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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
December 
From Day to Day. 
CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE OLDEN TIME. 
Heap on more wood! The wind Is chill; 
But let It whistle as it will. 
We'll keep our merry Christmas still; 
Each age has deem’d the new-born year 
The Attest time for festal cheer. 
And well our Christian sires of old 
Loved when the year its course had roll'd,- 
And brought blithe Christmas back again, 
With all his hospitable train. 
Domestic and religious rite 
Gave honor to the holy night; 
On Christmas Eve the bells were rung; 
On Christmas Eve the Mass was sung; 
The damsel donn’d her kirtle sheen; 
The hall was dress’d with holly green; 
Forth to the wood did merry men go, 
To gather in the mistletoe. 
The fire, with well-dried logs supplied, 
Went roaring up the chimney wide; 
The huge hall table’s oaken face, 
Scrubb’d till it shone, the day to grace, 
Bore then upon its massive board 
No marks to part the squire and lord. 
Then the grim boar’s head frown’d on high. 
Crested with bays and rosemary. 
Well can the green-garb’d ranger tell 
How, when, and where the monster fell; 
What dogs before his death he tore, 
And all the baiting of the boar. 
Then came the merry masquers in, 
And carols roar’d with blithesome din; 
If unmelodious was the song, 
It was a hearty note, and strong. 
White shirts supplied the masquerade, 
charge. Finally the board of managers 
decided to investigate these complaints, 
and the aggrieved old ladies were asked 
to explain the causes of their dissatis¬ 
faction. When finally sifted down, there 
was only one actual complaint left, and 
this was from an old lady who asserted 
that on three separate occasions, when 
they had prunes for supper, her dish only 
held five prunes, while the old lady next 
to her had six! The erring matron ad¬ 
mitted that she had never counted the 
prunes, because it had not occurred to 
her, but in future she was willing to do 
so, rather than cause any ill-feeling. We 
may smile at the self-centered narrowness 
that leads to such frivolous complaints 
as this, yet, after all, are not many cases 
of family trouble reared upon as slight a 
foundation? Once decide that another 
member of the household receives more 
consideration, and we can find endless 
causes xo r self-pity and envious discon¬ 
tent, which gradually poisons one’s whole 
existence. As Mrs. Wilcox says; 
Contentment hears the kettle sing its song 
upon the hearth, 
And thinks that gracious melody the sweet¬ 
est sound on earth; 
While Envy at the window sits, and sighs 
and moans all day 
To own a grand piano like the folks across 
Tuck in back of crib and have it loose 
over shoulders and drop over edge of 
crib. When the child turns over, it will 
fall down and keep them covered. My 
little girl has her second one, one for her 
cradle and now one for the crib, and I 
could not think of getting along without 
one. 
Meat pie made from pieces of chicken, 
roast pork and mutton (all or two of 
them) is good. Put pieces in deep dish, 
add the gravies or water, salt, one tea¬ 
spoonful poultry seasoning; make a 
crust like baking powder biscuits and 
bake. 
For appetizing hash made from left¬ 
overs from roast beef, steak and stew, 
grind in meat chopper, put in stewpan, 
add the gravies or cover with water; let 
boil, add chopped potatoes, mix thorough¬ 
ly, season. Sometimes I get it all ready 
the night before for breakfast. Cover 
and put in oven. If I have plenty of eggs 
when the hash is done for the table I 
make holes in hash, break egg in each 
hole and return to oven till cooked to 
please the family, hard or soft, or put a 
small piece of butter in cup-cake tin and 
break an egg in each; bake and place on 
top of hash. 
It is easy to keep fresh meat several 
weeks if there is plenty of snow; as there 
has been for the last two Winters. Cut 
the meat in pieces suitable to cook for 
your family and pack in snow in a bar¬ 
rel placed the north side of house. We 
have packed ours several Winters and 
find it very convenient; have had it to 
use for two months and like it very 
much. If it is warm or rains sometimes 
we have to fill the barrel with more snow. 
Keep it filled with snow and barrel cov¬ 
ered with wooden cover and stone on top, 
so it will not blow off. M. B. 
The Bookshelf. 
Ami smutted elieeks the visors made; 
But. O, what masquers, richly dight, 
Can boast of bosoms half so light! 
’Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale, 
’Twas Christmas told the merriest tale; 
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer 
The poor man's heart through half the year. 
—Sir Walter Scott. 
