be so glad to relieve you some what of this beau¬ 
tiful babe.” 
Without waiting for an answer she had 
taken my younger sister from my mother’s arms 
and was walking beside her. I lagged just 
far enough behind to observe her and listen to 
her thrilling voice, ■without, being noticed do¬ 
ing so. She looked so different from the peo¬ 
ple we had hitherto met—so grand in her 
hunting garb that I thought she must Ik? some 
great fairy come suddenly out of the woods to 
my mother’s relief, and was sure she would 
vanish at the village entrance. So I drew 
timidly towards her as we neared it. 
“Give me your hand, little one, you must be 
tired.” Oh! what music there was in that 
voice; and all the while she was talking to my 
mother I held on to that gloved hand of hers 
with a throbbing heat!.. For if she was a 
fairy she would be going soon and I wanted 
all the reality in that dream that I could get. 
When, however, all along the road hats 
were doffed to her, I began to realize that she 
was a real and great person, and that it might 
be disrespectful to hold on ao tight to her 
hand. It was not till my mother thanked her, 
however, and called her l, Graflu, and 1 N our 
Grace,” that I knew she was a countess. 
To describe her personal appearance with¬ 
out being able to convey the sound of her 
voice, the light of her eyes, and her various 
attitudes of inimitable grace called forth by 
the occasions and the moments, is like describ¬ 
ing music with which you have been thrilled— 
you can give an idea of it, but you cannot pro¬ 
duce the effect. 
So I think it best to let glimpses of the beau¬ 
ty of the Countess be mingled with its traits 
of the woman as she moved among the lowli¬ 
est, and made new the old old story of Jesus, 
by her glowing word-pictures of Biblical lore, 
and by a dignity with all which made her 
look most beautiful, when she sat on the grass 
in the midst of a crowd of barefooted, eager- 
faced children. 
The Sunday-school founded and managed 
by the Countess was the resort of young and 
old. Aud, though the children had the front 
seats, and her attention was entirely directed 
to them, parents went home sometimes think¬ 
ing more about that explanation of the lesson 
by"the Countess Ida. than about the preach- 
er’s sermon. There were no tedious first]y’sand 
second]y’s. She gave them every day illustra¬ 
tions; and made Bethlehem as familiar to them 
as their own village, and C irist as n Saviour 
who might be stepping into their midst, at 
any unexpected moment. The stories in the 
gospels were strnugely new after her rendiug. 
On pleasant Summer days, Sunday-school 
was held in the open air. Those were days to 
which we looked with especial longing. We 
made Sabbath excursions into woods, the 
fields, and the hills wherever the subject ot 
the Bible lesson for that day seemed most like¬ 
ly to meet with the objects for illustrating it. 
How really we seemed to wander in Bible 
lands; when with our hooks under our arms 
we followed the stately Countess to the vine- 
clad hills, and there sang our hymns, aud 
read its lesson of the fig-tree, or of the vine¬ 
yard and the vintners, and were transported 
in imagina tion to the hi Us of Judea. Our hearts 
were filled and ruuniug over with religious 
enth usiasm. We thought ourselves a younger 
set of disciples, aud the holy gentle influence 
of such a day was with us all the week. Our 
evening pastime was often just sitting in a 
cosy group, to talk about our Sabbath-school 
and our teacher. 
The Countess was seldom accessible to any¬ 
body on week days. One might* meet her 
accidentally on the road with her knitting and 
her great Newfoundland dog, but then it was 
only a pleasant greeting from her, and the 
vision would be 'past. This was what made 
her all the more precious to ns. She was 
never a familiar object. In spite of her hearty 
participation in our joys, she was always a 
great Countess to whom wo looked up as to a 
higher being. We never even ventured to 
touch her skirts or walk nearer to her than at 
arms’ length unless encouraged by her kindly 
smile. Once I remember climbing a steep hill 
to get the first, wild rose of that early Spring; 
when 1 hauded it to her, flushed with gladness, 
she stooped and kissed me. That, was the most 
delirious moment of my life, and I can yet see 
her great dark eyes beaming with love into 
mine. That was the first and last time she 
showed any partiality to my knowledge; and 
it seemed with her as much an impulse of the 
moment as the bringing of the rose was with 
me. _ _ 
THE STARVING HEART. 
“I am a bride no longer, scarcely a wife, 
only a servant," and the speaker finished with 
a tearless sob which went to my heart. It 
was no querulous, weak woman who said this, 
but one who had great intellect, with a lov¬ 
ing, sensitive nature; but the constant strain 
of responsibility, care, and work, had marie 
the woman’s heart speak out. It longed so 
much for the loving, protecting care of him 
who had bestowed it so lavishly at first, when 
she needed it much less than now. The un¬ 
used piano, unread books, untouched fancy 
work, all told the sad tale of her present life. 
