252 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



JAN. Hi, 1840. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



THE COTTAGE DOOR. 



BY T, E. MERVEY, ESQ. 



How sweet the rest that labor yields 



The humble and the poor, 

 Where sils the patriarch of the fields 



Before his cottage donr ! 

 The lark is singing in the sky, 



The swallow in the caves, 

 And love is beaming in each eye 



Beneath the summer leaves ! 



The air amid his fragrant bower* 



Supplies unpurchased health, 

 And hearts are hounding 'mid the flowers, 



More dear to him ihan wealth : 

 Peace, like the blessed sunlight, plays 



Around his humble cot. 

 And happy nights and cheerful days 



Divide his lowly lot. 



And when the village Sabhath bell 



Rings out upon the gale, 

 The father bows his head to tell 



The music of its tale — 

 A fresher verdure seems to fill 



The fair and dewy sod. 

 And every infant tongue is still, 



To hear the word of God ! 



Oh ! happy hearts ! — To Him who stills 



The ravens when they cry. 

 And makes the lily 'neath the hills 



So glorious to the eye. 

 The trusting patriarch prays, to liles3 



His labor with increase ; — 

 Such " ways are ways of pleasantness," 



And all such " paths are peace !" 



RULES FOR HOUSE WIVES. 



1. When you rise in tlie morning, never be parti- 

 cular about pinning your clothes so very nicely ; you 

 can do tliat at any time. 



2. Never comb yoiir hair, or take off your night 

 cap till after breakfast' It is your business to take 

 time by the foretop and not let hira take you so ; 

 therefore keep all right in that quarter till ten o'clock 

 at least. 



3. When you begin tlie business of your toilet, you 

 may do it before' the window or in tiie front entry ; 

 but the most proper place is in the kitchen. 



4. Never have any particular place for any thing 

 in your house ; and then you may rest assured that 

 nothing will ever be out of place ; and that is a great 

 comfort in a family. 



5. Never sweep your floor, until you knoir some 

 person is coming in ; he will then see how neat you 

 are : and, besides, in such cases, even your enemies 

 cannot shake off the dust of their feet, against you, 

 though they may the dust of their clothes witli which 

 you have covered them by your sweeping. 



6. When you have done sweeping, leave your 

 broom on the floor, it will then be liandy: and 

 being always in sight, and in the way, it will be 

 constantly reminding your husband, when he is in 

 the house, what a smart, nice, pains-taking wife he 

 has. 



7. Never follow the barbarous practice of brushing 

 down cobwebs. A man's house is his castle ; and bo 



is a spider's. It is a violation of right, and a shame- 

 less disrespect to the fine arts. 



8. Keep your parlor and bedroom windows shut 

 as close as possible in dog days ; this will keep the 

 hot air out — and you will have excellent fixed air 

 inside. 



9. Keep your suimner cheeses in your bed .cham- 

 bers ; — they enrich the qualities of the atmosphere ; 

 and if a stranger should lodge in one of your beds, 

 if he could not sleep, he could eat for his refreshment 



10. Never teach your daughters to mend or make 

 any of their own clothes ; it is " taking the bread 

 from the mouth of labor" — besides it will make them 

 crooked and give them sore fingers. 



11. But if they should insist on mauling their own 

 garments, they should do it while they are on ; this 

 will make ihemfit better: and girls can't leave their 

 work — if they should attempt it, their work would 

 follow them. 



12. If your husband's coat is out at one of tlie 

 elbows, don't mend it until it is out at the oilier ; then 

 the patches will make it appear uniform, and show 

 that you are impartial. 



13. Never spoil a joke for a relation's sake ; nor 

 suppress the truth for any body's sake. Therefore, if 

 you don't like your husband as you ought, aid with 

 ?i,.and convince him you are not a respecter of per- 

 sons. 



14. You should endeavor not to keep your temper : 

 let it off as soon and as fast as you can; and you will 

 then be calm and quiet as a bottle of cider after the 

 cork had been drawn half a day. 



15. If, on any particular occasion, you are at a loss 

 as to the course you are to pursue, in the manage- 

 ment of yourself or family affairs, take down the i)a- 

 per which contains these rules, and read them over 

 and over till you have satisfied your mind — and then 

 go on. — Methu^n Gazette. 



