THE 
RURmL NEW-YORKER. 
340 
room, and It was a common remark that the in¬ 
mates were roasting one side, while freezing the 
other; in contrast, a majority of the people of the 
older States now live In houses that are clapboard- 
ed, painted, blinded, and comfortably warmed. 
Then, the household furniture consisted of a few 
plain chairs, a plain table, a bedstead made by the 
village carpenter. Carpets there were none. To¬ 
day, tew are the homes, In dry or country, that do 
not. contain a carpet of some sort, while the aver¬ 
age laborer by a week's work may earn enough to 
enable him to repose at night, upon a spring bed. 
Fifty years ago, the kitchen “dressers" were 
set forth with a shining row ot pewter plates. 
The farmer ate with a buck-handled knife and 
an Iron or pewter spoon, hut the advancing civil¬ 
ization has sent the plates and spoons to the 
meltlDg pot, while the knives and forks have 
given place to nickel or silver plated cutlery. 
In those days the utensils for cooking were a 
dinner-pot, tea-kettle, skillet, Dutch oven, and 
frying-pan; to-day there is no end of kitchen fur¬ 
niture. 
The people of 183u sat in the evening In the 
glowing light of a pitch-knot fire, or read their 
weekly newspapers by the flickering light of a 
“tallow dip; ” now, In city and village, their 
apartments are bright with the flame of the gas 
let or the softer radiance of kerosene. Then, If 
the fire went out upon the hearth. It was rekindled 
by a coal from a neighboring hearth, or by flint, 
steel, and Under. Those who indulged in pipes 
and cigars could light them only by some hearth¬ 
stone ; to-day we light lire and pipes by the dor¬ 
mant flre-works In the match safe, at a cost of 
one hundretli of a cent. 
In those days we guessed the. hour of noon, or 
ascertained it by the creeping of the sunlight up 
to the “noon mark” drawn upon the floor; only 
the well-to-do could afford a clock. Today who 
does not carry a watch l and as for clocks, you 
may purchase them at wholesale, by the cart-load, 
at sixty-two cents a piece. 
Fifty years ago, how many dwellings were 
adorned with pictures ? Ilow many arc there now 
that do not display a print, engraving, cliromo, or 
lithograph ? Ilow many piano* or parlor organs 
were there then? need organs were not Invented 
till 1&40, and now they arc la every village. 
Some who may read this article will remember 
that In 1830 the Bible, the almanac, and the few 
text-books used In school were almost the only 
volumes of the household. The dictionary was a 
volume four Inches square and an Inch and a half 
In thickness. In some of iko country villages, a 
few publlC-splrlted men had gathered libraries 
containing from three to live hundred volumes; In 
contrast, the public libraries of the present, con¬ 
taining more than ten thousand volumes, have an 
aggregate of 10,650,000 volumes, not Including the 
Sunday-school and private libraries of Uio coun¬ 
try. It Is estimated that altogether the number 
of volumes accessible to the public Is not less than 
20 , 000 , 000 ! uf Webster's and Worcester’s dictiona¬ 
ries, it may ho said that enough have been pub¬ 
lished to supply one to every one hundred inhabi¬ 
tants of the t'lilted States,— Jtfa v Atlantic. 
-- 
BRIC-A-BRAC. 
THEY MEI BY CHANCE. 
They met. Deep in the starry depths 
Of August'ii cloudless sky, 
Fair Luna trod her golden path 
In matchless majesty, 
Ihe cricket chirped, the firefly 
Pursued his titful dance: 
’Twa., in the slumbrous, balmy night 
Thit those two met—by chance. 
They met. She was a tender thing 
With lustrous, shining <o e. 
And down the garden path she mo\ ed 
Warbling sweet melody. 
He paused to listen. On she sped 
With foot-full* soft and light. 
They met upon that teuuis lae u. 
That peaceful bh miner night. 
With throbbing pulse and beating heart. 
