Cages’ portfolio. 
THE OLD FRIENDS. 
Where are the scattered now. 
The old, old friends ! 
One made her dwelling where the maples glow, 
And migbty streams throng'll solemn forests flow, 
But never from that pine crowned land of snow, 
A message sends. 
Some meet oft amid 
Life's common ways; 
And then, perchance, a word or smile declares 
That warm hearts throb beneath their load of cares: 
For love grows ou. like wheat, among the tares. 
Till harvest days. 
“ But some are fall'n asleep 
The words are sweet I 
Oh, friends at rest beneath that blessed sod, 
My feet still tread tho weary road ye trod 
Ere yet your loving souls went back to God !— 
When shall we moot ? 
Oh, thou divinest Friend, 
When shall it be 
That I may know them In their garments white ? 
And see them, with a new and clearer sight, 
Mine old familiar friend*-made fair and bright. 
Like unto Thee ? 
LEARNING TO READ. 
The Inexperienced school-ma'am and the young 
pedagogue may so far forget the labor and per¬ 
plexity that this acquisition cost them, as to think 
lightly of the matter as concerns either the teacher 
or the pupil; but this most important part of a 
literary education, though generally thought to 
require but a moderate amount of talent in the 
teacher, does really require, in order to do Justice 
to It, more care, judgment, discretion and good, 
sound sense, than the teaching of all the other 
branches pertaining to tho common sehool, put 
together. It la the only part depending entirely 
upon the teacher, and once acquired, In the man¬ 
ner herein described, It enables the pupil, with 
tho aid of proper books, to become his own 
teacher. The human oral and written language, 
unlike the natural language of signs, Is composed 
of words, each having a definite and distinct 
meaning; each expressing and conveying a def¬ 
inite idea. To man In his social life words, next 
to food and clothing, arc tho most important 
things that he possesses; still those same words 
are of no value when not understood, and It Is 
worse than useless to remember and become 
familiar with words the meaning of which w« do 
not comprehend. It is taxing the memory with 
that which is of no value, to the exclusion of that 
which is useful; for the memory cannot retain 
everything which the eye sees or the ear hears. 
We know that the person who cannot read or 
write always has “ a remarkable memory,” only 
because ho has much less than the reader to re¬ 
member. 
To do justice to this subject, and to write out 
all that comes into my mind and clamors for ut¬ 
terance, would consume more time than I can 
of prose or poetry to read to an audience, noticing, 
as we proceed, without hesitation every mark of 
punctuation and emphasis, but, It being a mere 
common acquirement, excites less surprise than 
the musical performance, though In truth no less 
wonderful. Like the first. It Is the result of study 
and practice- The same practice, carried to still 
greater extent, enables the editor and reviewer 
to comprehend a page in less than half the time 
that his speech could utter it. In teaching, we 
are apt to forget by what a slow and patient 
progress we acquired this facility and dexterity. 
Some nine or ten years since I visited the com- 
pairing for tljc Jloung, 
& E L I, S. 
When the bell sounds 
Over land and sea, 
And tho wind, in its rounds 
Blowing fresh and free, 
Carries the rimring 
Far out of sight. 
There where the clinging 
Sails are white. 
WI.VTEU EVENING AMU 8 EMENT 8 .-N 0 . 
