T 
A SACRIFICE. 
by maky e. baktlett. 
Theke’s ft grave in my heart, ft new-made grave-* 
Come close, while 1 whisper low ; 
There I've burled the love so pure and true. 
That blessed me awhile ago. 
O'er my love ne'er had passed or death or chill, 
'Twas living and warm as the day 
When with gent le and noiseless tread it found 
To roy lonely heart. Its way. 
And it trembled and wept and for mercy prayed 
As I digged Its deep dark grave; 
But, I thrust It in. and the sod pressed down 
On the treasure I yearned to save. 
Above the place with a lavish hand, 
1 have scattered dowers rare. 
And she dreams not In her happiness, 
That my love lies burled thorc. 
-a —-- 
AN OLD MAID’S SOLILOQUY. 
“ Why don't you old maids go out West, 
to Colorado or Wyoming, Idaho or Montana, 
and get married ?” 
Why don't wo? Goodness gracious, sir! 
Do you mean to Insult us? You talk as if a 
woman couldn’t live without being tied up 
to some battered hulk and left to flounder 
through tbo storms. Just let mo toll you 
that we old maids are not so anxious to 
marry the last man living, as you pretend 
to think we are. Wc haven’t lived our 
three decades for nothing. Better talk 
of going West to some of those timid young 
fledgelings who hare such u mortal horror 
of being old maids that they would take the 
erookodost specimen of manhood —cigars, 
fusil oil and all—rather than run the ter¬ 
rible risk. 
Old maids have cut their wisdom teeth. 
It is easier to carry one atone up hill than to 
be so loaded with two that the getting up is 
impossible. You'd better look towards 
home, sir, and see whether the men are tit 
to go West or anywhere else. 
If you had looked out of that window a 
few minutes ago you might have seen a 
specimen. The poor wretch tottered out of 
that saloon yonder, with a specimen on each 
side to keep him from sprawling headlong in 
the street. As they went downthrough the 
street you should have seen the head of this 
“ promising young man ” sink with shame, 
with a consciousness of degradation. You 
was saying something the other day about 
that fine young Bronson, just returned from 
Montana. 
Just 3 'ou go somewhere within six feet of 
him and when ho speaks, note the disgust¬ 
ing odors that come from his filthy mouth! 
Then listen to his conversation and ob¬ 
serve how much of delicacy, refinement and 
purity there is about him! By-the-way, 
would you believe by his looks and by the 
greasy mixtureof odors seeming to emanate 
from his person, that ho had ever been well 
washed since he left his mother’s bath tub 
in infancy ? 
“ Hm-m! Ugh! If wo old maids have got 
to marry, do for heaven’s sake wash away 
some of the impurities, physical and moral, 
from the miserable creatures you presume 
to advise us to marry. Make them fit to be 
loved, capable of supporting families, worthy 
to fill the places of husbands or fathers! It 
is easier for a woman to take care of herself 
than to support a worthless husband and 
half a dozen children. 
The fathers of our children, sir, must be 
worthy of being called men! They must be 
such men us their children can honor. The 
genuine art icle Is scarce. We shan’t go West 
to find it, lest we be like those who sought 
the fabled fountain. Uino. 
—-♦♦♦- 
WHAT A YOUNG MOTHER SAYS. 
The noble words in regard to hearth and 
home that from time to time find expres¬ 
sion in your columns meet a deep respouse 
in my heart. In these days when so many 
rights are loudly called for, I think no 
question deserves more earnest thought 
than that which relates to home and its at¬ 
tractions. 
When 1 hear mothers saying that they 
wish their daughters to have only a com¬ 
mon education, that beyond that the money 
can be better expended, and foster the idea 
that wealth and position are the main ob¬ 
jects to be considered in marrying, I do not 
wonder that there are so many unhappy 
homes. I do not wonder that so many pa¬ 
rents wish they had never had children, and 
hope their names may not be perpetuated 
by married sous and daughters — that so 
many ways are sought out to avoid that ho¬ 
liest relationship which exists between pa¬ 
rent and child. 