* 
This is the season when chilblains be¬ 
gin to make life miserable for many suf¬ 
ferers. We still find grain alcohol, well 
rubbed on. extremely comforting. As 
soon as burning irritation gives warning 
of the trouble begin treatment. Bathe 
the feet in warm water, dry them well, 
and then rub with the alcohol, which 
takes out all soreness. We have used 
turpentine in the same way, but prefer the 
alcohol. Neglected chilblains, which in 
time form painful open sores, will make 
the whole Winter season wretched; the 
trouble should be persistently treated, from 
the time it begins to show. We have 
come to the conclusion that a persistent 
case of chilblains cannot be cured, but it 
is quite possible to modify it by preven¬ 
tion. 
* 
Some of the Christmas magazines are 
making their periodical lament that the 
real spirit of Christmas is dead. They 
describe costly celebraiions, with e'"ibo¬ 
rate variations of Santa Claus, and pa¬ 
thetically ask for instructions as to tlie 
manufacture of a really merry Christmas. 
The fact is a manufactured Christmas is 
no Christmas at all. The Feast of the 
Nativity is, first of all, a religious festi¬ 
val, and we cannot impart its spirit by a 
mild saturnalia of food and fun, with 
Santa Claus as the central figure. It will 
be remembered that Mr. Pickwick, whose 
the way. 
* 
Among heavy cotton goods suitable for 
Winter wear is Wexford suiting, which 
shows, in a variety of colorings, the min¬ 
gled grays, browns, olives and drabs of 
heather mixtures or tweeds. It is nearly 
as heavy as denim, looks like woolen and 
costs 12 1 / cents a yard. Ombre plaid is 
another of the cottons that imitate wool¬ 
en, being, as its name implies, a shaded 
plaid, two-toned, and heavy in texture; 
it costs 19 cents a yard. These fabrics 
are excellent for Winter house dresses, 
made in a simple shirtwaist style. A 
skirt of the Wexford suiting, plainly 
made, would be useful to wear with light 
shirt waists in the house, as it would save 
washing during Winter. Flannelette be¬ 
gins at six, eight and 10 cents a yard 
for the ordinary striped, and 15 cents 
for the figured, which reproduces the 
colors and patterns of French flannel; it 
is a very useful Winter material for 
underwear, nightgowns and wrappers, but 
the weaves which have a fluff}’- nap are 
so inflammable that we do not like to 
use them. A single spark would set the 
nap in a blaze and we have heard of 
shocking fatalities resulting from a 
sputtering parlor match, which ignited the 
fabric. When buying flannelette we al¬ 
ways select a smooth finish; the better 
qualities show a slight twill. There are 
many fleece-backed cotton materials now 
offered for Winter waists; our main, ob¬ 
jection to them is that they are too heavy 
to dry well when laundered in Winter 
weather. 
Notes From Homeland. 
Have your little children bloomers to 
The Healthful Farmhouse, by “A 
Farmer’s Wife.”—This suggestive little 
book deals with the problems of cleanli¬ 
ness, ventilation, sanitation and furnish¬ 
ing of the farm home and with the gen¬ 
eral scheme of living. It contains 10 
chapters, and its suggestions are meant 
to make living less laborious, and at the 
same time more wholesome. The book 
is thoroughly genuine in its point of view, 
and can be warmly recommended. It is 
attractively bound and prettify illustrated. 
Published by Whitcomb & Barrows, Bos¬ 
ton, Mass.; price 60 cents. 
The Story Book Girls, by Christina 
Gowans Whyte. This suggests “Little 
Women” in an English setting; it is one 
of the most delightful books for girls we 
have met with for some time. There are 
four merry sisters, ranging in age from 
13 to 17, and their manly grown-up broth¬ 
er, who, with their circle of friends, pro¬ 
vide plenty of interest through the book. 
There is a little hint of romance and a 
great many humorous happenings, all 
told with much skill. It is wholesome in 
tone, and certainly most absorbing; we 
recommend it as a desirable book for the 
young girl. Published by the Macmillan 
Company, New York; price $1.50. 
The Romance of John Bainbridge, by 
Henry George, Jr. This is Mr. George’s 
first novel; he is already known as the 
author of “The Menace of Privilege,” 
and of a life of his well-known father. 
This novel is a study of modern social 
and business conditions, and their con¬ 
nection with corrupt politics. The hero 
is a young lawyer, who devotes himself 
to the legal aid of the poor; from this 
he enters politics, and fights against cor¬ 
ruption. It is essentially a novel with a 
purpose, and its sincerity will gain it a 
resnectful hearing. Published by the 
Macmillan Company, New York; price 
$1.50. 
Christmas at Dingley Dell is still held up 
as a model, began the day by church-go¬ 
ing. and we recommend his example to 
those pessimists who mourn the decad¬ 
ence of this festival. Our own Christ¬ 
mas is always associated, first of all, with 
the resinous odors of the evergreens that 
turn the church into a bower, and sug¬ 
gest by their fragrance the gifts of the 
Magi. Gifts and feasting come after¬ 
wards, but we do not feel at liberty to 
make it the children’s festival until we 
have first offered homage to the Child of 
Bethlehem. With that central thought, 
old, yet ever young, and a remembrance 
that while we may have little, others 
may have less, there need be no spectre 
of weariness at the Christmas feast. 
