858 
THK RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 21 
[ Woman and Home 
From Day to Day. 
IF SANDY CDAWS WAS PA. 
I’ve often thought what fun 't would be 
If Sandy Claws was i)a. 
He surely would be good to me, 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
He’d let me see the million toys 
He makes fer little girls an’ boys; 
An’ every single Winter’s day 
I’d ketch on to the reindeer sleigh, 
An’ he’d be good an' wouldn’t mind. 
But jes p’tend that he was blind. 
An’ wouldn’t never whip behind. 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
The reindeer’d takes us ’way up high. 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
They’d trot right through the air an’ sky. 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
An’ pa would tell me how the deer 
Could do a thing so awful queer. 
An’ why tney stay up in the air 
Without balloons to keep ’em there; 
He’d tell me how they fly all night 
Up past the stars so big an’ bright. 
Without a single wing in sight. 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
The pole explorers would be blue. 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
We’d And the pole before they do. 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
Per we’d go there jes like a streak; 
It wouldn’t take us half a week 
To make the trip, ner half a day, 
Ner half a night while on the way. 
It’s great ole time them reindeer make 
When their slim legs gits wide awake— 
Not half a hour it wouldn’t take. 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
Each night there’d be a Christmas tree. 
If Sandy Claws was pa. 
An’ one each day, besides, fer me. 
If Sandy Claws -vyas pa. 
He’d tell me how he climbs right down 
The red-hot chimbleys in the town. 
An’ how he ever, ever learnt 
'To never git his whiskers burnt. 
But what’s the use of thinkin’ so? 
These dreams is nice, but they don’t go, 
h’er pa ain’t Sandy Claws, you know. 
An’ Sandy Claws ain’t pa. 
—Century Magazine for December. 
* 
Wk heard recently of a school teacher 
who tried, on her first day with the sec¬ 
ond grade, to gain the children’s inter¬ 
est by questioning them as to what they 
already knew. Some of their explana¬ 
tions were a trifie unexpected. 
“Now, who knows what a skeleton 
is?’’ asked the teacher, smiling coax- 
ingly. 
The little girl wearing the pink ging¬ 
ham apron and occupying the back seat 
waved her hand wildly and worked her 
mouth in frantic endeavor to get “teach¬ 
er” to look at her. 
“Well, what is it?” 
skeleton,” said the tot, twisting 
her apron in her fingers, “is a man who 
has his insides outside and his outsides 
off.” 
* 
Tills season women’s jackets are 
usually finished with a velvet collar— 
often with cuffs and revers of velvet, 
and when black or dark colored the dye 
rubs off the velvet in a most exasperat¬ 
ing manner, smudging light-colored 
stocks or waists distressingly. One of 
life’s little mysteries is the reason why 
such dye parts so willingly from the 
original fabric, and then refuses to move 
afterwards when its presence is unde¬ 
sired. A tailor tells us, however, that 
steaming the new velvet will prevent 
the color from rubbing off. A hot fiat- 
iron is rested up on its end, and a damp 
cloth put over it; the velvet is held in 
the steam until wet, and ihen brushed 
well with a soft hat brush. After the 
fabric is dry, it is treated to a second 
steam bath, and there will be no fur¬ 
ther trouble with the color rubbing off. 
A similar flatiron steam bath, applied 
to the under side, is our plan for reno¬ 
vating crushed or wrinkled velvet. 
A SMAi.i. girl of our acquaintance, dis¬ 
coursing recently about Christmas, ob¬ 
served that her chum Lenore still be¬ 
lieved that there was a truly Santa 
Claus. “I haven’t believed in Santa 
Claus for years and years,” continued 
Inez, she having reached the ripe age of 
10 . 
“And did you tell Lenore that you 
don’t?” we asked. 
“Oh no,” said Inez, in a shocked tone. 
“1 think it’s wicked to stop people from 
believing things that make them happy.” 
There is a good deal of Christmas 
philosophy in the little girl’s opinion. 
3971 Child's Costume, 
4 to 10 yrs. 
