Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

“ I generally answer by the question, 'How old are you?' Suppose they say, Forty—'Forty!' I rejoin: 'you who have had forty years' experience of what agrees and disagrees with you—how can you ask me who have no experience of the kind in your case whatever?' Surely, gentlemen, a patient's experience of what agrees and disagrees with his own particular constitution, is far better than any theory of yours or mine. Why, bless my life! in many chronic diseases, the diet which a man can take to-day, would be rejected with disgust to-morrow ”

“ It is, indeed, much to be regretted that small plots of ground, in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis more especially, are too often frittered away into shrubberies and baby gardens, when they might more usefully be employed in raising vegetables for the family, during the week-day residence in town, than wasting their sweetness on the smoky air in all the pride of lilac, hollyhock, and bachelors' buttons, to be merely smelled to, by the whole immigrating household on the day of rest. ”

“ The Blood is the Life—never be Bled!—"He who loses a pint of blood, loses a pint of his life. Of what is the body composed? Is it not of blood, and blood only? What fills up the excavation of an ulcer or an abscess? What re-produces the bone of the leg or thigh, after it has been thrown off dead, in nearly all its length? what but the living BLOOD, under the vito-electrical influence of the brain and nerves! How does the slaughtered animal die? ”

“ The art of pleasing is, in truth, the very soul of good breeding; for the precise object of the latter is to render us agreeable to all with whom we associate; to make us, at the same time, esteemed and loved. ”

“ Every citizen should earnestly and constantly bear in mind the important fact, that his only safety for person, property, liberty and life, is in the absolute supremacy of the constitution and the laws. ”

“ It is easy to see that, for the same reasons, the furniture of a bed should be neither altogether of a white or red color; indeed, those whose eyes are weak, would find considerable advantage in having green for the furniture of their bed-chamber. Nature confirms the propriety of the advice given in this rule; for the light of the day comes on by slow degrees, and green is the universal color she presents to our eyes. ”

“ If you have an enemy, act kindly to him and make him your friend. You may not win him over at once, but try again. Let one kindness be followed by another, till you have compassed your end. By little and little, great things are completed; and repeated kindness will soften a heart of stone. ”

“ Thus, many have brought on themselves a cataract, by frequently looking at the sun or a fire; others have lost their sight by being brought too suddenly from an extreme of darkness into the blaze of day. ”

“ Let your chief joys be shared by her who has forsaken all other hearts and hopes for you; by those who must inherit honor or disgrace from your course of life. Shun the bar-room and the purlieus of intoxication. They are, to thousands, the avenues to infamy. ”

“ With a little care and attention, a kitchen-garden, though small, might be rendered not only useful, but in fact, as ornamental as a modern grass carpet; and the same expense incurred to make the ground a labyrinth of sweets, might suffice to render it agreeable to the palate, as well as to the olfactory nerves, and that even without offending the most delicate optics. ”

“ Then there is the very important matter of home happiness to be kept in view. Amusements, accomplishments, elegant arts, manners, modes of conduct in society; all these are necessary knowledge. And to crown the whole, those indispensable rules and maxims of moral improvement, which are the foundation of good in the character and life of rational, immortal beings, must be made familiar. ”

“ A domineering spirit—a fault-finding petulance—impatience of trifling delays—and the exhibition of unworthy passions at the slightest provocation, can add no laurel to your own "lordly" brow, impart no sweetness to home, and call forth no respect from those by whom you may be surrounded. ”

“ Pieces of fresh beef and mutton go the farthest. Eat plenty of fresh salt with food; it prevents disease. Pray do not let your children waste their pocket-money in tarts, cakes, sugar-plums, sour fruit, &c.; they are very unwholesome, and hurt the digestion. People would often, at twenty years of age, have a nice little sum of money to help them on in the world, if they had put in the savings-bank the money so wasted. Cocoa is cheaper and much more nourishing than tea. None of these liquids should be taken hot, but lukewarm; when hot, they inflame the stomach, and produce indigestion. ”

