JAN. 31 
THE 
Jfor Momcit. 
HONEYSUCKLE. 
How fair they were, my darling- twain. 
Who wnlltod ad own the Kt-ftnny lano 
That sultry August (lay. 
Unconscious of the golden charm 
That flouted round them, arm-in-arm. 
They wandered ou their way. 
One wore her raven Itohsor low, 
Cloae-hraided, o’er a hrow of snow. 
Like Home grand Roman dame; 
Here were theme luminous, large eyes. 
From whore dark depths r trail go gleams arise, 
And break In sudden flume. 
Around her sister’s gentler fare 
The brown hair rippled, tender grace 
Was in her form and look; 
A wild-roao color on her cheek, 
Brown, loving eyes, contented, meek, 
And clear ae summer brook. 
I sat beneath a shady tree. 
And heard their laughter floating free, 
Through idle, happy hours; 
I saw them gather by the way 
The struggling clusters, sweet and gay, 
Of honeysuckle flowers. 
I watch them wave their scented spoil. 
In eager haste, with playful toil. 
And laughter-brimming eyos; 
They twluedit on my faded brow. 
Ah, heaven '. I have that garland now, 
A sacred, mournful prize ! 
Was it because they were my own, 
I fancied even their lightest tone 
More sweet than other sound ! 
Was it because I gave them birth, 
I thought that nowhere on Ood’s earth 
Could fairer things be round? 
Was it but doting mother’s lovo? 
Or were my darlings fair above 
The playmates or thei r time ? 
I know uot then, nor now I know. 
It is so nmuy years ago. 
They scarcely reached their prime. 
But this I kuow, 'twixt them and uie 
Kolia yet the awful, tideless sea 
That parts their world from this; 
And well I know that whore they are 
There is no need of sun or star, 
Nor need of mother's kiss, 
But o’er my honeysuckle wreath. 
My weaned heart will often breathe 
A prayer for those bright bowers. 
Where I may see my daughters stand. 
Each holding for me in her hand 
lleaveu's amaranthine flowers. 
— Weekly Times. 
♦ - 
A GOOD-BYE TO THE “RURAL” SISTERS. 
A littlk over two years ago—September, 1877—I 
made my bow to you, good ladles, and asked you to 
aid me In making the Woman's Department of the 
"Old Rural,” u-seiul, Instructive and entertaining; 
you promptly responded, and by Contributions, sug¬ 
gestions and kindly words of encouragement, ha ve 
aided very materially la bringing the department 
to the degree of excellence it has attained. 
The rastuon articles, those which treated of 
home decorations, or art matters, of courses or 
reading and home study, and lastly, the dear, old, 
gossipy “ Club.” have all been received with marked 
favor, and I cannot but feel that you have really 
enjoyed Uie department,. 
The “good, old times ’’ are gone forever, so far as 
I am concerned, for 1 mast bid a sad good-bye to 
all the pleasant friendships and delightful asso¬ 
ciations resulilng from the editorship of “For 
Women.” With the close Df the year ihtu, my con¬ 
nection with the Rural came to an end. In re¬ 
signing my position which 1 do with sincere regret, 
1 wish to thank you, one and all, dear ladles, for 
your uniform courtesy U) me, and to add a •• God 
bless you ” to my good-bye. Sincerely your friend, 
now and always. Farm Kiflky. 
348 W. 35th St.. N. Y. 
[We may say that we too, part with Miss Ripley 
with sincere regret.— Eds.] 
- ♦♦♦ - 
“REDEEMING THE TIME.” 
MBS. K. GRIFFITH. 
Perhafs there Is nothing In life at once so pre¬ 
cious and so Ill-used as time. The golden hours 
slip away empty-handed, bearing but little from 
the most of us with which to eurlch the coming 
years; so that when God rolls up the scroll of life, 
Instead of Its being w ritten within and without 
with deeds and thoughts worthy of an Intelligent 
being, It Is found u> be but an empty, soulless 
blank. 
No doubt the man in Scripture, who had labored 
diligently and reaped so great a harvest as to bo 
obliged to “ puli down Ida barns and build greater 
in which to stow his abundant grain,” was es¬ 
teemed by most people as a man of wisdom, a 
smart, keen, live, bUftUKSS man, whose clear head 
and active hands would not let one moment run 
to waste. Vet, God called him a Tool. God deemed 
him most wasteful, because ho had spent all Ids 
time In laying up treasure for himself, and had 
not a thought of any bank account In Hoaven. 
And yet 1 think sometimes that we are just as 
wasteful and roollsh. 
