THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
pairing for t|r Jfotntg 
SAVED. 
The wind us spent and the Hale is vast. 
And the morning- sun shines forth at last; 
It shines on a strip of yellow sand. 
Aud a good ship.sinking- in sight of land. 
Over her deck and her battered side 
Lazily washes the ebbing tide; 
Out of the struggle aud deadly strife 
Lo ! nothing saved but a baby life. 
A wee frail thing is the one poor waif 
A wee frail thing to be sound and safe; 
But all forgotten its brief alarms 
It gaily orows in the Btranger arms. 
A sailor looked at tlio little form— 
•• 'Tis a tiny craft to have stemmed the storm 1" 
He sighs a bit as he bends him low, 
And his thoughts fly back to the long ago. 
Just such a babe on his young -wife's breast 
With clinging lingers his own caressed; 
J ust Buch another—but where is he T 
Wrecked on the voyage of life, may be. 
Is this but spared that iu years to come 
It may drift away from its heavenly home t 
The baby laughs as his boy once did; 
Ah, will it be so f Nay, God forbid ! 
The sullor's hand has a gentle touch 
For the sake of the lad he loved so much; 
And Boft from his lips are the words that fall 
God bless the children—God keep them all!” 
[Sunday at Home. 
TEN QUESTIONS. 
UNCLE TRUE. 
My young relatives roust have Increased apace 
recently ; nnd as the new comers have not done me 
the honor to write and explain that henceforth 
they consider me In the light of a dearly-beloved 
Uncle, 1 have concluded to break through my 
usual reserve and make the first advances. Among 
princes and potentates It is customary, when they 
venture abroad to make new aequalntancee, to 
cement friendships with girts. Wo all know how 
the Queen of Sheba overwhelmed Solomon with 
rich presents. Being Americana, we are. of course, 
all potentates, hence In making the aeciualntanco 
of my new nelces and nephews, T shall not present 
myself before them empty-handed. But then how 
am 1 to know that you are worthy of claiming re¬ 
lationship "t l want none but clever and studious 
nelnos and nephews. To ascertain If you can be 
catalogued under those beads, and moreover, to 
judge what progress my whole family has made iu 
the school-room, 1 shall propose 
TKN QUESTIONS, 
and the one who answers the greatest number shall 
have my first gift, a book ot humorous selections, 
called the “Rise and Fall of the Moustache,” writ-- 
ton by Mr. llurdette, the “ Hawkeyo” funny-man; 
and the second gift., a book of poems, shall be 
awarded to any One answering the second largest 
number of Questions. The awards will be an¬ 
nounced in the Rural of January 18, with the 
names of the winners. Here are the questions: 
1. Mho wrote 
Blow, bugle, blew, set the wild echoes flying, 
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. 
2. From what Is the word Zoology derived ? 
8. How many square feet are there In au acre ? 
4. Who said 
There is a pleasure In the pathless woods 1 
5. From what circumstance did the Roman, Bru¬ 
tus, derive Ills name. 
e. Where did Jason go to get the Golden Fleece ? 
7. Name the Plagues of Egypt, 
8. Who was the originator of the South-Sea Hub¬ 
ble? 
8 . What Is the weight of the earth ? 
10. From what were the first plows made, aud 
what their shape? 
- *-■+-* - 
THE CHICKADEE. 
AUGUSTUS FOWLER. 
The Chickadee (Paris alricaplllus) Is a common 
resident, familiar alike In the woods aud the dwell¬ 
ings of man. He fears not the storms of winter 
nor the heats of summer. Cautious yet. bold, cun¬ 
ning though seomlngly simple, he uverts all sus¬ 
picion of the whereabouts or his nesting-place, and, 
when discovered, scolds the Intruder. Ever on the 
alert, the hawk cannot make him hts prey, nor the 
smooth gliding snake surprise him In his nest. In 
times of Incubation when danger approaches, the 
male, before unseen, sallies forth and Instantly ap¬ 
pears betore the Intruder, hopping from branch to 
branch, keeping but a short distance from him, aud 
remaining silent until he fears their retreat may 
discovered, then he sounds the alarm. At the 
the female peeps out of her abode, and quick- 
dodges back to await the issue. If their nestlng- 
ls not seen, or the male bus artfully drawn 
the person away, the pleasing notes, Phe-be, Plie-be 
are heard; but If the nest Is disturbed, and the 
female routed, they are clamorous in reiterating 
the notes, Pe-dee-dee-dee. It their nest Is destroy¬ 
ed, they linger about a day or two, then go In quest 
or another suitable place to build again, such as a 
rotten stump or decayed upright branch of a tree 
or post, which Is easily' perforated, and dig a hole In 
It to the depth of six to nine Inches, with a diam¬ 
eter usually of two aud a quarter Inches. 
