Marjorie, and, on the principle that many hands make light work, we
distributed ourselves about the house under the direction of the elder
Downing sisters.

Now, girls all, let me give you a hint which may save you lots of time
and trouble. If sweeping and dusting are thoroughly done, they do not
need to be done so very often. A room once put in perfect order,
especially in a country village, where the houses stand like little
islands in a sea of green grass, ought to stay clean a long time.

It is very different in a city, where the dust flies in clouds an hour
after a shower, and where the carts and wagons are constantly stirring
it up. Give me the sweet, clean country.

Mother's way is to carefully dust and wipe first with a damp and then
with a dry cloth all the little articles of bric-a-brac, vases, small
pictures, and curios, which we prize because they are pretty, after
which she sets them in a closet or drawer quite out of the way. Then,
with a soft cloth fastened over the broom, she has the walls wiped down,
and with a hair brush which comes for the purpose she removes every
speck of dust and cobweb from the cornices and corners. A knitted cover
of soft lampwick over a broom is excellent for wiping a dusty or a
papered wall.

Next, all curtains which cannot be conveniently taken down are shaken
well and pinned up out of the way. Shades are rolled to the top. Every
chair and table is dusted, and carried out of the room which is about to
be swept. If there are books, they are dusted and removed, or if they
are arranged on open shelves, they are first dusted and then carefully
covered.