>1 V’ f > 
Their Last Thanksgiving 
(Continued from page 1403.) 
ing, left the house, and going around the 
corner, lifted a large basket from the 
ground where he had left it. Bringing 
it into the kitchen he lifted out a chicken 
all baked. “Mayme baked three, so there 
would be plenty. Lucky she did, eh, 
Father?” he said. A little pail of steam¬ 
ing oyster soup came next and carefully 
propped into one end of the basket was 
a pumpkin pie. “There,” said Frank 
when the basket was empty, “I think it 
would be a good plan for me to stand out 
in the road and keep everyone out until 
you finish your dinner. That will be 
the only way I'll be sure you will have 
it for yourselves, but if you will promise 
to sit down and eat it up I'll go home. 
We are all coming home tonight. Will’s 
folks and Elizabeth too.” 
His father and mother promised, 
laughing like happy children and Frank 
went home. 
That evening the sitting room of the 
Hutchins home was a cheerful, happy 
place. The others had to be told about 
the joke on mother, and they all agreed 
that they were not surprised at all. 
The old room was just about the same 
as it was when the children were small. 
The big box stove roared cheerfully, and 
the “Trapper’s Last Shot” still hung 
in its accustomed place on the wall. The 
heavy bell-metal clock that had been 
won years ago for getting subscriptions 
for an old-time paper still ticked cheer¬ 
fully from its shelf. 
Surrounded by their children the 
white-haired old couple, who had grown 
to look so much alike, spent a happy 
evening. They discussed the news, the 
whooping cough down at Chapman’s and 
many other things. One thing of much 
importance was a plan for getting to¬ 
gether and making over some woolen 
underwear for the Barney children. 
Frank had been thoughtful for some 
time; then he said: 
“Father, what do you say if I put in 
a hot water heating system for you be¬ 
fore Winter sets in? I find mine works 
like a charm, and I know you and mother 
would be far more comfortable. It won’t 
take them any time to get it in.” 
“Well,” said his father, slowly, “it’s 
good of you, Frank, to offer it, but I’m 
afraid I'd miss the old stove. What do 
you say, mother?” 
Martha was looking at the old stove 
tenderly. “Do you see that crack there, 
Frank?” she asked. They could none 
of them remember when that long zig-zag 
crack had not been there. “When you 
were a tiny little fellow you crept up to 
that crack to peep at the fire. The stove 
was almost red hot and you would 
surely have been burned if it hadn’t been 
for old Nero. I saw you, but I knew I 
never could get to you in time, when 
suddenly Nero made a spring and put¬ 
ting his paws about you dragged you 
away from the stove. No, Frank,” said 
his mother, presently, “I am afraid the 
old stove is almost too much a part of 
our lives to give it up,” and then she 
added smiling, “Father and I are going 
to slip away one of these days. I do 
hope we won’t have to wait much 
longer.” 
“Now, mother!” began her children 
hurriedly, but she stopped their protests 
by saying, “I know, children, but I don’t 
believe one of you would have the heart 
to keep us when we want to go.” 
They did not have to wait a great 
while. Soon after the New Year they 
slipped away within two days of each 
other, just as they wished it to be. The 
neighborhood lost two of its most be¬ 
loved members, but the influence of their 
good lives goes oil indefinitely. There 
are many such people in the farm homes 
of the North Country; old couples who 
live their lives in one place, making 
their corner of the world better for hav¬ 
ing lived and finally slipping away very 
nearly together. Go into the little coun¬ 
try cemeteries and read the names of 
the departed. Many times you find the 
record of those old couples, upward of 
80, and the dates of their going away 
are very near together. To have lived 
such a life must mean to have found 
all the happiness it is possible for any 
human being to find. 
'THli KUKAL 
Shell Lace. 
Chain 18. First Row—2 d. c., 3 ch., 
3 d. c. into fourth stitch from needle, 5 
ch., 2 d. c., 1 ch., 2 d. c. into eleventh 
stitch of chain, 5 ch., 3 d. c., 3 ch., 3 
d. c. into eighteenth stitch of chain. 
Turn. 
