MARCH 6 
m ©©RE’S RURAL ^EW-¥©RK£R, 
THE SUNNY SIDE. 
BT RUNE BLUFF. 
TnotrGH all along life's chequered way 
Some shadowed soots must lie. 
The sun will hut the brighter shine, 
When we have passed them by. 
’Tia hard to hear In tulnd. when griefs 
And cares are multiplied. 
That every life, however drear, 
lias still its sunny side. 
ben lowering clouds across our sky 
Arc gathering thick and fast,— 
When coming griefs, athwart our paths 
Their omiuons shadows cast, 
It will not do to sigh and frown, 
And all our trials rehearse,— 
'Twill never smooth the path ahead. 
But rather make it worse. 
And when they come, those darksome days. 
Bringing a weight of care 
That seems to every shrinking heart 
Greater than It can hear, 
Wo need not. he cast down,—we know 
’TIs GOD’S all-wise decree. 
And sunny days are still in store 
II we will patient be. 
We are but human : nearts may quad 
When adverse winds are high.— 
But storms as wild have swept the sea 
Of life. In days gone by. 
And when we seek, in rugged spats. 
Our faltering feet to guide, 
’Twill easier be if we but look 
Upon the sunny Bide. 
©ur $tarri-2^Uer. 
QBEENYALE gallantry. 
BY MBS. ANNA CLARK ADAMS. 
Not a prettier little village ever nestled be¬ 
tween forest-covered hills than was Greenvnlo 
thirty years ago. The place Is .still a village, 
but no longer small, and If handsomer and 
moro pretentious now than then, it has parted 
with considerable of the rural beauty that 
once pre-eminently distinguished It; for even 
“ the everlasting bills " have changed their as¬ 
pect under the. hand of supposed Improvement, 
and huge plies of brick and mortar rear them¬ 
selves loftily over the sites of several very pret¬ 
ty rural homes. One of the larger and hand- 
soraer of these displaced abodes was owned at 
the tine our story opens by a Mr. Clare, then 
a prominent merchant In the place. Late one 
rainy evening two daughters of that gentle¬ 
man, each accompanied by an escort, might 
have been seen approaching their home, on 
their return from a party. The steps of the 
leading couple were extremely rapid, uncom¬ 
fortably 30 to the lady, who was obliged to ex¬ 
ert herself to the utmo&t to keep 
up with her companion—to ac¬ 
complish which It was necessary 
for her to take at least three ___ 
steps to every two of his long, 
hurried strides. The gentleman, ’ V\V \, 0 ' , ; 
thoughtlessly or otherwise, had v^vt]/ 
appropriated to his own use the , 
better portion of tbe narrow vi AxgVgSwA 
walk, leaving tho lady on the . 
other side, where her feet not 
unfrequently came In contact . *4x1 
with some of the contents of the A .YV''\ 
narrow ditch that bordered It. . • 
Her shoes were completely oov- , 
ered with mud and her silk dress v\ 
partially spotted with the same 
cleanly article, although she had 
attempted to protect it from .Bar 
such danger, fler shawl, having 
escaped from its fastening, had 
fallen from off one shoulder 'I 
and trailed one corner on the 'l 
ground. It was Ada Clare’s f 
first season in society, and she j 
was somewhat timid, oorise- \Jv 
quently she disliked to mention [yu 
her discomfort to her compari- 1 
ion, and he appeared in too 
much haste to notice it, India- 
criminately, through whatever -■ 
of mud or water lay in their 
path, he hurried her on, inereas- 
iDg in velocity every moment, 
until the young lady, thoroughly v ’ 
vexed, and almost breathless, 
suddenly drew her hand from vIS&s, 
his arm and exclaimed: igjgjgggflSfl w'fo 
“ Indeed I cannot proceed at 
this rate another iqstant, and I [ 
must stop long enough to fix my 
shawl or I shall lose It!” 
“ If you must you must, I sup- 
po6e,” returned the young man, 
disconsolately. I’m very sorry; ^53=5 ^51 
we ought to hurry on, for S9e ~~ 
how fast It is rainin'. You'll 
ruin your dress; and as for me, ----- 
I’m sure I’ve no wish to get any — I 
wetter than Is necessary. You - ~T_ 
didn’t have an umbrella, did 
you?” — 
“No, It did not raiu when we 
loft home, although It threat¬ 
ened It; but I supposed the gen¬ 
tlemen would of course be pro¬ 
vided with them. ” 
“ Well, I couldn’t just lay my hand on mine, 
and I did not think it worth while to make 
myself late for the sake of hunting it up, espe¬ 
cially as I thought that a* it looked like rain 
early in the evening all the ladies would have 
them, and 1 could borrow from the one I went 
home with, and you were the one I meant to 
wait on, if you were there. Now, you have 
dropped your handkerchief l” This latter ex¬ 
clamation was accompanied by no attempt to 
restoro It to its ow ner, from whose band it. had 
slipped while adjusting her shawl. 
Ada picked it up, and soon relieved her dis¬ 
tressed escort by declaring tier readme*-; to pro¬ 
ceed, and the next moment they were walking 
onward nearly as rapidly as before. 
