Victorian Scrapbook ~ March 1864

Once again we have a lovely scene of children with their femininely dressed mothers in this Victorian Era periodical. Did you know that the editress of Godey's Lady's Book (Sarah Josepha Hale) is also the author of the famous nursery rhyme, "Mary Had a Little Lamb"?

Would you like to step back in time to the March of 1864?

NECESSITY OF FAITH IN PROVIDENCE. 

Certain moral necessities are on the mind and heart of man; and the recognition of an overruling Providence is one of them. An all-seeing and an all-disposing power confronts us everywhere and in everything; and not to believe in a Providence of which this power is the visible expression would be to confound all the circumstances and necessities of human life, as well as to falsify the whole testimony of our moral nature. The admission of a creation draws after it as a necessary sequence the acknowledgment of a Providence. To admit the one and deny the other is a palpable contradiction. In an hour of darkness and distress—conditions to which human experience is ever incident—man is forced to look to the supernatural and divine for light and comfort. 

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Here is a condition of dependence which no human power can relieve; this dependence, therefore, implies, unless man's whole nature is a lie, something to depend only which must, of necessity, be divine and without limitation. Faith in a superintending, beneficent Providence is therefore a necessity to the human heart. 'Tis indeed a sublime comfort to the earth-troubled spirit to know that: 

"Unheard, no burdened heart's appeal 

Moans up to God's inclining ear; 

Unheeded by his tender eye, 

Falls to the earth no sufferer's tear."

~ Excerpt from Godey's Lady's Book, March 1864

"A true woman will be a true friend, and those are the best and truest friendships that have been born in adversity and nurtured by trial...

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Passion, and more particularly ill-regulated passion, too frequently perishes from its very vehemence, till there is nothing left for it but to die. True love creates its own refreshment in the simple act of loving, and by its very constancy is a beautiful example of that Scripture which saith, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

~ Excerpt from Godey's Lady's Book, March 1864

Stern daughter of the voice of God! 

Duty! if that name thou love, 

Who art a light to guide, a rod 

To check the erring and reprove; 

Give unto me, made lonely wise, 

The spirit of self-sacrifice!

~Wordsworth.

I hope you enjoyed these treasures from the past…

Coming soon! Don't miss April's exciting issue!

Would You Like to Read Our Back Issues?

January 1864

February 1864

This post may be shared with some or all of the following lovely link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you, dear ladies, for hosting these!

Choosing Wisely Before Marriage...

Till Death Do Us Part by Edmund Blair Leighton

"There must be a wise choosing before marriage, or it may be impossible to make a happy home. At few points in life is divine guidance more severely needed than when the question of marriage is decided. A mistake then will cast its shadows down all the years to the close of life. Many a career is blighted by a foolish marriage. Wedded happiness depends greatly on reverent, prayerful, deliberate, wise choosing before marriage."

The HUSBAND has his part. He must be a good man. Not every man who marries thinks of the responsibility he assumes when he takes a young girl away from the shelter of father-love and mother-love—the softest, warmest nest in the world, and leads her into a new home, where henceforth his love is to be her only shelter. Well may the woman say as she goes to the marriage altar–

"Before I trust my fate to you,

Or place my hand in thine;

Before I let your future give

Color and form to mine;

Before I peril all to thee,

Question your soul tonight for me.

Does there within your dimmest dreams

A possible future shine

Wherein your life could henceforth breathe

Untouched, unshared by mine?

If so, at any pain or cost,

Oh, tell me before all is lost."

~ J.R. Miller, Secrets of Happy Home Life

"The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord."

~ 1 Corinthians 7:39

For further reading on this subject,
you may be interested in Waiting for Shem, Ham & Japheth.

Inspirational Gardening Journal Planner ~ Free Printable

"She considereth a field, and buyeth it:

with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."

~ Proverbs 31:16

Spring is in the air, soil is waiting in the earth and visions of grandeur are in the hearts of those who desire to provide "food for her family" (Proverbs 31:15). To aid in this proverbial pursuit, we are sharing our garden planner printable with you. This was originally shared on our homemaking blog. Ideas for using this Regency-inspired journal are here. Simply download from the menu below and print. May your harvest be plentiful!

You may also be interested in our other (printable) organizational tools: "Good Steward Record Binder", "Inspirational Recipe Book", Pantry Labels, Laundry Room Labels, and/or a Baking Basics Jar Set. Artwork for this project was provided by The Graphics Fairy, Reading, Roses & Prose along with lovely drawings by Kate Greenaway. 

This post may be shared with some or all of the following lovely link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Wildcrafting Wednesdays, Simple Living Wednesdays and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you, dear ladies, for hosting these!

Victorian Scrapbook ~ February 1864 (Late Issue!)