“ Cautions in visiting Sick Rooms.—Do not venture into a sick room if you are in a violent perspiration; for the moment your body becomes cold, it is in a state likely to absorb the infection; nor visit a sick person, (if the complaint be of a contagious nature,) with an empty stomach, nor swallow your saliva. In attending a sick person, place yourself where the air passes from the door or window, to the bed of the invalid, not between the invalid and the fire, as the heat of the fire will draw the infectious vapor in that direction, and you would run much danger from breathing in it. ”

“ Never read in the dark; nor, if the eyes be disordered, by candle-light. Happy those who learn this lesson betimes, and begin to preserve their sight before they are reminded by pain of the necessity of sparing them. The frivolous attention to a quarter of an hour in the evening, has cost numbers the perfect and comfortable use of their eyes for many years; the mischief is effected imperceptibly—the consequences are inevitable. ”

“ To recover his equanimity and composure, home must be to him a place of repose, of peace, of cheerfulness, of comfort; and his soul renews its strength again, and goes forth with fresh vigor to encounter the labor and troubles of life. ”

“ Personal appearance is important; the art of beautifying a home is important; the knowledge of ways and means by which the clothing of a family may be kept in good order, with the least expense of time and money, is important; some knowledge of plants, flowers, gardening, and of domestic animals, is of much benefit, particularly to those who [4] live in the country; and more important than all, is a knowledge of the best means of preserving or restoring health. ”

“ The husband will work with more pleasure, when feeling his wife takes an interest in his employments. The daughter of a farmer should be ready to read her father's books and papers on agriculture, whenever he desires it, and assist in the garden, orchard, and among domestic animals, when such cases are suitable for her.
So, trusting you have a garden-hoe and pruning-knife for your own use, and can assist in transplanting flowers and shrubs, I shall give rules for these, and also a few hints on other matters connected with country life and the economy of farming. ”

“ Arrangement of the Dinner-Table.—Always have the salt-cellars filled with fine clean salt, and the cruets and cruet-stand dusted; and that each of the cruets are about half-full of vinegar, oil, pepper, sugar, &c., such as they are intended to hold; and although this is the housemaid's duty, it is only kind in the cookmaid to give the housemaid all the information she may require or ask for; a good dinner will look very unhandsome, unless the housemaid takes care that the salts and cruets are clean, and sufficiently filled to accompany it to table. ”

“ The food for children should be light and simple—gruel alone, or mixed with cow's milk; mutton broth, or beef tea; stale bread, rusks, or biscuits, boiled in water to a proper consistence, and a little sugar added. The great mortality of children in large towns, may be attributed to the poverty of their parents, who cannot purchase the necessary food or clothing, nor find leisure to attend to cleanliness, air, and exercise, so indispensably necessary to the well-being of their offspring. In the wealthy ranks of society, these means are easily obtained ”

“ Men fail of fortune in this world, as they fail of happiness in the world to come, simply because they are unwilling to deny themselves momentary enjoyments for the sake of permanent future happiness. ”

“ As a work for our own sex, Godey's Lady's Book is the best that can be taken in a family, because it furnishes information on every branch of home duties and pursuits; and moreover, upholds that pure standard of morals in its lightest fiction, which renders it a safe enjoyment for the young. ”

“ Self-denial.—The business of taking care of the sick, if rightly attended to, requires a devotion to the interests and wants of the patient, which can only be given by the good nurse, who can willingly, and from her heart, practise the heavenly precepts of doing as she would be done by, and denying herself any indulgences that interfere with her duties. ”

“ Children require more, in proportion to their food, than adults. But it is very injurious to them to allow a habit of continual drinking as you find in some children. It greatly weakens the stomach, and renders them irritable and peevish.
The morning meal requires to be lighter and of a more fluid nature than any other. Children should always, if possible to be obtained, take milk—as a substitute, during the winter, good gruel with bread, or water, sweetened with molasses, is healthy. Never give children tea, coffee, or chocolate with their meals. ”

