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854 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER 
MAY 28 
It was not quite sunset as we came In sight 
of the house, and rnv garden made Itself visi¬ 
ble at onon. I could see at a glance that things 
had blossomed a great deal during my absence, 
and the beds were of all colors and very gay. 
Aunt Cree went Into the houso to take her 
things off, but we threo folks turned. Into the 
garden pathB. . . 
“These pansies are perfection ! exclaimed 
Douglas, with enthusiasm. “ They fairly take 
my breath away I” And bending over, he gath¬ 
ered a handful, humming to himself 
“ All in mellow twilight, 
Efo yet the dew was hour. 
I went plucking purple pansies 
Till my love should come to shore 
Meanwhile Joe was looking around with a 
puzzled air. 
“Pansies in both hearts, SusieV" ho said, re¬ 
proachfully. “Could you not spare me one 
little corner oven ?*' 
“ I am sure 1 planted them all right Joe 1” I 
exclaimed, eagerly: “but they came up just 
this way. What can It. mean?" 
“Idon't know what it means; I only know 
what r see," he replied, in wlmt was a very 
gloomy tone for Joe. “ 1 Bee you have no room 
for mignonette.” 
This wus making a serious matter of it—more 
serious than it deserved, I thought, and I could 
not- go on forever protesting that It. was not my 
fault. So 1 remained Bilent. A moment after 
Douglas, who wa« standing by the medley bed, 
said suddenly: 
“ Here's your mignonette now, half smother¬ 
ed under those lupines.” 
I weut over to see, He pointed them out with 
a smile. 
“What! that little green thing?" I cried out, 
thoughtlessly. “ Is that all there is to mignon¬ 
ette? Why, I thought it must be something 
wonderful for Joe to care so about it." 
Now tliat was.a careless thing to say, and I 
saw Instantly thni Joe felt more hurt than be¬ 
fore. But what could I do about it? Nothing 
but laugh It off ; so laugh 1 did, and led them 
gaily back to the house, thinking to myself 
there would bechance# enough before summer 
was over to make my peace with Joe. 
But as It turned out, there was no chance at 
all. Thit very evening Joe told his mother of 
a proposal one of the professors had made him 
t o join a coast expedition that, was to start the 
very next week, it would last, three months at 
levst, and when It returned, Joe would then be 
so near the medical college, where he was to 
study for his profession, t hal.it would not. be 
worth while for him to come home then, not 
before the regular Thanksgiving vacation. 
There was no denying the advantages of the 
trip, and Aunt Creo sighed and relinquished 
her boy. 1 fell pretty sober too, I can tell you, 
though I did not show it; Tor ! counted a good 
deal upon Joe's cheery presence at. home during 
the rest of the summer. Ho then wo had to 
burry about to get him ready to go. I neglected 
my garden that week, ami nobody said n word 
about mignonette, so there was no chance made 
for me to tell Joe how sorry l was about Ms 
favorite flowers. And I did not want to make 
a chalice Mr myself, for fear of giving the affair 
a sentimental aspect. Ho the days slid by, and 
somehow or other Joe and 1 did not have a 
single one of our nice old talk#: but now and 
then 1 caught him looking ut me gravely, some¬ 
times, 1 fancied, even sadly. 
The day ho went Douglas and 1 walked down 
to the depot with him. The fare veil words and 
wishes had been spoken and we wore just turn¬ 
ing away I, at leas,„ feeling dreary enough— 
wheu Joe suddenly caught my hand from the 
car platform and whispered In my ear: 
“ God bless you, little lleart's-ease!" 
That was all. A minute later and the train 
was moving on, ami Douglas ami I were stroll¬ 
ing l)ome together. 11c was to stay a day’ later, 
his homo lying in a different direction from that 
Joe had taken. He seemed very abstracted 
during our walk, but not in an unflattering 
way; for when he did look at me, it was with a 
look as If he bad been thiukiug of me all the 
time. So, what with bis glances and what w Ith 
Joe’s last words, my heart got fairly In a flutter. 
When wo readied Aunt CTee’s gate he said, 
" Don’t go into the house yet, Susie ; lot us go 
hunting for hoart's-case first." 
