
 

 

 

2": ‘\\ .
\\ \\\ \

isk
\ \\‘\1 .

§,\

 

4041/], i, '

.ma‘”

 

DETROIT, APRIL

25, 1891.

 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD-"Supplement.

 

 

~ DROPPING THE 131133.0er.

 

BY A. H. J.

 

The dish-cloth was dropped this morning.
and we wondered in jest and glee,

Whose visit was meant by the warning:
Were they coming to dinner or tea?

Was it Martha. or Lute. or Mabel;
(ﬁnthia. Marie, or Kate:

Emma. from down by Lake Erie;
OrNell. from the Nutmeg State?

So far we carried our guessing.
That when we heard the train;
nWe ran to the gate-confessing
We knew it was all in 'vain:
But, turning back with laughter,
A snow-drop. pale and meek.
Said. "I am the guest you‘re after.
I bring the news you seek."

.ln tint of beauty and curve of grace.

Her cloak and hood of green
I Had slipped away from her fair sweet face;
-' And never a guest. I ween.

Found warmer. truer welcome;
Or brought us better cheer,

.As she peeped from the dingy snow-drift;
To tell uﬁspring was near.

In spite of the cold wind blowing.

She whispered of bloom and bees;
And set our hearts all glowing.

With thought of. the whitened trees.
Oh! the ﬁrst. the dear little snow-drop;

Which we fell on our knees to kiss;—
We never will doubt the warning

Of the dish.cloth after this.

_——...————

smart 0N was: sraaa'r.

 

The ﬁrst bright Saturday afternoon of
this month, when the temperature savored
.suﬁicientiy of spring to enable us to dis-
pense with overcoats and wraps, it so
happened that I was down town with a
friend, and had a ﬁne opportunity to view
the kaleidoscOpic procession which crowded
both sides of Woodward Avenue, far
above the Grand Circus. And a gay sight
'it was, too, “ a dress parade" of no slight

magnitude, expecially after the Opera
«Houses had discharged their contingent of
matinee people. The spring styles call for
'very light tints of gray and tan, and the
prevalence of these tones makes the street
scenes bright and gay, as well as animated.
'Some very pretty dresses were out, their
youthful wearers looking as fresh and
dainty as the pansies, violets and roses
worn asa ﬁnishing touchto their toilettes.
For now, fashion’s pendulum has swung
'to the further extreme, and Mademoiselle
no longer bows over a corsage bouquet of
a dozen roses, or jonquils, but thrusts a
.aingle tulip or daﬂodil, or one queenly
American Beauty through her buttonhole

pretty gray dress -one of the new shades
which have the faintest tinge of heliotrope,
so delicate you are half inclined to believe
it‘s not there after all—was male with the
usual straight, plain skirt, the fullness
massed at the hick, and having a fold of
heliotrope velvet as a ﬁnish to the foot,
showing somewhat less than half an inch.
With this was worn a coat basque, edged
with inch-wide_folds of heliotrope velvet.
The revers were edged with narrower
folds, and the buttons were of the dress
material. Buttons when used, are small,
and are usually made of the goods like the
dress, costing 15 cents a dozen for making.
With this was worn a hat of ﬁne gray
straw with a fancy edge, trimmed with a
silver passemehterie laid around the wide,
indented brim, and full stii! loops of gray
ribbon, the hat being in tones cmsiderably
darker than the suit. A knot of E iglish
violets was a pretty ﬁnish to this spring-
like costume. A very striking dress was
of tan cashmere—the tan or dressed
leather-and copious-1y trimmed with gold
braid; the bonnet a toque combining the
same colors. The eﬁsct was so loud that
though the City Hill clock struck four as
the wearer passed us, we fglled to hear it.
Two sisters in dresses of old rose cloth
made a bright spot on the sunny side of
the street; accordeon-pleated capes of the
new half-long style quite concealed the de-
tails of the corsages. An elegantly simple
black dress had a vest made of narrow per-
pendicular tucks between Incrnyable
revers on which were laid gold braid one
and a half inches wide; a Cleopatra gir die
of the braid ﬁnished the bottom of the
pointed bodice. '

