. 40 
OOBE’S BUBAL WEW-YOBMEB. 
243 
Judies’ fotitfolio. 
THE SUNLIGHT. 
BT MRS. ANNA CLARK ADAMS. 
O! sweetly on tho emerald earth 
The beauteous Bunshlne fell, 
Bathloa in light the new-horn flowers 
That blossomed in the dell— 
Or opened on the hillside steep. 
Or gemmed the mountain’s brow; 
Its beams searched out and kissed them all. 
From nook to lofty bough. 
The sunlight touched the “ laughing brook.’ 
And brightened Ocean’s wave. 
And hero and there, through Assured rocks. 
Crept in tho darksome cave. 
It rested on the forest’s top, 
Enlivening its shade — 
On pilncelv edifice and dome 
In golden showers tt. played. 
It shone around tne poor man’s hut 
And forced Its way within— 
Bright birds sang sweeter for its beams 
And man knew less of sin:— 
It entered e’en the human breast, 
Filling the heart with light, 
Dispelling gloom and dark despair. 
The sad smile making bright. 
All Nature gTew more beautiful, 
Enpn moment ’neatb its ray, 
For 'twa3 the month that poets love, 
The budding month of May. 
O ever, ever glorious Sun, 
We would thy praises slug. 
But never do wo welcome thee. 
So fondly as In spring. 
MRS. JENKINS’ SOLILOQUY, 
BY MRS. HATTIE F. BELL. 
“Dear, dear, dear l" gasped Mrs. Jenkins, 
as she dropped down Into her rooking chair 
with an emphasis that said sho meant to stay 
there awhile; “I'm sure 1 don’t see how that 
old woman who lived in her shoe ever got along 
as well os she did—for unless her shoe was big¬ 
ger than roy house, and her brood of children 
better behaved than mine are, I can’t imagine, 
for my part, liow she ever lived. But then she 
had one satisfaction that 1 haln’t got.; she 
whipped them all 'round and sent them to bed. 
I can’t do that, for they wouldn’t stny there If 
I did. Besides, there's no two of them in tho 
same place at the same time, and by the time I 
found the tenth one tho first one would be 
missing again. 1 know how it goes, for I've 
tried it; now just see’’—and disconsolate Mrs. 
Jenkins still continued to talk to an imagina¬ 
tive audience—“ there's Thomas Jefferson’s 
hat and ball-club in that corner, Susan An¬ 
thony’s shoos and stockings under the bod, 
Martha Jane's bonnet and George Wash¬ 
ington's dinner basket In the middle of the 
floor; and the young 'uns themselves, the old 
cat onlv knows what’s become of them, and I 
guess without Joking she does know If anybody, 
for I heard her squalling like all possessed a 
minnitago. I expect they’ll all get druwnded 
and pizened and killed besides, some day. But 
they won’t mind a word I say ; I don’t see why 
it Is. Now there’s Miss Smith; she never has 
any trouble—not the leasteat mite—with her 
family. Everything goes on like clock-work at 
her house. I’m sure I do my part. I talk and 
talk and talk, and that’s all the good It ever 
does. Might as well set up a row of wooden 
clothes pins and talk to thorn as to talk to my 
ten young’uns! If their father had one spark 
of gover’raent, or one-half of my spirit, they’d 
never behave so unruly as they do now. But 
he’s as easy as an old shoe, and don’t care one 
flg what they do if he is only snugly out of the 
way! 
“ Crash, smash, rattlety bang, helter skelter! 
What on earth te the fuss now ? Oh, It’s only a 
pane of glass In the bay window broken all to 
shivers. Dear! how frightened I was all for 
nothing! I thought as much as could be ’twas 
my head. It had such a hollow, ringing sound 
up In the top; but if It’s only the window I do 
feel relieved. 
“ Sdsan Anthony, do you come along, you 
lazy trollop and set on the tea-kettle. Your 
father’ll be coming home and no supper ready, 
and then of course he’ll blame me. As if I could 
be everywhere and do everything.” 
“She’B gone down to the pond, wading with 
Sally Tubbs.” 
“What did you say, Thomas Jefferson? 
Wading in the tub? Bles3 my stars! What 
win the girl do next? Well, she can’t get 
drownded in a tub, that’s one comfort. I shall 
have to set on that tea-kettle myself, I spose. 
Working and slaving myself to death for those 
young ’uns, and that’s all the thanks I ever get 
for it. 
