MOOSE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER 
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228 
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APRIL 4 
miserly," was the wilful retort. “And the matter 
settles itself down to this; I'm not going to 
marry any one whom I don't love with my 
whole soul no matter what pecuniary disad¬ 
vantage may be the result—and I don't want 
to be bothered with him any way. Marian, 
dear, won’t you do mo a favor'/” and the 
speaker’s wistful gaze was very becoming. 
“ Why, of course. What Is it! ” 
“ Well, I thought over this matter all last 
night and have hit upon a splendid plan, If you 
w ill only consent. You know we have received 
permission to keep house down at. the old 
homestead all by ourselvesthlsaummer? Well 
no one there knows us, and won't you be Lilias 
and let me he your maid? It heoan't love me 
in one position an well as another, 1 don't want 
anything to do with him; and if he should 
fancy you it would be splendid." 
Both young glrla were beautiful, wealthy and 
romantic. The elder Mr. Marston, on account 
of some fancied business wrong ho had done 
her latlier, had left his property to Ids son if 
that son married Lilias ; If lie refused, Lilias 
was to possess the whole. Ho had boon dead 
now about a year, and two or three days before, 
Lilias had received a letter from the son, 
stating Ills Intention of coming again to Amer¬ 
ica, but making no mention whatever of money 
or matrimony. 
The letter was cultured and gentlemanly. 
Lilias was forced to confess that; but hlavery 
reticence on the one Important topic piqued 
her, and revengefully she plan nod out this 
I K ile programme, which after some coaxing, 
her cousin agreed to. 
In a few- weeks they were located for the 
summer in the Hefton homestead. Mrs. Sefton 
and her daughter had preferred a fashionable 
watering place, but had not opposed Lilias’ de¬ 
sire to rusticate in the old farm house which 
was tenanted by a couple to whom both Lilias 
and Marian were st rangers. 
“Now," said Lilias, one glorious summer 
evening, “ 1 suppose we may expect, Herbert 
Marston dally, as I have left a note to be de¬ 
livered to him immediately after his arrival, 
informingllim of my whereabouts. Bui look, 
here come two strangers ! May be one of them 
is he, but be on your guard.” 
She had no time to say more, for both hud 
approuched, and one spoke:—“la Miss Sefton 
residing here? " 
Marian bowed composedly. 
“That is my name, sir.” 
“ Indeed! ” with extended hand. “ Allow me 
then to introduce myself as Herbert Marston." 
After the necessary greeting had been inter¬ 
changed, the new comer glanced inquiringly at 
the little white robed figure standing modestly 
apart. 
Marian bit her lips amusedly. Lilias didn’t 
look at all like a menial, still her character 
must be kept up, and In reply to his questioning 
gaze, she seld: 
“ Maggie, you may go in and help Mrs. Brown 
about tea. I presume your walk from the depot 
has given you an appetite ? " and Marian in her 
turn looked as though desiring an introduc tion 
to Mr. Marston’s Companion. 
" Perhaps," said that gentleman, with an odd 
expression, “ before your maid attends to that 
part of the business, she will show my valet the 
room I um to occupy.” 
Both girls looked up in surprise. 
The valet was a handsome, dark moustached, 
six-footer, whose every expression belied his 
position of servility; luit lie had shouldered 
the valise, and stood waiting for his guide to 
lead the way ; so with a took which signified 
more than more wonder, Maggie obeyed the 
imperative command of her mistress, and pro¬ 
ceeded up-stairs. 
“ Whew! ” said the valet, after depositing his 
burden, looking up with a smile into the fair 
young face of bin escort. “That’s what I call 
warm work! Well, Maggie, are you and I going 
to he good friends ? " 
lie spoke rather condescendingly, and the 
Indignant blond rushed into bis companion’s 
cheeks as she replied coolly. 
“I um nothing of a prophet, therefore, find 
it impossible to answer your question decided¬ 
ly ; but I am inclined to think not.” 
lie smiled pro void ngly. 
