for Women. 
CONDUCTED BY MIS:! KAY CLARK. 
T3E THREE LITTLE CHAIRS. 
They sat alone by the bright wool fire, 
The gray-haired dame and the aged sire, 
Dreaming of days gone b> ; 
The t°ar-iropa fell on each wrinkled cheek, 
They both had thoughts they could not speak, 
And each heart uttered a sigh. 
For their sail and tearful eyes descried 
Three little chairs placed side by side 
Against the sitting-room wall j 
■Old-fashioned enough as there they stood, 
Thetr seats of flag and their frames of wood, 
With their backs so straight and tall. 
And the sire shook ids silvery head, 
And with trembling voice he gently said : 
“ Mother, these empty chairs ! 
They bring us such sad thoughts to-uight, 
We’ll put them forever out of sight. 
In the small dark room up-stalrs.” 
But she answered : ” Father, no. not yet, 
For I look at them and I forgot 
That the children are away ; 
The boys come hack, and our Mary, too, 
With her apron on of checkered blue, 
And sic there every day. 
" Johnny still whittles a ship's tall masts, 
And Willie his leaden bullets costs, 
While Mary her patchwork .sews; 
At evening the three childish prayers 
Go up to God from these little chairs 
So softly that no one knows. 
Johnny conies back from the billowy deep ; 
Willie wakes from the battle-field sleep, 
To say good night to me ; 
Mary’s a wife and mother no more, 
But a tired child whose playtime is o’er, 
And comes to rest at my knee. 
” So let them stand there, though empty now, 
And every time when alone we bow 
At the Fathers throne to pray, 
We’ll ask to meet the children above, 
In our Savior’s homo of vest and love, 
Where no child goeth away." 
--■ 
CONCERNING WINTER WORK. 
Paper Two. 
MARY WAGER-FISHER. 
In reading, a host of thoughts, ideas, and 
beautifully expressed things are lost from 
your mind unless you jot them down. I never 
regretted the loss of any small thing more, 
than that of a note book, iu which I had 
“jotted,” during a years reading. A thief 
stole it out of my packet, in a crowd. I tried 
to console myself with the thought that it 
might lead him to repent of his ways. Just 
how to manage so as to have a note book and 
pencil at your hand at the instant you wish to 
make a “note” iu it, has caused me much 
perplexity, that a man, with his multitudinous 
pockets, and his coat that ho wears steadily 
for weeks, can manage it, is well enough un¬ 
derstood. But a woman's dress, that has but 
one or two pockets at most, and neither of 
them well suited for can-ying a book—how is 
it to be managed? And i confess, I haven't 
solved the question yet. The best I can do, is 
to keep a book on my writing table for such 
jottings, but “ brilliant ideas ” never accom¬ 
modate themselves to the locality of that book, 
I have discussed various plans in my own 
mind, but none have proved feasible. (If any 
Rural woman can compass the difficulty, 
short of fastening the note book to a string 
and always wearing it tied about the waist, 
like a fan hung from a belt, she shall be hence¬ 
forth called a genius.) 
In a little book lately published about the 
lamented Garfield, mention is made of his 
having expressed great annoyance at the fact 
that when trying to read a certaiu Congres¬ 
sional Bill, and in which he felt no interest, 
he found that he failed to apply his mind to it 
with the interest and closeness that he could 
apply it to a matter in which he took interest. 
This inability to have full command and con¬ 
trol of his mind, w as what annoyed him, and 
he gave himself noease, until he had overcome 
this mental difficulty. His mental training, 
the command he had of his intellectual forces, 
must excite the admiration of all readers of 
his history for all time, and excite indignation 
anew' and anew, that a man equipped as was 
he, should have been cut down by so worthless 
and wicked a wretch as the monster who slew 
him. 
In order to test the effect of a certain routine 
of study in Germany, the success of students 
in the Universities, began to be noted ten 
years ago, and it has been found that the 
pupils who entered the Universities from the 
Real-schools (non classical) and the Gymnas¬ 
iums (classical) differed very much in the 
University Course, The pupils who had not 
studies the classics at first outstripped the 
Gymnasium students, but after a little, the 
latter advanced far beyond them, the disci 
pline of their minds fitting them to cope with 
and comprehend questions entirely beyond the 
reach of the pupils who had not studied the 
classics. It would seem that this ought to go 
far in settling the disputations concerning 
classical training. And all persons, normally 
constituted, can if they will, acquire a certain 
amount of classical training, as it can be done 
without the aid of teachers, the pleasure it 
yields is worth having if nothing more come 
of it. It is a theory often acted upon, that 
music has great power in keeping young people 
contented at home, on Winter evenings. That 
it tends to that, is undoubtedly true; but if 
children can be interested in the natural 
sciences, the home tie is made a hundred fold 
stronger, because the occupancy of the mind 
is deeper and stronger. The microscope 
proves a source of immense interest. A good 
one costs any where from $50. to $100. Do 
without a parlor carpet, and buy one. Or a 
seal skin jacket. The boy or girl who has a 
passion for “bugs,” or for botanizing, or for 
the study of geology, or for disseetiug animals 
from a mouse to a rabbit, will tarrdly go 
astray, or find home stupid, if the passion is 
appreciated and not frowned upon. One 
Winter ought to be enough in which to learn 
the names of the different heavenly bodies. 
