1901 
TUB RURAL NEW-YORKER 
7i5 
The Rummage Sale at Crooked 
Creek. 
When the Rev. Mr. McPherson, pastor 
of the Crooked Creek Immanuel chapel, 
announced from his desk that the Wo¬ 
man’s Missionary League would hold a 
rummage sale, and that he hoped that 
everybody would contribute to it gener¬ 
ously, a rustle of interest spread through 
his congregation. It is to be feared that 
during the remainder of the morning s 
service the topic of rummage sale was 
uppermost in the minds of the people, 
and that when church was out rum¬ 
mage sale, not sermon, formed the sub¬ 
ject of discussion. Now, first to be set¬ 
tled, what was a “rummage sale?” Those 
in ignorance were enlightened by the 
better informed. A rummage sale— 
why, it was just what the term implied. 
The Crooked Creekers were expected to 
dig and to delve in garrets, and closets, 
and clothes-presses, and collect all their 
cast-away clothing and donate it to the 
sale, to be disposed of to the poor and 
needy. 
The idea was deemed excellent. It 
took violently. The good housewives of 
Crooked Creek zealously devoted them¬ 
selves to it, and long-forgotten depths, 
many a dark and slumberous corner, 
were ruthlessly invaded. What strange 
relics were unearthed in the eozoic 
strata of attic and of dusty trunk I 
Trousers and coats, hats and stockings 
for male and female, shoes, neckties, 
underwear, bandanna handkerchiefs, 
etc., ad infinitum, blinking at the day, 
and mutely protesting, no matter how 
spruced up, at thus being exposed, were 
conveyed to the chapel until it resem¬ 
bled the old curiosity shop, or a portion 
of a ghetto. 
One of the most active promoters of 
the plan was Mrs. Riggs—popularly re¬ 
ferred to as Mrs. Deacon Riggs. Unfor¬ 
tunate woman, at best the material she 
had available for the sale was scant in¬ 
deed. Mrs. Riggs, as every one knew, 
was obliged to wear and wear and wear 
her clothes; and when finally she dis¬ 
carded them they made pretty hard 
picking for even the most greedy. In 
short. Deacon Riggs, her husband, was 
as close-fisted a man as ever existed in 
fact or fancy. He squeezed a dollar so 
that the whole household shared in the 
eagle’s suffering. Like numerous other 
women similarly environed, Mrs. Riggs, 
repressed in her own home by an un¬ 
sympathetic spouse, was fain to seek re¬ 
lief elsewhere. Her waters of human 
kindness and of benevolence, effectual¬ 
ly waiied and sealed by me deacon, 
found ouLiets at a distance. To her the 
rummage sale came as a comforting op¬ 
portunity. 
But what could she do? Little enough, 
she sadly ascertained, inasmuch as 
among tne family garments not in act¬ 
ual use, was hardly one which she was 
not quite ashamed to send. Patched 
and darned, dyed and “turned,” alas, a 
sorry collection. Nevertheless, by spirit 
of well-doing she tried to atone for lack 
of results, and she bent herself to trim 
a venerable hat, which had been new 
when she was a brfde and which, in 
various guises, year after year through 
two score changing styles had done duty 
almost up to the very present. Although 
it was entitled to uninterrupted retire¬ 
ment she now dragged forth the bat¬ 
tered frame, and proceeded to rehabili¬ 
tate it. She was aetermined that at 
least this donation should be worthy, 
and not plainly something miserable 
and unserviceaole. The poor have their 
seif-respect, and it should be heeded. 
She grew enthusiastic over her task; 
and her nimble fingers, accustomed, 
heaven knows, to maaing over and over 
fairly surprised her. The reward was 
a really decent bonnet, and Mi-s. Riggs 
felt deservedly triumphant. To be sure, 
no amount of ribbons and buckles and 
what-nots could conceal the fact that 
the hat was extremely pass6. Still, be¬ 
side the other articles it was not unat¬ 
tractive. Indeed, it shone. Satisfied 
with her success, and vastly relieved at 
bidding good-bye forever to cUe bonnet, 
Mrs. Riggs hastened to send her contri¬ 
bution to the chapel. 