“ That's had. But our opinions on that sub¬ 
ject differ. Why, if we don’t entertain eaeli 
other what the dickens shall we do with 
ourselves.” 
“ 1 have never been at a loss for amusement,” 
responded his companion demurely. “ How¬ 
ever, if you are dependent upon outside socie¬ 
ty, there are plenty of servant girls about, 
whom 1 have no doubt you can readily become 
acquainted with." 
“ 1 dou’t fancy servant girls os a general 
thing," he answered calmly. “1 have rather 
high Ideas Tor a valet; and consequently have 
but little desire to become acquainted with 
your friends.” 
A little petulant shrug was all the answer he 
received as the JlUc dc chambra turned and de¬ 
scended the stairs. 
“That man," she murmured softly, “is no 
more a servant than 1 am. But he shan’t know 
that 1 suspect the l$uth," and she chuckled 
amusedly at the thought of her own secret 
which he was far from divining. 
Arter tea, while the master and mistress 
chatted pleasantly on the old-fashioned porch, 
the two servants by the gate were sparring 
away gaily. 
“ Why, Maggie,’ 1 said the valet, who answered 
to the name of John, “you are twice as smart 
as half the young ladies of the present day. 
What makes you stay in so degrading a position? 
Don’t, you know enough to teach school ? ” 
" Yes, I suppose so," replied Maggie with a 
mischievous smile he failed to detect. She had 
been purposely showing off. “But I’m very 
much attached to Miss Lilias; and as long as 
one Is obliged to work, what does it matter 
what one does?” 
“ A great deal,” he answered, much more 
excitedly than the circumstances demanded; 
and then he proceeded to show her, how she 
was injuring hevsclf, and from that they went 
off into a long discussion upon a woman’s 
sphere; and when they at last returned to the 
house it was with manifest reluctance. 
For three weeks Mr. Marston and Ilia valet, 
John, remained al the old homestead. Marston 
said not a word to Marian of the strange legacy 
of hi* father; and everything went on merrily 
until a visible sadness overshadowed the whole 
company. * 
John drew Maggie down by the gate. They 
hud become very good friends, notwithstand¬ 
ing Maggie’s ideas upon their first meeting. 
“Well, Maggie," lie began earnestly, “to¬ 
morrow we go away ; but before 1 leave I want 
you to promise to act upon my suggestion.” 
That “ suggestion ” was that she should leave 
her position as lady’s maid and seek some oc¬ 
cupation fur which her talent and education 
lilted her. 
Then without waiting for her reply he con¬ 
tinued earnestly " I am more anxious about 
this than you can well imagine.” 
His companion felt her heart beating tu¬ 
multuously. John cast a quick glance into her 
downcast face, and then as though encouraged 
by what he saw, went on, Impetuously: 
“ You must know what I want to say; must 
feel that 1 love you better than any one else In 
this wide world. And won’t you tell me wheth¬ 
er or no you can ever return rny affections?" 
Maggie did not answer in words, but her shy 
little smile spoke volumes, and with a glad 
smile he took her close to his heart. 
After a while he said seriouslyMaggie, 
darling, perhaps you think it strange that I, a 
servant myself, should be so worried about your 
menial position; but I have won your heart 
under a false title. I am not 1 John the valet,’ 
but Herbert Marston ! " 
She did not evince the slightest surprise, but 
to his amazement, said calmly: “It’s all 
right then. 1 instead ol being ‘ Maggie the maid,’ 
1 am Lilias Sefton, at your service.” 
The astonlshmenl was profound on both sides, 
and the masqueraders were in due time mar¬ 
ried, and, lei us trust, happy. 
Jsqiat ©opirfi. 
REFORMED BY HIS WIFE. 
