DETROIT, JAN.

18, 1890.

 

 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD-"Supplement.

 

 

--‘For the Household.
SNO WFLAK ES .

 

BY ELLA Bo WOOD.

'One by one the flakes come down,
Feathery soft and white,

Blown about by the flurrying wind—
Where will they rest tonight?

How can they cover the bare brown earth,
The snowflakes one by one-

'Each so tiny, and each alone
With never a drift begun?

Some will be blown into corners snug,
And others will gather around;

One by one each adding its mite
Till a great white drift is found.

Some will cover a new made grave,
With its rounded heap of earth,

Till it’s softly wrapped in shining white,
Fit type of the soul’s new birth.

Some will fall in the mud and clay
To be trampled out of sight;

All undismayei-still others come down
Till they form a robe of white.

0, snowflakes! pure and soft and white,
As you fall to the dreary ground,

A lesson you bring to my heart to-day,
While you silently flutter around;

As you softly cover the unsightly earth
With a mantle so beauteous and free,
So the faults of others our thoughts should
enfold
With the mantle of Charity.

_._..—...———_

SILENCE OF FRIENDS.

 

It sometimes happens that two friends will meet,
And, With a smile and touch of hands again
Go on their way along the noisy street.
Each is so sure of all the friendship sweet,
The loving silence gives no thought of pain.
And so I think, those friends whom we call dead
Are with us. It may be some quiet hour
Or time of busy work for hand or head—
Their love fills all the heart that missed them so.
They bring a sweet assurance of the life
Serene, above the worry that we know;
And we grow braver for the comfort brought.
Why should we mourn because they do not speak
~0ur words that lie so far below their thought?

_..._._..._———

RUSSIAN POLITICAL EXILES.

Almost everybody has at least heard of
George Kennan, the American traveler,
whose investigations into the lives of Rus-
sian political prisoners and descriptions of
their hardships, as published in The Gen-
tury, have awakened so much sympathy for
these unhappy victims of the Czar’s peculiar
“ parental” government. I had the pleasure
of hearing his lecture, in this city. on the
11th inst. Perhaps it is not quite correct
to say pleasure, since there is nothing which
should arouse that emotion in the recital of
the woes of these unfortunate men and wo-
men, yet there is a certain satisfaction in

 

seeing and hearing with one’s own eyes and
ears, men who have made themselves famed.

Mr. Kennan is, personally. tall and of
good presence, with black hair and eyes and
close-shaven face, except the black mous-
tache. His voice is deep and pleasant, his
delivery rapid but not confused: and evi-
dently what he has seen and heard of human
woe in the wilds of Siberia has deeply im-
pressed him, so that his earnestness wakens
the sympathy of his auditors. He has made
a study of the political features of Russian
life; and explained, at the outset, the term
Nihilist, as applied to the protesting party,
or faction opposed to the government. The
term, as derived from the Latin m'hz'l,
meaning nothing, is a misnomer as repre-
senting the creed of this party. They are
not destructionists. who would annihilate
all governments and religions. It is a term
applied indiscriminately to those who desire
reform in government, and is no more de-
scriptive in its received application than the
term " Know—Nothings,” once applied to a
political party in this country, is indicative of
an absence of knowledge. The Nihilists ask
only free speech, a free press, and due pro-
cess of law instead of the system of arbi-
trary arrests and convictions which seems a
feature of Russian government. The policy
of the present Czar is to deny these rights,
and to withdraw even the privileges granted
by Alexander 11.; and Russia. he says, is
degenerating into a country ruled despoti-
callv, where the people have absolutely no
rights whatever. The Russian peasant,
though not a serf, is oppressed almost be-
yond belief.

