put in their places if we want to “look 
like other folks.” And now the inore 
antique the articles, the darker the mahogany, 
so much better is it for modern use according 
to the dictates of “high art.” And so we try 
to help out our young housekeepers by giv- 
Rkmodrled Table.— Ftg. 55. 
ing them cuts of two pieces of furniture 
that can be easily imitated. Search the attic 
of your house and unearth that old “ claw- 
foot ” table and give it several coats of var¬ 
nish. Then cover with plush of any color, 
and trim the edges with two rows of large 
cord, puP on with upholsterers 1 tacks; or, if 
you prefer, use brass-headed nails, which al¬ 
ways are pretty; then trim with worsted ball 
fringe for a finish. The materials can be pur¬ 
chased at a low figure, and they will make 
the article really stylishly elegant. 
Perhaps you can find an old high-backed 
stuffed chair, that can have the back sawed 
off to the hight desired, ahd then cover with 
Remodeled Chaib. —Fig. 56. 
plush the same as the table, and trim with 
fringe of the same style. This may look to 
be, at the first glance, an impossible thing to 
accomplish; but we are confident that it can 
be done, and are quite as confident of its giv¬ 
ing the highest satisfaction when finished. 
REFORMING DRUNKARDS. 
Wk want to add a few lines to what Mary 
Wager-Fisher say b on page 9 of the Rural 
for J anuary 6th. 
It has been our lot to see some of the efforts 
made to reform men who before marriage 
had become habitual drinkers, one of these a 
young attorney, who had every inducement 
to give it up. He was engaged to be married 
to a lovely girl, but who had sense enough to 
know that unless he reformed before she be¬ 
came his wife he never would afterward. But 
she went bo far as to promise that if he would 
keep away from drinking liquor one single 
year she would become his wife. She waited 
patiently eleven long, bitter years and died 
almost broken-hearted to see her idol thus 
making a bea3t of himself. 
Nothing so much impressed us with this 
truth as an incident that happened years ago. 
We were a member of the fckms of Temper¬ 
ance. A young man, the only son of a 
widowed mother, who had spent her life in 
wording to give him an education and a start 
in life had fallen into drinking. He seemingly 
tried to reform; the order took him in seven 
times, and did all they could to encourage 
him to leave the accursed cup, but he fell 
every time. He came the eighth time want¬ 
ing admission again into the order. 
When his name was read several of the 
members made a few remarks concerning the 
case, urging all to vote to admit him and try 
him again. Just before the ballot was taken 
an honest, plain-spoken man arose and said: 
“I think brothers we have done enough. My 
experience is that if a mother’s prayers, a 
mother’s tears, and a mother’s pleadings will 
not save a young man it is of little use for 
us to try.” 
There was the whole truth. If the fond 
mother who loved him far better than any 
one else could, was not able by the strength 
of her love to save him, what need for others 
to try ! 
When a young man with everything in life 
bright before him, with the knowledge of the 
ruin and disgrace that he is sure to bring upon 
himself and his family, deliberately beeps up 
such a beastly habit, it is little or no use to 
attempt to do much for him, and in no case 
need a girl, no matter how well she may love 
him or think he loves her, marry him and 
run the rif k of living a life of misery in a vain 
attempt to reform a brute. 
If these truths could be duly impressed upon 
the minds of both sexes in early life, much 
misery might be averted. 
CONDUCTED BV r vr.v MAPLE 
HOUSEKEEPING EX PER IENCE OF A 
CITY GIRL WHO MARRIED 
A FARMER. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
Bv slow degrees I learned the requirements 
of my position, learned to manage my one 
servant, to purchase necessities with economy 
and to calculate my needs. Sophie was a 
willing help, good-hearted but rough, and in¬ 
clined to be pert, aud to “talk back.” With 
such a girl “silence is golden,” and I found 
she was only to be subdued by my persistent 
refusal to answer any of her rude remarks. 
