EWB MUSiilj 
MATED. 
BY 01,10 STANLEY. 
UNDEHOROUJO). voices are talking of Summer, 
Busy, woe forces am worktop, at, last,, 
The long, dreary reign of old Winter is over, 
Cold winds ami frost are tint dreams of tlio past. 
The silent- young maple is slowly awaking 
From sleep, that a month ago seemed so secure, 
While waves of bright sunshine are tenderly wooing 
All the sweet life-blood, so ardent, and pure. 
Below, the brown earth and the upspringing waters, 
Bursting, at length, from old Winter's embrace; 
Above, (he soft sunshine that glints and that spar¬ 
kles, 
Pouring warm beams in the shadiest place. 
The how and the when, we know not, but only 
We see all the gloom and tlio shadows arc past ■ 
In the sweetest perfection of loaf and of blossom, 
Low-lifeandhigh-life are mated at last! 
one of all her twelve brothers and brothers- (VL w 
in-law saw that it would be better economy jtlO U.C % it U0 
to give the genius they were all so proud of, 
a musical, or an art! Jttc, or a medical educa- —-- - 
lion, that she might pay with her earnings TABLE ETIQUETTE, 
some commoner mortal to make clothes tor 
her little ones, than to do it herself with the What a Farmer 
painful toil of the needle. A “ Farmer’s Wifi 
And she had been brought np with too fashion“ W ill you 1 
narrow a vision of woman’s duties and ties- us a few hints on ta 
tinics to understand herself that she was how to arrange a table 
wasting her lire and abusing her powers. All mon stone ware am 
her ready gifts were, in her eyes, merely ap- spoons that we comfc 
propriate “ feminine accomplishments,” and farmers have. It, is cu 
to make fame or money out of them never borhood for three or f< 
occurred to her as a posibility, tar less as a visit together in the 
husbands join them i 
And yet her mind was ever in a fever of and have a good soci 
desire, of invention, of organized craving not have many opporti 
for the realization of the dreams of beauty, arranged in “ fashion; 
ftianmrs. 
the left of the guest, and carried to them by 
your “ waiter.” Our space is full, but we 
have more to offer on this subject. 
TREATMENT OF HAIR. 
htbbittb flcabhtg. | 
ave maeia. 
What u Farmer’s Wife Wants. 
A “ Farmer’s Wife” writes to us in this 
fashion“ Will you be kind enough to give 
us a few hints on table etiquette? Also, 
how to arrange a table nicely with the com¬ 
mon stone ware and plated cutlery and 
spoons that we comfortable and well-to-do 
farmers have, it, is customary in our neigh¬ 
borhood for three or four farmers’ wives to 
visit together in the afternoon, and their 
husbands join them in the evening for tea, 
and have a good social time. Now we do 
not have many opportunities for seeing tables 
arranged in “ fashionable” private families. 
PLEASANT ILLUSIONS. 
of beneficence, of friendship, that tormented In your mind’s eye please arrange a table for 
her. The music rang in her earn; the pic- ten, tell how the plates should be turned, 
lures floated before her eyes; the fearful and right side or trade mark up, if the milk and 
Stickle as men and women may, at 
times, for realities, for positive facts, they 
yet take a peculiar delight in cherishing cer¬ 
tain illusions. All the way through life they 
cling to these. There may bo one pet illu¬ 
sion, or a whole set of them; the one is 
faithfully nurtured, or the many tenaciously 
adhered to. 
A pleasant illusion is all the more earnestly 
wonderful human organism haunted her 
bruin; the dead mysteries of sin and suffer¬ 
ing, the awfulness of human responsibility, 
tlio glories of salvation, burned upon her 
lips as she taught her children their daily 
Bible lesson; and still, nailed to her chair, 
the swift needle went in and out,— went, .as 
it often seemed to her, through her delicate 
lungs as well as through the cloth, — until at 
ninc-and-thirty the struggle ended; the body, 
sugar should bo sent, around, or put in by the 
hostess when she dishes it (tor remember 
The Scientific American, discussing the 
question “ Why Not Grow Our Own Hair,” 
says:—“Hair may be likened to vegetable 
growth, and each particular hair to a 
plant, the skin being the soil from which ii 
derives its substance. A hair is a hollow 
tube containing in its cavity an oil which 
gives it color. The only conditions necessary 
for its perfect and luxuriant growth, are that 
t he soil be good and the growth of the crop 
unmolested by untoward circumstances. 
