78 
fiirtatg Utisceltang. 
THE MODEL SUBSCRIBER. 
WILD OAlUiSTON. 
“Good morning, sir, Mr. Editor, how arc the folks 
to-day? 
I owe you for next, year’s paper—I thought I'd come in 
and pay; 
And Jones ie going to take it, and this is his money 
here; 
I shut down leudiu’ it to him, and then coaxod him to 
try it a year. 
“ And here's a few little items that happened last week 
in our town; 
I thought they’d look good for the paper, so I just Jot¬ 
ted ’em down; 
Aud here is a basket of peaches my wife picked ex¬ 
pressly for yon, 
And a small bunch of flowers from Jennie—she 
thought she roust seud something, too. 
“ You're doing the politics bully, as all of our family 
agree; 
Just keep your old goose quill a flappin’ and give them 
a good one for me 
And now you are chock-full of business, and I won’t 
be talcin' your time; 
I’ve things of my own I must tend t)—good day, sir; 
1 believe l will climb.’’ 
The editor sat down In his sanctum, and brought 
down hi» tint with a thump; 
“ God bless that old farmer," he muttered, “ He’s a 
regular Jolly old trump." 
And 'tie thus with our noble profession, and thus it 
will ever be still, 
There ntv some who appreciate its labors, and some 
Mho perhaps never will. 
But in the groat time that is coming, when Gabriel’s 
trumpet shall sound. 
And they who have labored and rested shall come 
from the r|iiivcriug ground: 
When they who have striven and suffered to teach and 
ennob'e the race. 
Shall march at the end of the column, each in his God- 
given place- 
As they march through the gates of the city with 
proud and victorious tread, 
The editor and hie assistants will travel not far from 
the head. 
WILFUii’S CHRISTMAS EVE. 
CHAPTER I. 
AT KING’S CROSS. 
“Train to York, sir? Yos, sir; starts In ten 
minutes See to the luggage, sir? Yea, six; di¬ 
rectly." 
*• Due Id ten minutes, la It? I was in hopes It 
was gone." muttered the elderly gentleman who 
had questioned the porter; and then he drew his 
scarf up lo hU ears, slavered In spite of Ills thick 
Ulster, and remonstrated peevishly with the lady 
who leaded on Ills urm. 
“ l here is a train, as you hear, but It Is Impos¬ 
sible that you can reach Kroyle Priory before mid 
nigh' And the w earlier is fright full the papers 
are full or reports o f heavy snow -storms, and the 
cold Is Intense, and —" 
- But here he was Interrupted by the lady, who 
drew herself up with a dogged look on her well- 
preserved features 
■ Did you ever know me to permit the mere 
accident of weather to Interfere with my duty ?" 
•• Why. what on earth -" Mr. Lockwood began 
irately, then checked himself with a hopeless ges¬ 
ture, as If he knew all further arguments would 
bi thrown away on this Spartan matron 
But. as he turned from her, ids eyes fell on two 
young ladles who had silently followed her on to 
the platform ; the one a fair, placid. Heepy-eyed 
blonde; the other a vivacious mlgnonne brunette, 
and lie ventured another remonstrance. 
You must not forget the girls, my dear " 
“ forget them 1" his spouse coolly repeated, 
“ They are here, are they not?" 
“ Yea, yes, that's what 1 mean; it is not prudent 
—Is itv to expose them—colds and coughs, you 
know and Gertie, bless her) has just had a touch 
of neuralgia, and Leila so far from strong." 
** I am not. at all strong myself,” said Mrs. Lock- 
wool, deliberately, “This hurried journey may 
lay me up, but no personal considerations shall 
deter me from doing what l know to be tight.” 
“ Now, really, my dear, you are taking an exag¬ 
gerated view of your responsibilities, 1 ’ her spouse 
began. 
•• But really, Mr. Lockwood, you are keeping me 
standing in a draught. May I not lake my seat, 
or d* you Intend to forbid my going to the 
Priory ?” 
