Jfor ISomra. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS FAITH RIPLEY. 
THE HIGHWAY COW. 
The hue ol her hide was a dusky brown, 
Her body was lean and her neck waB Hlim, 
One horn turned up and the other down. 
She was keen of vision and ionic of limb: 
With a Roman nose and a short stump tail, 
And ribs like the hoops of a home-made pail. 
Many a mark did her old body wear; 
She had been a target for all things kuown ; 
On many a scar the dusky hair 
Would ktow no more where once it had grown: 
Many a passionate, parting shot 
Had left upon her a lasting spot. 
Many and many a well-aimed stone, 
Many a brickbat of goodly size, 
And many a cudgel, swiftly thrown, 
Had brought the tears to her bovine eyes; 
Or had bounded oil from her bony back. 
With a noise like the sound of a rifle crack. 
Many a day had she passed in the pound, 
For helping herself to her neighbor’s corn. 
Many a cowardly cur and hound 
Had been transfixed on her crumpled horn ; 
Many a te3-pot and old tin pail 
Had the farmer boys tied to her time-worn tail. 
Old Deacon Gray was a pious man. 
Though sometimes tempted to be profane, 
When many a weary mile he rau 
To drive her out of liis growing grain. 
Sharp pranks she used to play 
To got her ail and to get a way. 
She knew when the deacon wont to town. 
She wisely watched him when he wont by : 
He never passed her without a frown 
And an evil gleam in each angry eye, 
He would crack his whip in a surly way 
And drive along in bis “ one-horse shay.” 
Then at his homestead she loved to call, 
Lifting his bars with her crumpled horn ; 
Nimbly scaling his garden wall. 
Helping heraelf to his standing corn, 
Eating his cabbages one by one, 
Hurrying home when her work was done. 
Often the deacon homeward came, 
Humming a hymn from the house of prayer*; 
His hopeful heart in a tranquil frame. 
His soul as cairn as the evening air, 
His forehead us smooth as a well-worn plow, 
To find In his garden that highway cow. 
His hiunan passions were quick to rise. 
And striding forth with a savage cry, 
With fury blazing from both his eyes, 
As lightnings flash in a summer sky ; 
Redder and redder his face would grow, 
And after the creature ho would go. 
Over the garden round and round. 
Breaking his pear and apple trees; 
Trampling his melons into the ground. 
Overturning bis hives of bees ; 
Leaving him angry ami badly stung. 
Wishing the old cow's neck was wrung. 
The mosses grew on the garden wall, 
The years went- by with their work and play. 
The boys of the village grew strong and tall. 
And the gray-haired farmers passed away 
One by one us the red leaves fall, 
But the highway cow outlived them all. 
All earthly creatures must have their day, 
And some must, have their months 3nd yoars; 
Some in dying will long delay. 
Tbero Is a climax to all careers, 
And the highway Cow at last was slain 
In runoingu race with the t»ilwuy train. 
All into pieces at last she wont, 
•Just like the savings banks when they fail; 
Out of the world she was swiftly sent. 
Little was loft but her old stumpy tail. 
The farmers' cornfields and gardens now 
Are haunted no more by the highway cow. 
—- - 
THE WOMAN’S CLUB. 
---- < 
HIS MOTHER. 
It really sooms too bad to have the subject of 
mothers-in-law dropped too soon, now that It has 
been revived after so long a rest, sd I have decided 
to prolong the stralu; besides, I really have some¬ 
thing to say ou the subject. 
I desire to express my sympathy for the writer 
of the first article on this subject the mother-in- 
law, I mean, who evidently wrote rrom the depths 
of a full hoar*. It is said that trials sometimes 
make us selfish; that is, If we hold them too 
closely before our eyes, they blind us to the trials 
of others, and I have thought, from the bitter allu¬ 
sions to "his mother,” that such has been the case 
with the writer referred to, or, at least, that she 
has had only a one sided experience, and that if 
she has sons, they are still unmarried. Old Fen’s 
song in the fairy tale, 
“ Oh, my son’s my son till he gets him a wife, 
But my daughter’s my daughter all her lire.” 
