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HORTENSE’S TRIUMPH. 
Winter had passed. April with its smiles apd tears 
came, and with it came Fred for his truant little wife, 
who, worn with the duties of the school-room, cheer¬ 
fully took her seat beside him in their handsome 
buggy, and the first day’s drive brought them to a 
picturesque cottage, whose odor of fresh paint, hare 
level yard, and newly-paled garden gave indications of 
recent completion. Hortense gave one longing look, 
which turned to despair as she thought of taking up 
the old life at Swallow’s Home. 
“ Here I have arranged to spend the night,” said 
Fred; “just walk to the house while I attend to our 
baggage.” She was met by a tidy servant, and con¬ 
ducted to a room whose newly-carpeted floor glowed 
in the ruddy light of a cheerful fire, while the last 
rays of the setting sun gleamed through crimson cur¬ 
tains, and fell athwart the cherry bedstead with spot¬ 
less counterpane and pillow-case. “ There is a bed¬ 
stead just like mine,” thought Hortense, “and the 
counterpane—if it isn’t the very same figure!” and 
once more a little ache aroused, gave a stifled sob and 
slept in despair. In the absence of the servant, she 
took a more careful survey, and was struck with the 
resemblance of the very washstand, bureau and 
wardrobe, to her own cherry set, save a riche*', deeper 
glow of freshness, and welcome seemed to reach out 
to meet and make her feel at home. Fred came in, 
and Hortense was about to call his attention to the 
remarkable likeness, when the supper bell rang, and 
Fred led the way to a neat dining-room, with a little 
parlor stove, a china safe, a refrigerator, a row of 
painted stools against the wall, and a table set for 
two. The servant apologized, saying : “ Mr. S. said 
make yourselves at home to-night; sorry dere’s no 
white lady to keep your comp’ny,” looking at Hor- 
teuse. The ache would not sleep. As she poured 
out coffee in little china cups so like those given by 
her papa, and was helped on a plate like her own 
little supper plates packed away at Swallow’s Home, 
to await the despaired of change, Hortense trusted not 
her voice to speak. “ Now this is the way I should 
like to be fixed, wouldn’t you, Hortense ?” said Fred, 
watching his wife with uncommon interest. The 
aching heart alone responded yes, but a tear revealed 
her unspeakable despair. 
As they returned from the dining-room through the 
oil-cloth carpeted hall, Fred opened a door, and said : 
“ See what a neat parlor.” Hortense noticed that 
carpet, curtains, settee and chairs of dark maroon, 
with walnut woodwork in furniture and room finish, 
displayed the same harmony of color and taste of ar¬ 
rangement as the chamber, but when she lifted her 
eyes to the wall, she started ; was not that her picture 
in the walnut frame! As the truth began to dawn 
upon her, with a longing, hungry look, she threw her¬ 
self into Fred’s arms, crying, “ What does it mean, 
darling?” Mingled tears, caresses, and murmured 
words of endearment explained all. Fred had proved 
his intention of gratifying his wife, and she "was over¬ 
whelmed with humble gratitude, and immediately en¬ 
throned him again as king of her heart. Fearing this 
might be a delusion to which she might awake, Hor¬ 
tense slept not, but arose next morning to reassure 
herself by examining into all the particulars of this 
lovely home. She found the two rooms up stairs un¬ 
furnished ; one was filled with the plunder which 
native economy had prompted her to lay by. There 
were old clothes, her old carpet, quilts, a sack of car- j keeping. She arose early each morning, raised the 
pet balls of the shapings from her rag-bag, mgs made J windows, spread open the bed to air, and after dress- 
of scraps, leaky tin buckets, shells, pine cones, bits of 
wire, bottles, fruit cans and jars, etc. 
“ I am glad Fred left these rooms for me to furnish; 
it will give me an opportunity for displaying my in¬ 
genuity/' said Hortense, as she surveyed this chaos. 
“ This carpet from my old room is faded, and has 
some holes burned in it, but the wrong side is quite 
mg, went to the dining-room to skim the milk, having 
arranged everthing for breakfast the previous night. 
She kept but one cow, yet she managed to keep 
enough milk for her own and Fred s dinner and sup¬ 
per, and churned the cream once a week, when they 
had buttermilk with which to make the bread. They 
both liked corn bread, and a very little soda dissolved 
bright yet;” and with some yarn like the filling, and in a teacup of buttermilk made it light, and when 
thread like the chain, she darned it across, tying her 
thread each time to the end of the burnt chain. The 
carpet was then stretched smoothly, with the wrong 
side up, over straw evenly spread upon the floor. 
Upon the hearth she placed a rug, which she had 
crocheted of scraps of gay-colored yarn and other 
soft goods, strong but easily torn in fine strips; this 
shaded from the centre and terminated, with a row of 
notches, shading to white; at the point of each was 
tied a bunch of white fringe^ in the maroon ground 
fringe which surrounded the rug. It was lined with 
the coarse cover ol a coffee sack, washed, starched and 
ironed. The curtains, fresh starched and ironed, 
though they had long hung in her room at Swallow’s 
Home, looked quite new. A bedstead, washstand, 
and table, which Fred’s mother gave him, though a 
little the -worse for wear, were made to; look like new 
by a coat of walnut stain, and afterwards varnished. 
