THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
others till they fainted and entirely forgetting 
that children lmd any right* whatever, till they 
yelled a sharp reminder. They Intruded into the 
reserved seats, climbed npon railings and statues. 
I saw one man make a rapid descent dragging an 
arm from one of the statues and the floor was 
strewn with broken seats—those pretty seats that 
did such good service all last year! 1 wonder If It 
occurred to the managers that by elevating the 
speaker’s stand so that all could see, they would 
have prevent ed the noise and disorder. Most of 
the people came there to see the President and If 
they railed It was not because they didn't try. 1 
am glad that. I lived to tell you It was a success, 
though not Just what we bad dreamed of. 
“ Aquadale.” C. Estelle Peirce. 
^railing for tbx Jloung. 
REUBEN RAMMER. 
O have you heard Of Reuben Hammer, 
The little fellow that would stammer ? 
He talked at such a head long rate 
That at l.v<t ho got throujrb Stammering Gate. 
If frllowB will talk madly fast, 
They coma to Stuttering Gate at last; 
Some, boys take wnming and they pause,— 
Not thus with Reuben Rammer't was. 
He made a plunge, dashed past the bar, 
He went, on stuttering fast and far; 
And what was the result ? Why, now 
He speaks no better than a cow. 
He has boon trying,-how absurd ?— 
For several months to ppoak a word; 
His month works open like a door. 
His arm goes like a Hemaphox-e. 
He strives to say what he desires; 
His Jaws Jolt up like Jaws on wires; 
But Reuben Rammer could not speak 
When last I saw him this day week ! 
How awkward to be driven to use 
A pencil to express your views. 
Try to say “ Hallo, Johnny Brown !” 
And yet be forced to write it down ! 
-4-*-e- 
THE KING AND THE LOCUSTS. 
A STORY WITHOUT AN END. 
There was a certain king, who, like many 
other kings, was very fond or hearing stories tokl. 
To this amusement lie gave up all his time; but 
yet he was never satlsned. All the exertions of 
all his courtiers were in vain. The more he 
hoard, the more he wanted to hear. At last he 
made a proclamation, that If any maD would tell 
him a story that would last forever ho would 
make him his heir, and give him the princess, his 
daughter, In marriage; but It any one should 
pretend lie had such a story, but should fall— 
that Is, if the story did come to an end—hewas to 
have his head chopped off. 
For such a rich prize as a beautiful princess and 
a kingdom many candidates appeared, and dread¬ 
fully long stories some of them told. Some lasted 
a week, some a month, some six months. Poor 
fellows! They atl spun out as long as they could, 
you may be sure; hut all In vain. Sooner or later 
they all came to an end, and, one after the other, 
the unlucky story-tellers had their heads chopped 
off. 
At last came a man who said that he had a 
story which would last forever, if Ills majesty 
would he pleased to give him a trial. 
He was warned ot hts danger. They told him 
how many others had tried and lost their heads; 
but he said he was not. afraid, and so he was 
brought before the king, lie was a man of a very 
composed and deliberate manner of speaking, 
and, after making all requisite stipulations for 
time for his earing, drinking, and sleeping, he 
thus began his story : 
11 0 king! there was once a king who was \ 
great, t yrant, and, desiring to increase Ills riches, 
he seized upon all the corn and grain In his king¬ 
dom, and put II Into an Immense granary, which 
he built on purpose, as high as a mountain. 
“ This he did for several years, till the granary 
was quite full up to the top. lio then stopped up 
doors and windows, and closed It up fast, on all 
sides. 
“ But, the bricklayers had, by accident, left, a 
veru small hole hear the lop of the granary. And 
there came a flight of locusts, and tried to get, at 
the corn; but the hole was so small that only 
one locust, could pass through It at a time. So one 
locust went in amf carried off one grain of corn; 
and (hen another locust went In and carried off 
another grain or corn; and then another locust 
went in and carried off another grain of corn; 
and then another locust went in and carried off 
another grain of corn; and then another locust 
went in and carried off another grain of corn; 
and then another locust wont in and carried off 
another grain of corn; and theu another locust 
went in and carried off another grain of corn—” 
He had gone on thus from morning till night 
(except while he was engaged at his meals) for 
about a month, when tJie king, though a very pa¬ 
tient king, began to he rather tired of the locusts, 
and Interrupted Ills story with: “ Well, well, we 
have had enough of the locusts. We will sup¬ 
pose that they have helped themselves to all the 
corn they wanted. Toll us what happened after¬ 
ward.” 
