8io 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
DEC 7 
there is wide scope for skill and ingenuity. 
A pair of the pretty knitted undervests 
which grow so rapidly under the fingers of 
the practiced knitter, would delight almost 
anybody, as would a “ hug-me tight ” 
jacket knitted after the same fashion. A 
pretty change from the knitted under-skirt 
is afforded by the embroidered flannel 
found in the stores. A skirt made of this 
material, with or without the silk crocheted 
edge which goes with it so well, is a dainty 
garment and would be a possession valued 
by most women. 
THE HOME PAPER—A PROTEST. 
s. j. L. 
I OBJECT to J. H. G.’s statement in the 
R. N.-Y. of November 16, regarding the 
opposition of farmers’ wives and daughters 
to agricultural papers. He must meet 
many strange women, judging from his 
articles. He invariably enjoins upon the 
women that they must do so and so, or 
everlasting ruin will close down upon 
them, and now he attributes the disin¬ 
tegration of the home circle to the mothers’ 
and daughters’ cruel suppression of the ag¬ 
ricultural paper. In this era of papers 
which combine all that is practical in agri¬ 
culture and entertaining in domestic af¬ 
fairs, there are very few who would wish 
to replace such a paper by trashy litera¬ 
ture, and, besides, a man seldom needs an 
excuse for spending $2 a year as he likes, 
his wife to the contrary notwithstanding. 
Farmers’ wives, as a rule, are in favor of 
more papers than their husbands, and where 
trashy literature predominates, I always 
notice the husband is quite as much inter¬ 
ested in the fate of the heroines as his wife 
is. A good agricultural paper is every¬ 
thing to a farmer; but that is not a full re¬ 
cipe for preventing boys from leaving the 
farm. 
A sensible father is the best preventive 
yet discovered; one who teaches his boy 
self-reliance, and has confidence in his abil¬ 
ity to fill responsible positions, praising 
where praise is due, and not forgetting to 
give him a tangible interest in his work. 
With something definite ahead, the average 
boy will remain on the farm when most 
needed. 
Sensible mothers are also in demand to 
equalize the temperature between father 
and son, a position which I know is hard 
to fill, but it is done with great credit all 
over our land. 
GOLDEN GRAINS. 
P HILLIPS BROOKS says no man was 
ever yet hurt by knowing too much.. 
A LITTLE learning is a dangerous thing; 
hut the danger is not in the learning but 
the littleness. 
“Truth, for Truth is Truth, he worshipped, being true 
as he was brave; 
Goed fo- Good is Good, he followed, yet he looked 
beyond the grave.” 
Socrates said: I study how I may pre¬ 
sent my soul before the Judge, whole and 
undefiled; and so, bidding farewell to those 
things which most men account honors, 
and looking onward to the Truth, I shall 
earnestly endeavor to grow, so far as may 
be, in goodness, and thus live and thus, 
when the time comes, die. 
Now, every one who suffers punishment, 
if the punishment has been rightly dealt 
him by another, must needs either himself 
be made better and thus benefit thereby, or 
else serve as an example to others, that 
they, seeing the sufferings which he en¬ 
dures, may be made better through dread 
of them. 
And those who are benefited by receiving 
punishment from gods and men are they 
who have committed sins not past cure; 
nevertheless, both here and in Hades, only 
through pain and suffering does the benefit 
come to them, for there is no other way 
whereby they may be set free from injus¬ 
tice. 
Be courageous and noble-minded ; our 
own hearts and not other men’s opinions of 
us, form our true honor. 
Educate the whole man—the head, the 
heart, the body: the head to think, the 
heart to feel, the body to act. 
We cannot conquer fate and necessity, 
but w r e can yield to them in such a way as 
to be greater than if we could. 
The more our gifts and graces are exer¬ 
cised, the more they are strengthened and 
increased. All acts strengthen habits. 
The Christian Standard says some 
people have not yet- Jiad the sentjmeptal 
softness sanctified out of their spirits, nor 
the whine out of their voices, nor the gen¬ 
eral debility out of their deportment, nor 
the clinging dependence on everybody else 
but God out of their lives, nor the disposi¬ 
tion to exist without good, honest labor out 
of their business arrangements, nor the 
“holy twang” out of their conversation 
and prayers, nor the languid affectation 
out of their manners !... 
