Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/637

 6ii MARRIAQB i of life to the influence of his wife. Salvage of this sort is worth some effort. What that effort costs is known only to those who have made it. It is an easy thing to spoil a husband by flattery. Hypocrisy is a subtle weapon, but it has two edges, and should be handled warily. Better not handle it at all. Like debt and secrets, it destroys true happiness. How to Feed the Man In one of his " Idylls " Tennyson recom- mends as prudent and proper treatment for a wife that the husband should " dress her beautifully and keep her true." May one be permitted to paraphrase this good counsel and apply it to the wife ? Let her, then, " feed him bountifully and keep him true." Mankind is more physical than spiritual, and inviting food was intended to be one of our pleasures. The man who knows that a good dinner awaits him in his home is much more likely to arrive there punctually and in an agreeable mood than he who expects an ill-cooked meal laid out on a limp, despondent tablecloth, with dull glass, and forks that might be made of pewter to judge from their appearance. Here is nothing to stimulate appetite, and the prospect of it is not calculated to make a man hurry to catch his earliest possible train to the suburbs. Besides, there is the question of proper nourishment to be considered. It is a more important one than some young wives imagine. They seem to think, sometimes, even the best of them, that it is quite suffi- cient to give a man what he likes and plenty of it. This is quite good, so far as it goes. But the careful consort will learn in time that the things her husband likes best are some- times by no means the best for him to have. Mrs. Carlyle soon found this out, and her chief care in life was to give the dyspeptic man she had married the dishes that were the least likely to aggravate his malady. There are lions lurking round the path of the inexperienced wife whose husband suffers from one or more of the too numerous forms of indigestion. She must not, for instance, appear to be taking care of him. It must be a secret between herself and her own soul. The average man hates being looked after ; he resents it as an affront. And about food he is often very childlike, though far from bland. When dining out or lunching in the City, the dyspeptic man takes no account of conse- quences, but chooses his favourite crab omelette or W^elsh rarebit with no better excuse than because he likes it. " Do I smell haggis ? " asked an old gentle- man in a back number of " Punch." The servant who is helping him out of his over- coat in the hall replies, " Yes, sir." The old gentleman remarks, " Eh, but I'll be bad the morn ! " and looks singularly and inap- propriately happy as he utters the dismal prophecy. It never occurs to him not to have any haggis. Should the wife of .such an one give him a warning look across the table, he is exces- sively annoyed. Why .should she spoil his pleasure ? It is not she who will suffer for It, and may he not have a little indigestion if he likes ? That is his frame of mind. No ! The wife must do what she ran to guard her husband from the results of inju- dicious eating, but he must know nothing of her solicitude. To Ix; sure of the best of food in his home is his best shield against imprudent meals abroad. The Breakfast Question The quality of a man's work depends in great measure upon the character of the food he eats. This is why breakfast should be such a carefully thought out and skilfully prepared meal. It should send him forth to his day's labour well nourished and energised, forti- fied against the worries that seem to be in- separable from almost every class of work. Breakfast can be a very delightful meal, and every care should be taken to make it so. In winter a cheery fire should be chattering in the grate. In summer a sunny window opening on the garden should be chosen. A few flowers on the table give an air of poetry to the repast. One or more of the many forms of chafing dish should l^e keeping the viands hot, for man, alas ! hates getting up in the morning, and often leaves himself bu. five minutes or so for the discussion of a meal that has cost his mfe much thought and his cook much care. It is often a great temptation to a young wife to spend more money than she ought upon the catering. She is so very anxious to give her husband tempting meals and the very best of everything, that she buys expensive things, and seeing him enjoy them, she is encouraged to go on doing so. Her accounts mount up in consequence, and should he upbraid she will be very foolish il she " answers with a smile," like the lady in the good old .song. Domestic Extravagance It is better wisdom to abstain from costly luxuries as a general rule and keep them for particular occasions. They will be all the more appreciated for their rarity. Those whose incomes are sufficient to place them within their reach for every day get quite as tired of expensive dishes as the less wealthy do of ordinary fare. It is well to remember this, for one then feels less temi)ted to spend money that cannot really be afforded. A good dinner after the nay's work is over makes home appreciated. The growing scarcity of cooks makes it advisable that young wives — and many who are not ex- actly young — should acquire the science of cookery themselves. It is splendid to feel independent of domestics, and cookery be- comes extremely interesting when the student begins to understand it. studies the chemistry of it, and becomes so expert as to originate dishes.