So engrossed do we become in the question 
“ what shall we eat, what, shall wo drink, and 
wherewithal shall we be clothed ?" that the Inter¬ 
ests of the Kingdom arc crowded out, to a great 
extent, till a more convenient season. God tells 
us to •• Redeem the Timethat is: put something 
aside which only serves la minister to the flesh, 
and give the time we would have devoted to It to 
a higher, nobler purpose. In a word, saertjloe gehf. 
How much some of us do—we women Chris tains, 
that calls for hard, exhaustive labor and hours of 
precious time, that, does not add one whit, to our 
comfort or weU-belng. but on the contrary produces 
fretful weariness, sleepless nights, and thorough 
disgust with one’s-sell and one’s surroundings, 
simply because “ everybody does It..” 
Ruffled pillow-slips, embroidered underwear, 
tucked skirts, chair tidies, air castles, and over- 
trimmed dresses are considered so Indispensable 
to a respectable walk In life that the most Of US 
havu’taoy time for anything else except to make 
cocoanut cake, lemon-custard pics, rich preserves, 
and ever so ra iny other things to oat that we can’t 
possibly get along without. And so our souls 
starve, isn’t It strange we don’t, think more about 
It than we do ? 
For many years I have habituated myself to a 
course of dally reading, beginning with my Bible 
and winding up with a good newspaper. Some¬ 
times, especially of late years, I have allowed It 
to bo broken In upon for days together, and I 
cannot tell you what a loss It always has been 
to me. Now. perhaps some of you may think 
that l have nothing else to do. Allow me say you 
are greatly mistaken. I am a regular busy-body, 
have a household of four to look after and do all 
my own work. 
ORGUINETTE.—STYLE “ A ”, 
But I’ll tell you: I made up my mind long, long 
ago. to dress plainly, and wear ray clothes out, re¬ 
gardless of the changing stylo; to never learn how 
to make ( Idles or log-cabin quilts, or alr-castles, 
or tucked and rutiled pillow-eases, because I knew 
I ought not to take the time God had given me In 
which to prepare for the life beyond. Many and 
many a time have J wielded the washing machine 
with one hand while with the other I held a book 
which constituted a part of my reading course. 
Make excuses as we will, the fact Is, there are 
very few of us but might snatch up five minutes 
in which to garuer up rich thoughts from 
all tlie busy hours or the day, sweetening our lives 
and lightening our toll. There are many minutes 
when wo are getting dinner, waiting Tor irons to 
heat, etc . that we spend Impatiently that, might 
be given to acquiring some useful Information. 
No one, who has never tried the experiment, 
knows how such a process elevates and strength¬ 
ens the mind and heart, puts a check to fretful- 
ness, and satisfies the soul. There Is no other 
class or persona in the world that, has such wide¬ 
spread power for good or 111 as women; no one 
class upon whom Is Imposed such grand responsi¬ 
bilities; none that have such an educating Influ¬ 
ence. 
Let us look to It, then, Christian women, that 
we set a better example before our sons and 
daughters! Let us begin and carry out, a grand 
substitutionary work, “ Redeeming t he Time,” 
because—and Is not this sutllclent reason ? “ The 
days are evil.” For you know “ we do all things 
through Christ;who strengtheneth us.” There Is 
no can't w ith God. 
—-- 
THE ORGUINETTE. 
Thu orgulnef.te Is a new musical Instrument of 
the organ class and constructed upon the same 
principles. The same class of reeds are used as in 
the organ and a similar sound Is produced, but un¬ 
like the organ this little Instrument is not played 
by striking the keys with the fingers. By turning 
a crank merely, a sheet of perforated paper passes 
under a series of llugers that fall upon the valves, 
those are opened and the sound which la sweet, 
brilliant and melodious Is produced. It will be a 
matter of surprise to all who hear It that so un¬ 
pretentious an instrument can produce such really 
good music. The perforated paper Is to the orgul- 
nette, precisely what the sheets of music are to the 
practised performer—and It is an exact copy of the 
eject produced by such music, u it Is run through 
the orgulnette properly. We send with the or- 
gulnetto 14 feet of music, but any quantity 
may bo bought at 6jf cents per foot, embracing 
dance music, songs, hymns, and all the most pop¬ 
ular and recent music. 
