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GREEN GRASS UNDER THE SNOW. w . 
wi 
The work of the pun is slow, | SO 
But as sure ae heaven, we know; W 
So we'll not forget tt 
■When the skies are wot g] 
There’s gmou grass under the snow 
When the winds rtf win e - blow. 
Wailing like voices of woe. 
There are April showers. 
And buds, and Bowers, 
And green gras* under the show 
We find that It's ever so 
In this life’s uneven flow. 
We’ve only to wait 
In the face of fate 
For the green grass under the snow. 
If our paths must diverge, be it so; 
For whatever betides us, we know 
If we’ll only be strong 
We eball see before long 
The green grass under the snow. 
GRANDMOTHER SPEAKS.-No. II. 
Tut' tut! 1 wonder tf that Editors mother 
never told him about those awfully naughty chil¬ 
dren that mocked the gray-headed prophot Eli¬ 
sha, and how the hears came out of the woods 
and tore them all to pieces, just because they 
were saucy to an old man! (2 Kings 11, 23,) It 
used to be a specialty, In the education ot chil¬ 
dren. to teach them respect and reverence for 
the aged; I say used to be-for at the present 
time there Is nothing sit Id about It, and the more 
impudent and disrespectful a child Is to elderly 
people, the smarter he is, and hts Impertinences 
are repeated, as a mark of precociousness. 
In the Good Book wo are told that ’’the hoary 
head Isa crown ot glory;" and again tho eye 
that mocke.th at his father and desplseth to obey 
his mother, tho ravens ot the valley shall pick It , - 
out, and the young eagles shall eat It." And the 
Lord hath commanded the people “ to ask for the 
old paths, where Is the good way, and walk there- 
In and ye shall flud rest for your souls." Now, 
because an old woman, In all kindness, contrasts 
the present day with the past times, she Is called ’ 
a croaker, and accused of a hour disposition, etc. 
Never mind, 1 am not. the first martyr that has 
been stoned tor tho truth, and I have been think- | 
lng a good deal lately; and I am willing to suffer 
a good deal, U people will only stop a while, and 
think for themselves. 
I saw, the other day, a fashionably dressed 
young lady t I do not wear spectacles, and there 
was no need of It, to see her attire. The ther¬ 
mometer stood at, 20- below zero. She had a 
lltt-lo concern sot on her head, that was about as 
large as a three-pint basin; there were feathers, 
dower* and ribbons on tho top of It., Hying lnevery 
direction; her ears, neck and cheeks were all 
bare; she had on a sacquo that was buttoned 
tight*around her, and came down a little over her 
hips; kid gloves, and any quantity of doth, puck¬ 
ered* up behind; and her dress was so tight in 
front she moved Just like a jumping Jack; she 
had on cloth boots, and when she came In, she 
was almost, frozen to death; her cheeks and one 
car were lrosVbltten, and her fingers, oh how 
they ached! The tears ran down her cheeks, | 
they pained her so. Here she was, a pretty girl, 
but’ a slave to lasbloni I remember how her 
grandmother was dressed, once, when she came | 
to sc« me, long years ago, on a cold winter’s day. 
She had a pretty silk hood on her head, that tied 
under her rouDd chin, and kept her ears, neck 
and checks all warm, a cloak, made of bright, 
plaid stuff, lined throughout with flannel, and a 
good big cape to it, lined too; It came clear to the ! 
bottom ot hor dress; she had pretty white mit¬ 
tens 0» her hands, and good calf-skln bootees on 
her feet; she had ridden three miles, and was all 
warm and comfortable; her husband was worth 
a hundred dollars to his son’s one cent, and yet 
her granddaughter’s rig cost more than twenty 
tunes as mucU as her grandmother's, and was 
not half as complete. 1 could not help contrast¬ 
ing the two, as the poor little thing sat sMvorlng 
and twisting with the cold; and I was not a bit 
bilious that day, either. 
Now, I have looked the matter over closely, and 
have come to the conclusion that somebody must 
rahse a warning voice. Every little while a young 
person dies, and people talk about mysterious 
providence, and mournful dispensations! It 
sounds very well, but I don't believe Providence 
has much hand In It. If a girl gets her reet wet, 
time after time, because she wants to show her 
pretty ankles, common sense wiu tell any one 
that it will chill her blood; getting feet wet and 
cold is the way to sow the seeds of consumption 
and death. They all know it, but they will .sacri¬ 
fice health and comfort tor the sake of appear¬ 
ance. And there la another thing about It: Young 
men like girls better that dress In fashloh, and 
that has much to do In this matter. It is not to 
please themselves that girls dross as they do; 
they would Uko to he warm and feeL comfortable, 
but the beaux 11 Why they would not look at a 
girl wrapped In a thick shawl, -with a good, warm 
hood on her head. If I were a girl, I would keep 
my health, if every beau In Christendom went to 
thunder 11 A delicate, frail young lady is very 
pretty, but a sickly, puny wife is a different thing, 
altogether; she has ruined her health to please 
his fancy, and now he thinks It so strange that 
she is always sick. 
