f Q* 
GENTEEL LIVING. 
She wears a ten-button glove. 
Her hand is shapely and small, 
The gentleman falls in love 
With the lady fair and tall. 
He toys with the little hand, 
So beautiful, soft and fair. 
And asks if in spirit land 
Such delicate bands they wear. 
She scorns all honest toil, 
Owns time at ten per cent— 
Those hands she need not soil, 
With ma o’er the wash-tub bent. 
She sleeps, whenever she feels 
Too weary to rock and read ; 
Ala rests while she darns her heels. 
And tendslto every need. 
She marries a genteel man. 
He marries a genteel girl; 
She worries him all she can,— 
They live in a genteel whirl. 
[State Journal. 
- « > t 
KATE CLAXTON’S ESCAPE. 
Miss Kate Claxton, the public will be glad to 
learn, escaped from the hotel and likewise escaped 
Injury. This poptdar young actress, It will be re¬ 
membered, hart a very narrow escape upon the 
occasion of the Brooklyn disaster. Upon another 
occasion a panic occurred at a theater In Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., during the performance, and Miss 
C lax to n was them In Imminent danger ot losing 
her life. IIer hairbreadth escapes In the past.have 
been detailed 1 n the columns of the press through¬ 
out, the country, and a wide public interest has 
attached to the you ng lady, independently of her 
professional reputation. 
A St- Louis Times reporter visited her recently 
at the Llndell Hotel, In that city, with a view of 
gathering her experience at the fearful hotel dis¬ 
aster which lately occurred there. She was suf¬ 
fering from nervous prostration, and was much 
distressed regarding Miss McClellan’s critical con¬ 
dition, but. made an effort to recount her experi¬ 
ence of the horrible night as follows: 
I left the Olympic Theater Immediately after 
the performance, and returned to the hotel with 
my brother. We went into the dining-room to 
take supper, and there wc found Miss Osborn and 
Miss McClellan. Miss McClellan was so bright 
and cheerful that I was charmed with her sweet 
face and manners, little Imagining what was so 
soon to follow. Alter bidding them good-night, 1 
went up to my room on the fourth lloor, and my 
brother retired to his room on the E-ame floor. I 
sat down and read a little before going to bed, and 
everything at that time was quiet. The next 
thing that I remember was a loud knocking at the 
door. I was undressed, and had been sleeping 
some little t,tmo. In a half-stupid condition 1 turn¬ 
ed and listened, I listened again, and the knock¬ 
ing was repeated, and wltn the knocking, the 
sounds of which were far and near, came the 
dreadful shouts ol “Fire!” “Fire!" I sprang from 
the bod, and a terrible feeling of oppression came 
over me. T cannot describe It. I looked up ut the 
gas In my room, whlih was burning dimly, and 
there l saw the smoko curling around the chan¬ 
delier. Then It appeared all at once to fill the 
room, and dense clouds came through the aper¬ 
ture of the Are grate. I thought Instantly of my 
brother and rushed out, undressed aa 1 was, to 
discover his room. Meanwhile he had been dis¬ 
turbed by the noise and was approaching my 
room door. I said, “ Let us nnd the staircase or 
we shall be lost.” My brother was half dressed, 
and i reacnea across the ned to pick upsometmng 
to throw over mo. We could not find the stair¬ 
case, and the confusion and smoke and the roar 
of the m e, mingled with the most piercing and 
heart-rending screams I shall never forget. We 
were not acquainted with the hob?] arrangements, 
for It Is the common practice to ute the elevator 
In ascent and descent, and therefore could not 
find a staircase or any other means or escape. 
There were others on the same floor in the same 
terrible dilemma, hut, we could not see each other 
with the smoke. Presently we groped along and 
found a step downward; we commenced to des¬ 
cend, and what happened then I cannot say, for I 
do not distinctly remember. I have been In great, 
danger before, as you know, and I always endeav¬ 
or to maintain my composure,but the smoke that 
night stifled the senses. 
We reached, by some means or otUer, the first, 
landing ot thB ladles' staircase, on the Fifth street 
side, opposite the Olympic Theater. There was a 
great crowd ot ladles In thetr night-dresses in the 
vestibule, and some of the officials were persuad¬ 
ing them to remain, assuring them that all would 
he safe. We did not heed tbla advice, and passed 
out on the street. A way was made through the 
crowd tor us to reach the hotel opposite, and I re¬ 
mained there some time to recover myself. Thero 
I saw poor Miss McClellan brought, In. T never 
can forget It. 