Within the stores were thousands of
women engaged in the eminently feminine
occupation of “shopping”—that is, they
were looking at goods they had no earthly
intention of buying. I was one of the
thousands, but I was shopping “in the
interests of my constituents,” meaning to
tell you all about it. To be convinced
what are the leading colors, one has only
to look at the great piles of gray and tan
goods heaped on the counters. Some are
novelties, having shaggy spots the size of
a teacup upon their surface, a brown or
tan on gray or cream being a favorite com-
bination. Others have ﬂecks of ﬁeecy
wool in black or darker gray or brown
upon gray. Upon black are what are
called brioche eﬂecis, disks of old rose or
yellow in three sizes grouped in lines.

matching the ground. One of the new

materials is Linsdowne, a silk and wool
mixture resembling poplin; it has the gloss

and shimmer of silk and mmes only in

black and very light tints, palest tans,

mauves, greys, etc. It 1842 inches, $1.50
a yard, and makes elegant evening dresses.

In thin wool goods, crepon—a sort of wool
crepe, which has been described as a
“crinkiy nuns’ veiling”—-is the newest.

It too is 42 inches, at $1 forblack and $1.25
for colors. It seems to take the place of
the wool batistes and veilings so popular
several seasons ago. The colored crepons
are made up with velvet or bengaline ac»
cessories; the black are decorated with cord
passementeries or with j2t nail-heads, or
oabochons, if you want to be very French.
Madame is M )iiste suggested that a skirt
with a hemstitchei he at would be desirable
in this material.

Then we have the China silks, which
seem prettier than ever this year. Prices
range from $1 to $1 75, the latter for the
substantial surah twill with timer pat-
terns. But the dollar silks are very pretty,
and capable of giving a good deal of satis-
factory wear, besides being very owl and
light. Those having black grounds are--
preferred, as not looking so much like
satteens. There are two qualities in the
dollar silks, at different establishments.
One grade, 27 inches wide, is coarser and
ess even than the other, which is 24 inches
wide at the same price. For myself, I
should prefer to buy a yard or two more of
the 241nch goods, believing it will look
and wear enough better to pay the dif-
ference. A pattern I particularly admired
at Newcomb’s was known to the salesmen
as “ Maid of the Mist;" it was a reproduc-
tion of the seed vessels of Nigella in the
softest greens shading into browns. An-
other had tiny sprays of a blossom un-
known to botany, but which held in the
tips of its buds and blossom petals the
purplish blue of the wild aster. In another
of the same pattern the color was yellow.
Among the 27 inch silks we saw some in
patterns of geometric combinations of
lines in yellow, heliotrope and old rose,
and others having tiny anchor-shaped
ﬁgures at wide intervals.

These silks are made up simply, with
skirts of six widths, hemmed, slightly
draped in front, and with full waists
round or pointed, ﬁnished with frills of
lace which give the “coat length” which
dressmskers insist upon. Or the lace can

 

These goods are 42 inches, $1.50 a yard,

 

and, looks more demure than the ﬂower. A

    

and used in combination with plain black

be omitted and a pleated frill of the silk
used for the same purpose. If it seems

         
 


¢“_,,.Wrwffr“im.ll—jlll‘%‘lﬁﬂj s »-..——_ 7—“

 

.lr,m«.ge.wnd 1s. ....

 

v
i

e
W.
a.
3.

3-: Z
5;.
”r

' wool dresses.

 

 

2 THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

desirable to ornament the skirt, it is best
done by perpendicular rows of ribbon
ending in large bows at the foot.