Ingentjitt of Rats. — The rat, that " hateful and 

 rapacious creature," as Goldsmith honestly designates 

 it, formerly abounded in prodigious numbers in In- 

 verness, and a traveller, about the year 1730, describes 

 his surprise at witnessing the flocks of them which 

 used to sally out into the streets in the morning twi- 

 light, after dry weather succeeded by a shower of 

 rain. It is related that about this period, when the 

 rats increased to a great degree in some small vil- 

 lages in the Highlands, and found it difficult to sub- 

 sist, they used to creep into the manes and tails of 

 the garrons or ponies, (which were then generally 

 matted and tangled, being seldom subjected to the 

 comb) and in this way were transported to other 

 places, to plant new colonies or find fresh quarters. 

 Tliis mode of conveyance was certainly dexterous 

 and ingenious ; but did our readers ever see or hear 

 of a party of rats stealing eggs ? The process is 

 tliis. The roost being discovered and the rats mus- 

 tered, one of the fraternity, generally of goodly port 

 and dimensions, lies down on his back, and holds the 

 egg within his four limbs, embracing it closely and 

 cordially. His brethren tlien pull him off by the tail, 

 each taking his turn in dragging the live machine, 

 like the populace at the carriage of a " great man," 

 who, it is probable, may be of a l;indred species, 

 the rat species, the rat political. A |gentleman in 



the country informed us the other day, that he waa 

 greatly amused at observing one morning the dex- 

 teri'y and perfect fairness witli which a small band 

 of these noxious intruders were feasting in his dairy. 

 A pretty capacious dish of milk had been set out to 

 cream, and the rats, finding the prize, inmiediately 

 commenced stiperseding the labors of the dairy maid. 

 One of them stood up against the dish, and another 

 mounted his shoulder in due form, like school-boya 

 preparing to plunder an apple tree. He then whisk- 

 ed his tail over the luscious surface of the liowl, and 

 turning round held it out to his expectant compan- 

 ions below, who stripped it of its milky treasure. 

 This was repeated for some time ; then another took 

 his place, occasionally shifting tlit position, and 

 after they had all skimmed the dish and regaled 

 their senses, they scampered off in the morning sun- 

 shine to burrow in their holes and corners. — Inverness 

 Courier. 



Sound — Of all kinds, it is ascertained, travels at 

 the rate of 13 miles in a minute : the softest whisper 

 travels as fast as the most tremendous thunder. The 

 knowledge of this fact has been applied to the meas- 

 urement of distances. 



Suppose a ship in distress fires a gun, the light of 

 whicii is seen on shore, or by another vessel, 20 sec- 

 onds before the report is heard, it is kno^vn to be at 

 the distance of 20 times, 1,142 feet, or little more 

 than four miles and a half. 



Again, if I see a vivid flash of lightning, and in 

 2 seconds hear a tremendous clap of thunder, I know 

 that the thunder cloud is not more then 760 yards dis- 

 tant and should instantly retire from any exposed 

 situation. 



The Wife That woman deserves not a hus- 

 band's generous love who will not greet him with 

 smiles as he returns from the labors of the day ; who 

 will not try to chain him to his home by the sweet 

 enchantment of a cheerfifl heart There is not one 

 in a tliousand tliat is so unfeeling as to withstand 

 such an influence, and break away from such a home. 



Joy and Sorrow. — As the most luxuriant plants 

 thrive best with an equal mixture of sunsliine and 

 shade, showery dry weather, and in a soil composed 

 of sand as well as richer materials, mingled in due 

 proportions together, so the human mind is a plant 

 which thrives best witli a just proportion of prosperi- 

 ty and adversity, joy and sorrow. 



Glokt. — Pliny gives the following character of 

 true glory — " Doing what deserves to be written, and 

 writing what deserves to be read ; and rendering the 

 world happy and better for having lived inlit" 



The editor of the Northampton Courier tells of a 

 silken thread eighteen hundred feet' in length, wound 

 witliout breaking from a single cocoon. 



THE KEW ENGl.A^D FARHF.R 



Is published every Wednesday Evening, at S3 per annum 

 payable at the end of the year — but those who pay wilhiH 

 sixty days from the time of subscribing are entitled to a i e 

 ducfionof 59 cents. 



TBTTLB, nENNETT AMD CHISHOLM, PEINTERl, 



17 SeHOOL STRKKT... .BOSTON 



