BRINK 
ance 
portfolio. 
RATHER. 
BT RUNE BLUFF. 
A little dandelion 
Was sitting in the grass, 
Down by a narrow pathway where 
I very seldom pass. 
It tried to swing its golden locks 
Upon the wooing breeze, 
It smiled right up into my face, 
As if 'twnrc bound to please. 
It was not beautiful nor sweet; 
It had no gift of grace, 
Nor any clmrm was there to see 
In the common little face, 
Save that ’twas modest in Its way. 
Blooming half hidden there,— 
Trying its best to smile and shine. 
And make the earth more fair. 
Ami yeti could not pass it by, 
It was so plain and small. 
But as I looked it seemed as If 
A star did sometime fall, 
And lie there in the leaves and grass,— 
A liny, golden thing,— 
And pas* Itselt off as a flower. 
One balmy day tn Spring. 
I could not careloss pass it by 
Without un answering look. 
But, bemllng down, the simple flower 
From out Us place I took. 
Gathered Id my caressing hand 
I know ’twould rather die, 
Thau still unnoticed there to bloom, 
Between the earth and sky. 
A TRUE STORY OF FAITH. 
BY ANN HOrKINS. 
MY intimate friend knew a noble young girl, 
the pride of loving parents, who showered upon 
her every advantage that wealth could possibly 
procure or the best society afford. She was 
graceful and bountiful in person, intellectual 
and brilliant in conversation, and indeed it 
seemed as if perfection had been almost at¬ 
tained. Tier contributions to the papers were 
creating quite an interest, and, had it not been 
otherwise willed, she would have been a bright 
light In the literary world. But a more trying 
work and a greater reward awaited her one 
that would place a brilliant star hi her crown of 
glory and give her joy eternal. Sbo became ac¬ 
quainted with and married a'gentleman, her 
equal, apparently. In every respect. Their life 
was a round of sunshine; their cup of bliss full 
to the brim, when, in an unguarded moment, 
the tempter entered—at first, with oautlouB 
tread, but anon bold, upright and defiant.. 
With tearful OVOB the loving wife plead 
against the effects of the cursed wiuecup; but 
all in vain! Their wealth vanished; their 
household furniture was sold for necessaries 
of life. The fond wife earnestly entreated her 
husband for their child’s sake, for her health’s 
sake, to let the wiuecup remain untouched, 
flow sorely she was tried to k now her entreat ies 
were unavailing! 
My friend whispered, “ Will not God call you 
to account for the talent which you are hiding 
under a bushel? Do you not owe your child 
something? Did (ion give you strength to 
waste In care of a drunken husband? Leave 
him, oh t my dear friend.” 
“No, Sarah; have more faith; all will yet 
end right. Did I not promise to love, honor 
and cherish until death ? 1 will drain the bitter 
cup to the very dregs: but leave Llm - never.'” 
The support of the family fell upon shoulders 
that were entirely too weak lor the task. A 
few more days and the friend was summoned 
to the side of the dying wife. With choking 
sobs she inquired, “Oh, my friend, have you 
not erred?—have you not shortened your days 
of usefulness?” “Ob, Sarah, I can see my 
way clearly. My work is ended. My Savior 
says, 1 Well done, thou faithful servant !* All Is 
right.” 
She died, leaving a drunken husband and one 
sweet child. The child, remembering deeds, 
words and sacrifices, did the work of reforma¬ 
tion; and now the child la a woman, proud of 
a reformed father, who, by untiring energy, has 
surrounded her with such comforts as were her 
mother’s, and all is well. 
A LADY’S CHANCES OF BEING MARRIED. 
Thf. statistician, and likewise the average 
woman all the way from fifteen years of age to 
the point when birthday anniversaries cease to 
be a time of cheer and gratulatlon, may take at 
least a passing Interest in a table recently 
printed tn England to show the relations be¬ 
tween matrimony and age. Every woman has 
some chance of being married; it maybe one 
chance to fifty against it, or it rnay be ten to 
one that she will marry. But whatever that is, 
representing her entire chance at 1U0, tier par¬ 
ticular chance at certain defined points of her 
progress in time is found to be in the follow¬ 
ing ratio* :—When bet ween fifteen and twenty 
years she has 1+ 4 per cent, of tier whole proba¬ 
bility ; when between twenty and twenty-five 
she has 53 percent.; between twenty-five and 
thirty, 18 pet cent. After thirty years she has 
lost 8ft4 per cent, of Iter chance, but until thir¬ 
ty-five she has <$!>4 per cent. Between thirty- 
five and forty it is per cunt.,, and for each 
succeeding five years is respectively 3, ‘/ s , % 
and >4 per cent. Any time after sixty it is one- 
tenth of 1 percent., or one-thousandth of her 
chance of a chance a pretty 3lender figure, but 
figures often are slender at that age. 
