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THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Dec.  24 
GRANDMOTHER'S  HIDDEN  TREASURE. 
The  stage-coach  stopped  In  the  SDowy  road, 
Before  the  gate  with  Its  latch  shut  tight. 
No  happy  face  with  its  shining  load 
Of  welcome,  brightened  the  tear-dlmmed  sight 
Of  that  old  woman  who  slowly  crept 
From  out  the  stage  to  the  chilling  snow. 
A  sweet  old  dame  such  as  might  have  stepped 
From  some  dim  picture  of  long  ago. 
They  tossed  her  trunk  by  the  grim  front  gate, 
The  driver  gathered  his  reins  again. 
They  left  her  there  In  the  gloom  to  wait 
One  word  of  welcome  to  stop  her  pain. 
The  dog  growled  at  her— no  kindly  face 
Smiled  welcome  on  her— no  friendly  band 
Reached  out  to  steady  the  failing  pace, 
Or  mark  where  the  trembling  feet  could  stand. 
A  frown  hung  dark  on  the  farmer’s  brow, 
lie  muttered  low  as  he  turned  away. 
“  Why  can’t  she  visit  at  Henry’s  now? 
It’s  Mary’s  turn  for  her  anyway. 
Why  can’t  they  keep  her  I’d  like  to  know?" 
With  scanty  greeting  he  keeps  aloof, 
No  trace  on  his  stern,  hard  face  to  show 
If  she  be  welcome  beneath  his  roof. 
Ills  meek-faced  slave  of  a  wife,  content 
To  serve  him,  rolls  up  her  patient  eyes 
And  calls  It  one  more  affliction  sent 
To  try  them— then  ’tween  her  long-drawn  sighs. 
She  takes  the  bonnet  and  thin,  worn  shawl, 
And  takes  her  work  from  the  rocking  chair. 
The  old  dame  sits  where  the  fire  beams  fall 
So  tenderly  on  the  soft  white  hair. 
The  children  home  from  their  school  at  last 
Can  only  ask,  "  When  did  grandma  come?" 
And  thus  her  pitiful  lot  Is  cast 
Through  sad  old  age— In  a  loveless  home. 
The  baby  only  Is  glad  she’s  there. 
Too  small  to  know  that  she’s  In  the  way 
He  crawls  across  to  her  rocking  chair 
And  holds  up  his  tiny  hand  for  play. 
She  lifts  him  up  in  her  poor,  thin  arms. 
They  sit  and  rock  in  the  firelight’s  glow. 
The  little  face  at  her  breast  soon  calms 
The  aching  mem’ries  of  long  ago. 
Meanwhile  the  farmer  the  trunk  has  brought 
With  surly  words  to  the  cheerless  room 
Reserved  for  her,  when  a  sudden  thought 
Comes  to  him  there  In  the  twilight’s  gloom. 
“  I  wonder  If  what  Tom  said  was  so. 
That  she’s  got  money  that’s  hid  away. 
If  that’s  it.  I’ve  got  a  right  to  know. 
1  might’s  well  settle  the  thing  to-day, 
No  use  her  living  on  us  scot-free, 
If  she’s  got  funds  let  her  pay  her  board. 
If  she’s  to  be  shirked  off  on  to  me, 
It’s  time  I  just  overhauled  her  hoard. 
Tom  told  of  $  big  tin  box  she  kept 
All  tucked  away  out  of  folks’  sight. 
Each  night  she  handled  It  ’fore  she  slept, 
I  guess  It’s  In  that  old  trunk  all  right.” 
He  shut  the  door  like  a  guilty  thief 
And  burst  the  lock  on  the  feeble  trunk; 
“  I’ll  get  there  first— for  It’s  my  belief 
The  rest  would  too  If  they  had  the  spunk,” 
A  few  old  clothes— then  a  Bible  came 
To  sight  as  his  eager  fingers  ran 
Through  the  trunk's  contents;  then  a  sudden  flame 
Of  hot  blood  showed  through  his  cheek's  thick  tan, 
An  old  tin  box  In  one  corner  lay ; 
He  carried  it  where  the  window  pane 
Let  In  the  lingering  light  of  day, 
His  face  lit  up  with  the  thought  of  gain, 
His  eager  fingers  turn  back  the  lid ; 
No  golden  treasure  they  found— instead, 
His  mother's  mystery -box  but  hid 
A  long  curl  cut  from  a  baby's  head, 
A  child's  worn  sock— with  a  sudden  start 
He  dropped  the  box  on  the  chamber  floor 
With  something  tugging  his  hardened  heart 
That  never  had  touched  him  so  before. 