Mr. Kennan described the “administra-
tive process” by which suspected persons
are sent into exile. It is only necessary to
awaken the suspicious of the police to be
arrested and without even the form of a
trial, without knowing the nature of the
charges made. without opportunity for de-
fense, or the privilege of presenting testi-
mony, be hurried forward to the mines of
Siberia, there to remain five, ten or twenty
years. A ten or twenty years’ sentence is
equivalent to a death warrant, none can en-
dure the privations and horrors of Siberian
convict life for such lengths of time; death
mercifully releases the sufferer, though often
only after he has become insane through
solitary confinement or exposure to cold and
hunger. No man knows when the blow may
fall, or whence it comes. He bids his wife
and children good-bye in the morning—they
may never see him again. He has disap-
peared as completely as if he were dead—as
indeed he is dead to them- in a political
prison. Or the police may be merciful, and

   

 

allow him a last interview with his family,
and afford them the poor consolation of
knowing his fate. Mind, administrative
exile does not deal with actual offenders; no
crime is committed, the police only suspect
him of disafiection, or of “an intention to
commit an offence prejudicial to good order,”
or of holding revolutionary views. Forbid-
den books are found in his house, he writes
something which the censor of the press
does not approve, or the spies which every-
where abound find evidence agaiust him in
his private papers. No man is secure. The
mental condition of many Russian suhjects
must strongly resemble that of the Sicilian
tyrant, who felt that ever above him was
poised a drawn sword suspended by a single
hair. One suspicious act is followed by ex-
ile and a lingering death: Russians live ever
under this awful shadow, which falls alike
on the peasant in his nut and the prince in
his palace.

These political offenders are by no means
the unintelligent and uneducated. On the
contrary, Mr. Kennan found them well edu-
cated, thoughtful, refined. Many of them
speak English. French and German fluently;
and a long list of books with which he had
found them conversant included such writ-
ers as John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer,
Buckle, Leike, down to our own Longfel-
low, Irving, Cooper and Harriet Beecher
Stowe. Mr. Kennan has personally known
about 500 of these exiles. The photographs
of a large number were thrown upon a
screen, and the type presented was that of
refined. intelligent, educated manhood and
womanhood. For the government’s iron
hand rests on delicate women, even young
school-girls, quite as severely as on men;
and many of the pictures were those of wo-
men and girls who had been torn from their
homes and sent to the desolate regions of
Northern Siberia. because “suspected of an
intention at some future period” to commit
some offence—which might consist of read-
ing a forbidden book, or teaching peasants
to read. Over 1,500 administrative exiles
were sent from one province in one year,the
governor—whose business it is supposed to
he to look into the cases—signing the war-
rants without investigation, just as they were
handed him. Two minor officials made a
bet that the governor would attach his signa-
ture to a copy of the Lord’s Prayer, which
was accordingly written out upon oflicial
paper, the proper seals attached, and sent
up for signature. It was returned duly sign-
ed, and was,. Mr. Kennan said, probably
as harmless a document as ever came from
the governor’s office.

 

1 cannot remember the jaw-breaking


1"“:

J

, i
l
l
3!
I
‘1
I:
si
t

 

‘W was,

names of the originals of the photographs
presented, and I could not spell them if I
recalled them, but their stories were alike
recitals of cruel injustice and wrong, termin-
ating in insanity and death; and the lectur-
er’s voice trembled more than once in his
narrative, especially when, as was often the
case, he had personally known the victim.
One fine looking young man was arrested
by mistake, a case of mistaken identity.
His name was Vlademir, the warrant- was
for one Victor, both surnames being alike,
Basilofi, I think. He protested he was not
the person the police wanted, but they were
quite too indifferent to look into the matter
and establish the fact. So he was sentenced
to the Kara mines for a term of years. At the
roll call beforethe convict train was sent for-
ward, the prison offijal read off the name
“Victor Basiloff.” No answer. "Victor Bas-
ilofi, why don’t you answer to your name? ”
“It’s not my name,” retorted the convict.
“ What is your name ?" “ Vlademir Bas-
ilofi.” “ Well, it don’t make a d—-—-— bit of
difference,” replied the Lfficer as he erased
the name of Victor and substituted that of
Vlademir, and to Siberia the unfortunate
Vlademir had ,to go. ,_ Another case, quite
as glaringly unjust, was that of an author
who had written an article for a publication
in “The Annals of St. Petersburg,” which
drew police attention to him. He was ar—
rested. and alter four years’ confinement
without trial or hearing, was released, the
court which considered his case having ex-
onerated him. The article which got him
into trouble had during his imprisonment
passed through the hands of the press censor,
and without the omission of a line or a word,
been published in the “ Annals” for which
it was written. Not many months after his
release, he was again arrested, the accusa-
tion being based on his “ former suSpicious
record.” Thus, exonerated though he was,
and his article published without excision,
he was “suspected of an intention to re-
peat” this "former offense,” and this time
the unhappy man had to go into exile.

