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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls,
+Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7., by Various
+
+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: St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7.
+       An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Mary Mapes Dodge
+
+Release Date: May 31, 2010 [EBook #32622]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ST. NICHOLAS
+
+An
+
+ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE
+
+FOR YOUNG FOLKS.
+
+
+CONDUCTED BY
+
+MARY MAPES DODGE.
+
+VOLUME XIII.
+
+PART II., MAY, 1886, TO OCTOBER, 1886.
+
+THE CENTURY CO. NEW YORK.
+F. WARNE & CO., LONDON.
+
+Copyright, 1886, by THE CENTURY CO.
+
+THE DE VINNE PRESS.
+
+
+
+
+ST. NICHOLAS:
+
+VOLUME XIII.
+
+PART II.
+
+SIX MONTHS--MAY, 1886, TO OCTOBER, 1886.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS OF PART II., VOLUME XIII.
+
+
+                                                                     PAGE.
+
+ABOUT BREATHING                             _Hellen Clark Swazey_      946
+
+ADVENTURE AT THE FLUME, OUR.
+    (Illustrated).                          _W. L_                     844
+
+AMBITIOUS KANGAROO, THE.
+    Jingle                                  _A. R. Wells_              853
+
+AMUSING THE BABY.
+    Verses. (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)    _Eva Lovett Carson_        706
+
+ARMY, AN. Verses                            _A. C_                     757
+
+ART AND ARTISTS, STORIES OF.
+    English Painters. (Illustrated)         _Clara Erskine Clement_    803
+
+AUNT DEBORAH'S LESSON. (Illustrated)        _G. H. Baskette_           694
+
+AUTUMN TO SPRING.       Poem                _Edith M. Thomas_          883
+
+BABY'S DIMPLE, THE.     Poem                _William H. Hayne_         731
+
+BALLAD OF BASE-BALL, A. Verses              _I. D_                     774
+
+BELATED FAIRY, A. Picture, drawn by Mary A. Lathbury                   693
+
+BLOSSOM-TIME. Poem                          _Laura E. Richards_        518
+
+BOAT-BUILDING. (Illustrated)                _George J. Manson_         698
+
+BOPEEP. Poem.
+    (Illustrated by Mary Hallock Foote)     _Sydney Dayre_             756
+
+BOYS' CAMP, A. (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)                           607
+
+BOYS' PARADISE, THE.
+    (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)           _Elizabeth Balch_          604
+
+BROWNIES AT BASE-BALL, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Palmer Cox_               943
+
+BROWNIES AT LAWN TENNIS, THE. Verses.
+     (Illustrated by the Author)            _Palmer Cox_               857
+
+BROWNIES IN THE MENAGERIE, THE.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Palmer Cox_               707
+
+BROWNIES ON ROLLER SKATES, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Palmer Cox_               543
+
+BUBBLE BOWLING.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Adelia B. Beard_          540
+
+BUTTERFLY AND THE BEE, THE. Verse           _Edith M. Thomas_          599
+
+CAPTAIN JACK'S FOURTH OF JULY KITE.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Daniel C. Beard_          702
+
+CARICATURE PLANT, THE.
+    (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)            _.M. A_                    522
+
+CHILDREN OF THE SUN, THE. Poem.
+    (Illustrated)                           _Arthur Wentworth Eaton_   770
+
+CHILDREN'S EXHIBITION, THE.
+    (Illustrated by E. J. Meeker)           _Charles Barnard_          916
+
+CHILD'S FANCY, A. Poem                      _Frank Dempster Sherman_   645
+
+CONSIDERATE FARMER JONES. Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes              843
+
+CRAFTY CRAB, THE. JINGLE. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by R. B. Birch)           _Isabel Frances Bellows_   845
+
+CREW OF THE CAPTAIN'S GIG, THE.
+    (Illustrated by G. W. Edwards)          _Rev. Charles R. Talbot_   899
+
+DAISY-SONG. Verses                          _Grace Denio Litchfield_   662
+
+DANGEROUS DOG, THE. JINGLE. (Illustrated
+     and engrossed by R. B. Birch)          _A. R. Wells_              837
+
+DIFFERENCE OF OPINION, A. Verses            _Lilian Dynevor Rice_      679
+
+DOG STORIES, ST. NICHOLAS. (Illustrated)                          526, 624
+
+"DO YOU LIKE BUTTER, BOSSY?" Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes           791
+
+DUEL WITH A STORK, A. Pictures, drawn by Frederick J. Hibbert          754
+
+FISHES AND THEIR YOUNG.
+    (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)            _C. F. Holder_             600
+
+FLY-FISHING FOR TROUT. (Illustrated by J. H. Cocks,
+     Henry Sandham, and others)             _Ripley Hitchcock_         655
+
+FRESH FROM A DIP IN THE BREAKERS.
+     Picture, drawn by Mary Hallock Foote                              670
+
+FROG IN THE SHOE, THE. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by Boz)                    _Aunt Fanny Barrow_        791
+
+FUN IN HIGH LIFE. Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes                      935
+
+GEORGE WASHINGTON. (Illustrated by                     505, 590, 663, 758,
+    H. A. Ogden and others)                 _Horace E. Scudder_   838, 908
+
+GIRAFFE, THE. (Illustrated)                 _Gerrish Eldridge_         768
+
+GIRLS' TRICYCLE CLUB AND ITS RUN DOWN THE CAPE, THE.
+    (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)           _E. Vinton Blake_          494
+
+GRANDPAPA ROSEBUSH. Verses.
+    (Illustrated)                           _Laura E. Richards_        583
+
+GREAT SPRING-BOARD ACT, THE. Picture, drawn by T. J. Nicholl           677
+
+HANDIWORK OF SOME CLEVER SCHOOL-BOYS, THE.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _J. Abdon Donnegan_        547
+
+HER PICTURE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Laura C. Hills)         _Anna M. Pratt_            942
+
+HIGHLY COLORED. Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes                        869
+
+HOW CONRAD LOST HIS SCHOOL-BOOKS.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Walter Bobbett_           514
+
+"HOW DOTH THE LITTLE BUSY BEE?" Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes        757
+
+HURLY-BURLY. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by L. Hopkins)             _Emma Mortimer White_      871
+
+IF. Jingle. (Illustrated)                   _E. A. B._                 703
+
+IN THE GARDEN. Verses.                      _Bessie Chandler_          898
+
+INVERTED. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by W. T. Peters)           _John B. Tabb_             828
+
+"IT WAS A FAIR ARTIST NAMED MAY." Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _O. Herford_               501
+
+JAPANESE BABIES. Verses. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by R. B. Birch)           _Anna C. Vincent_          948
+
+JINGLES.       501, 613, 630, 681, 687, 697, 703, 733, 748, 785, 791, 797,
+                                                   828, 837, 845, 853, 949
+
+JOLLY OLD KNIGHT, THE. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Oliver Herford_           748
+
+KEEPING THE CREAM OF ONE'S READING.
+    (Illustrated)                           _Margaret Meredith_        537
+
+KELP-GATHERERS, THE.                                        584, 687, 776,
+    (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)           _J. T. Trowbridge_     847,929
+
+KNICKERBOCKER BOY, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Jessie McDermott)       _Caroline S. King_         542
+
+LACE-LEAF, A SEARCH FOR THE.
+    (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)            _Alice May_                518
+
+LA FAYETTE.
+    (Illustrated by F. H. Lungren)          _Mrs. Eugenia M. Hodge_    643
+
+LAKE GEORGE CAPSIZE, A. (Illustrated)       _Edward Eggleston_         829
+
+LAST CRUISE OF THE "SLUG," THE.
+ (Illustrated by D. Clinton Peters)         _Thomas Edwin Turner_      671
+
+LESSON IN GEOGRAPHY, A. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Jessie McDermott)        _M. B. Jordan_            870
+
+LITTLE BOYS WHO LOOKED ALIKE, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)            _Malcolm Douglas_          928
+
+LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.                           502, 564, 646, 734, 822,
+    (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)            _Frances Hodgson Burnett_  884
+
+LITTLE MISS MABEL. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Daisy Jones_              613
+
+LITTLE SEAMSTRESS, A. Verse.                _Mary E. Wilkins_          733
+
+MAN OVERBOARD!
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _H. A. Johnson_            775
+
+MATTER-OF-FACT CINDERELLA, A.
+    (Illustrated)                           _Annie A. Preston_         860
+
+MAY SONG. Poem. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by Laura C. Hills)        _Laura E. Richards_        492
+
+MONSTER, THE. Verses. (Illustrated)         _Maria I. Hammond_         732
+
+MORNING-GLORIES. Poem.                      _Laura Ledyard Pope_       501
+
+MORRA. (Illustrated)                        _Susan Anna Brown_         846
+
+MOTHER'S IDEA.                              _A. M. Platt_              613
+
+NAN'S REVOLT. (Illustrated                                  682, 749, 816,
+    by Jessie Curtis Shepherd)              _Rose Lattimore Alling_    896
+
+NED'S BUTTERCUP. Verses.                    _Bessie Chandler_          941
+
+NEW THEORY, A. Verse.                       _Bessie Chandler_          785
+
+NEW VIEW OF THE MOON, A. Verses.            _Eva Lovett Carson_        551
+
+NO MORE SCHOOL. Picture, drawn by Rose Mueller                         571
+
+NOTIONAL NIGHTINGALE, THE. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by L. Hopkins)             _A. R. Wells_              748
+
+NUMBER ONE. Verses.                         _Charles R. Talbot_        705
+
+OCTOBER. Poem. (Illustrated)               _Susan Hartley_             890
+
+"OH, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Jingle. (Illustrated by E. Sylvester)       869
+
+OLD TIME ARMS AND ARMOR. (Illustrated)      _E. S. Brooks_             936
+
+ONCE-ON-A-TIME. Poem.                       _Emily Huntington Miller_  563
+
+ON THE WILLEY-BROOK TRESTLE.
+    (Illustrated by Henry Sandham)          _Willis Boyd Allen_        764
+
+OWL, THE BAT, AND THE BUMBLE-BEE, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by De Cost Smith)          _Laura E Richards_         747
+
+PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. (Illustrated by E. J.