It  all  came  back  to  him,  standing  there 
His  boyhood  days  and  his  early  life 
When  the  dear  old  mother’s  face  was  fair 
And  he  knew  not  of  the  world's  rough  strife, 
A  flood  of  memories  filled  his  mind. 
This  gray  old  woman  so  bent  and  dim, 
The  dearest  treasure  that  she  could  find 
Was  something  that  once  belonged  to  him, 
A  relic  this  of  his  baby  days, 
The  purer,  happier  life  of  old, 
Before  he  fell  in  the  hardened  ways 
Of  those  who  trade  away  love  for  gold. 
Old  grandma  still  In  her  rocking  chair 
Sat  rocking  quietly  to  and  fro, 
Her  thin  hand  patting  the  baby’s  hair 
So  fair  and  sweet  in  the  firelight’s  low, 
The  farmer  stood  In  the  open  door 
And  watched  the  group,  to  his  wife’s  surprise. 
Poor  soul,  she  had  never  seen  before 
That  yearning  look  in  her  husband’s  eyes. 
He  crossed  the  floor  with  his  lightest  tread, 
Ills  heart  too  full  of  the  past  to  speak. 
His  hand  lay  light  on  his  mother’s  hair 
He  kissed  her  fair  on  her  withered  cheek, 
”  Now  mother— you’ll  make  your  home  with  us!” 
Was  all  he  could  trust  himself  to  say. 
“  We  know  you  never  make  any  fuss 
You’re  welcome!  We’ll  like  to  have  you  stay." 
And  grandma  sat  in  her  rocking  chair 
And  smiled  through  tears  that  were  drops  of  joy, 
She  gently  patted  the  curly  hair 
Of  the  babe  who  seemed  so  like  her  boy. 
A  home  she  found ;  and  a  blessing  fell 
Upon  that  house  from  her  treasured  store, 
A  happiness  that  was  fostered  well, 
A  peace  that  they  never  knew  before.— H.  tv.  C. 
ODDS  AND  ENDS. 
Sacred  Monkeys. — The  ancient  Egypt¬ 
ians  venerated  the  monkey  and  believed 
some  of  them  were  equal  if  not  superior 
to  men.  It  was  believed  that  a  race  of 
small  men  or  pigmies  of  wonderful  in¬ 
telligence  lived  in  the  mountains  and 
sent  representatives  down  to  dwell  with 
priests  in  the  temples.  The  Popular 
Science  News  says : 
The  creature  which  may  be  credited 
as  furnishing  the  foundation  of  this  tale 
is  now  known  by  the  name  of  the  pigmy 
ape.  He  is  about  two  feet  high  when 
quite  erect;  has  a  rather  long  face  devoid 
of  hair,  which  even  in  his  earliest  youth 
is  wrinkled  and  ancient  looking ;  and 
altogether  he  presents  the  appearance  of 
a  very  small  and  far  from  beautiful  old 
man.  But  while  ugly  enough,  considered 
as  a  man,  he  is  by  no  means  hideous  as 
an  ape.  His  ears  are  very  human,  his 
canine  teeth  not  enormously  exagger¬ 
ated,  his  eyes  red,  round,  and  vivacious  ; 
he  wears  a  coat  of  olive-brown  fur,  and 
has  a  bit  of  loose  skin  only  by  way  of  a 
tail.  The  temper  of  the  pigmies  is  very 
good,  for  monkeys.  They  do  not  often 
quarrel  unless  they  receive  whit  they 
deem  undue  provocation.  They  are  gen¬ 
erally  gay  little  creatures,  and  when 
pleased  are  full  of  frolic  and  merry  chat¬ 
ter.  In  captivity  they  prove  capable  of 
stong  attachment  to  the  one  who  shows 
them  kindness,  following  him  about  with 
an  exclusive  devotion  more  complete 
than  that  of  a  dog  to  his  master.  But 
they  are  timid,  and  like  other  faint¬ 
hearted  folk  are  apt  to  fight  with  fury 
when  driven  to  the  wall.  They  never 
forget  an  injury,  and  consistently  refuse, 
notwithstanding  all  blandishments  he 
may  afterwards  offer,  to  make  friends 
with  the  person  from  whom  they  have 
received  it.  They  show  a  peculiar  clever¬ 
ness  in  the  use  of  all  their  four  hands, 
and  will  undo  the  fastenings  of  a  chain 
or  the  knots  of  the  cord  with  which  they 
may  be  bound  with  incredible  speed  and 
address,  getting  themselves  loose  again 
directly  when  they  are  apparently  most 
secure. 
