DEC. 28 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
42S 
There 13 a fine. hitherto unpublished, sketch of 
bright boy-life, rescued from the posthumous 
papers of Theodore Wlnthrop; and this, with the 
opening part of “ The Tower-Mountain ”—a short 
serial for boys, b.v Gustavos Frankenstein, with 
superb Illustrations by T. Moran and J. E. Kelly- 
adds greatly to the interest of the number. 
Mr. Frank R. Stockton contributes a fresh and 
humorous fairy tale, *• Sweet Marjoram Day ” and 
Gall Hamilton dlscources briefly, pleasantly and 
Instructively upon the differences between the 
behavior of young folks In the “ good old times ” 
and now-a-fUys. 
Besides the more brilliant attractions there Is 
an exciting t3ie, “ The Lion Killer,'* from Mary 
Wager-Fisher; a timely story, “.Tack’s Christ¬ 
mas,*’ by Emma K. Parrish ; another C'hris tmas 
tale, “ Scrubby’s Beautiful Tree,” by J. C. Purdy; 
“A chat about Pottery,” by Edwin C.Taylor, 
with ten illustrations; “The Famous Horses of 
Venice,” a historical sketch by Mary Lloyd; 
and a Christmas Card,drawn by Miss Greenaway, 
of London, which 8t. Nicholas presents, with a 
cordial Christmas greeting. 
The humorous character of the magazine is 
well upheld by I.ncretla P. Halo's laughter-pro¬ 
voking account of *• The Peterkins Charades ; ” 
“ A Chapter of Butts," consisting of live comical 
Illustrations; “ The Magician and Ills Bee.” a 
funny short story, with eight grotesque pictures; 
and “ The Boy who Jumped on Trains" some 
funny verses by .Mary Hartwell, with Illustrations 
by Hopkins. 
The old cover will be seen no more, we suppose, 
having been superseded by a very striking one 
designed by Walter Crane the famous English 
artist. _ 
The Galaxy holds its own beautifully. The ed¬ 
itors somehow contrive to make valuable hauls 
when they cast their literary net. “ TheNez 
Perces War.” is an article tnat should be thought¬ 
fully read by everyone. The record of Injustice, 
persecution and bad faith, which these savag¬ 
es (?) can show ugalnst our Government, should 
make the nation blush, or all stupid crimes per¬ 
petrated against the Indians, the management of 
these till recently inoffensive people is the 
worst. 
Gideon Welleshas a paper on the Administration 
of Abraham Lincoln. Henry James, Jr., Is pleas¬ 
antly dlseurstvu»of the suburbs ol London, and 
R. Grant White tells the story of Othello and 
Desaemona in correct prose. 
The poetry I* contributed by Paul H. Hayne, 
Emma Lazarus,and Win. Preston Johuston, Drift¬ 
wood, Scientific Miscellany and Nebula* are good 
as usual. 
Tub Phrenological Journal Is positively 
blooming. It is full or new ideas In Its specialty 
and editorially, is strong, pungent and effective. 
The Illustrated article In the December number 
on “ Colored People,” puts tho xv Amendment 
In a new light, socially considered. 
- +-*■■* - 
ITEMS. 
We have received the December number of 
Letters illustrated Milling and Mechanical News. 
It Is an eight page paper, well gotten up and 
filled with matter that is of Interest to millers. 
In fact we don’t see liow a progressive miller can 
well afford to do without a Journal that so ably 
upholds hts Interests. 
The Mill Siono, November number, Is as Inter¬ 
esting as usual. 
Tuk Agent's Friend and Excelsior Club List Isas 
bright and trustworthy as usual. It Is an Impor¬ 
tant auxiliary of the out-fit or all who make can¬ 
vassing a business. 
The Agricultural Insurance Company of Water- 
town, N. v., Issue a very ueat and Interesting 
almanac, that It would well repay farmers to read 
carefully. 
The Trade of The West, Vol. 1, No. I, Is a very 
ambitious trade circular, printed on toned paper 
and full or business cards. It Is another evidence 
of Chicago enterprise. 
-»•»■«. - . 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Now York: 
The Flood of Years. Illustrated poem. By 
Wrn. Cullen Bryant. Cloth, $3; full Mo¬ 
rocco, $<J.50. 
Lee & Sheparh, Boston: 
“Abide with Me.” By Henry Francis Lyte. 
With designs by Miss L. B. Humphrey. 
Cloth; price $-2. 
Ballads of Bravery. Edited by George W. 
Baker. With forty full-page Illustrations. 
Cloth.—pp., 174; price $3.50. 
rEsop’a Fables. Illustrated by Ernest Ghest. 
