THE FARM CHILD'S LULLABY
, Oil, tho Utile bird 1h rocking hi llio cradle of tlio wind,
And ltH bye, my little woo one, bye; ,- 1
The harvest all Is gathered and tho pippins all are binned;
Bye, my little one, bye;
The little rabbit's hiding In tho golden shonk of corn,
Tho thrifty squirrel's laughing bimny'H Idleness to fic6rn; , ,
,You are smiling with the angels In your Hluinbor, smile till morn?
, So lt'H bye, my little wee one, bye.
There'll bo plenty In tho cellar, there'll bo plenty on tho Hhelf!
Bye, my little wee one, bye;
There'll bo goodly Htore of sweetings and a dainty little olf ;
' Hye, my little wee one, bye;
The snow may bo a-llylng o'er the meadow and the hill,
The Ice ban checked the chatter of tho little laughing rill,
Hut In your cosy cradlo you are warm and happy hIIH,
So bye, my llttlo woe one, bye.
Why, the Hob White thinks tho snow-finko 1b a brother to his song;
Bye, my llttlo woe one, byo;
And tho chimney HlngH the Hweeter when tho wind Is blowing strong;
Hye, my little woo one, byo;
The granary's ovcrllowlng, full are collar, crib, and bin,
The wood has paid lis tribute and the ax has censed Its din;
The winter may not harm you when you're sheltered safe within;
So bye, my little wee one, bye.
Llpplnoott's.
mmmmmmmmammmmmimmm
A Summer Journey.
EM
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SBSBBBSBE
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IK ho cannot love me when he hears
I u'm a poor shop girl, he cannot
love me at all.
All .very well In theory, but very
poor In practice. I fold up Fred Lang
ley's offer of marriage, and sit down
do write him that, befqro he makes
any further plans with me for this end,
lie must know that I'm one of those
huporiluous beings, a girl who came In
to this world with no place prepared
for her; that 1 have clerked at Sharp
& Sniper's ever since I was seventeen
and I am "now twenty-three; thn,t I
have two young sisters depending on
nio for support, growing up In gawky,
111-olnd ugliness a shade .plainer, than
myself even.
Some way, when I first, met him. t
that pleasant summer resort, the first
liru' i had out of Sharp & Sniper's
store for over two yours, ' I Was so
happy that I forgot to mention the
scrubbing life' I had' left behind me
nt home, and I rns stick of poverty
"did you think hi: so mkan?"
I was glad to
and third-rate people.
forget It.
How should ho, being a man, know
tho dross I wore had boon turned
twice; that I trimmed my hat myself;'
that tho diamond ring I wore I had
borrowed from my sister, being the
unvalued relic of some unforgotten
lover of hers; that tho beauty he snld
was In my face was due to tho happl
ness In his society? For I do think tho
old saying, "Ho good and you will bo
happy," ought to bo preserved
How did he know that charming
nalvetto of mlno wns learned trying
to induce customers to buy?
Old .Sniper always says when ho ex
pects to sell a largo bill of goods to
n custbmer: "Let Miss Jo manage hlni;
sho can smile the dollars out of his
pockets, If anyone can."
So I smllo and smile, yet L am.no
Tillttiii( for tlioy are enforced and lm
pudent smiles for broad and butter
How round and rosy I grew In those
fow weeks of ecstatic Joy! What walks
and rides we had up and down the
ravines! What charming sails through
tlio dolls, through Witch's gujeh, and
about Devil's Elbow!
How brilliant an4:; agreeable, and
how handsome my Fred wan! Daro I
call him niy Fred boforo ho knows
hVt',1 clerk nt Sharn'k Snlner's?
am ,1)0 ' strong-minded woman. I
member, I do not see why I should
be so very much troubled now, even
with my two sisters thrown In for bal
last. Still, Fred must know all about
the poverty and Incumbrances, and
make up his mind accordingly. So-1
waste a groat many sheets of paper
writing an answer that shall be frank
and truthful and yet ladylike.
I Inform him In a most careful man
nor mat lie must marry three when
ic leads mo to tho altar.
