THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
DEC. 22 
tlon of the stem attached. A tew threads of yel¬ 
low zephyr or a bit of velvet will often form a 
good flower-center, especially for a rose. 
To make a white pink, use petals of three sizes 
—the largest outside. Fix an oblong bit of bees¬ 
wax, In Imitation of the calyx, upon the end of a 
wire. For stamens, select two slender nbers of 
feather, curl the ends and flx them In the center. 
Arrange the inside row of petals ttrBt. After these 
are done cover calyx and stem with the green 
tissue paper. To make a eolore.il pink, with the 
tip of the linger rub on scarlet, dry paint, In clods 
and blotches. For a pale one, color a - 
trifle at the base of each petal and slight¬ 
ly and evenly over the remainder. 
The wild aster Is a favorite with us. 
Fasten on the wire a flat, round bit of wax 
and color It well with yellow powder. 
Then mold with a thlmble-liead. Cut 
straight feathers, color them with violet , , 
paint and form a single row. ^ 
We should advise the self-taught, learner ^ 
to commence by making patterns of rose- 
leaves, until she learns well tbe art of 
cutting. Aitcrward she can try the pet¬ 
als, which are somewhat heart-shaped 
and thOBC of pink*. pblfflK, Bytfnga and A 
Illy. Wo mast not omit to say that the M 
stamens or a illy are best formed of jgm 
stripped quill, with bits of wax. colored j HU 
with yellow bloom, placed on the tip. 
For an iris, four or the little curled Hl| 
feathers found in pairs in a drake’s plum- 
age, will be found exactly suited. The 1 m 
various colored feathers of other birds 
will suggest themselves for the other j|H\| 
Clusters of syrlnga are easily made and 
very lovely. And nothing can be Imitated wfflRc 
more satisfactorily than a pink or scarlet UH 
single poppy. ujjflft 
Many instructors teach the pupil to Vwn' 
obtain the correct form or petal by gently flfcj'V' 
breaking the quill on the edge or a knife ; 
but we cannot advise it, as the feather j-sag 
sooner or later inclines to Its natural 
form and thus the symmetry Is lost. By 
all means aim to choose feathers which - != 
possess the necessary curvature. 
Before closing we must mention a favor- tsjpUg 
lte flower heretofore omitted—the ruchla. ||§!g3 
A bouquet of white flowers with scarlet 
and white fuchlas and an abundance of Bgfl 
pink and rose foliage, 13 truly satlsfuc- §fegjjl 
Feather flowers, like all other delicate 
work, 3hould be preserved from dust, 
else they will soon become soiled and 
valueless. - s= 
TALK ABOUT MY JEWELS. 
BY MARGUERITE. 
“Is there a pocket. In this apron?” 
Gertie almost always asks, when I dress KDnH| 
her In a fresh one, and her countenance yWA 
lights up with pleasure, and her eyes 
sparkle with Joy when there Is, and “she 
can have a • hang’erchef ’ of her very 
own." 
“Oh, no pocket!” she says when she \ 
misses one, and runs her hand down her 
side in a disappointed way, while it- 
grieves my heart to have her wishing for things 
that will not harm her In the least, or cost more 
than a slight effort of mine to obtain for her. 
The other day she came to me asking, “ Mam¬ 
ma won’t you make a pocket for Gerties apron ?" 
Yes, sometime, I answered. 
“ Mamma, sometime Is now." 
I looked around on ray many cares. Baby was 
calling loudly for me. Vow, was among my Im¬ 
possibilities, so I answered." I cannot now, but 
Just as soon as I can. 1 will." 
“ Well, then. Mamma, sometime Is pretty soon.” 
To-day 1 made a new apron, and put. on It the 
promised pocket. She tried It ou, and running 
her little hand down to Its depths exclaimed, 
“Oh, Mamma, sometime has come!” I think 
parents ought to gratiry their children’s little 
harmless wants, for often their hearts are as 
grieved over thetr troubles, as grown-up people’s 
are over their own, and surely a bright childhood 
Is as healthful for them, as a sunny day Is to the 
world. If ever we reach the shining portals 
above, and look back on the pathway trodden 
here, I think we shall flud that many of our de¬ 
sires and alms In life were as small in the Father’s 
eyes, and perhaps not as worthy as Gertie’s 
longing for a pocket. 
Granting things that, are for the good of 
children and withholding those that are not, is 
every parent’s duty. I never felt the need of 
wisdom and direction from God so much as after 
I became a mother, and I have asked earnestly 
for It, and has lie not promised to give liberally to 
those who ask? A gebtleman of observation 
once said to me, •• If a parent cannot govern a 
child the first year of its life they never can,” 
and It is astonishing how much self they will 
have In their little oodles at. that age. 1 have a 
little son of ten months, and holding him In my 
arms I entertain, I suppose, the dreams and noble 
aspirations of all mothers. 
