-*riC 
MABSH 45 
m ©OBE’S BUBAL NEW-YOBHEB. 
m 
jiiuiic.'i’ m 
A MEMORY OF MOTHER. 
Ah ! years hare loitered by, mother, 
A weary, weary while, 
Since last .1 saw thy gentle face, 
With its sweet, patient smile ; 
Since last l felt thy fingers light 
Pass fondly through nsy hair, 
As at thy Knee l knelt at night 
To say my childish prayer. 
Into the world I've gone, mother, 
The old home left behind— 
New ties of friendship and of love 
About my heart have twined: 
Yet in its holiest recess, 
All dry unJ joyless still, 
There lives one well of tenderness 
No earthly lore can fill. 
m. 
Thy self-forgetful care, mother : 
Thy conns d. ever near; 
Thy sympathy with every Joy, 
Thy grief forev 'ry tear; 
Thy loving glance, thy tender tone, 
Thy warm kiss on ;ny brow— 
Gone from my life, forever gone !— 
1 Know their value now. 
FASHIONABLE SUICIDE. 
BY MAY WHITNEY. 
It is computed by the best authorities, that 
of all the suicides which float in our rivers and 
till our Morgues, and make desolate our once 
happy homes, a proportion of at least two-thirds 
nre women. Tills estimate does not Include 
t lie tin numbered multitude of women who die 
yearly, victims of long-continued attempts «t 
self-murder, over whose bodies the rites of 
Christian burial are performed ; at whose graves 
sorrowful friends bewail the special dispensa¬ 
tions which removed them from earth in the 
flower oT youth and womanhood, no one know¬ 
ing! hat their daisy-decked mounds conceal the 
awful secret or suicide. 
We see them everywhere, those fading blos¬ 
soms which the froxi* of death will blast, or 
ever their fair lives reach the day of golden 
fruitage. Or if the frost delay a little, van¬ 
quished by the unquenchable Hummer in the 
veins of youth, and the fruit grows fair and 
shapely toward maturity, the hidden worm 
which gnaws ever at the life-center, triumphs 
at last, and it fails shriveled to the dust. How 
numerous they are, those blasted lives, whose j 
insidious disease no skill can discover, let the 
tear-swollen eyee, and quivering lips, and sob- 
shaken breasts all over the land reply. 
“I cannot imagine what ails my daughter." a 
father omo said to me; “she was as strong a 
child as one eonld \ii-di to see. Hlie had no 
transmitted disease of any kind, and we gave 
her the most careful train tug, physically; yet, 
within a few years, she has lost, all her hound¬ 
ing, beautifying health, aiul lieson her bed most 
of the time, just, wasting away.” 
“ What does her physician say?" 
“He seems unable to help her. At first, lie 
called it ‘general debilitythen it was ‘spinal 
affection;’ then her heart was the cause of the 
disease; then her lungs seemed to no tno of- 
fending members; now, I believe he calls it 
‘consumption of tin* bowels.' My opinion is, 
that he does not know what alls her.” 
“Well| my dear sir,” I said, firmly, “ I know 
what ails your daughter. Hhe is commuting 
tsuicidc!" 
Thp afflicted father lifted both hands, and 
stared at me in open-mouthed horror. 
“I know what I say. Hlie made the first at¬ 
tempt at Madame Houllakd's Seminary ten 
years ago. I saw her do it myself. 1 have since 
seen it repeatedly, and I am certain it is the 
cause of her present condition.” 
“Why, in heaven's name, did you not tell her 
mother or myself?" lie gasped. 
“ You would not have believed it possible. I 
used all my influence to dissuade her from the 
deed, but to no avail. Come to her room, and I 
will prove what I say.” 
The pale sufferer still insisted upon rolling 
herself each day as usual. Hlie half reclined 
upon a low conch, trying to rise as we entered, 
but sinklng back exhausted. Hhe looked won- 
drously beautiful at that moment. Her golden 
hair floated about her like waves of sunshine: 
her luminous blue eyes were full of weird, un¬ 
earthly brilliance; a rich carnation bloomed 
upon he cheeks and lips—an ominous flush, 
like a gorgeous sunset which precedes night. 
