From a Michigan Girl. 
Mr. Editor My undo lakes your valuable 
paper, and I watch for its coming every weak 
with pleasant anticipation. I most generally 
read the Hoys’ and Olds’ Column first, thero are 
so many Interesting letters from all over the 
United States, but 1 have not seen any from 
Michigan lately. I live on n farm and go to 
school in the winter. I have ploced four quilts; 
I have not done as well as Dew Drop. She has 
created quite a sensation among the young 
readers; but there has been so much said about 
h *r 1 will not say anything to displease hor. I 
hope sho will write again and toll her age. 1 
have no pets to tell about, nor any brother or 
sister younger titan myself. I am thirteen years 
old. This is my first attempt at writ ing a letter 
for your paper, and f presumo this will go to 
the waste basket because it is so long and silly. 
Violet, Manlon, Mich. 
bed, and explained how he had hurried the 
growth of radishes because Allie was so fond 
of them. 
“Who is your gardener. Burton?” asked 
Phil. 
“ My wife and I. We Just do enjoy it. No 
one sets their foot on It to work since Pf.te 
Samson cut down half our choice things and 
called them milk-weed." 
“ Where and when can yon find time?” 
“ W’e take an hour in the morning or evening, 
or whenever we can. The only rule we have is 
to work some every day. We make war on the 
weeds before they are big enough to defend 
themselves. I would not have a gardener here 
iT he would pay me for letting him work. There 
ia a beauty and a joy in doing these homely du¬ 
ties when a family work together." 
Primp went, home with a bouquet in one 
hand and early radishes in the other, and a 
heart full of new thoughts and resolution beat- 
He entered the dining-room 
.ETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS 
BT SHIRLEY CLAIR 
Here let us rest, hesidc the wicket, gate. 
What careth wo for wind and weather ? 
Here we forget the Ills of hapless fate. 
And live alone the hoars we've spent together. 
Here, as the years go trooping by, 
In trailing garments somber, dusk, and dreary. 
We give the ghostly phantoms scarce a passing sigh, 
For here I.ovo’s presence makes all hours seem 
cheery. 
Here by the gate, my hand close clasped in thine, 
I heard thy vow of friendship, “ True to thee 
only.”— 
Alack! the broke* gob’.et spilled the wine! 
The lark upsoarlng left the heat h-fiower lonely ! 
From a Young Hooaler. 
Dear Young RcrALISTP : — I have often 
wished to join you and the dear old Rural, 
but 1 never could got at It till now. F live on a 
farm, and always hnve. I can farm pretty well, 
but, like the follow that, ate the crow, “ 1 don’t 
hanker nr ter it." I think that the girla are 
pretty hard on Young Bach, but I don’t want 
Cousin Johnnie to get angry If I take bis part. 
Like Y. B., I don’t like the bustle, and none 
but Urn big feeling girls will wear one. I hopo 
that Cousin Jounnik don’t wear one. Now, 
Young B., yon just write what, and when you 
please and I stand by you. As l live on a farm 
I don't go to school much, 1 ike the boys that live 
in the city. Young Farmer, Clinton Co.. Tnd. 
Ing within him 
first and placed his trophies on the table; then 
looked around. Nellie was evidently waiting 
tea for him. The table was set in a neat and 
tempting manner, and the tea kettle on the 
stove was singing a pleasant song. “ By Jove! 
our table looks as inviting as the Burton's. I 
wonder why Nelli b al ways takes so much pains 
just for me," he said to himself. He found 
Nelme in the garden, accomplishing wonders. 
He led the little woman Into the dining-room 
and placed her at the table : then made the tea 
and brought it. to her. 
“The flowers are lovely;—! did not know I 
was so tired. I am not hungry. Excuse me, 
Phil, and you eat without mo.” 
“No, Nellie ; drink some tea, and cat a little 
to keep me company. These biscuits are ele¬ 
gant.” 
It took Nellie a week to got rested. Her 
pale face haunted her husband and drove him 
to the garden, and he soon accomplished what 
Nellie ought never to have tried to do. He 
resolved to pattern after the Burtons in gar¬ 
dening, and when he told Nellie so she gave 
him a good, old-fashioned hug ; after it he bad 
courage to narrate all that occurred the night 
he ate two suppers. A new leaf of his heart was 
turned for his wife to read, and reading it she 
was satisfied. 