They are often many days In preparing their ten¬ 
ement. Their labors are commenced in the morn¬ 
ing of each day, both male nnd female working, 
and they work until about the middle of the fore¬ 
noon, when they stop, and are seldom seen about 
the premises until the next morning, it, seems as 
though the task before them would depress their 
spirits and discourage them in their undertaking, 
but energy and peiseverance will accomplish much; 
bit by bit of rotten wood is taken out of the hole 
and carried by each bird tenor fifteen met from t ilt! 
tree and dropped on the ground. There la no delay 
In their work except what arises from the dltticulty 
of detaching the particles of w ood from the sides or 
bottom of the cavity; ror each bird, after dropping 
Its light load, Wes hack to near the entrance aud 
waits for the other to appear, wheu It enters the 
branch Instantly. When the hollow is mushed the 
bottom Is concave, us usual In birds’ nests. 
There Is usually In ihe vicinity of the nest a hol¬ 
low true, or cavity made on purpose for the male lo 
roost hi during the time of breeding; such retreats 
are also occupied by them In severe stormy weather 
In winter, In which they sometimes remain three or 
Tour days In succession. They make their nests of 
different materials; sometimes li is entirely of 
cowl's hah-, at others entirely of wool; usually It 
Is composed of various materials, such as those 
named, together with fine grass, the fine dried 
roots of the willow, etc., and lined with some soft 
material. Its Inside diameter is one and three- 
fourths inches; its depth one and one-fourth inches. 
The eggs, which are commonly eight in number, 
measure in length ntiuvHtxteemhs or an inch, and 
In breadth eight-sixteenths of an inch. They are 
marked with reddish*blown specks over the entire 
egg, more thickly at Urn larger end; sometimes, 
however, the spots are thicker on the smaller end 
of some of the eggs of the same brood. They raise 
two broods In a season. The Chickadee, w hen c om¬ 
pelled from necessity to take up hu abode In a cav¬ 
ity not made by himself, selects one with au en¬ 
trance not much larger than his body, so that he is 
not so liable to become the prey of the Slottled-owl, 
as are the Golden-winged Woodpeckers and Blue¬ 
birds. 
There are no species of birds that suffer so much 
from the depredations of the Owl as the Golden¬ 
winged Woodpeckers. The deadliest foe to the 
Chickadee is the Great: American shrike, or Butcher¬ 
bird. .Seated ujK>n some prominent object t he Shrike 
watches the movement of the little troop as they 
are busily engaged seeking their food In a variety 
ot positions, unconscious ot the sure death that 
awaits one or their number. While listening to 
the squeaking notes of the Brown Creeper which 
usually attends them, or the shrlU elation voice of 
l>owny Woodpecker, you hear a noise like a falling 
stone through the branches of a tree; It Is the 
Shrike: he has struck his victim, and It he does not 
devour It upon the spot, It Is hung on the crotch of 
a brunch to serve as a meal ai some future time. 
-- 
HOME-MADE DOLLS’ HOUSE. 
As many of our young readers are not in a po¬ 
tion to expend any very large amount, for toys, tj- 
following suggestions, which we gather from the 
Philadelphia Times, may be of service, aud help to 
make the long winter evenings pass pleasantiyT“ 
A huge packing case, divided Into four compart¬ 
ments by two shelves placed crossways Inside, 
makes au excellent doll’s house. Any carpenter 
would fix these shelves and put on a door in front 
ut a very small charge. The four compartments 
make a dining-room, drawing-room, kitchen and 
bed-room. The cell lags should bo covered with 
w hite glazed calico, pasted ou; t his makes u good 
Imitation of wldtcwash. Pale yellow calico pasted 
on the kitchen waffs answers for the usual *• dis¬ 
tempering” of a real kitchen ; this la loss trouble¬ 
some than palnllng or applying real whitewash, 
and looks quite as well. The calico must tie 
strained as rightly as possible, 'llie walls of iho 
other rooms should be covered with paper. Car¬ 
pets can be made out of pieces of velvet, or, bettor 
still, worked on canvas In a small pattern suitable 
to the room. This Ls a capital piece of easy w ork 
for a little girl. One great advantage In the doll’s 
house as a toy Ls that, like a doll, It Induces chil¬ 
dren to practice needlework. Heal carpet is too 
thick for the doll’s rooms, but drugget does no! 
look amiss. Small pictures, cut out of papers or 
taken off bonbons, look well on the walls it sur¬ 
rounded by a narrow strip of gilt paper to Imitate 
a frame. 
