THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
OCT. « 
them up a little wooden staircase, up which Jean 
stumbled as best she could, and sank exhausted 
on a chair, in a cold-looking little sitting-room on 
the first floor of the house, 
“ flight a tire with as little delay as possible,” 
said Mr. Blair, hurriedly. “Make as much haste 
as you can, my good woman.” 
CHAPTER X. 
As Mr. Blair spoke he crossed over to Jean’s side 
and gently removed her- bat, which was dripping 
w ith water, while the little piece of heather, with 
which site adorned it in the afternoon, was beaten 
down and drenched. The young girl tried to laugh 
as he look her hands and peeled o(T, literally 
peeled off, the clinging gloves. 
“Are you better dear child?” he said, softly. 
“ You frightened me dreadfully a short time 
since.” 
“ I am sorry,” she Bald, heavily. 
“ I think your good lady would be better in bed, 
while her clothes are drying," suggested the land¬ 
lady, who had coaxed the lire into a blaze ; but at 
this practical suggestion, Jean exclaimed, In hor¬ 
ror. 
“Oh! no, please,” she said, hurriedly. “It Is 
only my dress Which Is wet. I had your coat, you 
know. “ If,” and she turned to the landlady, 
“ you could lend me something to wear while my 
dress is drying, that will be all I want.” 
“ Very well, ma’am, I will get you something ; 
but l am a lone ivomaa, sir, she added, “ so tha t I 
fear I cannot accommodate you.” 
“ And you are In much worse plight than I am,’ 
said Jean, regretfully. “ Please go and get your 
things dry. I think the storm Is beginning again. 
Is It not?" 
“ I am afraid It Is,” said Mr. Blair, as the land¬ 
lady left the room, and he looked out on the moor, 
which lay dark and gloomy before tbe window. 
“ I am so happy to think you are sheltered, my 
child,” he added, coming back to Jean, who was 
resting her head against the hard horse-hair bol¬ 
ster of the little sora, In almost a stupor or exhaus¬ 
tion and fatigue. 
“ You only think of me,” she said, smiling faint¬ 
ly, holding out her hand to him. 
“ Is It not natural that a man should take care 
of his own,” he said, bending over the little hand 
and touching it to his lips, just as the landlady 
returned with some garments over her arm. *• Such 
a dear litt le wife must he taken care of, must she 
not ?” 
Jean laughed slightly. 
“ And you are the most careful of husbands," 
she said, as she rose languidly from the sofa with 
his assistance; for she was stiff and weak still, 
and her limbs trembled. 
‘•i;wlll go down and see about a hot drink for 
you,” he said, giving her into Mrs. Martin’s care 
(for the landlady, although a lone woman, had 
taken brevet rank.) •* And by the time my things 
are dry. you will be rested a little.” 
Almost as he spoke the storm, which Uad mo¬ 
mentarily subsided, broke forth again, and a vivid 
flash of lightning was succeeded by a long peal of 
thunder. 
Jean shivered. 
“ You will not he long?” she said, kindly, turn¬ 
ing to Mr. Blair. 
“ Oh, of course not. Take good care of my wife, 
Mrs. Martin.” 
“ i'es, sir,” replied the landlady; while Jean, 
who was touched by the tender consideration for 
her he had displayed throughout their adventure, 
forced a smile as he left the room, and by two 
words sealed her own fate. 
“ Take good care of yourself, my husband!” she 
said. 
“ You have a very good husband, ma’am,” said 
Mrs. Martin, as she proceeded to remove Jean’s 
wet clothes, and to array her In her own Sunday 
best garments, which consisted of a deep crimson 
cashmere gown, which was, of course, consider¬ 
ably too large, long, and full for Miss McLeod’s 
slender flgure. 
“ Yes; he Is very kind,” said Jean, absently. 
“ Oh! 1 wish the storm would cease,” she added, 
wearily. 
