FES. 4 
THE RURAL 
ER. 
with tears. “ He never could have cared so very 
much for me,," she said to herself; •- he could not 
really have grieved about losing me." 
She looked at him—he was talking In a lively 
strain to Lady Maude. She wondered to herself 
If this calm, proud, handsome man. so perfectly 
well-bred, so self-possessed, talking so brilliantly 
to the Earl's daughter—II this could really be the 
same ardent, despairing young lover who had bid¬ 
den her a passionate farewell. He was in no 
hurry to talk to her. She had rather pictured 
herself as having to hint something like prudence 
to him ; elre could have laughed at herself for the 
notion. 
He did not look at her; she doubted even whether 
he had noted her rich dress, her shining jewels. 
When she spoke, he replied with polite Indiffer¬ 
ence, with well-bred calmness, but he never once 
voluntarily addressed her. It was all so different 
from what she had pictured that she experienced 
a sense of depression. 
Lady Maude was compelled to leave them for a 
few minutes, and then Lady cliovp.nlx turned to 
Felix. 
•‘How strange tt seems that we should meet 
herei” she said. 
"Yes, It Is strange," he replied. “I am very 
often here on business—you, I presume, come equal¬ 
ly often on pleasure?" 
“ It Is my first, visit," she said; but he clld not 
ask the reason of that. 
"How cold, how Indifferent, he Is to me!" she 
remarked to herself. •• No one would ever think 
even that, we had been Mends. If he would say 
something reproachful, It would be better than 
this." 
But there was no thought, of reproach in him. 
He spoke to her with a smile. He neither sought 
her nor avoided her. Ills conduct was such that 
she might have been a stranger whom he had met 
for the first time. Then came the signal for din¬ 
ner, and Lady Chcventx was a little surprised to 
find that Felix took down Lady Maude. She went 
down with the Earl, and Sir Owen escorted Lavtnia 
Kolfe. violet was so placed at the table that she 
could see and hear all that passed. 
Never In her life had the beautiful Lady Cheve- 
nix felt so surprised. She bad always heard Felix 
spoken of as being clever and gifted ; but she had 
never dreamed that he was really the genius he 
was. When with her. lie had seldom spoken of 
anything but, herself and his great, love for her. 
Now, for the first time, she heard him converse 
with intellectual men, who all seemed to look up 
to lilm as their superior. MhO/was astounded. The 
great statesman Lord Hayden talked much lo him, 
and the Earl asked his opinion, 
"It does me good," said Lord ltuyden, "to hear 
such Ideas as yours, they are so thoroughly fresh, 
clever, and original. We must, have you on our 
side. YOU must not go over to the enemy.” 
Felix had a natural wit that made his conversa¬ 
tion piquant and amusing. Lord Arlington de¬ 
lighted In it.. When any playful attack was made 
on himself, he would look at him and say- 
“ I shall leave yon to answer t hat„ Mr. Lonsdale.” 
Tlie dinner was a complete success. It was a 
new thing to Lady Chcventx, Intellectual conversa¬ 
tion such as she was listening to, she looked once 
at her husbaud, and she saw Mm gazing with un¬ 
disguised admiration at Felix. 
Sir Owen said little. He had Ideas of bis own; 
one was that talking at dinner-time was a bore 
rather than not; people sat down to cat. not to 
talk. He certainly did not contribute, much to the 
general entertainment, He dined well; and more 
than once Mold felt something like dismay, as sire 
saw how the wine-glasses before him were replen¬ 
ished. She could not help contrasting the two 
men; nor was she the only one present who did so. 
Felix was so bright, so handsome, so animated, so 
gifted and Intellectual; he was a leader of conver¬ 
sation even amongst older and wiser men than 
himself, for he had the gif t of picturesque language, 
Sir Owen, coarse and heavy, Ms brain dulled 
with constant drinking, speaking little, but,, 
when he did speak, saying something almost dis¬ 
agreeable, was doltish and Inert, except when he 
was offensive. There could have been no greater 
contrast—and Lady chcventx saw it, To herself 
she thought how Felix would be appreciated and 
understood In London, how eagerly he would be 
sought—who would core to remember that he swis 
the son of a country lawyer? .Such men make their 
own mark. Where her husbaud would not be 
tolerated, Felix would be received with open arms. 