Isn't it lovely how this fashion plate page depicts a maternal scene? This is what draws many to the Victorian Era... beauty, loveliness, femininity and a family-centered home life. The editress (as she preferred to be called) of Godey's Lady's Book once said,

"Home! The place where all man's best and happiest hours are passed.

Where in our language shall we find a word of four letters that stirs the sweet pulses of life,

like this of home - our home?"

~ Sarah Josepha Hale

Would you like to take a peek into the past of February, 1864?

"SPEAKING WELL OF OTHERS:

If the disposition to speak well of others were universally prevalent, the world would become a comparative paradise. The opposite disposition is the Pandora box which, when opened, fills every house and every neighborhood with pain and sorrow. How many enmities and heart burnings flow from this source! How much happiness is interrupted and destroyed! Envy, jealousy, and the malignant spirit of evil, when they find vent by the lips, go forth on their mission like foul fiends, to blast the reputation and peace of others. Every one has his imperfections; and in the conduct of the best there will be occasional faults which might seem to justify animadversion. It is a good rule, however, when there is occasion for fault-finding, to do it privately to the erring one. This may prove salutary. It is a proof of interest in the indi- vidual, which will generally be taken kindly, if the manner of doing it is not offensive. The common and unchristian rule, on the contrary, is to proclaim the failings of others to all but themselves. This is unchristian, and shows a despicable heart."

~ Godey's Lady's Book, February 1864

Have you gone ice-skating this season?

"HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES.

The first rule of marketing is to purchase from respectable tradespeople, who have to support the character of their business. The second rule is, not to purchase inferior articles under the idea of being economical. A bargain, is seldom a prize; and this is especially the case with, regard to butchers' meat. The best meat, and the prime parts, are unquestionably the cheapest in the end, although the first cost may be the greatest. In coarse and inferior joints there is always too great a proportion of gristle, bone, and hard meat, to render them truly economic. Trust only to yourself in marketing."

~ Godey's Lady's Book, February 1864

"HOW TO MAKE HAPPY HOMES.

Moderate praise, used with opportunity, and not vulgar, is that which doeth good.

— Lord Bacon. 

In preparing the Lady's Book, we aim to do good by promoting innocent enjoyment and cheerful improvement. Both of these objects, we think, belong to the economy of God's providence in this world, therefore should be studied and practised in our daily life. Our heavenly Father made the earth to blossom with beauty and fruitfulness; the air to be pure with life and sweet with fragrance; the birds in bright plumage to sing their songs of joy; the streams to murmur their soft cadences of delight in motion; while the great deep sounds the solemn, yet cheering anthem of perpetual strength in duty, as it ebbs and flows in constant obedience to tho laws of God. And all God's laws for our world were intended to promote human happiness in accordance with goodness.

This, then, is our aim: to diffuse and make popular the simple but efficient lessons of home happiness and goodness. Much is in the power of the mothers and wives of our land to make happy families, and thus insure a happy nation.

We also furnish literature for thought and reflection, leading the mind to inquire into the highest truths, to develop its powers of reasoning, and strengthen its faith in the good...

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In leading our young readers to the consideration of important lessons, through the medium of well-written fiction and beautiful illustrations, we find that we are effecting much good. In our widely extended country many families, living far from city advantages, must, and indeed should cultivate their own energies to the utmost in order to obtain the everyday requirements that divide savage life from Christian civilization. Our ingenious illustrations, useful receipts, and clear descriptions will greatly aid all these struggles for improvement.

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Young ladies, in the most remote localities of the great West, may, by the aid of the Lady's Book, cut and make their own dresses, and those for children, with that taste and economy which are desirable and beautiful. They may embellish their homes by the little fancy works and cheap modes we teach; and recruit and delight hard-working fathers and brothers by wholesome and savory dishes from our receipts. These are not "unconsidered trifles;" but arts that, elevating human feelings above animal instincts, make men and women better and families happier.

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The human being is a compound of body and spirit; the former must be wisely nurtured as the preliminary for improving the latter. A family who live in a house kept neatly in order, and sit down to a pleasant table, surrounded by objects of taste and beauty (even wild flowers and the work of woman's ingenuity will beautify a home), with a shelf of books where the Bible holds pre-eminences — such a family may dwell in a wilderness; still their thoughts and feelings will be trained to associate with the highest in the land, and they will be ready, when opportunity offers, to follow paths that lead to noble aims, and show worthy examples of success."

~ Godey's Lady's Book, February 1864

Netted Pincushion

Coming soon! Don't miss March's exciting issue!

Would You Like to Read Our Back Issues?

January 1864

This post may be shared with some or all of the following lovely link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you, dear ladies, for hosting these!