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27 
AUNT ELLEN’S VISIT. 
I had just begun to clean house, and oh, how I was 
dreading it ! Two of the rooms were in dire confu¬ 
sion, and the rest were getting iuto the same state as 
fast as Norali and myself could possibly help them 
there. It was my first experience in house-cleaning, 
and Norali—whom I had engaged to “ see me 
through,” as she called it—was mistress. She knew 
it, and I knew it, yet dared not rebel. 
“ Shure, mum, and it’s the parlor we’ll be afther 
doing to-day,” said she, one morning when she came. 
“But,” I ventured to remonstrate, “if any one 
should come ; ought we not to finish the other rooms 
first ?” 
“ Shure, mum, I’ve claned house for Mrs. Judge 
K., and Mrs. R., and slews of others, and sorra a 
worrud did they ever fault me.” 
That was enough ; I went meekly to work under 
Norah’s directions, heartily sick of the whole busi¬ 
ness ! 
Just as Norali flung out the carpet for the man to 
beat, I saw a carriage stop at our door. The driver 
handed out my husband’s aunt—a most notable house¬ 
keeper—and this her first visit to me in .my own house. 
This was the cap-sheaf, and when I went to the door 
I felt like crying. I led the way to the dining-room, 
and while she laid off her things, she took in the sur¬ 
roundings with one rapid glance, then, putting her arm 
round me, she said : 
“You are cleaning house, don’t know how, and are 
tired enough to go to bed this minute—eh ! ” 
“ Yes,” I answered, and began to cry like a goose. 
“ Now, my dear, if you will let me be mistress for a 
short time and go right to bed until tea time, I shall 
be infinitely obliged to you.” 
“ But auntie,” I began— 
“ Go right to your chamber,” she said, and without 
another word I obeyed. 
When I went down stairs, I found a cheery tea- 
table, and aunty’s pleasant face to greet me. 
“ I’ve discharged Norali,” she said, brightly. 
“Discharged Norah!”' I gasped, while Mr. A. al¬ 
most dropped his cup in surprise. 
“Certainly, my dear; I’m mistress, you understand, 
and to-morrow I’ll teach you how to clean house 
easily.” 
When to-morrow came, Aunt Ellen said : 
“ In the first place you didn’t begin right. You 
should commence always in the attic, and clean down.” 
So we left everything as it was, aud set the attic to 
rights that forenoon. 
Aunt Ellen said she never allowed herself to clean 
afternoons, so she taught me how to make some spat¬ 
ter-cloths for the chambers. She took black doe-skin 
for one, seal brown ladies’ cloth for another, and dove- 
colored ditto for a third. She cut them round, pinked 
the edges, and then drew a fanciful border on them 
from a magazine with copying paper; this was to be 
embroidered in chain-stitch, with saddler’s silk in all 
colors; they look quite oriental, and very pretty. 
She made some rye buscuit for tea, which were nice. 
Iuto a pint of thick sour milk she put half a teacup 
of molasses, a teaspoonful of soda in her rye flour, 
stirred to a thick batter, and baked in gem pans in a 
quick oven. 
As I took out the preserves for tea, she said : 
“ What do you do with your empty cans’?” 
“ Set them away for another year,” I replied. 
“ I’ll tell you a better way—just fill them with ap¬ 
ple marmalade; you’ve no idea how nice it is in 
summer.” 
Next day we cleaned out all the closets in a room 
first, using ammonia in the water instead of soap; 
then cleaned pictures, ornaments, etc., and shut up in 
the closet away from dust. Next brushed the ceiling 
and walls, then swept, after sprinkling the floor with 
meal wet enough to be “ crumbly ; ” sprinkled cam¬ 
phor aud tobacco along the cracks, to keep out moths; 
while the carpet was being put down, polished the 
furniture with cloths on which had been rubbed warm 
beeswax. Then cleaned the paint and windows; 
then re-hung the pictures, replaced the furniture, etc., 
and finished before dinner. 
For dinner that day Aunt Ellen took what is com¬ 
monly called a “ soup bone,” put it on in the morning 
in just water enough to cover it, aud let it boil uutil 
eleven; then she took the bone from the meat, and 
seasoned with pepper, salt, sage, aud butter ; by noon 
the water was boiled nearly all away, and the meat, 
was juicy and delicious. Served with baked potatoes 
and stewed tomatoes. 
In the afternoon she made what she called a “ snow¬ 
flake mat.” Crochet a plain, square mat of white 
single zephyr, just the size of the lamp ; make a chain 
of seventeen stitches, very loosely, and fasten into 
every stitch of the outside row. Make three rows of 
this fringe, aud the result is a fluffy, dainty mat pretty 
to look upon. 
Next day we took our chamber in hand; auntie took 
a remnant of tapestry carpeting, bound it with scarlet 
braid, tacked it on to a closet door with upholstery 
nails, and I had a shoe-pocket for three pairs of 
shoes. 