Any one can play the Orgulnette that Is old 
enough to turn a crank t and It Is an unfailing 
source of amuseiueui and pleasure, especially to 
the young folks. Fora frolic tt Is Immense l It 
reels off quadrilles lu perfect time, and the changes 
arc printed on the music at proper places so that a 
child can be orchestra and leader. We give stylo 
C for a club of 38 subscribers. 
style a Is the same as above without the “Expres¬ 
sion Box.” We present, it and 14 feet of music for 
a club of 80 subscribers. Both are made by the 
MecluuilcalOrguinotUi Co. New York City, 
$omfstir afnraomjj. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
WHAT A WOMAN CAN DO.-No. 3. 
MARY BEAL MC’LOOTH. 
Believing that the laboring class are the 
healthiest, and knowing that many who are 
sick would exchange all they possess for 
health, I have written these articles to encour¬ 
age all classes, both rich and poor, old and 
yonng, to spend as much time as Is consistent 
with their engagements in the open air. Don’t 
hide your face from the pleasant sunshine, for 
it alone will bring the color to your cheeks. 
Now 1 hear somebody say, just liko all other 
country women, hasn’t any pride. Very well, 
have it as yon please! 1 remember only too well 
my childhood days when the big sun-bonnet 
was a constant burden, in which I was obliged 
to envelop my head or remain in the house- 
But as I grew older I concluded a brown color 
was better than none, and so going bare¬ 
headed, combined with out-door employment., 
has given me better health than I ever dared 
to hope I should enjoy. 
The care of poultry the year through, is the 
most remunerative of any employment I can 
mention, besides being very pleasant. But 
allow me right hero to give a word of caution. 
Do not begin on too large a scale or try too 
many kiuds at once. Chickens are the most 
easily cared for, aud I am sure the profit from 
them will exceed that from any other kind of 
poultry. From a child I always found pleasure 
in cleaning up the door-yard. On bright days 
in the spring, it's areal treat to get out and 
gather up the rubbish, which will accumulate 
during the winter. Unless you found time the 
fall before, put ou some leather mittens, trim 
and tie the Raspberries. If you wish to de¬ 
light the children, have husband make a bon¬ 
fire of the refuse, in the evening. Picking and 
earing for small fruit is very animating, es¬ 
pecially if you are where you can sell readily, 
and you have a faculty for filling your di6h 
rapidly. I have picked half the upides we had 
for our own use, standing In a wagon, driving 
from tree to tree as necessity required. In the 
fall get the whole family out husking Pull 
down the shock, cut the standards, but let the 
men bind and set up. Don’t try to do every¬ 
thing just as the men do. Instead of slashing 
olf the stalks und making hard work of it, 
draw the corn cutter back and forth as you 
would a saw. It's easier, but, of course, slower. 
Huskiug is sport after the trump, tramp, 
tramp in the kitchen. Besides, it counts more. 
A woman who can use a saw, hammer and 
nails, can every day, find ample scope for her 
abilities. My father taught me when young 
the use of tools, aud 1 bless the day when I 
learned. It is a satisfaction to any one to have 
an article made or repaired, without wailing 
the motion of some uninterested person who 
does not see any necessity for doing it any 
way. and perhaps never gets quite ready, put¬ 
ting one Off from time to time until too late. 
I might tell how I made my apple-racks, 
making a mammoth, dry house of my kitchen; 
cut up a hard wood box and made a door-step; 
put up a door to the ben-house with leather 
hinges (though others would he as easily put 
ou if one had them) ; made chicken coops in¬ 
numerable, of all styles aud descriptions; 
sawed the back of an old chair, nailed on a 
board, and painted it, making a respectable 
wash-bench. A door that would not shut, was 
taken off its hinges and sawed off. A shelf 
was put up in the cellar way. Laths were 
tacked below the mop boards, in the store¬ 
room uud closets up-etalrs, to keep out the 
mice. A railing was made to prevent one from 
falling down-stairs. Strips of wood were put 
up in different places for hooks or nails ou 
which to hang clothes. Somo casters were 
put in the lounge. A board three feet long 
and one wide, with strips nailed ou sides and 
one end, the end board projecting below, so as 
to raise it a few inches from the platform ; this 
to prevent water from running back into the 
well—a very much needed and useful article. 
It’s so unwholesome to huve the water drip- 
piug back to be pumped out again. 
To those who do not wish to work, I would 
say, walk, walk, walk! Don't be afraid of its 
making you weak and bringing on worse ills, 
but walk every day. I don’t cousider it’s a 
woman’s tpluce to do all this work, bat some 
feel the necessity of doing something, and so 
they had best do that which is best. 
-- 
RUBBER GLOVES FOR DISH-WASHING. 
