sucks the juices of this life, and relishes them 
all the more if he sees others looking on 
longingly without a sip of them, and can tell 
them how good the nectar is. He receives 
courtesies from others as a matter of course; 
and he avoids being courteous as a matter of 
course. He is a stickler for a dime, although 
his neighbor may have relinquished in his 
favor a dollar to which Jones had not the 
shadow of a claim. Jones gets all he can and 
calls those fools who permit him to get what 
he has no claim to. But because of their fool¬ 
ishness he will not be foolish. 
I met Jones yesterday in the street. How 
are you, neighbor? I said. 
** Poorly. I'm about used up. I’ve lost 
my appetite. I fear I’m going the way of 
all the earth.” (Jones is a religious body, 
and afleets proverbs and scriptural quota¬ 
tions.) 
So you’re not going to live long? 
“ I think not,” he replied. 
I’m glad of it; I know a poor woman who 
needs help, and you can now give her some¬ 
thing out of the abundance you cannot take 
to glory with you. 
“ Sir 1 What do you mean ?” 
I mean that you arc a selfish brute, and 
the sooner you die the better for other peo¬ 
ple, if not for you. I would not have you 
think for a moment that your selfish life is 
of any account except to disgust people 
with selfishness. And I think you have 
accomplished your mission with most of 
your friends. 
Jokes don’t see me any more. 
hottt mmtllmo 
8PRING HAS COME 
BY MARTHA EWING 
EARTH’S SONGS, 
Tnr Spring has come, the pleasant Spring,- 
It stole a march last night. 
My pulses thrill with new delight; 
Hark! do I hear the robin sing ? 
Enough; l do not need the sight 
To tell mo Winter's reign Is broken • 
I truly need no surer token. 
Don't you hear the robin 7 
I, listening in the morning sun, 
* gr songs float upward one by one. 
e robin high In yonder tree, 
Pours forth Us untaught melody. 
Gay childhood —’tu holiday— 
Sings loud a joye- roundelay; 
I can but smile as he goes by. 
His joyous heart thus swelling high. 
The man who tolls for daily food 
Hums low, content, since times axe good; 
While past him. laden, flies the bee,— 
Emblem of cheerful industry. 
The poet, in a nook apart, 
Complains aloud of sorrow’s smart; 
Yet see I, that with heartstrings wrung. 
He sings of joy from ashes sprung. 
Within a low-roofed cottage nest, 
A mother sings her babe to rest; 
A peaceful ernlle her face o'erspread, 
Her loved asleep in eradlo-botl. 
I see, where fulls the sunshine wurm. 
Within tlie door, an aged form; 
And lips that soon must silent lay, 
Sing, “Cmusx hath washed my sins away.” 
Ait then. I think, to every place 
Gon sends Ills own especial grace: 
And praising Bun our joy should be. 
At play, at work, on bended knee. 
Why stand I Idle here nnd wait ? 
Perhaps some soul Is desolate 
Because my lovo I do not sing : 
My hand to him shall kindness bring. 
W hat star, sweot bird, did guide thy way 
A long the trackless sky ? 
Who told the®, robin, ftpring was nigh ? 
I’ll up nnd out without delay. 
A little bird liua been than I 
More prompt to welcome thy returning, 
Sheet Spring, for which so long was yearning 
This heart, impatient heart. 
May not the shadow of mlsdeods 
l pon this spring-time fall 2 
Come Spring, light up the Jives of all; 
fhod smiles upon the heart that bloods; 
Hang garlands where was lain the pall, 
o banish heavy ladon sadness, 
And warm nil hearts with Nature’s gladness 
Como happy, happy Spring ! 
fejtnrtfs far Ihtr it lists 
*6 ti) 
A DOUBLE CUBE; 
CE, THE WONDERFUL CHERRY TREE, 
ADAPTED FROM THE GERMAN, 
BY MBS. E. E. El,LET. 
EVERY-DAY LIFE 
[Concluded from pngo 23$, lust uuni her.] 
It was nearly noon when Bit William 
and Hit! doctor appeared in i he yew grove. 
“ Stay here quickly,” said the. latter. 
“ Through tills little opening you can sec ail 
that passes, and witness the effect of tho 
poisonous blossoms, without being seen your¬ 
self.” 
“ And you think, doctor, that (lie young 
lady will really die when sh© breathes the 
odor from the blossoms?” asked the young 
man, holding his 'handkerchief at tlie same 
time to his nose unci mouth, to lccep off the 
noxious exhalations. 
"Most probablyanswered the physician. 
“ weak nerves will be very easily affect¬ 
ed by tlie poison.” 
“ I am afraid mine are beginning to be af¬ 
fected," said Sir William ; “ for I am sure I 
do not feel quite well.” 