Two young girls, teachers, who had been
suspected of entertaining too liberal
opinions, left the city where they had resid-
ed and went to another. Here they applied
to a certain Dr. B riley for instruction,
wishing to fit themselves for work among
the peasantry. The fact that they had re-
moved from one city to another without per-
mission, and had been “ suspected”—which
in Russian law seems equal to a conviction
——should have warned the doctor to have
nothing to do with them. But he consented
to instruct them, and was arrested and sent
to Siberia. His wife was not able to accom-
pany him at the time, but in a few months,
leaving her young babe with her sister, she
undertook the long journey of 5,000 miles,
which would require sixteen months of con-
tinuous travel to accomplish, for she could
not afford the expense of travel by rail and
post, and was compelled to join a convict
train. Exiled prisoners are sent in “ convict
trains” by rail, for about a thousand miles,
packed in like cattle and treated with much
less respect and consideration. Be} ond the
distributing points or where the minced
ends, the common criminals must walk the
two, three or four thousand miles to their
place of exile, while the political prisoners

 

make the journey in wagons or sledges. ac-
complishing from seventy to eighty miles
per week. Mrs. Bailey preserved her courage
and fortitude to a wonderful extent, under
her privations and exposure, and consider-
ing her mental anxiety respecting her hus-
band and her babe. But there are two sta-
tions or villages of exile, very nearly alike
in name. one ending in —-—ki:fl the other in
—sky, or some such trivial difference, and
Mrs. Bailey at last learned that while she was
within a few hundred miles of one of these
villages, where she supposed her husband to
be, he was really at the other, two thousand
miles away. The terrible disappointment,
coming jist when her hopes were high of a
speedy termination of her terrible journey,
and a reunion with her husband, was too
much for her reason and she became insane,
dying in a lazrretto. or convict hospital.

One more instance of the parental care of
the “Little Father,” as Russians call the
Cm, and this already too long story must
close, though Mr. Kennan told many others
equaHy as sad. A young man, but twenty
years of age, a student suspected of revolu-
tionary inclinations, was for eight years im-
mured in a prison for political offenders,
most of the time in solitary confinement.
He became insane, and his mania took the
form of shame of his chains and leg fetters.
which he wgund with rags to make noiseless.
Out of old rags, remnants of foot wrap-
pings, and any material he could secure, he
made a pitchwork petticoat, which he wore
to entirely conceal his fetters. Prematurely
grey, haggard and worn by emaciation, clad
in this 0132/ quilt skirt, the light of reason
forever flea, he was at twenty-eight but the
semblance of a man, yet he was about to be
sent to Siberian mines. H's mother, who
had not seen him since his arrest. obtained.
from the Minister of the interior permission
tJ visit him before he was sent away. But
the warden of the prison Was kind-hearted
enough to dissuade her from seeing him,
telling her he was broken in health, so
changed she would not know him, and that
it would be much better for her to be content
with her present memories of him than en-
dure the terrible change. But she persisted
and he reluctantly permitted the interview.
In spite of the alterations effected by years
of misery, the mother’s maternal instinct
enabled her to recognize her son. But he
did not know her, and repulsed her with
force when she threw her arms about him,
drawing his petticoat of rags about him and
retreating in alarm. As he did so, she read
in his eyes the melancholy truth, and fell in
a swoon at his feet. or the ines of the ex-
iles who voluntarily accompany them into
exile, the lecturer said : “Wecannot desp air
of the future of a country that contains such
women and such men.”

