i9o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
MARCH 22 
Woman’s VUovlu 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
S PRING bonnets seem to blossom out 
earlier than usual this year; by the 
beginning of February, venturesome 
women were appearing in the city streets 
crowned with gay wreaths of flowers. 
. They looked a little bit incongruous during 
the chill weather a month later. The 
majority of these hats were flat toques, 
having a wreath of gay flowers ail around 
the edge, while the top was completely 
covered by a flat spreading bow of velvet 
ribbon. Velvet strings came from the 
back, and were fastened under the chin in 
a close little bow. The leading favorites 
were of black velvet with a close wreath of 
fully-opened pink roses or blue forget-me- 
nots ; others were bordered with scarlet 
poppies. They were very jaunty little hats, 
and they make most places of public resort 
a veritable flower-garden. 
* 
* * 
For a spring wrap nothing can be prettier 
or more stylish than a nice cape. These 
garments have been greatly worn in fur all 
winter, and they will be favored in many 
fabrics for spring. There are so many 
styles to choose from. A tall, slight person 
will look very well in a full gathered 
double cape fasteued to a V-shaped yoke. 
It would Be pretty in black broadcloth, the 
edge of the capes pinked out. The yoke 
might be plain, or it might be of velvet, or 
again, it might be of the cloth decorated in 
some way. A decoration of silver braid on 
the black cloth would be pretty and very 
effective. 
For a shorter or stouter person, a plain, 
well-fitting cape would be more becoming 
than the double one. It might be made in 
cloth or velvet, either to match a gown or 
to contrast with it, and should be lined 
with thin silk or farmer’s satin. Patterns 
may be bought of any of these capes, and 
they are not beyond the skill of a home 
dress-maker. They are very convenient to 
wear over a gown with full sleeves, which 
are often a serious inconvenience under a 
tight-fitting wrap. 
* 
* * 
Those full sleeves are quite .a blessing in 
some ways. Since it became in fashion to 
wear sleeves of a contrasting material it has 
become possible to smarten up one’s old 
frocks in a very pretty style. With con¬ 
trasting sleeves and yoke, or sleeves and 
collar, it becomes comparatively easy to 
alter one’s old gowns. For house wear the 
high collar is entirely dispensed with, in 
the case of a plump woman : an open rol¬ 
ling collar or turn-down ruffle takes its 
place. But a woman, who, like Annie 
Laurie, has a neck like a swan, will do well 
to avoid turn-down collars. 
Another convenient style to renew a 
half-worn basque is the use of a full vest or 
surplice folds. These surplice folds will 
hide the worn part of a basque, and will 
prove becoming to most figures. 
As to skirts, the plainer the better. A 
perfectly plain skirt, having the back laid 
in two box pleats, the front and sides in 
small kilt pleats, will be pretty, and easily 
arranged. Since these plain modes have 
become fashionable, it is much easier to 
arrange a half worn costume. 
* 
* * 
If you want to be well-dressed, always 
wear neat shoes and neat gloves, never 
wear soiled collars or tumbled ruffles, see 
that your frock is always mended when 
necessary, and brushed when dusty. See 
that your hair is well brushed, your nails 
clipped and cleaned, and do be careful in 
personal cleanliness. All these trifles bring 
perfection, and perfection is no trifle, as the 
great artist said. 
A BIT ABOUT HOME UNHAPPINESS. 
