JAN. 28 
75 
for IKorara. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS RAY CLARK. 
A QUAKER SERMON. 
It was the first-day meeting. 
And the Kroup of gathered folk 
Sat touched by tba hush of a voiceless spell; 
No sound the silence broke, 
Until in her place on the woman's side, 
With a sweet and tender face 
That boro the pure and peaceful sign 
Of the inward spirit’s grace, 
A white-haired woman rose with the word 
That was laid on her heart to say— 
The word that the gathered people 
Were awaiting that sunny day. 
“ Sister Tabitha all to pieces 
My hestchlua teapot broke; 
But I kept my soul iu patience 
Nor a word of anger spoke." 
That was all: and down with tlio sunshine. 
The silence again fell sweet. 
Till the elder people gave the sign 
That the service was complete. 
Do you say that the hour was wasted ! 
That the sermon was trivial, vain, 
Textless, devoid of logic, 
Uuthrilled by one eloquent strain f 
Not so; for that gospel Is sweetest 
That is won through life's fret and its pain, 
That softens the jar of its friction, 
And lightens the stress of its strain. 
And the love that is over the erring. 
The peace untouched by surprise, 
Tlis tjuiet that keeps its sweet patience, 
Are dear in^ie Master’s eyes. 
While many a rhetorician 
Might learn from this homily brief, 
A truth that the wearied people 
Would hiil as a glad relief— 
That tho lesson is most enduring 
Close to life's practical lines. 
And not the length, but the fitness 
Theheartof the hearer inclines. 
Aud we all in our plain home duties 
Find thethoughtR in this first-day word. 
That the least of our trials aud triumphs 
Has a worth iu the sight of our Lord. 
HEALTHFUL UNDER-CLOTHING. 
MAKY E. BURROUGHS. 
The last decade has witnessed a great revolu¬ 
tion In woman’s dress, not so much in outward 
appearance as In comfort and liealthfulness. The 
old-time lasliton of suspending all garments from 
the hips so that every woman looked like an hour¬ 
glass, Is fast passing away. The Idea of Individu¬ 
ality In figure Is essentially a modern one; only 
the modern woman has the courage to preserve 
her natural figure and adapt her dress to It so as 
to bring out the best features. The reluctance 
with which women are accepting the reformed 
style of under-clothing, Is due to several causes. 
Many clung to the notion that a tiny waist, slop¬ 
ing shoulders and broad hips, are the chief char¬ 
acteristics of a beautiful figure. Many are too 
Ignorant to know how fatally Injurious to health 
their clothing Is, and many find the reformed 
underclothing so complicated with tapes, straps 
and buttons, that, It ls almost Impossible to re¬ 
model their old-style clothing Into the new, or If 
remodelled It ls Loo troublesome to wear and to 
take care of. 
Like every American invention, It has been 
continually Improved ; tbe knowledge of physiolo¬ 
gy and hygiene which has of late years become 
an essential part of a good education, particu¬ 
larly of woman’s education, has dissipated and 
modified the first two objections and the last, 
has been removed by the reformers themselves. 
At last we have a style of under-clothing, at once 
pretty, comfortable, simple and healthful. To 
many women who would be willing and glad to 
reform their style of clothing, the “ how” ls the 
difficult question, and an almost. Insurmountable 
one. For the benefit of such we propose to de¬ 
scribe a complete suit or underclothing which we 
know, practically combines all tbe characteristics 
which we have mentioned. 