Her dainty white dross, with its lace-edged 
ruffles, was“faultily faultless;” her feel were 
encased In the tiniest of slippers. Altogether, 
she looked quite the reverse of a self-murderer. 
The father looked into tier face and disbelieved 
it instantly. 
I took from the table one of her school books 
—a physiology turned to the diagram showing 
the natural form of a healthy chest and the 
proper position of the organs it contains, with 
the opposite plute, showing deformity caused 
by compression, I read from it: 
“It is of the greatest importance that tile 
motions of the chest and abdomen should not 
be interfered with. Freedom of action is abso¬ 
lutely essential here, where the lower portion 
of the lungs, liver, spleen, stomach, etc., are 
located. The important organs of respiration, 
the diaphragm is also here. Compress these 
parts,*anil the diaphragm is hampered in its 
action, respiration Is partially stopped, the 
lungs and heart compressed, the stomach and 
liver either forced out of place, or what is 
worse,squeezed into half the space they would 
naturally occupy. The portal circulation is 
obstructed, ami the viscera become the scat of 
venous engorgemeut,” 
“That is precisely the condition of your 
daughter, my deal' friend," 1 said. “ book at 
her even to-day, weak as siie is, difficult as her 
lungs would I!ud this labor Of purification at 
any time, or her heart, its enormous work of 
forcing out through Its ventricles three ounces 
of blood at each stroke, doing a daily work equal 
to lifting one hundred and tier id (/-three tons one 
foot from its level, she has compressed t tie room 
in which they labor to almost half its natural 
size, crushing the heart against its walls, en¬ 
tirely closing ai least, one hair of the lung cells, 
and deluging her bowels with impure blood, 
which produces congest ion and inflammation. 
A natural waist fora woman of her size would 
measure from twenty-eight to thirty-four inch¬ 
es, ir never artificially compressed. Con A, wbnt 
is the size of your corsets?” 
“Eighteen inches," she answered languidly, 
sighing. 
“ From toil to fourteen - Inches less room In a 
chest not a prufn too Uuyr for Hit* all-important 
organs contained in it! N<> wonder she is dy¬ 
ing, sir. ThU I call suiefileJ" 
The poor father was shocked indeed. He had 
“ Never invaded, the sacred precincts of ieml- 
nlne mysteries;” ho “Supposed her mother 
ought to know.” And so might nil mot hers to 
know that the (list half-inch of compression 
about the waist—none too large when natural 
for either beauty or life • heir daughters began 
the crime of fi lo dc «<:. How many of them do 
know the fact ? How many <>f them realize 
that disease of liver, dyspepsia and consump¬ 
tion tire legitimate results of such compres¬ 
sion ? That deformit ies of the worst character 
are produced in that manner, deformities of 
shoulder, of spine, or hip; deformities of tem¬ 
per and mind for impure blood flowing to the 
brain will cause all varieties of derange monte — 
all physicians know, at lust, \V hy will not mot ti¬ 
ers ami daughters he convinced? 
Wo arc told on every side that a slender waist 
is beautiful. Who has made it so? Not the 
All-wise Artist who created the human form, 
and made it the most perfect gem in a universe 
of beauty; not the grand old masters 
a, . , »■ ,4’y papa, not a soldier recognized or saluted us in 
4 4 (Vt ft IT fi T ft Y T T l' 1 ) fl It It fl driving nil round the city, and we had on uni- 
^Itauiuy jut UUf JglPWHlJ. form, and rode in the royal carriage." “Ah!” 
JUST ONE. 
ON tiptoe 
Sally went to the closet, oh! 
There to view 
Sweet grapes, and plums, end apples, too. 
“ oh ! how 1 wish t had Just one!” 
Out went five fingers, all for fun— 
“ But, mamma said that 1 must wait; 
PT’aps, when she comes, she'll give me eight." 
On tiptoe 
Sally went to the window, nli! 
There to see 
Whether the town-clock had struck three. 
“ Baby’s steeping—1 must ho still. 
Or he'll need a par’gorte pill.” 
But baby opens wide Ids eyes, 
And. 'stead of crying, looks so wise ! 