A PROPOS of home unhappiness, a 
writer in the Michigan Farmer, who 
signs herself “ Daffidowndilly,” says that 
in her experience a very large proportion of 
the unhappiness in married life has been 
caused by relations of various degrees, es¬ 
pecially by some one dependent on the 
home circle for support It may be a man, 
but is oftener a woman, who is dependent 
for shelter and protection on those for 
whom she waits with a wet blanket to flop 
over all tender moods, with an accurate 
record of all failures and mistakes, ready 
to be trotted out, singly or in pairs, three 
times a day, with triplets for rainy morn¬ 
ings or days when the whole universe seems 
to go wrong. It is not quite 40 years ago 
that I first remember one of these breeders 
of misunderstandings who tried to sow the 
seeds of “incompatibility,” and open the 
way for divorce. I have stood on the wood- 
pile and watched her ride off on horse¬ 
back and wished she would tail off and 
get killed. This old Aunt Polly al¬ 
ways brought insinuations and slanderous 
tales, and left my mother in tears 
and filled with suspicions. Things ran 
smoothly enough between her visits 
and the visits were tolerated by a generous 
husband through regard for the wife. Pos¬ 
sibly an early death saved worse things. 
There was another still: a sister—my 
father’s sister. She came once a year with 
a green crape veil over her face and a red 
silk handkerchief constantly in her hand to 
hold the melancholy tears. She always 
came unannounced, and during a visitation 
of a month spent most of the time in the 
graveyard and talked day and night of the 
doleful things on earth and in heaven. She 
never brought money to pay her fare home, 
and never failed to make considerable pur¬ 
chases at the stores and charge them to my 
father, who remained in ignorance of them 
until a bill came in. Too proud to expose 
the aggravation, it ran on for years and 
great forbearance alone kept down discon¬ 
tent or strife. 
I have in mind a second marriage where 
the first wife’s sister is “ tolerated” because, 
never having been independent enough to 
try to do anything for herself, she lived 
with Mary Ann. Never having so much as 
made herself a dress—never having earned 
a penny in her life—one of the altogether 
incapable women, she prides herself on her 
ability to make No.2 “ feel her position.” 
She calls and requests private interviews 
with the husband, whispers in his ear in 
the church aisle, talks low on the opposite 
side on the way home, brings letters to be 
read by him only, and in a thousand ways 
that cannot be resented makes life uncom¬ 
fortable for the wife. 
Another case comes to my mind. A hus¬ 
band has his aged father to support. The 
old gentleman is trying to train the wife. 
When she leaves the kitchen a few minutes 
he washes the dishes in the scrubbing pail 
and scolds when she uses soap. He also 
prefers to do his own cooking at odd times 
of day,with the grease and dirt thrown in. 
I could enumerate scores of cases of 
different shades. Intemperate brothers,un¬ 
grateful sisters, desolate old women not so 
near, who subsist on the charity or gen¬ 
erosity of perhaps the last one to whom they 
can make any claim of blood, yet whose 
bounty is received with no show of grati¬ 
tude. There is no telling the annoyances 
endured, the joys broken in upon, the plans 
frustrated, the coolness brought between 
husbands and wives—the estrangements 
made through this endeavor to shelter 
superannuated relatives. When home 
ceases to be cheerful and all merriment is 
frowned down and fault-finding reigns, 
affection takes wings. If there is anything 
worse than becoming 'a dismal old skeleton 
dangling round the hearth of one’s friends, 
what is it ? And what shall be done with 
these skeletons to whom hundreds of poor 
wives are yoked ? Let us dispose of this 
cause of discord before we tackle some 
others, for I am persuaded that it is quite 
as serious as any. 
Perfectly Harmless.— Thatcher’s Or¬ 
ange Butter Color, the largest packages 
for the price, the purest, strongest and the 
most natural June tint of any known prep¬ 
aration in the world. 
Thatcher Mfg. Co., Potsdam.— Adv. 
THE HOUR BEFORE DINNER. 
OLIVE E. DANA. 
I S it not oftentimes the very hardest and 
weariest in the 24 hours? Is there any way 
to help it, or any reason for it? Or, if we 
could find the reason would it not suggest 
at least a palliative? Housekeepers are 
not alone in finding it a weary hour. 
Probably all workers, and especially those 
who make long days, feel it too. The 
teacher, the clerk, the mechanic, the school¬ 
girl, the seamstress, yes, the farmer, too, 
confess to the same feeling. But the house¬ 
wife oftentimes finds it the very busiest 
hour as well, crowded with duties she can¬ 
not evade or put by. She never needs 
strength or serenity more. Perhaps there 
is some reason, easily discovered, for the 
exhaustion that overtakes one at this time. 