VICK’S FLORAL GUIDE. 
SECRET OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN FLOWER CULTURE. 
Vick, the great florist, seedsman and bulb- 
ist (?) of Rochester—who has enough friends 
and admirers among the fair sex to make him 
Gen. Grant’s successor if Woman Suffrage 
were In vogue—has “went and gone and done 
it " again. He has sent us nearly one hundred 
(to be exact, just ninety-six) specimen pages of 
his Floral Gutde for 1875—and they are, In uum- 
Thc woman whose flower seeds all come up. 
ber and beauty of 1 Illustrations, typography, 
printing and paper, simply “ stunning.” They 
will bring him—t,be aforesaid Vick -into still 
greater favor with feminity, and make some 
enemies among those husband* who see no 
beauty in flowers, and therefore object to hav¬ 
ing their pockets depleted of stamps to pur¬ 
chase seeds, bulbs, etc., wherewith to make 
home pleasant and wives and daughters happy 
and contented. [Possibly such husbands might 
vote for Vick for President, In order to get 
him out of his present business and thus save 
their stamps for tobacco and—well, say liquid 
stimulants! ] 
Reading for tin) fJouiuj. 
ROBIN ON THE APPLES. 
[8EM ILLUSTRATION ON PAOE 353.] 
O sly Robin-redbreast! O lie, robbing Robin ! 
I hardly can look at you there without sobbing. 
When the dark blast is howling, and harder and 
harder 
The cold earth is frozen, and lean grows your larder, 
You hop to my window, and beg for your dinner, 
And never In vain—the thaw finds you no thinner. 
But—how do you answer your kind benefactor '! 
Say, how do you pay him, you sly little actor? 
There you dine at your east* on uiv red-breastod 
apple, 
With an tnuocent, Ipcr, Hite, a thiol In a chapel: 
So, in winter I feed you. beguiled by your graces, 
And in summer you rob mo, you bird o( two faces! 
O fle on such treason! you know It, you vitriol! 
And that’s why your bosom Is oriuison and scurlot. 
But still, i forgive you ; when Cuckoos are mute. 
And dainty Miss Nightingale pockets her lute, 
And Swallows are packing up anxious to fly, 
Like the friends that forsake u*. when trouble is 
nlgb, 
When on the drear river the yellow leaves float, 
Friend born for adversity, blithe ts thy note ! 
For your sweet autumn ditties your poaching l 
pardon, 
As long as you enrol you’re free of my garden; 
To you, us to me, every apple belongs, 
I And you the feast and you pay me with songs. 
MAY’S THANKSGIVING OFFERING. 
BY MARY D. 
Portrait of the fortunate woman's hus¬ 
band, who makes wife and children happy 
and home pleasant. 
Among the hundreds of illustrations in the 
specimen pageB before ua aro four which so 
graphically tell why some indies succeed in the 
cultivation of flowers, ami others fall in their 
attempts, that wo present them herewith. The 
pictures tell tho whole story, the secret of 
both success and failure in (lower culture-ren¬ 
dering any comment or description superflu¬ 
ous. The contrast in botli the husbands and 
wives represented is striking, indicating a 
marked difference in tastes, habits and pro- 
clivittes—sufficient at least to show why some 
people’s flower seeds always germinate, while 
those of other people fail to put in an appear- 
Thc woman whose flower seeds never come up 
unless they are scratched up. 
Of course only ladles are bound to read this 
article—except perhaps such husbands as assist 
their wives in the flower garden, (like the good- 
looking one represented above) -but no doubt 
such lovers of flowers as do will not “ forget to 
remember ” that Vick’s Floral Guide is “ a 
good thing to have in the house ” of all culti¬ 
vators, whether amateur or professional. 
Full length Portrait of some unhappy wo¬ 
man’s husband. The man who thinks it 
nonsense for wife and girls to make flower 
beds. 
On reflection we doubt whether the “ party ” 
represented with pipe and fork takes the Ru¬ 
ral, though he may read a borrowed copy oc¬ 
casionally, and therefore he is not given as one 
of our parishioners. How ever, he will probably 
be recognized by many of our rentiers as tho 
man they have scon “ at the corners " (if not 
“corned”)and elsewhere. 
