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TSfi SOtragfe&N WOKLt>, MarOH 16,1882. 11 MRS. TON SAWYER’S PARTY. Mr*. Tom Sawyer’* cheery little face was unmistakably clouded, as she went about her work, one bright morning. In order to explain to you the cause of this unusual occurrence, I shall have to say, first of all, that there never was n more thoroughly aristocratic little town than that of Ashton was, and is now, for aught I know to the contrary. They were aristocratic people, the Ashtonltes, had aristocratic homes, attended aristocratic churches, and lost, but not least in poor little Mrs. Tom's eyes this self-same morning, they had very aristocratic tea parties. “What had that to do with her?” youask. Well, somehow, partly in virtue of her good family, but mostly, I must confess, on account of her sweet sunshiny ways, and good true sense, Mrs. Tom, though her hus band was a mechanic, was admitted even in to the charmod circle of aristocratic Ashton. Mrs. Tom herself wondered how she came there, as did everybody else, but there she was, and no one, not even the most fastidi ous, had any desire to put her out. But it proved something of a trial to her after all, and this morning the thorns were very sharp. You must know she found her self, ns the expression is, indebted to nearly every one of her friends, not financially, but socially. “Nothing very terrible about that,” you say; but that is because you know nothing about Ashton tea parties. No one was invited until just tea time, when all were expected to appear robed in their very best. The table was loaded with dainties of all sorts and descriptions. After an evening’of high bred small-talk and gos sip, if ever such be high-bred, the company adjourned, each lady present vowing to sur pass the hostess on some future occasion. Such were Ashton tea parties. Do you wonder that Mrs. Tom sighed ? She went, broom in hand, and opened the parlor door. It is a cozy, cheery room; look ed “just like herself,” her husband said. But the carpet was only an ingrain, and the furniture very plain. Sire shut the door and went ou into the dining room. That carpet was very much worn and thin in spots. “But I enjoy eating in it enough sight v!>ser then in Mrs. George Parker’s elegant one, for hers fairly chills me, and this warms me up, it looks so homely,” said the incor rigible Tom, who preferred his own cozy home to any one’s splendor. •Mrs. Tom went back to her sweeping, with a look of indecision on her face, and it rest ed there all the time she was dusting and putting to rights. “I’ll do it,” she exclaimed all at once, as she put the last book back, and pushed Tom's chair into the corner. “I’irdo it. I’ve accepted tiieir hospitality, and I'll offer them mine. They know I can not do as they do, so they won’t, expect it, and I won’t spoil it all by tryingtodo some thing I can’t. I’ll make as nice u tea. party as I know how my way, but I’ll keep it my way." So it came to pass that afternoon Mrs. Tom went around among her friends, inviting them to take tea with her the next day. “And I would like to have you come early and spend the afternoon," site said to every one. Then she went homo and commenced pre parations. The house was put in apple-pie order. For tea, she would have biscuits and butter, (and Mrs.' Tom could make biscuits wortii eating,) cold meat, preserves, and two kinds of cake. She hesitated over the cake a little. She did hate to seem poor or stingy; but she kept firm. “I can’t afford any more, and I don't be lieve in thinking your company comes for the cake." There was'no little wonderment and sur prise over Mrs. Tom’s invitations; some even felt a little sorry for her lest she had not fully realized what she was undertaking. But one and all made up their minds to go, and help along if need be. Mrs. Tom met them at Ihe door with a bright smile of welcome, took them up Into her own room to lay aside their things, then down into the cheery little parlor, which never looked cheerier and prettier than to day. It was not grand or Impressive, but you felt its bright homeliness the minute you entered. Such an afternoon! Not one of them could remember one like it. Mrs. Tom was every where, sometimes with a merry jest, some times a kindly inquiry, now with an inter esting curioilty and its story, another time with some question that led to an Interest ing discussion. They forgot to gossip or criticise; they had no time to; it was crowd ed out with better things. Somehow a kind ly feeling crept over them, and they showed the best of themselves far more in this cozy little home, than in their accustomed splend or. When Mrs. Tom excused herself, as the clock struck six, to look after supper, they looked from one to another in astonishment. Where had the afternoon gone to? “I don’t know what you’ve done,” said Mrs. Parker, as she bade her hostess good night, “but 1 feel as I used to say when a child, ’gooder’ than I did when I came." “We shall all be glad to come again,” said Mrs. Weston, the lady of Ashton, whose husband was worth over a million. “And all I did Tom, was just to try and get the best out of everybody.” “If every one would do that, the millen nium would come in less than no time, little woman,” responded Tom with a fond smile. "Most of us usually do onr best to keep the worst in sight.” “Oh dear, and we might help each other so much I" sighed Mrs. Tom. “What did she do, any way?” asked one, as they discussed the strange party. “She didn’t do anything,” answered Mrs. Parker, promptly. “She was just real and true. I never felt so ashamed in ray life as when I thought of all the ponies I had given, and every one of them spreads. But I’ve spread all I am go ing to,” she added with a laugh. “Here after, when I invite yon to my house, I want you to understand it’s because I think we can do each other good some way, not because I’ve a new carpet to exhibit, or a new kind of cake to treat you to.’’