FEB, 
MOORE’S RURAL fJEW-YOBKER 
MY PLEA. 
BY ANNIE JENNIE. 
OH. no, I really ara no flirt, 
I eurely could not be, 
In thought, or deed, so bad a girt. 
Or make myself bo free 
Tou are mistaken very much 
In what you say of me. 
I never try to please, or blind. 
Or dupe in any way: 
AJJ of my looks and actions are 
As open a s t he day: 
Too frank and honest, If you knew. 
I think you’d rntlicr say ! 
Why, to be sure I like my friends— 
The gents and ludies too,— 
But that you know is nothing more 
Than all good folks should do. 
And If I follow Christian rules 
Who can mo blame * rati you? 
And of my “ lovers,” as you say, 
I’ll freely tell you all: 
The one with eyes so soft and brown. 
And hands so white and small,— 
fTp looked to ntrr, I could but like 
Poor, silly Johnny Haul. 
And you remember sober Ben,— 
Studied from morn till night— 
He knew so much I wished to learn. 
I tried with all my might, 
Till I liked books better than him— 
Ho thought It good and right. 
.And Billy Blaze could sing a eonc 
In voice and style so One— 
A.nd read so well, your heart would melt 
At " Bingen on the Rhine”— 
TUI one would think him scarce a man. 
But something more divine. 
And HENKY DOE bad heart so kind 
Ho always gave the poor; 
His kindly words nnd gracious wavs. 
Those made me like him more, 
And ’cause he was so full of Jokes 
Was why I liked Fred Stowed. 
The trouble Is, that men all think 
A girl must, be In love, 
If she but act her natural self. 
And not a timid dove, 
That dare not raise her eyes to theirs 
For fear she'll “ fall In love.” 
They blame us for deceit and airs. 
Pannier and waterfall ;— 
If we professions strive to learn 
Or for anything at all, 
Except the mind and manners of 
A senseless, waxen doll! 
OLD MAIDS AGAIN. 
What Ci aiia Jolikn nays of “ Old Maids ” in 
Rural New-Yorker of Jail. II, reminds me 
of what my old grandmother used to any: 
“Girls, no one is to blame for being an old 
maid; but it is your own fault if you are old- 
maidish." Now 1 think it is not old maids as a 
class that are sneered at, but only the okl- 
maidixh ones. For instance, who ever thinks 
of calling Florence Niohtinoalk an old maid ? 
Or tbb Oahy sisters, and hundreds of others, 
not talented merely, hut t he gentle and loveable 
ones that quietly (111 such a large place in many 
homes, taking all the care and burdens of wife 
and motherhood without any of their sweet 
compensations? 
Perhaps Clara is right In saying unhappy 
mothers and wives sueer at single women be¬ 
cause. they envy them But. it does not fol¬ 
low that because a woman has four or “six 
handsome children ” she wishes herself unmar¬ 
ried, not even though she has seon her“idol” 
turn to “clay," and must carry through life a 
■oid in her heart which should be filled with 
li«>r husband’s love, f know of ntora than one 
such woman, who yet would not, if she could, 
blot out i lie fact, and live a single life instead. 
Motherhood is so precious a boon that every 
true woman would choose it, with Its cares and 
heartaches, rather than a life of ease without, 
it. And CLARA, “when 1 hear a sfntflfl woman 
making sarcastic remarks concerning " married 
friends who are “lied to cross old men and 
troublesome children," or “ poor sticks of men,” 
“I.always Infer that she is not perfectly con¬ 
tented with fur condition In life." Is not the 
inference as just in one case as the other? Is 
not 1 ho truth just this: there are women who 
would not he contented or beloved In any con¬ 
dition In life? The fretful, peevish old maid 
will make a fretful, discontented wife and 
mother. Jt is yourself, not your condition, that 
makes you happy and beloved, or the reverse. 
Many a true, brave woman feels a void in iter 
life and a yearning In her heart which not hing 
will till or wif isf> but her ow n baity clasped In 
her arms. But, liko Phkbe Oaky, that only 
makes her more patient, more lovable, more 
helpful to other hearts. Those who are sour 
and bitter would he so in spite of motherhood 
or wifehood. I think young girls should re¬ 
member this, and make up their minds to be 
happy any how, whether married or single; 
they can be if they have the love of One who 
will never full them. 
What “ Ci-ara ” says about being Independent 
is.quite truo; only don't be tan independent 
Clara, so that no one will feel they need you, 
and no home be brighter and happier when 
“Auntie" comes. Let. disappointments and 
inevitables only make us strong, rich and mel¬ 
low-full of loving kindness. m. s. b. 
AN OPINION OF WOMEN. 
