THE JASMINE AND THE WALLFLOWER 
®ie Holes’ litoral ira^lnot toul 3Ptetorral 
ome SoHijiaruofi, 
Amid the foliage of a bower 
Concealed, there twined a Jasmine-flower, 
From tiny blossoms purely white 
Breathing out odors day and night 
And close beside, in stately pride, 
Arose a Wallflower brightly dyed, 
Which, vain of vulgar beauty, oft 
At plainer flowers around it scoffed, 
And to the Jasmine, mid the rest, 
One day its taunting speech addressed: 
“ 0 thou neglected, worthless weed, 
’Tis well thou hidest thee, indeed 1 
Pray, how presume to me so near 
A simple form like thine to rear ?— 
To me, in matchless mantle dight, 
With gold and purple richly bright ? 
Behold a maiden hither hies 1 
Afar my beauty she espies. 
And comes at once to gather me, 
Whom to desire is but U> see. 
By her shall I be culled and prized ; 
But thou, unnoticed or despised, 
Wilt wither in obscurity.” 
Thus spake the vain flower haughtily; 
The other still more .sweetly shed 
Its fragrance round, but nothing said. 
The maiden came ; a zephyr sweet 
Betrayed the gentle flowers retreat. 
Aside the tangled leaves sho drew. 
Until the Jasmine met her view; 
And, raptured with its sweetness rare, 
The blossoms culled to grace her hair; 
Then in her glee quick turning round, 
She trod the Wallflower to the ground, 
Which first had gazed in wrath "and scorn, 
But now disfigured lay, and torn. 
The vain, at modest worth who rail, 
May learn a lesson from this tale. 
W.R.E. 
HAPPY THOUGHT. 
That was the name of our society. “ A strange 
one ?” May he, hut after hearing the particulars re¬ 
lating to its christening, you perhaps will not consider 
it a misnomer. 
Harold Thurston, Will Lynn and his sister Kate 
had dropped in to spend the evening, and for our mu¬ 
tual entertainment Nell had read a story aloud. As 
she expressed it, “she had heen in a rummaging mood 
that afternoon,” and, while sorting over hooks and 
papers to her heart’s content, had come across this 
story in MS. It told of an old lady who was always 
having happy thoughts conducive of much pleasure 
and good to those about her. Many were the sick, 
sorrowing and troubled to whom she gave comfort and 
relief; most especially the little children had reason to 
bless her happy thoughts. 
It was a simple little Christmas tale, yet it had put 
us all in a pleasant mood, and we chatted merrily over 
the old lady’s ways and doings while eating our 
grapes. 
As our guests rose to leave, Harold exclaimed: 
“What a pleasant evening we have had! I wish 
we might often meet.” 
“ Why not organize a literary society, to meet in 
turn at our different homes'?” cried Nell. 
“Happy thought,” exclaimed Will, and Kate paused 
with her hat and shawl on her arm, while Harold 
tossed his cap on the table and took the seat he had 
just vacated. 
“Let us organize to-night,” said Kate, “and next 
week meet at our house. In the meantime we can 
mention the subject to the acquaintances we meet, and 
invite them to join with us. We will need officers, I 
suppose ?” 
“No,” replied Nell. “At each meeting elect some 
one to take charge of fhe succeeding one. It will be 
their business to see that appropriate entertainment is 
provided. We can have select readings, essays, criti¬ 
cism, debates, or anything that will be for our mutual 
profit and interest.” 
“ It will be best to have an admittance fee, and con¬ 
sequently we will need a treasurer,” said Harold. “ I 
nominate Nell Winters for the office; all those in favor 
signify it by the usual sign of the order.” 
Harold had been a Good Templar; there was a 
laugh at his expense, but an unanimous yea. 
“ But I don’t want—” began Nell, but Harold inter¬ 
rupted, “ You are elected, and each member is bound 
to do their best for the good of their order.” 
“What shall be done with the cash?” queried 
Kate. 
“We will have no room rent, neither light nor fuel to 
provide.” 
Start a library connected with our society,” replied 
Nell. 
“Happy thought,” again cried Will. “We will 
not be able to purchase many books at first, but each 
year will add to our number.” 
“But who will select them ?” 
“Why not ask some one whom we consider compe¬ 
tent to advise, to give us a list from which to choose ?” 
proposed Harold. 
“ There is Dr. Day, and Mrs. Neal,” answered Will, 
“and Uncle Hathaway.” 
So it was settled, and Will agreed to take Nell the 
next day to call upon them, tell them our plan, and 
ask their assistance in our choice. 
“ Will you take charge of our first meeting, Kate?” 
asked Harold, and on her assent continued, “ Then I 
think this is all that will be necessary to do to-night.” 
“But the name ?” 
“ Sure enough. I had forgotten that; we want 
something striking, something that will take.” 
Several were proposed, but none suited. Presently 
mother glanced up from her work ; “ I think it has 
been already named,” she said. 
“What?” asked Wfil. 
“ Happy Thought,” she said, with a smile. 
“ Good!” exclaimed Harold. 