Dress trimmings are perfectly gorgeous
and dreadfully expensive, though there is
awide range of values, from $1 to $15,and
with some of them literally “ a little goes a
good way s.” They are so showy that
while the use of a small quantity, ad-
vantageously, gives a distingue air to a.
dress, double the quantity would make it
look tawdry. The passementeries are in
the tints and shades of silver and gold, and
enriched with mock jewels of colored
glass representing rubies, emeralds and
sapphires. All have a metallic effect.
There are bands wrought with pale-tinted
beads which are very handsome, at $5 per
yard, and other patterns overshot with silk
and enriched with beads. Gold braids are
mixed with threads of chenille; and there
are heavy cord lace-like patterns in black
to be laid over bright silks and used for
decorating black dresses. Jet is revived—
if it has been out oi style--and is used on
The new patterns are in
narrow gimps for‘headings and to border
the edges of slashed and coat basques, and
in wider bands designed for Cleopatra
girdles; these are handsomest in designs of
single strands, uniting at short intervals
under buckle-shaped ornaments of cut jet,
but, gracious goednessl they’re for the rich
only at $8 a yard.

Tired out with the warmth of the day
and bewildered with the rush and crush,
we revived exhausted nature with an ice-
cream soda at Kuhn’s, and assuring each
the other that we’d had “a perfectly do
lightful afternoon,” we said good by, and
each boardeda crowded car and had the
pleasure of hanging to a strap while the
lords of creation who are willing to allow
women " their rights ” cheerfully accorded
us the privilege, burying themselves be-
hind their newspapers in order not to em-
barrass us in its exercise. Bnarnrx.

 

“THE GREATEST THING IN THE
'WORLD."

 

It will not do to let Fidus Achates’ as-
sertion that “M. E. H. seemed to exalt in
the fact that the Prohibition party would
get left in its expectations of the woman’s
ballot” stand uncontroverted. No one
would rejoice more sincerely than M. E.
II. to see the vile stuﬁ men drink that
steals their brains and souls away, de-
stroyed from off the face of the earth. My
mind often reverts to an item, and not a
small one either, which I read not long
since, about the missionaries and rum sent
out to convert heathen Africa. “ A ship
bore one missionary and 70,000 gallons of
rum; another ship bore one missionary
and another 70,000 gallons of rum, and
another missionary and another 70,000
gallons of rum, and the next ship took
70,000 gallons of rum and no missionary.
Thus we touch the great Congo States.
One convert to Christ, one hundred
drunkardsi One more convert, one hun-
dred more drunkardsl And so it goes on.”

The writer, Margaret E. Sangster, says
she heard of a single gallon of rum which

caused a ﬁght in which ﬁfty were killed.
“ Judas sold his Lord for $17, but America
hurries ﬁfty souls to the bar of God for
ninety cents.” Thisisshocking; but we
need not go so far irem home to see and
feel the bad rifects of liquor.

There are other bad things in the world.
The one which I wish to notice in particu-
lar is much more general in every com-
munity, and itis ahabit about as hard to
overcome as the drink or tobacco habit.
It is the practice of speaking ill of others
and putting the worst construction on what
we hear and what we see others do. I will
not speak of the causes of this habit now;
I will only say that it is one which if well
entertained in the heart grows fast and
strong, and gives pleasures to the evil
spirit which dominated the person indulg
in g; while the good angel folds her wings
and covers her face. Does the evil seeking
and evil speaking one feel happy tr good
when she hasyielded to this habit? No,
no! nothing wrong gives real pleasure.
Then turn over a new leaf; cemmand the
heart to judge lovingly and kindly'of words
and acts, and be quick to think of some
good quality in the person named (and
every one has more or less good in him)
and let us learn to love the good in every
one and let the veil fall over the unlovely,
remembering “ Love is the greatest thing
in the world.” Ah yes; then the good
angel folds her wings about us, and we‘
are so comfortable and happy. Oh if every
one could once know the peace and ex-
quisite bliss that ﬁlls the soul when it is
in harmony with “ The Greatest Thing in
the World,” loving everything good, and
not seeing the unlovely traits in those
about us, what a change there would be in
the world! Just shut your eyes and think
what would be the eﬂect if every one
loved every other one as he or she would
like to beloved; such a thing is possible, if

all will make the change in themselves.
ALBION. M. E. H.

 

FUESIKG WITH FLOWERS.

