THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
strange mistake. I ask for my good friend tlie 
Viscount, and tills Is not he.” 
“ Was lie not aware," Noel asked, “that the title 
had changed hands ?” 
The German raised his eyebrows. 
“ Dead .'—you mean that he Is dead! Then have 
I lost the ev'er-to-be-lamented and much-esteemed 
companion of many pleasant hours? And, behold! 
I am here by his invitation.’' 
He produced a letter written by the late viscount 
a few days before Ills last Illness commenced, urg¬ 
ing Herr Rudolshelm not to forget his promise to 
spend the auiumn at Carlsforde. 
“ 1 gave him this pledge when we met at Munich 
some months since, l come to England to fulfil it, 
and, alas! he Is not here to greet, me.” 
The Herr’s regrets were evidently sincere, and 
his genial manner was so agreeable, that Noel, 
though ordinarily shy or strangers, soon found 
hlmseli talking without reserve to this new ac¬ 
quaintance. 
One of Herr Kudolshelm’s principal motives for 
coming to England was to gather materials for a 
work of great erudition, on which he had been 
engaged for several yea rs, and he proposed to avail 
himself or some rare volumes in the carlsforde 
library, or which the late V'lscount had offered him 
the use. Indeed, so anxious was lie to see these 
books, that as soon as he could with propriety In¬ 
troduce the subject, he mentioned this, and asked 
permission to visit the library. 
Noel reddened. It was not pleasant to lrnve to 
acknowledge that he had not even the right In this 
house to welcome a visitor, or grant Ills smallest 
request. But the confession had to he made, and, 
explaining his position as concisely as he could, he 
referred his new acquaintance to Mrs. Hurst. 
Herr Rudolshelm was too observant not to notice 
and sympathize with the young peer's embarrass¬ 
ment, but at the same time he was too polite not 
to do all in tits power to relieve It; the best way to 
do which was undoubtedly to make as little com¬ 
ment upon the informaUon as possible. 
“ Then you send me to the housekeeper V Many 
thanks; but I much regret that you arc prisoner 
here and cannot be yourself my guide. May 1 have 
the great pleasure of returning to you by-and-bye, 
and telling you how 1 have fared In my researches ? 
1 should like to Interest you In the work which has 
been the most. Important object of my life.” 
Assured by Noel that bis society would be a 
welcome boon, he withdrew, and was seen no 
more for some hours, at the expiration of which 
time he emerged from the library, flushed and 
dusty, and could he scarcely prevailed upon to 
stay down stairs and diue, so eager was he to re¬ 
turn to the invalid and acquaint him with an im¬ 
portant discovery In the shape of a manuscript 
volume of which he had long been In search. 
“ But, stupid and selflsh one that 1 am 1” he In¬ 
terrupted himself to exclaim: “I had forgotten 
that I am the bearer of a letter tor you. 1 have It 
somewhere. In this pocket? No; It must be in 
this! Your English servants arc well trained, for 
the one who brought me t his, came to my side so 
noiselessly that I heard no step, saw no person, i 
sat at a side-table, copying a lev* items into my 
note-book, and lo! I raise my head, and tiffs Ilea 
at my elbow—superscribed, as you see, ! For Lord 
carlsforde: To be delivered to him Immediately.’ 
so swift, so silent a messenger, one who disturbs 
you not in your occupation, Is Indeed Invaluable!” 
And then the Herr sauntered away ostensibly to 
look at a picture on the wall, but really to give 
Noel time to examine lffs letter, which, as he had 
anticipated, was signed “ Ada Carlsforde.” 
CHAPTER XXV. 
TnE HEHR’S OPINION. 
It was very disappointing to find that Miss Car- 
isforde’s epistle was not only of the briefest, but 
most unsatisfactory Ln its wording. 
“If you mean me well, i thank you;” it was 
thus her tremulously-written note began: “ If you 
do but mock me, I will try to forgive you; but if 
you make, these advances because my wealth at¬ 
tracts you, then may Heaven pardon such cruelty; 
for I cannot.” 
