JULY U 
THE RURAL WEW-YOBKER. 
farmer’s family were never within my 
recollection less • than they are to flay. 
In the light of facts and figures above stated, 
it is useless to assert that money can not now 
be made by farming, or that former times 
were better for the accumulation of capital 
by the farmer than the present. Those who 
do not succeed do not study their business, but 
expend their mental energy in planning to 
have nothing to do. They are fond of loung¬ 
ing, and their faces will brighten wonderfully 
on mention of a show, a picnic or an excursion. 
Wnile it is true that there are many of this 
class, it is equally true thatthe great mass of 
farmers do make money. Witness the general 
wealth and prosperity of the country. Suc¬ 
cessful farming is the foundation of the whole 
of it. The mechanic and tradesman are pros¬ 
perous and thrifty only because the farmer 
makes money and spends it. Judicious spend¬ 
ing is quite as commendable as miserly hoard¬ 
ing. PIxcept for a little time, while war prices 
were realized, there has been during the last 
50 years no better time for farmers to make 
money than the present, and certainly there 
has been none when it was easier to spend it. 
Lowville, N. Y. 
XPtmum’s Work. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
E were reading recently of a woman 
who was certainly the most remark¬ 
able philanthropist of our time—Margaret of 
New Orleans. Her surname matters but lit¬ 
tle ; she was simply Margaret to the whole 
c ifcy_loved and reverenced by all alike. At 
first dairywoman to some of the Sisters of 
Charity, she afterwards established a bakery, 
which grew to be a very large business. All 
through her career, from poverty to riches, 
she gave largely of her time, her means, and 
her sympathy. She cared for the sick and 
destitute, found homes for the orphaned, 
and gave honorable burial to the lonely dead. 
Through all the last terrible plague of yellow 
fever, when noarly all business was at a stand¬ 
still, Margaret’s ovens were kept at work 
freely giving bread to all who asked it. 
Many are the active charities which owe 
their existence to her. She worked untir¬ 
ingly utterly careless of self, until she was 
called to enter that rest which precedes the 
full glory yet to come, and among all the 
names the Crescent City loves to honor there 
is not one so greatly reverenced as that of 
their grandest and noblest heroine—Margaret, 
* * 
We can’t all be Margarets. But the oppor¬ 
tunity to be a power for good comes to every¬ 
one, no matter how restricted the horizon may 
seem. Few of the great philanthropists have 
begun their good works in a position of weal h 
or social rank. The charity of the rich to the 
poor is usually less than the charity of the 
poor to their fellow sufferers. 
* * * 
Just now is the season for a home pic-nic— 
not a big, noisy affair, such as we often see 
masquerading under this name, where there 
is a tedious ride on the cars before the pleas¬ 
ure seekers arrive at some mis-named grove, 
where the children swarm around and en¬ 
counter all sorts of mishaps, to the weariness 
of their guardians. Our ideal pic-nic should 
consist of a dozen or less; no one should wear 
her best frock, and the sole purpose should be 
a happy idle day out-of-doors. Nothing is 
more resting to the busy house-wife, who has 
exercise enough and to share, but too little 
fresh air. We have a vivid recollection of 
such a pic-nic. It was held on a little island 
in a picturesque river. The house-mother 
rested all day, waited on by half a dozen at¬ 
tendants, who spread thefeastuuder the trees, 
while paterfamilias made the coffee, after the 
fashion of his campaigning days. The young 
folks sketched or read, crocheted or paddled 
about on the river, according to their several 
inclinations, indulging occasionally in a little 
music with the aid of the humble but melo¬ 
dious banjo. Everyone went home tired, but 
happy, and we all decided that such a day was 
worth a dozen crowded excursions. Such a 
pic-nic is not an extravagant recreation, but 
it does much to rest and invigorate—it is one 
of the best “nerve tonics’’ in the world. 
ASPIRATIONS IN HOMESPUN. 
SIXTH LETTER. 
M OST of us are interested in some church or 
charitable organizations, and we are 
often obliged to consider means of raising 
money by some species of entertainment, and 
it is so hard to find any novelty; strawberry 
festivals every summei and fairs every winter 
soon grow monotonous. 
