Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-01-27
WOMAN AND HOME.
KEEPING THE CHILDREN BUSY AND
 HAPPY AT SMALL EXPENSE.

Home-Fashion's Martyrdom-Ingrow-
 ing Nails-The Quiet Style-The Bumped
 Child-An Sorts of Useful Hints.
 The outdoor life of summer furnishes abun- dant amusement for little ones. It is the long, rainy days and cold storms of winter which drive them indoors, and crowds them about the mothers knee, to sorely try her wits and patience. An unlimited purse in a liberal hand can fill the youngsters drawer to overfowing with an endless variety of in- genious toys Even then there is a satiety, and fewer and simpler playthings have greater interest. Only the children them selves can tell why the weather beaten, much abused rag doll of the household is more beloved than angelic, bisque faced Florinda; or why the rough, irregular blocks from the factory are more highly prized than tho brightly painted cubes of the toy shop.
 Let us tell you of one mother who like many of us, possessed only limited time and limited purse Last winter, shut ill by banks of white drifts and cold, biting winds, she was often called upon to propose some new pastime for Ter little girls of 8 and 4 years of age. After their small collection of nondescript toys were tired of, and block houses lost their charm, Mrs. Goodhue hit upon the expedient of paper cutting for an especial afternoon treat Her mental vision of bright eyes put out by sharply pointed shears suggested the purchase of round bladed scissors, and of course there must be two pairs At first thought this seemed ex- travagant, if not foolish, but the reflection that their cost would probably be spent upon more fragile and less pleasing toys, and the ity lo for both mother and children, won the day
 When not ill use, the scissors were kept ill Mrs. GOOdhues button box on the clock shelf A certain corner of the bay window was given over to the litter, and only in that spot Were papers allowed to be cut. At the same time sheets were furnished and tho children taught to cut nothing without permission Patience and unrelaxed firmness were ,,cce,- sary to prevent the indiscrimnate slashino of fancy work and articles of dress Fashion plates, illustrated catalogues and picture Ca .is, were laid aside for the afternoon en- tc:%.:i:1nents. It was amusing to notice how c'':c,ly the baby learned to handle tho bl;,,:es, and actually cut out picture insteas7 oti tearing it, as had been her first method We might suggest that for older chil,lre: cheai, colorcI papers be provided and th. color. tnrrrht.
 Frequently Mrs. Goodhuc took time tc fashion t!c...S and dolls furniture, cutting a1 outfit for each child. and two miniature ho::lc3 were set up, with tables, chairs arG bct;>, u-l tho window sills Made of paste bOi."!, these easily stood erect, and if put b ctt it answered for another dull days di vCl% .C.l. lt, before the children became to, t>:>~.. ccCh tiny scrap of cuttings was pjclle;. C,) = chubby fingers into pasteboard box dus:: pan |" was il triumphant, happy mother as well ;.s babies. who greeted the father tic close of tine gloomy winters day.
 Many times during that winter was tn buttcn box raided for the largest and nrct- tic:; buttons to string. With a coarss needle and d button tied at the end of double thread, Eloise and Leslie made lon "charm strin;,?' or short oIes, which the teased their mother to tie about their bab,, wrists. From this they came to sewing but tons on t.e;r doll dresses by joining tho edS, of hem to one of tho four eyelet holes Lat. they learned the right way. Thei. mother might have told you that for week; afterward buttons were swept out of hidle: corners, and that her supply ran so low tha. she was obliged to forbid the box entirely and to purchase whole cards of cheap but tons just for the girls to string and to Ice, ill Q box of their own. However, the OK pe1lsc was little and the amusement unendinS.
 A little school girl stopped ill one day to warm herself. The pleasure of the childreis over her slate and pencil suggested another purchase, and five cent slates and pencils were ready for the mothers next busy da, and the babies cross one. By far the great est pleasure was the scrubbing of the slaAe: with small. wet rag. Neglect to put away the slates at Ej, ,sht resulted ill their bei,s trod on, and when the broken fragments were carried out, the mother resorted to lead pencils and paper. As these were her first children, Mrs. Goodhue may be pardoncd her surprise at the unexpected result. The white walls of the new home proved too tempting, and an unsiGhtly scrawl appeared nc2i' the se.vin., machine, and another near the beclroo2l door. From that time the pen cil; were never accessible unless the mother was in thc room; and even then she was ohliCCc'l to i-2op strict watch to prevent the dctacclc,c,!t of wood work, books and for bildc:l ra; CTS Older girls might be taught to draw; CT scrap books and paste on tho dining roo::, table would delight and occupy an otherwise troublesome child If the mothers work can go on with few interrup- tions, is it rot well worth the time taken to clear up:
 It passes our comprehension how some women can expect their progeny to be rea- SOi1,tGiJ &OOi tcilkGieu, dLlu yet pIOVluO nothing wl1ctcver to assure healthy cheer fulness. They will lay aside for themselves O bolt of muslin for rainy days occupation, and regard tho smallest amount spent in chil- dren'a toJs a needless expense. A school ma'ai1 boarding in 9 well to do family told us of such & parent the other day: The little girls had dolls, to be sure, but that was all; and t!lc@>, Ead been purchased during some surprising streak of generosity on the part of tAo cloao purscd father. Old and bat tered, and minus 8 wardrobe, pieces of an old shawl were considered fine enough, when the dolls were clothed at all. Anything was good enough for the childrcneto play with, except thc parlor cane seat chairs, into which it was regarded Q sacrilege to allow child to scramble, much more to play horse with. Before the teachers term was taught tho dolls were dressed in neat calico gowns made from remnants left from the quilting. And to tho children's delight not one gar ment of t;.o two whole outfits furnished was sewed oli, but made to take on and off, to button and u1lbutton. l. IS safe to say that the little Stark girls had never been so nearl
 wild with joy when some odds and ends of gay ribbons and faces were added for their dollics' further adornnent. Clay pipes and dish of soap studs initiated them into the wondro;is beauty of the soap bubble, to the great dismay of the servant over tho pros