jan n 
Aunt Beth again. I am sure we all say the 
same. Sadie has two brothers who have 
bought a farm in Virginia. If she moves 
down there she will have to tell us all about 
the country. 
Wilber F. Saxton wants me to be sure 
and wish all the Cousins “Happy New Year.’' 
Wilber’s father caught a flying squirrel. I 
After the storm is over, we have to dig out the 
paths. I used to have to do that when I was 
a boy. I remember one great drift so high 
that w'e cut a tunnel through it. One day, 
during a snow-ball battle, some of the boys 
tided to use it for a fort. They went inside to 
make snow-balls, and the rest of us broke in 
the top aud buried them up. It generally pays 
I'ahooI 
be 
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Hood’s Sarsaparilla 
Sold by all druggists. $1; six for $5. Made 
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IOO Doses One Doflar 
THE SCIENCE OF LlFt. ONLY SI. 
BV MAIL POSTPAID. 
THE MAN 
WHO Mar BN 
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PUca Lin Ikli papar u4 
THE SNOW STORM. 
Dn.i, lay the earth and barren 
Iu the December cold. 
Scarred was its face and broken, 
Weary and dim and old. 
Over the rnslbug forest 
Slow sank the suu from sight, 
Out crawled the blind old shadows, 
Led by the fiends of night. 
Over the gloomy graveyard, 
■Where the rude mounds appear, 
Crept the dark shadows, driving 
Backward the light in fear. 
Sad as an old nwn dying. 
Nothing could comfort bring 
Save the warm breath of Summer 
Or the low laugh of Spring. 
But through the night the snowflakes 
Tenderly found their way, 
Laying a spotless mantle 
Over the earth so gray. 
Weak, for a child’s breath killed them, 
Blown In its careless mirth; 
Strong, for they took the sorrow 
Out of the face of earth. 
Silently, sol’ily falling. 
Soft as an angel's plume. 
Hiding the dismal horror, 
Hiding the staring tomb; 
Over the dreary churchyard 
Throwing a mantle warm. 
Where the tired hearts lay sleeping 
After life's weary storm. 
Hiding the marks of sorrow 
Under its spotless white. 
Brightening all the future. 
Filling the world with light. 
So when we doubt and wonder, 
Dropping our burden down, 
Weary at Fate’s hard questions, 
Weiiry at Fortune’s frown, 
When at the soul’s dimmed windows 
Beckon the ghostly fears. 
Pointing to hopes all broken, 
Hid iu the graves of years; 
Then from the mighty record, 
Such as the angel's know, 
All of our good deeds flutter 
Soft as the faUlug snow; 
All of the kind words spoken, 
Smiles, and the friendly hand, 
All of our self-denials 
Hasteu at God’s command. 
Hiding the years all broken, 
Drifting at Trouble’s door. 
Teaching a deeper patience 
Than we could know before. 
k Ukcle Mark. 
Uncle Mark has had bis snow storm at 
last. It came hard enough when it once 
started. The papers tell us that it started 
down in Texas, and came sweeping up over 
the country, and was lost at last out on the 
ocean. Most of our great storms start in the 
West and travel towards the sea. Text books 
tell us that wind is “air iu motion.” Most of 
us found that to be very true last week. You 
all know that hot air will rise. Suppose a 
great mass of air, covering miles of ground, to 
become heated. Up it goes, and the colder air 
all about it rushes in to All the vacant place. 
Then this mass gc >es tearing and twisting about, 
grooving stronger and stronger as it goes, 
doing all the damage it cau till it slips off into 
the ocean and wastes itself. This last storm 
did a great deal of damage. Trains were de¬ 
layed, vessels were wrecked, and people were 
frozen to death iu some States. I hope the 
Cousins were all safe and warm, where the 
wind could not And them. 
A snow storm always makes lively work. In 
the country, we have to see that everything is 
under shelter, for if the snow once covers tools 
• m 4- Vi r\VT tirill TA/Vt* Vir* CiaCitl Cl IfQlll SniMTlt* 1 . 
fire and have plenty of fruit and nuts to eat. 