Most of us are foot passengers in a 
working world; there is no great des¬ 
tiny before us, and the plain and homely 
surroundings of our busy lives show 
nothing heroic, or romantic, or pictur¬ 
esque. We are the privates who march 
in the ranks. And yet, without build¬ 
ing idle castles in Spain, and mourn¬ 
ing because we can’t live in them after¬ 
wards, it is possible to believe in a good 
many things that will make such lives 
happy. Perhaps some one who reads 
this looks forward to a Christmas from 
which necessity has stripped the cus¬ 
tomary gifts—a Lenten festival, bare of 
its traditional good cheer. Francois 
Coppde, the French poet, tells an old 
legend of a little orphan who, hearing 
of the gifts anticipated by his compan¬ 
ions, determined to place his sabots by 
the fireplace on Christmas Eve, in full 
faith that Noel, the French Santa Claus, 
would fill them with gifts. But, as he 
left the church, after midnight mass, he 
saw, lying asleep in the porch, a carpen¬ 
ter’s boy, his bag of tools by his side, 
and his bare feet exposed to the nipping 
frost. The orphan paused in pity of one 
poorer than himself, then, drawing off 
his sabots, slipped them on the feet of 
the sleeping stranger, and limped home 
barefooted through the snow. Reach¬ 
ing his poor room he cried himself to 
sleep, because he had not even the sa¬ 
bots to hold the gifts of Noel. But, in 
the morning, he saw, by the empty fire¬ 
place, his old sabots, piled high with 
gifts, while throughout the village the 
people talked eagerly of a miracle—a 
golden crown showing in the time-worn 
pavement of the church porch. The or¬ 
phan had placed his sabots—all he had 
to bestow—upon the sacred feet of the 
Child of Bethlehem. 
Whatever our private or personal be¬ 
liefs—whether we welcome Christmas 
festivities or turn away from them like 
the sad-visaged Puritans—we are all 
alike the better for public recognition 
of a season of peace and good will. If 
our purses are light, there is all the 
more reason to make our hearts cor¬ 
respond with them. After all, being 
happy is largely a question of habit; 
not so easily acquired, perhaps, as a 
habit of looking on the dark side, but 
none the less a matter of personal 
choice. If we can’t get what we like, 
we may at least like what we can get, 
and that cheery philosophy will spread 
a spirit of Christmas joy over every 
mouth in the year. 
The Rural Patterns. 
The kilted suit shown is made of blue 
serge, with collar, tie and shield of red 
cloth trimmed with narrow black braid; 
but white, dark red, green, brown and 
fancy plaids are all used, and flannel, 
cashmere and similar wool goods are ap¬ 
propriate. The skirt is laid in back¬ 
ward turning pleats from each side of 
the front to the center back where they 
meet. The upper edge is stitched to a 
body lining, that closes with the skirt 
at the back, over the front of which the 
shield is applied and which is finished 
with a standing collar at the neck. The 
blouse is made separately and in double- 
breasted style, closing at the edge of the 
box pleats. The back is laid in two box 
pleats and the fronts in one each, while 
the neck is cut away to reveai the shield 
and is finished with a sailor collar. The 
sleeves are full, and gathered into nar¬ 
row cuffs, or bands, at the wrists. To 
out this costume for a girl of six years 
of age five yards of material 27 inches 
wide or 3M yards 44 inches wide will be 
required, with % yard 27 inches wide 
or 14 yard 44 inches wide for collar, 
shield and tie. The pattern No. 3971 is 
cut in sizes for children of 4, 6, 8 and 10 
years of age; price 10 cents. 
Loose three-quarter coats are very de¬ 
sirable for children. In the model 
shown, the fronts are cut in box style 
and hang free from the shoulders, but 
the back includes a center seam. To the 
neck is joined a sailor collar, that is 
square at the back, but rounded over the 
fronts, which are cut away to close 
closely to the neck, where there is a 
simple turnover collar that is seamed to 
both tile coat and the sailor collar. The 
sleeves are in regulation style and pock¬ 
ets, with pocket laps, are inserted in 
each front. The coat is closed, in double- 
breasted style, with handsome pearl but- 
3984 Child’s Three-quarter 
Coat, 2 to 8 yrs. 
tons and buttonholes. To cut this coat 
for a cnild of four years of age 3% yards 
of material 20 inches wide, 2% yards 27 
inches wide, 1% yard 44 inches wide or 
114 yard 54 inches wide will be re¬ 
quired. The pattern No. 3984 is cut in 
sizes for children of 2, 4, 0 and 8 years 
of age; price 10 cents from this office. 
