MOORE’S RURAL i^EW-YOB 
Nettie Sterling was a brave woman— 
not such an one aa martyrs arc made of— 
but. a woman who would look great difficul¬ 
ties squarely in the face, and then march on 
to overcome them. Her nature was a large 
one; she could listen to the sufferings of 
others, and when she had become fully 
aware of their extent, she could pour the 
balm of sympathy Into their wounds, and 
something more ‘substantial into their 
homes, if licoded- This, in her bettor days, 
when plenty smiled upon her. But now, 
when a dark cloud lowered over her, she 
found the world too largely selfish. Of 
those whom she had helped in their hours 
of trouble, but two or three remembered 
her in hers. This night, on which her hus¬ 
band said, “It's no use, NETTIE,” he had 
also told of his vision of the life that might 
be theirs in the country. And she listened 
and drank all of its golden beauty in, as he 
pictured it to her, until, ere be bud finished, 
it had become her one hope and wish that it 
might be. 
“ We will go,” she said. 
“ Ah! if we could;” regretfully. 
“ Well, why can’t we?” in surprise. 
“ Oh! there are so many things in the way 
that I dare not enumerate them lest I fright¬ 
en you. First-” 
“Never mind the lirst, my dear. If wo 
don’t count them at all there will be so 
many less to overcome. As I said, we will 
go! decidedly." 
Edward STERLING looked into his wife’s 
face with no little surprise. To tell the 
truth, he had never seen her evince so much 
determination before in all the years of their 
married life. What had come over her? 
“I have long thought about this,” she 
said. “ I am so tired and pained with see¬ 
ing you so overworked, aud wearing that 
worn-out look, which has been yours of late. 
Here, it seems to me, 1 can get nothing to 
do by which I may assist you, and make life 
easier. But In the country, I could keep 
cows and chickens, and cultivate llowers. 
If we did not go too far away from the city, 
I think I could do quite a flourishing busi¬ 
ness by the sale of flowers, to say nothing 
of the rolls of golden butter 1 should make, 
and the eggs we could dispose of.” 
Edward Sterling was more amazed now 
than before. lie had never believed in wo¬ 
man other than as u creature to be loved and 
tenderly cared fox - . That a woman should 
have schemes aud business plans, seemed so 
preposterous that, when his little wife made 
this unorthodox declaration, it almost took 
away his breath. He stood and watched her 
intently for a few moments, and then as 
the—to him—seeming ridiculousness of her 
plan shouo in upon him, he broke into a 
laugh—not a joyous one, however, for he 
could not laugh without pain. 
Nor did he laugh long, for a crimson 
stream, that soon tilled his mouth, stopped 
•ill laughter, and brought tears into Net¬ 
tie’s eyes. Ho had brought on another 
hemorrhage! Nettie flew about and got 
him some salt aud water, which he drank 
quickly; then she prepared the bed for him, 
and placed him thereon. The astringent 
properties of the salt and water soon 
stopped the flow of blood; but Nettie 
knew that weeks, perhaps months, must 
elapse before her husband could again leave 
the house. 
‘‘Oh,’’ she said, “if this had not hap¬ 
pened ! I wonder if there is ever any great 
joy that is not, sooner or later, strangled by 
6ome greater sorrow. Only a few moments 
ago I was so happy at the thought of a home 
in the country, and rest for my dear hus¬ 
band ; and now. all my joy is gone.” 
As soon as she could, she sent one of the 
neighbors for a physician. When he came, 
he gave her mediciues to strengthen her 
husband. Ho was sleeping now. The phy¬ 
sician was . man of large sympathies, and 
he knew how much this woman loved her 
husband, and how great her anxiety about 
him must be. So he bade her be of good 
cheer; her husband was in no immediate 
danger, and, perhaps, when spring came, 
and he could get into the country and 
breathe the fresh air, aud drop the irksome 
duties of business life for a time, he would 
get well again. 
