The hearthstone; or, Life at home

The quickness of children's mental and moral perceptions CONTENTS. xi ^The language of heaven — What science teaches — The heart language of the baby in the home 57 " UP-STAIRS, DOWN-STAIRS, IN MY LADY'S CHAMBER." The servant question — A universal cry — Conversations heard in homes — Characters given to servants — " Goodness ! How dreadful ! " — The consternation of a housemaid— The fate of a blue velvet mantilla — Reminiscences of Matilda Pancake and Lucretia Muffins — The thieving cook — The other side — Servants' grievances — The proper example wanted — One's self-respect and that of others — Faithful servants the world's salvation — The doing of honest work — The ideas that foreign domestics bring with them — The faithful old servant — Joseph a typical server — If " things are not what they seem " — The nervous effects of an untidy servant — Dethronement of reason — Peculiarities of servants — "Yes, m'm" — Left as well as right hands — Horrible moments — The habit of humming — What causes animosity — Times that try mistresses' souls — An old Scotch proverb — " Some servants " — The good servant a master-piece of Christian civilization — Her position next that of teacher — Biographies of old servants — Training-schools — "Butter-fingered girls" — A forgetful cook and how cured — The hand of the servant, and what it does with the machinery of home 73 Sports and games in the United States — Out-door exercises for women — An increasing demand for them — The list of out-door sports — Descriptions of each. Lawn Tennis, and how played — Essentially a field-sport for ladies — The best for enjoyable out-door exercise — Playing tennis. Archery — Recreations of the archery field — How to learn it — Exercise that develops the chest muscles — Shooting at a target — The trials of a novice — How to take aim — Rules for holding the bow and arrow. Croquet — A tell-tale game — Test of fine manners — Croquet unlike other games — Not played according to set rules — Why the game lost popularity — The place where croquet is played best — Experts at play — A great courting and flirting game — The points of difference in the game — A peculiarity of croquet— Three ways of arranging croquet hoops — Diagrams — Dimensions of grounds — Terms used in croquet. Calisthenics — An exercise necessary for girls — The objection to the majority of games — A. special benefit derived from systematic exercise — Calisthenics not necessary for one class of girls — The costume for calisthenics. Skating — The most graceful of sports — The sociability of a popular skating lake — Advantages to health — Why girls should skate — The essentials for the full enjoyment of skating — Confidence essential in skating — The first lesson — The sensation of standing on an edge — To balance one's XU CONTENTS.