To which the story-t eller answered deliberately: 
“ If it please your majesty, It Is Impossible to tell 
you what happened afterward before I have told 
you what, happened first.” And so he went on 
again: "And then another locust went In and 
carried off another grain of corn; and then an¬ 
other locust went in and carried off another grain 
of corn; and then another locust went In and 
carried off another grain of corn.” 
The king listened with admirable patience six 
months more, when he again Interrupted him 
with: “ O friend ! I am weary of your locusts. 
How soon do you think they will have done 7 ” 
To which the story-teller made answer: “O 
king! who can tell? At, the time to which my 
story hag come the locusts have clean-d away a 
small space. It may he a cubit, each way round 
the Inside of the hole, and the air Is still dark 
with locusts on all sides; but let t.be king have 
patience, and, no doubt, we shall come to the end 
of them in lime." 
Thus encouraged, the king listened on for an¬ 
other full year, the story-teller going on as be¬ 
fore: “And then another locust went In and car¬ 
ried ofl another grain of corn ; and then another 
locust went, In and carried off another grain of 
corn; and then another locust went in and car¬ 
ried off mmiher grain of corn," till at, last the 
poor king could bear tt no longer, and cried out,: 
“Omani that Is enough! Take my daughter: 
take my kingdom! take anything! take every¬ 
thing ’—only let us hear no more of those aboin- 
nablu locusts 1 ” 
And so the story-toller was married to the 
king’s daughter, and was declared heir to the 
throne; and nobody ever expressed a wish to 
hear the rest, of his story, tor he said It was Im¬ 
possible to come to the other part of It till he had 
done with the loeusts. The unreasonable caprice 
of the foolish king was thus overmatched by the 
Ingenious device of the wise man. 
-- 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
She Bows to the Cousins. 
Dear Rural Cousins.—( if 1 may aspire to a 
Cousluship), I too, have long contemplated a cor¬ 
respondence with you; and have become quite 
Interested, of late, in reading the Cousins letters. 1 
hardly know how, or what to write, but I see by 
the tone of some of the letters, that they gener¬ 
ally are composed of themes proposed, and con 
triullctcd. I suppose I can do as cousins do. 
Pardon me if I am jiresumpl nous on so short an 
acquaintance. 1 heartily coincide with bashful 
Cousins on the “Quilt question.” The reason 
may be obvious to the Cousins, after 1 explain 
that I tried piecing one myself, and gave up In 
despair, for want of goaheadedness, shall l call it? 
Don’t, think 1 am lazy. Cousins, but It does take a 
great amount of perseverance to piece a quilt.. 1 
will answer Gertrude, M. W.’s question, “ Which 
is the oldest town In the United States." It Is 
8t. Augustine, founded by the Spaniards under 
Alelendez, 16S5. situated In t he northeast part ol 
Florida. 1 will ask one. What was the name of 
the trite ol Indians, with whom Wm. I’enn made 
his famous t reaty ? A. E. 8. 1 am a BapUsl .al^. 
So 11 questions are asked concerning our Baptist 
views, we’ll slick together. I tear my letter Is 
already too long so J will close.— adolksckntia. 
1 agree with rny nieces and nephews that St. 
Augustine Is the oldest town In the United States, 
but as they assign different dates to its founda¬ 
tion, the greatest Stretch of my good nature will 
not enable roe to consider with them all. My 
own remembrance of t he circumstance Is that a 
fort was built thereby the Spaniards under Melen¬ 
dez, in 1665, and although it is now a long time 
ago, 1 feel confident my recollection is correct In 
this mat ter.—U. T. 
From a Des Moines, Iowa, Ctrl. 