He spoke In accent'' low, 
Into her glancing eyes there came 
A btrongor, deeper glow. 
Then up the apple tree she swarmed, 
And there, vindictive spat, 
For these t wo wore my bull-pup and 
My next-door neighbor's cat. | Laini-non. 
Bible Errors.—H ere is a bit of Information which 
will do for that conventional scrap-book which 
Is the property of every well-regulated household. 
Many editions ot the Bible have been published 
during the last 300 years, and Into not a few of 
them some peculiar errors have crept. What Is 
known as the “Breeches Bible” (Geneva, 1560) 
was so called because Genesis hi., T. was trans¬ 
lated: " They sewed flg leaves together and made 
themselves breeches,” instead cii “aprons,” as In 
the English version now used, in the “ Treacle 
Bible” (loM) Jeremiah YlU, 22, was made to read: “Is 
there no treacle In Gilead," etc., instead of “halm,” 
and la 1609 the word was changed to “rosin;” 
“ balm” was first used In bill. The '• Vinegar Bi¬ 
ble,” printed In OJtlord Iti 1717, by John Basket, de¬ 
rives Its name from the heading of Buko xx., which 
was made to read: “ The parable ot the vinegar.” 
The book had many other errors, from which It has 
also been called, alter the printer's name. “A basket 
of erruiV lu 1081 a Bible was printed in England, 
and In 1732 another appeared lu Germany, both of 
which made the seventh commandment read: 
"Thou shall steal,” the word " not'’ being omitted. 
It has been very appropriately called the “ Wicked 
Bible.” 
Lorenzo db Medici on uis Death Bed.— The 
dying man said he had three sins to confess, for 
winch he asked absolution—the sack of vollerra, 
the money taken trotn the Monte dell Fanelulle, 
aud the bloodshed in punishing those who were 
Implicated In the Paz/.t conspiracy. While speak 
lug of these things he became greatly agitated, 
and Savonarola, to calm him, kept on repeating: 
“ God Is good, God is merciful. But,” he went, on, 
“ you must do three things.” “ What are they, 
father?” asked Lorenzo, The countenance of 
Savonarola became grave as, extending the fin¬ 
gers of his right hand, he replied : “ First, you 
must have a great and living faith in the mercy of 
God " • in that l have the greatest faith.” *• Second¬ 
ly, you must restore all that you have wrongfully 
taken away, oi Instruct yourson3to make resti¬ 
tution for you.” I’or a moment this demand 
seemed greatly to distress Lorenzo; hut, at last, 
making an efTort he signified his assent by an In¬ 
clination of his head. The third requirement was 
yet to be made. Savonarola became still more 
solemn In manner, and seemed to increase In stat¬ 
ure, as with terrible earnestness, he continued; 
*• Lastly, you must restore liberty to your native 
country, as It was In the early days of the Repub¬ 
lic of Flore nee.” It was touching the root of the 
man’s family pride and ambition. Summoning 
his remaining strength he angrily turned his hack 
upon the friar and refused to utter another word. 
Savonarola departed without pronouncing absolu¬ 
tion, and Lorenzo died soon afterward, on the 
same day, April 8th, 1492 .—l&ivonarola: Hits Life, 
and, Times— Clark ;. 
The discussion of the doctrine of evolution has 
stimulated an interest In monkey poetry; the 
“ classic " given below Is one of the most popular 
of this school of poesy; 
rut MONFKY’S WEDDING. 
The monkey married the baboon's sister, 
Smacked his lips mid then he kissed her. 
Kissed so hard he raised a blister. 
She set up a yell. 
The bridesmaid stuck on some court plaster, 
It stuck so fast it couldn't stick any faeter. 
Wasn’t that a sad disaster ? 
Pretty soon it got well. 
What do you think the bride was dressed in ?• 
White gauze veil and a green pi ass breastpin, 
Red kid shoes; she lookod unite interesting. 
