THE RURAL NEW-YORKER* 
508 
young; gentleman from the city instead of 
merely a “ neighbor’s boy.” I know dozens of 
girls who are waiting for “the young gentle¬ 
man from the city” to come with his delicate 
hands, curled mustache, smooth, clerky man¬ 
ners and empty purse, and capture their 
coyisb hearts and bear them away to his lux¬ 
urious home in the upper story of a flat. Some 
of them first wanted the plumed knight with 
t he white charger and gleaming lance, but ns 
he came not, they concluded that they would 
accept a nice young gentleman from the city. 
That person, however, seemed scarce, and 
now they are anxious to capture “ oue of the 
neighbor’s boys.” 
But wasn’t she anxious to tell us of her 
“ offer?” Hardly had the “ boy” escaped a 
life of misery with a chronically discontented 
wife, r.hau she flew to her pen and told the 
Rural family all about it, so that we might 
properly abase ourselves. 
“Charity,” dear, you didn't have to take 
the fellow simply because he offered to throw 
himself away; but wasn’t your mention of the 
affair rather indelicately sudden? I know 
some ladies who kept such matters a profound 
secret until after they were married. Is it 
proper to gloat, over and make public mentiou 
of your conquests as they occur? 
One thing surprises mo, and I ask for infor¬ 
mation: “Chanty” speaks of milking, feediug 
calves, pigs, etc. If she does these things, 
what in the world do her father and brothers 
do? Twenty or thirty years ago milking and 
feeding calves aud pigs were fashionable pur¬ 
suits for agricultural ladies; but at present 
such practices are kuowu ouly among for¬ 
eigners and the poor, low-down, hand-to- 
mouth farmers. It is highly proper and very 
desirable for farmers' wives and daughters to 
know how to do these things, because acci¬ 
dents are liable to happen and emergencies 
arise at any time: but no farmer who is worthy 
of the name wdl require his wife or daughter 
to start fires iu the morning, milk cows or 
feed calves and pigs regularly, in addition to 
house-work. Only the half-civilized boors do 
that. 
1 wonder what the little lady who manages 
the house I am in would sav if I was to request 
her to start the Hres, milk, feed pigs, etc.? 
She has doue these things for me without 
being asked; but when t remember the latent 
gleam that lurks iu her bright eyes, I hardly 
think it would bo healthy to request her to do 
them regularly. “Illinois.” 
-♦♦♦ 
THE HANDY WOMAN. 
Is she not a blessing to the household for¬ 
tunate enough to possess her, be she mother, 
auntie, daughter, or even transient visitor, 
asking us the ingenuity, the knack, well the 
“gumption” is the word after all -is there, 
and she is willing to exercise it. 
We may all be annoyed at the creaking 
doors, but the Handy Woman, who is not a 
myth, sets to work to apply u remedy. She 
has an implement of her own invention and 
manufacture, which consists of a stick . t hard 
wood having a block of wood fastened to it in 
such a way as to act us a lever. She goes 
about the house with this tool, a vial of’oil 
and a feather, and by the aid of a volunteer 
assistant to raise the doors, leaves smoothly 
working hinges, instead of discordantly noisy 
ones. 
On a rainy day or a holiday, the Handy 
Woman invites all the recreant clocks in the 
house to a general muster, inquires into the 
whvsand wherefores of their delinquency, 
and cleans and oils to such good purpose, that 
they are encouraged to better behavior for a 
time. The sewing machiue is completely ta¬ 
ken apart, wnen necessary, inspected and 
readjusted. It Ls exceedingly difficult for her 
to confess a thing is worn out, so great is her 
repairing instinct. Workmen sometimes de¬ 
clare that a certain needed repair cannot be 
made, until she proves the contrary by defi 
uite instructions. 
She begs a reprieve for the superannuated 
tin-ware about to be cast out into the waste. 
“Don’t throw that away, I can mend it so that 
it will do a while longer,” she says; then out 
come the soldering implements, and the 
work Is soon done. The ordinary contrivan¬ 
ces aud economies of sewing and mending 
are mere child’s play to this factotum, but 
they are numberless. 
A delicate silk dress brought from London 
as a present by a traveling friend became soil¬ 
ed by an accident. Great was the lamentu- 
tiou thereat, it could not be matched, the 
dress was ruined. “Let me take It," said the 
Handy Woman, aud she vanished out of our 
sight. When she reappeared, a short time 
afterwards, with the dress upon her arm, no 
trace of the discoloration could lie found; the 
restoration was complete. 
After she had teased the grateful owner for 
a time until the mystification was sufficient to 
satisfy her, the witch revealed the secret:—It 
Was water colors! She had mixed aud touched 
with the brush uron an out-of-the-way portion 
of the garment until the exact shade was ob¬ 
tained, after which the restoration of the color 
to the injured place was hut the work of a 
moment. With the same useful medium she 
tints faded plumes and feather tips till they 
are made suitable once more for adornment. 
