78* 
DEC. 7 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
fomtstir (Etanomi). 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPtW 
PEN THOUGHTS FROM EVERY-DAY HOUSE. 
BY ANNIE L. .TACK. 
“ Well, girls,I wonder if all mothers have suoh 
a time with mud as I do,” I said iu despair. 
For Willie had brought iu the milk by the pas¬ 
sage door, and forgotten to wipe bis feet on the 
mat, and Jim, whose work it was to carry the 
wood in, left his mark from the kitchen door to 
the wood box, I was turning over my scrap¬ 
book iu search of a reoipe for citron preserves 
when speaking, aud my eyes caught a verse that 
checked my murmuring. It was the sorrowfully 
spoken regret of a mother for her lost boy and I 
read : 
, “ I wonder bo that mothers ever fret 
At little children, clinging to tneir gown, 
Or that the footprints, when the days are wet 
Are ever black enough to make them frown.” 
Ah ! well, mud is bad enough, but health and 
strength are best; besides, if boys know the 
care and toil their mothers undergo to clean the 
floor, they will soon learn to be more careful. 
It is an excellent lesson for a careless boy to 
present him with a bucket of clean water and a 
cloth after some particular act of careless walk¬ 
ing, aud let him wash the floor he has soiled. A 
few Buch lessons will soou tea«li him to remem¬ 
ber the mat. It is very often the case, too, that 
other members of the family give themselves 
work by thoughtlessness, aud a little attention to 
spilling water, or needless going out and in, 
would prevent a great deal of dirt, of which we 
complain. 
While I moralized on the subject, the citron 
was cooking slowly in the steamer after being 
pared and cut up into squares, and a sirup of 
sugar and water was boiling on the stove. 
When the pieces of citron nad changed color, 
turning from a dull white to a watery hue, they 
were left to cool a few moim-nts and then, with 
a few pieces of candied peel and a teaspoonful of 
essence of lemon, the citron is put into the si¬ 
rup, and slowly boiled. We know when it is 
ready to be taken out by its transparent appear¬ 
ance, and then the jars that have once this sea¬ 
son been filled with strawberries which have 
been used early, are ag<uu in requisition. The 
sirup is boiled a few minutes longer, and then 
poured* over the fnuc. It looks well aud the 
critics of the family jars, say, "tastes a great 
deal better.” 
Just now it is iuipoasiole to settle down to 
anything of importance iu Uie house. There 
are so many little tmngs to finish out-of- 
doors. To-day it is some Tansies to be removed 
to another part of the garden , yesterday some 
late Hyacinths must be planted .- and the white 
raspberry vines must oe gently laid upon the 
ground and covered with a shovelful of earth, 
to keep them iu safety till tue snow gives a 
warmer blanket The boys ravelin the glints of 
sunshine, and chase each uUier over the orchard 
in searoh of any stray »ppioe mat may have es¬ 
caped their numerous raia«, and if by chance a 
choioe one is found among the frosted grass, be 
sure it will be brought in and shyly given to 
mother. 
KNITTING WORK. 
As long evenings put in an appearance, we 
begin the winter oampaigu with the everlasting 
knitting work. Oh ! who invented knitting ? 
and to ub6 the words of " Josiah Alien's wife," 
“ again I ask wildly,” who invented it ? It is a 
useful occupation, and a blessing aLrnost after 
all, especially for the dear old fingers that find 
other work too hard. But oh! the endless loops 
of the endless rows of endless stitches. But as 
we must accept it, we will try to find something 
interesting in it. I know of a grandmother who 
oolored a Bkein of woolen yarn with butternut 
bark, and knit it in strips for stockings belong¬ 
ing to little six-year-olds with a beautiful 
magenta, colored with Leamon’e aniline dyes. 
They were so pretty that I never onoe heard— 
“ Will they ever be done I” In fact, we might 
put a seven-line advertisement in the Rubai 
concerning “knitting made easy.” But instead 
of any kind of a machine, I would recommend 
bright colors aud new ways of specking, striping 
and dotting, to cheat the monotony. 
After the knitting comes darning, which many 
regard as an especial nuisance, only to be got 
along with by hustling over it with all possible 
dispatch, no matter if heels and toes do look like 
puckered-up ruffles, only get it out of the way. 
