89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 23 
changes of passing years, and with each 
season we can repeat, with deeper feel¬ 
ing, the Christmas benediction of poor 
Tiny Tim: “God bless us, every one!’’ 
The Rural Portrait Gallery. 
From Day to Day. 
THE LITTLE CHILD. 
A simple-hearted child was He, 
And He was nothing more; 
In Summer days, like you and me, 
He played about the door, 
Or gathered, where the father toiled, 
The shavings from the floor. 
Sometimes He lay upon the grass, 
The same as you and I, 
And saw the hawks above Him pass 
Like specks against the sky; 
Or, clinging to the gate He watched 
The stranger passing by. 
A simple child, and yet, I think, 
The bird-folk must have known, 
The sparrow and the bobolink, 
And claimed Him for their own, 
And gathered round Him fearlessly 
When He was all alone. 
The lark, the linnet, and the dove, 
The chaffinch and the wren, 
They must have known His watchful love 
And given their worship then; 
They must have known and glorified 
The Child who died for men. 
And when the sun at break of day 
Crept in upon His hair, 
I think it must have left a ray 
Of unseen glory there, 
A kiss of love on that little brow 
For the thorns that it must wear. 
—Lippincott’s Magazine. 
* 
This is the season when the woman’s 
page of the great daily paper teems 
with suggestions for Christmas gifts. It 
must be very instructive to the woman 
who has $2 and a heart full of love with 
which to provide presents for the entire 
family, to read that a silver loving cup 
is an appropriate gift for one’s husband, 
and that it is a mistake to give children 
cheap toys, when permanent articles of 
value will give so much more satisfac¬ 
tion in the long run. Do those lucky 
children of Dives get any more pleasure 
from their costly gifts than the small 
girl to whom a 10-cent doll, clothed in 
a scrap of Mother’s old gown, comes as 
a veritable playmate, to be petted and 
cared for and ministered to? Many a 
little one, during the scarce days of the 
West, celebrated Christmas with no 
more costly toy than an unlovely 
clothespin doll draped Hn calico, or a 
grotesque jabberwock beast formed of a 
potato with shoe-button eyes and angu¬ 
lar wooden legs. The blessed imagina¬ 
tion of childhood can convert even an 
empty baking-powder can, discreetly 
swathed in ragbag scraps, into a dim¬ 
pled baby, to be nursed and cossetted by 
its little mother. Happy the mother 
who can give a Christmas halo to these 
poor little homemade gifts, pitiful 
enough to the eyes of a stranger. But 
then, the spirit of Christmas is one of 
the things that the wrapper at the big 
store can’t tuck into the parcel, as he 
ties up somebody’s costly gift. 
* 
Is it ever possible to keep Christmas 
without a child? One child is, of course, 
the minimum—seven are preferable. 
Adults may be calmly happy over their 
exchange of gifts; they may eat a big 
dinner, and yawm silently, and make be¬ 
lieve, in a decorous manner, that they 
are really enjoying themselves. But it 
isn’t Christmas without a horde of ef¬ 
fervescent juveniles, who salute the chill 
gray of early morning with joyous 
squeals, as they reach out of bed for 
their lumpy stockings. There is no rea¬ 
son why the stockings should not be 
lumpy, even though the contents show 
little or nothing of “boughten” gifts. 
There may be the three chief requisites 
for a child’s happiness—something to 
eat, something to look at, and something 
to play with, without going beyond the 
powers of the mother’s fingers. The 
self-denying effort put into the work, 
the endeavor to give Christmas gaiety 
to others, in spite of tne underlying sad¬ 
ness that comes to most of us with ma- 
turer years, is the best contribution we 
can make to the season. We have al¬ 
ways felt a strong grudge against those 
dour-visaged Puritans who tried to sub¬ 
stitute cypress and Weeping willow for 
'holly and mistletoe, and sternly sup¬ 
pressed the poor little Pilgrim children 
who did not fully realize that this world 
is a vale of tears. It is doubtless true, 
as wise men tell us, that many of our 
Christmas customs are survivals of 
paganism, but we may rest assured that 
we may no more fittingly honor the 
Child of Bethlehem than in giving hap¬ 
piness to the little ones entrusted to us 
here upon earth. No creed or doctrine 
can alter this. 
