The new Northwest. (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, December 22, 1881, Page 6, Image 6

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THE NEW NORTHWEST, JHURSD A r, DECEMBER 22, I88i;
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- . . V ; "YOURS TRULY.",
OUB BBIOIIT AND RACY CORRESPONDENT MAKES
A RAO CARPET. , ...
VWhat'lnHhunder make you kWp such a rag-
. " ged carpet on tf floor ?" roared the Go vernor one
day, as he tripped bis gouty to In the raveled
- shreds of tarr unsightly rent under the dining
room table when he wu rising from hi chair.
"Because It la ourduty to be economical," de
murely answered Yours Truly. "You remember
how we lost money on thoss jow)s ?".
TKV!MAakrw rxt that anyfumaklnir m V nlrk! t urlilch.
bad so nearly resulted In the loss of Number
One's eyesight, wasstill strong upon the Governor.
" "You wouldn't ha've to us lye to make a rag
' ..' carpet!" he exclaimed, as he hobbletl off to the
library, leaving Yours Truly alone In the dlnlng
; room with Numbers One LAndTwo and Tier ador
- able Jim. - , - "", '
- The carpet vra bad J there was no denying It.
It was an antiquated three-ply that had first done
duty for the family In the best parlor in Yours
Truly childhood,-and had then been banished
to"the"11brarrr'whencerafterTepeated turnings
and patchings, it at last found Its way to the dining-room,
where It had served us for several years.
Such carpets are not manufactured In these days
of jhoddy, and Yours Truly never expects to see
another Ilk it. : :
41 1 waa over to Mrs. Smith's yesterday," said
Jim, "and 'she had Just finished frying a bran
new rag carpet, of which the warp and weaving
were the only cost"
The dear fellow looked the personification of a
severe but righteous Judge as br gated solemnly
upon the partuer of his privations (we have forty
thousand dollars at interest)', and Yours Truly felt
elf-condemned because she ..Jiad n't made a rag
carpet long ago. ' T
"Mrs. Smith looked very tired,'? continued
Yours Truly 's protector and head, "and her in
fernarbaby '.' .
. DonH swear, James." ' :
Youra-Truly always; says "James" when she
- means- to he -pf Im-and- particular----- -
"Swear f Why, I couldn't do the subject Justice
If I'd exhaust the EngUsh vocabulary; of oaths.
I'm putting it mild. That Infernal baby, with its
hair turned the wrong wayits eyes askew and
watery, and its nose bah 1 It ooJts bad enough
fn all conscience, but when It adds the yells of
Pandemonium to Its demoniacal appearance, I
can't do the subject Justice. ' Swear, Indeed!" . :
'Poor little thwarted "creature !" said "Your
Truly, vividly recalling her visit to Its overworked;
mother about six months before Its birth, when
Its predecessor was not yetweaned. MPoor baby
.
.
TindpooTTnother t .No womleTthe child Is cross.
It was born so." .
-jf-ahmOd say It was I"-
"Neither It nor Its mother could help It, poor
thjnys t Don'tXJcmemberJiow-plgglshaJuiJun-.
reasonable Smith acted when I went there to see,
If his sheltered-and cherished cousort wouldn't
"like to Join with me in a cooperative laundry
-Wheiner- . ,.'
. "Let me talk part of the time," said Jim, with
a lofty air. . "I was going to say that Infernal
baby kept squalling so I couldn't hear all she said,
but I learned that the warp and weaving for
thirty yard of good home-made carpet would
only cost about six dollars. A penny saved Is a
penny earned, you know ;. and here' a chance to
aave many a dollar."
- "My last effort at extra saving was not a flatter
ing success, James," said Yours Truly, alluding to
her adventure with the Jowls and oap. ; .
"Confound thi t soap I I'll never have another
- such a soene In my house 1" said the lord-In-law of
Yours Truly' Inherited homestead. "But there
are a thousand ways that women can save In little
thing If they will keep their wits about them.
Read thlarS.mith found It In a patent circulating
paper and gavejt to me to brlug home."
Your Truly took th paper and read a follows:
A ring woman at tbs head of s family Is tbs very bet
savings bank on earth one receiving deposits, dally and
Dourly, with bo costly machinery to manage It. Thslden
of salving Is pleasant on and 1Mb women Imbibed Hat
ones, they would cultivate It and adhere to It, and tbna,
. whew tbey are not aware of It, would be layln the founds
- tlon of a competent security In a stormy time. -
. "Am I not an economical woman, James V
"""Ye In the main. But I do wish you . would
-TOke a rag-arpeti It-gaveneih blues to hear
Smith brag about hii saving wife at the barn
ralslng the other day. I don't want any mau's
wife to giet ahead of mine, you see."