To help in this work, a planisphere is essential. 
A good one costs but a few dollars. Make 
some sacrifice to buy that, there should be one 
in eveiy school district library. Another 
home entertainment, is that of drawing. In 
nearly every neighborhood! there is some one 
who knows something of the elements of this 
fine and valuable art. But if not, good prints 
abound and much can be learned from them, 
if one only has sharp eyes. A good plan is for 
all the members of the faifuly to try and draw 
a picture of some one thing—a chair, or stove, 
a pile of books, a dog or cat. Or one may sit 
as a “model” and give the others 20 minutes 
iu which to make a sketch. This often pro¬ 
duces great merrimeut, and if persevered in, 
it sometimes happens that some member of the 
family develops real talent for drawing. 
The twilight hour may be improved by a 
recital of the events of the day. Each one 
should take his turn at this, and be obliged to 
make his description as interesting as possible. 
This exercise tends to accuracy, if you please, 
and develops the descriptive powers. Insist 
upon having the story duly embellished with 
details. Stirring ballads, fine poems, and 
choice bits of prose or verse, chime in well at 
this hour, if recited. Commit as much of the 
good things to memory, as possible. Encour¬ 
age a specific investigation. For instance, 
ask the children to tell all they know or can 
find out about silver mining, perhaps you 
don’t know yourself under what circumstances 
men mine for silver, although you have stirred 
your tea all your life with a silver spoon. A 
pan of modeling clay, or of mud of the proper 
consistency, will entertain a group of young¬ 
sters for an evening, in modeling. The quick 
witted boy, or gill, will make a rude frame 
work of wire or wood, upon which to fashion 
and mold his clay, so it will not tumble down. 
In drawing and modeling, young people 
observe a good many things, not before 
thought of. They learn to measure distances 
with the eye?, to observe proportions, and any 
thing that develops observation teaches peo¬ 
ple to see, is greatly to bo encouraged. Don’t 
undertake too much, but undertake something 
and lose no time through delay. 
THE VIOLIN versus THE FIANO- 
I went to hear Adelina Patti sing in the Acad¬ 
emy of Music in Philadelphia recently, and 
on the programme were a piano solo by 
Signor somebody and a violin performance 
by Mdlle Castellan. The Italian pianist 
played a composition by Liszt beautifully, 
on a very grand piano, but the audience of 
several thousand people seemed to care very 
little for it. But when Castellan stepped to 
the front of the stage, with her worn, and 
rather shabby looking violin, an altogether 
different feeling was manifested, and after 
she finished, the applause rang out full and 
lo ’g, so that she was obliged to repeat her 
performance. “How much better that is 
than the piano,” said Anoximander at my side, 
and he seemed to echo what every body else 
was feeling, and I fell to wondering, as I often 
do, why it is that, so many girls learn, or try 
to leam to play the piano. The violin, or any 
of those instruments that can be carried about 
with one, seem to become imbued with the 
personality of the player—the personal con¬ 
tact is closer, the instrument is more like a 
friend, or companion, and the pleasure con¬ 
veyed by the instrument is proportionately 
greater. No one who ever heard Ole Bull, 
can fail to remember with what affection he 
handled his violin, and what glorious strains 
came from it. Mdlle Castellan displayed a 
similar love for her violin, and ns she nestled it 
on her shoulder, fairly caressing it with her 
cheek, it was a study to watch her face and 
the intent, rapt and devoted expression of it. 
It was a part of her, it came with her and 
went with her, and was not like a huge box 
set upon the stage by an enterprising piano- 
maker, to be thumped on for a while and be 
seen by her no more. Even the most accom¬ 
plished of pianists do not become attached in 
much personal degree to a piano. If the in¬ 
strument possesses certain qualities, it is 
quite sufficient—one piano is as good as an an¬ 
other. But with the violin, it is altogether a 
different matter. The true violinist is as par¬ 
ticular about his violin as about his tooth¬ 
brush—he very decidedly prefers to use his 
own. Moreover, a good violin increases in 
value as it increases in years, and the owner 
of it never wants anew one. So next to Patti’s 
matchless singing, no one gave so much 
pleasure as did Castellan with her violin. 
