826 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
DEC 12 
desirable method of preserving food where 
land is high to feed dairy cows. 
U*omon’s VUovlu 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
J UST at this season fairs and bazars of 
every kind are being arranged, and it is 
often a matter of much deliberation to de¬ 
cide on some form of entertainment. At 
our fair recently the admission fee was 
larger than usual—we think two dollars— 
but every person who attended had the privi¬ 
lege of selecting any one article he or she 
chose from the wares displayed within. 
Some of the articles were worth more 
than two dollars ; others less, but the choice 
was unrestricted. Of course such a high 
admission fee would not answer in many 
places, but a lower rate might be charged, 
and some prize be given with every ticket. 
Have pretty trifles done up in fancy paper 
packages, so that there would be the fun 
of opening them, like an ordinary prize 
package. 
* 
•* 
We usually And that musical or varied 
entertainments take better than anything 
else. Quite an attractive entertainment is 
a caf6 chantant. The room should be ar¬ 
ranged like a restaurant, with as many lit¬ 
tle tables as possible and plenty of chairs ; 
one of the greatest disadvantages to many 
fairs is a lack of seats, and it is terribly 
tiresome to stand about all an evening. 
The girl waiters might wear ordinary 
dresses, with caps and aprons, or some fancy 
cotton frocks, such as Swiss peasants are 
supposed to wear. They should be ready to 
serve the usual refreshments. At one end 
of the room a little stage should be ar¬ 
ranged with as large an orchestra as can 
be managed. One can usually find a piano, 
violin, and flute, if no more. The orchestra 
should give music, from time to time, and 
there should be singers, elocutionists, or 
anything else that can be arranged. The 
idea is not to give a long entertainment, 
where people have to sit still on hard 
benches for three hours at a stretch, but to 
give the same entertainment broken up by 
frequent intermissions. People can move 
about and talk, sit at the tables and take 
some light refreshment, while being 
amused by occasional music, etc. A very 
ordinary entertainment becomes extremely 
attractive under these circumstances. 
A good attraction for the caf6 chantant is 
the “ humanophone,” a wonderful new 
musical instrument. Perhaps some of our 
readers are familiar with it. It must be 
hidden behind a curtain while the show¬ 
man, who carries a long baton, gives a 
little address to the audience on the won¬ 
ders of his instrument. When the curtain 
is drawn aside it displays a large sheet. 
Painted on it is a large musical staff with 
the ascending scale of notes, do, re, mi, fa, 
sol, la, si, do. Each note has its name 
painted under it, but the note itself is rep¬ 
resented by a living human face. Of 
course, to arrange this eight young ladies 
stand behind the sheet, being raised on 
steps, each one higher than the next. They 
slip their faces through holes in the sheet, 
put just in the places of the notes. The 
showman or performer has, of course, 
thoroughly drilled them beforehand. Each 
girl siugs simply the note she represents, 
the performer plays a tune by pointing his 
baton rapidly from one to another, each . 
note answering to the gesture. The effect 
is very funny. 
Spelling matches are rather old-fashioned 
now, but they often wind up an entertain¬ 
ment with a good deal of fun. Not very 
long since a great deal of interest was ex¬ 
cited by the prizes in a spelling bee which 
finished'an entertainment. Prizes were 
offered for the first person spelled down, 
and the one who lasted longest, these 
prizes being a hunting case stem-winder, 
and an open face. At the end of the match 
the prizes were brought out, and were 
slowly unwrapped by the winners. The 
hunting case proved to be an ordinary'pie, 
with upper crust, the open face a cran¬ 
berry tart without top crust. As everyone 
was prepared for a Waterbury, there was 
much amusement over this. 
* 
* * 
One thing we never countenance, and 
that is the system of lotteries and raffles at 
a fair or entertainment. No matter what 
the object is, these are illegal ways of 
money-getting, and must be characterized 
simply as gambling schemes. They bring 
discredit on many societies and should 
never be permitted. 
