MOORE’S RURAL P3E W-YORKER 
Reading for tfy gouitg. 
THE GREEDY MOUSE. 
The cook said to the maid — 
“ Von must catch that little mouse; 
There's nothing safe In the house, 
in the kitchen or the cellar, 
Prom that tiresome little I allow. 
Where there is meat. 
There he will eat: 
What smells good 
He takes for food. 
In the kitchen cupboard lie’s nibbled a hole, 
Nothing is too good for the pert little soul. 
Girl, yon must catch him, nml drive him away 
Into the woods and fields, I say !” 
Then the maid said to the mouse— 
" Stay m your house, 
Tittle mouse! 
Steal no meat, ( pray, 
A nd don’t come out to play', 
Or you'll he caught nnd killed, perhaps, 
In one of my clever little traps!” 
foi[tfolio. 
“POSf-MORTEM LOVE.” 
BT MRS, n ATTl E r. 1IEI.L, 
Ip you’re ever going to love me, 
Gove me now, while I can know 
All the sweet and tender feelings 
Which from not I affection flow. 
Love me now, while 1 am living ; 
Do not wait till l am gone, 
And then chisel it in marble — 
Warm love-words on ice-oold stone. 
If you’ve dear, sweet thoughts about me, 
Why not whisper them to me ? 
Don’t you know ’twould make me happy, 
And as glad ns glad can be ? 
If you watt till t am sleeping 
Ne’er to waken here again, 
There’ll be walls of earth between ns. 
And I couldn’t hear you then. 
If you knew some one was thirsting 
For a drop of water sweet, 
Would you be so slow to bring it ? 
Would you step with laggard feet. ? 
There are tender hearts all 'round us, 
Who are thirsting for our love, 
Shall we begrudge to them what Heaven 
Has kindly sent no from above ? 
I won’t need your kind caresses 
When the grass grows o’er my lace. 
1 won’t crave j our love or kisses 
In my Inst, low, resting-place. 
So if you do love mo any, 
If it’s but a llttli! bit, 
I’d rather know it now, while I 
Cau, living, own and treasure it. 
-- 
MY 0YPEES3 AND RUSTIC) BASKETS 
BY A VIRGINIA MATRON. 
Every' one writes to the papers now-a-days. 
I believe the fashion is even becoming con¬ 
tagious among the children, and I’ve long boon 
thinking 1 too Would take up my pen and fol¬ 
low' the general example. I only wish to tell 
my lady friends how I made my cypress monu¬ 
ment and rustic baskets, this summer, for thero 
maybe some readers of the ltURAL who, like 
myself, move into now homes, with little to 
adorn them, and no time or money to throw 
away on rented property. 
We had a pretty enough yard, with tall oak 
trees and green grass ; but just in front of our 
door were two unsightly-looking stumps, quite 
sizeable ones. I couldn’t remove them with 
my Individual hands, so I determined to con¬ 
vert them into something pretty. One Of them 
I heaped earth upon in shape of a tall mound, 
and turning it nicely, covering the top with 
various colored petunias, which have bloomed 
continuously. Just in the center of tho other 
stump 1 had a hole bored, and inserted a stout 
pole about six feet in bight. I then took a 
number of band hoops and formed them in a 
sort of globe, tying them securely. Pour of 
the globes 1 fastened to the pole, Just two feet- 
from the bottom, so as to face each other. This 
formed a large circle of fantastic shape. Just 
above this I tied a circle of three globes, and 
touching the upper hoops of lower globes. 
Then came a circle of single hoops, and lastly 
1 crowned it with a single globe just on the top 
of the pole, and secured It by driving a stout 
nail through the hoops into the center of tho 
pole. 