So we turned aside into my garden, which a 
week’s sunshine had made very bright aud gay 
with blossoms. Douglas began to fill hie nauds 
witli gold and purple pansies. Meanwhile I 
was ruefully regarding the crowded mignonette 
hi the medley bed. 
“ I cannot possibly understand," I said, “ why 
Joe’s seed should have turned out so strangely, 
isu’t it too had ?” 
Douglas laughed lightly. 
"Hu vo you never suspected ?” lie asked, "ft 
is the greatest joke. 1 did it myself. 1 changed 
the seeds last spring 1 n the saucer, never drearn- 
ing but you would find me out the next day. It 
has been the greatest fun, Joe's black looks and 
your innocent perplexity] I meant to have 
told him the joke before he went, but I forgot 
it.” 
The joke! Instead of seeming like a joke, 
1 lie thing took on a tragic air to ino. Poor Joe ! 
dear Joe! my combat, aud protector iu my 
darkest days, cheated uni of his Bowers by this 
stranger and made to feel slighted aud forgot¬ 
ten! A sudden revulsion toward Douglas 
swept over me. Five minutes before he had 
seemed so grand to me; I had even been on the 
edgeof loving him ; but now it was as if a strong 
hand had turned me back. I could see and 
think of nothing but Joe's sober face and dis¬ 
appointed eyes. And it was Douglas that did it! 
Meanwhile he was laying his wealth of pan¬ 
sies In my hands. 
‘ Take the heart's-ease, Susie darling," be 
said, " for my heart goes with it. Don't you | 
know how I love you ? I did not come here for 
flower# this summer. I came for you 1" 
But 1 pushed his flowers away. 
“ I’ll have nothing but. mignonette!" 1 cried, [ 
aud tore up a handful of it from the medley 
bed and held it before him. 
" Susie, Husie, what do you mean?" he asked, 
and Ms face wa, pale. “Don't you love me? 
Are yon never going to love me?” 
“ i don't., and I never will, and l am going 
straight Into the house!" was my reply. And 
Into the house and up to my room I ran, like 
the untrained girl I was, and there sat down 
and cried from sheer excitement. 
Douglas went away the next day and Aunt 
Cree never know wlmt happened. Again 1 set¬ 
tled down to my quiet life and my garden, but 
I felt so different from the girl who planted the 
medsaud wat ched their growing. I seemed to 
nysolf like the heroine of a novel, and the 
dory wa« quite, quite finished. 
My gaideu reached its glory; It. looked as if a 
■alubow had fallen down Into Aunt Cree's yard. 
Tiio phlox bed was vivid with scarlet and rose 
iod purple; the sweet, peas wore like a blush, 
und bo fragrant; the cheery chrysanthemums 
vorc corning on in crowds, and the poppies aud 
lortulaccas looked like a solid bouquet In the 
’■enter. In the medley bottle-pink# and In¬ 
line#, salvia# and larkspurs, ragged-sailor and 
noun dug-bride struggled up together and did 
heir best., and the mignonette thrust forth its 
iweet clusters wherever there wa# the I east 
ipenlug. It. always seemed to whisper, “Joe, 
Joe!” And then the bright and saucy faces of 
Jie pansies would flash up at me and look as (f 
hey were gossiping together about Douglas. 
He had loved me and I had sent him away. I 
lid not regret that, but oh 1 I was so lonely 
without Joe. And he hud gone away thinking 
I would not miss him, that 1 had no rcfom f*>r 
ni# mignonette nor for him! Why had 1 not 
realized, the moment 1 saw bis favorite flower, 
what a lovely thing it was, with Its cool, green 
caves and fragrant heeds of bloom ! I became 
t devotee of mignonette, i went over to Mrs. 
'quires and begged what aeed she had left, aud 
planted them generously in fiower-pota and 
Imaging baskets and great window boxes. 
They would bloom f ir me all winter that way 
when uther flowers were dead and gone. I 
would wear no flower but miguonette, and the 
uase&in my chamber should be filled with mig¬ 
nonette alone. 
