davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
Home Sweet Home

| am SO pleased with "Pandora's"
letter that I gave it the place of honor.
There is something warming and cheer
ing about such a cordial production.
think | should like to go to that sis
tsr's house and take her hand, and, as
the children say, make friends at
once. Her home is a place Of comfort
we may be sure, and to help her make
it still more SO, | am happy to append
a recipe for the "cOtfee-cake," taken
from Mrs. Elliott's Housewife. Not
having tried | can say nothing further
in its behalf. A coffee-cake should have
a very decided flavor of coffee to Justl-
~ it's name; this recipe would appear
to have too much fruit to allow the
flavor to appear. Perhaps some one
can give up a palmer one. L give a
racine for coffee custard which may
please those who are fond of the coffee
flavor. For myself l like it nowhere
AZ we'll as in my breakfast-cup, una
dulterated save with sugar and richest
of cream. By the way l am often
panied to find how many otherwise
good and sensible housekeepers ignore
the comparative merits of cream and
milk in their coffee cup o coffee
alone, with or without sugar, is a good
beverage, but no coffee is good that
has had even a teaspoonful of skim
milk in it. The richest Mocha with it
is degraded below the level OF poorest
Rio without it. Where cream is I'M
attainable, the milk, if good and fresh,
should be boiled a considerable i'm
provement is thereby effected. South
erners drink so much coffee that they
ought to study the art of making 1t
we'll, and pride themselves OF it. II
any OF our readers has an improved
method, or one she knows to be infal-
ible. we will thank her to impart it.
[ would respectfully request the better
half of our excellent State Geologist to
tell us her way. NOWhere have eve
tasted such coffee as she provides for
her guests. And lest she should be
exalted above measur by this compli-
ment, for | know she reads our page.
l will add that | do not care to use her
recipe for tea.
To make our homes happy is our
business in this world. First happy.
and then, if we can, tasteful and ele-
CANT. / was going to say-"and then
comfortable but l cannot conceive
of happiness without some sort of COM
fort. The hons may be rude. but it
can still be comfortable, and the idea
Of comfort includes neatness. and
cleanliness, and good order, and cheer
fulness, and love, and half a dozen
other good things which are free to
the poorest and plainest household as
are sunshine and fresh air. These
are the best things of life, so they are
the most a~ttainable, and to be had for
nothing. What a delightful thought
it is! The poor cabin that can afford
neither coffee nor cream can have
these, and be a place fit for angels to
stop at, while a palace without them
would be u~nendurable,
never p IS a log cabin without
taking some interest in its surround
lngs, and specializing on the character
thereby indicated Of its inhabits nts.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
gables department.
POETRY.
A Calm.

Wonder where the baby is.
Nv. how cross he's been to-day.
Glad he's still for Just a minute
Hope he hasn't run away
What a contrast is this quiet
To the din that reigned before
There he is, the little rascal,
Hid behind the closet door.
What is mammals birdie doing
That he is so still about:
Use been dom your crocket-work-
Got il most all wayeled out -
MILE G.. POMEROY.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02

AT a wedding in Cumberland county
on Wednesday evening April l1th,
Rev. +. W. Eason, pastor OF 1st., bap-
fist church. Fayetteville united IL the
holy bonds Of matrimony, DIR. a. l..
Dickson of Bladen county. with Mss
Fannie W. DeEane daughter of Col.
Thos. w. DeNane Of Cumberland coun-
ty,) amid many congratulations by a
large assemblage of friends and rela-
tives. The following were the atten-
dants: Mr.. X. f. DeNane, of Cumber-
land county, and Miss Biddie King,
Pitt county: Mr.. John Dickson, Bla-
den countv, with Miss Mollie f. DeNane
Cumberland county; DR.. j. W. Clark,
of Bladen county, with Miss Maggie L.
McDougald of Cumberland county;
Nj. Y. NJ. McDougald Of Cumberland,
with Miss Emma Hobbs of Sampson,
Mr.. Julian Killett of Sampson, with
Miss Sallie f. McSwain Of Cumberland,
Mr.. Thos. Hobbs of Sampson, with
Miss Kate Davis of Sampson. Nr. Thos.
McDougald of Richmond county, With
Miss jamie Graham of Baden.
The happy couple left on the Steam
er Murchison for Bladen on Friday
morning.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02

