APRIL 21 
THE BUBAL NEW-YOBKER 
IN THE SUNSHINE. 
My cottage is low-browed and homely. 
But my windows are bravo with bloom, 
And the opulent sun pours tiis riches 
Into my narrow room; 
Wide oi*t'U l throw my lattice, 
Aud out fly Borrow and gloom. 
Your mansion, my lady, is stately 
And grand ns a potentate's, 
While fortune, w ith hands o’erbrlmmingf, 
On your lightest caprices waits; 
And slaves to your idlest fancies 
Are all within yoov gates. 
Your windows with costliest drapings 
Are shaded—the veriest tomb 
Is your grand snlen, where the sunshino 
Ne\er pierces the stifling gloom— 
Where the spirit of darkness sits brooding, 
Aud robs you of beauty and bloom. 
Oh! I envy you not tny lady, 
With your email world at your feet; 
You may riot in splendor and pleasure, 
But give me the sunshine sweet. 
That makes of my cottage a palace, 
for a kingly presence meet. 
[Host Stand toll, in Boston Transcript. 
- --- 
FRETTING WIVES. 
Constant dropping wears away a stone, and a tn 
peevish wife will destroy the temper of the best s0 
husband living. It Is a pity that a number of 
good ladles do not see this, the probability being w 
that, if they did they and their mates would enjoy i:1 
greater happiness than falls to their share, 
l’robahly more misery results from fretful wives ot 
than any other cause, ft is comparatively easy, w 
says the J.lberal Review, to got on comfortably ,. £ 
with a passionate person, provided that one n , 
understands that person's character, bo l It 18 next rn 
to hopeless to look for peace where one Is tied lo I w 
an Individual of the “nagging” order. There p 
are times, no doubt, when one Is able to make f ( 
light of her querulousnpsa, and laugh at her ai 
grumblings, but then t here are others when those 
Jar with the most exquisite discord upon the soul. 
The man who Is low spirited, who Is perplexed 
and worried by a day In which business has been 
trying and unsatisfactory, when ho reaches his 
home longing for solace and sympathy, Is not Ina U 
position to havo a catalogue of grievances, tor a 
which he Is unjust ly held to be directly or IndL- o 
rectly responsible, poured Into his ear, l t 
The inhfortune Is, however, that a fretful wife e 
attacks Uer lord at all seasons, and so at last » 
compels him to lower his standard of hnperturba- i 
blllty and rival her In lrrllahleness. When she c 
has succeeded lu doing this, the chances arc that i 
she makes herself additionally miserable upon $ 
the score of the sharp words to which he treats | 
her. No doubt Blm derives a great deal ot satis- l 
faction from the reflection that she Is a poor. 111- I 
used, long-Buffering martyr; but this must be I i 
small comfort to the remorseless tyrant who, one i 
Is sometimes led to believe, spends his days In re- 1 i 
gardlng her with a callousness which Is positively 
brutal, but who Is, In a general way, not nearly so 
formidable a person us lie Is made to appear. I 
Probably, Indeed, t his person is disposed in resent 
the self-importance with which she airs her 
martyrdom, aud exhibits his powers as a despotic 
tyrant. At any rate. In the mujorlty of cases he 
can hardly fall to see the Irony of the situation, 
and to reflect bitterly thereon. Despotic tyrant 
though he Is reputed to be, he knows very well 
that he has comparatively little authority in his 
own house, albeit that he Is, nominally, the head 
thereof. Bitter experience has taught him that 
If ho ventures to chide Ids children, he will prob- I 
ably be pulled up sharply, while, If ho presumes 
to Indulge In any way without, having first re¬ 
ceived the maternal sanction, he will scarcely 
fall to he told that he Is utterly spoiling them. 
it Is pretty much the same In reference to his 
servants. Yet. with strange inconsistency, his 
better-half la continually urging him to do terrlhle 
things with both her children and her servants, 
upon the plea that she can do nothing with them, I 
the former, especially, being past her control. 