My frame was now ready for the cypress, and 
1 prepared a bed for it by forming a circle of 
rocks around the stump, and throwing dirt 
over these loosened them and let tho earth jn 
the interstioes. I then formed a bed of earth 
all around the base of this rockery about a foot 
wide, and Quished it outside with a border of 
large rocks. All In the crevices of the rockery, 
and very thickly In the bod of earth, 1 sowed 
common scarlet cypruss, which came up direct¬ 
ly, and just as soon as they showed signs of 
running I prepared, for them to get up to the 
hoops in the following simple mannerPro¬ 
curing a quantity of wooden pegs (mine were 
simply rough sticks of split pine), I stuck them 
lit the ground all around the Inner edge of the 
cypress bed, and about three iuches apart. Then 
taking a ball of strong cord, I tied the end to n 
peg, aud wove It alternately to tho lower circle 
of hoops and back to the pegs, till 1 formed a 
Bhower of cord, and, as the children said, “ tho 
pole looked as though it was raining.” The 
cypress branches took a graLeful hold, aud 
climbed up piece after piece, as though they 
were running a race to see which would first 
reach the top. In an Incredibly short time the 
entire frame was covered, and It Is now one Of 
the most unique-looking floral ornaments one 
could imagine. The cord Is entirely covered, 
aud resembles a green pyramid, and each hoop 
looks for all the world as though lb had been 
woven to decorate a Christmas hall, while the 
globe on top has a flourishing plume of Inter¬ 
woven cypress, waving in bold defiance to its 
more tardy sisters aud brothers. It Is admired 
by all, and In tbe early portion of the day is a 
fit haunt for a fairy, covered with Its brilliant 
blossoms and sparkling with myriad* of dew 
drops brighter than shining jewels. Pen can¬ 
not do It justice, but I'm sure, should some of 
the ladies who read this try one for themselves 
they will feel amply rewarded. 
Now for the basketsThey were simply ordi¬ 
nary-sized wooden boxes, covered with bark 
and lichens, witn handles formed of old ox¬ 
bows I found in the yard, from the fields I 
brought tho little vine called “Soiled Buck¬ 
wheat," and planted in cither end of the bas¬ 
kets. Then I threw in some Scarlet, Iiean and 
Morning Glory seed, with a few Madeira vine 
tubers. The buckwheat spread luxuriantly, 
covering the handles and hanging down the 
sides most artistically. This made the baskets 
very pretty', and now that the other vines are 
up and spreading the involves in all directions, 
they cannot be surpassed. 
To go out in Hie f esliness of morning and see 
the multitude of Morning Glories or every hue, 
intermingled with tho gorgeous trusses of Scar¬ 
let Bean (lowers alld delicate Madeira blooms, 
is indeed a sight that would rejoice even the 
heart of a hardened old cynic. Down to tho 
floor, over tho failings, ami even embalming 
the old gutter, my vines are disporting them¬ 
selves and blooming every day as though each 
was its last. I’m afraid when Jack Erost does 
come I’ll scarcely dare to face my treasures 
after one of bis ruthless embraces. 
With most of the fair sex ” a thing of beauty 
is a joy forever," and though I may chance to 
live in a statelier home in my future life, l 
think I shall never quite forget the pleasure 
my Cypress and Morning Glories have brought 
to my heart this summer. 
Liberty, Va., Aug., 1875. 
-♦ ♦ ♦-- 
HOMES AND HOME HAPPINESS. 
BV WINIFRED WYTHE. 
Dear Rubai.: fn b late number of your ex¬ 
cellent paper I read a very sensible article, un¬ 
der the heading if “ Our Homes.” How few of 
us who have happy homes appreciate them. 
We feel Jealous of some of our friends and 
neighbors who arc able to have more expensive 
ones than we have, amt fitted up more costly, 
forgetting tho old saying : “A 1 is not gold thut 
glitters." If we were to stay a month at tho 
so-called “homes," wo would bo glad to get 
back to our humble abodes, where, if i be furni¬ 
ture is cheap ami the ornaments, many of them 
rude and made by our own hands, love, not dis¬ 
coid, reigns and guides our actions. 
