APRIL 2 
literarii ^tisrellaiij. 
A WONDERFUL CRY8TAL WEDDING. 
JOSEPHINE POLLARD, 
M 'Tis time for our crystal wedding," 
Bald Mr. Frost to hi* wife, 
With a suddenly sharp expression, 
Tliat out like a two-edged knife. 
« The North Wind must be Invited 
To bring his friend from the East. 
And none of our friends moist be slighted 
Or fall to appear at the feast.” 
fo then they began to make ready 
With speed, regardless of oost. 
For the beautiful crystal wedding 
Of Mr. and Mtb. Frost. 
The North and the East Wind called for 
Miss Snow aud old Mister Sleet, 
And all of that party together 
Were sure to have things complete. 
In honor of the occasion. 
The houses with fringe they drape. 
Rich boada and bugles of crystal 
Suspended In every shape. 
While all the poles and the chimneys 
Were dressed in transparent suits. 
And the trees wore overloaded 
With loveliest glaced fruits. 
The Telegraphs were invited. 
So out of town couldn’t go; 
And the Telephones failed to answer 
When any one cried ’* Hallo I” 
The magnates were not forgotten. 
Who stand in serene repose. 
And Franklin made his appearance. 
With an icicle on his nose. 
There were acres on acres of icing, 
And wonderful rivers and lakes -, 
Most beautiful caves and grottoes, 
And delicato frosted cakes; 
While cobweb curtains suspended 
Above the 6cene, in mid air, 
Lent a charm to the crystal wedding. 
That proved snob a grand affair. 
Decanters and tumblers, engraven 
With Initials of old Jack Frost. 
Were soattered about in profusion 
No telling Jnst what they cost; 
And I couldn't begin to number 
How many from out of town 
Came in to tbis crystal wedding, 
And at the banquet sat down. 
Old Sol got wind of tbe matter 
Jutt as he was going to bed. 
And out from between the curtains 
He suddenly popped his head 
And smiled, as with glowing Angers 
He took Jack Frost by the cars. 
And loosened the pearls and diamonds. 
That straightway dissolved in tears. 
Soon faded tbe lovely picture, 
The limpid and sparkling sheen. 
That seemed, to oar raptured vision. 
Like unto a fairy scene; 
And some will remember the beauty, 
And some will remember the cost, 
Of the wonderful crystal wedding 
Of Air. and Mrs. Frost.—N. Y. Independent. 
ADVENTURES OF AN ANTEDILUVIAN 
In The Land of Promise. 
BY JAMES M’NBfLL. 
(Continued from page 213.) 
CHAPTER X. 
SOCIETY WITHOUT SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS. 
Shortly after seven o’clock Mr. Flyter arrived 
and we set out together for the neighboring park. 
We found It already lighted for the evenlDgs en¬ 
tertainment. Many people ha l arrived, and the 
children especially were present In lull number, 
which Beemed to imply mat it was an occasion In 
which they greatly delighted. 
All the people seemed to meet on complete 
equality, and no one passed another by without & 
pleasant greeting. There were no bashful ones 
sitting apart from the rest of the company as 
though fearful of exciting unfavorable remarks on 
their dress or behavior, nor could I discover that 
any one was Inclined to put himself or hereelf for¬ 
ward with the view of attracting attention. 
The old people walked and talked together 
through the delightful avenues of the park, or sat 
in the pleasant arbors and discussed the events of 
the day. Tbe young people danced and sang, 
Dlayed at various games, and created fun and en¬ 
joyment for themselves in a thousand different 
ways. While the children collected together in a 
pavilion by themselves, passed the time as glee- 
some, happy children do. 
I moved among them quietly, and would mod¬ 
estly have kept mj&elt in the back ground. But 
this 1 was not permitted to do. Mr. Flyter intro¬ 
duced me to every one he met, and they all 
seemed so oordlal and pleasant, and treated 
with so much respect and courtesy that I was 
made to feel at home In spite of myself. In fact I 
was treated in every respect like one of the ramlly, 
a word In which I found they much delighted, as 
expressing the Intimacy, and friendly relations 
which existed arnoDg tbe people of each section of 
the city. Indeed, I had never known a family 
among whose members there was greater harmony 
of feeling, more delicate regard for each other's 
rights and preferences, or a stronger disposition 
to repress selfishness; and to promote e&oh others 
happiness in every reasonable manner. 
