THE 
RURal NEW-YORKER 
VARIETIES. 
THE SHADOW KISS. 
We sit in the bright, cozy parlor— 
My Lady Coquetterie and I; 
“ Oh! I’d give the world for Just one kiss,” 
I more than half pleadingly sigh. 
Then Bhe roguishly metes me my answer; 
“ And I tell you, sir, once and for all. 
You shall never kiss mo till the wedding day, 
Though you’d giro twenty worlds, Mr. Saul I” 
'Twas my fiftieth time to beseech it. 
And her fiftieth time, to decline, 
And try as I would, I could coax nor steal 
No kiss from this mndauio of mine. 
So we sit in the cozy, bright parlor. 
And she gossips of Lent and the ball. 
While the light on the table behind us throws 
Our shadows before on the wall. 
“ Now surely,” I onco again ply her. 
“ You could have no objection to this; 
Look there on the wall two shadows there be— 
Let my shadow your shadow kiss.” 
“ Very well,” and we watch the performance 
Of the profiles approaching eclipse; 
In a second 'tis done—our shadows have met— 
Our shadows and likewise our lips. 
“ Saintc nitouche, bo at last I have triumphed!’’ 
And she innocently says, “ Not at all! 
’Twaa only a shadow kiss ” Theu she resumes 
Her chat about Lent and (he ball. 
iComricr-Journal. 
The Bottom Drops Opt of a Farm.— An Incident 
occurred at Bow Park farm (of the lion. Gqp.Brown, 
of the Toronto Globe), about four miles from this 
city, a few days since, which created quite an ex¬ 
citement, in the neighborhood. When darkness 
settled down over the scene the night, before there 
were no signs of what occurred during the silent 
watches of the night. The river wound gracefully 
along, and the road leading to the homestead was 
as firm as a rock. In the night one of the employ¬ 
ees heard a deep rumbling sound, in the morning 
he told what he experienced, and declared he had 
heard the shock of an earthquake. The mystery 
was soou solved, for on proceeding along the road¬ 
way a sight, that struck amazement into every 
witness was revealed. An acre or more of the 
earth had sunk nearly forty feet, and the tops ot 
the trees were just visible on the level with the 
surface. The earth on the sides of the chasm is 
quite perpendicular, and the query Is, where has 
that acre of land gone to ? It Is not a land-slide, 
but a complete disappearance, some think that it. is 
caused by a quicksand bottom, and others that the 
river had washed a stratum out beneath. What¬ 
ever the cause, the occurrence, is a, startling one in 
our staid and tranquil neighborhood.— Brantfm'CL 
(Can.) tttparrtei\ 
New Definitions,— The School Board is respon¬ 
sible for the diffusion of much useless knowledge. 
A Board Examiner, performing his functions in 
a purely agricultural parish, recently asked a 
mixed class. “ What Is a husbandman ?” No an¬ 
swer was given for sometime, till at last a little 
girl ventured, “ Please, sir, a man as has got a 
wife,” The Examiner became thoughtful, and 
sorrowfully took his way to a parish owned by a 
Duke, and overawed by ducat establishments. 
Here he said, “.Tell me what is meant by a noble¬ 
man?” There was silence for some time; at last 
one smart little boy replied, “Please, sir, it's a 
gentleman as gains his livelihood by riotous liv¬ 
ing V’—London Echo. 
The Princess Louisa Margaret went to England 
to meet her Patrick. The convenience of this 
royal matrimonial arrangement is immense. The 
young man has only to tilt his feet upon a window 
and watch the coming of his pretty Princess to his 
side from over the seas. The British tax-payers 
doubtless contemplate the ceremony from a fiscal 
standpoint, as they have had to grant Arthur Pat¬ 
rick a marriage allowance of not less than $50,000 
a year. The young man's present allowance of 
pocket money Is $ 75,000 a year, and it Is said he Is 
to be made Viceroy ot Ireland, winch will give him 
$ 100,000 a year more, with the expenses of the vice 
Regal household ($ 30 , 000 ) paid by his mamma's 
government. The young couple will be able to go 
to housekeeping. 
Once upon a time, a man sailing between New 
York and Norwich said to the captain of the ship: 
“ I wish 1 had something to do.” Whereupon the 
captain, Colt, replied: “ Do you see t hose bundles 
and packages In the berth of my stale-room ? 
Their number Is Increasing with every trip; they 
are In the way, aDd the care and attention I have 
to give to them consumes more time than lean 
afford. Suppose you collect and take charge of 
these private packages for a fair compensation. I 
think you can easily build up a paying business. - ’ 
The man, whose, name was Adams, took the hint, 
and from such a beginning originated the Adams 
Express Company. 
