JShe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
293 
WOMAN  AND  HOME 
“When  I  Was  Mary’s  Beau” 
Sometimes  when  night  pulls  flown  the 
shade  after  :i  weary  clay, 
I  sit  beside  my  open  lire  and  watch  the 
shadows  play. 
Then  memory  takes  me  by  the  hand,  and 
happily  we  go 
Back  to  the  kindly  days  of  youth — 
when  I  was  Mary’s  beau. 
Oh!  Mary!  Tn  those  golden  years,  when 
you  and  I  were  young! 
When  all  the  symphonies  of  youth  by 
hopeful  lips  were  sung, 
When  every  avenue  of  life  led  out  to 
rosy  skies. 
And  fortune's  fingers  dangled  there  the 
gifts  that  all  men  prize! 
Old  Time  is  kind.  Tie  hides  the  years 
which  bear  the  loss  and  stain. 
And  only  those  which  shine  with  love 
and  happiness  remain. 
As  one  may  find  a  violet,  beneath  the 
Winter's  snow, 
I  go  back  to  the  kindly  years — when  I 
was  Mary’s  beau. 
I  was  a  chunky  farmer  hoy — her  father 
lord  of  lands. 
She  was  a  little  village  queen — I  only 
lmd  my  hands. 
Yet  in  the  pure  democracy  (,f  our  New 
England  town 
Youth  never  could  he  quite  denied — 
love  heat  the  harriers  down. 
Yet  she  was  wise — to  reign  a  queen — one 
must  keep  step  with  wealth. 
And  Mary  knew  full  well  that  I  had 
nothing  but  ray  health. 
To  me  she  played  a  sister’s  part — but 
settled  down  with  .Toe. 
I  went,  out  West  with  but  a  dream 
that  I  was  Mary's  beau. 
No,  no,  dear  wife,  deny  me  not  these  fair 
old  dreams  of  youth. 
You  well  may  smile,  for  life  has  taught 
the  patience  and  the  truth. 
Time  tried,  long  tested,  up  the  hill  we’ve 
journeyed  side  by  side, 
Or  drifted  in  tile  ebb  and  flow  of  for¬ 
tune’s  fateful  tide. 
The  years  may  come,  the  years  may  go, 
yet  love  will  find  the  test. 
Youth’s  dreams  are  good,  yet  that 
which  lives  on  life’s  hard  road  is 
best, 
And  so  you  grant  me  my  romance — 
perhaps,  I  do  not  know 
You  too  are  thinking  of  the  days 
when  you  were  Henry's  beau. 
And  so,  I  sit  beside  the  lire  when  night 
pulls  down  the  blind, 
And  wander  back  to  youth  once  more 
with  all  my  cares  behind. 
The  winds  of  trouble  rage  outside,  we 
care  not  how’  they  blow, 
P.aek  in  those  golden  days  of  youth — 
when  you  wen?  Mary's  beau. 
* 
Mas.  Alma  Fiander  is  an  Indian 
woman  living  in  Washington.  She  has 
performed  the  remarkable  feat  of  win¬ 
ning  second  prize  at  the.  State  fair  with 
a  dried  apple  pic!  It  was  not  baked  spe¬ 
cially  for  tile  contest,  either — just  for  a 
family  dinner.  A  visitor  sampled  its 
companion  and  found  it  so  good  that  he 
took  the  pie  right  off  the  table  and  car¬ 
ried  it  to  the  State  fair,  A  great  per¬ 
formance  that,  for  who  has  not  read  the 
stale  jokes  about  dried  apple  pies?  Per¬ 
haps  in  this  we  have  further  evidence  of 
the  superiority  of  New  York  apples. 
Most  likely  this  Indian  woman  used 
evaporated  apples  from  New  York  State 
while  the  competing  pies  were  made  of 
the  Western  fruit.  Tims  even  with  the 
water  taken  out  the  Eastern  fruit  proved 
superior ! 