But I don’t believe a woman feels quite satisfied 
unless her work looks well, after all. A glass 
egg, or, better still, a round ball, is excellent to 
darn over, making the work look smooth and 
even, and I know a lady who always “darns” 
biasing. And I would say to all darning women, 
“try it—you will find almost a pleasure in the 
work from the happy results. Aunt Em. 
-+ ♦ » 
COPPERAS. 
One pr und of copperas (sulphate of iron) dis¬ 
solved n four gallons of cold water, makes a 
good and cheap deodorizer. Pour the liquid in¬ 
to the waste-pipes of sink and drain, not forget- 
ting to give the cellar a light sprinkling close to 
the walls. Sprinkle from a common tin w ater¬ 
ing-pot, and be careful iu handling, as copperas 
stains badly. In very warm weather everything 
about the premises needs more than ordinary 
care. Perfect cleanliness should be the rule for 
the dwelling, barn, poultry house, etc. Bones, 
decayed fruit, and the like, ought never to be 
thrown near the house. Such objects are un¬ 
sightly, and, worse than that, they make the air 
impure, tending to cause disease. Tue pails 
used for the refuse of the kitchen should be 
rinsed often with copperas-water, and left out- 
of-doors over night. Many housekeepers keep 
chloride of lime iu the cellar, and though an 
excellent disinfectant, its suffocating odor makes 
it objectionable. With these simple agents at 
hand, it is easy to have the atmosphere in and 
about our dwellings healthful and pure. 
Iowa. Mrs. M. G. R. 
*- 4 " »»-- 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Delicate Apple Sauce. 
Pare, halve and quarter a sufficient quantity 
of nice stewing apples ; put them into a baking 
dish and cover thickly with sugar-bits of Jemon 
peel may be added, if liked ; put a plate over the 
dish and set it into a pan having a little hot 
water in the bottom, aud place in a hot oven. 
Bike until the pieces are clear‘and tender. 
Cranberry Sauce. 
I usually “plump” the cranberries before 
stewing by pouring boiling water over them aud 
letting them stand until the water is cold. For 
one quart of berries I allow one pint each of 
water and sugar. After adding the water, which 
should be hot, let it boil twenty minutes ; then 
add the sugar and boil ten or fifteen minutes 
longer. 8fir the berries often, mashing eveuJy. 
When done, the bauce may be strained into a 
mold or bowl, and when cold, cut aud served in 
slices, or poured into a sauce-dish and served the 
commoner way. 
Snow Pot at oes. * 
I dined with a friend last week where potatoes 
were brought on the table in an unusual form to 
me. They made a delicate, appetizing dish, and 
I will append my friend’s sample directions for 
preparing: After the potatoes are boiled and 
steamed off, rub them through a colander, 
where they will drop below in coiling strings, 
heaping themselves in a light and airy mass. 
Serve at once. Mam B. _ 
Genuine Boston Brown Bread- 
Sift together three teacupfuls of Indian meal; 
two of rye meal, not flour; one of wheat 
flour; a teaoupful of sirup or molasses; a 
teaspoonful of salt; mix with one quart of 
sweet milk in which one tablespoouf ul of soda 
has been dissolved. Bake four hours in a 
moderate oven in a covered pan. 
Dish-W ashing. 
Why do all the housewives make such an ado 
about washing dishes P There are many other 
things more disagreeable to do. A1J that iB 
needed is plenty of soft water, just hot enough 
to bear the hands in, and enough soap so as 
never to let the water get greasy—if it should, 
turn it away, and get clear—with soft, white, 
sweet towels, and a good dish-cloth—not a rag. 
Florida. Mas. M. B. Kolek. . 
Lemon Cake. 
Three cups of sugar ; one and one-half of but¬ 
ter ; one of sweet milk; a teaspoonful of soda ; 
four eggs i six cups of sifted flour ; the grated 
rind of a couple of fresh lemons, and the juioe 
of one. Stir the sugar and butter to a cream, 
then add the eggH beaten to a froth, and half of 
the flour. Dissolve the soda in the milk, and 
strain it iD ; add the remainder of the flour. 