■ - »■» » 
A ROMANCE OF EGYPT. 
Ismail Pasha, late the Egyptian Finance Min¬ 
ister, was a remarkable man. Originally one of 
the lowest grooms in the stables of the Khedive 
of Chosbra, his first step on the ladder of rortune 
was gained by a marriage with a liberated slave 
from the harem, who speedily Initiated him in ail 
the mysteries of that Institution, and showed him 
how by an artful use of harem Influence a clever 
man might raise himself to almost any eminence 
In the State. Ismail profited by his wife’s advice, 
cultivated the harem through her. and found him¬ 
self eventually the most powerful subject in the 
kingdom. He amassed an enormous fortune, and 
bis expenditure was lavish beyond even Oriental 
extravag>xnce. His burem w is one of the largest 
and most celebrated in the East. It consisted of 
300 women, all young and beautiful—for Ismail 
would have no women In his harem over the age 
of 30—and two corps de ballet, one of French, the 
other of Hindu girls. Every night he was con¬ 
ducted to his chamber by twenty young girls, 
clothed in fantastic and magnificent attire, blaz¬ 
ing with gold and Jewels, each carrying In her 
hand a glided taper-stick, and each taper giving 
out a different colored light. Immediately after 
his death his harem was bought, up by the rich 
Beys and Pashas, and fabulous prices wore said 
to have been paid for some of the beauties. Ills 
Jewels are computed to be worth $3,250,000, and, 
as everything is forfeited to the Khedive, that 
astute ruler will make a good thing out ot the 
death of his Finance Minister. 
- ■+*■+- - 
WOMEN’S DRESS IN LONDON. 
“ In the wildest days of the tie-back or pin-back 
mania,” writes Olive Logan from London, “ there 
never was such a tightness lu the matter of skirt 
as now prevails" In what. Is called “theeelskln 
dress." Whatever the paucity of folds In the ptn- 
back In the front part, In the enormous exuber¬ 
ance of the panler or bustle the balance was 
struck. But now, not. only Is the hustle a thing 
of horror, but even the necessary underclothing 
ts considered <te trop. To lengthen the waist far 
beyond Its natural proportions, a stiff webbing of 
elastic la fastened to the stays to the depth of 
half a foot; and to this, at first, narrow skirts 
were buttoned. But even t his la now abandoned 
for another scheme to acquire slenderness. Mrs. 
.Swiss helm'a nmch-rldlculod ehemiioon la in de¬ 
mand, and garments made In this way are sold at 
the furnishing shops, anil patterns of It, pass 
eagerly from hand to hand among lady friends. 
Some ladles have had regular stage tights made 
In thick webbing, and over these they wear noth¬ 
ing but. the outer dress, underskirts being simu¬ 
lated by pleated ruffles of whltu muslin, sewn to 
the edge or the dross, which Is then tied back till 
the woman within Is shackled almost llko a con¬ 
vict lu a chain gang. No more uncomfortable 
fashion ever was devised, tor not only are the 
limbs confined by tho binding dress, but the 
wearer must constantly concern herself about the 
condition Of the bodice, that portion being In In¬ 
cessant danger of turning Itself up behind, wrong 
side out, like an umbrella In a wind storm. 
Rafting for % goutiti. 
ABD-EL-KADER. 
Charles Wakren Stoddard, who has been ' 
traveling some months In the Orient, met the 
Algerian older, Abd-el-Kader, In Damascus. 
“ Ho now gives his whole time,” Mr. Stoddard 
says, “ to literature, aud is deeply Interested In 
Arabian poety; says that the chief modern poets 
in that tongue dwell in Damascus. Ula eyes, 
which are Inexpressibly sad, brightened as he 
touched upon this theme; but he soon relapsed 
into a mood the image of hopeless dejection. 
