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AUTUMN.

Editor's Corner.

The ripened corn its silken plumes is waving,
The partridge beats his drum among the trees,
The red verbena lifts its fair head braving
October's chilling breeze.

The clear, warm noon succeeds the frosty morning,
The summer's warmth returns to bless the day;
But in the night the north wind sounds a warning
Of autumn's harsher sway.

From harvest fields the groaning wagons wending
Their homeward way, and laden deep with corn;
The peach its fair face to the light is bending-
Its hues of sunshine born.

I mind me of a distant, dim September,

When life was young and happiness was new,
When there was never sorrow to remember,
And passing griefs were few.

I stood, as now I stand, within the meadow,
And heard the twittering of the whippoorwill,
When faint suggestions of the evening's shadow
Crept slowly o'er the hil'.

I stood, but not alone. Her face uplifted,
Was close to mine; and, gazing in her eyes-
Deep, wondrous eyes-my willing fancy drifted
Beyond September skies,

I saw the future like a scroll before me:
And love had set its seal and signet there,
And sweet content and peace were brooding o'er me,
And life was very fair.

To-night I stand alone within the meadow,
Beside the brook in which the oxen lave,
And oh beyond the brook the evening shadow
Is cast upon a grave.

Waterloo Observer.

AGAIN the summer has faded and the cycling seasons have brought us to the mellow days of autumn, and soon, beneath the touch of October's frosty fingers, the boughs of our forest trees will be robing themselves for the high carnival of the year.

Appropriate to the season, and, since reunions seem to be the order of the day, to the occasion, also, we make an extract from an article prepared for one of our Eastern reunions, which will be found pertinent to all such occasions, and the wise will find in it hints of possible danger to such as shall attend, unless duly upon their guard.

"The reunion as a means of disseminating truth and attaining to a higher standard of life has its peculiar drawbacks as well as its facilities.

"You know in Job's day when the sons of God came together the devil came also, and,

whether it was on account of his success on that occasion or not, he has ever since made it a point to 'get there' when the rest go. And although this sociable devil is not quite so bad as some other kinds, yet he is a devil all the same, and the worst feature in it is that to be really sociable he must bring all his family and stay until after tea I can imagine Master 'Ludicrous' now perched upon the back of a seat with one eye over the shoulder of some one who is trying to sing and don't know how, and squinting with the other to a seat full of young people whose irrepressibles are already aching to break forth over the event of the awkward imp's sitting down upon the dude's hat. O yes, he will try to attend every meeting So will the jealous imp, trying to knock out somebody's teeth, because they are even and white, or dig out somebody's eyes, because they are bright and clear, or tear off somebody's bonnet, because it happens to become the wearer and she looks well in it; also Sanctimonium with a peeled onion and a boathook to draw down the corners of the mouth of the well-to-do fellow who forgets to take his pocketbook when he goes to reunions.

"Yes and there is the pun and conundrum devil, a harmless little imp if you have a string to him, but when he gets you on the string he is all right, and he is all over. He don't go into meeting very often, but when he does, he always wants to preach. He generally hangs around the door until they come out, then he gets in his work, and not only then but at the table, and in the halls, the last thing at night and the first thing in the morning the same good-natured, persistent, time-eating devil. Beside these there is the smart devil and the political devil and the back-biting devil and a host of others that like to go to such places, all of which do hurt, in their own peculiar way.

"There is another little creature that often attends such places. They say he has soft gauzy wings and carries a bow and arrow. Not a bad sort of creature at all and I have nothing to say against him. I don't know but what he has as good a right to go to reunions as anybody else, provided that he goes alone. But the trouble with him is that he is apt to get in league with one of that sociable family that we have not named, and just as sure as he does, then trouble begins, and has been in the past the great source of unpleasant comment and even just censure. Yes, while gathering together has

the effect of producing harmony and union and diffusing new life and energy into gospel work, it also has the effect to promote hilarity, mirthfulness and even vice, if the spirit of watchfulness, is not present. But with the Spirit, the Comforter present, there is no good reason why the good should not largely preponderate."

CHRISTMAS IS COMING and we are preparing for it. You will many of you wish to remember your loved ones at the holiday season, and what token of remembrance is more suitable than a good book? We are preparing to issue a holiday volume of orig.nal and selected poetry for the purpose of aiding the "Gospel Boat Fund," and trust that each one who contemplates giving a gift at this Christmas time, will remember the needs of our missionaries, and spend at least a part of your holiday money where all the profits will go to aid God's work. We will shortly make a full announcement through the Herald. In the meantime don't forget to be ready to order one volume if not

more.

THE sweet singer, the strong, true, and noble man, the dauntless defender of the people's rights, the gentle, aged poet, Whittier, has passed from earth to enter upon a higher, broader, nobler sphere of existence. Not dead ! Nay, for such as he there is no death. Earth life, even, is not ended, never can end; for while his freed spirit passes on to new labors, new victories and conquests, his words-words permeated and animated by that spirit which imprisoned a part of itself in them-still abide with us, and, while time itself endures, they shall live-live and inspire the hearts of unborn thousands to emulate his virtues. Oh what a thought this is! Applied to the life and writings of Whittier, what a grand thought it becomes. His poems are a storehouse of purity and love and if, as he has written,

"The tissues of the life to be

We weave with colors all our own,

And in the field of destiny

We reap as we have sown,"

how great must be his joy in contemplating the

span of time allotted him on earth, which stands forth filled to repletion with acts and words pure, peaceable, and true.

