fairies' |)odfolio. 
HOPE’S VICTORY. 
Dark clouds bad spread across the sky 
As I l-oatned o’er the old-loved ways, 
And through the trees the breezes sighed, 
While sunbeams hid their golden rays. 
*• Oh. all is dark and sad around, 
And in my heart no light is found: 
Ho more will brightness o’er me spread; 
For Joy is gone and hope is dead 
E’en as I spake the sun shone forth 
One heavenly smile from out the sky. 
That sited a balm with in luy breast, 
And from ray heart sad thoughts did fly. 
“ Oh in the gloom that gathers round. 
Let trust within the heart be found; 
Then, when the sunbeams gild the lea. 
Sweet Hope will gain a victory!" 
-♦ - 
RIFTED CLOUDS. 
MURKY MAY, 
A sudden closing or books proclaims the Anal 
verdict or a mastery over geometrical problems 
and Caesar’s twisted speeches. 
A kind or reverlt! steals over me, and, although 
Interesting histories and dellghtrul poems are 
lying on my study-table, I turn from them, and 
find my thoughts occupied with the scenes with¬ 
out. It has been a dreary, winter day, the snow 
13 melting under root, and a misty rain Is tailing. 
I look across to the hills opposite my window, 
where the bare woodlands make me sigh tor very 
loneliness, when i remember how many happy 
bourn we spent there through the sunny summer, 
and bow grand and majestic were the trees under 
the reign or Autumn’s Jeweled fingers, which 
made them glow with hues brighter than gold 
and rubles. How oaks and maples st and as mon¬ 
uments or sweet spring flowers, bcauiirul summer 
verdure, and glorious autumn leaves. I turn 
from lln; wludow U) ruy study-table; but a sense 
of dreariness still oppresses me, as I notice the 
familiar places of last year's pleasant papers still 
lying with “1S76” on the top number—no fresh 
tokens or‘‘1877 ” scattered over the books ami 
slates, enjoying unrcstralued freedom, until con¬ 
signed to their places on file with the others. 
These hard times are the dreary clouds of our 
home skies. But sunny days will not al ways last, 
and when prosperity grows dim, the best thing 
ror us to do Is learn to make use or j.he blessings 
that are bestowed upon us. "Enjoy what you 
have ” 1 b a good motto, that ought now to be prac¬ 
ticed In our pleasant country homes—pleasant, 
although we feel keenly sometimes the absence or 
many wtshed-for luxuries. So T select my eve¬ 
ning’s reading, reeling that, i nave purchased an 
hour or enjoyment. In this way, by ray afternoon’s 
study, and repair to the slLtlng-roora, where, after 
a short chat, I don my kitchen apron, and urn 
ready to perform the oflloe of singing milkmaid 
and Jovial Bridget. By the time the evening’s 
work Is finished and supper walling on the table, 
I have quite forgotten my dreary in linings, be¬ 
cause la visiting cellar and pantry i see evidence 
of the abundance of food with which country 
people are supplied, aud thus conclude that we 
ought to be content. If we strive to keep a merry 
heart, sunshine enough will gleam through the 
lowering mists of “ hard times.” With pleasant 
words and happy faces we find It easy to forget 
the dreariness without, when all Is cheerfulness 
within. 
■ •-— 
CLOUD PICTURES. 
The pictures of Cloudlaud are living, moving 
pictures, and more beautiful than any ever paint¬ 
ed by artists. Some or our autumnal sunsets are 
splendidly gorgeous, some are gloriously lovely, 
and all are worthy of far better descriptions than 
I can give them. 1 saw one a short while ago 
that will be long remembered. 
Tbe sky was beautifully blue, and In the west 
were banks of purple cloud, edged with gold or 
silver, and the sun just shining over them, gliding 
the landscape, and making the whole earth love¬ 
ly. Oh! that I could transfer this beautiful scene 
to canvass, to be looked upon and admired long 
after this and many other sunsets have raded 
away. But. no t No artist now lives, und none 
ever will, that can paint anything to compare 
with the pictures or the Great ArtLst,, who gives 
us new beauties every day. In my estimation, 
there’s nothing more lovely chan this world, just 
as we nnd It, without the aid of man's skill In the 
various works of art* There are so many differ¬ 
ent forms of natural beauty—the early morning; 
the mid-day, when the sun Is shining over all 
with warmth and light; the sunset hour; the 
calm twilight; aud whatcan surpass the evenings 
we sometimes have when the earth Is flooded with 
glorious moonlight? 