She who was by nature so refined and culti¬ 
vated. and who was made to enjoy the beauti¬ 
ful, had come to live where "his folks" 
thought all tastes, aside from bone labor, were 
foolishness in the extreme. Her husband was 
neither beartloss nor cruel—only as far as he 
was thoughtless aud careless. He did not in¬ 
tend to sap the life of her whom he had so 
proudly brought to his home. But he forgot 
that she was of different mold from his own 
tough, wiry, hard-working, yet never tired, 
family. , 
I am not one who thinks that men are al¬ 
ways to blame in such cases, because I know 
they are not, but why do they not opeu them 
eyes and see what is before them? Iu this 
case the sad facts remain, Although strain¬ 
ing every nerve to do what each day brings 
for her, she is not willing to acknowledge even 
to herself bow slowly, but surely she is de¬ 
clining, . 
Time passes on and she is laid away on the 
hillside, leaving her little one to the care of 
strangers. His folks say: “Poor thing! she 
was so incapable and had not much ambi¬ 
tion 11 
The world jogs along just the same as 
though that little grave did not cover a broken 
and starved heart. But we shall know why 
these things are so sometime. axon. 
CONDUCTED BY MRS. AGNES E. M. CARMAN. 
A RENOVATED ROOM. 
“A Perplexed Farmerine” asks an oft- 
echoed question, how she may remodel an 
old-fashioned room, so that it may be 
like that of Madame Aracbne. “the prettiest 
little parlor that ever you did spy.” Doubt¬ 
less she is not the only one in like position, so 
we cheerfully give her an open letter in the 
eolumus of the Rural. 
The parlor we are to modernize has light 
paper with a scarlet border, a large-figured 
carpet, with scarlet as the predominant hue; 
black hair-cloth furniture, marble-top table, 
a haudsome mirror, and lace curtains. All 
good, and but little worn. Having cleared 
the decks for action, our first thought is about 
wall ami ceiling. Light-colored wall paper, 
like the Chinese, must go—we should substi¬ 
tute a warm brown, with a small pattern of 
gold aud fawn, or some similar mixture, hav¬ 
ing, of course, some harmonious border. The 
old paper being well scraped off, “Farmerine” 
could doubtless re-paper the room with her 
own nimble fingers. This work, though re¬ 
quiring dexterity, is not so difficult as it ap¬ 
pears, and is much simplified when two can 
engage in it, one to hang, and the other to 
paste aud wait upon the hanger. The ceiling 
is probably kalsomined, a work which might 
also be done by the presiding genius. We 
should recommend a tinted greeuish-gray 
kalsomine as preferable to white. Next comes 
the question of carpet, aud this is indeed a 
“crusher,” os Mr. Swiveller would say. The 
present floor covering is large in patterns, but 
little worn, says Farmerine. If the exchequer 
would permit, it might be relegated to a 
bed-room, to make room for a more modish 
article. But as the Ixird High Everything Else 
says, “it is our duty to see that a due economy 
be observed,” such expenditure must be 
out of the question. Or we may alter the carpet 
by the addition of a sober-hued 1 (order. The bor¬ 
der is not expected to fit into any little recess¬ 
es or odd angles—these should be covered with 
the carpet itself—but it should edge all the 
central square, giving the impression of a 
large rug covering the floor. Or we may toue 
down the coloriug with dark rugs; but in auy 
case we should find that the dark wall-paper 
makes a very noticeable difference, rendering 
the carpet much more subdued in. effect. 
Now for the furniture. It is not. says the 
writer, old enough to be fashionable, but be¬ 
ing covered with black hair-cloth, is doubtless 
strong and well made. Our advice in this 
direction is brief enough—cover it. The 
household recoil strut'tionist will not find this 
so difficult a matter as it seems; the old covers 
carefully removed, will serve as patterns both 
for shape and nilHiuer of work. Of course, 
measurements should bo taken lieforebantl, to 
find how much stuff will he required, the 
material being two yards wide. A very nice 
furniture covering is a brocade or brocatelle 
of jute, much resembling raw silk; it wears 
excellently, aud may be bought for *2 a yard. 
Rep will, of course, cost less than the broca¬ 
telle, aud though not so haudsome, it is very 
nice-looking and certainly less funereal than 
the hair-cloth. The covering is fastened on 
with upholsterers’ nails aud finished at the 
edges with gimp; the latter is put on with 
upholsterers’ tacks, which are small enough to 
be scarcely noticeable. It is not at all neces¬ 
sary that all the furniture should be covered 
alike. Indeed, parlor suites are now quite 
out ol' date, a great boon to housekeepers of 
small means, siuee the present fashion allows 
them to purchase odd pieces from time to 
time. So. should “Farmerine” desire, she 
might cover her sofa or easy chair with 
brocatelle, the remainder with rep, or vice 
I versa, taking care that the colore contrast 
! 
agreeably. Shades of brown and olive, with < 
a touch of gold in the brocatelle, would bar- 1 
monize nicely with the wall paper. Crimsons 1 
should be avoided, as, although they are 
charming in upholstery, the scarlet in the : 
carpet would kill such a line. “Farmerine” 
may possess, some article in her “seven years’ > 
trunk,” suitable for covering a single piece. 