Noel’s Aral emotions on reading this were such 
angry ones, that he crushed the paper ln his hand> 
and longed to be able to quit the bouse that per¬ 
tained to the girl whoso unjustly suspected him. 
The passionate exclamation that broke from his 
lips made Hen* Rudolshelm turn round and come 
towards him. 
“ Something disturbs you, my friend. If I can be 
of service, make use of me. I am trustworthy 
and sympathizing, if I can counsel well, I do so; 
If not, I practise the virtue of silence. 
“ Thanks, said Noel, forcing a smile; “ but I was 
onlv stung for a moment by the Injustice of wo¬ 
man. I was foolish enough to think that ln a 
certain affair with which I will not trouble you, 
the rectitude of my Intentions should have pre¬ 
served me from being treated as If I were a covets 
tous, heartless rascal.” 
“ The sex Is weak and Impulsive, therefore apt 
to form conclusions more hastily than wisely”’ 
was the Herr’s sententious remark. “ But, on the 
other hand, womankind repents ol a wrong so 
quickly and fully, that we, who are more stubborn 
must pity and forgive.” 
Noel was amused at the manner ln which this 
was said; but he conceded that there was some 
truth in it. Miss carlsforde, secluded from the 
world, taking her ideas from others instead of her 
own observations and experience, might easily 
be induced to prejudice herself against him; and 
why should he blame her If, In her hurnUlty, her 
Inability to believe that anyone could willingly 
seek the Intimacy of one so repulsive, she had 
come to the conclusion tha t he either amused him¬ 
self at her expense, or was yielding to the attrac¬ 
tion of the wealth with which her father had en¬ 
dowed her? 
When the Herr had left him, he read the poor, 
little note again, and saw that It had been blis¬ 
tered by the writer’s tears. This discovery' soft¬ 
ened lffs heart towards the lonely girl, and he felt 
ashamed of the resolutions to make no further 
advances that not an hour earlier he had been 
forming. 
" I will write to her once more,” he determined, 
after considerable reflection; **but i will neither 
defend myself nor expostulate with her. In few' 
words and manly tones, I will regret that she 
should have answered my' letter ln a style I was 
not conscious of deserving. I will then flx a date 
for my departure from here, thank her for her 
hospitality, and conclude with the usual good 
wishes.” 
This Intention he carried out on the following 
morning, as soon as lie had been assisted to the 
reclining chair in the dressing-room. In which, as 
we have before said, lffs days were now' passed; 
and the mystified Jephson was directed to place 
the missive on the same table In the library as be¬ 
fore, Noel divining that It must be in close proxi¬ 
mity to the concealed dqpr by which Miss Carls¬ 
forde font rl ved to enter the room unobserved. 
This done, and a long letter ol encouragement, 
despatched to Irene, he prepared himself for the 
interview'with Clement Dunforth, which he had 
resolved to demand. Tn the meantime, he enjoyed 
the society of the sagacious German, who came to 
sit with him for an hour or two before commenc¬ 
ing the literary researches, to which he proposed 
to devote the rest of the day. 
Early though It, was, he had been exploring the 
park and gardens, and wa-s quite enthusiastic in 
Ills gratitude tor the reception he had met with 
from everyone tn the house. 
“ The gmdjrati, the house-matron, the superin¬ 
tendent, Madame llurst, is a manager admirable! 
It is to my unspeakable regret that my not under¬ 
standing your English tongue more perfectly puts 
her to the trouble of so much speaking.” 
Noel did not eare lo tell the llcrr that Mrs. 
Hurst was always loquacious ; but contented him¬ 
self with an assurance t hat no one at Carlsforde 
begrudged attentions bestowed on him, not only 
as a stranger and a foreigner, but, as the friend of 
the late viscount. 
“ They are very good to me ; and the little Miss 
Gray Is a never-to-be sufficiently admired cicerone. 