 

You will, of course, raise a few ﬂowers
for your own pleasure and enjoyment this
summer. The languor of the spring air,
the cares of housecleaning, the intermin-
able spring sewing, perhaps the new rag
carpet, may make you think you “won’t
bother this year,” but you will, of course
you will. You can’t help it. There’s the
illustrated catalogue on the table with the
newspapers. You know perfectly well
there’s a list of a dollar’s worth of seeds
you meant to send for. You think you’ll
save the money, but you’ll send it yet, of
course you will. . It is "‘ kismet.” You re-
member your failure of last year, and like
the inde mitable little woman you are, you.
mean to turn that defeat into a glorious
victory. You will rout the bugs and the
drouth, the cut worms and the hens, and
some small space of your domain shall
blossom as the rose.

I think very often ﬂowers fail to be as
showy and satisfactory as they might be
because their arrangement is not well

 

planned. In planning a garden, as well
as in funishirg a run, jrt 11:; t

 

sider how to place things to the best adv

vantage. Choose a sunny spot. which you

can see from your kitchen or sitting-room-

windows. That ﬂower-bed is for your

own satisfaction and comfort, not for the

chance passer-by or the infrrquent occu-

pant of the parlor. l’ve no opinion of

'a husband who will not oblige the

sharer of his toil by spading up a circle six-

or eight feet in diameter wherever she
desires, and conveying there half a dozen

wheel-barrow loads of rich earth and com~

post from the barnyard. He may do it by

proxy, but he must see that it is well done.

I think there are the remains of a washtub
cast aside in a pile of refuse back of the

Woodshed. Gather them up, and with one »
of the hoops as a guide, drive them in a

circle in the centre of ti at embryo bed.

If it was not a washtub I saw, then it was

anold barrel, and ﬁfteen mirutes work

will shorten its staves for the purpose de-

signed. Fill the receptacle thus made

with earth to within two inches of the'iop,

packing it well so the soil will not dry out.

This is for the centre, and a space two or

three feet wide and six or eight inches
high should surround it. For an edge
various things may he used, bricks, stones
(do not whitewash them):more shortened

barrel staves, or hoops from eld barrels,

bent and both ends stuck in the ground,

forming interlacing scallops. The last is
perhaps the prettiest, as vines can be made
to run over this support very prettiiy.

Such a bed is more effective and more

satisfactory than almost any other arrange-

ment which can be made on so modest a

scale, for everything shows off ﬁnely; the
plants are .compact, the rich soil will

nurture them well, and the ﬂowers, thus

massed, make a brilliant display. It is

more easy to give a plentiful supply of

water in a period of drouth, too, and a
thorough soaking will require less water.

Now for the planting. Some handsome
plant should be set in the centre of the tub,
a hydrangea, a geranium that did not blos~
som this winter, or the fuchsia that rested
in the cellar and is now putting cut its
leaves. Stake it securely. You can set
some pansy plants round it; they’ll not be
much good in summer, but will be nice
before other things blossom. Then I'd set
a few plants of abronia—the yellow sort,
and the blue ageratum. alternating with
blue and white Swan River daisies, and
then a row of crimson and white candy-
tuft. It’s a good place, too, for a few
plants of the California peppy, which
divides with the auriferous metal the honor-
of naming our Golden State. Next the-
edge I should plant, thickly, seeds of the
nasturtium, to trail over the sides of the-
tub and hide it.

In the second circle, surrounding the-
tub, graduate the height of the plants,
balsams and asters, alternating, dwarf
asters and balsams trimmed to their height.
I want some coreOpsis—I like its barbaric
gold and bronze dress; the Shirley poppy,
saipiglossis, ste cks, phle-x and lots of
petunlas, with anything else you like, may
ﬁll the space. Next the outside, a row of"
verbenas, wh’ch yeu will make grow.-

 


'bV‘VV' twaynwl-‘Iuv-jwpp‘

I—UWI‘I—IOVWI

aywvv

-v‘--wwv

 

THE HOUSEHOLD. - 3

ccording to your will, not their own,
keeping them more bushy and not letting
them mat on the ground. Or better than
these, plant the dwarf nasturtiums, which
are so brilliant and showy both in blossom
and foliage. '

Mignonette and carnation pinks will
have a place, so will the dwarf rocket; in
fact, you will ﬁnd you have room for a
good many plants in the bed [have de-
scribed. ' and that by using your scissors
freely you can have bouquets all summer.
And when frosts threaten, you can im-
provise a tent out of an old sheet and your
kitchen aprons, and save its beauty for two
or three weeks.

