688 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
OCT. 26 
Bomfstir (ftMiomjL 
OONDUOTED BY EMILY MAPLE 
MOP HANDLE PAPERS, NO. 7. 
MAY MAPLE. 
CLEANING SILVER-WARE. 
While washing the dinner-dishes to-day, I no¬ 
ticed that the silver teaspoons were slightly 
discolored. So I took a bit of soft flannel, damp¬ 
ened and dipped it into some white ashes from 
the Btove, smooth aud soft as the finest flour, 
and rubbed the spoons, and they were brightened 
immediately, without a scratch. While thus em¬ 
ployed my thoughts took a run backward to my 
childhood’s days, when I was visiting a dear 
auntie who had recently taken upon her shoul¬ 
ders the responsibilities of housekeeping. Dur¬ 
ing the busy season she kept a hired girl. Now, 
it so happened that Phebe waB desirous of doing 
her work in the very best manner, that she 
might please her mistress. And it also hap¬ 
pened that Phebe was all unused to the care of 
silver. 
One morning while Auntie was in another 
part of the house, attending to w irk that re¬ 
quired her immediate supervision, Phebe was 
left to dear away the breakfast service. The 
dishes were all properly washed, rinsed and put 
away. Then came the scouring of the knives 
with the Bath-brick dust—and rather coarse 
dust it was—and to have the work finished as 
she would need to do it at home, Blie must scour 
the spoons as well as the knives and forks— 
those new silver spoons that were as bright as 
mirrors. Only a part of the dozen was in use, 
for the family was not large; but faithful 
Phebe bunted the rest, and took them out of 
the soft, silken wrapping paper, and scoured the 
whole of Auntie’s setting-out—large spoons, 
dessert spoons, tea Bpoons, and sugar shovel— 
all went through the scouring process. Aud all 
came out severely scratched, their mirror-like 
beauty spoiled An hour or two later Auut 
Hattie had occasion to use a spoon ; and then, 
Bubal readers, you should have seen her beau¬ 
tiful blue eyes open wider and still more wide, 
as she beheld all her spoons handsomely arrayed 
upon the pantry shelves, and aB quickly dis¬ 
covered the exhibition of home-marking. And, 
as "Topsy” would have said, "didn’t Phebe 
cotch it, though ?” No doubt some matrons will 
say she deserved scolding, if she did not know 
better than that. 
But Phebe was not so much to be blamed, as 
she might have been. If her mother had been 
a wise woman, she might have taught her. But 
very likely there was not a bit of silver in the 
house, and so the lesson did not seem necessary. 
Now, I do hope some of the young ladies who 
will at some time have homes to preside over, 
will read these home talks which I have named 
"Mop-Handle Papers;" and, possibly, they may 
be wiser and happier in the future for heeding 
their well-meant precepts. 
At the present time there is a great deal of 
plated silver-ware sold about the country. It 
looks as well upon a well-arranged table as 
though it were solid silver; and almost any 
energetic girl can afford a pretty set. Indeed, 
it is quite customary for brides to receive band- 
some presents of “ silver,” which, in very many 
cases, are only the plated ware. Now, if it is 
tossed about with other dishes promiscuously, 
the spoons left in the gravy or sauce-bowl, 
mustard cup or meat diBh, if the creamer, sugar 
bowl, tea urn, etc., are left in an open pantry 
for the flies aud spiders to inspect, they will all 
soon be tarnished; and scouring will quickly 
erase every particle of the plating, and then 
you will have the disgusting brassy metal to 
place upon the table. Yet, with proper care, 
this very same plated ware might last for years, 
and look as haudsome as when it first came from 
the silversmith. 
Now, one who can not use plated ware for a 
reasonable length of time, without despoiling it 
of its beauty, is not fit to have the care of that 
which is more valuable. 
— ♦ ♦ ♦ 
OAT-MEAL, CRACKED WHEAT, Etc. 
