undaunted, anrl so long as health lasted, the de¬ 
tective continued on the sceut, encountering ad¬ 
ventures at every step, always in danger, ofteu 
Indulging in hand-to-hand lights, and selecting 
Indiscriminately for her foes both men and wo¬ 
men, proving on either her skill In the “artof 
self-defense.” She constantly received subsidies 
from Scotland Yard, and was armed with the 
magic whistle, rattle, and number, given licrby 
the authorities, and which Insured the assistance 
of every policeman, stranger or not, whose ser¬ 
vice she might find it necessary to call tor. Sick¬ 
ness at last subdued this turbulent spirit, and 
the thieves on the Surrey side need no longer fear 
the visits of the female detective. 
CASSIUS, A CYNIC. 
L. D. CLEMENT. 
Cassius was a cynic. A keen, far-sighted man, 
yet, with all that, he was a selllsh, morose fellow. 
He was a slave to his business, but a tyrant at 
home. He could bo courteous, too, when he saw 
he could gratify his selllsh purposes by It. He 
flattered Brutus because he expected t.o bb bene¬ 
fited by It. “ The learned pate ducks to the 
golden fool.” Ills logic and his sophisms won him 
a reputation among bis couutrymen anil pur¬ 
chased for him a place In the front ranks of po¬ 
litical demagoguelsm. But, his “ lean and hungry 
look” was against him. He thought too much, 
aud was too silent and surly. His sallow face 
eeut a sensation to the heart ol Caesar that was 
somewhat, akin to tear, and produced In his bosom 
a wonderful partiality lor rat men; those who 
have sleek heads and wbo sleep well at night. 
Cassius was not one of your fiddling, fluting 
fellows, and he was never seen at a theater lu his 
life. Snakspeare tells us that he scarcely ever 
smiled at all, and when he did, It was In such a 
dry-grin sort of a way 
" As if ho mock’d liimsolf aud scorned his spirit 
That could be mov’d to smile at anything.” 
What a surly companion he must have been 
around a domestic fireside I With no word of 
kindness for any one, he must have made his 
home one constant scene of sneers, sour looks and 
angry speeches. Many, many must have been 
the. sobs and heartaches he wrung from the 
woman whose very name be dishonored and 
whom he never addressed save with a growl or a 
sneer! 
Moroseness and selllsh ness are always Insepar¬ 
ably blended. Ills “Helling palm ” led him Into 
all kinds of ugly little mouey transactions with 
Ills neighbors. We take it, that by his unscrupu¬ 
lous love for money he tilled his own coffers, but, 
la so doing, brought misery' and privation Into 
many a poor man’s cottage, Cassius Is dead; 
but he has left his counterparts all over the world. 
We meet this sallow-faced Cassius at every cor¬ 
ner of tho street. A snarling monster In the 
shape of man, who la day by day manufacturing 
more misery, and causing more heartaches than 
the drunkards themselves, because this class is 
more numerous, and then too he Is everlastingly 
growling and making other people unhappy. 
His home Is the home of the cynic. It. looks com¬ 
fortable enough outside, but within there Is a de¬ 
ceptive hollowness which bespeaks anything else 
than comfort Tho affections are necessary to 
brighten any home scene. What little affection 
he ever had has been given to Uts money and his 
business. But there Is his wife—where are her 
affections? Alas, fils Indifference and brutal 
words have crushed them out years and years 
ago! 
Everybody abhors and justly abhors the char¬ 
acter of a cyuU. Yet we all are acquainted with 
plenty of men who answer the description of one 
in every single particular, or, lu other words, who 
fill the bill exactly. But it is such a detestable 
term wo are loth to apply It. There Is something- 
In his very manner that Is forbidding. He is the 
lust persou in tho world from whom you would 
expect a geuerous act of kindness, somehow or 
ot her you don't feel comfortable In Ills society. 
You aro constantly expecting him to say “ good 
evening,” and are heartily wishing he would. 