This then is the policy of Russia, to gov-
ern by fear, to overawe, to make each man
suspect his neighbor, to put down by
still greater oppression every evidence of
dissatisfaction under tyranny. But one
thingis certain. it Russia’s people live in
fear, and no man’s life or liberty is secure,
RuSsia’B ruler in his imperial palace, sur-
rounded by guards, is subject to the same
dread. and feels himself in the shadow of
death by violence even in his bomb-proof
chamber. Bna'rnrx.

 

TI—IE' HOUSEHOLD.

THE LOVE OF MONEY.

 

I read, not long since, that the Legislature
of New York had passed a law forbidding
the sale of intoxicants upon the fair grounds
of the State, and I wondered why Michigan
has not as great acare for the purity and
morals of her people, the protection and
honor of her homes, as our sister S‘ate.

In our county we last year hailed with
delight the by-law which stated that “No
liquor selling or games of chance would be
allowed on the grounds during the fair.”
What was the disgust of many of the best
citizens to see, on sale under a tent away OK
at one side, two barrels supposed to con-
tain cider. but which was proved by investi-
gation to be mixed largely with alcohol.
Several ring-toss games, where the success-
ful ones received canes, money or cigars, the
usual rag dolls to be thrown at—for a con-
sideration, also a stand filled with small
articles which were disposed of by the
buyers’ paying twenty or twenty-five cents
for an envelope in which was a slip of paper,
stating which article he had drawn—all
these difiereut men were admited to the
grounds, contrary to the above mentioned
by-law, and given the right to ply their busi-
ness by the consent of the officers and the
payment of a sum of money. Who can say
that more than one young boy did not re-
ceive a lesson in gambling or drinking
which he will never forget. and all because
of the filthy lucre passed over from those
who gained it at the expense of purity,
honor and true manhood, into the treasury
of a county fair which is called by many
the best and most prosperous in the State!
Verily “the love of money is the root of all
evil.” St. Paul, with all his wisdom, never
uttered truer words than these. How often
we are led to exclaim, what will not man-
kind do for money? It seems sometimes as
though all were engaged in a mad race
for that which only perishes with the using,
forgetting that the Book says, “He that
getteth riches and not by right, shall leave
them in the midst of his days, and at his

end shall be a fool.”
FlDUS ACHATUS.

 

SMALLER THAN THE SMALLEST.

 

In the FARMER of Dec. 2ist. I noticed an»
article headed “Smallest Book in the
World,” but I have one of still smaller
dimensions, being seven-eighths of an inch
in length and one-half inch in width, is,
covered in scarlet and gilt, with gilt edges.
contains thirty-three leaves, with portraits
of the Prince of Wales when a babe, King
of Prussia and others. It is poetically
illustrated by Miss Mitford, author of Our
Village. it also contains a calender for
the year 1843, and a list of the members of
the royal family of England and date of
birth; the sovereigns of Europe and when
they commenced to reign; the queen’s
ministers, ladies of the court, maids of honor,
bedchamber women, and H. R. H. Prince
Albert's household. It is plainly printed
in English, and was published in London by

A. Schloss, Fancy Stationer to H. R. H. the ~

Duchess of Kent, 12 Bermers 8., Oxford

Sir. MBs. PETER COLLER.
ADRIAN.

Amusement; as

Janet”? .‘x' sé:»..t-,fi..€»t :u.

'wapsvfl‘.’ ‘ ,

 


      

wwwvv‘w

HH‘W'F

‘4?

F-w—f‘lwmi-pl

in»
10
er

I
a

,8.
its

1y
or
‘or.
of
of
an
i’s
1r,
ce
ed
by

3118-

    

- e

“S?
2%.”
{It

 

 

    
  
 

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

8 .

