, affectionate, thoughtful, forgiving, Christian man, who chooses a wife for her mind and heart rather than her face, and waits until sure has has found the right one. Who neither scolds nor laughs at his wife, and. never contradicts her in public. Who loves home and children, and has certain means for making an honest, comfortable • living. Who is economical, but. n>t stingy, gives his wife a personal allowance to do with as she , chooses, and, unless wealthy, keeps his life insured in her favour. Who understands : that women have nerves, enjoy, pretty things, and are happier for being petted for once in a while— sometimes oftener." '

The woman who says this is an energetic, happy, lovable spinster; with - unbounded faith in the possibilities of man-nature under proper conditions, and says some wives of her acquaintance have husbands who could easily. be developed into paragons if properly " managed. . •

Mb. Sousa, the famous bandmaster, has in Messrs. Ward, Lock's hands a novel of musical interest, entitled " The Fifth String."

Mr. Herbert Rix is the author of a volume which Messrs. Williams and Norgate will publish with the title "Dawning Faith." It consists of lectures dealing with the world as a spiritual organism.

Mr. Arthur Pat-erson's "The King's Agent," a novel recently published by Mr. Heinemann,' in which the great Duke of Marlborough plays a prominent part, is dedicated to Field-Marshal Viscount Wolseley.

The book "Is it Shakespere?" which Mr. Murray promises in his list, is expected to attract attention. The author, a Cambridge man, thinks he has been able to find new evidence bearing on the ShakespereBacon controversy. He summarises his book as the " great question of Elizabethan literature," studied in the light of new revelations and new contemporary evidence. What, precisely (says the Chronicle), these are we must wait to see, but they seem to have made the writer of the book a keen Baconian, " Why,": he asks, in closing, " did Francis Bacon conceal his identity He endeavours to -answer that question, as well as the other which confront him.

The issue of a new edition of " Supernatural Religion" has finally cleared up the mystery of its authorship, and Mr. Cassels, in publicly announcing his identity, has also resumed literary activity, in the pages of the Nineteenth Century. It will be remembered that the book first appeared at a time when religious controversy was much more acute than it is now, in the period of Matthew Arnold's "Literature and Dogma" and ether books of a far more polemical character. Mr. Ca®sel's book called forth vigorous criticism from Dr. Lightfoot, Dr. Westcott, and Dr. Sanday, .of whom only the lastnamed is now living. In the new edition the controversial tone has been modified, and much of the bitterness natural at the time of its first appearance, has been removed.

To mark the resting-place of the late Bret Harte, in Frimley Churchyard, Surrey, there has just been erected a massive and costly monument. The author of the " Heathen Chinee" and " Luck of Roaring Camp" had resided at Frimley for some time prior to his death, which took place early in May last year. His grave is in the north-eastern pai't of the little churchyard, and round ithave been planted a number of young fir trees. The monument consists of a massive slab of White granite, weighing two and ahalf tons, on which is placed a block of Aberdeen granite, sloping upwards into the form of a cross. Simplicity itself is the inscription :—"Bret Harte, August 25, 1837 —May 5, 1902. ' Death shall reap the braver harvest.' " At the head of the monument are the words : "In faithful remembrance. M. S. Van de Veld." ,

As a supplement to the Old Testament articles in " The Encyclopedia Biblica," and as a help to students generally, Professor T. Iv. Cheyne proposes to bring out in successive parts a collection of entirely new notes on textual difficulties of the Hebrew Bible. These notes, entitled " Critica Biblica," have arisen as a ■ consequence of the closer examination of difficulties which appeared to Dr. Gheyne to be required for the due performance of his editorial duties. Taking as his starting-point the results of able textual critics like Lagarde and Wellhausen, the author has sought to complete, and, where possible, to correct their work by the fuller application of old methods in conjunction with ■ new, and it is upon these new methods, suggested by a large mass of overlooked facts, that he lays chief stress. • He has found new light on many doubtful passages through Hugo Winckler's discovery (which is slowly but surely finding acceptance, among Assyriologistse.g., Hommel, and Biblical critics, e.g., Gut-he) of a region on the North Arabian border of Palestine called Mnsri or Musur, not indeed through the spade of the excavator but through a more critical interpretation of the Assyrian inscriptions. The clue having thus been found it was possible to join historical to textual criticism of the Old Testament, and arrive at results of no slight interest to students of the Hebrew Scriptures. " Critica Biblica" will begin with the prophetic writings. Part I. will deal with the Books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, part 11. with Ezekiel and the minor prophets.