SEPT. U 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SSI 
BRIC-A-BRAC. 
IN RUMMER. 
An Alliterative Sonnet. 
Belligerent, brusque, brown-belted bumble bees, 
Binding: Bonoroua, sinuous sallhi* soar. 
Wild, weariless winging, waging wicked war, 
Dancing diagonal, darting down degrees; 
Triumphaut trailing trumpeters trim trees; 
Rills, raising riot, rushing, running roar; 
Past peerless pines, pellucid pushing, pour, 
Eddy elate, enlarged, enchanting ease. 
Calls cheerily; content conquers cold care; 
Gardens grow glorious, gladlolea grandly glow; 
Lazily landward Ungers buna's light; 
Far floats fine fragrance, flung from flowers fair, 
Men, matching might, maturing meadows mow ; 
Nefarious, noisy nooturnos narrow night. 
fTbos. 8 . Collier in Puck. 
Three Wealth Men.— The relative wealth 
and Income of the moat opulent men living—the 
Duke of Westminster, Rothschild, and Mr. Mackey 
the Bonanza King—has been reduced to figures, 
as follows: 
DukA (it W«altninst»r. Rothielllld. Miickoy. 
Capital. ..£16,000,0(10 nils. £40,000,000 £65.000,000 
Per year. 800.000 00 2 , 000,000 2,760,000 
Per month..., eo.ooooo 170.000 200 , ooo 
Per day. 3,000 00 6,000 7,000 
Per hour. 90 00 200 300 
Per minute..,. 1 10 4 5 
GRANDPA’S SOLILOQUY. 
It wasn’t so when I was young, 
We used plain language then 
We didn't speak of " them galoots,” 
When meaning ho,VB and meu. 
When spea king of the nice hahd-write 
Of Joo, or Tom, or Bill, 
We did it plain—we didn’t say 
" He slings a nasty quill." 
Then when we met a good, old friend 
We hadn’t lately seen. 
We greeted him—but didn’t say, 
“ Hello, yon old sardine.” 
The boys got mad sometimes and fit; 
We spoke of kicks and blows; 
But now they “ whack him in the snoot," 
And " paste him on the nose." 
Once, when a youth was turned away 
From her he held most dear. 
He walked off on his feet—but now 
He “ crawls off on his oar." 
We used to dance when I was young. 
And used to call it bo ; 
But now they don’t—they only " sling 
The light fantastic too." 
Of death we spolro in language plain, 
That no one did perplex, 
But in these days one doesn’t die— 
He "passes in his cheeks." 
We praised a man of common sense; 
"His Judgment's good," we said; 
But now thoy say; ’’ Well, that old plum 
Has got a level head." 
It’s rather nad the cliildreu now 
Are learning all tumh talk; 
They’ve learned to “ chin *’ instead of ohat. 
And " waltz ” instead of walk. 
To little Harry yesterday— 
My grandchild, aged two— 
I said, •’ You love grandpa?" said he: 
“ You but your boots I do.” 
The children bowed to strangers once. 
It is no longer so— 
The little girls, us well as boys, 
Now greet you with “ hello I" 
Oh, give me back the good old days 
When both the old and young. 
Conversed in plain, old-fashioned ways, 
And slang was never slung. 
Lord Lyons, as British Ambassador to France, 
has a Balary of $50,<W0. The British Ambassadors 
to Germany and to Rome have each a salary of 
135,000, and the latter receives an allowance for 
rent of to,ooo. The Ambassador at Vienna gets 
$ 40 , 000 , and the one at st. Petersburgh $ 39 ,ooo. 
Sir Ilenry Elliott had at Constantinople $40,ooo; 
and Sir Edward Thornton entertains pleasantly 
at Washington on a salary of $30,000. 
THE MELANCHOLY DAYS. 
The molancholy days liavo come, the saddest of the 
year! 
When Jersey's most pernicious hug doth serenade our 
ear. 
And with its apex sitteth down, so frequently at night. 
Upon the baitsomo parts that seem most tempting for 
to bite, 
That when tho morning comes, we find our counte¬ 
nance so "meller," 
We can’t tell whether we’re ourself or some other hor- 
rid “ feller." 