+    Meeker and others)                      _Frank R. Stockton_
+      Queen Paris.                                                     572
+
+PICTURES.           525, 571, 637, 670, 677, 693, 701, 715, 738, 754, 757,
+                                         791, 798, 843, 856, 869, 935, 947
+
+PUSSIES' COATS, THE. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by H. P. Share)            _Esther B. Tiffany_        687
+
+PUZZLED BESSIE. Picture, drawn by Albert E. Sterner                    947
+
+PUZZLED PAPA, A. Verses.                    _M. L. B. Branch_          603
+
+QUAINT LITTLE MAN, A. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _A. Brennan_               949
+
+READY FOR BUSINESS; OR,
+    CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION. (Illustrated)   _George J. Manson_
+      Boat-building.                                                   698
+
+RECIPE, A. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Mary A. Lathbury_         629
+
+REGATTA. A. Game.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Frank Bellew_             783
+
+ROBIN'S RETURN. Poem.                       _Edith M. Thomas_          612
+
+ROCK-A-BYE. Poem.                           _Mary N. Prescott_         535
+
+ROCKY MOUNTAIN HERMIT, A. (Illustrated by
+    J. C. Beard and others)                 _Alfred Terry Bacon_  723, 832
+
+ROPE YARN SPUN BY AN OLD SAILOR, A.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _C. W. Miller_             786
+
+ROYAL FISH, A. (Illustrated by W. L.
+    Sheppard, Henry Sandham, and others)    _Ripley Hitchcock_         739
+
+SAD CASE, A. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Mary Richardson)        _Margaret Vandegrift_      733
+
+SAILOR BOY, THE. Verses. (Illustrated)      _Wallace E. Mather_        790
+
+SALMON: A ROYAL FISH. (Illustrated by W. L.
+    Sheppard, Henry Sandham, and others)    _Ripley Hitchcock_         739
+
+SATCHEL, THE.
+    (Illustrated by J. E. Kelly)            _Tudor Jenks_              616
+
+SEARCH FOR THE LACE-LEAF, A.
+    (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)            _Alice May_                518
+
+SEA-URCHIN, THE. Jingle. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by R. B. Birch)           _Isabel Frances Bellows_   785
+
+SHAKSPERE WHEN A BOY.
+    (Illustrated by Alfred Parsons)         _Rose Kingsley_            483
+
+SMALLEST CIRCUS IN THE WORLD, THE.
+    (Illustrated by J. G. Francis)          _C. F. Holder_             533
+
+SOME CURIOUS MARINERS. (Illustrated by
+    J. C. Beard and J. M. Nugent)           _C. F. Holder_             891
+
+SONG OF SUMMER, A. Poem.                    _Emma C. Dowd_             671
+
+SPRING BEAUTIES. Poem.
+    (Illustrated by A. Brennan)             _Helen Gray Cone_          513
+
+ST. NICHOLAS DOG STORIES. (Illustrated)
+    A Clever Little Yellow Dog              _John R. Coryell_          526
+    A Dog that Could Count                  _E. P. Roe_                529
+    A Clever Sheep Dog                                                 530
+    A Story of Two Buckets                  _Charlotte M. Vaile_       530
+    The Left-field of the Lincoln Nine      _C. F. Holder_             624
+    A Dog that Could Climb Trees            _C. F. Holder_             626
+    A Sociable, Sensible Dog                _E. P. Roe_                626
+    A Dog whose Feelings were Hurt          _E. P. Roe_                628
+    A Dog that Repaid a Trick                                          628
+    Mephistopheles                          _Anna Gardner_             628
+
+STORIES OF ART AND ARTISTS.
+    English Painters. (Illustrated)         _Clara Erskine Clement_    803
+
+TEA-PARTY, A. Verses. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by the Author)            _Margaret Johnson_         865
+
+TELL-TALE BARN, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Esther B. Tiffany_        924
+
+"THE BIGGEST OF BIRDS." Jingle.
+    (Illustrated G. R. Halm)                _E. E. Sterns_             703
+
+THEORETIC TURTLE, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated)                           _A. R. Wells_              681
+
+"THIS LITTLE PIG WENT TO MARKET." Picture, drawn by Rose Mueller       701
+
+"THIS SEAT RESERVED." Picture.                                         856
+
+THREE VELVETY BEES. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by F. E. Gifford)          _M. M. D._                 654
+
+TIMOTHY TIMID. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _A. Brennan_               697
+
+TIPPIE AND JIMMIE.
+    (Illustrated by H. P. Share)            _Mary L. French_           705
+
+TODDLEKINS AND TROT. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Laura C. Hills)         _Anna M. Pratt_            843
+
+TROUT, FLY-FISHING FOR. (Illustrated by
+    J. H. Cocks, Henry Sandham, E. J. Meeker,
+    and others)                             _Ripley Hitchcock_         655
+
+UNDER THE SNOW. Poem.                       _Lilian Dynevor Rice_      815
+
+VEGETABLE CLOTHING.
+    (Illustrated by D. C. Beard)            _C. J. Russell_            523
+
+VENETIAN MARQUETRY.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Charles G. Leland_        866
+
+WAITING FOR A COLD WAVE. Picture, drawn by C. Weaver                   738
+
+WEASEL AND THE ADDER, THE. (Illustrated)    _Gerrish Eldridge_         907
+
+WHAT BERTIE SAW IN THE FLOWERS. Poem.
+    (Illustrated)                           _L. G. R._                 536
+
+WHAT IT WAS. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by F. E. Gifford)          _Malcolm Douglas_          701
+
+WHEN SHAKSPERE WAS A BOY.
+    (Illustrated by Alfred Parsons)         _Rose Kingsley_            483
+
+WILD FLOWERS, THE. Verses. (Illustrated)    _Jessie Penniman_          603
+
+WILD HUNTERS. (Illustrated)                 _John R. Coryell_          681
+
+WINGED SEEDS. Poem.                         _Helen Gray Cone_          571
+
+WOE TO THE FOREIGN DOLLY! Picture, drawn by R. Blum                    525
+
+WONDERS OF THE ALPHABET. (Illustrated)      _Henry Eckford_       538, 621,
+                                                        677, 771, 854, 925
+
+WORK AND PLAY FOR YOUNG FOLK. (Illustrated.)
+    A Rope Yarn Spun by an Old Sailor.
+      (Illustrated by the Author)           _C. W. Miller_             786
+    Venetian Marquetry.
+      (Illustrated by the Author)           _Charles G. Leland_        866
+
+
+DEPARTMENTS.
+
+FOR VERY LITTLE FOLK. (Illustrated.)
+    Riddles.                                _M. M. D._                 630
+    "Pretty Painted Bridges"   }
+    "White Sheep, White Sheep" }            _E. E. Sterns_             630
+    "On Dormio Hill"           }
+    A Letter from a Little Boy              _Ralph Ranlet_             710
+    "Dude" and the Cats                                                711
+    Riddles for Very Little Folk           _E. E. Sterns_              950
+
+PLAYS AND MUSIC.
+    Easter Carol                            _William E. Ashmall_       546
+
+JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. (Illustrated.)
+
+    Introduction--"Everything is Lovely, and the Goose Hangs
+    High"--Girls! To the Rescue!--About Little Lord
+    Fauntleroy--Fishing for Necklaces--A Suggestion to the
+    Bottled Fish--The Newspaper Plant (illustrated)--One More
+    Living Barometer, 552; A Bumble Grumble--Pretty Dusty
+    Wings--Trees that Rain--Shooting Stars--Coasting in
+    August--More about Turtles--A Fish that Weaves its Nest--A
+    Clever Humming-bird (illustrated), 632; Introduction--The
+    Seventeen-year Locust (illustrated)--The Great Lubber Locust
+    (illustrated)--The Dog and the Queer Grasshoppers
+    (illustrated), 712; Introduction--Longfellow's First
+    Letter--The Water-snake as a Fisherman--More Animal
+    Weather-Prophets--A Useful Bird with an Aristocratic Name--A
+    Wise Humming-bird--The Pitcher Plant (illustrated), 792;
+    Introduction--Poor Lark!--Those Mocking-birds Again--A Living
+    Island (illustrated)--Wrong Names for Things--Who can Answer
+    This? 872; Introduction--A Perfectly Quiet Day--How He Proved
+    It--Walking Without Legs--A Queer Sunshade (illustrated)--A
+    Queer Jumble--That Dear Little Lord, 952.
+
+
+THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION. (Illustrated)      557, 636, 717, 794, 874, 957
+
+THE LETTER-BOX. (Illustrated)               554, 634, 714, 796, 876, 954
+
+THE RIDDLE-BOX. (Illustrated)               559, 639, 719, 799, 879, 959
+
+EDITORIAL NOTES                                                 554, 634
+
+
+FRONTISPIECES.
+
+    "In Spring-time--When Shakspere was a Boy," by Léon Moran,
+    facing Title-page of Volume--"A June Morning," by E. C. Held,
+    facing page 563--"La Fayette and the British Ambassador," by
+    F. H. Lungren, facing page 643--"The Captain and the
+    Captain's Mate," by Mary Hallock Foote, facing page 723--"The
+    Connoisseurs," after a painting by Sir Edwin Landseer, facing
+    page 803--"Martha Washington," from an unfinished portrait by
+    Gilbert Stuart, facing page 883.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: IN SPRING-TIME--WHEN SHAKSPERE WAS A BOY.
+
+(SEE PAGE 490.)]
+
+
+
+
+ST. NICHOLAS.
+
+VOL. XIII. MAY, 1886. NO. 7.
+
+[Copyright, 1886, by THE CENTURY CO.]
+
+
+When Shakspere was a Boy
+
+BY ROSE KINGSLEY.
+
+
+On Henley street, in quiet Stratford town, there stands an old
+half-timbered house. The panels between the dark beams are of
+soft-colored yellow plaster. The windows are filled with little diamond
+panes; and in one of the upper rooms they are guarded with fine wire
+outside the old glass, which is misty with innumerable names scratched
+all over it. Poets and princes, wise men and foolish, have scrawled
+their names after a silly fashion, on windows, wall, and ceiling of that
+oak-floored room, because, on the 22d of April, 1564, a baby was born
+there--the son of John and Mary Shakspere. And on the following
+Wednesday, April 26, the baby was carried down to the old church beside
+the sleepy Avon and baptized by the name of William.
