OCT. 48 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
678 
the carriage,” said Lord Sholto, offering his arm. 
“ It will be one o’clock before we get home, so we 
must not delay,” 
" You will not be ahle to conduct me down those 
stairs,” laughed Jean, as they stood at the head 
of the narrow staircase. “I will precede your 
lordship.” 
Khe ran down lightly; in the bar parlor, empty 
and deserted now and but, dimly lighted by one 
small lamp, Mr. lUalr and the landlady were talk¬ 
ing with more earnestness than the settling of an 
account would seem to warrant; but there was 
gold on the counter tinder Mrs. Martin's hand, so 
that It was evident that Mr. Blitlr had remunerated 
her for her accommodation In a manner befitting 
the profuse liberality of the Australian millionaire. 
He turned as Jean appeared. 
“ You are ready? ” ho said, with a touch of em¬ 
barrassment, “We have concluded our business 
also. Good-night, Mrs. Marlin."— 7b be continued. 
--♦♦♦- 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
In spite of the power and dramatic force or the 
writer, the strongest impression left by the book 
is Its aimlessness. There are a number of strongly 
drawn characters; there aro dramatic scenes In 
abundance; but of sustained action, leading up to 
a final climax, there Is none. The characters go 
on their separate ways, utterly Independent or erne 
another, and the reader la filled with a vague 
wonder as to why he has been led through many 
pages of careful character delineation and exciting 
Incident to learn m the end that Mr. Ffrench, 
Haworth and Saint Meran mysteriously disappear, 
and that of the others only one (Granny IUxod) 
does anything dell nlte-s/m dies; the rest walk out 
of the door and out of the book at the same time 
or else sail away. 
rather as a guide to show young couples what 
errors of conduct to avoid. Much of the advice Is 
admirable, particularly that relating to the per¬ 
manency of the marriage relation. We take excep¬ 
tion, however, to the tone assumed In pointing out 
the duties ot the wife. The day has passed tor the 
obedience theory. The wife ot the future will call 
no man master save the “ Man Christ Jeans." 
Alpine Flowers am! Other Poems. Br Au- 
•iUSTA Cleveland Prindle. 8olrl by Whitney & 
Adams, Boston. Price $1.00. ■ 
Thebe Is nothing very much to be said of these 
verses. The sentiment Is sweet and pure, and not 
ungracefully expressed. 
-- 
MAGAZINES. 
Appletons’ Journal—Contents for October._ 
Vivian the Beauty, by Mrs. Annie Edwardes, au¬ 
thor or ‘‘Archie Lovell, ” •• ought We to visit ner ?” 
etc.; c hapters V. to IX. Leaves from the Laurels 
of Moilere, The French riay In London, by Mat¬ 
thew Arnold. Art and Criticism, by Sidney Col¬ 
vin. The Seamy Side, by Walter Besant, and James 
Rice; Chapters XVI. to XVIII. Conspiracies in 
Russia, III.; by Karl Blind. A Dialogue on Human 
Happiness, by W. II. Mallock. The City of Rocks, 
by F. Murphy. Poems: “Dulce est, deslpere," by 
F. A. Symonds; " Uer Cuckoo,” by Frederick 
Locker; “ Portent,” by Edgar Fawcett; “Facing 
the Rights,” by Howard Glyndon. Editor’s Ta,- 
bte: The Nude In Art once more; Women as Hor¬ 
ticulturists; Art and Democracy. Books of the 
Day: Herbert Spencer’s “Data of Ethics;” “The 
Life and Letters or Madame BonaparteWarren's 
“ Recreations In AstronomyBrooke’s “ Milton 
1 ' l ravels with a Donkey in the revenues Qua- 
trefages’s “Human Species;” “Roman Days-” 
“ Spain in Profile“ Dellcla.” 
facing the hights. 
Haworth, the hero, la admirably drawn. A 
coarse, bold man, the author has not hesitated 
to paint him as he was, sins, vulgarity and all. 
