SOCIAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2010, 1 September 1892, Page 43

SOCIAL TOPICS.

By Oioakettb.

HUGGER MUGGER HOUSEHOLDS.

In nothing does a woman's character more clearly assert itself tban in the way in which she administers her household. The home is a silent witness to the nature oE its inmates, for each leaves the stamp of his or her individuality upon it, and enables us on entering to see at a glance the nature of the person who reigns supreme in the household' People who travel, or who live much in lodgings, hotels, and boarding houses, come in time to have their faculties of observation so sharpened that they know at first sight of a house whether they will be comfortable in it or not. Half a dozen word's with the landlady and one "glance at the rooms is sufficient to show the style of the place, and although lodgings are alike [in the monotony of their general characteristics, there are always some little distinguishing marks sufficient to show to which class of house they belong. For almost all English houses may be classed under one of] three heads: The " homely," the "artistic," or the " hugger mugger," and the commonest of these is the " hugger mugger." The reason of ' this is that most women are deficient en the power of organisation, and although there are many other qualities necessary to make a good housewife, it is the want of organisation that first makes itself felt in a badlymanaged house. Directly you enter you feel it. The servant is not quite sure which room to show you into, for the baby is reposing in the drawing room, and the tablecloth has not been removed since the last meal in the dining room ; the mistress is nowhere to be seen, and so for a while you are left standing in the passage. At last she appears, apologises for keeping you waiting, and then for her dres3, which she has not had time to change. She greets you effusively, however, and begs you to come in. The blinds in the drawing room are down for the rake of the baby and to hide the dust on the piano, the flowers are faded, for it is not an "At Home Day" in ' the "bugger mugger" household, and the room is only " done " once a week, when visitors are expected. There are some feeble attempts at decoration. The fireplace is draped with art mustfn, the folds of whioh are thick with dust; a few fans are pinned against the wall, and in every available nook and corner grass-weed reeds are stuck. The dining room is worse than the drawing room. It is a combination of nursery, sitting room, workroom, and general living room. It is littered with crumbs and [children's toys. One-half of the table is laid for lunch: on the other stands the sewing machine and all the paraphenalia of dressmaking. The haarth is full of ashes ; the fire is made of coke— that most abominable of all fuel ; the blind is creaked, and a sea ell of cabbage pervades the house. Upstairs things are no better 1 . The baby's things are everywhere; the rooms are stuffy; the counterpanes have lost their pristine whiteness ; the] carpets look as if they were never beaten, and the washstands as if they were never used, The sun is diligently shut out, and the only ornaments on the wall are a few brilliantly-coloured texts. In a " hugger mugger " bou«ehold the inmates are always in a hurry, and yet the meals are never punctual. Breakfast is a scramble,, and dinner a movable feasb. The children are pacified between meals with bits of bread and jam j their father is irritable, their mother harassed ; existence seems a perpetual struggle, and comfort and rest unknown.

Such is an example of a " hugger mugger " household. It is with relief that we turn from it to the " artistic." It is only during the last 20 years that people have endeavoured to "make their homes artistic Before that, solid comfort was expressed by handsome furniture and heavy hangings, family portraits aud dismal grandeur; but we have ohanged all thTat. The aesthetic craze came in and left its mark on everything. Now people of artistic temperament express their individuality in their homes,> and every ladies' newspaper devotes a column or two to hints for the beautifying of the house. Instead of the green rep-covered ohairs of yore we have luxurious lounges covered with harmoniously-blended colours ; instead of the green and crimson carpets of sprawling floral patterns we have rich Eastern rugs and polished floors ; the hideous gilt mirrors that adorned (?) the mantelpiece have given plaoe to silken hangings, rich tapestry, and treasures of art; the jingling lustres have found a resting place on the mantelpieoes of lodging-houses, and in their place we find rare China, ta}l Satsuma vases, or beautifully wrought

bronzes. In an artistic home everything i harmoniously blended. There is no attempt at vulgar show, but beauty and refinement reign supreme. Each room has its own character, but from the kitchen tothegarreb there is not a single piece of furniture that does not show the artistic taste of the owner.

The "homely" home speaks for itself. It it the house ia which we feel at home. As soon as we cross the threshold we feel its charm. Everything in it speaks of loving care. Bach room seems to smile a welcome. The ohairs are so comfortable that you are loth to leave them; the tables are not of the rickety sort that creak -at every touch; the rooms are not crowded with useless knicknaoks; and there is nothing brand new or obtrusive about the house ; everything looks aB if it were well used, and everything speaks of comfort. Flowers, books, music, ink, pens, all are to be found in the homely house. The children are there too, but they do not pervade the house and turn every room into a nursery, neither are they obliged to take off their boots on the doormat before they cross the threshold.

Love is the ruling spirit in the. homely home, and all its inmates feel a pride of possession in it, and are loth to leave its shelter. These 1 are the- abodes we love to think of when we sing, "Be it ever so humble there's no place like home."