DUST.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2585, 20 July 1882, Page 4

DUST.

[•• The Queen."]

There is nothing attraotive in the subject I havo ehoaea, but it would be impossible to over-estimate its importance. Dust is the bane of ever/ housewife. The Uvea of many ate spent, for a great part, in ob» oeaeelesa, monotonous, and apparently hopeless struggle against this stealthy foe. The oontest is rendered more wearisome since it has to be cariled on without any other aid or sympathy than that of, genorally, unwilling setvaatp. Perhaps we hava yet to realise tthat are the real *ffeots of dust and dirt, in addition to the incessant annoyanoe thoy ooasion, and the truo connection between dirt and disease mssst be left to the phyeioians to determine. It would however, ba a great blessing to society in general if t&oso whose ailments aro inoluded in the convenient term "nervous diseases " were honestly to oonaider whether they suffer from a cause.

Ilt must be admitted that tho modern style of furnUhing is singularly advantageous for the accumulation of dirt; and since the furnishing arrangements of her home are loft much to the mistress, it would be well Hsne were to consider befoie choosing anything, not only whether it is pretty and fashionable, but of what use it will be, and especially whether the dust it will assuredly oolleot, and the trouble of oleaning it and seeing it is cleaned, counterbalance its usefulness. Those too who furnish their houses acoordmg to the set pattern of an upholsterer's estimate might with advantage ponder whether they are wise in doing so, or whether their rooms are not filled to repletion with articles, whioh make it almost impossible to keep them decently olean. An exoellent letter, signed "F. R. O. S ," appeared in the •' Times" some months ago upon the subjeot of " A Wholesome House." Many of the suggestions there made were very good, and well worth consideration; but it will be a long time before such a tsweepimg reform as the abolition of all curtains, as the writer suggested, is generally adopted, however excellent the reason for doing away with them may be. The substitution of Eastern rugs and parqueterie, whioh he also suggested as conduoive to oleanliness being etrietly in accordance with the rules of high art, certainly find favor. The only objection to their general adoption is, with many, that it is not worth while investing in aboring of so lasting a oharaoter, when they do not own the homes they occupy, and oxpeot to change them some day or other. IE regaided from this paint of view, it will ba seen that many things whioh are considered signs of a cultivated taste and an advanced refinement are wholly useless except to add to the labors of the housemaid and the oares of the mistress. Let us by all means have beautiful things in our houses ; but let us remember that, if we crowd our rooms, we seriously impair the air we have to breathe in them. A ray of sunlight often betrays to r.s with what a heterogeneous oollcotion of partioles the air is loaded, and the only wonder is, not that we are sometimes indisposed, but that we can live at all in habitations rendered almost uninhabitable by the exigencies of modern fashion. We have often seen in these pages charming suggestions for the adornment of tho rooms of "refined women," and sometimes it has occurred to me to wonder in what Arcadian part of the metropolis the decorations reoommended were practicable. Bast winds and scarceness of water oarts must

have had a disastrous effect upon tbe handiwork of any who, without remembering that there is euoh a thing as dust, may have carried those hints i'lto effect. If in any part of the house fashion should be sacrificed to wholejomeness, it should be in the bedrooms, and the letter already mentioned contained tome suggestions for their reformation. Among other things, it is certainly worth while to consider what the tops of our wardrobes harbour, and to provide agaimt any such accumulations. If all these heavy pieces of furniture were mounted on castors, they could be easily mored, instead of _ remaining in statu quo for an unlimited period. What our houses will become in the future it is impossible to conjecture. The taste of the time is becoming daily more and more pronounced in favor of " fluffy" things. Many of them are certainly pretty and tasteful, but by what contrivance elegant chairs and oouohes, with their coverings of plush and their rioh friuges, are to be kept olean, especially in town, for a aing'e day, it is difficult to see.