702 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
NOV. 2 
Miss was perhaps a trifle more disagreeable 
thon usual for the next two or three days, and 
and then, to all outward appearance, everything 
went on as usual at the Outlftnds; but to Eve 
Lester life was never quite the same again. She 
was innocently unconscious of her love. If any 
one had suddenly taxed her with It, she would 
most Indignantly have dented It. .She hardly 
knew that the love of the woman differed from 
the love of tne child. She did not know why the 
smiling earth hdU the fair heavens had so sud¬ 
denly grown dark to her. She did not know why 
the spring of her life had left. her. 
« ♦ » • V • • 
Darcy Lonsdale had taken Vale House; he had 
for once In his lifetime the pleasure of ordering 
new carp&ta and pretry furniture. Mrs. Lonsdale 
was delighted. She had engaged a treasure of a 
nursery-governess, and prepared herself to enjoy 
life In real earnest. The deed of partnership had 
been drawn Up, and the firm was known now us 
Lonsdale A Son. Every one agreed that Darcy 
had done a very wlae thtng In making hts clever, 
bright, Intellectual sou a partner. Felix had 
taken the pretty cottage orm, and his spare time 
waB devoted to preparing It for his beautiful bride. 
He had seen some fine photographs one day that 
he fancied would look well framed and hung upon 
the walls. He had asked Violet to look at them; 
but he could not get her to speak freely upon any¬ 
thing. The photographs were beautiful—with 
the most charming of smiles she condescended to 
say so; that was all. She was evidently lu an 
amiable humor, and Felix resolved to make the 
most of tt. 
“Violet, do come and see the house?" he 
begged. “You say that you never visited It 
while the Hendersons lived there. You cannot 
tell how pretty the rooms are; do come and see 
them." 
It was a brilliantly beautiful day In July; the 
sun shone on lilies and roses, on flowers of every 
hue; the earth lay in the warm heat and bril¬ 
liant haze—there was a hush and sweet, brooding 
silence over all. violet could not refnse; putting 
aside all other thoughts, It would be pleasant to 
see the Interior of ft pretty house. Mrs. Lonsdale 
offered to go alaoi, and the three started together. 
But Mrs. Lonsdale had been m love herself, and 
she had pity on her stepson. When they had 
admired the beautiful grounds and gardens, she 
said laughingly— 
“ The kitchen will not interest you; It does me. 
I will go and Inspect it.” 
Then Felix showed violet the pretty rooms he 
had planned for her. 
“The charm of them,” he said, “Is that they 
are full of light and brightness; from every win¬ 
dow you see flowers and trees, through every 
door comes a breath of perfumed air. Oh, my 
Violet, we can be so happy here I” 
“Is that Jessamine growing yonder?” she 
asked. “ Do gather a few sprays, Felix. I think 
I am fonder of Jessamine than I am of any flower 
that blows." 
He went In compliance with her wish. What 
request of hers could he have refused? And 
Violet Haye stood alone in the home that her 
lover sought to make hers. She stood there, 
dainty and bewitching; 6he looked round. The 
rooms were very pretty; she tried to imagine 
herself mistress there; she tried to picture her¬ 
self living there, going in and out, waiting lor 
Felix, giving orders. She tried to realize what 
Uf« would be like when she was married and lived 
there. There would be no future to look forward 
to, no sweet, bright possibilities. “ I should know 
all my life then," she thought, “ It would hold 
nothing brighter than this;" and the dainty little 
foot tapped the floor. “ Here It w ould all begin 
and ond; there would be no more dreaming”— 
and she hud dreamed wildly of a different life 
Iroin this. Still she loved Felix. 
“ I wonder,” said the dainty young beauty to 
herself, “ In what I differ from other girls. 
I know not one but many who would gladly 
change their fate for mine, who would marry 
Felix Lonsdale and be happy in his love, who 
would think this pretty house a palace, and 
who would And the contentment of a lifetime 
within Its walls; why cannot I do the 6ame7 
What Is It I am always looking for, hoplDg for, 
expecting ? What more do I want ? 1 cannot un¬ 
derstand myseir—and I am sure no one else can 
understand me." 
The violet eyes glanced wistfully round the 
pretty rooms; why was she not content? 
“ I love Felix,” Blie told herself; “ and It seems 
to me that If 1 made an effort I could be happy 
and contented here. What Is the effort that I 
have to make? 1 love Felix; nothing on earth 
can make me alter that fact." Yet she did not 
feel quite at ease. There was a vague shadowy 
feeling of something wanting that she had not 
yet found. 