The time you spend “fussing with
ﬂowers” may not return you as much cash
as if expended on hens or onions, but the
love of beauty, of color, of fragrance in-
herent in may true woman will be grati-
ﬁed, and that, I take it, is a suﬁlciently
good cause for the very small expenditure
of money and the tender care required.
Health comes with outdoor work, and
there is an ever fresh delight in the early
morning call (snatched while the dew is on
and the breakfast dishes wait.) to see what
new blossoms have appeared over night.
Oh yes, it pays to ”fuss with ﬂowers," so
get your seeds and your big sunbonnet
ready. BEATRIX.

——-—...-_

OUR FRIENDS.

[Paper read before the Eaton County Horticul-
tural Society by Mrs. Lucretia Wheeler, Feb.
18th, 1891.]

Our Creator has bestowed upon us no
greater blessing than that of pure and dis
interested friendship. Among all our en-
joyments nothing is more valuable than a
true friend. He is a joy in solitude, a
counselor in difﬁculties, and a sanctuary in
distress. To strike out friendly affection
from the moral world, would be like ex-
tinguishing the sun from the natural one.
But in choosing friends we should use dis-
cretion. In passing along through life,
our manners and conversation, our Opinions
and principles take their cast largely from
those with whom we associate. We should
therefore seek friends among the good,
the wise, the pure, the gentle and reﬁned;
those whose lives are marked with in
tegrity, sincerity and justice; but as we
value our credit and comfort in life, our
peace in death, and our happiness in
eternity, let us as far as possible shun evil
company however ardent may be their
professions of friendship. Through bad
company, multitudes have been led into
crimes at the bare thought of which they
once shuddered. Whatever will add to
our ease and comfort, protect us from ill,
or exalt and enlighten our minds we may
ﬁnd in a friend. ,

Good books are among the best of
friends; they are agreeable companions,
kind advisers, delightful treasures. Who
can weigh their worth? Disappointments
and trials are sometimes our friends, for
they often lead our minds to reﬂection,
and cause us to properly subdue our tem-
per and control our thoughts. Whatever
tends to the improvement of society is a
friend to each individual member of

 

society. The horticultural society, far-
mers' clubs and kindred associations are
our friends, their aim being the increase of
useful knowledge, mutual improvement,
and social enjoyment.

There are things which claim our friend-
ship and which we may highly prize and
yet they are not altogether our friends.
We are proud of our country, our boasted
land. of liberty, proud of its constitution,
which declares all men free and equal,
proud 'of its laws which claim to protect
all classes alike. But are our rights pro-
tected? It is true our laws provide for
the erection of prisons for the safety of
society; poorhouses for the homes of the
indigent; insane asylums for the beneﬁt of
those unfortunates who are bereft of
reason. But do they not license certain in-
dividuals to ﬁll our streets with idleness
and drunken riot, our prisons with crimi-,
nais, our poorhouses with paupers, to de-
base manhood for gain, to promote and in-
crease crime, to sow the seeds of de-
bauchery and sin broadcast throughout
the land, that they may be enriched by the
price of the wife’s tears, the mother's sort
row and the children’s woe? And to
woman is denied the right she should have
ofprotecting those fathers, brothers, hus
bands and sons from these temptations—
the right of suffrage. Is the law a true
friend?

I might name many inﬂuences which are
friendly to our happiness; but I will only
say Religion is our friend—the oifsprin g of
Truth and Love, the parent of Benevo-
lence, Hope and Joy. Religion teaches
us to do good and rationally enjoy the
blessings God has given us. And when
all earthly joys shall fall she points us to
a home of eternal bliss where friendship is
perpetual and joy forever reigns. There
weshall dwell with Jesus, join the innu-
merable company of angels and mingle
’with all those great and illustrious spirits
who have shone in former ages as the set-
vants of God. There will be no friends
who change, no love that cools.