The sale opened gloriously, and drew 
not only the people for whom chiefiy it 
was designed, but many in addition who 
were impelled by curiosity, or by the 
purpose to secure a piece of apparel 
suitable for rough and soiling work— 
feit thereby they might heip along the 
cause. Plenty of stock for all was in 
sight. As befitting a leading member 
of the congregation, mingling with the 
flow of customers ano Oi spectators was 
Deacon Riggs, his furtive eyes twink¬ 
ling, and his pursed lips occasionally 
expanding into a smile. A town char¬ 
acter was Deacon Riggs; not a boy but 
at whom he had wrathfully shaken his 
stick, not a citizen but had, some time 
or another, been incensed by him. Now 
he strolled down the main aisle, peering 
right and left, as prodigal with his 
greetings as he was penurious with nis 
pennies. At the end of the aisle he 
brought up in front of the hat booth, 
xxere he hesitated, ere going fai-ther on 
his tour of investigation. 
“Bunnits, hey,” he said, casually, ad¬ 
dressing in a general way the pro¬ 
prietor. 
“Yes, Deacon, take your choice,” re¬ 
sponded Mrs. Shaw, inside, with a smile 
of invitation. 
The Deacon awkwardly fingered the 
headgear within his reach, acting as 
does the average man when confronted 
by a display of millinery. To the Dea¬ 
con all hats looked alike. 
“Humph!” he uttered, in a rumina¬ 
tive chuckle. 
“How much for that there contrap¬ 
tion?” he inquired, pointing with his 
cane. 
“Only $4,” promptly answered Mrs. 
Shaw. “It’s real tasty, too.” 
“Purty high,” mumbled the Deacon, 
with a disapproving shake of his white 
hairs. 
“Why, Deacon Riggs!” remonstrated 
Mrs. Shaw, “'that hat, if bought in a 
store, would cost you at least $10.” 
“Humph!” grunted the deacon. 
“It’s altogether too nice for such a 
sale,” continued Mrs. Shaw. “See!” and 
she displayed it to more advantage, 
smoothing a ribbon in one spot, and en¬ 
couraging a bow in another. 
“Four dollars the best you kin do?” 
queried the deacon. 
Mrs. Shaw, suspecting that he was in 
a jocular mood, fell in with his humor. 
“The very best—yes, indeed,” she as¬ 
serted. “Want to try it on? There’s a 
glass.” 
“Not much,”^ retorted the deacon. He 
puckered and repuckered his thin lips. 
“I dunno,” he resumed, refiectively, “but 
what you might ez well wrap it up for 
me, and I’ll take it along. Pay you to- 
morrer.” 
Mrs. Shaw narrowly escaped fainting 
at the sudden termination, and one en¬ 
tirely unexpected of her efforts. 
“Like ez not I’ll find some pusson to 
give it to,” said the deacon, as if m 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use“Mr8.Win8- 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your chlldron 
while Teething. It is the Beet.— Adv. 
apology; “and it’s boostin’ the church 
a leetle, at the same time.” 
Without ado Mrs. Shaw, fearful lest 
the purchaser should weaken and change 
his mind, precipitately delivered the hat. 
When the deacon had returned home 
that noon he went through into the kit¬ 
chen, where Mrs. Riggs had been busy 
all the morning. 
“nere, Marier—I’ve fetched you a sort 
of present,” he announced, extending to 
her a bunchy, unsubstantial appearing 
package. 
Mrs. Riggs eagerly grasped it. Sne 
loved surprises of a pleasant nature, and 
she rarely had them. 
Seems like you’ve been sayin’ you 
needed a new bunnit,” said the deacon, 
while his fiushed wife fumbled at the 
pins, “and I’ve been boldin’ off until 
money was a bit looser; but this morn- 
in’ I come acrost somethin’ down town, 
and I says to myself, says I—.” 