“Goodness me! Here they all come now—the 
hull posse of them. T thought they wouldn’t 
be far off when supper was ready. If I hadn't 
got used to the‘old family sound,’as Shak- 
speare or some other poetess says. I should 
say, for sure’twas Bakncm’s many-jiery. Oh, 
well, they're mine, I spose, and I don’t know 
but I ought to call them all jewels and treas¬ 
ures, as Miss Smith does hero ; but I'd as soon 
think of calling a passel of young hyenas and 
catamounts jewels and treasures—and for my 
part I’m about as 'fraid of my life, when they’re 
all to home, as I would be in a nest, of these 
other four-footed quadrupeds. Oh I I do think 
I am the most abusedest person that ever was, 
though I can't help pitying that old woman 
who lived In her shoe and had .-o many children 
she didn’t know what to do, for t think her lot 
was most ekally as bad as mine.” 
-»»» ■ - - 
A SPICY EPISTLE. 
JOINING THl 010 MAIO'S ARMY PREFERABIE TO DRUOQERY. 
Mr. Editor I fully agree with a late writer 
in the Rural New-Yorker, that farmers’ 
wives all over iho country arc killing them¬ 
selves by h»rd work, but her remedy Is not so 
easy as she may suppose it to bo; " Don't work 
all the time.” Now what In tho world is a 
woman tg do who has ten or twelve In tho fam¬ 
ily all the while, besides numerous visitors, and 
a dairy of fifteen or sixteen cows to attend to, 
but work all the while? If she don't have to 
do so, then her experience is different from 
mine. As to letting some of the work go un¬ 
done, and sitting down and resting when you 
get tired. I tell you no woman who has much 
of the stuff termed ambition will do it. What! 
Sit down and leave rnoitis unswept, beds un¬ 
made, milk spoiling to be skimmed, and the 
pantry looking faint and hungry for the want 
of a few pies, cakes and other goodies? No, no, 
there’s always housework to be done and we 
women must do it, I suppose. And not the 
least of woman's work, by any means. Is wait¬ 
ing on tho men folks. Hut, dear mo, it won’t 
do to tell them so. They never make any work, 
nor leave anything around under foot—a pair 
of boots hero, and a hat or coat or vest some¬ 
where else. 
Now, I presume you think 1 am one of these 
middle-aged farmers' wives, but I bog to Inform 
you that such is not, the case. 1 am only a 
farmer's daughter , Just out of my teens, but I 
have seen and experienced the above. Some 
farmer’s daughters marry young to get away 
from ho.no, where they have to work so hard 
uud where they aro under ao much restraint; 
but I think they—to usea vulgar phrase—“Jump 
out of the frying pan Into the lire " very often. 
Doubtless one-half of our farmer's wives did 
tho same thing, and now look at them! Drag¬ 
ging around, completely worn out, but with 
just so much “ to be done to-day " if It kills 
thorn to-morrow, and perhaps with six or seven 
little children hanging to their skirts. Oh, 
ridicule old maids, ye who will, but as for me, 
let me Join tho ranks of the good, sensible old 
maids' army, 1 think I shall be contented. But, 
fearing I have wearied you with my wandering 
thoughts, I will lay down the pen and return 
to my more suitable place—the kitchen—there 
to resume rny work as chtf dr mMttc. 
Winjured Wythe. 
HOW WOMEN VOTE IN ENGLAND. 
It is an error to suppose but few women 
would vote if they could. We have facts to the 
contrary In England, and from the better 
classes, so called. It is said none but the low¬ 
est order of women would vote. We know 
better—the high character of the women earn¬ 
estly demandlug the ballot refutes the asser¬ 
tion. The London Examiner says“ In sixty- 
six municipal elections, out of every 1,000 
women who eujoy equal rights with men on the 
register, 516 went to tl.e polls, which Is but 48 
leas than the proportionate number of men. 
And out of 27,040 women registered, where a 
contest occurred, 14.416 voted. Of men there 
were 166,781 on the register, pud 90,080 at the 
poll.” The Examiner thereupon draws this 
conclusion: “Making allowance for the re¬ 
luctance of old spinsters to change their habits 
and tho more frequent illness of the sex, It is 
manifest that women do exercise the franchise 
as freely as men.” 
--- 
A Happy Home— “Six things," says Hamil¬ 
ton, “ are requisite to create a home. Integrity 
must be the architect, and tidiness the uphol¬ 
sterer. It must be warmed by affection aDd 
lighted with cheerfulness, and industry must 
be the ventilator, renewing the atmosphere 
and bringing In fresh salubrity day by day, 
while over all, as a protecting glory and canopy, 
nothing will suffice except the blessing of God.” 
-- 
Where God is Not.—A child, instructed In 
a Sabbath school, on being asked by his teacher 
If he could mention a place where God was 
not, made the following striking and unex¬ 
pected reply;—“Not In the thoughts of the 
wicked.” 
-- 
It Is an excellent rule to be observed in all 
disputes, that men should give soft words and 
hard arguments ; that they should not so much 
strive to vex as to convince each other. 
An unkind word from one beloved often 
draws the blood from many a heart which 
would defy the battle-axe of hatred or the 
keenest edge of vindictive satire. 