1 send It off In a pink envelope, my
heart beat,lng a palnf,ul tattoo, as I
think of his elegant sister he has de
scribed to mo, and ho a member of
the Legislature
1 pieced' down my sister Sophin's one
summer silk for her, that 1 bought nt
such a bargain, thinking that pcrad
venture there might bo a wedding
soon. I do not scold May when she
conies' home late from the picnic with
my best sash drenched and soaked
through, my -lace fichu torn, and her
toes through-both her boots, and creeps
Into the bed beside me. 1 hug her
Into my arms Instead, with that bun
gry, unsatisfied lopglng 1 'always have
for kisses and caresses; but she only
says: "Von strangle me, Jo, you soft,
.mushy thing!" and moves along out of
,my reach.
: , My name was never .To. but l have
always been called this on nccount
of my enforced manly accomplish
monts.
For d week I sing nbont the house
nice a lark;- the- next week I do not
sing so much; the next week I do not
sing at all, but go about heavy-eyed
and slow, and b.urst .Into tears when
May sits dqwn at the old, faint-heart-
or piano and begins to storm away at
"II Haclo," Fred's favorite waltz, and
mine.
I might have known all tho time he
would never answer that letter; It has
always been my luck. Let me see how
many lovers I have had.
Thero was Number One, waiting on
me when my father died of heart dis
ease and left ino penniless at seven
teen, lie canie to see me after the fu
neral, and told ine that ho had a great
sympathy and respect for me, and that
he should never marry unless It was
some poor girl thrown on her own re
sources, and with no one to take care
of her, as ho thought that was tho true
way for a gentleman to do; and with
these sentiments he bowed himself out
for tho last time
Most heavenly philosophy! Hut then
ho married the same year the daughter
of a wealthy man who had never done
anything harder In her llfo than to curl
her front hair over slato pencils.
Then there was the young man who
wrote poetry, and threatened to die or
shoot .himself when 1 refused hlni
this was years ago. lie Is now in good
health, with a wife and two children;
but I always hated men who wroto
poetry.
Then there was Judge Feathorby. IIo
visited nio for a year, and told nio ho
loved me; but something ho dignified
by the name of prldo forbade him
from saying anything more. I have
been heartily glad since Uiat ho was
ashamed of me.
1 1 Hut tho thought of nono of these
woll-dlsposed-of and settled gentlemen
I
frankly' confess" Uiat I 'do hot ltUo to'l'ViValces the lion-arrival of that letter
tako care of myseir. l am no clinging any easier iur me. i get weary aim
vine, however, never having, bail, any- ohh; 'I'hest'is getting -weak, nnd I
thing to cling, to. I have, grownup Nfot fll"t' Ulasis by"rtbolls
tiff nnd straight,,, al.1 by.-jnysolfUko, .oniollihu whdn I'stnnd at tho laco
a weed, in the middle, ofa,'buo tou-cro, .qpuntdr, mill vsoniot una Ja pricing this
lot. ,., ! , and, cheapening that, In think I shall
Perhaps I will not make such a .bad i dead flt from sheer ex,
wife, after nil. I am . a good house- haust,lon. Women nro so much harder
keener, and. having been no trouble UQ suit than men, and, ten to one, go
or exneusQ to auyono since I can re- picking over things, very likely be-
cntine so few of tliem have any money
of their own to spend.
Tho full wind comes, nnd I walk
over beds of fallen Iorvcj; then that
long, awful winter I waded through
high drifts and storms that took my
breath tway, to roach Sharp
Sniper's,
Sophia, tho oldest of my young sis-
tors, Is ailing this winter, so I get up
and build tho fire with numb Hngors,
so as to got to tho store at seven. He-
foro Uio spring opens, that sIiobo longs
to see, poor, patient, hard-working So
phla dies.
Anticipating the life that wns before
her, 1 hnd tried to Instill Into her the
principle that work was her end and
aim, and that lie must not expect
anything beyond the life of a woman
who Is both poor and unboautiful.
She had done all the cooking and
most of tho housework for us three
while I have boon at Sharp & Sniper's
and May has boon at school. I have
come home worn out and fretful, to
help what I could by snatches. She
has had about half what she ought to
have to cat, and nbont n third of what
she ought to wear. Well, sho Is gone
to rest now, where all hearts nro filled.
and I stay whore hearts are hollow.