At last Mrs. Martin’s performance was conclu¬ 
ded ; Jean lay back on the little sofa, which was 
drawn up near the lire, and before Mi’s. Martin 
had llnlshed “ tidying up,” she had fallen fast 
asleep; even the storm without did not disturb 
her, although it raged violently, and ever and 
anon the little sitting-room wits lighted by the red, 
lurid glare of the lightning, while the roar of the 
thunder shook the house to its foundations. 
When Jean awoke, she relt refreshed and rested, 
the fire was blazing cheerily, and the storm had 
died away, and as Jean sat up, pushing away her 
lnilr from her forehead, she glanced down at her 
quaint costume, and laughed softly to herself. 
Almost, at the same moment there came a knock 
at the door, and In answer to Joan’s “ come In,” 
an elderly, hard-lculurod woman entered with a 
tray, with tea upon it, which Jean hailed with de¬ 
light. 
The woman placed It on a little table, and 
brought it to Jean’s side, saying she hoped she had 
rested well. 
A little note lay on the tray, and as Jean an¬ 
swered her smilingly, she took It up, and opening 
it, read as iollows: 
“ My dear little Wife, 
“ I hope you have partly recovered your fa¬ 
tigue. When you are ready to receive me let me 
know, as I am anxious to see how you are. Will 
you forgive me for having taken such a liberty 
with your sketch-book ? 
“ Your affectionate husband, 
“Andrew Blair.” 
The note was written on a leaf torn from her 
sketch-book, and folded In two. Jean read It, 
smiling to herself. Then she tore off the blank 
sheet, and with a pencil, which w r as lying on the 
tray, wrote in reply : 
“ My leak Hushand, 
“ I am quite ready to receive you, and I am 
anxious that you should see me in my charming 
toilet. Don’t apologise for using my paper. 1 
thought that a wife’s property was less her’s than 
her husband's. You see I have a proper notion of 
what my prospective duties are. 
“ Your affectionate wife, Jean.” 
“ Take this note to the gentleman who gave 
you that ono,” Joan said to the laird-featured 
handmaid, who had watched her proceedings with 
Interest. 
“It was Mrs. Martin who gave it to me, ma’am,” 
was the reply. 
“ Well, give It to the gentleman who came here 
with me.” said Jean. 
“ Twa gentlemen came with ye.’ ma’am,” said 
the woman, obtusely. “Never fash yoursel," she 
added, as Jean made a movement of Impatience, 
“ never fash yoursel, It Is yer guldman, ye mean V” 
“ Yes; I mean my husband,” said Jean, angrily, 
Just as the door behind opened and Mrs. Martin 
appeared on the threshold, asking if “ Mrs. Blair,” 
had everything she required, and her servant, went 
down to Mr. Blair with Jean's note, which he an¬ 
swered almost immediately In person.—7b be con¬ 
tinued. 
--- 
RECENT LITERATURE. 
reader, make his descriptions stlrrlug and pictur¬ 
esque. His art as a writer has enabled him to 
invest with new charms, even so worh a subject 
as Parisian sights and sounds. To many readers 
the extended sketches he gives of victor Hugo and 
Emile Zola, replete as they are with Interesting 
facts concerning these authors—the character of 
their works, methods of composition, habits of life- 
will be the most attractive portions or the book. 
Do Amlels hits off most admirably the over¬ 
weening vanity of the Parisian In the following : 
“This idea of having been born in Paris, of having 
had lids sign of predilection from God, Is the 
loading thought of the Parisian, lflre a star which 
Irradiates his whole life with a heavenly consola¬ 
tion. The benevolence ho shows to strangers is 
inspired to a great degree by a feeling of commis¬ 
eration for them, and his dislike of them Is not a 
profound one simply from the fact that he, con¬ 
siders his enemies sufficiently punished by the 
fate which caused them to he born where they 
were. For this reason, lie worships all the child¬ 
ishness and vice of hts native city, and is proud of 
them only because they belong to Paris, which, to 
his mind, Is above human criticism.” 
- : - 
He Is an imp of mischief, breaking furniture, over¬ 
turning inkstands on the carpet, setting fire to 
valuable papers, driving nails Into the furniture. 