 

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

 

Little “ Chip,” so called because she is
so like her mamma, came home from the
country where she had spent vacation,
bringing such a breeze. A bucketful of
German violets gathered in the rain under
the rose bushes, along link of home made
sausage and a shout of glee over the
memories of the seven days passed under
the roof of a good old fashioned country
home. “Chip” was brought up in the
country and this is the first visit since
coming here two years ago. We both love
the free air and habits of. rural life. We
love the co NS and horses and cats. She
said they had twenty-three cats. We only
have one, and he refuses to live in a flat
and has to be carried back three squares in
the old brown shawl, every few days. We
are so discontented with the present.
Here we have everything at hand, not and
cold water fresh from the pipes, mud and
all, a janitor to carry away our garbage and
bring in the coal, no call to set foot outside
the door, and yet we sigh for the wideness
of farm life. Yesterday a young man
called bringing me a note from a dear old
friend, asking us to be of any service possible
in securing him a position, etc. The young
man received my kindest greeting, beyond
that assured by his introduction. He was
from a country home, alone among stran-
gers, seeking employment in a large city.
This particular young man has a good face,
a good head, and was dressed in what would
be called at home very good clothes. I in-
quired what he could do and what he
desired to do. He said he was not pre-
pared for anything special but thought he
might get into a store or be an assistant
book-keeper, as he Was j set from school at
Lebanon, Olio, and had excellent recom-
mendations from there. This is what I did
not say: Poor boy, your recommendations
count nothing. Men will bluntly ask if you
have had any experience, and what you
can do-what you have prepared yourself
to do. You will go tramping up and down
these muddy streets until your poor legs
acne. Men and people will walk over you.
knock you about, and tell you over and eyer
that there is no room for you. Unless you
are willing to take the lowest position or
clean the streets. or have money to keep
you for some months, you had better go
back home and be contented with the
place you were planted. or prepare for some-
thing definite. Having a wide business
acquaintance my husband may be able to
direct the young man to something, but for
this he must eventually come to feel mis-
erably homesick and disheartened. I can-
not think of anything more pitiful than a
young person in such a position, knowing
nothing whatever of city life or business.
One of the first indications of hard times is
dirty wristbands and handkerchiefs. Cheap
boarding houses and long tramps quickly
leave their stamp upon the face and habili-
ments. Coal dust seems to settle thicker on
a new face than on those who face it ev. ry
day. But with it all, boys do come to
cities and do succeed. and what should we
do wihout them? Pluck will succeed any-
where. Pluck means to bear hard knocks
and hang on. Boys, don’t be in a hurry.

 

Ten dollars per month in the country is a
good deal more than twenty-five in the
city. There are hundreds of young men in
this city tonight sleeping in places not half
as good as your father’s barn, walking the
streets all day, or if employed, at such
meagre wages that they cannot afford more
than one meal a day. Dan’t risk going to
cities without preparation or acquaintance
with some one whole willing to give you
personal aid in getting a position. it is too
true that the best will not take time to listen
to a stranger. People get dismally SElfiah.

lwish that my spirits were as gay and
life seemed as poetical as when I took my
first lesson in pokinga coal fire from the
bottom and not from the top. It is all over
now, but those other years of digging for a
livelihood, how they did crush out the
poetry and knock the sentiment higher
than a kite! Shut up in dingy offices,
working under gaslight half the time, I
ceased to see angels walking to and fro in
the fleecy clouds that flitted across the sun-
light. In place of the pink and white
pictures of early spring bloom that I gazed
upon from my easy chair by the upper
window, there grew before me long pages of
blue staring print that summed up thousands
of finger-strokes. Men’s faces, hard and
cold, crowded out appreciative companions
-—the smoke and dust of dirty streets and
towering chimneys choked out even the
memory of the perfume Of breezes laden
with the fragrance of green pastures and
fresh earth, It was under such a dispensa-
tion that I one day came across the MICHI-
GAN FARMER with the HOUSEHOLD. Don’t
anybody waste sympathy on me. 1 lived
through it all. The poetry is dead, imagina-
tion has fled, and I have so little of care
now that there is nothing for me to do but
sit up nights and throw cold water on other
people’s plans. Some other time I will
draw a fairer picture.

ST. LOUIS, MO. DAFE‘ODILLY.

 

SOME DOMESTIC HELPS.

 

In my short experience in housekeeping I
have received many useful suggestions
through the HOUSEHOLD, and wishing to
recompense slightly for the many favors
will give a few hints that have proved useful
to me, which I do not remember of seeing in
the HOUSEHOLD.