[ Yonkers Gazette, 
“ If tho gentleman who keeps the shoe shop 
with tho red head will return the umbrella of a 
young lady with whalebone ribs and an Iron 
handle to tho slate-roofed grocer’s shop, he will 
hear of something to nls advantage.” 
THE HOT BRIGADE,—(TWENTYSON.) 
Blazed florco the sun on high. 
Scorched breezes rustled by, 
Up went the uiercu-ry, 
Up to 100 , 
Bweltered the Hot Brigade, 
O, the wild howl thoy made, 
When shall its echo fade ? 
Frightful 100 ! 
loo to the right of thorn, 
Beer to the left of them, 
Cold tea In Trout of them, 
Barkeupers bluudored. 
Swift up the bulb did hie. 
Kinging " Sweet By-aud-by,” 
Fahrenheit’s morou-ry, 
Up to 10U. 
Which la tho longest word In the English lan¬ 
guage ? Smiles, because there Is a mile between 
the first and last letters. 
Jor Mown, 
CONDUCTED BY MISS FAITH RIPLEY. 
A JAPANESE LOVER’S SERENADE. 
MRS. ELLEN HUNTER. 
I do not understand why Free Lance should 
speak as though Gall Hamilton were a representa¬ 
tive woman. Beyond the mere fact of sex she 
has nothing In common with women, and so far 
from having Identified heraelf with the move¬ 
ment for the extension of the elective franchise 
to women, she has persistently opposed every 
measure having for Its object the freeing of our 
sex from disabilities of auy sort—commercial, 
Eoclal or political. 
No one readier than she to potnt out. and ex- 
pv.lato on the foibles and weaknesses of women, 
and as her pen la usually dipped In gall, she has 
done effective service In wounding the sensitive, 
a ad In deterring timid women from making an 
effort to free themselves from thralldom of dif¬ 
ferent kinds. Her unkind Jeers at the shorts 
comings of those who have been suddenly forced, 
without adequate preparation, to support them¬ 
selves, should earn for her theseoruof all women 
who have any self-respect. 
No fault in her sisters has been too obscure for 
hor to ferret out and parade to the world. The 
object was not to reform women hut to show 
how superior Gall Hamilton was to the rest of 
tho sex and m what contempt she held her 
weaker (7) sisters. 
She has recorded It as her opinion that a 
woman should never argue the question of 
money with her employer, but cither take what 
he offers or starve, which is precisely what she 
herself did not do. For when she disagreed with 
her publishers about a matter of dollars and 
cents, not only did she expostulate with them, 
but she published an account or the transaction 
aud inflicted on the country at large a history of 
her private grievance. Ah! that the physician 
could but be persuaded to tuke hts (or hor) own 
prescriptions I It maybe though that between 
tho poor shop-girl who complains that $5 oo per 
week will not board and clothe her, and the 
famous Abigail Dodge quarrelling about hun¬ 
dreds of dollars there Is a wide difference, if 
there Is, I tbiok then the shop girl Is entitled to 
a monopoly of the sympathy. 
It la a source? of no little congratulation to those 
of us who are ambitious to bo something higher 
than mere housekeepers and nurses that this 
virulent woman is “on the other side." I would 
like to ask Free Lance when and where Gail 
Hamilton ever advocated equal laws, equal op¬ 
portunities, equal pay or the ballot (or women, 
that he should think hor one of us 7 Imagine 
hts putting this champion vltuperator In tho 
Bame category as Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. cady- 
Stanton, Miss FranclB Willard and the many 
other refined and true-hearted women who have 
Identified themselves with the women's move- 
meut. 
Free Lanco speculates on the possibility of 
Gall Hamilton being a fair sample of the “eman¬ 
cipated woman” that Is to be. No, my dear sir, 
the “woman of the future ” will bo totally unlike 
her, tor Gall Is one who believes Implicitly In 
"woman’s sphere" as defined by men. She Is a 
product of the hearthstone not of the rostrum, 
and our conservative friends who so dread the 
result of the extension of privileges and rights 
to women, are cordially welcome lo this choice 
flower of womankind, who on all occasions has 
avowed her disgust at this clamor after rights. 
Tako her and cherish hor, but spare us the hu¬ 
miliation of being classed with her. She is none 
of us. 
Thebe is a maiden. 
There is a little maiden whom I love. 
Her name it is easy to utter; 
The night winds aro always breathinK it in my ear. 
