458 
JULY 8 
Ciicrarij. 
THE STORY OF STONY BROOK FARM. 
HENRY STEWART. 
(Continued from page 442.) 
CHAPTER IV. 
“ When was Barley Merritt here ?” suddenly 
asked the father. 
“ Last night,” replied Patience. 
“ I’ve told you he was not to come here, 
haven’t I” ? 
a Yes.” 
“ Well, what does he come for, then ”? 
“Because he likes, I suppose,” sharply re¬ 
plied Patience, turning her hack to her father. 
“See here. Patience,” said her father, seiz¬ 
ing b“r roughly by the arm, “ see her**I Bar¬ 
ley Merritt’s not coming here sgaiu! d’ye 
hear, gal ? I wot hev it. He’s a worthless, 
good for nothing scamp, and not fit company 
for sich as you. Ef he comes here agin, you 
get the outside of the door; d’ye hear? There’s 
better than him if you want companv, an' I 
don't mind if its the right sort. But Barley 
Me?rit and roe don’t hitch together and [ don't 
want no beggars round here, [tell you.” 
Barley's no beggar, father, and you 
thought bVtter of him when you expected he 
was going to have the low farm.’’ 
• * Well, he hain't got the low farm, and that 
makes all the difference; and I don’t want no 
talk nor nonsense about it H< shan’t come 
here, I tell you So mind yourself. I’m gmn’ to 
hev my own way, as I’m used to and hev 
allers bin used to.” 
And with this he took up his hat and went 
out, not deigning to pick up the chair which 
he had overset in his anger and fury. 
“ Oh. my poor dear mother I” exclaimed Pa¬ 
tience; “your words are coming true. There’s 
trouble coming and tois is the beginningof it. 
What is it to he, T wonder? Father’s g t some 
thing in his head that he wants me to do And he 
wants me to drive Barley away. Perhaps he 
wants me to marry Jonas Pratt. I’d rather 
die thm be that man’s wife Oh! I could 
never do that. But. what a time there will be 
with fither; and I can’t put up with it as 
poor mother did, and yet her heart was bro¬ 
ken at last. Poor dear mother; I am begin¬ 
ning to learn whit you suffered.” 
In this way did Patience turn this matter 
over in her mind. The i nperions, wayward, 
almost brutal disposition of her father during 
years past had had its influence upon her 
and had formed her to habits o? implicit obe¬ 
dience, althoueh she may have inwardly re¬ 
belled against it. Alone, with few compan¬ 
ions but some of her old schoolmates, and 
having lived a somewhat isolated life since 
her mother’s death, she had no one with whom 
she could counsel in her troubles, and had for 
the greater part settled her previous difficul¬ 
ties with her father, Ify submitting to him in 
every one of his whims and fancies. But her 
powers of resistance, although dormant, were 
strong and inbred; and the more she thought 
over this bus ; ness the more she determined to 
resist her father’s desire that she should give 
up Barley Merrit’s welcome attentions. 
“ He’s the only friend 1 have,” she said to 
herself. He is good and kind to his old mother 
and supports her by his hard wmk: and a man 
who is good to his mother will be kind to his 
wife. I believe he was cheated out of the low 
farm, for a good many people says so, and 
what everybody think", or soys, has some 
truth at the bottom of it. What made father 
say that it made all the difference that he had 
not the low farm ? I can’t exactly tee through 
it, but there is something afoot between father 
and Jonas Pratt, I fear, for they have been 
together a good deal of Jate. Well, let Jonas 
Pratt talk to me, that’s all; I'll settle that 
matter very quickly.” And with a defiant 
toss of her head she resumed her work. 
The day wore on and gradually Patience 
forgot her trouble, or at least it became 
smothered down by (he afternoon, when with 
her usual light-hearted ness she went about her 
household duties. While engaged with these 
she was startled by receiving a vi-dt from 
Jonas Pratt. A strange foreboding of evil 
rushed across her mind aud chilled her to the 
marrow. Were her worst suspicions about 
to be real zed 1 she thought. W thout betray¬ 
ing any emotion, and preserving a passive air, 
she answered rather curtly his salutation, 
“How d’ye do, Miss Patience?” Patience 
was working over her butter and its rich tint 
seemed to attract Jonab’ notice. 
“ That’s mighty nice butter you’ve got 
there, Miss Patience; my old woman can’t do 
it up half so nice as you do.” 
“ Do you mean your mother, Mr. Pratt?’’ 
slyly asked Pati'-nce with a severe emphasis 
on “ your mother.” 
“Why, of course; I’ve no one el«e to look 
after my churning and the butter but the o’d 
woman.” 