Oliver Wendell Holmes has recorded the 
following as his opinion of women“ A woman, 
notwithstanding she is the best, of listeners, 1 
knows her business, and It Is a woman's busi¬ 
ness to please. I don’t say that It. Is not her [ 
business to vote, but Ido say that the woman 
who does not please is a false note In the har¬ 
monies of nature. She may not have youth or 1 
beauty, or even manner, but slie must have 
something in her voice or expression, or both, 
which it makes you reel better disposed toward 
your race to look at or listen to. She knows 
that as well as we do; and her first question 
after you have been talking your soul into her 
consciousness is, * Did l please?' 
“A woman never forgets her sex. 8he would 
rather talk with a man than an angel any day. 
Womanly women are very kindly critics, except 
to themselves, and now and then to their own 
sex. The less there is of sex about a woman, 
the more she is to be dreaded. But take a 
real woman at her best moment—well dressed 
enough to be pleased with herself, not sore- 
splendent, as to be a show and a sensation, with 
the varied outside influences that, set vibrating 
the harmonic notes of her nature stirring in the 
air about her nnd what lias social 1 Ho to com¬ 
pare with one of those vital Interchanges of 
thought and feeling with her that make an hour 
memorable? 
“What can equal her tact, her delicacy,her 
subtlety of apprehension, her quickness to feel 
the changes of temperature as the warm and 
cool currents of thought blow by turns? At 
one moment she Is microscopically intellectual, 
critical, scrupulous in judgment as an analyst’s 
balance, and the next as sympathetic ns the open 
rose that sweetens the wind from whatever 
quarter It finds Its way to her bosom. It is in 
the hospitable soul of a woman that a man for¬ 
gets he Is a stranger, and so becomes natural 
and truthful, at the same time t hat he is mes¬ 
merized by all those divine differences which 
make her a mystery and a bewilderment." 
---. 
HINTS FOR YOUNG MOTHERS. 
The three requisites for babies are plenty of 
sleep, plenty of food and plenty of flannel. The 
saying that man is a bundle of habits is as true 
of babies, as it is of grown children. If an Infant 
is accustomed from Its birth to sleep from tdx 
o’clock at night until daylight, the habit of 
early sleep will be formed, and the mother may 
have all her evenings to herself. If the baby 
sloops all night, a long morning nap will mit’ir- 
ally come about dinner time, after which the 
child, except when very young, should lie kept 
awake until six o’clock. Perseverance in this 
routine will soon result in securing quiet eve¬ 
nings for both the child and parent. Some 
mothers have a long season every morning and 
every night in getting the baby asleep. They 
rock them and sing them till Morpheus enfolds 
them. Wit h most children this is entirely un¬ 
necessary. An Infant can be accustomed, by a 
few days training, to go to sleep itself for a 
morning nap as well as for tho longer rest at 
night. 
-♦♦♦-— 
TO SECURE MUTUAL HAPPINESS. 
Happiness between husband and wife can 
only be secured by that constant tenderness and 
cure of the parties for each other which are 
based upon warm and demonstrative love. Tho 
heart demands that the man shall not sit reti¬ 
cent, self-absorbed, and silent in the midst of 
his family. The women who forgets to note 
and provide for her husband’s tastes and wishes, 
renders her homo undesirable for him. In a 
word, ever present and over-demonstrative gen¬ 
tleness must reign, or else the heart starves. 
MOTHERHOOD. 
Mus. Harriet Beecher Stowe speaks of 
motherhoood In a pretty way, when she says: 
“It would sometimes seem as if motherhood 
were a lovely artifice of the great Father, to 
wean the heart from selfishness by a peaceful 
and gradual process. The babe is self in another 
form. It is so interwoven and Identified with 
the mother's life that she passes by almost in¬ 
sensible gradations from herself to it; and day 
by day the instinctive love of self wanes as the 
child love waxes, filling the heart with a thou¬ 
sand now springs of tenderness.” 
-»♦» 
A MAN WHO WILL DISINHERIT HIS WIFE be¬ 
cause she marries again bears her the same kind 
of love that the Turk bears toward the women 
of bis harem, and not the love which a free, true 
man bears toward a free, true woman. If he 
finds happiness in a married life, what a cruel 
brute that lie should deliberately provide that 
when he dies, und his widow, recalling the hap¬ 
py days of her married life, should consent to 
marry again, she shall be deprived of tho fortune 
which he leaves her! Such men were married 
in body, but never In soul. -Ti.-Day, 
-- 
Miss Emily Faith full, the printer to the 
Queen, Is suffering from the asthma to such an 
extent that she fears she may have to cut her 
tour In America short, and returns to England. 
She has met with a warm reception in tho West, 
and is to have a grand reception from the work¬ 
ing women of New York. 
