stand the real value of such novelties will very 
likely let them die from want of proper 
attention. 
We once knew of a New England clergyman 
who was greatly distressed at the amount of 
Sabbath breaking in his neighborhood. He 
determined to preach a series of sermons upon 
the sinfulness of such conduct. The good peo¬ 
ple of his congregationheardhlmwlth patience 
until the fifth Sunday, when they became rath¬ 
er restive, thinking It hard that they should 
havo to take all tho scalding?, while the sluners 
who never frequented church, unconscious of 
the good man's endeavors, wero enjoying 
themselves outside. We trust that this letter 
will bo read not only by the subscribers of tho 
Rural, but may fall into the hands of some 
habitual newspaper-borrower, or flower-lover 
who is, perhaps, thoughtlessly Imposing upon 
the good nature of a friend. To such an one 
we would say “pray don't do it." 
East Tennessee. 1874. 
Theophilus Thistle, tho successful thistle- 
sifter In sifting a sievo full of thistles thrust 
throe' thousand thistles through the thick of 
his thumb, 
Peter I’ranglc, tho prlckloy pear picker, piekod 
throe pecks of prickly, pningly pears from tho 
praugly pear trees on tho pleasant prairies. 
Vllly Vito and vifo vent, on a voyage to Yost 
Vinson and Vest Vinham von Vitson on 
V odnesdny. 
Bandy-legs Boracio Mustaelo Wlskerlfuscins, 
tho bald but bravo Bornbardino, of Bagdad, 
helped Abortnllique Bluebard, Bashaw of Bel- 
emandeb, to boat down an abominable Bumble 
of Bashaw. 
I saw Esau kissing Kuto, 
Th« faot, is, wo all three saw; 
I saw Esau, he saw me, 
And sho saw I saw Esau. 
TELLING A STORY 
I AM A WOMAN 
Little Blue-Eyes is sleepy. 
Come here, and bo rocked to sleep ; 
What shall I tell you darling— 
Tho st-try of little Uo Peep ? 
Or of the c<nvs in the garden. 
Or tho children who rantiway? 
If I'm to he story-teller 
What shall 1 tell you, pray? 
“ Tell mo”—tho blue eyes opened 
Like pansies when they blow, 
" Of tho baby in tho manger, 
Tho llttlo ehild-Christ, yon know. 
I like t<) hoar that ’tory 
The best of all you tell.” 
And my four-year-old nestled closer 
As the twilight shadows fell. 
And I told my darling over 
The old, old tale again. 
Of the baby born In the manger, 
And the Christ who died for men; 
Of the groat warm hnnrt of Jesus, 
And llio children whom he hlcst, 
Like the bluo-oyed boy who listened 
As ho lay upon my breast. 
And I prayed, ns my darling slumbered. 
That my child, with eyes so .-wort, 
Might learn from his Saviour’s lesson 
And Sit. at the Master's feet. 
Pray Gml he may never forgot It, 
But always lore to hour 
The tonrter and touching story 
That now ho holds so dear. 
[Eben, E. Retford, 
[Scribner for .Innunry contains the following 
gem. As a contemporary Justly observes, there is 
something radically wrong in the formation of soci¬ 
ety, which forces silence upon women, preventing 
them from giving oppression to their affections at a 
period of life when their future destiny is on tbo 
verge of decision. Bulwer, by tho way. In that oiber 
“ strange story ” of Ills called the Coming Race, glTes 
to woman t he exclusive privilege of making advances 
to the loved object 1 
I am a woman—therefore I may not 
Call to him, cry to him. 
Fly to him. 
Pray him delay not! 
And when ho comes to me I must sit quiet; 
Still as a stone is. 
Ilarder and colder. 
If my heart riot 
Crush and defy It 1 
Should I grow bolder— 
Say ono dear-thing to him, 
Cling to him— 
What to atone is 
Enough for my sinning! 