“ All imagination!" raid the doctor. 
“Indeed, it is not!” answered Sir Wil¬ 
liam; “1 feel much indinposed already. I 
wish we had a little of your antidote hovel” 
“ l’pon my honor,” rejoined the physician, 
“ the blossoms cannot hurt you in the least. 
Keep quiet; the B.tvon i i~1 .L.in, . ... 
soon be here.” 
“ Poor girl!” sighed Sir William, in an 
altered tone. lie paused awhile, and then 
said: “ Doctor t” 
The doctor pretended not to hear him. 
“ My dear doctor!" repeated ho, in a mild, 
imploring voice. 
“ Well.” 
“It is a great pity the poor girl must 
die!” 
“ Can I believe my ears!” cried the doc¬ 
tor, almost laughing to himself to sec 
things going on just as lie wished. “Is it 
possible that you repent your grand scheme 
of destroying the whole human race ? Wluit 
is the life of a poor, delicate girl to you, who 
hope to make Europe a desert, in a short 
time!” 
“ Yes, indeed I” sighed Sir William. 
Tlie noise of a carriage was heard coming 
through the park. 
“They are coming!” cried the doctor. 
“ Now keep quiet. Sir William. Remain 
in this spot.” lie left him and went to tha 
garden gate. 
X. 
Adelaide looked more like a fairy than a 
sick girl, as, leaning on tlie doctor’s arm, 
and supported on the other side by Pau¬ 
line, she came along the walk. Her beau¬ 
tiful dark hair was braided across her 
forehead, which looked like snow from ilio 
contrast, and there was a faint color in her 
cheeks, like the lightest blush of the rose. 
A smile was on her pal© lips, hut her bosom 
fluttered with unwonted agitation. The 
good news she had heard so lately, giving 
her hopes of restoration to life and. health, 
seemed to her but a bright dream. She 
feared every moment to lie awakened and 
find that she was doomed to the grave. 
Strange power of superstition! She could 
not dismiss from her mind the idea that the 
doctor was deceiving her. 
At last they passed the grove of yews and 
stood before her birthday tree, which she 
saw was in full blossom. But this was not 
tlie case with her tree alone; to her surprise, 
she saw that several other trees were also 
white with blossoms! 
It was like a spring landscape, with the 
sunny sky so blue and mild overhead. 
The spell was broken; she saw, with her 
own eyes, that it was no delusion. 
Her feelings overpowered her; sudden joy 
producing an effect like grief. Feeling her¬ 
self no longer the victim of a mysterious 
doom, she clasped her hands, and tried to 
lift them in thankfulness to Heaven, but 
BY LEAD PENCIL, ESQ. 
“ I don’t care what my wife says or thinks 
on the subject.” 
“But you should care!” And the mag¬ 
nificent eyes of the Princess Adrienne 
flashed a second to the emphasis of licr 
words. 
Should 1 ? Then commence tlie introspec¬ 
tive processes. I turned my thoughts from 
external tilings. I talked to the Princess and 
Mis. Pencil, but I mentally discussed the 
question, "Ought I to care?” If not, why 
not ? Because, if you know you are right, 
if you know your motives arc unimpeach¬ 
able, you should act independently of all in¬ 
fluences. But are you sure? I think so. Is 
the plane of your moral elevation above that 
of your wife ? I cannot say. If not, is not 
her purer life (and you know it is purer) nnd 
more refined instincts (and you know they 
are more refined) a better guide for you than 
your own warped tastes and inclinations, 
moulded as they are, have been, and may 
by questionable influence# not alwayg 
refined and not unfrequently gross? 
How a pebble does stir a pool! How a 
word gives color to a life I Did I reach a 
conclusion? Did I concede the weight and 
wisdom of tho woman’s “should,” with the 
emphasis the eyes gave? Or, rather, did I 
not sin against my own manhood, and belie 
it, by asserting that I am not influenced, 
when I know that I am, and am rather proud 
of the fact? 
It is a great thing to know and be true to 
one’s self! 
Coming down Broadway to-day, I saw a 
girl with bunches of flowers. I selected a 
bunch with a blush rose in the center. How 
much is this ? “ Ten cents, sir.” ‘Well, I’ll 
take this, too, handing her another ten cents 
and picking up a second hunch. 
“ But that is fifteen cents.” 
“Is it? Why?” 
“ Because it’s a white rose center.” 
“ Indeed!” 
But is purity and its emblem so valued by 
mankind? Bless the girl lor teaching, in her 
modest, humble way, the great lesson! 
“ Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall 
MUSIC IN THE HEART, 
** There are in this loud, stormy tide 
Of human care and crime, 
With whom the melodies abide 
Of the everlasting chime. 
Who carry music in tholr hearts, 
Through dusky lanes ancl wrangling marts, 
Plying their daily task with busier feet, 
Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.” 
