MOOEE'S RURAL MEW-YORKER. 



WHAT'S THE USE OF FRETTING. 



"BETTER TRUST ALL.' 



the utmost suavity desired the clerk to put c 

 kerchief, handing him a lire dollar bill, bul 

 testing that he charged her at least adolli 

 much. "You'll be pleased ia the wear ef ibe 

 nadani," be said, as he Stepped to the 

 box. His fiaok had scarcely b«n turned 

 when the lady (f) stooping down, said in a low, 

 spiteful voice, "Now, miss, yoo shan't have the 

 doll at all, for the way you've teased me about it 



ung 



; she absolutely wilted wiib n 

 iappoi 



and disappointment. I tried to tele- 

 graph ber a look of sympathy, for I know the 

 young heart had eore trials, but just then the clork 

 relumed with the change, and tho lady, bidding 

 him a courteous good-morning, tripped gracefully 

 down the long aisle of tho elore, followed by tho 

 sad little CAKftre, who was either too Bad or too 

 ranch afraid to indulge io that safety-valve of 

 childhood, tears. "Thank Gon my mother never 

 told me a lie," my heart echoed as she was lost in 

 the distance. Poor child!— better were you the 

 daughter of the humblest seamstress in this great 

 were truth and kindliness her motto, and 

 the flowers of feeling springing np in your 

 young heart only watered by tho dew of affection, 

 that they might in after years yield sweet perfume. 



[•'air I 



in, Car 



BE TRUTHFUL WITH THE LITTLE ONES, 





wb.-n I 



donned my cloak and muff and went down Broad- 

 way a shopping. That splendid tboroughfaro of 

 New York wan crowded, as usual. Merchants 

 were hurrying to their stores, clerks to their 

 countors, and lawyers and brokers to their offices; 

 while ever and anon the young wife would trip 

 past, leaning lovingly on lier husband's arm, as 

 she enjoyed the cold, bracing air and morning 

 walk— not at the cud of it to take her place as 

 head clerk in his establishment, the way the 

 Parisian lady does, bat to be transferred to an 

 omnibus, in which she may return home at leisure. 

 Some few, liko my3elf, were out purchasing goods, 

 and what with them and the Tiaoped models by the 

 doora (for only the models then wore hoops,) I had 

 fnll opportunity for viewing the now fashions and 

 the latest whims of tbe late obscuro Mademoiselle 

 de Montijo, now bride of Napoleon end Empress 

 over thirty millions of people. Eugenio cloaks, 

 Eugenie plaids, Eugeuie headdresses, etc., filled 

 tho windows till I was tired of seeing the name, 

 and by way of relief, tried to turn Lavalei 

 read tho disposition of this or that person who 

 passed me by and whose countenance my eye 

 singled out as a peculiar one. 



Again, 1 thought of a now plan, and that 

 the sort of dress they wore, the color thoy chose, 

 ond their mode of arranging it. Homo wor< 

 bright, gay colors, others almost Quaker-like ir 

 their plainness ; and it amused me to see one weai 

 her viclorino in such a manner as to display hei 

 rich gold breastpin, another keep one hand outsid. 

 her muff to show her taper lingers and new kids 

 and a third wear her velvet mautilla folded back. 

 so that her watch and chain might see the light. 

 I would havo liked to walk all day and read in the 

 living book thus opened before me, had I 

 arrived at Stcart's, and as my country friend 

 requested I should there purchase the trimmings 

 for her drois, I hastened to fulfill her injunction. 

 Tho clerk who waited on me was also io attend- 

 lady who appeared to bo selecting some 

 and whoso little girl, soon after my 



said lost 



light have 

 "But I've 



WHY AMERICAN WOMEN ARE DELICATE. 



Comparisons are frequently made between the 

 pale, delicate American women, and tbe plump, 

 rosy-cheeked English, attributing the latter to 

 their ont of door exercise, and our fragility to con- 

 finement to household labors — which may be true, 

 but let us look at tbe facts a little. 