.Something has been tolling it to me all the nifrht. 
But who shall convey tho extent of her beauties. 
Or of the graces of her mind ? 
To others she is frhrid. 
But to me she is as tho moon-beam, radiant and warm. 
Sho is exempt from tho ordinary weaknesses o‘ 
women. 
Her piety is the theme of admiration among all classes. 
Her virtues are so lofty that they reach the stars. 
81i0 reads all tho sacred books and knows them by 
heart. 
With stronK moral principles she immingles a cheer¬ 
ful spirit. 
And her rich, black hair is involved In unctuous gum. 
Numbers of costly ornaments shine in hor hair; 
Thoy shine like clusters of Btars relieved by a Jet-black 
sky. 
Soft, silken scarfs encircle her throat; 
Oh ! enviable, soft otken scarfs. 
A radiant satiu nhi, of princely dimensions aud incal¬ 
culable price, enfolds her waist.. 
Oh! enviable satin nhi of princely dimensions and in¬ 
calculable price. 
Her countenance needs not tho additional glow of 
paint: 
And her neck scorns the inferior luster of powder. 
Her form is enveloped in many-colored marvels of 
millinery; 
And her petticoat is embroidered with a hundred but¬ 
terflies fluttering among flowers. 
Her feet are atoms of celestial origin, 
Aud her ke 4os?ii is tho pin k cloud which protects them. 
To many her heart is hard and cold i 
To them it is very beautiful porcelain. 
To me it is soft and warm; 
To mo it is fresh-ent velvet. 
Her lips are sealed, aud words proceed not therefrom, 
But In their place come sighs of aromatic fragrance. 
Her family are conspicuous for antiquity. 
And her father is of the true blood Fujiwara. 
He possesses a great number of tiger skins, 
AU brought from Chosen and very valuable. 
Myriads of kobans glitter in the Btrong chests of his 
kurn. 
But for me the greatest, treasure— 
Tho treasure beyond all, for me. 
Is the little maiden, 
The little maiden whom I love. 
[Tokio Japan Times. 
“FREE LANCE” NEEDS ENLIGHTEN¬ 
MENT. 
A LUCKY BREAK-DOWN. 
.1. E. M’C. 
Mrs. Ackley’s t,In-ware had been ailing a long 
time, and yet she could never get the men folks 
to go a half mile out of their regular heat, when 
they went to town, to get It mended. By haying 
time the tea kettle, too, had sprung a leak, and 
and then she was at her wits' end. 
14 -Silas, I must bave that tea-kettlfl soldered up, 
or I never can get the meals for such a family,” 
she said despondently. 
“Try and get along somehow,” he replied, In¬ 
differently ; “We are justat the busiest, and can’t 
spare a hand to go to town just for a tin tea-ket¬ 
tle. Plenty of folks never had a tea-kettle In the 
house, and they lived Just as long." 
With which conclusive argument he proceeded 
with his rnen to tho business of the day. As If 
those broad acres of ripening grain could wait 
and waste Tor a womans tea kettle! It was 
about as much “ calculation " as women generally 
had! 
A man who was hung for a blow that killed his 
wife, said sadly on the gallows: “I never meant 
to klU my wife, but she was a dreadful aggra¬ 
vating woman.” So a good many men are dread¬ 
fully aggravating In the way they dispose of and 
dismiss the matter of woman’s difficulties and 
hardships In doing work. A little sympathy and 
appreciation will make a woman surpass herself 
lu Ingenuity and self-sacrifice In getting along 
with about the resources of Robinson Crusoe. 
But when such tilings are demanded as a reason¬ 
able service, thoy become intolerable burdens. 
Mrs. Ackley went back to her kitchen with 
little heart for her duties. That tea-kettle was 
in requisition about ever}' hour In the day. It 
seemed as If the family supplies were hair cut off. 
She would have set the tin pail on the stove and 
got along with that, but It leaked more than the 
kettle. All thebaslns had a string or a rag drawn 
Into several alr-holeB, and the washboller had, in 
reality, given oat long ago. She managed her 
washing the best she could with her iron kettles. 
Mrs. Ackley was an excellent woman, kind and 
peaceable, but too easy for her own good. A 
little more self-assertion would have been better 
all around. She allowed herself to be Imposed 
upon, and Silas was no butter for It, rather the 
worse, because he was nourishing a bad habit 
which grew like a weed, and Canada thistles are 
a great deal more profitable to raise than such 
habits. 
