In the beginning, then, be sure of one thing,--that all the wisdom you
have or can acquire, all the patience and tact and self-denial you can
make yours by the most diligent effort, will be needed every day and every
hour of the day. Details are in themselves wearying, and to most men their
relation to housekeeping is unaccountable. The day's work of a systematic
housekeeper would confound the best-trained man of business. In the
woman's hand is the key to home-happiness, but it is folly to assert that
all lies with her. Let it be felt from the beginning that her station is a
difficult one, that her duties are important, and that judgment and skill
must guide their performance; let boys be taught the honor that lies in
such duties,--and there will be fewer heedless and unappreciative
husbands. On the other hand, let the woman remember that the good general
does not waste words on hindrances, or leave his weak spots open to
observation, but, learning from every failure or defeat, goes on steadily
to victory. To fret will never mend a matter; and "Study to be quiet" in
thought, word, and action, is the first law of successful housekeeping.
Never under-estimate the difficulties to be met, for this is as much an
evil as over-apprehension. The best-arranged plans may be overturned at a
moment's notice. In a mixed family, habits and pursuits differ so widely
that the housekeeper must hold herself in readiness to find her most
cherished schemes set aside. Absolute adherence to a system is only
profitable so far as the greatest comfort and well-being of the family are
affected; and, dear as a fixed routine may be to the housekeeper's mind,
it may often well be sacrificed to the general pleasure or comfort. A
quiet, controlled mind, a soft voice, no matter what the provocation to
raise it may be, is "an excellent thing in woman." And the certainty that,
hard as such control may be, it holds the promise of the best and fullest
life here and hereafter, is a motive strong enough, one would think, to
insure its adoption. Progress may be slow, but the reward for every step