The other couple were quite a distance be¬ 
hind. Slowly and cautiously they m wed along, 
avoiding all deep mud and standing water, the 
gentleman seeking to secure the best possible 
footing for the young lady, and also to effectu¬ 
ally shield her from the tain by moans of the 
large umbrella he held over her. 
Soon the younger Miss Clare and her gallant 
attendant reached tho gate opening ou to the 
lawn in front of her residence. This Mr. 
Sponse permitted Ada to opon, and then, 
with a hasty bow, bade her good night and 
hurried away with all possible speed. 
Ada slowly entered the bouse, and without 
removing her sh awl or hat seated herself In the 
hall to await her sister's arrival. After several 
moments she heard the. suund of approaching 
footsteps. Soon the door was opened, and her 
sister’s escort expressed the hope that Miss 
Clare would experience no ill effects from her 
exposure to the rain fir dampness that evening, 
and then politoly bade her good night. 
Miss Clare closed and fastened the street 
door, and then discovered her sister, who, 
meanwhile, hud remained perfectly quiet. 
“Why, Ada!” she exclaimed, "what a sight 
you are 1—how very wot and muddy 1 Why 
do you ait here, with your wet shawl and drip¬ 
ping hat on? You'll take cold. Why did you 
do it ?” 
‘‘Because I hap) ened ty be in more need of 
breath than anything else, and have been try¬ 
ing to take on a supply. That delectable Mr. 
Sponse was my escort homo to-night, and you 
know what a walker lie is, ordinarily; but to¬ 
night he surpassed all his former feats, I sus¬ 
pect, immeasurably. 1 never Bawanything like 
it; we almost ran all the way.” 
“You poor thing! -what a time you must 
have had of it!" returned Miss Clare, sympa- 
thizingly. “How long have you been home?” 
“ Oh, nearly half an hour, and I am gasping 
yet. You need not laugh, Julia— it's a fact." 
‘ Why did you not stop him, Ada, when it 
was too much for you ?” 
"Stop him! One might, almost as well try to 
stop tho wind. I did attempt it, though, Tor 
he had hurried me on so that my shawl had 
fallen nearly off, ami bosides I was almost 
breathless. I ivotdd stop a moment to fix my 
Bhawl, but the poor gentleman seemed so dis¬ 
tressed on account of it that I let him go on 
again as soon as possible.” 
“But how came you toget so wet and muddy? 
You 're shoos are completely covered with mud, 
while mine are but slightly soiled.” 
“ For the best roasou In the world, Julia. If 
Mr. Habtland had beon my company home, 1 
do not doubt I should have arrived In as good a 
Condition as ymi have done. Hut Mr, Sponse 
never bad the first Idea of politeness. Take 
that Into consideration, together with the fact 
that he was not provided with an umbrella, 
and consequently was In unusual haste, and 
the case is clear. 1 think if he over offers his 
services to me again I shall respectfully de¬ 
cline." 
“That would hardly do, Sis. But come. It is 
late: let us hurry to berl. I am very tired, and 
yon must be more than so. You must get off 
that wot clothing as soon as possible, or you 
will be in cbills hefore morning." 
“ l rather think my half-mile race home will 
prevent that disaster: but I am tired enough 
for bed, you may be certain.” 
A few days after the occurrence of the scenes 
described the Misses Clare were preparing to 
attend another party. 
“Julia, I have about decided to give Mr. 
Sponse ' the mitten,‘ as ho would call it, should 
lm offer to accompany me bcuno to-night," said 
Ada, as she tied her bonnet strings, “I’d 
rather conic home alone, or depend upon you 
and your escort, if you have one, for company, 
than suffer his rudeness again.” 
“No. no, Ada; it will not do. You would 
probably offend tils mother and sisters, as well 
as himself, should you do so; and you know 
Mrs. Sponse is an old and tried friend of our 
family, ami his sisters very agreeable acquaint¬ 
ances, who do their full share toward making 
society pleasant. No,” continued Julia, with 
a shako of the head, by way of making her 
words moro impressive, “you must not do it; 
mother would uot like It at all. You must put 
up with hlm.'if you cannot manage to avoid his 
attentions. Besides, he is respectable, and I 
presume woJI-meaning.” 
“I suppose so,” returned Ada, dubiously; 
“ at least I cannot prove the contrary , but he 
is intolerable for all that, and all boeauso of his 
utter ignorance or carelessness regarding the 
moat simple rules of common politeness.'’ 
"It scorns to mo that you, yourself, Ada, 
liavo deviated considerably from those rules in 
your treatment of him lately, You have some¬ 
times boon scarcely civil.” 
“And yet lie has selected me as tin' recip¬ 
ient of his most pointed attentions,” laughed 
Ada. “ So you sec, sister mine, I have not been 
(Ikcnuraoingly uncivil. But come, Julia, aren’t 
you ready ? As we go by ourselves, we ought 
not to be late.” 
‘That is true,” returned Julia. “ Now that 
Mr. Hautland Is out of town, there la no One 
we can expect, will call for us. This place is 
very different from what It was a few years ago, 
when I first entered society as a young lady. 