Things did not work well for him that morning. 
The reaper got some kind of a “hitch” that put 
everything back. At last, when they had vainly 
tried to make It work, a dozen times, Farmer 
SUaa’s patience gave out. He threw down th 
lines, and told Jerry to unhitch the horses. H 
would tako “ the pesky thing to town and 3 e< 
what ailed It." 
The meu stood grinning around, and a younj 
chap remarked: “You’d better take your wife’; 
tea-kettle along, too. It is as easy for you t( 
work with broken tools as for her." 
Silas’s face reddeueda little to see that the mei 
had noticed how black he was about the house 
fixings, and ho told Jerry to gather up wha 
things wanted meudlng aud he would take thou 
along, as he had to go right to the tinner’s. 
The wash-boiler was filled on the double-quick 
aud several tblugs besides tied on the handles 
Silas looked a little like a tin pcddlar when ht 
set out, Tho meu stood smiling around to se< 
him start, aud then turned to the wood pile, a; 
directed, with a hearty good-will. A woman whe 
got Up such good dinners, wlLh such poor faclll 
ties, deserved well of them, and the wood was 
sawed, split Hue, and piled up lu quantities nol 
known before for months In that wood-yard. Ii 
fact, all things considered, that break-down o; 
the reaper was the luckiest thing that had hap 
pened In all summer for the women folks, anc 
lightened the labor more than could be computec 
by one who had not gone through the samt 
difficulties. 
ORNAMENTATION WITHOUT MONEY. 
LORETTA K. KNAPP-TURNKR. 
A great deal can be done by way of home adorn¬ 
ment without uslug any money, and in theso 
hard times that is quite an Item with some of us. 
I saw a handsome picture tho other day, made 
of lichens and moss, sticks, and other things, 
which bad been picked up lu the fields and woods. 
The scene was a landscape, with trees, a house, 
fences, hills and valleys, ail composed of these 
common articles, but put together with such 
artistic skill, that It was very charming. An¬ 
other lady has a rustic scene arranged on a foun¬ 
dation two feet square. There la a house made 
of tiny logs aud covered with tiny shingles, made 
from old oues. There are doors and glass win¬ 
dows, a carpet and chairs, while outside an old- 
fasliloncd well-sweep contains a bucket, and a 
doll, dressed Uke a boy. stands by It with a pall 
on his arm. A woman at the door with a broom 
in her baud seems sweeping the steps. There 
Is a creek formed ot looking-glass aud pebbles; 
and moss serves for grass. 
Ferns artistically arranged help very much in 
home adornment, both when growing and when 
pressed and skillfully used. 
A friend showed me a beautiful bed of ferns 
wbleh she transplanted from the woods this 
spring. They require a shady place aud consider¬ 
able water. They look well when pressed In a 
hook or between blotting-papers, to border lam¬ 
brequins, or arranged In dainty baskets, and tor 
many similar uses. I use them for spatter-work 
plcl ures. 
These can be made very cheaply, and look fully 
as nicely after they are formed as those that are 
made of more expensive, material, 
I use cheap, white paper, shoe blacking, a black¬ 
ing brush, and a lino sieve, only using a very 
little blacking at a time, and brushing lightly 
on the sieve, being careful to have each spatter 
very small, a great amount of artistic skill may 
be shown In making these pictures, both in the 
arrangement of the design and In the shading. 
Mottoes In spatter-work are very handsome. One 
picture I have even had a cross, with trees and 
ferns around It; back of one of the trees was a 
deer, and above was a moon and stars. It was 
shaded to look like moonlight. The designs are, 
of course, Innumerable. 
A great many pretty things can be made of 
straws. Dainty, little picture frames, delicate 
baskets, and vases for artificial flowers. They 
are far more durable than one would suppose 
they would be, and lor variety the straws may 
have a tiny spiral winding of gilt paper or some 
pretty color. 
•-- 
ANSWER TO DAME DURDEN. 
b. c. D. 
I have seen no answer to Dame Durden’s In¬ 
quiry In the Rural, asking what Indoor games 
would amuse little folks, and I thought I would 
tell how our little folks of 5, 7, 9 and 12 amuse 
themselves on wet days. 
