FROM DAY TO DAY. 
A pretty gift prepared 1 >y an amateur 
photographer for a friend or relative at 
a distance, consists of a set of a dozen 
photographs mounted upon cards, and 
tied together with baby ribbon passing 
through two eyelet holes. Covers of 
cardboard, half an inch longer and wider 
than the cards within, ha ve similar eye¬ 
lets, and are fastened by the same rib¬ 
bon ; they are covered with linen, having 
a painted or embroidered design on the 
outside, and lined with silk. 
* 
When a girl has sufficient housework 
to keep her busy, calisthenic exercises 
seem superfluous. She strengthens her 
back and arms by sweeping, and expands 
her lungs by tossing the bedclothes over 
the bed. Hut it is a mistake to grow 
careless of personal grace, just because 
one must take the exercise in this way. 
We see girls whose steady, plodding 
step, as they, go about the house, gives 
no suggestion of youthfulness, and whose 
awkward carriage is that of an old 
woman. Habit becomes second nature, 
and it is easy to acquire a quick, light 
step, which always gives a suggestion of 
youthful vigor. Of course, it sounds im¬ 
possible when one is “ all dragged out,” 
but a girl ought not to feel that sensa¬ 
tion. Erect carriage and a quick, smooth 
step, free from the jerky wriggle by 
which so many women are characterized, 
will be as much improvement to the 
appearance as a whole course of calis¬ 
thenics. It is a mistake to use dumb¬ 
bells or similar appliances without com¬ 
petent advice. 
* 
I’hudknt women are now buying cot¬ 
ton fabrics for Summer wear ; the bar¬ 
gain counters display great inducements 
to purchasers. We are told that trans¬ 
parent fabrics will be very fashionable 
next Summer, both in washing and non- 
washing fabrics, and the colored linings 
of last Summer are likely to be repeated. 
This recalls the fact that, if an inex¬ 
pensive colored lining is desired for a 
thin washing material, smooth-finished 
lawn in solid colors is the best substi¬ 
tute for silk. Any other colored lining 
looks stiff and cottony. For a girl who 
expects her best thin Summer frock to 
do for several seasons, a fine white nain¬ 
sook or India linen is far more profit¬ 
able than colored lawn ; it always comes 
up fresh from the washtub, and is varied 
by colored belts or collars. The coming 
Summer will be a season of frills, 
judging from prospective styles; the 
skirts are much narrower, but elabor¬ 
ately trimmed, some already displayed 
having narrow flounces all the way up 
to the waist. The narrowness of the 
skirt necessitates very smoothly-fitting 
underwear, and one of the new French 
ideas is a petticoat joined directly to the 
corset, like a princess dress. The sweep¬ 
ing bell skirt, which was in vogue five 
years ago, is again making its appear¬ 
ance. 
* 
A novel string-holder is described in 
Harper’s Hazar. The foundation is a 
Japanese doll’s head, two inches long, 
including the neck. This is fastened 
into a ball of cord, so as not to interfere 
with the unwinding. Two strips are 
cut from a piece of Japanese crape ; one 
6x18 inches, the other 8 x 20 inches. 
The smaller piece has a hem wide enough 
for running baby ribbon through across 
the width, and is then pleated like a 
skirt around the neck of the doll, at the 
top of the ball of string. The other 
piece of crape then has the 8-inch ends 
turned in, and a slit six inches long cut 
in the center of the width, the doll’s 
head being slipped through. A piece of 
white satin ribbon, three-fourths inch 
wide, is folded surplide fashion about the 
doll’s neck, and the raw edges of the 
crape caught down upon the ribbon, al¬ 
lowing one-fourth inch to show above. 
The width of the material hanging in 
front is pleated in at the waist, and a 
band of white ribbon like that used at 
the neck is passed around and tied in a 
bow in front, concealing the join ; then 
the middle at the back is pleated in a 
triple box pleat over the ribbon. Two 
big wing-like sleeves are now formed, 
the lower parts of which are caught 
down upon the skirt, and the upper por¬ 
tions spread out, rising an inch or two 
above the doll’s head at the back. A 
loop of baby ribbon nine inches long is 
slipped through the double box-pleat at 
the back, which is made across the doll, 
not lengthwise, and knotted just at the 
top to make it secure. One end of the 
cord is loosened and allowed to hang 
just below the end of the crape, which 
is gathered up by running three-fourths 
yard of white baby ribbon through the 
hem, and drawing it up with a bow. 