Well, Mrs. D., to make a long story short, Yours
'.' Truly decided . to makaVrag carpet To decide
was to act In th attic over thekltchenwasa
heterogeneous Jumble of cast-off clothing, and In
th clossU hr and thr wer-dlcarded dree
and other paraphernalia of the toilet U of which
were collected and carried Into the sitting-room.
"A pound and a quarter of rags, if finely cut
"will make a yard Of carpet lld mothefTWho T
toaleeble this Winter to do Anything hut sit by
th fir and wait patiently for the unwelcome call
of the final 'messenger.
For weary days and weeks, whenever there was
a mlnr is to spar from other duties. Yours Truly
was In th Purgatory of preparation for'the Heav
en of rag carpets, kvery discarded coaf and vest
and pair of pantaloons on the ranch was Impressed
-ftHmTftOTp"abarmingrcT
: nee. Kvery old dress Was torn up, and some that
were not half worn were sacrificed oh account of
thelr color." Every faded or torn child' apron
every old pair of stockings, and every odd and end L
of every imaginable description was worked Into
the general combination that' mother call ''hit
or miss." The sitting-room was .upset from
morning till r night and the fly lug dust from old
garments settled on knd In everything, not ex
cepting Your Truly' lungs, from which she has
bejenaufferlngever since. Her thumb and Angers,
which were blistered at first, afterward became
callous, and her temper, at first as serene as a May
morning, became as I rri table as Mrs. ftnl$h's baby.
The work and discomfort went Ion unl'll every
cast-off or partly, worn -garment W1 the house-wis
torn Into shreds and sewed Into strings and wound
Into balls ; and still Yours Truly was not happy,
for there were yet lacking seven poondCofJhe re
quired woof for the, needed' carpet , To add to hep
dilemma, the warp had been bought and put Into a
neighbor's loom, ana. th rags were all useu up,
and there was nothing more In the line of cast-off
garmenis'to cut and sew. . ' :.
Bu Yours Truly' never does things by halves,
and that carpet had to be finished; and .In order
to make a success of It, t wo'passable suits of partly
worn "clothing belonging tojim were sacrirtced.
An old overcoat of the Governor's, over which he-
fumed fearfully when he found It out went next,
and two of 'Yours Truly' dresses,' either of them
good for half a year of steady wearing, followed
ault w , ' r,, ' - -
The carpet looked very clean and substantial
when it was laid, and Yours Truly' adorable was
so proud of it that he did not notice how weary
hi cherished, wife waa, nor that ah had con
tracted a serious cough from prolonged exposure
to the duat; nor that her worn and battered bands
no more"reembled the whUendpretty6nes her
lord, had married. than her tired face resembled
the oil painting. representing her a bride that
hung In the unused parlor, over which he had
gone into rhapsodies during the honeymoon. ',
An agent for a patent self-acting, self-adjusting
barn-yard gat had been at the, house In the Au
tumn, and had so persistently pr&1jedhis Inven
tion that Yours Truly' adorable waa strongly
tempted to purchase the -convetHent articief but a
dining-room carpet waa heeded, and the agent
had been dismissed, as Yours Truly thought,
without making a sale. Judge,,then, of her sur
prise when this self-same agent returned, after the
ragcarpet"was Hlowtr,-.wlth half a dozen gates In
his wagon, all ordered by her economical head 1 '
"How much did they cot James?" asked the
partner of his Joys and sorrows. '
"Twenty-five dollars apiece," was the blushing
reply. . . '
"Aud you bought six of them?" . i
"Yes; they are so very convenient for the farm
hands ; and they make the pTacelookth ri f ty out-
aide, like rag carpets do In the house. I roust put
on an old suit 'and go out and set some "posts'.
Where pre'my last-year! chrtbes-f11-
- "In the carpet, James?" .
"Yolfaorn'rimeartaaaynatouhave
my clothes?" ' '.r...
"Yes; everything but what you stand up in.ex-
cept your-wdding-witrwhichI'm-eeping-torj
bury you In, my liege."
. "Why, those clothes were worth forty dollars at
least 1" .
' "I know it; but I had to make a rag carpet to
be economical, like Mrs. Smith. Patent gates
had to be bought, you knowpand women must
save In little things."
"Where In thunder's my old overcoat?" asked
the Governor, with a suspicious air. .
"In the carpet," meekly answered Your Truly.
"It was "most worn out Qd I wanted to save."
The Oovernor waxed so wroth that Jim bad to
scold him, whereat he hobbled away, leaving
Yours Truly In tears, and heaping Imprecations
on rag carpets and everybody who would try to
make them. t- - - .
