Year: 1876

heard woman say, not long since, IL
never darn stockings; when they begin to
wear give them to my wash-woman." l was
very carefully filling in gap in stocking
stretched over big apple at the time. That
added polite grace to the remark. Not long
after, | happened to meet one of that wo-
mans daughters, pretty girl of thirteen, in
shoe store and though, as the child was
being fitted she tried modestly to make her
short skirts as long aspossible, they would not
disguise the fact that her stockings had not
been given away quite soon enough.


Yesterday the same woman said she was
afraid they we're not going to be able to meet
the payments due on their new house. PA
gets good wages, but it costs so much to live"
Yes, thought, it costs so much to live, even
for people who darn stockings Then re-
membered something that saw in the house
of one of the rich men of the city the other
day-a house whose mistress "looks we'll to
the ways of the household" d"-and that was a
coarse linen towel darned in three or four
places. They can always meet their payments,
and could when they were poor, if they ever
were so. ....t ..... ...t ...


Another woman that know, says she does
not like the country there is no "intellec-
tual society" there, and yet she sews patch
of any kind of cloth that lies near, on the
holes of the stockings of her family, and ev.
cry day of her life hears the unconscious ac-
cusation, "Ma, my foot hurts" / wish she
had seen enough intellectual society to have
learned to darn stockings. :.


In contrast to this, was calling on lady
of rare taste and culture, the worthy wife of
one of our best literary men, living in home
of comfortable means and beautiful surround
ings., The lady, daintily attired in black
and drab summer silk, with delicate laces and
lavender ribbons rseceisea me in the sitting
room "because this is ironing day and l like
to do all the mending before the clothes are
put away. I want you to make me good
long call, and you know can work aud talk
at the same time" A sudden shower coming
up, ably abetted the kindly request, and as |
took off my gloves, said, "and as the ma
chinery of my fingers never interfere with
that of my tongue, allow me to borrow
darning needle and assist you" With a
bright smile she said, "my mother always said
none but real lady could darn stocking
properly, and I am going to honor you with
this fine Sunday pair, knowing they will be
we'll DONE" I was thankful, as We worked
and talked, that my mother was not woman
who either sewed patches on stockings or gave
them to her wash.woman to save darning.
And as we wrought and talked through that
rainy afternoon, I saw as much of the wo-
mans spirit in the traces of her dextrous fin.
gers as in her sweet words of womanly wis
dom. Through the whole basket we're darns
dainty as lace.work, and mans heavy sock,
or a child's delicate stocking, or her own even
finer ones, all we're so neatly darned with
thread of relative quality, and with such
evenly woven stitch, as to make the repairs
almost ornamental. ..s.


Among all the pleasant hours Mrs. W. and
I ever spent in social pleasure, there is no
time comes back to me with sweeter reflection
than that rainy afternoon when we darned
stockings-Laura Linn, in Rural Sun.