AN IMPROVED CLOTHES BASKET. 
Fig. 41 shows a clothes basket made of 
inch-square pine strips, that can be hung 
to the wall beside the ironing table, in 
the manner shown. This does away 
with the need of an extra table, while 
the “ basket” itself is very light and very 
convenient to handle. It can be made 
deeper or according to a different pat¬ 
tern, if desired. The cut simply presents 
a useful idea, that may be carried out to 
suit individual circumstances. w. o. 
SOCIAL LIFE IN THE COUNTRY. 
AMUSEMENTS FOR THE WINTER SEASON. 
We often read of the monotony of 
country life in the Winter; yet experi¬ 
ence gives the impression that this 
exists chiefly in the minds of those who 
do not live among rural scenes. The 
following questions, directed to some of 
our friends, give the compensations of 
country life, rather than the dark side 
that is so often insisted upon. 
How do you and your neighbors And amuse¬ 
ment during the dull Winter, when so many com¬ 
plain of the monotony of country life? Do you 
find recreation by meeting with your neighbors, 
or are you compelled to find amusement at home? 
How do your young people usually amuse them¬ 
selves, at their Winter gatherings ? What do you 
consider the greatest need in the social life of 
the country ? 
Eighty Years of Rural Life. 
I am now in my 80th year, and have 
never in my long life, found my country 
life dull or monotonous. There is always 
something to do ; some one to help, to 
comfort, to cheer, to encourage. I have 
never lived in a neighborhood where 
there were not old people to call upon, 
who could entertain me, in exchange for 
a ray of sunshine in the form of a loving 
word, or any little attention that I could 
bestow ; and when there were no aged 
or sick people that needed my encour¬ 
agement and help, I could always find 
profit and recreation by meeting with 
my neighbors. I have spent many pleas¬ 
ant hours in our reading circles, knitting 
bees, etc. At present, I find amusement 
in the nice books, magazines and papers 
that I have to read, and in receiving 
calls from my neighbors. Our young 
- ople are enjoying a nice singing school 
just now. They have their dances, spell¬ 
ing schools, sleighrides, etc. 
What do 1 consider the greatest need 
in the social life of the country ? Well, 
it is for us to remember that God made 
the country before man made the city, and 
that one is as necessary as the other for 
our well-being and happiness. Surely, 
there is wealth, beauty, splendor in our 
large cities, which we all admire. There 
is beauty in the country, also. 1 have 
always found contentment in my coun¬ 
try home on the farm, where I could 
have my flower garden that surrounds 
the unpretentious little cottage, with 
clean, tidy walks, with greenery here 
and there, fruit and vegetables in abund¬ 
ance, with the knowledge that God made 
the first garden for His first children. 
New Hampshire. bktsy b. colby. 
A Home in Illinois. 
1 have no trouble in entertaining the 
family. There are 11 papers to read ; 
the children get plenty of amusement 
from checkers and drawing pictures with 
lead pencils, taking a picture in a paper 
for a guide. Some evenings, I read to them 
from the Youth’s Companion, or other 
good papers, also papers on poultry and 
bees, and The R. N.-Y. We do not go out 
very much, staying at home as a general 
thing. There are eight young folks in 
the family, besides a grandmother who 
is over 80. I asked her what they did 
for amusement when she was young. 
She said that they would knit and spin, 
and once in a while, a husking bee or 
paring bee would call the young folks 
together foi an evening. mother. 
Illinois. 
The Church the Social Center. 
The church seems to be the only estab¬ 
lished social center in the country. The 
church workers find plenty to do, and 
much social enjoyment naturally follows 
in attending meetings, Sunday school, 
Endeavor meetings, etc. Going home to 
dinner with one another after church 
seems an established custom, and al¬ 
though our preacher spoke against Sun¬ 
day visiting, pleading that quietness and 
solitude were more appropriate, and that 
the housewife needed rest, the women 
shook their heads in disapproval. I was 
surprised at the preacher’s mistake; they 
have too much solitude through the 
week. It’s not the cooking of dinners 
that is so trying, but it is having the 
same unappreciative company to eat 
them, day after day. 