Into the country! Nettie dried her 
tears at once. Then, when she could col¬ 
lect herself, she told him her plan; how that 
poor, dear Ed. had laughed at it, and how 
that had caused his bleeding. 
“ But, oh, doctor, I do believe it can be 
done. I know that l can work, and what 
would I not do that he might be spared to 
me ?” And the doctor, looking full into those 
earnest eyes, believed, too, that it coidd be 
done; nay, more, that it should he. 
Edward Sterling progressed but slowly. 
The days wore on, and were gone, aud he 
was still as weak as a little child. When 
one is confined to bed with illness of a dan¬ 
gerous nature, it is necessary for a rapid re¬ 
covery' that the patient should be free from 
care and worrimeut. of mind. With a fami¬ 
ly' upon his hands, how was it possible for 
Edward Sterling to be thus? Could he 
steel his heart and shut out all lheir needs, 
and become callous to their sorrows? 
Knowing the man, I answer, "No! ” 
When he had made Nettie Disbhow his 
wife, he had resolved to shield her aud care 
for her always with tondercst love. Now, 
when this sorrow had come upon her, and 
with the prospect of ultimate want before 
him, his recovery seemed too slow to cause 
even the faintest hope to spring up In his 
bosom. He suffered more on their account 
than his own. What if he should never get- 
well? What would become of them then ? 
—a question he asked himself twenty times 
a day, and as often failed to find an answer. 
If we could only leave these difficult prob¬ 
lems with God, and not try to solvo them. 
He is wiser than we; and yet who among us 
that would not sooner take our destiny into 
our own hands, than leave it- with Him? Is 
it because we are too blind to see that He 
has only' our good at heart! 
Eying day after day upon his bed, with 
this vision of country life ever before him, 
Edward Sterling became as anxious to go 
as had been bis wifo. It seemed the one 
wish of Ills life now- (lie last uttered at the 
going down of the sun, and the first ex¬ 
pressed when its warm rays came stealing 
into the windows at early morn. 
It was but, yet mid-winter, and the days 
seemed so far away ere spring would come. 
To remain in the city until then he believed 
would be almost Certain death. Nettie, 
knowing his fears, and seeing how anxious 
he was to get away, daily' watched the pa¬ 
pers, in the hope that some chance adver¬ 
tisement might meet her eye, of a snug little 
house and plat of land for sale, such as 
would come within reach of their slender 
means. She had a perfect horror of rent- 
paying always; and, to tell tlio truth, I 
think she was right. Lt seems so like pay¬ 
ing out one’s money without sufficient re¬ 
turn to warrant the expenditure. 
When her father had died he had left her 
the small sum of five hundred dollars, and 
when it came into Nettie’s possession she 
had said, in a decided manner, that “ not 
one cent of the money should go for house¬ 
hold expenses, unless in case of sickness.” 
So she had Invested it in Government bonds, 
and held them as firmly' as t hough her fu¬ 
ture salvation depended upon them, which 
to some extent it did, if one may believe in 
the t heory of each one working out his own. 
At last, when it really had begun to look as 
though there were no places for sale in the 
count ry, her eye fell one morning upon an 
advertisement that filled her heart with a 
sudden and great joy. A cottage-built 
house, with seven rooms, together with four 
acres of land, all modern improvements as 
far as could be had in a country house, a 
good spring of water on the place and wit h- 
in a few feet of the door, must be disposed 
of at once, as the owner was about to leave 
for Europe per next steamer; a rare chance 
—price two thousand dollars. 
When she had finished reading this, she 
flew about in a perfect bew ilderment of joy. 
Birdie was dressed as quickly ns possible, 
and dispatched with a message to Dr. Wild- 
hick, asking him to come as quickly as pos¬ 
sible. lie came, and with a frightened look 
asked. “If anything had happened to Mr. 
Sterling.” Nettie, in her haste, had not 
explained matters at all, so he feared that 
his patient was worse. 
