1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
“ THE STORY OF A HOME.” 
FRED GUUXDY'S NEW BOCK. 
We have called attention to Mr. 
Grundy’s little book, entitled, “A For¬ 
tune in Two Acres.” In our opinion it is 
the best story of a workman’s home- 
building that has ever been published. 
The following brief extracts will give 
the reader an idea of what the book is: 
Mr. Grundy is supposed to be interview¬ 
ing his friend Burton. 
Follies of Early Days. 
I was born and raised on a small farm 
in th"* State of Ohio. Prom the time I 
was r 2 or 14 years of age up to nearly 40, 
my day-dreams were chiefly of wealth. I 
hoped, and confidently expected, to some 
day be immensely rich, and during all 
those years was constantly watching and 
expectantly waiting for the great oppor¬ 
tunity to come when I could make a big 
fortune at one grand stroke. Every cent 
of the small amounts I earned by work¬ 
ing for neighbors while at home was 
spent about as boys usually spend it. It 
never once occurred to me to save it. I 
had my “set” of associates, and as all of 
them “stood treat” occasionally, and at¬ 
tended all the shows and picnics they 
could get to, I felt that it was incumbent 
upon me to do likewise. And when we 
began to take our young lady friends 
with us, we all liked to appear generous, 
and to see that they had the best of 
everything, and lots of it. 
Father’s farm was small, and as the 
family was quite large, I was obliged, 
when I reached my majority, to look out 
for myself. As I always had a strong 
desire to live in town, I sought and ob¬ 
tained employment in a grain elevator, 
in a town about 20 miles from home. 
Here I worked steadily eight months, 
and spent my wages as fast as earned. 
As I could see no better prospect ahead, 
I gave up the job and went to work in 
a lumber yard, at a slight advance in 
wages. It was while at work in this 
yard that I became acquainted with the 
lady who is now my wife. Like most 
young people, we were anxious to get 
married, but as we lacked capital to 
begin housekeeping, we were obliged to 
postpone this matter until a suflicient 
sum could be earned. Neither of us had 
sense enough to think of carefully saving 
our earnings, but we continued to attend 
all the shows and picnics we could get 
to. We just supposed this was the pro¬ 
per course to pursue in order to keep “in 
the swim.” After a struggle extending 
something over a year and a half, I 
managed to accummulate $115, and then 
we were married. House rent and living 
expenses took every cent I earned, and 
sometimes pay day would find me a little 
short. After several years of this life I 
left the lumber yard, and obtained em¬ 
ployment in a flouring mill. This was 
something just to my liking, and I soon 
learned the trade. About six months 
after I became competent to run the mill, 
the miller was offered a position else¬ 
where, and I was given his place, with 
good wages. » * # * » 
A Home of Our Own. 
It was late in October when we moved 
into our new home, and as the mill was 
nearly a mile distant, I was obliged to 
start to work soon after five in the morn¬ 
ing, and rarely reached home again much 
before seven in the evening, so what little 
fixing up and repairing I did had to be 
done by lamplight. We would have 
hired a carpenter to do the work for us. 
When Baby was sick, we gave her Castoria, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castoria, 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castoria, 
When she had Children, she gave them Castoria, 
but being so anxious to get rid of that 
mortgage, we decided to let it go until 
days were longer and I could see to do it 
myself. We continued to save every 
cent of my wages that we possibly could, 
living on the plainest food and denying 
ourselves everything we could well do 
without, and on the last day of March 
I paid the last dollar of the debt, and our 
home was our very own! 
When I brought the release home to my 
wife, instead of going into ecstacies, as 1 
expected, she dropped into a chair and 
cried. “Oh, John,” she said, “you don’t 
know how I have longed and hoped 
and prayed for this—for a real home all 
our own! A he me where I can have a 
few trees and flowers, and alittle garden, 
and fix things up just as I please. I don’t 
mind the troubles and trials we’ve come 
through; they are all past—gone forever! 
We have our own ‘sweet home’ now, and 
we’ll never, never give it up while we 
live. Will we, John ?” 
I must confess that, inwardly, I felt a 
little mean and cheap, for having denied 
her this great pleasure so many years. 
But after all, it really wasmy misfortune 
rather than my fault. The trash I had 
read in my youth had given me false 
ideas of life, and filled my brain with 
foolish fancies of wealth and luxury to 
be won by a single stroke of “good 
luck,” and all through these years that I 
had labored so hard this will-o’-the-wisp 
had danced before me. Instead of saving 
my earnings as I went along, I spent 
One cent will mail this paper to 
your Ariend in any part of the United 
States, Canada or Mexico, after you 
have read it and written vour name 
on the corner. 
them, and hoped that after awhile I 
wDuld, by some hocus-pocus, get rich. 
Stories in which all the principal char¬ 
acters are either wealthy or suddenly 
become so by the death of an obscure 
relative, the discovery of a rich mine, or 
through the performance of some re¬ 
markable feat, are not the best reading 
in the world for boys and girls. Yet 
thousands of such stories are published 
every year in book form, while the lead¬ 
ing literary journals and magazines fairly 
teem with them. 