GOVERNMENT STATISTICS. 
Yearly. 
Salaries of the ministers of the Gospel, $ 6 , 000,000 
cost cr dogs. 70 , 000,000 
Support of criminals. 12 , 000,000 
Fees of litigation. 85,000,000 
Cost or tobacco and cigars. gio,ooo,ooo 
Importation of liquors. . 50 , 000,000 
Support of grog shops. . 1 , 500 , 000,000 
Whole costol liquor.. 2 , 200 , 000,000 
[Muine Temperance- Journal. 
A memento of the great Napoleon at Tallahassee, 
Fla., Is u gilt china teacup adorned with the Em¬ 
peror’s monogram and a colored representation of 
the harbor of Otranto, Italy. It also bpars the 
date 1S13, The relic is thought to havo found Its 
way to Florida in care of the son of Marshal Murat, 
who went to that state in iwll. 
Chinamen wear five buttons only on their coats, 
that they may keep In sight something to remind 
them of the live principal moral virtues which Con¬ 
fucius recommended. These are Jeu, humanity; //. 
Justice; in, order; lehr, prudence; sin, rectitude. 
$or Mlomnr. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS FAITH RIPLEY. 
“CONQUERED AT LAST." 
Some time ago the Mobile Evening News offered 
a prize for the poem, by a Southern writer, which 
should be Judged most meritorious, “expressive ot 
the gratitude of the Southern heart toward the 
people of the North for the phllantrophy and mag¬ 
nanimity freely and nobly displayed In the time 
of the dire affliction ol the South by pestilence." 
There were seventy-seven competitors, widely 
scattered, and their work was carefully examined 
by a competent committee, who decided that a 
poem entitled “ Conquered at Last," by Miss Marla 
L. Eve of Augusta, Ga., though It, was rough In 
construction, yet tor Its brevity, directness, spirit, 
and force most truly represented the real senti¬ 
ment of the Southern people. The following Is the 
poem:— 
You came to us once, O brothers in wrath. 
And rude desolation followed your path, 
You conquered U6 then, but only in part, 
For a stubborn thing- is the human heart. 
So the mad wind blows in his might and main. 
And the forests bend to his breath like grain; 
Their heads in the dust, and their branches broke; 
But how shall he soften their hearts of oak ? 
You swept o’er our land like the whirlwind’s wing, 
But the human heart is a stubborn thing. 
We laid down our arms, we yielded our Will; 
But our “ hi?art, of hearts " was unconquered still. 
" We are vanquished.” we said. “ but our wounds must 
heal 
We gave you our swords, but our hearts were steel. 
" We are conquered," we said, but our hearts were sore, 
And “ woe to the conquered ” on every door. 
But the spoiler came, and he would not spare. 
The angel that walketh in darkness was there — 
He walked thro’ the valley, walked thro’ the street, 
And he left the print of his fiery feet 
In the dead, dead, dead, that were everywhere. 
And buried away with never a prayer. 
From the desolate land, from Us very heart, 
There went forth a cry to the uttermost part ;— 
Y'ou heard it, O brothers ’.—With never a measure 
You opened your hearts, and poured out your treasure. 
O Sisters of Mercy, you gave above these! 
For you helped, we know, on your bended knees. 
Your pity was human, but oh! it was more, 
When you shared our cross and our burden bore. 
Your lives in your hands, you stood by our side; 
Your lives for our livee you lay dowu and died. 
And no greater love hath a man to give, 
Than lay down his life that, his friends may live. 
You poured in our wounds the oil and the wine, 
That you brought to us from a Hand Divine. 
You conquered us, brothers; our sword we gave; 
We yield now our hearts—they are all we have. 
Our last ditch was there, and it held out long; 
It is yours, O friends! and you’ll find it strong. 
Your love had a magic, diviner than art. 
And “Conquered by Kindness" we’ll write on our 
heart. 
-- 
TALKS ABOUT MY JEWELS.-No. 4 
BY MARGUERITE. 
She did It, and after I left her she cried bitterly 
because “ she hadn’t said it right." I went back 
again, and she went through with the usual form: 
“ Now 1 lay me down to sleep,” 
and said “It right,” as 1 supposed, and I left her. 
Again she cried as If heart-broken, and I could not 
understand her. Papa solved the mystery, in my 
haste I had not waited for her to say “Amen.” 