With text based chiefly upon Croxall, La 
Fontaine and L’Estrange. Revised and re¬ 
written by J. B. Randall. Cloth.—pp. 24G ; 
price $3.50. 
Our Lucky Series: His Own Master. By J. T. 
Trowbridge, illustrated. Cloth, $1; paper, 
50 cts. 
Just Uls Luck. Cloth, $1; paper, 50 cts. 
The Forest Glen Series: Forest Glen; or. The 
Mohawk’s Friendship. By Elijah Kellogg. 
Illustrated. Price $1.25. 
Child Marian Abroad. By Wrn, M. F. Round. 
Illustrated. Cloth.—pp. 153 ; price $ 1 . 25 . 
Elocution Simplified; with an Appendix on 
Lisping, stammering, stuttering, and other 
defects of Speech. By Walter K. Forbes. 
With Introduction by Geo M. Baker. Cloth. 
Price 50 cts.! 
4for jatomcn, 
ICONBUCTED BY MISS FAITH RIPLEY. 
“DIE JAHRE KOMMEN UND GEHEN.” 
Years come and go , generations 
Are perishing' day by day. 
But the Iotb that my heart aches with, 
It never will pane away. 
If but once, I might see thee. 
And sink on my knees At thy feet. 
And. dying there, dying might tell thee, 
" I love thee, I love thee, eweet 1” 
[Blackwood’s Magazine. 
-- 
AFTER THE HONEYMOON. 
Most wives after a year or two of wedded life 
admit to themselves—If not to one or two personal 
friends, that husbands differ essentially from 
lovers In their deportment towards the chosen of 
their hearts. The small, sweet 
courtesies, which made the lover 
so Irresistible are forgotten or put 
aside, and the husband makes any¬ 
body else welcome to perform such 
offices tor his wife, so long as he is 
not interfered with in the enjoy¬ 
ment of his newspaper and cigar : 
the rrlend, the guest, the casual 
stranger turns the wife’s music, 
opens tho wife’s parasoL runs the 
wife’s trivial errauds. Tho next 
one handy is the convenient person 
on whom these little duties de¬ 
volve tn too many instances. The 
wife’s reign Is short enough; and 
now she who was a sovereign lady 
must minister to the wants or her 
Tormer slave—now her lord. She 
does not doubt her husband’s feal¬ 
ty. She knows that he la ready for 
all the big things of liru! but she 
who longs for the every-day demon¬ 
stration of love, would 
have the little things. To her it, is 
not the great sacrifice, tile all day 
work and weariness that constltuo 
evidence of affection, but what was 
evidence of love before marriage is 
to her that evidence now, and only 
that—Just these little cares that 
warmed her girlish heart, the 
things he would be doing tor her 
and licr personality alone. Aud 
now he is Indifferent and careless, 
not only when they are alone but— 
worst sling of all—when In com¬ 
pany. 
Woman’s pride Is usually equal to 
her love. She cannot bear that 
others should spc her husband’s ne¬ 
glect 01 her she wants people to 
see by his outward demeanor that 
she has been able to preserve his 
love. The small courtosles of other 
men do not compensate for his ne¬ 
glect. 
In rare Instances women are to 
blame for this state or affairs ; a 
vixen or a sloven cannot hope to f ; 
retain her husband’s love and re¬ 
spect. But as a rule It Is the man f, 
not the woman who Ignores ibe 
graceful attentions which sweeten 
life. It Is tho wife who tries to 
make home what it should be, 
and herself os pleasing an ob¬ 
ject as may be In her lord’s eyes, 
and It Is often by this very course of hers that his 
neglect has come about. She has pampered him 
till he forgets to pamper in return. Yet she rarely 
complaloK; the wife with self-respect or spirit 
makes no demands; what love does not render as 
a free-will offering she will go without; but If 
her husband knew what she suffered In going 
without, It. would never be withheld, forehls ne¬ 
glect usually has Its origin In thoughtlessness, or 
perhaps the fault lies with his parents. Most boys 
are trained to.an utter disregard of the feelings 
of others. The sympathetic and considerate are 
not in their line. 
-- 
WINDOW FURNISHINGS. 
The mania for tho antique, oriental and not In¬ 
frequently the grotesque, which Is so prevalent at 
present, is no where more pronounced than In the 
fashionable tapestries and cloths for furniture 
coverings and hangings. It will doubtless require 
a generation or more to develop In most Ameri¬ 
cans an honest liking for many or the Imported 
etoths, for they more nearly resemble some of 
those fearlul and wonderful creations In calico- 
black ground, ornamented (7) with caricatures of 
subjects from natural history—In which our 
grandmothers were wont to attire themselves, 
than anyttilng which has ever been offered in our 
markets. 