Felix amused her with his raptures when he 
returned. It was 60 novel, so delightful to see 
her there; and the day was never forgotten by 
him, because she had been gracious to him upon 
It. 
CHAPTER V. 
The Inhabitants of Lll ford were pleased at Dar¬ 
cy Lonsdale’S good fortune. He deserved It, they 
said; Li Is honest, honorable, Industrious life had 
been spent amongst them; they had known him 
as boy aud man; they had been interested In bis 
marriage, In his children, In iris business; ho 
was one of themselves; they had been interested 
In hts Joys and sorrows and In his welfare, and 
now they were pleased at his good fortune. 
With this sudden and unexpected gleam of 
prosperity came other gleams; his business In¬ 
creased—and Darcy Lonsdale owned to himself 
that he was a most fortunate man. He removed 
with his household to Vale House; and Felix 
began to think that he mlgnt induce Violet to 
marry him before the end of the year. lie did 
not often apeak to her of their marriage, for It 
was a difficult task; she would evade the ques¬ 
tion Ln a, hundred different ;waya; she would 
laugh, yet look charming—do anything, ln fact, 
but reply to his Inquiry as to when they should 
he married. 
He went to the Limes one lovely summer eve¬ 
ning, quite resolved upon not coming away with¬ 
out a definite answer. Violet was looking even 
more charming than usual; she wore a white 
dress with blush roses, and her fair girlish face 
waslLke a sweet flower. He persuaded her to 
come out with him, beguiling her on the lawn 
under the pretext of showing her the gorgeous 
western sky. 
“ I do not care for sunsets, Felix," she said. “ I 
cannot go Into raptures over them. 1 see the sun 
set in some fashion or other every evenlDg.” 
But he was so determined that she thought It 
less trouble to accede to bis wHb. The sight of 
the glorious sky made her thoughtful: then, 
when she was in a iraine of mind proper for list¬ 
ening, ho turned to hi r. How dazzllngly beauti¬ 
ful her face was In the sunlight 1 
“ Violet,” he said, “ I want to quote a couple of 
lines from a familiar ballad to you. Can you 
guess what It Is ?" 
“ Ho, 1 cannot; I do not care for familiar bal¬ 
lads,” she replied. “ What is It I" 
" You know ‘My pretty Jane,' " ho said. “The 
lines 1 want to quote you are these— 
• Name the day, the wcddlng-day. 
And l will buy the ring.’ 
Now, sweot Violet, that is just what T want you 
to do—tell me when that happy day will dawn for 
me. Do not let. the summer suusUlne and t he 
summer flowers all die before you are my wife." 
She turned her startled face to hts. 
"You are cruel. Felix,” she said. “You al¬ 
ways spoil these lovely sunny days by talking 
about marriage.” 
“ My heart Is full of it." he replied—“ at least It, 
Is full of you. I do not wish to startle you, Vio¬ 
let, but give me one kind word to dream about 
now. I am always wondering, ‘ When will our 
marriage take place V When will my darling 
consent? When will the end como to all my un¬ 
certainties, doubts, and fears 7 When shall I say 
to myself—on such a day I shall bring home my 
wife 7 
She answered half Impatiently. 
“ You make so terribly sure of everything, Fe¬ 
lix.” 
“ Have I not the right to do so ln this case ?” 
he asked, laughing half sadly at her. 
“ I did not quite promise, you know, Felix." 
“ Perhaps not ln so many words, violet, but ln 
honor you are bound to be my wife.” 
“Iam willing to bo your wife, Felix, but let me 
enjoy my youth a little longer. I am only nine¬ 
teen—there la no hurry.” 
“ You forget,” ho Interrupted, *' how dearly I 
love you to bo with rue. If I thought you did not 
love me, violet, 1 would not urge my request— 
I would go far away, and occupy my life as well 
as I could—nay, I would rather die than make 
you unhappy- H you do not love me 1 will not 
hold you pledged to me, Violet 
“ But I do love you,” she said, looking up at him 
with s^pet perplexed eyes; “ still..Felix, It seems 
so sudden—” 
“Hardly sudden, darling,” b6 interrupted, 
“ when I have loved you since you were seven 
years old. You will be Just as happy when you 
are my wife as you are now—will you not 7" 
“ I cannot tell," she replied. It she had spoken 
the real truth, she would have told him that she 
was unwilling to lay down her sovereignty—that 
the homage and admiration she received were 
very precious to her—that she liked to know Bho 
was the queen of the country-side. All that of 
course would end when sho was married. The 
married ladles she know led dull lives—or dull 
they seemed to her—spent, lu the routine of duty. 
