MAY 48 
DOES HE LOVE ME? 
Pretty robin at my window, 
Welcoming the day 
With tliy loud and liquid piping, 
Head my riddle, pray. 
I have conned it, waking, sleeping, 
Vexed the more for aye— 
Tliou’rt. a wizard, pretty robin— 
Docs ho lovo me l Say ! 
Lady violet , blooming meekly 
By the brooklet free, 
Bending low thy gentle forehead 
All his grace to sco, 
Turn thec from thy wooing water— 
Whisper soft, I pray, 
For the wind might hoar my secret— 
Does lie love me ? Say ! 
Star, that through the silent night-tide 
Watcbost over him, 
Write it witli thy golden pencil 
On my casement dim, 
Thou art skilled In love's (loop magic; 
Tell me, then, 1 pray, 
Now, so none but I may read It— 
Does he love me ? Say! 
[Harper's Magazine. 
■ -- 
ANOTHER WOMAN S VIEWS. 
C. n.C.,in ItURA x.N ew-YorKKB of April 
20, givei some sensible romatks, with such 
absurdities, tbnt I would fain call attention 
thereto. She believes that man should al¬ 
ways command , and woman obey, because 
Adam was created before Eve. Upon that 
logic, should not man obey the inferior ani¬ 
mals, seeing they were first created? Wo 
are informed in God's Word, confirmed by 
geology, that, the All-Wise, in His plan of 
creation, began with the lowest, the moat 
simple, of vegetable and animal life, and 
progressed upward with His creations; 
higher, and still more high, until Ho created 
man in his own image, and breathed in his 
nostrils tin? breath of life, and ho became a 
living soul. Ho then rested from Ills labor; 
and beholding all the works of His hand, 
declared that all were good. But Adam, 
though master of all creatures upon earth, 
was not satisfied, but desired a help-mate— 
not a slave, to go and come at his Command, 
but a companion; “ some ono to love,” Homo 
one to share his joys as well as his toils—for 
he found it was not good to be alouc. The 
creative power was again called into action, 
and Evi: was formed; but not of the dust 
of the earth. How dare any one affirm that 
the Almighty could retrograde in this ono 
instance? “And they shall be no more 
twain, but one flesh.” Can the right hand 
command the left? Where lovo dwells 
there is no occasion to command, as a re¬ 
quest will suffice, and none but a despotic 
dastard would wish to inspire a wife or 
child with fear. Perfect lovo casts out all 
fear. 
It is hard enough for a child to obey a 
parent, sometimes, though fully aware that 
the parent must ho thn proper judge of 
what is for the best. „ There is something 
so repugnant to free agency in a command, 
that parents would find their children more 
tractable if fewer commands were given. 
But to be commanded by a person of nctir 
one’s own age,—with but little if any better 
judgment, and possibly less experience and 
conscience,—how preposterous! The word 
obey ought to be left out of the marriage 
ceremony, and is by men of thought. It is 
but a dead letter to all but the conscientious 
woman, and she is the one who ought to be 
permitted to follow the dictates of her own 
conscience. Why compel a woman to tell a 
falsehood at tho altar of Hymen? I say 
compel — for who dares, at such a time, to 
speak forth hermiudand say I am willing 
to be a good wife, but shall never obey him, 
should he require mo to do wrong. None 
but a narrow-minded egotist would claim 
the right to command, because, forsooth, 
he belongs to the stronger and his wife to 
the weaker sox. Nowhere in life does the 
Golden Rule work more harmoniously than 
in the marriage relation. 
I quite agree with C. H. O. in her opinion 
of ear rings. I think it would indicate as 
much refinement to have the nose pierced 
and wear rings thei'ein as to weal* them 
in the ears. I indorse her ideal of a 
well-bred woman; there is redundancy in 
the phrase, well-bred lady. No one can bo 
a lady unless well-bred—if applied to a lady 
of wealth—but the best of it Is that good 
breeding is free to all, and the poor can ex¬ 
ercise as good taste in their apparel as 
though they were able to attire themselves 
in rich fabrics. Nothing but selfish vulgari¬ 
ty could tempt a woman to make herself 
conspicuous by her dress or deportment. 
True refinement shuns display. Oh, would 
I could persuade my sister travelers to eter¬ 
nity to give up all this senseless extrava¬ 
gance, this excessive adorning of the perish- 
i 
MOOBE’S BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 335 
able dust, this frivolous pursuit of vanity, 
that leaves the heart a barren waste and 
the life but a season, with no seed time or 
harvest. Garnet. 