like most quaint old sayings, Is really true. In 
fact, a daughter, after marriage, la much more 
faithful to her mother thau a eon Is to his. This 
Is In the very nature of things, for a woman is 
more steadfast In her affections than a man Is, or, 
at least, a woman’s mind Is never so completely 
taken up with the new interests that she forgets 
the old. This very fealty, unwisely displayed, may 
be the cause of much or the trouble between the 
mother and son-In-law. But It is not my purpose 
to discuss this side of live question, but simply to 
present some facts m behalf ot "his mother." 1 
ask, would not any mother consider It a far greater 
trial to reel the tender love of her child for her 
growing into lndifloreuce, his interest withdrawn 
from her, than to know that she Is unappreciated 
by Olio who is not her own ? and, indeed, can a 
mother-in-law expect what Is withheld from a 
mother? Ahl there Is greater void made lu a 
mother’s heart by the marriage of a son thau by 
the marriage of a daughter. The daughter has 
only added to her care and affections; the son has 
transferred his. To be sure, the separation may 
THE RURaL NEW-YORKER 
be as sad and the presence ot the daughter more 
missed than the son s, but there Is a separation 
more complete lhan distance can make and a 
presence In which one feels moro forsaken than in 
absence. 
The bride might be held somewhat responsi¬ 
ble for this, but I know that she Is young and 
Interesting, while "his mother” la not; so I will 
not hint that she may not be, even at this most 
Interesting time of her life, wholly free from the 
great falling of the human race, selfishness, but 
will speak of one fault which Is often a great source 
ot annoyance to "Ills mother," and which, I be¬ 
lieve, causes much of the unpleasant feeling be¬ 
tween families thus Joined, especially between 
mother and son-in-law. It Is this:—From child¬ 
hood up, the daughter, now the young wife, has 
been accustomed to confide to her mother every¬ 
thing. which is just as It should be, and cannot be 
too highly recommended; but now matters are 
somewhat changed—there Is a new home. To be 
sure, a daughter may confide much to her mother, 
and gain greatly thereby, but In every home there 
are a hundred little circumstances occurring which 
should be. sacred to that home, and should never 
be whispered to one outside Its threshold. A man 
would never think of repeating them—we must 
give him this much credlt^-but the wife pours 
them Into her mother’s ear, with all that she 
knows or can find out about her husband’s family. 
Why, tell her mother: of course, she always tells 
her mother everything! It cannot be expected or 
the most exemplary son-in-law, one that gives to 
his mother-in-law all due respect and love, that he 
will entertain this same feeling ot confidence, it 
Is not. natural. It Is Impossible, lie will always 
feel that there should be a reserve of confidence 
and a failure to respect and hold Inviolate this 
feeling will arouse unpleasantness, and, to "his 
mother," who, of course, can hold nono of this 
"kindred" feeling, this Invasion of family secrets 
Is a trial almost unendurable. 
This vexed question has more than one side, and 
I have not begun to represent this side; but my 
article has grown longer already than I had In¬ 
tended It to be, so 1 hasten to close. Lecture the 
men on their duties as aona-ln-law—the most of 
them deserve It; It will do the best of them no 
harm, and It may set them thinking-but spare 
“his mother” your bitter references. Her son Is 
none too faithful to her at the best; she deserves 
your sympathy far moro than your sarcasm. No 
doubt, In order that any degree of harmony shall 
prevail between families brought together by Inter¬ 
marriage, there must he a great amount of for¬ 
bearance exercised by all parties, and, generally 
speaking, upou no one does there fall a heavier 
share than upon "Ills mother,” and by no one Is It 
borne more faithfully or cheerfully. 
One Interested in Born Sides of the Question. 
-♦ »» — — - 
N0W-A-DAY3, 
Yes, there Is a world of difference between dolDg 
housework now, and twenty-five or fifty years ago. 
