9o4 
December 1, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
From Day to Day. 
IN PERSPECTIVE. 
The little griefs, the petty wounds. 
The stabs of daily care— 
“Crackling of thorns beneath the pot,”— 
As life's file burns—now cold, now hot— 
How hard they are to bear! 
But on the fire burns, clear and still; 
The cankering sorrow dies; 
The small wounds heal; the clouds are rent. 
And through this shattered mortal tent 
Shine down the eternal skies. 
—Dinah Mulock Craik. 
* 
A reader asks how to remove an ink 
stain from a hard-wood floor. Some inks 
yield to repeated rubbings with -clear 
water, but in general turpentine is the 
best thing to remove any stain from pol¬ 
ished wood, and it is likely to be effec¬ 
tual in removing the ink. It is not so dif¬ 
ficult to remove the mark if work is be¬ 
gun at once, before the ink dries hard into 
the fiber. 
* 
One of our friends reports that Kieffer 
pears are delicious canned in sweet cider. 
The customary syrup is made by melting 
sugar in the cider, and the pears are 
cooked in this (not over-cooked) either in 
the jars or in a kettle. The cider is said 
to give much richness of flavor. Pears 
were also canned in perry (pear cider), 
but the result was not considered so de¬ 
sirable as where the apple juice was used. 
* 
The Atchison Globe asks a very im¬ 
portant question, which has occurred to us 
on several occasions. Which is the more 
wasteful, the boy who cuts pumpkins into 
lanterns for Hallowe’en, or the woman 
who makes them into poor pies? We can¬ 
not think of any other pastry product less 
entitled to toleration than a poor and 
skimping pumpkin pie; it is an uncalled- 
for insult to an estimable fruit. 
* 
Pear charlotte is as good as brown 
Betty, and will make a change in the daily 
desserts. Slightly moisten six slices of 
stale bread with cold water, spread them 
with soft butter, put half of them in the 
bottom of a buttered pudding dish, spread 
over them two cupfuls of finely chopped 
ripe pears and sprinkle with four table¬ 
spoonfuls of sugar, a grating of nutmeg 
and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. Lay 
over them the remainder of the bread, an¬ 
other two cupfuls of the chopped pears 
and nutmeg, sugar and lemon juice as be¬ 
fore. Pour over one cupful of thin maple 
syrup, cover closely and bake in a slow 
oven for one hour. Serve hot with 
whipped cream or maple syrup. 
* 
The long cuffs or gauntlets often used 
to finish a short sleeve are usually a dif¬ 
ferent material from the gown, frequently 
lace, net or brocade. They fit very snug¬ 
ly, following the line of the arm closely; 
sometimes they are fastened with a row 
of tiny buttons, and sometimes they are 
slipped over the hands by means of nar¬ 
row elastics. The under seam is sewed 
and pressed as usual, elastic bands put 
across it at intervals of an inch or two 
apart on the inside, and then the seam 
is opened. We think it a better plan to 
run an elastic band in the top of the 
undersleeves, to hold them up on the arm, 
than to baste them in place. It is often 
troublesome to baste them “just so,” and 
the elastic not only saves time, but makes 
the gauntlet conform to the arm better. 
Old ladies tell us that they always used 
elastics in the tops of those flowing under¬ 
sleeves of long ago. 
* 
There used to be in Philadelphia, says a 
writer in the Gentleman Farmer, a com¬ 
mission firm noted for its close dealing. 
It was a habit with this firm always to 
demand, or at least to request, some dis¬ 
count from the original bills presented to 
them. They dealt for several years with 
a Rhode Island farmer who sold them live 
turkeys. One year they ordered dressed 
birds instead, but it is evident that the 
clerical force was not informed of the 
change. A week after the turkeys were 
shipped the farmer was surprised to re¬ 
ceive the usual complaint that four of the 
turkeys were dead when they arrived, 
and the request that he deduct the price 
of them from the bill for the consign¬ 
ment. 
“It is with regret,” he replied, “that I 
have to advise you that I cannot make the 
concession requested. It is my custom to 
require all patrons desiring live dressed 
turkeys to notify us in advance, so we may 
forward them in heated cars. Owing to 
the chill prevailing at Thanksgiving time, 
turkeys without feathers or insides are 
liable to take cold if shipped in the ordi¬ 
nary manner. The mortality among 
dressed turkeys was very large this year.” 
* 
We have just learned an excellent way 
to provide fresh hot rolls for Sunday 
night tea. When the Saturday baking of 
bread is just ready to go into the tins, a 
piece of the dough is cut off, smoothly 
molded, and stored away in the icebox. 
The next day this dough is made into 
rolls, allowed to rise for 30 or 40 minutes, 
brushed with milk and baked. The rolls 
are exceedingly light and delicate in tex¬ 
ture, decidedly superior to those baked 
the same day as made. This is a good 
idea to bear in mind whenever fresh rolls 
are desired the day after regular baking. 
