362 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
May Is 
[ Woman and Home 
From Day to Day. 
CLEANING TIME. 
Beneath the burnished chandelier 
The weary housewife stands, 
With scrubbing brushes, dampened cloths 
And such things in her hands, 
And in a rasping tone she gives 
The hired girl commands. 
A rag is wound around her head 
To keep her hair in place; 
She has the bed clothes wildly piled 
Upon the dressing-case— 
Her nose is skinned and there are broad 
Brown streaks across her face. 
From room to room she makes her way, 
An«l madly rips and tears; 
Her husband helps throughout the day 
To run the world’s affairs, 
And sadly wanders home at night 
To sleep uiJon the stairs. 
—Chicago Record-Herald. 
* 
Hat,s trimmed with straw braid and 
straw buttons are characteristic fea¬ 
tures of Spring millinery. Sometimes 
the straw braid is used to combine with 
silk muslin. Long, rather flat bows of 
straw braid are apparently fastened 
down with straw buttons the size of a 
quarter. It is a style, however, that 
easily becomes clumsy. 
* 
Oi.n-fashioned crochet buttons are 
having a fashionable revival; in addi¬ 
tion to forming rows of trimming and 
bunches of pendants, they are used on 
heavy lace, like the familiar rings. 
’I’hose wiio have a supply of these but¬ 
tons laid away, relics of out-of-date gar¬ 
ments, may now bring them forth. 
Sometimes they are used as pendants to 
tip chenille ends. Rosettes of chenille 
with a few dangling ends are used as 
trimming, the chenille used being about 
half an inch in diameter, and costing 12 
to 18 cents a yard. To tell the truth, 
we have always violently disliked che¬ 
nille as a dress trimming; it suggests 
lamp mats and tidies, but there is no 
question of its style at present. 
« 
Thk Atchison Globe tells of a man in 
that town who solemnly swore that one 
day was sufficient to give a thoi’ough 
Spring cleaning to an eight-room house; 
he considered that women waste entire¬ 
ly too much time in pottering around. 
As the result of a wager with his wife, 
he completed the cleaning in the time 
specifled, but history is cruelly silent 
as to how it was done. It is an undoubt¬ 
ed fact, however, that the heavy labor 
of house-cleaning is properly men’s 
work, and we know one country town 
where a capable colored man makes en¬ 
gagements for housecleaning months in 
advance. He descends on the premises 
with aids who work under his direc¬ 
tions, and the thoroughness and celerity 
with which the work is done is a reve¬ 
lation. 
Hi 
O.NE of the ocean steamship com¬ 
panies in New York decided some time 
ago to place the most modern rubber 
air mattresses in the best staterooms in 
two of its biggest ships. One of the 
great advantages of these mattresses is 
that they may be used as small rafts or 
life preservers should the emergency 
arise. The manner in which these mat¬ 
tresses collapsed was a puzzle to the 
stewards, who had to inflate dozens of 
them after each trip. It was finally dis¬ 
covered that they were stabbed to death 
by the women passengers, who used 
them for pincushions. The average hat¬ 
pin will effectually destroy the ambition 
of any air cushion and apparently every¬ 
thing in the pin line had been stuck into 
these mattresses. The steamships now 
have a notice attached to the doors of 
the staterooms, requesting passengers 
to refrain from the practice. This is a 
case where one might die from a pin 
prick, since, in sudden disaster, the un¬ 
injured air mattress may buoy up a vic¬ 
tim until rescued. 
* 
There is an epidemic of small 
buckles just now, which break out like 
an eruption all over women’s garments. 
Stock collars are trimmed with them; 
3799 Girl’s Long Vvaisted Dress, 
4 to 1 2 years. 
waists are closed with them, and they 
often are spaced along beading or rib¬ 
bon garniture. A pretty idea in silk 
waists is to have the garment close 
down one side, after the Russian model, 
the apparent fastening being little tabs 
of the material drawn through tiny 
buckles, and often a little metal dangler 
hangs from the buckle. The metal spike 
tags are very common now, but some in¬ 
genious women have finished the ends 
of ties or trimmings by using, in place 
of these tags, handsome old-fashioned 
ear rings. The long, drooping style of 
30 years ago is just suited to such use. 
The end of the ribbon or material is 
neatly gathered and then tipped with 
the ornament. 
