BRIC-A-BRAC 
I cite this because I would like some women to 
think of Uttered, flower-beds that they have seen. 
Annuals and Perannlals, choice and ordinary, 
tall and short, odorous and disagreeable, crowded 
together In one small space, so that searching for 
any particular flower Is like plunging Into a min¬ 
iature wilderness. ADd once having thought of 
such a thing,—don’t have ic. 
One place, right under the parlor windows,wor¬ 
ried us. The ground was hard, yellow clay, 
shaded conttoually both by the house and the 
two large maple trees. We dug and raked and 
fertilized, and sodded and sowed grass seed. But 
It was all of no use. Half the summer passed 
away, and still nothing grew, and the bare patch 
was as bare as over. At last we concluded. In very 
desperation, to cover the soil completely up. So 
the little boys with their wagons and the big 
boys with their wheel-barrows were dispatched 
In all directions for stones. More and more was 
ever the cry of the girls, as they piled them up, 
until at last the whole space was covered with a 
symmetrically-shaped rockery. 
Boys and conveyances, girls and baskets. We 
soon had it filled with thick, black earth from the 
brookside, mingled with leafy soil from the 
woods. And then began our task of beautifying. 
Ferns first. From the woods we brought the 
delicate beauties and crowded them into the 
rocks. In the center rose a tall, feathery Asplen- 
ium, while smaller fronds rose from the many 
crevices. The leaves of the columbine were still 
beautiful though the flowers were gone, and some 
of this we added. Down in the damp ground 
nesr the spring-house reveled the luxuriant wild 
Tradescantla, and much of t his found Its way to 
our stone-pile, to wreath around It. We were a 
little afraid that we could not succeed moving 
the id ants so late in the season. But a day or two 
of slight rain helped us, aud until late In the fall, 
we had a beautiful sight hi place of the bare 
ground. And when In the following spring, our 
delicate ferns, our tralllug vines, our graceful 
columbines came up again, we believed we had 
fully solved the problem of shady gardens. That 
is, nest, good soil ; soeond, plants that love the 
shade. 
comania flowers may be gummed on. Shelves so 
covered form an effective baek-grr/snd for the art 
collections which It Is the pride of the house-wife 
of the day to own and to display. 
The graduating class of the Woman’s Classical 
and Bible Co'lege, Binghamton, N. Y„ have 
presented Colonel Robert, Ingersoll with their 
just completed text-book on Moral Philosophy, 
thanking him "for the greatly increased strength 
their religious convictions received from hla recent 
infidel lecture in thatclty, and expressing the hope 
that when he stands up from time to time to ridi¬ 
cule the Bible, ho may remember that they are 
praying for his speedy conversion to religion and 
common sense.” 
;CONDUCTED BY MISS FAITH RIPLEY. 
OLD LETTERS 
With rosy ribbon’s faded ghost to bind them 
Lon* forgotten amid things wo all forget. 
In a chest of ancient, souvenirs I And them. 
Faintly scented from old crumbled mignonette. 
And as now I slowly read them, solemn-hearted, 
I imagine, with a vague, phantasmal dread, 
That among their yellowed paves I have parted 
The inviolable cerements of the dead I 
Here are words that shine with sunny expectation 
Of returning over Bea to friends and home; 
** When at last this gaudy Carnival's elation 
Discontinues, we shall tear ourselves from Rome." 
Like a brook the merry language ripples brightly; 
Well she loved, that happy sister, what life gave! 
Let me think how many years it is that nightly 
Stars have glimmered on her lonely Roman grave! 
Here is writing that I almost held as holy; 
He was such a light of learning, Brother Ned ! 
Equal gentleman to lofty or to lowly. 
With his candid Saxon eyes and golden head ! 
Father chided him too sternly, always crying 
At his boyish college love for cards and wines! 
Ah, how often I have dreamed I saw him dying 
Far away among those Oregonian mines! 
Here are leaves where still the soul of summer lin¬ 
gers : 
Coine to-morrow, love : the country is so dull." 
Ob, the pprfntno of those cottage-door ayrlugas, 
And the twilight of the meadow’s languid lull! 
Ob. the 15re-flies, with their dizzy glitters woven 
Through the boskage of the copses dark and damp! 
Oh the rapture while she gently played Beethoven 
In the parlor where the moth was at the lamp t 
It is lately as last. August that I met her 
At the crowded Newport ball, where I had strayed 
One a widower of sixty-two and better. 
