AUS. 23 
THE HAYMAKER’S WOOING. 
BY RUTH LEE. 
ONE summer, fair Katie and I In the meadow 
Wero merrily stirring and tossing the hay. 
Till crLuiaon-top clover and timothy blossom 
Together wore breathing tliclr sweetness away. 
Of course. It was only for sport and the frolic: 
Yon knew by the way that she handled the fork 
That haymakers' art und their country-leurnod wis¬ 
dom 
Had never been taught In the city of York! 
Her hands wero as soft and as white as the lilies, 
Mine hardened and brown by their toll in the sun: 
But. bravely she kept In the wake of the mowers 
Till all of her self-imposed labor woe done. 
The hay was all gathered In winrows, and waiting 
For Farmer .Toiin ’s oxen, and hayers to load, 
When homeward we turned, as the sunset was gilding 
With beautiful shadows the maple-lined road. 
She talked of the things she had known In the city, 
I spoke of the love of the woods and tho glen,— 
While tho eyes of the maiden, In spite of iuy home¬ 
spun, 
Revealed that she thought me a prince among men. 
And then, In the twilight, 1 told her the story 
I scnrccly could tell for my lover-like fours— 
How, long I had dreamed that the love of my darling 
Would crown with new gladness tho swift-coming 
years. 
Her answer was low, and the birds, If thoy listened, 
Heard words that were true and so tender In tone 
That I knew wo should travel life's pathway together, 
Since neither was willing to journey alone. 
The yenrs In their flitting have stolen the roses 
That bloomed on her cheek and the gloss from her 
hair, 
But dearer to me than my bride In her beauty 
Is Katie, the matron, still lovely and fair. 
'Tin haying time now, and our Katie and Johnny, 
With shouts of wild laughter, are crowning the load 
Thnt over the meadows our oxen are bringing 
Just through the wide gap by tho maple-lined road. 
■-W4- 
LABOR'S REWARD. 
BY NEAL NEWTON. 
Wonic is not, in itself, pleasant. It is the ob¬ 
ject of labor, the recompense it brings, that 
renders it easy and agreeable. Any man would 
prefer to spend a mid-summer’s day in some 
shady nook, beguiling the time with books and 
pleasant thoughts, rather than ruko.hay in tho 
scorching sunshine or puzzle Ids brain in a 
dusty office over knotty questions and points of 
law, if tin; one was as praiseworthy and profit¬ 
able as the other; atul show me the woman who 
would not hold ease and leisure as precious 
■ boons if she could fool that in accepting them 
she was doing her (loD-glven duty. But it hath 
been so ordered that but few are born to the 
position they aspire to occupy, and only by 
energy and exertion can any expect to rise 
above their original stand-point. Tlius a youth 
starting In life portionless and having a desire 
to gather to himself riches and honor, is obliged 
to forego ease and indolence for the sako of 
these things. With an aim in view, a point to 
gain, this is not hard, and he goes cheerfully 
and hopefully to his business, and that which, 
void of an object, would be dull and wearying 
toil, becomes to him a pleasant pastime. Hia 
heart, is in ids work, not for work's sake, but 
for the fair fruit it brings. 
Augustus Brown is young and penniless, 
but being ambitious to possess a goodly compe¬ 
tence and sit under Ida own vino and flg tree, 
he secures a help-meet, buys a snug little farm 
and sets himself at work to pay for it. Tho task 
may be a difficult one, but industry brings its 
reward, and after a few years the debt is can¬ 
celled ; then acre after acre Is added and dollar 
after dollar Is hoarded up till Augustus Brown 
is counted a rich and prosperous man. Where, 
all these years, Is the wife of this man’s heart, 
the companion of hia labors and cares? When 
he won her for ids bride and brought her to Ids 
home, she was a fair, bright-eyed girl who had 
been petted and eared for all her lifetime. She 
went from indulgent parents and a sunshiny 
home; she gave up her easy, care-free life to 
become a poor man’s wife and share the rugged 
places anil dally self-denials that fell to his lot. 