Some of the daily papers, in discuss¬ 
ing the recent departure of an abnorm¬ 
ally rich young husband and wife for a 
two-months’ stay in Europe, proudly 
announce that their child is left under 
the charge of five competent nurses, 
flhe poor little rich baby, their first¬ 
born, is two months old, and many 
young mothers, to whom a trip to Eu¬ 
rope is a rainbow dream, would think it 
dearly bought at the expense of this 
separation. It makes one realize the 
idea thus suggested by two women 
quoted in the Youth’s Companion: 
“Y^es, my dear,” said one, “I knew him 
when he worked for Uncle Joe for $3 a 
week. Of course that is the fixed price for 
all millionaires who have made their 
money, and it does make one tired, but this 
is literally true. And now he has a house 
in New York, another at Newport, a farm 
on Long Island, an estate in Lenox and 
cottages at Tuxedo and Aiken, besides a 
yacht and a private car that is the apoth¬ 
eosis of leather and gilding.” 
“Where is his home?” asked the other. 
“Home? He hasn’t any. When they get 
as rich as that they’ve no more home in¬ 
stinct than milk cans.” 
The Rural Patterns. 
Long-waisted effects are in the height 
of style for the little girls as well as for 
their mammas. The pretty little dress 
shown is suited to warm weather wear, 
but can be used with a guimpe and be¬ 
come high of neck and long of sleeve if 
desired. The material of the original is 
French nainsook, with a bertha of all- 
over tucking and trimming of needle¬ 
work bands, but all the cotton and linen 
fabrics are suitable as well as childish 
designs in China silks and such simple 
v/oolen materials as cashmere, albatross 
and the like. The waist is made over a 
fitted lining, which keeps it neatly ad¬ 
justed. The backs are laid in tucks, but 
the front is simply gathered, and the 
neck is finished with a shaped bertha 
that is exceptionally becoming. The 
22 to 32 in. waist. 
skirt is gathered at the top, finished at 
the lower edge with a hem, and joined 
to the body portion. With the frock is 
worn a sash of the material trimmed on 
the ends and simply tied in a knot. To 
cut this dress for a girl of eight years 
of age five yards of material 21 inches 
wide, three yards 32 inches wide, or 21^ 
yards 44 inches wide will be required, 
with % yard of all-over tucking for ber¬ 
tha, two yards of insertion and four 
yai'ds of edging to trim as illustrated. 
The pattern. No. 3799, is cut in sizes for 
girls of 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 years of age; 
price 10 cents from this office. 
The foundation skirt or long petticoat 
that can be worn as a slip beneath un- 
liced skirts is a necessity that every 
woman knows and feels. While it is al¬ 
ways possible to make it exactly like 
the outer skirt the comfort and advan¬ 
tage of a model specially designed for 
the purpose, that can become inter¬ 
changeable when desired, will be recog¬ 
nized at a glance. The admirable exam¬ 
ple illustrated is designed with direct 
reference to the needs of the season and 
is suited to both silk and lawn, which 
latter material is admirable as a foun¬ 
dation for organdies, batistes, Swiss 
muslins and all similar fabrics, but as 
shown is of taffeta with narrow frill 
and ruches of the same. The skirt is 
cut in five gores and is fitted smoothly 
and snugly about the hips, while the 
fullness at the back is laid in an in¬ 
verted pleat. The flounce is circular 
and is seamed to the lower edge, while 
it, in turn, is trimmed with a bias fril' 
2% inches wide, edged and finished with 
a tiny ruche, and is headed by a similar 
ruche that is slightly wider than those 
upon the friii. The upper edge of the 
skirt is simply faced or narrowly bound 
and so ensures a perfect fit about the 
waist. A placket is formed in the cen¬ 
ter back seam and the closing made in¬ 
visibly with hooks and eyes, but gath¬ 
ers may be substituted and the top com¬ 
pleted with a straight belt if so pre¬ 
ferred. To cut this skirt for a woman 
of medium size 8% yards of material 21 
inches wide or six yards 32 inches wide 
will be required. The pattern No. 3781 
is cut in sizes for a 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 and 
32-inch waist measure; price 10 cents. 
Let the soul be turned as strenuously 
towards good as it usually is towards 
evil and you will find that the simple 
love of goodness will give incredible re¬ 
sources to the spirit in its search after 
truth. Love, with little intellect, will 
perform miracles.—Fenelon. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See our guarantee 8th page. 
K 
From Monday to Saturday—at every 
turn in the kitchen work—a Wickless 
Blue Flame Oil Stove will save labor, 
time and expense—and keep the cook 
comfortable. No bulky fuel to prepare 
or carry, no waiting for the fire to come 
up or die down; a fraction of the expense 
of the ordinary stove. A 
wickless 
BLUE FLAME 
OH Stove 
will boil, bake, broil fry better than a 
coal stove. It is safe and cleanly—can 
not become greasy, can not emit any 
odor. Made in several sizes, from one 
burner to five. If your dealer does not 
have them, write to nearest agency of 
STANDARD OIL COMPANY. 