Perhaps the breakfast was early, and ill- 
planned to sustain a worker through sev¬ 
eral hours of toil. Perhaps more substan¬ 
tial food should have been provided, or of 
a more nutritious quality. Some such 
change or some timely addition to the bill- 
of-fare might relieve all the household. 
Or maybe it was not the fault of the 
breakfast, but only because the housekeep¬ 
er did not “ get the good ” of hers. Could 
she not have made up the lack by a more 
leisurely, if a later, meal after the workers 
had gone and the bustle quieted a little? 
or have taken a slight mid-forenoon lunch 
to break the strain of the long morning? 
Perhaps the close atmosphere of the kitch¬ 
en helps depress the vitality. A breath of 
fresh air, a walk in the yard between tasks, 
or even a moment at the open door might 
help. 
Perhaps the hours of steady labor should 
have been broken by a half hour’s rest— 
longer if possible, shorter if necessary, on 
the lounge or in an easy chair. 
And perhaps long days or weeks in the 
house, the wear and monotony of much and 
continuous in-door work are largely to 
blame for flagging strength and jaded 
nerves and lack of endurance. It may be 
that some tasks might be left for other 
hands, or omitted altogether. Non-essen¬ 
tials may have to go in order that we may 
keep life’s best things. Each for herself 
ought to find the reason and apply the 
remedy. 
UroAvn’s Bronchial Troches 
Contain ingredients which act specially on 
the organs of the voice. They have an 
extraordinary efficacy in all affections of 
the throat, caused by cold or over-exertion 
of the voice. They are recommended to 
Singers and Public Speakers, and all who 
have coughs or trouble with the throat or 
lungs. “ I recommend their use to public 
speakers.”—Rev. E. H. Chapin. “ Pre¬ 
eminently the best.”—Rev. Henry Ward 
Beecher.— Adv. 
GOLDEN GRAINS. 
Wk rise in glory, as we sink in pride, 
Where boasting ends, dignity begins. 
SSUMED qualities may catch the af¬ 
fections of some; but one must pos¬ 
sess qualities really good to fix the heart... 
One reason why the world is not re¬ 
formed is, because every man would have 
others make a beginning and never thinks 
of himself. 
If our faith is strong and our star of 
hope shines brightly, we shall be found 
always at the post of duty, contending for 
the right; and though, to human view, the 
results of our labor seem small, still let us 
work, and still let us hope, for we know 
that above all the confusion and strife and 
misjudgment of the world, the voice of God 
will one day be heard, proclaiming that the 
right has prevailed. 
Having faith, we shall work faithfully, 
and leave results with God ; having hope, 
we shall work cheerfully, whatever our 
position may be; having both, we shall 
work lovingly, and as more and more we 
feel and share the Divine love, so more and 
more shall we seek to lead others to Christ, 
that they may feel and share it, too. 
Beautiful souls are often put into plain 
bodies; but they cannot be hidden, and 
have a power all their own, the greater for 
the unconsciousness or humility which 
gives it grace. 
Emerson said that in literature quota¬ 
tion is good only when the writer whom 1 
follow goes my way, and, better mounted 
than I gives me a cast, as we say ; but if I 
like the gay equipage so well as to go out 
of my road, I had better have gone afoot... 
Give not thy tongue too great a liberty, 
says Quarles, lest it take thee prisoner. A 
word unspoken is like the sword in the 
scabbard, thine ; if vented, thy sword is in 
another’s hand. 
Longfellow beautifully says that 
friends must be torn asunder, and swept 
along in the current of events, to see each 
other seldom and perchance no more. For¬ 
ever and ever, in the eddies of time and 
accident, we whirl away. 