Much of the furniture can be made at home. 
Beds are easily manufactured. Take an old noris 
paper or spool box, and place the lid upright 
against one end, the box being turned bottom up¬ 
wards. This forms a bed, with a back and tester. 
Sew the lid firmly In its place, and paste pink 
glazed oalleo within and without, also along the 
sides; then covei’ with while muslin edged with 
lace, arranged like the curtains, draperies and 
valance of a real bed. A matt,rags, bluffed with 
any scraps of wool or wadding, sheets, blankets (ot 
flannel),oounterpane aud pillows can now be added. 
Bilk patchwork Is effective for the counterpane, or 
one can be knitted In fine wool on steel pins, In 
stripes of red and white. Lace over silk Ls very 
pretty for a counterpane. 
Here, again, is an opportunity lor the Juvenile 
furnishers to exercise a little neat needlework. 
A capital wardrobe can bo mode of another such 
box, without the ltd. It should be lined Inside with 
pink or white glazed calico, and covered outside 
with paper. Imitation oak paneling looks best,. 
Stand this on one end, put a row of bent pins at the 
back, inside, tor the doffs to hang their dresses on, 
and close the entrance by a curtain of some soft 
material (crimson llama or merino does w ell). 
The eurtaiu should be made to draw to and fro; 
this Ls easily managed by running a wire through 
a row of loops at the hack of the curtain, anti 
then fixing It across the door, if made In a soft 
material (silk Is too harsh), it will draw- euslly. 
Tables and chairs can bo made In cardboard, 
but they are hardly durable enough to he suitable 
for the doll’s house. If the family contains a 
brother with any taste for carpentry, he had bet¬ 
ter be applied to. Tables and dial re aTe easily 
made, even by amateur carpenters. If done neatly, 
U t wlll be sufficient to paint the legs and backs to 
Imitate whatever wood In desired—varnishing la a 
sticky and smelly operation, and hardly one to be 
recommended to young folks who have any re¬ 
gal’d for their own frocks or their parents’ carpets. ' 
Extremely pretty chairs can be made by cover¬ 
ing the wood with strong gum, and then laying 
cut straw regularly side by side upon it till the 
chair Is covered. Noras wit hout arm can lie made 
out of an empty hook-and-eye box; turn the box 
bottom upward to form the seat, sew a piece of 
card against one side to* form the back, and cover 
the back and seal first with a thin layer of wad¬ 
ding, then with silk, velvet or chintz. 
A doll’s House, such as described, Is a toy to 
which all the children can take an interest, even 
the boys being useful hi making It. Where such a 
toy ls known to exist, friends and relatives who 
w ish to make presents to the little ones generally 
let their gifts take the shape of some addition to 
the doll’s house, which often grows surprisingly 
rich in the course of years. Glass and crockery, 
which cannot be made at, home like the furniture, 
are frequently supplied In tiffs manner. I omitted 
to mention a w ash-stand among the txxl-room furni¬ 
ture ; a table does well for this, the top covered 
with a thin white oilcloth or marble paper. A 
toilet table should be covered with pink calico and 
draped white muslin, to match the bed. 
Ingenious eblldren will invent many other addi¬ 
tions to the furniture—the doffs house ls a capital 
holiday occupation. Of course It may be said that 
toy furniture is to be bought so cheaply that It 1s 
liaidly worth the trouble of manufacturing at. 
homo; but the object of this paper ls rather to find 
occupation for restless little fingers than to give in¬ 
structions how to make articles w hich shall eclipse 
the gorgeous doll’s furniture at any Hirst-class toy 
shop. Doubtless prettier tables and cbalre can be 
be bought, but the handmade ones gives amuse¬ 
ment for many a wet afternoon, aud tlieir manu¬ 
facture fills up many an idle hour. 
The great French novelist, victor Hugo, tells 
this story about Ills own childhood—his father, 
be it remembered, was »ae of Napoleon’s generals: 
“ M hen i was fivo or six years old I was crying. 