Dear Rural :—Inclosed please find f-S and the 
names ot lour subscribers. These, In addition to 
six, which l sent, some time ago, make ten. I se¬ 
lect for my premium, “ a silver-plated castor, five 
cruets, new designs—No, 98,” l am very sorry 
that I could notsendthe names before this. There 
was no trouble In finding people w ho wahied to 
take your excellent paper, out “ times were 60 
hard," and “they were too poor to take the pa¬ 
per,” but. I was determined not to give it up, aud 
havo ut lust succeeded, 1 like the Rural very 
much, especially the young folks’ department, if 
the Editor will give me space to say a lew words 
l shall be very much pleased. Why does Uncle 
True keep so quiet? Is It because the children 
drown his voice with their chatter? 1 eannotsuy 
“ we,” for I have never made my appearance 
among his nieces. I wonder what has become of 
STORM ? Echo answers, wonder; but I suppose 
he wm, so exhausted after the storm, he has to 
rest a while. 1 like Alice y.'s letter very much. 
1 will answer Lknora W.'s question:—The word 
Jeuovau occurs In the Bible 6,sss times. Now l 
want to ask one:—Who commanded the sun and 
moon to stand st ill, and they obeyed ? I hope Joe 
Steele, or “ Cheeky’’—as Belle C. F. Is pleased 
to call him, and 1 think she is quite right, in doing 
so—didn’t have as much trouble getting his club 
as I did gelling mine. But I don’t think I will let 
this be ihe last one, because 1 had some trouble 
getting It for “there is no excellence without 
labor.”— Jennie. 
[The above is an example to be commended. 
Our young niece Jennie has accomplished what 
Is in the power ot ihe entire Rural Brigade. The 
trouble lent a spur to endeavor, and made the suc¬ 
cess all the more gratifying. The premium will 
fully supplement the good derived from this lesson 
ol perseverance, and altogether the transaction Is 
ot unmtxed good. Why do not our nieces and neph¬ 
ews follow’ this example V The more youthful 
renders, the merrier the column will be. Thus, 
all nave a personal and particular Interest In the 
subject. Who will be next on the list?— Ed. 
From Away Out West. 
Dear Rural:—I see so many little girls and 
boys writing to you, 1 thought 1 would like to 
write. I am a little girl, nine years old. I live at 
Toledo, on the Yaquina Bay, eight miles from 
the Pacific Ocean—further wast than Della C. 
I think It Is a real pretty place. Our school Is 
three-quarters of a mile rrorn here. We have to 
go by water; as for that- we have to go to every 
place by water. We have sixty-five chickens. 
How Is that for April? We have had flowers all 
winter. My papa Is In the nursery business. I 
have a little kitten named Centennial Year. My 
other pet is an onion bed, one rod wide and four 
rods long, I think W. T. does not know much 
about quilts. I do not. think he would like to sleep 
under JUSt a straight piece of cloth. I think tear¬ 
ing it, up (as he calls It) makes It look pretty. I 
saw a real pretty quilt that one of my frlend3 was 
making. It was In stars, composed of ptuk and 
white and black and white calico. It was put 
together with white cloth. 1 bid all a kind adieu. 
—Ella B. 
More Questions ! 
Dear Editor It, Is quite a long time since I 
Urst, w rote you, and so I thought, as you were so 
kind as to print my first, I would try again. In my 
last, 1 promised to tell about my new home. My 
papa Is overseer of the Elgin House of Industry. 
We Rave but few inmates now. We have persons 
here of all ages; at present there Is one who, ac¬ 
cording to the records, Is 107 years old. She came 
from Scotland, and supported herself UDtll she 
was 100 ; since theft she has hud assistance. I 
have no little brothers and sisters, like so many 
Of the Rural Cousins, but am the youngest, my¬ 
self. I have hut one sister and brother. My sister 
is away teaching school, and my brother Is a farm¬ 
er. I think the answer to Gertrude M. W.’s ques¬ 
tion, is st. Augustine, in Florida, two miles from 
the Atlantic, founded by the Spaniards In 1605. 1 
would like to ask the cousins a question:—In what 
year did Marquette and Joijette explore the. 
