.oJEunet ojiil 3-Hetorral BHEoBie 
jOHipanioji, 
MADE OUR HOME PLEA¬ 
SANT. 
We live in the country and follow the profession 
of teaching, which allows hut little time for house- 
decorating ; nevertheless we find some spare moments, 
and we endeavor to improve them. At lirst we 
boarded—my husband, Cousin Dell, who teaches 
music in our school, little Daisy, our baby, and my¬ 
self—but finally concluded that between us we could 
manage to keep a small house. So my husband pro¬ 
cured one, a cottage with four rooms, with dining¬ 
room and kitchen attached. How we planned to 
make our nest cosy ! Saturdays found us at the cot¬ 
tage tacking down carpets, hanging pictures, and 
getting everything ready for us to take possession. 
Finally, the day for us to begin our new work ar¬ 
rived. Plow happy did I feel when my first supper 
passed off charmingly ! We had four rooms to make 
comfortable, and we wished to do it with as little ex¬ 
pense as possible. We started with the parlor, 
which does the service of music-room and library. 
We carpeted the floor with white matting, spreading 
a bright rug wherever it was necessary. We then 
turned our attention to the windows. These w r e 
draped with white lace curtains over maroon chintz, 
which renders the room dark and cool in summer 
and warm and cosy in winter. Our piano cover was 
maroon embroidered with gold, so it corresponded 
nicely with our curtains and the gilt frames around 
our pretty chromos, the largest of which hangs over 
our mantel. We festooned our pictures with hang¬ 
ing moss which drapes so gracefully the cypress- 
trees on the banks of our Southern rivers. 
We place our books in a large case made for them. 
The case is made with a cornice over the top, under¬ 
neath this we confine a lace curtain to fall over the 
books, and when it is looped back the pretty bright 
volumes peep out as if to invite ns to come and 
search within their leaves and become wise. But no 
time for that until our fernery has been described. 
Guess where it is ? In no less place than the fire¬ 
place. Every Southern country housekeeper will 
understand what 1 mean by a fireplace; they are 
generally considered the test of a housekeeper, so 
of course, as beginners, we wanted something nice for 
ours. We first thought to make a pretty spatter-work 
screen, but as my husband is averse to having a closed 
fireplace, we went to work with a good will to trans¬ 
form this black, ugly chimney into a thing of beauty; 
Cousin Dell with the school-girls started for the 
woods with the children’s little wagon and a spade. 
They took up large groups ot beautiful ferns and 
mosses in their own black dirt, while I put in readi¬ 
ness their future home. I whitewashed the back 
and sides, also the hearth, put away the andirons and 
tongs, and everything was ready when the girls re¬ 
turned with the lovely captives, the ferns and mosses. 
We made a bed of the black dirt three inches deep, 
on this we placed the most beautiful groups of ferns, 
being careful to conceal the dirt with a covering of 
green moss. Several times during the warmest days 
we would give them refreshing showers of water. 
The ferns grew very rapidly ; some of them spread 
their leaves far up the chimney. Of course some of 
them died out, but so many young ones unfolded 
their delicate leaves we hardly missed the yellow ones 
that we pulled out. We felt quite fond of our fern¬ 
ery when we listened to the exclamations of delight 
from our admiring friends. When we look around 
Ave can see our pretty camp-chair, comfortable rock¬ 
ers and lounge, with bronze vases filled with bright 
flowers culled from our yard, and a beautiful silver 
card-stand on the mantel. Our centre-table, on which 
is placed a glass stand of flowers, was arranged 
by the skilful hands of my fair cousin. She made a 
ground-work of Geranium leaves and fine grasses; 
trailing around the sides are the feathery Cypress 
vines ; half hidden under the shadowy grasses may 
be seen blush Rose-buds, delicately tinted Pinks, and 
snowy Daisies. Around this stand on the table lie 
some of the latest journals and monthlies, among 
them the much-read and loved Floral Cabinet. 
After the parlor comes my room. It is also 
my husband’s study. It is furnished with a cot¬ 
tage set of furniture; a pretty carpet on the 
floor, though it is not a new one; small pictures on 
the wall, as we chose the largest for the other room. 
But the crowning attractions of this particular apart¬ 
ment are the baby’s crib and our desk. This desk 
was made by a design planned by my husband. It 
contains at the back three shelves for books, each 
one smaller than the other. On the top is placed the 
most beautiful wall-pocket I ever saw. It Avas made 
by a lady friend in Pennsylvania. It is trimmed with 
leather-work made in the shape of grape-leaves. On 
the front is arranged a large bunch of grapes sur¬ 
rounded by leaves in the form of a large leaf. It has 
a group of leaves and tendrils on each of the four 
corners. This with a nice bright student’s lamp and 
and a large easy rocker finishes the room. 
