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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and
+Fancy, by Frank Richard Stockton
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy
+
+Author: Frank Richard Stockton
+
+Release Date: January 23, 2006 [EBook #17582]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES
+
+                              In Lands of
+
+                            FACT AND FANCY
+
+
+
+                                  BY
+
+                           FRANK R STOCKTON
+
+
+
+                             _NEW EDITION_
+
+
+                               NEW YORK
+
+                        CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+
+                                 1910
+
+
+
+        Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872,
+
+                     BY SCRIBNER. ARMSTRONG & CO.,
+
+      In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+WINTER IN THE WOODS
+
+TRICKS OF LIGHT
+
+SAVING THE TOLL
+
+THE REAL KING OF BEASTS
+
+THE FRENCH SOLDIER-BOY
+
+A LIVELY WAY TO RING A BELL
+
+DOWN IN THE EARTH
+
+THE LION
+
+BOB'S HIDING-PLACE
+
+THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIER
+
+A JUDGE OF MUSIC
+
+THE SENSITIVE PLANT
+
+SIR MARMADUKE
+
+THE GIRAFFE
+
+UP IN THE AIR
+
+THE ARABIAN HORSE
+
+INDIAN-PUDDINGS: PUMPKIN-PIES
+
+LIVING IN SMOKE
+
+THE CANNON OF THE PALAIS-ROYAL
+
+WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW
+
+HANS THE HERB-GATHERER
+
+SOME CUNNING INSECTS
+
+A FIRST SIGHT OF THE SEA
+
+THE LARGEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD
+
+THE SOFT PLACE
+
+A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS
+
+IN A WELL
+
+A VEGETABLE GAS MANUFACTORY
+
+ABOUT BEARS
+
+AN OLD COUNTRY-HOUSE
+
+FAR-AWAY FORESTS
+
+BUILDING SHIPS
+
+THE ORANG-OUTANG
+
+LITTLE BRIDGET'S BATH
+
+SOME NOVEL FISHING
+
+EAGLES AND LITTLE GIRLS
+
+CLIMBING MOUNTAINS
+
+ANDREW'S PLAN
+
+THE WILD ASS
+
+ANCIENT RIDING
+
+BEAUTIFUL BUGS
+
+A BATTLE ON STILTS
+
+DRAWING THE LONG BOW
+
+AN ANCIENT THEATRE
+
+BIRD CHAT
+
+MUMMIES
+
+TAME SNAKES
+
+GYMNASTICS
+
+BUYING "THE MIRROR"
+
+BIG GAME
+
+THE BOOTBLACK'S DOG
+
+GOING AFTER THE COWS
+
+THE REFLECTIVE STAG
+
+WHEN WE MUST NOT BELIEVE OUR EYES
+
+A CITY UNDER THE GROUND
+
+THE COACHMAN
+
+GEYSERS, AND HOW THEY WORK
+
+A GIANT PUFF-BALL
+
+TICKLED BY A STRAW
+
+THE LIGHT IN THE CASTLE
+
+THE OAK TREE
+
+THE SEA-SIDE
+
+THE SICK PIKE
+
+TWO KINDS OF BLOSSOMS
+
+ABOUT GLASS
+
+CARL
+
+SCHOOL'S OUT
+
+NEST-BUILDERS
+
+THE BOOMERANG
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                 _Frontispiece._
+
+The Woodcutter
+
+The Minstrel on the Wall
+
+Tricks in a Church
+
+The Dance of Demons
+
+Nostradamus
+
+The Lion's Head
+
+The Theatrical Ghost
+
+The Toll-bridge
+
+A Royal Procession
+
+An Elephant after Him
+
+The Dog's Protector
+
+An Elephant Nurse
+
+Saving the Artillery-man
+
+The Gallant Elephant
+
+The French Soldier-Boy
+
+On a Bell
+
+Fishes found in the Mammoth Cave
+
+The Bottomless Pit
+
+The Lion's Home
+
+The Uncaged Lion
+
+A Lion's Dinner
+
+A Terrible Companion
+
+Off to the Kitchen
+
+Blind Man's Buff
+
+The Story-Teller
+
+In the Cellar
+
+Handing round the Apples
+
+The Drummer of 1776
+
+The Continental Soldier
+
+The Donkey in the Parlor
+
+Sir Marmaduke
+
+The Giraffe
+
+Above the Clouds
+
+The Flying Man
+
+The Parachute--shut
+
+The Parachute--open
+
+Le Flesseles
+
+Bagnolet's Balloon
+
+Coming down Roughly
+
+A Balloon with Sails and Rudders
+
+The Minerva
+
+Safe Ballooning
+
+Driven out to Sea
+
+The Arabian Horse
+
+In the Cornfield
+
+A Big Mosquito
+
+Exactly Noon
+
+The Spring
+
+The Brook
+
+The Mill
+
+The Cascade
+
+The Great River
+
+Falls of Gavarni
+
+The Falls of Zambesi
+
+Niagara
+
+Fishing with a Net
+
+Fishing with a Spear
+
+Sponge-Fishing
+
+A Pearl Oyster
+
+Divers
+
+Rough Water
+
+The Iceberg
+
+The Storm
+
+The Shipwreck
+
+Water-Spouts
+
+A Bit of Cable
+
+Hans, the Herb-Gatherer
+
+Patsey
+
+A Spider at Home
+
+The Ant's Arch
+
+The Cock-chafer's Wing
+
+The Spider's Bridge
+
+The Moth and the Bees
+
+Learned Fleas
+
+The Pacific
+
+St. Peter's at Rome
+
+Interior of St. Peter's
+
+The Five Young Deer
+
+Waking Up
+
+Familiar Friends
+
+The Pigeon
+
+The Dove
+
+The Swan
+
+The Goose that Led
+
+The Goose that Followed
+
+The Sensible Duck
+
+The Goldfinch
+
+The Magpie
+
+The Owl
+
+Morning Singers
+
+In a Well
+
+The Fraxinella
+
+A Company of Bears
+
+The Black Bear
+
+The Grizzly Bear
+
+The White Bear
+
+The Tame Bear
+
+An old Country-House
+
+Ancient Builders
+
+The Pine Forest
+
+Tree Ferns
+
+Tropical Forest
+
+The Giant Trees
+
+The Great Eastern
+
+The Orang-Outang
+
+Bridget and the Fairies
+
+Flat-Fish
+
+Turbots
+
+The Sea-Horse
+
+The Cuttle-Fish
+
+The Polypier
+
+Tunnies
+
+The Sword-Fish
+
+The Shark
+
+The Child and the Eagle
+
+Climbing the Mountain
+
+Andrew and Jenny
+
+Wild Asses
+
+The Palanquin
+
+The Chariot
+
+Transformation of Beetles
+
+A Battle on Stilts
+
+Drawing the Long Bow
+
+The Colosseum
+
+The Cormorants
+
+The Bittern
+
+The Pelican
+
+The Hoopoe
+
+The Falcon
+
+The Mummy
+
+The Stand
+
+The Coffin
+
+The Outside Coffin
+
+The Sarcophagus
+
+The Tame Snake
+
+The Novel Team
+
+Youngsters Fighting
+
+Throwing the Hammer
+
+Throwing the Stone
+
+Thomas Topham
+
+Venetian Acrobats
+
+The Tight-Rope
+
+The See-Saw
+
+The Wild Boar
+
+The Musk-Ox and the Sailor
+
+Hunting the Brown Bear
+
+A Brave Hippopotamus
+
+A Rhinocerus Turning the Table
+
+A Tiger-Hunt
+
+A Fight with a Gorilla
+
+The Boot-black's Dog
+
+Going after the Cows
+
+The Reflective Stag
+
+The Mirage
+
+Fata Morgana
+
+The Spectre of the Brocken
+
+A Narrow Street in Pompeii
+
+A Cleared Street in Pompeii
+
+The Atrium in the House of Pansa
+
+Ornaments from Pompeii
+
+A Pompeiian Bakery
+
+The Amphitheatre of Pompeii
+
+The Coachman
+
+The Grand Geyser
+
+The Artificial Geyser
+
+A Giant Puff-ball
+
+Tickled by a Straw
+
+The Will-o'-the-Wisp
+
+The Oak Tree
+
+The Sea-Side
+
+The Vessels on Shore
+
+The Sick Pike
+
+The Blossoms
+
+Ice-Blossoms
+
+Ice-Flowers
+
+Ancient Bead
+
+Venetian Bottle
+
+German Drinking-Glass
+
+Glass Jug
+
+Making Bottles
+
+Venetian Goblet
+
+Modern Goblets
+
+The Queen's Mirror
+
+Bohemian Goblet
+
+French Flagon
+
+The Portland Vase
+
+The Strange Lady
+
+Carl and the Duke
+
+The Dominie
+
+Wrens' Nests
+
+Orioles' Nest
+
+Owl's Nests
+
+Flamingoes' Nests
+
+The little Grebe's Nest
+
+The Ostrich-Nest
+
+The Stork's Nest
+
+A Fish's Nest
+
+Throwing the Boomerang
+
+The Way the Boomerang Goes
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+Come along, boys and girls! We are off on our rambles. But please do
+not ask me where we are going. It would delay us very much if I should
+postpone our start until I had drawn you a map of the route, with all
+the stopping-places set down.
+
+We have far to go, and a great many things to see, and it may be that
+some of you will be very tired before we get through.
+
+If so, I shall be sorry; but it will be a comfort to think that none
+of us need go any farther than we choose.
+
+There will be considerable variety in our rambles. We shall walk about
+familiar places, and we shall explore streets and houses that have
+been buried for centuries. We shall go down deep into the earth, and
+we shall float in a balloon, high up into the air. We shall see many
+beasts of the forest; some that are bloody and cruel, and others that
+are gentle and wise. We will meet with birds, fishes, grand old
+buildings, fleas, vast woods, bugs, mummies, snakes, tight-rope
+dancers, gorillas, will-o'-the-wisps, beautiful blossoms, boomerangs,
+oceans, birds' nests, and I cannot tell you what all besides. We will
+also have some adventures, hear some stories, and have a peep at a
+fairy or two before we are done.
+
+I shall not, however, be able to go with you everywhere. When you are
+enjoying a "Bird Chat;" "Buying the Mirror;" learning when "We must
+not Believe our Eyes;" visiting "A City under the Ground;" hearing of
+"The Coachman's" troubles; sitting under "The Oak-tree;" finding out
+wonderful things "About Glass;" watching what happens when "School's
+Out;" or following the fortunes of "Carl," your guide will be a lady,
+and I think that you will all agree that she knows very well where she
+ought to go, and how to get there. The rest of the time you will be
+with me.
+
+And now, having talked enough, suppose we start.
+
+
+
+
+WINTER IN THE WOODS
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+What can be more delightful, to a boy of spirit, than a day in the
+woods when there has been a good snow! If he also happens to have a
+good friend or two, and some good dogs (who are just as likely to be
+friends as his boy-companions), he ought to be much happier than an
+ordinary king. A forest is a fine place at any time, but when the
+ground is well covered with snow--especially if there is a hard crust
+upon it--the woods seem to possess a peculiar charm. You can go
+anywhere then.
+
+In the summer, the thick undergrowth, the intertwining vines, and the
+heavy lower branches of the trees, make it difficult even to see into
+the dark recesses of the forest. But in the winter all is open. The
+low wet places, the deep holes, the rotten bogs, everything on the
+ground that is in the way of a good run and a jump, is covered up. You
+do not walk a hundred yards under the bare branches of the trees
+before up starts a rabbit, or a hare, if you would rather call him by
+his right name,--and away go the dogs, and away you go--all of you
+tearing along at the top of your speed!
+
+But poor Bunny has a small chance, when a hard snow is on the ground.
+His hiding-places are all covered up, and before he knows it the dogs
+have caught him, and your mother will have stewed rabbit for supper.
+It seems a hard fate for the poor little fellow, but he was born
+partly for that purpose.
+
+When you have caught your rabbit, and come back to where the men are
+cutting wood, you will be just as proud to tell the boy who is cutting
+up the branches all about your splendid hunt, as if you had chased and
+killed a stag.
+
+"There's where we started him!" you will cry, "and away he scudded,
+over there among the chestnuts, and Rover right at his heels, and when
+we got down there to the creek, Rover turned heels-over-head on the
+ice, he was going so fast; but I gave one slide right across, and just
+up there, by the big walnut, the other two dogs got him!"
+
+That boy is almost as much excited as you are, and he would drop his
+axe in one minute, and be off with you on another chase, if his father
+were not there.
+
+And now you find that you have reached the wood-cutters exactly in
+time, for that great tree is just about to come down.
+
+There go the top-branches, moving slowly along through the tops of the
+other trees, and now they move faster, and everything begins to crack;
+and, with a rush and a clatter of breaking limbs, the great oak comes
+crashing down; jarring the very earth beneath your feet, and making
+the snow fly about like a sparkling cloud, while away run the dogs,
+with their tails between their legs.
+
+The tree is down now, and you will want to be home in time for dinner.
+Farmer Brown's sled has just passed, and if you will cut across the
+woods you can catch up with him, and have a ride home, and tell him
+all about the rabbit-hunt, on the way.
+
+If it is Saturday, and a holiday, you will be out again this
+afternoon, with some of the other boys, perhaps, and have a grand
+hunt.
+
+Suppose it is snowing, what will you care? You will not mind the snow
+any more than if it were a shower of blossoms from the apple-trees in
+May.
+
+
+
+
+TRICKS OF LIGHT.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+There is nothing more straightforward in its ways than light--when we
+let it alone. But, like many of us, when it is introduced to the
+inventions and contrivances of the civilized world, it often becomes
+exceedingly fond of vagaries and extravagances.
+
+Of all the companions of light which endeavor to induce it to forsake
+its former simple habits, there is not one which has the influence
+possessed by glass. When light and glass get together it is difficult
+to divine what tricks they are going to perform. But some of these are
+very interesting, if they are a little wild, and there are very few of
+us who do not enjoy them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For instance, what a delight to any company, be it composed of young
+folks or old, is a magic-lantern! The most beautiful and the most
+absurd pictures may be made to appear upon the wall or screen. But
+there is an instrument, called the phantasmagoria, which is really
+nothing but an improved magic-lantern, which is capable of producing
+much more striking effects. It is a much larger instrument than the
+other, and when it is exhibited a screen is placed between it and the
+spectators, so that they do not see how the pictures are produced. It
+is mounted on castors, so that at times it can be brought nearer and
+nearer to the screen, until the picture seems to enlarge and grow in a
+wonderful manner. Then, when it is drawn back, the image diminishes
+and recedes far into the distance. The lenses and other mechanism of
+the phantasmagoria can also be moved in various directions, making the
+action of the pictures still more wonderful. Sometimes, when the
+instrument is exhibited in public, the screen is not used, but the
+pictures are thrown upon a cloud of smoke, which is itself almost
+invisible in the dim light of the room. In such a case the figures
+seem as if they were floating in the air.
+
+A man, named Robertson, once gave exhibitions in Paris, in an old
+chapel, and at the close of his performances he generally caused a
+great skeleton figure of Death to appear among the pillars and arches.
+Many of the audience were often nearly scared to death by this
+apparition. The more ignorant people of Paris who attended these
+exhibitions, could not be persuaded, when they saw men, women, and
+animals walking about in the air between the arches of the chapel,
+that Robertson was not a magician, although he explained to them that
+the images were nothing but the effect of a lantern and some glass
+lenses. When these people could see that the figures were produced on
+a volume of smoke, they were still more astonished and awed, for they
+thought that the spirits arose from the fire which caused the smoke.
+
+But Robertson had still other means of exhibiting the tricks of light.
+Opposite is a picture of the "Dance of Demons."
+
+This delusion is very simple indeed, and is produced by placing a
+card-figure on a screen, and throwing shadows from this upon another
+screen, by means of several lights, held by assistants. Thus each
+light throws its own shadow, and if the candles are moved up and down,
+and about, the shadows will dance, jump over each other, and do all
+sorts of wonderful things. Robertson, and other public exhibitors, had
+quite complicated arrangements of this kind, but they all acted on the
+same principle. But all of those who exhibit to the public the freaks
+of light are not as honest as Mr. Robertson. You may have heard of
+Nostradamus, who also lived in Paris, but long before Robertson, and
+who pretended to be a magician. Among other things, he asserted that
+he could show people pictures of their future husbands or wives. Marie
+de Medicis, a celebrated princess of the time, came to him on this
+sensible errand, and he, being very anxious to please her, showed her,
+in a looking-glass, the reflected image of Henry of Navarre, sitting
+upon the throne of France. This, of course, astonished the princess
+very much, but it need not astonish us, if we carefully examine the
+picture of that conjuring scene.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The mirror into which the lady was to look, was in a room adjoining
+that in which Henry was sitting on the throne. It was placed at such
+an angle that her face would not be reflected in it, but an aperture
+in the wall allowed the figure of Henry to be reflected from a
+looking-glass, hung near the ceiling, down upon the "magic" mirror.
+So, of course, she saw his picture there, and believed entirely in the
+old humbug, Nostradamus.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But there are much simpler methods by which the vagaries of light may
+be made amusing, and among the best of these are what are called
+"Chinese shadows." These require a little ingenuity, but they are
+certainly simple enough. They consist of nothing but a card or paper,
+upon which the lights of the picture intended to be represented are
+cut out. When this is held between a candle and a wall, a startling
+shadow-image may be produced, which one would not imagine to have any
+connection with the card, unless he had studied the manner in which
+said card was cut. Here is a picture of a company amusing themselves
+with these cards. No one would suppose that the card which the young
+man is holding in his hand bore the least resemblance to a lion's
+head, but there is no mistaking the shadow on the wall.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The most wonderful public exhibitions of optical illusions have been
+those in which a real ghost or spectre apparently moves across the
+stage of a theatre. This has frequently been done in late years, both
+in this country and Europe. The audiences were perfectly amazed to see
+a spirit suddenly appear, walk about the stage, and act like a regular
+ghost, who did not seem to be in the least disturbed when an actor
+fired a pistol at him, or ran him through with a sword. The method of
+producing this illusion is well shown in the accompanying picture. A
+large plate of glass is placed in front of the stage so that the
+audience does not perceive it. The edges of it must be concealed by
+curtains, which are not shown in the picture. An actor, dressed as a
+ghost, walks in front of the stage below its level, where he is not
+seen by the audience, and a strong electric light being thrown upon
+him, his reflected image appears to the spectator as if it were
+walking about on the stage. When the light is put out of course the
+spirit instantly vanishes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A very amusing account is given of a man who was hired to do some work
+about a theatre. He had finished his work for the present, and wishing
+to eat his supper, which he had brought with him, he chose a nice
+quiet place under the stage, where he thought he would not be
+disturbed. Not knowing that everything was prepared for the
+appearance of a ghost, he sat down in front of the electric lamp, and
+as soon as it was lighted the audience was amazed to see, sitting very
+comfortably in the air above the stage, a man in his shirt-sleeves,
+eating bread and cheese! Little did he think, when he heard the
+audience roaring with laughter, that they were laughing at his ghost!
+
+Light plays so many tricks with our eyes and senses that it is
+possible to narrate but a few of them here. But those that I have
+mentioned are enough to show us what a wild fellow he is, especially
+where he and glass get frolicking together.
+
+
+
+
+SAVING THE TOLL.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+When I was a youngster and lived in the country, there were three of
+us boys who used to go very frequently to a small village about a mile
+from our homes. To reach this village it was necessary to cross a
+narrow river, and there was a toll-bridge for that purpose. The toll
+for every foot-passenger who went over this bridge was one cent. Now,
+this does not seem like a very high charge, but, at that time, we very
+often thought that we would much rather keep our pennies to spend in
+the village than to pay them to the old man who took toll on the
+bridge. But it was often necessary for us to cross the river, and to
+do so, and save our money at the same time, we used to adopt a very
+hazardous expedient.
+
+At a short distance below the toll-bridge there was a railroad-bridge,
+which you cannot see in the picture. This bridge was not intended for
+anything but railroad trains; it was very high above the water, it
+was very long, and it was not floored. When any one stood on the
+cross-ties which supported the rails, he could look right down into
+the water far below him. For the convenience of the railroad-men and
+others who sometimes were obliged to go on the bridge, there was a
+single line of boards placed over the ties at one side of the track,
+and there was a slight hand-rail put up at that side of the bridge.
+
+To save our pennies we used to cross this bridge, and every time we
+did so we risked our lives.
+
+We were careful, however, not to go on the bridge at times when a
+train might be expected to cross it, for when the cars passed us, we
+had much rather be on solid ground. But one day, when we had forgotten
+the hour; or a train was behind, or ahead of time; or an extra train
+was on the road--we were crossing this railroad bridge, and had just
+about reached the middle of it, when we heard the whistle of a
+locomotive! Looking up quickly, we saw a train, not a quarter of a
+mile away, which was coming towards us at full speed. We stood
+paralyzed for a moment. We did not know what to do. In a minute, or
+less, the train would be on the bridge and we had not, or thought we
+had not, time to get off of it, whether we went forward or backward.
+
+But we could not stand on that narrow path of boards while the train
+was passing. The cars would almost touch us. What could we do? I
+believe that if we had had time, we would have climbed down on the
+trestle-work below the bridge, and so let the train pass over us. But
+whatever could be done must be done instantly, and we could think of
+nothing better than to get outside of the railing and hold on as well
+as we could. In this position we would, at any rate, be far enough
+from the cars to prevent them from touching us. So out we got, and
+stood on the ends of the timbers, holding fast to the slender
+hand-rail. And on came the train! When the locomotive first touched
+the bridge we could feel the shock, and as it came rattling and
+grinding over the rails towards us--coming right on to us, as it
+seemed--our faces turned pale, you may well believe.
+
+But the locomotive did not run off the track just at that exact spot
+where we were standing--a catastrophe which, I believe, in the bottom
+of our hearts, every one of us feared. It passed on, and the train
+came thundering after it. How dreadfully close those cars did come to
+us! How that bridge did shake and tremble in every timber; and how we
+trembled for fear we should be shaken off into the river so far below
+us! And what an enormously long train it was! I suppose that it took,
+really, but a very short time to pass, but it seemed to us as if there
+was no end to it at all, and as if it would never, never get entirely
+over that bridge!
+
+But it did cross at last, and went rumbling away into the distance.
+
+Then we three, almost too much frightened to speak to each other,
+crept under the rail and hurried over the bridge.
+
+All that anxiety, that fright, that actual misery of mind, and
+positive danger of body, to save one cent apiece!
+
+But we never saved any more money in that way. When we crossed the
+river after that, we went over the toll-bridge, and we paid our
+pennies, like other sensible people.
+
+Had it been positively necessary for us to have crossed that river,
+and had there been no other way for us to do it but to go over the
+railroad bridge, I think we might have been called brave boys, for the
+bridge was very high above the water, and a timid person would have
+been very likely to have been frightened when he looked down at his
+feet, and saw how easy it would be for him to make a misstep and go
+tumbling down between the timbers.
+
+But, as there was no necessity or sufficient reason for our risking
+our lives in that manner, we were nothing more or less than three
+little fools!
+
+It would be well if all boys or girls, to whom a hazardous feat
+presents itself, would ask themselves the question: "Would it be a
+brave thing for me to do that, or would I be merely proving myself a
+simpleton?"
+
+
+
+
+THE REAL KING OF BEASTS.
+
+[Illustration: A ROYAL PROCESSION.]
+
+
+For many centuries there has been a usurper on the throne of the
+Beasts. That creature is the Lion.
+
+But those who take an interest in the animal kingdom (and I am very
+sorry for those who do not) should force the Lion to take off the
+crown, put down the sceptre, and surrender the throne to the real King
+of Beasts--the Elephant.
+
+There is every reason why this high honor should be accorded to the
+Elephant. In the first place, he is physically superior to the Lion.
+An Elephant attacked by a Lion could dash his antagonist to the ground
+with his trunk, run him through with his tusks, and trample him to
+death under his feet. The claws and teeth of the Lion would make no
+impression of any consequence on the Elephant's thick skin and massive
+muscles. If the Elephant was to decide his claim to the throne by dint
+of fighting for it, the Lion would find himself an ex-king in a very
+short time. But the Elephant is too peaceful to assert his right in
+this way--and, what is more, he does not suppose that any one could
+even imagine a Lion to be his superior. He never had such an idea
+himself.
+
+But besides his strength of body, the Elephant is superior in
+intelligence to all animals, except the dog and man. He is said by
+naturalists to have a very fine brain, considering that he is only a
+beast. His instinct seems to rise on some occasions almost to the
+level of our practical reasoning, and the stories which are told of
+his smartness are very many indeed.
+
+But no one can assert that the Lion has any particular intelligence.
+To be sure, there have been stories told of his generosity, but they
+are not many, and they are all very old. The Elephant proves his
+pre-eminence as a thinking beast every day. We see him very
+frequently in menageries, and we can judge of what he is capable. We
+see the Lion also, and we very soon find out what he can do. He can
+lie still and look grave and majestic; he can jump about in his cage,
+if he has been trained; and he can eat! He is certainly great in that
+respect.
+
+We all know a great deal about the Elephant, how he is caught and
+tamed, and made the servant and sometimes the friend of man. This,
+however, seldom happens but in India. In Africa they do not often tame
+Elephants, as they hunt them generally for the sake of their ivory,
+and the poor beasts are killed by hundreds and hundreds so that we may
+have billiard-balls, knife-handles, and fine-tooth combs.
+
+Rut whether the Elephant is wanted as a beast of burden, or it is only
+his great tusks that are desired, it is no joke to hunt him. He will
+not attack a man without provocation (except in very rare cases); when
+he does get in a passion it is time for the hunter to look out for his
+precious skin. If the man is armed with a gun, he must take the best
+of aim, and his bullets must be like young cannon-balls, for the
+Elephant's head is hard and his skin is tough. If the hunter is on a
+horse, he need not suppose that he can escape by merely putting his
+steed to its best speed. The Elephant is big and awkward-looking, but
+he gets over the ground in a very rapid manner.
+
+Here is an illustration of an incident in which a boy found out, in
+great sorrow and trepidation, how fast an Elephant can run.
+
+This boy was one of the attendants of the Duke of Edinburgh, one of
+Queen Victoria's sons, who was hunting Elephants in Africa. The
+Elephants which the party were after on that particular day had got
+out of the sight of the hunters, and this boy, being mounted on a
+horse, went to look them up. It was not long before he found them,
+and he also found much more than he had bargained for. He found that
+one of the big fellows was very much inclined to hunt _him_ and he
+came riding out of the forest as hard as he could go, with a great
+Elephant full tilt after him. Fortunately for the boy, the Duke was
+ready with his gun, and when the Elephant came dashing up he put two
+balls into his head. The great beast dropped mortally wounded, and the
+boy was saved. I don't believe that he was so curious about the
+whereabouts of Elephants after that.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When the Elephant is desired as a servant, he is captured in various
+ways. Sometimes he is driven into great pens; sometimes he tumbles
+into pitfalls, and sometimes tame Elephants coax him into traps, and
+fondle and amuse him while their masters tie up his legs with strong
+ropes. The pitfalls are not favorite methods of capturing Elephants.
+Besides the injury that may be done to the animal, other beasts may
+fall into and disturb the trap, and even men may find themselves at
+the bottom of a great deep hole when they least expect it, for the top
+is very carefully covered over with sticks and leaves, so as to look
+as much as possible like the surrounding ground. Du Chaillu, who was a
+great hunter in Africa, once fell down one of these pits, and it was a
+long time before he could make anybody hear him and come and help him
+out. If an Elephant had happened to put his foot on the covering of
+that hole while Du Chaillu was down there, the hunter would have found
+himself very much crowded.
+
+When the Elephant is caught, he is soon tamed and trained, and then he
+goes to work to make himself useful, if there is anything for him to
+do. And it is when he becomes the servant and companion of man that we
+have an opportunity of seeing what a smart fellow he is.
+
+It is sometimes hard to believe all that we hear of the Elephant's
+cleverness and sagacity, but we know that most of the stories we hear
+about him are true.
+
+For instance, an Elephant which was on exhibition in this country had
+a fast and true friend, a little dog. One day, when these animals were
+temporarily residing in a barn, while on their march from one town to
+another, the Elephant heard some men teasing the dog, just outside of
+the barn. The rough fellows made the poor little dog howl and yelp, as
+they persecuted him by all sorts of mean tricks and ill usage. When
+the Elephant heard the cries of his friend he became very much
+worried, and when at last he comprehended that the dog was being
+badly treated, he lifted up his trunk and just smashed a great hole in
+the side of the barn, making the stones and boards fly before him.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When the men saw this great head sticking out through the side of the
+barn, and that great long trunk brandishing itself above their heads,
+they thought it was time to leave that little dog alone.
+
+Here, again, is an Elephant story which is almost as tough as the
+animal's hide, but we have no right to disbelieve it, for it is told
+by very respectable writers. During the war between the East Indian
+natives and the English, in 1858, there was an Elephant named Kudabar
+Moll the Second,--his mother having been a noted Elephant named
+Kudabar Moll. This animal belonged to the British army, and his duty
+was to carry a cannon on his back. In this way he became very familiar
+with artillery. During a battle, when his cannon was posted on a
+battery, and was blazing away at the enemy, the good Kudabar was
+standing, according to custom, a few paces in the rear of the gunners.
+But the fire became very hot on that battery, and very soon most of
+the gunners were shot down, so that there was no one to pass the
+cartridges from the ammunition wagon to the artillery-men. Perceiving
+this, Kudabar, without being ordered, took the cartridges from the
+wagon, and passed them, one by one, to the gunner. Very soon, however,
+there were only three men left, and these, just as they had loaded
+their cannon for another volley, fell killed or wounded, almost at the
+same moment. One of them, who held a lighted match in his hand, called
+as he fell to the Elephant and handed him the match. The intelligent
+Kudabar took the match in his trunk, stepped up to the cannon, and
+fired it off!
+
+He was then about to apply the match to others, when re-enforcements
+came up, and his services as an artillery-man were no longer required.
+
+I cannot help thinking, that if that Elephant had been furnished with
+a pen and ink, he might possibly have written a very good account of
+the battle.
+
+But few stories are quite as wonderful as that one. We have no
+difficulty at all in believing the account of the Elephant who took
+care of a little child. He did not wear a cap and apron, as the artist
+has shown in the picture, but he certainly was a very kind and
+attentive nurse. When the child fell down, the Elephant would put his
+trunk gently around it, and pick it up. When it got tangled among
+thorns or vines, the great nurse would disengage it as carefully as
+any one could have done it; and when it wandered too far, the Elephant
+would bring it back and make it play within proper limits. I do not
+know what would have been the consequence if this child had behaved
+badly, and the Elephant had thought fit to give it a box on the ear.
+But nothing of the kind ever happened, and the child was a great deal
+safer than it would have been with many ordinary nurses.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There are so many stories told about the Elephant that I can allude to
+but few, even if I did not believe that you were familiar with a great
+many of them.
+
+One of the most humane and thoughtful Elephants of whom I have ever
+heard was one which was attached, like our friend Kudabar, to an
+artillery train in India. He was walking, on a march, behind a wagon,
+when he perceived a soldier slip down in the road and fall exactly
+where, in another instant, the hind-wheel of the wagon would pass over
+him. Without being ordered, the Elephant seized the wheel with his
+trunk, lifted it--wagon and all--in the air, and held it up until it
+had passed over the fallen soldier!
+
+Neither you nor I could have done better than that, even if we had
+been strong enough.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A very pretty story is told of an Indian Elephant who was very
+gallant. His master, a young Burman lord, had recently been married,
+and, shortly after the wedding, he and his bride, with many of their
+guests and followers, were gathered together in the veranda, on the
+outside of his house. The Elephant, who was a great favorite with the
+young lord, happened to be conducted past the house as the company
+were thus enjoying themselves. Feeling, no doubt, that it was right to
+be as polite as possible on this occasion, he put his trunk over a
+bamboo-fence which enclosed a garden, and selecting the biggest and
+brightest flower he could see, he approached the veranda, and rearing
+himself upon his hind-legs, he stretched out his trunk, with the
+flower held delicately in the little finger at its end, towards the
+company. One of the women reached out her hand for it, but the
+Elephant would not give it to her. Then his master wished to take it,
+but the Elephant would not let him have it. But when the newly-made
+bride came forward the Elephant presented it to her with all the grace
+of which he was capable!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now, do you not think that an animal which is larger and more powerful
+than any beast which walks the earth, and is, at the same time, gentle
+enough to nurse a child, humane enough to protect a dog or a man, and
+sensible enough to be polite to a newly-married lady, is deserving of
+the title of the King of Beasts?
+
+
+
+
+THE FRENCH SOLDIER-BOY
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Anxiously the General-in-chief of the French Army stood upon a little
+mound overlooking the battle-field. The cannon were thundering, the
+musketry was rattling, and clouds of smoke obscured the field and the
+contending armies.
+
+"Ah!" thought he, "if that town over yonder is not taken; if my brave
+captains fall, and my brave soldiers falter at that stone wall; and if
+our flag shall not soon wave over those ramparts, France may yet be
+humbled."
+
+Is it, then, a wonder, feeling that so much depended on the result of
+this battle, that his eyes strove so earnestly to pierce the heavy
+clouds of smoke that overhung the scene?
+
+But while he stood, there came towards him, galloping madly out of the
+battle, a solitary rider.
+
+In a few minutes he had reached the General, and thrown himself from
+his saddle.
+
+It was a mere boy--one of the very youngest of soldiers!
+
+"Sire!" he cried, "we've taken the town! Our men are in the
+market-place, and you can ride there now! And see!--upon the
+walls--our flag!"
+
+The eyes of the General flashed with joy and triumph. Here was
+glorious news!
+
+As he turned to the boy to thank him for the more than welcome tidings
+that he brought, he noticed that the lad was pale and trembling, and
+that as he stood holding by the mane of his horse, his left hand was
+pressed upon his chest, and the blood was slowly trickling between his
+fingers.
+
+"My boy!" said he, tenderly, as he fixed his eyes upon the stripling,
+"you're wounded!"
+
+"No, sire!" cried the boy, his pale face flushing as his General thus
+addressed him, and the shouts of victory filled his ears, "I am not
+wounded; I am killed!" And down at his General's feet he fell and
+died.
+
+There have been brave men upon the battle-field ever since the world
+began, but there never was a truer soldier's heart than that which
+kept this boy alive until he had borne to his General the glorious
+news of the battle won.
+
+
+
+
+A LIVELY WAY TO RING A BELL.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Here are two young men who look very much as if they were trying to
+break their necks; but in reality they have no such desire.
+
+They are simply ringing that great bell, and riding backward and
+forward on it as it swings through the air.
+
+These young fellows are Spaniards, and in many churches in their
+country it is considered a fine thing to go up into the belfry of a
+church or cathedral, and, when the regular bell-ringers are tired, to
+jump on the great bells and swing away as hard as they can make them
+go. No matter about any particular peal or style of ringing.
+
+The faster and the more furiously they swing, the jollier the ride,
+and the greater the racket. Sometimes in a cathedral there are twenty
+bells, all going at once, with a couple of mad chaps riding on each
+one of them. It is, doubtless, a very pleasant amusement, after one
+gets used to it, but it is a wonder that some of those young men are
+not shot off into the air, when the great bell gets to swinging as
+fast and as far as it can go.
+
+But although they hold on as tightly as if they were riding a wild
+young colt, they are simply foolhardy. No man or boy has a right to
+risk his life and limbs in such reckless feats.
+
+There is no probability, however, of the sport ever being introduced
+into this country.
+
+Even if there were no danger in it, such a clatter and banging as is
+heard in a Spanish belfry, when the young men are swinging on the
+bells, would never be allowed in our churches. The Spaniards may like
+such a noise and hubbub, but they like a great many things which would
+not suit us.
+
+
+
+
+DOWN IN THE EARTH.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Let us take a little trip down under the surface of the earth. There
+will be something unusual about such an excursion. Of course, as we
+are not going to dig our way, we will have to find a convenient hole
+somewhere, and the best hole for the purpose which I know of is in
+Edmondson County, Kentucky.
+
+So let us go there.
+
+When we reach this hole we find that it is not a very large one, but
+still quite high and wide enough for us to enter. But, before we go in
+to that dark place, we will get some one to carry a light and guide
+us; for this underground country which we are going to explore is very
+extensive, very dark, and, in some places, very dangerous.
+
+Here is a black man who will go with us. He has a lantern, and he says
+he knows every nook and corner of the place. So we engage him, get
+some lanterns for ourselves, and in we go. We commence to go downwards
+very soon after we have passed from the outer air and sunshine, but it
+is not long before we stand upon a level surface, where we can see
+nothing of the outside world. If our lanterns went out, we should be
+in pitchy darkness.
+
+Now we are in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky!
+
+This vast cavern, which stretches so many miles beneath the surface of
+the earth, has never been fully explored; but we are going over as
+much of it as our guide is accustomed to show to visitors, and if our
+legs are not tired before we get back I shall be very much surprised,
+for the trip will take us all day. The floor on which we are now
+standing is smooth and level, and runs back into the interior of the
+cave fully a thousand yards. This place they call the "Audubon
+Gallery"--after our famous naturalist who made birds the study of his
+life. His works are published in enormous volumes, costing about one
+hundred and fifty dollars apiece. Perhaps your father will get you
+one.
+
+We pass quickly through this gallery, where there is not much to see,
+although, to be sure, they used to manufacture saltpetre here. Think
+of that! A manufactory in the bowels of the earth! Then we enter a
+large, roundish room called the "Rotunda," and from this there are a
+great many passages, leading off in various directions. One of these,
+which is called the "Grand Vestibule," will take us to the "Church."
+
+Yes, we have a church here, and, what is more, there has been
+preaching in it, although I have never heard that it had any regular
+members. This room has a vast arched roof, and a great many
+stalactites hang from the walls and roof in such a way as to give one
+an idea of Gothic architecture. Therefore this has been called the
+"Gothic Church." You can see a great deal which looks like
+old-fashioned church ornaments and furniture, and, as the light of the
+lanterns flashes about on the walls and ceiling, you can imagine a
+great deal more.
+
+After this we come to the "Gothic Avenue," which would be a very
+interesting place to us if we but had a little more time; but we hurry
+through it, for the next room we are to visit is called the "Haunted
+Chamber!" Every one of us must be very anxious to see anything of that
+kind. When we get into it, however, we are very much disappointed. It
+is not half so gloomy and dark as the rest of the cave, for here we
+are pretty sure to find people, and lights, and signs of life.
+
+Here you may sometimes buy gingerbread and bottled beer, from women
+who have stands here for that purpose. It is expected that when
+visitors get this far they will be hungry. Sometimes, too, there are
+persons who live down here, and spend most of their time in this
+chamber. These are invalid people with weak lungs, who think that the
+air of the cave is good for them. I do not know whether they are right
+or not, but I am sure that they take very gloomy medicine. The only
+reason for calling this room the Haunted Chamber is, that the first
+explorers of the cave found mummies here.
+
+Who these were when they were alive, no man can say. If they were
+Indians, they were very different Indians from those who have lived in
+this country since its discovery. They do not make mummies. But all
+over our land we find evidences that some race--now extinct--lived
+here before the present North American Indian.
+
+Whether the ghosts of any of these mummies walk about in this room. I
+cannot say; but as no one ever saw any, or heard any, or knew anybody
+who had seen or heard any, I think it is doubtful.
+
+When we leave this room we go down some ladders and over a bridge, and
+then we enter what is called the "Labyrinth," where the passage turns
+and twists on itself in a very abrupt manner, and where the roof is so
+low that all of us, except those who are very short indeed, must stoop
+very low. When we get through this passage, which some folks call the
+"Path of Humiliation"--for everybody has to bow down, you know--we
+come to a spot where the guide says he is going to show us something
+through a window.
+
+The window is nothing but a hole broken in a rocky wall; but as we
+look through it, and hold the lanterns so that we can see as much as
+possible, we perceive that we are gazing down into a deep and enormous
+well. They call it the "Bottomless Pit." If we drop bits of burning
+paper into this well we can see them fall down, down, and down, until
+they go out, but can never see them stop, as if they had reached the
+bottom.
+
+The hole through which we are looking is cut through one side of this
+well, so that there is a great deal of it above us as well as below;
+but although we hold our lanterns up, hoping to see the top, we can
+see nothing but pitchy darkness up there. The roof of this pit is too
+high for the light to strike upon it. Here is a picture of some
+persons dropping lights down into this pit, hoping to be able to see
+the bottom.
+
+We must climb up and down some more ladders now, and then we will
+reach the "Mammoth Dome." This is a vast room--big enough for a
+gymnasium for giants--and the roof is so high that no ordinary light
+will show it. It is nearly four hundred feet from the floor. The next
+room we visit is one of the most beautiful places in the whole cave.
+It is called the Starry Chamber. The roof and walls and floor are
+covered with little bright bits of stone, which shine and glitter,
+when a light is brought into the room, like real stars in the sky. If
+the guide is used to his business, he can here produce most beautiful
+effects. By concealing his lantern behind a rock or pillar, and then
+gradually bringing it out, throwing more and more light upon the roof,
+he can create a most lovely star-light scene.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+At first all will be dark, and then a few stars will twinkle out, and
+then there will be more of them, and each one will be brighter, and at
+last you will think you are looking up into a dark sky full of
+glorious shining stars! And if you look at the walls you will see
+thousands of stars that seem as if they were dropping from the sky;
+and if you cast your eyes upon the ground, you will see it covered
+with other thousands of stars that seem to have already fallen!
+
+This is a lovely place, but we cannot stay here any longer. We want to
+reach the underground stream of which we have heard so much--the
+"River Styx."
+
+This is a regular river, running through a great part of the Mammoth
+Cave. You may float on it in a boat, and, if you choose, you may fish
+in it, although you would not be likely to catch anything. But if you
+did, the fish would have no eyes! All the fish in this river are
+blind. You can easily perceive that eyes would be of no use in a place
+where it is always as dark as pitch, except when travellers come along
+with their lanterns.
+
+There is a rough boat here, and we will get into it and have a row
+over this dark and gloomy river. Whenever our guide shouts we hear the
+wildest kind of echoes, and everything seems solemn and unearthly. At
+one time our boat stops for a moment, and the guide goes on shore, and
+directly we hear the most awful crash imaginable. It sounds as if a
+dozen gong-factories had blown up at once, and we nearly jump out of
+the boat! But we soon see that it was nothing but the guide striking
+on a piece of sheet-iron or tin. The echoes, one after another, from
+this noise had produced the horrible crashing sounds we had heard.
+
+After sailing along for about half an hour we land, and soon reach an
+avenue which has its walls ornamented with beautiful flowers--all
+formed on the rocky walls by the hand of Nature.
+
+Now we visit the "Ball Room," which is large and handsome, with its
+walls as white as snow. Leaving this, we take a difficult and exciting
+journey to the "Rocky Mountains." We go down steep paths, which are
+narrow, and up steep ones, which are wide; we jump over wide cracks
+and step over great stones, and we are getting very tired of
+scrambling about in the bowels of the earth; but the guide tells us
+that if we will but cross the "mountains"--which we find to be nothing
+more than great rocks, which have fallen from the roof above, but
+which, however, are not very easy to get over--we shall rest in the
+"Fairy Grotto." So on we push, and reach the delightful abode of the
+fairies of the Mammoth Cave. That is, if there were any fairies in
+this cave, they would live here.
+
+And a splendid place they would have!
+
+Great colonnades and magnificent arches, all ornamented with beautiful
+stalactites of various forms, and glittering like cut-glass in the
+light of our lanterns, and thousands of different ornaments of
+sparkling stone, many of them appearing as if they were cut by the
+hand of skilful artists, adorn this beautiful grotto. At one end there
+is a group of stalactites, which looks to us exactly like a graceful
+palm-tree cut out of alabaster. All over the vast hall we can hear the
+pattering and tinkling of the water, which has been dripping, drop by
+drop, for centuries, and making, as it carried with it little
+particles of earth and rock, all these beautiful forms which we see.
+
+We have now walked nearly five miles into the great cave, and there is
+much which we have not seen. But we must go back to the upper earth.
+We will have a tiresome trip of it, but it is seldom that we can get
+anything good without taking a little trouble for it. And to have seen
+this greatest of all natural caverns is worth far more labor and
+fatigue than we have expended on its exploration. There is nothing
+like it in the known world.
+
+
+
+
+THE LION.
+
+[Illustration: THE LION'S HOME.]
+
+
+I do not desire to be wanting in respect to the Lion. Because I
+asserted that it was my opinion that he should resign the throne of
+the King of Beasts to the Elephant, I do not wish to deprive him of
+any part of his just reputation.
+
+The Lion, with the exception of any animal but the Elephant, the
+Rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus, and such big fellows, is the strongest
+of beasts. Compared to Tigers and Panthers, he is somewhat generous,
+and compared to most of the flesh-eating animals, he is quite
+intelligent. Lions have been taught to perform certain feats when in a
+state of captivity; but, as all of us know who have seen the
+performing animals in a menagerie, he is by no means the equal of a
+Dog or an Elephant.
+
+The Lion appears to the greatest advantage in the midst of his family.
+When he and his wife are taking their walks abroad they will often fly
+before a man, especially if he is a white man.
+
+But at home, surrounded by their little ones, the case is different.
+Those cubs, in the picture of the Lion's home, are nice little
+fellows, and you might play with them without fear of more than a few
+scratches. But where is the brave man who would dare to go down among
+those rocks, armed with guns, pistols, or whatever he pleased, and
+take one of them!
+
+I do not think he lives in your town.
+
+We never see a Lion looking very brave or noble in a cage. Most of
+those that I have seen appeared to me to be excessively lazy. They had
+not half the spirit of the tigers and wolves. But, out in his native
+country, he presents a much more imposing spectacle, especially if
+one can get a full view of him when he is a little excited. Here is a
+picture of such a Lion as you will not see in a cage.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Considering his size, the strength of the Lion is astonishing. He will
+kill an ox with one blow of his great paw, if he strikes it on the
+back, and then seizing it in his great jaws, he will carry it off
+almost as easily as you could carry a baby.
+
+And when he has carried his prey to the spot where he chooses to have
+his dinner, he shows that no beast can surpass him in the meat-eating
+line. When he has satisfied his hunger on an ox, there is not much
+left for those who come to the second table. And there are often other
+Lions, younger and weaker than the one who has provided the dinner,
+who must wait until their master or father is done before they have a
+chance to take a bite. But, as you may see by this picture, they do
+not wait very patiently. They roar and growl and grumble until their
+turn comes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Lions have some very peculiar characteristics. When they have made a
+bound upon their prey and have missed it, they seldom chase the
+frightened animal. They are accustomed to make one spring on a deer or
+an ox, and to settle the matter there and then. So, after a failure to
+do this, they go to the place from which they have made the spring and
+practise the jump over and over until they feel that they can make it
+the next time they have a chance.
+
+This is by no means a bad idea for a Lion--or a man either.
+
+Another of their peculiarities is their fear of traps and snares.
+Very often they will not spring upon an ox or a horse, simply because
+it is tied to a tree. They think there is some trick when they see the
+animal is fastened by a rope.
+
+And when they come upon a man who is asleep, they will very often let
+him lie undisturbed. They are not accustomed to seeing men lying about
+in their haunts, and they don't know what to make of it. Sometimes
+they take it in their heads to lie down there themselves. Then it
+becomes disagreeable for the man when he awakes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A story of this kind is told of an African who had been hunting, and
+who, being tired, had lain down to sleep. When he awoke there lay a
+great Lion at a short distance from him! For a minute or two the man
+remained motionless with fright, and then he put forth his hand to
+take his gun, which was on the ground a few feet from him.
+
+But when the Lion saw him move he raised his head and roared.
+
+The man was quiet in a second.
+
+After a while it began to be terribly hot, and the rocks on which the
+poor man was lying became so heated by the sun that they burned his
+feet.
+
+But whenever he moved the old Lion raised his head and growled.
+
+The African lay there for a very long time, and the Lion kept watch
+over him. I expect that Lion had had a good meal just before he saw
+this man, and he was simply saving him up until he got hungry again.
+But, fortunately, after the hunter had suffered awfully from the heat
+of the burning sun, and had also lain there all night, with this
+dreadful beast keeping watch over him, the Lion became thirsty before
+he got hungry, and when he went off to a spring to get a drink the
+African crawled away.
+
+If that Lion had been a Tiger, I think he would have killed the man,
+whether he wished to eat him or not.
+
+So there is something for the Lion's reputation.
+
+
+
+
+BOB'S HIDING-PLACE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Bob was not a very big boy, but he was a lively little fellow and full
+of fun. You can see him there in the picture, riding on his brother
+Jim's back. One evening there happened to be a great many boys and
+girls at Bob's father's house. The grown-up folks were having a family
+party, and as they were going to stay all night--you see this was in
+the country--some of them brought their children with them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It was not long after supper that a game of Blind-Man's-Buff was
+proposed, and, as it would not do to have such an uproar in the
+sitting-room as the game would produce, the children were all packed
+off to the kitchen. There they have a glorious time. Jim is the first
+one blindfolded, and, as he gropes after the others, they go stumbling
+up against tables, and rattling down tin-pans, and upsetting each
+other in every direction. Old Grandfather, who has been smoking his
+pipe by the kitchen fire, takes as much pleasure in the game as the
+young folks, and when they tumble over his legs, or come banging up
+against his chair, he only laughs, and warns them not to hurt
+themselves.
+
+I could not tell you how often Grandfather was caught, and how they
+all laughed at the blind-man when he found out whom he had seized.
+
+But after a while the children became tired of playing
+Blind-Man's-Buff, and a game of Hide-and-Seek was proposed. Everybody
+was in favor of that, especially little Bob. It appears that Bob had
+not a very good time in the other game. Everybody seemed to run up
+against him and push him about, and whenever he was caught the
+blind-man said "Bob!" immediately. You see there was no mistaking Bob;
+he was so little.
+
+But in Hide-and-Seek he would have a better chance. He had always
+liked that game ever since he had known how to play anything. He was a
+good little fellow for hiding, and he knew it.
+
+When the game had begun, and all the children--except the biggest
+girl, who was standing in a corner, with her hands before her face,
+counting as fast as she could, and hoping that she would come to one
+hundred before everybody had hidden themselves--had scampered off to
+various hiding-places, Bob still stood in the middle of the
+kitchen-floor, wondering where in the world he should go to! All of a
+sudden--the girl in the corner had already reached sixty-four--he
+thought he would go down in the cellar.
+
+There was no rule against that--at least none that he knew of--and so,
+slipping softly to the cellar-door, over in the darkest corner of the
+kitchen, he opened it, and went softly down the steps.
+
+There was a little light on the steps, for Bob did not shut the door
+quite tightly after him, and if there had been none at all, he would
+have been quite as well pleased. He was not afraid of the dark, and
+all that now filled his mind was the thought of getting somewhere
+where no one could possibly find him. So he groped his way under the
+steps, and there he squatted down in the darkness, behind two barrels
+which stood in a corner.
+
+"Now," thought Bob, "she won't find me--easy."
+
+He waited there a good while, and the longer he waited the prouder he
+became.
+
+"I'll bet mine's the hardest place of all," he said to himself.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Bob heard a great deal of noise and shouting after the big girl came
+out from her corner and began finding the others, and he also heard a
+bang above his head, but he did not know that it was some one shutting
+the cellar-door. After that all was quiet.
+
+Bob listened, but could not hear a step. He had not the slightest
+idea, of course, that they had stopped playing and were telling
+stories by the kitchen fire. The big girl had found them all so easily
+that Hide-and-Seek had been voted down.
+
+Bob had his own ideas in regard to this silence. "I know," he
+whispered to himself, "they're all found, and they're after me, and
+keeping quiet to hear me breathe!"
+
+And, to prevent their finding his hiding-place by the sound of his
+breathing, Bob held his breath until he was red in the face. He had
+heard often enough of that trick of keeping quiet and listening to
+breathing. You couldn't catch him that way!
+
+When he was at last obliged to take a breath, you might have supposed
+he would have swallowed half the air in the cellar. He thought he had
+never tasted anything so good as that long draught of fresh air.
+
+"Can't hold my breath all the time!" Bob thought. "If I could, maybe
+they'd never find me at all," which reflection was much nearer the
+truth than the little fellow imagined.
+
+I don't know how long Bob had been sitting under the steps--it may
+have been five minutes, or it may have been a quarter of an hour, and
+he was beginning to feel a little cold--when he heard the cellar-door
+open, and some one put their foot upon the steps.
+
+"There they are!" he thought, and he cuddled himself up in the
+smallest space possible.
+
+Some one was coming down, sure enough, but it was not the children, as
+Bob expected. It was his Aunt Alice and her cousin Tom Green. They had
+come down to get some cider and apples for the company, and had no
+thought of Bob. In fact, when Bob was missed it was supposed that he
+had got tired and had gone up-stairs, where old Aunt Hannah was
+putting some of the smaller children to bed.
+
+So, of course, Alice and Tom Green did not try to find him, but Bob,
+who could not see them, thought it was certainly some of the children
+come down to look for him.
+
+In this picture of the scene in the cellar, little Bob is behind those
+two barrels in the right-hand upper corner, but of course you can't
+see him. He knows how to hide too well for that.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But when Tom and Alice spoke, Bob knew their voices and peeped out.
+
+"Oh!" he thought, "it's only Aunt Alice and he. They've come down for
+cider and things. I've got to hide safe now, or they'll tell when they
+go up-stairs."
+
+"I didn't know _all_ them barrels had apples in! I thought some were
+potatoes. I wish they would just go up-stairs again and leave that
+candle on the floor! I wonder if they will forget it! If they do, I'll
+just eat a whole hat-full of those big red apples, and some of the
+streakedy ones in the other barrel too; and then I'll put my mouth to
+the spigot of that cider-barrel, and turn it, and drink and drink and
+drink--and if there isn't enough left in that barrel, I'll go to
+another one and turn that. I never did have enough cider in all my
+life. I wish they'd hurry and go up.
+
+"Kissin'! what's the good of kissin'! A cellar ain't no place for
+that. I expect they won't remember to forget the candle if they don't
+look out!
+
+"Oh, pshaw! just look at 'em! They're a-going up again, and taking the
+candle along! The mean things!"
+
+Poor little Bob!
+
+There he sat in his corner, all alone again in the darkness and
+silence, for Tom and Alice had shut the cellar-door after them when
+they had gone up-stairs. He sat quietly for a minute or two, and then
+he said to himself:
+
+"I b'lieve I'd just as lieve they'd find me as not."
+
+And to help them a little in their search he began to kick very gently
+against one of the barrels.
+
+Poor Bob! If you were to kick with all your force and even upset the
+barrel they would not hear you. And what is more, they are not even
+thinking of you, for the apples are now being distributed.
+
+"I wonder," said the little fellow to himself, "if I could find that
+red-apple barrel in the dark. But then I couldn't tell the red ones
+from the streakedy ones. But either of 'em would do. I guess I won't
+try, though, for I might put my hand on a rat. They run about when
+it's dark. I hope they won't come in this corner. But there's nothin'
+for 'em to eat in this corner but me, and they ain't lions. I wonder
+if they'll come down after more cider when that's all drunk up. If
+they do, I guess I'll come out and let Aunt Alice tell them all where
+I am. I don't like playin' this game when it's too long."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And so he sat and waited and listened, and his eye-lids began to grow
+heavy and his head began to nod, and directly little Bob was fast
+asleep in the dark corner behind the barrels.
+
+By ten o'clock the children were all put to bed, and soon after the
+old folks went up-stairs, leaving only Tom Green, Alice, and some of
+the young men and women down in the big sitting-room.
+
+Bob's mother went up into the room where several of the children were
+sleeping, and after looking around, she said to the old colored nurse:
+
+"Hannah, what have you done with Bob?"
+
+"I didn't put him to bed, mum. I spect Miss Alice has took him to her
+bed. She knowed how crowded the chil'un all was, up here."
+
+"But Alice has not gone to bed," said Bob's mother.
+
+"Don't spect she has, mum," said Hannah. "But I reckon she put him in
+her bed till she come."
+
+"I'll go and see," said Bob's mother.
+
+She went, and she saw, but she didn't see Bob! And he wasn't in the
+next room, or in any bed in the house, or under any bed, or anywhere
+at all, as far as she could see; and so, pretty soon, there was a nice
+hubbub in that house!
+
+Bob's mother and father, and his grandfather, and Hannah, and the
+young folks in the parlor, and nearly all the rest of the visitors,
+ransacked the house from top to bottom. Then they looked out of doors,
+and some of them went around the yard, where they could see very
+plainly, as it was bright moonlight. But though they searched and
+called, there was no Bob.
+
+The house-doors being open, Snag the dog came in, and he joined in the
+search, you may be sure, although I do not know that he exactly
+understood what they were looking for.
+
+Some one now opened the cellar-door, but it seemed preposterous to
+look down in the cellar for the little fellow.
+
+But nothing was preposterous to Snag.
+
+The moment the cellar-door was opened he shuffled down the steps as
+fast as he could go. He knew there was somebody down there.
+
+And when those who followed him with a candle reached the
+cellar-floor, there was Snag, with his head between the barrels,
+wagging his tail as if he was trying to jerk it off, and whining with
+joy as he tried to stick his cold nose into the rosy face of little
+sleeping Bob.
+
+It was Tom Green who carried Bob up-stairs, and very soon indeed, all
+the folks were gathered in the kitchen, and Bob sleepily told his
+story.
+
+"But Tom and I were down in the cellar," said his Aunt Alice, "and we
+didn't see you."
+
+"I guess you didn't," said Bob, rubbing his eyes. "I was a-hidin' and
+you was a-kissin'."
+
+What a shout of laughter arose in the kitchen at this speech!
+Everybody laughed so much that Bob got wide awake and wanted some
+apples and cake.
+
+The little fellow certainly made a sensation that night; but it was
+afterwards noticed that he ceased to care much for the game of
+Hide-and-Seek. He played it too well, you see.
+
+
+
+
+THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIER.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Did you ever see a Continental Soldier? I doubt it. Some twenty years
+ago there used to be a few of them scattered here and there over the
+country, but they must be nearly all gone now. About a year ago there
+were but two of them left. Those whom some of us can remember were
+rather mournful old gentlemen. They shuffled about their
+dwelling-places, they smoked their pipes, and they were nearly always
+ready to talk about the glorious old days of the Revolution. It was
+well they had those days to fall back upon, for they had but little
+share in the glories of the present. When they looked abroad upon the
+country that their arms, and blood perhaps, had helped give to that
+vigorous Young America which now swells with prosperity from Alaska to
+Florida, they could see very little of it which they could call their
+own.
+
+It was difficult to look upon those feeble old men and imagine that
+they were once full of vigor and fire; that they held their old
+flintlocks with arms of iron when the British cavalry rushed upon
+their bayonets; that their keen eyes flashed a deadly aim along their
+rusty rifle-barrels; that, with their good swords quivering in their
+sinewy hands, they urged their horses boldly over the battle-field,
+shouting brave words to their advancing men; and that they laughed at
+heat and cold, patiently endured hunger and privation, strode along
+bravely on the longest marches, and, at last, stood proudly by when
+Cornwallis gave up his sword.
+
+Those old gentlemen did not look like anything of that sort. Their
+old arms could hardly manage their old canes; their old legs could
+just about carry them on a march around the garden, and they were very
+particular indeed about heat and cold.
+
+But History and Art will better keep alive the memory of their good
+deeds, and call more vigorously upon the gratitude of their
+countrymen, than those old Continentallers could themselves have done
+it, had they lived on for years and years, and told generation after
+generation how once they galloped proudly along the ranks, or, in
+humbler station, beat with vigorous arm the stirring drum-roll that
+called their comrades to the battle-field.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+A JUDGE OF MUSIC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+It is not well to despise anybody or anything until you know what they
+can do. I have known some very stupid-looking people who could do a
+sum in the rule-of-three in a minute, and who could add up a column of
+six figures abreast while I was just making a beginning at the
+right-hand bottom corner. But stupid-looking beings are often good at
+other things besides arithmetic. I have seen doctors, with very dull
+faces, who knew all about castor-oil and mustard-plasters, and above
+you see a picture of a Donkey who understood music.
+
+This animal had a very fine ear for music. You can see how much ear he
+had, and I have no doubt that he enjoyed the sweet sounds from one end
+to the other of those beautiful long flaps. Well, he very often had an
+opportunity of enjoying himself, for the lady of the house was a fine
+musician, and she used to sing and play upon the piano nearly every
+day. And as soon as he heard the sweet sounds which thrilled his
+soul, the Donkey would come to the parlor window and listen.
+
+One day the lady played and sang something which was particularly
+sweet and touching. I never heard the name of the song--whether it was
+"I'm sitting on the stile, Mary," or "A watcher, pale and weary"--but
+if it was the latter, I am not surprised that it should have overcome
+even a jackass. At any rate, the music so moved the soul of Mr. Donkey
+that he could no longer restrain himself, but entering the open door
+he stepped into the parlor, approached the lady, and with a voice
+faltering from the excess of his emotion, he joined in the chorus!
+
+The lady jumped backwards and gave a dreadful scream, and the Donkey,
+thinking that the music went up very high in that part, commenced to
+bray at such a pitch that you could have heard him if you had been up
+in a balloon.
+
+That was a lively concert; but it was soon ended by the lady rushing
+from the room and sending her man John to drive out the musical
+jackass with a big stick.
+
+Fortunately, all donkeys have not this taste for music. The nearest
+that the majority of jackasses come to being votaries of music is when
+their skins are used for covering cases for musical instruments. And
+if they have any ambition in the cause of harmony, that is better than
+nothing.
+
+
+
+
+THE SENSITIVE PLANT.
+
+
+There was never a better name for a plant than this, for the delicate
+leaves which grow on this slender stalk are almost as sensitive to the
+touch as if they were alive. If you place your hand on a growing
+plant, you will soon see all the leaves on the stem that you have
+touched fold themselves up as tightly as if they had been packed up
+carefully to be sent away by mail or express. In some of the common
+kinds of this plant, which grow about in our fields, it takes some
+time for the leaves to fold after they have been touched or handled;
+but if you watch them long enough--five or ten minutes--you will see
+that they never fail to close. They are not so sensitive as their
+cultivated kindred, but they still have the family disposition.
+
+Now this is certainly a wonderful property for a plant to possess, but
+it is not half so strange as another trait of these same pretty green
+leaves. They will shut up when it is dark, and open when it is light.
+
+It may be said that many other plants will do this, but that is a
+mistake. Many flowers and leaves close at _night_ and open in the
+_day-time_, but very few indeed exhibit the peculiar action of the
+sensitive plant in this respect. That plant will open at night if you
+bring a bright light into the room where it is growing, and it will
+close its leaves if the room is made dark in the day-time.
+
+Other plants take note of times and seasons. The sensitive plant obeys
+no regular rules of this kind, but acts according to circumstances.
+
+When I was a boy, I often used to go to a green-house where there were
+a great many beautiful and rare plants; but I always thought that the
+sensitive plant was the most wonderful thing in the whole
+collection, and I did not know then how susceptible it was to the
+influence of light. I was interested in it simply because it seemed to
+have a sort of vegetable reason, and understood that it should shut up
+its leaves whenever I touched it.
+
+[Illustration: THE SENSITIVE PLANT.]
+
+But there were things around me in the vegetable kingdom which were
+still more wonderful than that, and I took no notice of them at all.
+
+In the garden and around the house, growing everywhere, in the most
+common and ordinary places, were vines of various kinds--I think there
+were more morning-glories than anything else--and these exhibited a
+great deal more sense, and a much nearer approach to reasoning powers,
+than the sensitive plants, which were so carefully kept in the
+green-house.
+
+When one of these vines came up out of the earth, fresh from its seed,
+the first thing it wanted, after its tendrils began to show
+themselves, was something to climb up upon. It would like a good high
+pole. Now, if there was such a pole within a few feet of the little
+vine it would grow straight towards it, and climb up it!
+
+It would not grow first in one direction, and then in another and then
+in another, until it ran against something to climb on, but it would
+go right straight towards the pole, as if it saw it, and knew it was a
+good one for its purpose.
+
+I think that there is not much in the vegetable kingdom more wonderful
+than that.
+
+
+
+
+SIR MARMADUKE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Sir Marmaduke was a good old English gentleman, all of the olden time.
+There you see him, in his old-fashioned dining-room, with his
+old-fashioned wife holding her old-fashioned distaff, while he is
+surrounded by his old-fashioned arms, pets, and furniture.
+
+On his hand he holds his hawk, and his dogs are enjoying the great
+wood fire. His saddle is thrown on the floor; his hat and his pipes
+lie near it; his sword and his cross-bows are stood up, or thrown
+down, anywhere at all, and standing by his great chair is something
+which looks like a coal-scuttle, but which is only a helmet.
+
+Sir Marmaduke was certainly a fine old gentleman. In times of peace he
+lived happily with his family, and was kind and generous to the poor
+around him. In times of war he fought bravely for his country.
+
+But what a different old gentleman would he have been had he lived in
+our day!
+
+Then, instead of saying "Rebeck me!" and "Ods Boddikins!" when his
+hawk bit his finger or something else put him out of humor, he would
+have exclaimed, "Oh, pshaw!" or, "Botheration!" Instead of playing
+with a hawk, he would have had a black-and-tan terrier,--if he had any
+pet at all; and his wife would not have been bothering herself with a
+distaff, when linen, already spun and woven, could be bought for fifty
+cents a yard. Had she lived now, the good lady would have been mending
+stockings or crocheting a tidy.
+
+Instead of a pitcher of ale on his supper-table, the good knight would
+have had some tea or coffee; and instead of a chine of beef, a mess of
+pottage, and a great loaf of brown bread for his evening meal, he
+would have had some white bread, cakes, preserves, and other trifles
+of that sort, which in the olden days were considered only fit for
+children and women. The good old English gentlemen were tremendous
+eaters. They used to take five meals a day, and each one of them was
+heavy and substantial.
+
+If Sir Marmaduke had any sons or daughters, he would have treated them
+very differently in the present day. Instead of keeping them at home,
+under the tuition of some young clergyman or ancient scholar, until
+they should be old enough and accomplished enough to become pages to a
+great lord, or companions to some great lady, he would have sent them
+to school, and the boys--the younger ones, at least--would have been
+prepared for some occupation which would support them, while the girls
+would have been taught to play on the piano and to work slippers.
+
+In these days, instead of that old helmet on the floor, you would have
+seen a high-top hat--that is, if the old gentleman should continue to
+be as careless as the picture shows him; instead of a cross-bow on the
+floor, and another leaning against the chair, you would have seen a
+double-barrelled gun and a powder-horn; and instead of the picturesque
+and becoming clothes in which you see Sir Marmaduke, he would have
+worn some sort of a tight-fitting and ugly suit, such as old gentlemen
+now-a-days generally wear.
+
+There were a great many advantages in the old style of living, and
+also a very great many disadvantages. On the whole, we should be very
+thankful indeed that we were born in this century, and not in the good
+old times of yore.
+
+A little boy once made a very wise remark on this subject. He said: "I
+wish I could have seen George Washington and Israel Putnam; but I'm
+glad I didn't, for if I'd been alive then, I should have been dead
+now."
+
+There is enough in that boy's remark for a whole composition, if any
+one chose to write it.
+
+
+
+
+THE GIRAFFE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Some one once called the Giraffe a "two-story animal," and the remark
+was not altogether inapplicable.
+
+As you see him in the picture, lying down, he seems to be high enough
+for all ordinary purposes; but when he stands up, you will see that
+his legs--or his lower story--will elevate him to a surprising height.
+
+The ordinary giraffe measures about fifteen feet from the top of his
+head to the ground, but some of them have been known to be over
+sixteen feet high. Most of this height is owing to their long necks,
+but their fore-legs are also very long. The hind-legs seem much
+shorter, although, in reality, they are as long as the fore-legs. The
+legs and neck of the Giraffe are made long so that he can eat the
+leaves from the tops of young trees. This tender foliage is his
+favorite diet; but he will eat the foliage from any part of a tree,
+and he is content with the herbage on the ground, when there is
+nothing else.
+
+He is not a fighting animal. Those little horns which you see on his
+head, and which look as if they had been broken off--although they are
+really their full size--are of no use as offensive weapons. When
+danger threatens him he runs away, and a funny sight he is then. He
+can run very fast, but he is very awkward; he goes like a cow on
+stilts.
+
+But when there is no chance for him to run away, he can often defend
+himself, for he can kick like a good fellow. His hind-legs fly so fast
+when he is kicking that you can hardly see them, and he has been known
+to drive off a lion by this means of defence.
+
+When hunters wish to catch a giraffe alive, they generally drive him
+into a thick woods, where his great height prevents him from running
+very rapidly; and as soon as they come up with him, they endeavor to
+entangle him in ropes, to throw him down, and to put a halter round
+his neck. If they only keep out of the way of his heels, there is no
+need of being afraid of him. When they have secured him they lead him
+off, if he will come; but if he is an old fellow he will not walk
+after them, and he is too strong to be easily pulled along, no matter
+how many men may be in the hunt. So in this case they generally kill
+him, for his skin is valuable, and his flesh is very good to eat. But
+if the giraffe is a young one, he will follow his captors without
+difficulty, for these animals are naturally very gentle.
+
+Why the natives of Africa should desire to obtain living giraffes,
+unless it is to sell them to people who wish to carry them to other
+countries, travellers do not inform us. We have never heard that any
+domestic use was made of them, nor that they were kept for the sake of
+their meat. But we suppose the hunters know their own business.
+
+It is probable that the lion is really the greatest enemy of the
+giraffe. It is not often that this crafty and powerful hunter will put
+himself within reach of his victim's heels. Approaching softly and
+slowly, the lion waits until he is quite near the giraffe, and then,
+with one bound, he springs upon his back. Sometimes the giraffe
+succeeds in shaking him off, but generally they both fall
+together--the giraffe dead, and the lion with his appetite whetted for
+an enormous dinner.
+
+
+
+
+UP IN THE AIR.
+
+[Illustration: UP IN A BALLOON.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We have already taken a journey under the earth, and now, if you like,
+we will try a trip in the air. Anything for a novelty. We have lived
+on the surface of the earth ever since we were born.
+
+We will make our ascent in a balloon. It has been thought by some
+folks, that there were easier methods of ascending into the air than
+by a cumbrous balloon, but their inventions never became popular.
+
+For instance, look at the picture of a flying-man.
+
+This gentleman had an idea that he could fly by the aid of this
+ingenious machinery. You will see that his wings are arranged so that
+they are moved by his legs, and also by cords attached to his arms.
+The umbrella over his head is not intended to ward off the rain or the
+sun, but is to act as a sort of parachute, to keep him from falling
+while he is making his strokes. The basket, which hangs down low
+enough to be out of the way of his feet, is filled with provisions,
+which he expects to need in the course of his journey.
+
+That journey lasted exactly as long as it took him to fall from the
+top of a high rock to the ground below.
+
+But we are not going to trust ourselves to any such _harem-scarem_
+contrivance as this. We are going up in a regular balloon.
+
+We all know how balloons are made, and this one of ours is like most
+others. It is a great globular bag, made of strips of silk sewn
+together, and varnished with a certain composition which renders the
+balloon air-tight. The car in which we will travel is made of
+wicker-work, for that is both light and strong, and it is suspended
+from a net-work of strong cord which covers the whole balloon. It
+would not do, you know, to attach a cord to any particular part of the
+silk, for that would tear it. In the top of the balloon is a valve,
+and a cord from it comes down into the car. This valve is to be pulled
+open when we wish to come down towards the earth. The gas then
+escapes, and of course the balloon descends. In the car are bags of
+sand, and these are to be emptied out when we think we are too heavy
+for the balloon, and are either coming down too fast or are not as
+high as we wish to go. Relieved of the weight of a bag, the balloon
+rises.
+
+Sand is used because it can be emptied out and will not injure anybody
+in its descent. It would be rather dangerous, if ballooning were a
+common thing, for the aëronauts to throw out stones and old iron, such
+as are used for the ballast of a ship. If you ever feel a shower of
+sand coming down upon you through the air, look up, and you will
+probably see a balloon--that is, if you do not get some of the sand in
+your eyes.
+
+The gas with which our balloon is to be filled is hydrogen gas; but I
+think we will not use the pure hydrogen, for it is troublesome and
+expensive to produce. We will get permission of the city gas
+authorities to take gas from one of their pipes.
+
+That will carry us up very well indeed. When the balloon is nearly
+full--we never fill it entirely, for the gas expands when it rises
+into lighter air, and the balloon would explode if we did not leave
+room for this expansion--it is almost as round as a ball, and swells
+out proudly, struggling and pulling at the ropes which confine it to
+the ground.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now we have but to attach the car, get in, and cut loose. But we are
+going to be very careful on this trip, and so we will attach a
+parachute to the balloon. I hope we may not use it, but it may save us
+in case of an accident. This is the manner in which the parachute will
+hang from the bottom of the car.
+
+It resembles, you see, a closed umbrella without a handle, and it has
+cords at the bottom, to which a car is attached. If we wish to come
+down by means of this contrivance, we must descend from the car of the
+balloon to that of the parachute, and then we must unfasten the rope
+which attaches us to the balloon. We shall then drop like a shot; but
+as soon as the air gets under our parachute it will spread open, and
+our descent will immediately begin to be much more gradual, and if
+nothing unusual occurs to us, we shall come gently to the ground. This
+picture shows the manner in which we would come down in a parachute.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This man's balloon has probably burst, for we see it is tumbling down,
+and it will no doubt reach the ground before him.
+
+When all is ready and we are properly seated in the car, with our
+instruments and extra clothes and ballast, and some provisions, we
+will give the word to "let her go."
+
+There!
+
+Did you see that?
+
+The earth dropped right down. And it is dropping, but more slowly,
+yet.
+
+That is the sensation persons generally experience when they first go
+up in a balloon. Not being used to rising in the air, they think at
+first that they are stationary, and that the earth and all the people
+and houses on it are falling below them.
+
+Now, then, we are off! Look down and see how everything gets smaller,
+and smaller, and smaller. As we pass over a river, we can look down to
+its very bottom; and if we were not so high we could see the fishes
+swimming about. The houses soon begin to look like toy-cottages, and
+the trees like bushes, and the creeks and rivers like silvery bands.
+The people now appear as black spots; we can just see some of them
+moving about; but if they were to shout very loud we might hear them,
+for sound travels upward to a great distance.
+
+[Illustration: MOONLIGHT ABOVE THE CLOUDS.]
+
+Soon everything begins to be mixed up below us. We can hardly tell the
+woods from the fields; all seem pretty much alike. And now we think it
+is getting foggy; we can see nothing at all beneath us, and when we
+look up and around us we can see nothing but fog.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We are in the clouds! Yes, these are the clouds. There is nothing very
+beautiful about them--they are only masses of vapor. But how thick
+that vapor is! Now, when we look up, we cannot even see the balloon
+above us. We are sitting in our little basket-work car, and that is
+all we know! We are shut out from the whole world, closed up in a
+cloud!
+
+But this foggy atmosphere is becoming thinner, and we soon shoot out
+of it! Now we can see clearly around us. Where are the clouds? Look!
+there they are, spread out like a great bed below us.
+
+How they glisten and sparkle in the bright sunlight!
+
+Is not this glorious, to ride above the clouds, in what seems to us
+illimitable space! The earth is only a few miles below us, it is true,
+but up and around us space _is_ illimitable.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But we shall penetrate space no longer in an upward direction. It is
+time we were going back to the world. We are all very cold, and the
+eyes and ears of some of us are becoming painful. More than that, our
+balloon is getting too large. The gas within it is expanding, on
+account of the rarity of the air.
+
+We shall pull the rope of the valve.
+
+Now we are descending. We are in the clouds, and before we think much
+about it we are out of them. We see the earth beneath us, like a great
+circular plain, with the centre a little elevated. Now we see the
+rivers; the forests begin to define themselves; we can distinguish
+houses, and we know that we are falling very rapidly. It is time to
+throw out ballast. We do so, and we descend more slowly.
+
+Now we are not much higher than the tops of the trees. People are
+running towards us. Out with another bag of sand! We rise a little.
+Now we throw out the anchor. It drags along the ground for some
+distance, as the wind carries us over a field, and then it catches in
+a fence. And now the people run up and pull us to the ground, and the
+most dangerous part of our expedition is over.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For it is comparatively safe to go up in a balloon, but the descent
+is often very hazardous indeed.
+
+On the preceding page is a picture of a balloon which did not come
+down so pleasantly as ours.
+
+With nine persons in it, it was driven over the ground by a tremendous
+wind; the anchors were broken; the car was bumped against the ground
+ever so many times; and the balloon dashed into trees, breaking off
+their branches; it came near running into a railroad train; it struck
+and carried away part of a telegraph line, and at last became tangled
+up in a forest, and stopped. Several of the persons in it had their
+limbs broken, and it is a wonder they were not all killed.
+
+The balloon in which we ascended was a very plain, common-sense
+affair; but when aerial ascents were first undertaken the balloons
+were very fancifully decorated.
+
+For instance, Bagnolet's balloon and that of Le Flesselles, of which
+we have given you pictures, are much handsomer than anything we have
+at present. But they were not any more serviceable for all their
+ornamentation, and they differed from ours in still another way--they
+were "hot-air balloons."
+
+Other balloons were furnished with all sorts of fans, rudders, etc.,
+for the purpose of steering them, or accelerating their motion up or
+down.
+
+On the next page is one of that kind.
+
+This balloon ascended from Dijon, France, in 1784, but the
+steering-apparatus did not prove to be of much use.
+
+There were other balloons devised by the early aëronauts, which were
+still stranger than that one which arose from Dijon. The _Minerva_,
+the picture of which you can examine at your leisure, was invented by
+a Mr. Robertson, in the beginning of this century. He wished to make
+a grand aerial voyage of several months, with a company of about sixty
+persons, and therefore he had to have a very large balloon. To procure
+this he desired the co-operation of the scientific men throughout
+Europe, and sent plans and descriptions of his projected balloon to
+all the learned societies.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This great ship of the air was to be a regular little town, as you may
+see. The balloon was to be one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, and
+was to carry a large ship, on which the passengers would be safe if
+they descended in the water, even if it were the middle of the ocean.
+
+Everything was to be provided for the safety and convenience of the
+passengers. Around the upper part of the balloon you will see a
+platform, with sentries and tents. These soldiers were to be called
+the "air-marines." There is a small balloon--about the common
+size--which could be sent off like a small boat whenever occasion
+required. If any one got tired of the expedition, and wanted to go
+home, there was a parachute by which he might descend. On the deck of
+the ship, near the stern, was to be a little church; small houses hung
+from below, reached by ladders of silk, which were to be used as
+medicine-rooms, gymnasiums, etc.; and under the ship would hang a
+great hogshead, as big as a house, which would contain provisions and
+stores, and keep them tight and dry. There was also a kitchen; and a
+cannon, with which to fire off salutes, besides a number of guns,
+which you see projecting from the port-holes of the ship. These, I
+suppose, were to be used against all enemies or pirates of the air,
+sea, or land.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I cannot enumerate all the appendages of this wonderful balloon--you
+see there are telescopes, sails, great speaking-trumpets, anchors,
+etc.; but I will merely remark that it was never constructed.
+
+One of the safest, and sometimes the most profitable, methods of using
+a balloon, is that shown in the picture, "Safe Ballooning." Here a
+battle is going on, and the individuals in the balloon, safely
+watching the progress of events and the movements of the enemy,
+transmit their observations to the army with which they are connected.
+Of course the men on the ground manage a balloon of this sort, and
+pull it around to any point that they please, lowering it by the ropes
+when the observations are concluded. Balloons are often used in
+warfare in this manner.
+
+But during the late siege of Paris, balloons became more useful than
+they have ever been since their invention. A great many aëronauts left
+the besieged city, floated safely over the Prussian army, and
+descended in friendly localities. Some of these balloons were
+captured, but they generally accomplished their purposes, and were of
+great service to the French. On one occasion, however, a balloon from
+Paris was driven by adverse winds to the ocean, and its occupants were
+drowned.
+
+It has not been one hundred years since the balloon was invented by
+the brothers Montgolfier, of France. They used heated air instead of
+gas, and their balloons were of course inferior to those of the
+present day. But we have not improved very much upon the original
+balloon, and what progress will eventually be made in aerial
+navigation it is difficult to prophesy. But there are persons who
+believe that in time air-ships will make regular trips in all
+directions, like our present steamboats and railroad-trains.
+
+If this is ever the case, I hope we may all be living to see it.
+
+[Illustration: DRIVEN OUT TO SEA]
+
+
+
+
+THE HORSE OF ARABIA.
+
+
+The Arabian horse has long been celebrated as the most valuable of his
+race. He is considered an aristocrat among horses, and only those
+steeds which can trace their descent from Arabian ancestors have the
+right to be called "thorough-bred."
+
+Occasionally an Arabian horse is brought to this country, but we do
+not often see them. In fact, they would not be as valuable here as
+those horses which, besides Arabian descent, have also other
+characteristics which especially adapt them to our country and
+climate.
+
+In Arabia the horse, as an individual, especially if he happens to be
+of the purest breed, is more highly prized than in any other part of
+the world. It is almost impossible to buy a favorite horse from an
+Arab, and even if he can be induced to sell it, the transaction is a
+very complicated one. In the first place, all the relations and allies
+of the owner must give their consent, for the parting with a horse to
+a stranger is a very important matter with them. The buyer must then
+make himself sure that the _whole of the horse_ belongs to the man who
+is selling him, for the Arabs, when they wish to raise money, very
+often do so by selling to a member of their tribe a fore-leg, a
+hind-leg, or an ear, of one of their horses; and in this case, the
+person who is a part owner of the animal must have his proportionate
+share of all profits which may arise from its sale or use. This
+practice is very much like our method of mortgaging our lands.
+
+When the horse is finally bought and paid for, it had better be taken
+away as soon as possible, for the Arabs--even those who have no
+interest whatever in the sale--cannot endure to see a horse which once
+belonged to their tribe passing into the hands of strangers. And
+therefore, in order to soothe their wounded sensibilities, they
+often steal the animal, if they can get a chance, before the buyer
+carries him out of their reach.
+
+[Illustration: ARABIAN HORSE.]
+
+The Arabian horse is generally much more intelligent and docile than
+those of our country. But this is not altogether on account of his
+good blood. The Arab makes a friend and companion of his horse. The
+animal so constantly associates with man, is talked to so much, and
+treated so kindly, that he sometimes shows the most surprising
+intelligence. He will follow his master like a dog; come at his call;
+stand anywhere without moving, until his master returns to him; stop
+instantly if his rider falls from his back, and wait until he mounts
+again; and it has been said that an Arabian horse has been known to
+pick up his wounded master from the field of battle, and by fastening
+his teeth in the man's clothes, to carry him to a place of safety.
+
+There is no doubt, if we were to treat our horses with gentleness and
+prudence, and in a measure make companions of them whenever it was
+possible, that they would come to regard us with much of the affection
+and obedience which the Arabian horse shows to his master.
+
+
+
+
+INDIAN PUDDINGS: PUMPKIN PIES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Some of the good old folks whom I well remember, called these things
+"Ingin-puddins and punkin pies," but now we all know what very
+incorrect expressions those were. Rut, even with such highly improper
+names, these delicacies tasted quite--as well in those days as they
+do now, and, if my youthful memory does not mislead me, they tasted a
+little better.
+
+There is no stage of the rise and progress of Indian puddings and
+pumpkin pies, with which, when a youngster, I was not familiar. In the
+very beginning of things, when the fields were being ploughed, "we
+boys" were there. True, we went with no intent to benefit either the
+corn-crop or the pumpkin-vines. We merely searched in the newly
+turned-up earth for fish-worms. But for all that, we were there.
+
+And when the corn was all planted, how zealous we used to be about the
+crows! What benevolent but idiotic old scarecrows we used to
+construct, and how _extremely_ anxious we were to be intrusted with
+guns, that we might disperse, at once and forever, these black
+marauders! For well we knew that a few dead crows, stuck up here and
+there on stakes, would frighten away all the rest of the flock.
+
+But we were not allowed the guns, and, even if we had had them, it is
+probable that the crows would all have died of old age, had they
+depended for an early death upon our powder and shot. With their
+sagacity, their long sight, and their sentinels posted on the high
+trees around the field, they were not likely to let a boy with a gun
+approach very near to them. I have heard--and have no doubt of the
+truth of the statement--that one of the best ways to shoot crows is to
+go after them in a wagon, keeping your gun, of course, as much out of
+sight as possible. Crows seem to know exactly what guns are intended
+for. But they are seldom afraid of a wagon. They expect no danger from
+it, and one can frequently drive along a country road while crows are
+quietly feeding in the field adjoining, quite close to the fence.
+
+But if any one goes out to shoot crows in this way he had better be
+very careful that he has an excessively mild and unimpressible horse.
+For, if the horse is frightened at the report of the gun, and dashes
+away, and smashes the wagon, and breaks his harness, and spills
+everything out of the wagon into the dust, mud, and bramble-bushes,
+and throws the gunner heels over head into a ditch, it may be that a
+dead crow will hardly pay him for his trouble and expense in procuring
+it.
+
+But after a time the corn got so high that it was not afraid of a
+bird, and then we forgot the crows. But we liked to watch the corn in
+all its stages. We kept a sharp look-out for the young pumpkin-vines,
+and were glad to see the beans, which were planted in the hills with
+the corn in some parts of the field.
+
+There is one great advantage in a corn-field which many other fields
+do not possess: you can always walk in it! And when the corn is higher
+than your head, and the great long leaves are rustling in the wind,
+and you can hardly see each other a dozen yards away, what a glorious
+thing it is to wander about amidst all this cool greenness, and pick
+out the biggest and the fattest ears for roasting!
+
+You have then all the loveliness of Nature, combined with the hope of
+a future joy, which Art--the art of your mother, or whoever roasts the
+corn--will give you.
+
+But the triumph of the corn-field is not yet. The transformation of
+its products into Indian puddings and pumpkin pies will not occur
+until the golden Autumn days, when the sun, and the corn, and the
+pumpkins are all yellow alike, and gold--if it was not so
+scarce--would be nothing to compare to any of them. Then come the men,
+with their corn-cutters--pieces of scythe-blades, with handles fitted
+to them--and down go the corn-stalks. Only one crack apiece, and
+sometimes a big cut will slice off the stalks on a whole hill.
+
+How we used to long to wield those corn-cutters!
+
+But our parents thought too much of our legs.
+
+When the corn has been cut and carried away, the pumpkins are enough
+to astonish anybody. We never had any idea that there were so many!
+
+At last, when the days were getting short, and the mornings were a
+little cool, and the corn was in the cribs, and the pumpkins were in
+the barn, and some of us had taken a grist to the mill, then were the
+days of the pudding of Indian corn and the pies of pumpkin!
+
+Then we stayed in the kitchen and saw the whole delightful process,
+from the first mixing of the yellow meal with water, and the first cut
+into the round pumpkins, until the swelling pudding and the tranquil
+pie emerged in hot and savory grandeur from the oven.
+
+It is of no use to expect those days to return. It is easy enough to
+get the pies and the puddings, but it is very hard to be a boy again.
+
+
+
+
+LIVING IN SMOKE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Here is a mosquito of which the bravest man might be afraid; but,
+fortunately, these insects are not found quite so large as the one in
+the drawing, for he is considerably magnified. But when we hear even a
+very small fellow buzzing around our heads, in the darkness of a
+summer night, we are very apt to think that he sounds as if he were at
+least as big as a bat.
+
+In some parts of our country, mosquitoes are at certain seasons so
+plentiful and bloodthirsty that it is impossible to get along
+comfortably in their company. But, except in spots where no one would
+be likely to live, whether there were mosquitoes there or not, these
+insects do not exist in sufficient numbers to cause us to give up our
+ordinary style of living and devote all our energies to keeping them
+at a distance.
+
+In some other countries, however, the people are not so fortunate. In
+Senegal, at certain seasons, the inhabitants are driven from their
+habitations by the clouds of mosquitoes which spread over the land,
+and are forced to take refuge on high platforms, under which they keep
+fires continually burning.
+
+The smoke from these fires will keep away the mosquitoes, but it
+cannot be very pleasant to the Senegalians. However, they become used
+to it, and during the worst of the mosquito season, they eat, drink,
+sleep, and enjoy themselves to the best of their ability on these
+platforms, which for the time become their houses.
+
+[Illustration: A SMOKY DWELLING.]
+
+It would probably seem to most of us, that to breathe an atmosphere
+constantly filled with smoke, and to have it in our eyes and noses all
+the time, would be almost as bad, if not quite, as suffering the
+stings of mosquitoes.
+
+But then we do not know anything about Senegalian mosquitoes, and the
+accounts which Dr. Livingstone and other travellers give of the
+insects in Africa, ought to make us feel pretty sure that these
+woolly-headed folks on the platforms know what is good for them.
+
+
+
+
+THE CANNON OF THE PALAIS ROYAL.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+In the Gardens of the Palais Royal, in Paris, there is a little cannon
+which stands on a pedestal, and is surrounded by a railing. Every day
+it is loaded with powder and wadding, but no one on earth is allowed
+to fire it off. However, far away in the realms of space, ninety-three
+millions of miles from our world, there is the great and glorious Sun,
+and every day, at twelve o'clock, he fires off that little cannon,
+provided there are no clouds in the way. Just before noon on bright
+days, the people gather around the railing, with their watches in
+their hands,--if they are so lucky as to have watches,--and precisely
+at twelve o'clock, _bang!_ she goes.
+
+The arrangement which produces this novel artillery-practice is very
+simple. A burning-glass is fixed over the cannon in such a manner that
+when the sun comes to the meridian--which it does every day at noon,
+you know--its rays are concentrated on the touch-hole, and of course
+the powder is ignited and the cannon is fired.
+
+Most boys understand the power of a burning-glass, and know how easily
+dry grass or tinder, or a piece of paper, may be set on fire by a good
+glass when the sun is bright; but they would find it very difficult to
+place a glass over a little cannon so that it would infallibly be
+discharged at any set hour. And even if they could do it, they would
+not be sure of their cannon-clock being _exactly_ right, for the sun
+does not keep the very best time. He varies a little, and there is a
+difference between solar time and true time. But the sun is always
+near enough right for all ordinary intents and purposes.
+
+I know boys--lazy fellows--and some girls of the same sort, for that
+matter,--who, if they could, would have, just outside of their
+school-doors, one of the largest cannon, which should go off every day
+at the very earliest hour at which school would let out, and which
+should make such a tremendous report that it would be impossible for
+the teacher to overlook the time and keep them in too long.
+
+But if these same boys and girls were putting up a cannon to go off at
+the hour when school commenced, they would get such a little one that
+it wouldn't frighten a mouse.
+
+
+
+
+WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW.
+
+
+With such a vast subject before us as the waters of our beautiful
+world, we must be systematic. So we will at first confine ourselves to
+the observation of _pleasant waters_.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Let us begin at the beginning.
+
+This pretty little spring, with its cool water running day and night
+into the old barrel, and then gurgling over the staves, flowing away
+among the grass and flowers, is but a trifling thing perhaps, and
+might be passed with but little notice by people who have always lived
+in cities. But country-folks know how to value a cool, unfailing
+spring. In the hot days of summer the thirsty and tired farmer would
+rather see that spring than an ice-cream saloon. Yes, even if he has
+nothing to drink from but a gourd, which may be lying there among the
+stones. He may have a tin-cup with him,--and how shocking! he may
+drink out of his hands! But, let him use what he may, he certainly
+gets a most delicious drink.
+
+I once knew a little girl who said she could not bear spring-water;
+she did not think it was clean, coming out of the ground in that way.
+I asked her if she liked well-water; but she thought that was worse
+yet, especially when it was hauled up in old buckets. River-water she
+would not even consider, for that was too much exposed to all sorts of
+dirty things to be fit to drink. I then wished to know what kind of
+water she did like, and she answered, readily enough, "hydrant-water."
+I don't know where she imagined hydrant-water came from, but she may
+have thought it was manufactured, by some clean process, out at the
+water-works.
+
+But let us follow this little stream which trickles from the barrel.
+We cannot walk by its banks all the time, for it winds so much and
+runs through places where the walking is very bad; but let us go
+across the fields and walk a mile or two into the woods, and we will
+meet with it again. Here it is!
+
+What a fine, tumbling stream it has grown to be now! It is even big
+enough to have a bridge over it. It does not always rush so noisily
+among the rocks; but this is early summer; there has been plenty of
+rain, and the brook is full and strong. Now, then, if this is a trout
+country, we ought to have our hooks and lines with us. Among the
+eddies of this stream we might find many a nice trout, and if we were
+only successful enough to catch some of them after we had found them,
+we would be sure of a reward for our walk, even if the beauty of the
+scene did not repay us.
+
+But let us go on. This stream does not stop here.
+
+After we have walked a mile or so more, we find that our noisy friend
+has quieted down very much indeed. It is a little wider, and it may be
+it is a little deeper, but it flows along very placidly between its
+low banks. It is doubtful if we should find any trout in it now, but
+there may be cat-fish and perch, and some sun-fish and eels.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And now the stream suddenly spreads out widely. It is a little lake!
+No, it is only a mill-pond.
+
+Let us walk around and come out in front of the mill.
+
+How the stream has diminished again!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+As it comes out of the mill-race and joins itself to that portion
+which flows over the dam, it is a considerable creek, to be sure, but
+it looks very small compared to the mill-pond. But what it wants in
+size it makes up in speed, like some little Morgan horses you may have
+seen, and it goes rushing along quite rapidly again. Here, now, is a
+splendid chance to catch a chub.
+
+If we had some little minnows for bait, and could stand on the bank
+there to the left, and throw our lines down into the race, we ought to
+be able to hook a chub, if there are any there, and I think it is very
+likely that there are. A chub, if he is a good-sized fellow, is a fish
+worth catching, even for people who have been fishing for trout. One
+big chub will make a meal for a small family.
+
+But let us follow the creek and see what new developments we shall
+discover. To be sure, you may say that following up a stream from its
+very source involves a great deal of walking; but I can answer with
+certainty that a great deal of walking is a very easy thing--in books!
+
+So on we go, and it is not long before we find that our watery friend
+has ceased to be a creek, and is quite worthy of being called a fine
+young river. But still it is scarcely fit yet for navigation. There
+are rocks in the very middle of the stream, and every now and then we
+come to a waterfall. But how beautiful some of those cascades are!
+
+What a delightful thing it would be, on a warm summer evening, to
+bathe in that deliciously cool water. It is deep enough for a good
+swim, and, if any of us want a shower-bath, it would be a splendid
+thing to sit on the rocks and let the spray from the fall dash over
+us! And there are fish here, I am sure. It is possible that, if we
+were to sit quietly on the bank and fish, we might soon get a string
+of very nice perch, and there is no knowing what else. This stream is
+now just about big enough and little enough to make the character of
+its fish doubtful. I have known pike--fellows two feet long--caught in
+such streams as this; and then again, in other small rivers, very much
+like it, you can catch nothing but cat-fish, roach, and eels.
+
+If we were to follow up our river, we would soon find that it grew
+larger and larger, until row-boats and sloops, and then schooners and
+perhaps large ships, sailed upon its surface. And at last we might
+follow it down to its mouth, and, if it happened to flow into the sea,
+we would probably behold a grand scene. Some rivers widen so greatly
+near their mouths that it is difficult to believe that they are rivers
+at all.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+On the next page we see a river which, at its junction with the ocean,
+seems almost like a little sea itself.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We can hardly credit the fact that such a great river as the Amazon
+arose from a little spring, where you might span the body of the
+stream with your hand. But, at its source, there is no doubt just such
+a little spring. The great trouble, however, with these long rivers,
+is to find out where their source really is. There are so many brooks
+and smaller rivers flowing into them that it is difficult to determine
+the main line. You know that we have never settled that matter in
+regard to the Mississippi and Missouri. There are many who maintain
+that the source of the Mississippi is to be found at the head of the
+Missouri, and that the latter is the main river. But we shall not try
+to decide any questions of that sort. We are in quest of pleasant
+waters, not difficult questions.
+
+[Illustration: FALLS OF GAVARNI.]
+
+There is no form which water assumes more grand and beautiful than the
+cascade or waterfall. And these are of very varied shapes and sizes.
+Some of the most beautiful waterfalls depend for their celebrity, not
+upon their height, but upon their graceful forms and the scenery by
+which they are surrounded, while others, like the cascade of Gavarni,
+are renowned principally for their great height.
+
+There we see a comparatively narrow stream, precipitating itself down
+the side of an enormous precipice in the Pyrenees. Although it appears
+so small to us, it is really a considerable stream, and as it strikes
+upon the jutting rocks and dashes off into showers of spray, it is
+truly a beautiful sight.
+
+There are other cascades which are noted for a vast volume of water.
+Some of these are well known, but there is one, perhaps, of which you
+have never heard.
+
+When Dr. Livingstone was travelling in Africa he was asked by some of
+the natives if in his country there was any "smoke which sounds." They
+assured him that such a thing existed in their neighborhood, although
+some of them did not seem to comprehend the nature of it. The Doctor
+soon understood that their remarks referred to a waterfall, and so he
+took a journey to it. When he came within five or six miles of the
+cataract, he saw five columns of smoke arising in the air; but when he
+reached the place he found that this was not smoke, but the vapor from
+a great fall in the river Zambesi.
+
+These falls are very peculiar, because they plunge into a great abyss,
+not more than eighty feet wide, and over three hundred feet deep. Then
+the river turns and flows, for many miles, at the bottom of this vast
+crack in the earth. Dr. Livingstone thinks these falls are one of the
+wonders of the world.
+
+There is no doubt, however, about the king of cataracts. That is
+Niagara. If you have seen it you can understand its grandeur, but
+you can never appreciate it from a written description. A picture
+will give you some idea of it, but not a perfect one, by any means.
+
+[Illustration: FALLS OF ZAMBESI.]
+
+The Indians called these falls "thundering water," and it was an
+admirable title. The waters thunder over the great precipice, as they
+have done for thousands of years before we were born, and will
+continue to do thousands of years after we are dead.
+
+The Falls of Niagara are divided by an island into two portions,
+called the Canadian and the American Falls. This island lies nearer to
+the United States shore than to that of Canada. Therefore the American
+Falls are the smallest. This island is named Goat Island, and you have
+a good view of it in the picture.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It seems as if the resistless torrent would some day tear away this
+lonely promontory, as it rushes upon and around it. It is not unlikely
+that in the course of ages the island may be carried away.
+
+Even now, portions of it are occasionally torn off by the rush of the
+waters.
+
+You can cross over to Goat Island by means of a bridge, and when there
+you can go down _under the falls_. Standing in what is called the
+"Cave of the Winds," you can look out at a thick curtain of water,
+from eighteen to thirty feet thick, pouring down from the rocks above.
+This curtain, dark and glittering, is a portion of the great falls.
+
+It is necessary to spend days at Niagara before its grandeur can be
+fully appreciated. But we must pass on to other waters, and not tarry
+at this glorious cataract until we are carried away by our subject.
+
+We will now look at, for a short time, what may be called _Profitable
+Waters_. The waters of the earth are profitable in so many ways that
+it would be impossible for us to consider them all. But we will simply
+glance at a few scenes, where we can easily perceive what advantages
+man derives from the waters, deep or shallow. In our own country there
+is no more common method of making a living out of the water than by
+fishing with a net.
+
+The men in the picture, when they have hauled their seine to shore,
+will probably find as good a reward for their labor as if they had
+been working on the land instead of in the river; and if it is shad
+for which they are fishing, their profits will probably be greater.
+
+You know that our shad fisheries are very important sources of income
+to a great many people. And the oyster fisheries are still more
+valuable.
+
+When we mention the subject, of making a living out of the water, we
+naturally think first of nets, and hooks and lines. It is true that
+mills, and steamships, and packet-lines, and manufactories, are far
+more important; but they require capital as well as water. Men fish
+all over the world, but on some waters vessels or saw-mills are never
+seen.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The styles of fishing, however, are very various. Here is a company of
+Africans, fishing with javelins or spears.
+
+They build a sort of platform or pier out into the river, and on this
+they stand, with their spears in their hands, and when a fish is seen
+swimming in the water, down comes the sharp-pointed javelin, which
+seldom misses him. Then he is drawn upon the platform by means of the
+cord which is fastened to the spear. A whole family will go out
+fishing in this way, and spend the day on the platform. Some will
+spear the fish, while others will clean them, and prepare them for
+use. One advantage that this party possesses is, that if any of them
+should tumble into the water, they would not get their clothes wet.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But sometimes it will not do for the fisherman to endeavor to draw up
+the treasures of the deep while he remains at the surface of the
+water; very often he must go down after them. In this way a great many
+of the most valuable fisheries are conducted. For instance, the
+sponge-fishers are obliged to dive down to the very bottom of the
+water, and tear off the sponges from the rocks to which they fasten
+themselves. Some of the most valuable sponge-fisheries are on the
+coast of Syria, and you may here see how they carry on their
+operations.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is a very difficult and distressing business to the divers They
+have to remain under the water as long as they can possibly hold their
+breath, and very often they are seriously injured by their exertions
+in this way. But when we use the sponges we never think of this. And
+if we did, what good would it do? All over the world men are to be
+found who are perfectly willing to injure their health, provided they
+are paid for it.
+
+The pearl-fisheries are quite as disastrous in their effects upon the
+divers as those of which we have just been speaking.
+
+The pearl-diver descends by the help of a long rope, to the end of
+which is attached a heavy stone. He stands on the stone, holds the
+rope with one hand and his nose with the other, and quickly sinks to
+the bottom. Then he goes to work, as fast as he can, to fill a net
+which hangs from his neck, with the pearl-oysters. When he can stay
+down no longer, the net and stone are drawn up by the cord, and he
+rises to the surface, often with blood running from his nose and ears.
+But then, those who employ them sometimes get an oyster with as fine
+pearls as this one contains.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It is perfectly possible, however, to dive to the bottom of the sea
+with very valuable results, without undergoing all this terrible
+injury and suffering. In this country and Europe there are men who,
+clad in what is called submarine armor, will go to the bottom of a
+river, or bay, or the sea,--where it is not very deep--and there walk
+about almost as comfortably as if they were on land. Air is supplied
+to them by long pipes, which reach to the surface, and these divers
+have been made very useful in discovering and removing wrecks,
+recovering sunken treasure, and in many other ways.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For instance, you have a picture of some divers at the bottom of the
+port of Marseilles. A box of gold had fallen from a steamship, and the
+next day these two men went down after it. They found it, and it was
+hauled safely to the surface by means of the ropes which they attached
+to it.
+
+You see how strangely they are dressed. An iron helmet, like a great
+iron pot, is over each of their heads, and a reservoir, into which the
+air is pumped, is on their backs. They can see through little windows
+in their masks or helmets, and all they have to do is to walk about
+and attend to their business, for men above supply them with a
+sufficiency of air for all breathing purposes, by means of an air-pump
+and a long flexible tube.
+
+We have not even alluded to many profitable waters; we have said
+nothing about those vast seas where the great whale is found, or of
+the waters where men catch the valuable little sardine.
+
+We have not mentioned corals, nor said anything about those
+cod-fisheries, which are considered of sufficient importance,
+sometimes, to go to war about. But these, with many other subjects of
+the kind, we must leave unnoticed, while we cast our eyes upon some
+_Dangerous Waters_.
+
+We all know that almost any water, if it be a few feet deep, is
+dangerous at certain times and under certain conditions.
+
+The creek, which in its deepest parts is not up to your chin, may be
+the death of you if you venture upon it in winter, when the ice is
+thin, and you break through. Without help, you may be able neither to
+swim out or climb out.
+
+But oceans and seas are the waters where danger may nearly always be
+expected. The sea may be as smooth as glass, the skies bright, and not
+a breath of wind be stirring; or a gentle breeze, just enough to
+ripple the water, may send our vessel slowly before it, and in a few
+hours the winds may be roaring, the waves dashing into the air, and
+the skies dark with storm-clouds.
+
+If we are upon a large and strong steamer, we may perhaps feel safe
+enough among the raging waves; but if our vessel be a fishing-boat, or
+a small pleasure-craft, we have good reason to be afraid Yet many a
+little sloop like this rides bravely and safely through the storms.
+But many other little vessels, as strong and as well steered, go to
+the bottom of the ocean every year. If the sailor escapes severe
+storms, or sails in a vessel which is so stout and ably managed as to
+bid defiance to the angry waves, he has other dangers in his path. He
+may, for instance, meet with icebergs. If the weather is clear and the
+wind favorable, he need not fear these floating mountains of ice. But
+if it be night, or foggy, and he cannot see them, or if, in spite of
+all his endeavors, the wind drives him down upon them, then is his
+vessel lost, and, in all probability, the lives of all upon it.
+Sometimes, however, the passengers and crew may escape in boats, and
+instances have been related where they have taken refuge on the
+iceberg itself, remaining there until rescued by a passing ship.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But, be the weather fair or foul, a ship is generally quick to leave
+the company of so dangerous a neighbor as an iceberg. Sometimes great
+masses of ice take a notion to topple over, and, looking at the matter
+in what light you please, I think that they are not to be trusted.
+
+Then there is the hurricane!
+
+A large ship may bravely dare the dangers of an ordinary storm, but
+nothing that floats on the surface of the water can be safe when a
+whirlwind passes over the sea, driving everything straight before it
+Great ships are tossed about like playthings, and strong masts are
+snapped off as if they had been made of glass.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+If a ship is then near a coast, her crew is seldom able, if the wind
+blows towards the land, to prevent her from being dashed upon the
+rocks; and if she is out upon the open sea, she is often utterly
+disabled and swallowed up by the waves.
+
+I have known boys who thought that it would be perfectly delightful
+to be shipwrecked. They felt certain that they would be cast (very
+gently, no doubt) upon a desert island, and there they would find
+everything that they needed to support life and make them comfortable;
+and what they did not get there they would obtain from the wreck of
+the ship, which would be lying on the rocks, at a convenient distance
+from the shore. And once on that island, they would be their own
+masters, and would not have to go to school or do anything which did
+not please them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is the good old Robinson Crusoe idea, which at one time or
+another runs in the mind of nearly every boy, and many girls, too, I
+expect; but a real shipwreck is never desired the second time by any
+person who has experienced one.
+
+Sometimes, even when the crew think that they have safely battled
+through the storm, and have anchored in a secure place, the waves
+dash upon the vessel with such force that the anchor drags, the masts
+go by the board, and the great ship, with the hundreds of pale faces
+that crowd her deck, is dashed on the great rocks which loom up in the
+distance.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Among other dangers of the ocean are those great tidal waves, which
+often follow or accompany earthquakes, and which are almost as
+disastrous to those living upon the sea-coast as to those in ships.
+Towns have been nearly destroyed by them, hundreds of people drowned,
+and great ships swept upon the land, and left there high and dry. In
+tropical latitudes these tremendous upheavals of the ocean appear to
+be most common, but they are known in all regions which are subject to
+serious shocks of earthquakes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Waterspouts are other terrible enemies of the sailor. These, however
+dangerous they may be when they approach a ship, are not very common,
+and it is said that they may sometimes be entirely dispersed by firing
+a cannon-ball into the midst of the column of water. This statement
+is rather doubtful, for many instances have been related where the
+ball went directly through the water-spout without any effect except
+to scatter the spray in every direction. I have no doubt that sailors
+always keep as far away from water-spouts as they can, and place very
+little reliance on their artillery for their safety.
+
+And now, have you had enough water?
+
+We have seen how the waters of the earth may be enjoyed, how they may
+be made profitable to us, and when we should beware of them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But before we leave them, I wish to show you, at the very end of this
+article, something which is a little curious in its appearance. Let us
+take a step down to the very bottom of the sea; not in those
+comparatively shallow places, where the divers descend to look for
+wrecks and treasure, but in deep Water, miles below the surface. Down
+there, on the very bottom, you will see this strange thing. What do
+you suppose it is?
+
+It is not an animal or a fish, or a stone, or shell. But plants are
+growing upon it, while little animals and fishes are sticking fast to
+it, or swimming around it. It is not very thick--scarcely an inch--and
+we do not see much of it here; but it stretches thousands of miles. It
+reaches from America to Europe, and it is an Atlantic Cable. There is
+nothing in the water more wonderful than that.
+
+
+
+
+HANS, THE HERB-GATHERER.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Many years ago, when people had not quite so much sense as they have
+now, there was a poor widow woman who was sick. I do not know what was
+the matter with her, but she had been confined to her bed for a long
+time.
+
+She had no doctor, for in those days many of the poor people, besides
+having but little money, had little faith in a regular physician. They
+would rather depend upon wonderful herbs and simples, which were
+reported to have a sort of magical power, and they often used to
+resort to charms and secret incantations when they wished to be cured
+of disease.
+
+This widow, whose name was Dame Martha, was a sensible woman, in the
+main, but she knew very little about sickness, and believed that she
+ought to do pretty much as her neighbors told her. And so she followed
+their advice, and got no better.
+
+There was an old man in the neighborhood named Hans, who made it a
+regular business to gather herbs and roots for moral and medical
+purposes. He was very particular as to time and place when he went out
+to collect his remedies, and some things he would not touch unless he
+found them growing in the corner of a churchyard--or perhaps under a
+gallows--and other plants he never gathered unless the moon was in its
+first quarter, and there was a yellow streak in the northwest, about a
+half-hour after sunset. He had some herbs which he said were good for
+chills and fever; others which made children obedient; others which
+caused an old man's gray hair to turn black and his teeth to grow
+again--if he only took it long enough; and he had, besides, remedies
+which would cure chickens that had the pip, horses that kicked, old
+women with the rheumatism, dogs that howled at the moon, boys who
+played truant, and cats that stole milk.
+
+Now, to our enlightened minds it is very evident that this Hans was
+nothing more than an old simpleton; but it is very doubtful if he
+thought so himself, and it is certain that his neighbors did not. They
+resorted to him on all occasions when things went wrong with them,
+whether it was the butter that would not come in their churns, or
+their little babies who had fevers.
+
+Therefore, you may be sure that Dame Martha sent for Hans as soon as
+she was taken ill, and for about a year or so she had been using his
+herbs, making plasters of his roots, putting little shells that he
+brought under her pillow, and powwowing three times a day over bunches
+of dried weeds ornamented with feathers from the tails of yellow hens
+that had died of old age. But all that Hans, could do for her was of
+no manner of use. In vain he went out at night with his lantern, and
+gathered leaves and roots in the most particular way. Whether the moon
+was full or on the wane; whether the tail of the Great Dipper was
+above the steeple of the old church, or whether it had not yet risen
+as high as the roof; whether the bats flew to the east or the west
+when he first saw them; or whether the Jack o'lanterns sailed near the
+ground (when they were carried by a little Jack), or whether they were
+high (when a tall Jack bore them), it made no difference. His herbs
+were powerless, and Dame Martha did not get well.
+
+About half a mile from the widow's cottage there lived a young girl
+named Patsey Moore. She was the daughter of the village Squire, and a
+prettier girl or a better one than Patsey is not often met with. When
+she heard of Dame Martha's illness she sometimes used to stop at the
+cottage on her way to school, and leave with her some nice little
+thing that a sick person might like to eat.
+
+One day in spring, when the fields were full of blossoms and the air
+full of sunshine and delicious odors, Patsey stopped on her way from
+school to gather a bunch of wild-flowers.
+
+They grew so thickly and there were so many different kinds, that she
+soon had a bouquet that was quite fit for a parlor. On her way home
+she stopped at Dame Martha's cottage.
+
+"I am sorry, Dame Martha," said she, "that I have nothing nice for
+you to-day, but I thought perhaps you would like to have some flowers,
+as it's Spring-time and you can't go out."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Indeed, Miss Patsey," said the sick woman, "you could'nt have brought
+me anything that would do my heart more good. It's like hearing the
+birds sing and sittin' under the hedges in the blossoms, to hear you
+talk and to see them flowers."
+
+Patsey was very much pleased, of course, at this, and after that she
+brought Dame Martha a bouquet every day.
+
+And soon the good woman looked for Patsey and her beautiful flowers as
+longingly and eagerly as she looked for the rising of the sun.
+
+Old Hans very seldom came to see her now, and she took no more of his
+medicines. It was of no use, and she had paid him every penny that she
+had to spare, besides a great many other things in the way of little
+odds and ends that lay about the house. But when Patsey stopped in,
+one afternoon, a month or two after she had brought the first bunch of
+flowers, she said to the widow:
+
+"Dame Martha, I believe you are a great deal better."
+
+"Better!" said the good woman, "I'll tell you what it is, Miss Patsey,
+I've been a thinking over the matter a deal for the last week, and
+I've been a-trying my appetite, and a-trying my eyes, and a-trying how
+I could walk about, and work, and sew, and I just tell you what it is,
+Miss Patsey, I'm well!"
+
+And so it was. The widow was well, and nobody could see any reason for
+it, except good Dame Martha herself. She always persisted that it was
+those beautiful bunches of flowers that Patsey had brought her every
+day.
+
+"Oh, Miss Patsey!" she said, "If you'd been a-coming to me with them
+violets and buttercups, instead of old Hans with his nasty bitter
+yarbs, I'd a been off that bed many a day ago. There was nothing but
+darkness, and the shadows of tomb-stones, and the damp smells of the
+lonely bogs about his roots and his leaves. But there was the heavenly
+sunshine in your flowers, Miss Patsey, and I could smell the sweet
+fields, when I looked at them, and hear the hum of the bees!"
+
+It may be that Dame Martha gave a little too much credit to Patsey's
+flowers, but I am not at all sure about it. Certain it is, that the
+daily visits of a bright young girl, with her heart full of kindness
+and sympathy, and her hands full of flowers from the fragrant fields,
+would be far more welcome and of far more advantage to many sick
+chambers than all the old herb-gatherers in the world, with their
+bitter, grave-yard roots, and their rank, evil-smelling plants that
+grow down in the swamps among the frogs and snakes.
+
+Perhaps you know some sick person. Try Patsey's treatment.
+
+
+
+
+SOME CUNNING INSECTS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We hear such wonderful stories about the sense and ingenuity displayed
+by insects, that we are almost led to the belief that some of them
+must have a little reason--at least as much as a few men and women
+that we know.
+
+Of all, these wise insects, there is none with more intelligence and
+cunning than the ant. How many astonishing accounts have we had of
+these little creatures, who in some countries build great houses,
+almost large enough for a man to live in; who have a regular form of
+government, and classes of society--soldiers, workers, gentlemen and
+ladies; and who, as some naturalists have declared, even have handsome
+funerals on the occasion of the death of a queen! It is certain that
+they build, and work, and pursue their various occupations according
+to systems that are wisely conceived and most carefully carried out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Dr. Ebrard, who wrote a book about ants and their habits, tells a
+story of a little black ant who was building an arch at the foundation
+of a new ant-hill. It was necessary to have some means of supporting
+this arch, which was made of wet mud, until the key-stone should be
+put in and all made secure. The ant might have put up a couple of
+props, but this is not their habit in building. Their laws say nothing
+about props. But the arch must be supported, and so Mr. Ant thought
+that it would be a good idea to bend down a tall stalk of wheat which
+grew near the hill, and make it support the arch until it was
+finished. This he did by carrying bits of wet mud up to the end of the
+stalk until he had piled and stuck so much upon it that the heavy top
+bent over. But, as this was not yet low enough, and more mud could not
+be put on the slender stem without danger of breaking it, the ant
+crammed mud in between the stalk at its root and the other stalks, so
+that it was forced over still more. Then he used the lowered end to
+support his arch!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Some other ants once found a cockchafer's wing, which they thought
+would be a capital thing to dry for winter, and they endeavored to get
+it into the entrance of their hill. But it was too big. So they drew
+it out and made the hole larger. Then they tried again, but the wing
+was still too wide. They turned it and made several efforts to get it
+in sideways, and upside down, but it was impossible; so they lifted it
+away, and again enlarged the hole. But the wing would not yet go in.
+Without losing patience, they once more went to work, and, after
+having labored for three hours and a half, they at last had the
+pleasure of seeing their dried wing safely pulled into their
+store-room.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Then, there are spiders. They frequently show the greatest skill and
+cunning in the construction of their webs and the capture of their
+prey, and naturalists say that the spider has a very well developed
+brain. They must certainly have a geometrical talent, or they could
+not arrange their webs with such regularity and scientific accuracy.
+Some spiders will throw their webs across streams that are quite wide.
+
+Now, to do this, they must show themselves to be engineers of no small
+ability. Sometimes they fasten one end of a thread to a twig on one
+side of the stream, and, hanging on the other end, swing over until
+they can land on the other side. But this is not always possible, for
+they cannot, in some places, get a chance for a fair swing. In such a
+case, they often wait until the wind is blowing across the stream
+from the side on which they are, and, weaving a long line, they let it
+out until the wind carries it over the stream, and it catches in the
+bushes or grass on the other side. Of course, after one thread is
+over, the spider can easily run backward and forward on it, and carry
+over all the rest of his lines.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Bees have so much sense that we ought almost to beg their pardon when
+we speak of their instinct. Most of us have read what Huber and others
+have told us of their plans, inventions, laws, and regular habits. It
+is astonishing to read of a bee-supervisor, going the round of the
+cells where the larvæ are lying, to see if each of them has enough
+food. He never stops until he has finished his review, and then he
+makes another circuit, depositing in each cell just enough food--a
+little in this one, a great deal in the next, and so on.
+
+There were once some bees who were very much disturbed by a number of
+great moths who made a practice of coming into their hives and
+stealing their honey. Do what they could, the bees could not drive
+these strong creatures out.
+
+But they soon hit upon a plan to save their honey. They blocked up
+all the doors of the hive with wax, leaving only a little hole, just
+big enough for one bee to enter at a time. Then the moths were
+completely dumbfounded, and gave up the honey business in despair.
+
+But the insect to which the epithet of cunning may be best ascribed,
+is, I think, the flea. If you doubt this, try to catch one. What
+double backsprings he will turn, what fancy dodges he will execute,
+and how, at last, you will have to give up the game and acknowledge
+yourself beaten by this little gymnast!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But fleas have been taught to perform their tricks of strength and
+activity in an orderly and highly proper manner. They have been
+trained to go through military exercises, carrying little sticks for
+guns; to work and pull about small cannon, although the accounts say
+nothing about their firing them off; and, what seems the most
+wonderful of all, two fleas have been harnessed to a little coach
+while another one sat on the box and drove! The whole of this
+wonderful exhibition was so small that a microscope had to be used in
+order to properly observe it.
+
+The last instance of the intelligence of insects which I will give is
+something almost too wonderful to believe, and yet the statement is
+made by a Dr. Lincecum, who studied the habits of the insect in
+question for twelve years, and his investigations were published in
+the _Journal of the Linnæan Society_. Dr. Lincecum says, that in Texas
+there is an ant called by him the Agricultural Ant, which not only
+lays up stores of grain, but prepares the soil for the crop; plants
+the seed (of a certain plant called ant-rice); keeps the ground free
+from weeds; and finally reaps the harvest, and separating the chaff
+from the grain, packs away the latter, and throws the chaff outside of
+the plantation. In "Wood's Bible Animals" you can read a full account
+of this ant, and I think that after hearing of its exploits, we can
+believe almost anything that we hear about the intelligence of
+insects.
+
+
+
+
+A FIRST SIGHT OF THE SEA.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+If you have ever seen the ocean, you will understand what a grand
+thing it is to look for the first time upon its mighty waters,
+stretching away into the distance, and losing themselves in the clouds
+and sky. We know it is thousands of miles over to the other shore, but
+for all that we have a pretty good idea of that shore. We know its
+name, and have read about the people who live there.
+
+But when, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, Vasco Nuñez de
+Balboa stood upon the shore of the Pacific, and gazed over its
+boundless waters, the sight to him was both grand and mysterious. He
+saw that a vast sea lay beneath and before him--but that was all he
+knew. Europeans had not visited it before, and the Indians, who had
+acted as his guides, knew but little about it. If he had desired to
+sail across those vast blue waters, Balboa would have had no idea upon
+what shores he would land or what wonderful countries and continents
+he would discover.
+
+Now-a-days, any school-boy could tell that proud, brave soldier, what
+lay beyond those billows. Supposing little Johnny Green (we all know
+him, don't we?) had been there, how quickly he would have settled
+matters for the Spanish chieftain.
+
+"Ah, Mr. Balboa," Johnny would have said, "you want to know what lies
+off in that direction--straight across? Well, I can tell you, sir. If
+you are standing, as I think you are, on a point of the Isthmus of
+Darien, where you can look directly westward, you may cast your eyes,
+as far as they will go, over a body of water, which, at this point, is
+about eleven thousand miles wide. No wonder you jump, sir, but such is
+the fact. If you were to sail directly west upon this ocean you would
+have a very long passage before you came upon any land at all, and the
+first place which you would reach, if you kept straight on your
+westward course, would be the Mulgrave Islands. But you would have
+passed about seven or eight hundred miles to the southward of the
+Sandwich Islands, which are a very important group, where there is an
+enormous volcano, and where Captain Cook will be killed in about two
+hundred and fifty years. If you then keep on, you will pass among the
+Caroline Islands, which your countrymen will claim some day; and if
+you are not eaten up by the natives, who will no doubt coax you to
+land on some of their islands and will then have you for supper, you
+will at last reach the Philippine Islands, and will probably land, for
+a time, at Mindanao, to get water and things. Then, if you still keep
+on, you will pass to the north of a big island, which is Borneo, and
+will sail right up to the first land to the west, which will be part
+of a continent; or else you will go down around a peninsula, which
+lies directly in your course, and sail upon the other side of it, into
+a great gulf, and land anywhere you please. Do you know where you will
+be then, Mr. Balboa? Don't, eh? Well, sir, you would be just where
+Columbus hoped he would be, when he reached the end of his great
+voyage across the Atlantic--in the Indies! Yes, sir, all among the
+gold, and ivory, and spices, and elephants and other things!
+
+"If you can get any ships here and will start off and steer carefully
+among the islands, you won't find anything in your way until you get
+there. But, it was different with Columbus, you see, sir. He had a
+whole continent blocking up his road to the Indies; but, for my part,
+I'm very glad, for various reasons, that it happened so."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It is probable that if Johnny Green could have delivered this little
+speech, that Vasco Nuñez de Balboa would have been one of the most
+astonished men in the world!
+
+Whether he and his fellow-adventurers would ever have set out to sail
+over those blue waters, in search of the treasures of the East, is
+more than I can say, but it is certain that if he had started off on
+such an expedition, he would have found things pretty much as Johnny
+Green had told him.
+
+
+
+
+THE LARGEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+This is St. Peter's at Rome. Is it possible to look upon such a
+magnificent edifice without acknowledging it as the grandest of all
+churches? There are some others in the world more beautiful, and some
+more architecturally perfect; but there is none so vast, so
+impressive, so grand!
+
+This great building was commenced in 1506, but it was a century and a
+half before it was finished. Among other great architects, Michael
+Angelo assisted in its construction. The building is estimated to have
+cost, simply for its erection, about fifty millions of dollars, and it
+has cost a great deal in addition in later years.
+
+Its dimensions are enormous. You cannot understand what a great
+building it is unless you could see it side by side with some house
+or church with which you are familiar. Several of the largest churches
+in this country could be stood up inside of St. Peter's without
+touching walls or roof, or crowding each other in the least.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There are but three works of man in the whole world which are higher
+than the little knob which you see on the cupola surmounting the great
+dome of St. Peter's. These more lofty buildings are the Great Pyramid
+of Egypt, the Spire of Strasbourg, and the Tower of Amiens. The
+highest of these, the pyramid, is, however, only forty-two feet above
+St. Peter's. The great dome is supported by four pillars, each of
+which is seventy feet thick!
+
+But let us step inside of this great edifice. I think you will be
+there even more impressed with its height and extent than you were
+when you stood on the outside.
+
+Is not here a vast and lofty expanse? But even from this favorable
+point you cannot get a complete view of the interior. In front of you,
+you see in the distance the light striking down from above. There is
+the great dome, and when you walk beneath it you will be amazed at its
+enormous height. There are four great halls like this one directly
+before us, for the church is built in the form of a cross, with the
+dome at the intersection of the arms. There are also openings in
+various directions, which lead into what are called chapels, but which
+are in reality as large as ordinary sized churches.
+
+The pavement of the whole edifice is made of colored marble, and, as
+you see, the interior is heavily decorated with carving and statuary.
+Much of this is bronze and gold.
+
+But if you should mount (and there are stairs by which you may make
+the ascent) into the cupola at the top of the dome, and look down into
+the vast church, and see the people crawling about like little insects
+so far below you, you would perhaps understand better than at any
+other time that it is not at all surprising that this church should be
+one of the wonders of the world.
+
+If we ever go to Europe, we must not fail to see St. Peter's Church at
+Rome.
+
+
+
+
+THE SOFT PLACE.
+
+
+There was once a young Jaguar (he was very intimately related to the
+Panther family, as you may remember), and he sat upon a bit of hard
+rock, and cogitated. The subject of his reflections was very simple
+indeed, for it was nothing more nor less than this--where should he
+get his supper?
+
+He would not have cared so much for his supper, if it had been that he
+had had no dinner, and even this would not have made so much
+difference if he had had his breakfast. But in truth he had eaten
+nothing all day.
+
+During the summer of that year the meat-markets in that section of the
+country were remarkably bad. It was sometimes difficult for a panther
+or a wildcat to find enough food to keep her family at all decently,
+and there were cases of great destitution. In years before there had
+been plenty of deer, wild turkey, raccoons, and all sorts of good
+things, but they were very scarce now. This was not the first time
+that our young Jaguar had gone hungry for a whole day.
+
+While he thus sat, wondering where he should go to get something to
+eat, he fell asleep, and had a dream. And this is what he dreamed.
+
+He dreamed that he saw on the grass beneath the rock where he was
+lying five fat young deer. Three of them were sisters, and the other
+two were cousins. They were discussing the propriety of taking a nap
+on the grass by the river-bank, and one of them had already stretched
+herself out. "Now," thought the Jaguar in his dream, "shall I wait
+until they all go to sleep, and then pounce down softly and kill them
+all, or shall I spring on that one on the ground and make sure of a
+good supper at any rate?" While he was thus deliberating in his mind
+which it would be best for him to do, the oldest cousin cocked up her
+ears as if she heard something, and just as the Jaguar was going to
+make a big spring and get one out of the family before they took to
+their heels, he woke up!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+What a dreadful disappointment! Not a deer, or a sign of one, to be
+seen, and nothing living within a mile. But no! There is something
+moving! It is--yes, it is a big Alligator, lying down there on the
+rocks! After looking for a few minutes with disgust at the ugly
+creature, the Jaguar said to himself, "He must have come on shore
+while I was asleep. But what matters it! An Alligator! Very different
+indeed from five fat young deer! Ah me! I wish he had not that great
+horny skin, and I'd see if I could make a supper off of him. Let me
+see! There is a soft place, as I've been told, about the alligator! If
+I could but manage and get a grip of that, I think that I could settle
+old Mr. Hardskin, in spite of his long teeth. I've a mind and a half
+to try. Yes, I'll do it!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So saying, the Jaguar settled himself down as flat as he could and
+crept a little nearer to the Alligator, and then, with a tremendous
+spring, he threw himself upon him. The Alligator was asleep, but his
+nap came to a very sudden close, you may be sure, and he opened his
+eyes and his mouth both at the same time. But he soon found that he
+would have to bestir himself in a very lively manner, for a strong
+and hungry Jaguar had got hold of him. It had never before entered
+into the Alligator's head that anybody would want to eat him, but he
+did not stop to think about this, but immediately went to work to
+defend himself with all his might. He lashed his great tail around, he
+snapped his mighty jaws at his enemy, and he made the dust fly
+generally. But it all seemed of little use. The Jaguar had fixed his
+teeth in a certain soft place in his chest, under his fore-leg, and
+there he hung on like grim death. The Alligator could not get at him
+with his tail, nor could he turn his head around so as to get a good
+bite.
+
+The Alligator had been in a hard case all his life, but he really
+thought that this surprising conduct of the Jaguar was something worse
+than anything he had ever been called upon to bear.
+
+"Does he really think, I wonder," said the Alligator to himself, "that
+he is going to have me for his supper?"
+
+It certainly looked very much as if Mr. Jaguar had that idea, and as
+if he would be able to carry out his intention, for he was so charmed
+at having discovered the soft place of which he had so often been told
+that he resolved never to let go until his victim was dead; and in the
+midst of the struggle he could not but regret that he had never
+thought of hunting Alligators before.
+
+As it may well be imagined, the Alligator soon began to be very tired
+of this sort of thing. He could do nothing at all to damage his
+antagonist, and the Jaguar hurt him, keeping his teeth jammed into the
+very tenderest spot in his whole body. So he came to the conclusion
+that, if he could do nothing else, he would go home. If the Jaguar
+chose to follow him, he could not help it, of course. So, gradually,
+he pulled himself, Jaguar and all, down to the river, and, as the
+banks sloped quite suddenly at this place, he soon plunged into deep
+water, with his bloodthirsty enemy still hanging fiercely to him.
+
+As soon as he found himself in the water, the Alligator rolled himself
+over and got on top. Then they both sank down, and there was nothing
+seen on the surface of the water but bubbles.
+
+The fight did not last very long after this, but the Jaguar succeeded
+perfectly in his intentions. He found a soft place--in the mud at the
+bottom of the river--and he stayed there.
+
+
+
+
+A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS.
+
+[Illustration: A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS.]
+
+
+Whether dressed in broadcloth, silk, calico, home-spun, or feathers,
+friends are such valuable possessions that we must pay these folks who
+are now announced as much attention as possible. And if we do this and
+in every way endeavor to make them feel comfortable and entirely at
+home, we will soon perceive a very great difference between them and
+many of our friends who dress in coats and frocks. For the more we do
+for our feathered friends, the more they will do for us. Now, you
+can't say that of all the men and women and boys and girls that you
+know. I wish most sincerely that you could.
+
+The first family who calls upon us (and the head of this family makes
+the very earliest calls that I know anything about) are too well known
+to all of us to need the slightest introduction. You will see in an
+instant that you have met them before.
+
+And there is no doubt but that these are among the very best feathered
+friends we have. Those hens are liberal with their eggs, and those
+little chickens that are running around like two-legged puff-balls,
+are so willing to grow up and be broiled and roasted and stewed, that
+it would now be almost impossible for us to do without them. Eggs seem
+to come into use on so many occasions that, if there was to be an
+egg-famine, it would make itself felt in every family in the land. Not
+only would we miss them when boiled, fried, and cooked in omelets for
+breakfast; not only without them would ham seem lonely, puddings and
+sponge-cakes go into decline, and pound-cake utterly die, but the arts
+and manufactures of the whole country would feel the deprivation.
+Merely in the photographic business hundreds of thousands of eggs are
+needed every year, from which to procure the albumen used in the
+preparation of photographic paper.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Do without eggs? Impossible.
+
+And to do without "chicken" for dinner would seem almost as impossible
+for some folks. To be sure, we might live along very comfortably
+without those delightful broils, and roasts, and fricassees, but it
+would be a great pity. And, if we live in the country, there is no
+meat which is so cheap and easily procured all the year round as
+chicken. I wonder what country-people would do, especially in the
+summer time, when they have little other fresh meat, without their
+chickens. Very badly, I imagine.
+
+Next to these good old friends comes the pigeon family. These are very
+intimate with many of us.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Pigeons are in one respect even more closely associated with man than
+the domestic fowls, because they live with him as readily in cities as
+in the country. City chickens always seem out of place, but city
+pigeons are as much at home as anybody else. There are few houses so
+small that there is not room somewhere for a pigeon-box, and there are
+no roofs or yards so humble that the handsomest and proudest "pouters"
+and "tumblers" and "fan-tails" will not willingly come and strut and
+coo about them as long as they receive good treatment and plenty of
+food.
+
+But apart from the pleasure and profit which these beautiful birds
+ordinarily afford to their owners, some of them--the carriers--are
+often of the greatest value, and perform important business that would
+have to be left undone if it were not for them. The late war in France
+has fully proved this. I remember hearing persons say that now, since
+telegraph lines had become so common, they supposed carrier-pigeons
+would no longer be held in esteem, and that the breed would be
+suffered to die out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But that is a mistake. There are times, especially during wars, when
+telegraphic and railroad lines are utterly useless, and then the
+carrier-pigeon remains master of the situation.
+
+The doves are such near relations of the pigeons that we might suppose
+they would resemble them in their character as much as in appearance.
+But they are not very much alike. Doves are not ambitious; they don't
+pout, or tumble, or have fan-tails. As to carrying messages, or doing
+anything to give themselves renown, they never think of it. They are
+content to be affectionate and happy.
+
+And that is a great deal. If they did nothing all their lives but set
+examples to children (and to their parents also, sometimes), the doves
+would be among our most useful little birds.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I suppose we all have some friends whom we are always glad to see,
+even if they are of no particular service to us. And this is right; we
+should not value people's society in exact proportion to what we think
+we can get out of them. Now, the swan is a feathered friend, and a
+good one, but I must say he is of very little practical use to us. But
+there is something more to be desired than victuals, clothes,
+feather-beds, and Easter-eggs. We should love the beautiful as well as
+the useful. Not so much, to be sure, but still very much. The boy or
+man who despises a rose because it is not a cabbage is much more
+nearly related to the cows and hogs than he imagines. If we accustom
+ourselves to look for beauty, and enjoy it, we will find it, after
+awhile, where we never supposed it existed--in the caterpillar, for
+instance, and in the snakes. There is beauty as well as practical
+value in almost everything around us, and we are not the lords of
+creation that we suppose we are, unless we are able to see it.
+
+Now, then, I have preached you a little sermon, with the swans for a
+text. But they are certainly beautiful subjects.
+
+A goose, when it is swimming, is a very handsome bird, and it is most
+admirable when it appears on the table roasted of a delightful brown,
+with a dish of apple-sauce to keep it company. But, for some reason,
+the goose has never been treated with proper consideration. It has for
+hundreds of years, I expect, been considered as a silly bird. But
+there never was a greater mistake. If we looked at the thing in the
+proper light, we would not be at all ashamed to be called a goose. If
+any one were to call you an ostrich, I don't believe you would be very
+angry, but in reality it would be much more of an insult than to call
+you a goose, for an ostrich at times is a very silly bird.
+
+But geese have been known to do as many sensible things as any
+feathered creatures of which we know anything. I am not going to say
+anything about the geese which saved Rome, for we have no record that
+they _intended_ to do anything of the kind; but I will instance the
+case of a goose which belonged to an old blind woman, who lived in
+Germany.
+
+Every Sunday these two friends used to go to church together, the
+goose carefully leading the old woman by her frock.
+
+When they reached the church, the goose would lead his mistress to her
+seat and then go outside and eat grass until the services were over.
+When the people began to come out the goose would go in, and, taking
+the old woman in charge, would lead her home. At other times also he
+was the companion of her walks, and her family knew that old blind
+Grandmother was all right if she had the goose with her when she went
+out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There was another goose, in a town in Scotland, who had a great
+attachment for a young gentleman to whom she belonged. She would
+follow him in his walks about the town, and always testified her
+delight when she saw him start for a ramble.
+
+When he went into a barber's shop to be shaved, she would wait on the
+pavement until he came out; and in many of his visits she accompanied
+him, very decorously remaining outside while her master was enjoying
+the society of his friends.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Ducks, too, have been known to exhibit sociable and friendly traits.
+There is a story told of a drake who once came into a room where a
+young lady was sitting, and approaching her, caught hold of her dress
+with his bill and commenced to pull vigorously at it. The lady was
+very much surprised at this performance, and tried to drive the drake
+away. But he would neither depart or stop tugging at her dress, and
+she soon perceived that he wanted her to do something for him. So she
+rose from her chair, and the drake immediately began to lead her
+towards the door. When he had conducted her out on to the lawn, he
+led her to a little lake near the house, and there she saw what it was
+that troubled Mr. Drake. A duck, very probably his wife, had been
+swimming in the lake, and in poking her head about, she had caught her
+neck in the narrow opening of a sluice-gate and there she was, fast
+and tight. The lady lifted the gate, Mrs. Duck drew out her head and
+went quacking away, while Mr. Drake testified his delight and
+gratitude by flapping his wings and quacking at the top of his voice.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We have also friends among the feathered tribes, who are not quite so
+intimate and sociable as those to which we have already alluded, but
+which still are very well deserving of our friendship and esteem. For
+instance, what charming little companions are the canary-birds! To be
+sure, they would not often stay with us, if we did not confine them in
+cages; but they seem perfectly at home in their little wire houses,
+and sing and twitter with as much glee as if they were flying about in
+the woods of their native land--or rather, of the native land of their
+forefathers, for most of our canary-birds were born in the midst of
+civilization and in cages.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There are some birds, however, no bigger than canaries, which seem to
+have an attachment for their masters and mistresses, and which do not
+need the restraint of a cage. There was once a gold-finch which
+belonged to a gentleman who lived in a town in Picardy, France, but
+who was often obliged to go to Paris, where he also had apartments.
+Whenever he was obliged to go to the great city, his gold-finch would
+fly on ahead of him, and, arriving there some time in advance of the
+carriage, the servants would know that their master was coming, in
+time to have the rooms ready for him. And when the gentleman drove up
+to the door he would generally see his little gold-finch sitting on
+the finger of a cook or a chamber-maid, and twittering away as if he
+was endeavoring to inform the good people of all the incidents of the
+journey.
+
+Some of these little birds, however, which are very friendly and
+comparatively sociable as long as they are not troubled and annoyed,
+are not only able to distinguish their friends from their foes, but
+are very apt to stand up vigorously in defence of their rights. Those
+little sparrows, which hop about so cunningly in the streets of many
+of our cities, understand very well that no one will hurt them, and
+that they may pick up crumbs wherever they can find them. But let a
+few boys get into the habit of throwing sticks and stones at them, and
+the little things will leave that neighborhood as quickly as if the
+rents of all their tiny houses had been raised beyond their means.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Magpies, too, are very companionable in their own way, if they are
+well treated; but if a boy should undertake to steal away with one of
+their nests, when it was full of young ones, he would run a very great
+risk of having his eyes picked out.
+
+There is a feathered friend of ours who keeps himself so secluded, at
+least during the day-time, that he is very apt to escape our notice. I
+refer to the owl.
+
+It may not be supposed, by some, that the owl is a friend of mankind,
+and I am perfectly willing to admit that very often he acts very much
+like an enemy, especially when he kills our young chickens and
+turkeys. But for all that, he has his good points, and very often
+behaves in a commendable manner. If you have a barn or a house that is
+overrun with mice, there is nothing that will be more certain to drive
+them out than an owl. And he will not be so apt to steal your milk or
+kill your canary as many of the cats which you have taken into your
+family without a recommendation.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We once had an owl living in our house. He belonged to my young
+brother, who caught him in a trap, I believe. All day long, this
+solemn little fellow (for he was a small brown one), would sit on the
+back of a chair, or some such convenient place, and if any of us came
+near him, he would turn his head and look at us, although he could not
+see very well in the day-time; and if we walked behind him, or on
+different sides of him, he would always keep his eyes on us, turning
+his head around exactly as if it was set on a pivot.
+
+It was astonishing how easily he could turn his head without moving
+his body. Some folks told us that if we walked around and around him,
+he would turn and turn his head, until he twisted it off, but we never
+tried that.
+
+It was really astonishing how soon the mice found out that there was
+an owl in the house. He had the range of a great part of the house all
+night, and in a very short time he had driven every mouse away. And
+the first time he found a window open, he went away himself. There is
+that objection to owls, as mousers. They are very good so long as they
+will hold the situation, but they are exceedingly apt to leave without
+giving the family any notice. You won't find a cat doing that. The
+trouble with her very often is that she will not go when you give
+_her_ notice to leave.
+
+When we speak of our feathered friends, it is hardly fair to exclude
+all but those which are domesticated with us, or which are willing,
+sometimes, to come and live in our houses. In the country, and very
+often in towns, our homes are surrounded, at certain seasons, by
+beautiful birds, that flutter and twitter about in the trees, and sing
+most charmingly in the bright hours of the early morning, making the
+spring-time and the summer tenfold more delightful than they would be
+without them. These birds ask nothing of us but a few cherries or
+berries now and then, and they pay well for these by picking up the
+worms and grubs from our gardens.
+
+I think that these little warblers and twitterers, who fill the air
+with their songs and frolic about on the trees and bushes, who build
+their nests under our eaves and in any little box that we may put up
+for them, who come regularly back to us every spring, although they
+may have been hundreds of miles away during the cold weather, and who
+have chosen, of their own accord, to live around our houses and to
+sing in our trees and bushes, ought to be called our friends, as much
+as the fowls in our poultry-yards.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+IN A WELL.
+
+
+Perhaps very few of you have ever seen such an old-fashioned well as
+this. No pump, no windlass, no arrangement that you are apt to call at
+all convenient for raising the water. Nothing but that upright stake,
+on top of which moves a long pole, with the bucket hanging from one
+end of it. But the artist does not show in the picture the most
+important part of this arrangement. On the other end of this long pole
+a heavy stone is fastened, and it is easy to see that a bucket of
+water may be raised without much trouble, with the stone bearing down
+the other end of the pole. To be sure, the stone must be raised when
+the bucket is lowered, but that is done by pulling downward on the
+rope, which is not so hard as to haul a rope upward when the
+resistance is equal in both cases. Try it some time, and you will see
+that the weight of your body will count for a great deal in the
+operation. In old Mr. Naylor's yard--he lived in a little town in
+Pennsylvania--there was one of these wells. It had been dug by his
+father, and, as it had answered all his needs from his childhood, Mr.
+Naylor very justly considered it would continue to do so until his
+death, and he would listen to no one who proposed to put up a pump for
+him, or make him a windlass.
+
+One afternoon in the summer-time, Jenny Naylor, his granddaughter, had
+company, and after they had been playing around the orchard for an
+hour or two, and had slid down the straw-stacks to their heart's
+content, the children all went to the well to get a drink. A bucket of
+water was soon hauled up, and Tommy Barrett with a tin-cup ladled out
+the refreshment to the company. When they had all drank enough they
+began to play with the well-pole. Boys and girls will play, you know,
+with things that no grown person would imagine could be tortured into
+means of amusement. In less than five minutes they had invented a
+game. That is, the boys had. I will give the girls the credit of
+standing by and looking on, in a very disapproving manner, while this
+game was going on. The pastime was a very simple one. When the
+stone-end of the pole rested on the ground, on account of the bucket
+being empty, one of the boys stood by the well-curb, and, seizing the
+rope as high up as he could, pulled upon it, the other boys lifting
+the stone-end at the same time. When the stone was a foot or two from
+the ground the boys at that end sat on the pole and endeavored to
+hoist up the fellow at the other end.