W

ABOUT DISH-WASEIN G.

I have been a reader of your most
valuable paper since last fall and take
great interest in the Housnkorm, from
which I have already derived many good
ideas, and have thought many times thatI
might contribute something in return that
would be of value to some poor backaching
mortal, time saving, perhaps, and allow a
few minutes for rest. I will mention one.
I have kept house fourteen years and have
wiped but very few dishes; they are
scraped clean when taken from the table.
washed in a light hot suds and rinsed-in
another pan of good hOt water, and turned
on edge on a large cloth. that takes every
drop of water. The secret is to place them
so that the steam can escape from between
them, and to put the ﬁrst ones the farthest
from you so as not to drip over those
already draining. They will shine and
look much better than if wiped. especially
on such towels as some will wipe dishes
on; besides, this way saves a number of
towels in the weekly wash. In warm

 

weather the milk pans, tin basins and tins
are turned out of hJI. Water on a large box
at the back door in the sun, and are dry in
less than ﬁve minutes. Of course knives,
forks and spoons anl glass dishes are
wiped. -I only write this for those who,
like myself, have great tablesfuil of dishes
to wash three times a day; for a small
family I would as soon wipe them. I '
think this cheaper than keeping cats. Try'
it and report, as I well know you will think
itagreat saving. Now if I have taught
any one slack or dirty tricks about washing
dishes don’t you ever tell.‘ ' _ '

Ezla R. Wood thinks Evangeline too
hard on her s.-x. As Evangeline has just
made us an evening’s visit and spoken in
such high terms of certain women she had
recently met at the A. bion Institute (on-
sides I know her wel‘) I think she might'
have placed her ideas on paper at some
discouraged moment. And if I am not
mistaken, “ Stranger " stayed over night
with us within the last four weeks.

I ﬁnd an article in the HOUSEHOLD of
April 4th on limei eggs. I would like to
say that my brother butchers and runs a
meat wagon several days in a week among
the'farmers, and last year took eggs (for
which he paid from eight to twelve cents)‘
in exchange for meat, and several barrels
were put down in the manner spoken of in
this article. During the winter he oc-
casionally took a bushel basket-full to our
town, and I have reason to think some of
them at least were used here, while the re
maining barrel and a half were shipped,
after he and wife had worked faithfully
the greater part of two days to wash, wipe
and pack in, I think, cut straw. He ex-
pected 23 cents per dozen for them, but
they were down by the time they reached
their des:ination, and 22 dozen went down
with the price, owing to the lime making

the shells so tender that they were easily
broken. I had several dozen of him for
our own use, and after they were broken
they smelt strongly of lime; they looked
like fresh eggs but did not taste in baking.
He got 20 cents per dozen for what were:
saved, the same as he could have got at.
home. N. w. B.
ABSCOTA.

WHAT'S THE MATTER?

I would like to ask any of the readers of
the HOUSEHOLD what ails my soap. My

lye is strong enough to raise an egg and I

have plenty of grease. I boiled the grease
and lye until I thought it done and left it
in the kettle over night to cool. 'In the
morning I had about three inches of soap
on top and all the rest underneath was lye.
Thinking it not boiled enough I boiled it
another three hours, but of no avail. I
would also like to know how to make hard
soap without using lime. Mac.
[Try adding more grease. Sserns as if
there is too much free lye—En]
W

ABALC, of Lawrence, wishes to know
where she can get a patent solder, which
can be used at home for mending tinware.
A quarter’s worth, bought six years ago,
has mended innumerable holes and is now
exhausted. She also asks a recipe for
orange marmalade.

 


 

 

 

4 THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

TEE LITERARY KENS OF ALBION.