If ho Is not grumbling he Is doggedly silent, and 
by his sullen looks and bitter retorts ho checks 
the flow of other people’s spirits. Strangei-s say 
he Is In good circumstances. His neighbors say 
he Is *• close-fisted.” Somehow or other you have 
heard that lie stints his family, and that his chll- 
dred have on more than one occasion been pub¬ 
licly humiliated by it. • 
But the cynic causes most misery whore he Is 
best known, viz., at home. How many homes are 
made w re to bod by Ills Intolerable Ill-temper I 
How many paly, broken-hearted women there are 
all around us who aro dally trudging on lu the 
position ot slaves, trying to brighten the fireside 
of the tyrant whom they servo and from whom 
they never receive one word of tenderness 1 How 
rnuny daughters aro snubbed aud sneered at be¬ 
cause they are caught looking over the fashion- 
plates or Indulging in some other foolish freak 
of "girlish nonsense!” And even the little boy 
who comes down stairs lu the morning, with a 
face radiant with health and happiness, whists 
ling bis gay little tune, receives some hard angry 
wora aud a short impatient command which at 
once banishes the tune from Ills lips aud the 
gladness from his heart. Let us have men about 
us that are fat. Jolly, good-hearted fellows. 
Away with these chaps who are “ ot such vinegar 
aspect, 
That they’l! not show tlieir leotu in way of smile, 
though Nestor swear the Jest be laughable." 
Let the next crusade the women undertake he 
against this Cassius ol the homo circle, l.et the 
war be waged against all cynics and their ever¬ 
lasting croaking, growling, grumbling, snarling, 
fault-finding aud abominable selfishness. 
Jtir (®1 omen, 
[CONDUCTED BY MISS FAITH RIPLEY. 
LOVE’S FLOWER. 
Translated from the Russian of Khovansky. 
[The infant poetical literature of Russia had its 
birth but yesterday. In due time it will ripen; and it 
will then be an interesting task to compare the ma¬ 
ture charms of Sclavonic Song with these its oarlieat 
years.—Sir John Bowring 1 ,1821.] 
Wren the calm and quiet gloaming 
Lit the woodland’s tangled bowers, 
Through their loafy alleys roaming. 
Gathered I Love's votive flowers; 
And for one who sways my bosom 
Twined a chapel in the grot: 
But one sweet suggestive blossom, 
Seeking still, I gathered not. 
Wandering all that tranquil even 
Through the forest’s floral ways. 
That wee bud, as blue as heaven. 
Still escaped'my anxious aze. 
Disappointed .Jdisencbanted, 
Home I wandered through the night; 
When, behold ' the flower I wanted, 
By the rill-side met my sight. 
And I learned no more to question. 
Weary though awhile my lot, 
By that flow’ret’s sweot suggestion— 
It was Love’s Forget-me-not! 
[Muuriee Davies. 
THE CARRICK POLONAISE. 
At Fig. 0120 wo give the Carrick Polonaise. 
The addition or the Carrick cape (from which the 
garment receives Its name hlghtens the stylish 
effect of the polonaise. ' 
purity of mind to sit down to such a feast of 
nastiness. In my opinion a publisher who would 
Issue a work so full of low suggestions aud Indel¬ 
icate allusions should be Indicted. And Mrs. Suer- 
man’s Indorsement of the reform doesn’t Incline 
me favorably’toward It. Far bo It from me to 
go out of my way to disparage a. woman, but this 
one (Mrs. Sherman) has been so persistently 
thrust to the front, during this dancing controver¬ 
sy, that I very naturally fell to wonderlDg what 
manner of woman this was, the mere fact of 
whose championing a cause is urged as a reason 
why all should indorse it. 1 can gather nothing 
from her public acts that Inspires me with any 
confldence In her judgment or her ability to be a 
leader among women. Quite the contrary. On 
two or three occasions she has conducted herself 
In a manner which reflected little credit on her 
courtesy or her good taste. Let me Instance one. 
The lady It Is understood, considers dancing as 
highly Indecorous, not to say absolutely immoral, 
and yet whllBt holding such extreme views, we 
find her attending a ball given at Washington In 
honor of Prince Alexis, where of course dancing 
was the most promlnet feature of the occasion. 
But you say she was In a measure compelled by 
her position to be present. Granted, hut does that 
excuse hold good for her allowing her daughter 
to attend so “Immoral” an exhibition? This 
same daughter on being courteously Invited 
to dance, rudely refused, assigning as a reason 
that her Church forbade her indulging in such 
pastimes. 
About as consistent as for a man to hang around 
a bar-room for four or five hours, and to resent as 
Insults all Invitations to drink! 
if gracefully gilding to the sound or sweet 
music Is such a ghastly sin, why, oh ! why, did 
the fair Minnie countenance such naughty pro¬ 
ceedings by her presence? 
