HOW GRAN'MA FATTENED HER GEESE, 
How did gran’ma fatten her eeese, you ask ? 
Well, to tell you the story ain’t much of a task. 
With nails an’ strings she fastened ’em down 
To a good-sized board that lay on the ground; 
That’s to keep ’em from running their fat off, you 
see, 
As they’re apt to do if you let ’em go free. 
Right under their noses, from morning till night, 
A skillet of loppered milk is in sight; 
There’s a vessel of corn-meal dough there, too, 
And when they are emptied she fills them anew. 
The surfeited geese soon get the ennui, 
For they’re getting as fat as fat can be; 
But gran’ma says they’re not eating enough 
So she takes up the dough with intention to stuff'. 
The geese get so full, I know they must suffer, 
For three times a day gran’ma plies the stulfer; 
With a stick with a rag on the end for a swab, 
She stuff’s them alive till they’re fat as a squab. 
And now you know how gran’ma .was able 
To make ’em so fat for the city man’s table. 
J. MARION SHULL. 
Some of our youDg- housekeepers wish 
to make the junket described in “A 
Cooking- Lecture,” and not being able to 
procure the prepared rennet, would like 
to know how to prepare it at home. 
Some of the grandmothers know just 
how it is done, and they will oblige the 
ignorant ones if they will send us the 
directions for curing rennet, and tell us 
how to use it in making curd. 
SHARING A BROTHER'S HOME. 
THE DISCIPLINE OF IT. 
110 does not know at least one 
woman now busy in office, shop, 
or counting room, who would far better 
fold her hands for a much-needed rest, 
and revert to the good old plan of de¬ 
pending upon father, husband or brother 
for support ? But no two cases are ex¬ 
actly alike. Thank Heaven that when 
left homeless and penniless, a woman 
has now small need, if she has health, of 
becoming an encumbrance in her broth¬ 
er’s household ! There is no adequate 
reason why she should not be happy 
and contented there, perhaps ; yet there 
are a score of traits in human nature 
tending to prevent it, unless nullified by 
dispositions of unusual sweetness, or by 
forethought and self-control. When un¬ 
fairness to either the dependent or the 
legitimate house mistress does prevail, 
what a day-in and day-out wrong- it is ! 
Two queens at the same time on the 
throne of England, would be preposter¬ 
ous ; but it will often happen that, for 
sufficient reasons, a household queen 
must make room at her side for one so 
near being her guest that she must con¬ 
stantly prefer her before herself. What 
of that ? A house mistress is, in most 
instances, necessarily a seli-sacrificing 
person. The numberless little conces¬ 
sions she must make to a resident sister- 
in-law, often rob her of those last shreds 
of emolument that lend grace to her 
position, and make it enjoyable. 
A Few Rules for Harmony. 
If ever circumstances should force me 
to accept a home with my sister-in-law, 
or even with a married sister, no matter 
how great the love between us, 1 would 
draw up a set of rules, the first draft of 
which would, I fancy, read much like 
this : 
“ Never criticise any member of the 
family, even a servant, or find fault with 
domestic arrangements. Think out a 
way to mend, if you can, what annoys 
you, but keep still about it. 
“ Remember that you have no claim 
upon your housemates which warrants 
your mentioning your private griefs and 
disappointments or ills of the flesh.” 
(Are there any ties that would not keep 
sweeter and be more blessed in the end. 
if both could maintain silence of this 
sort ?) 
“Avoid taking part in arguments be¬ 
tween husband and wife. If there be 
need to declare your views, endeavor to 
side with the wife ; at least, do not 
avowedly champion the husband, even 
though he be your own favorite brother. 
“ Leave the wife’s precedence undis¬ 
turbed as far as possible, seeing that she 
has the place at her husband’s side in 
public, and encouraging him to devote 
his leisure to her, rather than to your¬ 
self. Also be cautious about taking 
upon yourself any little services she may 
omit to render him. 
“ Have, if you can, a nook of your own, 
even though it be in the attic, and early 
establish the custom of spending some 
portion of your time there. 
Have friends, interests, amusements, 
and thoughts of your own, and separate, 
as far as practicable, from your sister’s. 
Be willing to share, but do not depend 
upon her for these things.” (I pin con¬ 
siderable faith upon this rule, having 
seen it promote good results between 
two very loving sisters, adding greatly 
to the breadth of their outlook and 
pleasure in each other. On the same 
principle, a self-supporting woman can 
usually board pleasantly in her brother’s 
family, though, if she pay full price for 
board, it is a question whether she would 
not receive more for her money else¬ 
where). 