One a dowager with feathers and brocade. 
Was it fancy that sometimes looked severely 
At her pretty daughter's partner in the waltz ? 
Could it happen that a meager income yearly 
Was conspicuous among his youthful faults ? 
Drear momentous of these disunn tilled affections, 
Like the rays from planets that no longer glow, 
W ith your tidings that are ghostly resurrections, 
It were wiser to have burned you long ago ! 
Yet, alas! what wasting flame’s intnnBOr flashes. 
With the reddest greed destruction can endow, 
Could have made you the Irrevocable ashes 
I hat annihilating Time has made you now! 
to A cow. 
Why, cow, how canst thou be so satisfied ! 
So well content with all things here below, 
no unobtrusive aud wo ajoepv eved : 
So rnr. k, so Uz>- a , 1,1 „o awful - slow ! 
Dost thou not know that everything is mixed— 
That naught is «* it should be on this earth. 
That grievously the world needs to he fixed, 
1 hat nothing wo can give ban any worth. 
That tuucii are hard, that life ia full of care. 
Of sin and trouble and untowardness. 
That love u Tolly, friendship but a Mare' 
Pnt t cow, this is no time for laziness ! 
The cud thou che west is not what it seems 1 
(let up and moo ! Tear round and quit thy 
dreams ? IDavtit L. Proudflt 
The English crown diamonds have arrived at 
the Paris Exposition, and are valued at $s, 500 , 000 . 
They are In a thick Iron chest, and are guarded 
by sentinels day and night. There Is a diadem 
of elghty-slx diamonds of various sizes, In the 
middle or whloli la the celebrated Koh-l-Noor, 
alone valued at *. 120 , 000 ; also a collar of one 
hundred aud eight diamonds, in the centre of 
which Is an emerald, said to bo the purest and 
most beautiful extant. A second diadem Is a 
blending of diamonds and emeralds. In the 
center la the large liaudavassy diamond, valuod 
at $600,000. It would be rated at a higher sum 
were it not for a slight defect. These and many 
other valuables of the kind, belong to the Eng¬ 
lish crown. A portion are used by the Princess 
of Wales on special occasions; t.ho others are 
reserved for tUe Queen. The Kandavassy was 
formerly the eye of a one-eyed Hindoo deity, and 
has been but lately added to the collection. 
Fig. 2. 
No. 3.— screen.— A round block of wood and a 
rod of wood or Iron are the requisites for the 
frame. The screen Itself Is made of dark-green 
cloth with cordtog and tassels of green and gold. 
An embroidered butterfly ornaments the center. 
A novel device In screens Is to Inclose a piece of 
bright-colored silk between two pieces of perfo¬ 
rated board, fasten the edges together with rib¬ 
bon same color as the piece of silk, and ornament 
with pictures or embroidery. 
how she gave the census. 
When the census-taker rapped at the door of a 
certain Detroit cottage on Crawford street the 
other day, and wondered If the woman would set 
the dog on him or douse him with dish-water, a 
great disappointment awaited him. She opened 
the door softly, snuffed the air to see If he smelled 
of lightning rods, and then threw It open for him 
to enter. 
“ Madam, I am making a canvass of the city,” 
he began. 
“ Ah » sit down,” she replied, and’as he began 
opening Uls book she continued, “ There are five 
or us lu the family, and we paid $.100 down on 
this place. My husband’s name Is Peter, his age 
Is forty-two, and he came from a mean family. 
Ills father was always having lawsuits about 
dogs, and his mother was the greatest gossip in 
Elmira. Have you got that down 7 ” 
“ My name Is Alvina Sarah, and I was horn In 
Woman s Courage and Devotion.— During the 
whole of Lord Dundouald’s arduous services and 
romantic adventures lu South America, his wife 
accompanied him, to sooth his anxieties, to sus¬ 
tain his hopes, to animate his exertions, to share 
ills dangers. One night, whilst he was In com¬ 
mand of the Chilian fleet, his ship got becalmed 
under a battery, from which he was assailed 
with red-hot shot. Ills men were seized with a 
panic, and deserted their guns. If the Are from 
the shore was not returned. It would speedily be¬ 
come steady, sustained, and fatal. He went down 
to the cabin where hla wife lay. "If a woman 
sets the example,” lu: said, after telling her his 
difllcutty, “ they must be shamed out of their 
fears; It is our only chance.” She rose and fol¬ 
lowed him to t he deck. The first object that. met. 
her eyes was the battery, with Its flaming fur¬ 
naces, round which dark figures were moving, 
looking more like Incarnate demons than men. A 
glance at her husband’s Impressive features, and 
LETTERS FROM A COUNTRY GIRL 
MARGARET B. HARVXT. 