How pure 1 want him to grow up to be in every 
way! but the little fellow Is Just as full of self-will 
now •• as an egg is full of meat." ’ I one day for¬ 
bade him to do a certain something. He dis¬ 
obeyed me Immediately. I took him up and 
spatted the 111 Me hands while every stroke hurt 
the mother’s heart; and what made It still 
harder, he did not think 1 Intended to hurt him, 
but looked smilingly into my race believing It 
was part, of the play. The next opportunity he 
did It again, and again I punished him. lie cried 
this time for It. hurt him some, but, looked at me, 
as If to say, that he knew I did mean to hurt him. 
I relt at the time completely baflled, but 1 think 
now it was a beginning of tbe foundation, “that 
takes line upon lloe, precept upon precept, here a 
little and there a little ” In building up the prin¬ 
ciples of his manhood, and while, resting on the 
Rock that, is Higher, I trust that the budding 
may be a lit temple for God, 
JUalmtii for t|x fating, 
A MERRY CHRISTMA8. 
In wishing my young relatives a Merry Christ¬ 
mas I have bht one regret, and that is that I can¬ 
not be present at all the Jolly gatherings about 
Rural firesides and Join In the quips and quirks, 
the love of which old age has not. succeeded In 
In the hope that I have offered an amusement 
that will enhance the pleasures of the day. I 
again wish you all a Merry, Merry Christmas! 
Uncle True. 
-- 
CAPTAIN. 
ACT l.-Cap. 
Dramatis Personae. 
William Tell.— Master Tell. — Gessler (the 
Tyrant)— Courtiers, Guards, and Peasants. 
THE CHRISTMAS TREE. 
BV C. W. SCOTT. 
Mistletoe berries, of Christmas, sing; 
You cynical fellows must surely see, 
That thoufth enthusiasts lovelheir spring, 
There’s nothing so soft as the wintry ring 
Of a little one’s laugh at a Christmas Tree. 
Pretty young lovers when tapers shine 
On every spray of the laden branch 
Are thinking of Hymen’s torch, and twine 
Their arms round delicato waists, and ‘ Thine!’ 
Is whispered hack from the eyes of Blanche! 
Lilian, lover of quips and Tun. 
Is taking a bid for some baby’s gear, 
And offers it cheap to the naughty one 
Who’ll swear from bachelor ways to run 
And wed ere violet blooms appear. 
Curly young heads and innocent eyes— 
Smart young gentlemen don’t you sneer— 
Are thought by women a dainty prize. 
And somehow dissipate half the Bighs 
’ Which cling to the close of a weary year! 
Carolling voioes of children sing 
Happy arc we ! ah, happy arc we ! 
And if we’ve nothing but growls to bring 
We’d better be out of the Christmas ring 
Which merrily tugs at the Christmas Tree I 
from the crowd, and Master Tell, gracefully step¬ 
ping forward, exhibits the base-ball apple pierc¬ 
ed by stair-rod arrow. [Great rejoicing.] 
Enter TeU. looking daggers at Gessler. The 
tyrant alai med, rushes from the apartment, the 
Peasants raising Master Tell on their shoulders. 
[Exit Tell, blessing Ms native land. 
ACT.—(Tain) Ten. 
(It should be stated that the second syllable will 
be represented as pronounced , and. 
not as spelt ) 
Dramatis Personae. 
Edward III., King of Eogland—PniL- 
lifa, his Queen—E ustace dk St. Pierre 
—Nine Martyrs—Knights—Nobles—Sol- 
. dier8, and Frenchmen. 
Jp Scene: —Vast plain before the draining- 
room walls of Calais. On one side is 
W&ff. the arm-chair throne of the British 
monarch , canopied by window-curtains. 
U&gf Flourish of tin kettles for drums. 
Enter Edward in Ills dressing-gown 
robes of state. On his head he wears the 
jelly rnold crown or England. In his 
{fp. ^ hand he carries the bright poker scepter, 
fc- « ills bearing denotes a conqueror. Nobles 
■L a ' In suits of mull dish-covers, anil armed 
> i with umbrella-blades, and shields of tea¬ 
's.*? trays, follow Alter him. Soldiers follow 
ill \ri In regimental order, and range tnemselves 
M y, near to the throne. Edward mounts the 
ffl'iiVB armchair throne, and the troops present 
jj/'IJ I brooms. Flourish uf music roll trumpets. 
Winik Eater Eustace de St. Pierre, dressed 
Li his humble garments of blankets. 