* 
We heard of a case recently where the 
inmates of a home for aged women made 
many complaints against the matron in 
tuck their clothes in? Then with their 
cloaks and overshoes that button or buc¬ 
kle, they can play out in the snow and 
come in warm and dry. You will not 
need to get new cloth, but look through 
some discarded clothing. I made a pair 
for my little girl from two old blue 
woolen flannel shirts. She has worn 
them several Winters, as I made them 
as large as my material would allow. 
Elastic is run in top and in the bottom 
of legs; they are easy to put on and en¬ 
joyed by the children very much. 
When you are making dish towels make 
a few short ones, for the little children 
to use; for they like to help mamma wipe 
spoons, knives and the tin dishes. 
When you have dates, save the stones, 
wash and dry and give to the little ones 
to play with; they will make pretty de¬ 
signs, daisies, houses, etc., in a box of 
sand on the table. 
If your little ones trouble you about 
getting uncovered at night, make an extra 
blanket to put over after you tuck them 
of eiderdown, double, 1(4 yard long, fin¬ 
ished with stitching around the edge. 
A wholesome cream of tartar 
baking powder. Makes the 
lightest, best flavored biscuit, 
hot-breads, cake and pastry. 
Alum and alum-phosphato 
baking powders are in¬ 
jurious. Do not use themm 
When buying baking pow¬ 
der be sure the label 
specifies cream of tart arm 
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WWW 
BROKEN CRACKERS 
ones and can be bought 
at jow prices from the factory of NEW ENGLAND 
BISCUIT CO., Worcester, Mass, manufacturers of 
the famous “Toasted Butter Crackers,” “Little 
Brothers Lunch Biscuit,” etc. Write us. 
Honestly now! 
You never heard 
anything but 
praise for 
Scott 9 s 
Emulsion. 
You just forgot 
about it. Try it 
now for a cough 
or cold or to build 
up your gen¬ 
eral health. 
Every drug¬ 
gist has it. 
50c. AND $1.00. 
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WE LL TAN 
YOUR HIDE 
Cattle or norse hide, Calf, Dog, Deer, 
or any kind of hide or skin with the 
hair on,soft,light, odorless and moth¬ 
proof f or robe, rug, coat or gloves, and 
make them up when so ordered. 
Avoid mistakes by getting our catalog, 
prices, shipping tags, instructions and 
“Crosby puts the freight” offer, before 
shipment. We make and sell Natural 
Black Galloway fur coats and robes. Black 
and Brown Frisian, Black Dog Skin, and 
fur ined coats. We do taxidermy and 
head mounting. We buy no hides, Bkins, 
raw furs or ginseng. Address 
THE CROSBY FRISIAN FUR COMPANY, 
116 Mill Street. Rochester. N. Y. 
This Steel Ran£e 
will work In your kitchen 
2 Years 
On Approval Trial 
Let urn save you from $6 to 
S25 oil Ranges, Oak Heaters, 
Base Burners, Cast Cook 
Stoves, Hot Blast 
All at about 
dealers’ prices. 
Send Us 
No Money 
until you have tried 
the stove. Don’t buy 
a stove or range of any kind 
until you have asked us to send 
vou the Free Stove Book. Tells 
now to save money by buying 
in the United Factories way. 
The United Factories Co., Dept.S-31, Cleveland. 0 
When you see a Coat that 
looks like this 
You will think of the 
Worthing & Alger Co, 
HILLSDALE, MICH. 
Whose Coats 
DO NOT WEAR OFF 
Like this illustration. 
From now on you will 
notice what large num¬ 
bers of fur coats are worn 
off. Ask your dealer for 
our make. They are moth 
proof ; no smell ; no seam 
up the back : edge not 
hemmed; leather armpit 
shields and a:2!4 in. leather 
strip across the bottom 
witli self-adjusting wrist 
warmer. Are guaranteed. 
Get our prices for tan¬ 
ning cattle and horse 
hides for robes. 
The above glove post-paid upon re¬ 
ceipt of SI.75. Genuine horse palm 
and fur hack. Made in Gloversville, 
the Glove Center of the world and sold 
direct to the consumer only. Satis¬ 
faction guaranteed or money refunded. 
Write to-day for our complete Glove 
Catalogue showing over 100 distinct 
styles, free upon request. 
CONSUMERS GLOVE CO., 
Department 5, Gloversville, N. Y. 