+
+Little did John Shakspere and the gossips dream, when the baby William's
+name was duly inscribed in the register-book with its corners and clasps
+of embossed brass, that he was destined to become England's greatest
+poet. Little did they dream, honest folk, that the old market town and
+the house on Henley street and the meadows across the river, covered in
+that pleasant April month with cowslips and daisies and "lady-smocks all
+silver-white," would become sacred ground to hundreds of thousands of
+people from all quarters of the globe, who should come, year by year, on
+reverent pilgrimage to Shakspere's birthplace.
+
+The baby grew up as most babies do; and when he was two and a half years
+old, a little brother Gilbert was born. As we walk through the streets
+to-day, we can fancy the little lads toddling about the town together,
+while father John was minding his glove and wool trade at the old house.
+John Shakspere, in those early days, was a well-to-do man. He was a
+chamberlain of the borough when little Gilbert was born; and in 1568 he
+was elected High Bailiff, or Mayor, of Stratford, although he, in
+common with many of his fellow-burgesses, could not write his own name.
+He had land, too, at Snitterfield, where his father had lived; and his
+wife, Mary Arden, was the owner of Ashbies, the farm at Wilmcote, hard
+by.
+
+[Illustration: MARY ARDEN'S HOUSE AT WILMCOTE.]
+
+But, though the parents were illiterate, they knew the value of a good
+education. The Free Grammar School had been refounded a few years before
+by Edward VI. And although there is no actual record of his school days,
+we may take it as certain that little Will Shakspere was sent to the
+Free School when about seven years old, as we know his brother Gilbert
+was, a little later. The old Grammar School still stands; and boys still
+learn their lessons in the self-same room with the high pitched roof and
+oaken beams, where little Will Shakspere studied his "A, B, C-book," and
+got his earliest notions of Latin. But during part of Shakspere's school
+days the schoolroom was under repair; and boys and master--Walter Roche
+by name--migrated for a while to the Guild Chapel next door. And this
+was surely in the poet's mind when, in later years, he talked of a
+"pedant who keeps a school i' the church."
+
+All boys learned their Latin then from two well-known books--the
+"Accidence" and the "Sententiĉ Pueriles." And that William was no
+exception to the rule we may see by translations from the latter in
+several of his plays, and by an account, in one of his plays, of Master
+Page's examination in the "Accidence." An old desk which came from the
+Grammar School and stood there in Shakspere's time is shown at the
+birthplace. And when we look at it we wonder what sort of a boy little
+William was--whether his future greatness made a mark in any way during
+his school days; whether that conical forehead of his stood him in good
+stead as he learned his Latin Grammar; whether he was quiet and
+studious, or merry and mischievous; whether he hid dormice and apples
+and birds' eggs in his desk, and peeped at them during school hours;
+whether he got into scrapes and was whipped. Just think of Shakspere
+getting a whipping! No doubt he often did. Masters in those days were
+not greater, but rather less, respecters of persons than they are now,
+and they believed very firmly in the adage which is going out of
+fashion, that to spare the rod is to spoil the child. So we may think of
+little Will Shakspere coming out of the Grammar School and passing the
+old Guild Chapel and the Falcon Inn with two little red fists crammed
+into two little red and streaming eyes, and going home to mother Mary in
+Henley street to be comforted and coddled and popped down on the settle
+in the wide chimney corner, with some dainty, dear to the heart of small
+boys who got into trouble three hundred years ago just as they do now.
+Let us hope his cake was not like one he describes as "dough on both
+sides."
+
+[Illustration: THE LARGE SCHOOLROOM IN THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL AT
+STRATFORD.]
+
+But I fancy that lessons bore a very small part in Will Shakspere's
+education. He certainly never knew much Latin; but he knew all about
+country things as only a country-bred boy can know about them. He and
+Gilbert must have run many a time to Ashbies, their mother's farm at
+Wilmcote, and watched the oxen plowing in the heavy clay fields; and
+cried, perhaps, as children do now "as the butcher takes away the calf";
+and played with the shepherd's "bob-tailed cur"; and gossiped with
+Christopher Sly, who could tell them all manner of wonderful tales, for
+had he not been peddler, card-maker, bear-herd, "and now by present
+profession a tinker"?
+
+They must have listened to their father and their uncle Henry up at the
+big farm close to Snitterfield church (where Henry Shakspere lived) as
+the two men discussed the price of a yoke of oxen at Stratford or
+Warwick fair, or debated whether they should "sow the head-land with
+wheat,--with red wheat, Davy,"[A] or grumbled over the "smith's note
+for shoeing and plough-irons," or told the latest turn in the quarrel
+between "William Visor of Woncot" and "Clement Perkes of the Hill." Very
+likely the little hazel-eyed boys took William Visor's part, though they
+wisely kept their opinions to themselves, since small boys in that
+period were not allowed the liberty of speech they enjoy in these
+degenerate times. William Visor was a neighbor of the Ardens, and
+possibly a friend of "Marian Hackett, the fat ale-wife of Wincot"; for
+Wincot, Woncot, and Wilmcote are all the same place. Or perhaps the
+young lads sided with Clement Perkes; for the Hill where he lived at
+Weston was known as Cherry Orchard Farm, a name full of tempting
+suggestions to little boys. And we know that Shakspere, like many less
+wise people, was fond of "ripe red cherries." He mentions them again and
+again. He and Gilbert, and their little friends the Sadlers and Harts
+and Halls, must have played bob-cherry, as we do now,--drawing up the
+stem of the cherry with our tongues, and, with a sudden snap, getting
+the round, ripe fruit between our lips,--and then have used the stones
+for "cherry-pit"--a child's game that is frequently mentioned by
+Shakspere and other old writers, which consisted in pitching
+cherry-stones into a small hole.
+
+[Footnote A: 2d Henry IV., Act 5. Scene 1.]
+
+[Illustration: THE SCHOOL AND GUILD CHAPEL.]
+
+Stratford lies just at the beginning of the fruit-growing country, which
+stretches right down the Vale of Evesham to Worcester and the Severn;
+and little Will Shakspere was well versed in the merits of all kinds of
+fruits. There were the plum-trees, that make you think in the
+spring-time that a snow-shower has fallen upon a sunny day all over the
+Stratford district; while in the autumn the branches are laden with "the
+mellow plum." Who can doubt that little Will climbed the damson-tree,
+"with danger of my life," as he said later that Simpcox did at his
+wife's bidding?[B] In the plays he mentions apples of many sorts--some
+of which, though rare or extinct in other parts of England, still grow
+about his native place--the bitter-sweetings and leather-coats, the
+apple-johns and the pomewaters. Many a time he must have stood with all
+the boys of the place watching, as we might do to-day, the cider-making
+on some village green, when the heaps of apples, red, green, and yellow,
+are brought in barrows and baskets and carts from the orchards, and
+ground up into a thick yellow pulp in the crushing-mill turned by a
+horse, and that pulp is put into presses from which the clear juice runs
+into tubs, while the dry cakes of pulp are carted away to fatten the
+pigs.
+
+[Footnote B: 2d Henry VI., Act 2, Scene 1.]
+
+There were grapes, too, growing plentifully in Warwickshire in his day;
+and "apricocks," "ripe figs, and mulberries," like those with which the
+fairies were told to feed Bottom the weaver. Blackberries and the
+handsome purple dewberries grew then as now, by the hedges in the
+orchards and in the shade of the Weir-brake just below Stratford mill,
+where, so says tradition, the scene of the "Midsummer Night's Dream" was
+laid. In the Weir-brake, too, and in all the woods about their home, the
+Shakspere boys must have gone nutting--that most delightful harvest of
+the year, when you bend down "the hazel twig," so "straight and
+slender," and fill baskets and pockets with the sweet nuts in their
+rough, green husks, and crack them all the way home like so many happy
+squirrels.
+
+[Illustration: THE GUILD COUNCIL-ROOM--NOW THE HEAD-MASTER'S
+CLASS-ROOM.]
+
+All the hedge-rows were full then, as they are to this day, of wild
+pear-trees, wild apples, and "crabs," as crab-apples are called in
+England. Roasted "crabs" served with hot ale were a favorite Christmas
+dish in Shakspere's time. And I doubt not that the boys rejoiced at the
+house in Henley street as the time of year came round "when roasted
+crabs hiss in the bowl."
+
+How snug the "house-place" in the old home must have looked with its
+roaring fire of logs, on winter evenings, when the two little boys of
+nine and seven, and Joan and Anne, the little sisters, huddled up in the
+chimney-corner with baby Richard in his cradle, while the mother
+prepared hot ale and "roasted crabs" for her gossips. Will, I warrant,
+as with twinkling eyes he watched Mrs. Hart or Mrs. Sadler or Mrs.
+Hathaway, from Shottery, thought that it was Puck himself, the very
+spirit of mischief, who had got into the bowl "in very likeness of a
+roasted crab."
+
+It must have been a recollection of those winter evenings that made
+little Will, in later years, write his delightful "Winter Song":
+
+    "When icicles hang by the wall
+      And Dick the shepherd blows his nail
+    And Tom bears logs into the hall
+      And milk comes frozen home in pail,
+    When blood is nipp'd and ways be foul,
+    Then nightly sings the staring owl,
+                            Tu-whit;
+    Tu-who, a merry note,
+    While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
+
+    "When all aloud the wind doth blow
+      And coughing drowns the parson's saw
+    And birds sit brooding in the snow
+      And Marian's nose looks red and raw,
+    When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
+    Then nightly sings the staring owl,
+                            Tu-whit;
+    Tu-who, a merry note,
+    While greasy Joan doth keel the pot."
+
+Among the gossips there would be much talk of wonders, appearances,
+mysterious occurrences, and charms; and the children listened with all
+their ears, you may be sure. Perhaps one of Mistress Shakspere's friends
+possessed the power that some people in Warwickshire still are said to
+possess, of charming away warts by a touch and some murmured invocation;
+or curing toothache and all other aches and pains. There are plenty of
+people now who, after your second cup of tea is finished, will take the
+cup, twist the grounds around three times, turn it mouth downward in the
+saucer, and then, by looking at the tea-leaves which still stick to the
+bottom of the cup, will undertake to tell you what is going to
+happen--of presents you will receive, or people who are coming to see
+you. And many Warwickshire women still believe firmly that
+whooping-cough can be charmed away by the patient walking nine times
+over running water.