They superintended their households, nursed 
their children, directed their Bevunts. It seemed 
dreary work to her—a llfo that held little. She 
had hoped for more than this; her brilliant 
beauty ought to brlug her a brighter fate than 
that which these plain-faced matrons had 
met. 
While she sat musing with these bright thoughts 
plainly written on her falx - face, Felix was look¬ 
ing earnestly at her. 
“ Let me say September, iviolet,” he pleaded; 
that Is a glorious month, and the house will be 
quite ready. My daring, gladden my heart with 
one word.” 
But he was neve^ quite Bure whether she had 
spoken that word or not; her eyes were dim 
with tears, and she murmured something to the 
effect that she loved him—had always loved him; 
while something cf remorse seemed to tinge her 
manner. Her fingers thrilled him with their 
soft touch; her lovely Ups quivered as she talked 
to him—but ho could never tell whether she 
had whispered the word he wanted. 
That evening, when he reached home, Evelyn 
Lester was there, and a sense of rest came over 
him at the first glance at her sweet face. She 
went up to him with tne gentle grace and dignity 
that characterized her. 
“ Felix, 1 have hoard good news—you are fa¬ 
vored lu fortune and in love, is it all true 7” 
»iy ea i'_ne told her It was all true; he had 
been spending the evening at the Limes—he had 
just leit Violet. 
He walked home with Evelyn, and he was 
struck with the strange sense ot rest that came 
over him. She was not beautiful, but the sweet 
face was very fall- and very tender, her voice 
musical and rull of sympathy; she spoke so kind¬ 
ly of beautiful Violet, she praised her so gener¬ 
ously and warmly, she spoke with such real en¬ 
thusiasm ot her loveliness, of the admiration she 
excited, of her brilliancy, that bis heart warmed 
to her. She listened with such sweet sympathy 
to all that he had to say—to his history of the 
cottage, and of the pretty furniture and pictures 
he hoped to place therein; she was Interested ln 
It all. He said to himself that It was strange 
what perfect rest he found with her, a something 
which he could not describe, a sense of deep tran¬ 
quillity and repose, 
“ I think, Evelyn," he said, as he stood at the 
hall door ot the Outlftnds, “ that no man was ever 
so blessed. I have the truest and fairest of loves, 
and the truest and warmest of frlehds." 
The moon was shilling brightly, and Eve stood 
ln silence tor a few minutes, watching him. 
“ You will need a friend," she thought—" and, 
when you do, you shall not fall to find one.”—[To 
be continued. 
-- +++ - 
COFFEE-HOUSES AGAINST RUM-SHOPS. 
Wb sincerely hope the admirable suggestions 
contained ln the following article (which we ex¬ 
tract from Popular Science Monthly for Novem¬ 
ber) will commend themselves to the serious 
attention of all who are Interested ln the temper¬ 
ance cause—more especially those whoso work 
ilea in the larger towns and cities. 
The blessings of cold water may be expatiated 
upon until doomsday and yet the masses of work¬ 
ing people (who furnish the largest quota of con¬ 
firmed drunkards) cannot be persuaded to drink 
their solitary cup of cold water amid the squalor 
and misery that are the usual accompaniments of 
home-life In tenement houses, when the liquor- 
saloon offors the attractions of society, cards, 
music and a beverage which, for the time at least, 
olieera and exhilarates them. 
It la very many yours since total abstinence 
was first agitated, and alter all these years of 
effort,Intemperance Ison the Increase; this the 
temperance leaders themselves admit. Can their 
methods of comhatlng the evil be at fault? 
“ A large party has been striving for half a cen¬ 
tury to eradicate the evllH of intemperance by 
proclaiming certain great Inflexible principles 
and inalallng upon their being uncompromisingly 
carried out. Immense evlla result from the use 
of alcoholic drinks as beverages, and It has been 
thought to extirpate these evils by reprobating 
the use of anything alcoholic under any circum¬ 
stances, and by outlawing the commerce In these 
beverages. The rura-shops have been denounced, 
and the politicians have been called upon to sup¬ 
press them. Much good may have been done; 
but drinking habits are still prevalent, and rum- 
shops still abound. Tbo temporanoe reform, 
from this point of view, has been a failure. If by 
success wo understand the eradication of the 
evils of Intemperance. This failure has been, we 
think, at least partially due to the refusal of the 
master-minds of the movement to study the vari¬ 
ous ways in which partial advantages may be 
gained. Those who view the subject praotlcally 
maintain, for example, that much benefit to the 
community would result It the weaker liquors 
could he generally substituted for the stronger, 
as wine and boer for rtlstlUed spirits; but this 
notion has beon sternly resisted by the great 
mass of ardent tempeiauce reformers as sacri¬ 
ficing firet principles. All alcoholic liquors, they 
malutaln, are poisonous, baneful, und to be equal¬ 
ly condemned, unless, Indeed, tbe weakest are 
not the most dangerous. To which the reply Is, 
that these extreme views arc self-defeating; that 
they have been preached until the community Is 
wearied with It, while the liquor traffic still flour¬ 
ishes, and that It Is the part of wisdom to check, 
dtralnlBh and circumscribe an evil where It can¬ 
not be wholly removed. 