This were tho cost to me, 
This were my winning— 
That ho were lost to roe 
Not as a lover at last if he part from me 
Tearing my heart from me— 
Hurt heyond cure— 
Calm and demure, 
Then my behavior; 
Showing no sign to him 
By look of mine to him. 
What has he been to me. 
Pity me—lean to me— 
Christ!—O, my Saviour! 
MANNERS, 
Manners are more important than money. A 
boy who la polite and pleasant In bis manners, 
will always havo friends, and will not often 
make enemies, flood behavior is essential to 
prosperity. A hoy fools well when ho does 
well. Tf you wish to make everybody pleasant 
about you, and gain friends wherever you go, 
cultivate good manners. Many boys have pleas¬ 
ant manners for company, and ugly manners 
for borne. 
Wo visited a small railroad town not long 
since, and wero mot at tho depot, by a little boy 
of about eleven or twelve years, who entor- 
tainod and cared for us, In the absence of his 
father, with as much polito attention and 
thoughtful caro as tho most cultivated gentle¬ 
man could have done. Wo said to his mother 
boforo we loft her homo, “You are greatly 
blessed In your son, he is so attentive and 
obliging." 
“Yes," she said:—“I can always depend on 
Charley when hta father Is absent, He’ls a 
great help and comfort to mo.” Sho said this 
as if it did her lionrt good to acknowledge tho 
cleverness of her son. 
Tho best manners cost so little, and arowoith 
so much, that every boy ran havo them,— Chil¬ 
dren's Advocate. 
EX-MAYOR HALL’S DAUGHTERS, 
The Homo Journal says ex-Mayor Hall has 
been blessed with live daughters and one son, 
and is having each of his children educated in 
somo special pursuit, that they may thus bo 
guarded against tbo vicissitudes of fortune. 
Tlis son supplements school duties with amuse- 
mont at tho printing press, Intending to learn 
tho art of printing practically, then reporting 
and journalism. Ono of the daughters is a de¬ 
signer and an etcher, having learned all tho 
details of wood engraving at tho Cooper Insti¬ 
tute. Her designs for books and for sotno of 
Frank Leslie’s publications have attracted 
marked attention. Another daughter Is a 
writer of children’s books, as well as an accom¬ 
plished pianist. A third is receiving special 
training for tins lyric stage, possessing a full, 
round and sweet chest voice. Another Is al¬ 
ready distinguished as a sovbrrtlc and charac¬ 
ter actress In private circles, whLlo the fifth Is 
perfecting herself as n modiste, and milliner. 
These respective pursuits «Ul perhaps never be 
utilized while Mr. Hall onjoys so largo and lu¬ 
crative a practice as at, present, but it must be 
a comfort to him and his family to know that 
if over occasion arises thoro are occupations 
open to tho daughters beyond the usually forced 
and precarious ones of governesses, compan¬ 
ions, etc., etc. 
EDUCATION OF BOYS AND GIRLS. 
nr unolb Charles. 
BORROWING NEWSPAPERS.-FLOWERS 
“Uncle," said Sarah, what Is education?” 
“Why?" 
“ Becauso our teacher to-day aaid Mr. Thorn¬ 
ton is a very intelligent man, ha3 excellent 
Judgment and is an excellent farmer, but bo is 
not educated. I thought he was ono of the 
best educated men in our neighborhood. Uo 
seems to know somet hing about everything." 
“And, Uncle," said Samuel, “I remember 
Mr. Thornton once met mo on my way to 
school and stopped me and said, ‘Well, Sam¬ 
my, going to school, eh ?' ‘Yea, air.’ ‘That's 
right, my boy; learn all you can, but don’t for¬ 
get to learn how to do tilings an well as all 
about things. It la not tho best scholar alwaya 
that knows the most. Remember that, Sam- 
mv j' and then ho stopped out on tho side of 
the road and pulled a plant up by tho roots 
and handed It to me, saying, * Take that to your 
teacher and ask her to toll you the name of it 
and what It Is good for; If she cannot do It, 
bring It to me and we’ll wee v/hat we can learn 
about It.’ " 
“ Well, Sammy, could the teacher toll you ?” 