+
+[Illustration: "THE HEDGE-ROWS WERE FULL, AS THEY ARE TO THIS DAY, OF
+WILD APPLES, WILD PEARS, AND 'CRABS.'"]
+
+The boys' games of those days were much the same as they are to-day.
+Each game then, as now, had its regular season in the year. In the
+season for marbles, no one would dream of playing anything else.
+"Knuckle-hole" is still the favorite game in Warwickshire. The
+standing-up game, pitching the taw from a mark scraped across the
+ground, is, I am told by competent authorities, rather going out of
+fashion; but it is still played. The marble season lasts through the
+late winter, much to the distraction of mothers, who have to clean and
+mend their sons' nether garments, which are worn with kneeling and
+plastered with mud at that time of year. Then comes the spinning-top,
+whip-top, and peg-top time. Later again there is tip-cat for the boys,
+and hop-scotch for the girls.
+
+On the corn-bins in the Warwickshire ale-house stables we can still find
+the lines rudely cut for "nine men's morris." This, in Shakspere's day,
+was a favorite game, and one much in vogue among the shepherd boys in
+the summer, who cut a "board" in the short turf and whiled away the long
+hours by playing it. Little Will must often have gone to watch his
+father play "shovel-board" at the Falcon tavern, in Stratford, on the
+board upon which tradition says he himself played, in later life. And at
+home, he and his brother must have played "push-pin," an old game which
+is still played in remote parts of the country. Two pins are laid on the
+table; the players in turn jerk them with their fingers, and he who
+throws one pin across the other is allowed to take one of them, while
+those who do not succeed have to give a pin. This is the game Shakspere
+alludes to in "Love's Labour's Lost," when he says, "And Nestor play at
+push-pin with the boys."
+
+Little Will knew a great deal about sport. All his allusions to sporting
+or woodcraft are those of a man who had been familiar with such things
+from his childhood. He and Gilbert must have set plenty of "springes, to
+catch wood-cocks," and dug out the "earth-delving conies" that swarmed
+in the commmonland of Welcombe, those dingles that in later years he
+fought so hard to preserve from inclosure.
+
+[Illustration: BOYS FISHING IN THE AVON--OPPOSITE THE WEIR-BRAKE.]
+
+They must have fished many a time, as the Stratford boys do to this day,
+in the slow waters of the Avon, sitting quietly intent for hours upon
+the steep clay bank
+
+                            "to see the fish
+    Cut with her golden oars the silver stream,
+    And greedily devour the treacherous bait."[C]
+
+[Footnote C: "Much Ado about Nothing," Act 3, Sc. 1.]
+
+Then who can doubt that he often watched the hunting of the hare? Each
+line in his wonderful description of the hunted hare is written by a
+thorough sportsman and a keen observer of nature. How the purblind hare
+runs among a flock of sheep or into a rabbit-warren, or "sorteth with a
+herd of deer" to throw out "the hot scent-snuffing hounds." How they
+pause silent till they have worked "with much ado the cold fault cleanly
+out," and then burst into music again.
+
+Of deer, Shakspere knew much--too much for his own comfort. In his
+childhood, there were herds at Fulbrooke,--and when he was older, at
+Charlecote, at Grove Park, and at Warwick. And probably there were a few
+roe in the wilder parts of the Forest of Arden, which came down within
+three miles of Stratford, and covered the whole of the country north of
+the Avon, out to Nuneaton and Birmingham. We can fancy how the boys
+stole out to watch the Grevilles and Leycesters and Lucys and Verneys on
+some great hunting party, and whispered to each other,
+
+    "Under this thick-grown brake we'll shroud ourselves,
+    For through this lawnd anon the deer will come."
+
+But the time of all others in the year that we connect most closely with
+Shakspere is the sweet spring-time, when the long cold winter--very long
+and very cold among those undrained clay-lands of Warwickshire--had come
+to an end. How closely little Will watched for
+
+                                  "daffodils,
+    That come before the swallow dares, and take
+    The winds of March with beauty";
+
+and for
+
+    "violets, cowslips, and pale primroses."
+
+We can fancy the little boys hunting in some sheltered nook in the
+Welcombe woods for the first primroses; and climbing up Borden Hill just
+beyond Shottery, perhaps with Anne Hathaway from the pretty old house in
+the orchards below, to the bank--the only one in the neighborhood,--
+
+              "where the wild thyme blows,
+    Where oxlips, and the nodding violet grows";
+
+or wandering over the flat sunny meadows along the Avon valley, picking
+cowslips, and looking into each tiny yellow bell for the spots in their
+gold coats,--
+
+    "Those be rubies, fairy favors,
+    In those freckles live their savors,"--
+
+as they brought home baskets of the flower-heads for their mother to
+make into cowslip wine.
+
+Spring, in this Stratford country, is exquisite. The woods are carpeted
+with primroses and wild hyacinths; while in the "merry month of May" the
+nightingale swarms among the hawthorn trees white with blossom.
+
+On every village green there stood a painted May pole--one is still
+standing at Weston, near Stratford; and May-Day is still kept in
+Warwickshire with a "May feast" upon old May-Day, the 12th of May. Every
+one knows how the prettiest girl in the village was chosen Queen o' the
+May, and how all joined in the "Whitsun Morris-dance."
+
+[Illustration: A BUNCH OF COWSLIPS.]
+
+Long Marston,--"Dancing Marston," as it has been called ever since
+Shakspere's time,--a few miles from Stratford, was famous till within
+the memory of man for a troop of Morris-dancers, who went about from
+village to village, strangely dressed, to dance at all the feasts.
+Shakspere probably had the Marston dancers in his mind when he wrote of
+the "three carters, three shepherds, three neat-herds, three
+swine-herds," that made themselves all "men of hair," and called
+themselves "Saltiers," at the sheep-shearing feast which pretty Perdita
+presided over, in "The Winter's Tale." The sheep-shearing feast, which
+came when roses were out on the hedges and in the gardens, must have
+been a merry and important time for the Shakspere boys. John Shakspere
+was, of course, specially interested in the price of a tod of wool, for
+wool-stapling was part of his trade. Perhaps William himself was sent by
+his mother to buy the groceries for the feast, and stood conning the
+list as he makes the clown do, in "The Winter's Tale."
+
+In the spring-time, too, came the peddler with all his wonders and
+treasures:
+
+    "Lawn as white as driven snow;
+    Cypress black as e'er was crow;
+    Gloves as sweet as damask roses;
+    Masks for faces and for noses."
+
+Those last must have pleased the little boys more than all the rest of
+the peddler's goods. And perhaps it was from this very peddler that Will
+Shakspere bought the pair of gloves which, after the fashion of the day,
+he gave to Anne Hathaway at their betrothal.
+
+But the great event of the year in the quiet country town was Stratford
+"Mop" or statute fair, on the 12th of October. The market-place was
+filled, as it is to this day, with clowns and mountebanks, wrestlers,
+and rope-dancers at their "rope-tricks." Oxen and sheep were roasted
+whole. A roaring trade was driven by quack doctors and dentists. All the
+servants in the country came and stood around to be hired, as the
+farm-hands and the maids for the farm-houses still do--the carters with
+a bit of whipcord in their hats; the shepherds with a lock of wool; the
+laborers with a straw. And next day, we need not doubt, there were many
+candidates for the town stocks, as there are now for the police court.
+There were bear-baitings, too, and bull-baitings--those cruel sports
+which have only been abolished in Warwickshire within the last hundred
+years. But in Shakspere's day bear-baiting was a popular and refined
+amusement. During Queen Elizabeth's visit to Kenilworth, in 1575, there
+was a great bear-baiting in her honor, of which a curious and most
+sickening account still exists. And when Shakspere went to London his
+lodgings were close to the bear-garden, or "Bear's College," at
+Southwark, whither all London flocked to see the poor beasts tormented
+and tortured.
+
+There was, however, one amusement which, from his earliest years, must
+have delighted little Will Shakspere above all others--I mean a visit
+from the players. That he inherited his love for the drama from his
+father is more than probable; for it was during the year of John
+Shakspere's High Bailiffship that plays are first mentioned in the
+records at Stratford. According to the custom of the day, when the
+players belonging to some great nobleman came to a town, they reported
+themselves to the mayor to get a license for playing. If the mayor
+liked them, or wished to show respect to their master, he would appoint
+them to play their first play before himself and the Council. This was
+called the Mayor's Play, every one coming in free, and the mayor giving
+the players a reward in money. Between the autumns of 1568 and 1569,
+
+     "The Queen's and the Earl of Worcester's players visited the
+     town and gave representations before the Council, the former
+     company receiving nine shillings and the latter twelve pence
+     for their first performances."
+
+And there is little reason to doubt that our little Will, then between
+five and six years old, was taken to see them by his father, the mayor,
+as a little boy named Willis was taken at Gloucester that same year,
+being exactly William Shakspere's age; and, standing between his
+father's knees, Master Will probably there got his first experience of
+the art in which he was to become the master for all ages. We wonder
+what that first play was--some quaint, rude drama probably, such as the
+one little Willis saw at Gloucester, with plenty of princes and fair
+ladies, and demons with painted masks, and the "Herod" in red gloves, of
+the "Coventry Mystery" players.
+
+Not only in Stratford, but in most of the towns roundabout, there are
+various records of players giving performances. When little Will was
+eleven years old, Queen Elizabeth came on her celebrated visit, in 1575,
+to Lord Leycester at Kenilworth; and as all the country flocked to see
+the great show, it is probable that the boy and his father were among
+the crowds of spectators and saw some of the plays given in the Queen's
+honor.
+
+A year or two later, troubles began to multiply at the house in Henley
+street. John Shakspere got into debt. The farm at Ashbies was mortgaged.
+His daughter Anne died in 1579; and two years before her death, young
+William, then thirteen, was taken from school and apprenticed--some
+accounts say to a butcher--or, as seems more probable, to his own
+father, to help him in his failing wool-trade.
+
+For the next five years nothing is known about Will Shakspere. Then we
+find him courting Anne Hathaway in the pretty old brick and timbered
+cottage at Shottery, its garden all full of roses and rosemary,
+"carnations and striped gillyvors." A year or two later, he is stealing
+one of Sir Thomas Lucy's deer,--writing a lampoon on the worthy
+justice,--and flying to London from his wrath, to hold horses at the
+door of the Globe Theater before he joined the Lord Chamberlain's
+players, and became known to all posterity as Mr. William Shakspere,
+Writer of Plays.