She was quite a belle. 
'i he bridegroom wore a blue shirt collar; 
A black silk stook that cost a dollar. 
Large false whiskers, the fashion to follow. 
He cut quite a swell. 
What do you think they had for supper ! 
Black-eyed beans and bread aud butter. 
Ducks lu the illicit house all in a flutter, 
Pickled oysters, too. 
C hestnuts boiled aud raw and roasted, 
Apples stewed and onions toasted; 
Music in the corner posted. 
Waiting for the cue. 
What do you think was the tune they danced to? 
Old Dan Tucker and sometimes Jim Crow, 
Tails in the way and some got pinched, too, 
Because they were too long. 
What do you think they hud for u fiddle ! 
An old banjo with a hole in the middle , 
A tambourine made out of a riddle. 
And that's the end of my song. — Tcnnyison. 
How a Toad Undressed.— A gentlaman sends to 
an agricultural paper an amusing description of 
“ now a Toad Takes Off lit-; coat aud Pants.” lie 
says he has seen one do It, and a friend has seen 
another do the same thing in the same way: 
“About the middle of July I found a toad on a 
hill of melons, and not wanting him to leave, I 
lioed around him. He. appeared sluggish and not 
inclined to move. Presently I observed him press¬ 
ing his elbows against his sides and rubbing down¬ 
ward lie appeared so singular that I watched to 
see what he was up to. After a few smart rubs 
his skin began to burst open along his back. Now,' 
said I, *old fellow, you have done It.;’ but he ap¬ 
peared to he unconcerned, and kept on rubbing 
until he had w orked all his skin Into tolds on his 
sides and hips: then grasping one hind leg with 
both his hands, be hauled off one leg of his pants 
the same as anybody would, then stripped the 
other hind leg In the same way. lie then took his 
cast-off cuticle forward between his rore-legs Into 
hts mouth and sw allowed It; t hen, by raising and 
lowering his head, swallowing as his head came 
down, he stripped off (he skin underneath until It 
came to bis tore-legs, and then grasping one of 
these with the opposite hand, by considerable 
pulling, stripped off the skin; changing hands, he 
stripped the other, and by a slight motion ot the 
head, and all the while swallowing, he drew It 
from the neck and swallowed the whole. The 
operation seemed an agreeable one and occupied 
hut a short time.” 
WON’T LET HIM OFF. 
Ami bo tbi.-i traitor-lover strives 
To turn her love to hate; 
With the Order of the Mitten she 
Him will not. decorate. 
For jjirlsare many and beaus are fe«v. 
■With him she will not quarrel; 
She hath up iu her bureau-drawer. 
’Mid gmulB ot jet and coral, 
Aud handkerchiefs, and ties of lace, 
Aud snowy cuffs, and collars. 
Letters which in a brcach-of-promise 6uit 
Would be worth tea thousand dollars. 
UN LAND LOVE SONG. 
I saw the moon rise clear 
O’er hills and vales of snow. 
Nor told my fleet reindeer 
The track 1 wished to go. 
Yet quick he bounded forth. 
For well my reindeer knew 
I’ve but one path on earth— 
The poth that loads to you. 
The gloom that winter cast. 
How soon the heart forgets. 
When summer briugs at last 
Her sun that never sets! 
So dawned my love to you; 
So fixed through joy and pate, 
Thau summer sun more true, 
’Twill never set again. 
In a late German story the hero gives a rhapsodi¬ 
cal description of “ the first kiss ” in these ebullient 
words: “‘Am I really dear to you, Sophia?’ I 
whispered, and pressed uiy binning ltps to her 
rosy mouth. “She did not say yes; she did not 
say no; but she returned my kiss, and my soul was 
no longer In my body; I touched the stars; the 
earth went from under my feet.” All of which Is 
very pretty and \ ery poetic, but very indefinite, 
What the practical American reader wants to 
know Is, If that Is the transcendental German way 
of saying that he was at that particular moment 
lifted by a paternal hoot-toe 1—Scientific A merican. 