“ If t he soil is bad or has been deteriorated 
by disease, it, must be renovated before good 
crops can reasonably be expected; but you 
might as well expect to improve the quality 
of land by carting stones upon it, its to reno¬ 
vate the scalp by the use of oils and poma¬ 
tums. These compounds contain nothing to 
nourish the hair, while they obstruct the 
BY MARY A. E. WAGER. 
On Mary ! In my woo 
Ana In my prior, 
I breathe thy precious name 
AnU flnU relief. 
BurdenrU with sin and guilt, 
By night, aml day — 
The Lord so groat and high, 
So tar away — 
I have no strength to hear 
My load to uim. 
My feet are faint and worn ■ 
The way is dim: 
Then In my deep despair, 
A star shines clear, 
Weaving tn sliver light, 
“ MAKE ii> near! 
we have uo servants); how many kinds of’ action of the skin, upon the healthy con- 
cake and sauce, and all the other good things. dition of which, more Ilian anything else, 
row hint* nn manners would not hurt a full and luxuriant growth of hair de- 
A few hints on manners would not hurt 
Young America. T never wrote to an editor 
before, but I have wanted to many times, 
after reading pieces in the papers. I wish 
sometimes your writers for the Rural could 
hear some of the farmers’ wives commenton 
held because we 
know it is an illusion. So after long paroxysms of exquisite anguish, your articles, for instance, telling farmers 
long as conscience docs not proclaim it 
wrong and dangerous, we give it ungrudged 
room in our mind. We number it among 
our happiest dreams, and would not sen it 
rudely jostled sooner than we would see our 
favorite child ill-treated. We bring it out in 
our twilight moments, and sit face to face 
with it as we do with our memories, and in 
some subtie way we do not clearly under¬ 
stand it makes us glad. 
The idea, clung to by most good people, 
that childhood was a happier season than 
the present, is one of these illusions. It was 
taken up iu some moment of low spirited¬ 
ness, when surroundings wore an air of 
gloom; and looking backward the heart 
caught a glimpse of sunlight, and bright 
things only remembered for their brightness. 
Thereupon it embraced the false notion of 
gave up its strong hold on life, and the rich 
soul exhaled away to Heaven, rejoicing to 
escape from the bars against which it had so 
long beaten its bright wings in vain. 
T saw her in her coffln, with the expres¬ 
sion of freedom and exaltation upon her 
marble features that seemed a glory reflect¬ 
ing down from her now triumphant far-off 
spirit, and I resolved to remember the woe 
and earthly wreck of her thwarted nature, 
and never to cease, until I saw some better 
way for women than this, which can so hor¬ 
ribly waste and abuse their finest powers. 
EQUALITY OF THE SEXES. 
A correspondent in Dresden writes that 
it is good to see the poor people have a 
holiday—they work so hard and so con* 
i Hereupon » “ £ 8t antly, with little rest on Sundays. The 
the time, a verity. In soberer moments ttie 
heart saw its mistake. It recalled the petty 
annoyances of those early days, the mingled 
April showers and smiles; and it, said to 
itself, “ Nay, the sunlight did not always 
abound then, more than now. 1 will not 
belittle present enjoyment." 
An d yet this idea of having seen some¬ 
thing better is so very pleasant that the 
heart does not like to give it up. It is not 
true, of course; but then, it hurts nobody, 
and why not keep it ? 
