AN OLD MARTHA REFORMED. 
That name very well applied to me, but 
in my old age, 1 find being careful and cum¬ 
bered about much serving, will not bring 
happiness, here or hereafter. 1 have always 
lived on a large farm, and know well what 
hard work is. I know duty, conscientiously 
and cheerfully done, brings happiness that 
an idle person cannot know, no matter how 
humble that duty is. Ju9t consider:—Do 
you not respect, even a washwoman, who 
does her duty hi a neat and orderly way— 
not, as though she looked only to the pay, 
and to get the job off her hands the best she 
could, all the time complaining how hard 
life is? 
Just let me make an humble confession; 
perhaps it may do some one good, and help 
that one to see things in a better light. I 
truly believe there are but few people who 
have bad more trouble than myself. I do 
not mean sickness and death—that is of the 
Loud, and let Him do as seemeth best—but 
Common trials; and I verily believe 1 could 
have avoided nearly or quite all; in short, 
that I made it all myself. That ia my hu¬ 
miliating confession. But ia not worldly 
ambition the cause of moat of our labor and 
over-exertion? We arc not contented with 
the good tilings but aspire to luxuries, afflu¬ 
ence and high station. [ could point to per¬ 
sonal examples; better not. 
Please take A little advice. If you have 
one good dress and two common ones, be 
content. Good material, made plain, is a 
good dress, and let a common one be com¬ 
mon and plain; do not take too much time 
for needless extras, but take some time every 
day to read the Bible, Rural New-Yorker, 
and also some lively but true story, and keep 
a lively feeling; do not fret. I will assure 
you there will be no more complaining 
Marthas. 
- 
FEMININE FEUILLETON. 
Woman's Work nml Wagm*. 
Mu. S, 8. Packard writes the Revolution: 
“ If is a common complaint on the part of 
women that they have no chance in compe¬ 
tition with men for clerkships—as book¬ 
keepers, cashiers, etc. The only reason 
Why this is so, if it is, is because they are 
not competent to do the work, and will not 
prepare themselves. A young man usually 
earns his clerkship by a three or four years’ 
apprenticeship as a shop-boy, runner, and 
in general utility work—an apprenticeship 
which is invaluable in its training qualities, 
and which no girl can be expected to accom¬ 
plish. There are plenty of positions, how¬ 
ever, attainable by respectable young ladies 
without this severe ordeal, aud requiring 
only the preliminary education in account¬ 
antship, and yet the comparatively small 
number of young ladies who will even spend 
a few months to acquire this necessary 
knowledge is astonishing. Something more 
tliau a year ago I offered to educate gratui¬ 
tously for business fifty women, of whatever 
age or condition, who should come well 
recommended, and with the purpose to use 
the knowledge they might acquire in a 
proper way. Before making this offer I 
called on a number of business men, who 
agreed to employ in appropriate positions 
any well qualified woman I might send 
them. This offer was published extensively 
throughout the country, and was favorably 
commented upon by editors everywhere; 
and yet, although j. kept the offer open to 
tins time, not more than ten ladies have 
availed themselves of the offer, and none of 
these have had the courage or persistence to 
complete a course of instruction, or to re¬ 
main until qualified for a position. I know 
of many excellent houses in this city where 
good female accountants would be wel¬ 
comed, and in not a few would be preferred 
to males. But what is wanted is absolute 
qualification for the position and a willing¬ 
ness to do the duties.” 
How the Girl of the Period made Tea. 
The Journal of Applied Chemistry tells 
the following story:—“ William Smith was 
paying attention to Molly Perkins. He was 
a freshman in college, and she a hoarder at 
a fashionable institute. One evening Wil¬ 
liam saw his sweetheart home from a lecture 
at the. Young Men’s Christian Association, 
and as he had been introduced to the matron 
as a cousin, he felt at liberty .to accept an 
invitation to go in to take a cup of tea. It 
was rather late—the servants had retired, 
and Molly found herself driven to the neces¬ 
sity of helping herself. She found the ket¬ 
tle and alcohol lamp on their proper shelf, 
and went bravely to work to beat some 
water. 