\ I confess that these evils are much easier 
seen than righted, and I sometimes tremble 
lest my hopes of a happy home, where tin; 
fire of love shall ever burn upon the altar of 
united hearts, may, after all. prove a myth. 
It is scarcely a three years' experiment as 
yet, and as 1 look into the. eyes of my one 
treasure, our pet, and think of the possibili¬ 
ties there are in that undeveloped mind 
and heart for good or ill. and how a ju¬ 
dicious hand may bring out what is beauti¬ 
ful and holy, and call forth such music from 
that soul that angels will pause to listen to, I 
ask myself, “ Who is sufficient for these 
things?" 
Surely “ Our Father,” who instituted the 
family, meant that it should be a glorious 
success. 
If those who havo happy homes and have 
succeeded in making lasting friends of their 
children, could in some way give their ex¬ 
perience to help beginners, T know of one, 
at least, who would hail such revelation ar, a 
god-send. Hose Gujiakr. 
■-♦♦♦-- 
DOMESTIC STORM. 
In nine cases out of tgn, there is a very’ 
inadequate basis for domestic discord, 
whether conjugal, parental, or fraternal. 
The beginning aud end is most often disap¬ 
pointment. A wise man will never let bis 
wife know that he has fallen short of his 
ideal. The wise woman will never show 
that she docs not think her husband a hero. 
They will exercise toward each other the 
same sort of hopeful forbearance that they 
exorcise toward their friends and fellow- 
elt.i/.ens in general. We often bear all kinds 
of grievances from the outer world with a 
good grace when half the amount of provo¬ 
cation would suffice to produce a very whirl¬ 
wind at home. The laws of domest ic storms 
are indeed simple enough when studied 
practically. Some unfortunate men aud 
women spend their lives In devising how 
this or that squall is to be avoided. Like 
the Duke’s daughter in Mr. Disraeli’s 
amusing novel, who, if her husband cried 
for the moon, promised it to him immedi¬ 
ately, they arc always ready to say black is 
white for the sake of being agreeable. At 
night, if they say their prayers at all, they 
can't help wishing that they might, with 
propriety, include a thanksgiving for having 
kept the dreaded object yf their affections 
in good temper for a day. But the sort of 
people who subject themselves to such a 
life of shifts, shams and petty little secrets 
know nothing of the tragedy of a great 
storm. They get battered about, and are 
always in dirty weather, but they do not 
go wholly to pieces.— Pall Moll Gazette . 
-♦♦♦-- 
THE KIND OF WIFE TO CHOOSE. 
After all, in looking out for a wife, email 
must consider how she. will show at the fire¬ 
side, rather than at parties. You cun learn 
so much of literary and (esthetic tastes, the 
favorite books that are always in hand, the 
music that is regularly studied and sung, the 
kind of associations, and the general order 
of tastes. It is by far the best way of get¬ 
ting up a flirtation, which U not unpleasant¬ 
ly done under parental eyes, when such eyes 
are kindly aud benignant. Love-making is an 
uncommonly pleasant, employment for the 
winter nights. You may talk of the perils 
of young men when they come up to town; 
but there h no better safeguard than giving 
such young fellows the associations of home 
and sweet woman. Parents make an im¬ 
mense mistake in taking too severely mone¬ 
tary a view of u young fellow's prospects. 
I never knew a young fellow under ever so 
dun a cloud, who, with purpose and ability, 
could not work out his way into the sun¬ 
light. Better even the long engagement, or 
the early marriage, than many other sup¬ 
positions that might be put.— London So¬ 
ciety. 
-» » » 
The True Nobility of Earth. — The 
Legislature of Alabama agreed to pay three 
lawyers, employed in the Stanton railroad 
suit at Knoxville, $20,000. One of those, 
Gen. J. 11, Clanton, was killed and left his 
family poor. The other two, Messrs. Stone 
and Clopton, transferred their interest in 
the. fee of $20,000 to Gen. Clanton’s widow. 
A deed like this, of two lawyers, neither 
rich, redeems an age and country. Selfish¬ 
ness and love of money blacken every page 
of current history .—Meviphin Appeal. 