■-♦♦♦■- 
THE RIGHTS OF SOME WOMEN. 
We have in mind two among the most 
agreeable women we have ever met, both in 
manners and general cultivation, who are 
fitted personally to adorn any drawing¬ 
room, and who can converse intelligently on 
any subjoct which may be broached there, 
but who are not in general society, in the 
town where they live, simply because one of 
them is a dressmaker and the other a mil¬ 
liner. Both devote their evenings to read¬ 
ing and study; they travel, they hear the 
best music, and arc familiar with tho best 
thoughts of the day; and to the few who are 
really acquainted with them, they are val¬ 
ued friends. But they are not often iuvited 
—because nobody thinks of It. Can society 
afford to do without 3uch women as these? 
And their caso is not exceptional, ft is true 
that there are scores of young girls in our 
shops whose breeding and whole appearance 
are very questionable, and who could not 
be received, at present, into polite society. 
But do wc hold out any inducements to them 
to cultivate themselves? Do they see that 
those in their position who have become re¬ 
fined and intelligent are any better off, so¬ 
cially, than themselves? Nay, may not they 
seem rather worse off, as having lost a taste 
for ono kind of society, and failed to obtain 
admission to another? 
But, It may be answered, wo have church 
sociables for these very people. Yes, wo 
have; and most of them are very poor af¬ 
fairs indeed. Would ll, do you much good, 
if you were a shop-girl, to go once a month 
to tea, at a church parlor, and bo waited on 
with condescending assiduity by Mrs. Jones, 
who never speaks to you in the shop except, 
to give an order ? Or do you even euro much 
for her kinder and more thoughtful neigh- 
box', whom you always like to serve, because 
of her gentle ways, when she urges you to 
come to these sociables and “get acquaint¬ 
ed," and never would think of asking you 
to her house for that purpose, no matter 
how unexceptionable your English and your 
dress? 
Our rulo is not so revolutionary as it 
seems. Wo do bolievo in an arrangement 
of society which shall permit tho introduc¬ 
tion of all worthy to take a place in it; a 
society where, at least for those not native 
to it, the qualifications shall bo refinement 
and intelligence. Some are In who ought to 
be out, no doubt; but this cannot bo help¬ 
ed. It is for those who aro out and ought 
to be in that w« now speak.— 11 llume and 
Society,” in Scribner’s for May. 
-4-*-*-• 
FASHION IN THE NEW AND IN THE 
OLD WORLD. 
The young king of Siam, Cherishing a 
friendly regard for an American lady who 
had, during the reign of his late father, re¬ 
sided in tho royal city, requested her to send 
him her likeness. This was accordingly done 
by the hands of a mutual friend, and tho gift, 
as we learn from a recent, letter, was re¬ 
ceived with marked pleasure by the mon¬ 
arch. But after a longaudcareful scrutiny, 
he asked with a puzzled air, “ Has my friend 
changed her nation or her religion? It, must 
bo one or tho other. Tho features are tho 
same, but the dress t This is not the cos¬ 
tume she wore when 1 saw her last.” 
And thus it ever is in the Hast. Orientals 
cannot possibly comprehend why the style 
of dress should be changed, unless of neces¬ 
sity. Among them each nation and tribe has 
its peculiar costume, as well as its insignia 
of religious creed; and those fashions are 
perpetual, the lapse of thousands of years 
ordinarily being unmarked by any special 
change. The loose Oriental sleeve, adopted 
of late years by our ladies, has been worn iu 
China for thousands of years; the various 
basques, sacks, and jackets, so generally pre¬ 
valent among ua at the present time, have 
all been portions of the national costumes of 
Burmah, Siam, and Malaya from time im¬ 
memorial; and so of many of the styles in¬ 
troduced as new in our Western World. 
Some of their fashions, it is trim, seem very 
absurd to our unaccustomed eyes; but ours 
doubtless appear equally strange to an Ori¬ 
ental, who regards red as the appropriate 
color for a bride, white for mourning, and 
yellow as the distinguishing costume of 
the clergy.— May number of Ltppincott's 
•Magazine. 
- +++ - 
One of the happy pair who had their 
heaven-made match sanctioned on tho 29th 
of February, was horrified by tho officiating 
and mathematical clergyman declaring that 
the golden anniversary of their wedding 
would not occur till 2072- 
fading foi[ the f ouitg. 