 

Albion is a beautiful and famous village
on the Michigan Central railroad, and the
seat of a large and ﬂlurishing educational
institution, wh‘ch is so well known that
when a mother tells you, with a proud
gleam in her eye, that her daughter is “ at

Albion,” you understand at once that she .

isastudent at the college, and enjoying
superior advantages in the way of educa-
tionand society. In brief, were it not for
Ann Arbor, Albion would probably enjoy
the reputation of being “ the Athens
of Michigan." Naturally, the local at~
nosphere is literary and learned; the
people ‘are trying to live up to their blue
shine. But an outsider hardly realizes
the remarkable inﬂuence of this atmos-
phere upon surrounding objects—animate
and animal. Why even the hens not only
hay eggs of unusual size and excellence,
but actually, like Mr. Silas Wegg, “ drop
into poetry,” and illustrate their poems
with outline drawings, not perhaps, with
the skill of a Melssonier, but with a genius
heretofore unheard of in gallinacean an-
nals. th us explain this phenomenon. A
lady of this city recently rec :ived a basket
oi eggs from Albion. Judge of her sur-
prise at ﬁnding, as she was carefully un-
packing the hen fruit, an egg whose un-
usual appearance attracted her attention
and caused her to pause and study it care-
fully. Overcome by astonishment, she
link with open mouth and wide eyes into
achalr which fortu lately happened to be
near, closed her eyes, opened them, pinched
herselftoassure herself she was awake,
and then deciphered, in great bewilder~
merit, the following:

“From a Pattison hen this product came,
(The old brown hen that was cross and lame)
Andi the chicken who eats it will surely get

It she‘eealis the egg inste id of the shell."

Recovering from the state of coma into
which she was thrown by this extraor-
dinary effusion, the lady resumed her
task, procwding now with extreme care,
and inspecting each ivory-tinted oval with
added respect. The “ Pattison hen ” was
evidently pleased at the success of her ﬁrst
literary effort, for the searcher for hidden
pearls(and eggs) was rewarded with the

following:
“ This egg I send
To a dear friend,
And hooc t'w.11 not get broken;
For sad t’would be
For us to see
This little token broken."

The exact measure of poetic feet, and
its round rhythm of this second "‘ poem"
proved the existence of talent susceptible
of cultivation. Somewhat overcome, but
with eager curiosity no w, and murmurlng
*Audaces fortune jumt” (a reminiscence
of her schooldays revived by the classical
atmosphere imported with the eggs) the
search W18 resumed. A' still greater sur-
yhewas in store for this much enduring
m. An egg was discovered which
tune a picture of a rasorial fowl of the
wder Gailinacew, accompanied by the
Mend

“This is the speckled hen 1"
his proves c inclu slveiy that the literary
hen wasa speckled hen, and we shall al-

ways hold speckled hens in respectful

 

veneration hereafter; but we cherish a
hope that no hen will foolishly resort to
artiﬁcial means to secure the style of
pin mage which seems indicative of an un-
usual intellectual develop nent on the part
of a most useful domestic bird.

Then was disclosed a whole nestfuil of
“literary eggs,” appropriately illustrated
with sketches which, greatly to our regret,
we ﬁnd ourselves unable to reproduce; we
would have been most happy to have
allowed our readers to judge of the artistic
as well as the literary abilities of the
Albion hens, but even after we had had the
pictures carefully copied and the cuts pre-
pared, the pressmen declined, politely but
emphatically. to risk possible damages
to their press. We however give here,
entire,

THE BALLAD OF THE SPECKLED HEN.

“This is the Speckled Hen."

g" This is the nest by the old pig— en
That was m do by the Speckle Hen."

“ These are the eggs which to you i send
That were laid in the nest by the old pig-pen,
By the Speckled Hen.“

" This is the girl so tall and thin
Who concluded married life to begin.
and who hunted the eggs which to you 1 send,
That were laid in the nest by the old pig-pen
By the Speckled lien."

“ This is the lady so pretty and neat
Who lives in the city, on Elgh:h Street,
Who got eggs from the girl so tall and thin
Who concluded m uried life to beg'n,
And huntei the eggs which to you i send.
That were laid in the nest by the 011 pig—pen
By the Speckled Hen."