Oh ! for a baptism of manly, stalwart, 
frank and stirring sanctification that can 
look every one in the eye, that is not con¬ 
tinually asking favors, that does not go 
round apologizing for its own existence and 
presence, that knows some interval when it 
has not some special “ax to grind,” and 
that can occasionally devote itself to unsel¬ 
fish care and consideration and labor and 
sacrifice for others ! Equally from the 
sourly severe and the softly sentimental, 
good Lord deliver us !. 
OUR greatest gratitude should be that 
God does not regulate His gifts to us by 
the measure of our gratitude to Him. And 
as we have received, so ought we to give... 
We cannot afford to waste, or ignore, or 
despise anything, for, however useless it 
may appear to our short-sighted vision, 
we know not what treasures of future 
growth and advancement may be enfolded 
within it, or how readily it may respond to 
wise culture, like the tiny germ that is 
nourished in the warm soil and strength¬ 
ened by the refreshing rain. 
Don’t always search for the serious side 
of things. The man who has no eye or ear 
to the ludicrous is an unhappy mortal. 
Next to virtue, the fun in the world is what 
we can least spare. 
“ Life sometimes overlays the soul in the 
face with disturbing hieroglyphics which 
gentle death smooths away showing worthy 
writing there.”... 
I never feel that any man occupies 
my place, but that the reason why I do not 
have what I wish is. that I want the faculty 
which entitles. All spiritual or real power 
makes its own place... 
Nature never hurries: atom by atom, 
little by little, she achieves her work. 
The most cross-grained are by no means 
the worst of mankind, or the humblest in 
station the least polished in feeling. 
0 omcstic (£ ccm o m ij 
CONDUCTED BY MRS. AGNES E. M. CARMAN. 
She could swing a six-pound, dumb-bell; 
She coxdd fence, and she could box; 
She coxdd row wpon the river, 
She could clamber 'mong the rocks; 
She coxdd, do some heavy bowling, 
And play tennis all day long; 
But she couldn't help her mother, 
'Cause she wasn't very strong! 
—W. C. Sheppard in Puck 
CHRISTMAS WORK. 
N O one can make a Christmas gift from 
pure motives without feeling a cer¬ 
tain amount of pleasure in so doing. But 
the woman having abundant means who 
purchases her gifts knows not the joy 
which one feels who plans and makes them 
herself. Happy anticipations of the pleas¬ 
ure the gifts carry with them lighten 
the work and loving thoughts are worked 
in with every stitch. But, busy, generous, 
loving little woman, do not postpone the 
making of them until from necessity you 
must work early and late, while you hurry 
and fret, thus robbing yourself of nearly all 
the pleasure you might have had in the 
work, besides being too tired and worn to 
enjoy the day when it comes. The direc¬ 
tions I here append are for easily made arti¬ 
cles all of which admit of the use of a wide 
range of material and various kinds of dec¬ 
orations. Take an inventory of all the odds 
and ends of pretty things among your be¬ 
longings, and see if you have not the where¬ 
with to begin at once. 
Matting of different qualities is now be¬ 
ing used for decorative purposes with ex¬ 
cellent results. Painted in oil, boldly, and 
with an eye to effect rather than elabor¬ 
ations of detail, it makes beautiful mount¬ 
ings for screens and wall hangings or ban¬ 
ners. For the former China matting, such 
as is used for floor coverings, in fine qual¬ 
ity, is best, and either whiteor brown makes 
the most effective back-ground for paint¬ 
ing. Floral designs are usually selected 
(or screens, anc} (rea(ft( yattuff 
conventional manner. Lighter grades of 
matting can be used for wall hangings. 
Such pieces are fringed out at the lower 
end, mounted on a bamboo rod and hung up 
by a ribbon at each end. One recently seen 
was of white China matting and the de¬ 
sign painted on it was a grape-vine, fruit 
and leaves. Across both top and bottom 
was a very effective decoration made with 
Manilla rope of the size commonly used for 
a clothes line. That across the top was in 
one piece put on in loops: that across the 
bottom consisted of several loops and ends 
with a straight piece of rope passing 
through the loops. First ascertain how 
long a piece is needed for one ornament, 
then measure accurately for the others. 