GOLDEN GRAINS. 
Eyes grow dim and hands grow weary, 
hearts grow faint, and feet falter upon the 
path of life. There are few, indeed, who 
pass through life without being brought 
into some night of darkness, when what is 
prudent in business, or possil le in the re¬ 
lations of life, or right in the service of 
God can hardly be determined, and when 
the soul, blind indeed, can only cry out in 
the darkness: “ Teach me thy way, O 
Lord.”. 
When we begin to live out of ourselves, 
to appreciate interests that we do not 
share, and sympathize with joys and sor¬ 
rows not our own, to respect knowledge 
that we have not gained, and wisdom from 
whatever source it comes, then shall we be 
released from the chains which keep us 
back from seeing much that is true, and 
feeling much that is good, and our lives 
will become full and rich to ourselves and 
precious to others. 
You find yourself refreshed by the pres¬ 
ence of cheerful people; why not make 
earnest effort to confer that pleasure on 
others ? You will find half the battle is 
gained if you never allow yourself to say 
anything gloomy. 
Unceasing and relentless watching over 
ourselves, is the price of success in the 
higher aims of life. 
0 omt'Bt ic C c on o mi] 
CONDUCTED BY MRS. AGNES E. M. CARMAN. 
TOKENS FOR CHRISTMAS. 
“ Pumpkin pie! Cinnamon beer. 
Christmas comes but onceayear ! ” 
“/-NNCE A YEAR!” Well, once a 
year is enough when one wants to 
make a lot of Christmas gifts and has a 
very slim purse to do it with. But a slim 
purse, or rather a slim allowance of “siller” 
may be made to go a great way after all if 
one only knows how. 
To me a present fashioned by the fingers 
of one whom I love is far more acceptable 
than a gift which may cost twice as much, 
coming direct from some store. Perhaps 
the donor of the latter has gone off on some 
shopping expedition and bought for me the 
first thing that struck her fancy. But the 
giver of a token made by her own deft fin¬ 
gers, must have thought me worthy of hav¬ 
ing time and labor expended upon me. 
Hence my appreciation of the “home-made” 
in preference to the “ bough ten ” gift. 
Below I will give some directions as to 
the making of little tokens for Christmas: 
To Make a Handkerchief Case.— Take 
a piece of chamois skin 18 inches long and 
nine wide. Line with some soft surah or 
China silk. Between the lining and the 
chamois skin put a thin layer of cotton, 
sprinkled with sachet powder. Turn one 
end back on itself (lining in), so as to form 
a pocket six inches deep. This, you see, 
will take up 12 inches of the length. You 
will then have six inches remaining. 
Double again, book fashion. This will 
give you a book-like case six by nine 
inches, with a pocket inside for handker¬ 
chiefs, six inches deep, (or taking up one 
entire side.) Bands of ribbon may be fast¬ 
ened across the other side, under which to 
slip handkerchiefs. The outside may be 
decorated to suit the fancy. A case made 
of chamois, lined with pale blue surah, 
and trimmed with pale-blue ribbon would 
be pretty. Across the back (on the out¬ 
side) run a band of ribbon from the upper 
left-hand corner to the lower right-hand 
corner and finish with dainty little bows. 
A trailing design of wild roses and forget- 
me-nots painted or embroidered on the 
chamois, would add a beautiful finish. A 
case of this kind may be made from plush, 
velvet or satin, to suit the fancy. 
* 
A GLOVE CASE may be made in a very 
similar manner, only the pocket need not 
be so deep, and instead of bands of ribbon 
on the opposite side, fasten two or three 
tiny little pockets, made of whatever ma¬ 
terial you have, on the outside. In these 
put buttons, glove needle and sewing silk, 
also a glove buttoner. On the band of rib¬ 
bon across the outside may be painted in 
gilt letters: “ For that soft white hand of 
thine.” 