How one woman reformed her husband Is 
thus told by the Cincinnati Gazette; A Hamil¬ 
ton man who fell, a few years ago, into disso¬ 
lute habits, and passed most of Ills time In 
lounging about barrooms, while hit family suf¬ 
fered for the necessaries of life, was startled, 
not long ago, by the entrance of bis wife Into a 
saloon .on Basin street, where he sat playing 
cards with a party of boon companions. The 
woman boldly walked up lo the counter and 
called fora glass of beer. Turnln * to the crowd 
she said, “Come, gentlemen, have a drink with 
me! if beer is good for men It cortuinly ought 
to be for women.” The drink was disposed of, 
when the lady ordered a second for the crowd, 
but made a wry face as stie struggled to get 
through with It. Setting her half-emptied glass 
on the counter, she sold:—" I don’t believe 1 
like beer, what else have you got?” The womap 
who officiated at the bar enumerated tiie vari¬ 
eties. “ I believe I'll try Torn and Jerry," wus 
the answer, and the crowd willingly helped her 
to dispose of a round of that also, her husband 
meanwhile smiling desperately a sickly smile, 
with an effort tu show that he thought the 
affair a good Joke. Taking n seat then at ODe 
of the dirty tables, she sal down and said. 
"Gentlemen, I’ve got some money here which 
I have no other use ten ; let's play a game ut 
seven-up, at a game,” and somebody played 
with and at the same time instructing her in 
the game, and she lost, of course, but manfully 
paid every time and as often treated the crowd 
as she lost. Finally, her husband was able to 
stand It no longer. He arose from his seat and 
Induced her to acoompamy him home, and arm 
lu arm they started. He has not been seen In a 
barroom in Hamilton since. 
-- 
MYSTERIES OF THE SHAWL TRADE. 
A Paris letter says:—“Before leaving this 
subject I must relate a curious discovery on 
this occasion. M. Guyetaut took me to,see one 
of his first artists, who works at home. In the 
front, room of a modest apartment was the In¬ 
telligent artist working at his lathe, aud In the 
back room was his wife workiug upon an In¬ 
dian shawl. A Hue cashmere worth 4,000 francs, 
or perhaps $1,U00 In New-York, was cut into 
strings or figures, and on glancing at it I could 
not help exclaiming Ah! how iu the world 
did this fine shawl get so badly damaged ? Was 
it eaten by tbe rats?* Mme. Guyetaut laughed, 
and said;—* Oh, ouvriero, Monsieur, It Is not 
damuged at all; I’m re-arranging it.’ Probably 
my lady readers will be as much surprised as 1 
was to find that these costly shawls are pur¬ 
posely cut in pieces and then sewed together 
again. The philosophy of It la this: —Some 
years the fashion is for white figures, running 
about In scrolls, as in cashmeres, and sometimes 
for black. Hence shawls with white grouud 
figures are cut when black sell best, and the 
black cuttings sewn In. 
Sometimes, when a lot of shawls has been 
for many years on hand, the disposition of the 
figures is changed, in order to suit the prevail¬ 
ing taBte. Now, the work wa9 done so well that 
1 could not distinguish the seams, but it seems 
to me that If I were to buy a shawl worth a 
thousand dollars I should greatly prefer to have 
it as it came from the Indian loom. I was told 
that hundreds of those re-arranged shawls are 
annually sold to American ladles at very large 
prices; and If those who have them find that 
they come in pieces, they will understand the 
reason. They have only to send Hie shawl to 
some racoinmodeuBC, like the person of whom I 
write, and the work will be elegantly done 
again. This industrious artist and Ids not less 
industrious wife earn a very handsome living 
from their common labor.” 
-♦ »♦ - — 
Sabbath grading. 
BRING FLOWERS. 
Bring flowers that, bloom when morning’s early light 
Tinges with brightness the blue arch above, 
And place them where an infant flower bright 
Bloomed for nn hour in purity and love. 
Though by the wind’s low whisper swept away, 
Yet it will shine throughout eternity. 
Bring flowers to place on childhood's artless brow, 
And twine with leave* of laurel all around 
That little heart we nil do prize so now, 
Since he with an Immortal soul is crowned. 
Wishing to ramble whore bright rivers flow. 
He left this world and to yon heaven did go. 
