a me feomjiamom 
MY TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS, AND WHAT 
I DID WITH IT. 
We were poor, but both had strong hearts, willing 
hands, and firm faith that we could make us a home, 
so we were married. 
I had been a school-teacher, had earned enough to 
keep myself comfortably clothed, but no more, except¬ 
ing the price of a first-class sewing-machine, a few 
books, and two unframed pictures which I had just 
purchased, and these, together with a few plants, 
twenty-five dollars in cash, and my wedding gifts— 
which were a set of glassware, a scarlet and black table- 
spread, a canary bird and cage, a pair of gold-fish 
when I had something to put them in, bedding for two 
beds, a few tablecloths, napkins, towels, &c.—com¬ 
pleted my worldly wealth. Harry was only a day- 
laborer in a large manufacturing house — with good 
prospects, to be sure—but were I to tell you how small 
his daily wages were, you would scarcely believe it, and 
would rate us a foolish couple for marrying on so 
small an income. 
Harry had purchased the little furniture we could 
afford, and while he unloaded it at the door, he handed 
me the key, and I entered to survey my new home. 
The house had been built for two families, each part 
entirely separate from the other. Here was my half: 
You entered a small hall, out of which the stairs led 
to an upper hall and two dirty chambers, in which 
were collected old clothes, hoop skirts, boxes, barrels, 
and, in fact, all the debris that a careless family will 
leave behind them when they move. You passed from 
this front hall into a good-sized room, with three large 
windows ; from this, into a bedroom and closet, or by 
another door, to another room, used, I suppose, as a 
kitchen, from this into the woodshed, or into a store¬ 
room eight by twelve, one end fitted with shelves and 
cupboards (this, I decided immediately, should be my 
kitchen); you passed into the woodshed from this 
room also. That woodshed, I wish I could describe it, 
but “it beggars description;” but,I will tell you of 
some things I found there, and what I did with them, 
by-and-by. 
But oh, the qualm of homesickness and almost de¬ 
spair that settled down upon me as I looked at those 
bare rooms, and thought how little we had to make 
them cosy and homelike. Harry asked me how I 
liked the place, and, hypocrite that 1 was, I smiled 
outside and told him, “ first, rate,” and I guessed we 
would soon have it cosy and pleasant; he called me a 
brave little woman, and my courage rose several 
degrees. 
Harry stayed at home four days, and by the end of 
that time the lower part of the house was white¬ 
washed and thoroughly cleaned; the prospect was 
more cheerful; we did not need the upper rooms, so 
decided—as Harry’s time at home was so short—we 
would do nothing with them at present. 
My story has to deal chiefly with the front room; 
it had one advantage : it was not crowded with furni¬ 
ture. It contained, beside the plants, four common 
chairs, two rocking-chairs, one round stand, a sewing- 
machine, two albums, and a few books. 
A carpet was the first thing to think of. I decided 
to make a rag one, if I only had rags enough; I had 
had some experience in that line, so knew just how to 
go to work. I looked over our wardrobes, and found 
quite a number of garments we could not wear again ; 
in fact, I was surprised to find so many old clothes. I 
washed all I could find up stairs, and worked every 
minute when Harry was not at home (I had not told 
him what I was trying to do), when he was there I 
made scarlet and black rugs, pieced scarlet, black and 
green cube-work for footstool-covers, crocheted scar¬ 
let and white tidies, &c. I told mother what I was 
doing, asked her to “ donate,” and the dear soul did, 
giving me twenty pounds rags and six pounds warp 
that was left when she made her last carpet. In three 
weeks I was the proud possessor of fifty pounds carpet- 
rags, colored and 'ready for the weaver. I colored 
twenty pounds black, ten pounds brown, eight pounds 
green, eight pounds scarlet (this was red flannel colored 
over — it is a hard color to get good), left four pounds 
white, took my receipts from Chace’s receipt-book, 
colored my warp drab, allowed one and one-fourth 
pounds rags for one yard of carpet, ancf one pound 
warp for four yards. 
Sent it to the weavers, and paid her in sewing, which 
was her own proposition. She wove enough for the 
stairs, about half the usual width, and I found myself 
the happy possessor of forty yards of bright, serviceable 
carpet, costing me (not including the sewing) seven 
dollars. 