Whether folks are happier Is a doubtful question; 
that they are not as healthy, Is certain. Women 
have a harder time than they used to have, not¬ 
withstanding all the conveniences, and patent 
rights, and labor saving inventions. 1 do not won¬ 
der at all, that they get all tired out, and are feeble 
and sickly, and It Is strange that men do not see U, 
but I suppose people have to follow the fashions, 
even If It. does make martyrs of them. Now when 
1 commenced liouskeoping. 1 expected to work 
hard; but my husband and I were young, strong 
and healthy". 1 was married Thanksgiving time, 
and It was Thursday night. Vo had areal old 
fashioned wedding, notsucu finikin atr irsas wed¬ 
dings are now-a-days. We stood up lu the square 
room, and the minister Ucd Ihe knot, and made a 
short prayer; then they kissed the bride, and such 
hosts of introductions as they had. I got used to 
my new name before supper was ready. All the 
people In the neighborhood were there. There was 
no aristocracy in town In those days. Everybody 
who behaved well, and was Industrious, was re¬ 
spectable. We had wine passed around to the 
company, and everybody look a sip Of It. For sup¬ 
per, there was roast turkey, chicken pto, plum 
pudding, apple pie, mince pie, pumpkin pie and 
custard pie. For vegetables, we had potatoes, 
turnips and squash, and there were sauces of all 
kinds, and tea and coffee. It was a good, sub¬ 
stantial old fashioned supper, worth eating too, lor 
my mother w as a first-rate cook, and taught her 
girls to cook, also. After supper uie.y cleared off 
the table in a Jiffy, and we had a dance, no waltz¬ 
ing, or Germans, but a respectable dauce. 1 l£d 
the first figure with my father-in-law. and my 
mother danced with the bridegroom, and my 
father, and his mother, danced togther; we never 
broke up till two o’clock In ihe morning; but l was 
going to tell about keeping house, but ran off the 
track a Uttle. The next morning we wont to our 
home, It was a new house ; nd there were only' a 
kitchen, pantry and bed-room finished off. My 
setting out had all been moved over there the day 
before Thanksgiving, and so all we had to do was 
to walk right In and take possession. My brother 
went over betore light and built a good are, so It 
would be warm, and I do not believe thereover 
was a happier brldi than I was, in my new home. 
Oh, what lots of work 1 did that winter l 1 spun 
and wove over seventy yards of linen; my father 
gave me the flax ; and my Inuse was as neat us a 
now pin. We usrI to go out for evening visits, or 
have company at home almost every night, lie 
cut and hewed the Unifier for a new barn, 
and drew almost two thousand spruce togs down 
to the saw-mill. W hen 1 got dressed In the morning 
It was for all day; I did not spend two or three 
hours every day changing my clothes; U company 
came l was glad to see them, and set such victuals 
before lhem as l ate myself. Wo lived as well as 
our neighbors, for It dl l not do in those days to 
lay out all a man could earn lu nlckqocks, and It 
people ucw-it-days could be more economical they 
would fie bettor off, and not h ive so many failures. 
The fact Is, now-a-days, everybody 1s too extrava¬ 
gant. They spend too much on dre3s, on food, and 
In keeping up style. It will never do, never. A 
young man cannot get married now-a-days unless 
he has a thousand or two dollars to start with, 
he cannot afford It. A girl would turn up her 
nose at a nice, strong fellow. It he had not the 
stamps, and could not dash out In stylo; and unless 
a girl can dress and he right In. fashion, she stands 
no chance to get the first offev. No matter how 
good and sweet she is, it she Is not turbelowed out 
with feathers and flowers, and can put on airs, and 
drawl out her words, she can t get a beau. Every 
thing is changed now-a-days, and 1 do not believe 
it Is much for the better either. It. does not seem to 
me that people can be as happy and contented as 
they used to be. They can never be satisfied with 
their belongings. They want, something more. 
Somebody dresses smarter, has nicer furniture, a 
better team, and so they are discontented and ua- 
easy. 
Talk about progressing!—It may be In some¬ 
things, but take It all In all, the world Is, to my 
thinking, no better than It should be, now. com¬ 
mon sense is done up in a napkin, now-a-days, and 
burled out of sight. Don’t you think so ? 
Grandmother. 
-» ♦ 4 - 
A “ PURITANIC” VIEW OF “ IN FOLLY’S 
NET.” 
Dear Miss Ktn.F.v Will you kindly allow me 
a little space in your department for criticism or 
fault-finding, whichever It. mny be? It Is not ot 
yourself nor of the conduct ot your columns, and 
the Dear Old Rural in Its completeness is usually 
so faultless, that it Is with grout hesitancy my 
pencil traces words ot criticism on any matter 
printed In Us ample pages. But as the leading 
story " In Folly’s Net,” develops from week to 
week, the Impression grows upon me that t£ the 
Editor had kuown the end from the beginning, he 
would scarcely have given it a place In his cot- 
umus. Surely, stories so full of emotion and ro¬ 
mance, and whose counterparts are never found In 
real life, are not the best and safest reading tor the 
young. Young people, and children almost with¬ 
out exception, read the story la the paper, whether 
they read the more solid parts or not; romance 
and fiction have magic Chaims for the young. 
Then how important that only pure, wholesome, 
mental food be placed before them, food which is 
conditioned to a healthy growth, and not stimu¬ 
lants which excite, while they do not nourish. 