She has shown me all the art-treasures riffs house 
contains, and she testifies an Interest in my obser 
various upon them that- is moat nattering. She Is 
a youne lady altogether charming; but-” 
The Herr began to ruminate, and was silent so 
long, that Noel—curious to hear Ills opinion of IU1- 
llan—gently prompted him. 
“ You were speaking of Miss Gray, you were say¬ 
ing that you think her very charming, and then 
you paused. What w as it you were about to add?” 
“11a! you have reminded me that It Is by you 
I may be enlightened, my dear lord. Tell me then 
—what Is It that makes the smile leave her lips, 
and her eyes HU with tears, at. every break or our 
discourse ? Take her out of herself—arouse her 
Interest on some subject, and she la animated, 
eager and delightful. Let her relapse into silence 
—let her thl nk aw idle, a nd there steals over her a 
sadness so profound, so absorbing, that It aston¬ 
ishes and perplexes me. i am fond of studying 
character. I will study this young girl’s At first 
glance It seems to lie before me unsullied and easi¬ 
ly read; yet I look again, and there is something 
on the page which Is hidden from my night." 
“ But It Is not anything evil r exclaimed Noel, 
impetuously. *• I will not believe that Gillian 
Gray conceals aught of what she has reason to be 
aahamed 1” 
Herr Rudolshelm eyed him attentively. 
“ Eh I Then are you also Interested In this 
frauleln ? We shall study her together, is It not 
so?” 
Noel shrank hack, contused at the consequences 
of his own Impetuosity. 
“ Miss Gray Is nothing to—can be uotlffng to me, 
except that! am her debtor for much kind nurs¬ 
ing. To attempt to penetrate her secrets solely 
for my ow r n satisfaction, would be au Imperti¬ 
nence.” 
The professor gave him another long, searching 
glance, under which he was conscious of redden¬ 
ing and writhing, then nodded his head saga¬ 
ciously. 
“So, so; I am treading on ground that is dan¬ 
gerous. Well, then, I draw' back. I say no more 
respecting this study so interesting, and we talk 
ol—what ?” 
The question Inspired another. 
“ You have given me your opinions of Mrs. 
Hurst and her niece ; have you nothing to say con¬ 
cerning their guest, Mr. Dunforth? I fancy you 
met him here last evening.” 
1 Truly, yes; and again this morning. You 
look surprised; you did not hear of Ills arrival; 
and yet 1 ten you truly that he Is bore. He came 
to offer to conduct me to some ruined abbey a few 
miles hence. But. 1 say no, no. my good young sir : 
1 have work that I must do wit hin this library. 
I may not pleasure myself till it is accomplished ; 
and so we shake hands and converse amicably till 
Madame llurst, Invite us to the morning meal; since 
then, I come to you, and he walks on the terrace 
with Miss Gray." 
Clement Dunforth must be pretty sure of lffs 
footing ln this house, to visit It before breakfast, 
and take upon himself the dudes towards its guest, 
which usually devolve upon the host or hostess. 
It Is true that Mies Carisforde’s resignation of her 
duties had placed everyone else ln an awkward 
position. But this did not excuse Clement’s offl- 
ciousness; and Noel resented it strongly. 
Annoyance kept him mute, Hit the Herr resumed 
the conversation. 
Pardon, my lord, If I am Ina ttentive. You did 
ask me what I think of this gentleman. Ach 
hi mm ol / but he Interests mo greatly, lie is a 
young man surprising ; one of resource, of pene¬ 
tration, of shrewdness, altogether extraordinary. 
I listen to him and say nothing, but I am filled 
with wonder.” 
You seem very favorably Impressed with my 
brother-in-law elect,” he w'as told. 
Ha I he Is so near and dear to you ? Yes, I am 
Impressed, but did I say favorably ? I think not. 
With your permission. J study him also; for, 
truly, human nature presents itself to us in many 
and wonderful aspects. Your brother-in-law. you 
say ? Eli, hum!" 