After the lapse of a quarter of an hour, 
William observed something coming out of 
the spout, and modestly remarked that lie 
believed the water must be boiling. This 
assumption of knowledge on his part, was 
put down by the fair damsel, who stated 
that it was necessary to wait until all that 
while cloud had ceased before pouring out 
the water. Fftcou minutes later the spout 
fell off, having been melted by the heat. The 
steam had ceased to appear, and the young- 
lady now said that the water was boiling; as 
the spout was gone, it was proposed to pour 
the water out of the lid, not an easy thing to 
do, but William was ready to risk anything 
for his sweetheart; lie lifted up the kettle, 
removed the cover aud tried to pour out the 
Water, when lo, and behold, it was empty ; 
all of the water had been boiled away, not 
a drop could be squeezed out of it, and the 
kettle was ruined. 
William did not wait, to repair damages, 
but discreetly left the field of action, mental¬ 
ly cogitating that, if the gill of the period 
were taught more common sense and fewer 
accomplishments, it would be better for all 
concerned. 
Women an«l Wine. 
A writer in Scribner’s Monthly uses the 
following strong language, which will be 
responded to by the women who have suf¬ 
fered nil over the land :—Of the worst foes 
that woman has ever had to encounter, wine 
stands at the head. The appetite for strong 
drink in man has spoiled the lives of more 
women—ruined more hopes for them, scat¬ 
tered more fortunes for them, brought to 
them more shame, sorrow, aud hardship— 
than any other evil that lives. The coun¬ 
try numbers tens of thousands — nay, 
hundreds of thousands—of women who 
are widows to-day, aud sit in hopeless 
weeds, because their husbands have been 
slain by strong drink. There are hundreds 
of thousands of homes, scattered all fiver the 
land, in which women live lives of torture, 
going through all the changes of suffering 
that lie between the extremes of fear and 
despair, because those whom they love, love 
wine better than they do the women they 
have sworn to love. 
There are women by thousands who dread 
to hear at the door the step that once thrilled 
them with pleasure, because that step has 
learned to reel under the influence of the 
seductive poison. There are women groan¬ 
ing with pain, while we write these words, 
from bruises and brutalities indicted by hus¬ 
bands made mad by drink. There can he no 
exaggeration in any statement made in regard 
to this matter, because no human imagina¬ 
tion can create anything worse than the truth, 
and no pen is capable of portraying the 
truth. The sorrows and the horrors of a wife 
with a drunken husband, or a mother with a 
drunken son, are as near the realization of hell 
as can he reached in this world, at least. The 
shame, the indignation, the sorrow, the sense 
of disgrace for herself and her children, the 
poverty,—and not unfrequently the beggary, 
—the fear and the fact of violence, the linger¬ 
ing, life-long struggle aud despair of count¬ 
less women with drunken husbands, tire 
enough to make all women curse wine, and 
engage unitedly to oppose it everywhere as 
the worst enemy of their sex. 
Victoria and Eugenic. 
Among the things which Eugenie left be¬ 
hind her, in the hurry of her departure from 
Paris, was a photograph album, which she 
had received from Queen Victoria, and 
which contained the royal donor’s auto¬ 
graph, and a selection of interesting portraits. 
Hearing of the loss, Victoria immediately 
gave order for the preparation of another al¬ 
bum, which will take the place at Cbisel- 
lnirst, of that which had been lost; the in¬ 
scription and the ea/rtes-de-visite being as 
nearly ns possible, the same as those which 
imparted so much value to the gift left at the 
Tuileries. 
-- 
A lady correspondent of the Rural New- 
Yorker asks why it is that gentlemen are 
such “ sticks ” in society ? We didn’t know 
they were 1 
or Doting 
I topic. 
GRANDPAPA 
To liis Little Grandchildren. 
[See Illustration on page 81.] 
LoVK in the family, 
Right in the home; 
Who can be sorry 
That Winter has come ? 
Purl >r so cosy, 
Fire in a blaze,— 
Long cheerful evenings 
After dull days'. 
Frost, on the window, 
Snow oo the lea. 