We girls could rot do much with the chambers, 
—mamma had already arrayed them In snowy 
curtains and drapes and spreads, with, as In the 
parlor, light carpets as foundations. But. we did 
hang up our drawings and wall pockets and cor¬ 
nucopias, relieving the whiteness. 
Nowadays a great, deal Is said about the ceramic 
fever. Jars and vases are decorated with bright 
flowers and gay birds, many or them being really 
beautiful. Yet I do really think we ourselves 
had more than a glimmering of t he art before It 
became faslitonable. Certainly, so tar as we were 
concerned, the Idea was original. 
For Instance, we placed a targe decalcomanla 
rose In the bottom of a wash-basin, and on the 
fullest part of a pitcher, at equidistant points, 
four smaller sprays. The decorations were of the 
kind covered hy a layer of gold-foil, which is hid¬ 
den when the white paper foundation Is drawn 
away. We used the sets constantly, the pictures 
not washing off for a long time aud looking very 
pretty while they lasted. 
Then we had some clear, solid, glass bottles of 
a very graceful shape, In whloli had been bears- 
grease. Having thoroughly washed and dried 
these until they shone like crystal, we placed 
on each a shepherd and a shepherdess, separ¬ 
ated by wreaths of roses. Filled with water, 
these transformed vessels seemed the most ap- 
“ I don’t care to know where you were born, 
madam,” be Interrupted. 
" Well, I cire 1" sho exclaimed ; “ it makes a 
great deal of difference whether I was bora In 
Africa or Boston, and I want It put down. As I 
was saying, I was born in Boston In 1S38. Put 
down that I came of a good family." 
•* Madam, you don’t understand—you—" 
“ Don’t I understand that I came of a good fam¬ 
ily 7 I’d like to know of a Boston rainlly which 
carried their noses higher than the Rogerses.' 
Put down that my father was In the Mexican 
war.” 
“ You have three children, madam 7” 
" 1 have’nt any such thing, sir f Put down that 
my mother was killed by an explosion In a quar¬ 
ry. Her mother and father were—” 
“ How many children have you, madam 7” 
" Have you got mother down 7 ” 
“No, ruadam, You Bee 1 am taking the cen¬ 
sus ot t he city.” 
“ Well," she said, giving him a dangerous look, 
“ I bad the typhoid fever at the age of Qfteen,and 
for weeks and weeks 1 hung on the edge of the 
grave. I bore up as well as I was able, and—" 
“ Five In the family—how many children 7 ” he 
asked. 
“Put down that I bore up !” sho commanded. 
“And that one night when the watchers were 
asleep, I crept outof bed and took a drink of—” 
“ This is foreign to the subject, madam. How 
old are your children 7” 
“ Haven’t you put down that I hung on the 
edge of the grave ?” 
“ No, madam." 
“ Aren’t you going to 7” 
“ No, madam. You see I am^lmplyftaklng.the 
census of Detroit. I desire to ascertain—” 
“Y’ou can’t ascertain it here, sir!” she snap¬ 
ped. » If my sickness which cost over $200, Isn’t 
good enough to go In the book, then you don’t get 
a line here J" 
" Let me ask you—" 
" No use asking for any of our photographs, sir. 
If you get 'em anywhere and put our pictures In 
that book we’ll make It hot for you I Good day, 
sir, good day J" 
He stood on the step, sighing, and she called 
through the door— 
“My grandfather was also bitten to death by 
an alligator, hut, I won’t give you any of the par¬ 
ticulars 1 You want to walk,” 
He passed on, sorrowfully wondering If the next 
woman’s mother was blowu off a bridge or oar- 
/w. u <iowa tl10 r,ver on !V kaystack.— Detroit Free 
Fig. 1. 
