THE RURAL HEW-YORKER. 
-JUNE U 
not mostly carried off by odd pennies and six- 
pences, that at the time seem almost too un¬ 
important to entertain? None, until they try, 
realize how tiny sums will mount up in a short 
space of time, and how far scraps will go in 
making dainty dishes, tempting to eat, and 
saving the butcher’s book. 
It is just in these small economies that 
French women are such splendid managers. 
They know exactly how far everything will 
go, and have no false shame at any manage¬ 
ment that will save eveu a penny. Y et, in 
spite of this I perhaps because of this), French 
cookery is always quoted as the best. The 
fact is, French cookery is a cookery of scraps; 
and. thanks to this fact, the French menagtre 
can produce so tempting and varied a menu 
on the microscopic sum that, does da ty as house¬ 
keeping allowance. Of course, the great cor¬ 
don* him* do not practice this rigid economy; 
but that is not the style of cookery 1 am refer¬ 
ring to. It. is French domestic cookery to 
which 1 allude, and how every scrap has its 
value, and is carefully considered. This is the 
secret of it all, for to make nkhauffCs whole¬ 
some and palatable the cookery must be most 
careful, and the scraps, however small, good 
of their kind. A French menu reads most 
grandly, but write it out in plain English, and 
see how homely the fare is in niue cases out of 
ten. In this eonulry there is a widespread 
plaiting three inches in width; above this a 
double box-plait headed with a puff which, in 
turn, is gathered about an inch below the 
edge, where it is sewed on the skirt, forming 
a heading. The long basque is belted at the 
waist, with a leather belt, which can be bought 
for 75 cents. Plush is used as the trimming 
on bottom of basque, also for the little sboul- 
date is another letter—almost the last from 
her hand—written to a new tutor for the little 
Prince, in which she tells him her wishes as to 
his education, and what she desires he should 
become; “a nobleman in tbe true sense of the 
word, free from royal arrogance, modest, un¬ 
selfish, helpful, possessing each of those at¬ 
tributes which, above all, the English method 
of education seeks to develop— namely, a 
sense of duty and honor, a love of truth, and 
that respect for Clod and law which alone can 
make us free.” Two days later she was laid 
upon her lied with the same dread disease—an 
illness of which all her life she. had shown a 
peculiar horror. She seems from the first to 
have contemplated her death, giving the most 
minute instructions with regard to her chil¬ 
dren and friends, her charitable institutions, 
and tbe poor of the town. Borne of these in¬ 
structions she even wrote down with ber own 
hand. The doctors tried to raise her spirits 
and make her hope for and strive after recov¬ 
ery; but by the lath it was evident that tbe 
case was hopeless, and they hud to break to the 
still weak and suffering Grand Duke the dread - 
ful news. Bhe died quietly on the 14th, her 
last consciousness recalling to ber the date as 
that on which she had lost her adored parent, 
the last words on her lips his name. Bhe was 
buried, amid the sincere mourning of ber sub¬ 
jects, in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum, in a 
chapel built after ber own design, to cover 
the grave of her little girl. 
£oa* Women 
CONDUCTED BY MIS.' KAY CLARK. 
There has liaen ptiunaned in iwiKiana a 
large volume of extracts from letters written 
by the Grand Duchess of Hesse to her mother, 
Queen Victoria. They reveal a loving, noble, 
high-minded churaoter, and a strong, brave 
soul. We find that griefs and sorrows come 
and darken these homes, juat as they do the 
homes of the lowly, for “God is no respecter 
of persons ” He often finds his own among 
the crowded heads, and calls upon them, too, 
to “pass under the rod.” 
One is apt to think that where lives are lived 
h y set rules, and from necessity are surrounded 
with so much form, thut- there is little chance 
for affection to show itself; but the glimpses 
we have once in a while of such homes, ex¬ 
hibit much of real joy anil happiness. 
We copy from a review of this book given 
in a foreign paper, some remarks about it, 
and also a few incidents, which we think can¬ 
not lie read without touching the heart and 
bringing tears to tbe eye: 
A love amounting to adoration for her dead 
father, a true love for her mother and for her 
English home, distinguished the Princess, and 
finds utterance in these letters. Indeed, she 
was often homesick, and. though she did her 
best to serve the new home of her adoption, 
her heart was in the Old Country, after whose 
freer social and political institutions she sighed. 
