i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
631 
WAS IT WORTH WHILE? 
AUD HOWE ELLIOTT, in a novel 
now being published serially, has suc¬ 
ceeded in putting in a novel, very effective 
light the outcome of the too frequent—dare 
we call it custom ?—of two people,one or both 
of whom are bound to another, throwing 
honor to the winds, breaking every tie of 
friendship and of lawful affection, in order 
to enjoy their own mad passion for each 
other. She pictures two such who are about 
to sail away together, and just before the 
final step is taken when it will be forever 
too late to draw back, the man chances to 
meet and see an encounter between two 
others who had been almost driven by cruel 
circumstances to take the same step two 
or three years previously, and some mem¬ 
bers of the set to whom they had belonged 
before their sad downfall. Sir John Law- 
ton and Phillida are the two who are set¬ 
ting out for the “ city of destruction ” ; 
Lord Archie Northridge and Mrs. Brandyce 
are the two who dwell there already. The 
stor^kruns as follows: 
The lady, seeing Sir John, paused at the 
threshold, her pale, proud face flushing 
painfully as he came to meet her. The 
two had never set foot in England since the 
day they gave up the world for each other’s 
sake. They were two wandering exiles. 
Sir John Lawton would have given half 
his fortune to ask that pale, fair woman one 
question : “ Was it worth while ? ” 
As Mrs. Brandyce gave him her hand, she 
avoided looking at him. She made no ref¬ 
erence to the past, she did not even ask 
Lawton about his mother, though she had 
been her nearest friend. 
Sir John is thinking: “This woman will 
not look at me ; she has not once met my 
eyes. Could I bear to see her like this ?” 
While they are still speaking together, 
the diligence for St. Elmo stops before the 
inn. A pair of English travelers, who have 
occupied the c oup6, now alight, and Law- 
ton recognizes two London acquaintances. 
At the same time they see him, and then 
he sees the look of recognition in the eyes 
of the newcomers as they fall upon the 
lady he is talking with. There is an agon¬ 
izing moment; the gentleman bows shame¬ 
facedly to Mrs. Brandyce, but his wife’s 
face hardens into a stony expression, and 
without a look she gathers her skirts to¬ 
gether and sweeps from the room. Lawton 
sees Mrs. Brandyce’s face grow old and 
gray in a moment, and hears the pen with 
which Lord Archie has been writing snap 
viciously as he cries out: “ Come, May, 
let’s get out of this cursed hole.” 
Then, and then only, Sir John begins to 
realize what the reality stripped of all the 
rosy illusions he and Phillida have wrapped 
about it may mean; and that he must either 
live and die an alien, or see the woman he 
loves stabbed to the heart at every turn. 
He looks the truth in the face, wrestles 
sternly with temptation, and then sails 
away alone, knowing that he cannot bear 
the consequences of the step they had 
planned, leaving Phillida with her maid to 
return to her friends. The delirium of 
love in which the two have been blind and 
deaf to the consequences of their intended 
action are well pictured, as well as his 
sharp awakening, and, at the last, his 
brave renunciation of the woman he loves. 
If this story could but awaken all who may 
be soreiy tempted in this way, to ask them¬ 
selves whether they can bear the outcome, 
we should have fewer wrecked lives, and 
the author’s aim should be accomplished. 
FABRICS OF THE FUTURE. 
NE of the best of the women’s journals 
already gives its readers hints of 
wuat is to be worn during the coming year. 
Many such fabrics can be purchased more 
cueaply now than they can during the fall 
or spring, and it is quite an advantage to 
know what is to be worn a little in advance 
of the season. Manufacturers and design¬ 
ers have already made their preparations 
lor a year ahead. We condense some of the 
notes regarding colors and fabrics. One 
thing to be made a note of is that fabrics 
2ttbrcUuneou$ 
When writing to advertisers, please 
mention The Rural New-Yorker. 
When Baby was sick, wo gave her Coscorla, 
When aha was a Child, she cried for Castor la, 
When she became Miss, she clung to Cast or la. 