With cream linen thread fasten the strands 
securely three inches from each end, and 
ravel out below this for tassels. Sew even¬ 
ly and strongly to the hanging, connecting 
by the straight piece woven in and out of 
the loops; let the ends and tassels hang be¬ 
low. Run a bamboo or other rod through 
the upper loops and suspend by a rope. 
Half-inch gilt or wooden poles can be ob¬ 
tained at an upholsterer’s, with small 
brackets for holding them. 
A unique and handsome towel holder is 
made in this way: A band of plush four 
inches wide is lined with figured China 
silk. Gather the ends closely and fasten 
with small ribbon bows to two large oak 
rings like those used on curtain poles. 
Midway between the ends gather the plush 
and fasten to a third ring by which it is 
suspended. Any material can be substi¬ 
tuted for the plush and the goods may be 
embroidered in any stitch. Ivory or rings 
of any kind of wood may be substituted, 
care only being used to have them large 
enough to allow a good-sized towel to pass 
through easily. 
Scarfs for decorating mantels, pictures, 
easels, etc., are made of various materials, 
either embroidered, painted, with drawn 
work across the ends, or of figured China 
silk with only a trimming across the ends. 
Small silk tassels can be easily made and 
small pieces of silk can be utilized in this 
way. First cover small-sized brass rings 
with silk in single crochet stitch, care be¬ 
ing taken to make the stitches even and 
close together. After covering the rings 
make full tassels through them and either 
connect them with invisible stitches, 
or leave a small space between each 
two. A beautiful mantel scarf was in 
figured China silk: the cream ground was 
quite closely covered by an Oriental design 
done in several shades of dull blue. The 
center tassel was in the lightest shade of 
blue, the others shading to dark at the 
sides. Always remember that in shading 
from light to dark the second gradation 
must be double the amount of the first, 
the third three times that of the first and 
so on. Threads, zephyr, worsteds, em¬ 
broidery silk, flosses, crewel, etc., may be 
used in covering these rings, and they are 
appropriate for piano or table covers, scarfs 
or fancy bags. 
Of bags there is almost no end. Those 
made of handsome plush or heavy, dark- 
colored silk are liked better for shopping 
bags than more showy embroidered ones. 
The casing for the draw-string is about 
three inches from the top. Ribbon and 
heavy cord and tassels vie with each 
other in popularity for the shirring and to 
carry by. 
Bags of this style—but only long enough 
to admit of a pack of cards being easily 
slipped into them—have the joker fastened 
securely on one side by full bows of narrow 
ribbon at each corner, iu color matching 
the lining and shirring ribbon. 
Pieces of ribbon sewed together make 
handsome bags, or a combination of ribbon 
and strips of either plush or velvet may be 
used. Pretty bags for dusters are both 
ornamental and useful. We are often an¬ 
noyed by the sight of dust on bric-a-hrac, 
which we could instantly remove had we a 
duster at hand. Cover a rouud piece of 
card-board four and a-half inches in diame¬ 
ter. Take an oblong piece of goods 11 by 
24 inches, gather at the bottom and sew to 
the edge of the card-board in over-hand 
stitch. Line and put a shir near the top, 
through which to run a ribbon by which 
to suspend it. Figured sateen lined with 
the plain, makes pretty serv iceable bags for 
either dusters or soiled clothes. A piece of 
cheese-cloth one yard square, with an iuch- 
wide hem on each side, cat-stitched iu 
yellow linen floss, makes a handsome and 
good duster. 
A small bag gathered a little ways from 
the bottom and drawn up so as to leave a 
small opening in the center, is convenient 
for a ball of twine, with the end drawn 
through the opening ; shir at (he top and 
attache^ to the shirring ritil\flfl (iaye a loqg 
loop of narrow ribbon to which is attached 
a pair of small scissors. 