MR AND MRS. SPRIGHTLY’S GARDEN, 
BY MARGUERITE 
From a Outchoaa Co. (N. Y.) Girl. 
Mr. Editor: My father has taken the 
Rural thirteen years. I live on a farm and 
have some pots. I raised two lambs last 
year on a bottle, t sold them for $5.75 apiece. 
Wo have a horse, and ho Is so Intelligent that 
when I ritlo on horseback, he wllI sometimes 
turn around with me in the road and go up to 
the gates. He can unhook gates and pull pegs 
out of the doors, no is about twenty years 
old, blit if you should see him when I am riding 
him you would think ho was a colt. 1 raked 
fifty acres of grasB last year, and I get time to 
piece quilts and practice on the piano, f am 
fourteen years old, and have two miles to go 
to school. Tills Is my first letter, and I hopo 
you will think it worthy of printing. 1 will try 
and do better next time.—D. A. B., Dutches 
CO.-, N. Y. 
From a Southern New York Boy. 
Mr. Editor:— I am a school-boy twelve year# 
old, and like to read the boys’ and girls’ letters 
In the Rural. T saw Intho Rural of April 36 
•i lp?'rr from :$eymol'l D., stating that he had 
a stamp collection of 75 different varieties. I 
think 1 can lay over him a little, as I have 350 
varieties. 1 would like to open a correspond¬ 
ence with him, and if he will givo his full name 
in the Rural 1 will do the same. As this is 
my first letter, please excuse all mistakes.— 
Horace A. F., Corning , N. F. 
But how about the raising? you ask. That, I 
assure you, ooutd not have bcon excelled. Po¬ 
tatoes and beans were nowhere ; rag-weed, 
smart-weed, and a few other species so good 
for modlcal purposes, grew tall and luxuriant. 
Alas, humanity Is never satisfied, especially 
the half the women represent. Nellie was 
not content with last year’s success, but pro¬ 
posed a different method. The first great obsta¬ 
cle is to get hor husband to co-operate. Tbo 
desire of his heart Is to have the house cover 
the half-acre lot; but as that cannot lie accom¬ 
plished this ) ear. last year's crop just suited 
him. He was congratulated often on its ap¬ 
pearance, particularly by the ladies. 
Nellie worked until her back ached. She 
then slipped quietly In and found Phil with 
feet high as his head, hat tipped to one 9lde, 
busily reading the dally while the smoko from 
a cigar formed miniature clouds around him. 
“You can como now. can’t you?" asked the 
patient wife. 
“ Pretty quick. I want to look over the mark¬ 
et report. Am not done writing yet.” 
“ I am a mite tired working alone." 
“ Don’t work, Nellie. I'll get Pete Samson.” 
“We cannot depend on him. He promised 
to come two weeks ago, and did not show his 
face,” Nellie answered. 
Business parties came in to see Mr. Spright¬ 
ly, and his wife went back to her task. If she 
had had half as much strength of body as of 
will, the garden would have blossomed as a 
rose. She had the plot of flower and vegetable 
garden in her mind’s eye, and was so anxious 
to see it marked out that she commenced it 
herself. In the meantime, the gentleman that 
called sat down to have a chat and a smoke. 
“It is a deuced flue day I" exclaimed lion 
Burton. 11 Come over, Phil, bring your wife, 
and let's have a game of croquet.” 
Philip looked up stairs and down for Nel¬ 
lie, but in vain. 
“ I saw her going out,” said Ned Brown. 
“ She Is among some of the neighbors,” I pre¬ 
sume,” said Rob, and the hunt was relin¬ 
quished. 
One game followed another for two hours. 
Just as Phil was putting the hall through the 
last wicket, expecting to strike the stake and 
prove Victor, he looked up. His eye rested on 
a sun-bonnet over the fence among some flower 
beds. 
“ By George 1 I know where Nellie is now,” 
and he threw down his mallet. 
“Where?" answered Ron. 
“At home, working In that confounded gar¬ 
den.” 