I asked Mr. Flyter It It was the custom for all 
the people of the wards to assemble at these social 
gatherings. 
He replied, that on an average there would not 
be lurty of the inhabitants ot each ward absent. 
And these would be away visiting, or detained at 
nome by natural aud unavoidable causes. “We 
are a very social people, aa you may have ob¬ 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
served,” he went on. “and these gatherings are 
sustained in so general a manner, not from a sense 
of duty, or out of respect for an old custom which 
has been handed down to ns from our fathers, but 
because of the real enjoyment which we derive 
from them: 
" Do you keep them up the year round ?” I 
asked. 
“Yes, sir, Sundays excepted, every night 
throughout the year, and even then all the people 
may be found congregated In the church at the 
other end of the park.” 
" There Is one thing about your people,” said I, 
“which I cannot understand, and that Is, how you 
get along without a lower Btratum of society. I 
walked eight miles through your city this morn¬ 
ing, and I did not Bee a single home of poverty, and 
among tbe many persons whom I met not one 
presented the appearance of want. You Bay that 
all the people of your ward are assembled here to 
night with the exception ot perhaps forty, yet I 
cannot discover that anyone is distinguished from 
another by dress, Intelligence ot look, or general 
manners.” 
“ l do not aulte understand your question, Bir,” 
Bald he. “ What do you mean by a lower stratum 
of society ?” 
“ Who, are your 1 hewere ot wood, and drawers of 
water.’ The men and women of toll; who carry 
society along on their brawny shoulders, and who 
by the sweat of their brows and the toll of their 
hands make smooth the way of their more for¬ 
tunate rellows 7” 
“Your explanation only mystifies me. sir. * Men 
and women of toll, who by the sweat of their brows 
and the toll of their hands make smoot h the way 
of their more fortunate fellows! Why, sir, l 
know nothing In the whole length and breadth of 
our land which answers this description.” 
“ Perhaps I obscure my meanlDg by too figura¬ 
tive language,” Bald I, *• let me speak more plainly. 
This magnificent city of yours did not spring up 
by magic. Brains of skill and taste are evident 
in it everywhere; but backot these there must 
have been the muscle of tbe laborer to dig its 
foundations, delve out Its sewers, pave Its streets, 
and rear Its wondrous structures. The food which 
comes nicely served to your table la not the pro¬ 
duct of unaided nature, there must be hands to 
guide the plow, to sow the seed, to cultivate the 
crop, to reap the harvest, to thresh It, grind It, 
and transport It to where It may minister to your 
imperative wants. Now In my country the men 
and women who thus serve society by the labor 
of their hands constitute a distinct class and In tbe 
social Beale, stand at the bottom, and are hence 
said to be the lower stratum of society.” 
" You surely do not mean to imply by your re¬ 
marks," said he, “that In your country there are 
two classes of society; one of which performs all 
the labor, and the other of which eats the fruit 
ot that labor; that those who labor are looked 
down upon and despised by the other class whose 
imperative needs they are the direct means of sup- 
plying?" 
“Notexactly, sir,” said I, “ willing to round off 
the sharp edges of this rather severe view; You 
know that in the very constitution of nature there 
is a foundation for different ranks ot society. All 
men are not created wltb equal gilts. Some are 
bom to command, and otners to obey, some to 
lead, and others to follow, Borne to plan, and oth¬ 
ers to execute. All cannot command, tor then 
fbere would be none to obey; neither can all lead, 
for then there would be none to follow. There 
must be many followers for one leader, and many 
to execute where there is one to plan, and as the 
necessities of existence are alike upon all, the in¬ 
ferior offices in the ongoings of society naturally 
fall to the lot of those whose birth or circum¬ 
stances do not raise them above the necessity of 
performing them.” 
“Hence you mean me to unde ret and,” said 
my interlocutor, "that In your country, inferior 
offices, as you term them, In the maintenance 
ot existence, all fall to tbe lot of a class, which 
you call the lower stratum ot society. Now, In 
this country no duty which Is connected wltb the 
maintenance ot existence 19 regarded as Interior. 