The Bubal of Oct. 5 contained an article writ¬ 
ten by Mary Wager-Fisher, on the use of oat¬ 
meal and cm eked wheat and the method of cook¬ 
ing the same. She says it should be made pre¬ 
cisely the same as any mush I used to cook it 
in the same manner, but I found it needed con¬ 
stant watching to keep it from burning, and 
often it would get scorched in spite of all my 
care, so as to spoil the flue, sweet flavor. As I 
abominate food of any kind scorched, I set to 
work to improvise some better method of cook¬ 
ing rice, oat-meal, cracked wheat, etc., which 
oould not burn, and would not require bo much 
care while cooking. It is as follows: Put in a 
large yellow earthen bowl one quart of boiling 
water, a very little salt—enough to make it pal¬ 
atable,—and stir in, slowly, three or four hand¬ 
fuls of oat-meal and set the dish in a common 
steamer (if you have no steam oooker), and 
place over a kettle of boiling water. Cook one 
hour or a little more, aud after it has commenced 
to cook and swell stir it not more than twioo, for 
if stirred too often, it gets salvy, and it is very 
much nicer to have the grains left whole but 
dry aud well cooked. Cracked wheat and rice 
can be cooked in the same manner, but cracked 
wheat needs more water and more cooking. 
Either of the above can be put over to cook and 
one can go to washing or any other work, and 
there will be no danger of its burning, provided 
you have plenty of water in the kettle. 
Sweet Potatoes. 
As sweet potatoes are plentiful in the markets, 
I will send my method of cooking them : Steam 
until done ; remove the skin carefully, cut them 
in longitudinal slices, a quarter of an inch thick, 
and pour over each slice, as it is put into the 
dish a sirup made of batter and sugar, equal 
parts and boiled together. Those who have 
never eaten them prepared in this way, have no 
idea of their deliciousness. 
Mrs. Mary Olin. 
-♦ ♦ ♦- 
GRAPE CATSUP.-A CORRECTION. 
Mrs. V. F. K., writes from Oil City, Pa., that 
in giving the recipe for Giape Catsup, published 
in Rural for Oct. 12t.b, she inadverteu ly 
omitted to add to the ingredients therein men¬ 
tioned, half a pound of sugar. Let all who 
have tried the recipe as given, repeat the trial 
with this addition and it is not unlikely that 
they will come to the conclusion that even half a 
pound of sugar is sometimes an important item. 
-* » ♦- 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Sour Krout. 
Strip the cabbage until white, solid, and clean; 
slice with a kront cutter; season with salt, four 
quartB to the barrel. It will not work well if too 
salty, and sometimes gets bitter instead of sour. 
Throw into a clean barrel until a foot deep, and 
pound until the water rises above the oabbage ; 
put in unothor layer of sliced cabbage, and 
pound as before, and so on until the barrel is 
full. Place a closely fitting board over top; roll 
the barrel under a force, and take a piece of 
scantling long enough to reach from the board 
in the barrel to the force ; wedge up tightly un¬ 
til the water rises several inches over top; cover 
closely aud leave until sour, which will be from 
ten days to three weeks, according to the heat 
of the room it is kept iu. After it becomes as 
sour as required, it should be put where it will 
freeze, and when not frozen, should always have 
a weight on top, aud be kept closely covered. 
Buckwheat Oakes. 
To make good buckwheat cakes requires good 
pure buckwheat flour, good yeast, such as will 
make good light bread—none other will do—warm 
water, no salt. Nothing else is needed. They 
should be baked out each day, and fresh yeast 
added. No soda will then he required, and soda 
never is an improvement to buckwheat., as it de¬ 
stroys the flavor and gives a very unpleasant 
smell. Mrs. G. F. McCloud. 
White Fruit Oake. 
One cup of butter; two cups of sugar; one 
scant cup of sweet milk ; whites of five eggs; 
one grated cocoanut; one pound of almonds 
blanched and out fine ; one pound of citron cut 
into very thin pieces: three aud a half cups of 
sifted flour; two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking 
powder. Flour the fruit and add the last thing. 
Stuffed Steak. 
Select a good round steak; pound well ; 
season with pepper and salt; have prepared a 
nice dressing; spread over the steak ; roll up and 
tie closely with twine ; place in a dripping-pan ; 
add a very little water and bake in a well-heated 
oven, basting frequently with butter aud water. 
Make a gravy of the drippings and serve at once, 
or it makeB a delicious dish sliced wheu cold, for 
lunch or tea. 
Snow Balls. 