For winter under-clothing, the suit next the 
skin may be made of white canton flannel, cut 
reform style; that Is, all In one length, including 
the legs, high at the neck, gored, and with darts 
fitting to the figure like a basque. It ls buttoned 
down tbe trout about six inches below the waist 
and there are two large buttons on the back for 
the necessary opening. The legs should he made 
to come down to the shoe-tops and should be loft 
open six inches up, so that they can be lapped 
over aud the stocking drawn over them, it ts 
best to have the stocking long enough to come 
comfortably over tbe knee. Shoulder suspenders 
of which a great variety can be found In the stores, 
are very good for holdlDg them up, but a belter 
contrivance Is a short piece ot rubber elastic with 
snaps on each end such as are used by gentlemen to 
hold up their sleeves, which may be snapped Into 
the stocking, and then into the under-clothing a 
little higher up. Over all there should bo a suit 
ot colored flannel cut precisely like the undersulc 
and ornamented as much or as little as one's taste 
requires. With these two suits only one light 
flannel skirt la needed which should have sewed 
to the band, a couple ol wide tapes passing over 
the shoulder with a cross piece of tape to keep 
them from slipping off. Thus, l here Ls no weight 
upon the hips ana the figure ts Improved because 
every garment fits precisely like the dress. 
Slender women adopting ibis clothing can do 
without corsets without detriment to the appear¬ 
ance of their figures, while ihoso who still think 
they must wear corsets will flud a great improve¬ 
ment la the fit ot their clothing aud some relief 
from the weight of It, For spring and Fall, mus¬ 
lin suits made In the same way, can be worn over 
the White flannel suits and in Summer worn alone, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Of the colored suits only two are positively neces¬ 
sary, since they do not require washing so often 
as the white. Those who do not care to take the 
trouble of making the white undersuits, can buy 
very nice ones, woven In the same style; but the 
heavier colored flannel ones cannot be boughten. 
-- 
VANITY FAIR PAPERS.-No. 2. 
Window Fiirnfi.ilbig*—Scrvni—Cretonne*— Inex¬ 
pensive fsereena—A IVlixplaecd Puppy—Grid¬ 
iron Decoration, 
No one feature of a room exercises a greater In¬ 
fluence on It than the window-hangings, and yet 
It ls only within the last three or four years that 
women have attempted to arrange this class of 
draperies with an eye to artistic effects. We have 
hud window “ fixings,"such as they were, but how 
utterly devoid of taste have they been in most In¬ 
stances. Who ot us does not remember the dark 
shades of other days ? A dreary expanse of brown 
or gray, unrelieved by a spot ot color, was pre¬ 
sented to the room; whatever there was ot orna¬ 
mentation being made to face the street. Then 
followed the era ot whiteness. White shades, 
white paint, white curtains, white cord and tas¬ 
sels, a dead, uncompromising monotony of white. 
Not even a half-tint was permitted to impart the 
faintest tinge of color. Probably nothing more 
trying to the complexion than colorless hangings 
at the window could he dovlsed. 
However, unadulterated whiteness has had its 
day ; Hie lady of the period, whether of high or 
low degree, decorates her windows with color. 
Sometimes only with touches of It here and there, 
and again It ls made to sweep In graceful folds 
from celling to floor. 
A little money Judiciously expended will modern¬ 
ize the most old-fashioned of windows. If the 
shade ls of white linen It can be dyed cardinal, 
” asiheile ’’ red or crimson. If for any reason it la 
not desirable to color the shade, a hand of em¬ 
broidery In bright-colored crewels, placed within 
three or four Inches of the lower edge, will make a 
charming finish. Dark shades are to be avoided. 
Curtains of Swiss, lied back with gay tinted rib¬ 
bons, add much to the attractive appearance of a 
room. Scrym, a comparatively new fabric, ls exten¬ 
sively used for wludo w-hanglngs. It la uniform In 
width, but varies In price from 40 cents to $i per 
yard. The higher priced grades come with bands 
of Insertion, but the quality sold at 59 cents cau be 
made to look very rich by the addition of squares 
and edgings of antique lace. Embroidery shows to 
excellent advantage on scrym. A design of wild 
roses and iorgeO-me-nots, worked In natural col¬ 
ors, looks exquisitely on curtains or this material. 
The design ls placed across the top and bottom 
and the whole length of the Inner side of the cur¬ 
tain. 
Cretonnes are shown this season, not only In the 
bright colors and designs to which we have been 
accustomed, but, In addition to these, manufac¬ 
turers have attempted oriental effects and with 
excellent results. When hung these cretonnes re- 
semble heavy woolen fabrics very closely. Trim¬ 
med with insertions and edgings ot antique they 
are beautiful and expensive looking. 