Icicles sparkling 
From pent-house and tree; 
Saucy line! hungry 
Bold Robin comes,— 
Open (he window 
And give him some crumbs! 
Home for the holidays! 
O, the delight! 
Lessons and masters 
Both out of sight: 
Christmas and presents, 
Feasting and fun; 
Only too swiftly 
The holidays run! 
Visits to grandimpa— 
Crown of all joys! 
Stories and romping— 
New books and toys: 
Mine.e file fur slipper, 
Good-bye gaily said, 
Home by the starlight, 
And quick into bed I 
So. little children, 
Happy and glad. 
Carefully tended 
And carefully chid, 
Tbit can feel pleasure 
That Winter Is here;— 
Some, little children 
Feol sorrow and fear ! 
Raggwl and barefoot, 
Hungry and ridll; 
Strangers to comfort, 
When weary or ill; 
Breading the W inter, 
With dinnarlcss days, 
And no cosy dwelling 
Or cheerful warm blaze. 
Ah, little children, 
Pity and aid 
The sorrowful orphans 
That warfare has made; 
The cost of some dainty, 
Or pretty new toy. 
Would be a nice gift 
For a girl or a boy. 
Only remember 
That God sees the heart. 
And does not l ike grudging 
With aught you impart: 
But the smallest kind deed 
From a free, ready mind, 
For Jeans' sake given, 
Acceptance will find. 
Now, little children, 
Think avor’ii.^ rhyme. 
And try to do something. 
This cold Christmas-time, 
Tp Iomnoij the sorrows 
• Of lonely and poor— 
, Both those at a distance 
And Itumo at your door ! 
FROM RURAL GIRLS AND BOYS. 
Another (Style of Barrel Chair, 
In the Girls’ and Boys’ Department of the 
last Rural (Jan. 14) I notice the cut of a 
FIGURE' I. 
“ Barrel Chair.” I will furnish another 
style, a barrel rocking-chair, as shown in 
figure 1. 
Figure 2. 
A barrel, cut as represented in figure 2, 
will make two chairs, and, when nicely 
covered, padded and cushioned, you have a 
comfortable seat.—A Rural Reader, Am¬ 
herst Co., Vu. 
Using Hoop SkirtH. 
We make paper-holders, like Ella T.’s, 
out this way, but with an improvement. In¬ 
stead of fastening the figure 8’s together, 
lap them, thus. nnunriT) They are stronger 
and ptettier./vvwy\ And we make a 
variety of han-'JLSJuL2J dies. I will try 
aud send some patterns another time. Work 
baskets may be made of hoops, too. Fasten 
the figure 8 so that one loop is larger than 
the other. This will give the necessary 
“ flare” to the basket. Use a little ingenuity 
in making the bottom, either round or oval, 
and set it in about half an inch from the end 
of the small loops. They are pretty, lined 
with some bright color, or are pretty with¬ 
out. What-nots may lie made with paste¬ 
board shelves, trimmed around the edges, 
and connected together with a narrow piece 
made of hoops, in the same way. Stain it, 
and varnish, aud it is very nice for small ar¬ 
ticles, and has the charm of being one’s own 
handiwork. 
Heed Frames. 
Do any of you make seed frames? I am 
making one of watermelon seeds, coffee, all¬ 
spice, cloves, buckwheat, and mustard seed. 
Have a plain, pine frame, and fasten the 
seeds with glue. Put them on in any pretty 
shape, and till up the spaces that are left with 
mustard seed. Then varnish it. They are 
very pretty.— Dora. 
Knitting a Carpet. 
Medora Hart writes about the way her 
parlor is furnished. But we have only space 
now, for what she says about her carpet: 
“ i havh a carpet on the floor that 1 knit 
myself. It is made of old woolen clothes, 
cut in narrow strips and sewed together, 
then colored, and wound in balls for knit¬ 
ting; 1 have several colors in my carpet. 