The English ladies, who have been so much 

 admired for their freshness and bloom, have 

 leisure to spend in the open air all the time they 

 choose— to walk or ride. They have their house- 

 keepers, their nurses, their servants, their car- 

 riages, &c. While, on the other hand, the English 

 peasantry live in such small houses, and on such 

 plain fare, and in an unfashionable, unostentatious 

 manner, that they also spend much time in the 

 fields and garden. But in this country, bow dif- 

 ferent arc all our social arrangements! We havo 

 no titles, no hereditary property, and no class of 

 people kept down, for the benefit of the nobility. 

 Every maD may rise to wealth and distinction 

 who has the industry and ambition, and as there 

 is no lack of these, what a scrambling and haste 

 to get rich! Riches bring cares, and nearly all 

 of tbe farmers and their wives do a great 



THE HOUR OF TWILIGHT. 



lib, sadn. 

 Sometimes 

 when a shadow fii 

 n Bash of li 

 birds glido out upon the sky, 



). No coming mate shortens his song. Some 

 loraeless boy boa brought him down, to sing, 

 i build, and brood no more ; somo cat, or hawk, 

 gazing snake has dined upon tbe fair thing. 

 d so, though the twilight falls, and the evening 

 iws darker, tho Beng calls on, pausing only to 

 inge tho manner, throwing in hero and there 





s of ii 



sidered a part of their 



embroiui 



i her with, 

 ) money now to boy my doll? Yo 

 week when Esiilv Ross got hers that I 

 t shopping Monday, 



got to spend all my money to-day, Carki_, 

 turned the lady. 



My attention was now fairly ottracted, and I 

 scanned us closely as politeness would permit, the 

 finely dressed womau before mo. In figure' sho 

 was a tall, stately person, rather a brunette in 

 complexion, but with dark, flashing eyes, such 

 tvpawartt, as only brunettos can boost off. She 

 had, too, that easy, graceful manner which is hard 

 to attain save in good society. Her dress was a 

 purple French cashmere, and her bonnet was on 

 her head, not her neck, as the fashion now is ; it 

 was a white, uncut velvet, with crimson roses 

 and strings, and adorned outside with white mara- 

 bout feathers as light and airy as tho tiny snow- 

 flakes then settling on tho window eills. A rich 

 brocbo shawl enveloped her splendid figure, and 

 no wonder that I otmo6t envied her whom I rightly 

 considered as ono of tbe boo ton. " You said four 

 dollar* wa, (h c price of this handkerchief; it is 

 the p«Wm I wmnti but you ask too much," she 



"No, madat 

 pere 



very low indcec 



suppose I can 



replied a little haughtily, .'pp^nUy'neWed luU v 



the clerk should BU pp 06c ,„ r 1 „„„ nilll , l( ( , lUir| 



tho material or work. "Mama M m „ k„. .i 



, ,,, , """*> Iei mo havo tho 



three shillings now, won't y „- f j , 



while yoo" — "ClEan, hold y our tongue '"and 

 she gave the child a look, which, if n ti,dn't 

 hilale her, it almost did me, or at Leo*t sent t i, e 

 blood tingling through my cheeks and lin gcr 0Qds 

 whether in sympathy for the C hi| d J 

 r the mother I couldn't toll. But, , Mra . 

 ingly taken aback that she had shown so much 

 temper, >bc drew out her portmoonaic, and with 



their own work, with tbe 

 vants, perhaps, who are ft 

 family. And there is scar 



spend ont of doors. The farmer worth twenty 

 Ibirty thousand, has no idea of keeping a carriage 



ut with his family, < 

 stopping a moment to enjoy life in any man 

 With him, it is plow and sow, and reap and ni 

 ndjWith bis wife, her children, her breakfast, 

 er and supper, ber wardrobe, ber company, 

 eneral supervision from garret to cellar. No 

 wonder sho never gets time to breathe the fresh 

 :, and tho bloom is departed from her thin face 

 d form. 