Life Is a reality, and the sooner young people 
come to realize this the better it is for them. The 
highly wrought imaginative doings of lords and 
ladles In high life, have little In common with the 
Republican simplicity ot young men. and women 
tn America for whom the Uurai. Is printed, uxt 
whose lives are more or less Influenced and molded 
by every weekly Issue. False notions creep into 
the heads of silly young girls through reading ro¬ 
mantic tales, which not unrrcqueatly result lets 
much harm. 1 think you will agree with me, (hat, 
a large proportion ot newspaper stories are iff no¬ 
wise beneficial-they do not tend to cultivate ihe 
mind or Improve the heart, they simply excite the 
imagination. And while I would not place the- 
«*• ry under discussion In the category of "posi¬ 
tively pernicious,” allow me to say In all candor, 
that In my humble opinion, Us place might have 
been filled with something having a better Influ¬ 
ence—some pure, sweet tale of domestic life—or 
record or moral heroism and sacrifice tor ihe good 
of others worthy ot emulation. Possibly 1 may be 
Puritanic lu my notions, but there is so much of 
wrong, and the path seems so short and easy to 
travel, and the boundary so Indistinctly defined 
between the good and the bad, that It becomes 
every lover of right to stand like a rock lu defense 
of the truth. Forgive me if l have been unjust in 
defense ot the truth. Forgive mo If l have been, 
unjust m my criticism for the Rural, I know it 
always alms to ne on the rlgnt side, and that it 
exerts a vast influence for good. 
Mrs. W. C. G. 
MISAPPLIED RIDICULE. 
the Massachusetts Legislature passed an act 
last winter permitting women to vote for school 
committees (which are elective by popular ballot 
in that state) on the same terms as men as to age, 
residence and regls* ration, and on condition of 
having paid taxes within two years upon separate, 
real or personal property, or ot paying a poll tax 
amounting to some dollars before registering. Un¬ 
der these circumstances a thousand women have 
been admitted to register in the city Of Boston for 
tho purpose ol voting tor members of the school 
committee at an approaching municipal election. 
The paucity of this number— the total male regis¬ 
tration being more than fifty thousand—Is made a 
pretext for ridicule by our neighbor, the Evening 
Post, which wo think Is undeserved. It strikes us, 
on the contrary, that It Is a pretty formidable ex¬ 
pression of lemlnlue desire tor suffrage when so 
many as a thousand women will go to equal trou¬ 
ble and expense to vote tor a single class of officers 
which the fifty thousaud ineu Incur for the privi¬ 
lege ot voting for a vast variety ranging in dignity 
irom Presidential electors down. Suppose that a 
special taxpaying and registering were necessary 
to entitle men to vote for the school committee In 
Boston, what, portion of the fifty thousand would 
volunteer the expense and trouble ot qualifying 
for that purpose? Not a very great one, we 
Imagine. Besides, the novelty of the experiment, 
the sensitiveness ot women to publicity and their 
usually seamy control <>l money with which to 
pay pull taxes for a purpose disapproved tn many 
Instances by their husbands or other male connec¬ 
tions, alt must he taken Into consideration. We 
feel far from ridiculing this female registration in 
Bostoti. Tl Is the most respectable demonstration 
of deslro for suffrage ever made by women any¬ 
where in the country, both from the numbev and 
from tho diameter or Lhosc engaged tn It, who 
comprise some ot the most staid matrons in the 
city, including several hundred property owners 
to an amount greatly surpassing the average of 
the’male yoten-, 
Australia Is the servant-girl’s paradise. A lady 
In Melbourne, who had advertised for domestic 
aid, received a call from a pretty maid, with un¬ 
exceptionable references, a pleasing manner, and 
a willing disposition. The lady was charmed and 
engaged her on the. spot. ** But I have always 
had a whole day’s leave of absence every tort- 
night," the young girl remarked, pausing on the 
threshold, "and an evening a week besides." 
" You shall not be deprived of them,” was the en¬ 
couraging reply. “ And this Is a very lonely place, 
ma’am." the. girl rejoined, “and I could not come- 
home by myself. Would the master mind coming 
for me?” The lady hesitated a moment, but as & 
good girl Is not to be picked up every day, she- 
llnally consented; and when her husband re¬ 
turned, she informed him that he would have to- 
refuse all invitations for two nights In one week 
and one In the other In order to go after the near 
help. 
• ■» »■»- 
CORRESPONDENTS’ CORNER. 
Who is the author of “ Prue and I,” and Is It a. 
nice sort of a story 1 l. a. d 
Indianapolis, iDd. 
