358 
©st. n 
TWENTY-FIVE. 
I!V A LICK II. I.INDBLEY. 
Twenty-five years to-day, my heart; 
Twenty-five years to-day! 
The spring and snnimer of thy life 
Arc passing swift a way. 
Yet the years, as they pass, have brought to thee 
Many fair blossoms that never run be 
Touched by death's frost; 
Scattered and lost, 
They shall bloom for thee in eternity. 
Twenty-five years to-day. my friend; 
Twenty-five years to-dny! 
My love for thee grows stronger, dear. 
As the years slip away. 
In my heart that was thine long years ago, 
I keep a place no other shall know; 
A friendship sweet; 
A safe retreat, 
Where thou luayost come when the storm-winds 
blow. 
Twenty-five years from now, njy soul; 
Twenty-live years from now! 
If GOD shall spare thee till that time, 
Canst thou then toll me how 
Through the years, that now seem so very long, 
He loved thee till thy faith grow pure and strong? 
Heaven will bo nour, 
Because more dear 
Thon shait see the lovo that has kept thee from 
wrong. 
<©ur Jstorir-i^ller. 
HASSAN’S PILGRIMAGE. 
In the city of Bagdad, in the reign of the 
good Haroun ai. it archio, dwelt, a youth 
whose name was Barkan. Begirt with kindred, 
friends, and all the joys of home, he yet pined 
with a vague sickness and longing after the 
great world which lay beyond the city’s walls. 
A shadowy hand scorned beckoning to him 
from the far-off mountains, and voices unheard 
by other ears called softly to him from the pur¬ 
ple distance. Tears, lamentations, entreaties 
and reproaches availed not to detain him, 
neither the dark eyes of the fair Zayda, who 
sighed when she hoard his name. 
Ho folded iv sacred parchment in his bosom, 
the Mufti bestowed his blessing, and accom¬ 
panied it with the gift of a magic, staff, upon 
which, when one leaned, he never grew weary, 
and in the cool morning Hasran passed from 
the city, his home, kindred and friends, and 
leaning on his staff, addressed him to his pil¬ 
grimage. His dark eyes glowed with the fire of 
youth, the wlno of health tinged ids ruddy 
check, and the brown beard of early manhood 
fringed Ills well-formed lips. His step w;i* 
clastic, and Ids soul glowed with noble aspira¬ 
tions and the promise of the future. 
Sometimes hia way was rugged and toilsome j 
sometimes his path lay through smiling gar¬ 
dens and groves of date trees, and anon lie sat 
for rest and refreshment In the broad shadow 
of some giant palm until the burning heat of 
noonday was past. The birds sang In the groves, 
the laborers idled verdant fields, the flowers 
smiled and nodded by the wayside, and many 
days were born and died while Hass AN jour¬ 
neyed. 
One burning noontide it chanced thut-he sud¬ 
denly found himself within the precincts of a 
charming garden. The tinkling of fountains 
was pleasantly suggestive of coolness,and in 
the dark greenness of the shaded walks he per¬ 
ceived figures flitting to and fro. All manner 
of strange and beautiful plants flourished 
around, and the air was vocal with the music of 
birds, while distant voices of men and women 
mingled alluringly with the notes of the feath¬ 
ered warblers. Hasten lug onward, he was mot 
at every tom by groups of youths and maidens, 
lightly clad and garlanded with flowers, who 
received him with acclamations and shouts of 
welcome. At length ho reached the center of 
the garden, in which stood a spacious pavilion 
adorned with everything which could please 
the oye or minister to the physical enjoyment 
of man. Tables laden with choicest viands, 
fountains ol many-colored wines, soft couches 
for repose. Singing, dancing, feasting and 
mirth were Hie sole employments of the occu¬ 
pants of this delightful retreat. 
Hassan east aside every rest raint, and throw¬ 
ing himself into the midst of the gaiety with 
all the ardor of his ent husiastic nature, soon 
became the prince of the revel. Wearied at 
last with pleasure, he sank upon one of the 
couches for a brief repose, while ids gay com¬ 
panions seal tered roses over him and sang soft ly 
to lull him to slumber. 