Horace Mann once said: “Seeing the 
atmosphere is 40miles deep all around the 
globe, it is a useless piece of economy to 
breathe it more than once.” Yet we do it 
—in our sleeping-rooms. 
“LA GRIPPE.” 
A FEW weeks since the R. N.-Y. re¬ 
ceived the following question from a 
subscriber in Illinois : 
“ Have people in all localities and occupa¬ 
tions in this country been alike subject to 
the “influenza” that has lately spread 
across the continent ? A complete answer 
to this query might perhaps lead to a pre¬ 
ventive or cure.” 
It was referred to the editors of some of 
the leading medical journals of the country, 
and has called forth the following comments: 
The Editor of the Homeopathic Recorder 
writes: “To the best of our knowledge, 
yes.” 
Dr. A. R. Nichols, Editor of Popular 
Science News writes: “As far as I know, 
the attentions of la grippe have been be¬ 
stowed upon ‘all manners and conditions 
of men,’ including both the just and the 
unjust. Many common colds, catarrhs, 
etc., have, however, been mistaken for the 
epidemic, although really having no con¬ 
nection with it.” 
The Editor of Hall’s Journal of Health 
says : “We have been unable to obtain 
any facts more definite than daily news¬ 
paper reports. The epidemic appears to 
have run its course the world over; but 
quite unevenly as regards localities. We 
are informed that the Indians of the far 
Northwest suffered severelv from it.” 
Dr. J. W. Penn, of the Medical Brief, 
writing from Humboldt,Tenn.,says: “Hum¬ 
boldt is situated near the geographical cen¬ 
ter of West Tennessee in what is considered 
a malarious region ; that is, malarial dis¬ 
eases comprise the prevailing type of sick¬ 
ness generally all through this portion of the 
State. But so far as I have been able to 
learn from reading accounts of the prevail¬ 
ing epidemic ( lagiippe ) in all parts of the 
United States, there seems to be no differ¬ 
ence in its effects here from those described 
in every other locality. The malarial dia¬ 
thesis which modifies, as a rule, all other 
forms of disease seems to exert no peculiar 
influence upon the cause here, neither does 
it appear to pay any respect to age, sex, 
occupation or conditions in life as regards 
previous condition of health. It neither 
shuns nor favors any class, but attacks and 
affects all alike. Some individuals enfee¬ 
bled by age, or previous ill health recover 
from quite severe attacks, while others ap¬ 
parently robust, succumb to complications 
coming on while prostrated by the prevail¬ 
ing epidemic. The disease seems now to 
have about expended its force here after 
having been among the people of the com¬ 
munity for about eight weeks, and there 
are very few persons who have not experi¬ 
enced its effects, in greater or less degree.” 
Dr. Wm. B. Canfield, of the Maryland 
Medical Journal, writes from Baltimore, as 
follows : “ Owing to the meagerness of 
correct accounts of this epidemic, this ques¬ 
tion is not easy to answer. So far as my 
own observation and experience take me, 
I notice that the influenza attacked per¬ 
sons in different parts of this city, not dis¬ 
criminating between position, station of 
life, occupation or any other condition. As 
it is undoubtedly a germ disease, and as 
germs are less plentiful in thinly populated 
sections, people in the country and smaller 
places suffered much less than those in 
crowded communities and cities, while 
those in all conditions who were debilitated 
from any cause, as from a chronic malady, 
particularly of the respiratory tract, and 
those employed about hospitals or iu close 
contact with the sick, seemed, with some 
very inexplicable exceptions, to be more 
subject to the disease. Children seemed to 
be markedly exempt. Why one person ap¬ 
parently constantly exposed escaped, while 
another living in almost seclusion was at¬ 
tacked can only be conjectured. Those 
whose occupations took them into the open 
air were more liable to infection, but more 
apt to throw it off ; while those living a se- 
£tti$rrUimrou.o' gnJvcrtij&infl. 
When Baby was sick, we gave her Castoria, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castoria. 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castoria 
When she had Children, she gave them Castoria 