She has a “God bless” for all her new friends, 
even remembering often “Jack and Gill" and lit¬ 
tle “Johnny Stout,” who are real characters to her. 
She was almost asleep the other night when she 
called, “ Mamma, I forgot to pray for Cousin Ma¬ 
mie.” “Well, just say. God bless Mamie,” I said. 
“I must get out of bed first," she said, and the 
Uttle white-robed figure, with clasped hands and 
closed eyes, asked “ for a blessing on cousin, and 
that she might be made well." “ Bless will, too," 
I prompted, which sho repeated, for I felt that one 
would not be entirely happy, even with God's 
blessing, without the other to share It. 
• - •-*-• - 
PATCH-WORK. 
As this old-fashioned work Is again becoming 
fashionable, a few remarks about Its appropriate¬ 
ness and utility may not be amiss. There are 
some people who have a perfect passion for this 
work; there ts for them a peculiar fascination 
in arranging and placing the various bits of color. 
No other kind of needle-work is as suitable for 
teaching a little girl the use of the needle. It is 
pleasant to see the effect of the combinations and 
contrasts, and the little fingers can work more 
nimbly, In the short over and over seams, than they 
would In the long seams of either pillow-case or 
sheets. It Is, besides, a nice way to make dispo¬ 
sition of the accumulation of remnants In the 
scrap-hag. Old ladles, too, like to piece bed-quilts, 
and “ grandmother’s quilts" are precious heir-looms 
In many fa milies. It is a matter or pride with these 
venerable ladles to he able to do something that Is 
useful and pretty; and, no doubt, many memories 
of the by-gone years are stitched Into the seams, 
and perhaps Some sad reminiscences are called 
forth by the sight of a long-forgotten remnant of a 
garment, worn In the long ago by one whose busy 
hands are placed over her pulseless heart. To the 
old ladles who deUght in this work, if Is doubtless, 
a solace In many a lonely hour, and It would be 
almost a deed of cruelty to pronounce the labor of 
their hands useless. And to the little ones, who 
ought, to leam to ply the polished shaft, it Is mix¬ 
ing pleasure with profit. If an active, mature per¬ 
son has nothing else to employ idle hands and 
hours. It may do to cut up calico Into scraps, just 
for the sake of keeping out ot mischief; but there 
are so many more profitable ways of employing 
one’s time and energy, that It seems a waste of both 
to spend them upon patch-work. An aged lady of 
my acquaintance has within the past year, pieced 
together, for quilts, over thirty thousand pieces of 
cloth, and showed great taste and Ingenuity in 
their construction; and it Is really a deed of kind¬ 
ness to employ her to make patch-work, as It, helps 
support her, and enables her to to purchase many 
comforts with which to brighten her pathway to 
the grave. Farmer’s Wife. 
■-- 
NEVER. 
lars, though not as ornamental as Esther’s bracket. 
J. E. M’C. 
--. 
TOILET NOTES. 
TO CURE MOTH-FATCHES. 
(l) Add about one teaspoonful of pulverized bo¬ 
rax to a basin of water when washing the face 
morning and evening; or a more convenient way 
would be to keep a quant lty already dissolved In 
a bottle of water, and pour It. into the wash-basin 
as often as needed. Twice a day is quite often 
enough to use It, and the moth-patches should 
slowly disappear in about ten days or two weeks. 
(2) Wash at night with equal parts of glycerine 
and white of egg; In the morning wash off with 
fine soap and warm soft water; repeat till cured. 
(3) Take two drachms of Iodide of potash, one 
drachm of powdered rhubarb, and mix them with 
one ounce of lard, then rub a little on the spots 
once or twice a day. 
SIX RECIPES FOR REMOVING FRECKLES. 
(1) Get ten cent3’ worth of gum-benzoin and al¬ 
cohol. Let It stand until t he gum has dissolved 
suffictntly to redden the alcohol, and then pour off 
this mixture Into a pint bottle, to the depth of half 
an Inch, and till the bottle with soft water. The 
preparation will then resemble milk, and Is ready 
for use. Bathe the freckles with a soft cloth dip¬ 
ped in the liquid, if the skin smarts under the 
application, add a little more rainwater. (2) Take 
beef s gall, half an ounce; saleratua, borax and 
gum gualac, of each a quarter of an ounce (pulver¬ 
ized) ; alcohol and rose water, of each a quarter of 
a pint; udx and let stand ten days, shaking occa¬ 
sionally, Use as a wash twice a day. You can 
get this wash made up at the drug stores; it will 
cost you about thirty cents. (3) Emulsion of al¬ 
monds one pint, powdered borax two drachms, 
tincture benzoin compound two drachms, mix 
and apply to the face bight and morning. < l) Sour 
bran water applied to the face at night and allowed 
to dry there. Mill remove freckles and sunburn in 
a, short time, will make the skin smooth and fair, 
but very easy to freckle again, (5) One-quarter 
gallon rain water, one ounce benzoin, one ounce 
aqua ammonia, one ounce rose water, two ounces 
glycerine ; mix well; shake before using. (B> One 
ounce of lemon Juice mixed with a quarter drachm 
or sugar will remove freqjdes. Keep this lotion In 
a glass bottle, corked tightly, a few days before 
using, and apply to the freckles occasionally.— 
Emilny Post. 