Upon the bed Hortense put a comfort made of her 
old dresses; in the centre was a square of red, sur¬ 
rounded with green, then pink, gray, blue, and the 
border black. The lining was made of alternate 
stripes of Jwown and black, the whole quilted by the 
seams on the upper side. There was a scrap calico 
quilt of simple pattern, lined with half-worn calico 
dresses, and quilted by the pattern; over all was a 
muslin log-cabin quilt made of scraps, over black 
alpaca, which, being felled down after joining, served 
as lining. The bright colors were in keeping with 
the carpet, rug, and table cover, made of opera flannel 
and velveteen, after the pattern of the “ capitol steps.” 
Above the toilet table hung a mirror, and upon a 
snow-white mat lay the brush and comb. Cotton 
mats with borders of Turkey red, protected the wash- 
stand," upon which sat a clean bowl and pitcher, a 
mug and soap dish. Two neat boxes, with ruffles 
tacked on, and a pretty cover stretched over a stuffing 
of fine shavings, finished by a quilling to conceal 
where the lid closed, served as shoe and splinter 
boxes, as well ms stools. These, with a spare chair 
from her chamber, completed the furniture of her best 
spare room. With satisfaction Hortense closed the 
door upon this chamber and turned to the one remain¬ 
ing. There was little left with which to furnish it. 
With her $200 of school money she might furnish it 
handsomely, but she would lend that to Fred, as he 
had gone to so much trouble to surprise her, and she 
would add articles by degrees. Her father sent her a 
neat cottage bedstead and mattress; this, furnished 
with new sheets, homemade comforts, and a snow- 
baked crisp and brown was more wholesome than 
wheat bre d. Boiled ham or beef agreed best with 
Fred, and with good coffee made a delightful break¬ 
fast. After the table was cleared, Hortense prepared 
the soiled clothes for the wash, while Susan raked the 
garden beds and John picked up stones, till 10 o’clock, 
when preparations for dinner commenced. This con¬ 
sisted chiefly oi vegetables, dessert discarded, save for 
company, when was added a harmless crumb pudding, 
made of the remains of light bread and beat biscuit, 
which last she often made on Fred’s account. Pota¬ 
toes left at dinner were made into cakes with a little 
flour, and fried for breakfast. For supper there was 
only bread and butter and milk, with a little jam or 
jelly for herself, as a relish. Fred could not use 
sweets or acids. 
Tuesday was wash-day. While the cotton and 
linen were in the boil, the flannels were washed out 
in warm suds and hung to dry; common clothes and 
calicoes were dipped in thick flour starch after rinsing, 
and hung to dry, while the linen was first dried and 
then dipped into starch made of two tablespoonfuls of 
store starch to a pint of water, with a drop of mucil¬ 
age or gum-arabic. This was enough for two shirts, 
two sets of collars and cuffs, and an apron. Wednes¬ 
day morning these clothes were evenly sprinkled and 
rolled tightly, and laid in a basket, and Susan was 
ready to begin ironing immediately after dinner. 
Hortense usually repaired any damage done in wash¬ 
ing, darned the hosiery, aired the clothes, and by 
night everything was in its place. Thursday and 
Friday she directed in the garden, unless it rained, 
when she basted for the machine, while Fred read 
aloud, and Susan patched the clothes or sewed carpet 
rags. On Saturday, preparation was made for Sun¬ 
day. Ham or beef boiled, light bread baked, fruit 
stewed, dessert prepared, •knives and forks rubbed, 
house cleaned, ashes carried out, hearth fresh coated 
with clay boiled in buttermilk, lamps cleaned and re¬ 
filled, chimneys washed in boiling clear water and 
soda, a bath, clean clothes, and Hortense retired 
ready for the sabbath. A warm breakfast, to Sab- 
bath-school and preaching, a cold dinner, reading in 
the afternoon, lunch, and “ early to bed, early to rise ’’ 
on Monday morning. 
Thus passed the summer, and when the sharp wind 
came with a whisk around the corner, as Jack Frost 
swung his great mantle around his ample shoulders, 
preparatory to his five months’ journey over lowland 
and mountain-top, then might be seen spread to dry, 
white counterpane, and the lounge pillows encased in j and hanging in paper bags in the kitchen garret, sage 
envelope pillow-cases, looked inviting. A box set on i for sausage, hops for yeast, poke-berries for rheuma- 
end and covered with a piece of oil-cloth, with the tism ; gympson, hoarhound, and rnullen buds to be 
front piece buttoned with round-headed nails, served as , inhaled with sulphur for asthma, and immortelles and 
wash stand and press in which to keep the towels. \ grasses for ornament. Clematis was twined, while 
Upon it sat a pitcher and new tin basin, a goblet, and J green, around picture frames, to open its feathery 
a saucer for the soap. Another box, similarly covered, 1 plumes in the shade of the darkened parlor. Flowers 
served as toilet table, and a cushioned stool, a chair housed, vegetables easy of access, but safe from frost, 
with a leather bottom covered with brown knitted: and winter had come again. 
tufting, and Fred’s trunk, completed the furniture of In a home of her own, her sympathizing mother 
the second-best bed-room. ■ knitting in the corner, while Fred reads aloud, we 
Hortense now* began her beautiful system of house- 1 leave happy Hortense. M. L. G. 