All these observations she made to herself, as 
she sat by Lord Arlington, her beautiful face 
wreathed with smiles. The last words she heard, 
as the ladles quitted the dining-room, were from 
Lord Rayden. 
"The next time you run up to London, Mr. 
Lonsdale,” he was saying, “ pray come and see 
me; 1 shall bo delighted If you do, and I will show 
you the very article In the newspaper of which we 
are speaking.” 
And In her own mind Lady clieveuix thought 
that such a thing as an Invitation from the emin¬ 
ent statesman would be an honor sir Owen would 
never attain. 
The gentlemen did not linger over tlictr wine. 
Lord Arlington saw that sir Owen was Inclined to 
drink freely; he made a note In Ms own mind that 
It should bo some time at least before that gen¬ 
tleman dined with him again. 
(7b be rrmUnuOtl.) 
WHAT HAPPENED TO SEVEN GIRLS IN 
TEN YEARS. 
MARY WAUKK-FISriKK. 
From Zethrea Raynor. 
Cairns Point, Feb. 24, lsn. 
Dear Friends and Sisters of the pleasure the 
foregolug letters have afforded me there Is no need 
that I should speak. Lee and I talked the matter 
over last summer, but we thought the date of our 
parting atK — was the anniversary. I am right 
glad that Roswell set the ball rolling, or I fear the 
matter might have been indefinitely postponed. Ot 
my life the past ten years, there is but, little of 
general interest. Jt has been less eventful than 
some of the others. Still to have become a wife 
and mother, yet never to have, been called “ mam¬ 
ma." by childish lips, is an experience sweet 
and sad in its influences upon the life spreading 
out over many decades. To go back, you know 
Lee and I returned to Richmond, to our old work 
and endured the tender mercies of the Hawley‘3 
two yea is longer. Many were the battles I waged 
against the toul aspersions cast upon pure and 
3 elf-denylng lives. Of the teachers In your places, 
some were excellent as teachers, anti pleasant as 
friendst but none, save one. could compare wjih 
“ our clique," whom we otte/i longed for with an 
earnestness that was surprising to the Inmates of 
the house. Miss Howe, whom we knew slightly 
the first year, ! learnedJLo love dearly as l came to 
know her well, she was a true, strong woman, 
and died bravely on the field. 
Our schools prospered and we were happy in our 
work. I look back upon those, years of uncongenial 
toll and petty annoyances as among the most 
blessed of my life, for the trulls they have borne. 
In the autumn of ’69 ^nothing better presenting 
Itself) T accepted a position as teacher in my na¬ 
tive town, in which capacity a part of the time for 
the next two years was spent. The, monotony was 
agreeably broken by a visit to Lee on the occasion 
of her marriage, to Rev. Mr. Vaughan; and In the 
following summer, she with her husband, and later 
dear Mary waiter, made roy home Happy by a 
visit. The winter of ’Tl and '72 t spent in the happy 
home of the Vaughans on the shores of the beautiful 
Seneca. Many were the lessons 1 learned of prac¬ 
tical Christianity. 
At nine o'clock on a beautiful May morning In T2 
I was married. Jt seems strange, even now, that 
my husband chose me, for it was always said that 
f was “ cut out for an old maid," and 1 had never 
aspired to the then doubtful Joys of marriage. But 
with all my faults he loved me. and doe love me 
dearly. My life is as happy a.s is given 1" mortals 
of my temperament. 'there fcs but one cloud over 
my slcy (and yon know J ever see the clouds), and 
that Is the slate of my husband s lieu 1th. Let Lee 
do the gushing, only i claim to have the best hus¬ 
band lathe world. Mr. Carlton was teaching In 
M— when we. joined fortunes, and we lived there, 
housekeeping or boa rding, as was most practicable, 
until .March, T-i, when we returned to (A 1’., and In 
two months had to part with our baby. Thank 
the good father, dear girls, that He lias spared you 
this stroke. We named her Mary Lee, and we 
fondly saw, even hi her babyhood, the promise of 
all the v irtues and beauty that, her name Implied. 