+
+
+
+
+May Song By Laura E. Richards
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    Is there anything new to sing about you,
+                  May, my dear?
+    Any unhackneyed thing about you,
+                  Pray, my dear?
+    Anything that has not been sung
+      Long ago when the world was young,
+    By silver throat and golden tongue?
+                  Say, my dear!
+
+    So many have said that your eyes are blue,
+                  May, my dear,
+    It must be a tiresome fact, though true,
+                  May, my dear,
+    And if I for one, my gracious Queen,
+    Should boldly assert that your eyes were green,
+    'Twould be a relief to you, I ween,
+                  Eh, my dear?
+
+    We know of the touch of your garments fold,
+                  May, my dear,
+    The daisies come starring with white and gold
+                  The way, my dear.
+    We know that the painted blossoms all
+    Come starting up at your gentle call,
+    By dale and meadow and garden-wall,
+                  May, my dear.
+
+    We know that your birds have the sweetest tune,
+                  May, my dear:
+    And lovers love best beneath your moon,
+                  They say, my dear.
+    And I might add that that your perfumed kiss
+    Is considered productive of highest bliss;
+    But you must be so tired of hearing this!
+                  Eh, my dear?
+
+    No, I really don't think there's anything fresh,
+                  Or new, my dear.
+    For the world is small, and available rhymes
+                  Are few, my dear.
+    So if I say naught about vernal bowers,
+    And forbear to mention the sunlit showers,
+    I think I shall make the best use of my powers.
+                  Dont you, my dear?
+
+    And yet I cannot help loving you so,
+                  May, my dear,
+    That the old words, whether I will or no,
+                  I say, my dear,
+    And how you are fair, and how you are sweet
+    My loving lips forever repeat.--
+    And is that the reason you pass so fleet?
+                  Ah! stay, my dear!
+
+
+
+
+THE GIRLS' TRICYCLE CLUB AND ITS RUN DOWN THE CAPE.
+
+BY E. VINTON BLAKE.
+
+
+Tricycles had become an every-day affair in Sherridoc, and since the
+formation of the Girls' Club, lady tricyclers were not an extraordinary
+sight. So Charlotte, or "Charley" Van Rensselaer, as she was called, and
+her brother Starrett excited but little comment as they wheeled swiftly
+down Haymarket street, moving noiselessly and easily through the throng
+of carriages and other vehicles, until, as the houses grew less frequent
+and the pavements stopped altogether, they rolled through the suburbs of
+the town and so into the open country, without stay or pause.
+
+For they were making time. The club itself, thanks to the failure of the
+express company to deliver Charley's new "Columbia" when promised, had
+several hours' start on the road; and Starrett, like the obliging
+brother that he was, had remained behind in order that Charlotte need
+not ride alone nor the club be longer delayed by waiting for her.
+
+Charley Van Rensselaer, her cousin Cornelia, or "Corny" Hadwin, and
+their warm friends Mattie Hyde and Arno Cummings, were four bright and
+active young girls of from thirteen to sixteen, who composed the Girls'
+Tricycle Club. Little by little they had won first the interest and then
+the consent of their somewhat conservative parents to this novel but
+exhilarating exercise, and having now become expert riders, they were
+off for a long run of eighty miles down Cape Cod from Sherridoc City to
+Curtin Harbor, where their parents had summer cottages. Faithful and
+clever Joe Marston, Mr. Van Rensselaer's colored servant, and an expert
+tricycler, had gone ahead with the club as guide and commissary-general,
+and Starrett Van Rensselaer, Charley's younger brother, was invited to
+accompany them as an escort, on the odd-looking "Royal Mail" he had
+borrowed for the trip,--bicycles not being allowed.
+
+And now the door-yards broaden out and the houses become still more
+rambling. There are wide-spreading orchard boughs, and cool woody spaces
+here and there between the farms. Now a youngster scampers into the
+house shrieking, "Ma, Ma! Oh, come here, Ma! Here's a girl a-ridin'
+three wheels at once!" and Charley, looking back, perceives the urchin's
+sisters and cousins and aunts peering at her from the door. Starrett too
+looks back, and laughs.
+
+"You'll have to get used to that," he says.
+
+"I expect to," responds Charley serenely; "but you must remember that
+four of these things have gone on before us on this same road and they
+must have taken off a little of the novelty."
+
+Over the brow of Haymarket Hill they go, and the long steep sweep into
+the valley of the Owassee lies before them. Charley, with her feet on
+the "rest," commences to descend. An amazed cow grazing by the roadside
+makes a charge on the singular vehicle, but the girl never flinches, and
+with one hand on the steering-bar and the other on the brake she avoids
+every stone, every rut, every gully in the road. The irate cow, after
+nearly plunging on its nose down the first steep incline, pauses to
+recover its senses and then returns slowly up the hill. Starrett waves
+it a laughing adieu. "Sensible bovine that," he says; "she knows that a
+stern chase is a long chase."
+
+"My, though!" exclaims delighted Charley, "we're just flying, Starrett!
+Aren't we?"
+
+They are indeed. The bushes whiz past,--the wind sweeps their
+faces,--trees, stones, fences flit by like phantoms. Charley feels like
+a bird on the wing. Such exhilaration is there in a good tricycle
+"coast" downhill!
+
+But it is not all such pleasure; for, a few miles farther on, they
+become acquainted with the other side of the story, as they go toiling
+up the long ascent of Comstock Hill, a sandy and winding incline that
+leads to the highlands of Fisherville.
+
+"If it weren't for the sand," said Charley as she pushes her tricycle
+before her, "I would test the new 'power-gear' on my 'Columbia' by
+riding up Comstock Hill. But, dear me, I believe there are not three
+yards of solid earth on this road!"
+
+"Never mind, we're more than half-way up," said Starrett, consolingly.
+
+"Do you suppose it's sandy like this near Curtin Harbor?" inquired
+Charley.
+
+"I haven't the least idea," Starrett replied. "If it is, we can branch
+off and take the cars at Minot Station."
+
+"The cars? Why, Starrett Van Rensselaer!" exclaims Charley. "Why, I
+wouldn't take the cars--not for anything--unless--well, unless I were
+fairly driven to it."
+
+And now they both draw a long breath, for the crest of Comstock Hill is
+won.
+
+"Look behind you, Starrett," says Charley. "Did you ever see a prettier
+picture?"
+
+Starrett acknowledges he never did. The low-lying valley is green and
+fair. The Owassee stretches like a silver ribbon across the picture, and
+there is not a human being in sight save these two tricyclers who take
+all this summer beauty into their impressible young hearts.
+
+On they go, through Fisherville and into the open country again. Truly
+no grass grows underneath those flashing wheels. The new "Columbia" has
+the oil well worked in by this time, and the "Royal Mail," with its
+queer one-sided "steerer," seems undisturbed by any ordinary roads. The
+freshening wind is behind them; the blue sky, cloud-flecked, above; and
+all around, bird-song and the rustle of blowing grass and bending
+boughs.
+
+"This is grand, Charley!" cries Starrett; "so much better than horseback
+riding--and I've tried both."
+
+"You don't tire yourself much more, and you're sure your horse won't run
+away with you," Charley assents, whizzing along beside him. "I feel
+strong enough for a good long run yet, and we ought to catch up with
+them easily, before long."
+
+The winding, woody road brings them suddenly to a hill-top. To the
+right, below, lies a wide expanse of velvety marsh meadow, with its
+vivid and variegated tints of green, olive, and reddish-brown, and
+occasional intersections of tottering, moss-grown fence; there is a
+starry glimmer as of lilies in the frequent pools that give back the
+glory of the sun. To the left are seen the dark, still reaches of a lake
+that winds in and out in the cool shadow of high woody banks. An old
+ice-house stands lonesome and gray on its margin.
+
+The brother and sister halt on the brow of the hill, to enjoy a view
+that may be one of the memories of a lifetime; then the wheels roll
+slowly toward the descent. The slope is steep and winding; they do not
+"coast" with feet on the rest above the steering-wheel. It is not
+desirable to capsize or collide with any up-coming vehicle. So they
+glide warily on, with hands on the brakes, until the bottom is reached.
+But here a crazy guide-post at a fork in the road misleads them by
+pointing in the wrong direction for the Wareham road. But by great good
+luck, they strike a shady wood track, full two miles long, which cuts
+off five miles from the road they should have traveled, and which, so
+Starrett says when he recognizes it, will bring them just so much nearer
+the club. Dismounting at last, a pine-covered knoll, with a brook
+bubbling below, attracts them; and, seated on the brown pine-needles,
+the brother and sister talk over their adventures, and wonder how far
+ahead the others may be. Suddenly Starrett, who faces the road, drops
+his hands to his side with an exclamation of surprise.
+
+"What now?" says Charley, looking quickly around, A glance makes her a
+partner in Starrett's astonishment; for, over the main road they have
+just now regained, come one, two, three, four tricycles, their
+glittering spokes flashing in the sun. They see Joe Marston's dusky face
+and stalwart figure, and behind him they catch the flutter of garnet and
+blue--the colors of the club. Occasionally a head in the procession
+turns to look expectantly behind.
+
+Starrett and Charley keep close in the shade of the pines, restraining a
+laugh with difficulty.
+
+"Here is a good place to stop, Joe," cries Cornelia Hadwin. "It's cool
+and shady, and we can see the road. I think they should have caught up
+with us by this time. Can anything have happened,--do you suppose?"
+
+"Dunno, miss," answers Joe with a grave face. But as he dismounts to
+wheel his machine up the knoll, he stops short with a sudden smoothing
+out of all the perplexed lines from his dark brow. "Hi, dar!" he
+exclaims. "Look-a yer, Miss Corney!"
+
+Cornelia does look, and so do all the rest. There is a perfect chorus of
+shrieks and laughter, a babel of voices, a torrent of questions.
+
+"Oh, we travel, I assure you!" says Starrett. "We took a flying leap and
+came in ahead of you."
+
+"How did it happen? When did you pass us?" These and countless other
+questions follow. Then all is explained, and at five o'clock the merry
+six are on the road again, rolling along in lively style.