With a box of building blocks they build miles 
of railroad and box-stalls In which they stench ton 
the cattle from a Noah’s ark; they fence the rail¬ 
road that tiiey “ play" crosses their premises, and 
opening the gates turn out and drive the whole 
motley crowd of animals rrorn the ark across the 
track to the pasture, In Imitation of what they 
have often helped to do. 
They build barns, and underpin them, wind¬ 
mills with towers, door-yard fences, and with the 
help of two tin horses on wheels, draw loads of 
sand Tor building purposes, Noah’s family figur¬ 
ing as drivers. An occasional collision only adds 
to the variety of the entertainment. 
From attending school exhibitions and Sunday- 
school concerts, they have caught tho Idea of giv¬ 
ing some of their own, and the costumes they 
have devised, and the pieces announced by the 
pompous little usher, have often produced more 
merriment for the spectators than more elaborate 
performances ot the older children. The pieces 
have ranged rrom Jack and GUI, by the youngest, 
to the Indian Chief’s lament, and othor sentimen¬ 
tal articles. 
The music, wbloh always accompanies these 
entertainments, partakes of the same original 
character. The hat Is frequently passed around 
at the close ot the “ concert,” and a few pennies 
make the actors rich for the time. 
Playing sick and celling in the Doctor, as well 
as consulting him about the doll, passes many a 
dull hour away pleasantly. Dominoes help to 
brighten the winter evenings for all, from the 
youngest upward. This Is Che way our little peo¬ 
ple entertain themselves. 
-- 
A private letter from Saratoga gives some in¬ 
teresting gossip about Mm. Thompson, the lady 
who, last winter, presented the nation with car- 
punter's palutlng, “Signing the Emancipation 
Proclamation," valued at $35,000, Mrs. Thomp¬ 
son is a widow of fifty-eight, though she appears 
much younger. Her income la $55,000 a year, 
derived from a fortune of about a million dollars. 
She never accepts more than five per cent.on her 
Investments. Mrs. Thompson gives to the extent 
of self-denial. Her personal expenses, exclusive 
or the actual necessities of lire, do not exceed 
#250 per annumn, yet she gives away all of her 
large Income aud sometimes pawns her Jewelry to 
raise money for some object of charity, redeeming 
them when she receives the next Installment of 
interest. Although troubled with a slight lame¬ 
ness, she does not keep a carriage or a maid, 
and Is as simple In her manners as a child. When 
In Washington last winter, Mrs. Thompson was 
entertained by Mrs. Hayes at the White House. 
After her visit she sent Mrs. Hayes a dlamomd 
pin In the shape or an eagle. Mrs. Hayes wore 
it twice tn honor of the giver, aud sent it back, 
saying that while grateful for so handsome a 
gift, as the wife of the President she felt obliged 
to decline all presents. 
-- »♦ - 
CEu,u.oiD Collars and Cuffs. lhave received 
several inquiries as to where these articles can 
be purchased. A firm in Paterson, (Messrs.Simon 
<fc Van F.mburgh), offer celluloid collars at aOc., 
and cuffs of same material for fifty eeuts per pair. 
Mr. Jos. E. Crowell, editor of Dally Guardian, 
Paterson N. J,, writes us that he Is now wearing 
a set which has been In use forseveral weeks. He 
adds. “1 like them very much. They are thin 
aud pliable as linen and are not affected by 
water.” 
4 ♦ » 
The hygienic undergarments, Including the 
dress-reform corset, which are made and sold 
by Alice Fletcher & Co., New York, are con¬ 
structed on wnat seem to be correct, principles, 
and women who have a care for their health 
should make themselves acquainted with the 
new shapes and styles. An illustrated catologue 
Is sent free to applicants. 
- +-++ --— 
Tub “ Flow” used in opaline painting Is a flow- 
lug varnish and It ought to be obtainable at any 
store where artists’materials are sold. Messrs. 
Bouta x Curtis photographers, Syracuse, N. Y. 
soli It at sue. per bottle. 
-♦ 
OnboI the oldest lighthouse keepers on the 
Atlantic coust is a woman. Kathleen Andre 
Moore, ot Black Rock Lighthouse, near Bridge¬ 
port conn. She is sixty-five years old, has tended 
the lighthouse lamp (or fifty years. 