Of course while the dough is kept cold, 
it should not be allowed to freeze in Win¬ 
ter weather. _ 
A Plea for the Readymade. 
d he article by Alice E. Pinney about 
readymade garments some months ago at¬ 
tracted my attention at that time, and as 
I look over my wardrobe 1 am moved to 
protest slightly, for I am a firm believer 
in buying garments ready to wear. There 
is much sense in some things she says— 
that is, for some people—but I am afraid 
she is prejudiced when she condemns 
ready-made things so generally. 1 have 
a 50-cent gown of good material with only 
a narrow band of embroidery for trim¬ 
ming that has seen service every Summer 
for four years, and is still able to keep out 
of the rag bag, and it does not resemble 
strainer cloth in the least. My white pet¬ 
ticoats are readymade, and so are also the 
sateen ones, but I have never been 
ashamed of that fact. I do not buy reck¬ 
lessly, but watch the sales as much as pos¬ 
sible, and do not insist upon having the 
extreme styles in undergarments. I al¬ 
ways examine the seams, and discard those 
that look thin, and when the garments are 
ready for the first wash I sew on all 
buttons firmly. 
The shirtwaist I wore to church a week 
or two ago cost only one dollar, and I 
felt quite fixed up in it. It was sheer 
white lawn with a tiny dot, and looks 
better after washing than when new. In 
a fit of “economy” 1 bought the goods for 
a lawn dress and hired it made, but was 
rewarded by seeing in a store window a 
prettier readymade dress at less than mine 
cost. A readymade plain cloth skirt has 
done duty for three years for a “scuff” 
dress, and still keeps its shape, though 
the original price was $3.98. To be sure 
it isn’t in style now, but neither is a 
’ omemade garment of three years back. 
The woman who can do her own sew¬ 
ing really can save money by making her 
own and children’s clothes if she is a 
judicious buyer. It takes a good manager 
to be able to keep house, have time for 
recreation and sewing, and still be able 
to educate and train her children. Bet¬ 
ter wear readymade things all one’s life 
than slave at a sewing machine. There 
are women who consider it throwing 
money away to buy a single thing that can 
be made at home, and yet they willingly 
hand out money to the doctor for sick¬ 
ness brought on by close confinement in 
the house. The Winter season is a fine 
time to sew, but it is also the social sea¬ 
son for farmers and their families. Where 
the wife and mother has time and strength 
for all duties sewing is a pleasant pas¬ 
time, but to many a weary soul it is the 
last straw. At the risk of being thought 
“slack” I will confess that I own but 
four pieces of homemade underwear, and 
those were made for me. I think I shall 
have to do as an old lady did who made 
her underwear 40 years ago, when she 
was not an old lady, to be buried in. The 
fact that she had the elaborate garments 
all ready seemed to prolong her life, and 
she still cherishes the yellow pieces 
against the day. when she will need them. 
If I thought laying my four precious bits 
of clothing up in lavender would insure 
my living to a good old age, into the 
closet they would go at once, and I would 
have nothing but readymade for all oc¬ 
casions. 
Though I have no time for making un¬ 
derwear or even kitchen aprons I man¬ 
age to keep fairly busy with good reading, 
cooking, mending, my garden and my 
friends. I have no dull days nor long 
evenings, and I am sure my husband’s 
hard-earned money is never squandered. 
I do not buy high-priced things, but have 
never felt cheated in my purchases. Tf I 
could do my own sewing well I should 
probably enjoy having more stylish 
clothes, but I doubt that very much. I 
try to plan my Summer garments in the 
Winter and the Winter ones in hot weath¬ 
er. and then watch the sales. Fortunately 
I am not very fat nor very thin, so that 
it is easy to fit me with readymade gar¬ 
ments. At least they suit me, and where 
ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise. 
HILDA RICHMOND. 
Our brethren who are freed from this 
world by the Lord’s summons are not to 
be lamented, since we know they are not 
lost, but sent before; that, departing from 
us, they precede us as travelers, as navi¬ 
gators are accustomed to do; that they 
should be desired, but not bewailed; that 
the black garments should not be taken 
upon us here, when they have already 
taken upon them the white raiment there; 
that occasion should not be given to the 
Gentiles for them deservedly and rightly 
to reprehend us, that we mourn for those 
who, we say, are alive with God, as if 
they were extinct and lost; and that we 
do not approve with the testimony of the 
heart the faith which we express with 
speech and word. . . . With a sound 
mind, with a firm faith, with a robust 
virtue, let us be prepared for the whole 
will of God: laying aside the fear of 
death, let us think on the immortality 
which follows.—St. Cyprian, Bishop of 
Carthage (A. D. 200 - 258 ). 
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