Home should bo made as pleasant as possible, 
it should be a hear I place—the place where the 
affections center-tho most lovely of all places 
on earth. Not necessarily in grandeur; for the 
humblest homes are happiest, If love and con¬ 
tentment dwell therein; bright and pleasant, 
always fair, with a longing to bo there, is a 
pleasant home. l,et us then strive to make our 
homes both neat and tasteful, where each 
heart will rest contented and happy, arid where 
t he purest and best thoughts will linger. “ ’Tis 
home where the heart is, be it ever so humble." 
H ow true tills is, and how plcasunt to be able 
to cherish happy thoughts of home—l.o know, 
wherever we may be, thut wo liavs a home 
which will ho made more homelike and happy 
by cur presence. 
Oh! we cannot do too much to make our 
homes happy ones. We want no jar of discord 
there, nor anything else which will mar tho 
pleasure anil happiness of Its inmates. I be¬ 
lieve that if women would try as hard to make 
iter home pleasant, as she does to keep up to 
fashion in regard to dress, etc., the world would 
be a much better one than 16 is. Do not think 
now that J am a sour old bachelor, for 1 belong 
to the opposite sex, ami 1 believe in “ woman’s 
rights ” so far as they contribute to home hap¬ 
piness, and no further. 
October 12,1875. 
■ -- 
HOME CONVERSATIONAL TRAINING. 
There is no nation more fluent la conversa¬ 
tion than the American. The French ate more 
voluble, perhaps, their languago permitting 
greater rapidity of pronunciation than the En¬ 
glish. Our best conversationalists are not rapid 
talkers. One trouble with us Is, each one likes 
to do all the talking; therefore Americans arc 
riot good listeners. But mere talking is not 
conversation. In almost ail home circles thero 
is much talking done during tho day, but we 
fear there aro few who do not reserve their 
must brilliant conversational powers for other 
assemblages than the home group. Many a 
father comes homo tired; lie has worked hard 
aud talked a great deal, told amusing anecdotes 
and displayed much wit. He has come home 
to rest. He takes out his paper and is soon ob¬ 
livious to everytning around him. Wife would 
like to tell him many of the little harassing 
tdllietious of the day, and would like to hear 
some of his interesting experiences, but If he 
were a deaf mute he could not be more silent, 
only an occasional grunt answering her many 
attempts at conversation ; and the childron, ex¬ 
cept the good-night kiss, and ofteu not even 
that, aro not noticed. 
Such a home, wuether the abode of wealth or 
otherwise, cannot be a healthy and happy one. 
As a parallax, draw around the evening lamp of 
another home circle. The father tells the an¬ 
ecdotes from the paper as he reads them; tbe 
mother laughs her sweet, low laugh, aud tho 
children burst Into merry ha 1 ha’s I To watch 
them as they ask questions and listen to the 
answers and patient explanations, the wonder¬ 
ment, interest and thought imprinted on their 
young faces Is a picture for an artist. This 
borne education Is a heritage more valuable 
titan land or money; and one beautiful recom¬ 
pense in life is that in making others happy we 
bring happiness to ourselves.— Baltiimove Amer¬ 
ica n. 
Then the nrnld put everything carefully by, 
Covered up the meats, 
Hid all the sweets. 
Baited tile trap with bacon, and said — 
“ Now I’ll set It in the corner and go to bed." 
The little mouse suit In his hole. 
And shivered, but not with cold ; 
Says bn, “ it’s true wiuu she says— 
“ I'd better mind what I tint told.’’ 
But this wise nt hi.it lux ted a little while; 
Ho grew bolder soon. 
Pooped Into lire room ; 
"That bacon," said he, "smells uncommonly nice; 
1 must have a bit 
If I die for it- 
Just once won't matter; I’ll be back in a trie.'.” 
When llit; cook came down In the morning, 
“ Oh, thero you are, little mouse,” said slio, 
“ You wlio i.mt my sweets so greedily. 
Not content with tlie crumbs on the floor, 
Nightly you pilfered more and more. 
Mast once won’t mutter,’ I think you said, 
When you orept out to steal, when wo were In bed. 
Now yon are caught 
You must be taught 
That. Just once does matter, most certainly, 
When one knows lie Is doing wrong, you see, 
A terrible fright 
You've had this night, 
And now suppose 1 should call the cat! 
