<889 
<86 
WE RURAL NEVMTORXER* 
fully (or womanfully) to bring about the de¬ 
sired remedy. But if you find you cannot ac¬ 
complish what you wish, will fretting avail 
you aught? Remember that 
“ For every evil under the sun, 
There Is some remedy—or none. 
If there be one, resolve to find It— 
If none, submit and never mind It.” 
It is not always easy to “never mind it,” 
but if it is inevitable, we muct submit. Some¬ 
times it seems hard and bitter—sometimes the 
burden given us to bear seems heavier and 
greater than we can bear, but does fretting 
lighten it? Ah no! It only adds care to those 
around us, and lifts the weight from ourselves 
not oue whit. While westruggle against the in¬ 
evitable we become tired and weary with the 
struggle and so become unfitted tor anything. 
It is like a caged bird dashing its head against 
its iron bars. Does it help the poor tired 
thing to freedom? On the contrary, it only 
weakens and prostrates, so that, if freedom 
should at last come to the caged creature, it 
would not be able to avail itself of the longed- 
for boon. 
“ Another rainy day! I hate rain! And 
it is always raining!” How often we hear 
such exclamations as these. (And let me 
whisper—How often I grumble so myself!) Do 
you suppose there are many people who love 
rainy, cloudy, muggy weather any more than 
you do? Do you suppose your constant fret¬ 
ting about said rains and clouds makes your 
companions more cheerful over the weather? 
It is selfish to fret. If we are unhappy, does 
it make us happier to make those around us 
miserable?.,!! you have nothing else to do, you 
had better go at once and hunt some work 
that will keep you busy, for those who are 
busy don’t have |time for fretting. “ Do 
with your might what your hands find to do.’’ 
Enter heart and soul into your work and 
by and bye you will outgrow' the detestable 
habit of complaining. As I’ve said in the 
Rural before—don’t go poking around in 
some dark hole in search of a spook of some 
sort to haunt you; for when a bona fide 
ghost is ready to come, he’ll not need any 
“ poking ” after—he’ll walk right out and 
face you. Life is filled with thorns, some of 
them very sharp—some of them seem to 
pierce our very souls, but are there not also 
roses? 
“There’s never a thorn without a rose,” 
said some one (I’m sorry I can’t say who) in 
reply to a pessimist who was complaining 
that there was “ never a rose without a 
thorn.” That seems to me to be the best way 
to look at things. 
Some fret because it is cold, or because it is 
hot, or because it is wet, or because it is 
dry. Does fretting alter it any? No. Then 
what does it do ? It makes us ill-tempered 
and disagreeao e. it makes tnose around us, 
whose lives we ought to brighten, far more 
unhappy than they otherwise would have 
been. If we have an unfortunate nature that 
makes a mountain of every mole-hill, let us 
try and keep our “mountains” to ourselves, 
and not shift the weight of them on every¬ 
body who comes in contact with us. 
“ How easy It Is to spoil a Ufo— 
And many are spoiled ere well begun— 
In some, life darkened by sin and strife, 
Or downward coutse of a cherished one; 
lty toll that robs the form of Its grace. 
And undermines till health gives way: 
By the peevish temper, the frowning face, 
The hopes that go and the cares that stay. 
“ A day is too long to be spent lu vain; 
Some good should come as the hours go by— 
Some tangled maze may be made more plain. 
Some lowered glance may be raised more high. 
And life Is too short to spoil like this — 
If only a prelude, it may be sweet. 
Let us bind together its threads of bliss, 
And nourish the flowers around our feet.” 
Has it been another sermon ? Well, I am 
preaching to myself as well as to you, for I 
fear the seed of discontent has taken pretty 
deep root in my garden patch. But I am 
fighting to keep it from yielding a large crop. 
DORA HARVEY VROOMAN. 
