It is true that it is oaly by close and intelligent atten- tion and constant labor that the immediate neighborhood of the dwellings of human beings can be kept clean and whole- some ; but it is also true, to quote the words of an eminent authority, that " all filth is absolute poison," and undoubt- edly the terrible punishment of uncleanliness is the weapon used by the all-wise Creator to force his ignorant and wilful creatures into the cleanliness which involves so much exer- tion of mind and body. Surely I need not here reiterate how fatal is the effect of all filth and especially of human filth ; surely I need not tell you how fever, and cholera, and dysentery, follow uncleanliness as certainly as night follows day, and that therefore it lies with us to choose whether or no we take the risk of diseases whose prevention lies com- monly in our own hands. I could fill page upon page of written warning in respect to defective drainage, impure water, filthy water-closets and outhouses, but it would be all useless unless your own intelligence and moral sense came to the rescue, and induced you to act resolutely and as rational human beings. Therefore I can only beg those of you who are house, holders or who are in any way responsible for the health of others, to study well the facts in regard to this compre- hensive subject of cleanliness in its relation to house build- ing and keeping, and to judge for yourselves whether it is not well worth while to build and keep a cleanly house. ON HABITS AND MANNERS. 125 CHAPTER XVIII.— House and Home— (Continued.) woman's work. In most cases the buying and building of a house is more especially a man's work, and it is the husband and father ot the family who is principally responsible for the thought and labor which lay the foundation of the Home. It is for him to earn the money, to choose a suitable site, to see that the house is well and carefully built, properly divided, ventilated, drained, etc. ; but from the moment that the family enters the house as a home, the responsibility is shifted, and it is the wTife and mother who must bear the chief burden of the housekeeping and become the ruling spirit of the home. The man, as the bread-winner, finds that his work keeps him during the greater part of the day away from his home and family, and consequently, the duty of regulating and controlling the household falls mainly into the woman's hands, an 1 any conscientious woman will gladly do all in her power to fit herself for the due performance of the work which is so plainly set before her. It seems as if it could hardly bo necessary to press upon women of any intelligence, the importance of their position as wives and mothers, and yet the evidences of carelessness and ignorance which constantly force themselves into notice, show but too plainly how much the majority of 126 ON HABITS AND MANNERS. women need assistance and instruction in respect to the every day work of their lives, that work which out of small things rightly done, builds up so beautiful and grand a whole.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

It is true that it is only by close and intelligent attention and constant labor that the immediate neighborhood of the dwellings of human beings can be kept clean and wholesome ; but it is also true, to quote the words of an eminent authority, that " all filth is absolute poison," and undoubtedly the terrible punishment of uncleanliness is the weapon used by the all-wise Creator to force his ignorant and wilful creatures into the cleanliness which involves so much exertion of mind and body. Surely I need not here reiterate how fatal is the effect of all filth and especially of human filth ; surely I need not tell you how fever, and cholera, and dysentery, follow uncleanliness as certainly as night follows day, and that therefore it lies with us to choose whether or no we take the risk of diseases whose prevention lies commonly in our own hands. I could fill page upon page of written warning in respect to defective drainage, impure water, filthy water-closets and outhouses, but it would be all useless unless your own intelligence and moral sense came to the rescue, and induced you to act resolutely and as rational human beings. Therefore I can only beg those of you who are householders or who are in any way responsible for the health of others, to study well the facts in regard to this comprehensive subject of cleanliness in its relation to house building and keeping, and to judge for yourselves whether it is not well worth while to build and keep a cleanly house. CHAPTER XVIII.— House and Home— (Continued.) woman's work. In most cases the buying and building of a house is more especially a man's work, and it is the husband and father ot the family who is principally responsible for the thought and labor which lay the foundation of the Home. It is for him to earn the money, to choose a suitable site, to see that the house is well and carefully built, properly divided, ventilated, drained, etc. ; but from the moment that the family enters the house as a home, the responsibility is shifted, and it is the wife and mother who must bear the chief burden of the housekeeping and become the ruling spirit of the home. The man, as the bread-winner, finds that his work keeps him during the greater part of the day away from his home and family, and consequently, the duty of regulating and controlling the household falls mainly into the woman's hands, and any conscientious woman will gladly do all in her power to fit herself for the due performance of the work which is so plainly set before her. It seems as if it could hardly be necessary to press upon women of any intelligence, the importance of their position as wives and mothers, and yet the evidences of carelessness and ignorance which constantly force themselves into notice, show but too plainly how much the majority of women need assistance and instruction in respect to the every day work of their lives, that work which out of small things rightly done, builds up so beautiful and grand a whole.

On habits and manners