Second Row—1 si. stitch into first 
shell of preceding row 3 ch., 2 d. e., 3 ch., 
3 d. c. into same shell, 2 d. c., 1 ch., 2 
d. c. into third stitch of chain, 3 ch., 2 
d. c., 1 ch., 2 d. c. into third stitch of 
next chain, 3 d. c., 3 ch., 3 d. c. into 
shell. Turn. 
Third Row—1 si. stitch into shell, 3 
ch., 2 d. c., 3 ch., 3 d. c. into same shell, 
5 ch., 2 d. c., 1 ch., 2 d. c. into second 
stitch of chain, 5 ch., 3 d. c., 3 ch., 
3 d. c. into shell. Turn. 
Fourth Row—1 si. stitch into shell, 3 
ch., 2 d. c., 3 cli., 3 d. c. into same shell, 
Shell Lace. 
7 ch., 1 d. c. into shell, 7 ch., 3 d. c., 
3 ch., 3 d. c. into shell. Turn. 
Fifth Row—1 si. stitch into shell, 3 
ch., 2 d. e., 3 cli., 3 d. c. into same shell, 
2 d. c., 1 cli., 2 d. c. into third stitch of 
chain, 5 ch., 2 d. e., 1 ch., 2 d. c. into 
third stitch of next chain, 3 d. c., 3 ch., 
3 d. c. into shell. Turn. 
Sixth Row—Same as third row. 
Seventh Row—Same as second row. 
Eighth Row—Same as fourth row. 
Repeat from first row. 
ELIZABETH M’SPAKRAN. 
. The Winter Bedding; Comfort Slips. 
Perhaps you may call what I call, a 
“comfort” a “puff,” or'even a “comfort¬ 
able” as my New England grandmother 
did. To avoid any possible mistake, how¬ 
ever, as to what I mean, I will tell a 
story. It may be a chestnut to some of 
you, but at least it will make the matter 
clear for all concerned. 
A little darky boy was sent to church 
one morning alone, cautioned by his 
mother to be sure to remember the text. 
Carefully he listened, and faithfully he 
interpreted, as on his return home he 
proudly reported the preacher’s opening 
words—“Don’t get scairt, I’ll fetch you a 
quilt.” 
“What dat you say?” inquired his 
mother, a quizzical expression on her 
face. 
“Dat’s it,” insisted the boy nodding 
his head by way of emphasis. “Dat’s 
sure-nuf de right tex’.” 
Still the mother was puzzled. She 
couldn’t seem to rememlxr that part of 
her Bible. 
A few days later the pastor called, 
when still puzzled she inquired of him 
about his last Sunday’s text. 
“As I recollec’, it was d^s way,” he 
said, seeming to grope in his memory for 
the exact words. “Be not iifraid, for I’ll 
send thee a comfort.” 
A bed-quilt, thickly padded, is exact¬ 
ly what I mean by a “comfort,” which 
may be either tied or machine sewn, 
homemade or of store production. 
To keep comforts clean and fresh, that 
they may not have to be frequently recov¬ 
ered is a problem which if happily solved 
means much saving of time, labor and 
expense to the careful housewife. Take 
a length of yard-wide cotton cloth the 
width of your comforts, fold in the mid¬ 
dle lengthwise and stitch together at 
each end in a French seam. This done 
and the slip laid out flat, it will look 
like a bolster case with its long edges 
ready for a hem rather than its ends. 
Turn and baste down these long edges for 
a two-inch hem. Make five buttonholes, 
or seven, if you choose, along each end of 
the hem, directly opposite each other, 
measuring from the center evenly to 
NEVV-VOKKER 
within three inches of the ends. Slip 
this cover over the end of your comfort 
and mark on the comfort through the 
button-holes, the places for the buttons. 
The buttons when sewed on the comfort 
should be directly opposite each other, 
and sewed with strong thread through 
each other, remembering not to pull the 
thread too tightly, as otherwise the but¬ 
tons will sink into the down of the com¬ 
fort too deeply to be easily handled. But¬ 
ton the slip over the end of the comfort, 
on each side and place on the bed with 
the slip at the head. 
