47o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 24 
[ Woman and Home 
From Day to Day. 
Little sad face, come close, so close to mine, 
See through these eyes the sweetness of the day; 
Feel how the sunbeams dance In Summer's wine, 
Hold fast my hands and let our pulse combine, 
And with my steps dance down the happy way; 
For youth Is love, and love is light and gay. 
Little sad face. 
Little sad heart, come close, so close to mine, 
And know the utmost limits of the will 
Of all the worlds, till soft thy heart divine 
A joy which can encompass grief like thine. 
Hide in my breast, and let faint pulses thrill, 
For youth is love, and love is great and still, 
Little sad heart. 
—From “ Some Verses," by Helen Hay. 
* 
An interesting feature of the recent 
electrical show in New York was a 
woman who follows the profession of 
submarine diver. We don’t think that 
this could be justifiably regarded as a 
great field for women, though the woman 
in question likes the work, and finds 
her sex no disadvantage in it. The ex¬ 
hibition was given to show the use of 
electrical appliances in diving. The 
scene of operations was a large tank, 
probably about 15 feet deep, having one 
glass side. A number of turtles, big and 
little, flapped through the water. The 
diver wore the regulation dress, includ¬ 
ing a rubber suit, which weighs 19 
pounds, a helmet of tinned copper which, 
with the breastplate, weighs 51 pounds, 
iron-soled shoes, weighing 27 pounds 
each, and a belt of lead weights, said 
to weigh 122 pounds. 
* 
The diver was a pretty young woman, 
with pink cheeks and fluffy light brown 
hair. She smiled pleasantly at the 
audience while her unwieldy shoes were 
fastened on, and continued to smile 
through the lantern-like glass of her 
helmet, while two deep-sea valets 
screwed the studs and wing-nuts which 
fasten the dress and breastplate to¬ 
gether. The helmet is secured to the 
breastplate by a screw-bayonet joint. 
There are one or more outlet valves at 
the back or sides of the helmet, which 
permit vitiated air to escape, while the 
air is continually renewed from above, 
through a rubber air-pipe. The air is 
pumped down by a powerful pump, 
which must be kept constantly at work. 
The diver must be a person of perfect 
health and strength, or the breathing of 
compressed air, together with the tre¬ 
mendous water pressure, may result in 
apoplexy. Cases are also reported where, 
owing to some sudden accident, the 
diver has died of fright before recovered, 
though well supplied with air. The 
fouling of the air-pipe is not the only 
thing to be dreaded. 
* 
The life line is the old method by 
which the diver communicates with the 
surface, and is still used, but the appara¬ 
tus used by this woman diver included 
a telephone, which rendered the life line 
superfluous. This telephone is a power¬ 
ful one, with receiver and transmitter 
within the helmet. The water in the 
exhibition tank was brightly illumi¬ 
nated by electric light, but these lights 
were turned off, to show what the sub¬ 
marine worker must experience within 
the hold of a sunken vessel, where he 
has to use a searchlight. Submarine 
electric lights are now used to a great 
extent in all under-water operations. 
The diver must proceed cautiously when 
searching a wreck ; carelessness might, 
very easily, foul the air pipe. In enter¬ 
ing a stateroom, or any confined space, 
the driver backs in very cautiously ; en¬ 
tering in the ordinary way, there is the 
risk, almost certain, of tangling or foul¬ 
ing the air pipe. 
The only weapon the diver carries is a 
short, sharp, double-edged knife, slipped 
into a sheath at the belt, or a small 
hatchet. This is sometimes needed to 
repel the attacks of sharks ; some thrill¬ 
ing battles with the octopus, or devil¬ 
fish, are also reported. Any one engaged 
in submarine diving is sure to experience 
some strange and dangerous incidents. 
The woman who gave this exhibition is 
said to do all the submarine work in 
which men are ordinarily engaged. That 
the work didn’t hamper her enjoyment 
of life was shown by her readiness for a 
gentle joke. When the operation of the 
submarine telephone was being shown, 
she was asked a variety of questions, 
writing her answers, while still under 
water, on a slate or small blackboard, 
which she displayed against the wall of 
the tank. A solemn man arose to say 
that he would like to know the condition 
of the water. The question was asked, 
over the wire, and the diver responded 
by writing, with an engaging smile, the 
one word WET. We doubt whether 
many women will rush into this field of 
labor, and lower wages by their com¬ 
petition. 