The great scarcity of permanent or competent 

 girls to assist us, is becoming the worst and most 

 formidable evil American women have to contend 

 with. It is a fact, that we must biro such raw, 

 ignorant help, as are worse than none, or do with- 

 out. Scarcely any farmer's wife, who cannot 

 accomplish the wbole of her housework within 

 her own family, can say she has in her kitchen a 

 competent, trusty girl or woman. Such help as 

 she is obliged to accept is ouly an addition to her 

 cares. And thus, many a womao who is able to 

 pay for good help, and be glad to do it, is com- 

 pelled to attend constantly to her household, sad 

 be thankful to have a chance to sit down loug 



"Kb i 



I for I 



"We speak that we know, and testify that wo 

 &OM8M&/' Our husbands need not compare us 

 to the fair, robust, English women, while their 

 pride, aud ambition, and haste to bo rich, makes 

 them forget that flesh and blood can, and will, and 

 does wear out, and that speedily, under ourpres- 



CAK A MOTHER FOEGET ! 



Cax a mother forgot? Not a morning, noon or 

 night, but she looks into the corner of the kitchen 

 io which you read Robinson Crusoe, and thinks of 

 you as yet a boy. Mothers rarely become con- 

 scious that their children have grown out of their 

 childhood. They think of them, advise them, 

 write to them, as if not fully fourteen years of ago. 

 They cannot forget tbe child. Three times a day 

 she thinks who are absent from the table, and 

 hopes the next year, at tbe furthest, she may have 

 "just her own family there ;" and if you are there, 

 look out for the fat lamb or a fried chicken, and 

 the coffee which nono but everybody's own mother 

 con make. Did Hannah forget Samuel ? A short 

 sentence, full of household history, and running 

 over with genuine motbcr-lovc is tellingly beauti- 

 ful. " Moreover, bis mother made bim a little 

 coat, and brought ittobim fiom year to J ear, when 

 she came up with her husband to tho yearly^ - 



BUND YOUB OWN BUSINESS. 



lay seem a broad assumption, and be con- 

 d as an exaggerated expression, yet we are 

 lined to believe that if the practice whioh 

 bo completely and fanatically to influence 

 multitudes of mankind to meddle, to pry into and 

 themselves with other people's business— 

 mt and judge with freedom and harshness 

 upon their manners and actions when profoundly 

 of the motive or cause, and report and 

 11 their impudent assurance has discovcr- 

 itter at what saorifico of justice or truth, 

 nuch to the detraction or injury of tbe 

 person under espionage, were completely wiped 

 out from practice, two-thirds of the sin, the dis- 

 turbance and malice current iu human society 

 would be utterly expunged. Were all tho idlo 

 regiment now eDgaged in completing Satan's mis- 

 chief, to seek some useful employment, and make 

 over them u motto and rule of action, obeying 

 strictly its sentiment and teaching, would they 

 profit and pleasure, thai 



, but going baok aoon to the gushing, piuiu, 

 ing homc-calL Tako all my etrawborries 

 you want them, oh singerl Come to-morrow fi 

 my cherries 1 You pay me in ono single song fi 

 all that you can cat in a summer! and leaven 

 still in your debt; for there is do such thing c 

 paying for that which touches your heart raiai 

 your imagination, wings your fancy, and carrU 

 you up, by inspired thoughts, above the level c 

 selfish life. The heart only can pay the heart for 

 good service ! As to cherries, I'll tako my chance 

 when my betters are served. Eat what you 

 sweet eir, and if there are any loft, I will think 

 them all the sweeter as a part of your banquet, 



whci 



happy reformation result ii is almost a univer- 

 sal fact, that each communi'y or neighborhood, 

 however small or retired, numbers among its 

 members a class who find no employment other 

 thai) attending to the concerns of others, too many 

 of whom profess belief and obedience to the pre- 

 cepts and teachings of that neglected Book whose 

 moral code and elevating and ennobling sentiments 

 have never yet been equalled here, utterly ignor- 

 ing and forgetting its commands and exhorlotiona. 



"A little fire kind loth a great matter." So, even 

 ooo of these Paul Pry's in a community, whoso 

 loogne ond limbs are never weary in reporting, 

 commenting, nod spreading all that his prying 

 curiosity has learned, will stir up strife in brother- 

 hoods, sunder friendships, and destroy the peace 

 of families, and harmony of neighborhoods. And 

 how little peace and quiet, or time to work with 

 their own hands, can one havo who is constantly 

 occupied in meddlingand studying into the affairs 

 ofothors? No action or business, however privatt 

 or personal, is sufficiently sacred or respected, t< 

 prevent their Argus eje3 from discovering, oi 



loir unwearied tongues from publishing iu detail. 



id criticising aud remarking frooly, as the mood 



ay find them. 