-- 
An exchange says that Anna Dickinson 
aud Olive Logan are their own agents in 
the lecture business this year. But what in 
the world, then, is Wirt Sikes (who recently 
married Olive) good for? 
-- 
Miss Charlotte Cushman is building a 
cottage at Newport, Rhode Island, which is 
to cost $20,000. It is so planned that all the 
rooms are octagonal, 
Heading foi[ the timing. 
IN THE CAGE. 
Sqihkkkl, you’re H miller. 
In your coat of ray! 
Why, you never rest nn hour 
Through the livelong day. 
Nothing in your hoppers. 
All your bins to All; 
Yet round, round, round 
Goes the mill. 
Can't you stop nnd tell me 
How’s your worthy dame ? 
How's your baby-boy, too, 
Master " What's Ills nnmo ?” 
Never a grain of wheut, sir. 
Though you labor still, 
And round, round, round 
Hoes tlio mill! 
Miller, stay n. moment! 
See, your work is vain ! 
Such a fuss and liurry. 
Not a peck of grain. 
Slow and sure's the motto 
While we climb the hill. 
And round, .lound, round 
Goes the mill, [Geo. Cooper. 
-•» »» 
GRANDMOTHER SILVERBTJOKLE; 
OR, KNITTING THE THREAD OF LIFE. 
BY ,J. B. FULLER-WALKER. 
[Sec Illustration on page 41, this No.] 
One of the brightest spots in the memory 
of my youthful days is the time I spent in 
the little cottage with my grandmother. It 
was a queer, quaint sort, of a house, but as 
cosy and warm as it could be; just the place 
for easy chairs, bright, flowers iu the win¬ 
dow, sunshine on the floor, and tales of the 
past.. 
Grandmother SiLVERBUCKLF, had the 
softest blue eyes I ever saw; t hey had grown 
a little dim, so that she was in the habit of 
balancing a pair of gold-bowed spectacles 
on her nose, that she might see better to 
read the Rural New-Yorker. Her hair 
was very white and flue and soft; as I think 
of it now, it reminds me of snow or swan's 
down. She. used to comb it all back from 
her face, in the Martha Washington style 
- and l hen she caught it up behind in a sort 
a blue silk cap, which she fastened In a knot 
under her chin. She always dressed very 
plainly, in the fashion of her country—for 
Grandmother Silvekhuckle was born in 
Germany, on the banks of the beautiful 
Rhine, She left, thut laud when a young 
girl, and after she had grown up to be a wo¬ 
man she married Grandfather Bilver- 
bucki.e, who would now bo regarded, if he 
was alive, as au old school American gentle¬ 
man. 
In Germany all the girls are taught some 
useful employment. They know how to 
knit., how to hem-stitch, how to do all kinds 
of plain sewing, and most of them can cook. 
To make a light, snowy, sweet loaf of bread 
in Germany is as great, au accomplishment 
as it is to play the piano in America. Grand¬ 
mother SilvEHHUCKLE never grew tired of 
telling me about her little cottage home, on 
the hauks of the Rhine, surrounded by a 
vineyard. She often felt homesick in the 
Now World, and longed for a Cottage Just 
such as she lived in when a girl. 
" I want the low roof," she. would say, 
“ with the great window in it, opening like 
a door, and looking towards the rising sun. 
Then 1 want a Hour of polished oak, such as 
my mother had when I was called little 
G RETCH EX." 
So Grandfat her said lie would build u Ger¬ 
man addition to his American house, on 
purpose for Grandmother,and he would send 
ov er to Germany and get all the furniture 
for it, us near like the days of her oliild- 
huod as possible. And that was how it hap¬ 
pened that grandmother’s room was such a 
cosy and quaint place. It was a favorite re¬ 
sort of my childhood days. 
"If you come iuto my room," the good 
old lady would say, “you must he like a 
good little German girl, aud learn to knit a 
stocking." 
Then she would smooth down my hair 
and pin a little pink and white handker¬ 
chief about my neck, and call me to come 
and sit down by her side. I used to be as 
still as a mouse in grandmother’s room, 
playing that I was in Germany. The carved 
back to her easy chair was so handsome, in 
my childish eyes. I never tired looking at it. 