I do not mean to exhaust the subject of curtain 
materials now, but; hope In a future article to have 
something to say on the subject of morale cloths, 
felt, canton flannel, raw silk for window curtains 
and partlerres, 
A word or two In praise of cretonne will not come 
amiss, perhaps. It ls now presented In such a 
variety ot exquisite tints and beautiful designs 
that one is tempted to embalm all the household 
furniture In cretonne. A few yards ot It will make 
a dingy room blossom into & bower or beauty. 
Hung at the windows, used as table spreads or 
bureau covers, It can be made to do excellent 
decorative service, it also makea a good screen 
■covering. By the way, the rich should not be al¬ 
lowed to monopolize that most useful of articles— 
a screen. Draughts from windows and doors can 
be warded off by means ot It, and with its friendly 
aid one can improvise a retiring nook. In many 
ways it can be made serviceable In a home. It 
need not be a costly piece of rurnlture. Ebony 
frames with hand-pointed silken hangings cau be 
left to the wealthy, but the poorest among us can 
get a frame of some sort and cover It with a half- 
worn dress. A couimou clothes-horse, covered 
with pretty calico or cretonne, makes an accepta¬ 
ble addition to the furniture of a bed-chamber or 
the family living room. 
In these days it Is imperative that one should be 
deooratlvoly Inclined. Societies devoted exclusively 
to tbe advancement of the decorative mania are 
springing up all over the country, and our homes 
(airly teern with creations in worsted, felt and satin, 
born ot our devotion to " art." It ls to be expected 
i bat eccentricities of taste should come to the sur¬ 
face, and they do—that most prosaic of domestic 
utensils, the smoothing- Hod, Is transplanted from 
Its native sphere of usefulness. Brought to my lady’s 
chamber, it ls turned on end, decorated with some 
dainty design, and we are expected to consider this 
nondescript affair in the light of an artistic orna¬ 
ment. 
A gentleman I know of, who has lately taken to 
possessing himself of old hits ot furniture, until it 
sceina likely that his modest little dwelling will 
present the appearance of an auction shop, has 
adorned his office with a arty-year-old gridiron 1 
At present writing It ls In a nude condition, but 
doubtless before long some artistic lady will line 
It aud hang it with tassels, or perhaps gay ribbons 
will be twined about, its ribs, and auother decora¬ 
tive monstrosity will be uanered into existence. 
Through the parted curtains of satin which 
adorn the windows or a handsome house In this 
city the passer-by sees a richly-carved ebony 
stand, on which rests a china dog of tho English 
bull-pup type. 8atlu, ebony, and a $5.oo china 
dog! When the art-shops display such quantities 
of exquisite brte-a-braoot all kinds; when statues 
and Btatuettes can bo bought for such compara¬ 
tively small sums, what must one tnink of the 
taste which selects a miserable caricature in china 
as a window ornament? Faith Ripley, 
ABOUT WOMEN. 
Mrs. John Jacob Astor has sent a font with 
basin of solid silver to the mission chapel which 
she has established In Nebraska. 
Owing to the death of the Duchess of Westmin¬ 
ster, aunt of the Marquis of Lome, no entertain¬ 
ments will be given at Rldeau Hall until after the 
new year begins. 
Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith has given $3,ooo 
to endow a life-bed In the Hahnemann no9pltal 
In memory of her parents, John Caswell and Mary 
Caswell. 
-♦-*-*- 
CORRESPONDENTS’ CORNERS. 
Wiiat Is Grace Greenwood’s real name; how old 
Is she at present, and at wbat age did she marry ? 
Answers to the above will be kindly received by a 
constant reader of the Rural,. Mrs. 8. L. W. 
Ans —“Grace Greenwood" ls Mrs, Leander K. 
Llppincott. She was born at Fompey, Onon. Co., 
Ne w York, Sept. 23,1823, and was married In 1853. 