*• forbid It!" and Mr. Lockwood looked aghast, 
at the Idea Of exerting his authority. “ No, no, 
Marla, you must, do as you like; you always do,” 
he addl’d, ruetully; “and l don’t suppose It's any 
use asking why. after agreeing to our spending 
Christmas quietly at my son's house at Sydenham 
wo arc suddenly marched off to the other end oi 
Yorkshire.” 
•’ You raised no objection when 1 accepted the 
Invitation of General and Mrs. Kroyle,” he was 
tartly reminded, 
“1 am aware of that; In fact, I don’t think 1 
ever do oppose your plans, my dear, but I did 
not wish to go to the Priory, and Pm sui'e l 
was heartily glad when you told me It was our 
duly to stay at home, and not expose Leila lo 
the Inclemency of a Northern winter, You cer¬ 
tainly dul say so, 1 lie persisted, as she made ano¬ 
ther attempt io Interrupt him. Yet here we 
arc, starling lor the General s at the shortest 
notice, and so late In tho day, that we shan't 
reach Ids house before midnight! Just fancy 
riding over those bleak moors, with a wind blus¬ 
tering round us that freezes the blood 1 q our veins 
Ugh J” 
•• I thought," cried the lady, tartly,” I thought 
1 made you understand—1 am sure I tried to do 
so—that you need not accompany us unless you 
Choose." 
PI don’t, see much choice lh It," was the reply; 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
“ but here’B the train. Where’s Gertie? Where’s 
Leila?” * 
“ We are here, sir,” said Mrs. Lockwood's ward. 
Lelle Darton, tripping towards him; “but don’t 
trouble yourself on our account. I’ll take care of 
Ger,” and she stood on tiptoe and nodded patron¬ 
izingly at. her tall friend. “You’ve qutte enough 
to do without lookl tig after us." 
This was true, tor that much-tried gentleman, 
harassed on one side by ids lady, on the ether by 
her maid, an elderly spinster who was out of hu¬ 
mor at tilts sudden journey, was in a state of ut¬ 
ter bewilderment by the time ihe Impatient, 
guard hustled him Into the carriage, where Mrs. 
Lockwood was already comfortably seated, and 
audibly wondering he could not have managed 
the luggage and ihe tickets better Fie would 
have defended himself, but was severely Informed 
that her head was aching Intolerably; and thus 
snubbed, he settled himself In a corner and went 
to sleep, an example which Mrs. Lockwood, Ln 
spite of her sufferings, ve.ry soon rollowed. 
As soon as her regular breathing proclaimed the 
fact, the young ladles exchanged glances. 
“Pleasant this, isn’t It?" queried the tall, fair 
Gertrude. “ Three hours ugo I was snugly seated 
over the fire, thinking how nice It would be to 
spend Christmas at my brother John’s, and pet 
my baby-nelces, and here I am—cold and cross— 
my wardrobe bundled Into my trunks anyhow— 
more than half my toilet essentials left behind, 
and all my Ideas In a state of confusion. Will 
any one tell me why? What has happened? 
My dear, very dear stepmother, often does Inex¬ 
plicable things, but this Is the most Inexplicable 
of all 1" 
“ Scold me for it?” answered Leila Darton, cross¬ 
ing her arms on her bosom, and putting on as 
penitent an air as her sparkling brunette features 
could adopt. “Yea, scold me; It's all my fault! 
No, not my fault; my misfortune! If 1 had been 
born dumb, what a dear girl I should have been ! 
But, alas! the gift of speech bus been a fatal one 
to me-unhappy, Ill-fated mo !” 
“ Don't stop! 1 like lo hear you rave a little, It’s 
so amusing!" said Gertrude, tranquilly. “Only, 
when you've quite finished, favor me with au ex¬ 
planation, for I’m not quick-witted enough to find 
one myself," 
Leila Hung her sealskin muff at her friend, who 
slipped her own hands into lt„ and leaned back lu 
an easy attitude, asking, nonchalantly ; 
“ Well ?” 