-♦♦♦—-- 
The poorest education that teaches self-con¬ 
trol is better than the best that neglects it. 
Heading for the ftoung. 
BOYS AGAIN. 
Old boys, and truo, l send you greeting. 
“ Greeting? from whom, and whence?” say you ; 
Brot her Dick appoints a meeting, 
For me, and you, and you, and you. 
“ A meeting? that doesn’t sound like Dick, 
He always wns so .lolly I 
I see! It's Just an old-time trick,— 
Or some consummate folly 1” 
No, not a hit I no words aro truer 
The parson speaks op Sunday; 
(T think sometimes If there were fewer 
We’d practice more on Monday,! 
I sat upon the porch, and smoked—myself a-dream- 
Ing,— 
We all were hoys again, and In the Helds were glean¬ 
ing,— 
We gleaned, and played, and ate choke-cherries; 
We laughed, nnd talked, and looked for berries; 
And then i mind at, Summer noon. 
When wo wont home to dinner, 
(Which never runic a whit too soon, 
So hungry ev’ry sinner t -) 
How mother used to say, “ My boys, 
Now gather round tho table— 
T do not wish to cheek your Joys, 
But don't make homo a Babel." 
Then mastered Tom, and brae, and Bill : 
And JIM, and JO, and ANDY i 
Aud last, emtio trudging up the hill, 
Tho pot and baby SANDY. 
Such puddings and such pies— 
1 vow she never made a blunder 
(I sometimes think I taste them now. 
Just as I did when younger !) 
And now t sny, “ Let's have a meeting, 
A real surprise to mother 1” 
It is for this 1 Bond a greeting. 
To each anil every other. 
We’ll leave tho titles all at homo,— 
I5e boys to one another; 
As Tom, aud Dick, and Bill, we’ll com<v 
We’re always hoys to mother. 
There’s Jim,- he halls from Maine, they say ; 
And Jo’s off In Australia,— 
And brother Bill, he's raising cane. 
(.Just, where , I couldn't, tell you.) 
But ho is one who o’en can dream 
When any fun Is coming,— 
So he'll turn up, 1. ween, 
A-whistling or a-drutuining: 
Then, as for Andy, why It's clear 
He’ll march along from Kansas; 
And brother Tom ’ll bring up the roar, 
A-walking In from Congress. 
So, here we are! six boys 1 ha ha! 
intli caues—yray tmni»—an<l, olassn! 
Why Tom, I say, don’t this beat all, 
How fast through Ill’ll one passes? 
Look ! dost shou see that tall tree wave, 
Just there by brother Andy / 
Beneath It I* a little grave 
Of darling baby SANDY ;— 
We'll gather round, and Jim will pray 
That we may greet each other 
Where all are young again, they say— 
Not ati Iy boys to mother. R. K. F. 
--- 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
A Finger In the Pie. 
Dear Mr. Editor:—I have never written to 
your paper, but I ha ve felt quite anxious to have 
a finger in when I have read pieces from so 
many of the little folks. 1 am very glad you 
give us the opport unity, If ttdoes not amount to 
much to the greater portion of your readers. I 
tell you it does us good we like attention as 
well as grown peoplo. My pa is a farmer in the 
corporation of Glovorsvllle. Wo take the Ru¬ 
ral and I like it very much. 1 am a boy, 12 
years old. 1 have not seen any letter front 
Glovorstillo in your paper; and. as our village 
Is not in the background in other respects, I do 
not, wisli It to bo In this. There are 0,000 inhabi¬ 
tants In our village; we have a graded school of 
800 scholars and a number of dist rict schools in 
the suburbs—I attend the latter. There are 1U0 
scholars and one teacher, but he Is No. 1 I assure 
you. lie has taught here four terms. Now 1 
must tell you about our Kabbatli school the 
dearest of all places to me. I have one of tho 
finest, teachers. He takes a great Interest in us. 
Our Superintendent is Member of Assembly 
from this district, I only wish all our Assembly¬ 
men were Superintendents of Sabbath schools, 
I think it would take less money to run the ma¬ 
chine.—v. p. s. 
Thoughts About an Apple. 