+
+A glorious game!
+
+The sport went on very nicely until Tommy Barrett took hold of the
+rope. He was the biggest boy, and the little fellows could not raise
+him. No, it was no use, so they gave it up and jumped off of the pole.
+
+But what was their amazement to see the stone rise in the air, while
+at the same time Tommy Barrett disappeared down the well!
+
+The fact was, Tommy had been trying to "show off" a little before the
+girls, and when he found the boys could not raise him, had stepped on
+the well-curb, and pushing the bucket off, had stood on it, trying, on
+his part, to raise the boys. So, when they jumped off, down he sank.
+The stone was not nearly so heavy as Tommy, but it was weighty enough
+to prevent his going down very fast, and he arrived safely at the
+bottom, where the boys and girls saw him, when they crowded around the
+well, standing up to his arm-pits in water.
+
+"Pull me up, quick!" cried Tommy, who still stood on the bucket, and
+had hold of the rope.
+
+The children did not wait to be asked twice. They seized the rope and
+pulled their very best. But they could not move Tommy one inch. The
+rope hung right down the middle of the well, and as they had to reach
+over a good deal even to touch it, they could get no opportunity of
+exerting their full strength upon it. And it is very well that they
+could not, for had they been able to raise Tommy, it is probable that
+one or two of them would have been jerked down the well every time he
+slipped down again, which he would have been certain to do a great
+many times before he reached the top.
+
+They soon perceived that they could not draw Tommy from the well in
+that way. And the stone-end of the pole was far out of their reach.
+What should they do?
+
+There was no one at the house but the two old people, and they were
+scarcely as strong as the children. They all said a great deal, but
+Jenny Naylor, who was much older than any of the others, saw that
+something must be done instantly, for Tommy was crying out that he was
+nearly frozen to death, and she was afraid that he would let go of the
+rope, slip off of the bucket, and be drowned.
+
+So, without a word to anybody, she ran to the upright stake and began
+to climb it. This was a very unlady-like proceeding, perhaps, but
+Jenny did not think about anything of that kind. She was the oldest
+and the largest of them all, and there was no time to explain matters
+to the boys. Up she went, as actively as any boy, and scrambling to
+the crotch of the stake, she seated herself upon the pole.
+
+Then she began to work herself slowly up towards the stone-end. And as
+she gradually approached the stone, so she gradually began to sink a
+little, and the nearer she got to it the more she sank and the higher
+Tommy Barrett rose in the well!
+
+She and the stone were heavier than he was, and some of the children
+stood, with open mouths, looking at Jenny slowly coming down, while
+the others crowded around the well to see Tommy slowly coming up.
+
+When Jenny had nearly touched the ground, there was Tommy hanging
+above the well!
+
+Half a dozen little hands seized the bucket, and Tommy, as wet as a
+dish-rag, stepped on to the curb.
+
+I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that whenever there is a party of
+children, playing around an open well, that there could be a girl like
+Jenny Naylor with them.
+
+
+
+
+A VEGETABLE GAS MANUFACTORY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+There is a plant, called by botanists the Fraxinella, which has the
+peculiar property of giving out, from its leaves and stalks, a gas
+which is inflammable. Sometimes, on a very still day, when there is
+no wind to blow it away as fast as it is produced, this gas may be
+ignited by a match, when the plant is growing in the open air. But
+this is very seldom the case, for the air must be very quiet, and the
+plant very productive, for enough gas to be found around it to ignite
+when a flame is applied.
+
+But it is perfectly possible, as you may see in the engraving, to
+collect sufficient gas from the Fraxinella to produce combustion
+whenever desired. If the plant is surrounded by a glass case, the gas,
+as fast as produced, is confined in the case, and at last there is so
+much collected in this novel gasometer, that it is only necessary to
+open the case, and apply a match, to see plant-gas burning.
+
+It is not at all probable that the least use in the world could be
+made of this gas, but it is certainly a very pretty experiment to
+collect and ignite it.
+
+There are other plants which have this property of exuding
+illuminating gas in very small quantities, but none, I believe, except
+the Fraxinella, will produce enough of it to allow this experiment to
+be performed.
+
+
+
+
+A FEW WORDS ABOUT BEARS.
+
+[Illustration: A COMPANY OF BEARS.]
+
+
+If you should ever be going up a hill, and should meet such a
+procession as that on the opposite page, coming down, I would
+recommend you to get just as far to one side as you can possibly go.
+Bears, especially when there are so many of them together, are by no
+means pleasant companions in a walk.
+
+But it is likely that you might wander about the world for the rest of
+your lives, and never meet so many bears together as you see in the
+engraving. They are generally solitary animals, and unless you
+happened to fall in with a mother and her cubs, you would not be
+likely to see more than one at a time.
+
+In our own country, in the unsettled parts of many of the States, the
+black bear is still quite common; and I could tell you of places
+where, if you pushed carefully up mountain-paths and through lonely
+forests, you might come upon a fine black bear, sitting at the
+entrance of her cave, with two or three of her young ones playing
+about her.
+
+If it should so happen that the bear neither heard you, saw you, or
+smelt you, you might see this great beast fondling her young ones, and
+licking their fur as gently and tenderly as a cat with her kittens.
+
+If she perceived you at last, and you were at a distance, it is very
+probable that she and her young ones, if they were big enough, would
+all scramble out of sight in a very short time, for the black bears
+are very shy of man if circumstances will permit them to get away
+before he approaches too near to them. But if you are so near as to
+make the old bear-mother fearful for the safety of her children, you
+will find that she will face you in a minute, and if you are not well
+able to take care of yourself, you will wish you had never seen a
+bear.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But, in the western part of our country, especially in the Rocky
+Mountain region, the grizzly bear is found, and he is a very different
+animal from his black relations.
+
+He is the most savage and formidable animal on this continent, and
+very seldom is it that he runs away from a man. He is glad enough to
+get a chance to fight one. He is so large and powerful that he is very
+difficult to kill, and the hunter who has slain a grizzly bear may
+well be proud of the exploit.
+
+Washington Irving tells of a hunter who accidentally fell into a deep
+hole, out in the prairies, and he tumbled right on top of a great
+grizzly bear! How the bear got down there is not stated, and I don't
+suppose the hunter stopped to inquire. A fight immediately commenced
+between these two involuntary companions, and after a long struggle,
+in which the man had an arm and leg broken, and was severely bitten
+and torn besides, he killed the bear.
+
+The hunter had a very hard time after that, but after passing through
+adventures of various kinds, he floated down the Mississippi on a log
+and was taken in at a fort. He recovered, but was maimed for life.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I think it is probable that no other man ever killed a grizzly bear in
+single combat, and I also have my doubts about this one having done
+so. It is very likely that his victim was a black bear.
+
+Few men care to hunt the grizzly bear except on horseback, so that if
+they have to run away, they may have better legs than their own under
+them.
+
+The other great bear of this continent is the white or Polar bear, of
+which we have all heard so much. Up in the regions of ice and snow
+this bear lives just as comfortably as the tiger in the hot jungles of
+Asia, and while he is not quite so savage as the tiger, he is almost
+as hard to kill. But, in speaking of his disposition, I have no
+intention whatever to give him a character for amiability. In fact, he
+is very ferocious at times. He has often been known to attack parties
+of men, and when wounded can make a most soul-stirring defence.
+
+The Polar bear is a big fellow, with long white hair, and he lives on
+seals and fish, and almost anything he can pick up. Sometimes he takes
+a fancy to have a man or two for his supper, as the following story
+will prove.
+
+A ship, returning from Nova Zembla, anchored near an island in the
+Arctic Ocean, and two of the sailors went on land. They were standing
+on the shore, talking to each other, when one of them cried out, "Stop
+squeezing me!"
+
+The other one looked around, and there was a white bear, very large
+but very lean and scraggy, which had sneaked up behind the sailors,
+and now had clutched one of them, whom he very speedily killed and
+commenced to eat, while the other sailor ran away.
+
+The whole crew of the ship now landed, and came after the bear,
+endeavoring to drive him away from the body of their comrade; but as
+they approached him, he quietly looked at them for a minute, and then
+jumped right into the middle of the crowd, seized another man, and
+killed him. Upon this, the crew ran away as fast as they could, and
+scuttling into their boats, rowed away to the ship.
+
+There were three of these sailors, however, who were too brave to
+stay there and see a bear devouring the bodies of their friends, and
+they returned to the island.
+
+The bear did not move as they approached him, and they fired on him,
+without seeming to injure him in the least. At length one of them
+stepped up quite close to him, and put a ball into his head just above
+his eye.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But even this did not kill him, although it is probable that it
+lessened his vigor, for he soon began to stagger, and the sailors,
+falling upon him with their swords, were able to put him to death, and
+to rescue the remains of their comrades.
+
+After these stories, I think that we will all agree that when we meet
+a procession of bears, be they black, white, or grizzly, we will be
+very wise to give them the right of way, and to endeavor to drive from
+our minds, as far as possible, such ideas of the animals as we may
+have derived from those individuals which we have seen in rural
+menageries, nimbly climbing poles, or sedately drinking soda-water.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+AN OLD COUNTRY-HOUSE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Here is a picture of a handsome summer residence. It apparently
+belongs to a rich man, and a man of taste. The house is large and
+commodious; the grounds are well laid out; there is a garden,
+evidently a fine one, close at hand; there is shade, water, fruit,
+flowers, and apparently everything that a country-house ought to have.
+
+But yet there is a certain something strange and unusual about it.
+
+There are handsome porticos, but they are differently arranged from
+those to which we have been accustomed. Such as those in front we have
+often seen; but the upper one, which appears to go nearly around the
+house, with short pillars on the sides, is different from anything
+that we see in our country neighborhoods. Those long pillars at the
+rear of the house seem very peculiar. We have never noticed anything
+like them in such positions. There seems to be scarcely any portico at
+the back, and those slim pillars are certainly useless, and, to our
+eyes, not very ornamental. The windows, too, are remarkable. They are
+not only very small, but they are wider at the bottom than the top--a
+strange idea of the architect to make them in that way. The upper
+story of the house does not appear to have any windows at all, but we
+suppose that they must be in the back and front, or the artist may
+have accidentally left them out. Even if that floor was used for
+lumber-rooms, there ought to be windows.
+
+The garden has a very high wall for a private estate. It is evident
+that there must be great fear of thieves in that neighborhood.
+
+But it is no wonder that some things about this house and its grounds
+strike us as peculiar, for it was built more than three thousand years
+ago.
+
+It was the country residence of an Egyptian gentleman, and was, no
+doubt, replete with all the modern conveniences of the period. Even in
+the present day he might consider himself a very fortunate man who had
+so good a house and grounds as these. If the windows were made a
+little larger, a few changes effected in the interior of the
+establishment, and some chimneys and fire-places built, none of our
+rich men need be ashamed of such a house.
+
+But, handsome as it is, it is not probable that this house cost the
+Egyptian gentleman very much.
+
+It is very likely, indeed, that it was built, under the supervision of
+an architect, by his own slaves, and that the materials came from his
+own estates. But he may, of course, have spent large sums on its
+decoration and furniture, and it is very probable, judging from the
+outside of his house, that he did so. Some of those old Egyptians
+were most luxurious fellows.
+
+If you wish to see how his slaves worked while they were building his
+house, just examine this picture.
+
+To be sure, it is a temple which these men are building, but the
+bricklayers, hod-carriers, etc., worked in the same way when they were
+putting up a private house.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These poor men whom you see toiling here were probably not born
+slaves, and it is very likely that many of them are equal in birth and
+education to those who own them.
+
+A great proportion of them are captives taken in war, and condemned
+for the rest of their lives to labor for their victorious enemies
+That will be a vast temple which they are building. Look at the
+foundations--what enormously thick walls! It is probable that several
+generations of slaves will labor upon that temple before it is
+finished.
+
+They do not work exactly as we do in the present day. The hod-carrier,
+who is bringing bricks from the background, has a very good way of
+carrying them; but those who are bearing a pile of bricks between them
+seem to make a very awkward business of it. And the man who is
+carrying mortar on his shoulder, as he ascends the ladder, might very
+profitably take a lesson from some of our Irish hod-carriers. An
+earthen pot with a round bottom is certainly a poor thing in which to
+carry mortar up a ladder.
+
+The man who is apparently squaring a stone, and the one who is
+smoothing or trimming off some bricks, are using very peculiar
+chopping tools. But they may have answered their purpose very well. At
+any rate, most magnificent edifices were built by the men who used
+them, although it is probable that the poor fellows progressed very
+slowly with their work.
+
+It may be, when three thousand years more have elapsed, that our
+country-houses and our methods of building may appear as strange as
+this mansion of the Egyptian gentleman, and the customs of the
+Egyptian bricklayers, seem to us.
+
+But then we shall be the ancient Americans, and it will make no sort
+of difference to us what the future moderns say about us.
+
+
+
+
+FAR-AWAY FORESTS.
+
+[Illustration: PINE FOREST.]
+
+
+I have no doubt that you all like to wander in the woods, but suppose
+we ramble for an hour or two in forests so far away that it is
+probable none of you have ever seen them.
+
+Let us first enter a pine forest.
+
+We have plenty of pines in our own country, and it is probable that
+most of you have walked in the pine woods, on many a summer's day,
+when the soft carpet of "needles," or "pine-shatters," as some people
+call them, was so pleasant to the feet, the aromatic perfume of the
+leaves and trees was so delicious, and everything was so quiet and
+solemn.
+
+But here is a pine forest in the Eastern hemisphere.
+
+These woods are vast and lonely. The ground is torn up by torrents,
+for it is a mountainous district, and the branches have been torn and
+broken by many a storm. It is not a pleasant place for those who love
+cheerful scenery, and moreover, it is not so safe to ramble here as in
+our own woods at home. Companies of bandits inhabit many of these
+forests, especially those that stretch over the mountainous portions
+of Italy. It seems strange that in this enlightened era and in one of
+the civilized countries of Europe, bandits should still exist to
+terrify the traveller; but so it is.
+
+Let us get out of this pine forest, so gloomy and perhaps so
+dangerous.
+
+Here, now, is a very different place. This is a forest in the tropics.
+You will not be likely to meet with bandits here. In fact, it is very
+improbable indeed that you will meet with any one. There are vast
+portions of these woods which have never been trodden by the foot of
+man, and which you can never see unless you cut your way, hatchet in
+hand, among the thick undergrowth and the interlacing vines.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Here are ferns as large as trees--great masses of flowers that seem as
+if a whole garden had been emptied down before us--vast wildernesses
+of green, which we know extend for miles and miles, and which,
+although apparently so thick and impenetrable, are full of all kinds
+of life, vegetable and animal. The trees are enormous, but many of
+them are so covered with vines and creepers that we can scarcely
+distinguish the massive trunks and luxuriant foliage. Every color is
+here, rich green, royal purple, red, yellow, lilac, brown, and gray.
+The vines, which overrun everything, are filled with gorgeous flowers,
+and hang from the branches in the most graceful forms. Monkeys chatter
+among the trees, beautiful parrots fly from limb to limb, butterflies
+of the most gorgeous hues flutter about the grass-tops and the leaves
+near the ground, and on every log and trunk are myriads of insects,
+lizards and little living things of endless varieties, all strange and
+wonderful to us.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+In some parts of this interminable forest, where the light breaks
+through the foliage, we see suspended from the trees the wonderful
+air-plants or orchids. They seem like hanging-baskets of flowers, and
+are far more beautiful and luxuriant than anything of the kind that we
+have in our hothouses at home.
+
+But we shall not find it easy to walk through all these beauties. As I
+said before, we shall often be obliged to cut a path with our
+hatchets, and even then we may be unable to penetrate very far into
+this jungle of beauties. The natives of these countries, when they are
+compelled to pass through these dense forests, often take to the
+small streams and wade along in the water, which is sometimes up to
+their shoulders, occasionally finding shallower places, or a little
+space on the banks where they can pick their way along for a few
+hundred yards before they are obliged to take to the stream again.
+
+[Illustration: GIANT TREES OF CALIFORNIA.]
+
+Everything is lovely and luxuriant here, but it will not do to stay
+too long. There are fevers and snakes.
+
+Let us now go to the greatest woods in the whole world. I do not mean
+the most extensive forest, but that one where the trees are the
+grandest. This is the region where the giant trees of California grow.
+
+Nowhere on the face of the earth are there such trees as these. Some
+of them stand over four hundred feet high, and are thirty feet in
+diameter!
+
+Their age is believed to be about eighteen hundred years. Think of it!
+They have been growing there during the whole of the Christian era!
+
+One of them, the very largest of all, has been lying on the ground for
+about one hundred and fifty years. When it was standing its diameter
+was about forty feet.
+
+Another trunk, which is lying on the ground, has been hollowed out by
+fire, and through this great bore or tube a whole company of horsemen
+has ridden.
+
+One of these trees was cut down some years ago by a party of men, who,
+I think, should have been sent to prison for the deed. It took five
+men twenty-five days to cut it through with augers and saws, and then
+they were obliged to use a great wedge and a battering-ram to make it
+fall.
+
+These are the kings of all trees. After such a grand sight, we will
+not want to see any more trees to-day, and we will leave the forests
+of Far-away and sit and think of them under our humble grape-vines and
+honeysuckles.
+
+
+
+
+BUILDING SHIPS.
+
+[Illustration: BOAT BUILDING.]
+
+
+It is a grand thing to own great ships, and to send them over the
+ocean to distant countries; but I will venture to say that few men
+have derived so much pleasure from their fine vessels, laden with all
+kinds of valuable freight, as many a boy has had in the possession of
+a little schooner, which would be overloaded with a quart of
+chestnuts. And it is not only in the ownership of these little crafts
+that boys delight; they enjoy the building of them quite as much.
+
+And a boy who can build a good ship is not to be laughed at by any
+mechanic or architect, no matter how tall or how old he may be.
+
+The young ship-builder who understands his trade, when he is about to
+put a vessel on the stocks--to speak technically--first makes up his
+mind whether it is to be a ship, a schooner, a sloop, or merely a
+sail-boat, and determines its size. Then he selects a good piece of
+solid, but light wood, which will be large enough for the hull. Pine
+is generally used; but if he can get a piece of well-seasoned white
+willow, he will find it to work very easily. Then he shapes his hull
+with knife and saw, according to the best of his ability. On this
+process the success of the whole undertaking depends. If the bottom is
+not cut perfectly true on both sides, if the bow is not shapely and
+even, if the stern is not rounded off and cut up in the orthodox
+fashion, his ship will never sail well, no matter how admirably he may
+execute the rest of his work. If there is a ship or boat builder's
+establishment anywhere within reasonable walking distance, it will
+well pay our young shipwright to go there, and study the forms of
+hulls. Even if he should never build a ship, he ought to know how they
+look out of the water.
+
+When the hull is properly shaped it must be hollowed out. This is
+done by means of a "gouge," or chisel with a curved edge. A small
+vessel can be hollowed by means of a knife or ordinary chisel, but it
+is best to have a "gouge," if there is much wood to be taken out. When
+he has made the interior of his vessel as deep and wide as he thinks
+proper, he will put a deck on it, if it is a ship or a schooner; but
+if it is a sail-boat or sloop, he will probably only put in seats (or
+"thwarts," as the sailors call them), or else half-deck it.
+
+Then comes the most interesting part of the work--the rigging. First
+the masts, which must be light and tapering, and standing back at a
+slight angle, are set up, and the booms and yards are attached. A
+great deal of ingenuity can be displayed: in making the booms work
+well on the masts. The bowsprit is a simple matter, and the stays, or
+ropes which support and strengthen the masts, are very easily
+attached, as they are stationary affairs. But the working-tackle and
+the sails will show whether our young friend has a genius for
+boat-building or not. If his vessel has but a single mast, and he
+merely makes a mainsail and a jib, he will not have much trouble; but
+if he intends to fit out a schooner, a brig, or a ship, with sails
+that will work (and where is the boy with soul so dead as to have any
+other kind?), he will find that he will have a difficult job before
+him. But if he tries hard, and examines the construction and working
+of sails in real ships, he will also find that he can do it.
+
+If the vessel is a fine one, she ought to be painted (this, of course,
+to be done before the sails are finally fastened to the booms and
+yards), and her name should be tastefully painted on her stern, where
+of course, a rudder, carefully working on little hooks, is already
+hung.
+
+It will be very difficult to tell when the ship will be actually
+finished. There will always be a great deal to do after you think all
+is done. Flags must be made, and little halyards running nicely
+through little pulleys or rings; ballast must be provided and
+adjusted; conveniences for storing away freight, if the ship is large
+and voyages are contemplated, must be provided; a crew; perhaps a
+little cannon for salutes; an anchor and windlass, and I am sure I
+cannot tell you what else besides, will be thought of before the ship
+is done.
+
+But it will be done some time, and then comes the happy hour!
+
+If the owner is fortunate enough to live near a pond or a brook, so
+that he can send her right across to where his partner stands ready to
+receive her, he is a lucky boy indeed.
+
+What a proud moment, when, with all sails set and her rudder fixed at
+the proper angle, she is launched!
+
+How straight she sits in the water, and how her little streamer begins
+to float in the wind! Now see her sails gradually puff out! She moves
+gently from the shore. Now she bends over a little as the wind fills
+her sails, and she is off! Faster and faster she glides along, her
+cutwater rippling the water in front of her, and her flags fluttering
+bravely in the air; and her delighted owner, with laughing eyes,
+beholds her triumphantly scudding over the surface of the pond!
+
+I tell you what it is, boys, I have built a great many ships, and I
+feel very much like building another.
+
+
+
+
+THE ORANG-OUTANG.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+The Orang-outang and the Chimpanzee approach nearer to man in their
+formation and disposition than any other animals, and yet these Apes
+seldom evince as much apparent sense and good feeling as the dog or
+elephant. They imitate man very often, but they exhibit few inherent
+qualities which should raise them to the level of many of man's brute
+companions.
+
+I do not wish, however, to cast any aspersions on an animal generally
+so good-tempered and agreeable in captivity as the Orang-outang. What
+he might become, after his family had been for several generations in
+a condition of domestic servitude, I cannot tell. He might then even
+surpass the dog in his attachment to man and his general intelligence.
+
+At all events, the Orang-outang has a certain sense of humor which is
+not possessed by animals in general. He is very fond of imitating
+people, and sometimes acts in the most grotesque and amusing way, but,
+like many human wits of whom we read, his manner is always very
+solemn, even when performing his funniest feats.
+
+An old gentleman once went to see a very large and fine Orang-outang,
+and was very much surprised when the animal approached him, and taking
+his hat and his cane from him, put on the hat, and, with the cane in
+his hand, began to walk up and down the room, imitating, as nearly as
+possible, the gait and figure of his venerable visitor.
+
+There was another Orang-outang, who belonged to a missionary, who
+performed a trick even more amusing than this. His master was
+preaching one Sunday to his congregation, when Mr. Orang-outang,
+having escaped from the room where he had been shut up, slipped very
+quietly into the church, and climbed up on the top of the organ, just
+over the pulpit, where his master was delivering his sermon. After
+looking about him for a minute or two, the ape commenced to imitate
+the preacher, making all his gestures and motions. Of course the
+people began to smile when they saw this, and the minister, thinking
+that they were behaving very improperly, rebuked them for their
+inattention, and preached away more earnestly than before. The
+Orang-outang, of course, followed his example, and commenced to
+gesticulate so earnestly and powerfully that the congregation burst
+into laughter, and pointed out the irreverent ape.
+
+When he turned and saw the performance of his imitator, the preacher
+could not help laughing himself, and the Orang-outang, after a good
+deal of time had been spent in catching him, was put out of church,
+and the services went on as usual.
+
+Nobody likes to be made an object of ridicule, and it is probable that
+this disposition of making fun of people, which seems so natural to
+the Orang-outang, would prevent his becoming a domesticated member of
+our families, no matter how useful and susceptible of training he
+might prove to be.
+
+Nearly all of us have some comical peculiarity, and we would not want
+an animal in the house who would be sure, at some time, to expose us
+to laughter by his imitative powers.
+
+So I am afraid that the Orang-outangs, intelligent as they are, will
+have to stay in the woods.
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE BRIDGET'S BATH.
+
+
+Little Bridget was a good girl and a pretty one, but she had ideas of
+her own. She liked to study her lessons, to mind her mother, and to
+behave herself as a little girl should, but she did despise to be
+washed. There was something about the very smell of soap and the touch
+of water which made her shrink and shiver, and she would rather have
+seen the doctor come to her with a teaspoonful of medicine than to
+have her Aunt Ann approach with a bowlful of water, a towel, and a
+great piece of soap.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For a long time little Bridget believed that there was no escape from
+this terrible daily trial, but one bright morning, when she awoke very
+early, long before any one else in the house, she thought that it was
+too bad, when everything else was so happy,--when the birds and
+butterflies were flying about so gayly in the early sunbeams, and the
+flowers were all so gay and bright, and smelling so sweet and
+contented, that she should have to lie there on her little bed until
+her Aunt Ann came with that horrible soap and towel! She made up her
+mind! She wouldn't stand it; she would run away before she came to
+wash her. For one morning she would be happy.
+
+So up she jumped, and without stopping to dress herself, ran out among
+the birds and flowers.
+
+She rambled along by the brook, where the sand felt so nice and soft
+to her bare feet; she wandered through the woods, where she found
+blackberries and wild strawberries, and beautiful ferns; and she
+wandered on and on, among the rocks and the trees, and over the grass
+and the flowers, until she sat down by a great tree to rest. Then,
+without intending anything of the kind, she went fast asleep.
+
+She had not slept more than five minutes, before along came a troop of
+fairies, and you may be assured that they were astonished enough to
+see a little girl lying fast asleep on the grass, at that time in the
+morning.
+
+"Well, I never!" said the largest fairy, who was the Principal One.
+
+"Nor I," said the Next Biggest; "It's little Bridget, and with such a
+dirty face! Just look! She has been eating blackberries and
+strawberries--and raspberries too, for all I know; for you remember,
+brother, that a face dirtied with raspberries is very much like one
+dirtied with strawberries."
+
+"Very like, indeed, brother," said the Principal One, "and look at her
+feet! She's been walking in the wet sand!"
+
+"And her hands!" cried the Very Least, "what hands! They're all
+smeared over with mixtures of things."
+
+"Well," said the Next Biggest, "she is certainly a dirty little girl,
+but what's to be done?"
+
+"Done?" said the Principal One. "There is only one thing to be done,
+and that is to wash her. There can be no doubt about that."
+
+All the fairies agreed that nothing could be more sensible than to
+wash little Bridget, and so they gathered around her, and, with all
+gentleness, some of them lifted her up and carried her down towards
+the brook, while the others danced about her, and jumped over her, and
+hung on to long fern leaves, and scrambled among the bushes, and were
+as merry as a boxful of crickets.
+
+When they approached the brook, one of the fairies jumped in to see if
+the water was warm enough, and the Principal One and the Next Biggest
+held a consultation, as to how little Bridget should be washed.
+
+"Shall we just souse her in?" said the Next Biggest.
+
+"I hardly think so," said the Principal One. "She may not be used to
+that sort of thing, and she might take cold. It will be best just to
+lay her down on the bank and wash her there."
+
+So little Bridget, who had never opened her eyes all this time (and no
+wonder, for you will find, if you are ever carried by fairies while
+you are asleep, that they will bear you along so gently that you will
+never know it), was brought to the brook and laid softly down by the
+water's edge.
+
+Then all the fairies set to work in good earnest. Some dipped clover
+blossoms in the water, and washed and rubbed her mouth and cheeks
+until there was not a sign left of strawberry or blackberry stain;
+others gathered fern leaves and soft grass, and washed her little feet
+until they were as white as lambs' wool; and the Very Least, who had
+been the one to carry her hand, now washed it with ever so many
+morning-glory-blossom-fuls of water and rubbed it dry with soft clean
+moss.
+
+Other fairies curled her hair around flower stalks, while some
+scattered sweet smelling blossoms about her, until there was never
+such a sweet, clean, and fragrant little girl in the whole world.
+
+And all this time she never opened her eyes. But no wonder, for if you
+are ever washed by fairies while you are asleep, you will find that
+you will never know it.
+
+When all was done, and not a speck of dirt was to be seen anywhere on
+little Bridget, the fairies took her gently up and carried her to her
+mother's house, for they knew very well where she lived. There they
+laid her down on the doorstep, where it was both warm and shady, and
+they all scampered away as fast as their funny little legs could carry
+them.
+
+It was now about the right time in the morning to get up, and very
+soon the front door opened and out came Aunt Ann, with a bucket on her
+arm, which she was going to fill at the well for the purpose of giving
+little Bridget her morning wash.
+
+When Aunt Ann saw the little girl lying on the door step she was so
+astonished that she came very near dropping the bucket.
+
+"Well, I never!" said she, "if it isn't little Bridget, and just as
+clean as a new pin! I do declare I believe the sweet innocent has
+jumped out of bed early, and gone and washed and combed herself, just
+to save me the trouble!"
+
+Aunt Ann's voice was nothing like so soft and gentle as a fairy's, and
+it woke up little Bridget.
+
+"You lovely dear!" cried her Aunt, "I hadn't the least idea in the
+world that you were such a smart little thing, and there is no doubt
+but that you are now old enough to wash and dress yourself, and after
+this you may do it!"
+
+So, after that, Bridget washed and dressed herself, and was just as
+happy as the birds, the butterflies, and flowers.
+
+
+
+
+SOME NOVEL FISHING.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Fishing has one great peculiarity which makes it often vastly more
+interesting than hunting, gunning, or many other sports of the kind,
+and that is that you never know exactly what you are going to get.
+
+If we fish in waters known to us, we may be pretty sure of what we
+shall _not_ get, but even in our most familiar creeks and rivers, who
+can say that the fish which is tugging at our line is certainly a
+perch, a cat-fish, or an eel? We know that we shall not pull up a shad
+or a salmon, but there is always a chance for some of those great
+prizes which are to be found, by rare good luck, in every river and
+good-sized stream; a rock-fish, or striped-bass perhaps, or a pike, or
+enormous chub.
+
+But there are some fish which would not only gratify but astonish
+most of us, if we could be so fortunate as to pull them out of the
+water. For instance, here are some fish with both their eyes on one
+side of their heads.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These are Turbots, and are accounted most excellent eating. They
+resemble, in their conformation but not in their color, our flounders
+or flat-fish, which some of you may have caught, and many of you have
+eaten. These fish lie on one side, at the very bottom of the water in
+which they live, and consequently one eye would be buried in the mud
+and would be of no use, if they were formed like common fish. But as
+their enemies and their food must come from above them, they need both
+their eyes placed so that they can always look upwards. In the picture
+at the head of this article, you will see some Soles lying together
+at the bottom. These are formed in the same way. They are white on one
+side, which is always down except when they are swimming about, and a
+very dark green on the other, so that they can scarcely be
+distinguished from the mud when they are lying at the bottom. The
+Turbot, however, as you see, is very handsomely spotted.
+
+But there are much stranger fish than these flat fellows, and we must
+take a look at some of them. What would you say if you were to pull up
+such a fish as this on your hook?
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is a _Hippocampus_, or sea-horse. He is a little fellow, only a
+few inches in length, but he is certainly a curiosity. With a head and
+neck very much like those of a horse, he seems to take pleasure in
+keeping himself in such a position as will enable him to imitate a
+high mettled charger to the greatest advantage. He curves his neck and
+holds up his head in a manner which few horses adopt, unless they are
+reined up very tightly. I have seen these little fellows in aquariums,
+and have always regarded them as the most interesting of fishes.
+
+But although it is by no means probable that any of us will ever catch
+a sea-horse, we might get even stranger fish upon our hooks. If we had
+a very large hook, a long and strong line, and a tempting bait, it is
+just possible, if we were to go to exactly the right spot, and had
+extraordinary good fortune, that we might catch such a beauty as this.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This fellow you will probably recognize as the Cuttle-fish. Some
+persons call it the Devil-fish, but the name is misapplied. The
+Devil-fish is a different kind of a sea monster. But the Cuttle-fish
+is bad enough to have the very worst name that could be bestowed upon
+him. Those great arms, which sometimes grow to a length of several
+feet, he uses to wrap around his prey, and they are strong and tough.
+He has two eyes and a little mouth, and is about as pugnacious a fish
+as is to be found anywhere. If I should ever haul a Cuttle-fish into
+my boat, I think I should feel very much like getting out, no matter
+how deep the water might be.
+
+There was once a sea captain, who was walking on a beach with some of
+his men, when he spied one of these Cuttle-fish, travelling over the
+sand towards the water. He thought it would be a fine thing to capture
+such a strange fish, and he ran after it, and caught hold of one of
+its legs. But he soon wished that it had got away from him, for the
+horrid creature turned on him, and wrapped several of its long arms or
+legs--whichever they may be--around him, and the poor captain soon
+began to fear that he himself would not be able to escape.
+
+Nothing that he could do would loosen the hold of the monster upon
+him, and if it had not been for a sailor who ran up with a hatchet and
+cut the limbs of the Cuttle-fish from its body, the poor captain might
+have perished in the embrace of this most disagreeable of all fishes.
+There are a great many stories told of this fish, and it is very
+probable that all the worst ones are true. Canary birds are very fond
+of pecking at the bones taken from small Cuttle-fish, and India-ink is
+made from a black substance that it secretes, but I would rather do
+without canary birds altogether, and never use India-ink, than to be
+obliged to catch my own Cuttle-fish.
+
+But while we are hauling strange things up from the deep, suppose we
+take something that is not exactly a fish, but which is alive and
+lives in the water. What do you think of a living thing like this?
+
+This is a polypier, and its particular name is the _fungia_ being so
+called because it resembles a vegetable fungus. The animal lives
+inside of that circular shell, which is formed something like the
+under side of a toad-stool. Between the thin plates, or leaves, the
+polypier thrusts out its arms with little suckers at the ends. With
+these it seizes its food and conveys it to its mouth, which is
+situated at the centre of its body.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But there are more strange fish in the sea than we can ever mention,
+and the strange fish are by no means the most profitable. Still there
+is a pleasure in fishing, no matter what we pull up.
+
+The greatest fishers in the world are fish. The Whale will catch, in
+the course of a day, enough herring to last a family for many years,
+and in all the rivers and oceans and lakes, fishing is going on so
+constantly and extensively that the efforts of man in that direction
+seem ridiculous, by contrast.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Tunny, a large fish, measuring from two to five feet in ordinary
+length, is a great fisher. He, like the Whale, is fond of herrings,
+and he likes them fresh, not salt, smoked, or pickled. Often, when the
+fishermen are busy in their boats, setting their nets for herring, a
+troupe of Tunnies will come along, and chase the herring in every
+direction, swallowing every unfortunate fellow that they can catch.
+
+Some of the fishers that live in the sea are terrible fellows, and are
+by no means content with such small game as herring. The Sword-fish,
+for instance, always appears to prefer large victims, and he has such
+strong tastes of that kind, that he has been known to attack ships,
+driving his long sword clean through the bottom of the vessel. But he
+generally comes off second best on such occasions, for his sword is
+very often broken off and left sticking fast in the thick hull.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Sword-fish has a better chance when he attacks a Whale, and this
+he has often been known to do. The Whale could probably kill the
+Sword-fish, if he could get one good crack at him, but the smaller
+fish is generally active enough to keep out of the way of harm, while
+he drives his sword into the Whale again and again, until the great
+creature often perishes from loss of blood.
+
+The Shark, as you all know, is the most ferocious and dangerous of
+all the fishers in the sea. He considers anything suitable for a meal
+which will go into his mouth; he will eagerly snap at a man, a mouse,
+or even a tin coffee-pot, or a band-box. So savage and relentless is
+this "tiger of the sea" as he is sometimes called, that it is
+gratifying to think that he occasionally goes out fishing and gets
+caught himself. Many instances have been related of natives of the
+Pacific Islands, who are accustomed to bathe so much in the ocean that
+they swim almost like fishes themselves, who have successfully given
+battle to Sharks which have pursued them. The Shark is unable, from
+the peculiar formation of his mouth, to seize the man, unless he can
+turn partially over. Therefore the man takes care to keep below the
+Shark, and a few stabs with his long knife are generally sufficient to
+finish the combat, and to slay the monster.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Still, although it appears so easy to kill a Shark in this way, I
+think it will generally be found preferable to try for some other kind
+of fish.
+
+Let others go seek the Shark, the Sword-fish, or the squirming
+Cuttle-fish. Give us the humble Perch and the tender Trout. Don't you
+say so?
+
+
+
+
+EAGLES AND LITTLE GIRLS.
+
+[Illustration: THE CHILD AND THE EAGLE.]
+
+
+Many years ago, among the mountains of Switzerland, an Eagle pounced
+down upon a little girl, and carried her away. Her parents were
+harvesting in the field, and they did not notice the danger of their
+little daughter, until the great bird had lifted her up in his talons,
+and was flying away with her to his nest in the mountain crags.
+
+I remember having read all the particulars of this remarkable affair,
+but I forget whether the child was rescued alive or not. At any rate
+let us hope that she was.
+
+But this incident suggests the following question: Ought little girls
+to be allowed to play out of doors in countries where there are
+Eagles?
+
+Many a child, after looking at such a picture as that upon the
+opposite page, might reasonably stand in awe of the national bird of
+our country; but I will state that it is my firm belief that a child
+runs quite as much risk of being swallowed up by an earthquake as it
+does of being carried away by an Eagle.
+
+There have been a few instances where the bald-headed Eagle of this
+country--(so called, not because its head is bald, but because it is
+gray)--has attacked children, but these cases are very rare indeed.
+The Eagle which carried off the little girl in Switzerland was of a
+very different kind from the national emblem of America,--much more
+powerful and fierce. But even in Switzerland, if the children all
+lived until they were carried away by Eagles, the country would soon
+become like one great school-house yard.
+
+So, looking at the matter in all its various aspects, I think that we
+may reasonably conclude that little girls, when they play out of
+doors, are in more danger from horses, dogs, snakes, and bad company,
+than of being attacked by Eagles, and the children may all look upon
+the picture of the Eagle of the Alps and its baby prey without a
+shudder on their own account.
+
+
+
+
+CLIMBING MOUNTAINS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+There is nothing which can give us grander ideas of Nature than to
+stand on the top of a high Mountain. But it is very hard to get there.
+And yet there are very few Mountains in the world which have not been
+ascended by man.
+
+For hundreds of years, Mont Blanc, that lofty peak of the Alps, was
+considered absolutely inaccessible, but it is now frequently ascended.
+Even ladies, and some of them Americans, have stood upon its summit.
+
+But few persons, except those who have actually made the ascent of
+high and precipitous Mountains, have any idea of the dangers and
+difficulties of the undertaking. The adventurers are obliged to wear
+shoes studded with strong iron spikes to prevent slipping; they carry
+long poles with iron points by which they assist themselves up the
+steep inclines; they are provided with ladders, and very often the
+whole party fasten themselves together with a long rope, so that if
+one slips the others may prevent him from falling.
+
+Where there are steep and lofty precipices, crumbling rocks, and
+overhanging cliffs, such as those which obstruct the path of the party
+whose toilsome journey is illustrated in the accompanying engraving,
+the feat of climbing a Mountain is hazardous and difficult enough; but
+when heights are reached where the rocks are covered with ice, where
+deep clefts are concealed by a treacherous covering of snow where
+avalanches threaten the traveller at every step, and where the
+mountain-side often seems as difficult to climb as a pane of glass,
+the prospect seems as if it ought to appal the stoutest heart.
+
+But some hearts are stouter than we think, and up those icy rocks,
+along the edges of bewildering precipices, over, under, and around
+great masses of rock, across steep glaciers where every footstep must
+be made in a hole cut in the ice, brave men have climbed and crept and
+gradually and painfully worked their way, until at last they stood
+proudly on the summit, and gazed around at the vast expanse of
+mountains, plains, valleys, and forests, spread far and wide beneath
+them.
+
+In Europe there are regular associations or clubs of
+mountain-climbers, which at favorable periods endeavor to make the
+ascent of lofty and difficult Mountains. Nearly every peak of the
+Pyrenees and the Alps has felt the feet of these adventurers, who take
+as much delight in their dangerous pursuits as is generally found by
+the happiest of those who are content with the joys of ordinary
+altitudes.
+
+We have very many grand Mountains in our country, but we have not yet
+reduced their ascent to such a system as that which these Alpine clubs
+have adopted. But very many of our countrymen have climbed to the
+loftiest peaks of the White Mountains, the Catskills, the Alleghenies,
+and the Rocky Mountains.
+
+Mountain-climbing is certainly dangerous, and it is about the hardest
+labor of which man is capable, but the proud satisfaction of standing
+upon a mountain-top repays the climber for all the labor, and makes
+him forget all the dangers that he has passed through.
+
+
+
+
+ANDREW'S PLAN.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+"Oh, Andy!" said little Jenny Murdock, "I'm so glad you came along
+this way. I can't get over."
+
+"Can't get over?" said Andrew; "why, what's the matter?"
+
+"The bridge is gone," said Jenny. "When I came across after breakfast
+it was there, and now it's over on the other side, and how can I get
+back home?"
+
+"Why so it is," said Andrew. "It was all right when I came over a
+little while ago, but Old Donald pulls it on the other side every
+morning after he has driven his cows across, and I don't think he has
+any right to do it. I expect he thinks the bridge was made for him and
+his cows."
+
+"Now I must go down to the big bridge, Andy, and I want you to come
+with me. I'm afraid to go through all those dark woods by myself,"
+said Jenny.
+
+"But I can't go, Jenny," said Andrew; "it's nearly school time now."
+
+Andrew was a Scotch boy, and a fine fellow. He was next to the head of
+his school, and he was as good at play as he was at his books. Jenny
+Patterson, his most particular friend, was a little girl who lived
+very near Andrew's home. She had no brothers or sisters, but Andrew
+had always been as good as a brother to her, and therefore, when she
+stood by the water's edge that morning, just ready to burst into
+tears, she thought all her troubles over when she saw Andrew approach.
+He had always helped her out of her difficulties before, and she saw
+no reason why he should not do it now. She had crossed the creek in
+search of wild flowers, and when she wished to return had found the
+bridge removed, as Andrew supposed, by Old Donald McKenzie, who
+pastured his cows on this side of the creek. This stream was not very
+wide, nor very deep at its edges, but in the centre it was four or
+five feet deep, and in the Spring there was quite a strong current, so
+that wading across it, either by cattle or men, was quite a difficult
+undertaking. As for Jenny, she could not get across at all without a
+bridge, and there was none nearer than the wagon bridge, a mile and a
+half below.
+
+"You will go with me, Andy, won't you?" said the little girl.
+
+"And be late to school?" said he. "I have never been late yet, you
+know, Jenny."
+
+"Perhaps Dominie Black will think you have been sick, or had to mind
+the cows," said Jenny.
+
+"He won't think so unless I tell him," said Andrew, "and you know I
+won't do that."
+
+"If we were to run all the way, would you be too late?" said Jenny.
+
+"If we were to run all the way to the bridge and I was to run all the
+way back, I would not get to school till after copy-time. I expect
+every minute to hear the school-bell ring," said Andrew.
+
+"But what can I do, then?" said poor little Jenny. "I can't wait here
+till school's out, and I don't want to go up to the school-house, for
+all the boys to laugh at me."
+
+"No," said Andrew, reflecting very seriously, "I must take you home
+some way or other. It won't do to leave you here, and no matter where
+you might stay, your mother would be troubled to death about you."
+
+"Yes," said Jenny, "she would think I was drowned."
+
+Time pressed, and Jenny's countenance became more and more overcast,
+but Andrew could think of no way in which he could take the little
+girl home without being late and losing his standing in the school.
+
+It was impossible to get her across the stream at any place nearer
+than the "big bridge;" he would not take her that way and make up a
+false story to account for his lateness at school, and he could not
+leave her alone or take her with him.
+
+What in the world was to be done?
+
+While several absurd and impracticable projects were passing through
+his brain the school-bell began to ring, and he must start immediately
+to reach the school-house in time.
+
+And now his anxiety and perplexity became more intense than ever, and
+Jenny, looking up into his troubled countenance, began to cry.
+
+Andrew, who never before had failed to be at the school door before
+the first tap of the bell, began to despair.
+
+Was there nothing to be done?
+
+Yes! a happy thought passed through his mind. How strange that he
+should not have thought of it before!
+
+He would ask Dominie Black to let him take Jenny home.
+
+What could be more sensible and straightforward than such a plan?
+
+Of course the good old Schoolmaster gave Andrew the desired
+permission, and everything ended happily. But the best thing about the
+whole affair was the lesson that young Scotch boy learned that day.
+
+And the lesson was this: when we are puzzling our brains with plans to
+help ourselves out of our troubles, let us always stop a moment in our
+planning, and try to think if there is not some simple way out of the
+difficulty, which shall be in every respect _perfectly right_. If we
+do that we shall probably find the way, and also find it much more
+satisfactory as well as easier than any of our ingenious and elaborate
+plans.
+
+
+
+
+THE WILD ASS.
+
+[Illustration: WILD ASSES.]
+
+
+If there is any animal in the whole world that receives worse
+treatment or is held in less esteem than the ordinary Jackass, I am
+very sorry for it.
+
+With the exception of a few warm countries, where this animal grows to
+a large size, and is highly valued, the Jackass or Donkey is
+everywhere considered a stupid beast, a lazy beast, an obstinate
+beast, and very often a vicious beast. To liken any one to a Jackass
+is to use very strong language.
+
+In many cases, this character of the Donkey (with the exception of the
+stupidity, for very few Donkeys are stupid, although they try to seem
+so) is correct, but nevertheless it is doubtful if the animal is much
+to blame for it. There is every reason to believe that the dullness
+and laziness of the Donkey is owing entirely to his association with
+man.
+
+For proof of this assertion, we have but to consider the Ass in his
+natural state.
+
+There can be no reasonable doubt but that the domestic Ass is
+descended from the Wild Ass of Asia and Africa, for the two animals
+are so much alike that it would be impossible, by the eye alone, to
+distinguish the one from the other.
+
+But, except in appearance, they differ very much. The tame Ass is
+gentle, and generally fond of the society of man; the wild Ass is one
+of the shyest creatures in the world; even when caught it is almost
+impossible to tame him. The tame Ass is slow, plodding, dull, and
+lazy; the wild Ass is as swift as a race-horse and as wild as a Deer.
+The best mounted horsemen can seldom approach him, and it is generally
+necessary to send a rifle-ball after him, if he is wanted very much.
+His flesh is considered a great delicacy, which is another difference
+between him and the tame animal.
+
+If any of you were by accident to get near enough to a wild Ass to
+observe him closely, you would be very apt to suppose him to be one of
+those long-eared fellows which must be beaten and stoned and punched
+with sticks, if you want to get them into the least bit of a trot, and
+which always want to stop by the roadside, if they see so much as a
+cabbage-leaf or a tempting thistle.
+
+But you would find yourself greatly mistaken and astonished when, as
+soon as this wild creature discovered your presence, he went dashing
+away, bounding over the gullies and brooks, clipping it over the
+rocks, scudding over the plains, and disappearing in the distance like
+a runaway cannon-ball.
+
+And yet if some of these fleet and spirited animals should be
+captured, and they and their descendants for several generations
+should be exposed to all sorts of privations and hardships; worked
+hard as soon as their spirits were broken, fed on mean food and very
+little of it; beaten, kicked, and abused; exposed to cold climates, to
+which their nature does not suit them, and treated in every way as our
+Jackasses are generally treated, they would soon become as slow, poky,
+and dull as any Donkey you ever saw.
+
+If we have nothing else, it is very well to have a good ancestry, and
+no nobleman in Europe is proportionately as well descended as the
+Jackass.
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT RIDING.
+
+
+There are a great many different methods by which we can take a ride.
+When we are very young we are generally very well pleased with what
+most boys and girls call "piggy-back" riding, and when we get older we
+delight in horses and carriages, and some of us even take pleasure in
+the motion of railroad cars.
+
+Other methods are not so pleasant. Persons who have tried it say that
+riding a Camel, a little Donkey, or a rail, is exceedingly
+disagreeable until you are used to it, and there are various other
+styles of progression which are not nearly so comfortable as walking.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There were in ancient times contrivances for riding which are at
+present entirely unknown, except among half-civilized nations, and
+which must have been exceedingly pleasant.
+
+When, for instance, an Egyptian Princess wished to take the air, she
+seated herself in a Palanquin, which was nothing but a comfortable
+chair, with poles at the sides, and her bearers, with the ends of the
+poles upon their shoulders, bore her gently and easily along, while an
+attendant with a threefold fan kept the sun from her face and gently
+fanned her as she rode.
+
+Such a method of riding must have been very agreeable, for the
+shoulders of practised walkers impart to the rider a much more elastic
+and agreeable motion than the best made springs, and, for a well fed,
+lazy Princess nothing could have been more charming than to be borne
+thus beneath the waving palm-trees, and by the banks of the streams
+where the lotus blossomed at the water's edge, and the Ibis sniffed
+the cooling breeze.
+
+But when the father or brother of the Princess wished to ride,
+especially if it happened to be a time of war, he frequently used a
+very different vehicle from an easy-going Palanquin.
+
+He sprang into his war-chariot, and his driver lashed the two fiery
+horses into a gallop, while their master aimed his arrows or hurled
+his javelin at the foe.
+
+Riding in these chariots was not a very great luxury, especially to
+those who were not accustomed to that kind of carriage exercise. There
+were no seats, nor any springs. The riders were obliged to stand up,
+and take all the bumps that stones and roots chose to give them, and
+as they generally drove at full speed, these were doubtless many and
+hard. There was in general no back to these Chariots, and a sudden
+jerk of the horses would shoot the rider out behind, unless he knew
+how to avoid such accidents.
+
+We of the present day would be apt to turn up our noses at these
+ancient conveyances, but there can be no doubt that the Egyptian
+Princesses and warriors derived just as much pleasure from their
+Palanquins and rough-going war-chariots as the ladies of to-day find
+in an easy-rolling barouche, or the gentlemen in a light buggy and a
+fast horse.
+
+
+
+
+BEAUTIFUL BUGS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We are not apt--I am speaking now of mankind in general--to be very
+fond of bugs. There is a certain prejudice against these little
+creatures, which is, in very many cases, entirely unwarranted. The
+fact is that most bugs are harmless, and a great many of them are
+positively beautiful, if we will but take the trouble to look at them
+properly, and consider their wonderful forms and colors. To be sure,
+many insects to which we give the general name of bugs are quite
+destructive in our orchards and gardens, but, for all that, they are
+only eating their natural food, and although we may be very glad to
+get rid of our garden bugs as a body, we can have nothing to say
+against any particular bug. None of them are more to blame than the
+robins and other birds, which eat our cherries and whatever else we
+have that they like, and we never call a robin "horrid" because he
+destroys our fruit. True, the insects exist in such great numbers that
+it is absolutely necessary for us to kill as many of them as possible,
+and it is very fortunate that the robins and black-birds are of so
+much benefit to us that we are glad to let them live.
+
+But all this should not make us despise the bugs any more than they
+deserve, particularly as they are just as beautiful as the birds, if
+we only look at them in the right way. A microscope will reveal
+beauties in some of the commonest insects, which will positively
+astonish those who have never before studied bugs as they ought to be
+studied. The most brilliant colors, the most delicate tracery and
+lace-work over the wings and bodies; often the most graceful forms and
+beautifully-contrived limbs and bodies and wing-cases and antennæ, are
+to be seen in many bugs when they are placed beneath the glasses of
+the microscope.
+
+[Illustration: TRANSFORMATIONS OF BEETLES.]
+
+But there are insects which do not need the aid of magnifying glasses
+to show us their beauties.
+
+Some of the Beetles, especially the large ones, are so gorgeously
+colored and so richly polished that they are imitated, as closely as
+Art can imitate Nature, in precious stones and worn as ornaments.
+
+There are few living things more beautiful than a great Beetle,
+glittering in resplendent green and gold, and the girl (or woman
+either) who will hold one of these in her hand or let it crawl upon
+her arm while she examines its varied colors, shows a capacity for
+perceiving and enjoying the beauties of nature that should be envied
+by those who would dash the pretty creature upon the floor,
+exclaiming, "That horrid bug!"
+
+There are many insects with which we need not desire to be too
+familiar, such as Mosquitoes, Fleas, Wasps, and Bees; but when a "bug"
+is harmless as well as beautiful, there is no reason why we should not
+treat it as a friend. Who is afraid of a Butterfly?
+
+And yet a Butterfly is really just as much a bug as a Beetle is. The
+fact is that the term "bug" is applied with a certain propriety to
+many insects which are not at all pleasant (although the Lightning Bug
+is an exception), and we should therefore be very careful about giving
+what has grown to be a bad name to insects that do not deserve it, and
+should avoid treating such as if they were as ugly and disagreeable as
+the name would seem to imply.
+
+
+
+
+A BATTLE ON STILTS
+
+[Illustration: A BATTLE ON STILTS.]
+
+
+In the year 1748 the great Marshal Saxe, who was travelling through
+the Low Countries, came to the town of Namur in Belgium. There the
+citizens did everything in their power to make his stay pleasant and
+to do him honor, and among other things they got up a battle on
+stilts. These inhabitants of Namur were well used to stilts, for their
+town, which has a river on each side of it, lay very low, and was
+subject to overflows, when the people were obliged to use stilts in
+order to walk about the streets. In this way they became very expert
+in the use of these slim, wooden legs, and to make their stilts
+amusing as well as useful they used to have stilt-battles on all
+holidays and great occasions.
+
+The young men of the town, two or three hundred on each side, would
+then form themselves into opposing armies, and with flags flying and
+trumpets blowing they would advance to the attack.
+
+And they fought hard and well. It was against the rule to use any club
+or similar weapon, or to strike with the fists. Punching with their
+elbows, to push each other down, and kicking with their stilts, to
+knock their opponents' legs from under them, were the methods of
+assault in this kind of warfare.
+
+The battle often lasted for an hour or two, the armies fighting and
+shouting, advancing and retreating; while their wives and sisters
+stood around them, encouraging them by shouts and hand-clapping, and
+when an unfortunate fellow was knocked down, these women would hasten
+to his assistance, and help him up again as soon as he had recovered
+from his fall.
+
+This was pretty rough sport, for the combatants fought as if their
+lives and fortunes depended upon the victory, and although they did
+not often seriously injure one another, there must have been many a
+sore head and bruised leg and arm after the battle was over.
+
+Marshal Saxe knew all about fighting, and on this occasion he
+declared, that if two real armies should engage with as much fury as
+these young fellows on stilts, the battle would be a butchery.
+
+At another time, when the Archduke Albert came to Namur, the citizens
+had one of these stilt-battles, and it proved a very profitable one to
+them. Before the fight began, the governor of the city promised the
+Archduke to show him a battle between two bodies of men, who would be
+neither on horseback nor on foot; and when the engagement was over,
+Albert was so much pleased that he gave the town the privilege of
+being forever exempt from the duties on beer.
+
+As the good folks of Namur were nearly as good at drinking beer as
+they were at walking on stilts, this was a most valuable present for
+them.
+
+Things are different in this country. It is said that in 1859 a man
+walked across the rapids of the Niagara river on stilts, but I never
+heard of any of his taxes being remitted on that account.
+
+
+
+
+DRAWING THE LONG BOW.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+When a man has a bow and arrows as long as those used by some of the
+natives of Brazil, so that he has to lie down on his back, and hold
+the bow with his foot when he shoots, he may well be said to draw a
+long bow, but it is not of these people that I now intend to speak.
+Without describing any particular school of archery, I merely wish to
+give a few instances where "the long bow" has been drawn in words,
+about feats with the bow and arrows.
+
+This expression, "drawing the long bow," does not always mean that a
+falsehood has been told. It often refers to a very wonderful story,
+which may be true enough, but which is so marvellous that it requires
+a firm trust in the veracity of the narrator for us to believe it.
+
+So now let us see what long bows have been drawn about bows and
+arrows.
+
+Such stories commenced long ago. The poet Virgil, in the "Æneid,"
+tells of four archers who were shooting for a prize, the mark being a
+pigeon, tied by a cord to the mast of a ship. The first man struck the
+mast with his arrow, the second cut the cord, and the third shot the
+pigeon while it was flying away. There now being nothing for the
+fourth archer to shoot at, he just drew his bow, and sent his arrow
+flying towards the sky with such velocity that the friction of the air
+set the feathers on fire, and it swept on, like a fiery meteor, until
+it disappeared in the clouds.
+
+It would be very hard, even in this progressive age, to beat that
+story.
+
+The Greeks could tell tall stories, too, of their archers. An
+historian, named Zosimus, tells of a man who shot, at the same time,
+three arrows from the same bow at three different targets, and hit
+them all! It is to be hoped that his histories contained some things
+easier to believe than this.
+
+But as we approach the present age we still find wonderful narrations
+about archers. Robin Hood, for instance, was a great fellow with the
+bow. It is said that on one occasion he shot an arrow so that it fell
+a mile from where he was standing! A long shot, and hard to be
+equalled by the crack rifles of the present day.
+
+Sir Walter Scott, in "Ivanhoe," introduces Robin Hood under the name
+of Locksley, and in a shooting match, when his opponent had planted
+his arrow right in the centre of the bull's-eye, and everybody, of
+course, thought that nothing better than that could be done, Master
+Robin just steps up and lets fly his arrow, driving it into the arrow
+that was sticking in the target, splitting it from end to end!
+
+And then there is that famous story about William Tell. Many persons
+have their doubts about this performance, and either assert that there
+never was such a person as Tell, or that no man could have confidence
+enough in his own skill to shoot at an apple on his son's head. But I
+prefer to believe this good old story, and, in fact, I see no good
+reason to doubt it. There was a Dane, named Foke, of whom the same
+story is told, and an Englishman, named William of Cloudesley, is said
+to have shot an apple from his son's head merely to show his
+expertness.
+
+Most of the stories of bows and arrows relate to the accurate aim of
+the archers, but here is one which shows the tremendous force by which
+an arrow may be propelled, if the bow is strong and long enough. A
+French gentleman named Blaise de Vigenère, says that he _saw_ a Turk,
+named Barbarossa, an admiral of a ship called the Grand Solyman, send
+an arrow from his bow, right through a cannon-ball! He did not state
+whether the cannon-ball had a hole through it, or not.
+
+But I think that the most wonderful, astounding, and altogether
+amazing story about arrow-shooting is told of the Indians who used to
+inhabit Florida. It is stated that these Indians were in the habit of
+assembling, in parties of ten or a dozen, for the purpose of having
+some amusement in archery. They would form themselves into a circle,
+and one of them throwing an ear of maize or Indian corn into the air,
+the rest would shoot at it and would shell it of every grain of corn
+before it fell to the ground. Sometimes, the arrows would strike it so
+hard and fast that it would remain suspended in the air for several
+minutes, and the cob never fell until the very last grain had been
+shot from it!
+
+After such a specimen of the drawing of the long bow as this, it would
+not be well to introduce any feebler illustrations, and so I will keep
+the rest of my anecdotal arrows in my quiver.
+
+
+
+
+AN ANCIENT THEATRE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+I suppose you are all familiar with pictures of the Colosseum at Rome,
+but unless you have carefully studied detailed descriptions of this
+edifice it is impossible for you to properly comprehend the grand
+style in which the ancients amused themselves.
+
+This great theatre, the ruins of which are now standing in Rome, and
+which will probably stand for hundreds of years longer, was built
+nearly eighteen hundred years ago. It is a vast oval building, four
+stories high, and capable of containing ninety thousand spectators!
+
+Seats, one row above the other like steps, were placed around the
+walls, from top to bottom. There was no roof to the building, and if
+the sun was hot, or it rained, the people were obliged to shelter
+themselves as well as they could, although it is probable that the
+seats for the emperors and other great dignitaries were protected by
+awnings. In the centre of the building, down at the foot of the seats,
+was the great amphitheatre where the performances took place. And
+wonderful performances they were. There were sometimes great fights
+between lions, tigers, bulls, and bears; sometimes wild beasts were
+slain by men, and sometimes men were slain by wild beasts. There were
+gladiatorial combats, executions of criminals, and many other kinds of
+cruel and barbarous amusements. When the Colosseum was inaugurated,
+five thousand wild beasts were put to death, and afterwards, at the
+celebration of a great victory, eleven thousand animals perished.
+Under the ground, in two vast basement stories, the beasts were kept
+in cages until they were brought up to destroy human life or to be
+butchered themselves.
+
+For six hundred years these barbarous games were celebrated in the
+Colosseum, but it afterwards became a fortress, and it was used at one
+time for a hospital. When it began to decay, many of the inhabitants
+of Rome carried away portions of its materials to build houses for
+themselves, but such depredations have long been forbidden and now the
+Colosseum stands, useless and ruined, a silent memento of the
+wickedness of man. People are bad enough in our age, but the day is
+past, when ninety thousand men, women, and children could be gathered
+together to see other men, women, and children torn and devoured by
+lions and tigers. Let us hope, that by the time the Colosseum has
+entirely crumbled away, men will no longer meet in thousands to kill
+and mangle each other on the battle-field.
+
+
+
+
+BIRD CHAT.
+
+[Illustration: BIRD CHAT.]
+
+
+In a far-off country, on a summer day, it chanced that two Cormorants
+stood on a great rock, lazily dozing. This rock was by the side of a
+little river that, only a few miles below, flowed into the sea; for
+the Cormorant is a marine bird, and haunts the sea-coast. It was a
+lovely place, although not very far from the habitations of men, and a
+number of cows had laid themselves down in the grassy field that
+surrounded an old ruined temple on the gentle slope of a hill above
+the river. The day had been still and hot, but now a soft breeze was
+stirring the long grasses, and bending the tassels of the reeds
+gracefully over the water, and the scent of flowers came floating down
+from the vines clambering over the old ruin, and the hum of insects
+filled the air.
+
+But I do not think the Cormorants noticed any of these things. Their
+long necks were folded so that their heads nearly rested on their
+backs, for, as I said before, they were dozing. The truth is, these
+birds had eaten so much they had made themselves perfectly stupid,
+which is a bad way the Cormorant has, as, no doubt, you know; for it
+has probably happened to you some time in your life to have indulged
+yourself so freely in eating something that you liked that you have
+been scornfully called "a little Cormorant!"
+
+But this state of insensibility was passing away, and they were now in
+a gentle doze, and sleeping, thinking of the company they were to
+entertain. For these Cormorants had come to this spot to meet their
+cousin the Pelican to consult with him on some family matters. Upon
+their first arrival at the place they had set to work to get together
+a good supply of fish, for this is the only food of both the Cormorant
+and the Pelican. In a short time they landed a great number, and
+bestowed them in a safe place, and then they set to work catching
+fish for themselves and eating them greedily.
+
+You might suppose such a lazy-looking bird would find it impossible to
+catch anything so active as fish. But you should see it when it is
+fully awake and hungry. The bird darts through the water with a speed
+greater than that of the fishes. Its wings can be closed so tightly
+that they do not hinder its progress, and the tail serves for a
+rudder, while the broadly-webbed feet act as paddles. Its long,
+snake-like neck gives it the power of darting its beak with great
+rapidity, and the hook at the end of the beak prevents the prey from
+escaping. The bird is also a diver, and can stay a long time under
+water.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Our two Cormorants opened their eyes when they heard a slight
+splashing in the water. Something was about to invade their retreat.
+They had not long to wait. Slowly into the stream waded a Bittern.
+Seeing the Cormorants there he stopped; and, drawing himself up into
+as small a compass as possible, he sunk his head in his shoulders, and
+nothing could be seen of his long neck, while his bill was thrust up
+in the air as if he cared nothing for his neighbors or their affairs.
+The Cormorants heartily wished he would go away, and they kept their
+eyes open and watched him, for fear he would spy the fish they had
+carefully hidden in the wet grass, for the Bittern also lives on fish.
+So the Cormorants winked and blinked, and thought how different the
+Bittern looked when on the alert for his prey, or calling his mate.
+
+Many a time had they been roused out of their sleep by the terrible
+night-cry of the Bittern--a fearful sound, something between the
+neighing of a horse, the bellow of a bull, and a shriek of savage
+laughter, and so loud and deep it seemed to shake the marshy ground.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Soon there appeared hovering over them a snowy cloud. As it floated
+nearer it proved to be a magnificent Pelican with its gigantic wings
+outspread. It alighted near the Cormorants, at the foot of a little
+grassy hill. It was an old male bird, very wise and very cunning. He
+greeted his cousin Cormorants cordially, but, ruffling up the crest of
+curled feathers on his head, and shaking his half-folded wings
+angrily, he looked askance at the Bittern.
+
+Now the Bittern is a very unsocial bird, and as he took not the least
+notice of the new comer, the Pelican could not pick a quarrel with
+him. Therefore he turned to his cousins, and said: "I have just come
+from my pleasant home on a rocky island. The waters make music there
+all day long, and the green moss gleams through the white foam, and
+gay-colored fish sparkle in the sunlight; so that when men behold it
+they exclaim: 'See! what a beautiful spot!' There are some birds that
+like dingy pools, where only coarse rushes grow, where there is
+nothing but blight and mildew, where even carrion crows will not fly,
+and at which men shudder."
+
+Now this exactly described the places the Bittern prefers to all
+others; but, as he really considered them very captivating, and hated
+the very sight of mankind, he did not feel abashed by the Pelican's
+stinging rebuke, and perhaps took it for a compliment; and there is no
+knowing how long he would have staid there, if a frisky little Hoopoe
+had not chanced to alight on a tree that had fallen across a foaming
+brook not very far from the group of birds.
+
+Not liking so much company, the Bittern stalked away. The Hoopoe
+nodded so often to the birds that its beautiful tall crest trembled as
+if a breeze stirred it, and having preened its prettily-barred
+feathers for awhile, it began to talk as fast as ever it could.
+
+"I have came from a long distance, and only stopped twice on my way to
+get a meal of insects, which I can dig out of decaying wood with my
+long curved beak, very fast, I can tell you. And what do you think I
+saw in that place I came from? You would never guess. Why, men had
+some pet Cormorants that they had trained to catch fish for them! Oh!
+it was fun! And I heard these men say that in the days of Charles I.
+of England (I hope you know who he is, for I'm sure I don't),
+Cormorants were kept by nobles and kings for the purpose of catching
+fish, and that there was attached to the Court an officer called the
+King's Master of the Cormorants. Did you ever hear the like of that?"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Although this was strictly true, the Cormorants had never heard of it;
+but, before they could answer, a loud, deep voice cried; "Heigho! What
+is all that?"
+
+The startled birds turned towards the spot from whence the voice
+proceeded, and there, perched on a lonely rock, a good distance to the
+left of them, was a great bird with very large bright eyes and
+powerful curved beak.
+
+Neither the Hoopoe nor Pelican had ever before seen him, but the
+Cormorants knew him very well. He was the Peregrine Falcon. And they
+knew him because, like them, he chose rocky ledges, high and
+inaccessible, for his nest. And although his nests were usually on
+loftier crags than theirs, they were quite neighborly, especially as
+they did not chase the same prey, the Cormorants drawing theirs from
+the sea, and the Falcons finding theirs in the air.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Those people you speak of," said he sternly to the frightened Hoopoe,
+"_may_ have had Cormorants to catch their fish, but I never heard of
+it before. Whereas all history is full of the exploits of my
+ancestors, and monarchs and nobles spent immense fortunes in buying
+and keeping Falcons that hunted birds grandly."
+
+Now the Hoopoe knew very well that it was not this Falcon, but the
+great Gerfalcon, his cousin, that was formerly held in such high
+esteem; but he did not dare to say so, and, as he must be saying
+something, he turned to the Pelican.
+
+"I have long wanted to meet with you to ask you if is true that you
+tear open your breast with your hooked bill, and feed your young with
+your own blood?"
+
+"Not a word of truth in it!" replied the Pelican scornfully, "I am
+often obliged to gather food in places far from home. I do not dive
+into the water like the Cormorant, but catch, with a sidelong snatch
+of my bill, the fish that rise to the surface. This loose skin, that
+is now so folded up under my beak that you can scarcely see it, I can
+distend into an enormous pouch. This I fill with fish, and my wings
+being wide and powerful, I can easily carry a great weight of fish
+through the air. When I reach home I feed my young by pressing my beak
+against my breast, and thus forcing out the enclosed fish. And on the
+tip of my beak is a little curved hook as red as a drop of blood. And
+now you know the whole story."
+
+"Thank you," said the Hoopoe, "I must go and tell the storks all about
+it." And away he darted like a streak of colored light. The Falcon,
+too, lazily spread out his large wings, and soared majestically up
+into the air, leaving the Pelican and Cormorants to discuss their
+family affairs and their dinner in peace.
+
+
+
+
+MUMMIES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+A mummy is not a very pretty thing to look at; but, considered
+properly, it is certainly interesting. That stiff form, wrapped up
+tightly in ever so many dirty cloths, with a black shrivelled face
+which looks as if it had been cut out of a piece of wood and then
+smoked, was once, no doubt, a very pleasant person to know. If it was
+a woman, it played with the children; sewed a little, perhaps;
+complained of the heat, and went to parties. If it was a man, it
+probably whistled a little, and sang; settled up its accounts, was
+fond of horses, and took an interest in the vegetable garden.
+
+Most of the mummies that have been brought from Egypt to this country
+were originally kings, princes, princesses, noblemen, and priests, for
+few but those high-born folks could afford to be so well preserved as
+to last all this time; but it is very certain that none of them ever
+imagined that, thousands of years after their death, they would be
+carried away to countries never heard of in their day, and be gazed at
+by people who wore chignons and high-top hats, and who were not born
+until they had been dead three thousand years.
+
+When we consider the care and skill with which the dead Egyptians used
+to be embalmed and encased in their sarcophagi, it is not surprising
+that their poor bodies have been so well preserved. At the head of
+this article you see a mummy as it appears when it has been embalmed
+and wrapped in its bandages. Here is the stand on which it is then
+placed.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Very often, when the body had been a king or some great personage, its
+face was covered with a mask of thin gold, and its bandages were
+ornamented with pictures and inscriptions.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When this work of decoration was completed, it was placed in a coffin
+which was made large enough to hold the stand.
+
+This coffin was very handsomely ornamented, and then, in order to
+make everything very secure indeed, it was enclosed in another or
+exterior coffin, which was also decorated in the highest style known
+to Egyptian artists.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+One would now suppose that this great king or priest was safe enough,
+looking at the matter in an ordinary light. But the Egyptians did not
+look at these matters in ordinary lights. Quite otherwise. They
+intended the useless bodies of their grandees to be packed away so
+that they should not be disturbed as long as the world lasted, little
+dreaming of the Americans and Europeans who would come along, in a few
+thousand years, and buy them for their museums.
+
+So they put the mummy, with its stand and its two coffins, into a
+great stone box called a sarcophagus, and this was fastened and
+plastered up so as to seem like one solid rock.
+
+Then, if the inmate had ever done anything wonderful (or sometimes, no
+doubt, if he had not been famous for anything in particular), the
+history of his great achievements, real or fancied, was sculptured on
+the stone. These hieroglyphics have been deciphered in several
+instances, and we have learned from them a great deal of Egyptian
+history.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Dead poor people, as well as kings and princes, were made into mummies
+in Egypt, but they were not preserved by such costly means as those I
+have mentioned. After they had been embalmed, they were wrapped up as
+well as the means of their relatives would allow, and were placed in
+tombs and vaults, sometimes with but one coffin, and sometimes without
+any.
+
+In many cases the mummy was not buried at all, but kept in the house
+of the family, so that the friends and relatives could always have it
+with them. This may have been very consoling to the ancient Egyptians,
+but to us it seems a truly mournful custom.
+
+And it is by no means distressing to think, that though the people who
+may be in this country three thousand years hence may possibly find
+some of our monuments, they will discover none of our bodies.
+
+
+
+
+TAME SNAKES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We have often heard of the tamed snakes belonging to the
+serpent-charmers of India and Africa, but it is seldom that the
+harmless serpents of civilized countries have been domesticated. But
+the common snake, sometimes called the garter-snake, which harmlessly
+shows its dark green and yellow colors among the grass and bushes, has
+been tamed and has shown quite a fair amount of respect and affection
+for its human friends.
+
+A French writer relates that he knew a lady who had a snake which was
+so tame that it came when it was called, followed its mistress about,
+climbed up into her lap, and gave many signs of knowing and liking
+her. It would even swim after her when she threw it into the water
+from a boat. But this last feat proved fatal to it, for once swimming
+thus and endeavoring to keep up with the boat, the tide became too
+strong for it, and it was carried away and drowned.
+
+I am very much afraid that that lady did not deserve even as much
+affection as the snake gave her.
+
+The boys and girls in France sometimes amuse themselves by getting up
+a snake-team.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+They tie strings to the tails of two common harmless snakes, and then
+they drive them about, using a whip (I hope gently) to make these
+strange steeds keep together and go along lively.
+
+It is said that snakes which have been played with in this way soon
+begin to like their new life, and will allow the children to do what
+they please with them, showing all the time the most amiable
+disposition.
+
+There is nothing very strange in a tamed snake. Toads, tortoises,
+spiders, and many other unpromising animals have been known to show a
+capacity for human companionship, and to become quite tame and
+friendly. In fact, there are very few animals in the world that cannot
+be tamed by man, if man is but kind enough and patient enough.
+
+
+
+
+GYMNASTICS.
+
+
+Every one who has a body that is worth anything at all, ought to do
+his best to keep it in good order, and there is no better way of
+attaining this desirable object than by a proper course of gymnastics.
+And to know just what is proper for certain ages and certain
+individuals, demands a great deal of thought and judgment. Improper
+gymnastics are much worse than none. We can generally, however, find
+those who are able to advise us in regard to the exercise one ought to
+take.
+
+This necessity of training the body as well as the mind has been
+recognized from the earliest ages, and the ancient Greeks and Romans
+paid as much attention to their gymnasiums as they did to their
+academies; and from their youth, their boys and girls were taught
+those exercises which develop the muscles and ensure good health. Some
+of their methods, however, were not exactly the most praiseworthy. For
+instance, they would encourage their youngsters to fight.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This engraving, copied from an ancient picture, shows how spiritedly
+the children practised this exercise.
+
+It would have been better if the individual with the stick had laid it
+over the backs of the young combatants, instead of using it to direct
+their struggles.
+
+There are three kinds of gymnastics. By the first we take exercise,
+simply for the sake of the good we gain from it; by the second we
+combine pleasure with our muscular exertion; and the third kind of
+gymnastics is practised for the sake of making money.
+
+The exercises of the first division are carried on in regular
+gymnasiums or at home, and consist of exercises with dumb-bells, bars,
+suspended rings, poles, and many other appliances with which most boys
+and girls are familiar. Regular practice in a good gymnasium, under
+the direction of a competent teacher, is considered, by those who best
+understand the education of young people, an exceedingly necessary
+part of their education, and gymnastic instruction, both for boys and
+girls, is becoming more popular every year.
+
+We need give but little time to this well understood division of
+gymnastics, but will pass at once to the second class, where diversion
+and exercise are combined. This is by far the best method of gaining
+health and strength, and should be preferred by all instructors
+whenever it is possible to adopt it.
+
+It is of no use to say anything in favor of this plan to the boys and
+girls themselves, for they never fail to choose that form of exercise
+which has a good deal of play in it. And it is well they like it, for
+they will get more benefit from an hour of good, vigorous play, than
+from many lessons in the monotonous exercises in use in the
+gymnasiums.
+
+I shall not now speak of the lively games of boys and girls, by which
+their cheeks grow rosy and their legs and arms grow strong, for we all
+know enough about them, but I will describe some of the athletic
+sports of grown-up folks. There are a great many of these, some of
+which are of great antiquity. Wrestling, boxing, vaulting,
+foot-racing, and similar exercises have been popular for thousands of
+years, and are carried on now with the same spirit as of old.
+
+Out-door sports differ very much in different countries. In the United
+States the great game is, at present, base-ball; in England cricket
+is preferred, and Scotland has athletic amusements peculiar to itself
+In the latter country a very popular game among the strong folks is
+called "throwing the hammer."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These hammers are not exactly what their name implies, being heavy
+balls of brass or iron, fitted to a long handle. The hammer is whirled
+around the head several times and then thrown as far as possible. The
+man who throws it to the greatest distance wins the game.
+
+Another game, very much of this order, consists in tossing a heavy
+stone, instead of a hammer. The Scotch call this game "putting the
+stone," sometimes using stones that might be called young rocks, and
+they "put" or throw them in a different way from the people of other
+countries where the game is popular. In some of the mountainous
+regions of the continent of Europe the game is played in the manner
+shown in the accompanying engraving.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But it is impossible, in a short article like this, even to allude to
+all the different kinds of athletic games, and I will now notice some
+of the gymnastics by which people make a living.
+
+Rope-walkers, circus-riders, and acrobats of every kind are now so
+common, that a description of their ordinary performances is
+unnecessary. They are found on every portion of the globe, some of the
+most proficient being now seen in China and Japan.
+
+If any of you have seen the Japanese troupe of acrobats with which
+"Little Allright" was connected, you will understand to what a high
+state of perfection physical exercises may be brought by people who
+give up their whole lives to the study and practice of their various
+feats.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+In Europe and this country very remarkable gymnastic performers have
+appeared before the public.
+
+About the middle of the last century, there lived in Derby, England, a
+man by the name of Thomas Topham, who performed in public some
+wonderful feats of strength. At one time he lifted, by a band passed
+over his shoulders, three great casks of water which collectively
+weighed 1,836 pounds.
+
+He had a platform built for this performance, which was constructed in
+such a way that he could use the whole power of his body and limbs. In
+this feat, however, he has been surpassed by Dr. Winship, of Boston,
+who has lifted, in public, heavier weights than Topham ever attempted.
+
+The latter, however, was enormously strong, and performed a great many
+feats which made him quite famous throughout England.
+
+A favorite exhibition of public acrobats is that of pyramids, pillars,
+and other tall edifices, built of men, instead of bricks and stones.
+The Venetians used to be very expert and artistic in their arrangement
+of these exhibitions, and the men composing the human edifice stood as
+immovably and gracefully as if they had been carved out of solid
+stone, instead of being formed of flesh and blood.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This performance has been made quite common in late years, and I have
+seen the celebrated "Arabs" and other acrobats pile themselves up in a
+most astonishing manner.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+One of the most popular, and at the same time dangerous, of all public
+gymnastic exhibitions, is that of rope-walking, and most marvellous
+feats on the tight-rope have been performed in many parts of the
+world. Even in Greece and Rome, men practised this form of gymnastics.
+In later days no one has become more famous than Blondin, who crossed
+the Niagara River on a tight-rope, performing all sorts of eccentric
+feats while balanced on his slender support. He carried a man over on
+his shoulders; he wheeled a wheelbarrow across; he walked the rope
+blindfolded, and did many other things which would be very difficult
+to most people, even if they were standing on solid ground instead of
+being poised on a slender rope stretched high above the waters of a
+rapid river. In this country, however, the taste for out-door and
+dangerous rope-walking is not so general as it is in some countries of
+Europe, where it is quite common to see acrobats walking on ropes
+stretched from the top of one high building, or steeple, to another.
+In Venice, for instance, rope-dancers have often skipped and played on
+ropes reaching from the summits of two of the loftiest towers of that
+beautiful city.
+
+The Turks were once noted for their great proficiency in rope walking,
+but they have been equalled by Japanese, European, and American
+performers. Many women have been famous in this line, and a Madame
+Sacqui, a Frenchwoman, was such an expert artist that one of her
+countrymen likened her to a "Homeric goddess" (although I do not know
+how Juno or Minerva would have looked on a tight-rope), and asserted
+that her boldness and agility were the glory of the First Empire! This
+infatuated Frenchman must have considered glory to have been very
+scarce in his country in Madame Sacqui's day. There was a French baby,
+however, who surpassed this lady, for the little one walked on the
+tight-rope before she could walk on the ground, and afterwards became
+famous enough to perform, in 1814, before an assembly of kings--the
+allied sovereigns of Europe.
+
+The public performers of different kinds of gymnastic feats often make
+a great deal of money; but they sometimes break their necks, and
+frequently injure their health by over-exertion.
+
+So that exercises for health and amusement are the only kinds of
+gymnastics that I recommend.
+
+
+
+
+BUYING "THE MIRROR."
+
+
+Miss Harper came into the room where George and Mary Conly and Ella
+Lee were playing with jack-straws. They had played everything else
+they could think of, and, feeling tired, had quietly settled
+themselves down to jack-straws. They could have amused themselves from
+morning until night out of doors without being weary; but Mr. Conly's
+house was in the city, and had such a tiny bit of a yard that only
+fairies could have got up a frolic in it. When they were in the
+country there were so many things they could do, and when they were
+tired running about, there was the see-saw on the big log under the
+old elm.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But they were not in the country now, and children have not the spirit
+to keep up their sports in the house as they do out of doors. So,
+when Miss Harper appeared with a book in her hand, George and Mary
+sprang up from the table in delight, and exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, cousin Fanny! are you going to read to us?"
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harper, "I thought you would like to hear some more
+of those pretty stories I read to you yesterday."
+
+"That we will!" cried George, skipping about the room, while Mary,
+with eyes sparkling with pleasure, hastily raked the jack-straws into
+a pile.
+
+"We can both get into this big chair, Ella," she said, "and then we
+can hear cumfible."
+
+Now Ella would much rather have played jack-straws, for she thought
+listening to reading was very dull business indeed; but she was a
+polite little girl, which is pretty much the same thing as saying she
+was not selfish, and seeing that George and Mary were so pleased, and
+expected her to be so also, she made no objection, and climbed up into
+the big chair, and found it "cumfible," as Mary had said.
+
+"It will be awfully stupid," she thought, "and this chair is so nice I
+am afraid I'll go to sleep, and mamma says that is very rude when any
+one is reading or talking to you."
+
+You see Ella had not learned to be fond of books. Her parents had not
+been in the habit of reading to her, and, although in school she could
+read books that had quite long words in them, still she could not read
+with sufficient ease to make it a pleasure to her.
+
+But she did not go to sleep, but, on the contrary, got wider and wider
+awake. The stories were all short, so that when the end came she
+remembered the beginning perfectly, and they were such lovely stories
+about little fairies, and how they helped children to be good, that
+Ella was very sorry when the servant came to take her home.
+
+"I thank you very much, Miss Harper, for reading to us," she said,
+"Will you please tell me the name of the book?"
+
+"It is 'The Mirror,'" said Miss Harper, "and I will read to you often
+if you will come to see us."
+
+Ella thought about the book all the way home, but she was so tired she
+was glad to go to bed after supper, and the next morning she had no
+time before school to say anything to her mother about the wonderful
+"Mirror."
+
+But after dinner there was a pleasant surprise for her. Her father
+called her into his study, and, taking her up, kissed her tenderly,
+and said: "I saw your teacher yesterday, and she gave me such a good
+account of my little girl that I am very much pleased with her. And
+now, if there is anything you would particularly like to have, I will
+get it for you, if it does not cost too much. Think a moment, now!
+Don't be in a hurry!"
+
+"Oh, papa," exclaimed Ella, "I don't need to think a bit! I know what
+I want! I do so want to have a 'Mirror!'"
+
+"A _what_?" said Mr. Lee, suddenly putting Ella down on the floor.
+
+"A 'Mirror,' papa. When will you get it for me? Oh! I am so glad!" And
+she clapped her little hands softly together.
+
+"You are a very little girl to be so vain," said Mr. Lee gravely, "but
+as I said you should have what you wanted, I will keep my promise. Go
+and dress yourself, and we will get it this very afternoon."
+
+Ella was so full of her own happy thoughts that she did not notice
+what he said about her being vain, or that he looked displeased, and
+she skipped merrily away to be dressed. In a short time she had hold
+of her father's hand, and was walking down Broadway, looking in at the
+shop windows, and talking as fast as her little tongue could go.
+
+Mr. Lee, who knew nothing about the book with such a queer title, and
+supposed his daughter wanted a mirror in which to look at herself,
+began to hope that, as Ella stopped so often to admire the pretty
+things in the windows, she would see something she would prefer for a
+present. For, though it is a very proper thing to look in the glass to
+see that one's face is clean, and hair smooth, he did not like it that
+his daughter should want a looking-glass above everything in the
+world.
+
+"O, papa, isn't that a lovely baby?" And Ella paused in admiration
+before a wax doll.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Lee, eagerly. "Would not you rather have that pretty
+baby than a mirror?"
+
+Ella considered for a moment. She had a dolly she loved, though she
+was not as pretty as this one.
+
+"No, papa, I'd rather have a 'Mirror.' It will be so nice to have one
+of my own. I hope you know where to go to get it?" she added
+anxiously.
+
+"Certainly," said Mr. Lee, rather sharply, "I know just where to go."
+
+And so they went on by windows filled with floating ribbons, and
+shining silks; and others where there were glittering jewels, and some
+of the rings small enough for Ella's fingers; and others where there
+were white fur capes spread out, with muffs that had such gay linings,
+and tassels; and windows hung to the very top with toys, and some of
+them such cunning ones--mice that could be made to run and squeak, and
+jumping frogs--but none of these things would Ella have. At last they
+came to one all filled with flowers, and with this Ella was in
+raptures.
+
+"What a very good man must live here," she said, "to put all these
+things out for us to see! I can smell them through the glass!"
+
+"They are put here to sell," said Mr. Lee, "and I know you will like
+that beautiful pink rose-bush a great deal better than a mirror--or
+that great white lily."
+
+"No, no, papa," said Ella, moving impatiently away. "When will we come
+to the place?"
+
+"Here it is," said Mr. Lee, as they stopped at a store where then were
+two huge windows filled with mirrors of all sizes. "Now which one will
+you have? Not a very large one for such a very little lady. But there
+is a nice little one that will just suit you, and it has a very pretty
+frame."
+
+"Where? where, papa? I don't see it!" And Ella looked about the window
+in a very bewildered manner.
+
+"There. In that corner, leaning against the window-frame."
+
+"Why, papa, that's a looking-glass!"
+
+"And is not that what you want?"
+
+"No, sir; I want a '_Mirror_'--a book."
+
+"Oh! that's it!" said Mr. Lee, with a brighter face. "I expect you
+want a book called 'The Mirror.'"
+
+"Yes, sir," said Ella, laughing, as they walked on. "How funny that
+you should think I wanted a looking-glass! There it is now!" she cried
+excitedly, pointing into the window of a book-store.
+
+It was a large sheet of paper Ella saw, called a Poster, but it had
+"The Mirror" on it in very big letters. So Mr. Lee and Ella went in,
+and the shopman brought her the book, but it was red, and she did not
+want it, and then he took down a green one, and then a brown, but Ella
+would only have a blue one. After some trouble a blue one was found,
+and Ella walked off hugging it close up to her. The book Miss Harper
+read had a blue cover, and I believe that Ella was afraid that any
+other color would not contain the same stories.
+
+
+
+
+BIG GAME.
+
+
+When a man or a boy goes hunting--in a book--he might just as well go
+after good big game as after these little things that you see about
+home. So let us leave chipmunks, rabbits, and tit-birds to those poor
+fellows who have to shoot with real guns, and are obliged to be home
+in time for supper, and let us go out into the wide world, to hunt the
+very largest and most savage beasts we can find. It is perfectly
+safe,--in a book.
+
+As we can go wherever we please, suppose we try our skill in hunting
+the Wild Boar. He will be a good beast to begin with, because he is
+tolerably convenient, being found in Southern Europe, Palestine, and
+neighboring countries, and also because he is such a destructive
+rascal, when he comes into the neighborhood of civilization, that
+every one will be much obliged to us for killing him. If he chances to
+get into a vineyard, in company with a set of his reckless fellows,
+there is small chance for a vintage that year. He tears down the
+vines, devours the grapes, green and ripe, and breaks and ruins
+trellises and everything within his reach.
+
+If we are so fortunate as to get sight of him, we will find that he is
+no easy game to bag. Very different is he from his tame brethren with
+which we are acquainted--old grunters, who wallow about the
+mud-puddles and sleep serenely for hours, with their fat sides baking
+in the sun. The wild boar is as fast as a horse, and as savage as the
+crossest bull. He can run so that you can scarcely catch up to him
+with your nag at the top of his speed, and when you do reach him he
+will be very apt, if you are not watchful, to rip up your horse with
+his tusks and cut some terrible gashes in your own legs, besides.
+
+[Illustration: WILD BOAR.]
+
+We must shoot this fellow as soon as we can get a good chance, for
+those sharp tusks will be ready for us, if we come too close, and if
+he increases the distance between us, he may get among the rocks and
+hills, where he will surely escape, for our horses cannot go over
+those rough ascents at the rate the boar would gallop.
+
+When at last he is shot, the boar is capital eating. His flesh is far
+superior to common pork, possessing the peculiar delicate flavor which
+belongs to most wild meat. If we could shoot a wild boar every few
+days, we would be sure to fare very well during our hunting
+expedition.
+
+But we must press on after other game, and we will now try and get a
+shot at a musk-ox. We shall have to go somewhat out of our way to find
+this animal, for he lives in the upper portions of North America, but
+an ocean and a continent or two are not at all difficult to cross--in
+a book.
+
+The musk-ox is about as large as a small cow; he has very short legs,
+and horns which are very large and heavy. They extend over his
+forehead and seem as if they were parted in the middle, like a dandy's
+front hair. It is probable, if we get near enough to one of them, that
+we shall have no trouble in shooting him; but there is sometimes
+danger in this sport. A sailor once went out to hunt musk-oxen, and,
+to his great surprise, soon found that they intended to hunt him. A
+herd got after him, and one big fellow was on the point of crushing
+him with his great horns, when he dodged behind a rock, against which
+the furious animal came like a battering-ram.
+
+In the fall and winter the flesh of the musk-ox is very good indeed,
+but in the spring it is not so nice. It then smells like your sister's
+glove-box (if she uses musk), only about one hundred times as strong.
+If we were to cut up one of these animals when his flesh is in this
+condition, we would find it almost impossible to get the smell off of
+our knives. The winter is certainly the time to shoot this game, for
+then not only is his flesh very good, but his skin is covered with
+very long and warm hair, and we would find it even better, to keep us
+warm, than a buffalo robe.
+
+[Illustration: THE MUSK-OX AND THE SAILOR.]
+
+While we are thinking of skins, we might as well get a variety of
+them, and we will find the fur of the brown bear very valuable.
+
+So now for a brown bear. He, too, is found in the regions of ice and
+snow, and in the North of Europe he is hunted by the peasants in a way
+which we will not imitate. When they find a den or cave in the rocks
+in which they think a bear is concealed, these sturdy hunters make all
+sorts of noises to worry him out, and when at last the bear comes
+forth to see what is the matter, he finds a man standing in front of
+his den, armed with a short lance with a long sharp head, and a bar of
+iron placed crosswise on the handle just below the head. Now, a
+full-grown brown bear is not afraid of a man who is armed with a
+little weapon like this, and so he approaches the hunter, and rearing
+on his hind legs, reaches forth his arms to give the man a good hug,
+if he comes any nearer.
+
+[Illustration: HUNTING THE BROWN BEAR.]
+
+The man does come nearer, and, to the bear's great surprise, he
+thrusts forth his lance, which is longer than it looked, and drives
+the head of it into the animal's breast. The iron bar prevents the
+lance from entering too far into the body of the bear--a very
+necessary precaution, for if it was not there, the bear would push
+himself up along the handle of the lance and have his great paws on
+the man in a minute or two. But the bar keeps the bear back, and the
+loss of blood soon renders him so weak that the hunter can throw him
+down and despatch him. It is strange that the bear never tries to pull
+the lance out of his body. He keeps pressing it in, trying all the
+time to get over it at his enemy.
+
+This may be a good way to kill a bear, but I don't like it. It is
+cruel to the animal, and decidedly dangerous to the hunter. If I could
+not get a bear skin in any other way than by killing the animal with a
+spear, I would let the bear keep his fur. If we see any brown bears we
+will shoot them with our rifles, a much safer and more humane method
+than the pike fashion.
+
+After the bears, what shall we hunt? What do you say to a
+hippopotamus? That will be something that we are not accustomed to, at
+any rate. So away we go to the waters of Africa. If we travel along
+the shores of the Nile and other African rivers, we shall, no doubt,
+see some of these great creatures. But we must not expect to get a
+good sight of any of them, unless we are very careful to hide
+ourselves somewhere near where they are in the habit of coming out of
+the water to take a walk on land. Ordinarily all that can be seen of a
+hippopotamus is his head or his back, sticking up out of the water.
+They can stay under water for a long time, occasionally sticking up
+their noses to get a breath of air.
+
+At night they often come on shore to see what they can find to eat.
+They live on grass and grains, which they find in the water and on
+land. These animals are generally shot or harpooned at night, when
+they come out of the water, but occasionally a hunter sees one on
+shore in the daytime, and he seldom finds any difficulty in shooting
+it, if he can hit it in the ear, which is its most vulnerable spot.
+
+The hippopotamus is naturally a timid animal, and seldom turns on its
+hunters, but sometimes it shows a courageous disposition. Some
+hunters, having shot a young but apparently a tolerably well-grown
+hippopotamus, were running up to their prize, when they were astounded
+by the old mother beast coming up out of the water and charging
+towards them with tremendous roars.
+
+[Illustration: A BRAVE HIPPOPOTAMUS.]
+
+The hunters fired at her and then took to their heels, but having
+found her offspring, she stayed with it and did not pursue the men. If
+she had overtaken them, she would have been a terrible enemy to
+encounter.
+
+If, during our night-watches on the river-banks, we are so fortunate
+as to shoot a hippopotamus, we shall find that we have a good supply
+of very fine meat And what we cannot eat the natives will be
+delighted to get. They consider a hippopotamus a most valuable prize,
+and as the meat is good and there is so very much of it, their joy
+when they kill one is not at all surprising. The only thing that
+troubles them after a successful hunt is that there are so few
+hippopotami killed, and so many negroes to eat them.
+
+[Illustration: A RHINOCEROS TURNING THE TABLES.]
+
+And now let us try a rhinoceros hunt. This animal is found in the same
+regions that the hippopotamus inhabits, but he also lives in Asia. He
+is rather a dangerous animal to hunt. He is a savage fellow when
+provoked; he has a great horn on his nose, and a skin so thick that it
+is almost bullet-proof, and, besides that, he is the largest and
+strongest animal on the earth, excepting the elephant. So no wonder
+he is a little unsafe to hunt.
+
+The rhinoceros lives on grass and herbs, and makes his home entirely
+on the land. His flesh, like that of the hippopotamus, is very good to
+eat, but rhinoceros-beef ought to be dear, if the trouble and danger
+in getting it is taken into consideration when the price is fixed. He
+very often turns and charges on the hunters, and if he gets his horn
+under a man or a horse, he is likely to cause trouble.
+
+It is said that a rhinoceros can kill an elephant, by ripping him up
+with his horn, and that the lion and all wild beasts are afraid of
+him. I am not at all surprised that this is the case, for I have
+examined the skin of a rhinoceros which I saw in a menagerie, and it
+was so thick and heavy that scarcely any animal could tear it, with
+teeth or claws, so as to get at the enemy within it. The rhinoceros
+which I saw in a cage was not quite full-grown. His horn was not more
+than an inch or two above his nose, but he was an enormous fellow, and
+his great hide, which was as hard as the sole of your shoe, hung on
+him in great folds, as if it had been made large so as to give him
+room to grow. He was gentle enough, and let me put my hand through the
+bars of his cage and take hold of his horn without making the
+slightest objection. But we will not find that kind of rhinoceros on
+the plains of Africa, and if we hunt one we must kill him very soon,
+or be prepared to get out of his way.
+
+After a rhinoceros hunt we will not be apt to be easily frightened, no
+matter what beast we pursue, so we might as well go to India and hunt
+the Bengal tiger.
+
+There is no animal more graceful in its movements, handsomer in shape
+and color, or more bloody and ferocious in its nature, than the Royal
+Bengal tiger. Even in a cage he is a magnificent creature. When I go
+to a menagerie, I always look first for the Bengal tigers.
+
+If we go to hunt these animals, we had better ride upon elephants, for
+we must go into the jungles, where the tall reeds, through which the
+tigers roam, are higher than our heads.
+
+[Illustration: "A TIGER HUNT."]
+
+When we are well in the jungle, we must be careful. It is sometimes
+very difficult to see a tiger, even if you are quite near to him, for
+the stripes on his skin are very much like the reeds and leaves of the
+jungle, and we must keep a very sharp look-out, and as soon as we see
+one we must be ready with our rifles, for a tiger is very apt to begin
+the fight, and he will think nothing of springing on the back of an
+elephant and dragging one of us to the ground. Sometimes the elephants
+are not used to hunting tigers, and when they see the savage beasts
+they turn and run. In that case there is often great danger, for no
+one can fire coolly and with certain aim from the back of a bounding
+elephant.
+
+If we find a tiger, and we get a good shot--or perhaps many good
+shots--at him, and he falls wounded or apparently dead, we must still
+be very careful about approaching him, for he is very hard to kill.
+Often, when pierced with many balls, a tiger is considered to have
+breathed his last, he springs up all of a sudden, seizes one of his
+hunters in his great jaws, tears him with his claws, and then falls
+back dead.
+
+Hunters accustomed to the pursuit of tigers, always make sure that a
+tiger is dead before they come near his fallen body, and they often
+put many balls into him after he is stretched upon the ground.
+
+We must by this time be so inured to danger in the pursuit of our big
+game, that we will go and hunt an animal which is, I think, the most
+dangerous creature with which man can contend. I mean the Gorilla.
+
+This tremendous ape, as tall as a man, and as strong as a dozen men,
+has been called the king of the African forests. For many years
+travellers in Africa had heard from the natives wonderful stories of
+this gigantic and savage beast. The negroes believed that the gorilla,
+or pongo, as he was called by some tribes, was not only as ferocious
+and dangerous as a tiger, but almost as intelligent as a man. Some of
+them thought that he could talk, and that the only reason that he did
+not do so was because he did not wish to give himself the trouble.
+
+Notwithstanding the stories of some travellers, it is probable that no
+white man ever saw a gorilla until Paul du Chaillu found them in
+Africa, where he went, in 1853, for the purpose of exploring the
+country which they inhabit.
+
+As Mr. Chaillu has written several books for young folks, in which he
+tells his experience with gorillas, I shall not relate any of his
+wonderful adventures with these animals, in which he killed some
+enormous fellows and at different times captured young ones, all of
+which, however, soon died. But the researches of this indefatigable
+and intrepid explorer have proved that the gorilla is, as the negroes
+reported him to be, a most terrible animal to encounter. When found,
+he often comes forward to meet the hunter, roaring like a great lion,
+and beating his breast in defiance. If a rifle-ball does not quickly
+put an end to him, he will rush upon his assailants, and one blow from
+his powerful arm will be enough to stretch a man senseless or dead
+upon the ground.
+
+[Illustration: "FIGHT WITH A GORILLA."]
+
+In a hand-to-hand combat with a gorilla, a man, even though armed
+with a knife, has not the slightest chance for his life.
+
+If we should be fortunate enough to shoot a gorilla, we may call
+ourselves great hunters, even without counting in the bears, the
+rhinoceroses, the tigers, and the other animals.
+
+And when we return, proud and satisfied with our endeavors, we will
+prove to the poor fellows who were obliged to stay at home and shoot
+tit-birds and rabbits, with real guns, what an easy thing it is to
+hunt the biggest kind of game--in a book.
+
+
+
+
+THE BOOTBLACK'S DOG.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived, in Paris, a bootblack. He was not a boy,
+but a man, and he had a family to support. The profits of his business
+would have been sufficient for his humble wants and those of his
+family had it not been for one circumstance, which made trade very
+dull with him. And that disastrous circumstance was this: nearly every
+one who passed his stand had their boots and shoes already blackened!
+Now this was hard upon our friend. There was nothing to astonish him
+in the fact of so many persons passing with polished boots, for his
+stand was in the middle of a block, and there were bootblacks at each
+corner. But all he could do was to bear his fate as patiently as
+possible, and black the few boots which came to him, and talk to his
+dog, his only companion, as he sat all day on the sidewalk by his box.
+
+One day, when he had just blackened his own boots (he did not charge
+himself anything--he only did it so as to have the air of being busy),
+his dog came running up to him from the muddy street, and accidentally
+put his dirty paw on his master's bright boots. The man, who was of an
+amiable disposition, did not scold much, but as he was brushing off
+the mud he said:
+
+"You little rascal! I wish it had been the boots of some other man
+that you had covered with dirt. That would have been sensible."
+
+Just at that moment a thought struck the bootblack.
+
+He would teach his dog to muddy other people's boots!
+
+The man immediately acted on this idea, and gave his dog lessons every
+day in the art of muddying boots. In a week or two, no gentleman with
+highly polished boots could pass the bootblack's stand without seeing
+a dog rush into the street and gutter, and then come and jump on his
+feet, spattering his boots with mud and water, and making it necessary
+for him to go immediately to the nearest bootblack--which was of course
+the dog's master.
+
+The bootblack now had constant custom, and his circumstances began
+rapidly to improve. His children, being better fed, grew round and
+chubby; his wife had three good meals a day, and some warm flannels,
+and she soon lost the wan and feeble look which she had worn so long.
+As for the man himself, he and his dog were gay and busy all the day
+long.
+
+But people began to suspect something after a while. One gentleman who
+had his boots muddied regularly every day, once questioned the
+bootblack very closely, for he saw that the dog belonged to him, and
+the man was obliged to confess that he had taught the dog the trick.
+The gentleman, pleased with the smartness of the dog, and perhaps
+desirous of ridding his fellow-citizens of annoyance and expense,
+purchased the animal and took him home.
+
+But he did not keep him long. In a few days the dog escaped, and came
+back to his old master and his muddy trade.
+
+But I do not think that that bootblack always prospered. People who
+live by tricks seldom do. I have no doubt that a great many people
+found out his practices, and that the authorities drove him away from
+his stand, and that he was obliged to give up his business, and
+perhaps go into the army; while his wife supported the family by
+taking in washing and going out to scrub. I am not sure that all this
+happened, but I would not be at all surprised if it turned out exactly
+as I say.
+
+
+
+
+GOING AFTER THE COWS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+If there is anything which a little country-boy likes, and which a big
+country-boy dislikes, it is to go after the cows. There is no need of
+giving the reasons why the big boy does not like this duty. It is
+enough to say that it is a small boy's business, and the big boy knows
+it. The excitement of hunting up and driving home a lot of slow,
+meandering cattle is not sufficient for a mind capable of grappling
+with the highest grade of agricultural ideas, and the youth who has
+reached the mature age of fifteen or sixteen is very apt to think that
+his mind is one of that kind.
+
+But it is very different with the little boy. To go down into the
+fields, with a big stick and a fixed purpose; to cross over the
+ditches on boards that a few years ago he would not have been allowed
+to put his foot upon; to take down the bars of the fences, just as if
+he was a real man, and when he reaches the pasture, to go up to those
+great cows, and even to the old bull himself, and to shake his stick
+at them, and shout: "Go along there, now!"--these are proud things to
+do.
+
+And then what a feeling of power it gives him to make those big
+creatures walk along the very road he chooses for them, and to hurry
+them up, or let them go slowly, just as he pleases!
+
+If, on the way, a wayward cow should make a sudden incursion over some
+low bars into a forbidden field, the young director of her evening
+course is equal to the emergency.
+
+He is over the fence in an instant, and his little legs soon place him
+before her, and then what are her horns, her threatening countenance,
+and her great body to his shrill voice and brandished stick? Admitting
+his superior power, she soon gallops back to the herd, with whack
+after whack resounding upon her thick hide.
+
+When at last the great, gentle beasts file, one by one, into the
+barn-yard, there is a consciousness of having done something very
+important in the air of the little fellow who brings up the rear of
+the procession, and who shuts the gate as closely as possible on the
+heels of the hindmost cow.
+
+There are also many little outside circumstances connected with a
+small boy's trip after the cows which make it pleasant to him.
+Sometimes there are tremendous bull-frogs in the ditch. There are ripe
+wild-cherries--splendid, bitter, and scarce--on the tree in the corner
+of the field. The pears on the little tree by old Mrs. Hopkins's don't
+draw your mouth up so very much, if you peel the skins off with your
+knife. There is always a chance of seeing a rabbit, and although there
+is no particular chance of getting it, the small boy does not think of
+that. Now, although it would hardly be worth while to walk very far
+for any of these things, they are very pleasant when you are going
+after the cows.
+
+So I think it is no wonder that the little boys like to go after the
+cows, and I wish that hundreds and thousands of pale-faced and
+thin-legged little fellows had cows to go after.
+
+
+
+
+THE REFLECTIVE STAG.
+
+
+The more we study the habits and natures of animals the more firmly
+are we convinced that, in many of them, what we call instinct is very
+much like what we call reason.
+
+In the case of a domestic animal, we may attribute, perhaps, a great
+deal of its cleverness to its association with man and its capability
+of receiving instruction. But wild animals have not the advantages of
+human companionship, and what they know is due to the strength and
+quality of their own understanding. And some of them appear to know a
+great deal.
+
+There are few animals which prove this assertion more frequently than
+the stag. As his home is generally somewhere near the abodes of men,
+and as his flesh is so highly prized by them, it is absolutely
+necessary that he should take every possible precaution to preserve
+his life from their guns and dogs. Accordingly, he has devised a great
+many plans by which he endeavors--often successfully--to circumvent
+his hunters. And to do this certainly requires reflection, and a good
+deal of it, too. He even finds out that his scent assists the dogs in
+following him. How he knows this I have not the slightest idea, but he
+does know it.
+
+Therefore it is that, when he is hunted, he avoids running through
+thick bushes, where his scent would remain on the foliage; and, if
+possible, he dashes into the water, and runs along the beds of shallow
+streams, where the hounds often lose all trace of him. When this is
+impossible, he bounds over the ground, making as wide gaps as he can
+between his tracks. Sometimes, too, he runs into a herd of cattle, and
+so confuses the dogs; and he has been known to jump up on the back of
+an ox, and take a ride on the frightened creature, in order to get
+his own feet partly off of the ground for a time, and thus to break
+the line of his scent. When very hard pressed, a stag has suddenly
+dropped on the ground, and when most of the dogs, unable to stop
+themselves, dash over him, he springs to his feet, and darts off in an
+opposite direction.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+He will also run back on his own track, and employ many other means of
+the kind to deceive the dogs, showing most conclusively that he
+understands the theory of scent, and the dogs' power of perceiving it;
+and also that he has been able to devise the very best plans to elude
+his pursuers.
+
+Not only do stags reflect in this general manner in regard to their
+most common and greatest danger, but they make particular
+reflections, suited to particular places and occasions. The tricks
+and manoeuvres which would be very successful in one forest and in one
+season would not answer at all in another place and at another time,
+and so they reflect on the subject and lay their plans to suit the
+occasion.
+
+There are many animals which possess great acuteness in eluding their
+hunters, but the tricks of the stag are sufficient to show us to what
+an extent some animals are capable of reflection.
+
+
+
+
+WHEN WE MUST NOT BELIEVE OUR EYES.
+
+
+There are a great number of marvellous things told us of phantom forms
+and ghostly apparitions--of spectres that flit about lonely roads on
+moonlight nights, or haunt peaceful people in their own homes; of
+funeral processions, with long trains of mourners, watched from a
+distance, but which, on nearer approach, melt into a line of mist; of
+wild witch-dances in deserted houses, and balls of fire bounding out
+of doors and windows--stories which cause the flesh of children to
+creep upon their bones, and make cowards of them where there is no
+reason for fear. For you may lay it down as a fact, established beyond
+dispute, that not one of these things is a _reality_. The person who
+tells these marvels has always what seems the best of reasons for his
+belief. He either saw these things himself or knew somebody, strictly
+truthful, who had seen them. He did not know, what I am going to prove
+to you, that a thing may be _true_ and yet not be _real_. In other
+words, that there are times when we do actually see marvels that seem
+supernatural, but that, on such occasions, _we must not believe our
+own eyes_, but search for a natural cause, and, if we look faithfully,
+we are sure to find one.
+
+Once a vessel was sailing over a northern ocean in the midst of the
+short, Arctic summer. The sun was hot, the air was still, and a group
+of sailors lying lazily upon the deck were almost asleep, when an
+exclamation of fear from one of them made them all spring to their
+feet. The one who had uttered the cry pointed into the air at a little
+distance, and there the awe-stricken sailors saw a large ship, with
+all sails set, gliding over what seemed to be a placid ocean, for
+beneath the ship was the reflection of it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The news soon spread through the vessel that a phantom-ship with a
+ghostly crew was sailing in the air over a phantom-ocean, and that it
+was a bad omen, and meant that not one of them should ever see land
+again. The captain was told the wonderful tale, and coming on deck, he
+explained to the sailors that this strange appearance was caused by
+the reflection of some ship that was sailing on the water below this
+image, but at such a distance they could not see it. There were
+certain conditions of the atmosphere, he said, when the sun's rays
+could form a perfect picture in the air of objects on the earth, like
+the images one sees in glass or water, but they were not generally
+upright, as in the case of this ship, but reversed--turned bottom
+upwards. This appearance in the air is called a mirage. He told a
+sailor to go up to the foretop and look beyond the phantom-ship. The
+man obeyed, and reported that he could see on the water, below the
+ship in the air, one precisely like it. Just then another ship was
+seen in the air, only this one was a steamship, and was
+bottom-upwards, as the captain had said these mirages generally
+appeared. Soon after, the steamship itself came in sight. The sailors
+were now convinced, and never afterwards believed in phantom-ships.
+
+A French army marching across the burning sands of an Egyptian desert,
+fainting with thirst and choked with fine sand, were suddenly revived
+in spirit by the sight of a sheet of water in the distance. In it were
+mirrored the trees and villages, gardens and pretty houses of a
+cultivated land, all reversed. The blue sky was mirrored there, too,
+just as you can see the banks of a lake, and the sky that bends over
+it, in its calm waters. The soldiers rushed towards the place, frantic
+with joy, but when they got there they found nothing but the hot
+sands. Again they saw the lake at a distance, and made another
+headlong rush, only to be again disappointed. This happened
+frequently, until the men were in despair, and imagined that some
+demon was tormenting them. But there happened to be with this army a
+wise man, who did not trust entirely to his own eyes, and although he
+saw exactly what the others did, he did not believe that there was
+anything there but air. He set to work to investigate it, and found
+out that the whole thing was an illusion--it was the reflection of the
+gardens and villages that were on the river Nile, thrown up into the
+air, like the ships the sailors saw, only in the clear atmosphere of
+Egypt these images are projected to a long distance. And demons had
+nothing whatever to do with it.
+
+People used to believe in a fairy called Fata Morgana. Wonderful
+things were said of her, and her dominions were in the air, where she
+had large cities which she sometimes amused herself by turning into a
+variety of shapes. The cities were often seen by dwellers on the
+Mediterranean sea-coast. Sometimes one of them would be like an
+earthly city, with houses and churches, and nearly always with a
+background of mountains. In a moment it would change into a confused
+mass of long colonnades, lofty towers, and battlements waving with
+flags, and then the mountains reeling and falling, a long row of
+windows would appear glowing with rainbow colors, and perhaps, in
+another instant, all this would be swept away, and nothing be seen but
+gloomy cypress trees.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These things can be seen now occasionally, as of old, but they are no
+longer in Fairyland. Now we know that they are the images of cities
+and mountains on the coast, and the reason they assume these
+fantastic forms is that the layers of air through which the rays of
+light pass are curved and irregular.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A gigantic figure haunts the Vosges Mountains, known by the name of
+"The Spectre of the Brocken." The ignorant peasants were, in former
+times, in great fear of it, thinking it a supernatural being, and
+fancying that it brought upon them all manner of evil. And it must be
+confessed it was a fearful sight to behold suddenly upon the summit of
+a lofty mountain an immense giant, sometimes pointing in a threatening
+attitude to a village below, as if dooming it to destruction;
+sometimes with arms upraised, as if invoking ruin upon all the
+country; and sometimes stalking along with such tremendous strides as
+to make but one step from peak to peak; often dwarfing himself to
+nothingness, and again stretching up until his head is in the clouds,
+then disappearing entirely for a moment, only to reappear more
+formidable than before.
+
+But now the Spectre of the Brocken is no longer an object of fear.
+Why? Because men have found him out, and he is nothing in the world
+but a shadow. When the sun is in the right position, an ordinary-sized
+man on a lower mountain will see a gigantic shadow of himself thrown
+upon a cloud beyond the Brocken, though it appears to be on the
+mountain itself, and it is so perfect a representation that it is
+difficult to believe it is only a shadow. But it can be easily proved.
+If the man stoops to pick up anything, down goes the spectre; if he
+raises his hand, so does the spectre; if he takes a step of two feet,
+the spectre takes one of miles; if he raises his hat, the spectre
+politely returns his salute.
+
+When you behold anything marvellous, and your eyes tell you that you
+have seen some ghostly thing, don't believe them, but investigate the
+matter closely, and you will find it no more a phantom than the mirage
+or the Spectre of the Brocken.
+
+
+
+
+A CITY UNDER THE GROUND.
+
+
+Under the bright skies of Italy, in a picturesque valley, with the
+mountains close at hand and the blue waves of the Mediterranean
+rolling at a little distance--at the foot of wonderful Vesuvius, green
+and fertile, and covered with vines to its very top, from which smoke
+is perpetually escaping, and in whose heart fires are eternally
+raging, in this beautiful valley stands the city of Pompeii.
+
+[Illustration: CLEARING OUT A NARROW STREET IN POMPEII.]
+
+You might, however, remain upon the spot a long time and never find
+out that there was a city there. All around you would see groves and
+vineyards, and cultivated fields and villas. For the city is beneath
+your feet. Under the vineyards and orchards are temples filled with
+statues, houses with furniture, pictures, and all homelike things.
+Nothing is wanting there but life. For Pompeii is a buried city, and
+fully two-thirds of it has not yet been excavated.
+
+But a short walk from this place will bring you to the spot where
+excavations have been made, and about one-third of the ancient city
+lies once more under the light of heaven. It is doubtful whether you
+can see it when you get to it for the mounds of ashes and rubbish
+piled around. But, clambering over these, you will pay forty cents for
+admission, and pass through a turnstile into a street where you will
+see long rows of ruined houses, and empty shops, and broken temples,
+and niches which have contained statues of heathen gods and goddesses.
+As you wander about you will come across laborers busily employed in
+clearing away rubbish in obstructed streets. It is a very lively
+scene, as you can see in the picture. Men are digging zealously into
+the heaps of earth and rubbish, and filling baskets which the
+bare-footed peasant-girls carry to the cars at a little distance. A
+railroad has been built expressly to carry away the earth. The cars
+are drawn by mules. The girls prefer carrying their baskets on their
+heads. The men have to dig carefully, for there is no knowing when
+they may come across some rare and valuable work of art.
+
+The excavations are conducted in this manner. Among the trees, and in
+the cultivated fields there can be traced little hillocks, which are
+pretty regular in form and size. These indicate the blocks of houses
+in the buried city, and, of course, the streets run between them.
+After the land is bought from the owners, these streets are carefully
+marked out, the vines are cleared away, the trees cut down, and the
+digging out of these streets is commenced from the top. The work is
+carried on pretty steadily at present, but it is only within the last
+few years that it has been conducted with any degree of enterprise and
+skill.
+
+[Illustration: A CLEARED STREET IN POMPEII.]
+
+Let us leave this rubbish, and go into a street that has already been
+cleared. The first thing you will observe is that it is very narrow.
+It is evidently not intended for a fashionable drive. But few of the
+streets are any wider than this one. The greatest width of a street in
+Pompeii is seven yards, and some are only two and a half yards,
+sidewalks and all. The middle of the street is paved with blocks of
+lava. The sidewalks are raised, and it is evident the owners of the
+houses were allowed to put any pavement they pleased in front of
+their dwellings. In one place you will see handsome stone flags the
+next pavement may be nothing but soil beaten down, while the next will
+be costly marble.
+
+The upper stories of the houses are in ruins. It is probable,
+therefore, that they were built of wood, while the lower stories,
+being of stone, still remain. They had few windows on the street, as
+the Pompeiians preferred that these should look out on an inner square
+or court. To the right of the picture is a small monument, and in the
+left-hand corner is a fountain, or rather the stone slabs that once
+enclosed a fountain.
+
+As we walk slowly up the solitary street, we think of the busy,
+restless feet that trod these very stones eighteen hundred years ago.
+Our minds go back to the year of our Lord 79, when there was high
+carnival in the little city of Pompeii, with its thirty thousand
+people, when the town was filled with strangers who had come to the
+great show; at the time of an election, when politicians were scheming
+and working to get themselves or their friends into power; when gayly
+dressed crowds thronged the streets on their way to the amphitheatre
+to see the gladiatorial fight; when there was feasting and revelry in
+every house; when merchants were exulting in the midst of thriving
+trade; when the pagan temples were hung with garlands and filled with
+gifts; when the slaves were at work in the mills, the kitchens, and
+the baths; when the gladiators were fighting the wild beasts of the
+arena--then it was that a swift destruction swept over the city and
+buried it in a silence that lasted for centuries.
+
+Vesuvius, the volcano so near them, but which had been silent so many
+years that they had ceased to dread it, suddenly woke into activity,
+and threw out of its summit a torrent of burning lava and ashes, and
+in a few short hours buried the two cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii
+so completely that two centuries after no one could tell the precise
+place where they had stood, and men built houses and cultivated farms
+over the spot, never dreaming that cities lay beneath them.
+
+[Illustration: THE ATRIUM IN THE HOUSE OF PANSA RESTORED.]
+
+But here we are at the house of Pansa. Let us go in. We do not wait
+for any invitation from the owner, for he left it nearly two thousand
+years ago, and his descendants, if he have any, are totally ignorant
+of their illustrious descent. First we enter a large hall called the
+Atrium. You can see from the magnificence of this apartment in what
+style the rich Pompeiians lived. The floor is paved in black and white
+mosaic, with a marble basin in the centre. The doors opening from
+this hall conduct us to smaller apartments, two reception rooms, a
+parlor, the library, and six diminutive bedrooms, only large enough to
+contain a bedstead, and with no window. It must have been the fashion
+to sleep with open doors, or the sleepers must inevitably have been
+suffocated.
+
+At the end of the Atrium you see a large court with a fountain in the
+middle. This was called the Peristyle. Around it was a portico with
+columns. To the left were three bedchambers and the kitchen, and to
+the right three bedchambers and the dining-room. Behind the Peristyle
+was a grand saloon, and back of this the garden. The upper stories of
+this house have entirely disappeared. This is a spacious house, but
+there are some in the city more beautifully decorated, with paintings
+and mosaics.
+
+When the rubbish was cleared out of this house, much of Pansa's costly
+furniture was found to be in perfect preservation, and also the
+statues. In the library were found a few books, not quite destroyed;
+in the kitchen the coal was in the fire-places; and the kitchen
+utensils of bronze and terra-cotta were in their proper places. Nearly
+all of the valuable portable things found in Pompeii have been carried
+away and placed in the museum at Naples.
+
+This Pansa was candidate for the office of ædile, or mayor of the
+city, at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius. We know this from the
+placards that were found posted in various parts of the city, and
+which were as fresh and clean as on the day they were written. These
+placards, or posters, were very numerous, and there seem to have been
+a great many candidates for the various city offices; and it is very
+evident, from the inscriptions on the houses, on the walls of public
+buildings and the baths, that party feeling ran quite as high in this
+luxurious city of ancient times as it does now in any city in America.
+For these Pompeiians had no newspaper, and expressed their sentiments
+on the walls, and they have consequently come down to us of the
+present day.
+
+These inscriptions not only related to politics, but referred often to
+social and domestic matters, and, taken in connection with the
+pictures of home scenes that were painted on the walls of the houses,
+give us such accurate and vivid accounts of the people that it is easy
+to imagine them all back in their places, and living the old life over
+again. Pansa, and Paratus, and Sallust, and Diomed, and Julia, and
+Sabina seem to be our own friends, with whom we have often visited the
+Forum or the theatre, and gone home to dine.
+
+That curious-looking pin with a Cupid on it is a lady's hair-pin. The
+necklaces are in the form of serpents, which were favorite symbols
+with the ancients. The stands of their tables, candelabra, &c., were
+carved into grotesque or beautiful designs, and even the kitchen
+utensils were made graceful with figures of exquisite workmanship, and
+were sometimes fashioned out of silver.
+
+Among the pretty things found in Pompeiian houses I will mention the
+following:--
+
+A bronze statuette of a Dancing Faun, with head and arms uplifted;
+every muscle seems to be in motion, and the whole body dancing.
+Another of a boy with head bent forward, and the whole body in the
+attitude of listening. Then there is a fine group of statuary
+representing the mighty Hercules holding a stag bent over his knee;
+another of the beautiful Apollo with his lyre in his hand leaning
+against a pillar. There are figures of huntsmen in full chase, and of
+fishermen sitting patiently and quietly "waiting for a bite." A very
+celebrated curiosity is the large urn or vase of blue glass, with
+figures carved on it in half relief, in white. (For the ancients knew
+how to carve glass.) These white figures look as if made of the finest
+ivory instead of being carved in glass. They represent masks
+enveloped in festoons of vine tendrils, loaded with clusters of
+grapes, mingled with other foliage, on which birds are swinging,
+children plucking grapes or treading them under foot, or blowing on
+flutes, or tumbling over each other in frolicsome glee. This superb
+urn, which is like nothing we have nowadays, is supposed to have been
+intended to hold the ashes of the dead. For it was a custom of ancient
+days to burn the bodies of the dead, and place the urns containing
+their ashes in magnificent tombs.
+
+[Illustration: ORNAMENTS FROM POMPEII.]
+
+Instead of hanging pictures as we do, the Pompeiians generally had
+them painted upon the smoothly prepared walls of their halls and
+saloons. The ashes of Vesuvius preserved these paintings so well that,
+when first exposed to the light, the coloring on them is fresh and
+vivid, and every line and figure clear and distinct. But the sunlight
+soon fades them. They are very beautiful, and teach us much about the
+beliefs and customs of the old city.
+
+Lovely and graceful as were these pictures, the floors of the houses
+are much more wonderful. They are marvels of art. Not only are flowers
+and running vines and complicated designs there laid in mosaics, but
+pictures that startle with their life-like beauty. There are many of
+these, but perhaps the finest of all is the one found in the same
+house with the Dancing Faun. It represents a battle. A squadron of
+victorious Greeks is rushing upon part of a Persian army. The latter
+are turning to flee. Those around the vanquished Persian king think
+only of their safety, but the king, with his hand extended towards his
+dying general, turns his back upon his flying forces, and invites
+death. Every figure in it seems to be in motion. You seem to hear the
+noise of battle, and to see the rage, fear, triumph, and pity
+expressed by the different faces. Think of such wonderful effects
+being produced by putting together pieces of glass and marble, colored
+enamel, and various stones! But, leaving all these beauties, and
+descending to homely everyday life, we will go into a bakery. Here is
+one in a good state of preservation.
+
+[Illustration: DISCOVERIES OF LOAVES OF BREAD BAKED EIGHTEEN HUNDRED
+YEARS AGO.]
+
+It is a mill and bakery together. The Pompeiians sent their grain to
+the baker, and he ground it into flour, and, making it into dough,
+baked it and sent back loaves of bread. The mills look like huge
+hour-glasses. They are made of two cone-shaped stones with the small
+ends together. The upper one revolved, and crushed the grain between
+the stones. They were worked sometimes by a slave, but oftenest by a
+donkey. There is the trough for kneading the bread, the arched oven,
+the cavity below for the ashes, the large vase for water with which to
+sprinkle the crust and make it "shiny," and the pipe to carry off the
+smoke. In one of these ovens were found eighty-one loaves, weighing a
+pound each, whole, hard, and black, in the order in which they had
+been placed on the 23d of November, 79. Suppose the baker who placed
+them there had been told that eighteen hundred years would elapse
+before they would be taken out!
+
+Having wandered about the city, and looked at all the streets,
+monuments, and dwellings, and having seen very much more than I have
+here described--the Forum, or Town Hall, the theatres, baths, stores,
+temples, the street where the tombs are--and having looked at the rude
+cross carved on a wall, showing that the religion of Christ had
+penetrated to this Pagan city--having examined all these, you will
+visit the amphitheatre.
+
+To do this we must leave the part of the city that has interested us
+so much, and, passing once more through the vineyards and orchards
+that still cover a large portion of the city, descend again into a
+sort of ravine, where we will find the amphitheatre. It was quite as
+the end of the city, next to the wall. It is a circus. The large open
+space in the centre was called the arena. Here there were fierce and
+bloody fights; wild beasts fought with each other, or with men trained
+to the business and called gladiators, and these gladiators often
+fought with each other--all for the amusement of the people, who were
+never satisfied unless a quantity of blood was shed, and many were
+killed. This arena was covered with sand, and a ditch filled with
+water separated it from the seats.
+
+The seats arose from this arena, tier above tier. There were three
+divisions of them, separating the rich from the middle class, and
+these again from the slaves. It was well arranged for the comfort of
+the audience, having wide aisles and plenty of places of exit. The
+whole was covered with an awning. In the wall around the arena are the
+holes where thick iron bars were inserted as a precaution against the
+bounds of the panthers. To the right of the principal entrance are two
+square rooms with gratings where the wild beasts were kept. This
+amphitheatre would hold twenty thousand persons!
+
+[Illustration: THE AMPHITHEATRE OF POMPEII.]
+
+We visit this place last because it was while the amphitheatre was
+crowded with people intent upon the bloody spectacle; while wild
+beasts, and men more cruel than the beasts, were fighting together,
+and spectators less pitiful than either were greedily enjoying it,
+that suddenly the ground trembled violently. This perhaps was not
+perceived in the circus, on account of the excitement all were in, and
+the noise that was going on in the arena. But it was soon followed by
+a whirlwind of ashes, and lurid flashes of flame darted across the
+sky. The beasts were instantly tamed, and cowered down in abject
+terror, and the gladiators, for the first time in their lives, grew
+pale with fear. Then the startled crowd within the vast building heard
+from the streets the fearful cry: "Vesuvius is on fire!" In an instant
+the spectacle is forgotten; the terrified crowd rush out of the
+building, and happy is it for them that the architects have provided
+so many places of exit. Some fled towards the sea, and some to the
+open country. Those who reached the ships were saved, but woe to those
+who went to their homes to collect their valuables to take with them,
+or who took refuge under cover in the cellars.
+
+After the rain of ashes came a shower of blazing stones, which fell
+uninterruptedly, setting fire to all parts of the city and blocking up
+the streets with burning masses. And then a fresh storm of ashes
+sweeping down would partly smother the flames, but, blocking up the
+doorways, would stifle those within the houses. And to add to the
+horror, the volumes of smoke that poured from the mountain caused a
+darkness deeper than night to settle on the doomed city, through which
+the people groped their way, except when lighted by the burning
+houses. What horror and confusion in the streets! Friends seeking each
+other with faces of utter despair; the groans of the dying mingled
+with the crash of falling buildings; the pelting of the fiery stones;
+the shrieks of women and children; the terrific peals of thunder.
+
+So ended the day, and the dreadful scene went on far into the night.
+In a few hours the silence of death fell upon the city. The ashes
+continued to pour steadily down upon it, and drifting into every
+crevice of the buildings, and settling like a closely-fitting shroud
+around the thousands and thousands of dead bodies, preserved all that
+the flames had spared for the eyes of the curious who should live
+centuries after. And a gray ashy hill blotted out Pompeii from the
+sight of that generation.
+
+Hundreds of skeletons have already been found, and their expressive
+attitudes tell us the story of their death. We know of the pitiful
+avarice and vanity of many of the rich ladies who went to their homes
+to save their jewels, and fell with them clutched tightly in their
+hands. One woman in the house of the Faun was loaded with jewels, and
+had died in the vain effort to hold up with her outstretched arms the
+ceiling that was crushing down upon her. But women were not the only
+ones who showed an avaricious disposition in the midst of the thunders
+and flames of Vesuvius. Men had tried to carry off their money, and
+the delay had cost them their lives, and they were buried in the ashes
+with the coins they so highly valued. Diomed, one of the richest men
+of Pompeii, abandoned his wife and daughters and was fleeing with a
+bag of silver when he was stifled in front of his garden by noxious
+vapors. In the cellar of his house were found the corpses of seventeen
+women and children.
+
+A priest was discovered in the temple of Isis, holding fast to an axe
+with which he had cut his way through two walls, and died at the
+third. In a shop two lovers had died in each other's arms. A woman
+carrying a baby had sought refuge in a tomb, but the ashes had walled
+them tightly in. A soldier died bravely at his post, erect before a
+city gate, one hand on his spear and the other on his mouth, as if to
+keep from breathing the stifling gases.
+
+Thus perished in a short time over thirty thousand citizens and
+strangers in the city of Pompeii, now a city under the ground.
+
+
+
+
+THE COACHMAN.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+When a boy sees a coachman driving two showy, high-stepping horses
+along the street, or, better still, over a level country road, with
+his long whip curling in the air, which whip he now and then flirts so
+as to make a sharp, cracking noise over the horses' heads, and
+occasionally brings down with a light flick upon the flanks of the
+right or left horse,--the carriage, shining with varnish and plate,
+rolling along swiftly and smoothly,--the little boy is apt to think
+that coachman must be a very happy mortal.
+
+If the man on the carriage-box sees the boy looking at him with so
+much admiration, he will probably throw him a jolly little laugh and a
+friendly nod, and, gathering up the reins and drawing them in tightly
+so as to arch the horses' necks and make them look prouder and more
+stately than before, he will give a loud crack with his curling
+whip-lash, and the horses will start off at a rapid trot, and the
+carriage will sweep around a curve in the road so gracefully that the
+boy's heart will be filled with envy--not of the persons in the
+carriage--oh, no! riding in a close carriage is a very tame and dull
+affair; but he will envy the driver. An ambition springs up in his
+mind at that instant. Of all things in the world he would rather be a
+coachman! That shall be his business when he grows up to be a man. And
+the chances are that when he goes home he tells his father so.
+
+But if the little boy, instead of lying tucked in his warm bed, should
+be set down at twelve o'clock at night upon the pavement in front of
+that great house with the tall lamps on the steps, he would see this
+same coachman under conditions that he would not envy at all.
+
+The empty carriage is close to the curb-stone, with the door swinging
+open as if to urge the owners to hurry and take possession. The
+high-stepping trotters are covered with blankets to protect them from
+the piercing cold, and, with their heads drooping, are either asleep
+or wondering why they are not put into the stable to take their
+night's rest; and the coachman is dancing about on the pavement to
+keep his feet warm--not by any means a merry kind of dance, although
+he moves about pretty briskly. He has taken off his gloves, for they
+seem to make his hands colder, and now he has thrust one hand into his
+pocket and is blowing on the other with all his might. His whip, that
+curled so defiantly in the air, is now pushed under his arm, and the
+lash is trailing, limp and draggled, on the stones. He is warmly clad,
+and his great-coat has three capes, but all cannot put sufficient heat
+into his body, for it is a bitter cold night, and the wind comes
+howling down the street as if it would like to bite off everybody's
+ears and noses. It shakes the leafless branches of the trees until
+they all seem to be moaning and groaning together. The moon is just
+rising over the church, and the coachman is standing right in a broad
+patch of its light. But moonlight, though very beautiful when you are
+where you can comfortably admire it, never warmed anybody yet. And so
+the poor coachman gets no good out of that.
+
+There is a party in the great house. The boy is standing where he can
+only see the lower steps and the tall lamps, but the coachman can see
+that it is lighted from garret to cellar. He knows that it is warm as
+summer in there. There are stands of flowers all the way up the
+stairways, baskets of them are swinging from the ceilings, and vines
+are trailing over the walls.
+
+Who in there could ever guess how bleak and cold it is outside! Ladies
+in shimmering silks and satins, and glittering with jewels, are
+flitting about the halls, and floating up and down the rooms in
+graceful dances, to the sound of music that only comes out to the
+coachman in fitful bursts.
+
+He has amused himself watching all this during part of the evening,
+but now he is looking in at the side-light of the door to see if there
+are any signs of the breaking up of the party, or if those he is to
+take home are ready to go away. He is getting very impatient, and let
+us hope they will soon come out and relieve him.
+
+
+
+
+GEYSERS, AND HOW THEY WORK.
+
+[Illustration: THE GRAND GEYSER OF ICELAND.]
+
+
+Geysers, or fountains of hot water or mud, are found in several parts
+of the world. Iceland possesses the grandest one, but in California
+there are a great many of these natural hot fountains, most of which
+throw forth mud as well as water. Some of the American Geysers are
+terrible things to behold. They are generally found near each other,
+in particular localities, and any one wandering about among them sees
+in one place a great pool full of black bubbling contents, so hot that
+an egg thrown in the spring will be boiled in a minute or two; there
+he sees another spring throwing up boiling mud a few feet in the air;
+there another one, quiet now, but which may at any time burst out and
+send its hot contents high above the heads of the spectators; here a
+great hole in the ground, out of which constantly issues a column of
+steam, and everywhere are cracks and crevices in the earth, out of
+which come little jets of steam, and which give the idea that it would
+not require a very heavy blow to break in, at any point, the crust of
+the earth, and let the adventurous traveller drop down into the
+boiling mass below.
+
+In Iceland the Geysers are not quite so terrible in their aspect as
+those in California, but they are bad enough. Their contents are
+generally water, some hot and bubbling, and some hot and still; while
+the Great Geyser, the grandest work of the kind in the world, bursts
+forth at times with great violence, sending jets of hot water hundreds
+of feet into the air.
+
+These wonderful hot springs, wherever they have been found, have
+excited the greatest attention and interest, in travellers and
+scientific men, and their workings have been explained somewhat in
+this way:--
+
+Water having gradually accumulated in vast underground crevices and
+cavities, is heated by the fires, which, in volcanic regions, are not
+very far from the surface of the earth. If there is a channel or tube
+from the reservoir to the surface, the water will expand and rise
+until it fills the basin which is generally found at the mouth of hot
+springs. But the water beneath, being still further heated, will be
+changed into steam, which will at times burst out with great force,
+carrying with it a column of water high into the air. When this water
+falls back into the basin it is much cooler, on account of its contact
+with the air, and it cools the water in the basin, and also condenses
+the steam in the tube or channel leading from the reservoir. The
+spring is then quiet until enough steam is again formed to cause
+another eruption. A celebrated German chemist named Bunsen
+constructed an apparatus for the purpose of showing the operations of
+Geysers. Here it is.
+
+[Illustration: THE ARTIFICIAL GEYSER.]
+
+You see that the two fires in the engraving--one lower and larger than
+the other, because the heat of the earth increases as we get farther
+from the surface--will heat the water in the iron tube very much as
+water is heated in a real Geyser; and when steam enough is formed, a
+column of hot water is thrown out of the basin. The great subterranean
+reservoir is not imitated in this apparatus, but the action is the
+same as if the tube arose from an iron vessel. There is a great deal
+in Bunsen's description of this contrivance, in regard to the
+difference in the temperature of the water in that part of the tube
+between the two fires, and that in the upper portion, which explains
+the intermittent character of the eruptions of a Geyser, but it is not
+necessary for us to go into all his details.
+
+When we know that under a Geyser the water is boiling in a great
+reservoir which communicates with the surface by a natural tube or
+spout, we need not wonder that occasionally a volume of steam bursts
+forth, sending a column of water far into the air.
+
+
+
+
+A GIANT PUFF-BALL.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+I suppose you have all seen puff-balls, which grow in the fields like
+mushrooms and toadstools, but I am quite sure that you never saw
+anything of the kind quite so large as that one in the picture. And
+yet that engraving was made from a drawing from the puff-ball itself.
+So we need not suppose that there is anything fanciful about it.
+
+The vegetable in question is a kind of _fungi_ called the Giganti
+Lycoperdon, and it attains its enormous size in one night! It springs
+from a seed so small that you could not see it, and grows, while you
+are asleep, to be bigger, perhaps, than you are yourself!
+
+Think of that! How would you like to plant the whole garden, some
+afternoon, with that kind of seed? Would not your father and mother,
+and everybody else, be astounded when they woke up and saw a couple of
+hundred of those things, as big as barrels, filling up every bed!
+
+They would certainly think it was the most astonishing crop they had
+ever seen, and there might be people who would suppose that fairies or
+magicians had been about.
+
+The great trouble about such a crop would be that it would be good for
+nothing.
+
+I cannot imagine what any one would do with a barnful of Lycoperdons.
+
+But it would be wonderfully interesting to watch the growth of such a
+_fungus_. You could see it grow. In one night you could see its whole
+life, from almost nothing at all to that enormous ball in the picture.
+Nature could hardly show us a more astonishing sight than that.
+
+
+
+
+TICKLED BY A STRAW.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+    From his dreams of tops and marbles,
+      Where the soaring kites he saw,
+    Is that little urchin wakened,
+      Tickled by a wheaten straw.
+
+    How do you suppose he likes it,
+      Young one with annoying paw?
+    If I only were your mother,
+      I'd tickle you with birchen straw.
+
+    Soon enough, from pleasant dreaming,
+      You'll be wakened by the law,
+    Which provides for every vision
+      Some sort of provoking straw.
+
+    In dreams of play, or hope, or loving,
+      When plans of happiness you draw,
+    Underneath _your_ nose may wiggle
+      Life's most aggravating straw
+
+
+
+
+THE LIGHT IN THE CASTLE.
+
+
+On a high hill, in a lonely part of Europe, there stood a ruined
+castle. No one lived there, for the windows were destitute of glass;
+there were but few planks left of the floors; the roof was gone; and
+the doors had long ago rotted off their hinges. So that any persons
+who should take up their residence in this castle would be exposed to
+the rain, when there was a storm; to the wind, when it blew; and to
+robbers, if they should come; besides running the risk of breaking
+their necks by falling between the rafters, every time they attempted
+to walk about the house.
+
+It was a very solemn, lonely, and desolate castle, and for many and
+many a year no human being had been known to set foot inside of it.
+
+It was about ten o'clock of a summer night that Hubert Flamry and his
+sister Hulda were returning to their home from an errand to a distant
+village, where they had been belated. Their path led them quite near
+to the ruined castle, but they did not trouble themselves at all on
+this account, for they had often passed it, both by night and day. But
+to-night they had scarcely caught sight of the venerable structure
+when Hubert started back, and, seizing his sister's arm, exclaimed:
+
+"Look, Hulda! look! A light in the castle!"
+
+Little Hulda looked quickly in the direction in which her brother was
+pointing, and, sure enough, there was a light moving about the castle
+as if some one was inside, carrying a lantern from room to room. The
+children stopped and stood almost motionless.
+
+"What can it be, Hubert?" whispered Hulda.
+
+"I don't know," said he. "It may be a man, but he could not walk where
+there are no floors. I'm afraid it's a ghost."
+
+"Would a ghost have to carry a light to see by?" asked Hulda.
+
+"I don't know," said Hubert, trembling in both his knees, "but I think
+he is coming out."
+
+It did seem as if the individual with the light was about to leave the
+castle. At one moment he would be seen near one of the lower windows,
+and then he would pass along on the outside of the walls, and directly
+Hubert and Hulda both made up their minds that he was coming down the
+hill.
+
+"Had we better run?" said Hulda.
+
+"No," replied her brother. "Let's hide in the bushes."
+
+So they hid.
+
+In a few minutes Hubert grasped his sister by the shoulder. He was
+trembling so much that the bushes shook as if there was a wind.
+
+"Hulda!" he whispered, "he's walking along the brook, right on top of
+the water!"
+
+"Is he coming this way?" said Hulda, who had wrapped her head in her
+apron.
+
+"Right straight!" cried Hubert. "Give me your hand, Hulda!" And,
+without another word, the boy and girl burst out of the bushes and ran
+away like rabbits.
+
+When Hulda, breathless, fell down on the grass, Hubert also stopped
+and looked behind him. They were near the edge of the brook, and
+there, coming right down the middle of the stream, was the light which
+had so frightened them.
+
+"Oh-h! Bother!" said Hubert.
+
+"What?" asked poor little Hulda, looking up from the ground.
+
+"Why, it's only a Jack-o'-lantern!" said Hubert. "Let's go home,
+Hulda."
+
+As they were hurrying along the path to their home, Hubert seemed very
+much provoked, and he said to his sister:
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Hulda, it was very foolish for you to be frightened at such a thing
+as that."
+
+"Me?" said Hulda, opening her eyes very wide, "I guess you were just
+as much frightened as I was."
+
+"You might have known that no real person would be wandering about the
+castle at night, and a ghost couldn't carry anything, for his fingers
+are all smoke."
+
+"You ought to have known that too, I should say, Mr. Hubert," answered
+Hulda.
+
+"And then, I don't believe the light was in the castle at all. It was
+just bobbing about between us and the castle, and we thought it was
+inside. You ought to have thought of that, Hulda."
+
+"Me!" exclaimed little Hulda, her eyes almost as big as two silver
+dollars.
+
+It always seems to me a great pity that there should be such boys as
+Hubert Flamry.
+
+
+
+
+THE OAK TREE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+I really don't know which liked the great oak best, Harry or his
+grandfather. Harry was a sturdy little fellow, seven years old, and
+could play ball, and fly kites, and all such things, when he had
+anybody to play with. But his father's house was a long distance from
+the village, and so he did not often have playmates, and it is poor
+sport to play marbles or ball by one's self. He did sometimes roll his
+hoop or fly his kite when alone, but he would soon get tired, and
+then, if it was a clear day, he would most likely say:
+
+"Grandpa, don't you want to go to the big oak?"
+
+And Grandpa would answer:
+
+"Of course, child, we will go. I am always glad to give you that
+pleasure."
+
+This he said, but everybody knew he liked to go for his own pleasure
+too. So Harry would bring Grandpa his cane and hat, and away they
+would go down the crooked path through the field. When they got to the
+draw-bars, Harry took them down for his Grandpa to pass through, and
+then put them carefully up again, so that the cows should not get out
+of the pasture. And, when this was done, there they were at the
+oak-tree.