Then it was rather remarkable for tbe gallantry 
MMm 
V 
ill 
STREET ARAB. A. YOUNG OA HD Id NEQ, 
SOY BEFORE AFTER. RECLAMATION. 
of its young gentlemen ; but now that three or 
four of the leading beaux have loft, it is quite 
the reverse. But 1 am ready now, and, as you 
said, we had bettor be there early than late." 
About the first object the Misses Clare bo- 
held after entering the drawing-room and ex¬ 
changing greetings with their hostess and such 
of her family as were near her was Mr. Sponse, 
seated very comfortably In a large rocker, 
which lie was diligently swaying backward and 
forward, while all the other gentlemen pro. cut 
and the ladies of tho family ware standing. 
“How de do, Julia ? How de do, Ada?” he 
said, stretching out a hand to each, without 
making so much as a feint of rising from his 
chair, contenting himself with ceasing to rock 
for the moment. “ Pm very glad you’ve come, 
r was prodigiously afraid you wouldn’t, for I 
saw a light in ynur front parlor just at dark, 
and so was afraid you had company and might 
have to stay at home. If you had not come, 1 
don’t know but 1 should have died of ennui 
before the evening was over”—and Mr. Sponse 
smiled complacently, feeling that be bad made 
a very gallant speech. 
“ if there were really any danger of such a 
result I should think it a pity we came," re¬ 
turned Ada, a little sharply. 
Mr. Spouse smiled good-humoredly. “ Pretty 
good at repartee, isn’t she, gentlemen. I like 
that. Vinegar and spice Just suit my taste 
sometimes.” 
This remark elicited only smiles by way of 
reply from the gentlemen addressed, and the 
Misses Clare sought eseapo from further per¬ 
sonalities by leaving that portion of the room 
and mingling with the rapidly - Increasing 
crowd, feeling assured meanwhile that Mr. 
Sponse’s attachment to the rocker he was 
monopolizing would prevent, his attempting to 
follow them. 
When supper was being served several gen¬ 
tlemen, as was customary, assisted in holping 
the ladles to refreshments. Mr. Sponse, who 
was one of the number, was particularly offi¬ 
cious, and rather clumsily so. “Julia,” he 
said, approaching Miss Cl ark, “do have some 
more preserves." 
“ Not any more, thank you—I am abundantly 
supplied,” MiasCt.AR e replied; but the gallant 
gentleman* chose to think otherwise, and was 
in tho act of transferring a spoonful of straw¬ 
berries to the lady’s plate when, by an unlucky 
move, he overturned tho spoon and its contents 
fell upon her dress. 
“ Oh, my gracious, Miss Julia !” he exclaim¬ 
ed, “ you have spoiled your dress 1”—and seizing 
Miss Clare’s fine, richly - trimmed handker¬ 
chief, before she had time to remonstrate, ho 
endeavored to remove the berries and stain, 
not only enlarging tho latter, but effectually 
ruining Min handkerchief. Tho dress was a 
beautiful bright silk, worn that everiiug for tho 
first. tin c. T' i rw«-, vexed and concerned, of 
course, but did not give her feelings expression 
by either word or look 
When the time had arrived for the young 
people and their hostess to separate, the gen¬ 
tlemen arranged themselves ou either side of 
the ball to await the appearance 
of the ladies, who lingered an 
unusually long lime in tho 
dressing-room, each one feeling 
unwilling to be the first to enter 
the hall. Tho unmarried ladies 
urged the bride of the season to 
load them, as she could depend 
upon her husband's company 
home, and consequently need 
not feel the embarrassment and 
diffidence experienced by tbern. 
But she ungraciously refused, 
declarelugsho no more wished to 
be stared at by the double line 
of stupid beaux in the hall than 
any other one of them. In Tact, 
as she waa a comparative stran¬ 
ger in town, she did not coi - 
aider it her place. In the town 
she came from such things were 
managed differently. 
ggff|xj* Y, After a little further eonvei'- 
Ration, during which the uti- 
fjSfc pleasantness of entering or 
walking through a ball lined on 
. - each side by gentlemen, cousoi- 
iHsHiL ^5?; ous all the while that each pair 
of eyes were fixed upon one, was 
fully discussed, it was finally de¬ 
cided that a Miss Green and 
Mies Clauk, as the eldest young 
ladles present, should take the 
lord. 
“I presume the gentlemen 
would have been considerably 
amused could they have over¬ 
heard our conversation Just 
now, and think we considered 
? them of vast importance,” said 
J; Miss Green as Bhe stopped to 
burton ber gloves. 
" Undoubtedly; but that is 
not it," returned another young 
lady. “ Wo dislike to go out 
j because it looks so much like 
r passing before them that they 
if mey take their pick.” 
"And then allow a dozen or 
more of ua to go home alone,” 
added a. third voice. 
“I would not object to going 
home alone at all, wore it not 
for the danger and impropriety 
of being on the street at so kite 
qn hour without a protector,” 
said Julia. “ But I see ypp dre 