Talking of ferns and vines reminds me that 
there was at that time an obstreperous stump, 
that would get. In our way. If we took It down to 
the bottom of the garden, It would surely get to 
the top. If we threw it over the ronco, the boys 
or the dogs would bring it back. At lost we con¬ 
cluded that something must be done, and the only 
thing we knew was, capture It. It was an odd, 
Irregular little affair, all kuots and holes and 
sharp points. We dug out the Inside, filled It 
with parth, and planted lu It a little fern, with 
a vine or two to rail over. We passed a leather 
strap through two holes lu the back, and knotted 
It, forming a loop to hang It up by, which never 
showed. After awhile the fern and vine grew so 
that wo thought our stump not Hne enough for 
them, and undertook to varnish It. We sent little 
Julia to the drug-store tor dark varnish and she 
brought us—black slack. Not until we had our 
stump arrayed lu sable did we discover our mis¬ 
take. Oh, how bitterly we lamented our folly! 
At first It. looked like honest wood’ now, like 
soiled tar. But we “bullded better than we 
knew." In a lew days the black sank In, and 
some of the wood peeled off In places, and our 
Improvised hanging-basket was beautifully mot¬ 
tled In black and ash-color. It was so pretty that 
we had Itlu the dining-room window all winter. 
The moral Is If there arc any old stumps about, 
and they are son enough, dig into thorn,, settle 
them somewhere, fill them with earth, plant 
something In them, and If you like (provided there 
are no natural markings like knots and patches 
of barks) vary them a little by a few touches of 
black. 
There Is no end to the pretty things that can bo 
made by one Ln whom the Inventive faculties 
have been stimulated and trained by familiarity 
with beautiful objects. • 
measure, in us attractive appearance, even If 
nothing else Is done to it. Then we talked about 
flowers and (lower-beds. 
Do we want Marigolds and Four-o-eloeks and 
Lady-slippers 7 we asked. Will the old-fashioned 
flowers that delighted our grandmothers satisfy 
us? A,re they not, after all, coarse and gaudy and 
common ? 
No, not altogether. They are dear to us because 
those dear to us have loved them. They are beau¬ 
tiful because our Father has made them. But we 
think the smaller portion of the ground might be 
devoted to thorn, a greater to those which win 
better meet our wants. For we cannot twine 
Zlnnlasatoui-throats and tnour hair; we could 
not place a spray of Cock’s-eombln a vase; we 
could not send a Sunflower to a sick friend. ’ We 
Fig. 3. 
his “terrible” calmness, reassured her. She 
took the match, and Bred a gun when he bad 
pointed It. The effect on the crew was electrical: 
t hey returned to their posts with a shout, and 
the battery was speedily silenced. 
TO CLEAN GLOVES OR SHOES 
DESCRIPTION OF CUTS 
Buy one quart of benzine (cost ten cents) pour 
halt a teacupful Into an earthen dish, put in the 
gloves and squeeze with the hand until they are 
thoroughly cleaned. Wetting them freely does 
not Injure the gloves,neither does It shrink them. 
After they are cleansed straighten them to shape, 
lay upon a clean cloth and put Into a current of 
air to dry them and also to deodorize them. 
White shoes are cleaned by rubbing them with 
flannel moistened with benzine. 
No. l.— Fancy Box.—Take pasteboard for a 
foundation aud cover it with pink or blue paper- 
muslin ; over this plait white Swiss edged with 
Smyrna lace, finish with cordtog and a loop, and 
you will have a pretty and convenient addition to 
the toilet table. Be careiul to turn the glazed 
side of the muslin next to the pasteboard. 
No. 2 . Set of Shelves.— This can be made of 
either White Pine, or Walnut, (It any dlfllculty 
Is experienced with the eurvo in front, it cau be 
omitted.) Cover the shelves with dark cloth, 
finish the three upper ones around the edge with 
gimp and small brass-headed nails, and ornament 
the lower one with a drape. TUe drape may be 
decorated with ttowers—a small piece or brocade 
auswers very well, or it may be painted or em¬ 
broidered. If preferred, a small bunch of dec*l- 
Thk extraordinarily low prices quoted to tho 
announcement of Lord a Taylor in this Issue 
for spring mlllnery goods and laces, embroideries 
and gloves, should secure the hearty patronage 
of our lady readers. These articles are latest 
importations. Their system enables all at a dis¬ 
tance to purchase to as good advantage as those 
in the city. 
Swallow-tails have been “disestablished’ 
the court of King Humbert as “too monar 
cat,” and American callers are requusted to 
pear in the more republican walking suit. W 
a delightful fellow the now King must be..' 
