MOORE’S  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
“  Do  you  think  you’ll  succeed  In  bringing  him 
around  7” 
“  For  shame.  I’m  sure  I  have  no  such  design  on 
his  p«)iicc.” 
“Now,  really,  I  am  aching  to  know  what  you 
InUmd  to  do.  yiiall  you  lllrt  with  him  7” 
My  Intentions  were  not  consulted;  but  I  made 
them,  nevertheless,  biting  my  linger  nails  vfclous- 
ly  all  the  lime, 
*'  Oh,  no  matter." 
“  You’re  too  bad.  I  got  you  a  part  from  tho  other 
girls  on  purpose  to  have  a  conildentlal  chat,  and 
here  the  tbno  Ls  almost  up  an  l  you  haven't  told 
me  a  thing." 
“  Well,  I  will  now— twd  things.  Yo<ir  hair  Is 
twisted  out  of  your  not  and  your  collar  Is  shock¬ 
ingly  tumbled.’’ 
“  Bother  my  collar  1  Shall  you  flirt  with  him? 
I  wouldn’t  mind,  only  that  hateful  Sue  Uscoiub 
vows  she’ll  got  ahead  of  you,  and  1  don’t  want  to 
see  her  win.  Now,  do  you  tell  me 
la  Id  my  hand  uiion  tho  bell  and  gave  It  a  vlo- 
leut  ringing.  ’I’ho  t\vo  girts  started  like  culprits 
and  glanced  hurriedly  up  at  mo.  What  they  saw 
In  my  face  1  can’t  say,  but  they  both  colored.  Just 
then  they  separated  for  their  seats,  but  not  before 
I  heard  Ltelo  whtsper  desperately,  “.shall  you?’’ 
“  I  shall  1”  floated  back  tho  reply,  low  and  Arm, 
as  If  determined  not  to  be  mistaken. 
That  afternoon  while  I  wa,s  engaged  wltli  i  he 
French  grammar  class,  1  was  startled  by  a  sharp 
little  scream,  and  hy  Llt/.lo  Dane  springing  up  and 
crying  out: 
“O,  a  hornet  has  bitten  Charlotte  Arden,  Mr. 
Eldrldgc," 
Tho  whole  school  tittered.  I  scowled  very  ped- 
agoguBly  (to  coin  a  word)  and  commanded  her  to 
resume  her  scat. 
Lizzie  flounced  into  her  seat,  very  red  In  the 
face,  and  l  saw  Miss  Arden  put  a  book  to  her  facw 
to  conceal  a  smile. 
After  school  I  went  to  her  and  Inquired  politely 
for  her  arm.  Sho  showed  me  her  round,  dainty 
wrist,  with  a  large,  discolored  swelling  marring 
Its  whiteness. 
“  Wood  heavens !’’  1  exclaimed,  forgetting  my¬ 
self,  "how  It  must  have  pained  you  I  Why  didn’t 
you  go  homo?  t  would  have  fi.xcuHed  you." 
8he  smiled  and  looked  amused.  'I’hat  smllo  re¬ 
called  n»e  to  myself, 
“Oh,  It’s  nothing.  It  was  slightly  painful  at 
first,  but  I  was  not  child  enough  to  run  home  over 
so  slight  a  liiirt." 
In  spite  of  my  anger  at  her,  I  envied  the  very 
words  thatsllppefl  through  her  rod,  haughty  Ups. 
“  Ilud  she  already  begun  her  arts?"  I  ask»!d  myself. 
If  that  almpllclly  of  look  anrl  fraitknessof  voice 
were  art  wiry,  confound  Nature  1  Well,  I  walked 
home  with  her,  carrying  her  satchel  of  books.  My 
excuse  was  her  arm.  As  If  she  hadn't  but  one 
and  eouldn’t,  by  any  posslbUlty,  have  carried  her 
books  on  the  olliCM'.  O,  the  days  ihat  followed— 
and  the  weeks  and  the  months  1  Miss  Arden  wa  nt- 
ed  to  flirt  and  we  flirted  I  Miss  Arden  wanted  me 
to  make  love  to  her  and  I  did  It.  Of  course,  I  had 
no  further  PX|K)sltlon  of  her  wishes  on  the  point 
than  the  overheard  conversation  of  the  llrst  flay ; 
but  that  w.ns  enough.  I  U»ok  the  part  .i.ssigncd  Ur 
me  to  play  and  played  It  with  all  my  heart. 