Presumably she spends tier life In slavlug upon 
hts behalf. At auy rate, If she does not her oft- 
repeated and most earnest declarations are ilili'O- I 
liable. Vet, if he presumes to hint that her 
domestic management Is not quite perfect—that I 
his dinner, for Instance, might he more to his 
liking, and that his household hills might advan¬ 
tageously he lighter—she Is up In arms at once, 
and he learns that It Is useless to try to please 
him, and that, though he Is unable to appreciate 
a good thing, all the rest of the world (herself In¬ 
cluded) arc very properly convinced, that she la 
one of the very best, though one of the most 111- 
requltced, managers of a house and homo living. I 
Then, again, tf he has done something, or heard 
something, or seen something, which he falls to 
tell her—perhaps because he deems It unimpor¬ 
tant, perhaps because he forgets all about the | 
matter—and a knowledge of what he has done 
comes to her ears, straightway she sinks to tho 
gloomiest depths of despair. She bewails over 
the circumstance that she enjoys not his confi¬ 
dence, much though she deserves to do so, and 
draws many dismal comparisons between the way 
in which she and a number of other less deserving 
wives are treated. In short, she is never without 
a grievance—even the cut of her husba art's coat or 
the color of his trousers will supply her with one, 
and she takes very good care that her grievances 
shall be displayed to the best advantage. 
A fretful wife Is, however, more than a mere 
manufacturer of grievances, she being one of the 
most severely critical persons extant. Her chll- 
I dren are cvcrlast ingly writhing under the lash of 
her satire and Invective—which she can use with 
great energy for an astonishingly long time—while 
her poor husband Is continually exposing himself 
to her taunts and stern admonitions. In what 
way they offend, and In what way he out rages the 
proprieties, It is not easy to Indicate, owing to the 
met that the grounds upon which she bases lmr 
observations are often so mleroscople that they 
are patent to no senses except her own. As a 
matter ot fact, she is one of the large class of 
people who make themselves miserable by trot¬ 
ting over trivialities which would look ridiculous 
li they were set down upon paper, and tier life Is 
made up of petty troubles, any one of which 
would seem absurd It It. were described and stated 
to be a trial, hut, which, when they are added to¬ 
gether and carefully made the most of, may pos¬ 
sibly constitute a respectable stmt total of misery. 
At all events, for the credit of the fretting ladles, 
It is to ho hoped so. 
Those who have sat at a dinner-table or in a 
room with a thoroughly peevish wife know how 
she can mako her miseries as she goes along, ap¬ 
parently out Of nothing at all, and how Intensely 
disagreeable she can render herself. These per¬ 
sons will uot be surprised at the fact, that her 
husband becomes prone to neglect her society, 
and thereby supplies her with a real grievance. 
The wonder would be If he. always took kindly to 
sharing bis domestic hearth with her. and became 
passionately enamoured of the occupation of es¬ 
corting her from place to place, about, t he lack or 
Inclination which he displays In tills direction 
severe complaints arc so often made. 
After all, ft is uot surprising that many hard- 
worked men ilnd It more pleasant to Join social 
circles the members of which, whatever t hey may 
think, never suy disagreeable things to each 
other, than it Is to stay at home and listen to the 
whines of women about mailers of which they 
cannot see the Importance and In which they do 
not take the slightest Interest. Though husba nds 
may wish to put up with the Infirmities of their 
wives they are but human, and when they receive 
provocation must, in some cases, tender a more 
forcible than polite mark of their disgust of the 
^failing for t|c goititg. 
THE CHILDREN. 
Bt MliS. LORETTA V.. KNAl’P TURNER. 
Tins children awake In the morning 
Just at the break of day, 
And a rout, where much disaster 
Attends the mimic fray, 
Is fought ere they leave their chamber, 
With pillows ior weapons dire; 
And instead of slain ami wounded. 
There ja soiled anil torn attire. 
They bound with a rush down the stairway, 
With a shout they’re away out of doors, 
With a heart, as tray aud gleosomo 
As the lark which upward soars; 
And all day long they are trooping 
Through barn, and woods, and Helds, 
Learning the wonderful Iriv ous 
Which Nature, ever reveals. 
They lie on the grass in the woodland. 
And list to the murmuring streams, 
And glance through the archway of leaflets. 
Where the golden sunshine gleams; 
Then they rush liku ail untamed savage. 
To the tleld where the stock is fed, 
And they ride tho horses bure-hlK'k. 
Aud fall unharmed ou Mioir head. 
They come with such wondrous questions, 
Ho startling, queer aud strauge, 
Requiring ft savant's wisdom 
To answer ID all their range; 
They meet you with strange devices, 
Unheard-of thoughts and ways,— 
Kaeh day briugs new surprises, 
In thought and work and plays. 
North Fairlleui, 0. 