The ground is black, with wide stripes of 
dark red and green, and narrow ones of 
pale red and green. I bought three bottles 
of Stewart’s dye colors, and colored about 
one-third, of my balls black and half of those 
remaining red and green; then 1 dipped all 
the rest of them through the dye until the 
strength was out, which gave the pale 
shades. My knitting needles are wooden 
ones made for this purpose. They are about 
a yard long, and near the size of my little 
finger. I have a round knob fastened on 
the end of each needle, to prevent the 
stitches from slipping ofl’, and the other 
ends arc pointed. I commence by casting 
on sixty stitches just as l would for a stock¬ 
ing ; then I take the idle needle and knit 
across, and as soon as 1 get the stitches all 
knit on to this one, I take the other and knit 
back again, and continue in this way until 1 
get enough to go from one end of the room 
to the other, then l commence another 
breadth; when I have finished, I sew them 
all together. They make a very pretty and 
durable carpet, with but little expense. I 
use only two needles in knitting.” 
-»■»♦• ■ , -- 
COUNSELS FOR THE YOUNG. 
[From the Mentor.] 
Never be casl down by trifles. If a spi¬ 
der breaks his thread twenty times, twenty 
times will he mend it again. Make up your 
mind to do a thing and you will do it. Fear 
not, if trouble comes upon you; keep up 
your spirit, though the day be a dark one. 
“ Troubles never stop forever; 
The darkest day will pass away.” 
If the sun is going down, look up at the 
stars; if the earth is dark, keep your eyes 
on heaven. With God’s presence and God’s 
promises, a man or a child may he cheerful. 
“Never despair when fog’s In the air, 
A sunshiny inornlnir eomea without warning." 
Mind wlutt you run after. Never he con¬ 
tent, with a bubble that will hurst, or a fire¬ 
work that ends in smoke and darkness. Get 
that which you can keep, and which is worth 
keeping: 
“Something sterling, that will stay 
When gold and silver fly away.” 
Fight hard against a hasty temper. Anger 
will come, but resist it stoutly. A spark 
may set a house on fire. A fit of passion 
may give you cause to mourn all the days of 
your life, 
“ He that revenges knows no rest; 
The meek possess a peaceful breast.” 
If you have an enemy, act kindly to him, 
and make hint your friend. You may not 
win him over at once, but try again. Let 
one kindness be followed by another, till 
you have accomplished your end. By little 
and little, great things are accomplished. 
“ Water falling day by day 
Wears the hardest rock away.” 
And so repealed kindness will soften a heart 
of stone. 
Whatever you do, do it willingly. A boy 
that Is whipped to school never learns his 
lesson well. A man that b compelled to 
work cares not how badly it is performed. 
He that pulls off his coat cheerfully, strips 
up his sleeves in earnest, and sings while he 
works, is the man for me. 
“A cbeei-ful spirit gets on quick, 
A grumbler iu the mud wilt stick.” 
Evil thoughts are worse enemies than 
lions and tigers; for we can keep out of the 
Way of wild beasts, but bad thoughts win 
their way everywhere. The cup that is full 
will hold no more; keep your head and 
heart full of good thoughts, that bad 
thoughts may find no room to enter. 
“ Be on your guard, and strive, and pray, 
To drive all wicked thoughts away.” 
-- 
An intelligent hoy in the National School 
of a large and populous town In Lancashire, 
on being examined, among others, by the 
Commissioner, was asked, " I)o you know 
any of the effects of heat and cold ?” “ Yes, 
sir; heat expands, and cold contracts.” 
“ Good, my boy—you have answered well; 
now an example?” “ Why, sir, the days at 
midsummer are the longest, and in the win¬ 
ter the shortest 1 ”—Once a Week. 
A OO 
!>aliluitl) caking. 
STEP BY STEP. 
Heaven is not reached by a single bound ; 
But wo build the ladder by which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies. 
And we raOunt to its summit round by round. 
1 count these, things to bo grandly true, 
That a noble deed is a step towards God- 
Lifting the Soul from the Common sod 
To a purer air and a broader view. 
We rise by the tilings that are under our feet. 
By what we have mustered In greed and gain. 
By the pride deposed and the passion slain. 
And the vanquished ill we hourly meet. 
We hope, wo resolve, we aspire, we trust, 
When the morning culls to life and light. 