How muchoftbeunhappiness and evils 



may be traced to such a source— innocen 



ed, character defamed, friendship made a mockery, 



and life a burden, by these vampires in human 



iety. There can be no advantage or improve' 



it derived from such a doss, "They havo 



taught their tongues to speak lies, and weary 



themselves to commit iniquity." Their friendship 



of tho basilisk — their company tho 



shade of tho Upas. 



breath, || <o healthy shoots and b 



Ki.-I, ;, 



1 full I 



i the ■ 





ndustrious, aj- c "*e ;ut- hand of the diligent shall 

 Dear rule " — ""v" pui le bearer shall be cut off, 

 ind to the » j,.. Id, Piit shall come as an armed 

 nan, and ° 4 **> >• I ha- in harvest he shall have 

 lolhinr "V/ '"e j. 



^ ^^OmoJSS SONG. 



■j.*y fed while fc 3 , 

 •?i learned the 1 



Rev. He; 



lining at the first-born's grave.,' 



him that tho Bird* 



,^ him and In.-. i.ninH- 

 ?| / '°V °' Ce Cbina cbick various 01 



p,.„ .grief who*, ,aeredoe ss i. a nbi„»e. SC/'M let n, y bread m ^"bZ'J" " ">' 

 bitterer, heaner than the death stroke ,. thf '* /„''%,»„ not eat any thins else ^"""""^ 



ould hide 



abandoned and vile. 

 Napoleon once asked a lady wl 

 r tho education of her youth 



profound reply was, "Mothers! 





itiful aud 

 of the birds. Tho 

 ';ularly, found fault 



Vn, and found they 

 '"jved. I have 

 <«ried ont a panfnl of t'C^'w''"^ 



», „ho„ t.ent, or ^ '"£ ™™ 



t one that eat of it br, 



'*#^ *'W"* < V / * 0Bon their food with sail" 

 v, ,'% / "'v,neverhave the gapes. I 

 e asked a clergyman *Y *o % ^ "' ■« ul eight years, id an ^^ ( 

 should begin the education of herchild . '' ''"''/,/'"_' '" i llir y in the Rural.— H. ^ ^ 

 told him was thon four yearsold. "»^s "*• V U ^' 



tho reply, "j u have lost tbiee ' %'■*(•» e 



.be Oral smite that gleams *o ^ / I,ET tho farm *' 



jour opportunity begins." % /»'. slock ' g°°d seed, and good ^^ trouble 



plunderer, for he 

 issage through tho 



him lest he 

 lie admires 



ng eloquent 



A CANNON BALL IK TEE HAT, 



As- aoonymons writer, gonerally supposed to he 

 tho Rev. Hexev Waud Bkechek, after describing 

 how, when a boy, he stolo a cannon ball from the 

 Navy Yard at Charleston, Mass., and with much 

 trepidation and more boadacho, corried it away in 

 that univomal pocket of youth, winds np with the 

 following reflections, which though philosophically 

 trite, are conveyed with much force and freshness: 



When I reached home, I had nothing to do with 

 my shot. I did not dare to show it iu the house, 

 nor tell where I got it, and after one or two soli- 

 tary rolls, I gave it away on the same day to a 



But, after nil, that 6ix-pounder rolled a good 

 deal of sense into my skull. I think it was the 

 last thing I over stole, (excepting a little matter 

 of heart now and then,} aud it gave me a notion of 

 tbe folly of coveting moro than you can eDJoy, 

 which has made my whole life happier. It was 

 r a severe mode of catechising, but ethics 

 d in with a eis pound shot are better than 



uut I see men doing tho same thing— going into 

 underground and dirty vaults and gathering 

 woi'th, which Wn, when got, roll round Ihetr 

 aeons like a ball, end not bo a whit soflor be 

 it is gold instead of iron, though there is 

 man in Wall etrcf t who will believo that. I have 

 seen a man pnt himself to every humiliation tc 

 win a proud woman who has been born above him 

 and when he got her, he walked all tho rest of his 

 life with a cannon ball in his bat. I havo Been 

 young men enrich themselves by pleasure in the 

 same wise way, sparing no paios, scrupling at nc 

 sacrifice of principle, for the sake at least of carry 

 ing a burden which no man can bear. 