now devote to It, and occupy more room in your source of liai 
journal than you would be willing to allow ine. life—and u shj 
To teach in a proper raa nner this science, so as to 5}®* Inc 
make it in the best manner available, there are period of hlsiv 
other matters with which It must be connected— rnat.tons, a co 
orthography and lexicography. They must be 
taught in connection with reading, for they can- to lnaul' 
not he taught In any other way. A word, except should be the 
some of the interjections, is of no use by itself, done by bun 
and in any place It consists more of its letters 
than of its sound. It matters little which of lta proper use of 
four sounds you give the letter “a” In Quality, 01 words. Di 
and Its accent Is a mere matter of fashion, but t0 every one 
misplace or leave out any of Its letters and you “ e 0 ' r ^ r 
destroy It; It no longer conveys any Idea. In I re ct sentence, 
order to teach the science or reading In such a ' fixed in tho 1 
manner that it shall be a pleasure to the pupil ,ta meaning, 
through life—that It shall bathe medium through 
which ho shall learn all other branches of science 
after which he aspires, or that shall be useful to 
him—he must bes from the start, taught of every 
word he uses the sound and accent which custom 
has decreed for it, and its true orthography and 
meaning, all at the same time. Do yon say this 
is too much for a mere child to comprehend? I 
reply that it is much easier to learn and remem¬ 
ber the whole than a part. Memory Is always 
assisted by association. In order to accomplish 
this, the teacher must select for the pupil at first 
the most easy and simple sentences; not mere 
words, but entire though short sentences, and he 
must be sure that the pupil sees every letter In 
each word before pronouncing it, and that he 
comprehends the meaning of every word lathe 
sentence before leaving It. This system, followed 
up and enlarged with the expanding mind of the 
pupil, cannot fall to be interesting to him, 
and Is sure to develop a taste for reading, and a 
habit of searching out the full meaning of each 
sentence by the Investigation of each word In It. - -- 
At. a very early age. If provided with suitable 
books and a dictionary, the pupil becomes>master 
of the situation, and can and will proceed alone; 
and the taste for reading and Investigating once 
acquired, nothing, neither poverty, sickness nor ”==_ 
old age can stop his progress In knowledge. It 
becomes bis diversion, his pastime, hts recreation AV 
in his solitude, and In the interchange of ideas 
thus acquired bis diversion In society. The great rea<1 £ r ’ a1 .!? : 
error In teaching this and all other sciences is In the words he 
going too fast. Ufa are food 
An adept in music sits down at the piano and Is a kuowled 
plays at first sight the most complicated piece of dr^n Ce Were 
music, with all Its four parts unstudied, and we sp eak of the 
wonder at the manifestation of such skill. It Is acquiring th 
f lie result of study and practice. take a page ! Muskegon, 
mon school for the support, of which I was taxed, 
though never having occasion to patronlzo it, 
when my attention was attracted to a class of 
tyros and their management. The little fellows 
were eagerly tracing tho rows of words with their 
lingers, and trying to keep up wit h the teacher, 
who was, til a hurried manner, pronouncing the 
words, several at a time, (or them to repeat, and 
utmost every word was snatched out ot their 
mouths before they had hair time to examine Its 
letters, every word and mutton of the teacher 
evincing her anxiety to hurry up. 1 pitied the 
little fellows, and could not help saying to my¬ 
self, here is work for the “Society tor the Pre¬ 
vention of Cruelty to Animals.’’ And still this 
otherwise estimable lady was a very popular 
teacher, and commanded the highest salary. 
ITad she been ft man of less muscle than myself, 
she would have been In danger. I have never 
flatted a common school since for fear 1 should 
make a disturbance. Tho mere teaching of how 
to read is not the only thing to be aimed at,. The 
acquisition of a taste for It la ot the utmost im¬ 
portance, ns contributing to the happiness and 
morality of the possessor. Gamblers, burglars, 
drunkards and thieves are seldom readers. 
Says a former superintendent of Public Instruc¬ 
tion. after describing a wealthy man whoso time 
bung heavy on bis hands, “He was a kind man, 
and might, have been a happy one, but for a Min¬ 
gle misfortune—he had not learned to enjoy read¬ 
ing.” HaysfiLr John Heksciibi.c, “ ir 1 were to 
prav for a taste which should stand me In stead, 
under every VMlcty of circumstances, and be a 
source ot happiness and cheerfulness through 
life—and ;t shield against Us Ills—it would be a 
taste for reading. Give a man this taste and you 
place him in contact with the best, society in every 
period of history—you make lilm ft denizen of all 
ovations, a contemporary of all ages.” It la this 
taste for reading which ulono makes the learned 
man In all professions and In all occupations. 
How to Inaugurate and to foster this taste, then, 
should be the main aim of the teacher, it is not 
done by hurry and Impatience. Good reading 
does not consist merely In fluency, nor Ls good 
spelling ever acquired, or a knowledge of tho 
proper use ot words ever learned, from columns 
01 words. Dictionaries are of Inestimable value 
to every one who can read, and tho student Is 
never safe without one, but tho correct use of a 
word Is never learned without seeing It In a cor¬ 
rect sentence, and lt3 orthography Is never firmly 
fixed in the mind, except by its association with 
lta meaning. A poor speller can never be a good 
White on the sea ; and into the valley, 
And over the hills. 
