A RARITY.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 414, 22 April 1937, Page 2

A RARITY.

17th Century Bathroom. If we try and imagine what it would b. like -to run even a small hotel to-day under conditions which existed in the seven.eenth century, it will help us to understand importance of th.< combined unrests both of the mas er »and the lady in all household affairs, states a 'Writer in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Households of those days were made up of innumerable relatives belonging to the husband tand wife, and a retinue.of servants, to say nothing □f whole companies of visitors and soldiery arriving at any time in the 24 hours. There was, of course, no gas or electricity, and if any coal, very ILtle for cooking purposes. No telephone or tradesmen calling, no decent roads to ride along, or shops to buy fropa. Yet our ancestors, our great-great-grefc-grannies, managed to housekeep these and, whit ig more, did it superbly at that. They supervised every department,

and 1 there werci not a few, for all brewing, baking, churning, 'v.*oodchopping, laundrywork, storing, salt- i ing, preserving, weaving, spinning, , embroidery, had to be arranged. The lady of the houte did n<Tt disdain to give practical help herself, and certainly saw to it that her merrie m< idens did the sam?, be they ladies-in-wai ing (fr quently daughters belonging to other great houses, sent to learn what duties were expected of a wife o'f a great gen 1 man), or housemaids, linen-maids, kitchenmaids, or cooks. “Often we do be busy until sleep and 'v.’eariness doth ov rcome our bodies/ writes a tedy to her brother in Town in 1663. The gr?a est interest was. taken in th? cooking and preparation of foods;

recipes were jealously guarded, especially those concoctions pertaining to “swest-smelling powders, sopjs (of kinds), and skin beautifiers.” Personal cleanliness in .those limes was beginning to receive considerable attention. There was a bathroom attached to the Royal apartments at Windsor Castle, but for general use the wooden tub placed in from of the fire w’as considered sufficient to meet all requirements.

It must be remembered .that, water was a difficul y in those times. It was not until well on into the seventeenth century that it was brought near to the doors of the citizens of London. Good soap, too, was an almost unattainable commodity. There was a ' soap factory in London as l early as I 1524, but cjeansers were usually | made in the home. Ashes were obI tained from burnt ferns and -v'ood. These were cast in o a wooden tub ! pierced with holes. Water was ( thrown over them, ,and in this way I • a solution called lye was obtained. I . This was mixed with fat and made into soap balls.