When the whole is thoroughly mixed, add the 
lemon juice and rind, and stir it for several 
minutes. Then bake it in buttered pans in a 
quick oven. 
Cold Meats' 
Cold boiled ham, or any cold boiled meat or 
fowls, can be made into very dainty dishes by 
mixing cold boiled potato with the meat after 
it has been chopped fine; season with salt and 
pepper, and moisten with beaten eggs; make up 
into balls, roll in beaten eggs, then in rolled 
oracker, and fry in butter or fat. Serve as soon 
aB done. 
How to Cook Rice. 
Soak a oup of rioe for several hours in cold 
water; theu cook slowly without stirring it, till 
perfectly tender. Be careful to have as little 
water left as possible. Add one pint of rich 
cream, one oup of white sugar; three eggs and 
lemon to taste. Let it boil up two or three 
minutes, and it is ready to dish up. 
[Cranberries. 
To keep these berrieB whole while stewing, 
prick each one with a pin; lay them in sugar 
over night, and cook very slowly. They cook 
much nicer in this way than when stewed all to 
pieces. Loretta E. K. Turner. 
If Ids of f|f IRffk. 
Monday, Dec. 2d, 1878. 
political. 
There Is little or no political news of Import¬ 
ance or Interest tbla week. The reaction after 
the late excitement during the elections Is now 
-keepi ng even politicians moderately quter.. There 
is, however, a world of rumors with regard to the 
constitution, action *nd managem nt of the next 
Congress, but It Is hardly worth while to repeat 
such reports t his week, In order to have to correct 
them next. Political papera, of course, And it ab¬ 
solutely necessary to employ such trickery to tin 
their columns and keep up Interest enough In 
their contents to obtain buyers: but. the Rural 
is so Interesting everywhere that It disdains to 
have recourse to such expedients. 
miscellaneous. 
Dispatches from the West say a tremendous 
snow and sleet storm prevailed on Saturday night 
alODgthe line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, 
west or otter vine, and extended Into Kansas. 
The telegraph line was torn down on the Pacific 
road, Kansas City was ent irely Isolated telegraph¬ 
ically, and the whole surrounding country is 
burled in snow. 
Senator Davis of the Judiciary Commltee win re. 
port in the case of Surgeon Draper, restored to 
the navy by order of secretary Thompson, and or 
Major Runkle, restored to the army oy order of 
President Hayes- -that neither had a legal right io 
restore. It docs not appear, however, that the 
present position of either one or these officers can 
he affected oy these reports, even lr adopted as 
the oplnlousot the Senate committee. It is said 
that the administration will hold that under the 
tenure of office law Merritt, whom Bayes ap¬ 
pointed Collector at this port, vice Aut-hur sus¬ 
pended, will hold office till March 4, whether the 
Senate confirm him or nor. in any event Mr. 
Authur will not be permitted to resume the office 
tiff that date, when the power of suspension will 
again rest, with the President. 
The Stewart grave robbery will undoubtedly 
result In greater precautions for the protection of 
the remains of the dead. Some of them are heard 
or already. The grave of Mr. Powers, the ten- 
mllUonalre who died last week at Philadelphia, 
will be watched by night and day, rour men being 
employed. To the tombstone will be attached a 
key to a watch locked in a case which the men on 
guard will carry. The watch must have the key 
at the grave Inserted every half hour, and It will 
be inspecied twice a day to see whether it has 
been carried to the grave at the Intervals re¬ 
quired. Vanderbilt’s grave In this city Is now 
also watched nightly. Meanwhile afi the efforts 
of “ the finest police In the world" to discover 
what remains of the body of slxty-mllllon-dollar 
St« wart are unavailing—perhaps, because the de¬ 
tectives, like the thieves—their frequent friends— 
are waiting for heavier rewards and Immunity 
for their •• pals.” What Is the sum or$5U,ooo di¬ 
vided between a dozen first-class thieves and 
second-class policemen In payment for the troub¬ 
le, thought and risk Incurred in getting away 
with the - sacred remains,” which became “sa¬ 
cred ” only when they became useless except for 
purposes of extortion V 
it Is claimed that under the amended Virginia 
constitution legislative sessions must be held 
biennially, and that Its assemblage next month 
would be unconstitutional. The treasury is said 
to be empty. A Legislature would cost $iaO,ooo. 