And musically 
By farms and mills. 
Sweet and soft, 
Alow and aloft. 
How far does the sound 
Of the sweet bell go ? 
Over the round 
Where the waters flow. 
And up to the bound 
Whero tho winds can blow, 
Is it lost, is It found, 
Is it gone, do you know ? 
UNCLE MARK BACK AGAIN. 
Mr Dear Nieces and Nkchkws:— Though 1 
have not been able to be among you lately, I have 
taken great pleasure in watching you closely. 
Joe Stkei.e scorns to have created qulto a flutter 
among you all, as well ho might,, for Ills theories 
of Ufe are hardly tho ones with which to start the 
world’s battle. Some people, however, wlU al¬ 
ways mistake “ cheek ’’ or Impudence for confl- 
•dciice and self-possession, and will go through 
their wholo lives without discovering their error. 
The young gentleman whoslgns himself “STORM,' 
and tho other youthful person calling himself 
«• Yoitno Editor ” both seem, to have produced a 
decided sensation among tho Rural cousins. 
Weill this Is not. to bo at all regretted. That 
which seta our young people to thinking Is good 
for them, and such seems to havo been the effect 
of the letters of which I speak. I am glad to see 
tho very general improvement In tho letters of 
some of our little friends; glad to see them not 
only expressing themselves la better language, 
but also to notice that almost every letter con¬ 
tains something of Interest—someone good Idea 
and reference to something good In the other let¬ 
ters. It shows that our family of Cousins both 
read and think about what they read. I tell you, 
my dear Girls and Boys, this little Item of Ufe 
called “ reading " Is one of the greatest blessings 
AVINTEH EAENING AAIUSJE3IENTS. 
reader, and a man may read his life away with¬ 
out benefit, if he docs not know the meantng ot 
the words he uses. The first necessities of human 
llfo are food aud nothing. Life's greatest luxury 
Is a knowledge of that language in which we are 
to receive instruction aud Impart tt to our chil¬ 
dren. Were time and space of less value, I might 
speak of the further means and the best aids In 
acquiring f lits knowledge. ft, B. Peck. 
Muskegon, Mich, 
wc havo, and should be fully appreciated by all 
who can enjoy It. 
In many foreign countries the children are sit¬ 
uated differently lroni ours here. They not only 
never aoc 1 paper or a book, but could not read 
one If it were before* them. In this blessed land, 
however, we have but one kind and class, and 
that, is the kind that both works anil reads- 
neither too proud to do the former nor too igno¬ 
rant to do the latter. The sons and daughters of 
small farmers and their help in tho old countries 
live their lives out without knowing once the 
benefits of oven tho rudiments of education, wbllo 
every little ur Miln on our farms Is taught at an 
early age to read, and given ample opportunity 
to exercise his talents and abilities In that line. 
And they nearly all stick by the Rubai, through 
Ufe. The Publisher Informs mo that ho has hun¬ 
dreds and thousands of rcgulur subscribers who 
have taken the Iln rat ever since they were llttio 
girls and boys among the Ruu.it Cousins, and ex¬ 
press their Intentions to continue to do so as long 
as they shall live. So you may some day look 
back upoD your childhood days and, running 
across one of your letters In the Rural, reel creep¬ 
ing over you a crowd of delicious memories con¬ 
nected with them, that win amply repay you in 
one sweet moment for all the trouble and anxiety 
of your wholo life. Even 1 . in reading over your 
letters, sometimes hear tho merry laugh ot my 
old school companions, {is It. rang In my oars when 
wo were so happy In the days gone by, and for a 
little while 1 give myself up entirely to the de¬ 
licious enjoyment of those feelings, forgetting my 
age, my surroundings and my cares, and remem¬ 
bering only the sweet, and perfect happiness of 
my careless youth. While 1 am not unhappy 
now. these tender memories always Increase my 
joylu Ufe, and add to tho measure just tho nm- 
nlng over part. 