( Seriously, there is a wrong somewhere, if the 
world la wiser and better, aud growing so all the 
time, why, In t he name of goodness, is there so 
much more suffering aud sorrow than there used 
to be? This Is a fact, that ridicule cannot do 
away with. It you ask such a question, they do 
not try to answer It, but will soy, “It is a conun¬ 
drum 1” Now, I do not deal In conundrums. I 
want plain reasons and common sense, and I 
would like ever so much to have some one give a 
sensible reason why these things arc so- d he 
way I look at. It may not. bo the rightway. Every¬ 
thing depends on the lookout you choose, and i he 
glasses you look through; but as I look with tho 
natural eye, and my standpoint of observation is 
DOS’ Quixote, Sancho PaNSA. or somo other 
celebrity, once said, “Blessed be the man who 
invented sleep." Not. assuming to class myself 
with such noted characters, but believing that a 
natural gait Is the easiest and best, 1 am em¬ 
boldened to say. Cursed be t he man who invented 
hlgh-hoeled boots. 
The Irish colonel never could have performed 
the teats ascribed to him In a pair of boots of tho 
fashion of the past five years. The six miles per 
hour claimed for the colonel would Indeed bo un¬ 
common, and It is doubtful whether it could be 
AVINTEK 
1NING AMFHF.MENT8 — IVo. 
occupied by myself alone, perhaps there are oth- a 
era who can see t he same things in a different, u 
light, and 1 should be most happy to hear how It A 
looks to them, and what reasons they can give g 
upon t hese matters. 
As regards my youth, I never knew I was very n 
wicked; 1 was not brought, up to believe, cither, it 
In total depravity or infant, damnation, but, I was " 
taught to honor my father and mother (andgrand- d 
mother, especially, because of her gray hairs). I « 
spun tow and wool, knit stockings and mlttcus, a 
and If I was cross I bad to hold salt and water In '■ 
my mouth Ull 1 felt better. I loved fun, when I t 
was a girl, and 1 like It now; and 1 do liate, above 11 
all things, to sco a pretty girl lose all tho good a 
things that she, ought to enjoy, by getting notions ” 
into her bead about fashion and gentility. 
But If I am not careful, that Editor will think T 
am croaking again, and lay It t.o tho charge of my 
wicked girlhood. I wonder If lm thinks lambsare ; 
wicked, because they enjoy the spring sunshine ? 
Grandmother. 
--- 
WALKING. 
Ed. Rural;— In your Issue of JaD. 13 Is an arti¬ 
cle under the above bead, that It would bo well for 
every one to read who docs not. own a fast, horse 
or has not a free pass on a railroad. The writer's 
description of the Irish colonel tallies well with 
the description of Uls g»U. We should have a 
right to expect a well-proportioned man, with all 
Mb bones, muscles and tendons In perfect propor¬ 
tion and in Judicious training, from merely the 
description given of his gait and speed, but there 
are a few things more necessary In the descrip¬ 
tion of the perfect, wulker-thlngs which we pre¬ 
sume, tn fact, we know, that tho colonel must, 
have possessed. Now, please pardon your old cor¬ 
respondent for presuming to put, himself nearly 
on a par with an old, untutored philosopher of the 
American Lo persuasion. In his search for the 
man who had stolen Ms meat from the tree whore 
he had suspended Ib-a man whom he had never 
scon or heard described—he says, in describing 
I him, “He was a little, old white man, with a 
short gun and a small, bob-tailed dog." On being 
questioned as to hla ability to give such a minute 
i description ot ono be had never seen, ho gave 
such evidences of bis correctness as satlsfled Ms 
Inquirer that his description was Indeed perfect. 
Following In the wake of the old Indian’s rea¬ 
soning, we areutble to continue the description of 
the Irish colonel,’ and describe his pedal garments 
and that which was inclosed therein, ills foot 
Wits long aud slender, rather than thick and 
fleshy ; Ills boots were made of soft, springy 
leather, with single soles, without, stiffening, and 
with heels rather less than over one-fourth inch 
in elevation. Do you ask why ? First, lr his feet 
had been thick and chubby, they would surely 
have been pinched with tight boots, hl3 great toe 
turned In, and the flrat joint permanently en¬ 
larged, tor the feet In youth will tolerate pinch¬ 
ing In their diameter much bettor than lu their 
longitude. When a natural pair of feet, are set 
i on the floor close together, they touch each other 
to near the ends of the great toes, and the spaces 
, between these toes and their fcllow r s are open and 
i free, and when once you disturb this relation you 
i impede and cripple locomotion. Second, stiff and 
) unyielding soles prevent that natural spring of 
> I the font, without which tho gait is labored and 
r 1 fatiguing. Third, high heels are a great curse, 
, I and could only have been Invented for the pur- 
3 I pose of making a fraudulent altitude, of giving a 
t bettor chance for tho storage of mud and snow, 
or tho producing ot am awkward and distressing 
s gall. The only necessity for any heel is a pre- 
e ventlve of all oping, lo which auy leather covering 
a 1 of the feet gives a liability. 