“'Just the thing !” cried Will, and we parted with 
many pleasant anticipations of the future. 
According to agreement, Will and Nell on the next 
day cahed on Dr. Day and Mrs. Neal. Uncle Hatha¬ 
way was away from home, but aunt promised to pre¬ 
sent the matter to him on his return. The lists were 
made out during the week, and Will presented them 
at our first meeting. There were ten present, and, 
owing to Kate’s happy arrangement, our first evening 
passed very satisfactorily to all. Uncle Hathaway 
sent a letter requesting that the library might be open 
to those not members of the society, on the purchase 
of a ticket; also that books suitable for children might 
be found among the number. If we were suited with 
the plan, he offered five dollars towards it, and pledged 
himself to procure a like amount from several of his 
acquaintances. 
This arrangement was complied with, and we start¬ 
ed with fifteen volumes, besides subscribing for two 
magazines, which were to come to our treasurer’s ad¬ 
dress-selections read from them at the meeting, and 
then circulated in town among the members. 
All this happened five years ago. The society still 
flourishes, although the founders have long since been 
scattered widely. Will Lynn is studying in a distant 
city, Kate is teacher in an academy, and Harold and 
Nell have found a new home on a farm at the West. 
The influence of their happy thought is still felt in the 
old neighborhood, and the library is a pleasure and a 
profit to the whole community, and if my recital of 
what we accomplished will induce anyone to go and 
do likewise, will it not have been a happy thought ? 
Hope Winters. 
The Eair Mexicans. —A writer in Lippincottfs 
says: “ The Mexican women look their best in a 
ball-room. Then black eyes, black hair, and white 
teeth glisten in the light; they are dressed in the 
gayest of gay colors ponderous ornaments of gold, 
strongly relieved by their dusk complexions, shed 
around them a rich barbaric lustre. Not that they 
eschew adventitious means to blanch their sun- 
shadowed tints. For days some of the senoras or 
senoritas have worn a mask of a white clayey mix¬ 
ture to give them an ephemeral whiteness for this 
occasion. Those who could procure nothing else 
have worn a pasty vizard kneaded of common clay 
to effect in some degree a like result by protecting 
their faces from the sun and wind. Should you visit 
New Mexico,, aud as you ride along slowly in the 
heat of mid-day meet a senorita who gazes at you 
with a pair of jet-black eyes through a hideous, 
ghastly mask of mud and mortar, do not be frightened 
from your accustomed propriety. The senorita is pre¬ 
paring her toilette de bal. The New Mexican women 
cannot be considered pretty, generally speaking. In 
artistic symmetry of feature, in purity of complexion, 
they are not to be compared with our countrywomen. 
These can bear the searching light of day, when deli¬ 
cacy of detail can be distinguished and appreciated. 
Those look their best in the artificial light of the ball¬ 
room. There the blue-black hair, the brilliant black 
eyes, the well-traced eyebrows, the magnificently white 
and regular teeth, the richly-developed forms, pro¬ 
duce a general effect before which our blonde and 
delicate beauties seem pale and faded. But the Mexi¬ 
can’s coarser skin — her teint basane — is too plainly 
visible in the light of the sun ; you should see her 
only by the light of the lamps. It is, doubtless, 
rather from an instinct of coquetry than from any 
other feeling that in the daytime the Mexican women 
shroud their dusky traits in the fold of their robosas, 
leaving only one pilot eye to look upon the outer world.” 
The Wife of the Secretary of the Navy.— The 
Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette 
writes : “ Mrs. Robeson seems to possess the fountain 
of eternal youth, bubbling in its pristine freshness, con¬ 
cealed somewhere within the generous curves of her 
fine portly person. She enjoys the society of young 
persons in the most thorough manner, and what is 
rarer still, the young people heartily reciprocate the 
sentiment by being completely fascinated with her. 
Her hair is ‘ silvered o’er’ with the frosts which come 
to all in the autumn of life, but the frosts have mellowed 
and ripened, not shrivelled or pinched or hardened any 
feature or feeling. Her name might well be attached 
to the list of those illustrious women whose fascination 
grew with increasing years, like Mme. Recamier, Cleo¬ 
patra, Helen of Troy, and dozens of others. Secretary 
Robeson was long and deeply in love with the widow, 
Mrs. Aulick. The young girls tried in vain to catch 
an encouraging glance from the rotund bachelor Cabi¬ 
net officer, and thereby build many exquisite chateaux 
enEspagne , through which they might move in queenly 
grace as the Naval Secretary’s bride. But the gentle¬ 
man in question had eyes for but one woman, and that 
woman a widow, with dawning streaks of gray in her 
hair, evincing that the mild twilight of fife had com¬ 
menced. After a perseverence worthy the cause, Mrs. 
Aulick consented to become Mrs. Robeson, and has 
filled her position of Mrs. Secretary with rare dignity 
and satisfaction. When first married, the husband 
and wife seemed as delighted and jubilant as persons 
many years younger. I have seen them walking in 
the early morning, somewhere in the vicinity of their 
residence, hand-in-hand like two children, and laugh¬ 
ing with an infectious merriment.” 
