36 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



January, 1913 



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SAMPLERS OF THE OTHER DAYS 



( Continued from page 25) 



a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 



lines of scarlet would do credit to the advanced philan- 

 thropies of our own day. 



"When wealth to virtuous hands is given, 

 It blesses like the dews of Heaven. 

 Like Heaven it hears the orphan's cries. 

 And wipes the tears from widow's eyes. 



Louisa and Mary Hopkins hung garlands of roses, at 

 nine years old, about the edges and below the lettering of 

 their samples, worked respectively in 1823 and 1825. 



Still two more sisters, Anna and Mary Jenkins, worked 

 samplers, dated "Claverack, November, 1836, and "Locust 

 Grove, 1840." These latter works of art, have beautiful 

 unfaded wreaths of strawberries, circling simply the work- 

 er's name and date and a chosen sentiment. In Anna 

 Jenkins' selection one harks back to the days when suffrag- 

 ists and suffragettes were unknown and modesty was 

 woman's greatest charm. 



"Strive to be good, but aim not to be great; 

 A woman's noblest station is retreat; 

 Her fairest virtues fly from public sight. 

 Domestic works still shun too strong a light." 



The samplers grew no less perfect as the years passed 

 by, and the decade from 1830 to 1840 was a prolific era. 

 Two samplers of this period, that of Julia Ann Shufelt, in 

 1 83 1, at the age of fourteen, and Augusta Van Deusen, 

 of Ghent, in 1832, at the still less mature age of nine, are 

 marvels in their variety of stitches and skill of workman- 

 ship. In both cases the canvas is of large size, and the 

 borders are works of art. As far as possible, each letter 

 in Julia's sampler is worked in a different stitch, as is also 

 each line between the letters. In fine script at one side, 

 one reads: 



"When we devote our youth to God 



Tis pleasing in his eyes. 

 A flower when offered in the bud. 



Is no vain sacrifice." 



After the sentiment was finished, both girls reveled in 

 weeping willows, turtle doves, rose bushes in full bloom, re- 

 sembling the seven-armed candlesticks of the Jewish taber- 

 nacle, squares and diamonds of specimen stitches, baskets 

 of flowers, and little stiff conventional trees with birds bal- 

 ancing in the topmost boughs, mouths open as if emitting 

 jubilant strains in praise of the childish workers and their 

 skill. Julia Ann Shufelt added to her sampler a two-story 

 brick house, with stone foundations, door step, chimneys 

 and window frames in the most approved style, and to com- 

 plete the home effect, a rooster is crowing at the backdoor. 

 A reserved estimate gives this sampler fourteen different 

 stitches and thirty-nine patterns, in which the stitches are 

 used with variations. 



Individual initiative, in the samplers lay by the way of 

 trees and flowers, cats and dogs, fishes and birds, dolls and 

 houses, but the real art is to be found in the dividing lines 

 of fancy stitches, between the letters and numerals, and 

 the varied borders of carnations and strawberries, roses 

 and Greek fret-work, which more than any other feature 

 show a decorative quality. 



The children stitched on till they came to the middle of 

 the nineteenth century, not guessing that they were em- 

 broidering the closing leaves of a child's story-book more 

 than two centuries old. 



Through the long years of the sampler's favor, the child 

 worker never laid aside a certain dignity when it came to 

 the sentiment. She might play with pet animals in the cor- 

 ners, or a doll house at the foot of the canvas, but from 

 the earliest sampler of English origin, date 1648, and that 



of Elizabeth Creasy, who, in the year of 1686, stitched: 



"Let Virtue be thy Guide, 



and it will keep Thee 

 out of Pride." 



to that of a little girl in 1843, wno worked in stitches of 

 exquisite fineness: 



"Charlotte Louisa Gebhard performed this work in the 

 eleventh year of her age," then wove this verse through the 

 threads of her canvas: 



"I envy no man's birth or fame, 



His title, train, or dress, 



Nor has my pride e'er stretched its aim, 



Reyond what I possess." 



the child never came down from her pedestal of virtuous 

 wish, or prayer or advice. The sentiment of a sampler 

 stood for the key-note of a life. 



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THE HOUSE DOG 



{Continued from page 29) 



The coat should stand out as a frill around the neck, and 

 the tail should be covered with long hair falling gracefully 

 over one side. The prevailing color is black and white. 



Without doubt one of the most interesting dogs ever bred 

 is the Pekingese Spaniel, not only from the fact that he is a 

 most perfect little pet for ladies, but that history carries him 

 back 600 years or more, and that various works of art in 

 his native land show him to have been at all periods since 

 that time the exact type that he is to-day. He was the dog 

 of royalty in his native land, and the society which has the 

 care of him at heart in England is known as the Peking 

 Palace Dog Association. Not until the past few years has 

 he become so very fashionable, yet at present we find from 

 the English dog market that he is the most salable dog there, 

 his price ranges from $25 for an ordinary specimen up into 

 the hundreds for one fit for exhibition. Among his many 

 good qualities he is hardy, quaint in appearance and very 

 intelligent. His skull should be broad, his eyes large, dark 

 and very prominent, his ears well covered with silky hair, 

 his mane profuse and his tail carried like that of a Japanese 

 Spaniel. In color, reds and fawns are the most popular, but 

 there are also blacks and parti-colored specimens. In weight 

 he should range anywhere between five and ten pounds, but 

 not under or over. 



THE PEERLESS BEGONIA 



( Continued from page 33) 



about an inch into the sand of the cutting-box or saucer 

 and treated as ordinary cuttings. The new growth will 

 come up from the rib. Some of the foliage Begonias have 

 long, thick stems or "rhizomes" growing just above the 

 soil; from these leaves grow. Propagate by cutting the 

 rhizomes into pieces about two inches long and covering 

 in the rooting medium. The tuberous-rooted sorts are 

 started from two-year-old bulbs as already described. All 

 the Begonias like a very light, porous soil, and while they 

 appreciate plenty of moisture, draining conditions must at 

 all times be perfect if they are to do their best. Old, spent 

 manure (or leaf-mold with a little bone-flour mixed through 

 it), loam, and medium coarse sand, will make an ideal mix- 

 ture. They are also rather tender and should be kept as 

 warm as possible, up to 60 degrees at night (although, 

 when in a semi-dormant state and being given very little 

 moisture in the Winter, they will survive a temperature, if 

 not often repeated, of 20 degrees lower than this). They 

 should not, of course, be set out-doors until after all danger 

 of late frosts. 