- 80 - 49, 49,
| read your article on New Ideas and
how TO get them" and as | finished
the last lines | leaned back IN my
chair and closed my eyes, letting my
Imagination rove at will over the vast
field Of women's usefulness, in which,
not the least by far, are the many kind
words and healthful deeds by which
she may cheer some other woman's
life, tired and worn with her burden of
care. AS l sat, | fully determined TO
write to you and add my mite, but
after that my household cares absorbed
my time, till | thought, well no mat
ter, / couldn't help anybody: III wait
and let some other housewife make a
beginning.
to your appeal but a more urgent re-
quest that we should unite in striving
to build up a household department. |
trust hat the articles 50 urgently
written may awaken in every womans
heart a kindred feeling which will
manifest itself by filling many columns
in the FARMER AND MECHANIC for
years to come, which will be a credit
to our dear old State. AS you say, al
most any suggestion would benefit
somebody, and | heartily join you in
asking all our Southern sisters to join
and help in forming a sort Of Mutual
Aid Society.
| am a young housekeeper and of
course each day | become more and
more convinced of my ignorance in
MANY details, and | honestly ask for
information in the various department
of household care.
/ want to make my home pretty, not
with costly furniture upholstered in the
latest style, then shut up, to be opened
only on state occasions, while the fam
lily must stay in some palmer room:
such a home | repeat | do not want,
but I'd like my home filed with many
articles of beauty and comfort the
work of my own hands and heart; nay
smile not that | say heart, for if III
homes are truly homes they must be
adorned by hearts loving and true as
we'll as hands.
We CROCHET loving fancies in the
mats and tides, and our bright-hued
dreams often times rival the dainty
colors of the zephyr, we beat up a cake
or bake a favorite pie in anticipation
Of the loving smile Of grateful surprise
which the loved one will bestow on
us when we place it before him.
Our homes are a part of ourselves,
and let us then make then heart-rests.
one place in all the world where hearts
are sure of each other. 1t the place of
confidence, the place where we tear off
the mask of guarded and suspicious
GOODNESS which the world forces us to
wear in self-Iefense. and where we pour
out the unreserved communications
of full and confiding hearts. A happy
home isthe single spot on this earth
which a man has for the cultivation
of his noblest sensibilities."
But | must not indulge in such a
long letter, | have a few favors to ask.
!" Does anyone know how to make a
sort of bracket arrangement for shaw
ing apparatus: l want to make n
for my liege lord, also a slipper case.
Can any one tell me how to make cot
fee cake. have eaten it and found it
very nice.
Please somebody make a beginning
and answer the above questions and
tell me of anything else they NAV
happen to know that will adorn a
home.
PANDORA.
Fayetteville, y. c.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
Fayetteville, y. c.
For THE LADIES DEPARTMENT OF THE
FARMER AND MECHANIC.


DEAR Miss SPENCER:-The train has
just arrive bringing my favorite paper
which delights not only me but alIthe
members of the family. Our space in
it this weok is filed with such interest
ing articles and | will wait impatientlv
for the next number hoping thar r.
will give US that plan for a Reading
Club. Perhaps it will form q LARGE
and durable piece in our caps. Ha. ha,
| could ntit restrain this little outbnrs
merrimclt when | read OF them. but
often laugh at things l admire and
sanctlm, DO not you: 1t is a most ex-
cellent idea ond We can have very pref
ty useful Il if we aid each other as
much a. possible in making them.
en- willing to do all l can. and will
try to answer the question asked bv S.
b. {. Take l pint of fresh sweet
milk,I4 pint of hot water D ured in.
add very little salt, this in fslr enoupb
TO make a tolerably thick batter. then
cover the vessel aud keed it mod9ralely
warm, stirring it several times before
1t sh signs, but not alter. Seize
your your flour, put in a small auanti-
ty OF Lard / teaspoon of SO, then pour
IN your risen batter and work it verl
little. Put in a creased pan and place
IN a warm oven. When it has risen
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02

once. Have ready eight eggs well
beaten up with n and a half large
cups OF : "a turn the boiling coffee
and cream on the eggs. stirring stead
liz. Pour all into a pitcher and set IT
in a vessel OF boiling water, and stir 1t
till it thickens. Serve 10 be vaten
cold
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02