“ Don’t tease, Gertie 1 I really am very un¬ 
happy.” 
“Shall I weep with you?” Inquired M1S3 Lock- 
wood, feeling for her handkerchief. “1 shall be 
most happy!” 
No; but you might be serious when you see 
that 1 ainln earnest,” Leila excitedly retorted. 
■•Have you not troubled yourself to wonder why 
we are hurried off from town In this manner? 
But no, you never do trouble yourself about any- , 
thing! You are the coolest, most indifferent emv- 
t ure, t hat ever existed I" 
“ Mervi ! You are complimentary 1” replied her 
friend “I rather think J commenced the conver¬ 
sation by demanding a reason for this bast) move, 
tr it hasn't surprised me very much, It is because 
my feelings have become blunted since papa mar¬ 
ried Major Keif's widow, aud I have lived with that 
excellent female and her ward, ice on one side of 
me, fire on lUc other, have reduced me to a non¬ 
entity. ” 
“It’s you who are complimentary now !" cried 
Leila, with a laugh ; and then she leaned forward 
to give Miss Lockwood a loving caress, and ex¬ 
claim ; “ How cruel I was not to see that you have 
team In your eyes -not. to divine that you must be 
grlevouhly disappointed at being dragged away, 
Just as you had reckoned on spending a few happy 
days with your brother! Dearest Gertie, lor- 
glve me I" 
“Is there anything lo forgive, little wilful?” 
Gertrude demanded, as she returns the affectionate 
hug. “Why are you accusing yourself? Is tt 
your fault that mamma has suddenly repented the 
good nature with which she acceded to papa’s wish 
to go to John’s lor the holidays?” 
“ Yes, It Is all my doings. If I could but have 
held my tongue a uttie longer, or fibbed more 
readily, or if that wretched viscount Alteyne 
would but have died ln Ills Infancy, or married 
some one else—as he ought to have done when he 
came of ago—I should have escaped this vexa¬ 
tion l" 
“ Wliat a mysterious speech! lias It a begin¬ 
ning or an ending? What /wee you done, you 
dreadlul young woman V” 
“ Don'L 1 toll you ? I talked when I should have 
been silent, and spoke rrankly when I should have 
diplomatised.” 
• Thanks for t.ho explanation. It’s a very lucid 
one. I understand just, as much as l did before l” 
said Gertrude, quizzically. 
••Patience, dear I Pm coming to it,” replied 
U'lla. A'ou know that ever since the death of 
nij parents consigned me to Mrs. Keif's—1 beg her 
pardon, Mrs Lockwood’s—care, she has beenen- 
gaged lu a continual struggle to model me Into a 
girl alter her own heart—” 
“ Query, has she a heart?” murmured Gertrude. 
“She has considered It her duty lo make rne an 
accomplished automaton, and 1 need not, tell you 
that she has failed I’m sure she has to me 1” 
"Never mind,” said Gertie, “l like you best 
as you are. But do go on, or we shall reach our 
Journey's end before 1 learn why wo are on Die 
wing for the house of your father's old friend, the 
General ” 
••Here’s the reason, then. When viscount 
Alleyne and I were cmidren, our parents used to 
discuss tho Idea or a marriage between us, be¬ 
cause our estates join. 1 had forgotten tills till 
Mrs. Lockwood reminded ine of It. or course, 
she considers It her duty—how I hate that word I 
tocarry out their hair-formed plan, and she de¬ 
cided to stay In London, because she heard that 
Ids lordship, M ho has been attache at St. Peters¬ 
burg, had returned to England, and would spend 
some M eeks Ln town.’* 
“It begins to grow Interesting,*’ said Gertie; 
sitting up. “ A live lord, young, handsome, and 
rich. Can the dear mamma be cruel enough to 
hurry you away from such a prize ?” 