It is true, perhaps, that Patti is the greatest 
singer of this generation, and that no amount 
of culture can produce a voice like hers. It is 
a gift of God! but it is true, that much pleasure 
can be given by much less musical voices. 
One great charm of Patti’s singing is her mar¬ 
vellously clear and correct phrasing; every 
note is fine and distinct, and when she sings 
a ballad you catch every word as distinctly 
as if she read it. The most commonplace 
singers might learn to do that, but they rarely 
do. The sweetest music most ears have ever 
heard, has been the mother’s lullaby song— 
sweet, because they were tender and low and 
full of feeling. Noise is not music. I remember 
the first night Christine Nilsson sang in New 
York. For an encore she sang “ Home, sweet 
Home,” slender and fair she stood with her 
hands lightly clasped in front of her, and with 
a dreamy, far off look in her eyes as if she 
saw the shores of her ow*n native land, and 
the modest cottage where she had played at 
her mother’s knee. And with what soulfithiess 
she 3’ing it I Tears trickled down the cheeks of 
th6 audience, and it was some moments after 
she had ceased to sing, that there was a sound 
of applause* A holy hush seemed to have 
settled down on all hearts, which one was loath 
to break. M. w. f. 
SCATTER THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS. 
I was interested in the remarks of Mrs. 
Thomas in Youth’s Department, ia regard to 
sending flower seeds and plants to poor chil¬ 
dren and others who could noC buy them. It 
certainly is our duty to put as much beauty 
and sunshine in any form into the lives of 
others, as we can without injustice to our¬ 
selves and families. 
I have lately seen some very favorable re¬ 
sults from seeds and plants dispensed in this 
way years ago. which seems the more encourag¬ 
ing, as there was little prospect then that they 
would appreciate them, and John even laughed 
at me for trying to cultivate a love for the 
beautiful in such people. “ "Worse than time 
thrown away,” said he. But he was mistaken. 
I soon learned that the mother (with a family 
of ten children, mostly small, and a decidedly 
unthrifty, unprogressive husband), prized 
them highly, and said that she had never seen 
such pretty flowers before. They really seemed 
to put new life and impetus into the monoto¬ 
nous routine of her life. Now she has a fine 
variety of beautiful flowers every year, be¬ 
sides a few house plants to bloom in Winter, 
though her house is small and of logs. And 
she and her children have thanked me warmly 
for t hese small favors, which more than repays 
me for my trou ble. 
Nor need we wait to find poor people on 
whom to bestow these favors, for it is hard to 
find one of sufficient means to whom a choice 
plant or flower would not be an acceptable 
gift, for though one is by no means poor, it 
would take a small fortune to gratify the taste 
of the average man or woman who loves 
flowers, for, like the miser with his gold, the 
more flowers they have the more they want. 
Hope Evermore. 
BLOCKS FOR A KNITTED QUILT. 
Needles No. 14 : Cotton No. 6. Cast on 
three stitches; knit them plain; this brings you 
to the right, side of the work. 1st row: Slip off 
the full stitch and purl them, increasing the 
last by knitting a purl stitch as usual and then 
(putting the thread back) a plain one at the 
back of the same stitch. 2d row : Slip the 
first stitch; knit the rest plain, increasing the 
last by knitting two in it, one being on the 
back as before. 3d row: Slip the first stitch 
purl, increasing in the last stitch as in first 
row. 4th row: Slip the first, knit plain, in¬ 
creasing as in second. This will finish four 
rows purled on the right side. The next four 
rows are to be plain on the right side, so that 
the back rows most be purled, and every row, 
increased in the last stitch as before directed. 
When you can count four purl rows at the 
back, the four purl rows on the right must 
begin. 
In every' row throughout the work the first 
stitch is to be taken off without knitciug, and 
one to be increased iu the last. Continue in 
this way, uutil you have completed the sixth 
purl rib-—four on the right 6ide—when there 
must In? 40 safeties on the needles. Begin the 
four plain rows, and knit the two last stitches 
together. In every row the two last stitches 
must be either purled or knitted together, as 
the case may- be, until you come back to only 
three stitches. 
Tnese blocks, though simple, form a beauti¬ 
ful design when sewed together, making the 
four points meet, and using great care in sew¬ 
ing them together, to have the ribs corre¬ 
spond. a a. j. 