“Why don’t you call her your mother? 
Mother is a much nicer word and more re¬ 
spectful than old woman. Why don’t you 
THE RURAL S5W-Y0RKER. 
learn to moke the butter yourself, Mr. Pratt?” 
I’d be glad to Miss Patience if you’d teach 
me ” 
“ Did you " ish to see rav father, Mr. Pratt,?’’ 
Patience asked, after a pause. “Ith ! nk he 
is in the we«t field, taking un potatoes.” 
«<Whv— no—to tell the truth—I’d—T thought 
me^be—Pd call and see you. Mbs Patience”; 
and Jonas critically examined the side of one 
of his boots ard squeezed his soft felt hat 
together in b ; s great hands. 
“Well. Mr. Pratt, what can I do for you 
this afternoon? ” said Patience in a very snap¬ 
pish manner. 
“ Oh. nothin’ pertickler, onlv—I h«>d suthin 
I’d kinder like to sav to you, Miss Patience.” 
“ Mr. Pratt,” «aid Patience, suddenly turn¬ 
ing and facing her visitor, “ T nr very busy, 
as you see; I don’t know that anything you 
can say to me would interest me in the least; 
or why von should have anything to say to 
me at all. If there is any business about the 
farm, my father is the one you should see and 
not me”! And Patience with a flushed face 
and an annoyed expression looked defiantly at 
her visitor. 
“Oh, it’s nothin’about the farm. Miss Pa¬ 
tience, said Jonas, trying to be undismayed 
at Patience’s eff >rt to get rid of him, “but it’s 
sut.bin’ about your father, though. Me and 
him bad a talk last night, and—it—about— 
corsarning sutbiu’—about you, in fact, Miss 
Patience ” 
And Jonas turned and turned his bat in his 
bands and elosely regarded his rusty boots. 
Patience gave a gasp for breath. The plot 
had been hatched which she had been dread¬ 
ing, and burst upon her so soon, and while 
she was so unprepared to resist it. With an 
effort which almost choked her, she controlled 
herself so much as to say, “You might have 
had a better subject for your conversation, 
Pratt.” 
“We mought and we mought’o,” replied 
Jonas. “I thmk the subject couldn’t have 
been a better one, savin’ your presence, Miss 
Pat’ence.” 
Patience made no reply, and Jonas still con¬ 
tinued to examine his boot and to squeeze 
and twist his hat for some moments, while 
Patience, industriously, savagely, in fact, np 
plied her ladle to the butter in the bowl. But 
Patience had all her faculties on the alert, 
and iu the interval of silence which fell on 
the two, quickly formed her plan of defence. 
It was one of aggressive and sharp attack. 
Throwing down her ladle on the tattle some¬ 
what. angrilv, she turned to J mas Pratt, and 
said sharply, “ Now, Mr. Pratt, what is it 
you have to say ti me. We have never been 
friends, hardly even acquaintances; we have 
been almost strangers; now what is it you 
want to say to me ” 
“Oh, no offense, Miss Patience, I hope. 
Last night your father aud me hed a talk 
about it, and I kim around to jest offer to mar¬ 
ry you, Miss Patience. You see I’ve been a 
widowernigh ou to four years, and the old 
worn-mv mother, Mbs Patience, is gettin’ 
old,and it’s hard doin’ all alone. And, Miss Pa¬ 
tience, 1 think the world’n all on yer, and yer 
father’s wil in’, and if you’d, arter a time, 
you know—when things can be made pleas¬ 
ant —w hy—if you’d say you’d marry me, Miss 
Patience—Pd—be very glad on it.” 
“Mr, Pratt, we may as well understand 
each other now, at once, aud for all. 1 thank 
you for your good opinion and your kind 
offer; as your nr th-*r is old and pooil-, and 
you w r aut a slave to take her place and work 
for you; but if you had all the wealth of the 
world, aud were to offer me every comfort 
and luxury that could be thought of, 1 would 
never he your wife I couldn’t aud I wouldn't! 
Now, Mr. Pratt, be so g md as to leave me.” 
And she pointed to the dour. 
Jonas hul risen during this speech and see¬ 
ing Patience facing hiin, erect, with rai-ed 
head, burning cheeks anil glistening eves; de¬ 
termination shown in every feature and ex¬ 
pression, he turned abruptly and literally 
fled 
“Hello! Jonas! what in creation, man ! 
what’s the matter! You’ve clean knocked 
the breath outer me, ” e j iculated Defiance Bart, 
lett, as he extricated himself from a mutual 
aud protecting grasp, without which both 
men would have gone over by the collision, 
as Jonas escaped from Bartlett’s kitchen 
door. 