* 
Whenever a mere man makes fun of 
you for jumping at the sight of a mouse 
—we are addressing the feminine reader 
exclusively now—just ask him who was 
afraid when the steamship Paris went 
ashore on the English coast May 21. Ac¬ 
cording to statements made by the first 
of the passengers who arrived on this 
side, all the women on board showed 
remarkable coolness and courage, and 
the only persons who got “ rattled ” were 
some of the men. One, in his anxiety to 
get on deck in obedience to the summons 
of a steward, appeared in the saloon 
wrapped in a mattress. After cruising 
around like a fat North River lighter 
without a rudder, he found that the 
women in the saloon were viewing him 
with mingled scorn and amusement, and 
he steered a course for his stateroom, 
got there, and came out fully dressed. 
Another man was unaware that he was 
walking about in his wife’s nightgown 
and a pair of kid gloves which he had 
put on under the impression they were 
life preservers. He also returned to his 
stateroom, when told of his condition, 
and came out looking more like the head 
of a family. Many other shipwrecks 
show similar incidents. It must be said, 
however, that the conduct of both pas¬ 
sengers and crew on the Paris showed 
courage and discipline creditable to both, 
in spite of a few cases of selfish cowardice. 
* 
A Chicago woman recently had a very 
unusual experience, in which a runaway 
horse took a leading part. The horse 
was attached to a buggy and, being left 
standing without a driver, took fright, 
and dashed down the street. Having 
traversed several blocks with great 
speed, the terror-stricken animal sud¬ 
denly turned—upsetting the vehicle— 
and continued his flight down the cross 
street. The movement was executed so 
quickly that a phlegmatic old lady was 
unable to escape ; the cover of the cap¬ 
sized vehicle scooped her up and bore 
her away triumphantly. An excited 
crowd followed the runaway. The old 
lady screamed lustily, and the horse re¬ 
doubled his speed. Again the abductor 
turned, and the buggy righted itself, 
depositing the aged occupant uncere¬ 
moniously on the seat, where, paralyzed 
with fear, she clutched the handles des¬ 
perately. An express wagon was com¬ 
ing leisurely up an intersecting street. 
The driver was dozing in the warm sun. 
There was a crash, a flash of blue, some¬ 
thing with sprawling hands and feet, 
and then the involuntary occupant of 
what had been a buggy came to her 
journey’s end upon a mattress in the 
bottom of the express wagon. With the 
exception of a few bruises, she was un¬ 
hurt, and remarked, breathlessly: “Gocd 
heavens, what was it ? ” 
* 
When eggs got up to 60 cents a dozen 
last Winter, we began to think them 
expensive commodities, but plovers’ eggs 
are quoted at four shillings each (nearly 
SI) in the London market, and about 
half that price in Paris. Plovers’ eggs in 
aspic jelly are a highly esteemed luxury 
among English epicures, and were 
especially liked by the late Prince Bis- 
marek. There are plenty of costlier 
eggs, however ; a New York thief re¬ 
cently robbed the swans in Central Park 
of a nest valued at $25. Another swans’ 
nest had a policeman detailed to watch 
it day and night, after this robbery, but 
as the swan refused to sit on it under 
these circumstances, an extremely “ sot ” 
duck took her place. One of the most 
costly of birds’ eggs (excepting the egg 
of the roc described by that truthful 
mariner, Sindbad the Sailor) is that of the 
moa, a giant bird of New Zealand, now 
extinct; one of these eggs was recently 
sold at auction in London for several 
hundred pounds. 
* 
The fact that doctors disagree was 
shown at the recent meeting of a physi¬ 
cians’ association in New York, when the 
question of underwear and bathing was 
discussed. The first speaker advocated 
rubbing the skin in the morning with 
warm water, following this by cold 
water until the skin is all aglow. Soft 
linen or a soft crash towel should be used 
to dry the surface. It is well known, he 
said, that those who wear woolen cloth¬ 
ing next the skin are very prone to catch 
cold ; he, therefore, prefers porous linen. 
Wool is the proper material for outside 
garments, but should be entirely dis¬ 
carded for underwear. This opinion was 
criticised by another doctor, who de¬ 
clared all-wool underwear highly neces¬ 
sary, and frequent bathing less desir¬ 
able. The porous linen, which is one of 
the new fads in underwear, was de¬ 
scribed as expensive and not durable, 
and several wearers of it say that they 
cannot keep warm in it. It was said that 
most people err on the side of wearing 
too much underwear, an opinion we are 
not inclined to indorse, so far as women 
are concerned. Many of them who wear 
too many dragging petticoats cover the 
sensitive lungs with a diaphanous lisle 
thread vest, trying to equalize things 
afterwards by a heavy fur collar worn 
over a thin jacket. They wear clothes 
enough in the aggregate, but wear them 
in the wrong way. 
Note and Comment. 