“ Thinn no more about your depend¬ 
ence than will make you modest and 
helpful. 
“ Never lend money to your brother 
expecting him to pay interest on it.” 
(The woman who has a bank account 
will seldom be neglected by all her rela¬ 
tives, and left without invitations, and 
a- change now and then is worth more 
than all the medicines or good resolu¬ 
tions in the world). 
“If tempted with resentful thoughts, 
notions about neglect or intended slights, 
I’esolutely turn your thoughts to some 
contrasting view of the person arousing 
the feeling. Number over to yourself 
all the kindnesses ever received at his or 
her hand. Recall your most loving 
thoughts and dwell upon what called 
them forth.” (This is a priceless recipe, 
warranted to neutralize almost any pois¬ 
onous thought, and is urgently recom¬ 
mended in all sorts of cases and under 
every condition of life). 
These rules 1 would revise as use sug¬ 
gested, keeping a copy hidden in my 
Bible, and reading them over frequently, 
especially when friction or unhappiness 
threatened, Of course my sister-in-law 
should never see them ; my conscience 
would be quite enough to live up to. 
She w ould need an entirely different set, 
but that would be her affair. 
Live with my married brother ? Pos¬ 
sibly if conditions were very favorable ; 
otherwise any humble calling would 
seem to me preferable, even though I 
love him much and value highly the 
sentiment that would make him consider 
himself my natural protector should 
other ties fail. prudence primrose. 
FROM THE BEDROOM WINDOW. 
ROM this window, our view is lim¬ 
ited—even as one closes the gates 
of sight in sleep. A part of our little 
glass plant house is to be seen, where a 
few plants are left. There is a night¬ 
blooming cereus that has bloomed at 
three separate times, and still shows a 
tiny bud or two for a fourth flowering. 
How beautiful these flowers are ; yet 
how plain and ungainly is the leaf and 
stem of the plant. There is a mystery 
in the opening of the flower at night ; it 
seems so weird and uncanny, and then 
in the morning, the limp, closed-up bud 
has nothing to reveal. It is an interest¬ 
ing study, not only to the botanist, but 
to all who love flowers and the wonders 
of creation. 
There is a tub of water hyacinths that 
have spikes of mauve flowers showing- 
through the glass, and a few begonias 
m a shaded place. Beyond. I can see 
the heavy clusters of an apple tree— 
russet beauties that look in at the attic 
windows. The sky is gray to-day as if 
approaching rain, and my bright-eyed 
lassie who came in to see how I had 
passed the night, said “ There was a 
morning rainbow that was sure indica¬ 
tion of a storm.” What a rough, change¬ 
able August it has been—so unlike the 
sultry heat and sunshine one expects at 
this season ; but everything looks fresh 
and green. The window curtains flutter 
in the cool, morning breeze, and the 
“ angel of pain” is often near. It is 
not always possible to “suffer and be 
strong,” yet we know that all is for the 
best. Life becomes narrowed by the 
four walls, and we thank God for the 
bit of sky that we can see beyond. 
I hear voices out-of-doors as I write ; 
they are gathering flowers for the city 
mission, and tying them into bunches 
near by. This is a weekly charity that 
needs to be more widely known. I have 
seen so many gardens where not a flower 
is gathered except for the home or 
friends, that I have wished that it could 
be better understood. Fragrant flowers 
are needed—mignonette and sweet peas, 
heliotrope and sweet alyssum, with all 
the roses that one can gather ; and pan¬ 
sies are always welcomed. Ladies who 
visit the poor and sick, often speak of 
the pleasure a few flowers give, and in 
lilac time it is a real charity to send 
HOW GRAN’MA FATTENED HER GEESE. 
Fig. 196. 
huge bunches to the homes and soup 
kitchens for distribution. 
The happy young voices at my win¬ 
dow have finished their task and moved 
away, and a little humming bird has 
just darted into the plant house. I see 
it hovering over a heliotrope that has 
been left in its pot ; how soon the small 
creature finds out where the sweets are 
kept. It reminds me of a small child I 
know who can always find the auntie’s 
pocket where the candy is kept. The 
sun tries to shine through, and I must 
be stirring. It is not a world for moral¬ 
izing ; in this fast age, one must “ be up 
and doing,” or be left behind. Happy 
is that spirit content to be so left. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
OUR SITTING ROOM. 