We have heard of an old felt piano cover be¬ 
ing dyed and used to upholster an arm-chair. 
The marble-top table must have ascarl’ thrown 
over it; olive-brown felt would be charming, 
the ends decorated with an outline design in 
gold tinsel. Single-width felt would probably 
be wide enough; it costs 45 cents a yard 
iu New York. 
Next come the windows—the architect, lib¬ 
eral soul! has favored the room with four of 
these, so we may be sure of health-giving sun¬ 
light in abundance. Our friend mentions 
lace curtains, but says nothing of shades. 
These arc, of course, necessary; our own taste 
leans decidedly Towards Scotch hoi land, which 
comes iu tan and ecru shades, giving a soft 
and agreeable light to the room. Such shades, 
of good quality, trimmed with fringe, and 
having spring rollers, all complete, cost $1.40 
each. 
The.question of lambrequins is rather diffi¬ 
cult to decide without seeing the style of win¬ 
dow. We may unhesitatiugly say that the 
best thing to do would be to purchase curtain- 
poles; they need not necessarily be expensive. 
You can buy nice-looking poles ol stained 
wood with brass rings for -35 to 50 cents: 
poles with wooden rings are more expensive, 
beginning at about 60 cents. These are five 
feet long. The lace curtains, being, our cor¬ 
respondent says, of good quality, and little 
wore, would not look at all out of date when 
hanging from poles. In this case, no lambre¬ 
quin would be necessary. But should “Far- 
tneriuo” incline to a lambrequin, this should 
be placed on the pole instead of the curtain; 
it should be a straight breadth of stuff three- 
quarters of a yard deep, hanging from the 
rings in straight folds. Felt, similar to the 
table-scarf, would be handsome; it must be 
some thick stuff. Cotton plash — otherwise 
double-faced canton flannel—is not by any 
means to be despised for this purpose. With 
the lambrequin, the lace eurtnius should, of 
course, be fastened beueath, in ordinary fash¬ 
ion. The newest style of mantel lambrequin 
has the drapery hangiug from a pole, after 
the style of a window curtain, differing only 
in that it hangs flat, rather than in folds. The 
pole is the length of the mantel, fastened 15 
inches above the shelf; the lambrequin, hang¬ 
iug from the rings, is caught at the back of 
the shelf by invisible tacks, to prevent it from 
sliding forward, and falls over the edge of 
the shelf in front for the depth of two inches; 
at the ends it hangs 12 inches deep, aud is fin¬ 
ished with embroidery. 
“Farmerine” tells us thatshe possesses books, 
pictures, and fancy-work, so there is little 
doubt that with the expenditure of a little 
money, aud more time and ingeuuity, her 
sunny room will be a joy forever to its deft¬ 
handed presiding genius. 
DISHES FOR A LATE SUPPER. 
delicacies to tempt when the clock 
strikes twelve. 
— 
The following modest and economical sup¬ 
per menu I hope will meet the requirements of 
those who are fond of giving little eveuing 
entertainments: 
Jellied Chicken. Salad Rolls. 
Ham and Sardine Sandwiches. Lobster Salad. 
Compote of Strawberries. Punch Jelly. 
Dress a pair of fowls as for roasting; omit 
the stuffing, aud boll in as little water as 
possible until they are so tender that the meat 
drops from the bones. Cut the meat in small 
pieces and season with salt and white jiepper. 
aud the least bit of grated nutmeg and lemon 
rind. Line a mold with slices of hard-boiled 
eggs, place next a layer of chicken, and so 
contiuue with alternate layers of hard-boiled 
eggs and chicken uutil the mold is two-t hirds 
full. Reduce by boiling the water in which 
the chickens were cooked until not more than 
half a pint remains. Season this and pour it 
over the contents of the mold, and set over¬ 
night, in a cold place. If the weutber is very 
warm, take the precaution of adding a table- 
spoonful of soaked gelatine to the stock for 
fear of its not being stiff enough. Garnish 
the dish on which you have turned the con¬ 
tents of the mold, with light-colored celery 
leaves, dark-green parsley and hright-red beets 
cut in fancy shapes. 