“ The splendid old ruin lives I n Ids tattered and 
tarnished pavilion In the paradise of the Orient, 
and dreams away his life among the choicest 
poets of his time. When bis thirty-day fast, 
comes on, he shuts himself In a room so small ho 
cannot even lie down in It, feeds sparingly upon 
bread, leeks, and olives, and sees no one during 
all the fast, not oxceptlng his wife, 
“ To my delight, when 1 begged for an auto¬ 
graph of my Illustrious host, he turned to a ser¬ 
vant who had stood near him. during our visit, 
ordered bis Ink-horn, and wheu It was produced, 
he held llm paper In his left hand, writing across 
the palm nr It as easily as If lie had never known 
anymore convenient desk. 11c wrote in a hand 
as beautiful as the tracery on a Damascus blade, 
‘ Fralso be to God alone! Air, Stoddard, In Da¬ 
mascus, ha3 this day called on me. 
“ Abd-el-Kadkr.’ ” 
-♦♦♦- 
HEALTHFULNESS OF MILK. 
If any one wishes to grow fleshy, a pint of milk 
taken before retiring at, night will soon cover the 
scrawniest bones. Although now-a-duys we see 
a good many fleshy females, there are many lean 
and lank ones who sigh tor the fashionable 
measure of plumpness, aud who would be vastly 
Improved la health and appearance could their 
Ugures bo rounded with good, solid Uesh. Nothing 
Is more coveted by thin women than a full figure, 
and nothing will rouse tho Ire and provoke the 
scandal of the “clipper builds” as the conscious¬ 
ness of plumpness in a rival. In eases of fever 
and summer complaint, milk Is now given with 
excellent results. The idea that, milk is “ fever¬ 
ish ” has exploded, and It is now the pliyslclan’s 
great reliance In bringing through typhoid pa¬ 
tients, or those In too low a state to be nourished 
by solid food. It Is a mistake to scrimp the milk 
pitcher. Take more milk ami buy less meat. 
Look to your milkman, have large-sized, well- 
fliled milk pitchers on the table each meal, and 
you also will have sound flesh and save doctor’s 
bills. 
.-- 
The Russian Minister's wife smokes clgarrettea. 
*■ My dear I” said a lady to her husband, “ what 
is cotton duck?" “Oh!” said he, nonchalantly, 
“ a kind of canvas-back.” 
A pretty Tennessee girl has patented a com¬ 
bined harrow and stalk-cutter. Most girls, how- 
1 ever, prefer to harrow us In the old way. 
GOOD COUNSEL. 
Guard. my child, t.hy tongue, 
That it speak no wrong;: 
Let no evil word pass o’er it, 
Set the watch of truth before it 
That It do no wrong— 
Guard, my child, thy tongue. 
Guard, my child, thine eyes: 
Pryincr la not wise; 
Let them look on what ie right. 
From all evil turn their sight: 
Prying Is not. wise— 
Guard, my child, thino eyes. 
Guard, my child, thine ear : 
Wicked words will sear; 
Let no evil words come in 
That may cause thy soul to sin; 
Wicked words will sear— 
Guard, my child, thine ear. 
Ear, and eye, and tongue 
Guard while thou art young 
For, alue ! these bUMy three 
Can unruly members be: 
Guard while thou art young 
Ears, and eyoB. and tongue. 
-- 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
What Motile Did. 
“ Now Moi.i.ir, do keep still ; you know that my 
headaches, and I hear nothing but mamma this 
and mamma that, all day long, t will have Ingot 
nurse to take you t.o the Park If you don’t behave. 
Now which will you do—be quiet aud sl ay In the 
house, or bo noisy and go out?” “ All right,” said 
Mollis, “ 1 guess i’ll be quiet and stay lu the 
house; but will l ask nurse to dress me?” “ Yes, 
nod tell her to put on your light dress, ’suhl her 
mother, so Molijk ran off and was soon dressed. 
Then she thought, she would tike to read her book. 