Bhe does not give it. marked expression, but it 
is easy to perceive that the petty, stilted, ex¬ 
aggerated etiquette, the stilling atmosphere of 
a small court, jealous of privilege, old fash¬ 
ioned hi spirit, oppressed her often. Bhe was 
not able either to bring down her mind to re¬ 
STRAY NOTES FROM THE FARMERS’ 
WIVES’ CLUB. 
OVER ORNAMENTATION. 
“There has been a great, deal of ink spilled 
in criticising the abodes of us po >r farmers’ 
wives,” said Mrs. Rowley, one of our new 
members. And I, for one, feel us if as much 
could be said on the other side of the question 
without, exhausting the subject. We are told 
that, the parlors of the average farmer are 
such stiff, formal affairs, as to Ik* very trying 
to the nerves of an exceedingly refined per¬ 
son. The walls are invariably described as 
being adorned with the family record framed; 
a picture called a mourning piece; also a group 
of animals done in worsted w-ork. among them 
cats with square beads and birds of varied and 
striking plumage aud unknown pedigree, 
There is also supposed to be a companion piece 
of flowers, with blue roses and cinnamon col¬ 
ored stems, done in overstitch and other mon¬ 
strosities to correspond. The window curtains 
are of green paper, aud tbe room. 
hence she often gave grave offence when she 
intended it least. Her frankness, her freedom, 
advanced opinions, which she did not hesitate 
to express, all perplexed her sleepy, phleg¬ 
matic surroundings; and it. was not till shortly 
before her death that her people really under¬ 
stood her or entered heartily into all the efforts 
she made for their social, intellectual, aud 
hygienic elevation. 
One of the most pleasant, features of the cor¬ 
respondence is the happiness of the Princess 
in her marriage, and her love for her husband, 
w hich only strengthened with time. Bhe was 
also the fondest, most devoted, and careful of 
mothers, and many or her letters to the Queen 
are full of anxious queries how she should 
best train body, niiud, aud soul of the tender 
blossoms committed to ber charge. The sad 
death of her little soil—falling out of the win¬ 
dow of her own room, which she had quitted 
for u second to look after the other boy, who 
had ruu Into the adjoining one—left a deep 
impression upon her heart., aud gave the first 
serious blow to her health. 
der cape. Tbe color is left for the choice of 
wearer; brown, blue, or dark-green are the 
roost fashionable. A suit made of cream-col¬ 
ored nun’s veiliug or cashmere, with brown 
velvet for trimming, would be very pretty for 
Bummer, aud velvet ribbon is much used on 
hats and dresses. c - 
which is 
alwaj s kept dark, is never opened except, on 
funeral occasions, i suppose, if one of these 
doleful writers ever saw one such room, it re¬ 
mained to them ever afterwards a type of 
every other farmer’s wife’s best. room. But 
where we, as a class, may make a mistake 
and give our rooms au air of primness, others 
may be charged with spoiling theirs with too 
much ornament. 
Several years ago I spent a day in the 
Cream City, with some friends. One of my 
boys, u little keen-eyed 10-vear-old, was with 
me. At the house of my friend we were cordi¬ 
ally greeted and ushered into the parlor. Per¬ 
haps it, was partly the contrast hetweeu the 
Domestic Ccouorn^ 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAI’LK. 
SMALL ECONOMIES. 
if ever, is the day of small things, aud various 
are the efforts made by almost all people to 
meet tbe difficulty. Wants are large, means 
small; so the struggles of the unlucky house¬ 
mothers to keep things going, aud yet.to make 
both ends meet, are fiercer than ever. Only 
those who have experienced it know how sharp 
the trial is for all parties. Naturally, the giv¬ 
ing up of actual necessaries is not required in 
every case wheru retrenchment is demanded; 
but in a greater or less degree, almost every¬ 
one is feeling the pinch. A carriage is not 
absolutely a necessary of life, and to many a 
lady t he power of using cabs without counting 
the cost, each time, would seem in itself an 
enormous luxury; but. to the woman used to 
her own carriage, tbe giving of it up and trust¬ 
ing to cabs will often, though perhaps only 
secretly, be as great a trial as the giving up of 
a more vital necessary " ill lie to her less luxu¬ 
riously hrougbt-up neighbor. This neighbor 
in her turn is, maybe, privately chafing over 
curtailment of her daily needs that to 
plainer furnishing of country rooms to which 
1 was accustomed aud this city home that gave 
it such a look of being over-burdened with or¬ 
nament. I have often noticed the same thing 
since, ami it still seems a lack of good taste. 