Mrs. Riggs had removed the wrap¬ 
pings. The contents were exposed. 
“There!” exclaimed the deacon, com¬ 
placently. “Suits ye, doesn’t it?” 
His wife turned red, then pale. The 
deacon attributed her emotion to plea¬ 
sure. 
“Try it on, try it on,” he urged, 
heartily. 
The hat rolled .to the fioor. Mrs 
Riggs, stifling a strong desire to kick it, 
stooped and lifted it, with none too gen¬ 
tle a hand. 
“No, not just now,” she answered 
faintly. “I—I must get dinner. But 
thank you—very much, Saul.” 
Did a shade of sarcasm manifest it¬ 
self in the concluding words, or did it 
not? At any rate the deacon, grandly 
moving on his way to the sitting room, 
was oblivious of it. Left alone in the 
kitchen, Mrs. Riggs slammed—yes, 
slammed—the hat—^her hat—^this hat 
which she had trimmed only 24 hours 
previous, and which she had fervently 
hoped never to see again—upon the clut¬ 
tered pine table. 
“Darn!” ejaculated Mrs. Riggs, in a 
sob, to her own great astonishment, and 
the scandal of the tea-kettle.—Edwin L. 
Sabin, in What to Eat. 
Rural Recipes. 
biscuits, set to raise as before; when 
light bake in a moderate oven. 
Cream Pie.—One cupful thick sweet 
cream, one cupful sugar, one small 
tablespoonful flour. Stir all together, 
add the whites of two eggs well beaten 
the last thing; flavor to suit the taste, 
and bake in one crust. 
Wine Jumbles.—One cupful sugar, one 
cupful lard, one cupful molasses, one 
cupful currants, two teaspoonfuls soda 
stirred in molasses, one teaspoonful 
cinnamon, one teaspoonful cloves, one 
teaspoonful ginger, one teaspoonful salt, 
a little pepper, one cupful sour milk, 
one egg. Stir stiff with flour, drop on 
tins, sprinkle with sugar, and bake. 
Dutched Red Cabbage.—Remove the 
outer leaves from a fine head of red cab¬ 
bage and chop or shred; cover with cold 
water and let stand for an nour. Drain, 
and for each quart allow one table¬ 
spoonful of butter, one neaping table¬ 
spoonful of finely chopped onion, one- 
half of a teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of 
mace and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. 
Cover and cook slowly until tender, add¬ 
ing one teaspoonful of sugar when half 
done. 
Your Money Back 
If ibis $3.95 Plush Cape 
Is not as described 
Vienna Apple Pie.—Peel and core flve 
large apples; boil them in a uttle water 
till soft enough to press through a sieve; 
sweeten with three tablespoonfuls of 
sugar and flavor with half-teaspoonful 
of pistachio; beat the yolks of two eggs 
and add to the apples. For a Vienna 
apple pie use a lower cnist only; bake 
it; fill with the apple; beat the whites 
of three eggs and one tablespoonful of 
sugar to a stiff froth; spread evenly over 
the top and brown slightly in a moder¬ 
ate oven. Eat cold. 
Chocolate Boiled Icing.—Boil one cup¬ 
ful of granulated sugar with one-third 
of a cupful of water until it will thread 
when dropped from a spoon, remove 
from the fire and add two squares, eighth 
of a pound, of grated chocolate; add a 
teaspoonful of vanilla extract and then 
beat it slowly into the whites of three 
eggs which have been whipped to a 
froth. Spread over the cake at once. 
Corn Biscuits.—Boil two cupfuls 
sweet milk; when cold stir in one cupful 
cornmeal; add one-half cupful soft 
yeast, two cupfuls wheat flour. Set to 
raise over night. In the morning add 
three well-beaten eggs, one cupful white 
sugar, one-half cupful melted butter, 
two-thirds cupful flour, one teaspoonful 
salt; set in a warm place to raise. When 
light stir in cupful flour, roll into 
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Catalogue 1 
Number 
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