A sewing basket is always a useful gift 
for a housewife. I saw a very pretty one 
the other day made as follows: “Take a 
square of very stiff cardboard, about seven 
or eight inches on each side. Cover the out¬ 
side with some heavy linen or canvas and 
line the inside with golden China silk. 
The four sides were made of card-board, 
covered with the canvas or linen, and lined 
with gold silk. The sides were the same 
width as the bottom where they joined it, 
but gradually sloped out so that the top of 
each side was about three inches wider than 
the bottom. Each side was made separate¬ 
ly and a heavy gold-colored cord was fas¬ 
tened around it. These cords were sewed 
together in joining. Little pockets for 
spools and thimble were sewed to the in¬ 
side, opposite each other. On two of the 
outside pieces (on the canvas) were painted 
little rural scenes. On one of the remaining 
sides were painted, in gray and white, a 
spool of cotton and a pair of scissors ; on 
the other, a needle-case and part of a paper 
of pins. These were very realistic indeed. 
The basket, of course, would be very pretty 
without the addition of these little artis¬ 
tic touches, but if one can paint, they may 
as well be added. 
Head-rests for the back of a rocking- 
chair make nice gifts for mother, sister, or 
friend. First make two bags (either rec¬ 
tangular or “saddle-shaped) of cheese-cloth 
and fill them with cotton ; also add sachet 
powder. Then make an outside covering 
for each of plush, velvet, satin, silkoline, 
or cretonne, as you prefer. Cover three 
little brass rings (which you can buy for 
five cents per dozen), with floss, by crochet¬ 
ing them over, plain stitch. Join the two 
bags with these rings—one at each end, and 
one in the center. Tie ribbon bows where 
you fasten to the chair. One bag or cush¬ 
ion rests on the back of the rocker where 
the head will lie and the other hangs over 
the back. This is a great improvement on 
the tidy as it is of some use. The size of 
the cushions will depend on the chair they 
are meant for. They may be made as 
elaborate as one pleases—embroidered or 
painted and composed of the most beauti¬ 
ful materials. But if one makes them so 
frail and delicate they will not be service¬ 
able, and will not be useful either. Some 
dark shade of plush, such as golden brown, 
olive or bottle-green, tied with gold-colored 
ribbons would answer nicely. But if you 
want to make a head-rest for the old sit¬ 
ting-room rocker, so that father or mother 
may take comfort out of it, make it of some 
bright cretonne and tie it with serviceable, 
(though bright) ribbons. 
Ring-work has largely taken the place 
of embroidery and lace. In all the art 
needle-work stores in New York we see the 
rings put to all sorts of uses. They come 
in four sizes and range from three to eight 
cents per dozen. Pin-cushions of satin are 
now covered with ring-work instead of em¬ 
broidery. Select the rings of the desired 
size—the smallest size is best for covering 
a cushion. Crochet them over with heavy 
floss ; then join them with some fancy 
stitches. I saw a pretty cushion covered 
with peach pink surah with ring-work 
of the same color covering the whole top. 
The rings were arranged so as to form clus¬ 
ters, and between the clusters were little 
spider-webs made of floss. Rings, with 
tassels hanging from them, formed a fringe 
around the entire cushion. 
Pretty tidies are made by having a band 
of ribbon, a band of rings (about four deep) 
another band of ribbon ; then another of 
rings, etc., till the desired size is attained. 
Rings, with tassels falling from them, 
form fringe for top and bottom. 
One of the latest crazes in table 
DECORATIOii is a set of grape leaves, six in 
number, to be arranged around the center- 
piece. If you have any relations or friends 
who give little dinner parties a set of these 
leaves would make a nice gift. At the re¬ 
tail stores they cost $8 a set. If you buy 
the materials and make them yourself they 
will cost you just about 81.25. The leaves 
are stamped on heavy white linen. They 
are about eight inches long. With silk 
floss (get what they call “ electric” floss) 
embroider an uneven jagged button-hole 
stitch around the entire leaf. Then do the 
veining with Kensington stitch. When 
finished, cut the leaf out. If you have a 
large dining-table and have some hand¬ 
some center-piece of fruits or flowers, lay 
these leaves, stems in, around it. The ef¬ 
fect is lovely in .the extreme. ?Each leaf 
may be embroidered in a different-colored 
floss, thus adding a rich, warm glow to the 
table. 