Dav dreams are sometimes defended
on the ground that, If useless, they are
at least harmless: that If they confer
no benefit, they conflict no INJURY.
This however. cannot be the case.
| Nothing occupies so neutral q position.
Cselessness is of itself a INJURY. but,
besides this. the habit of the idle reve-
| RE produces positive evils. Valuable
time is wasted. energy is frittered
away. the mind is enfeebled, the ac-
~tivitieS are discouraged. tie present
| actual life is rendered tame and insipid.
When a youth requires h habit Of
brooding over a possible manhood. full
of power and honor, with wealth to
supply every desire, and a name
that is to command the homage of all,
with friends to exult in his prosperity
and acquaintance to be proud Of his
notice-when he pictures to himself
how meekly he will bear his honors,
how widely he will exert his influence,
how iudiciously he will eXpend his
riches, how literally he will scatter
his charities, he is positively uniting
himself for present duty, and render
ing any attainment of his dreams an
utter imposibility. He awakee from
such a reverie only to contrast il bit
terly with his actual condition. and to
experience a sickening disgust with
real life and its slow, prosaic, uphill
course. These gay visions have danced
before him in all their brilliancy but
have given him no glimpse Of the toll.
the self-denial. the patience, the persc-
verance the struggles that can alone
lead to their fultillment or make il
even a possibility. Thus they sow the
seeds of their own failure, and infiict
hopeless and repeated disappoint-
ments. Far different is the action of
a wisely cultured imagination. The
reason and will power have not abdi-
Gated in its favor, but gladly welcomed
it into their counsels. The energies
are not laid aside and weakened, but
called forth mi continual action. The
pictures drawn are not those of exag-
gerated fancy. hut OF practical attain
ment. There IS no painful and irk-
some return to real life. for It's concep-
tlons are those of truth, and such as a
noble and laborious life may realize.
The chief difference, however. is that
the day dream pictures without effort,
While the true imagination eve con
meets the two. Thus, While one gives
us falsely colored views of life, and
leaves US powerless and discouraged,
the other gently leads IL upwards. and
teaches us how, through energy and
toll. self-denial and patience. To win
whatever is really worth desiring.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02

A few days ago in Cherokee county.
Iowa, a farmers horse was shot and
killed. The gun-wadding was picked
up where the shooting took place. and
consisted of a piece of newspaper
which was carefully pressed out fiat.
Suspicion rested upon a man who had
In his possession a double barrelled
gun, and he was arrested. Ore barrelof
the gun was loaded. That charge was
carefully drawn, the paper wadding
smoothed out, when it was found to
match exactly the wadding found in
the field where the horse was shot.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02

The CARL who runs away with a
coachman and brings disgrace upon
her wealthy parents has broken out in
Iowa. This girl. like all her renown-
ed predecessors in this specially. IS
handsome, intelligent. attractive, re
tined and a good many other things.
II she was desperately in love with
her aunts coachman. She ran away
with him, which is the usual thing
and her father ran after them, which
Is also the usual thing, but he caught
them before they were married. which
Is altogether unusual and spoils some
OF the of the affair. The
coachman was taken in charge BY some
detectives who had been looking after
him for some months. he being one of
the most notorious thieves and bur-
glars IN the West. This will probably
cure this particular young won IN.
but the lesson will be lost upon the
average oI her sex. 4 coachtnan who
has been something of the world. or a
music teacher Or a dancing master can
go around marrying these handsome
young daughters of rich men on sight
as long as rlcn men take the trouble to
bring up handsome and ACCOMPLISHED
daughters who don't know anv better.
Philadelphia Times.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
AN INEXPENSIVE RC4,