H ARPER’S BAZAR would remodel a 
black silk dress in Directoire fashion 
in this way: Cutoff the back of the basque 
in a blunt point, and have the fronts short 
like those of a round waist. Over the front 
add in the shoulder seams, and under the arms 
a short square-cornered jacket cut off straight 
at the waist line, and extending up to the 
highest point of the shoulder seams, where it 
must turn back in short revers made double, 
and the edges below are theu widely faced 
all around to the side seams. Under this 
jacket front place a full vest of black net 
wrought with gilt figures, gathered to the 
standing collar of silk. This net is costly, but 
it is very wide and only a quarter of a yard 
is required for the vest and for trimming the 
sleeves. The vest disappears below' under an 
Empire sash of the silk, which may be in wide 
wrinkles straight across at the waist line, or 
else it is in diagonal folds, being much higher 
on the right side than on the left. The 
sleeves are over an easy coat-shaped lining of 
silesia or satteen, but are cut three or four 
inches longer at the top than the lining, and 
are slightly wider there, so that the added 
silk can be laid around the arm in easy, care¬ 
less folds—not set on stiff—and pushed up 
high above the arm-hole. At the wrists a 
slightly flaring cuff is added of the silk 
doubled and interlined, and is turned back, 
with its opening on the inside or the outside 
of the arm, as the wearer chooses. Below this 
cuff, coming out from inside the sleeve, is a 
puff finished with a narrow ruffle of the black 
and gold net. The skirt has four straight 
back breadths partly gathered to the middle 
of the blunt point of the waist, then laid in 
pleats toward the sides. Tapes underneath 
across these breadths hold them in place. The 
front of the skirt has a slightly draped tablier 
of two or three breadths, or else it is pleated 
at the top and finished with a Spanish flounce 
below. 
AGREEMENT. 
Ct OME ten years ago, in gathering grasses 
for winter decoration, I chanced upon a 
tuft of ferns with very small leaves; these I 
gathered and pressed in a large book, and 
some of them are there now. Whenever I 
open that book the room is filled with a deli¬ 
cately sweet odor from those pressed ferns. 
Their color is as fresh as if it were only a few' 
weeks since they were gathered, instead of ten 
years. 
The incident was recalled to me upon read¬ 
ing “Sweet Fern’s” letter in the Rural of 
February 9. Being of the opposite sex, I sup¬ 
pose I have no business meddling in the de¬ 
partment claimed by the women, but allow' 
me to thank the writer for her sensible and 
practical letter. There are too much theoriz¬ 
ing and too little practical economy displayed 
by many who write for the delectation of 
themselves and the guidance of others. A 
good wife, in my estimation, will look well to 
the ways of her household, caring for her lov¬ 
ed ones, and causing each member of her 
family to regard home as the dearest spot on 
earth. A true woman will continue to in¬ 
crease in attractiveness to her dear ones as the 
years go by, even though they bring lines of 
care to her face, and old Father Time slowly 
deprive her of youthful personal graces. 
Some aged ladies of my acquaintance have in 
their fullness of years a charm that I am sure 
they never possessed in “ the auld lang syne.” 
In consciousness of duty done, they placidly 
wait the coming of the time when they shall 
pass through the shadowy vale to the “beauti¬ 
ful home beyond,” when they shall put on 
a glorious immortality. a max. 
-- 
NOTES. 
T HE new shade of greeu is so glaring that 
it will require the complexion of an angel 
and the courage and strength of a Hercules 
to wear it—so says one of our fashion chroni 
clers. 
There are not less than 1,500 women who 
are regularly enrolled as art students here in 
New York. They come from every State in 
the Union, many of the Territories, Canada, 
Mexico, and South America—and one comes 
from Japan. 
The “horrible hump of deformity,” as 
Annie Jenness-Miller calls the bustle, is grad¬ 
ually growing smaller. In the latest and 
most fashionable gowns the reeds are omitted. 
Still, it doesn’t seem as if we could do away 
entirely with the bustle. d. h V, 
BREAKFAST AND LUNCHEON CAKE. 
MOTHER’S FRIED CAKES. 
One heaping cup of sugar, one and one-half- 
cup of butter-milk, three or four table-spoon¬ 
fuls of melted shortening, one scant tea¬ 
spoonful of saleratus dissolved in a table¬ 
spoonful or so of warm water. Nutmeg. Flour 
to make a middling but not too stiff dough. 
Roll about one-half inch thick and cut into 
slrips half an inch or so wide and six or eight 
inches long. Double and twist to form a sort 
of a half-double figure 8, and fry in hot lard. 
SISTER MARCIA’S FRIED CAKES. 
Three rounding cups of sugar, one pint of 
butter-milk, four or five table spoonfuls of 
fried meat gravy, one level tea-spoonful of 
salt and oue tea-spoonful of saleratus in warm 
water enough to dissolve it—cinnamon or nut¬ 
meg and flour sufficient to roll out. Cut the 
dough to any form desired and fry in hotlard. 
GINGER COOKIES NO. I. 
One-fourth of a pound of butter, one cup 
of sugar, one-half cup of sour cream, two cups 
of molasses, one egg (that may be omitted, 
using a trifle more saleratus if eggs are scarce), 
a pinch of salt, a spoonful each of ginger and 
cinnamon, one heaping tea-spoonful of salera¬ 
tus dissolved in a spoonful of warm water. 