I  had  the  satlstactlon  of  knowing,  as  I  stood  by 
one  of  the  long  windows  at  the  close  of  tho  last 
day,  watching  the  seholars  flic  out,  thatthe  whole 
village  was  alive  with  the  rumor  that  my  beauti¬ 
ful  pupil  and  myself  were  engugf'd. 
ahead,  as  any  sensible  cord  would  have  done  that  i 
had  been  stout  enough  not  to  get  becolled  on  tho 
road.  It  lookcfl  contented  though,  as  If  It  didn’t 
care  a  wUlt  for  the  predicament  It  was  in  or 
w'hother  Itovcr  went  straight  again,  as  It  could 
have  that  charming  route  U>  tiavel  round  and 
round,  and  I  began  to  wonder. 
“  He'S  splendid,  r.ot;  Isn’t  he?" 
Miss  Dane’s  voice  broke  toy  Avondcrlngs.  1  was 
modest  In  those  days  aud  blushfid  ea.slly.  My  wlto 
told  me  .so  yc.stenlity,  referring  to  that  morning, 
that  the  tip  of  my  ear.  Just  visible  at  the  edge  of 
my  dosk-lld,  grew  red  u.s  a  coal;  and  that  her 
frhind  threw  a  lozenge  at  it  and  mts.se<l  It  by  tho 
sixteenth  of  an  Inch.  I  wasn’t  aware  oi  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  before. 
“Say,  Lot,  don’t  you  think  he’s  splendid?”  oamo 
that  loud  whl.sper  iigalii. 
“  If  I  do,  I  don’t  Intend  to  toll  him  of  It,"  8h«*  re¬ 
torted. 
Evidently,  however  much  averse  she  would  have 
bocu  to  Intonnlng  mo  on  such  a  polut,  she  was 
nothing  loath  for  to  judge  of  her  musical  pow¬ 
ers,  lor  sho  burst  forth  Into  a  merry  song  and  war¬ 
bled  nice  a  bird— In  fad,  like  twenty  blnls.  Wheth¬ 
er  my  ear  looked  like  a  coal  or  not,  It  drank  In 
that  gay  melody  and,  when  it  ecased,  longed  for 
more. 
“  What  eyes  he  has !’’ 
“  Rather  too  deep-set  for  beauty.” 
“  Uccp-sct,  indeed  I  They  are  protruding  as  a 
cow’s,  and  as  big.” 
“  Mere  difference  of  opinion,  my  love.  Don’t  let 
us  quarnd." 
“  No.  Then,  how  much  character  there  Is  In  his 
nose  1” 
“  Decidedly." 
I  hiwl  a  largo  uose,  reader. 
“  Room  for  more —  ” 
I  Btartlcfi  her  there  by  dropping  a  book.  I  was 
actually  getting  angry.  But  she  recovered  from 
her  fright  almost  Immediately,  and  went  on,  In  a 
still  louder  tone : 
“  now  do  you  think  he  will  answer  7" 
“  Answer  7" 
yilSB  Arden  spoke  inquiringly  in  a  piuzled  voice. 
“  You  speak  as  if  you  thought  I  Intended  to  pro¬ 
pose  to  him." 
“And  so  I  daresay  you  will,  it  being  leap-year, 
and  yo:i  so  smitten." 
A  merry  laugh  followed  this  sally. 
“  In  that  case,  1  think  he  would  answer  In  the 
affirmative.” 
“o,  you  conceited  creature,  Lot  Arden  1" 
What  If  Mr.  Eldrldge  should  overhear 
was  quite  sure  of  that;  the  red  mouth  was  dim¬ 
pled  about  by  smiles,  aad  the  white  cMn  quivered 
with  suppressed  merriment. 
“  A  goofl  beginning,"  I  thought ;  “It  augurs  well 
for  the  future.” 
.Tust  then  the  school-room  door  was  darkened 
and,  looking  up,  I  saw  charlotte.  Arden.  My 
friend’s  caution  wa.s  well.  How  like  a  beautiful 
picture  she  was  ns  she  stood  there,  her  tine  head 
covered  with  pretty  braids,  perfectly  iwlsed.  her 
flguro  straight,  rffwnd  aud  perfect,  brought  out  by 
the  strong,  clear  light.  The  very  fall  of  the  soft, 
white  robe,  as  well  as  her  slender,  galtered  foot. 
Just  visible  bcucoth  the  folds  of  her  sweeping 
Sho  stood,  as  If  hesitating 
KECONSTRUCTSON 
In  a  w8g-on  made  of  wiDow 
Wheeled  I  once  a  Uttle  maiden. 
BinRlets  Bhining  on  the  pillow. 
Rolling  homeward  trcaouro  laden. 
Like  a  boat  ui>on  the  billow , 
Ten  years  fled.  An,  how  I  miBsed  her 
When  we  left  tho  vUIh^  Bcbool ! 
But  kIic  raid  she'd  be  my  aistcr 
As  wo  lingered  by  the  pool. 
And  1  puHBionately  klbsod  her. 