“ or one thing there can be little doubt, that to 
substitute the use of tea, coffee and cocoa, for 
spirituous liquors, would be a great gain. In the 
literature of teetotallsm thus far there has been 
but one dletetloal alterative to alcohol, and that 
Is water. With curaea upon alcoholic drinks, the 
temperance lecturer has interspersed copious 
praises of 1 clear, cold, sparkling water.’ In prac¬ 
tice the abandonment of alcoholic stimulation 
has been often accompanied by a resort to the 
stimulations of opium and tobacco —a change 
which has ln It but few elements of reform. As 
an ultimate fact of man’s nature, ho Is so consti¬ 
tuted that he seeks stimulus of some kind—some 
method of breaking the monotony of the feelings 
and getting contrasts ln the psychical life. This 
may be wrong, and water may be the drink that 
should be exclusively patronized by everybody; 
but that consummation, whether desirable or 
not, is undoubtedly remote, very remote Indeed. 
Meantime, there would unquestionably be a great 
gain in substituting tea, coffee, chocolate and 
cocoa for alcoholic liquors. 
“ Accordingly we are glad to see that a vigor¬ 
ous movement has been set on foot to fight rum- 
shops with coffee-houses. We have received a 
very Interesting tract from Mr. Charles Collins, 
describing the results of experiments made chiefly 
ln Liverpool, to maintain a system of ‘public 
coffee-houses’ and ‘cocoa-rooms’ for the use of 
English laboring men. There la a society ln Liv¬ 
erpool lor the promotion of this object, and the 
pamphlet before us la made up from Its reports. 
“It appears that twenty-nine places under the 
denomination ot • oocoa-rooma ’ have been open¬ 
ed ln Liverpool under the auspices of this society, 
by the employment of a subscribed capital of 
$ 100 , 000 . so successful bas been the enterprise, 
not only In Its favorable influence upon the hab¬ 
its of the poople, hut also pecuniarily, that ten 
per cent, profit on the Investment was distributed 
to the stockholders last year, and It Is now pro¬ 
posed to increase the capital of the association 
to $ 200 , 000 , ln order to still further extend Its ope¬ 
rations. 
u xhe rooms are open to all at five ln the morn¬ 
ing, so that men may call on their way to work, 
asthe early morning cup of hot cocoa, coffee or 
tea, is lound to be of immense advantage. It is 
said that many by this means have been saved 
entirely from the use of other stimulants. The 
cocoa, coffee and tea are of good quality, and are 
furnished hot at the following prices: two cents 
per large mug and one cent per small mug of 
cocoa and coffee; tea, two cents per cup. The 
large mug contains a pint, the small mug and 
the cup contain each a gill. New spapers arc pro¬ 
vided for reading, smoking Is allowed lor those 
who wish to Indulge ln It, and separate rooms for 
jvouien we said to have been much appreciated 
All the arrangements have been placed on a busi¬ 
ness footing, and with an eye to profit. 
“ There Is an association ln London for the pro¬ 
motion of ft similar object, and lu their circular, 
entitled ‘The Coffee ru bite-house: how to estab¬ 
lish find manage It,’ they say: 
“ ‘Give the workingman ft public-house, where 
he may meet hla friends, and talk and smoke, and 
play games with all the freedom to which he has 
been accustomed, and where good coffee and tea 
—with stimulus and nourishment ln them—take 
the place of beer a nd gin, and you set before him 
for the first time, plainly, the choice between 
sobriety and comfort on the one hand, and dissi¬ 
pation and wretchedness on the ether, if it is 
proposed to carry on mission-work, It is better 
that this should he done ln adjoining premises, 
rather than ln the coffee public-house Itself. 
“ ‘ The rooms should he airy and pleasant, full 
of light, and color. It Is better to avoid giving to 
the coffee public-house ft distinctively class desig- 
natlon, or one which might appear to connect the 
house with any particular social or philanthropic 
movement. 