Now the book was down stairs In the dining-room, 
so down to the dining-room she went.; but she 
spied a pall of Whitewash in the kitchen, and as 
no one was there, she thought she would try her 
hand at whitewashing; suwho tuckediiphevdress 
all around and began to whitewash the kitchen 
with all her might. Her pretty little dress was 
entirely spoiled. Bridokt coining in at. that mo¬ 
ment. raised her hands In holy horror. “Ooh! 
may the sal ms have mercy on us t and la It y orsclf, 
MIsa Mom.ik? Mure, I wouldn’t have knowed ye 
but for the color of your hair. And did your mlther 
tell ye to come down here? Oob! look at your 
splendid dress all spill—what will your mltllcr 
say when slid sees ye? Como, I’ll try to fix ye 
up again.” Bhiduet brushed the shoes uff, but 
the spots would not come out, so Moi.i.iB ran sob- 
■ Til rig to her mother and said, “Oh, mamma, I 
didn’t mean to— I really didn’t mean to; I only 
thought l would like to wash the wall." Mamma 
said not hing, but undressed her and put on an old 
dress; but I do not think that she whitewashed 
the wall again, In a good dress or an old dress 
either.— Florence It. 
Musical Doves. 
Dear Cousins It Is nearly a year since I have 
written t,o the Rural, so 1 am a stranger to some 
and forgotten by many, but with youi permission 
will renew acquaintance. I see there have been 
many calls for something mw,% o If Uncle True. 
has no objection, I will tell something new (to 
me at least) aud true. Last fall my brothers had 
a present of a pair ot doves, one white and the 
other dove color. They were very young —ho 
young that they could neither fly nor feed them¬ 
selves. We kept them in a cage aud fed them by 
hand until they were able to fly. Then wa had a 
cot,ft built some distance from the house. My 
brothers had each a drum and played on them 
every day. One day they noticed that while they 
were marching to the time of the drums, the 
white dove seemed very much Interested; he 
would fly about their heads, then alighting on the 
ground, would march after thorn. After that, 
every time the boys drummed, tho dove would 
come, and follow them. To-day a large hawk 
chased our musical dove nearly half a mile. It 
was so frightened that the boys could not catch 
It to bring it home. They were afraid it would 
never return. Finally they thought of their 
drums. They went wlthlD a few rod3 of the barn 
and commenced to drum. The moment the little 
fellow heard them he flew down to the ground 
and began to march as usual. The boys marched 
home and Dovle marched after them. Now, 1 
would like to ask a question: Are birds usually 
fond of music 7 We thought It very strange that 
when both birds are equally tame, only one would 
come at the sound of the drum.—M. A. B., Rich- 
ford, or. r. _ 
boys may bark about that history, but if you do 
give them another chance, they won’t btt,e It. 
(Barking dogs never bite.) I think tho reason why 
Solomon Sap did not annex “ bead ” to hla name 
was because he had none to annex. I wish Mon¬ 
sieur Albert would tell mo his favorite poet. 
Mine Is Milton. Write again Monsieur, and let us 
know more of you. When I commenced to write 
I Intended to make peace, but, dear me, I am 
afraid I have come far short of my Intentions.— 
Mdlle Okra i,pink. 
He Will Make Hla Way. 
Dear Editor.—As you published my first letter 
I thought 1 would write again. My father has 
taken the Rural ti years, and he has every num¬ 
ber that he ever received. Wo have a sugar or¬ 
chard but It Is not very good sugar weather now. 
One man made seventy-five pounds In February. 
We had very nlco went tier in February. One man 
in this county (Outagamie wise.) sowed a field of 
spring wheat on Washington’s birthday last. 
Last spring I bought two cal vea and to-day T was 
offered $10 for one of them. Father thinks it a 
good plan for boys to earn their own spending 
money, so 1 bought the calves and pay him tor 
keeping them, and I am trying to make something 
out of them. Every summer 1 have a patch ot po¬ 
tatoes or squashes, and I am going to try to raise 
about seventy-live ducks this coming summer. 
Father takes eight newspapers, but I like tho 
Rural best of all. Like W. H. il. l go to school In 
the winter and work on a farm In the summer. I 
did not. go this winter ibough because we had a 
very poor school, and It Is hotter to stay at home 
and chop wood than to go to a poor school.— John 
Rusricus, J r. 
We Are Watching; You. 
Uncle True:— As you published my other let¬ 
ter, 1 will try again. I tiled to get up a club, but 
failed. I only got two names, which Mr. Braw- 
ner, our Griffin newsdealer, forwarded to you. 
I thought, l would get more, but as I said before, 
I tailed. 1 was trying for the microscope. We 
have had some very cold weather. New Year’s 
morning everything was covered with Ice, which 
stayed with us many a week. 1 like the letter 
from Farmer's Daughter. Think more such 
would be better thuu some wo do have. Well, U. 