My father who heard me, did not reproved, me but 
riffs Is the way he punished me, * Why, the poor, 
dear little girl,’ lie said In a cool, ironical manner, 
4 What’s the matter with her y Who lias been 
making her cry ? she shan’t be found fault with; 
ffs right for little girls to cry. But how’s this? 
M hat have you been dressing her in boys’ clot hes 
for? Make her a pretty frock at once; aud to¬ 
morrow she shay go and take a w’alk In the gard- 
den of the TuHeries.” 
--- 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
From Lilly Lee. 
Dear Uncle True;—I see that some of the dear 
Cousins arc alive yet. i was very glad to see t heir 
names in your columns. I expect, ( hey were very 
busydu getting ready ror Christmas. There ls lots 
of fun at Christmas. 1 like to fix up the rooms, 
trim them with wreatffs and terns, and make them 
look so bright and pleasant; aud it Ls very nice to 
make pretty gil ts tor our dear triends; as I expect 
they enjoy their presents Just as much as 1 do those 
1 receive. It Is pleasant, not only at Christmas, 
but always afterward, to look at them, and think 
of the dear friends that gave them. 1 remember 
the nret time I hung up my stocking tor Santa 
Claus to fill. Can any of you remember your first 
rime? My stocking was red and white; and I 
went to bed .early aud listened so long to hear the 
reindeers come clattering down the elilmney. As 
soon as it was light, I scrambled out of the trundle- 
bed, and ran for my stocking, it was stuffed full! 
That was u Merry Christmas for me; and toother 
went to-put on her boot, mid there was something 
In the toe. She took off the boot, shook It, aud out 
came a live mouse! oil, how I Jumped and laugh¬ 
ed; but I thought It was rather shabby lu Nauta 
Claus to give me so much and treat my mother so 
ill. Well, that seems a good w'hlle ago, and I have 
lost faith In Nuntu Claus, because some one told me 
he w as a humbug. But .be was a very pleasant 
cheat. I wish the girl cousins would tell me, In 
Uncle True’s paper, what they received tor pres¬ 
ents, and how they made those they bestowed upon 
others. It would bo so nlco to learn something 
new - Lilly Lee. 
Our Cobbler. 
On a farm near our place there Is a fine w hite 
gobbler, whose buslnen> heretofore wag mainly to 
gobble, strut, admire himself, and take charge ot 
the young turks when hatched. The season being 
cold and disagreeble lor young turkeys all departed 
this, life but one, and this one the atore-mcntloned 
gobbler took charge of. But one night the little 
lurk came home alone with Ills old mother, and the 
old gobbler was reported missing. Nor was the 
mystery unravelled for several days. One evening 
some one thought he saw liirn walking lu the field 
with tho hen; but, Instead of coming home to roost 
he disappeared. Search was made, and finally he 
was found under the hedge undergoing the hard¬ 
ships of hatching a nest of eggs! He has proven 
himself, not only useful as well as ornamental, but 
carries off the palm tor gobblers. 
Young Turk. 
Her Favorite Cousin. 
Dear Rural Cousins and Uncle Truk: —My 
papa has taken your Interesting paper for some 
years. We nre till wry much pleusctl with It, in¬ 
deed 1 do not know what we could do wlthoot It. 
Cun anything be done to revive the hearts of our 
gentlemen cousins. 1 feel very sad about them. 
The girls have chased them out Of our sociable 
circle almost altogether I should Judge. The boys 
pretend to be very brave, but wheu the girls rise 
up against, them, and with the aid of the pen make 
them acquainted with the fact, they beat a hasty 
retreat. Poor, cowardly fellows, my heart aches 
for them! Blayer-of-concelt, where are you ? I wish 
you to know that you are my favorite cousin. Per¬ 
haps you will again venture to write when you find 
you have a friend among the girls; for with sorrow 
i confess that I belong to the conceited fair sex. 
“ Rural Lover,” 
-ih Seed is in the Sower's Haiida."—Hosetti. 
Ten thousand sowers through the laud 
Passed heedless on their way; 
Ten thousand seeds iu every huud, 
Of every sort had they. 
They east seed here, they cast seed there. 
They east seed everywhere. 
The land a forest straightway grew. 
With plants of every kind; 
And kindly fruits, aud poisonous, too, 
In that world could you find. 
For trees jrrew here, aud trees grew there, 
And trees grew everywhere. 
Anon, aa many a year went by, 
Those sowers came once more; 
And wandered ’neath the leaf-hid sky. 
And wondered at the store. 
For fruit hung here, and fruit hung there, 
Aud fruit hung everywhere. 