* 
There  has  been  much  talk  in  the  past 
few7  years  about  how  to  keep  the  boy  on 
the  farm.  It  is  more  necessary  to  keep 
the  girl  there,  for  the  girl  is  the  magnet 
which  attracts  the  iron.  We  learn  of  a 
case  where  a  young  man  went  to  an  agri¬ 
cultural  college  and  met  a  girl  student. 
They  became  engaged.  Now  this  girl  was 
an  only  child,  and  her  father,  along  in 
years,  had  a  fine  farm.  The  young  man 
wanted  to  be  a  farmer,  and  he  did  not 
think  any  less  of  the  girl  because  this 
fine  farm,  her  old  home,  was  coming  to 
her  some  day.  When  they  were  gradu¬ 
ated,  however,  this  girl  absolutely  refused 
to  live  on  the  farm.  She  preferred  to 
rent  it,  and  her  husband  went  to  teaching 
in  order  to  please  her.  We  do  not  know 
this  girl's  reasons — they  may  be  good 
ones — but  it  seems  unfortunate  to  say 
the  least  that  a  good  farmer  should  be 
kept  away  from  the  land.  At  any  rate 
the  problem  of  the  girl  on  the  farm  is  a 
big  one.  Very  likely  we  have  spent  too 
much  time  over  the  boys.  Interest  the 
girls  and  make  them  contented  and  the 
boys  will  eome  back.  For  years  Mary 
has  not  had  half  the  chance  that  John 
has,  even  though  she  were  twice  as  de¬ 
serving. 
* 
Week  after  week  wo  have  reports  from 
women  who  have  been  defrauded  by  land 
sharks*  The  last  is  from  a  Danish  wom¬ 
an  whose  husband  died.  She  bad  noth¬ 
ing  but.  a  life  insurance  and  was  in¬ 
duced  to  buy  a  farm.  Now  she  says: 
Tin*  man  wlm  sold  t<*  me  defrauded  me, 
so  that  it  was  bard  for  me  to  get  my 
rights.  However,  il  seems  that  in  his 
eagerness  to  have  it  all  made  in  his 
favor,  In*  did  not  get  the  eonrtaet  made 
right;  tlie  buying  sum  of  farm  was  not 
stated  and  something  else  was  not  cor¬ 
rect,  so  1  hope  that  1  will  at  least  have 
the  sum  paid  back  which  I  put  in  farm, 
ami  expert  to  have  him  make  good  for 
damage  also. 
What  punishment  is  painful  enough  for 
rascals  who  will  mb  a  woman  in  this 
way?  We  hope  this  one  has  tied  himself 
iqi  in  bis  eagerness  to  steal.  It  is  the 
old  story  of  signing  contracts  without, 
understanding  them  on  tin*  theory  that 
every  soft-spoken  man  must  be  honest. 
* 
A  STORY  which  needs  retelling  every 
year  is  that  of  the  man  wlm  wrote  the 
article  about  helping  bis  wife.  He  told 
bow  tin*  wood  box  was  kept  loaded,  how 
water  was  brought  in  and  luuv,  on  occa¬ 
sion,  be  could  help  wash  dishes  or  help 
with  a  meal.  It  was  a  great  and  true 
article.  His  daughter,  a  smart  teacher, 
Came  home  and  started  to  read  tlie  arti¬ 
cle.  As  it  went  oil  she  put  the  paper 
down  and  said: 
"Fine.  That's  excellent  just,  tlie  sort 
of  mail  I  would  like  to  marry  !" 
Then  she  looked  at  the  end  and  saw 
her  father's  name.  Then,  somehow,  it 
did  not  Seem  so  line,  for  poor,  patient. 