Get of your grocer and empty coffee
sack; take four bits of lathe and nail
them together like a quilt frame the
size o wlsh-twenty inches by 30 Is
a good size. Take enough OF the sack
ing To stretch over the frame. sew it
on tight, the straight way of the cloth,
leaving it two inches longer all around,
to hem under when finished. Now
your foundation is ready, and you can
rest n end of the frame on Il win
dow sill or table, and the other on a
couple of chairs, and when not at work
on it, can set it up edgewise against
the wall out of the way. Next take
all your old t. in wolen Of every kind
and color, III or tear it into strips
from a half inch to an inch in width,
according to thickness, no matter
whether straight bias or half bias; cut
strips into bits one inch and a half
long: take a large crochet hook, sit up
to your frame, take the bits in your
left hand. hold them against the un-
der side of sacking, put the hook down
through the cloth, catch the end OF the
bit, pull it through, skip four threads
and pull up the other end, put in
another the same way, leaving four
threads between: keep straight by the
threads till YOU get a row across, and
leave four threads between the way.
You will soon get to do it very fast and
go owe by twenty or thirty inches in a
few days. You perceive the rug will
be over half an inch deep-a nice thing
to spread in front of the stove or 4 bed
or lounge, and splendid for baby to sit
on. If you have plenty of stuff and
bright colors, you can make a pattern
on Your foundation. assert your colors
n make If snowy by taking q little
more time. marked mine with a piece
of chalk; took the fragments of an old
yellowish brown alpaca dress. with the
strips of blue that had been as trim
ming and put two rows of the brown.
with one Of the blue between, around
the edge. | had also a bundle of the
black stuff. reps, merlno, cashmere.
etc: so | mark a square in the centre
twelve By fifteen inches for black. but
in the centre of this | marked a rose
with a few leaves. made the rose of
some scraps of red flannel. scarlet de-
laine and pink merino. and the leaves
of scraps of merino and m old green
veil. Now l had given me some dark
red flannel and a little bright blue me-
rino. OF these | made a diamond in
each. corner. the blue in the centre. and
filled in the remainder with the relics
of an old gray travelling dress-all old
too old for any other use Letter to
st. Paul Pioneer Press.
COFFEE CAKE.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
10 LOi OF fLOKIEI

We desire 10 call your at.s,.
stoch Of 5a
CHOICE FLOWER SKINS
We also have a full stock of
fiants. including terantuns 4E,
lions. ~fuchsiaS, felargou.ams,
SUMNER PIONEERING RITE
Dahlias In sixty varieties. Glas,t
varieties, 5000 IuberospS TrI."r' ''
SMALL FRUITS,
Strawberry, Raspberry, BIAch1~--
VEGETABLE PLANS
Cabbage, Tomato and Egg Pa.
BOUQUETS. WEEATH>
II Floral Designs made tsa-
Ilants sem 10y mail any a.s
safety.
{ b FAIRCHua
feb 21tf h~ r
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
COFFEE CAKE.

One cup of cold coffee strained. one
cup Of sour cream, two cups of brown
sugar. one cup of currents. one cup of
~raisins, five eggs, one teaspoonful Of
cloves, allspice and cinnamon, one
nutmeg grated, n ~teaspoonful sala-
ratus. -four to make it stiff.
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
COFFEE CCSTARD.

Take a large cup of fresh ground
it well. Put it into a coffee pot with
one pint of boiling water. Boil five
minutes add a cup of cold water and
let it stand ten minutes, When per-
fectly Gle. + turn it off into a saucepan,
add a pint of cream, and let it boil up
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02

feb p II
The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-02
DaV DreS ms.