-- 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
A HEALTHY MIND. 
If our temperament do not, make us naturally 
cheerful, we must, cultivate those habits of mind 
and body that seem moat favorable to the growth 
ot this happy state of feeling. We must, keep Our 
mind open to these cheerful Impressions, and 
close It to those that are gloomy. Wc must avoid 
solitude, and keep with our kind, and be sociable. 
Wo must not give ourselves up lo gloomy thoughts 
of the future and draw pictures ot want and 
misery In our old ago, but pluck up hearts ot 
and go about our dully task rejoicing. 
Burton gives .Esop's old fable :-Tho hares once, 
tired of living ever In fear of the huntsman and 
hound, went 111 a body to a pond to drown them¬ 
selves, but a host of frogs showed such terror at, 
the sight of these novel visitors that the hares, 
seeing they wore creatures mote timid 1 and 
wretched than themselves, felt their spirits revive 
and wont home rejoicing. I do not know, how¬ 
ever, that it becomes us to allow the greater 
misery ot others to bo a source of comfort to our¬ 
selves. And, if wo must not build up imaginary 
terrors, so wo must not too much dread thosc 
changes that we cannot, escape. He that tears 
death dtoth many times over. Bacon says, “ Men 
fear death as children roar to go Into t he dark, and 
as that natural fear lu children Is Increased with 
talcs so Is the other/' Providence has made the 
way easy for our exit from this stage, and the 
actual transition from live to death Is seldom 
painful. The undue fear of death Is a cause of 
melancholy, and to be cast off If possible. Again, 
wo have all our little Ills that wc magnify. Burton 
would have us think Of the foxes, who, when they 
were going about lamenting the loss or their tails, 
which they hart saei ltlced to a temporary caprice 
of fashion, were reproved by the molewarp or 
mole, “Why this fuss; look at me, I arn blind." 
There arc certain evils and passions whoso very 
names or familiar surnames show them to he 
deadly enemies to health, arid diligently to no 
shunned. “ Tumultuous Strife." “ cruel Revenge," 
•‘heartburning Hate," “green or gnawing Jeal¬ 
ousy,” "wan Despair,” "sharp Remorse." They 
leave a se.ared track lu the bruin, and they mai 
r,be features, for every expression Is said to leave 
Its stamp on the face. 
-- — - +-*-+• - 
JEALOUSY. 
JKAI.OUSY Is such a stupid, Illogical passion! 
Somebody Ukes you better than me; therefore,! 
arn to hate you. Thus Jealousy reasons, and 
seems to forget one of the most obvious facts lo 
life— namely, that one is liked by any person ac¬ 
cordingly as one presents a likeable appearance 
to that person. Nothing can prevent the opera¬ 
tion of this natural law. It Is no good your urg¬ 
ing that you arc the father, mother, brother, slu¬ 
ice, husband, or lover of the person by which you 
wish to he supremely loved. If you are not lov¬ 
able to him, or her, all argument, all exhorta- 
tlmi, all passion is throw o away which la In¬ 
tended to produce love. You can force the out¬ 
ward show, but not the Inward feeling. A jealous 
person will exclaim: “ Why don't you con Arte In 
me ? ” Tho real answer is: “ Y ou are not a per¬ 
son t.o be confided in; ’■' and all claims for confi¬ 
dence come to nothing when confronted with that 
Important fact. Jealousy is, therefore, the pecu¬ 
liar vlco ot stupid people.— Sir Arthur iMps. 
Tho toilet of a French woman of fashion must 
be faultless on the street, but at home, lu the 
morning, you would ilnd Uer In a slovenly attire 
more disgusting than attractive. 
From Young Editor No 2. 
Scattered RITUALISTS i—11 has boon some tlmo ri 
since first I entered your peaceful realm. During * 
all rills time, l have looked on, In the fOle of c 
a "disinterested spectator.” Rut so warm has 
grown tho contest ot varied opinions, And so limit¬ 
ed the war of words, that 1 have again the “au¬ 
dacity" to join the hand of —but, etc., etc. 1 n 
observe new heroes, too, have arisen above the o 
troubled waters to help light the battle, among t 
whom Is a veritable “Boi-Oman SAr.” May ho t 
uot he vanquished by feminine slabs! Well, what I 
will they say of Yotxu Pout’s effusions? I, for i 
one, think they are quite creditable to the verdant < 
hard. (By rerdaat, I don’t mean green, hut use It • 
as a figure of speech moaning npnmtlnQ.) "Short ■ 
and spent ' is tho watchword. Wc cal) for more. 