How shall you abate this nuisance 7 You may try 
to destroy these bad habits by scolding him, by 
rebukes, by lectures, by punishments. That is 
one way, but not the best. These bad habits 
often spring from an Instinct of activity, an Intense 
cleslre to do something, which the creator has 
given tbe child as a means of mental and moral 
growl h. In trying to pull up ibe lares you are In 
great danger of rooting out. the wheat also. If you 
succeed by force in changing his disagreeable tor¬ 
ment ol perpetual activity Into a (lull quiet, you 
have changed a bright, boy Into a dull ono. A bet¬ 
ter way tuan destroying this tendency is to fulfill 
It by giving him plenty of occupation of an Inno¬ 
cent kind. Give him a heap of sand to dig. blocks 
of wood to build houses with, a box of tools, and 
boards to saw. Set him at some work, useful or 
Interesting, or, at least, harmless. He will like all 
tiffs better than he likes mischief. All his Irregu¬ 
lar activity was a cry for something to do.— Rev. 
j. P. Clarke, in Herald of Health. 
-♦♦♦- 
USEFUL ITEMS. 
THE DARK AGES.—HOW THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME 
EN.TOVKD THEMSELVES. 
The fathers of the printing trade accepted a 
grave responsibility In exciting a world that was 
intellectually tranquil. To us, looking back upon 
them out of the light, those so-called “ dark ages ” 
seem sufficiently dreary, in the Intervals of those 
active occupations which are scarcely suited to 
our quieter modern tastes—feuds, fighting, fire- 
raising, rapine, rapes, Ac.—it appears to us that 
time must have dragged along very heavily. In 
reality, to the mass of those who knew no better, 
those times of universal Ignorance and torpidity 
must have been at least negatively agreeable. 
With Die rare exception of some solitary student, 
of some scheming churchman, or some statesman 
in advance of his age, we may take It for granted 
that nobody thought very deeply'. There was mo 
wear and tear ol the mental fibers, and, conse¬ 
quently, there were none Of those painful brain 
and nerve diseases that fill our asylums, and are 
transmitted by descent, so the stomach had a 
similar immunity from strain, and the unimpaired 
digestion was never troubled by abstruse thought 
or far-fetched anxieties—which, by the way, was 
a most benefleient provision of Providence, when 
we remember the character of the medkeval cui¬ 
sine , and the habits of feasting among the rich and 
idle. What passed for thought with society gener¬ 
ally was the mechanical action of a languid brain 
working in the narrowest circles of Its Immediate 
Interest and cares. Concern with a future state 
was the special care of clergy; the church had 
settled the dogmas which the devout had only to 
receive, it Is next to Impossible now-a-day to 
ready.*.- the condition of the nobleman or county 
squire, unable to read or to write, who groped his 
way from the cradle to the grave In the profound- 
est mental darkness. He never troubled bis head 
about foreign politics, uuless he were personally 
summoned to serve beyond the seas; or when some 
strolling wayfarer, like Wilfrid of Ivanhoe, brought 
news of the wars In France or Palestine. Nor did 
he concern himself much more about domestic 
broils, unless they seemed likely to cost him his 
head, or bring him some addition to his domains. 
Such conversation US there whs over the heavy 
banqueting, beyond remarks on tbe cooking ot the 
Joints and the quality of tho heady liquors, turned 
generally on matters manorial or paroclilaL The 
guests grew excited over the encroachment of some 
neighbor on the rights ot free-foresty, the latest 
deed of audacity of the nearest hand of outlaws, a 
raid on the droves of swine, or a murrain tn the 
herds of cattle. Men were forced to drink hard 
and long after supper, since there was nothing else 
to be done, and so the heavy brains became 3lowly 
sodden, and still more Insensible to Intellectual 
stimulants.— Blackwood's Magazine. 