It would be a libel on tbe goodness of the Creator 
to suppose that he should have constituted our 
bodies in such a manner that anything connected 
with the maintenance of their Integrity should be 
degrading to perform. The tact that manneeos 
food which con be produced only by muscular ef¬ 
fort necessary to obtain it, or that he needs cloth¬ 
ing to ward off tbe oold, or a house to protect him 
from the Inclement y of the weather, which can¬ 
not be secured to him witnout labor. Indicates 
that It would be to his advantage, and in no sense 
degrading, to put forth the labor essential to ac¬ 
complish these necessary results. 
“ Now tor one part of society to Impose on an¬ 
other part tbe labor necessary to provide for our 
natural wants, and to look down upon It because It 
is less fortunate In its worldly circumstances, 
would be utterly abhorrent to our reason, our sense 
of justice, and tbe charity which we are taught to 
exercise toward our fellows, wltb us a man ts 
esteemed according to the usefulness or theser- 
vtoe wnlch he performs. The man who digs a 
ditch to drain a marsh which Is the source or ma¬ 
laria to the inhabitants round about it, Is more 
honored on account of that service than the phil¬ 
osopher, who, after years of study, arrives at a 
demonstration of the revolution ot some nebui© 
In the realms of space. In fact, It Is recorded that 
several generations ago, a poor man took posses¬ 
sion ot a tract of unreclaimed land which had 
hitherto been avoided on account of the expense 
of draining It. Ho and his family suffered much 
from the noxious exhalations of the marshy soil; 
the circumstances ot the case becoming known 
here, a body of our best citizens went out, and 
getting the poor man away from home, with their 
own hands dug ditches, and completely drained 
the marsh belore his re fur a, and escorted through 
the Btreets by thousands of our citizens as a mark 
of the esteem in wnicn suen a generous deed was 
held." 
“Such a disposition of good-will toward our 
fellows In a people,” said I, “cannot be too 
stroDgly commended, or its far-reaching, benefi¬ 
cial Influences too highly rated. Bui tt seems to 
me that in your remarks you have not given due 
weight to the advantages ot tbe natural division 
of labor which obtalna in every community, nor 
to tbe fact that men are naturally adapted to dif¬ 
ferent occupations by cbelr difference In mental 
endowment, nor to the fact that rank in society ts 
a natural outgrowth of this very difference In 
mental capacity which Is a characteristic of soci¬ 
ety everywhere. 
“ Y'ou are a manufacturer and merchant. Your 
time and attention are almost completely taken 
up with your business. If you have a house to 
build, you have not the time, the physical power 
nor the skill to dig its cellar, lay Its foundations 
and put together its materials. But each ot tbe 
many branches of labor connected with It is best; 
performed by the different tradesmen, who are 
each trained to a particular calling. 
“ The trade or profession which an individual is 
capable ot following with success depends much 
on his natural mental endowment. There are 
few poets, statesmen, or philosophers in any gen¬ 
eration. Those who have not the talents for these 
exalted stations must content themselves In the 
broader fields of the professions. If they have not 
the talents necessary to earn a fiveiinood here, 
they must fall back into tne still broader fields of 
the trades and mercantile life. And It In these 
fields they have not Euflicient intelligence to earn 
success, they must descend to that lowest and 
broadest ot aU conditions In society, the condition 
of the common laborer. 
“ I begin to suspect,” said Mr. Flyter, “ that the 
difference In our views of this subject results from 
the difference tn the standpoints from which we 
contemplate the picture. Y'ou. knowing but little 
of the condition of society here; argue from the 
facts which you have observed among your own 
people, and I, knowing nothing ot the manners 
and customs of your people, speak from my knowl¬ 
edge of society as it exists among us. 
“ I confess that I can gather but a vague notion 
of your meaning when you speak ot different 
grades in society, but I recognize the justness of 
your observations on the social Inequality whleh 
exists between the cultured and refined and those 
whose minds have been dwarfed, and whose per¬ 
ceptions have been blunted by Inactivity, and tbe 
continual strain of physical labor. Happily, how¬ 
ever. among us there Is no such social Inequality. 
Here every Individual Is well educated and cul¬ 
tured. The waiter who serves you at your hotel, 
the barber who shaves you. and the laundryman 
who does up your linen—have had just as much 
care bestowed upon their education, and are as 
well Informed and as well bred aa any member of 
our general society. As I have said before, use¬ 
fulness is the badge of esteem among our people. 