But the grotesque has only a very limited rep¬ 
resentation : most of the designs are very beauti¬ 
ful, and they afford a great relief from the unre¬ 
lieved, plain reds and greens of other days. 
Jute materials are very extensively used for 
hangings, table covers, &e.: they come In a 
great variety of designs and colorings, and when 
finished with an embossed border the effect is 
extremely tasteful. Price $1.00 per yard without 
border. Queen Ann Caps, (a sort or substitute for 
a lambrequin,) are shown In jute fabrics. They 
make a pretty finish for windows. In expensive 
goods, raw silk Is the material mostly used and of 
these the Smyrna'cloth will probably be the most 
popular for heavy hangings. Some pretty designs 
In Algerine stripes are also shown. 
Egyptian Mummy cloth—a white good3 of raw 
silk with border worked In—Is among the novel¬ 
ties. It Is suitable only for folding doors and very 
large rooms. We have returned to rlng3 and poles. 
Our gorgeous Smyrna cloth and dainty lace cur¬ 
tains are attached to rings suspended from poles, 
bare poles, without the faintest, 1 race of drapery 
to cover their nakedness, lambrequins having 
been exiled from the parlor, and their presence 
scarcely tolerated even in bed rooms. The ultra- 
fashionable curtain Is a mixture of linen and 
lac?. Most beautiful designs are shown In the 
higher priced ones. They cost from $40 lo 
$100 per pair. Bat Rural reader can make for 
themselves curtains quite as ornamental and not 
Dearly so costly. Plain or figured Swiss and 
I Smyrna (or Torchon) lace are the materials used. 
As much or as lit tle of the lace may bo used as 
one’s taste may dictate or one’s means allow. 
A simple edging of lace, 2 Inches wide, Is a 
LAMBREQUIN. 
great Improvement and the addition of a row 
or two of Insertion, makes a really handsome 
curtain. It Is an Immense Improvement on 
the pretentious Nottingham. This latter has so 
much the appearance of cheap, common finery 
that I wonder any one of refinement woald ever 
use It. For those who don’t take kindly to poles 
and rings, weglve an Illustration of a lambrequin, 
a pattern of which wo will supply on receipt of 
15 cents. f. r, 
— 4 ♦ ♦ 
HOME CULTURE FOR COUNTRY WOMEN. 
MARY WAGER-FISHER. 
One of the greatest disadvantages that country 
people suffer rrom. Is their remoteness from in¬ 
tellectual centers, or their isolation, rather, from 
social privileges that both stimulate and teed the 
mind. The preaching they hear on Sunday Is at 
the beat but second-rate; the concerts and lect¬ 
ures that are held In their neighborhood, although 
sometimes better than none at all, are of similar 
. character. Their best sources of mental growth 
I and diversion are, of course, books, mugazlnes, 
and newspapers. But one may read and digest 
as much reading as did Lord Macaui-ev— although 
I question 1/ any person ever did—and still, unless 
he has the added advantage of mental friction, so 
lo speak, he derives but a half benefit from his 
reading. 
LordMACAULEv talked and wrote as much as 
he read, probably—being one of those exceptional 
beings who both talked and wrote equally well 
and marvelously well. Country men, as a rule, 
I fare better, Intellectually, than do the women. 
There are the debating society, or school, polltl- 
1 cal harangulDg, and those interminable talking 
bees at, the country store. But the women havo 
no debating societies, and tlielr political task Is 
mostly political prejudice Instead of political ln- 
j telllgence. They do talk about the ways and 
goings-on of the Hired Girl, and pour forth their 
troubles and trials In other ways, as most other 
people do. But In how many country neighbor¬ 
hoods do tho women come together, once a month 
—or once a year, for that matter—for genuine In¬ 
tellectual Intercourse 7 
There has been somewhat written of late touch¬ 
ing upon this question, and one of the best sug¬ 
gestions made has been that of forming literary 
or social clubs for mental culture. (A great many 
persons have a sort of rellgloi s terror of the word 
“club,” imbibed in some way from association 
with tho mysterious “club” that swallows up so 
many city men of an evening, when smoking and 
general hilarity are supposed to prevail. But the 
word Is well enough tn its way—better than “ so¬ 
ciety,” “fraternity." or “association.") 
A great deal may be accomplished In the course 
of a winter by a half-dozen women In a neighbor¬ 
hood, who really desire to Improve their minds 
and have the courage to form themselves into a 
“club" and the perseverance to make the most 
of it. 