Ten  move  fretting  years  renew  it : 
Little  wagon  made  of  willow ; 
Loving  eyea  are.  bent  to  view  it ; 
Loving  haodH  adjust  tho  pillow. 
And  we’vo  fitted  rockers  to  it. 
skirt,  was  artistic, 
whether  or  not  it  was  best  for  her  to  rnfer  the 
school-room,  and  her  manner  was  calm  and  quiet.. 
Miss  Ltole  Dane  UdcgrapluHl  to  her  with  her 
sparkling  eyes  to  enter.  This  falling  U)  have  the 
desired  effttcl,  she  doubled  up  her  white,  chubby 
hands,  and  hold  them  to  her  mouth,  trumpet  fash¬ 
ion.  1  buppresstid  the  smile  that  was  rising  to  my 
Ups  and  turin.sl  t.Q  Mias  Arden,  saying ; 
“  Have  you  selected  a  scat  7” 
“  No,  sir,  I  have  not,"  sho  answcrcil,  without 
moving  forward  a  simple  step. 
“  You  may  do  so  uow.  If  you  please,”  l  said. 
She  glanced  up  and  down  the  long  rows  of  seats 
several  times,  and  then  turned  to  a  side  desk  hut 
a  short  distance  from  my  table. 
“This one,  sir,"  she  said,  raising  her  eyes  for  a 
single  moment  to  my  face  and  Uien  turning  them 
Indifferently  away. 
I  bowed  in  apiiroval  of  her  choice,  though,  at 
the  same  time,  It  did  not  please  me.  1  did  not  care 
to  have  her  so  near,  criticising  everything  I  did, 
and  I  felt  sure  she  would. 
At  the  fpiarter-hour  Intertnlsslon  Miss  Arden 
and  MLH.S  Dane  passed  the  time  m  pacing,  arin-ln- 
arm,  back  and  forth  on  tho  blank  space  of  floor 
before  my  dcA.  1  could  have  ivl.Hhed,  and  did 
wish,  that  they  had  chosen  any  other  promenade; 
but  not  knowing  how  to  help  myself  unless  I  sent 
them  out  of  doors  to  play,  like  two  Uttle  children 
In  pinafores,  1  raised  the  Ud  of  my  desk  between 
their  faces  and  mine  and  prePindud  to  bo  engaged 
Insetting  my  books  aud  papers  to  rlght-s. 
chlldreu  in  pinafores!  I  smUed  grimly  to  my¬ 
self  lus  the  audacious  thought  entered  my  head. 
Children  they  both  were,  l  said  to  myself,  uticer- 
nmonlously  thrusting  my  head  above  the  tempo¬ 
rary  screen  to  conllnn  my  opinion  b,y  a  good  look 
at  them— proceeding  which  mode  Miss  Lizzie 
toss  her  curly  head  In  a  disconcerted  attempt  at 
carelessnehs,  and  brought  a  da.sli  of  e.xqulslDi  color 
to  tho  one  velvet  cheek  of  her  companion’s  Lace 
which  was  revealed  to  me. 
“  And  as  lor  pinafores,”  I  said,  sulkily  coutlnu- 
liig  my  soliloquy  and  drawing  In  my  lie.‘wl  again 
like  a  turtle,  “  I’m  sure  they'd  bo  va.stly  more  ap¬ 
propriate  mul  bfx'omlng  than  that  Uttle  pinked 
and  scalloped  aud  puckered  affair  of  plaid  silk 
which  Miss  Lizzie  wore  under  the  illgultled  name 
of  apron." 
such  siincy  little  pockets,  llxcd  off  with  gimp 
and  things— the  corner  of  a  liny  note  and  the  pro- 
tile  of  a  big,  yellow  orange  revealed  from  the  dis¬ 
tended  mouth  of  one,  and  the  lace  edge  of  a  hand-' 
kerchief  with  a  captIviiMng  rent  In  It,  hanging 
Jauntily  from  tlie  other ;  such  wicked,  knowing 
tassels,  such  lengths  of  varlcgatial  silk  cord  round, 
round  and  round  her  pretty  waist,  as  though  once 
stfirtcd  It  had  lost  lUs  way,  and  had  been  tra  veling 
In  a  circle  ever  since  Instead  of  going  straight 
THE  PRETTY  PLOTTERS. 
A  SCHOOL  ■  ROOM  FlIETATION, 
“  I’RiiiB.  pride,  pride  1  There  you  liavo  Char¬ 
lotte  Arden.  Mischief,  mischief,  mischief !  There 
you  have  Lizzie  Dane.  Look  out  for  them  both. 
Hart.  Aud  now,  good-by.  I'll  pray  for  your  suc¬ 
cess.'’ 
with  this  my  friend,  by  whose  Influence  1  was 
Installed  In  the  academy  of  Marlboro,  as  principal, 
turned  lo  leave  me. 