A black straw hat grows rusty by use; she 
freshens and renews by manipulating it with 
French dressing. 
The Handy Woman loves a superabundance 
of pockets as well as any boy, and puts them 
to a somewhat similar use When having a 
new dress cut, her first order to the dressmaker 
is:—“Give me plenty of pockets, and you may 
build a dress around them ns you choose.” As 
a traveling companion she is invaluable. In an 
emergency she may be safely called upon for 
every known and unknown remedy and ap¬ 
pliance; she never fails under the most trying 
requirements. It is against her principles to 
be found wanting in case of need, and her in- 
veutive faculty tills every gap. She is uncon¬ 
sciously the wonder of the dependent, ineffi¬ 
cient. “weak sister,” whose untrained powers 
cause her to bo a dead weight upon every one 
on whom she has any claim, 
This most delightful character—our heroine 
—is but the type of a sisterhood with which 
we are all familiar. Let us not for a moment 
confound her with the so-called Strong-minded 
Woman, who is of au entirely different elass, 
with whom my pen has no concern at present. 
The treasures of experience and invention of 
the Handy Woman are blessing the world con¬ 
tinually. Long may she Jive, and may her 
tribe increase! mary winchester. 
- 4 ♦ ♦- 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
, CUCUMBER pickles. 
Pick and wash clean with a cloth, put them 
in a wooden tub or pail, make a strong brine 
of rock salt, enough to cover them well, aud 
pour on scalding hot. Let stand U4 hours, 
thou take out and put them in good, sharp 
cider vinegar; add a tablespoonful of pulver¬ 
ized alum to a gallon of vinegar; spice to 
taste. Never out o r bruise a cucumber for a 
pickle. I have pickles that were made a year 
ago, that are now as free from scum as the 
day they were made. They are in the same 
vinegar, and never have been scalded. 
A farmer's wife, 
urine pickles. 
Take a stoue jar and sprinkle some coarse 
rock salt ou the bottom; then put in a layer 
of cucumbers, then a layer of salt until you 
have the jar full. Thoy will make a brine for 
themselves. As they settle down, fill up if 
you wish to. When wanted Tor use, take out 
what is required, and pour boiling water over 
them; soak until fresh enough, then put into 
vinegar. To keep pickles free from scum, 
they must be washed dean and the little black 
prickles removed. g. 
BI Rlj'8-NEST PUDDING. 
The following is one of the nicest simple 
puddings that I know of, and is quite harm¬ 
less for children; Pare tart cooking-apples, 
core—leaving the apple whole—fill the bottom 
of a pudding dish with them, set into a steam¬ 
er and steam until tender. Pour over a cus¬ 
tard made of oue quart of milk, four beaten 
eggs, sugar and flavoring to taste. Continue 
steaming until the custard has “set.” 
MRS. c. 
IRON RUST. 
Dissolve half a teaspoonful of oxalic acid in 
part of a cupful of boiling water, dip the rust 
spots in this for a short time, then rinse iu 
several waters. As the acid is a poison, groat 
care must be used in setting it aside, and one 
must be sure of putting it out of reach of the 
children. c K 
-- 
HINTS. 
Never put a hot iron directly upon silk—it 
takes the life out of it. 
Cook a dish of rice or oatmeal while dinner 
is iu preparation and set aside for tea. Eat 
with cream. 
When rnakiug hash, add half a cup of rich 
milk or cream just before removing from the 
tire. 
Protect woolens from moths by keeping 
them in thick cotton or lmen bags. Tie tightly. 
Black stockings for children are as fashion¬ 
able this season as they were last. 
Pork aud grease are not the most health¬ 
giving foods one can eat duritig the “dog- 
days.” 
Hors lord’s Acid Phosphate 
For Nervousness, Jndlicestlon, efc. 
Send to the Itumford Chemical Works, 
Providence, R. 1., for pamphlet. Mailed free 
— Adv. 
--- 
The Horslonl Almanac mul Cook Hook, 
sent free on application to Rumford Chemical 
Works, Providence, K. I. .1 «/#•, 
pi,sccUancau0 gtdmtijsittfl. 
KING’S EVIL 
Was the name formerly given to Scrofula 
because of a superstition that it could bo 
cured by a king's touch. The world ls 
wiser now, and knows that 
SCROFULA 
can only he cured by a thorough purifica¬ 
tion of the blood. If this is neglected, 
the disease porpetUfttfcs its taint through 
generation after generation. Among its 
earlier symptomatic developments are 
Eo/.enia, Cutaneous 15m pt Ions, Tu¬ 
mors, lioils. Carbuncles, Erysipelas, 
Purulent. I lccrs, Nervous mid Phy¬ 
sical Collapse, etc. If allowed to con¬ 
tinue. Itlieumutism. Scrofulous Ca¬ 
tarrh, Kidney and Liver Diseases, 
Tubercular Consumption, and vari¬ 
ous other dangerous or fatal maladies, are 
produced by it. 