I close her eyes; lay her out In the
summer silk that should have graced
my weddlilg; tnke the seventy-five dol
lars I have laid away In the bank to
buy her a coffin and pay her funeral
expenses.
About this time there comes n legacy
of a hundred from an old uncle or
ours. I send May off to school with
this, determined she shall not be like
Sophia. I mil loft alone. I do my
own work. I oat my solitary meals,
salted with lonely tears. ' I have
ceased to hope ever to hear from Fred
again.
The June days come again, hot nnd
long. Thero is the sunshine without
happiness and stillness without rest.
I look In the glass I am all eyes;
my. face l.i sharpening out. my. collar
bones protrude, I am getting wuspy
and thin; ho uiurh for putting my trust
in man. . . .
Old Sniper, looked nt me to-day, even
.kindly, and tuild: ,
"Miss Jo, you must have a vaca
tion for a week or so; this hot weather
in the country will do you good, and
you can work the better on your re
turn." '
So I tlirtnk hlin, thinking sadly that
no rip to the country can make me
happy now; that I am heir henceforth
only to woman's undisputed legacy,
tears, and longing after ithe love and
appreciation she will. not receive.
The big-hearted inanager'of the road,
who Is acquainted with me. has given
me a pass to St. Paul and return. I
care little which way I go, and have
selected .this route because It passes
through the town where Fred Langley
lives. Though I half despise him for
hjs fickleness, still I have a woman's
curiosity to ride through this city, oven
though I only catch a glimpse of1 his
office window.
I get a brown poplin traveling suit.
I find that old maids generally wear a
brown poplin, and the older they got
the more colors they wear, especially
scarlet. 1 have always hated red. I
cannot see my way clear, Just yet, to
puttlng.lt on my hat, so I get a more
youthful bunch of blush rosebuds.
One hot, bright July day I sot out
on my lonoiy trip; once sonieu in tho
train by the open window, my spirits
rise, for I always did love to ride In
the cars; there Is a pleasant rush and
excitement about them that pleases
mo; we are Hying so fast, through
white towns and over bridges and out
Into the vast Wisconsin prairies, not
smooth and rolling like those of Illi
nois and Iowa, but rough and rugged
thickets, with little cabins set down
here and there like birds' nests in tho
grass; flocks of ragged children troop
out of these and stare at tho passen
gers the dear llttlo dirty creatures!
What an Inventory they take of my
Milwaukee hat and my dusty suit!
Here Is a field starred with swamp
lilies, scarlet lobelias and wild asters.
How I long to get out and gather
them.
I see by the towns on my ticket, and
know by the warning whistle, that we
nro within a mile of Fred's home. Tho
big manufacturing town Is already In
sight; the sand and sawdust and coal
smoke are flying. Of course I have
my head and shoulders out of the win
dow, with my eyes and mouth full of
cinders, and gaping wildly about mo.
The train grates, Jars and stops. Tho
usual amount of women with boxs,
budgets and parasols bundle off the
train. The teachers' association Is
held here this week, and a trlbo of
lank, sharp-nosed, hungry-faced wom
en get off also, tenolior written all over
them, from their ugly hats to their ug
ly shoes.
Can I bellovo my eyes? Who is It
that st'dps up nnd shakes hands avIUi
two of tho lankiest, most wizened old
maids of thein ull, but my Fred, with
a smile ns sweet aa llio morning; takes
their satchels and shawls and turns to
tlio' lndy with him, whom I know, by
thoiologance of her dress nnd a certain
Uih-brod sweetness, about her, is .his
sister. The oldest old maid says:
"So kind In you, Mr. Langley, to
meat usl Wo would have been so be
wildered In this place. So good In you
to take so mtK-li trouble."
"No trouble most happy;" but ho
says It rather languidly.
He glnnces up nt my window, nnd
In spite of cinders and soot, my caved
In hat, my lmlr all Hying, nnd my face
burning like live coals, bo knows nie
and drops the parcels.
"Take the shawls a moment, sis," I
hear him say, And in another second
ho is on the train, leaning over tlio
seat, asking me a dozen questions In
a breath.
"I am going to St. Paul," Is all I
have time to answer; and he whispers,
"Good-by, Mlgnon; I will see you
again;" and he Is off the car as the
bell begins to ring.