Is it certain, then, that such an illusion, 
pleasant as it may be, exercises no hurtful 
influence? If the heart does not finally 
persuade itself into really believing an un¬ 
truth, the humoring of these erroneous no¬ 
tions may not, work direct harm. But will 
not some slight injury be indirectly wrought ? 
Will not, faith in tlm present ns the best 
time be somewhat shaken? It it be, the 
life suffers. Tills result is us sure as any 
surety. 
To imagine to-day worse than yesterday 
is to render being, to-day, less fruitful than 
it might be. No man or woman makes to¬ 
day a success who spends it in bemoaning 
yesterday. Said Henry Ward Beecher, 
in a recent sermon, “ Blessed are they who 
can shut tin: door of the past behind them. ’ 
He spoke truth. Blessed, indeed, are they, 
and for more reasons than they will at first 
admit. Why not let the dead past bury its 
dead? Why, if childhood was a happy 
season, and youth saw the fruition of bright 
hopes, not believe that these later years are 
necessarily better than they because of them, 
and so do our best to make them so ? That 
is the true philosophy of living. Illusions, 
pleasant because they cater to a morbid part 
of our nature, are not healthful or wise, and 
ought not to be entertained. Belief in the 
don ; hard physical labor falls very largely 
to their share. You see them in the streets 
sawing wood, one holding each end of the 
saw; they tug along with loaded handcarts, 
employed for draught, almost as commonly 
as horses—much mom so than men.- They 
carry huge baskets on their backs, under 
which they must bend far forward. 
Such figures are among the commonest, 
you meet. In doing coarse, rough work, 
and even such jus seems to demand simply 
muscular strength, there is no dittcreiiee 
whatever in their favor, unless it be as a 
weaker animal. And it is not only in the 
lower classes that one notices this want ot 
regard for woman. Of a couple whom you 
meet on the street, even if well dressed and 
respectable, the woman is pretty sure to be 
carrying the baby or the bundles. As for 
turning out on the sidewalk for a woman, 
no man thinks of it! An American walk- 
daughters to gel, dresses at three dollars a 
a yard! Why, bless your soul I there isn’t 
one in this town that ever paidoverone dol¬ 
lar and a half per yard for a dress, if they 
did, the farm would soon have to he mort¬ 
gaged. But the men have come to dinner.” 
What, the farmer’s wives and daughters 
think of what wo write is just wlmt we 
want to know, and you need not he afraid to 
write and tell what you think, for editors are 
the most amiable and kindly disposed per¬ 
sons in the world 1 Some of our readers 
have so much money they can pay three 
dollars a yard for their dresses Oml not mort¬ 
gage tho farms either. It is impossible to 
I give rules for individual guidance; those 
tilings must be modified by Individuals ac¬ 
cording to their circumstances. A bonnet 
may cost fifty dollars, and yet, one may be 
fashioned like it, and he nearly as pretty, and 
not cost more than live. And so with your 
table arrangements. To be sure, it is nice to 
look down in your tea cup at th$ transpa¬ 
rent, china; but, for all that, wc have enjoy¬ 
ed many a dinner and “ tea ” from common 
stone ware with a pleasure never to be for¬ 
gotten. Now, to he frank, we do think you 
farm-women are very much like “ Martha,” 
in giving more thought, and care, and labor, 
to entertain t he stomach* of your friends than 
you do to make their heart* glad. Wc like 
good eatables as well as anybody, but there 
are other things wo like better; and unless 
the good things and inviting tables come to 
view without any visible effort on the part 
of the hostess, we don’t enjoy them over¬ 
much. 
If we were to have a dinner party, the first, 
thing- we should think about would be what 
we could say that would ho pleasant, cheer¬ 
ing and comforting,—if need be,—to each 
guest. We should decide at once not to 
pends. The least harmful of oils, if any must 
he resorted to, is castor oil diluted with two 
parts alcohol and scented to suit tho taste; 
but even tills should ho very sparingly used. 