THE “CALICO RUFFLE.” 
BY MA.7ASA. 
Eastward on from a prairie homo, 
Sweet with the bloom of May, 
Journeyed along a lllllo maid, 
Whoso kin folks far away 
Lived in style, and doily tried 
Each other to outshine, 
Although, alas ! no one possessed 
A gold or silver mine. 
This little maiden, sporting with 
Ten summers and ono more, 
As little knew of fashion’s ways, 
As they of ancient lore. 
At tlrst all seemed both nice and grand, 
Although It was quite now. 
To see the girls keep dressed cacti day, 
Like Sunday nil week through. 
A simple dress worn there one day,— 
Dainty and trim and neat, 
Its hue most pink only moro liko 
The apple blossoms sweet— 
Recalls tho words not yet forgot, 
" A ruffle,’’—with a suecr, 
“ On calico !" Ah ! proud Miss KATE, 
You buy your style too dea . 
For you givo up a warm, true lovo, 
For heartless, haughty pride, 
And cherish a rude, Hellish mien 
Flue drosses cannot hide. 
But you. may learn, as years pass on. 
And fortunes come and go. 
That life has more within its gift 
Than fashion, dress and show. 
- ■++-■* - 
OUR LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
A Letter to “Cousin Johnnie.” — M. 
A. W.” writes tho following good letter: 
— “Cousin Johnnie” complains that the 
questions in her first letter have not been 
answered. I will try to answer them, but 
whether it will prove satisfactory to her, or 
not, 1 cannot tell. Her questions were: 
“ What is education, and what is the uro of 
it?” Education is the cultivation of the 
human faculties, and without the use of ed¬ 
ucation we should be unable to answer 
“Cochin Johnnie's” letters, or even to 
read the Rural New-Yorker. I am afraid 
that 1 have answered “ COUSIN JoHNNlE-'s ” 
questions poorly, but then my education is 
not finished us "Cousin Johnnie’s” is, so 
you must excuse all mistakes. 1 am sorry 
to tell “UoijSj n Johnnie ” that tny calf will 
not. lie u pot l ike hers, for after footling and 
tending it, all winter, it quietly breathed 
its hist a few days ago. My school is closed 
ami I am home pn a vacation, which Lam 
try to Improve by learning to twist yarn. 
It is t he first step towards spinning, which 
I hope to l>o able to do some day. I would 
liko to know if “Cousin Joiinnik” can 
spin, and whether she. lives so far away that 
we shall never meet ? I expect as soon as 
tho roads get settled to resume my old 
amusement, horseback riding, and i would 
like to have her oomu and ride with nio.” 
A Little Deaf Boy, Wlllii; A, H„ writes 
from Galway, N. V., as follows: — “My 
father t akes the Rural, and 1 thought I 
would write you a letter to put in it. We 
live iu tho town of Galway. I am nine 
years old. I have been very sick, so my 
mother says, and 1 cannot hear anything, 
only funny noises Iu my ears. My matells 
me things, and 1 know what she says by her 
lips. I pray to God every night to make 
me hear, and 1 hope He will, for it will not 
do me any good to go to Church or Sabbath 
School while I am so deaf. When we moved 
pa had to hold mo on hiB lap; I could not 
walk, hut, I can now, and nm lots me go out 
doors when it is warm. 1 have a nice desk, 
and I keep all my things in it; it has u largo 
drawer iu it, and I put my clothes in that. 
My uncle gave it to me.” 
A Buckeye Girl's Figures.—L illie 
B. F., writing from Fremont, Ohio, says; 
“ Now what do you think of this city of six 
or seven thousand people, who let their 
cows, pigs and geese run in the streets and 
get their living out, of farmers’ wagons? 4 * * 
It Is vacation now, and t am helping ma to 
cut, and sew carpet rags, but I do not neglect 
my arithmetic; t st udy one hour each day. 
Pa is a farmer, and owns 185 acres of laud, 
lie raised last, year 508 bushels of wheat, 
1,701 bus I ids of oats, and GOO bushels of corn ; 
ho sold $127 worth of clover seed, $105 worth 
of hogs. Potatoes were poor; ho sold but 
one load, for 55 cents per bushel. Colorado 
bugs were plenty. Ho raises horses, cattle 
and sheep. 
Eight Sisters in a Group.— Effie E. 
