the upward road is the separation of the sexes, then the pre- vention of overcrowding, finally the separation of individ- uals, and the setting apart of certain rooms for special pur- poses, as kitchen, dining, sitting, sleeping rooms, etc. ; and this is what we reach in the home, and it is the approxima- tion to this which should be attempted even in thef smallest house which is inhabited by men and women claiming to be civilized. 4' Can this be done," you ask, u upon small means, and in cases where the mistress has the work of the family to do single handed ?" I believe it can, and further- more, I believe that you will find the attempt to do it in itself civilizing and enlightening. You may think it a trivial matter, but I assure you that the mere fact that you determine not to eat your meals in the kitchen where they are cooked, but in another room which can easily be kept free from the disorder, heat, and smell attendant upon cookery, wherein you can sit down to a clean and properly arranged table, will make better men and women of you, will give you an impetus in the right direction, and assist you materially in your efforts to rise to a higher plane of thought and life. Therefore, in building your house, it is well worth your while to try for such an arrangement of it as shall give you two or three separate rooms on each of the two floors. If your means do not permit you to cover a space sufficiently ON HABITS AND MANNERS. IIJ large to be divided into three rooms, you must be content with two rooms on each floor in the body of the house, and a small out-building for a kitchen, which would give you a dining and sitting room down-stairs and two bedrooms above. For a six roomed house the best division is a kitchen, dining and sitting room down-stairs and three bedrooms above; tor an eight-roomed house, kitchen, dining, sitting room and parlor, or one bedroom down- stairs and four bedrooms above, but this last is of sufficient size to accommodate a more than usually large family, and is commonly beyond the means or the needs of a working- man. In any of these houses a small entrance hail opening from the front door is desirable, a back door is indispen- sable, while a piazza, or porch, and garret, each adds greatly to the general convenience and comfort. The minor details must of course depend chiefly upon the wants and taste of •the family: but the points which I insist upon as of unva- rying importance, are, 1st, that the house should be properly divided ; 2d, that the rooms should be set apart for special uses ; 3d, that great efforts should be made to prevent over-crowding, especially in the sleeping rooms. This last is a matter of both delicacy and hygiene, and it may be considered certain that a room of ordinary size should never be inhabited by more than three people, while in most cases it is desirable that the number should be i Il8 ON HABITS AND MANNERS. limited to two, it being understood that ventilation should always be most carefully attended to. I dwell strongly upon the points just mentioned, because, as I have said before, I believe that a properly arranged and well ordered house is an important educational agent, that it has real and great power to civilize and elevate, and that finally its refining influences depend more than is commonly supposed upon these particulars of internal arrangement.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

the upward road is the separation of the sexes, then the prevention of overcrowding, finally the separation of individuals, and the setting apart of certain rooms for special purposes, as kitchen, dining, sitting, sleeping rooms, etc. ; and this is what we reach in the home, and it is the approximation to this which should be attempted even in the smallest house which is inhabited by men and women claiming to be civilized. 4' Can this be done," you ask, u upon small means, and in cases where the mistress has the work of the family to do single handed ?" I believe it can, and furthermore, I believe that you will find the attempt to do it in itself civilizing and enlightening. You may think it a trivial matter, but I assure you that the mere fact that you determine not to eat your meals in the kitchen where they are cooked, but in another room which can easily be kept free from the disorder, heat, and smell attendant upon cookery, wherein you can sit down to a clean and properly arranged table, will make better men and women of you, will give you an impetus in the right direction, and assist you materially in your efforts to rise to a higher plane of thought and life. Therefore, in building your house, it is well worth your while to try for such an arrangement of it as shall give you two or three separate rooms on each of the two floors. If your means do not permit you to cover a space sufficiently large to be divided into three rooms, you must be content with two rooms on each floor in the body of the house, and a small out-building for a kitchen, which would give you a dining and sitting room down-stairs and two bedrooms above. For a six roomed house the best division is a kitchen, dining and sitting room down-stairs and three bedrooms above; for an eight-roomed house, kitchen, dining, sitting room and parlor, or one bedroom downstairs and four bedrooms above, but this last is of sufficient size to accommodate a more than usually large family, and is commonly beyond the means or the needs of a workingman. In any of these houses a small entrance hail opening from the front door is desirable, a back door is indispensable, while a piazza, or porch, and garret, each adds greatly to the general convenience and comfort. The minor details must of course depend chiefly upon the wants and taste of the family: but the points which I insist upon as of unvarying importance, are, 1st, that the house should be properly divided ; 2d, that the rooms should be set apart for special uses ; 3d, that great efforts should be made to prevent over-crowding, especially in the sleeping rooms. This last is a matter of both delicacy and hygiene, and it may be considered certain that a room of ordinary size should never be inhabited by more than three people, while in most cases it is desirable that the number should be limited to two, it being understood that ventilation should always be most carefully attended to. I dwell strongly upon the points just mentioned, because, as I have said before, I believe that a properly arranged and well ordered house is an important educational agent, that it has real and great power to civilize and elevate, and that finally its refining influences depend more than is commonly supposed upon these particulars of internal arrangement.

On habits and manners