''How much do you think this carpet cost?"
said Your Truly, after the patent gate vender had
left the dining-room.
"I don't know, I'm sure."
"Well, James, It ha cost me a month' excruci
ating misery and hard, laborious work, and has
given me a seated cough. It has cost you two
suit of clothes, worth forty dollars, and the Gov
ernor an old overcoat worth ten dollars. Other
clothing to the value .of twenty dollars or more,
belonging to myself and children, ha also been
sacrificed. Don't you think It would have been
JustlurWelTTof h toTiavrteTm
nom leal about patent gates, and a little less so
about carpets?" -
"Coma t6 think, wife," said YoursTruly's
adorable, "I saw Mrs. Smith a second time,
when that Infernal young-one of hers was asleep,
and Smith was out and she told me that she
didn't save a cent In making her carpet She
said -he-on ly-made-1 1 " to plenserS m tthrand-wra
compelled to use up enough of half-Worn apparel
In completing It to have paid for a new carpet out
and out But saving was a hobby of Smith's, she
aid, and hti Idea of saving wai to atwyrstehl-i
wife hard at work." .
' "Experience teaches a dear school, my liege,"
said Your Truly.' We've had two severe lessons
In that school lately; -one ou soft soap, and; the
other on rag carpets. .1 wonder what our 'next
veuture will be." . . , "" '
"You may depend upon It, you will have to
suggest It" said Jim. "I'm through with hous-
fmtTOTreaTTeTT6w
I - - r " " 1 - - - - - iAit-rl tKsa'tsjttfaejwt--w4tavw-raTt-'LiUT-a rgr -.vrry
lath closing prayer of . Yours Truly.
Beaver Dam Farm, December 5, 1881.
J ORIGIANL VERSE., I
'-.TOMMTT CHRLSTMAR. ,' .
rr:BMrmr Truly." '
" "Dear mamma, why does 'Klamaa eomeT.
-An why doee Hants Cans
.t Come down 'e chimney In' 'e nlfht,
And leave e 'elndeer leek an' WhlU
To p'anee an dance upon 'e yoof,
, An s'ske 'e bead, an' aiamp 'e hoof,
While Kanta tllps Into e yoomf ' - ." '
Bay, mamma, what! e ooT ,
iMy darllnf waa uudreMexl for bed- " f "r- .
And In bis Snowy gowp,. '
Waa (Landing up behind my chair,
HtiiTln toJbru-ibITiftdnrommybalr J " "
IIlaownbrllit rlngleU all aatray . -
That I had vainly coaxed to atay" "
- In prim-kept curia upon his head
A cjuiterlng, golden crown.
v-Lorif yearTS-ro," waa my reply, ,' T
"Our Saviour dear waa born.
i Ilia hour of birth we celebrate . "
When Hants Claus rides out In state.
And down the chimney with bla pack,
All strapped and loaded on his back,
- Cornea gliding from the gable hlgbr .
sth"gina'Ior''ClirUtmas'm'6rnl'l.'! ' '
"What makes blm 'member 'lttle boye
Whenever 'Klimaa comes f
' ;Wbo telle where 'e chll'en live,
An' 'aactly what be ought to give?
' How doea be know each boy an' girl,
And tell a good cull' from a churl T
Wbalmakea hfm "eahFf&FehIIenV76ys J
How -does be fln' our homes f -; 7
"Who li 'i HavlourT -What's 'e namef.
Did be live long ago?
Where lf he stay t What did he dot
la ne snow Hants Cam, an' you 7
An' will be com to-plght an' see .
If you get presents totvan' met . ,
Anr walch U KmiiU's etndeer came,
In spite o' dark an' nowf.
"Ills name Is Jesus,' and he lives
In Heaven, my precious chfldl-"
n came to save the workl from sin, ' .'"
That all good boys might enter In
Through pearly, gate that lead to Heaven,
When life Is done and sins forgiven.
To please blm, Hanta comes and gives v;
Good gifts to children mild."
. "
JiInlIeycn.3tULljit-ejRnnta Caus 7 ,-iu T
An will .'e bhy come T L
An' can I have nYy borks an' toys '
J. An' guns an bootjtrltkw bigger boyst
. Will It be always 'Klumas there?
An' muHt I always say my prayer
An' be a gentle boy, because
Ml have a pltty homef"
s-
I took my darling In -my arms -
t And stroked his Khlnlng head, .
And murmured "yes." His lashes fell,""
His breath Trig tame with measured swell.