* 
* * 
A PRETTY SHAVING CASE for brother may 
be made by taking a rectangular piece of 
card-board seven inches wide and nine 
inches long, cover with chamois skin and 
line the back with silesia. From the upper 
left-hand to the lower right-hand corner 
stretch a piece of ribbon about an inch 
wide. Finish each end with a bow. On 
the upper side of the case above the ribbon 
band, and to the right, paint a spray of 
witch hazel, or a branch of the fir tree, 
with cones. Below the band, to the left 
paint two or three large acorns. On the 
ribbon paint, in quaint-looking letters: 
“ Take a shave ?” Fasten a ribbon across 
the top to hang up by. Finish with a bow. 
A case covered with chamois, with an old 
rose band across and tied with gold and 
old-rose ribbons and painted as described 
above would be pretty. So also would one 
made with pale-blue and gold ribbons, 
painted with daisies and buttercups. To 
the back of this are attached sheets of 
tissue paper to be used for shaving pur¬ 
poses. A pretty case may be made in like 
manner by taking a piece of Whatman’s 
drawing paper with jagged edges to be 
used for the front. The papers come in 
rectangular pieces seven by nine for seven 
cents a piece. One made of this material 
and trimmed with old gold and olive 
ribbons.witli one or two sun-flowers painted 
on the front, would be very dainty and 
effective 
* * 
Aprons always make useful pres¬ 
ents. If for a busy housekeeper make 
them of some good substantial material, 
long enough to protect the dress. A dainty 
little apron made of soft sheer mull with a 
four-inch hem, hem-stitched to the apron, 
then a row of feather-edge above that, then 
another row of hem stitching and tied with 
ribbons at the waist, would be a nice pres¬ 
ent for sister, or aunt, or friend. Another 
pretty apron is made by taking one breadth 
of dotted mull of the desired length. Turn 
a four-inch hem and feather-edge it to the 
apron. Then with golden wash floss em¬ 
broider a row of daisies across the entire 
apron above the hem. Use the dots of the 
mull for the centers and make the petals of 
long, loop stitches. Tie the waist with 
blue and gold ribbons. 
If you have a grandmother living, 
don’t give her some little trifling thing; 
but make her some good substantial gift. 
A nice flannel wrapper would be just the 
thing. A gray or a black-and-gray-mixed 
flannel would be best. Make it after the 
Mother Hubbard fashion, and have a belt 
to fasten in front. Make the sleeves roomy 
so as to be comfortable. Another useful 
thing for the old folks would be an afghan 
to be thrown over one while taking a nap, 
or to be thrown across the foot of the bed 
at nights. (See Rural of November 23, 
page 779, for directions for making). 
* 
* * 
A NOVEL WAY OF DISTRIBUTING CHRIST¬ 
MAS presents is to set the dining-table as 
for the ordinary meal—only of course one 
should have on the finest cloth. Then put 
a soup dish at each one’s place. All the 
presents may be put in these soup dishes, or 
if they are too large they can be arranged in 
front of them. When all is in readiness 
have the dinner bell sounded and let the 
family assemble as usual. There will be 
lots of fun and merriment midst the open¬ 
ing of the packages. Try it! 
DORA HARVEY VROOMAN. 
ON CHARITY’S SIDE. 
I SN’T it about time to let Charity alone ? 
If her cares and trials are such as to 
sour her temper a little and make her por¬ 
tray the faults of her brother so that the 
mirror held up to nature comes too near 
home for readers, there is no reason for 
PisccUuncouss ^Mvcrti.oing. 
When Baby was sick, we gave her Castorlu, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castorla. 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castorla, 
When she had Children, she gave them Caslona 