-♦-*“»- 
Mothers with sickly, fretful, nursing children, 
will cure the child and benefit themselves by tak¬ 
ing Hop Bitters dally. 
foraestir (gitintomg. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
THOSE CARELESS BOYS. 
O. W. DAY. 
Mary Wager-Fisher has won my grati¬ 
tude. She has voiced, or rather penned, the 
trials of my life for years in her article enti¬ 
tled *’ Concerning Careless people ” I thought 
my case was an exceptionally severe one, and 
it has lightened the burden to kuow Ihutsome 
other person has a like experience. I called 
the attention of two male members of my fam¬ 
ily to the article in question. Each read it. 
One of them good-naturedly went up-stairs, 
and iu a quiet manner put a few of his scat¬ 
tered belongings to rights. There is hope of 
him! The other did not feel *• hit," and when 
I mildly pointed to two or three articles he 
owned, in places where they ought not to be, 
he argued the matter, trying tocoDvineeme 
they were "all right," were bandy, etc , etc. 
I sighed audibly aud gsye it up. It has been 
' liue upon line and precept upon precept" 
with that incorrigible youngster since he was 
old enough to “ sense it.” I wiote out rules in 
very plain letters concerning his bureau and 
closet arrangements, and tacked them up in 
his room. They were entitled—very appro¬ 
priately How to Keep Peace in the Family." 
He read and heeded —one clay. He lost, suc¬ 
cessively, his “ Sunday hat," his sealskin cap 
and his every-day hat, and actually had to 
wear a hood to the barn, when he did the 
chores. They all turned up. however. His 
sisters don’t like to wait on him. naturally, 
aud they play tricks with his misplaced gar¬ 
ments. He finds his hair brushes in the mid¬ 
dle of the bed : his hat gets flour on it, and his 
shoes are wet inside. Lately every article be¬ 
longing to uuy member of the family found 
out of its place, is placed in his or her chair at 
the table. This morniug the contents of the 
several chairs were us follows " That Boy’s” 
chair held his overcoat, his best hat, a pair of 
mittens and a flageolet. The head of the fam¬ 
ily’s chair contained a pair of shoes ; the other 
male member’s a bat and cane. (Those 
boys keep a sharp lookout for our shortcom¬ 
ings. To-night I sat down on my knitting 
work). I shall persevere, in hopes my persist¬ 
ence may mend, if not cure matters, and on 
readiug this, some other worried housekeeper 
may see that she has a common grievance. A 
boy should be made to clean his boots well, in 
order to save the newly-washed kitchen floor ; 
to put the paper, folded, in the paper holder 
when he is done with it; to put away pens, 
ink aud paper when through writing ; to put 
his chair in place when ho goes to bed, and 
many other ihings that may lighten mother’s 
burden of cate. I know a man who, in hiring 
an office boy (his office was connected with a 
sitting and bed-room), always set the applicant 
for the position to making his bed. If the 
result satisfied him he took the boy into his 
service, ne argued if the boy had uot been 
tanght to make beds he had 9lept in before that 
if he had observation sufficient to accomplish 
the details required iu the process of bed¬ 
making, he was a ** handy ” boy that would 
soon learn to be useful and trustworthy. 
INSECTS IN BEDS. 
Majty Wager-Fisher’s article on "Beds and 
Bedding ” teminda me of my own experience 
when I first went to housekeeping. The 
housekeeper who presided over these bachelor 
quarters cornsidered the dairy her province, 
and the servants under her charge considered 
doing us little work as possible their province, 
aud iu spite of new paint and paper, I was dis¬ 
gusted to find insects in the up-stairs bedsteads. 
Though young and inexperienced, I was per¬ 
severing, and ordered the offending furniture 
to be lot dow n from the windows, uot allowing 
it to pass through the house. Then, after a 
good washing, the parts were well soaked 
with coal oil and left out-of-doors for a week, 
at the end ol which time the treatment was re¬ 
peated. During the 16 years since that time I 
have never seen a vestige of the pests, and 
consider coal oil a thorough remedy if per¬ 
severed in Annie L. Jack. 