The day before it was brought home, Harry was 
sent by the firm into another State, to be gone three 
weeks, I sent for an old schoolmate to stay with me; 
unfolded my plans to her, and the very next day the 
necessary measurements were taken, and wo chose 
paper for that front room. It (the paper) was a light 
chocolate ground, with a scarlet maple leaf on it; the 
bordering was scarlet maple leaves; we made a table 
out of barrels and boards, cut and trimmed the paper, 
and laid one breadth above another in the order in 
which we wished to take them up, washed our wall 
with vinegar, and pasted. Even if it was the first 
paperhanging we ever did, it was a success. W e 
papered the front room and bed room, and it cost five 
dollars. Bought fifteen yards curtain muslin, white; 
made curtains with brown lambrequins trimmed with 
scarlet fringe and tassels; crocheted double maple 
leaves, scarlet; added cord and tassels to match the 
upper ones, and put the curtains up to the windows, 
and put down the carpet; but our work was not yet 
completed. I had a brown merino dress, not very 
much worn, and mother gave me one just like it of 
hers—we covered the rocking chairs with this, cording 
j every seam in the cushions with scarlet. My brother 
j made a sofa frame, we covered this to match the 
chairs, padding it generously, and coloring all parts 
J not covered, with prepared stain and varnish. Made 
footstools to match, with cover of cube work. My 
brother made a box to fit into the window—six inches 
wider than the window seat, three inches lower at the 
front than the back, and supported on plain brackets; 
in this: was plunged pots containing Boses, Coleus, 
Fuchsia and Geraniums, and in the centre a mauifi- 
cent Calla, the interstices were filled with moss, and 
the top covered with the same, with here and there a 
tiny vine of the Partridge, or Squaw berry, and other 
“ woodsy ” vines. Back of tire Calla I placed a large 
glass fruit dish, with the foot broken off (I found it in 
the Woodshed); — this was sunk in the moss, and tiny 
Ferns, wood Violets, etc., planted around the edge, this 
held my gold fish, and was quite an addition to my 
plant window; it was emptied by a syphon. 
Wo made three hanging baskets, one in particular 
was the admiration of all; it was an old water-pail 
sawed off above the upper hoop, covered with rustic 
work (raisin stems, etc.), and filled with Ferns, etc., 
from the woods. Two broken goblets on each side of 
it, hung in a network of crochet of scarlet, held vines, 
leaves, and flowers. 
We framed halt a dozen photographs by making 
rough frames, covering them with grape vines, ten¬ 
drils, and raisin stems, then crystalizing them in a 
strong solution of alum. Two rustic frames for the 
large pictures, two sets of hanging bookshelves, two 
or three home-made brackets, a lioopskirt basket for 
papers, an hour-glass work table, covered with lawn to 
match the paper, two or three tidies and rugs, and my 
room was done—and still enough of that twenty-five 
dollars left to buy oil-cloth for the hall. 
We took a small sink we found out of doors, filled 
it with rich earth, and planted Ferns in it; this stood 
in the hall, and was “ a thing of beauty” all summer. 
Harry’s'joyous surprise would have paid for all my 
trouble, even if my pretty room had not already done 
so. Beth Day. 
LITTLE THINGS WORTH KNOWING. 
One often hears the remark, that the old ways and 
manner of doing things are good enough. I beg leave 
to differ with such persons. We live in an age of ad¬ 
vancement and improvement, and let us profit by the 
spirit of the time in which we live, and do ail we can 
to further it. 
Witness, for instance, this charming visitor to our 
homes, the Florae Cabinet, and, I add, welcome 
friend to so many farmer’s Moves, who have so little to 
relieve the tedium of their daily routine. 
I saw an inquiry in the Cabinet a short time since, 
“Howto color Mosses?” The mineral dyes will do 
so, very nicely — also everlasting flowers, and shells; 
do not make the dye too deep-colored, but of course 
that is as your fancy dictates. The dyes can be ob¬ 
tained at the druggist’s and at most country stores. 
Very pretty bracket lambrequins can be made of 
pieces of thick pasteboard, the shape of a half circle, 
say three for a bracket—the two side pieces to be cut 
the same size, the centre piece a little larger and 
longer, to lap over the side pieces— tack all on the 
edge of a corner bracket, which is made of a piece of 
thin board cut three square, front side a little rounded, 
on M’hich you tack the sections of pasteboard ; on 
these you must spread a cement, made of equal parts 
of fine whitening, wheat flour, pounded gum-arabic, a 
little gall or alum, enough M r ater to make the cement 
the proper consistency for spreading on the paste¬ 
board, on which you can arrange shells, seeds, cones, 
etc., in any way you choose. 
Very cheap lambrequins for bedrooms may he 
made of strong muslin instead of pasteboard. Cut it 
the same way, sew on dress braid, in imitation of the 
rainbow hues, finished at the top with plaited braid. 
The cement spoken of above I find to he the very best 
for shell work, or mending broken china; when hard 
it is like china. 
I make a very pretty kind of worsted work, it can 
he applied to cloth, velvet, or merino—handsome fox- 
lamp mats, cushion covers, tidies, etc.: Take zephyr 
worsted, cut six or seven equal lengths, about a yard, 
sew them together to form a flat braid, the braid must 
he shaded before sewing. For leaves, commence with 
dark green, so on to very light green or straw color. 
For the flowers, in the same way, from dark red to 
pink, from dark blue to sky blue, and so on, colors to 
suit the desired flower or hud. Now cut the strip 
sensed in little longer than inch pieces, bring the ends 
of the cut pieces together with a twist, and you have a 
leaf or petal. These are formed into flowers, buds 
and leaves, which will admit of a great variety of 
arrangement ; it is quickly done, durable, and very 
effective. 
Ebvood, L. I. Mrs. D. Buffett. 