Nettie answered him at once. *• Not 
that, thank Heaven! not that. But I have 
found the enchanted and long sought for 
palace—our country home, you know—and 
she handed him the paper, pointing with 
her finger the while to the advertisement. 
Dr. Wildrick scanned it over hastily, 
and then replied:—“We must look into 
this matter ; these pen-pictures of country 
houses are often very' nice, but upon actual 
examination turn out to be somewhat high¬ 
ly colored. I will attend to this at once, 
however. Oh, by the way, how much did 
you say you could pay down, Mrs. Ster¬ 
ling? It has slipped my memory.” 
“Five hundred dollars, doctor; the cou¬ 
pons will leave me enough to pay all the ex¬ 
penses of moving.” 
“ I will go at once;” then turning to the 
door which opened out of the sitting-room 
into that of the Invalid’s, he entered and 
attended to his wants. After having seen 
that he was made comfortable, he went to 
his own home. Two hours later tho out¬ 
going train bore him towards Woodvale, the 
locale of the advertised country home, 
“ w ith modern improvements.” 
CHAPTER II. 
When Dr. Wildrick entered the charm¬ 
ing village of Woodvale he felt at onoe that 
this was the very place for the Sterlings 1 
to come. He knew that to one with the 
refined tastes of Mrs. Sterling the kind of 
people bIio would meet would have largely- 
to do with making her happy or otherwise. 
The people here seemed to belong to that 
well-to-do class who had not neglected ev¬ 
ery chance of intellectual improvement for 
the vulgar occupation of living only for the 
money they might accumulate. There was 
an atmosphere of thrift everywhere about 
the place, which, though it was severe win¬ 
ter. gave unmistakable evidence that when 
May suns and gentle winds should come 
again, it would burst forth into a blossom¬ 
ing fair.v-land of flowers and beauty. 
He found that the house in question was 
in reality a desirable one. To be sure the 
“modem improvements” were not. many, 
and yet sufficient to acquit the owner of 
any attempt to deceive. It was situated at 
the extreme end of the village, yet quite 
near to the depot—so that, if Mrs. Ster¬ 
ling's dream of selling flowers came true, 
she would not have far to go in order to 
send them into the city. 
Mrs. Sterling had given the doctor full 
permission to do as lie thought best in re¬ 
gard to the purchase, fully trustiug him—a 
trust which he did no betray—for when he 
returned thut evening he placed papers in 
her hand which made her owner of. as he 
said, one of the loveliest homes in the 
world; but then he was somewhat of an 
enthusiast, and prone to indulge sometimes 
in hyperbole. Mrs. Sterling did not know 
what to make of it at all. Surely the five 
hundred dollars she gave him would not 
pay for it. But he soon explained that it’s 
owner was compelled to make a cash sale 
so he advanced the rest, thereby getting it 
for fifteen hundred instead of the two 
thousand which had first been asked, and 
Mrs. Sterling could repay' him a little at 
a time, as she found it convenient, without 
regard to interest. 
Nobleman! If in this land thy like was 
oftener found, how many hearts that now 
break daily, might beat in the fullness of a 
new life—free!—the shackles that now bind 
them unloosed. And yet the love of gold 
makes men so cruel the lesson taught by 
thee can never be learned by some whose 
wealth is treble thine! 
Mrs. Sterling at once commenced ma¬ 
king preparations to move. She told her 
husband what she, with the aid of the doc¬ 
tor, had accomplished; and I think that 
the sweet, satisfied look of love and admi¬ 
ration that came stealing Into his pale, wan 
face, was sufficient reward for her. There 
was much to do, and it did seem as if she 
was not strong enough to go through with 
it. 1 think the doctor feared she would 
break down under the mountain of things, 
too, for one morning he came marching into 
the house, with a great, stout Irish girl 
closely following at his heels. 
“I’ve brought you some help. Mrs. Ster¬ 
ling,” be said. “If you go on in this way, 
1 shall have two instead of one sick on my 
hands. It’s really labor-saving to myself, 
as well as to you, you see, so don’t make an 
Objection.” 