-♦ * ♦ - 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 
Miss Ripley Would you be so kind as to give 
me some Information In regard to the “Study at 
Home Society,” mentioned by Annie L. Jack, in 
the Rural? If I knew something of its rules and 
requirements, and If It were possible, I would like 
to become a member. 
I have been an Interested reader of the •• Wo¬ 
man's Huh,” and, woman-like, have wished very 
much to have my say; but my long unused pen 
refuses to do Its offic9. I find everything I wish 
to say, said so much better than I could possibly 
say It, that 1 hold my peace and look on. 1 would, 
however, like to thank Margaret B. Harvey for her 
excellent article on music, and to recommend It to 
the notice and practice of all Rural musicians. It 
may afford her a Uttle pleasure to know that one, 
at least, of the readers of that article, after years 
of neglect, has again opened the piano, and at¬ 
tacked “Strauss' Waltzes” and the -Shepherd 
Boy.” Mrs. 8. G. H. 
on application to twe Secretary of Society for 
Encouragement of Study at Home, No. 9 Park St., 
Boston, Mass., you -will elicit full particulars as 
to the alms and requirements of the Society. 
Mrs Hortwkll, Madison Co., N. Y.~ An adult 
exhales by the lungs and skin, In the twenty-tour 
hours, three pints at least of moisture, loaded 
with organic matter ready to enter Into putrefac¬ 
tion ; the quanttt.yjs often Increased In sickness and 
the quality Is always more noxious. This moisture 
goes ehledy Into the bedding. In the case of 
InvaUds. It stays there, because, with the excep¬ 
tion of a weekly change of sheets scarcely any 
other airing is attempted. Must not such 3 bed 
be always saturated, and be always the means of 
intrcMiuetno again Into the body of the unfortu¬ 
nate patient who lies In It that poisonous matter 
which nature Is trying to get out of the system? 
Tills is probably why your physician ordered you 
to buy fresh, clean straw, put It Into a ticking and 
burn the feather bed on which your son has been 
lying during Ills six weeks fever. 
A great deal or fun has been poked at woman for 
looking under the bed as a last act before retiring, 
and It lias been supposed that the habit was a silly 
and altogether useless one. But a Mrs. Mastln, of 
Dallas, Tex., has personal knowledge to the con¬ 
trary. The Herald, of that place, says: “Mrs. 
Mastln went to her room to retire, but, woman¬ 
like, she. looked under her bed, and though she had 
oftentimes done -so before, it. was well that she did 
so then, for there underneath lay curled up a 
man.” What followed can thus he condensed: 
Mrs. Mast ln screamed, the man came out and ran, 
and a neighbor came and fired his gun. No one 
hurt and no one caught. But the theory that, it Is 
necessary for a woman to look under the bed Is 
established. 
-»♦» 
The ladles ot Virginia are to erect at Winchester, 
June G, a shaft memorial to the Confederate dead. 
It will be dedicated on that day with appropriate 
ceremonies. It will be In bight twenty-two feet, 
the base four feet broad. The column will be made 
of the finest Italian marble, and surmounted by a 
funeral urn and drapery, and the base ot Rich¬ 
mond granite. On Us iront will be the coat of 
arms of the State, and on the different panels will 
be appropriate inscriptions. 
-- 
Mrs. John .Jacob Astor, In ten years, has secured 
homes and the means or a livelihood for about 45 
homeless children at a cost of about $67, 000 . * 
Gertie stood one morning, waving 3 halr-pln 
over her head, with a button dangling In the cen¬ 
ter of It and exclaimed, “ Hurrah for mamma, and 
hurrah for mamma’s Childers1 had Just prom¬ 
ised her that she might go with us to church, and 
she was supremely happy. 1 hardly know whether 
it is better to take children to church or not, if 
they can be left at home. I know I want mine to 
grow up to be constant church-goers, attending, 
not from a sense of duty but wholly prompted by 
love; but how can l be sure of accomplishing this? 