There was a marble-top table covered with 
a large quantity of s nail articles, aud a mar¬ 
ble shelf over the grate also born its share of 
little figures, in plaster of Paris and bronze. 
Photographs in holders, albums, illuminated 
books, and other things, which gave one the 
impression of being in a small museum. Pic¬ 
tures adorned tbe walls in numbers sufficient 
to nearly hide them, and the large stuffed 
chairs, planted about the room, bore three or 
four elaborate tidies each. 
‘•Ma,” said my little companion, as we 
were returning home in the evening, “wasu t 
that parlor rather overdone? It was nice, but 
I didn’t dare to draw a long breath for fear I 
should knock something down, or put my el¬ 
bows through some of t he pictures. 1 couldn’t 
help thinking it looked just as our kitchen 
does when you take all the tilings out of the 
pantry to clean it, and I wished that 1 could 
have sat down on the carpet and had a good 
time with all those playthings.” 
A room ought to reflect the mind of the per¬ 
son w ho fits it up. Many looms do, but some 
people are mere copyists iu everything. 
dorinda. 
onion stuck witn two or uue<- movoo, a 
and seasoning to taste. Let all those simmer 
till it almost jellies, add a little milk, thicken 
with a little butter rolled in flour, strain it, 
aud serve with fried bread cut into dice. If 
you have any scraps of fish, or a few oysters 
left from sauce, flake the fish five from skin 
and bone, and with the oysters lay it into the 
soup to heat, not boil, just before serving—or 
a little curry powder may Or mixed with tbe 
butter and flour thickening, and half a tin of 
preserved lobster carefully warmed iu the 
soup. This may not be a “company” soup, 
but it certainly is appetizing on a cold day. 
Luckily, women are beginning to realize 
that soup does not require the enormous 
amouut of fresh meat iormerly considered in¬ 
dispensable for family fare; and that in some 
cases soups can be made, and very good soups 
too, with no stock at all. Aspic jelly, ugaiu, 
is admittedly a delicious garnish, aud the aver¬ 
age housekeeper would never dream of using 
it for daily fare. But it is easy to make, and 
as economical as it is dainty. 1 he fish stock 
mentioned above, cleared, and with a little 
isinglass or gelatine added to it, and a suspi¬ 
cion of tarragon vinegar, will turn scraps of 
fish into a jelly that, garnished with some 
freshly-washed lettuce, will go far to atom- for 
the cold mutton at the other end, and will be 
tempting when the beat makes the very idea 
of solid food repulsive. 
Y T egetables, again, can be used up in a va- 
soiue 
other women would seem the wildest, super¬ 
fluity. But, be the feeling sore or not, econ¬ 
omy is becoming daily more necessary tor all, 
aud mistresses of households are finding it 
more aud more incumbent on them to look to 
their housekeeping aud see where saving can 
be effected. 
Now this same saving is a trial; there is no 
denying it. In spite of public opinion, 1 do not 
honestly think women, as a rule, are extrava¬ 
gant in large things, and they wiil cheerfully 
make large sacrifices; but iu small things 
women do not usually find ecouomy pleasant. 
This proceeds chiefly from ignorance, false 
shame and, in extreme eases, from idleness. 
Mistresses far too often do not know’ how to 
make the most of things; though, as far as 
their lights go, they will use them themselves, 
aud oblige those connected with them to do 
likewise. Then, again, these petty economies 
are sci small that oue dreads to encounter 
cook’s face of horror at such unheard of mean¬ 
ness. The things are so petty ! What differ¬ 
ence can they make? Look through your ac- 
munrs and see how vour money goes. Is it 
to the Queen. The Princess herself writes how 
the boy was so ill at the time that she had to 
conceal from him their loss, aud to her other 
woes was added that of smiling to him and 
carrying messages from the brother to the little 
sister lying cold in her grave. It must have 
been a time of terrible straiu, under which the 
strongest, would have succumbed, aud we learn 
for the first time from these pages that, before 
this visitation, the Grand Duchess bad already 
been pronounced hy the doctors to be gravely 
out of health. 
On December fith she is able to tell her 
mother that her husband and sou have driven 
out in a closed carriage for the first time, and 
that the little girls are mending. Ot the same 
DRESS FOR A Y'OUNG MISS. 
It is our purpose to use. iu this department, 
only such engravings as will be a help, and to 
select those which are the most simple as well 
as pretlv—two qualities very essential to the 
busy housewife who may choose to make a 
i \ PARK after nnv of these designs. The oue in 