Recently I assisted at a very bright and 
tasteful church entertainment which had the 
merit of novelty. It was called a Cobweb 
Supper, and it was well attended for two 
reasons; nobody knew what on earth it was, 
and no admission fee was charged. Of course, 
the guests were not fed on cobwebs—it was 
simply a handsome supper, served from six to 
eight, while the cobweb part of it consisted of 
the decorations. Spider-webs of wire and silk, 
with an appliqud spider on each, were disposed 
among the flowers on the tables, and the menu 
cards had similar designs painted upon them. 
The waitresses wore frocks of a very fine 
quality of cheese-cloth; two were in pink, two 
in scarlet, two in cream, and two in pale blue. 
Cobwebs were painted at intervals on skirts, 
sashes, and bodices, in silver metallic paint. 
This was easy to do; a pattern web was drawn 
on paper, and this was laid under the thin 
cheese cloth; it could readily be traced 
through. Fat spiders were painted on many 
of the webs, but not on all. Little white mus¬ 
lin aprons, with one corner turned up, had 
webs drawn on them in dark pencil, and a 
painted spider on the web. Little caps were 
worn, fastened on the head with a small web 
of silk and wire, aud an appliqud spider, such 
as one may buy for embroidery. The frocks 
were not all made just alike; each girl con¬ 
sulted her taste to a certain extent. They all 
had plain, full skirts and sashes, but the 
bodices were varied. One of the prettiest 
styles was in red; the neck was cut out in a 
point at the back and front, the opening 
in front extending down to the waist, 
but laced across with red cord. Under this 
was a high necked chemisette of white mus¬ 
lin, tucked aud finished with a frill around 
the neck. The sleeves were of white muslin, 
with a deep tight cuff of red; they had puffs 
at shoulder and elbow, the intervening full¬ 
ness being stitched into tucks lengthwise. A 
pointed Spanish girdle was worn with this, 
and the short-haired damsel who set off the 
costume looked as if she had just stepped out 
of an old picture. 
Another attraction at this supper was an 
Irish peanut stand, which occupied one cor¬ 
ner. It was very realistic. Boards were laid 
across two barrels, and covered with news¬ 
paper, and an ancient gingham umbrella 
of the Sairey Gamp pattern was hoisted 
over the whole. The stand displayed pea¬ 
nuts, oranges, a bowl of lemonade, sticks of 
striped candy, and another bowl of water, 
in which pieces of fresh cocoa-nut were re¬ 
posing. The two young ladies who presided 
over this stand were “made up” in character. 
One of them was a grandmother, with a 
huge mob cap mounted over a red wig; a 
shabby print gown, gingham apron, and a lit¬ 
tle shawl pinned tightly over her shoulders. 
The other was a plump and merry girl, who 
had her hair not too tidily arranged, aud the 
rest of her get-up like her companion’s. This 
peanut stand was very successful, and proved 
a great attraction to the little ones. At any 
fair or festival it is advisable to furnish a lot 
of little gipsy tables, seating from two to four, 
on which to serve ice-cream and other light 
refreshments. They are much daintier than 
larger ones, and give a more furnished aspect 
to the hall, which is often apt to look rather 
barren. According to my experience, prepar¬ 
ations for any fair or festival should begin at 
least six months before the event, otherwise 
there are few salable wares aud much confu¬ 
sion. COTTAGE MAID. 
ANOTHER. 
MRS. S. J. II. 
I have often been moved to write a word 
of acknowledgment to the dear old Rural, 
and will refrain from doing so no longer. In 
the issue of May 26, pagb 356, I find my feel- 
iugs perfectly expressed over the signature of 
Mrs. L. H. Niles. I might explain that I say 
“old” Rural from the fact that my acquaint¬ 
ance with it covers a number of years. With¬ 
out undertaking to say how many volumes 
have accumulated on my own closet shelves 
under its present most excellent management, 
there is another home where at loast nine com¬ 
plete volumes (under the care of its former 
editor, D. D. T. Moore) were carefully treas¬ 
ured up, some of them bound, read through, 
re-read, and read again. 