I must here say a word in favor of the French 
Canadians who, as a rule, are the very best 
of servants, cleanly, respectful and polite, 
with a native grace of movement that no 
women of the same class, belonging to any 
other country, possess. Sophie had lived too 
long among English-speaking people not to 
be educated up to the highest point in self- 
assertion, but she was brave and helpful, and 
in an emergency seemed to think nothing of 
toil, nor to become weary. What a care to 
me in those days were my little store accounts, 
and how zealously I tried to make my ex¬ 
penses keep inside my monthly allowance, for 
Richard was a wise man and began, as few 
men do, by feeling that I had a right to a part 
of the income, and the spending of it, which : 
was the means of keeping us clear of bills 
and debt. 
Strange to say, few men understand this, 
but treat their wives as a sort of upper ser¬ 
vant, they doing all the marketing, quite con¬ 
tented with any purchase so long as the money 
filters throngh their hands. I know women 
who would rather face any danger than ask 
their husbands for a dollar, and who run up 
store bills just because they are not supplied 
with ready money so as to be enabled to pur¬ 
chase at the best advantage; for most women 
with the cash in hand would take pride in 
spending it in the most economical manner. 
I am sure in those early days Richard knew 
that he could make more profitable purchases 
than I did; but no murmur of disapprobation 
was even uttered. I suppose he felt it a part 
of his creed, for he believes ia the “golden 
rule,” and T have never eeased thanking him 
for the confidence reposed in me. It is indeed 
the corner-stone for a happy home, mutual 
trust, each respecting the other, and sharing 
the profits of their hard labor. 
When Spring came round again I thought 
I must go throngh the process of house-clean¬ 
ing. Richard protested, but after 1 had cap¬ 
tured two or three moths in the wbrdrobe 
and another in the parlor, he gave into the 
necessity. But I was determined not to rush 
things too quickly, so with extra help we were 
able to do one room at a time and avoid con¬ 
fusion. I found soda good for washing glass, 
and cleaned all the windows, after such a 
washiug, with old newspapers rubbed soft be¬ 
tween the hands. Then I made my first soft 
soap—ten pounds of grease, eight gallons of 
hot lye poured over it and the mixture boiled 
till it thickens when cooled. Meanwhile the 
dairy prospered—“the butter tree" was the 
last of my mishaps. But 1 bought a new and 
lighter churn, also a paddle with which to 
work the butter, for I did not believe iu the 
old-fashioned practice of working with the 
hands. I worked it with the wooden butter 
shovel till every particle of water was drained 
off, then salted it and put it away till the time 
for evening milking, when a slight working 
was given and the golden mass packed away. 
One day I took it into my head to make 
cheese, and as it is my only experience in this 
part of the dairy 1 think I will mention the : 
results. It was a neighbor who put it iDto 1 
my mind. “Why,” she said, “do you use 
store cheese if” aud, shocked at my own ex- ! 
travagance, I asked how she managed, and 
was told that she made her own rennet and 
her own cheese. Two days afterwards she 
sent over a black bottle full of vile-smelliDg 
stuff, with the direction that I was to use two 
tablespoonfuls to each gallon of milk. As we 
were making a certain quantity of butter to 
supply the General Hospital of the city near¬ 
by, I thought I would take off the best cream 
and use the milk, as I was told many people 
did. I mixed as directed, set in a warm place 
for an hour, and when the whey had sep¬ 
arated, pressed all the curd to one side of the 
pan and ladled out the whey. 1 putthecurdin 
a cheese-cloth and fitted it into an old cheese- 
press that was in the cellar, leaving it for 
a while, then taking it out to chop and salt. 
It was then put back and pressed, and left 
till the next day. Day after day I rubbed 
and turned that cheese, caressing it with 
butter for a week, and then rubbing with a 
coarse cloth every day for three weeks more. 
Then it was put away to ripen, and when, 
some months afterward, l decided to cut it, 
no knife could be found to make the incision. 
When struck with a small axe it chipped off 
like bits of flint. If I had only left the cream 
in the milk; if I had not kept it in such a 
dry place; if— Ahl does not Lowell say: 
“ Cream rises thickest on milk that is spilt ?” 
