Women Make the 
Homes. 
Woman And The Home. 
Homes Make the 
Nation. 
M OLLY M.’S “ Reminders,” might almost be sup¬ 
posed to have been written in answer to the young 
friend who sees the dark side so plainly. Molly, however, 
wrote simply because she thought her reminders were 
needed by many a discouraged one, and with no knowledge 
of “ E. B. M.” 
* * 
A rather lively amount of interest has been taken for 
a year or so past, at least, in a New England woman who 
owned and controlled a city line of horse railroads. Her 
history has been quite widely copied, and she has been 
considered somewhat remarkable. Now, however, we may 
chronicle a new opportunity for those who are always on 
the outlook tor the opening of “ new lines of work ” for 
women, and the woman of horse-car *me is outshone, for 
one of the weaker sex has harnessed the iron horse. A dis¬ 
patch from West Virginia, October 20, announces that the 
directors of the Pennsboro-Harrisvllle Railroad Company 
have elected Mrs. Moses P. Kimball president of the road, 
in the room of her late husband. He, it is said, made this 
one of the best paying roads In the United States, so that 
the only woman railroad president in the United States is 
president of one of the best paying roads. This fact might 
be made to sound very well Indeed for the Madam Presi¬ 
dent, but she has yet to prove whether or not she can hold 
the road in the position in which her husband’s efforts have 
placed it. If she can, no doubt her fame is assured. 
* * * 
In slight connection with this may be noticed the singu¬ 
lar position of a new horse car line in Chicago. These cars 
are known as the Columbian Coaches, and they are to have 
women only as conductors. The plan is a shrewd move to 
evade the spirit of a city ordinance, which provides that 
no vehicle can be run on the boulevards without a lady 
aboard. The object of this provision was to leave the 
boulevards free for pleasure vehicles by keeping off heavy 
drays, and jockeys with trotters. But the ordinance is so 
worded that a man may drive over the boulevards with a 
load of anything provided only that he have a lady with 
him. Hence this new avenue (in two senses) of work open 
to women, and visitors to the Columbian Exposition may 
expect to see demure young women in neat uniforms 
calmly collecting fares, and looking as though they had 
done It always. 
more nearly according to grammatical rules. And I tell 
you that these things need not be a burden that cannot be 
lightened, nor are they wholly a product of farm life. 
The one thing which may be regarded as a trial almost 
without hope is the endurance of ill-health while com¬ 
pelled to live on the farm. The work is so dependent upon 
times and seasons, so apt to drive the worker, that ill- 
health has no place among it, for overwork is sure to be 
the result. 
The one thing, almost the only thing, it seems to me, 
that makes the difference between the farm and the city 
dweller is education, coupled with the chance to go among 
people constantly, and thus become broader-natured. But 
there are few Indeed on our farms in these days, to whom 
the benefits of education cannot come. The one danger is 
that this education will make them despise their less for 
tunate friends, and their circumstances. Especially is this 
the case if their education is but partial; and those who 
let what they have attained become” a curse” to them, 
instead of a step toward something beyond, do not deserve 
what they have received. Every girl, every boy, having 
a foundation, can by patient endeavor, become self fitted 
for good work in some line. The girl of 18 is too apt 
to think that when she leaves school her education is 
finished; she is too old, forsooth, to try to do anything with 
her life, by the time she first awakes to the thought that 
life is hers to do something with. What Is five years I Yet 
two, three, or five years of study (even if books must be 
borrowed, there are always people who will lend to those 
who are struggling upward) in some definite line will 
make any one pretty well master of the chosen subject, at 
least, to an extent where good wages and an honored posi¬ 
tion can be commanded. What does a girl whom circum¬ 
stances compel to remain at home want better than the 
opportunity she has to fit herself for the future? Think 
of Julia Ward Howe beginning the study of Greek when 
past 70. and be ashamed of yourselves, you girls who are too 
old at 20 to do anything with your lives ! 
“ E. B. M.” fears we cannot help her; she is right! No 
one can help her but just herself; she can do it, if she has 
the spirit. MYRA V. NORYS. 
be necktie or handkerchief cases, court plaster cases (for 
the needle wounds), scarf pins, hat pins, bonbon boxes in 
the shape of hats, etc. 
A PRACTICAL VIEW OF THE DARK SIDE. 