Goon men are guided by reverence, not by 
fear, and they avoid not that which is afflictive, 
but that which is dishonest. 
It la a mistake to suppose that they who 
hearken attentively to our language believe 
every word we say. 
The man who does the best work, other 
things being equal, Is the one who loves his 
work best. 
pending for thg footing. 
THE WOODEN HORSE. 
[SEE ILLUSTRATION, PAGE 241.J 
As Tom went nutting In the wood, 
An aged elm he found. 
With one lone, stout, and crooked branch, 
That almost touched the ground. 
Bald Tom, *' This branch I think will make 
A noble horse for mo 
His saddle was his nntting-basr. 
On whloh he leaped In glee. 
A stout cord Bcrved him for his reins, 
No whip nor spur he used: 
For Tom could never bear to sec 
Dumb animals abused. 
LETTERS TO YOUNG RURALISTS.-No. 27. 
FROM COUSIN JOHNNIE. 
That Advloe About Cleanliness. 
Rose Geranium, in a late Rural, speaking 
of Cousin Johnnie's chapter on cleanliness, 
says:—“Oh, suffering Cousin Johnnie, who 
can ever know what agonies of misery evoked 
that wholesome advice?" She has rightly 
guessed that “ I learned In suffering what 1 
wrote" not exactly “ in song,” as the quotation 
goes, but in my letter to you. It was written 
In the forlorn hope that thosowhom it most 
nearly concerned might, read it and behold 
themselves In the mirror thus hold up to na¬ 
ture. But, alas! I have reason to helieve it 
never met the eye of one of them. I fired, as It 
were, above their heads. And now my only 
hope is that some random shot may have hit, 
somewhere among tho hundreds of thousands 
who read the Rural. 
About the Young Folks’ Letters. 
A groat many young Ruralists tell us the first 
thing they look at when tho paper comes is the 
department devoted to children's letters. Now, 
that has long been my custom ; but that is only 
natural, being your “cousin," and anxious to 
see what my young relatives have to say. lint 
do you know, a highly-educated gentloman told 
me tho other day that be,too, invariably turned 
to your letters first and read every one of them 
through. So you see our Letter-Box is not so 
private as we have been inclined to think. You 
ought to feel much encouraged that you have 
thus succeeded In awakening tho interest of 
the grown people, and should take extra pains 
in the composition of all future epistles. 
Visit to a New Hampshire Mountain. 
I suppose some of you will be wondering If 
Cousin Joiinnie has nothing to tell her little 
cousins about her visits this summer. Well, 1 
met with no very startling adventures, to be 
sure, still I may be ablo to tell you a few things 
that will Interest you. One, to tne, important 
event was going to tho top of a real mountain, 
for the first time that I can remember, al¬ 
though In my early childhood I crossed tho 
Alleghanies. This was Mt. Kearsargc, in War¬ 
ner, N H„ and is a single peak 3.000 feet above 
the level of tho Bea, Now, I suppose you will 
laugh at mo, but I was actually afraid! Yes, 
though I am not, 1 hope, deficient In moral 
courage, I am sadly wanting in that, which is 
physical—probably because my nerves are not 
in quite a healthy condition. At least, It, is 
pleasanter to attribute my cowardice to that 
cause than to think there is any natural defect 
in my composition! 
We drove to within eighty yards of the top, 
and then clambered up the rest of the way. 
After climbing some time through the woods, 
suddenly all vegetation ceased and we found 
ourselves out on the Immense Btono ledges 
near the top. When I found I v/as expected to 
jump from one to the other and scramble up 
their steep, smooth sides, my poor stock of 
courage gave out entirely and indicated I could 
not go on. But my ocusln bade me bold fast 
to his hand, miud where I stopped, and not 
look around; so at last we got safely to the 
tip-top. Then I gave one look about me and 
hastily sat down in the hollow of a rock. Af¬ 
ter awhlla I got accustomed to the elevation 
and began to enjoy tbe beauty of the scene. 
The view from here is considered by many fur 
more pleasing than that from tbe White Moun¬ 
tains, though doubtless Ie63 sublime. Miles 
and miles we could see In every direction—not 
as from Mt. Washington, mountains piled on 
mountains—but towns and villagos, woods and 
streams, hills and cultivated valleys, some 
bathed in sunlight, some lying in the shadow 
of tbe great white clouds that fl oated across 
the sky. We could see the Wntte Mountains, 
the Sunapee range, the Uocanoonuos, Mt. Mo- 
nadnock and Aseutney, while away off in the 
dim distance the Atlantic Ocean was visible. 
We could count more than twenty sheets of 
water sparkling In tho sun, the largest of which 
were Lake Winnipiseogee aud the Sunapee 
Lake. 