Ans.—G eo. Wra. Curtis. It Is not a story, but a 
series of sketches of men and manners. 
How shall 1 whiten my teeth ? Is Sozodont good 
for that purpose ? Gertrude. 
Ans.—D o no*, try to whiten your teeth If they 
are disfigured with "tartar” use prepared chalk 
and a small stick to clean them. All prepared 
washes are injurious to the teeth. 
Will you tell rne who the father of the present 
Prince Napoleon was? A Subscriber. 
Beabrook, N. J. 
Ans.— King Jerome of Westphalia, whose first 
wife was Re' sy Patterson, or Baltimore, and whose 
second wife—mother of the present Prince Napo¬ 
leon—was Princess Catharine of Wurtemburg. 
We never learned until this autumn, that arti¬ 
chokes made such excellent soup, quite as good in 
fact, as salsify or vegetable oysters, and nearly as 
good as genuine oysters. The artichokes are. first 
pared, then sliced, and the soup Is made precisely 
as from vegetable oysters. Mrs. W. C. G. 
Can you direct me to a reliable firm In New 
York, who make a specialty of new designs lu 
floor coverings? Mrs. L. B. D. 
Lincoln, Neb, 
Ans. —Messrs. Dobson a Co., Fourteenth street, 
are manufacturers, and their assortment or car¬ 
pets, rugs, mats, etc, Is second to none In beauty 
and variety of design, and In excellence of material. 
What will be a suitable Christmas gift for a 
young girl who is fond of pictures ? X cannot 
afford to pay more than three or four dollars for 
the gift. Lror S. Tatham. 
Orange Co., X. Y. 
Ans —Imported photographs lsxso inches, and 
so exquisitely fine as to look like engravings, ca n 
be bought for $1.75. A beautiful frame of nntural 
wood with a French plate glass will cost $2.25, ad¬ 
ditional. Less elegant photographs, same size 
can be had for 75c. and *1 oo. 
I want ;o tell the ladles that t£ any ot them 
have a fever sore which they want to get rid 
of, it can ho done most effectually either by 
appiylng pulverized alum, or bathing It tn water 
l n which carbonate of soda has been dissolved. 
Some cannot use glycerine without it bringing 
out a crop of pimples, to all such, l would recom¬ 
mend Vaseline. My own skin is so delicate that 
glycerine always acts on It as a violent Irritant, 
and yet I can and do use Vaseline without any but 
the best effects. Linda Brown. 
My Dear Miss Ripley :—At this season ot the 
year, when making over Is the order ot the day, 
perhaps some of your readers may like the follow¬ 
ing directions for washing black cashinero or other 
dress goods r 
Prepare the water, by putting Inso much borax 
as will make It quite slippery. Wash the goods, 
using soap on t he dirty spots; squeeze, but do not 
wring, and rinse ln eery blue water. Hang up the 
pieces until they stop dripping, then roll lu clean 
cloths, until somewhat dry. Iron on the wrong 
side, being careful to Iron until the goods are per¬ 
fectly dry. Goods that are quite rusty can bo 
made to look fresh by this process. 
A very nice Christmas present lor one’s husband 
or brother,—or almost any one indeed,—Is a pair of 
crocheted bath towels. They are made of No. s 
knitting cotton, and are done on a long needle, the 
square. “Afghan" or *• princess ’ Stitch. being 
used, one hundred and fifty stitches make an ex¬ 
cellent width. M hen long enough, eight rows of 
loops (five stilehes to each loop,) are crocheted on 
each end and a frlngo knotted Into the last row of 
loops. The towels are extremely pretty, and more 
satisfactory than any I have used. 
Very truly yours, l. s. h. 
Ithaca, X. Y. 
^itcrari) UTiscfllan]). 
U FO LLY’S NET, 
(Continued from page 779.) 
CHAPTER XXII. 
ACCUSED. 
"Are you going to Blair Gates this morning, 
Florte?” said Lord Shollo to his wife, as they rose 
from breakfast tho day but one after Mr. Blair’s 
funeral. •• I wish you could get that poor girl to 
come over to us; she will not quickly get well or 
strong It she remains there.” 
"She Is going to Edinburgh to stay with her 
Aunt Margaret, as soon as she Is well enough to 
undertake the journey,” said Lady shollo, with a 
g-Jauee at her brother. “The complete change of 
air and scone will do her most good, she thinks, 
she was much better last night. Coffins sent me 
word.” 
“ She will improve rapidly as soon as afie gets 