When she hud i hlldren, she gave them Custom. 
with llower designs in bordered styles 
should be carefully avoided, as they are 
already fast losing favor. It is said that 
all fine, soft goods in one color, and with a 
cashmere finish will, without doubt, be 
worn extensively next year, while shaded 
stripes will strive for supremacy and will 
rank high, and shaded styles, in all va¬ 
rieties on India cashmere grounds and on 
soft cheviot will be found. Broad, shaded 
stripes in all possible combinations, simple 
and combined, straight and crosswise, and 
in zigzag style will prevail. 
Many admirers of changeable styles fore¬ 
see for them great favor, but it will be only 
in silk or half silk goods, as they do not re¬ 
produce well on wool. Shaded styles are 
assured of success. The latest samples show 
shaded dots between fine stripes; shaded 
stripes alternate with one color, and shaded 
pea designs in stripes. Cheap bareges with 
shaded stripes in knotted or oval designs, 
will be much wonn. Black India cash¬ 
meres are seen with small embroidered 
flowers, with golden-yellow, wheat ear de¬ 
signs, also green leaf and weed embroidered 
designs. That soft fabrics and shaded styles 
will meet with great favor, seems assured. 
There are many of the silks, muslins 
and crepons now worn which will be, if not 
in the hight of fashion next season, at 
least not out of it. Among these are the 
India silks ; but in selecting silk for future 
use, small designs and delicate colors 
should be taken. The large designs have 
no doubt had their day, and for what one 
fashion magazine is pleased to call “ the 
general woman,” who can have few gowns, 
they are never profitable to buy because too 
showy. 
As to colors, the Dry Goods Economist 
says that the French “ syndicate of flowers 
and plumes ” has just brought out a new 
color-card, which gives the best place to 
heliotrope shades again. Blues come next, 
with several shades of brown, while reds 
and greens have gone to the lowest places. 
Of the 10 shades of blue, one called “ bluet” 
is expected to become fashionably popular. 
For autumn, cashmeres and light-weight 
woolens will be combined with brocade, 
the latter to be used for panels, plastrons, 
and sleeves. Gold-and-silk embroidery or 
braiding will be used for garnitures, the 
silk being of a darker shade than the gown. 
AN UNGALLANT LEGISLATURE. 
UCY STONE writes in rather sarcas¬ 
tic vein to the New England Farmer 
tnat the late session of the Massachusetts 
legislature was a remarkable one in many 
things ; that it appropriated thousands of 
dollars to the gypsy moth and left the dogs 
unmuzzled ; that it measured the length of 
a salable lobster and forbade its being 
broken in two, so that the purchaser might 
not be cheated into buying two halves that 
do not belong together; that it left the 
five inch baby trout to swim until he 
reaches six inches; that it tried to find the 
weight of a dozen eggs, and guarded the 
right of the human male to vote by enact¬ 
ing that no change of residence shall affect 
the right, that infamous crimes shall not 
hinder him from depositing his ballot, and 
that the paltry tax of $2 shall not stand be¬ 
tween him and that inalienable right. 
On the other hand, when women asked 
that a married mother might have the 
same legal right to her child that the 
father has, so that neither parent should be 
able to dispose of the custody of the child 
without the consent of the other; when 
they asked that when a husband or a wife 
borrows money of the other, the obligation 
to pay shall be valid, as in the case of any 
other borrowed money; when they asked 
that the 40 days, which is all the law allows 
a widow to stay in the house without pay¬ 
ing rent, while she adjusts herself to the 
new and hard conditions of life alone, 
might be extended, all these reasonable pe¬ 
titions were refused by this body of able 
and just legislators! 
In the lately admitted State of Wyoming 
the status of women is quite different. 
When this State was first constituted a 
Territory, a bill was passed (without debate 
and almost unanimously), allowing women 
to vote at all elections. It was said that 
this was done partly to advertise the Terri¬ 
tory, partly to induce a large immigration 
of worney. Be this as it may, women in 
Wyoming have accepted their duties with 
becoming seriousness, and have perfumed 
them conscientiously. The first justice, 
Mrs. Hester Morris, was an especial terror 
to evil-doers, especially those who were ar¬ 
rested for drunkenness or for wife-beating. 