When I thought over my past life— 
what fc olish ideas I had so tenderly 
nursed, and what a miserable failure I 
had been—I couldn’t help pitying my¬ 
self. And at the same time I heartily 
wished that some good, honest, hard- 
fisted old fellow had gotten hold of me 
while I was dreaming over those trashy, 
wealth-poisoned stories, and bumped 
some plain common-seme into my soft 
noddle—in short, told me what an un¬ 
varnished fool and egregious ass I was 
making of myself, and what the result 
would be. But the fates decreed that I 
must work out my own salvation, and 
fortunate for me was it that I had such a 
kind-hearted, loving, patient wife to help 
and encourage me when I earnestly set 
about it. When at last I did win a home, 
I had acquired common sense enough to 
fully appreciate its real worth. 
“Give it up!” I replied to my wife. 
Mothers.—Be sure to use “ Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup ” for your children 
V liile Teething. It is the Best.— Ado. 
“ Bless your sweet, patient soul, never¬ 
more while I live and breathe shall you 
he without a home that is wholly your 
own! ” 
Those who want to know how these 
worthy people earned their home, how 
they kept it and gained independence 
and happiness are referred to the little 
book. We will guarantee all such a 
genuine pleasure and no end of informa¬ 
tion from the perusal of this story. 
PATTERNS FOR THE R. N.-Y. 
SUBSCRIBERS. 
We have made arrangements with the 
Bazar Glove-Fitting Pattern Company to 
supply their celebrated patterns to sub¬ 
scribers of The R. N.-Y. by mail at the 
nominal price of 10 cents each. These pat¬ 
terns will be sent only to members of 
families one of whom is a subscriber to 
the paper. The regular price of the pat 
terns is from 25 to 35 cents. Always give 
correct bust measure and the number of 
the pattern wanted. The number will 
always be given under the illustration. 
Always write the order separate from 
any other matter and enclose 10 cents in 
stamps. Full instructions accompany 
every pattern. Any two patterns given 
old subscribers for one new subscription. 
Ladies’ Basque, with Double Ripple 
Skirt. 
4040. 
This is one of the swell basques of the 
season. Old rose is the color of the fine 
faced cloth, combined with fancy black 
moire, trimmed with jet passementerie, 
and closed with jet buttons. The fanci¬ 
ful reveres and double ripple skirt are 
lined with old rose satin. These, with 
the large gigot sleeves are distinctive 
features of this very stylish basque. 
Either one or both of the ripple skirts 
may be omitted if desired, and the upper 
portion of the front may be plainly cov¬ 
ered with velvet or other material, in¬ 
stead of using the shirred portion pro¬ 
vided by the pattern, if so preferred. 
Many fancies in combination may be 
suggested by the mode, three different 
materials often being used. In this case, 
the reveres and upper skirt could be of 
velvet, the shirred yoke of changeable 
silk, and the basque, sleeves and lower 
skirt of cloth. Any of the fashionable 
materials are suitable. Hopsacking, 
cheviot, serge and homespun, can be 
stylishly trimmed with gimp, galloon or 
braid. Fancy jet toque with aigrette. 
This pattern is cut in five sizes, viz.: 
32. 34, 36, 38 and 40 inches bust measure. 
The retail price of pattern is 25 cents. 
In wrltlnK to advertisers, please always mention 
The Rdkal New-Yorker. 
Ayer’s 
CHERRY (£(medaA^] 
Pectoral 
For Colds and Coughs 
received 
MEDAL and DIPLOMA 
© AT THE 
IBI I II 
World's 
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Our "Guide How 
Paper and Economy BV ■■ 
in Home Decoration,” ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ 
mailed free with samplesB ■ ■ ■ ■■ 
Beautiful Cold Paper, 5c. per Roll. 
We carry the largest stock la the country, and 
can save you per cent, on every roll of paper you 
buy. Nomatter where you live, If you have any use 
for wall paper,send 10c. to nearest address to pay 
postage on a large package of samples. One 
good agent or paper banger wanted In each town 
to sell from sample books, price $1.00. 
ALFRED PEATS, 
*0-83 W. 1 Bill St., 186-18S W. MadlHon St., 
NK.VV YOKK. CHICAGO. 
ROBINSO^TO^^ Mil 
RIGmSI 
You would like the lamp- 
chimneys that do not amuse 
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inconvenient times, wouldn’t 
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A chimney ought not to 
break any more than a tum¬ 
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when it tumbles. 
Macbeth’s “pearl top” and “pearl glass”— 
they don’t break from heat, not one in a hun¬ 
dred ; a chimney lasts for years sometimes. 
Pittsburgh. Geo. A. Macbeth Co. 
Half 
the 
Money 
spent for harness and shoes could be saved if 
they were treated right. Wlietlier leather lasts 
or not depends on the care it gets. * 
Vacuum Leather Oil 
is the care-taker. 
25 c. worth is .T fair trial—and your money back 
yon want it—a swob with eaeli c;in. 
For p.ainphlet, f-ee, "How to Takk Cark OR 
Lkatuku." send to 
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Beccham’s pills arc for 
biliousness, bilious headache, 
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liver, dizziness, sick head¬ 
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Book free; pills 25c. At 
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0 Sold to anyone at wholesale price, tot 
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lAK;^£P0ra[ans827.50c Pianos 8175.00. 
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WIFE 
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Railroad, Faria, Garden, Cemetery, l-awn. 
Fencing. Prices down. Freight paid. Calal’g. free. 
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