Miss Ffrench, a cold, proud beauty, who is so 
self-contained as to be quite above and beyond 
the emotions and Interests of ordinary humanity 
is interesting as a character sketch but repellant 
as a woman. 
The quaint shrewdness oi Jnney, the child whom 
much serving has made a woman in spite of her 
tender years. Is effectively contrasted with the 
fierceness of Granny Dixon, whose shrill tones and 
spiteful remarks ring through the entire book. 
The most charming and lovable of all Is the 
mother of Haworth. By her true womanliness 
and Uer abiding affection tor her son she wins and 
retains the love of the reader. After the turbu¬ 
lence or naworth, the frlgtdtty of Miss Ffrench and 
the morbidness of Miss Murdock, it Ls refreshing 
to tiu'n to this sweet-tempered, natural woman. 
ijSSSaa 
Brown & Co. Pripo $3.<m. * ooston . J.ittl 
The opportunity here afforded of obtainingsom 
of the best of Webster’s speeches win be eagerl 
embraced by many whose limited means have prt 
vented their indulging in the slx-volumed “Lli 
and Works of Webster ” issued In iS 5 i. of coure 
this work does not pretend to any such complete 
ness as the earlier edition, but still from the tom 
three speeches given one can form a correct ide 
of Webster as an orator. Quite apart from lu 
eloquence aud the perfection of his style, It is in 
terestlng to learn what so prominent a statesumi 
thought on the questions of his day. (Ula speed 
on “Executive PUronageund Removal” contain 
maty timely and valuable suggestions which w 
would commend to the notice or “ machine " poll 
tlclans of to-day.) To attempt anything like i 
criticism or these speeches would be like “ giidim 
refined gold” for nu praise, however generous 
could add any weight to this wonderful man': 
reputation as an orator and a statesman. 'The bes 
monument of his intellectual greatness ls his owi 
words, the careful study of which as embod led lr 
his speeches, arguments and diplomatic cnrrespnn- 
dence cannot be too strongly urged upon all 
From Attic 
keepers. By 
narn’a Sour. 
to t ellur A book for Younc- lion, 
Mrs. UAKEr. New York a, p. °p 
Price, <o rente. 
The author is already favorably known to the 
reading public through her various contributions 
on home matters, in which she has given evidence 
ot a thorough appreciation or the difficulties and 
trials of housekeeping, and by her common sense 
directions has Indicated a way out of the same 
Her tour from “attic to cellar” is very thorough' 
nothing however trivial having seemingly escaped 
her notice, and accomplished Indeed must be the 
housekeeper who will not be profited by going 
“ upstairs and downstairs and in my lady's cham¬ 
ber ’ In company with so experienced a guide as 
Mrs. Oakcy. 
Of books on household decoration and on cookery 
we have had enough and to spare and it is there¬ 
fore really a treat to have some one -discourse to 
us on choice and arrangement of a home; d illy 
hablts; duties oi servants; house cleaning; ht me 
and society, and dreas. it is impossible in a short 
nonce to .give any thing like a fair idea of this 
book, it has to be examined to be fully apprecla- 
°At r ^ * l«y>n Three .Yds, ByG 
M. Baker, pramutized from Running to 
Ihe story of a tomboy. Boston: Goo. Jl. B 
Co. price lo unite. 
This little play ls for amateur theatricals, and It 
Is so arranged that little or no expense need be In¬ 
curred ror costumes or stage properties. There ls 
not a villain in the play ; It depends ror success 
upon pictures or Uoimvllfe and the characterization 
of homely, everyday people. 
l L‘,?' U if®***®* M, The Family and It* Mem. 
Airman, D.U. New York. s. m 
Melln&oo. Pi-too$1.50. 
This book ls designed mainly for the newly mar¬ 
ried. Not but that those who are old In Hymen’s 
service may not be benefited by It, but It ls meant 
L 
Since the one song we can sing is 
But a sad one ! 