And I leave it among the “might-have-beens” 
what cheese I could have made. “ Keep to 
one thing, and do it well,” said Richard. “We 
can buy cheaper l ban we can make,” and I 
doubt not be meant it after a like experience. 
The calves and bees prospered, despite the 
old housekeeper’s forebodings, and the strain 
ing of the honey in Autumn tired my soul 
and stomach by an over-dose of sweetness. 
To break up the comb with a canvas bag, to 
leave it standing for days beside the kitchen 
fire, drip, drip, till the air was filled with the 
sickening odor; such was our way of straining 
some hundreds of pounds of honey. It was 
the “ muchness ” of it that tried me, and for 
years I never cared for the sight or taste of 
this luscious condiment after my first expe¬ 
rience in preparing it for market. 
The compartment boxes nowadays do 
away with part of the labor of bee-keeping, 
nor is there any necessity that straining 
honey should stand about for such a long I 
time. But to me it was a hardship aud a 
trial I still remember. 
The first Winter of my life on the farm 
was one of great severity, and heavy snow¬ 
fall. I had no occasion to go out of doors 
and felt as if I were hyhernating. My little 
innovations and city training seemed to my' 
neighbors to indicate pride, where no such 
feeling existed, and we were seldom invited 
to the social gatherings of the country side. 
There were no lectures, no concerts, no club, 
no choice of churches, or church entertain- 
me* ts. As married people we were not ex- 
| pected to join auy more with the “young 
folks," aud here I must protest against the 
custom that supposes a young girl grows old 
as soon as the wedding ring goes on her fin¬ 
ger. How many a girl’s heart has been made 
to ache over this unaccountable notion in the 
society of which she has been a member, and 
as years passed on she has seen her unmarried 
compeers, teu and fifteen years afterward, 
still “ young ladies” while she is consigned to 
the portion of “old folks", though, perhaps, 
their junior, so “ Lula” and “ Marion” and the 
rest forgot to tell me their secrets, or to ask me 
to join them in a gay assemblage, and I felt my 
isolated position all the more. Of course,! 
had Richard, dear, kind, patient, and home- 
loving ; but he had the stock, and tho care of 
many lambs in the aheepfold, superintending 
the hired men, teaming to the distant mar¬ 
ket, and many other things to distract his at¬ 
tention and, besides, this was hip home— and 
I had been since the honse was .built, and it made 
all the difference. How few men remember 
when the young wife’s cheek grows pale and 
6he confesses to being “ a Lit tie lonesome” that 
she is only a “transplanted rose.” As 1 am 
writing this, there comes to my mind an apt 
quotation I read lately in “ Mother Goose 
for Grown Folks,’’ which proved Mrs. Whit¬ 
ney must know all about it. 
"But just take u niua—shut him up for a (lay, 
(let his liat and tils cane— put them snugly away, 
Give him stockings to mend; and three sumptu¬ 
ous meals— 
Andtbpnasfc him at night —if non dare -how he 
feels. 
Do youthiukhewill quietly stick to the stocking?” 
Oh! many a woman goes starving 1 ween; 
Vv ho lives in a palace, and fares like * QUoeii. 
Till the famlshlug heart und feverbh hr tin 
Have spelled to life's end the long lesson of pain." 
Isolation! It means more than one would 
think—either a life of apathy and rust or a 
continual fighting with circumstances. It 
means the leaving of the homestead by the 
younger members of families, who early learn 
the dreariness of long Winters spent, how¬ 
ever profitably, without the advantages 
that a city life gives for improvement. I 
think a farm training the very best for the 
young; it gives to the world uoble men and 
women, but they all itave a taste of this great j 
need, if they possess auy ambition. In those 
days I used to thank God for the post office, 
and with Harper’s and the dear old Atlantic 
Monthly with the agricultural papers, and 
my own scribbling the days and evenings 
passed pleasantly enough. Then Spring came 
again, with its many cares and duties and 
with the first roses Richard’s mother paid 
us a lengthened visit, which cannot be record¬ 
ed, in brief, at the end of a chapter. 