+
+This was a very large tree, indeed, and its branches extended over the
+road quite to the opposite side. Right at the foot of the tree was a
+clear, cold spring, from which a little brook trickled, and lost
+itself in the grass. A dipper was fastened to a projecting root above
+the spring, that thirsty travellers might drink. The road by the side
+of which the oak stood was a very public one, for it led to a city
+twenty miles away. So a great many persons passed the tree, and
+stopped at the spring to drink. And that was the reason why little
+Harry and his Grandpa were so fond of going there. It was really quite
+a lively place. Carriages would bowl along, all glittering with plate
+and glass, and with drivers in livery; market wagons would rattle by
+with geese squawking, ducks quacking, and pigs squealing; horsemen
+would gallop past on splendid horses; hay wagons would creak slowly
+by, drawn by great oxen; and, best of all, the stage would dash
+furiously up, with the horses in a swinging trot, and the driver
+cracking his whip, and the bright red stage swaying from side to side.
+
+It generally happened that somebody in the stage wanted a drink from
+the spring, and Harry would take the cup handed out of the window, and
+dip it full of the cold, sparkling water, and then there would be a
+few minutes of friendly chat.
+
+But the most of the talk was with the foot-passengers. The old man sat
+on a bench in the cool shade, and the child would run about and play
+until some one came along. Then he would march up to the tree and
+stand with his hands in his pockets to hear what was said, very often
+having a good deal to say himself. Sometimes these people would stay a
+long time under the shade of the tree, and there were so many
+different people, and they had so many different kinds of things to
+say, that Harry thought it was like hearing a book read, only a great
+deal better.
+
+At one time it would be a soldier, who had wonderful things to tell of
+the battles he had fought. Another day it would be a sailor, who,
+while smoking his pipe, would talk about the trackless deserts of
+burning sands; and of the groves of cinnamon, and all sweet spices,
+where bright-colored parrots are found; and of the great storms at
+sea, when the waves dashed ships to pieces. Another time a foreigner
+would have much to say about the strange people and customs of other
+lands; and sometimes they talked in a strange language, and could not
+be understood, and that was very amusing.
+
+The organ-grinders were the best, for they would play such beautiful
+tunes, and perhaps there would be children who would tinkle their
+tambourines, and sing the songs that the girls sing in Italy when they
+tread out the grapes for wine. And sometimes there would be--oh, joy!
+a monkey! And then what fun Harry would have!
+
+And sometimes there were poor men and women, tired and sick, who had
+nothing to say but what was sad.
+
+Occasionally an artist would stop under the tree. He would have a
+great many of his sketches with him, which he would show to Harry and
+Grandpa. And then he would go off to a distance, and make a picture of
+the splendid oak, with the old man and child under it, and perhaps he
+would put into it some poor woman with her baby, who happened to be
+there, and some poor girl drinking out of the spring. And Harry and
+Grandpa always thought this better than any of the other pictures he
+showed them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE SEA-SIDE.
+
+
+The ocean is so wonderful itself, that it invests with some of its
+peculiar interest the very sands and rocks that lie upon its edges.
+There is always something to see at the sea-side; whether you walk
+along the lonely coast; go down among the fishermen, and their nets
+and boats; or pass along the sands, lively with crowds of
+many-colored bathers.
+
+But if there was nothing but the grand old ocean itself, it would be
+enough. Whether it is calm and quiet, just rolling in steadily upon
+the shore, in long lines of waves, which come sweeping and curling
+upon the beach and then breaking, spread far out over the sand--or
+whether the storm-waves, tossing high their lofty heads, come rushing
+madly upon the coast, dashing themselves upon the sands and thundering
+up against the rocks, the sea is grand!
+
+What a tremendous thing an ocean is! Ever in powerful motion; so
+wonderful and awful in its unknown depths, and stretching so far, far,
+far away!
+
+But, even on the coasts of this great ocean, our days seem all too
+short, as we search among the rocks and in the little pools for the
+curiosities of the sea-side. Here are shells, and shells, and
+shells,--from the great conch, which you put up to your ear to hear
+the sound of the sea within, to the tiny things which we find stored
+away in little round cases, which are all fastened together in a
+string, like the rattles of a snake.
+
+In the shallow pools that have been left by the tide we may find a
+crab or two, perhaps, some jelly-fish, star-fish, and those wonderful
+living flowers, the sea-anemones. And then we will watch the great
+gulls sweeping about in the air, and if we are lucky, we may see an
+army of little fiddler-crabs marching along, each one with one claw in
+the air. We may gather sea-side diamonds; we may, perhaps, go in and
+bathe, and who can tell everything that we may do on the shores of the
+grand old ocean!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And if we ever get among the fishermen, then we are sure to have good
+times of still another kind. Then we shall see the men who live by the
+sea, and on the sea. We shall wander along the shore, and look at
+their fishing-vessels, which seem so small when they are on the water,
+but which loom up high above our heads when they are drawn up on the
+shore--some with their clumsy-looking rudders hauled up out of
+danger, and others with rudder and keel resting together on the rough
+beach. Anchors, buoys, bits of chains, and hawsers lie about the
+shore, while nets are hanging at the doors of the fishermen's
+cottages, some hung up to dry and some hung up to mend.
+
+Here we may often watch the fishermen putting out to sea in their
+dirty, but strong, little vessels, which go bouncing away on the
+waves, their big sails appearing so much too large for the boats that
+it seems to us, every now and then, as if they must certainly topple
+over. And then, at other times, we will see the fishermen returning,
+and will be on the beach when the boats are drawn up on the sand, and
+the fish, some white, some gray, some black, but all glittering and
+smooth, are tumbled into baskets and carried up to the houses to be
+salted down, or sent away fresh for the markets.
+
+Then the gulls come circling about the scene, and the ducks that live
+at the fishermen's houses come waddling down to see about any little
+fishes that may be thrown away upon the sand; and men with tarpaulin
+coats and flannel shirts sit on old anchors and lean up against the
+boats, smoking short pipes while they talk about cod, and mackerel,
+and mainsails and booms; and, best of all, the delightful sea-breeze
+comes sweeping in, browning our cheeks, reddening our blood, and
+giving us such a splendid appetite that even the fishermen themselves
+could not throw us very far into the shade, at meal-times.
+
+As for bathing in the sea, plunging into the surf, with the waves
+breaking over your head and the water dashing and sparkling all about
+you, I need not say much about that. I might as well try to describe
+the pleasure of eating a saucer of strawberries-and-cream, and you
+know I could not do it.
+
+There are nations who never see the ocean, nor have anything to do
+with it. They have not even a name for it.
+
+They are to be pitied for many things, but for nothing more than this.
+
+
+
+
+THE SICK PIKE.
+
+
+There is no reason why a pike should not be sick. Everything that has
+life is subject to illness, but it is very seldom that any fish has
+the good sense and the good fortune of the pike that I am going to
+tell you about.
+
+This pike was a good-sized fellow, weighing about six pounds, and he
+belonged to the Earl of Stamford, who lived near Durham, England. His
+story was read by Dr. Warwick to the Literary and Philosophical
+Society of Liverpool. I am particular about these authorities because
+this story is a little out of the common run.
+
+Dr. Warwick was walking by a lake, in the Earl's park, and the pike
+was lying in the water near the shore, probably asleep. At any rate,
+when it saw the doctor it made a sudden dart into deep water and
+dashed its head against a sunken post. This accident seemed to give
+the fish great pain, for it pitched and tossed about in the lake, and
+finally rushed up to the surface and threw itself right out of the
+water on to the bank.
+
+The doctor now stooped to examine it, and to his surprise the fish
+remained perfectly quiet in his hands. He found that the skull was
+fractured and one eye was injured by the violence with which the fish
+had struck the post. With a silver tooth-pick (he had not his
+instruments with him) the doctor arranged the broken portion of the
+pike's skull, and when the operation was completed he placed the fish
+in the water. For a minute or two the Pike seemed satisfied, but then
+it jumped out of the water on to the bank again. The doctor put the
+fish back, but it jumped out again, and repeated this performance
+several times. It seemed to know (and how, I am sure I have not the
+least idea) that that man was a doctor, and it did not intend to
+leave him until it had been properly treated--just as if it was one
+of his best patients.
+
+The doctor began to see that something more was expected of him, and
+so he called a game-keeper to him, and with his assistance he put a
+bandage around the pike's head.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When this surgical operation had been completed the pike was put back
+into the water, and this time it appeared perfectly satisfied, and
+swam away.
+
+The next day, as Dr. Warwick was sitting by the lake, the pike, with,
+the bandage around its head, swam up and stuck its head out of the
+water, near the doctor's feet. The good physician took up the fish,
+examined the wound, and finding that it was getting on very well,
+replaced the bandage and put Mr. Pike into the lake again.
+
+This was a very grateful pike. After the excellent surgical treatment
+it received from Dr. Warwick, it became very fond of him, and whenever
+he walked by the side of the lake it would swim along by him, and
+although it was quite shy and gloomy when other people came to the
+waterside, it was always glad to see the doctor, and would come when
+he whistled, and eat out of his hand.
+
+I suppose in the whole ocean, and in all the rivers and lakes of the
+world, there are not more than two or three fish as sensible and
+grateful as this pike. In fact, it was very well for Dr. Warwick that
+there were no more such on the Earl of Stamford's estate. A large
+practice in the lake must soon have made a poor man of him, for I do
+not suppose that even that sensible pike would have paid a doctor's
+bill, if it had been presented to him.
+
+
+
+
+TWO KINDS OF BLOSSOMS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+When the winter has entirely gone, and there is not the slightest
+vestige left of snow or ice; when the grass is beginning to be
+beautifully green, and the crocuses and jonquils are thrusting their
+pretty heads up out of the ground; when the sun is getting to be
+quite warm and the breezes very pleasant, then is the time for
+blossoms.
+
+Then it is especially the time for apple-blossoms. Not that the peach
+and the pear and the cherry trees do not fill their branches with pink
+and white flowers, and make as lovely a spring opening as any
+apple-trees in the land. Oh no! It is only because there are so many
+apple-trees and so many apple-orchards, that the peaches and pears are
+a little overlooked in blossom-time.
+
+A sweet place is the apple-orchard, when the grass is green, the trees
+are full of flowers, the air full of fragrance, and when every breeze
+brings down the most beautiful showers of flowery snow.
+
+And how beautiful and delicate is every individual flower! We are so
+accustomed to looking at blossoms in the mass--at treesful and whole
+orchardsful--that we are not apt to think that those great heaps of
+pink and loveliness are composed of little flowers, each one perfect
+in itself.
+
+And not only is each blossom formed of the most beautiful white
+petals, shaded with pink; not only does each one of them possess a
+most pleasant and delicate perfume, but every one of these little
+flowers--every one which comes to perfection, I mean--is but the
+precursor of an apple. This one may be a Golden Pippin; that one which
+looks just like it may be the forerunner of a Belle-flower; while the
+little green speck at the bottom of this one may turn into a Russet,
+with his sober coat.
+
+The birds that are flying among the branches do not think much about
+the apples that are to come, I reckon, and neither do the early
+butterflies that flutter about, looking very much like falling
+blossoms themselves. And, for that matter, we ourselves need not think
+too much about the coming apple crop. We ought sometimes to think of
+and enjoy beauty for its own sake, without reference to what it may do
+in the future for our pockets and our stomachs.
+
+There are other kinds of blossoms than apple-blossoms, or those of any
+tree whatever. There are little flowers which bloom as well or better
+in winter than in summer, and which are not, in fact, flowers at all.
+
+These are ice-blossoms.
+
+Perhaps you have never seen any of them, and I think it is very
+likely, for they can only be formed and perceived by the means of
+suitable instruments. And so here is a picture of some ice-blossoms.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These curious formations, some of which appear like stars, others like
+very simple blossoms, while others are very complex; and some of which
+take the form of fern-leaves, are caused to appear in the centre of a
+block of ice by means of concentrated rays of lights which are
+directed through the ice by means of mirrors and lenses. Sometimes
+they are observed by means of a magnifying-glass, and in other
+experiments their images are thrown upon a white screen.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We may consider these ice-flowers as very beautiful and very
+wonderful, but they are not a whit more so than our little blossoms of
+the apple-orchard.
+
+The latter are more common, and have to produce apples, while the
+ice-flowers are uncommon, and of no possible use.
+
+That is the difference between them.
+
+
+
+
+ABOUT GLASS.
+
+
+Glass is so common and so cheap that we never think of being grateful
+for it. But if we had lived a few centuries ago, when the richest
+people had only wooden shutters to their windows, which, of course,
+had to be closed whenever it was cold or stormy, making the house as
+dark as night, and had then been placed in a house lighted by glass
+windows, we would scarcely have found words to express our
+thankfulness. It would have been like taking a man out of a dreary
+prison and setting him in the bright world of God's blessed sunshine.
+After a time men made small windows of stones that were partly
+transparent; and then they used skins prepared something like
+parchment, and finally they used sashes similar to ours, but in them
+they put oiled paper. And when at last glass came into use, it was so
+costly that very few were able to buy it, and they had it taken out of
+the windows and stored carefully away when they went on a journey, as
+people now store away pictures and silver-plate.
+
+Now, when a boy wants a clear, white glass vial for any purpose, he
+can buy it for five cents; and for a few pennies a little girl can buy
+a large box of colored beads that will make her a necklace to go
+several times around her neck, and bracelets besides. These her elder
+sister regards with contempt; but there was a time when queens were
+proud to wear such. The oldest article of glass manufacture in
+existence is a bead. It has an inscription on it, but the writing,
+instead of being in letters, is in tiny little pictures.
+
+Here you see the bead, and the funny little pictures on it. The
+pictures mean this: "The good Queen Ramaka, the loved of Athor,
+protectress of Thebes." This Queen Ramaka was the wife of a king who
+reigned in Thebes more than three thousand years ago, which is
+certainly a very long time for a little glass bead to remain unbroken!
+The great city of Thebes, where it was made, has been in ruins for
+hundreds of years. No doubt this bead was part of a necklace that
+Queen Ramaka wore, and esteemed as highly as ladies now value their
+rubies. It was found in the ruins of Thebes by an Englishman.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It may be thought that this bead contradicts what has been said about
+there being a time when glass was unknown, and that time only a few
+centuries ago. But it is a singular fact that a nation will perfectly
+understand some art or manufacture that seems absolutely necessary to
+men's comfort and convenience, and yet this art in time will be
+completely lost, and things that were in common use will pass as
+completely out of existence as if they had never been, until, in after
+ages, some of them will be found among the ruins of cities and in old
+tombs. In this way we have found out that ancient nations knew how to
+make a great many things that enabled them to live as comfortably and
+luxuriously as we do now. But these things seem to have perished with
+the nations who used them, and for centuries people lived
+comfortlessly without them, until, in comparatively modern times, they
+have all been revived.
+
+Glass-making is one of these arts. It was known in the early ages of
+the world's history. There are pictures that were painted on tombs two
+thousand years before Christ's birth which represent men blowing
+glass, pretty much as it is done now, while others are taking pots of
+it out of the furnaces in a melted state. But in those days it was
+probably costly, and not in common use; but the rich had glass until
+the first century after Christ, when it disappeared, and the art of
+making it was lost.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The city of Venice was founded in the fifth century, and here we find
+that glass-making had been revived. You will see by this picture of a
+Venetian bottle how well they succeeded in the manufacture of glass
+articles.
+
+Venice soon became celebrated for this manufacture, and was for a long
+time the only place where glass was made. The manufacturers took great
+pains to keep their art a secret from other nations, and so did the
+government, because they were all growing rich from the money it
+brought into the city.
+
+In almost any part of the world to which you may chance to go you
+will find Silica. You may not know it by that name, but it is that
+shining, flinty substance you see in sand and rock-crystal. It is
+found in a very great number of things besides these two, but these
+are the most common.
+
+Lime is also found everywhere--in earth, in stones, in vegetables and
+bones, and hundreds of other substances.
+
+Soda is a common article, and is very easily produced by artificial
+means. Potash, which has the same properties as soda, exists in all
+ashes.
+
+Now silica, and lime, and soda, or potash, when melted together, form
+glass. So you see that the materials for making this substance which
+adds so much to our comfort and pleasure are freely given to all
+countries. And after Venice had set the example, other nations turned
+their attention to the study of glass-making, and soon found out this
+fact, in spite of the secrecy of the Venetians. After a time the
+Germans began to manufacture glass; and then the Bohemians. The latter
+invented engraving on glass, which art had also been known to the
+ancients, and then been lost. They also learned to color glass so
+brilliantly that Bohemian glass became more fashionable than Venetian,
+and has been highly thought of down to the present day.
+
+On the next page we see an immense drinking-glass of German
+manufacture, but this one was made many years after glass-making was
+first started there.
+
+This great goblet, which it takes several bottles of wine to fill, was
+passed around at the end of a feast, and every guest was expected to
+take a sip out of it. This was a very social way of drinking, but I
+think on the whole it is just as well that it has gone out of fashion.
+
+The old Egyptians made glass bottles, and so did the early Romans, and
+used them just as we do for a very great variety of things. Their
+wine-bottles were of glass, sealed and labelled like ours. We might
+suppose that, having once had them, people would never be without
+glass bottles. But history tells a different story. There evidently
+came a time when glass bottles vanished from the face of the earth;
+for we read of wooden bottles and those of goat-skin and leather, but
+there is no mention of glass. And men were satisfied with these
+clumsy contrivances, because in process of time it had been forgotten
+that any other were ever made.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Hundreds of years rolled away, and then, behold! glass bottles
+appeared again. Now there is such a demand for them that one country
+alone--France--makes sixty thousand tons of bottles every year. To
+make bottle-glass, oxide of iron and alumina is added to the silica,
+lime, and soda. It seems scarcely possible that these few common
+substances melted over the fire and blown with the breath can be
+formed into a material as thin and gossamer, almost, as a spider's
+web, and made to assume such a graceful shape as this jug.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is how glass bottles, vases, etc., are made. When the substances
+mentioned above are melted together properly, a man dips a long,
+hollow iron tube into a pot filled with the boiling liquid glass, and
+takes up a little on the end of it. This he passes quickly to another
+man, who dips it once more, and, having twirled the tube around so as
+to lengthen the glass ball at the end, gives it to a third man, who
+places this glass ball in an earthen mould, and blows into the other
+end of the tube, and soon the shapeless mass of glass becomes a
+bottle. But it is not quite finished, for the bottom has to be
+completed, and the neck to have the glass band put around it. The
+bottom is finished by pressing it with a cone-shaped instrument as
+soon as it comes out of the mould. A thick glass thread is wound
+around the neck. And, if a name is to be put on, fresh glass is added
+to the side, and stamped with a seal.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is also the process of making the beautiful jug just mentioned,
+except that three workmen are engaged at the same time on the three
+parts--one blows the vase itself, another the foot, and the third the
+handle. They are then fastened together, and the top cut into the
+desired shape with shears, for glass can be easily cut when in a soft
+state.
+
+You see how clearly and brightly, and yet with what softness, the
+windows of the room are reflected in that exquisite jug It was made
+only a few years ago.
+
+I will now show you an old Venetian goblet, but you will have to
+handle it very carefully, or you will certainly break off one of the
+delicate leaves, or snap the stem of that curious flower.
+
+Such glasses as these were certainly never intended for use. They were
+probably put upon the table as ornaments. The bowl is a white glass
+cup, with wavy lines of light blue. The spiral stem is red and white,
+and has projecting from it five leaves of yellow glass, separated in
+the middle by another leaf of a deep blue color. The large flower has
+six pale-blue petals.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And now we will look at some goblets intended for use. They are of
+modern manufacture, and are plain and simple, but have a beauty of
+their own. The right-hand one is of a very graceful shape, and the one
+in the middle is odd-looking, and ingeniously made with rollers, and
+all of them have a transparent clearness, and are almost as thin as
+the fragile soap-bubbles that children blow out of pipe-bowls. They do
+not look unlike these, and one can easily fancy that, like them, they
+will melt into air at a touch.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Because the ancients by some means discovered that the union of
+silica, lime, and soda made a perfectly transparent and hard substance
+it by no means follows that they knew how to make looking-glasses For
+this requires something behind the glass to throw back the image. But
+vanity is not of modern invention, and people having from the
+beginning of time had a desire to look at themselves, they were not
+slow in providing the means.
+
+The first mirrors used were of polished metal, and for ages nobody
+knew of anything better. But there came a time when the idea entered
+the mind of man that "glass lined with a sheet of metal will give back
+the image presented to it," for these are the exact words of a writer
+who lived four centuries before Christ. And you may be sure that
+glass-makers took advantage of this suggestion, if they had not
+already found out the fact for themselves. So we know that the
+ancients did make glass mirrors. It is matter of history that
+looking-glasses were made in the first century of the Christian era,
+but whether quicksilver was poured upon the back, as it is now, or
+whether some other metal was used, we do not know.
+
+But these mirrors disappeared with the bottles and other glass
+articles; and metal mirrors again became the fashion. For fourteen
+hundred years we hear nothing of looking-glasses, and then we find
+them in Venice, at the time that city had the monopoly of the glass
+trade. Metal mirrors were soon thrown aside, for the images in them
+were very imperfect compared with the others.
+
+These Venetian glasses were all small, because at that time sheet
+glass was blown by the mouth of man, like bottles, vases, etc., and
+therefore it was impossible to make them large. Two hundred years
+afterward, a Frenchman discovered a method of making sheet glass by
+machinery, which is called _founding_, and by this process it can be
+made of any size.
+
+But even after the comparatively cheap process of founding came into
+use, looking-glasses were very expensive, and happy was the rich
+family that possessed one. A French countess sold a farm to buy a
+mirror! Queens had theirs ornamented in the most costly manner. Here
+is a picture of one that belonged to a queen of France, the frame of
+which is entirely composed of precious stones.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I have told you how the Venetians kept glass-making a secret, and how,
+at last, the Germans learned it, and then the French, and their work
+came to be better liked than that of the Venetians. But these last
+still managed to keep the process of making mirrors a profound secret,
+and the French were determined to get at the mystery. Several young
+glass-makers went from France to Venice, and applied to all the
+looking-glass makers of Venice for situations as workmen, that they
+might learn the art. But all positively refused to receive them, and
+kept their doors and windows tightly closed while they were at work,
+that no one might see what they did. The young Frenchmen took
+advantage of this, and climbed up on the roofs, and cautiously made
+holes through which they could look; and thus they learned the
+carefully-kept secret, and went back to France and commenced the
+manufacture of glass mirrors. Twenty years after, a Frenchman invented
+founding glass, which gave France such a great advantage that the
+trade of Venice in looking-glasses was ruined.
+
+You would be very much interested in watching this process of founding
+glass. This is the way it is done. As soon as the glass is melted to
+the proper consistency, the furnaces are opened, and the pots are
+lifted into the air by machinery, and passed along a beam to an
+immense table of cast iron. A signal is given, and the brilliant,
+transparent liquid glass falls out and spreads over the table. At a
+second signal a roller is passed by machinery over the red-hot glass,
+and twenty men stand ready with long shovels to push the sheet of
+glass into an oven, not very hot, where it can slowly cool. When taken
+out of the oven the glass is thick, and not perfectly smooth, and it
+has to be rubbed with sand, imbedded in plaster of Paris, smoothed
+with emery, and polished by rubbing it with a woollen cloth covered
+with red oxide of iron, all of which is done by machinery.
+
+We know that cut glass is expensive, and the reason is that cutting it
+is a slow process. Four wheels have to be used in succession, iron,
+sandstone, wood, and cork. Sand is thrown upon these wheels in such a
+way that the glass is finely and delicately cut. But this is imitated
+in pressed glass, which is blown in a mould inside of which the design
+is cut. This is much cheaper than the cut glass.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A higher art than cutting is engraving on glass, by which the figures
+are brought out in relief. Distinguished artists are employed to draw
+the designs, and then skilful engravers follow the lines with their
+delicate tools. If you will examine carefully the engraving on this
+Bohemian goblet, you will see what a wonderful piece of workmanship it
+is.
+
+It seems almost a pity that so much time and labor, skill and genius
+should be given to a thing so easily broken. And yet we have seen that
+a good many glass articles have been preserved for centuries. The
+engraving on the Bohemian goblet is ingenious, and curious, and
+faithful in detail, but the flowers on this modern French flagon are
+really more graceful and beautiful.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+About four hundred years ago there was found in a marble coffin, in a
+tomb near Rome, a glass vase which is now famous throughout the world.
+There is good reason for supposing it to have been made one hundred
+and thirty-eight years before Christ, consequently it is now about two
+thousand years old. For many years this was in the Barberini palace in
+Rome, and was called the Barberini Vase. Then it was bought by the
+Duchess of Portland, of England, for nine thousand dollars, and since
+then has been known as the Portland Vase.
+
+She loaned it to the British Museum, and everybody who went to London
+wanted to see this celebrated vase.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+One day a crazy man got into the Museum, and with a smart blow of his
+cane laid in ruins the glass vase that had survived all the world's
+great convulsions and changes for two thousand years! This misfortune
+was supposed to be irreparable, but it has been repaired by an artist
+so cleverly that it is impossible to tell where it is joined together.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This vase is composed of two layers of glass, one over the other. The
+lower is of a deep blue color, and the upper an opaque white, so that
+the figures stand out in white on a deep blue background.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The picture on it represents the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. The
+woman seated, holding a serpent in her left hand, is Thetis, and the
+man to whom she is giving her right hand is Peleus. The god in front
+of Thetis is Neptune, and a Cupid hovers in the air above. On the
+reverse side are Thetis and Peleus, and a goddess, all seated. At the
+foot of the vase is a bust of Ganymede, and on each side of this in
+the picture are copies of the masks on the handles.
+
+Now I have shown you a few of the beautiful things that have been made
+of glass, but there are very many other uses to which glass is applied
+that have not even been alluded to. Steam engines, that work like real
+ones, have been made of glass; palaces have been built of it; great
+telescopes, by which the wonders of the heavens have been revealed,
+owe their power to it; and, in fact, it would seem to us, to-day, as
+if we could as well do without our iron as without our glass.
+
+
+
+
+CARL.
+
+
+In the middle of a dark and gloomy forest lived Carl and Greta. Their
+father was a forester, who, when he was well, was accustomed to be
+away all day with his gun and dogs, leaving the two children with no
+one but old Nurse Heine; for their mother died when they were very
+little. Now Carl was twelve years old, and Greta nine. Carl was a
+fine-looking boy, but Nurse Heine said that he had a melancholy
+countenance. Greta, however, was a pretty, bright-faced, merry little
+girl. They were allowed to wander through a certain part of the
+forest, where their father thought there was no especial danger to
+fear.
+
+In truth, Carl was not melancholy at all, but was just as happy in his
+way as Greta was in hers. In the summer, while she was pulling the
+wood flowers and weaving them into garlands, or playing with her dogs,
+or chasing squirrels, Carl would be seated on some root or stone with
+a large sheet of coarse card-board on his knee, on which he drew
+pictures with a piece of sharpened charcoal. He had sketched, in his
+rough way, every pretty mass of foliage, and every picturesque rock
+and waterfall within his range. And in the winter, when the icicles
+were hanging from the cliffs, and the snow wound white arms around the
+dark green cypress boughs, Carl still found beautiful pictures
+everywhere, and Greta plenty of play in building snow-houses and
+statues. And, moreover, Carl had lately discovered in the brooks some
+colored stones, which were soft enough to sharpen sufficiently to give
+a blue tint to his skies, and green to his trees; and thus he made
+pictures that Nurse Heine said were more wonderful than those in the
+chapel of the little village of Evergode.
+
+I have said that the forest was dark and gloomy, because it was
+composed chiefly of pines and cypresses, but it never seemed so to
+the children. They knew how to read, but had no books that told them
+of any lands brighter and sunnier than their own. And then, too,
+beyond the belt of pines in which was their home, there was a long
+stretch of forest of oaks and beeches, and in this the birds liked to
+build their nests and sing; and there were such splendid vines, and
+lovely flowers! And, right through the pine forest, not more than half
+a mile from their cottage, there was a broad road. It is true, it was
+a very rough one, and but little used, but it represented the world to
+Carl and Greta. For it did sometimes happen that loaded wagons would
+jolt over it, or a rough soldier gallop along, and more rarely still,
+a gay cavalier would prance by the wondering children.
+
+For there was a war in the land. And when, after a time, the armies
+came near enough to the forest for the children to hear occasionally
+the roll of the heavy guns, a strange thing happened.
+
+One evening when they arrived at home, they found in their humble
+little cottage one of the gay-looking cavaliers they had sometimes
+seen on the forest road, and with him was a very beautiful lady. Old
+Nurse Heine was getting the spare room ready by beating up the great
+feather bed, and laying down on the floor the few strips of carpet
+they possessed. Their father was talking with the strangers, and he
+told them that Carl and Greta were his children; but they took no
+notice of them, for they were completely taken up with each other, for
+the gentleman, it appeared, was going away, and to leave the lady
+there. Carl greatly admired this cavalier, and had no doubt he was the
+noblest-looking man in the world, and studied him so closely that he
+would have known him among a thousand. Presently the forester led his
+children out of the cottage, and soon after the cavalier came out, and
+springing upon his horse, galloped away among the dark pines.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The strange lady was at the cottage several weeks, and the children
+soon learned to love her dearly. She was fond of rambling about with
+them, and was seldom to be found within the house when the weather was
+fair. She never went near the road, but preferred the oak wood, and
+sometimes when the children were amusing themselves she would sit for
+hours absorbed in deep thought or singing to herself in a sad and
+dreamy way.
+
+At other times she would interest herself in the children, and tell
+them of things in the world outside the forest. She praised Carl's
+pictures, and showed him how to work in his colors so as to more
+effectively bring out the perspective, and tried to educate his taste,
+as far as she could, by describing the pictures of the great masters.
+She often said afterwards that she could never have lived through
+those dark days but for the comfort she found in the children.
+
+Carl saw that she was sorrowful, and he understood that her sadness
+was not because of the plain fare and the way of living at the
+forester's cottage, which he knew must seem rough indeed to her, but
+because of some great grief. What this grief was he could not guess,
+for the children had been told nothing about the beautiful lady,
+except that her name was Lady Clarice. She never complained, but the
+boy's wistful eyes would follow her as she moved among the trees, and
+his heart would swell with pity; and how he would long to do something
+to prove to her how he loved her!
+
+The forester told Carl that the cavalier was with the army. But he did
+not come to the cottage, and there was no way for the Lady Clarice to
+hear from him, and she shuddered at the sound of the great guns. And
+finally she fell sick. Nurse Heine did what she could for her, but the
+lady grew worse. She felt that she should die, and it almost broke
+Carl's heart to hear her moaning: "Oh! if I could but see him once
+more!" He knew she meant the noble cavalier, but how should he get
+word to him? The old forester was just then stiff with rheumatism, and
+could scarcely move from his chair.
+
+"I will go myself!" said Carl to himself one day, "or she will die
+with grief!"
+
+Without saying a word to anybody about the matter, for fear that he
+would not be allowed to go, he stole out of the house in the gray of
+the morning, while all were asleep, and, making his way to the open
+road, he turned in the direction from whence, at times, had come the
+sound of the cannon. As long as he was in the part of the road that he
+knew, he kept up a stout heart, but when he left that he began to grow
+frightened. The road was so lonely, and strange sounds seemed to come
+out of the forest that stretched away, so black and thick, on each
+side! He wondered if any fierce beasts were there, or if robbers were
+lurking behind the rocks. But he thought of the beautiful lady, his
+kind friend, sick and dying, and that thought was more powerful than
+his fear. At noon he rested for awhile, and ate a few dry biscuits he
+had put in his pockets.
+
+It was near sunset when he saw that the trees stood less closely
+together, the road looked more travel-worn, and there came with the
+wind a confused and continuous noise. Then Carl was seized with
+terror. "I am now near the camp," he thought. "Suppose a battle is
+going on, and I am struck with a ball. I shall die, and father and
+little Greta will not know what became of me, and the beautiful lady
+will never know that I died in her service! Or if I meet a soldier,
+and he don't believe my story, maybe he'll run a bayonet through me!"
+
+It was not too late then to turn back and flee swiftly up the forest
+road, and Carl paused.
+
+But in a few moments he went on, animated by the noblest kind of
+courage--that which feels there is danger, but is determined to face
+it in the cause of duty, affection, and humanity.
+
+At last he stepped out of the forest, and there, before him, was
+spread out the vast encampment of the army! There was not time to
+wonder at the sight before he was challenged by a sentinel. Carl had
+made up his mind what to say, and that he would not mention the lady.
+So he promptly replied that he wanted to see a noble lord who had a
+sick friend at a cottage in the forest.
+
+As the boy could not tell the name or rank of the noble lord, the
+sentinel sent him to an officer, and to him Carl told the same story,
+but he described the man of whom he was in search so accurately that
+the officer sent him at once to the proper person. And Carl found that
+he was a very great personage indeed, and held a high command in the
+army. He did not recognize Carl, but as soon as the boy told his
+errand he became very much agitated.
+
+"I will go at once," he said; "but I cannot leave you here, my brave
+boy! Can you ride?"
+
+Now Carl knew how to sit on a horse, and how to hold the bridle, for
+he had ridden the wood-cutters' horses sometimes, so he answered that
+he thought he could ride. The Duke (for such was his title) ordered
+some refreshments set before the boy, and then went out to make his
+arrangements, choosing his gentlest horse for Carl.
+
+In half an hour they were in the forest, speeding like the wind. Carl
+felt as if he was flying. The horse chose his own gait, and tried to
+keep up with the one that the Duke was riding; but finally, finding
+this impossible, he slackened his pace, greatly to Carl's relief. But
+the Duke was too anxious about his lady to accommodate himself to the
+slower speed of the boy, and soon swept out of sight around a bend in
+the road. His cloak and the long feathers of his hat streamed on the
+night wind for a moment longer. Then they vanished, and Carl was
+alone.
+
+Carl was somewhat afraid of the horse, for he was not used to such a
+high-mettled steed; but, on the whole, he was glad he was mounted on
+it. For if the woods had seemed lonely in the daylight they were ten
+times more so in the night. And the noises seemed more fearful than
+before. And Carl thought if any furious beast or robber should dart
+upon him, he could make the horse carry him swiftly away. As it was he
+let the horse do as he pleased, and as Carl sat quietly and did not
+worry him in any way, he pleased to go along very smoothly, and
+rather slowly, so it was past midnight when they reached home.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Carl found that the Duke had been there a long time; that the lady was
+overjoyed to see him, and Nurse Heine said she began to grow better
+from that moment.
+
+The next morning the Duke went away; but before he left he thanked
+Carl for the great service he had done him, and gave him a piece of
+gold. But Carl was better pleased when the lady called him into her
+room, and kissed him, and cried over him, and praised him for a kind,
+brave boy, and said he had saved her life.
+
+And when she got well Carl noticed that she was brighter and happier
+than she had been before.
+
+In a short time, however, she went away with the Duke, in a grand
+coach, with servants and outriders. And Carl and Greta watched them as
+they were whirled up the forest road, and then walked home through the
+pines with sad hearts.
+
+Then the forester told his children that the Duke had married this
+lady secretly, against the king's command, and he had so many bitter
+and cruel enemies that he was afraid they would do her some evil while
+he was away in the war. She knew of the forester, because his wife had
+been a maid of her mother's, so she came to this lonely place for
+safety. But now the king was pleased, and it was all right.
+
+The winter came and went. The war was over. And then Lady Clarice,
+whom the children never expected to see again, sent for them, and the
+forester, and Nurse Heine, to her castle. She provided for them all,
+and Greta grew up into a pretty and well-bred young lady.
+
+Lady Clarice had not forgotten the brave act of the boy, and also
+remembered what he liked best in the world. So she had him taught to
+draw and paint, and in process of time he became a great artist, and
+all the world knew of his name and fame.
+
+
+
+
+SCHOOL'S OUT!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+What a welcome and joyful sound! In the winter, when the days are
+short, and the sun, near the end of the six school hours, sinks so low
+that the light in the room grows dim and gray, with what impatience,
+my dear child, do you wait for this signal! But it is in the long
+summer days that you find school most tiresome. The air in the room is
+hot and drowsy, and outside you can see there is a breeze blowing, for
+the trees are gently tossing their green boughs as if to twit you with
+having to work out sums in such glorious weather. And there come to
+your ears the pleasant sounds of the buzzing of insects and twittering
+of birds, and the brook splashing over the stones. Then the four walls
+of the school-room look very dreary, and the maps glare at you, and
+the black-boards frown darkly, and the benches seem very hard, and the
+ink-bespattered desks appear more grimy than ever.
+
+This was the time when the heart of the Dominie would be touched with
+pity, and he would say in his bright way: "Now, children, I am going
+to read you something!"
+
+Instantly the half-closed eyes would open, the drooping heads would be
+raised, the vacant faces would brighten, and the little cramped legs
+would be stretched out with a sigh of relief. And then the Dominie
+would read them something that was not only instructive, but very
+entertaining. Sometimes, instead of reading to them, he would set them
+to declaiming or reciting poetry, or they would choose sides and have
+a spelling match. They would get so interested that they would forget
+all about the birds and sunshine without. They did not even know that
+they were learning all this time.
+
+For the Dominie had all sorts of pleasant ways of teaching his
+scholars. Not but what they had to work hard too, for nobody can
+accomplish anything worth having without putting a good deal of hard
+work in it.
+
+You see the Dominie's portrait in the picture. The fringe of hair
+around his bald head was as white as snow; his black eyes were bright
+and merry; and he had a kindly face. His name was Morris Harvey, but
+everybody called him Dominie, and he liked that name best. All the
+village people respected and loved the old man; and every child in the
+village school that he taught, from the largest boy, whose legs were
+so long that he did not know what to do with them, down to Bessie
+Gay, who could scarcely reach up to the top of a desk, were very fond
+indeed of him.
+
+But even under the Dominie's kindly rule, "School's out!" was always a
+welcome sound. What a noise there would be in the school-room for a
+minute; and then such a grand rush out into the open air! and such
+merry shouts! The Dominie would look after them with a smile. He
+wanted them to study, but he was glad that it was natural for them to
+love to play.
+
+If little Charlie Lane had known this he would not have had such a cry
+the morning he went to school for the first time. He thought his
+mother very cruel to make him go, and, I am sorry to say, not only
+cried before he started, but all the way to the school-house. The
+Dominie took no notice of this, and Charlie soon found that school was
+not such a very dreadful place. And there was the nice playtime in the
+middle of the day. And, when school was out, the Dominie took him on
+his knee and gave him a big apple, and showed him a book full of
+bright pictures, and told him a story about every one of them.
+
+You can see the little fellow on the Dominie's lap, looking earnestly
+at a picture in the book; and the old man is pleased that the child is
+pleased. The Dominie is sitting in his big chair, and his dinner-bag
+is hanging on the back of it. On the black-board over his head you see
+little Charlie's lesson for that day. It is on the right, and consists
+of the letters A, B, C, which the child has been staring at until he
+knows them perfectly in any book that is given to him. On the left, is
+a sum; and somebody has tried to draw an almanac sun on the lower part
+of the board. Across the top the Dominie has written a copy. You can
+read it plainly. It was a favorite saying of his; and a very good one
+too.
+
+Have we not, all of us, a great deal to make us happy? What pleasure
+is it to you to go about with a cross or melancholy face? Try to think
+of something pleasant, and call up a smile. Put the ill-natured
+feelings out of your heart, and then the brightness will come to your
+face without further trouble. If you have a hard task to do, being
+cross won't help you along one bit. Go to work at it with a will, and
+you will be surprised to find how soon it will be done. Then, with a
+clear conscience and a glad heart, you can sit waiting for the welcome
+sound, "School's out!"
+
+
+
+
+NEST-BUILDERS.
+
+
+"Birds in their little nests agree," but they do not at all agree in
+their manner of building the said nests.
+
+They have all sorts of ideas on this subject. Nearly every species of
+bird has a nest peculiar to itself, and the variety is astonishing.
+There are nests like cups, and nests like saucers; nests which are
+firmly fixed among the solid rocks, and nests which wave about on the
+ends of slender branches; nests which are perched on the very tops of
+the tallest trees, and nests which are hidden in the ground. There are
+great nests, which will hold a bushel or two of eggs, and little bits
+of things, into which you could scarcely put half a dozen peas.
+
+In mentioning some of these nests, it will be needless for us to say
+much of those with which we are all familiar. In our rambles together
+we must try and see as many novelties as possible, for we may not
+always have the chance of wandering freely into any part of the world
+to which our fancy may lead us. I remember a little girl who used to
+come to our house when I was a boy, and who never cared for anything
+at table that was not something of a novelty to her. When offered
+potatoes, she would frankly say: "No, thank you; I can get them at
+home."
+
+So we will not meddle with hens' nests, robins' nests, and all the
+nests, big and little, that we find about our homes, for they are the
+"potatoes" of a subject like this, but will try and find some nests
+that are a little out of the way, and curious.
+
+But we must stop--just one moment--before we leave home, and look at a
+wren's nest.
+
+The Wren, although a very common little bird with us, does not build a
+common nest. She makes it round, like a ball, or a woolly orange,
+with a little hole at one side for a door. Inside, it is just as soft
+and comfortable as anything can be. Being such a little bird herself,
+she could not cover and protect her young ones from cold and danger so
+well as the larger cat-birds and robins, and her nest is contrived so
+that there will not be much covering to do.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+That beautiful bird, the Baltimore Oriole, which may be familiar to
+some of you, makes its nest somewhat on the plan of the wren, the
+similarity consisting in the fact that the structure is intended to
+shelter both parent and young. The oriole, which is a great deal
+larger than a wren, builds a much larger nest, forming it like a bag,
+with a hole in one end, and hangs it on the branch of a tree.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It is scarcely possible for any harm to come to the young orioles,
+when they are lying snugly at the bottom of the deep nest and their
+mother is sitting on a twig near by, ready to protect them at the
+hazard of her life.
+
+But, for all the apparent security of this nest, so deep, so warm, so
+firmly secured to the twigs and branches, the little orioles are not
+entirely safe. Their mother may protect them from rain and cold; from
+winged enemies and creeping serpents, but she cannot defend them
+against the attacks of boys and men. An oriole's nest is such a
+curious structure, and the birds are known to be of such fine form and
+gorgeous plumage, that many boys cannot resist the temptation of
+climbing up after them and, if there are young ones within, of
+carrying the whole affair away in order to try and "raise" the young
+birds. Sometimes the nest is put in a cage, where the old bird can
+come and feed its young, and in other cases the captor undertakes to
+do the feeding himself. I have seen experiments of this kind tried,
+but never knew the slightest success to follow them, and the attempt,
+generally useless, is always cruel.
+
+But we must positively get away from home and look at some nests to
+which few or none of us are accustomed.
+
+There, for instance, is the nest of the Burrowing-Owl, a native of
+South America and the regions west of the Rocky Mountains. This little
+bird, much smaller than our common owls, likes to live in the ground.
+But not having been provided by nature with digging appendages, he
+cannot make a hole or burrow for himself, and so he takes up his abode
+in the underground holes made by the little prairie-dogs for their own
+homes. It is not at all certain that these owls should be called
+usurpers or thieves. They may, in some cases, get entire possession of
+the holes, but very often they live very sociably with the
+prairie-dogs, and may, for all we know, pay for their lodgings by
+bringing in grain and seeds, along with the worms and insects which
+they reserve for their own table. Any one who does not possess a
+habitation of his own, must occasionally expect to be thrown among
+strange companions, and this very often happens to the burrowing-owl.
+Travellers tell us that not only do the prairie-dogs and owls live
+together in these burrows, but that great rattlesnakes sometimes take
+up their residence therein--all three families seeming to live
+together in peace and unity. I think that it is probable, however,
+that the little dogs and owls are not at all pleased with the company
+of the snakes. A prairie-dog will not eat an owl, and without the dog
+is very young indeed, an owl will not eat him; but a great snake would
+just as soon swallow either of them as not, if he happened to be
+hungry, which fortunately is not often the case, for a good meal lasts
+a snake a long time. But the owls and the prairie-dogs have no way of
+ridding themselves of their unwelcome roommates, and, like human
+beings, they are obliged to patiently endure the ills they cannot
+banish. Perhaps, like human beings again, they become so accustomed to
+these ills that they forget how disagreeable they are.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There is a bird--and it is a Flamingo--which builds a nest which looks
+to me as if it must be very unpleasant to sit upon. And yet it suits
+the bird very well. In fact, on any other kind of a nest, the
+flamingo might not know what to do with its legs.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It would appear as if there had been a waste of material in making
+such a large high nest, when only two or three moderate-sized eggs are
+placed in the slight depression at the top; but, when we consider that
+the flamingo uses this tall affair as a seat, as well as a nest, we
+can easily understand that flamingoes, like most other birds,
+understand how to adapt their nests to their own convenience and
+peculiarities. Sitting astraddle on one of these tall nests, which
+look something like peach-baskets turned upside down, with her head
+stuck as far under her wing as she can get it, the flamingo dozes
+away, during the long sultry hours of day, as comfortably and happily
+as if she was a little wren snugly curled up inside of its cosey nest.
+It is not mere situation which makes us happy. Some people enjoy life
+in cottages, others in palaces, and some birds sit in a pile of hard
+sticks and think themselves quite as cosey as those which repose upon
+the softest down.
+
+It is almost impossible to comprehend the different fancies of birds
+in regard to their nests. For instance, why should any bird want to
+sail about in its nest? Yet there is one--called the Little
+Grebe--which builds a water-tight nest, in which she lays her eggs,
+and, while she is hatching them, she paddles herself around on the
+water.
+
+It seems to me that these birds must have a very pleasant time during
+the setting season. To start out some fine morning, after it has had
+its breakfast of bugs and things, to gently push its nest from shore;
+to jump on board; to sit down comfortably on the eggs, and sticking
+out its web-footed legs on each side, to paddle away among the
+water-lilies and the beautiful green rushes, in company with other
+little grebes, all uniting business and pleasure in the same way, must
+be, indeed, quite charming to an appreciative duck.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+If it were to happen to storm, however, when the grebe was at a
+distance from shore, her little craft might be upset and her cargo of
+eggs go to the bottom. But I expect the grebes are very good sailors,
+and know when to look for bad weather.
+
+A nest full of young grebes just hatched, with the mother swimming
+behind, pushing them along with her beak, or towing them by the loose
+end of a twig, must be a very singular and interesting sight.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+An Ostrich has very different views in regard to a nest from a little
+grebe. Instead of wishing to take its nest about with it, wherever it
+goes, the ostrich does not care for a great deal of nest-work.
+
+It is, however, a bird of more domestic habits than some writers would
+have us believe; for although it does cover up its eggs in the sand,
+and then let the sun help hatch them, it is not altogether inattentive
+to its nest. The ostrich makes a large nest in the sand, where, it is
+said, the eggs of several families are deposited. These eggs are very
+carefully arranged in the great hole or basin that has been formed in
+the soft sand, and, during the daytime, they are often covered up and
+left to be gently heated by the rays of the sun. But the ostrich sits
+upon her nest at night, and in many cases the male bird has been known
+to sit upon the eggs all day. An ostrich nest is a sort of a wholesale
+establishment. There are not only a great many eggs in the nest, but
+dozens of them are often found lying about on the sand around it.
+
+This apparent waste is explained by some naturalists by the statement
+that these scattered eggs are intended for the food of the young ones
+when they are hatched. This may be true; but in that case young
+ostriches cannot be very particular about the flavor of the eggs they
+eat. A few days in the hot sun of the desert would be very likely to
+make eggs of any kind taste rather strongly. But ostrich eggs are so
+large, and their shells are so thick, that they may keep better than
+the eggs to which we are accustomed.
+
+From nests which are built flat on the ground, let us now go to some
+that are placed as high from the earth as their builders can get them.
+The nests of the Storks are of this kind.
+
+A pair of storks will select, as a site for their nest, a lofty place
+among the rocks; the top of some old ruins; or, when domesticated, as
+they often are, the top of a chimney. But when there are a number of
+storks living together in a community, they very often settle in a
+grove of tall trees and build their nests on the highest branches.
+
+[Illustration: THE NEST OF A STORK.]
+
+In these they lay their eggs, and hatch out their young ones. Soon
+after the time when these young storks are able to fly, the whole
+community generally starts off on its winter pilgrimage to warm
+countries; but the old storks always return in the spring to the same
+nest that they left, while the young ones, if they choose to join that
+community at all, must make nests for themselves. Although these nests
+are nothing but rude structures of sticks and twigs, made apparently
+in the roughest manner, each pair of storks evidently thinks that
+there is no home like its own.
+
+The stork is a very kind parent, and is, in fact, more careful of the
+welfare of its young than most birds; but it never goes to the length
+of surrendering its homestead to its children.
+
+The young storks will be carefully nurtured and reared by their
+parents; when they grow old enough they will be taught to fly, and
+encouraged in the most earnest way to strengthen and develop their
+wings by exercise; and, in the annual expedition to the south, they
+are not left to themselves, but are conducted to the happy lands where
+all good storks spend their winters. But the young storks cannot have
+everything. If they wish to live in the nest in which they were born,
+they must wait until their parents are dead.
+
+It may be that we have now seen enough of birds' nests, and so I will
+not show you any more.
+
+The next nest which we will examine--
+
+"But I thought you were not going to show us any more birds' nests!"
+you will say.
+
+That is true. I did say so, and this next one is not a bird's nest but
+a fish's nest.
+
+It is probably that very few of you, if any, ever saw a fish's nest;
+but there certainly are such things.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The fish which builds them is called the Stickleback. It is a little
+fish, but it knows how to make a good nest. The male stickleback is
+the builder, and when he thinks of making a nest he commences by
+burrowing a hole in the mud at the bottom of the stream where he
+lives. When with his nose and body he has made this hole large enough,
+he collects bits of grass, roots, and weeds, and builds his nest over
+this hole, which seems to be dug for the purpose of giving security to
+the structure. The grass and other materials are fastened to the mud
+and earth by means of a sticky substance, which exudes from the body
+of the fish, and every part of the nest is stuck together and
+interlaced so that it will not be disturbed by the currents. There are
+generally two openings to this nest, which is something like a lady's
+muff, although, of course, it is by no means so smooth and regular.
+The fish can generally stick its head out of one end, and its tail out
+of the other.
+
+When the eggs have been laid in the nest, and the young sticklebacks
+have been born, the male fish is said to be very strict and particular
+in the government of his children. For some time--while they are yet
+very small--(and the father himself is a very little fellow) he makes
+them stay in the nest, and if any of them come swimming out, he drives
+them back again, and forces them to stay at home until they are of a
+proper age to swim about by themselves.
+
+We have now seen quite a variety of nests, and I think that we may
+come to this conclusion about their builders:--The bird or other
+creature which can carefully select the materials for the home of its
+young, can decide what is most suitable for the rough outside and what
+will be soft and nice for the inner lining, and can choose a position
+for its nest where the peculiar wants and habits of its little ones
+can be best provided for, must certainly be credited with a degree of
+intelligence which is something more than what is generally suggested
+by the term instinct.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE BOOMERANG.
+
+
+Civilized folks are superior in so very many respects to their
+barbarous brethren that it is well, when we discover anything which a
+savage can do better than we can, to make a note of it, and give the
+subject some attention.
+
+And it is certain that there are savages who can surpass us in one
+particular--they can make and throw boomerangs.
+
+It is very possible that an American mechanic could imitate an
+Australian boomerang, so that few persons could tell the difference;
+but I do not believe that boomerang would work properly. Either in the
+quality of the wood, or in the seasoning, or in some particular which
+we would not be apt to notice, it would, in all probability, differ
+very much from the weapon carved out by the savage. If the American
+mechanic was to throw his boomerang away from him, I think it would
+stay away. There is no reason to believe that it would ever come back.
+
+And yet there is nothing at all wonderful in the appearance of the
+real boomerang. It is simply a bent club, about two feet long, smooth
+on one side and slightly hollowed out on the other. No one would
+imagine, merely from looking at it, that it could behave in any way
+differently from any other piece of stick of its size and weight.
+
+But it does behave differently, at least when an Australian savage
+throws it. I have never heard of an American or European who was able
+to make the boomerang perform the tricks for which it has become
+famous. Throwing this weapon is like piano-playing; you have to be
+brought up to it in order to do it well.
+
+In the hands of the natives of Australia, however, the boomerang
+performs most wonderful feats. Sometimes the savage takes hold of it
+by one end, and gives it a sort of careless jerk, so that it falls on
+the ground at a short distance from him. As soon as it strikes the
+earth it bounds up into the air, turns, twists, and pitches about in
+every direction, knocking with great force against everything in its
+way. It is said that when it bounds in this way into the midst of a
+flock of birds, it kills and wounds great numbers of them. At other
+times the boomerang-thrower will hurl his weapon at an object at a
+great distance, and when it has struck the mark it will turn and fall
+at the feet of its owner, turning and twisting on its swift and
+crooked way. This little engraving shows how the boomerang will go
+around a tree and return again to the thrower. The twisted line
+indicates its course.
+
+Most astonishing stories are told of the skill with which the
+Australians use this weapon. They will aim at birds or small animals
+that are hidden behind trees and rocks, and the boomerang will go
+around the trees and rocks and kill the game. They are the only people
+who can with any certainty shoot around a corner. Not only do they
+throw the boomerang with unerring accuracy, but with tremendous force,
+and when it hits a man on the head, giving him two or three terrible
+raps as it twists about him, it is very apt to kill him. To ward off
+these dangerous blows, the natives generally carry shields when they
+go out to fight. Sometimes an Australian throws two boomerangs at
+once, one with his right hand and one with his left, and then the
+unfortunate man that he aims at has a hard time of it.
+
+Many persons have endeavored to explain the peculiar turning and
+twisting properties of the boomerang, but they have not been entirely
+successful, for so much depends not only on the form of the weapon,
+but on the skill of the thrower. But it is known that the form of the
+boomerang, and the fact that one of its limbs is longer and heavier
+than the other, gives its centre of gravity a very peculiar situation;
+and when the weapon is thrown by one end, it has naturally a tendency
+to rotate, and the manner of this rotation is determined by the
+peculiar impetus given it by the hand of the man who throws it.
+
+It is well that we are able to explain the boomerang a little, for
+that is all we can do with it. The savage cannot explain it at all;
+but he can use it.
+
+But, after all, I do not know that a boomerang would be of much
+service to us even if we could use it. There is only one thing that I
+can now think of that it would be good for. It would be a splendid to
+knock down chestnuts with!
+
+Just think of a boomerang going twirling into a chestnut-tree,
+twisting, turning, banging, and cracking on every side, knocking down
+the chestnuts in a perfect shower, and then coming gently back into
+your hand, all ready for another throw!
+
+It would be well worth while to go out chestnuting, if we had a
+boomerang to do the work for us.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now our Ramblings must come to an end. We cannot walk about the world
+for ever, you know, no matter how pleasant it may be.
+
+And I wish I was quite sure that you have all found these wanderings
+pleasant.
+
+As for me, there were some things that I did not like so well as
+others, and I suppose that that was the case with all of you.
+
+But it could not be helped. In this world some things will be better
+than others, do what we may.
+
+One of these days, perhaps, we may ramble about again. Until then,
+good-by!
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+_Charles Scribner's Sons Books for Young Readers._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Written and Illustrated by Howard Pyle
+
+_A NEW BOOK JUST PUBLISHED._
+
+THE STORY OF SIR LAUNCELOT AND HIS COMPANIONS
+
+Profusely illustrated. Royal 8vo, $2.50 _net_.
+
+The account of the adventures and deeds of Sir Launcelot, fully and
+beautifully illustrated in Mr. Pyle's characteristic style, and
+uniform with his other two books, "The Story of King Arthur and His
+Knights" and "The Story of the Champions of the Round Table." This
+book takes up the adventures of the greatest of the Arthurian heroes,
+from the very beginning, and also that of his son Sir Galahad.
+
+"There is nobody quite like Howard Pyle, after all, when it comes to
+stories for children, nobody with his peculiar freshness and
+enthusiasm, and his power of choosing quaint and lovely settings for
+the sometimes quiet, sometimes stirring tales that appeal at once to
+his readers by their truth and naturalness."--THE SPRINGFIELD
+REPUBLICAN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_OTHER BOOKS BY MR. PYLE_.
+
+THE STORY OF THE CHAMPIONS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Profusely illustrated.
+Royal 8vo, $2.50 _net_.
+
+"He has caught the very spirit of chivalry. It is one of the best of
+holiday books."--SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.
+
+THE STORY OF KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS. Profusely illustrated. Royal
+8vo, $2.50 _net_.
+
+"Nothing could be better to give a boy or girl for Christmas than Mr.
+Pyle's rendition of these stately, ennobling old legends."--CHICAGO
+RECORD-HERALD.
+
+THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. Illustrated. Royal 8vo, $3.00.
+
+"This superb book is unquestionably the most original and elaborate
+ever produced by any American author. Mr. Pyle has told, with pencil
+and pen, the complete and consecutive story of Robin Hood and his
+merry men in their haunts in Sherwood Forest, gathered from the old
+ballads and legends."--BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.
+
+OTTO OF THE SILVER HAND. Illustrated. Royal 8vo, $2.00.
+
+"The scene of the story is mediæval Germany in the time of the feuds
+and robber barons and romance. The kidnapping of Otto, his adventures
+among rough soldiers and his daring rescue make up a spirited and
+thrilling story."--CHRISTIAN UNION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Heroes of the Olden Time.
+
+By JAMES BALDWIN. Three volumes, 12mo, each beautifully illustrated.
+Singly, $1.50; the set, $4.00.
+
+A STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE. Illustrated by HOWARD PYLE.
+
+"Mr. Baldwin's book is redolent with the spirit of the Odyssey, that
+glorious primitive epic, fresh with the dew of the morning of time. It
+is an unalloyed pleasure to read his recital of the adventures of the
+wily Odysseus. Howard Pyle's illustrations render the spirit of the
+Homeric age with admirable felicity."--PROF. H.H. BOYESEN.
+
+THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED. Illustrated by HOWARD PYLE.
+
+"The story of 'Siegfried' is charmingly told. The author makes up the
+story from the various myths in a fascinating way which cannot fail to
+interest the reader. It is as enjoyable as any fairy tale."--HARTFORD
+COURANT.
+
+THE STORY OF ROLAND. Illustrated by R.B. BIRCH.
+
+"Mr. Baldwin has culled from a wide range of epics, French, Italian, and
+German, and has once more proved his aptitude as a story-teller for the
+young."--THE NATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Boy's Library of Legend and Chivalry.
+
+Edited by <sc>SIDNEY LANIER</sc>, and richly illustrated by
+FREDERICKS, BENSELL, and KAPPES. Four volumes, cloth, uniform binding,
+price per set, $7.00. Sold separately, price per volume, $2.00.
+
+Mr. Lanier's books present to boy readers the old English classics of
+history and legend in an attractive form. While they are stories of
+action and stirring incident, they teach those lessons which manly,
+honest boys ought to learn.
+
+THE BOY'S KING ARTHUR.
+THE BOY'S FROISSART.
+THE BOY'S PERCY.
+THE KNIGHTLY LEGENDS OF WALES.
+
+"Amid all the strange and fanciful scenery of these stories, character
+and ideals of character remain at the simplest and purest. The romantic
+history transpires in the healthy atmosphere of the open air on the
+green earth beneath the open sky."--THE INDEPENDENT.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Stories for Boys.
+
+By RICHARD HARDING DAVIS. With 6 full-page illustrations. 12mo, $1.00
+
+CONTENTS: The Reporter who made himself King--Midsummer
+Pirates--Richard Carr's Baby, a Football Story--The Great Tri-Club
+Tennis Tournament--The Jump at Corey's Slip--The Van Bibber Baseball
+Club--The Story of a Jockey.
+
+"It will be astonishing indeed if youths of all ages are not fascinated
+with these 'Stories for Boys.' Mr. Davis knows infallibly what will
+interest his young readers."--BOSTON BEACON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Marvels of Animal Life Series.
+
+By CHARLES F. HOLDER. Three volumes, 8vo, each profusely illustrated.
+Singly, $1.75; the Set, $5.00.
+
+THE IVORY KING. A POPULAR HISTORY OF THE ELEPHANT AND ITS ALLIES.
+
+"The author talks in a lively and pleasant way about white elephants,
+rogue elephants, baby elephants, trick elephants, of the elephant in
+war, pageantry, sports and games. A charming accession to books for
+young people."--CHICAGO INTERIOR.
+
+MARVELS OF ANIMAL LIFE.
+
+"Mr. Holder combines his description of these odd creatures with
+stories of his own adventures in pursuit of them in many parts of the
+world. These are told with much spirit, and add greatly to the
+fascination of the book."--WORCESTER SPY.
+
+LIVING LIGHTS. A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF PHOSPHORESCENT ANIMALS AND
+VEGETABLES.
+
+"A very curious branch of natural history is expounded in most
+agreeable style by this delightful book. He has revealed a world of
+new wonders."--PHILADELPHIA BULLETIN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+White Cockades.
+
+An Incident of the "Forty-five." By EDWARD I. STEVENSON. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+"A bright historical tale. The scene is Scotland; the time that of
+Prince Charles' rebellion. The hero is a certain gallant young
+nobleman devoted to the last of the Stuarts and his cause. The action
+turns mainly upon the hiding, the hunting, and the narrow escapes of
+Lord Geoffrey Armitage from the spies and soldiers of the King."--NEW
+YORK MAIL AND EXPRESS.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Prince Peerless.
+
+A Fairy-Folk Story Book. By MARGARET COLLIER (Madam Gelletti Di
+Cadilhac). Illustrated by John Collier. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"More admirable and fascinating a fairy-story book we have not lately
+set eyes upon. The stories are most airily conceived and gracefully
+executed."--HARTFORD POST.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By William Henry Frost.
+
+FAIRIES AND FOLK OF IRELAND. Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo,
+$1.50.
+
+"Fresh and delightful materials are incorporated in witty and
+interesting narratives."--PHILADELPHIA PRESS.
+
+THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Stories of King Arthur and the Holy
+Grail. Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"The book is especially commended to boys, who will delight in the
+martial spirit breathed through the tales, and cannot fail to be
+benefited by reading of the courage, honor, and truth of these 'brave
+knights of old.'"--CHICAGO INTER-OCEAN.
+
+THE COURT OF KING ARTHUR. Stories from the Land of the Round Table.
+Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"Mr. William Henry Frost in 'The Court of King Arthur' has succeeded
+admirably in his attempt to make the doughty knights and fair ladies
+of ancient days seem distinct and interesting to boys and girls of our
+own time."--PUBLIC OPINION.
+
+THE WAGNER STORY BOOK. Firelight Tales of the Great Music Dramas.
+Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"The story of the Knight of the Swan, of the Ring of the Nibelungen,
+the Search for the Grail, of Lohengrin and of Parsifal, are among the
+richest and deepest of the great mediæval stories. They are
+pre-eminently the natural food for children of imagination, and in
+this volume these stories are retold in a very effective way."--THE
+OUTLOOK.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Robert Grant's Two Books for Boys.
+
+JACK HALL; or, the School Days of an American Boy. Illustrated by F.
+G. ATTWOOD. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"A better book for boys has never been written. It is pure, clean and
+healthy, and has throughout a vigorous action that holds the reader
+breathless."--BOSTON HERALD.
+
+"A capital story for boys, wholesome and interesting. It reminds one
+of 'Tom Brown.'"--BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.
+
+JACK IN THE BUSH; or, a Summer on a Salmon River. Illustrated by F.T.
+MERRILL. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"A clever book for boys. It is the story of the camp-life of a lot of
+boys, and is destined to please every boy reader. It is attractively
+illustrated."--DETROIT FREE PRESS.
+
+"An ideal story of out-door life and genuine experiences."--BOSTON
+TRAVELLER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Books by Kirk Munroe.
+
+A SON OF SATSUMA; or, WITH PERRY IN JAPAN. Illustrated by RUFUS F.
+ZOGBAUM. 12mo, $1.00 _net_.
+
+"If there is a man who understands writing a story for boys better
+than another, it is Kirk Munroe."--SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN.
+
+BRETHREN OF THE COAST: A TALE OF WEST INDIAN PIRATES. Illustrated by
+RUFUS F. ZOGBAUM. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"There is enough of history and enough of action in this story to make
+it valuable as well as readable, and this story of adventure and
+description will be read with interest and profit."--HERALD AND
+PRESBYTER.
+
+MIDSHIPMAN STUART; OR, THE LAST CRUISE OF THE ESSEX. A tale of 1812.
+Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+The story tells of the exciting adventures of an unusually plucky and
+enterprising American boy whose career at sea is marked with
+hairbreadth escapes.
+
+IN PIRATE WATERS: A TALE OF THE AMERICAN NAVY. Illustrated by I.W.
+TABER. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+The boy hero of this book assists in the extinction of this cowardly
+system, taking part in some of the sea fights which brought glory to
+the American navy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The White Conqueror's Series.
+
+Each 12mo, $1.25. The set in a box, four volumes, $5.00.
+
+WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE; or, Fighting for the Lone Star State.
+Illustrated by VICTOR S. PÉRARD.
+
+"One of the most spirited and interesting tales that he has
+written."--NEWS AND COURIER.
+
+THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE. A tale of the Seminole War.
+Illustrated by VICTOR S. PÉRARD.
+
+"No boy can get hold of this story without being carried away with it."
+--BOSTON COURIER.
+
+AT WAR WITH PONTIAC; or, the Totem of the Bear. A tale of redcoat and
+redskin. Illustrated by J. FENNEMORE.
+
+"The book is admirably written throughout and has not a dull page in
+it."--BOSTON BEACON.
+
+THE WHITE CONQUERORS. A tale of Toltec and Aztec. Illustrated
+by W.S. STACEY.
+
+"The book is filled with incident and permeated with the high color
+and life of the period and country."--CAMBRIDGE TRIBUNE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Frank R. Stockton's Books for the Young.
+
+"_His books for boys and girls are classics_."--NEWARK ADVERTISER.
+
+THE CLOCKS OF RONDAINE, AND OTHER STORIES. With 24 illustrations by
+BLASHFIELD, ROGERS, BEARD, and others. Square 8vo; $1.50.
+
+PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. Illustrated by PENNELL, PARSONS, and others. Sq.
+8vo, $2.00.
+
+THE STORY OF VITEAU. Illustrated by R.B. BIRCH. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. With 20 illustrations. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+THE FLOATING PRINCE AND OTHER FAIRY TALES. Illustrated. Square 8vo,
+$1.50.
+
+THE TING-A-LING TALES. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS OF FACT AND FICTION. Illustrated. Square
+8vo, $1.50.
+
+TALES OUT OF SCHOOL. With nearly 200 illustrations. Square 8vo, $1.50.
+
+"The volumes are profusely illustrated and contain the most
+entertaining sketches in Mr. Stockton's most entertaining
+manner."--CHRISTIAN UNION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Edward Eggleston's Two Popular Books.
+
+THE HOOSIER SCHOOL-BOY. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+"'The Hoosier School-Boy' depicts some of the characteristics of
+boy-life years ago on the Ohio; characteristics, however, that were
+not peculiar to that section. The story presents a vivid and
+interesting picture of the difficulties which in those days beset the
+path of the youth aspiring for an education."--CHICAGO INTER-OCEAN.
+
+QUEER STORIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+"A very bright and attractive little volume for young readers. The
+stories are fresh, breezy, and healthy, with a good point to them and
+a good, sound American view of life and the road to success. The book
+abounds in good feeling and good sense, and is written in a style of
+homely art."--INDEPENDENT.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Evening Tales.
+
+Done into English from the French of Frederic Ortoli, by JOEL CHANDLER
+HARRIS. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+"It is a veritable French 'Uncle Remus' that Mr. Harris has discovered
+in Frederic Ortoli. The book has the genuine piquancy of Gallic wit,
+and will be sure to charm American children. Mr. Harris's version is
+delightfully written."--BOSTON BEACON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Hans Brinker: Or, The Silver Skates. A Story of Life in Holland. By
+Mary Mapes Dodge. With 60 illustrations. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"The author has shown, in her former works for the young, a very rare
+ability to meet their wants; but she has produced nothing better than
+this charming tale--alive with incident and action, adorned rather than
+freighted with useful facts, and moral without moralization."--THE
+NATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Norseland Series.
+
+_BY H.H. BOYESEN_.
+
+NORSELAND TALES. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+BOYHOOD IN NORWAY: NINE STORIES OF DEEDS OF THE SONS OF THE VIKINGS.
+With 8 illustrations. 12mo, $1.25
+
+AGAINST HEAVY ODDS, AND A FEARLESS TRIO. With 13 full-page
+illustrations by W.L. TAYLOR. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+THE MODERN VIKINGS: STORIES OF LIFE AND SPORT IN THE NORSELAND. With
+many full-page illustrations. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+The four above volumes in a box, $5.00.
+
+"Charmingly told stories of boy-life in the Land of the Midnight Sun,
+illustrated with pictures giving a capital idea of the incidents and
+scenes described. The tales have a delight all their own, as they tell
+of scenes and sports and circumstances so different from those of our
+American life."--N.Y. OBSERVER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two Books by Rossiter Johnson.
+
+THE END OF A RAINBOW. AN AMERICAN STORY. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"It will be read with breathless interest. It is interesting and full
+of boyish experiences."--N.Y. INDEPENDENT.
+
+PHAETON ROGERS. A NOVEL OF BOY LIFE. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"Mr. Johnson has shown in this book capabilities of a really high
+quality, for his story abounds with humor, and there are endless bits
+of quiet fun in it, which bring out the hearty laugh, even when it is
+read by older people. It is a capital book for boys."--NEW YORK TIMES.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mrs. Burton Harrison's Tales.
+
+BRIC-A-BRAC STORIES. With 24 illustrations by Walter Crane. 12mo,
+$1.50.
+
+"When the little boy, for whose benefit the various articles of
+bric-a-brac in his father's drawing-room relate stories appropriate to
+their several native countries, exclaims at the conclusion of one of
+them: 'I almost think there can't be a better one than that!' the
+reader, of whatever age, will probably feel inclined to agree with
+him. Upon the whole, it is to be wished that every boy and girl might
+become acquainted with the contents of this book."--JULIAN HAWTHORNE.
+
+THE OLD FASHIONED FAIRY BOOK. Illustrated by ROSINA EMMET, 16mo,
+$1.25.
+
+"The little ones, who so willingly go back with us to 'Jack the Giant
+Killer,' 'Bluebeard,' and the kindred stories of our childhood, will
+gladly welcome Mrs. Burton Harrison's 'Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales.' The
+graceful pencil of Miss Rosina Emmet has given a pictorial interest to
+the book."--FRANK R. STOCKTON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Thomas Nelson Page's Two Books.
+
+AMONG THE CAMPS: OR, YOUNG PEOPLE'S STORIES OF THE WAR. With 8
+full-page illustrations. Square, 8vo, $1.50.
+
+"They are five in number, each having reference to some incident of
+the Civil War. A vein of mingled pathos and humor runs through them
+all, and greatly heightens the charm of them. It is the early
+experience of the author himself, doubtless, which makes his pictures
+of life in a Southern home during the great struggle so vivid and
+truthful."--THE NATION.
+
+TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES. With 8 full-page illustrations by KEMBLE and
+REDWOOD. Square, 8vo, $1.50.
+
+"Mr. Page was 'raised' in Virginia, and he knows the 'darkey' of the
+South better than any one who writes about them. And he knows 'white
+folks,' too, and his stories, whether for old or young people, have
+the charm of sincerity and beauty and reality."--HARPER'S YOUNG
+PEOPLE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+W.O. Stoddard's Books for Boys.
+
+DAB KINZER. A STORY OF A GROWING BOY. THE QUARTET. A SEQUEL TO DAB
+KINZER SALTILLO BOYS. AMONG THE LAKES. WINTER FUN.
+
+_Five volumes, 12mo, in a box, $5.00. Sold separately, each, $1.00_.
+
+"William O. Stoddard has written capital books for boys. His 'Dab
+Kinzer' and 'The Quartet' are among the best specimens of 'Juveniles'
+produced anywhere. In his latest volume, 'Winter Fun,' Mr. Stoddard
+gives free rein to his remarkable gift of story-telling for boys.
+Healthful works of this kind cannot be too freely distributed among
+the little men of America."--NEW YORK JOURNAL OF COMMERCE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Little People
+
+And their Homes in Meadows, Woods, and Waters. By STELLA LOUISE HOOK.
+Illustrated by DAN BEARD and HARRY BEARD. One volume, square 8vo,
+$1.50.
+
+"A delightful excursion for the little ones into the fairy-land of
+nature, telling all about the little people and all in such pleasant
+language and such pretty illustrations that the little readers will be
+charmed as much as they will be instructed by the book."--NEW YORK
+EVANGELIST.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two Books by Robert Louis Stevenson.
+
+THE BLACK ARROW:
+
+A Tale of the Two Roses. By R.L. STEVENSON. With 12 full-page
+illustrations by WILL H. LOW and ALFRED BRENNAN. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"The story is one of the strongest pieces of romantic writing ever
+done by Mr. Stevenson."--THE BOSTON TIMES.
+
+KIDNAPPED: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the
+Year 1751. By R.L. STEVENSON. 12mo, with 16 full-page illustrations,
+$1.50.
+
+"Mr. Stevenson has never appeared to greater advantage than in
+'Kidnapped.'"--THE NATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two Books by Henry M. Stanley.
+
+MY DARK COMPANIONS
+
+And Their Strange Stories. With 64 illustrations. 8vo, $2.00
+
+"The following legends," says Mr. Stanley in his introduction, "are
+the choicest and most curious of those that were related to me during
+seventeen years, and which have not been hitherto published in any of
+my books of travel." There are in all nineteen stories, new and
+striking in motive and quaint in language.
+
+MY KALULU.
+
+Prince, King, and Slave. A Story of Central Africa. By HENRY M.
+STANLEY. One volume, 12mo, new edition, with many illustrations,
+$1.50.
+
+"A fresh, breezy, stirring story for youths, interesting in itself and
+full of information regarding life in the interior of the continent in
+which its scenes are laid."--NEW YORK TIMES.
+
+"If the young reader is fond of strange adventures, he will find
+enough in this volume to delight him all winter, and he will be hard
+to please who is not charmed by its graphic pages."--BOSTON JOURNAL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jules Verne's Greatest Work.
+
+"THE EXPLORATION OF THE WORLD."
+
+"M. Verne's scheme in this work is to tell fully how man has made
+acquaintance with the world in which he lives, to combine into a
+single work in three volumes the wonderful stories of all the great
+explorers, navigators, and travelers who have sought out, one after
+another, the once uttermost parts of the earth."--THE NEW YORK EVENING
+POST.
+
+The three volumes in a set, $7.50; singly, $2.50.
+
+FAMOUS TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.
+
+With over 100 full-page illustrations, maps, etc., 8vo, $2.50.
+
+THE GREAT NAVIGATORS OF THE XVIIITH CENTURY.
+
+With 96 full-page illustrations and 19 maps, 8vo, $2.50.
+
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE XIXTH CENTURY.
+
+With over 100 full-page illustrations, facsimiles, etc., 8vo, $2.50.
+
+Jules Verne's Stories. Uniform Illustrated Edition.
+
+Nine volumes, 8vo, extra cloth, with over 750 full-page illustrations.
+Price, per set, in a box, $17.50. Sold also in separate volumes.
+
+MICHAEL STROGOFF; or, The Courier of the Czar, $2.00. A FLOATING CITY
+AND THE BLOCKADE RUNNERS, $2.00. HECTOR SERVADAC, $2.00. A JOURNEY TO
+THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, $2.00. FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON DIRECT IN
+NINETY-SEVEN HOURS, TWENTY MINUTES; AND A JOURNEY AROUND IT, $2.00.
+DICK SANDS, $2.00. THE STEAM HOUSE, $2.00. THE GIANT RAFT, $2.00. THE
+MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, $2.50.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Czar and Sultan.
+
+The adventures of a British Lad in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.
+By ARCHIBALD FORBES. Illustrated. 12mo, $2.00.
+
+"Very fascinating and graphic. Mr. Forbes is a forcible writer, and
+the present work has the vigor and intensity associated with his name.
+It is sure to be popular with youthful readers."--BOSTON BEACON.
+
+"A brilliant and exciting narrative, and the drawings add to its
+interest and value."--N.Y. OBSERVER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Books of Adventure by Robert Leighton.
+
+OLAF THE GLORIOUS.
+
+A Story of Olaf Triggvison, King of Norway, A.D. 995-1000. Crown 8vo,
+with numerous full-page illustrations, $1.50.
+
+THE WRECK OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.
+
+The Story of a North Sea Fisher Boy. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+THE THIRSTY SWORD.
+
+A Story of the Norse Invasion of Scotland, 1262-65. With 8
+illustrations and a map. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+THE PILOTS OF POMONA.
+
+A Story of the Orkney Islands. With 8 illustrations and a map. Crown
+8vo, $1.50.
+
+"Mr. Leighton as a writer for boys needs no praise, as his books place
+him in the front rank."--NEW YORK OBSERVER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Things Will Take a Turn.
+
+By BEATRICE HARRADEN, author of "Ships that Pass in the Night."
+Illustrated. 12mo, $1,00.
+
+The charm of this tale is its delicate, wistful sympathy. It is the
+story of a sunny-hearted child, Rosebud, who assists her grandfather
+in his dusty, second-hand bookshop. One cannot help being fascinated
+by the sweet little heroine, she is so engaging, so natural; and to
+love Rosebud is to love all her friends and enter sympathetically into
+the good fortune she brought them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Among the Lawmakers.
+
+By EDMUND ALTON. Illustrated. Sq. 8vo, $1.50.
+
+"The book is a diverting as well as an instructive one. Mr. Alton was
+in his early days a page in the Senate, and he relates the doings of
+Congress from the point of view he then obtained. His narrative is
+easy and piquant, and abounds in personal anecdotes about the great
+men whom the pages waited on."--CHRISTIAN UNION.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact
+and Fancy, by Frank Richard Stockton
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS ***
+
+***** This file should be named 17582-8.txt or 17582-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Round-about Rambles, by Frank R Stockton.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and
+Fancy, by Frank Richard Stockton
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy
+
+Author: Frank Richard Stockton
+
+Release Date: January 23, 2006 [EBook #17582]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div class="center">
+<img src="images/cover_1.jpg" alt="Cover" width="600" height="360" /></div>
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<a name="imag_001" id="imag_001"></a><img src="images/gs001.jpg" alt="Frontispiece." width="600" height="710" /></div>
+<h1>ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES</h1>
+
+<h4>In Lands of</h4>
+
+<h1>FACT AND FANCY</h1>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>FRANK R STOCKTON</h2>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h4><i>NEW EDITION</i></h4>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h4>NEW YORK</h4>
+
+<h3>CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS</h3>
+
+<h3>1910</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872,</p>
+
+<p class="center">BY SCRIBNER. ARMSTRONG &amp; CO.,</p>
+
+<p class="center">In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p>
+
+<table style="font-variant:small-caps" summary="Contents">
+<tr><td></td><td class="tocpg">page</td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#WINTER_IN_THE_WOODS">Winter in the Woods</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#TRICKS_OF_LIGHT">Tricks of Light</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#SAVING_THE_TOLL">Saving the Toll</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_REAL_KING_OF_BEASTS">The Real King of Beasts</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_FRENCH_SOLDIER-BOY">The French Soldier-boy</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#A_LIVELY_WAY_TO_RING_A_BELL">A Lively Way to Ring a Bell</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#DOWN_IN_THE_EARTH">Down in the Earth</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_LION">The Lion</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#BOBS_HIDING-PLACE">Bob's Hiding-place</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_CONTINENTAL_SOLDIER">The Continental Soldier</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#A_JUDGE_OF_MUSIC">A Judge of Music</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_SENSITIVE_PLANT">The Sensitive Plant</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#SIR_MARMADUKE">Sir Marmaduke</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_GIRAFFE">The Giraffe</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#UP_IN_THE_AIR">Up in the Air</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_HORSE_OF_ARABIA">The Arabian Horse</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#INDIAN_PUDDINGS_PUMPKIN_PIES">Indian-puddings: Pumpkin-pies</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#LIVING_IN_SMOKE">Living in Smoke</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_CANNON_OF_THE_PALAIS_ROYAL">The Cannon of the Palais-Royal</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#WATERS_DEEP_AND_SHALLOW">Waters, Deep and Shallow</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#HANS_THE_HERB-GATHERER">Hans the Herb-gatherer</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#SOME_CUNNING_INSECTS">Some Cunning Insects</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td ><a href="#A_FIRST_SIGHT_OF_THE_SEA">A First Sight of the Sea</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td ><a href="#THE_LARGEST_CHURCH_IN_THE_WORLD">The Largest Church in the World</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td ><a href="#THE_SOFT_PLACE">The Soft Place</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td ><a href="#A_FEW_FEATHERED_FRIENDS">A Few Feathered Friends</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#IN_A_WELL">In a Well</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_159">159</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#A_VEGETABLE_GAS_MANUFACTORY">A Vegetable Gas Manufactory</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#A_FEW_WORDS_ABOUT_BEARS">About Bears</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#AN_OLD_COUNTRY-HOUSE">An Old Country-house</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#FAR-AWAY_FORESTS">Far-away Forests</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#BUILDING_SHIPS">Building Ships</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_ORANG-OUTANG">The Orang-Outang</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#LITTLE_BRIDGETS_BATH">Little Bridget's Bath</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#SOME_NOVEL_FISHING">Some Novel Fishing</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#EAGLES_AND_LITTLE_GIRLS">Eagles and Little Girls</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#CLIMBING_MOUNTAINS">Climbing Mountains</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#ANDREWS_PLAN">Andrew's Plan</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_WILD_ASS">The Wild Ass</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#ANCIENT_RIDING">Ancient Riding</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#BEAUTIFUL_BUGS">Beautiful Bugs</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#A_BATTLE_ON_STILTS">A Battle on Stilts</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#DRAWING_THE_LONG_BOW">Drawing the Long Bow</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#AN_ANCIENT_THEATRE">An Ancient Theatre</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_226">226</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#BIRD_CHAT">Bird Chat</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#MUMMIES">Mummies</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_230">230</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#TAME_SNAKES">Tame Snakes</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#GYMNASTICS">Gymnastics</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#BUYING_THE_MIRROR">Buying "the Mirror"</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#BIG_GAME">Big Game</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_BOOTBLACKS_DOG">The Bootblack's Dog</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#GOING_AFTER_THE_COWS">Going after the Cows</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_REFLECTIVE_STAG">The Reflective Stag</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_274">274</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#WHEN_WE_MUST_NOT_BELIEVE_OUR_EYES">When we must not Believe our Eyes</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#A_CITY_UNDER_THE_GROUND">A City under the Ground</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_COACHMAN">The Coachman</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_297">297</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#GEYSERS_AND_HOW_THEY_WORK">Geysers, and how they Work</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#A_GIANT_PUFF-BALL">A Giant Puff-ball</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#TICKLED_BY_A_STRAW">Tickled by a Straw</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_LIGHT_IN_THE_CASTLE">The Light in the Castle</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_307">307</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_OAK_TREE">The Oak Tree</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_311">311</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_SEA-SIDE">The Sea-side</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_315">315</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_SICK_PIKE">The Sick Pike</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#TWO_KINDS_OF_BLOSSOMS">Two Kinds of Blossoms</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#ABOUT_GLASS">About Glass</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_326">326</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#CARL">Carl</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_342">342</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#SCHOOLS_OUT">School's Out</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_350">350</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#NEST-BUILDERS">Nest-builders</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_354">354</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#THE_BOOMERANG">The Boomerang</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_368">368</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<p>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p>
+
+<table summary="Illustrations">
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td class="tocpg"> PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td class="tocpg"><i><a href="#imag_001">Frontispiece.</a></i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_002">The Woodcutter</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_003">The Minstrel on the Wall</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_004">Tricks in a Church</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_005">The Dance of Demons</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_006">Nostradamus</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_007">The Lion's Head</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_008">The Theatrical Ghost</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_009">The Toll-bridge</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_010">A Royal Procession</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_011">An Elephant after Him</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_012">The Dog's Protector</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_013">An Elephant Nurse</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_014">Saving the Artillery-man</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_015">The Gallant Elephant</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_016">The French Soldier-Boy</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_017">On a Bell</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_018">Fishes found in the Mammoth Cave</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_019">The Bottomless Pit</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_020">The Lion's Home</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_021">The Uncaged Lion</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_022">A Lion's Dinner</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_023">A Terrible Companion</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_024">Off to the Kitchen</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_025">Blind Man's Buff</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_026">The Story-Teller</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_027">In the Cellar</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_028">Handing round the Apples</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_029">The Drummer of 1776</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_030">The Continental Soldier</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_031">The Donkey in the Parlor</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_033">Sir Marmaduke</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_034">The Giraffe</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_035">Above the Clouds</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_036">The Flying Man</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_037">The Parachute&mdash;shut</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_038">The Parachute&mdash;open</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_039">Le Flesseles</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_040">Bagnolet's Balloon</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_042">Coming down Roughly</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_043">A Balloon with Sails and Rudders</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_044">The Minerva</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_045">Safe Ballooning</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_046">Driven out to Sea</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_047">The Arabian Horse</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_048">In the Cornfield</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_049">A Big Mosquito</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_051">Exactly Noon</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_052">The Spring</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_053">The Brook</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_054">The Mill</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_055">The Cascade</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_056">The Great River</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_057">Falls of Gavarni</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_058">The Falls of Zambesi</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_059">Niagara</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_060">Fishing with a Net</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_061">Fishing with a Spear</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_062">Sponge-Fishing</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_063">A Pearl Oyster</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_064">Divers</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_065">Rough Water</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_066">The Iceberg</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_067">The Storm</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_068">The Shipwreck</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_069">Water-Spouts</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_070">A Bit of Cable</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_071">Hans, the Herb-Gatherer</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_072">Patsey</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_073">A Spider at Home</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_074">The Ant's Arch</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_075">The Cock-chafer's Wing</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_076">The Spider's Bridge</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_077">The Moth and the Bees</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_078">Learned Fleas</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_079">The Pacific</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_081">St. Peter's at Rome</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_082">Interior of St. Peter's</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_083">The Five Young Deer</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_084">Waking Up</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_086">Familiar Friends</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_087">The Pigeon</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_088">The Dove</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_089">The Swan</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_090">The Goose that Led</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_091">The Goose that Followed</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_092">The Sensible Duck</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_093">The Goldfinch</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_094">The Magpie</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_095">The Owl</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_096">Morning Singers</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_097">In a Well</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_159">159</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_098">The Fraxinella</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_099">A Company of Bears</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_100">The Black Bear</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_101">The Grizzly Bear</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_102">The White Bear</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_103">The Tame Bear</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_104">An old Country-House</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_105">Ancient Builders</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_106">The Pine Forest</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_107">Tree Ferns</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_108">Tropical Forest</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_109">The Giant Trees</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_110">The Great Eastern</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_111">The Orang-Outang</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_112">Bridget and the Fairies</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_113">Flat-Fish</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_114">Turbots</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_115">The Sea-Horse</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_116">The Cuttle-Fish</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_117">The Polypier</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_118">Tunnies</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_119">The Sword-Fish</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_120">The Shark</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_121">The Child and the Eagle</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_122">Climbing the Mountain</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_123">Andrew and Jenny</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_124">Wild Asses</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_126">The Palanquin</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_127">The Chariot</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_128">Transformation of Beetles</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_218">218</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_129">A Battle on Stilts</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_130">Drawing the Long Bow</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_131">The Colosseum</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_226">226</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_132">The Cormorants</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_133">The Bittern</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_134">The Pelican</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_135">The Hoopoe</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_136">The Falcon</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_137">The Mummy</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_138">The Stand</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_139">The Coffin</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_140">The Outside Coffin</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_238">238</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_141">The Sarcophagus</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_142">The Tame Snake</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_143">The Novel Team</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_144">Youngsters Fighting</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_145">Throwing the Hammer</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_146">Throwing the Stone</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_244">244</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_147">Thomas Topham</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_148">Venetian Acrobats</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_149">The Tight-Rope</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_150">The See-Saw</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_151">The Wild Boar</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_152">The Musk-Ox and the Sailor</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_153">Hunting the Brown Bear</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_259">259</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_154">A Brave Hippopotamus</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_261">261</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_155">A Rhinocerus Turning the Table</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_156">A Tiger-Hunt</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_157">A Fight with a Gorilla</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_265">265</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_158">The Boot-black's Dog</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_159">Going after the Cows</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_160">The Reflective Stag</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_161">The Mirage</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_162">Fata Morgana</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_280">280</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_163">The Spectre of the Brocken</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_164">A Narrow Street in Pompeii</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_165">A Cleared Street in Pompeii</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_166">The Atrium in the House of Pansa</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_167">Ornaments from Pompeii</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_168">A Pompeiian Bakery</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_292">292</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_169">The Amphitheatre of Pompeii</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_170">The Coachman</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_297">297</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_171">The Grand Geyser</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_172">The Artificial Geyser</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_302">302</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_173">A Giant Puff-ball</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_174">Tickled by a Straw</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_175">The Will-o'-the-Wisp</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_176">The Oak Tree</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_311">311</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_177">The Sea-Side</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_315">315</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_178">The Vessels on Shore</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_317">317</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_179">The Sick Pike</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_320">320</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_180">The Blossoms</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_181">Ice-Blossoms</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_324">324</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_182">Ice-Flowers</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_325">325</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_183">Ancient Bead</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_326">326</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_184">Venetian Bottle</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_327">327</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_185">German Drinking-Glass</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_329">329</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_186">Glass Jug</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_330">330</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_187">Making Bottles</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_332">332</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_188">Venetian Goblet</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_333">333</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_189">Modern Goblets</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_334">334</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_190">The Queen's Mirror</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_335">335</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_191">Bohemian Goblet</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_336">336</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_192">French Flagon</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_339">339</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_193">The Portland Vase</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_340">340</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_194">The Strange Lady</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_344">344</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_195">Carl and the Duke</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_348">348</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_196">The Dominie</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_351">351</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_197">Wrens' Nests</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_354">354</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_198">Orioles' Nest</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_355">355</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_199">Owl's Nests</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_357">357</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_200">Flamingoes' Nests</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_359">359</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_201">The little Grebe's Nest</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_361">361</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_202">The Ostrich-Nest</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_362">362</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_203">The Stork's Nest</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_364">364</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_204">A Fish's Nest</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_205">Throwing the Boomerang</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_368">368</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><a href="#imag_206">The Way the Boomerang Goes</a></td>
+<td class="tocpg"><a href="#Page_369">369</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>Come along, boys and girls! We are off on our rambles. But please do
+not ask me where we are going. It would delay us very much if I should
+postpone our start until I had drawn you a map of the route, with all
+the stopping-places set down.</p>
+
+<p>We have far to go, and a great many things to see, and it may be that
+some of you will be very tired before we get through.</p>
+
+<p>If so, I shall be sorry; but it will be a comfort to think that none
+of us need go any farther than we choose.</p>
+
+<p>There will be considerable variety in our rambles. We shall walk about
+familiar places, and we shall explore streets and houses that have
+been buried for centuries. We shall go down deep into the earth, and
+we shall float in a balloon, high up into the air. We shall see many
+beasts of the forest; some that are bloody and cruel, and others that
+are gentle and wise. We will meet with birds, fishes, grand old
+buildings, fleas, vast woods, bugs, mummies, snakes, tight-rope
+dancers, gorillas, will-o'-the-wisps, beautiful <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>blossoms, boomerangs,
+oceans, birds' nests, and I cannot tell you what all besides. We will
+also have some adventures, hear some stories, and have a peep at a
+fairy or two before we are done.</p>
+
+<p>I shall not, however, be able to go with you everywhere. When you are
+enjoying a "Bird Chat;" "Buying the Mirror;" learning when "We must
+not Believe our Eyes;" visiting "A City under the Ground;" hearing of
+"The Coachman's" troubles; sitting under "The Oak-tree;" finding out
+wonderful things "About Glass;" watching what happens when "School's
+Out;" or following the fortunes of "Carl," your guide will be a lady,
+and I think that you will all agree that she knows very well where she
+ought to go, and how to get there. The rest of the time you will be
+with me.</p>
+
+<p>And now, having talked enough, suppose we start.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_002" id="imag_002"></a><img class="img1" src="images/gs010.jpg" width="400" height="510" alt="The Woodcutter" title="WINTER_IN_THE_WOODS" />
+
+</div>
+<h2><a name="WINTER_IN_THE_WOODS" id="WINTER_IN_THE_WOODS"></a>WINTER IN THE WOODS</h2>
+
+
+<p>What can be more delightful, to a boy of spirit, than a day in the
+woods when there has been a good snow! If he also happens to have a
+good friend or two, and some good dogs (who are just as likely to be
+friends as his boy-companions), he ought to be much <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>happier than an
+ordinary king. A forest is a fine place at any time, but when the
+ground is well covered with snow&mdash;especially if there is a hard crust
+upon it&mdash;the woods seem to possess a peculiar charm. You can go
+anywhere then.</p>
+
+<p>In the summer, the thick undergrowth, the intertwining vines, and the
+heavy lower branches of the trees, make it difficult even to see into
+the dark recesses of the forest. But in the winter all is open. The
+low wet places, the deep holes, the rotten bogs, everything on the
+ground that is in the way of a good run and a jump, is covered up. You
+do not walk a hundred yards under the bare branches of the trees
+before up starts a rabbit, or a hare, if you would rather call him by
+his right name,&mdash;and away go the dogs, and away you go&mdash;all of you
+tearing along at the top of your speed!</p>
+
+<p>But poor Bunny has a small chance, when a hard snow is on the ground.
+His hiding-places are all covered up, and before he knows it the dogs
+have caught him, and your mother will have stewed rabbit for supper.
+It seems a hard fate for the poor little fellow, but he was born
+partly for that purpose.</p>
+
+<p>When you have caught your rabbit, and come back to where the men are
+cutting wood, you will be just as proud to tell the boy who is cutting
+up the branches all about your splendid hunt, as if you had chased and
+killed a stag.</p>
+
+<p>"There's where we started him!" you will cry, "and away he scudded,
+over there among the chestnuts, and Rover right at his heels, and when
+we got down there to the creek, Rover turned heels-over-head on the
+ice, he was going so fast; but I gave one slide right across, and just
+up there, by the big walnut, the other two dogs got him!"</p>
+
+<p>That boy is almost as much excited as you are, and he would drop his
+axe in one minute, and be off with you on another chase, if his father
+were not there.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And now you find that you have reached the wood-cutters exactly in
+time, for that great tree is just about to come down.</p>
+
+<p>There go the top-branches, moving slowly along through the tops of the
+other trees, and now they move faster, and everything begins to crack;
+and, with a rush and a clatter of breaking limbs, the great oak comes
+crashing down; jarring the very earth beneath your feet, and making
+the snow fly about like a sparkling cloud, while away run the dogs,
+with their tails between their legs.</p>
+
+<p>The tree is down now, and you will want to be home in time for dinner.
+Farmer Brown's sled has just passed, and if you will cut across the
+woods you can catch up with him, and have a ride home, and tell him
+all about the rabbit-hunt, on the way.</p>
+
+<p>If it is Saturday, and a holiday, you will be out again this
+afternoon, with some of the other boys, perhaps, and have a grand
+hunt.</p>
+
+<p>Suppose it is snowing, what will you care? You will not mind the snow
+any more than if it were a shower of blossoms from the apple-trees in
+May.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_003" id="imag_003"></a><img src="images/gs013.jpg" width="600" height="393" alt="The Minstrel on the Wall" title="TRICKS_OF_LIGHT" />
+
+</div>
+<h2><a name="TRICKS_OF_LIGHT" id="TRICKS_OF_LIGHT"></a>TRICKS OF LIGHT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There is nothing more straightforward in its ways than light&mdash;when we
+let it alone. But, like many of us, when it is introduced to the
+inventions and contrivances of the civilized world, it often becomes
+exceedingly fond of vagaries and extravagances.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the companions of light which endeavor to induce it to forsake
+its former simple habits, there is not one which has the influence
+possessed by glass. When light and glass get together it is difficult
+to divine what tricks they are going to perform. But some of these are
+very interesting, if they are a little wild, and there are very few of
+us who do not enjoy them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_004" id="imag_004"></a><img src="images/gs014.jpg" width="600" height="380" alt="Tricks in a Church" title="TRICKS_OF_LIGHT" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p>For instance, what a delight to any company, be it composed of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>young
+folks or old, is a magic-lantern! The most beautiful and the most
+absurd pictures may be made to appear upon the wall or screen. But
+there is an instrument, called the phantasmagoria, which is really
+nothing but an improved magic-lantern, which is capable of producing
+much more striking effects. It is a much larger instrument than the
+other, and when it is exhibited a screen is placed between it and the
+spectators, so that they do not see how the pictures are produced. It
+is mounted on castors, so that at times it can be brought nearer and
+nearer to the screen, until the picture seems to enlarge and grow in a
+wonderful manner. Then, when it is drawn back, the image diminishes
+and recedes far into the distance. The lenses and other mechanism of
+the phantasmagoria can also be moved in various directions, making the
+action of the pictures still more wonderful. Sometimes, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>when the
+instrument is exhibited in public, the screen is not used, but the
+pictures are thrown upon a cloud of smoke, which is itself almost
+invisible in the dim light of the room. In such a case the figures
+seem as if they were floating in the air.</p>
+
+<p>A man, named Robertson, once gave exhibitions in Paris, in an old
+chapel, and at the close of his performances he generally caused a
+great skeleton figure of Death to appear among the pillars and arches.
+Many of the audience were often nearly scared to death by this
+apparition. The more ignorant people of Paris who attended these
+exhibitions, could not be persuaded, when they saw men, women, and
+animals walking about in the air between the arches of the chapel,
+that Robertson was not a magician, although he explained to them that
+the images were nothing but the effect of a lantern and some glass
+lenses. When these people could see that the figures were produced on
+a volume of smoke, they were still more astonished and awed, for they
+thought that the spirits arose from the fire which caused the smoke.</p>
+
+<p>But Robertson had still other means of exhibiting the tricks of light.
+Opposite is a picture of the "Dance of Demons."</p>
+
+<p>This delusion is very simple indeed, and is produced by placing a
+card-figure on a screen, and throwing shadows from this upon another
+screen, by means of several lights, held by assistants. Thus each
+light throws its own shadow, and if the candles are moved up and down,
+and about, the shadows will dance, jump over each other, and do all
+sorts of wonderful things. Robertson, and other public exhibitors, had
+quite complicated arrangements of this kind, but they all acted on the
+same principle. But all of those who exhibit to the public the freaks
+of light are not as honest as Mr. Robertson. You may have heard of
+Nostradamus, who also lived in Paris, but long before Robertson, and
+who pretended to be a magician. Among <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>other things, he asserted that
+he could show people pictures of their future husbands or wives. Marie
+de Medicis, a celebrated princess of the time, came to him on this
+sensible errand, and he, being very anxious to please her, showed her,
+in a looking-glass, the reflected image of Henry of Navarre, sitting
+upon the throne of France. This, of course, astonished the princess
+very much, but it need not astonish us, if we carefully examine the
+picture of that conjuring scene.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_005" id="imag_005"></a><img src="images/gs016.jpg" width="600" height="369" alt="The Dance of Demons" title="TRICKS_OF_LIGHT" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p>The mirror into which the lady was to look, was in a room adjoining
+that in which Henry was sitting on the throne. It was placed at such
+an angle that her face would not be reflected in it, but an aperture
+in the wall allowed the figure of Henry to be reflected from a
+looking-glass, hung near the ceiling, down upon the "magic" mir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>ror.
+So, of course, she saw his picture there, and believed entirely in the
+old humbug, Nostradamus.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_006" id="imag_006"></a><img src="images/gs017.jpg" width="600" height="381" alt="Nostradamus" title="TRICKS_OF_LIGHT" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p>But there are much simpler methods by which the vagaries of light may
+be made amusing, and among the best of these are what are called
+"Chinese shadows." These require a little ingenuity, but they are
+certainly simple enough. They consist of nothing but a card or paper,
+upon which the lights of the picture intended to be represented are
+cut out. When this is held between a candle and a wall, a startling
+shadow-image may be produced, which one would not imagine to have any
+connection with the card, unless he had studied the manner in which
+said card was cut. Here is a picture of a company amusing themselves
+with these cards. No one would suppose that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>the card which the young
+man is holding in his hand bore the least resemblance to a lion's
+head, but there is no mistaking the shadow on the wall.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_007" id="imag_007"></a><img src="images/gs018.jpg" width="600" height="374" alt="The Lion's Head" title="TRICKS_OF_LIGHT" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p>The most wonderful public exhibitions of optical illusions have been
+those in which a real ghost or spectre apparently moves across the
+stage of a theatre. This has frequently been done in late years, both
+in this country and Europe. The audiences were perfectly amazed to see
+a spirit suddenly appear, walk about the stage, and act like a regular
+ghost, who did not seem to be in the least disturbed when an actor
+fired a pistol at him, or ran him through with a sword. The method of
+producing this illusion is well shown in the accompanying picture. A
+large plate of glass is placed in front of the stage so that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>the
+audience does not perceive it. The edges of it must be concealed by
+curtains, which are not shown in the picture. An actor, dressed as a
+ghost, walks in front of the stage below its level, where he is not
+seen by the audience, and a strong electric light being thrown upon
+him, his reflected image appears to the spectator as if it were
+walking about on the stage. When the light is put out of course the
+spirit instantly vanishes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_008" id="imag_008"></a><img src="images/gs019.jpg" width="600" height="375" alt="The Theatrical Ghost" title="" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p>A very amusing account is given of a man who was hired to do some work
+about a theatre. He had finished his work for the present, and wishing
+to eat his supper, which he had brought with him, he chose a nice
+quiet place under the stage, where he thought he would not be
+disturbed. Not knowing that everything was prepared <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>for the
+appearance of a ghost, he sat down in front of the electric lamp, and
+as soon as it was lighted the audience was amazed to see, sitting very
+comfortably in the air above the stage, a man in his shirt-sleeves,
+eating bread and cheese! Little did he think, when he heard the
+audience roaring with laughter, that they were laughing at his ghost!</p>
+
+<p>Light plays so many tricks with our eyes and senses that it is
+possible to narrate but a few of them here. But those that I have
+mentioned are enough to show us what a wild fellow he is, especially
+where he and glass get frolicking together.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_009" id="imag_009"></a><img src="images/gs021.jpg" width="500" height="347" alt="The Toll-bridge" title="SAVING_THE_TOLL" />
+
+</div>
+<h2><a name="SAVING_THE_TOLL" id="SAVING_THE_TOLL"></a>SAVING THE TOLL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>When I was a youngster and lived in the country, there were three of
+us boys who used to go very frequently to a small village about a mile
+from our homes. To reach this village it was necessary to cross a
+narrow river, and there was a toll-bridge for that purpose. The toll
+for every foot-passenger who went over this bridge was one cent. Now,
+this does not seem like a very high charge, but, at that time, we very
+often thought that we would much rather keep our pennies to spend in
+the village than to pay them to the old man who took toll on the
+bridge. But it was often necessary for us to cross the river, and to
+do so, and save our money at the same time, we used to adopt a very
+hazardous expedient.</p>
+
+<p>At a short distance below the toll-bridge there was a railroad-bridge,
+which you cannot see in the picture. This bridge was not intended for
+anything but railroad trains; it was very high above the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>water, it
+was very long, and it was not floored. When any one stood on the
+cross-ties which supported the rails, he could look right down into
+the water far below him. For the convenience of the railroad-men and
+others who sometimes were obliged to go on the bridge, there was a
+single line of boards placed over the ties at one side of the track,
+and there was a slight hand-rail put up at that side of the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>To save our pennies we used to cross this bridge, and every time we
+did so we risked our lives.</p>
+
+<p>We were careful, however, not to go on the bridge at times when a
+train might be expected to cross it, for when the cars passed us, we
+had much rather be on solid ground. But one day, when we had forgotten
+the hour; or a train was behind, or ahead of time; or an extra train
+was on the road&mdash;we were crossing this railroad bridge, and had just
+about reached the middle of it, when we heard the whistle of a
+locomotive! Looking up quickly, we saw a train, not a quarter of a
+mile away, which was coming towards us at full speed. We stood
+paralyzed for a moment. We did not know what to do. In a minute, or
+less, the train would be on the bridge and we had not, or thought we
+had not, time to get off of it, whether we went forward or backward.</p>
+
+<p>But we could not stand on that narrow path of boards while the train
+was passing. The cars would almost touch us. What could we do? I
+believe that if we had had time, we would have climbed down on the
+trestle-work below the bridge, and so let the train pass over us. But
+whatever could be done must be done instantly, and we could think of
+nothing better than to get outside of the railing and hold on as well
+as we could. In this position we would, at any rate, be far enough
+from the cars to prevent them from touching us. So out we got, and
+stood on the ends of the timbers, holding fast to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>slender
+hand-rail. And on came the train! When the locomotive first touched
+the bridge we could feel the shock, and as it came rattling and
+grinding over the rails towards us&mdash;coming right on to us, as it
+seemed&mdash;our faces turned pale, you may well believe.</p>
+
+<p>But the locomotive did not run off the track just at that exact spot
+where we were standing&mdash;a catastrophe which, I believe, in the bottom
+of our hearts, every one of us feared. It passed on, and the train
+came thundering after it. How dreadfully close those cars did come to
+us! How that bridge did shake and tremble in every timber; and how we
+trembled for fear we should be shaken off into the river so far below
+us! And what an enormously long train it was! I suppose that it took,
+really, but a very short time to pass, but it seemed to us as if there
+was no end to it at all, and as if it would never, never get entirely
+over that bridge!</p>
+
+<p>But it did cross at last, and went rumbling away into the distance.</p>
+
+<p>Then we three, almost too much frightened to speak to each other,
+crept under the rail and hurried over the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>All that anxiety, that fright, that actual misery of mind, and
+positive danger of body, to save one cent apiece!</p>
+
+<p>But we never saved any more money in that way. When we crossed the
+river after that, we went over the toll-bridge, and we paid our
+pennies, like other sensible people.</p>
+
+<p>Had it been positively necessary for us to have crossed that river,
+and had there been no other way for us to do it but to go over the
+railroad bridge, I think we might have been called brave boys, for the
+bridge was very high above the water, and a timid person would have
+been very likely to have been frightened when he looked down at his
+feet, and saw how easy it would be for him to make a misstep and go
+tumbling down between the timbers.</p>
+
+<p>But, as there was no necessity or sufficient reason for our risking
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>our lives in that manner, we were nothing more or less than three
+little fools!</p>
+
+<p>It would be well if all boys or girls, to whom a hazardous feat
+presents itself, would ask themselves the question: "Would it be a
+brave thing for me to do that, or would I be merely proving myself a
+simpleton?"</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_010" id="imag_010"></a><img src="images/gs025.jpg" width="400" height="614" alt="A ROYAL PROCESSION." title="A ROYAL PROCESSION." />
+<span class="caption">A ROYAL PROCESSION.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_REAL_KING_OF_BEASTS" id="THE_REAL_KING_OF_BEASTS"></a>THE REAL KING OF BEASTS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>For many centuries there has been a usurper on the throne of the
+Beasts. That creature is the Lion.</p>
+
+<p>But those who take an interest in the animal kingdom (and I am very
+sorry for those who do not) should force the Lion to take off the
+crown, put down the sceptre, and surrender the throne to the real King
+of Beasts&mdash;the Elephant.</p>
+
+<p>There is every reason why this high honor should be accorded to the
+Elephant. In the first place, he is physically superior to the Lion.
+An Elephant attacked by a Lion could dash his antagonist to the ground
+with his trunk, run him through with his tusks, and trample him to
+death under his feet. The claws and teeth of the Lion would make no
+impression of any consequence on the Elephant's thick skin and massive
+muscles. If the Elephant was to decide his claim to the throne by dint
+of fighting for it, the Lion would find himself an ex-king in a very
+short time. But the Elephant is too peaceful to assert his right in
+this way&mdash;and, what is more, he does not suppose that any one could
+even imagine a Lion to be his superior. He never had such an idea
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>But besides his strength of body, the Elephant is superior in
+intelligence to all animals, except the dog and man. He is said by
+naturalists to have a very fine brain, considering that he is only a
+beast. His instinct seems to rise on some occasions almost to the
+level of our practical reasoning, and the stories which are told of
+his smartness are very many indeed.</p>
+
+<p>But no one can assert that the Lion has any particular intelligence.
+To be sure, there have been stories told of his generosity, but they
+are not many, and they are all very old. The Elephant proves his
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>pre-eminence as a thinking beast every day. We see him very
+frequently in menageries, and we can judge of what he is capable. We
+see the Lion also, and we very soon find out what he can do. He can
+lie still and look grave and majestic; he can jump about in his cage,
+if he has been trained; and he can eat! He is certainly great in that
+respect.</p>
+
+<p>We all know a great deal about the Elephant, how he is caught and
+tamed, and made the servant and sometimes the friend of man. This,
+however, seldom happens but in India. In Africa they do not often tame
+Elephants, as they hunt them generally for the sake of their ivory,
+and the poor beasts are killed by hundreds and hundreds so that we may
+have billiard-balls, knife-handles, and fine-tooth combs.</p>
+
+<p>Rut whether the Elephant is wanted as a beast of burden, or it is only
+his great tusks that are desired, it is no joke to hunt him. He will
+not attack a man without provocation (except in very rare cases); when
+he does get in a passion it is time for the hunter to look out for his
+precious skin. If the man is armed with a gun, he must take the best
+of aim, and his bullets must be like young cannon-balls, for the
+Elephant's head is hard and his skin is tough. If the hunter is on a
+horse, he need not suppose that he can escape by merely putting his
+steed to its best speed. The Elephant is big and awkward-looking, but
+he gets over the ground in a very rapid manner.</p>
+
+<p>Here is an illustration of an incident in which a boy found out, in
+great sorrow and trepidation, how fast an Elephant can run.</p>
+
+<p>This boy was one of the attendants of the Duke of Edinburgh, one of
+Queen Victoria's sons, who was hunting Elephants in Africa. The
+Elephants which the party were after on that particular day had got
+out of the sight of the hunters, and this boy, being mounted on a
+horse, went to look them up. It was not long before <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>he found them,
+and he also found much more than he had bargained for. He found that
+one of the big fellows was very much inclined to hunt <i>him</i> and he
+came riding out of the forest as hard as he could go, with a great
+Elephant full tilt after him. Fortunately for the boy, the Duke was
+ready with his gun, and when the Elephant came dashing up he put two
+balls into his head. The great beast dropped mortally wounded, and the
+boy was saved. I don't believe that he was so curious about the
+whereabouts of Elephants after that.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_011" id="imag_011"></a><img src="images/gs028.jpg" width="600" height="410" alt="An Elephant after Him" title="THE_REAL_KING_OF_BEASTS" />
+</div>
+
+<p>When the Elephant is desired as a servant, he is captured in vari<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>ous
+ways. Sometimes he is driven into great pens; sometimes he tumbles
+into pitfalls, and sometimes tame Elephants coax him into traps, and
+fondle and amuse him while their masters tie up his legs with strong
+ropes. The pitfalls are not favorite methods of capturing Elephants.
+Besides the injury that may be done to the animal, other beasts may
+fall into and disturb the trap, and even men may find themselves at
+the bottom of a great deep hole when they least expect it, for the top
+is very carefully covered over with sticks and leaves, so as to look
+as much as possible like the surrounding ground. Du Chaillu, who was a
+great hunter in Africa, once fell down one of these pits, and it was a
+long time before he could make anybody hear him and come and help him
+out. If an Elephant had happened to put his foot on the covering of
+that hole while Du Chaillu was down there, the hunter would have found
+himself very much crowded.</p>
+
+<p>When the Elephant is caught, he is soon tamed and trained, and then he
+goes to work to make himself useful, if there is anything for him to
+do. And it is when he becomes the servant and companion of man that we
+have an opportunity of seeing what a smart fellow he is.</p>
+
+<p>It is sometimes hard to believe all that we hear of the Elephant's
+cleverness and sagacity, but we know that most of the stories we hear
+about him are true.</p>
+
+<p>For instance, an Elephant which was on exhibition in this country had
+a fast and true friend, a little dog. One day, when these animals were
+temporarily residing in a barn, while on their march from one town to
+another, the Elephant heard some men teasing the dog, just outside of
+the barn. The rough fellows made the poor little dog howl and yelp, as
+they persecuted him by all sorts of mean tricks and ill usage. When
+the Elephant heard the cries of his friend he became very much
+worried, and when at last he comprehended that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>the dog was being
+badly treated, he lifted up his trunk and just smashed a great hole in
+the side of the barn, making the stones and boards fly before him.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_012" id="imag_012"></a><img src="images/gs030.jpg" width="500" height="449" alt="The Dog's Protector" title="THE_REAL_KING_OF_BEASTS" />
+</div>
+
+<p>When the men saw this great head sticking out through the side of the
+barn, and that great long trunk brandishing itself above their heads,
+they thought it was time to leave that little dog alone.</p>
+
+<p>Here, again, is an Elephant story which is almost as tough as the
+animal's hide, but we have no right to disbelieve it, for it is told
+by very respectable writers. During the war between the East Indian
+natives and the English, in 1858, there was an Elephant named Kudabar
+Moll the Second,&mdash;his mother having been a noted Elephant <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>named
+Kudabar Moll. This animal belonged to the British army, and his duty
+was to carry a cannon on his back. In this way he became very familiar
+with artillery. During a battle, when his cannon was posted on a
+battery, and was blazing away at the enemy, the good Kudabar was
+standing, according to custom, a few paces in the rear of the gunners.
+But the fire became very hot on that battery, and very soon most of
+the gunners were shot down, so that there was no one to pass the
+cartridges from the ammunition wagon to the artillery-men. Perceiving
+this, Kudabar, without being ordered, took the cartridges from the
+wagon, and passed them, one by one, to the gunner. Very soon, however,
+there were only three men left, and these, just as they had loaded
+their cannon for another volley, fell killed or wounded, almost at the
+same moment. One of them, who held a lighted match in his hand, called
+as he fell to the Elephant and handed him the match. The intelligent
+Kudabar took the match in his trunk, stepped up to the cannon, and
+fired it off!</p>
+
+<p>He was then about to apply the match to others, when re-enforcements
+came up, and his services as an artillery-man were no longer required.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot help thinking, that if that Elephant had been furnished with
+a pen and ink, he might possibly have written a very good account of
+the battle.</p>
+
+<p>But few stories are quite as wonderful as that one. We have no
+difficulty at all in believing the account of the Elephant who took
+care of a little child. He did not wear a cap and apron, as the artist
+has shown in the picture, but he certainly was a very kind and
+attentive nurse. When the child fell down, the Elephant would put his
+trunk gently around it, and pick it up. When it got tangled among
+thorns or vines, the great nurse would disengage it as carefully as
+any one could have done it; and when it wandered too far, the Elephant
+would <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>bring it back and make it play within proper limits. I do not
+know what would have been the consequence if this child had behaved
+badly, and the Elephant had thought fit to give it a box on the ear.
+But nothing of the kind ever happened, and the child was a great deal
+safer than it would have been with many ordinary nurses.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_013" id="imag_013"></a><img src="images/gs032.jpg" width="500" height="352" alt="An Elephant Nurse" title="THE_REAL_KING_OF_BEASTS" />
+</div>
+
+<p>There are so many stories told about the Elephant that I can allude to
+but few, even if I did not believe that you were familiar with a great
+many of them.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most humane and thoughtful Elephants of whom I have ever
+heard was one which was attached, like our friend Kudabar, to an
+artillery train in India. He was walking, on a march, behind a wagon,
+when he perceived a soldier slip down in the road and fall exactly
+where, in another instant, the hind-wheel of the wagon would pass over
+him. Without being ordered, the Elephant seized the wheel with his
+trunk, lifted it&mdash;wagon and all&mdash;in the air, and held it up until it
+had passed over the fallen soldier!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Neither you nor I could have done better than that, even if we had
+been strong enough.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_014" id="imag_014"></a><img src="images/gs033.jpg" width="500" height="359" alt="Saving the Artillery-man" title="THE_REAL_KING_OF_BEASTS" />
+</div>
+
+<p>A very pretty story is told of an Indian Elephant who was very
+gallant. His master, a young Burman lord, had recently been married,
+and, shortly after the wedding, he and his bride, with many of their
+guests and followers, were gathered together in the veranda, on the
+outside of his house. The Elephant, who was a great favorite with the
+young lord, happened to be conducted past the house as the company
+were thus enjoying themselves. Feeling, no doubt, that it was right to
+be as polite as possible on this occasion, he put his trunk over a
+bamboo-fence which enclosed a garden, and selecting the biggest and
+brightest flower he could see, he approached the veranda, and rearing
+himself upon his hind-legs, he stretched out his trunk, with the
+flower held delicately in the little finger at its end, towards the
+company. One of the women reached out her hand for it, but the
+Elephant would not give it to her. Then his master wished to take it,
+but the Elephant would not let him have it. But when the newly-made
+bride came forward the Elephant presented it to her with all the grace
+of which he was capable!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_015" id="imag_015"></a><img src="images/gs034.jpg" width="400" height="608" alt="The Gallant Elephant" title="THE_REAL_KING_OF_BEASTS" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Now, do you not think that an animal which is larger and more powerful
+than any beast which walks the earth, and is, at the same time, gentle
+enough to nurse a child, humane enough to protect a dog or a man, and
+sensible enough to be polite to a newly-married lady, is deserving of
+the title of the King of Beasts?</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_016" id="imag_016"></a><img src="images/gs035.jpg" width="400" height="505" alt="THE FRENCH SOLDIER-BOY" title="THE FRENCH SOLDIER-BOY" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_FRENCH_SOLDIER-BOY" id="THE_FRENCH_SOLDIER-BOY"></a>THE FRENCH SOLDIER-BOY</h2>
+
+
+<p>Anxiously the General-in-chief of the French Army stood upon a little
+mound overlooking the battle-field. The cannon were thundering, the
+musketry was rattling, and clouds of smoke obscured the field and the
+contending armies.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" thought he, "if that town over yonder is not taken; if my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>brave
+captains fall, and my brave soldiers falter at that stone wall; and if
+our flag shall not soon wave over those ramparts, France may yet be
+humbled."</p>
+
+<p>Is it, then, a wonder, feeling that so much depended on the result of
+this battle, that his eyes strove so earnestly to pierce the heavy
+clouds of smoke that overhung the scene?</p>
+
+<p>But while he stood, there came towards him, galloping madly out of the
+battle, a solitary rider.</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes he had reached the General, and thrown himself from
+his saddle.</p>
+
+<p>It was a mere boy&mdash;one of the very youngest of soldiers!</p>
+
+<p>"Sire!" he cried, "we've taken the town! Our men are in the
+market-place, and you can ride there now! And see!&mdash;upon the
+walls&mdash;our flag!"</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of the General flashed with joy and triumph. Here was
+glorious news!</p>
+
+<p>As he turned to the boy to thank him for the more than welcome tidings
+that he brought, he noticed that the lad was pale and trembling, and
+that as he stood holding by the mane of his horse, his left hand was
+pressed upon his chest, and the blood was slowly trickling between his
+fingers.</p>
+
+<p>"My boy!" said he, tenderly, as he fixed his eyes upon the stripling,
+"you're wounded!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sire!" cried the boy, his pale face flushing as his General thus
+addressed him, and the shouts of victory filled his ears, "I am not
+wounded; I am killed!" And down at his General's feet he fell and
+died.</p>
+
+<p>There have been brave men upon the battle-field ever since the world
+began, but there never was a truer soldier's heart than that which
+kept this boy alive until he had borne to his General the glorious
+news of the battle won.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_017" id="imag_017"></a><img src="images/gs037.jpg" width="400" height="655" alt="On a Bell" title="A LIVELY WAY TO RING A BELL." />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="A_LIVELY_WAY_TO_RING_A_BELL" id="A_LIVELY_WAY_TO_RING_A_BELL"></a>A LIVELY WAY TO RING A BELL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Here are two young men who look very much as if they were trying to
+break their necks; but in reality they have no such desire.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They are simply ringing that great bell, and riding backward and
+forward on it as it swings through the air.</p>
+
+<p>These young fellows are Spaniards, and in many churches in their
+country it is considered a fine thing to go up into the belfry of a
+church or cathedral, and, when the regular bell-ringers are tired, to
+jump on the great bells and swing away as hard as they can make them
+go. No matter about any particular peal or style of ringing.</p>
+
+<p>The faster and the more furiously they swing, the jollier the ride,
+and the greater the racket. Sometimes in a cathedral there are twenty
+bells, all going at once, with a couple of mad chaps riding on each
+one of them. It is, doubtless, a very pleasant amusement, after one
+gets used to it, but it is a wonder that some of those young men are
+not shot off into the air, when the great bell gets to swinging as
+fast and as far as it can go.</p>
+
+<p>But although they hold on as tightly as if they were riding a wild
+young colt, they are simply foolhardy. No man or boy has a right to
+risk his life and limbs in such reckless feats.</p>
+
+<p>There is no probability, however, of the sport ever being introduced
+into this country.</p>
+
+<p>Even if there were no danger in it, such a clatter and banging as is
+heard in a Spanish belfry, when the young men are swinging on the
+bells, would never be allowed in our churches. The Spaniards may like
+such a noise and hubbub, but they like a great many things which would
+not suit us.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_018" id="imag_018"></a><img src="images/gs039.jpg" width="500" height="453" alt="Fishes found in the Mammoth Cave" title="DOWN IN THE EARTH." />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="DOWN_IN_THE_EARTH" id="DOWN_IN_THE_EARTH"></a>DOWN IN THE EARTH.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Let us take a little trip down under the surface of the earth. There
+will be something unusual about such an excursion. Of course, as we
+are not going to dig our way, we will have to find a convenient hole
+somewhere, and the best hole for the purpose which I know of is in
+Edmondson County, Kentucky.</p>
+
+<p>So let us go there.</p>
+
+<p>When we reach this hole we find that it is not a very large one, but
+still quite high and wide enough for us to enter. But, before we go in
+to that dark place, we will get some one to carry a light and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>guide
+us; for this underground country which we are going to explore is very
+extensive, very dark, and, in some places, very dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>Here is a black man who will go with us. He has a lantern, and he says
+he knows every nook and corner of the place. So we engage him, get
+some lanterns for ourselves, and in we go. We commence to go downwards
+very soon after we have passed from the outer air and sunshine, but it
+is not long before we stand upon a level surface, where we can see
+nothing of the outside world. If our lanterns went out, we should be
+in pitchy darkness.</p>
+
+<p>Now we are in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky!</p>
+
+<p>This vast cavern, which stretches so many miles beneath the surface of
+the earth, has never been fully explored; but we are going over as
+much of it as our guide is accustomed to show to visitors, and if our
+legs are not tired before we get back I shall be very much surprised,
+for the trip will take us all day. The floor on which we are now
+standing is smooth and level, and runs back into the interior of the
+cave fully a thousand yards. This place they call the "Audubon
+Gallery"&mdash;after our famous naturalist who made birds the study of his
+life. His works are published in enormous volumes, costing about one
+hundred and fifty dollars apiece. Perhaps your father will get you
+one.</p>
+
+<p>We pass quickly through this gallery, where there is not much to see,
+although, to be sure, they used to manufacture saltpetre here. Think
+of that! A manufactory in the bowels of the earth! Then we enter a
+large, roundish room called the "Rotunda," and from this there are a
+great many passages, leading off in various directions. One of these,
+which is called the "Grand Vestibule," will take us to the "Church."</p>
+
+<p>Yes, we have a church here, and, what is more, there has been
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>preaching in it, although I have never heard that it had any regular
+members. This room has a vast arched roof, and a great many
+stalactites hang from the walls and roof in such a way as to give one
+an idea of Gothic architecture. Therefore this has been called the
+"Gothic Church." You can see a great deal which looks like
+old-fashioned church ornaments and furniture, and, as the light of the
+lanterns flashes about on the walls and ceiling, you can imagine a
+great deal more.</p>
+
+<p>After this we come to the "Gothic Avenue," which would be a very
+interesting place to us if we but had a little more time; but we hurry
+through it, for the next room we are to visit is called the "Haunted
+Chamber!" Every one of us must be very anxious to see anything of that
+kind. When we get into it, however, we are very much disappointed. It
+is not half so gloomy and dark as the rest of the cave, for here we
+are pretty sure to find people, and lights, and signs of life.</p>
+
+<p>Here you may sometimes buy gingerbread and bottled beer, from women
+who have stands here for that purpose. It is expected that when
+visitors get this far they will be hungry. Sometimes, too, there are
+persons who live down here, and spend most of their time in this
+chamber. These are invalid people with weak lungs, who think that the
+air of the cave is good for them. I do not know whether they are right
+or not, but I am sure that they take very gloomy medicine. The only
+reason for calling this room the Haunted Chamber is, that the first
+explorers of the cave found mummies here.</p>
+
+<p>Who these were when they were alive, no man can say. If they were
+Indians, they were very different Indians from those who have lived in
+this country since its discovery. They do not make mummies. But all
+over our land we find evidences that some race&mdash;now extinct&mdash;lived
+here before the present North American Indian.</p>
+
+<p>Whether the ghosts of any of these mummies walk about in this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>room. I
+cannot say; but as no one ever saw any, or heard any, or knew anybody
+who had seen or heard any, I think it is doubtful.</p>
+
+<p>When we leave this room we go down some ladders and over a bridge, and
+then we enter what is called the "Labyrinth," where the passage turns
+and twists on itself in a very abrupt manner, and where the roof is so
+low that all of us, except those who are very short indeed, must stoop
+very low. When we get through this passage, which some folks call the
+"Path of Humiliation"&mdash;for everybody has to bow down, you know&mdash;we
+come to a spot where the guide says he is going to show us something
+through a window.</p>
+
+<p>The window is nothing but a hole broken in a rocky wall; but as we
+look through it, and hold the lanterns so that we can see as much as
+possible, we perceive that we are gazing down into a deep and enormous
+well. They call it the "Bottomless Pit." If we drop bits of burning
+paper into this well we can see them fall down, down, and down, until
+they go out, but can never see them stop, as if they had reached the
+bottom.</p>
+
+<p>The hole through which we are looking is cut through one side of this
+well, so that there is a great deal of it above us as well as below;
+but although we hold our lanterns up, hoping to see the top, we can
+see nothing but pitchy darkness up there. The roof of this pit is too
+high for the light to strike upon it. Here is a picture of some
+persons dropping lights down into this pit, hoping to be able to see
+the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>We must climb up and down some more ladders now, and then we will
+reach the "Mammoth Dome." This is a vast room&mdash;big enough for a
+gymnasium for giants&mdash;and the roof is so high that no ordinary light
+will show it. It is nearly four hundred feet from the floor. The next
+room we visit is one of the most beautiful places in the whole cave.
+It is called the Starry Chamber. The roof and walls and floor are
+covered with little bright bits of stone, which shine and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>glitter,
+when a light is brought into the room, like real stars in the sky. If
+the guide is used to his business, he can here produce most beautiful
+effects. By concealing his lantern behind a rock or pillar, and then
+gradually bringing it out, throwing more and more light upon the roof,
+he can create a most lovely star-light scene.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_019" id="imag_019"></a><img src="images/gs043.jpg" width="400" height="661" alt="The Bottomless Pit" title="DOWN IN THE EARTH." />
+</div>
+
+<p>At first all will be dark, and then a few stars will twinkle out, and
+then there will be more of them, and each one will be brighter, and at
+last you will think you are looking up into a dark sky full of
+glorious shining stars! And if you look at the walls you will see
+thousands of stars that seem as if they were dropping from the sky;
+and if you cast your eyes upon the ground, you will see it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>covered
+with other thousands of stars that seem to have already fallen!</p>
+
+<p>This is a lovely place, but we cannot stay here any longer. We want to
+reach the underground stream of which we have heard so much&mdash;the
+"River Styx."</p>
+
+<p>This is a regular river, running through a great part of the Mammoth
+Cave. You may float on it in a boat, and, if you choose, you may fish
+in it, although you would not be likely to catch anything. But if you
+did, the fish would have no eyes! All the fish in this river are
+blind. You can easily perceive that eyes would be of no use in a place
+where it is always as dark as pitch, except when travellers come along
+with their lanterns.</p>
+
+<p>There is a rough boat here, and we will get into it and have a row
+over this dark and gloomy river. Whenever our guide shouts we hear the
+wildest kind of echoes, and everything seems solemn and unearthly. At
+one time our boat stops for a moment, and the guide goes on shore, and
+directly we hear the most awful crash imaginable. It sounds as if a
+dozen gong-factories had blown up at once, and we nearly jump out of
+the boat! But we soon see that it was nothing but the guide striking
+on a piece of sheet-iron or tin. The echoes, one after another, from
+this noise had produced the horrible crashing sounds we had heard.</p>
+
+<p>After sailing along for about half an hour we land, and soon reach an
+avenue which has its walls ornamented with beautiful flowers&mdash;all
+formed on the rocky walls by the hand of Nature.</p>
+
+<p>Now we visit the "Ball Room," which is large and handsome, with its
+walls as white as snow. Leaving this, we take a difficult and exciting
+journey to the "Rocky Mountains." We go down steep paths, which are
+narrow, and up steep ones, which are wide; we jump over wide cracks
+and step over great stones, and we are getting very tired <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>of
+scrambling about in the bowels of the earth; but the guide tells us
+that if we will but cross the "mountains"&mdash;which we find to be nothing
+more than great rocks, which have fallen from the roof above, but
+which, however, are not very easy to get over&mdash;we shall rest in the
+"Fairy Grotto." So on we push, and reach the delightful abode of the
+fairies of the Mammoth Cave. That is, if there were any fairies in
+this cave, they would live here.</p>
+
+<p>And a splendid place they would have!</p>
+
+<p>Great colonnades and magnificent arches, all ornamented with beautiful
+stalactites of various forms, and glittering like cut-glass in the
+light of our lanterns, and thousands of different ornaments of
+sparkling stone, many of them appearing as if they were cut by the
+hand of skilful artists, adorn this beautiful grotto. At one end there
+is a group of stalactites, which looks to us exactly like a graceful
+palm-tree cut out of alabaster. All over the vast hall we can hear the
+pattering and tinkling of the water, which has been dripping, drop by
+drop, for centuries, and making, as it carried with it little
+particles of earth and rock, all these beautiful forms which we see.</p>
+
+<p>We have now walked nearly five miles into the great cave, and there is
+much which we have not seen. But we must go back to the upper earth.
+We will have a tiresome trip of it, but it is seldom that we can get
+anything good without taking a little trouble for it. And to have seen
+this greatest of all natural caverns is worth far more labor and
+fatigue than we have expended on its exploration. There is nothing
+like it in the known world.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_020" id="imag_020"></a><img src="images/gs046.jpg" width="400" height="546" alt="THE LION&#39;S HOME." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE LION&#39;S HOME.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_LION" id="THE_LION"></a>THE LION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>I do not desire to be wanting in respect to the Lion. Because I
+asserted that it was my opinion that he should resign the throne of
+the King of Beasts to the Elephant, I do not wish to deprive him of
+any part of his just reputation.</p>
+
+<p>The Lion, with the exception of any animal but the Elephant, the
+Rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus, and such big fellows, is the strongest
+of beasts. Compared to Tigers and Panthers, he is somewhat generous,
+and compared to most of the flesh-eating animals, he is quite
+intelligent. Lions have been taught to perform certain feats when in a
+state of captivity; but, as all of us know who have seen the
+performing animals in a menagerie, he is by no means the equal of a
+Dog or an Elephant.</p>
+
+<p>The Lion appears to the greatest advantage in the midst of his family.
+When he and his wife are taking their walks abroad they will often fly
+before a man, especially if he is a white man.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 350px;">
+<a name="imag_021" id="imag_021"></a><img src="images/gs048.jpg" width="350" height="575" alt="The Uncaged Lion" title="THE LION." />
+</div>
+
+<p>But at home, surrounded by their little ones, the case is different.
+Those cubs, in the picture of the Lion's home, are nice little
+fellows, and you might play with them without fear of more than a few
+scratches. But where is the brave man who would dare to go down among
+those rocks, armed with guns, pistols, or whatever he pleased, and
+take one of them!</p>
+
+<p>I do not think he lives in your town.</p>
+
+<p>We never see a Lion looking very brave or noble in a cage. Most of
+those that I have seen appeared to me to be excessively lazy. They had
+not half the spirit of the tigers and wolves. But, out in his native
+country, he presents a much more imposing spectacle, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>especially if
+one can get a full view of him when he is a little excited. Here is a
+picture of such a Lion as you will not see in a cage.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>Considering his size, the strength of the Lion is astonishing. He will
+kill an ox with one blow of his great paw, if he strikes it on the
+back, and then seizing it in his great jaws, he will carry it off
+almost as easily as you could carry a baby.</p>
+
+<p>And when he has carried his prey to the spot where he chooses to have
+his dinner, he shows that no beast can surpass him in the meat-eating
+line. When he has satisfied his hunger on an ox, there is not much
+left for those who come to the second table. And there are often other
+Lions, younger and weaker than the one who has provided the dinner,
+who must wait until their master or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>father is done before they have a
+chance to take a bite. But, as you may see by this picture, they do
+not wait very patiently. They roar and growl and grumble until their
+turn comes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_022" id="imag_022"></a><img src="images/gs049.jpg" width="600" height="377" alt="A Lion's Dinner" title="THE LION." />
+</div>
+
+<p>Lions have some very peculiar characteristics. When they have made a
+bound upon their prey and have missed it, they seldom chase the
+frightened animal. They are accustomed to make one spring on a deer or
+an ox, and to settle the matter there and then. So, after a failure to
+do this, they go to the place from which they have made the spring and
+practise the jump over and over until they feel that they can make it
+the next time they have a chance.</p>
+
+<p>This is by no means a bad idea for a Lion&mdash;or a man either.</p>
+
+<p>Another of their peculiarities is their fear of traps and snares.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>Very often they will not spring upon an ox or a horse, simply because
+it is tied to a tree. They think there is some trick when they see the
+animal is fastened by a rope.</p>
+
+<p>And when they come upon a man who is asleep, they will very often let
+him lie undisturbed. They are not accustomed to seeing men lying about
+in their haunts, and they don't know what to make of it. Sometimes
+they take it in their heads to lie down there themselves. Then it
+becomes disagreeable for the man when he awakes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_023" id="imag_023"></a><img src="images/gs050.jpg" width="600" height="386" alt="A Terrible Companion" title="THE LION." />
+</div>
+
+<p>A story of this kind is told of an African who had been hunting, and
+who, being tired, had lain down to sleep. When he awoke there lay a
+great Lion at a short distance from him! For a minute or two the man
+remained motionless with fright, and then he put forth his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>hand to
+take his gun, which was on the ground a few feet from him.</p>
+
+<p>But when the Lion saw him move he raised his head and roared.</p>
+
+<p>The man was quiet in a second.</p>
+
+<p>After a while it began to be terribly hot, and the rocks on which the
+poor man was lying became so heated by the sun that they burned his
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>But whenever he moved the old Lion raised his head and growled.</p>
+
+<p>The African lay there for a very long time, and the Lion kept watch
+over him. I expect that Lion had had a good meal just before he saw
+this man, and he was simply saving him up until he got hungry again.
+But, fortunately, after the hunter had suffered awfully from the heat
+of the burning sun, and had also lain there all night, with this
+dreadful beast keeping watch over him, the Lion became thirsty before
+he got hungry, and when he went off to a spring to get a drink the
+African crawled away.</p>
+
+<p>If that Lion had been a Tiger, I think he would have killed the man,
+whether he wished to eat him or not.</p>
+
+<p>So there is something for the Lion's reputation.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_024" id="imag_024"></a><img src="images/gs052.jpg" width="400" height="491" alt="Off to the Kitchen" title="BOB'S HIDING-PLACE." />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="BOBS_HIDING-PLACE" id="BOBS_HIDING-PLACE"></a>BOB'S HIDING-PLACE.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>Bob was not a very big boy, but he was a lively little fellow and full
+of fun. You can see him there in the picture, riding on his brother
+Jim's back. One evening there happened to be a great many boys and
+girls at Bob's father's house. The grown-up folks were having a family
+party, and as they were going to stay all night&mdash;you <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>see this was in
+the country&mdash;some of them brought their children with them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_025" id="imag_025"></a><img src="images/gs053.jpg" width="400" height="539" alt="Blind Man's Buff" title="BOB'S HIDING-PLACE." />
+</div>
+
+<p>It was not long after supper that a game of Blind-Man's-Buff was
+proposed, and, as it would not do to have such an uproar in the
+sitting-room as the game would produce, the children were all packed
+off to the kitchen. There they have a glorious time. Jim is the first
+one blindfolded, and, as he gropes after the others, they go stumbling
+up against tables, and rattling down tin-pans, and upsetting each
+other in every direction. Old Grandfather, who has been smoking his
+pipe by the kitchen fire, takes as much pleasure in the game as the
+young folks, and when they tumble over his legs, or come bang<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>ing up
+against his chair, he only laughs, and warns them not to hurt
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>I could not tell you how often Grandfather was caught, and how they
+all laughed at the blind-man when he found out whom he had seized.</p>
+
+<p>But after a while the children became tired of playing
+Blind-Man's-Buff, and a game of Hide-and-Seek was proposed. Everybody
+was in favor of that, especially little Bob. It appears that Bob had
+not a very good time in the other game. Everybody seemed to run up
+against him and push him about, and whenever he was caught the
+blind-man said "Bob!" immediately. You see there was no mistaking Bob;
+he was so little.</p>
+
+<p>But in Hide-and-Seek he would have a better chance. He had always
+liked that game ever since he had known how to play anything. He was a
+good little fellow for hiding, and he knew it.</p>
+
+<p>When the game had begun, and all the children&mdash;except the biggest
+girl, who was standing in a corner, with her hands before her face,
+counting as fast as she could, and hoping that she would come to one
+hundred before everybody had hidden themselves&mdash;had scampered off to
+various hiding-places, Bob still stood in the middle of the
+kitchen-floor, wondering where in the world he should go to! All of a
+sudden&mdash;the girl in the corner had already reached sixty-four&mdash;he
+thought he would go down in the cellar.</p>
+
+<p>There was no rule against that&mdash;at least none that he knew of&mdash;and so,
+slipping softly to the cellar-door, over in the darkest corner of the
+kitchen, he opened it, and went softly down the steps.</p>
+
+<p>There was a little light on the steps, for Bob did not shut the door
+quite tightly after him, and if there had been none at all, he would
+have been quite as well pleased. He was not afraid of the dark, and
+all that now filled his mind was the thought of getting somewhere
+where no one could possibly find him. So he groped his way under <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>the
+steps, and there he squatted down in the darkness, behind two barrels
+which stood in a corner.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," thought Bob, "she won't find me&mdash;easy."</p>
+
+<p>He waited there a good while, and the longer he waited the prouder he
+became.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll bet mine's the hardest place of all," he said to himself.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_026" id="imag_026"></a><img src="images/gs055.jpg" width="500" height="484" alt="The Story-Teller" title="BOB'S HIDING-PLACE." />
+</div>
+
+<p>Bob heard a great deal of noise and shouting after the big girl came
+out from her corner and began finding the others, and he also heard a
+bang above his head, but he did not know that it was some one shutting
+the cellar-door. After that all was quiet.</p>
+
+<p>Bob listened, but could not hear a step. He had not the slightest
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>idea, of course, that they had stopped playing and were telling
+stories by the kitchen fire. The big girl had found them all so easily
+that Hide-and-Seek had been voted down.</p>
+
+<p>Bob had his own ideas in regard to this silence. "I know," he
+whispered to himself, "they're all found, and they're after me, and
+keeping quiet to hear me breathe!"</p>
+
+<p>And, to prevent their finding his hiding-place by the sound of his
+breathing, Bob held his breath until he was red in the face. He had
+heard often enough of that trick of keeping quiet and listening to
+breathing. You couldn't catch him that way!</p>
+
+<p>When he was at last obliged to take a breath, you might have supposed
+he would have swallowed half the air in the cellar. He thought he had
+never tasted anything so good as that long draught of fresh air.</p>
+
+<p>"Can't hold my breath all the time!" Bob thought. "If I could, maybe
+they'd never find me at all," which reflection was much nearer the
+truth than the little fellow imagined.</p>
+
+<p>I don't know how long Bob had been sitting under the steps&mdash;it may
+have been five minutes, or it may have been a quarter of an hour, and
+he was beginning to feel a little cold&mdash;when he heard the cellar-door
+open, and some one put their foot upon the steps.</p>
+
+<p>"There they are!" he thought, and he cuddled himself up in the
+smallest space possible.</p>
+
+<p>Some one was coming down, sure enough, but it was not the children, as
+Bob expected. It was his Aunt Alice and her cousin Tom Green. They had
+come down to get some cider and apples for the company, and had no
+thought of Bob. In fact, when Bob was missed it was supposed that he
+had got tired and had gone up-stairs, where old Aunt Hannah was
+putting some of the smaller children to bed.</p>
+
+<p>So, of course, Alice and Tom Green did not try to find him, but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>Bob,
+who could not see them, thought it was certainly some of the children
+come down to look for him.</p>
+
+<p>In this picture of the scene in the cellar, little Bob is behind those
+two barrels in the right-hand upper corner, but of course you can't
+see him. He knows how to hide too well for that.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_027" id="imag_027"></a><img src="images/gs057.jpg" width="500" height="499" alt="In the Cellar" title="BOB'S HIDING-PLACE." />
+</div>
+
+<p>But when Tom and Alice spoke, Bob knew their voices and peeped out.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" he thought, "it's only Aunt Alice and he. They've come down for
+cider and things. I've got to hide safe now, or they'll tell when they
+go up-stairs."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know <i>all</i> them barrels had apples in! I thought some <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>were
+potatoes. I wish they would just go up-stairs again and leave that
+candle on the floor! I wonder if they will forget it! If they do, I'll
+just eat a whole hat-full of those big red apples, and some of the
+streakedy ones in the other barrel too; and then I'll put my mouth to
+the spigot of that cider-barrel, and turn it, and drink and drink and
+drink&mdash;and if there isn't enough left in that barrel, I'll go to
+another one and turn that. I never did have enough cider in all my
+life. I wish they'd hurry and go up.</p>
+
+<p>"Kissin'! what's the good of kissin'! A cellar ain't no place for
+that. I expect they won't remember to forget the candle if they don't
+look out!</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, pshaw! just look at 'em! They're a-going up again, and taking the
+candle along! The mean things!"</p>
+
+<p>Poor little Bob!</p>
+
+<p>There he sat in his corner, all alone again in the darkness and
+silence, for Tom and Alice had shut the cellar-door after them when
+they had gone up-stairs. He sat quietly for a minute or two, and then
+he said to himself:</p>
+
+<p>"I b'lieve I'd just as lieve they'd find me as not."</p>
+
+<p>And to help them a little in their search he began to kick very gently
+against one of the barrels.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Bob! If you were to kick with all your force and even upset the
+barrel they would not hear you. And what is more, they are not even
+thinking of you, for the apples are now being distributed.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder," said the little fellow to himself, "if I could find that
+red-apple barrel in the dark. But then I couldn't tell the red ones
+from the streakedy ones. But either of 'em would do. I guess I won't
+try, though, for I might put my hand on a rat. They run about when
+it's dark. I hope they won't come in this corner. But there's nothin'
+for 'em to eat in this corner but me, and they ain't <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>lions. I wonder
+if they'll come down after more cider when that's all drunk up. If
+they do, I guess I'll come out and let Aunt Alice tell them all where
+I am. I don't like playin' this game when it's too long."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_028" id="imag_028"></a><img src="images/gs059.jpg" width="500" height="466" alt="Handing round the Apples" title="BOB'S HIDING-PLACE." />
+</div>
+
+<p>And so he sat and waited and listened, and his eye-lids began to grow
+heavy and his head began to nod, and directly little Bob was fast
+asleep in the dark corner behind the barrels.</p>
+
+<p>By ten o'clock the children were all put to bed, and soon after the
+old folks went up-stairs, leaving only Tom Green, Alice, and some of
+the young men and women down in the big sitting-room.</p>
+
+<p>Bob's mother went up into the room where several of the children were
+sleeping, and after looking around, she said to the old colored nurse:</p>
+
+<p>"Hannah, what have you done with Bob?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p><p>"I didn't put him to bed, mum. I spect Miss Alice has took him to her
+bed. She knowed how crowded the chil'un all was, up here."</p>
+
+<p>"But Alice has not gone to bed," said Bob's mother.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't spect she has, mum," said Hannah. "But I reckon she put him in
+her bed till she come."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go and see," said Bob's mother.</p>
+
+<p>She went, and she saw, but she didn't see Bob! And he wasn't in the
+next room, or in any bed in the house, or under any bed, or anywhere
+at all, as far as she could see; and so, pretty soon, there was a nice
+hubbub in that house!</p>
+
+<p>Bob's mother and father, and his grandfather, and Hannah, and the
+young folks in the parlor, and nearly all the rest of the visitors,
+ransacked the house from top to bottom. Then they looked out of doors,
+and some of them went around the yard, where they could see very
+plainly, as it was bright moonlight. But though they searched and
+called, there was no Bob.</p>
+
+<p>The house-doors being open, Snag the dog came in, and he joined in the
+search, you may be sure, although I do not know that he exactly
+understood what they were looking for.</p>
+
+<p>Some one now opened the cellar-door, but it seemed preposterous to
+look down in the cellar for the little fellow.</p>
+
+<p>But nothing was preposterous to Snag.</p>
+
+<p>The moment the cellar-door was opened he shuffled down the steps as
+fast as he could go. He knew there was somebody down there.</p>
+
+<p>And when those who followed him with a candle reached the
+cellar-floor, there was Snag, with his head between the barrels,
+wagging his tail as if he was trying to jerk it off, and whining with
+joy as he tried to stick his cold nose into the rosy face of little
+sleeping Bob.</p>
+
+<p>It was Tom Green who carried Bob up-stairs, and very soon in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>deed, all
+the folks were gathered in the kitchen, and Bob sleepily told his
+story.</p>
+
+<p>"But Tom and I were down in the cellar," said his Aunt Alice, "and we
+didn't see you."</p>
+
+<p>"I guess you didn't," said Bob, rubbing his eyes. "I was a-hidin' and
+you was a-kissin'."</p>
+
+<p>What a shout of laughter arose in the kitchen at this speech!