Boil rice until tender; press into small tea¬ 
cups, and when perfectly cold turn into a dish ; 
make a boiled custard and pour over a half hour 
before serving. 
Breakfast -Dish. 
Scrape and cleau thoroughly a pig’s head; 
boil for four hours, or until the meat will slip 
from the bones; remove all the bones; skim the 
grease from off the liquor in the kettle; and re¬ 
turn the meat which should be ohopped fine; 
season highly with ealt, pepper and sage, if 
liked; thicken with Indian meal until of the con¬ 
sistency of Boft muBh; let boil for an hour or 
more; pour into dishes and set in a cool place; 
slice and fry for breakfast in winter. e. m. 
Rice Pudding. 
To five quarts of milk, allow one and a half 
cups of nicely washed rice; three- fourths of a 
cup of " A" sugar, or a little more if you want it 
sweeter : putin a pan cold with as many raisins as 
you like, aud bake one and one-half hours stirring 
two or three times carefully while it is baking. 
This should have a pretty hot oven and not bo 
stirred for the last half hour of baking, so as 
to form a nice brown orust on covering or the 
top. This pudding is a little nicer when cold 
and I always bake one large enough for two 
dinners in cool weather. 
Meat Omelets. 
Take two ounoes of cold boiled ham, or cold 
corned-beef and chop it very fine; have five or six 
eggs well beaten, and mix with one small cup of 
milk and one spoonful of flour ; Btir all together 
and fry in a hot skillet with a little melted but¬ 
ter, with the skillet tipped a little, so as to cover 
only half of it; when nioely browned under¬ 
neath give a brisk turn of one side, over the 
other, which will double it, and then as quickly 
as possible turn all on to a hot plate and serve 
immediately. This amount Bhould make throe 
omelets. Dried bread crumbs, chopped fine, 
instead of meat, make a nice omelet cooked in 
the same way, or begin to roll it on one Bide as 
soon as it is brown, rolling all when done. 
Aunt Flora. 
ft flu s of % Mffh. 
Monday, Oct. 21,1878. 
FOMTICAL. 
Tilden emphatically pleads “ not guilty ” to the 
charge of having been cognizant ol the atteraprs 
at bribery made In his behalt lu Florida during 
the last presidential troubles. He explicitly de¬ 
clares that, he knew nothing whatever or any 
corruption till long after the oth of December, the 
date on which the Electoral vote of Florida was 
cast, and thou only by heresay. He winds up by 
calling attention to the fact that, the republicans 
in every Instance) counted the votes which It Is 
charged were notoriously up for sale. What a 
pity it Is that an innocent man should have a 
guilty relative living lu the same house with him ! 
All these telegrams were directed ro or from 15 
Gramercy Park, Tllden's residence here, but then 
Nephew Peltou lived there too, und so did Private 
Secretary Smith ! Another batch of Tribune ciph¬ 
er telegrams, with translations, has reference to 
democratic ai tempts to bribe the republican 
Electors of South Carolina. The cipher used Is 
the same as that employed In communicating 
with Florida, and also lately In the case of that 
mine out lu Michigan. It seems that Smith J. 
Weed wont to South Carolloa from this city and 
secured an offer of an elector’s vote In favor of 
TUden for $80,000. This off er was accepted In New 
York and Weed started for Baltimore, where a 
messenger was to meet him with the money. 
The Returning Board, however, being threatened 
with arrest by the State Supreme Court, sudden¬ 
ly cast their votes and dispersed, so that the 
scheme of bribery failed. Another cipher relates 
to other machinations for securing the desired 
end, hut, Btrange to say, they all tailed. The Tri¬ 
bune dogmatizes that Twas Providence caused 
the failure. 
Manton Marble also denies, in a very sweeping 
manner, that he stained his reputation by having 
anything to do with attempts to secure the elec¬ 
tion or Tilden by bribery In Florida, lie admits 
that omclal venality tnere gave ample opportu¬ 
nity lor such trickery, but boldly maintains his 
own Innocence. 
Then Ben. Butler, too, Is out with a uumber of 
denials. He denies that his charges lu the matter 
of the Farragut prize-money were too heavy, and 
shows that several lawyers to whom the matter 
was referred, thought ten percent, on the amount 
recovered extremely moderate. He denies that— 
well, he denies every charge In any way reflecting 
on the purity, dlsloteredness and integrity of his 
record, and urands them all as eampalgu IIcb 
coined by a disreputable press. 
