THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
iaMaf!} ^railing. 
THE TONGUE INSTRUCTED. 
Guard well thy lips; none, none can know 
Prov. xiii. 3. 
What evils from the tongue may flow; 
tl 
tVbat guilt, what grief may be incurred, 
By one incautious, hasty word. 
Be “ slow to speak," look well within, 
To check what there may lead to sin ; 
And pray unceasingly for aid, 
Lest unawares, thou be betrayed. 
James iii. 5,6. 
Judges xi. 35. 
Mark vi. 22, 27. 
Prov. x. 19. 
James i. 26. 
Col. iv. 2. 
Luke xxi. 34. 
“ Condemn not, judge not,”—not to man 
Is given his brother’s faults to scan; 
One task is thine, and one alone,— 
To search out and subdue thine own. 
Indulge no murmuring, oh, restrain 
Those lips, so ready to complain: 
And if they cau be numbered, count 
Of one day’s mercies, the amount. 
Shun vain discussions, trifling themes ; 
Dwell not on earthly hopes and schemes; 
i 
Let words of wisdom, meekness, love, 
J 
Thy heart’s true renovatlou prove. 
Set God before thee; every word 
James iv. 2. 
1 Cor. iv. 6. 
Matt. vii. 3. 
John viii. 7. 
1 Cor. x. 10. 
Lam, iii. 22. 
Ps. ciii. 2. 
bam. iii, 23. 
TitUB iii. (| 
Deut. vi. 4-7. 
James iii. 13, 
Luke vi. 45. 
Thy lips pronounce, by him is heard; 
Oh, could’st thou realize this thought, 
Gen. xvii. I. 
Ps. cxxxix. 4. 
Matt. xii. 36. 
What care, what caution would be taught! 
Luke xii. 3. 
“ The time is short,” this day may be 
1 Cor. vii. 2ft. 
The very last assigned to thee; 
Eph. v. 16. 
Sospeak, thatshould’st thou ne’er speak more, 
Col. iv. 6. 
Thou may’st not this day’s words deplore. 
Rom. xiv. 12. 
THE STILL HOUR. 
To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk hum¬ 
bly before God are, according to a high authority, 
the three essentials of the highest life. Of these 
the first is the hardest to practice. It Is often 
easier to be generous than to be Just; easier to 
show men favors than to recognize and respect 
their rights. But when we do turn from the gra¬ 
cious to the legal mood, trying to be just, we are 
apt to be very careful lest we yield to others any 
more than of right belongs to them. This Is the 
characteristic of many men who take pride In be¬ 
ing just, and who In spite of this honest scruple 
are soundly hated; they are always bound that 
nobody shall get from them anything more than 
even measure; and In this exacting spLrltthey 
not Beldom pervert the Justice on which they are 
intent. *• If people calculate the judicial mean too 
nicely,” says a great writer, "they will not hit 
It; lu their hearts they ought to go a little beyond 
It or they will fall short of It.” The only kind of 
Justice whose company we can afford to keep is 
the Justice whose handmaid Is sweet charity—the 
Justice that would give a man a penny more 
than his due rather than give him a farthing less. 
The mercy that we are bidden to love, is not 
mere lenity toward offenders but the good-will 
wldch Is the fulfilling of the law. This Is the 
quality with which justice must always be tem¬ 
pered. So far as conduct goes, tho man In whose 
heart this good-will rules, and In whose life It 
finds expression, is blameless, God bas nothing 
more to reQUlre of the man who In word and deed 
obeys the royal law. But It Is not perfunctory 
beneficence that is here enjoined; It Is not the 
mere doing of useful and kindly deeds ; It la what 
Tennyson calls “the love of love.” “ To do Justly 
and lo love mercy” Is what thy God rcqulreth of 
thee. 