The seasons, In tholr turn, are each and all full 
of beauty to those who care to see It. Winter, 
even cold, bleak winter, has its pleasures 
when the earth is covered with a soft, pure man¬ 
tle of white, amt even the trees are loaded with a 
foliage different from their own, but none the 
less beautiful. Who has not risen some morning, 
to And the sun shining upon a world covered with 
diamonds of frost, and glittering In the morning 
sunbeams. 
The Spring time, that seems like a new resur¬ 
rection every year, is always beautiful and wel¬ 
comed. Summer, too, has many beauties for all. 
And Autumn!—ah! what words can describe It? 
The pictures that are painted then upon all our 
forests and hillsides are beautiful beyond descrip¬ 
tion, aud we sometimes wish they would Dever 
pass away to make room for others. 
But we have our cloud pictures all the year 
round, and they are not all confined to sunsets 
either. Thero are sunrises as beautirul as brief, 
and mornings, such as I once saw, when the earth 
had been under a gray curtain for several days. 
There were stUl some, dull clouds, but all around 
the horizon was light and beauty. Blue, purple, 
and gray, of every shade, and here and there a 
golden border, all fleecy and light, and airy, and at 
last floating away and “leaving a calm, bluesky." 
Although some days are very dark, and we see 
nothing but clouds, we know that, heyond them 
the sun Is Shining still. Let us remember this, 
and that “ every cloud has a silver lining.” 
Eudora. 
THE KING AND THE FARMER. 
Kino Frederick of Prussia when he was out. 
riding one day, saw an old farmer, who was plow¬ 
ing a Held and singing cheerfully over his work. 
“You must be well off, old man,” cried the king. 
“ Does this acre belong to you on which you so 
industriously labor? " 
"No, sir," replied the old man, who, of course, 
had no idea lie was speaking to the king; “ I am 
not so rich as that. I plow for wages.” 
“How much do you earn a day?” asked the 
king. 
“ Eight g rose lieu,” returned the man. That 
would be about twenty cents of our money. 
“ That Is very little,” said the king. “ Can you 
get along with it?” 
“Get along! yes, Indeed, and have something 
left.” 
“ However do you manage? 
“ Well,” said the farmer, smiling, “ I will tell 
you. “ Two groseben arc for myself and my wife 5 
with two 1 pay my old debts, two I lend, and two 
I give away for the Lord's sake.” 
“This Is a mystery which l cannot solve,” said 
the king. 
“Then 1 must solve It for you,” replied the 
farmer, t have two old parents at home, who 
kept me aud eared for me wlieu I was young and 
weak and needed care. Now that they are old 
aud weak. I am glad to keep and care for them, 
'that Is my debt, and It costs me two groschen a 
day to pay it. Two more 1 spend oo my children’s 
schooling, if they are living when their mother 
and 1 are old, they will keep us and pay back 
what 1 lend. Then with my last Lwo grosehCn I 
support my two sick sisters, who cannot work for 
themselves. Of couise I am not compelled to 
give them the money; but 1 do It for the Lord’s 
sake.” 
“ Well done, old man.” cried the king, as he 
finished. “ Now, l am going to give you some¬ 
thing to guess. Have you ever seen me before?” 
“In less than live minutes you shall see me 
flfty times, and carry In your pocket fifty of my 
likenesses.” 
"This is Indeed a riddle which I cannot guess,” 
said the farmer. 
“Then 1 will solve It for you,” returned the 
king; aud with that he put his hand into his 
pocket, aud pulling out fifty gold pieces, placed 
them In the hand of the farmer. 
“The coin Is genuine,'' said the king, “for It 
also comes from our Lord God, and I am Uls pay¬ 
master. r bid you good-by.” 