O., writes:—I live in Hounsfield, Jefferson 
Co., N. Y. 1 have seven sisters; three are 
married. T had four brothers, but they aro 
all dead. Two years ago one of ray sisters 
came from the West and wo all had our 
likenesses taken in one picture. The artist 
said he had never taken eight sisters iu one 
group before. The Watertown, Carthage, 
and Sackett’s Harbor railroad is going 
through pupa's farm. The Railroad Co. 
has promised us a depot. 
-♦♦♦- 
A LESSON FOR BOYS. 
One day a fine Newfoundland dog and a 
mastiff had a sharp discussion over a bone 
or some other trifling matter, and warred 
away as angrily as two boys. They were 
fighting on a bridge; mid being blind with 
rage, as is often the case, the first, thing 
they knew over they went into the water. 
The banks were so high that they were 
forced to swim some distance before they 
came to a landing place. It, was very easy 
for the Newfoundlander; ho was as much 
at home iu the water as a seal. But not so 
poor Bruce; he struggled and tried his 
best to swim, but made but little headway. 
Old Bravo (the Newfoundlander) had 
reached the land, and then turned to look 
at his old enemy. Ho saw plainly that his 
strength was fast failing, and that ho was 
likely to drown. So, what should that 
noble fellow do but plunge in, seize him 
gently by the collar, and, keeping bis nose 
above water, tow him safely into port! 
It was funny to see these dogs look at 
each other as they shook their wot coats. 
Their glauco said as plainly as words, “ NVo’Jl 
never quarrel any morel ” 
THE DIFFERENCE. 
“ Willie, why were you gone so long for 
water?” asked the teacher of a little boy. 
“ Wo spilled it, and had to go back and 
fill tho bucket again,” was tho prompt 
reply; but the bright, noble face was a 
shade less bright, less noble than usual, and 
tho eyes dropped beneath the teacher's 
gaze. 
The teacher crossed tho room and stood 
by another, who had been Willie’s com¬ 
panion. 
“ Freddy, were yon not gono for the water 
longer than was necessary?” 
For an instant Freddy’s eyes were fixed 
on the floor, and his face wore a troubled 
look. But it was only for an instant—he 
looked frankly up to his teacher’s face. 
“Yes, ma’am," he bravely answered: 
“ wo met little Harry Braden and stopped 
to play with him, and then we spillod tho 
water, and had to go back.” 
Little friends, what was the difference in 
the. answers of tho two boys? Neither of 
them told anything that was not strictly 
true. Which one of them do you think tho 
teacher trusted more fully after that ? A ml 
which was the happier of the two? 
®Ite fluider. 
ILLUSTRATED REBUS. No. 20. 
What five songs are illustrated above? 
Rockford, Ill. Fourteen. 
\SIT‘ Answer In two weeks, when we will pub¬ 
lish tho names of those sending us correct an¬ 
swers. 
PROBLEM,—No. 7. 
My garden is nil equilateral triangle. From a 
stake near Its center it is 20 rods to one corner, 30 
rods to the second corner, and 40 rods to the 
third. How long Is ono side ? 
This problem can be solved, and an exact an¬ 
swer obtained, by plain Geometry and Algebra, 
without any “higher equations" or Logarithms; 
bat, as Burleson said once, “It will puzzle the 
most skilled to determine It,." An approximative 
answer can easily be found, however, by using 
Logarithms. MathematiCUS. 
J5© r * Answer in two weeks, with the names of 
thoso who send correct answers. 
-■»+■»- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-May 4. 
Illustrated Hkhus No. 18. — Europe and 
America show to Asia and Africa what they 
once saw and would not have —a Divine Saviour. 
Correct answers have been received from A. L. 
Skeel, Mrs. D. C. Hobart, (Jura A. Young, James 
L. Gallagher, Charles E. Welch, Samuel Parsons, 
Henry K. Bradley, Edward M. lllaiullng, Alonzo 
G. Woodworth, Will H Prize, Mrs. M. E. Mnfllit, 
Ida M. Potter, John 8. Chase, Honry.Griswold, 
Susan Walker. 
Kiddle No. 3.—Tho "King" Is the Sim and 
the “ Agents of State " are the Comets. No cor¬ 
rect answers to tblR riddle have been received. 
Sou are-Word Enigma No. 2.— 
1— 8 W A B 
2— W A G E 
3— A G U E 
4— B E E F 
t 