Mid-Summer Offering. 
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FOR THE 
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Ayer’s Sarsaparilla 
PREPARED BY 
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THE SCIENCE OF LIFE. ONLY SI 
BY HUAI!. POSTPAID- 
KNOW THYSELF. 
A GREAT IVIedlcnl WORK on MANHOOD. 
Nervous and Physical Debility, Premature De¬ 
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fe'l to the lot of any physician. ■«»'• paxes, bound 
in beautiful French lanslla.etnboosed covers, niil xlU, 
Riiarantccd to la* u finer work In every sense- me. 
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mail, postpaid. Illustrated sample fi cents .Send 
now. Gold medal awarded the author bv the National 
Medical Association, to the officers of which he refers. 
The Science of Life should he read hy the young for 
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benefit all. /.nation Lancet. 
There Is no member or society to whom The Science 
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xunrdlnti, Instructor or clergyman, irponou? 
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eases that have bullied the skill of IlXi AL all 
other physicians a sneelalty Such mTrxrCX’T T? 
treated successfully without an A XX X OXii-jx 
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Mentiou this paper. 
1 GENTS Coin Money who sell l)n. Cuasb'h Family 
s* Physician. Price Sf‘Z.00 Specimen pages rme 
Address A. \V. Hamilton * Co., Ann Arbor, Mich. 
Wawlll send yon a watch orachsln 
•Y MAIL OR EXPRESS. C. O-lL.to b* 
examined before paying any 3viaey 
and If not untldfactory, returned at 
ourcxper.M. Wa manufacture all 
our watches an t cavs you 30 p«: 
cent. CaUlcgiH: of 230 ityles Ires 
Dot Waves W. Aepuaa 
tYikOASL AMtK'CAk *afO i?C 
TTTTTTinJ Improved Hoot Beer. Package, 
It kllv 'W <d». Makes', gallons of a delicious 
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receipt of'X Dei m. C.E.Hikks, is.V. DeLAve,, l-hlla, Pa. 
Til r b not Poisonous or Corrosive. War 
| HP rallied to cure SC A II. Mntcn perfectly 
I IIL. . Sll |, COM) WAT Kit, Sate to use In 
COLDEST nf]| f\ WEATHER. Hi* a sure 
cun. for all I.IJj II Skin lllMtuMM, insect 
Pests, and W U Warms of domestic am 
mals. 'For Hhcep, leaves \AI a T r ri the wool 
like silk. Kvm y farmer yU 11 I P K should 
keep It. In the Household. »* *• ■ k II destroys 
all bud smells. No infections imiludy cun rt If) 
exist where tans Dip In employed as a ft win lllr' 
rectaut. Foi its various uses in detail, aud * • 
prices, send postage stamp to 
Y. W. LAWFORD, Cen'l Agent, 
@Od E. Chose St., Baltimore, MM< 
deni lovs 
"DIP 
Who can afford to do without a scale, when 
two subscribers to the Rural New-Yorker 
will entitle them to one? 
The above scale is properly callorl “Stop 
Thief!” auil retails for $1.50. Wo will send it 
to every one of our subscribers who sends us 
two subscribers at each. It weighs from 
one-half ounce to 10 pounds. Manufactured by 
Jones, of Binghamton, Binghumton, N. Y. 
IDG FOR 
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Special Contributor to other Agricultural 
Journals. 
The book is practical, comprehensive and 
up to the times. It treats of Agriculture, 
Mechanics, Fruit-Growing, Gardening, Stock 
Raising, Business Principles, Homo Life, and 
contains just the practical directions how to 
mako money on a. farm iu any part of the 
continent. 
Price *3.75. We give it for Ten Subscribers 
and 10 cents extra to pay postage on book. 
Keystone Clothes Wringer. 
j 
rr*«r»Tn,.. *n- 
This has a Wood Frame, all the Latest Im¬ 
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Other Wringer. It is Simple, Durable, and 
adapted to the frailest, as well as the strongest 
fabrics. It saves time, strength, clothes, and 
is an article indispensable to the household. 
We give this Wringer for Six Subscribers. 
THE AQUAPULT. 
This is a combiued, 
fire engine, sprinkler, 
washer, bug destroyer. 
able any one to raise a 
to the Rural and see 
useful machine. 
, portable force pump, 
window and carriage 
, etc., and evidently one 
of the most useful 
implements. As il- 
^lustrated in the cut, 
it will throw water 
forcibly against a 
second story win¬ 
dow. It sprinkles 
the garden or lawu, 
and saves its cost 
the first season. A 
little effort among 
one’s friends will en- 
Club of 1.5 Subscribers 
me as a premium this 