And he rode off, leaving the good old man over¬ 
whelmed with surprise and delight. 
NOTES FOR LADIES. 
Gray cloth dolmans will be the fashionable 
wrap for Spring. 
Cut-steel ornaments will be greatly used on 
Spring dressses. 
White bonnets, either of felt or plush, are 
among the latest 1 inpintatlons. 
The Cloisonne enamel, so sought after In arti¬ 
cles of virtu, is now used for Jewelry. 
The newest Princess dresses are made with 
square trains and entirely without drapery. 
The newest, percales are In India designs and 
dark colors, like those seen in cashmere shawls. 
Gi.asses are now made of frosted glass, In an¬ 
tique rorrns and patterns, the monogram being In 
color. 
Bangle-kings, made of five or six narrow gold 
rings held by one long clasp, are the novelty for 
Anger-Hogs. 
Lack scarfs are used as strings for opera hats, 
attached In such a manner as to form a cape at 
the back of the bonnet. 
Honey-combed toweling is made up In hand¬ 
some quilts, by being worked In diamond patterns 
of floral designs In pink, blue, or amber wools. 
Unbi.eathed mu.sllu Is the latest novelty for 
bedroom wludow-curtalus, Instead or chintz or 
cretonne, it Is trimmed with Turkey-red cotton, 
or blue, or yellow. 
Dried flowers and ferns, arranged on silk or 
fine cardboard, and covered with prepared mus¬ 
lin, to keep them from breaking off, make hand¬ 
some ornaments for lamp-shades. 
A new style of napkins and doylies come In 
white watered surface. In the center Is woven, 
In red threads, a lobster, a crab, ttlsh, or coral. 
On flowered surfaces are woven red cherries and 
other fruit. 
There are some delicate Impulses lliat a good 
woman cannot resist. She cannot help putting 
three hair-pins and a spare shoe-lace Into the first 
shaving mug she sees. Women are better than 
men In this respect. 
|lrail tug for % fl ouitj). 
TRUE BROTHERHOOD. 
An Eastern Legend. 
It was upon a Lammas nitflit 
Two brothers woke and said, 
As each upon the other's weal 
hcttuMigrht him on liia bed: 
The elder spake unto his wife, 
“ Our brother dwells aloue; 
No little babes to cheer his life, 
And helpmate hath he none. 
“Up will I xet, aud of my heap 
A sheaf bestow or twain. 
The while our Ahmed lies asleep, 
Aud wota not of the Rain.” 
So up he Rot and did address 
Himself with levin* heed. 
Before the lUwutng of the day. 
To do that gracious deed. 
Now to the youuRer, all unsought 
The same kind faucy came; 
Nor wist they of each other’s thought. 
Though moved to the same. 
“ Abdalla, he bath a wife," quoth he, 
“ Aud little babes also; 
What would bo slender boot to me. 
Will make his heart o’erllow. 
“ Up will l Ret, and of ray heap 
A sheaf bestow or twain, 
The while Abdallah lien asleep, 
And wots not of the gain." 
So up he got and did address 
Himself with loving heed. 
Before the dawning of the day, 
To mate his brother's deed ! 
Thus play’d they oft their gracious parts. 
And marvel'd oft to view 
Their sheaves still equal, for their hearts 
In love were equal too. 
One morn they met, and wondering stood. 
To see by clear daylight. 
How each upon the other’s good 
Bethought him in the night. 
So when this tale to him was brought. 
The Caliph didtdecree. 
Where twain had thought the same good thought 
There Atlub'ii house should be. 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
That Joe Steele Again. 
L’ncle Mark My father was wondering only 
last week when, If ever, we should hear frogn you 
again, and I have no doubt that, all of the oiouslna 
saw aud read your letter with pleasure. You will 
be surprised lo know that 1 did too, though your 
allusion to me, and my father’s enjoyment or It, 
annoyed me for a Tew minutes. 