And again the professor rubbed his chin, and 
meditated ; but he did not give Noel any due to 
the nature of the thoughts that absorbed him. As 
soon as l)r. Munson appeared, he begged to be ex¬ 
cused ; and, shutting himself up Ln the library, 
would have remained till dark without refreshment, 
if Gillian had not coaxed him away from Ms pre¬ 
cious books, at the riagi.igof the second bell for 
dinner. 
And where was Clement Dunforth loitering all 
ibis while? Stiff by the side of Gillian Gray? 
That he had not, returned to Corby and lffs own 
affairs there, Noel had learned from Jephson: 
hut he did uot like to put anymore questions to 
the old man. 
Surely Ue w'ould make his appearance hi the in¬ 
valid’s room before long ; and, thinking tills. Lord 
carlsforde waited and waited, till to Ills unspeak- 
able annoyance, he learned that the person whom 
of a 11 others he was the most anxious to see, had 
quitted the house an hour earlier. 
Determined uot to be bu filed ln tills way again, 
the vexed Noel requested Jephson to give orders 
that on Mr. Dunforth's next visit to the Park, he 
should be conducted uo ills apartments; an order 
which was carried Out on t.he following morning, 
when—alert, smiling, and self-possessed—Clement 
made Ills appearance.—To be continued. 
THE PAST RECALLED. 
A Heretofore Unpublished Letter From 
Pres. Lincoln to Cen. Hooker. 
In the Providence Journal of May ti, is printed 
a letter from Lincoln to General Hooker, w’ritten 
Just, belore the latter had taken command of the 
Army of the Potomac. The letter was penned in 
January, 1SG3, and, while the President yet re¬ 
tained It lu his possession, an Intimate friend 
chanced to lie ln his Cabinet one night, and the 
President read it to him. remarking, “ t shall not 
read this to anybody else, but I want to know how 
It strikes you." During the following April or 
May, wMle the Army of the Potomac lay opposite 
Fredericksburg, this friend accompanied the Presi¬ 
dent to GCu Hooker’s Headquarters on a visit One 
night Gen. Hooker, alone ln Ms tent with tills gen¬ 
tleman said: “ The. President says that he showed 
you this letter.” and he then took out that docu¬ 
ment, which was closely written on a sheet of let¬ 
ter-paper. The leara stood ln tlie General’s bright 
blue eyes ns he added: “ It Is such a letter as a 
father might have written to a son. And yet It 
hurt me.” Then, dashing the water from lffs eyes, 
he said: “ When T have been to Richmond, I shall 
have this letter printed.” This was more than six¬ 
teen years ago, and the letter hife Just now seen 
the light of day. 
Executive Mansion, > 
Washinoton, D. C’., Jan. 20, 1863. f 
Major-Genehai. Hookkr — General: — I have 
placed you at the head of the Army of the Poto¬ 
mac. Of course I have done this upon what ap¬ 
pears to me to be sufficient reason, and yet I think 
It best for you to know that there are some things 
In regard to which 1 am not quite satisfied with 
you. I believe you to be a brave and skillful sol¬ 
dier, which, of course. I like. I also believe you 
do not mix politics with your profession. In which 
you are right. You have confidence In yourself, 
which is a valuable. If notan Indispensable quali¬ 
ty. You are ambitious, which, within reasonable 
bounds, does good rather than harm; but I think 
that during Geu, Burnside’s comma nd of tlie army 
you have taken counsel of your ambition and 
thwarted him as much as you could. In which you 
did a great wrong to the count ry and to a mast 
meritorious and honorable brother officer, i have 
heard, in such way as to believe it. of your recently 
saying that both the Army and the Government 
needed a dictator, or course. It was uot tor tiffs, 
but in spite of It, that I have given you the com¬ 
mand. Only those Generals who gain success can 
set up dictators What I now ask of you is mili¬ 
tary success, and I will risk the dictatorship. The 
Government till] support you to t he utmost of Us 
ability, which is neither more nor less than It has 
done and will for all commanders, l much fear 
that the spirit which you have aided to Infuse Into 
the Army, of criticising their commander, and 
withholding nonfldenee from him, will now turn 
upon you. I shall assist you as far as I can to put 
it down. Neither you nor Napoleon, if he were 
alive again, could get any good oui of an army 
wlffle such a spirit prevails ln it. And now beware 
of rashness. Beware of rashness, but with energy 
and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us vic¬ 
tories. Yours, very truly, A. Lincoln. 