Then plucked they many a berry bright, 
None could their right deny; 
Aud some ate to their long delight. 
And some ate but to die. 
W’hlle some plucked hero, and some plucked there, 
Aud some pluck«d everywhere, 
Nur knew they In that tangled wood 
The trees that were their own; 
Yet as they Plucked as each one should. 
Each plucked what he had sown, 
So men do here, so men do there, 
So do men everywhere. 
-- 
CALL ON YOUR PASTOR. 
Very many parlshonera make a sad mistake by 
neglecting to call on their pastor and hts family. 
They think, perhaps, all belongs to him and his 
wife to make all the calls. But such ls a grave 
mistake and should bo corrected. Judgment, it ls 
tnie, should be exercised In this matter. Lengthy 
caUs should be avoided, and calls oil Saturday not 
often made unless on special business. 
But there are times when caffs by parishonere 
would be highly appreciated by a pastor and his wife. 
Try it, brother and sister. Perhaps you have not 
called upon your pastor for sLx weeks; it maybe 
six months. It may be a whole year, aud so you 
do not know how t hey appear at home in their own 
family. And neither do you know how he aud his 
family fare In temporal tilings. You wonder, per¬ 
haps, why Mis. A why, the minister’s wife, don’t go 
to church or late; w by she Ls not a toucher In tho 
Sunday school; why not to the circle and other 
places of entertainment. Yes, why ? 
Go immediately, and learn why, if she ls too 
modest to tell you the reason why, then gently in¬ 
quire something about her apparel, and perhaps 
you’ll be led into the secret ot her absence. Be 
careful tnat she does not disguise the fact that she 
Is very needy, with no means to relievo her neces¬ 
sities. Call on your pastor and family and cheer 
them by alms-deeds, and show that you appreciate 
Ids labors, and esteem him highly lor fils works’ 
sake. 
A short call on your minister and a few words of 
cheer In commendation of his sermon the past Sab¬ 
bath may lift a heavy burden from his aching 
heart. For often hte sermons to him seem very 
poor, and not in time nor place, when, perhaps, it 
was just the meat which fed you. Don’t 1* afraid 
of puffing him up by speaking in a proper manner 
of Ills efforts to feed the hungry souks, if you were 
fed by the truth presented, tell him so, and speak 
of It In the prayer-mealing. 
If you would call on your pastor'and family, It 
would be reciprocated. You would see him more 
frequently at your home, uud there would be 
stronger attachments created, and there would be 
a better understanding between pastor and people, 
and a strong bond of love aud union felt.—Morning 
Star. 
FEAR OF HUMAN JUDGMENT. 
I am Just gotug to do something which I have 
clearly made up my mind to do, and some friend 
passing by catches sight of me, standing with the 
tools all in my hands, and on u mere momentary 
Impulse he era's out, “ What, a fool you are to do 
that fund so passes ou and has forgotten me and 
my plan In a moment. And yet It Is Just that sort, 
ot taunt, or the lour ot It, which has blighted many 
a sweet and healthful impulse lti tho bud. It ls 
good for us often to know how superficial, how 
lightly made, how soon forgotten, are the Judg¬ 
ments of our brethren which sound so solemn, and 
which tyrannize over us so. Such a feeling Bets us 
free, and makes us independent, lie sure that you 
may feel thutjalxmt any cruel criticism that ls 
hampering you, and may cast It usidc, and fotget 
It, and go your way. The man who made It has 
probably forgotten It long ago.—Phillips Brooks. 
-- 
PERSONAL CHARACTER OF JESUS. 
Ik we attempt to discover what It is in the per¬ 
sonal character of Jesus Christ, as shown la His 
life, that thus attracts such permanent admiration, 
It Is not til 111 CUR to do so. In an age when the Ideal 
of the religious life was realized in the Baptist’s 
withdrawing from men, and burying himself In the 
ascetic sOlltudca of tho deserts, Christ came, bring¬ 
ing religion Into the haunts and homes and every¬ 
day life of men. For the mortifications of the 
hermit. He substituted tlio labors or active benevo¬ 
lence ; for the fears and gloom that shrank from 
men, He brought the light, of cheerful piety, which 
made every act of dally life religious. Geikie. 
-t-M-- 
Christian, though the cup ts bitter, yet U ls put 
into your hand by your Father; though tho cross 
ls heavy, yet. he that has laid It on your shoulders 
will boar the heaviest end of it himself; and why 
thou should you murmur? 