+
+So, in single file, with Joe in advance, and Starrett bringing up the
+rear, the club rides through the main street of Wareham, down the long
+slant to the bridge over the Wareham river. The evening mist hangs low
+along the stream; the bridge seems to stretch across the rushing tide
+and end abruptly in mid-air. The soft, grayish opaque cloud hides the
+farther shore from sight.
+
+There are heads at doors and windows, and people on the street stop to
+gaze. At first the girls feel a little abashed at so much attention. But
+nobody is discourteous; Joe rides steadily on, and there is nothing to
+do but to follow.
+
+"I suppose we do look queer to them," says Mattie Hyde.
+
+"Oh, well, you are missionaries, you know," says Starrett assuringly.
+"Perhaps your club may be the means of introducing tricycles into many
+of the places we shall pass through."
+
+"That's one of our objects, of course," observes Charley.
+
+"If girls and women knew what comfort one can take with a tricycle, half
+the battle would be won," says Arno Cummings timidly.
+
+[Illustration: "THE BUSHES WHIZ PAST,--TREES, STONES, FENCES FLIT BY
+LIKE PHANTOMS."]
+
+"It isn't altogether that, Arno," says Charley, who, as the originator
+of the club, has her advanced theories to support. "A good many would
+like to, but don't really dare. You know that Shakspere says 'Conscience
+doth make cowards of us all.' I think that custom makes us cowards,
+too."
+
+"Custom will be on our side, though, by and by," declares Mattie Hyde.
+"Doctor Sawyer told Mamma the other day that he would prescribe the
+tricycle rather than medicine for many of his patients. He said that the
+machines are much used in England, and that they are gaining ground in
+this country, though not so rapidly as he could wish."
+
+But even this knowledge of the healthfulness and desirability of the
+tricycle does not make a hard piece of road any easier. After a night's
+rest at the hospitable house of an aunt of Mattie Hyde's, the club find
+themselves, next day, among the "Sandwiches," as Starrett facetiously
+dubs the town of that name which is divided into North, East, South, and
+West Sandwich. And there they come upon a wooded tract that sorely taxes
+their endurance and presents the most formidable obstacle they have yet
+encountered. The sand is impassable; it closes completely over the
+wheel-tires, and, after a short space of arduous labor, the club come to
+a dismayed standstill.
+
+"What on earth are we to do?" queries Corny Hadwin in despair.
+
+No one answers her. The boughs wave softly overhead; the small cloud of
+dust their efforts have raised floats slowly away and settles on the
+scant herbage underneath the pines. Near at hand sounds the shriek of
+the "up" train. They are not far from the railroad.
+
+"Shall we give it up and take to the train?" Starrett asks, as they
+catch the sound of the locomotive.
+
+"Dear me, we mustn't do that!" exclaims Charley. "Let's dismount and
+push the machines a little way. Perhaps the wheeling is better just
+ahead."
+
+But it is not. The ruts are strewn with straw, shavings, and chips;
+everything indicates that the woods are extensive, and that others
+before them have found the sand a tribulation.
+
+"Oh, this is the worst of all!" groans Corny.
+
+"But we'll not give up, nevertheless," declares little Arno Cummings,
+developing unexpected grit in the emergency. "I shouldn't like to tell
+them at Curtin Harbor that we had to take to the cars to get around a
+difficulty."
+
+Joe mops the perspiration from his dusky brow, and then stops to listen.
+A creak, a rumble, and a tramp, tramp are heard behind them. "Dar's
+sumfin a-comin!" says Joe.
+
+The "sumfin" soon appears in sight,--a big, empty, four-horse wagon,
+making its unwieldy way in their direction. The same idea occurs to
+everybody at once.
+
+"There! He'll carry us!"
+
+[Illustration: WITH JOE IN ADVANCE, THE CLUB RIDES THROUGH WAREHAM.]
+
+Carry them! Of course he will--for a consideration. And almost before
+the driver has recovered from his evident astonishment at this vision of
+six tricycles in the heart of the Sandwich woods, the riders and their
+machines are safely in the big cart, and on their way through the sandy
+tract, which, they now learn, is several miles in extent.
+
+It is impossible for the horses to go faster than a walk for the whole
+distance. The sand is a constant clog, and scarcely a breath of air can
+penetrate the close piny ranks on either side the narrow road. It is a
+slow and somewhat crowded ride, but the club tells stories, sings and
+jokes and answers the curious inquiries of their teamster, to whom a
+tricycle is a thing unknown till now. But in due time, the young folk
+have bidden him good day, and are speeding on toward Barnstable. The air
+grows salty, strong, and bracing.
+
+"It's like a breath of new life," says Starrett; and soon they are
+rolling between the long row of grand old trees that line Barnstable's
+quiet main street. At the hotel they stop for dinner and a noonday rest.
+
+It is four in the afternoon when they remount. The lady boarders, who
+have taken quite an interest in the young tricyclers, bid them farewell
+with all manner of good wishes, and one gray-haired society lady
+remarks, "Those girls are sensible; and their mothers are sensible too.
+Give young people the delights of nature and the freedom of outdoor
+sports, and keep them from late parties, and the whirl of folly and
+fashion. I've seen too many young lives warped and twisted and weakened
+in the endeavor to 'keep up' in fashionable society. Yes, those girls
+are sensible."
+
+And, wheeling still, by hill and dale, the "sensible" girls and their
+escort roll merrily into old Yarmouth, with its broad, shady streets and
+big, substantial, old-fashioned houses. Quaint and picturesque indeed it
+is, with quiet nooks and corners, breezy streets, time-stained wharves
+where lie battered fishing craft and the smarter boats devoted to the
+summer visitors who have found out the beauties of the town. Here, too,
+Arno Cummings has an uncle, a bluff and breezy old sea-captain, who
+gives the whole party a hearty welcome; and at his house, the club spend
+two nights and the day between--a day of shade and shine, with the sea
+wind blowing everywhere. They explore the old town from end to end. They
+come continually upon pictures,--now a broad grassy lane with its
+moss-grown fences flanked by rising pastures of brownish grass; now a
+long slope ending in a rocky outlook over the blue sea; now a brown
+cottage nestled in among trees and hills. And on the second morning
+after their arrival, they bid the hospitable Captain Cummings adieu, and
+pass, single file, over the great drawbridge across the inlet that cuts
+Yarmouth in two, and so spin along through the succession of little
+towns which, leaving Yarmouth, almost join together into one. Such are
+the "Dennises"--divided as usual into North, East, South and West,--and
+the "Harwiches," where at Harwich proper the tricyclers bid farewell to
+the railroad which has kept them company at short intervals all the way
+down.
+
+"Six miles to Curtin Harbor." So says the lazy youth at a cross roads
+store, and away they spin, while the spires and houses of Harwich
+disappear behind the trees.
+
+And now how the wind blows! And all around the horizon the sky has that
+watery appearance that betokens the nearness of the sea. There is a
+peculiar, bracing freedom in the wild, salt wind; the very sway of the
+brown grass, the swing of the odorous wild pinks that nod in the corners
+of old mossy fences have a life and freshness that one misses greatly in
+tamer, more settled districts. For now they are plunging bravely into
+the long stretch of sand barrens and pine woods that, with only an
+occasional house, stretch for many a mile between Harwich and Curtin
+Harbor.
+
+But here, in the afternoon, a sudden shower overtakes them. They can no
+longer pick their dainty way by the roadside, but must keep the middle
+track or run the risk of upsetting. There is scarce a quarter of a mile
+of level ground to be found. The pine woods close in upon them, and when
+at the summit of a hill they anxiously look for some other shelter than
+the thronging pines, they can see nothing but the long, winding,
+lightish streak of road and the endless outlines of monotonous
+pine-trees on either side against the dark sky.
+
+"Six miles to Curtin Harbor!" cries Starrett at last. "That boy's a
+fraud. I believe it's sixty."
+
+"Reckon dey're Cape Cod miles, Mas'r Starrett," says Joe. "Dey say down
+yer, yo' know, dat one on 'em 's equal to two ob good trav'lin' in any
+uthah part ob de worl'."
+
+If it were only clear now, coasting merrily down these hills would be
+royal fun, but in this state of the weather caution is necessary. A halt
+is called for consultation. The six composedly dismount and sit down on
+the clumps of "poverty grass," beneath the doubtful shelter of the
+pines.
+
+"Well, now," asks Starrett, "what are we going to do? I know you girls
+are tired and drenched; you needn't deny it. And there's no sign of a
+house this side of Jericho or Jerusalem."
+
+Suddenly Charley has an idea. "O girls," she says, "let's camp out,
+right here! We're not badly off, for we all have our waterproof cloaks;
+but you've all been longing for an adventure, and here's one for a
+_finale_. We'll at least make a tent and have supper. It'll be just
+splendid!"
+
+The club vociferously acquiesce. Joe alone, dubious, shakes his head.
+But he is outvoted and overruled.
+
+A quantity of pine boughs are piled, by Joe and Starrett, tent-fashion,
+across and around four of the tricycles; a heap of dry leaves, carefully
+collected, makes a fragrant couch, whereon the young ladies compose
+themselves, wrapped and snugly covered with shawls and capes from the
+"luggage-carriers." Lastly Joe spreads the rubber waterproofs securely
+over the wheels and boughs, and the young campers are completely
+sheltered.
+
+A rummage in the lunch-boxes and "luggage-carriers" of the six machines
+brings to light half a dozen soda crackers, two bananas, six pieces of
+gingerbread, a slice of dry cheese, three apples, and--this is Joe's
+surprise!--a small can of chicken.
+
+A chorus of delight greets this last discovery, and Joe is at once
+besieged.
+
+"Now, yo' jes' sot down, ef yo' please, young ladies," says Joe, holding
+the can above his head. "I'll 'tend to yo' d'reckly. Yo' jes' gib me de
+tings and I'll serve supper in fus'-class style."
+
+When the chicken,--delicately served on the soda crackers,--the apples,
+bananas, and gingerbread are distributed, and the cheese toasted--in a
+fashion--at one of the lamps, the merry six leave not a crumb to tell
+the tale. It is true that a conscious vacancy still exists in the six
+hungry stomachs--such appetites have these young wheelers; but they are
+refreshed and no one thinks of complaining.
+
+The merry meal finished, weariness and the patter of rain incline the
+girls to rest, and soon silence falls upon the camp, broken only by the
+sighing of the wind among the dark pine boughs, and the occasional chirp
+of some sleepy bird.