<{ \T^ER is a very long time, my dear.” Who was 
IN it that first said it f I cannot remember either its 
author or the connection in which it was used, but this 
fact will make no difference with its application to the 
present subject. It is the first thought that comes to my 
mind as I read the discouraged plaint of “E. B. M.,” who 
would have us believe that the dark side of farm life over¬ 
shadows all else. She makes two vital mistakes at the 
outset: First, In thinking that the difficulties which she 
sees so plainly are attributable wholly to the farm life; 
second, in being overcome with the conviction that there 
is no help, that as things are so they must of necessity 
remain. Ah I the impatience of youth, which feels that 
because present circumstances are hard, life will all be the 
same, stretching out its dreary grind through hopeless 
years upon years 1 
A little, just a little, exchanging of this morbid dwell¬ 
ing on the difficulties of farm life for a common-sense view 
of the case, would show that the trouble is not Inherent 
in farm conditions merely; for if it were, all farmers’ 
families would be in this hopeless position, and would be 
likely to hold, as a class, the same hopeless views. Yet, 
although there is much serious complaint, there are hun¬ 
dreds and thousands of happy farm homes, homes whose 
inmates feel that no lot on earth would tempt them to 
give up their freedom and independence and the pleasures 
which are theirs. Clearly, then, the trouble cannot be 
simply in the life of the farm. A great difficulty—no 
doubt the greatest, in one sense—is the lack of means. A 
constant sense of debt, actual or prospective, soon has its 
effect upon the oharacter, and often turns a cheerful, open 
nature into a sordid, grasping one. Then the children 
must be denied all the pleasures and privileges which cost 
money, and they at once begin to attribute the “stingy” 
nature of the parents, and the deprivations which they feel 
so keenly, to the fact that they live on the farm. For, 
as a matter of course, instead of comparing their lot with 
the average lot in village or city; they compare it with 
the successful ones, and decry the hard fate which placed 
them on the farm. 
But impatient youth will say, “It is all very well to 
theorize, but if you had been compelled to live as we do. to 
go without everything as we do, to see no chance of any¬ 
thing better, except perhaps, for girls, in a marriage which 
may be better and may be worse, you would feel differ¬ 
ently.” Nay ! It is just because 1 know all these things 
that I can say what I do. I know the deprivations of the 
darkest side of farm life; I know by experience the drudg¬ 
ery of some tasks connected therewith, even of those which 
should be left to the men, but which sometimes must in 
the stress of circumstances fall upon weak women. I know 
the burden wnich weary days of long-continued ill-health 
lay upon frames too delicate to bear them. I know, even 
that last and greatest trial to our American youth, the 
misery of having had a father and mother who would say, 
“ There ain’t nobody cornin’ and you ain’t goln’ nowhere” 
when I, makiny use of the education which they had 
traitened themselves to Qive me, would have spoken 
FUN FOR THE MAIDENS AND THEIR GUESTS. 
P EANUT parties will be among the season’s novelties 
in the shape of informal entertainments, according 
to the Ladies’ Home Journal. If written invitations are 
issued, have two peanut shells painted in water colors on 
one corner of the paper. The hostess provides herself with 
a quantity of peanuts, and conceals them in every imagin¬ 
able spct in the rooms where she is to entertain her guests 
—behind pictures, under mats, among the flowers, every¬ 
where there are peanuts. After the guests have all arrived, 
a small bag is handed to each one, and the company are 
told that whoever first fills his or her bag with peanuts wins 
the prize of the evening. Then begins the merry hunting— 
here, there and everywhere—for peanuts. A pretty way is 
to have the bags made of silk, with a ribbon or cord and 
tassel at the top, and a fanciful design of peanuts on one 
side; they are then preserved as dainty souvenirs. 
New ideas, or even new forms of utilizing old ideas, are 
eagerly sought after. Perhaps for utter whimsicality and 
absence of all stiffness the “ Bonnet” party cannot be ex¬ 
celled. Invite from 10 to 20 of the nicest girls you know, 
and ask each to bring with her a pair of scissors, a thimble, 
and an old bonnet frame of any age, size, or shape; if some 
of them come from grandma’s trunks in the garret, so 
much the better. The frames must be absolutely bare, 
but each young lady will be asked to contribute enough 
material—old ribbon, silk, velvet, artificial flowers, or 
feathers—to trim an average bonnet, allowing generous 
measure. 
Send invitations to as many young men as maidens, and 
ask each to bring of any stuff whatever, enough to make 
a necktie. And tell each one to come provided with a 
thimble. 
When your guests have assembled, the first step is to 
divide the company into pairs. The “ partner cards ” hav¬ 
ing all been drawn, the lady and gentleman holding No. 1 
go together to the tables where tbe frames, ribbons, etc., 
have been arranged ; and while he chooses a bonnet and 
the materials which he thinks the most appropriate, she 
picks out from another pile the piece of goods which she 
thinks will make him the most becoming necktie. Then 
they procure a supply of the needles and thread provided 
by the hostess, and sit down to sew; while pair No. 2 come 
forward, and so on until each lady is busily engaged with 
a gentleman and a necktie ; and each gentleman is giving 
his attention to a lady and a bonnet. As neither is sup¬ 
posed to give the other any help or advice, the fun is 
endless. 