There Is nothing that pleases me more t flan to 
write for the Rural and to see my letters pub¬ 
lished. That's my vanity, I suppose. If so, vanity 
Is a good thing, ror, though you might not. think 
it, i study aver my letters a great deal* and 1 
write a dozen sometimes before one sulits me. 
This improves the rnlud, the same as comptisltlon- 
wrltlug ut school, which of all my school-tasks 1 
dread most. 
All of the Cousins’ letters Interest mo—some for 
one reason, some for another. To read them 
makes me wish that the Cousins were acquainted 
with one another In reality, as well as through 
letters. Would It not be pleasant If we coukl all 
meet at, a surprise parly, aud then see If we should 
like each other as well as we think we would ? H 
Is a pretty easy tiling lo write letters, especially 
when one has nis mother or father to help him, 
as Is the fact, 1 think, with some of the Cousins. 
But, face to face, “ every tub ” (not meaning that 
the Rural cousins are tubs, of course, but figura¬ 
tively speaking) “ must stand on its own bottom," 
and those whose letters are the most popular In 
the Rural, might be those who at a Rural Sur¬ 
prise Party would sit up in a corner and twist 
thulr thumbs. 
Well, dear cousins, 1 suppose some 'of you live 
In cities. I am sorry lor those. We have had 
here suow a foot or more deep since last Fall; but 
the sleighing has been glorious. Besides, It will 
soon be Spring, and then, while you open your 
eyes upon brick houses and narrow [streets, we 
have the green fields and woods and spring flow¬ 
ers and birds everywhere to make us Irnppy. 
Adieu for this time, and I hope. Uncle Mark, 
that you and Uncle True— who, by the way, does 
not answer the plain question of one of the 
Cousins as to how old he la—will give all the space 
you can to the letters of the Rural Cousins.— Jok 
Steele. 
-- 
A Pennsylvania Ctrl. 
Dear Editor :—Having read with great pleas¬ 
ure the many letters In your paper, and thinking 
I should like to become one of the Cousins, l have 
concluded to write to you. If it don’t please the 
boys they need not read it. My father subscribed 
for your paper a short time ago, aud I think It la 
the best paper we have ever taken. I like that 
part which Is devoted to the young folks tbe best, 
and think It will be both useful and Interesting 
to us. The letters have all been entertaining so 
far, aud I hope they will continue to be so. I 
think the boys are almost too hard on the girls; 
but don’t give up girls, and we shall come out as 
good as they, l think It is all right for girls to 
piece quilts; It takes up the little scraps. 1 hope 
we shall have some more poetry. I think Yocno 
Poet’s last verse was very good. Perhaps you 
will hear some other time from—LU jsy. 
From the Town of Cremation. 
dear Cousins I suppose that a great many of 
you have heard about this little city of cremation, 
Dr. Lkmotne and his cremation furnace, which Is 
built upon Gallos Hill. The Doctor is a very nlee- 
looklug old mun, with silvery-white hair and 
whiskers. Did any of the cousins ever see him, 
and do you believe In cremation? When my 
cousin Jib S. was a boy about t hree years old, his 
mother was telling film about Adam and Eve. and 
about Goo causing a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, 
and taking one of his ribs and making a woman. 
Jimmie sat still for a long time, looking very 
thoughtrul. By-and-by he said: 4 ‘Mamina, was 
Eve all bone?" It will soon be time to plant 
seeds. Will not some of the cousins correspond 
with me about flowers and exchange seeds?— 
Wild Fern, Washington, Pa , 
An Ohio Ctrl’s Single Pet. 
Dear Cousins:— I thought I would write to the 
Rural. I am making a scrap book. I cut some 
pieces out of the Rural and pasted them Into an 
old book. My papa has taken the Rural tor nine 
years. 1 am ton years old. I go to school and 
study common branches and map drawing this 
term. I have got. a baby brother, nine months 
old. Uls name Is WiLUK; ho Id all the pet T h.tve. 
I live on a farm, and have good times picking up 
hickory nuts and chestnuts. We have a great 
many flowers In tho summer time, and some in 
winter. 1 agree with Bbllk E. F. about piecing 
quilts. I have pieced two; but I make them out 
of small pieces. 1 like to read the letters In the 
Rural. Perhaps I will Write again some time 
and tell about our flowers.-- Edith A. II. 