* 
How do we expect to keep the day? 
Well, to begin with, we don’t put a 
skimpy little wreath of Standing pine ox- 
laurel in the window, for the neighboi-s 
to see, and call that decox-ating for 
Christmas. There are green leaves and 
scarlet berries scattered through the 
rooms, and a big bunch of mistletoe— 
not the thin-leaved, small-berried para¬ 
site from the South, but the fioury- 
fruited plant that cames from over seas 
—not always from England, though we 
call it English, but oftener fi-om the 
cider orchards of Normandy. The i-ed- 
berried holly we use comes from Vir¬ 
ginia or Delaware, but sometimes we get 
a scrap of the thicker-berried foreign 
shrub, and that is saved for the crown 
of the big plum-pudding. We are i-ather 
poor in having only one child dn the 
'house, but we can say, with entire ac¬ 
curacy, that on Christmas morning she 
restores the balance by acting like 
seven. At breakfast we are served 
with little pielets baked in patty-pans; 
they should oe square, for the Christmas 
mince pie i-epresents the manger at 
Bethlehem, and its filling the gifts of the 
three Wise Men. Of course we expect to 
go to church; the first clear recollection 
we have of Christmas is of carols ring¬ 
ing in an old church, with holly- 
wreathed pillai’s and quaint medieval 
tombs bearing the stone efligies of long- 
dead Crusaders. Mistletoe is the one 
Christmas adornment absent from the 
church, for this is a heathen plant, and 
may not be used in the sanctuary. Our 
dinner will, no doubt, be the same as in 
many another home, but we don’t think 
that anyone else will quite equal the 
plum pudding made after Great-grand¬ 
mother’s x-ecipe, which will come on like 
a mahogany-colored pyramid with a 
powdered head, bearing in its apex a 
sprig of holly. Gi-andmother Will tell 
you, with conviction, that there wouldn’t 
be a single case of dyspepsia in a whole 
ton of that pudding, in spite of the 
dubious looks of a New England friend, 
who, being nourished on pumpkin pie, is 
not (immunized against this mainstay of 
an English Christmas. A game of blind- 
man’s buff has always been the regula¬ 
tion amusement as dusk dx-aws near, but 
one can’t enter into that game with the 
oldtime zest, when the household shows, 
each year, a sadder arx-ay of empty 
chaii-s. But we do not intend to lose 
our Christmas spirit, among all the 
MIXS. F. H. BALLOU. 
Our readers are ali-eady familiar with 
the outdoor work at Dale View fruit 
farm; Mr. Ballou has often given valu¬ 
able notes from his experience, particu¬ 
larly regarding small fruits. Mrs. Bal¬ 
lou's porti*ait, Fig. 326, gives the woman 
power of this successful fruit farm, and, 
in response to our request, Mr. Ballou 
has this to say of his other self: 
“My wife is a Licking County girl, the 
daughter of a pioneer fruit grower. 
When quite young, during her Summer 
vacations, she assumed the management 
of the packing house and the small 
ai-my of berry pickei-s necessary to 
gather the acres of strawberries and 
other small fruits grown about her old 
home. Securing a good common-school 
education, she became an almost invalu- 
Mbs. F. II. BALLOU. Fig. 326. 
able aid to her father in his business— 
being an expert in grading and packing 
fruit, and besides developing an enthu¬ 
siasm in all those little accomplishments 
so necessary to one Who, later in life, 
may be called upon to take a leading 
part in the establishment of a new home. 
Having an innate love of home myself, 
and an equally strong attachment to 
hoi-ticulture as a means of earning one, 
it came about very naturally, as well as 
agi-eeably, that my little horticultural 
friend and I planned to earn it together. 
And that is just what we have done. 
Our little home is paid for—as much by 
the industry and good management in- 
doox-s as by my own effoits without. My 
wife is a “home-maker” in evex-y sense 
of the word, a devoted little mother and 
a true, eai-nest, genial companion.” 