Bring flowers to strew around the grave of youth— 
Flowers that grow In summer by the way— 
For be who plucked the opening bud* of truth 
Has from this field of learning gone away. 
Eager to And where Wisdom's rubles lie, 
He went to search beyond tbe distant sky. 
A NICE LITTLE TALE. 
Nicholas I. was very fond of masquerade 
balls, and one night appeared at one in the 
character of the devil, with grinning face, 
horns and tail, and appeared to enjoy his char¬ 
acter very much. About three o'clock in the 
morning liv went out, and throwing over him 
some furs, he called a coachman and ordered 
him to take him to Quay Anglais. As It. was 
very cold lie fell asleep, and when lie found 
that the man had taken him in the wrong 
direction, for the Quay Anglais Is one of the 
most elegant portions of St. Petersburg, while 
before him were only some miserable houses. 
Nicholas began to remonstrate, the coachman 
paid no heed to him, and presently, passing 
through a stone gateway, brought him to a 
cemetery, and taking a large knife from his 
girdle and pointing it- to his employer’s throat, 
said “ Give me your money and your furs, or 
1 will kill you." “And do you give me your 
soul," exclaimed Nicholas, as he threw oft his 
furs and disclosed the personifleution of the 
devil. The Buss Ian. are very superstitious, and 
the coachman was soterrlfied that he fell sense¬ 
less on the ground, and the Emperor drove 
himself back to his palace. 
SPARKS AND SPLINTERS. 
All but oarsmen are content with single 
skulls. 
Here is the newest floral sentiment; If you 
wish for heart’s ease, don’t look to mari-gold. 
“Her Face Was Her Fortune” will soon be 
followed by “His Cheek Was What Made Him." 
An Irishman speaking of suicide, said the 
only way to stop It war to make it a capital 
offence, punishable with death. 
“ If u Miss is as good us a mile, how good is a 
Mrs?" If she Is a widow, site will be good for 
a league under any circumstances. 
At what hour did the devil make his appear¬ 
ance lu the Garden of Edon ? Some time in the 
night. He certainly came after Eve. 
Heroism Is limited, after all. A girl who, the 
other day, jumped into Merriniao River, and 
rescued a drowning child, fainted away when 
she saw her false curls floating down stream. 
An “ affair of.Hcnor " may be looked for soon 
In Brooklyn. An affectionate wife recently 
found pieces of an ostrich plume in her hus¬ 
band's beard—and the plume was not her own. 
Two young ladies of La Crosse were standing 
by the aide of a ditch, lfi feet wide, which they 
didn’t know how to cross, when their escort 
said “snakes!” and they cleared it ut u bound. 
People w ho belteve the current stories about 
Intelligent dogs, will read with pleasure that a 
lost dog iu Norfolk, having seen his master’s 
advertisement in a local print, promptly went 
home. 
A reporter on an low a paper wrote“ Yes¬ 
terday morning Winter and Spring kissed each 
other iu the sunrise, and each spread its 
choicest favor on the purple air." He was 
married next day. 
“Anna, dear, If I should attempt to spell 
Cupid, why could I not get beyond the first 
syllable?" Anna gave it up, whereupon Wil¬ 
liam said, “ Because I came to e-w, of course, 
and I cannot go any further.” 
A German, writing from Philadelphia, to an 
American friend who waa in Germany on a 
visit, concluded his letter thus“ If I lifs till 
I dies, tell my friends ut home that I shall visit 
mein faterland poforu I leaves Philadelphia.” 
“ How far is it to Cub Creek ?” asked a trav¬ 
eler of a Dutch woman. “Onlyshoost a little 
vays.” "Is it four, six, eight or leu miles?” 
Impatiently asked the stranger. " Yus, I dinks 
it is,’’ serenely replied the unmoved gatekeeper. 
Two Milesians were standing at the Fair- 
mount water-works, watching the big wheels 
Bplashing the water, when one of them remark¬ 
ed:—“Mike, Isn’t this a quare country where 
they have to grind their water before they can 
use it?" 