And as the husband worked in Iris sphere so did 
the wife in hers. Constant confinement in a 
gloomy kitchen, bending over steaming suds 
and heated stoves, booh ruined the delicate 
complexion, and the ceaseless round of petty 
cares and vexations wrinkled early the girlish 
face. The pretty, white hands found no time 
for piano-playing and fancy work, but In per¬ 
forming the tasks they found to do, grew hard 
and dark and bony. But mojro than for all this 
did the woman mourn over her neglected intel¬ 
lect. Books were few in the farmer's home and 
opportunities for reading fewer still, and as 
time passed away she knew less and less of the 
outside world, and the studies that had been 
the delight of her school-days were forgotten, 
till the mind that might have been strong and 
brilliant became, under the pressure of circum¬ 
stances, a dwarfed and unhealthy one. All 
these things lias the woman cheerfully and 
willingly accepted that she might be a helper to 
ber husband in his up-hill life. Who shall say 
that she has given less than he for the fortune 
they have won ? Who shall say that what by 
mutual industry and. economy they have gained 
NEW-YOBHEB 
is not, by right, as much the property of the one 
as of the other? Yet the husband is a well-to- 
do man w ith broad acres and well-filled pocket- 
book, while the wife must go and beg humbly 
for a few dollars if she happen to be in need of 
a now dress or any household convenience. 
Now, is it not humiliating for a woman who, 
denying herself dainty leisure and fair adorn- 
ings, tolls early and late, year in and year out— 
is it not humiliating, I ask, for such an one to 
be obliged to beg for a little money, without, 
even tho assurance with which a servant de¬ 
mands his wages, 'and have it handed out to 
her, not as her own, but as the gift, of another? 
Is it any wonder that, she does hate liousowurk 
when she learns to expect from its accomplish¬ 
ment no suitable reward? Can aimless tasks 
bo other than hard and wearying ones? 
“But," says one, " it ought to be sufficient for 
a woman that she is helping her husband." 
Would it be sufficient for a man that he was 
helping his wife? Would ho be willing to work 
year after year yat have nothing that he could 
call his own ? Show me such a man os this, and 
I will show you one destitute of energy and 
atnbitioa. In the heart of every porson of un¬ 
derstanding there is a natural desire to reap the 
reward of Iris labor, and I have yet to learn thnt 
this is not as strongly developed In woman's 
nature as in man’s. Yet what, a husband and 
wife by their united efforts and economy man¬ 
age to gain and save, the law gives tho husband 
a right to hold, to use and to dispose of as he 
may choose, excepting tho Interest of one-third 
of tho estate, which is reserved for the support, 
of the wife. The law provides that Bhe shall 
have her board, hor lodging and what clothes 
she can coax Iter husband to give her. She may 
huvo a widowed sister with little ones depend¬ 
ent upon her for support, she may have a 
brother sick and afflicted, yet she inis nothing 
to help'them with in their extremity; and, dy¬ 
ing childless, she can leave no portion of her 
earnings to her kindred, but the husband may 
divide them among hia relatives as lie may 
Choose. Yet “ Daily Rural Life" has affirmed 
that, in a financial point, of view, woman has 
the advantage over man. He complains be¬ 
cause a wife is not responsible for tho debts of 
hor husband. That is to say, t hat if a woman 
has managed, in tho days of her girlhood, to 
earn and save a small sum, or her father has 
given her a few hundred, she should take this 
and pay the debts of her husband, or give it, to 
him to add to liis possessions. When husband 
and wife share equally what both work to earn, 
then will woman be willing to pay the debts of 
hor husband, but until then it seems simply 
absurd to ask it. If that gentleman has n* 
more liberal views than these to offer, we beg 
of him to go back to his butterflies and his 
beetles, ami lot woman and hor rights alone. 
--♦-*-*- 
A CHINESE DINNER. 