Elizabeth Cady Stanton is authority for 
the statement that bread is there made by 
the same hands that cast the ballot; that 
marriage has not been annulled, cradles 
abandoned, or stockings mended by the 
State, and that the women say they never 
earned $3 per day so easily as in sitting in 
comfortable chairs listening to cases in 
court; also that voting is far easier than 
making perfect bread. 
In connection with Mrs. Stanton’s state¬ 
ment about marriage and cradles, it may 
also be noted that the Massachusetts 
bureau of labor statistics reports that the 
presence of women in industrial work of 
all kinds has not decreased the number of 
births and marriages,as shown by 50 towns 
having a large percentage of women at 
work. 
is to lie there, and cry weak tears with 
your weak eyes, while your heart aches fie 
to break. There are many mothers lying 
just this way, and some with the knowledge 
that each day their life tide is ebbing out, 
never to roll back in this world. There are 
crosses, and trials, and things hard to bear, 
in our every day lives, but let us keep in 
mind that for us there may be no to¬ 
morrow, and let us try to make our to-day 
what it should be. EMILY H. steedman. 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention The Rural. 
WHEN TO LET GO. 
I T is as important to know when to let 
go as when to hold on. The ability to 
retain one’s hold is often dependent on 
wisdom in letting go on occasion. The 
porter and the hod carrier set down their 
loads with judicious frequency. The ex¬ 
pressman who moves your piano brings 
such supports that the box is tranferred 
from the wagon to the house, or vice versa, 
almost more by resting it than by lifting 
It, it seems to you as you watch. It is only 
those who have not learned to carry bur¬ 
dens who persistently decline the momen¬ 
tary easing of nerve and muscle. There 
are, at least, three sorts of housekeepers. 
Those of the first class do not need to be 
told to “ let go ” of any care. They follow 
the precept, alas I only too closely. Their 
aim seems to be to escape as many of the 
burdens of home-making as possible. But 
this class, usually denominated shiftless, 
or, in plain, Yankee speech, “slack,” is a 
small one. The second is probably by far 
the largest. It consists of that multitude 
of women who will not let go save at the 
last spur of necessity; whom weariness 
does not frighten, or pain daunt, or the 
prospect even of sickness and helplessness 
endue with prudence. They cannot and 
will not see how much better it is to rest a 
little now and then than to go on till work¬ 
ing time is ended all prematurely. They 
do not know that an hour’s rest, a day’s 
respite, a week’s visit, brings not an hour’s 
or a day’s or a week’s ease, nor the strength 
which is their equivalent, but oftentimes 
an entirely new quality of life, and an in¬ 
crease of vigor in which the actual invest¬ 
ment of time is but like a very small factor 
in a large amount. The third class, all too 
small, is made up of those wise housewives 
who know how and when to rest. They 
know that a daily nap does not mean lazi¬ 
ness ; when one’s working day begins at 
4.30 A. M., perhaps, and lasts till eight at 
night, at least, why should not one allow 
herself the resting-time which the mid¬ 
afternoon may bring, without self-censure? 
Or if there is a half-hour’s leisure be¬ 
tween the forenoon’s tasks why should one 
not be allowed the benefit of it, especially 
as the dinuer-hour brings such demands on 
strength and patience ? It is something to 
let go when one can. There is such a thing 
as being too tired to rest. Timely rest is 
by far more beneficial than that which is 
accorded too late to exhausted powers. 
Good housekeeping requires “a heavy hand 
on the tiller.” The hand will steer all the 
siraignter and more successfully if it is 
sometimes lifted for a little. 
OLIVE K. DANA. 
A LITTLE COMMENT. 
" T TRY - to possess my soul in pa- 
X tience and get through every day.” 