A Frenchman being about to move his shop, 
his landlord Inquired the reason, stating at the 
same tltno that It was considered a very good 
stand for business. The Frenchman replied: 
“ Oh, yes’ he’s a very good stand for ze busi¬ 
ness. Me stand all day; for nobody come to 
make me move.” 
Bring flowers to lay within the narrow grave 
Where manhood's sturdy frame Is sleeping low; 
Fire, storms and tempests he did nobly brave, 
And conquered every dark and dreaded foe; 
Well did he battle In this world of st rife, 
And he lias gone to take the prize of life. 
Bring flowers that bloom when evening shadows fail 
Around the day that is forever past— 
Which covers form and feature with a pall 
And lays them gently in the grave at last. 
’Tls then the aged calmly take their rest. 
And when the morning comes wake with the blest. 
Brockville, X. Y. A. N. 
-- 
CHRIST AND THE CHILDREN. 
Christ wasn’t a stiff, stark censor, from 
whom children ran away. He would never 
have made yon think of a deacon—never. Once 
he was talking to grown folks, and in the 
crowd were women with babes in their arms. 
When they heard the minister, what was the 
Impulse? What Is tbe Impulse generally when 
people hear the minister? Anything but a 
sense of personal Inlluence and a running to 
him. But these women, with their worlds in 
their arms, said “ if n,y little one could only 
be touched by him.” And they came up, and 
the disciples, models of propriety, said:—“Look 
here, now, go away, he is talking to grown 
folks.” But the children didn't cry and run 
away, but nestled near hint. Not one in ten 
thousand children would ordinarily, in astrange 
and boisterous crowd, allow a strange man to 
take him up, but he took those up in his arms 
and put his hands on them and blessed them, 
and I don’t doubt that he kissed every one of 
them. He was divine, and that was divine.— 
Beecher. 
-- 
HOW CAREY MADE HIMSELF A MIS¬ 
SIONARY. 
1 was struck with the Importance that may 
attac h to a single mind receiving an evangelical 
impression. I knew Carey, the missionary, when 
he made shoes for the maintenance of his 
family, yet even then his mind find received an 
evangelical stamp, and his heart burned inces¬ 
santly with desire for the salvation of the 
heathen; even then he had acquired a consid¬ 
erable acquaintance with Hebrew, Greek, Latin 
and French; and why? Because his mind was 
filled with the Idea of being some day a trans¬ 
lator of the Word of God Into the languages of 
those who sit in darkness; even then he had 
drawn out a map of the world with sheets of 
paper pasted together with shoemakers’ wax, 
and the moral state of every nation depicted 
with his pen .—Andrew Fuller, 
♦ » «-- 
THOUGHTS FOR THINKERS. 
The Language of Prayer.—T here may be 
many tongues and many languages of men, but 
the language of prayer is one by itself, in all 
and above all. It la the Inspiration of that 
Spirit that is now working with our spirit, and 
constantly lifting us higher than we know, and 
by our wants, by our woes, by our Lears, by our 
yearnings, by our poverty, urging us, with 
mightier and mightier force, against those 
chains of eln wLicit keep us from our God.— H. 
B. Stowe, 
Measured by the true standard of things, 
Intellectual progress is of small account com¬ 
pared to advance In the power of unselfish love. 
The lowest of human beings is not the dullest 
and most Ignorant, but the must unfeeling; 
and the highest is not the cleverest or most 
learned, but he who has the warmest sym¬ 
pathies. 
Duties are ours, events God's. This removes 
an infinite burden from the shoulders of a mis¬ 
erable, tempted, dy ing creature; on this con¬ 
sideration he can securely lay down ,his head 
and close his eyes. 
The golden moments in the stream of life 
rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the 
angels come to visit us, and we only know 
them when they are gone.—George Eliot . 
A man's own religion, though contrary to, is 
better than the faith of another, let it be ever 
so well followed. It is good to die In one’s own 
faith, for another’s faith beareth fear. 
Do not complain of life’s trials. Through 
these you may gain incomparably higher good 
than through indulgence and ease. 