This labor saving device as to com¬ 
forts, not only adds to the length of time 
one may use them, without cleaning or 
changing their coverings, but it lengthens 
their wearing qualities, and last but not 
least it does away with that mental 
strain which the bed-maker invariably 
feels when she must decide which end of 
the comfort was at the head the last 
time the bed was made. 
This same scheme of slips can be ap¬ 
plied to blankets, with the variation that 
sheeting is better than cotton cloth, ow¬ 
ing to the fact that the ends are better 
not sewed together, but left as selvedge 
edges for blanket use, behau.se of being 
less “bunglesome.” One can vary this 
idea also with cheesecloth slips, which 
are especially dainty for silk comforts, 
or prettily bordered and delicately fig¬ 
ured eiderdown blankets. These comfort 
and blanket slips are valuable assets to 
any housekeeping regime, and can be used 
interchangeably, simply by a uniform reg¬ 
ulation of the buttons and buttonholes. 
With plenty of slips in one’s linen closet 
they can be put on fresh with each week¬ 
ly changing of sheets. As a housekeeper 
of 30 years’ standing, I do not feel that 
we can be either comfortable or clean 
without them. l. v. ii. b. 
1407 
Keeping Maple Sugar. 
I just purchased a 10-pound pail of 
maple sugar from a man who got it direct 
from Vermont, and it is said to be this 
last season’s sugar. On taking it home 
and opening we found that the surface 
was moldy and presented much the ap¬ 
pearance of ice which has been subjected 
to a warm south wind. In short it 
looked very coarsely granular, and there 
was some syrup mixed through it. There 
seemed to be small white spots of mold 
through this mass. We wonder if this 
is fit to eat, or can be made so by boiling. 
The man who sold it to me said he had 
kept it on the cellar floor all Summer 
where it was cool. I wonder if the ex¬ 
ceptionally wet Summer had anything to 
do with it. j. p. t. 
Maple sugar should be kept in a warm, 
dry place and not in a damp cellar. It 
will absorb moisture and become sticky or 
partially dissolved if exposed to moist 
atmosphere for a considerable time. The 
mold upon it should be carefully scraped, 
or skimmed off, when the remainder of 
the sugar should be fit for use; if very 
moldy, however, the taste of the mold may 
have permeated the mass so that even 
boiling will not remove it. M. b. i>. 
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Hallmark 
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Ask your dealer or write. 
HALL. HARTWELL & CO.. TROY. N. Y. 
Makers of SLIDEWELL collars. 
TYPEWRITERS . 
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TYPEWRITER EMPORIUM, 34-36 W. Lake St.. Chicago 
What Splendid 
Light 
the RAYO Gives! 
I TS glow is so soft 
and bright that you 
can read all evening 
without tiring your 
eyes. The 
jj&yO 
Lamp 
is the most popular 
kerosene lamp ever 
made 
—because it gives a clear, 
powerful, mellow light 
—because it is easy to 
clean and light 
—because it is durable, 
good looking and 
economical 
The Rayo is one of the 
many SOCONY 
(Standard OilCompany 
of New York) products 
that bring comfort and 
economy to the farm. 
SOCONYisyou r assur¬ 
ance of quality. Ask 
for the following 
SOCONY products : 
Matchless Liquid Gloss 
Standard Hand Separator 
Oil 
Parowax 
Eureka Harness Oil 
Mica Axle Grease 
If your dealer does not 
carry these, write to 
our nearest station. 
Standard Oil Co. of New York 
(Principal Stations) 
NEW YORK ALBANY 
BUFFALO BOSTON 
BOOKS WORTH READING 
Landscape Gardening, Parsons. 2.00 
Lawn Making. Barron. 1.10 
Agriculture ami Chemistry. Storer. 5.00 
Fertilizers ami Crops. Van Slyke.... 2.50 
Weeds of Farm and Garden, I'amtnel 1.50 
Book of Wheat. Domllinger. 2.00 
Successful Fruit Culture. Maynard.. 1.00 
Irrigation and Drainage. King.... 1,50 
Study of Corn. Shoesmith.50 
The Soil, King. 1,50 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 W, 30th St., Now York City 