“  The  Organized  Bear.” — This  is  what 
the  Florida  Agriculturist  calls  the  con¬ 
certed  effort  that  is  evidently  being 
made  to  buy  the  Florida  orange  crop  for 
less  than  it  is  worth.  This  letter  was 
received  by  the  Agriculturist : 
You  should  warn  your  citizens  against  a  combina¬ 
tion  of  orange  buyers  who  are  scattered  all  over  the 
orange  belt,  to  cry  down  the  price  of  fruit.  You  will 
find  stationed  at  DeLand  buyers  whose  whole  time  Is 
occupied  in  warning  off  purchasers  from  other  cities, 
telling  them  that  everything  is  bought  up,  etc.,  when 
they  know  that  what  they  say  is  false.  You  should 
expose  this  fraud  on  the  community,  when  It  is  a 
known  fact  that  the  fruit  on  all  the  large  groves  In 
and  around  DeUand  Is  yet  for  sale. 
“  It  lias  been  a  notorious  fact,”  says 
the  Agriculturist,  “that  many  buyers  have 
come  to  DeLand  with  the  expectation  and 
intention  of  buying  large  quantities  of 
fruit,  but,  after  remaining  a  short  time 
and  consulting  with  buyers  already  in 
‘possession  of  the  field,’ they  left  with¬ 
out  transacting  any  business.” 
This  is  nice  business  for  men  to  be  in, 
though  it  is  practiced  in  smaller  ways  all 
over  the  land. 
Just  Like  Lawyers. — It  is  said  that 
the  lawyers  of  California  are  moving  to 
reduce  the  cost  of  litigation — as  the  Fruit 
Grower  says: 
The  reform  lawyers  do  not  even  hint  at 
a  mitigation  of  their  own  extortions, 
while  advocating  the  non-payment  of 
juries  in  civil  cases,  as  well  as  witnesses 
compelled  to  attend.  But  why  should  a 
so-called  lawyer  be  paid  four  prices  for 
his  work,  while  a  busy  merchant  or  other 
person  must  put  in  his  time  for  nothing 
while  on  a  jury  helping  the  lawyer  to  se¬ 
cure  his  exorbitant  fee  ?  When  reform 
lawyers  commence  reform  by  reforming 
their  own  predatory  methods,  the  public 
may  eventually  take  some  stock  in  the 
sincerity  of  their  efforts  to  reduce  the 
fees  of  others.  All  men  acquainted  ex¬ 
tensively  among  the  legal  fraternity, 
who  are  not  themselves  of  it,  know  that 
as  society  and  government  are  now  or¬ 
ganized,  the  so-Galled  lawyer  exacts  and 
receives  a  far  higher  compensation  for 
an  equal  amount  of  ability  displayed  than 
any  other  class  of  workers.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  there  is  no  comparison  between 
the  mental  strain  upon  the  average  law¬ 
yer  and  the  average  editor  of  the  aver¬ 
age  newspaper.  While  the  latter’s  work 
in  the  world  at  large  is  infinitely  more 
potent  and  valuable,  he  is  the  last  man 
considered  when  brought  in  competition 
with  the  lawyer. 
Reasoning  Animals. — A  writer  in  the 
Popular  Science  Monthly  gives  this 
illustration  which  he  thinks  amply  proves 
that  animals  can  reason  : 
A  cow  and  steer — the  latter  two  to 
three  j'ears  old — were  the  only  occupants 
of  the  barnyard  where  the  occurrence 
took  place.  A  baiting  of  hay  was  put 
out  to  them,  the  cow  taking  possession. 
The  steer  wished  to  share  it ;  but  the 
cow  was  selfish  and  was  bent  on  taking 
the  whole  of  it,  and  as  often  as  he  would 
manoeuvre  around  from  side  to  side  to 
get  a  bite  she  would  drive  him  off  at  the 
point  of  her  horn.  The  steer  was  so 
persistent  that  at  last  the  old  cow’s 
patience  gave  way,  and  making  a  de¬ 
termined  and  vicious  charge  on  him, 
punished  him  severely,  though  he  was 
her  own  offspring.  The  steer  felt  badly 
hurt,  not  only  in  body  but  evidently  in 
mind  as  well,  and  immediately  started 
out  of  the  yard  and  off  down  the  lane 
toward  the  pasture  where  were  the  rest 
of  the  stock,  bellowing  vengeance  at 
every  step  in  a  language  which  was  un¬ 
mistakable  to  the  bystander  and  which 
the  mother  well  understood,  as  she 
ceased  eating  and  listened  intently  to 
the  threatenings  of  what  was  to  come. 
When  these  died  away  in  the  distance 
she  resumed  her  ration,  but  with  evident 
apprehension.  In  due  time  the  steer  was 
seen  returning,  bringing  with  him  a  com¬ 
panion  larger  and  stronger  than  himself. 
As  they  approached,  the  rumblings  of 
rage  and  revenge  could  be  again  heard, 
which  grew  louder  as  they  came  nearer. 