TRr GRAIN-0! TRY GRAIN-01 
Ask your Grocer to-day to show you a package of 
GUAIN-O, the new food drink that takes the place 
of coffee. The children may drink It without Injury 
us well as the adult. All who try it, like it. GliAlN-O 
has that rich seal brown of Mocha or .lava, but it Is 
made from pure grains, and the most delicate stomach 
receives it without distress. H the price of coffee 
lie. and 2.ic per package. Sold by all grocers 
Earning 
Money 
Any one — man, woman, 
boy, girl—can do it and 
no experience is necessary. 
The Ladies’Home 
Journal and The Satur¬ 
day Evening Post have 
made it sure. All you 
need is faith in yourself. 
If you think you’re going 
to amount to something, 
write to 
THe Curtis 
PublisKin^ Company 
PKiladelpHia 
and get your start now. 
STEEL RANGES 
Direct from the iVIakers. 
Freight prepaid, privilege 
of examination, if you do not 
like it you pay nothing. 
We will sell you the best 
steel range In the market at 
wholesale price, saving 
you agents’ commissions 
and travellers’expenses. 
62 styles to choose from. 
We are the only manu¬ 
facturers of steel ranges, 
selling direct to the con¬ 
sumer at wholesale price. 
Catalog and price list free. 
Send for them to-day. 
DETROIT STEEL RANGE CO. 
8 WIDMAN PLACE, DETROIT, MICH. 
KENM0RE^^"i?^^i!RANGE$ 
8 TKELI 
Are Sold to IJiiers at Faetorj Friees. 
CR Buys this St^el Range. 
Guaranteed the equal 
of any range you can buy 
retail for lifty dollars. 
Good Steel Ranges low a.s $16.96 
HE SHIP RANGES ON TRIAL. 
80 days um If yon are not satisfied 
the range, we will refund entire 
amount paid. 
Send for FREE CATALOGUE 
44 styles and sizes steel ranges. Largest line 
cast ranfres, cook and heating stores in U.8. 
CONSUMERS C’G’E. A MFG. CO. 
232 So. U.BplAin.g St., ClIICAtiU, ILL. 
Meat smoked in a few hours with 
KRAUSERS’ LIQUID EXTRACT OF SMOKE. 
Made from hickory wood. Gives fine flavor. 
Cieanest, cheapest; free from insects. Send for 
cironiar. E. KlfAVSER A: ItKO., Milton, I»«. 
Cider Machinery.—Send for oatalogne to Boomer & 
Boschert Press Co., 118 West Water St., Syracuse,N.Y 
POULTRY-HOUSE i 
ROOFING 
As a water-proof covering for Poultry- 
Houses, KUBEKOIl) has no equal. Keeps 
the houses cool during the warm weather, 
and warm in Winter, and the chicks dry and | 
comfortable. The sun cannot melt it. 
I THE STANDARD PAINT CO., 
100 'WlUlam Street, 
NEW YORK. 
g A Wooden Washer works hard, rubs and destroys clothing, leaks 
N and falls apart, is heavy and awkward to handle. 
A Steel Washer— galvanized—neverriists.n'ever leaks, never falls 
apart, is cleanly and will last a lifetime. That is why the 
Syracuse Easy Washer 
is made of steel. It is easy to operate, because it washes by air pres¬ 
sure. Air forces soap and water through the clothes and takes out the 
dirt. No rubbing on washboards, no wood or metal pegs to destroy 
clothes, as in other machines, but simply air pressure, without hard 
work, without friction, wear or waste, making washing easy. 
It washes fast, washes clean, washes everything. It is on rollers 
to move about easily. 
Thousands in use, each one a testimonial. 
You take no risk on the EASY washer. Try it four weeks, then 
return it if you wish. Write for full information. 
DODGE & ZUILL, 539 S. Clinton St., Syracuse, N.Y. 