“ This is the boy so short and fat.
That a friend sometimes mistakes for “ Pat."
And who lives" .

But here the muse had paused, ex-
hausted, presumably, by the effort ex-
pended in the portrayal of the short, fat
boy with an abnormal development of
stomach and a Chinese expression of eye-
brows, and the rest was a c:llection of un-
declpherable dots and dashes. If the hen

 

' used a “spirit board,” probably it became

unmanageable, but this is a matter of mere
conjecture.

Now, while the poetry given above is
not, we are compelled to admit, of the
highest order of literary merit. coming
from the unusual source it does it must be
regarded as truly wonderful. How could
a hen thus paraphrase a well known
nursery ballad? And even if we could
account for this on the theory of psychal
forces, etc., whatexplanatlon can we give
of the obviously original stanzas which
were the product of “ the Pattison hen ”-—.
which unfortunately, we have no means of
identifying with the Speckled Hen? We
shall watch with great interest the future
of the literary hens of Albion. They ought
to make uncommonly toothsome p )tpie.

-——...———

M. E. P. sends a mcipe for marble cake
in response to Ada's request. -But as it is
identical in every respect with that given
last week by Mary, of Hadley, it is not
necessary to publishit. There was a request
some little time ago for lace patterns, and
we will be glad to receive and publish two
or three of those which M. E. P. kindly
offers in her note. Please copy them care-
fully and plainly, as an error in the direc-
tions spoils the pattern, and we have no
means of verifying a pattern except by
copy.

 

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

 

In soot happens to be dropped on a car-
pet, throw down an equal quantity of
salt, and sweep all off together. The soot
will hardly leave a trace.

 

To brighten dingy, spotted gilt frames,
moisten a small sponge with spirits of
wine or oil of turpentine and rub gently.
The specks and dirt will be removed. Do
not use the sp 'nge very wet, and allow the
frame to dry of itself without wiping.

AFTER a carpet has been laid, it will
brighten the colors very much if it is
sprinkled with coarse salt, and swept
with a slightly dampenedbroom.

 

Miss Harms: E. But, of Williamstonh

expresses her approbation of the Housin-
HOLD and requests its correspondents to
furnish recipes for current, raspberry
and other fruitjsms, before such fruits are
in season. We shall be glad to receive re-
cipes for jams, jellies, spiced fruits,
pickles, etc, a little in advance, that our
readers may have ample opportunity to
proﬁt by them. Send these you have
tested and know are good.

W

SPRING has come—the pussy willows
are out. A breath of the woods reached
the Editor on Tuesday, from way out in
Oakland County. It came in a box, with
the compliments of two little girls, the
daughters of our valued contributor A.
H J. The pussys, in their soft, smoke
green and pale yellow dresses, and the
dark ruby red of the maple blooms made
quite a pretty bouquet, and certainly one
rarely seen in a city parlor—one which
brought back memories of other days.
Many thanks to the kind donors.

 

To cream butter for cake pour hot water
into the bowl and turn it out imme-
diately. If the bowl becomes heated
through, we will have melted butter,
rather than a creamy butter. Measure the
butter solid, working it down with a
wooden spoon or a granite ware spoon that
is not badly worn, or a silver spoon, but
never use an iron spoon,_as it discolors the
butter. Cream the butter thoroughly; add
the sugar gradually, for, if you add the
whole, it will be very difﬁcult to work it;
then add a little more and cream that until
you have gotten in the whole. If the
butter had melted and become oily the
cake would be too oily and be heavy.

 

U soful Rocipom

 

Bump Enos—Break as many eggs as you
require in a buttered plate which will stand
heat. A deep pie-plate is desirable. Do
not crowd them, but ﬁll the dish nicely.
Put in the oven till the whites are set. dot
with tiny bits of butter and serve at once in
thedish in which they are prepared.

 

Oceania—Two 'cups sugar; one cup butter;
one cup milk; two teaspoonfuis baking pow-
der; one egg; half a grated nutmeg; ﬂour
enough for a moderately soft dough.

 

. ﬁm‘u