WS’A Bod i n at the waist by a common bell-cord 
ySSjjL girdle. He I uforms the audience that lie 
QKm In dying from hunger, and that others In 
Mpfl/, Calais—outside the drawing-room door— 
Wr J J$ are J uat as hungry as he Is. 
V ' v ' Enter Frenchmen, looking pale and em¬ 
aciated. They also describe their ex- 
cesslve hunger and sorrow. Eustace, ap¬ 
proaching the throne, craves an audience. 
Placing the streetedoor key of Calais on 
a too to tool, he presents it to Edward, at 
the same time bowing to the ground to 
denote that the town has surrendered to 
him. 
The King, angered at. the protracted de¬ 
fence of the city spurns the streetedoor 
key. He shakes hla bright poker scepter 
with rage towards the staircase. He 
takes the bell-cord from the waist of Eus¬ 
tace, places It around Uie neck of the 
ambassador, and holding up ten Angers, 
informs St. Pierre that unless ten of the 
Inhabitants submit to be hung ho will not 
spare the city on the at droaso. 
[Exit. Eustace weeping. 
Enter Queen Philippa, beautifully ar¬ 
rayed in counterpane maotleof the period. 
b!* Pages follow her. holding up her train of 
stair-carpet. Edward advances to her, 
and, In energetic pautomlne, expresses his 
admiration of her beauty. Guards again 
present brooms- The King leads her to 
the throne, and gazes fondly on her lovely 
countenance. 
Flourish of kettles. Enter Eustace, fol¬ 
lowed by Nino Martyrs, each one clothed 
-In a flowing blanket, and having a bell- 
pull girdle round bln neck. They ad¬ 
vance towards Edward and kneel. 
The Monarch Instantly orders them to 
be strangled, soldiers proceed to execute 
the cruel deed, when the Queen, casting 
herself atthe reetof herhusoand. Implores 
for mercy. Edward weeps. The Nobles 
and Soldiers turn their heads aside. The 
ambassadors are pardoned. 
[Exit Martyrs, dancing for Joy. 
quenching. You may rely upon It that I shall be 
with you in spirit, and r freely confess that my 
old heart beats with uncommon rapidity; nor care 
I to brush away the moisture that gathers into a 
tear when 1 fondly Imagine that many among 
you will pause In your merry-making long 
enough to give a kind thought to the old man 
hugging his solitude for want, of a hotter com¬ 
panion, and a wish that he might, be In your 
midst. Do not forget, In celebrating this great 
Christian festival, the spiritual significance or 
the day, and resolve that you will try, by the 
grace of God, to endeavor to shape your conduct 
by the life and example of Him who was born 
that He might Insure the salvation of his chosen 
people. Let your single aim be to live and die 
Christian men and women, and whatever may be 
the honors and prizes of this life you are destined 
to attain, rest assured nothing will so well be¬ 
come you, or will be such a lasting monument to 
your worth as the simple title, a modest Chris¬ 
tian ! _ 
I am carefully perfecting a plan, which I feel 
sure will meet your hearty approval, and In the 
course of the next week or two will lay before 
you, for adoption or rejection as you may elect, a 
project whose object shall be w organize a grand 
Young Rural Temperance Legion under my 
general guidance. I t.hluk we can make of it, a 
great moral movement that will be fraught with 
noble results, while, at the same time, It will 
lead to closer and more cordial relations among 
the cousins, nieces and nephews, as by my plan, 
most of you will have the pleasure of becoming 
better acquainted with each other either by 
personal contact or correspondence. Don’t you 
think so ? _ 
While I am not exactly In favor of the stage, I 
do think there are many pretty and harmless 
diversions that take on more or less of Its char¬ 
acteristics. Among these Is the charade. I have 
chosen one which can be easily modified to suit 
a large or small company, and offer it as a sug¬ 
gestion that will make Christmas-night a happy 
memory. By reading it attentively It will De 
found to explain ltseir, and all that Is requisite 
thou Is to assemble the older people and let them 
try to guess by your actions, what is the word 
that you have portrayed. 
ACT. III. -Captain. 
__ Dramatis Personae. 
Sc„»W marm-na*. Fro ,» « mmnl v a.- Captain cook-om c en^ 8 a,lo re -sa W ea. 
sage, is heard tlw music-roll horn of the merry scene —Deck of lye vessel “ Resolution." 
Swiss boy gathering the sheep pom the wags £ nter sailors. To show their readiness to work 
and peaKs of the cloud-capped staircase. ^ begin jumping about. 