“No, Uncle, sho could not; bo I took It to 
Mr. Thornton and told him so. Ho said,‘I 
thought, as much ! Now, Sammy,' said lie, 
1 this Is a plant, y*u havo scon a hundred times, 
haven't you?’ ‘ Yes, sir,’ I said. ‘And you don't 
know tho name of It ? ’ ‘ No, sir.’ ‘Well, It la 
Elecampane {Inula Selenium), and I want yon 
to find out from tho books what it 1» good for 
and remember how It looks, so that you will 
always know it when you see It; and the next 
time you see me tell me what you have learned 
about It; perhaps I may bo able to tell you 
something more about It than you can learn 
from your books.’ ” 
“Did you do as he asked you to do, Sammy?" 
“Yea, Hr! and I learned a good deal; but 
Mr. Thornton told me a good deal more." 
“ Well, my little boy and girl, Mr. Thornton 
was educating you just as much as the teacher 
was. Tho teacher made a mistake when she 
said that Mr. Thornton was an uneducated 
man. True, he was not educated in schools 
and colleges; but it Is only a small portion of 
one’s education that Is obtained there. No 
matter how much you know, you are only half 
educated if you do not learn how to make your 
knowledge useful. Mr. TnonNTON was right 
when ho told you not to forgot to learn how to 
do things. That Is the most Important part of 
education. Remember that, children.” 
BY LIVY ELLSWORTH 
Dear Urn.\L: Poimit us to say a few words 
upon an old subject. For years we havo been a 
subscriber to 'ho Rural New-Yorker and 
other prominent agricultural papers. It has 
been our custom to lay each paper carefully 
aside as soon tin it has been thoroughly en¬ 
joyed by tho family, and at the close of the 
year to bind tho whole with index in a sub¬ 
stantial, home-made binding. No one who has 
not made tho experiment can realize (ho value 
of papers thus preserved. If we wUh for In¬ 
formation upon any subject connected with Ag¬ 
riculture, Horticulture, Floriculture or Homo 
Economy in any of its branches, wo havo only 
to turn to the Index of our Ritual, and In n few 
minutes wo have tho very thing needed. Then, 
too, the Rural contains good >very-day reci¬ 
pes, composed of Ingredients easily obtainable. 
Now, rather than do without a paper of this 
kind, wo would deny ourselves of sonic article 
of dress,or Luxury for tho table. But, while wo 
are thus favored with papers, wo are also 
blessed with neighbors. Homo of our neighbors 
like newspapers also; and, what Is allttlo sin¬ 
gular, while they do not seem to wan*, for 
other luxuries, cannot afford to take a paper. 
Now, we consider that any pleasure Is Increased 
an hundred-fold when shared with another. 
Consequently \vc have been pleased to lend our 
papers far and wide, (It must be confessed In 
somewhat of a missionary spirit,) to those of 
our friends who could not afford to take them 
for thcmsolvc3. To bo suro a person at all fas¬ 
tidious might prefer their bound volumes as 
smooth and unsullied as when they left tho 
publisher's office; but wo havo been willing to 
havo our-, somewhat soiled, consoling ourself 
with the thought of tho amount of useful In¬ 
formation diffused through their agency. But 
alas! for our pet volume for 1373I Wo were 
early taught that, we “should never let our 
angry passions arise;" but we must say that 
our temper (wo will not say nerves, if tempers 
arc old fashioned,) has lately bad a pretty 
severo trial. On getting out our filo of papers 
for tho purpose of binding, wo found that 
many of them had been so mutilated—whole 
columns of valuablo recipes having been cut 
out—that wo considered them nearly useless 
for tho purpose intended. Surely there can bo 
no excuse for such an act of vandalism! 