—[K. K. in Kcnnebeck Journal. §onie Quit 's. Honse-Claanlnir. It is customary for the “lords of creation” to revile the almost universal practice among housekeepers of a semi-annual house-clean ing, and yet we know that these sume “lords’, enjoy a clean house just us much as we do. But, they say, why can’t you keep the house so clean all the time that these periodical disturbances will never be necessary. If they would try it for a little while, I think the result would be a thorough appreciation of the need of house-cleaning and an ac knowledgement of its immense value. Few of us ever think of furnishing our houses with a view to their being easily cleaned. Our floors are covered with heavy carpets, which, of necessity, become filled with dust and nothing short of taking up the carpet and giving it a thorough beating can remove this; then our furniture, much of it seems to be constructed upon the principle of mak ing them convenient dust collectors, and many large pieces of furniture, as bookcases, wardrobes, sideboards, etc., which cannot bo moved without great trouble, furnish innu merable nooks and corners behind and un derneath them where dust can be concealed, and yet ready to be stirred by a breath of air and float through our rooms. J ust the mere walking of a person acrossa floor where a carpet has lain all winter will set in motion a million of these particles and'they are con stantly being inhaled into our lungs. Many sensible people are discarding carpets which covfr the whole floor, and using rugs instead instead which may be taken up and shaken every day. Walls and ceilings absorb dampness and noisome va pors and their frequent cleansing, painting or papering are essential to the health of the household. Papering and painting are best done in cool weather, especially the latter, for wood absorbs much more of the oil of paint in warm weather. In cold weather the oil har dens on the outside, making a coat which will protect the weod. In repapering a wall, always insist upon having all the old paper removed before putting on the new. After all has been torn off-that is loose, damiten the walls with warm water and the rest may be removed quite easily. Then fill any cracks there may bo in the wall with plaster of paris. Only a little of this should be mixed at once as it sets very quick. To such os hang their own paper let me say that the paste is best made by wetting the flour first with cold water and then pouring in boiling water, stirring constantly until it thickens. The paste does not need to boil and should be quite thin when it is done. A half ounce of borax added to every quart of paste improves it. A whitewash brush is the best to apply the paste to the paper with. It should be applied quickly and with as lit tle rubbing as possible and the paper should be hung as soon as it ia pasted. It is quite a difficult task for amateurs in the art, to hang paper nicely, but it may be done. In cleaning houses only one room should be undertaken at a time, and that finished and put in order before another is com menced, and if you find you are getting too tired, stop and rest a day. Planning goes a great ways toward lightening work. Every morning let a reasonable day’s work be planned, and when that is accomplished stop. Don’t think because you have finish ed the settled task long before nightthat you must keep hunting up something else to do, unless you want to have, when yoijrhouse is all cleaned, only a tired-out, peniaps sick woman to enjoy it. It is a good plan to begin the house-clean ing early enough to finish it and get the spring sewing done before hot weather conies as then one should have no more work to do than is absolutely necessary, and be able to spend as much of the time ns possible in the open air. Let each child have a flower-bed; teach them to lovo the beauties of nature and to see the hand of the Divine Father in all the beautiful world around them. The Kitchen. It Is hardly to be wondered at that house keepers sometimes become discouraged and ready to declare that they hate housework, or that girls are ready to employ their time anywhere else sooner than in the kitchen, when we enter these same kitchens and find them so inconvenient that they ore but a miserable apology for what they ought to be. The kitchen ought to be large enough to admit of the necessary work to be carried on there comfortably; it ought to be well light ed and yet shaded from the burning rays of the sun. The floor should be painted^either of a uniform tint, orby staining every alter- ternatc board light and dark. This is done by painting every alternate bourd with um ber, (which may be procured already mixed with oil) and leaving each alternate board the natural color of the wood, giving them simply a dressing of oil. Steps, and often needless steps are what tire housekeepers und wear them out when they ought,to be in their prime. It rcully seems os if some of our houses were built in a way to make justas many steps ns possible instead of saving them. The pantry is often separated from the kitchen by the dining room and there being, not even a closet in the kitchen, all the cooking utensils are at least twenty feet from the cookstove. The pantry should open out of both kitchen and dining room, and in every kitchen there ought to he a small closet neur the cookstove for holdings few plates, bowls, cups, knives, forks and spoons. There should be also, space in the cupboard for salt, pep per, spices, sugar, molasses and vinegar; and room in the bottom of the closet for pots, pans, skillets, etc. How many steps such an arrangement would savu a housekeeper in one day to say nothing of the number saved in a month or a year. There should always be a pump in the kitchen, then u few feet of rubber hose will enable one to fill the reservoir on the cook stove, or the rinsing tub on washing day, without stepping