“ * The plan of partitioning off portions of the 
grouud floor, or setting apart rooms for readLng, 
smoking or other purposes, though occasionally 
useful, does not always work well. Men like 
being ln a crowd; isolation is not to their taste; 
and an arrangement of this kind Is apt to lead to 
overcrowding of particular rooms while others 
may bo almost unoccupied. The only other ex¬ 
ception to the foregoing rule Is where a room can 
be set apart for the accommodation of women 
and children, or for youths. AVherever a room 
especially for women has been opened, as ln some 
of the Liverpool bouses, the boon has been high¬ 
ly appreciated. It should he understood that 
men accompanied by their wives may use the 
women’s room, and evory encouragement should 
be given to men who may be disposed to bring 
their wives and children to the coffee public- 
house. Women should be encouraged to avail 
themselves of the public rooms when no other 
accommodation lias been provided for them.’ 
“ There Is everything to commend and nothing 
to condemn In this mode of promoting the work 
of temperance. It proceeds upon the assumption 
that there la no use In trying to shut up dram 
shops until something else has been provided to 
take tbclr places. Various causes lead to the 
formation of intemperate habits, but perhaps the 
most, powerful are social Influences, Men are 
gregarious, and as they are cultivated they be¬ 
come more social and cravo companionship. 
They meet together, and wlno favors geniality 
and conviviality. If men are to be delivered from 
this temptation, they must be furnished with a 
substantial equivalent, or places where they can 
coma together and have some social enjoyment 
without the temptation of Intoxicating drinks. 
Reform here begins at the right end. Its spirit Is 
not ascetic, but sympathetic, and It cannot fall to 
be well received by large numbers who would not 
be Influenced by bare moral Inculcations. 
“ It Is to be hoped that, the e \per! ment that has 
proved so successful ln Liverpool will be tried ln 
New York and other American cities, under such 
modlhcatlons as the changed circumstances may 
call for. The desirableness of some systematic 
movement of the kind is undoubted; and if It 
will do positive good, and pay Its expenses and 
yield a liberal profit, there ought to be no diffi¬ 
culty ln getting capital for It, whatever may be 
the difficulty ln finding competent, and trustwor¬ 
thy managers, who will not steal the funds." 
--- 
The Princess of Wales took lessons on the zither 
laBt year, and all the daughters of the nobility, 
and all who can afford to ape aristocracy, are now 
waking weird strains from that Instrument. And 
now —horrible thought!—suppose Mrs. Wales 
were to take lessons on the accordion this year. 
The result would be too dreadful to contemplate! 
This country would be overrun with English ac¬ 
cordion refugees, and millions of dollars would 
have to be raised for the sufferers at home. If 
there lsouo thing ln this world worse than the 
yellow-fever scourge, It Is an accordion epidemic. 
We shall send the Princess a copy of the Herald 
with this paragraph marked. — [Norristown 
Herald. 
-- 
RECENT LITERATURE. 
Innd-Book of Punctuation. With Instructions 
for Capitalization, Better-W tiling and Proof-Read¬ 
ing. By W. G. COCK Kit. A. M.: A, S. Barnes & Co., 
New York. Price tw cents. 
Thb author of this very excellent manual truly 
iys, “Very little attention is paid In schools to 
unctuatlon, and the rules usually given In Eng- 
sh Composition aro cither disregarded or not 
roperly understood. The evils of bad punctua- 
on are really more serious than the evils of bad 
polling, and no student can be said to have 
famed to read well, much loss write well, who 
as not studied punctuation intelligently.” Many 
eople who are In the rnalu Intelligent and fairly 
ducated, cannot punctuate or capitalize even a 
hort note correctly. Among Uuual readers, how 
lany would write the following address In the 
my it is here given? 
lev. E. O. Haven, D.D., LL.D., 
Chancellor of University, 
C3 irwdftlian 
Why should there not bo a period after the 
first of the two L’s as there Is in case of the D a ? 
Which Is correct, Yours affectionately or Yours 
Affectionately ? Why is not the “ d ” capitalized 
In thofollowing address: My dear Friend? Shall 
we say Dickens’ Works or Dickens's Works? 
For answers to these questions, and for very 
much other useful Information, we refer those in¬ 
terested to the book under notice. It Is written 
In a clear style, very few technicalities are Intro¬ 
duced, and It la not cumbered with rules. The 
work merits a wide circulation, and Its low price 
puts It within the means of all. 