But no. I’m not quite so hard as thut; 
S-s-s-h !—oil lo the holds, you foolish mouse ! 
And never again put your nose lu this house !” 
[Translated from the German, 
-» • » - 
WHAT THE ANIMALS THOUGHT. 
Little Bessie is a bright-eyed little girl, 
about six years old. Sho Uvea In one of our 
largest cities la the winter, but in tho summer 
time she goes to the country, where she runs 
wild over the fields, plucking the daisies ami 
the buttercups, and making garlands of clover 
and the wild flowers. In the winter time she 
likes to walk out with her papa lu the beautiful 
streets of the great city, aud see the shop win¬ 
dows filled with the pretty Paris dolls and won¬ 
derful toys. Altogether, she Is a very happy 
little girl. 
Bessie has a little friend named Stella, a few 
years older than herself, with whom she spends 
many a happy hour. One day she invited Stella 
to Bpend a week with her lu her country home. 
What a pleasant time they had at the old farm, 
watching the men make the bay, tho women In 
the dairy making butter and cheese ; and visit¬ 
ing tho different animals In tho pasture and 
barn-yard. There were all kinds of animals on 
the farm, as you will presently hear. 
One bright afternoon In the autumn, these 
two little girls started off together all alone, to 
visit another little friend, Julie, at a neighbor's 
house. They were neatly dressed, and hand lu 
hand wuul off as happy as two kittens. 
They had got part of tbe way down the road, 
when It was so dusty that they thought It would 
be better to go over the green fields by a shorter 
cut. So they climbed through the bars of a 
fence very carefully, and wore delighted to And 
themselves lu the greon field. 
After they had walked for a little while in the 
meadows, they saw a funny sight. All the ani¬ 
mals of the farm were running toward them, 
and soon overtook them. The little girls were 
quite frightened at this, and started to run as 
fast as they could; but It was no use, for the 
animals ran a great deal faster than they could. 
So, tired with running, they sat down on the 
grass to see what would happen. 
“ Don’t let’s be afraid," said Bessie. “ I don’t 
believe they mean to hurt us, for they are good 
animals." 
Such a noise as they all made, talking in their 
funny way. "Quack 1 Quack!" said the duck, 
“Mo-ow," said the cow, “ Bn-alt," said the 
sheep, ** OOck-a-doodle-doo," said the rooster, 
ail talking at once. 
“Oh dear,” said Stella, “what do they all 
mean, 1 wonder 1" 
“ I don’t know," said Bessie ; ‘ i never heard 
such a noise before t" 
Presently a white dove flew over from the 
barn. *'C’no-oo,” said ho; and then a peacock 
strutted along, and gave a loud screech. 
“Oil," said Stella, “how funny, 1 NVhy, I 
heard some one talking, and such a funny 
voice, too; listen, Besvle!'* arid Hie two little 
girls were very st III, wml then they understood 
what the animals said. 
“ Ba-ah,” suid tho sheep; “mighty fine in¬ 
deed those girls are, dressed up In a saeque 
made from my wool, and stockings on, apd 
flannels, nil from my warm coat, which was out 
off last year.’’ 
"Mo-ow,” said the cow,” and those shoes 
were made out of my calf that was killed last 
year." 
“ Bow-wow,” said the dog, "and those shoe¬ 
strings were made out of my brother’s hiilo." 
“ Pis-h-ah,” said the peacock, “Stella’s got 
one of my feathers in her hat,” 
"HUs-i-ss," replied the old white goose, 
“ that saeque is trimmed with rny feathers." 
“ Neigh-gli," cried the horse, switching his 
tall around, “ what would they do if liiey hadn't 
an old horse’s bones to make those fine buttons 
from." 
“ Coo-oo-o,” chimed In the dove, “ that little 
girl has got the white wing of my poor sister in 
her hat." 
Both the children hurst out laughing when 
they hoard that, for by this time they saw that 
tho animals did not Intend to harm them, and 
they enjoyed the Joko very much. 