On tlfltne 
Hally went to the cradle, oh ! 
Him to Kiss, 
That he bin mamma should not miss. 
" Hi! let’s dunce this way, let’s dance that 
Tickle ids little chin so fat! 
•* I’ltMi-pnt, plt-a-put I baker’s man ! 
Roll ’em—twm 'em fast us you cun 1” 
On tiptoe 
Mamma came up the long stairs, oli! 
Just, to see 
Her own sweet darlings In such glee. 
“ O, mamma, he has been so good!” 
The baby come to mamma woidd. 
" Sally, child, ope the closet door,” 
Sally ’ll have eight and something more. 
On tiptoe 
Sally readied the high shelf, oh ! 
There to get 
Ripe fruit, In gold-bound (Italics set. 
“ Sully, take as much as you choose.” 
Sally did not a moment lose. 
In Hally’s mOUth n blue plum went, 
And after it five more were sent, 
And a rosy-dieeked apple, ami 1 don’t know how 
many purple grapes! 
f.W'u'i/ ffelines Gilbert. 
form, an<l rode 
he says to the lad; “soldiers did not salute you, 
oli? Well, you must understand, my boy, that 
no Prussian soldier will present arms to an un¬ 
washed prince!" 
— - ♦♦♦ -- 
MY PICTURE FRAME. 
1 would like to tell the young readers of the 
H 11 bat. Skw-Yohkek, how 1 framed the pretty 
picture found on page ”.i of the Urn At. for Jan. 
dlli 187”. My husband made a plain frame, the 
required size, of light wood Pi inches wide by 
thick, and painted it black. For glass I took 
n common window [Mine 10 hy II, which is the 
required size; for back, strong pasteboard. I 
then gathered some seed-pods of the sweet gum 
(nr liquldamber, which grows quite abundant 
here) split theta and glued them. Hat side down, 
on the outside of the frame as close ns I could 
get them, and it makes a rustic looking frame 
which is admired for its beauty and cheapness. 
The sweet gum is described, and a seed-pod and 
leaf figured on page 3X2 of (ho RURAL for Nov. 
•J5, 1871. Should this find a place in I he Urn At,, 
1 will In my next letter tell how I tnako a “ Par¬ 
lor Horn." Lii.y Aster. 
Cottage Home, O. 
—-—— -*■++ - 
RESPECT THE AGED. 
The whims of second childhood arc too often 
disregarded by the young. 
There cau be no greater indication of a nar¬ 
row soul than that show'll by a man or woman 
who neglects an aged parent, because lie or slio 
is old-fashioned, childish, peevish, and trying to 
the patience. 
Old people are ” set. in their ways," nml the 
young ought to respect them, notwithstanding 
they may not like their ways. 
Inkier. 
“ Whose distant, footsteps echo 
Through tb'' corridors of time;” 
not the sublime genius of the sculptor, who 
pierced the secret of all forms, and sought the 
highest, purest line of grace, embodying it in 
tho Immortal Venus. 
The pernicious Imblt of compressing the waist 
Is ns much a relic of barbarism as the shaving 
of heads, tat tooing, Are- How it originated, or 
where it became generally adopted by women, 
we have no time to discuss ; that It has become 
one of the main causes or discos,- nnd death 
among us is quite sufficient for us to know. 
We frequently hear the argument in favor of 
waspish waists (lull “Gentlemen admire them." 
What gentlemen? A gentleman In recent arti¬ 
cles in two well known and influential maga¬ 
zines, called tor the name of any gentleman In 
the land who admired or desired this “beauty” 
in the lady lie should call ” tV lie. 
Not a gen¬ 
tleman responded. No man of reason, senti¬ 
ment, taste, could do so consistently. Gentle¬ 
men admire the rich, rosy flush or health, the 
sparkling eye, tho full rounded lip and form 
which is so seldom found except in the “coun¬ 
try lassies-” That men do love and man y lus¬ 
hes with “fashionable waist," is due solely to 
tliu fact that, they admire refinement of man¬ 
ners and cultivation of mind far more than 
mere physical strength and beauty. Combine 
Hie two attractions, and woman will lie wor¬ 
shiped as never before. 