The little seeds sprang up quickly, and I 
watched them constantly, for thoir sake neg¬ 
lecting the more showy garden. 1 meant to 
have Joe find t he dear old sitting-room a per¬ 
fect bower of mignonette when lie came at 
Thanksgiving, and he would understand it 
meant atonement, and friendship. Once in a 
while there occurred to me shall 1 say what 
Jealous foarY Suppose the professor who had 
taken Joe on the expedition should lie the very 
professor who had the fair daughter? And 
suppose- Well, if Joe did come home en¬ 
gaged, arid If I should die young, as might hap¬ 
pen, he would knowhow 1 loved mignonette 
at last, add lie would plant it all over uiy grave. 
It bloomed sooner than I thought it would; 
by the last of September the whole house was 
fragrant with It,; but L had little heart to de¬ 
light In it then, we were so anxious about Joe. 
It was so long since we had heard from him ; it 
was past time for the vessel to arrive in port, 
and there had boon terrible storms lately along 
the coast. I was sitting with my head bowed 
against a mignonette box, silently crying, and 
when l heard Aunt tree's sad, slow step enter¬ 
ing the room, 1 said, “Oh, Auut Cree, how 
shall we ever live without Joe?" 
'Then all of a sudden there were strong arms 
around me and somebody kissed me. It was 
not Aunt Cree; it was Joe, with a sailor hat 
on, bronzed and radia it, aud what he said was, 
"God bless you, little Mignonette !’’ 
A TOUCHING EASTERN STORY. 
?After the children came the young girls and 
women. To each of them she gave a little case 
containing Implement* for needle work and a 
chaplet, and an Image of the Blessed Mary. To 
the men she gave an ebony cross, and for each 
gift and recipient she had appropriate words. 
When she had extended her last present ehe 
was so exhausted that her son and daughter-in- 
law. who stood by tier, wished to have her 
wheeled back Into the house, but she said no. 
She then begged the people to recite in a loud 
voice the Dominical orison. Then, at a sign 
from her band, they all knelt, and their voloes 
in fervent tones broke out in the recital of the 
Lord’s prayer. 
An the amen #till echoed in the air she felt 
death Invading her heart., tind whispering 
“ Marcel,” the name of her grandson, the child 
was brought, and as ho was being carried to her 
lips her head dropped upon her breast, and 
without a sigh she rendered her soul to God. 
go much for a scene that seems taken from a 
poem—an ideal state of society that one can 
hardly reconcile with the present. 
LOYE FOR LOVE. 
The Paris correspondent of the Dally Graphic 
alls the following:—A very touching aud 
eautiful story comes from the East concerning 
ae Princess Marceiiue Czartoryaka who re- 
eutly died in Gallicla. Her little grandson 
jll very ill and his life was despaired of. The 
0 wager In a sublime prayer asked God to take 
cr life in place of that of her grandson. By a 
nri of miracle the child was saved; almost 
nmcdiately the Princess was attacked by a 
lalady of languor of which ir was Impossible 
u ascribe any natural cause. 
"It is a debt I owe to heaven," she said 
aintly. A few days later, upon a radiant 
item on n, she had herself rolled out In her 
asy chair on the lawn, and gave orders to have 
II the doors and gates of the garden opened so 
hat everybody might enter. Wheu the villag¬ 
es heard of it they at once left their tasks. 
>ld men aud women, young men and maidens 
ind little children pressed about the dying 
Princess, who bud long been like a mother to 
hem, for 8be held the old-fashioned notion 
hat the people are the family of the sovereign. 
Then began a most, touching ceremony. The 
•hildren came tlr=t. Drawing the youngest one 
nto her arms, she embraced It, saying, “Let 
:his kiss fall agaiu upon you all, my dear 
friends." Then she gave each child a medallion 
oearing the evangelical words “ Love one an¬ 
other.” 
RAGGED, dirty, ugly. He had fallen In the 
muddy gutter ; Id# hands and face were black, 
his mouth wide and open, and sending forth 
sounds not the most musical. A rough hand 
lifted him up, and placed him against the wall. 
There be stood, his tear# making little gutters 
down his begrirained cheeks. Men as they 
passed laughed at Mm, not caring fora moment 
to stop and Inquire if be were really hurt. 
