There should be a triple water supply in the House Comfortable;
ewers always filled from the soft-water pump. Every well and tank
should be tested ere we take up residence. Pure water, and plenty
of it, is essential to the health (and therefore comfort) of every
household. It should be perfectly clear and bright, and free from
taste or smell. Yet impurity may lurk even in the most sparkling
water. Therefore science must decide as to its desirability. If
only iron or lime water is procurable, jars of lump ammonia, or a
bottle of cloudy liquid ammonia, a bag of oatmeal or a bundle of
bran should lie on every washstand. The hot-water boiler not only
supplies unlimited baths, but may be devised to heat the house. In
every Canadian home a stove in the cellar warms the rooms above
by means of drums and fans. We might do much the same in England
with our hot-water pipes. These should certainly run through the
linen-press and clothes cupboards, and terminate in bathroom
spirals. On these, towels and rough sheets could be dried and
aired. A face cloth always warm is one of the luxuries in our House
Comfortable.
After sanitation, ventilation takes its place in the home.
How to secure a constant supply of fresh air is a question
which demands most serious consideration. In ages past, houses
were unintentionally ventilated by the ill-fitting doors and
window-frames, wide chimneys, and open fire-places. But in our
modern buildings comfort is secured by almost air-tight doors and
windows. Ventilators at the top of such are delightful and necessary
for real comfort, or a Queen Anne casement may have a swing in its
upper frame. It is not always easy, however, to secure exemption
from draught in our modern mansions. When the brick-and-mortar fiend
has placed door, window, and fireplace exactly opposite each other,
screens must be judiciously used. A brass rod from which hangs a
curtain, screwed into the door jamb and suspended by a tiny chain
from the ceiling, is a good thing, or an ordinary _portière_ may be
allowed. The former plan, however, enables us to keep the door open
without feeling a wind.
Padded stair-carpets secure noiseless ascent in the House
Comfortable. Cork mats by the big bath are welcome to bare feet.
Many cupboards are a necessity. A place for everything and
everything in its place is one of the initial rules for everyone's
comfort. It is also Divine law. Hanging presses, medicine cupboards,
butler's pantry, housemaid's closets, keep dresses from dust,
poisons from the unwary, silver and glass intact, and brushes unworn.
The House Comfortable must not be over-servanted. Neither must it
be undermanned. Of the two evils, the latter is preferable, as the
mistress herself then looks after the minutiæ of her house. With all
deference to Matthew Prior, comfort does not flow on a line with
ignorance. It requires a cultivated intelligence to provide such in
our homes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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