£npr SwIfci Feasants, male and female, carry- Enter captain Cook, with Imposing cocked hat 
lng baskets of new laid gloves (folded Up.) 'Ihe and hair-brush epaulettes. Ho gives the neces- 
men wear the national braces crossed over thetr 8 . tr y directions for steering the apartment. Some 
shirts, and the ladles denote the land Of their or ttl <. run to the music-stool, and begin turn- 
birth by wearing aprons. The multitude utter a lng t)ie ca psun to weigh imaginary luichoi. oth- 
Swlsscryof “ I.a, la. llety," and then offer each ©rs commence pulling at the lo let go 
other their goods tor sale. mfl l UK aU colling Two of them take thilr Pj*C®S 
The sound of a distant newspaper trumpet at the wheel and £he telcv 
stariles the crowd. They rush to the open door looks Attentively through h^ mu slo-ro U tBles- 
und look anxiously down the passage Into the val- scope, and after a tew minuGa exauiiuauon m 
ley beneath. By their actions they intimate that forms the audlence that he can 
somebody for whom they have an extreme aver- celve laud P 
siou Is advancing towards them. The women Scarcely had he ooncbiaeu, wnen .... 
wring their bands, whilst the men shake their Enter ^ ver **Savage8*tt”few &econds°to 
flats at the wall, to express thetr vengeance Is at whoopor the Island of 
h mier a detachment of two Foot Soldiers. They Owbyliee; white oi'S^mJwn- 
wear their dish-cover helmets, and are armed to converse with Captain COOK,twooitneu compau 
their teeth with carpet-broom lance and urn- Ions attempt to steal the sofa Ute-boat. Ihey 
wear their dish-cover helmets, and are armed to 
their teeth with carpet-broom lance and um¬ 
brellas. They drive away the crowd, forcing 
them to take shelter In a neighboring window- 
curtain. 
The proud Gessler now ente-re on the scene. In 
hla costly wideawake are plumes of cut paper, 
and the drawing-room table-cloth bangs In grace¬ 
ful yet gorgeous folds from his shoulders. He Is 
surrounded by hla court, each noble arrayed with 
the greatest magnificence—some tn shawls, oth¬ 
ers in mantles and dressing-gowns. The proud 
Gessler frowns disdainfully at the multitude of 
Peasants. [Great fear of Peasants.! 
A sudden thought seems to strike Gessler. He 
waves his hand, and a lofty fishing-rod Is carried 
into the room. The tyrant places his costly wide¬ 
awake on one end of the itole, and orders it to be 
raised In the center or the public drawing-room. 
The Guards drive the multitude from shelter of 
window-curtains. As each one pae&ee the pole ho 
or she bows. Geasier is so pleased that he takes 
anuff with his Courtiers. 
Enter William TeU, leading by tbe band Master 
Tell, hla infant bou. His shirt-sleeves are deco¬ 
rated with ribbons, and slung to his back is his 
bulgy umbrella of a quiver. He stands for a mo¬ 
ment, resting on his unstrung bow of a coaoh- 
wnip. and contemplates with disgust the bowing 
crowd. 
The tyrant Gessler motions to Tell that he also 
must bow to tbe cap. Tell laughs contemptuous¬ 
ly, and knocks down the flsUlug-rod pole. Con¬ 
fusion and uproar. The hero of Switzerland la 
seized by the broom-armed Guards, lie Is In 
effective pantomime condemned to shoot a base • 
ball apple rrom the head of his infant son. 
The trembling Peasants range themselves 
against the wall. Tell, drawing a trusty stair- 
rod, ex arulnes It, and then fixing tt In ills coach- 
whtp bow. retires Into the passage. [Breathless 
anxiety of Peasants.] Suddenly a eheer hurst3 
defeated and seized. ._ 
Captain Cook reproves them, and orders them 
to be 1 shot. Two sallora seize the leaded umbrel¬ 
las, and are about to carry out the sentence, when, 
wltb a savage yell, a Savage runs a walking-stick 
spear Into the great discoverer’s back. 
[Exit Savages, boundlog and hooting. Death of 
Captain Cook. 
Tableau. 
WORD-SQUARE ENIGMA. 
1 . An ornamental vessel, 
edge. 4. Paradise. 
vsr Answer In two weeks. 
2. Barren. 3. The 
PUZZLER AN8WER8.—Dec. 8 
Illustrated Charade.— Pitcher. 
Miscellaneous enigma.— Frankfort. 
Pyramid Puzzle.— 
w 
BIT 
FILLY 
BLADDER 
CALORIFIC 
CAMPHORATED 
CIRCUMSPECTLY 
VANCOUVKRI8LAND 
WORD-SQUARE ENIGMA.— 
COAL 
OGRE 
AREA 
LEAP 
I 