In order to make good salad rolls you must 
know how to make Mayonnaise, or you may 
use u dressing given iu a late number of the 
Rural for crab salad. Cut in dice some cold 
chicken or turkey with a little tongue or cel¬ 
ery, and mix with enough Mayonnaise to 
moisten it; cut bits from the tops of small 
rolls, remove the crumb from the inside, aud 
fill with the above mixture. This is not a 
costly dish, if you will take the precaution of 
having poultry for dinner a day or two lief ore- 
hand. A very little meat that may be left, 
with the mixture of tongue and celery, will be 
sufficient to. fill two or three dozen rolls. 
Ham sandwiches are not new, but this way 
of making them may be new. To a half-pound 
of minced, boiled ham add half a teaspoonful 
of oil, half as much lemon-juice, and a little 
dry mustard powder and Cayenne; mix thoi- 
oughly with the ham, and spread it on 
bread, buttering the slice before cutting it. 
Trim off the crust, and cut into little squares, 
and put two pieces together. 
For the sardine sandwiches, bone and skin 
some sardines, pick them tine, season with 
lemon-juice, pepper and salt, aud a little an¬ 
chovy essence if you have it. 
For the lobster sated, cut the meat of a cold 
boiled lobster into dice, and lay it aside while 
you prepare the dressing. Rub the yelks of 
two hard-boiled eggs smooth with the coral— 
if aDy—aud one teaspoouful each of mustard, 
salt and white sugar; add two tablespoonfuls 
of oil slowly, and moisten with vinegar as 
they stiffen until a smooth cream is the re¬ 
sult. Finish with Cayenne and lemon-juice. 
Pour this over the minced lobster and toss 
up well with a silver fork. But it in the cen¬ 
ter of your salad bowl, lay a ring of the slices 
of the eggs around it, and outside of this cool, 
white lettuce hearts. 
Compote of Strawberries. Put a pound 
of sugar in a porcelain sauce-pan and simmei 
over a slow fire for ten minutes, skimming 
the while. Select large, firm berries; drop 
them carefully into the sirup, and at the fiist. 
sign of boiling remove them from the fire. 
Let them remain iu the vessel until cold, 
place them on a compotier, one by one, points 
up. in the form of a cone, and pour the sirup 
around the base. 
Punch Jelly. Soak a box of gelatine in a 
pint of cold water for an hour; pour over it 
a pint-and-a-half of boiling water; stir till it 
is all dissolved; add the strained juice of one 
orange and three lemons, one gill of straw¬ 
berry juice, a pound of loaf sugar and a small 
stick of cinnamon. Let this boil rapidly for 
two minutes and strain through a jelly-bag, 
add a gill of good brandy, another of Jamaica 
rum; pour into molds and put on ice. 
PA LMETTO. 
WALL paper. 
If people living in the country, who aie in¬ 
tending to havo rooms papered, would take 
the trouble to go to the nearest town or city 
and select their own paper, instead of depend¬ 
ing upon the taste of the village paper-linuger, 
they would save themselves many a heart¬ 
ache. The walls of a room and the floor are 
the most conspicuous parts, and, therefore, 
too brilliant coloriug aud patterns should lie 
avoided. There are so many cheap but pretty 
papers of soft and neutral tints, that there is 
no need to cover your walls with scarlet pea¬ 
cocks, or blue and yellow morning glories as 
big as sunflowers. There is a plain gray 
paper that is very restful to the eye, and forms 
an excellent background for pictures. Fora 
room that is to be used as a library, or one 
with an open fire-place, a paper with a good 
deal of rod aud gilt aud a dado of dark olive 
shades gives a very rich effect. 1 have seen a 
sort of frieze cf small Japanese fans used on a 
white or dull-colored wall, that made a very 
pleasant relief, but if you are not quite sure 
of your taste in the matter, you hail better 
not attempt any great amount of decoration 
with these fans. I have seen rooms that re¬ 
sembled nothing so much as a doll's house, 
and which were rendered positively absurd 
by the excessive use, without any taste, of 
Jupuuese decoration. B - B - 
children’s toys. 
I have found that a box large enough to 
hold all the children’s playthings, and low 
enough to slip under the table or lounge, is a 
great help in keeping a room neat. If a 
child is taught tnat he must never go out, or 
to a meal, or to bed, without first picking up 
his toys, he will soon take great delight iu 
doing it neatly, and it will be as much play to 
him as anything else, “Now I’ve dot to dit 
ms wort done,” is a saying that 1 hour from 
mv little three-year-old 20 times a day, and as 
many times be will proceed to “straighten up 
the room. Blocks are the cleanest toys and 
seem to furnish the most fun. Mechanical 
toys that are always getting out of order, only 
When B*by wm eick, we gave her Cm tort*, 
When ehe wm a Child, she cried for Caatori*, 
When she became Mien, ehe clang to Ceetorie, 
When iihe bed Children, ehe gave them (leetori*, 