“Walt  a  moment,  Mr.  Jeffries;  “how  can  I 
keep — ■" 
“  Clear  of  them?"  he  added,  xvlth  a  shy  laugh. 
“  Draw  your  own  inferences.  Uandsoinc  young 
men,  with  light  purses,  must  make  Ught  hearUs. 
When  you  catch  a  glimpse  of  your  pupils  you  wlU 
understand  me.  1  haven't  been  a  teacher  here  for 
live  years  lor  nothing.” 
“Thank you!  thank  you!” 
with  this  I  gave  iny  friend  my  hand,  and  thus 
we  piirteO.  An  hour  later  I  was  seated  at  my 
desk  In  tho  pleasantest  school-room,  looking  about 
me  with  no  small  degree  of  Interest  for  the  two 
pupils  of  whom  my  friend  had  spoken,  aud  won¬ 
dering  In  the  ineanUrae  ll  his  kindly,  well-meant 
cauUon  would  not  bring  me  at  once  face  to  face 
with  the  very  danger  which  he  had  wished  me  to 
avold- 
SuLlllng  at  my  own  conceit,  and  falling  to  tlnd 
In  the  threescore  faces  before  me  one  that  wa.s 
particularly  stampeil  with  pride,  or  one  that  was 
marked  with  mischief,  I  turned  to  my  books. 
something  like  a  quick  whisper  broke  through 
the  stillness  of  the  room  as  I  did  so.  I  glanced  up. 
Every  countenance  boro  uumLsUkable  signs  or 
demureness.  Smiling  again  at  my  thoughts,  I 
turned  a  second  time  to  my  books,  and  this  time 
a  big  apple  sLu-tcal  from  one  of  the  back  seats 
ami  came  rolling  down  the  aisle.  The  Incident 
was  slight;  but,  taken  In  connection  with  my  re¬ 
flection  and  my  mend’s  parting  words,  ll  annoyed 
me.  1  picked  up  the  apple,  laid  It  on  tlie  desk, 
and  glaneod  in  the  direction  from  whence  It  hail 
come. 
LkMXlmsshl  what  a  pair  of  blue  eyes  were  raised 
to  mine  at  that  moment!  Eyes  saucy,  during, 
and  almost  wicked,  which  wavered  and  brightened 
like  two  beautiful  stars.  This  was  Lizzie  Dane,  I 
“Huslil 
usl" 
As  It  I  hadn’t  overheard  them. 
“  Who  cares  If  lie  dot^s?  It’s  nothing  to  him.” 
Nothing  to  me  I  to  sit  there  aud  lieur  myself 
dlsniLssed  In  IJinL  way !  (.),  nothing  at  all !" 
But  seriously,  what  do  you  mean  ?’’ 
“  Why,  have  you  forgotten  that  1  prophesied  a 
flirtation  7  I  mean,  huw  do  you  tlduk  he  would 
do  for  Unit?” 
Ah,  ft  fllrfotlon  !  Maybe  1  didn’t  hold  my  breath 
for  fear  of  losing  the  answer,  and  then  maybe - 
“  O,  passably.  It  he  understands  his  place  and 
Gaysin  It." 
“  .Men- boys  1” 
“  Well,  boys,  then.  Men  In  assurance,  boys  In 
Intelligence,  are  what  wo  have  nowadays." 
She  spoke  as  If  she  hJid  lived  In  the  ago  of  her 
grandmother.  I  clenched  my  hands  and  declined 
Jupiter  under  my  bieatli  in  Latin. 
Wsrdi  by  LONGFILLUW 
man- 1 
moil 
laid  tby  keel,  What  "workinen  wrought  thy  ribs  of  rteel,  Who  mado  each  mast.and  sail,  and  ropo,  What  an-vils  rung,  what 
lund  and  shock,  ’Tls  of  the  wave,  and  not  the  rock,  Tis  but  the  flapping  of  a  sail,  And  not  a  rent  made 
4.  In  spite  of  rock  and  tempest  roar,  In  spite  of  false  lights  on  the  shore,  Sail  on,  nor  fear  to  breast  the  sea.  Our  hearts  and  hopes  are 
Is  hang  -  ing  breathless  on  tby  fat®.  Is  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate 
what  a  forge,  and  what  a  beat,  Were  shaped  the  anchors  of  thy  hope 
but  the  flapping  of  a  sail,  And  not  a  rent  made  by  the  gaio. 
hammers  beat,  Tn 
by  the  gale,  ’Tis 
Our  hearts,  our  hope8,our  ways,  our  tears.  Our  faith  tri-umph-ant  o’er  our  fears, 