A good healthy head of hair should supply 
its own oil. A preparation of alcohol one 
pint, pure glycerine two ounces, and water 
one half pint, scented with rose geranium, 
lemon grass, or any other essential oil suita¬ 
ble for the purpose, is an admirable dressing 
for the hair, and one that exerts a healthful 
influence upon the skin. 
“ A. solution of borax Is better for cleans¬ 
ing the hair than the bicarbonate of potash iu 
common use among hair dressers for the 
purpose. The latter may be used to advan¬ 
tage, however, iu warm weather, when acid¬ 
ity is apt to be generated by perspiration. 
i Either of these will he rarely required if the 
hair and scalp are washed every morning In 
pure water, which is not only of great bene¬ 
fit to the hair, but the very best preventive 
of colds hi the head. After such ablution 
the hair should be wiped nearly dry and then 
dressed, but exposure to cold winds before 
the hair is well dried is not advisable. 
“ Another excellent! detergent tor the scalp 
is the white of egg. Two eggs will be suffi¬ 
cient for a cleansing of the hair, as ordinarily 
worn by men, hut women who wear their 
hair as long as it will grow, will need four 
or more. The yolks should be carefully re¬ 
moved, and the. albuminous portion rubbed 
into the roots of the lmir very thoroughly 
for some time, when a thorough rinsing 
with water and drying with towels will 
leave the hair of a beautiful luster and silky 
softness. Fine toothed combs are only to 
be tolerated under conditions which are 
happily rare iu this country, and therefore 
unnecessary to mention. Brushing is good, 
if not carried so far as to irritate the skin. 
m. 
Mary the Suffering Heart, 
To know and feel; 
“Mary the Loving Heart, 
To soot he and heal; 
“ MABY the Mother Heart, 
Open to all 
“ She hears her children's cry, 
Their techiest cull — 
“Tell her thy sin and want, 
Thy every need ; 
“ She at the Father's Throne 
Will intercede. 
" Bridging the space between 
The LORD and t hee— 
“ Let ull thy aoul he tuned 
la minstrelsy." 
Ave Maria 1 Henrt 
Suercd and pure! 
Mother, with loving arms, 
Faithful and sure! 
Thou who hast known my grief, 
Passion and pain, 
Akl mu to he like tiiee, 
Free from all slain. 
Orphaned and lone am I; 
The world Is drear ; 
Evil ami aln abound, 
Ever are near; 
Guard from tomptntion’s wiles, 
By night and day, 
And at tho Father's Throne, 
Ora pro me. 
New York, 180‘J. 
OUR CROSS. 
BY EDITH MELBOURNE. 
ETIQUETTE IN MUNICH. 
ing with a lady is constantly provoked at. gaandal. For table arrangements every- 
the rude way iu which she is jostled by 
men, not the rough and poorly dressed 
alone. He will be likely to jostle pretty 
sharply himself now and then, as a practical 
hint to those who need it. A German iu 
like circumstances goes composedly along, 
letting his weaker and burdened companion 
stem the tide as best she can. 
tiling must bn clean. We should have nap¬ 
kins, if made of home-spun and home-woven 
linen- A napkin at table Is just as necessary 
as a tabic doth, or a towel at the wash stand. 
For dinner, when meats, vegetables, soups 
and the like are served, large ones arc 
needed. For tea, smaller, ones will do; and 
Every one who goes into a shop in Munich 
is expected to lake oil liis hat, and hold it in 
his hand till his purchases are complete. In 
like manner, all who visit the Kunst-Vercin 
have to keep their hats off; not because it 
enables others to see better, for though hats 
are often in the way in picture galleries, they 
are more awkward in the hand than on the 
head; but the Kunst-Verein, being supported 
by subscriptions, is a private institution. 
That is, because you pay a pound a year to 
have the right of seeing pictures, you must 
by tlm way, damask ones oval in shape, are | do your pound the honor of taking off your 
OUR SPICE BOX. 
Good place for picnics—Sandwich Islands. 
Tine host 'bus—Kissing a pretty girl- 
Best re-bus—Kissing her a second time. 