Nearly related to tho person who cannot af¬ 
ford to taka a paper. Is tho neighbor who has 
no time to cultivate flowers. Tell such an one 
in February that you are sending for seeds and 
bulbs, and Invite her to send also; you invaria¬ 
bly rceelvo the answer. “ We are so fond of 
flowers, hut, havo no tlmo to cultivate them." 
Just wait until tbo mkldlo of April, when your 
choice seedlings, raised in a greenhouse, or 
maybe In boxes in the sitting-room window, 
havo become, through careful nursing, several 
transplanting?, and much loving care, stout 
little plants ready for transferring to the open 
ground. Presto! Your neighbor suddenly dis¬ 
cerns that she is needing Just snch varieties for 
her own flower-border, and as It Is too late to 
send for seed, surely you cau supply her from 
your abundance1 
Well, if you havo moro than you need it is a 
pleasure to cive ; and it is a good plan to plant 
an extra box tor such people, if you can spare 
tho room. But suppose you have a very few 
plants raised from newly Imported seed which 
you have obtained in homeopathic quantities 
at allopathic prices, We have learned from 
experience, that it is better to say frankly that 
you have nono to spare until your stock has 
increased, at the same time giving freely of 
other varieties for persons who do not under¬ 
Thehe is a doporl ment which suits the flguro 
and talents of each person; it is always lost 
when wo quit it to assumo that of another.— 
Rousseau . 
WOMAN’S POWER FOR GOOD OR EVIL 
One beautiful and gifted woman, if wrongly 
disposed, can work moro evil in society, can 
ocatter more seeds of corruption and death, 
than, with their uttermost efforts, a score of 
men. Her capabilities for good In the differ¬ 
ent departments of morals aro equally great, 
ami In such proportion to her powers, both for 
good and evil, must, be her condemnation, if 
sho Is false to her holy stewardship. Society 
Cannot bo destroyed if woman V-. true, nor safe 
If woman is false. Besides, society shows no 
unequal discrimination In regard to this par¬ 
ticular class of offences. Tho rule applies to 
all. A profane woman, a drunken woman, a 
female thief or murderer, always excites a 
greater horror and disgust than if the crime 
had been committed by a man. And this Is 
right, and it will bo an evil day for this world 
when woman in her sin excites no more abhor¬ 
rence than a man. 
IVe, art always glad to receive contributions 
for this Department, 
MISCELLANEOUS ENIGMA.—No. 5, 
I am composed of 52 letters : 
My 23, 43, 8 is a study. 
My 17,13, 2,1 is one Of the United States. 
My 11, 24, 62, 41, 30,61 la a treo. 
My Vl, 23, 30, 14, 27,10 la a servant. 
My 8, 0, 1, 10, 88, 43,28 la a kind of woolen cloth. 
My 32, 4, 7,3,33,22 is a bird. 
My 30,20, 31 IS a tropical fruit. 
My 60,48, 45, 49, 88, 30 Is a musical instrument. 
My 4, 41, 5, 34,15, 52 f; part of a ship. 
My 12, 13, 0,35,18. 28,13 Is a liabit for a female. 
My 37, 2!), 25,12,10 Is a plant. 
My 47, 21, 20,40, 0 Is a small boat. 
My 41, 3, 40 is a drunkard. 
My wholo Is ono of the Proverbs of Solomon 
SW Answer in two weeks. p. p. 
A POLITE AND HONORABLE I WOMAN 
“ How do you get along?” said a wife to her 
husband, in tli.o midst of thi panic. “Oli, I 
shall weather the storm, but I wish I had only 
atfow hundred dollars raoro." “ Don’t you wish 
you had married a rich wife?” said she. In a 
teasing way; then going to her room, she re¬ 
turned with rather more than tho amount re¬ 
quired in Uaitod States bonds. “Why, where 
in tho world did you get this?" said tho hus¬ 
band. “Well, my dear, you went to a cham¬ 
pagne supper seven years ago, and on finding 
navigation around the room rather difficult, 
deposited hat, shoes, gloves and a largo roll of 
bank bills on tho carpet. I put the money away 
and waited three weeks for you to inquire if I 
had seen it, when, finding you wero ashamed to 
do so, 1 invested it, and hero you have it." 