.Since the presence that we bring is 
Not a glad one : 
Must we-you, my heart, and I— 
Stay to watch the world run by. 
While we two sit back and cry— 
Wearily t 
n. 
What; Is this our Btrait ? and truly 
Is all lost ? 
Is Hope given up aud duly 
Shrived and crossed ? 
Come, heart! Can not you aud I 
Yon untrodden country try, 
Rather than he down and die— 
Drearily? 
IIL 
Seems to me, the hills glow greenly 
Over there. 
If our Fate has served us meanly. 
Can’t we benr ? 
Let us trudge it, you and I, 
Heart, to where those new lands fie ; 
Let us bid the old good-by— 
Cheerily! Howard Gltndon. 
A ppletons' for October. 
Women AS Horticulturists.— Flower-culture 
has greatly Increased In recent years In the vi¬ 
cinity of all our large cities, but the taste for 
flowers is something that grows upon what It feeds, 
so hero Is large space for women to exercise their 
skill and industry. The supply and the demand 
for ent flowers are both very large, and probably 
keep pace with each other, but window tiower- 
culture ls only in its infancy, within the last tew 
years an Increased taste for this sort of ornamen¬ 
tation has been very evident. Ten years ago there 
was probably not an hotel or restaurant In New 
Ybrk that planted flowers in Its courtyards or ap¬ 
proaches, and now nearly every one has them 
Very beautiful, indeed, ls the flower garniture at 
some of these places. In private dwellings win¬ 
dow-boxes of flowers are becoming more and more 
common, but the majority of houses are stfll with¬ 
out this pleusant and gracerui ornamentation, and 
hence the ladles who take up plant-growing 
might with a little tact greatly stimulate the pub¬ 
lic taste In this particular. And what more fit¬ 
ting pursuit lor women than the cultivation of 
flowers ? In what more charming conjunction 
can we unagine them? what employment ls there 
anywhere that accords so exactly with their love 
ot color, thrir passion for beauty, their delicate 
susceptibility to odors, their delight tn whatever 
is sweet, cleanly, pure, and needing care and nur¬ 
ture? It Isa wonder that flower-rearing is not 
already generally In their hands. 
The practical difficulties with young women 
searching tor a vocation ls that they have no 
capital, no special training, little knowledge ot 
current commercial needs, and no disposition 
to enter untried fields ot labor. They are cease¬ 
lessly demanding new avenues for employment, 
under the Impression apparently that by talking 
about them vigorously these new avenues will 
open ot their owu accord. Assuredly fruit-grow¬ 
ing, flower-culture,'and kindred pursuits offer no 
gr. h obstacles to young women with a small 
measure or determination and a little activity of 
Imagination. The great point with us all Is to be 
able to think out things, and this Is what we 
mean In this Instance by imagination. Neither 
men nor women are likely to gain much success 
In established vocations, much less enter upon 
untried ones, unless they have Ideas, the power 
to construct, to form, to plan, to discover relations 
between facts and possibilities of facta, to detect 
significances and follow them to their logical 
outcome. lu flower-growing, however, there ls 
this advantage—many ladles have natural taste 
aud a little smattering ot the art, and hence It 
would not be difficult for them to gain sufficient 
know-ledge rrom books and practical experience 
to their own gardens to mako a test of the sug¬ 
gestion which the writer In •• Macmillan’' makes; 
and eventually training-schools may be estab¬ 
lished lu which young women could enter. The 
thing ls, to make a beginning; and to make a 
beginning the very first requisite ls practical in¬ 
telligence.— Appletons' /br October, 
Jor Moira. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS FAITH RIPLEY. 
LETTERS FROM A COUNTRY GIRL. 
MARGARET B. HARVEY. 
READING FOR PROPIT. 