Flour to form a dough as soft as can be easily 
rolled. 
GINGER COOKIES, NO. 2. 
One cup each of sugar, molasses and butter 
(lard or fried meat gravy may be used in¬ 
stead), one egg, or none, as preferred, one 
table-spoonful each of ginger and vinegar, 
and one table-spoonful of saleratus dissolved 
in a little warm water. Cinnamon or not as 
you like. Flour to form not too stiff a dough. 
If these are too “rich,” try “Christie 
Kriss,” ginger cookies without shortening. 
They are good. Two cups of molasses, a tea¬ 
spoonful of soda and one of salt, an even tea¬ 
spoonful of ginger and other spice if desired, 
and flour enough to roll easily. 
GINGER-BREAD. 
One tea-cupful each of butter and butter¬ 
milk, three tea-cupfuls of molasses, one table¬ 
spoonful of ginger, one table-spoon'ul of 
saleratus dissolved in a spoonful or two of 
water. Mix with wheat flour to form a 
dough as soft as can be handled. Put it in 
three long pie tins, mark the top of each in 
bars, crosswise, and bake. 
GLADDYS WAYNE. 
Pi.3CfUanfou.si Advertising. 
Most Reliable 
For all affections re¬ 
quiring a purgative, 
Ayer’s Pills 
are the general favo¬ 
rite as a family medi¬ 
cine. Sick Headache, 
Indigestion, a Slug¬ 
gish Liver, and Con¬ 
stipation are among 
the complaints for 
which these pills are 
peculiarly effective. 
« I regard Ayer’s Pills as one of the most 
reliable general remedies of the times. 
They have been in use in my family for vari¬ 
ous affections requiring a purgative medi¬ 
cine. and have given unvarying satisfaction. 
We have found them an excellent remedy 
for colds and light fevers.’’—W. R..Woodson, 
Fort Worth, Texas. 
Ayer’s Pills, 
Prepared bv Dr. .T. C. Ayer St Co., Lowell. Man¬ 
gold by all Druggists aud Dealers in Medicine. 
BROWN’S FRENCH DRESSING 
W.R&CO’S 
IMPROVED 
BUTTER 
COLOR 
I F YOU REALLY WISH 
to use the very best Butte* 
Color ever made; one that 
never turns rancid, always 
gives a bright, natural color, 
and will not color the butter¬ 
milk, ask for Well*, Rirhard- 
non <J- Vo's. and take no other. 
Sold everywhere. 
More of It Used than of 
all other makes combined. 
Send for onr valuable circu- 
I t XI -rer r a Pt/’a 1 TjnUAtl 
FLINT GLASS 
MILK 
iBOTTLES 
Manufactured by 
W.H. Hamilton 
& Co. 
PITTSBURGH, PA. 
IN FOUR SIZES! 
I M St 1 Pint, Quart & Gallon 
WRITE FOR PRICES. 
“The deaths of women from Bright’s Disease 
during the child-bearing years of life (from 
twenty to forty-five,) is as high as 80 women to 
100 men. After the age of 45 the proportion 
of deaths from Bright’s Disease sank to 59 
women for every 100 men. Th°re seems no 
otner conclusion to be drawn trom tdis, than 
that preguaucy is a frequent cause ot Bright s 
Disease.” So writes Wm. Roberts, M. D., F 
R. C. P., London. Physician to the Mane-lus¬ 
ter, Eng.. Royal Infirmary, Professor of Med¬ 
icine in the Owen’s College, Manchester. All 
women, during pregnancy and the “getting 
up” period, should use Warner’s Safe Cure, 
and prevent disease of the kidneys. 
q flCHTC for Catalogue orhunureersor useful Artl 
t WCH I O cles less than Wholesale Prices. Apts, and 
Dealers selllarge Quantities. CHICAGOSCAI.KCO..Ch'raeo. 
COO D-B YE. 5?^ 
Sample Style* of Hidden Name and 
Silk Frio** Carla, Siloifht of 11 and Trick*, Recitations Dialogaaa, .Pua- 
alt*. Conundrums Gamas and howyoa ran makatlO adayat notts All 
roa a 2 c&rr stamp- HOME AND YOUTH* CADIZ, OHIO* 
MUSIC 
PROF. RICE'S SELF-TEACH¬ 
ING SYSTEM. All can learn music 
without the aid of a teacher. Rapid, 
SELF correct. Established 12 years. Notes, 
TAUCHT. chords,' accompaniments, thorough 
bass laws, etc. Stampfor Music Journal. Circulars 
free. «. S. KICK MUSIC CO„ 24S Stale St.,Chleago. 