It is a noticeable fact that with most 
successful horticultural or agricultui-al 
workex-s, the women of the family are 
strongly intei-ested in their work. Per¬ 
haps this one fact has much to do with 
the unity and love of home usually 
found among those occupied in these 
pursuits. 
_No man ever yet asked to be, as the 
days pass by, more and moi-e noble and 
sweet and pure and heavenly-minded— 
no man ever yet prayed that the evil 
spirits of hatred and pi-ide and passion 
and worldliness might be cast out of his 
soul—without his petition being granted, 
and granted to the letter.—F. W. Farrar, 
D. D. 
7? Little Light 
on the watch subject is found in our new booklet, 
which all are invited to send for—free of cost. 
Elgin Ruby Jeweled 
Watches 
come in various sizes, grades and prices, to suit every 
pocket. Recognized universally as 
The World’s Standard. 
Sold by Jewelers everywhere. An Elgin watch always has I 
tiie word “Elgin” engraved on the works—fully guar¬ 
anteed. 
Elgin National Watch Co., Elgin, Ill. 
^pHE continual breaking of 
lamp-chimneys costs a 
good deal in the course of a 
year. 
Get Macbeth’s “pearl top” 
or “pearl glass.” You will 
have no more trouble with 
breaking from heat. You will 
have clear glass instead of 
misty ; fine instead of rough ; 
right shape instead of wrong; 
and uniform, one the same as 
another. 
Our " Index ” describes all lamps and their 
proper chimneys. With it you can always order 
the right size and shape of chimney for any lamp. 
We mail it FREE to any one who writes for it. 
Address Macbeth, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
Whal a Farmer’s Boy 
Gan Do 
He can qualify him¬ 
self for n position us 
a first-class Locomo¬ 
tive, Steam, Electri¬ 
cal or Civil Engineer 
without leaving the 
farm until he is ready 
to enter his new occu¬ 
pation and 
EARN A GOOD SALARY 
Our system of teaching by mnil will give any 
boy a technical education. Write for pamphlet 
and state wiiat yea wish to study. 
International Corrc. School*, Bor 1230, Scranton, Pa. 
B. * B. 
cents saved 
on a yard—dollars on a waist or dress 
pattern. 
Choice rich fancy silks— 05c., 85c. yd. 
—fine styles and high-tone colorings. 
Midwinter now—lots of social affairs 
for which dressy things are wanted—and 
all who get samples of these fine silks 
will see pleasing styles and profitable 
values that will win approval — and 
prompt orders. 
All-wool Dress Goods, 3G inches wide— 
neat novelties and mixtures—25<* yd.— 
splendid, useful goods under price for 
school dresses and genei-al wear. 
Fine Dress Goods 50c. Greatest Dress 
Goods business in 1899 of any time in the 
store's history. 
Won on merit. 
Record of yards sold far in excess of 
any previous year. 
Hence more odd lines and broken as¬ 
sortments. 
And prices to do effective work—as 
this 50c. price for fine choice goods will 
demonstrate when you investigate—to 
your opportunity for pi-ofit. 
Get our special Book catalogue—free. 
BOGGS & BUHL, 
Department C, 
ALLEGHENY, PA. 
Old Dresses Made New, 
EASY WAY TO HA VE GOOD CLOTHES 
FOR LITTLE MONEY. 
Home Dyeing a Pleasure with 
Diamond Dyes. 
There’s no easier way to save expense than to 
dye over your dresses, wraps, ribbons, etc., with 
Diamond Dyes. A package costs but 10 cents, 
yet it will often save the expense of a new dress 
or jacket. 
It’s easy work to use Diamond Dyes. They are 
prepared specially for home dyeing, and will dye 
more goods for the same money tliau any other 
dyes. 
Never use dyes that claim to color all kinds of 
material with the same dye. Diamond Dyes can 
be depended upon to make colors that will not 
fade or crock. 
Sample card of co'ors and direction book for 
home dyeing mailed free on request.— Wells, Rich¬ 
ardson & Co., Burlington, Vt. 