His plump hands dropped upon bis breast,
His white ftn-t Idly lay at rest;
"And while sweet irinllcs enhanced his charms.
tucked him snujf In twd
Within his crib the baby slept, .
Upon his lips a smile.
Outside, the Winter Urra"surgcd high.
Aiyulntt lh sullen, angry f1
And sang with whistles shrill and clear
Through open keyholes everywhere,
, The darkness to beguile.
I turned away to leave the room,
nut made a sudden 'paiisffl '
For Tommyi Rising In his sleep, r "
, With arms' ouUtrvtched, voice low and deep,
.And solemn visage, sweetly said, '
Dear Jesus, watch by baby's side, ;.
An' drive away e dark an' glofim, ' .
An' p'ease b'ess ftanta Cuu V
, .( : ' THE URAVE. ' ,
. - By J? L. York.
The grave, the realm of matter gross,
. Is not the home of mind', -
Only the wardrobe daVk of garments left
' for vestments more reOned.
' IRe-publlshed by request 1 - 'VJ--j
THE mSQ Or THE 'NORTHERN PACIFIC.
IWritten by Mrs. A. K Dunlway when the Northern Pa
clflo Rallrond reached Hpkan Falls, W. T., June 25, 1881,
and read by her at her evening lecture at the same place.)
From thehT7res of riiget'Hound I come,
A railway abroad, and I love to roam, '
In my winding, It-itgHienlng way, r"
On my ballast f rock, wllb my rib of pine,
And my sinews of steel, that glitter and shine, '
While my workmen sap and saw and mine,
As steadily, day by day.
They tunnel the mountains and climb th rldres,
And span the culverts and rivet the bridges, -And
awaken the echoes, afar and anear.
With (he song of triumph and snout of chee. '
They've harnessed the Iron horse for m'-
And they've fed him with flame till he's mad with glee,
And ni-eye is ablate with Ore. '
ToTeuiyToTrorsn5ave ciTmb-iTThe steeps
Where the mother eagle her vigil keeps,
And the north wind rocks while her fledgeling sleeps,
, As she Jlxts to the forest's lyre.
Forme In farmer has tolled nd . waited,
For me are his bins with plenty freighted, .
And the patient housewife has tolled and prayed,
W h 1 1 e her falih on my coming has long -"-- tt-yed.
The commerce of earth will be borne on my track,
And-rHr cacry-the burd-ns of -men nnrray-back- "
' A I smile In the fivr- of the sou. '
And I'll more the world, In my sinewy course ;
As a path I And -for the iron horse,
Wlth hls steam-la-len lungs and bis bellew hoarse,
-as ne -reatiessty-rusheth on.
Clear the track I for ray s(eed with bis chariot's coming I
Clear the track I for the spirit of progress Is moving I
Hhout, tni,ud be glad for the triumph of skill '
That has harnessed the steam and th steel to Its will.
lSr a brother who's creeping through foreafand plain
From the water Itaara that flow toward the main,
Tnrotigp far-away pampas and vale;
And be' coming to meet m with atep tare and slow, '
And we're waking th echoes wltb Joy, as w go.
And each buman heart bounds with pleasure, w Know.
Aaour progres isjtojxJtXf.Mts
And thrTtgUmtng wttrTtsraTiTrt-i'Jotcs iroQrmeetfngr
Ana me prrs ana in engine and th poet will praise
Our anion of sinews and distance sad day.
SELECTED WERSE.
AN ODE FOR DECEMBER.
Revive th embers of the Are,
Aad sing a bappy song:
The bell tolls nine beneath the spire, :
"And Winter night are long;
The world J cold and we grow old,
-But lovJug hearts arc strong.
Tbelove thatlve Wyond thelpmb
-flurnibrlghlcrat the last:
Then let the bearthllght banlsh'gloom.
And care go down the past; - "
The glad New Tear will soon be here,
The old is fly lug fast. -
O friends, this wondrous,' hear iitw Yearfr1 -Unlike
Ibe year of earth, . '
To-night we hear, its bells ring clear
In tones too deep for-mirth ; - -
Forever higher. than eartrrfy-plre,"- - -They
ring that Death Is Blrth;-:7'-,
-, . . Am Bointon.
THE BONO OF-LOVE.
"The flrst sound In the song of love -
Bcarce more than silence Is, and yet a sound.
Hands of Invisible spirits touch the string
Of that mysterious Instrument, the soul. ..
And play the prelude of our fate." ' x'
THE HOUND OP LIFE. - v
Two children . down by the shining strand, '
"With eye as blue as the Summer sea,
WblleJhe sinking sun fills all the land
'. With the glow of a golden mystery-" " ."
.X-sugblng aloud at the sea-mew' cry, .