+Everybody laughed so much that Bob got wide awake and wanted some
+apples and cake.</p>
+
+<p>The little fellow certainly made a sensation that night; but it was
+afterwards noticed that he ceased to care much for the game of
+Hide-and-Seek. He played it too well, you see.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_CONTINENTAL_SOLDIER" id="THE_CONTINENTAL_SOLDIER"></a>THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIER.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>Did you ever see a Continental Soldier? I doubt it. Some twenty years
+ago there used to be a few of them scattered here and there over the
+country, but they must be nearly all gone now. About a year ago there
+were but two of them left. Those whom some of us can remember were
+rather mournful old gentlemen. They shuffled about their
+dwelling-places, they smoked their pipes, and they were nearly always
+ready to talk about the glorious old days of the Revolution. It was
+well they had those days to fall back upon, for they had but little
+share in the glories of the present. When they looked abroad upon the
+country that their arms, and blood perhaps, had helped give to that
+vigorous Young America which now swells with prosperity from Alaska to
+Florida, they could see very little of it which they could call their
+own.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 200px;">
+<a name="imag_029" id="imag_029"></a><img src="images/gs062.jpg" width="200" height="326" alt="The Drummer of 1776" title="THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIER." />
+</div>
+<p>It was difficult to look upon those feeble old men and imagine that
+they were once full of vigor and fire; that they held their old
+flintlocks with arms of iron when the British cavalry rushed upon
+their bayonets; that their keen eyes flashed a deadly aim along their
+rusty rifle-barrels; that, with their good swords quivering in their
+sinewy hands, they urged their horses boldly over the battle-field,
+shouting brave words to their advancing men; and that they laughed at
+heat and cold, patiently endured hunger and privation, strode along
+bravely on the longest marches, and, at last, stood proudly by when
+Cornwallis gave up his sword.</p>
+
+<p>Those old gentlemen did not look like anything of that sort. Their
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>old arms could hardly manage their old canes; their old legs could
+just about carry them on a march around the garden, and they were very
+particular indeed about heat and cold.</p>
+
+<p>But History and Art will better keep alive the memory of their good
+deeds, and call more vigorously upon the gratitude of their
+countrymen, than those old Continentallers could themselves have done
+it, had they lived on for years and years, and told generation after
+generation how once they galloped proudly along the ranks, or, in
+humbler station, beat with vigorous arm the stirring drum-roll that
+called their comrades to the battle-field.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_030" id="imag_030"></a><img src="images/gs063.jpg" width="500" height="409" alt="THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIER." title="THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIER." />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_031" id="imag_031"></a><img src="images/gs064.jpg" width="500" height="385" alt="The Donkey in the Parlor" title="A JUDGE OF MUSIC." />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="A_JUDGE_OF_MUSIC" id="A_JUDGE_OF_MUSIC"></a>A JUDGE OF MUSIC.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>It is not well to despise anybody or anything until you know what they
+can do. I have known some very stupid-looking people who could do a
+sum in the rule-of-three in a minute, and who could add up a column of
+six figures abreast while I was just making a beginning at the
+right-hand bottom corner. But stupid-looking beings are often good at
+other things besides arithmetic. I have seen doctors, with very dull
+faces, who knew all about castor-oil and mustard-plasters, and above
+you see a picture of a Donkey who understood music.</p>
+
+<p>This animal had a very fine ear for music. You can see how much ear he
+had, and I have no doubt that he enjoyed the sweet sounds from one end
+to the other of those beautiful long flaps. Well, he very often had an
+opportunity of enjoying himself, for the lady of the house was a fine
+musician, and she used to sing and play upon the piano nearly every
+day. And as soon as he heard the sweet sounds <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>which thrilled his
+soul, the Donkey would come to the parlor window and listen.</p>
+
+<p>One day the lady played and sang something which was particularly
+sweet and touching. I never heard the name of the song&mdash;whether it was
+"I'm sitting on the stile, Mary," or "A watcher, pale and weary"&mdash;but
+if it was the latter, I am not surprised that it should have overcome
+even a jackass. At any rate, the music so moved the soul of Mr. Donkey
+that he could no longer restrain himself, but entering the open door
+he stepped into the parlor, approached the lady, and with a voice
+faltering from the excess of his emotion, he joined in the chorus!</p>
+
+<p>The lady jumped backwards and gave a dreadful scream, and the Donkey,
+thinking that the music went up very high in that part, commenced to
+bray at such a pitch that you could have heard him if you had been up
+in a balloon.</p>
+
+<p>That was a lively concert; but it was soon ended by the lady rushing
+from the room and sending her man John to drive out the musical
+jackass with a big stick.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, all donkeys have not this taste for music. The nearest
+that the majority of jackasses come to being votaries of music is when
+their skins are used for covering cases for musical instruments. And
+if they have any ambition in the cause of harmony, that is better than
+nothing.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_SENSITIVE_PLANT" id="THE_SENSITIVE_PLANT"></a>THE SENSITIVE PLANT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There was never a better name for a plant than this, for the delicate
+leaves which grow on this slender stalk are almost as sensitive to the
+touch as if they were alive. If you place your hand on a growing
+plant, you will soon see all the leaves on the stem that you have
+touched fold themselves up as tightly as if they had been packed up
+carefully to be sent away by mail or express. In some of the common
+kinds of this plant, which grow about in our fields, it takes some
+time for the leaves to fold after they have been touched or handled;
+but if you watch them long enough&mdash;five or ten minutes&mdash;you will see
+that they never fail to close. They are not so sensitive as their
+cultivated kindred, but they still have the family disposition.</p>
+
+<p>Now this is certainly a wonderful property for a plant to possess, but
+it is not half so strange as another trait of these same pretty green
+leaves. They will shut up when it is dark, and open when it is light.</p>
+
+<p>It may be said that many other plants will do this, but that is a
+mistake. Many flowers and leaves close at <i>night</i> and open in the
+<i>day-time</i>, but very few indeed exhibit the peculiar action of the
+sensitive plant in this respect. That plant will open at night if you
+bring a bright light into the room where it is growing, and it will
+close its leaves if the room is made dark in the day-time.</p>
+
+<p>Other plants take note of times and seasons. The sensitive plant obeys
+no regular rules of this kind, but acts according to circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>When I was a boy, I often used to go to a green-house where there were
+a great many beautiful and rare plants; but I always thought that the
+sensitive plant was the most wonderful thing in the whole
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>collection, and I did not know then how susceptible it was to the
+influence of light. I was interested in it simply because it seemed to
+have a sort of vegetable reason, and understood that it should shut up
+its leaves whenever I touched it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_032" id="imag_032"></a><img src="images/gs067.jpg" width="400" height="486" alt="THE SENSITIVE PLANT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SENSITIVE PLANT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But there were things around me in the vegetable kingdom which were
+still more wonderful than that, and I took no notice of them at all.</p>
+
+<p>In the garden and around the house, growing everywhere, in the most
+common and ordinary places, were vines of various kinds&mdash;I think there
+were more morning-glories than anything else&mdash;and these exhibited a
+great deal more sense, and a much nearer approach to reasoning powers,
+than the sensitive plants, which were so carefully kept in the
+green-house.</p>
+
+<p>When one of these vines came up out of the earth, fresh from its seed,
+the first thing it wanted, after its tendrils began to show
+themselves, was something to climb up upon. It would like a good high
+pole. Now, if there was such a pole within a few feet of the little
+vine it would grow straight towards it, and climb up it!</p>
+
+<p>It would not grow first in one direction, and then in another and then
+in another, until it ran against something to climb on, but it would
+go right straight towards the pole, as if it saw it, and knew it was a
+good one for its purpose.</p>
+
+<p>I think that there is not much in the vegetable kingdom more wonderful
+than that.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_033" id="imag_033"></a><img src="images/gs069.jpg" width="500" height="597" alt="SIR MARMADUKE." title="SIR MARMADUKE." />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="SIR_MARMADUKE" id="SIR_MARMADUKE"></a>SIR MARMADUKE.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>Sir Marmaduke was a good old English gentleman, all of the olden time.
+There you see him, in his old-fashioned dining-room, with his
+old-fashioned wife holding her old-fashioned distaff, while he is
+surrounded by his old-fashioned arms, pets, and furniture.</p>
+
+<p>On his hand he holds his hawk, and his dogs are enjoying the great
+wood fire. His saddle is thrown on the floor; his hat and his pipes
+lie near it; his sword and his cross-bows are stood up, or thrown
+down, anywhere at all, and standing by his great chair is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>something
+which looks like a coal-scuttle, but which is only a helmet.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Marmaduke was certainly a fine old gentleman. In times of peace he
+lived happily with his family, and was kind and generous to the poor
+around him. In times of war he fought bravely for his country.</p>
+
+<p>But what a different old gentleman would he have been had he lived in
+our day!</p>
+
+<p>Then, instead of saying "Rebeck me!" and "Ods Boddikins!" when his
+hawk bit his finger or something else put him out of humor, he would
+have exclaimed, "Oh, pshaw!" or, "Botheration!" Instead of playing
+with a hawk, he would have had a black-and-tan terrier,&mdash;if he had any
+pet at all; and his wife would not have been bothering herself with a
+distaff, when linen, already spun and woven, could be bought for fifty
+cents a yard. Had she lived now, the good lady would have been mending
+stockings or crocheting a tidy.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of a pitcher of ale on his supper-table, the good knight would
+have had some tea or coffee; and instead of a chine of beef, a mess of
+pottage, and a great loaf of brown bread for his evening meal, he
+would have had some white bread, cakes, preserves, and other trifles
+of that sort, which in the olden days were considered only fit for
+children and women. The good old English gentlemen were tremendous
+eaters. They used to take five meals a day, and each one of them was
+heavy and substantial.</p>
+
+<p>If Sir Marmaduke had any sons or daughters, he would have treated them
+very differently in the present day. Instead of keeping them at home,
+under the tuition of some young clergyman or ancient scholar, until
+they should be old enough and accomplished enough to become pages to a
+great lord, or companions to some great lady, he would have sent them
+to school, and the boys&mdash;the younger <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>ones, at least&mdash;would have been
+prepared for some occupation which would support them, while the girls
+would have been taught to play on the piano and to work slippers.</p>
+
+<p>In these days, instead of that old helmet on the floor, you would have
+seen a high-top hat&mdash;that is, if the old gentleman should continue to
+be as careless as the picture shows him; instead of a cross-bow on the
+floor, and another leaning against the chair, you would have seen a
+double-barrelled gun and a powder-horn; and instead of the picturesque
+and becoming clothes in which you see Sir Marmaduke, he would have
+worn some sort of a tight-fitting and ugly suit, such as old gentlemen
+now-a-days generally wear.</p>
+
+<p>There were a great many advantages in the old style of living, and
+also a very great many disadvantages. On the whole, we should be very
+thankful indeed that we were born in this century, and not in the good
+old times of yore.</p>
+
+<p>A little boy once made a very wise remark on this subject. He said: "I
+wish I could have seen George Washington and Israel Putnam; but I'm
+glad I didn't, for if I'd been alive then, I should have been dead
+now."</p>
+
+<p>There is enough in that boy's remark for a whole composition, if any
+one chose to write it.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_GIRAFFE" id="THE_GIRAFFE"></a>THE GIRAFFE.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>Some one once called the Giraffe a "two-story animal," and the remark
+was not altogether inapplicable.</p>
+
+<p>As you see him in the picture, lying down, he seems to be high enough
+for all ordinary purposes; but when he stands up, you will see that
+his legs&mdash;or his lower story&mdash;will elevate him to a surprising height.</p>
+
+<p>The ordinary giraffe measures about fifteen feet from the top of his
+head to the ground, but some of them have been known to be over
+sixteen feet high. Most of this height is owing to their long necks,
+but their fore-legs are also very long. The hind-legs seem much
+shorter, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>although, in reality, they are as long as the fore-legs. The
+legs and neck of the Giraffe are made long so that he can eat the
+leaves from the tops of young trees. This tender foliage is his
+favorite diet; but he will eat the foliage from any part of a tree,
+and he is content with the herbage on the ground, when there is
+nothing else.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_034" id="imag_034"></a><img src="images/gs072.jpg" width="400" height="641" alt="THE GIRAFFE." title="THE GIRAFFE." />
+</div>
+<p>He is not a fighting animal. Those little horns which you see on his
+head, and which look as if they had been broken off&mdash;although they are
+really their full size&mdash;are of no use as offensive weapons. When
+danger threatens him he runs away, and a funny sight he is then. He
+can run very fast, but he is very awkward; he goes like a cow on
+stilts.</p>
+
+<p>But when there is no chance for him to run away, he can often defend
+himself, for he can kick like a good fellow. His hind-legs fly so fast
+when he is kicking that you can hardly see them, and he has been known
+to drive off a lion by this means of defence.</p>
+
+<p>When hunters wish to catch a giraffe alive, they generally drive him
+into a thick woods, where his great height prevents him from running
+very rapidly; and as soon as they come up with him, they endeavor to
+entangle him in ropes, to throw him down, and to put a halter round
+his neck. If they only keep out of the way of his heels, there is no
+need of being afraid of him. When they have secured him they lead him
+off, if he will come; but if he is an old fellow he will not walk
+after them, and he is too strong to be easily pulled along, no matter
+how many men may be in the hunt. So in this case they generally kill
+him, for his skin is valuable, and his flesh is very good to eat. But
+if the giraffe is a young one, he will follow his captors without
+difficulty, for these animals are naturally very gentle.</p>
+
+<p>Why the natives of Africa should desire to obtain living giraffes,
+unless it is to sell them to people who wish to carry them to other
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>countries, travellers do not inform us. We have never heard that any
+domestic use was made of them, nor that they were kept for the sake of
+their meat. But we suppose the hunters know their own business.</p>
+
+<p>It is probable that the lion is really the greatest enemy of the
+giraffe. It is not often that this crafty and powerful hunter will put
+himself within reach of his victim's heels. Approaching softly and
+slowly, the lion waits until he is quite near the giraffe, and then,
+with one bound, he springs upon his back. Sometimes the giraffe
+succeeds in shaking him off, but generally they both fall
+together&mdash;the giraffe dead, and the lion with his appetite whetted for
+an enormous dinner.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_035" id="imag_035"></a><img src="images/gs075.jpg" width="400" height="522" alt="Above the Clouds" title="" />
+<span class="caption">UP IN A BALLOON.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="UP_IN_THE_AIR" id="UP_IN_THE_AIR"></a>UP IN THE AIR.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>We have already taken a journey under the earth, and now, if you like,
+we will try a trip in the air. Anything for a novelty. We have lived
+on the surface of the earth ever since we were born.</p>
+
+<p>We will make our ascent in a balloon. It has been thought by some
+folks, that there were easier methods of ascending into the air than
+by a cumbrous balloon, but their inventions never became popular.</p>
+
+<p>For instance, look at the picture of a flying-man.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_036" id="imag_036"></a><img src="images/gs076.jpg" width="400" height="667" alt="The Flying Man" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+<p>This gentleman had an idea that he could fly by the aid of this
+ingenious machinery. You will see that his wings <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>are arranged so that
+they are moved by his legs, and also by cords attached to his arms.
+The umbrella over his head is not intended to ward off the rain or the
+sun, but is to act as a sort of parachute, to keep him from falling
+while he is making his strokes. The basket, which hangs down low
+enough to be out of the way of his feet, is filled with provisions,
+which he expects to need in the course of his journey.</p>
+
+<p>That journey lasted exactly as long as it took him to fall from the
+top of a high rock to the ground below.</p>
+
+<p>But we are not going to trust ourselves to any such <i>harem-scarem</i>
+contrivance as this. We are going up in a regular balloon.</p>
+
+<p>We all know how balloons are made, and this one of ours is like most
+others. It is a great globular bag, made of strips of silk sewn
+together, and varnished with a certain composition which renders the
+balloon air-tight. The car in which we will travel is made of
+wicker-work, for that is both light and strong, and it is suspended
+from a net-work of strong cord which covers the whole balloon. It
+would not do, you know, to attach a cord to any particular part of the
+silk, for that would tear it. In the top of the balloon is a valve,
+and a cord from it comes down into the car. This valve is to be pulled
+open when we wish to come down towards the earth. The gas then
+escapes, and of course the balloon descends. In the car are bags of
+sand, and these are to be emptied out when we think we are too heavy
+for the balloon, and are either coming down too fast or are not as
+high as we wish to go. Relieved of the weight of a bag, the balloon
+rises.</p>
+
+<p>Sand is used because it can be emptied out and will not injure anybody
+in its descent. It would be rather dangerous, if ballooning were a
+common thing, for the a&euml;ronauts to throw out stones and old iron, such
+as are used for the ballast of a ship. If you ever feel a shower of
+sand coming down upon you through the air, look up, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>and you will
+probably see a balloon&mdash;that is, if you do not get some of the sand in
+your eyes.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;">
+<a name="imag_037" id="imag_037"></a><img src="images/gs078.jpg" width="300" height="516" alt="The Parachute&mdash;shut" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+
+<p>The gas with which our balloon is to be filled is hydrogen gas; but I
+think we will not use the pure hydrogen, for it is troublesome and
+expensive to produce. We will get permission of the city gas
+authorities to take gas from one of their pipes.</p>
+
+<p>That will carry us up very well indeed. When the balloon is nearly
+full&mdash;we never fill it entirely, for the gas expands when it rises
+into lighter air, and the balloon would explode if we did not leave
+room for this expansion&mdash;it is almost as round as a ball, and swells
+out proudly, struggling and pulling at the ropes which confine it to
+the ground.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>Now we have but to attach the car, get in, and cut loose. But we are
+going to be very careful on this trip, and so we will attach a
+parachute to the balloon. I hope we may not use it, but it may save us
+in case of an accident. This is the manner in which the parachute will
+hang from the bottom of the car.</p>
+
+<p>It resembles, you see, a closed umbrella without a handle, and it has
+cords at the bottom, to which a car is attached. If we wish to come
+down by means of this contrivance, we must descend from the car of the
+balloon to that of the parachute, and then we must unfasten the rope
+which attaches us to the balloon. We shall then drop like a shot; but
+as soon as the air gets under our parachute it will spread open, and
+our descent will <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>immediately begin to be much more gradual, and if
+nothing unusual occurs to us, we shall come gently to the ground. This
+picture shows the manner in which we would come down in a parachute.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>This man's balloon has probably burst, for we see it is tumbling down,
+and it will no doubt reach the ground before him.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_038" id="imag_038"></a><img src="images/gs079.jpg" width="400" height="441" alt="The Parachute&mdash;open" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+<p>When all is ready and we are properly seated in the car, with our
+instruments and extra clothes and ballast, and some provisions, we
+will give the word to "let her go."</p>
+
+<p>There!</p>
+
+<p>Did you see that?</p>
+
+<p>The earth dropped right down. And it is dropping, but more slowly,
+yet.</p>
+
+<p>That is the sensation persons generally experience when they first go
+up in a balloon. Not being used to rising in the air, they think at
+first that they are stationary, and that the earth and all the people
+and houses on it are falling below them.</p>
+
+<p>Now, then, we are off! Look down and see how everything gets smaller,
+and smaller, and smaller. As we pass over a river, we can look down to
+its very bottom; and if we were not so high we could see the fishes
+swimming about. The houses soon begin to look like toy-cottages, and
+the trees like bushes, and the creeks and rivers like silvery bands.
+The people now appear as black spots; we can just see some of them
+moving about; but if they were to shout very loud we might hear them,
+for sound travels upward to a great distance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_039" id="imag_039"></a><img src="images/gs080.jpg" width="500" height="397" alt="MOONLIGHT ABOVE THE CLOUDS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MOONLIGHT ABOVE THE CLOUDS.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Soon everything begins to be mixed up below us. We can hardly tell the
+woods from the fields; all seem pretty much alike. And now we think it
+is getting foggy; we can see nothing at all beneath us, and when we
+look up and around us we can see nothing but fog.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_040" id="imag_040"></a><img src="images/gs081.jpg" width="400" height="485" alt="Bagnolet's Balloon" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+
+<p>We are in the clouds! Yes, these are the clouds. There is nothing very
+beautiful about them&mdash;they are only masses of vapor. But how thick
+that vapor is! Now, when we look up, we cannot even see the balloon
+above us. We are sitting in our little basket-work car, and that is
+all we know! We are shut out from the whole world, closed up in a
+cloud!</p>
+
+<p>But this foggy atmosphere is becoming thinner, and we soon shoot out
+of it! Now we can see clearly around us. Where are the clouds? Look!
+there they are, spread out like a great bed below us.</p>
+
+<p>How they glisten and sparkle in the bright sunlight!</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p><p>Is not this glorious, to ride above the clouds, in what seems to us
+illimitable space! The earth is only a few miles below us, it is true,
+but up and around us space <i>is</i> illimitable.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>But we shall penetrate space no longer in an upward direction. It is
+time we were going back to the world. We are all very cold, and the
+eyes and ears of some of us are becoming painful. More than that, our
+balloon is getting too large. The gas within it is expanding, on
+account of the rarity of the air.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_041" id="imag_041"></a><img src="images/gs082.jpg" alt="Bagnolet's Balloon" width="500" height="590" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+<p>We shall pull the rope of the valve.</p>
+
+<p>Now we are descending. We are in the clouds, and before we think much
+about it we are out of them. We see the earth beneath us, like a great
+circular plain, with the centre a little elevated. Now we see the
+rivers; the forests begin to define themselves; we can distinguish
+houses, and we know that we are falling very rapidly. It is time to
+throw out ballast. We do so, and we descend more slowly.</p>
+
+<p>Now we are not much higher than the tops of the trees. People are
+running towards us. Out with another bag of sand! We rise a little.
+Now we throw out the anchor. It drags along the ground for some
+distance, as the wind carries us over a field, and then it catches in
+a fence. And now the people run up and pull us to the ground, and the
+most dangerous part of our expedition is over.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="imag_042" id="imag_042"></a><img src="images/gs083.jpg" width="700" height="434" alt="Coming down Roughly" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p><p>For it is comparatively safe to go up in a balloon, but the descent
+is often very hazardous indeed.</p>
+
+<p>On the preceding page is a picture of a balloon which did not come
+down so pleasantly as ours.</p>
+
+<p>With nine persons in it, it was driven over the ground by a tremendous
+wind; the anchors were broken; the car was bumped against the ground
+ever so many times; and the balloon dashed into trees, breaking off
+their branches; it came near running into a railroad train; it struck
+and carried away part of a telegraph line, and at last became tangled
+up in a forest, and stopped. Several of the persons in it had their
+limbs broken, and it is a wonder they were not all killed.</p>
+
+<p>The balloon in which we ascended was a very plain, common-sense
+affair; but when aerial ascents were first undertaken the balloons
+were very fancifully decorated.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_043" id="imag_043"></a><img src="images/gs085.jpg" width="500" height="812" alt="A Balloon with Sails and Rudders" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+<p>For instance, Bagnolet's balloon and that of Le Flesselles, of which
+we have given you pictures, are much handsomer than anything we have
+at present. But they were not any more serviceable for all their
+ornamentation, and they differed from ours in still another way&mdash;they
+were "hot-air balloons."</p>
+
+<p>Other balloons were furnished with all sorts of fans, rudders, etc.,
+for the purpose of steering them, or accelerating their motion up or
+down.</p>
+
+<p>On the next page is one of that kind.</p>
+
+<p>This balloon ascended from Dijon, France, in 1784, but the
+steering-apparatus did not prove to be of much use.</p>
+
+<p>There were other balloons devised by the early a&euml;ronauts, which were
+still stranger than that one which arose from Dijon. The <i>Minerva</i>,
+the picture of which you can examine at your leisure, was invented by
+a Mr. Robertson, in the beginning of this century. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>wished to make
+a grand aerial voyage of several months, with a company of about sixty
+persons, and therefore he had to have a very large balloon. To procure
+this he desired the co-operation of the scientific men throughout
+Europe, and sent plans and descriptions of his projected balloon to
+all the learned societies.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>This great ship of the air was to be a regular little town, as you may
+see. The balloon was to be one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, and
+was to carry a large ship, on which the passengers would be safe if
+they descended in the water, even if it were the middle of the ocean.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_044" id="imag_044"></a><img src="images/gs086.jpg" width="500" height="588" alt="The Minerva" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+<p>Everything was to be provided for the safety and convenience of the
+passengers. Around the upper part of the balloon you will see a
+platform, with sentries and tents. These soldiers were to be called
+the "air-marines." There <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>is a small balloon&mdash;about the common
+size&mdash;which could be sent off like a small boat whenever occasion
+required. If any one got tired of the expedition, and wanted to go
+home, there was a parachute by which he might descend. On the deck of
+the ship, near the stern, was to be a little church; small houses hung
+from below, reached by ladders of silk, which were to be used as
+medicine-rooms, gymnasiums, etc.; and under the ship would hang a
+great hogshead, as big as a house, which would contain provisions and
+stores, and keep them tight and dry. There was also a kitchen; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>and a
+cannon, with which to fire off salutes, besides a number of guns,
+which you see projecting from the port-holes of the ship. These, I
+suppose, were to be used against all enemies or pirates of the air,
+sea, or land.</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_045" id="imag_045"></a><img src="images/gs087.jpg" width="500" height="824" alt="Safe Ballooning" title="UP IN THE AIR." />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p><p>I cannot enumerate all the appendages of this wonderful balloon&mdash;you
+see there are telescopes, sails, great speaking-trumpets, anchors,
+etc.; but I will merely remark that it was never constructed.</p>
+
+<p>One of the safest, and sometimes the most profitable, methods of using
+a balloon, is that shown in the picture, "Safe Ballooning." Here a
+battle is going on, and the individuals in the balloon, safely
+watching the progress of events and the movements of the enemy,
+transmit their observations to the army with which they are connected.
+Of course the men on the ground manage a balloon of this sort, and
+pull it around to any point that they please, lowering it by the ropes
+when the observations are concluded. Balloons are often used in
+warfare in this manner.</p>
+
+<p>But during the late siege of Paris, balloons became more useful than
+they have ever been since their invention. A great many a&euml;ronauts left
+the besieged city, floated safely over the Prussian army, and
+descended in friendly localities. Some of these balloons were
+captured, but they generally accomplished their purposes, and were of
+great service to the French. On one occasion, however, a balloon from
+Paris was driven by adverse winds to the ocean, and its occupants were
+drowned.</p>
+
+<p>It has not been one hundred years since the balloon was invented by
+the brothers Montgolfier, of France. They used heated air instead of
+gas, and their balloons were of course inferior to those of the
+present day. But we have not improved very much upon the original
+balloon, and what progress will eventually be made in aerial
+navigation it is difficult to prophesy. But there are persons who
+believe that in time air-ships will make regular trips in all
+directions, like our present steamboats and railroad-trains.</p>
+
+<p>If this is ever the case, I hope we may all be living to see it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_046" id="imag_046"></a><img src="images/gs089.jpg" width="600" height="419" alt="DRIVEN OUT TO SEA" title="" />
+<span class="caption">DRIVEN OUT TO SEA</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_HORSE_OF_ARABIA" id="THE_HORSE_OF_ARABIA"></a>THE HORSE OF ARABIA.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Arabian horse has long been celebrated as the most valuable of his
+race. He is considered an aristocrat among horses, and only those
+steeds which can trace their descent from Arabian ancestors have the
+right to be called "thorough-bred."</p>
+
+<p>Occasionally an Arabian horse is brought to this country, but we do
+not often see them. In fact, they would not be as valuable here as
+those horses which, besides Arabian descent, have also other
+characteristics which especially adapt them to our country and
+climate.</p>
+
+<p>In Arabia the horse, as an individual, especially if he happens to be
+of the purest breed, is more highly prized than in any other part of
+the world. It is almost impossible to buy a favorite horse from an
+Arab, and even if he can be induced to sell it, the transaction is a
+very complicated one. In the first place, all the relations and allies
+of the owner must give their consent, for the parting with a horse to
+a stranger is a very important matter with them. The buyer must then
+make himself sure that the <i>whole of the horse</i> belongs to the man who
+is selling him, for the Arabs, when they wish to raise money, very
+often do so by selling to a member of their tribe a fore-leg, a
+hind-leg, or an ear, of one of their horses; and in this case, the
+person who is a part owner of the animal must have his proportionate
+share of all profits which may arise from its sale or use. This
+practice is very much like our method of mortgaging our lands.</p>
+
+<p>When the horse is finally bought and paid for, it had better be taken
+away as soon as possible, for the Arabs&mdash;even those who have no
+interest whatever in the sale&mdash;cannot endure to see a horse which once
+belonged to their tribe passing into the hands of strangers. And
+therefore, in order to soothe their wounded sensibilities, they
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>often steal the animal, if they can get a chance, before the buyer
+carries him out of their reach.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_047" id="imag_047"></a><img src="images/gs091.jpg" width="500" height="740" alt="THE ARABIAN HORSE." title="ARABIAN HORSE." />
+<span class="caption">ARABIAN HORSE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>The Arabian horse is generally much more intelligent and docile than
+those of our country. But this is not altogether on account of his
+good blood. The Arab makes a friend and companion of his horse. The
+animal so constantly associates with man, is talked to so much, and
+treated so kindly, that he sometimes shows the most surprising
+intelligence. He will follow his master like a dog; come at his call;
+stand anywhere without moving, until his master returns to him; stop
+instantly if his rider falls from his back, and wait until he mounts
+again; and it has been said that an Arabian horse has been known to
+pick up his wounded master from the field of battle, and by fastening
+his teeth in the man's clothes, to carry him to a place of safety.</p>
+
+<p>There is no doubt, if we were to treat our horses with gentleness and
+prudence, and in a measure make companions of them whenever it was
+possible, that they would come to regard us with much of the affection
+and obedience which the Arabian horse shows to his master.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_048" id="imag_048"></a><img src="images/gs093.jpg" alt="In the Cornfield" width="500" height="606" title="INDIAN PUDDINGS: PUMPKIN PIES." />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="INDIAN_PUDDINGS_PUMPKIN_PIES" id="INDIAN_PUDDINGS_PUMPKIN_PIES"></a>INDIAN PUDDINGS: PUMPKIN PIES.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>Some of the good old folks whom I well remember, called these things
+"Ingin-puddins and punkin pies," but now we all know what very
+incorrect expressions those were. Rut, even with such highly improper
+names, these delicacies tasted quite&mdash;as well in those days <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>as they
+do now, and, if my youthful memory does not mislead me, they tasted a
+little better.</p>
+
+<p>There is no stage of the rise and progress of Indian puddings and
+pumpkin pies, with which, when a youngster, I was not familiar. In the
+very beginning of things, when the fields were being ploughed, "we
+boys" were there. True, we went with no intent to benefit either the
+corn-crop or the pumpkin-vines. We merely searched in the newly
+turned-up earth for fish-worms. But for all that, we were there.</p>
+
+<p>And when the corn was all planted, how zealous we used to be about the
+crows! What benevolent but idiotic old scarecrows we used to
+construct, and how <i>extremely</i> anxious we were to be intrusted with
+guns, that we might disperse, at once and forever, these black
+marauders! For well we knew that a few dead crows, stuck up here and
+there on stakes, would frighten away all the rest of the flock.</p>
+
+<p>But we were not allowed the guns, and, even if we had had them, it is
+probable that the crows would all have died of old age, had they
+depended for an early death upon our powder and shot. With their
+sagacity, their long sight, and their sentinels posted on the high
+trees around the field, they were not likely to let a boy with a gun
+approach very near to them. I have heard&mdash;and have no doubt of the
+truth of the statement&mdash;that one of the best ways to shoot crows is to
+go after them in a wagon, keeping your gun, of course, as much out of
+sight as possible. Crows seem to know exactly what guns are intended
+for. But they are seldom afraid of a wagon. They expect no danger from
+it, and one can frequently drive along a country road while crows are
+quietly feeding in the field adjoining, quite close to the fence.</p>
+
+<p>But if any one goes out to shoot crows in this way he had better be
+very careful that he has an excessively mild and unimpressible <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>horse.
+For, if the horse is frightened at the report of the gun, and dashes
+away, and smashes the wagon, and breaks his harness, and spills
+everything out of the wagon into the dust, mud, and bramble-bushes,
+and throws the gunner heels over head into a ditch, it may be that a
+dead crow will hardly pay him for his trouble and expense in procuring
+it.</p>
+
+<p>But after a time the corn got so high that it was not afraid of a
+bird, and then we forgot the crows. But we liked to watch the corn in
+all its stages. We kept a sharp look-out for the young pumpkin-vines,
+and were glad to see the beans, which were planted in the hills with
+the corn in some parts of the field.</p>
+
+<p>There is one great advantage in a corn-field which many other fields
+do not possess: you can always walk in it! And when the corn is higher
+than your head, and the great long leaves are rustling in the wind,
+and you can hardly see each other a dozen yards away, what a glorious
+thing it is to wander about amidst all this cool greenness, and pick
+out the biggest and the fattest ears for roasting!</p>
+
+<p>You have then all the loveliness of Nature, combined with the hope of
+a future joy, which Art&mdash;the art of your mother, or whoever roasts the
+corn&mdash;will give you.</p>
+
+<p>But the triumph of the corn-field is not yet. The transformation of
+its products into Indian puddings and pumpkin pies will not occur
+until the golden Autumn days, when the sun, and the corn, and the
+pumpkins are all yellow alike, and gold&mdash;if it was not so
+scarce&mdash;would be nothing to compare to any of them. Then come the men,
+with their corn-cutters&mdash;pieces of scythe-blades, with handles fitted
+to them&mdash;and down go the corn-stalks. Only one crack apiece, and
+sometimes a big cut will slice off the stalks on a whole hill.</p>
+
+<p>How we used to long to wield those corn-cutters!</p>
+
+<p>But our parents thought too much of our legs.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p><p>When the corn has been cut and carried away, the pumpkins are enough
+to astonish anybody. We never had any idea that there were so many!</p>
+
+<p>At last, when the days were getting short, and the mornings were a
+little cool, and the corn was in the cribs, and the pumpkins were in
+the barn, and some of us had taken a grist to the mill, then were the
+days of the pudding of Indian corn and the pies of pumpkin!</p>
+
+<p>Then we stayed in the kitchen and saw the whole delightful process,
+from the first mixing of the yellow meal with water, and the first cut
+into the round pumpkins, until the swelling pudding and the tranquil
+pie emerged in hot and savory grandeur from the oven.</p>
+
+<p>It is of no use to expect those days to return. It is easy enough to
+get the pies and the puddings, but it is very hard to be a boy again.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LIVING_IN_SMOKE" id="LIVING_IN_SMOKE"></a>LIVING IN SMOKE.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>Here is a mosquito of which the bravest man might be afraid; but,
+fortunately, these insects are not found quite so large as the one in
+the drawing, for he is considerably magnified. But when we hear even a
+very small fellow buzzing around our heads, in the darkness of a
+summer night, we are very apt to think that he sounds as if he were at
+least as big as a bat.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 200px;">
+<a name="imag_049" id="imag_049"></a><img src="images/gs097.jpg" width="200" height="257" alt="A Big Mosquito" title="LIVING IN SMOKE." />
+</div>
+
+<p>In some parts of our country, mosquitoes are at certain seasons so
+plentiful and bloodthirsty that it is impossible to get along
+comfortably in their company. But, except in spots where no one would
+be likely to live, whether there were mosquitoes there or not, these
+insects do not exist in sufficient numbers to cause us to give up our
+ordinary style of living and devote all our energies to keeping them
+at a distance.</p>
+
+<p>In some other countries, however, the people are not so fortunate. In
+Senegal, at certain seasons, the inhabitants are driven from their
+habitations by the clouds of mosquitoes which spread over the land,
+and are forced to take refuge on high platforms, under which they keep
+fires continually burning.</p>
+
+<p>The smoke from these fires will keep away the mosquitoes, but it
+cannot be very pleasant to the Senegalians. However, they become used
+to it, and during the worst of the mosquito season, they eat, drink,
+sleep, and enjoy themselves to the best of their ability on these
+platforms, which for the time become their houses.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_050" id="imag_050"></a><img src="images/gs098.jpg" width="400" height="584" alt="A SMOKY DWELLING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A SMOKY DWELLING.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It would probably seem to most of us, that to breathe an atmosphere
+constantly filled with smoke, and to have it in our eyes and noses all
+the time, would be almost as bad, if not quite, as suffering the
+stings of mosquitoes.</p>
+
+<p>But then we do not know anything about Senegalian mosquitoes, and the
+accounts which Dr. Livingstone and other travellers give of the
+insects in Africa, ought to make us feel pretty sure that these
+woolly-headed folks on the platforms know what is good for them.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_051" id="imag_051"></a><img src="images/gs100.jpg" width="600" height="400" alt="THE CANNON OF THE PALAIS ROYAL." title="THE CANNON OF THE PALAIS ROYAL." />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_CANNON_OF_THE_PALAIS_ROYAL" id="THE_CANNON_OF_THE_PALAIS_ROYAL"></a>THE CANNON OF THE PALAIS ROYAL.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>In the Gardens of the Palais Royal, in Paris, there is a little cannon
+which stands on a pedestal, and is surrounded by a railing. Every day
+it is loaded with powder and wadding, but no one on earth is allowed
+to fire it off. However, far away in the realms of space, ninety-three
+millions of miles from our world, there is the great and glorious Sun,
+and every day, at twelve o'clock, he fires off that little cannon,
+provided there are no clouds in the way. Just before noon on bright
+days, the people gather around the railing, with their watches in
+their hands,&mdash;if they are so lucky as to have watches,&mdash;and precisely
+at twelve o'clock, <i>bang!</i> she goes.</p>
+
+<p>The arrangement which produces this novel artillery-practice is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>very
+simple. A burning-glass is fixed over the cannon in such a manner that
+when the sun comes to the meridian&mdash;which it does every day at noon,
+you know&mdash;its rays are concentrated on the touch-hole, and of course
+the powder is ignited and the cannon is fired.</p>
+
+<p>Most boys understand the power of a burning-glass, and know how easily
+dry grass or tinder, or a piece of paper, may be set on fire by a good
+glass when the sun is bright; but they would find it very difficult to
+place a glass over a little cannon so that it would infallibly be
+discharged at any set hour. And even if they could do it, they would
+not be sure of their cannon-clock being <i>exactly</i> right, for the sun
+does not keep the very best time. He varies a little, and there is a
+difference between solar time and true time. But the sun is always
+near enough right for all ordinary intents and purposes.</p>
+
+<p>I know boys&mdash;lazy fellows&mdash;and some girls of the same sort, for that
+matter,&mdash;who, if they could, would have, just outside of their
+school-doors, one of the largest cannon, which should go off every day
+at the very earliest hour at which school would let out, and which
+should make such a tremendous report that it would be impossible for
+the teacher to overlook the time and keep them in too long.</p>
+
+<p>But if these same boys and girls were putting up a cannon to go off at
+the hour when school commenced, they would get such a little one that
+it wouldn't frighten a mouse.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="WATERS_DEEP_AND_SHALLOW" id="WATERS_DEEP_AND_SHALLOW"></a>WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW.</h2>
+
+
+<p>With such a vast subject before us as the waters of our beautiful
+world, we must be systematic. So we will at first confine ourselves to
+the observation of <i>pleasant waters</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_052" id="imag_052"></a><img src="images/gs102.jpg" alt="The Spring" width="500" height="402" title="WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW." />
+</div>
+
+<p>Let us begin at the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>This pretty little spring, with its cool water running day and night
+into the old barrel, and then gurgling over the staves, flowing away
+among the grass and flowers, is but a trifling thing perhaps, and
+might be passed with but little notice by people who have always lived
+in cities. But country-folks know how to value a cool, unfailing
+spring. In the hot days of summer the thirsty and tired farmer would
+rather see that spring than an ice-cream saloon. Yes, even if he has
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>nothing to drink from but a gourd, which may be lying there among the
+stones. He may have a tin-cup with him,&mdash;and how shocking! he may
+drink out of his hands! But, let him use what he may, he certainly
+gets a most delicious drink.</p>
+
+<p>I once knew a little girl who said she could not bear spring-water;
+she did not think it was clean, coming out of the ground in that way.
+I asked her if she liked well-water; but she thought that was worse
+yet, especially when it was hauled up in old buckets. River-water she
+would not even consider, for that was too much exposed to all sorts of
+dirty things to be fit to drink. I then wished to know what kind of
+water she did like, and she answered, readily enough, "hydrant-water."
+I don't know where she imagined hydrant-water came from, but she may
+have thought it was manufactured, by some clean process, out at the
+water-works.</p>
+
+<p>But let us follow this little stream which trickles from the barrel.
+We cannot walk by its banks all the time, for it winds so much and
+runs through places where the walking is very bad; but let us go
+across the fields and walk a mile or two into the woods, and we will
+meet with it again. Here it is!</p>
+
+<p>What a fine, tumbling stream it has grown to be now! It is even big
+enough to have a bridge over it. It does not always rush so noisily
+among the rocks; but this is early summer; there has been plenty of
+rain, and the brook is full and strong. Now, then, if this is a trout
+country, we ought to have our hooks and lines with us. Among the
+eddies of this stream we might find many a nice trout, and if we were
+only successful enough to catch some of them after we had found them,
+we would be sure of a reward for our walk, even if the beauty of the
+scene did not repay us.</p>
+
+<p>But let us go on. This stream does not stop here.</p>
+
+<p>After we have walked a mile or so more, we find that our noisy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>friend
+has quieted down very much indeed. It is a little wider, and it may be
+it is a little deeper, but it flows along very placidly between its
+low banks. It is doubtful if we should find any trout in it now, but
+there may be cat-fish and perch, and some sun-fish and eels.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_053" id="imag_053"></a><img src="images/gs104.jpg" alt="The Brook" width="400" height="630" title="WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW." />
+</div>
+
+<p>And now the stream suddenly spreads out widely. It is a little lake!
+No, it is only a mill-pond.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p><p>Let us walk around and come out in front of the mill.</p>
+
+<p>How the stream has diminished again!</p>
+
+
+
+<p>As it comes out of the mill-race and joins itself to that portion
+which flows over the dam, it is a considerable creek, to be sure, but
+it looks very small compared to the mill-pond. But what it wants in
+size it makes up in speed, like some little Morgan horses you may have
+seen, and it goes rushing along quite rapidly again. Here, now, is a
+splendid chance to catch a chub.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_054" id="imag_054"></a><img src="images/gs105.jpg" alt="The Mill" width="400" height="617" title="WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW." />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p><p>If we had some little minnows for bait, and could stand on the bank
+there to the left, and throw our lines down into the race, we ought to
+be able to hook a chub, if there are any there, and I think it is very
+likely that there are. A chub, if he is a good-sized fellow, is a fish
+worth catching, even for people who have been fishing for trout. One
+big chub will make a meal for a small family.</p>
+
+<p>But let us follow the creek and see what new developments we shall
+discover. To be sure, you may say that following up a stream from its
+very source involves a great deal of walking; but I can answer with
+certainty that a great deal of walking is a very easy thing&mdash;in books!</p>
+
+<p>So on we go, and it is not long before we find that our watery friend
+has ceased to be a creek, and is quite worthy of being called a fine
+young river. But still it is scarcely fit yet for navigation. There
+are rocks in the very middle of the stream, and every now and then we
+come to a waterfall. But how beautiful some of those cascades are!</p>
+
+<p>What a delightful thing it would be, on a warm summer evening, to
+bathe in that deliciously cool water. It is deep enough for a good
+swim, and, if any of us want a shower-bath, it would be a splendid
+thing to sit on the rocks and let the spray from the fall dash over
+us! And there are fish here, I am sure. It is possible that, if we
+were to sit quietly on the bank and fish, we might soon get a string
+of very nice perch, and there is no knowing what else. This stream is
+now just about big enough and little enough to make the character of
+its fish doubtful. I have known pike&mdash;fellows two feet long&mdash;caught in
+such streams as this; and then again, in other small rivers, very much
+like it, you can catch nothing but cat-fish, roach, and eels.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_055" id="imag_055"></a><img src="images/gs107.jpg" alt="The Cascade" width="400" height="532" title="WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW." />
+</div>
+<p>If we were to follow up our river, we would soon find that it grew
+larger and larger, until row-boats and sloops, and then schooners and
+perhaps large ships, sailed upon its surface. And at last we might
+follow it down to its mouth, and, if it happened to flow into the sea,
+we would probably behold a grand scene. Some rivers widen so greatly
+near their mouths that it is difficult to believe that they are rivers
+at all.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>On the next page we see a river which, at its junction with the ocean,
+seems almost like a little sea itself.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_056" id="imag_056"></a><img src="images/gs108.jpg" width="600" height="381" alt="The Great River" title="WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW." />
+</div>
+
+<p>We can hardly credit the fact that such a great river as the Amazon
+arose from a little spring, where you might span the body of the
+stream with your hand. But, at its source, there is no doubt just such
+a little spring. The great trouble, however, with these long rivers,
+is to find out where their source really is. There are so many brooks
+and smaller rivers flowing into them that it is difficult to determine
+the main line. You know that we have never settled that matter in
+regard to the Mississippi and Missouri. There are many who maintain
+that the source of the Mississippi is to be found at the head of the
+Missouri, and that the latter is the main river. But we shall not try
+to decide any questions of that sort. We are in quest of pleasant
+waters, not difficult questions.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_057" id="imag_057"></a><img src="images/gs109.jpg" width="400" height="676" alt="FALLS OF GAVARNI." title="FALLS OF GAVARNI." />
+<span class="caption">FALLS OF GAVARNI.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There is no form which water assumes more grand and beautiful than the
+cascade or waterfall. And these are of very varied shapes and sizes.
+Some of the most beautiful waterfalls depend for their celebrity, not
+upon their height, but upon their graceful forms and the scenery by
+which they are surrounded, while others, like the cascade of Gavarni,
+are renowned principally for their great height.</p>
+
+<p>There we see a comparatively narrow stream, precipitating itself down
+the side of an enormous precipice in the Pyrenees. Although it appears
+so small to us, it is really a considerable stream, and as it strikes
+upon the jutting rocks and dashes off into showers of spray, it is
+truly a beautiful sight.</p>
+
+<p>There are other cascades which are noted for a vast volume of water.
+Some of these are well known, but there is one, perhaps, of which you
+have never heard.</p>
+
+<p>When Dr. Livingstone was travelling in Africa he was asked by some of
+the natives if in his country there was any "smoke which sounds." They
+assured him that such a thing existed in their neighborhood, although
+some of them did not seem to comprehend the nature of it. The Doctor
+soon understood that their remarks referred to a waterfall, and so he
+took a journey to it. When he came within five or six miles of the
+cataract, he saw five columns of smoke arising in the air; but when he
+reached the place he found that this was not smoke, but the vapor from
+a great fall in the river Zambesi.</p>
+
+<p>These falls are very peculiar, because they plunge into a great abyss,
+not more than eighty feet wide, and over three hundred feet deep. Then
+the river turns and flows, for many miles, at the bottom of this vast
+crack in the earth. Dr. Livingstone thinks these falls are one of the
+wonders of the world.</p>
+
+<p>There is no doubt, however, about the king of cataracts. That is
+Niagara. If you have seen it you can understand its grandeur, but
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>you can never appreciate it from a written description. A picture
+will give you some idea of it, but not a perfect one, by any means.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_058" id="imag_058"></a><img src="images/gs111.jpg" width="500" height="550" alt="FALLS OF ZAMBESI." title="FALLS OF ZAMBESI." />
+<span class="caption">FALLS OF ZAMBESI.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>The Indians called these falls "thundering water," and it was an
+admirable title. The waters thunder over the great precipice, as they
+have done for thousands of years before we were born, and will
+continue to do thousands of years after we are dead.</p>
+
+<p>The Falls of Niagara are divided by an island into two portions,
+called the Canadian and the American Falls. This island lies nearer to
+the United States shore than to that of Canada. Therefore the American
+Falls are the smallest. This island is named Goat Island, and you have
+a good view of it in the picture.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="imag_059" id="imag_059"></a><img src="images/gs112.jpg" width="700" height="431" alt="Niagara" title="WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW." />
+</div>
+
+<p>It seems as if the resistless torrent would some day tear away this
+lonely promontory, as it rushes upon and around it. It is not unlikely
+that in the course of ages the island may be carried away.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Even now, portions of it are occasionally torn off by the rush of the
+waters.</p>
+
+<p>You can cross over to Goat Island by means of a bridge, and when there
+you can go down <i>under the falls</i>. Standing in what is called the
+"Cave of the Winds," you can look out at a thick curtain of water,
+from eighteen to thirty feet thick, pouring down from the rocks above.
+This curtain, dark and glittering, is a portion of the great falls.</p>
+
+<p>It is necessary to spend days at Niagara before its grandeur can be
+fully appreciated. But we must pass on to other waters, and not tarry
+at this glorious cataract until we are carried away by our subject.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_060" id="imag_060"></a><img src="images/gs114.jpg" alt="Fishing with a Net" width="500" height="623" title="WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW." />
+</div>
+<p>We will now look at, for a short time, what may be called <i>Profitable
+Waters</i>. The waters of the earth are profitable in so many ways that
+it would be impossible for us to consider them all. But we will simply
+glance at a few scenes, where we can easily perceive what advantages
+man derives from the waters, deep or shallow. In our own country there
+is no more common method of making a living out of the water than by
+fishing with a net.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_061" id="imag_061"></a><img src="images/gs115.jpg" width="400" height="657" alt="Fishing with a Spear" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>The men in the picture, when they have hauled their seine to shore,
+will probably find as good a reward for their labor as if they had
+been working on the land instead of in the river; and if it is shad
+for which they are fishing, their profits will probably be greater.</p>
+
+<p>You know that our shad fisheries are very important sources of income
+to a great many people. And the oyster fisheries are still more
+valuable.</p>
+
+<p>When we mention the subject, of making a living out of the water, we
+naturally think first of nets, and hooks and lines. It is true that
+mills, and steamships, and packet-lines, and manufactories, are far
+more important; but they require capital as well as water. Men <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>fish
+all over the world, but on some waters vessels or saw-mills are never
+seen.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>The styles of fishing, however, are very various. Here is a company of
+Africans, fishing with javelins or spears.</p>
+
+<p>They build a sort of platform or pier out into the river, and on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>this
+they stand, with their spears in their hands, and when a fish is seen
+swimming in the water, down comes the sharp-pointed javelin, which
+seldom misses him. Then he is drawn upon the platform by means of the
+cord which is fastened to the spear. A whole family will go out
+fishing in this way, and spend the day on the platform. Some will
+spear the fish, while others will clean them, and prepare them for
+use. One advantage that this party possesses is, that if any of them
+should tumble into the water, they would not get their clothes wet.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>But sometimes it will not do for the fisherman to endeavor to draw up
+the treasures of the deep while he remains at the surface of the
+water; very often he must go down after them. In this way a great many
+of the most valuable fisheries are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>conducted. For instance, the
+sponge-fishers are obliged to dive down to the very bottom of the
+water, and tear off the sponges from the rocks to which they fasten
+themselves. Some of the most valuable sponge-fisheries are on the
+coast of Syria, and you may here see how they carry on their
+operations.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="imag_062" id="imag_062"></a><img src="images/gs116.jpg" width="700" height="433" alt="Sponge-Fishing" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This is a very difficult and distressing business to the divers They
+have to remain under the water as long as they can possibly hold their
+breath, and very often they are seriously injured by their exertions
+in this way. But when we use the sponges we never think of this. And
+if we did, what good would it do? All over the world men are to be
+found who are perfectly willing to injure their health, provided they
+are paid for it.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p><p>The pearl-fisheries are quite as disastrous in their effects upon the
+divers as those of which we have just been speaking.</p>
+
+<p>The pearl-diver descends by the help of a long rope, to the end of
+which is attached a heavy stone. He stands on the stone, holds the
+rope with one hand and his nose with the other, and quickly sinks to
+the bottom. Then he goes to work, as fast as he can, to fill a net
+which hangs from his neck, with the pearl-oysters. When he can stay
+down no longer, the net and stone are drawn up by the cord, and he
+rises to the surface, often with blood running from his nose and ears.
+But then, those who employ them sometimes get an oyster with as fine
+pearls as this one contains.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_063" id="imag_063"></a><img src="images/gs117.jpg" width="400" height="428" alt="A Pearl Oyster" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p><p>It is perfectly possible, however, to dive to the bottom of the sea
+with very valuable results, without undergoing all this terrible
+injury and suffering. In this country and Europe there are men who,
+clad in what is called submarine armor, will go to the bottom of a
+river, or bay, or the sea,&mdash;where it is not very deep&mdash;and there walk
+about almost as comfortably as if they were on land. Air is supplied
+to them by long pipes, which reach to the surface, and these divers
+have been made very useful in discovering and removing wrecks,
+recovering sunken treasure, and in many other ways.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_064" id="imag_064"></a><img src="images/gs118.jpg" width="400" height="361" alt="Divers" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>For instance, you have a picture of some divers at the bottom of the
+port of Marseilles. A box of gold had fallen from a steamship, and the
+next day these two men went down after it. They found it, and it was
+hauled safely to the surface by means of the ropes which they attached
+to it.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p><p>You see how strangely they are dressed. An iron helmet, like a great
+iron pot, is over each of their heads, and a reservoir, into which the
+air is pumped, is on their backs. They can see through little windows
+in their masks or helmets, and all they have to do is to walk about
+and attend to their business, for men above supply them with a
+sufficiency of air for all breathing purposes, by means of an air-pump
+and a long flexible tube.</p>
+
+<p>We have not even alluded to many profitable waters; we have said
+nothing about those vast seas where the great whale is found, or of
+the waters where men catch the valuable little sardine.</p>
+
+<p>We have not mentioned corals, nor said anything about those
+cod-fisheries, which are considered of sufficient importance,
+sometimes, to go to war about. But these, with many other subjects of
+the kind, we must leave unnoticed, while we cast our eyes upon some
+<i>Dangerous Waters</i>.</p>
+
+<p>We all know that almost any water, if it be a few feet deep, is
+dangerous at certain times and under certain conditions.</p>
+
+<p>The creek, which in its deepest parts is not up to your chin, may be
+the death of you if you venture upon it in winter, when the ice is
+thin, and you break through. Without help, you may be able neither to
+swim out or climb out.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_065" id="imag_065"></a><img src="images/gs120.jpg" width="500" height="611" alt="Rough Water" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>But oceans and seas are the waters where danger may nearly always be
+expected. The sea may be as smooth as glass, the skies bright, and not
+a breath of wind be stirring; or a gentle breeze, just enough to
+ripple the water, may send our vessel slowly before it, and in a few
+hours the winds may be roaring, the waves dashing into the air, and
+the skies dark with storm-clouds.</p>
+
+<p>If we are upon a large and strong steamer, we may perhaps feel safe
+enough among the raging waves; but if our vessel be a fishing-boat, or
+a small pleasure-craft, we have good reason to be afraid <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>Yet many a
+little sloop like this rides bravely and safely through the storms.
+But many other little vessels, as strong and as well steered, go to
+the bottom of the ocean every year. If the sailor escapes severe
+storms, or sails in a vessel which is so stout and ably managed as to
+bid defiance to the angry waves, he has other dangers in his path. He
+may, for instance, meet with icebergs. If the weather is clear and the
+wind favorable, he need not fear these floating mountains of ice. But
+if it be night, or foggy, and he cannot see them, or if, in spite of
+all his endeavors, the wind drives him down upon them, then is his
+vessel lost, and, in all probability, the lives of all upon it.
+Sometimes, however, the passengers and crew may escape in boats, and
+instances have been related where they have taken refuge on the
+iceberg itself, remaining there until rescued by a passing ship.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>But, be the weather fair or foul, a ship is generally quick to leave
+the company of so dangerous a neighbor as an iceberg. Sometimes great
+masses of ice take a notion to topple over, and, looking at the matter
+in what light you please, I think that they are not to be trusted.</p>
+
+<p>Then there is the hurricane!</p>
+
+<p>A large ship may bravely dare the dangers of an ordinary storm, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>but
+nothing that floats on the surface of the water can be safe when a
+whirlwind passes over the sea, driving everything straight before it
+Great ships are tossed about like playthings, and strong masts are
+snapped off as if they had been made of glass.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_066" id="imag_066"></a><img src="images/gs121.jpg" width="500" height="568" alt="The Iceberg" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>If a ship is then near a coast, her crew is seldom able, if the wind
+blows towards the land, to prevent her from being dashed upon the
+rocks; and if she is out upon the open sea, she is often utterly
+disabled and swallowed up by the waves.</p>
+
+<p>I have known boys who thought that it would be perfectly delight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>ful
+to be shipwrecked. They felt certain that they would be cast (very
+gently, no doubt) upon a desert island, and there they would find
+everything that they needed to support life and make them comfortable;
+and what they did not get there they would obtain from the wreck of
+the ship, which would be lying on the rocks, at a convenient distance
+from the shore. And once on that island, they would be their own
+masters, and would not have to go to school or do anything which did
+not please them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_067" id="imag_067"></a><img src="images/gs122.jpg" width="600" height="379" alt="The Storm" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This is the good old Robinson Crusoe idea, which at one time or
+another runs in the mind of nearly every boy, and many girls, too, I
+expect; but a real shipwreck is never desired the second time by any
+person who has experienced one.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes, even when the crew think that they have safely battled
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>through the storm, and have anchored in a secure place, the waves
+dash upon the vessel with such force that the anchor drags, the masts
+go by the board, and the great ship, with the hundreds of pale faces
+that crowd her deck, is dashed on the great rocks which loom up in the
+distance.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_068" id="imag_068"></a><img src="images/gs123.jpg" width="500" height="680" alt="The Shipwreck" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p><p>Among other dangers of the ocean are those great tidal waves, which
+often follow or accompany earthquakes, and which are almost as
+disastrous to those living upon the sea-coast as to those in ships.
+Towns have been nearly destroyed by them, hundreds of people drowned,
+and great ships swept upon the land, and left there high and dry. In
+tropical latitudes these tremendous upheavals of the ocean appear to
+be most common, but they are known in all regions which are subject to
+serious shocks of earthquakes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_069" id="imag_069"></a><img src="images/gs124.jpg" width="600" height="389" alt="Water-Spouts" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Waterspouts are other terrible enemies of the sailor. These, however
+dangerous they may be when they approach a ship, are not very common,
+and it is said that they may sometimes be entirely dispersed by firing
+a cannon-ball into the midst of the column of water. This <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>statement
+is rather doubtful, for many instances have been related where the
+ball went directly through the water-spout without any effect except
+to scatter the spray in every direction. I have no doubt that sailors
+always keep as far away from water-spouts as they can, and place very
+little reliance on their artillery for their safety.</p>
+
+<p>And now, have you had enough water?</p>
+
+<p>We have seen how the waters of the earth may be enjoyed, how they may
+be made profitable to us, and when we should beware of them.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_070" id="imag_070"></a><img src="images/gs125.jpg" width="600" height="438" alt="A Bit of Cable" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>But before we leave them, I wish to show you, at the very end of this
+article, something which is a little curious in its appearance. Let us
+take a step down to the very bottom of the sea; not in those
+comparatively shallow places, where the divers descend to look for
+wrecks and treasure, but in deep Water, miles below the surface. Down
+there, on the very bottom, you will see this strange thing. What do
+you suppose it is?</p>
+
+<p>It is not an animal or a fish, or a stone, or shell. But plants are
+growing upon it, while little animals and fishes are sticking fast to
+it, or swimming around it. It is not very thick&mdash;scarcely an inch&mdash;and
+we do not see much of it here; but it stretches thousands of miles. It
+reaches from America to Europe, and it is an Atlantic Cable. There is
+nothing in the water more wonderful than that.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_071" id="imag_071"></a><img src="images/gs126.jpg" width="400" height="501" alt="Hans, the Herb-Gatherer" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="HANS_THE_HERB-GATHERER" id="HANS_THE_HERB-GATHERER"></a>HANS, THE HERB-GATHERER.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>Many years ago, when people had not quite so much sense as they have
+now, there was a poor widow woman who was sick. I do not know what was
+the matter with her, but she had been confined to her bed for a long
+time.</p>
+
+<p>She had no doctor, for in those days many of the poor people, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>besides
+having but little money, had little faith in a regular physician. They
+would rather depend upon wonderful herbs and simples, which were
+reported to have a sort of magical power, and they often used to
+resort to charms and secret incantations when they wished to be cured
+of disease.</p>
+
+<p>This widow, whose name was Dame Martha, was a sensible woman, in the
+main, but she knew very little about sickness, and believed that she
+ought to do pretty much as her neighbors told her. And so she followed
+their advice, and got no better.</p>
+
+<p>There was an old man in the neighborhood named Hans, who made it a
+regular business to gather herbs and roots for moral and medical
+purposes. He was very particular as to time and place when he went out
+to collect his remedies, and some things he would not touch unless he
+found them growing in the corner of a churchyard&mdash;or perhaps under a
+gallows&mdash;and other plants he never gathered unless the moon was in its
+first quarter, and there was a yellow streak in the northwest, about a
+half-hour after sunset. He had some herbs which he said were good for
+chills and fever; others which made children obedient; others which
+caused an old man's gray hair to turn black and his teeth to grow
+again&mdash;if he only took it long enough; and he had, besides, remedies
+which would cure chickens that had the pip, horses that kicked, old
+women with the rheumatism, dogs that howled at the moon, boys who
+played truant, and cats that stole milk.</p>
+
+<p>Now, to our enlightened minds it is very evident that this Hans was
+nothing more than an old simpleton; but it is very doubtful if he
+thought so himself, and it is certain that his neighbors did not. They
+resorted to him on all occasions when things went wrong with them,
+whether it was the butter that would not come in their churns, or
+their little babies who had fevers.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p><p>Therefore, you may be sure that Dame Martha sent for Hans as soon as
+she was taken ill, and for about a year or so she had been using his
+herbs, making plasters of his roots, putting little shells that he
+brought under her pillow, and powwowing three times a day over bunches
+of dried weeds ornamented with feathers from the tails of yellow hens
+that had died of old age. But all that Hans, could do for her was of
+no manner of use. In vain he went out at night with his lantern, and
+gathered leaves and roots in the most particular way. Whether the moon
+was full or on the wane; whether the tail of the Great Dipper was
+above the steeple of the old church, or whether it had not yet risen
+as high as the roof; whether the bats flew to the east or the west
+when he first saw them; or whether the Jack o'lanterns sailed near the
+ground (when they were carried by a little Jack), or whether they were
+high (when a tall Jack bore them), it made no difference. His herbs
+were powerless, and Dame Martha did not get well.</p>
+
+<p>About half a mile from the widow's cottage there lived a young girl
+named Patsey Moore. She was the daughter of the village Squire, and a
+prettier girl or a better one than Patsey is not often met with. When
+she heard of Dame Martha's illness she sometimes used to stop at the
+cottage on her way to school, and leave with her some nice little
+thing that a sick person might like to eat.</p>
+
+<p>One day in spring, when the fields were full of blossoms and the air
+full of sunshine and delicious odors, Patsey stopped on her way from
+school to gather a bunch of wild-flowers.</p>
+
+<p>They grew so thickly and there were so many different kinds, that she
+soon had a bouquet that was quite fit for a parlor. On her way home
+she stopped at Dame Martha's cottage.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry, Dame Martha," said she, "that I have nothing nice <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>for
+you to-day, but I thought perhaps you would like to have some flowers,
+as it's Spring-time and you can't go out."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_072" id="imag_072"></a><img src="images/gs129.jpg" width="600" height="383" alt="Patsey" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>"Indeed, Miss Patsey," said the sick woman, "you could'nt have brought
+me anything that would do my heart more good. It's like hearing the
+birds sing and sittin' under the hedges in the blossoms, to hear you
+talk and to see them flowers."</p>
+
+<p>Patsey was very much pleased, of course, at this, and after that she
+brought Dame Martha a bouquet every day.</p>
+
+<p>And soon the good woman looked for Patsey and her beautiful flowers as
+longingly and eagerly as she looked for the rising of the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Old Hans very seldom came to see her now, and she took no more of his
+medicines. It was of no use, and she had paid him every penny that she
+had to spare, besides a great many other things in the way of little
+odds and ends that lay about the house. But when Patsey stopped in,
+one afternoon, a month or two after she had brought the first bunch of
+flowers, she said to the widow:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Dame Martha, I believe you are a great deal better."</p>
+
+<p>"Better!" said the good woman, "I'll tell you what it is, Miss Patsey,
+I've been a thinking over the matter a deal for the last week, and
+I've been a-trying my appetite, and a-trying my eyes, and a-trying how
+I could walk about, and work, and sew, and I just tell you what it is,
+Miss Patsey, I'm well!"</p>
+
+<p>And so it was. The widow was well, and nobody could see any reason for
+it, except good Dame Martha herself. She always persisted that it was
+those beautiful bunches of flowers that Patsey had brought her every
+day.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Miss Patsey!" she said, "If you'd been a-coming to me with them
+violets and buttercups, instead of old Hans with his nasty bitter
+yarbs, I'd a been off that bed many a day ago. There was nothing but
+darkness, and the shadows of tomb-stones, and the damp smells of the
+lonely bogs about his roots and his leaves. But there was the heavenly
+sunshine in your flowers, Miss Patsey, and I could smell the sweet
+fields, when I looked at them, and hear the hum of the bees!"</p>
+
+<p>It may be that Dame Martha gave a little too much credit to Patsey's
+flowers, but I am not at all sure about it. Certain it is, that the
+daily visits of a bright young girl, with her heart full of kindness
+and sympathy, and her hands full of flowers from the fragrant fields,
+would be far more welcome and of far more advantage to many sick
+chambers than all the old herb-gatherers in the world, with their
+bitter, grave-yard roots, and their rank, evil-smelling plants that
+grow down in the swamps among the frogs and snakes.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps you know some sick person. Try Patsey's treatment.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<a name="imag_073" id="imag_073"></a><img src="images/gs131.jpg" width="300" height="292" alt="A Spider at Home" title="SOME CUNNING INSECTS." />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="SOME_CUNNING_INSECTS" id="SOME_CUNNING_INSECTS"></a>SOME CUNNING INSECTS.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>We hear such wonderful stories about the sense and ingenuity displayed
+by insects, that we are almost led to the belief that some of them
+must have a little reason&mdash;at least as much as a few men and women
+that we know.</p>
+
+<p>Of all, these wise insects, there is none with more intelligence and
+cunning than the ant. How many astonishing accounts have we had of
+these little creatures, who in some countries build great houses,
+almost large enough for a man to live in; who have a regular form of
+government, and classes of society&mdash;soldiers, workers, gentlemen and
+ladies; and who, as some naturalists have declared, even have handsome
+funerals on the occasion of the death of a queen! It is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>certain that
+they build, and work, and pursue their various occupations according
+to systems that are wisely conceived and most carefully carried out.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_074" id="imag_074"></a><img src="images/gs132.jpg" width="500" height="305" alt="The Ant's Arch" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Dr. Ebrard, who wrote a book about ants and their habits, tells a
+story of a little black ant who was building an arch at the foundation
+of a new ant-hill. It was necessary to have some means of supporting
+this arch, which was made of wet mud, until the key-stone should be
+put in and all made secure. The ant might have put up a couple of
+props, but this is not their habit in building. Their laws say nothing
+about props. But the arch must be supported, and so Mr. Ant thought
+that it would be a good idea to bend down a tall stalk of wheat which
+grew near the hill, and make it support the arch until it was
+finished. This he did by carrying bits of wet mud up to the end of the
+stalk until he had piled and stuck so much upon it that the heavy top
+bent over. But, as this was not yet low enough, and more mud could not
+be put on the slender stem without danger of breaking it, the ant
+crammed mud in between the stalk at its root and the other stalks, so
+that it was forced over still more. Then he used the lowered end to
+support his arch!</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_075" id="imag_075"></a><img src="images/gs133_1.jpg" width="400" height="162" alt="The Cock-chafer's Wing" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Some other ants once found a cockchafer's wing, which they thought
+would be a capital thing to dry for winter, and they endeavored to get
+it into the entrance of their hill. But it was too big. So they drew
+it out and made the hole larger. Then they tried again, but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>the wing
+was still too wide. They turned it and made several efforts to get it
+in sideways, and upside down, but it was impossible; so they lifted it
+away, and again enlarged the hole. But the wing would not yet go in.
+Without losing patience, they once more went to work, and, after
+having labored for three hours and a half, they at last had the
+pleasure of seeing their dried wing safely pulled into their
+store-room.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_076" id="imag_076"></a><img src="images/gs133_2.jpg" width="600" height="366" alt="The Spider's Bridge" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Then, there are spiders. They frequently show the greatest skill and
+cunning in the construction of their webs and the capture of their
+prey, and naturalists say that the spider has a very well developed
+brain. They must certainly have a geometrical talent, or they could
+not arrange their webs with such regularity and scientific accuracy.
+Some spiders will throw their webs across streams that are quite wide.</p>
+
+<p>Now, to do this, they must show themselves to be engineers of no small
+ability. Sometimes they fasten one end of a thread to a twig on one
+side of the stream, and, hanging on the other end, swing over until
+they can land on the other side. But this is not always possible, for
+they cannot, in some places, get a chance for a fair swing. In such a
+case, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>they often wait until the wind is blowing across the stream
+from the side on which they are, and, weaving a long line, they let it
+out until the wind carries it over the stream, and it catches in the
+bushes or grass on the other side. Of course, after one thread is
+over, the spider can easily run backward and forward on it, and carry
+over all the rest of his lines.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_077" id="imag_077"></a><img src="images/gs134.jpg" width="400" height="352" alt="The Moth and the Bees" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Bees have so much sense that we ought almost to beg their pardon when
+we speak of their instinct. Most of us have read what Huber and others
+have told us of their plans, inventions, laws, and regular habits. It
+is astonishing to read of a bee-supervisor, going the round of the
+cells where the larv&aelig; are lying, to see if each of them has enough
+food. He never stops until he has finished his review, and then he
+makes another circuit, depositing in each cell just enough food&mdash;a
+little in this one, a great deal in the next, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>There were once some bees who were very much disturbed by a number of
+great moths who made a practice of coming into their hives and
+stealing their honey. Do what they could, the bees could not drive
+these strong creatures out.</p>
+
+<p>But they soon hit upon a plan to save their honey. They blocked <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>up
+all the doors of the hive with wax, leaving only a little hole, just
+big enough for one bee to enter at a time. Then the moths were
+completely dumbfounded, and gave up the honey business in despair.</p>
+
+<p>But the insect to which the epithet of cunning may be best ascribed,
+is, I think, the flea. If you doubt this, try to catch one. What
+double backsprings he will turn, what fancy dodges he will execute,
+and how, at last, you will have to give up the game and acknowledge
+yourself beaten by this little gymnast!</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_078" id="imag_078"></a><img src="images/gs135.jpg" width="400" height="234" alt="Learned Fleas" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>But fleas have been taught to perform their tricks of strength and
+activity in an orderly and highly proper manner. They have been
+trained to go through military exercises, carrying little sticks for
+guns; to work and pull about small cannon, although the accounts say
+nothing about their firing them off; and, what seems the most
+wonderful of all, two fleas have been harnessed to a little coach
+while another one sat on the box and drove! The whole of this
+wonderful exhibition was so small that a microscope had to be used in
+order to properly observe it.</p>
+
+<p>The last instance of the intelligence of insects which I will give is
+something almost too wonderful to believe, and yet the statement is
+made by a Dr. Lincecum, who studied the habits of the insect in
+question for twelve years, and his investigations were published in
+the <i>Journal of the Linn&aelig;an Society</i>. Dr. Lincecum says, that in Texas
+there is an ant called by him the Agricultural Ant, which not only
+lays up stores of grain, but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>prepares the soil for the crop; plants
+the seed (of a certain plant called ant-rice); keeps the ground free
+from weeds; and finally reaps the harvest, and separating the chaff
+from the grain, packs away the latter, and throws the chaff outside of
+the plantation. In "Wood's Bible Animals" you can read a full account
+of this ant, and I think that after hearing of its exploits, we can
+believe almost anything that we hear about the intelligence of
+insects.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+</p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_079" id="imag_079"></a><img src="images/gs137.jpg" width="500" height="490" alt="The Pacific" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="A_FIRST_SIGHT_OF_THE_SEA" id="A_FIRST_SIGHT_OF_THE_SEA"></a>A FIRST SIGHT OF THE SEA.</h2>
+
+
+<p>If you have ever seen the ocean, you will understand what a grand
+thing it is to look for the first time upon its mighty waters,
+stretching away into the distance, and losing themselves in the clouds
+and sky. We know it is thousands of miles over to the other shore, but
+for all that we have a pretty good idea of that shore. We know its
+name, and have read about the people who live there.</p>
+
+<p>But when, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, Vasco Nu&ntilde;ez de
+Balboa stood upon the shore of the Pacific, and gazed over its
+boundless waters, the sight to him was both grand and mysterious. He
+saw that a vast sea lay beneath and before him&mdash;but that was all he
+knew. Europeans had not visited it before, and the Indians, who <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>had
+acted as his guides, knew but little about it. If he had desired to
+sail across those vast blue waters, Balboa would have had no idea upon
+what shores he would land or what wonderful countries and continents
+he would discover.</p>
+
+<p>Now-a-days, any school-boy could tell that proud, brave soldier, what
+lay beyond those billows. Supposing little Johnny Green (we all know
+him, don't we?) had been there, how quickly he would have settled
+matters for the Spanish chieftain.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_080" id="imag_080"></a><img src="images/gs139.jpg" width="500" height="464" alt="The Pacific" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"Ah, Mr. Balboa," Johnny would have said, "you want to know what lies
+off in that direction&mdash;straight across? Well, I can tell you, sir. If
+you are standing, as I think you are, on a point of the Isthmus of
+Darien, where you can look directly westward, you may cast your eyes,
+as far as they will go, over a body of water, which, at this point, is
+about eleven thousand miles wide. No wonder you jump, sir, but such is
+the fact. If you were to sail directly west upon this ocean you would
+have a very long passage before you came upon any land at all, and the
+first place which you would reach, if you kept straight on your
+westward course, would be the Mulgrave Islands. But you would have
+passed about seven or eight hundred miles to the southward of the
+Sandwich Islands, which are a very important group, where there is an
+enormous volcano, and where Captain Cook will be killed in about two
+hundred and fifty years. If you then keep on, you will pass among the
+Caroline Islands, which your countrymen will claim some day; and if
+you are not eaten up by the natives, who will no doubt coax you to
+land on some of their islands and will then have you for supper, you
+will at last reach the Philippine Islands, and will probably land, for
+a time, at Mindanao, to get water and things. Then, if you still keep
+on, you will pass to the north of a big island, which is Borneo, and
+will sail right up to the first land to the west, which will be part
+of a continent; or else you will <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>go down around a peninsula, which
+lies directly in your course, and sail upon the other side of it, into
+a great gulf, and land anywhere you please. Do you know where you will
+be then, Mr. Balboa? Don't, eh? Well, sir, you would be just where
+Columbus hoped he would be, when he reached the end of his great
+voyage across the Atlantic&mdash;in the Indies! Yes, sir, all among the
+gold, and ivory, and spices, and elephants and other things!</p>
+
+<p>"If you can get any ships here and will start off and steer carefully
+among the islands, you won't find anything in your way until you get
+there. But, it was different with Columbus, you see, sir. He had a
+whole continent blocking up his road to the Indies; but, for my part,
+I'm very glad, for various reasons, that it happened so."</p>
+<p>It is probable that if Johnny Green could have delivered this little
+speech, that Vasco Nu&ntilde;ez de Balboa would have been one of the most
+astonished men in the world!</p>
+
+<p>Whether he and his fellow-adventurers would ever have set out to sail
+over those blue waters, in search of the treasures of the East, is
+more than I can say, but it is certain that if he had started off on
+such an expedition, he would have found things pretty much as Johnny
+Green had told him.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="imag_081" id="imag_081"></a><img src="images/gs140.jpg" width="700" height="429" alt="St. Peter's at Rome" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_LARGEST_CHURCH_IN_THE_WORLD" id="THE_LARGEST_CHURCH_IN_THE_WORLD"></a>THE LARGEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD.</h2>
+
+
+<p>This is St. Peter's at Rome. Is it possible to look upon such a
+magnificent edifice without acknowledging it as the grandest of all
+churches? There are some others in the world more beautiful, and some
+more architecturally perfect; but there is none so vast, so
+impressive, so grand!</p>
+
+<p>This great building was commenced in 1506, but it was a century and a
+half before it was finished. Among other great architects, Michael
+Angelo assisted in its construction. The building is estimated to have
+cost, simply for its erection, about fifty millions of dollars, and it
+has cost a great deal in addition in later years.</p>
+
+<p>Its dimensions are enormous. You cannot understand what a great
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>building it is unless you could see it side by side with some house
+or church with which you are familiar. Several of the largest churches
+in this country could be stood up inside of St. Peter's without
+touching walls or roof, or crowding each other in the least.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="imag_082" id="imag_082"></a><img src="images/gs141.jpg" width="700" height="443" alt="Interior of St. Peter's" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>There are but three works of man in the whole world which are higher
+than the little knob which you see on the cupola surmounting the great
+dome of St. Peter's. These more lofty buildings are the Great Pyramid
+of Egypt, the Spire of Strasbourg, and the Tower of Amiens. The
+highest of these, the pyramid, is, however, only forty-two feet above
+St. Peter's. The great dome is supported by four pillars, each of
+which is seventy feet thick!</p>
+
+<p>But let us step inside of this great edifice. I think you will be
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>there even more impressed with its height and extent than you were
+when you stood on the outside.</p>
+
+<p>Is not here a vast and lofty expanse? But even from this favorable
+point you cannot get a complete view of the interior. In front of you,
+you see in the distance the light striking down from above. There is
+the great dome, and when you walk beneath it you will be amazed at its
+enormous height. There are four great halls like this one directly
+before us, for the church is built in the form of a cross, with the
+dome at the intersection of the arms. There are also openings in
+various directions, which lead into what are called chapels, but which
+are in reality as large as ordinary sized churches.</p>
+
+<p>The pavement of the whole edifice is made of colored marble, and, as
+you see, the interior is heavily decorated with carving and statuary.
+Much of this is bronze and gold.</p>
+
+<p>But if you should mount (and there are stairs by which you may make
+the ascent) into the cupola at the top of the dome, and look down into
+the vast church, and see the people crawling about like little insects
+so far below you, you would perhaps understand better than at any
+other time that it is not at all surprising that this church should be
+one of the wonders of the world.</p>
+
+<p>If we ever go to Europe, we must not fail to see St. Peter's Church at
+Rome.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_SOFT_PLACE" id="THE_SOFT_PLACE"></a>THE SOFT PLACE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There was once a young Jaguar (he was very intimately related to the
+Panther family, as you may remember), and he sat upon a bit of hard
+rock, and cogitated. The subject of his reflections was very simple
+indeed, for it was nothing more nor less than this&mdash;where should he
+get his supper?</p>
+
+<p>He would not have cared so much for his supper, if it had been that he
+had had no dinner, and even this would not have made so much
+difference if he had had his breakfast. But in truth he had eaten
+nothing all day.</p>
+
+<p>During the summer of that year the meat-markets in that section of the
+country were remarkably bad. It was sometimes difficult for a panther
+or a wildcat to find enough food to keep her family at all decently,
+and there were cases of great destitution. In years before there had
+been plenty of deer, wild turkey, raccoons, and all sorts of good
+things, but they were very scarce now. This was not the first time
+that our young Jaguar had gone hungry for a whole day.</p>
+
+<p>While he thus sat, wondering where he should go to get something to
+eat, he fell asleep, and had a dream. And this is what he dreamed.</p>
+
+<p>He dreamed that he saw on the grass beneath the rock where he was
+lying five fat young deer. Three of them were sisters, and the other
+two were cousins. They were discussing the propriety of taking a nap
+on the grass by the river-bank, and one of them had already stretched
+herself out. "Now," thought the Jaguar in his dream, "shall I wait
+until they all go to sleep, and then pounce down softly and kill them
+all, or shall I spring on that one on the ground and make sure of a
+good supper at any rate?" While he was thus delib<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>erating in his mind
+which it would be best for him to do, the oldest cousin cocked up her
+ears as if she heard something, and just as the Jaguar was going to
+make a big spring and get one out of the family before they took to
+their heels, he woke up!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_083" id="imag_083"></a><img src="images/gs144.jpg" width="500" height="593" alt="The Five Young Deer" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>What a dreadful disappointment! Not a deer, or a sign of one, to be
+seen, and nothing living within a mile. But no! There is something
+moving! It is&mdash;yes, it is a big Alligator, lying down there on the
+rocks! After looking for a few minutes with disgust at the ugly
+creature, the Jaguar said to himself, "He must have come on shore
+while I was asleep. But what matters it! An Alligator! Very dif<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>ferent
+indeed from five fat young deer! Ah me! I wish he had not that great
+horny skin, and I'd see if I could make a supper off of him. Let me
+see! There is a soft place, as I've been told, about the alligator! If
+I could but manage and get a grip of that, I think that I could settle
+old Mr. Hardskin, in spite of his long teeth. I've a mind and a half
+to try. Yes, I'll do it!"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_084" id="imag_084"></a><img src="images/gs145.jpg" width="600" height="385" alt="Waking Up" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>So saying, the Jaguar settled himself down as flat as he could and
+crept a little nearer to the Alligator, and then, with a tremendous
+spring, he threw himself upon him. The Alligator was asleep, but his
+nap came to a very sudden close, you may be sure, and he opened his
+eyes and his mouth both at the same time. But he soon found that he
+would have to bestir himself in a very lively manner, for a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>strong
+and hungry Jaguar had got hold of him. It had never before entered
+into the Alligator's head that anybody would want to eat him, but he
+did not stop to think about this, but immediately went to work to
+defend himself with all his might. He lashed his great tail around, he
+snapped his mighty jaws at his enemy, and he made the dust fly
+generally. But it all seemed of little use. The Jaguar had fixed his
+teeth in a certain soft place in his chest, under his fore-leg, and
+there he hung on like grim death. The Alligator could not get at him
+with his tail, nor could he turn his head around so as to get a good
+bite.</p>
+
+<p>The Alligator had been in a hard case all his life, but he really
+thought that this surprising conduct of the Jaguar was something worse
+than anything he had ever been called upon to bear.</p>
+
+<p>"Does he really think, I wonder," said the Alligator to himself, "that
+he is going to have me for his supper?"</p>
+
+<p>It certainly looked very much as if Mr. Jaguar had that idea, and as
+if he would be able to carry out his intention, for he was so charmed
+at having discovered the soft place of which he had so often been told
+that he resolved never to let go until his victim was dead; and in the
+midst of the struggle he could not but regret that he had never
+thought of hunting Alligators before.</p>
+
+<p>As it may well be imagined, the Alligator soon began to be very tired
+of this sort of thing. He could do nothing at all to damage his
+antagonist, and the Jaguar hurt him, keeping his teeth jammed into the
+very tenderest spot in his whole body. So he came to the conclusion
+that, if he could do nothing else, he would go home. If the Jaguar
+chose to follow him, he could not help it, of course. So, gradually,
+he pulled himself, Jaguar and all, down to the river, and, as the
+banks sloped quite suddenly at this place, he soon plunged into deep
+water, with his bloodthirsty enemy still hanging fiercely to him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As soon as he found himself in the water, the Alligator rolled himself
+over and got on top. Then they both sank down, and there was nothing
+seen on the surface of the water but bubbles.</p>
+
+<p>The fight did not last very long after this, but the Jaguar succeeded
+perfectly in his intentions. He found a soft place&mdash;in the mud at the
+bottom of the river&mdash;and he stayed there.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_085" id="imag_085"></a><img src="images/gs148.jpg" width="400" height="536" alt="A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="A_FEW_FEATHERED_FRIENDS" id="A_FEW_FEATHERED_FRIENDS"></a>A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Whether dressed in broadcloth, silk, calico, home-spun, or feathers,
+friends are such valuable possessions that we must pay these folks who
+are now announced as much attention as possible. And if we do this and
+in every way endeavor to make them feel comfortable and entirely at
+home, we will soon perceive a very great difference between them and
+many of our friends who dress in coats and frocks. For the more we do
+for our feathered friends, the more they will do for us. Now, you
+can't say that of all the men and women and boys and girls that you
+know. I wish most sincerely that you could.</p>
+
+<p>The first family who calls upon us (and the head of this family makes
+the very earliest calls that I know anything about) are too well known
+to all of us to need the slightest introduction. You will see in an
+instant that you have met them before.</p>
+
+<p>And there is no doubt but that these are among the very best feathered
+friends we have. Those hens are liberal with their eggs, and those
+little chickens that are running around like two-legged puff-balls,
+are so willing to grow up and be broiled and roasted and stewed, that
+it would now be almost impossible for us to do without them. Eggs seem
+to come into use on so many occasions that, if there was to be an
+egg-famine, it would make itself felt in every family in the land. Not
+only would we miss them when boiled, fried, and cooked in omelets for
+breakfast; not only without them would ham seem lonely, puddings and
+sponge-cakes go into decline, and pound-cake utterly die, but the arts
+and manufactures of the whole country would feel the deprivation.
+Merely in the photographic business hundreds of thousands of eggs are
+needed every year, from which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>to procure the albumen used in the
+preparation of photographic paper.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_086" id="imag_086"></a><img src="images/gs150.jpg" width="500" height="510" alt="Familiar Friends" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Do without eggs? Impossible.</p>
+
+<p>And to do without "chicken" for dinner would seem almost as impossible
+for some folks. To be sure, we might live along very comfortably
+without those delightful broils, and roasts, and fricassees, but it
+would be a great pity. And, if we live in the country, there is no
+meat which is so cheap and easily procured all the year round as
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>chicken. I wonder what country-people would do, especially in the
+summer time, when they have little other fresh meat, without their
+chickens. Very badly, I imagine.</p>
+
+<p>Next to these good old friends comes the pigeon family. These are very
+intimate with many of us.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_087" id="imag_087"></a><img src="images/gs151.jpg" width="400" height="325" alt="The Pigeon" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Pigeons are in one respect even more closely associated with man than
+the domestic fowls, because they live with him as readily in cities as
+in the country. City chickens always seem out of place, but city
+pigeons are as much at home as anybody else. There are few houses so
+small that there is not room somewhere for a pigeon-box, and there are
+no roofs or yards so humble that the handsomest and proudest "pouters"
+and "tumblers" and "fan-tails" will not willingly come and strut and
+coo about them as long as they receive good treatment and plenty of
+food.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But apart from the pleasure and profit which these beautiful birds
+ordinarily afford to their owners, some of them&mdash;the carriers&mdash;are
+often of the greatest value, and perform important business that would
+have to be left undone if it were not for them. The late war in France
+has fully proved this. I remember hearing persons say that now, since
+telegraph lines had become so common, they supposed carrier-pigeons
+would no longer be held in esteem, and that the breed would be
+suffered to die out.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_088" id="imag_088"></a><img src="images/gs152.jpg" width="400" height="418" alt="The Dove" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>But that is a mistake. There are times, especially during wars, when
+telegraphic and railroad lines are utterly useless, and then the
+carrier-pigeon remains master of the situation.</p>
+
+<p>The doves are such near relations of the pigeons that we might suppose
+they would resemble them in their character as much as in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>appearance.
+But they are not very much alike. Doves are not ambitious; they don't
+pout, or tumble, or have fan-tails. As to carrying messages, or doing
+anything to give themselves renown, they never think of it. They are
+content to be affectionate and happy.</p>
+
+<p>And that is a great deal. If they did nothing all their lives but set
+examples to children (and to their parents also, sometimes), the doves
+would be among our most useful little birds.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_089" id="imag_089"></a><img src="images/gs153.jpg" width="500" height="323" alt="The Swan" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>I suppose we all have some friends whom we are always glad to see,
+even if they are of no particular service to us. And this is right; we
+should not value people's society in exact proportion to what we think
+we can get out of them. Now, the swan is a feathered friend, and a
+good one, but I must say he is of very little practical use to us. But
+there is something more to be desired than victuals, clothes,
+feather-beds, and Easter-eggs. We should love the beautiful as well as
+the useful. Not so much, to be sure, but still very much. The boy or
+man who despises a rose because it is not a cabbage is much <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>more
+nearly related to the cows and hogs than he imagines. If we accustom
+ourselves to look for beauty, and enjoy it, we will find it, after
+awhile, where we never supposed it existed&mdash;in the caterpillar, for
+instance, and in the snakes. There is beauty as well as practical
+value in almost everything around us, and we are not the lords of
+creation that we suppose we are, unless we are able to see it.</p>
+
+<p>Now, then, I have preached you a little sermon, with the swans for a
+text. But they are certainly beautiful subjects.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_090" id="imag_090"></a><img src="images/gs155_1.jpg" width="400" height="600" alt="The Goose that Led" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>A goose, when it is swimming, is a very handsome bird, and it is most
+admirable when it appears on the table roasted of a delightful brown,
+with a dish of apple-sauce to keep it company. But, for some reason,
+the goose has never been treated with proper consideration. It has for
+hundreds of years, I expect, been considered as a silly bird. But
+there never was a greater mistake. If we looked at the thing in the
+proper light, we would not be at all ashamed to be called a goose. If
+any one were to call you an ostrich, I don't believe you would be very
+angry, but in reality it would be much more of an insult than to call
+you a goose, for an ostrich at times is a very silly bird.</p>
+
+<p>But geese have been known to do as many sensible things as any
+feathered creatures of which we know anything. I am not going to say
+anything about the geese which saved Rome, for we have no record that
+they <i>intended</i> to do anything of the kind; but I will instance the
+case of a goose which belonged to an old blind woman, who lived in
+Germany.</p>
+
+<p>Every Sunday these two friends used to go to church together, the
+goose carefully leading the old woman by her frock.</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the church, the goose would lead his mistress to her
+seat and then go outside and eat grass until the services were over.
+When the people began to come out the goose would go in, and, taking
+the old woman in charge, would lead her home. At other <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>times also he
+was the companion of her walks, and her family knew that old blind
+Grandmother was all right if she had the goose with her when she went
+out.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;">
+<a name="imag_091" id="imag_091"></a><img src="images/gs155_2.jpg" width="300" height="554" alt="The Goose that Followed" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>There was another goose, in a town in Scotland, who had a great
+attachment for a young gentleman to whom she belonged. She would
+follow him in his walks about the town, and always testified her
+delight when she saw him start for a ramble.</p>
+
+<p>When he went into a barber's shop to be shaved, she would wait on the
+pavement until he came out; and in many of his visits she accompanied
+him, very decorously remaining outside while her master was enjoying
+the society of his friends.</p>
+
+
+<p>Ducks, too, have been known to exhibit sociable and friendly traits.
+There is a story told of a drake who once came into a room where a
+young lady was sitting, and approaching her, caught hold of her dress
+with his bill and commenced to pull vigorously at it. The lady was
+very much surprised at this performance, and tried to drive the drake
+away. But he would neither depart or stop tugging at her dress, and
+she soon perceived that he wanted her to do something for him. So she
+rose from her chair, and the drake immediately began to lead her
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>towards the door. When he had conducted her out on to the lawn, he
+led her to a little lake near the house, and there she saw what it was
+that troubled Mr. Drake. A duck, very probably his wife, had been
+swimming in the lake, and in poking her head about, she had caught her
+neck in the narrow opening of a sluice-gate and there she was, fast
+and tight. The lady lifted the gate, Mrs. Duck drew out her head and
+went quacking away, while Mr. Drake testified his delight and
+gratitude by flapping his wings and quacking at the top of his voice.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_092" id="imag_092"></a><img src="images/gs156.jpg" width="400" height="640" alt="The Sensible Duck" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>We have also friends among the feathered tribes, who are not quite so
+intimate and sociable as those to which we have already alluded, but
+which still are very well deserving of our friendship and esteem. For
+instance, what charming little companions are the canary-birds! To <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>be
+sure, they would not often stay with us, if we did not confine them in
+cages; but they seem perfectly at home in their little wire houses,
+and sing and twitter with as much glee as if they were flying about in
+the woods of their native land&mdash;or rather, of the native land of their
+forefathers, for most of our canary-birds were born in the midst of
+civilization and in cages.</p>
+
+
+<p>There are some birds, however, no bigger than canaries, which seem to
+have an attachment for their masters and mistresses, and which do not
+need the restraint of a cage. There was once a gold-finch which
+belonged to a gentleman who lived in a town in Picardy, France, but
+who was often obliged to go to Paris, where he also had apartments.
+Whenever he was obliged to go to the great city, his gold-finch would
+fly on ahead of him, and, arriving there some time in advance of the
+carriage, the servants would know that their master was coming, in
+time to have the rooms ready for him. And when the gentleman drove up
+to the door he would generally see his little gold-finch sitting on
+the finger of a cook or a chamber-maid, and twittering away as if he
+was endeavoring to inform the good people of all the incidents of the
+journey.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_093" id="imag_093"></a><img src="images/gs157.jpg" width="500" height="509" alt="The Goldfinch" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Some of these little birds, however, which are very friendly and
+comparatively sociable as long as they are not troubled and annoyed,
+are not only able to distinguish their friends from their foes, but
+are very apt to stand up vigorously in defence of their rights. Those
+little sparrows, which hop about so cunningly in the streets of many
+of our cities, understand very well that no one will hurt them, and
+that they may pick up crumbs wherever they can find them. But let a
+few boys get into the habit of throwing sticks and stones at them, and
+the little things will leave that neighborhood as quickly as if the
+rents of all their tiny houses had been raised beyond their means.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>Magpies, too, are very companionable in their own way, if they are
+well treated; but if a boy should undertake to steal away with one of
+their nests, when it was full of young ones, he would run a very great
+risk of having his eyes picked out.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_094" id="imag_094"></a><img src="images/gs158.jpg" width="400" height="618" alt="The Magpie" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>There is a feathered friend of ours who keeps himself so secluded, at
+least during the day-time, that he is very apt to escape our notice. I
+refer to the owl.</p>
+
+<p>It may not be supposed, by some, that the owl is a friend of mankind,
+and I am perfectly willing to admit that very often he acts very much
+like an enemy, especially when he kills our young chickens and
+turkeys. But for all that, he has his good points, and very often
+behaves in a commendable manner. If you have a barn or a house that is
+overrun with mice, there is nothing that will be more certain to drive
+them out than an owl. And he will not be so <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>apt to steal your milk or
+kill your canary as many of the cats which you have taken into your
+family without a recommendation.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>We once had an owl living in our house. He belonged to my young
+brother, who caught him in a trap, I believe. All day long, this
+solemn little fellow (for he was a small brown one), would sit on the
+back of a chair, or some such convenient place, and if any of us came
+near him, he would turn his head and look at us, although he could not
+see very well in the day-time; and if we walked behind him, or on
+different sides of him, he would always keep his eyes on us, turning
+his head around exactly as if it was set on a pivot.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was astonishing how easily he could turn his head without moving
+his body. Some folks told us that if we walked around and around him,
+he would turn and turn his head, until he twisted it off, but we never
+tried that.</p>
+
+<p>It was really astonishing how soon the mice found out that there was
+an owl in the house. He had the range of a great part of the house all
+night, and in a very short time he had driven every mouse away. And
+the first time he found a window open, he went away himself. There is
+that objection to owls, as mousers. They are very good so long as they
+will hold the situation, but they are exceedingly apt to leave without
+giving the family any notice. You won't find a cat doing that. The
+trouble with her very often is that she will not go when you give
+<i>her</i> notice to leave.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_095" id="imag_095"></a><img src="images/gs159.jpg" width="400" height="470" alt="The Owl" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>When we speak of our feathered friends, it is hardly fair to exclude
+all but those which are domesticated with us, or which are willing,
+sometimes, to come and live in our houses. In the country, and very
+often in towns, our homes are surrounded, at certain seasons, by
+beautiful birds, that flutter and twitter about in the trees, and sing
+most charmingly in the bright hours of the early morning, making the
+spring-time and the summer tenfold more delightful than they would be
+without them. These birds ask nothing of us but a few cherries or
+berries now and then, and they pay well for these by picking up the
+worms and grubs from our gardens.</p>
+
+<p>I think that these little warblers and twitterers, who fill the air
+with their songs and frolic about on the trees and bushes, who build
+their nests under our eaves and in any little box that we may put up
+for them, who come regularly back to us every spring, although they
+may have been hundreds of miles away during the cold weather, and who
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>have chosen, of their own accord, to live around our houses and to
+sing in our trees and bushes, ought to be called our friends, as much
+as the fowls in our poultry-yards.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_096" id="imag_096"></a><img src="images/gs161.jpg" width="500" height="647" alt="Morning Singers" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_097" id="imag_097"></a><img src="images/gs162.jpg" width="400" height="510" alt="In a Well" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="IN_A_WELL" id="IN_A_WELL"></a>IN A WELL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Perhaps very few of you have ever seen such an old-fashioned well as
+this. No pump, no windlass, no arrangement that you are apt to call at
+all convenient for raising the water. Nothing but that upright stake,
+on top of which moves a long pole, with the bucket hang<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>ing from one
+end of it. But the artist does not show in the picture the most
+important part of this arrangement. On the other end of this long pole
+a heavy stone is fastened, and it is easy to see that a bucket of
+water may be raised without much trouble, with the stone bearing down
+the other end of the pole. To be sure, the stone must be raised when
+the bucket is lowered, but that is done by pulling downward on the
+rope, which is not so hard as to haul a rope upward when the
+resistance is equal in both cases. Try it some time, and you will see
+that the weight of your body will count for a great deal in the
+operation. In old Mr. Naylor's yard&mdash;he lived in a little town in
+Pennsylvania&mdash;there was one of these wells. It had been dug by his
+father, and, as it had answered all his needs from his childhood, Mr.
+Naylor very justly considered it would continue to do so until his
+death, and he would listen to no one who proposed to put up a pump for
+him, or make him a windlass.</p>
+
+<p>One afternoon in the summer-time, Jenny Naylor, his granddaughter, had
+company, and after they had been playing around the orchard for an
+hour or two, and had slid down the straw-stacks to their heart's
+content, the children all went to the well to get a drink. A bucket of
+water was soon hauled up, and Tommy Barrett with a tin-cup ladled out
+the refreshment to the company. When they had all drank enough they
+began to play with the well-pole. Boys and girls will play, you know,
+with things that no grown person would imagine could be tortured into
+means of amusement. In less than five minutes they had invented a
+game. That is, the boys had. I will give the girls the credit of
+standing by and looking on, in a very disapproving manner, while this
+game was going on. The pastime was a very simple one. When the
+stone-end of the pole rested on the ground, on account of the bucket
+being empty, one of the boys stood by the well-curb, and, seizing the
+rope as high up as he could, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>pulled upon it, the other boys lifting
+the stone-end at the same time. When the stone was a foot or two from
+the ground the boys at that end sat on the pole and endeavored to
+hoist up the fellow at the other end.</p>
+
+<p>A glorious game!</p>
+
+<p>The sport went on very nicely until Tommy Barrett took hold of the
+rope. He was the biggest boy, and the little fellows could not raise
+him. No, it was no use, so they gave it up and jumped off of the pole.</p>
+
+<p>But what was their amazement to see the stone rise in the air, while
+at the same time Tommy Barrett disappeared down the well!</p>
+
+<p>The fact was, Tommy had been trying to "show off" a little before the
+girls, and when he found the boys could not raise him, had stepped on
+the well-curb, and pushing the bucket off, had stood on it, trying, on
+his part, to raise the boys. So, when they jumped off, down he sank.
+The stone was not nearly so heavy as Tommy, but it was weighty enough
+to prevent his going down very fast, and he arrived safely at the
+bottom, where the boys and girls saw him, when they crowded around the
+well, standing up to his arm-pits in water.</p>
+
+<p>"Pull me up, quick!" cried Tommy, who still stood on the bucket, and
+had hold of the rope.</p>
+
+<p>The children did not wait to be asked twice. They seized the rope and
+pulled their very best. But they could not move Tommy one inch. The
+rope hung right down the middle of the well, and as they had to reach
+over a good deal even to touch it, they could get no opportunity of
+exerting their full strength upon it. And it is very well that they
+could not, for had they been able to raise Tommy, it is probable that
+one or two of them would have been jerked down the well every time he
+slipped down again, which he would have been certain to do a great
+many times before he reached the top.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They soon perceived that they could not draw Tommy from the well in
+that way. And the stone-end of the pole was far out of their reach.
+What should they do?</p>
+
+<p>There was no one at the house but the two old people, and they were
+scarcely as strong as the children. They all said a great deal, but
+Jenny Naylor, who was much older than any of the others, saw that
+something must be done instantly, for Tommy was crying out that he was
+nearly frozen to death, and she was afraid that he would let go of the
+rope, slip off of the bucket, and be drowned.</p>
+
+<p>So, without a word to anybody, she ran to the upright stake and began
+to climb it. This was a very unlady-like proceeding, perhaps, but
+Jenny did not think about anything of that kind. She was the oldest
+and the largest of them all, and there was no time to explain matters
+to the boys. Up she went, as actively as any boy, and scrambling to
+the crotch of the stake, she seated herself upon the pole.</p>
+
+<p>Then she began to work herself slowly up towards the stone-end. And as
+she gradually approached the stone, so she gradually began to sink a
+little, and the nearer she got to it the more she sank and the higher
+Tommy Barrett rose in the well!</p>
+
+<p>She and the stone were heavier than he was, and some of the children
+stood, with open mouths, looking at Jenny slowly coming down, while
+the others crowded around the well to see Tommy slowly coming up.</p>
+
+<p>When Jenny had nearly touched the ground, there was Tommy hanging
+above the well!</p>
+
+<p>Half a dozen little hands seized the bucket, and Tommy, as wet as a
+dish-rag, stepped on to the curb.</p>
+
+<p>I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that whenever there is a party of
+children, playing around an open well, that there could be a girl like
+Jenny Naylor with them.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<a name="imag_098" id="imag_098"></a><img src="images/gs166.jpg" width="300" height="468" alt="The Fraxinella" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="A_VEGETABLE_GAS_MANUFACTORY" id="A_VEGETABLE_GAS_MANUFACTORY"></a>A VEGETABLE GAS MANUFACTORY.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>There is a plant, called by botanists the Fraxinella, which has the
+peculiar property of giving out, from its leaves and stalks, a gas
+which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>is inflammable. Sometimes, on a very still day, when there is
+no wind to blow it away as fast as it is produced, this gas may be
+ignited by a match, when the plant is growing in the open air. But
+this is very seldom the case, for the air must be very quiet, and the
+plant very productive, for enough gas to be found around it to ignite
+when a flame is applied.</p>
+
+<p>But it is perfectly possible, as you may see in the engraving, to
+collect sufficient gas from the Fraxinella to produce combustion
+whenever desired. If the plant is surrounded by a glass case, the gas,
+as fast as produced, is confined in the case, and at last there is so
+much collected in this novel gasometer, that it is only necessary to
+open the case, and apply a match, to see plant-gas burning.</p>
+
+<p>It is not at all probable that the least use in the world could be
+made of this gas, but it is certainly a very pretty experiment to
+collect and ignite it.</p>
+
+<p>There are other plants which have this property of exuding
+illuminating gas in very small quantities, but none, I believe, except
+the Fraxinella, will produce enough of it to allow this experiment to
+be performed.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_099" id="imag_099"></a><img src="images/gs168.jpg" width="400" height="574" alt="A COMPANY OF BEARS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A COMPANY OF BEARS.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="A_FEW_WORDS_ABOUT_BEARS" id="A_FEW_WORDS_ABOUT_BEARS"></a>A FEW WORDS ABOUT BEARS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>If you should ever be going up a hill, and should meet such a
+procession as that on the opposite page, coming down, I would
+recommend you to get just as far to one side as you can possibly go.
+Bears, especially when there are so many of them together, are by no
+means pleasant companions in a walk.</p>
+
+<p>But it is likely that you might wander about the world for the rest of
+your lives, and never meet so many bears together as you see in the
+engraving. They are generally solitary animals, and unless you
+happened to fall in with a mother and her cubs, you would not be
+likely to see more than one at a time.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_100" id="imag_100"></a><img src="images/gs170.jpg" width="400" height="661" alt="The Black Bear" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>In our own country, in the unsettled parts of many of the States, the
+black bear is still quite common; and I could tell you of places
+where, if you pushed carefully up mountain-paths and through lonely
+forests, you might come upon a fine black bear, sitting at the
+entrance of her cave, with two or three of her young ones playing
+about her.</p>
+
+<p>If it should so happen that the bear neither heard you, saw you, or
+smelt you, you might see this great beast fondling her young ones, and
+licking their fur as gently and tenderly as a cat with her kittens.</p>
+
+<p>If she perceived you at last, and you were at a distance, it is very
+probable that she and her young ones, if they were big enough, would
+all scramble out of sight in a very short time, for the black bears
+are very shy of man if circumstances will permit them to get away
+before he approaches too near to them. But if you are so near as to
+make the old bear-mother fearful for the safety of her children, you
+will find that she will face you in a minute, and if you are not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>well
+able to take care of yourself, you will wish you had never seen a
+bear.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>But, in the western part of our country, especially in the Rocky
+Mountain region, the grizzly bear is found, and he is a very different
+animal from his black relations.</p>
+
+<p>He is the most savage and formidable animal on this continent, and
+very seldom is it that he runs away from a man. He is glad enough to
+get a chance to fight one. He is so large and powerful that he is very
+difficult to kill, and the hunter who has slain a grizzly bear may
+well be proud of the exploit.</p>
+
+<p>Washington Irving tells of a hunter who accidentally fell into a deep
+hole, out in the prairies, and he tumbled right on top of a great
+grizzly bear! How the bear got down <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>there is not stated, and I don't
+suppose the hunter stopped to inquire. A fight immediately commenced
+between these two involuntary companions, and after a long struggle,
+in which the man had an arm and leg broken, and was severely bitten
+and torn besides, he killed the bear.</p>
+
+<p>The hunter had a very hard time after that, but after passing through
+adventures of various kinds, he floated down the Mississippi on a log
+and was taken in at a fort. He recovered, but was maimed for life.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_101" id="imag_101"></a><img src="images/gs171.jpg" width="600" height="382" alt="The Grizzly Bear" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>I think it is probable that no other man ever killed a grizzly bear in
+single combat, and I also have my doubts about this one having done
+so. It is very likely that his victim was a black bear.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Few men care to hunt the grizzly bear except on horseback, so that if
+they have to run away, they may have better legs than their own under
+them.</p>
+
+<p>The other great bear of this continent is the white or Polar bear, of
+which we have all heard so much. Up in the regions of ice and snow
+this bear lives just as comfortably as the tiger in the hot jungles of
+Asia, and while he is not quite so savage as the tiger, he is almost
+as hard to kill. But, in speaking of his disposition, I have no
+intention whatever to give him a character for amiability. In fact, he
+is very ferocious at times. He has often been known to attack parties
+of men, and when wounded can make a most soul-stirring defence.</p>
+
+<p>The Polar bear is a big fellow, with long white hair, and he lives on
+seals and fish, and almost anything he can pick up. Sometimes he takes
+a fancy to have a man or two for his supper, as the following story
+will prove.</p>
+
+<p>A ship, returning from Nova Zembla, anchored near an island in the
+Arctic Ocean, and two of the sailors went on land. They were standing
+on the shore, talking to each other, when one of them cried out, "Stop
+squeezing me!"</p>
+
+<p>The other one looked around, and there was a white bear, very large
+but very lean and scraggy, which had sneaked up behind the sailors,
+and now had clutched one of them, whom he very speedily killed and
+commenced to eat, while the other sailor ran away.</p>
+
+<p>The whole crew of the ship now landed, and came after the bear,
+endeavoring to drive him away from the body of their comrade; but as
+they approached him, he quietly looked at them for a minute, and then
+jumped right into the middle of the crowd, seized another man, and
+killed him. Upon this, the crew ran away as fast as they could, and
+scuttling into their boats, rowed away to the ship.</p>
+
+<p>There were three of these sailors, however, who were too brave <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>to
+stay there and see a bear devouring the bodies of their friends, and
+they returned to the island.</p>
+
+<p>The bear did not move as they approached him, and they fired on him,
+without seeming to injure him in the least. At length one of them
+stepped up quite close to him, and put a ball into his head just above
+his eye.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_102" id="imag_102"></a><img src="images/gs173.jpg" width="600" height="395" alt="The White Bear" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>But even this did not kill him, although it is probable that it
+lessened his vigor, for he soon began to stagger, and the sailors,
+falling upon him with their swords, were able to put him to death, and
+to rescue the remains of their comrades.</p>
+
+<p>After these stories, I think that we will all agree that when we meet
+a procession of bears, be they black, white, or grizzly, we will <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>be
+very wise to give them the right of way, and to endeavor to drive from
+our minds, as far as possible, such ideas of the animals as we may
+have derived from those individuals which we have seen in rural
+menageries, nimbly climbing poles, or sedately drinking soda-water.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_103" id="imag_103"></a><img src="images/gs174.jpg" width="400" height="442" alt="The Tame Bear" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_104" id="imag_104"></a><img src="images/gs175.jpg" width="600" height="377" alt="An old Country-House" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="AN_OLD_COUNTRY-HOUSE" id="AN_OLD_COUNTRY-HOUSE"></a>AN OLD COUNTRY-HOUSE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Here is a picture of a handsome summer residence. It apparently
+belongs to a rich man, and a man of taste. The house is large and
+commodious; the grounds are well laid out; there is a garden,
+evidently a fine one, close at hand; there is shade, water, fruit,
+flowers, and apparently everything that a country-house ought to have.</p>
+
+<p>But yet there is a certain something strange and unusual about it.</p>
+
+<p>There are handsome porticos, but they are differently arranged from
+those to which we have been accustomed. Such as those in front we have
+often seen; but the upper one, which appears to go nearly around the
+house, with short pillars on the sides, is different <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>from anything
+that we see in our country neighborhoods. Those long pillars at the
+rear of the house seem very peculiar. We have never noticed anything
+like them in such positions. There seems to be scarcely any portico at
+the back, and those slim pillars are certainly useless, and, to our
+eyes, not very ornamental. The windows, too, are remarkable. They are
+not only very small, but they are wider at the bottom than the top&mdash;a
+strange idea of the architect to make them in that way. The upper
+story of the house does not appear to have any windows at all, but we
+suppose that they must be in the back and front, or the artist may
+have accidentally left them out. Even if that floor was used for
+lumber-rooms, there ought to be windows.</p>
+
+<p>The garden has a very high wall for a private estate. It is evident
+that there must be great fear of thieves in that neighborhood.</p>
+
+<p>But it is no wonder that some things about this house and its grounds
+strike us as peculiar, for it was built more than three thousand years
+ago.</p>
+
+<p>It was the country residence of an Egyptian gentleman, and was, no
+doubt, replete with all the modern conveniences of the period. Even in
+the present day he might consider himself a very fortunate man who had
+so good a house and grounds as these. If the windows were made a
+little larger, a few changes effected in the interior of the
+establishment, and some chimneys and fire-places built, none of our
+rich men need be ashamed of such a house.</p>
+
+<p>But, handsome as it is, it is not probable that this house cost the
+Egyptian gentleman very much.</p>
+
+<p>It is very likely, indeed, that it was built, under the supervision of
+an architect, by his own slaves, and that the materials came from his
+own estates. But he may, of course, have spent large sums on its
+decoration and furniture, and it is very probable, judging from the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>outside of his house, that he did so. Some of those old Egyptians
+were most luxurious fellows.</p>
+
+<p>If you wish to see how his slaves worked while they were building his
+house, just examine this picture.</p>
+
+<p>To be sure, it is a temple which these men are building, but the
+bricklayers, hod-carriers, etc., worked in the same way when they were
+putting up a private house.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_105" id="imag_105"></a><img src="images/gs177.jpg" width="600" height="381" alt="Ancient Builders" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>These poor men whom you see toiling here were probably not born
+slaves, and it is very likely that many of them are equal in birth and
+education to those who own them.</p>
+
+<p>A great proportion of them are captives taken in war, and condemned
+for the rest of their lives to labor for their victorious enemies
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>That will be a vast temple which they are building. Look at the
+foundations&mdash;what enormously thick walls! It is probable that several
+generations of slaves will labor upon that temple before it is
+finished.</p>
+
+<p>They do not work exactly as we do in the present day. The hod-carrier,
+who is bringing bricks from the background, has a very good way of
+carrying them; but those who are bearing a pile of bricks between them
+seem to make a very awkward business of it. And the man who is
+carrying mortar on his shoulder, as he ascends the ladder, might very
+profitably take a lesson from some of our Irish hod-carriers. An
+earthen pot with a round bottom is certainly a poor thing in which to
+carry mortar up a ladder.</p>
+
+<p>The man who is apparently squaring a stone, and the one who is
+smoothing or trimming off some bricks, are using very peculiar
+chopping tools. But they may have answered their purpose very well. At
+any rate, most magnificent edifices were built by the men who used
+them, although it is probable that the poor fellows progressed very
+slowly with their work.</p>
+
+<p>It may be, when three thousand years more have elapsed, that our
+country-houses and our methods of building may appear as strange as
+this mansion of the Egyptian gentleman, and the customs of the
+Egyptian bricklayers, seem to us.</p>
+
+<p>But then we shall be the ancient Americans, and it will make no sort
+of difference to us what the future moderns say about us.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<a name="imag_106" id="imag_106"></a><img src="images/gs179.jpg" width="300" height="488" alt="PINE FOREST." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PINE FOREST.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="FAR-AWAY_FORESTS" id="FAR-AWAY_FORESTS"></a>FAR-AWAY FORESTS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>I have no doubt that you all like to wander in the woods, but suppose
+we ramble for an hour or two in forests so far away that it is
+probable none of you have ever seen them.</p>
+
+<p>Let us first enter a pine forest.</p>
+
+<p>We have plenty of pines in our own country, and it is probable that
+most of you have walked in the pine woods, on many a summer's day,
+when the soft carpet of "needles," or "pine-shatters," as some people
+call them, was so pleasant to the feet, the aromatic perfume of the
+leaves and trees was so delicious, and everything was so quiet and
+solemn.</p>
+
+<p>But here is a pine forest in the Eastern hemisphere.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_107" id="imag_107"></a><img src="images/gs181.jpg" width="400" height="651" alt="Tree Ferns" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>These woods are vast and lonely. The ground is torn up by torrents,
+for it is a mountainous district, and the branches have been torn and
+broken by many a storm. It is not a pleasant place for those who love
+cheerful scenery, and moreover, it is not so safe to ramble here as in
+our own woods at home. Companies of bandits inhabit many of these
+forests, especially those that stretch over the mountainous portions
+of Italy. It seems strange that in this enlightened era and in one of
+the civilized countries of Europe, bandits should still exist to
+terrify the traveller; but so it is.</p>
+
+<p>Let us get out of this pine forest, so gloomy and perhaps so
+dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>Here, now, is a very different place. This is a forest in the tropics.
+You will not be likely to meet with bandits here. In fact, it is very
+improbable indeed that you will meet with any one. There are vast
+portions of these woods which have never been trodden by the foot of
+man, and which you can never see unless you cut your way, hatchet in
+hand, among the thick undergrowth and the interlacing vines.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<p>Here are ferns as large as trees&mdash;great masses of flowers that seem as
+if a whole garden had been emptied down before us&mdash;vast wildernesses
+of green, which we know extend for miles and miles, and which,
+although apparently so thick and impenetrable, are full of all kinds
+of life, vegetable and animal. The trees are enormous, but many of
+them are so covered with vines and creepers that we can scarcely
+distinguish the massive trunks and luxuriant foliage. Every color is
+here, rich green, royal purple, red, yellow, lilac, brown, and gray.
+The vines, which overrun everything, are filled with gorgeous flowers,
+and hang from the branches in the most graceful forms. Monkeys chatter
+among the trees, beautiful parrots fly from limb to limb, butterflies
+of the most gorgeous hues flutter <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>about the grass-tops and the leaves
+near the ground, and on every log and trunk are myriads of insects,
+lizards and little living things of endless varieties, all strange and
+wonderful to us.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_108" id="imag_108"></a><img src="images/gs182.jpg" width="400" height="637" alt="Tropical Forest" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>In some parts of this interminable forest, where the light breaks
+through the foliage, we see suspended from the trees the wonderful
+air-plants or orchids. They seem like hanging-baskets of flowers, and
+are far more beautiful and luxuriant than anything of the kind that we
+have in our hothouses at home.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But we shall not find it easy to walk through all these beauties. As I
+said before, we shall often be obliged to cut a path with our
+hatchets, and even then we may be unable to penetrate very far into
+this jungle of beauties. The natives of these countries, when they are
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>compelled to pass through these dense forests, often take to the
+small streams and wade along in the water, which is sometimes up to
+their shoulders, occasionally finding shallower places, or a little
+space on the banks where they can pick their way along for a few
+hundred yards before they are obliged to take to the stream again.</p>
+
+
+<p>Everything is lovely and luxuriant here, but it will not do to stay
+too long. There are fevers and snakes.</p>
+
+<p>Let us now go to the greatest woods in the whole world. I do not mean
+the most extensive forest, but that one where the trees are the
+grandest. This is the region where the giant trees of California grow.</p>
+
+<p>Nowhere on the face of the earth are there such trees as these. Some
+of them stand over four hundred feet high, and are thirty feet in
+diameter!</p>
+
+<p>Their age is believed to be about eighteen hundred years. Think of it!
+They have been growing there during the whole of the Christian era!</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_109" id="imag_109"></a><img src="images/gs183.jpg" width="400" height="649" alt="GIANT TREES OF CALIFORNIA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">GIANT TREES OF CALIFORNIA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One of them, the very largest of all, has been lying on the ground for
+about one hundred and fifty years. When it was standing its diameter
+was about forty feet.</p>
+
+<p>Another trunk, which is lying on the ground, has been hollowed out by
+fire, and through this great bore or tube a whole company of horsemen
+has ridden.</p>
+
+<p>One of these trees was cut down some years ago by a party of men, who,
+I think, should have been sent to prison for the deed. It took five
+men twenty-five days to cut it through with augers and saws, and then
+they were obliged to use a great wedge and a battering-ram to make it
+fall.</p>
+
+<p>These are the kings of all trees. After such a grand sight, we will
+not want to see any more trees to-day, and we will leave the forests
+of Far-away and sit and think of them under our humble grape-vines and
+honeysuckles.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_110" id="imag_110"></a><img src="images/gs185.jpg" width="400" height="517" alt="BOAT BUILDING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BOAT BUILDING.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="BUILDING_SHIPS" id="BUILDING_SHIPS"></a>BUILDING SHIPS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It is a grand thing to own great ships, and to send them over the
+ocean to distant countries; but I will venture to say that few men
+have derived so much pleasure from their fine vessels, laden with all
+kinds of valuable freight, as many a boy has had in the possession of
+a little schooner, which would be overloaded with a quart of
+chestnuts. And it is not only in the ownership of these little crafts
+that boys delight; they enjoy the building of them quite as much.</p>
+
+<p>And a boy who can build a good ship is not to be laughed at by any
+mechanic or architect, no matter how tall or how old he may be.</p>
+
+<p>The young ship-builder who understands his trade, when he is about to
+put a vessel on the stocks&mdash;to speak technically&mdash;first makes up his
+mind whether it is to be a ship, a schooner, a sloop, or merely a
+sail-boat, and determines its size. Then he selects a good piece of
+solid, but light wood, which will be large enough for the hull. Pine
+is generally used; but if he can get a piece of well-seasoned white
+willow, he will find it to work very easily. Then he shapes his hull
+with knife and saw, according to the best of his ability. On this
+process the success of the whole undertaking depends. If the bottom is
+not cut perfectly true on both sides, if the bow is not shapely and
+even, if the stern is not rounded off and cut up in the orthodox
+fashion, his ship will never sail well, no matter how admirably he may
+execute the rest of his work. If there is a ship or boat builder's
+establishment anywhere within reasonable walking distance, it will
+well pay our young shipwright to go there, and study the forms of
+hulls. Even if he should never build a ship, he ought to know how they
+look out of the water.</p>
+
+<p>When the hull is properly shaped it must be hollowed out. This <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>is
+done by means of a "gouge," or chisel with a curved edge. A small
+vessel can be hollowed by means of a knife or ordinary chisel, but it
+is best to have a "gouge," if there is much wood to be taken out. When
+he has made the interior of his vessel as deep and wide as he thinks
+proper, he will put a deck on it, if it is a ship or a schooner; but
+if it is a sail-boat or sloop, he will probably only put in seats (or
+"thwarts," as the sailors call them), or else half-deck it.</p>
+
+<p>Then comes the most interesting part of the work&mdash;the rigging. First
+the masts, which must be light and tapering, and standing back at a
+slight angle, are set up, and the booms and yards are attached. A
+great deal of ingenuity can be displayed: in making the booms work
+well on the masts. The bowsprit is a simple matter, and the stays, or
+ropes which support and strengthen the masts, are very easily
+attached, as they are stationary affairs. But the working-tackle and
+the sails will show whether our young friend has a genius for
+boat-building or not. If his vessel has but a single mast, and he
+merely makes a mainsail and a jib, he will not have much trouble; but
+if he intends to fit out a schooner, a brig, or a ship, with sails
+that will work (and where is the boy with soul so dead as to have any
+other kind?), he will find that he will have a difficult job before
+him. But if he tries hard, and examines the construction and working
+of sails in real ships, he will also find that he can do it.</p>
+
+<p>If the vessel is a fine one, she ought to be painted (this, of course,
+to be done before the sails are finally fastened to the booms and
+yards), and her name should be tastefully painted on her stern, where
+of course, a rudder, carefully working on little hooks, is already
+hung.</p>
+
+<p>It will be very difficult to tell when the ship will be actually
+finished. There will always be a great deal to do after you think all
+is done. Flags must be made, and little halyards running nicely
+through little pulleys or rings; ballast must be provided and
+adjusted; conveniences <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>for storing away freight, if the ship is large
+and voyages are contemplated, must be provided; a crew; perhaps a
+little cannon for salutes; an anchor and windlass, and I am sure I
+cannot tell you what else besides, will be thought of before the ship
+is done.</p>
+
+<p>But it will be done some time, and then comes the happy hour!</p>
+
+<p>If the owner is fortunate enough to live near a pond or a brook, so
+that he can send her right across to where his partner stands ready to
+receive her, he is a lucky boy indeed.</p>
+
+<p>What a proud moment, when, with all sails set and her rudder fixed at
+the proper angle, she is launched!</p>
+
+<p>How straight she sits in the water, and how her little streamer begins
+to float in the wind! Now see her sails gradually puff out! She moves
+gently from the shore. Now she bends over a little as the wind fills
+her sails, and she is off! Faster and faster she glides along, her
+cutwater rippling the water in front of her, and her flags fluttering
+bravely in the air; and her delighted owner, with laughing eyes,
+beholds her triumphantly scudding over the surface of the pond!</p>
+
+<p>I tell you what it is, boys, I have built a great many ships, and I
+feel very much like building another.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_111" id="imag_111"></a><img src="images/gs189.jpg" width="600" height="376" alt="The Orang-Outang" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_ORANG-OUTANG" id="THE_ORANG-OUTANG"></a>THE ORANG-OUTANG.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Orang-outang and the Chimpanzee approach nearer to man in their
+formation and disposition than any other animals, and yet these Apes
+seldom evince as much apparent sense and good feeling as the dog or
+elephant. They imitate man very often, but they exhibit few inherent
+qualities which should raise them to the level of many of man's brute
+companions.</p>
+
+<p>I do not wish, however, to cast any aspersions on an animal generally
+so good-tempered and agreeable in captivity as the Orang-outang. What
+he might become, after his family had been for several generations in
+a condition of domestic servitude, I cannot tell. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>might then even
+surpass the dog in his attachment to man and his general intelligence.</p>
+
+<p>At all events, the Orang-outang has a certain sense of humor which is
+not possessed by animals in general. He is very fond of imitating
+people, and sometimes acts in the most grotesque and amusing way, but,
+like many human wits of whom we read, his manner is always very
+solemn, even when performing his funniest feats.</p>
+
+<p>An old gentleman once went to see a very large and fine Orang-outang,
+and was very much surprised when the animal approached him, and taking
+his hat and his cane from him, put on the hat, and, with the cane in
+his hand, began to walk up and down the room, imitating, as nearly as
+possible, the gait and figure of his venerable visitor.</p>
+
+<p>There was another Orang-outang, who belonged to a missionary, who
+performed a trick even more amusing than this. His master was
+preaching one Sunday to his congregation, when Mr. Orang-outang,
+having escaped from the room where he had been shut up, slipped very
+quietly into the church, and climbed up on the top of the organ, just
+over the pulpit, where his master was delivering his sermon. After
+looking about him for a minute or two, the ape commenced to imitate
+the preacher, making all his gestures and motions. Of course the
+people began to smile when they saw this, and the minister, thinking
+that they were behaving very improperly, rebuked them for their
+inattention, and preached away more earnestly than before. The
+Orang-outang, of course, followed his example, and commenced to
+gesticulate so earnestly and powerfully that the congregation burst
+into laughter, and pointed out the irreverent ape.</p>
+
+<p>When he turned and saw the performance of his imitator, the preacher
+could not help laughing himself, and the Orang-outang, after a good
+deal of time had been spent in catching him, was put out of church,
+and the services went on as usual.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Nobody likes to be made an object of ridicule, and it is probable that
+this disposition of making fun of people, which seems so natural to
+the Orang-outang, would prevent his becoming a domesticated member of
+our families, no matter how useful and susceptible of training he
+might prove to be.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly all of us have some comical peculiarity, and we would not want
+an animal in the house who would be sure, at some time, to expose us
+to laughter by his imitative powers.</p>
+
+<p>So I am afraid that the Orang-outangs, intelligent as they are, will
+have to stay in the woods.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LITTLE_BRIDGETS_BATH" id="LITTLE_BRIDGETS_BATH"></a>LITTLE BRIDGET'S BATH.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Little Bridget was a good girl and a pretty one, but she had ideas of
+her own. She liked to study her lessons, to mind her mother, and to
+behave herself as a little girl should, but she did despise to be
+washed. There was something about the very smell of soap and the touch
+of water which made her shrink and shiver, and she would rather have
+seen the doctor come to her with a teaspoonful of medicine than to
+have her Aunt Ann approach with a bowlful of water, a towel, and a
+great piece of soap.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_112" id="imag_112"></a><img src="images/gs192_01.jpg" width="400" height="467" alt="Bridget and the Fairies" title="" />
+</div>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 198px;">
+<img src="images/gs192_02.jpg" width="198" height="214" alt="Bridget and the Fairies" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>For a long time little Bridget believed that there was no escape from
+this terrible daily trial, but one bright morning, when she awoke very
+early, long before any one else in the house, she thought that it was
+too bad, when everything else was so happy,&mdash;when the birds and
+butterflies were flying about so gayly in the early sunbeams, and the
+flowers were all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>so gay and bright, and smelling so sweet and
+contented, that she should have to lie there on her little bed until
+her Aunt Ann came with that horrible soap and towel! She made up her
+mind! She wouldn't stand it; she would run away before she came to
+wash her. For one morning she would be happy.</p>
+
+<p>So up she jumped, and without stopping to dress herself, ran out among
+the birds and flowers.</p>
+
+<p>She rambled along by the brook, where the sand felt so nice and soft
+to her bare feet; she wandered through the woods, where she found
+blackberries and wild strawberries, and beautiful ferns; and she
+wandered on and on, among the rocks and the trees, and over the grass
+and the flowers, until she sat down by a great tree to rest. Then,
+without intending anything of the kind, she went fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>She had not slept more than five minutes, before along came a troop of
+fairies, and you may be assured that they were astonished enough to
+see a little girl lying fast asleep on the grass, at that time in the
+morning.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I never!" said the largest fairy, who was the Principal One.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor I," said the Next Biggest; "It's little Bridget, and with such a
+dirty face! Just look! She has been eating blackberries and
+strawberries&mdash;and raspberries too, for all I know; for you remember,
+brother, that a face dirtied with raspberries is very much like one
+dirtied with strawberries."</p>
+
+<p>"Very like, indeed, brother," said the Principal One, "and look at her
+feet! She's been walking in the wet sand!"</p>
+
+<p>"And her hands!" cried the Very Least, "what hands! They're all
+smeared over with mixtures of things."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said the Next Biggest, "she is certainly a dirty little girl,
+but what's to be done?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Done?" said the Principal One. "There is only one thing to be done,
+and that is to wash her. There can be no doubt about that."</p>
+
+<p>All the fairies agreed that nothing could be more sensible than to
+wash little Bridget, and so they gathered around her, and, with all
+gentleness, some of them lifted her up and carried her down towards
+the brook, while the others danced about her, and jumped over her, and
+hung on to long fern leaves, and scrambled among the bushes, and were
+as merry as a boxful of crickets.</p>
+
+<p>When they approached the brook, one of the fairies jumped in to see if
+the water was warm enough, and the Principal One and the Next Biggest
+held a consultation, as to how little Bridget should be washed.</p>
+
+<p>"Shall we just souse her in?" said the Next Biggest.</p>
+
+<p>"I hardly think so," said the Principal One. "She may not be used to
+that sort of thing, and she might take cold. It will be best just to
+lay her down on the bank and wash her there."</p>
+
+<p>So little Bridget, who had never opened her eyes all this time (and no
+wonder, for you will find, if you are ever carried by fairies while
+you are asleep, that they will bear you along so gently that you will
+never know it), was brought to the brook and laid softly down by the
+water's edge.</p>
+
+<p>Then all the fairies set to work in good earnest. Some dipped clover
+blossoms in the water, and washed and rubbed her mouth and cheeks
+until there was not a sign left of strawberry or blackberry stain;
+others gathered fern leaves and soft grass, and washed her little feet
+until they were as white as lambs' wool; and the Very Least, who had
+been the one to carry her hand, now washed it with ever so many
+morning-glory-blossom-fuls of water and rubbed it dry with soft clean
+moss.</p>
+
+<p>Other fairies curled her hair around flower stalks, while some
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>scattered sweet smelling blossoms about her, until there was never
+such a sweet, clean, and fragrant little girl in the whole world.</p>
+
+<p>And all this time she never opened her eyes. But no wonder, for if you
+are ever washed by fairies while you are asleep, you will find that
+you will never know it.</p>
+
+<p>When all was done, and not a speck of dirt was to be seen anywhere on
+little Bridget, the fairies took her gently up and carried her to her
+mother's house, for they knew very well where she lived. There they
+laid her down on the doorstep, where it was both warm and shady, and
+they all scampered away as fast as their funny little legs could carry
+them.</p>
+
+<p>It was now about the right time in the morning to get up, and very
+soon the front door opened and out came Aunt Ann, with a bucket on her
+arm, which she was going to fill at the well for the purpose of giving
+little Bridget her morning wash.</p>
+
+<p>When Aunt Ann saw the little girl lying on the door step she was so
+astonished that she came very near dropping the bucket.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I never!" said she, "if it isn't little Bridget, and just as
+clean as a new pin! I do declare I believe the sweet innocent has
+jumped out of bed early, and gone and washed and combed herself, just
+to save me the trouble!"</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Ann's voice was nothing like so soft and gentle as a fairy's, and
+it woke up little Bridget.</p>
+
+<p>"You lovely dear!" cried her Aunt, "I hadn't the least idea in the
+world that you were such a smart little thing, and there is no doubt
+but that you are now old enough to wash and dress yourself, and after
+this you may do it!"</p>
+
+<p>So, after that, Bridget washed and dressed herself, and was just as
+happy as the birds, the butterflies, and flowers.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_113" id="imag_113"></a><img src="images/gs196.jpg" width="600" height="373" alt="Flat-Fish" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="SOME_NOVEL_FISHING" id="SOME_NOVEL_FISHING"></a>SOME NOVEL FISHING.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Fishing has one great peculiarity which makes it often vastly more
+interesting than hunting, gunning, or many other sports of the kind,
+and that is that you never know exactly what you are going to get.</p>
+
+<p>If we fish in waters known to us, we may be pretty sure of what we
+shall <i>not</i> get, but even in our most familiar creeks and rivers, who
+can say that the fish which is tugging at our line is certainly a
+perch, a cat-fish, or an eel? We know that we shall not pull up a shad
+or a salmon, but there is always a chance for some of those great
+prizes which are to be found, by rare good luck, in every river and
+good-sized stream; a rock-fish, or striped-bass perhaps, or a pike, or
+enormous chub.</p>
+
+<p>But there are some fish which would not only gratify but astonish
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>most of us, if we could be so fortunate as to pull them out of the
+water. For instance, here are some fish with both their eyes on one
+side of their heads.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_114" id="imag_114"></a><img src="images/gs197.jpg" width="600" height="382" alt="Turbots" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>These are Turbots, and are accounted most excellent eating. They
+resemble, in their conformation but not in their color, our flounders
+or flat-fish, which some of you may have caught, and many of you have
+eaten. These fish lie on one side, at the very bottom of the water in
+which they live, and consequently one eye would be buried in the mud
+and would be of no use, if they were formed like common fish. But as
+their enemies and their food must come from above them, they need both
+their eyes placed so that they can always look upwards. In the picture
+at the head of this article, you will see <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>some Soles lying together
+at the bottom. These are formed in the same way. They are white on one
+side, which is always down except when they are swimming about, and a
+very dark green on the other, so that they can scarcely be
+distinguished from the mud when they are lying at the bottom. The
+Turbot, however, as you see, is very handsomely spotted.</p>
+
+<p>But there are much stranger fish than these flat fellows, and we must
+take a look at some of them. What would you say if you were to pull up
+such a fish as this on your hook?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_115" id="imag_115"></a><img src="images/gs198.jpg" width="400" height="367" alt="The Sea-Horse" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This is a <i>Hippocampus</i>, or sea-horse. He is a little fellow, only a
+few inches in length, but he is certainly a curiosity. With a head and
+neck very much like those of a horse, he seems to take pleasure in
+keeping himself in such a position as will enable him to imitate a
+high mettled charger to the greatest advantage. He curves his neck and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>holds up his head in a manner which few horses adopt, unless they are
+reined up very tightly. I have seen these little fellows in aquariums,
+and have always regarded them as the most interesting of fishes.</p>
+
+<p>But although it is by no means probable that any of us will ever catch
+a sea-horse, we might get even stranger fish upon our hooks. If we had
+a very large hook, a long and strong line, and a tempting bait, it is
+just possible, if we were to go to exactly the right spot, and had
+extraordinary good fortune, that we might catch such a beauty as this.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_116" id="imag_116"></a><img src="images/gs199.jpg" width="600" height="376" alt="The Cuttle-Fish" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This fellow you will probably recognize as the Cuttle-fish. Some
+persons call it the Devil-fish, but the name is misapplied. The
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>Devil-fish is a different kind of a sea monster. But the Cuttle-fish
+is bad enough to have the very worst name that could be bestowed upon
+him. Those great arms, which sometimes grow to a length of several
+feet, he uses to wrap around his prey, and they are strong and tough.
+He has two eyes and a little mouth, and is about as pugnacious a fish
+as is to be found anywhere. If I should ever haul a Cuttle-fish into
+my boat, I think I should feel very much like getting out, no matter
+how deep the water might be.</p>
+
+<p>There was once a sea captain, who was walking on a beach with some of
+his men, when he spied one of these Cuttle-fish, travelling over the
+sand towards the water. He thought it would be a fine thing to capture
+such a strange fish, and he ran after it, and caught hold of one of
+its legs. But he soon wished that it had got away from him, for the
+horrid creature turned on him, and wrapped several of its long arms or
+legs&mdash;whichever they may be&mdash;around him, and the poor captain soon
+began to fear that he himself would not be able to escape.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_117" id="imag_117"></a><img src="images/gs201.jpg" width="400" height="422" alt="The Polypier" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>Nothing that he could do would loosen the hold of the monster upon
+him, and if it had not been for a sailor who ran up with a hatchet and
+cut the limbs of the Cuttle-fish from its body, the poor captain might
+have perished in the embrace of this most disagreeable of all fishes.