Long and deep was his oblivion, painful and 
troubled his awakening. His couch was a rock, 
the glowing garden had become a desert ; 
youths and maidens, birds and flowers, hall 
and fountains had vanished. Overturn lowered 
a sullen sky, and in the distance shadowy and 
dim uprose the waiting mountains. Weary and 
dispirited he arose to continue bis journey, bur 
oppressed by an intolerable languor, halted at 
every step. Alas, he had forgotten his si aff 1 
He reproached himself bitterly for his late 
folly, which now appeared like some hideous 
fragment of a dream. But from the mountains 
the shadowy hand still beckoned, (he voices 
culled, und with a steadfast, mind he addressed 
himself again most earnestly to hia pilgrimage, 
when lo I the stall was la his hand, and with a 
Joyful heart ho went, his way. There wore no 
flowore by the wuyslde now, no laborers tilling 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
verdant fields; only the long stretch of desert 
before and around, the sullen sky and the far- 
off mountains. 
Still journeying, he found himself upon a 
dusty high road, surrounded and jostled on 
every side by a motley companionship. Bank¬ 
ers, weavers, farmers, lawyers, jugglers,priests, 
tinkers, beggars, and even slaves mingled to¬ 
gether in active pursuit of a shining dust which 
floated In the atmosphere, and he Who gathered 
the greatest, quantity by any means, was treated 
with peculiar honor, and still greater facilities 
offered him for increasing his store. All were 
hastening onward toward an invisible goal, 
where perfect rest and contentment awaited 
the fortunate few whoshould succeed in reach¬ 
ing it. With tiie facile impressibility of his 
nature, Hasnan plunged Into the busy, jostling 
crowd, and by ceaseless activity ami energy 
was soon laden with the precious particles 
which burdened heavily the shoulders of his 
fellow travelers, causing them to faint with 
weariness. But the magic staff upbore him, and 
lie soon left the crowd behind. 
He still had companions, but they were com¬ 
paratively few In number, careworn, toiling 
and anxious in appearance, and their ranks 
thinned rapidly as they neared the goal which 
now appeared on the plain. 
Hahkan Increased his speed, and distancing 
all competitors, stood at a gale which gave en¬ 
trance through massive golden walls Into u 
gorgeous city. The gate opened Into a crescent- 
shaped court, from which diverged long ave¬ 
nues of stately palaces adorned with gold, sil¬ 
ver and precious stones and paved with costliest 
marbles, over which rolled sumptuous car¬ 
riages, decked with rich laces and velvet* and 
gji.i.ering with jewels. Groupsof the principal 
men of the city weregathered In this court, and 
their regards were Immediately Used upon 
Hassan— and with reason. Stately as a goodly 
cedar, in the full strength of manhood, with 
flowing locks and beard, noble brow and deep 
dark eyes, in which smouldered a hidden fire, 
as he leaned on his staff and gazed calmly about 
him, his was a presence to l»e noted In any as¬ 
sembly, much more so in this. Amid old, with¬ 
ered. bent figures, with faces marked by narrow 
passions, with cautious, stealthy eyes, lie by 
contrast seemed a god. 
They gathered about him ard hade him pre¬ 
pare to accept the highest dignity in the power 
of the Golden City to bestow. He who won 
entrance to the City ere his locks were white, 
became a king with absolute authority, and 
(.here had never been so youthful a monarch. 
He might resign long before a successor came 
to enure hi* removal; so they bore bim to the 
Royal l’alace, and crow ned him with such mag¬ 
nificence of pageantry as his wildest fancy had 
never fashioned, and he dwelt In royal halls, 
and all the inhabitants of the city did him rev¬ 
erence. 