*’ SASSING” ROYALTY. 
Sir Robert Pees Is having a lively bout with 
royalty, tn the course of the debate upon the 
Zulu war he made a playful reference to George 
IV., whereupon a society Journal, Vanity Fair, 
took him to task as follows: “ bit’ Bober Peel’s re¬ 
cent speech In the House of Commons has very 
naturally given great offense, ln consequence of 
his disrespectful allusion to George IV and his per¬ 
sonal remarks upon tlie Queen, and several mem¬ 
bers or the royal tanffly have declared their inten. 
tlon never to take any notice of sir Robert Peel for 
the future.” Sir Robert at once sent a letter to 
the editor of the society Journal, which, with the 
exception of the opening sentence, Is reprinted be¬ 
low: 
It Is superfluous to observe that such a state¬ 
ment Is a very Impudent expression of the latest 
development of the ridiculous imperialism of the 
present day, and Ln the official attempt to gag mem¬ 
bers of Parliament iu the tree debuto of questions 
of Interest In the House of Commons by the pub 
fished menace of the royal displeasure there Is a 
clear breach of privilege, recalling the most stu¬ 
pid exhibitions of royal misconduct,. 
Royal displeasure l Imperial censure I And 
because a member of the House of Commons dares 
to express Ms oplMon ln Ms place ln Parliament, 
and to quote Thackeray and history ln support of 
that opinion? After all, It Is notorious that two 
members of the royal family Indulged ln similar 
threats, and a great deal worse, I am sorry to say, 
as regards Mr. Gladstone, while the language of tlie 
commander-in-elffef with respect to the late Gov¬ 
ernor is too well known to need further comment 
at tiffs present moment . 
You appear to be instructed to make a challenge 
which, notwithstanding the channel through 
which it comes, I accept, with pleasure; and you 
invite me to a game which two can play at; one of 
the parties in the contest may prove a pungent 
critic of the coming K—* Co.; and by the way, I 
would advise you strongly, as you profess to lie a 
depository of the Imperial confidence, to bo a 
little more discreet in the circulation or your au¬ 
thorized versions of royal messages, or they may 
get you Into trouble, dear Mr. Bowies. Line many 
others. I have put up with a good deal or your inso¬ 
lence from time to time, and. as your personalities 
have nothing in common with the honorable and 
legitimate duties of Journalism, you will find me 
now quite equal to the occasion. Bui, ns In the pres¬ 
ent instance you act as Tlie plenipotentiary of roy r - 
alty, go and tell your master that I am not the 
sort of man to he smothered by Imperial menaces, 
and unless I receive the most ample satisfaction 
from the royal sources which have made you their 
most Impudent mouthpiece, I shall send a copy of 
your statement, together wit h a copy or my reply, 
to the Prince or Wales and to the Duke or Cam¬ 
bridge. And, as you have published and Circulated 
such a declaration or the Intention of the royal 
family', with respect to my remarks ln the Douse 
of Commons. I shall also avail myself of a fitting 
opportunity to publish and placard in London and 
in the provinces, under the head of “ sir Robert 
Peel and the rest or the royal family,” both your 
official notification of the royal message and my 
contemptuous acknowledgment, i am, sir, your 
obedient servant, Robert Peel.” 
---- 
HOW CHINESE RICE PAPER IS MADE. 