Let us see what maybe done In the “club.” 
Into It, each member may bring notes or her read¬ 
ing, Items of news that may have especially In¬ 
terested her. Those things will all give rise to 
discussion, Inquiry and research. Each member 
may take or read a different magazine or Journal 
from the other. Tho “club" may be mado an ex¬ 
change bureau tor these. Essays may bo written 
on appointed topics, and presented for discussion; 
or tho meetings of tho “ club" may consist en¬ 
tirely of conversation, only that it bo the best, 
brightest, wittiest and most Instructive that the 
members can produce. Gossip, scandal, and mere 
chit-chat must, be entirely Interdicted, as they 
are as pernicious to ttio end lu view us would be 
the reading ol trashy novels. 
As our country grows older, society becomes 
more and more formal, and social Intercourse 
moro and more restricted. A1 ready, localities are 
regarded os “back-woodseytsh” where tho women 
“go visiting” early in the afternoon and remain 
until twilight. There’s less dropping tn at meal¬ 
time; dinner and tea parties are less frequent. 
There are more formality and fuss, and far less 
open-hearted sociability and hospitality even. 
This la unquestionably the natural result of our 
Increased civilization, but it is none the less a 
regrettable one In some ways. 
As a preserver of youth and health, as well as 
a source of happiness, the value or mental culture 
cannot, be too highly appreciated. Women who 
look prematurely old, wrinkled and careworn, 
are women, almost without exception, whose 
minds have been allowed to become rusty, who 
have not only forgotten tho declension of t.helr 
pronouns, but have failed to acquire any now in¬ 
tellectual accomplishment, ever since they mar¬ 
ried. Music Is dropped—no time for practice.” 
Thore aru so many stockings to mend, that no 
reading is done. 
So the years go by, the children grow up, and 
the mother, who ought to bo the most compan¬ 
ionable person tn tho world for her children, Is 
the least so. The time she spends on rutiles and 
tucks and furbelows, In making cakes and pies 
that were far better left unmade—ir applied to 
mental acquirement, would Insure for her old age 
a respect, veneration aud enjoyment that she can 
In no other way hope to attain. An uncultivated, 
unlettered old woman Is always a humiliating 
spectacle; fora human being ought to bo supe¬ 
rior In some way to the brute creation, and all 
brutes, when left lu their natural condition, know 
how to provide for themselves and their young, 
and are generally free from bad habits and 
vices. 
I have learned one thing—and I think It. Is the 
experience of everybody else—that one can al¬ 
ways And time ro do that which he really desires 
to do and Is bent, on accomplishing. Tho trouble 
Is, that the desire Is neither deep nor sincere. A 
good many women would rather be able to repeat 
a choice worm*a or scandal than the sixth book 
of the Iliad; would rather know how much their 
neighbor’s furniture cost than the cause of the 
war between Russia and Turkey. To read but for 
five minutes each day, something that Is worth 
reading and rnmeinher it, will Insure a consider¬ 
able acquisition in a year—such at least, as can 
be gained tn thirty hours’ time. 
By far too many women of busy life spend their 
precious women ts of leisure in reading the veriest 
trash. Such stuff tends no more to mental rich¬ 
ness and beauty, than bread of sawdust to nour¬ 
ish the body. Others, full of good Intentions, 
never begin, and the beginning Is half the battle. 
Indeed, what can be drearier than to look for¬ 
ward to an old age of emptiness—good for nothing 
except, maybe, to krill socks and mittens fur the 
youngsters, ir the eyesight be. spared. Youth 
gone, beauty gone, physical energy departed, 
freshness 0 1 spirit dead from starvation—In sooth, 
If the mind has not boon enriched, upon what 
ground Is one to honestly claim respect and ven¬ 
eration? It was a favorite maxim of tho great 
English critic Bentley, that no one was ever 
written down except by himself. One may say 
wit h equal t ruth, that no one Is subjected to slight 
or disrespect, but he or Bhe who deserves It. To 
neglect the opportunities of one’s youth, la to pre¬ 
pare contempt or pity for one’s old age. Think of 
the difference lu being a grandmother with tho 
best of the Bible, of Shakspeaur, of Mn.TON, of 
Plutarch’s “ Lives,” or or Wallenstein at the 
tongue’s end, and In being able to say nothing 
better than " one, two—buckle my shoo?" 
So don’t Ignore tho “ club" Idea, If you can havo 
nothing better. Let the young women, above all, 
make the present winter a seed-time for the rnlnd, 
and then, when you have achieved the best and 
most possible, tell the Rural people about your 
method and work, for mutual encouragement. 