I catch one more glimpse of him ns
tlio train moves off, helping his sister
and the old maids with their satchels
into tho carriage; I see him take the
front seat beside the one with red pop
ples In her bonnet, touch the reins, and
the horses are off like birds. How I
envy that old maid, though sho has a
Avnrt on her nose and looks like a last
year's mullein stalk.
Something gets Into my throat and
chokes me, and I refuse the orange tho
man In the next seat with the big
board offers me. Something chokes
me all the way to St. Paul. It may bo
the green pencil I have eaten; but I
think It Is that old maid.
Why did I let him speak so familiar
ly and call me Mlgnon, his old name
for me? Why did I not pull my hand
away?
I busy myself with such thoughts as
these until we have crossed the boun
dary line, and have entered Minnesota;
here the scenery gets wilder nnd wild
er, tho brond Mississippi winds lazily
along at the foot of its tall bluffs, with
trees toppling uncomfortably along
their steep sides; close to the car win
dows great walls of rock rise, oh, so
high in air. Tho. train balances dizzily
along like a rope-walker over a high
rock, whore It seems as If tho least
Jar-would send us. down, down, I dare
not think how far.
..1 ride along In a sort of mist until
we reach St. laul. What a queer,
elevated town It Is, as if every house
In It had climbed up and sat on the
hill. 1 get out In a pouring rain, great
ly to tho detriment of iny bonnet. I
stop at one of the grandest hotels there
the Metropolitan and say to myself,
spitefully:
"I will enjoy myself, though I starve
tho rest of tho year."
. Hathor a dreary magnificence, how
ever, for I get tired the first day wan
derlng up and down the parlors and
long halls. I grow restless the second
day and want to go home. As to Min
nehaha Falls, what a baby falls to
come so far to see! I grow so tired
of the strange faces that by tlio third
day my brilliant summer debut Is get
ting to be unbearable, when a boy
brings up a card with Fred Langley's
name encraved on It. I try not to
make Indecent haste down Into the par
lor, but somehow my feet will take
two stops at a time.
Fred is thero with an open letter
In a pink envelope In his hand, which
I see by'closo scrutiny Is my poor old
letter, written a year ago, telling him
abo.ut iny sisters.
The sight of it angers mo beyond
expression. 1 snatch at It fiercely
Fred holds the letter out of my reach
and catches me In his arms Instead
bestowing upon mo some of tho old
time kisses, whose unforgotten sweet
ness I had trained myself to believe I
should never feel again.
"Did you think me so mean, sordid
unmanly?" he asked, "as not to an
swer your letter? It wns lost and
never found until yesterday, and
came as soon as the train would fetch
mo to answer It In person."
I ask no question; I only lny my
weary head down on his shoulder and
cry out my overburdened heart on his
bosom.
It is not until afternoon, when we
nro driving In n nice carriage to Miu
nolinhn Springs, near Minneapolis, tho
noise of St. Anthony's Falls on my
ears, that 1 venture to soy:
"How in the world did you lose that
letter?"
"Well, you see, sister took It from
the postman nnd put It on the high
mantel, where It slipped away against
the wall, and she forgot all about it,
and, being a bit of a woman like your
self, she never noticed the edge of It
above tho mantel, nor anyone else, un
til this week two rather oldish lady
teachers came to spend a few days
with us, and one of them, while look
ing for knlck-knncks on this shelf, dis
covered and brought to light your let
ter." "Did she have red popples In her
bonnet and a wart on her nose?" I in
quired, eagerly.
"Yes, on the whole, I bellovo she
had."
Heaven bless that old maid! Wa
ver ley.
GATHERING THE HERBS.
- -
Maine Jmnsts Abundance of Otdc.
1'"(1h1iIoiici1 Home Kciisi-M-
August is tlio month when rsr very
good and very healthy and vwy Song
lived grandmothers used to go forth to
the stubbleficlds, the uwemps nnd tho
woods and pastures and collect various
simple and approved herbs, and, hav
ing dried them In the shade, stolid
them away to bo brought out and useS
In sickness. It Is hard to mako a com
plete list there nro so many of thorn,
suys the Bangor News.