Boys halted a moment to jeer and load him 
with their Insults. Poor boy! he hadn’t a 
friend in the world that he knew of. Certainly, 
he did not. deserve one; but if none hut the 
deserving had friends, how many would be 
friendless! 
A lady is passing; her kindness of heart 
prompts her to stay and say a kind word t o the 
boys who are Joking their companion and 
laughing at his sorrow. Then she looked fixed¬ 
ly at the dirty, crouching lad against the wall. 
“ Why, John, Is It you ?” 
He removes one black fist from his eye and 
looks up. He recognizes her. She has taught 
him at the ragged school. 
“ O ma’am, I’m #o bad!" 
She has him exaruiued, then taken to tlie 
hospital. Afterward she visits him kindly and 
frequently'. 
A year passes by. 
There is a fire one night. A dwelling house 
is in flames. The engine has not yet arrived. 
The inmates cannot be rescued. A boy look# 
on. Suddenly he shouts: 
“Oh, she lives here!” 
! Then he climbs up the heated, falling stairs. 
He fights against the suffocating smoke. He 
hunts about ttll be finds what he sought. Bhe 
ha# fainted is dying perhaps. No! he will 
save her. Five minute#of agouiziDg suspense, 
and she Is safe In the copl ajr. 
The by-Btanders are struck with the intrepid¬ 
ity of the boy. He only walks away, mutter¬ 
ing; 
“Shedidn’t, turn away from me wheu I was 
hurt." 
Oh, friends, the stone looks very rough, but 
It may be a diamond.— Selected. 
BEAUTIFUL TWIN BRIDES, 
#abkth Reading. 
EVENING. 
BT MBS. C. S. N0CR8E. 
One by one the roses falling 
Strew with withered leave* the way; 
One by one the gleams of sunlight 
Fade from out the Autumn flay. 
Hour by hour the sun decltneth. 
Day by day the sunlight dies.— 
Feebler grow the weary footsteps. 
Dim with tears the fading eye*. 
But. still upward, upward, climbing 
From the valley’s smooth expanse; 
Upward o’er the barren mountain- 
steady keep the upward glance 
All the blossoms loft behind thee— 
Naught beyond thee but the snow. 
Falter not, still pressing onward, 
Oast no llng’rtng look below. 
In the valleys lie the shadows. 
But the peaka are bathed tn light— 
In the splendor of the sunset: 
Blessed harbinger of night! 
Rest thee, rest thee, weary pilgrim, 
From the dangers of the way.— 
For behold the night Is coming. 
And beyond the night the day. 
MORALITY vs. THEOLOGY. 
A Chicago paper says these pleasant words 
about some beautiful Western twin brides: 
We had the pleasure to see the newly-made 
twin brides at the Gibson House last night, and 
must confess that a more perfect exemplifica¬ 
tion of the French story of Girofle-Girofla could 
hardly exist. They were at supper with their 
husbands last night when we saw them, ami a 
nice little tea party the four made. The bride¬ 
grooms arc brothers, but not twins. It is not. 
often in a lifetime that one is permitted to see 
two brothers married to twin sisters. The hus¬ 
bands are easily distinguished the one from 
the other. The elder one wear# full whiskers, 
w'bile the younger has simply a mustache. The 
trouble to be apprehended is in the sameness of 
the wives, and a very pretty sameness It is. To 
use a homely but trite phrase, they are as like 
as two peas. To describe the one would be to 
describe both. They are of medium size, 
perfect brunettes, dress exactly altko, and 
neeru to be about twenty years old. Beauty 
has richly endowed these fair brides and placed 
it# dimpled seal in the cheeks of each. How, 
in the order of human passion, It came to pass 
that either of the husbands could fall in love 
with M« wife without falling in love at the 
saute time with her sister, passes our under¬ 
standing. It has been suggested that each of 
the Morgan brothers fell iu love with both the 
Stuart, sisters, aud, to settle the matter, put 
their sweethearts in a bag, shook’eru up, and 
drew cuts for the one that came out first. We 
suppose they kuow, hut we don’t see how 
either of them knows to which one of the twins 
he is married. They came into supper, and by 
judicious assortment were seated each at the 
right hand of her husband. When they went, 
out of the dining room one couple was allowed 
to get some distance In advance before the 
other started, to prevent confusion. 