“ To walk humbly with thy God” Is the last, and 
not the least of these requirements. The laws of 
conduct are summed up in the Injunction to do 
Justly and love mercy; but the habit of thought 
which Is here enjoined la one of the crowning 
attributes of the highest virtue. There is a Justice 
that. Is haughty and there Is a beneficence that la 
ostentatious; the true glory of life la only seen 
where a genuine humility abides. And yet we do 
well to remember what Dr. Sears has so well said, 
that “humility is not humiliation nor self-dispar¬ 
agement. It Is simply rendering to the Lord what 
belongs to him, Instead of claiming It as our own. 
We are the most humble when wo think least of 
ourselves, or put ourselves out of tho account alto¬ 
gether, and let the Lord shine through us with his 
uncolored sunlight, without staining it with our 
own sellhood ."—Sunday Afternoon. 
f ugicr. 
PRIZE PUZZLE. 
We have a few hooks on hand In the office, 
which, so far as they go, we will present to those 
cousins who. In the next two weeks, from August 
•23d to September 6th, shall send us the correct 
solution of the following puzzle In verse. 
Come, let us look at It closely— 
it’s a very ugly word, 
And One that makes me shudder 
Whenever It Is heard. 
It may not be always wicked; 
It must be always sad, 
Aud speaks of sin and suffering 
Enough to make one mad. 
They say It is a compound word, 
And that Is very t rue; 
And then they decompose It, 
And that they’re free to do. 
if or the dozen letters 
We take off the first three, 
We have the nine remaining 
As sad as sad can be— 
For though it seems to make It less, 
In fact, it makes It more; 
For It takes the brute creation In 
That was left out before. 
Instead of three aud nine, 
Let us make It four and eight; 
You’ll say It makes no difference— 
At least, none very great. 
But only see the consequence— 
’Tls all that needs be done 
To change this mass of sadness 
To unmitigated fun. 
It clears swords and pistols, 
Revolvers, bowie-knives, 
And all those horrid weapons 
By which men lose their lives. 
It wakes nations' voices; 
And now most Joyfully la heard 
The native sound of gladness 
Compressed Into one word. 
Yes, four and eight, my friends. 
Let that be yours and mine; 
For all the hosts of demons 
Rejoice la three aud nine. 
Prayer 111 the morning Is the key that opens to 
us God’s mercies and blessings. Prayer In tbo 
evening la the key that shuts us up under his pro¬ 
tection and safe-guard. 
pairing far t|f gating. 
AN ORATOR’S LAST WORDS. 
Brilliant and eloquent, 8. 8. Prentiss was the 
Idolized lawyer of the southwest. A Maine boy, 
he made himself a place In the hearts of those 
who liked not the Yankees. Ills genius fascinated, 
and his genial manners won them, In spite of their 
prejudices. 
He might have been their political leader, but a 
brief experience In Congress so disgusted him with 
practical politics that he refused its honors. A 
fortune awaited him, but be turned from It, be¬ 
cause he would not abandon social pleasures, nor 
practice self-denial. At last he resolved to work 
himself out of debt, and provide lor the education 
of his children. 
"I must work!" he said to those who hod ad¬ 
vised rest, because they saw that his good resolu¬ 
tion had come too late. The spirit was now wil¬ 
ling, but the body, enfeebled by disease and dissi¬ 
pation, refused to obey Its commands. 
“ Why, good sirs, a man cannot lie tn bed and 
make bis living," he answered, to trlends who 
bade luin leave New Orleans and rest on a plan¬ 
tation. 
Nerving himself, he appeared In a case which 
drew out the culture of the city to hear him. Never 
was he more brilliant In wit and eloquence, lie 
did not know, but his friends did, that it was the 
swan's death-song. They shaded their eyes, for 
they saw that the vigor of the Intellect made more 
apparent the decay of the body. 
“Take me home,” he whispered to a friend, 
when recovering from the prostration In which 
his eloquent plea had left him. lie was borne home 
ou a river-boat—to die. 
On the night, of the arrival, the family smiled 
mournfully to see Ids old self return. 
“ Gather me half a bushel of roses with the dew 
on,” he said to a relative. “Put them In a basin 
and stand It by my bod," was the remark, as the 
roses were brought In. 