At Richmond, Va., commissioners from various 
States Interested iu the erection of the Lee monu¬ 
ment decided not to award a contract at this 
time, owing to the insufficiency of funds in the 
treasury of the Association. The matter has 
been indefinitely postponed. At Memphis, Thurs¬ 
day, a public meeting of returned citizens adopt- 
resolutions expressive or gratitude to the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States and public and private 
individuals, associations, etc.., who contributed 
so generously to the ala of the stricken city dur¬ 
ing the epidemic, while they were In safety else¬ 
where. 
Commissioner Raum states that It is a remark, 
able fact that while the authorities In the southl 
ern States are ready to proceed rigorously against 
revenue officers who commit offenses against 
State laws, no hand Is raised to punish crimes of 
the most outrageous character against the per¬ 
sons ot United States officials. Between 25 and 
30 revenue officers have been murdered or wound¬ 
ed in the discharge of their duty in the southern 
States during the last two years. With only a 
single exception, and that In a republican dis¬ 
trict In East Tennessee, no Indictment or arrest 
has followed. 
The Marqul3 of Lome and hls wife, the Princess 
Louise, have been making a right royal progress 
from flafitax, Nova Scotia, to Ottawa, cauada, 
having been greeted everywhere along the route 
with enthusiastic loyalty. This Is easily pardon¬ 
able in Canadians, for a provincial Is always dis¬ 
posed to become a flatterer of any offshodt of 
royalty, but It is apt to give rise to a teellng of 
contempt to see some of the most, prominent of 
American dally papers containing column alter 
column of telegrams detailing, with sycophantic 
minuteness, all the sayings, doings, etc., etc., etc., 
ot this worthy couple and ot their oos^ quious en¬ 
tertainers. Pshaw! No sort of toad-eater has 
such a glutonous appetite as a free-bom American 
citizen or the tuft-hunter type. 
From the book of estimates which the Presi¬ 
dent will transmit to Congress, It appears that the 
Commissioner ot Education asks an Increase of 
|l8,ooo. The Commissioner of Agriculture recom¬ 
mends an increase ot $ 1,000 to hls own salary, 
and an Increase or $100 each ror five other officers, 
and $200 each for two more, lie also recommends 
the appointment of three asslstaut chemists. 
There is an Increase of $is ,000 asked for by the 
Department of Justice, but none ot this Is in the 
fund used for such prosecutions as those now in 
progress In the South. The funds required for 
this purpose are under the head ot United States 
Courts, and the increase asked la $260,000. Of 
this sum a considerable portion Is stated in the 
text to be for defraying the expenses Incurred in 
the enforcement of the aet to protect i be right of 
citizens of the United States to vote In the sever¬ 
al States ol the Union. Upon this Item and the 
corresponding one asked by the Commlasloner of 
Internal Revenue, a great political battle Is ex¬ 
pected to take place In each House. 
Mrs. Lockwood, the female lawyer of the Dis¬ 
trict ol Columbia, whom Judge Magruder, of the 
seventh Judicial circuit of Maryland, charac¬ 
terised as a wandering woman and rorbade to 
speak, not only In hls court, but In hls court 
house after the court had adjourned, Intends to 
test the question of her right to practise in the 
Maryland courts. The federal courts In Mary¬ 
land, it, is said, permit her to practise before them, 
but It Is doubtful It the State courts will be found 
as liberal. 
foreign. 
The following news with regard to the grain 
crops In England was cabled last Saturday: Dur¬ 
ing the earlier portion ot last week t je weather 
was cold and boisterous The excessive rainfall 
caused serious floods In the Midland and Eastern 
counties. Large iractsof land were submerged 
and enormous damage was done to stock and 
property. Toward the middle ol 1 tne week the 
waters subsided to a great extent and a norm tl 
temperature lias since prevailed. Some little 
progress has been made with agricultural labor. 