Hang Yang, a merchant, who was a superior 
man, and to whom my husbund became quite 
attached, (writes an English lady from Hong 
Kong,) one day invited him to call at his houso 
and take a meal, a great honor, and finding it 
would bo agreeable, included me in the invita¬ 
tion. Ho sent two sedan chairs for us. When 
we arrived, wo were ushered into the reception- 
room ; there wero raised seats running around 
the sides, made of bamboo, and many chairs 
standing at Intervals about the room. Elegant 
little tables supported vases of beautiful porce¬ 
lain, and hideous monsters of soapstone were 
in the corners. A profusion of bows passed, 
and I was taken into an inner room, whore sat 
Madame llANO V.ANG before a little box filled 
with drawers, like the litiio Chiuese cahinots. 
She had not quite completed her toilet arrange¬ 
ments, but she bowed and smiled as I entered 
tho room, pointing to achalr, and kept on with 
her operations, about which there Is no secrecy. 
She was very good-looking, but was painted the 
thickest white I had ever seen, and her teeth 
stained black with the betel-nut—as Is the cus¬ 
tom when married. Her attendant Iutlr-d l essor, 
who had just, finished her performance, stood 
by to take the little brushes from tho hands of 
her mistress and replace them in tho drawers 
when she had finished. Hor hair was jet biuck 
and was very much greased, was plaited and 
rolled up in masses upon tho back of her head, 
and stuck full of jeweled pins and flowers made 
of brigbt-eolored paper, also silver and gold. 
She wore a gay, flowered robe, with hanging 
sleeves, and her arms were adorned witli brace¬ 
lets of heavy gold. As she spoke no English 
and T spoke no Chinese, we looked at each other 
In a smiling fashion, nodded and bowed. We 
-at together at table upon settees of curio, and 
tier two Children were also at table, and were 
as decorous in behavior as people of twelve and 
fourteen years of age with us. First, sweet¬ 
meats were brought; then wine, in lovely tiny 
porcelain cups; then cups of a large size, with 
a pinch of tea at the bottom of each, upon 
which iiot. wat er was poured -which Is the way 
Chinese tea is always made, thus one gets the 
flavor and none of the bitterness. Then boiled 
rice ami some kind of food cut in mouthfuls. 
Chop-sticks were laid by each plate, and I found 
my husband was nearly as dexterous in their 
use as his host. I labored heavily with mine 
and made many ineffectual attempts at spear¬ 
ing morsels swimming about in my plate, not 
daring to sit quiet or decline anything, for foar 
of being impolite. Little squaresof soft , colored 
paper, edged with gilt, were placed by each 
plate, as napkins. Lastly, we finished with a 
famous bird’s-nest soup. After dinner, towels, 
dipped in hot water, were passed round upon 
trays for us to wipe our mouths and hands upon. 
Heading for the fmmg. 
THE CHILDREN’S CHURCH. 
PROM THE GERMAN OP PAUL GEROK. 
Translated by .Tames Freeman Clarke, in Harper’s 
Magazine for August. 
The bolls of t he churches are ringing— 
Papa and tuaiuwii liavu both gone— 
And throe little children sit singing 
Together thin still Sunday morn. 
While the bells toll away in tho steeple, 
Though too small to sit still in a pow, 
These busy religious small people 
Determine to have their church, too. 
Bo, as free ns the birds, or the breezes 
By which their fair ringlets are fanned, 
Bach rogue sing* away as ho pleases, 
With hook upside down in Ills hand. 
Their hymn hurt no sense In Its letter, 
l’helr music no rhythm nor tune : 
Our worship, perhaps, may bo better— 
But theirs reaches God quite as soon. 
Their angels stand close to the Father; 
His heaven Is made bright by these tlowors; 
And the dear God above us would rather 
Hear praise from t.holr lips than from ours. 
Sing on, little children—your voiees 
Fill the air with contentment and love; 
All nature around you rejoices. 
And the birds warble sweetly above. 
Sing on—for tho proudest orations. 
The liturgies snored and long, 
Tho anthems aud worship of nations, 
Aro poor to your innocent song. 