“Drat it, Bartlett, you’ve made a fool of 
me. Tbatgal ’i hev nothin’ to du with me. She’s 
like the very old scratch—a rale chip of the 
old block; and that’s you. Defiance. Pm off 
Pm not a g« od hand at sparkin.’ My wife as 
was, sparked me and married me, or I guess 
I should ne’er a bin married; I cau’t du the 
talkin’, and soft, sawder. If I’eer marry your 
gal, Bartlett, you’ll hev to du the sparkin’ 
and I’ll kim around when the parson's ready. 
At present I’m off ” 
And without waiting to hear anv expostu¬ 
lation he hurried homewards Defiance Bart¬ 
lett stood looking nfter him for a few min¬ 
utes. and stroked his chin for a few minutes 
longer. Th -n he turned and went into the 
i house.—[To be continued .] 
for Women. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS RAV Cl.ARK. 
OLD CHANDELIERS VS. CANDEL¬ 
ABRA. 
As Flower-stands and “Hanging- 
basket.” 
MRS. C. S. JONES. 
PART I. 
There are many dwellings into which gas 
has been introduced, that have stored away 
in attic or lumber room, various styles of 
those old-time ornaments the chandelier, 
bracket lamp and candelabra, which did such 
faithful service as iilumirmt, rs in the past. 
In removing la*t Spring a friend found 
severalof these old time ornaments; they were 
disentombed from one o r those vast sepul¬ 
chres, and bestowed upon us, for sake of 
getting rid of them; to-day, however, he 
would gladly purchase just such another set, 
in order to change them to the beautiful 
objects, our own h ive become. Though rroty 
and defaced these ornaments were of artistic 
form and handsome finish, and the first step 
was to clean them, by means of brush and 
soap suds, this done we looked upon our 
reasures “with a critic’s eye.” The first, was 
a neat chandelier for four lamps—a long rod 
moving up and down in a cylinder, had an 
urn shaped centre of Egyptian style, below 
wh'eh, amid scrolls and ornamental twistings 
extended the arms supporting large esps, 
into which the glass lamps had fitted, and 
which we found eminently adapted for large¬ 
sized flower-pots; chains festooned from the 
handles of ihe vase to eaeh cup and then con¬ 
necting these, gave a graceful finish to the 
whole. 
After varnishing the surface, we applied 
gold and 1 ironz* powders, which gave a dull, 
(uot bright) bronzed appearance to the surface, 
excepting on the projecting parts, which we 
regilded and rubbed a little iu imitation of 
the burnished parts of old bronzes. 
Four ten inch flower pots were next treated 
to a coat of brown paint, and when dry 
varnished with copul and. while a little lacky 
bronzed to correspond with the chandelier, but 
to give a more artistic form, we obtained 
eight lion head handles, of the artificial wood 
ornaments, which before painting we 
cemented to each side, of each pot. we al-o 
procured a few yards of chain, and looped 
from pot to pot. 
At the bottom of the chandelier was a pen¬ 
dant ornament, to which we attached a basket 
made of a discarded tin basin of good form 
also treated to a coat of paint and varnish. 
From each arm also depended baskets the 
same kind but smaller. 
During the month of August we prepared 
the floral adornment, for our baugini? basket 
(?). In each pot, was by October a fine speci¬ 
men, geranium double and single, scarlet, 
white, pink and salmon surrounded by ivy¬ 
leaved geraniums with variegated foliage and 
which drooped beautifully round the pots. 
In the large basket grew a noble specimen of 
Begonia Rex with a luxuriant smilax, that 
creeping up iu innumerable strands of thread, 
covered every portion of the frame with its 
delicate and unparalled beauty, and inter¬ 
twined with a Japanese climbing fern, Madeira 
vine, and the gl irious foliage of a Cissus dis¬ 
color formed an object of wonderful beauty. 
The baskets overflowed witli Kenilworth Ivy, 
Olionna, Panieum varipgatum, Reinckia, 
Tradescantia of all sorts, Lysimmachia, 
Ficuerepensand, Stepbanolis: which covered 
the surfaces and then fell in long graceful 
lengths, or twined about chains and ornaments 
iu a way that was truly imposing, and every 
parser by stopped to gaze upon the curious 
fi iral appendage of t hat window, As it could 
be easily lowered, the watering and keeping 
clean was easily attended to. 
ABOUT FLOWERS. 
While the skill of a practical florist is 
something one could envy, if such a spirit was 
right, we can many times be our own florist 
and perhaps quite as much to oursatisfaction. 