-- 
Mrs. Jane G. Swissiielm has Invented a new 
stylo of dress for women, a •‘Hygienic Suit.’ 
She has lectured on the subject and has exhib¬ 
ited models which are very good. 
It was such a happy Thanksgiving day at Mrs. 
Lee’S comfortable home! Relatives from far 
and near were gathered there to help make way 
with the huge Thanksgiving turkey, and all the 
other good things beneath which the lady’s 
hospitable table groaned. Aunties, uncles, 
nieces and nephews drank to each other’s 
health, while the small host of children enjoy¬ 
ed the day and shared tho merriment with t heir 
elders after their own baby fashion. Nobody 
cared for the snow which steadily whitened 
the dreary street outside, nor for the keen, 
wintry air which rattled at the window panes 
and tried vainly to find entrance w ithin Mrs. 
Lee’s warm, cheerful apartments, Thera wore 
games and impromptu dances, songs, merry 
laughter and all sorts of fun and frolic going 
on, so that the storm without was all unbonded. 
But one among (be children thus gathered 
together could only sit quietly in her little 
chair and look on while the others played. 
Dear little May! -the youngest wco pet of 
them all Mrs. Use's baby of four years; 
“ iaamnia’ 4 *little wounded dove," as the fam¬ 
ily Called h r :'i. She could not run and jump as 
the rest did, because one tiny foot had never 
touched ground save with the toes; and though 
the child could walk without a crutch, yet It 
was very weary work, and she liked to sit In 
her own little chair where her toys and play¬ 
things wore brought to her by kind and loving 
little brothers and sisters. Everybody loved 
the child. A sunnier, sweeter face never was 
kissed; bluer and merrier eyes never looked 
Into a mother’s face Mian hors; and such a 
golden little head ! It seemed us if a quantity 
of sunshine had one day fallen upon it, and be- 
comingso entangled amid the soft, wavy tresses 
that It could not free Itself, at last settled for¬ 
ever there, like a bright golden crown, which 
earned for the beautiful wearer the loving title 
of “ Golden Head.” 
Well, at last came the summons to dinner, 
and big folks and little folks gathered around 
the well-lliled-board. But little May at length 
grew weary of tho noise; her small brain hardly 
comprehended the wit and humor appreciated 
by older beads, and she wanted to watch the 
pretty snow tumbling flake by (lake from some 
mysterious bight above. So, .‘•lipping from her 
high chair, tho little one limped across the 
room and dragged herself upon the large, broad 
window-seat. Here, curled up comfortably, she 
sat, quietly Indifferent to all tbtnga save the 
beautiful snow gradually piling itself on the 
sill outside her wflndow. What was it that 
presently made the blue eyes open wider and 
fill them with a kind of sorrowful surprise? 
Only the sight of a poor, scantily-clothed 
woman, who paused in her wanderings to look 
up at the sweet child-face pressed against tho 
pane. Little May (lid not know much of the 
discomforts or this life, nor or poverty and 
woo and want. Her own life had been so ten¬ 
derly guarded that even her Infirmity was Of 
little consequence to her, so ready and anxious 
were others to help her in her small desires. 
So when this half-frozen beggar looked up 
eagerly the child was filled with wonder that, 
on tills day, when mamma, papa and others 
were so glad, that poor woman was so sad and 
hungry out In the cold. 
“See! mamma!” she exclaimed, “here Is a 
poor old woman! Sail May tell her turn in 
and eat ?” 
“ Mrs. Lee only laughed, and shook her head 
in tHe negative, even as she raised a brimming 
glass of wine to her lips—wine which would 
have warmed the shivering bouI outside ao 
gratefully. Then May crept to her mother’s 
side. “ Mamma, is that woman any litt le dirl’s 
mamma, like you Is my mamma ?” 
“ Wbat a strange question, child!” replied 
Mrs. Lee, tenderly laying her hand on May's 
golden hair. The child looked puzzled but 
asked no more questions, and her presence for 
a brief space was forgotten as the'company 
merrily chatted ou. 
Meanwhile what was little May doing— creep¬ 
ing so silently about the floorclose by the table? 