Slow  father  always  did  these  filings  for 
mother.  It  had  become  a  habit  with  him, 
and  when  did  a  lmbit  ever  have  any 
eliaiiOe,  with  (In*  young,  against,  some 
"noble  impulse"?  There  is  a  good  chance 
for  a  little  thinking  about  this.  Wo  hear 
much  about  the  man  who  dominates  the 
household,  but  wlmt  of  patient  father 
who  does  bis  work  without  compliment 
or  mention? 
It  looks  as  if  some  of  the  farmers  will 
soon  find  a  new  and  valuable  use  for  tin* 
wife — that  of  fake  finder.  Here  is  a  note 
from  an  Ohio  farm  woiynn  : 
The  experience  of  If.  \V.  How.  related 
in.  the  “sueker  column"  of  The  11.  N.-Y. 
last  week,  reminds  me  of  the  experience 
of  some  of  our  own  tovvns-pi  ople.  East 
year  an  agent  came  through  here  selling 
for  a  nursery  at  Geneva,  S’.  Y.  He  had 
pictures  (actual  photographs)  of  rasp¬ 
berries  1V&  inches  in  diameter  (a  foot 
rule  shown  in  picture) ,  He  promised  a 
yield  of  lEj  quarts  per  bush.  (Other 
fruits  iu  snnie  proportion.)  the  first 
year  after  planting,  and  knew  it  could 
he  done  because  he’d  done  it  himself. 
Also  he  had  a  Stores  &  Harrison  price 
list,  to  prove  that  his  plants  wore  S10 
per  1,00(1  cheaper  than  the  above-men¬ 
tioned  firm.  That  settled  the  matter, 
and  In*  sold  a  $00  bill  of  goods  to  one 
man,  and  several  other  bills  for  lesser 
amounts.  After  bis  departure,  soma  one 
looked  up  Stores  &  Harrison’s  wholesale 
list,  and  found  they  were  paying  about 
three  prices  for  their  goods.  When  the 
stock  was  delivered  it  was  found  to  be 
yearling  stock  of  a  very  inferior  grade, 
and  nearly  all  the  purchasers  refused  to 
accept  it.  They  lmd  ordered  fine,  two- 
year-old  plants.  We  are  not  shedding 
any  tears  over  the  ones  who  got  bitten. 
A  man  raised  in  a  section  where  small 
fruit  is  a  natural  product,  as  this  is, 
ought  to  know  better  than  to  believe  a 
\  a rn  nf  that  kind. 
Tlie  firm  mentioned  has  a  fair  reputa¬ 
tion  but  their  agents  talk  too  much.  Our 
records  seem  to  show  that  farm  men  are 
more  likely  to  be  stung  or  bitten  by 
nursery  agents  than  are  the  women! 
* 
We  do  m  t  hear  so  much  of  what  is 
known  as  old-fashioned  country  journal¬ 
ism  these  days.  Here  is  a  good  specimen 
of  the  way  it  was  done  years  ago,  when 
we  worked  on  a  country  paper.  This  is 
taken  from  the  )  crnwnt  Advance: 
Our  esteemed  brother  Donald  Tobin, 
editor  of  the  Swan  ton  Courier,  has  a  lot 
to  explain  to  bis  bride,  liis  readers  and 
bis  State.  Donald  has  boosted  Vermont 
products  weekly  for  a  year,  then  In*  goes 
anil  marries  a  Connecticut  girl.  Mean¬ 
time  his  wife  on  reaching  her  now  home 
finds  forty-eleven  newspapers  giving  her 
advice  as  to  bow  to  run  her  husband  and 
bis  paper.  One  editor  inquires  as  to 
whether  the  Swunton  Courier  can  sup¬ 
port  a  new  member  of  the  staff.  Anoth¬ 
er,  tells  Mrs.  Tobin  not  to  say  “I>un’t" 
to  Donald.  A  third,  rells  Mrs.  Tobin 
that  she  has  married  the  "Hilly  Sunday 
of  Vermont."  Whether  Mrs.  Tobin  i?4 
willing  to  be  called  (like  Hilly  Sunday's 
wife)  Ma.  whether  the  bride  wants  all 
this  free  advice,  is  of  course  unknown. 