At last I felt brave enough to walk about a 
little and examino the tracks of the glaciers on 
the lodges. Those of you who have studied 
geology will remember that during tho “gla¬ 
cial period,” long before this earth was ready 
for the habitation of man, the frigid and tem¬ 
perate zones were covered with Ice, which 
gradually melted, and immense fields of ice 
many miles In extent came sweeping down 
from the North, bringing with them the loose 
materials now found on the earth’s surface. 
We found grooves worn in the rooks whore 
these glaciers had gone scraping over them, 
and In some of the ledges were streaks of 
quartz, which, being so vory hard, had resisted 
their action and become as smooth and pol¬ 
ished as marble. 
Although some days as many as a hundred 
people visit, this old mountain, which, I believe, 
is the oldest land in the Granite State, It hap¬ 
pened that on that day we were the only visit¬ 
ors. So when mv cousin found a place for me 
to sit and rest, while ho went to look for “the 
precipice" 1 felt very much opposed to it, 1 
was rather ashamed to let him see how timid 
I was, however, and therefore only objected 
faintly. So lie left me. I watched him go down 
and down till sit. last ho disappeared from view. 
Then great fear and trembling seized upon me! 
I seemed to bo alone In the whole great uni¬ 
verse. Every creature in the huge volley be¬ 
low seemed hushed In the silence of death. I 
strained rny ears to catch some sound; but all 
was as still as the grave— only a fly buzzed 
mockingly into my face. I called my cousin's 
name aloud; I whistled; but no answering voice 
came back. Thon I began to think what if he 
should never find his way back to me? If I 
tried to descend alone 1 should slip and be 
dashed to pieces; or if. perchance, I should 
sucoed In getting safely down the rooks, I 
should infallibly lose my way in the forest. At 
last I began to resign myself to my fate I I sat 
there, It seemed to me, for hours, taking In tho 
horror of the situation, thinking of all the 
frightful stories 1 had over hoard of death 
from thirst and slow starvation ! And thon— 
my cousin’s form appeared and he called out, 
“I’ve found tho precipice!" Ho had probably 
boon gone about three m lenten! lie had not 
heard me call, but had hoard me whistling, as 
ho supposed, for my own amusement < I did not 
tell him then Just how frightened 1 had been, 
but started off with him toward the precipice. 
When we got away out near the edge of a great 
rock and I could bogln to see a black forest be¬ 
low, do you believe It, I drew back, and, in 
spite of all persuasions, stoutly refused to go a 
step further. .So wo turned about, took one 
farewell look from the tip-top and started 
homeward. When 1 go again, I hope to be 
braver. 
How Mt. Kearsarge Came to be Named. 
Much to the indignation of the Warner peo¬ 
ple, who are Justly proud of their mountain, 
the I’ekoquet. Mountain, in another part of the 
State, has boon named Kearsorgc, thus pro¬ 
ducing considerable confusion ; and they wish 
it distinctly understood that theirs Is the orig¬ 
inal . I dare say you have all heard of the nava 
engagement which took place during our late 
Rebellion botweon the Kearsarge and the Ala¬ 
bama. Well, tho Koarsarge was named after 
til's venerable peak, and was built mainly of 
timber taken from its wooded sides. 
PROBLEM-No. 12- 
Wishing to determine the area of the polygon 
ABUDE, I found, liy measurement, the side 
All to bo 45 rods in length, and the diagonals 
BD, CE, CA and BE, 56, 64, 60 and 70 rods re¬ 
spectively, when I computed its area without 
the aid of trigonometrical tables, or the use of 
an equation higher than that of the second de¬ 
gree. What is its area, and how long is each of 
the four sides, BC. CD, DE and EA, necessary 
to be known In order to determine it ? 
Scale of figure, 40 rods to the inch. 
Oneida Castle, N. Y. B. F. Burleson. 
Answer in two weeks. 
HIDDEN FLOWERS.-No. 1. 
1. The subject must never be named again in 
my presence. 
2. The parents can name the child. 
3. The true hero seeks not after applause. 
4. Oscar, national Independence must be main¬ 
tained. 
5. Does Melvin care only for riches? 
6. When human life is In peril, lamentation 
should never take the place of action. 
7. Is our globe liable to be destroyed by an 
earthquake? 
8. We should never speak in a stern manner 
unless strictly necessary. 
Dewlttvtlle, N. Y. Roselia. 
Answer in two weeks. 
- ■ — 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-Sept. 26. 
Cross-word Enigma No.0—Portland. 
Problem No. 8. - Base of sheet, 1634 inches. 
Side of sheet, 219-20 Inches. 
Hidden Rivers No. 2.— 1. Arno; 2. Po; 3. 
Severn; 4. Nile; 5, Potomac; 6. Indus; 7. Or¬ 
ange; 8. Mayn; 9. Ohurchlli; 10. Loire; 11. 
Inn , 12, Edisto; 13. Pearl. 