A handsome lamp-shade was made of 
pink surah silk. A piece four inches wide 
was shirred three times, quite close togeth¬ 
er, near the top, leaving a half-inch wide 
frill. The bottom was trimmed with Ori¬ 
ental lace slightly fulled on and at regular 
intervals pink silk tassels were attached to 
the hem and allowed to fall over the lace. 
A bright-yellow one was very handsome 
and had once done duty as a white silk 
muffler. After having been dyed, a circle 
was cut out of the center large enough to 
allow of its being gathered enough to hang 
prettily, and at equal distances apart the 
bottom was trimmed with white silk 
tassels. 
A large, polished horn makes a handsome 
hair-receiver by the addition of a four- 
inch-wide puff of silk, satin, or plush sewed 
to the large end, and bows of riobon corres¬ 
ponding in color are fastened at each end 
with a ribbon to hang up by. 
Very many pretty things can be made of 
white seine twine, such as brush-broom 
holders, hair-pin receivers, jewelry trays, 
thread baskets, etc. In short, given this 
idea, an ingenious crocheter will find an 
unlimited field in which to exercise her 
talent. Crochet fine twine in small shell 
stitch, shaping the article to fit some dish 
over which it is to be dried. After being 
starched twice in starch made of coffee in¬ 
stead of water (when perfectly dry) give the 
article two coats of shellac varnish and 
then paint with either gilt or brown liquid 
paint. A work basket was shaped over a 
tiyo-quart basin,each scallop around the top 
beingcarefully pulled out and pinned to the 
board on which it stood to dry. Rings an 
inch and a-half in diameter were crocheted 
in single crochet and tied with coffee-col¬ 
ored satin ribbon to each side, and a bag of 
surah satin in the same color was sewed to 
the top just inside the scallop around the 
edge. 
Japanese baskets are decorated in in¬ 
numerable ways with ribbons and lace, the 
latter usually in hand-knit cream linen, or 
iu white Oriental lace. Small round bask¬ 
ets make handsome burnt-match receivers 
by gathering a frill of lace to the top and 
letting it fall over the sides with silk tas¬ 
sels fastened in the scallops at the edge. 
Put a small glass tumbler inside, and sus¬ 
pend by ribbons or use standing, as pre¬ 
ferred. 
A chair or picture scarf is handsome 
crocheted out of cream linen thread and 
tied at the center with a picot-edged moire 
ribbon. 
A great variety of articles are made of 
chamois leather, either alone or in combi¬ 
nation with plush. It is handsomest 
painted, but ink drawing is very pretty on 
it. Tobacco pouches are drawn up by two 
ribbons run through slots cut near the top 
and the chamois is cut evenly to a depth 
of two inches at the bottom for fringe. 
Fringe can also be made in this way of 
felt, for table scarfs, etc. 
Four thicknesses of blotting paper with 
a decorated cover of chamois pinked out 
around the edges, and tied at the back 
with ribbons drawn through holes made 
through both leaves and cover. 
Panels of strong card-board the size of 
a cabinet photograph or larger, make 
handsome calendars by first covering them 
with two thicknesses of cotton wadding, 
then with plush, being careful to get it 
on perfectly smooth. Near the lower 
right-hand corner fasten a calendar; near 
the upper left-hand corner paint or em¬ 
broider a spray of flowers, or else make a 
handsome butterfly done of picot-edged 
moire ribbon in a color contrasting with 
the plush. These can be suspended by 
ribbon from the wall, or stood on small 
gilt easels. 
Simple but useful presents are bath 
cloths of white Turkish toweling with a 
small scallop crocheted all around them 
of knitting cotton. 
A combing towel is another easily made 
present. A pretty damask towel is folded 
lengthwise and cut to fit the shoulders and 
cut around the neck and down through the 
middle of the front. Narrow lace is put 
around the neck for a frill, and the fronts 
£Ni$ccUa»rou.o' gulvcrti.ointi. 
When Baby was Blok, we gave her Caste ria, 
W heu she was a Child, she cried for Castorlu. 
When she became Miss, she clung to Cantons, 
When shy Ut^d Children, spe gave them Castor ju 