Surely, it might be thought that he had reach¬ 
ed the summit of ambition, that all the rivers of 
Joy could flow unto him and peace and rest re¬ 
main w ith hi in forever. But. ulas! he wearied 
of magnificence, and the bread of royalty satis¬ 
fied not his hunger. The voices of maidens in 
innocent converse, the laughter and sports of 
children, the mirth of the c?irclo«s and idle 
were never heard in this magnificent city, and 
no man called another brother. Over the glit¬ 
tering walls which encircled hla golden domin¬ 
ions, he behold far Off the misty mountains, and 
his spirit yearned after their vastness. 
An air blew from their commanding hights 
which tarnished hla gilded scepter. So ho arose, 
shook from his shoulders the cloak of authori¬ 
ty, and drawing his pilgrim garments about 
him, left the house of Ins pride and the scepter 
of bln dominion to another, and in the dusk of 
evening passed silently out of the city. The 
song of the bulbul pulsated through the dusky 
groves, and the great stars looked down upon 
hiui, tender and serene, and about bim gathered 
an invisible Presence, which communed with 
him in the darkness. And the stars waned and 
brightened many times while JIapsax jour¬ 
neyed. 
At length he approached the foot of the 
mountains. Hugged and barren they loomed 
before him, but upon the loftiest peak, sharply 
outlined against, the western sky, a grand and 
lofty palace roan d its splendid proportions, 
and from its towers and walls slender, flame- 
colored banners and pennons waved and beck¬ 
oned. New life entered his veins, new aspira¬ 
tions stirred his soul. Onward and upward, 
with eager haste he mounted, feasting his eyes 
upon the glittering minarets, slender spires and 
m tssive walls which sparkled pure and dear In 
the rays of the sun. 
But as ho neared the summit his heart mis¬ 
gave t ini. The coldness chilled his blood, ami 
the intense solitude was unbroken save by the 
Occasional scream of some fierce bird of prey, 
which circled over him far up In the thin at¬ 
mosphere. But the shadowy hand still seemed 
to beckon, and the airy palace drew him on. 
To sit enthroned so far above the sordid earth, 
aloof from its wearying strifes and warring 
passions, and behold the world, far and low, 
lying at his feet, to rest at last in serene and 
untroubled contemplation, lord of a palace 
among the clouds,—the fancy lent wings to his 
lagging feet, and onward and upward he tolled 
and aspired. 
Ho reached the goal of his desire. VaBt piles 
of snow-capped rooks, frozen cascades, ice-clad 
peaks, splintered ami shattered masses of ice 
and snow, great gaping fissures through which 
the light was reflected and refracted, makiDg 
the ptlo tako on u thousand fantastic 6hapce, 
white caverns in which dwelt awful silences,— 
this was that Into wh loh the palace was resolved. 
His staff fell frrnn his band, and a great groan 
burst from hts lips, which the echoes took up 
and repeated In ghostly whispers from peak to 
peak and chasm to chasm. 
Long he lingered among those frozen soli¬ 
tudes abandoned to himself. But at last alight 
cloud fell upon him from the heavens, out of 
whose silvery whiteness came the tong-silent 
voices, and soft, bands guided him gently down 
the mountain aide. The cloud failed from him. 
and he stood upon the bank of a broad river, 
whose opposite shore was concealed by a thick, 
dark cloud, which rested down upon the water. 
It was noon, ai d kneeling to perform bis ab¬ 
lutions, ho beheld, reflected in the stream, the 
image of an aged man, whose long, white hairs 
and hoary board descended on Ids bosom. His 
head was grand ami majestic, and his brow 
deeply lined by time and cm-e. It, w«u. himself. 
All that remained of the beauty cf tire youth 
who left. Bagdad one bright morning was the 
deep, dark eye which still glowed with an un¬ 
quenchable tire. 