Several months ago a Vermont lady in¬ 
quired where rubber gloves could he had, and 
at what price. In Philadelphia the price for 
gloves, without wrists or gauntlets, is 05 cents- 
with wrists. $120. These priceH were given 
me at Wauamaker’s. The lady’s inquiry 
would have been answered at once, but that 
her postal card was mislaid I don’t know 
the cost of a mop for dish-washing, but a 
clever woman can make that readily by fasten¬ 
ing her dish cloth to the end of a stick. If it 
does not quite answer her purpose, it will give 
her the idea how to fix it right. Perhaps some 
Rural reader can furnish a drawing with ex¬ 
plicit directions. Mary Wager-Fisher. 
4 ♦ ♦- 
FASHIONABLE TIDIES, 
Chair “scarfs.” as they are called, may be 
made out of ribbon velvet, Turkish toweling, 
crash toweling, or even bed ticking. 8tripe 
the crash or ticking with black velvet ribbon, 
red llannel. or eut the stripes from a pretty 
cretonne, aud fasten down the edges with any 
fancy stitch in lloss or worsted. The spaces 
between the stripes may be worked with silk or 
worsted, all of the same design, or each differ¬ 
ent and of a different color. Finish the ends 
with a fringe of the same, or of worsted or 
silk to match the stripes. 1 have just fiuished 
a handsome “ scarf ” uiadcout of Turkish tow¬ 
eling and ornarneuted with cretonne figures, 
fastened dowu in feather stitch. I fringed out 
the ends a finger in depth, aud fastened in gay 
colored floss to match the cretoune. The 
length and breadth of a “ scarf ” must depend 
upon the size of the chair it is t.o ornament. 
Mrs. 8 E. W. 
SAUSAGES AGAIN. 
MRS. E. K. R. 
Not too late, however, to be of use to some 
belated housekeepers who have not yet strug¬ 
gled through the wearisome work attached to 
“booteherin time.” It was a long time after 
my first experiment in sausage making before 
I found a recipe that exactly suited my “glide* 
mou’s ” taste, although every year I tried a new 
one. One would think that common sense 
might have taught me that nine teaspoonsful 
of pepper, nine of salt, and three of powdered 
sage to every pound of meat (which were (he 
directions found in an old English cook-book,) 
would be too high a seasoning for all ordinary 
palates. Nevertheless, it was tried among the 
rest, and even the chickens to which it was 
finally consigned, fouud the result beyond their 
endurance. After many failures in getting just 
the right proportion of meat, salt, etc., a good 
old Dutch lady gave me the recipe which 1 have 
followed for several years with increasing 
satisfaction. Here it is: 25 pounds of meal, 
nine ounces of salt, two ounces of pepper, two 
ouueos of saltpetre, one and one-half ounce of 
sage, l’aek in bags made of old but strong 
cotton, eut about five inches iu width aud fif¬ 
teen in length. When filled, tie with a cord 
long enough to make a loop to hang them by, 
and hang in a cool place. When you want to 
open a bag, rip open the lower end, turn the 
cloth back far enough to cut off what slices are 
needed, then fold the cloth dowu again to ex¬ 
clude dust and air. In this way you have the 
same loop to hang by until the whole bag is 
used. 
Sausages are sometimes made of equal quan¬ 
tities of beef and pork, but they never should 
he, for the reason that pork needs longer fry¬ 
ing than beef does, aud by the time the pork is 
cooked sufficiently, the beef is all frizzled and 
dried up. 
- 4 - 4-4 - 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Pickled Oysters. 
Drain and strain the liquor from off the 
oysters, bring the liquor to a boil, put in the 
oysters and boil one minute ; skim out, add the 
same quantity of vinegar as liquor, a few 
cloves, mace and a little pepper and salt. 
Boil fifteen minutes, then pour over the oys¬ 
ters. 
Orange Marmalade. 
Take ripe oranges, pare off the outside rind 
very thiu, and boil until tendei ; then eut into 
Liny strips. With a spoon take out all of the 
juicy pulp, throwing away the white pith. M ix 
the pulp and juice with the teudor peel, weigh, 
add au equal weight of sugar and boil in a pre¬ 
serving kettle for half an hour, stirring con¬ 
stantly. Put away like jam. m a. b. 
Heady-Made Portable Soup. 
The following method of preparing soup 
stock for use the year round, is excellent, be¬ 
sides beiug a very convenient article to have 
ou hand. With it a good soup can be made lu 
half an hour. Into a large kettle put about 
four gallons of cold water, then put in ten 
pouucta of a shin ot beef, free from fat, six 
ORGtJJNKTTE.—STYLE “C.” 