A Boy of Freedom. 
Dear Rural I never wrote a letter to you be¬ 
fore. I think Wuoisit Is quite spicy In Ills letter. 
I wonder If It is as bad tn New York as It Is here. 
I cannot ste.p out of doors without going Into the 
slush above my ankles. I have been chopping 
wood and 1 got my feet wet; and us I could do 
nothing else, 1 thought I would write to the 
Rural.. Although I am a boy, l can say with 
Ada C. that I have pieced three quilts, and am 
proud of It. l live almost In tbe “backwoods,” 
being ten miles from a railroad station. 1 did not 
go to the Centennial, as Fern did, but father and 
( mother went, and they liked ll very much. I am 
j saving money for the next one ; I mean to lay up 
a shilling every mouth. John uusticus, Jr. 
A I3-Yenr Older. 
Dear Editor:— I hope that this, my first letter, 
l will not be thrown Into the waste basket. Last 
winter I caught two muskrats and paid for my 
trap. I don’t, think 1 will trap any this winter. 
1 go to school In Winter, but work on a farm In 
isummer. I live on a farm two and a-lmir miles 
oort,beast, of I.a Porte. 1 had a pig, but, sold 11 last 
tell. 1 put. In one-hair an acre of wheat In Mep- 
tanber, and It looks finely. 1 expect to have to 
•wvrlc twelve acres of corn Ibis summer, for my 
father is getting old. l have not noticed the let¬ 
ters much, but there was a question of the cold¬ 
est city In North America. It 1» Upernavlk (pro¬ 
nounced Ooperuavlk). i was thirteen years old 
last July.— w. h. H. 
A New Franklin (O.) Boy. 
Dear Editor :—I have been a reader of the let¬ 
ters from the boys and girls, and am well pleased 
with them. I am a genuine Buckeye boy, and live 
■on a farm In Eastern Ohio. I will try to answer 
1 Lillian’s question. The first English Bible was 
ipriuted In the United States in 1771-2, In small 
duodecimo form and brevier type. Now, Rural 
Cousins, I wilt ask a question, and would like to 
iave an answer: W no was tho Queen of Sheba 
Hi at Is spoken of In the Bible?— t. e. b. 
A Now York Clrl. 
Dear Cousins :- 1 see my other letter was put 
In print, so I thought I would write again, and 
answer some questions in the Rural. 1 think If 
H. C. V. bad known what the hottest town was, 
ho would have told us. Well, I will try to answer 
Blue J acket’s question. I think If a man start 
at Cape Horn and sail directly east, he would ar¬ 
rive at Cape Horn first.. Answer to friend May: 
It was Zaochkus. Now ror a question: Where 
was Moses going when he was full eighteen ?— 
u. w. _ 
From Friendship, Allegany Co., N. Y. 
Dear Editor This Is my first attempt to write 
for the Rural. I would like to be numbered with 
i the Cousins, l am a little farmer boy, and live 
, four miles from a village, lit the summer 1 draw 
, ; milk to the factory and help do all kinds ot work 
; | on the farm. T can harness a horse. I have sev- 
! ?ra! pets, including a little calf and five cats. I 
jl am found of reading the Rural and the letters 
;| from the dear cousins.—t . r. 
From Jennie Turner. 
Dear Editor: — 1 have never written to the 
Rural before, bur, maybe If you publish tills you 
will hear from me again. I was at my sister s 
visiting and made out a couple puzzles, and she 
wanted me to send them to the Rural, so I will 
try aud send a poor letter with them, for I am not 
capable of writing a very good one. X live in the 
country, and enjoy a great deal of out-door life. 
1 am twelve years old. I have three sisters and 
one brother. My brother Ls grown up and gone 
to California. I have one sister older that myself 
and two younger. My oldest sister Is married, 
and her husband takes your valuable paper.— 
Jennie turner. 
[The answers sent by Jennie are correctly ren¬ 
dered.— Uncle True.] 