FREE HOMES 
At Ch« rate tnev nave oe«n jeomg ON 
( public Domains will *11 be gone la ft 
vrara Now is the time to secure a* Rwft 
Land as the Sun jhmrs on at $1.26 ptt 
What better couki be .eft fat Children? Where three land® are; ft tm la 
p tbeca.*s well as for information about Boones ■x Employment in allHtahaa 
Enfcrrtooriee. Send 10 <\nu and receive th' beautiful Encrariage, ft ~ 
‘ a of America. Addvaa TfeJ WESTERN WORLD. 
THE I 
X L COIL SPRING 
Road Cart 
Beyond a doubt is the easiest riding cart 
made. Springs can be adjusted for one or 
two passengers. Before purchasing writ* 
for wholesale prices. A. L. PRATT & CO , 
No. 71 Willard St,, Kalamazoo. Mich. 
LOOK, FOR $2-00 
you can get one year subscrip¬ 
tion for two excellent papers, 
‘The Farm Journal” and ‘‘The Ladles Home Jour¬ 
nal,” both published in Philadelphia, and 12 choice 
grape-vines, three Worden, three Pockllngton. ihree 
Delaware, three Concord. Send at ODce. This offer 
Is good for a short time only. Address. 
GEO. LAMB. 1930 Main Avk., Scranton, Pa. 
General Advertising Rates of 
THB RURAL NBW - YORKBH. 
34 PARK ROW, NEW YORK. * 
The following rates are invariable. All are there¬ 
fore respectfully informed that any correspondence 
with a view to obtaining different terms will prove 
futile. 
Ordinary Advertisements, per agate line (this 
slxed type, 14 liaea to the Inch).30 eents. 
One tbouaand lines or more,within one year 
from date of first Insertion, per agate line, 25 “ 
Yearly orders occupying 14 or more lines 
agate space. •. .35 “ 
Preferred positions.25 per cent, extra. 
Beading Norioei, ending with “Adv.,” per 
line, minion leaded.75 cant* 
The following seems so well adapted to the 
breakfast table, that I, who have a weakness 
for cake at breakfast, often give it a place 
there. It is also nice at luncheon, aud is 
well liked by the men-folks when work neces¬ 
sitates “ carrying dinner.” 
THICK CAKE. 
Two cups of sugar, one cup of unmelted 
shortening, mix, add one tea spoonful of salt 
if the shortening is fresh, two cups of sour 
butter-milk, nutmeg or other flavoring, and 
one tea-spoon, rounding full, of saleratus dis¬ 
solved in a spoonful or two of warm water. 
Use sufficient wheat flour to form a dough as 
soft as can be easily handled. Roll out from 
one-fourth, to one-half inch in thickness, cut 
any size desired (the edge of a tea-cup or the 
top of a tin pint can is a good cutter) place 
the cakes close together in buttered tins and 
bake in a quick oven. If granulated sugar is 
used, one-fourth to one-half cup less iu meas¬ 
ure may be taken. 
Fried cakes, ginger cookies, and ginger¬ 
bread, are sometimes liked at breakfast. 
The Original. Beware ol Imitations. 
AWARDED HIGHEST PRIZE AND ONLY 
MEDAL, PARIS EXPOSITION, 1878, 
Highest Award New Orleans F.vgosition. 
Terms of Subscription. 
The subscription price of the Rural Naw Yomxxa Is: 
81ngle oopy, per year.. $2.00 
“ “ Six months. 1.1* 
Great Britain. Ireland, Australia and 
Germany, per year, post-paid. $3.04 (12s. *d.' 
France. 3.04 (16)* fr. 
French Colonies. 4.08 (2944 f r .) 
Agents will be supplied with canvassing outfit oa 
application. 
>ter*4 at tea Fest-offlos at New York Oltv. er. V.. 
WE WILL PAY WELL TO LKAHN WHY IT IS 
Rural readers do not need knives. Our advt. in some papers 
brings us large orders, but from others few. Readers 
unjust to us and fool themselves. Take knife 
shown here, blades are of highest quality 
razor steel, file-tested and known to be 
good before sending out 
It is cheap for a silver dol- 
ptiee Is 50c. 
for $2. Send 
for our 64-page 
free list, also, 
"How to Use a 
Razor.” 
ill A H E R Ac 
GHOSH. 
SO S Si reel, 
TOLEDO. 
Oil IO. 