+There are a great many stories told of this fish, and it is very
+probable that all the worst ones are true. Canary birds are very fond
+of pecking at the bones taken from small Cuttle-fish, and India-ink is
+made from a black substance that it secretes, but I would rather do
+without canary birds altogether, and never use India-ink, than to be
+obliged to catch my own Cuttle-fish.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_118" id="imag_118"></a><img src="images/gs202.jpg" width="400" height="628" alt="Tunnies" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>But while we are hauling strange things up from the deep, suppose we
+take something that is not exactly a fish, but which is alive and
+lives in the water. What do you think of a living thing like this?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This is a polypier, and its particular name is the <i>fungia</i> being so
+called because it resembles a vegetable fungus. The animal lives
+inside of that circular shell, which is formed something like the
+under side of a toad-stool. Between the thin plates, or leaves, the
+polypier thrusts out its arms with little suckers at the ends. With
+these it seizes its food and conveys it to its mouth, which is
+situated at the centre of its body.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>But there are more strange fish in the sea than we can ever mention,
+and the strange fish are by no means the most profitable. Still there
+is a pleasure in fishing, no matter what we pull up.</p>
+
+<p>The greatest fishers in the world are fish. The Whale will catch, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>in
+the course of a day, enough herring to last a family for many years,
+and in all the rivers and oceans and lakes, fishing is going on so
+constantly and extensively that the efforts of man in that direction
+seem ridiculous, by contrast.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>The Tunny, a large fish, measuring from two to five feet in ordinary
+length, is a great fisher. He, like the Whale, is fond of herrings,
+and he likes them fresh, not salt, smoked, or pickled. Often, when the
+fishermen are busy in their boats, setting their nets for herring, a
+troupe of Tunnies will come along, and chase the herring in every
+direction, swallowing every unfortunate fellow that they can catch.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the fishers that live in the sea are terrible fellows, and are
+by no means content with such small game as herring. The Sword-fish,
+for instance, always appears to prefer large victims, and he has <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>such
+strong tastes of that kind, that he has been known to attack ships,
+driving his long sword clean through the bottom of the vessel. But he
+generally comes off second best on such occasions, for his sword is
+very often broken off and left sticking fast in the thick hull.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_119" id="imag_119"></a><img src="images/gs203.jpg" width="600" height="361" alt="The Sword-Fish" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>The Sword-fish has a better chance when he attacks a Whale, and this
+he has often been known to do. The Whale could probably kill the
+Sword-fish, if he could get one good crack at him, but the smaller
+fish is generally active enough to keep out of the way of harm, while
+he drives his sword into the Whale again and again, until the great
+creature often perishes from loss of blood.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_120" id="imag_120"></a><img src="images/gs204.jpg" width="400" height="369" alt="The Shark" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>The Shark, as you all know, is the most ferocious and dangerous <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>of
+all the fishers in the sea. He considers anything suitable for a meal
+which will go into his mouth; he will eagerly snap at a man, a mouse,
+or even a tin coffee-pot, or a band-box. So savage and relentless is
+this "tiger of the sea" as he is sometimes called, that it is
+gratifying to think that he occasionally goes out fishing and gets
+caught himself. Many instances have been related of natives of the
+Pacific Islands, who are accustomed to bathe so much in the ocean that
+they swim almost like fishes themselves, who have successfully given
+battle to Sharks which have pursued them. The Shark is unable, from
+the peculiar formation of his mouth, to seize the man, unless he can
+turn partially over. Therefore the man takes care to keep below the
+Shark, and a few stabs with his long knife are generally sufficient to
+finish the combat, and to slay the monster.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>Still, although it appears so easy to kill a Shark in this way, I
+think it will generally be found preferable to try for some other kind
+of fish.</p>
+
+<p>Let others go seek the Shark, the Sword-fish, or the squirming
+Cuttle-fish. Give us the humble Perch and the tender Trout. Don't you
+say so?</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_121" id="imag_121"></a><img src="images/gs205.jpg" width="500" height="738" alt="THE CHILD AND THE EAGLE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CHILD AND THE EAGLE.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="EAGLES_AND_LITTLE_GIRLS" id="EAGLES_AND_LITTLE_GIRLS"></a>EAGLES AND LITTLE GIRLS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Many years ago, among the mountains of Switzerland, an Eagle pounced
+down upon a little girl, and carried her away. Her parents were
+harvesting in the field, and they did not notice the danger of their
+little daughter, until the great bird had lifted her up in his talons,
+and was flying away with her to his nest in the mountain crags.</p>
+
+<p>I remember having read all the particulars of this remarkable affair,
+but I forget whether the child was rescued alive or not. At any rate
+let us hope that she was.</p>
+
+<p>But this incident suggests the following question: Ought little girls
+to be allowed to play out of doors in countries where there are
+Eagles?</p>
+
+<p>Many a child, after looking at such a picture as that upon the
+opposite page, might reasonably stand in awe of the national bird of
+our country; but I will state that it is my firm belief that a child
+runs quite as much risk of being swallowed up by an earthquake as it
+does of being carried away by an Eagle.</p>
+
+<p>There have been a few instances where the bald-headed Eagle of this
+country&mdash;(so called, not because its head is bald, but because it is
+gray)&mdash;has attacked children, but these cases are very rare indeed.
+The Eagle which carried off the little girl in Switzerland was of a
+very different kind from the national emblem of America,&mdash;much more
+powerful and fierce. But even in Switzerland, if the children all
+lived until they were carried away by Eagles, the country would soon
+become like one great school-house yard.</p>
+
+<p>So, looking at the matter in all its various aspects, I think that we
+may reasonably conclude that little girls, when they play out of
+doors, are in more danger from horses, dogs, snakes, and bad company,
+than of being attacked by Eagles, and the children may all look upon
+the picture of the Eagle of the Alps and its baby prey without a
+shudder on their own account.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_122" id="imag_122"></a><img src="images/gs207.jpg" width="400" height="671" alt="Climbing the Mountain" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="CLIMBING_MOUNTAINS" id="CLIMBING_MOUNTAINS"></a>CLIMBING MOUNTAINS.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>There is nothing which can give us grander ideas of Nature than to
+stand on the top of a high Mountain. But it is very hard to get there.
+And yet there are very few Mountains in the world which have not been
+ascended by man.</p>
+
+<p>For hundreds of years, Mont Blanc, that lofty peak of the Alps, was
+considered absolutely inaccessible, but it is now frequently ascended.
+Even ladies, and some of them Americans, have stood upon its summit.</p>
+
+<p>But few persons, except those who have actually made the ascent of
+high and precipitous Mountains, have any idea of the dangers and
+difficulties of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>undertaking. The adventurers are obliged to wear
+shoes studded with strong iron spikes to prevent slipping; they carry
+long poles with iron points by which they assist themselves up the
+steep inclines; they are provided with ladders, and very often the
+whole party fasten themselves together with a long rope, so that if
+one slips the others may prevent him from falling.</p>
+
+<p>Where there are steep and lofty precipices, crumbling rocks, and
+overhanging cliffs, such as those which obstruct the path of the party
+whose toilsome journey is illustrated in the accompanying engraving,
+the feat of climbing a Mountain is hazardous and difficult enough; but
+when heights are reached where the rocks are covered with ice, where
+deep clefts are concealed by a treacherous covering of snow where
+avalanches threaten the traveller at every step, and where the
+mountain-side often seems as difficult to climb as a pane of glass,
+the prospect seems as if it ought to appal the stoutest heart.</p>
+
+<p>But some hearts are stouter than we think, and up those icy rocks,
+along the edges of bewildering precipices, over, under, and around
+great masses of rock, across steep glaciers where every footstep must
+be made in a hole cut in the ice, brave men have climbed and crept and
+gradually and painfully worked their way, until at last they stood
+proudly on the summit, and gazed around at the vast expanse of
+mountains, plains, valleys, and forests, spread far and wide beneath
+them.</p>
+
+<p>In Europe there are regular associations or clubs of
+mountain-climbers, which at favorable periods endeavor to make the
+ascent of lofty and difficult Mountains. Nearly every peak of the
+Pyrenees and the Alps has felt the feet of these adventurers, who take
+as much delight in their dangerous pursuits as is generally found by
+the happiest of those who are content with the joys of ordinary
+altitudes.</p>
+
+<p>We have very many grand Mountains in our country, but we have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>not yet
+reduced their ascent to such a system as that which these Alpine clubs
+have adopted. But very many of our countrymen have climbed to the
+loftiest peaks of the White Mountains, the Catskills, the Alleghenies,
+and the Rocky Mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Mountain-climbing is certainly dangerous, and it is about the hardest
+labor of which man is capable, but the proud satisfaction of standing
+upon a mountain-top repays the climber for all the labor, and makes
+him forget all the dangers that he has passed through.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_123" id="imag_123"></a><img src="images/gs210.jpg" width="500" height="681" alt="Andrew and Jenny" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="ANDREWS_PLAN" id="ANDREWS_PLAN"></a>ANDREW'S PLAN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>"Oh, Andy!" said little Jenny Murdock, "I'm so glad you came along
+this way. I can't get over."</p>
+
+<p>"Can't get over?" said Andrew; "why, what's the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"The bridge is gone," said Jenny. "When I came across after <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>breakfast
+it was there, and now it's over on the other side, and how can I get
+back home?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why so it is," said Andrew. "It was all right when I came over a
+little while ago, but Old Donald pulls it on the other side every
+morning after he has driven his cows across, and I don't think he has
+any right to do it. I expect he thinks the bridge was made for him and
+his cows."</p>
+
+<p>"Now I must go down to the big bridge, Andy, and I want you to come
+with me. I'm afraid to go through all those dark woods by myself,"
+said Jenny.</p>
+
+<p>"But I can't go, Jenny," said Andrew; "it's nearly school time now."</p>
+
+<p>Andrew was a Scotch boy, and a fine fellow. He was next to the head of
+his school, and he was as good at play as he was at his books. Jenny
+Patterson, his most particular friend, was a little girl who lived
+very near Andrew's home. She had no brothers or sisters, but Andrew
+had always been as good as a brother to her, and therefore, when she
+stood by the water's edge that morning, just ready to burst into
+tears, she thought all her troubles over when she saw Andrew approach.
+He had always helped her out of her difficulties before, and she saw
+no reason why he should not do it now. She had crossed the creek in
+search of wild flowers, and when she wished to return had found the
+bridge removed, as Andrew supposed, by Old Donald McKenzie, who
+pastured his cows on this side of the creek. This stream was not very
+wide, nor very deep at its edges, but in the centre it was four or
+five feet deep, and in the Spring there was quite a strong current, so
+that wading across it, either by cattle or men, was quite a difficult
+undertaking. As for Jenny, she could not get across at all without a
+bridge, and there was none nearer than the wagon bridge, a mile and a
+half below.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You will go with me, Andy, won't you?" said the little girl.</p>
+
+<p>"And be late to school?" said he. "I have never been late yet, you
+know, Jenny."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps Dominie Black will think you have been sick, or had to mind
+the cows," said Jenny.</p>
+
+<p>"He won't think so unless I tell him," said Andrew, "and you know I
+won't do that."</p>
+
+<p>"If we were to run all the way, would you be too late?" said Jenny.</p>
+
+<p>"If we were to run all the way to the bridge and I was to run all the
+way back, I would not get to school till after copy-time. I expect
+every minute to hear the school-bell ring," said Andrew.</p>
+
+<p>"But what can I do, then?" said poor little Jenny. "I can't wait here
+till school's out, and I don't want to go up to the school-house, for
+all the boys to laugh at me."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Andrew, reflecting very seriously, "I must take you home
+some way or other. It won't do to leave you here, and no matter where
+you might stay, your mother would be troubled to death about you."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Jenny, "she would think I was drowned."</p>
+
+<p>Time pressed, and Jenny's countenance became more and more overcast,
+but Andrew could think of no way in which he could take the little
+girl home without being late and losing his standing in the school.</p>
+
+<p>It was impossible to get her across the stream at any place nearer
+than the "big bridge;" he would not take her that way and make up a
+false story to account for his lateness at school, and he could not
+leave her alone or take her with him.</p>
+
+<p>What in the world was to be done?</p>
+
+<p>While several absurd and impracticable projects were passing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>through
+his brain the school-bell began to ring, and he must start immediately
+to reach the school-house in time.</p>
+
+<p>And now his anxiety and perplexity became more intense than ever, and
+Jenny, looking up into his troubled countenance, began to cry.</p>
+
+<p>Andrew, who never before had failed to be at the school door before
+the first tap of the bell, began to despair.</p>
+
+<p>Was there nothing to be done?</p>
+
+<p>Yes! a happy thought passed through his mind. How strange that he
+should not have thought of it before!</p>
+
+<p>He would ask Dominie Black to let him take Jenny home.</p>
+
+<p>What could be more sensible and straightforward than such a plan?</p>
+
+<p>Of course the good old Schoolmaster gave Andrew the desired
+permission, and everything ended happily. But the best thing about the
+whole affair was the lesson that young Scotch boy learned that day.</p>
+
+<p>And the lesson was this: when we are puzzling our brains with plans to
+help ourselves out of our troubles, let us always stop a moment in our
+planning, and try to think if there is not some simple way out of the
+difficulty, which shall be in every respect <i>perfectly right</i>. If we
+do that we shall probably find the way, and also find it much more
+satisfactory as well as easier than any of our ingenious and elaborate
+plans.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_124" id="imag_124"></a><img src="images/gs214.jpg" width="500" height="719" alt="WILD ASSES." title="" />
+<span class="caption">WILD ASSES.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_WILD_ASS" id="THE_WILD_ASS"></a>THE WILD ASS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>If there is any animal in the whole world that receives worse
+treatment or is held in less esteem than the ordinary Jackass, I am
+very sorry for it.</p>
+
+<p>With the exception of a few warm countries, where this animal grows to
+a large size, and is highly valued, the Jackass or Donkey is
+everywhere considered a stupid beast, a lazy beast, an obstinate
+beast, and very often a vicious beast. To liken any one to a Jackass
+is to use very strong language.</p>
+
+<p>In many cases, this character of the Donkey (with the exception of the
+stupidity, for very few Donkeys are stupid, although they try to seem
+so) is correct, but nevertheless it is doubtful if the animal is much
+to blame for it. There is every reason to believe that the dullness
+and laziness of the Donkey is owing entirely to his association with
+man.</p>
+
+<p>For proof of this assertion, we have but to consider the Ass in his
+natural state.</p>
+
+<p>There can be no reasonable doubt but that the domestic Ass is
+descended from the Wild Ass of Asia and Africa, for the two animals
+are so much alike that it would be impossible, by the eye alone, to
+distinguish the one from the other.</p>
+
+<p>But, except in appearance, they differ very much. The tame Ass is
+gentle, and generally fond of the society of man; the wild Ass is one
+of the shyest creatures in the world; even when caught it is almost
+impossible to tame him. The tame Ass is slow, plodding, dull, and
+lazy; the wild Ass is as swift as a race-horse and as wild as a Deer.
+The best mounted horsemen can seldom approach him, and it is generally
+necessary to send a rifle-ball after him, if he is wanted <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>very much.
+His flesh is considered a great delicacy, which is another difference
+between him and the tame animal.</p>
+
+<p>If any of you were by accident to get near enough to a wild Ass to
+observe him closely, you would be very apt to suppose him to be one of
+those long-eared fellows which must be beaten and stoned and punched
+with sticks, if you want to get them into the least bit of a trot, and
+which always want to stop by the roadside, if they see so much as a
+cabbage-leaf or a tempting thistle.</p>
+
+<p>But you would find yourself greatly mistaken and astonished when, as
+soon as this wild creature discovered your presence, he went dashing
+away, bounding over the gullies and brooks, clipping it over the
+rocks, scudding over the plains, and disappearing in the distance like
+a runaway cannon-ball.</p>
+
+<p>And yet if some of these fleet and spirited animals should be
+captured, and they and their descendants for several generations
+should be exposed to all sorts of privations and hardships; worked
+hard as soon as their spirits were broken, fed on mean food and very
+little of it; beaten, kicked, and abused; exposed to cold climates, to
+which their nature does not suit them, and treated in every way as our
+Jackasses are generally treated, they would soon become as slow, poky,
+and dull as any Donkey you ever saw.</p>
+
+<p>If we have nothing else, it is very well to have a good ancestry, and
+no nobleman in Europe is proportionately as well descended as the
+Jackass.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="ANCIENT_RIDING" id="ANCIENT_RIDING"></a>ANCIENT RIDING.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There are a great many different methods by which we can take a ride.
+When we are very young we are generally very well pleased with what
+most boys and girls call "piggy-back" riding, and when we get older we
+delight in horses and carriages, and some of us even take pleasure in
+the motion of railroad cars.</p>
+
+<p>Other methods are not so pleasant. Persons who have tried it say that
+riding a Camel, a little Donkey, or a rail, is exceedingly
+disagreeable until you are used to it, and there are various other
+styles of progression which are not nearly so comfortable as walking.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_126" id="imag_126"></a><img src="images/gs217.jpg" width="500" height="818" alt="The Palanquin" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>There were in ancient <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>times contrivances for riding which are at
+present entirely unknown, except among half-civilized nations, and
+which must have been exceedingly pleasant.</p>
+
+<p>When, for instance, an Egyptian Princess wished to take the air, she
+seated herself in a Palanquin, which was nothing but a comfortable
+chair, with poles at the sides, and her bearers, with the ends of the
+poles upon their shoulders, bore her gently and easily along, while an
+attendant with a threefold fan kept the sun from her face and gently
+fanned her as she rode.</p>
+
+<p>Such a method of riding must have been very agreeable, for the
+shoulders of practised walkers impart to the rider a much more elastic
+and agreeable motion than the best made springs, and, for a well fed,
+lazy Princess nothing could have been more charming than to be borne
+thus beneath the waving palm-trees, and by the banks of the streams
+where the lotus blossomed at the water's edge, and the Ibis sniffed
+the cooling breeze.</p>
+
+<p>But when the father or brother of the Princess wished to ride,
+especially if it happened to be a time of war, he frequently used a
+very different vehicle from an easy-going Palanquin.</p>
+
+<p>He sprang into his war-chariot, and his driver lashed the two fiery
+horses into a gallop, while their master aimed his arrows or hurled
+his javelin at the foe.</p>
+
+<p>Riding in these chariots was not a very great luxury, especially to
+those who were not accustomed to that kind of carriage exercise. There
+were no seats, nor any springs. The riders were obliged to stand up,
+and take all the bumps that stones and roots chose to give them, and
+as they generally drove at full speed, these were doubtless many and
+hard. There was in general no back to these Chariots, and a sudden
+jerk of the horses would shoot the rider out behind, unless he knew
+how to avoid such accidents.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We of the present day would be apt to turn up our noses at these
+ancient conveyances, but there can be no doubt that the Egyptian
+Princesses and warriors derived just as much pleasure from their
+Palanquins and rough-going war-chariots as the ladies of to-day find
+in an easy-rolling barouche, or the gentlemen in a light buggy and a
+fast horse.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_127" id="imag_127"></a><img src="images/gs219.jpg" width="600" height="386" alt="The Chariot" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="BEAUTIFUL_BUGS" id="BEAUTIFUL_BUGS"></a>BEAUTIFUL BUGS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>We are not apt&mdash;I am speaking now of mankind in general&mdash;to be very
+fond of bugs. There is a certain prejudice against these little
+creatures, which is, in very many cases, entirely unwarranted. The
+fact is that most bugs are harmless, and a great many of them are
+positively beautiful, if we will but take the trouble to look at them
+properly, and consider their wonderful forms and colors. To be sure,
+many insects to which we give the general name of bugs are quite
+destructive in our orchards and gardens, but, for all that, they are
+only eating their natural food, and although we may be very glad to
+get rid of our garden bugs as a body, we can have nothing to say
+against any particular bug. None of them are more to blame than the
+robins and other birds, which eat our cherries and whatever else we
+have that they like, and we never call a robin "horrid" because he
+destroys our fruit. True, the insects exist in such great numbers that
+it is absolutely necessary for us to kill as many of them as possible,
+and it is very fortunate that the robins and black-birds are of so
+much benefit to us that we are glad to let them live.</p>
+
+<p>But all this should not make us despise the bugs any more than they
+deserve, particularly as they are just as beautiful as the birds, if
+we only look at them in the right way. A microscope will reveal
+beauties in some of the commonest insects, which will positively
+astonish those who have never before studied bugs as they ought to be
+studied. The most brilliant colors, the most delicate tracery and
+lace-work over the wings and bodies; often the most graceful forms and
+beautifully-contrived limbs and bodies and wing-cases and antenn&aelig;, are
+to be seen in many bugs when they are placed beneath the glasses of
+the microscope.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_128" id="imag_128"></a><img src="images/gs221.jpg" width="500" height="773" alt="TRANSFORMATIONS OF BEETLES." title="" />
+<span class="caption">TRANSFORMATIONS OF BEETLES.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But there are insects which do not need the aid of magnifying glasses
+to show us their beauties.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the Beetles, especially the large ones, are so gorgeously
+colored and so richly polished that they are imitated, as closely as
+Art can imitate Nature, in precious stones and worn as ornaments.</p>
+
+<p>There are few living things more beautiful than a great Beetle,
+glittering in resplendent green and gold, and the girl (or woman
+either) who will hold one of these in her hand or let it crawl upon
+her arm while she examines its varied colors, shows a capacity for
+perceiving and enjoying the beauties of nature that should be envied
+by those who would dash the pretty creature upon the floor,
+exclaiming, "That horrid bug!"</p>
+
+<p>There are many insects with which we need not desire to be too
+familiar, such as Mosquitoes, Fleas, Wasps, and Bees; but when a "bug"
+is harmless as well as beautiful, there is no reason why we should not
+treat it as a friend. Who is afraid of a Butterfly?</p>
+
+<p>And yet a Butterfly is really just as much a bug as a Beetle is. The
+fact is that the term "bug" is applied with a certain propriety to
+many insects which are not at all pleasant (although the Lightning Bug
+is an exception), and we should therefore be very careful about giving
+what has grown to be a bad name to insects that do not deserve it, and
+should avoid treating such as if they were as ugly and disagreeable as
+the name would seem to imply.</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_129" id="imag_129"></a><img src="images/gs223.jpg" width="600" height="375" alt="A BATTLE ON STILTS." title="A BATTLE ON STILTS." />
+
+</div>
+<h2><a name="A_BATTLE_ON_STILTS" id="A_BATTLE_ON_STILTS"></a>A BATTLE ON STILTS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the year 1748 the great Marshal Saxe, who was travelling through
+the Low Countries, came to the town of Namur in Belgium. There the
+citizens did everything in their power to make his stay pleasant and
+to do him honor, and among other things they got up a battle on
+stilts. These inhabitants of Namur were well used to stilts, for their
+town, which has a river on each side of it, lay very low, and was
+subject to overflows, when the people were obliged to use stilts in
+order to walk about the streets. In this way they became very expert
+in the use of these slim, wooden legs, and to make their stilts
+amusing as well as useful they used to have stilt-battles on all
+holidays and great occasions.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The young men of the town, two or three hundred on each side, would
+then form themselves into opposing armies, and with flags flying and
+trumpets blowing they would advance to the attack.</p>
+
+<p>And they fought hard and well. It was against the rule to use any club
+or similar weapon, or to strike with the fists. Punching with their
+elbows, to push each other down, and kicking with their stilts, to
+knock their opponents' legs from under them, were the methods of
+assault in this kind of warfare.</p>
+
+<p>The battle often lasted for an hour or two, the armies fighting and
+shouting, advancing and retreating; while their wives and sisters
+stood around them, encouraging them by shouts and hand-clapping, and
+when an unfortunate fellow was knocked down, these women would hasten
+to his assistance, and help him up again as soon as he had recovered
+from his fall.</p>
+
+<p>This was pretty rough sport, for the combatants fought as if their
+lives and fortunes depended upon the victory, and although they did
+not often seriously injure one another, there must have been many a
+sore head and bruised leg and arm after the battle was over.</p>
+
+<p>Marshal Saxe knew all about fighting, and on this occasion he
+declared, that if two real armies should engage with as much fury as
+these young fellows on stilts, the battle would be a butchery.</p>
+
+<p>At another time, when the Archduke Albert came to Namur, the citizens
+had one of these stilt-battles, and it proved a very profitable one to
+them. Before the fight began, the governor of the city promised the
+Archduke to show him a battle between two bodies of men, who would be
+neither on horseback nor on foot; and when the engagement was over,
+Albert was so much pleased that he gave the town the privilege of
+being forever exempt from the duties on beer.</p>
+
+<p>As the good folks of Namur were nearly as good at drinking beer <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>as
+they were at walking on stilts, this was a most valuable present for
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Things are different in this country. It is said that in 1859 a man
+walked across the rapids of the Niagara river on stilts, but I never
+heard of any of his taxes being remitted on that account.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_130" id="imag_130"></a><img src="images/gs226.jpg" width="600" height="366" alt="Drawing the Long Bow" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="DRAWING_THE_LONG_BOW" id="DRAWING_THE_LONG_BOW"></a>DRAWING THE LONG BOW.</h2>
+
+
+<p>When a man has a bow and arrows as long as those used by some of the
+natives of Brazil, so that he has to lie down on his back, and hold
+the bow with his foot when he shoots, he may well be said to draw a
+long bow, but it is not of these people that I now intend to speak.
+Without describing any particular school of archery, I merely wish to
+give a few instances where "the long bow" has been drawn in words,
+about feats with the bow and arrows.</p>
+
+<p>This expression, "drawing the long bow," does not always mean that a
+falsehood has been told. It often refers to a very wonderful story,
+which may be true enough, but which is so marvellous that it requires
+a firm trust in the veracity of the narrator for us to believe it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So now let us see what long bows have been drawn about bows and
+arrows.</p>
+
+<p>Such stories commenced long ago. The poet Virgil, in the "&AElig;neid,"
+tells of four archers who were shooting for a prize, the mark being a
+pigeon, tied by a cord to the mast of a ship. The first man struck the
+mast with his arrow, the second cut the cord, and the third shot the
+pigeon while it was flying away. There now being nothing for the
+fourth archer to shoot at, he just drew his bow, and sent his arrow
+flying towards the sky with such velocity that the friction of the air
+set the feathers on fire, and it swept on, like a fiery meteor, until
+it disappeared in the clouds.</p>
+
+<p>It would be very hard, even in this progressive age, to beat that
+story.</p>
+
+<p>The Greeks could tell tall stories, too, of their archers. An
+historian, named Zosimus, tells of a man who shot, at the same time,
+three arrows from the same bow at three different targets, and hit
+them all! It is to be hoped that his histories contained some things
+easier to believe than this.</p>
+
+<p>But as we approach the present age we still find wonderful narrations
+about archers. Robin Hood, for instance, was a great fellow with the
+bow. It is said that on one occasion he shot an arrow so that it fell
+a mile from where he was standing! A long shot, and hard to be
+equalled by the crack rifles of the present day.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Walter Scott, in "Ivanhoe," introduces Robin Hood under the name
+of Locksley, and in a shooting match, when his opponent had planted
+his arrow right in the centre of the bull's-eye, and everybody, of
+course, thought that nothing better than that could be done, Master
+Robin just steps up and lets fly his arrow, driving it into the arrow
+that was sticking in the target, splitting it from end to end!</p>
+
+<p>And then there is that famous story about William Tell. Many <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>persons
+have their doubts about this performance, and either assert that there
+never was such a person as Tell, or that no man could have confidence
+enough in his own skill to shoot at an apple on his son's head. But I
+prefer to believe this good old story, and, in fact, I see no good
+reason to doubt it. There was a Dane, named Foke, of whom the same
+story is told, and an Englishman, named William of Cloudesley, is said
+to have shot an apple from his son's head merely to show his
+expertness.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the stories of bows and arrows relate to the accurate aim of
+the archers, but here is one which shows the tremendous force by which
+an arrow may be propelled, if the bow is strong and long enough. A
+French gentleman named Blaise de Vigen&egrave;re, says that he <i>saw</i> a Turk,
+named Barbarossa, an admiral of a ship called the Grand Solyman, send
+an arrow from his bow, right through a cannon-ball! He did not state
+whether the cannon-ball had a hole through it, or not.</p>
+
+<p>But I think that the most wonderful, astounding, and altogether
+amazing story about arrow-shooting is told of the Indians who used to
+inhabit Florida. It is stated that these Indians were in the habit of
+assembling, in parties of ten or a dozen, for the purpose of having
+some amusement in archery. They would form themselves into a circle,
+and one of them throwing an ear of maize or Indian corn into the air,
+the rest would shoot at it and would shell it of every grain of corn
+before it fell to the ground. Sometimes, the arrows would strike it so
+hard and fast that it would remain suspended in the air for several
+minutes, and the cob never fell until the very last grain had been
+shot from it!</p>
+
+<p>After such a specimen of the drawing of the long bow as this, it would
+not be well to introduce any feebler illustrations, and so I will keep
+the rest of my anecdotal arrows in my quiver.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;">
+<a name="imag_131" id="imag_131"></a><img src="images/gs229.jpg" width="700" height="437" alt="The Colosseum" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="AN_ANCIENT_THEATRE" id="AN_ANCIENT_THEATRE"></a>AN ANCIENT THEATRE.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>I suppose you are all familiar with pictures of the Colosseum at Rome,
+but unless you have carefully studied detailed descriptions of this
+edifice it is impossible for you to properly comprehend the grand
+style in which the ancients amused themselves.</p>
+
+<p>This great theatre, the ruins of which are now standing in Rome, and
+which will probably stand for hundreds of years longer, was built
+nearly eighteen hundred years ago. It is a vast oval building, four
+stories high, and capable of containing ninety thousand spectators!</p>
+
+<p>Seats, one row above the other like steps, were placed around the
+walls, from top to bottom. There was no roof to the building, and if
+the sun was hot, or it rained, the people were obliged to shelter
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>themselves as well as they could, although it is probable that the
+seats for the emperors and other great dignitaries were protected by
+awnings. In the centre of the building, down at the foot of the seats,
+was the great amphitheatre where the performances took place. And
+wonderful performances they were. There were sometimes great fights
+between lions, tigers, bulls, and bears; sometimes wild beasts were
+slain by men, and sometimes men were slain by wild beasts. There were
+gladiatorial combats, executions of criminals, and many other kinds of
+cruel and barbarous amusements. When the Colosseum was inaugurated,
+five thousand wild beasts were put to death, and afterwards, at the
+celebration of a great victory, eleven thousand animals perished.
+Under the ground, in two vast basement stories, the beasts were kept
+in cages until they were brought up to destroy human life or to be
+butchered themselves.</p>
+
+<p>For six hundred years these barbarous games were celebrated in the
+Colosseum, but it afterwards became a fortress, and it was used at one
+time for a hospital. When it began to decay, many of the inhabitants
+of Rome carried away portions of its materials to build houses for
+themselves, but such depredations have long been forbidden and now the
+Colosseum stands, useless and ruined, a silent memento of the
+wickedness of man. People are bad enough in our age, but the day is
+past, when ninety thousand men, women, and children could be gathered
+together to see other men, women, and children torn and devoured by
+lions and tigers. Let us hope, that by the time the Colosseum has
+entirely crumbled away, men will no longer meet in thousands to kill
+and mangle each other on the battle-field.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_132" id="imag_132"></a><img src="images/gs231.jpg" width="500" height="749" alt="The Cormorants" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BIRD CHAT.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="BIRD_CHAT" id="BIRD_CHAT"></a>BIRD CHAT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In a far-off country, on a summer day, it chanced that two Cormorants
+stood on a great rock, lazily dozing. This rock was by the side of a
+little river that, only a few miles below, flowed into the sea; for
+the Cormorant is a marine bird, and haunts the sea-coast. It was a
+lovely place, although not very far from the habitations of men, and a
+number of cows had laid themselves down in the grassy field that
+surrounded an old ruined temple on the gentle slope of a hill above
+the river. The day had been still and hot, but now a soft breeze was
+stirring the long grasses, and bending the tassels of the reeds
+gracefully over the water, and the scent of flowers came floating down
+from the vines clambering over the old ruin, and the hum of insects
+filled the air.</p>
+
+<p>But I do not think the Cormorants noticed any of these things. Their
+long necks were folded so that their heads nearly rested on their
+backs, for, as I said before, they were dozing. The truth is, these
+birds had eaten so much they had made themselves perfectly stupid,
+which is a bad way the Cormorant has, as, no doubt, you know; for it
+has probably happened to you some time in your life to have indulged
+yourself so freely in eating something that you liked that you have
+been scornfully called "a little Cormorant!"</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_133" id="imag_133"></a><img src="images/gs233.jpg" width="400" height="476" alt="The Bittern" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>But this state of insensibility was passing away, and they were now in
+a gentle doze, and sleeping, thinking of the company they were to
+entertain. For these Cormorants had come to this spot to meet their
+cousin the Pelican to consult with him on some family matters. Upon
+their first arrival at the place they had set to work to get together
+a good supply of fish, for this is the only food of both the Cormorant
+and the Pelican. In a short time they landed a great number, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>bestowed them in a safe place, and then they set to work catching
+fish for themselves and eating them greedily.</p>
+
+<p>You might suppose such a lazy-looking bird would find it impossible to
+catch anything so active as fish. But you should see it when it is
+fully awake and hungry. The bird darts through the water with a speed
+greater than that of the fishes. Its wings can be closed so tightly
+that they do not hinder its progress, and the tail serves for a
+rudder, while the broadly-webbed feet act as paddles. Its long,
+snake-like neck gives it the power of darting its beak with great
+rapidity, and the hook at the end of the beak prevents the prey from
+escaping. The bird is also a diver, and can stay a long time under
+water.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>Our two Cormorants opened their eyes when they heard a slight
+splashing in the water. Something was about to invade their retreat.
+They had not long to wait. Slowly into the stream waded a Bittern.
+Seeing the Cormorants there he stopped; and, drawing himself up into
+as small a compass as possible, he sunk his head in his shoulders, and
+nothing could be seen of his long neck, while his bill was thrust up
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>in the air as if he cared nothing for his neighbors or their affairs.
+The Cormorants heartily wished he would go away, and they kept their
+eyes open and watched him, for fear he would spy the fish they had
+carefully hidden in the wet grass, for the Bittern also lives on fish.
+So the Cormorants winked and blinked, and thought how different the
+Bittern looked when on the alert for his prey, or calling his mate.</p>
+
+<p>Many a time had they been roused out of their sleep by the terrible
+night-cry of the Bittern&mdash;a fearful sound, something between the
+neighing of a horse, the bellow of a bull, and a shriek of savage
+laughter, and so loud and deep it seemed to shake the marshy ground.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_134" id="imag_134"></a><img src="images/gs234.jpg" width="400" height="396" alt="The Pelican" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Soon there appeared hovering over them a snowy cloud. As it floated
+nearer it proved to be a magnificent Pelican with its gigantic wings
+outspread. It alighted near the Cormorants, at the foot of a little
+grassy hill. It was an old male bird, very wise and very cunning. He
+greeted his cousin Cormorants cordially, but, ruffling up the crest of
+curled feathers on his head, and shaking his half-folded wings
+angrily, he looked askance at the Bittern.</p>
+
+<p>Now the Bittern is a very unsocial bird, and as he took not the least
+notice of the new comer, the Pelican could not pick a quarrel with
+him. Therefore he turned to his cousins, and said: "I have just come
+from my pleasant home on a rocky island. The waters make music there
+all day long, and the green moss gleams through the white foam, and
+gay-colored fish sparkle in the sunlight; so that when men behold it
+they exclaim: 'See! what a beautiful spot!' There are some birds that
+like dingy pools, where only coarse rushes grow, where there is
+nothing but blight and mildew, where even carrion crows will not fly,
+and at which men shudder."</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_135" id="imag_135"></a><img src="images/gs236.jpg" width="400" height="498" alt="The Hoopoe" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>Now this exactly described the places the Bittern prefers to all
+others; but, as he really considered them very captivating, and hated
+the very sight of mankind, he did not feel abashed by the Pelican's
+stinging rebuke, and perhaps took it for a compliment; and there is no
+knowing how long he would have staid there, if a frisky little Hoopoe
+had not chanced to alight on a tree that had fallen across a foaming
+brook not very far from the group of birds.</p>
+
+<p>Not liking so much company, the Bittern stalked away. The Hoopoe
+nodded so often to the birds that its beautiful tall crest trembled as
+if a breeze stirred it, and having preened its prettily-barred
+feathers for awhile, it began to talk as fast as ever it could.</p>
+
+<p>"I have came from a long distance, and only stopped twice on my way to
+get a meal of insects, which I can dig out of decaying wood <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>with my
+long curved beak, very fast, I can tell you. And what do you think I
+saw in that place I came from? You would never guess. Why, men had
+some pet Cormorants that they had trained to catch fish for them! Oh!
+it was fun! And I heard these men say that in the days of Charles I.
+of England (I hope you know who he is, for I'm sure I don't),
+Cormorants were kept by nobles and kings for the purpose of catching
+fish, and that there was attached to the Court an officer called the
+King's Master of the Cormorants. Did you ever hear the like of that?"</p>
+
+
+
+<p>Although this was strictly true, the Cormorants had never heard of it;
+but, before they could answer, a loud, deep voice cried; "Heigho! What
+is all that?"</p>
+
+<p>The startled birds turned towards the spot from whence the voice
+proceeded, and there, perched on a lonely rock, a good distance to the
+left of them, was a great bird with very large bright eyes and
+powerful curved beak.</p>
+
+<p>Neither the Hoopoe nor Pelican had ever before seen him, but the
+Cormorants knew him very well. He was the Peregrine Falcon. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>And they
+knew him because, like them, he chose rocky ledges, high and
+inaccessible, for his nest. And although his nests were usually on
+loftier crags than theirs, they were quite neighborly, especially as
+they did not chase the same prey, the Cormorants drawing theirs from
+the sea, and the Falcons finding theirs in the air.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_136" id="imag_136"></a><img src="images/gs237.jpg" width="400" height="402" alt="The Falcon" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>"Those people you speak of," said he sternly to the frightened Hoopoe,
+"<i>may</i> have had Cormorants to catch their fish, but I never heard of
+it before. Whereas all history is full of the exploits of my
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>ancestors, and monarchs and nobles spent immense fortunes in buying
+and keeping Falcons that hunted birds grandly."</p>
+
+<p>Now the Hoopoe knew very well that it was not this Falcon, but the
+great Gerfalcon, his cousin, that was formerly held in such high
+esteem; but he did not dare to say so, and, as he must be saying
+something, he turned to the Pelican.</p>
+
+<p>"I have long wanted to meet with you to ask you if is true that you
+tear open your breast with your hooked bill, and feed your young with
+your own blood?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a word of truth in it!" replied the Pelican scornfully, "I am
+often obliged to gather food in places far from home. I do not dive
+into the water like the Cormorant, but catch, with a sidelong snatch
+of my bill, the fish that rise to the surface. This loose skin, that
+is now so folded up under my beak that you can scarcely see it, I can
+distend into an enormous pouch. This I fill with fish, and my wings
+being wide and powerful, I can easily carry a great weight of fish
+through the air. When I reach home I feed my young by pressing my beak
+against my breast, and thus forcing out the enclosed fish. And on the
+tip of my beak is a little curved hook as red as a drop of blood. And
+now you know the whole story."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you," said the Hoopoe, "I must go and tell the storks all about
+it." And away he darted like a streak of colored light. The Falcon,
+too, lazily spread out his large wings, and soared majestically up
+into the air, leaving the Pelican and Cormorants to discuss their
+family affairs and their dinner in peace.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_137" id="imag_137"></a><img src="images/gs239.jpg" width="500" height="192" alt="The Mummy" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="MUMMIES" id="MUMMIES"></a>MUMMIES.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>A mummy is not a very pretty thing to look at; but, considered
+properly, it is certainly interesting. That stiff form, wrapped up
+tightly in ever so many dirty cloths, with a black shrivelled face
+which looks as if it had been cut out of a piece of wood and then
+smoked, was once, no doubt, a very pleasant person to know. If it was
+a woman, it played with the children; sewed a little, perhaps;
+complained of the heat, and went to parties. If it was a man, it
+probably whistled a little, and sang; settled up its accounts, was
+fond of horses, and took an interest in the vegetable garden.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_138" id="imag_138"></a><img src="images/gs240_1.jpg" width="500" height="273" alt="The Stand" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>Most of the mummies that have been brought from Egypt to this country
+were originally kings, princes, princesses, noblemen, and priests, for
+few but those high-born folks could afford to be so well preserved as
+to last all this time; but it is very certain that none of them ever
+imagined that, thousands of years after their death, they would be
+carried away to countries never heard of in their day, and be gazed at
+by people who wore chignons and high-top hats, and who were not born
+until they had been dead three thousand years.</p>
+
+<p>When we consider the care and skill with which the dead Egyptians used
+to be embalmed and encased in their sarcophagi, it is not surprising
+that their poor bodies have been so well preserved. At the head of
+this article you see a mummy as it appears when it has been <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>embalmed
+and wrapped in its bandages. Here is the stand on which it is then
+placed.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_139" id="imag_139"></a><img src="images/gs240_2.jpg" width="500" height="288" alt="The Coffin" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Very often, when the body had been a king or some great personage, its
+face was covered with a mask of thin gold, and its bandages were
+ornamented with pictures and inscriptions.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>When this work of decoration was completed, it was placed in a coffin
+which was made large enough to hold the stand.</p>
+
+<p>This coffin was very handsomely ornamented, and then, in order to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>make everything very secure indeed, it was enclosed in another or
+exterior coffin, which was also decorated in the highest style known
+to Egyptian artists.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_140" id="imag_140"></a><img src="images/gs241.jpg" width="500" height="354" alt="The Outside Coffin" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>One would now suppose that this great king or priest was safe enough,
+looking at the matter in an ordinary light. But the Egyptians did not
+look at these matters in ordinary lights. Quite otherwise. They
+intended the useless bodies of their grandees to be packed away so
+that they should not be disturbed as long as the world lasted, little
+dreaming of the Americans and Europeans who would come along, in a few
+thousand years, and buy them for their museums.</p>
+
+<p>So they put the mummy, with its stand and its two coffins, into a
+great stone box called a sarcophagus, and this was fastened and
+plastered up so as to seem like one solid rock.</p>
+
+<p>Then, if the inmate had ever done anything wonderful (or sometimes, no
+doubt, if he had not been famous for anything in particular), <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>the
+history of his great achievements, real or fancied, was sculptured on
+the stone. These hieroglyphics have been deciphered in several
+instances, and we have learned from them a great deal of Egyptian
+history.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_141" id="imag_141"></a><img src="images/gs242.jpg" width="600" height="363" alt="The Sarcophagus" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Dead poor people, as well as kings and princes, were made into mummies
+in Egypt, but they were not preserved by such costly means as those I
+have mentioned. After they had been embalmed, they were wrapped up as
+well as the means of their relatives would allow, and were placed in
+tombs and vaults, sometimes with but one coffin, and sometimes without
+any.</p>
+
+<p>In many cases the mummy was not buried at all, but kept in the house
+of the family, so that the friends and relatives could always have it
+with them. This may have been very consoling to the ancient Egyptians,
+but to us it seems a truly mournful custom.</p>
+
+<p>And it is by no means distressing to think, that though the people who
+may be in this country three thousand years hence may possibly find
+some of our monuments, they will discover none of our bodies.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_142" id="imag_142"></a><img src="images/gs243.jpg" width="500" height="574" alt="The Tame Snake" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="TAME_SNAKES" id="TAME_SNAKES"></a>TAME SNAKES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>We have often heard of the tamed snakes belonging to the
+serpent-charmers of India and Africa, but it is seldom that the
+harmless serpents of civilized countries have been domesticated. But
+the common snake, sometimes called the garter-snake, which harmlessly
+shows its dark green and yellow colors among the grass and bushes, has
+been tamed and has shown quite a fair amount of respect and affection
+for its human friends.</p>
+
+<p>A French writer relates that he knew a lady who had a snake which was
+so tame that it came when it was called, followed its mistress about,
+climbed up into her lap, and gave many signs of knowing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>and liking
+her. It would even swim after her when she threw it into the water
+from a boat. But this last feat proved fatal to it, for once swimming
+thus and endeavoring to keep up with the boat, the tide became too
+strong for it, and it was carried away and drowned.</p>
+
+<p>I am very much afraid that that lady did not deserve even as much
+affection as the snake gave her.</p>
+
+<p>The boys and girls in France sometimes amuse themselves by getting up
+a snake-team.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_143" id="imag_143"></a><img src="images/gs244.jpg" width="600" height="313" alt="The Novel Team" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>They tie strings to the tails of two common harmless snakes, and then
+they drive them about, using a whip (I hope gently) to make these
+strange steeds keep together and go along lively.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that snakes which have been played with in this way soon
+begin to like their new life, and will allow the children to do what
+they please with them, showing all the time the most amiable
+disposition.</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing very strange in a tamed snake. Toads, tortoises,
+spiders, and many other unpromising animals have been known to show a
+capacity for human companionship, and to become quite tame and
+friendly. In fact, there are very few animals in the world that cannot
+be tamed by man, if man is but kind enough and patient enough.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="GYMNASTICS" id="GYMNASTICS"></a>GYMNASTICS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Every one who has a body that is worth anything at all, ought to do
+his best to keep it in good order, and there is no better way of
+attaining this desirable object than by a proper course of gymnastics.
+And to know just what is proper for certain ages and certain
+individuals, demands a great deal of thought and judgment. Improper
+gymnastics are much worse than none. We can generally, however, find
+those who are able to advise us in regard to the exercise one ought to
+take.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_144" id="imag_144"></a><img src="images/gs245.jpg" width="400" height="279" alt="Youngsters Fighting" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>This necessity of training the body as well as the mind has been
+recognized from the earliest ages, and the ancient Greeks and Romans
+paid as much attention to their gymnasiums as they did to their
+academies; and from their youth, their boys and girls were taught
+those exercises which develop the muscles and ensure good health. Some
+of their methods, however, were not exactly the most praiseworthy. For
+instance, they would encourage their youngsters to fight.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>This engraving, copied from an ancient picture, shows how spiritedly
+the children practised this exercise.</p>
+
+<p>It would have been better if the individual with the stick had laid it
+over the backs of the young combatants, instead of using it to direct
+their struggles.</p>
+
+<p>There are three kinds of gymnastics. By the first we take exercise,
+simply for the sake of the good we gain from it; by the second <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>we
+combine pleasure with our muscular exertion; and the third kind of
+gymnastics is practised for the sake of making money.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_145" id="imag_145"></a><img src="images/gs247.jpg" width="400" height="670" alt="Throwing the Hammer" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>The exercises of the first division are carried on in regular
+gymnasiums or at home, and consist of exercises with dumb-bells, bars,
+suspended rings, poles, and many other appliances with which most boys
+and girls are familiar. Regular practice in a good gymnasium, under
+the direction of a competent teacher, is considered, by those who best
+understand the education of young people, an exceedingly necessary
+part of their education, and gymnastic instruction, both for boys and
+girls, is becoming more popular every year.</p>
+
+<p>We need give but little time to this well understood division of
+gymnastics, but will pass at once to the second class, where diversion
+and exercise are combined. This is by far the best method of gaining
+health and strength, and should be preferred by all instructors
+whenever it is possible to adopt it.</p>
+
+<p>It is of no use to say anything in favor of this plan to the boys and
+girls themselves, for they never fail to choose that form of exercise
+which has a good deal of play in it. And it is well they like it, for
+they will get more benefit from an hour of good, vigorous play, than
+from many lessons in the monotonous exercises in use in the
+gymnasiums.</p>
+
+<p>I shall not now speak of the lively games of boys and girls, by which
+their cheeks grow rosy and their legs and arms grow strong, for we all
+know enough about them, but I will describe some of the athletic
+sports of grown-up folks. There are a great many of these, some of
+which are of great antiquity. Wrestling, boxing, vaulting,
+foot-racing, and similar exercises have been popular for thousands of
+years, and are carried on now with the same spirit as of old.</p>
+
+<p>Out-door sports differ very much in different countries. In the United
+States the great game is, at present, base-ball; in England <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>cricket
+is preferred, and Scotland has athletic amusements peculiar to itself
+In the latter country a very popular game among the strong folks is
+called "throwing the hammer."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_146" id="imag_146"></a><img src="images/gs248.jpg" width="600" height="382" alt="Throwing the Stone" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>These hammers are not exactly what their name implies, being heavy
+balls of brass or iron, fitted to a long handle. The hammer is whirled
+around the head several times and then thrown as far as possible. The
+man who throws it to the greatest distance wins the game.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_147" id="imag_147"></a><img src="images/gs249.jpg" width="400" height="659" alt="Thomas Topham" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>Another game, very much of this order, consists in tossing a heavy
+stone, instead of a hammer. The Scotch call this game "putting the
+stone," sometimes using stones that might be called young rocks, and
+they "put" or throw them in a different way from the people of other
+countries where the game is pop<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>ular. In some of the mountainous
+regions of the continent of Europe the game is played in the manner
+shown in the accompanying engraving.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>But it is impossible, in a short article like this, even to allude to
+all the different kinds of athletic games, and I will now notice some
+of the gymnastics by which people make a living.</p>
+
+<p>Rope-walkers, circus-riders, and acrobats of every kind are now so
+common, that a description of their ordinary performances is
+unnecessary. They are found on every portion of the globe, some of the
+most proficient being now seen in China and Japan.</p>
+
+<p>If any of you have seen the Japanese troupe of acrobats with which
+"Little Allright" was connected, you will understand to what a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>high
+state of perfection physical exercises may be brought by people who
+give up their whole lives to the study and practice of their various
+feats.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>In Europe and this country very remarkable gymnastic performers have
+appeared before the public.</p>
+
+<p>About the middle of the last century, there lived in Derby, England, a
+man by the name of Thomas Topham, who performed in public some
+wonderful feats of strength. At one time he lifted, by a band passed
+over his shoulders, three great casks of water which collectively
+weighed 1,836 pounds.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_148" id="imag_148"></a><img src="images/gs250.jpg" width="400" height="681" alt="Venetian Acrobats" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>He had a platform built for this performance, which was constructed in
+such a way that he could use the whole power of his body and limbs. In
+this feat, however, he has been surpassed by Dr. Winship, of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>Boston,
+who has lifted, in public, heavier weights than Topham ever attempted.</p>
+
+<p>The latter, however, was enormously strong, and performed a great many
+feats which made him quite famous throughout England.</p>
+
+<p>A favorite exhibition of public acrobats is that of pyramids, pillars,
+and other tall edifices, built of men, instead of bricks and stones.
+The Venetians used to be very expert and artistic in their arrangement
+of these exhibitions, and the men composing the human edifice stood as
+immovably and gracefully as if they had been carved out of solid
+stone, instead of being formed of flesh and blood.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>This performance has been made quite common in late years, and I have
+seen the celebrated "Arabs" and other acrobats pile themselves up in a
+most astonishing manner.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<p>One of the most popular, and at the same time dangerous, of all public
+gymnastic exhibitions, is that of rope-walking, and most marvellous
+feats on the tight-rope have been performed in many parts of the
+world. Even in Greece and Rome, men practised this form of gymnastics.
+In later days no one has become more famous than Blondin, who crossed
+the Niagara River on a tight-rope, performing all sorts of eccentric
+feats while balanced on his slender support. He carried a man over on
+his shoulders; he wheeled a wheelbarrow across; he walked the rope
+blindfolded, and did many other things which would be very difficult
+to most people, even if they were standing on solid ground instead of
+being poised on a slender rope stretched high above the waters of a
+rapid river. In this country, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>however, the taste for out-door and
+dangerous rope-walking is not so general as it is in some countries of
+Europe, where it is quite common to see acrobats walking on ropes
+stretched from the top of one high building, or steeple, to another.
+In Venice, for instance, rope-dancers have often skipped and played on
+ropes reaching from the summits of two of the loftiest towers of that
+beautiful city.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_149" id="imag_149"></a><img src="images/gs251.jpg" width="400" height="661" alt="The Tight-Rope" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>The Turks were once noted for their great proficiency in rope walking,
+but they have been equalled by Japanese, European, and American
+performers. Many women have been famous in this line, and a Madame
+Sacqui, a Frenchwoman, was such an expert artist that one of her
+countrymen likened her to a "Homeric goddess" (although I do not know
+how Juno or Minerva would have looked on a tight-rope), and asserted
+that her boldness and agility were the glory of the First Empire! This
+infatuated Frenchman must have considered glory to have been very
+scarce in his country in Madame Sacqui's day. There was a French baby,
+however, who surpassed this lady, for the little one walked on the
+tight-rope before she could walk on the ground, and afterwards became
+famous enough to perform, in 1814, before an assembly of kings&mdash;the
+allied sovereigns of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>The public performers of different kinds of gymnastic feats often make
+a great deal of money; but they sometimes break their necks, and
+frequently injure their health by over-exertion.</p>
+
+<p>So that exercises for health and amusement are the only kinds of
+gymnastics that I recommend.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="BUYING_THE_MIRROR" id="BUYING_THE_MIRROR"></a>BUYING "THE MIRROR."</h2>
+
+
+<p>Miss Harper came into the room where George and Mary Conly and Ella
+Lee were playing with jack-straws. They had played everything else
+they could think of, and, feeling tired, had quietly settled
+themselves down to jack-straws. They could have amused themselves from
+morning until night out of doors without being weary; but Mr. Conly's
+house was in the city, and had such a tiny bit of a yard that only
+fairies could have got up a frolic in it. When they were in the
+country there were so many things they could do, and when they were
+tired running about, there was the see-saw on the big log under the
+old elm.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_150" id="imag_150"></a><img src="images/gs253.jpg" width="500" height="411" alt="The See-Saw" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>But they were not in the country now, and children have not the spirit
+to keep up their sports in the house as they do out of doors. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>So,
+when Miss Harper appeared with a book in her hand, George and Mary
+sprang up from the table in delight, and exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, cousin Fanny! are you going to read to us?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Miss Harper, "I thought you would like to hear some more
+of those pretty stories I read to you yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>"That we will!" cried George, skipping about the room, while Mary,
+with eyes sparkling with pleasure, hastily raked the jack-straws into
+a pile.</p>
+
+<p>"We can both get into this big chair, Ella," she said, "and then we
+can hear cumfible."</p>
+
+<p>Now Ella would much rather have played jack-straws, for she thought
+listening to reading was very dull business indeed; but she was a
+polite little girl, which is pretty much the same thing as saying she
+was not selfish, and seeing that George and Mary were so pleased, and
+expected her to be so also, she made no objection, and climbed up into
+the big chair, and found it "cumfible," as Mary had said.</p>
+
+<p>"It will be awfully stupid," she thought, "and this chair is so nice I
+am afraid I'll go to sleep, and mamma says that is very rude when any
+one is reading or talking to you."</p>
+
+<p>You see Ella had not learned to be fond of books. Her parents had not
+been in the habit of reading to her, and, although in school she could
+read books that had quite long words in them, still she could not read
+with sufficient ease to make it a pleasure to her.</p>
+
+<p>But she did not go to sleep, but, on the contrary, got wider and wider
+awake. The stories were all short, so that when the end came she
+remembered the beginning perfectly, and they were such lovely stories
+about little fairies, and how they helped children to be good, that
+Ella was very sorry when the servant came to take her home.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I thank you very much, Miss Harper, for reading to us," she said,
+"Will you please tell me the name of the book?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is 'The Mirror,'" said Miss Harper, "and I will read to you often
+if you will come to see us."</p>
+
+<p>Ella thought about the book all the way home, but she was so tired she
+was glad to go to bed after supper, and the next morning she had no
+time before school to say anything to her mother about the wonderful
+"Mirror."</p>
+
+<p>But after dinner there was a pleasant surprise for her. Her father
+called her into his study, and, taking her up, kissed her tenderly,
+and said: "I saw your teacher yesterday, and she gave me such a good
+account of my little girl that I am very much pleased with her. And
+now, if there is anything you would particularly like to have, I will
+get it for you, if it does not cost too much. Think a moment, now!
+Don't be in a hurry!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, papa," exclaimed Ella, "I don't need to think a bit! I know what
+I want! I do so want to have a 'Mirror!'"</p>
+
+<p>"A <i>what</i>?" said Mr. Lee, suddenly putting Ella down on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>"A 'Mirror,' papa. When will you get it for me? Oh! I am so glad!" And
+she clapped her little hands softly together.</p>
+
+<p>"You are a very little girl to be so vain," said Mr. Lee gravely, "but
+as I said you should have what you wanted, I will keep my promise. Go
+and dress yourself, and we will get it this very afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>Ella was so full of her own happy thoughts that she did not notice
+what he said about her being vain, or that he looked displeased, and
+she skipped merrily away to be dressed. In a short time she had hold
+of her father's hand, and was walking down Broadway, looking in at the
+shop windows, and talking as fast as her little tongue could go.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lee, who knew nothing about the book with such a queer title, and
+supposed his daughter wanted a mirror in which to look at herself,
+began to hope that, as Ella stopped so often to admire the pretty
+things in the windows, she would see something she would prefer for a
+present. For, though it is a very proper thing to look in the glass to
+see that one's face is clean, and hair smooth, he did not like it that
+his daughter should want a looking-glass above everything in the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>"O, papa, isn't that a lovely baby?" And Ella paused in admiration
+before a wax doll.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. Lee, eagerly. "Would not you rather have that pretty
+baby than a mirror?"</p>
+
+<p>Ella considered for a moment. She had a dolly she loved, though she
+was not as pretty as this one.</p>
+
+<p>"No, papa, I'd rather have a 'Mirror.' It will be so nice to have one
+of my own. I hope you know where to go to get it?" she added
+anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," said Mr. Lee, rather sharply, "I know just where to go."</p>
+
+<p>And so they went on by windows filled with floating ribbons, and
+shining silks; and others where there were glittering jewels, and some
+of the rings small enough for Ella's fingers; and others where there
+were white fur capes spread out, with muffs that had such gay linings,
+and tassels; and windows hung to the very top with toys, and some of
+them such cunning ones&mdash;mice that could be made to run and squeak, and
+jumping frogs&mdash;but none of these things would Ella have. At last they
+came to one all filled with flowers, and with this Ella was in
+raptures.</p>
+
+<p>"What a very good man must live here," she said, "to put all these
+things out for us to see! I can smell them through the glass!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They are put here to sell," said Mr. Lee, "and I know you will like
+that beautiful pink rose-bush a great deal better than a mirror&mdash;or
+that great white lily."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, papa," said Ella, moving impatiently away. "When will we come
+to the place?"</p>
+
+<p>"Here it is," said Mr. Lee, as they stopped at a store where then were
+two huge windows filled with mirrors of all sizes. "Now which one will
+you have? Not a very large one for such a very little lady. But there
+is a nice little one that will just suit you, and it has a very pretty
+frame."</p>
+
+<p>"Where? where, papa? I don't see it!" And Ella looked about the window
+in a very bewildered manner.</p>
+
+<p>"There. In that corner, leaning against the window-frame."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, papa, that's a looking-glass!"</p>
+
+<p>"And is not that what you want?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; I want a '<i>Mirror</i>'&mdash;a book."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! that's it!" said Mr. Lee, with a brighter face. "I expect you
+want a book called 'The Mirror.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said Ella, laughing, as they walked on. "How funny that
+you should think I wanted a looking-glass! There it is now!" she cried
+excitedly, pointing into the window of a book-store.</p>
+
+<p>It was a large sheet of paper Ella saw, called a Poster, but it had
+"The Mirror" on it in very big letters. So Mr. Lee and Ella went in,
+and the shopman brought her the book, but it was red, and she did not
+want it, and then he took down a green one, and then a brown, but Ella
+would only have a blue one. After some trouble a blue one was found,
+and Ella walked off hugging it close up to her. The book Miss Harper
+read had a blue cover, and I believe that Ella was afraid that any
+other color would not contain the same stories.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="BIG_GAME" id="BIG_GAME"></a>BIG GAME.</h2>
+
+
+<p>When a man or a boy goes hunting&mdash;in a book&mdash;he might just as well go
+after good big game as after these little things that you see about
+home. So let us leave chipmunks, rabbits, and tit-birds to those poor
+fellows who have to shoot with real guns, and are obliged to be home
+in time for supper, and let us go out into the wide world, to hunt the
+very largest and most savage beasts we can find. It is perfectly
+safe,&mdash;in a book.</p>
+
+<p>As we can go wherever we please, suppose we try our skill in hunting
+the Wild Boar. He will be a good beast to begin with, because he is
+tolerably convenient, being found in Southern Europe, Palestine, and
+neighboring countries, and also because he is such a destructive
+rascal, when he comes into the neighborhood of civilization, that
+every one will be much obliged to us for killing him. If he chances to
+get into a vineyard, in company with a set of his reckless fellows,
+there is small chance for a vintage that year. He tears down the
+vines, devours the grapes, green and ripe, and breaks and ruins
+trellises and everything within his reach.</p>
+
+<p>If we are so fortunate as to get sight of him, we will find that he is
+no easy game to bag. Very different is he from his tame brethren with
+which we are acquainted&mdash;old grunters, who wallow about the
+mud-puddles and sleep serenely for hours, with their fat sides baking
+in the sun. The wild boar is as fast as a horse, and as savage as the
+crossest bull. He can run so that you can scarcely catch up to him
+with your nag at the top of his speed, and when you do reach him he
+will be very apt, if you are not watchful, to rip up your horse with
+his tusks and cut some terrible gashes in your own legs, besides.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p>
+<a name="imag_151" id="imag_151"></a><img src="images/gs259.jpg" width="400" height="559" alt="The Wild Boar" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WILD BOAR.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We must shoot this fellow as soon as we can get a good chance, for
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>those sharp tusks will be ready for us, if we come too close, and if
+he increases the distance between us, he may get among the rocks and
+hills, where he will surely escape, for our horses cannot go over
+those rough ascents at the rate the boar would gallop.</p>
+
+<p>When at last he is shot, the boar is capital eating. His flesh is far
+superior to common pork, possessing the peculiar delicate flavor which
+belongs to most wild meat. If we could shoot a wild boar every few
+days, we would be sure to fare very well during our hunting
+expedition.</p>
+
+<p>But we must press on after other game, and we will now try and get a
+shot at a musk-ox. We shall have to go somewhat out of our way to find
+this animal, for he lives in the upper portions of North America, but
+an ocean and a continent or two are not at all difficult to cross&mdash;in
+a book.</p>
+
+<p>The musk-ox is about as large as a small cow; he has very short legs,
+and horns which are very large and heavy. They extend over his
+forehead and seem as if they were parted in the middle, like a dandy's
+front hair. It is probable, if we get near enough to one of them, that
+we shall have no trouble in shooting him; but there is sometimes
+danger in this sport. A sailor once went out to hunt musk-oxen, and,
+to his great surprise, soon found that they intended to hunt him. A
+herd got after him, and one big fellow was on the point of crushing
+him with his great horns, when he dodged behind a rock, against which
+the furious animal came like a battering-ram.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall and winter the flesh of the musk-ox is very good indeed,
+but in the spring it is not so nice. It then smells like your sister's
+glove-box (if she uses musk), only about one hundred times as strong.
+If we were to cut up one of these animals when his flesh is in this
+condition, we would find it almost impossible to get the smell off of
+our knives. The winter is certainly the time to shoot this game, for
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>then not only is his flesh very good, but his skin is covered with
+very long and warm hair, and we would find it even better, to keep us
+warm, than a buffalo robe.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_152" id="imag_152"></a><img src="images/gs261.jpg" width="600" height="384" alt="THE MUSK-OX AND THE SAILOR." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MUSK-OX AND THE SAILOR.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>While we are thinking of skins, we might as well get a variety of
+them, and we will find the fur of the brown bear very valuable.</p>
+
+<p>So now for a brown bear. He, too, is found in the regions of ice and
+snow, and in the North of Europe he is hunted by the peasants in a way
+which we will not imitate. When they find a den or cave in the rocks
+in which they think a bear is concealed, these sturdy hunters make all
+sorts of noises to worry him out, and when at last the bear comes
+forth to see what is the matter, he finds a man standing in front <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>of
+his den, armed with a short lance with a long sharp head, and a bar of
+iron placed crosswise on the handle just below the head. Now, a
+full-grown brown bear is not afraid of a man who is armed with a
+little weapon like this, and so he approaches the hunter, and rearing
+on his hind legs, reaches forth his arms to give the man a good hug,
+if he comes any nearer.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_153" id="imag_153"></a><img src="images/gs262.jpg" width="600" height="391" alt="HUNTING THE BROWN BEAR." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HUNTING THE BROWN BEAR.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The man does come nearer, and, to the bear's great surprise, he
+thrusts forth his lance, which is longer than it looked, and drives
+the head of it into the animal's breast. The iron bar prevents the
+lance from entering too far into the body of the bear&mdash;a very
+necessary precaution, for if it was not there, the bear would push
+himself up <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>along the handle of the lance and have his great paws on
+the man in a minute or two. But the bar keeps the bear back, and the
+loss of blood soon renders him so weak that the hunter can throw him
+down and despatch him. It is strange that the bear never tries to pull
+the lance out of his body. He keeps pressing it in, trying all the
+time to get over it at his enemy.</p>
+
+<p>This may be a good way to kill a bear, but I don't like it. It is
+cruel to the animal, and decidedly dangerous to the hunter. If I could
+not get a bear skin in any other way than by killing the animal with a
+spear, I would let the bear keep his fur. If we see any brown bears we
+will shoot them with our rifles, a much safer and more humane method
+than the pike fashion.</p>
+
+<p>After the bears, what shall we hunt? What do you say to a
+hippopotamus? That will be something that we are not accustomed to, at
+any rate. So away we go to the waters of Africa. If we travel along
+the shores of the Nile and other African rivers, we shall, no doubt,
+see some of these great creatures. But we must not expect to get a
+good sight of any of them, unless we are very careful to hide
+ourselves somewhere near where they are in the habit of coming out of
+the water to take a walk on land. Ordinarily all that can be seen of a
+hippopotamus is his head or his back, sticking up out of the water.
+They can stay under water for a long time, occasionally sticking up
+their noses to get a breath of air.</p>
+
+<p>At night they often come on shore to see what they can find to eat.
+They live on grass and grains, which they find in the water and on
+land. These animals are generally shot or harpooned at night, when
+they come out of the water, but occasionally a hunter sees one on
+shore in the daytime, and he seldom finds any difficulty in shooting
+it, if he can hit it in the ear, which is its most vulnerable spot.</p>
+
+<p>The hippopotamus is naturally a timid animal, and seldom turns on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>its
+hunters, but sometimes it shows a courageous disposition. Some
+hunters, having shot a young but apparently a tolerably well-grown
+hippopotamus, were running up to their prize, when they were astounded
+by the old mother beast coming up out of the water and charging
+towards them with tremendous roars.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_154" id="imag_154"></a><img src="images/gs264.jpg" width="600" height="385" alt="A BRAVE HIPPOPOTAMUS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A BRAVE HIPPOPOTAMUS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The hunters fired at her and then took to their heels, but having
+found her offspring, she stayed with it and did not pursue the men. If
+she had overtaken them, she would have been a terrible enemy to
+encounter.</p>
+
+<p>If, during our night-watches on the river-banks, we are so fortunate
+as to shoot a hippopotamus, we shall find that we have a good supply
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span>of very fine meat And what we cannot eat the natives will be
+delighted to get. They consider a hippopotamus a most valuable prize,
+and as the meat is good and there is so very much of it, their joy
+when they kill one is not at all surprising. The only thing that
+troubles them after a successful hunt is that there are so few
+hippopotami killed, and so many negroes to eat them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_155" id="imag_155"></a><img src="images/gs265.jpg" width="600" height="386" alt="A RHINOCEROS TURNING THE TABLES." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A RHINOCEROS TURNING THE TABLES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And now let us try a rhinoceros hunt. This animal is found in the same
+regions that the hippopotamus inhabits, but he also lives in Asia. He
+is rather a dangerous animal to hunt. He is a savage fellow when
+provoked; he has a great horn on his nose, and a skin so thick that it
+is almost bullet-proof, and, besides that, he is the largest and
+strongest <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>animal on the earth, excepting the elephant. So no wonder
+he is a little unsafe to hunt.</p>
+
+<p>The rhinoceros lives on grass and herbs, and makes his home entirely
+on the land. His flesh, like that of the hippopotamus, is very good to
+eat, but rhinoceros-beef ought to be dear, if the trouble and danger
+in getting it is taken into consideration when the price is fixed. He
+very often turns and charges on the hunters, and if he gets his horn
+under a man or a horse, he is likely to cause trouble.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that a rhinoceros can kill an elephant, by ripping him up
+with his horn, and that the lion and all wild beasts are afraid of
+him. I am not at all surprised that this is the case, for I have
+examined the skin of a rhinoceros which I saw in a menagerie, and it
+was so thick and heavy that scarcely any animal could tear it, with
+teeth or claws, so as to get at the enemy within it. The rhinoceros
+which I saw in a cage was not quite full-grown. His horn was not more
+than an inch or two above his nose, but he was an enormous fellow, and
+his great hide, which was as hard as the sole of your shoe, hung on
+him in great folds, as if it had been made large so as to give him
+room to grow. He was gentle enough, and let me put my hand through the
+bars of his cage and take hold of his horn without making the
+slightest objection. But we will not find that kind of rhinoceros on
+the plains of Africa, and if we hunt one we must kill him very soon,
+or be prepared to get out of his way.</p>
+
+<p>After a rhinoceros hunt we will not be apt to be easily frightened, no
+matter what beast we pursue, so we might as well go to India and hunt
+the Bengal tiger.</p>
+
+<p>There is no animal more graceful in its movements, handsomer in shape
+and color, or more bloody and ferocious in its nature, than the Royal
+Bengal tiger. Even in a cage he is a magnificent creature. When I go
+to a menagerie, I always look first for the Bengal tigers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>If we go to hunt these animals, we had better ride upon elephants, for
+we must go into the jungles, where the tall reeds, through which the
+tigers roam, are higher than our heads.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_156" id="imag_156"></a><img src="images/gs267.jpg" width="600" height="391" alt="&quot;A TIGER HUNT.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;A TIGER HUNT.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When we are well in the jungle, we must be careful. It is sometimes
+very difficult to see a tiger, even if you are quite near to him, for
+the stripes on his skin are very much like the reeds and leaves of the
+jungle, and we must keep a very sharp look-out, and as soon as we see
+one we must be ready with our rifles, for a tiger is very apt to begin
+the fight, and he will think nothing of springing on the back of an
+elephant and dragging one of us to the ground. Sometimes the elephants
+are not used to hunting tigers, and when they see the savage beasts
+they turn and run. In that case there is often great <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>danger, for no
+one can fire coolly and with certain aim from the back of a bounding
+elephant.</p>
+
+<p>If we find a tiger, and we get a good shot&mdash;or perhaps many good
+shots&mdash;at him, and he falls wounded or apparently dead, we must still
+be very careful about approaching him, for he is very hard to kill.
+Often, when pierced with many balls, a tiger is considered to have
+breathed his last, he springs up all of a sudden, seizes one of his
+hunters in his great jaws, tears him with his claws, and then falls
+back dead.</p>
+
+<p>Hunters accustomed to the pursuit of tigers, always make sure that a
+tiger is dead before they come near his fallen body, and they often
+put many balls into him after he is stretched upon the ground.</p>
+
+<p>We must by this time be so inured to danger in the pursuit of our big
+game, that we will go and hunt an animal which is, I think, the most
+dangerous creature with which man can contend. I mean the Gorilla.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_157" id="imag_157"></a><img src="images/gs269.jpg" width="400" height="664" alt="&quot;FIGHT WITH A GORILLA.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;FIGHT WITH A GORILLA.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+<p>This tremendous ape, as tall as a man, and as strong as a dozen men,
+has been called the king of the African forests. For many years
+travellers in Africa had heard from the natives wonderful stories of
+this gigantic and savage beast. The negroes believed that the gorilla,
+or pongo, as he was called by some tribes, was not only as ferocious
+and dangerous as a tiger, but almost as intelligent as a man. Some of
+them thought that he could talk, and that the only reason that he did
+not do so was because he did not wish to give himself the trouble.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the stories of some travellers, it is probable that no
+white man ever saw a gorilla until Paul du Chaillu found them in
+Africa, where he went, in 1853, for the purpose of exploring the
+country which they inhabit.</p>
+
+<p>As Mr. Chaillu has written several books for young folks, in which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>he
+tells his experience with gorillas, I shall not relate any of his
+wonderful adventures with these animals, in which he killed some
+enormous fellows and at different times captured young ones, all of
+which, however, soon died. But the researches of this indefatigable
+and intrepid explorer have proved that the gorilla is, as the negroes
+reported him to be, a most terrible animal to encounter. When found,
+he often comes forward to meet the hunter, roaring like a great lion,
+and beating his breast in defiance. If a rifle-ball does not quickly
+put an end to him, he will rush upon his assailants, and one blow from
+his powerful arm will be enough to stretch a man senseless or dead
+upon the ground.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>In a hand-to-hand combat with a gorilla, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>a man, even though armed
+with a knife, has not the slightest chance for his life.</p>
+
+<p>If we should be fortunate enough to shoot a gorilla, we may call
+ourselves great hunters, even without counting in the bears, the
+rhinoceroses, the tigers, and the other animals.</p>
+
+<p>And when we return, proud and satisfied with our endeavors, we will
+prove to the poor fellows who were obliged to stay at home and shoot
+tit-birds and rabbits, with real guns, what an easy thing it is to
+hunt the biggest kind of game&mdash;in a book.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_158" id="imag_158"></a><img src="images/gs271.jpg" width="500" height="395" alt="The Boot-black's Dog" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_BOOTBLACKS_DOG" id="THE_BOOTBLACKS_DOG"></a>THE BOOTBLACK'S DOG.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Once upon a time there lived, in Paris, a bootblack. He was not a boy,
+but a man, and he had a family to support. The profits of his business
+would have been sufficient for his humble wants and those of his
+family had it not been for one circumstance, which made trade very
+dull with him. And that disastrous circumstance was this: nearly every
+one who passed his stand had their boots and shoes already blackened!
+Now this was hard upon our friend. There was nothing to astonish him
+in the fact of so many persons passing with polished boots, for his
+stand was in the middle of a block, and there were bootblacks at each
+corner. But all he could do was to bear his fate as patiently as
+possible, and black the few boots which came to him, and talk to his
+dog, his only companion, as he sat all day on the sidewalk by his box.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when he had just blackened his own boots (he did not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>charge
+himself anything&mdash;he only did it so as to have the air of being busy),
+his dog came running up to him from the muddy street, and accidentally
+put his dirty paw on his master's bright boots. The man, who was of an
+amiable disposition, did not scold much, but as he was brushing off
+the mud he said:</p>
+
+<p>"You little rascal! I wish it had been the boots of some other man
+that you had covered with dirt. That would have been sensible."</p>
+
+<p>Just at that moment a thought struck the bootblack.</p>
+
+<p>He would teach his dog to muddy other people's boots!</p>
+
+<p>The man immediately acted on this idea, and gave his dog lessons every
+day in the art of muddying boots. In a week or two, no gentleman with
+highly polished boots could pass the bootblack's stand without seeing
+a dog rush into the street and gutter, and then come and jump on his
+feet, spattering his boots with mud and water, and making it necessary
+for him to go immediately to the nearest bootblack&mdash;which was of course
+the dog's master.</p>
+
+<p>The bootblack now had constant custom, and his circumstances began
+rapidly to improve. His children, being better fed, grew round and
+chubby; his wife had three good meals a day, and some warm flannels,
+and she soon lost the wan and feeble look which she had worn so long.
+As for the man himself, he and his dog were gay and busy all the day
+long.</p>
+
+<p>But people began to suspect something after a while. One gentleman who
+had his boots muddied regularly every day, once questioned the
+bootblack very closely, for he saw that the dog belonged to him, and
+the man was obliged to confess that he had taught the dog the trick.
+The gentleman, pleased with the smartness of the dog, and perhaps
+desirous of ridding his fellow-citizens of annoyance and expense,
+purchased the animal and took him home.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But he did not keep him long. In a few days the dog escaped, and came
+back to his old master and his muddy trade.</p>
+
+<p>But I do not think that that bootblack always prospered. People who
+live by tricks seldom do. I have no doubt that a great many people
+found out his practices, and that the authorities drove him away from
+his stand, and that he was obliged to give up his business, and
+perhaps go into the army; while his wife supported the family by
+taking in washing and going out to scrub. I am not sure that all this
+happened, but I would not be at all surprised if it turned out exactly
+as I say.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_159" id="imag_159"></a><img src="images/gs274.jpg" width="500" height="626" alt="Going after the Cows" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="GOING_AFTER_THE_COWS" id="GOING_AFTER_THE_COWS"></a>GOING AFTER THE COWS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>If there is anything which a little country-boy likes, and which a big
+country-boy dislikes, it is to go after the cows. There is no need of
+giving the reasons why the big boy does not like this duty. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>It is
+enough to say that it is a small boy's business, and the big boy knows
+it. The excitement of hunting up and driving home a lot of slow,
+meandering cattle is not sufficient for a mind capable of grappling
+with the highest grade of agricultural ideas, and the youth who has
+reached the mature age of fifteen or sixteen is very apt to think that
+his mind is one of that kind.</p>
+
+<p>But it is very different with the little boy. To go down into the
+fields, with a big stick and a fixed purpose; to cross over the
+ditches on boards that a few years ago he would not have been allowed
+to put his foot upon; to take down the bars of the fences, just as if
+he was a real man, and when he reaches the pasture, to go up to those
+great cows, and even to the old bull himself, and to shake his stick
+at them, and shout: "Go along there, now!"&mdash;these are proud things to
+do.</p>
+
+<p>And then what a feeling of power it gives him to make those big
+creatures walk along the very road he chooses for them, and to hurry
+them up, or let them go slowly, just as he pleases!</p>
+
+<p>If, on the way, a wayward cow should make a sudden incursion over some
+low bars into a forbidden field, the young director of her evening
+course is equal to the emergency.</p>
+
+<p>He is over the fence in an instant, and his little legs soon place him
+before her, and then what are her horns, her threatening countenance,
+and her great body to his shrill voice and brandished stick? Admitting
+his superior power, she soon gallops back to the herd, with whack
+after whack resounding upon her thick hide.</p>
+
+<p>When at last the great, gentle beasts file, one by one, into the
+barn-yard, there is a consciousness of having done something very
+important in the air of the little fellow who brings up the rear of
+the procession, and who shuts the gate as closely as possible on the
+heels of the hindmost cow.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There are also many little outside circumstances connected with a
+small boy's trip after the cows which make it pleasant to him.
+Sometimes there are tremendous bull-frogs in the ditch. There are ripe
+wild-cherries&mdash;splendid, bitter, and scarce&mdash;on the tree in the corner
+of the field. The pears on the little tree by old Mrs. Hopkins's don't
+draw your mouth up so very much, if you peel the skins off with your
+knife. There is always a chance of seeing a rabbit, and although there
+is no particular chance of getting it, the small boy does not think of
+that. Now, although it would hardly be worth while to walk very far
+for any of these things, they are very pleasant when you are going
+after the cows.</p>
+
+<p>So I think it is no wonder that the little boys like to go after the
+cows, and I wish that hundreds and thousands of pale-faced and
+thin-legged little fellows had cows to go after.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_REFLECTIVE_STAG" id="THE_REFLECTIVE_STAG"></a>THE REFLECTIVE STAG.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The more we study the habits and natures of animals the more firmly
+are we convinced that, in many of them, what we call instinct is very
+much like what we call reason.</p>
+
+<p>In the case of a domestic animal, we may attribute, perhaps, a great
+deal of its cleverness to its association with man and its capability
+of receiving instruction. But wild animals have not the advantages of
+human companionship, and what they know is due to the strength and
+quality of their own understanding. And some of them appear to know a
+great deal.</p>
+
+<p>There are few animals which prove this assertion more frequently than
+the stag. As his home is generally somewhere near the abodes of men,
+and as his flesh is so highly prized by them, it is absolutely
+necessary that he should take every possible precaution to preserve
+his life from their guns and dogs. Accordingly, he has devised a great
+many plans by which he endeavors&mdash;often successfully&mdash;to circumvent
+his hunters. And to do this certainly requires reflection, and a good
+deal of it, too. He even finds out that his scent assists the dogs in
+following him. How he knows this I have not the slightest idea, but he
+does know it.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore it is that, when he is hunted, he avoids running through
+thick bushes, where his scent would remain on the foliage; and, if
+possible, he dashes into the water, and runs along the beds of shallow
+streams, where the hounds often lose all trace of him. When this is
+impossible, he bounds over the ground, making as wide gaps as he can
+between his tracks. Sometimes, too, he runs into a herd of cattle, and
+so confuses the dogs; and he has been known to jump up on the back of
+an ox, and take a ride on the frightened creature, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>in order to get
+his own feet partly off of the ground for a time, and thus to break
+the line of his scent. When very hard pressed, a stag has suddenly
+dropped on the ground, and when most of the dogs, unable to stop
+themselves, dash over him, he springs to his feet, and darts off in an
+opposite direction.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_160" id="imag_160"></a><img src="images/gs278.jpg" width="600" height="374" alt="The Reflective Stag" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>He will also run back on his own track, and employ many other means of
+the kind to deceive the dogs, showing most conclusively that he
+understands the theory of scent, and the dogs' power of perceiving it;
+and also that he has been able to devise the very best plans to elude
+his pursuers.</p>
+
+<p>Not only do stags reflect in this general manner in regard to their
+most common and greatest danger, but they make particular
+reflect<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>ions, suited to particular places and occasions. The tricks
+and manoeuvres which would be very successful in one forest and in one
+season would not answer at all in another place and at another time,
+and so they reflect on the subject and lay their plans to suit the
+occasion.</p>
+
+<p>There are many animals which possess great acuteness in eluding their
+hunters, but the tricks of the stag are sufficient to show us to what
+an extent some animals are capable of reflection.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="WHEN_WE_MUST_NOT_BELIEVE_OUR_EYES" id="WHEN_WE_MUST_NOT_BELIEVE_OUR_EYES"></a>WHEN WE MUST NOT BELIEVE OUR EYES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There are a great number of marvellous things told us of phantom forms
+and ghostly apparitions&mdash;of spectres that flit about lonely roads on
+moonlight nights, or haunt peaceful people in their own homes; of
+funeral processions, with long trains of mourners, watched from a
+distance, but which, on nearer approach, melt into a line of mist; of
+wild witch-dances in deserted houses, and balls of fire bounding out
+of doors and windows&mdash;stories which cause the flesh of children to
+creep upon their bones, and make cowards of them where there is no
+reason for fear. For you may lay it down as a fact, established beyond
+dispute, that not one of these things is a <i>reality</i>. The person who
+tells these marvels has always what seems the best of reasons for his
+belief. He either saw these things himself or knew somebody, strictly
+truthful, who had seen them. He did not know, what I am going to prove
+to you, that a thing may be <i>true</i> and yet not be <i>real</i>. In other
+words, that there are times when we do actually see marvels that seem
+supernatural, but that, on such occasions, <i>we must not believe our
+own eyes</i>, but search for a natural cause, and, if we look faithfully,
+we are sure to find one.</p>
+
+<p>Once a vessel was sailing over a northern ocean in the midst of the
+short, Arctic summer. The sun was hot, the air was still, and a group
+of sailors lying lazily upon the deck were almost asleep, when an
+exclamation of fear from one of them made them all spring to their
+feet. The one who had uttered the cry pointed into the air at a little
+distance, and there the awe-stricken sailors saw a large ship, with
+all sails set, gliding over what seemed to be a placid ocean, for
+beneath the ship was the reflection of it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_161" id="imag_161"></a><img src="images/gs281.jpg" width="600" height="378" alt="The Mirage" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>The news soon spread through the vessel that a phantom-ship with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span>a
+ghostly crew was sailing in the air over a phantom-ocean, and that it
+was a bad omen, and meant that not one of them should ever see land
+again. The captain was told the wonderful tale, and coming on deck, he
+explained to the sailors that this strange appearance was caused by
+the reflection of some ship that was sailing on the water below this
+image, but at such a distance they could not see it. There were
+certain conditions of the atmosphere, he said, when the sun's rays
+could form a perfect picture in the air of objects on the earth, like
+the images one sees in glass or water, but they were not generally
+upright, as in the case of this ship, but reversed&mdash;turned bottom
+upwards. This appearance in the air is called a mirage. He told a
+sailor to go up to the foretop and look beyond the phantom-ship. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span>The
+man obeyed, and reported that he could see on the water, below the
+ship in the air, one precisely like it. Just then another ship was
+seen in the air, only this one was a steamship, and was
+bottom-upwards, as the captain had said these mirages generally
+appeared. Soon after, the steamship itself came in sight. The sailors
+were now convinced, and never afterwards believed in phantom-ships.</p>
+
+<p>A French army marching across the burning sands of an Egyptian desert,
+fainting with thirst and choked with fine sand, were suddenly revived
+in spirit by the sight of a sheet of water in the distance. In it were
+mirrored the trees and villages, gardens and pretty houses of a
+cultivated land, all reversed. The blue sky was mirrored there, too,
+just as you can see the banks of a lake, and the sky that bends over
+it, in its calm waters. The soldiers rushed towards the place, frantic
+with joy, but when they got there they found nothing but the hot
+sands. Again they saw the lake at a distance, and made another
+headlong rush, only to be again disappointed. This happened
+frequently, until the men were in despair, and imagined that some
+demon was tormenting them. But there happened to be with this army a
+wise man, who did not trust entirely to his own eyes, and although he
+saw exactly what the others did, he did not believe that there was
+anything there but air. He set to work to investigate it, and found
+out that the whole thing was an illusion&mdash;it was the reflection of the
+gardens and villages that were on the river Nile, thrown up into the
+air, like the ships the sailors saw, only in the clear atmosphere of
+Egypt these images are projected to a long distance. And demons had
+nothing whatever to do with it.</p>
+
+<p>People used to believe in a fairy called Fata Morgana. Wonderful
+things were said of her, and her dominions were in the air, where she
+had large cities which she sometimes amused herself by turning into a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>variety of shapes. The cities were often seen by dwellers on the
+Mediterranean sea-coast. Sometimes one of them would be like an
+earthly city, with houses and churches, and nearly always with a
+background of mountains. In a moment it would change into a confused
+mass of long colonnades, lofty towers, and battlements waving with
+flags, and then the mountains reeling and falling, a long row of
+windows would appear glowing with rainbow colors, and perhaps, in
+another instant, all this would be swept away, and nothing be seen but
+gloomy cypress trees.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_162" id="imag_162"></a><img src="images/gs283.jpg" width="600" height="376" alt="Fata Morgana" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>These things can be seen now occasionally, as of old, but they are no
+longer in Fairyland. Now we know that they are the images of cities
+and mountains on the coast, and the reason they assume these
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>fantastic forms is that the layers of air through which the rays of
+light pass are curved and irregular.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_163" id="imag_163"></a><img src="images/gs284.jpg" width="500" height="319" alt="The Spectre of the Brocken" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>A gigantic figure haunts the Vosges Mountains, known by the name of
+"The Spectre of the Brocken." The ignorant peasants were, in former
+times, in great fear of it, thinking it a supernatural being, and
+fancying that it brought upon them all manner of evil. And it must be
+confessed it was a fearful sight to behold suddenly upon the summit of
+a lofty mountain an immense giant, sometimes pointing in a threatening
+attitude to a village below, as if dooming it to destruction;
+sometimes with arms upraised, as if invoking ruin upon all the
+country; and sometimes stalking along with such tremendous strides as
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>to make but one step from peak to peak; often dwarfing himself to
+nothingness, and again stretching up until his head is in the clouds,
+then disappearing entirely for a moment, only to reappear more
+formidable than before.</p>
+
+<p>But now the Spectre of the Brocken is no longer an object of fear.
+Why? Because men have found him out, and he is nothing in the world
+but a shadow. When the sun is in the right position, an ordinary-sized
+man on a lower mountain will see a gigantic shadow of himself thrown
+upon a cloud beyond the Brocken, though it appears to be on the
+mountain itself, and it is so perfect a representation that it is
+difficult to believe it is only a shadow. But it can be easily proved.
+If the man stoops to pick up anything, down goes the spectre; if he
+raises his hand, so does the spectre; if he takes a step of two feet,
+the spectre takes one of miles; if he raises his hat, the spectre
+politely returns his salute.</p>
+
+<p>When you behold anything marvellous, and your eyes tell you that you
+have seen some ghostly thing, don't believe them, but investigate the
+matter closely, and you will find it no more a phantom than the mirage
+or the Spectre of the Brocken.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="A_CITY_UNDER_THE_GROUND" id="A_CITY_UNDER_THE_GROUND"></a>A CITY UNDER THE GROUND.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Under the bright skies of Italy, in a picturesque valley, with the
+mountains close at hand and the blue waves of the Mediterranean
+rolling at a little distance&mdash;at the foot of wonderful Vesuvius, green
+and fertile, and covered with vines to its very top, from which smoke
+is perpetually escaping, and in whose heart fires are eternally
+raging, in this beautiful valley stands the city of Pompeii.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_164" id="imag_164"></a><img src="images/gs286.jpg" width="400" height="629" alt="CLEARING OUT A NARROW STREET IN POMPEII." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CLEARING OUT A NARROW STREET IN POMPEII.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>You might, however, remain upon the spot a long time and never find
+out that there was a city there. All around you would see groves and
+vineyards, and cultivated <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span>fields and villas. For the city is beneath
+your feet. Under the vineyards and orchards are temples filled with
+statues, houses with furniture, pictures, and all homelike things.
+Nothing is wanting there but life. For Pompeii is a buried city, and
+fully two-thirds of it has not yet been excavated.</p>
+
+<p>But a short walk from this place will bring you to the spot where
+excavations have been made, and about one-third of the ancient city
+lies once more under the light of heaven. It is doubtful whether you
+can see it when you get to it for the mounds of ashes and rubbish
+piled around. But, clambering over these, you will pay forty cents for
+admission, and pass through a turnstile into a street where you will
+see long rows of ruined houses, and empty shops, and broken temples,
+and niches which have contained statues of heathen gods and goddesses.
+As you wander about you will come across laborers busily employed in
+clearing away rubbish in obstructed streets. It is a very lively
+scene, as you can see in the picture. Men are digging zealously into
+the heaps of earth and rubbish, and filling baskets which the
+bare-footed peasant-girls carry to the cars at a little distance. A
+railroad has been built expressly to carry away the earth. The cars
+are drawn by mules. The girls prefer carrying their baskets on their
+heads. The men have to dig carefully, for there is no knowing when
+they may come across some rare and valuable work of art.</p>
+
+<p>The excavations are conducted in this manner. Among the trees, and in
+the cultivated fields there can be traced little hillocks, which are
+pretty regular in form and size. These indicate the blocks of houses
+in the buried city, and, of course, the streets run between them.
+After the land is bought from the owners, these streets are carefully
+marked out, the vines are cleared away, the trees cut down, and the
+digging out of these streets is commenced from the top. The work is
+carried on pretty steadily at present, but it is only within <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>the last
+few years that it has been conducted with any degree of enterprise and
+skill.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_165" id="imag_165"></a><img src="images/gs288.jpg" width="600" height="390" alt="A CLEARED STREET IN POMPEII." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CLEARED STREET IN POMPEII.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Let us leave this rubbish, and go into a street that has already been
+cleared. The first thing you will observe is that it is very narrow.
+It is evidently not intended for a fashionable drive. But few of the
+streets are any wider than this one. The greatest width of a street in
+Pompeii is seven yards, and some are only two and a half yards,
+sidewalks and all. The middle of the street is paved with blocks of
+lava. The sidewalks are raised, and it is evident the owners of the
+houses were allowed to put any pavement they pleased in front <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>of
+their dwellings. In one place you will see handsome stone flags the
+next pavement may be nothing but soil beaten down, while the next will
+be costly marble.</p>
+
+<p>The upper stories of the houses are in ruins. It is probable,
+therefore, that they were built of wood, while the lower stories,
+being of stone, still remain. They had few windows on the street, as
+the Pompeiians preferred that these should look out on an inner square
+or court. To the right of the picture is a small monument, and in the
+left-hand corner is a fountain, or rather the stone slabs that once
+enclosed a fountain.</p>
+
+<p>As we walk slowly up the solitary street, we think of the busy,
+restless feet that trod these very stones eighteen hundred years ago.
+Our minds go back to the year of our Lord 79, when there was high
+carnival in the little city of Pompeii, with its thirty thousand
+people, when the town was filled with strangers who had come to the
+great show; at the time of an election, when politicians were scheming
+and working to get themselves or their friends into power; when gayly
+dressed crowds thronged the streets on their way to the amphitheatre
+to see the gladiatorial fight; when there was feasting and revelry in
+every house; when merchants were exulting in the midst of thriving
+trade; when the pagan temples were hung with garlands and filled with
+gifts; when the slaves were at work in the mills, the kitchens, and
+the baths; when the gladiators were fighting the wild beasts of the
+arena&mdash;then it was that a swift destruction swept over the city and
+buried it in a silence that lasted for centuries.</p>
+
+<p>Vesuvius, the volcano so near them, but which had been silent so many
+years that they had ceased to dread it, suddenly woke into activity,
+and threw out of its summit a torrent of burning lava and ashes, and
+in a few short hours buried the two cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii
+so completely that two centuries after no one could tell <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>the precise
+place where they had stood, and men built houses and cultivated farms
+over the spot, never dreaming that cities lay beneath them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_166" id="imag_166"></a><img src="images/gs290.jpg" width="600" height="384" alt="THE ATRIUM IN THE HOUSE OF PANSA RESTORED." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ATRIUM IN THE HOUSE OF PANSA RESTORED.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But here we are at the house of Pansa. Let us go in. We do not wait
+for any invitation from the owner, for he left it nearly two thousand
+years ago, and his descendants, if he have any, are totally ignorant
+of their illustrious descent. First we enter a large hall called the
+Atrium. You can see from the magnificence of this apartment in what
+style the rich Pompeiians lived. The floor is paved in black and white
+mosaic, with a marble basin in the centre. The doors <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>opening from
+this hall conduct us to smaller apartments, two reception rooms, a
+parlor, the library, and six diminutive bedrooms, only large enough to
+contain a bedstead, and with no window. It must have been the fashion
+to sleep with open doors, or the sleepers must inevitably have been
+suffocated.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the Atrium you see a large court with a fountain in the
+middle. This was called the Peristyle. Around it was a portico with
+columns. To the left were three bedchambers and the kitchen, and to
+the right three bedchambers and the dining-room. Behind the Peristyle
+was a grand saloon, and back of this the garden. The upper stories of
+this house have entirely disappeared. This is a spacious house, but
+there are some in the city more beautifully decorated, with paintings
+and mosaics.</p>
+
+<p>When the rubbish was cleared out of this house, much of Pansa's costly
+furniture was found to be in perfect preservation, and also the
+statues. In the library were found a few books, not quite destroyed;
+in the kitchen the coal was in the fire-places; and the kitchen
+utensils of bronze and terra-cotta were in their proper places. Nearly
+all of the valuable portable things found in Pompeii have been carried
+away and placed in the museum at Naples.</p>
+
+<p>This Pansa was candidate for the office of &aelig;dile, or mayor of the
+city, at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius. We know this from the
+placards that were found posted in various parts of the city, and
+which were as fresh and clean as on the day they were written. These
+placards, or posters, were very numerous, and there seem to have been
+a great many candidates for the various city offices; and it is very
+evident, from the inscriptions on the houses, on the walls of public
+buildings and the baths, that party feeling ran quite as high in this
+luxurious city of ancient times as it does now in any city in America.
+For these Pompeiians had no newspaper, and expressed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>their sentiments
+on the walls, and they have consequently come down to us of the
+present day.</p>
+
+<p>These inscriptions not only related to politics, but referred often to
+social and domestic matters, and, taken in connection with the
+pictures of home scenes that were painted on the walls of the houses,
+give us such accurate and vivid accounts of the people that it is easy
+to imagine them all back in their places, and living the old life over
+again. Pansa, and Paratus, and Sallust, and Diomed, and Julia, and
+Sabina seem to be our own friends, with whom we have often visited the
+Forum or the theatre, and gone home to dine.</p>
+
+<p>That curious-looking pin with a Cupid on it is a lady's hair-pin. The
+necklaces are in the form of serpents, which were favorite symbols
+with the ancients. The stands of their tables, candelabra, &amp;c., were
+carved into grotesque or beautiful designs, and even the kitchen
+utensils were made graceful with figures of exquisite workmanship, and
+were sometimes fashioned out of silver.</p>
+
+<p>Among the pretty things found in Pompeiian houses I will mention the
+following:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>A bronze statuette of a Dancing Faun, with head and arms uplifted;
+every muscle seems to be in motion, and the whole body dancing.
+Another of a boy with head bent forward, and the whole body in the
+attitude of listening. Then there is a fine group of statuary
+representing the mighty Hercules holding a stag bent over his knee;
+another of the beautiful Apollo with his lyre in his hand leaning
+against a pillar. There are figures of huntsmen in full chase, and of
+fishermen sitting patiently and quietly "waiting for a bite." A very
+celebrated curiosity is the large urn or vase of blue glass, with
+figures carved on it in half relief, in white. (For the ancients knew
+how to carve glass.) These white figures look as if made of the finest
+ivory instead of being carved in glass. They represent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> masks
+enveloped in festoons of vine tendrils, loaded with clusters of
+grapes, mingled with other foliage, on which birds are swinging,
+children plucking grapes or treading them under foot, or blowing on
+flutes, or tumbling over each other in frolicsome glee. This superb
+urn, which is like nothing we have nowadays, is supposed to have been
+intended to hold the ashes of the dead. For it was a custom of ancient
+days to burn the bodies of the dead, and place the urns containing
+their ashes in magnificent tombs.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_167" id="imag_167"></a><img src="images/gs293.jpg" width="400" height="582" alt="ORNAMENTS FROM POMPEII." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ORNAMENTS FROM POMPEII.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>Instead of hanging pictures as we do, the Pompeiians generally had
+them painted upon the smoothly prepared walls of their halls and
+saloons. The ashes of Vesuvius preserved these paintings so well that,
+when first exposed to the light, the coloring on them is fresh and
+vivid, and every line and figure clear and distinct. But the sunlight
+soon fades them. They are very beautiful, and teach us much about the
+beliefs and customs of the old city.</p>
+
+<p>Lovely and graceful as were these pictures, the floors of the houses
+are much more wonderful. They are marvels of art. Not only are flowers
+and running vines and complicated designs there laid in mosaics, but
+pictures that startle with their life-like beauty. There are many of
+these, but perhaps the finest of all is the one found in the same
+house with the Dancing Faun. It represents a battle. A squadron of
+victorious Greeks is rushing upon part of a Persian army. The latter
+are turning to flee. Those around the vanquished Persian king think
+only of their safety, but the king, with his hand extended towards his
+dying general, turns his back upon his flying forces, and invites
+death. Every figure in it seems to be in motion. You seem to hear the
+noise of battle, and to see the rage, fear, triumph, and pity
+expressed by the different faces. Think of such wonderful effects
+being produced by putting together pieces of glass and marble, colored
+enamel, and various stones!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> But, leaving all these beauties, and
+descending to homely everyday life, we will go into a bakery. Here is
+one in a good state of preservation.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_168" id="imag_168"></a><img src="images/gs295.jpg" width="600" height="388" alt="DISCOVERIES OF LOAVES OF BREAD BAKED EIGHTEEN HUNDRED
+YEARS AGO." title="" />
+<span class="caption">DISCOVERIES OF LOAVES OF BREAD BAKED EIGHTEEN HUNDRED
+YEARS AGO.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is a mill and bakery together. The Pompeiians sent their grain to
+the baker, and he ground it into flour, and, making it into dough,
+baked it and sent back loaves of bread. The mills look like huge
+hour-glasses. They are made of two cone-shaped stones with the small
+ends together. The upper one revolved, and crushed the grain between
+the stones. They were worked sometimes by a slave, but oftenest by a
+donkey. There is the trough for kneading the bread, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>the arched oven,
+the cavity below for the ashes, the large vase for water with which to
+sprinkle the crust and make it "shiny," and the pipe to carry off the
+smoke. In one of these ovens were found eighty-one loaves, weighing a
+pound each, whole, hard, and black, in the order in which they had
+been placed on the 23d of November, 79. Suppose the baker who placed
+them there had been told that eighteen hundred years would elapse
+before they would be taken out!</p>
+
+<p>Having wandered about the city, and looked at all the streets,
+monuments, and dwellings, and having seen very much more than I have
+here described&mdash;the Forum, or Town Hall, the theatres, baths, stores,
+temples, the street where the tombs are&mdash;and having looked at the rude
+cross carved on a wall, showing that the religion of Christ had
+penetrated to this Pagan city&mdash;having examined all these, you will
+visit the amphitheatre.</p>
+
+<p>To do this we must leave the part of the city that has interested us
+so much, and, passing once more through the vineyards and orchards
+that still cover a large portion of the city, descend again into a
+sort of ravine, where we will find the amphitheatre. It was quite as
+the end of the city, next to the wall. It is a circus. The large open
+space in the centre was called the arena. Here there were fierce and
+bloody fights; wild beasts fought with each other, or with men trained
+to the business and called gladiators, and these gladiators often
+fought with each other&mdash;all for the amusement of the people, who were
+never satisfied unless a quantity of blood was shed, and many were
+killed. This arena was covered with sand, and a ditch filled with
+water separated it from the seats.</p>
+
+<p>The seats arose from this arena, tier above tier. There were three
+divisions of them, separating the rich from the middle class, and
+these again from the slaves. It was well arranged for the comfort of
+the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>audience, having wide aisles and plenty of places of exit. The
+whole was covered with an awning. In the wall around the arena are the
+holes where thick iron bars were inserted as a precaution against the
+bounds of the panthers. To the right of the principal entrance are two
+square rooms with gratings where the wild beasts were kept. This
+amphitheatre would hold twenty thousand persons!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_169" id="imag_169"></a><img src="images/gs297.jpg" width="600" height="396" alt="THE AMPHITHEATRE OF POMPEII." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE AMPHITHEATRE OF POMPEII.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We visit this place last because it was while the amphitheatre was
+crowded with people intent upon the bloody spectacle; while wild
+beasts, and men more cruel than the beasts, were fighting together,
+and spectators less pitiful than either were greedily enjoying it,
+that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>suddenly the ground trembled violently. This perhaps was not
+perceived in the circus, on account of the excitement all were in, and
+the noise that was going on in the arena. But it was soon followed by
+a whirlwind of ashes, and lurid flashes of flame darted across the
+sky. The beasts were instantly tamed, and cowered down in abject
+terror, and the gladiators, for the first time in their lives, grew
+pale with fear. Then the startled crowd within the vast building heard
+from the streets the fearful cry: "Vesuvius is on fire!" In an instant
+the spectacle is forgotten; the terrified crowd rush out of the
+building, and happy is it for them that the architects have provided
+so many places of exit. Some fled towards the sea, and some to the
+open country. Those who reached the ships were saved, but woe to those
+who went to their homes to collect their valuables to take with them,
+or who took refuge under cover in the cellars.</p>
+
+<p>After the rain of ashes came a shower of blazing stones, which fell
+uninterruptedly, setting fire to all parts of the city and blocking up
+the streets with burning masses. And then a fresh storm of ashes
+sweeping down would partly smother the flames, but, blocking up the
+doorways, would stifle those within the houses. And to add to the
+horror, the volumes of smoke that poured from the mountain caused a
+darkness deeper than night to settle on the doomed city, through which
+the people groped their way, except when lighted by the burning
+houses. What horror and confusion in the streets! Friends seeking each
+other with faces of utter despair; the groans of the dying mingled
+with the crash of falling buildings; the pelting of the fiery stones;
+the shrieks of women and children; the terrific peals of thunder.</p>
+
+<p>So ended the day, and the dreadful scene went on far into the night.
+In a few hours the silence of death fell upon the city. The ashes
+continued to pour steadily down upon it, and drifting into every
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>crevice of the buildings, and settling like a closely-fitting shroud
+around the thousands and thousands of dead bodies, preserved all that
+the flames had spared for the eyes of the curious who should live
+centuries after. And a gray ashy hill blotted out Pompeii from the
+sight of that generation.</p>
+
+<p>Hundreds of skeletons have already been found, and their expressive
+attitudes tell us the story of their death. We know of the pitiful
+avarice and vanity of many of the rich ladies who went to their homes
+to save their jewels, and fell with them clutched tightly in their
+hands. One woman in the house of the Faun was loaded with jewels, and
+had died in the vain effort to hold up with her outstretched arms the
+ceiling that was crushing down upon her. But women were not the only
+ones who showed an avaricious disposition in the midst of the thunders
+and flames of Vesuvius. Men had tried to carry off their money, and
+the delay had cost them their lives, and they were buried in the ashes
+with the coins they so highly valued. Diomed, one of the richest men
+of Pompeii, abandoned his wife and daughters and was fleeing with a
+bag of silver when he was stifled in front of his garden by noxious
+vapors. In the cellar of his house were found the corpses of seventeen
+women and children.</p>
+
+<p>A priest was discovered in the temple of Isis, holding fast to an axe
+with which he had cut his way through two walls, and died at the
+third. In a shop two lovers had died in each other's arms. A woman
+carrying a baby had sought refuge in a tomb, but the ashes had walled
+them tightly in. A soldier died bravely at his post, erect before a
+city gate, one hand on his spear and the other on his mouth, as if to
+keep from breathing the stifling gases.</p>
+
+<p>Thus perished in a short time over thirty thousand citizens and
+strangers in the city of Pompeii, now a city under the ground.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_170" id="imag_170"></a><img src="images/gs300.jpg" width="500" height="414" alt="The Coachman" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_COACHMAN" id="THE_COACHMAN"></a>THE COACHMAN.</h2>
+
+
+<p>When a boy sees a coachman driving two showy, high-stepping horses
+along the street, or, better still, over a level country road, with
+his long whip curling in the air, which whip he now and then flirts so
+as to make a sharp, cracking noise over the horses' heads, and
+occasionally brings down with a light flick upon the flanks of the
+right or left horse,&mdash;the carriage, shining with varnish and plate,
+rolling along swiftly and smoothly,&mdash;the little boy is apt to think
+that coachman must be a very happy mortal.</p>
+
+<p>If the man on the carriage-box sees the boy looking at him with so
+much admiration, he will probably throw him a jolly little laugh and a
+friendly nod, and, gathering up the reins and drawing them in tightly
+so as to arch the horses' necks and make them look prouder and more
+stately than before, he will give a loud crack with his curl<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>ing
+whip-lash, and the horses will start off at a rapid trot, and the
+carriage will sweep around a curve in the road so gracefully that the
+boy's heart will be filled with envy&mdash;not of the persons in the
+carriage&mdash;oh, no! riding in a close carriage is a very tame and dull
+affair; but he will envy the driver. An ambition springs up in his
+mind at that instant. Of all things in the world he would rather be a
+coachman! That shall be his business when he grows up to be a man. And
+the chances are that when he goes home he tells his father so.</p>
+
+<p>But if the little boy, instead of lying tucked in his warm bed, should
+be set down at twelve o'clock at night upon the pavement in front of
+that great house with the tall lamps on the steps, he would see this
+same coachman under conditions that he would not envy at all.</p>
+
+<p>The empty carriage is close to the curb-stone, with the door swinging
+open as if to urge the owners to hurry and take possession. The
+high-stepping trotters are covered with blankets to protect them from
+the piercing cold, and, with their heads drooping, are either asleep
+or wondering why they are not put into the stable to take their
+night's rest; and the coachman is dancing about on the pavement to
+keep his feet warm&mdash;not by any means a merry kind of dance, although
+he moves about pretty briskly. He has taken off his gloves, for they
+seem to make his hands colder, and now he has thrust one hand into his
+pocket and is blowing on the other with all his might. His whip, that
+curled so defiantly in the air, is now pushed under his arm, and the
+lash is trailing, limp and draggled, on the stones. He is warmly clad,
+and his great-coat has three capes, but all cannot put sufficient heat
+into his body, for it is a bitter cold night, and the wind comes
+howling down the street as if it would like to bite off everybody's
+ears and noses. It shakes the leafless branches of the trees until
+they all seem to be moaning and groaning together. The moon is just
+rising over the church, and the coachman is standing right in a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>broad
+patch of its light. But moonlight, though very beautiful when you are
+where you can comfortably admire it, never warmed anybody yet. And so
+the poor coachman gets no good out of that.</p>
+
+<p>There is a party in the great house. The boy is standing where he can
+only see the lower steps and the tall lamps, but the coachman can see
+that it is lighted from garret to cellar. He knows that it is warm as
+summer in there. There are stands of flowers all the way up the
+stairways, baskets of them are swinging from the ceilings, and vines
+are trailing over the walls.</p>
+
+<p>Who in there could ever guess how bleak and cold it is outside! Ladies
+in shimmering silks and satins, and glittering with jewels, are
+flitting about the halls, and floating up and down the rooms in
+graceful dances, to the sound of music that only comes out to the
+coachman in fitful bursts.</p>
+
+<p>He has amused himself watching all this during part of the evening,
+but now he is looking in at the side-light of the door to see if there
+are any signs of the breaking up of the party, or if those he is to
+take home are ready to go away. He is getting very impatient, and let
+us hope they will soon come out and relieve him.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="GEYSERS_AND_HOW_THEY_WORK" id="GEYSERS_AND_HOW_THEY_WORK"></a>GEYSERS, AND HOW THEY WORK.</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_171" id="imag_171"></a><img src="images/gs303.jpg" width="400" height="624" alt="THE GRAND GEYSER OF ICELAND." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GRAND GEYSER OF ICELAND.</span>
+</div>
+<p>Geysers, or fountains of hot water or mud, are found in several parts
+of the world. Iceland possesses the grandest one, but in California
+there are a great many of these natural hot fountains, most of which
+throw forth mud as well as water. Some of the American Geysers are
+terrible things to behold. They are generally found near each other,
+in particular localities, and any one wandering about among them sees
+in one place a great pool full of black bubbling contents, so hot that
+an egg thrown in the spring will be boiled in a minute or two; there
+he sees another spring <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>throwing up boiling mud a few feet in the air;
+there another one, quiet now, but which may at any time burst out and
+send its hot contents high above the heads of the spectators; here a
+great hole in the ground, out of which constantly issues a column of
+steam, and everywhere are cracks and crevices in the earth, out of
+which come little jets of steam, and which give the idea that it would
+not require a very heavy blow to break in, at any point, the crust of
+the earth, and let the adventurous traveller drop down into the
+boiling mass below.</p>
+
+<p>In Iceland the Geysers are not quite so terrible in their aspect as
+those in California, but they are bad enough. Their contents are
+generally water, some hot and bubbling, and some hot and still; while
+the Great Geyser, the grandest work of the kind in the world, bursts
+forth at times with great violence, sending jets of hot water hundreds
+of feet into the air.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;">
+<a name="imag_172" id="imag_172"></a><img src="images/gs305.jpg" width="300" height="788" alt="THE ARTIFICIAL GEYSER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ARTIFICIAL GEYSER.</span>
+</div>
+<p>These wonderful hot springs, wherever they have been found, have
+excited the greatest attention and interest, in travellers and
+scientific men, and their workings have been explained somewhat in
+this way:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Water having gradually accumulated in vast underground crevices and
+cavities, is heated by the fires, which, in volcanic regions, are not
+very far from the surface of the earth. If there is a channel or tube
+from the reservoir to the surface, the water will expand and rise
+until it fills the basin which is generally found at the mouth of hot
+springs. But the water beneath, being still further heated, will be
+changed into steam, which will at times burst out with great force,
+carrying with it a column of water high into the air. When this water
+falls back into the basin it is much cooler, on account of its contact
+with the air, and it cools the water in the basin, and also condenses
+the steam in the tube or channel leading from the reservoir. The
+spring is then quiet until enough steam is again formed to cause
+another eruption. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>A celebrated German chemist named Bunsen
+constructed an apparatus for the purpose of showing the operations of
+Geysers. Here it is.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>You see that the two fires in the engraving&mdash;one lower and larger than
+the other, because the heat of the earth increases as we get farther
+from the surface&mdash;will heat the water in the iron tube very much as
+water is heated in a real Geyser; and when steam enough is formed, a
+column of hot water is thrown out of the basin. The great subterranean
+reservoir is not imitated in this apparatus, but the action is the
+same as if the tube arose from an iron vessel. There is a great deal
+in Bunsen's description of this contrivance, in regard to the
+difference in the temperature of the water in that part of the tube
+between the two fires, and that in the upper portion, which explains
+the intermittent character of the eruptions of a Geyser, but it is not
+necessary for us to go into all his details.</p>
+
+<p>When we know that under a Geyser the water is boiling in a great
+reservoir which communicates with the surface by a natural tube or
+spout, we need not wonder that occasionally a volume of steam bursts
+forth, sending a column of water far into the air.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_173" id="imag_173"></a><img src="images/gs306.jpg" width="500" height="505" alt="A Giant Puff-ball" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="A_GIANT_PUFF-BALL" id="A_GIANT_PUFF-BALL"></a>A GIANT PUFF-BALL.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>I suppose you have all seen puff-balls, which grow in the fields like
+mushrooms and toadstools, but I am quite sure that you never saw
+anything of the kind quite so large as that one in the picture. And
+yet that engraving was made from a drawing from the puff-ball itself.
+So we need not suppose that there is anything fanciful about it.</p>
+
+<p>The vegetable in question is a kind of <i>fungi</i> called the Giganti
+Lycoperdon, and it attains its enormous size in one night! It springs
+from a seed so small that you could not see it, and grows, while you
+are asleep, to be bigger, perhaps, than you are yourself!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Think of that! How would you like to plant the whole garden, some
+afternoon, with that kind of seed? Would not your father and mother,
+and everybody else, be astounded when they woke up and saw a couple of
+hundred of those things, as big as barrels, filling up every bed!</p>
+
+<p>They would certainly think it was the most astonishing crop they had
+ever seen, and there might be people who would suppose that fairies or
+magicians had been about.</p>
+
+<p>The great trouble about such a crop would be that it would be good for
+nothing.</p>
+
+<p>I cannot imagine what any one would do with a barnful of Lycoperdons.</p>
+
+<p>But it would be wonderfully interesting to watch the growth of such a
+<i>fungus</i>. You could see it grow. In one night you could see its whole
+life, from almost nothing at all to that enormous ball in the picture.
+Nature could hardly show us a more astonishing sight than that.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_174" id="imag_174"></a><img src="images/gs308.jpg" width="400" height="393" alt="Tickled by a Straw" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="TICKLED_BY_A_STRAW" id="TICKLED_BY_A_STRAW"></a>TICKLED BY A STRAW.</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">From his dreams of tops and marbles,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where the soaring kites he saw,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is that little urchin wakened,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Tickled by a wheaten straw.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">How do you suppose he likes it,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Young one with annoying paw?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If I only were your mother,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I'd tickle you with birchen straw.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Soon enough, from pleasant dreaming,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">You'll be wakened by the law,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which provides for every vision<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Some sort of provoking straw.<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span></div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">In dreams of play, or hope, or loving,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">When plans of happiness you draw,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Underneath <i>your</i> nose may wiggle<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Life's most aggravating straw<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_LIGHT_IN_THE_CASTLE" id="THE_LIGHT_IN_THE_CASTLE"></a>THE LIGHT IN THE CASTLE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On a high hill, in a lonely part of Europe, there stood a ruined
+castle. No one lived there, for the windows were destitute of glass;
+there were but few planks left of the floors; the roof was gone; and
+the doors had long ago rotted off their hinges. So that any persons
+who should take up their residence in this castle would be exposed to
+the rain, when there was a storm; to the wind, when it blew; and to
+robbers, if they should come; besides running the risk of breaking
+their necks by falling between the rafters, every time they attempted
+to walk about the house.</p>
+
+<p>It was a very solemn, lonely, and desolate castle, and for many and
+many a year no human being had been known to set foot inside of it.</p>
+
+<p>It was about ten o'clock of a summer night that Hubert Flamry and his
+sister Hulda were returning to their home from an errand to a distant
+village, where they had been belated. Their path led them quite near
+to the ruined castle, but they did not trouble themselves at all on
+this account, for they had often passed it, both by night and day. But
+to-night they had scarcely caught sight of the venerable structure
+when Hubert started back, and, seizing his sister's arm, exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>"Look, Hulda! look! A light in the castle!"</p>
+
+<p>Little Hulda looked quickly in the direction in which her brother was
+pointing, and, sure enough, there was a light moving about the castle
+as if some one was inside, carrying a lantern from room to room. The
+children stopped and stood almost motionless.</p>
+
+<p>"What can it be, Hubert?" whispered Hulda.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said he. "It may be a man, but he could not walk where
+there are no floors. I'm afraid it's a ghost."</p>
+
+<p>"Would a ghost have to carry a light to see by?" asked Hulda.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Hubert, trembling in both his knees, "but I think
+he is coming out."</p>
+
+<p>It did seem as if the individual with the light was about to leave the
+castle. At one moment he would be seen near one of the lower windows,
+and then he would pass along on the outside of the walls, and directly
+Hubert and Hulda both made up their minds that he was coming down the
+hill.</p>
+
+<p>"Had we better run?" said Hulda.</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied her brother. "Let's hide in the bushes."</p>
+
+<p>So they hid.</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes Hubert grasped his sister by the shoulder. He was
+trembling so much that the bushes shook as if there was a wind.</p>
+
+<p>"Hulda!" he whispered, "he's walking along the brook, right on top of
+the water!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is he coming this way?" said Hulda, who had wrapped her head in her
+apron.</p>
+
+<p>"Right straight!" cried Hubert. "Give me your hand, Hulda!" And,
+without another word, the boy and girl burst out of the bushes and ran
+away like rabbits.</p>
+
+<p>When Hulda, breathless, fell down on the grass, Hubert also stopped
+and looked behind him. They were near the edge of the brook, and
+there, coming right down the middle of the stream, was the light which
+had so frightened them.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh-h! Bother!" said Hubert.</p>
+
+<p>"What?" asked poor little Hulda, looking up from the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it's only a Jack-o'-lantern!" said Hubert. "Let's go home,
+Hulda."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As they were hurrying along the path to their home, Hubert seemed very
+much provoked, and he said to his sister:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_175" id="imag_175"></a><img src="images/gs312.jpg" width="600" height="385" alt="The Will-o'-the-Wisp" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>"Hulda, it was very foolish for you to be frightened at such a thing
+as that."</p>
+
+<p>"Me?" said Hulda, opening her eyes very wide, "I guess you were just
+as much frightened as I was."</p>
+
+<p>"You might have known that no real person would be wandering about the
+castle at night, and a ghost couldn't carry anything, for his fingers
+are all smoke."</p>
+
+<p>"You ought to have known that too, I should say, Mr. Hubert," answered
+Hulda.</p>
+
+<p>"And then, I don't believe the light was in the castle at all. It was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>just bobbing about between us and the castle, and we thought it was
+inside. You ought to have thought of that, Hulda."</p>
+
+<p>"Me!" exclaimed little Hulda, her eyes almost as big as two silver
+dollars.</p>
+
+<p>It always seems to me a great pity that there should be such boys as
+Hubert Flamry.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_176" id="imag_176"></a><img src="images/gs314.jpg" width="500" height="714" alt="The Oak Tree" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_OAK_TREE" id="THE_OAK_TREE"></a>THE OAK TREE.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>I really don't know which liked the great oak best, Harry or his
+grandfather. Harry was a sturdy little fellow, seven years old, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>could play ball, and fly kites, and all such things, when he had
+anybody to play with. But his father's house was a long distance from
+the village, and so he did not often have playmates, and it is poor
+sport to play marbles or ball by one's self. He did sometimes roll his
+hoop or fly his kite when alone, but he would soon get tired, and
+then, if it was a clear day, he would most likely say:</p>
+
+<p>"Grandpa, don't you want to go to the big oak?"</p>
+
+<p>And Grandpa would answer:</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, child, we will go. I am always glad to give you that
+pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>This he said, but everybody knew he liked to go for his own pleasure
+too. So Harry would bring Grandpa his cane and hat, and away they
+would go down the crooked path through the field. When they got to the
+draw-bars, Harry took them down for his Grandpa to pass through, and
+then put them carefully up again, so that the cows should not get out
+of the pasture. And, when this was done, there they were at the
+oak-tree.</p>
+
+<p>This was a very large tree, indeed, and its branches extended over the
+road quite to the opposite side. Right at the foot of the tree was a
+clear, cold spring, from which a little brook trickled, and lost
+itself in the grass. A dipper was fastened to a projecting root above
+the spring, that thirsty travellers might drink. The road by the side
+of which the oak stood was a very public one, for it led to a city
+twenty miles away. So a great many persons passed the tree, and
+stopped at the spring to drink. And that was the reason why little
+Harry and his Grandpa were so fond of going there. It was really quite
+a lively place. Carriages would bowl along, all glittering with plate
+and glass, and with drivers in livery; market wagons would rattle by
+with geese squawking, ducks quacking, and pigs squealing; horsemen
+would gallop past on splendid horses; hay wagons would <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span>creak slowly
+by, drawn by great oxen; and, best of all, the stage would dash
+furiously up, with the horses in a swinging trot, and the driver
+cracking his whip, and the bright red stage swaying from side to side.</p>
+
+<p>It generally happened that somebody in the stage wanted a drink from
+the spring, and Harry would take the cup handed out of the window, and
+dip it full of the cold, sparkling water, and then there would be a
+few minutes of friendly chat.</p>
+
+<p>But the most of the talk was with the foot-passengers. The old man sat
+on a bench in the cool shade, and the child would run about and play
+until some one came along. Then he would march up to the tree and
+stand with his hands in his pockets to hear what was said, very often
+having a good deal to say himself. Sometimes these people would stay a
+long time under the shade of the tree, and there were so many
+different people, and they had so many different kinds of things to
+say, that Harry thought it was like hearing a book read, only a great
+deal better.</p>
+
+<p>At one time it would be a soldier, who had wonderful things to tell of
+the battles he had fought. Another day it would be a sailor, who,
+while smoking his pipe, would talk about the trackless deserts of
+burning sands; and of the groves of cinnamon, and all sweet spices,
+where bright-colored parrots are found; and of the great storms at
+sea, when the waves dashed ships to pieces. Another time a foreigner
+would have much to say about the strange people and customs of other
+lands; and sometimes they talked in a strange language, and could not
+be understood, and that was very amusing.</p>
+
+<p>The organ-grinders were the best, for they would play such beautiful
+tunes, and perhaps there would be children who would tinkle their
+tambourines, and sing the songs that the girls sing in Italy when they
+tread out the grapes for wine. And sometimes <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>there would be&mdash;oh, joy!
+a monkey! And then what fun Harry would have!</p>
+
+<p>And sometimes there were poor men and women, tired and sick, who had
+nothing to say but what was sad.</p>
+
+<p>Occasionally an artist would stop under the tree. He would have a
+great many of his sketches with him, which he would show to Harry and
+Grandpa. And then he would go off to a distance, and make a picture of
+the splendid oak, with the old man and child under it, and perhaps he
+would put into it some poor woman with her baby, who happened to be
+there, and some poor girl drinking out of the spring. And Harry and
+Grandpa always thought this better than any of the other pictures he
+showed them.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_177" id="imag_177"></a><img src="images/gs318.jpg" width="400" height="506" alt="The Sea-Side" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_SEA-SIDE" id="THE_SEA-SIDE"></a>THE SEA-SIDE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>The ocean is so wonderful itself, that it invests with some of its
+peculiar interest the very sands and rocks that lie upon its edges.
+There is always something to see at the sea-side; whether you walk
+along the lonely coast; go down among the fishermen, and their nets
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span>and boats; or pass along the sands, lively with crowds of
+many-colored bathers.</p>
+
+<p>But if there was nothing but the grand old ocean itself, it would be
+enough. Whether it is calm and quiet, just rolling in steadily upon
+the shore, in long lines of waves, which come sweeping and curling
+upon the beach and then breaking, spread far out over the sand&mdash;or
+whether the storm-waves, tossing high their lofty heads, come rushing
+madly upon the coast, dashing themselves upon the sands and thundering
+up against the rocks, the sea is grand!</p>
+
+<p>What a tremendous thing an ocean is! Ever in powerful motion; so
+wonderful and awful in its unknown depths, and stretching so far, far,
+far away!</p>
+
+<p>But, even on the coasts of this great ocean, our days seem all too
+short, as we search among the rocks and in the little pools for the
+curiosities of the sea-side. Here are shells, and shells, and
+shells,&mdash;from the great conch, which you put up to your ear to hear
+the sound of the sea within, to the tiny things which we find stored
+away in little round cases, which are all fastened together in a
+string, like the rattles of a snake.</p>
+
+<p>In the shallow pools that have been left by the tide we may find a
+crab or two, perhaps, some jelly-fish, star-fish, and those wonderful
+living flowers, the sea-anemones. And then we will watch the great
+gulls sweeping about in the air, and if we are lucky, we may see an
+army of little fiddler-crabs marching along, each one with one claw in
+the air. We may gather sea-side diamonds; we may, perhaps, go in and
+bathe, and who can tell everything that we may do on the shores of the
+grand old ocean!</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_178" id="imag_178"></a><img src="images/gs320.jpg" width="400" height="575" alt="The Vessels on Shore" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>And if we ever get among the fishermen, then we are sure to have good
+times of still another kind. Then we shall see the men who live by the
+sea, and on the sea. We shall wander along the shore, and look at
+their fishing-vessels, which seem so small when they are on the water,
+but which loom up high above our heads when they are drawn up on the
+shore&mdash;some with their clumsy-looking rudders <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>hauled up out of
+danger, and others with rudder and keel resting together on the rough
+beach. Anchors, buoys, bits of chains, and hawsers lie about the
+shore, while nets are hanging at the doors of the fishermen's
+cottages, some hung up to dry and some hung up to mend.</p>
+
+<p>Here we may often watch the fishermen putting out to sea in their
+dirty, but strong, little vessels, which go bouncing away on the
+waves, their big sails appearing so much too large for the boats that
+it seems to us, every now and then, as if they must certainly topple
+over. And then, at other times, we will see the fishermen returning,
+and will be on the beach when the boats are drawn up on the sand, and
+the fish, some white, some gray, some black, but all glittering and
+smooth, are tumbled into baskets and carried up to the houses to be
+salted down, or sent away fresh for the markets.</p>
+
+<p>Then the gulls come circling about the scene, and the ducks that live
+at the fishermen's houses come waddling down to see about any little
+fishes that may be thrown away upon the sand; and men with tarpaulin
+coats and flannel shirts sit on old anchors and lean up against the
+boats, smoking short pipes while they talk about cod, and mackerel,
+and mainsails and booms; and, best of all, the delightful sea-breeze
+comes sweeping in, browning our cheeks, reddening our blood, and
+giving us such a splendid appetite that even the fishermen themselves
+could not throw us very far into the shade, at meal-times.</p>
+
+<p>As for bathing in the sea, plunging into the surf, with the waves
+breaking over your head and the water dashing and sparkling all about
+you, I need not say much about that. I might as well try to describe
+the pleasure of eating a saucer of strawberries-and-cream, and you
+know I could not do it.</p>
+
+<p>There are nations who never see the ocean, nor have anything to do
+with it. They have not even a name for it.</p>
+
+<p>They are to be pitied for many things, but for nothing more than this.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_SICK_PIKE" id="THE_SICK_PIKE"></a>THE SICK PIKE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>There is no reason why a pike should not be sick. Everything that has
+life is subject to illness, but it is very seldom that any fish has
+the good sense and the good fortune of the pike that I am going to
+tell you about.</p>
+
+<p>This pike was a good-sized fellow, weighing about six pounds, and he
+belonged to the Earl of Stamford, who lived near Durham, England. His
+story was read by Dr. Warwick to the Literary and Philosophical
+Society of Liverpool. I am particular about these authorities because
+this story is a little out of the common run.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Warwick was walking by a lake, in the Earl's park, and the pike
+was lying in the water near the shore, probably asleep. At any rate,
+when it saw the doctor it made a sudden dart into deep water and
+dashed its head against a sunken post. This accident seemed to give
+the fish great pain, for it pitched and tossed about in the lake, and
+finally rushed up to the surface and threw itself right out of the
+water on to the bank.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor now stooped to examine it, and to his surprise the fish
+remained perfectly quiet in his hands. He found that the skull was
+fractured and one eye was injured by the violence with which the fish
+had struck the post. With a silver tooth-pick (he had not his
+instruments with him) the doctor arranged the broken portion of the
+pike's skull, and when the operation was completed he placed the fish
+in the water. For a minute or two the Pike seemed satisfied, but then
+it jumped out of the water on to the bank again. The doctor put the
+fish back, but it jumped out again, and repeated this performance
+several times. It seemed to know (and how, I am sure I have not the
+least idea) that that man was a doctor, and it did not intend to
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>leave him until it had been properly treated&mdash;just as if it was one
+of his best patients.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor began to see that something more was expected of him, and
+so he called a game-keeper to him, and with his assistance he put a
+bandage around the pike's head.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_179" id="imag_179"></a><img src="images/gs323.jpg" width="600" height="383" alt="The Sick Pike" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>When this surgical operation had been completed the pike was put back
+into the water, and this time it appeared perfectly satisfied, and
+swam away.</p>
+
+<p>The next day, as Dr. Warwick was sitting by the lake, the pike, with,
+the bandage around its head, swam up and stuck its head out of the
+water, near the doctor's feet. The good physician took up the fish,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>examined the wound, and finding that it was getting on very well,
+replaced the bandage and put Mr. Pike into the lake again.</p>
+
+<p>This was a very grateful pike. After the excellent surgical treatment
+it received from Dr. Warwick, it became very fond of him, and whenever
+he walked by the side of the lake it would swim along by him, and
+although it was quite shy and gloomy when other people came to the
+waterside, it was always glad to see the doctor, and would come when
+he whistled, and eat out of his hand.</p>
+
+<p>I suppose in the whole ocean, and in all the rivers and lakes of the
+world, there are not more than two or three fish as sensible and
+grateful as this pike. In fact, it was very well for Dr. Warwick that
+there were no more such on the Earl of Stamford's estate. A large
+practice in the lake must soon have made a poor man of him, for I do
+not suppose that even that sensible pike would have paid a doctor's
+bill, if it had been presented to him.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_180" id="imag_180"></a><img src="images/gs325.jpg" width="400" height="526" alt="The Blossoms" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="TWO_KINDS_OF_BLOSSOMS" id="TWO_KINDS_OF_BLOSSOMS"></a>TWO KINDS OF BLOSSOMS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>When the winter has entirely gone, and there is not the slightest
+vestige left of snow or ice; when the grass is beginning to be
+beautifully green, and the crocuses and jonquils are thrusting their
+pretty <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>heads up out of the ground; when the sun is getting to be
+quite warm and the breezes very pleasant, then is the time for
+blossoms.</p>
+
+<p>Then it is especially the time for apple-blossoms. Not that the peach
+and the pear and the cherry trees do not fill their branches with pink
+and white flowers, and make as lovely a spring opening as any
+apple-trees in the land. Oh no! It is only because there are so many
+apple-trees and so many apple-orchards, that the peaches and pears are
+a little overlooked in blossom-time.</p>
+
+<p>A sweet place is the apple-orchard, when the grass is green, the trees
+are full of flowers, the air full of fragrance, and when every breeze
+brings down the most beautiful showers of flowery snow.</p>
+
+<p>And how beautiful and delicate is every individual flower! We are so
+accustomed to looking at blossoms in the mass&mdash;at treesful and whole
+orchardsful&mdash;that we are not apt to think that those great heaps of
+pink and loveliness are composed of little flowers, each one perfect
+in itself.</p>
+
+<p>And not only is each blossom formed of the most beautiful white
+petals, shaded with pink; not only does each one of them possess a
+most pleasant and delicate perfume, but every one of these little
+flowers&mdash;every one which comes to perfection, I mean&mdash;is but the
+precursor of an apple. This one may be a Golden Pippin; that one which
+looks just like it may be the forerunner of a Belle-flower; while the
+little green speck at the bottom of this one may turn into a Russet,
+with his sober coat.</p>
+
+<p>The birds that are flying among the branches do not think much about
+the apples that are to come, I reckon, and neither do the early
+butterflies that flutter about, looking very much like falling
+blossoms themselves. And, for that matter, we ourselves need not think
+too much about the coming apple crop. We ought sometimes to think <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>of
+and enjoy beauty for its own sake, without reference to what it may do
+in the future for our pockets and our stomachs.</p>
+
+<p>There are other kinds of blossoms than apple-blossoms, or those of any
+tree whatever. There are little flowers which bloom as well or better
+in winter than in summer, and which are not, in fact, flowers at all.</p>
+
+<p>These are ice-blossoms.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps you have never seen any of them, and I think it is very
+likely, for they can only be formed and perceived by the means of
+suitable instruments. And so here is a picture of some ice-blossoms.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_181" id="imag_181"></a><img src="images/gs327.jpg" width="500" height="312" alt="Ice-Blossoms" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>These curious formations, some of which appear like stars, others like
+very simple blossoms, while others are very complex; and some of which
+take the form of fern-leaves, are caused to appear in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>centre of a
+block of ice by means of concentrated rays of lights which are
+directed through the ice by means of mirrors and lenses. Sometimes
+they are observed by means of a magnifying-glass, and in other
+experiments their images are thrown upon a white screen.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_182" id="imag_182"></a><img src="images/gs328.jpg" width="600" height="181" alt="Ice-Flowers" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>We may consider these ice-flowers as very beautiful and very
+wonderful, but they are not a whit more so than our little blossoms of
+the apple-orchard.</p>
+
+<p>The latter are more common, and have to produce apples, while the
+ice-flowers are uncommon, and of no possible use.</p>
+
+<p>That is the difference between them.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="ABOUT_GLASS" id="ABOUT_GLASS"></a>ABOUT GLASS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Glass is so common and so cheap that we never think of being grateful
+for it. But if we had lived a few centuries ago, when the richest
+people had only wooden shutters to their windows, which, of course,
+had to be closed whenever it was cold or stormy, making the house as
+dark as night, and had then been placed in a house lighted by glass
+windows, we would scarcely have found words to express our
+thankfulness. It would have been like taking a man out of a dreary
+prison and setting him in the bright world of God's blessed sunshine.
+After a time men made small windows of stones that were partly
+transparent; and then they used skins prepared something like
+parchment, and finally they used sashes similar to ours, but in them
+they put oiled paper. And when at last glass came into use, it was so
+costly that very few were able to buy it, and they had it taken out of
+the windows and stored carefully away when they went on a journey, as
+people now store away pictures and silver-plate.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="imag_183" id="imag_183"></a><img src="images/gs330.jpg" width="600" height="162" alt="Ancient Bead" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>Now, when a boy wants a clear, white glass vial for any purpose, he
+can buy it for five cents; and for a few pennies a little girl can buy
+a large box of colored beads that will make her a necklace to go
+several times around her neck, and bracelets besides. These her elder
+sister regards with contempt; but there was a time when queens were
+proud to wear such. The oldest article of glass manufacture in
+existence is a bead. It has an inscription on it, but the writing,
+instead of being in letters, is in tiny little pictures.</p>
+
+<p>Here you see the bead, and the funny little pictures on it. The
+pictures mean this: "The good Queen Ramaka, the loved of Athor,
+protectress of Thebes." This Queen Ramaka was the wife of a king who
+reigned in Thebes more than three thousand years ago, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>which is
+certainly a very long time for a little glass bead to remain unbroken!
+The great city of Thebes, where it was made, has been in ruins for
+hundreds of years. No doubt this bead was part of a necklace that
+Queen Ramaka wore, and esteemed as highly as ladies now value their
+rubies. It was found in the ruins of Thebes by an Englishman.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_184" id="imag_184"></a><img src="images/gs331.jpg" width="400" height="653" alt="Venetian Bottle" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>It may be thought that this bead contradicts what has been said about
+there being a time when glass was unknown, and that time only a few
+centuries ago. But it is a singular fact that a nation will perfectly
+understand some art or manufacture that seems absolutely necessary to
+men's comfort and convenience, and yet this art in time will be
+completely lost, and things that were in common use will pass as
+completely out of existence as if they had never been, until, in after
+ages, some of them will be found among the ruins of cities and in old
+tombs. In this way we have found out that ancient nations knew how to
+make a great many things that enabled them to live as comfortably and
+luxuriously as we do now. But these things seem to have perished with
+the nations who used them, and for centuries people lived
+comfortlessly without them, until, in comparatively modern times, they
+have all been revived.</p>
+
+<p>Glass-making is one of these arts. It was known in the early ages of
+the world's history. There are pictures that were painted on tombs two
+thousand years before Christ's birth which represent men blowing
+glass, pretty much as it is done now, while others are taking <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>pots of
+it out of the furnaces in a melted state. But in those days it was
+probably costly, and not in common use; but the rich had glass until
+the first century after Christ, when it disappeared, and the art of
+making it was lost.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>The city of Venice was founded in the fifth century, and here we find
+that glass-making had been revived. You will see by this picture of a
+Venetian bottle how well they succeeded in the manufacture of glass
+articles.</p>
+
+<p>Venice soon became celebrated for this manufacture, and was for a long
+time the only place where glass was made. The manufacturers took great
+pains to keep their art a secret from other nations, and so did the
+government, because they were all growing rich from the money it
+brought into the city.</p>
+
+<p>In almost any part of the world to which you <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span>may chance to go you
+will find Silica. You may not know it by that name, but it is that
+shining, flinty substance you see in sand and rock-crystal. It is
+found in a very great number of things besides these two, but these
+are the most common.</p>
+
+<p>Lime is also found everywhere&mdash;in earth, in stones, in vegetables and
+bones, and hundreds of other substances.</p>
+
+<p>Soda is a common article, and is very easily produced by artificial
+means. Potash, which has the same properties as soda, exists in all
+ashes.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_185" id="imag_185"></a><img src="images/gs333.jpg" width="400" height="654" alt="German Drinking-Glass" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>Now silica, and lime, and soda, or potash, when melted together, form
+glass. So you see that the materials for making this substance which
+adds so much to our comfort and pleasure are freely given to all
+countries. And after Venice had set the example, other nations turned
+their attention to the study of glass-making, and soon found out this
+fact, in spite of the secrecy of the Venetians. After a time the
+Germans began to manufacture glass; and then the Bohemians. The latter
+invented engraving on glass, which art had also been known to the
+ancients, and then been lost. They also learned to color glass so
+brilliantly that Bohemian glass became more fashionable than Venetian,
+and has been highly thought of down to the present day.</p>
+
+<p>On the next page we see an immense drinking-glass of German
+manufacture, but this one was made many years after glass-making was
+first started there.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;">
+<a name="imag_186" id="imag_186"></a><img src="images/gs334.jpg" width="300" height="712" alt="Glass Jug" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>This great goblet, which it takes several bottles of wine to fill, was
+passed around at the end of a feast, and every guest was expected to
+take a sip out of it. This was a very social way of drinking, but I
+think on the whole it is just as well that it has gone out of fashion.</p>
+
+<p>The old Egyptians made glass bottles, and so did the early Romans, and
+used them just as we do for a very great variety of things. Their
+wine-bottles were of glass, sealed and labelled like ours. We might
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>suppose that, having once had them, people would never be without
+glass bottles. But history tells a different story. There evidently
+came a time when glass bottles vanished from the face of the earth;
+for we read of wooden bottles and those of goat-skin and leather, but
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span>there is no mention of glass. And men were satisfied with these
+clumsy contrivances, because in process of time it had been forgotten
+that any other were ever made.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>Hundreds of years rolled away, and then, behold! glass bottles
+appeared again. Now there is such a demand for them that one country
+alone&mdash;France&mdash;makes sixty thousand tons of bottles every year. To
+make bottle-glass, oxide of iron and alumina is added to the silica,
+lime, and soda. It seems scarcely possible that these few common
+substances melted over the fire and blown with the breath can be
+formed into a material as thin and gossamer, almost, as a spider's
+web, and made to assume such a graceful shape as this jug.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>This is how glass bottles, vases, etc., are made. When the substances
+mentioned above are melted together properly, a man dips a long,
+hollow iron tube into a pot filled with the boiling liquid glass, and
+takes up a little on the end of it. This he passes quickly to another
+man, who dips it once more, and, having twirled the tube around so as
+to lengthen the glass ball at the end, gives it to a third man, who
+places this glass ball in an earthen mould, and blows into the other
+end of the tube, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>and soon the shapeless mass of glass becomes a
+bottle. But it is not quite finished, for the bottom has to be
+completed, and the neck to have the glass band put around it. The
+bottom is finished by pressing it with a cone-shaped instrument as
+soon as it comes out of the mould. A thick glass thread is wound
+around the neck. And, if a name is to be put on, fresh glass is added
+to the side, and stamped with a seal.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_187" id="imag_187"></a><img src="images/gs335.jpg" width="500" height="311" alt="Making Bottles" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This is also the process of making the beautiful jug just mentioned,
+except that three workmen are engaged at the same time on the three
+parts&mdash;one blows the vase itself, another the foot, and the third the
+handle. They are then fastened together, and the top cut into the
+desired shape with shears, for glass can be easily cut when in a soft
+state.</p>
+
+<p>You see how clearly and brightly, and yet with what softness, the
+windows of the room are reflected in that exquisite jug It was made
+only a few years ago.</p>
+
+<p>I will now show you an old Venetian goblet, but you will have to
+handle it very carefully, or you will certainly break off one of the
+delicate leaves, or snap the stem of that curious flower.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Such glasses as these were certainly never intended for use. They were
+probably put upon the table as ornaments. The bowl is a white glass
+cup, with wavy lines of light blue. The spiral stem is red and white,
+and has projecting from it five leaves of yellow glass, separated in
+the middle by another leaf of a deep blue color. The large flower has
+six pale-blue petals.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<a name="imag_188" id="imag_188"></a><img src="images/gs336.jpg" width="300" height="449" alt="Venetian Goblet" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>And now we will look at some goblets intended for use. They are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>of
+modern manufacture, and are plain and simple, but have a beauty of
+their own. The right-hand one is of a very graceful shape, and the one
+in the middle is odd-looking, and ingeniously made with rollers, and
+all of them have a transparent clearness, and are almost as thin as
+the fragile soap-bubbles that children blow out of pipe-bowls. They do
+not look unlike these, and one can easily fancy that, like them, they
+will melt into air at a touch.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_189" id="imag_189"></a><img src="images/gs337.jpg" width="400" height="467" alt="Modern Goblets" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Because the ancients by some means discovered that the union of
+silica, lime, and soda made a perfectly transparent and hard substance
+it by no means follows that they knew how to make looking-glasses <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span>For
+this requires something behind the glass to throw back the image. But
+vanity is not of modern invention, and people having from the
+beginning of time had a desire to look at themselves, they were not
+slow in providing the means.</p>
+
+<p>The first mirrors used were of polished metal, and for ages nobody
+knew of anything better. But there came a time when the idea entered
+the mind of man that "glass lined with a sheet of metal will give back
+the image presented to it," for these are the exact words of a writer
+who lived four centuries before Christ. And you may be sure that
+glass-makers took advantage of this suggestion, if they had not
+already found out the fact for themselves. So we know that the
+ancients did make glass mirrors. It is matter of history that
+looking-glasses were made in the first century of the Christian era,
+but whether quicksilver was poured upon the back, as it is now, or
+whether some other metal was used, we do not know.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_190" id="imag_190"></a><img src="images/gs339.jpg" width="400" height="588" alt="The Queen's Mirror" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>But these mirrors disappeared with the bottles and other glass
+articles; and metal mirrors again became the fashion. For fourteen
+hundred years we hear nothing of looking-glasses, and then we find
+them in Venice, at the time that city had the monopoly of the glass
+trade. Metal mirrors were soon thrown aside, for the images in them
+were very imperfect compared with the others.</p>
+
+<p>These Venetian glasses were all small, because at that time sheet
+glass was blown by the mouth of man, like bottles, vases, etc., and
+therefore it was impossible to make them large. Two hundred years
+afterward, a Frenchman discovered a method of making sheet glass by
+machinery, which is called <i>founding</i>, and by this process it can be
+made of any size.</p>
+
+<p>But even after the comparatively cheap process of founding came into
+use, looking-glasses were very expensive, and happy was the rich
+family that possessed one. A French countess sold a farm to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span>buy a
+mirror! Queens had theirs ornamented in the most costly manner. Here
+is a picture of one that belonged to a queen of France, the frame of
+which is entirely composed of precious stones.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_191" id="imag_191"></a><img src="images/gs341.jpg" width="400" height="659" alt="Bohemian Goblet" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>I have told you how the Venetians kept glass-making a secret, and how,
+at last, the Germans learned it, and then the French, and their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span>work
+came to be better liked than that of the Venetians. But these last
+still managed to keep the process of making mirrors a profound secret,
+and the French were determined to get at the mystery. Several young
+glass-makers went from France to Venice, and applied to all the
+looking-glass makers of Venice for situations as workmen, that they
+might learn the art. But all positively refused to receive them, and
+kept their doors and windows tightly closed while they were at work,
+that no one might see what they did. The young Frenchmen took
+advantage of this, and climbed up on the roofs, and cautiously made
+holes through which they could look; and thus they learned the
+carefully-kept secret, and went back to France and commenced the
+manufacture of glass mirrors. Twenty years after, a Frenchman invented
+founding glass, which gave France such a great advantage that the
+trade of Venice in looking-glasses was ruined.</p>
+
+<p>You would be very much interested in watching this process of founding
+glass. This is the way it is done. As soon as the glass is melted to
+the proper consistency, the furnaces are opened, and the pots are
+lifted into the air by machinery, and passed along a beam to an
+immense table of cast iron. A signal is given, and the brilliant,
+transparent liquid glass falls out and spreads over the table. At a
+second signal a roller is passed by machinery over the red-hot glass,
+and twenty men stand ready with long shovels to push the sheet of
+glass into an oven, not very hot, where it can slowly cool. When taken
+out of the oven the glass is thick, and not perfectly smooth, and it
+has to be rubbed with sand, imbedded in plaster of Paris, smoothed
+with emery, and polished by rubbing it with a woollen cloth covered
+with red oxide of iron, all of which is done by machinery.</p>
+
+<p>We know that cut glass is expensive, and the reason is that cutting it
+is a slow process. Four wheels have to be used in succession, iron,
+sandstone, wood, and cork. Sand is thrown upon these wheels <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span>in such a
+way that the glass is finely and delicately cut. But this is imitated
+in pressed glass, which is blown in a mould inside of which the design
+is cut. This is much cheaper than the cut glass.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>A higher art than cutting is engraving on glass, by which the figures
+are brought out in relief. Distinguished artists are employed to draw
+the designs, and then skilful engravers follow the lines with their
+delicate tools. If you will examine carefully the engraving on this
+Bohemian goblet, you will see what a wonderful piece of workmanship it
+is.</p>
+
+<p>It seems almost a pity that so much time and labor, skill and genius
+should be given to a thing so easily broken. And yet we have seen that
+a good many glass articles have been preserved for centuries. The
+engraving on the Bohemian goblet is in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span>genious, and curious, and
+faithful in detail, but the flowers on this modern French flagon are
+really more graceful and beautiful.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_192" id="imag_192"></a><img src="images/gs342.jpg" width="400" height="576" alt="French Flagon" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>About four hundred years ago there was found in a marble coffin, in a
+tomb near Rome, a glass vase which is now famous throughout the world.