And all being alike well-educated In their youth, 
and allowed the same number of boure each day, 
and the same opportunities, speaking generally, 
for the cultivation ol their minds and the devel¬ 
opment of the noblest attributes ot our nature, 
there Is, ot course, not the least occasion for dis¬ 
tinctions in our general society.” 
Our conversation was interrupted at tnia Junc¬ 
ture by the approach of a young lady, the most 
lovely in feature and the noblest and mo3t grace¬ 
ful in mien that I had ever seen, who addressed 
Mr. Flyter as Grand-pa—being In reality hls great- 
grand ehlld. The old gentleman cruelly turned 
me over to her tender mercies, wnlch was an in¬ 
fliction I telt sure hla kind nature would never 
have been gulltv of, If he had really understood 
my feelings In the matter. For though an ardent 
admirer of the opposite sex, I had always enjoyed 
than best at a distance. And to be obliged to 
keep up a conversation with this divine creature, 
who 1 felt sure must be the belle of the park, and 
who I could not but believe must regard me as tbe 
most ugly, puny and contemptible specimen of 
humanity that she had ever seen, was a task be¬ 
fore which my voice grew hussy, and my whole 
frame trembled with self- distrust. 
She, however, appealed to be utterly oblivious 
to these tokens of embarrassment In my manner, 
and talked away with such a hearty good-nature 
and so much intelligence upon topics relating to 
the customs of the country, and objects ot interest 
about the park, that I soon came to feel quite at 
home In her society. Indeed, I had never been 
more favorably Impressed by any woman, young 
or old, whom I had ever met. Beautiful without 
being vain, cultured without being pedantic, dig¬ 
nified without being haughty, and modest without 
being diffident, there was tnrown over all a sim¬ 
plicity and artleaaness of manner which In almost 
any other young lady 1 would have regarded as 
either thehlghtot affectation, or an evidence or 
the want of familiarity with the world. But in 
Miss Flyter it was fixe an elegant setting to a 
costly pearl, or a nandsome frame to a picture of 
rare beauty and excellence. 
It may be supposed tnat 1 fell desperately tn 
love with this very lovable young lady. Nothing 
would have been more natural, under ordinary 
circumstances. In fact, I believe 1 did on two 
occasions make observations which any other 
young lady of my acquaintance would have con¬ 
strued Into an evidence or admiration, but they 
were as completely lost upon Miss Flyter as they 
would have been upou my grand-aunt. The effect 
of this was to make me more circumspect, but aid 
not In the least diminish my admiration for the 
young lady. 
CHAPTER XI. 
LIVING BY THE CLOCK. 
I 'KETtmNBb with Mr. Flyter from the park, and 
for several weeks eDjojed the hospitality ot bts 
home. It. was Indeed hospitality, In the truest 
6ense of that term, t or though 1 was an utter 
stranger aud quite an insignificant une at that, ail 
the members of the household served to vie with 
out, another In promoting my enjoyment and 
making mo feel entirely at homo, it was not In¬ 
deed a difficult matter to keep me entertained, tot 
everything which 1 saw and heard was new ana 
228 
Interesting, and I was an eager student of the man¬ 
ners, customs and Institutions of this noble 
people. 
Mr. Flyter’s home was a spacious manston sur¬ 
rounded by a plat of ground of half a square In 
extent. Hls brother-in-law and hls family occu¬ 
pied a similar mansion on tbe other halt square. 
The grounds about both these mansions were laid 
out with exquisite taste, and kept scrupulously 
neat and flourishing, by the personal care and 
labor of the membere of the households, servants 
among the people were few and no one thought it 
beneath him to taka a spade, shovel or pickaxe In 
hls baud an! perform that labor whlofl la 
usually thrown on the shoulders of John or Pat¬ 
rick. And 1 might add that there was not one 
among them with whom John or Patrick could for 
a moment compete, either In skill, strength or 
physical endurance. 
Mr. Flyter’s household consisted of himself and 
wife, hls son and hls wife, hla grandson and Ills 
wife, and their son and daughter. Hls brother-in- 
laws family was composed of the same number 
and the same order of generation. Several other 
families whose acquaintance I made, possessed 
this same peculiarity of number and relationship. 