A terrible blunderbuss — Kissing the 
wrong girl. 
Some men are queer, but each woman is a 
querist. So libels a bachelor. 
CouRTsmp Is bliss, but matrimony is 
present, practical and earnest, with a hope blister. So libels another one. 
« • a , _'ll 1HV> Artvnolliimv _ . « r t »• » rrr i 
for the future, will make life something 
worthier than a sigh. 
A SAD PICTURE. 
In a late article in the Atlantic Monthly, a I 
writer saysI know a woman,once, gifted 
so extraordinarily by God that 9lie plight 
have been a florist, a musician, an artist, a 
physician, a teacher, an evangelist,—since 
* - A .1 . lit.. __ 
Tim abode, of Miss-Ann-Thropy — The 
Man-shun-houae. 
Everlasting flowers—The wall-flowers 
of evening parties. 
New reading of an old saw—Man proposes, 
but woman accepts. 
sold for three dollars a dozen, just rigid, for [ 
the tea table. One does not like to spill 
grease, or tea, or milk, or juices on her “ best 
dress,” when so great a calamity can be 
avoided by the protecting spread of a napkin. 
For dinner the plates should be placed in 
a pile in front of tlm man who does the 
“ carving” or dishing the meats and vegeta¬ 
bles. This does away with the awkardness 
of exchanging plates. For tea tlm plates 
may be distributed, and if the dining-room 
is not kept sacred to eating simply, let 
the plates be trade-mark up. This custom 
probably originated from an idea of nicety, 
as dust and other misappliances suit the 
palate best on the wrong side of the plate. 
In dishing tea and coffee (for dinner both 
should ho prepared) sugar and milk, added 
hat to it, though when you are admitted free | 
to the Royal or National Galleries, you may 
keep yourself covered. This is a distinction 
indeed! 
Another form which Is equally strange, 
though it is enforced on every one, is the 
habit of knocking at tlm open doors. You 
are going through the house with a workman 
or tradesman, and you open the door of some 
room in which repairs are* wanted. Y’ou 
precede him into the room, of course, other¬ 
wise ho would stand waiting forever. But 
even then he cannot follow you in without a 
ceremonious knock at t he door, though you 
may Vie talking to him all tho while, and may 
be almost abreast of him as you botli enter. 
CLOAK AND VEIL. 
When are g 
loves hard to sell! When bjr«l* ■*»«» <* °l ,tlon “ l ; 
they are kept on hand. 
What word signifying wrong denotes also 
to tlm mastery of any one of these callings a young lady? Amiss. 
slm could have brought a nearly equal power 
and passion. Whatever the fiery mind fas¬ 
tened upon it fused into itself, nor was there 
anything her cunning right hand sought to 
do in which it did not excel. 
At fourteen her precocity was so great that 
her father cut short her studies, because she 
“ knew enough for a woman,” and made her 
a teacher in his school. At sixteen she mar¬ 
ried a young clergyman. Children came 
fast. Her health gave way, but her energy 
remained. She was never idle a moment; 
but, alas! neither her father nor husband, nor 
Night lays ber finger on the lip of care, 
and men complain no more. 
Happiness is a roadside flower, growing 
upon the highway of usefulness. 
A classic invalid upon being asked if he 
was ill, promptly replied,—“ Hie mm." 
The new song, “ Waiting on the Stile,” is 
not designed for clerks in fashionable diy 
goods stores. 
Our sorrows are like thunder clouds which 
seem to be black in the distance, but grow 
lighter as they approach. 
It is in quite as good taste, however, and 
perhaps quite as respectful and “elegant,” 
for the hostess t,o trim the beverage herself, 
according to the expressed wish of tlm guest. 
A variety of sauces and cakes is no longer 
demanded, and never was needed. Two 
kinds of either are quite sufficient. If cheese 
enters into a dinner, it’should not be passed 
until the dessert is served. Tea and coffee 
should be served late, rather than at the be¬ 
ginning of the dinner. For supper, serve 
tea at once. 