Trouble between the negroes and whites has 
again culminated lu bloodshed in Louisiana. At 
Waterproof, lu Teusas Parish, a collision is re¬ 
ported between 2,500 colored men aud a small 
body of whites. Several of the latter were 
wounded aud over 80 of tue former killed. Help 
was pouring In from all sides to the whites, 
aud their opponents had been dispersed. 
Cause—political aspirations or the “niggers." 
Yesterday, there came from New Orleans what 
looks like a “ cock-and-bull •' story of a vast 
conspiracy on the part of the republicans and na¬ 
tionals or Louisiana, to secure the next election 
at all hazards. A secret society of the Know- 
Nothing type, with grips and pass-words, has 
been organized, It Is said, with the express pur¬ 
pose of seizing upon the government. As, be¬ 
sides a large number of whites, It Is reported to 
contain 4,000 nvgroes In New Orleans alone, the 
wonder Is, not that the plot has been discovered 
in good time, but that. It could have remained 
hidden for a day. Official returns rrorn Ohio, 
Indiana, Iowa and West Va, lessen somewhat the 
republican vote mentioned last week, aud slight 
ly lnereuse tlie greenback vote, but substantially 
the result is the same as men stated. AI together, 
counting Vermont, Maine and Colorado, Arty-six 
electlous have thus far been held ror next con¬ 
gress. The results are, 28 republicans, 21 demo¬ 
crats, and five greenbackera or nationals, with 
one vacancy in Vermont. In the present House 
these 55 districts are represented by 39 republi¬ 
cans and ic democrats, so that the republicans 
have sustained a loss of u representatives. 
Potter, chairman and getter- up of the Investi¬ 
gating committee, lias declined a renomlnation 
n his district., and after his present term will re¬ 
tire to the sntuiea of private life. Col. Smith “ of 
Kentucky,” Horace Greely’s son-in-law, and an 
ouLspoken greenbacker, Is running for Congress 
In the same district, and It Is said that Potter’s 
chances against hltn were rnlgnty slim. By the 
way, It Is not Improbable, In view of .the recent 
disclosures made by the publication of these ci¬ 
pher telegrams, that the scope of that Investi¬ 
gating Committee will be enlarged on its reas¬ 
sembling next December. It would be by no 
means strange If after having begun by exposing 
republican misdoings, it should end by showing 
up democratic transgressions. 
Is there anybody with sufficient Interest. In him 
or curiosity about him to inquire "What’s be¬ 
come of Kearney 7” Well, the last heard of him 
here was when he delivered a speech to a small 
a 
udlence at Lawrence, Mass., last Tuesday. But 
he was considerably tamed down and didn’t use 
a single “ cuss" word, A short time before that 
be was reported as having been energetically 
greeted, during a speech In Boston, with a shower 
of rotten eggs and vegetables, on which he be¬ 
sought any friends lie might have In the crowd 
to shoot the throwers; but not a shot was fired. 
It. Is said a bargain has been struck between the 
Butlerltes and the Fanuetl Hall democrats, by 
which Ben. is to receive the votes of all ror Gov¬ 
ernor on condition that the ticket nominated at 
the Hall shall receive the support of his follow¬ 
ers_In this city there Is a prospect of a fierce 
political struggle at the coming election. The 
Mayor then chosen will have the appointment of 
the heads of all the departments of the city gov¬ 
ernment. These have the control of all patron¬ 
age and spoils. Tammany Hall, lu spite of the 
rascality of Its old “ boss,” Tweed, and his co-ad- 
Jutors, has lived ror years on this 41 pap,” and 
will leave no device untried to retain hold of it 
while crowds or sore-head democrats, labor-re¬ 
formers, grcenbackers and all the discontented 
are joining t he republicans to secure the defeat 
of the Tarntnany ticket, and divide the “ spoils " 
among themselves. The Tammany ltes are held 
together by possession of "plunder;” the antl- 
Tammanyltes are brought together by the hope 
of It. Many fine phrases about public economy, 
good government, and public Interests, are on the 
Ups of each party; but the thought of pilvate 
gala is predominant In the hearts of both. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
During a panlo lu a ohurch lu Lynchbug Va., 
13 women were trodden to death and between 
30 and 40 persons seriously Injured. Examina¬ 
tion luto the condition of the labor market In 
Chicago lias shown that the supply Of men 
willing to work at moderate wages, Is very little 
greater than rhe demand, and that, the wide¬ 
spread distress among the laboring classes Is 
due more to Improvidence, especially In the form 
of intemperance, than lo a lack of employment. 