accomplished by a natural walk; but I verily be¬ 
lieve, that there are hundreds and thousands ot 
Americans who could pass over on foot, more 
ground than that, after proper t raining and judi¬ 
cious timing. The feat accomplished by Stan- 
nard, some forty years ago, of running ten miles 
In one hour, on the Long Island race course, la 
not so much a wonderful feat of strength, en¬ 
durance and agility, as of the most perfect timing 
which ho was forced to submit, toby his trainer 
and patron, Stkvkns. Tho accomplishment of 
this feat by him, and the failure of Ms competi¬ 
tors, who rolled upon their own judgment. Is a 
lesson worthy of heed by all walkers, coachmen 
and teamsters. a - B - F - 
Ikttring for % fouitg, 
LITTLE CHILDREN. 
There Is music, there is sunshine, 
Where the little children dwell, 
In tho cottage, in the mansion, 
In the but or in the cell; 
There la music in thotr voices. 
There is sunshine, tn their love, 
And a toy forever round them. 
Like a glory from above. 
Little children ' yes, wo love them 
For their uj>trtt»’ ceaeeleaa flow, 
For tho Joy that over lingers 
Where tbc-ir bounding footsteps go; 
’Tia the snnebliic of their presence 
Makes the lowly cottage fair. 
And the pal ft( ' r is a prison 
If no little one is there. 
Oh! I wonder not the Saviour, 
Ho, the beautiful, tho meek, 
To the precious little children. 
Tender, loving words did speak. 
'Tis a pleasant thing to teach them 
Unto him to bend the knee, 
Since He spoke the words of blessing, 
“ Suffer them to corns to me." 
Yea, of such is heaven’s kingdom. 
And if wo would enter there. 
We must seek the sinless garment 
Which tho little child doth wear. 
Father, bless tho little children, 
Blow them every where they dwell— 
In the palace, in the mansion, 
Iu the hut or in the coll, 
May the clouds of sm and sorrow 
Never darken o’er thotr way. 
And tn heart may we be like them, 
Pure and innocent as they. 
[Rochestir Democrat. 
___ 
CENTENNIAL RECOLLECTIONS. 
dear Editor:—” Will the Cousins who attend¬ 
ed the Centennial let us hear from them?" was 
the question propounded by one of our Rural 
Cousins. It Is now quite the t.Mng to say. “ When 
1 was at the Centennial;” but being In Philadel¬ 
phia some eleven weeks, and on tho Centennial 
grounds nearly two-t.hlrds of tho time, perhaps 1 
can tell Carrie B. If. a little about some of the 
exhibits that will be of Interest to her and the 
Cousins. I see by her letter she la attending 
school, therefore will begin with the Swedish 
school-house. It was apparently made of plno 
logs, with the bottom and top leveled off perfect¬ 
ly true, so they fitted together nicely, bat the 
outer surface was rounding as a round log Is. 
These logs were planed smooth and true, and fit¬ 
ted together at the corners very much like the 
Old log houses of this country, only that, the logs 
were all fitted together tight, and were dressed 
so as to look as nice or nicer than our clapboarded 
houses. It. was a one-story, oblong build lug, bud 
a wing, also an immense projecting roof; there 
was no paint, on It, nor any vines clambering 
about. Tn it were chairs, tables, books, maps 
and models, similar to ours in lorrn and color, but 
more crude. Could the little Swedes have been 
there, dressed In their home costume, and con¬ 
ning their tasks or reciting them, I would be able 
to tell you more of their school life than Is now 
possible. There was displayed quite a large num¬ 
ber of drawings; the greater put t were very aim- 
pie, merely tho outlines of some common object, 
but, evidently wrought, with great, care. The 
furniture could hardly vie with that of most mod¬ 
ern city school-houses, but compared well with 
that of the better town and country school build¬ 
ings. It at least, seemed quite comfortable, and 
not unplensant to look at.. 
A short walk took us to the Pennsylvania state 
school building, which was more elaborately got¬ 
ten up, and was thoroughly painted and frescoed. 