- »« «- 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Bread Pudding. 
One quart of milk, three cups of fine, dry 
bread crumbs, three eggs, a teacupfnlof sugar, 
two tablespoonfnls of butter, lemon peel or 
extract. Soak the crumbs in the milk, stir in 
the beaten yelks, butter and sugar. Add the 
lemon last. Cover aud bake a half hour, then 
beat the whiles stiff, add a little sugar, spread 
over the pudding and return to the oven until 
a delicate brown. 
Fried Potatoes, 
Cut into dice cold boiled potatoes and fry in 
two spoonfuls or more of good beef drippings. 
Balt, and when the mass is well browned, 6erve. 
Porn Fritters. 
Drain the liquid from a can of corn and chop 
the grain* fine. With this mix two beaten 
eggs, a cup of milk, salt and pepper and two 
tablespoonfuls of flour with a half teaspoon¬ 
ful of bakiDg powder mixed with it. Beat 
thoroughly and fry by the spoonful on a 
greased griddle. ar. b. 
To Dry Fig*. 
The fruit should be gathered when it begins 
to crack. Make a strong lye, dip the fruit into 
the hot liquor and at once take out. (A wire 
basket is good for this purpose.) Expose to 
the air for a few minutes and dip again. Place 
upon trays aud expose to the sun for a few 
days, putting them under shelter at night. 
Pack In small wooden boxes. l. b. 
No good health with thin, Impure blood. Hop 
Bitters makes rich blood, good health and 
strength. 
T xx B 
Rural New Yorker’s 
REMARKABLE 
CLUBBING COMBINATIONS, 
For 1880-81. 
Read Tliem. 
Six of the most Enterprising 
Journals in the country Club 
1 with the Rural for nearly 
the price of one. 
The Inter-Ocean, 
Globe Democrat, 
Detroit Free Press, 
New York World, 
Pioneer Press, 
N. Y. Evening Post. 
The Greatest amount of Reading 
Matter and the Lowest Prices 
of any Clubbing' Combi¬ 
nation heretofore 
offered. 
The Rural Home fully supplied—The News of the 
World—the moat trustworthy Agricultural and 
Horticultural Information—Seeds, Plants—AH 
for about the price ot one good paper. 
-*-*-•- 
The Weekly Inter-Ocean (Chicago, Ill.) has 
no superior as a first-class secular and political 
newspaper. It ls a large, eight-page journal, with 
seven columns to the page, price *1.la. It will be 
Bent one year with the Rural New-Yorker, and 
the Rural’s seed and plant distribution, for only 
$2,75, 
The Weekly Detroit Free Press (Detroit, 
Mich.), one of the most popular weeklies In the 
United States, combining wit and humor with the 
best literary and secular matter; Also the 
“Household,” a bright and sympathetic paper 
forthe home circle, will he sent one year with the 
Rural Nbw-Yorkkr and the Fccral’s free seed 
and plant dlslilbutton tor only $3.so. 
The Weekly New York World (New York), a 
live, enterprising and ably-edited newspaper, full 
of the latest political, secular and literary news of 
the day, price $1.00, will be sent with the Rural 
New-Yorker one year, and the Rural’s seed and 
plant distribution, for only $9,75. 
The Weekly globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Mo ), 
the leadlog secular and political newspaper 
west of the Mississippi River, ably edited and In 
every respect a first-cl ass weekly journal, price 
$1.00, will be sent one year, with the Rural New- 
Yorker and the Rural’s free seed and plant 
distribution, for only $2 75. 
Specimen copies of any oj (he journals here an¬ 
nounced as clubbing with the Rural New-Yorker 
to ill be sent, without charge to all who apply. The 
application , however, must be. made to the journal 
q f which specimen copies are desired. Send jor 
them t 
— -■ — ■*»» - 
Thousands die annually from some form of kid¬ 
ney dlaea.se that might have been prevented by a 
timely use of Hop Bitters. 
