56 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Februajiy, 
Mary entered tlie hatl. iind 
overheard the lady of the 
se exclaim " If it wasn't 
servant girls I might 
I have some comfort, I do 
'''I'illllllllliif ^^*'^^^ ^''^y ^^"^ =*" '''^'l^e-* 
|l^ll_H I ll _Mill||I J I The poor girl's heart sunk 
within her, but she immoili- 
ately resolved that she would 
try and prove that one at 
least could be failliAil. Dur- 
ing the morning she was 
sent up stairs to sneep a 
room. In moving the fnrni- 
turc she overset a small 
bottle which had been care- 
lessly left near the edge of a 
table ; it fell to the floor, 
broke, and spilled some ink 
on the carpet. She stood a- 
ghast. What could she do ? 
She hastily gathered up the 
pieces, threw them out ol 
the window, wiped up the 
ink, and then stopped to 
think. 'She won't see it 
very soon, and when site 
does she may think it was 
the other girl," was the 
first thought. " But yon 
did it, and you ought to tell 
her of it," whispered con- 
science. "I'm sure she'll 
turn me away, what shall I 
do ?" " Go and tell her ; you 
can't help the slain on the 
carpet, but you can keep the 
stain of a lie from your 
soul," said conscience. 
" Yes, and I will," said Mary 
aloud, and without stopping 
*" flunk further, she went to 
the lady whom she met 
ing up stairs, and to 
m she related the acci- 
. '* X believe I can trust 
Mary," was the reply, so 
ly made, that the girl 
d not keep back her 
I. " You are the first 
girl I have had," continued 
the lady "who would con- 
fess a fault, and I hate de- 
ceit. Try and be careful, but 
'! above all, be truthful." Mary 
did not forget the lesson ; she 
kept her place unlil her mar- 
riage several years after- 
ward, and found that though 
her employer was strict, yet 
she had no better friend. 
When templed lo untruthful 
ness to hide a fault, let our 
young readers remember the 
"stain on the soul," and 
dread that more than any 
bodily punishment feared. 
THE" FISHER IiIAN*S RETURN, — Engraved /or the Ameriam Jgricvttnrii,t. 
Our young friends at the West may not take in all the 
meaning of this beautiful picture, at first sight. The 
scene will be familiar to the boys and girls in 'Nantucket, 
Cape CML and all along shore' away up to Nova Scotia, 
Cape Biw^n Island, and Newfoundland, where thousands 
of the Agriculturist family live. Many of their parents 
are fishermen. Instead of wheat-fields, meadows, pas- 
tures and woodlands, rich in grain, cattle and game, they 
love to plow the blue fields of the sea, with schooner and 
sloop, where the cod, mackerel, herring and their finny 
neighbors yield both sport and gain. But it is not all sport. 
No farm labor is harder or more unpleasant tlian that 
performed by the fisherman. It is no easy task to pull up 
a ten to twenty pound codfish from seventy feet below 
the surface. The excitement might make it pleasant for 
a few times, but to keep at it all day is harder than chop- 
ping wood or hoeing corn : neither is it very agreeable to 
pull the nets in which the smaller fish are caught. Add 
to this the frequent dangers from storms, fogs and ice- 
bergs, and most boys would prefer a life of less hardship. 
Those who are brought up to the business, grow strong 
and hardy enough to bear the severe exposure and toil 
without flinching ; their frames are tough as white oaU, 
and the palms of their hands as hard as sole leather. 
But this does not make them hard-hearted. The picture 
shows this, and evei ybody, east, west, north or soutlv, can 
understand and enjoy ihe affection which sparkles in the 
eyes of the children, and gives real beauty to the rugged 
face of the father. 
Tlie Stain on tlic Carp<^t. 
Mary, an orphan, was hired by a lady to help do house- 
work. " I pity you" said a girl whom she met coming 
from the door, as she was going to her new place. " Wliy?" 
asked Mary — "She's just the most particular body vou 
ever saw. She turned me away only because I spilled a 
little oil ; but I wouldn't stay if I coutd." Just then tlie 
door opened, and the girls separated, one to look for a 
new situation, the other with many forebodings to com- 
mence service. The parlor door was partly open as 
Fireside Oames-- 
A Phonetic Play.— At a 
recent evening gathering we 
saw an amusing illustration 
of the efl'ect of a combination 
of sounds. The company of 
some twenty or more was 
To the first section was 
and to the 
divided into three sections 
given the syllable /sft ; to the second ^sft 
third Osh. At a signal, (the striking together of the 
hands of the leader, after counting three,) each division 
pronounced its syllable in a loud voice, so that the three 
syllables were uttered at the same instant. The result 
was a sound like a tremendous sneeze by one person. 
The Gossip's Surprise.— This game is best played by 
a large company, but it will affoid amusement to ci^ht or 
ten. The leadei' ivhispers a short story, in the ear of his 
next neighbor, containing as many different particulars 
as possible. The one who heard the story now repeats it 
(in a whisper as before,) to his neighbor, aiming to 
tell it correctly, but in different words; and so it is 
passed around the entire company. The last one who 
heard it then repeats it aloud, after which tlie leader 
gives llie story as he started it. The strange differences 
which sometimes appear, show how careful every per* 
son should be in reporting what he has heard, particu- 
larly if it is calculated to injure the character of another. 
