equires oiling
lightly with boiled linseed oil, and rubbing dry with a woolen cloth; and
varnished furniture, mahogany or rosewood, if kept carefully dusted,
requires only an occasional rubbing with chamois-skin or thick flannel to
retain its polish perfectly. Soap should never be used on varnish of any
sort.

Ingrain and other carpets, after shaking, are brightened in color by
sprinkling a pound or two of salt over the surface, and sweeping
carefully; and it is also useful to occasionally wipe off a carpet with
borax-water, using a thick flannel, and taking care not to wet, but only
dampen the carpet. Mirrors can be cleaned with whiting. Never scrub
oil-pictures: simply wipe with a damp cloth, and, if picture-cord is used,
wipe it off to secure against moths.

It is impossible to cover the whole ground of cleaning in this chapter.
Experience is the best teacher. Only remember that a household earthquake
is not necessary, and that the whole work can be done so gradually,
quietly, and systematically, that only the workers need know much about
it. The sense of purity transfused through the air and breathing from
every nook and corner should be the only indication that upheaval has
existed. The best work is always in silence.

CHAPTER VII.

THE BODY AND ITS COMPOSITION.

"The lamp of life" is a very old metaphor for the mysterious principle
vitalizing nerve and muscle; but no comparison could be so apt. The
full-grown adult takes in each day, through lungs and mouth, about eight
and a half pounds of dry food, water, and the air necessary for breathing
purposes. Through the pores of the skin, the lungs, kidneys, and lower
intestines, there is a corresponding waste; and both supply and waste
amount in a year to one and a half tons, or three thousand pounds.

The steadiness and clear shining of the flame of a lamp depend upon
quality, as well as amount of the oil supplied, and, too, the texture of
the wick; and so all human life and work are equally made or marred by the
food which sustains life, as well as the nature of the constitution
receiving that food.

Before the nature and quality of food can be considered, we must know the
constituents of the body to be fed, and something of the process through
which digestion and nutrition are accomplished.

I shall take for granted that you have a fairly plain idea of the stomach
and its dependences. Physiologies can always be had, and for minute
details they must