Simply filling her little apron with crumbs which 
In goodly numbers hud dropped “ from the rich 
man’s table.” Dear child! Rapidly her little 
fingers worked until she could find no more, 
and then, with ( lie insignificant result of her 
efforts, she rose and limped sgnln to the win¬ 
dow-seat. Outside the woniali still waited, and 
May, her face shining with Joy, pointed to her 
apron carefully gathered In one little hand, and 
tried to lift the heavy window. Then Mrs. Lee 
and her friends noticed the motion with sur¬ 
prise, and the lady called her child to coma to 
her. “ What in the world are you doing, May?” 
she asked. How can 1 describe tee happy little 
voice which replied, “ Diving Hie poor woman 
some Thanksgiving day, mamma! >See, May’s 
dot tnnhbt for her, ’tauso doro was nosing elao 
t,o spare you know, mamma!” 
What a pang of self-reproach entered that 
mother's heart as her darling Spoke! “Be¬ 
cause thero was nothing else to spare!” And 
her table loaded with food beyond their re¬ 
quirements! Dear little MAY1—blessed little 
comforter, who would have given crumbs of 
comfort, if nothing more, to the needy life 
without! It is hardly necessary to tell the re¬ 
sult of it all. But we may bo sure the beggar 
was allowed to taste Of part of that pi l 
Thanksgiving dinner; nor did she know, i >< r 
woman, how securely locked from sympathy 
were the hearts of those rich people until God 
placed in a little child’s hand the golden key 
which opened tbo iron doors and let. the pre¬ 
cious trait warm and glorify that which was 
cold and hard before. 
May's next Thanksgiving dawned in heaven. 
The tiny feet had “ dimed the Golden Stair,” 
and only the memory of her thoughtful little 
heart, remained to assist Mrs. Bee in her care 
for the poor. 
®he fuller. 
PROBLEM.—No. 17. 
The diagonals of a trapezoid measure re¬ 
spectively 50and 60 rods ; tho sum of its parallel 
sides measure 100 rods, and the difference be¬ 
tween its other two sides measure 6 rods. Re¬ 
quired, the sides of tho trapezoid. 
A 8 
AC=60 rods; BD=50 rods; A Bx DC-100 rods ; 
AD—BC=6 rods. 
Scale of figure, 30 rods to the inch. 
Oneida Castle, N. Y. B. F. Burleson. 
EST* Answer in two weeks. 
--n*-- 
A TRIO OF PUZZLES. 
The following puzzles iwill undoubtedly 
bother many: 
L—IT 0 a 0, but 110 thee, 
O 0 no 0, but O 0 me ; 
Then lot not my 0 a 0 go, 
But give 0 0 10 thee so. 
This oue is just about as bad : 
3,—Stand take to takings 
I you tli row my 
Tho next would probably bother a person as 
much as anything: 
3.-CC 
SI 
13^' Answers In two weeks. 
, - — 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-Nov. 14. 
Geographical Enigma No. 3. — One morn¬ 
ing while sitting in my private room in an inn, I 
was somewhat surprised to see my sister Rosa 
enter the room ; she carried her botany in hand, 
which site said she had been reading, and it 
made her feci blue. She had hardly finished 
when our cousin Tom also came into the room, 
and, as it was fair weather, proposed a spree. 
“ what shall it be?” immediately responded 
my sister. “ Oh l a ride in the-addle." said t, 
“if you can procure horses; that Irishman 
boarding at the Frenchman’s lias one, bu * 
back is like a camel's hump, and it is a ly 
and dull as a sleeping bear." “ That fri . dly 
Englishman has plenty of nice ponies," s id our 
cousin, “ so l think we can start If you . ill got 
your hood." 
The morning was clear and lovely: tho dis¬ 
tant horizon was beautified by the brilliant hue 
cost by the rising sun, the odor of new-mown 
hay pervaded the air, and every thing spoke of 
beauty and peace. “ Look out for that rock !” 
exclaimed Tom ; “Po I I bid farewell to fear! ’ 
said Rosa as she rode directly over it; seeing 
her success I had good hope that J should do 
as well. . ... 
We passed a lovely canary, singing with its 
gay head turned saucily on one side, and war 
filled with wrath that we could not attain. It- 
A little further on we came upon a m»ti lying 
tn the road, with a bottle of rum In his bund ; 
the cork had been taken out, and tho remnants 
of last night's debauch were slowly trickling to 
the ground. “ i’oor man,” we sighed, “life 
can hold little but foul weather and disappoint¬ 
ment for you, and though the uay is joyous it 
might as well be rainy.” 
We did not return until tho moon was east¬ 
ing its silvery beams over our rocky way, mak¬ 
ing u golden gate whereby we might outer 
home. 