First, I wish to tell you who do not know
it, that you can keep a piece of cured cheese
moist and free from mold several weeks by
wrapping it in greased paper enclosed in a
greased paper bag. Should a piece of cheese
get dry it can be moistened by wrapping in
cloths wet in vinegar. Cloths wet in
vinegar will prevent mold in new cheese.

Sausage when thoroughly cold and stiff
may be kept sweet a long time by wrapping
each bag in paper and burying in the wheat
bin. Try it and you can not help being
pleased with the result if done in season. I
used to think the water or moisture must all
be cooked out of ham to insure success
when laid down in crooks, but have learned
it will keep nicely if thoroughly heated
through, about half cooked, and when each
spider-full is put into the crock cover with a
plate and .weiaht. removing and returning
with each addition of ham. When full

 

cover perfectly with enough gravy to seclude'

all air, return plate and weight, set in cool

place and when you have occasion to open

the crock melt the grease on top and leave it.
in the condition found. We ate some for

our dinner today put up early last spring...
and found it as sweet and. 3‘ day as when first
put up. Iput up one crock of raw ham.
WthJ kept nicely; but prefer the cooked,.
now that I have learned it is not necessary.
to try it so much. Ham fried hard is an
abomination.

By accident 1 have learned E. S. B.’s
bread may be hurried out of the way in the
morning by mixing the yeast into a. smooth,
rather hard dough at night, putting it where
it will receive j ist warmth enough to make
it nice and light in the morning, mold into
loaves, when light bake. A spoonful of.
sugar to each loaf will make it softer. The
secret of success with this mode is safe»
ficient kneading and just enough firm. I.
have better rusks when the sugar and.
shortening are mixed in at the first mixing..
Will send some recipes for curing beef.
which are excellent. JOSEPHINE .

ATLAS.
—. ——...——————.

MORE INFORMATION WANTED.

I was very much interested in Mrs. J. M:
West’s letter on butter-making in issue of
Dec. 14th., that being a suhj ct upon
which 1 am constantly looking out for new
ideas. 1 am somewhat surprised that her
butter is washed so little, as nearly every
dairyman nowd lys advocates thorough
washing. Yes, I know; the brine septrates
the milk from the butter globules, and un-
u'oubledly it is all right. But to me who
think my butler must be washed until the
water runs off clear, it looks like quite a
difference. But I always try to Siva work
where results will be the sa'ne, andlin-
tend to try Mrs. West’s way. 1-. seems to
me a slow and tedious task to take care of-
forty pounds of butter a day, by taking out
two or three pounds at a time into the butter
bowl, to press (I will not call it “ work ”)‘
into shape for packing. Why not havea
butter-worker of suitable size to hold all at
once? How much time it would save, to
say the least.

Will Mrs. West kindly tell us through the
HOUSEHOLD more about that dairy farm. as.
1 take it to be a private institution. How ~
many cows are kept to make that amount of
butter daily, also what bre ad are they, and
how the setting of the large amount of
milk necessary for its production is ar--
ranged; what kind efachurn is used and
the power for the same? If Mrs. West will
answer all these questions, she will greatly
oblige one at least of the HOUSEHOLD

readers. ELLA R. WOOD.

FLINT .
—————...————

Now, dear ladies, the holidays are over,
the presents made and distributed, and
“alter a storm comes a calm.” a season of
rest and quiet before the opening of the
spring campaign. What good twinge are
you gomg to give us for the HOUSEHOLD-
during the perioo? To our many new-

readers we extend acorziial invitation to
j .in us and contribute to the litxla paper,
which we trust they will soon come to know
and prize. And our old contributors are
always assured of a hearty welcome.


 

f4 TEE-E HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

MORNING CALLS.