TAKING CARE OF FRESH POBK. 
AUNT EDITH. 
The livers of old hogs are nothealthful food 
for people, bfit the livers of healthy pigs may 
i he eaten by those who relish them. 
When cutting meat to cook, always cut 
across the muscle. If cut lengthwise of the 
muscle it 1 b tough and indigestible, and al 
most valueless. 
Let the fat meat fry some time before put¬ 
ting in lean pieces, as the latter fry sooner 
than the former and become too hard before 
the fat pieces are done. 
Do not salt fresh meat while frying until it 
i3 nearly cooked, as salting makes the juice of 
the meat run out more and the meat is not so 
tender. 
Some people relish a sprinkling of sage on 
freshly fried pork. The sage should be dry, 
and pulverized and dredged on while frying. 
The tenderloins and spare-ribs are used for 
fresh meat. When the spare-ribs are to be 
kept a w hile, unless they can be kept frozen 
and cool, they ought to have the blood washed 
off before it hecomes dry, and some fine salt 
rubbed over them. 
The heads are opened, the brains removed, 
the eyes dug out, the ears cut off, and all su¬ 
perfluous parts, with the snout, removed. 
Some families bskelhe upper part of lhehead, 
and salt the lower part with the hams and 
shoulders to smoke. Before baking the heads 
they should be boiled till quite tender; a hand¬ 
ful of salt should be added to the boiling wa¬ 
ter, and whether they are to be baked, made 
into head-cheese or scrapple, each family can 
best decide for itself, according to the circum¬ 
stances and likings. 
The legs are sometimes salted with the pork; 
sometimes they are worked up into head¬ 
cheese or scrapple. 
Some people wash off the bloody pieces, cut 
off some of the lean from the side pork which 
is not so good salted, and work the pieces into 
sausage. Some take a shoulder for sausage. 
After cutting the sausage meat up and grind¬ 
ing it through the machine, it is seasoned with 
pulverized sage, pepper and salt; then the 
easiest way to dispose of it is to pack it in 
long, narrow, cloth bags and hang it in a cool, 
dry and airy place. When wanted to cook, 
rip down the bag till enough sausage can he 
obtained for cooking. Add a little water and 
cook slowly. 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
A UNIQUE CHAIR SCARF. 
I saw a tidy or scarf on the back of a caue- 
seated rocking-chair in a friend’s sleeping 
room recently,which took my fancy on account 
of its durability, simplicity and warm color¬ 
ing. It was only a scarlet Turkish towel, fas¬ 
tened at the top of the chair with bows of 
ribbon, but it was far prettier to my mind 
than many tidies of more elaborate pattern. 
A. E. M. c. 
CORN MEAL. 
In answer to a subscriber, I would say that 
I find that the beBt of corn makes tasteless 
meal if ground too fine. An iron mill, set so 
as to grind to a medium fineness, has pleased 
I us best. 
USING THE CREAM. 
Iu Winter, when we have but little milk, I 
save labor by using the cream to cook with. 
Of many recipes which I have tried the fol¬ 
lowing please our family best: 
EGGS AND BREAD. 
Place a handful of breadcrumbs in a frying- 
pan, cover them with sweet cream, add salt, 
pepper, and when moistened through ttir in 
three or four eggs and cook. 
CllIl'PED BEEF 
is much better cooked with cream than with 
milk and butter. Place it over the fire in a 
very little water; when it boils add thick, 
swe«t cream; let it boil again; then stir in a 
little fl our, wet with milk, and when that is 
cooked add one or more beaten eggs. Salt 
codfish picked tine is good cooked in the same 
way, after being washed in cold water to 
f esbon it. 
CRULLERS. 
Two cups of cream, twocupsof sugar, three 
eggs, two teaspoonfuls of soda, a little cintinn- 
mon and flour enough to roll quite thin. Fries 
best cut iu rings. 
FRIED CAKES. 
One cup of cream, ont-half cup of butter¬ 
milk or sour milk, a heaping cup of sugar, one- 