Jfor ©lomfn. 
OOND7CTED BY MISS FAITH RIFLE Y. 
ORDER FOR THE ROYS. 
M. A. 
The formation of orderly habtts is usually de¬ 
tailed to the girls of a family. Boxes and bureaus 
are rurnlshed them for the safe keeping of their 
toys and apparel; the careful arrangement of 
which Is early and patiently taught them, for 
the mother sees disgrace In the future for her dis¬ 
orderly daughter. Disorder seems to he consid¬ 
ered the boys’ exclusive right, and not at all dis¬ 
creditable to them; hence, little pains is taken to 
teach them to be orderly. They may receive now 
and then a general lesson In the shape of a scold¬ 
ing at some rare display of disorder, but it la usu¬ 
ally considered a matter ot Jest that the boys 
make mops of their caps and cushion the chairs 
with Jackets and coats. If Is only natural that 
every rainy day, the hoys should bring out the 
old Kckals and Harpers and leave them strewn 
about the house for their mother or sisters to ar¬ 
range and replace. Mother’s bureau will do for 
the hoys’ clothing and so she assumes the whole 
care of It.. I see no reason for this unjust distinc¬ 
tion and, believe that mothers are doing them¬ 
selves and their boys a great wrong In allowing 
It. 
I readily admit, that disorderly girls are a dis¬ 
grace to themselves and their families, but hold 
that disorderly habits In boys are quite as repre¬ 
hensible, Order Is mostly a habit, resulting from 
education, and boys are quite as tractable in ac¬ 
quiring the habit as are girls. Mothers would 
save themselves a vast amount of time and trouble 
If they would begin with their hoys while they 
stiff have perfect control over them, and while 
habits are easily formed, and, providing a pi ice 
for everything, insist that everything shall he put 
In Its place. 
As an example of what, can be done in this way, 
I have In my mind a lady friend, a farmer’s wife, 
the mother of live active, mischievous boyish boys. 
It Is a matter of wonder to many of her acquaint¬ 
ances that with so much work to do and so many 
wild hoys t.o care for, she stilt manages to keep 
her home tidy. The writer happens to know that 
she Is assisted In this by the habits ot order which 
she has Instilled Into these same hoys, A hook Is 
provided for the hat and coat of each cf the hoys, 
and upon this these garments must always be 
hung. Her boys have as many playthings and pa¬ 
pers as other hoys and use them as freely, bui it Is 
a fixed law in this household that whoever uses 
these shall replace them. Paying a visit there not 
long since, 1 was surprised at the order and neat¬ 
ness which the boys displayed in earing for their 
own clothing aud In making a change of suit, 
without any help or even a word from the mother; 
the suit doffed being carefully folded or hung away. 
On expressing ro the mother my surprise at such 
an unusual proceeding, she said. Oh! yes, they 
always do so. It took some time and patience to 
teach them, but tt was time and patience put on 
interest.” 
If many mothers had the time which they spend 
* picking up ” after their boys, tt would give them 
leisure to read the family papers Into which now, 
they have scarcely a chance to glance. How 
many husbands ever think of conveying a discard¬ 
ed garment farther than the bed or the first chair, 
while to brash and put away a garment for future 
use would he an undreamed ot tiling; It ts only 
the boy grown into lln? man. Slatternly farm 
yards, tumble down buildings, pigs In the garden, 
these trials that are a continual vexation of spirit 
to many a woman, are only the results of disorder¬ 
ly habtis. A wife cannot instil order Into her hus¬ 
band, It is too late; the trite illustration of 
straightening the crooked tree would be appro¬ 
priate, hut I forbear Its repetition. Ft Is a work 
that must be done for the boys, Teach and re¬ 
quire your boys In bo orderly; help thorn to make 
Heaven's first law one ot the ruling principles of 
their lives, l’hey can not succeed without it, lor 
it Is one of the elements of prosperity. See to It 
that your boy as well as your girl, acquires orderly 
habits and thus lay one sure foundation stone for 
the happiness of a future family. 