Everybody Is familiar with those brilliant, 
quaint pictures of Insects, birds and flowers, 
printed upon a thick, soft, translucent material 
we have always called “rice paper.” This is not 
made of rice. It. Is the tiffu slices of t he pith of a 
plant or tree of the Aralla family—the Futsia 
Wijyi-ffmi of modern botanists. The tree grows 
about twenty feet lffgh, and its pith Is an exten¬ 
sive article of commerce tn China; tor it is used 
tn the manufacture of many articles, especially 
toys and artificial flowers. The cylinders of pith 
exposed on removing the bark and woody fibre are 
rarely an Inch and a half lu diameter, and us the 
substance Is delicate and tender, rare skill and 
practice are required to cut the whole stick, from 
circumference to center, into one continuous sheet. 
A long, thin, very sharp kn’.rc is used tor this 
operation. The largest, sheets that can be ob¬ 
tained In tiffs way are about flfteuainches long by 
ton wide. As soon as Lhe sheets are cut they are 
spread Out, all little holes carefully mended with 
bits of mica, and then they' are pressed under 
weights until dry. The refuse scraps, etc., go to 
make pillows; the ordinary sheets arc dyed bril¬ 
liantly’and sold to the flower makers, wi die the 
largest, sheets are destined for the foreign mar¬ 
ket. after being carefully painted by skillful 
native artists. There Is no substance yet dis¬ 
covered that so well represents the delicate 
texture of the petals of flowers as this 
paper of pith, and It Is exported to some ex¬ 
tent by artificial flower manufacturers, 'llie 
tree could no doubt be grown here, as our cli¬ 
mate Is much like that of China, cue ot the most 
Interesting things to see In rhJna is the daily flow¬ 
er fair In a certain street In Pekin, stretching 
along the narrow street tor more than halt a. mile 
Is a grand exposition of pith, paper, and silk flow¬ 
ers. foreigners stand fascinated before the stands, 
watching the skill of rbe flower-makers. Each oue 
Is provided with an assortment of pincers, some 
wire, a pot ot glue, knives, and some wuh pith 
papers of many hues. Tn a short time, while lffs 
deft fingers move with bewildering rapidity, he 
will counterfeit the dahlia, aster, or whatever real 
flower Ues before him tor a model. His skill ln 
cutUng leaf, culyx and petals, Is equaled only by 
Ills marvelous eye tor delicate difference of tint. 
Here the peddlers get their supply for the day. It 
Is astonishing to see how fond the people are of 
those beautiful counterfeits of nature, l lie Chin¬ 
ese! women wear no lionets or hats, but do their 
flair up ln elaborate fashions and wear flowers in¬ 
stead. In some parts of tlie kingdom y'ou may 
know If a woman be a maid, widow, or matron, by 
tlie color of the flowers slie weal's hi her hair. The 
parasol, where the women wear no hats, is of 
course an Indispensable article for an.v ouUdoor 
excursion, and the whole family of parasols and 
umbrellas Hi china Is a marvel. They are gener¬ 
ally' made of silk or paper, and are often chefi ;- 
(Varuvrp of art.— Transcript. 
- ♦♦♦ - 
The Down-Hearted Man Wanted to See It.— 
About ten o’clock ln the morning, recently, two 
men melon Sixth street and began threatening 
and calling each other names. One unally called 
the other a liar, and the two were about to grap¬ 
ple when a woman opened the door and said: 
“ Gentlemen, are you about to fight?” 
“ We are !’’ they answered together. 
“ Then have the klndues to wait a moment,” she 
continued. “ My poor husband has been sick for 
weeks and weeks, and Is now Just able to sit up. 
lie Is very down-hearted this morning, and If you'll 
only wait, till 1 can draw him up to the window I 
know he’ll feel very grat eful to both of you." * 
She disappeared In the house, and after one look 
into each other’s faces the men smiled, shook 
hands and departed together. 
-*-M- 
Kind and True.— When he came he was liltlo, 
and round, and fat, and “ cunning,” and every¬ 
body loved him for Ms very helplessness. Ashe 
grew In stature and ln age he became uflscMevous 