Again; what could possibly exceed the vulgar- 
6120 
It can be made ot any kind of dress goods 
and trimmed with galloon, folds, or braids. The. 
model here shown Is of camel’s hair, trimmed 
with bone buttons and machlne-stltchlng. Price 
ot pattern thirty-five cents. When ordering, 
please give bust measure. 
- ♦ ♦ • 
SOME PICTURE NOTES. 
MRS. J. E. S. 
To remove photographs from their cards ; im¬ 
merse lu warm water, letting them soak until 
they can be removed freely. Clean warm water 
does not Injure the picture In the least. After 
being removed, place the photograph upon a 
sheet of clean paper, and sponge off the surplus 
water carefully, with a soft linen cloth, from the 
face side of tbe photograph. Use lluen because 
It leaves no lint. 
As a number of readers of the Rural seem to 
have difficulty lu obtaining the Flow (a flowing 
varnish) used in Opaline Painting. 1 would say it 
can be obtained or Bonta & Curtiss, Photograph¬ 
ers, of Syracuse, N. Y., at fifty cents per bottle, It 
not of any photographer. 
-♦-- 
SHALL WE DANCE 1 
MRS. POTIPHAR. 
Yes, and why not? But my dear Madam do you 
not know that there Is In progress a crusade 
against dancing, beaded by no less a personage 
than Mrs, General Sherman and that a famous 
book has been published In the Interests ot the 
crusade entitled “ Tho Dance of Death," and 
knowing all this, do you advocate dancing 7 
As Tor your book, u report speaks truly, I 
should hesitate beforo reading so Immoral a pro¬ 
duction, and If by any chance l should read It, I'd 
be exceedingly shy about making a confession of 
having done so. 1 have too much respect for my 
/ j 
6120 
ity of the display made on the occasion of Miss 
Sherman s wedding ? 
The mother who would not permit her daugh¬ 
ter to dance lu respectable society, was quite 
willing she should make au exhibition of herself 
In a metropolitan church on the Lord’s day, aud 
be stared at and Jostled by a rabble so lost to all 
sense of decency, that t.he very priests at the 
altar had to reprove them for their unseemly con¬ 
duct. l prefer to weigh questions for myself, 
rather than blindly lollosv the leadership of one 
who has shown herself so conspicuously lacking 
In the cardinal attributes of a lady! 
1 f dancing Is abolished, what Is proposed as a 
substitute? Conversation parlies aro usually la¬ 
mentable failures. Curds are apt to suggest aud 
to lead to the milder forma of gambling; and 
games-well, they are mostly of the osculatory 
class, and are hardly to be commended as condu¬ 
cive to pleasure or morality. Dancing Is a health- 
lul, graceful amusement, and while public balls 
are perhaps to be condemned, there can be no 
possible objections urged against, dancing at pri¬ 
vate entertainments, unless it be on the score of 
late hours. 
-- 
JOTTINGS FROM MY NOTE BOOK. 
CLINTON. 
I do not often read an article which gives me 
more satisfaction, or which so clearly expresses 
my seutlments on the subject of which It treats, 
than does the one on page 320 ot the Rural of 
Nov. 17,1S77. headed “ Two Girls.” 1 would that 
every female lu our land could be Induced to read 
it, and to ponder Its lessons well—and to profit by 
them. No greater mistake was ever made by the 
young ladles of our country tbau m suppose that 
any deformity of their persons that may, for the 
lime, be required by the mandates of roolish fash¬ 
ion, can, by any possibility, render them more 
agreeable or attractive to the eye or sense ol 1 
those ot the opposite sex whose opinions are of 
the least appreciable value. 
It Is most emphatically true, as the writer of 
the arttele puts It, that “ no man worthy of the 
name, ever loved or honored a woman because 
either her waist or her feet were small.” Silly, 
senseless dandles, and artful, designing flatter¬ 
ers wl.l of course pretend to be captivated by 
them, but 1 would that our females had more 
sense than to allow the pretended admiration of 
the classes to which I refer, to govern their ac¬ 
tion In this or any other matter. I speak with 
much positiveness when I assert that that form, 
and those features which t he Almighty Creator, 
In His Infinite wisdom designed tor woman—Ills 
“ last, best gift to man,” as being best adapted to 
ber position. In rendering her not only most at¬ 
tractive to man, but being best adapted to her 
use in the proper performance of her varied 
duties In life—when, I say, this perfect form is, 
in obedience to the mandates of foolish and tyr¬ 
annical fashion, distorted and deformed, her nat¬ 
ural beauties despoiled, and her bodily health 
seriously Imperiled, 11 not. destroyed for fife—then, 
Indeed, a grievous wrong is perpetrated, not only 
to the individual herself, but to that society 
which it was intended that she should benefit 
and adorn. 