Compression of any part, of the body entails 
di-ense. Every muscle should act. freely, every 
win and artery should be swelled will) the puls¬ 
ing life-! ide. Let. health have free course and 
be glorified. This implies no deviation from 
the rules of good taste or graceful attire. It 
does not require that girls should be angular, or 
course or slovenly, bet any young lady consult 
her dressmaker or the fashion editress of her 
paper, and sue will learn (hat scores of pretty 
devices exist, whereby all compression In any 
quarter may be avoided, and the dregs still pre¬ 
serve its grace ami neatness, with an added 
charm <>f jauntiness. There are dainty little 
jackets and suoques. which may bo adapted to 
house and street wear, which give the requisite 
i loseness without destroying a single graceful 
curve or outline. r ! here are numerous inven¬ 
tions which- relieve the limbs of bands of any 
sm t, which give the muscles of the feet free¬ 
dom of motion, which make health and reflne¬ 
ment a grace possible to all. 
Mrs. STOWK, in a lute article, says:—“Sins 
against taste are never pardoned. You cannot 
I reason with disgusts." All of which is true. 
Ami. thanks t o inventive brains and benevolent 
philanthropists, there Is no longer need of such 
sins. A lady may, if she will, land every sensf- 
Iflc woman will, in time,) robe herself in perfect 
taste and elegance, and at the same time with¬ 
out inducing “all the ills which (female) flesh is 
, heir to,” . 
The days of bloomers are past. May fashion¬ 
able strangulation and suicide die with them, 
and time usher In a generation strong to endure 
all its shocks, and fair as our most heavenly 
dreams and desires. 
LETTERS TO YOUNG RURALISTS.-No. 15. 
FROM COUSIN JOHNNIE. 
T)u not think, little cousin*, that Cousin 
Johnnie inis forgotten.you. it has been want 
of time, not want of Interest or Inclination, that | 
has kept her pen stilt,—! think Dor a 0. White's ; 
endeavor to tell us what alio knows about apples 
ought to have pleased “ Undo Charles." She 1 
will excuse me, I know, however, if I tell her it 
was not. correct to say “they are nidi Him/* to j 
the taste.” If she looks at the meaning of the j 
word 111 the dictionary, she will understand 
why. I am very happy to hear she likes Cousin 
■ImiNNiK’s letters n well. I beg “ Young Nat¬ 
uralist's" pardon for thinking hint a girl! It j 
was not because his letter was unmanly, but be- i 
cause—well, 1 don’t beliovo I'd bi tter say ; but, j 
any way, It was a nice letter. I played an amus¬ 
ing game, the other night, that some of my lit - 
tie cousins may like to try. Each one of the 
party is provided with n slip of paper, at the top 
of which he makes a picture of something, and 
at the bottom of the paper writes what it is 
meant to represent, folds it over, and passe* it 
to the next. The next one, after examining the 
picture, writes, below, what he t hinks it is, folds 
it over, and passes it on. When all have written 
on each, the papers are unfolded, and t he name 
of the picture read, together wit h the different 
opinions. The ridiculous mistakes made cause 
a great deal of fun/fometluies. For instance, 
the other night. I drew .. : well its i could (which, 
to l>e sure, was not very well), a representation 
of the President of our Literary Society, sitting 
behind a little table, as he usually does when 
the Society meets. He, himself, was playing 
the game, and when lie saw tho picture he im¬ 
mediately decided it was a little dog waiting 
for his dinner! - Another person thought it was 
tho cow Jumping over the moon! I am very 
sorry to hear Elhoka Leslie talking about a 
“cross teacher," for I recollect, when I was a 
little girl, that when I thought the teacher 
“cross,” it was always when I hadn't learned 
my lessons, Or had behaved badly. And now 
that I am a teacher myseil, I luuno that, no 
teacher is ever “cross" to a diligent, obedient 
little boy or girl. Try, Elhora dear, to be a 
more satisfactory scholar, and sec ir the teacher 
will not be just as kind to you as you could wish. 
REBUS PRIZES. 