Her sweet Image is enshlined in my heart of hearts, 
but 1 know that Hod deals more wisely and tender¬ 
ly than we could, and she blooms In Paradise. 
Weep not over the grave of the innocent. After 
a lonely summer I was glad to resume my old em¬ 
ployment. We are very pleasantly situated here. 
My husband is a much better teacher than myself; 
hut, they tolerate mo and t don't wish lo change 
in.v position as his assistant . There are already 
generations of my ex-puplls tu c. B„ and In all 
probability, years hence will belound those who 
bear lively Impressions of ynur fellow-worker on 
their minds and backs. Personally, 1 think 1 have 
not ranch changed, except that 1 have grown 
stalli Vou know, ten years ago. I was said to 
have a ‘ Se ttied look." 
This journal would be incomplete without a 
mention of the delightful vLslt we- had la Berkshire 
last .ummex with Jay nosey anti her family. And 
hero lot, me pay my tribute to our heiress, as a 
housekeeper, wile and mother; and to our host as 
an accomplished Christian gentleman. Mr. carl- 
ton li 'cantoas warmly attached to them as myself. 
Their Until' May Is a lovely child, end endeared 
her&oli to us at once, nutlet, me whisper to you 
that her mother doesn't make her behave so much 
better than, other people s young one.-..' 
Like everybody else, wo did' the. Centennial, 
but unfortunately missed soclug .Mrs. Harrell. 
From her we expected in get Mercy Biddle’s address 
andglvnhcr a call. Had we done so, the good 
doctor would have touud two good subjects lor her 
dealli-doylltig pills -a small dose would have suf¬ 
ficed. 1 do not despair or seeing' them yet, nor 
Koswell and the •• Cookies,” as tholr places of 
abode are. within our projected trips, ii we are pros¬ 
pered In the Immediate future. 
And now 1 must say farewell, thanking you 
each and all, for your kindly remembrance, x cast 
my vote for a continuance or this general letter 
writing. Come and sec us, all of you. 
Yours In the bonds of ’07. Zethrea Carlton. 
Jaynesey's letter closes the story. 
North Egmont, March 23, 1S77. 
Good morning, girls I—This precious budget of 
letters was received through our friend Zethrea. 
Glad was t to hoar from you all, and learn of your 
respective localities. After a long talk with you 
through your Interesting loiters, i could uui help 
thinking that my bark Imd glided more smoothly 
adown the stream of time than yours. 
Why, girls, my'lire has been so uneventful, and 
God has led me so quietly that my history of iho 
past tan years seems very tame compared with 
the Olliers. I have no long voyages lo speak of. or 
bright experiences to relate, or great achievements 
made, or victories to record ; only just a quiet, 
happy, peaceful, restful ten years sailing over the 
sea of life. Why did you not write me and let me 
know where you were, so as to luvtte you to my 
wedding as I did Raynor" i was tnunied iu 
church, In theefiy of Schenectady, in October ’«», 
with dear Zethrea lor my bridesmaid. And here 
let -me testify that Rayuor gave proof of the love 
slit* bore mo by closing her school and fit consider¬ 
able sacrifice, emue and spent The week with me 
preceding my marriage. In I fie summer of Ml, my 
husband nml myself visited Raynor at her home, 
and together we there enjoyed Lake George. The 
following summer we began housekeeping on the 
banks of Seneca Lake, and hove our happiness was 
, intensified by having Raynor an inmate ot the 
i 1 parsonage during the winter, lfi December of '7:>, 
we journeyed from the Seneca to BerksMre, Mass, 
and here we have resided tar three ancl a hall 
years. A I am the only ministers' wife among 
you, Motile c ake would say. •*! thought Jaynese.v 
would write something sanctimonious." Well, 
Mollte, there is sometimes as much fun among the 
wi res as the ministers. Never have 1 been more 
contented Mian ns the wife of my minister; for, 
though we have celebrated the seventh anniversary 
of our marriage. I have not yet lost the lover in the 
husband, and even since tile baby ea me we do not 
quarrel. Now. r take no credit for tMs blessed 
slate of affairs, tor never have I seen the lovely 
< haractar of our Saviour assimilated more closely 
than in my Hod-given husband. 