During his lllnass the thought that he was leav¬ 
ing his family destitute made 1dm talk much 
about suits and raising money. Now and then 
the great orator became a boy again, and wan¬ 
dered to Uls Maine home. 
•* Deartmother, do you love me ?” repeated again 
and again, showed that her teachings and prayers 
were In Ida mind. 
Iu the hours of consciousness he was much dis¬ 
tressed at the idea or death. Mary, his pious 
wife, urged him to trust in the Savior. 
“ You do not know how wicked I have been. 
God will never forgive me,” he replied. 
“ ‘ Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 
be as white as snow,”’ replied the wife, “If you 
will but turn to the Lord. 
“Pray, dear. Wont you pray? Don't you re¬ 
member the prayers your mother taught you?” 
she continued. 
“ Oh. yes but I want you to pray with me.” 
She repeated tbe Lord’s Prayer, he responding 
at each petition, “ Amen 1” 
*• o Ged, the Son!” she heard him whisper, as 
If striving to recall the petition of the Litany, 
"OGod, the Son, Redeemer of the World, have 
mercy upon us miserable sinners!” 
On a Sabbath evening the wife was busy in the 
room, his eyes wistfully following her. •• Mary i” 
she heard, aud hastening to hLm, received an em¬ 
brace aud a kiss. It was the last, word uttered, on 
earth by the eloquent advocate. 
One solemu thought Is suggested. No words 
uttered by the orator In moments or highest In¬ 
spiration, were so treasured as those whispered 
“Amens," and that sighed-out“ OGod, the Son!" 
they were words of penitence. 
Ills imagination lu Its uttermost wanderings 
never brought back a scene which thrilled as did 
the “ Dear, dear mother, do you love me?" 
It revealed the boy at Ids mother’s knee, and 
suggested the hope that at last he received the 
Savior as a little child.— Youth's Companion. 
Tho Parts of a Flower. 
In Figure 1, which represents a flower of the 
Stone Crop family, these organs may all be seen, 
arranged In circles one Inside or above tbe other; 
and in Figure 2 is seen a diagram of the sarao 
flower. In both ^_ 
figures the sepals, 
or the parts ol the # ' 
outer circle, are 
marked a. Alt (\u\ry ll 
the sepals taken (IKA V Jl 
together are call- Vi"A ’J/J 
ed the calyx of 
the flower, calyx - 
being a Latin Of 
word meaning Fm. 2 . 
cup, and applied to the outer circle of floral leaves, 
because It forms a cup in which the other parts of 
the flower are contained. As a rule the calyx is of 
a green color, but there are exceptions to this rule, 
as may be seen In the Fuchsia In which the calyx 
is highly colored and adds much beauty to the 
flower. The office of the calyx Is to protect the 
more tender parts in the bud. Tbe next circle of 
floral leaves Is culled 
The Corolla, 
which term is derived from the Latin corona, 
meaning garland or crown. The corolla Is gener¬ 
ally’ colored and forms the most showy part of the 
flower. Each separate leaf of the corolla Is called 
a petal, and In figures l and 2 these are marked b. 
The office of this circle of leaves Is to envelope and 
protect the organs within, and for this reason the 
calyx and corolla, taken together, are called the 
floral envelopes. The essential organs of the flow¬ 
er likewise occupy two circles, one within the 
other. The first of these circles consists of 
The Stamens, 
Which ill figures 1 and it are marked e. At fig. 3 Is 
shown a separate stamen. It consists of a stalk, a. 
called the .Moment, and tho rounded body at the 
. /f7y, top termed the anther, b. 
jf fi'yi When the anther has matured 
11 splits open and discharges a 
a fine dust termed tho pollen, 
jl viewed under a microscope the 
U. _.. /r pollen is seen to consist of very 
It minute grains of definite size 
|l and shape, and often very curl- 
(| ously aud beautifully marked 
Fig. s. with bands and stripes. A flow¬ 
er that has stamens but no pistils cannot produce 
seed, and Is called a staminate or sterile flower. 