A deep sadness seized him. Aged and worn, 
with l ho broad river and the dark shadows be¬ 
fore him! Suddenly the cloud lifted, nod dis¬ 
closed a landscape of supernal beauty. Swiftly, 
sullenly it sank again, as loath to reveal the 
loveliness beyond. The heart of Hassan leaped 
with new desire, and grasping his staff be 
plunged into tin; flood. Thedark cloud received 
him Into Its bosom,and he passed forever from 
mortal vision, still seeking and pursuing that 
treasure which forever eluded Ids grasp. Praised 
be Allah ! he will find it at last—in the Para¬ 
dise of the f aithful, 
- +*■* - 
SPARKS AND SPLINTERS. 
A bird in season, how good it is. 
Thk way of the translator is hard. 
The most timely of gifts—a watch. 
Sky-eighth—H un, moon and stars. 
Open to conviction—A pickpocket. 
An unpopular “ Lm" The rheumatism. 
Peach stones are worn as ear-rings in Indiana. 
Young ladies' economy—never throw away a 
match. 
How to raise beets—Take hold of the tops 
and pull. 
Never count your ships before they are 
hatched. 
Women addicted to hoop-skirts are now called 
ateel-clads. 
The pale of society in the milk districts—The 
water-pail. 
The bread-and-butter brigade Boarding 
school misses. 
HOW to keep your head above water—Never 
be above drinking it. 
The fudians are such a Lo set that it is diffi¬ 
cult to elevate them. 
It 1b 6ald that the policemen are about getting 
up a club of their own. 
The man who pretends to know everything 
generally knows nothing. 
The connecting link between the animal and 
vegetable kingdoms—Hash. 
A good sermon is like a kiss it requires but 
two heads and an application. 
An Ohio editor publishes marriages under the 
head of “Attachment Notices." 
It is very easy to Bay, Take things as they 
come ; but suppose they don’t come. 
After all, it is rare that a man gets utterly at 
the end of bis rope until ho is hailged. 
Many men, many minds,says the old proverb; 
but how many men one meets with no minds 
at all! 
A good-natured spinster used to boast that 
she always had two good beaux; they were 
elbows. 
Jones got trusted for that hat, and he now 
feels a consciousness of being in debt "over 
bead and ears." 
There is an ancient saying, Truth lies in a 
well. May not the modern adage run, The 
most certain charity is at a pump t-Dowglan 
Jerrold . 
U pon the marriage of Mrs. Wheat of Virginia, 
the editor hopes that her path may be floury, 
and that she may never be thrashed by her 
husband. 
Chicago is depressed by her court house 
plan, which is "nothing in art, and which, as 
a pictuie, is a sort of penciled * what-is-it' that 
nobody can make out,” 
A printer was boasting the other day about 
his wonderful ability to set, type. "I know 
what you can’t sat," said a comrade. “ What 
is It." “Two hens on one nest." 
Smith hab given out ids latest bonbon poem. 
It la the following: 
“Two places on the earth there be 
One where my girl is not, the other there is 
she.” 
The “fall" season begins when the sidewalks 
are covered with ice. It has been known to set 
in, however, in orange and banana time. The 
" spring," season comes when the streets are 
sloppy and muddy. 
A Connecticut lady has substituted for the 
tur und feathers with which she used to punish 
hor drunken bctter-bulf, a coating of soft soap 
liberally covered wito flour. The cleaning pro¬ 
cess is thus more easily performed. 
itbkth ^fading. 
THE WAY. 
THE way ia dark; but that 1 need not mind. 
Though gathering ahade? should make it hard to 
find, 
Htnee He who Is the Light I itnow wilt be 
Close by my steps, to show the way to me. 
The way Is hard, and steep the fronting hill; 
Rut my kind Guide has cltmed a steeper •till. 
And Ft Is unfailing fellowship and smile 
The hardness of the way can well beguile. 
The way Is rough, with many a pointed stone. 
That oft had wounded me or overthrown 
But for the loving Arm that clasped me round 
A nd lifts my tired feet lightly from the ground. 
The way is long; but when my strength ts gone. 
And fainting limbs can scarcely struggle on, 
Me in ills willing arms the Shepherd bears— 
Those weak and weary win Mis tendcrest cares. 