At the expiration of the time set, the hostess rings a bell, 
and each pair of contestants present themselves with bon¬ 
net in place, and necktie arranged with all the art its fair 
maker can muster. As he comes before the committee, 
every gentleman must, if requested, make a little speech, 
pointing out the chief merits of his production, and the 
difficulties which attended Its manufacture. When the re¬ 
view is over, the committee—consisting of the hostess and, 
if possible, several other non contestants—retire to com 
pare notes, and soon the award of prizes is announced. 
Two of these will be sufficient; one to the genteman who, 
all difficulties considered, has produced the most artistic 
and becoming bonnet, and the other to the lady whose 
necktie is pronounced most satisfactory. The prizes may 
PRESENT DAY BED COVERINGS. 
A LTHOUGH the “ throw-over,” couvert de lit, as the 
French have it, made of lace and lined with silk or 
satin, is undeniably the most artistic means of dressing a 
bed, says Agnes Bailey Ormsbee in Harper’s Bazar, its 
very beauty makes it both too fragile and too costly for 
comfort in the average home. The time honored Marseilles 
spread is the best for general use, and now comes woven in 
white and dainty pink, blue, buff green, and cheerful 
scarlet, as well as all white. The colors are fast, and the 
laundrying is not a difficult matter, as the spreads require 
no ironing. They look far better smoothly folded and put 
under a heavy weight overnight. Light spreads of this 
kind cost as low as $2, while $15 marks the extreme of 
beauty in design and fineness of weaving. 
The machine crocheted or “Bates” spreads are much 
liked, and can be worn on either side, besides being less 
stiff and clumsy to handle in washing. Such spreads are 
woven in all grades, and are sold at from 75 cents to $2—so 
cheap that even those with limited means can have their 
beds daintily clothed in snowy white. Irish hand-crocheted 
spreads, made of linen or cotton coarse thread, are hand¬ 
some bed coverings. They are made of both bleached and 
unbleached thread, and the patterns are highly ornamental. 
The spreads are finished with a heavy fringe, and to show 
their full beauty should be lined with silesia of some bright 
tint. Such a spread will cost $5 for a single bed, and for a 
full-sized bed from IS to $15. 
The aristocrat of the family of comfortables or puffs is 
the eider-down duvet. Tne duvet is very light and soft, 
and when covered with India silk costs $15, and is truly a 
regal affair. Others covered with French satine or challl, 
are less in price, varying from $6 to $10, according to size, 
quality of the down, and the covering. Although these 
duvets are expensive at first, tbetr llghtnessand durability 
make them a good investment for the House Comfortable. 
Comfortables made of cotton waddiDg can be bought at 
from $1 50 to $8. The quality of the cotton, the kind of 
covering, and the tying (whether done by machine or by 
hand) affect the price. The cheap ready-made ones sold at 
the shops are never desirable, and It is a mistake to buy 
them. They are usually made of waste cotton, and are 
heavy and “ lumpy.” Home-made comfortables are by far 
the best. Soft textiles, such as satine, cheese cloth, cotton 
or wool challi, make better coverings than calico, which 
was thought indispensable years ago. “ Butter-cloth,” 
which is cheese-cloth 40 inches wide, is excellent for such 
a use. None but the best cotton—which may be had for 
15 cents a roll, and a roll weighs a pound—should be used. 
Three pounds of cotton is enough for a heavy “ puff.” 
Fifteen yards of cloth three-quarters of a yard wide will 
make a comfortable 2% yards long and 2 % wide, the aver¬ 
age size, and when firmly or closely tied it can be washed 
as often as need be. Comfortables are not to be recom¬ 
mended as the regular bed covering. They are, however, 
invaluable for the extra supply which must be stored away 
in summer. The voracious moth, which your best blankets 
will attract, will leave the cotton puff untouched. 
When converts de lit are used, p'.llow-shams are dispensed 
with, for the converts are large enough to cover pillows 
and all. Many housekeepers prefer linen shams, and these 
can readily be bought. The linen is of German weaving, 
and those finished with simple hem-stitching sell for from 
$8 to $12 a pair._ 
LASTING IMPRESSIONS. 
M EMORY has a trick of holding up to our mind’s eye 
some pictures with a startling distinctness. It is a 
kind of private picture gallery, unseen by any eye but our 
own, where are portraits, in various attitudes, of every 
one our minds can recall. The originals of some of these 
portraits may be with us every day, yet we have some 
pictures of them, perhaps, that were impressed on our minds 
long ago, which will remain with us through life. With 
Taking butter from milk was known 
o 
in the earliest times. It was left for our 
time to make a milk of cod-liver oil. 
Milk, the emulsion of butter, is an 
easier food than butter. Scott’s Emulsion 
of cod-liver oil is an easier food than cod- 
liver oil. It is rest for digestion. It 
stimulates, helps, restores, digestion; and, 
at the same time, supplies the body a 
kind of nourishment it can get in no 
other way. 
Scott & Bowse, Chemists, 132 South 5th Avenue, New York. 
Your druggist keep 3 Seott’s Emulsion pf cod-liver oil—all druggists 
everywhere do. $1. 