Sing on—our devotion Is colder, 
Though wisely our prayers may bo planned, 
For often we, too, who are older, 
Hold our book the wrong way in our hand. 
Sing on—our harmonic inventions 
Wo study with labor and pain; 
Yet often our angry contentions 
Take the harmony out of our strain. 
Slug on—all oar struggle and buttle, 
Our cry, when most deep and sincere— 
What are they ? A eblld's simple prattle, 
A breath in the Infinite Ear. 
-- 
THE EVILS OF PROFANITY. 
An Open Letter to the Boys of America, 
Dear Rural:— If you aro willing, I will say a 
few words, through your columns, to tho Boys. 
While I am talking to tho Boys, I am willing 
the Mon should listen. 
Dear Boys ;—Did you ever see a lovely plant 
o’era had owed and choked by great, ungainly 
weeds till It had no strength to bud or bloom? 
Just so would tho coarso and noxious weeds of 
Profanity shadow your character and ehoko 
from your heart every sweet blossom of purity 
aud refinement. 
1 hope there are many among you who nevor 
use bad language of any kind, but I want to 
warn you all against profanity. First, it is ex¬ 
ceedingly sinful to take tho name of God In 
vain, und how often do we hear the name of our 
blessed Jesus CmtlSi— who died for us — pro¬ 
faned. Any boy has some influence, bo it more 
or leas; and if be indulges himself in the use of 
profane language, he places a very bad example 
before bis acquaintances. Besides, this insnar- 
ing practice would surely bring you into bad 
company, and evil companions would lead you 
to many other vices. Vicious boys would soon 
trace you and flock around you, while tho good 
could find no pleasure in your society. If you 
have a true friend on earth- one who seeks 
your best interests—you may rest assured that 
that friend Would suffer deep sorrow and hu¬ 
miliation if you wero to entangle yourself either 
with bad associates or the disgraceful fault of 
which I have warned you. 
Every boy should possess a certain independ¬ 
ence, to enable him to stand up for what ho 
knows to be right, no matter who or what re¬ 
sists him. The lack of this independence Is tho 
stumbling-block over which very many fall into 
tomptation. Do not be led through the world, 
Boys, by a low sot of loafers, unworthy to be 
your leaders. Be independent; have a mind of 
your own; find where the ;•(<//<( is, and uphold 
it; then yon can respect yourself and bo respect¬ 
ed by others - even by thosa who desire to lead 
>’0U aatray; while, on the other hand, they 
could but despise you, in their hearts, for de¬ 
meaning yourself in doing what all kuow to bo 
wrong. 
Putting aside the wickedness of profanity, 
you cannot bo a yentUrnan, even in a worldly 
sense, and uso rough or profane language; for 
this vulgar habit would transform you into an 
ill-bred, unmannerly boor, and stamp the un¬ 
mistakable mark of n nobody upon you—and 
thus you would lie excluded from refined and 
intelligent society. Who desires to be a nobody ! 
Think of this. Boys, when you are tempted to 
swear! Avoid all slang expressions. They are 
Often but the prelude tu this vile evil. To 
those, .voting or old, who have already formed 
the habit, I say— “It is never loo late to mend." 
Resolve, at once, that you will prove yourself 
stronger than the habit. If in a moment of 
anger or forgetfulness, you fail, do not bo dis¬ 
couraged, but try agu'n, and yet again, if need 
be. Do not despair, J entreat you; but perse¬ 
vere till the hideous monster Is trampled be¬ 
neath your feet! Julia Reynolds Beers. 
THE CHERRY TREE’8 ADVICE. 
The grasses wore heartily tired of lying in 
bod, as they had done all winter, wrapped up In 
thick coverlids of snow. The south wind had 
taken tho coverlids off, which made them think 
it was high time to spring up. 
“Walt," said the ('berry Tree; “bo patient. 