“ Chemists tell us that most combustible things, both in the animal and vegetable world, have carbon for their basis—so has the skin; and, if it be exposed to the heat, it becomes, like them, spotted or charred. The iron and oxygen in the blood also assist to produce this effect. Thus we have the cause of freckles. Those who, like Richard Cœur de Lion, and Mary [133] Queen of Scots, have red hair (which is caused by a red-colored oil, more strongly impregnated with iron than others) , are most liable to freckles. ”

“ Well, then, it is a queer affair, without shape, size, humanity, compassion, breath, or sex. It is caressed, abused, courted, slighted, jostled, hustled, and, notwithstanding all that is said against it, universally looked upon as a welcome guest when it is not in a dull mood. ”

“ Cure for Yellow Fever.—The New Orleans Tropic gives the following recipe, which is said to be used with great success in Mexico, in cases of yellow fever: "A tumbler two-thirds full of olive oil, well mixed with the juice of two limes, and a tea-spoonful of fine table salt, is the common remedy in that country; that he has seen it used in hundreds of cases, many of them the most desperate he ever saw, and that he never knew it fail to produce a cure in a solitary instance! It sometimes causes the patient to vomit; in such cases it should be repeated until the stomach will retain it." ”

“ This must be done every day for some months, when you will find your mahogany acquire a permanent and beautiful lustre, unattainable by any other means, and equal to the finest French polish; and if the table is covered with the table-cloth only, the hottest dishes will make no impression upon it; and when once this polish is produced, it will only require dry rubbing with a linen cloth for about ten minutes, twice in a week, to preserve it in the highest perfection; which never fails to please your employers; and remember, that to please others is always the surest way to profit yourself. ”

“ It should be stirred as little as possible while you are cooking; indeed, a good cookmaid stirs her fire only once during her roasting, and that is when she turns the meat, or alters the hanging of it, at which times she takes the meat and dripping-pan away from the fire, as stirring creates both dust and smoke; but as dust or coal may, by accident, fall into the dripping-pan, keep ready a dish-cloth, to wipe it out directly. Be mindful, also, to keep in the house a stock of the things that are commonly wanted, such as flour, salt, pepper, spices, &c. ”

“ Nature has provided the means for its removal, by giving to the new milk an aperient quality. Therefore it is advisable to wait, even to the third day, for the appearance of the milk, rather than attempt to remove the meconium by castor oil, or any other mild aperient medicine. The coats of the child's stomach and bowels are so extremely tender and irritable, that the mildest purgative will give pain, and disorder the health of the infant. By waiting for the milk, relief is obtained by the means nature has provided, without the slightest inconvenience. ”

“ Every one ought to live according to his circumstances, and the meal of the tradesman ought not to emulate the entertainments of the higher classes; but, if merely two or three dishes be well served, with the proper accompaniments, the table-linen clean, the small sideboard neatly laid, and all that is necessary be at hand, the expectation of both the husband and friend will be gratified, because no interruption of the domestic arrangements will disturb their social intercourse. ”

“ What ought to be done to-day, do it; for to-morrow it may rain.
A strong horse will work all day without food, but keep him at it, and he will not last long.
A rich soil will produce good crops without manure, but keep it at it, and it will tire.
Farmers' sons had better learn to hold the plow, and feed the pigs, than measure tape and count buttons.
Young ladies who have the good fortune to become farmers' wives will find it more profitable to know how to make Johnny-cake, butter, and cheese, than to play on the piano.
All who wish to be rich, must spend less than they earn. ”

“ If raised in such a soil, and transplanted to that which is thin and poor, they seem to receive a shock from which with difficulty they recover. As a gentleman once remarked, it is like feeding a calf with all the milk he will take till he is six months old, and then suddenly turning him off to live on a short pasture. ”