Mrs. Cornelius

“ How often do we see the happiness of a husband abridged by the absence of skill, neatness, and economy in the wife! Perhaps he is not able to fix upon the cause, for he does not understand minutely enough the processes upon which domestic order depends, to analyze the difficulty; but he is conscious of discomfort. However improbable it may seem, the health of many a professional man is undermined, and his usefulness curtailed, if not sacrificed, because he habitually eats bad bread. ”

“ It is like hunting a needle in a haystack to find a habitable house anywhere near the Legations, because, for blocks and blocks, almost everything is burnt. To find any decent Chinese houses one has to go too far from our lines to be really safe, as even now there are plenty of snipers still in Peking. Some wretched, dirty, and filthy temples have partially escaped burning, owing to the fact that almost up to the time that our troops arrived they were used by the Chinese as strongholds for themselves and Boxers. Into these holes people must go for lack of anything better. ”

“ The dislike of the Russians for the British is so cordial that it is only equalled by the feeling the British entertain toward them. The frankness of this avowed enmity is delightful. Our compound joins the Russians, and they love us and we love them in as strong a fashion as they hate their English neighbours on their other side. Baron Von Rahden orders his men to work and fight as much as possible side by side with our marines, as in this way he hopes to increase the efficiency of his untrained guard. These men can’t speak the others’ language, but are the best of friends. ”

“ We brought a small lead-lined ice-box with us from our Legation, which seemed foolish at the time, but which is a great comfort to us now. We keep our wine and drinking-water in it, and also well-water, which is very cool, so that our drink is somewhat cooled, and is not the same temperature as the air. No other mess can attempt to have things cool, and this is one of the features of our room—that we are as comfortable as we can be under these extraordinary circumstances. ”

“ In very hot weather, especially in August, which is the least favorable month for making butter, a heaping spoonful of salt should be put into a pailful of milk, after the portion for the ordinary family uses is taken out; and at all seasons, fine salt should be put into the cream from day to day, as it is gathered. The effect of this is excellent, in keeping it sweet and giving a rich flavor to the butter.
The finest butter is made where the number of cows renders it necessary to churn every day. The custom of churning once a week is not to be tolerated. ”

“ There is no one thing upon which health and comfort in a [Pg 23] family so much depend as bread. With good bread the coarsest fare is tolerable; without it, the most luxurious table is not comfortable.
It is best economy to purchase the best flour, even at an extra cost. Good flour adheres slightly to the hand, and if pressed in it, shows the impress of the lines of the skin. Dough made of it is a yellowish white, and does not stick to the hands after sufficient kneading. There is much bad flour in market, which can in no way be made into nutritious food. ”

“ How soon people get accustomed to an idea! Now that we have prepared our minds for a possible massacre we seem to be getting back, to some degree at least, our old spirits. Now that 90I am well, how much nearer seem the soldiers who are coming to relieve us!
What a place this compound would be for an epidemic! There are barely enough mattresses for the wounded and dying at the hospital, so that, should we have one, and take a house for those taken sick, I am sure that there would be no ordinary comforts of any kind for them; they could only be isolated. ”

“ An invalid, speaking of the kindness of a neighbor in sending him some slices of corned beef, said, "They were cut with a sharp knife." For the sake of economy, if for no other reason, carve smoothly, and only as much as is wanted at first. It is easy to cut more for replenishing plates; and meat is far better not to lie sliced in the dish. If no more is cut than is used, a handsome piece [Pg 119] may often be reserved for the next day; whereas if all is cut up it cannot be so good, and some of it will certainly be wasted.
Ham and tongue should be sliced very thin. ”

“ Our servants, mostly native Christians, assure us that these people are all Boxers, most of them flaunting the red sash, the insignia of that Society, and that they are preparing for a general uprising when the time shall be ripe—an uprising that has for its watchword, “Death and destruction to the foreigner and all his works, and loyal support to the great Ching dynasty.” ”

“ Whether the spirit of the New Testament is carried, as it should be, into the every-day concerns of life? Is not the giving largely to public objects of benevolence sometimes suffered to supersede the duty of "considering the poor," and "bringing him that is cast out to our house?" ”

“ The sky was grey, 68and the men on the Wall made agonizingly big and black silhouettes for the Chinese to aim at.
If I live to be a thousand, I could never see a queerer collection of people working together to extinguish a fire, and with the object to save themselves from a massacre—coolies, missionaries, soldiers, and Ministers Plenipotentiary working and straining every muscle for the same object. Surely Peking never before saw such unanimity of her foreign residents. ”

“ Attention and practice will teach when cake is well baked. When it is done enough, it settles a little away from the pan. Even well made cake becomes heavy by being taken out of the oven before it is perfectly baked. Moving it carelessly while it is baking will also make light cake fall. If you have occasion to change the position of the pans, do it gently.
A tin chest or a stone jar is good to keep cake in, and it is a good way to let that which is not to be kept long, remain in the tins in which it was baked.
Directions for beating the Whites of Eggs. ”

“ The horror and dislike of leaving our respective Legations to concentrate in the British is nothing compared to the fact that if we leave our Legation the Boxers and Chinese soldiers will immediately burn them and loot them, and this may give them such a lust for loot and pillage that it may become an incentive strong enough to overcome their national fear of attacking, and make it most terribly difficult for us to hold out until the troops come. ”

“ If meat is old, or has become tainted in the least, the defect is peculiarly offensive in soup. All meat and bones for soup should be boiled a long time, and set aside until the next day in order that the fat may be entirely removed. Then add the vegetables, rice, and herbs, and boil it from an hour to an hour and a half. The water in which fresh meat is boiled should be saved for soup and broth; and the bones of roast beef should never be thrown away without boiling, as they make excellent soup, and if not used for this purpose, should be boiled in order to save the fat which they contain. ”

“ She has personally nursed most of the Russian patients, for while all Russians of education speak either French or German, and the hospital nurses understand their wants, to the poor sailors, who can express themselves only in their own language, her nursing is a Godsend, and she is on duty with her suffering compatriots an incredible number of hours out of the twenty-four. A graduate trained nurse, working to make a record, could do no more than she is doing, and her physical strength, patience, and gentleness are a joy to witness. ”

“ For a very small family, take half a pint of rye meal, not sifted, and a pint of sifted Indian meal, a pint of sour milk, a half a gill of molasses, a teaspoonful of salt, and a large teaspoonful of saleratus. Mix all the ingredients except the saleratus, dissolve that (as it should always be) in a little boiling water, and add it, stirring the mixture well. Grease a tin pudding pan, or a pail having a close lid, and having put the bread in it, set it into a kettle of boiling water. The bread should not quite fill the pail, as it must have room to swell. ”