All tho world arc busy iu striving for things 

 that give li tie pleasure and bring much care; and 

 I am accustomed in my walksamong men, noticing 

 their ways and their folly, to think, there ib a man 

 stealing a cannon ball; or there's a man with 1 

 hall on bis head— I know it by (he way he walks 

 The money which a clerk purloins for his pookct, 

 at last gets into his hat like a cannon ball. Pride, 

 bad temper, selfishness, evil passions, will roll u 

 man as if ho had a ball on his head I And ton 

 thousand men in New York will dio this year, and 

 aaeach oue falls, his hat will come off, and out 

 will roll an iron ball, which for ycirs ho has worn 

 out his strength in carrying. 



id look 1 



pe, which spreads sway 

 The silver pathway of a 

 river winds along below the road, and its cool feet 

 walk through a little volley, partly fr ame d in with 

 distant bills. Broad meadow-land, interlaced with 

 neat fences, stretch to the South, until tbey are 

 mot by a green-robed army of sentinels-lhe first 

 trees of a forest, whose crown is cut very clearlr 

 against the sty. One afternoon I sought my fa, or . 

 ite retreat with a sod heart. A restless epirtt had 

 taken possession of mo. Life seemed vague, and 

 my path bo hidden that I groped blindly in tho 

 dark, and tho fair September landscape, with the 

 golden sky bending over it were both wrapped io 



A hundred voices shouted through tho dim gal- 

 leries of my soul, "Wake up!- w hat doat thou 

 herel-seek another abiding- place, where your 

 - 1 — of labor will be more extended." I listened 



e dem 



■i of i«l- 



and my 



patience of controlling 



eager vision strove to catch a glimpse of tho 



coming" when I fancied that a broader fiold of 

 action would spread out before mo. Then all the 

 bright promises from anticipation^ ailver lipo 

 would flow in upon me like a river of light, while 

 my feet walked through thorniess paths. An im- 

 patient, bitter cry, burst from my lips— " I cannot 

 wait/" aud leaning my head upon the wiodow-sill, 

 But suddenly 



convulsive so 



sound of sw< 

 listened, and 



1 shook b 

 t, low 





med as if flngei 

 ing in an uncertain way over the keys of mj in- 

 strument down in the parlor. Istarted to my foot 

 exclaiming, " Who csn that be I " 



The strange, sad music still continued, and I 

 hastily flow down stairs through tbe hall. Tho 

 ind looking in I beheld the bowed 



) of an old 





sounds. His snowy hair was long 



Bhoulder3 like a cloud. I immediately recognized 



bim to be a blind man of my acquaintance from the 



neighboring village of C , and I enddenly re- 



oallod his lost words to me tbe preceding day—" If 

 in rides out to his farm to-morrow, I will call 

 to hoar you phiy, Misa Maht." He was pa33ion- 

 tely fond of music, and I alwayB delighted U 

 gratify him, whenever an opportunity offered. 

 "Ah, Mr. OttATas, you have fulfilled your promise," 

 I laid my hand upon hia arm, and said this before 



Happikess in Cuildhood.— It ia wonderful how 

 nour happiness used to be. It lay about, liko the 

 sunBhine, within arm's length of everybody. It 

 used to grow in tho field; wo have found it there, 

 but not lately. Sometimes five speckled eggs io a 

 grassy nest constituted it; sometimeB fonr beauti- 

 ful ones in the lilacs. It used to swim iu the 

 brooks, and turn up its silvery and mottled sides, 

 liko a polished littlo sabre, sprinkled with the color 

 of fame, which is generally understood to bo crim- 

 sou. We havo fonnd it many a time bestdo a 

 mossy stone, when it looked very muoh like a first 

 lloivcr; wo have seen it come down in tho shower, 

 ond heard it descend io the ruin. Whot a world 

 of it used to be crowded into a Saturday after- 

 noon ! Au old oewspaper, with codar ribs, a tail 

 like threo bashaws, and a penny's north of twine, 

 have constituted many a timo— that is, 

 old time— the entire stock in trade of one 

 bappy. 



