Good news, loyal readers and fans! My inevitable return to some kind of money-making enterprise will be delayed a little longer, for following yesterday's excellent post, I now have a new (albeit unpaid) occupation: answering your questions with the help of Spons' Household Manual (1897) and/or Every Woman's Enquire Within (1938).
Here goes:
Is there a remedy for insomnia?, writes Jane.
There is a lot of advice in Spon, but it boils down to a point of view along the lines of: if one weren't such a wetsy, it wouldn't be a problem. For e.g.:
"The difficulties about sleep and sleeplessness - apart from dreams - are almost always fruits of a perverse refusal to comply with the laws of nature .... If only he would get up and do a full day's work, of any sort, and not dose during the day, when next the night came around his 16 or 20 hours of wakefulness would be rewarded by a sleep of 9-10 hours in length."
If that doesn't work, Spon recommends having a wash in carbolic soap, a short walk of 20 minutes, staying off tea and coffee, hop pillows, and not eating for an hour before going to bed. Last resort: "common raw onions raw, but Spanish stewed onions will do".
Not a last resort: "Recently, the dangerous and lamentable habit of promiscuously taking sleeping draughts has unfortunately become very prevalent, entailing misery and ill health to a terrible degree".
Let that be a warning to you all.
"Do either of these excellent manuals have chapters on travel? Having just spent two days cursing my way through three airports I think I need some remedial packing training", writes Megan.
"Having prepared your luggage" (which takes WEEKS and a lot of polishing), "we come to the packing itself". Familiar advice follows, including tissue paper, folding, hats in hat boxes and rubber corks in bottles sealed with candlewax. But this, it seems, is all you need to know:
"Pack tightly - this is the real secret of success, for when everything is wedged together, nothing will shake about and so get crushed." (Every Woman's Enquire Within, 1938).
Spons is no good whatsoever; perhaps people didn't travel in 1897, but there is one piece of advice that I'd like to pass on, namely that you should "never take white petticoats for rough travelling; a striped coloured one is best. Take black lace neck scarf and gauze veils."
DES asks: "Is cleanliness next to godliness? I have such a suspicion that standards in these matters have been raised absurdly high in these germophobic times, and that your experts might have a more reasonable view, along the lines of having a bath once a week whether one needs it or not, except for houses, if you catch my drift."
There are entire chapters - huge ones - in each book about cleaning. No God chat, but as far as Spon is concerned, being clean/cleaning is essentially the answer to everything. I am not a medical historian etc but I have the feeling from reading it that they had just found out about germs and quarantine and what-not; there is an entire chapter on the different types of chemicals you need to dispose of medical waste (from poo to snotty handkerchiefs). I have however looked up "Infant bathing" and here's what he says:
"Never put a child to bed dirty. The whole body should be washed every day. Young babies and infants should be bathed and well washed every morning in warm water, and thoroughly dried afterwards....young infants are best washed after their first meal, older children before breakfast."
No shirking for you, young man. Get in the shower immediately. (Also, there is no chat about 'fallen ladies' etc., if my inference is correct.)
What are the foremost duties of my servants?, writes Special K.
Every Woman's Enquire Within was written in 1938, and this is a written for the post-war housewife who, likely as not, didn't have servants at all; as far as I can see, there's no mention of them.
I can't find anything in Spon about how to manage servants, but they clearly exist as there is all sorts of chat about where they should sleep, eat and sit:
"Servants' beds should never have valances round them, as it encourages a habit of keeping boxes and rubbish under the beds."
It is mysterious. I sometimes think Spon is writing for a Mr Pooter type of person - there is a great deal of advice on plumbing - but then he'll throw in a recipe for lark pie, which makes me wonder who he's writing for. Perhaps there is no advice on duties of servants because everyone just knows how to do it. Strangely, I can imagine Lady Redesdale might have had a copy of this book.
No shirking for you, young man. Get in the shower immediately. (Also, there is no chat about 'fallen ladies' etc., if my inference is correct.)
What are the foremost duties of my servants?, writes Special K.
Every Woman's Enquire Within was written in 1938, and this is a written for the post-war housewife who, likely as not, didn't have servants at all; as far as I can see, there's no mention of them.
I can't find anything in Spon about how to manage servants, but they clearly exist as there is all sorts of chat about where they should sleep, eat and sit:
"Servants' beds should never have valances round them, as it encourages a habit of keeping boxes and rubbish under the beds."
It is mysterious. I sometimes think Spon is writing for a Mr Pooter type of person - there is a great deal of advice on plumbing - but then he'll throw in a recipe for lark pie, which makes me wonder who he's writing for. Perhaps there is no advice on duties of servants because everyone just knows how to do it. Strangely, I can imagine Lady Redesdale might have had a copy of this book.
That's it for now. There are a lot of good recipes, parlour games, beauty advice and medical bits and bobs in both, by the way. HINT HINT.
Pip "Keep 'em coming otherwise I'll have to find a job" Pip
NWM
Pip "Keep 'em coming otherwise I'll have to find a job" Pip
NWM
10 comments:
Thanks! I ripped all the bedskirts off my servants beds and wouldn't you know there was a bunch of d*mn rubbish down there!
Is there any advice on how to deal with an unruly daughter?
On matters pertaining to sleep, I remain indebted to the estimable Virtue's Household Physician (1866 edition), whose many words of wisdom on the subject include the following:
"Feather beds, whether downy or coarse, are not even fit for children. They are composed of animal matter, and by a slow process of decay, are always, when stirred, sending up an exhalation which it is not healthful to breathe. By their softness, too, they increase the general tendency to effeminacy."
"The hair mattress is the very best bed yet used. It is healthful and easy. No person once accustomed to it, will ever return to feathers."
"The most natural position in which
to sleep is upon the right side. This affords the easiest play to the internal organs."
"Sleep is promoted, too, by withdrawing the mind, a short time before retiring, from all hard study, and exciting themes of conversation ; and turning it to calmer subjects of reflection, such as the moral attributes of God, particularly his love and paternal character."
I trust that this has proved useful.
Cleaning and cleanliness is the answer to everything? So my mother was right! Let's not tell her as she has a decided tendency to smugness as it is.
Bother. I was in the market for a more congenial century, but you have destroyed my illusions.
Mike - good heavens! Feather beds cause effeminacy? I wonder if this applies to avian products generally, in which case that Chick-fil-A man has a LOT to answer for.
NWM, I feel smug now as I did indeed wedge things very firmly. I did NOT, however, include a striped petticoat nor gauze veils. I wonder if that would make the flipping duffel a bit lighter (through... I dunno... contagious gauziness?).
Oh, I have a question. Any advice on removing rust-stains from an alluminium (sp?) sink? Perhaps "removing rust from tin" might be more era-appropriate. (Also, I hope my mother in law isn't reading this. IT'S FOR THE NEIGHBOURS, NOT YOUR SINK...)
Sodium bicarbonate and vinegar, Launderer :)
I find it very depressing that I know this...
Mrs Beeton gives a great deal of guidance on servants: their duties, salaries, how to train them, how to treat them, etc.
I was surprised to read that my home could be fully staffed for only tuppence three farthing per annum. I haven't had any replies yet to my ad in The Lady, but fingers crossed!
I have a husband who is prone to both idleness and slovenliness (viz. socks on the kitchen floor which I refuse to pick up because I WILL NOT CLEAN UP AFTER HIM but they annoy me when they remain for days and days and I feel like stuffing them in his MOUTH). Unfortunately, said husband has some good points i.e. he is mostly supportive and makes me laugh with random silliness and GSOH. I doubt that your books can help, but you never know. Any advice?
I AM ON IT.
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