To be able to read and enjoy Rusktn ls a long 
step forward in the true appreciation of good liter¬ 
ature. If any of you, my friends, can do so at 
present, you will find little difficulty in selecting a 
library—and If not, you need not be discouraged. 
Every one cannot, understand Carlyle, and Emer¬ 
son, and John Stuart Mill, but this Is no reason 
why every one should not admire and love Miss 
Alcott. Her books I recommend unhesitatingly to 
all who would form a good literary taste. Not 
only is the language forcible, but the sentiments 
are good aud the characters life-like. And when 
you know the “ Little Aten” and “ Women,” and 
the “Old Fashioned Girl,” and “Rose,” and “Chris¬ 
tie. and all their friends and adjuncts, I don’t think 
you Win care very much for “The Red-He-aded 
Scalper of the Bloody Plains” on the one hand, or 
“ The Misfortunes ot Cclestlne Florentlna, Coun¬ 
tess of Fiddle-Faddle,” on the other. But very 
likely you will care ror those standards of English 
literature, the works of Scott aud Dickens. 
A years ago, to mention these last was to 
indicate a stupendous task to many, In the way 
of accumulating sufficient funds to purchase the 
books. Girls supporting themselves by their nee¬ 
dle, and boys a pprenticed to trades, very ofteD had 
ten cents when they hadn’t two dollars, conse¬ 
quently they bought wiiat they could for their 
money—flashy weeklies. But now the productions 
of the brightest and wisest flood the country in a 
form as convenient and at a price as low as any 
of the trash-papers. So It ls easy to read almost 
anything that one wants, or to send the same to 
young friends at a distance. 
Having finished Scott and Dickens, you will find 
it but an easy transition to Miss Muloch and George 
Eliot. Among translations trom foreign languages 
it would be well to revel among the rantastic cre¬ 
ations of Jules Verne and the wonderful concep¬ 
tions of Victor Hugo, rt ls scarcely worth while 
to spend any time over the constant stream of new 
novels regularly issued from great publishing 
houses, for out ot twenty you will probably not 
find one worth finishing. Of all appealing within 
the last six months, I remember but two I would 
care to read again—“Sir Glbble” and “Miss Mar¬ 
gery’s Roses.” 
Probably by this time tn your reading you have 
met with extended allusions to certain things in 
the domains of science, art, philosophy, history, 
and so forth, which have opened your way for new 
and far-reaching trains or thought. Follow these 
up at your first opportunity, and always loot out 
any mune or date oi circumstance mentioned. 
Your dictionary and encyclopedia thus will grow 
to be your right, hand men. And so, before you 
know it, you will find that you are gradually ac¬ 
cumulating an Invaluable stock of general Informa¬ 
tion. 
You are now especially led. according to the 
peculiar bent of your mind, towards works on 
Botany, Geology, Architecture, Political Economy, 
and what not. Giving each one chosen (he atten¬ 
tion it deserves, you will suddenly wake up to the 
fact that you know just nothing, but that you have 
nevertheless reached a much higher Intellectual 
stale, and that you could not now endure the men¬ 
tal food upon which you once lived. Now you are 
ready for the solid wisdom contained In the fasci¬ 
nating prose of the wTlters whom I mentioned at 
the head of the article. 
POETRY. 
Talking of authors, what do you know of 
them.’ Well, unless you know- something of them 
—their nationality, character, habits and, above 
all, the age in which they lived—you can t more 
than half appreciate their books. So you must 
begin and play the •• Game or Authors” In earnest. 
And a priceless aid in learning of English writers, 
is Cleveland's “ compendium or English Litera¬ 
ture,” with its sequel, “ Literature of the Nine¬ 
teenth Century.” These are better than the 
encyclopaedia, Inasmuch as they give an extended 
notice of each, with a specimen of his or her 
authorship. 
If you like prose, you ought also to like poetry. 