STORM Is strong In Ids ticlletjs. 1 think 1 hoar the 
omens of battle STWtLE-lug o’er me. Wuoisit Is a 
candidate to be (w)hols’t(ed). Wo should Score 
one for the Roy for his lecture. Evidently, Miss 
151 ,,:B JAV is quite put out with that nameless 
" impudent young friend." I suppose the reason 
he didn’t sign Ida name was because he wished 
somebody to give him one; still I am not author¬ 
ized Lo speak ror him. The financial condition ot 
things hi general aud particular la precarious, l. e., 
these arc hard limes. In consequence of which, 
every department of business takes a quota of 
suffering—newspapers Included. That great un¬ 
known paper, whoso name many have Mouth, Is 
not excluded from this list. For the present It. 
has .suspended -hut not forever. In the mean¬ 
time, I subscribe myself—Y ouno Editor No. 8, at 
Sunny Lund. 
A Word for Books. 
Dkar Cousins of tub Rural:—I want to say a 
word to you about books. In almost all places of 
any size there are now circulating libinties, to 
which you can all go for Information at little ex¬ 
pense. But for this reason don’t be obliged lo 
read all -good and bad—for life Is altogether too 
short. Take hooks for pleasure, but don’t forget 
to take them also for lulormatlon. Read the 
Peat, and be careful to rpad /'nteresting ones. That 
is very Important. Now, I know there arc books 
with nothing hut Information between the two 
covers; but they are tendbiu Wry. Dcmt’tryto 
worry through them, for they won’t do you a hit 
of good; and then don’t forget thread books suit¬ 
able for your age. You have to grow to some 
books. 1 remember, when ycry small, I tried to 
road and enjoy Dickens’works; but I failed mis¬ 
erably. in a very row years I learned to read 
them with profit. Read stories of boys and girls 
of your own age. Head Mrs. Whitney’s books, 
Oliver Optic’s, and some ot those you know lo be 
fjuod. Don’t be discouraged because you'd rather 
read these to any history. It does not show a 
very weak mind; but try to read both solid and 
light reading, uud It will greatly help you. Now 
■ don’t try to go to the library and take the tlrst 
! book you see. Have your list, ready before you go 
then you may feel certain that you won’t fee, 
. “cross all over ’’ after you've finished your boolq 
i l enjoy the letters very much, even though I am 
. older than the majority of you, and l wish t 
. thank om* of you for the suggestion or writing to 
. noil something— fancy work, or anything to help 
. us. Cilrls and boys, flx up your rooms, take » 
5 pride in It, and tell the other cousins how you did 
i it. Your “old maid” Cousin.—F rances A. 
East, wc were under the magic effulgence ot a 
California sunshine, and at any time during the 
winter t could have gathered a bouquet ot flow- 
el's. l have visited San Francisco and Sacramen¬ 
to, and other places of leaser note. I have also 
been on the big water, and seen many ships rrom 
foreign countries, one meets with adventurers 
hero from all parts ot tho earth, though 1 seldom 
meet with any of my tribe. I have been ou tho 
Coast Range, and also on tho sierra Nevada 
Mountains, l will not attempt to describe tho 
scenery, but will only say it Is grand, in August 
we visited tho snowy peaks of tho Sierra Nevada, 
whore the snow was 8 or 10 feet deep. I gathered 
a bouquet, of wild flowers within a rew feet of the 
snow, which was so packed anil frozen that our 
weight made no impression on It. From there 
the scenery was Just splendid. We, had a tine 
view of Lawson's Hutto, a noted mountain, while 
away off was old Mount Shasta. I Know ho Is 
old, for his head is white and Is said to ho tho 
highest point In California, except one. 1 will 
sometime tell you about tho gold mines.—W ild 
rosk._ 
From a Sunny Southern Clrl. 
Dear Rural:— I have written twice to tho 
Rural, but It was some time ago, and I do not 
know whether you will now admit mo as one of 
tho Cousins. Wo have boon taking tho Rural 
for several years. 1 like to road the letters of tho 
boys and girls, l would write oOener myself, 
but do not have the Mina lo spare. Now, T sup¬ 
pose some of tho Cousins are ready to laugh at 
the idea of my having no time, but 1 will tell 
them the reason: t go to school and have a great 
many studies, which I havo to learn perfectly be¬ 
fore school - Mine, and, besides helping mother 
with housowork, I have to attend the younger 
children. Still, l have pieced nearly four quilts. 