from the pump or lifting a bucket of water. There urc many other con veniences which any woman can contrive to save steps in the kitchen, and, dear husbands, let me just whisper a word in your ear. It ' will pay you to spend some thought and labor upon this same subject. Try it and see if yonr wives and daughters are not enough brighter and happier to repay you. They will not be “tired to death” all the time, but can do the work so much easier that they will be fresh and bright, and with time to practice up the long neglected music or to read the last new book with you in the even ing. THE WORK RANKET. A very pretty and substantial card re ceiver can be made by the following direc tion: Take a common tin pic plate and paint it black with asphultum paint. After it is dry ornament with gilt puper and scrap book pictures, then put two coats of trans parent varnish overall. The way to use a Chinese fan as a wall decoration, is to spread it open and tack it on the wull, put two or three card photo graphs between the sticks. The fan makes a pretty background and a serviceable frame. The “Art Amateur” gives the following directions for ebonizing white wood: Get one quart of strong vinegar, one half pound extract of logwood, two ounces of green copperas, one half ounce of China blue, one half ounce of nutgall. Place in an iron pot and boil till well dissolved. When cool it is ready for use. Take a handful of iron fll- ings and immerse them in strong vinegar for several days, then measure off one half pint and add to the above mixture. A mantel valance may be easily deco rated by cutting the edge in scallops with a medallion in the center of each, and rays filling up the intermediate space. The de sign is executed in coarse silk, caught down by thin silk, and the ground may be either linen or woolen. Italian Apron.—The fashionable Italian apron is easily made. Take a handsome, heavily fringed towel, with deep and bright border; turn one edge down over the other, so that the front is nearly all ornamental work, and put a cord and tassel around the top, or a band of ribbon, only joining the apron to the band for about a quarter of a yard, and buttoning the towel or apron at the buck where the sides drop down. Take a towel and fold one end down over another and you’ll readily catch the idea. A table cover of green or red cloth may have a border made out of odds and ends of cloth, silk or velvet. Cut out card board in the shape of small hearts, cover these with the scraps, first tacking them on the card and then button-holing them all round with yellow embroidery silk. When several va rious colored ones are prepared, arrange them ou the cloth near the edge, tack them on and make a chain stitch of the yellow silk from ench up to a point, as if each were hanging by a string. Last of ail, sow on a bow of narrow ribbon of the same shade as the embroidery silk, and thus you have a bunch of little hearts hanging from a bow. These bunches in different colors, in groups at equal distances, have a very pretty, quaint effect. Any color may be used for the chain stitching and the ribbon. When raveling out a fringe on mats or ti dies made of java or honeycomb canvas, save the threads; you can use them for feather-stitching bands for trimming. Gray linen makes very pretty aprons trimmed with bands feather-stitched with red. Douiile-faced Canton flannel Is the best cheap material that can be used for curtains or portieres. They should be trimmed with bands of some contrasting color and sus pended from a pole by rings so ns to be drawn aside nt pleasure. Fretty Run.—Gather together all the old pieces of silks and ribbons that you can lay your hands upon, the brighter the colors the better. Cut them into strips about one- half inch in width and sew them together as you would car|>et rags. It does not mat ter how the colors come, the more decidedly mixed the brighter the effect. Then knit them ou large needles as you would a hose suspender, of the width and length which you require for the rug, and line it with some stiffiuatcrial so that it will lie straight. Make a border of crimson or dark blue felt. This may be from an eighth to a quarter of a yard wide and pinked upon the edges. If one 1ms not silks, pretty colored wool goodb in plain colors, would be quite effective. Stained Floors.—Soft wood floors treated in the following manner have given general satisfaction: Mix about equal parts of raw and burnt umber with turpentine and ja pan, adding a little boiled linseed oil to pre vent its drying too rapidly; have the floor perfectly clean and free of grease spots, as they prevent the stain from drying, apply the preparation with a well-worn paint brush, rubbing it across the grain. In a few minutes, say ten, take a woolen rag and rub off all surplus color, rubbing this time with the grain. When dry, apply a coat of boiled oil. This may be repeated twice a year- spring and fall, which is often enough under ordinary circumstances. The stain may bo varied by using more or lesss of either color. If a dark rich color is desired, add burnt siena. With these three colors almost any shade from oak to black walnut or mahogany may be produced.—[N. Y. Tribune. The Oleander.—All parts of the oleander are deadly. A very small quantity of the leaves has been known.to kill a horse. The flowers have produced death in those per sons who have carelessly picked and ate them. The branches, divested of their bark and used as skewers, have poisoned the meat roasted on them, and killed seven out of twelve people who partook of it. Opium and Childhood.—A few weeks ago a man in the State of New York, went five miles in haste for a doctor. Says the latter, "On my arrival I found a babe, eight months old, lying In the arms of Its almost frantic mother, pale, comatose, bathed'in perspiration, with a slow, feeble pulse, and pupils contracted to the size of a very small pin-head.