The way is often sad. and hitter tears 
Must have their course, amt dark, oppressing fears 
May weigh mo down awhile; but, ever bright, 
His glance dispels the *' shadows of the night.” 
The way will often ho a way that 1 
In mine own strength might never dare to try; 
But He who orders all can do no wrong, 
And in Ills strength iny weakness shall be strong. 
-—-- 
THE LIFE OF MAN. 
How graphically the varied aspects of the 
leaf picture the various season* of man's life! 
The tenderness of its budding and blooming in 
spring, when that, rich golden-green glints on 
it that comes only once a year, represents the 
bright beauty and innocence of youth, when 
every sunrise brings its fresh, glad hopes, and 
every night its holy, trustful calm. The dark 
greenness and rnssh vigor of the summer leaf 
portray the strength and self-reliance of man¬ 
hood 1 while Its fading hues on the trees, and its 
rustling heaps on the ground, typify the decay 
and feebleness of old age, and that strange mys¬ 
terious passing away which Is the doom of every 
mortal. The autumn leaf is gorgeous In color, 
but it lacks i bo balmy scent and dewy freshness 
of hopeful spring; life Is rich and bright in its 
meridian splendor; deep arc the hues of ma¬ 
turity, and noble lathe beauty of success; but 
who would not. give it nil for the tender sweet¬ 
ness and promise of life’s morning hour? Hap¬ 
py I hoy who keep the child’s heart warm and 
soft over the sad experience* of old age, whose 
life declines a* these last September days go 
out with the rich tints of autumn and the blue 
skies of June. 
- *■■*-¥ - 
A STRING OF PEARLS. 
To do good to men is the great work of life; 
to make them true Christian* is the greatest 
good we can do them. Every investigation 
brings us round to this point. Begin here, and 
you are like one who strikes water from a rock 
on the summits of the mountains; itflowsdown 
all the Intervening t racts to the very base. If 
we could make each man love his neighbor, we 
should make a happy world. The true method 
is to begin with ourselves, ami so to extend the 
circle to all around u*. It should be perpetually 
In our mind*. J. IV. Alexander. 
Freedom la Indeed not. doing aawe tike, not 
everybody following hi* or her own way feven 
if that were possible), but “ self-control.” Self- 
coni rol, plus a control or command of our sub¬ 
ject, give* " freedom," hut a person who has no 
control over any subject, or right use of any 
faculties, cannot have freedom.— Miss Nightin¬ 
gale. 
Every good man is not born with the gift of 
public speech. There are deep-minded, devout, 
and earnest Christians who can do everything 
else better than address a mixed assembly. They 
are constitutionally timid and slow-tongued; 
t here is pure gold within thOui, but they cannot 
coin it readily into current word*. 
One may live as a conqueror, or a king, or a 
magistrate, but he must die a man. The bed of 
death bring* every human being to bis pure 
individuality, to the inteuse contemplation of 
Unit deepest and moat solemn of all relations, 
the relation between the creature and the 
creator. 
There is no sort of wrong [deed of which a 
man can bear the punishment alone; you can't 
isolate yourself, and say that the evil which is 
in you shall not spread. Men's livesare as thor¬ 
oughly blended with each other as the air they 
breathe; evil spreads as necessarily as disease. 
,i In the Christian warfare, to maintain the 
conflict Is to gain tho victory. The promise is 
made to him that endures to tiie end. The 
object of our spiritual adversaries Is to prevent 
this. Every day in which you arc preserved 
from going bock, they sustain a defeat.— Payton. 
Vicious habits are so great a stain on human 
nature, and so odious in themselves, that every 
person, actuated by right reason, should avoid 
theKi, though he was sure they would be always 
concealed from both God and man. and had no 
future punishment ontailod upon them. 
No man 1* so happy as a real Christian ; none 
bo rational, so virtuous,.»« amiable. How little 
vanity does he feel, though ho believes himself 
united to God I How far is he from abject- 
nesa when he ranks himself with the worms of 
the earth!— Pascal. 