Of the herbs used for "driving dis
eases," the .commonest and most ap
proved wasvponnyroyal, which grows
In open nnd 'nearly bare spacc3 among fa
old fields and which enn bo discovered
by its smell as well as by Its pungent
taste and Its small blue blossoms. Near
tho brooks one can find spearmint In
nearly every country town and mnny
places there is peppermint ns well.
Catnip Is harder to discover, though
It has escaped from cultivation and
grows Willi auout many oiu uuuim.
Goldthread roots are dug from dry
cradleknolls and dried for canker nnd
sore throat. The brond leaves of bur
dock are dried and put nway for mak-
ng foot plasters for such as have bad
colds. Thoroughwort Is culled from
mucky swamps and dried, to bo steep
ed later on and given to thoso who
inve had coughs.
Lobelia, which Is found among open
pastures and which may oo distin
guished by Its fat seodpods and Its
tobacco-like taste, Is put by for mnk-
lng poultices and for bathing of swoll
en limbs. Wlntcrgreen, which shows
its thick nnd shiny lenves among over
green woods, is collected to bo steeped
for colds and canker. Our old frlenil
smartweed is pulled from tho back
yard and saved for putting In hot wa
ter when one has his feet soaked. The
blossoms of mayweed are taken as a
substitute for saffron and for raising
rude blisters on affected limbs or
chests. Tho leaves of the checicer-
berry and of the Labrador bush are
added to the collection for making of
warming and soothing teas. Great
fat chokecherries are picked and placed
In bottles with now rum nnd kept on
hand In case a member of tlio family
has pains In the stomach.
PRAISE, BUT QUALIFIED.
Old Lady Hanson soon discovered
that her pretty granddaughter Mar
garet had been brought up with a great
deal of petting, and what Old Lady
Ilansop considered a lamcntnblo nb
sonce of New England discipline.
" 'Praise to tho face is open ills
grace,' I tell her," said tho old lady,ir'
not long after Margaret had como to
spend the summer with her. "But I
guess I can counteract some of it," she
added to ti.e neighbor who was Jicr
closest friend, and sympathized fully
with her point of view.
Margaret was at first amazed, then
Indignant, and at last somowhat hurt
by the old lady's way of treating her;
then as she grew fonder of her grand
mother, in spite of the lack of tho
praise to which she had been nccus
tomed, she determined to merit tho old
lady's approval for something, and win
her commendation.
"It's no use being nblo to sing or
piny or look pretty," said Margarot to
herself. 1 must show New England
housewlfcllness to please grand
mother." So during tho long summer she
learned to sweep and cook, and oven to
wash and Iron tho shirtwaists in which
her grandmother grimly acknowledged
In the recesses of her soul "tho child
looked altogether too pretty." And at
last a day came when, tlio old lady
having gono off for a llttlo visit, Mar
garot proudly swept, dusted and set to
rights tho entlro house.
"I believe sho'U have to pralso me,"
the girl snid to herself, as sho sat,
proud but tired, waiting the old lady's
return. "I'm suro everything Is clean
aire! back Just where it was. Slio'd
know If n single chair or mat was
misplaced.
When old Lady nanson camo and
Margaret Joyfully announced her tri
umph, tlio grandmother could not sup
press a gratified smllo.
"You've been a smart girl," sho said,
cordially, "a real smart girl." Then sho
looked at Margarot, and remembering
her own principles, looked about for a
straw to which they might cling.
"I I've always had 'Pilgrim's
Progress' on top of 'Willis' rooms,' not
underneath 'em," she said, with sur
prising mildness; "but of course I can't,
expect you'ro going to got everything
right tho first time."
ClevoniuNK.
"What's a clever joke?"
"Ono that makes you laugh when
you know absolutely thero Is nothing
to it. Judge.
Say to the average girl: '"Why, look
at your face!" and she will reply:
"navo I got too much on?"
'I'liximyci-N' 1'ralne.
"They say ho's a remarkably sua
cossful criminal lawyer."
"That's right. He's groat. Why
he's saved ub the expense of a ncv
Jail for tho Inst four years." Olovo
land Plain Dealer.
Too iMuoh Study.
After examining 10,000 school chll
dron, three German medical experb
have urged tho abolition of afternooi
lessons on tho ground that thoy ox
haust the vitality of tho scholars.