We have had a very cold winter here—tho coldest 
known lu Georgia—and very good slelgh-rldlng, 
which was something of a novelty here. 1 t hink 
l should like alclgh-iKltng, although I have never 
, tried it. 1 am afraid my letter ts loo lengthy, and 
, 3 nall now close with remarking that If this Is ac- 
r copied, I shall write again.—P a punk. 
Just Sea What Can be Done. 
Dkar Editor: one happy result of a few pleas¬ 
ant, rides and calls Is, that l am now the possessor 
of the long-wished-for Dictionary. While I shall 
take delight In tUatwhtoh has come to me, 1 shall 
tver be thankful to you for the opportunity you 
gave me or securing so valuable a prize. W lshlng 
you a. golden harvest, and the continued pleasure 
of doing great good, I am, yours truly—L. M. l’,, 
Indianapolis. _ 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
II. II. Plaster, Reedshurg, Wayne Co., Ohio, 
desires the rule or method of solution for the 
Philosophical Problem in Rural of March IT. It 
Is a question ot mechanical force, the arm being 
the lover and the shoulder the fulcrum; and rite 
proportion of power to resistance, In any kind of 
lover, to produce equilibrium is reckoned In tho 
Inverse proportion of the distance of these forc.es 
from the fulcrum ; tlm Weight multiplied Into the 
distance from the. fulcrum being equal to the 
power multiplied into Its distance from the sumo 
point, Tho weight in the problem referred to 
being sixteen times Lius dlstauco from the fulcrum 
(shoulder) of that or the power, therefore tho latter 
must be sixteen l imes the weight or tlm former. 
Correct solutions to various Puzzles have been 
received trom Ella S. Drake, W lucliestcr, < onu., 
Mrs. Lucy Fkndgrson, owego, N. V., aud Geokok 
Pm kkson, North Ridge, N. Y. 
-•«-- 
ANNIE STEWARD’S RIDDLE. 
We have received several solutions of tho Rid¬ 
dle published March 3d, accompanied with re¬ 
quests to pass our opinion upon and Inform our 
correspondents It cither are correct. Without 
knowing the true answer, wo venture tho opinion 
that none of those yet received will successfully 
compete tor the reward. Omitting the methods— 
gome of which are amusing as well as ingenious 
—we give the results obtained: 
Mrs. Chah. Martin, North Jackson, Pa., thinks 
the ancient city referred to Is Jerusalem. 
KVA L. tk, Wellington, O., makes the initials 
spell Montgomery. 
JOHN D- odor, cariboo, Kas., Is ot the opinion 
that it Is Cousinnllnople. 
--«»» 
CHARADE. 
Out of my first I looked one night, 
To see If the bird rny second had found ; 
When by the clear and calm moonlight 
I saw my whole was homeward hound. 
irr Answer In two weeks. J - B - (} - 
-*♦«-- 
WORD-SQUARE ENIGMA. 
l. An animal. 2. Part of a knife. 3. A fever. 
4. Water plant. w - c * 
Srsr - Answer In two weeks. 
Wild Rose Returns ! Read ! ! 
Do the Rural boys and girls remember little 
Wild Rosk, the Indian girl ? I am now away off 
on the golden shores of California, wlvrc I hav -> 
been for t,he past two years. I havo grown to be 
a young lady now, and you would not recognize 
mens i he little Indian gill of live years ago. 
think this the most pleasant country in the Unite 
States. While the past winter was so cold In the 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.—April 7. 
Hidden States and Territories.—1, Minnesota; 
•i lvim u lv»u)n, X Arkansas ; I, California j. Arizona; 
Li«iii‘iaua: 7, Kansas: H, Georgia: P, Alabama. 1', 
North CarollU* : 11. Smith Carolina . 12, Rhode Iflanjl; 
Msssachnmtts'. M. Kc.v Jirxsy I*», houtueky; 16, 
Teuucssop.; 17, Virginia: is, AI-cDItrun: 1ltiiilio; 20, 
Wymuius; 21. Washington, 22, NftW York; 23. Wla- 
(onsln. 
< 'i. kSHTCM. Knicj ma Prosperity begets smiles which 
udvoraily changer, to lrowim. 