our little May flower was given us the first day 
of May, ISIS, and so we cab her May Zethrea. Even 
at her tender age we find much compaMonshtp in 
her. The little mischief told me to-day she was 
trying to keep Sat in out of her heart! I presume 
Zethrea expected to s« her namesake fold her 
arms from morning until night. But girls, I have'tit 
been able to accomplish fhLs. respect” that love 
gets the better ot judgment. By the w ay, l must 
tall you that Professor Ca rlton Ls just splendid and 
very fine looking. 
I wish so much to see you all. I drop a ballot 
for an exchange of photograph*. It you want to 
know how old r have grown, you must come and 
see me. Silver threads are numerous among the 
brown, but J do not feel old. 
Mary Walter, f have ceased to worry for fear 
you will open your mouth! 1 really care, to see the 
one you deigned to marry, and am hungry lor some 
of your fresh talk. 1 don't despair of seeing you 
all again I Mwe been thinking while writing 
■who could have marked put our way for the past 
ten years so wisely and welt ns the hand ot a good 
God I We have added to our circle of friends since 
we gave each other the promise ot writing these 
letters; but the attachment for the old ones re¬ 
mains unbroken, The thought Is a happy one to 
me. that we have all been spared to fulfill our 
promise of writing, and thul no dear friend has to 
write ror us, that we are among the dead. 
For many another decade of years may our hand 
remain unbroken, and when the angel shall stand 
wit h one Coot on Hie. sea and one on t he land,—cry¬ 
ing, that time shall be uo more," may we all meet 
to spend eternity together, not one of our number 
missing. 
Remember, that the latah-strlng always hangs 
out at the Baptist parsonage for the girls of ’67. 
Lee Vacghan. 
(tub END.) 
-- 
THE LINE OF CAPET. 
C. U. E. R. 
It required time, patience and a large measure 
of industry to make France a monarchy, and the 
reroril of events during the SOT years that-the 
French chicken was chipping its shell is as In¬ 
teresting as if Is instructive. Hugh Cupel was the 
reSl founder of the Kingdom, and when Vie started 
In business Ms actual dominions were a trille 
greater In extent than the island of Corsica. The 
feudal barons wlm monopolized the greater part ox 
the laud were a law unto themselves, and when 
not employed In tearing each other's eyes out, 
they were devrjed to the mysteries of the wassail 
howl. They literally led a cat-and-dog fife, which 
may partly explain that to this day the epithet 
chle’i 1 13 ns gall and wormwood to a Frenchman. 
But to return to Capet, ills enterprise was not 
thought much of by the barons, w ho regarded the 
assumption Of ft kingly title us in rather poor 
taste. 
"Who made you count?" Capet asked one of 
these feudal lords. 
'• And pray who made you King ?” was the quick 
rejoinder, 
This was a leading question, aud Capet, taking 
counsel of wisdom, concluded he would make 
haste slowly, and although the CapcUnn fine Is the 
most ancient of any now existing, the founder was 
to iineei u.ilii of his tenure that he wore Ms crown 
but, onco, deriving his surname and f lie name of 
his house from his habit of wearing a n abbots 
cape. 
Finding that his only hopu Of advancement was 
in concUUiilng the clergy, he professed a bound¬ 
less devotion to the church, thus uugumcniiug 
Ms spiritual-artUlery by being friendly with the 
cannons! ills sou Robert who reigned In Ms stead 
wassiUTtuiued the Pious, and w hen not lighting, 
passed the major part ol his Cline to slugiugchants. 