A large trunk, in which Mr. A. keeps valuables, 
papers, etc., so he could remove them quickly in case 
of fire, we covered with a cushion of green rep, trimmed 
it with fringe to match, made a curtain of t: e same, 
and a roll pillow; it was now a neat little divan. 
The match-safe, and watch-case, we hung, with 
little knobs, on the head-board of the bed ; they are 
very handy if you wake up in the night, as I often do, 
and want to know the time. 
For one window she made a hanging-saucer. A 
strip of silver perforated paper, long enough to reach 
round the saucer, and three-fourths inch wide ; work 
in “ Rf man key” pattern in rose-colored worsted, 
crochet a bottom of the same, finish with heavy chain- 
stitch tassel, and hang with rose ribbons. In this we 
put wet sand, and filled it with “ Fern-moss.” 
For another window, an old-fashioned “ light stand,” 
which we found in the attic, she painted in stripes of 
red, white, and blue; nailed a box, painted to match, 
on the top, filled it with rich soil, ana planted striped 
Tradescautia, German Ivy, and Cobea scandens in it. 
In the centre of the box she placed an old copper bell, 
with a Hyacinth bulb in bloom inside, and said : 
“ My dear, you have now a Centennial plant- 
stand.” 
I wish you could have seen it a month afterward — 
it was lovely. 
A floor, which I thought needed a carpet, she in¬ 
formed me only needed boiled linseed oil and burnt 
umber; this T gave it, and have now a black walnut 
floor. 
She — but there, I might fill pages with the hints 
and helps she gave me. I’ll just tell you about 
“ washing day,” and close. 
We put the clothes in soak at night, in the morn¬ 
ing wrung them out, and put them, without rubbing, 
into the boiler in which had been dissolved one paper 
of “ washing crystal ” and a piece of soap three 
inches square. Boil twenty minutes, rinse in two 
waters, and hang on the line. The flannels and 
colored clothes wash so easily in the first suds. You 
can buy the “ crystal” of any grocer. 
Anabel C. Andrews. 
CHEAP CARPETS. 
By saving the best pieces out of men’s clothes that 
are [last service, and some bright woolen scraps and 
some worsted skirt braid, or alpaca, if preferred, 
you have the material, aud with a little ingenuity and 
a sewing machine, you can make a handsome carpet. 
Cut a pattern of any design to suit your taste. 
One pretty design is to take a square, seven or eight 
inches each way, and hollow out each side like a half 
moon, leaving an inch and a half at each corner 
straight. Baste your braid on, and be careful to turn 
each corner square, as it adds greatly to the looks. 
You can use one or more colors in binding ; it makes 
more of a variety to use two colors, which I think is 
the beauty of the work. Bind one-half of your blocks 
of one color and the other half of the other, and put 
them together alternately. After basting on the bind¬ 
ing, cut some pretty figures of your bright pieces to 
correspond with the size of your blocks, and fasten them 
in the centre of each block by working in loose but¬ 
tonhole stitch all around the edge of each figure two 
or three green leaves for one block and a red flannel 
with a leaf or two in the next, aud so ou alternately, 
is a. plenty; if you crowd it it spoils the effect 
Now join your carpet by laying your blocks on a 
contrasting color; if the blocks are dark use gray or 
drab under the oval space that is formed by laying 
the blocks together point to point; baste on smoothly 
and stitch down on the right side of the carpet, first 
on the edge of the braid, then on the double, with the 
machine, and I think you will feel well paid for your 
labor. 
You can strengthen the carpet by lining it with 
some coarse cloth, burlap is good for that, and fasten¬ 
ing through where the points meet. 
Now 1 must tell you how I made my paper carpet, 
as you asked some one to tell you something of that 
kind. I first prepared a bedding of old newspapers, 
aud then stretched a burlap cloth nearly tight and 
tacked it firm, then with a paste of two parts of flour 
and one part of melted glue, which must be used 
while warm, I put ou a coat of stiff brown paper, aud 
when that was dry I pint, on another in the same way, 
being very careful to let each dry thoroughly before 
applying the uext, then put on the wall paper, which 
can be chosen according to taste, and after it was dry 
I covered it all over with thin flour starch never al¬ 
lowing the brush to touch the same parts twice while 
damp, but being equally careful to touch all parts, 
after which it stood all night, and then I applied three 
coats of varnish, letting each coat dry two days be- 
fiire putting on the next. Copal is the kind used, and 
if you take pains, you will have a carpet to be proud 
of. You can use plain flour paste for the wall paper 
if preferred. B. E. 0. 
A Pretty Frame for a Chromo.— Cut four 
strips of silver perforated cardboard one inch wide, and 
cross them like a rustic frame. Crochet a flat border 
round them, with dark walnut brown single zephyr; 
work a diagonal pattern down the centre of each one 
with gilt beads. Hang with walnut brown worsted 
cord and balls. 