Mississippi River ?— Little Bertie. 
An Indiana Puss. 
Dear cousins— If 1 may call you so on so brief 
an acquaintanceship:—1 have been thinking for 
some time of writing to you, but could hardly 
pluck up sufficient courage, not knowing how I 
might be received. 1 agree with For In thinking 
that it would be a good thing if the Cousins 
dropped the subject of quilts. My letter will ap¬ 
pear very tame and uninteresting compared with 
that of Mile. Gkkalmnk, but then the Cousins 
should remember that, everybody cannot write a 
spicy letter. In my opinion Beauty thinks a lit¬ 
tle too much of her personal charms to have any 
great knowledge of culinary matters, and l would 
advise the Cousins not to send to her for recipes 
of cither cakes or pies. Pusst Cat. 
HIDDEN CAPITALS. 
1. Wispom abounds in this august assembly. 
2. I was at a picnic on Cordova’s farm. 
3. We staid at i he Tremont—Pelle, Robert and 
mother. 
4. Cruel Ibo stoned a wounded bird. 
5. I knew Porter very well. 
6. I saw the hart ford the stream. 
7. I shall not let Aune W. have new books 
again. 
8. Hal, banyan trees grow in Australia. 
9. Mr. Tharr, is Burgundy a foreign wine ? 
10 . That rent, on top or my tax hill, Is hard to 
meet. 
11. Do verses constitute poetry? 
12. Anna, “ pol ” Is a vulgar term for head. 
13. He is von rich mon, de Franeals parle. 
CET" Answer In two weeks. Little One. 
CftOSS-WOBD ENIGMA. 
My first Is In Kingston but not In Newburgh, 
My second Is In Elmira but not In Plattsburgh, 
My third Is In LocKport but not In Saratoga, 
My fourth Is In Buffalo but not In Utica, 
My fifth Is in Geneva but not m Schoharie, 
My sixth is In Oneida but. not. in Coxsackle, 
My seventh Is In Danville but not in Clinton, 
My eighth Is in Troy but not In Hudson, 
My ninth Js tu Romluut but not in Flshklll, 
My tenth is In sing Sing hut. not in Catsklll, 
My eleventh Is In Syracuse but not In Rome. 
My whole was a Revolutionary fort. 
l&~ Answer In two weeks. Md. 
-»♦«-- 
POLYSYLLABIC ANAGRAMS. 
1 . Rid a coal mine, L. 2. Mini, potato scum. 3. 
Is calico crop, M ? 4. Sam, I can trip Hal. 5. Her 
law bower. 6. Enter new rig. 7. We folly ever. 
8. Lob’s !*m no spires. 9. Lib, crape Is at G. 10. 
I curse station. 11. A sure tear rub. 12. Nan, 
Lrue Invalid. 13. I cup ten numbers. 
Z3S~ Answer In two weeks. b. 
WORD-SQUARE ENIGMA. 
l. Yeast. 2. Inclosed space. 3. To cause to 
rise. A planet. 
i'er Answer In two weeks. Port Crane. 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-June 2. 
Geographical Enigma.— The mind isnothinK lees 
than a «ardi‘ii of inestimable value, which man should 
strive to cultivate. 
Riddle. —Toad. 
Transposition.— 
Lives of (treat men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 
Ami, dejiarting, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time. 
THE BIBLE. 
Studt it carefully. 
Think of it prayerfully, 
Deep in tby heart let its pure precepts dwell 1 
Slight not its history, 
Ponder He mystery. 
None can e’er prize it too fondly or well. 
Accept the ylad tidings. 
The warnings and chiding*. 
Found in this volume of heavenly lore s 
With faith that’s unfailing. 
And love all prevailing, 
Trust in its promise of lovo evermore. 
With fervent devotion. 
And thankful emotion. 
Hear the blest welcome, respond to the call; 
Life’s purest oblation. 
The heart's adoration, 
Give to the Saviour, who died for us alL 
May this message of Jove, 
From the Tribune above. 