Robert was ot a meek and gentle spirit and lived 
In tlie tear of his wile. It is related that lie met a 
beggar one day who was temporarily embarrassed, 
and not having' any money assets himself he 
stripped the silver ornaments oil his lance, thrust 
them Into the mendicant 's palm, and said, “ Now, 
begone-quickly lest me queen should catch me." 
Subsequently he-had occasion to go to battle, and 
foremost figlitlng fell. 
This was about the year umn v. D. at w hich 
time the fancy prevailed that the earth was 
speedily coining to an cnci. It was very bad for 
the prospects ot the Kingdom, as pc lost, all in¬ 
terest In life and were inert, liven title deeds 
were made no read •• to iheeud of the world ap¬ 
proaching.” But the nobles did not cease fight¬ 
ing on this account. They slashed each other 
w fib Impartial ardor, while famine stalked through 
t he land preparing the w ay tor Us handmoldau 
pestilence. Thu supply of customary food having 
boon exhausted, human flesh was offered for sale; 
while one enterprising tun-keeper supplied his 
table with the delicacies of the season at the ex¬ 
pense or forty-eight unfortunate human beings, 
whom lie decoyed into his house ami dispatched. 
Finally people somehow concluded that the earth 
had no idea ot slopping Its motion, and it came to 
pass that. Henry I. was seated upon the throne, lie 
was a man of quiet tastes, and to end i he ceaseless 
si rife going on about, him, arranged, w ith the aid 
of i tie clergy, tlm Peaee of God, by which it was 
decreed r I cl f no blood should be shed on holidays, 
nor from riie roiling ta; ihe sun on Wednesday 
until the Monday following, under the severest 
penalties. This arrangement gave Mm leisure to 
t ake Ms Sunday* walk to the brink of bis kingdom, 
ancl looking over, meditate on how it might be en¬ 
larged, then returning home, be in time for tea 
and prayers. 
Henry’s reign Is to be considered In the light of 
an anodyne, as it calmed tlie passions of the nobles 
somewhat, and gave Ms son, Philip 1 , during Ms 
tenure ot forty-eight years, a chance to make real 
progress in establishing the monarchy on a solid 
basis. ITilllp was a thorougldy bad fellow, and 
gave tlie Church no end ot Trouble in keeping ac¬ 
count of Ms miscellaneous wives and divorces, but 
the kingdom grew apace. The Normon conquest 
of Sicily drew i host of lighting nobles away trorn 
France, as also the First crusade, and Philip 
entered Into the real estate business with a zest 
tha t boded his fo< s no good. When the Crusaders 
returned they found that this active monarch had 
married a province here, annexed j province there, 
and had confiscated castles elsewhere, In a manner 
that Whs very alarming. 
But fils sou Louis VI. greatly improved on the 
methods of his rather. Millie Philip followed 
events Louis controlled them. Meantime the 
nobles had turned desperate robbers, ancl travel 
was very insecure. At merely eight miles from the 
Capital there Uvcd a regular Tweed baron who 
grasped whate’er ho could and kept-whate’er be 
grasped—much to the chagrin of travelers. As 
Louis had to iravet that way he thought it ex¬ 
pedient to make the place as welt the man barren, 
winch he accomplished aud by appeal to the clergy, 
yvho armed their serfs, smote the stronghold, and 
generally made the place too tropical for the trans¬ 
gressor. Louts was so well pleased with tills ex¬ 
periment that he granted the clergy and peasants 
communal and commercial privileges, they In 
turn supplying him with tribute and troops. This 
was the nucleus of the royal army, and a great 
stride, in advance, 
Louis Ml. was an inefficient being, and aid not 
advance the business in hand, but Ms successor 
Philip II, was a Mighty monarch, who lost no time 
In enlarging Ms kingly domain, lie begun by in¬ 
nocently Inciting baron against baron, ami the 
plan worked so well that he made arrangements 
lo continue It Indefinitely, but the Third Crusade 
drew oil some of Ms most promising game. While 
kings and nobles were upholding the Cross against 
the crescent hi the East, he turned Ms attention to 
the affairs of Ms neighbors, and acted very badly 
towards England. Richard, the Lion Hearted, 
w hen he returned was very w roth, and not feeling 
called upon to temper Ms steel with mercy made 
Pliilip feel as if he. had almost been born in vain. 