The business of a florist has reached great 
dimensions, and may be safely called an art. 
The pieces of flowers that are made uow r -a- 
days are surely wonderful in manufacture. 
At a funeral a few days since we saw what 
was to us a new' design; it beiug a tombstone, 
made of white carnations as a foundation, 
and filled in with long stemmed Tea R^ses, 
that waved mod gr cefully as the light Sum¬ 
mer wind quietly passed over them. The help 
of two men was required to bring it in, and of 
course two to carry it, out. The design of the 
“ Gates Ajar” is another beautiful one, and 
we stand before it in admiration. For the 
benefit of our readers wffi i are not dependent 
upon skilled work for their beautiful arrange¬ 
ment of flowers, but can step out into their 
garden and cut them in profusion and of every 
color, arranging them as they are cut to suit 
th°ir individuil taste, we will desc ibe this 
“Gates Ajar.” There is a broad platform 
covered with white flowers; leading to it are 
three steps. On this is a frame upon which 
two doors are swung; one opening outside and 
the other inside ; they are ajar only, B >th 
sides of these doors are covered wifcn flowers, 
which are generally white carnations because 
they must bo such as will mike an even sur¬ 
face. givi g the epp’arance of a smooth board. 
Over the door is an arch, which is handsomely 
finished with larger flowers or perh-ps rose¬ 
buds. 
For weddings there can bo nothing much 
handsomer than a “ bell,” composed of either 
white or colored flowers. This is hung be¬ 
tween the two rooms or in the center of one, 
just where the couple are to stand during the 
ceremony; and then after it, while they re¬ 
ceive the congratulations of friends. 
Figure 215. 
But to return to our first statement. We 
can he our own florists manv times with entire 
satisfaction, and to prove this we venture to 
present a modest little cut of a wire frame 
upon which can be trained any choice vine. 
We sav choice, became so many have large 
leaves and stems, and grow so piofusely that 
the outline could not be kept A cypress 
vioe, with its delicate leaves aud flowers, or 
the more familiar Tradescantia, smilax, all 
of which are good climbers and could be 
well trained. 
S imo of the men folks w-ill have to be 
“trained”—or better, coaxed—into making 
the frame, especially if one lives too far away 
from a town or city to buy one already 
made. It is to be set over the pot in which 
the vines are planted. 
Try it, fi lends ! Have it made large enough 
to cover several pols if you prefer, selecting 
your favorite flowers; and we know that you 
will thunk us for this simple suggestion. 
< ♦ > 
MANNERS AT TABLE. 
Is there a code of proper conduct connected 
with one’s knife aud fork, one’s spoon and 
glass and plate at table ? Is it the right thing 
to hold your plate by the two sides, as if it 
would run awuy unless it were tightly secured? 
—to play with your bread and crumble it all 
over the place, when you are not eating it as 
if for dear life all through the pauses between 
the various dishes I—to hold up your knife and 
fork in mid-air, suspending operations while 
you talk to your neighbor, dancing your food 
on the point of the prongs t ill you have finished 
your remarks ? Or, if you do not do this, then 
industriously endeavoring to do two things at 
once, eating while you talk, talking w hile you 
eat, to the imminent danger of accidents better 
imagined than described ? Yet many worthy 
souls and well dressed bodies commit these 
abominations with light hearts and a clear 
conscience. Also many drink with their 
mouths full, as w'ell as shovel in supplies on 
supplies before they have disposed of the first 
or half-mas’iear.ed the second:—all of which 
are sins agaiust the morality of the dinner 
table, so far as the best law-givers havB as yet 
gone on the subject. 
To refrain from picking bones with one’s 
fingers and not to eat with one’s knife are of 
the very elements of good breeding; and the 
first lesson taught iu every well conditioned 
household is that these are table sins w hich 
nothing can * xcuse. We have seen ladies at 
hotel tables hold their chi-ken bone or cutlet- 
Bbank between their dainty Ungers and t huoibs 
while they gnaw off the meat with their 
pearly teeth as neatly as would Fido, the lap- 
dog. Then they will suck their flngeis oue 
after another, and wipe the residue on their 
napkin", smilmg and glorious, conscious that 
they have left no waste, an l enjoyed to the 
last fiber the good things provided for them. 
This monotonous use of the fork and craven 
fear of the vulgarity lying in the spoon seems 
to us simply table snobbery. It is a well- 
kuown axiom that the fork is io be used in 
preference to the spoon when possible and con¬ 
venient. But the people who use it always— 
when scarcely possible and decidedly incon¬ 
venient—are people so desperately afraid of 