It must be admitted that, some of fashion’s 
latest freaks are pretty and useful. Instance 
the new traveling cloak, borrowed from the 
dress of South America. It combines a 
wrapper and railway rug, and is a square 
of cloth, or plush, a yard and a half across, 
lined in gay-colored plaid flannel, the coarse 
twilled sort most appropriate, bound with 
heavy galloon, and a place cut out in the 
center, through which the head is slipped. 
This convenience M ill be Indispensable when 
its comfort is once tested. Then there is a 
The way of the cross is the way of light. 
There are a diversity of crosses. The same 
cross falls not to the lot of every man; each 
must bear bis own. To one it. comes in the 
loss of health; to another in the loss ot 
friends; sometimes it comes in the form of 
persecutions, and sometimes in the thwart¬ 
ing of our life purposes; and many a one 
has learned the weight of this latter cross. 
“ Labors lost and trust, betrayed,” tell the 
sad story of many a heart grown weary of 
earth and its delusions. 
But more often, perhaps, than iu any other 
form, our cross is manifest in the little every¬ 
day cares and vexations of life; and this, 
more than any other, chafes and frets our 
spirits. To bear these ills to which the 
flesh is averse, and to bear them with a spirit 
of Christian submission, is to bear our cross. 
Daily we should take up whichever our 
Saviour lays before us, lest we stumble ami 
fall upon it. On it we should nail our hu¬ 
man wills, that the will of God may be the 
supreme law of our lives; not bearing the 
cross in self-will, whithersoever we please, 
but humbly, after Jksijs. 
There are -crosses we sometimes carry 
which wo turn aside from tlio path of duty 
to find. These are self- imposed crosses. 
Many a one bows all his lifetime beneath 
the weight of such a cross, thinking to re¬ 
ceive a reward for his faithfulness to it. 
Like the poor Romanist, he is striving to 
gain Heaven by works of supererogation. 
But with such penances God is not well 
pleased. The cross is not to be worshiped. 
Wo should learn to distinguish between 
these false crosses, and those Jesus lays be¬ 
fore us, remembering that it is Satan who 
lures us out of tlio way to lift the former, 
while only to the true cross-bearer does the 
reward belong. And what is tho reward? 
1 “ An hundred fold now in this time ”—“ and 
! in the world to come eternal life.” 
Shall we refuse to bear our cross? If it 
grow heavy, Jesus is ever with us, and in 
1 accordance with its weight our strength 
1 shall be. If we grow weary or discouraged, 
1 encircling as with the arms of His love lie 
r whispers to us the sweet promises of IBs 
• faithfulness, while lie points us to the 
“many mansions” in His Father’s house. 
Can any earthly honors compare with this 
8 condescending love of the Son of God? Is 
e not this indeed “ an hundred fold ?” 
e Weary, fainting one, art thou ready to cry 
a out, “ Remove this cup from me?” Forget 
e not to add the “ Nevertheless not my will, 
i, hut thine be done,” lest thou may’st even be 
e striving against the very cross Jf.sus would 
h have thee bear. Look up to thy Saviour, 
c and above every raging tempest of sorrow 
1. tbou may’st hear Ilis voice bidding thee “ Be 
n of good cheer.” Then take up thy cross 
a and follow Jesus, and thou mayst find it 
i- even lighter than thy fears; and by-and-by, 
tea at once. now veil, called the religmm. It is of gren- even lighter than thy fears; and by-and-by, 
If you have a boy or girl ten years old, adine, square, with light tassels at each cor- when thy flesh and thy heart taileth,He will 
train either to wait upon you at table when ner, and it is thrown entirely over the head say, “ It is enoughand from thy sinking 
vou have a number of o-uests. Beverages, and shoulders, something after tho fashion form he will lift the cross, and give thee in 
sauces, puddings, etc., should be placed at of a nun’s veil. Exchange. 
exchange for it a “ crown of life.” 