“Pshawl that won't hurt her. Let’s finish 
the game,” said Rob. 
“ It won’t take long,” answered Philip, and 
he sent the ball against the stake. 
An urgent invitation followed, and before he 
realized his position he was seated at the Bur¬ 
ton’s tea-table. It was a cosy meal, with only 
Burton, his wife and baby Ned, who was just 
old enough to prattle with sweet, childish In¬ 
nocence. A handsome bouquet of early flow- 
era stood In the center of the tablo, flanked on 
one side by radishes and on the other by nice 
biscuit. Fhiltp had an eye for beautiful things. 
He thought of Nellie and of her love for flow¬ 
ers, and fora moment almost envied Rob Bur¬ 
ton’s fortune, thinking of the many comforts 
Nellie should liave. Taking his hat from the 
Bland he was about to bow himself out, when 
his friends begged leave to detatn him long 
enough to see their garden. It was laid out 
with good taste, walks neatly made and flow¬ 
ers blooming In profusion. Beds of vegetables 
were visited too, and ROB showed him tbehot- 
WOMAN 
Plage her among flowers, foster her as a ten¬ 
der plant, and she Is a thing of fancy, wayward¬ 
ness and folly—annoyed by a dewdrop, fretted 
by the touch of a butterfly’s wing, and ready to 
faint, at the sound of a beetle ; and she la over¬ 
powered by the perfume of a rosebud. But lot 
real calamity como, rouse her affections, enkin¬ 
dle the fires of her heart, and mark her then ; 
how her heart, strengthens Itself how Btrong Is 
her heart, place her in the heal of the buttle— 
give ber a child, a bird anything to protect— 
and see her in a relative Instance, lifting her 
white arms as a shield, as her own blood k crim- 
sons her upturned forehead, praying for life to 
protect the helpless. Transplant her in the 
dark places of earth, call forth her energies to 
action, and her breath becomes a healing, her 
presence a blessing. She disputes Inch by Inch, 
the stride of stalking pestilence, when man, 
the strong and brave, pale and affrighted, 
shrinks away. Misfortune haunts her not; she 
wears away a life of silent endurance; and goes 
forward with less timidity than to her bridal. 
In prosperity Bho is a bud full of odors, waiting 
but for the winds of adversity to scatter them 
abroad—pure gold, valuable, but untried In the 
furnace. In short woman is a miracle -a mys¬ 
tery, the center from which radiates the great, 
charm of existence. 
From a Farmer’s Boy who Thinks. 
Dear Editor I have never written to you 
before, but I thought, J would try. 1 have 
been reading the Boys' and Girls’ Letters, so I 
thought I would try, as I become interested. 
I think Cousin Johnnie would not like farm¬ 
ing quite so well if she was a boy and had to 
start at tho plow or harrow at. or before sun up 
and quit at seven o’clock. I did it. when I was 
ten years old, and fed thirty or forty hogs, 
morning and evening, besides. 1 am now four¬ 
teen years old, and will soon have to go to hard 
work again. I have not been to school this 
winter, as we have so many cattle and hojB to 
attend to it is impossible for me to attend. I 
have no pets, nor have I time to play with them 
If I had them. I took time one day to make a 
windmill. Sometimes I am tired farming. I 
think children should have winter to go to 
school. I wish the Government would compel 
every father to send his children to school six 
months in the year. I know I would like this 
plan.—A Farmer’s Boy. 
We are always glad to receive contributions 
for this Department. 
HIDDEN BIBLICAL PROPER NAMES.—No. 1 
1. An eel is half water snake. 2. Aim at the 
wicked timely reproof. 3. Drunkards lead a 
miserable life. 4. Whoever against just laws 
rebels hazzards his peace. 6. To Heaven's de¬ 
crees the righteous submit. 6. Fancy rusts; 
treason brightens. 7. “ Spare the rod and spoil 
the child.” 8. It Is to burn a house or a barn a 
base act. A. Our flag wecall a banner of liberty. 
10. Is succotash a garden hash? 11. When the 
Lord I fear. I’m at heaven’s gate. 12. Deal 
justly, and reward awaits you. 13. Do not mar 
that beautiful shade tree. *** 
Answer In two weeks. 