Kabul.— It is somewhat singular that the 
name of Kabul should have made Its first appear¬ 
ance In history as a term of reproach. The Old 
Testament Scriptures record that, when Hiram, 
Klngof Tyre, dissatisfied with the twenty cities 
given him by Solomon, asked, “What cities are 
these which thou host given me, my brother 7" he 
marked his displeasure by calling them “the land 
of Kabul.” The picturesque surroundings of the 
modern city may fairly exempt it froth a simi¬ 
lar taunt; but not a few Afghans will give the 
preference to Kandahar, which actually super- 
ceded Its elder rival as the native metropolis for 
seventeen years after its foundation, the re-trans- 
for of the seat of government to Kabul taking 
place In HTO. Prom a military point of view, how¬ 
ever, the strong fortress ot Ghazni, lying south¬ 
west of Kabul on the great northern road from 
Kandahar, would be preferable to either. It was 
captured for the first time In I sail, when a deserter 
betrayed to tbe English the secret of a weakly- 
guarded gate, which was forced while, a feigned 
attack in anot her quarter distracted the attention 
of the garrison. Notwithstanding this mischance, 
however, the city still retains Its native title of 
“theimpregnable.”- <V. y. Times. 
Many kinds or wood aroused in making bows 
for archery servlet), among which are some beauti¬ 
fully vaneguted woods from South America. The 
lance and hickory take t he lead among tho com¬ 
mon varieties, and the elegant snakewood, backed 
wit h hickory, makes one of the nicest bows that 
Is made The snakewood takes u beautiful polish, 
and owing to 11s responsive nature, son its the ar¬ 
row farther and with more certainty than a bow 
made ol any other kind ol wood Tho incest, bows 
are planed by hand, great care being required to 
make tho aides curve exactly alike, us any devia¬ 
tion In.lures the efficiency of the bow. The ends 
of the bows are carved out of Uorn. The nicest 
bows are tipped with buffalo horn. A piece of 
cork Is shaped and glued lo the center and covered 
with plush to make the handle. The power of the 
bow is measured by the number of the pounds It 
pulls, a spring scale being used for the purpose of 
showing this. A bow pulling thirty pounds Is con¬ 
sidered the right thing for a lady, and fifty pounds 
for a gentleman. 
American Popular Uieiionnry of the Eiik- 
lisli laimriiage, I Illustrated New York : Carter 
A Tee-k, 271 Broadway. Price, $1. 
Unlike most of the low-priced dictionaries which 
have been extensively advertised of late, this one 
is worth Inflnttely more than the amount asked for 
It. It contains all the Information usually com¬ 
prised In books of its class, bestde much other 
matter generally found in encyclopedias and even 
there in not so compact a form. 
The first 311 pages are occupied by the dictionary 
proper—1. e., words, their pronunciation and defi¬ 
nition-followed by a list of words, phrases and 
quotations from auclent and modern languages 
with their signification; a complete list or Scrip¬ 
ture proper names; an alphabetical list ot Ameri¬ 
can geographical names with their derivation aud 
signification; popular (or nick) names of American 
States and cities. The treatise on “ How to Pro¬ 
nounce Difficult Words,” Is fully illustrated by 
examples and this, together with the extensive 
list ot correct pronunciation of words commonly 
mispronounced, would alone make the book a 
valuable acquisition to any library. The chapter 
devoted to showing how to write with elegance 
and ease, and the other to the enumeration of 
slang, vulgar phrases, inaccurate terms and ex¬ 
pressions, contain Information which it Is import¬ 
ant for every one to know. For the rest, there are 
tables giving dates ot discoveries, lists of abo¬ 
rigines of North America, statistics of American 
Revolution, Declaration ol Independence, the 
name, birthplace, age of the signers of the same; 
facts relative to population, public debt, public 
lands, homestead laws, canals, army, navy, vital 
stag^tlcs, insolvent and assignment laws; news- 
pajISrs and periodicals ot the world; railroads, 
coin productions. Interest tables, and a chronologi¬ 
cal history of the United States. The book closes 
with a list of the gods, heroes and goddesses of 
mythology, with a short sketch ot each. It would 
be all but Impossible to find within the covers of 
any other book now extant, so much useful, curi¬ 
ous and Interesting information. The faith of the 
publishers In their ability to satisfy the most criti¬ 
cal and cxaoriug of purchasers, is evidenced by 
the offer they make to refund the money to any 
who may, for any reason, be dissatisfied with the 
dictionary. 