AST winter, as much to make a 
startling statement as for anything 
else, I announced to John that I was 
going to fix up our big east room, and 
that he was going to help me. I thought 
that he would laugh at me a little, and 
forget all about it ; but, no, he kept 
asking when I was going to begin, until 
I resolved that I not only would begin, 
but would go through with it, too. And 
John helped like the good boy he is. 
First I stained the floor, or a border 
around the outside, an antique oak 
shade, both because it is pretty, and be¬ 
cause we had two rocking-chairs with 
that finish. 
And now came the pinch, for, of 
course, a floor covering of some sort 
must be had, and equally of course we 
could not afford a carpet. But I put on 
my considering cap, and concluded to 
try my hand at coloring and rug mak¬ 
ing ; but before I did the coloring, I had 
the plan of the whole room as it was to 
be when finished, worked out in my 
head. The rug when completed, was 
nearly nine feet square, and was worked 
on strips of coarse sacking with a hook, 
the strips being sewed together in such 
a way as not to let two clouds or bunches 
of the same color come together, the 
idea being not a set design, but a general 
mixture of colors as seen in some of the 
antique rugs. The colors were shades 
of brown, green, a little deep yellow, 
almost orange, and a little old blue ; and 
the material was all knit underwear 
that had been cut for carpet rags, and 
by the way, it takes color very much 
better than anything else I have ever 
tried. My rug, when completed, was so 
pretty that I wanted to lay it down 
immediately, to see how it would look 
on the floor ; but forbore until the old 
woodwork was sandpapered and newly 
painted. The paint was a deep cream 
shade, and in spite of the decrees of 
fashion, was well varnished. 
The walls were covered with new 
paper in shades of cream with a little 
gilt spray, with frieze of the same shade, 
and a few touches of gold and old blue ; 
a narrow gilt picture rod was added, and 
Holland shades of deep cream with a 
finish of fringe, covered the windows. 
It was really pretty, and for cost, well, 
my hen dairy paid for all that, and did 
not have to do very much extra either, 
for the bills were very light. 
We had but little furniture to spare 
for it, but from the old six-foot long 
“settee' that had belonged to my great 
grandmother, and been moved from one 
room to another to make way for better 
and more modern furniture, we removed 
the rockers, and covered seat, back, and 
arms, each one finished separately, with 
big cushions of cretonne, in shades as 
nearly like the wall paper as possible ; 
we filled them with feathers from a 
bed that had been discarded in favor of 
a mattress. It was as cosy and comfort¬ 
able to look at as need be, and wasn’t it 
good and easy to one’s bones when one 
was tired. f. h. 
A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN. 
OTHER : “Children, it is your bed¬ 
time ; here are your ‘ nighties.’ 
(Gives the two older boys each a white 
Mother Hubbard gown, keeps one for 
baby). Now, let us see which can be 
ready first.” (All hurry, little hands 
fairly fly, amid much laughing. Mother 
has to help unfasten a stubborn button). 
Ivan (all ready): “ There ! I beat the 
hull of you ! ” 
M. (astonished): “ Why, Ivan ! Where 
did you ever hear that ? You should say 
whole of you, or, better still, all of you.” 
I.: “ Well, hull is right, too.” 
M.: “ No ; no one that speaks correctly 
would say hull when they mean all of 
anything.” 
I.: “ Well, mamma, I know it’s right; 
I’ve read it.” 
M.: “Now, Ivan; you must not con¬ 
tradict me. I m older and ought to know 
better than you, and hull is not right; 
so never say it aguin.” 
I. (commencing to cry): “I know I 
read it in your geography, and I’ll go 
right up stairs and get it.” (Starts). 
M. (crossly): “ No, you needn’t go. 
There is no light, and even if you found 
the geography, you couldn’t find such a 
thing as that in it. Mamma is very sorry, 
but you shouldn't be so positive, and if 
you don’t stop contradicting, I shall cer¬ 
tainly have to whip you.” 
I. (crying): “I just know that where 
there is a picture of a ship on the world 
to show it is round, that it says, ‘First, 
you can see the masts, then the hull of 
it.’ ” 
M.: “ There, there, Ivan, mamma was 
too hasty. Excuse me. It does say that 
I know ; still you are a little wrong, for 
hull is the name of the lower part of a 
ship ; it does not mean all of it. So let’s 
kiss and make up friends.” 
E. R. 