To all nations and kindred tie given, 
Till the rausomed shall raise 
Joyous anthems of praise— 
Hallelujah! on earth and In heaven. 
“LITTLE BY LITTLE.” 
Not long since, as I was providentially ming¬ 
ling with a large company, I hoard one lady re¬ 
mark to another with tearful earnestness, “O, If 
1 but possessed your ability to do good!” 1 heard 
the reply but do not now recall It; only one re¬ 
flection remains fixed upon tny mind. It Is this,— 
ir we would become eminently useful, we should 
begin to practice betimes, by the Improvement ot 
opportunities, however small or Infrequent. I 
have heard a friend or mine regret his lack of 
proficiency in the art of penmanship. I suggested 
to him the propriety of carefully forming each 
letter as he wrote, hut, he objected that, the lime 
and labor requisite would not admit. There It Is: 
If, in early life, when habit was being formed, 
such a course had been pursued, the result would 
have been entirely satisfactory; and my friend 
would now, with much greater facility, follow his 
literary labors. 
8o with those who would be useful. At forty 
years of age, never having been trained In the 
happy art of making ourselves useful, we are too 
much the creatures or habit, to find ourselves 
adepts for the wishing. Having exclusively 
“looked upon our own things” we do not, easily 
look upon “ the things of others.” The heart may 
be rectified but the hand though willing remains 
unsteady and unskillful still. The mind unac¬ 
customed to labor, soon becomes wearied with 
concentrated thought; and lips unused to speak 
falter In their utterances. Those powers, w hich 
rightly developed, prepare for eminent usefulness, 
left, to themselves, become a giant, whose might, 
It is always difficult and oiten Impossible to over¬ 
come. We must pity those whose lack of early 
training must form an impassible harrier to great 
success; we should, at the same time, endeavor 
to use our utmost Influence with the young, lest 
they lose the advantages which only abide with 
the Improvement of early years. Let us not de¬ 
spise the day of small things, for every opportu¬ 
nity for usefulness Improved becomes one link of 
that golden chain which unites us to all that Is 
pure and good on earth and In heaven. 
Ernest. 
QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT! 
Observe and obey His motions. When he ex¬ 
cites, get thee on; when he checks, get thee back; 
know the Holy from the Evil Spirit by Its accord¬ 
ing or differing with the Scriptures. Reject that 
spirit In the heart that is not the same with the 
Spirit In the Word. Try the mind, what and 
whence It Is, by the card and compass. To the 
law and to the testimony! Aud when thou per- 
celvest it Is from above, hoist, thou thy sails and 
get thee on! Quench not the spirit! Grieve not 
the .Spirit or Gol, whereby thou art sealed to the 
day of redemption.— AUeine. 
-♦-*-*—-- 
CERTAIN TY OF DEATH. 
All the successions ot time, all the changes in 
Nature, all the varieties of Ught and darkness, the 
thousand thousands of accidents in the world, and 
every contingency to every man, aud to every 
creature, doth preach our funeral sermon, and 
call us to look and see how the old sexton, Time, 
throws up the earth and digs a grave, where we 
must lay our sins or our sorrows, and sow our 
bodies, till they rise again In a fan or intolerable 
eternity. 
-♦ - 
True heavenly wisdom doth seem very mean, 
of small account, and almost forgotten among 
men, as having no high thoughts of itself, nor 
seeking to be magnified upon earth. Many, in¬ 
deed, praise it with their mouth, hut in their life 
they are far from It; yet It is the precious pearl, 
which is hidden from many. 
A great, a good, and a right mind is a kind of 
divinity lodged in flesh, and may be the blessing 
of a slave as well as ot a prince. It came from 
heaven, and to heaven It ir t st return; and it Is a 
kind of heavenly felicity which a pure and vir¬ 
tuous mind enjoys in some degree even upon 
earth. 
One great cause of our insensibility to the good¬ 
ness of our Creator, Is the very extensiveness of 
his bounty. 
Horn Is like the wing of an angel soaring up to 
heaven, and bears our prayers to the throne of 
God. 