Then he turned and started quickly to¬ 
wards the door; but Nettie was as quick 
as he, and ere he could close it, stared him 
fully in tho face, and said—" Doctor, 1 can¬ 
not'afford to pay for help, aud I can got 
along without it. 
“Don’t want you to pay for help. I at¬ 
tended the girl's mother through a long 
sickness, and it's the only way 1 shall ever 
get niy pay—in this world," he carefully 
added— “and besides you can’t got along 
Without it.” 
Then lie was gone. Aud Nettie went 
hack, seeing how useless it was to refuse to 
accept this u*w kindness of the doctor. 
Bridget Dklaxy proved a good and ef¬ 
ficient help. She took hold with a will, and 
accomplished more In feats of strength than 
ever NKTTJK could have done. Then, too, she 
had a kind heart: and ha\ mg known what 
it was to have a siek one to care for, could 
the more easily sympathise with her mis- 
1 less, and do many little things which one 
who had not lived through l he experiences 
of a sick room would never have thought of. 
Birdie became an especial favorite with 
her. Indeed, I doubt it any' one could have 
lived ’neath the same roof with this laugh¬ 
ter-loving. mirth-provoking child, and not 
have loved her. To ho sure she made 
Bridget more work than a quieter child 
might have done; hut when Mrs. Sterling 
would forbid her the kitchen, aud say she 
was bothering Bridget, the good-natured 
girl would reply for her: —“Now, mam, 
can’t yez lave her alone wid me. It’s just 
all the fun I hcv whin her own illegant silf 
is botherin’ me, as yez call it.” 
Aud the days wore on. It was now nearly 
March, and Nettie had determined to be 
in her new home as early as that month at 
the furthest. There were lots of bulbs she 
must start then, the seeds for early tomatoes 
must be planted. Once or twice she bad 
accompanied the doctor down to Woodvale, 
where he had helped her to make sundry 
improvements about the place—the dootor’s 
cheerful little wife coming in to stay mean¬ 
while with Mr. Sterling. 
The first week in March two great wagons 
stood in front of the Sterling's city 
home; aud then strong men came into the 
' house and bore away the furniture. Mr. 
Sterling was driven to the depot by Dr. 
Wildrick, and safely'placed, amid shawls 
and pillows, aboard the train, with Nettie 
and Birdie to see that he might want for 
nothing on the way. 
Bridget, who had grown to be of too 
much nse to the family to be spared just 
then, remained behind to look after the 
things and see that everything was safely 
packed away — a duty which she faithfully 
performed to t he end. 
That night there shone no light from the 
home which had been the Sterlings so long; 
but in another, nestled amid trees chat 
would some day be verdant with leaves, 
through the window might be seen the 
form of a woman whose face was radiant 
with joy, busied In preparing the evening 
meal; while seated in an easy chair, listen¬ 
ing to the prattle of a child, was a man, 
wan and pale-faced, whoso eyes followed 
the movements of tlie womaui with loving 
and tender looks. 
Bridget remained with tho Sterlings 
until the house was fully in order, and then 
Nettie was forced to part with her, as she 
could not conscientiously let the doctor pay 
her, and she really could not afford so great 
a luxury. Bridget was very loth to go, 
and declared that she would remain for her 
board, if Mrs. Sterling would only keep 
her. But Nettie knew that, this would be 
unjust; to the girl; and so, great as the 
temptation was, she was strong enough to 
meet it, and answer no. 
Birdie almost cried herself sick when she 
heard that Bridget was going away, aud 
the poor girl, feeling as badly about it lier- 
aelf, took the child on her lap and tried to 
soothe her grief by telling her that “ jist as 
like as not, whin the mother was rich once 
more, she’d come hack agin till her, so she 
would! ” 
And BrnniE, child like—for her hope in 
the future had not yet, become deadened by 
the bitter disappointments that most of us 
meet with — believed that, this might be, 
and dried her tears and looked only at the 
time, in the far-off, when her Bridget 
would come back attain. 