' Gating with Joy on It snowy breast.
Till the flrst star look from the evening sky.
And the amber bars stretch over the west.
A soft green dell by the breeiy shore; j. .
A sailor lad and a maiden lair,
-Hand j!laped ln hand,whll(tj thetaIeof"y9r
Is borne again on the listening air;
For love Is young, though love be- old,
. And love alone the heart can fill; -And
the dear old tale that has been told
In the days gone by- Is spoken still. " .,
A trlm-bullt home on a sheltered bay? '.
. A wife looking out on the glistening sea; "
A prayer for the loved one far away,- .
And prattling Jnips 'nfiath' the old roof-tree;
A lifted, latch and a radiant face
By the open door In the falling night; .
A welcome homeland a warmm brace
From the love of bis youth and his children
. bright '
An aged man In an old arm-chair;
A golden light from the western sky;
Ills wife by his side, with her silvered hair, '
And the open JDook of God. close by.-y ,J
Rwect on the bay the 'gloaming falls, rj , ,
And bright Is. the glow of the evening star
But dear to hem are the Jasper walls '
- And the golden streets of the Land afar.
An old church-yard on a green hillside;
Two lying still In. their peaceful rest;-- "
The fl-jhermen's boat going out with the tl4
the fltfry glow of th am hep Wo
Children' laughter' and bid men's sighs,-'-
.. The night that follows the morning clear,
A rainbow bridging our darkened skies, ;
Are the round of our Uvea from year to year I
. From the quickened womb of the primal gloom,
V The sun rolled black and bare.
Till I wove hi in a vest for hls-Ethlop breast
And when- the broad tent of the flrmament
"r"ATbse on Its airy spars, r .. ..
-: I penciled the hu,of Its matchless blue, ,j 7
And spangled it 'round with stars.
I'palnted the flowers of the Eden bowers, :--'
And their leaves of living green-,'' '
And mine" were th dye In the sinless eyes'" '
Of Eden' virgin queen ;
And twhen The fiend's art 4b the trustful heart
Had fastened its mortal spell.
In -the silvery spear of the first-born tear
Tnlh (MinhllnrMrih tfi.1l
- - --- -nr--
When the waves that burst o'er . world accurst
W4 1 M L-Z' a a S -M ' s 1
. i urir worn i wrmiu umu mpew.
7-
, And the Ark' Ion few, tried and true.
Came forth among the "dead, " ' . V L
With the wondrous gleams of my bridal beam
- ". I bade their-terror cease,
A I wrote on the roll of the storm's dark scroll '' ' ,
""""Ood's.covenant f pence. : tt- .- ' ' . -
Like a pall at rest on scnselrss'breast, ''
Night's funeral shadows slept . - ' ...L
, Where shephertl swains on the Bethlehem plains.'
" V Their lorieiy vigils kept ; ' - '
cWben I flaHhed on their sight the heralds bright
Of Heaven's redeeming plan, . ,
'' As they chanted the morn of s Aaviour born
Joy. Jov, to th outcast man. --f J .
Equal favor I show to the lofty and low, .
: ' On the Just and unjust I descend;
:: E'en th blind whose vain sphere roll in darkness
and tear , '
Feel in y smile: the best smile of a friend,
Tl:iirrn6v'r?ir the wjUlTbFrnr love Is embraced
As the rose In th garden of kings;
At the chrysalis bier of th worm I appear,
.1 And lol the gay butterfly's wings. -r -J
Th desolate morn. Ilk a mourner forlorn. -
- Conceals all the pride of her charms,
Till I bid the bright hours chise th Might from her
mi;
And lead the young day to her
-AnfretTlhC gay-rbver seeks Ee for bl lover,
And sinks to her balmy repose,
I wrap the s-ift rest by th sephyr-fanned west .
In curtain of amber and rose, '
I . Jrn."!JL sentinel steep by tbs nlght-broodd.dcp
I gase wUh nnslnmberlng eye,
, When, the cynosure tar of the mariner, "
Is blotted from out th sky; ,
And guided by me through the merciless sen, 1 '
. Though sped by the bonicane's wings.
His com pan Ion less, dark, lone, weltering bark
. To tbs haven bom safely he brings. , . - "
I waken the flowers In their dew-spangled bewera,
Tb birds In their chambers of green, J
And mountain and plain glow with beauty again,
A they bask ra their matlnal sheen.' .
rYJfhjSWL .ajmina the. wbli. i . ..
What glories mast rest on th bom of tbs blest,
Ever bright with th Deity's smllet " , , '
. ITisi. tilt Fttlmir
:-.-,:7-'
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