Tlie  Ad lire  lias  been  a  great  admirer 
of  Donald  Tobin,  be  is  at  once  the  clev¬ 
erest  journalist  in  Vermont,  but  hence¬ 
forth  we.  are  for  Mrs.  Tobin,  first,  last, 
and  all  the  time. 
As  we  all  know  Vermont  is  the  “Hash- 
fill  State,”  which  may  explain  why  Edi¬ 
tor  Tobin  went  out  after  a  Connecticut 
“peach.”  At  any  rate  let  us  hope  Mrs. 
Tobin  will  not  weed  out  the  editorial 
“we.” 
* 
Trouble  With  the  Neighbors 
I  have  a  very  bad  neighbor  whose 
house  is  right  next  to  one  of  my  fields. 
I  have  rye  planted  there,  and  the  neigh¬ 
bor's  chickens  are  always  on  the  rye; 
you  cannot  tell  that  there  is  any  rye 
planted  on  about  two  acres  of  the  field. 
I  have  warned  her  many  times  to  keep 
the  chickens  <>ff.  but  it  is  of  no  use. 
I  have  shot  at  the  chickens  but  as  soon 
as  1  shot  at  them  she  started  a  series  of 
insulting  curses.  After  that  I  shot  at 
them  again  and  she  again  began  calling 
the  worst  names  and  curses  you  ever 
heard.  What  do  you  think  I  can  do  ti> 
keep  tin*  chickens  off  and  how  can  I  stop 
her  cursing.  n.  R. 
Wlmt  shall  T  do  to  my  neighbor?  I 
have  a  choice  apple  orchard  and  he  keeps 
a  good  number  of  pigs.  He  lets  them 
run  without  any  restraint  and  they  conn* 
over  into  my  orchard  and  do  considerable 
damage.  I  am  a  small  woman,  a  partial 
invalid,  and  he  is  a  big  strong  man  of 
an  overbearing  disposition.  lie  pays  no 
attention  when  I  ask  him  to  keep  his 
pigs  at  home,  only  laughs  at  me.  \  have 
no  men  folks  to  take  my  part.  My  or¬ 
chard  is  ,*i  good  one.  which  I  wish  to  de¬ 
velop.  Of  course  I  cannot  shoot  these 
pigs,  nor  can  I  take  can*  of  this  neigh¬ 
bor  as  a  big  man  can.  Wlmt  can  I  do 
to  prevent  this  nuisance?  \t.  .r. 
Here  are  two  cases  just  as  they  were 
presented  to  us.  The  idea  of  a  man  ap¬ 
plying  for  help  against  a  woman  is  a 
novel  one.  yet  if  is  quite  likely  that  this 
man  could  handle  the  situation  and  the 
neighbor  if  lie  were  dealing  with  another 
man.  It.  is  a  hard  position  to  be  in.  for 
public  sympathy  is  usually  with  the 
woman,  oven  if  she  be  in  the  wrong.  The 
New  Jersey  laws  provide  a  remedy  if 
this  man  wants  to  try  it.  He  can  have 
the  woman  arrested  for  defamation  of 
character  and  bound  over  to  keep  the 
peace,  but  ibis  will  not  give  a  very  peace¬ 
ful  outlook  for  the  future.  This  situa¬ 
tion  is  one  of  the  must  annoying  that 
we  can  imagine. 