But. I am allowing my wandering thoughts to 
cause me to forgot that crusty Editor, who is lia¬ 
ble to rap me over t,no knuckles (figuratively, ot 
course), for taking up so much of his valuablo 
space, for, as he says, ho can’t devote tho wholo 
Rural to Unole Mark. 
--»-*-■»-- 
THE 8N0WDR0P. 
A ycuno widow, and her husband’s sister and 
her little girl, were walking through a shrubbery 
most ot whoso boughs were “barren as lances,” 
a few sparsely gemmed with green or ruddy buds. 
1 * oh, what, beautiful flowers I” the little girl ex¬ 
claimed, when, after passing black beds in which 
tho plants had not woke up from their winter 
sleep, or were only Ju3t beginning to awake bo- 
nenth the mysterious Influence of coming spring, 
she saw a bed bright, with crocuses like fairy gob¬ 
lets of gold and amethyst, white with snowdrops 
drooping their hoods of groen-voliied Alabaster. 
“ Which do you like best, darling,—the crocuses 
or the snowdrops?” asked her mamma. 
“Oh, the crocuses—they are so splendid,” an¬ 
swered the little girl; “ but—but—” 
“ But wluit, darling? ” 
“AVhy, the snowdrop comes out first, doesn’t 
It? It seems as If it didn't want, to look lino, but 
Just to cheer people up, without wanting to dross 
itself up In fine colors.” 
“Remember wlial. you havo said, my darling 
and bo a snowdrop youseir,” said her mamma. 
“I’apa used to call me his snowdrop. Poor 
Papal ” sail the llttio girl. 
“Wo will go to-morrow and plant some on 
Papa’s grave,” said her aunt. 
That night the little girl dreamt of her papa and 
snowdrops. 
He was playing with her In tho garden, and 
then suddenly the time came back when he was 
always too tired to play, and had to lean on her 
mother’s arm when lie walked. And then, again, 
Uo was shut away from her In the sick-room, Into 
which sho used to peep, grieved that she was only 
allowed to go In and nay “good morning" and 
“good night.” Once more she sat on tho stairs 
nuisldo, as roum as a little mouse. And then 
came the dim, dreadful morning when sho started 
up in her cot, and her sobbing mother clasped her 
In her arms and told her that her dear papa was 
gone to Heaven. How Jealous sho had felt of 
llcaven 1 Again she moved about lu the hushed, 
1 darkened house, sometimes stealing In to kiss the 
, corpse, aud yet half frightened at tho once-famll- 
1 tar face—It seemed so cold and strange. And 
i then the house was full of people whom sho did 
not know, and Papa was carried away to tho 
churchyard, whtlo she was left behind, wondering 
what right they had to bo with Papa longer than 
she. And then, again, she felt as if tho servants 
were unkind, had almost forgotten tlielr master, 
when they pulled up tho blinds and let tho sun- 
ltebt Into the house once more. The Ut.tle gh l 
cried In her sleep, and as her tears fell upon her 
father’s grave, snowdrops sprang up beneath 
them, and whispered: “Weep not, little maiden, 
sunshine will scatter gloom; pure beauty springs 
from the dark grave.” 
- - - - 
TOMMY AND THE KITTENS. 
[Sco Illustration, page ??•] 
What Is more playful than a young kitten? 
Its wonderful agility, ils grace of movement and 
Its merry ways are a constant source of amuse¬ 
ment, not, to the children alone, but to all, both 
great and small. Our little Tommv seems to bo 
having a most enjoyable tlmo with his pets, and 
they, too, are getting ruelr share ot the fun. 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
An Illinois Ctrl. 
< Dear Cousins:— Perhaps It m-becomes me to 
make my first appearance among you as a critic ; 
but I cannot read forty letters about piecing 
mints and thirty letters about storm, and still 
twenty other loiters about Joe Stkm.k wit bout a 
vVhv don’t you get something new? 
Ivh ydun'i you teU us about your school and some 
interesting Incident which happens thoic. Do 
give us aouu'thmg new ! —k. k. d. 
rour fair correspondent is good at tearing down 
structure-shut not very good at building them 
up Why don’t you, Miss K. L. D., tell something 
yourself and preach by example ?-Uncle True.1 