You hear it said that this is a prosaic age, that 
fact ls opposed to poetry, and so torth, but this Is 
a serious error. The truth never wars against 
Itself. Let the prose be tme and the poet.«- be 
true, and all will be well. Besides you ought to 
love a thing for what it ts. Loro i rose because it 
Isa rose, and don't, think that you might cook it 
It it were a cabbage. Roses and cabbages have 
respectively their places, and keeping m them, 
antagonism between them ls Impossible. If you 
would truly love prose, I repeat, love poetry also. 
Perhaps, l admit, you cannot right, away. The 
distance between “Mary had a little lamb,” and 
“The Drama of the Exile” ts infinite. But don’t 
attempt too much at once, neither settle down 
with too Uttle. Take some volume ot selections 
like Danas “Household Book of Poetry.” or 
Whittier's -Songs of Three Centuries," and read 
a small amount in your leisure moments, aud I 
truly believe a love for the beautiful lu thought, 
embodied In the beautiful in rhyme will grow upon 
you. Then you may profitably follow up youv new 
pursuit in more extended works. You will like 
Longfellow probably, most people do. Whittier 
and Bryant, perhaps, you will suon learn to think 
even finer. Tennyson yon surely ought to love, 
as also sweet, Adelaide Anne Proctor, while much 
of Byron and Shelley you may profitably skip. The 
grandness of Mlltou aud Dante, and the Brown¬ 
ings, require, tor thorough comprehension, u cer¬ 
tain maturity of mind, which, however, will be 
vouchsafed to the earnest seeker, amply repaying 
him for every effort. 
There Is extant a little book entitled “ How 
to Read,” which was published late last year. 
The hints given In it are valuable, btrt. what I 
chiefly recommend It for, aro its valuable lists of 
works upon every conceivable subject. These 
alone are worth more than the price of the book, 
one dollar. Those who have this at, hand need no 
information of mine. 
And T believe this ls all I really have to say upon 
the subject of forming a correct literary taste, for, 
after all, such a thing is an Individual matter. I 
might add, however, as regards periodicals, un¬ 
less you are sure of your own Judgment, turn away 
from all except those which you know to he thor¬ 
oughly respectable—for instance, those noticed In 
the columns of your valued household Journals. 
Remember, too, that you always have your Bible, 
which, aside from any sacredness generally at¬ 
tached thereto, la in Itself, a model of literature— 
historical, poetical, philosophical—tn matter, fig¬ 
ure and language. 
WHAT BOORS TO BUY. 
One word upon buying books, if you have but a 
limited sum to spend, lay It out Judiciously-. That 
Is, don't buy a host ot ephemeral volumes that 
you'll only read once, or at most twice, and so have 
nothing left for valuable cooks of reference tbat 
you’ll always need. I have seen great bookcases 
piled full with “Jennie Ray ” and “ Annie Gray ” 
and “Fair and False,” and •* Advice to Young 
Ladles,” with nothing whatever In the shape of a 
dlcttonary.or gazetteer,or encyclopa?dla,or concord¬ 
ance. Be extremely cautious about buying from a 
publisher’s circular. This ls precisely the process 
by which your grandmother's garret came to be 
piled with a lot ot musty tomes that arc worth 
nothing now, and, but for associations, would ere 
this have been converted Into kindling. No, If you 
have only one shelf, and the money to fill It, put 
there a Webster’s Unabridged, an Appleton’s or 
Chamber’s Encyclopedia, a LlpplncotCs Gazetteer 
of che World, a Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, and. 
of course, a Bible—or perhaps the first two, and 
the last one alone—even If you never purchase 
another book as long as you Uve, What you have 
is and always will be.—in your day, at least—worth 
Its weight In gold. Next, get some of the classics 
or your language,—Shakespeare and Milton and 
Chaucer and Spencer and Pope and Bunyan and 
earlysle and Ruskln and Mill and Emerson and F. 