-— - » ♦ ♦- 
CORRESPONDENTS’ CORNER. 
Dear Faith Ripley You wished some Inquir¬ 
ies as to what the readers of the Rural would 
like. We country women need some nice-looking 
overdresses to ride, walk and Ash in—something 
that looks well and Is thick enough to pro¬ 
tect, us from the dust; a garment that sitting 
down on will not make It look as it rolled up for 
ironing. Would you recommend some sort of 
striped debelge or will coarse linen do v Fine lin¬ 
en of a pale color is a frijht after It is worn a few 
times. Can’t we havo something better? We 
want also some ptculo and excursion hats; we 
must make thorn ourselves and we would like your 
judgment as regards beauty. The very fine styles 
you city ladles enjoy, will not stand the sun, wind 
and rain, we country girls get. Summer Is more try¬ 
ing than winter, (or it Is five hours lmt, and cool 
night and morning. It Is so breezy here (near 
Niagara river and tails) that them 1* almost always 
a brisk air, and we really need bob? pretty well 
clothed all summer to enjoy anything. 
Tell every lady who has to .scrub and scour her 
floors, U she will wash all the cast-off winter gar¬ 
ments and set herself and the children to work 
making nice sewed balls of carpet rags, that to¬ 
ward September 1st I will send our recipes for home¬ 
made colorings for carpets, and the family can all 
enjoy having a nice carpet that will wear five 
years and be dry and warm for the winter. 
Y'oungstown, Niagara Co., N. Y. j. m. l. 
Flannel or all-wool delaine In woolen goods and 
hunting, cither French or good quality of domestic 
manufacture, are what I would suggest. These 
goods come in all colors and shades. Later In the 
season you might have a toilette or two ot some of 
the pretty Scotch ginghams. If made of woolen 
goods, you can have one skirl, kilt plaited, and a 
Jacket and vest. The polonaise Is not so popular 
this season . however. If you prefer that style, I 
would advise a plain one, as the much draped 
ones are apt to get out of order, and when one ts 
on an excursion It is rather Irksome to be •• pin¬ 
ning up” fallen looplngs. tf you like, I will send 
you samples ot woolen and washable materials 
for country wear. As to hats, now that straw 
ones are sold as low as 30, 40 and 50c., It seems al¬ 
most a waste or time to make them. A wide brim, 
coarse black, brown or drab straw, trimmed with 
a scarf of veiling, same color as the suit or grena¬ 
dine. or silk, and ornamented with a stiff wing or 
breast, makes a pretty, stylish, economical and 
serviceable hat, streaming ribbons, flowers and 
ostrich feathers, are poor Investments for every¬ 
day hats. 
ROCK ME IO BLEEP, MOTHER. 
Backward, turn back ward ! oh, time. In your flight, 
Make me a child again. Just for to-night! 
Mother, come back from the eebologs shore, 
Take me again to your heart as of yore. 
Kiss from my forehead the, furrows of care, 
Smooth the lew ail ver threads out of my hair: 
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep. 
Rock me to sleep. Mother, rock me to sleep ! 
Backward, flow backward. O swift tide of years ! 
I am weary of toll, 1 am weary of tears; 
Toil without recompense, tears all In vain. 
Take them, aud give me my childhood again ! 
I have grown weary of duBt and decay. 
Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away. 
Weary of sowing for others to reap; 
Rock me to sleep. Mother, rock me to sleep ! 
Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue, 
Mother, O, Mother, my heart calls for you ’ 
Many a summer the grass bn- grown green, 
Blossomed and faded, our faces between; 
Yet with strong yean dug and passionate pain, 
Long I to-night for your presence again; 
Come frum the bileuce ho loug and so deep— 
Rock me to sleep. Mother, rock me to sleep ! 