Summer Savory, By Benj. F. Taylor, LL.D 
Chicago, 8.0. GrunfH A Oo, Price $1,00. 
This volume we are Informed In the preface is 
a "record of gypsy-like rambles In sunny days;” 
and that these rambles took place In Utah and 
Colorado, may be Inferred from occasional de¬ 
scriptions of scenery and persons. These are In¬ 
terspersed with discourses on hats; funeral ex¬ 
travagance; a caravan which the writer saw 
when he was a boy; the poetry of picnics; an old- 
time “meeting-house;” winks and winkers; Web¬ 
ster’s Spelling-Book; a country ball-room, and 
other subjects of equal importance. This literary 
kaleidoscope contains several pleasing pictures 
among which t hose of Colorado mountain scenery 
seem to deserve special notice; but to us the most. 
Interesting passage Is tho description of the servi¬ 
ces at the Mormon Tabernacle In Salt Lake City. 
The account of the caravan Is amusing In every¬ 
thing except the closing sentences which relate to 
the various kinds of Hons; these show such traces 
of careful construction that the effects of the 
humor are somewhat lost, “ The poetry of pic¬ 
nics ” will appeal to those who find this the most 
delightful method of killing time. The author In¬ 
forms us that some of the “Moody and Sankoy ” 
hymns have been degraded lu certain localities 
Into waltzes. Tills lafonnatlon Is new to us, and 
possibly may be to some of our readers. If this is 
so, think of the frightful consequences that may 
result should this new moral disease prove con¬ 
tagious ! What if soiffe scoffer should construct a 
popular scholtlsuhe from “old Hundred?” To 
speak seriously, the style or sacred music now 
becoming popular, shows a natural revolt of tbe 
popular taste against the unvarying monotony of 
the older hymn tunes, a desire for a more ani¬ 
mated style ol composition, that may occasionally 
go a little too far; but how any rational human 
being can think “ Jesus of Nazareth 1'assethBy” 
suitable for waltz music, we cannot imagine. In 
conclusion, we may say that if “ Summer Savory ” 
was written only to furnish a means of killing 
time, it may accomplish this, and its low price 
makes it an Inexpensive Investment. 
Studies of I’nris. By Edmond De Amicis. New 
York. G. T. Putuam'B Sons. 
This brilliant writer’s previous work on Con¬ 
stantinople won for Him golden opinions, his title 
to which Is confirmed by this later production. 
Ills marvelous powers ol delineation, his ability 
to seize the central idea of a scene, or the salleut. 
characteristics of a race or a city, and by a tew 
happy sentences to bring them vividly before the 
MAGAZINES. 
International Review, for October.—Contents: 
The flight of Asia, Oliver Wendell Holmes; Tho 
Negro Exodus, F. R. Guernsey; The Political 
situation In France, A. Talandler; Mr. Black- 
rnore’s Novels, George Barnett smith; Protection 
and Socialism: J. Laurence Laughlln; Von Holst’s 
History of the United states, Henry Cabot Lodge; 
The Study and Practice of Medicine by Women, 
James R. Chadwick; contemporary Literature, 
Pierce’s “ ,Eneld.” 
The Negro Exonus.— A marked race-prejudice 
Is shown against the negro Immigrants by the far¬ 
mers, who are maluly Republicans in politics. 
