%fw iWkes' Sflorai ftiiknet «wi3 Midori til Home 
lomjmmom 
Lonely and sweet a violet grew 
The meadow-weeds among. 
One morn a rosy shepherd-maid, 
With careless heart and idle tread, 
Came by, 
Came by 
The meadow-lands, and ?ung. 
■‘Ah!” said the violet, “would I were 
Some stately garden-flower! 
Then l might gathered be, and pressed 
One little hour to her sweet breast: 
Ah, me! 
Ah, me! 
Only one little hour! 
On came the rosy shepherd-lass 
With heart that idly beat. 
And crushed the violet in the grass, 
It only said, “ How sweet! 
How sweet!” it said with fainting moan, 
“If I must die, to die alone 
For her, 
For her— 
To die at her dear feet.” 
A CEAT ABOUT HOUSE FURNISHING. 
ONE OF AUNT MARY’S LETTERS. 
I have a dear, wise Aunt Mary, whose experience 
of life and its work is always at my service, and 
having received a long letter from her on the im¬ 
portant details connected with house furnishing, I have 
taken the liberty to spread it before the readers of the 
Cabinet in all its minutiae, 
My Dear Niece: As you are expecting to begin 
housekeeping this winter, and have asked me for some 
hits from my small bundle of experience, that you may 
not waste too much in experiments, I send you my 
selection early that you may have time to make the 
necessary preparations. 
In your little house of six or seven rooms the parlor 
and sitting-room will be one. Let the paper-hangings 
of this room be plain gray, with the very slightest pink 
tinge. This is much less expensive than gilt paper 
(twenty cents a roll), and is very pleasing, especially 
as a background for pictures. You had best not try 
to hang this paper for yourselves, as it is much more 
difficult to manage than common paper. Let the 
border be a rich combination of gold with green, 
brown, blue, or crimson, according to the color that is 
to be prominent in the room. By the way, this paper 
soils easily, and I would advise yon to tack small, 
thick cushions, covered with cambric, upon the backs 
of the sofa and large chairs, at the points where they 
are most likely to touch the wall. Or these exposed 
points may be covered with small tidies. These 
tidies should never be made of anything that will lint 
black clothes. 
The dining-room, which opens out of the parlor, 
should have paper to match the parlor, — a neutral 
ground, with a small figure or very narrow stripe of 
the color which you chose for the border. A cheaper 
border in the same color wall do for this room. 
The paper-hangings of the chambers are less likely 
to show soil if of some small mixed figure in grays, 
with borders to match the tone of each room. I must 
always have a room with touches of scarlet burning 
here and there, while you, I know, will want yours 
blue. So suppose you have one of each, and leave the 
third little chamber for a sewing-room, and a place to 
put that extra trunk which in your little city house 
will be sure to be in the way. 
Let all the window-shades in the house be of white 
linen. 
The workmen having now finished the walls, your 
next item will be carpets, and no small one you will 
find it. Having had some experience in both carpet¬ 
ing and matting, I would much prefer the latter for all 
sleeping-rooms and the sewing-room, with a bright 
rug before the fire, and another before the dressing- 
bureau. Get a good article at once, and select the 
yard wide, as it will lay better than that wider; only, 
if there be any quarter or half widths needed do not cut 
a width, but buy one of a yard and a quarter or a yard 
and a half, as the case may be. Matting is not lapped 
in laying, but the two edges laid together as closely as 
possible and tacked very evenly about five inches 
apart. Leave the ends of the widths unfastened for a 
few days, as it will stretch on the floor. 
Carpet parlor and dining-room alike with good ingrain 
at about $1.25 per yard, remembering “small figures 
for small rooms” and that very dark carpets are as 
much to be avoided as very light ones. 
These are the foundations; and, as I see my letter is 
rapidly growing, I will not devote much space to fur¬ 
niture. When you are ready to buy, go around to 
several reliable dealers and price articles in different 
stores, taking pencil notes of each, with the name and 
street number of the dealer;—don’t trust your 
memory. Then with your notes together, compare 
and decide. Don’t select green for the upholstering, 
for it will soon fade, and black haircloth is so dismal. 
I saw a handsome set of black walnut in Rochester, 
N. Y., upholstered in dark brown rep. Gray shows 
dust less, but brown is richer. In looking at chairs, 
sit upon them as well, remembering the comfort of 
those who are to use them. 
In the chambers, if you will have black walnut why 
you must pay for it; while beauty and comfort are as 
much in a painted set at $30 as in a walnut set at 
$130. Whatever kind of wood you get have some kind 
of springs for the bed to rest on, unless you have a spring 
mattress. I find here two kinds of springs fastened to the 
slats; one screwing into the slat, the other fastens around 
the slat. The former is worthless, the latter good. These 
will cost something less than $5 per set. Put them 
closest at the head; about four dozen to a bedstead. 