“ A prize, Indeed! Why, he was a hateful 
boy. We were always quarrelling,” pouted 
Leila. “I did not wish to see him again;and 
when 1 discovered that General Kroyle hail Invited 
him to meet us at the Priory, I was delighted to 
find that Mrs. Lockwood had declined the Invita¬ 
tion. While she loitered in London waiting for 
him, lie would have time to fall ln love with some 
Northern beauty. All Mould have gone well, and 
I should have escaped the humiliation of being 
thrown at. his head, If 1 had not triumphed over 
her too soon." 
Gertie regarded tho pretty speaker Inquiringly. 
“Yes, Mrs. Lockwood lamented this morning 
that,, lu spite of her efforts, I was so toi ally un¬ 
fitted to shine In society, that she feared Lord 
Alleyne would scarcely care to wed me; and I 
could not resist telling her we were not likely to 
meet at all, aa he would spend ills Christmas holi¬ 
days at tho General's. You know the conse¬ 
quence. 1 had spoken too soon; ln three mlnut.es 
she had telegraphed to Mrs Kroyle, and 1 was sent 
to the right about, t o get ready tor this journey.” 
“ on, poor Leila! Are you destined to be a vis¬ 
countess lu spito of yourself v” 
The dark eyes flashed angrily. 
“ Is It at all probable ? llaa not Mrs. Lockwood’s 
assertion that It is her duly to get me well married 
been sufficient to rouse all my womanly feelings ln 
arms against her ?” 
** Don't be too wllfuL Leila. If the young man Is 
all he ought to be—” 
“ What, has that to do with It ?” asked Leila, Im¬ 
petuously. “l have too much self-respect to be 
offered lor sale. I refuse to consent to such degra¬ 
dation. Do you think I could endure to stand by 
and hear him reminded that our parents thought 
U would be a good match, and that my property 
will he a nice addition to his, only lie must take 
me along wit hit? I tell you I’ll not submit to It!” 
—To be continued. 
- +~*~* - 
THE LESTER SAW. 
This saw Is offered as premium No. 96 ln our 
premium list The " Lester" l3 made by tbe 
Miller's Kails Co., office, Tt chambers 8t„ N. Y., 
and is probably, the best saw of Its kind made. It 
consists of first, a scroll saw. with tilting table for 
Inlaid work; arms 18 inches In the clear; clamps 
which Mill hold saM’s of any length or width, and 
face them In four different directions; cutting 
lumber from one sixteenth to one Inch ln thick¬ 
ness; speed, 1,000 strokes per mtnule. Second, 
a circular saw, two and one-half Inches ln diam¬ 
eter, which will cut lumber one-half Inch and 
less; with an Iron table four by five Inches. 
Third, a drilling attachment, with six Stubs’s 
steel drills of va rious sizes for wood or Iron work, 
fourth, an Emety wheel. with wide and narrow 
rim. Filth, a Turning Lathe,.wit h iron u’ays and 
rest, steel centers, and three best steel turning 
tools; length of way. is Inches ; distance between 
centers, nine Inches; swing, three inches; length 
of slide rest, t % Inches; number of revolutions 
per minute, 7,000. Also, with each Machine, six 
Saw-blades, a Wrench, Screw-driver, extra Belt 
and two sheets ot Designs, with a nice box for 
thesamli tools mid a box for the whole Machine. 
It Is taken apart when shipped and packed In a 
box, but the working parts are all left ln place, 
and the frame Is put together again by a single 
bolt. It, Is made or iron, wltU all the working 
parts of meri, and weighs so lbs. To say the least 
this machine Is a very handy tool on the farm 
and to many It. Is lndlspcnslblc. Boys with a 
taste for mechanical work can get nothing better 
to develop their Ingenuity. We give this machine 
for a club of 20 subscribers. 