Well do I remember one wintry twilight, 
when my father brought home a package and 
laid it very quietly in a corner of the “book 
cupboard,” whose three small shelves held 
most of the books the house afforded, and they 
were well worn. I was eager for something 
to read. When the evening lamp was lighted, 
and we were gathered around the cheerful, 
open fire, the package was opened and found 
to contain three copies of Moore’s Rural 
New-Yorker. The delight then experienced 
has often been repeated in the years that have 
followed. Little did my father know what a 
power for good influence was being placed in 
the hands of his child. 
Long live the Rural! 
’AN OPEN LETTER. 
Here I am again—a bad penny, you know, 
always returns. Well, did you all who sent 
to me last winter get the Christmas toy pat¬ 
terns ; if any did not, and they will please 
notify me. I will cheerfully send the patterns 
to them again ; for occasionally a mistake 
will occur in the mail as well as in anything 
else, and a package does sometimes miscarry. 
I have lately returned from that summer land 
State—Florida, where since the middle of 
January I have spent a very delightful win¬ 
ter. The climate there is delightful, the 
subtropical and evergreen scenery very beau¬ 
tiful. One of the prettiest natural sights (at 
least to me) was the long silvery gray Southern 
moss which grew in the tree-tops, drooping 
yards in length from the branches. In the 
twilight it presents rather a lone, wierd ap¬ 
pearance, silently swaying to and fro with 
the breeze, like some midnight spectre out in 
revelry. I sent home a large quantity of the 
moss, and have divided it with many of my 
friends here. It is lovely for decorating, and 
when kept moist will continue growing. I 
have still more to spare. I will make read¬ 
ers of the Rural the same offer in regard to 
the moss, I did with regard to the patterns 
last winter: that is, if they will send half a 
dozen stamps for postage, I will send back a 
package of the Florida moss. I am sure this 
offer will be appreciated by many who never 
saw any of the moss, at least it would be by 
myself had I never seen any. 
MRS. F. A. WARNER, 
East Saginaw, Mich. 
A WORD FROM TEXAS. 
DAISY. 
We have been subscribers to the excellent 
Rural for a long while. I have never writ¬ 
ten for it before, but I have read with interest 
all of the “ Woman’s Chat,” and think those 
letters are of great interest and pleasure to 
“farmers’ wives.” I think the last letter 
from Mrs. Fisher was just splendid. I 
thought that all out long ago, and would like 
to add that if any hired help proved to be 
ladies or gentlemen (as sometimes they do), 
I would be quite willing to have them come 
to my tablo, and would invite them to do so. 
I would not expect them to absent themselves 
if we had company, for vhose who are “ good 
enough ” to associate with me and mine, 
are also good enough to associate with 
my company. I think the girl who would 
get in a “huff” and go off just because the 
mistress did not tell her what to get for 
dinner, even though she was a new girl, was 
very foolish. She would have displayed more 
sense if she had gone to work to make what she 
thought proper of the materials at hand. And 
she probably would have found the mistress as 
pleasant and kind as she was unexacting. I 
do not think it is necessary to have an “extra 
nice” dinner for company. 1 think what is 
good enough for my husband to eat, will also 
do for my compauy. I would feel very much 
in the wav, if I were visiting a friend and she 
had to spend all the morning at work in the 
kitchen on my account. 1 would like to have 
a nice friendly chat with her, and if there was 
no time for it 1 would feel very much dis¬ 
appointed. 
once the idolatry of talent enters the Church, 
then farewell to spirituality. When men ask 
their teachers, not for that which will make 
them more humble and godlike, but for the 
excitement of an intellectual banquet, then 
farewell to Christian success. 
Spurgeon thinks that working Christians 
are seldom tempted. He says that the man 
that has something to do has less temptation 
to doubt than the man who has nothing else 
to do but to doubt. Heresies in the Christian 
Church come never from the city missionary, 
never from the intense evangelist, but always 
from the gentleman at ease, who takes no act ¬ 
ual part in our holy war. .... 
John Newton said: I am not what I was; 
I am not what I would be; I am not what I 
should be: I am not what I shall be; but, by 
the grace of God, I am what I am. 
Dean Swift was rather sarcastic, but there 
is an element of truth in his statement that 
the reason why so few marriages are really 
happy is because young ladies spend tl.eir 
time in making nets, and not in makingcages. 