The supplies of home-grown wheat continue very 
moderate In both tue Mark Lane and Provincial 
markets, but, taking all things Into consideration, 
the pres ml aspect of trade appears to be suf¬ 
ficiently sound to justify the farmers In with¬ 
holding their produce as long as possible, and 
the continuance of fight offertugs Indicates the 
expectation of better prices later on. Business 
has been restricted owing to the Impaired con¬ 
dition ot most ot the samples, It having been 
quite Impossible to thrash with satisfactory re¬ 
sults of late. The absence of speculation has 
been largely telt In the gralu trade, and the spirit 
of commercial enterprise has been broken by the 
severe financial vicissitudes through whlen the 
general trade of the country Is passing, but 
brighter days for the merchant and agriculturist 
may be looked for with the new year. 
The law passed by the Brazilian Legislature 
in 1871 for the gradual emancipation of the slaves, 
declared that all children born of slaves after 
the date or the passage of the law, should be 
held in all respects as though Dorn of free moth¬ 
ers. The bill provided that the owners or the 
slave mothers should have the care or the free¬ 
born children up to their eight year with their 
gratuitous services until the children are twenty- 
one years of age; or the option of $36 annually 
during thirty years for each child attaining 
eight years. In this last oass the minor is to no 
attho disposition of the State, but apart or his 
wages will he paid to htin when he reaches hls 
majority, it was believed at the time of the 
adoption of the measures that the cost to 
the .state tor compensation and carrying out the 
provision of the law, would be about *800,000 an¬ 
nually. The Government Is now preparing for 
the tree-born children which will come under 
Its care In next September or next year. The 
actual number Is uot accurately known, but 
In the province of litode Janeiro, where there 
are 67o,o<>0 Slaves, the number ot children born 
free since September, lSTl, Is 62 ,ooo ot whom is,- 
300 have died, it Is estimated that, at, the same 
rate, there should now be In the empire 2«,ooo of 
these children, and that of these the Govern¬ 
ment will have to receive and care for 2C,Ooo. 
The population of European Russia la estimated 
at 17,000,000, about 6-1,000,000 of whom are peas¬ 
ants. Aooordlng to official reports there are only 
29,308 primary schools, and 1,162,713 scholars. 
The umount of money appropriated lu 1877 for In¬ 
struction was $30,000,000. The constant cry of the 
minister ot finance when applied to for money for 
schools Is said to be: “The State coffers are 
empty.” The Golos publishes a budget for 1877. 
it showB that the revenue was 549,000,000 roubles 
and the expenditures l.ou.ooo.ooo roubles—nearly 
half on the army. The czar will arrive at. St,. Pe- 
tersburgh to-day. General Kauffman is expected 
to arrive ut the same time, and the action of the 
Russian Government with regard to the war in 
Afghanistan will be decided In a great measure 
by hls report. ’Twas he who had command of 
the successful Russian expedition, three or four 
years ago, agalnstJKhlva, and since then he has 
been In command of the Muscovite forces In cen¬ 
tral Asia, and knows more about matters in that 
quarter than any other Russian. 
Last Tuesday, shortly before 12 o’clock at night, 
the Uamburg-A merlcan steamer Pomerania, on 
her way from New York to Hamburg, after hav¬ 
ing touotied and landed some passengers at Cher- 
Dourg, In Frauoe, was proceeding towards the 
Downs, lu the English Channel, when she was 
run into by a coasting bark called the Moel 
ElUan, and sank in twenty minutes. Out of ill 
men composing the crew, los were saved, while 
about 78 passengers are reported to have been 
lost—upwards or two-thirds ot the whole list. 
The night is said to have been foggy, the vessel 
going at ordinary speed—about 14 knots an hour 
—and a bright look-out kept, yet, although It was 
the captain’s 126th voyage across the Atlantic, he 
could uot save those committed to hls charge 
from so terrible a calamity. 
A New York Dally gives a list of the ocean 
steumers wrecked during the past twemy-eighi 
years which, though palpably incomplete, is 
startling In Its aggregate of lives lost—3,730. 
The vessels named number tlilrty-two, and 
among the wrecked steamers not named, occur 
to my mind the Schiller, Deutschland, Abotts- 
ford, Russland, Colombo, Europe, City or Wash¬ 
ington, city of San Francisco, America, Japan, 
Bramall, Hermfn Ludwig, a Gulon vessel, the 