Almost, without our consciousness, music 
is constantly swaying us. It produces a vary¬ 
ing effect at. different hours, in different 
places, and, above all, from the changing 
nature of the music itself. Music in the 
morning hours, if they axe only crowned 
with a glory of sunlight, should be light and 
joyful, like the trilling of bird-songs among 
the coral-robed maples of May-time. All 
the unutterable thanksgivings reach God in 
sweet fragments of song,—the dear ..old tunes 
sacred to all ennobling graces of life. 
'l’he purpling shadows of eventide are a 
voiceless music, written in symbols of cloud 
and color, and, from its folded depths of 
glory, music steals like an echo of the “ songs 
of praises” that live beyond tlie western 
gateway. We are not less happy if the 
pleasure is more subdued, —an indefinite, 
joyful thought, clothed richly but soberly, 
—the Quakers of our ideal realm. 
These are often the thoughts most worthy 
of our welcome, and from them springs the 
sincerest happiness we know. “ Happiness 
does not flow in from the outer world, but 
springs up unseen by others within the mys¬ 
terious sanctuary of the soul, and the power 
of visible things to swell the tide of harmony 
in the. mind depends upon the mind itself.” 
“ ‘ The kingdom of God is within you,’ said 
the Loud Jesus; and so of a happy life, its 
springs are within you.” 
People who love music because it is the 
medium of so much holiness and purity,— 
whose lives are a continual anthem of praise, 
—are the sunniest, most, useful people in the 
world, making those happier and purer that 
live in their presence, like that quaint, picture 
of loveliness expressed by Mrs. Browning: 
“ She never fount! fault with you, never implied 
Your wrong by her right.; ana yet mnn ut her Hide 
Grew nobler, girls purer, an through the whole town 
The children were gladder that, pulled at her gown.” 
North vi Ue, Mich., I860. Alice M. Beale. 
what crocodiles are to certain wild tribes in 
Africa, the columbines, or little pigeons art: 
to the Venetians .—All the rear Round. 
1811, of Quaker pa rentage, John Bright 
knew few opportunities for curly education 
and culture, llis father was a cotton spin¬ 
ner; nnd at the early age of fifteen he was 
put to business, having received all the edu¬ 
cation that was granted him, meanwhile, at 
a private school in Yorkshire. The Anti- 
Corn-Law League, formed at Manchester in 
1888, first bronghi him forward as a public 
speaker, aud placed him in connection with 
Mr. Cobden, several years his senior, and 
already an influential member of the Man¬ 
chester Corporation and Chamber of Com¬ 
merce. This intimate association with one 
of the most earnest reformers of the day 
doubtless somewhat influenced Ids after 
course. 
It was not until 1841 that Mr. Bright 
came prominently before the people as an 
advocate of the free-trade movement. He 
threw himself into this reform with all his 
zeal, and compelled attention by his warm 
cloqnonce and emphatic demands for justice. 
Made a delegate from Rochdale to the groat 
demonstrative gathering at, the Crown and 
Anchor Tavern in London, when the Par¬ 
liamentary Session of 1843 was opened, lie 
wan one of the deputation who waited on 
tho Home Secretary, and Lord Rtbon and 
Mr. Gladstone at. the Board of Trade, to 
urge a repeal of the Corn Laws; and his 
speech when tho gathering rc-assemblcd, 
soon after, produced great sensation. In the 
two or three years succeeding he visited 
nearly every part of England and Scotland 
with Mr. Cobden, speaking on tlie Corn- 
Law question, displaying great ability as an 
orator, ancl awaking a strong popular feeliug 
iu favor of I ho cause lie advocated, 
Tii return for liis noble efforts in their be¬ 
half, the people elected him to Parliament in 
the summer of 1848, Durham being the dis¬ 
trict which lie was called to represent, and 
which for lour years be represented faith¬ 
fully. In 1847 ho was returned for Man¬ 
chester; and ho was returned for the same 
for ten years thereafter. Then Lord Palm¬ 
erston appealed to tlie country on tho 
question of tlie war with China, and Man¬ 
chester rejected Mr. Bright; but in the 
same year he was elected for Birmingham, 
which he lias uniformly represented since. 
His first speech in the House of Commons 
was in favor of reform, being in support of a 
motion to reduce the oppressive customs’ 
duties. The repeal of the odious Corn Laws 
in 1846 left one less evil for him to combat; 
but sufficient remained, nnd lie lias waged 
vigorous warfare against these unremittingly. 
He has spoken frequently on Parliamentary 
reform, the Irish question, free trade, foreign 
and financial policy, taxation, burdens on 
land, laws of landed estate, capital punish¬ 
ment, American affairs,<fcc., and his speeches 
have established his reputation as a finished 
orator. Ilis style of address is simple, un¬ 
pretending, yet highly effective. 