The  cow  took  in  the  situation  at  once 
and  was  now  terror-stricken  As  her  as¬ 
sailants  rushed  into  the  yard,  she  dodged 
them  and  rushed  out  at  life-and-death 
speed,  and  away  toward  the  rest  of  the 
stock  in  the  field,  with  her  pursuers 
close  in  her  track. 
SMOKED  FOR  OVER  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS. 
Blackwell’s 
Bull  Durham 
Smoking 
Tobacco 
Has  been  popular  with  smokers  everywhere  for  over  twenty-five  years. 
It  is  Just  as  Good  Now  as  Ever. 
Its  Flavor,  Fragrance  and  Purity  have  contributed  largely  to  the 
growing  popularity  which  pipe  smoking  enjoys.  Pipe  smoking  is 
growing  in  favor  because  finer,  sweeter  and  better  tobacco  can  be  had 
in  this  form  and  at  much  less  cost  than  in  cigars. 
BLACKWELL’S  DURHAM  TOBACCO  CO., 
DURHAM,  N.  C. 
New  Jersey  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 
James  neiison,  acting  director.  New  Brunswick ,  N '.  J '. ,  Nov.25>1§92. 
Messrs.  Baugh  and  Sons  Company,  Philada.,  Pa. 
Dear  Sirs  :  —  In  Bui  letin  §9  of  this  Station  the  val¬ 
uation  of  Baugh's  Raw  Bone  Meal,  Sample  No.  4§9§» 
page  35>  'is  reported  as  $29.12  per  ton.  Owing  to  a 
clerical  error  ‘in  computation  this  reported  valua¬ 
tion  is  $9 .72  t>oo  low.  The  correct  valuation  is 
Per  ton. 
liours  respe.c  t  ful  ly , 
Acting  Director. 
costs  OVER  $75,000 
TO  PRODUCE  THE 
National  Stockman  and  Farmer, 
PITTSBURGH,  PA.,  and  BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 
Probably  50  per  cent  more  than  the  cost  of  any  other  weekly  agricultural  paper. 
IT  IS  POSSIBLE  for  Its  publishers  to  pay  out  this  sum  each  year  ONLY  BECAUSE  IT  HAS 
(  J  j  THE  LARGEST  AND  BEST  SUBSCRIPTION  LIST. 
(2)  THE  LARGEST  AND  BEST  ADVERTISING  PATRONAGE. 
A  PAPER  THAT  CAN  DO  THIS  YEAR  AFTER  YEAR 
Must  Merit  the  Patronage  of 
Both  Subscribers  and  Advertisers. 
QFF  Pk  AAQV  And  Subscribe  for  It 
OCC  M  V/Ul  I  And  Advertise  in  It. 
From 
NOS  ATI  SFACTION,  NO  PAY  !  All  instruments 
shipped  on  free  trial  warranted  for  ten  years.  , 
WRITE  FOR  CATALOGUE  AT  ONCE  TO 
Old  Established  &  Reliable j| 
(ORNISH &(0.  I 
From 
WE  00  IT  EVERY  TIME!  $50  to  1200 
HOW  DO  W  E  DO  IT"? 
We  sell  from  our  factory  at  wholesale  prices  direct  to  the  puhlic, 
1  saving  them  all  agents’  and  dealers’  exorbitant  profits.  We  arc  doing  a  mar¬ 
vellous  business.  One  thousand  Pianos  and  Organs  per  month. 
WONDEXFUI,  but  true!  To  prove  it,  send  for  our 
new  catalu^iie,  illustrated  iu  colors.  It  is  FKEE 
to  ar.y  address.  Examine  it.  and  you  will  see  that  we  are  selling 
ORGANS  and  PIANOS  EASYPAYMENTS 
at  prices  that  are  simply  WONDERFULLY  LOW.  We 
have  now  some  of  the  finest  styles  of  Organs  and  l’ianos  ever  man¬ 
ufactured.  Our  new  catalogue  shows  all  the  latest.  Our  twenty- 
sixth  annual  special  offers  are  now  ready.  We  have  bargains  in  all 
styles  and  at  all  prices.  Organs  from  SJa.  Pianos  from 
Si’175,  for  cash  or  on  easy  payment.  We  have  the 
largest  direct  trade  in  the  world.  We  have  a  larger  factory  and 
employ  more  men  than  any  firm  doing  a  direct  business. 
Y  oil  can  visit  our  factory  FItEE  if  you  live  within 
300  miles  of  us. 
.  .  .  NOTE  .  .  . 
i  We  are  absolutely 
i.  responsible  for  all 
■%.  our  contracts. 
REFERENCES:  First 
National  Bank,  and 
all  the  great  Com¬ 
mercial  Agencies. 