+There is good reason for supposing it to have been made one hundred
+and thirty-eight years before Christ, consequently it is now about two
+thousand years old. For many years this was in the Barberini palace in
+Rome, and was called the Barberini Vase. Then it was bought by the
+Duchess of Portland, of England, for nine thousand dollars, and since
+then has been known as the Portland Vase.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She loaned it to the British Museum, and everybody who went to London
+wanted to see this celebrated vase.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_193" id="imag_193"></a><img src="images/gs343.jpg" width="400" height="653" alt="The Portland Vase" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>One day a crazy man got into the Museum, and with a smart blow of his
+cane laid in ruins the glass vase that had survived all the world's
+great convulsions and changes for two thousand years! This misfortune
+was supposed to be irreparable, but it has been repaired by an artist
+so cleverly that it is impossible to tell where it is joined together.</p>
+
+
+<p>This vase is composed of two layers of glass, one over the other. The
+lower is of a deep blue color, and the upper an opaque white, so that
+the figures stand out in white on a deep blue background.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>The picture on it represents the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. The
+woman seated, holding <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span>a serpent in her left hand, is Thetis, and the
+man to whom she is giving her right hand is Peleus. The god in front
+of Thetis is Neptune, and a Cupid hovers in the air above. On the
+reverse side are Thetis and Peleus, and a goddess, all seated. At the
+foot of the vase is a bust of Ganymede, and on each side of this in
+the picture are copies of the masks on the handles.</p>
+
+<p>Now I have shown you a few of the beautiful things that have been made
+of glass, but there are very many other uses to which glass is applied
+that have not even been alluded to. Steam engines, that work like real
+ones, have been made of glass; palaces have been built of it; great
+telescopes, by which the wonders of the heavens have been revealed,
+owe their power to it; and, in fact, it would seem to us, to-day, as
+if we could as well do without our iron as without our glass.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CARL" id="CARL"></a>CARL.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the middle of a dark and gloomy forest lived Carl and Greta. Their
+father was a forester, who, when he was well, was accustomed to be
+away all day with his gun and dogs, leaving the two children with no
+one but old Nurse Heine; for their mother died when they were very
+little. Now Carl was twelve years old, and Greta nine. Carl was a
+fine-looking boy, but Nurse Heine said that he had a melancholy
+countenance. Greta, however, was a pretty, bright-faced, merry little
+girl. They were allowed to wander through a certain part of the
+forest, where their father thought there was no especial danger to
+fear.</p>
+
+<p>In truth, Carl was not melancholy at all, but was just as happy in his
+way as Greta was in hers. In the summer, while she was pulling the
+wood flowers and weaving them into garlands, or playing with her dogs,
+or chasing squirrels, Carl would be seated on some root or stone with
+a large sheet of coarse card-board on his knee, on which he drew
+pictures with a piece of sharpened charcoal. He had sketched, in his
+rough way, every pretty mass of foliage, and every picturesque rock
+and waterfall within his range. And in the winter, when the icicles
+were hanging from the cliffs, and the snow wound white arms around the
+dark green cypress boughs, Carl still found beautiful pictures
+everywhere, and Greta plenty of play in building snow-houses and
+statues. And, moreover, Carl had lately discovered in the brooks some
+colored stones, which were soft enough to sharpen sufficiently to give
+a blue tint to his skies, and green to his trees; and thus he made
+pictures that Nurse Heine said were more wonderful than those in the
+chapel of the little village of Evergode.</p>
+
+<p>I have said that the forest was dark and gloomy, because it was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span>composed chiefly of pines and cypresses, but it never seemed so to
+the children. They knew how to read, but had no books that told them
+of any lands brighter and sunnier than their own. And then, too,
+beyond the belt of pines in which was their home, there was a long
+stretch of forest of oaks and beeches, and in this the birds liked to
+build their nests and sing; and there were such splendid vines, and
+lovely flowers! And, right through the pine forest, not more than half
+a mile from their cottage, there was a broad road. It is true, it was
+a very rough one, and but little used, but it represented the world to
+Carl and Greta. For it did sometimes happen that loaded wagons would
+jolt over it, or a rough soldier gallop along, and more rarely still,
+a gay cavalier would prance by the wondering children.</p>
+
+<p>For there was a war in the land. And when, after a time, the armies
+came near enough to the forest for the children to hear occasionally
+the roll of the heavy guns, a strange thing happened.</p>
+
+<p>One evening when they arrived at home, they found in their humble
+little cottage one of the gay-looking cavaliers they had sometimes
+seen on the forest road, and with him was a very beautiful lady. Old
+Nurse Heine was getting the spare room ready by beating up the great
+feather bed, and laying down on the floor the few strips of carpet
+they possessed. Their father was talking with the strangers, and he
+told them that Carl and Greta were his children; but they took no
+notice of them, for they were completely taken up with each other, for
+the gentleman, it appeared, was going away, and to leave the lady
+there. Carl greatly admired this cavalier, and had no doubt he was the
+noblest-looking man in the world, and studied him so closely that he
+would have known him among a thousand. Presently the forester led his
+children out of the cottage, and soon after the cavalier came out, and
+springing upon his horse, galloped away among the dark pines.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_194" id="imag_194"></a><img src="images/gs347.jpg" width="400" height="498" alt="The Strange Lady" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>The strange lady was at the cottage several weeks, and the children
+soon learned to love her dearly. She was fond of rambling about with
+them, and was seldom to be found within the house when the weather was
+fair. She never went near the road, but preferred the oak wood, and
+sometimes when the children were amusing them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span>selves she would sit for
+hours absorbed in deep thought or singing to herself in a sad and
+dreamy way.</p>
+
+<p>At other times she would interest herself in the children, and tell
+them of things in the world outside the forest. She praised Carl's
+pictures, and showed him how to work in his colors so as to more
+effectively bring out the perspective, and tried to educate his taste,
+as far as she could, by describing the pictures of the great masters.
+She often said afterwards that she could never have lived through
+those dark days but for the comfort she found in the children.</p>
+
+<p>Carl saw that she was sorrowful, and he understood that her sadness
+was not because of the plain fare and the way of living at the
+forester's cottage, which he knew must seem rough indeed to her, but
+because of some great grief. What this grief was he could not guess,
+for the children had been told nothing about the beautiful lady,
+except that her name was Lady Clarice. She never complained, but the
+boy's wistful eyes would follow her as she moved among the trees, and
+his heart would swell with pity; and how he would long to do something
+to prove to her how he loved her!</p>
+
+<p>The forester told Carl that the cavalier was with the army. But he did
+not come to the cottage, and there was no way for the Lady Clarice to
+hear from him, and she shuddered at the sound of the great guns. And
+finally she fell sick. Nurse Heine did what she could for her, but the
+lady grew worse. She felt that she should die, and it almost broke
+Carl's heart to hear her moaning: "Oh! if I could but see him once
+more!" He knew she meant the noble cavalier, but how should he get
+word to him? The old forester was just then stiff with rheumatism, and
+could scarcely move from his chair.</p>
+
+<p>"I will go myself!" said Carl to himself one day, "or she will die
+with grief!"</p>
+
+<p>Without saying a word to anybody about the matter, for fear that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span>he
+would not be allowed to go, he stole out of the house in the gray of
+the morning, while all were asleep, and, making his way to the open
+road, he turned in the direction from whence, at times, had come the
+sound of the cannon. As long as he was in the part of the road that he
+knew, he kept up a stout heart, but when he left that he began to grow
+frightened. The road was so lonely, and strange sounds seemed to come
+out of the forest that stretched away, so black and thick, on each
+side! He wondered if any fierce beasts were there, or if robbers were
+lurking behind the rocks. But he thought of the beautiful lady, his
+kind friend, sick and dying, and that thought was more powerful than
+his fear. At noon he rested for awhile, and ate a few dry biscuits he
+had put in his pockets.</p>
+
+<p>It was near sunset when he saw that the trees stood less closely
+together, the road looked more travel-worn, and there came with the
+wind a confused and continuous noise. Then Carl was seized with
+terror. "I am now near the camp," he thought. "Suppose a battle is
+going on, and I am struck with a ball. I shall die, and father and
+little Greta will not know what became of me, and the beautiful lady
+will never know that I died in her service! Or if I meet a soldier,
+and he don't believe my story, maybe he'll run a bayonet through me!"</p>
+
+<p>It was not too late then to turn back and flee swiftly up the forest
+road, and Carl paused.</p>
+
+<p>But in a few moments he went on, animated by the noblest kind of
+courage&mdash;that which feels there is danger, but is determined to face
+it in the cause of duty, affection, and humanity.</p>
+
+<p>At last he stepped out of the forest, and there, before him, was
+spread out the vast encampment of the army! There was not time to
+wonder at the sight before he was challenged by a sentinel. Carl had
+made up his mind what to say, and that he would not mention <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span>the lady.
+So he promptly replied that he wanted to see a noble lord who had a
+sick friend at a cottage in the forest.</p>
+
+<p>As the boy could not tell the name or rank of the noble lord, the
+sentinel sent him to an officer, and to him Carl told the same story,
+but he described the man of whom he was in search so accurately that
+the officer sent him at once to the proper person. And Carl found that
+he was a very great personage indeed, and held a high command in the
+army. He did not recognize Carl, but as soon as the boy told his
+errand he became very much agitated.</p>
+
+<p>"I will go at once," he said; "but I cannot leave you here, my brave
+boy! Can you ride?"</p>
+
+<p>Now Carl knew how to sit on a horse, and how to hold the bridle, for
+he had ridden the wood-cutters' horses sometimes, so he answered that
+he thought he could ride. The Duke (for such was his title) ordered
+some refreshments set before the boy, and then went out to make his
+arrangements, choosing his gentlest horse for Carl.</p>
+
+<p>In half an hour they were in the forest, speeding like the wind. Carl
+felt as if he was flying. The horse chose his own gait, and tried to
+keep up with the one that the Duke was riding; but finally, finding
+this impossible, he slackened his pace, greatly to Carl's relief. But
+the Duke was too anxious about his lady to accommodate himself to the
+slower speed of the boy, and soon swept out of sight around a bend in
+the road. His cloak and the long feathers of his hat streamed on the
+night wind for a moment longer. Then they vanished, and Carl was
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>Carl was somewhat afraid of the horse, for he was not used to such a
+high-mettled steed; but, on the whole, he was glad he was mounted on
+it. For if the woods had seemed lonely in the daylight they were ten
+times more so in the night. And the noises seemed more fearful than
+before. And Carl thought if any furious beast or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span>robber should dart
+upon him, he could make the horse carry him swiftly away. As it was he
+let the horse do as he pleased, and as Carl sat quietly and did not
+worry him in any way, he pleased to go <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span>along very smoothly, and
+rather slowly, so it was past midnight when they reached home.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_195" id="imag_195"></a><img src="images/gs351.jpg" width="400" height="584" alt="Carl and the Duke" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Carl found that the Duke had been there a long time; that the lady was
+overjoyed to see him, and Nurse Heine said she began to grow better
+from that moment.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning the Duke went away; but before he left he thanked
+Carl for the great service he had done him, and gave him a piece of
+gold. But Carl was better pleased when the lady called him into her
+room, and kissed him, and cried over him, and praised him for a kind,
+brave boy, and said he had saved her life.</p>
+
+<p>And when she got well Carl noticed that she was brighter and happier
+than she had been before.</p>
+
+<p>In a short time, however, she went away with the Duke, in a grand
+coach, with servants and outriders. And Carl and Greta watched them as
+they were whirled up the forest road, and then walked home through the
+pines with sad hearts.</p>
+
+<p>Then the forester told his children that the Duke had married this
+lady secretly, against the king's command, and he had so many bitter
+and cruel enemies that he was afraid they would do her some evil while
+he was away in the war. She knew of the forester, because his wife had
+been a maid of her mother's, so she came to this lonely place for
+safety. But now the king was pleased, and it was all right.</p>
+
+<p>The winter came and went. The war was over. And then Lady Clarice,
+whom the children never expected to see again, sent for them, and the
+forester, and Nurse Heine, to her castle. She provided for them all,
+and Greta grew up into a pretty and well-bred young lady.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Clarice had not forgotten the brave act of the boy, and also
+remembered what he liked best in the world. So she had him taught to
+draw and paint, and in process of time he became a great artist, and
+all the world knew of his name and fame.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="SCHOOLS_OUT" id="SCHOOLS_OUT"></a>SCHOOL'S OUT!</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<p>What a welcome and joyful sound! In the winter, when the days are
+short, and the sun, near the end of the six school hours, sinks so low
+that the light in the room grows dim and gray, with what impatience,
+my dear child, do you wait for this signal! But it is in the long
+summer days that you find school most tiresome. The air in the room is
+hot and drowsy, and outside you can see there is a breeze blowing, for
+the trees are gently tossing their green boughs as if to twit you with
+having to work out <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span>sums in such glorious weather. And there come to
+your ears the pleasant sounds of the buzzing of insects and twittering
+of birds, and the brook splashing over the stones. Then the four walls
+of the school-room look very dreary, and the maps glare at you, and
+the black-boards frown darkly, and the benches seem very hard, and the
+ink-bespattered desks appear more grimy than ever.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_196" id="imag_196"></a><img src="images/gs353.jpg" width="400" height="578" alt="The Dominie" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>This was the time when the heart of the Dominie would be touched with
+pity, and he would say in his bright way: "Now, children, I am going
+to read you something!"</p>
+
+<p>Instantly the half-closed eyes would open, the drooping heads would be
+raised, the vacant faces would brighten, and the little cramped legs
+would be stretched out with a sigh of relief. And then the Dominie
+would read them something that was not only instructive, but very
+entertaining. Sometimes, instead of reading to them, he would set them
+to declaiming or reciting poetry, or they would choose sides and have
+a spelling match. They would get so interested that they would forget
+all about the birds and sunshine without. They did not even know that
+they were learning all this time.</p>
+
+<p>For the Dominie had all sorts of pleasant ways of teaching his
+scholars. Not but what they had to work hard too, for nobody can
+accomplish anything worth having without putting a good deal of hard
+work in it.</p>
+
+<p>You see the Dominie's portrait in the picture. The fringe of hair
+around his bald head was as white as snow; his black eyes were bright
+and merry; and he had a kindly face. His name was Morris Harvey, but
+everybody called him Dominie, and he liked that name best. All the
+village people respected and loved the old man; and every child in the
+village school that he taught, from the largest boy, whose legs were
+so long that he did not know what to do with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span>them, down to Bessie
+Gay, who could scarcely reach up to the top of a desk, were very fond
+indeed of him.</p>
+
+<p>But even under the Dominie's kindly rule, "School's out!" was always a
+welcome sound. What a noise there would be in the school-room for a
+minute; and then such a grand rush out into the open air! and such
+merry shouts! The Dominie would look after them with a smile. He
+wanted them to study, but he was glad that it was natural for them to
+love to play.</p>
+
+<p>If little Charlie Lane had known this he would not have had such a cry
+the morning he went to school for the first time. He thought his
+mother very cruel to make him go, and, I am sorry to say, not only
+cried before he started, but all the way to the school-house. The
+Dominie took no notice of this, and Charlie soon found that school was
+not such a very dreadful place. And there was the nice playtime in the
+middle of the day. And, when school was out, the Dominie took him on
+his knee and gave him a big apple, and showed him a book full of
+bright pictures, and told him a story about every one of them.</p>
+
+<p>You can see the little fellow on the Dominie's lap, looking earnestly
+at a picture in the book; and the old man is pleased that the child is
+pleased. The Dominie is sitting in his big chair, and his dinner-bag
+is hanging on the back of it. On the black-board over his head you see
+little Charlie's lesson for that day. It is on the right, and consists
+of the letters A, B, C, which the child has been staring at until he
+knows them perfectly in any book that is given to him. On the left, is
+a sum; and somebody has tried to draw an almanac sun on the lower part
+of the board. Across the top the Dominie has written a copy. You can
+read it plainly. It was a favorite saying of his; and a very good one
+too.</p>
+
+<p>Have we not, all of us, a great deal to make us happy? What <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span>pleasure
+is it to you to go about with a cross or melancholy face? Try to think
+of something pleasant, and call up a smile. Put the ill-natured
+feelings out of your heart, and then the brightness will come to your
+face without further trouble. If you have a hard task to do, being
+cross won't help you along one bit. Go to work at it with a will, and
+you will be surprised to find how soon it will be done. Then, with a
+clear conscience and a glad heart, you can sit waiting for the welcome
+sound, "School's out!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="NEST-BUILDERS" id="NEST-BUILDERS"></a>NEST-BUILDERS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>"Birds in their little nests agree," but they do not at all agree in
+their manner of building the said nests.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_197" id="imag_197"></a><img src="images/gs358.jpg" width="400" height="668" alt="Wrens' Nests" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>They have all sorts of ideas on this subject. Nearly every species of
+bird has a nest peculiar to itself, and the variety is astonishing.
+There are nests like cups, and nests like saucers; nests which are
+firmly fixed among the solid rocks, and nests which wave about on the
+ends of slender branches; nests which are perched on the very tops of
+the tallest trees, and nests which are hidden in the ground. There are
+great nests, which will hold a bushel or two of eggs, and little bits
+of things, into which you could scarcely put half a dozen peas.</p>
+
+<p>In mentioning some of these nests, it will be needless for us to say
+much of those with which we are all familiar. In our rambles together
+we must try and see as many novelties as possible, for we may not
+always have the chance of wandering freely into any part of the world
+to which our fancy may lead us. I remember a little girl who used to
+come to our house when I was a boy, and who never cared for anything
+at table that was not something of a novelty to her. When offered
+potatoes, she would frankly say: "No, thank you; I can get them at
+home."</p>
+
+<p>So we will not meddle with hens' nests, robins' nests, and all the
+nests, big and little, that we find about our homes, for they are the
+"potatoes" of a subject like this, but will try and find some nests
+that are a little out of the way, and curious.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_198" id="imag_198"></a><img src="images/gs359.jpg" width="400" height="650" alt="Orioles' Nest" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>But we must stop&mdash;just one moment&mdash;before we leave home, and look at a
+wren's nest.</p>
+
+<p>The Wren, although a very common little bird with us, does not build a
+common nest. She makes it round, like a ball, or a woolly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span>orange,
+with a little hole at one side for a door. Inside, it is just as soft
+and comfortable as anything can be. Being such a little bird herself,
+she could not cover and protect her young ones from cold and danger so
+well as the larger cat-birds and robins, and her nest is contrived so
+that there will not be much covering to do.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>That beautiful bird, the Baltimore Oriole, which may be familiar to
+some of you, makes its nest somewhat on the plan of the wren, the
+similarity consisting in the fact that the structure is intended to
+shelter both parent and young. The oriole, which is a great deal
+larger than a wren, builds a much larger nest, forming it like a bag,
+with a hole in one end, and hangs it on the branch of a tree.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<p>It is scarcely possible for any harm to come to the young orioles,
+when they are lying snugly at the bottom of the deep nest and their
+mother is sitting on a twig near by, ready to protect them at the
+hazard of her life.</p>
+
+<p>But, for all the apparent security of this nest, so deep, so warm, so
+firmly secured to the twigs and branches, the little orioles are not
+entirely safe. Their mother may protect them from rain and cold; from
+winged enemies and creeping serpents, but she cannot defend them
+against the attacks of boys and men. An oriole's nest is such a
+curious structure, and the birds are known to be of such fine form and
+gorgeous plumage, that many boys cannot resist the temptation <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span>of
+climbing up after them and, if there are young ones within, of
+carrying the whole affair away in order to try and "raise" the young
+birds. Sometimes the nest is put in a cage, where the old bird can
+come and feed its young, and in other cases the captor undertakes to
+do the feeding himself. I have seen experiments of this kind tried,
+but never knew the slightest success to follow them, and the attempt,
+generally useless, is always cruel.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_199" id="imag_199"></a><img src="images/gs361.jpg" width="400" height="660" alt="Owl's Nests" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>But we must positively get away from home and look at some nests to
+which few or none of us are accustomed.</p>
+
+<p>There, for instance, is the nest of the Burrowing-Owl, a native of
+South America and the regions west of the Rocky Mountains. This little
+bird, much smaller than our common owls, likes to live in the ground.
+But not having been provided by nature with digging appendages, he
+cannot make a hole or burrow for himself, and so he takes up his abode
+in the underground holes made by the little prairie-dogs for their own
+homes. It is not at all certain that these owls should be called
+usurpers or thieves. They may, in some cases, get entire possession of
+the holes, but very often they live very sociably with the
+prairie-dogs, and may, for all we know, pay for their lodgings by
+bringing in grain and seeds, along with the worms and insects which
+they reserve for their own table. Any one who does not possess a
+habitation of his own, must occasionally expect to be thrown among
+strange companions, and this very often happens to the burrowing-owl.
+Travellers tell us that not only do the prairie-dogs and owls live
+together in these burrows, but that great rattlesnakes sometimes take
+up their residence therein&mdash;all three families seeming to live
+together in peace and unity. I think that it is probable, however,
+that the little dogs and owls are not at all pleased with the company
+of the snakes. A prairie-dog will not eat an owl, and without the dog
+is very young indeed, an owl will not eat him; but a great snake would
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span>just as soon swallow either of them as not, if he happened to be
+hungry, which fortunately is not often the case, for a good meal lasts
+a snake a long time. But the owls and the prairie-dogs have no way of
+ridding themselves of their unwelcome roommates, and, like human
+beings, they are obliged to patiently endure the ills they cannot
+banish. Perhaps, like human beings again, they become so accustomed to
+these ills that they forget how disagreeable they are.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>There is a bird&mdash;and it is a Flamingo&mdash;which builds a nest which looks
+to me as if it must be very unpleasant to sit upon. And yet it suits
+the bird very well. In fact, on any other kind <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span>of a nest, the
+flamingo might not know what to do with its legs.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_200" id="imag_200"></a><img src="images/gs362.jpg" width="400" height="620" alt="Flamingoes' Nests" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span>It would appear as if there had been a waste of material in making
+such a large high nest, when only two or three moderate-sized eggs are
+placed in the slight depression at the top; but, when we consider that
+the flamingo uses this tall affair as a seat, as well as a nest, we
+can easily understand that flamingoes, like most other birds,
+understand how to adapt their nests to their own convenience and
+peculiarities. Sitting astraddle on one of these tall nests, which
+look something like peach-baskets turned upside down, with her head
+stuck as far under her wing as she can get it, the flamingo dozes
+away, during the long sultry hours of day, as comfortably and happily
+as if she was a little wren snugly curled up inside of its cosey nest.
+It is not mere situation which makes us happy. Some people enjoy life
+in cottages, others in palaces, and some birds sit in a pile of hard
+sticks and think themselves quite as cosey as those which repose upon
+the softest down.</p>
+
+<p>It is almost impossible to comprehend the different fancies of birds
+in regard to their nests. For instance, why should any bird want to
+sail about in its nest? Yet there is one&mdash;called the Little
+Grebe&mdash;which builds a water-tight nest, in which she lays her eggs,
+and, while she is hatching them, she paddles herself around on the
+water.</p>
+
+<p>It seems to me that these birds must have a very pleasant time during
+the setting season. To start out some fine morning, after it has had
+its breakfast of bugs and things, to gently push its nest from shore;
+to jump on board; to sit down comfortably on the eggs, and sticking
+out its web-footed legs on each side, to paddle away among the
+water-lilies and the beautiful green rushes, in company with other
+little grebes, all uniting business and pleasure in the same way, must
+be, indeed, quite charming to an appreciative duck.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_201" id="imag_201"></a><img src="images/gs364.jpg" width="400" height="621" alt="The little Grebe's Nest" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>If it were to happen to storm, however, when the grebe was at a
+distance from shore, her little craft might be upset and her cargo of
+eggs go to the bottom. But I expect the grebes are very good sailors,
+and know when to look for bad weather.</p>
+
+<p>A nest full of young grebes just hatched, with the mother swimming
+behind, pushing them along with her beak, or towing them by the loose
+end of a twig, must be a very singular and interesting sight.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span></p>
+ <div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_202" id="imag_202"></a><img src="images/gs365.jpg" width="400" height="396" alt="The Ostrich-Nest" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>An Ostrich has very different views in regard to a nest from a little
+grebe. Instead of wishing to take its nest about with it, wherever it
+goes, the ostrich does not care for a great deal of nest-work.</p>
+
+<p>It is, however, a bird of more domestic habits than some writers would
+have us believe; for although it does cover up its eggs in the sand,
+and then let the sun help hatch them, it is not altogether inattentive
+to its nest. The ostrich makes a large nest in the sand, where, it is
+said, the eggs of several families are deposited. These eggs are very
+carefully arranged in the great hole or basin that has been formed in
+the soft sand, and, during the daytime, they are often covered up and
+left to be gently heated by the rays of the sun. But the ostrich sits
+upon her nest at night, and in many cases the male bird has been known
+to sit upon the eggs all day. An ostrich nest is a sort of a wholesale
+establishment. There are not only a great many eggs in the nest, but
+dozens of them are often found lying about on the sand around it.</p>
+
+<p>This apparent waste is explained by some naturalists by the statement
+that these scattered eggs are intended for the food of the young ones
+when they are hatched. This may be true; but in that case young
+ostriches cannot be very particular about the flavor of the eggs they
+eat. A few days in the hot sun of the desert would be very likely to
+make eggs of any kind taste rather strongly. But ostrich eggs are so
+large, and their shells are so thick, that they may keep better than
+the eggs to which we are accustomed.</p>
+
+<p>From nests which are built flat on the ground, let us now go to some
+that are placed as high from the earth as their builders can get them.
+The nests of the Storks are of this kind.</p>
+
+<p>A pair of storks will select, as a site for their nest, a lofty place
+among the rocks; the top of some old ruins; or, when domesticated, as
+they often are, the top of a chimney. But when there are a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span>number of
+storks living together in a community, they very often settle in a
+grove of tall trees and build their nests on the highest branches.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_203" id="imag_203"></a><img src="images/gs367.jpg" width="400" height="598" alt="THE NEST OF A STORK." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE NEST OF A STORK.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span>In these they lay their eggs, and hatch out their young ones. Soon
+after the time when these young storks are able to fly, the whole
+community generally starts off on its winter pilgrimage to warm
+countries; but the old storks always return in the spring to the same
+nest that they left, while the young ones, if they choose to join that
+community at all, must make nests for themselves. Although these nests
+are nothing but rude structures of sticks and twigs, made apparently
+in the roughest manner, each pair of storks evidently thinks that
+there is no home like its own.</p>
+
+<p>The stork is a very kind parent, and is, in fact, more careful of the
+welfare of its young than most birds; but it never goes to the length
+of surrendering its homestead to its children.</p>
+
+<p>The young storks will be carefully nurtured and reared by their
+parents; when they grow old enough they will be taught to fly, and
+encouraged in the most earnest way to strengthen and develop their
+wings by exercise; and, in the annual expedition to the south, they
+are not left to themselves, but are conducted to the happy lands where
+all good storks spend their winters. But the young storks cannot have
+everything. If they wish to live in the nest in which they were born,
+they must wait until their parents are dead.</p>
+
+<p>It may be that we have now seen enough of birds' nests, and so I will
+not show you any more.</p>
+
+<p>The next nest which we will examine&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"But I thought you were not going to show us any more birds' nests!"
+you will say.</p>
+
+<p>That is true. I did say so, and this next one is not a bird's nest but
+a fish's nest.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It is probably that very few of you, if any, ever saw a fish's nest;
+but there certainly are such things.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a name="imag_204" id="imag_204"></a><img src="images/gs369.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="A Fish's Nest" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>The fish which builds them is called the Stickleback. It is a little
+fish, but it knows how to make a good nest. The male stickleback is
+the builder, and when he thinks of making a nest he commences by
+burrowing a hole in the mud at the bottom of the stream where he
+lives. When with his nose and body he has made this hole large enough,
+he collects bits of grass, roots, and weeds, and builds his nest over
+this hole, which seems to be dug for the purpose of giving security to
+the structure. The grass and other materials are fastened to the mud
+and earth by means of a sticky substance, which exudes from the body
+of the fish, and every part of the nest is stuck together <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span>and
+interlaced so that it will not be disturbed by the currents. There are
+generally two openings to this nest, which is something like a lady's
+muff, although, of course, it is by no means so smooth and regular.
+The fish can generally stick its head out of one end, and its tail out
+of the other.</p>
+
+<p>When the eggs have been laid in the nest, and the young sticklebacks
+have been born, the male fish is said to be very strict and particular
+in the government of his children. For some time&mdash;while they are yet
+very small&mdash;(and the father himself is a very little fellow) he makes
+them stay in the nest, and if any of them come swimming out, he drives
+them back again, and forces them to stay at home until they are of a
+proper age to swim about by themselves.</p>
+
+<p>We have now seen quite a variety of nests, and I think that we may
+come to this conclusion about their builders:&mdash;The bird or other
+creature which can carefully select the materials for the home of its
+young, can decide what is most suitable for the rough outside and what
+will be soft and nice for the inner lining, and can choose a position
+for its nest where the peculiar wants and habits of its little ones
+can be best provided for, must certainly be credited with a degree of
+intelligence which is something more than what is generally suggested
+by the term instinct.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_205" id="imag_205"></a><img src="images/gs371.jpg" width="400" height="347" alt="Throwing the Boomerang" title="" />
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_BOOMERANG" id="THE_BOOMERANG"></a>THE BOOMERANG.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Civilized folks are superior in so very many respects to their
+barbarous brethren that it is well, when we discover anything which a
+savage can do better than we can, to make a note of it, and give the
+subject some attention.</p>
+
+<p>And it is certain that there are savages who can surpass us in one
+particular&mdash;they can make and throw boomerangs.</p>
+
+<p>It is very possible that an American mechanic could imitate an
+Australian boomerang, so that few persons could tell the difference;
+but I do not believe that boomerang would work properly. Either in the
+quality of the wood, or in the seasoning, or in some particular which
+we would not be apt to notice, it would, in all probability, differ
+very much from the weapon carved out by the savage. If the American
+mechanic was to throw his boomerang away from him, I think it would
+stay away. There is no reason to believe that it would ever come back.</p>
+
+<p>And yet there is nothing at all wonderful in the appearance of the
+real boomerang. It is simply a bent club, about two feet long, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span>smooth
+on one side and slightly hollowed out on the other. No one would
+imagine, merely from looking at it, that it could behave in any way
+differently from any other piece of stick of its size and weight.</p>
+
+<p>But it does behave differently, at least when an Australian savage
+throws it. I have never heard of an American or European who was able
+to make the boomerang perform the tricks for which it has become
+famous. Throwing this weapon is like piano-playing; you have to be
+brought up to it in order to do it well.</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<a name="imag_206" id="imag_206"></a><img src="images/gs372.jpg" width="400" height="190" alt="The Way the Boomerang Goes" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>In the hands of the natives of Australia, however, the boomerang
+performs most wonderful feats. Sometimes the savage takes hold of it
+by one end, and gives it a sort of careless jerk, so that it falls on
+the ground at a short distance from him. As soon as it strikes the
+earth it bounds up into the air, turns, twists, and pitches about in
+every direction, knocking with great force against everything in its
+way. It is said that when it bounds in this way into the midst of a
+flock of birds, it kills and wounds great numbers of them. At other
+times the boomerang-thrower will hurl his weapon at an object at a
+great distance, and when it has struck the mark it will turn and fall
+at the feet of its owner, turning and twisting on its swift and
+crooked way. This little engraving shows how the boomerang will go
+around <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span>a tree and return again to the thrower. The twisted line
+indicates its course.</p>
+
+<p>Most astonishing stories are told of the skill with which the
+Australians use this weapon. They will aim at birds or small animals
+that are hidden behind trees and rocks, and the boomerang will go
+around the trees and rocks and kill the game. They are the only people
+who can with any certainty shoot around a corner. Not only do they
+throw the boomerang with unerring accuracy, but with tremendous force,
+and when it hits a man on the head, giving him two or three terrible
+raps as it twists about him, it is very apt to kill him. To ward off
+these dangerous blows, the natives generally carry shields when they
+go out to fight. Sometimes an Australian throws two boomerangs at
+once, one with his right hand and one with his left, and then the
+unfortunate man that he aims at has a hard time of it.</p>
+
+<p>Many persons have endeavored to explain the peculiar turning and
+twisting properties of the boomerang, but they have not been entirely
+successful, for so much depends not only on the form of the weapon,
+but on the skill of the thrower. But it is known that the form of the
+boomerang, and the fact that one of its limbs is longer and heavier
+than the other, gives its centre of gravity a very peculiar situation;
+and when the weapon is thrown by one end, it has naturally a tendency
+to rotate, and the manner of this rotation is determined by the
+peculiar impetus given it by the hand of the man who throws it.</p>
+
+<p>It is well that we are able to explain the boomerang a little, for
+that is all we can do with it. The savage cannot explain it at all;
+but he can use it.</p>
+
+<p>But, after all, I do not know that a boomerang would be of much
+service to us even if we could use it. There is only one thing that I
+can now think of that it would be good for. It would be a splendid to
+knock down chestnuts with!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p>Just think of a boomerang going twirling into a chestnut-tree,
+twisting, turning, banging, and cracking on every side, knocking down
+the chestnuts in a perfect shower, and then coming gently back into
+your hand, all ready for another throw!</p>
+
+<p>It would be well worth while to go out chestnuting, if we had a
+boomerang to do the work for us.</p>
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+
+<p>Now our Ramblings must come to an end. We cannot walk about the world
+for ever, you know, no matter how pleasant it may be.</p>
+
+<p>And I wish I was quite sure that you have all found these wanderings
+pleasant.</p>
+
+<p>As for me, there were some things that I did not like so well as
+others, and I suppose that that was the case with all of you.</p>
+
+<p>But it could not be helped. In this world some things will be better
+than others, do what we may.</p>
+
+<p>One of these days, perhaps, we may ramble about again. Until then,
+good-by!</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h3>THE END.</h3>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><i>Charles Scribner's Sons Books for Young Readers.</i></h2>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Written and Illustrated by Howard Pyle</b></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>A NEW BOOK JUST PUBLISHED.</i></p>
+
+<p class="center">THE STORY OF SIR LAUNCELOT AND HIS COMPANIONS</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/gs376_1.jpg" width="150" height="208" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">Profusely illustrated. Royal 8vo, $2.50 <i>net</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The account of the adventures and deeds of Sir Launcelot, fully and
+beautifully illustrated in Mr. Pyle's characteristic style, and
+uniform with his other two books, "The Story of King Arthur and His
+Knights" and "The Story of the Champions of the Round Table." This
+book takes up the adventures of the greatest of the Arthurian heroes,
+from the very beginning, and also that of his son Sir Galahad.</p>
+
+<p>"There is nobody quite like Howard Pyle, after all, when it comes to
+stories for children, nobody with his peculiar freshness and
+enthusiasm, and his power of choosing quaint and lovely settings for
+the sometimes quiet, sometimes stirring tales that appeal at once to
+his readers by their truth and naturalness."&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Springfield
+Republican</span>.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><i>OTHER BOOKS BY MR. PYLE</i>.</p>
+
+<p>THE STORY OF THE CHAMPIONS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Profusely illustrated.
+Royal 8vo, $2.50 <i>net</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"He has caught the very spirit of chivalry. It is one of the best of
+holiday books."&mdash;<span class="smcap">San Francisco Chronicle</span>.</p>
+
+<p>THE STORY OF KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS. Profusely illustrated. Royal
+8vo, $2.50 <i>net</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing could be better to give a boy or girl for Christmas than Mr.
+Pyle's rendition of these stately, ennobling old legends."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Chicago
+Record-Herald.</span></p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/gs376_2.jpg" width="150" height="200" alt="Advt. Image" title="" /><span class="caption">FROM &quot;OTTO OF THE SILVER HAND.&quot; Reduced.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. Illustrated. Royal 8vo, $3.00.</p>
+
+<p>"This superb book is unquestionably the most original and elaborate
+ever produced by any American author. Mr. Pyle has told, with pencil
+and pen, the complete and consecutive story of Robin Hood and his
+merry men in their haunts in Sherwood Forest, gathered from the old
+ballads and legends."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Transcript</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>OTTO OF THE SILVER HAND. Illustrated. Royal 8vo, $2.00.</p>
+
+<p>"The scene of the story is medi&aelig;val Germany in the time of the feuds
+and robber barons and romance. The kidnapping of Otto, his adventures
+among rough soldiers and his daring rescue make up a spirited and
+thrilling story."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Christian Union</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Heroes of the Olden Time</b>.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/gs377_1.jpg" width="300" height="302" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>By <span class="smcap">James Baldwin</span>. Three volumes, 12mo, each beautifully illustrated.
+Singly, $1.50; the set, $4.00.</p>
+
+<p>A STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Howard Pyle</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Baldwin's book is redolent with the spirit of the
+Odyssey, that glorious primitive epic, fresh with the dew of
+the morning of time. It is an unalloyed pleasure to read his
+recital of the adventures of the wily Odysseus. Howard
+Pyle's illustrations render the spirit of the Homeric age
+with admirable felicity."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Prof. H.H. Boyesen</span>.</p>
+
+
+<p>THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Howard Pyle</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"The story of 'Siegfried' is charmingly told. The author
+makes up the story from the various myths in a fascinating
+way which cannot fail to interest the reader. It is as
+enjoyable as any fairy tale."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Hartford Courant</span>.</p>
+
+<p>THE STORY OF ROLAND. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">R.B. Birch</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Baldwin has culled from a wide range of epics, French,
+Italian, and German, and has once more proved his aptitude
+as a story-teller for the young."&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Nation</span>.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>The Boy's Library of Legend and Chivalry</b>.</p>
+
+<p>Edited by <span class="smcap">Sidney Lanier</span>, and richly illustrated by
+  <span class="smcap">Fredericks, Bensell, and Kappes</span>. Four volumes, cloth, uniform binding,
+price per set, $7.00. Sold separately, price per volume, $2.00.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 300px;">
+  <img src="images/gs377_2.jpg" width="300" height="283" alt="Advt. Image" title="" /></div>
+
+<p>Mr. Lanier's books present to boy readers the old English
+classics of history and legend in an attractive form. While
+they are stories of action and stirring incident, they teach
+those lessons which manly, honest boys ought to learn.</p>
+
+<p>
+THE BOY'S KING ARTHUR.<br />
+THE BOY'S FROISSART.<br />
+THE BOY'S PERCY.<br />
+THE KNIGHTLY LEGENDS OF WALES.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"Amid all the strange and fanciful scenery of these stories,
+character and ideals of character remain at the simplest and
+purest. The romantic history transpires in the healthy
+atmosphere of the open air on the green earth beneath
+the open sky."&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Independent.</span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Stories for Boys.</b></p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;">
+  <img src="images/gs378_1.jpg" width="200" height="268" alt="RICHARD HARDING DAVIS." title="" /></div>
+<p>By <span class="smcap">Richard Harding Davis</span>. With 6 full-page illustrations. 12mo, $1.00</p>
+
+<p>CONTENTS: The Reporter who made himself King&mdash;Midsummer
+Pirates&mdash;Richard Carr's Baby, a Football Story&mdash;The Great Tri-Club
+Tennis Tournament&mdash;The Jump at Corey's Slip&mdash;The Van Bibber Baseball
+Club&mdash;The Story of a Jockey.</p>
+
+<p>"It will be astonishing indeed if youths of all ages are not
+fascinated with these 'Stories for Boys.' Mr. Davis knows
+infallibly what will interest his young readers."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston
+Beacon.</span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Marvels of Animal Life Series. </b></p>
+
+<p>By Charles F. Holder. Three volumes, 8vo, each profusely illustrated.
+Singly, $1.75; the Set, $5.00.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 250px;">
+  <img src="images/gs378_2.jpg" width="250" height="362" alt="from &quot;THE IVORY KING.&quot; Reduced." title="" /></div>
+<p>THE IVORY KING. <span class="smcap">A Popular History of the Elephant and its Allies</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"The author talks in a lively and pleasant way about white elephants,
+rogue elephants, baby elephants, trick elephants, of the elephant in
+war, pageantry, sports and games. A charming accession to books for
+young people."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Chicago Interior</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>MARVELS OF ANIMAL LIFE.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Holder combines his description of these odd creatures with
+stories of his own adventures in pursuit of them in many parts of the
+world. These are told with much spirit, and add greatly to the
+fascination of the book."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Worcester Spy.</span></p>
+
+<p>LIVING LIGHTS. <span class="smcap">A Popular Account of Phosphorescent Animals and
+Vegetables</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"A very curious branch of natural history is expounded in most
+agreeable style by this delightful book. He has revealed a world of
+new wonders."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Philadelphia Bulletin</span>.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>White Cockades.</b></p>
+
+<p>An Incident of the "Forty-five." By <span class="smcap">Edward I. Stevenson</span>. 12mo, $1.00.</p>
+
+<p>"A bright historical tale. The scene is Scotland; the time that of
+Prince Charles' rebellion. The hero is a certain gallant young
+nobleman devoted to the last of the Stuarts and his cause. The action
+turns mainly upon the hiding, the hunting, and the narrow escapes of
+Lord Geoffrey Armitage from the spies and soldiers of the King."&mdash;<span class="smcap">New
+York Mail And Express.</span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Prince Peerless.</b></p>
+
+<p>A Fairy-Folk Story Book. By <span class="smcap">Margaret Collier </span>(Madam Gelletti Di
+Cadilhac). Illustrated by <span class="smcap">John Collier</span>. 12mo, $1.25.</p>
+
+<p>"More admirable and fascinating a fairy-story book we have not lately
+set eyes upon. The stories are most airily conceived and gracefully
+executed."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Hartford Post</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center">
+<b>By William Henry Frost.</b></p>
+<p>
+FAIRIES AND FOLK OF IRELAND. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Sidney R. Burleigh.</span> 12mo, $1.50.</p><p>
+"Fresh and delightful materials are incorporated in witty and interesting narratives."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Philadelphia Press.</span></p><p>
+THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Stories of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Sidney R. Burleigh</span>. 12mo, $1.50.</p>
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The book is especially commended to boys, who will delight in the martial spirit breathed through the tales, and cannot</span> fail to be benefited by reading of the courage, honor, and truth of these 'brave knights of old.'"&mdash;<span class="smcap">Chicago Inter-Ocean</span>.</p><p>
+THE COURT OF KING ARTHUR. Stories from the Land of the Round Table. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Sidney R. Burleigh</span>. 12mo, $1.50.</p>
+<p>
+"Mr. William Henry Frost in 'The Court of King Arthur' has succeeded admirably in his attempt to make the doughty
+knights and fair ladies of ancient days seem distinct and interesting to boys and girls of our own time."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Public Opinion</span>.</p>
+<p>
+THE WAGNER STORY BOOK. Firelight Tales of the Great Music Dramas. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Sidney R. Burleigh</span>. 12mo, $1.50.</p>
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The story of the Knight of the Swan, of the Ring of the Nibelungen, the Search for the Grail, of Lohengrin and of</span> Parsifal, are among the richest and deepest of the great medi&aelig;val stories. They are pre-eminently the natural food for
+children of imagination, and in this volume these stories are retold in a very effective way."&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Outlook.</span></p>
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<p class="center">
+<b>Robert Grant's Two Books for Boys.</b></p>
+<p>
+JACK HALL; or, the School Days of an American Boy. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">F. G. Attwood</span>. 12mo, $1.25.</p><p>
+"A better book for boys has never been written. It is pure, clean and healthy, and has throughout a vigorous
+action that holds the reader breathless."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Herald</span>.</p>
+<p>
+"A capital story for boys, wholesome and interesting. It reminds one of 'Tom Brown.'"&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Transcript.</span></p><p>
+JACK IN THE BUSH; or, a Summer on a Salmon River. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">F.T.
+Merrill</span>. 12mo, $1.25.</p>
+<p>
+"A clever book for boys. It is the story of the camp-life of a lot of boys, and is destined to please every boy reader.
+It is attractively illustrated."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Detroit Free Press</span>.</p>
+<p>
+"An ideal story of out-door life and genuine
+experiences."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Traveller</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center">
+<b>Books by Kirk Munroe.</b></p><p>
+A SON OF SATSUMA; or, WITH PERRY IN JAPAN. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Rufus F. Zogbaum</span>.
+12mo, $1.00 <i>net</i>.</p><p>
+"If there is a man who understands writing a story for boys better than another, it is Kirk Munroe."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Springfield
+Republican</span>.</p>
+<p>
+BRETHREN OF THE COAST: A TALE OF WEST INDIAN PIRATES. Illustrated by
+<span class="smcap">Rufus F. Zogbaum</span>. 12mo, $1.25.</p>
+<p>
+"There is enough of history and enough of action in this story to make it valuable as well as readable, and this story
+of adventure and description will be read with interest and profit."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Herald and Presbyter.</span></p>
+<p>
+MIDSHIPMAN STUART; OR, THE LAST CRUISE OF THE ESSEX. A tale of 1812.
+Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25.</p>
+<p>
+The story tells of the exciting adventures of an unusually plucky and enterprising American boy whose career at
+sea is marked with hairbreadth escapes.</p>
+<p>
+IN PIRATE WATERS: A TALE OF THE AMERICAN NAVY. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">I.W. Taber</span>.
+
+12mo, $1.25.</p><p>
+The boy hero of this book assists in the extinction of this cowardly system, taking part in some of the sea fights
+which brought glory to the American navy.
+</p>
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<p class="center">
+<b>The White Conqueror's Series.</b></p><p>
+Each 12mo, $1.25. The set in a box, four volumes, $5.00.</p>
+
+<p>WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE; or, Fighting for the Lone Star State. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Victor
+S. P&eacute;rard.</span></p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;"><img src="images/gs380.jpg" width="150" height="277" alt="Advt. Image" title="" /></div>
+
+<p>
+"One of the most spirited and interesting tales that he has written."&mdash;<span class="smcap">News and Courier</span>.</p><p>
+THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE. A tale of the Seminole War.
+Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Victor S. P&eacute;rard</span>.</p>
+
+
+<p>"No boy can get hold of this story without being carried away with it."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Courier</span>.</p>
+<p>
+AT WAR WITH PONTIAC; or, the Totem of the Bear. A tale of
+redcoat and redskin. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">J. Fennemore</span>.</p>
+<p>
+"The book is admirably written throughout and has not a dull page in it."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Beacon</span>.</p>
+<p>
+THE WHITE CONQUERORS. A tale of Toltec and Aztec. Illustrated
+by <span class="smcap">W.S. Stacey</span>.</p>
+<p>
+"The book is filled with incident and permeated with the high color and life of the
+period and country."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Cambridge Tribune</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Frank R. Stockton's Books for the Young</b>.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>His books for boys and girls are classics</i>."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Newark Advertiser</span>.</p>
+
+<p>THE CLOCKS OF RONDAINE, AND OTHER STORIES. With 24 illustrations by
+<span class="smcap">Blashfield, Rogers, Beard</span>, and others. Square 8vo; $1.50.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;">
+<img src="images/gs381_1.jpg" width="200" height="271" alt="FRANK R. STOCKTON." title="" />
+
+</div>
+
+<p>PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Pennell, Parsons</span>, and others. Sq.
+8vo, $2.00.</p>
+
+<p>THE STORY OF VITEAU. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">R.B. Birch</span>. 12mo, $1.50.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/gs381_2.jpg" width="150" height="248" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. With 20 illustrations. 12mo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>THE FLOATING PRINCE AND OTHER FAIRY TALES. Illustrated. Square 8vo,
+$1.50.</p>
+
+<p>THE TING-A-LING TALES. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS OF FACT AND FICTION. Illustrated. Square
+8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>TALES OUT OF SCHOOL. With nearly 200 illustrations. Square 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"The volumes are profusely illustrated and contain the most
+entertaining sketches in Mr. Stockton's most entertaining
+manner."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Christian Union.</span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Edward Eggleston's Two Popular Books</b>.</p>
+
+<p>THE HOOSIER SCHOOL-BOY. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00.</p>
+
+<p>"'The Hoosier School-Boy' depicts some of the characteristics of
+boy-life years ago on the Ohio; characteristics, however, that were
+not peculiar to that section. The story presents a vivid and
+interesting picture of the difficulties which in those days beset the
+path of the youth aspiring for an education."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Chicago Inter-Ocean.</span></p>
+
+<p>QUEER STORIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. 12mo, $1.00.</p>
+
+<p>"A very bright and attractive little volume for young readers. The
+stories are fresh, breezy, and healthy, with a good point to them and
+a good, sound American view of life and the road to success. The book
+abounds in good feeling and good sense, and is written in a style of
+homely art."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Independent.</span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Evening Tales.</b></p>
+
+<p>Done into English from the French of Frederic Ortoli, by <span class="smcap">Joel Chandler
+Harris</span>. 12mo, $1.00.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a veritable French 'Uncle Remus' that Mr. Harris has discovered
+in Frederic Ortoli. The book has the genuine piquancy of Gallic wit,
+and will be sure to charm American children. Mr. Harris's version is
+delightfully written."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Beacon</span>.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/gs381_3.jpg" width="150" height="247" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+<p class="center"><b>Hans Brinker:</b> </p><p>Or, The Silver Skates. A Story of Life in Holland. By
+  <span class="smcap">Mary Mapes Dodge</span>. With 60 illustrations. 12mo, $1.50.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>"The author has shown, in her former works for the young, a very rare
+ability to meet their wants; but she has produced nothing better than
+this charming tale&mdash;alive with incident and action, adorned rather
+than freighted with useful facts, and moral without
+moralization."&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Nation.</span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>The Norseland Series.</b></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>BY H.H. BOYESEN</i>.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/gs382_1.jpg" width="300" height="335" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>NORSELAND TALES. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25.</p>
+
+<p>BOYHOOD IN NORWAY: <span class="smcap">Nine Stories of Deeds of the Sons of the Vikings</span>.
+With 8 illustrations. 12mo, $1.25</p>
+
+<p>AGAINST HEAVY ODDS, <span class="smcap">and a Fearless Trio</span>. With 13 full-page
+illustrations by <span class="smcap">W.L. Taylor</span>. 12mo, $1.25.</p>
+
+<p>THE MODERN VIKINGS: <span class="smcap">Stories of Life And Sport in the Norseland.</span> With
+many full-page illustrations. 12mo, $1.25.</p>
+
+<p>The four above volumes in a box, $5.00.</p>
+
+<p>"Charmingly told stories of boy-life in the Land of the Midnight Sun,
+illustrated with pictures giving a capital idea of the incidents and
+scenes described. The tales have a delight all their own, as they tell
+of scenes and sports and circumstances so different from those of our
+American life."&mdash;<span class="smcap">N.Y. Observer.</span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/gs382_2.jpg" width="150" height="247" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+<p class="center"><b>Two Books by Rossiter Johnson.</b></p>
+
+<p>THE END OF A RAINBOW. <span class="smcap">An American Story</span>. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"It will be read with breathless interest. It is interesting and full
+of boyish experiences."&mdash;<span class="smcap">N.Y. Independent</span>.</p>
+
+<p>PHAETON ROGERS. <span class="smcap">A Novel of Boy Life</span>. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Johnson has shown in this book capabilities of a really high
+quality, for his story abounds with humor, and there are endless bits
+of quiet fun in it, which bring out the hearty laugh, even when it is
+read by older people. It is a capital book for boys."&mdash;<span class="smcap">New York Times</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Mrs. Burton Harrison's Tales.</b></p>
+
+<p>BRIC-A-BRAC STORIES. With 24 illustrations by <span class="smcap">Walter Crane.</span> 12mo,
+$1.50.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;">
+<img src="images/gs382_3.jpg" width="200" height="335" alt="FROM &quot;BRIC-A-BRAC STORIES.&quot; Reduced." title="" />
+
+</div>
+<p>"When the little boy, for whose benefit the various articles of
+bric-a-brac in his father's drawing-room relate stories appropriate to
+their several native countries, exclaims at the conclusion of one of
+them: 'I almost think there can't be a better one than that!' the
+reader, of whatever age, will probably feel inclined to agree with
+him. Upon the whole, it is to be wished that every boy and girl might
+become acquainted with the contents of this book."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Julian Hawthorne</span>.</p>
+
+<p>THE OLD FASHIONED FAIRY BOOK. Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Rosina Emmet</span>, 16mo,
+$1.25.</p>
+
+<p>"The little ones, who so willingly go back with us to 'Jack the Giant
+Killer,' 'Bluebeard,' and the kindred stories of our childhood, will
+gladly welcome Mrs. Burton Harrison's 'Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales.' The
+graceful pencil of Miss Rosina Emmet has given a pictorial interest to
+the book."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Frank R. Stockton.</span></p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Thomas Nelson Page's Two Books.</b></p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;">
+<img src="images/gs383_1.jpg" width="200" height="285" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>AMONG THE CAMPS: <span class="smcap">Or, Young People's Stories of the War</span>. With 8
+full-page illustrations. Square, 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"They are five in number, each having reference to some incident of
+the Civil War. A vein of mingled pathos and humor runs through them
+all, and greatly heightens the charm of them. It is the early
+experience of the author himself, doubtless, which makes his pictures
+of life in a Southern home during the great struggle so vivid and
+truthful."&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Nation</span>.</p>
+
+<p>TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES. With 8 full-page illustrations by <span class="smcap">Kemble and
+Redwood</span>. Square, 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Page was 'raised' in Virginia, and he knows the 'darkey' of the
+South better than any one who writes about them. And he knows 'white
+folks,' too, and his stories, whether for old or young people, have
+the charm of sincerity and beauty and reality."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Harper's Young
+People.</span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>W.O. Stoddard's Books for Boys.</b></p>
+
+<p>DAB KINZER. <span class="smcap">A Story of a Growing Boy</span>. THE QUARTET. <span class="smcap">A Sequel to Dab
+Kinzer</span> SALTILLO BOYS. AMONG THE LAKES. WINTER FUN.</p>
+
+<p><i>Five volumes, 12mo, in a box, $5.00. Sold separately, each, $1.00</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"William O. Stoddard has written capital books for boys. His 'Dab
+Kinzer' and 'The Quartet' are among the best specimens of 'Juveniles'
+produced anywhere. In his latest volume, 'Winter Fun,' Mr. Stoddard
+gives free rein to his remarkable gift of story-telling for boys.
+Healthful works of this kind cannot be too freely distributed among
+the little men of America."&mdash;<span class="smcap">New York Journal of Commerce</span>.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Little People</b></p>
+
+<p>And their Homes in Meadows, Woods, and Waters. By <span class="smcap">Stella Louise Hook</span>.
+Illustrated by <span class="smcap">Dan Beard and Harry Beard.</span> One volume, square 8vo,
+$1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"A delightful excursion for the little ones into the fairy-land of
+nature, telling all about the little people and all in such pleasant
+language and such pretty illustrations that the little readers will be
+charmed as much as they will be instructed by the book."&mdash;<span class="smcap">New York
+Evangelist.</span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 200px;">
+<img src="images/gs383_2.jpg" width="200" height="325" alt="R.L. STEVENSON." title="" />
+
+</div>
+<p class="center"><b>Two Books by Robert Louis Stevenson.</b></p>
+
+<p>THE BLACK ARROW:</p>
+
+<p>A Tale of the Two Roses. By <span class="smcap">R.L. Stevenson</span>. With 12 full-page
+illustrations by <span class="smcap">Will H. Low and Alfred Brennan</span>. 12mo, $1.25.</p>
+
+<p>"The story is one of the strongest pieces of romantic writing ever
+done by Mr. Stevenson."&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Boston Times</span>.</p>
+
+<p>KIDNAPPED: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the
+Year 1751. By <span class="smcap">R.L. Stevenson</span>. 12mo, with 16 full-page illustrations,
+$1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Stevenson has never appeared to greater advantage than in
+'Kidnapped.'"&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Nation.</span></p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Two Books by Henry M. Stanley.</b></p>
+
+<p>MY DARK COMPANIONS</p>
+
+<p>And Their Strange Stories. With 64 illustrations. 8vo, $2.00</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;">
+  <img src="images/gs384_1.jpg" width="200" height="263" alt="HENRY M. STANLEY." title="" /></div>
+<p>"The following legends," says Mr. Stanley in his introduction, "are
+the choicest and most curious of those that were related to me during
+seventeen years, and which have not been hitherto published in any of
+my books of travel." There are in all nineteen stories, new and
+striking in motive and quaint in language.</p>
+
+<p>MY KALULU.</p>
+
+<p>Prince, King, and Slave. A Story of Central Africa. By <span class="smcap">Henry M.
+Stanley</span>. One volume, 12mo, new edition, with many illustrations,
+$1.50.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>"A fresh, breezy, stirring story for youths, interesting in itself and
+full of information regarding life in the interior of the continent in
+which its scenes are laid."&mdash;<span class="smcap">New York Times</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"If the young reader is fond of strange adventures, he will find
+enough in this volume to delight him all winter, and he will be hard
+to please who is not charmed by its graphic pages."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Journal.</span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Jules Verne's Greatest Work.</b></p>
+
+<p class="center">"THE EXPLORATION OF THE WORLD."</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/gs384_2.jpg" width="300" height="342" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>"M. Verne's scheme in this work is to tell fully how man has made
+acquaintance with the world in which he lives, to combine into a
+single work in three volumes the wonderful stories of all the great
+explorers, navigators, and travelers who have sought out, one after
+another, the once uttermost parts of the earth."&mdash;<span class="smcap">The New York Evening
+Post.</span></p>
+
+<p>The three volumes in a set, $7.50; singly, $2.50.</p>
+
+
+<p>FAMOUS TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.</p>
+
+<p>With over 100 full-page illustrations, maps, etc., 8vo, $2.50.</p>
+
+
+<p>THE GREAT NAVIGATORS OF THE XVIIITH CENTURY.</p>
+
+<p>With 96 full-page illustrations and 19 maps, 8vo, $2.50.</p>
+
+
+<p>THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE XIXTH CENTURY.</p>
+
+<p>With over 100 full-page illustrations, facsimiles, etc., 8vo, $2.50.</p>
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<p class="center"><b>Jules Verne's Stories. Uniform Illustrated Edition.</b></p>
+
+<p>Nine volumes, 8vo, extra cloth, with over 750 full-page illustrations.
+Price, per set, in a box, $17.50. Sold also in separate volumes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap"> Michael Strogoff; or, The Courier of the Czar, $2.00. A Floating City
+and the Blockade Runners, $2.00. Hector Servadac, $2.00. A Journey to
+the Centre of the Earth, $2.00. From the Earth to the Moon direct in
+Ninety-seven Hours, Twenty Minutes; and a journey Around it, $2.00.
+Dick Sands, $2.00. The Steam House, $2.00. The Giant Raft, $2.00. The
+Mysterious Island, $2.50.</span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Czar and Sultan.</b></p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;">
+  <img src="images/gs385_1.jpg" width="150" height="153" alt="Advt. Image" title="" /></div>
+<p>The adventures of a British Lad in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.
+By <span class="smcap">Archibald Forbes</span>. Illustrated. 12mo, $2.00.</p>
+
+<p>"Very fascinating and graphic. Mr. Forbes is a forcible writer, and
+the present work has the vigor and intensity associated with his name.
+It is sure to be popular with youthful readers."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Boston Beacon</span>.</p>
+
+<p>"A brilliant and exciting narrative, and the drawings add to its
+interest and value."&mdash;<span class="smcap">N.Y. Observer.</span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Books of Adventure by Robert Leighton.</b></p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/gs385_2.jpg" width="300" height="264" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+<p>OLAF THE GLORIOUS.</p>
+
+<p>A Story of Olaf Triggvison, King of Norway, A.D. 995-1000. Crown 8vo,
+with numerous full-page illustrations, $1.50.</p>
+
+
+<p>THE WRECK OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.</p>
+
+<p>The Story of a North Sea Fisher Boy. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+
+<p>THE THIRSTY SWORD.</p>
+
+<p>A Story of the Norse Invasion of Scotland. 1262-65, With 8
+illustrations and a map. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+
+<p>THE PILOTS OF POMONA.</p>
+
+<p>A Story of the Orkney Islands. With 8 illustrations and a map. Crown
+8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Leighton as a writer for boys needs no praise, as his books place
+him in the front rank."&mdash;<span class="smcap">New York Observer.</span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+<div class="figright" style="width: 150px;">
+<img src="images/gs385_3.jpg" width="150" height="240" alt="Advt. Image" title="" />
+</div>
+<p class="center"><b>Things Will Take a Turn.</b></p>
+
+<p class="center">By <span class="smcap">Beatrice Harraden</span>, author of "Ships that Pass in the Night."
+Illustrated. 12mo, $1,00.</p>
+
+<p>The charm of this tale is its delicate, wistful sympathy. It is the
+story of a sunny-hearted child, Rosebud, who assists her grandfather
+in his dusty, second-hand bookshop. One cannot help being fascinated
+by the sweet little heroine, she is so engaging, so natural; and to
+love Rosebud is to love all her friends and enter sympathetically into
+the good fortune she brought them.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><b>Among the Lawmakers.</b></p>
+
+<p class="center">By <span class="smcap">Edmund Alton</span>. Illustrated. Sq. 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>"The book is a diverting as well as an instructive one. Mr. Alton was
+in his early days a page in the Senate, and he relates the doings of
+Congress from the point of view he then obtained. His narrative is
+easy and piquant, and abounds in personal anecdotes about the great
+men whom the pages waited on."&mdash;<span class="smcap">Christian Union</span>.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 60%;' />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact
+and Fancy, by Frank Richard Stockton
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+</pre>
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and
+Fancy, by Frank Richard Stockton
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy
+
+Author: Frank Richard Stockton
+
+Release Date: January 23, 2006 [EBook #17582]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES
+
+                              In Lands of
+
+                            FACT AND FANCY
+
+
+
+                                  BY
+
+                           FRANK R STOCKTON
+
+
+
+                             _NEW EDITION_
+
+
+                               NEW YORK
+
+                        CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+
+                                 1910
+
+
+
+        Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872,
+
+                     BY SCRIBNER. ARMSTRONG & CO.,
+
+      In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+WINTER IN THE WOODS
+
+TRICKS OF LIGHT
+
+SAVING THE TOLL
+
+THE REAL KING OF BEASTS
+
+THE FRENCH SOLDIER-BOY
+
+A LIVELY WAY TO RING A BELL
+
+DOWN IN THE EARTH
+
+THE LION
+
+BOB'S HIDING-PLACE
+
+THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIER
+
+A JUDGE OF MUSIC
+
+THE SENSITIVE PLANT
+
+SIR MARMADUKE
+
+THE GIRAFFE
+
+UP IN THE AIR
+
+THE ARABIAN HORSE
+
+INDIAN-PUDDINGS: PUMPKIN-PIES
+
+LIVING IN SMOKE
+
+THE CANNON OF THE PALAIS-ROYAL
+
+WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW
+
+HANS THE HERB-GATHERER
+
+SOME CUNNING INSECTS
+
+A FIRST SIGHT OF THE SEA
+
+THE LARGEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD
+
+THE SOFT PLACE
+
+A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS
+
+IN A WELL
+
+A VEGETABLE GAS MANUFACTORY
+
+ABOUT BEARS
+
+AN OLD COUNTRY-HOUSE
+
+FAR-AWAY FORESTS
+
+BUILDING SHIPS
+
+THE ORANG-OUTANG
+
+LITTLE BRIDGET'S BATH
+
+SOME NOVEL FISHING
+
+EAGLES AND LITTLE GIRLS
+
+CLIMBING MOUNTAINS
+
+ANDREW'S PLAN
+
+THE WILD ASS
+
+ANCIENT RIDING
+
+BEAUTIFUL BUGS
+
+A BATTLE ON STILTS
+
+DRAWING THE LONG BOW
+
+AN ANCIENT THEATRE
+
+BIRD CHAT
+
+MUMMIES
+
+TAME SNAKES
+
+GYMNASTICS
+
+BUYING "THE MIRROR"
+
+BIG GAME
+
+THE BOOTBLACK'S DOG
+
+GOING AFTER THE COWS
+
+THE REFLECTIVE STAG
+
+WHEN WE MUST NOT BELIEVE OUR EYES
+
+A CITY UNDER THE GROUND
+
+THE COACHMAN
+
+GEYSERS, AND HOW THEY WORK
+
+A GIANT PUFF-BALL
+
+TICKLED BY A STRAW
+
+THE LIGHT IN THE CASTLE
+
+THE OAK TREE
+
+THE SEA-SIDE
+
+THE SICK PIKE
+
+TWO KINDS OF BLOSSOMS
+
+ABOUT GLASS
+
+CARL
+
+SCHOOL'S OUT
+
+NEST-BUILDERS
+
+THE BOOMERANG
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                 _Frontispiece._
+
+The Woodcutter
+
+The Minstrel on the Wall
+
+Tricks in a Church
+
+The Dance of Demons
+
+Nostradamus
+
+The Lion's Head
+
+The Theatrical Ghost
+
+The Toll-bridge
+
+A Royal Procession
+
+An Elephant after Him
+
+The Dog's Protector
+
+An Elephant Nurse
+
+Saving the Artillery-man
+
+The Gallant Elephant
+
+The French Soldier-Boy
+
+On a Bell
+
+Fishes found in the Mammoth Cave
+
+The Bottomless Pit
+
+The Lion's Home
+
+The Uncaged Lion
+
+A Lion's Dinner
+
+A Terrible Companion
+
+Off to the Kitchen
+
+Blind Man's Buff
+
+The Story-Teller
+
+In the Cellar
+
+Handing round the Apples
+
+The Drummer of 1776
+
+The Continental Soldier
+
+The Donkey in the Parlor
+
+Sir Marmaduke
+
+The Giraffe
+
+Above the Clouds
+
+The Flying Man
+
+The Parachute--shut
+
+The Parachute--open
+
+Le Flesseles
+
+Bagnolet's Balloon
+
+Coming down Roughly
+
+A Balloon with Sails and Rudders
+
+The Minerva
+
+Safe Ballooning
+
+Driven out to Sea
+
+The Arabian Horse
+
+In the Cornfield
+
+A Big Mosquito
+
+Exactly Noon
+
+The Spring
+
+The Brook
+
+The Mill
+
+The Cascade
+
+The Great River
+
+Falls of Gavarni
+
+The Falls of Zambesi
+
+Niagara
+
+Fishing with a Net
+
+Fishing with a Spear
+
+Sponge-Fishing
+
+A Pearl Oyster
+
+Divers
+
+Rough Water
+
+The Iceberg
+
+The Storm
+
+The Shipwreck
+
+Water-Spouts
+
+A Bit of Cable
+
+Hans, the Herb-Gatherer
+
+Patsey
+
+A Spider at Home
+
+The Ant's Arch
+
+The Cock-chafer's Wing
+
+The Spider's Bridge
+
+The Moth and the Bees
+
+Learned Fleas
+
+The Pacific
+
+St. Peter's at Rome
+
+Interior of St. Peter's
+
+The Five Young Deer
+
+Waking Up
+
+Familiar Friends
+
+The Pigeon
+
+The Dove
+
+The Swan
+
+The Goose that Led
+
+The Goose that Followed
+
+The Sensible Duck
+
+The Goldfinch
+
+The Magpie
+
+The Owl
+
+Morning Singers
+
+In a Well
+
+The Fraxinella
+
+A Company of Bears
+
+The Black Bear
+
+The Grizzly Bear
+
+The White Bear
+
+The Tame Bear
+
+An old Country-House
+
+Ancient Builders
+
+The Pine Forest
+
+Tree Ferns
+
+Tropical Forest
+
+The Giant Trees
+
+The Great Eastern
+
+The Orang-Outang
+
+Bridget and the Fairies
+
+Flat-Fish
+
+Turbots
+
+The Sea-Horse
+
+The Cuttle-Fish
+
+The Polypier
+
+Tunnies
+
+The Sword-Fish
+
+The Shark
+
+The Child and the Eagle
+
+Climbing the Mountain
+
+Andrew and Jenny
+
+Wild Asses
+
+The Palanquin
+
+The Chariot
+
+Transformation of Beetles
+
+A Battle on Stilts
+
+Drawing the Long Bow
+
+The Colosseum
+
+The Cormorants
+
+The Bittern
+
+The Pelican
+
+The Hoopoe
+
+The Falcon
+
+The Mummy
+
+The Stand
+
+The Coffin
+
+The Outside Coffin
+
+The Sarcophagus
+
+The Tame Snake
+
+The Novel Team
+
+Youngsters Fighting
+
+Throwing the Hammer
+
+Throwing the Stone
+
+Thomas Topham
+
+Venetian Acrobats
+
+The Tight-Rope
+
+The See-Saw
+
+The Wild Boar
+
+The Musk-Ox and the Sailor
+
+Hunting the Brown Bear
+
+A Brave Hippopotamus
+
+A Rhinocerus Turning the Table
+
+A Tiger-Hunt
+
+A Fight with a Gorilla
+
+The Boot-black's Dog
+
+Going after the Cows
+
+The Reflective Stag
+
+The Mirage
+
+Fata Morgana
+
+The Spectre of the Brocken
+
+A Narrow Street in Pompeii
+
+A Cleared Street in Pompeii
+
+The Atrium in the House of Pansa
+
+Ornaments from Pompeii
+
+A Pompeiian Bakery
+
+The Amphitheatre of Pompeii
+
+The Coachman
+
+The Grand Geyser
+
+The Artificial Geyser
+
+A Giant Puff-ball
+
+Tickled by a Straw
+
+The Will-o'-the-Wisp
+
+The Oak Tree
+
+The Sea-Side
+
+The Vessels on Shore
+
+The Sick Pike
+
+The Blossoms
+
+Ice-Blossoms
+
+Ice-Flowers
+
+Ancient Bead
+
+Venetian Bottle
+
+German Drinking-Glass
+
+Glass Jug
+
+Making Bottles
+
+Venetian Goblet
+
+Modern Goblets
+
+The Queen's Mirror
+
+Bohemian Goblet
+
+French Flagon
+
+The Portland Vase
+
+The Strange Lady
+
+Carl and the Duke
+
+The Dominie
+
+Wrens' Nests
+
+Orioles' Nest
+
+Owl's Nests
+
+Flamingoes' Nests
+
+The little Grebe's Nest
+
+The Ostrich-Nest
+
+The Stork's Nest
+
+A Fish's Nest
+
+Throwing the Boomerang
+
+The Way the Boomerang Goes
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+Come along, boys and girls! We are off on our rambles. But please do
+not ask me where we are going. It would delay us very much if I should
+postpone our start until I had drawn you a map of the route, with all
+the stopping-places set down.
+
+We have far to go, and a great many things to see, and it may be that
+some of you will be very tired before we get through.
+
+If so, I shall be sorry; but it will be a comfort to think that none
+of us need go any farther than we choose.
+
+There will be considerable variety in our rambles. We shall walk about
+familiar places, and we shall explore streets and houses that have
+been buried for centuries. We shall go down deep into the earth, and
+we shall float in a balloon, high up into the air. We shall see many
+beasts of the forest; some that are bloody and cruel, and others that
+are gentle and wise. We will meet with birds, fishes, grand old
+buildings, fleas, vast woods, bugs, mummies, snakes, tight-rope
+dancers, gorillas, will-o'-the-wisps, beautiful blossoms, boomerangs,
+oceans, birds' nests, and I cannot tell you what all besides. We will
+also have some adventures, hear some stories, and have a peep at a
+fairy or two before we are done.
+
+I shall not, however, be able to go with you everywhere. When you are
+enjoying a "Bird Chat;" "Buying the Mirror;" learning when "We must
+not Believe our Eyes;" visiting "A City under the Ground;" hearing of
+"The Coachman's" troubles; sitting under "The Oak-tree;" finding out
+wonderful things "About Glass;" watching what happens when "School's
+Out;" or following the fortunes of "Carl," your guide will be a lady,
+and I think that you will all agree that she knows very well where she
+ought to go, and how to get there. The rest of the time you will be
+with me.
+
+And now, having talked enough, suppose we start.
+
+
+
+
+WINTER IN THE WOODS
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+What can be more delightful, to a boy of spirit, than a day in the
+woods when there has been a good snow! If he also happens to have a
+good friend or two, and some good dogs (who are just as likely to be
+friends as his boy-companions), he ought to be much happier than an
+ordinary king. A forest is a fine place at any time, but when the
+ground is well covered with snow--especially if there is a hard crust
+upon it--the woods seem to possess a peculiar charm. You can go
+anywhere then.
+
+In the summer, the thick undergrowth, the intertwining vines, and the
+heavy lower branches of the trees, make it difficult even to see into
+the dark recesses of the forest. But in the winter all is open. The
+low wet places, the deep holes, the rotten bogs, everything on the
+ground that is in the way of a good run and a jump, is covered up. You
+do not walk a hundred yards under the bare branches of the trees
+before up starts a rabbit, or a hare, if you would rather call him by
+his right name,--and away go the dogs, and away you go--all of you
+tearing along at the top of your speed!
+
+But poor Bunny has a small chance, when a hard snow is on the ground.
+His hiding-places are all covered up, and before he knows it the dogs
+have caught him, and your mother will have stewed rabbit for supper.
+It seems a hard fate for the poor little fellow, but he was born
+partly for that purpose.
+
+When you have caught your rabbit, and come back to where the men are
+cutting wood, you will be just as proud to tell the boy who is cutting
+up the branches all about your splendid hunt, as if you had chased and
+killed a stag.
+
+"There's where we started him!" you will cry, "and away he scudded,
+over there among the chestnuts, and Rover right at his heels, and when
+we got down there to the creek, Rover turned heels-over-head on the
+ice, he was going so fast; but I gave one slide right across, and just
+up there, by the big walnut, the other two dogs got him!"
+
+That boy is almost as much excited as you are, and he would drop his
+axe in one minute, and be off with you on another chase, if his father
+were not there.
+
+And now you find that you have reached the wood-cutters exactly in
+time, for that great tree is just about to come down.
+
+There go the top-branches, moving slowly along through the tops of the
+other trees, and now they move faster, and everything begins to crack;
+and, with a rush and a clatter of breaking limbs, the great oak comes
+crashing down; jarring the very earth beneath your feet, and making
+the snow fly about like a sparkling cloud, while away run the dogs,
+with their tails between their legs.
+
+The tree is down now, and you will want to be home in time for dinner.
+Farmer Brown's sled has just passed, and if you will cut across the
+woods you can catch up with him, and have a ride home, and tell him
+all about the rabbit-hunt, on the way.
+
+If it is Saturday, and a holiday, you will be out again this
+afternoon, with some of the other boys, perhaps, and have a grand
+hunt.
+
+Suppose it is snowing, what will you care? You will not mind the snow
+any more than if it were a shower of blossoms from the apple-trees in
+May.
+
+
+
+
+TRICKS OF LIGHT.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+There is nothing more straightforward in its ways than light--when we
+let it alone. But, like many of us, when it is introduced to the
+inventions and contrivances of the civilized world, it often becomes
+exceedingly fond of vagaries and extravagances.
+
+Of all the companions of light which endeavor to induce it to forsake
+its former simple habits, there is not one which has the influence
+possessed by glass. When light and glass get together it is difficult
+to divine what tricks they are going to perform. But some of these are
+very interesting, if they are a little wild, and there are very few of
+us who do not enjoy them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For instance, what a delight to any company, be it composed of young
+folks or old, is a magic-lantern! The most beautiful and the most
+absurd pictures may be made to appear upon the wall or screen. But
+there is an instrument, called the phantasmagoria, which is really
+nothing but an improved magic-lantern, which is capable of producing
+much more striking effects. It is a much larger instrument than the
+other, and when it is exhibited a screen is placed between it and the
+spectators, so that they do not see how the pictures are produced. It
+is mounted on castors, so that at times it can be brought nearer and
+nearer to the screen, until the picture seems to enlarge and grow in a
+wonderful manner. Then, when it is drawn back, the image diminishes
+and recedes far into the distance. The lenses and other mechanism of
+the phantasmagoria can also be moved in various directions, making the
+action of the pictures still more wonderful. Sometimes, when the
+instrument is exhibited in public, the screen is not used, but the
+pictures are thrown upon a cloud of smoke, which is itself almost
+invisible in the dim light of the room. In such a case the figures
+seem as if they were floating in the air.
+
+A man, named Robertson, once gave exhibitions in Paris, in an old
+chapel, and at the close of his performances he generally caused a
+great skeleton figure of Death to appear among the pillars and arches.
+Many of the audience were often nearly scared to death by this
+apparition. The more ignorant people of Paris who attended these
+exhibitions, could not be persuaded, when they saw men, women, and
+animals walking about in the air between the arches of the chapel,
+that Robertson was not a magician, although he explained to them that
+the images were nothing but the effect of a lantern and some glass
+lenses. When these people could see that the figures were produced on
+a volume of smoke, they were still more astonished and awed, for they
+thought that the spirits arose from the fire which caused the smoke.
+
+But Robertson had still other means of exhibiting the tricks of light.
+Opposite is a picture of the "Dance of Demons."
+
+This delusion is very simple indeed, and is produced by placing a
+card-figure on a screen, and throwing shadows from this upon another
+screen, by means of several lights, held by assistants. Thus each
+light throws its own shadow, and if the candles are moved up and down,
+and about, the shadows will dance, jump over each other, and do all
+sorts of wonderful things. Robertson, and other public exhibitors, had
+quite complicated arrangements of this kind, but they all acted on the
+same principle. But all of those who exhibit to the public the freaks
+of light are not as honest as Mr. Robertson. You may have heard of
+Nostradamus, who also lived in Paris, but long before Robertson, and
+who pretended to be a magician. Among other things, he asserted that
+he could show people pictures of their future husbands or wives. Marie
+de Medicis, a celebrated princess of the time, came to him on this
+sensible errand, and he, being very anxious to please her, showed her,
+in a looking-glass, the reflected image of Henry of Navarre, sitting
+upon the throne of France. This, of course, astonished the princess
+very much, but it need not astonish us, if we carefully examine the
+picture of that conjuring scene.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The mirror into which the lady was to look, was in a room adjoining
+that in which Henry was sitting on the throne. It was placed at such
+an angle that her face would not be reflected in it, but an aperture
+in the wall allowed the figure of Henry to be reflected from a
+looking-glass, hung near the ceiling, down upon the "magic" mirror.
+So, of course, she saw his picture there, and believed entirely in the
+old humbug, Nostradamus.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But there are much simpler methods by which the vagaries of light may
+be made amusing, and among the best of these are what are called
+"Chinese shadows." These require a little ingenuity, but they are
+certainly simple enough. They consist of nothing but a card or paper,
+upon which the lights of the picture intended to be represented are
+cut out. When this is held between a candle and a wall, a startling
+shadow-image may be produced, which one would not imagine to have any
+connection with the card, unless he had studied the manner in which
+said card was cut. Here is a picture of a company amusing themselves
+with these cards. No one would suppose that the card which the young
+man is holding in his hand bore the least resemblance to a lion's
+head, but there is no mistaking the shadow on the wall.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The most wonderful public exhibitions of optical illusions have been
+those in which a real ghost or spectre apparently moves across the
+stage of a theatre. This has frequently been done in late years, both
+in this country and Europe. The audiences were perfectly amazed to see
+a spirit suddenly appear, walk about the stage, and act like a regular
+ghost, who did not seem to be in the least disturbed when an actor
+fired a pistol at him, or ran him through with a sword. The method of
+producing this illusion is well shown in the accompanying picture. A
+large plate of glass is placed in front of the stage so that the
+audience does not perceive it. The edges of it must be concealed by
+curtains, which are not shown in the picture. An actor, dressed as a
+ghost, walks in front of the stage below its level, where he is not
+seen by the audience, and a strong electric light being thrown upon
+him, his reflected image appears to the spectator as if it were
+walking about on the stage. When the light is put out of course the
+spirit instantly vanishes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A very amusing account is given of a man who was hired to do some work
+about a theatre. He had finished his work for the present, and wishing
+to eat his supper, which he had brought with him, he chose a nice
+quiet place under the stage, where he thought he would not be
+disturbed. Not knowing that everything was prepared for the
+appearance of a ghost, he sat down in front of the electric lamp, and
+as soon as it was lighted the audience was amazed to see, sitting very
+comfortably in the air above the stage, a man in his shirt-sleeves,
+eating bread and cheese! Little did he think, when he heard the
+audience roaring with laughter, that they were laughing at his ghost!
+
+Light plays so many tricks with our eyes and senses that it is
+possible to narrate but a few of them here. But those that I have
+mentioned are enough to show us what a wild fellow he is, especially
+where he and glass get frolicking together.
+
+
+
+
+SAVING THE TOLL.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+When I was a youngster and lived in the country, there were three of
+us boys who used to go very frequently to a small village about a mile
+from our homes. To reach this village it was necessary to cross a
+narrow river, and there was a toll-bridge for that purpose. The toll
+for every foot-passenger who went over this bridge was one cent. Now,
+this does not seem like a very high charge, but, at that time, we very
+often thought that we would much rather keep our pennies to spend in
+the village than to pay them to the old man who took toll on the
+bridge. But it was often necessary for us to cross the river, and to
+do so, and save our money at the same time, we used to adopt a very
+hazardous expedient.
+
+At a short distance below the toll-bridge there was a railroad-bridge,
+which you cannot see in the picture. This bridge was not intended for
+anything but railroad trains; it was very high above the water, it
+was very long, and it was not floored. When any one stood on the
+cross-ties which supported the rails, he could look right down into
+the water far below him. For the convenience of the railroad-men and
+others who sometimes were obliged to go on the bridge, there was a
+single line of boards placed over the ties at one side of the track,
+and there was a slight hand-rail put up at that side of the bridge.
+
+To save our pennies we used to cross this bridge, and every time we
+did so we risked our lives.
+
+We were careful, however, not to go on the bridge at times when a
+train might be expected to cross it, for when the cars passed us, we
+had much rather be on solid ground. But one day, when we had forgotten
+the hour; or a train was behind, or ahead of time; or an extra train
+was on the road--we were crossing this railroad bridge, and had just
+about reached the middle of it, when we heard the whistle of a
+locomotive! Looking up quickly, we saw a train, not a quarter of a
+mile away, which was coming towards us at full speed. We stood
+paralyzed for a moment. We did not know what to do. In a minute, or
+less, the train would be on the bridge and we had not, or thought we
+had not, time to get off of it, whether we went forward or backward.
+
+But we could not stand on that narrow path of boards while the train
+was passing. The cars would almost touch us. What could we do? I
+believe that if we had had time, we would have climbed down on the
+trestle-work below the bridge, and so let the train pass over us. But
+whatever could be done must be done instantly, and we could think of
+nothing better than to get outside of the railing and hold on as well
+as we could. In this position we would, at any rate, be far enough
+from the cars to prevent them from touching us. So out we got, and
+stood on the ends of the timbers, holding fast to the slender
+hand-rail. And on came the train! When the locomotive first touched
+the bridge we could feel the shock, and as it came rattling and
+grinding over the rails towards us--coming right on to us, as it
+seemed--our faces turned pale, you may well believe.
+
+But the locomotive did not run off the track just at that exact spot
+where we were standing--a catastrophe which, I believe, in the bottom
+of our hearts, every one of us feared. It passed on, and the train
+came thundering after it. How dreadfully close those cars did come to
+us! How that bridge did shake and tremble in every timber; and how we
+trembled for fear we should be shaken off into the river so far below
+us! And what an enormously long train it was! I suppose that it took,
+really, but a very short time to pass, but it seemed to us as if there
+was no end to it at all, and as if it would never, never get entirely
+over that bridge!
+
+But it did cross at last, and went rumbling away into the distance.
+
+Then we three, almost too much frightened to speak to each other,
+crept under the rail and hurried over the bridge.
+
+All that anxiety, that fright, that actual misery of mind, and
+positive danger of body, to save one cent apiece!
+
+But we never saved any more money in that way. When we crossed the
+river after that, we went over the toll-bridge, and we paid our
+pennies, like other sensible people.
+
+Had it been positively necessary for us to have crossed that river,
+and had there been no other way for us to do it but to go over the
+railroad bridge, I think we might have been called brave boys, for the
+bridge was very high above the water, and a timid person would have
+been very likely to have been frightened when he looked down at his
+feet, and saw how easy it would be for him to make a misstep and go
+tumbling down between the timbers.
+
+But, as there was no necessity or sufficient reason for our risking
+our lives in that manner, we were nothing more or less than three
+little fools!
+
+It would be well if all boys or girls, to whom a hazardous feat
+presents itself, would ask themselves the question: "Would it be a
+brave thing for me to do that, or would I be merely proving myself a
+simpleton?"
+
+
+
+
+THE REAL KING OF BEASTS.
+
+[Illustration: A ROYAL PROCESSION.]
+
+
+For many centuries there has been a usurper on the throne of the
+Beasts. That creature is the Lion.
+
+But those who take an interest in the animal kingdom (and I am very
+sorry for those who do not) should force the Lion to take off the
+crown, put down the sceptre, and surrender the throne to the real King
+of Beasts--the Elephant.
+
+There is every reason why this high honor should be accorded to the
+Elephant. In the first place, he is physically superior to the Lion.
+An Elephant attacked by a Lion could dash his antagonist to the ground
+with his trunk, run him through with his tusks, and trample him to
+death under his feet. The claws and teeth of the Lion would make no
+impression of any consequence on the Elephant's thick skin and massive
+muscles. If the Elephant was to decide his claim to the throne by dint
+of fighting for it, the Lion would find himself an ex-king in a very
+short time. But the Elephant is too peaceful to assert his right in
+this way--and, what is more, he does not suppose that any one could
+even imagine a Lion to be his superior. He never had such an idea
+himself.
+
+But besides his strength of body, the Elephant is superior in
+intelligence to all animals, except the dog and man. He is said by
+naturalists to have a very fine brain, considering that he is only a
+beast. His instinct seems to rise on some occasions almost to the
+level of our practical reasoning, and the stories which are told of
+his smartness are very many indeed.
+
+But no one can assert that the Lion has any particular intelligence.
+To be sure, there have been stories told of his generosity, but they
+are not many, and they are all very old. The Elephant proves his
+pre-eminence as a thinking beast every day. We see him very
+frequently in menageries, and we can judge of what he is capable. We
+see the Lion also, and we very soon find out what he can do. He can
+lie still and look grave and majestic; he can jump about in his cage,
+if he has been trained; and he can eat! He is certainly great in that
+respect.
+
+We all know a great deal about the Elephant, how he is caught and
+tamed, and made the servant and sometimes the friend of man. This,
+however, seldom happens but in India. In Africa they do not often tame
+Elephants, as they hunt them generally for the sake of their ivory,
+and the poor beasts are killed by hundreds and hundreds so that we may
+have billiard-balls, knife-handles, and fine-tooth combs.
+
+Rut whether the Elephant is wanted as a beast of burden, or it is only
+his great tusks that are desired, it is no joke to hunt him. He will
+not attack a man without provocation (except in very rare cases); when
+he does get in a passion it is time for the hunter to look out for his
+precious skin. If the man is armed with a gun, he must take the best
+of aim, and his bullets must be like young cannon-balls, for the
+Elephant's head is hard and his skin is tough. If the hunter is on a
+horse, he need not suppose that he can escape by merely putting his
+steed to its best speed. The Elephant is big and awkward-looking, but
+he gets over the ground in a very rapid manner.
+
+Here is an illustration of an incident in which a boy found out, in
+great sorrow and trepidation, how fast an Elephant can run.
+
+This boy was one of the attendants of the Duke of Edinburgh, one of
+Queen Victoria's sons, who was hunting Elephants in Africa. The
+Elephants which the party were after on that particular day had got
+out of the sight of the hunters, and this boy, being mounted on a
+horse, went to look them up. It was not long before he found them,
+and he also found much more than he had bargained for. He found that
+one of the big fellows was very much inclined to hunt _him_ and he
+came riding out of the forest as hard as he could go, with a great
+Elephant full tilt after him. Fortunately for the boy, the Duke was
+ready with his gun, and when the Elephant came dashing up he put two
+balls into his head. The great beast dropped mortally wounded, and the
+boy was saved. I don't believe that he was so curious about the
+whereabouts of Elephants after that.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When the Elephant is desired as a servant, he is captured in various
+ways. Sometimes he is driven into great pens; sometimes he tumbles
+into pitfalls, and sometimes tame Elephants coax him into traps, and
+fondle and amuse him while their masters tie up his legs with strong
+ropes. The pitfalls are not favorite methods of capturing Elephants.
+Besides the injury that may be done to the animal, other beasts may
+fall into and disturb the trap, and even men may find themselves at
+the bottom of a great deep hole when they least expect it, for the top
+is very carefully covered over with sticks and leaves, so as to look
+as much as possible like the surrounding ground. Du Chaillu, who was a
+great hunter in Africa, once fell down one of these pits, and it was a
+long time before he could make anybody hear him and come and help him
+out. If an Elephant had happened to put his foot on the covering of
+that hole while Du Chaillu was down there, the hunter would have found
+himself very much crowded.
+
+When the Elephant is caught, he is soon tamed and trained, and then he
+goes to work to make himself useful, if there is anything for him to
+do. And it is when he becomes the servant and companion of man that we
+have an opportunity of seeing what a smart fellow he is.
+
+It is sometimes hard to believe all that we hear of the Elephant's
+cleverness and sagacity, but we know that most of the stories we hear
+about him are true.
+
+For instance, an Elephant which was on exhibition in this country had
+a fast and true friend, a little dog. One day, when these animals were
+temporarily residing in a barn, while on their march from one town to
+another, the Elephant heard some men teasing the dog, just outside of
+the barn. The rough fellows made the poor little dog howl and yelp, as
+they persecuted him by all sorts of mean tricks and ill usage. When
+the Elephant heard the cries of his friend he became very much
+worried, and when at last he comprehended that the dog was being
+badly treated, he lifted up his trunk and just smashed a great hole in
+the side of the barn, making the stones and boards fly before him.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When the men saw this great head sticking out through the side of the
+barn, and that great long trunk brandishing itself above their heads,
+they thought it was time to leave that little dog alone.
+
+Here, again, is an Elephant story which is almost as tough as the
+animal's hide, but we have no right to disbelieve it, for it is told
+by very respectable writers. During the war between the East Indian
+natives and the English, in 1858, there was an Elephant named Kudabar
+Moll the Second,--his mother having been a noted Elephant named
+Kudabar Moll. This animal belonged to the British army, and his duty
+was to carry a cannon on his back. In this way he became very familiar
+with artillery. During a battle, when his cannon was posted on a
+battery, and was blazing away at the enemy, the good Kudabar was
+standing, according to custom, a few paces in the rear of the gunners.
+But the fire became very hot on that battery, and very soon most of
+the gunners were shot down, so that there was no one to pass the
+cartridges from the ammunition wagon to the artillery-men. Perceiving
+this, Kudabar, without being ordered, took the cartridges from the
+wagon, and passed them, one by one, to the gunner. Very soon, however,
+there were only three men left, and these, just as they had loaded
+their cannon for another volley, fell killed or wounded, almost at the
+same moment. One of them, who held a lighted match in his hand, called
+as he fell to the Elephant and handed him the match. The intelligent
+Kudabar took the match in his trunk, stepped up to the cannon, and
+fired it off!
+
+He was then about to apply the match to others, when re-enforcements
+came up, and his services as an artillery-man were no longer required.
+
+I cannot help thinking, that if that Elephant had been furnished with
+a pen and ink, he might possibly have written a very good account of
+the battle.
+
+But few stories are quite as wonderful as that one. We have no
+difficulty at all in believing the account of the Elephant who took
+care of a little child. He did not wear a cap and apron, as the artist
+has shown in the picture, but he certainly was a very kind and
+attentive nurse. When the child fell down, the Elephant would put his
+trunk gently around it, and pick it up. When it got tangled among
+thorns or vines, the great nurse would disengage it as carefully as
+any one could have done it; and when it wandered too far, the Elephant
+would bring it back and make it play within proper limits. I do not
+know what would have been the consequence if this child had behaved
+badly, and the Elephant had thought fit to give it a box on the ear.
+But nothing of the kind ever happened, and the child was a great deal
+safer than it would have been with many ordinary nurses.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There are so many stories told about the Elephant that I can allude to
+but few, even if I did not believe that you were familiar with a great
+many of them.
+
+One of the most humane and thoughtful Elephants of whom I have ever
+heard was one which was attached, like our friend Kudabar, to an
+artillery train in India. He was walking, on a march, behind a wagon,
+when he perceived a soldier slip down in the road and fall exactly
+where, in another instant, the hind-wheel of the wagon would pass over
+him. Without being ordered, the Elephant seized the wheel with his
+trunk, lifted it--wagon and all--in the air, and held it up until it
+had passed over the fallen soldier!
+
+Neither you nor I could have done better than that, even if we had
+been strong enough.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A very pretty story is told of an Indian Elephant who was very
+gallant. His master, a young Burman lord, had recently been married,
+and, shortly after the wedding, he and his bride, with many of their
+guests and followers, were gathered together in the veranda, on the
+outside of his house. The Elephant, who was a great favorite with the
+young lord, happened to be conducted past the house as the company
+were thus enjoying themselves. Feeling, no doubt, that it was right to
+be as polite as possible on this occasion, he put his trunk over a
+bamboo-fence which enclosed a garden, and selecting the biggest and
+brightest flower he could see, he approached the veranda, and rearing
+himself upon his hind-legs, he stretched out his trunk, with the
+flower held delicately in the little finger at its end, towards the
+company. One of the women reached out her hand for it, but the
+Elephant would not give it to her. Then his master wished to take it,
+but the Elephant would not let him have it. But when the newly-made
+bride came forward the Elephant presented it to her with all the grace
+of which he was capable!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now, do you not think that an animal which is larger and more powerful
+than any beast which walks the earth, and is, at the same time, gentle
+enough to nurse a child, humane enough to protect a dog or a man, and
+sensible enough to be polite to a newly-married lady, is deserving of
+the title of the King of Beasts?
+
+
+
+
+THE FRENCH SOLDIER-BOY
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Anxiously the General-in-chief of the French Army stood upon a little
+mound overlooking the battle-field. The cannon were thundering, the
+musketry was rattling, and clouds of smoke obscured the field and the
+contending armies.
+
+"Ah!" thought he, "if that town over yonder is not taken; if my brave
+captains fall, and my brave soldiers falter at that stone wall; and if
+our flag shall not soon wave over those ramparts, France may yet be
+humbled."
+
+Is it, then, a wonder, feeling that so much depended on the result of
+this battle, that his eyes strove so earnestly to pierce the heavy
+clouds of smoke that overhung the scene?
+
+But while he stood, there came towards him, galloping madly out of the
+battle, a solitary rider.
+
+In a few minutes he had reached the General, and thrown himself from
+his saddle.
+
+It was a mere boy--one of the very youngest of soldiers!
+
+"Sire!" he cried, "we've taken the town! Our men are in the
+market-place, and you can ride there now! And see!--upon the
+walls--our flag!"
+
+The eyes of the General flashed with joy and triumph. Here was
+glorious news!
+
+As he turned to the boy to thank him for the more than welcome tidings
+that he brought, he noticed that the lad was pale and trembling, and
+that as he stood holding by the mane of his horse, his left hand was
+pressed upon his chest, and the blood was slowly trickling between his
+fingers.
+
+"My boy!" said he, tenderly, as he fixed his eyes upon the stripling,
+"you're wounded!"
+
+"No, sire!" cried the boy, his pale face flushing as his General thus
+addressed him, and the shouts of victory filled his ears, "I am not
+wounded; I am killed!" And down at his General's feet he fell and
+died.
+
+There have been brave men upon the battle-field ever since the world
+began, but there never was a truer soldier's heart than that which
+kept this boy alive until he had borne to his General the glorious
+news of the battle won.
+
+
+
+
+A LIVELY WAY TO RING A BELL.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Here are two young men who look very much as if they were trying to
+break their necks; but in reality they have no such desire.
+
+They are simply ringing that great bell, and riding backward and
+forward on it as it swings through the air.
+
+These young fellows are Spaniards, and in many churches in their
+country it is considered a fine thing to go up into the belfry of a
+church or cathedral, and, when the regular bell-ringers are tired, to
+jump on the great bells and swing away as hard as they can make them
+go. No matter about any particular peal or style of ringing.
+
+The faster and the more furiously they swing, the jollier the ride,
+and the greater the racket. Sometimes in a cathedral there are twenty
+bells, all going at once, with a couple of mad chaps riding on each
+one of them. It is, doubtless, a very pleasant amusement, after one
+gets used to it, but it is a wonder that some of those young men are
+not shot off into the air, when the great bell gets to swinging as
+fast and as far as it can go.
+
+But although they hold on as tightly as if they were riding a wild
+young colt, they are simply foolhardy. No man or boy has a right to
+risk his life and limbs in such reckless feats.
+
+There is no probability, however, of the sport ever being introduced
+into this country.
+
+Even if there were no danger in it, such a clatter and banging as is
+heard in a Spanish belfry, when the young men are swinging on the
+bells, would never be allowed in our churches. The Spaniards may like
+such a noise and hubbub, but they like a great many things which would
+not suit us.
+
+
+
+
+DOWN IN THE EARTH.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Let us take a little trip down under the surface of the earth. There
+will be something unusual about such an excursion. Of course, as we
+are not going to dig our way, we will have to find a convenient hole
+somewhere, and the best hole for the purpose which I know of is in
+Edmondson County, Kentucky.
+
+So let us go there.
+
+When we reach this hole we find that it is not a very large one, but
+still quite high and wide enough for us to enter. But, before we go in
+to that dark place, we will get some one to carry a light and guide
+us; for this underground country which we are going to explore is very
+extensive, very dark, and, in some places, very dangerous.
+
+Here is a black man who will go with us. He has a lantern, and he says
+he knows every nook and corner of the place. So we engage him, get
+some lanterns for ourselves, and in we go. We commence to go downwards
+very soon after we have passed from the outer air and sunshine, but it
+is not long before we stand upon a level surface, where we can see
+nothing of the outside world. If our lanterns went out, we should be
+in pitchy darkness.
+
+Now we are in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky!
+
+This vast cavern, which stretches so many miles beneath the surface of
+the earth, has never been fully explored; but we are going over as
+much of it as our guide is accustomed to show to visitors, and if our
+legs are not tired before we get back I shall be very much surprised,
+for the trip will take us all day. The floor on which we are now
+standing is smooth and level, and runs back into the interior of the
+cave fully a thousand yards. This place they call the "Audubon
+Gallery"--after our famous naturalist who made birds the study of his
+life. His works are published in enormous volumes, costing about one
+hundred and fifty dollars apiece. Perhaps your father will get you
+one.
+
+We pass quickly through this gallery, where there is not much to see,
+although, to be sure, they used to manufacture saltpetre here. Think
+of that! A manufactory in the bowels of the earth! Then we enter a
+large, roundish room called the "Rotunda," and from this there are a
+great many passages, leading off in various directions. One of these,
+which is called the "Grand Vestibule," will take us to the "Church."
+
+Yes, we have a church here, and, what is more, there has been
+preaching in it, although I have never heard that it had any regular
+members. This room has a vast arched roof, and a great many
+stalactites hang from the walls and roof in such a way as to give one
+an idea of Gothic architecture. Therefore this has been called the
+"Gothic Church." You can see a great deal which looks like
+old-fashioned church ornaments and furniture, and, as the light of the
+lanterns flashes about on the walls and ceiling, you can imagine a
+great deal more.
+
+After this we come to the "Gothic Avenue," which would be a very
+interesting place to us if we but had a little more time; but we hurry
+through it, for the next room we are to visit is called the "Haunted
+Chamber!" Every one of us must be very anxious to see anything of that
+kind. When we get into it, however, we are very much disappointed. It
+is not half so gloomy and dark as the rest of the cave, for here we
+are pretty sure to find people, and lights, and signs of life.
+
+Here you may sometimes buy gingerbread and bottled beer, from women
+who have stands here for that purpose. It is expected that when
+visitors get this far they will be hungry. Sometimes, too, there are
+persons who live down here, and spend most of their time in this
+chamber. These are invalid people with weak lungs, who think that the
+air of the cave is good for them. I do not know whether they are right
+or not, but I am sure that they take very gloomy medicine. The only
+reason for calling this room the Haunted Chamber is, that the first
+explorers of the cave found mummies here.
+
+Who these were when they were alive, no man can say. If they were
+Indians, they were very different Indians from those who have lived in
+this country since its discovery. They do not make mummies. But all
+over our land we find evidences that some race--now extinct--lived
+here before the present North American Indian.
+
+Whether the ghosts of any of these mummies walk about in this room. I
+cannot say; but as no one ever saw any, or heard any, or knew anybody
+who had seen or heard any, I think it is doubtful.
+
+When we leave this room we go down some ladders and over a bridge, and
+then we enter what is called the "Labyrinth," where the passage turns
+and twists on itself in a very abrupt manner, and where the roof is so
+low that all of us, except those who are very short indeed, must stoop
+very low. When we get through this passage, which some folks call the
+"Path of Humiliation"--for everybody has to bow down, you know--we
+come to a spot where the guide says he is going to show us something
+through a window.
+
+The window is nothing but a hole broken in a rocky wall; but as we
+look through it, and hold the lanterns so that we can see as much as
+possible, we perceive that we are gazing down into a deep and enormous
+well. They call it the "Bottomless Pit." If we drop bits of burning
+paper into this well we can see them fall down, down, and down, until
+they go out, but can never see them stop, as if they had reached the
+bottom.
+
+The hole through which we are looking is cut through one side of this
+well, so that there is a great deal of it above us as well as below;
+but although we hold our lanterns up, hoping to see the top, we can
+see nothing but pitchy darkness up there. The roof of this pit is too
+high for the light to strike upon it. Here is a picture of some
+persons dropping lights down into this pit, hoping to be able to see
+the bottom.
+
+We must climb up and down some more ladders now, and then we will
+reach the "Mammoth Dome." This is a vast room--big enough for a
+gymnasium for giants--and the roof is so high that no ordinary light
+will show it. It is nearly four hundred feet from the floor. The next
+room we visit is one of the most beautiful places in the whole cave.
+It is called the Starry Chamber. The roof and walls and floor are
+covered with little bright bits of stone, which shine and glitter,
+when a light is brought into the room, like real stars in the sky. If
+the guide is used to his business, he can here produce most beautiful
+effects. By concealing his lantern behind a rock or pillar, and then
+gradually bringing it out, throwing more and more light upon the roof,
+he can create a most lovely star-light scene.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+At first all will be dark, and then a few stars will twinkle out, and
+then there will be more of them, and each one will be brighter, and at
+last you will think you are looking up into a dark sky full of
+glorious shining stars! And if you look at the walls you will see
+thousands of stars that seem as if they were dropping from the sky;
+and if you cast your eyes upon the ground, you will see it covered
+with other thousands of stars that seem to have already fallen!
+
+This is a lovely place, but we cannot stay here any longer. We want to
+reach the underground stream of which we have heard so much--the
+"River Styx."
+
+This is a regular river, running through a great part of the Mammoth
+Cave. You may float on it in a boat, and, if you choose, you may fish
+in it, although you would not be likely to catch anything. But if you
+did, the fish would have no eyes! All the fish in this river are
+blind. You can easily perceive that eyes would be of no use in a place
+where it is always as dark as pitch, except when travellers come along
+with their lanterns.
+
+There is a rough boat here, and we will get into it and have a row
+over this dark and gloomy river. Whenever our guide shouts we hear the
+wildest kind of echoes, and everything seems solemn and unearthly. At
+one time our boat stops for a moment, and the guide goes on shore, and
+directly we hear the most awful crash imaginable. It sounds as if a
+dozen gong-factories had blown up at once, and we nearly jump out of
+the boat! But we soon see that it was nothing but the guide striking
+on a piece of sheet-iron or tin. The echoes, one after another, from
+this noise had produced the horrible crashing sounds we had heard.
+
+After sailing along for about half an hour we land, and soon reach an
+avenue which has its walls ornamented with beautiful flowers--all
+formed on the rocky walls by the hand of Nature.
+
+Now we visit the "Ball Room," which is large and handsome, with its
+walls as white as snow. Leaving this, we take a difficult and exciting
+journey to the "Rocky Mountains." We go down steep paths, which are
+narrow, and up steep ones, which are wide; we jump over wide cracks
+and step over great stones, and we are getting very tired of
+scrambling about in the bowels of the earth; but the guide tells us
+that if we will but cross the "mountains"--which we find to be nothing
+more than great rocks, which have fallen from the roof above, but
+which, however, are not very easy to get over--we shall rest in the
+"Fairy Grotto." So on we push, and reach the delightful abode of the
+fairies of the Mammoth Cave. That is, if there were any fairies in
+this cave, they would live here.
+
+And a splendid place they would have!
+
+Great colonnades and magnificent arches, all ornamented with beautiful
+stalactites of various forms, and glittering like cut-glass in the
+light of our lanterns, and thousands of different ornaments of
+sparkling stone, many of them appearing as if they were cut by the
+hand of skilful artists, adorn this beautiful grotto. At one end there
+is a group of stalactites, which looks to us exactly like a graceful
+palm-tree cut out of alabaster. All over the vast hall we can hear the
+pattering and tinkling of the water, which has been dripping, drop by
+drop, for centuries, and making, as it carried with it little
+particles of earth and rock, all these beautiful forms which we see.
+
+We have now walked nearly five miles into the great cave, and there is
+much which we have not seen. But we must go back to the upper earth.
+We will have a tiresome trip of it, but it is seldom that we can get
+anything good without taking a little trouble for it. And to have seen
+this greatest of all natural caverns is worth far more labor and
+fatigue than we have expended on its exploration. There is nothing
+like it in the known world.
+
+
+
+
+THE LION.
+
+[Illustration: THE LION'S HOME.]
+
+
+I do not desire to be wanting in respect to the Lion. Because I
+asserted that it was my opinion that he should resign the throne of
+the King of Beasts to the Elephant, I do not wish to deprive him of
+any part of his just reputation.
+
+The Lion, with the exception of any animal but the Elephant, the
+Rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus, and such big fellows, is the strongest
+of beasts. Compared to Tigers and Panthers, he is somewhat generous,
+and compared to most of the flesh-eating animals, he is quite
+intelligent. Lions have been taught to perform certain feats when in a
+state of captivity; but, as all of us know who have seen the
+performing animals in a menagerie, he is by no means the equal of a
+Dog or an Elephant.
+
+The Lion appears to the greatest advantage in the midst of his family.
+When he and his wife are taking their walks abroad they will often fly
+before a man, especially if he is a white man.
+
+But at home, surrounded by their little ones, the case is different.
+Those cubs, in the picture of the Lion's home, are nice little
+fellows, and you might play with them without fear of more than a few
+scratches. But where is the brave man who would dare to go down among
+those rocks, armed with guns, pistols, or whatever he pleased, and
+take one of them!
+
+I do not think he lives in your town.
+
+We never see a Lion looking very brave or noble in a cage. Most of
+those that I have seen appeared to me to be excessively lazy. They had
+not half the spirit of the tigers and wolves. But, out in his native
+country, he presents a much more imposing spectacle, especially if
+one can get a full view of him when he is a little excited. Here is a
+picture of such a Lion as you will not see in a cage.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Considering his size, the strength of the Lion is astonishing. He will
+kill an ox with one blow of his great paw, if he strikes it on the
+back, and then seizing it in his great jaws, he will carry it off
+almost as easily as you could carry a baby.
+
+And when he has carried his prey to the spot where he chooses to have
+his dinner, he shows that no beast can surpass him in the meat-eating
+line. When he has satisfied his hunger on an ox, there is not much
+left for those who come to the second table. And there are often other
+Lions, younger and weaker than the one who has provided the dinner,
+who must wait until their master or father is done before they have a
+chance to take a bite. But, as you may see by this picture, they do
+not wait very patiently. They roar and growl and grumble until their
+turn comes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Lions have some very peculiar characteristics. When they have made a
+bound upon their prey and have missed it, they seldom chase the
+frightened animal. They are accustomed to make one spring on a deer or
+an ox, and to settle the matter there and then. So, after a failure to
+do this, they go to the place from which they have made the spring and
+practise the jump over and over until they feel that they can make it
+the next time they have a chance.
+
+This is by no means a bad idea for a Lion--or a man either.
+
+Another of their peculiarities is their fear of traps and snares.
+Very often they will not spring upon an ox or a horse, simply because
+it is tied to a tree. They think there is some trick when they see the
+animal is fastened by a rope.
+
+And when they come upon a man who is asleep, they will very often let
+him lie undisturbed. They are not accustomed to seeing men lying about
+in their haunts, and they don't know what to make of it. Sometimes
+they take it in their heads to lie down there themselves. Then it
+becomes disagreeable for the man when he awakes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A story of this kind is told of an African who had been hunting, and
+who, being tired, had lain down to sleep. When he awoke there lay a
+great Lion at a short distance from him! For a minute or two the man
+remained motionless with fright, and then he put forth his hand to
+take his gun, which was on the ground a few feet from him.
+
+But when the Lion saw him move he raised his head and roared.
+
+The man was quiet in a second.
+
+After a while it began to be terribly hot, and the rocks on which the
+poor man was lying became so heated by the sun that they burned his
+feet.
+
+But whenever he moved the old Lion raised his head and growled.
+
+The African lay there for a very long time, and the Lion kept watch
+over him. I expect that Lion had had a good meal just before he saw
+this man, and he was simply saving him up until he got hungry again.
+But, fortunately, after the hunter had suffered awfully from the heat
+of the burning sun, and had also lain there all night, with this
+dreadful beast keeping watch over him, the Lion became thirsty before
+he got hungry, and when he went off to a spring to get a drink the
+African crawled away.
+
+If that Lion had been a Tiger, I think he would have killed the man,
+whether he wished to eat him or not.
+
+So there is something for the Lion's reputation.
+
+
+
+
+BOB'S HIDING-PLACE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Bob was not a very big boy, but he was a lively little fellow and full
+of fun. You can see him there in the picture, riding on his brother
+Jim's back. One evening there happened to be a great many boys and
+girls at Bob's father's house. The grown-up folks were having a family
+party, and as they were going to stay all night--you see this was in
+the country--some of them brought their children with them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It was not long after supper that a game of Blind-Man's-Buff was
+proposed, and, as it would not do to have such an uproar in the
+sitting-room as the game would produce, the children were all packed
+off to the kitchen. There they have a glorious time. Jim is the first
+one blindfolded, and, as he gropes after the others, they go stumbling
+up against tables, and rattling down tin-pans, and upsetting each
+other in every direction. Old Grandfather, who has been smoking his
+pipe by the kitchen fire, takes as much pleasure in the game as the
+young folks, and when they tumble over his legs, or come banging up
+against his chair, he only laughs, and warns them not to hurt
+themselves.
+
+I could not tell you how often Grandfather was caught, and how they
+all laughed at the blind-man when he found out whom he had seized.
+
+But after a while the children became tired of playing
+Blind-Man's-Buff, and a game of Hide-and-Seek was proposed. Everybody
+was in favor of that, especially little Bob. It appears that Bob had
+not a very good time in the other game. Everybody seemed to run up
+against him and push him about, and whenever he was caught the
+blind-man said "Bob!" immediately. You see there was no mistaking Bob;
+he was so little.
+
+But in Hide-and-Seek he would have a better chance. He had always
+liked that game ever since he had known how to play anything. He was a
+good little fellow for hiding, and he knew it.
+
+When the game had begun, and all the children--except the biggest
+girl, who was standing in a corner, with her hands before her face,
+counting as fast as she could, and hoping that she would come to one
+hundred before everybody had hidden themselves--had scampered off to
+various hiding-places, Bob still stood in the middle of the
+kitchen-floor, wondering where in the world he should go to! All of a
+sudden--the girl in the corner had already reached sixty-four--he
+thought he would go down in the cellar.
+
+There was no rule against that--at least none that he knew of--and so,
+slipping softly to the cellar-door, over in the darkest corner of the
+kitchen, he opened it, and went softly down the steps.
+
+There was a little light on the steps, for Bob did not shut the door
+quite tightly after him, and if there had been none at all, he would
+have been quite as well pleased. He was not afraid of the dark, and
+all that now filled his mind was the thought of getting somewhere
+where no one could possibly find him. So he groped his way under the
+steps, and there he squatted down in the darkness, behind two barrels
+which stood in a corner.
+
+"Now," thought Bob, "she won't find me--easy."
+
+He waited there a good while, and the longer he waited the prouder he
+became.
+
+"I'll bet mine's the hardest place of all," he said to himself.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Bob heard a great deal of noise and shouting after the big girl came
+out from her corner and began finding the others, and he also heard a
+bang above his head, but he did not know that it was some one shutting
+the cellar-door. After that all was quiet.
+
+Bob listened, but could not hear a step. He had not the slightest
+idea, of course, that they had stopped playing and were telling
+stories by the kitchen fire. The big girl had found them all so easily
+that Hide-and-Seek had been voted down.
+
+Bob had his own ideas in regard to this silence. "I know," he
+whispered to himself, "they're all found, and they're after me, and
+keeping quiet to hear me breathe!"
+
+And, to prevent their finding his hiding-place by the sound of his
+breathing, Bob held his breath until he was red in the face. He had
+heard often enough of that trick of keeping quiet and listening to
+breathing. You couldn't catch him that way!
+
+When he was at last obliged to take a breath, you might have supposed
+he would have swallowed half the air in the cellar. He thought he had
+never tasted anything so good as that long draught of fresh air.
+
+"Can't hold my breath all the time!" Bob thought. "If I could, maybe
+they'd never find me at all," which reflection was much nearer the
+truth than the little fellow imagined.
+
+I don't know how long Bob had been sitting under the steps--it may
+have been five minutes, or it may have been a quarter of an hour, and
+he was beginning to feel a little cold--when he heard the cellar-door
+open, and some one put their foot upon the steps.
+
+"There they are!" he thought, and he cuddled himself up in the
+smallest space possible.
+
+Some one was coming down, sure enough, but it was not the children, as
+Bob expected. It was his Aunt Alice and her cousin Tom Green. They had
+come down to get some cider and apples for the company, and had no
+thought of Bob. In fact, when Bob was missed it was supposed that he
+had got tired and had gone up-stairs, where old Aunt Hannah was
+putting some of the smaller children to bed.
+
+So, of course, Alice and Tom Green did not try to find him, but Bob,
+who could not see them, thought it was certainly some of the children
+come down to look for him.
+
+In this picture of the scene in the cellar, little Bob is behind those
+two barrels in the right-hand upper corner, but of course you can't
+see him. He knows how to hide too well for that.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But when Tom and Alice spoke, Bob knew their voices and peeped out.
+
+"Oh!" he thought, "it's only Aunt Alice and he. They've come down for
+cider and things. I've got to hide safe now, or they'll tell when they
+go up-stairs."
+
+"I didn't know _all_ them barrels had apples in! I thought some were
+potatoes. I wish they would just go up-stairs again and leave that
+candle on the floor! I wonder if they will forget it! If they do, I'll
+just eat a whole hat-full of those big red apples, and some of the
+streakedy ones in the other barrel too; and then I'll put my mouth to
+the spigot of that cider-barrel, and turn it, and drink and drink and
+drink--and if there isn't enough left in that barrel, I'll go to
+another one and turn that. I never did have enough cider in all my
+life. I wish they'd hurry and go up.
+
+"Kissin'! what's the good of kissin'! A cellar ain't no place for
+that. I expect they won't remember to forget the candle if they don't
+look out!
+
+"Oh, pshaw! just look at 'em! They're a-going up again, and taking the
+candle along! The mean things!"
+
+Poor little Bob!
+
+There he sat in his corner, all alone again in the darkness and
+silence, for Tom and Alice had shut the cellar-door after them when
+they had gone up-stairs. He sat quietly for a minute or two, and then
+he said to himself:
+
+"I b'lieve I'd just as lieve they'd find me as not."
+
+And to help them a little in their search he began to kick very gently
+against one of the barrels.
+
+Poor Bob! If you were to kick with all your force and even upset the
+barrel they would not hear you. And what is more, they are not even
+thinking of you, for the apples are now being distributed.
+
+"I wonder," said the little fellow to himself, "if I could find that
+red-apple barrel in the dark. But then I couldn't tell the red ones
+from the streakedy ones. But either of 'em would do. I guess I won't
+try, though, for I might put my hand on a rat. They run about when
+it's dark. I hope they won't come in this corner. But there's nothin'
+for 'em to eat in this corner but me, and they ain't lions. I wonder
+if they'll come down after more cider when that's all drunk up. If
+they do, I guess I'll come out and let Aunt Alice tell them all where
+I am. I don't like playin' this game when it's too long."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And so he sat and waited and listened, and his eye-lids began to grow
+heavy and his head began to nod, and directly little Bob was fast
+asleep in the dark corner behind the barrels.
+
+By ten o'clock the children were all put to bed, and soon after the
+old folks went up-stairs, leaving only Tom Green, Alice, and some of
+the young men and women down in the big sitting-room.
+
+Bob's mother went up into the room where several of the children were
+sleeping, and after looking around, she said to the old colored nurse:
+
+"Hannah, what have you done with Bob?"
+
+"I didn't put him to bed, mum. I spect Miss Alice has took him to her
+bed. She knowed how crowded the chil'un all was, up here."
+
+"But Alice has not gone to bed," said Bob's mother.
+
+"Don't spect she has, mum," said Hannah. "But I reckon she put him in
+her bed till she come."
+
+"I'll go and see," said Bob's mother.
+
+She went, and she saw, but she didn't see Bob! And he wasn't in the
+next room, or in any bed in the house, or under any bed, or anywhere
+at all, as far as she could see; and so, pretty soon, there was a nice
+hubbub in that house!
+
+Bob's mother and father, and his grandfather, and Hannah, and the
+young folks in the parlor, and nearly all the rest of the visitors,
+ransacked the house from top to bottom. Then they looked out of doors,
+and some of them went around the yard, where they could see very
+plainly, as it was bright moonlight. But though they searched and
+called, there was no Bob.
+
+The house-doors being open, Snag the dog came in, and he joined in the
+search, you may be sure, although I do not know that he exactly
+understood what they were looking for.
+
+Some one now opened the cellar-door, but it seemed preposterous to
+look down in the cellar for the little fellow.
+
+But nothing was preposterous to Snag.
+
+The moment the cellar-door was opened he shuffled down the steps as
+fast as he could go. He knew there was somebody down there.
+
+And when those who followed him with a candle reached the
+cellar-floor, there was Snag, with his head between the barrels,
+wagging his tail as if he was trying to jerk it off, and whining with
+joy as he tried to stick his cold nose into the rosy face of little
+sleeping Bob.
+
+It was Tom Green who carried Bob up-stairs, and very soon indeed, all
+the folks were gathered in the kitchen, and Bob sleepily told his
+story.
+
+"But Tom and I were down in the cellar," said his Aunt Alice, "and we
+didn't see you."
+
+"I guess you didn't," said Bob, rubbing his eyes. "I was a-hidin' and
+you was a-kissin'."
+
+What a shout of laughter arose in the kitchen at this speech!
+Everybody laughed so much that Bob got wide awake and wanted some
+apples and cake.
+
+The little fellow certainly made a sensation that night; but it was
+afterwards noticed that he ceased to care much for the game of
+Hide-and-Seek. He played it too well, you see.
+
+
+
+
+THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIER.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Did you ever see a Continental Soldier? I doubt it. Some twenty years
+ago there used to be a few of them scattered here and there over the
+country, but they must be nearly all gone now. About a year ago there
+were but two of them left. Those whom some of us can remember were
+rather mournful old gentlemen. They shuffled about their
+dwelling-places, they smoked their pipes, and they were nearly always
+ready to talk about the glorious old days of the Revolution. It was
+well they had those days to fall back upon, for they had but little
+share in the glories of the present. When they looked abroad upon the
+country that their arms, and blood perhaps, had helped give to that
+vigorous Young America which now swells with prosperity from Alaska to
+Florida, they could see very little of it which they could call their
+own.
+
+It was difficult to look upon those feeble old men and imagine that
+they were once full of vigor and fire; that they held their old
+flintlocks with arms of iron when the British cavalry rushed upon
+their bayonets; that their keen eyes flashed a deadly aim along their
+rusty rifle-barrels; that, with their good swords quivering in their
+sinewy hands, they urged their horses boldly over the battle-field,
+shouting brave words to their advancing men; and that they laughed at
+heat and cold, patiently endured hunger and privation, strode along
+bravely on the longest marches, and, at last, stood proudly by when
+Cornwallis gave up his sword.
+
+Those old gentlemen did not look like anything of that sort. Their
+old arms could hardly manage their old canes; their old legs could
+just about carry them on a march around the garden, and they were very
+particular indeed about heat and cold.
+
+But History and Art will better keep alive the memory of their good
+deeds, and call more vigorously upon the gratitude of their
+countrymen, than those old Continentallers could themselves have done
+it, had they lived on for years and years, and told generation after
+generation how once they galloped proudly along the ranks, or, in
+humbler station, beat with vigorous arm the stirring drum-roll that
+called their comrades to the battle-field.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+A JUDGE OF MUSIC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+It is not well to despise anybody or anything until you know what they
+can do. I have known some very stupid-looking people who could do a
+sum in the rule-of-three in a minute, and who could add up a column of
+six figures abreast while I was just making a beginning at the
+right-hand bottom corner. But stupid-looking beings are often good at
+other things besides arithmetic. I have seen doctors, with very dull
+faces, who knew all about castor-oil and mustard-plasters, and above
+you see a picture of a Donkey who understood music.
+
+This animal had a very fine ear for music. You can see how much ear he
+had, and I have no doubt that he enjoyed the sweet sounds from one end
+to the other of those beautiful long flaps. Well, he very often had an
+opportunity of enjoying himself, for the lady of the house was a fine
+musician, and she used to sing and play upon the piano nearly every
+day. And as soon as he heard the sweet sounds which thrilled his
+soul, the Donkey would come to the parlor window and listen.
+
+One day the lady played and sang something which was particularly
+sweet and touching. I never heard the name of the song--whether it was
+"I'm sitting on the stile, Mary," or "A watcher, pale and weary"--but
+if it was the latter, I am not surprised that it should have overcome
+even a jackass. At any rate, the music so moved the soul of Mr. Donkey
+that he could no longer restrain himself, but entering the open door
+he stepped into the parlor, approached the lady, and with a voice
+faltering from the excess of his emotion, he joined in the chorus!
+
+The lady jumped backwards and gave a dreadful scream, and the Donkey,
+thinking that the music went up very high in that part, commenced to
+bray at such a pitch that you could have heard him if you had been up
+in a balloon.
+
+That was a lively concert; but it was soon ended by the lady rushing
+from the room and sending her man John to drive out the musical
+jackass with a big stick.
+
+Fortunately, all donkeys have not this taste for music. The nearest
+that the majority of jackasses come to being votaries of music is when
+their skins are used for covering cases for musical instruments. And
+if they have any ambition in the cause of harmony, that is better than
+nothing.
+
+
+
+
+THE SENSITIVE PLANT.
+
+
+There was never a better name for a plant than this, for the delicate
+leaves which grow on this slender stalk are almost as sensitive to the
+touch as if they were alive. If you place your hand on a growing
+plant, you will soon see all the leaves on the stem that you have
+touched fold themselves up as tightly as if they had been packed up
+carefully to be sent away by mail or express. In some of the common
+kinds of this plant, which grow about in our fields, it takes some
+time for the leaves to fold after they have been touched or handled;
+but if you watch them long enough--five or ten minutes--you will see
+that they never fail to close. They are not so sensitive as their
+cultivated kindred, but they still have the family disposition.
+
+Now this is certainly a wonderful property for a plant to possess, but
+it is not half so strange as another trait of these same pretty green
+leaves. They will shut up when it is dark, and open when it is light.
+
+It may be said that many other plants will do this, but that is a
+mistake. Many flowers and leaves close at _night_ and open in the
+_day-time_, but very few indeed exhibit the peculiar action of the
+sensitive plant in this respect. That plant will open at night if you
+bring a bright light into the room where it is growing, and it will
+close its leaves if the room is made dark in the day-time.
+
+Other plants take note of times and seasons. The sensitive plant obeys
+no regular rules of this kind, but acts according to circumstances.
+
+When I was a boy, I often used to go to a green-house where there were
+a great many beautiful and rare plants; but I always thought that the
+sensitive plant was the most wonderful thing in the whole
+collection, and I did not know then how susceptible it was to the
+influence of light. I was interested in it simply because it seemed to
+have a sort of vegetable reason, and understood that it should shut up
+its leaves whenever I touched it.
+
+[Illustration: THE SENSITIVE PLANT.]
+
+But there were things around me in the vegetable kingdom which were
+still more wonderful than that, and I took no notice of them at all.
+
+In the garden and around the house, growing everywhere, in the most
+common and ordinary places, were vines of various kinds--I think there
+were more morning-glories than anything else--and these exhibited a
+great deal more sense, and a much nearer approach to reasoning powers,
+than the sensitive plants, which were so carefully kept in the
+green-house.
+
+When one of these vines came up out of the earth, fresh from its seed,
+the first thing it wanted, after its tendrils began to show
+themselves, was something to climb up upon. It would like a good high
+pole. Now, if there was such a pole within a few feet of the little
+vine it would grow straight towards it, and climb up it!
+
+It would not grow first in one direction, and then in another and then
+in another, until it ran against something to climb on, but it would
+go right straight towards the pole, as if it saw it, and knew it was a
+good one for its purpose.
+
+I think that there is not much in the vegetable kingdom more wonderful
+than that.
+
+
+
+
+SIR MARMADUKE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Sir Marmaduke was a good old English gentleman, all of the olden time.
+There you see him, in his old-fashioned dining-room, with his
+old-fashioned wife holding her old-fashioned distaff, while he is
+surrounded by his old-fashioned arms, pets, and furniture.
+
+On his hand he holds his hawk, and his dogs are enjoying the great
+wood fire. His saddle is thrown on the floor; his hat and his pipes
+lie near it; his sword and his cross-bows are stood up, or thrown
+down, anywhere at all, and standing by his great chair is something
+which looks like a coal-scuttle, but which is only a helmet.
+
+Sir Marmaduke was certainly a fine old gentleman. In times of peace he
+lived happily with his family, and was kind and generous to the poor
+around him. In times of war he fought bravely for his country.
+
+But what a different old gentleman would he have been had he lived in
+our day!
+
+Then, instead of saying "Rebeck me!" and "Ods Boddikins!" when his
+hawk bit his finger or something else put him out of humor, he would
+have exclaimed, "Oh, pshaw!" or, "Botheration!" Instead of playing
+with a hawk, he would have had a black-and-tan terrier,--if he had any
+pet at all; and his wife would not have been bothering herself with a
+distaff, when linen, already spun and woven, could be bought for fifty
+cents a yard. Had she lived now, the good lady would have been mending
+stockings or crocheting a tidy.
+
+Instead of a pitcher of ale on his supper-table, the good knight would
+have had some tea or coffee; and instead of a chine of beef, a mess of
+pottage, and a great loaf of brown bread for his evening meal, he
+would have had some white bread, cakes, preserves, and other trifles
+of that sort, which in the olden days were considered only fit for
+children and women. The good old English gentlemen were tremendous
+eaters. They used to take five meals a day, and each one of them was
+heavy and substantial.
+
+If Sir Marmaduke had any sons or daughters, he would have treated them
+very differently in the present day. Instead of keeping them at home,
+under the tuition of some young clergyman or ancient scholar, until
+they should be old enough and accomplished enough to become pages to a
+great lord, or companions to some great lady, he would have sent them
+to school, and the boys--the younger ones, at least--would have been
+prepared for some occupation which would support them, while the girls
+would have been taught to play on the piano and to work slippers.
+
+In these days, instead of that old helmet on the floor, you would have
+seen a high-top hat--that is, if the old gentleman should continue to
+be as careless as the picture shows him; instead of a cross-bow on the
+floor, and another leaning against the chair, you would have seen a
+double-barrelled gun and a powder-horn; and instead of the picturesque
+and becoming clothes in which you see Sir Marmaduke, he would have
+worn some sort of a tight-fitting and ugly suit, such as old gentlemen
+now-a-days generally wear.
+
+There were a great many advantages in the old style of living, and
+also a very great many disadvantages. On the whole, we should be very
+thankful indeed that we were born in this century, and not in the good
+old times of yore.
+
+A little boy once made a very wise remark on this subject. He said: "I
+wish I could have seen George Washington and Israel Putnam; but I'm
+glad I didn't, for if I'd been alive then, I should have been dead
+now."
+
+There is enough in that boy's remark for a whole composition, if any
+one chose to write it.
+
+
+
+
+THE GIRAFFE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Some one once called the Giraffe a "two-story animal," and the remark
+was not altogether inapplicable.
+
+As you see him in the picture, lying down, he seems to be high enough
+for all ordinary purposes; but when he stands up, you will see that
+his legs--or his lower story--will elevate him to a surprising height.
+
+The ordinary giraffe measures about fifteen feet from the top of his
+head to the ground, but some of them have been known to be over
+sixteen feet high. Most of this height is owing to their long necks,
+but their fore-legs are also very long. The hind-legs seem much
+shorter, although, in reality, they are as long as the fore-legs. The
+legs and neck of the Giraffe are made long so that he can eat the
+leaves from the tops of young trees. This tender foliage is his
+favorite diet; but he will eat the foliage from any part of a tree,
+and he is content with the herbage on the ground, when there is
+nothing else.
+
+He is not a fighting animal. Those little horns which you see on his
+head, and which look as if they had been broken off--although they are
+really their full size--are of no use as offensive weapons. When
+danger threatens him he runs away, and a funny sight he is then. He
+can run very fast, but he is very awkward; he goes like a cow on
+stilts.
+
+But when there is no chance for him to run away, he can often defend
+himself, for he can kick like a good fellow. His hind-legs fly so fast
+when he is kicking that you can hardly see them, and he has been known
+to drive off a lion by this means of defence.
+
+When hunters wish to catch a giraffe alive, they generally drive him
+into a thick woods, where his great height prevents him from running
+very rapidly; and as soon as they come up with him, they endeavor to
+entangle him in ropes, to throw him down, and to put a halter round
+his neck. If they only keep out of the way of his heels, there is no
+need of being afraid of him. When they have secured him they lead him
+off, if he will come; but if he is an old fellow he will not walk
+after them, and he is too strong to be easily pulled along, no matter
+how many men may be in the hunt. So in this case they generally kill
+him, for his skin is valuable, and his flesh is very good to eat. But
+if the giraffe is a young one, he will follow his captors without
+difficulty, for these animals are naturally very gentle.
+
+Why the natives of Africa should desire to obtain living giraffes,
+unless it is to sell them to people who wish to carry them to other
+countries, travellers do not inform us. We have never heard that any
+domestic use was made of them, nor that they were kept for the sake of
+their meat. But we suppose the hunters know their own business.
+
+It is probable that the lion is really the greatest enemy of the
+giraffe. It is not often that this crafty and powerful hunter will put
+himself within reach of his victim's heels. Approaching softly and
+slowly, the lion waits until he is quite near the giraffe, and then,
+with one bound, he springs upon his back. Sometimes the giraffe
+succeeds in shaking him off, but generally they both fall
+together--the giraffe dead, and the lion with his appetite whetted for
+an enormous dinner.
+
+
+
+
+UP IN THE AIR.
+
+[Illustration: UP IN A BALLOON.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We have already taken a journey under the earth, and now, if you like,
+we will try a trip in the air. Anything for a novelty. We have lived
+on the surface of the earth ever since we were born.
+
+We will make our ascent in a balloon. It has been thought by some
+folks, that there were easier methods of ascending into the air than
+by a cumbrous balloon, but their inventions never became popular.
+
+For instance, look at the picture of a flying-man.
+
+This gentleman had an idea that he could fly by the aid of this
+ingenious machinery. You will see that his wings are arranged so that
+they are moved by his legs, and also by cords attached to his arms.
+The umbrella over his head is not intended to ward off the rain or the
+sun, but is to act as a sort of parachute, to keep him from falling
+while he is making his strokes. The basket, which hangs down low
+enough to be out of the way of his feet, is filled with provisions,
+which he expects to need in the course of his journey.
+
+That journey lasted exactly as long as it took him to fall from the
+top of a high rock to the ground below.
+
+But we are not going to trust ourselves to any such _harem-scarem_
+contrivance as this. We are going up in a regular balloon.
+
+We all know how balloons are made, and this one of ours is like most
+others. It is a great globular bag, made of strips of silk sewn
+together, and varnished with a certain composition which renders the
+balloon air-tight. The car in which we will travel is made of
+wicker-work, for that is both light and strong, and it is suspended
+from a net-work of strong cord which covers the whole balloon. It
+would not do, you know, to attach a cord to any particular part of the
+silk, for that would tear it. In the top of the balloon is a valve,
+and a cord from it comes down into the car. This valve is to be pulled
+open when we wish to come down towards the earth. The gas then
+escapes, and of course the balloon descends. In the car are bags of
+sand, and these are to be emptied out when we think we are too heavy
+for the balloon, and are either coming down too fast or are not as
+high as we wish to go. Relieved of the weight of a bag, the balloon
+rises.
+
+Sand is used because it can be emptied out and will not injure anybody
+in its descent. It would be rather dangerous, if ballooning were a
+common thing, for the aeronauts to throw out stones and old iron, such
+as are used for the ballast of a ship. If you ever feel a shower of
+sand coming down upon you through the air, look up, and you will
+probably see a balloon--that is, if you do not get some of the sand in
+your eyes.
+
+The gas with which our balloon is to be filled is hydrogen gas; but I
+think we will not use the pure hydrogen, for it is troublesome and
+expensive to produce. We will get permission of the city gas
+authorities to take gas from one of their pipes.
+
+That will carry us up very well indeed. When the balloon is nearly
+full--we never fill it entirely, for the gas expands when it rises
+into lighter air, and the balloon would explode if we did not leave
+room for this expansion--it is almost as round as a ball, and swells
+out proudly, struggling and pulling at the ropes which confine it to
+the ground.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now we have but to attach the car, get in, and cut loose. But we are
+going to be very careful on this trip, and so we will attach a
+parachute to the balloon. I hope we may not use it, but it may save us
+in case of an accident. This is the manner in which the parachute will
+hang from the bottom of the car.
+
+It resembles, you see, a closed umbrella without a handle, and it has
+cords at the bottom, to which a car is attached. If we wish to come
+down by means of this contrivance, we must descend from the car of the
+balloon to that of the parachute, and then we must unfasten the rope
+which attaches us to the balloon. We shall then drop like a shot; but
+as soon as the air gets under our parachute it will spread open, and
+our descent will immediately begin to be much more gradual, and if
+nothing unusual occurs to us, we shall come gently to the ground. This
+picture shows the manner in which we would come down in a parachute.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This man's balloon has probably burst, for we see it is tumbling down,
+and it will no doubt reach the ground before him.
+
+When all is ready and we are properly seated in the car, with our
+instruments and extra clothes and ballast, and some provisions, we
+will give the word to "let her go."
+
+There!
+
+Did you see that?
+
+The earth dropped right down. And it is dropping, but more slowly,
+yet.
+
+That is the sensation persons generally experience when they first go
+up in a balloon. Not being used to rising in the air, they think at
+first that they are stationary, and that the earth and all the people
+and houses on it are falling below them.
+
+Now, then, we are off! Look down and see how everything gets smaller,
+and smaller, and smaller. As we pass over a river, we can look down to
+its very bottom; and if we were not so high we could see the fishes
+swimming about. The houses soon begin to look like toy-cottages, and
+the trees like bushes, and the creeks and rivers like silvery bands.
+The people now appear as black spots; we can just see some of them
+moving about; but if they were to shout very loud we might hear them,
+for sound travels upward to a great distance.
+
+[Illustration: MOONLIGHT ABOVE THE CLOUDS.]
+
+Soon everything begins to be mixed up below us. We can hardly tell the
+woods from the fields; all seem pretty much alike. And now we think it
+is getting foggy; we can see nothing at all beneath us, and when we
+look up and around us we can see nothing but fog.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We are in the clouds! Yes, these are the clouds. There is nothing very
+beautiful about them--they are only masses of vapor. But how thick
+that vapor is! Now, when we look up, we cannot even see the balloon
+above us. We are sitting in our little basket-work car, and that is
+all we know! We are shut out from the whole world, closed up in a
+cloud!
+
+But this foggy atmosphere is becoming thinner, and we soon shoot out
+of it! Now we can see clearly around us. Where are the clouds? Look!
+there they are, spread out like a great bed below us.
+
+How they glisten and sparkle in the bright sunlight!
+
+Is not this glorious, to ride above the clouds, in what seems to us
+illimitable space! The earth is only a few miles below us, it is true,
+but up and around us space _is_ illimitable.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But we shall penetrate space no longer in an upward direction. It is
+time we were going back to the world. We are all very cold, and the
+eyes and ears of some of us are becoming painful. More than that, our
+balloon is getting too large. The gas within it is expanding, on
+account of the rarity of the air.
+
+We shall pull the rope of the valve.
+
+Now we are descending. We are in the clouds, and before we think much
+about it we are out of them. We see the earth beneath us, like a great
+circular plain, with the centre a little elevated. Now we see the
+rivers; the forests begin to define themselves; we can distinguish
+houses, and we know that we are falling very rapidly. It is time to
+throw out ballast. We do so, and we descend more slowly.
+
+Now we are not much higher than the tops of the trees. People are
+running towards us. Out with another bag of sand! We rise a little.
+Now we throw out the anchor. It drags along the ground for some
+distance, as the wind carries us over a field, and then it catches in
+a fence. And now the people run up and pull us to the ground, and the
+most dangerous part of our expedition is over.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For it is comparatively safe to go up in a balloon, but the descent
+is often very hazardous indeed.
+
+On the preceding page is a picture of a balloon which did not come
+down so pleasantly as ours.
+
+With nine persons in it, it was driven over the ground by a tremendous
+wind; the anchors were broken; the car was bumped against the ground
+ever so many times; and the balloon dashed into trees, breaking off
+their branches; it came near running into a railroad train; it struck
+and carried away part of a telegraph line, and at last became tangled
+up in a forest, and stopped. Several of the persons in it had their
+limbs broken, and it is a wonder they were not all killed.
+
+The balloon in which we ascended was a very plain, common-sense
+affair; but when aerial ascents were first undertaken the balloons
+were very fancifully decorated.
+
+For instance, Bagnolet's balloon and that of Le Flesselles, of which
+we have given you pictures, are much handsomer than anything we have
+at present. But they were not any more serviceable for all their
+ornamentation, and they differed from ours in still another way--they
+were "hot-air balloons."
+
+Other balloons were furnished with all sorts of fans, rudders, etc.,
+for the purpose of steering them, or accelerating their motion up or
+down.
+
+On the next page is one of that kind.
+
+This balloon ascended from Dijon, France, in 1784, but the
+steering-apparatus did not prove to be of much use.
+
+There were other balloons devised by the early aeronauts, which were
+still stranger than that one which arose from Dijon. The _Minerva_,
+the picture of which you can examine at your leisure, was invented by
+a Mr. Robertson, in the beginning of this century. He wished to make
+a grand aerial voyage of several months, with a company of about sixty
+persons, and therefore he had to have a very large balloon. To procure
+this he desired the co-operation of the scientific men throughout
+Europe, and sent plans and descriptions of his projected balloon to
+all the learned societies.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This great ship of the air was to be a regular little town, as you may
+see. The balloon was to be one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, and
+was to carry a large ship, on which the passengers would be safe if
+they descended in the water, even if it were the middle of the ocean.