Your cheapest mattress is of husks covered with 
cotton, costing $5; but the best is of hair, at from 
$30 to $40. 
Besides your square pillows have at least one extra 
pair of narrow, old-fashioned ones, for use in sickness 
and for old-fashioned people; and as soon as you can 
afford it, a feather bed for the same reasons. Have 
plenty of good clean bedding, and over all a white 
spread, even if it is a cheap one. A white bed is the 
ideal one. 
For each bed have pillow-covers of Lonsdale cam¬ 
bric, and let these be as dainty and tasteful as you can 
make them, with ruffles, tucks, or braiding at the 
edge, and your initial or monogram embroidered or 
braided in the centre of each. 
Now to the smaller accessories. In your sleeping- 
room's do not forget some pretty and convenient cornu¬ 
copias for hair-receivers; you remember the one that 
hangs on my dressing-bureau. The materials for one 
receiver are as follows: A piece of silver perforated 
cardboard eight inches square, one ounce of blue 
Berlin wool, and three yards narrow blue ribbon. 
With the wool work a simple pattern in cross stitch 
around the cardboard and a star in the centre, and 
finish the edge in close button-hole stitch. Join into 
a cornucopia, and put small bows of the ribbon down 
the front and a loop at the top. At the printers get a 
sheet of tinted cardboard, and from it cut a smaller 
square, binding it with the ribbon, and joining it like 
the first, slip it inside for a lining. The sheet will 
make four or more liuings. Make also a scarlet 
receiver for the “red room” in a similar manner. The 
two should not cost more than a dollar. 
By all means have a few pictures, vases, and 
brackets; but do not put them all in the parlor. A 
package of Prang’s flower chromos will place one or 
two in each room, while steel engravings, and finely- 
executed lithographs, despite the objection “cheap,” 
will be found very attractive. If you can afford it, 
have one fine, large chromo over the parlor mantel; 
but if not, hang there your best bit of brightness, 
whatever it may be. 
Your loving Aunt Mary. 
Miss Sterling Before the Queen.— When An¬ 
toinette Sterling was summoned to sing before the 
Queen at Osborne House recently, according to a 
writer in the Musical Gazette, she adhered religiously 
to her determination not to bare her arms and shoul¬ 
ders in the “naked horror” of evening dress, and even 
made up her mind, in her advanced republicanism, not 
to kiss the Queen’s hand. What she did do is thus 
related: “The concert was not such a fearful ordeal 
after all. Only the august family circle, with a few 
ladies and gentlemen in attendance, were present. 
Everybody seemed disposed for enjoyment; they ap¬ 
plauded heartily, and accordingly it was easy to sing. 
Besides Miss Sterling, if I remember rightly, there 
was a violinist and a pianist, who were also inspired 
by the friendly atmosphere. As for Miss Sterling, she 
sang so that not only was she encored, but, after the 
programme had been fulfilled, she was obliged to add 
an extra number or two, and then she stood, flushed 
with triumph and delight, as she saw the Queen 
coming forward to speak with her. Where was all 
her rigid republicanism now? Her heart warmed 
towards the motherly little woman, with her arms 
crossed on her breast, who was approaching her in the 
simplest kindliness. ‘ And then,’ said Miss Sterling, 
‘ when I saw there was no hand to be kissed, and that 
all my defences had been erected against a friendly 
little old woman, all my nonsense gave way, and 
somehow—I could not help it— I just grasped the 
pudgy hand, all unexpected as it was, and kissed it, 
and the Queen seemed to like it, too.’” 
Excuse My Glove. —A lady correspondent writes : 
“ Certain kinds of mistaken politeness, sincere as they 
are, are absurd enough to be grotesque. A common mis¬ 
take of this sort, with some persons, is to say, ‘Excuse 
my glove,’ when they offer the hand to a casual ac¬ 
quaintance, or on introduction to a stranger. It might 
be inferred from this remark that the wearing of gloves is 
exceedingly rare in a civilized community, or that the 
wearer wishes to advertise the extraordinary fact that he 
has gloves. All he really desires is to appear polite, never 
suspecting for a moment that he is simply ridiculous. 
If you offer to shake hands with anyone in a place 
where it is customary to wear gloves, you certainly 
need no excuse for compliance with the habit. You 
might with equal reason, on receiving a visitor at your 
house apologize to him for not removing your coat, 
before bidding him welcome. The superfluous phrase, 
probably, had its origin in the days when gloves were 
clumsy, and used more for protection than as an 
essential of dress. Then the naked hand was thought 
to be an evidence of good will and cordiality. Since 
gloves have been universally adopted, the idea of ask¬ 
ing pardon for wearing them is an anachronism as well 
as an impropriety. Gloves are now made to fit ex¬ 
actly, so that, were it courtesy to take them off on 
encountering one’s friends or acquaintances, an amount 
of time and trouble would'be required which would 
inevitably render a social greeting at once a comical 
exhibition and a bore.” 