A Triple Wedding.— The Louisville Courier- 
Journal, records the following nuptial ex¬ 
ploits:—Mr. G. Musser, a well-to-do widower 
of Decatur County, Illinois, had two grown-up 
sens. Mrs. Davis, a well-to-do widow of Decatur 
County, Illinois, had two grown-up daughters. 
The Mussers have Just wiped out the entire 
Davis family at one fell swoop, the old man 
marrying the old lady, and the two young men 
marrying the two girls, and they were all Bix 
abroad the other day on a grand consolidated 
bridal tour. It Is seldom that the demon of 
matrimony sweeps off whole families in that 
way. _ _ 
From a Rocky Mountain Ctrl. 
Dear Mr. Editor As you were so kind as 
to print my first letter, I thought I would write 
again. I live on a farm in tho Rocky Mountains 
and like It very much. I have two nice cows 
that iny father gave me last summer, and have 
named them “Ruby” and “Red-foot.” If 
Young Bach wants to get out of the way of 
woman’s tongue he had better come out to 
Colorado, for there are few women compared 
to the number of moo here ; and I think when 
he has done his own cooking, washing and 
mending for a while, as lots of men do here, he 
could put up with a woman’s tongue. What 
do my little Rural friends think ?— Ida M. D., 
Deer Valley, Colorado. 
ANAGRAMS OF NOTED WOMEN.-No. 1 
1. Summer, who done that? 2. live on a log. 
3. H., will you doctor a covi? 4. Run, he’s a 
boor. 5. Linnets rich son il. 6. Nellie cant fin. 
7. U r Johns trouter. 8. I’m a nervine. 9. Na¬ 
than buss Ony. 10. Fi Ada rural. x. Y. z. 
£37” Answei in two weeks. 
Mrs. Ex-President Tyler, who la now visit¬ 
ing In Washington, is still a beautiful and fas¬ 
cinating woman. She has endured much suf¬ 
fering and many trials since those bright days 
in June when she entered the White House a 
happy bride. After lawsuits with her own and 
her husband's families, she has gained all for 
which she contended and Sherwood Forest, on 
the James River, will be her future home. 
ANAGRAM.-No. 3 
“ Fi ouy’er dolt ot od a night, 
Dan amen ot od tl ralley, 
Veern elt ti eb yb asrelh, 
Od tl lufly, refley I ” John S. P 
£3F” Answer iu two weeks. 
From an Island Boy. 
Dear Mr. Editor:—I always look forward, 
to your paper with much pleasure. I live on 
an Island In a nice, pleasant village, near the 
beautiful great South Bay. I am only ten years 
old. Father takes tho Rural, and he and my¬ 
self like to read tho Girls’ and Boys' Letters, 
and so here is mine. Do you think It Is fit to 
print? I do not live on a farm, like many of 
the little boy letter writers, but l live in a nice 
little home. It Is on an Island, as I said before, 
but I am uot going to tell you Its name, but it 
belongs to New York State. 1 am going to let 
the little boys answer In the Rural, and see 
which can guess right. I am afraid that I shall 
fill up the column If I do not stop ; so good-by. 
—Frank E. W„ SagvOle, Suffolk Co., N. Y. 
Rosa Mansfield Evbhsole, four years old, 
born and resident In Indiana, is pronounced to 
be a musical prodigy that casts all other musi¬ 
cal prodigies in the shade. She has already 
composed several pieces of merit, which have 
been published in musical papers, and is able 
to play operatic selections on the piano after 
once hearing them. 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-May 9 
Anagram No. 2.— 
The day of small and feeble things 
None rightly can despise ; 
The mightiest trees from smallest seeds 
By slow progression rise. 
Miscellaneous Enigma No. 11—The Ashaa- 
tee war. 
Problem No. 0— B, 15 days; C, 18 days. 
decapitations No. 1.—Graft, 
Alice Mason Sumner, the divorced wife of 
Charles Sumner, petitions the Probate Court 
at Boston that her name may be changed to 
that of Alice Mason, for the reason that “she 
has been divorced from her late husband, who 
has since deceased, and desires to resume her 
maiden name.” 
