Select bananas, gold of hue, And uniform in size, With care remove the fruit, and slice Quite thin--I would advise.
Mix these slim rounds with pecan meats, Broken in tiny bits, And grape-fruit shredded finely, too, And robbed of all its pits.
This medley next is drenched with oil, And lemon juice combined, The hollow skins are then filled up-- Or, shall we say, relined?
Now place upon crisp lettuce leaves, Or curly water-cress, The golden shapes, and walnuts add, Shorn of their outer dress.
Sugar and water you combine To make a syrup sweet, Adding a little lemon juice, The flavor to complete.
Peel oranges, the seeds remove, Cut into quarters true, Lay in the boiling syrup next, And cook ten minutes through.
Place on a crystal dish the fruit O'er which the syrup pour, And strew with candied cherries red-- To give the one touch more.
Any part of a house in disorder and confusion is a source of mental distress to a neat and conscientious housekeeper, and often an occasion for slurs from other members of the family. The number of steps to be taken and the motions to be made, each day, to keep a house in order and set three meals upon a table are often overlooked or largely underestimated. We are speaking now of the homes of the "four-fifths," where little help outside of the family is available. Mothers are thought "slow and poky" by the younger members of the family, who are inclined to value the slight and irregular assistance which they give more highly than it deserves. There are members of the family, perhaps, who should keep their strength, mental and physical, for their work away from home; but in general the young people should be trained to take a part in the responsibility of the housekeeping and home-making. If boys and girls, as soon as they are old enough, be taught to open their beds for airing, hang up their clothing and leave the bowl and bath tub in suitable condition for the next occupant of the room, the mother can prepare the breakfast and begin the work of the day without fret as to the condition of the upper part of the house, or without the mental fatigue that comes where there are so many things to be done at once that one knows not where to begin.
Often where one maid is kept, too much is expected of her, even by the house-mother. With the advent of a maid, the dishes multiply and time is spent in dish washing that should be given to the larger affairs of the housekeeping. For the mother or one maid the washing of dishes must be regulated to make the work an incident and not the event of the day. We are not protesting against a change of plates, or forks, etc., for the dessert; but extra dishes for vegetables, the plate underneath the plate, both handled and therefore to be washed, much glassware that requires careful washing and polishing, all tend to prolong the time at the sink. Such work may be increased at will, when some one is hired for this special purpose, or when the daughter of the family is willing to take the responsibility of it. For the mother or the one maid, day in and day out, more necessary duties must eliminate some of the niceties of table service. We should not be "more nice than wise."