“THE EYE-OPENER. ” 
A Piiii.AUBi.pniA firm Is largely advertising a 
Bible forfl, but so words Its advertisements that 
the ordinary reader understands that, a tine Bible 
worth $15 is meant. Instead or the paltry thing 
sent;—trickery In the sale of Bibles! 11 . . The 
Chicago on Pulnt.tng for 2fio. humbug wo showed 
up some time ago, and merely refer to It here to 
warn our host of now readers against this hum¬ 
bug of the “School of Design"—design upon the 
pockets or dupes! . . The Bobbins Washer, 
price $4.00, Is said to be a humbug, and described 
as a piece of cheap metal weighing six pounds. 
'• The Kissel no.” arc charged wfth humbugging 
folks wit h the thing. 
-» «-+- 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
Temperance .lewd*. A new collection of Tem¬ 
perance, Reform and (ioapc.l (joiiKH. Duetts, Quartets, 
Solos, and. ChorimuK. lty J. H, Tknsky and Kiev. E. 
A. HGpi man. Oliver Ditson & Co., Publiidiern. 
Temperance musical literature 1ms not, on t he 
whole, attained a high rank; jierhaps because of 
the homely subjects, on which poets do not care to 
slug. In this book, however, every thing seems to 
JAN. 34 
be of a high order, and tbe words are full of en¬ 
couragement to the reformed and tbe reformers. 
Clergymen will be pleased with the decidedly re¬ 
ligious character of the songs, which are entirely 
In unison with the present reform movement. 
MAGAZINES FOR FEBRUARY. 
H auper’8 Mioazink -Contents: Bartram and 
ills Garden; Foreign Tips; A Famous Breviary; 
Washington us a Burgher: A visit to the Uepubllc 
of San Marino; The Drop-Star, A Legend of Lake 
Kayutah ; The Percheron and Norrnan Tlnrse; Tho 
Lover’s Peril, a Poem: Grub stakes and Millions; 
White Wings, a Yachting Romance; Ueetor Ber¬ 
lioz; Mary Anerlcy, a Novel, Chap. XXIV. to 
XXVII; Mr. Keeslcr'a Horse-Car, a Story; A Sym¬ 
posium of Wood-Engravers; A Night in an Ava¬ 
lanche; Editor’s Easy Chair; Editor's Literary 
Record; Editor’s Historical Record; Editor’s 
Drawer. 
Duscbnoino the TlrMiior.DT Mine.— Entering a 
rough wooden building, you see a steam-endne 
turning an Immense drum, around which is cotied 
a wire rope. On a chair sirs, with each band on a 
levpr, the bright, watchful engineer, his eyes fixed 
on the drum, now nearly covered with tho coll. In 
another minute, click! the maebtnery has stopped, 
and out of an opening In front, like narloqnln in a 
Christmas pantomime, has come a grimy figure, 
who stands there smiling at you, wit h n lamp fixed 
on the trout of his cap, and his reet on the rim of a 
great iron bucket. He steps off, the bucket Is emp¬ 
tied of Its load, not of rich ore, but of very dirty 
water, which it has brought up. and there Is an air 
of expectancy among tbe workmen, and an inquir¬ 
ing smile on the face ot Mr. Thornton, the superin¬ 
tendent. something Is clearly expected of you, 
for It Is established thut you am not, what ts called 
by the mtnprs a “ specimen fiend." or unmitigated 
sample collecting nuisance, and It Is assumed that 
when you came hither to investigate you “ meant 
business” You take the hint,, and follow Mr. 
Thornton to a room, where amid a good deal of 
Joklog, you put on clothes- and such clothes! 
If you have one spark ot personal vanity, “ all 
hope abandon, ye who enter here,” for even your 
kind guide has to turn away to hide a smile when 
he sees you ln overalls which will not meet In 
front,, and are precariously lied with a ragged 
string, an ancient flannel shirt, the sleeves of 
which hang ln tat tors around your M ristbands, 
and a cap which might have come over ln the 
Mn yfiower, and baa a smoky lamp hooked Into its 
fast decomposing visor. As you approach the 
mouth of the shaft,, the engineer geutally remarks 
that there “ain't mwn danger,” and when the 
bucket, has come up and been partially emptied, 
t.ho by standers repeatedly advise you to be care¬ 
ful about getting ln. As you climb perilously over 
the side, you think of t he Frenchman who, start¬ 
ing In the fox-hunt, cried out: “Take noteece, 
mea amis zat, I leafe every/,mg to my vlfe I” And 
when you are crouched down ho that Mr. Thornton 
can stand on tbe rim above, you do not think at 
all, but, know, that, you are what Mr. Mantallnl 
nailed “a dom’d moist, unpleasant body.” Mr. 
