Now, suppose you examine a dress that has done good service. It is somewhat spotted and a good deal soiled; but you say, “It is so pretty and becoming, I shall feel like losing an old friend if I throw it aside; what can I do to renew its beauty?” If the material is silk or woolen, even of the most delicate colors, you can very easily clean it without fading. After ripping it with care, prepare equal parts of _alcohol, soft soap, and molasses_. Half a pint of each will clean a silk dress, unless you have wasted twenty-five or thirty yards on one dress; in that case you will need a larger quantity of the preparation. Have near you two small tubs or pails of water, one warm, the other cool, unless the material is woolen, when you should use hot water for both. Spread one piece of the dress at a time on to an ironing-sheet; dip a clean sponge into this very dirty-looking, but very effective wash; rub each spot separately till you have cleansed it; then, keeping the sponge wet, go over the whole piece, wetting it thoroughly, and carefully removing the dirt and spots. When satisfied that you have done your best, rinse the piece faithfully in the first water; do not wring it, but hold it up and let it drain a moment; then shake and snap vigorously, to remove as much water as you can. Put it through the second water in the same manner; snap as dry as you can, at least so that it will not drip; spread smoothly on the ironing-sheet, and iron quickly. Be careful to _iron by a thread_, and iron till perfectly dry. Have your irons as hot as you can use without scorching. If the material is the same on both sides, iron on that which was first used as the outside of the dress, but make it up inside out. This preparation is such a vile, dirty-looking compound, one would suppose it would ruin anything touched by it. Not so at all. We have cleaned the most delicate silks and ribbons,--blues, violets, pinks, and greens,--and have never failed to secure a very good renovation of the materials, without changing or weakening the color, or leaving the harsh, stiff crackle on the silk which washing usually gives.