The wise do not hurry without good reason. It 
is not quite time for work. Stretch yourselves 
before you get up. Tho sun has not yet cooked 
the air, azid April may serve you ill. She will 
wash you enough, I dare say. Her cisterns are 
full of rain-water; but she may keep you long 
in the wet. There is reason In all things. Wait 
till you hear May coming." 
“ Let us Wait,” said tho Dandelions and But- 
torcupa. “ The Cherry Tree is bettor and older 
than w6 aro. and has had a wider field of obser¬ 
vation ; "she knows.” 
“ Or thinks she does," cried a Clover, saucily. 
“It seems to mo you have lost voursweet¬ 
ness," said a Currant Bush, remembering how 
people turned from her when she was sour. 
Tho Clover felt ashamed and mortified. “ Oh,” 
she whispered, to herself, “ I iflust bo a poor 
dependent thing to be sweet only when the sun 
kisses mo.” The reproof was not lost on hor. 
It is sometimes good to see ourselves as others 
see us. 
“ How soon will May be here ? " asked a Plan¬ 
tain. 
“All in good time,” said the Cherry Tree, 
pleasantly, "God has an eye onus. Ho does 
not forget the least one. He is sometimes slow, 
but he is very sure. ‘Seed time and harvest’ 
never fall; only let us follow nis leadings. Bo 
quiet a little longer, and then-" 
“And then, and then!” they all shouted, 
only it was the wiud you heard and not them.— 
Child's Payer. 
filthier. 
PRGBLEM.—No. 0. 
The three perpendiculars drawn from the 
angles of a triangle to the opposito base and 
sides produced moasure respectively 30, 30 and 
40 rods. Required, the sides of the triangle. 
A E= 40 rods; B D-20 rods; C F- 30 rods. 
B. F. Burleson.. 
E& Answer in two weeks. 
GRAMMATICAL ENIGMA.—No. 1. 
I am composed of 60 letters: 
My 84 is a personal pronoun. 
My 36, 39, TO, 14, 40, (i is a proper noun. 
My 6, 33, 85,37,46, 35 is an adjective. 
My 49, 43, 41 is an article. 
My 60, 37,15, 38 is n part of speech. 
My 89. 1, 19, 18, 4, 33, 13, 36 is a participlo. 
My 49, 3, 7, 9, 48, 33, 8 is a verb. 
My 3, 30,11, 81 is a proposition. 
My 21, 13, 10, 14, 88, 85, 10 is an interjection. 
My 38, 6, 13, 17, 6,25 Is a common noun. 
My 20,3,29, 31 Is a pronoun. 
My 46,47 is a preposition. 
My 44 is a verb. 
My whole is the middle verse of the Bible. 
Nettie Dickinson. 
£37” Answer in two weeks. 
MISCELLANEOUS ENIGMA.—No, 5. 
I am composed of 16 letters : 
My 11, 2, t5, 4 Is what tho feathered tribe brood 
their young in. 
My 13, 14,1 ia a kind of liquor. 
My 13, 8, 8,3, 16 is what belongs to all breathing 
things. 
My 5, 6,13,13 is a kind of color. 
My 15, 7, 4 Is a certain position. 
My 9,10, a is a verb. 
My whole is a traveler of the deep. 
l-&~ Answer in two weeks. Ida Pierce. 
-»+• 
CROSS-WORD ENIGMA.—No. 3. 
My second Is in cushion but not in mat; 
My third is in lake but not In beach, 
My fourth is in wagon but not In reach 
My fifth is hi labor bdt not in fees. 
My sixth is In butter but not in cheese; 
My seventh is in walk but not in run. 
My eighth is in pleasure but not in fun; 
My ninth is in grieve but not in pity, 
My Whole is the name of a beautiful city. 
Answer in two weeks. is. g. n. 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-Aug. 9. 
Square-Word Enigma No. 1.— 
ECHO 
CLIP 
HIRE 
OPEN 
Problem No. 5.— 
I 51.396337 rorl 3 - 
{ 4-1.477548 “ 
(36.940750 “ 
Cross-Word Enigma No. 3. Atlantic. 