Why not drop in to see a neighbor in the
‘fimorning as well as in the afternoon when
all fixed up, and be so formal! I like the
do-as-you-please way; it seems more friend-
"ly. We do not need to be told what to say
' or what subject to discuss it we make a
call when we feel like it; at least this is my
experience.
And if you will follow my plan of sweep-
ing, your caller will not get a sniff of dust.
=My mother taught me, over forty years ago,
to always have a place clean and in order
for any one who might happen to come in
unexpectedly: both feel at more ease if
things are in order. My plan for many years
has been to get my rooms aired the first
. thing, then sweep. If you rise when your
husband does you will have plenty of time
before beginning breakfast. While you are
:getting the breakfast started the dust will
settle, then dust; and by this time the table
can be set and milk drawn off. I have a
creamer. You see I am a farmer’s wife and
I am proud of it; and feel my children and
21 have just as good manners as if we lived
in the city.

1 have a great deal of company, some of
my guests staying four and five weeks. One
v-lady remarked: “Mrs 31—, I have never
seen you sweep since I have been here, yet
everything is in order.” You see how much
easier it is to do this work before your
company is up, or the children running
round. Take advantage of your work; plan
to make it easy, make it subject to you, not
vice versa, and you will have leisure for
other things.

I seldom have a hired girl. I feel happier
doing my own work, and my health is better.
Ithink housework the most healthy work
there is. We never hoard more than one
hired man: the other lives in the tenant
house.

Try to be happy every day. realizing every
day is one less of life. This is easier than
worrying. Who will care to tell in years to
come how we fretted! Remember the Sab-
bath day to keep it holy; and thank God

the giver of every good and perfect gift.

'I have read and highly prized every one
of. the HOUSHOLDS, for we have taken the
FABMEB ever since it was first published,
and the HOUSEHOLD is a welcome visitor.

.Bonso. MRS. T. C. M.

__....._.___
ENTERTAINMENTS.

‘ There is always a great demand for new
' ideas in entertainment for gatherings at
home, socials, etc., and a new idea is a
god-send to the energetic projectors of such
affairs. We should be glad to hear from
those of our readers who get hold of novel-
ties in this line, for the benefit of others.
In the meanwhile we glean from various
sources a few suggestions which may help

. somebody at the moment.
The buttonhole social is a new departure
~ designed to draw out the reluctant dime
in support of a good cause and amuse the
young people. Pieces of cloth are pro-
vided, each having a buttonhole cut and
barred on it, and a threaded needle, and are
Sold for ten cents to the gentlemen present.
‘The services of an instructress in the art of
making buttonholes are included. A prize

 

is offered for the best work. The awkward-
ness of the unpracticed seamstresses makes
good sport for others.

A “lemon squeeze” is another form of
entertainment which, though not very new.
may be a novelty in some localities. Each
guest brings a lemon, marked with the
name of the person contributing it. 1‘ These
are taken in charge by a committee. The
lemons are cut, the number of seeds counted
and credited to the owner. All the seeds
are put in a bowl, and the Yankee procliv-
ities of the assemblage excited by guessing
at the number. A small prize is given the
one who guesses nearest the correct number,
also one to the person whose lemon contained

the most seeds, and also the fewest. The
lemon juice is made into lemonade, which

with cake, forms the refreshment.

“The Newspaper” is a game which
makes an evening pass off pleasantly.
Pencils and paper are provided, and dis-
tributed. Each person present is expected
to contribute something—an essay. a bit of
rhyme, a report of a fire, a runaway, a dog-
fight—anything ordinarily included in the
contents of a newspaper. When these are
written, they are collected and read by_a
person chosen, who is called “the editor.”
No names are signed, and there is a good
deal of fun in guessing at the identity of
the writer.

A new way of “trying your luck ,3. at a
fair, or of raising a little cash for a‘speci-
fied purpose is to make a “Jack Homer
pie.” Tie up a number of small articles in
compact packages, and to each fasten
securely three-quarters or a yard of No. 1
ribbon of various colors. Take a large tin
pan—a bread-pan if your party is large,
cover the sides (outer) with tissue paper put
on in folds er pleats and securely pasted
top and bottom to the pan. Put the packages
in the pan. Cut half inch strips of tissue
paper—after having crimped it by drawing
it several times through the fingers. and
paste these across the top, back and forth,
completely covering it. Pass the ribbons
through the strips, leaving the ends outside.
The person who proposes to “put in his
thumb and pull out a plum ” chooses a
ribbon, and pulls his prize. through the
tissue paper crust. This is also a cute way
to assign partners for supper, or for a
cotilion, or cards, in which case the top of
the pie can be covered with paper with holes
cut in it. The guests surround the pie,
each secures a ribbon. and at a signal pulls
it out, finding on the end a slip bearing a
name. Or the ribbons are of different
colors, and the young man must find the
lady who has the corresponding tint.