In fact, I round that It was the universal custom 
of the country for the father, son, grandson and 
great grandson, with their wives, to form a com¬ 
mon household, and I was told that it was not an 
uncommon thing to find five generations having 
everything In common and living happily together 
under the same roof. 
The question naturally occurred: What becomes 
of the supernumeraries—If I may so term tnem 
—of large families and those who are not fortu¬ 
nate enough to secure husbands and wives ; for I 
Invariably round that there were but two of each 
generation In the same household. I put this 
question to Mr. Flyter one day, and it may well be 
supposed that the answer which I received gave 
me some new and Interesting Ideas on a very Im¬ 
portant queal Ion of sociology. 
“ Why, sir,” said he, in reply, “ there are no su¬ 
pernumeraries tn our families, and none who pass 
the marriagebte age without marrying. Every 
married patr have two, and only two, children, a 
son and a daughter. The son Invariably finds a 
domestic partner at about thirty years or age, and 
the daughter is considered marriageable at 
twenty-five, and seldom has to wait long after 
that age for a husband.” 
“ Happy people!” I involuntarily exclaimed, 
“ among whom a domestic partner Is assured to 
every one. “ But, sir,” said I, “ I am curious to 
know how you regulate this matter ot progeny. In 
my country, where there are many Of both sexes 
who never marry, the Dumber of children which 
are likely to be bom to any married couple is very 
uncertain, and the sex ot those children Is equally 
as uncertain. Doubtless this matter ot hereditary 
trims mission is governed by immutable laws, but 
If it is, they are practically unknown among us, 
and the number and sex of a man ’s children are a 
mere matter of chance. Thus, while I know of 
some married couples who have no children at all, 
others have a dozen or more; and while in one 
family the children may be all boys, in another 
they are Just as likely to be all girls. Besides, there 
are many diseases which make such terrible rav¬ 
ages among our children that sometimes whole 
families are swept away before they reach matur¬ 
ity. go you may well imagine that it is a source 
of wonderment to me to find living under the same 
roof a family chain of four or five generations 
without one supernumerary or broken link. 
“ I suspect,” replied iny host, that you gave 
the true explanation ot the difference bet ween our 
people lu this manner when you said that, there 
were doubtless immutable laws which determine 
tbe number and sex ot children, hue that those 
laws are practically unknown among our people. 
Now, among us these laws are well known and 
thoroughly obeyed. In fact, It ts a matter of ne¬ 
cessity with us that they should be known and 
obeyed; for you must understand that our popu¬ 
lation has about reachea the limit of the capacity 
of the land to sustain, so that an Increase of even 
one child to every married couple would result m 
much suffering, and even starvation among the 
Inhabitants. Thus each married pair seek only to 
reproduce themselves In one son and one daughter, 
that the number of our population may be sus¬ 
tained at the limit where the best Interests cf all 
shall be subserved.” 
“ But, Bir, said I, “ in our conversation the other 
day you spoke of your country as being many mil¬ 
lions of square miles m extent. Y’ou surely do not 
mean to say that this vast region is fully occupied, 
and that It has reached the lull limit of Its pro¬ 
duction." 
“Ido Indeed," he replied. “ There Is not a waste 
or barren spot In Its whole extent. There are 
mountain ranges, it Is true, whose snow capped 
peaks and rocky sides might at first thought be 
considered barren, but they subserve a very essen¬ 
tial service In the productiveness of the valleys 
and plains, so that they are by no means barren in 
the sense that they are useless: while In regard to 
the productiveness of our soli, it Is enough for you 
to know that It Is a general estimate that tee pro¬ 
duct of an acre will afford an abundance of food 
for a family ot ten " 
“Am I to Infer from your remarks, sir,” said T, 
“ that —" Here a bell sounded, which caused 
Mr. Flyter to spring up so abruptly that l verily 
thought that he must be a member of a fire com¬ 
pany, and that the bell was an alarm of tire. 
“ Put on your hac and go with me to the gym¬ 
nasium,” ne said. 
I obeyed, wondering how he knew that it was 
the gymnasium that was burning. As we pasted 
down-stairs we found the other members of the 
household on the move, and when we reacted the 
street a Gde of people seemed to be moving along, 
all lu the same direction, Us number being con¬ 
stantly augmented from every house and cross- 
street. 
observing tnat there were as many women as 
men In tne throng, and that they were altogether 
a very Jolly company to be hurrying to a scene ot 