Young people visit on Sundays, and it 
is well for older people to be in the com¬ 
pany. Parents should keep so modern 
in dress, manners, and thoughts, that 
their children will gladly have them join 
in entertaining their company. That is 
a great trouble in country society ; the 
old people are considered as having no 
social place or rights. This is one thing 
in which we need to learn a lesson from 
our city cousins, where old and young 
are recognized as equal. The non-church- 
goers must depend on making the home 
life as cheerful as possible, with oc¬ 
casional visits, a little reading, and 
plenty of work. Carpet rags must be 
cut and sewed, and as much of the year’s 
sewing, as possible, must be done before 
the spring work comes. 
The way some people talk about farm 
life in the Winter, one might imagine 
that farmers had nothing to do but to 
eat and sleep and amuse themselves. 
They forget that about the only way to 
make the farm pay is to keep stock, and 
to make stock pay, it must be well cared 
for. Where butter is sold, there is yet 
more work. Then the year’s wood must 
be cut, and the endless repairing and 
building attended to. 
Washington Gladden, in writing on 
this subject, says that, when he was a 
boy on jhe farm, there were plenty of 
amusements—spelling schools, literary 
socials, etc. He might have said that 
the men and boys - wore flannel shirts, 
and their trousers tucked into their 
boots ; the women wore hoods and heavy 
shoes, and were willing to walk two or 
three miles to a frolic. Then they were 
content to make a good living and enjoy 
themselves. Now, we want to get rich 
and put on style. The women must wear 
fine shoes, best dress and hat; the men, 
white shirt and collar and patent leather 
shoes. Of course, we can’t walk, so the 
man usually rebels, and we don’t go, and 
soon we get no invitations. 
In homes where there are young peo¬ 
ple, there is more or less gaiety with the 
young visitors, and a party or social oc¬ 
casionally. I find the usual descriptions 
of country gatherings very funny, tell¬ 
ing how all stand around so shy and 
dumb. The writers are quite wrong, 
from my experience ; there is plenty of 
talk of weather, crops, neighborhood 
events, interspersed with jokes. Hut we 
do lack true conversation. We need to 
read good, thoughtful books, and learn 
to discuss them ; to form and give opin¬ 
ions of national questions. If we gain 
something spiritually and intellectually, 
as well as an evening's amusement, we 
will not grudge the effort required to 
meet together. A course of lectures 
every Winter has been a great help in 
our neighborhood. The school teachers 
started it, and the patrons have stood by 
them, until, at the end of five years, its 
success seems an established feature. We 
need to be willing to work for recreation 
as well as for necessities. That seems 
the great trouble. We have no time to 
spend for recreation, forgetting that we 
are now civilized, and that flavor is quite 
a necessary quality of our food. R. 0. 
Indiana. _ 
A cushion for a piano bench may be 
worked in red-and-white plaid design on 
canvas. The back of the cushion is 
covered with red silk, corresponding 
with one of the shades of the wool, and 
the edges are finished with a white silk 
cord and a pair of tassels to match, hang¬ 
ing from each corner. Any of the clan 
plaids seen in dress goods may be copied 
in work of this kind. If desired, threads 
of silk may be introduced effectively 
among the woolen stitches. An em¬ 
broidered cover with some conventional 
design worked in silks would also be ap¬ 
propriate for this cushion, with braided 
effects for a finish instead of the cord 
and tassels. 
Church 
Debts 
Very likely the Dorcas 
Society, The King’s 
Daughters, or the 
Young People’s Society 
want funds to carry on 
their work this winter. 
Perhaps you have in 
contemplation a new 
organ, or carpet for the 
Sunday-school, or pos¬ 
sibly the question of 
paying off the Church 
debt is troubling you. 
We have a plan for pro¬ 
viding money for any 
of these objects. 
The Curtis Publishing Company 
Philadelphia 