A great deal of pleasure and some profit
is derived from a “Character Party.”
Some author is chosen—Dickens or Scott
are good, because their writings are so well
known—and each one selects a charac-
ter from some one of the author’s books to
personate, studying carefully any peculiari-
ties of dress, language, or manner which
may be indicated. Then they “assume
the character,” copying the characteristics
as closely as possible. There is great fun
guessing at the identity of the representa-
tion.

A half score of Detroit ladies spend one
evening a week together. meeting about

 

from house to house. and employ the time
reading aloud. One readsa chapter, then
passes it to the next, and so on. Those
who choose bring knitting or crochet work.
As nearly all those interested are teachers,
or employed in some work, no attempt is
made at improvement; they are content to
be amused and interested, and all of them
have as much as they can do without ad-

ditional study and research. A' pleasant,:

interesting book is selected, and so far no
one’s enthusiasm has waned, while the
hours slip by as if winged.

An extremely pleasant form of en-
tertainment. to be given by a literary
society or club, or which may be arranged
by any so inclined, are the “Evenings
with Authors,” to be given singly or
in a series. This style of entertain-
ment is not new, but it is enjoyable and
instructive. Some author is chosen, and a
programme of readings, music, selections,
essays, etc., made up. One person presents
“Gems,” a collection of original. wise or
witty sayings from the works of the writer,
another furnishes a sketch of his life and
career, a third takes up his work from a
literary standpoint and discusses it. It is
easy to arrange a tableau or two and set the

audience to guessing where it is to be
found; and kindred ideas will readily sug-
gest themselves.

A comical variation on the usual necktie
and basket social is the “ shoe social.” A
number of ladieshare seated on a row of
chairs, behind a curtain so arranged that
nothing but their shoes are visible. The
men-who are always the victims on such
occasions—pay ten cents or a quarter and
buyapair of shoes, the wearer being in-
cluded in the sale, with supper privileges
in the bargain. Naturally the purchaser
selects the trimmest, neatest pair, but there
are always mischievous girls who for sport’s
sake will disguise their pretty feet in their
mothers’ shoes, and the buyer of some
rather down-at-the-heel sample may get the
best end of the bargain when he claims his

property.
-———...———_
SUGGESTIONS WAN I‘ED .

Will some of the HOUSEHOLD readers
please tell me what I can make of birch bark
after it has been peeled thin. Of the heavy
part that grows next the tree 1 have made
napkin rings. I fastened them together with
two little wires that come in the backs of
magazines, and painted different designs on
each. I would also be very grateful for a

lesson in water colors. G. F. 0.

ANN ARBOR.
——-—§..———_.__

Contributed Recipes.

 

CORNED BEEF PICKLE.—FOI‘ one hundred
pounds of meat take seven pounds salt;
quarter pound saltpeter; one pound soda;
three and and a half pounds brown sugar.
Dissolve in sufficient hot water to cover the
meat, bring to boiling heat, skim well, put on
the meat while boiling hot. Weight down.

DRIED BEEF Praline—One hundred pounds
meat; eight pounds salt; eight pounds brown
sugar; two ounces saltpeter. Mix well and
rub on the beef; pack, weight down, and leave
in brine four weeks.

SAU aura—One hundred pounds meat;
eight ounces of pepper; eight ounces of
sage; two and threequarters pounds of
salt. This recipe calls for strong sage and
berry pepper, or their equivalents in strength.
Sausage is much improved bv uslng part lean

beef. J osnprmw.
ATLAS.

 

I i