THE NEW SCHOOL FOR BRIDES.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 13673, 6 May 1912, Page 7

THE NEW SCHOOL FOR BRIDES.

LEARNING TO MANAGE A HOUSE BEFORE MARRIAGE.

London Lady’s Novel Methods.

(London Daily Mail.)

A new school for brides, in which the simple but not very obvious duties of housekeeping and servant management auto he taught, and taugnt quietly, is tnc excellent idea of a Thuy in Loudon, u; view of the real’need there is for such a course of instruction.

Hut are not the mothers of prospective brides tnc right persons to impait sue i knowledge to their daughters' And are mere not schools alreaay here, llieie, a..a everywhere iu which the duty is under taken in elaborate ‘‘eoursesi' -

finch were the questions put to Mrs. Northcott, a Loudon lady, and the instigator of the new method, and here are her very pertinent replies: “lait me go back to the very first cause of my scheme, ' said she. “it so happens that to me have come from time to time girls who are going to marry young professional men, whose moderate incomes will need careful management, ine brides-to-be have consulted me in a state bordering on janie. They have said.‘What am I to do-' I don’t know anything about housekeeping. Can t you give m2 some hints?' AN UNAVAILING APPEAL. “The appeal to their mothers has been unavailing. ‘My dear,’ said one mother, and her candidly expressed opinion wa> that of ail the rest, I simply do not reow how to help you. 1 have outgrown the kind of housekeeping that you are going to begin with. 1 can tell you what it costs to’ run a house on .£2,000, .£3,000. or ,£SJOI) a year, as tue case may be, and how many servants are required you know yourself by counting ours. “ ‘But how you are to portion out an income of j£7UO I confess I am utterly unable to say. Nor can 1 initiate you into the duties of two or three servants, nor tell you what you should pay for meat and vegetables, fruit, groceries, and so forth. “ ‘Prices have changed since yon; father and I began life together on a smaii income—and—well, you must do as I did, 1 suppose, feel your way, and proht by your mistakes.’ ” EASILY LEARNED. It is Mrs Northcott’s ambition to help girls who suffer under disabilities of this kind; to instruct them, not theoretically but uy actual practice in her own house, in their future duties as housekeepers; io prove to them that there is no gloomy bogey to face in keeping house on a moderate scale, but a thoroughly interesting experience. Housekeeping, she maintains, is easily learned, and this is how she proposes to teach it: “I shall avoid theory as much as possible in favour of ‘showing them how,’ Theory is all very well if a girl has plenty of time and can carry it out in practice under the supervision of ex ports, after the method of some schoo’s of domesticity. Lectures may be interesting, and are. “But the girls who come to me are living in a whirl of society functions, trousseau-buying, dressmakers fitting appointments, furbishing, what not incidental to the approaching marriage. Thev need commonplace, ordinary, I’ll-show-you how methods. “With one hour's tuition a day a month before marriage I can initiate them into the ways of the thrifty housewife. a greater length, of time is bettor for them, out the one hour is a sound working basis. They arrive at I). 30, and proceed with ray-cook. That teaches them how t" order and what to order for a snia'l family, with special reference to the icj..omical sequence or dishes.

“Those who can afford more time may loam to cook if they like. But th" ground-work I propose will ‘give a gi'l that comprehension and expert knowieage so necessary to her prestige as a mistress.

“After the interview with the cook I take my pupils out to make the actua purchases for the day's meals. They learn the price of meat and the names and appearance of the different joints, what poultry, game, and fish are in season, their cost and how to differentiate good from bad. They become experts in weights and measures, learning how much meat, how many pounds of butter, and what groceries arc required for a family of a given size.” THE BRIDE AND BRASSES. Buying-in is one of the most important lessons a bride-elect, who wdll have in the future a definite housekeeping sum a week to expend, has to learn. It may bo that she will not have to do it in pvson when she is married, but even then she ought to know how it is done, in order to check her tradesmen’s books. Girls there are who in their homes have no idea of how the work of tue house is done. One bride-elect to whom Mrs Northeott was talking upon hou-ehold subjects, said she had no idea that brasses were ever cleaned. She thought tney never wanted cleaning! It had never occurred to her to imagine anything else. How can a girl who is so ignorant of the elementary phases of domestic work plan out their work for her servants?

The mere suggestion that each servant should receive a card with her duties clearly defined thereon fills the prospeclive bride with dismay. In her absolute ignorance of the matter she cannot frame a programme. Moreover, it is of no use to present duty cards to the maids if the task of seeing that they arc obeyed is not earned out properly by the mistress.

Many of the pupils will not, in all probability, ever require to clean silver or make beds, but they may have to teach their servants how r they like it done, and to those who arc going with their husbands into oversea Dominions remote from society, the knowledge is imperative.

The management of servants is another item of housekeeping that the young bride sboul<J learn. The exact kind of tact that is wanted to preserve pleasant relationships between mistress and maid cannot he learned from books, but the woman of experience who has solved the problem of how to make her servants com fortable and happy, how to got the best work possible out of them, and how to keep them, is able to pass her knowledge on to others.

All such knowledge is necessary, and many a young life is made miserable through lack of it. On the wedding day the bride may look happy enough, But privately, perhaps, her happiness is tinged with consternation when she suddenly realises her woeful ignorance of everything appertaining to practical housekeeping.