Reports from different parts of the country thiow 
much doubt on the practicability of making 
sugar profitably either from sorghum or corn 
stalks, despite the recent semi-endorsement of 
Stewart’s tuventlon by the chemist of the 
Agricultural Department at Washington. The 
Cheyenne Indians are still on the war-path 
having lately eluded a concentration of troops 
that expected to capture them. Contrary to 
former reports, Red Cloud and Spotted Tall, 
have remained peaceable and volunteered to 
hand over the hostile Cheyennes, should the 
latter come to their reservatlous. Already over 
75 whites are known to have heen killed during 
the present trouble, Including about 30 white 
women who were outraged and murdered. If a 
band of only 100 Cheyennes have been able to 
work such misery, besides burning houses and 
crops, stealing and slaughtering cattle, now much 
greater would have been the destruction of life 
and property had the Sioux Indians Joined the 
marauders! During the week there has been a 
terrible storm iaging along the New England 
coast; and a large number of shipwrecks ac¬ 
companied with a great loss of human life, Is re¬ 
ported. Out 1 New Mexico a life insurance 
agent refused to pay a policy, the territorial 
judiciary tried to compel payment, trouble arose 
aud already six people have been killed. 
During the week Yellow Jack has heen con¬ 
fronted with Jack Frost In Memphis, New Orleans 
and most of i be ot.Uer places which the deadly 
Invader has lately been ravaging. A cold change 
of weather Is always dangerous to those who are 
sick, however salutary It. maybe tor those who 
are well, and accordingly the death rate has heen 
Increased rather than lessoned by the bleak spell 
that ba3 lately swept, south. Henceforth, how¬ 
ever, a rapid diminution of new cases may be ex¬ 
pected until tlm pestilence takeH Its departure 
towards December. Lately a collection or cloth¬ 
ing was made in this city for the destitute In the 
allllcted region, and it Is estimated that the sup¬ 
ply In this way gathered was worth $150,000. All 
over the North the response to the appeals for 
help from the stricken places has been ready 
and generous, aud It Is pleasing to notice that 
the Southern press thankfully acknowledge this 
prompt liberality. 
foreign. 
Dr. Schllemau, the celebrated excavator of hur¬ 
ried cities, has unearthed, by digging, 90 housesof 
vast cyclopean construction belonging to the 
Homeric city of Ithaca, lu the Island of that 
name. All the ancient treasures, however, have 
heen washed Into the sea by the winter rains. 
The awards at the Paris Exposition are to be 
made to-day. Of them 750 are made to Ameri¬ 
cans. Lord Dufferln, lately Governor-general of 
Canada for six years, and the most popular man 
who ever held that office, left, Quebec for Liver¬ 
pool on the steamer Polynesia, last Saturday. On 
the same day the official Gazette, at Ottowa. an¬ 
nounced the names of the new ministry under 
Sir John Macdonald who. In accordance with the 
verdict of the late elections, are to govern the 
Dominion instead of the Mackenzie ministry 
which resigned a few days earlier. 
The bill against the socialists In the German 
Reichstag has passed with considerable modifica¬ 
tions from 118 original severity, but it, is arm suffi¬ 
ciently coercive to satisfy the government. The 
socialists have abandoned their open organiza¬ 
tions, and during the two years and a half over 
which the new laws are to extend, they Intend to 
propagate their Ideas secretly and by Individual 
effort. It Is expected that the vigorous meas¬ 
ures which Bismarck will doubtless adopt, will 
lorce very many to leave the country, and already 
English men are alarmed at the prospect of a Ger- t 
man Invasion. The BrttouB complain that these 
newcomers have a habit ol soon working their 
way Into good positions, and of making money 
the loss and detriment of the natives. It Is 
highly probable that the Teutonic Immigration 
to this country also, will soon be largely in- 