-♦*-*- 
Ant argument that Christian morality would 
not possess authority and Influence apart from 
Christian theology I# degrading to the very re¬ 
ligion It pretends to uphold. No practice of 
Christian ethics for any ulterior object what¬ 
ever can bo more than mere formality. Mosa- 
isui might he content with observance of law, 
secured by a promise of length of days in the 
land, or a threat, of death to the offender, hut 
the great Teacher demanded holiness for Itself 
alone. The morality of Jesus lay# absolute 
claim to t he w hole heart, and mind, and they 
cannot he bribed by hopes of heaven or coerced 
by fears of hell. The purity of heart which 
alone “ see# God ” I# not dependent on views 
of the trinity, or belief In a mlraculouB birth 
and Incarnation. On the contrary, the impor¬ 
tance which has been attached to theology by 
the Christian church, almost from Us founda¬ 
tion, has been subversive of Christian morality. 
Iu surrendering Its miraculous element, and 
its claim# to supernatural origin, therefore, the 
religion of Janus does not lose its virtue or the 
qualities w'hich have made it a blessing to 
humanity. It sacrifices none of that elevated 
character which has distinguished and raised 
It above all human systems; It merely relin¬ 
quishes a claim which It has shared with all 
antecedent religions, and severs its connection 
with ignorant superstition. It is too divine In 
its morality to riqulre the aid of miraculous 
attributes. No supernatural halo can hlghten 
its spiritual beauty, and no mysticism deepen 
it# holiness. In Its perfect simplicity It is sub¬ 
lime, and in its profound wisdom it is eternal. 
-From “Supernatural Religion.” 
STRIVE TO BELIEVE. 
It is the one, almost only, struggle of relig¬ 
ious life to believe. In spite of all the seeming 
cruelties of this life; in spite of the clouded 
mystery In which God ha# shrouded himself, 
in #pite of pain, and the stern aspect of human 
life, and the gathering of thicker darkness and 
more solemn silence round the soul as life goes 
mi, simply to believe that God Is love, and to 
hold fast to that as a man holds on to a rock 
with a desperate grip when the salt surf and 
the driving waves sweep over him and take the 
breath away—I say that is the one fight of Chris¬ 
tian life, compared with which all else is easy. 
When we believe that, human affections are 
easy. It is easy to be generous and tolerant 
and benevolent, when we are sure of the heart 
of God, and when the little love of this life, 
and Ita coldnesses, and its uureturned affec¬ 
tions are more than made up to us by the cer¬ 
tainty that our Father’s love is ours. But, 
when #ve lose sight of that, though but for a 
moment, the heart sours and men seem no 
longer worth the loving ; and wrongs are mag¬ 
nified, and Injuries cannot be forgiven, and life 
itself drags on, a mere death in life. A man 
may doubt anything and every thing, and still 
be blessed, provided only he holds fast to that 
conviction. Let ail drift from him like sea¬ 
weed on life's ocean, so long as he reposes on 
the assurance of the eternal faithfulness, of the 
eternal charity, his spirit at least cannot drift. 
There are moments, I humbly think, when we 
understand those triumphant words of St. Paul, 
"Let God be true, aud every man a Har,”— F. 
IF. RoberUon. 
In vain do they talk of happiness w-tio never 
subdued an impulse in obedience to a principle. 
He who never sacrificed a present to a future 
good, or a personal to a general one, can speak 
of happiness only as the blind do of colors. 
Strive, strive, my soul, to be innocent; yes, 
beneficent! Does any man wound thee? Not 
only forgive, but work into thy thoughts intel¬ 
ligence of the kind of pain, that thou mayest 
never inflict it on another spirit. Then its work 
is done; it will never search thy whole nature 
again. Oh, love much and be forgiven. 
-- 
Character is the eternal temple that each 
oDe begins to rear, yet death only can com¬ 
plete. The liner the architecture, the more At 
for the in-dwelling of angel3. 
QJ-tD 