Over mjrheart tn the days that have flown. 
No love like mother-love over lias shone. 
No other worship abides and endures. 
Faithful, unselfish and patient like yours! 
None like a mother cau charm away pain 
From the sick soul and the world weary brain. 
Slumbers soft calm o’er my heavy lids creep. 
Rock me to sleep, Mother, rock me to sleep I 
Come, lot your brown hair, just lighted with gold. 
Fall on your shoulders again as of old. 
Let it drop over my fereiend to-night, 
Shading my weak eyes away from the light I 
For with its silnny-edgedshadows once more. 
Happy will throng the sweet visions of yore. 
Lovingly .softly, its bright billows sweet'. 
Rock me to sleet'. Mother, rock me to sleep. 
Mother, dear mother I the years have been long 
.since last 1 was hushed by your lullaby soug . 
Sing then again,—to my soul it shall seem 
Womanhood's years Ua\ e been only a dream. 
Clasp to your arms in u loviug embrace, 
With your soft lashes lust sweeping my face, 
Never hereafter, to work or to weep. 
Koch me to sleep, Mother, rock me to sleep ’ 
f E. IF., Coo nerstoten, A. 1'. 
Faith Ri pley—D ear Madam —1 send you an an¬ 
swer to an Inquiry In the correspondents' comer, 
how to paint the kitchen floor. When I began 
housekeeping I had but one room, which had to 
answer for parlor ami kitchen both, find In trying 
to make it look its best 1 became quite an expert 
in p rinting floors, and not hlng ever gave me great¬ 
er satisfaction when it was done. 1 hope I have 
made the directions plain enough I was afraid 
of making my article too long, 
Have you any patterns for zephyr work on rail¬ 
road canvas, not too elaborate for a little girl of 
to to execute ? 
We have a youth’s department at our county 
fair, held tn September, and my children like to 
compete. 
ANSWER to INQUIRY, HOW TO TAUNT FLOORS. 
I have had considerable practice lu painting 
floors, and have always been better satisfied with 
results when I have mixed the paint myself. Use 
boiled linseed oil; It heeds a Utile Japan pul In to 
make It dry quicker. A druggist will know the 
proport Ion oi dry ing to a gallon of oil. Stir French 
yeUow Into the oil until it Is thick enough to spread 
easily with a brush l’aiut spreads better when 
mixed over the night before using, l also put In 
some white lead—about the size of a hen’s egg to a 
gallon or oil. It gives the paint a hard, glossy 
surface, and adds both to the looks and durability. 
Red lead can be used instead, but l prefer the 
shade given when white is used. 1 ut on one coal, 
and the next day examine it, and if It Ls dry 
enough put on the second coat , \v hen the paint 
becomes too thick, thin It with a little more oil. 
It Is belter It one can keep from living on a floor 
for a week after It la painted; but If It rubs off 
some, alter R has been mopped a few times It will 
not be noticed. The first week or two the floor 
should ixi mopped wall skim-milk, and water. It 
makes tt smooth, it Is not much trouble for a wo¬ 
man to do tt all from beginning lo end, and a good 
painted floor looks well and saves a great deal of 
hard labor. aunt Rachel. 
[Can any of the Rural ladles send Aunt Rachel 
patterns for zephyr work on railroad canvas? Ad¬ 
dress her, care of Faith Ripley, Rural New. York¬ 
er office [ 
can anyone give a recipe for Imitating black w 11 - 
nut or rosewood, with full directions for use ? 
Richland, la. k. t. 
F. IL, Bede Plains, Iowa, asks for a recipe for 
coloring white kid gloves, black or siate-eolor. 
L. S. B. wants the words of Peleg Arkwright’s 
Love lu Oyster Bay . 
8. M. would Uko Betsy Bothies views oq the 
question of suffrage tor women, 
