blacking-jugs

Updated: May 8, 2025

Away up in that convenient attic lie the desecrated splendors of the past, scattered in confusion by charitable mice, blue and crimson wax-flowers melt underneath the eaves, all destitute of petals that would not fit on; patchwork quilts and cushions, in silk and satin distractions, just fall short of harmony in the arrangement of their squares and colors; vivid buttercups and daisies mingle with bulky cat-o'-nine-tails, all on canvas covered with paint; blacking-jugs adorned with pictures, embossed and otherwise; moth-eaten Kensington, partly outlined in conventional lilies and conventional stitches; forlorn-looking cats and dogs on half-made rugs and slippers, all, all are there to point out certain very unpleasant morals, referring chiefly to inability and lack of perseverance.

Annie H Ryder - Hold Up Your Heads, Girls! : Helps for Girls, in School and Out