As tlie long-lime, sincere friend of the 
United States, Mr. Bright is best known to 
Americans, and lie is scarcely less honored 
here than across the water. Of magnetic 
personal presence, lie wins the hearts of men 
while convincing their minds, and by his 
sturdiness of character commands universal 
respect. Though <o many years a public 
man, he has been, since early life, largely en¬ 
gaged in private business enterprises, con¬ 
ducting, in connection with his brothers, 
immense cotton spinning and carpet printing 
establishments. 
TRUE GILDING. 
TnouGH the mountains be tipped with, 
the gold of the sunset, they are mountains 
still, and the gold will fade away, sooner or 
later, leaving them dark, barren masses of 
rock. So in regard to human nature. We 
may garnish it with the gold of high place, 
of splendid surroundings, of brilliant attain¬ 
ments ; but all this is miserable dross which 
will vanish after a season, leaving the hu¬ 
man bare to our gaze, dark and unlovely. 
Humanity needs a little gilding to make 
it genuinely beautiful. And the gilding 
should not be complained of, if it, is of the. 
right kind. The reflection of a royal throne 
easts a glamour over its occupant; but that, 
is not tlie best gilding. The glitter of dia¬ 
monds and all the insignia of wealth dazzles 
us, but it lends no true golden coloring to 
any life. Heart discipline shines through 
and properly over-lies humanity's defects. 
Only the pruning away of selfishness, false 
pride, unholy aspirations, and the like, ren¬ 
ders human nature lovely. Does that make 
it less human? Indeed it. floes. And tlie 
true gliding of humanity consists in taking 
away the most glaring defects, not in cover¬ 
ing them up. 
JOHN BRIGHT. 
TnE English Government has long been, 
and still is, in a transition state. From a 
monarchy, in fact, it has grown to a repub¬ 
lic, in idea. Such a change in political sen¬ 
timent as it illuHl rates, remarkable in itself, 
i3 remarkable in its development. A grand 
social and governmental reform is all tho 
more grand and striking because wrought 
out with no revolutionary demonstrations, 
but by a silent, hidden, yet vital, force. So 
silent has been this transition process in Eng¬ 
land, that the natural result surprises all. An 
actual recognition of Democracy, where the 
divine right of kings had so long been con¬ 
sidered absolute, was but yesterday hardly 
dreamed of. 
To-day manhood, the world over, sees 
plain John Bright holding high position 
close to the British throne, and is glad. Man's 
searching question, “ In what does manhood 
consist?" has found eloquent answer. “ In 
the right to rule something lower,” was the 
virtual reply to this interrogatory, under 
the old kingly regime; and the king was tlie 
man, the subjects were only semblances. 
“ Not in lands or royal blood,” respond our 
English friends now; and the Queen hears, 
and makes a commoner her Minister. 
The history of John Bright,— honorable 
ever because ever a true man, Right Honor¬ 
able since appointed to tlie British Ministry 
as President of the Board of Trade, by court¬ 
esy of Her Majesty,—forms, indeed, a large 
part of the history of the reform movement 
in England. It should be Btudied in all its 
significance by young men everywhere, for 
to them, especially, does it convey a valuable 
lesson of self-reliance and firm integrity; anti 
we give it, in brief, together with the ad¬ 
mirable portrait above. 
Born at Greeubank, Lancashire, Nov. 16, 
THE PIGEONS OF VENICE. 
The pigeons of Venice are the proteges of 
the city, as the lions of St. Mark are its 
protectors. They are fed every day at two 
o’clock. A dinner bell is rung for them; 
and they are not allowed to be interfered 
with. A ny person found ill-treating a pigeon 
is arrested. If it is Ills first offence lie is 
fined; if he be an old offender lie is sent to 
prison. In tlie good old days of the republic 
the guilt of shedding a pigeon's blood could 
only be expiated by the law of Moses taking 
full effect upon Lhe culprit in the spirit of 
“ an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” 
much as the same law was brought to bear 
on poachers, sheep-stealers and others in 
our own country eighty years ago. 
It is believed by the credulous that the 
pigeons of Venice are in some way connected 
with the prosperity of the city ; that they fly 
round it three times every day in honor of 
the Trinity; and that their being domiciled 
in tlie town is a sign that. it. will not be swal¬ 
lowed up in the waves. When it is high 
water they perch on the top of tlie tower. 
When the Venetians are at war, or when 
there is any prospect of a change of dynasty, 
they gather round tlie lion of St. Mark, over 
d. > entrance to (he cathedral, and consult in 
a low voice about the destinies of the city. 
Doubt these facts if you like, but not in Ven¬ 
ice. What spiders were to Robert Rruce, 