It Is true that any natural defect In the feartures 
or form which Is noticeable as being a marked 
deviation from the general rule, may, In some 
eases, be Improved, and perhaps happily'correct¬ 
ed. This is surely permissible. Not. so any at¬ 
tempt to deform that perfect form with which the 
Creator saw fit. to endow the last aud most lovely 
of the works of His oreatlou. 
Dec. 3, 1877. 
-»■» * - 
A PRETTY TRIFLE FOR THE TOILET. 
LORETTA E. K. TURNER. 
Take three pieces of Bristol' board each nine 
Inches square, and one piece ot gilt paper the 
same size. Pink them around tho edges, and 
make up into cornucopias, using t he gilt paper to 
fine one of the white ones. For another one, 
crochet, some zephyr, as a cover for it as near the 
color of the gilt paper as possible, aud use it as a 
hair-pin receiver. 
For t he other, use gold-colored silk and make a 
tiny plncushlou, which will Just tit in the top of 
It. Join the backs or them all together and 
fasten with cords and balls between each of 
them. The halts ror all such toilet articles may 
he made by splittlog common or double zephyr, 
and winding it over the finger until there Is 
enough ror a ball. Then take a needle and stout 
thread, tie the two ends of the thread together 
pass the threads around tbe zephyr after you slip 
It from yonr linger, and slip the needle between 
the threads at the knot.. Draw up as Lightly as 
you can aud sew through the ball ouee or twice, 
sew the cord fast, and with a pair of sharp scis¬ 
sors, cut the zephyr where It Is Joined together, 
and trim into proper shape. The ball looks much 
more fuzzy when the zephyr Is split. This Is a 
much quicker way than to makeover paste-board, 
but unless oue Is quite skillful the pasteboard 13 
better. Pasteboard balls are made by cutting 
two rounds of pasteboard, the size you desire the 
balls, aud cutting out the center of them. Place 
them together aud sew them through and 
through passing the zephyr arouad the paste¬ 
board until they are filled. Then with a sharp 
knife cut the zephy r r at, the edge ot the paste¬ 
boards; draw a strong thread between them and 
tie firmly. Pull out t he pasteboard and trim. To 
finish up the triple cornucopia, ornament the 
fronts or them with embossed pictures. The 
same style of article Is pretty made of back per¬ 
forated card-board, embroidered around the edge 
with scarlet and hung with scarlet balls and 
cord. Very bright or light pictures are required 
with black foundation. 
-♦♦♦- 
THE RIGHT TO A LIVING. 
GERALDINE GERMANE. 
The writer of a prize article on “ Training Girls 
to a Practical Knowledge ot Some Profession or 
Trade," says, lu Italics, “A woman has no more 
OOP-given right to depend upon her husband for 
u living than he has to depend upon her for his.” 
What of the women who spend ail their time, 
health and strength in “ tending the house, rear¬ 
ing the children,’' waiting on hired men and mak¬ 
ing butter and cheese ror their “lords and mas¬ 
ters?” If they ask for the smallest pittance from 
their united earnings, the husband ’’ bristles up ’ 
and says, “Why, what do you want of money! 
Don't i provide everything you need?" 
It those who, longing to enter into some other 
occupation than housework, with a faint hope 
down In the despairing hearts, that there will be 
tome way lu which they can work at some¬ 
thing more congenial, broach the subject to their 
" lords,” they receive the withering answer. 
“ Madam, I can find plenty of work for you. My 
house Is to be kept In order, my meals to be cook¬ 
ed, my clothes to be cared for, and you ought to 
be glad and contented to do If, instead of sighing 
for other employment. A woman's place Is in 
the house, working lor her husband and chil¬ 
dren ” Or how can those who are “broken 
down ” in the service of their “ masters," engage 
Hi work of any kind, the more especially as tho 
law denies them the right to the disposal of their 
earnings? . 
And, Dually, how many women with families, 
especially farmers’wives, have time or strength 
to enm their own living outside ot their domestic 
duties? And have not those who toll the hard¬ 
est. suffer and endure the most, a "GoD-given 
right to a living?” or is It only a man-given 
right? 
l wish “ A, K. S..” or somebody posted on tho 
subject, would inform me. 