liild there 



anything. Thai's the reason deacons' sons soldora 



turn out well, and preachers' daughters are mar- 



riedthroughawiodow. Innocence is Uiooireotost 



thing in tho world, and there is more of it than 



folks generally imagine. If you want some to 



transplant, don't seek it in inolosuna of cant, for 



it has ouly counterfeit ones ; but go to the garden 



of truth and of sense. Coerced innocenoo is like 



prisoned lark; open tho door, and it is off 



forever. Tho bird that roams the sky and the 



>o unreslruined, knows how to dodge the hawk 



protect itself; bul the caged ono, tbe moment 



uvea its bars aud bolls behind, is pounced up- 



y tho fowler or the vulture— ,S'<imi SHd. 



Ilalr- 



"<*■':. J 



ther showed 

 thought I would amuse myself until you came in." 

 Ue roso, and resigned his seat to me, notwithstand- 

 ing my ontroaties for him to continue his perform- 

 ance. "No, I never havo learned how to play, but 

 I will sing you a song by-aod-by," was his promise, 

 and I obose a wild, sad piece which suited my 

 feeliogs. He listeoci intently, and when I had 

 ceased, his first words surprised mo. 



"Your spirit is troubled to-day, Mis3 Marv— 

 perhaps I can say a few words, which may soothe 

 and strengthen you— for I have passed through 

 many trials. Life is a great blessing! we ought 

 to accept this gift, with humble gratitude, and not 

 lot the days go by, 'like shadows o'er tho heart.' 

 Providence sometimes places us in situations where 

 our path is hidden, and we look in vain for a way- 

 mark. This is a trial of our faith. I am blind, 

 and dependent upon tho charities of others, but 

 God knows that every day carries my thanks to 

 tho Throne of Grace, that I am still spared to 

 labor In His vineyard— for I have been taught that 

 a ' patient enduring to the end ' is my mission on 

 earth. It Is harder labor than you may imagine — 

 still through grace I am enabled to wear a cheerful 

 that its injlvenc? is working 

 gives me a home, but his 



respeet me, and my 



ny mind, 'Let patience 



ye may bo perfect and 



children ore not taught 

 presence is a burden to 

 unfeeling remarks make 

 hut On uist's words recur t 

 havo her perfect work, tb 

 entire, wanting nothing,' and tbey comfort me. 

 Helpless old age is not reverenced as it used to be." 

 Tho blind man wiped a toar from his eye, but the 

 wriukled face soon resumed its usaal calm, unruf- 

 fled expression. "I will sing for yon now, Miss 

 ir." His voice was quite clear and steady for 

 of hia years, and I listened with delight to the 

 quaint old song. The ohoms ot each verso was. 





> of e 



ling to avoil himself of disorderly u 



As the closing strain died away, a 



rough vo 



Baid, "Well, father, are you ready t 



o got" a 



looking up I beheld the old s man's s 





ia the door. My visitor departed, b 





rang in my ears ; and now, when I an 



tempted 



repine, that placid face rises before 



ne, with t 



snowy hair falling around it, and th 





patient enduring to the end" sounds e 





still," o'er the troubled waters of mv s 





Michigan, Aug., 1SS9. 



a. P. D 



us.— The name of Jesus is not onlyligM t"' 1 

 also food ; it is likewise oil, without which u!l the 

 food of tho soul is dry ; it is salt, unseasoned by 

 which, whatever is presented to us is insipid ; it is 

 honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, joy io the 

 heart, medicioe to tho soul; and there aro no 



is in any discourse in n Inch I113 name is not 

 hoard.— PtorU of Thought- 



Tm. Raj 



logues on 



nodemiu'd.— /** 



: Hkagt-— A holy calling 

 :hout a holy heart; if our 

 i,oi:r whole n 



ulties are the boat cure of imaginary 

 3 God helps us in the real ones, nnd 



7 ' ^7^1 



-^ 



:^essx; 