W. C., 1 do not think you need Ray anything. I 
think you had better teach yourself how to speak 
to your betters. I do not doubt but that many of 
them are far superior to you, or myself either. I 
guess, from the way you write, that If you get the 
whip In your hands, tho girls will know what It Is 
when they get through—alt that don’t know now. 
T will close by saying to you—whether you like to 
hoar it, or not-that I think you had better enlist 
against something else that may be worse than 
the girls.—i,. L. K. 
. About Her Flowers. 
Dear Cousins :—I now for the first time appear 
among you as a Cousin, and request you not to be 
hard on Mr. Sac, as ho may, perhaps, be a young 
man smarting under the effects of a mitten. 
Mr. Sap should not-, however, because ho got dis¬ 
appointed, think that all girls are so very bad. I 
agree with Young Teacher about asking for In¬ 
formation, and as to that pie, I also agree with 
her. Youno artist’s letter Is splendid. Let us 
hear from her again. Cousins, suppose we all 
try to see how Interesting we cau make this cor¬ 
ner ol the Rural ? I.et each one of us tell about 
our (lowers, or anything else of Interest. I will 
go second, as Youno Ahttst has set us an exam¬ 
ple. I nave several plants, among which are my 
geraniums. I have four kinds; tho most beauti¬ 
ful are the Grape and Fish, and for a scent, the 
Rose Geranium, r have an Grunge-bush which Is 
two years old. My flowers are my greatest pets. 
Fearing that my letter Is now too long for my 
first appearance, I will postpone saying anything 
further about my plants until some other occa- 
■ ston.— Snow Flake. 
Self Praise Better than None. 
Dear Cousins :—It Is with the greatest pleas¬ 
ure that I have perused, every week, the Interest- 
| lng letters of most of the Cousins. But, I must 
confess that some Tew of them 3how an unlimited 
quantity of the most brazen impudence and the 
i most impertinent sauclness. Ot the latter class, 
, t think Solomon Sat and Hlaykkconckit, rather 
, tako the lead. Come, girls, let us unite in routing 
, these impudent, people troni our ranks. And now 
, a word about myself; T am five feet threo Inches 
l In hlght, with black eyes and fair skin, and I am 
i called handsome by good judges, if any of the 
[ Cousins want a good recipe Cor making any kind 
, of pies, cakes, custards, puddings, etc,, or some 
l pretty patterns for bedquilts, Just say so, and I 
1 will give the best 1 have.— Bkauty. 
Ivy’s Opinion of Girls. 
Dear Cousins t will now commence a lerter 
Wel i S I N 0 ver :! to the Kckal Cousins, as the girls are trying hard 
What! I keep Mill! No. It is very unlike me to get the upper hand. I live on a farm In tho 
to sit down and hold my peace, when the blaze is state of Now York, aud lovo the rarin dearly, 
so high, that there is danger ot the roor taking Come 1 Come 1 Boys, why do you not stop up and 
flro. I was very much pleased with Belle E. F. have A word to say, and not let tho girls do all the 
when 1 first saw her Independence, and her wish writing? The girls are the most unreliable of 
not to be one of the agreeing cousins, but when human beings—they are so deceiving and their 
Storm came out. aud agreed with her In every- minds are so whimsical. You cannot tell when 
thing, even In the description of self, and she was they are in earnest. I hope to hear from Storm 
willing to give her hand to him; my opinion of and the Editor soon. In answer to Youno Teach- 
ber changed. Miss Belle, I will ask you a ques- er’s question, Tin was first discovered In Holland, 
tlon similar to the one you asked Y. 1C. How ivy. 
much did Storm give you for liking him? If I - 
should send a description of myseir to tho Rural, Information Wanted, 
and some young gentleman should say that It was Dear Cousins As 1 have a few spare moments 
just the description of hltuself, T would want, to I guess that I will write you a rew lines, to let you 
toll blm, what my opinion was of hla self flattery, know that the boys are uot, all dead. 1 hope that 
Cousins If you want Storm and Belle E. T. to | the Si.ayerokconckit la mistaken about the frogs, 
like you, Just agree with them. Unde Truk, the 1 Y. B. and Y. E.’s Jumping out of the puddle. As 