Whittier, name beloved and revered, a nation mourns for thee! Not to the heights didst thou ascend, neither to the depths didst thy plummet fall, but, like "the angel of patience," thou didst come to our fireside with words of sweetest hope, comfort, and cheer, responding to every emotion of the soul seeking closer communion with its Maker and lending a charm to all the sweet domestic duties and homely vir tues. Thy name and thy memory will ever be enshrined in the hearts of the thousands thou hast helped and cheered.

We are pleased to be able to state to the readers of AUTUMN LEAVES that Highland Park Normal College, Des Moines, Iowa, has opened this year with very largely increased attendance, there being between six and seven hundred students present the first day. This institution is in every respect one of the most solid, substantial, and remarkable schools in the conntry A person can find there almost any branch he desires to study, ta ight by the very best teachers the country affords, and everything that is needed in the way of apparatus is at hand. The institution is also provided with the most excellent accommodations for at least twelve hundred students. We are glad to announce to the public the prosperous opening of the school this year and we are in position to vouch for the school in every particular as being everything that is claimed for it O H. Longwell, the president of the school, informs us that he expects fully eleven hundred students in daily attendance by the holidays.

On the cover of our magazine this issue will be found the advertisement of B F. Ordway and Company, Peoria, Illinois, offering employment by way of selling their bed springs and other household necessities. We cheerfully recommend Bro. Ordway as being reliable and prompt in his business transactions. Those desiring employment of that nature will do well to correspond with him.

Round Table.

ARTISTIC WORK ON LINEN.

EDITED BY SALOME.

Another style of fancywork has been devised. It is painting on linen.

If the artist does not use either turpentine or mixing oil with the colors there will be no difficulty about the oil's running. And thelinen will wash. Of course it cannot be given over to the laundress, scrubbed on a wash board, rubbed in the hands, wrung out, blued, boiled, and the like. Instead, the painted linen must be laid on a flat surface and lightly rubbed with a large, soft nailbrush which has been dipped in tepid water and rubbed on Castile soap. To rinse the work of art, dip it up and down in a bucket of fresh water and then shake lightly until nearly dry. Iron on the wrong side and on a board covered with soft flannel.

All sorts of dainy things may be made in this way A set of doylies, square, hemstitched and painted inside the hem in pale wild roses, a petal or two from which has fallen on to the hem itself, is exquisite. Scattered violets are easily done. Apple blossoms, forget-me-nots and the like are pretty. For larger things, such as scarfs, bolder designs of poppies, tulips, orchids, hollyhocks and the like are effective. For work on linen a fine camel's hair brush is best, and for painting on cloth, felt and such materials, a stiff hog's hair brush should be used.-Post Dispatch.

WHAT TO DO WITH THREADBARE CARPETS AND OLD PIECES.

Old carpets worn threadbare by little pattering feet, bedroom carpets, and in fact, all carpetings but ingrain, are made into extremely artistic rugs by a firm in Chicago, by sending them all your old pieces by freight. They are not woven as rag carpeting, but in some way quite their own. They make them at all prices and of any size. I have, at present, one which covers my entire floor, and which cost but twelve dollars, expressage included. It is a perfect mystery to the uninitiated when they see how artistically the colors blend. I hailed with delight this "new idea," given me last summer by an artist friend, and I hope your readers may have the same success as I.-The Priscilla.

NURSERY PIN BOOK.

This is a pretty little addition to the other conveniences of a baby's basket. Take a piece of stiff paper or Bristol board, 'eight by five inches, and fold over twice in the manner of folding a sheet of note paper, about one third turned up, leaving about one third at the other end to turn down. Round off the corners of the second fold something like the flap of an envelope. Now cover this and line it neatly

(having an interlining of flannel or some soft goods) with a dainty, tinted silk, and ornament the outside, near the edge, all around, with cat stitches or feather stitches of twist or embroidery silk to contrast or correspond with the color of the cover. On the middle fold, fasten together inside with a bow of ribbon the color of the fancy stitches, three white flannel leaves of graduated sizes, pinked or pointed with the scissors, around the edges. On the largest leaf place evenly half a dozen or so of large nursery pins, and on the smaller leaves, smaller pins to correspond Have a bit of ribbon fastened on the outside somewhere that will tie the book together with a bɔw when it is closel. A little perfume powder in the interlining adds to the dainty effect of the whole.-The Priscilla.

THE WAY TO MAKE AN EOLIAN HARP.

Of very thin cedar, pine or other so't wood, make a box five or six inches deep, seven or eight inches wide, and of length just equal to the length of the window in which it is to be placed. Across the top, near each end, glue a strip of wood half an inch high, and a quarter of an inch thick for bridges. Into the ends of the box insert wooden pins, like those of a violin, to wind strings around-two pins in each end. Make a sound-hole in the middle of the top, and string the box with small catgut or blue first fiddle strings Fasten one end of each string to a metallic pin in one end of the box, and carrying it over the bridges, wind it round the tuning pin in the opposite end of the box. The ends of the box should be increased in thickness where the wooden pins enter, by a piece of wood glued upon the inside.

Tune the strings in unison, and place the box in the window. It is better to have four strings as described, but a harp with a single string produces an exceedingly sweet melody of notes, which vary with the force of the wind.

CARRIAGE BAND.

M. E. S.

A dainty gift for the baby is a baby-carriage band to fasten at either side and keep the little robes and blankets smooth and secure.

A very pretty one is made of a deep cream shade of gros-grain ribbon with a picot edge. lined with golden-brown velvet and finished at either end with ribbons to secure it to the carriage, the tyings being concealed by large rosettes to match the band.

To make this band especially pretty, embroider in colored silks with a continuous gar land of blue forget-me-nots. A pale blue band is very pretty worked with a vine of pink rosebuds with delicate foliage.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX

HEDEN FOUNDATION

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