Weil; what of it ? Doesn’t every one who 
tries to do the right at all do pretty muon 
the same thing ? You are a wife, and 
mother, with little ones around your feet 
and there are plenty more wives and 
mothers, just as tired as you, going right 
on with their daily duties. (1 hope they do 
not all complain as much.) Just you fail 
sick, and lie in bed for two weeks, perhaps 
a month, aud hear your baby cry in the 
other room for you, while the door is shut 
tightly between you and it. Lie there, aud 
listen to it, and then hear the door softly 
opened, and two or three little ones creep 
in on tip-toe to stand by you, looking with 
big, scared eyes into mamma’s pale face, 
neglected-looking little ones, in spite of 
all the care nurse and some dear sister 
are bestowing on them. Then husband 
comes in to take them away lest they tire 
mamma, and your watchful wife eyes see a 
great rent in his coat, and a hole in the 
elbow, and your weak fingers long to hold 
a needle long enough to dam that rent, and 
put a neat patch over the elbow, and then 
gather up the little ones he is taking out of 
the room, aud shower abundance of mother 
love and care on them. But all you can do 
Boils and Pimples 
Are nature’s efforts to eliminate poison from 
the blood. This result may be accomplished 
much more effectually, as well as agreeably, 
through the proper excretory channels, by 
the use of Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. 
“ For several years I was troubled with 
boils and carbuncles. In casting about for a 
remedy, it occurred to me that Ayer’s Sars<v 
parilla had been used in my father’s family, 
with excellent success, aud I thought that 
what was good for the father would also be 
good for the son. Three or four bottles of 
this medicine entirely cured me, and I have 
not since —in more than two years—had a 
boil, pimple, or any other eruptive trouble. 
I can conscientiously speak in the highest 
terms of Ayer’s Sarsaparilla, and many 
years’ experience in the drug business en¬ 
ables me to speak intelligently.”—C. M. 
Hatfield, Farmland, Ind. 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla 
PREPARED BY 
DR. J. C. AYER & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
Price SI; six bottles, Sa. Worth $5 a bottle. 
ADVICE TO THE AGED. 
Age brings infirmities, snob as sluggish 
bowel s, weak kidneys and torpid liver. 
It’s Pills 
have a specific effect on these organs, stim¬ 
ulating tlie bowels, gives natural discharg¬ 
es, and imparts vigor to the whole system. 
GOLD MEDAL, PARIS, 1878 
W. BAKER & CO.’S 
Breakfast Cocoa 
Is al>8oUitely pure and 
t. is sohible. 
No Chemicals 
are used In its preparation. It has more 
than three times the strength of Cocoa 
mixed with Starch, Arrowroot or Sugar, 
and is therefore far more economical, 
costing lest than one cent a cup. It is 
delicious, nourishing, strengthening, EA¬ 
SILY Digested, and admirably adapted 
for invalids as well as persons In health. 
Sold by Grocers everywhere. 
W. BAKES & CO.. Dorchester, Mass- 
USE BOILING WATER OR MILK. 
EPPS’S 
CRATEFUL COMFORTINC. 
COCOA 
SOLD IN LABELLED te LB. TINS. 
WOMAN’S WORDS 
ABOUT THE 
CHRISTIAN UNION. 
Here are five sample sentences from hun¬ 
dreds of recent letters written by women in 
renewing their subscriptions to The Chkis- 
tian Union: 
'• H Is our fireside companion. I could not do with¬ 
out It.’’—Mrs. Portia —, Buffalo. 
"Its articles are pervaded by a catholic spirit and 
sound common-sense that arc as rare as they are 
refreshing.”— Frances G , Portland Me. 
"I would rather have two meals per diem and The 
Christian Union thau three meals a day with¬ 
out It.”— Sarah B. C-, San Frau, iseo. 
"As long as I can see or hear. I hope to enjoy the 
wealth of intellectual and spiritual food, and the 
literary pleasure, it brings me weekly.”— Lucy 
A. P-. Albany. 
, .k , ii. V u *- lL 11 r eau oy sev¬ 
eral other families when we are through with 
It. ’’-Delia W. L , New Haven, Conn. 
TO INTRODUCE 
The Christian Union to readers of The 
Rural New-\orkkr, we offer to send it 
to any new subscriber from now until New 
Year’s Day, 1891, together with the illus¬ 
trated Outing and College Numbers, on re¬ 
ceipt of One Dollar. The Christian 
Union is a progressive, independent, enter¬ 
taining Family Paper, which presents "the 
bright side of life.” Editors: Dr. Lyman 
Abbott aud Hamilton W. Mabie. Sub¬ 
scription Price. $3.00 a year. 
Address THE CHRISTIAN UNION, 
3l» La F-yeite Place, New York. 