+
+Everything was to be provided for the safety and convenience of the
+passengers. Around the upper part of the balloon you will see a
+platform, with sentries and tents. These soldiers were to be called
+the "air-marines." There is a small balloon--about the common
+size--which could be sent off like a small boat whenever occasion
+required. If any one got tired of the expedition, and wanted to go
+home, there was a parachute by which he might descend. On the deck of
+the ship, near the stern, was to be a little church; small houses hung
+from below, reached by ladders of silk, which were to be used as
+medicine-rooms, gymnasiums, etc.; and under the ship would hang a
+great hogshead, as big as a house, which would contain provisions and
+stores, and keep them tight and dry. There was also a kitchen; and a
+cannon, with which to fire off salutes, besides a number of guns,
+which you see projecting from the port-holes of the ship. These, I
+suppose, were to be used against all enemies or pirates of the air,
+sea, or land.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I cannot enumerate all the appendages of this wonderful balloon--you
+see there are telescopes, sails, great speaking-trumpets, anchors,
+etc.; but I will merely remark that it was never constructed.
+
+One of the safest, and sometimes the most profitable, methods of using
+a balloon, is that shown in the picture, "Safe Ballooning." Here a
+battle is going on, and the individuals in the balloon, safely
+watching the progress of events and the movements of the enemy,
+transmit their observations to the army with which they are connected.
+Of course the men on the ground manage a balloon of this sort, and
+pull it around to any point that they please, lowering it by the ropes
+when the observations are concluded. Balloons are often used in
+warfare in this manner.
+
+But during the late siege of Paris, balloons became more useful than
+they have ever been since their invention. A great many aeronauts left
+the besieged city, floated safely over the Prussian army, and
+descended in friendly localities. Some of these balloons were
+captured, but they generally accomplished their purposes, and were of
+great service to the French. On one occasion, however, a balloon from
+Paris was driven by adverse winds to the ocean, and its occupants were
+drowned.
+
+It has not been one hundred years since the balloon was invented by
+the brothers Montgolfier, of France. They used heated air instead of
+gas, and their balloons were of course inferior to those of the
+present day. But we have not improved very much upon the original
+balloon, and what progress will eventually be made in aerial
+navigation it is difficult to prophesy. But there are persons who
+believe that in time air-ships will make regular trips in all
+directions, like our present steamboats and railroad-trains.
+
+If this is ever the case, I hope we may all be living to see it.
+
+[Illustration: DRIVEN OUT TO SEA]
+
+
+
+
+THE HORSE OF ARABIA.
+
+
+The Arabian horse has long been celebrated as the most valuable of his
+race. He is considered an aristocrat among horses, and only those
+steeds which can trace their descent from Arabian ancestors have the
+right to be called "thorough-bred."
+
+Occasionally an Arabian horse is brought to this country, but we do
+not often see them. In fact, they would not be as valuable here as
+those horses which, besides Arabian descent, have also other
+characteristics which especially adapt them to our country and
+climate.
+
+In Arabia the horse, as an individual, especially if he happens to be
+of the purest breed, is more highly prized than in any other part of
+the world. It is almost impossible to buy a favorite horse from an
+Arab, and even if he can be induced to sell it, the transaction is a
+very complicated one. In the first place, all the relations and allies
+of the owner must give their consent, for the parting with a horse to
+a stranger is a very important matter with them. The buyer must then
+make himself sure that the _whole of the horse_ belongs to the man who
+is selling him, for the Arabs, when they wish to raise money, very
+often do so by selling to a member of their tribe a fore-leg, a
+hind-leg, or an ear, of one of their horses; and in this case, the
+person who is a part owner of the animal must have his proportionate
+share of all profits which may arise from its sale or use. This
+practice is very much like our method of mortgaging our lands.
+
+When the horse is finally bought and paid for, it had better be taken
+away as soon as possible, for the Arabs--even those who have no
+interest whatever in the sale--cannot endure to see a horse which once
+belonged to their tribe passing into the hands of strangers. And
+therefore, in order to soothe their wounded sensibilities, they
+often steal the animal, if they can get a chance, before the buyer
+carries him out of their reach.
+
+[Illustration: ARABIAN HORSE.]
+
+The Arabian horse is generally much more intelligent and docile than
+those of our country. But this is not altogether on account of his
+good blood. The Arab makes a friend and companion of his horse. The
+animal so constantly associates with man, is talked to so much, and
+treated so kindly, that he sometimes shows the most surprising
+intelligence. He will follow his master like a dog; come at his call;
+stand anywhere without moving, until his master returns to him; stop
+instantly if his rider falls from his back, and wait until he mounts
+again; and it has been said that an Arabian horse has been known to
+pick up his wounded master from the field of battle, and by fastening
+his teeth in the man's clothes, to carry him to a place of safety.
+
+There is no doubt, if we were to treat our horses with gentleness and
+prudence, and in a measure make companions of them whenever it was
+possible, that they would come to regard us with much of the affection
+and obedience which the Arabian horse shows to his master.
+
+
+
+
+INDIAN PUDDINGS: PUMPKIN PIES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Some of the good old folks whom I well remember, called these things
+"Ingin-puddins and punkin pies," but now we all know what very
+incorrect expressions those were. Rut, even with such highly improper
+names, these delicacies tasted quite--as well in those days as they
+do now, and, if my youthful memory does not mislead me, they tasted a
+little better.
+
+There is no stage of the rise and progress of Indian puddings and
+pumpkin pies, with which, when a youngster, I was not familiar. In the
+very beginning of things, when the fields were being ploughed, "we
+boys" were there. True, we went with no intent to benefit either the
+corn-crop or the pumpkin-vines. We merely searched in the newly
+turned-up earth for fish-worms. But for all that, we were there.
+
+And when the corn was all planted, how zealous we used to be about the
+crows! What benevolent but idiotic old scarecrows we used to
+construct, and how _extremely_ anxious we were to be intrusted with
+guns, that we might disperse, at once and forever, these black
+marauders! For well we knew that a few dead crows, stuck up here and
+there on stakes, would frighten away all the rest of the flock.
+
+But we were not allowed the guns, and, even if we had had them, it is
+probable that the crows would all have died of old age, had they
+depended for an early death upon our powder and shot. With their
+sagacity, their long sight, and their sentinels posted on the high
+trees around the field, they were not likely to let a boy with a gun
+approach very near to them. I have heard--and have no doubt of the
+truth of the statement--that one of the best ways to shoot crows is to
+go after them in a wagon, keeping your gun, of course, as much out of
+sight as possible. Crows seem to know exactly what guns are intended
+for. But they are seldom afraid of a wagon. They expect no danger from
+it, and one can frequently drive along a country road while crows are
+quietly feeding in the field adjoining, quite close to the fence.
+
+But if any one goes out to shoot crows in this way he had better be
+very careful that he has an excessively mild and unimpressible horse.
+For, if the horse is frightened at the report of the gun, and dashes
+away, and smashes the wagon, and breaks his harness, and spills
+everything out of the wagon into the dust, mud, and bramble-bushes,
+and throws the gunner heels over head into a ditch, it may be that a
+dead crow will hardly pay him for his trouble and expense in procuring
+it.
+
+But after a time the corn got so high that it was not afraid of a
+bird, and then we forgot the crows. But we liked to watch the corn in
+all its stages. We kept a sharp look-out for the young pumpkin-vines,
+and were glad to see the beans, which were planted in the hills with
+the corn in some parts of the field.
+
+There is one great advantage in a corn-field which many other fields
+do not possess: you can always walk in it! And when the corn is higher
+than your head, and the great long leaves are rustling in the wind,
+and you can hardly see each other a dozen yards away, what a glorious
+thing it is to wander about amidst all this cool greenness, and pick
+out the biggest and the fattest ears for roasting!
+
+You have then all the loveliness of Nature, combined with the hope of
+a future joy, which Art--the art of your mother, or whoever roasts the
+corn--will give you.
+
+But the triumph of the corn-field is not yet. The transformation of
+its products into Indian puddings and pumpkin pies will not occur
+until the golden Autumn days, when the sun, and the corn, and the
+pumpkins are all yellow alike, and gold--if it was not so
+scarce--would be nothing to compare to any of them. Then come the men,
+with their corn-cutters--pieces of scythe-blades, with handles fitted
+to them--and down go the corn-stalks. Only one crack apiece, and
+sometimes a big cut will slice off the stalks on a whole hill.
+
+How we used to long to wield those corn-cutters!
+
+But our parents thought too much of our legs.
+
+When the corn has been cut and carried away, the pumpkins are enough
+to astonish anybody. We never had any idea that there were so many!
+
+At last, when the days were getting short, and the mornings were a
+little cool, and the corn was in the cribs, and the pumpkins were in
+the barn, and some of us had taken a grist to the mill, then were the
+days of the pudding of Indian corn and the pies of pumpkin!
+
+Then we stayed in the kitchen and saw the whole delightful process,
+from the first mixing of the yellow meal with water, and the first cut
+into the round pumpkins, until the swelling pudding and the tranquil
+pie emerged in hot and savory grandeur from the oven.
+
+It is of no use to expect those days to return. It is easy enough to
+get the pies and the puddings, but it is very hard to be a boy again.
+
+
+
+
+LIVING IN SMOKE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Here is a mosquito of which the bravest man might be afraid; but,
+fortunately, these insects are not found quite so large as the one in
+the drawing, for he is considerably magnified. But when we hear even a
+very small fellow buzzing around our heads, in the darkness of a
+summer night, we are very apt to think that he sounds as if he were at
+least as big as a bat.
+
+In some parts of our country, mosquitoes are at certain seasons so
+plentiful and bloodthirsty that it is impossible to get along
+comfortably in their company. But, except in spots where no one would
+be likely to live, whether there were mosquitoes there or not, these
+insects do not exist in sufficient numbers to cause us to give up our
+ordinary style of living and devote all our energies to keeping them
+at a distance.
+
+In some other countries, however, the people are not so fortunate. In
+Senegal, at certain seasons, the inhabitants are driven from their
+habitations by the clouds of mosquitoes which spread over the land,
+and are forced to take refuge on high platforms, under which they keep
+fires continually burning.
+
+The smoke from these fires will keep away the mosquitoes, but it
+cannot be very pleasant to the Senegalians. However, they become used
+to it, and during the worst of the mosquito season, they eat, drink,
+sleep, and enjoy themselves to the best of their ability on these
+platforms, which for the time become their houses.
+
+[Illustration: A SMOKY DWELLING.]
+
+It would probably seem to most of us, that to breathe an atmosphere
+constantly filled with smoke, and to have it in our eyes and noses all
+the time, would be almost as bad, if not quite, as suffering the
+stings of mosquitoes.
+
+But then we do not know anything about Senegalian mosquitoes, and the
+accounts which Dr. Livingstone and other travellers give of the
+insects in Africa, ought to make us feel pretty sure that these
+woolly-headed folks on the platforms know what is good for them.
+
+
+
+
+THE CANNON OF THE PALAIS ROYAL.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+In the Gardens of the Palais Royal, in Paris, there is a little cannon
+which stands on a pedestal, and is surrounded by a railing. Every day
+it is loaded with powder and wadding, but no one on earth is allowed
+to fire it off. However, far away in the realms of space, ninety-three
+millions of miles from our world, there is the great and glorious Sun,
+and every day, at twelve o'clock, he fires off that little cannon,
+provided there are no clouds in the way. Just before noon on bright
+days, the people gather around the railing, with their watches in
+their hands,--if they are so lucky as to have watches,--and precisely
+at twelve o'clock, _bang!_ she goes.
+
+The arrangement which produces this novel artillery-practice is very
+simple. A burning-glass is fixed over the cannon in such a manner that
+when the sun comes to the meridian--which it does every day at noon,
+you know--its rays are concentrated on the touch-hole, and of course
+the powder is ignited and the cannon is fired.
+
+Most boys understand the power of a burning-glass, and know how easily
+dry grass or tinder, or a piece of paper, may be set on fire by a good
+glass when the sun is bright; but they would find it very difficult to
+place a glass over a little cannon so that it would infallibly be
+discharged at any set hour. And even if they could do it, they would
+not be sure of their cannon-clock being _exactly_ right, for the sun
+does not keep the very best time. He varies a little, and there is a
+difference between solar time and true time. But the sun is always
+near enough right for all ordinary intents and purposes.
+
+I know boys--lazy fellows--and some girls of the same sort, for that
+matter,--who, if they could, would have, just outside of their
+school-doors, one of the largest cannon, which should go off every day
+at the very earliest hour at which school would let out, and which
+should make such a tremendous report that it would be impossible for
+the teacher to overlook the time and keep them in too long.
+
+But if these same boys and girls were putting up a cannon to go off at
+the hour when school commenced, they would get such a little one that
+it wouldn't frighten a mouse.
+
+
+
+
+WATERS, DEEP AND SHALLOW.
+
+
+With such a vast subject before us as the waters of our beautiful
+world, we must be systematic. So we will at first confine ourselves to
+the observation of _pleasant waters_.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Let us begin at the beginning.
+
+This pretty little spring, with its cool water running day and night
+into the old barrel, and then gurgling over the staves, flowing away
+among the grass and flowers, is but a trifling thing perhaps, and
+might be passed with but little notice by people who have always lived
+in cities. But country-folks know how to value a cool, unfailing
+spring. In the hot days of summer the thirsty and tired farmer would
+rather see that spring than an ice-cream saloon. Yes, even if he has
+nothing to drink from but a gourd, which may be lying there among the
+stones. He may have a tin-cup with him,--and how shocking! he may
+drink out of his hands! But, let him use what he may, he certainly
+gets a most delicious drink.
+
+I once knew a little girl who said she could not bear spring-water;
+she did not think it was clean, coming out of the ground in that way.
+I asked her if she liked well-water; but she thought that was worse
+yet, especially when it was hauled up in old buckets. River-water she
+would not even consider, for that was too much exposed to all sorts of
+dirty things to be fit to drink. I then wished to know what kind of
+water she did like, and she answered, readily enough, "hydrant-water."
+I don't know where she imagined hydrant-water came from, but she may
+have thought it was manufactured, by some clean process, out at the
+water-works.
+
+But let us follow this little stream which trickles from the barrel.
+We cannot walk by its banks all the time, for it winds so much and
+runs through places where the walking is very bad; but let us go
+across the fields and walk a mile or two into the woods, and we will
+meet with it again. Here it is!
+
+What a fine, tumbling stream it has grown to be now! It is even big
+enough to have a bridge over it. It does not always rush so noisily
+among the rocks; but this is early summer; there has been plenty of
+rain, and the brook is full and strong. Now, then, if this is a trout
+country, we ought to have our hooks and lines with us. Among the
+eddies of this stream we might find many a nice trout, and if we were
+only successful enough to catch some of them after we had found them,
+we would be sure of a reward for our walk, even if the beauty of the
+scene did not repay us.
+
+But let us go on. This stream does not stop here.
+
+After we have walked a mile or so more, we find that our noisy friend
+has quieted down very much indeed. It is a little wider, and it may be
+it is a little deeper, but it flows along very placidly between its
+low banks. It is doubtful if we should find any trout in it now, but
+there may be cat-fish and perch, and some sun-fish and eels.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And now the stream suddenly spreads out widely. It is a little lake!
+No, it is only a mill-pond.
+
+Let us walk around and come out in front of the mill.
+
+How the stream has diminished again!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+As it comes out of the mill-race and joins itself to that portion
+which flows over the dam, it is a considerable creek, to be sure, but
+it looks very small compared to the mill-pond. But what it wants in
+size it makes up in speed, like some little Morgan horses you may have
+seen, and it goes rushing along quite rapidly again. Here, now, is a
+splendid chance to catch a chub.
+
+If we had some little minnows for bait, and could stand on the bank
+there to the left, and throw our lines down into the race, we ought to
+be able to hook a chub, if there are any there, and I think it is very
+likely that there are. A chub, if he is a good-sized fellow, is a fish
+worth catching, even for people who have been fishing for trout. One
+big chub will make a meal for a small family.
+
+But let us follow the creek and see what new developments we shall
+discover. To be sure, you may say that following up a stream from its
+very source involves a great deal of walking; but I can answer with
+certainty that a great deal of walking is a very easy thing--in books!
+
+So on we go, and it is not long before we find that our watery friend
+has ceased to be a creek, and is quite worthy of being called a fine
+young river. But still it is scarcely fit yet for navigation. There
+are rocks in the very middle of the stream, and every now and then we
+come to a waterfall. But how beautiful some of those cascades are!
+
+What a delightful thing it would be, on a warm summer evening, to
+bathe in that deliciously cool water. It is deep enough for a good
+swim, and, if any of us want a shower-bath, it would be a splendid
+thing to sit on the rocks and let the spray from the fall dash over
+us! And there are fish here, I am sure. It is possible that, if we
+were to sit quietly on the bank and fish, we might soon get a string
+of very nice perch, and there is no knowing what else. This stream is
+now just about big enough and little enough to make the character of
+its fish doubtful. I have known pike--fellows two feet long--caught in
+such streams as this; and then again, in other small rivers, very much
+like it, you can catch nothing but cat-fish, roach, and eels.
+
+If we were to follow up our river, we would soon find that it grew
+larger and larger, until row-boats and sloops, and then schooners and
+perhaps large ships, sailed upon its surface. And at last we might
+follow it down to its mouth, and, if it happened to flow into the sea,
+we would probably behold a grand scene. Some rivers widen so greatly
+near their mouths that it is difficult to believe that they are rivers
+at all.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+On the next page we see a river which, at its junction with the ocean,
+seems almost like a little sea itself.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We can hardly credit the fact that such a great river as the Amazon
+arose from a little spring, where you might span the body of the
+stream with your hand. But, at its source, there is no doubt just such
+a little spring. The great trouble, however, with these long rivers,
+is to find out where their source really is. There are so many brooks
+and smaller rivers flowing into them that it is difficult to determine
+the main line. You know that we have never settled that matter in
+regard to the Mississippi and Missouri. There are many who maintain
+that the source of the Mississippi is to be found at the head of the
+Missouri, and that the latter is the main river. But we shall not try
+to decide any questions of that sort. We are in quest of pleasant
+waters, not difficult questions.
+
+[Illustration: FALLS OF GAVARNI.]
+
+There is no form which water assumes more grand and beautiful than the
+cascade or waterfall. And these are of very varied shapes and sizes.
+Some of the most beautiful waterfalls depend for their celebrity, not
+upon their height, but upon their graceful forms and the scenery by
+which they are surrounded, while others, like the cascade of Gavarni,
+are renowned principally for their great height.
+
+There we see a comparatively narrow stream, precipitating itself down
+the side of an enormous precipice in the Pyrenees. Although it appears
+so small to us, it is really a considerable stream, and as it strikes
+upon the jutting rocks and dashes off into showers of spray, it is
+truly a beautiful sight.
+
+There are other cascades which are noted for a vast volume of water.
+Some of these are well known, but there is one, perhaps, of which you
+have never heard.
+
+When Dr. Livingstone was travelling in Africa he was asked by some of
+the natives if in his country there was any "smoke which sounds." They
+assured him that such a thing existed in their neighborhood, although
+some of them did not seem to comprehend the nature of it. The Doctor
+soon understood that their remarks referred to a waterfall, and so he
+took a journey to it. When he came within five or six miles of the
+cataract, he saw five columns of smoke arising in the air; but when he
+reached the place he found that this was not smoke, but the vapor from
+a great fall in the river Zambesi.
+
+These falls are very peculiar, because they plunge into a great abyss,
+not more than eighty feet wide, and over three hundred feet deep. Then
+the river turns and flows, for many miles, at the bottom of this vast
+crack in the earth. Dr. Livingstone thinks these falls are one of the
+wonders of the world.
+
+There is no doubt, however, about the king of cataracts. That is
+Niagara. If you have seen it you can understand its grandeur, but
+you can never appreciate it from a written description. A picture
+will give you some idea of it, but not a perfect one, by any means.
+
+[Illustration: FALLS OF ZAMBESI.]
+
+The Indians called these falls "thundering water," and it was an
+admirable title. The waters thunder over the great precipice, as they
+have done for thousands of years before we were born, and will
+continue to do thousands of years after we are dead.
+
+The Falls of Niagara are divided by an island into two portions,
+called the Canadian and the American Falls. This island lies nearer to
+the United States shore than to that of Canada. Therefore the American
+Falls are the smallest. This island is named Goat Island, and you have
+a good view of it in the picture.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It seems as if the resistless torrent would some day tear away this
+lonely promontory, as it rushes upon and around it. It is not unlikely
+that in the course of ages the island may be carried away.
+
+Even now, portions of it are occasionally torn off by the rush of the
+waters.
+
+You can cross over to Goat Island by means of a bridge, and when there
+you can go down _under the falls_. Standing in what is called the
+"Cave of the Winds," you can look out at a thick curtain of water,
+from eighteen to thirty feet thick, pouring down from the rocks above.
+This curtain, dark and glittering, is a portion of the great falls.
+
+It is necessary to spend days at Niagara before its grandeur can be
+fully appreciated. But we must pass on to other waters, and not tarry
+at this glorious cataract until we are carried away by our subject.
+
+We will now look at, for a short time, what may be called _Profitable
+Waters_. The waters of the earth are profitable in so many ways that
+it would be impossible for us to consider them all. But we will simply
+glance at a few scenes, where we can easily perceive what advantages
+man derives from the waters, deep or shallow. In our own country there
+is no more common method of making a living out of the water than by
+fishing with a net.
+
+The men in the picture, when they have hauled their seine to shore,
+will probably find as good a reward for their labor as if they had
+been working on the land instead of in the river; and if it is shad
+for which they are fishing, their profits will probably be greater.
+
+You know that our shad fisheries are very important sources of income
+to a great many people. And the oyster fisheries are still more
+valuable.
+
+When we mention the subject, of making a living out of the water, we
+naturally think first of nets, and hooks and lines. It is true that
+mills, and steamships, and packet-lines, and manufactories, are far
+more important; but they require capital as well as water. Men fish
+all over the world, but on some waters vessels or saw-mills are never
+seen.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The styles of fishing, however, are very various. Here is a company of
+Africans, fishing with javelins or spears.
+
+They build a sort of platform or pier out into the river, and on this
+they stand, with their spears in their hands, and when a fish is seen
+swimming in the water, down comes the sharp-pointed javelin, which
+seldom misses him. Then he is drawn upon the platform by means of the
+cord which is fastened to the spear. A whole family will go out
+fishing in this way, and spend the day on the platform. Some will
+spear the fish, while others will clean them, and prepare them for
+use. One advantage that this party possesses is, that if any of them
+should tumble into the water, they would not get their clothes wet.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But sometimes it will not do for the fisherman to endeavor to draw up
+the treasures of the deep while he remains at the surface of the
+water; very often he must go down after them. In this way a great many
+of the most valuable fisheries are conducted. For instance, the
+sponge-fishers are obliged to dive down to the very bottom of the
+water, and tear off the sponges from the rocks to which they fasten
+themselves. Some of the most valuable sponge-fisheries are on the
+coast of Syria, and you may here see how they carry on their
+operations.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is a very difficult and distressing business to the divers They
+have to remain under the water as long as they can possibly hold their
+breath, and very often they are seriously injured by their exertions
+in this way. But when we use the sponges we never think of this. And
+if we did, what good would it do? All over the world men are to be
+found who are perfectly willing to injure their health, provided they
+are paid for it.
+
+The pearl-fisheries are quite as disastrous in their effects upon the
+divers as those of which we have just been speaking.
+
+The pearl-diver descends by the help of a long rope, to the end of
+which is attached a heavy stone. He stands on the stone, holds the
+rope with one hand and his nose with the other, and quickly sinks to
+the bottom. Then he goes to work, as fast as he can, to fill a net
+which hangs from his neck, with the pearl-oysters. When he can stay
+down no longer, the net and stone are drawn up by the cord, and he
+rises to the surface, often with blood running from his nose and ears.
+But then, those who employ them sometimes get an oyster with as fine
+pearls as this one contains.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It is perfectly possible, however, to dive to the bottom of the sea
+with very valuable results, without undergoing all this terrible
+injury and suffering. In this country and Europe there are men who,
+clad in what is called submarine armor, will go to the bottom of a
+river, or bay, or the sea,--where it is not very deep--and there walk
+about almost as comfortably as if they were on land. Air is supplied
+to them by long pipes, which reach to the surface, and these divers
+have been made very useful in discovering and removing wrecks,
+recovering sunken treasure, and in many other ways.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For instance, you have a picture of some divers at the bottom of the
+port of Marseilles. A box of gold had fallen from a steamship, and the
+next day these two men went down after it. They found it, and it was
+hauled safely to the surface by means of the ropes which they attached
+to it.
+
+You see how strangely they are dressed. An iron helmet, like a great
+iron pot, is over each of their heads, and a reservoir, into which the
+air is pumped, is on their backs. They can see through little windows
+in their masks or helmets, and all they have to do is to walk about
+and attend to their business, for men above supply them with a
+sufficiency of air for all breathing purposes, by means of an air-pump
+and a long flexible tube.
+
+We have not even alluded to many profitable waters; we have said
+nothing about those vast seas where the great whale is found, or of
+the waters where men catch the valuable little sardine.
+
+We have not mentioned corals, nor said anything about those
+cod-fisheries, which are considered of sufficient importance,
+sometimes, to go to war about. But these, with many other subjects of
+the kind, we must leave unnoticed, while we cast our eyes upon some
+_Dangerous Waters_.
+
+We all know that almost any water, if it be a few feet deep, is
+dangerous at certain times and under certain conditions.
+
+The creek, which in its deepest parts is not up to your chin, may be
+the death of you if you venture upon it in winter, when the ice is
+thin, and you break through. Without help, you may be able neither to
+swim out or climb out.
+
+But oceans and seas are the waters where danger may nearly always be
+expected. The sea may be as smooth as glass, the skies bright, and not
+a breath of wind be stirring; or a gentle breeze, just enough to
+ripple the water, may send our vessel slowly before it, and in a few
+hours the winds may be roaring, the waves dashing into the air, and
+the skies dark with storm-clouds.
+
+If we are upon a large and strong steamer, we may perhaps feel safe
+enough among the raging waves; but if our vessel be a fishing-boat, or
+a small pleasure-craft, we have good reason to be afraid Yet many a
+little sloop like this rides bravely and safely through the storms.
+But many other little vessels, as strong and as well steered, go to
+the bottom of the ocean every year. If the sailor escapes severe
+storms, or sails in a vessel which is so stout and ably managed as to
+bid defiance to the angry waves, he has other dangers in his path. He
+may, for instance, meet with icebergs. If the weather is clear and the
+wind favorable, he need not fear these floating mountains of ice. But
+if it be night, or foggy, and he cannot see them, or if, in spite of
+all his endeavors, the wind drives him down upon them, then is his
+vessel lost, and, in all probability, the lives of all upon it.
+Sometimes, however, the passengers and crew may escape in boats, and
+instances have been related where they have taken refuge on the
+iceberg itself, remaining there until rescued by a passing ship.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But, be the weather fair or foul, a ship is generally quick to leave
+the company of so dangerous a neighbor as an iceberg. Sometimes great
+masses of ice take a notion to topple over, and, looking at the matter
+in what light you please, I think that they are not to be trusted.
+
+Then there is the hurricane!
+
+A large ship may bravely dare the dangers of an ordinary storm, but
+nothing that floats on the surface of the water can be safe when a
+whirlwind passes over the sea, driving everything straight before it
+Great ships are tossed about like playthings, and strong masts are
+snapped off as if they had been made of glass.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+If a ship is then near a coast, her crew is seldom able, if the wind
+blows towards the land, to prevent her from being dashed upon the
+rocks; and if she is out upon the open sea, she is often utterly
+disabled and swallowed up by the waves.
+
+I have known boys who thought that it would be perfectly delightful
+to be shipwrecked. They felt certain that they would be cast (very
+gently, no doubt) upon a desert island, and there they would find
+everything that they needed to support life and make them comfortable;
+and what they did not get there they would obtain from the wreck of
+the ship, which would be lying on the rocks, at a convenient distance
+from the shore. And once on that island, they would be their own
+masters, and would not have to go to school or do anything which did
+not please them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is the good old Robinson Crusoe idea, which at one time or
+another runs in the mind of nearly every boy, and many girls, too, I
+expect; but a real shipwreck is never desired the second time by any
+person who has experienced one.
+
+Sometimes, even when the crew think that they have safely battled
+through the storm, and have anchored in a secure place, the waves
+dash upon the vessel with such force that the anchor drags, the masts
+go by the board, and the great ship, with the hundreds of pale faces
+that crowd her deck, is dashed on the great rocks which loom up in the
+distance.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Among other dangers of the ocean are those great tidal waves, which
+often follow or accompany earthquakes, and which are almost as
+disastrous to those living upon the sea-coast as to those in ships.
+Towns have been nearly destroyed by them, hundreds of people drowned,
+and great ships swept upon the land, and left there high and dry. In
+tropical latitudes these tremendous upheavals of the ocean appear to
+be most common, but they are known in all regions which are subject to
+serious shocks of earthquakes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Waterspouts are other terrible enemies of the sailor. These, however
+dangerous they may be when they approach a ship, are not very common,
+and it is said that they may sometimes be entirely dispersed by firing
+a cannon-ball into the midst of the column of water. This statement
+is rather doubtful, for many instances have been related where the
+ball went directly through the water-spout without any effect except
+to scatter the spray in every direction. I have no doubt that sailors
+always keep as far away from water-spouts as they can, and place very
+little reliance on their artillery for their safety.
+
+And now, have you had enough water?
+
+We have seen how the waters of the earth may be enjoyed, how they may
+be made profitable to us, and when we should beware of them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But before we leave them, I wish to show you, at the very end of this
+article, something which is a little curious in its appearance. Let us
+take a step down to the very bottom of the sea; not in those
+comparatively shallow places, where the divers descend to look for
+wrecks and treasure, but in deep Water, miles below the surface. Down
+there, on the very bottom, you will see this strange thing. What do
+you suppose it is?
+
+It is not an animal or a fish, or a stone, or shell. But plants are
+growing upon it, while little animals and fishes are sticking fast to
+it, or swimming around it. It is not very thick--scarcely an inch--and
+we do not see much of it here; but it stretches thousands of miles. It
+reaches from America to Europe, and it is an Atlantic Cable. There is
+nothing in the water more wonderful than that.
+
+
+
+
+HANS, THE HERB-GATHERER.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Many years ago, when people had not quite so much sense as they have
+now, there was a poor widow woman who was sick. I do not know what was
+the matter with her, but she had been confined to her bed for a long
+time.
+
+She had no doctor, for in those days many of the poor people, besides
+having but little money, had little faith in a regular physician. They
+would rather depend upon wonderful herbs and simples, which were
+reported to have a sort of magical power, and they often used to
+resort to charms and secret incantations when they wished to be cured
+of disease.
+
+This widow, whose name was Dame Martha, was a sensible woman, in the
+main, but she knew very little about sickness, and believed that she
+ought to do pretty much as her neighbors told her. And so she followed
+their advice, and got no better.
+
+There was an old man in the neighborhood named Hans, who made it a
+regular business to gather herbs and roots for moral and medical
+purposes. He was very particular as to time and place when he went out
+to collect his remedies, and some things he would not touch unless he
+found them growing in the corner of a churchyard--or perhaps under a
+gallows--and other plants he never gathered unless the moon was in its
+first quarter, and there was a yellow streak in the northwest, about a
+half-hour after sunset. He had some herbs which he said were good for
+chills and fever; others which made children obedient; others which
+caused an old man's gray hair to turn black and his teeth to grow
+again--if he only took it long enough; and he had, besides, remedies
+which would cure chickens that had the pip, horses that kicked, old
+women with the rheumatism, dogs that howled at the moon, boys who
+played truant, and cats that stole milk.
+
+Now, to our enlightened minds it is very evident that this Hans was
+nothing more than an old simpleton; but it is very doubtful if he
+thought so himself, and it is certain that his neighbors did not. They
+resorted to him on all occasions when things went wrong with them,
+whether it was the butter that would not come in their churns, or
+their little babies who had fevers.
+
+Therefore, you may be sure that Dame Martha sent for Hans as soon as
+she was taken ill, and for about a year or so she had been using his
+herbs, making plasters of his roots, putting little shells that he
+brought under her pillow, and powwowing three times a day over bunches
+of dried weeds ornamented with feathers from the tails of yellow hens
+that had died of old age. But all that Hans, could do for her was of
+no manner of use. In vain he went out at night with his lantern, and
+gathered leaves and roots in the most particular way. Whether the moon
+was full or on the wane; whether the tail of the Great Dipper was
+above the steeple of the old church, or whether it had not yet risen
+as high as the roof; whether the bats flew to the east or the west
+when he first saw them; or whether the Jack o'lanterns sailed near the
+ground (when they were carried by a little Jack), or whether they were
+high (when a tall Jack bore them), it made no difference. His herbs
+were powerless, and Dame Martha did not get well.
+
+About half a mile from the widow's cottage there lived a young girl
+named Patsey Moore. She was the daughter of the village Squire, and a
+prettier girl or a better one than Patsey is not often met with. When
+she heard of Dame Martha's illness she sometimes used to stop at the
+cottage on her way to school, and leave with her some nice little
+thing that a sick person might like to eat.
+
+One day in spring, when the fields were full of blossoms and the air
+full of sunshine and delicious odors, Patsey stopped on her way from
+school to gather a bunch of wild-flowers.
+
+They grew so thickly and there were so many different kinds, that she
+soon had a bouquet that was quite fit for a parlor. On her way home
+she stopped at Dame Martha's cottage.
+
+"I am sorry, Dame Martha," said she, "that I have nothing nice for
+you to-day, but I thought perhaps you would like to have some flowers,
+as it's Spring-time and you can't go out."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Indeed, Miss Patsey," said the sick woman, "you could'nt have brought
+me anything that would do my heart more good. It's like hearing the
+birds sing and sittin' under the hedges in the blossoms, to hear you
+talk and to see them flowers."
+
+Patsey was very much pleased, of course, at this, and after that she
+brought Dame Martha a bouquet every day.
+
+And soon the good woman looked for Patsey and her beautiful flowers as
+longingly and eagerly as she looked for the rising of the sun.
+
+Old Hans very seldom came to see her now, and she took no more of his
+medicines. It was of no use, and she had paid him every penny that she
+had to spare, besides a great many other things in the way of little
+odds and ends that lay about the house. But when Patsey stopped in,
+one afternoon, a month or two after she had brought the first bunch of
+flowers, she said to the widow:
+
+"Dame Martha, I believe you are a great deal better."
+
+"Better!" said the good woman, "I'll tell you what it is, Miss Patsey,
+I've been a thinking over the matter a deal for the last week, and
+I've been a-trying my appetite, and a-trying my eyes, and a-trying how
+I could walk about, and work, and sew, and I just tell you what it is,
+Miss Patsey, I'm well!"
+
+And so it was. The widow was well, and nobody could see any reason for
+it, except good Dame Martha herself. She always persisted that it was
+those beautiful bunches of flowers that Patsey had brought her every
+day.
+
+"Oh, Miss Patsey!" she said, "If you'd been a-coming to me with them
+violets and buttercups, instead of old Hans with his nasty bitter
+yarbs, I'd a been off that bed many a day ago. There was nothing but
+darkness, and the shadows of tomb-stones, and the damp smells of the
+lonely bogs about his roots and his leaves. But there was the heavenly
+sunshine in your flowers, Miss Patsey, and I could smell the sweet
+fields, when I looked at them, and hear the hum of the bees!"
+
+It may be that Dame Martha gave a little too much credit to Patsey's
+flowers, but I am not at all sure about it. Certain it is, that the
+daily visits of a bright young girl, with her heart full of kindness
+and sympathy, and her hands full of flowers from the fragrant fields,
+would be far more welcome and of far more advantage to many sick
+chambers than all the old herb-gatherers in the world, with their
+bitter, grave-yard roots, and their rank, evil-smelling plants that
+grow down in the swamps among the frogs and snakes.
+
+Perhaps you know some sick person. Try Patsey's treatment.
+
+
+
+
+SOME CUNNING INSECTS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We hear such wonderful stories about the sense and ingenuity displayed
+by insects, that we are almost led to the belief that some of them
+must have a little reason--at least as much as a few men and women
+that we know.
+
+Of all, these wise insects, there is none with more intelligence and
+cunning than the ant. How many astonishing accounts have we had of
+these little creatures, who in some countries build great houses,
+almost large enough for a man to live in; who have a regular form of
+government, and classes of society--soldiers, workers, gentlemen and
+ladies; and who, as some naturalists have declared, even have handsome
+funerals on the occasion of the death of a queen! It is certain that
+they build, and work, and pursue their various occupations according
+to systems that are wisely conceived and most carefully carried out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Dr. Ebrard, who wrote a book about ants and their habits, tells a
+story of a little black ant who was building an arch at the foundation
+of a new ant-hill. It was necessary to have some means of supporting
+this arch, which was made of wet mud, until the key-stone should be
+put in and all made secure. The ant might have put up a couple of
+props, but this is not their habit in building. Their laws say nothing
+about props. But the arch must be supported, and so Mr. Ant thought
+that it would be a good idea to bend down a tall stalk of wheat which
+grew near the hill, and make it support the arch until it was
+finished. This he did by carrying bits of wet mud up to the end of the
+stalk until he had piled and stuck so much upon it that the heavy top
+bent over. But, as this was not yet low enough, and more mud could not
+be put on the slender stem without danger of breaking it, the ant
+crammed mud in between the stalk at its root and the other stalks, so
+that it was forced over still more. Then he used the lowered end to
+support his arch!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Some other ants once found a cockchafer's wing, which they thought
+would be a capital thing to dry for winter, and they endeavored to get
+it into the entrance of their hill. But it was too big. So they drew
+it out and made the hole larger. Then they tried again, but the wing
+was still too wide. They turned it and made several efforts to get it
+in sideways, and upside down, but it was impossible; so they lifted it
+away, and again enlarged the hole. But the wing would not yet go in.
+Without losing patience, they once more went to work, and, after
+having labored for three hours and a half, they at last had the
+pleasure of seeing their dried wing safely pulled into their
+store-room.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Then, there are spiders. They frequently show the greatest skill and
+cunning in the construction of their webs and the capture of their
+prey, and naturalists say that the spider has a very well developed
+brain. They must certainly have a geometrical talent, or they could
+not arrange their webs with such regularity and scientific accuracy.
+Some spiders will throw their webs across streams that are quite wide.
+
+Now, to do this, they must show themselves to be engineers of no small
+ability. Sometimes they fasten one end of a thread to a twig on one
+side of the stream, and, hanging on the other end, swing over until
+they can land on the other side. But this is not always possible, for
+they cannot, in some places, get a chance for a fair swing. In such a
+case, they often wait until the wind is blowing across the stream
+from the side on which they are, and, weaving a long line, they let it
+out until the wind carries it over the stream, and it catches in the
+bushes or grass on the other side. Of course, after one thread is
+over, the spider can easily run backward and forward on it, and carry
+over all the rest of his lines.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Bees have so much sense that we ought almost to beg their pardon when
+we speak of their instinct. Most of us have read what Huber and others
+have told us of their plans, inventions, laws, and regular habits. It
+is astonishing to read of a bee-supervisor, going the round of the
+cells where the larvae are lying, to see if each of them has enough
+food. He never stops until he has finished his review, and then he
+makes another circuit, depositing in each cell just enough food--a
+little in this one, a great deal in the next, and so on.
+
+There were once some bees who were very much disturbed by a number of
+great moths who made a practice of coming into their hives and
+stealing their honey. Do what they could, the bees could not drive
+these strong creatures out.
+
+But they soon hit upon a plan to save their honey. They blocked up
+all the doors of the hive with wax, leaving only a little hole, just
+big enough for one bee to enter at a time. Then the moths were
+completely dumbfounded, and gave up the honey business in despair.
+
+But the insect to which the epithet of cunning may be best ascribed,
+is, I think, the flea. If you doubt this, try to catch one. What
+double backsprings he will turn, what fancy dodges he will execute,
+and how, at last, you will have to give up the game and acknowledge
+yourself beaten by this little gymnast!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But fleas have been taught to perform their tricks of strength and
+activity in an orderly and highly proper manner. They have been
+trained to go through military exercises, carrying little sticks for
+guns; to work and pull about small cannon, although the accounts say
+nothing about their firing them off; and, what seems the most
+wonderful of all, two fleas have been harnessed to a little coach
+while another one sat on the box and drove! The whole of this
+wonderful exhibition was so small that a microscope had to be used in
+order to properly observe it.
+
+The last instance of the intelligence of insects which I will give is
+something almost too wonderful to believe, and yet the statement is
+made by a Dr. Lincecum, who studied the habits of the insect in
+question for twelve years, and his investigations were published in
+the _Journal of the Linnaean Society_. Dr. Lincecum says, that in Texas
+there is an ant called by him the Agricultural Ant, which not only
+lays up stores of grain, but prepares the soil for the crop; plants
+the seed (of a certain plant called ant-rice); keeps the ground free
+from weeds; and finally reaps the harvest, and separating the chaff
+from the grain, packs away the latter, and throws the chaff outside of
+the plantation. In "Wood's Bible Animals" you can read a full account
+of this ant, and I think that after hearing of its exploits, we can
+believe almost anything that we hear about the intelligence of
+insects.
+
+
+
+
+A FIRST SIGHT OF THE SEA.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+If you have ever seen the ocean, you will understand what a grand
+thing it is to look for the first time upon its mighty waters,
+stretching away into the distance, and losing themselves in the clouds
+and sky. We know it is thousands of miles over to the other shore, but
+for all that we have a pretty good idea of that shore. We know its
+name, and have read about the people who live there.
+
+But when, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, Vasco Nunez de
+Balboa stood upon the shore of the Pacific, and gazed over its
+boundless waters, the sight to him was both grand and mysterious. He
+saw that a vast sea lay beneath and before him--but that was all he
+knew. Europeans had not visited it before, and the Indians, who had
+acted as his guides, knew but little about it. If he had desired to
+sail across those vast blue waters, Balboa would have had no idea upon
+what shores he would land or what wonderful countries and continents
+he would discover.
+
+Now-a-days, any school-boy could tell that proud, brave soldier, what
+lay beyond those billows. Supposing little Johnny Green (we all know
+him, don't we?) had been there, how quickly he would have settled
+matters for the Spanish chieftain.
+
+"Ah, Mr. Balboa," Johnny would have said, "you want to know what lies
+off in that direction--straight across? Well, I can tell you, sir. If
+you are standing, as I think you are, on a point of the Isthmus of
+Darien, where you can look directly westward, you may cast your eyes,
+as far as they will go, over a body of water, which, at this point, is
+about eleven thousand miles wide. No wonder you jump, sir, but such is
+the fact. If you were to sail directly west upon this ocean you would
+have a very long passage before you came upon any land at all, and the
+first place which you would reach, if you kept straight on your
+westward course, would be the Mulgrave Islands. But you would have
+passed about seven or eight hundred miles to the southward of the
+Sandwich Islands, which are a very important group, where there is an
+enormous volcano, and where Captain Cook will be killed in about two
+hundred and fifty years. If you then keep on, you will pass among the
+Caroline Islands, which your countrymen will claim some day; and if
+you are not eaten up by the natives, who will no doubt coax you to
+land on some of their islands and will then have you for supper, you
+will at last reach the Philippine Islands, and will probably land, for
+a time, at Mindanao, to get water and things. Then, if you still keep
+on, you will pass to the north of a big island, which is Borneo, and
+will sail right up to the first land to the west, which will be part
+of a continent; or else you will go down around a peninsula, which
+lies directly in your course, and sail upon the other side of it, into
+a great gulf, and land anywhere you please. Do you know where you will
+be then, Mr. Balboa? Don't, eh? Well, sir, you would be just where
+Columbus hoped he would be, when he reached the end of his great
+voyage across the Atlantic--in the Indies! Yes, sir, all among the
+gold, and ivory, and spices, and elephants and other things!
+
+"If you can get any ships here and will start off and steer carefully
+among the islands, you won't find anything in your way until you get
+there. But, it was different with Columbus, you see, sir. He had a
+whole continent blocking up his road to the Indies; but, for my part,
+I'm very glad, for various reasons, that it happened so."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It is probable that if Johnny Green could have delivered this little
+speech, that Vasco Nunez de Balboa would have been one of the most
+astonished men in the world!
+
+Whether he and his fellow-adventurers would ever have set out to sail
+over those blue waters, in search of the treasures of the East, is
+more than I can say, but it is certain that if he had started off on
+such an expedition, he would have found things pretty much as Johnny
+Green had told him.
+
+
+
+
+THE LARGEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+This is St. Peter's at Rome. Is it possible to look upon such a
+magnificent edifice without acknowledging it as the grandest of all
+churches? There are some others in the world more beautiful, and some
+more architecturally perfect; but there is none so vast, so
+impressive, so grand!
+
+This great building was commenced in 1506, but it was a century and a
+half before it was finished. Among other great architects, Michael
+Angelo assisted in its construction. The building is estimated to have
+cost, simply for its erection, about fifty millions of dollars, and it
+has cost a great deal in addition in later years.
+
+Its dimensions are enormous. You cannot understand what a great
+building it is unless you could see it side by side with some house
+or church with which you are familiar. Several of the largest churches
+in this country could be stood up inside of St. Peter's without
+touching walls or roof, or crowding each other in the least.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There are but three works of man in the whole world which are higher
+than the little knob which you see on the cupola surmounting the great
+dome of St. Peter's. These more lofty buildings are the Great Pyramid
+of Egypt, the Spire of Strasbourg, and the Tower of Amiens. The
+highest of these, the pyramid, is, however, only forty-two feet above
+St. Peter's. The great dome is supported by four pillars, each of
+which is seventy feet thick!
+
+But let us step inside of this great edifice. I think you will be
+there even more impressed with its height and extent than you were
+when you stood on the outside.
+
+Is not here a vast and lofty expanse? But even from this favorable
+point you cannot get a complete view of the interior. In front of you,
+you see in the distance the light striking down from above. There is
+the great dome, and when you walk beneath it you will be amazed at its
+enormous height. There are four great halls like this one directly
+before us, for the church is built in the form of a cross, with the
+dome at the intersection of the arms. There are also openings in
+various directions, which lead into what are called chapels, but which
+are in reality as large as ordinary sized churches.
+
+The pavement of the whole edifice is made of colored marble, and, as
+you see, the interior is heavily decorated with carving and statuary.
+Much of this is bronze and gold.
+
+But if you should mount (and there are stairs by which you may make
+the ascent) into the cupola at the top of the dome, and look down into
+the vast church, and see the people crawling about like little insects
+so far below you, you would perhaps understand better than at any
+other time that it is not at all surprising that this church should be
+one of the wonders of the world.
+
+If we ever go to Europe, we must not fail to see St. Peter's Church at
+Rome.
+
+
+
+
+THE SOFT PLACE.
+
+
+There was once a young Jaguar (he was very intimately related to the
+Panther family, as you may remember), and he sat upon a bit of hard
+rock, and cogitated. The subject of his reflections was very simple
+indeed, for it was nothing more nor less than this--where should he
+get his supper?
+
+He would not have cared so much for his supper, if it had been that he
+had had no dinner, and even this would not have made so much
+difference if he had had his breakfast. But in truth he had eaten
+nothing all day.
+
+During the summer of that year the meat-markets in that section of the
+country were remarkably bad. It was sometimes difficult for a panther
+or a wildcat to find enough food to keep her family at all decently,
+and there were cases of great destitution. In years before there had
+been plenty of deer, wild turkey, raccoons, and all sorts of good
+things, but they were very scarce now. This was not the first time
+that our young Jaguar had gone hungry for a whole day.
+
+While he thus sat, wondering where he should go to get something to
+eat, he fell asleep, and had a dream. And this is what he dreamed.
+
+He dreamed that he saw on the grass beneath the rock where he was
+lying five fat young deer. Three of them were sisters, and the other
+two were cousins. They were discussing the propriety of taking a nap
+on the grass by the river-bank, and one of them had already stretched
+herself out. "Now," thought the Jaguar in his dream, "shall I wait
+until they all go to sleep, and then pounce down softly and kill them
+all, or shall I spring on that one on the ground and make sure of a
+good supper at any rate?" While he was thus deliberating in his mind
+which it would be best for him to do, the oldest cousin cocked up her
+ears as if she heard something, and just as the Jaguar was going to
+make a big spring and get one out of the family before they took to
+their heels, he woke up!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+What a dreadful disappointment! Not a deer, or a sign of one, to be
+seen, and nothing living within a mile. But no! There is something
+moving! It is--yes, it is a big Alligator, lying down there on the
+rocks! After looking for a few minutes with disgust at the ugly
+creature, the Jaguar said to himself, "He must have come on shore
+while I was asleep. But what matters it! An Alligator! Very different
+indeed from five fat young deer! Ah me! I wish he had not that great
+horny skin, and I'd see if I could make a supper off of him. Let me
+see! There is a soft place, as I've been told, about the alligator! If
+I could but manage and get a grip of that, I think that I could settle
+old Mr. Hardskin, in spite of his long teeth. I've a mind and a half
+to try. Yes, I'll do it!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So saying, the Jaguar settled himself down as flat as he could and
+crept a little nearer to the Alligator, and then, with a tremendous
+spring, he threw himself upon him. The Alligator was asleep, but his
+nap came to a very sudden close, you may be sure, and he opened his
+eyes and his mouth both at the same time. But he soon found that he
+would have to bestir himself in a very lively manner, for a strong
+and hungry Jaguar had got hold of him. It had never before entered
+into the Alligator's head that anybody would want to eat him, but he
+did not stop to think about this, but immediately went to work to
+defend himself with all his might. He lashed his great tail around, he
+snapped his mighty jaws at his enemy, and he made the dust fly
+generally. But it all seemed of little use. The Jaguar had fixed his
+teeth in a certain soft place in his chest, under his fore-leg, and
+there he hung on like grim death. The Alligator could not get at him
+with his tail, nor could he turn his head around so as to get a good
+bite.
+
+The Alligator had been in a hard case all his life, but he really
+thought that this surprising conduct of the Jaguar was something worse
+than anything he had ever been called upon to bear.
+
+"Does he really think, I wonder," said the Alligator to himself, "that
+he is going to have me for his supper?"
+
+It certainly looked very much as if Mr. Jaguar had that idea, and as
+if he would be able to carry out his intention, for he was so charmed
+at having discovered the soft place of which he had so often been told
+that he resolved never to let go until his victim was dead; and in the
+midst of the struggle he could not but regret that he had never
+thought of hunting Alligators before.
+
+As it may well be imagined, the Alligator soon began to be very tired
+of this sort of thing. He could do nothing at all to damage his
+antagonist, and the Jaguar hurt him, keeping his teeth jammed into the
+very tenderest spot in his whole body. So he came to the conclusion
+that, if he could do nothing else, he would go home. If the Jaguar
+chose to follow him, he could not help it, of course. So, gradually,
+he pulled himself, Jaguar and all, down to the river, and, as the
+banks sloped quite suddenly at this place, he soon plunged into deep
+water, with his bloodthirsty enemy still hanging fiercely to him.
+
+As soon as he found himself in the water, the Alligator rolled himself
+over and got on top. Then they both sank down, and there was nothing
+seen on the surface of the water but bubbles.
+
+The fight did not last very long after this, but the Jaguar succeeded
+perfectly in his intentions. He found a soft place--in the mud at the
+bottom of the river--and he stayed there.
+
+
+
+
+A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS.
+
+[Illustration: A FEW FEATHERED FRIENDS.]
+
+
+Whether dressed in broadcloth, silk, calico, home-spun, or feathers,
+friends are such valuable possessions that we must pay these folks who
+are now announced as much attention as possible. And if we do this and
+in every way endeavor to make them feel comfortable and entirely at
+home, we will soon perceive a very great difference between them and
+many of our friends who dress in coats and frocks. For the more we do
+for our feathered friends, the more they will do for us. Now, you
+can't say that of all the men and women and boys and girls that you
+know. I wish most sincerely that you could.
+
+The first family who calls upon us (and the head of this family makes
+the very earliest calls that I know anything about) are too well known
+to all of us to need the slightest introduction. You will see in an
+instant that you have met them before.
+
+And there is no doubt but that these are among the very best feathered
+friends we have. Those hens are liberal with their eggs, and those
+little chickens that are running around like two-legged puff-balls,
+are so willing to grow up and be broiled and roasted and stewed, that
+it would now be almost impossible for us to do without them. Eggs seem
+to come into use on so many occasions that, if there was to be an
+egg-famine, it would make itself felt in every family in the land. Not
+only would we miss them when boiled, fried, and cooked in omelets for
+breakfast; not only without them would ham seem lonely, puddings and
+sponge-cakes go into decline, and pound-cake utterly die, but the arts
+and manufactures of the whole country would feel the deprivation.
+Merely in the photographic business hundreds of thousands of eggs are
+needed every year, from which to procure the albumen used in the
+preparation of photographic paper.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Do without eggs? Impossible.
+
+And to do without "chicken" for dinner would seem almost as impossible
+for some folks. To be sure, we might live along very comfortably
+without those delightful broils, and roasts, and fricassees, but it
+would be a great pity. And, if we live in the country, there is no
+meat which is so cheap and easily procured all the year round as
+chicken. I wonder what country-people would do, especially in the
+summer time, when they have little other fresh meat, without their
+chickens. Very badly, I imagine.
+
+Next to these good old friends comes the pigeon family. These are very
+intimate with many of us.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Pigeons are in one respect even more closely associated with man than
+the domestic fowls, because they live with him as readily in cities as
+in the country. City chickens always seem out of place, but city
+pigeons are as much at home as anybody else. There are few houses so
+small that there is not room somewhere for a pigeon-box, and there are
+no roofs or yards so humble that the handsomest and proudest "pouters"
+and "tumblers" and "fan-tails" will not willingly come and strut and
+coo about them as long as they receive good treatment and plenty of
+food.
+
+But apart from the pleasure and profit which these beautiful birds
+ordinarily afford to their owners, some of them--the carriers--are
+often of the greatest value, and perform important business that would
+have to be left undone if it were not for them. The late war in France
+has fully proved this. I remember hearing persons say that now, since
+telegraph lines had become so common, they supposed carrier-pigeons
+would no longer be held in esteem, and that the breed would be
+suffered to die out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But that is a mistake. There are times, especially during wars, when
+telegraphic and railroad lines are utterly useless, and then the
+carrier-pigeon remains master of the situation.
+
+The doves are such near relations of the pigeons that we might suppose
+they would resemble them in their character as much as in appearance.
+But they are not very much alike. Doves are not ambitious; they don't
+pout, or tumble, or have fan-tails. As to carrying messages, or doing
+anything to give themselves renown, they never think of it. They are
+content to be affectionate and happy.
+
+And that is a great deal. If they did nothing all their lives but set
+examples to children (and to their parents also, sometimes), the doves
+would be among our most useful little birds.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I suppose we all have some friends whom we are always glad to see,
+even if they are of no particular service to us. And this is right; we
+should not value people's society in exact proportion to what we think
+we can get out of them. Now, the swan is a feathered friend, and a
+good one, but I must say he is of very little practical use to us. But
+there is something more to be desired than victuals, clothes,
+feather-beds, and Easter-eggs. We should love the beautiful as well as
+the useful. Not so much, to be sure, but still very much. The boy or
+man who despises a rose because it is not a cabbage is much more
+nearly related to the cows and hogs than he imagines. If we accustom
+ourselves to look for beauty, and enjoy it, we will find it, after
+awhile, where we never supposed it existed--in the caterpillar, for
+instance, and in the snakes. There is beauty as well as practical
+value in almost everything around us, and we are not the lords of
+creation that we suppose we are, unless we are able to see it.
+
+Now, then, I have preached you a little sermon, with the swans for a
+text. But they are certainly beautiful subjects.
+
+A goose, when it is swimming, is a very handsome bird, and it is most
+admirable when it appears on the table roasted of a delightful brown,
+with a dish of apple-sauce to keep it company. But, for some reason,
+the goose has never been treated with proper consideration. It has for
+hundreds of years, I expect, been considered as a silly bird. But
+there never was a greater mistake. If we looked at the thing in the
+proper light, we would not be at all ashamed to be called a goose. If
+any one were to call you an ostrich, I don't believe you would be very
+angry, but in reality it would be much more of an insult than to call
+you a goose, for an ostrich at times is a very silly bird.
+
+But geese have been known to do as many sensible things as any
+feathered creatures of which we know anything. I am not going to say
+anything about the geese which saved Rome, for we have no record that
+they _intended_ to do anything of the kind; but I will instance the
+case of a goose which belonged to an old blind woman, who lived in
+Germany.
+
+Every Sunday these two friends used to go to church together, the
+goose carefully leading the old woman by her frock.
+
+When they reached the church, the goose would lead his mistress to her
+seat and then go outside and eat grass until the services were over.
+When the people began to come out the goose would go in, and, taking
+the old woman in charge, would lead her home. At other times also he
+was the companion of her walks, and her family knew that old blind
+Grandmother was all right if she had the goose with her when she went
+out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There was another goose, in a town in Scotland, who had a great
+attachment for a young gentleman to whom she belonged. She would
+follow him in his walks about the town, and always testified her
+delight when she saw him start for a ramble.
+
+When he went into a barber's shop to be shaved, she would wait on the
+pavement until he came out; and in many of his visits she accompanied
+him, very decorously remaining outside while her master was enjoying
+the society of his friends.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Ducks, too, have been known to exhibit sociable and friendly traits.
+There is a story told of a drake who once came into a room where a
+young lady was sitting, and approaching her, caught hold of her dress
+with his bill and commenced to pull vigorously at it. The lady was
+very much surprised at this performance, and tried to drive the drake
+away. But he would neither depart or stop tugging at her dress, and
+she soon perceived that he wanted her to do something for him. So she
+rose from her chair, and the drake immediately began to lead her
+towards the door. When he had conducted her out on to the lawn, he
+led her to a little lake near the house, and there she saw what it was
+that troubled Mr. Drake. A duck, very probably his wife, had been
+swimming in the lake, and in poking her head about, she had caught her
+neck in the narrow opening of a sluice-gate and there she was, fast
+and tight. The lady lifted the gate, Mrs. Duck drew out her head and
+went quacking away, while Mr. Drake testified his delight and
+gratitude by flapping his wings and quacking at the top of his voice.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We have also friends among the feathered tribes, who are not quite so
+intimate and sociable as those to which we have already alluded, but
+which still are very well deserving of our friendship and esteem. For
+instance, what charming little companions are the canary-birds! To be
+sure, they would not often stay with us, if we did not confine them in
+cages; but they seem perfectly at home in their little wire houses,
+and sing and twitter with as much glee as if they were flying about in
+the woods of their native land--or rather, of the native land of their
+forefathers, for most of our canary-birds were born in the midst of
+civilization and in cages.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There are some birds, however, no bigger than canaries, which seem to
+have an attachment for their masters and mistresses, and which do not
+need the restraint of a cage. There was once a gold-finch which
+belonged to a gentleman who lived in a town in Picardy, France, but
+who was often obliged to go to Paris, where he also had apartments.
+Whenever he was obliged to go to the great city, his gold-finch would
+fly on ahead of him, and, arriving there some time in advance of the
+carriage, the servants would know that their master was coming, in
+time to have the rooms ready for him. And when the gentleman drove up
+to the door he would generally see his little gold-finch sitting on
+the finger of a cook or a chamber-maid, and twittering away as if he
+was endeavoring to inform the good people of all the incidents of the
+journey.
+
+Some of these little birds, however, which are very friendly and
+comparatively sociable as long as they are not troubled and annoyed,
+are not only able to distinguish their friends from their foes, but
+are very apt to stand up vigorously in defence of their rights. Those
+little sparrows, which hop about so cunningly in the streets of many
+of our cities, understand very well that no one will hurt them, and
+that they may pick up crumbs wherever they can find them. But let a
+few boys get into the habit of throwing sticks and stones at them, and
+the little things will leave that neighborhood as quickly as if the
+rents of all their tiny houses had been raised beyond their means.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Magpies, too, are very companionable in their own way, if they are
+well treated; but if a boy should undertake to steal away with one of
+their nests, when it was full of young ones, he would run a very great
+risk of having his eyes picked out.
+
+There is a feathered friend of ours who keeps himself so secluded, at
+least during the day-time, that he is very apt to escape our notice. I
+refer to the owl.
+
+It may not be supposed, by some, that the owl is a friend of mankind,
+and I am perfectly willing to admit that very often he acts very much
+like an enemy, especially when he kills our young chickens and
+turkeys. But for all that, he has his good points, and very often
+behaves in a commendable manner. If you have a barn or a house that is
+overrun with mice, there is nothing that will be more certain to drive
+them out than an owl. And he will not be so apt to steal your milk or
+kill your canary as many of the cats which you have taken into your
+family without a recommendation.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We once had an owl living in our house. He belonged to my young
+brother, who caught him in a trap, I believe. All day long, this
+solemn little fellow (for he was a small brown one), would sit on the
+back of a chair, or some such convenient place, and if any of us came
+near him, he would turn his head and look at us, although he could not
+see very well in the day-time; and if we walked behind him, or on
+different sides of him, he would always keep his eyes on us, turning
+his head around exactly as if it was set on a pivot.
+
+It was astonishing how easily he could turn his head without moving
+his body. Some folks told us that if we walked around and around him,
+he would turn and turn his head, until he twisted it off, but we never
+tried that.
+
+It was really astonishing how soon the mice found out that there was
+an owl in the house. He had the range of a great part of the house all
+night, and in a very short time he had driven every mouse away. And
+the first time he found a window open, he went away himself. There is
+that objection to owls, as mousers. They are very good so long as they
+will hold the situation, but they are exceedingly apt to leave without
+giving the family any notice. You won't find a cat doing that. The
+trouble with her very often is that she will not go when you give
+_her_ notice to leave.
+
+When we speak of our feathered friends, it is hardly fair to exclude
+all but those which are domesticated with us, or which are willing,
+sometimes, to come and live in our houses. In the country, and very
+often in towns, our homes are surrounded, at certain seasons, by
+beautiful birds, that flutter and twitter about in the trees, and sing
+most charmingly in the bright hours of the early morning, making the
+spring-time and the summer tenfold more delightful than they would be
+without them. These birds ask nothing of us but a few cherries or
+berries now and then, and they pay well for these by picking up the
+worms and grubs from our gardens.
+
+I think that these little warblers and twitterers, who fill the air
+with their songs and frolic about on the trees and bushes, who build
+their nests under our eaves and in any little box that we may put up
+for them, who come regularly back to us every spring, although they
+may have been hundreds of miles away during the cold weather, and who
+have chosen, of their own accord, to live around our houses and to
+sing in our trees and bushes, ought to be called our friends, as much
+as the fowls in our poultry-yards.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+IN A WELL.
+
+
+Perhaps very few of you have ever seen such an old-fashioned well as
+this. No pump, no windlass, no arrangement that you are apt to call at
+all convenient for raising the water. Nothing but that upright stake,
+on top of which moves a long pole, with the bucket hanging from one
+end of it. But the artist does not show in the picture the most
+important part of this arrangement. On the other end of this long pole
+a heavy stone is fastened, and it is easy to see that a bucket of
+water may be raised without much trouble, with the stone bearing down
+the other end of the pole. To be sure, the stone must be raised when
+the bucket is lowered, but that is done by pulling downward on the
+rope, which is not so hard as to haul a rope upward when the
+resistance is equal in both cases. Try it some time, and you will see
+that the weight of your body will count for a great deal in the
+operation. In old Mr. Naylor's yard--he lived in a little town in
+Pennsylvania--there was one of these wells. It had been dug by his
+father, and, as it had answered all his needs from his childhood, Mr.
+Naylor very justly considered it would continue to do so until his
+death, and he would listen to no one who proposed to put up a pump for
+him, or make him a windlass.
+
+One afternoon in the summer-time, Jenny Naylor, his granddaughter, had
+company, and after they had been playing around the orchard for an
+hour or two, and had slid down the straw-stacks to their heart's
+content, the children all went to the well to get a drink. A bucket of
+water was soon hauled up, and Tommy Barrett with a tin-cup ladled out
+the refreshment to the company. When they had all drank enough they
+began to play with the well-pole. Boys and girls will play, you know,
+with things that no grown person would imagine could be tortured into
+means of amusement. In less than five minutes they had invented a
+game. That is, the boys had. I will give the girls the credit of
+standing by and looking on, in a very disapproving manner, while this
+game was going on. The pastime was a very simple one. When the
+stone-end of the pole rested on the ground, on account of the bucket
+being empty, one of the boys stood by the well-curb, and, seizing the
+rope as high up as he could, pulled upon it, the other boys lifting
+the stone-end at the same time. When the stone was a foot or two from
+the ground the boys at that end sat on the pole and endeavored to
+hoist up the fellow at the other end.
+
+A glorious game!
+
+The sport went on very nicely until Tommy Barrett took hold of the
+rope. He was the biggest boy, and the little fellows could not raise
+him. No, it was no use, so they gave it up and jumped off of the pole.
+
+But what was their amazement to see the stone rise in the air, while
+at the same time Tommy Barrett disappeared down the well!
+
+The fact was, Tommy had been trying to "show off" a little before the
+girls, and when he found the boys could not raise him, had stepped on
+the well-curb, and pushing the bucket off, had stood on it, trying, on
+his part, to raise the boys. So, when they jumped off, down he sank.
+The stone was not nearly so heavy as Tommy, but it was weighty enough
+to prevent his going down very fast, and he arrived safely at the
+bottom, where the boys and girls saw him, when they crowded around the
+well, standing up to his arm-pits in water.
+
+"Pull me up, quick!" cried Tommy, who still stood on the bucket, and
+had hold of the rope.
+
+The children did not wait to be asked twice. They seized the rope and
+pulled their very best. But they could not move Tommy one inch. The
+rope hung right down the middle of the well, and as they had to reach
+over a good deal even to touch it, they could get no opportunity of
+exerting their full strength upon it. And it is very well that they
+could not, for had they been able to raise Tommy, it is probable that
+one or two of them would have been jerked down the well every time he
+slipped down again, which he would have been certain to do a great
+many times before he reached the top.
+
+They soon perceived that they could not draw Tommy from the well in
+that way. And the stone-end of the pole was far out of their reach.
+What should they do?
+
+There was no one at the house but the two old people, and they were
+scarcely as strong as the children. They all said a great deal, but
+Jenny Naylor, who was much older than any of the others, saw that
+something must be done instantly, for Tommy was crying out that he was
+nearly frozen to death, and she was afraid that he would let go of the
+rope, slip off of the bucket, and be drowned.
+
+So, without a word to anybody, she ran to the upright stake and began
+to climb it. This was a very unlady-like proceeding, perhaps, but
+Jenny did not think about anything of that kind. She was the oldest
+and the largest of them all, and there was no time to explain matters
+to the boys. Up she went, as actively as any boy, and scrambling to
+the crotch of the stake, she seated herself upon the pole.
+
+Then she began to work herself slowly up towards the stone-end. And as
+she gradually approached the stone, so she gradually began to sink a
+little, and the nearer she got to it the more she sank and the higher
+Tommy Barrett rose in the well!
+
+She and the stone were heavier than he was, and some of the children
+stood, with open mouths, looking at Jenny slowly coming down, while
+the others crowded around the well to see Tommy slowly coming up.
+
+When Jenny had nearly touched the ground, there was Tommy hanging
+above the well!
+
+Half a dozen little hands seized the bucket, and Tommy, as wet as a
+dish-rag, stepped on to the curb.
+
+I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that whenever there is a party of
+children, playing around an open well, that there could be a girl like
+Jenny Naylor with them.
+
+
+
+
+A VEGETABLE GAS MANUFACTORY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+There is a plant, called by botanists the Fraxinella, which has the
+peculiar property of giving out, from its leaves and stalks, a gas
+which is inflammable. Sometimes, on a very still day, when there is
+no wind to blow it away as fast as it is produced, this gas may be
+ignited by a match, when the plant is growing in the open air. But
+this is very seldom the case, for the air must be very quiet, and the
+plant very productive, for enough gas to be found around it to ignite
+when a flame is applied.
+
+But it is perfectly possible, as you may see in the engraving, to
+collect sufficient gas from the Fraxinella to produce combustion
+whenever desired. If the plant is surrounded by a glass case, the gas,
+as fast as produced, is confined in the case, and at last there is so
+much collected in this novel gasometer, that it is only necessary to
+open the case, and apply a match, to see plant-gas burning.
+
+It is not at all probable that the least use in the world could be
+made of this gas, but it is certainly a very pretty experiment to
+collect and ignite it.
+
+There are other plants which have this property of exuding
+illuminating gas in very small quantities, but none, I believe, except
+the Fraxinella, will produce enough of it to allow this experiment to
+be performed.
+
+
+
+
+A FEW WORDS ABOUT BEARS.
+
+[Illustration: A COMPANY OF BEARS.]
+
+
+If you should ever be going up a hill, and should meet such a
+procession as that on the opposite page, coming down, I would
+recommend you to get just as far to one side as you can possibly go.
+Bears, especially when there are so many of them together, are by no
+means pleasant companions in a walk.
+
+But it is likely that you might wander about the world for the rest of
+your lives, and never meet so many bears together as you see in the
+engraving. They are generally solitary animals, and unless you
+happened to fall in with a mother and her cubs, you would not be
+likely to see more than one at a time.
+
+In our own country, in the unsettled parts of many of the States, the
+black bear is still quite common; and I could tell you of places
+where, if you pushed carefully up mountain-paths and through lonely
+forests, you might come upon a fine black bear, sitting at the
+entrance of her cave, with two or three of her young ones playing
+about her.
+
+If it should so happen that the bear neither heard you, saw you, or
+smelt you, you might see this great beast fondling her young ones, and
+licking their fur as gently and tenderly as a cat with her kittens.
+
+If she perceived you at last, and you were at a distance, it is very
+probable that she and her young ones, if they were big enough, would
+all scramble out of sight in a very short time, for the black bears
+are very shy of man if circumstances will permit them to get away
+before he approaches too near to them. But if you are so near as to
+make the old bear-mother fearful for the safety of her children, you
+will find that she will face you in a minute, and if you are not well
+able to take care of yourself, you will wish you had never seen a
+bear.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But, in the western part of our country, especially in the Rocky
+Mountain region, the grizzly bear is found, and he is a very different
+animal from his black relations.
+
+He is the most savage and formidable animal on this continent, and
+very seldom is it that he runs away from a man. He is glad enough to
+get a chance to fight one. He is so large and powerful that he is very
+difficult to kill, and the hunter who has slain a grizzly bear may
+well be proud of the exploit.
+
+Washington Irving tells of a hunter who accidentally fell into a deep
+hole, out in the prairies, and he tumbled right on top of a great
+grizzly bear! How the bear got down there is not stated, and I don't
+suppose the hunter stopped to inquire. A fight immediately commenced
+between these two involuntary companions, and after a long struggle,
+in which the man had an arm and leg broken, and was severely bitten
+and torn besides, he killed the bear.
+
+The hunter had a very hard time after that, but after passing through
+adventures of various kinds, he floated down the Mississippi on a log
+and was taken in at a fort. He recovered, but was maimed for life.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I think it is probable that no other man ever killed a grizzly bear in
+single combat, and I also have my doubts about this one having done
+so. It is very likely that his victim was a black bear.
+
+Few men care to hunt the grizzly bear except on horseback, so that if
+they have to run away, they may have better legs than their own under
+them.
+
+The other great bear of this continent is the white or Polar bear, of
+which we have all heard so much. Up in the regions of ice and snow
+this bear lives just as comfortably as the tiger in the hot jungles of
+Asia, and while he is not quite so savage as the tiger, he is almost
+as hard to kill. But, in speaking of his disposition, I have no
+intention whatever to give him a character for amiability. In fact, he
+is very ferocious at times. He has often been known to attack parties
+of men, and when wounded can make a most soul-stirring defence.
+
+The Polar bear is a big fellow, with long white hair, and he lives on
+seals and fish, and almost anything he can pick up. Sometimes he takes
+a fancy to have a man or two for his supper, as the following story
+will prove.
+
+A ship, returning from Nova Zembla, anchored near an island in the
+Arctic Ocean, and two of the sailors went on land. They were standing
+on the shore, talking to each other, when one of them cried out, "Stop
+squeezing me!"
+
+The other one looked around, and there was a white bear, very large
+but very lean and scraggy, which had sneaked up behind the sailors,
+and now had clutched one of them, whom he very speedily killed and
+commenced to eat, while the other sailor ran away.
+
+The whole crew of the ship now landed, and came after the bear,
+endeavoring to drive him away from the body of their comrade; but as
+they approached him, he quietly looked at them for a minute, and then
+jumped right into the middle of the crowd, seized another man, and
+killed him. Upon this, the crew ran away as fast as they could, and
+scuttling into their boats, rowed away to the ship.
+
+There were three of these sailors, however, who were too brave to
+stay there and see a bear devouring the bodies of their friends, and
+they returned to the island.
+
+The bear did not move as they approached him, and they fired on him,
+without seeming to injure him in the least. At length one of them
+stepped up quite close to him, and put a ball into his head just above
+his eye.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But even this did not kill him, although it is probable that it
+lessened his vigor, for he soon began to stagger, and the sailors,
+falling upon him with their swords, were able to put him to death, and
+to rescue the remains of their comrades.
+
+After these stories, I think that we will all agree that when we meet
+a procession of bears, be they black, white, or grizzly, we will be
+very wise to give them the right of way, and to endeavor to drive from
+our minds, as far as possible, such ideas of the animals as we may
+have derived from those individuals which we have seen in rural
+menageries, nimbly climbing poles, or sedately drinking soda-water.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+AN OLD COUNTRY-HOUSE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Here is a picture of a handsome summer residence. It apparently
+belongs to a rich man, and a man of taste. The house is large and
+commodious; the grounds are well laid out; there is a garden,
+evidently a fine one, close at hand; there is shade, water, fruit,
+flowers, and apparently everything that a country-house ought to have.
+
+But yet there is a certain something strange and unusual about it.
+
+There are handsome porticos, but they are differently arranged from
+those to which we have been accustomed. Such as those in front we have
+often seen; but the upper one, which appears to go nearly around the
+house, with short pillars on the sides, is different from anything
+that we see in our country neighborhoods. Those long pillars at the
+rear of the house seem very peculiar. We have never noticed anything
+like them in such positions. There seems to be scarcely any portico at
+the back, and those slim pillars are certainly useless, and, to our
+eyes, not very ornamental. The windows, too, are remarkable. They are
+not only very small, but they are wider at the bottom than the top--a
+strange idea of the architect to make them in that way. The upper
+story of the house does not appear to have any windows at all, but we
+suppose that they must be in the back and front, or the artist may
+have accidentally left them out. Even if that floor was used for
+lumber-rooms, there ought to be windows.
+
+The garden has a very high wall for a private estate. It is evident
+that there must be great fear of thieves in that neighborhood.
+
+But it is no wonder that some things about this house and its grounds
+strike us as peculiar, for it was built more than three thousand years
+ago.
+
+It was the country residence of an Egyptian gentleman, and was, no
+doubt, replete with all the modern conveniences of the period. Even in
+the present day he might consider himself a very fortunate man who had
+so good a house and grounds as these. If the windows were made a
+little larger, a few changes effected in the interior of the
+establishment, and some chimneys and fire-places built, none of our
+rich men need be ashamed of such a house.
+
+But, handsome as it is, it is not probable that this house cost the
+Egyptian gentleman very much.
+
+It is very likely, indeed, that it was built, under the supervision of
+an architect, by his own slaves, and that the materials came from his
+own estates. But he may, of course, have spent large sums on its
+decoration and furniture, and it is very probable, judging from the
+outside of his house, that he did so. Some of those old Egyptians
+were most luxurious fellows.
+
+If you wish to see how his slaves worked while they were building his
+house, just examine this picture.
+
+To be sure, it is a temple which these men are building, but the
+bricklayers, hod-carriers, etc., worked in the same way when they were
+putting up a private house.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These poor men whom you see toiling here were probably not born
+slaves, and it is very likely that many of them are equal in birth and
+education to those who own them.
+
+A great proportion of them are captives taken in war, and condemned
+for the rest of their lives to labor for their victorious enemies
+That will be a vast temple which they are building. Look at the
+foundations--what enormously thick walls! It is probable that several
+generations of slaves will labor upon that temple before it is
+finished.
+
+They do not work exactly as we do in the present day. The hod-carrier,
+who is bringing bricks from the background, has a very good way of
+carrying them; but those who are bearing a pile of bricks between them
+seem to make a very awkward business of it. And the man who is
+carrying mortar on his shoulder, as he ascends the ladder, might very
+profitably take a lesson from some of our Irish hod-carriers. An
+earthen pot with a round bottom is certainly a poor thing in which to
+carry mortar up a ladder.
+
+The man who is apparently squaring a stone, and the one who is
+smoothing or trimming off some bricks, are using very peculiar
+chopping tools. But they may have answered their purpose very well. At
+any rate, most magnificent edifices were built by the men who used
+them, although it is probable that the poor fellows progressed very
+slowly with their work.
+
+It may be, when three thousand years more have elapsed, that our
+country-houses and our methods of building may appear as strange as
+this mansion of the Egyptian gentleman, and the customs of the
+Egyptian bricklayers, seem to us.
+
+But then we shall be the ancient Americans, and it will make no sort
+of difference to us what the future moderns say about us.
+
+
+
+
+FAR-AWAY FORESTS.
+
+[Illustration: PINE FOREST.]
+
+
+I have no doubt that you all like to wander in the woods, but suppose
+we ramble for an hour or two in forests so far away that it is
+probable none of you have ever seen them.
+
+Let us first enter a pine forest.
+
+We have plenty of pines in our own country, and it is probable that
+most of you have walked in the pine woods, on many a summer's day,
+when the soft carpet of "needles," or "pine-shatters," as some people
+call them, was so pleasant to the feet, the aromatic perfume of the
+leaves and trees was so delicious, and everything was so quiet and
+solemn.
+
+But here is a pine forest in the Eastern hemisphere.
+
+These woods are vast and lonely. The ground is torn up by torrents,
+for it is a mountainous district, and the branches have been torn and
+broken by many a storm. It is not a pleasant place for those who love
+cheerful scenery, and moreover, it is not so safe to ramble here as in
+our own woods at home. Companies of bandits inhabit many of these
+forests, especially those that stretch over the mountainous portions
+of Italy. It seems strange that in this enlightened era and in one of
+the civilized countries of Europe, bandits should still exist to
+terrify the traveller; but so it is.
+
+Let us get out of this pine forest, so gloomy and perhaps so
+dangerous.
+
+Here, now, is a very different place. This is a forest in the tropics.
+You will not be likely to meet with bandits here. In fact, it is very
+improbable indeed that you will meet with any one. There are vast
+portions of these woods which have never been trodden by the foot of
+man, and which you can never see unless you cut your way, hatchet in
+hand, among the thick undergrowth and the interlacing vines.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Here are ferns as large as trees--great masses of flowers that seem as
+if a whole garden had been emptied down before us--vast wildernesses
+of green, which we know extend for miles and miles, and which,
+although apparently so thick and impenetrable, are full of all kinds
+of life, vegetable and animal. The trees are enormous, but many of
+them are so covered with vines and creepers that we can scarcely
+distinguish the massive trunks and luxuriant foliage. Every color is
+here, rich green, royal purple, red, yellow, lilac, brown, and gray.
+The vines, which overrun everything, are filled with gorgeous flowers,
+and hang from the branches in the most graceful forms. Monkeys chatter
+among the trees, beautiful parrots fly from limb to limb, butterflies
+of the most gorgeous hues flutter about the grass-tops and the leaves
+near the ground, and on every log and trunk are myriads of insects,
+lizards and little living things of endless varieties, all strange and
+wonderful to us.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+In some parts of this interminable forest, where the light breaks
+through the foliage, we see suspended from the trees the wonderful
+air-plants or orchids. They seem like hanging-baskets of flowers, and
+are far more beautiful and luxuriant than anything of the kind that we
+have in our hothouses at home.
+
+But we shall not find it easy to walk through all these beauties. As I
+said before, we shall often be obliged to cut a path with our
+hatchets, and even then we may be unable to penetrate very far into
+this jungle of beauties. The natives of these countries, when they are
+compelled to pass through these dense forests, often take to the
+small streams and wade along in the water, which is sometimes up to
+their shoulders, occasionally finding shallower places, or a little
+space on the banks where they can pick their way along for a few
+hundred yards before they are obliged to take to the stream again.
+
+[Illustration: GIANT TREES OF CALIFORNIA.]
+
+Everything is lovely and luxuriant here, but it will not do to stay
+too long. There are fevers and snakes.
+
+Let us now go to the greatest woods in the whole world. I do not mean
+the most extensive forest, but that one where the trees are the
+grandest. This is the region where the giant trees of California grow.
+
+Nowhere on the face of the earth are there such trees as these. Some
+of them stand over four hundred feet high, and are thirty feet in
+diameter!
+
+Their age is believed to be about eighteen hundred years. Think of it!
+They have been growing there during the whole of the Christian era!
+
+One of them, the very largest of all, has been lying on the ground for
+about one hundred and fifty years. When it was standing its diameter
+was about forty feet.
+
+Another trunk, which is lying on the ground, has been hollowed out by
+fire, and through this great bore or tube a whole company of horsemen
+has ridden.
+
+One of these trees was cut down some years ago by a party of men, who,
+I think, should have been sent to prison for the deed. It took five
+men twenty-five days to cut it through with augers and saws, and then
+they were obliged to use a great wedge and a battering-ram to make it
+fall.
+
+These are the kings of all trees. After such a grand sight, we will
+not want to see any more trees to-day, and we will leave the forests
+of Far-away and sit and think of them under our humble grape-vines and
+honeysuckles.
+
+
+
+
+BUILDING SHIPS.
+
+[Illustration: BOAT BUILDING.]
+
+
+It is a grand thing to own great ships, and to send them over the
+ocean to distant countries; but I will venture to say that few men
+have derived so much pleasure from their fine vessels, laden with all
+kinds of valuable freight, as many a boy has had in the possession of
+a little schooner, which would be overloaded with a quart of
+chestnuts. And it is not only in the ownership of these little crafts
+that boys delight; they enjoy the building of them quite as much.
+
+And a boy who can build a good ship is not to be laughed at by any
+mechanic or architect, no matter how tall or how old he may be.
+
+The young ship-builder who understands his trade, when he is about to
+put a vessel on the stocks--to speak technically--first makes up his
+mind whether it is to be a ship, a schooner, a sloop, or merely a
+sail-boat, and determines its size. Then he selects a good piece of
+solid, but light wood, which will be large enough for the hull. Pine
+is generally used; but if he can get a piece of well-seasoned white
+willow, he will find it to work very easily. Then he shapes his hull
+with knife and saw, according to the best of his ability. On this
+process the success of the whole undertaking depends. If the bottom is
+not cut perfectly true on both sides, if the bow is not shapely and
+even, if the stern is not rounded off and cut up in the orthodox
+fashion, his ship will never sail well, no matter how admirably he may
+execute the rest of his work. If there is a ship or boat builder's
+establishment anywhere within reasonable walking distance, it will
+well pay our young shipwright to go there, and study the forms of
+hulls. Even if he should never build a ship, he ought to know how they
+look out of the water.
+
+When the hull is properly shaped it must be hollowed out. This is
+done by means of a "gouge," or chisel with a curved edge. A small
+vessel can be hollowed by means of a knife or ordinary chisel, but it
+is best to have a "gouge," if there is much wood to be taken out. When
+he has made the interior of his vessel as deep and wide as he thinks
+proper, he will put a deck on it, if it is a ship or a schooner; but
+if it is a sail-boat or sloop, he will probably only put in seats (or
+"thwarts," as the sailors call them), or else half-deck it.
+
+Then comes the most interesting part of the work--the rigging. First
+the masts, which must be light and tapering, and standing back at a
+slight angle, are set up, and the booms and yards are attached. A
+great deal of ingenuity can be displayed: in making the booms work
+well on the masts. The bowsprit is a simple matter, and the stays, or
+ropes which support and strengthen the masts, are very easily
+attached, as they are stationary affairs. But the working-tackle and
+the sails will show whether our young friend has a genius for
+boat-building or not. If his vessel has but a single mast, and he
+merely makes a mainsail and a jib, he will not have much trouble; but
+if he intends to fit out a schooner, a brig, or a ship, with sails
+that will work (and where is the boy with soul so dead as to have any
+other kind?), he will find that he will have a difficult job before
+him. But if he tries hard, and examines the construction and working
+of sails in real ships, he will also find that he can do it.
+
+If the vessel is a fine one, she ought to be painted (this, of course,
+to be done before the sails are finally fastened to the booms and
+yards), and her name should be tastefully painted on her stern, where
+of course, a rudder, carefully working on little hooks, is already
+hung.
+
+It will be very difficult to tell when the ship will be actually
+finished. There will always be a great deal to do after you think all
+is done. Flags must be made, and little halyards running nicely
+through little pulleys or rings; ballast must be provided and
+adjusted; conveniences for storing away freight, if the ship is large
+and voyages are contemplated, must be provided; a crew; perhaps a
+little cannon for salutes; an anchor and windlass, and I am sure I
+cannot tell you what else besides, will be thought of before the ship
+is done.
+
+But it will be done some time, and then comes the happy hour!
+
+If the owner is fortunate enough to live near a pond or a brook, so
+that he can send her right across to where his partner stands ready to
+receive her, he is a lucky boy indeed.
+
+What a proud moment, when, with all sails set and her rudder fixed at
+the proper angle, she is launched!
+
+How straight she sits in the water, and how her little streamer begins
+to float in the wind! Now see her sails gradually puff out! She moves
+gently from the shore. Now she bends over a little as the wind fills
+her sails, and she is off! Faster and faster she glides along, her
+cutwater rippling the water in front of her, and her flags fluttering
+bravely in the air; and her delighted owner, with laughing eyes,
+beholds her triumphantly scudding over the surface of the pond!
+
+I tell you what it is, boys, I have built a great many ships, and I
+feel very much like building another.
+
+
+
+
+THE ORANG-OUTANG.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+The Orang-outang and the Chimpanzee approach nearer to man in their
+formation and disposition than any other animals, and yet these Apes
+seldom evince as much apparent sense and good feeling as the dog or
+elephant. They imitate man very often, but they exhibit few inherent
+qualities which should raise them to the level of many of man's brute
+companions.
+
+I do not wish, however, to cast any aspersions on an animal generally
+so good-tempered and agreeable in captivity as the Orang-outang. What
+he might become, after his family had been for several generations in
+a condition of domestic servitude, I cannot tell. He might then even
+surpass the dog in his attachment to man and his general intelligence.
+
+At all events, the Orang-outang has a certain sense of humor which is
+not possessed by animals in general. He is very fond of imitating
+people, and sometimes acts in the most grotesque and amusing way, but,
+like many human wits of whom we read, his manner is always very
+solemn, even when performing his funniest feats.
+
+An old gentleman once went to see a very large and fine Orang-outang,
+and was very much surprised when the animal approached him, and taking
+his hat and his cane from him, put on the hat, and, with the cane in
+his hand, began to walk up and down the room, imitating, as nearly as
+possible, the gait and figure of his venerable visitor.
+
+There was another Orang-outang, who belonged to a missionary, who
+performed a trick even more amusing than this. His master was
+preaching one Sunday to his congregation, when Mr. Orang-outang,
+having escaped from the room where he had been shut up, slipped very
+quietly into the church, and climbed up on the top of the organ, just
+over the pulpit, where his master was delivering his sermon. After
+looking about him for a minute or two, the ape commenced to imitate
+the preacher, making all his gestures and motions. Of course the
+people began to smile when they saw this, and the minister, thinking
+that they were behaving very improperly, rebuked them for their
+inattention, and preached away more earnestly than before. The
+Orang-outang, of course, followed his example, and commenced to
+gesticulate so earnestly and powerfully that the congregation burst
+into laughter, and pointed out the irreverent ape.
+
+When he turned and saw the performance of his imitator, the preacher
+could not help laughing himself, and the Orang-outang, after a good
+deal of time had been spent in catching him, was put out of church,
+and the services went on as usual.
+
+Nobody likes to be made an object of ridicule, and it is probable that
+this disposition of making fun of people, which seems so natural to
+the Orang-outang, would prevent his becoming a domesticated member of
+our families, no matter how useful and susceptible of training he
+might prove to be.
+
+Nearly all of us have some comical peculiarity, and we would not want
+an animal in the house who would be sure, at some time, to expose us
+to laughter by his imitative powers.
+
+So I am afraid that the Orang-outangs, intelligent as they are, will
+have to stay in the woods.
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE BRIDGET'S BATH.
+
+
+Little Bridget was a good girl and a pretty one, but she had ideas of
+her own. She liked to study her lessons, to mind her mother, and to
+behave herself as a little girl should, but she did despise to be
+washed. There was something about the very smell of soap and the touch
+of water which made her shrink and shiver, and she would rather have
+seen the doctor come to her with a teaspoonful of medicine than to
+have her Aunt Ann approach with a bowlful of water, a towel, and a
+great piece of soap.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For a long time little Bridget believed that there was no escape from
+this terrible daily trial, but one bright morning, when she awoke very
+early, long before any one else in the house, she thought that it was
+too bad, when everything else was so happy,--when the birds and
+butterflies were flying about so gayly in the early sunbeams, and the
+flowers were all so gay and bright, and smelling so sweet and
+contented, that she should have to lie there on her little bed until
+her Aunt Ann came with that horrible soap and towel! She made up her
+mind! She wouldn't stand it; she would run away before she came to
+wash her. For one morning she would be happy.
+
+So up she jumped, and without stopping to dress herself, ran out among
+the birds and flowers.
+
+She rambled along by the brook, where the sand felt so nice and soft
+to her bare feet; she wandered through the woods, where she found
+blackberries and wild strawberries, and beautiful ferns; and she
+wandered on and on, among the rocks and the trees, and over the grass
+and the flowers, until she sat down by a great tree to rest. Then,
+without intending anything of the kind, she went fast asleep.
+
+She had not slept more than five minutes, before along came a troop of
+fairies, and you may be assured that they were astonished enough to
+see a little girl lying fast asleep on the grass, at that time in the
+morning.
+
+"Well, I never!" said the largest fairy, who was the Principal One.
+
+"Nor I," said the Next Biggest; "It's little Bridget, and with such a
+dirty face! Just look! She has been eating blackberries and
+strawberries--and raspberries too, for all I know; for you remember,
+brother, that a face dirtied with raspberries is very much like one
+dirtied with strawberries."
+
+"Very like, indeed, brother," said the Principal One, "and look at her
+feet! She's been walking in the wet sand!"
+
+"And her hands!" cried the Very Least, "what hands! They're all
+smeared over with mixtures of things."
+
+"Well," said the Next Biggest, "she is certainly a dirty little girl,
+but what's to be done?"
+
+"Done?" said the Principal One. "There is only one thing to be done,
+and that is to wash her. There can be no doubt about that."
+
+All the fairies agreed that nothing could be more sensible than to
+wash little Bridget, and so they gathered around her, and, with all
+gentleness, some of them lifted her up and carried her down towards
+the brook, while the others danced about her, and jumped over her, and
+hung on to long fern leaves, and scrambled among the bushes, and were
+as merry as a boxful of crickets.
+
+When they approached the brook, one of the fairies jumped in to see if
+the water was warm enough, and the Principal One and the Next Biggest
+held a consultation, as to how little Bridget should be washed.
+
+"Shall we just souse her in?" said the Next Biggest.
+
+"I hardly think so," said the Principal One. "She may not be used to
+that sort of thing, and she might take cold. It will be best just to
+lay her down on the bank and wash her there."
+
+So little Bridget, who had never opened her eyes all this time (and no
+wonder, for you will find, if you are ever carried by fairies while
+you are asleep, that they will bear you along so gently that you will
+never know it), was brought to the brook and laid softly down by the
+water's edge.
+
+Then all the fairies set to work in good earnest. Some dipped clover
+blossoms in the water, and washed and rubbed her mouth and cheeks
+until there was not a sign left of strawberry or blackberry stain;
+others gathered fern leaves and soft grass, and washed her little feet
+until they were as white as lambs' wool; and the Very Least, who had
+been the one to carry her hand, now washed it with ever so many
+morning-glory-blossom-fuls of water and rubbed it dry with soft clean
+moss.
+
+Other fairies curled her hair around flower stalks, while some
+scattered sweet smelling blossoms about her, until there was never
+such a sweet, clean, and fragrant little girl in the whole world.
+
+And all this time she never opened her eyes. But no wonder, for if you
+are ever washed by fairies while you are asleep, you will find that
+you will never know it.
+
+When all was done, and not a speck of dirt was to be seen anywhere on
+little Bridget, the fairies took her gently up and carried her to her
+mother's house, for they knew very well where she lived. There they
+laid her down on the doorstep, where it was both warm and shady, and
+they all scampered away as fast as their funny little legs could carry
+them.
+
+It was now about the right time in the morning to get up, and very
+soon the front door opened and out came Aunt Ann, with a bucket on her
+arm, which she was going to fill at the well for the purpose of giving
+little Bridget her morning wash.
+
+When Aunt Ann saw the little girl lying on the door step she was so
+astonished that she came very near dropping the bucket.
+
+"Well, I never!" said she, "if it isn't little Bridget, and just as
+clean as a new pin! I do declare I believe the sweet innocent has
+jumped out of bed early, and gone and washed and combed herself, just
+to save me the trouble!"
+
+Aunt Ann's voice was nothing like so soft and gentle as a fairy's, and
+it woke up little Bridget.
+
+"You lovely dear!" cried her Aunt, "I hadn't the least idea in the
+world that you were such a smart little thing, and there is no doubt
+but that you are now old enough to wash and dress yourself, and after
+this you may do it!"
+
+So, after that, Bridget washed and dressed herself, and was just as
+happy as the birds, the butterflies, and flowers.
+
+
+
+
+SOME NOVEL FISHING.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Fishing has one great peculiarity which makes it often vastly more
+interesting than hunting, gunning, or many other sports of the kind,
+and that is that you never know exactly what you are going to get.
+
+If we fish in waters known to us, we may be pretty sure of what we
+shall _not_ get, but even in our most familiar creeks and rivers, who
+can say that the fish which is tugging at our line is certainly a
+perch, a cat-fish, or an eel? We know that we shall not pull up a shad
+or a salmon, but there is always a chance for some of those great
+prizes which are to be found, by rare good luck, in every river and
+good-sized stream; a rock-fish, or striped-bass perhaps, or a pike, or
+enormous chub.
+
+But there are some fish which would not only gratify but astonish
+most of us, if we could be so fortunate as to pull them out of the
+water. For instance, here are some fish with both their eyes on one
+side of their heads.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These are Turbots, and are accounted most excellent eating. They
+resemble, in their conformation but not in their color, our flounders
+or flat-fish, which some of you may have caught, and many of you have
+eaten. These fish lie on one side, at the very bottom of the water in
+which they live, and consequently one eye would be buried in the mud
+and would be of no use, if they were formed like common fish. But as
+their enemies and their food must come from above them, they need both
+their eyes placed so that they can always look upwards. In the picture
+at the head of this article, you will see some Soles lying together
+at the bottom. These are formed in the same way. They are white on one
+side, which is always down except when they are swimming about, and a
+very dark green on the other, so that they can scarcely be
+distinguished from the mud when they are lying at the bottom. The
+Turbot, however, as you see, is very handsomely spotted.
+
+But there are much stranger fish than these flat fellows, and we must
+take a look at some of them. What would you say if you were to pull up
+such a fish as this on your hook?
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is a _Hippocampus_, or sea-horse. He is a little fellow, only a
+few inches in length, but he is certainly a curiosity. With a head and
+neck very much like those of a horse, he seems to take pleasure in
+keeping himself in such a position as will enable him to imitate a
+high mettled charger to the greatest advantage. He curves his neck and
+holds up his head in a manner which few horses adopt, unless they are
+reined up very tightly. I have seen these little fellows in aquariums,
+and have always regarded them as the most interesting of fishes.
+
+But although it is by no means probable that any of us will ever catch
+a sea-horse, we might get even stranger fish upon our hooks. If we had
+a very large hook, a long and strong line, and a tempting bait, it is
+just possible, if we were to go to exactly the right spot, and had
+extraordinary good fortune, that we might catch such a beauty as this.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This fellow you will probably recognize as the Cuttle-fish. Some
+persons call it the Devil-fish, but the name is misapplied. The
+Devil-fish is a different kind of a sea monster. But the Cuttle-fish
+is bad enough to have the very worst name that could be bestowed upon
+him. Those great arms, which sometimes grow to a length of several
+feet, he uses to wrap around his prey, and they are strong and tough.
+He has two eyes and a little mouth, and is about as pugnacious a fish
+as is to be found anywhere. If I should ever haul a Cuttle-fish into
+my boat, I think I should feel very much like getting out, no matter
+how deep the water might be.
+
+There was once a sea captain, who was walking on a beach with some of
+his men, when he spied one of these Cuttle-fish, travelling over the
+sand towards the water. He thought it would be a fine thing to capture
+such a strange fish, and he ran after it, and caught hold of one of
+its legs. But he soon wished that it had got away from him, for the
+horrid creature turned on him, and wrapped several of its long arms or
+legs--whichever they may be--around him, and the poor captain soon
+began to fear that he himself would not be able to escape.
+
+Nothing that he could do would loosen the hold of the monster upon
+him, and if it had not been for a sailor who ran up with a hatchet and
+cut the limbs of the Cuttle-fish from its body, the poor captain might
+have perished in the embrace of this most disagreeable of all fishes.
+There are a great many stories told of this fish, and it is very
+probable that all the worst ones are true. Canary birds are very fond
+of pecking at the bones taken from small Cuttle-fish, and India-ink is
+made from a black substance that it secretes, but I would rather do
+without canary birds altogether, and never use India-ink, than to be
+obliged to catch my own Cuttle-fish.
+
+But while we are hauling strange things up from the deep, suppose we
+take something that is not exactly a fish, but which is alive and
+lives in the water. What do you think of a living thing like this?
+
+This is a polypier, and its particular name is the _fungia_ being so
+called because it resembles a vegetable fungus. The animal lives
+inside of that circular shell, which is formed something like the
+under side of a toad-stool. Between the thin plates, or leaves, the
+polypier thrusts out its arms with little suckers at the ends. With
+these it seizes its food and conveys it to its mouth, which is
+situated at the centre of its body.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But there are more strange fish in the sea than we can ever mention,
+and the strange fish are by no means the most profitable. Still there
+is a pleasure in fishing, no matter what we pull up.
+
+The greatest fishers in the world are fish. The Whale will catch, in
+the course of a day, enough herring to last a family for many years,
+and in all the rivers and oceans and lakes, fishing is going on so
+constantly and extensively that the efforts of man in that direction
+seem ridiculous, by contrast.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Tunny, a large fish, measuring from two to five feet in ordinary
+length, is a great fisher. He, like the Whale, is fond of herrings,
+and he likes them fresh, not salt, smoked, or pickled. Often, when the
+fishermen are busy in their boats, setting their nets for herring, a
+troupe of Tunnies will come along, and chase the herring in every
+direction, swallowing every unfortunate fellow that they can catch.
+
+Some of the fishers that live in the sea are terrible fellows, and are
+by no means content with such small game as herring. The Sword-fish,
+for instance, always appears to prefer large victims, and he has such
+strong tastes of that kind, that he has been known to attack ships,
+driving his long sword clean through the bottom of the vessel. But he
+generally comes off second best on such occasions, for his sword is
+very often broken off and left sticking fast in the thick hull.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Sword-fish has a better chance when he attacks a Whale, and this
+he has often been known to do. The Whale could probably kill the
+Sword-fish, if he could get one good crack at him, but the smaller
+fish is generally active enough to keep out of the way of harm, while
+he drives his sword into the Whale again and again, until the great
+creature often perishes from loss of blood.
+
+The Shark, as you all know, is the most ferocious and dangerous of
+all the fishers in the sea. He considers anything suitable for a meal
+which will go into his mouth; he will eagerly snap at a man, a mouse,
+or even a tin coffee-pot, or a band-box. So savage and relentless is
+this "tiger of the sea" as he is sometimes called, that it is
+gratifying to think that he occasionally goes out fishing and gets
+caught himself. Many instances have been related of natives of the
+Pacific Islands, who are accustomed to bathe so much in the ocean that
+they swim almost like fishes themselves, who have successfully given
+battle to Sharks which have pursued them. The Shark is unable, from
+the peculiar formation of his mouth, to seize the man, unless he can
+turn partially over. Therefore the man takes care to keep below the
+Shark, and a few stabs with his long knife are generally sufficient to
+finish the combat, and to slay the monster.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Still, although it appears so easy to kill a Shark in this way, I
+think it will generally be found preferable to try for some other kind
+of fish.
+
+Let others go seek the Shark, the Sword-fish, or the squirming
+Cuttle-fish. Give us the humble Perch and the tender Trout. Don't you
+say so?
+
+
+
+
+EAGLES AND LITTLE GIRLS.
+
+[Illustration: THE CHILD AND THE EAGLE.]
+
+
+Many years ago, among the mountains of Switzerland, an Eagle pounced
+down upon a little girl, and carried her away. Her parents were
+harvesting in the field, and they did not notice the danger of their
+little daughter, until the great bird had lifted her up in his talons,
+and was flying away with her to his nest in the mountain crags.
+
+I remember having read all the particulars of this remarkable affair,
+but I forget whether the child was rescued alive or not. At any rate
+let us hope that she was.
+
+But this incident suggests the following question: Ought little girls
+to be allowed to play out of doors in countries where there are
+Eagles?
+
+Many a child, after looking at such a picture as that upon the
+opposite page, might reasonably stand in awe of the national bird of
+our country; but I will state that it is my firm belief that a child
+runs quite as much risk of being swallowed up by an earthquake as it
+does of being carried away by an Eagle.
+
+There have been a few instances where the bald-headed Eagle of this
+country--(so called, not because its head is bald, but because it is
+gray)--has attacked children, but these cases are very rare indeed.
+The Eagle which carried off the little girl in Switzerland was of a
+very different kind from the national emblem of America,--much more
+powerful and fierce. But even in Switzerland, if the children all
+lived until they were carried away by Eagles, the country would soon
+become like one great school-house yard.
+
+So, looking at the matter in all its various aspects, I think that we
+may reasonably conclude that little girls, when they play out of
+doors, are in more danger from horses, dogs, snakes, and bad company,
+than of being attacked by Eagles, and the children may all look upon
+the picture of the Eagle of the Alps and its baby prey without a
+shudder on their own account.
+
+
+
+
+CLIMBING MOUNTAINS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+There is nothing which can give us grander ideas of Nature than to
+stand on the top of a high Mountain. But it is very hard to get there.
+And yet there are very few Mountains in the world which have not been
+ascended by man.
+
+For hundreds of years, Mont Blanc, that lofty peak of the Alps, was
+considered absolutely inaccessible, but it is now frequently ascended.
+Even ladies, and some of them Americans, have stood upon its summit.
+
+But few persons, except those who have actually made the ascent of
+high and precipitous Mountains, have any idea of the dangers and
+difficulties of the undertaking. The adventurers are obliged to wear
+shoes studded with strong iron spikes to prevent slipping; they carry
+long poles with iron points by which they assist themselves up the
+steep inclines; they are provided with ladders, and very often the
+whole party fasten themselves together with a long rope, so that if
+one slips the others may prevent him from falling.
+
+Where there are steep and lofty precipices, crumbling rocks, and
+overhanging cliffs, such as those which obstruct the path of the party
+whose toilsome journey is illustrated in the accompanying engraving,
+the feat of climbing a Mountain is hazardous and difficult enough; but
+when heights are reached where the rocks are covered with ice, where
+deep clefts are concealed by a treacherous covering of snow where
+avalanches threaten the traveller at every step, and where the
+mountain-side often seems as difficult to climb as a pane of glass,
+the prospect seems as if it ought to appal the stoutest heart.
+
+But some hearts are stouter than we think, and up those icy rocks,
+along the edges of bewildering precipices, over, under, and around
+great masses of rock, across steep glaciers where every footstep must
+be made in a hole cut in the ice, brave men have climbed and crept and
+gradually and painfully worked their way, until at last they stood
+proudly on the summit, and gazed around at the vast expanse of
+mountains, plains, valleys, and forests, spread far and wide beneath
+them.
+
+In Europe there are regular associations or clubs of
+mountain-climbers, which at favorable periods endeavor to make the
+ascent of lofty and difficult Mountains. Nearly every peak of the
+Pyrenees and the Alps has felt the feet of these adventurers, who take
+as much delight in their dangerous pursuits as is generally found by
+the happiest of those who are content with the joys of ordinary
+altitudes.
+
+We have very many grand Mountains in our country, but we have not yet
+reduced their ascent to such a system as that which these Alpine clubs
+have adopted. But very many of our countrymen have climbed to the
+loftiest peaks of the White Mountains, the Catskills, the Alleghenies,
+and the Rocky Mountains.
+
+Mountain-climbing is certainly dangerous, and it is about the hardest
+labor of which man is capable, but the proud satisfaction of standing
+upon a mountain-top repays the climber for all the labor, and makes
+him forget all the dangers that he has passed through.
+
+
+
+
+ANDREW'S PLAN.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+"Oh, Andy!" said little Jenny Murdock, "I'm so glad you came along
+this way. I can't get over."
+
+"Can't get over?" said Andrew; "why, what's the matter?"
+
+"The bridge is gone," said Jenny. "When I came across after breakfast
+it was there, and now it's over on the other side, and how can I get
+back home?"
+
+"Why so it is," said Andrew. "It was all right when I came over a
+little while ago, but Old Donald pulls it on the other side every
+morning after he has driven his cows across, and I don't think he has
+any right to do it. I expect he thinks the bridge was made for him and
+his cows."
+
+"Now I must go down to the big bridge, Andy, and I want you to come
+with me. I'm afraid to go through all those dark woods by myself,"
+said Jenny.
+
+"But I can't go, Jenny," said Andrew; "it's nearly school time now."
+
+Andrew was a Scotch boy, and a fine fellow. He was next to the head of
+his school, and he was as good at play as he was at his books. Jenny
+Patterson, his most particular friend, was a little girl who lived
+very near Andrew's home. She had no brothers or sisters, but Andrew
+had always been as good as a brother to her, and therefore, when she
+stood by the water's edge that morning, just ready to burst into
+tears, she thought all her troubles over when she saw Andrew approach.
+He had always helped her out of her difficulties before, and she saw
+no reason why he should not do it now. She had crossed the creek in
+search of wild flowers, and when she wished to return had found the
+bridge removed, as Andrew supposed, by Old Donald McKenzie, who
+pastured his cows on this side of the creek. This stream was not very
+wide, nor very deep at its edges, but in the centre it was four or
+five feet deep, and in the Spring there was quite a strong current, so
+that wading across it, either by cattle or men, was quite a difficult
+undertaking. As for Jenny, she could not get across at all without a
+bridge, and there was none nearer than the wagon bridge, a mile and a
+half below.
+
+"You will go with me, Andy, won't you?" said the little girl.
+
+"And be late to school?" said he. "I have never been late yet, you
+know, Jenny."
+
+"Perhaps Dominie Black will think you have been sick, or had to mind
+the cows," said Jenny.
+
+"He won't think so unless I tell him," said Andrew, "and you know I
+won't do that."
+
+"If we were to run all the way, would you be too late?" said Jenny.
+
+"If we were to run all the way to the bridge and I was to run all the
+way back, I would not get to school till after copy-time. I expect
+every minute to hear the school-bell ring," said Andrew.
+
+"But what can I do, then?" said poor little Jenny. "I can't wait here
+till school's out, and I don't want to go up to the school-house, for
+all the boys to laugh at me."
+
+"No," said Andrew, reflecting very seriously, "I must take you home
+some way or other. It won't do to leave you here, and no matter where
+you might stay, your mother would be troubled to death about you."
+
+"Yes," said Jenny, "she would think I was drowned."
+
+Time pressed, and Jenny's countenance became more and more overcast,
+but Andrew could think of no way in which he could take the little
+girl home without being late and losing his standing in the school.
+
+It was impossible to get her across the stream at any place nearer
+than the "big bridge;" he would not take her that way and make up a
+false story to account for his lateness at school, and he could not
+leave her alone or take her with him.
+
+What in the world was to be done?
+
+While several absurd and impracticable projects were passing through
+his brain the school-bell began to ring, and he must start immediately
+to reach the school-house in time.
+
+And now his anxiety and perplexity became more intense than ever, and
+Jenny, looking up into his troubled countenance, began to cry.
+
+Andrew, who never before had failed to be at the school door before
+the first tap of the bell, began to despair.
+
+Was there nothing to be done?
+
+Yes! a happy thought passed through his mind. How strange that he
+should not have thought of it before!
+
+He would ask Dominie Black to let him take Jenny home.
+
+What could be more sensible and straightforward than such a plan?
+
+Of course the good old Schoolmaster gave Andrew the desired
+permission, and everything ended happily. But the best thing about the
+whole affair was the lesson that young Scotch boy learned that day.
+
+And the lesson was this: when we are puzzling our brains with plans to
+help ourselves out of our troubles, let us always stop a moment in our
+planning, and try to think if there is not some simple way out of the
+difficulty, which shall be in every respect _perfectly right_. If we
+do that we shall probably find the way, and also find it much more
+satisfactory as well as easier than any of our ingenious and elaborate
+plans.
+
+
+
+
+THE WILD ASS.
+
+[Illustration: WILD ASSES.]
+
+
+If there is any animal in the whole world that receives worse
+treatment or is held in less esteem than the ordinary Jackass, I am
+very sorry for it.
+
+With the exception of a few warm countries, where this animal grows to
+a large size, and is highly valued, the Jackass or Donkey is
+everywhere considered a stupid beast, a lazy beast, an obstinate
+beast, and very often a vicious beast. To liken any one to a Jackass
+is to use very strong language.
+
+In many cases, this character of the Donkey (with the exception of the
+stupidity, for very few Donkeys are stupid, although they try to seem
+so) is correct, but nevertheless it is doubtful if the animal is much
+to blame for it. There is every reason to believe that the dullness
+and laziness of the Donkey is owing entirely to his association with
+man.
+
+For proof of this assertion, we have but to consider the Ass in his
+natural state.
+
+There can be no reasonable doubt but that the domestic Ass is
+descended from the Wild Ass of Asia and Africa, for the two animals
+are so much alike that it would be impossible, by the eye alone, to
+distinguish the one from the other.
+
+But, except in appearance, they differ very much. The tame Ass is
+gentle, and generally fond of the society of man; the wild Ass is one
+of the shyest creatures in the world; even when caught it is almost
+impossible to tame him. The tame Ass is slow, plodding, dull, and
+lazy; the wild Ass is as swift as a race-horse and as wild as a Deer.
+The best mounted horsemen can seldom approach him, and it is generally
+necessary to send a rifle-ball after him, if he is wanted very much.
+His flesh is considered a great delicacy, which is another difference
+between him and the tame animal.
+
+If any of you were by accident to get near enough to a wild Ass to
+observe him closely, you would be very apt to suppose him to be one of
+those long-eared fellows which must be beaten and stoned and punched
+with sticks, if you want to get them into the least bit of a trot, and
+which always want to stop by the roadside, if they see so much as a
+cabbage-leaf or a tempting thistle.
+
+But you would find yourself greatly mistaken and astonished when, as
+soon as this wild creature discovered your presence, he went dashing
+away, bounding over the gullies and brooks, clipping it over the
+rocks, scudding over the plains, and disappearing in the distance like
+a runaway cannon-ball.
+
+And yet if some of these fleet and spirited animals should be
+captured, and they and their descendants for several generations
+should be exposed to all sorts of privations and hardships; worked
+hard as soon as their spirits were broken, fed on mean food and very
+little of it; beaten, kicked, and abused; exposed to cold climates, to
+which their nature does not suit them, and treated in every way as our
+Jackasses are generally treated, they would soon become as slow, poky,
+and dull as any Donkey you ever saw.
+
+If we have nothing else, it is very well to have a good ancestry, and
+no nobleman in Europe is proportionately as well descended as the
+Jackass.
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT RIDING.
+
+
+There are a great many different methods by which we can take a ride.
+When we are very young we are generally very well pleased with what
+most boys and girls call "piggy-back" riding, and when we get older we
+delight in horses and carriages, and some of us even take pleasure in
+the motion of railroad cars.
+
+Other methods are not so pleasant. Persons who have tried it say that
+riding a Camel, a little Donkey, or a rail, is exceedingly
+disagreeable until you are used to it, and there are various other
+styles of progression which are not nearly so comfortable as walking.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There were in ancient times contrivances for riding which are at
+present entirely unknown, except among half-civilized nations, and
+which must have been exceedingly pleasant.
+
+When, for instance, an Egyptian Princess wished to take the air, she
+seated herself in a Palanquin, which was nothing but a comfortable
+chair, with poles at the sides, and her bearers, with the ends of the
+poles upon their shoulders, bore her gently and easily along, while an
+attendant with a threefold fan kept the sun from her face and gently
+fanned her as she rode.
+
+Such a method of riding must have been very agreeable, for the
+shoulders of practised walkers impart to the rider a much more elastic
+and agreeable motion than the best made springs, and, for a well fed,
+lazy Princess nothing could have been more charming than to be borne
+thus beneath the waving palm-trees, and by the banks of the streams
+where the lotus blossomed at the water's edge, and the Ibis sniffed
+the cooling breeze.
+
+But when the father or brother of the Princess wished to ride,
+especially if it happened to be a time of war, he frequently used a
+very different vehicle from an easy-going Palanquin.
+
+He sprang into his war-chariot, and his driver lashed the two fiery
+horses into a gallop, while their master aimed his arrows or hurled
+his javelin at the foe.
+
+Riding in these chariots was not a very great luxury, especially to
+those who were not accustomed to that kind of carriage exercise. There
+were no seats, nor any springs. The riders were obliged to stand up,
+and take all the bumps that stones and roots chose to give them, and
+as they generally drove at full speed, these were doubtless many and
+hard. There was in general no back to these Chariots, and a sudden
+jerk of the horses would shoot the rider out behind, unless he knew
+how to avoid such accidents.
+
+We of the present day would be apt to turn up our noses at these
+ancient conveyances, but there can be no doubt that the Egyptian
+Princesses and warriors derived just as much pleasure from their
+Palanquins and rough-going war-chariots as the ladies of to-day find
+in an easy-rolling barouche, or the gentlemen in a light buggy and a
+fast horse.
+
+
+
+
+BEAUTIFUL BUGS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We are not apt--I am speaking now of mankind in general--to be very
+fond of bugs. There is a certain prejudice against these little
+creatures, which is, in very many cases, entirely unwarranted. The
+fact is that most bugs are harmless, and a great many of them are
+positively beautiful, if we will but take the trouble to look at them
+properly, and consider their wonderful forms and colors. To be sure,
+many insects to which we give the general name of bugs are quite
+destructive in our orchards and gardens, but, for all that, they are
+only eating their natural food, and although we may be very glad to
+get rid of our garden bugs as a body, we can have nothing to say
+against any particular bug. None of them are more to blame than the
+robins and other birds, which eat our cherries and whatever else we
+have that they like, and we never call a robin "horrid" because he
+destroys our fruit. True, the insects exist in such great numbers that
+it is absolutely necessary for us to kill as many of them as possible,
+and it is very fortunate that the robins and black-birds are of so
+much benefit to us that we are glad to let them live.
+
+But all this should not make us despise the bugs any more than they
+deserve, particularly as they are just as beautiful as the birds, if
+we only look at them in the right way. A microscope will reveal
+beauties in some of the commonest insects, which will positively
+astonish those who have never before studied bugs as they ought to be
+studied. The most brilliant colors, the most delicate tracery and
+lace-work over the wings and bodies; often the most graceful forms and
+beautifully-contrived limbs and bodies and wing-cases and antennae, are
+to be seen in many bugs when they are placed beneath the glasses of
+the microscope.
+
+[Illustration: TRANSFORMATIONS OF BEETLES.]
+
+But there are insects which do not need the aid of magnifying glasses
+to show us their beauties.
+
+Some of the Beetles, especially the large ones, are so gorgeously
+colored and so richly polished that they are imitated, as closely as
+Art can imitate Nature, in precious stones and worn as ornaments.
+
+There are few living things more beautiful than a great Beetle,
+glittering in resplendent green and gold, and the girl (or woman
+either) who will hold one of these in her hand or let it crawl upon
+her arm while she examines its varied colors, shows a capacity for
+perceiving and enjoying the beauties of nature that should be envied
+by those who would dash the pretty creature upon the floor,
+exclaiming, "That horrid bug!"
+
+There are many insects with which we need not desire to be too
+familiar, such as Mosquitoes, Fleas, Wasps, and Bees; but when a "bug"
+is harmless as well as beautiful, there is no reason why we should not
+treat it as a friend. Who is afraid of a Butterfly?
+
+And yet a Butterfly is really just as much a bug as a Beetle is. The
+fact is that the term "bug" is applied with a certain propriety to
+many insects which are not at all pleasant (although the Lightning Bug
+is an exception), and we should therefore be very careful about giving
+what has grown to be a bad name to insects that do not deserve it, and
+should avoid treating such as if they were as ugly and disagreeable as
+the name would seem to imply.
+
+
+
+
+A BATTLE ON STILTS
+
+[Illustration: A BATTLE ON STILTS.]
+
+
+In the year 1748 the great Marshal Saxe, who was travelling through
+the Low Countries, came to the town of Namur in Belgium. There the
+citizens did everything in their power to make his stay pleasant and
+to do him honor, and among other things they got up a battle on
+stilts. These inhabitants of Namur were well used to stilts, for their
+town, which has a river on each side of it, lay very low, and was
+subject to overflows, when the people were obliged to use stilts in
+order to walk about the streets. In this way they became very expert
+in the use of these slim, wooden legs, and to make their stilts
+amusing as well as useful they used to have stilt-battles on all
+holidays and great occasions.
+
+The young men of the town, two or three hundred on each side, would
+then form themselves into opposing armies, and with flags flying and
+trumpets blowing they would advance to the attack.
+
+And they fought hard and well. It was against the rule to use any club
+or similar weapon, or to strike with the fists. Punching with their
+elbows, to push each other down, and kicking with their stilts, to
+knock their opponents' legs from under them, were the methods of
+assault in this kind of warfare.
+
+The battle often lasted for an hour or two, the armies fighting and
+shouting, advancing and retreating; while their wives and sisters
+stood around them, encouraging them by shouts and hand-clapping, and
+when an unfortunate fellow was knocked down, these women would hasten
+to his assistance, and help him up again as soon as he had recovered
+from his fall.
+
+This was pretty rough sport, for the combatants fought as if their
+lives and fortunes depended upon the victory, and although they did
+not often seriously injure one another, there must have been many a
+sore head and bruised leg and arm after the battle was over.
+
+Marshal Saxe knew all about fighting, and on this occasion he
+declared, that if two real armies should engage with as much fury as
+these young fellows on stilts, the battle would be a butchery.
+
+At another time, when the Archduke Albert came to Namur, the citizens
+had one of these stilt-battles, and it proved a very profitable one to
+them. Before the fight began, the governor of the city promised the
+Archduke to show him a battle between two bodies of men, who would be
+neither on horseback nor on foot; and when the engagement was over,
+Albert was so much pleased that he gave the town the privilege of
+being forever exempt from the duties on beer.
+
+As the good folks of Namur were nearly as good at drinking beer as
+they were at walking on stilts, this was a most valuable present for
+them.
+
+Things are different in this country. It is said that in 1859 a man
+walked across the rapids of the Niagara river on stilts, but I never
+heard of any of his taxes being remitted on that account.
+
+
+
+
+DRAWING THE LONG BOW.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+When a man has a bow and arrows as long as those used by some of the
+natives of Brazil, so that he has to lie down on his back, and hold
+the bow with his foot when he shoots, he may well be said to draw a
+long bow, but it is not of these people that I now intend to speak.
+Without describing any particular school of archery, I merely wish to
+give a few instances where "the long bow" has been drawn in words,
+about feats with the bow and arrows.
+
+This expression, "drawing the long bow," does not always mean that a
+falsehood has been told. It often refers to a very wonderful story,
+which may be true enough, but which is so marvellous that it requires
+a firm trust in the veracity of the narrator for us to believe it.
+
+So now let us see what long bows have been drawn about bows and
+arrows.
+
+Such stories commenced long ago. The poet Virgil, in the "AEneid,"
+tells of four archers who were shooting for a prize, the mark being a
+pigeon, tied by a cord to the mast of a ship. The first man struck the
+mast with his arrow, the second cut the cord, and the third shot the
+pigeon while it was flying away. There now being nothing for the
+fourth archer to shoot at, he just drew his bow, and sent his arrow
+flying towards the sky with such velocity that the friction of the air
+set the feathers on fire, and it swept on, like a fiery meteor, until
+it disappeared in the clouds.
+
+It would be very hard, even in this progressive age, to beat that
+story.
+
+The Greeks could tell tall stories, too, of their archers. An
+historian, named Zosimus, tells of a man who shot, at the same time,
+three arrows from the same bow at three different targets, and hit
+them all! It is to be hoped that his histories contained some things
+easier to believe than this.
+
+But as we approach the present age we still find wonderful narrations
+about archers. Robin Hood, for instance, was a great fellow with the
+bow. It is said that on one occasion he shot an arrow so that it fell
+a mile from where he was standing! A long shot, and hard to be
+equalled by the crack rifles of the present day.
+
+Sir Walter Scott, in "Ivanhoe," introduces Robin Hood under the name
+of Locksley, and in a shooting match, when his opponent had planted
+his arrow right in the centre of the bull's-eye, and everybody, of
+course, thought that nothing better than that could be done, Master
+Robin just steps up and lets fly his arrow, driving it into the arrow
+that was sticking in the target, splitting it from end to end!
+
+And then there is that famous story about William Tell. Many persons
+have their doubts about this performance, and either assert that there
+never was such a person as Tell, or that no man could have confidence
+enough in his own skill to shoot at an apple on his son's head. But I
+prefer to believe this good old story, and, in fact, I see no good
+reason to doubt it. There was a Dane, named Foke, of whom the same
+story is told, and an Englishman, named William of Cloudesley, is said
+to have shot an apple from his son's head merely to show his
+expertness.
+
+Most of the stories of bows and arrows relate to the accurate aim of
+the archers, but here is one which shows the tremendous force by which
+an arrow may be propelled, if the bow is strong and long enough. A
+French gentleman named Blaise de Vigenere, says that he _saw_ a Turk,
+named Barbarossa, an admiral of a ship called the Grand Solyman, send
+an arrow from his bow, right through a cannon-ball! He did not state
+whether the cannon-ball had a hole through it, or not.
+
+But I think that the most wonderful, astounding, and altogether
+amazing story about arrow-shooting is told of the Indians who used to
+inhabit Florida. It is stated that these Indians were in the habit of
+assembling, in parties of ten or a dozen, for the purpose of having
+some amusement in archery. They would form themselves into a circle,
+and one of them throwing an ear of maize or Indian corn into the air,
+the rest would shoot at it and would shell it of every grain of corn
+before it fell to the ground. Sometimes, the arrows would strike it so
+hard and fast that it would remain suspended in the air for several
+minutes, and the cob never fell until the very last grain had been
+shot from it!
+
+After such a specimen of the drawing of the long bow as this, it would
+not be well to introduce any feebler illustrations, and so I will keep
+the rest of my anecdotal arrows in my quiver.
+
+
+
+
+AN ANCIENT THEATRE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+I suppose you are all familiar with pictures of the Colosseum at Rome,
+but unless you have carefully studied detailed descriptions of this
+edifice it is impossible for you to properly comprehend the grand
+style in which the ancients amused themselves.
+
+This great theatre, the ruins of which are now standing in Rome, and
+which will probably stand for hundreds of years longer, was built
+nearly eighteen hundred years ago. It is a vast oval building, four
+stories high, and capable of containing ninety thousand spectators!
+
+Seats, one row above the other like steps, were placed around the
+walls, from top to bottom. There was no roof to the building, and if
+the sun was hot, or it rained, the people were obliged to shelter
+themselves as well as they could, although it is probable that the
+seats for the emperors and other great dignitaries were protected by
+awnings. In the centre of the building, down at the foot of the seats,
+was the great amphitheatre where the performances took place. And
+wonderful performances they were. There were sometimes great fights
+between lions, tigers, bulls, and bears; sometimes wild beasts were
+slain by men, and sometimes men were slain by wild beasts. There were
+gladiatorial combats, executions of criminals, and many other kinds of
+cruel and barbarous amusements. When the Colosseum was inaugurated,
+five thousand wild beasts were put to death, and afterwards, at the
+celebration of a great victory, eleven thousand animals perished.
+Under the ground, in two vast basement stories, the beasts were kept
+in cages until they were brought up to destroy human life or to be
+butchered themselves.
+
+For six hundred years these barbarous games were celebrated in the
+Colosseum, but it afterwards became a fortress, and it was used at one
+time for a hospital. When it began to decay, many of the inhabitants
+of Rome carried away portions of its materials to build houses for
+themselves, but such depredations have long been forbidden and now the
+Colosseum stands, useless and ruined, a silent memento of the
+wickedness of man. People are bad enough in our age, but the day is
+past, when ninety thousand men, women, and children could be gathered
+together to see other men, women, and children torn and devoured by
+lions and tigers. Let us hope, that by the time the Colosseum has
+entirely crumbled away, men will no longer meet in thousands to kill
+and mangle each other on the battle-field.
+
+
+
+
+BIRD CHAT.
+
+[Illustration: BIRD CHAT.]
+
+
+In a far-off country, on a summer day, it chanced that two Cormorants
+stood on a great rock, lazily dozing. This rock was by the side of a
+little river that, only a few miles below, flowed into the sea; for
+the Cormorant is a marine bird, and haunts the sea-coast. It was a
+lovely place, although not very far from the habitations of men, and a
+number of cows had laid themselves down in the grassy field that
+surrounded an old ruined temple on the gentle slope of a hill above
+the river. The day had been still and hot, but now a soft breeze was
+stirring the long grasses, and bending the tassels of the reeds
+gracefully over the water, and the scent of flowers came floating down
+from the vines clambering over the old ruin, and the hum of insects
+filled the air.
+
+But I do not think the Cormorants noticed any of these things. Their
+long necks were folded so that their heads nearly rested on their
+backs, for, as I said before, they were dozing. The truth is, these
+birds had eaten so much they had made themselves perfectly stupid,
+which is a bad way the Cormorant has, as, no doubt, you know; for it
+has probably happened to you some time in your life to have indulged
+yourself so freely in eating something that you liked that you have
+been scornfully called "a little Cormorant!"
+
+But this state of insensibility was passing away, and they were now in
+a gentle doze, and sleeping, thinking of the company they were to
+entertain. For these Cormorants had come to this spot to meet their
+cousin the Pelican to consult with him on some family matters. Upon
+their first arrival at the place they had set to work to get together
+a good supply of fish, for this is the only food of both the Cormorant
+and the Pelican. In a short time they landed a great number, and
+bestowed them in a safe place, and then they set to work catching
+fish for themselves and eating them greedily.
+
+You might suppose such a lazy-looking bird would find it impossible to
+catch anything so active as fish. But you should see it when it is
+fully awake and hungry. The bird darts through the water with a speed
+greater than that of the fishes. Its wings can be closed so tightly
+that they do not hinder its progress, and the tail serves for a
+rudder, while the broadly-webbed feet act as paddles. Its long,
+snake-like neck gives it the power of darting its beak with great
+rapidity, and the hook at the end of the beak prevents the prey from
+escaping. The bird is also a diver, and can stay a long time under
+water.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Our two Cormorants opened their eyes when they heard a slight
+splashing in the water. Something was about to invade their retreat.
+They had not long to wait. Slowly into the stream waded a Bittern.
+Seeing the Cormorants there he stopped; and, drawing himself up into
+as small a compass as possible, he sunk his head in his shoulders, and
+nothing could be seen of his long neck, while his bill was thrust up
+in the air as if he cared nothing for his neighbors or their affairs.
+The Cormorants heartily wished he would go away, and they kept their
+eyes open and watched him, for fear he would spy the fish they had
+carefully hidden in the wet grass, for the Bittern also lives on fish.
+So the Cormorants winked and blinked, and thought how different the
+Bittern looked when on the alert for his prey, or calling his mate.
+
+Many a time had they been roused out of their sleep by the terrible
+night-cry of the Bittern--a fearful sound, something between the
+neighing of a horse, the bellow of a bull, and a shriek of savage
+laughter, and so loud and deep it seemed to shake the marshy ground.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Soon there appeared hovering over them a snowy cloud. As it floated
+nearer it proved to be a magnificent Pelican with its gigantic wings
+outspread. It alighted near the Cormorants, at the foot of a little
+grassy hill. It was an old male bird, very wise and very cunning. He
+greeted his cousin Cormorants cordially, but, ruffling up the crest of
+curled feathers on his head, and shaking his half-folded wings
+angrily, he looked askance at the Bittern.
+
+Now the Bittern is a very unsocial bird, and as he took not the least
+notice of the new comer, the Pelican could not pick a quarrel with
+him. Therefore he turned to his cousins, and said: "I have just come
+from my pleasant home on a rocky island. The waters make music there
+all day long, and the green moss gleams through the white foam, and
+gay-colored fish sparkle in the sunlight; so that when men behold it
+they exclaim: 'See! what a beautiful spot!' There are some birds that
+like dingy pools, where only coarse rushes grow, where there is
+nothing but blight and mildew, where even carrion crows will not fly,
+and at which men shudder."
+
+Now this exactly described the places the Bittern prefers to all
+others; but, as he really considered them very captivating, and hated
+the very sight of mankind, he did not feel abashed by the Pelican's
+stinging rebuke, and perhaps took it for a compliment; and there is no
+knowing how long he would have staid there, if a frisky little Hoopoe
+had not chanced to alight on a tree that had fallen across a foaming
+brook not very far from the group of birds.
+
+Not liking so much company, the Bittern stalked away. The Hoopoe
+nodded so often to the birds that its beautiful tall crest trembled as
+if a breeze stirred it, and having preened its prettily-barred
+feathers for awhile, it began to talk as fast as ever it could.
+
+"I have came from a long distance, and only stopped twice on my way to
+get a meal of insects, which I can dig out of decaying wood with my
+long curved beak, very fast, I can tell you. And what do you think I
+saw in that place I came from? You would never guess. Why, men had
+some pet Cormorants that they had trained to catch fish for them! Oh!
+it was fun! And I heard these men say that in the days of Charles I.
+of England (I hope you know who he is, for I'm sure I don't),
+Cormorants were kept by nobles and kings for the purpose of catching
+fish, and that there was attached to the Court an officer called the
+King's Master of the Cormorants. Did you ever hear the like of that?"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Although this was strictly true, the Cormorants had never heard of it;
+but, before they could answer, a loud, deep voice cried; "Heigho! What
+is all that?"
+
+The startled birds turned towards the spot from whence the voice
+proceeded, and there, perched on a lonely rock, a good distance to the
+left of them, was a great bird with very large bright eyes and
+powerful curved beak.
+
+Neither the Hoopoe nor Pelican had ever before seen him, but the
+Cormorants knew him very well. He was the Peregrine Falcon. And they
+knew him because, like them, he chose rocky ledges, high and
+inaccessible, for his nest. And although his nests were usually on
+loftier crags than theirs, they were quite neighborly, especially as
+they did not chase the same prey, the Cormorants drawing theirs from
+the sea, and the Falcons finding theirs in the air.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Those people you speak of," said he sternly to the frightened Hoopoe,
+"_may_ have had Cormorants to catch their fish, but I never heard of
+it before. Whereas all history is full of the exploits of my
+ancestors, and monarchs and nobles spent immense fortunes in buying
+and keeping Falcons that hunted birds grandly."
+
+Now the Hoopoe knew very well that it was not this Falcon, but the
+great Gerfalcon, his cousin, that was formerly held in such high
+esteem; but he did not dare to say so, and, as he must be saying
+something, he turned to the Pelican.
+
+"I have long wanted to meet with you to ask you if is true that you
+tear open your breast with your hooked bill, and feed your young with
+your own blood?"
+
+"Not a word of truth in it!" replied the Pelican scornfully, "I am
+often obliged to gather food in places far from home. I do not dive
+into the water like the Cormorant, but catch, with a sidelong snatch
+of my bill, the fish that rise to the surface. This loose skin, that
+is now so folded up under my beak that you can scarcely see it, I can
+distend into an enormous pouch. This I fill with fish, and my wings
+being wide and powerful, I can easily carry a great weight of fish
+through the air. When I reach home I feed my young by pressing my beak
+against my breast, and thus forcing out the enclosed fish. And on the
+tip of my beak is a little curved hook as red as a drop of blood. And
+now you know the whole story."
+
+"Thank you," said the Hoopoe, "I must go and tell the storks all about
+it." And away he darted like a streak of colored light. The Falcon,
+too, lazily spread out his large wings, and soared majestically up
+into the air, leaving the Pelican and Cormorants to discuss their
+family affairs and their dinner in peace.
+
+
+
+
+MUMMIES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+A mummy is not a very pretty thing to look at; but, considered
+properly, it is certainly interesting. That stiff form, wrapped up
+tightly in ever so many dirty cloths, with a black shrivelled face
+which looks as if it had been cut out of a piece of wood and then
+smoked, was once, no doubt, a very pleasant person to know. If it was
+a woman, it played with the children; sewed a little, perhaps;
+complained of the heat, and went to parties. If it was a man, it
+probably whistled a little, and sang; settled up its accounts, was
+fond of horses, and took an interest in the vegetable garden.
+
+Most of the mummies that have been brought from Egypt to this country
+were originally kings, princes, princesses, noblemen, and priests, for
+few but those high-born folks could afford to be so well preserved as
+to last all this time; but it is very certain that none of them ever
+imagined that, thousands of years after their death, they would be
+carried away to countries never heard of in their day, and be gazed at
+by people who wore chignons and high-top hats, and who were not born
+until they had been dead three thousand years.
+
+When we consider the care and skill with which the dead Egyptians used
+to be embalmed and encased in their sarcophagi, it is not surprising
+that their poor bodies have been so well preserved. At the head of
+this article you see a mummy as it appears when it has been embalmed
+and wrapped in its bandages. Here is the stand on which it is then
+placed.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Very often, when the body had been a king or some great personage, its
+face was covered with a mask of thin gold, and its bandages were
+ornamented with pictures and inscriptions.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When this work of decoration was completed, it was placed in a coffin
+which was made large enough to hold the stand.
+
+This coffin was very handsomely ornamented, and then, in order to
+make everything very secure indeed, it was enclosed in another or
+exterior coffin, which was also decorated in the highest style known
+to Egyptian artists.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+One would now suppose that this great king or priest was safe enough,
+looking at the matter in an ordinary light. But the Egyptians did not
+look at these matters in ordinary lights. Quite otherwise. They
+intended the useless bodies of their grandees to be packed away so
+that they should not be disturbed as long as the world lasted, little
+dreaming of the Americans and Europeans who would come along, in a few
+thousand years, and buy them for their museums.
+
+So they put the mummy, with its stand and its two coffins, into a
+great stone box called a sarcophagus, and this was fastened and
+plastered up so as to seem like one solid rock.
+
+Then, if the inmate had ever done anything wonderful (or sometimes, no
+doubt, if he had not been famous for anything in particular), the
+history of his great achievements, real or fancied, was sculptured on
+the stone. These hieroglyphics have been deciphered in several
+instances, and we have learned from them a great deal of Egyptian
+history.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Dead poor people, as well as kings and princes, were made into mummies
+in Egypt, but they were not preserved by such costly means as those I
+have mentioned. After they had been embalmed, they were wrapped up as
+well as the means of their relatives would allow, and were placed in
+tombs and vaults, sometimes with but one coffin, and sometimes without
+any.
+
+In many cases the mummy was not buried at all, but kept in the house
+of the family, so that the friends and relatives could always have it
+with them. This may have been very consoling to the ancient Egyptians,
+but to us it seems a truly mournful custom.
+
+And it is by no means distressing to think, that though the people who
+may be in this country three thousand years hence may possibly find
+some of our monuments, they will discover none of our bodies.
+
+
+
+
+TAME SNAKES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+We have often heard of the tamed snakes belonging to the
+serpent-charmers of India and Africa, but it is seldom that the
+harmless serpents of civilized countries have been domesticated. But
+the common snake, sometimes called the garter-snake, which harmlessly
+shows its dark green and yellow colors among the grass and bushes, has
+been tamed and has shown quite a fair amount of respect and affection
+for its human friends.
+
+A French writer relates that he knew a lady who had a snake which was
+so tame that it came when it was called, followed its mistress about,
+climbed up into her lap, and gave many signs of knowing and liking
+her. It would even swim after her when she threw it into the water
+from a boat. But this last feat proved fatal to it, for once swimming
+thus and endeavoring to keep up with the boat, the tide became too
+strong for it, and it was carried away and drowned.
+
+I am very much afraid that that lady did not deserve even as much
+affection as the snake gave her.
+
+The boys and girls in France sometimes amuse themselves by getting up
+a snake-team.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+They tie strings to the tails of two common harmless snakes, and then
+they drive them about, using a whip (I hope gently) to make these
+strange steeds keep together and go along lively.
+
+It is said that snakes which have been played with in this way soon
+begin to like their new life, and will allow the children to do what
+they please with them, showing all the time the most amiable
+disposition.
+
+There is nothing very strange in a tamed snake. Toads, tortoises,
+spiders, and many other unpromising animals have been known to show a
+capacity for human companionship, and to become quite tame and
+friendly. In fact, there are very few animals in the world that cannot
+be tamed by man, if man is but kind enough and patient enough.
+
+
+
+
+GYMNASTICS.
+
+
+Every one who has a body that is worth anything at all, ought to do
+his best to keep it in good order, and there is no better way of
+attaining this desirable object than by a proper course of gymnastics.
+And to know just what is proper for certain ages and certain
+individuals, demands a great deal of thought and judgment. Improper
+gymnastics are much worse than none. We can generally, however, find
+those who are able to advise us in regard to the exercise one ought to
+take.
+
+This necessity of training the body as well as the mind has been
+recognized from the earliest ages, and the ancient Greeks and Romans
+paid as much attention to their gymnasiums as they did to their
+academies; and from their youth, their boys and girls were taught
+those exercises which develop the muscles and ensure good health. Some
+of their methods, however, were not exactly the most praiseworthy. For
+instance, they would encourage their youngsters to fight.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This engraving, copied from an ancient picture, shows how spiritedly
+the children practised this exercise.
+
+It would have been better if the individual with the stick had laid it
+over the backs of the young combatants, instead of using it to direct
+their struggles.
+
+There are three kinds of gymnastics. By the first we take exercise,
+simply for the sake of the good we gain from it; by the second we
+combine pleasure with our muscular exertion; and the third kind of
+gymnastics is practised for the sake of making money.
+
+The exercises of the first division are carried on in regular
+gymnasiums or at home, and consist of exercises with dumb-bells, bars,
+suspended rings, poles, and many other appliances with which most boys
+and girls are familiar. Regular practice in a good gymnasium, under
+the direction of a competent teacher, is considered, by those who best
+understand the education of young people, an exceedingly necessary
+part of their education, and gymnastic instruction, both for boys and
+girls, is becoming more popular every year.
+
+We need give but little time to this well understood division of
+gymnastics, but will pass at once to the second class, where diversion
+and exercise are combined. This is by far the best method of gaining
+health and strength, and should be preferred by all instructors
+whenever it is possible to adopt it.
+
+It is of no use to say anything in favor of this plan to the boys and
+girls themselves, for they never fail to choose that form of exercise
+which has a good deal of play in it. And it is well they like it, for
+they will get more benefit from an hour of good, vigorous play, than
+from many lessons in the monotonous exercises in use in the
+gymnasiums.
+
+I shall not now speak of the lively games of boys and girls, by which
+their cheeks grow rosy and their legs and arms grow strong, for we all
+know enough about them, but I will describe some of the athletic
+sports of grown-up folks. There are a great many of these, some of
+which are of great antiquity. Wrestling, boxing, vaulting,
+foot-racing, and similar exercises have been popular for thousands of
+years, and are carried on now with the same spirit as of old.
+
+Out-door sports differ very much in different countries. In the United
+States the great game is, at present, base-ball; in England cricket
+is preferred, and Scotland has athletic amusements peculiar to itself
+In the latter country a very popular game among the strong folks is
+called "throwing the hammer."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These hammers are not exactly what their name implies, being heavy
+balls of brass or iron, fitted to a long handle. The hammer is whirled
+around the head several times and then thrown as far as possible. The
+man who throws it to the greatest distance wins the game.
+
+Another game, very much of this order, consists in tossing a heavy
+stone, instead of a hammer. The Scotch call this game "putting the
+stone," sometimes using stones that might be called young rocks, and
+they "put" or throw them in a different way from the people of other
+countries where the game is popular. In some of the mountainous
+regions of the continent of Europe the game is played in the manner
+shown in the accompanying engraving.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But it is impossible, in a short article like this, even to allude to
+all the different kinds of athletic games, and I will now notice some
+of the gymnastics by which people make a living.
+
+Rope-walkers, circus-riders, and acrobats of every kind are now so
+common, that a description of their ordinary performances is
+unnecessary. They are found on every portion of the globe, some of the
+most proficient being now seen in China and Japan.
+
+If any of you have seen the Japanese troupe of acrobats with which
+"Little Allright" was connected, you will understand to what a high
+state of perfection physical exercises may be brought by people who
+give up their whole lives to the study and practice of their various
+feats.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+In Europe and this country very remarkable gymnastic performers have
+appeared before the public.
+
+About the middle of the last century, there lived in Derby, England, a
+man by the name of Thomas Topham, who performed in public some
+wonderful feats of strength. At one time he lifted, by a band passed
+over his shoulders, three great casks of water which collectively
+weighed 1,836 pounds.
+
+He had a platform built for this performance, which was constructed in
+such a way that he could use the whole power of his body and limbs. In
+this feat, however, he has been surpassed by Dr. Winship, of Boston,
+who has lifted, in public, heavier weights than Topham ever attempted.
+
+The latter, however, was enormously strong, and performed a great many
+feats which made him quite famous throughout England.
+
+A favorite exhibition of public acrobats is that of pyramids, pillars,
+and other tall edifices, built of men, instead of bricks and stones.