W. Robertson and Charles Kingsley. Afterwards, 
perhaps, Scott and Dickens and a few other popu¬ 
lar novelists, but the supposition is that you have 
read them already, consequently don’t need to own 
them yet awhile. Anything else you can always 
obtain, either from the library or your friends,— 
but you have no cali whatever to possess a book at 
all, unless you really need It, or. upon becoming 
thoroughly acquainted with It. like it or love It 
well enough to want to keep It near you. 
Of course. If you are welt off 1 n the world's goods, 
it is your duty to buy books largely, not only be¬ 
cause with your abundance you ought to do all in 
your power to make trade good, but so as you will 
be able to lend to poorer friends—for lending 
books, within proper limitations, I think as much 
a duty as the dispensing of ordinary courtesy. 
There’s always a w%v to read, however. It used 
to be my boast that I had read everything, yet 
never owned a boot This would not be strictly 
true to-day, however.—still, exclusive of Rchool- 
hooks, 1 have all told, only about eight, some of 
which are a dictionary, an encyclopaedia, two 
testaments and a Bible. 1 have one novel, one lit¬ 
tle book of religious meditations, and one treatise 
on water-colors. Before you begin to pity me, how¬ 
ever. sisters dear, let me tell you what a gentleman 
friend said to me upon my mentioning the scanti¬ 
ness of my library—a gentleman, by the way, 
whose culture and knowledge are something won¬ 
derful. He said, “I think your way’s the best. I 
used to buy all the books I read,—and cow 1 have 
a lot of useless lumber on my hands, and I wish I 
had my money back again,” 
Now another heresy (tor most writers, 1 think 
would call it heterodox in me to advise economy, 
to book-buying—stiff, l know the world) don’t 
read much. I think poring steadily over books 
one of the worst things a woman could do,—not 
only will It draw her attention away from present 
duties, but it Is unhygienic. A walk or ride In the 
open air might do her more good In less time. I 
think more than an hour’s reading at. one sitting, 
unless in special cases, injurious, producing very 
often headache and lassitude, a strong, healthy 
woman may ;not feel it at first, but she will 
in time. Let her begin by being a bookworm 
and she will end by literally “reading herself 
our,”—that is, getting herself in such a habit of 
exhausting her strength, that the very effort of 
settling her thoughts upon a subject will grow 
wearisome, finally impossible. One hour in the 
daytime, with perhaps two in the evening, every 
day. ls enough for any one, according to my belief 
and experience. The little gained then and well- 
digested. will be worth days of reckless devouring, 
and the Interim between readlDg discontinued and 
reading renewed, will give opportunity to question 
and think and reason, and to return to the book 
refreshed and well able to continue : 
WHICH IS WORTH MOST. 
And. after all. I have learned, there are better 
things than books. Men lived and loved and 
suffered and achieved and died before books 
were known, and perhaps were as good and as 
happy as some of us are. The mirror ls less than 
the Image lr reflects. The fife ts more than the 
meat, be that meat mental or material though, 
both kluds or meat are necessary. The grandest 
descriptions of natural scenery are less than the 
valleys and woods and mountains themselves ■ the 
most exciting ot plots are Tame compared to the 
Intense comic and tragic. In our own lives- the 
noblest of .sentiments expressed in written'lan¬ 
guage are fur. far less than we may feel in the 
sorrow and suffering and love and hope and joy 
which we are all culled upon to experience. Read, 
then, to help yourselves to live,—but never, as you 
value h/e Itself, never sink living, actual living re 
reading and .Making about living. Geometry is a 
science and book* tire useful, rightly to Interpret 
It,—but geometry ls Independent, of Us interpreter, 
and Its facts would exist were all the books relat¬ 
ing u> them blotted out forever. 
so, i think, with all our reading, lr. is not so im¬ 
portant what or how much we read, but how we 
show forth lu our dally lives the benefit of what we 
actually' do read. And more than this,—It is dos- 
sible ror us to Uve nobly, purely, even grandly if 
we never open a book.-though It is well toopen 
many and often, • 