Thornton makes a grlin remark about, tt being as 
well to have some matches In cast the lamps go 
out, gives the word, and dOM ri you go. Under¬ 
stand that there is just about, room for the bucket 
in the shaft. Thai the latter ts sltghtly Inclined, 
and that, you catch and Jar and shake in a nerve- 
trying way; and understand, further, that, a person 
should carefully study his temperament and pos¬ 
sible disabilities before lie takes a contract to go 
Into a deep shaft. 
At a cerlatn depth -It may be 500 or loot) feet (ln 
some Nevada mines tt Is 2500)—yon slop at side 
drifts or crons cuttings In which men are at, work, 
and here you see, walled In by rock, the fissure 
vein. Borne are “ sloping,” or cutting pieces away 
with tbe pick, others holding the steel M’edges,and 
others striking them tremendous blows with 
sledgo-hammers. They are, by-the-way, ln the 
habit ot accompanying these blows with guttural 
sounds, the hearing of which induced a special 
correspondent, of the gentler sex—Ignoring the fact 
that they receive three dollars per diem, own chro¬ 
nometer watches, and have tint? hank accounts, 
and silver spoons on their tables —to MTlte asoul- 
stlrring description of the poor down-trodden 
miner, Imprisoned far from the light of tho blessed 
day, uttering terrible groans as he tolled his life 
away for the enrichment of tho bloated aud pam¬ 
pered capitalist. Other men, again, are drilling, 
loading, and tamping for the “shots,” which are 
to tear the rock In pieces; and you will probably 
remember a pressing engagement “ to meet a 
man ’’ at, some distance from tho mine, and Induce 
Mr. Thornton to ring for that moist ear. and take 
you up betore they light the match A. A. Hayes, 
Jr., lu Harper's Mttyazin# n>r February, 
Lutincott's Magazine.—Contents ;—A Day 
With the Ottawa ohantlermen, Frederic O. Math¬ 
er; Summorland Sketches. Chapter VIII.—The 
Delta of the Sumaslnta Elver, Felix L. Oswald; 
Adam and Eve, Chapters 4-0, The Author of “ Do¬ 
rothy Fox”; old aud New ltouen, Two Papers, I 
Edward King; A Future Capital of the United 
States; tils Wife’s Nearest Relation, Margaret, 
Bertha Wright; Decorative Art and Its Dogmast 
Two Papers. I. M. (1. Van Rensselaer; Through 
Borrowed Eyes, Elaine Goodale; The Peasant- 
Lam! or Lome; K. N. Lament; Little Angel, Tho 
Author of " The Clifton Picture"; Olivia; Wildwood 
Studies, Marta P. Woodbridge; The Bonapartes 
lu Exile, Arthur Vernier; Our Monthly Gossip. 
The opening article, “ A Day with the Ottawa 
Chantler-Mnn,” by Frederic G. Mather, gives a 
lively account or the lumbermen, and much Infor¬ 
mation about tbe resources und prospects of the 
great Canadian forest lands, with many good lllus 
tuitions. “ old and New Rouen ” ts the first of 
two Illustrated papers, by Edward King, descrlb 
lng ln his usual nowl ng and graphic style the most 
pict uresque and Interesting of French provincial 
towns. The eighth chapter of Dr. Oswald’s “Sum- 
merland Sketches,” also JUustrated, carries the 
reader to the Delta of the Suiuualnta Elver. 