Among the small white farmers of the Louisiana 
hlll-parlshes and the German settlers in Texas 
there Is exhibited tbe same antipathy to negro 
neighbors. It may be set down as a fact that any 
community of white men who themselves work in 
the fields object to being brought into competition 
with a race considered to he interior, one of the 
objections raised by Kansas farmers to negro set¬ 
tlers la that the blacks are Immoral, and they fear 
the results of an association of the children of the 
two races tn the public schools. Ex-Governor An¬ 
thony or Kansas, a life-long abolitionist and “pro¬ 
nounced ” Republican, Bald to the writer that he 
was opposed to a pauper immigration of any na- 
tlonullty or race, and therefore had no sympathy 
with the enthusiasts who would open Kansas to 
the pauper negroes ol the South. The most potent 
reason against negro Immigration In the minds of 
the leading men ol Kansas is a well-grounded fear 
) that the news of a numerous settlement of blaoks 
In that. State would serve to turn the tide of white 
Immigration Into Nebraska and Minnesota. A de¬ 
clared IncUnaiiou on the port of the present ad¬ 
ministration In Kansas to Invite a large Immigra¬ 
tion of negroes would Immensely strengthen the 
feeble Democratic opposition, even if it should not 
result In a division of the local Republican party. 
The employment of Chinese la the cotton fields 
of the south has often been mooted; but, to our 
knowledge, the only practical test, on a large scale 
of the alleged superiority of Mongolian over Afri¬ 
can labor has been made in Texas, where about 
three hundred Chinamen, Imported originally to 
build a railroad, have been employed as laborers 
on cotton plantations, or have been allowed to be¬ 
come tenant-farmers. These Chinamen have 
proved to he diligent and satisfactory. They are 
physically Inferior to the negroes, but make up tor 
their deficiency In strength by unremitting in¬ 
dustry. As tenants they are very shrewd, requir¬ 
ing that the land they rent be measured by disin¬ 
terested persons, and confirming the surveyors’ 
report by an independent measurement of their 
own. They will not submit to extortionate prices, 
and make their purchases where weights and 
measures, as well as prices, are satisfactory to 
them. The Chinaman contrives In some way 
nearly always to have a little ready money, and is 
accordingly able to buy his goods where he pleases, 
and to avoid getting into the power of the grasp¬ 
ing merchants. The Chinaman is wHling to work 
six days In a week, while the average negro tenant 
Is likely to make a holiday of Saturday as well as 
of Sunday, one of the evils ol share-farming has 
been the readiness of the negro to take a holiday 
when the mood came upon him. Yet the plod¬ 
ding, patient Chinaman, although honorable In 
meeting the letter of hla contract, is not looked 
upon with favor by the majority of tho planters. 
They prefer the negro race, to all the pectil lari ties 
of which they have become used, and regard with 
disfavor tbe Chinaman, who is of alien religion, 
and destitute of every trace or American feeling.— 
/•’. E. Guernsey, in International Heviewfor October, 
The Herald of Health.— Contents for October: 
Physiological aud Sanitary Marriage and Parent¬ 
age, by tiie editor; Value of Physical Endurance, 
by Prof. Huxley; Winter Suits lor Little Girls; 
The Insidious Evil of Tobacco; After Death—Ba¬ 
by’s Appeal - Lite—Parental; What is a Good 
citizen?; Lomi-Lomi; Sir Rowland Illll—Shake¬ 
speare; How to Treat Mischievous Children—id¬ 
ling Well—Weather Prophets-Unoccupied Houses 
a Source of Disease; Both-Handedness-IIygleno 
lor .Stutterers; Starvation In the Nursery—Con¬ 
gestive Headache—A Cheap and Good Pudding; A 
Judicial Opinion oi Fashionable Dress—Death from 
soothing Sirup—Moral Effect of Tea, Coffee, etc.; 
Bilked Fruit and Bread I’le—Damp Closets—Cur¬ 
rent Literature; Health Foods. 
How to 1'rkat Mischievous Children.— Here is 
a little child, who Is a great tease and trouble. He 
Is always asking to do this or that Impossible or 
impermissible action. He bursts lu abruptly upon 
the conversation of his seniors. He destroys all 
peace in the house by shouts aud screams, Imperi¬ 
ous demands on the time and attention of every 
one, endless interruptions of every one’s affairs. 
