OUR THANKSGIVING DECORATIONS.
I was; Nalways brave in such matters-that our thanksgiving for sparing to us yet longer the dear little mother might find speech in the church decorations; so the very best of all the boun- tiful year had given us was brought together.
T was Nellie who asked it of dear old Dr. Burgoyne-Nellie,
The late-blooming chrysanthemums that so defiantly flaunt their rich coloring of yellow and deep gold in the very face of the early frosts and rude boisterous winds, as well as those of more dainty delicate coloring which almost seem to be apologizing for making their appearance so far behind; all these were gathered before they lost their freshness, and, with stems well set into buckets of water, placed in the cool airy cellar where furnace heat could not affect them. Once a week they were care- fully lifted into pails of fresh wa- ter, which was all the care need- ed to keep them just as fresh as when first taken in. Great heavy masses of them bordered the lower edges of the hang- ings on both pul- pit and reading- desk; black pins, both large and small, kept them in place, working in more and more of the flowers where they seemed to be needed after the first had been pinned down. We first attempted nee- dle and thread, but the latter tangled, and besides it was not always easy to give them the proper twist and turn. Here and there we pinned them as if a show- er of the blossoms had been wafted over the rest of the hanging, massing more toward the left-hand side, with lighter effect on the right. Row after row of stout wire passed around the broad heavy moulding of the pulpit; a few tacks at either end gave purchase and kept each succeeding row taut and the right distance apart; and when this was accom- plished we looked over our flowers, for it was to be a perfect harmony of color, this deep pul- pit border. There were the dark shades of old-gold almost passing into the browns, with the tawny yellows and warm glowing ones that really gave out a light of their own; the dif- ferent tones of lem- on, even down to white, for it was by subtle gradations of color we intend- ed to work from
Fig. 1.-FUR-LINED CLOAK WITH SEAL TRIMMING.
For description see Supplement.
as the clouds at sunset seem to melt and blend into each other.
The high gray-stone font, standing as it did well out from one of the front corners, made a most delightful bit of coloring against the neutral tint of the side walls. Do you know the exquisite tints the leaves of the Ampelopsis veitchii take on with the early autumn? If for nothing else than its lovely coloring, one could afford to give it a place; they range in size from those of the smallest sort of ivy to the large maples, each one bright and glossy as if a light coat of wax had been given it. Imagine a broad border of this wealth of color against the cool gray of the stone, with great bunches of purple and white grapes surmounting all! For the support we twined the heavy wire round and round, securing it
firmly, and making a perfect net-work across the top to keep the heavy fruit from slipping. When some of the larger leaves had lost their stems we used small hair-pins to put them in, and found the substitute better than the reality.
Next came the windows nearest the chancel-deep high Gothic ones, with sloping window-shelves that only admitted a certain style of decoration. We had long plumes of pampas grass for these, some of them with stalks that would admit of extending up the window four or five feet; light wires were passed across to serve as support, and we arranged the feathery masses to conceal the stems and yet admit the play of light and shade upon their creamy surfaces. At the base were great heads of scarlet gera- nium of the same variety, to avoid confusion of color. How lovely
Fig. 2.-SEAL WRAP AND TOQUE TRIMMED WITH BEAVER.
For pattern and description see Suppl., No. II., Figs. 8-12.
TEN CENTS A COPY. WITH A SUPPLEMENT.
dows, using for a bordering the foliage and berries of the asparagus. Dahlias of the dwarf variety are always a success, either as a border, or for lettering when texts are desired; the rich maroons are most effective on a background of golden coleus, while the white are still more snowy against the red variety of these foliage plants.
Groups of palms, that do not wilt with furnace heat nor rebel if placed in dark corners, should be massed around the readingdesk in corners where a mass of green, light and feathery, is needed. Here comes too the green of the Spanish-chestnut, with its rough-looking fruit that will serve to festoon the sprays of the many-hued Virginia creeper, just in its glory of foliage and dark purple berries. Those of the mountain-ash, if gathered long be
it was when the sunlight streaming through the one cast a faint glow over to the other!
There could be no prettier contrast than the clear wood brown of some of the autumn foliage with the late-blooming pink gladi- olus. Try it if there are any left, and another season plant the bulbs so the flowers will come when wanted: not all the pinks are available, only those with a suspicion of salmon, or the rose pinks that are free from any purple tinge. The hop-vine with its clear- cut foliage, bold and decided, is fine for bordering, while the black- berry, rich in red-brown coloring, is most exquisite. The moun- tain-ash and thorn, if too sharp a frost has not tendered the stems, give brilliant colors. The delicate fern-mosses, with fanciful red and gray lichens, blend admirably in the broad bases of the win-
fore they are needed, should be hung with the berry down, so all the sap may run into them, not out, and if soaked in water a day will plump very much. The barberry keeps nicely in very strong salt and water.
In the centre of the chancel we massed the wheat, the rye, and the oats tied loosely together, with base broad enough to keep it firm. Do not have it. fastened too tightly, with the straws straight and stiff, but carelessly twisted, with the ears of corn, large and golden, some husked entirely, others partially, put here and there around. Apples, both yellow and brilliant red, here find their proper place, while the deep-toned pumpkins may be made effective if used in moderation. All along the choir stalls we put a deep fringe of the grains, using a broad piece
of Canton flannel or heavy canvas for the base, securing on the oats, wheat, rye, and barley to form deep sharp points. The top was edged with bulrush, its superb brown standing out well against the color below, as well as the feathery grasses that surmounted it, while the capsicum hung as tassels here and there among it.
THE UGLY GIRL.
T is a strange
I fact that the
ugly girl is rather a favorite than otherwise, although a thing of beauty is a joy forever. When we look at her we lament the shape of her nose, we sigh over the cast in her eye, we deplore the dulness of her complexion, we can find nothing to praise:
but perhaps she smiles, or she has a witching manner. She knows the spell which puts every one at his ease; she owns the charm which makes others pleased with themselves; and then we are wont to say that there is no such person as the ugly girl. But to those who do not know her, who do not come under the magnetism of her presence, she remains the ugly girl to the end of the chapter; and when she marries carries off the best match of the season, perhaps-prettier women are at their wits' end to know what attractions she possesses superior to their own. What is it that redeems the ugly face and makes it shine with comeliness, so that we sometimes would not exchange it, with all its misshapen features, for the beauty of Aphrodite? The plain face which is alive with intelligence, which beams with an expression of refine
« IndietroContinua » |