Now for the crib, or, as Daisy calls it,“ tibbie house.” 
It is tall and has rockers on a little form made for 
it, so my carpet is not worn out, and the crib rocks 
without the usual noise and strain. I think so many 
mothers have been injured by stooping over rocking 
a heavy, unhandy cradle. ’Tisiny delight to keep the 
crib looking cheerful and inviting to our little cherub. 
It is always dressed in white! coverlids. In summer 
I keep it completely covered with white netting looped 
at each end of the crib, and Daisy is not satisfied 
until I pin a “ beta of lowers” where it is looped. 
Cousin Dell’s room is a little home within itself. 
A nice new carpet, white curtains over green, in¬ 
stead of the usual paper shades. She bought six 
yards of green calico tacked on the inside of her cur¬ 
tain, so she could raise her windows without tearing 
her shades. Her washstand is of our own manufac¬ 
ture. A goods-box is turned up on the end, a Avhite 
curtain to fit around it ; on the top is a cover made of 
linen trimmed with white bands. Over the av ash Stand 
is a Avail-protector made of the same dark linen. It 
is divided into tAvo pockets, one in Avhich she keeps 
her comb and brush, the other that of our little cou¬ 
sin, Avlio boards with us and rooms Avith her. Be- 
tween the pockets she stitched a division just large 
enough for a tooth-brush handle, one for her side and 
one for the little girl’s. In the middle of this hangs 
a pincushion of green worked with white, Avith a 
large German D in the centre. On each end is a little 
hairpin case made of Avhite perforated board, worked 
with green and marked Avith her initial to correspond 
with the cushion. Above this hangs her mirror, by 
the side of that is her Avatclicase, Avhich is the ’cutest 
thing imaginable. It is made of zepliyr-work. It is 
to look at simply a spray of flowers, but, on closer ex¬ 
amination, under a rose you Avill find a little case for 
a tiny Avatch. 
The Roses and buds are red and the leaves and 
tendrils green. Everybody laugh Avlien they find 
out Iioav useful the pretty little ornament is. Cousin 
Dell has her walls beautifully decorated with pic¬ 
tures, Avhich she adorned Avith the airy grasses com¬ 
mon in our old fields. Our fourth room is tAvin sis¬ 
ter to Cousin Dell’s; butit is occupied by tAvo board¬ 
ers, school-girls, and of course has not the little or¬ 
naments Avhich particularize the room of a refined 
groAvn lady. 
Noav, our four rooms are very comfortable and plea¬ 
sant, and though they are elegant avo are happy, 
and think many other people, avIio say they cannot be 
literary and housekeepers, too, should adopt our plan. 
Though they cannot do as well as those aaIio do noth¬ 
ing but attend to their household affairs, let them 
do all they can—have an hour set apart for each 
particular duty—and I dare say school-teaching and 
housekeeping can be very well combined. 
Eastern Carolina. 
Homemade Scrap-Book.— Pretty scrap-books 
can be made of old print starched stiff and cut 
into sheets the size you wish, and the pictures 
pasted on with boiled starch. The remains of 
the picture-books which Avill accumulate in the 
best regulated families of children, are capital for 
this purpose, and the scrap-books Avill bear a good 
deal of rough usage. If you have nice pictures, 
really beautiful books can be made by using linen or 
cambric for the leaves. One before me now, Avhich 
Avas made for a Aveary little invalid, has large leaves 
of gray cambric doubled, and the edges turned in 
and stitched together. The pictures are of all sorts 
and sizes; some steel engravings from old volumes 
of the Lady's Boole ; some beautifully colored ones 
from the London News almanacs; some floral 
chromos from the catalogues, andaicAVscrap pictures 
proper bought for the occasion. The covers are of 
stiff cardboard, covered on both sides Avith the same 
cambric. Pictures are pasted on the insides of the 
covers, and on the outside of the upper one is a 
Avreath of small timers and leaves, surrounding the 
letters of the child’s name and the date. The covers 
are bound with blue ribbon, and sheets and covers 
are fastened together Avith bits of blue ribbon put 
through eyelet holes Avorked in each, and tied in a 
boAV and ends. These can be untied, and extra 
sheets added at any time. If you have not pictures 
enough for a scrap-book, you can take a strip of 
cambric or stiff print, about eight inches wide and as 
long as you like, and paste pictures all over one 
side. Fasten one end by tiny tacks to a round stick, 
and the sheet can then be rolled into small compass 
and put into a cover. The cover to the last one I 
made Avas of pasteboard, joined together to form a 
roll and covered with gilt paper. 
