ings to
the line.

When she came in this second time she found her grandmother ready to
make starch. As there were only a very few things to stiffen she
measured a heaping tablespoonful of dry starch, wet it with just as
much cold water, and added a cup of boiling water, with a
half-teaspoonful of sugar, to make it extra nice and glossy. The white
apron was dipped in this and wrung out; then more water was added till
the starch was like milk, and the pillow-cases and gingham apron were
dipped in.

"I never starch table or bed linen," said her grandmother, "but you may,
if you wish to, if you use very thin starch. I know a better way to make
such things look nice, however, and when we iron I will teach it to you.
Now we must finish the washing. Wash and rinse the stockings in hot
water, but do not boil them; wash and rinse and boil the handkerchiefs
by themselves. When these are all on the line, and you have made the
laundry tidy, you can rest for an hour, while the irons get nice and
hot, and then we will take the second half of the laundry lesson."

The sunshine had made everything dry and sweet when Margaret brought in
the clothes from the line and heaped them on the laundry table. She
spread the napkins and pillow-cases out smoothly, and from a nice white
bowl of clean water she sprinkled them, one at a time, and smoothed out
the creases as her grandmother showed her. "The fewer wrinkles, the
easier ironing," she said. Each was made into a tidy roll and laid in
the basket again. The handkerchiefs were sprinkled also, and made into
one roll and laid by them. The flannels were still damp, and so just
ready to iron as they were, and so were the stockings. As the irons were
hot, Margaret now spread the ironing-pad of flannel over the table, and
laid the ironing-sheet very smoothly over it. She put the iron-stand on
one corner on a square, white tile, so the heat would not burn the cloth
underneath and got out a thick, soft holder.

She also got out the ironing-board, because the flannel petticoats were
easier to manage on this than on the table. She tried the iron by
holding it to her cheek, and found it quite warm. Then she wet the tip
of her finger, as she had seen Bridget do, and quickly touched it. It
seemed just right, hot, but not burning, so she began on the stockings,
and ironed them flat, on the right side, turning each one over and
pressing both sides. She did not turn in the toes, because some of them
nee