Dkau Rural I am 12 years old. I love your 
paper and have tried to get upaclub.but have not 
yet succeeded. I shall keep trying, and perhaps 
succeed yet. I love to read Cousin Johnnie’s 
letters, and all the girls’ and boys’ also. Al- 
vika, you and 1 are both Whites. 1 wish you 
would give your letter address In your next let¬ 
ter. Now I must say something about the ap¬ 
ple; but I hardly believe I can do any better 
than Alviiia. Apples are generally called fruit; 
they grow on trees, as we all know. They are 
Irregular In shape; to the taste they are nutrl- 
tlotiB, also delicious. Some are aour. Thore are 
flowers on the trees in the Spring, which is the 
commencement of the apple; then It grows to | 
an apple; and then what becomes of the flower, | 
you ask, do you not? Why, Mile flower is tho 
calyx when tho apple is In Its growth; so tho 
calyx is the seed end. They have also a stem, 
which is opposite the calyx. When you pick an 
apple the limb breaks off about half an inch 
from t he apple, which is like a joint. If you 
pull the stem out of I lie apple some of tho skin 
and apple will come out with b like roots. 
Home apples are mealy, some juicy; they have 
different colors; theskin gives thorn thelroolor; 
some are green and yellow, uotue are green aud 
red, some are crimson. Apples have also a 
core, which is divided Into four or six parts; 
you may open tlieae places and find some dark 
brown seeds about one-quarter or one-third of 
an inch long. The core is situated in the center 
of the apple. Some apples have tmt little core, 
some considerable. The skin is usually thiu. 
Berries nnd tomatoes are also spccioa of fruit. 
I will mention a few species that ArvinAdld 
not:— There are Heek-no-Further, Russets, Or¬ 
ange Pippins, Fall Pippins, t'tah Pippins Found 
Sweets. Twenty Ounce. A crab apple is '3 large 
as a walnut, and is round; color is yellow and 
red. They have.skin, core, Becds, stem, calyx; 
some mealy, some juicy, like ot her apples Am 
I not right? Dora B. White. 
- 
About a Hoy Doll. 
Mr. Moore: As I saw by the last Rural 
that some lit tie girl about my o" n age had writ¬ 
ten a piece in your much-valued newspaper. I 
thought 1 would write a piece, and T hope you 
will think it worthy of publication. 1 go to 
school and have a cross teacher. I have never 
been healthy until last Summer, when my fat her 
sent me to tho country to visit tny cotl&in Skl- 
eka, which so improved my health that now I 
can do almost any kind of light work I am 
knitting my mother a pair of blue woolen stock¬ 
ings for a Christmas present, and Lam going to 
give my father a tooth-brush. When ray mother 
does not need my help, I make fancy work I 
have made a pair of slippers and a pair of wool¬ 
en mits since th” first of November 1 ara 11 
years Old and an only child. I have dark eves 
and dark brown curls. 1 am very email for one 
of my age, so people tell me, 1 have got a boy 
doll ; his name la Henry. Ho has got a green 
waist and a pair of black velvet pants, yellow 
shoes, and a black velvet hat with a yellow 
feather. M. Elhoka Leslie, Newburgh, <> 
A Boy’e Idea of a Farm. 
We take your paper, and wo like it very well 
I like to read tin’ boys' ami girls’ letters. I live 
on a farm, and work hard; I like it very well. 
One of the Rural boys asked fur tho opinion of 
some of us about living on a farm or going to a 
city to learn a trade. I say live on a farm, where 
you can raise hogs, and poultry, and catt le, and 
have many nice pets and all sorts of tilings that 
are nice. I used to live in a city, and used to 
like it, very well, but since wo have been living 
on a farm I like It much better. We lived in 
Illinois, but we wanted to live on a farm, so wo 
moved South, to Mississippi. H. Stuart. 
A Nice Picture. 
Dear Editor: 1 am a girl of 14, aud atn at¬ 
tending school. My pa hast been taking tho 
Rural for several years, i like to read the boys’ 
and girls’ letters tho best of all Pa has sent for 
the Rural and Birt h-Day Morning, which we ail 
think will fie very nice.— M. E. H., Pa. 
SHie 
ILLUSTRATED REBUS.-No. .4 
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p/ /~~N- 
, , Hi 
IA \T 
i ■ ir'-rf&Ai—jllil 
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|y f&B. - ( <* 
- Cet 
%W' Answer in two weeks. 
-*♦«- 
PUZZLE—No. 4. 
I am a word of five letters. My third is one- 
tenth of the fifth. My fifth is onc-balf of the 
first. My second and fourth stands for yourself. 
The whole Is what 1 hope you till aro. 
Answer in two weeks. 
— — - - 
ANAGRAM.-No. 2. 
A whod titly noksep si kilo saplop fo logd nl 
truespie fo visler. 
iW Answer in two weeks. 
-- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS-Jan. 18. 
Problem No. 1. Four hours, 16 minutes and 
52 seconds— or 16 minutes and 52 seconds past L 
o’clock, P. M. 
Cbosr-Wobo Enigma No. 2. —Splderwort 
(TraslwantUx Viryinica.) 
Illustrated Rebus No. 3. To thine own self 
be true. 
Puzzle No. 2.—Rome. 