Sunshade for Porches —A full-width 
length of unbleached muslin makes an 
inexpensive and, on a white house, in¬ 
conspicuous, protection against the sun 
when fitly adjusted. Sew rings on each 
end to slip over nails or hooks placed in 
the piazza posts, where the sun most 
shines. In this way, one may often se¬ 
cure a shaded) cosy and secluded corner 
at a very small outlay of money and 
labor. 
Absent-mindedness. — Parents often 
scold their children for being “ absent- 
minded,” or being so absorbed in their 
reading or play, as not to hear what is 
being said to them. The power of being 
so absorbed usually indicates superior 
mental faculties, and is one of the 
things that should gratify an intelligent 
father or mother. No one ever conceives 
or executes a great piece of work who 
lacks the power of entire absorption—of 
being literally swallowed up by what 
he has in hand. The Germans speak 
derisively of what they call “ household 
attention”—the kind of attention women 
give to a multitude of small things—the 
mind flying from one thing to another, 
and absorbed by none. Happy is he who 
can work, or play, and forget all else in 
the world. m. w. f. 
Cleaning- Lace Curtains. 
The following instructions are given 
in the Woman’s Home Companion : First 
shake the curtains until no more loose 
dust will shake off, then put them into a 
good, warm soap-suds, and let them re¬ 
main 24 hours. Pour off the suds, and 
put them into fresh, clean suds, each 
time squeezing the lace in parts when 
dipping it over and over again. Do not 
rub the lace on a board, or pound it 
violently in the tub, but keep on renew¬ 
ing the suds and squeezing the fabric 
until clean. Rinse in two clear waters, 
and finally in starch-water made by add¬ 
ing one gallon of moderately thick 
starch to one gallon of clear or blue 
water. This process of starching gives 
a more even result than the ordinary 
method. Stiffiy-starched curtains are 
never used now, neither is bluing com¬ 
monly used—creamy tints being prefer¬ 
red. Curtains are more easily dried, of 
course, on regular stretchers, in lieu of 
which they must be shaken out, the 
edges all pulled out and shaped with the 
fingers, and then pinned down on sheets 
on the floor, a pin holding each scallop 
in its proper place. Two curtains (if 
alike) may be put dpwn with one pin¬ 
ning, one over the other. 
The New Athletics. 
Always in the Summer, there is con¬ 
siderable picking of vegetables to be 
done. Even when one’s own table is all 
that is to be supplied, it takes time, 
hurry as one may. I used to feel rather 
abused to think I had to do it, when I 
wanted to be keeping cool somewhere, 
reading, or answering letters. This year, 
however, it has been different. 
As I arose to my feet in the strawberry 
bed, after picking the first berries of the 
season, I sighed wearily, “now lame I 
am,” I groaned. “ Every muscle aches.” 
Then of a sudden 1 remembered hearing 
bicycle riders describe their feelings 
when they had taken their first long 
rides. “ Those are just my symptoms,” 
I reflected, as I went towards the house, 
my knees feeling as though they might 
give way at any moment. Going in¬ 
doors, I chanced to look in the glass. I 
paused and gazed at my purple reflec¬ 
tion. “ Why, I loolt just as though I’d 
been bicycling ! ” I exclaimed. What a 
pleasing discovery I had made ! Simply 
by going out and picking the strawber¬ 
ries, I could have the sensations and 
even the appearance that one has after 
riding the wheel, and without any of 
the expense. 
After that 1 tried to regard the gather¬ 
ing of things as athletics; I did not hurry 
about it, and enjoyed it. When I went 
out to the garden, and pulled beets and 
turnips for dinner, I told myself that 
this was a new kind of golf, taking balls 
out of holes in the ground, instead of 
knocking them in. Out among the bean 
poles, when I stretched my arm to its 
greatest length, then jumped as high as 
possible, in order to reach the highest 
pods, I knew that I brought the same 
muscles into play as if I were enjoying 
a game of tennis. Whether I sat com¬ 
fortably on the ground, and picked glis¬ 
tening red currants, struggled through 
a dense tangle of pea vines, or walked 
along the raspberry rows, gathering the 
velvety fruit and getting my wrists 
scratched, I regarded the experience as 
my new form of athletics. 
Next Winter I shall have numerous 
jars of fruit as souvenirs to remind me 
of my pleasant Summer. Is it not a dis¬ 
tinct gain when one turns what has been 
drudgery into a pleasant pastime ? 
SUSAN BROWN ROBBINS. 
Perseverance is more prevailing 
than violence, and many things which 
cannot be overcome when they are to¬ 
gether, yield themselves up when taken 
little by little.—Plutarch. 