Don’t think of coming to the city boys, you 
are well off where you are. 
I saw some news boys eating their dinner 
the other day. They were ragged little fellows, 
without any overcoats or mittens. They had 
to jump about and dance to keep their feet 
warm, aud blow on their hands to thaw out 
their Augers. They stood up in front of a 
counter to eat. What did they have? This 
was about, the bill of fare: A plate of baked 
beans, two pieces of bread, a cup of coffee aud 
a doughuut. That cost them 10 cents, and I 
guess any one of them could have eaten three 
times as much. They have to sell 10 papers to 
earn enough to pay for that dinner, and many 
of them had no home to go to when their work 
was done. This will he a good thing for the 
Cousins to remember when they think they are 
having a pretty hard time. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
We can have a long letter this week, intro¬ 
ducing a great many new Cousins. The new 
year has brought a great many. 
Bertha Hadly lives in Thorntown, Indi¬ 
ana. She does not see many letters from her 
State. The Indiana Cousins should remember 
this. Bertha would like to have some of the 
Cousins write to her. She has a canary named 
Bobby which sings almost all the time. 
Tommy Stevens took some Clem Squashes 
to the fail* at Trenton, N. J., and took the 
second premium—well done! He is going to 
try and get the first next year. The fair was 
a good oue, with no betting and horse racing. 
That is the kind of a fair we all like to attend. 
Rett a M. Avetry lives at Lebanon, Mo. 
She gives Uncle Mark a very kind invitation 
to call on hear. She likes to livu in the coun¬ 
try. Her Mamma has lots of nice plants, in¬ 
cluding 16 varieties of cacti. 
Mary B. Wilson lives at Hays City, Kan¬ 
sas, with her brother. She can milk, aud help 
feed the chickens. She planted the Carden 
Treasures last year and had some very pretty 
flowers. 
Viola Mayhew fives two miles from town. 
She has a pet kid and a colt. The geese make 
lots of noise. I expect they wake people up 
in the morning. 
Robert M. Colt has little time for writing, 
for he has to walk a mile to school and take 
care of the school-house and fire. Mental 
arithmetic is his favorite study. He raised 
five bushels of pop-corn. 
Manly and Darwin Lawrence raised 150 
chickens, doing all the work without help. 
They had for their share every fifth chicken, 
and got $7.50 for what they sold. I like to 
see boys have a chance to work that way. 
They gathered 2,880 eggs. They have made 
in all $12. Pretty good, boys. The new house 
is nearly done. They have bought a carpet 
for their room and their Mamma has made it. 
Next year they want to make enough to get 
some furniture. That is a good way to spend 
the money. I think. 
Emory C. Spence reports wheat very poor, 
oats pretty good, rye good, buckwheat a 
larger crop than usual, no peaches and a large 
crop of apples. The White Elephant aud 
Rural Blush potatoes were both very good. 
Nannie L. Peck lives in California. She 
has been reading the Letters in a copy of the 
Rural she found at her grandmother’s house. 
Did any of our Northern Cousins ever tliiuk 
what Christmas in California must be like? 
Sadie E. Steigleder wants to hear from 
when snow-balls are flying about, to keep out 
in the open field where we can see what is go¬ 
ing on. When we get behind a snow fort, we 
think we are all right, and so forget to lie 
careful; the first we know we are hit pretty 
hard. It is about the same with everything 
else. It is only by keeping our eyes open tliat 
we are able to keep out of the w ay of things 
that would do us harm. The moment we be¬ 
gin to say that we are safe and can’t be hit, 
we are in danger from a stray shot. 
A snow storm in the city changes life entire¬ 
ly. The wind comes sweeping down the nar¬ 
row streets wi hardly a chance to escape. 
The snow piles u,j over the door steps in great 
drifts. This makes work for the poor people. 
Men and boys go about with shovels to clear 
away the snow. They generally get 25 cents 
for clearing away the space in front of a house. 