“If yez arc in want of ft girrul, ma’am. 
Bridget Dki.any’s the one that’ll come till 
yez, if yez had niver acini in the wurruld 
to pay lior wid, at, all at all,” said the De- 
t.axy, as she went out of the door, with her 
bundle in her hand. Would she ever come 
back again? 
Mr. Sterling made no rapid strides to¬ 
ward recovery. It would take time, per¬ 
haps long and weary mouths, before he 
could be of even the slightest assistance to 
his wifo. Nettie know this, but never, by 
look Or word, did she let, him know that she 
missed his wonted help. I t hink Hod. know¬ 
ing how great a burden this woman had to 
bear, gave her strength and a cheerful dis¬ 
position, in order that it might, not crush 
her. 
April came at last. Now, in connection 
with her household duties, came the cure of 
her garden. One whole day was spent in 
finding a mail to plow it for her. At last 
this was accomplished; and when the man 
received his pay, he asked, “ Who was goin’ 
to take care out. — hoe it, and keep out the 
weeds? ” 
Nettie’s answer caused him to break out 
into a broad laugh, and to say, “That 
wouldn’t do!—women didn’t work out o’ 
doors in this ’ere region; it wasn’t consid¬ 
ered the thing.” 
“Well, the thing or not, that is what I 
came here for, and what I intend to do,’’ 
was her reply. 
T think if there had been some other way 
open for her, she might have withdrawn, 
even then; hut the thought of her husband 
and child made her strong in a moment, 
aud her resolve to conquer this obstacle 
greater than ever. 
She busied herself throughout the earlier 
part of each day in the garden, made beds 
for lettuce, and other early vegetables, and 
the rest devoted to her household duties. 
When the time forplantiug her flower seeds 
came, she spent the whole day out, of doors, 
and at night, aft er her duties were through, 
would often be too tired to sleep. 
One day, Birihe came running in; her 
hands filled with tiny bine violets, fragrant 
with the morning dew. “I found them in 
the meadow,” was her answer to her moth¬ 
er’s eager question of “ where did you get 
them ?” 
Nettie went to the meadow forthwith. 
She was one of those women who take time 
by the forelock—and when she returned to 
tho house, her apron was filled with the blue 
treasures, while Brttrm: was sent hack with 
a basket, for more. She neatly' arranged 
them in tinv bunches, and when the evening 
train left Woodvale that night it bore over 
one hundred of these floral treasures into 
the city. 
Before Nettie left the city', she made ar¬ 
rangements with a florist there to send her 
flowers to him. He made the sale of small 
bouquets a specialty, it was, as y'et, early' 
for violets, and they sold rapidly; so he 
sent a letter to Nettie, tolling her of this, 
and advising her to send all she could get; 
and when they 7 had ceased to bloom, Net¬ 
tie had received from him, as her share of 
tha profits, over eighty dollars. 
Dr. Wildrick came down soon after Net¬ 
tie’s successful “violet speculation.” He 
brought with him a copy of the Rural 
New-Yorker, containing a lengthy article 
on the cultivation of flowers. 
“ You will find this very useful,’ he said. 
“It tells one how to accomplish almost ev¬ 
erything, from flower culture to butter 
making, and as an aid to keeping a “hen 
dairy,” it is just indispensable; and I have 
ordered it for you for the next year." 
“Oh! isn’t it nice,” said Birdie, who 
had an eye for pictures, and just at that 
moment had caught sight of a pair of pig¬ 
eons that graced its first page. 
Nettie thanked the good doctor for his 
kindness, and hoped she should yet be able 
to pay 7 him. 
“Of course you will," he said. “Don’t 
my wife aud 1 intend running down here 
every little while during the summer, and 
get our pay by T listening to the music of 
your birds, and stealing some of your most 
beautiful flowers.” A thing which they did; 
but as they always brought much more than 
they' took away, their visits did not leave 
the Sterlings any the poorer.—[Concluded 
I next week. 