+The Venetians used to be very expert and artistic in their arrangement
+of these exhibitions, and the men composing the human edifice stood as
+immovably and gracefully as if they had been carved out of solid
+stone, instead of being formed of flesh and blood.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This performance has been made quite common in late years, and I have
+seen the celebrated "Arabs" and other acrobats pile themselves up in a
+most astonishing manner.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+One of the most popular, and at the same time dangerous, of all public
+gymnastic exhibitions, is that of rope-walking, and most marvellous
+feats on the tight-rope have been performed in many parts of the
+world. Even in Greece and Rome, men practised this form of gymnastics.
+In later days no one has become more famous than Blondin, who crossed
+the Niagara River on a tight-rope, performing all sorts of eccentric
+feats while balanced on his slender support. He carried a man over on
+his shoulders; he wheeled a wheelbarrow across; he walked the rope
+blindfolded, and did many other things which would be very difficult
+to most people, even if they were standing on solid ground instead of
+being poised on a slender rope stretched high above the waters of a
+rapid river. In this country, however, the taste for out-door and
+dangerous rope-walking is not so general as it is in some countries of
+Europe, where it is quite common to see acrobats walking on ropes
+stretched from the top of one high building, or steeple, to another.
+In Venice, for instance, rope-dancers have often skipped and played on
+ropes reaching from the summits of two of the loftiest towers of that
+beautiful city.
+
+The Turks were once noted for their great proficiency in rope walking,
+but they have been equalled by Japanese, European, and American
+performers. Many women have been famous in this line, and a Madame
+Sacqui, a Frenchwoman, was such an expert artist that one of her
+countrymen likened her to a "Homeric goddess" (although I do not know
+how Juno or Minerva would have looked on a tight-rope), and asserted
+that her boldness and agility were the glory of the First Empire! This
+infatuated Frenchman must have considered glory to have been very
+scarce in his country in Madame Sacqui's day. There was a French baby,
+however, who surpassed this lady, for the little one walked on the
+tight-rope before she could walk on the ground, and afterwards became
+famous enough to perform, in 1814, before an assembly of kings--the
+allied sovereigns of Europe.
+
+The public performers of different kinds of gymnastic feats often make
+a great deal of money; but they sometimes break their necks, and
+frequently injure their health by over-exertion.
+
+So that exercises for health and amusement are the only kinds of
+gymnastics that I recommend.
+
+
+
+
+BUYING "THE MIRROR."
+
+
+Miss Harper came into the room where George and Mary Conly and Ella
+Lee were playing with jack-straws. They had played everything else
+they could think of, and, feeling tired, had quietly settled
+themselves down to jack-straws. They could have amused themselves from
+morning until night out of doors without being weary; but Mr. Conly's
+house was in the city, and had such a tiny bit of a yard that only
+fairies could have got up a frolic in it. When they were in the
+country there were so many things they could do, and when they were
+tired running about, there was the see-saw on the big log under the
+old elm.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But they were not in the country now, and children have not the spirit
+to keep up their sports in the house as they do out of doors. So,
+when Miss Harper appeared with a book in her hand, George and Mary
+sprang up from the table in delight, and exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, cousin Fanny! are you going to read to us?"
+
+"Yes," said Miss Harper, "I thought you would like to hear some more
+of those pretty stories I read to you yesterday."
+
+"That we will!" cried George, skipping about the room, while Mary,
+with eyes sparkling with pleasure, hastily raked the jack-straws into
+a pile.
+
+"We can both get into this big chair, Ella," she said, "and then we
+can hear cumfible."
+
+Now Ella would much rather have played jack-straws, for she thought
+listening to reading was very dull business indeed; but she was a
+polite little girl, which is pretty much the same thing as saying she
+was not selfish, and seeing that George and Mary were so pleased, and
+expected her to be so also, she made no objection, and climbed up into
+the big chair, and found it "cumfible," as Mary had said.
+
+"It will be awfully stupid," she thought, "and this chair is so nice I
+am afraid I'll go to sleep, and mamma says that is very rude when any
+one is reading or talking to you."
+
+You see Ella had not learned to be fond of books. Her parents had not
+been in the habit of reading to her, and, although in school she could
+read books that had quite long words in them, still she could not read
+with sufficient ease to make it a pleasure to her.
+
+But she did not go to sleep, but, on the contrary, got wider and wider
+awake. The stories were all short, so that when the end came she
+remembered the beginning perfectly, and they were such lovely stories
+about little fairies, and how they helped children to be good, that
+Ella was very sorry when the servant came to take her home.
+
+"I thank you very much, Miss Harper, for reading to us," she said,
+"Will you please tell me the name of the book?"
+
+"It is 'The Mirror,'" said Miss Harper, "and I will read to you often
+if you will come to see us."
+
+Ella thought about the book all the way home, but she was so tired she
+was glad to go to bed after supper, and the next morning she had no
+time before school to say anything to her mother about the wonderful
+"Mirror."
+
+But after dinner there was a pleasant surprise for her. Her father
+called her into his study, and, taking her up, kissed her tenderly,
+and said: "I saw your teacher yesterday, and she gave me such a good
+account of my little girl that I am very much pleased with her. And
+now, if there is anything you would particularly like to have, I will
+get it for you, if it does not cost too much. Think a moment, now!
+Don't be in a hurry!"
+
+"Oh, papa," exclaimed Ella, "I don't need to think a bit! I know what
+I want! I do so want to have a 'Mirror!'"
+
+"A _what_?" said Mr. Lee, suddenly putting Ella down on the floor.
+
+"A 'Mirror,' papa. When will you get it for me? Oh! I am so glad!" And
+she clapped her little hands softly together.
+
+"You are a very little girl to be so vain," said Mr. Lee gravely, "but
+as I said you should have what you wanted, I will keep my promise. Go
+and dress yourself, and we will get it this very afternoon."
+
+Ella was so full of her own happy thoughts that she did not notice
+what he said about her being vain, or that he looked displeased, and
+she skipped merrily away to be dressed. In a short time she had hold
+of her father's hand, and was walking down Broadway, looking in at the
+shop windows, and talking as fast as her little tongue could go.
+
+Mr. Lee, who knew nothing about the book with such a queer title, and
+supposed his daughter wanted a mirror in which to look at herself,
+began to hope that, as Ella stopped so often to admire the pretty
+things in the windows, she would see something she would prefer for a
+present. For, though it is a very proper thing to look in the glass to
+see that one's face is clean, and hair smooth, he did not like it that
+his daughter should want a looking-glass above everything in the
+world.
+
+"O, papa, isn't that a lovely baby?" And Ella paused in admiration
+before a wax doll.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Lee, eagerly. "Would not you rather have that pretty
+baby than a mirror?"
+
+Ella considered for a moment. She had a dolly she loved, though she
+was not as pretty as this one.
+
+"No, papa, I'd rather have a 'Mirror.' It will be so nice to have one
+of my own. I hope you know where to go to get it?" she added
+anxiously.
+
+"Certainly," said Mr. Lee, rather sharply, "I know just where to go."
+
+And so they went on by windows filled with floating ribbons, and
+shining silks; and others where there were glittering jewels, and some
+of the rings small enough for Ella's fingers; and others where there
+were white fur capes spread out, with muffs that had such gay linings,
+and tassels; and windows hung to the very top with toys, and some of
+them such cunning ones--mice that could be made to run and squeak, and
+jumping frogs--but none of these things would Ella have. At last they
+came to one all filled with flowers, and with this Ella was in
+raptures.
+
+"What a very good man must live here," she said, "to put all these
+things out for us to see! I can smell them through the glass!"
+
+"They are put here to sell," said Mr. Lee, "and I know you will like
+that beautiful pink rose-bush a great deal better than a mirror--or
+that great white lily."
+
+"No, no, papa," said Ella, moving impatiently away. "When will we come
+to the place?"
+
+"Here it is," said Mr. Lee, as they stopped at a store where then were
+two huge windows filled with mirrors of all sizes. "Now which one will
+you have? Not a very large one for such a very little lady. But there
+is a nice little one that will just suit you, and it has a very pretty
+frame."
+
+"Where? where, papa? I don't see it!" And Ella looked about the window
+in a very bewildered manner.
+
+"There. In that corner, leaning against the window-frame."
+
+"Why, papa, that's a looking-glass!"
+
+"And is not that what you want?"
+
+"No, sir; I want a '_Mirror_'--a book."
+
+"Oh! that's it!" said Mr. Lee, with a brighter face. "I expect you
+want a book called 'The Mirror.'"
+
+"Yes, sir," said Ella, laughing, as they walked on. "How funny that
+you should think I wanted a looking-glass! There it is now!" she cried
+excitedly, pointing into the window of a book-store.
+
+It was a large sheet of paper Ella saw, called a Poster, but it had
+"The Mirror" on it in very big letters. So Mr. Lee and Ella went in,
+and the shopman brought her the book, but it was red, and she did not
+want it, and then he took down a green one, and then a brown, but Ella
+would only have a blue one. After some trouble a blue one was found,
+and Ella walked off hugging it close up to her. The book Miss Harper
+read had a blue cover, and I believe that Ella was afraid that any
+other color would not contain the same stories.
+
+
+
+
+BIG GAME.
+
+
+When a man or a boy goes hunting--in a book--he might just as well go
+after good big game as after these little things that you see about
+home. So let us leave chipmunks, rabbits, and tit-birds to those poor
+fellows who have to shoot with real guns, and are obliged to be home
+in time for supper, and let us go out into the wide world, to hunt the
+very largest and most savage beasts we can find. It is perfectly
+safe,--in a book.
+
+As we can go wherever we please, suppose we try our skill in hunting
+the Wild Boar. He will be a good beast to begin with, because he is
+tolerably convenient, being found in Southern Europe, Palestine, and
+neighboring countries, and also because he is such a destructive
+rascal, when he comes into the neighborhood of civilization, that
+every one will be much obliged to us for killing him. If he chances to
+get into a vineyard, in company with a set of his reckless fellows,
+there is small chance for a vintage that year. He tears down the
+vines, devours the grapes, green and ripe, and breaks and ruins
+trellises and everything within his reach.
+
+If we are so fortunate as to get sight of him, we will find that he is
+no easy game to bag. Very different is he from his tame brethren with
+which we are acquainted--old grunters, who wallow about the
+mud-puddles and sleep serenely for hours, with their fat sides baking
+in the sun. The wild boar is as fast as a horse, and as savage as the
+crossest bull. He can run so that you can scarcely catch up to him
+with your nag at the top of his speed, and when you do reach him he
+will be very apt, if you are not watchful, to rip up your horse with
+his tusks and cut some terrible gashes in your own legs, besides.
+
+[Illustration: WILD BOAR.]
+
+We must shoot this fellow as soon as we can get a good chance, for
+those sharp tusks will be ready for us, if we come too close, and if
+he increases the distance between us, he may get among the rocks and
+hills, where he will surely escape, for our horses cannot go over
+those rough ascents at the rate the boar would gallop.
+
+When at last he is shot, the boar is capital eating. His flesh is far
+superior to common pork, possessing the peculiar delicate flavor which
+belongs to most wild meat. If we could shoot a wild boar every few
+days, we would be sure to fare very well during our hunting
+expedition.
+
+But we must press on after other game, and we will now try and get a
+shot at a musk-ox. We shall have to go somewhat out of our way to find
+this animal, for he lives in the upper portions of North America, but
+an ocean and a continent or two are not at all difficult to cross--in
+a book.
+
+The musk-ox is about as large as a small cow; he has very short legs,
+and horns which are very large and heavy. They extend over his
+forehead and seem as if they were parted in the middle, like a dandy's
+front hair. It is probable, if we get near enough to one of them, that
+we shall have no trouble in shooting him; but there is sometimes
+danger in this sport. A sailor once went out to hunt musk-oxen, and,
+to his great surprise, soon found that they intended to hunt him. A
+herd got after him, and one big fellow was on the point of crushing
+him with his great horns, when he dodged behind a rock, against which
+the furious animal came like a battering-ram.
+
+In the fall and winter the flesh of the musk-ox is very good indeed,
+but in the spring it is not so nice. It then smells like your sister's
+glove-box (if she uses musk), only about one hundred times as strong.
+If we were to cut up one of these animals when his flesh is in this
+condition, we would find it almost impossible to get the smell off of
+our knives. The winter is certainly the time to shoot this game, for
+then not only is his flesh very good, but his skin is covered with
+very long and warm hair, and we would find it even better, to keep us
+warm, than a buffalo robe.
+
+[Illustration: THE MUSK-OX AND THE SAILOR.]
+
+While we are thinking of skins, we might as well get a variety of
+them, and we will find the fur of the brown bear very valuable.
+
+So now for a brown bear. He, too, is found in the regions of ice and
+snow, and in the North of Europe he is hunted by the peasants in a way
+which we will not imitate. When they find a den or cave in the rocks
+in which they think a bear is concealed, these sturdy hunters make all
+sorts of noises to worry him out, and when at last the bear comes
+forth to see what is the matter, he finds a man standing in front of
+his den, armed with a short lance with a long sharp head, and a bar of
+iron placed crosswise on the handle just below the head. Now, a
+full-grown brown bear is not afraid of a man who is armed with a
+little weapon like this, and so he approaches the hunter, and rearing
+on his hind legs, reaches forth his arms to give the man a good hug,
+if he comes any nearer.
+
+[Illustration: HUNTING THE BROWN BEAR.]
+
+The man does come nearer, and, to the bear's great surprise, he
+thrusts forth his lance, which is longer than it looked, and drives
+the head of it into the animal's breast. The iron bar prevents the
+lance from entering too far into the body of the bear--a very
+necessary precaution, for if it was not there, the bear would push
+himself up along the handle of the lance and have his great paws on
+the man in a minute or two. But the bar keeps the bear back, and the
+loss of blood soon renders him so weak that the hunter can throw him
+down and despatch him. It is strange that the bear never tries to pull
+the lance out of his body. He keeps pressing it in, trying all the
+time to get over it at his enemy.
+
+This may be a good way to kill a bear, but I don't like it. It is
+cruel to the animal, and decidedly dangerous to the hunter. If I could
+not get a bear skin in any other way than by killing the animal with a
+spear, I would let the bear keep his fur. If we see any brown bears we
+will shoot them with our rifles, a much safer and more humane method
+than the pike fashion.
+
+After the bears, what shall we hunt? What do you say to a
+hippopotamus? That will be something that we are not accustomed to, at
+any rate. So away we go to the waters of Africa. If we travel along
+the shores of the Nile and other African rivers, we shall, no doubt,
+see some of these great creatures. But we must not expect to get a
+good sight of any of them, unless we are very careful to hide
+ourselves somewhere near where they are in the habit of coming out of
+the water to take a walk on land. Ordinarily all that can be seen of a
+hippopotamus is his head or his back, sticking up out of the water.
+They can stay under water for a long time, occasionally sticking up
+their noses to get a breath of air.
+
+At night they often come on shore to see what they can find to eat.
+They live on grass and grains, which they find in the water and on
+land. These animals are generally shot or harpooned at night, when
+they come out of the water, but occasionally a hunter sees one on
+shore in the daytime, and he seldom finds any difficulty in shooting
+it, if he can hit it in the ear, which is its most vulnerable spot.
+
+The hippopotamus is naturally a timid animal, and seldom turns on its
+hunters, but sometimes it shows a courageous disposition. Some
+hunters, having shot a young but apparently a tolerably well-grown
+hippopotamus, were running up to their prize, when they were astounded
+by the old mother beast coming up out of the water and charging
+towards them with tremendous roars.
+
+[Illustration: A BRAVE HIPPOPOTAMUS.]
+
+The hunters fired at her and then took to their heels, but having
+found her offspring, she stayed with it and did not pursue the men. If
+she had overtaken them, she would have been a terrible enemy to
+encounter.
+
+If, during our night-watches on the river-banks, we are so fortunate
+as to shoot a hippopotamus, we shall find that we have a good supply
+of very fine meat And what we cannot eat the natives will be
+delighted to get. They consider a hippopotamus a most valuable prize,
+and as the meat is good and there is so very much of it, their joy
+when they kill one is not at all surprising. The only thing that
+troubles them after a successful hunt is that there are so few
+hippopotami killed, and so many negroes to eat them.
+
+[Illustration: A RHINOCEROS TURNING THE TABLES.]
+
+And now let us try a rhinoceros hunt. This animal is found in the same
+regions that the hippopotamus inhabits, but he also lives in Asia. He
+is rather a dangerous animal to hunt. He is a savage fellow when
+provoked; he has a great horn on his nose, and a skin so thick that it
+is almost bullet-proof, and, besides that, he is the largest and
+strongest animal on the earth, excepting the elephant. So no wonder
+he is a little unsafe to hunt.
+
+The rhinoceros lives on grass and herbs, and makes his home entirely
+on the land. His flesh, like that of the hippopotamus, is very good to
+eat, but rhinoceros-beef ought to be dear, if the trouble and danger
+in getting it is taken into consideration when the price is fixed. He
+very often turns and charges on the hunters, and if he gets his horn
+under a man or a horse, he is likely to cause trouble.
+
+It is said that a rhinoceros can kill an elephant, by ripping him up
+with his horn, and that the lion and all wild beasts are afraid of
+him. I am not at all surprised that this is the case, for I have
+examined the skin of a rhinoceros which I saw in a menagerie, and it
+was so thick and heavy that scarcely any animal could tear it, with
+teeth or claws, so as to get at the enemy within it. The rhinoceros
+which I saw in a cage was not quite full-grown. His horn was not more
+than an inch or two above his nose, but he was an enormous fellow, and
+his great hide, which was as hard as the sole of your shoe, hung on
+him in great folds, as if it had been made large so as to give him
+room to grow. He was gentle enough, and let me put my hand through the
+bars of his cage and take hold of his horn without making the
+slightest objection. But we will not find that kind of rhinoceros on
+the plains of Africa, and if we hunt one we must kill him very soon,
+or be prepared to get out of his way.
+
+After a rhinoceros hunt we will not be apt to be easily frightened, no
+matter what beast we pursue, so we might as well go to India and hunt
+the Bengal tiger.
+
+There is no animal more graceful in its movements, handsomer in shape
+and color, or more bloody and ferocious in its nature, than the Royal
+Bengal tiger. Even in a cage he is a magnificent creature. When I go
+to a menagerie, I always look first for the Bengal tigers.
+
+If we go to hunt these animals, we had better ride upon elephants, for
+we must go into the jungles, where the tall reeds, through which the
+tigers roam, are higher than our heads.
+
+[Illustration: "A TIGER HUNT."]
+
+When we are well in the jungle, we must be careful. It is sometimes
+very difficult to see a tiger, even if you are quite near to him, for
+the stripes on his skin are very much like the reeds and leaves of the
+jungle, and we must keep a very sharp look-out, and as soon as we see
+one we must be ready with our rifles, for a tiger is very apt to begin
+the fight, and he will think nothing of springing on the back of an
+elephant and dragging one of us to the ground. Sometimes the elephants
+are not used to hunting tigers, and when they see the savage beasts
+they turn and run. In that case there is often great danger, for no
+one can fire coolly and with certain aim from the back of a bounding
+elephant.
+
+If we find a tiger, and we get a good shot--or perhaps many good
+shots--at him, and he falls wounded or apparently dead, we must still
+be very careful about approaching him, for he is very hard to kill.
+Often, when pierced with many balls, a tiger is considered to have
+breathed his last, he springs up all of a sudden, seizes one of his
+hunters in his great jaws, tears him with his claws, and then falls
+back dead.
+
+Hunters accustomed to the pursuit of tigers, always make sure that a
+tiger is dead before they come near his fallen body, and they often
+put many balls into him after he is stretched upon the ground.
+
+We must by this time be so inured to danger in the pursuit of our big
+game, that we will go and hunt an animal which is, I think, the most
+dangerous creature with which man can contend. I mean the Gorilla.
+
+This tremendous ape, as tall as a man, and as strong as a dozen men,
+has been called the king of the African forests. For many years
+travellers in Africa had heard from the natives wonderful stories of
+this gigantic and savage beast. The negroes believed that the gorilla,
+or pongo, as he was called by some tribes, was not only as ferocious
+and dangerous as a tiger, but almost as intelligent as a man. Some of
+them thought that he could talk, and that the only reason that he did
+not do so was because he did not wish to give himself the trouble.
+
+Notwithstanding the stories of some travellers, it is probable that no
+white man ever saw a gorilla until Paul du Chaillu found them in
+Africa, where he went, in 1853, for the purpose of exploring the
+country which they inhabit.
+
+As Mr. Chaillu has written several books for young folks, in which he
+tells his experience with gorillas, I shall not relate any of his
+wonderful adventures with these animals, in which he killed some
+enormous fellows and at different times captured young ones, all of
+which, however, soon died. But the researches of this indefatigable
+and intrepid explorer have proved that the gorilla is, as the negroes
+reported him to be, a most terrible animal to encounter. When found,
+he often comes forward to meet the hunter, roaring like a great lion,
+and beating his breast in defiance. If a rifle-ball does not quickly
+put an end to him, he will rush upon his assailants, and one blow from
+his powerful arm will be enough to stretch a man senseless or dead
+upon the ground.
+
+[Illustration: "FIGHT WITH A GORILLA."]
+
+In a hand-to-hand combat with a gorilla, a man, even though armed
+with a knife, has not the slightest chance for his life.
+
+If we should be fortunate enough to shoot a gorilla, we may call
+ourselves great hunters, even without counting in the bears, the
+rhinoceroses, the tigers, and the other animals.
+
+And when we return, proud and satisfied with our endeavors, we will
+prove to the poor fellows who were obliged to stay at home and shoot
+tit-birds and rabbits, with real guns, what an easy thing it is to
+hunt the biggest kind of game--in a book.
+
+
+
+
+THE BOOTBLACK'S DOG.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived, in Paris, a bootblack. He was not a boy,
+but a man, and he had a family to support. The profits of his business
+would have been sufficient for his humble wants and those of his
+family had it not been for one circumstance, which made trade very
+dull with him. And that disastrous circumstance was this: nearly every
+one who passed his stand had their boots and shoes already blackened!
+Now this was hard upon our friend. There was nothing to astonish him
+in the fact of so many persons passing with polished boots, for his
+stand was in the middle of a block, and there were bootblacks at each
+corner. But all he could do was to bear his fate as patiently as
+possible, and black the few boots which came to him, and talk to his
+dog, his only companion, as he sat all day on the sidewalk by his box.
+
+One day, when he had just blackened his own boots (he did not charge
+himself anything--he only did it so as to have the air of being busy),
+his dog came running up to him from the muddy street, and accidentally
+put his dirty paw on his master's bright boots. The man, who was of an
+amiable disposition, did not scold much, but as he was brushing off
+the mud he said:
+
+"You little rascal! I wish it had been the boots of some other man
+that you had covered with dirt. That would have been sensible."
+
+Just at that moment a thought struck the bootblack.
+
+He would teach his dog to muddy other people's boots!
+
+The man immediately acted on this idea, and gave his dog lessons every
+day in the art of muddying boots. In a week or two, no gentleman with
+highly polished boots could pass the bootblack's stand without seeing
+a dog rush into the street and gutter, and then come and jump on his
+feet, spattering his boots with mud and water, and making it necessary
+for him to go immediately to the nearest bootblack--which was of course
+the dog's master.
+
+The bootblack now had constant custom, and his circumstances began
+rapidly to improve. His children, being better fed, grew round and
+chubby; his wife had three good meals a day, and some warm flannels,
+and she soon lost the wan and feeble look which she had worn so long.
+As for the man himself, he and his dog were gay and busy all the day
+long.
+
+But people began to suspect something after a while. One gentleman who
+had his boots muddied regularly every day, once questioned the
+bootblack very closely, for he saw that the dog belonged to him, and
+the man was obliged to confess that he had taught the dog the trick.
+The gentleman, pleased with the smartness of the dog, and perhaps
+desirous of ridding his fellow-citizens of annoyance and expense,
+purchased the animal and took him home.
+
+But he did not keep him long. In a few days the dog escaped, and came
+back to his old master and his muddy trade.
+
+But I do not think that that bootblack always prospered. People who
+live by tricks seldom do. I have no doubt that a great many people
+found out his practices, and that the authorities drove him away from
+his stand, and that he was obliged to give up his business, and
+perhaps go into the army; while his wife supported the family by
+taking in washing and going out to scrub. I am not sure that all this
+happened, but I would not be at all surprised if it turned out exactly
+as I say.
+
+
+
+
+GOING AFTER THE COWS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+If there is anything which a little country-boy likes, and which a big
+country-boy dislikes, it is to go after the cows. There is no need of
+giving the reasons why the big boy does not like this duty. It is
+enough to say that it is a small boy's business, and the big boy knows
+it. The excitement of hunting up and driving home a lot of slow,
+meandering cattle is not sufficient for a mind capable of grappling
+with the highest grade of agricultural ideas, and the youth who has
+reached the mature age of fifteen or sixteen is very apt to think that
+his mind is one of that kind.
+
+But it is very different with the little boy. To go down into the
+fields, with a big stick and a fixed purpose; to cross over the
+ditches on boards that a few years ago he would not have been allowed
+to put his foot upon; to take down the bars of the fences, just as if
+he was a real man, and when he reaches the pasture, to go up to those
+great cows, and even to the old bull himself, and to shake his stick
+at them, and shout: "Go along there, now!"--these are proud things to
+do.
+
+And then what a feeling of power it gives him to make those big
+creatures walk along the very road he chooses for them, and to hurry
+them up, or let them go slowly, just as he pleases!
+
+If, on the way, a wayward cow should make a sudden incursion over some
+low bars into a forbidden field, the young director of her evening
+course is equal to the emergency.
+
+He is over the fence in an instant, and his little legs soon place him
+before her, and then what are her horns, her threatening countenance,
+and her great body to his shrill voice and brandished stick? Admitting
+his superior power, she soon gallops back to the herd, with whack
+after whack resounding upon her thick hide.
+
+When at last the great, gentle beasts file, one by one, into the
+barn-yard, there is a consciousness of having done something very
+important in the air of the little fellow who brings up the rear of
+the procession, and who shuts the gate as closely as possible on the
+heels of the hindmost cow.
+
+There are also many little outside circumstances connected with a
+small boy's trip after the cows which make it pleasant to him.
+Sometimes there are tremendous bull-frogs in the ditch. There are ripe
+wild-cherries--splendid, bitter, and scarce--on the tree in the corner
+of the field. The pears on the little tree by old Mrs. Hopkins's don't
+draw your mouth up so very much, if you peel the skins off with your
+knife. There is always a chance of seeing a rabbit, and although there
+is no particular chance of getting it, the small boy does not think of
+that. Now, although it would hardly be worth while to walk very far
+for any of these things, they are very pleasant when you are going
+after the cows.
+
+So I think it is no wonder that the little boys like to go after the
+cows, and I wish that hundreds and thousands of pale-faced and
+thin-legged little fellows had cows to go after.
+
+
+
+
+THE REFLECTIVE STAG.
+
+
+The more we study the habits and natures of animals the more firmly
+are we convinced that, in many of them, what we call instinct is very
+much like what we call reason.
+
+In the case of a domestic animal, we may attribute, perhaps, a great
+deal of its cleverness to its association with man and its capability
+of receiving instruction. But wild animals have not the advantages of
+human companionship, and what they know is due to the strength and
+quality of their own understanding. And some of them appear to know a
+great deal.
+
+There are few animals which prove this assertion more frequently than
+the stag. As his home is generally somewhere near the abodes of men,
+and as his flesh is so highly prized by them, it is absolutely
+necessary that he should take every possible precaution to preserve
+his life from their guns and dogs. Accordingly, he has devised a great
+many plans by which he endeavors--often successfully--to circumvent
+his hunters. And to do this certainly requires reflection, and a good
+deal of it, too. He even finds out that his scent assists the dogs in
+following him. How he knows this I have not the slightest idea, but he
+does know it.
+
+Therefore it is that, when he is hunted, he avoids running through
+thick bushes, where his scent would remain on the foliage; and, if
+possible, he dashes into the water, and runs along the beds of shallow
+streams, where the hounds often lose all trace of him. When this is
+impossible, he bounds over the ground, making as wide gaps as he can
+between his tracks. Sometimes, too, he runs into a herd of cattle, and
+so confuses the dogs; and he has been known to jump up on the back of
+an ox, and take a ride on the frightened creature, in order to get
+his own feet partly off of the ground for a time, and thus to break
+the line of his scent. When very hard pressed, a stag has suddenly
+dropped on the ground, and when most of the dogs, unable to stop
+themselves, dash over him, he springs to his feet, and darts off in an
+opposite direction.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+He will also run back on his own track, and employ many other means of
+the kind to deceive the dogs, showing most conclusively that he
+understands the theory of scent, and the dogs' power of perceiving it;
+and also that he has been able to devise the very best plans to elude
+his pursuers.
+
+Not only do stags reflect in this general manner in regard to their
+most common and greatest danger, but they make particular
+reflections, suited to particular places and occasions. The tricks
+and manoeuvres which would be very successful in one forest and in one
+season would not answer at all in another place and at another time,
+and so they reflect on the subject and lay their plans to suit the
+occasion.
+
+There are many animals which possess great acuteness in eluding their
+hunters, but the tricks of the stag are sufficient to show us to what
+an extent some animals are capable of reflection.
+
+
+
+
+WHEN WE MUST NOT BELIEVE OUR EYES.
+
+
+There are a great number of marvellous things told us of phantom forms
+and ghostly apparitions--of spectres that flit about lonely roads on
+moonlight nights, or haunt peaceful people in their own homes; of
+funeral processions, with long trains of mourners, watched from a
+distance, but which, on nearer approach, melt into a line of mist; of
+wild witch-dances in deserted houses, and balls of fire bounding out
+of doors and windows--stories which cause the flesh of children to
+creep upon their bones, and make cowards of them where there is no
+reason for fear. For you may lay it down as a fact, established beyond
+dispute, that not one of these things is a _reality_. The person who
+tells these marvels has always what seems the best of reasons for his
+belief. He either saw these things himself or knew somebody, strictly
+truthful, who had seen them. He did not know, what I am going to prove
+to you, that a thing may be _true_ and yet not be _real_. In other
+words, that there are times when we do actually see marvels that seem
+supernatural, but that, on such occasions, _we must not believe our
+own eyes_, but search for a natural cause, and, if we look faithfully,
+we are sure to find one.
+
+Once a vessel was sailing over a northern ocean in the midst of the
+short, Arctic summer. The sun was hot, the air was still, and a group
+of sailors lying lazily upon the deck were almost asleep, when an
+exclamation of fear from one of them made them all spring to their
+feet. The one who had uttered the cry pointed into the air at a little
+distance, and there the awe-stricken sailors saw a large ship, with
+all sails set, gliding over what seemed to be a placid ocean, for
+beneath the ship was the reflection of it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The news soon spread through the vessel that a phantom-ship with a
+ghostly crew was sailing in the air over a phantom-ocean, and that it
+was a bad omen, and meant that not one of them should ever see land
+again. The captain was told the wonderful tale, and coming on deck, he
+explained to the sailors that this strange appearance was caused by
+the reflection of some ship that was sailing on the water below this
+image, but at such a distance they could not see it. There were
+certain conditions of the atmosphere, he said, when the sun's rays
+could form a perfect picture in the air of objects on the earth, like
+the images one sees in glass or water, but they were not generally
+upright, as in the case of this ship, but reversed--turned bottom
+upwards. This appearance in the air is called a mirage. He told a
+sailor to go up to the foretop and look beyond the phantom-ship. The
+man obeyed, and reported that he could see on the water, below the
+ship in the air, one precisely like it. Just then another ship was
+seen in the air, only this one was a steamship, and was
+bottom-upwards, as the captain had said these mirages generally
+appeared. Soon after, the steamship itself came in sight. The sailors
+were now convinced, and never afterwards believed in phantom-ships.
+
+A French army marching across the burning sands of an Egyptian desert,
+fainting with thirst and choked with fine sand, were suddenly revived
+in spirit by the sight of a sheet of water in the distance. In it were
+mirrored the trees and villages, gardens and pretty houses of a
+cultivated land, all reversed. The blue sky was mirrored there, too,
+just as you can see the banks of a lake, and the sky that bends over
+it, in its calm waters. The soldiers rushed towards the place, frantic
+with joy, but when they got there they found nothing but the hot
+sands. Again they saw the lake at a distance, and made another
+headlong rush, only to be again disappointed. This happened
+frequently, until the men were in despair, and imagined that some
+demon was tormenting them. But there happened to be with this army a
+wise man, who did not trust entirely to his own eyes, and although he
+saw exactly what the others did, he did not believe that there was
+anything there but air. He set to work to investigate it, and found
+out that the whole thing was an illusion--it was the reflection of the
+gardens and villages that were on the river Nile, thrown up into the
+air, like the ships the sailors saw, only in the clear atmosphere of
+Egypt these images are projected to a long distance. And demons had
+nothing whatever to do with it.
+
+People used to believe in a fairy called Fata Morgana. Wonderful
+things were said of her, and her dominions were in the air, where she
+had large cities which she sometimes amused herself by turning into a
+variety of shapes. The cities were often seen by dwellers on the
+Mediterranean sea-coast. Sometimes one of them would be like an
+earthly city, with houses and churches, and nearly always with a
+background of mountains. In a moment it would change into a confused
+mass of long colonnades, lofty towers, and battlements waving with
+flags, and then the mountains reeling and falling, a long row of
+windows would appear glowing with rainbow colors, and perhaps, in
+another instant, all this would be swept away, and nothing be seen but
+gloomy cypress trees.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These things can be seen now occasionally, as of old, but they are no
+longer in Fairyland. Now we know that they are the images of cities
+and mountains on the coast, and the reason they assume these
+fantastic forms is that the layers of air through which the rays of
+light pass are curved and irregular.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A gigantic figure haunts the Vosges Mountains, known by the name of
+"The Spectre of the Brocken." The ignorant peasants were, in former
+times, in great fear of it, thinking it a supernatural being, and
+fancying that it brought upon them all manner of evil. And it must be
+confessed it was a fearful sight to behold suddenly upon the summit of
+a lofty mountain an immense giant, sometimes pointing in a threatening
+attitude to a village below, as if dooming it to destruction;
+sometimes with arms upraised, as if invoking ruin upon all the
+country; and sometimes stalking along with such tremendous strides as
+to make but one step from peak to peak; often dwarfing himself to
+nothingness, and again stretching up until his head is in the clouds,
+then disappearing entirely for a moment, only to reappear more
+formidable than before.
+
+But now the Spectre of the Brocken is no longer an object of fear.
+Why? Because men have found him out, and he is nothing in the world
+but a shadow. When the sun is in the right position, an ordinary-sized
+man on a lower mountain will see a gigantic shadow of himself thrown
+upon a cloud beyond the Brocken, though it appears to be on the
+mountain itself, and it is so perfect a representation that it is
+difficult to believe it is only a shadow. But it can be easily proved.
+If the man stoops to pick up anything, down goes the spectre; if he
+raises his hand, so does the spectre; if he takes a step of two feet,
+the spectre takes one of miles; if he raises his hat, the spectre
+politely returns his salute.
+
+When you behold anything marvellous, and your eyes tell you that you
+have seen some ghostly thing, don't believe them, but investigate the
+matter closely, and you will find it no more a phantom than the mirage
+or the Spectre of the Brocken.
+
+
+
+
+A CITY UNDER THE GROUND.
+
+
+Under the bright skies of Italy, in a picturesque valley, with the
+mountains close at hand and the blue waves of the Mediterranean
+rolling at a little distance--at the foot of wonderful Vesuvius, green
+and fertile, and covered with vines to its very top, from which smoke
+is perpetually escaping, and in whose heart fires are eternally
+raging, in this beautiful valley stands the city of Pompeii.
+
+[Illustration: CLEARING OUT A NARROW STREET IN POMPEII.]
+
+You might, however, remain upon the spot a long time and never find
+out that there was a city there. All around you would see groves and
+vineyards, and cultivated fields and villas. For the city is beneath
+your feet. Under the vineyards and orchards are temples filled with
+statues, houses with furniture, pictures, and all homelike things.
+Nothing is wanting there but life. For Pompeii is a buried city, and
+fully two-thirds of it has not yet been excavated.
+
+But a short walk from this place will bring you to the spot where
+excavations have been made, and about one-third of the ancient city
+lies once more under the light of heaven. It is doubtful whether you
+can see it when you get to it for the mounds of ashes and rubbish
+piled around. But, clambering over these, you will pay forty cents for
+admission, and pass through a turnstile into a street where you will
+see long rows of ruined houses, and empty shops, and broken temples,
+and niches which have contained statues of heathen gods and goddesses.
+As you wander about you will come across laborers busily employed in
+clearing away rubbish in obstructed streets. It is a very lively
+scene, as you can see in the picture. Men are digging zealously into
+the heaps of earth and rubbish, and filling baskets which the
+bare-footed peasant-girls carry to the cars at a little distance. A
+railroad has been built expressly to carry away the earth. The cars
+are drawn by mules. The girls prefer carrying their baskets on their
+heads. The men have to dig carefully, for there is no knowing when
+they may come across some rare and valuable work of art.
+
+The excavations are conducted in this manner. Among the trees, and in
+the cultivated fields there can be traced little hillocks, which are
+pretty regular in form and size. These indicate the blocks of houses
+in the buried city, and, of course, the streets run between them.
+After the land is bought from the owners, these streets are carefully
+marked out, the vines are cleared away, the trees cut down, and the
+digging out of these streets is commenced from the top. The work is
+carried on pretty steadily at present, but it is only within the last
+few years that it has been conducted with any degree of enterprise and
+skill.
+
+[Illustration: A CLEARED STREET IN POMPEII.]
+
+Let us leave this rubbish, and go into a street that has already been
+cleared. The first thing you will observe is that it is very narrow.
+It is evidently not intended for a fashionable drive. But few of the
+streets are any wider than this one. The greatest width of a street in
+Pompeii is seven yards, and some are only two and a half yards,
+sidewalks and all. The middle of the street is paved with blocks of
+lava. The sidewalks are raised, and it is evident the owners of the
+houses were allowed to put any pavement they pleased in front of
+their dwellings. In one place you will see handsome stone flags the
+next pavement may be nothing but soil beaten down, while the next will
+be costly marble.
+
+The upper stories of the houses are in ruins. It is probable,
+therefore, that they were built of wood, while the lower stories,
+being of stone, still remain. They had few windows on the street, as
+the Pompeiians preferred that these should look out on an inner square
+or court. To the right of the picture is a small monument, and in the
+left-hand corner is a fountain, or rather the stone slabs that once
+enclosed a fountain.
+
+As we walk slowly up the solitary street, we think of the busy,
+restless feet that trod these very stones eighteen hundred years ago.
+Our minds go back to the year of our Lord 79, when there was high
+carnival in the little city of Pompeii, with its thirty thousand
+people, when the town was filled with strangers who had come to the
+great show; at the time of an election, when politicians were scheming
+and working to get themselves or their friends into power; when gayly
+dressed crowds thronged the streets on their way to the amphitheatre
+to see the gladiatorial fight; when there was feasting and revelry in
+every house; when merchants were exulting in the midst of thriving
+trade; when the pagan temples were hung with garlands and filled with
+gifts; when the slaves were at work in the mills, the kitchens, and
+the baths; when the gladiators were fighting the wild beasts of the
+arena--then it was that a swift destruction swept over the city and
+buried it in a silence that lasted for centuries.
+
+Vesuvius, the volcano so near them, but which had been silent so many
+years that they had ceased to dread it, suddenly woke into activity,
+and threw out of its summit a torrent of burning lava and ashes, and
+in a few short hours buried the two cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii
+so completely that two centuries after no one could tell the precise
+place where they had stood, and men built houses and cultivated farms
+over the spot, never dreaming that cities lay beneath them.
+
+[Illustration: THE ATRIUM IN THE HOUSE OF PANSA RESTORED.]
+
+But here we are at the house of Pansa. Let us go in. We do not wait
+for any invitation from the owner, for he left it nearly two thousand
+years ago, and his descendants, if he have any, are totally ignorant
+of their illustrious descent. First we enter a large hall called the
+Atrium. You can see from the magnificence of this apartment in what
+style the rich Pompeiians lived. The floor is paved in black and white
+mosaic, with a marble basin in the centre. The doors opening from
+this hall conduct us to smaller apartments, two reception rooms, a
+parlor, the library, and six diminutive bedrooms, only large enough to
+contain a bedstead, and with no window. It must have been the fashion
+to sleep with open doors, or the sleepers must inevitably have been
+suffocated.
+
+At the end of the Atrium you see a large court with a fountain in the
+middle. This was called the Peristyle. Around it was a portico with
+columns. To the left were three bedchambers and the kitchen, and to
+the right three bedchambers and the dining-room. Behind the Peristyle
+was a grand saloon, and back of this the garden. The upper stories of
+this house have entirely disappeared. This is a spacious house, but
+there are some in the city more beautifully decorated, with paintings
+and mosaics.
+
+When the rubbish was cleared out of this house, much of Pansa's costly
+furniture was found to be in perfect preservation, and also the
+statues. In the library were found a few books, not quite destroyed;
+in the kitchen the coal was in the fire-places; and the kitchen
+utensils of bronze and terra-cotta were in their proper places. Nearly
+all of the valuable portable things found in Pompeii have been carried
+away and placed in the museum at Naples.
+
+This Pansa was candidate for the office of aedile, or mayor of the
+city, at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius. We know this from the
+placards that were found posted in various parts of the city, and
+which were as fresh and clean as on the day they were written. These
+placards, or posters, were very numerous, and there seem to have been
+a great many candidates for the various city offices; and it is very
+evident, from the inscriptions on the houses, on the walls of public
+buildings and the baths, that party feeling ran quite as high in this
+luxurious city of ancient times as it does now in any city in America.
+For these Pompeiians had no newspaper, and expressed their sentiments
+on the walls, and they have consequently come down to us of the
+present day.
+
+These inscriptions not only related to politics, but referred often to
+social and domestic matters, and, taken in connection with the
+pictures of home scenes that were painted on the walls of the houses,
+give us such accurate and vivid accounts of the people that it is easy
+to imagine them all back in their places, and living the old life over
+again. Pansa, and Paratus, and Sallust, and Diomed, and Julia, and
+Sabina seem to be our own friends, with whom we have often visited the
+Forum or the theatre, and gone home to dine.
+
+That curious-looking pin with a Cupid on it is a lady's hair-pin. The
+necklaces are in the form of serpents, which were favorite symbols
+with the ancients. The stands of their tables, candelabra, &c., were
+carved into grotesque or beautiful designs, and even the kitchen
+utensils were made graceful with figures of exquisite workmanship, and
+were sometimes fashioned out of silver.
+
+Among the pretty things found in Pompeiian houses I will mention the
+following:--
+
+A bronze statuette of a Dancing Faun, with head and arms uplifted;
+every muscle seems to be in motion, and the whole body dancing.
+Another of a boy with head bent forward, and the whole body in the
+attitude of listening. Then there is a fine group of statuary
+representing the mighty Hercules holding a stag bent over his knee;
+another of the beautiful Apollo with his lyre in his hand leaning
+against a pillar. There are figures of huntsmen in full chase, and of
+fishermen sitting patiently and quietly "waiting for a bite." A very
+celebrated curiosity is the large urn or vase of blue glass, with
+figures carved on it in half relief, in white. (For the ancients knew
+how to carve glass.) These white figures look as if made of the finest
+ivory instead of being carved in glass. They represent masks
+enveloped in festoons of vine tendrils, loaded with clusters of
+grapes, mingled with other foliage, on which birds are swinging,
+children plucking grapes or treading them under foot, or blowing on
+flutes, or tumbling over each other in frolicsome glee. This superb
+urn, which is like nothing we have nowadays, is supposed to have been
+intended to hold the ashes of the dead. For it was a custom of ancient
+days to burn the bodies of the dead, and place the urns containing
+their ashes in magnificent tombs.
+
+[Illustration: ORNAMENTS FROM POMPEII.]
+
+Instead of hanging pictures as we do, the Pompeiians generally had
+them painted upon the smoothly prepared walls of their halls and
+saloons. The ashes of Vesuvius preserved these paintings so well that,
+when first exposed to the light, the coloring on them is fresh and
+vivid, and every line and figure clear and distinct. But the sunlight
+soon fades them. They are very beautiful, and teach us much about the
+beliefs and customs of the old city.
+
+Lovely and graceful as were these pictures, the floors of the houses
+are much more wonderful. They are marvels of art. Not only are flowers
+and running vines and complicated designs there laid in mosaics, but
+pictures that startle with their life-like beauty. There are many of
+these, but perhaps the finest of all is the one found in the same
+house with the Dancing Faun. It represents a battle. A squadron of
+victorious Greeks is rushing upon part of a Persian army. The latter
+are turning to flee. Those around the vanquished Persian king think
+only of their safety, but the king, with his hand extended towards his
+dying general, turns his back upon his flying forces, and invites
+death. Every figure in it seems to be in motion. You seem to hear the
+noise of battle, and to see the rage, fear, triumph, and pity
+expressed by the different faces. Think of such wonderful effects
+being produced by putting together pieces of glass and marble, colored
+enamel, and various stones! But, leaving all these beauties, and
+descending to homely everyday life, we will go into a bakery. Here is
+one in a good state of preservation.
+
+[Illustration: DISCOVERIES OF LOAVES OF BREAD BAKED EIGHTEEN HUNDRED
+YEARS AGO.]
+
+It is a mill and bakery together. The Pompeiians sent their grain to
+the baker, and he ground it into flour, and, making it into dough,
+baked it and sent back loaves of bread. The mills look like huge
+hour-glasses. They are made of two cone-shaped stones with the small
+ends together. The upper one revolved, and crushed the grain between
+the stones. They were worked sometimes by a slave, but oftenest by a
+donkey. There is the trough for kneading the bread, the arched oven,
+the cavity below for the ashes, the large vase for water with which to
+sprinkle the crust and make it "shiny," and the pipe to carry off the
+smoke. In one of these ovens were found eighty-one loaves, weighing a
+pound each, whole, hard, and black, in the order in which they had
+been placed on the 23d of November, 79. Suppose the baker who placed
+them there had been told that eighteen hundred years would elapse
+before they would be taken out!
+
+Having wandered about the city, and looked at all the streets,
+monuments, and dwellings, and having seen very much more than I have
+here described--the Forum, or Town Hall, the theatres, baths, stores,
+temples, the street where the tombs are--and having looked at the rude
+cross carved on a wall, showing that the religion of Christ had
+penetrated to this Pagan city--having examined all these, you will
+visit the amphitheatre.
+
+To do this we must leave the part of the city that has interested us
+so much, and, passing once more through the vineyards and orchards
+that still cover a large portion of the city, descend again into a
+sort of ravine, where we will find the amphitheatre. It was quite as
+the end of the city, next to the wall. It is a circus. The large open
+space in the centre was called the arena. Here there were fierce and
+bloody fights; wild beasts fought with each other, or with men trained
+to the business and called gladiators, and these gladiators often
+fought with each other--all for the amusement of the people, who were
+never satisfied unless a quantity of blood was shed, and many were
+killed. This arena was covered with sand, and a ditch filled with
+water separated it from the seats.
+
+The seats arose from this arena, tier above tier. There were three
+divisions of them, separating the rich from the middle class, and
+these again from the slaves. It was well arranged for the comfort of
+the audience, having wide aisles and plenty of places of exit. The
+whole was covered with an awning. In the wall around the arena are the
+holes where thick iron bars were inserted as a precaution against the
+bounds of the panthers. To the right of the principal entrance are two
+square rooms with gratings where the wild beasts were kept. This
+amphitheatre would hold twenty thousand persons!
+
+[Illustration: THE AMPHITHEATRE OF POMPEII.]
+
+We visit this place last because it was while the amphitheatre was
+crowded with people intent upon the bloody spectacle; while wild
+beasts, and men more cruel than the beasts, were fighting together,
+and spectators less pitiful than either were greedily enjoying it,
+that suddenly the ground trembled violently. This perhaps was not
+perceived in the circus, on account of the excitement all were in, and
+the noise that was going on in the arena. But it was soon followed by
+a whirlwind of ashes, and lurid flashes of flame darted across the
+sky. The beasts were instantly tamed, and cowered down in abject
+terror, and the gladiators, for the first time in their lives, grew
+pale with fear. Then the startled crowd within the vast building heard
+from the streets the fearful cry: "Vesuvius is on fire!" In an instant
+the spectacle is forgotten; the terrified crowd rush out of the
+building, and happy is it for them that the architects have provided
+so many places of exit. Some fled towards the sea, and some to the
+open country. Those who reached the ships were saved, but woe to those
+who went to their homes to collect their valuables to take with them,
+or who took refuge under cover in the cellars.
+
+After the rain of ashes came a shower of blazing stones, which fell
+uninterruptedly, setting fire to all parts of the city and blocking up
+the streets with burning masses. And then a fresh storm of ashes
+sweeping down would partly smother the flames, but, blocking up the
+doorways, would stifle those within the houses. And to add to the
+horror, the volumes of smoke that poured from the mountain caused a
+darkness deeper than night to settle on the doomed city, through which
+the people groped their way, except when lighted by the burning
+houses. What horror and confusion in the streets! Friends seeking each
+other with faces of utter despair; the groans of the dying mingled
+with the crash of falling buildings; the pelting of the fiery stones;
+the shrieks of women and children; the terrific peals of thunder.
+
+So ended the day, and the dreadful scene went on far into the night.
+In a few hours the silence of death fell upon the city. The ashes
+continued to pour steadily down upon it, and drifting into every
+crevice of the buildings, and settling like a closely-fitting shroud
+around the thousands and thousands of dead bodies, preserved all that
+the flames had spared for the eyes of the curious who should live
+centuries after. And a gray ashy hill blotted out Pompeii from the
+sight of that generation.
+
+Hundreds of skeletons have already been found, and their expressive
+attitudes tell us the story of their death. We know of the pitiful
+avarice and vanity of many of the rich ladies who went to their homes
+to save their jewels, and fell with them clutched tightly in their
+hands. One woman in the house of the Faun was loaded with jewels, and
+had died in the vain effort to hold up with her outstretched arms the
+ceiling that was crushing down upon her. But women were not the only
+ones who showed an avaricious disposition in the midst of the thunders
+and flames of Vesuvius. Men had tried to carry off their money, and
+the delay had cost them their lives, and they were buried in the ashes
+with the coins they so highly valued. Diomed, one of the richest men
+of Pompeii, abandoned his wife and daughters and was fleeing with a
+bag of silver when he was stifled in front of his garden by noxious
+vapors. In the cellar of his house were found the corpses of seventeen
+women and children.
+
+A priest was discovered in the temple of Isis, holding fast to an axe
+with which he had cut his way through two walls, and died at the
+third. In a shop two lovers had died in each other's arms. A woman
+carrying a baby had sought refuge in a tomb, but the ashes had walled
+them tightly in. A soldier died bravely at his post, erect before a
+city gate, one hand on his spear and the other on his mouth, as if to
+keep from breathing the stifling gases.
+
+Thus perished in a short time over thirty thousand citizens and
+strangers in the city of Pompeii, now a city under the ground.
+
+
+
+
+THE COACHMAN.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+When a boy sees a coachman driving two showy, high-stepping horses
+along the street, or, better still, over a level country road, with
+his long whip curling in the air, which whip he now and then flirts so
+as to make a sharp, cracking noise over the horses' heads, and
+occasionally brings down with a light flick upon the flanks of the
+right or left horse,--the carriage, shining with varnish and plate,
+rolling along swiftly and smoothly,--the little boy is apt to think
+that coachman must be a very happy mortal.
+
+If the man on the carriage-box sees the boy looking at him with so
+much admiration, he will probably throw him a jolly little laugh and a
+friendly nod, and, gathering up the reins and drawing them in tightly
+so as to arch the horses' necks and make them look prouder and more
+stately than before, he will give a loud crack with his curling
+whip-lash, and the horses will start off at a rapid trot, and the
+carriage will sweep around a curve in the road so gracefully that the
+boy's heart will be filled with envy--not of the persons in the
+carriage--oh, no! riding in a close carriage is a very tame and dull
+affair; but he will envy the driver. An ambition springs up in his
+mind at that instant. Of all things in the world he would rather be a
+coachman! That shall be his business when he grows up to be a man. And
+the chances are that when he goes home he tells his father so.
+
+But if the little boy, instead of lying tucked in his warm bed, should
+be set down at twelve o'clock at night upon the pavement in front of
+that great house with the tall lamps on the steps, he would see this
+same coachman under conditions that he would not envy at all.
+
+The empty carriage is close to the curb-stone, with the door swinging
+open as if to urge the owners to hurry and take possession. The
+high-stepping trotters are covered with blankets to protect them from
+the piercing cold, and, with their heads drooping, are either asleep
+or wondering why they are not put into the stable to take their
+night's rest; and the coachman is dancing about on the pavement to
+keep his feet warm--not by any means a merry kind of dance, although
+he moves about pretty briskly. He has taken off his gloves, for they
+seem to make his hands colder, and now he has thrust one hand into his
+pocket and is blowing on the other with all his might. His whip, that
+curled so defiantly in the air, is now pushed under his arm, and the
+lash is trailing, limp and draggled, on the stones. He is warmly clad,
+and his great-coat has three capes, but all cannot put sufficient heat
+into his body, for it is a bitter cold night, and the wind comes
+howling down the street as if it would like to bite off everybody's
+ears and noses. It shakes the leafless branches of the trees until
+they all seem to be moaning and groaning together. The moon is just
+rising over the church, and the coachman is standing right in a broad
+patch of its light. But moonlight, though very beautiful when you are
+where you can comfortably admire it, never warmed anybody yet. And so
+the poor coachman gets no good out of that.
+
+There is a party in the great house. The boy is standing where he can
+only see the lower steps and the tall lamps, but the coachman can see
+that it is lighted from garret to cellar. He knows that it is warm as
+summer in there. There are stands of flowers all the way up the
+stairways, baskets of them are swinging from the ceilings, and vines
+are trailing over the walls.
+
+Who in there could ever guess how bleak and cold it is outside! Ladies
+in shimmering silks and satins, and glittering with jewels, are
+flitting about the halls, and floating up and down the rooms in
+graceful dances, to the sound of music that only comes out to the
+coachman in fitful bursts.
+
+He has amused himself watching all this during part of the evening,
+but now he is looking in at the side-light of the door to see if there
+are any signs of the breaking up of the party, or if those he is to
+take home are ready to go away. He is getting very impatient, and let
+us hope they will soon come out and relieve him.
+
+
+
+
+GEYSERS, AND HOW THEY WORK.
+
+[Illustration: THE GRAND GEYSER OF ICELAND.]
+
+
+Geysers, or fountains of hot water or mud, are found in several parts
+of the world. Iceland possesses the grandest one, but in California
+there are a great many of these natural hot fountains, most of which
+throw forth mud as well as water. Some of the American Geysers are
+terrible things to behold. They are generally found near each other,
+in particular localities, and any one wandering about among them sees
+in one place a great pool full of black bubbling contents, so hot that
+an egg thrown in the spring will be boiled in a minute or two; there
+he sees another spring throwing up boiling mud a few feet in the air;
+there another one, quiet now, but which may at any time burst out and
+send its hot contents high above the heads of the spectators; here a
+great hole in the ground, out of which constantly issues a column of
+steam, and everywhere are cracks and crevices in the earth, out of
+which come little jets of steam, and which give the idea that it would
+not require a very heavy blow to break in, at any point, the crust of
+the earth, and let the adventurous traveller drop down into the
+boiling mass below.
+
+In Iceland the Geysers are not quite so terrible in their aspect as
+those in California, but they are bad enough. Their contents are
+generally water, some hot and bubbling, and some hot and still; while
+the Great Geyser, the grandest work of the kind in the world, bursts
+forth at times with great violence, sending jets of hot water hundreds
+of feet into the air.
+
+These wonderful hot springs, wherever they have been found, have
+excited the greatest attention and interest, in travellers and
+scientific men, and their workings have been explained somewhat in
+this way:--
+
+Water having gradually accumulated in vast underground crevices and
+cavities, is heated by the fires, which, in volcanic regions, are not
+very far from the surface of the earth. If there is a channel or tube
+from the reservoir to the surface, the water will expand and rise
+until it fills the basin which is generally found at the mouth of hot
+springs. But the water beneath, being still further heated, will be
+changed into steam, which will at times burst out with great force,
+carrying with it a column of water high into the air. When this water
+falls back into the basin it is much cooler, on account of its contact
+with the air, and it cools the water in the basin, and also condenses
+the steam in the tube or channel leading from the reservoir. The
+spring is then quiet until enough steam is again formed to cause
+another eruption. A celebrated German chemist named Bunsen
+constructed an apparatus for the purpose of showing the operations of
+Geysers. Here it is.
+
+[Illustration: THE ARTIFICIAL GEYSER.]
+
+You see that the two fires in the engraving--one lower and larger than
+the other, because the heat of the earth increases as we get farther
+from the surface--will heat the water in the iron tube very much as
+water is heated in a real Geyser; and when steam enough is formed, a
+column of hot water is thrown out of the basin. The great subterranean
+reservoir is not imitated in this apparatus, but the action is the
+same as if the tube arose from an iron vessel. There is a great deal
+in Bunsen's description of this contrivance, in regard to the
+difference in the temperature of the water in that part of the tube
+between the two fires, and that in the upper portion, which explains
+the intermittent character of the eruptions of a Geyser, but it is not
+necessary for us to go into all his details.
+
+When we know that under a Geyser the water is boiling in a great
+reservoir which communicates with the surface by a natural tube or
+spout, we need not wonder that occasionally a volume of steam bursts
+forth, sending a column of water far into the air.
+
+
+
+
+A GIANT PUFF-BALL.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+I suppose you have all seen puff-balls, which grow in the fields like
+mushrooms and toadstools, but I am quite sure that you never saw
+anything of the kind quite so large as that one in the picture. And
+yet that engraving was made from a drawing from the puff-ball itself.
+So we need not suppose that there is anything fanciful about it.
+
+The vegetable in question is a kind of _fungi_ called the Giganti
+Lycoperdon, and it attains its enormous size in one night! It springs
+from a seed so small that you could not see it, and grows, while you
+are asleep, to be bigger, perhaps, than you are yourself!
+
+Think of that! How would you like to plant the whole garden, some
+afternoon, with that kind of seed? Would not your father and mother,
+and everybody else, be astounded when they woke up and saw a couple of
+hundred of those things, as big as barrels, filling up every bed!
+
+They would certainly think it was the most astonishing crop they had
+ever seen, and there might be people who would suppose that fairies or
+magicians had been about.
+
+The great trouble about such a crop would be that it would be good for
+nothing.
+
+I cannot imagine what any one would do with a barnful of Lycoperdons.
+
+But it would be wonderfully interesting to watch the growth of such a
+_fungus_. You could see it grow. In one night you could see its whole
+life, from almost nothing at all to that enormous ball in the picture.
+Nature could hardly show us a more astonishing sight than that.
+
+
+
+
+TICKLED BY A STRAW.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+    From his dreams of tops and marbles,
+      Where the soaring kites he saw,
+    Is that little urchin wakened,
+      Tickled by a wheaten straw.
+
+    How do you suppose he likes it,
+      Young one with annoying paw?
+    If I only were your mother,
+      I'd tickle you with birchen straw.
+
+    Soon enough, from pleasant dreaming,
+      You'll be wakened by the law,
+    Which provides for every vision
+      Some sort of provoking straw.
+
+    In dreams of play, or hope, or loving,
+      When plans of happiness you draw,
+    Underneath _your_ nose may wiggle
+      Life's most aggravating straw
+
+
+
+
+THE LIGHT IN THE CASTLE.
+
+
+On a high hill, in a lonely part of Europe, there stood a ruined
+castle. No one lived there, for the windows were destitute of glass;
+there were but few planks left of the floors; the roof was gone; and
+the doors had long ago rotted off their hinges. So that any persons
+who should take up their residence in this castle would be exposed to
+the rain, when there was a storm; to the wind, when it blew; and to
+robbers, if they should come; besides running the risk of breaking
+their necks by falling between the rafters, every time they attempted
+to walk about the house.
+
+It was a very solemn, lonely, and desolate castle, and for many and
+many a year no human being had been known to set foot inside of it.
+
+It was about ten o'clock of a summer night that Hubert Flamry and his
+sister Hulda were returning to their home from an errand to a distant
+village, where they had been belated. Their path led them quite near
+to the ruined castle, but they did not trouble themselves at all on
+this account, for they had often passed it, both by night and day. But
+to-night they had scarcely caught sight of the venerable structure
+when Hubert started back, and, seizing his sister's arm, exclaimed:
+
+"Look, Hulda! look! A light in the castle!"
+
+Little Hulda looked quickly in the direction in which her brother was
+pointing, and, sure enough, there was a light moving about the castle
+as if some one was inside, carrying a lantern from room to room. The
+children stopped and stood almost motionless.
+
+"What can it be, Hubert?" whispered Hulda.
+
+"I don't know," said he. "It may be a man, but he could not walk where
+there are no floors. I'm afraid it's a ghost."
+
+"Would a ghost have to carry a light to see by?" asked Hulda.
+
+"I don't know," said Hubert, trembling in both his knees, "but I think
+he is coming out."
+
+It did seem as if the individual with the light was about to leave the
+castle. At one moment he would be seen near one of the lower windows,
+and then he would pass along on the outside of the walls, and directly
+Hubert and Hulda both made up their minds that he was coming down the
+hill.
+
+"Had we better run?" said Hulda.
+
+"No," replied her brother. "Let's hide in the bushes."
+
+So they hid.
+
+In a few minutes Hubert grasped his sister by the shoulder. He was
+trembling so much that the bushes shook as if there was a wind.
+
+"Hulda!" he whispered, "he's walking along the brook, right on top of
+the water!"
+
+"Is he coming this way?" said Hulda, who had wrapped her head in her
+apron.
+
+"Right straight!" cried Hubert. "Give me your hand, Hulda!" And,
+without another word, the boy and girl burst out of the bushes and ran
+away like rabbits.
+
+When Hulda, breathless, fell down on the grass, Hubert also stopped
+and looked behind him. They were near the edge of the brook, and
+there, coming right down the middle of the stream, was the light which
+had so frightened them.
+
+"Oh-h! Bother!" said Hubert.
+
+"What?" asked poor little Hulda, looking up from the ground.
+
+"Why, it's only a Jack-o'-lantern!" said Hubert. "Let's go home,
+Hulda."
+
+As they were hurrying along the path to their home, Hubert seemed very
+much provoked, and he said to his sister:
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Hulda, it was very foolish for you to be frightened at such a thing
+as that."
+
+"Me?" said Hulda, opening her eyes very wide, "I guess you were just
+as much frightened as I was."
+
+"You might have known that no real person would be wandering about the
+castle at night, and a ghost couldn't carry anything, for his fingers
+are all smoke."
+
+"You ought to have known that too, I should say, Mr. Hubert," answered
+Hulda.
+
+"And then, I don't believe the light was in the castle at all. It was
+just bobbing about between us and the castle, and we thought it was
+inside. You ought to have thought of that, Hulda."
+
+"Me!" exclaimed little Hulda, her eyes almost as big as two silver
+dollars.
+
+It always seems to me a great pity that there should be such boys as
+Hubert Flamry.
+
+
+
+
+THE OAK TREE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+I really don't know which liked the great oak best, Harry or his
+grandfather. Harry was a sturdy little fellow, seven years old, and
+could play ball, and fly kites, and all such things, when he had
+anybody to play with. But his father's house was a long distance from
+the village, and so he did not often have playmates, and it is poor
+sport to play marbles or ball by one's self. He did sometimes roll his
+hoop or fly his kite when alone, but he would soon get tired, and
+then, if it was a clear day, he would most likely say:
+
+"Grandpa, don't you want to go to the big oak?"
+
+And Grandpa would answer:
+
+"Of course, child, we will go. I am always glad to give you that
+pleasure."
+
+This he said, but everybody knew he liked to go for his own pleasure
+too. So Harry would bring Grandpa his cane and hat, and away they
+would go down the crooked path through the field. When they got to the
+draw-bars, Harry took them down for his Grandpa to pass through, and
+then put them carefully up again, so that the cows should not get out
+of the pasture. And, when this was done, there they were at the
+oak-tree.
+
+This was a very large tree, indeed, and its branches extended over the
+road quite to the opposite side. Right at the foot of the tree was a
+clear, cold spring, from which a little brook trickled, and lost
+itself in the grass. A dipper was fastened to a projecting root above
+the spring, that thirsty travellers might drink. The road by the side
+of which the oak stood was a very public one, for it led to a city
+twenty miles away. So a great many persons passed the tree, and
+stopped at the spring to drink. And that was the reason why little
+Harry and his Grandpa were so fond of going there. It was really quite
+a lively place. Carriages would bowl along, all glittering with plate
+and glass, and with drivers in livery; market wagons would rattle by
+with geese squawking, ducks quacking, and pigs squealing; horsemen
+would gallop past on splendid horses; hay wagons would creak slowly
+by, drawn by great oxen; and, best of all, the stage would dash
+furiously up, with the horses in a swinging trot, and the driver
+cracking his whip, and the bright red stage swaying from side to side.
+
+It generally happened that somebody in the stage wanted a drink from
+the spring, and Harry would take the cup handed out of the window, and
+dip it full of the cold, sparkling water, and then there would be a
+few minutes of friendly chat.
+
+But the most of the talk was with the foot-passengers. The old man sat
+on a bench in the cool shade, and the child would run about and play
+until some one came along. Then he would march up to the tree and
+stand with his hands in his pockets to hear what was said, very often
+having a good deal to say himself. Sometimes these people would stay a
+long time under the shade of the tree, and there were so many
+different people, and they had so many different kinds of things to
+say, that Harry thought it was like hearing a book read, only a great
+deal better.
+
+At one time it would be a soldier, who had wonderful things to tell of
+the battles he had fought. Another day it would be a sailor, who,
+while smoking his pipe, would talk about the trackless deserts of
+burning sands; and of the groves of cinnamon, and all sweet spices,
+where bright-colored parrots are found; and of the great storms at
+sea, when the waves dashed ships to pieces. Another time a foreigner
+would have much to say about the strange people and customs of other
+lands; and sometimes they talked in a strange language, and could not
+be understood, and that was very amusing.
+
+The organ-grinders were the best, for they would play such beautiful
+tunes, and perhaps there would be children who would tinkle their
+tambourines, and sing the songs that the girls sing in Italy when they
+tread out the grapes for wine. And sometimes there would be--oh, joy!
+a monkey! And then what fun Harry would have!
+
+And sometimes there were poor men and women, tired and sick, who had
+nothing to say but what was sad.
+
+Occasionally an artist would stop under the tree. He would have a
+great many of his sketches with him, which he would show to Harry and
+Grandpa. And then he would go off to a distance, and make a picture of
+the splendid oak, with the old man and child under it, and perhaps he
+would put into it some poor woman with her baby, who happened to be
+there, and some poor girl drinking out of the spring. And Harry and
+Grandpa always thought this better than any of the other pictures he
+showed them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE SEA-SIDE.
+
+
+The ocean is so wonderful itself, that it invests with some of its
+peculiar interest the very sands and rocks that lie upon its edges.
+There is always something to see at the sea-side; whether you walk
+along the lonely coast; go down among the fishermen, and their nets
+and boats; or pass along the sands, lively with crowds of
+many-colored bathers.
+
+But if there was nothing but the grand old ocean itself, it would be
+enough. Whether it is calm and quiet, just rolling in steadily upon
+the shore, in long lines of waves, which come sweeping and curling
+upon the beach and then breaking, spread far out over the sand--or
+whether the storm-waves, tossing high their lofty heads, come rushing
+madly upon the coast, dashing themselves upon the sands and thundering
+up against the rocks, the sea is grand!
+
+What a tremendous thing an ocean is! Ever in powerful motion; so
+wonderful and awful in its unknown depths, and stretching so far, far,
+far away!
+
+But, even on the coasts of this great ocean, our days seem all too
+short, as we search among the rocks and in the little pools for the
+curiosities of the sea-side. Here are shells, and shells, and
+shells,--from the great conch, which you put up to your ear to hear
+the sound of the sea within, to the tiny things which we find stored
+away in little round cases, which are all fastened together in a
+string, like the rattles of a snake.
+
+In the shallow pools that have been left by the tide we may find a
+crab or two, perhaps, some jelly-fish, star-fish, and those wonderful
+living flowers, the sea-anemones. And then we will watch the great
+gulls sweeping about in the air, and if we are lucky, we may see an
+army of little fiddler-crabs marching along, each one with one claw in
+the air. We may gather sea-side diamonds; we may, perhaps, go in and
+bathe, and who can tell everything that we may do on the shores of the
+grand old ocean!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And if we ever get among the fishermen, then we are sure to have good
+times of still another kind. Then we shall see the men who live by the
+sea, and on the sea. We shall wander along the shore, and look at
+their fishing-vessels, which seem so small when they are on the water,
+but which loom up high above our heads when they are drawn up on the
+shore--some with their clumsy-looking rudders hauled up out of
+danger, and others with rudder and keel resting together on the rough
+beach. Anchors, buoys, bits of chains, and hawsers lie about the
+shore, while nets are hanging at the doors of the fishermen's
+cottages, some hung up to dry and some hung up to mend.
+
+Here we may often watch the fishermen putting out to sea in their
+dirty, but strong, little vessels, which go bouncing away on the
+waves, their big sails appearing so much too large for the boats that
+it seems to us, every now and then, as if they must certainly topple
+over. And then, at other times, we will see the fishermen returning,
+and will be on the beach when the boats are drawn up on the sand, and
+the fish, some white, some gray, some black, but all glittering and
+smooth, are tumbled into baskets and carried up to the houses to be
+salted down, or sent away fresh for the markets.
+
+Then the gulls come circling about the scene, and the ducks that live
+at the fishermen's houses come waddling down to see about any little
+fishes that may be thrown away upon the sand; and men with tarpaulin
+coats and flannel shirts sit on old anchors and lean up against the
+boats, smoking short pipes while they talk about cod, and mackerel,
+and mainsails and booms; and, best of all, the delightful sea-breeze
+comes sweeping in, browning our cheeks, reddening our blood, and
+giving us such a splendid appetite that even the fishermen themselves
+could not throw us very far into the shade, at meal-times.
+
+As for bathing in the sea, plunging into the surf, with the waves
+breaking over your head and the water dashing and sparkling all about
+you, I need not say much about that. I might as well try to describe
+the pleasure of eating a saucer of strawberries-and-cream, and you
+know I could not do it.
+
+There are nations who never see the ocean, nor have anything to do
+with it. They have not even a name for it.
+
+They are to be pitied for many things, but for nothing more than this.
+
+
+
+
+THE SICK PIKE.
+
+
+There is no reason why a pike should not be sick. Everything that has
+life is subject to illness, but it is very seldom that any fish has
+the good sense and the good fortune of the pike that I am going to
+tell you about.
+
+This pike was a good-sized fellow, weighing about six pounds, and he
+belonged to the Earl of Stamford, who lived near Durham, England. His
+story was read by Dr. Warwick to the Literary and Philosophical
+Society of Liverpool. I am particular about these authorities because
+this story is a little out of the common run.
+
+Dr. Warwick was walking by a lake, in the Earl's park, and the pike
+was lying in the water near the shore, probably asleep. At any rate,
+when it saw the doctor it made a sudden dart into deep water and
+dashed its head against a sunken post. This accident seemed to give
+the fish great pain, for it pitched and tossed about in the lake, and
+finally rushed up to the surface and threw itself right out of the
+water on to the bank.
+
+The doctor now stooped to examine it, and to his surprise the fish
+remained perfectly quiet in his hands. He found that the skull was
+fractured and one eye was injured by the violence with which the fish
+had struck the post. With a silver tooth-pick (he had not his
+instruments with him) the doctor arranged the broken portion of the
+pike's skull, and when the operation was completed he placed the fish
+in the water. For a minute or two the Pike seemed satisfied, but then
+it jumped out of the water on to the bank again. The doctor put the
+fish back, but it jumped out again, and repeated this performance
+several times. It seemed to know (and how, I am sure I have not the
+least idea) that that man was a doctor, and it did not intend to
+leave him until it had been properly treated--just as if it was one
+of his best patients.
+
+The doctor began to see that something more was expected of him, and
+so he called a game-keeper to him, and with his assistance he put a
+bandage around the pike's head.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When this surgical operation had been completed the pike was put back
+into the water, and this time it appeared perfectly satisfied, and
+swam away.
+
+The next day, as Dr. Warwick was sitting by the lake, the pike, with,
+the bandage around its head, swam up and stuck its head out of the
+water, near the doctor's feet. The good physician took up the fish,
+examined the wound, and finding that it was getting on very well,
+replaced the bandage and put Mr. Pike into the lake again.
+
+This was a very grateful pike. After the excellent surgical treatment
+it received from Dr. Warwick, it became very fond of him, and whenever
+he walked by the side of the lake it would swim along by him, and
+although it was quite shy and gloomy when other people came to the
+waterside, it was always glad to see the doctor, and would come when
+he whistled, and eat out of his hand.
+
+I suppose in the whole ocean, and in all the rivers and lakes of the
+world, there are not more than two or three fish as sensible and
+grateful as this pike. In fact, it was very well for Dr. Warwick that
+there were no more such on the Earl of Stamford's estate. A large
+practice in the lake must soon have made a poor man of him, for I do
+not suppose that even that sensible pike would have paid a doctor's
+bill, if it had been presented to him.
+
+
+
+
+TWO KINDS OF BLOSSOMS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+When the winter has entirely gone, and there is not the slightest
+vestige left of snow or ice; when the grass is beginning to be
+beautifully green, and the crocuses and jonquils are thrusting their
+pretty heads up out of the ground; when the sun is getting to be
+quite warm and the breezes very pleasant, then is the time for
+blossoms.
+
+Then it is especially the time for apple-blossoms. Not that the peach
+and the pear and the cherry trees do not fill their branches with pink
+and white flowers, and make as lovely a spring opening as any
+apple-trees in the land. Oh no! It is only because there are so many
+apple-trees and so many apple-orchards, that the peaches and pears are
+a little overlooked in blossom-time.
+
+A sweet place is the apple-orchard, when the grass is green, the trees
+are full of flowers, the air full of fragrance, and when every breeze
+brings down the most beautiful showers of flowery snow.
+
+And how beautiful and delicate is every individual flower! We are so
+accustomed to looking at blossoms in the mass--at treesful and whole
+orchardsful--that we are not apt to think that those great heaps of
+pink and loveliness are composed of little flowers, each one perfect
+in itself.
+
+And not only is each blossom formed of the most beautiful white
+petals, shaded with pink; not only does each one of them possess a
+most pleasant and delicate perfume, but every one of these little
+flowers--every one which comes to perfection, I mean--is but the
+precursor of an apple. This one may be a Golden Pippin; that one which
+looks just like it may be the forerunner of a Belle-flower; while the
+little green speck at the bottom of this one may turn into a Russet,
+with his sober coat.
+
+The birds that are flying among the branches do not think much about
+the apples that are to come, I reckon, and neither do the early
+butterflies that flutter about, looking very much like falling
+blossoms themselves. And, for that matter, we ourselves need not think
+too much about the coming apple crop. We ought sometimes to think of
+and enjoy beauty for its own sake, without reference to what it may do
+in the future for our pockets and our stomachs.
+
+There are other kinds of blossoms than apple-blossoms, or those of any
+tree whatever. There are little flowers which bloom as well or better
+in winter than in summer, and which are not, in fact, flowers at all.
+
+These are ice-blossoms.
+
+Perhaps you have never seen any of them, and I think it is very
+likely, for they can only be formed and perceived by the means of
+suitable instruments. And so here is a picture of some ice-blossoms.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+These curious formations, some of which appear like stars, others like
+very simple blossoms, while others are very complex; and some of which
+take the form of fern-leaves, are caused to appear in the centre of a
+block of ice by means of concentrated rays of lights which are
+directed through the ice by means of mirrors and lenses. Sometimes
+they are observed by means of a magnifying-glass, and in other
+experiments their images are thrown upon a white screen.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We may consider these ice-flowers as very beautiful and very
+wonderful, but they are not a whit more so than our little blossoms of
+the apple-orchard.
+
+The latter are more common, and have to produce apples, while the
+ice-flowers are uncommon, and of no possible use.
+
+That is the difference between them.
+
+
+
+
+ABOUT GLASS.
+
+
+Glass is so common and so cheap that we never think of being grateful
+for it. But if we had lived a few centuries ago, when the richest
+people had only wooden shutters to their windows, which, of course,
+had to be closed whenever it was cold or stormy, making the house as
+dark as night, and had then been placed in a house lighted by glass
+windows, we would scarcely have found words to express our
+thankfulness. It would have been like taking a man out of a dreary
+prison and setting him in the bright world of God's blessed sunshine.
+After a time men made small windows of stones that were partly
+transparent; and then they used skins prepared something like
+parchment, and finally they used sashes similar to ours, but in them
+they put oiled paper. And when at last glass came into use, it was so
+costly that very few were able to buy it, and they had it taken out of
+the windows and stored carefully away when they went on a journey, as
+people now store away pictures and silver-plate.
+
+Now, when a boy wants a clear, white glass vial for any purpose, he
+can buy it for five cents; and for a few pennies a little girl can buy
+a large box of colored beads that will make her a necklace to go
+several times around her neck, and bracelets besides. These her elder
+sister regards with contempt; but there was a time when queens were
+proud to wear such. The oldest article of glass manufacture in
+existence is a bead. It has an inscription on it, but the writing,
+instead of being in letters, is in tiny little pictures.
+
+Here you see the bead, and the funny little pictures on it. The
+pictures mean this: "The good Queen Ramaka, the loved of Athor,
+protectress of Thebes." This Queen Ramaka was the wife of a king who
+reigned in Thebes more than three thousand years ago, which is
+certainly a very long time for a little glass bead to remain unbroken!
+The great city of Thebes, where it was made, has been in ruins for
+hundreds of years. No doubt this bead was part of a necklace that
+Queen Ramaka wore, and esteemed as highly as ladies now value their
+rubies. It was found in the ruins of Thebes by an Englishman.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It may be thought that this bead contradicts what has been said about
+there being a time when glass was unknown, and that time only a few
+centuries ago. But it is a singular fact that a nation will perfectly
+understand some art or manufacture that seems absolutely necessary to
+men's comfort and convenience, and yet this art in time will be
+completely lost, and things that were in common use will pass as
+completely out of existence as if they had never been, until, in after
+ages, some of them will be found among the ruins of cities and in old
+tombs. In this way we have found out that ancient nations knew how to
+make a great many things that enabled them to live as comfortably and
+luxuriously as we do now. But these things seem to have perished with
+the nations who used them, and for centuries people lived
+comfortlessly without them, until, in comparatively modern times, they
+have all been revived.
+
+Glass-making is one of these arts. It was known in the early ages of
+the world's history. There are pictures that were painted on tombs two
+thousand years before Christ's birth which represent men blowing
+glass, pretty much as it is done now, while others are taking pots of
+it out of the furnaces in a melted state. But in those days it was
+probably costly, and not in common use; but the rich had glass until
+the first century after Christ, when it disappeared, and the art of
+making it was lost.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The city of Venice was founded in the fifth century, and here we find
+that glass-making had been revived. You will see by this picture of a
+Venetian bottle how well they succeeded in the manufacture of glass
+articles.
+
+Venice soon became celebrated for this manufacture, and was for a long
+time the only place where glass was made. The manufacturers took great
+pains to keep their art a secret from other nations, and so did the
+government, because they were all growing rich from the money it
+brought into the city.
+
+In almost any part of the world to which you may chance to go you
+will find Silica. You may not know it by that name, but it is that
+shining, flinty substance you see in sand and rock-crystal. It is
+found in a very great number of things besides these two, but these
+are the most common.
+
+Lime is also found everywhere--in earth, in stones, in vegetables and
+bones, and hundreds of other substances.
+
+Soda is a common article, and is very easily produced by artificial
+means. Potash, which has the same properties as soda, exists in all
+ashes.
+
+Now silica, and lime, and soda, or potash, when melted together, form
+glass. So you see that the materials for making this substance which
+adds so much to our comfort and pleasure are freely given to all
+countries. And after Venice had set the example, other nations turned
+their attention to the study of glass-making, and soon found out this
+fact, in spite of the secrecy of the Venetians. After a time the
+Germans began to manufacture glass; and then the Bohemians. The latter
+invented engraving on glass, which art had also been known to the
+ancients, and then been lost. They also learned to color glass so
+brilliantly that Bohemian glass became more fashionable than Venetian,
+and has been highly thought of down to the present day.
+
+On the next page we see an immense drinking-glass of German
+manufacture, but this one was made many years after glass-making was
+first started there.
+
+This great goblet, which it takes several bottles of wine to fill, was
+passed around at the end of a feast, and every guest was expected to
+take a sip out of it. This was a very social way of drinking, but I
+think on the whole it is just as well that it has gone out of fashion.
+
+The old Egyptians made glass bottles, and so did the early Romans, and
+used them just as we do for a very great variety of things. Their
+wine-bottles were of glass, sealed and labelled like ours. We might
+suppose that, having once had them, people would never be without
+glass bottles. But history tells a different story. There evidently
+came a time when glass bottles vanished from the face of the earth;
+for we read of wooden bottles and those of goat-skin and leather, but
+there is no mention of glass. And men were satisfied with these
+clumsy contrivances, because in process of time it had been forgotten
+that any other were ever made.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Hundreds of years rolled away, and then, behold! glass bottles
+appeared again. Now there is such a demand for them that one country
+alone--France--makes sixty thousand tons of bottles every year. To
+make bottle-glass, oxide of iron and alumina is added to the silica,
+lime, and soda. It seems scarcely possible that these few common
+substances melted over the fire and blown with the breath can be
+formed into a material as thin and gossamer, almost, as a spider's
+web, and made to assume such a graceful shape as this jug.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is how glass bottles, vases, etc., are made. When the substances
+mentioned above are melted together properly, a man dips a long,
+hollow iron tube into a pot filled with the boiling liquid glass, and
+takes up a little on the end of it. This he passes quickly to another
+man, who dips it once more, and, having twirled the tube around so as
+to lengthen the glass ball at the end, gives it to a third man, who
+places this glass ball in an earthen mould, and blows into the other
+end of the tube, and soon the shapeless mass of glass becomes a
+bottle. But it is not quite finished, for the bottom has to be
+completed, and the neck to have the glass band put around it. The
+bottom is finished by pressing it with a cone-shaped instrument as
+soon as it comes out of the mould. A thick glass thread is wound
+around the neck. And, if a name is to be put on, fresh glass is added
+to the side, and stamped with a seal.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This is also the process of making the beautiful jug just mentioned,
+except that three workmen are engaged at the same time on the three
+parts--one blows the vase itself, another the foot, and the third the
+handle. They are then fastened together, and the top cut into the
+desired shape with shears, for glass can be easily cut when in a soft
+state.
+
+You see how clearly and brightly, and yet with what softness, the
+windows of the room are reflected in that exquisite jug It was made
+only a few years ago.
+
+I will now show you an old Venetian goblet, but you will have to
+handle it very carefully, or you will certainly break off one of the
+delicate leaves, or snap the stem of that curious flower.
+
+Such glasses as these were certainly never intended for use. They were
+probably put upon the table as ornaments. The bowl is a white glass
+cup, with wavy lines of light blue. The spiral stem is red and white,
+and has projecting from it five leaves of yellow glass, separated in
+the middle by another leaf of a deep blue color. The large flower has
+six pale-blue petals.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And now we will look at some goblets intended for use. They are of
+modern manufacture, and are plain and simple, but have a beauty of
+their own. The right-hand one is of a very graceful shape, and the one
+in the middle is odd-looking, and ingeniously made with rollers, and
+all of them have a transparent clearness, and are almost as thin as
+the fragile soap-bubbles that children blow out of pipe-bowls. They do
+not look unlike these, and one can easily fancy that, like them, they
+will melt into air at a touch.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Because the ancients by some means discovered that the union of
+silica, lime, and soda made a perfectly transparent and hard substance
+it by no means follows that they knew how to make looking-glasses For
+this requires something behind the glass to throw back the image. But
+vanity is not of modern invention, and people having from the
+beginning of time had a desire to look at themselves, they were not
+slow in providing the means.
+
+The first mirrors used were of polished metal, and for ages nobody
+knew of anything better. But there came a time when the idea entered
+the mind of man that "glass lined with a sheet of metal will give back
+the image presented to it," for these are the exact words of a writer
+who lived four centuries before Christ. And you may be sure that
+glass-makers took advantage of this suggestion, if they had not
+already found out the fact for themselves. So we know that the
+ancients did make glass mirrors. It is matter of history that
+looking-glasses were made in the first century of the Christian era,
+but whether quicksilver was poured upon the back, as it is now, or
+whether some other metal was used, we do not know.
+
+But these mirrors disappeared with the bottles and other glass
+articles; and metal mirrors again became the fashion. For fourteen
+hundred years we hear nothing of looking-glasses, and then we find
+them in Venice, at the time that city had the monopoly of the glass
+trade. Metal mirrors were soon thrown aside, for the images in them
+were very imperfect compared with the others.
+
+These Venetian glasses were all small, because at that time sheet
+glass was blown by the mouth of man, like bottles, vases, etc., and
+therefore it was impossible to make them large. Two hundred years
+afterward, a Frenchman discovered a method of making sheet glass by
+machinery, which is called _founding_, and by this process it can be
+made of any size.
+
+But even after the comparatively cheap process of founding came into
+use, looking-glasses were very expensive, and happy was the rich
+family that possessed one. A French countess sold a farm to buy a
+mirror! Queens had theirs ornamented in the most costly manner. Here
+is a picture of one that belonged to a queen of France, the frame of
+which is entirely composed of precious stones.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I have told you how the Venetians kept glass-making a secret, and how,
+at last, the Germans learned it, and then the French, and their work
+came to be better liked than that of the Venetians. But these last
+still managed to keep the process of making mirrors a profound secret,
+and the French were determined to get at the mystery. Several young
+glass-makers went from France to Venice, and applied to all the
+looking-glass makers of Venice for situations as workmen, that they
+might learn the art. But all positively refused to receive them, and
+kept their doors and windows tightly closed while they were at work,
+that no one might see what they did. The young Frenchmen took
+advantage of this, and climbed up on the roofs, and cautiously made
+holes through which they could look; and thus they learned the
+carefully-kept secret, and went back to France and commenced the
+manufacture of glass mirrors. Twenty years after, a Frenchman invented
+founding glass, which gave France such a great advantage that the
+trade of Venice in looking-glasses was ruined.
+
+You would be very much interested in watching this process of founding
+glass. This is the way it is done. As soon as the glass is melted to
+the proper consistency, the furnaces are opened, and the pots are
+lifted into the air by machinery, and passed along a beam to an
+immense table of cast iron. A signal is given, and the brilliant,
+transparent liquid glass falls out and spreads over the table. At a
+second signal a roller is passed by machinery over the red-hot glass,
+and twenty men stand ready with long shovels to push the sheet of
+glass into an oven, not very hot, where it can slowly cool. When taken
+out of the oven the glass is thick, and not perfectly smooth, and it
+has to be rubbed with sand, imbedded in plaster of Paris, smoothed
+with emery, and polished by rubbing it with a woollen cloth covered
+with red oxide of iron, all of which is done by machinery.
+
+We know that cut glass is expensive, and the reason is that cutting it
+is a slow process. Four wheels have to be used in succession, iron,
+sandstone, wood, and cork. Sand is thrown upon these wheels in such a
+way that the glass is finely and delicately cut. But this is imitated
+in pressed glass, which is blown in a mould inside of which the design
+is cut. This is much cheaper than the cut glass.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A higher art than cutting is engraving on glass, by which the figures
+are brought out in relief. Distinguished artists are employed to draw
+the designs, and then skilful engravers follow the lines with their
+delicate tools. If you will examine carefully the engraving on this
+Bohemian goblet, you will see what a wonderful piece of workmanship it
+is.
+
+It seems almost a pity that so much time and labor, skill and genius
+should be given to a thing so easily broken. And yet we have seen that
+a good many glass articles have been preserved for centuries. The
+engraving on the Bohemian goblet is ingenious, and curious, and
+faithful in detail, but the flowers on this modern French flagon are
+really more graceful and beautiful.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+About four hundred years ago there was found in a marble coffin, in a
+tomb near Rome, a glass vase which is now famous throughout the world.
+There is good reason for supposing it to have been made one hundred
+and thirty-eight years before Christ, consequently it is now about two
+thousand years old. For many years this was in the Barberini palace in
+Rome, and was called the Barberini Vase. Then it was bought by the
+Duchess of Portland, of England, for nine thousand dollars, and since
+then has been known as the Portland Vase.
+
+She loaned it to the British Museum, and everybody who went to London
+wanted to see this celebrated vase.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+One day a crazy man got into the Museum, and with a smart blow of his
+cane laid in ruins the glass vase that had survived all the world's
+great convulsions and changes for two thousand years! This misfortune
+was supposed to be irreparable, but it has been repaired by an artist
+so cleverly that it is impossible to tell where it is joined together.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This vase is composed of two layers of glass, one over the other. The
+lower is of a deep blue color, and the upper an opaque white, so that
+the figures stand out in white on a deep blue background.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The picture on it represents the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. The
+woman seated, holding a serpent in her left hand, is Thetis, and the
+man to whom she is giving her right hand is Peleus. The god in front
+of Thetis is Neptune, and a Cupid hovers in the air above. On the
+reverse side are Thetis and Peleus, and a goddess, all seated. At the
+foot of the vase is a bust of Ganymede, and on each side of this in
+the picture are copies of the masks on the handles.
+
+Now I have shown you a few of the beautiful things that have been made
+of glass, but there are very many other uses to which glass is applied
+that have not even been alluded to. Steam engines, that work like real
+ones, have been made of glass; palaces have been built of it; great
+telescopes, by which the wonders of the heavens have been revealed,
+owe their power to it; and, in fact, it would seem to us, to-day, as
+if we could as well do without our iron as without our glass.
+
+
+
+
+CARL.
+
+
+In the middle of a dark and gloomy forest lived Carl and Greta. Their
+father was a forester, who, when he was well, was accustomed to be
+away all day with his gun and dogs, leaving the two children with no
+one but old Nurse Heine; for their mother died when they were very
+little. Now Carl was twelve years old, and Greta nine. Carl was a
+fine-looking boy, but Nurse Heine said that he had a melancholy
+countenance. Greta, however, was a pretty, bright-faced, merry little
+girl. They were allowed to wander through a certain part of the
+forest, where their father thought there was no especial danger to
+fear.
+
+In truth, Carl was not melancholy at all, but was just as happy in his
+way as Greta was in hers. In the summer, while she was pulling the
+wood flowers and weaving them into garlands, or playing with her dogs,
+or chasing squirrels, Carl would be seated on some root or stone with
+a large sheet of coarse card-board on his knee, on which he drew
+pictures with a piece of sharpened charcoal. He had sketched, in his
+rough way, every pretty mass of foliage, and every picturesque rock
+and waterfall within his range. And in the winter, when the icicles
+were hanging from the cliffs, and the snow wound white arms around the
+dark green cypress boughs, Carl still found beautiful pictures
+everywhere, and Greta plenty of play in building snow-houses and
+statues. And, moreover, Carl had lately discovered in the brooks some
+colored stones, which were soft enough to sharpen sufficiently to give
+a blue tint to his skies, and green to his trees; and thus he made
+pictures that Nurse Heine said were more wonderful than those in the
+chapel of the little village of Evergode.
+
+I have said that the forest was dark and gloomy, because it was
+composed chiefly of pines and cypresses, but it never seemed so to
+the children. They knew how to read, but had no books that told them
+of any lands brighter and sunnier than their own. And then, too,
+beyond the belt of pines in which was their home, there was a long
+stretch of forest of oaks and beeches, and in this the birds liked to
+build their nests and sing; and there were such splendid vines, and
+lovely flowers! And, right through the pine forest, not more than half
+a mile from their cottage, there was a broad road. It is true, it was
+a very rough one, and but little used, but it represented the world to
+Carl and Greta. For it did sometimes happen that loaded wagons would
+jolt over it, or a rough soldier gallop along, and more rarely still,
+a gay cavalier would prance by the wondering children.
+
+For there was a war in the land. And when, after a time, the armies
+came near enough to the forest for the children to hear occasionally
+the roll of the heavy guns, a strange thing happened.
+
+One evening when they arrived at home, they found in their humble
+little cottage one of the gay-looking cavaliers they had sometimes
+seen on the forest road, and with him was a very beautiful lady. Old
+Nurse Heine was getting the spare room ready by beating up the great
+feather bed, and laying down on the floor the few strips of carpet
+they possessed. Their father was talking with the strangers, and he
+told them that Carl and Greta were his children; but they took no
+notice of them, for they were completely taken up with each other, for
+the gentleman, it appeared, was going away, and to leave the lady
+there. Carl greatly admired this cavalier, and had no doubt he was the
+noblest-looking man in the world, and studied him so closely that he
+would have known him among a thousand. Presently the forester led his
+children out of the cottage, and soon after the cavalier came out, and
+springing upon his horse, galloped away among the dark pines.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The strange lady was at the cottage several weeks, and the children
+soon learned to love her dearly. She was fond of rambling about with
+them, and was seldom to be found within the house when the weather was
+fair. She never went near the road, but preferred the oak wood, and
+sometimes when the children were amusing themselves she would sit for
+hours absorbed in deep thought or singing to herself in a sad and
+dreamy way.
+
+At other times she would interest herself in the children, and tell
+them of things in the world outside the forest. She praised Carl's
+pictures, and showed him how to work in his colors so as to more
+effectively bring out the perspective, and tried to educate his taste,
+as far as she could, by describing the pictures of the great masters.
+She often said afterwards that she could never have lived through
+those dark days but for the comfort she found in the children.
+
+Carl saw that she was sorrowful, and he understood that her sadness
+was not because of the plain fare and the way of living at the
+forester's cottage, which he knew must seem rough indeed to her, but
+because of some great grief. What this grief was he could not guess,
+for the children had been told nothing about the beautiful lady,
+except that her name was Lady Clarice. She never complained, but the
+boy's wistful eyes would follow her as she moved among the trees, and
+his heart would swell with pity; and how he would long to do something
+to prove to her how he loved her!
+
+The forester told Carl that the cavalier was with the army. But he did
+not come to the cottage, and there was no way for the Lady Clarice to
+hear from him, and she shuddered at the sound of the great guns. And
+finally she fell sick. Nurse Heine did what she could for her, but the
+lady grew worse. She felt that she should die, and it almost broke
+Carl's heart to hear her moaning: "Oh! if I could but see him once
+more!" He knew she meant the noble cavalier, but how should he get
+word to him? The old forester was just then stiff with rheumatism, and
+could scarcely move from his chair.
+
+"I will go myself!" said Carl to himself one day, "or she will die
+with grief!"
+
+Without saying a word to anybody about the matter, for fear that he
+would not be allowed to go, he stole out of the house in the gray of
+the morning, while all were asleep, and, making his way to the open
+road, he turned in the direction from whence, at times, had come the
+sound of the cannon. As long as he was in the part of the road that he
+knew, he kept up a stout heart, but when he left that he began to grow
+frightened. The road was so lonely, and strange sounds seemed to come
+out of the forest that stretched away, so black and thick, on each
+side! He wondered if any fierce beasts were there, or if robbers were
+lurking behind the rocks. But he thought of the beautiful lady, his
+kind friend, sick and dying, and that thought was more powerful than
+his fear. At noon he rested for awhile, and ate a few dry biscuits he
+had put in his pockets.
+
+It was near sunset when he saw that the trees stood less closely
+together, the road looked more travel-worn, and there came with the
+wind a confused and continuous noise. Then Carl was seized with
+terror. "I am now near the camp," he thought. "Suppose a battle is
+going on, and I am struck with a ball. I shall die, and father and
+little Greta will not know what became of me, and the beautiful lady
+will never know that I died in her service! Or if I meet a soldier,
+and he don't believe my story, maybe he'll run a bayonet through me!"
+
+It was not too late then to turn back and flee swiftly up the forest
+road, and Carl paused.
+
+But in a few moments he went on, animated by the noblest kind of
+courage--that which feels there is danger, but is determined to face
+it in the cause of duty, affection, and humanity.
+
+At last he stepped out of the forest, and there, before him, was
+spread out the vast encampment of the army! There was not time to
+wonder at the sight before he was challenged by a sentinel. Carl had
+made up his mind what to say, and that he would not mention the lady.
+So he promptly replied that he wanted to see a noble lord who had a
+sick friend at a cottage in the forest.
+
+As the boy could not tell the name or rank of the noble lord, the
+sentinel sent him to an officer, and to him Carl told the same story,
+but he described the man of whom he was in search so accurately that
+the officer sent him at once to the proper person. And Carl found that
+he was a very great personage indeed, and held a high command in the
+army. He did not recognize Carl, but as soon as the boy told his
+errand he became very much agitated.
+
+"I will go at once," he said; "but I cannot leave you here, my brave
+boy! Can you ride?"
+
+Now Carl knew how to sit on a horse, and how to hold the bridle, for
+he had ridden the wood-cutters' horses sometimes, so he answered that
+he thought he could ride. The Duke (for such was his title) ordered
+some refreshments set before the boy, and then went out to make his
+arrangements, choosing his gentlest horse for Carl.
+
+In half an hour they were in the forest, speeding like the wind. Carl
+felt as if he was flying. The horse chose his own gait, and tried to
+keep up with the one that the Duke was riding; but finally, finding
+this impossible, he slackened his pace, greatly to Carl's relief. But
+the Duke was too anxious about his lady to accommodate himself to the
+slower speed of the boy, and soon swept out of sight around a bend in
+the road. His cloak and the long feathers of his hat streamed on the
+night wind for a moment longer. Then they vanished, and Carl was
+alone.
+
+Carl was somewhat afraid of the horse, for he was not used to such a
+high-mettled steed; but, on the whole, he was glad he was mounted on
+it. For if the woods had seemed lonely in the daylight they were ten
+times more so in the night. And the noises seemed more fearful than
+before. And Carl thought if any furious beast or robber should dart
+upon him, he could make the horse carry him swiftly away. As it was he
+let the horse do as he pleased, and as Carl sat quietly and did not
+worry him in any way, he pleased to go along very smoothly, and
+rather slowly, so it was past midnight when they reached home.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Carl found that the Duke had been there a long time; that the lady was
+overjoyed to see him, and Nurse Heine said she began to grow better
+from that moment.
+
+The next morning the Duke went away; but before he left he thanked
+Carl for the great service he had done him, and gave him a piece of
+gold. But Carl was better pleased when the lady called him into her
+room, and kissed him, and cried over him, and praised him for a kind,
+brave boy, and said he had saved her life.
+
+And when she got well Carl noticed that she was brighter and happier
+than she had been before.
+
+In a short time, however, she went away with the Duke, in a grand
+coach, with servants and outriders. And Carl and Greta watched them as
+they were whirled up the forest road, and then walked home through the
+pines with sad hearts.
+
+Then the forester told his children that the Duke had married this
+lady secretly, against the king's command, and he had so many bitter
+and cruel enemies that he was afraid they would do her some evil while
+he was away in the war. She knew of the forester, because his wife had
+been a maid of her mother's, so she came to this lonely place for
+safety. But now the king was pleased, and it was all right.
+
+The winter came and went. The war was over. And then Lady Clarice,
+whom the children never expected to see again, sent for them, and the
+forester, and Nurse Heine, to her castle. She provided for them all,
+and Greta grew up into a pretty and well-bred young lady.
+
+Lady Clarice had not forgotten the brave act of the boy, and also
+remembered what he liked best in the world. So she had him taught to
+draw and paint, and in process of time he became a great artist, and
+all the world knew of his name and fame.
+
+
+
+
+SCHOOL'S OUT!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+What a welcome and joyful sound! In the winter, when the days are
+short, and the sun, near the end of the six school hours, sinks so low
+that the light in the room grows dim and gray, with what impatience,
+my dear child, do you wait for this signal! But it is in the long
+summer days that you find school most tiresome. The air in the room is
+hot and drowsy, and outside you can see there is a breeze blowing, for
+the trees are gently tossing their green boughs as if to twit you with
+having to work out sums in such glorious weather. And there come to
+your ears the pleasant sounds of the buzzing of insects and twittering
+of birds, and the brook splashing over the stones. Then the four walls
+of the school-room look very dreary, and the maps glare at you, and
+the black-boards frown darkly, and the benches seem very hard, and the
+ink-bespattered desks appear more grimy than ever.
+
+This was the time when the heart of the Dominie would be touched with
+pity, and he would say in his bright way: "Now, children, I am going
+to read you something!"
+
+Instantly the half-closed eyes would open, the drooping heads would be
+raised, the vacant faces would brighten, and the little cramped legs
+would be stretched out with a sigh of relief. And then the Dominie
+would read them something that was not only instructive, but very
+entertaining. Sometimes, instead of reading to them, he would set them
+to declaiming or reciting poetry, or they would choose sides and have
+a spelling match. They would get so interested that they would forget
+all about the birds and sunshine without. They did not even know that
+they were learning all this time.
+
+For the Dominie had all sorts of pleasant ways of teaching his
+scholars. Not but what they had to work hard too, for nobody can
+accomplish anything worth having without putting a good deal of hard
+work in it.
+
+You see the Dominie's portrait in the picture. The fringe of hair
+around his bald head was as white as snow; his black eyes were bright
+and merry; and he had a kindly face. His name was Morris Harvey, but
+everybody called him Dominie, and he liked that name best. All the
+village people respected and loved the old man; and every child in the
+village school that he taught, from the largest boy, whose legs were
+so long that he did not know what to do with them, down to Bessie
+Gay, who could scarcely reach up to the top of a desk, were very fond
+indeed of him.
+
+But even under the Dominie's kindly rule, "School's out!" was always a
+welcome sound. What a noise there would be in the school-room for a
+minute; and then such a grand rush out into the open air! and such
+merry shouts! The Dominie would look after them with a smile. He
+wanted them to study, but he was glad that it was natural for them to
+love to play.
+
+If little Charlie Lane had known this he would not have had such a cry
+the morning he went to school for the first time. He thought his
+mother very cruel to make him go, and, I am sorry to say, not only
+cried before he started, but all the way to the school-house. The
+Dominie took no notice of this, and Charlie soon found that school was
+not such a very dreadful place. And there was the nice playtime in the
+middle of the day. And, when school was out, the Dominie took him on
+his knee and gave him a big apple, and showed him a book full of
+bright pictures, and told him a story about every one of them.
+
+You can see the little fellow on the Dominie's lap, looking earnestly
+at a picture in the book; and the old man is pleased that the child is
+pleased. The Dominie is sitting in his big chair, and his dinner-bag
+is hanging on the back of it. On the black-board over his head you see
+little Charlie's lesson for that day. It is on the right, and consists
+of the letters A, B, C, which the child has been staring at until he
+knows them perfectly in any book that is given to him. On the left, is
+a sum; and somebody has tried to draw an almanac sun on the lower part
+of the board. Across the top the Dominie has written a copy. You can
+read it plainly. It was a favorite saying of his; and a very good one
+too.
+
+Have we not, all of us, a great deal to make us happy? What pleasure
+is it to you to go about with a cross or melancholy face? Try to think
+of something pleasant, and call up a smile. Put the ill-natured
+feelings out of your heart, and then the brightness will come to your
+face without further trouble. If you have a hard task to do, being
+cross won't help you along one bit. Go to work at it with a will, and
+you will be surprised to find how soon it will be done. Then, with a
+clear conscience and a glad heart, you can sit waiting for the welcome
+sound, "School's out!"
+
+
+
+
+NEST-BUILDERS.
+
+
+"Birds in their little nests agree," but they do not at all agree in
+their manner of building the said nests.
+
+They have all sorts of ideas on this subject. Nearly every species of
+bird has a nest peculiar to itself, and the variety is astonishing.
+There are nests like cups, and nests like saucers; nests which are
+firmly fixed among the solid rocks, and nests which wave about on the
+ends of slender branches; nests which are perched on the very tops of
+the tallest trees, and nests which are hidden in the ground. There are
+great nests, which will hold a bushel or two of eggs, and little bits
+of things, into which you could scarcely put half a dozen peas.
+
+In mentioning some of these nests, it will be needless for us to say
+much of those with which we are all familiar. In our rambles together
+we must try and see as many novelties as possible, for we may not
+always have the chance of wandering freely into any part of the world
+to which our fancy may lead us. I remember a little girl who used to
+come to our house when I was a boy, and who never cared for anything
+at table that was not something of a novelty to her. When offered
+potatoes, she would frankly say: "No, thank you; I can get them at
+home."
+
+So we will not meddle with hens' nests, robins' nests, and all the
+nests, big and little, that we find about our homes, for they are the
+"potatoes" of a subject like this, but will try and find some nests
+that are a little out of the way, and curious.
+
+But we must stop--just one moment--before we leave home, and look at a
+wren's nest.
+
+The Wren, although a very common little bird with us, does not build a
+common nest. She makes it round, like a ball, or a woolly orange,
+with a little hole at one side for a door. Inside, it is just as soft
+and comfortable as anything can be. Being such a little bird herself,
+she could not cover and protect her young ones from cold and danger so
+well as the larger cat-birds and robins, and her nest is contrived so
+that there will not be much covering to do.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+That beautiful bird, the Baltimore Oriole, which may be familiar to
+some of you, makes its nest somewhat on the plan of the wren, the
+similarity consisting in the fact that the structure is intended to
+shelter both parent and young. The oriole, which is a great deal
+larger than a wren, builds a much larger nest, forming it like a bag,
+with a hole in one end, and hangs it on the branch of a tree.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It is scarcely possible for any harm to come to the young orioles,
+when they are lying snugly at the bottom of the deep nest and their
+mother is sitting on a twig near by, ready to protect them at the
+hazard of her life.
+
+But, for all the apparent security of this nest, so deep, so warm, so
+firmly secured to the twigs and branches, the little orioles are not
+entirely safe. Their mother may protect them from rain and cold; from
+winged enemies and creeping serpents, but she cannot defend them
+against the attacks of boys and men. An oriole's nest is such a
+curious structure, and the birds are known to be of such fine form and
+gorgeous plumage, that many boys cannot resist the temptation of
+climbing up after them and, if there are young ones within, of
+carrying the whole affair away in order to try and "raise" the young
+birds. Sometimes the nest is put in a cage, where the old bird can
+come and feed its young, and in other cases the captor undertakes to
+do the feeding himself. I have seen experiments of this kind tried,
+but never knew the slightest success to follow them, and the attempt,
+generally useless, is always cruel.
+
+But we must positively get away from home and look at some nests to
+which few or none of us are accustomed.
+
+There, for instance, is the nest of the Burrowing-Owl, a native of
+South America and the regions west of the Rocky Mountains. This little
+bird, much smaller than our common owls, likes to live in the ground.
+But not having been provided by nature with digging appendages, he
+cannot make a hole or burrow for himself, and so he takes up his abode
+in the underground holes made by the little prairie-dogs for their own
+homes. It is not at all certain that these owls should be called
+usurpers or thieves. They may, in some cases, get entire possession of
+the holes, but very often they live very sociably with the
+prairie-dogs, and may, for all we know, pay for their lodgings by
+bringing in grain and seeds, along with the worms and insects which
+they reserve for their own table. Any one who does not possess a
+habitation of his own, must occasionally expect to be thrown among
+strange companions, and this very often happens to the burrowing-owl.
+Travellers tell us that not only do the prairie-dogs and owls live
+together in these burrows, but that great rattlesnakes sometimes take
+up their residence therein--all three families seeming to live
+together in peace and unity. I think that it is probable, however,
+that the little dogs and owls are not at all pleased with the company
+of the snakes. A prairie-dog will not eat an owl, and without the dog
+is very young indeed, an owl will not eat him; but a great snake would
+just as soon swallow either of them as not, if he happened to be
+hungry, which fortunately is not often the case, for a good meal lasts
+a snake a long time. But the owls and the prairie-dogs have no way of
+ridding themselves of their unwelcome roommates, and, like human
+beings, they are obliged to patiently endure the ills they cannot
+banish. Perhaps, like human beings again, they become so accustomed to
+these ills that they forget how disagreeable they are.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+There is a bird--and it is a Flamingo--which builds a nest which looks
+to me as if it must be very unpleasant to sit upon. And yet it suits
+the bird very well. In fact, on any other kind of a nest, the
+flamingo might not know what to do with its legs.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It would appear as if there had been a waste of material in making
+such a large high nest, when only two or three moderate-sized eggs are
+placed in the slight depression at the top; but, when we consider that
+the flamingo uses this tall affair as a seat, as well as a nest, we
+can easily understand that flamingoes, like most other birds,
+understand how to adapt their nests to their own convenience and
+peculiarities. Sitting astraddle on one of these tall nests, which
+look something like peach-baskets turned upside down, with her head
+stuck as far under her wing as she can get it, the flamingo dozes
+away, during the long sultry hours of day, as comfortably and happily
+as if she was a little wren snugly curled up inside of its cosey nest.
+It is not mere situation which makes us happy. Some people enjoy life
+in cottages, others in palaces, and some birds sit in a pile of hard
+sticks and think themselves quite as cosey as those which repose upon
+the softest down.
+
+It is almost impossible to comprehend the different fancies of birds
+in regard to their nests. For instance, why should any bird want to
+sail about in its nest? Yet there is one--called the Little
+Grebe--which builds a water-tight nest, in which she lays her eggs,
+and, while she is hatching them, she paddles herself around on the
+water.
+
+It seems to me that these birds must have a very pleasant time during
+the setting season. To start out some fine morning, after it has had
+its breakfast of bugs and things, to gently push its nest from shore;
+to jump on board; to sit down comfortably on the eggs, and sticking
+out its web-footed legs on each side, to paddle away among the
+water-lilies and the beautiful green rushes, in company with other
+little grebes, all uniting business and pleasure in the same way, must
+be, indeed, quite charming to an appreciative duck.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+If it were to happen to storm, however, when the grebe was at a
+distance from shore, her little craft might be upset and her cargo of
+eggs go to the bottom. But I expect the grebes are very good sailors,
+and know when to look for bad weather.
+
+A nest full of young grebes just hatched, with the mother swimming
+behind, pushing them along with her beak, or towing them by the loose
+end of a twig, must be a very singular and interesting sight.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+An Ostrich has very different views in regard to a nest from a little
+grebe. Instead of wishing to take its nest about with it, wherever it
+goes, the ostrich does not care for a great deal of nest-work.
+
+It is, however, a bird of more domestic habits than some writers would
+have us believe; for although it does cover up its eggs in the sand,
+and then let the sun help hatch them, it is not altogether inattentive
+to its nest. The ostrich makes a large nest in the sand, where, it is
+said, the eggs of several families are deposited. These eggs are very
+carefully arranged in the great hole or basin that has been formed in
+the soft sand, and, during the daytime, they are often covered up and
+left to be gently heated by the rays of the sun. But the ostrich sits
+upon her nest at night, and in many cases the male bird has been known
+to sit upon the eggs all day. An ostrich nest is a sort of a wholesale
+establishment. There are not only a great many eggs in the nest, but
+dozens of them are often found lying about on the sand around it.
+
+This apparent waste is explained by some naturalists by the statement
+that these scattered eggs are intended for the food of the young ones
+when they are hatched. This may be true; but in that case young
+ostriches cannot be very particular about the flavor of the eggs they
+eat. A few days in the hot sun of the desert would be very likely to
+make eggs of any kind taste rather strongly. But ostrich eggs are so
+large, and their shells are so thick, that they may keep better than
+the eggs to which we are accustomed.
+
+From nests which are built flat on the ground, let us now go to some
+that are placed as high from the earth as their builders can get them.
+The nests of the Storks are of this kind.
+
+A pair of storks will select, as a site for their nest, a lofty place
+among the rocks; the top of some old ruins; or, when domesticated, as
+they often are, the top of a chimney. But when there are a number of
+storks living together in a community, they very often settle in a
+grove of tall trees and build their nests on the highest branches.
+
+[Illustration: THE NEST OF A STORK.]
+
+In these they lay their eggs, and hatch out their young ones. Soon
+after the time when these young storks are able to fly, the whole
+community generally starts off on its winter pilgrimage to warm
+countries; but the old storks always return in the spring to the same
+nest that they left, while the young ones, if they choose to join that
+community at all, must make nests for themselves. Although these nests
+are nothing but rude structures of sticks and twigs, made apparently
+in the roughest manner, each pair of storks evidently thinks that
+there is no home like its own.
+
+The stork is a very kind parent, and is, in fact, more careful of the
+welfare of its young than most birds; but it never goes to the length
+of surrendering its homestead to its children.
+
+The young storks will be carefully nurtured and reared by their
+parents; when they grow old enough they will be taught to fly, and
+encouraged in the most earnest way to strengthen and develop their
+wings by exercise; and, in the annual expedition to the south, they
+are not left to themselves, but are conducted to the happy lands where
+all good storks spend their winters. But the young storks cannot have
+everything. If they wish to live in the nest in which they were born,
+they must wait until their parents are dead.
+
+It may be that we have now seen enough of birds' nests, and so I will
+not show you any more.
+
+The next nest which we will examine--
+
+"But I thought you were not going to show us any more birds' nests!"
+you will say.
+
+That is true. I did say so, and this next one is not a bird's nest but
+a fish's nest.
+
+It is probably that very few of you, if any, ever saw a fish's nest;
+but there certainly are such things.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The fish which builds them is called the Stickleback. It is a little
+fish, but it knows how to make a good nest. The male stickleback is
+the builder, and when he thinks of making a nest he commences by
+burrowing a hole in the mud at the bottom of the stream where he
+lives. When with his nose and body he has made this hole large enough,
+he collects bits of grass, roots, and weeds, and builds his nest over
+this hole, which seems to be dug for the purpose of giving security to
+the structure. The grass and other materials are fastened to the mud
+and earth by means of a sticky substance, which exudes from the body
+of the fish, and every part of the nest is stuck together and
+interlaced so that it will not be disturbed by the currents. There are
+generally two openings to this nest, which is something like a lady's
+muff, although, of course, it is by no means so smooth and regular.
+The fish can generally stick its head out of one end, and its tail out
+of the other.
+
+When the eggs have been laid in the nest, and the young sticklebacks
+have been born, the male fish is said to be very strict and particular
+in the government of his children. For some time--while they are yet
+very small--(and the father himself is a very little fellow) he makes
+them stay in the nest, and if any of them come swimming out, he drives
+them back again, and forces them to stay at home until they are of a
+proper age to swim about by themselves.
+
+We have now seen quite a variety of nests, and I think that we may
+come to this conclusion about their builders:--The bird or other
+creature which can carefully select the materials for the home of its
+young, can decide what is most suitable for the rough outside and what
+will be soft and nice for the inner lining, and can choose a position
+for its nest where the peculiar wants and habits of its little ones
+can be best provided for, must certainly be credited with a degree of
+intelligence which is something more than what is generally suggested
+by the term instinct.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE BOOMERANG.
+
+
+Civilized folks are superior in so very many respects to their
+barbarous brethren that it is well, when we discover anything which a
+savage can do better than we can, to make a note of it, and give the
+subject some attention.
+
+And it is certain that there are savages who can surpass us in one
+particular--they can make and throw boomerangs.
+
+It is very possible that an American mechanic could imitate an
+Australian boomerang, so that few persons could tell the difference;
+but I do not believe that boomerang would work properly. Either in the
+quality of the wood, or in the seasoning, or in some particular which
+we would not be apt to notice, it would, in all probability, differ
+very much from the weapon carved out by the savage. If the American
+mechanic was to throw his boomerang away from him, I think it would
+stay away. There is no reason to believe that it would ever come back.
+
+And yet there is nothing at all wonderful in the appearance of the
+real boomerang. It is simply a bent club, about two feet long, smooth
+on one side and slightly hollowed out on the other. No one would
+imagine, merely from looking at it, that it could behave in any way
+differently from any other piece of stick of its size and weight.
+
+But it does behave differently, at least when an Australian savage
+throws it. I have never heard of an American or European who was able
+to make the boomerang perform the tricks for which it has become
+famous. Throwing this weapon is like piano-playing; you have to be
+brought up to it in order to do it well.
+
+In the hands of the natives of Australia, however, the boomerang
+performs most wonderful feats. Sometimes the savage takes hold of it
+by one end, and gives it a sort of careless jerk, so that it falls on
+the ground at a short distance from him. As soon as it strikes the
+earth it bounds up into the air, turns, twists, and pitches about in
+every direction, knocking with great force against everything in its
+way. It is said that when it bounds in this way into the midst of a
+flock of birds, it kills and wounds great numbers of them. At other
+times the boomerang-thrower will hurl his weapon at an object at a
+great distance, and when it has struck the mark it will turn and fall
+at the feet of its owner, turning and twisting on its swift and
+crooked way. This little engraving shows how the boomerang will go
+around a tree and return again to the thrower. The twisted line
+indicates its course.
+
+Most astonishing stories are told of the skill with which the
+Australians use this weapon. They will aim at birds or small animals
+that are hidden behind trees and rocks, and the boomerang will go
+around the trees and rocks and kill the game. They are the only people
+who can with any certainty shoot around a corner. Not only do they
+throw the boomerang with unerring accuracy, but with tremendous force,
+and when it hits a man on the head, giving him two or three terrible
+raps as it twists about him, it is very apt to kill him. To ward off
+these dangerous blows, the natives generally carry shields when they
+go out to fight. Sometimes an Australian throws two boomerangs at
+once, one with his right hand and one with his left, and then the
+unfortunate man that he aims at has a hard time of it.
+
+Many persons have endeavored to explain the peculiar turning and
+twisting properties of the boomerang, but they have not been entirely
+successful, for so much depends not only on the form of the weapon,
+but on the skill of the thrower. But it is known that the form of the
+boomerang, and the fact that one of its limbs is longer and heavier
+than the other, gives its centre of gravity a very peculiar situation;
+and when the weapon is thrown by one end, it has naturally a tendency
+to rotate, and the manner of this rotation is determined by the
+peculiar impetus given it by the hand of the man who throws it.
+
+It is well that we are able to explain the boomerang a little, for
+that is all we can do with it. The savage cannot explain it at all;
+but he can use it.
+
+But, after all, I do not know that a boomerang would be of much
+service to us even if we could use it. There is only one thing that I
+can now think of that it would be good for. It would be a splendid to
+knock down chestnuts with!
+
+Just think of a boomerang going twirling into a chestnut-tree,
+twisting, turning, banging, and cracking on every side, knocking down
+the chestnuts in a perfect shower, and then coming gently back into
+your hand, all ready for another throw!
+
+It would be well worth while to go out chestnuting, if we had a
+boomerang to do the work for us.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now our Ramblings must come to an end. We cannot walk about the world
+for ever, you know, no matter how pleasant it may be.
+
+And I wish I was quite sure that you have all found these wanderings
+pleasant.
+
+As for me, there were some things that I did not like so well as
+others, and I suppose that that was the case with all of you.
+
+But it could not be helped. In this world some things will be better
+than others, do what we may.
+
+One of these days, perhaps, we may ramble about again. Until then,
+good-by!
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+_Charles Scribner's Sons Books for Young Readers._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Written and Illustrated by Howard Pyle
+
+_A NEW BOOK JUST PUBLISHED._
+
+THE STORY OF SIR LAUNCELOT AND HIS COMPANIONS
+
+Profusely illustrated. Royal 8vo, $2.50 _net_.
+
+The account of the adventures and deeds of Sir Launcelot, fully and
+beautifully illustrated in Mr. Pyle's characteristic style, and
+uniform with his other two books, "The Story of King Arthur and His
+Knights" and "The Story of the Champions of the Round Table." This
+book takes up the adventures of the greatest of the Arthurian heroes,
+from the very beginning, and also that of his son Sir Galahad.
+
+"There is nobody quite like Howard Pyle, after all, when it comes to
+stories for children, nobody with his peculiar freshness and
+enthusiasm, and his power of choosing quaint and lovely settings for
+the sometimes quiet, sometimes stirring tales that appeal at once to
+his readers by their truth and naturalness."--THE SPRINGFIELD
+REPUBLICAN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_OTHER BOOKS BY MR. PYLE_.
+
+THE STORY OF THE CHAMPIONS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Profusely illustrated.
+Royal 8vo, $2.50 _net_.
+
+"He has caught the very spirit of chivalry. It is one of the best of
+holiday books."--SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.
+
+THE STORY OF KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS. Profusely illustrated. Royal
+8vo, $2.50 _net_.
+
+"Nothing could be better to give a boy or girl for Christmas than Mr.
+Pyle's rendition of these stately, ennobling old legends."--CHICAGO
+RECORD-HERALD.
+
+THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. Illustrated. Royal 8vo, $3.00.
+
+"This superb book is unquestionably the most original and elaborate
+ever produced by any American author. Mr. Pyle has told, with pencil
+and pen, the complete and consecutive story of Robin Hood and his
+merry men in their haunts in Sherwood Forest, gathered from the old
+ballads and legends."--BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.
+
+OTTO OF THE SILVER HAND. Illustrated. Royal 8vo, $2.00.
+
+"The scene of the story is mediaeval Germany in the time of the feuds
+and robber barons and romance. The kidnapping of Otto, his adventures
+among rough soldiers and his daring rescue make up a spirited and
+thrilling story."--CHRISTIAN UNION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Heroes of the Olden Time.
+
+By JAMES BALDWIN. Three volumes, 12mo, each beautifully illustrated.
+Singly, $1.50; the set, $4.00.
+
+A STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE. Illustrated by HOWARD PYLE.
+
+"Mr. Baldwin's book is redolent with the spirit of the Odyssey, that
+glorious primitive epic, fresh with the dew of the morning of time. It
+is an unalloyed pleasure to read his recital of the adventures of the
+wily Odysseus. Howard Pyle's illustrations render the spirit of the
+Homeric age with admirable felicity."--PROF. H.H. BOYESEN.
+
+THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED. Illustrated by HOWARD PYLE.
+
+"The story of 'Siegfried' is charmingly told. The author makes up the
+story from the various myths in a fascinating way which cannot fail to
+interest the reader. It is as enjoyable as any fairy tale."--HARTFORD
+COURANT.
+
+THE STORY OF ROLAND. Illustrated by R.B. BIRCH.
+
+"Mr. Baldwin has culled from a wide range of epics, French, Italian, and
+German, and has once more proved his aptitude as a story-teller for the
+young."--THE NATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Boy's Library of Legend and Chivalry.
+
+Edited by <sc>SIDNEY LANIER</sc>, and richly illustrated by
+FREDERICKS, BENSELL, and KAPPES. Four volumes, cloth, uniform binding,
+price per set, $7.00. Sold separately, price per volume, $2.00.
+
+Mr. Lanier's books present to boy readers the old English classics of
+history and legend in an attractive form. While they are stories of
+action and stirring incident, they teach those lessons which manly,
+honest boys ought to learn.
+
+THE BOY'S KING ARTHUR.
+THE BOY'S FROISSART.
+THE BOY'S PERCY.
+THE KNIGHTLY LEGENDS OF WALES.
+
+"Amid all the strange and fanciful scenery of these stories, character
+and ideals of character remain at the simplest and purest. The romantic
+history transpires in the healthy atmosphere of the open air on the
+green earth beneath the open sky."--THE INDEPENDENT.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Stories for Boys.
+
+By RICHARD HARDING DAVIS. With 6 full-page illustrations. 12mo, $1.00
+
+CONTENTS: The Reporter who made himself King--Midsummer
+Pirates--Richard Carr's Baby, a Football Story--The Great Tri-Club
+Tennis Tournament--The Jump at Corey's Slip--The Van Bibber Baseball
+Club--The Story of a Jockey.
+
+"It will be astonishing indeed if youths of all ages are not fascinated
+with these 'Stories for Boys.' Mr. Davis knows infallibly what will
+interest his young readers."--BOSTON BEACON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Marvels of Animal Life Series.
+
+By CHARLES F. HOLDER. Three volumes, 8vo, each profusely illustrated.
+Singly, $1.75; the Set, $5.00.
+
+THE IVORY KING. A POPULAR HISTORY OF THE ELEPHANT AND ITS ALLIES.
+
+"The author talks in a lively and pleasant way about white elephants,
+rogue elephants, baby elephants, trick elephants, of the elephant in
+war, pageantry, sports and games. A charming accession to books for
+young people."--CHICAGO INTERIOR.
+
+MARVELS OF ANIMAL LIFE.
+
+"Mr. Holder combines his description of these odd creatures with
+stories of his own adventures in pursuit of them in many parts of the
+world. These are told with much spirit, and add greatly to the
+fascination of the book."--WORCESTER SPY.
+
+LIVING LIGHTS. A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF PHOSPHORESCENT ANIMALS AND
+VEGETABLES.
+
+"A very curious branch of natural history is expounded in most
+agreeable style by this delightful book. He has revealed a world of
+new wonders."--PHILADELPHIA BULLETIN.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+White Cockades.
+
+An Incident of the "Forty-five." By EDWARD I. STEVENSON. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+"A bright historical tale. The scene is Scotland; the time that of
+Prince Charles' rebellion. The hero is a certain gallant young
+nobleman devoted to the last of the Stuarts and his cause. The action
+turns mainly upon the hiding, the hunting, and the narrow escapes of
+Lord Geoffrey Armitage from the spies and soldiers of the King."--NEW
+YORK MAIL AND EXPRESS.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Prince Peerless.
+
+A Fairy-Folk Story Book. By MARGARET COLLIER (Madam Gelletti Di
+Cadilhac). Illustrated by John Collier. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"More admirable and fascinating a fairy-story book we have not lately
+set eyes upon. The stories are most airily conceived and gracefully
+executed."--HARTFORD POST.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By William Henry Frost.
+
+FAIRIES AND FOLK OF IRELAND. Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo,
+$1.50.
+
+"Fresh and delightful materials are incorporated in witty and
+interesting narratives."--PHILADELPHIA PRESS.
+
+THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Stories of King Arthur and the Holy
+Grail. Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"The book is especially commended to boys, who will delight in the
+martial spirit breathed through the tales, and cannot fail to be
+benefited by reading of the courage, honor, and truth of these 'brave
+knights of old.'"--CHICAGO INTER-OCEAN.
+
+THE COURT OF KING ARTHUR. Stories from the Land of the Round Table.
+Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"Mr. William Henry Frost in 'The Court of King Arthur' has succeeded
+admirably in his attempt to make the doughty knights and fair ladies
+of ancient days seem distinct and interesting to boys and girls of our
+own time."--PUBLIC OPINION.
+
+THE WAGNER STORY BOOK. Firelight Tales of the Great Music Dramas.
+Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"The story of the Knight of the Swan, of the Ring of the Nibelungen,
+the Search for the Grail, of Lohengrin and of Parsifal, are among the
+richest and deepest of the great mediaeval stories. They are
+pre-eminently the natural food for children of imagination, and in
+this volume these stories are retold in a very effective way."--THE
+OUTLOOK.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Robert Grant's Two Books for Boys.
+
+JACK HALL; or, the School Days of an American Boy. Illustrated by F.
+G. ATTWOOD. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"A better book for boys has never been written. It is pure, clean and
+healthy, and has throughout a vigorous action that holds the reader
+breathless."--BOSTON HERALD.
+
+"A capital story for boys, wholesome and interesting. It reminds one
+of 'Tom Brown.'"--BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.
+
+JACK IN THE BUSH; or, a Summer on a Salmon River. Illustrated by F.T.
+MERRILL. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"A clever book for boys. It is the story of the camp-life of a lot of
+boys, and is destined to please every boy reader. It is attractively
+illustrated."--DETROIT FREE PRESS.
+
+"An ideal story of out-door life and genuine experiences."--BOSTON
+TRAVELLER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Books by Kirk Munroe.
+
+A SON OF SATSUMA; or, WITH PERRY IN JAPAN. Illustrated by RUFUS F.
+ZOGBAUM. 12mo, $1.00 _net_.
+
+"If there is a man who understands writing a story for boys better
+than another, it is Kirk Munroe."--SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN.
+
+BRETHREN OF THE COAST: A TALE OF WEST INDIAN PIRATES. Illustrated by
+RUFUS F. ZOGBAUM. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"There is enough of history and enough of action in this story to make
+it valuable as well as readable, and this story of adventure and
+description will be read with interest and profit."--HERALD AND
+PRESBYTER.
+
+MIDSHIPMAN STUART; OR, THE LAST CRUISE OF THE ESSEX. A tale of 1812.
+Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+The story tells of the exciting adventures of an unusually plucky and
+enterprising American boy whose career at sea is marked with
+hairbreadth escapes.
+
+IN PIRATE WATERS: A TALE OF THE AMERICAN NAVY. Illustrated by I.W.
+TABER. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+The boy hero of this book assists in the extinction of this cowardly
+system, taking part in some of the sea fights which brought glory to
+the American navy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The White Conqueror's Series.
+
+Each 12mo, $1.25. The set in a box, four volumes, $5.00.
+
+WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE; or, Fighting for the Lone Star State.
+Illustrated by VICTOR S. PERARD.
+
+"One of the most spirited and interesting tales that he has
+written."--NEWS AND COURIER.
+
+THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE. A tale of the Seminole War.
+Illustrated by VICTOR S. PERARD.
+
+"No boy can get hold of this story without being carried away with it."
+--BOSTON COURIER.
+
+AT WAR WITH PONTIAC; or, the Totem of the Bear. A tale of redcoat and
+redskin. Illustrated by J. FENNEMORE.
+
+"The book is admirably written throughout and has not a dull page in
+it."--BOSTON BEACON.
+
+THE WHITE CONQUERORS. A tale of Toltec and Aztec. Illustrated
+by W.S. STACEY.
+
+"The book is filled with incident and permeated with the high color
+and life of the period and country."--CAMBRIDGE TRIBUNE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Frank R. Stockton's Books for the Young.
+
+"_His books for boys and girls are classics_."--NEWARK ADVERTISER.
+
+THE CLOCKS OF RONDAINE, AND OTHER STORIES. With 24 illustrations by
+BLASHFIELD, ROGERS, BEARD, and others. Square 8vo; $1.50.
+
+PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. Illustrated by PENNELL, PARSONS, and others. Sq.
+8vo, $2.00.
+
+THE STORY OF VITEAU. Illustrated by R.B. BIRCH. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. With 20 illustrations. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+THE FLOATING PRINCE AND OTHER FAIRY TALES. Illustrated. Square 8vo,
+$1.50.
+
+THE TING-A-LING TALES. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS OF FACT AND FICTION. Illustrated. Square
+8vo, $1.50.
+
+TALES OUT OF SCHOOL. With nearly 200 illustrations. Square 8vo, $1.50.
+
+"The volumes are profusely illustrated and contain the most
+entertaining sketches in Mr. Stockton's most entertaining
+manner."--CHRISTIAN UNION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Edward Eggleston's Two Popular Books.
+
+THE HOOSIER SCHOOL-BOY. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+"'The Hoosier School-Boy' depicts some of the characteristics of
+boy-life years ago on the Ohio; characteristics, however, that were
+not peculiar to that section. The story presents a vivid and
+interesting picture of the difficulties which in those days beset the
+path of the youth aspiring for an education."--CHICAGO INTER-OCEAN.
+
+QUEER STORIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+"A very bright and attractive little volume for young readers. The
+stories are fresh, breezy, and healthy, with a good point to them and
+a good, sound American view of life and the road to success. The book
+abounds in good feeling and good sense, and is written in a style of
+homely art."--INDEPENDENT.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Evening Tales.
+
+Done into English from the French of Frederic Ortoli, by JOEL CHANDLER
+HARRIS. 12mo, $1.00.
+
+"It is a veritable French 'Uncle Remus' that Mr. Harris has discovered
+in Frederic Ortoli. The book has the genuine piquancy of Gallic wit,
+and will be sure to charm American children. Mr. Harris's version is
+delightfully written."--BOSTON BEACON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Hans Brinker: Or, The Silver Skates. A Story of Life in Holland. By
+Mary Mapes Dodge. With 60 illustrations. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"The author has shown, in her former works for the young, a very rare
+ability to meet their wants; but she has produced nothing better than
+this charming tale--alive with incident and action, adorned rather than
+freighted with useful facts, and moral without moralization."--THE
+NATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Norseland Series.
+
+_BY H.H. BOYESEN_.
+
+NORSELAND TALES. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+BOYHOOD IN NORWAY: NINE STORIES OF DEEDS OF THE SONS OF THE VIKINGS.
+With 8 illustrations. 12mo, $1.25
+
+AGAINST HEAVY ODDS, AND A FEARLESS TRIO. With 13 full-page
+illustrations by W.L. TAYLOR. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+THE MODERN VIKINGS: STORIES OF LIFE AND SPORT IN THE NORSELAND. With
+many full-page illustrations. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+The four above volumes in a box, $5.00.
+
+"Charmingly told stories of boy-life in the Land of the Midnight Sun,
+illustrated with pictures giving a capital idea of the incidents and
+scenes described. The tales have a delight all their own, as they tell
+of scenes and sports and circumstances so different from those of our
+American life."--N.Y. OBSERVER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two Books by Rossiter Johnson.
+
+THE END OF A RAINBOW. AN AMERICAN STORY. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"It will be read with breathless interest. It is interesting and full
+of boyish experiences."--N.Y. INDEPENDENT.
+
+PHAETON ROGERS. A NOVEL OF BOY LIFE. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50.
+
+"Mr. Johnson has shown in this book capabilities of a really high
+quality, for his story abounds with humor, and there are endless bits
+of quiet fun in it, which bring out the hearty laugh, even when it is
+read by older people. It is a capital book for boys."--NEW YORK TIMES.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Mrs. Burton Harrison's Tales.
+
+BRIC-A-BRAC STORIES. With 24 illustrations by Walter Crane. 12mo,
+$1.50.
+
+"When the little boy, for whose benefit the various articles of
+bric-a-brac in his father's drawing-room relate stories appropriate to
+their several native countries, exclaims at the conclusion of one of
+them: 'I almost think there can't be a better one than that!' the
+reader, of whatever age, will probably feel inclined to agree with
+him. Upon the whole, it is to be wished that every boy and girl might
+become acquainted with the contents of this book."--JULIAN HAWTHORNE.
+
+THE OLD FASHIONED FAIRY BOOK. Illustrated by ROSINA EMMET, 16mo,
+$1.25.
+
+"The little ones, who so willingly go back with us to 'Jack the Giant
+Killer,' 'Bluebeard,' and the kindred stories of our childhood, will
+gladly welcome Mrs. Burton Harrison's 'Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales.' The
+graceful pencil of Miss Rosina Emmet has given a pictorial interest to
+the book."--FRANK R. STOCKTON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Thomas Nelson Page's Two Books.
+
+AMONG THE CAMPS: OR, YOUNG PEOPLE'S STORIES OF THE WAR. With 8
+full-page illustrations. Square, 8vo, $1.50.
+
+"They are five in number, each having reference to some incident of
+the Civil War. A vein of mingled pathos and humor runs through them
+all, and greatly heightens the charm of them. It is the early
+experience of the author himself, doubtless, which makes his pictures
+of life in a Southern home during the great struggle so vivid and
+truthful."--THE NATION.
+
+TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES. With 8 full-page illustrations by KEMBLE and
+REDWOOD. Square, 8vo, $1.50.
+
+"Mr. Page was 'raised' in Virginia, and he knows the 'darkey' of the
+South better than any one who writes about them. And he knows 'white
+folks,' too, and his stories, whether for old or young people, have
+the charm of sincerity and beauty and reality."--HARPER'S YOUNG
+PEOPLE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+W.O. Stoddard's Books for Boys.
+
+DAB KINZER. A STORY OF A GROWING BOY. THE QUARTET. A SEQUEL TO DAB
+KINZER SALTILLO BOYS. AMONG THE LAKES. WINTER FUN.
+
+_Five volumes, 12mo, in a box, $5.00. Sold separately, each, $1.00_.
+
+"William O. Stoddard has written capital books for boys. His 'Dab
+Kinzer' and 'The Quartet' are among the best specimens of 'Juveniles'
+produced anywhere. In his latest volume, 'Winter Fun,' Mr. Stoddard
+gives free rein to his remarkable gift of story-telling for boys.
+Healthful works of this kind cannot be too freely distributed among
+the little men of America."--NEW YORK JOURNAL OF COMMERCE.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Little People
+
+And their Homes in Meadows, Woods, and Waters. By STELLA LOUISE HOOK.
+Illustrated by DAN BEARD and HARRY BEARD. One volume, square 8vo,
+$1.50.
+
+"A delightful excursion for the little ones into the fairy-land of
+nature, telling all about the little people and all in such pleasant
+language and such pretty illustrations that the little readers will be
+charmed as much as they will be instructed by the book."--NEW YORK
+EVANGELIST.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two Books by Robert Louis Stevenson.
+
+THE BLACK ARROW:
+
+A Tale of the Two Roses. By R.L. STEVENSON. With 12 full-page
+illustrations by WILL H. LOW and ALFRED BRENNAN. 12mo, $1.25.
+
+"The story is one of the strongest pieces of romantic writing ever
+done by Mr. Stevenson."--THE BOSTON TIMES.
+
+KIDNAPPED: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the
+Year 1751. By R.L. STEVENSON. 12mo, with 16 full-page illustrations,
+$1.50.
+
+"Mr. Stevenson has never appeared to greater advantage than in
+'Kidnapped.'"--THE NATION.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two Books by Henry M. Stanley.
+
+MY DARK COMPANIONS
+
+And Their Strange Stories. With 64 illustrations. 8vo, $2.00
+
+"The following legends," says Mr. Stanley in his introduction, "are
+the choicest and most curious of those that were related to me during
+seventeen years, and which have not been hitherto published in any of
+my books of travel." There are in all nineteen stories, new and
+striking in motive and quaint in language.
+
+MY KALULU.
+
+Prince, King, and Slave. A Story of Central Africa. By HENRY M.
+STANLEY. One volume, 12mo, new edition, with many illustrations,
+$1.50.
+
+"A fresh, breezy, stirring story for youths, interesting in itself and
+full of information regarding life in the interior of the continent in
+which its scenes are laid."--NEW YORK TIMES.
+
+"If the young reader is fond of strange adventures, he will find
+enough in this volume to delight him all winter, and he will be hard
+to please who is not charmed by its graphic pages."--BOSTON JOURNAL.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jules Verne's Greatest Work.
+
+"THE EXPLORATION OF THE WORLD."
+
+"M. Verne's scheme in this work is to tell fully how man has made
+acquaintance with the world in which he lives, to combine into a
+single work in three volumes the wonderful stories of all the great
+explorers, navigators, and travelers who have sought out, one after
+another, the once uttermost parts of the earth."--THE NEW YORK EVENING
+POST.
+
+The three volumes in a set, $7.50; singly, $2.50.
+
+FAMOUS TRAVELS AND TRAVELLERS.
+
+With over 100 full-page illustrations, maps, etc., 8vo, $2.50.
+
+THE GREAT NAVIGATORS OF THE XVIIITH CENTURY.
+
+With 96 full-page illustrations and 19 maps, 8vo, $2.50.
+
+THE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE XIXTH CENTURY.
+
+With over 100 full-page illustrations, facsimiles, etc., 8vo, $2.50.
+
+Jules Verne's Stories. Uniform Illustrated Edition.
+
+Nine volumes, 8vo, extra cloth, with over 750 full-page illustrations.
+Price, per set, in a box, $17.50. Sold also in separate volumes.
+
+MICHAEL STROGOFF; or, The Courier of the Czar, $2.00. A FLOATING CITY
+AND THE BLOCKADE RUNNERS, $2.00. HECTOR SERVADAC, $2.00. A JOURNEY TO
+THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, $2.00. FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON DIRECT IN
+NINETY-SEVEN HOURS, TWENTY MINUTES; AND A JOURNEY AROUND IT, $2.00.
+DICK SANDS, $2.00. THE STEAM HOUSE, $2.00. THE GIANT RAFT, $2.00. THE
+MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, $2.50.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Czar and Sultan.
+
+The adventures of a British Lad in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.
+By ARCHIBALD FORBES. Illustrated. 12mo, $2.00.
+
+"Very fascinating and graphic. Mr. Forbes is a forcible writer, and
+the present work has the vigor and intensity associated with his name.
+It is sure to be popular with youthful readers."--BOSTON BEACON.
+
+"A brilliant and exciting narrative, and the drawings add to its
+interest and value."--N.Y. OBSERVER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Books of Adventure by Robert Leighton.
+
+OLAF THE GLORIOUS.
+
+A Story of Olaf Triggvison, King of Norway, A.D. 995-1000. Crown 8vo,
+with numerous full-page illustrations, $1.50.
+
+THE WRECK OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.
+
+The Story of a North Sea Fisher Boy. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+THE THIRSTY SWORD.
+
+A Story of the Norse Invasion of Scotland, 1262-65. With 8
+illustrations and a map. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+THE PILOTS OF POMONA.
+
+A Story of the Orkney Islands. With 8 illustrations and a map. Crown
+8vo, $1.50.
+
+"Mr. Leighton as a writer for boys needs no praise, as his books place
+him in the front rank."--NEW YORK OBSERVER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Things Will Take a Turn.
+
+By BEATRICE HARRADEN, author of "Ships that Pass in the Night."
+Illustrated. 12mo, $1,00.
+
+The charm of this tale is its delicate, wistful sympathy. It is the
+story of a sunny-hearted child, Rosebud, who assists her grandfather
+in his dusty, second-hand bookshop. One cannot help being fascinated
+by the sweet little heroine, she is so engaging, so natural; and to
+love Rosebud is to love all her friends and enter sympathetically into
+the good fortune she brought them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Among the Lawmakers.
+
+By EDMUND ALTON. Illustrated. Sq. 8vo, $1.50.
+
+"The book is a diverting as well as an instructive one. Mr. Alton was
+in his early days a page in the Senate, and he relates the doings of
+Congress from the point of view he then obtained. His narrative is
+easy and piquant, and abounds in personal anecdotes about the great
+men whom the pages waited on."--CHRISTIAN UNION.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Round-about Rambles in Lands of Fact
+and Fancy, by Frank Richard Stockton
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND-ABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS ***
+
+***** This file should be named 17582.txt or 17582.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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