Then the looking-glass which bung up over 
the bureau, had a carved frame covered with 
gilt.. The bureau was always an object of 
admiration with me. It was made of red 
mahogany, and had a bow front like some 
Of the fine houses in Boston. There were 
solid brass handles on the drawers, which 
were polished as bright as gold, and the 
key-holes had elaborate pieces of brass 
about them. A small oil painting of Grand¬ 
father Silverduckle hung up by the side 
of the glass, and under it was a picture of 
t he Crucifixion. 
In the pict ure you sec me as I was when a 
little girl. Grandmother is teaching mo how 
to narrow the stocking, so as to shape the 
foot. She holds the needles, while I hold 
the yarn and the legof the stocking. In the 
basket, on the floor, by her side, are several 
balls of yarn, and on the work-table there is 
a linen sheet she has been hemming. Many 
days, and even years, have flown away since 
toy grandmother taught me how to knit. 
She was a practical woman, and gave me 
many useful lessons in my childhood, which 
have been of great benefit, to me since. I 
am still knitting the thread of life, making 
stockings of comfort, nnd charity, for friends 
and relatives, as well as for neighbors iu 
need. There is something real and solid in 
doing good, which we can lay hold of, and 
which will give us more real happiness in 
life than anything besides. 
During the war 1 knit more than a dozen 
pair of stockings for the soldiers who were 
lighting in the mountains of Virginia. Just 
fib'the fun of the thing, 1 somet imes knit a 
little red heart into tile white top of tho 
stocking, to tell the dear boys that my 
heart was with them. One of these very’ red 
heart, stockings fell into the hands of my 
brother, and he was so pleased with tho 
idea he cut it out aud wore it in his vest 
pocket. After the war, as I was darning his 
Jacket of blue, I found tho red heart in his 
pocket, ! Wasn’t that a surprise? It pleased 
me so I determined to tell the readers of 
the Rural New-Yorker about it. So I 
shall ever thank my good old Grandmother 
for learning me to knit. 
ILLUSTRATED REBUS.-No. 2. 
83 T' Answer in two weeks. 
MISCELLANEOUS ENIGMA-No. 1. 
I am composed of 2S letters. 
My 2, 9,1 is very warm. 
My 9, 5,4, 3 every one has. 
My 17, 21, 5, ti, 25 every one wants. 
My 8, 22,17, 2t every on© cannot have. 
My 23, 18,10,19 every one treads on. 
My «, 9,13, 24 keeps tn front of every ono. 
My 1(1,15,22, in, 12 no one ever saw, but every 
one fours. 
My 20, 5, H, 1 is a small scarlet insect. 
My 7, It), 14 is never dry. 
My 11, 21, 24 came first on the first day. 
My whole will bo tho next President of tho 
United States. f. h. w. 
837" Answer in two weeks. 
--H«- 
CROSS-WORD ENIGMA. No. 1. 
My first, is in maiden but not in girl: 
My second Is tn gold but not in pearl. 
My third is In run but not in walk ; 
My fourth is in sing but not Is talk. 
My fifth Is in tree but not in bush ; 
My sixth is in move but uot In push. 
My seventh is in conm but not m stay; 
My eighth Is tn hour but imt in day. 
My ninth is in time but not in tunc; 
My tenth is in May but not iu June. 
My last Is in halt but not In lame; 
My whole is a place of ancient fame. 
Answer in two weeks. I sola. 
- *44 - 
PROBLEM. No. 2. 
A man bought a farm for $#,000 and agreed to 
pay principal and Interest in six equal annual in¬ 
stallments; how much was the annual payment, 
interest being six per cent?—O. L. II., Smyrna. 
A’, r. 
Answer in two weeks. 
-«♦« - 
TRANSPOSITION OF LETTERS.-No. 1. 
Rremkkmr, flrden, sa ouy saps yb, 
Pa oyu me won, o« Cone saw 1, 
ba 1 ina won. os uoy lliw eh, 
Kembreme, fenrid, dan rayp or! cm. 
Answer In two weeks. Fourteen. 