April 4th, 1873.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-09-12

So long as the failing embers of vitality
are capable of being rekindIed into warm
snd genial glow, just SO long there is hope
for the weak and emaciated invalid. Let
him not, therefore despond, but derive en-.
couragement from this and from the further
fact that there is restorative most poten,
in renewing the dilapidated powers of Z
broken down system. Yes, thanks to it.
unexampled tonic virtues, Hostetter'l
Stomach Bitters is daily reviving strength
in the bodies and hope in the minds of tn,
feeble and nervous. Appetite, refre- hin,
sleep, the acquisition of flesh and color, are
blessings attendant upon the reparative
processes which this priceless invigorant
speedily initiates and carries to a successful
conclusion. Digestion is restored, tie
blood fertiii1ed and sustenanee afforded &c
each life-sustaining organ by the Bitters
which is inofensiye even to the feminiLs
palate, vegetable in composition, and thor
oughly safe. Use it, and regain vigorl
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-09-12
Russian Fire Companies.

A letter from st. Petersburg speaks
of an interesting parade of the Fire De-
partment of that city, which Is said to
be the best in Europe:
Every department in the city has its
separate fire brigade. Twelve brigades
paraded this morning. each with diff.
ferent flag. The horses are magnificent,
and are of different color for nearly
every brigade. There were piebalds,
roans, sorrels, chestnuts, bays, blacks,
whites, and the wonderfully beautiful
gray horses which have seen no where
out of Russia. Punctually at ten O'Clock
the prefect arrived at the scene with
General and Mrs. Grant and the Ameri
can Minister. The men and horses
were drawn up in line like statues. The
project called out "good morning" te
them, and was answered with a shout
Then the companies were reviewed, and
finished by rushing past on the full
gallOp. The horses seemed to enjoy
showing off in this way as much as the
men die.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-09-12
The Virtues of Sauerkraut,

A German gastronomic scholar has
been at the pains to republish disserta-
tion upon sauerkraut, which first saw
the light in the sixteenth century. It
was originally composed by writer who
calls himself Gnariponius, and consists
of collection of more than hundred
medical panegyrics upon this g ennobled
cabbage" He says that Julius Alexan-
drinus, who was successfully body physi-
clan to the Emperor Maximillian II and
Sudolff II, reached an exceedingly great
age because he was addicted to the eat
ing of sauerkraut. He frequently stated
that it was the most wholesome of all
foods, and caused fewer complaints than
any other edible.
"Kraut," made from the white cab
bage was not SO good, he contended, as
that made from the red; but it might be
greatly improved in the process of SOW
kraut was due solely to the uncleanness
or idleness of the manipulator. Coarse,
tough and moist kraut," from which
the dirty and idle housewife has not
sufficiently expelled the wetness, pro-
duces melancholic blood, from which
acid damps arise TO the head. The
earliest preacher of the virtues of sauer-
kraut is, of course, Father Galen, who
commended it as panacea for the gout.
Other physicians have applied it to al
most every bodily ill with success only
to be equaled by some heal-all of a
modern quack. One doctor found it to
be efficacious as cure for the bite of q
mad dog. The after-effects of drunken
bout have also been successfully treated
as this old author assures us, by simply
binding the head of the Trunken-
bold " with warm sauerkraut leaves.
The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-09-12

cheap but pretty chromos were crime,
and the walls of kitchen must be con-
demned to remain bare and uninviting.
The well polished stove and clean floor
are necessary for neatness and comfort.
But the hanging shelves, where a few
books and papers can he placed, the use
full clock, the cozy rocking chair, as we'll
as the bright pictures, with shining
utensils for kitchen use, are signs of cul-
ture in the kitchen that are to be ad-
mired and copied. A little painting or
oiling of our woodwork, a few flowers on
bracket, and curtains at the windows
are simple things in themselves, but
they show the taste of the owner more
than mere words. Why should the
broken chairs and discarded tables be
good enough for the kitchen?" Let
us determine that no more of our time
and money shall be spent to adorn the
closed and darkened parlor until our
kitchen is furnished with the best con-
veniences for our work, and kept fit for
any lady in the land to work in.