+
+Then Starrett, also, wrapped in his waterproof coat, throws himself down
+to rest beneath the shelter of a friendly pine close by.
+
+Joe, left alone as the sentinel, falls to thinking over the situation,
+wondering where they are and whether they have missed the right road.
+He walks about uneasily and then stands looking up and down the stretch
+of road. The tricycle lamp, which he has lighted to dispel the gloom,
+casts a yellow gleam over the tent and Starrett's shrouded figure, while
+beyond and all around are the pines with their swaying branches and the
+long black vistas between. Joe walks back and forth, in the rain, vainly
+trying to think in which direction they are to proceed.
+
+[Illustration: "DE YOUNG GEMMAN AN' I MAKE DIS TENT TO KEEP DE YOUNG
+LADIES DRY."]
+
+He has been wondering thus for perhaps five minutes, when he becomes
+aware of a pair of fiery eyes watching him from the shadows. Joe starts.
+He does not know what peculiar class of wild beasts inhabits Cape Cod,
+but there are the eyes plainly enough. He stops and stands motionless.
+The eyes move, come boldly forward, and Joe, now doubly astonished, sees
+full in the glare of the tricycle lamp--a big grayish cat!
+
+And the cat has a nickel-plated collar with a ribbon attached. Joe knows
+that even on Cape Cod no wild beasts roam about, in summer storms, with
+nickeled and be-ribboned collars, but what can a cat be doing away in
+the depths of a pine forest? And then he suddenly concludes that the
+cat's home can not be far away. The gray cat comes purring about his
+knees. Joe is fond of cats, so he takes it in his arms and fondles its
+wet fur, and it proves to be company for him and really helps him to
+forget the discomfort of the rain.
+
+At about seven o'clock in the evening, however, the rain slackens, the
+clouds scatter, and rifts of light appear through the trees. And just as
+Joe is thinking of rousing the club for another "spin," he hears a
+whistle and a heavy step from across the road. Then an old farmer fellow
+of about forty-five, in search of a lost cow, comes to an abrupt and
+amazed halt at confronting among the pines Joe, the gray cat, Starrett's
+recumbent figure, the tent, and the glimmering tricycle wheels. He
+stands speechless until Joe's voice breaks the spell.
+
+"Good-ebenin', sar," says Joe. "Can you tell me if dis is de road to
+Curtin Harbor?"
+
+"Curtin Harbor!" exclaims the farmer, with his eyes still full of mute
+amazement. "No, it's not. 'T any rate not the direct one. If you've come
+over from Harwich, you've gone two miles out of yer way. You should have
+taken the other road, back there by the old school-house."
+
+"Dar's whar I missed it!" cries Joe, slapping his knee. "I was suah I
+did sumfin' wrong somewhar, but I couldn't locate it, to save me! I'se
+much obliged."
+
+"You can cut across to the main road by crossing my field yonder and
+going up by the house just beyond----"
+
+"Hi, den dere is a house over yar!" says Joe.
+
+"Why, certainly," says the farmer, "not more than forty rods from here."
+And when Joe finds how very near he has been to a comfortable farmhouse
+he says he feels "like kickin' hisself."
+
+"But," says the visitor, still eying the camp. "How did it all happen.
+Are you traveling on foot?"
+
+"No, sar; on tricycles," explains Joe, proudly; "we are de Girls'
+Tricycle Club, all de way from Sherridoc, wid Mas'r Starrett an' me
+along to look arter 'em and see 'em safe down to Curtin Harbor. We los'
+de track back yondah, an' de young gemman an' I jes' rig up dis tent for
+to keep the young ladies dry an' gib 'em a chance to rest till de shower
+was ober."
+
+The farmer's surprise grows to interest.
+
+"And so this is a tricycle," he says. "And did the young ladies ride
+those things all the way from Sherridoc?"
+
+"All de way, sar," answers Joe, proudly, "'cept when we wus stuck in de
+Sandywiches and had to be carted froo wid a team."
+
+After the good man's curiosity has been satisfied, and Starrett has
+summoned the girls to appear, the worthy farmer strolls off after his
+lost cow, first inviting the club to the farm to another supper. One by
+one, the girls emerge from their camp, but when they hear how near to a
+house they have been during the rain, great is the laughter.
+
+"I don't care, though," cries Cornelia Hadwin; "we've really had a sort
+of a camping-out time, and I'm glad of it."
+
+After hearing Joe's report, the club determines to push on at once to
+Curtin Harbor in the early evening, without accepting the hospitable
+invitation to supper at the farmhouse.
+
+The two miles to the main road are quickly traversed, and before long
+the club wheels around a long curve in the road, and the blue expanse of
+Curtin Harbor lies beneath them. The clouds are gone by this time; the
+rising moon shoots slantwise through a few thin, dissolving folds, and
+brings out ripples of gold and silver on the long seas. There seems to
+be a breeze that stirs the water to darker ruffles beyond the head-land,
+but where the young folk sit on their tricycles, enjoying the beauty of
+the scene and the salty damp of the evening air, not a blade of the
+coarse, silvery beach-grass stirs; every spire and blade stands in
+sheeny silver in the mellow light.
+
+Below the beach-road branches off a long winding descent to the quiet
+cottages which lie in the evening glow, seemingly fast asleep.
+
+"Now, girls, for a good coast!" cries Starrett. "Here goes!"
+
+And away indeed he goes, over the brow of the hill, rolling swiftly, and
+removing his feet from the pedals as his machine gathers way. Away also
+they all fly after him, merry as larks, waking all the echoes of the
+shore with their light-hearted shouts and laughter. The tricycle lamps
+flash out upon the seaward road, and soon it comes to pass, that as
+Charley's wheels whiz flashing into the wide, grassy dooryard of a
+certain pleasant little summer abode, a hand lifts the window curtain,
+and a voice, with a ring of irrepressible gladness but a great pretense
+of gruffness, calls out:
+
+"Is this my noisy daughter, who has been running wild for a week over
+all the roads on Cape Cod?"
+
+"Oh, Papa!" cries Charley, gleefully, "we've had a perfectly charming
+trip!"
+
+And so says the entire club. And they pass a vote of thanks to Joe for
+taking faithful care of them, and to Starrett for his excellent escort
+duty. And now when the story of their eighty-mile ride is told,
+everybody votes tricycling a wonderfully health-giving and delightful
+exercise, and the first long trip of the Girls' Tricycling Club a grand
+success.
+
+
+
+
+MORNING-GLORIES.
+
+BY LAURA LEDYARD POPE.
+
+
+    My neighbor's morning-glories rise
+      And flutter at her casement;
+    _My_ morning-glories' lovely eyes
+      Peep just above the basement.
+
+    And both our morning-glories strew
+      With loveliness the railing,
+    And thrust their starry faces through
+      The vines about the paling.
+
+    But when at last the thrifty sun
+      A work-day world arouses,
+    Hers gather up their dainty skirts
+      And vanish in their houses.
+
+    They draw their silken curtains close,
+      There's not a soul can find them;
+    And mine run up the school-house path,
+      And shut the door behind them!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    It was a fair Artist named May
+    If you looked at her sketch she would say,
+    "It's horrid, I know--
+    If you please _wont_ you go,
+    I'm not in the humor today."
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.
+
+BY FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+On the following Sunday morning, Mr. Mordaunt had a large congregation.
+Indeed, he could scarcely remember any Sunday on which the church had
+been so crowded. People appeared upon the scene who seldom did him the
+honor of coming to hear his sermons. There were even people from
+Hazelton, which was the next parish. There were hearty, sunburned
+farmers, stout, comfortable, apple-cheeked wives in their best bonnets
+and most gorgeous shawls, and half a dozen children or so to each
+family. The doctor's wife was there, with her four daughters. Mrs.
+Kimsey and Mr. Kimsey, who kept the druggist's shop, and made pills, and
+did up powders for everybody within ten miles, sat in their pew; Mrs.
+Dibble in hers, Miss Smiff, the village dressmaker, and her friend Miss
+Perkins, the milliner, sat in theirs; the doctor's young man was
+present, and the druggist's apprentice; in fact, almost every family on
+the county side was represented, in one way or another.
+
+In the course of the preceding week, many wonderful stories had been
+told of little Lord Fauntleroy. Mrs. Dibble had been kept so busy
+attending to customers who came in to buy a pennyworth of needles or a
+ha'p'orth of tape and to hear what she had to relate, that the little
+shop bell over the door had nearly tinkled itself to death over the
+coming and going. Mrs. Dibble knew exactly how his small lordship's
+rooms had been furnished for him, what expensive toys had been bought,
+how there was a beautiful brown pony awaiting him, and a small groom to
+attend it, and a little dog-cart, with silver-mounted harness. And she
+could tell, too, what all the servants had said when they had caught
+glimpses of the child on the night of his arrival; and how every female
+below stairs had said it was a shame, so it was, to part the poor pretty
+dear from his mother; and had all declared their hearts came into their
+mouths when he went alone into the library to see his grandfather, for
+"there was no knowing how he'd be treated, and his lordship's temper was
+enough to fluster them with old heads on their shoulders, let alone a
+child."
+
+"But if you'll believe me, Mrs. Jennifer, mum," Mrs. Dibble had said,
+"fear that child does not know--so Mr. Thomas hisself says; an' set an'
+smile he did, an' talked to his lordship as if they'd been friends ever
+since his first hour. An' the Earl so took aback, Mr. Thomas says, that
+he couldn't do nothing but listen and stare from under his eyebrows. An'
+it's Mr. Thomas's opinion, Mrs. Bates, mum, that bad as he is, he was
+pleased in his secret soul, an' proud, too; for a handsomer little
+fellow, or with better manners, though so old-fashioned, Mr. Thomas says
+he'd never wish to see."
+
+And then there had come the story of Higgins. The Reverend Mr. Mordaunt
+had told it at his own dinner table, and the servant who had heard it
+had told it in the kitchen, and from there it had spread like wildfire.
+
+And on market-day, when Higgins had appeared in town, he had been
+questioned on every side, and Newick had been questioned too, and in
+response had shown to two or three people the note signed "Fauntleroy."
+
+And so the farmers' wives had found plenty to talk of over their tea and
+their shopping, and they had done the subject full justice and made the
+most of it. And on Sunday they had either walked to church or had been
+driven in their gigs by their husbands, who were perhaps a trifle
+curious themselves about the new little lord who was to be in time the
+owner of the soil.