SORGHUM SIRUP, 
Having received by mail two samples of 
sirup from Mr. J. C. Weeks, of Livingston 
County, New York, I propose to make them 
the text of a short communication for the Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker. In the first place, Mr. 
Weeks made a mistake in packing a few lines 
of description in the box, as it sub jected it to 
letter postage. In the second place, sirup or 
liquid of any kind in glass is contraband of the 
mail, and our postmaster is on the look-out. 
This is expensive business for me, and I there¬ 
fore caution others against it. It costs me 
quite enough to write gratuitously' descriptions 
of samples without extravagant postage and 
express charges. Sample No. X is of an am¬ 
ber color and quite bright, and will rank 
about third-class among our best operatoi-s in 
the West. Now this is saying much for Mr. 
Weeks, as he says it was his first effort, and 
he was guided only by such knowledge as he 
gathered from our writiugs on this subject, 
thus proving the utility of farmers reading 
upon the subject of their pursuits. His sam¬ 
ple is not quite as heavy as it should be for 
keeping over Summer; but it is heavy enough 
for Winter use. No. 2 sample is darker and 
about right as to consistency. Many on tast- 
iti '4 would say that it was scorched. My opin¬ 
ion is 'hat it has been too long boiling, which 
will have about the same effect on the flavor. 
I have no information from Mr. Weeks about 
his process, hence I only* judge from the re¬ 
sults before me, Most operators make a great 
mistake by boiling too slowly—stewed sirup 
is not good. 
Mr. Weeks has used lime, or his soil 
is quite calcareous and needs very little. 
The use of lime is quite essential to a thorough 
clarification. Its employment has been 
strongly and unfortunately opposed by many. 
I say “unfortunately.” because it has resulted 
in the production of an inferior quality though 
one lighter in color; this, however, has in it 
an amount of acid feculence which gives a 
light shade that is deceptive. This feculence 
will soon undergo (if in a warm atmosphere— 
say 70° to 90° F.) a fermentation if not 
boiled very heavy, and give off a rank, herba¬ 
ceous odor and produce quite as disagreeable 
a flavor to the taste: some call it a twang; but 
a lady once in my hearing gave it a more ap¬ 
propriate name—that of a “kind of fodder 
taste,” which it truly* is, because it is produced, 
as above stated, by the presence of a vegeta¬ 
ble acid in green’and herbaceous fiber, that can 
be only coagulated and removed by the action 
of lime (or its equivalent of some other alkali) 
and heat, each judiciously employed. In do¬ 
ing this effectually consists all the great mys¬ 
tery of sugar making from the cane juices of 
all latitudes. 
With maple sap the case is quite dif- 
erent; for when you have clean tubs or 
troughs, tanks and settlers, with well arranged 
boiling works, and it is pushed on actively, 
the result should be sugar as white as the 
paper on which I write. Go where I was a 
few months since, in Louisiana, and witness 
the immense piles of snow-white sugar pass¬ 
ing hourly from the vacuum pans into the 
centrifugals, so thick that, if allowed to stand 
and cool in a tank, a man could walk upon it 
without sinking above his shoe soles. It is 
not allowed to cool, but is dropped into mix¬ 
ers and kept soft by a gentle stirring until it 
is all drawn into the long range of centrifu¬ 
gals. Then the molasses is swung out and the 
wall of revolving sugar, now nearly* white, is 
made comptetely so by a few syringes of 
clear, cold water. Then, being comparative¬ 
ly dry (though only six or eight minutes 
manipulated) it is thrown out with wooden 
shovels into large bins and shoveled into bar¬ 
rels and poimded quite hard, and still it is 
so dry as not to become lumpy. 
I have given this hasty description, as many 
Rural readers are unaware of the grand¬ 
ness of this business. It had been 21 years 
since I visited Louisiana, and at that time the 
vacuum pan was not upon the plantation, 
though I was familiar w*ith its use in our 
Northern refineries and in some of our sorgo 
works. This innovation upon the old open 
pan or kettle is not only working quite a revo¬ 
lution in this sugar industry*, in the produc¬ 
tion of more sugar and that of a better grade, 
but it is also affording employment for large 
capital and extensive establishments in the 
Northern States to supply these costly* outfits. 
By the old kettle outfits $15,000 or $20,000 
would suffice, but now the cost of sugar works 
will range from $".5,000 to $100,000, and still 
many* are now planning to add greatly to 
these figures. Now, when our friends in the 
North see this, and then see also that the land 
upon which this valuable product is obtained 
w as formerly* a vast swamp of cypress, cov¬ 
ered much of it with stagnant water, and none 
of it 10 feet above tide w*ater, and only made 
productive at the expense of innumerable 