Some of the little girls called It, “right, splendid,*’ 
but I thought the pretty, plain Swedish one a 
good bit, ulcer. This building was separated Inf o 
sections. Nearly tho tlrst one attracting my at¬ 
tention was an old, broken-down, weather-worn, 
shingled roof, upon which was itto; underneath 
was a prltnlUve box-shaped stove, near it. a crude 
chair and table; the master's nhl hat, a cat-O’- 
nlnc tails (a w hip with several lushes) and a largo 
quill pen hung upon the wall; paper wads on the 
celling; a rude deik a good deal whittled, and a 
floor that, looked us though lit,t,1 b feet, big feet,and 
old feet had crossed It limes without number. 
Then followed section iSTfi, with Its elegant, furni¬ 
ture, tine drawings, exquisite water colors, hang¬ 
ing baskets containing beautiful vines and lovely 
flowers, making ft strong but pleasing contrast. 
In different (sections were all the various kinds 
of work done with pencil, pen, hi ush and needle, 
by girls from eight to fifteen years of age. The 
most of the work was wade for a purpose ; that 
Is, It was not merely ornamental, but was de¬ 
signed for use of some kind. A host of knit, and 
crochet goods bad been made by an orplinn school, 
In which it seemed as though »ll the stray bits 
had been worked In, so many were tho colors, 
and yet they were ao well arranged that the re- 
| suit was a harmonious whole. An Inexpensive 
| way of making useful things, which goes a long 
way toward furnishing a room or completing a 
wardrobe. There was also a lino display of bead 
work, Hitch us hanging baskets, flowers and 
crosses, made by the little blind girls. The books 
and circulars of there blind children have raised 
letters, which they road by running the Ungers 
lightly along the page. The let ters are nearly 
tho same In form as our printed ones, and can 
only bo on ono side of the paper, as tho opposite 
side has indentations corresponding with tiff let¬ 
ters used. My sample Is pure white, the letters 
being In fact, a part of tho paper Itself; and al¬ 
though It Is easy to look at and read, I And It Is 
Impossible to detect, their forth with my unedu¬ 
cated Angers. 
Passing into tho Kindergarten School building, 
we see a teacher, two assistants, eight lit Mo girls 
In pink dresses and white aprons, also eight llttlo 
boys In blue sailor Rune. All were singing, and 
all apparently working at her or Mb life-work, as 
there were as many different, occupations as there 
were different, Individuals. Having finished their 
sODg, “building blocks” were given to the llttlo 
ones, and they began to construct a variety ot 
houses, barns aud sheds. Somo built plain build¬ 
ings, and had material left; others found they 
had Just enough, while some wanted more before 
their structures could be completed. It. was very 
much the same thing nvery day, It being simply 
carried on to show w hat tho system Is and how 
taught, a new set of visitors coming every day to 
see and hear them. Vee. 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
A Perm’s Boy baa Confidence in Himeelf. 
Dear Editor:—1 read the letters from the boys 
and girls, and am happy to loam that most of 
them have the privilege of attending school, 
wMch I never had but very little of. What educa¬ 
tion T have, I got tnyself, and am trying to mako a 
proper use of. I would like to have from the boys 
and girls a pledge of what they will do In tho 
future. Say that vou will become tillers of tho 
soil, and when you start for anything stick to tho 
text, and no dodging, and by so doing you will be 
able to accomplish whatever you undertake. I 
do not, wish to boast or tell you that I can do any- 
thing that I cannot do, but give me the tools and 
I will raise a crop of corn, build a barn or house, 
make a wagon or sleigh, and put tho Irons on; 
give mo the time aud I will make tho tools. Givo 
me tho tools and 1 will Bhoo us many horses In a 
day a 9 the next boy; ttnd while 1 have the tools 
I will make a good hay fork, and repair all tho 
implements used on tho farm. Now, boys, when 
I undertake a job It, roust be finished, aud tho 
worn “can't,” Is left out of my book. You had 
hotter leave It out ot yours, or yon will always bo 
at tho bottom of the ladder.— Score Boy. 
She Defends her Sex. 
Dear cousins:—I propose to make my appear¬ 
ance among you for the second time. Tho first 
time I wrote onlya part or roy letter was printed. 
Girls, I think if Soujmon Sap does not like our 
stylo, he need nob swing on our gate 1 Terhaps 
he could coax the Editor to give him another cor¬ 
ner of the paper for bis own especial use. I think 
It would be most Interesting, don’t you? Will 
our impudent young friend, whoso letter was In 
the Rural of Jan. fitli, tell us tho reason ho did 
not sign bis name? Ho thinks the girls light In 
the upper Ktory. Docs ho expect, us to take every - 
thing he say A and sit with folded hands, not ut- 
1 tcring a word In our own defense? If so, he has 