Shortly thereafter w .is fought, the battle of Berners 
between rhe French and Flemings, It wag a tri¬ 
umph of royalty over feudalism, and led also to 
the growth of the thirst for military glory wMeh Is 
now a lending characteristic of the Gaul. 
The French will probably never forget this mon¬ 
arch, he was the first io establish permanent 
taxes. He also gave regular - pay to bis soldiers, 
and encouraged the growth, of cities, lie doubled 
the area ot the kingdom by annexing Normandy, 
Alain. Anjou, Toumdneand Folios. by which iho 
feudal lords were shorn of some Of iheir fairest 
possessions. In his hours of ease he also built 
Notre Dame, founded the c Diversity of Parts, and 
planned the crusade against the Alblgsnses who 
were completely exterminated on account ot their 
rchgious views, and ceased thenceforth to be a 
factor in political problems. 
His son. Louis Vlll., was known merely as the 
"son of on excellent, father, tlie father of un ex¬ 
cellent son, und the husband ot am excellent wife.” 
Only this. Louis IX. (8b. Louis) was crowned soon 
after the death of his father, and had a fight on Ills 
I hands at once. -The barons could 111 brook his 
Spanish mother. But the King s troops were very 
powerful now, and the barons bad to succumb. 
Languedoc being added to the crown domains as 
the price of the Insurrection. Louts was extremely 
religious and couhl not be restrained Horn pro¬ 
ceeding with an army to Egypt. This expedition 
was called the seventh c rusade. The king had 
quite a Utile difficulty in .securing recruits, so he 
devised a plan that proved to be a trap, ft was 
usual to give the court tors m; w robes on Christmas, 
so on this invasion the king commanded every one 
to be at early mass, and as they entered each 
received his new coat, H was not tang In being 
foulld out thatevopy coat was decorated with the 
red cross, aud you may depend on it the prayers 
for the king were not vary fervent that morning. 
The crusade was a failure, and when he returned 
to France, he was apprised of Ms mother's death. 
Then he sol about i tiling liijv kingdom in severe 
earnest. He caused to he made the first code of 
justice, and established courts, thus Introducing 
lawyers. Making si ill another crusade to the Holy 
Land, he met Ms death among the ruins of Car¬ 
thage. 
Ills successor, Philip III., by marriage, added 
three provinces to the crown, and left the realm 
In go>id condition for Ms successor Philip l\ r . v The 
Fair), who began to rule when But seventeen. 
This young gentleman debased t he coinage, aud 
then refused to take It for state dues, and con¬ 
tinued to raise revenue b.v banishing the Jews aud 
seizing their property. Having a difficulty with 
Kdwnivl of England, lie.took advantage of that 
monarch's trouble with Ms own subjects, and add¬ 
ed Flanders to the crown; but the Flemings 
revolted dually, and at the batrle of control twen¬ 
ty thousand weavers vanquished fifty thousand 
French soldiers. Philip was not satisfied and went 
to war again, but the weavers .Unit up shop and 
came forth In such numbers licit Philip cried, 
" 1 ) 01 X 111 rain Flemings?" Apparently Ic dhl. and 
lienee they continued to reign. After quarreling 
with the Pope whom he made Ills prisoner, and 
summoning the states-geueral and doing other 
good and bad things, he died, leaving Ms successor 
I Louis X. a une property. Philip A. and Charles 
IN'. followed in order, but as Charles died and left 
no male In ir. the son of Charles ol Valois, Philip 
a .. was ere'.'’lied, and by (ids act was established 
the house of A.,tals. which became (lie second 
i reigning tamlly in Franco, 