One auntie declares that “ Gertie will bo dis¬ 
gusted with church by-and-by. If she attends now 
when she cannot understand the service,” and be¬ 
sides, a mother has little rest, U she has a sample 
of “Helen’s Babies "at her side. The Uttle one 
may be demure enough during prayer, and put the 
little chubby hand over her face, and watch the 
minister through her fingers, or she may slip quiet¬ 
ly off her seat and slyly pass Into the next pew, to 
visit a hoy neighbor, who has been Intently 
looking at her for a long time. I find If the first 
liberty taken is unnoticed another soon follows 
twice as had. The only consolation t got In my 
last. tribulation of this kind was the remark—that 
“ a mischievous child was never a fool.” 
The other day a gentleman called who Is noto¬ 
rious tor his anti pat by to things religious, He 
asked Gertie “to take a ride with him.” She de¬ 
clined. lie insisted, and showed her his horse and 
carriage. She hesitated a moment and said, 
“Sometime;” then added brightly, “sometime, 
l’U go with you to church!” 
“ Church!” he said, as if provoked. “ What do 
you want to go there for ?” 
“ Oh!" she answered, “ to show my new stock¬ 
ings.” 
••Y'es,” he replied exultingly. “that, or some¬ 
thing like it, Is just what everybody goes for I” 
if she had told the minister that, 1 would not 
have cared, hut was very sorry she said it to one 
who already held religion in contempt, I had a 
quiet talk with her afterward and told her It. was 
Jesus we went to church to learn about, and of the 
home prepared for us if we love Him. 
*• will there he lots ot little boys and girls to play 
with, and any w’ocklng chairs up there?" she 
asked me once. 
1 told her there would be everything she would 
need to make her happy, and she often talks yet 
of the heavenly “w’oektng chairs." 
I wonder If every one hurries through their 
prayers sometimes, o u the same principle of the 
hoy who said, “ Mamma, God knows the rest ." 
Bessie was gone one evening, ami Fred cried 
whenever 1 left hla side, and in my haste to get 
Genie Into bed, I said, “ only say God bless papa 
and mamma and take care Of Gertie this night.” 
BY JOHNNY MOFFATT. 
Never to see your face a^ain, 
Never to press your hand. 
Never to look in your loving eyes 
'Till we meet in the better land; 
Never to walk in the shady lane 
With your hand upon my arm. 
Never to hear your voice a^ain . 
In song's bewitching charm.. 
Never—how hard ’tie to write that word; 
Never—how long it seems ; 
Never—ah ! no. for my darling- one 
I shall see thee oft in dreams 
A^ain, aB I saw you in dreams gone by. 
When stars shone bright above; 
When we were so happy, you and I, 
In the dawn of our early love. 
[.V O . Picayune . 
“PUTTY." 
Esther had been making a very pretty bracket 
which was ornamented with leaves and grapes 
done in putty work, it had cost her hut a few 
pennies expense In addition to her labor, and she 
was Justly pleased and proud ot her handiwork. 
There was still a roll of the plastic material left 
over, and frugal Aunt Heppy suggested that they 
should mend up things with it. 
“Nothing lasts like putty, 11 It doesn't make a 
very handsome seam. Now, there ts that big 
pitcher ot mother's, Esther, let’s see what we can 
do with that.” 
It was the very best room pitcher, and Nelly had 
broken in the side ot It as sho went flying along 
one morning to fill It, the day they expected Aunt 
Agnes. Mother had saved the pieces, she thought 
so much of that pitcher, and then she had a vague 
hope that some day a one-armed soldier would 
oome along with a cement that really waul a meud 
gloss and China. She had tried all of them thus 
far, bur without success. Father rather suspected 
that she meant to start a cement store some time, 
she was laying In so much stock. 
“That never will answer for the the spare room, 
but we can make It, good and sound tor common 
use," said auntie. “If It Is rather homely we 
musn’t mind that those hard times." So a nice 
seam of putty work was laid on over the broken 
edges, and the piece laid away to dry. Mother 
entered Into the spirit of It and brought out a 
great number ot cracked or broken articles which 
would he the better for a similar t reat ment. She 
was so glad not to give up her big sumo crock 
which had been cracked from top to bottom, and 
the good butter bowl she had used tor years. Alto¬ 
gether. Aunt Heppy’s putty work gave great satis- 
I taction, and proved a saving of a good many dol¬ 