But our heart grows weary, and ere the night 
Our lives are trailing iu the sordid dust. 
Wings for the angels, but feet for the men ! 
We must borrow the rings to llnd the way— 
Wo may hope, anil resolve,and aspire, and pray. 
But our (cot must rise or we full again. 
Only in dream is the ladder thrown 
From the weary earth to the sapphire wall; 
But the dreams depart and the visions fall. 
And the sleeper wakes on Ills pillow of stone. 
Heaven is not reached at a single hound ; 
But wo build the ladder hy which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 
And we mount to its summit round hy round. 
[Dr. Holland. 
PEARLS AND GEMS. 
RUBKIN, in one of his Oxford lectures, 
says:—“I pray you with all earnestness to 
prove and know within your hearts, that all 
things lovely and righteous are possible for 
those who believe in their possibility, ami 
who determine that, for their part, they will 
make every day’s work contribute to them. 
Let every dawn of morning be to you as the 
beginning of life, and every setting of l,ho 
sun be to you ns its close; then let every 
one of these short lives leave its sure record 
of some kindly thing done for others, some 
goodly strength or knowledge gained for 
yourselves; so from day to day and strength 
to strength you shall build up indeed, by 
art, thought, and by just will, an eeelesia of 
England, of which it. shall not be stud, “ See 
what manner of stones are here,” but “ See 
what manner of men.” 
Rev. Db. G a boner Of Massachusetts, in 
a recent, sermon, said;—“ The resurrection 
of Jesus furnishes the basis of our Christian 
Sabbath. This is the Lord’s day, as it is 
His resurrection flay. If Jesus be not raised, 
then we have no distinctively Christian Sab¬ 
bath. It is true the sabbatic Institution is 
impregnably intrenched in the moral law ; 
but the Lord’s day rest—which is still rather 
a worship than a rest—finds its warrant in 
the resurrection of our Lord. Hence the 
Lord's day belongs to the risen Lord. The 
Christian Sftbhath may be devoted only to 
Christ and bis cause.” 
It is not required that a man shall always 
be perfect in order to be a true Christian. 
But it is required that he should be a.sincere 
seeker after perfection. It is required that 
ho should he moving forward, and advancing 
up the straight and narrow way of life. 
Life has been called a warfare. Blessed, 
then, is the periodical armistice of the Sab¬ 
bath. Blessed not merely as a day of rest, 
but also a retrospection. It is only in the 
pauses of the fight that we can see how the 
battle is going. 
11EVITSu to weave In the web of life 
A bright and delicate tilling, 
And to do God’a will with u ready heart, 
Ami hand)* that ure swift and willing. 
Than lo snap Hu.* minute, delicate threads 
Of nnr cnrhiu* Itve* amindnr. 
And then blame Heaven for the tangled ends, 
And sit aud grieve and wonder. 
If you have performed an act of disinter¬ 
ested virtue, conceal it; if you publish it, 
you will neither be believed here nor re¬ 
warded hereafter. 
Observe what directions your thoughts 
and feelings most readily take when you are 
alone, aud you will I lien form a tolerably 
correct opinion of your real state. 
Lyman Beecher said to a theological 
student:—“ Thoroughly master your subject 
—seek the nul of the Holy Spirit—and then 
let nature caper.” 
To hope to touch by the same sermon 
hearers of various ages, sexes, rank and edu¬ 
cation, is to expect to open all locks with 
the same key. 
One drop of ink will blacken a whole 
glassful of pure water. So will one evil 
communication make the whole heart foul. 
It is easy to talk of Christian forbearance 
among neighbors, but to practice it ourselves 
proves ns to be Christians indeed. 
There is a whole sermon in the saying of 
the Persian, “ In all thy quarrels leave open 
the door of reconciliation.” 
Real difficulties are the best cure for 
imaginary ones, because Heaven helps us in 
the real ones, and makes us ashamed of the 
others. 
Men may judge us by the success of our 
efforts. God looks at the efforts themselves. 
11n who rules not his own spirit will likely 
lie ruled by an evil spirit. 
He who can suppress a moment’s anger 
may prevent days of sorrow. 