Oftentimes the people give them more. The 
cold weather makes sad suffering in the places 
where these poor people live. Many of these 
poor little fellows that shiver all night in a 
cold attic, would be glad enough of a home in 
the country where they could lie near a good 
wish we could see it. Wilber has bound the 
Rukals for 1884. How many Cousins can 
say the same. 
Mabel Darlington had a battle with the 
grass-hoppers for the possession of her beaus. 
The grass-hoppers beat. Her Papa says he 
has found one thing that the “hoppers” will 
not eat, and that is the vine of a pumpkin. 
They would probable eat pumpkin pie though. 
Mabel won a prize for good attendance at 
school. 
Olivia B. Sell writes that the cut-worms 
thought everything of the tomatoes. The 
Johnson Grass did not come up. The pens 
were very nice. 
Annie L. Bryan lives in Marylaud. They 
have a molasses mill on the farm. They raised 
some peanuts and some chufus—the latte r they 
do not like very well. They had a very large 
crop of turnips. 
Anna Mason writes a very nice letter. She 
lives in Western New York. She has a 
canary, two cats and three little chickens. 
The latter will fly up in her lap and eat out 
of her hand. Where she lives they have been 
drilling for water, and have an artesian well 
314 feet deep which flows 75 barrels an hour. 
We would all like to know more about that. 
One of the neighbors who is 73 years old, has 
pieced a quilt containiug nearly 4,000 pieces. 
Louisa Schoenfeld says that her Mamma 
tells her that she never heard that story about 
the black cat and the baby that was in the 
Rural some time ago. Her Mamma was 
brought up in Germauy too. Louisa can make 
good bread, though she is only 11 years old. I 
am glad she can help her Mamina. Her 
brother, John, takes care of the horse and cow 
and cleans the hen house every Saturday. He 
is going to have a piece of land next year. I 
suppose he will raise quite a crop. 
Katie Jack would much rather live iu the 
cou ntty where she can have a good garden, 
than to live in the city or town. 'When she 
has her farm she says she shall consider the 
Rural as necessary as the garden hoe. A 
great many people do not use either as they 
should. 
Christiana E. Anderson lives iu a very 
wild place on Puget Sound, eight miles from 
British Columbia. In clear weather they can 
see two mountains that are covered with snow 
all Hie year round. They have very little 
school there. 
R. B. De Freest has a black goat named 
Billy that will draw him around. I hope 
Billy is better natured than some other goats 
I have known. The dog is named Frisk and 
the cats are Bessie, Snow, Beauty,and Tab. 
If you have a piece of land next year, I hope 
you will work it well. I think the beans and 
onions would make a good crop. 
Obik Fregemba lives in Carbondale, Kan¬ 
sas. He raised some potatoes, onions and 
turnips. His father gave him a pig which he 
sold this Fall. It weighed 275 pounds. 
Ora E. Evans builds the fires at the school 
house. He raised a great many cabbages, but 
they were so plenty that there was no sale for 
them, so he buried them. One head was so 
large that a half-bushel basket would not go 
over it. That teas a cabbage, wasn’t, it? 
Dear Uncle Mark : I am a little girl 13 
years old, and would like to join the Y. H. C. 
We live on a fruit farm two miles from South 
Haven. We are right in sight of Lake Michi¬ 
gan. I go down to the lake sometimes and 
gather pebbles and make sand houses. We 
cau hear the lake roar very plainly. There 
was a young man living here who was work¬ 
ing on a vessel on the lake. He was almost 
home from his last trip, when in some way he 
fell off from the boat and was drowned. It 
was very sad. I sometimes go down to the 
lighthouse and see the lamps lit. We have 
two kittens. One is named Mollie and the 
other Tabby. We have two horses, oue cow, 
two canaries and a great many chickens. 
Papa has been building a new hen-house. W e 
have a great many flowers. Papa is in part¬ 
nership with another man in a greenhouse. 
Your loving ueice, inez Merrill. 
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