The Pistils 
occupy t he innermost of the lour circles in a flow¬ 
er. in figures l and 2 they are marked d. and In 
figure -i Is shown an enlarged pistil 
from the same flower. It consists /f 
of three parts, the stigma, s, [[ 
which Is the place designated to /p-s. 4 
receive the pollen, In order to bring /* ® 
about fertilization, the style, t, 
which is an open tube leading down 
to the ovary or cavity containing 
the embryo seeds called the ovules 
seen ato. A flower that has sta- I rSgffl/ f ~~ 
mens but no pistils, is said to be 
pistillate. A still better idea of the 
four circles in the flower may be '* r Flo < 
had from tho Ideal plant 1 Q figure 5, where the 
calyx, coi olla and stamens are represented as 
separated. 
Such is a brief description of the organs that go 
to make up the flower. But some of these organs 
maybe wanting, or they may be so modified in 
form and position, as to make a material difference 
In the appearance of flowers, and Ir is upon these 
differences, to a great extent, that, the classifica¬ 
tion of plants Is based 
Figure 3 bas all the parts, an equal number of 
each, that Is, five sepals, five petals, live stamens 
and live pistils, each set of these has the parts all 
a* QL|i> ot Ul( 2 same size and shape, 
Yl | flf a n d, as seen from figure 2, they 
alternate with one another .In 
/ \regular order, one petal stand- 
lng °PP°^W the opening of two 
sepals, and so on; fi. is there- 
rore called a typical or pattern 
flower. 
A perfect flower Is one that 
has both kinds or essential or¬ 
gans, viz., stamens aud pistils. 
A complete flower Is provided 
with the four circles of organs. 
A regular flower has all the 
organs of each set alike, for In. 
stance, the petals should all be 
alike, and so with eaeh of the 
others. 
Irregular flowers are those 
*n which the parts of the same 
set of organs differ from one 
another. This is the ease with 
the petals In the Pea, the Pan¬ 
sy, the Larkspur and many 
others, thereby giving them a 
one-sided and Irregular shape. 
A great deal may yet be said 
about tbe flower, but this I 
fio. 5. consider sufficient for one les¬ 
son, and I will therefore bring It to a close. I hope 
that all of the cousins Interested In botany, and 
especially the members or the Horticultural Club 
wlU examine a large number of flowers and see 
the parts lor themselves, apply tho names, and 
thus commit them to memory. Botany Is a science 
that eveiybody ought to understand, and, certain¬ 
ly, all who live lu the country where there Is no 
want of opportunity to study. 80 me other time I 
will give another lesson on the same subject. 
Uncle Make. 
Fio. D. 
dozing over there In the corner? Please to Intro¬ 
duce him, Miss Madcap Mollle. Listen, “Make 
you acquainted with Miss Dolly Varden, Mr. 
Slayer-of-concelt." Well, I think if I had known 
that was your name, 1 would let you go on with 
your dreaming. Lille Lee, how do you do? Glad 
to see you, Wild Cherry, Dewdrop, Snowdrop, Ivy, 
Bob White, Young Bach. Come, open your eyes, 
summer Is nearly over and fall will soon be here, 
it is time we heard from you. Do you hear mo? 
Ah, you are dozing too comfortably to take an 
active Interest in our letters. Good-by, 
Cross Creek village, Pa. Dolly Varden. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— My garden lias not done 
quite as well this summer as it would, for the 
chickens scratched up part of It. Then my pea¬ 
nuts did not come up, but my lettuce and radishes 
grew finely. I was sick when the first package 
or seed came, so mamma planted some of the pep¬ 
pers and tomatoes and egg-plant seed, but none 
of the egg-plant seed came up. I planted some of 
the melons and cucumbers, so I have some of each 
kind growing. We think those while tailed rad¬ 
ishes are excellent. We received tho corn the cth 
of July and we planted It the same day, putting 
two grains tn a hill and the hills about two feet 
apart, it is up now and growing nicely. Accept 
my thanks for all those seeds. Respectfully, 
Clermont Co., O. Rosa E. Abbott. 
Dear Uncle Mark Will you please register J. 