"Ho! ho!” auld a little gray squirrel, “the 
little monkeys laugh at us, do they,” and ho 
curled his bushy tail over his hack, “what 
would they do, indeed. If they had not squir¬ 
rel's fur to lino their cloaks with?" 
“Go back to your linle,” said an old goat, 
very indignantly, “they haven’t got on any fur 
cloaks in summer time; but If they hadn’t 
killed my poor kid thoy would have no nice 
gloves to wear!” 
“They are all robbers,” said the rooster, as 
he strutted about; if they had anything on 
them belonging to toy family, i would take it 
away from them 1" 
“They aro robbers," said an old hen, with a 
cluck! cluck! “Each one of you tuke what 
belongs t.o you, my friends.” 
“ You’re right," salu the sheep, and all the 
animals chimed lu “ Yea, you’re right!" 
" Bow-wow 1 Cluck-cluck! Ba-ah ! Mo-ow! 
Pish! Oock-a-doodle doo-doo!” and amid all 
the noise tho animals surrounded the girls. 
The dove plucked out the white leather from 
Bessie’s hat, the peacock took back her feather, 
tho old sheep bit oil’ the stockings and woolen 
saequus, the dog untied the shoestrings, the 
cow took the shoes in her mouth, the horse 
pulled off all the bone buttons. Such a plight 
as they were in ! 
"Well!" said Stella, “I have got my straw 
hat on ; that didn't come from any animal.” 
“ Yes,” said Bosaio, “ I have my gold ring on, 
too." 
Then the animals all laughod In their funny 
way, and the old sheep said, “Ba-uh! little 
girls; now run home and tell your mothers that 
they can’t dress you up fi .o without the aid of 
all the poor animals; and whenever you meet 
any of us, always be polite, and say, Good 
friend, I um lnuebted to iyOM for amnetning, 
and l will never lot any one harm you. 
With that the animals all laid down the things 
they had taken off, and ran away together. The 
little girls laughed at the iuu, and boon dressed 
themselves, and ran off lo pay tho visit they had 
started lo muke. 
1 — ■ ' * .. - - m - i^- -L— I —l— S 
$)U22llT. 
" .. .. ■ ' .. sz 1 ... ■■. :mk 
HIDDEN NAMES.—No. 1. 
1. 1 owe nothing to any man. 
2. He would confuse the man, he said. 
3. Do raise the window—tne air la oppressive, 
4. He and I ran to town. 
5. A daisy is a beautiful flower. 
0. To make sport of hla urt hurt him. 
Answer lu two weeks. Solve This. 
-- 
WORD-SQUAR E E NIGMA.—No, 6. 
1. Is used for baking. 2. Is a valley. 3, Means 
otherwise. 4. Means to want. 
Answer in two weeks. u, k\ s. 
--- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.—Oct. 9. 
Central Puzzle No. 3.—Oliver Optic. 
Dlvmond Puzzle No. 7.— 
B 
HOE 
TAXED 
BOXWOOD 
S HOOK 
MOW 
D 
Wood-Square Enigma No. 5.— 
PASTE 
ACORN 
SOLID 
TRIBE 
ENDED 
Illustrated Rebus No. 5. —Many a warm 
heart beats under a ragged coat. 
So he scampered quickly across the floor. 
Squeezed himself small, 
nulled himself In a ball, 
Curled his tail round. 
To take up less ground, 
In a plaeu that was rather erumpy, it’s true, 
Where the bacon hung in view. 
Oh, by his whiskers! how good it looked ! 
He smelled ii, in; tasted. 
He gobbled it. he hasted 
To eat every hit, 
So deli emus was it! 
When, lo! a small noise, a clatter, a snap ! 
Mousey is^aught in the terrible trap! 
Bang at the door, 
He rushed In a fright, 
That was no use— 
Tho door was shut tight. 
Chitubing the walls— 
That was poor fun. 
They Were too steep, 
And windows were none. 
Seta telling and twisting and turning. 
Mousey In trembling luual watt lor morning. 
'*sr 