The Rural New-Yorker will give tho fol¬ 
lowing prizes for the host, second and third 
best original Illustrated Rolmsps, received at 
this office on or before April In, 1873: For the 
ber,t original Illustrated Helms, a copy of the 
Rural New-Yorker for 1873 and the Premium 
Engraving* “Birth-Day Morning;” for tbo 
second best, the Rural New-Yorker from 
January 1 to July 1, 1873, and “ Rlrtli-Day Morn¬ 
ing;" for the third best, “ Birth-Day Morning." 
The copies of Engraving to be sent post-paid. 
GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE. No. 1. 
I WAS going on a Journey, so T went out to 
prepare for It. First. I purchased a piece of a 
city of Russia for an outside wrap, and a city 
on the Rhino for its perrume. I asked the clerk 
f,,r my bill, and he said the sum was a division 
of Africa. I passed on, and soon met a city of 
Belgium looking for BomO fowls of a city in 
France, which ho had seen Hying through a 
river of England; but could not see to throw a 
small range of the Allegany Mountains, because 
the rlverof England wn»sofull of another small 
portion of the Allegan lee. I went Into another 
store and asked an island of tile Irish Sea if lie 
had any silk of the color of a river in Mississippi, 
of which r bought enough for a dress, and a 
mount in Oregon to top.Off with. I then went 
back to my city in Germany, and began packing 
my provisions. My ln»x was made of a river of 
Iowa to keep Its contents from a city of tho 
German Empire. I filled It with a piece of a 
city of N. Y„ a harbor of New Jersey, a Jake of 
Col., » group of islands of Oceuniea, a river of 
Vermont, and a city on an island east of Africa. 
I told a city of Thibet to do up a city of China, 
and see if tho box was full. It was full, and just 
then 1 heard a lake of Ireland at the floor, and 
found that, a river of South America waa hold¬ 
ing my horse for me. I took a city of France, 
Which was in full bloom, fora friend, and de¬ 
parted, after receiving a point of Greenland 
from all my friends. Violet. 
Violet does not send the answer to this, and 
we hope our young renders will do so. 
THE UNWASHED PRINCE. 
One day the crown prince of Germany heard 
an uproar in his nursery. He stepped in to 
inquire, and the nurse saidPrince Henry 
refuses to bo washed." “ W hat, my son, will 
you not be washed and made clean?” “No I 
won't 1)0 washed," he petulantly responded; 
“I don’t like to be washed. Let, me le.” 
“Well," said Fritz, “iT that Is Ills choice, let 
him bo, he need not be washed! ” Away he 
bounded with great glee at having conquered 
the nurse, and getting his own way. Uy-aiid-by 
the nurse and Prince Henry took a ride through j 
the Thicrgarton and streets of Berlin. He soon j 
noticed that the sentries stationed all over the i 
city- did not give thorn tho customary salute. 
“ Why don’t Lhe soldiers present arms, nurse? ” [ 
“ 1 cannot te.il." she sold ; “wo arc dressed cor¬ 
rectly, are in the royal carriage and I cannot | 
guess why they refuse us the honors." At even¬ 
tide his papa asked Prince Henry If he had 
enjoyed his ride to day ? “No, papa, not a bit.” 
“ Not a bit ? What can the matter be ?” “ Why 
D. 
CROSS-WORD ENIGMA. No. 6. 
My first, is in apples but not in plums; 
My second is In go but not, in come; 
My third i« in sister but not in brother; 
My fourth is in mother, also in father; 
My fifth is in love but not in joy ; 
My whole is loved by every boy. 
Answer in two weeks. b. c. 
-«-*•- 
PROBLEM,—No. 6. 
I have a cistern one-third full of water; tho 
depth is eight feet, and its upper and lower di¬ 
ameters arc seven and six feet. How large la 
the stone which, being thrown in, causes a rise 
of three feet. 8. G. 0. 
(ST Answer in two weeks. 
-- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.— March 1. 
Illustrated Rebus No. 7. — Colfax is not a 
model for you)ig men. 
Riddle No. 1. — The heavens declare the 
glory of God. 
Problem No. 5.—3.68640 acres, or 7,080 rods 
square. 