The  other  ease  is  even  meaner,  for 
here  a  big  man  is  taking  advantage  of 
a  woman  who  is  unable  to  defend  her 
property.  If  she  had  relatives  or  friends 
who  were  privileged  to  take  her  part 
they  should  treat  this  man  as  he  de¬ 
serves.  Those  pigs  are  less  responsible 
than  their  owner,  and  it  would  seem  hard 
to  fire  shot  at  them  or  keep  an  Airedale 
or  some  other  sharp-toothed  dog  to  chase 
them  out.  Probably  if  such  a  dog  did 
his  duty  this  man  would  make  com¬ 
plaint  and  have  the  dog  killed.  If  he 
will  not  listen  to  reason  otir  advice  would 
be  to  consult  some  good  lawyer,  give  him 
•■ill  the  facts,  and  let  him  deal  with  this 
man. 
* 
Cleaning  Chicken  Feathers 
I  have  a  lot  of  fine  clean  white  chick¬ 
en  feathers  that  I  wish  to  use  in  making 
a  quilt.  These  feathers  that  I  have 
saved  are  mainly  from  scalded  chickens, 
and  I  have  kept  them  in  a  cold  barn  for 
months. 
Now  Jersey.  w.  e.  rt. 
There  is  no  danger  that  ehieken  lice, 
mites  or  any  vermin  peculiar  to  chickens 
will  stay  in  feathers  after  they  have  been 
removed  from  the  bird  and  thoroughly 
dried.  Vermin  peculiar  to  chickens  au<l 
other  fowl  require  the  nourishment  they 
get  from  the  lord's  body  and  can  live 
only  a  very  short  time  when  removed. 
Neither  is  then*  any  danger  of  getting 
these  creepers  oil  the  human  body.  They 
will  disappear  in  a  few  hours. 
The  niily  danger  in  using  those  feathers 
without  being  treated  is  infection  from 
ninths.  To  treat  for  moths,  place  the 
feathers  in  a  tight  box  and  with  them 
some  oil  of  cedar.  Do  not  allow  the  oil 
of  cedar  to  come  in  eon  tact  with  the 
feathers.  The  strong  odor  from  a  little 
nil  of  cedar  placed  in  the  box  with  the 
feathers  a  day  or  two  will  do  the  work. 
After  this  treatment,  the  feathers  should 
he  aired  a  few  days  before  using.  An 
open  bottle  of  chloroform  placed  in  the 
box  with  the  feathers  is  also  a  good  dis¬ 
infectant  for  moths. 
M.  ANNA  HAUSER. 
* 
Planning  a  Summer  Outing 
Each  month  we  print,  some  unusual 
plan  or  proposition  which  may  help  bring 
the  farmer  and  bis  various  clients  togeth¬ 
er.  This  month  we  have  the  following. 
As  is  usual,  we  will  send  letters  or  ad¬ 
dresses  to  tin*  party  asking  the  question. 
We  do  not  give  names  except  with  the 
consent  of  the  questioner : 
Is  there  any  way  for  people  of  very 
moderate  means  to  spend  a  few  weeks 
in  the  Summer  at  the  seashore  or  in  the 
mountains?  Two  school  teachers  and  the 
mother  of  one  of  them  (a  widow)  would 
lie  very  glad  of  such  an  opportunity. 
They  don’t  want  to  be  objects  of  charity, 
but  they  cannot  pay  expensive  board. 
They  could  do  their  own  little  cooking. 
Really,  the  only  tiling  needed  is  a  shelter 
with  beds,  cook  stove  (coal,  oil  or  other¬ 
wise)  and  cleanliness.  Are  there  any 
camps  connected  with  Y.  W.  C.  A.  or 
some  fresh  air  society  where  people  can 
occupy  space  at  small  charge?  Or  are 
there  any  farmhouses  10  or  12  miles 
away  from  everywhere  and  everything 
(except  mountains)  and  hence  cheap, 
with  more  rooms  than  are  used,  and 
whose  owner  would  allow  the  visitors  to 
cook  and  provide  for  themselves?  Two 
out  of  the  three  have  spent  a  large  part 
of  their  lives  on  a  farm  and  understand 
the  conditions  too  well  to  be  a  nuisance, 
1  think.  A.  E.  F. 
Beginning  Early  at  a  Great  Question 