Connie Plummer’s name on the Horticultural Club 
list, i have some experience In cultivaUng flow¬ 
ers, vegetables and melons, which 1 hope will 
prove recommendation enough, and you will favor 
me with some seeds, remembering that my home 
Is lu the extreme south of the United states. Tho 
fall is the most favorable season for gardening 
here. I proposed to my sister to Join, but she 
thought that the name of one of us was sufficient. 
From your little niece, 
Julia Connie Plummer. 
Refugio Co., Texas. 
Dear Uncle Mark:— Please let me say a few 
words. 1 am tl years old to-day, and I did not get 
any presents, which I think Is too bad. I would 
like to join the Horticultural Club. 1 have a little 
garden of my own, In which are Honeysuckles, 
Bridal Feather, Lilies aud Pinks. 1 like flowers 
very mucin if I see this printed, 1 will write 
again, Fanny Horne. 
Wolfe Island, Ontario. 
[ 1 sympathize with you, Fanny, in your disap¬ 
pointment. Yet you should not take It much to 
heart. A present suould be cherished for the love 
the giver hears you, aud not for Its money value ; 
and though your mends did not give you any pres¬ 
ents, you may be assured that they think none the 
less of you.—U. M.J 
THE FLOWER. 
Sufficient time has now elapsed since we had 
the lesson on leaves to have that lesson fully 
learned, and I hope that all ot my nieces an d 
nephews, -who were at all Interested In the sub¬ 
ject, cannot only discriminate between a com¬ 
pound and a single leaf, between a palmate and a 
pinnate, but that they can name the different 
parts and forms at sight. In this lesson I will talk 
abiut the flower which Is, if possible, a still more 
Interesting subject than the leaf. It is more In¬ 
teresting, not simply because nature has so lavish¬ 
ly adorned It with beauty of form and color, and 
made It so attractive by Its fragrance, but also be¬ 
cause of Its delicate and wonderful structure, and 
by reason of the very Important office It has to 
perform. 
The object of the flower is to produce seed; and 
as the seed Is the means of perpetuating the plant, 
r so that when one 
ft JC(r tree dies another 
xJVwAJi s P rln £ s U P to 
/ v ^ take its place, 
D thus constantly 
keeping the earth 
(f green and flour- 
C£T \<^>f Vs\ lshlng, the lm- 
jl 1 portance of the 
|] flower as a part 
Fio. 1. of the plant will 
readily be understood. If you take a rosebud, Just 
before It expands Into a full-blown rose, and pick 
It to pieces, you will first find some little green 
A HALF WORD SQUARE. 
A man’s name. A river of England. A field. 
Two consonants. A consonant. 
ssr Answer In two weeks. l. o. 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-July 26. 
leaves which Inclose everything else in the bud; 
next comes another set of delicate leaves, more or 
less colored, which are the rose petals or leaves 
of the flower, and Inside are some little thread-like 
organs called stamens and pistils. These four 
sets of organs constitute 
LETTERS FROM BOYS AND GIRLS. 
Good-Morning, Cousins !—How do you do ? Did 
1 scare you ? My, how you all jumped. Why do 
you keep so quiet? Now since 1 have Joined the 
circle of cousins, I mean to stir you up. Who Is that 
Hidden Tools.— 1. Trowel; 2. Wrench; 3. Pinchers 
4. Bit; 5. Nippers; 6. Ruler; 7. Gavel; 8. Steelyards;9 
Axle; 10. Hatchet: 11. Hoe; 12. Rake; 13. Omsel; 14 
Screwdriver; 15. Compass; 16. Juekplano; 17. Plum 
met; 18. Punch; 19. Paulook; 20. Port-crayon; 21. Bur 
in; 22. Wedge; 23. Windlass; 24. Lever; 26. Vise. 
Acbostical Enigma.—U ncle Mark, 
The most glittering services ot unregenerate 
persons arc hut dead works, because they proceed 
not from a principle Of life.— Brooks. 
Those are the best Christians who are more 
careful to reform themselves than to censure 
others ,—Fuller 