CROSS-WORD ENIGMA.—No. 3 
My first is in love but not in hate; 
My second is in youth but not in mate; 
My third is in cloud but not in sky ; 
My fourth is in sight hut not in cyo ; 
My fifth is in fight but riot in war; 
My sixth is in planet but not in 6tar: 
My seventh Is in rata but not in mice; 
My eighth is in maize but not in rice; 
My ninth La In snake but not in frog; 
My tonth Is in cat but not in dog; 
Mv eleventh is in child but not in men; 
My twelfth is in chickens, also in hen; 
My thirteenth Is In wine but not in rum; 
My fourteenth is In sword but not in gun 
My wholo is used by every one. 
tST~ Answer In twowcoks. Leila, 
EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION 
LEARN TO KEEP SILENCE 
Amid tho moist nod coldest frosts. 
With barest wrists and stoutest boasts, 
Ho thrusts his fists against tbo posts. 
And still Insists ho sees tho ghosts. 
Of all the saws I ever saw taw, I never saw a 
saw saw as this Baw saws. 
Crazy Crayeroft caught a crate of crinkled crabs! 
A crate of crick led crabs Cruzy Crayeroft caught; 
If Crazy Crayeroft caught a crate Of crlckled crabs. 
Where’s the crate of crlcklcd crab* Crazy Crayeroft 
caught? 
Thou wreath’d and muzzl’d’st tfco far fetched 
ox, and imprison'd'st him In the volcanic Mexi¬ 
can mountain of Popocatalpct In Cotopaxi. 
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; 
a peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. 
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, 
where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter 
Piper picked? 
When a twister twisting, would twist him a twist. 
For twisting a twist, three times ho will twist; 
Bat if one of the twists untwist from tho twist, 
Tho twist untwisting. untwists the twist. 
Robert Rowley rolled a round roll round ; a 
round roll Robert Rowley rolled round. Where 
rolled the round roll Robert Rowley rolled 
round. 
Good frlonds.it la a groat and worthy thing 
to know when to keep your mouth shut! Some 
people live to bo 80 years without learning 
that. Indeed, tho older they grow the wider 
their mouths opens. Carlyle somewhere says 
that what pooplo havo need to learn Is the art 
of silence. A man or woman who Is a great 
gabbler at 43 i3 a horrid creature ; whether the 
propensity is hereditary or acquired, It Is sim¬ 
ply awful. This ago shows an unusual develop¬ 
ment of tongue. Thero aro two things this 
generation needs to learn—when to say noth¬ 
ing; and, when thoysay anything, to say it well. 
PRGBLEM.-No. 4 
Two men, A arid H, having bought tho grass 
In a triangular meadow whose sides are 120, 
170 and 250 rods respectively, want to divide it 
equally by having A cut his portion first by 
mowing cont inually around the meadow. How 
wide a strip must he mow on each side ? 
£57“ Answer In two weeks. B. 
WORD-SQUARE-No. 3 
1. A man’s name; 2. A woman’s; 3. So be it 
4. To fix. X. 
Answer in two weeks. 
Ttve prettiest new face, some say the pret¬ 
tiest woman In Washington this year, is tho 
wife of the new Arkansas Senator, Dorsey. 
She is a Spanlsh-looking beauty, with very 
long black lashes, dark eyes, and rather small, 
tidy figure. 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-Jan. 24 
Miscellaneous Enigma No. 4. —The par¬ 
taker is as bad as the thief. 
Conundrum No. L—Because the shortening 
for the days was all exhausted before Christmas, 
Cross-word Enigma No. 2.—Enoch Arden. 
Miss Annie C. Howells, sister of the Atlan¬ 
tic Monthly’s editor, and formerly literary edi¬ 
tor of the Chicago Inter-Ocean, is engaged as 
literary editor of the St. Louis Globe. 