Thorkau says that the really efficient la¬ 
borer will be found not to unduly crowd his 
day with work, but will saunter to his task, 
surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure. 
Happy is he who has learned to do the plain 
duty of the moment quickly and cheerfully, 
wherever and whatever it may be .... 
Old Commodore Vanderbilt, being asked 
one day what he considered to be the secret 
of success in business, replied: “Secret? There 
is no secret about it. All you have to do is to 
attend to your business and go ahead.”. 
Robertson says the orator holds a thousand 
men for half an hour breathless—a thousand 
men as one, listening to his single word. But 
the word of God has held a thousand years 
spellbound; held them by one abiding power, 
even the universality of its truth; and we feel 
it to be no more a collection of books, but The 
Book . .. 
Napoleon I. once said; and it is as true of 
every-day life as it is of great battles—the hos¬ 
tile forcesadvauce with various combinations; 
they attack each other and tight for a ceitain 
time. The critical moment arrives, and a 
mental flash decides the fortunes of the day.. 
A man, who was very sad, once heard two 
boyslaughing. Heaskedthem: “What makes 
you so happy ?” Said the elder: “Why, I 
makes Jim glad and gets glad myself I” This 
is the true secret of a happy life—to live so 
that by our example, our kind words and 
deeds, we may help some one else. It makes 
life happier here, and heaven will be happier 
for the company of those we have, by God’s 
help, brought there. . 
CONDUCTED BY MRS. AGNES E. M. CARMAN. 
“For comforters of every kind, 
Some fee Is necessary, mind; 
And nobody will give advice, 
Or shed a tear, without his price.” 
GOLDEN GRAINS. 
Edwards says that beneficence is a running 
stream. If cash flows out of a Christian man’s 
pocket it will almost miraculously flow in 
again, just as water rushes into a channel 
whose waters have to gush out. Many a 
good man’s purse is like a siphon, the very 
emptying of which insures its refilling. 
Dr. Guthrie says so long as you see one 
star in the sky, the sun is not yet risen; so 
long as one leak admits the water, the ship 
is not safe; so long as one sin reigns in a 
man’s heart, and is practiced in his life, Jesus 
is neither his Savior nor his King. The Jews 
have no dealings with the Samaritans. 
There are still fault finders and trouble¬ 
some Christians everywhere in all directions, 
says the Independent. Such men think that 
with a go d stock of dynamite always on 
hand, they can do almost anything when they 
set out. Now, in view of all the facts in the 
case, what shall be done? Our answer is most 
emphatically: Do nothing but work and 
smile, work and pray, work and give, work 
and never fear what men shall do or say; for 
God has promised to be with his working, 
obedient followers always, even unto the end 
of the world. 
It would be well if more of our churches 
would heed Dr. Robertson’s advice when he 
says that there is in our day a marvelous idol¬ 
atry of talent. It is a strange and grievous 
thing to see how men bow down before genius 
and success. Let us draw the distinction 
sharp and firm between these two things; good¬ 
ness is one thing, talent is another. When 
After breakfast determine what food you 
are to have for dinner and supper aud pre¬ 
pare as much of it as possible during the early 
hours. A few moments thus spent will great¬ 
ly lessen the labor of meal gettin g 
During the heated term we have just 
passed through, the Rural kitchen tire was 
“dumped’' each day right after dinner and 
the family supped on bread and butter, milk, 
strawberries, cold peas left from the midday 
meal, varied with lettuce, cold rice pudding 
aud cottage cheese. 
BABIES IN HOT WEATHER. 
The baby should indeed be king in hot weath¬ 
er. He should really be the pivot about which 
everything moves: that is, everything of lesser 
importance (and everything is) should suc¬ 
cumb to his comfort aud health. There is no 
work so necessary as that of attending to his 
wants, since his life and health may depend 
upon an hour’s neglect. 
For a child dependent upon artificial food, 
the regulation of the times for feeding and 
amount of its food, and the cleanliness of its 
bottles, are matters which the mother should 
delegate to no less interested party. 
Some one says a woman who knows how to 
^i0* *tllanr0Ujii 
When Baoy was sick, we gave her Castorla, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castorla, 
When she became Miss, sue clung to Castorla, 
When she had Children, she gave them Castorla. 