+
+It was by no means the Earl's habit to attend church, but he chose to
+appear on this first Sunday--it was his whim to present himself in the
+huge family pew, with Fauntleroy at his side.
+
+There were many loiterers in the churchyard, and many lingerers in the
+lane that morning. There were groups at the gates and in the porch, and
+there had been much discussion as to whether my lord would really appear
+or not. When this discussion was at its height, one good woman suddenly
+uttered an exclamation.
+
+"Eh," she said; "that must be the mother, pretty young thing."
+
+All who heard turned and looked at the slender figure in black coming up
+the path. The veil was thrown back from her face and they could see how
+fair and sweet it was, and how the bright hair curled as softly as a
+child's under the little widow's cap.
+
+She was not thinking of the people about; she was thinking of Cedric,
+and of his visits to her, and his joy over his new pony, on which he had
+actually ridden to her door the day before, sitting very straight and
+looking very proud and happy. But soon she could not help being
+attracted by the fact that she was being looked at and that her arrival
+had created some sort of sensation. She first noticed it because an old
+woman in a red cloak made a bobbing curtsy to her, and then another did
+the same thing and said, "God bless you, my lady!" and one man after
+another took off his hat as she passed. For a moment she did not
+understand, and then she realized that it was because she was little
+Lord Fauntleroy's mother that they did so, and she flushed rather shyly
+and smiled and bowed too, and said, "Thank you" in a gentle voice to the
+old woman who had blessed her. To a person who had always lived in a
+bustling, crowded American city this simple deference was very novel,
+and at first just a little embarrassing; but after all, she could not
+help liking and being touched by the friendly warm-heartedness of which
+it seemed to speak. She had scarcely passed through the stone porch into
+the church before the great event of the day happened. The carriage from
+the Castle, with its handsome horses and tall liveried servants, bowled
+around the corner and down the green lane.
+
+"Here they come!" went from one looker-on to another.
+
+And then the carriage drew up, and Thomas stepped down and opened the
+door, and a little boy, dressed in black velvet, and with a splendid mop
+of bright waving hair, jumped out.
+
+Every man, woman, and child looked curiously upon him.
+
+"He's the Captain over again!" said those of the on-lookers who
+remembered his father. "He's the Captain's self, to the life!"
+
+He stood there in the sunlight looking up at the Earl, as Thomas helped
+that nobleman out, with the most affectionate interest that could be
+imagined. The instant he could help, he put out his hand and offered his
+shoulder as if he had been seven feet high. It was plain enough to every
+one that however it might be with other people, the Earl of Dorincourt
+struck no terror into the breast of his grandson.
+
+"Just lean on me," they heard him say. "How glad the people are to see
+you, and how well they all seem to know you!"
+
+"Take off your cap, Fauntleroy," said the Earl. "They are bowing to
+you."
+
+"To me!" cried Fauntleroy, whipping off his cap in a moment, baring his
+bright head to the crowd and turning shining, puzzled eyes on them as he
+tried to bow to every one at once.
+
+"God bless your lordship!" said the curtsying, red-cloaked old woman who
+had spoken to his mother; "long life to you!"
+
+"Thank you, ma'am," said Fauntleroy. And then they went into the church,
+and were looked at there, on their way up the aisle to the square,
+red-cushioned and curtained pew. When Fauntleroy was fairly seated he
+made two discoveries which pleased him: the first was that, across the
+church where he could look at her, his mother sat and smiled at him; the
+second, that at one end of the pew against the wall, knelt two quaint
+figures carven in stone, facing each other as they kneeled on either
+side of a pillar supporting two stone missals, their pointed hands
+folded as if in prayer, their dress very antique and strange. On the
+tablet by them was written something of which he could only read the
+curious words:
+
+"Here lyethe ye bodye of Gregorye Arthure Fyrst Earle of Dorincort
+allsoe of Alysone Hildegarde hys wyfe."
+
+"May I whisper?" inquired his lordship, devoured by curiosity.
+
+"What is it?" said his grandfather.
+
+"Who are they?"
+
+"Some of your ancestors," answered the Earl, "who lived a few hundred
+years ago."
+
+"Perhaps," said Lord Fauntleroy, regarding them with respect, "perhaps I
+got my spelling from them." And then he proceeded to find his place in
+the church service. When the music began, he stood up and looked across
+at his mother, smiling. He was very fond of music, and his mother and he
+often sang together, so he joined in with the rest, his pure, sweet,
+high voice rising as clear as the song of a bird. He quite forgot
+himself in his pleasure in it. The Earl forgot himself a little too, as
+he sat in his curtain-shielded corner of the pew and watched the boy.
+Cedric stood with the big psalter open in his hands, singing with all
+his childish might, his face a little uplifted, happily; and as he sang,
+a long ray of sunshine crept in and, slanting through a golden pane of a
+stained glass window, brightened the falling hair about his young head.
+His mother, as she looked at him across the church, felt a thrill pass
+through her heart, and a prayer rose in it too; a prayer that the pure,
+simple happiness of his childish soul might last, and that the strange,
+great fortune which had fallen to him might bring no wrong or evil with
+it. There were many soft anxious thoughts in her tender heart in those
+new days.
+
+[Illustration: "I'VE A GREAT DEAL TO THANK YOUR LORDSHIP FOR," SAID
+HIGGINS. (SEE NEXT PAGE.)]
+
+"Oh, Ceddie!" she had said to him the evening before, as she hung over
+him in saying good-night, before he went away; "oh, Ceddie, dear, I wish
+for your sake I was very clever and could say a great many wise things!
+But only be good, dear, only be brave, only be kind and true always, and
+then you will never hurt any one, so long as you live, and you may help
+many, and the big world may be better because my little child was born.
+And that is best of all, Ceddie,--it is better than everything else,
+that the world should be a little better because a man has lived--even
+ever so little better, dearest."
+
+And on his return to the Castle, Fauntleroy had repeated her words to
+his grandfather.
+
+"And I thought about you when she said that," he ended; "and I told her
+that was the way the world was because you had lived, and I was going to
+try if I could be like you."
+
+"And what did she say to that?" asked his lordship, a trifle uneasily.
+
+"She said that was right, and we must always look for good in people and
+try to be like it."
+
+Perhaps it was this the old man remembered as he glanced through the
+divided folds of the red curtain of his pew. Many times he looked over
+the people's heads to where his son's wife sat alone, and he saw the
+fair face the unforgiven dead had loved, and the eyes which were so like
+those of the child at his side; but what his thoughts were, and whether
+they were hard and bitter, or softened a little, it would have been
+hard to discover.
+
+As they came out of the church, many of those who had attended the
+service stood waiting to see them pass. As they neared the gate, a man
+who stood with his hat in his hand made a step forward and then
+hesitated. He was a middle-aged farmer, with a careworn face.
+
+"Well, Higgins," said the Earl.
+
+Fauntleroy turned quickly to look at him.
+
+"Oh!" he exclaimed; "is it Mr. Higgins?"
+
+"Yes," answered the Earl dryly; "and I suppose he came to take a look at
+his new landlord."
+
+"Yes, my lord," said the man, his sunburned face reddening. "Mr. Newick
+told me his young lordship was kind enough to speak for me, and I
+thought I'd like to say a word of thanks, if I might be allowed."
+
+Perhaps he felt some wonder when he saw what a little fellow it was who
+had innocently done so much for him, and who stood there looking up just
+as one of his own less fortunate children might have done--apparently
+not realizing his own importance in the least.
+
+"I've a great deal to thank your lordship for," he said; "a great deal.
+I----"
+
+"Oh," said Fauntleroy; "I only wrote the letter. It was my grandfather
+who did it. But you know how he is about always being good to everybody.
+Is Mrs. Higgins well now?"
+
+Higgins looked a trifle taken aback. He also was somewhat startled at
+hearing his noble landlord presented in the character of a benevolent
+being, full of engaging qualities.
+
+"I--well, yes, your lordship," he stammered; "the missus is better since
+the trouble was took off her mind. It was worrying broke her down."
+
+"I'm glad of that," said Fauntleroy. "My grandfather was very sorry
+about your children having the scarlet fever, and so was I. He has had
+children himself. I'm his son's little boy, you know."
+
+Higgins was on the verge of being panic-stricken. He felt it would be
+the safer and more discreet plan not to look at the Earl, as it had been
+well known that his fatherly affection for his sons had been such that
+he had seen them about twice a year, and that when they had been ill, he
+had promptly departed for London, because he would not be bored with
+doctors and nurses. It was a little trying therefore to his lordship's
+nerves to be told, while he looked on, his eyes gleaming from under his
+shaggy eyebrows, that he felt an interest in scarlet fever.
+
+"You see, Higgins," broke in the Earl with a fine grim smile; "you
+people have been mistaken in me. Lord Fauntleroy understands me. When
+you want reliable information on the subject of my character, apply to
+him. Get into the carriage, Fauntleroy."
+
+And Fauntleroy jumped in, and the carriage rolled away down the green
+lane, and even when it turned the corner into the high road, the Earl
+was still grimly smiling.
+
+(_To be continued._)
+
+
+
+
+GEORGE WASHINGTON
+
+[_A Historical Biography._]
+
+BY HORACE E. SCUDDER.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+A VIRGINIA BURGESS.
+
+Before Washington's marriage, and while he was in camp near Fort
+Cumberland, making active preparations for the campaign against Fort
+Duquesne, there was an election for members of the Virginia House of
+Burgesses. Washington offered himself as candidate to the electors of
+Frederic County, in which Winchester, where he had been for the past
+three years, was the principal town. His friends were somewhat fearful
+that the other candidates, who were on the ground, would have the
+advantage over Washington, who was with the army, at a distance; and
+they wrote, urging him to come on and look after his interests. Colonel
+Bouquet, under whose orders he was, cheerfully gave him leave of
+absence, but Washington replied:
+
+"I had, before Colonel Stephen came to this place, abandoned all
+thoughts of attending personally the election at Winchester, choosing
+rather to leave the management of that affair to my friends, than be
+absent from my regiment, when there is a probability of its being called
+to duty. I am much pleased now, that I did so."
+
+Here was a case where Washington broke his excellent rule of--"If you
+want a thing done, do it yourself." If his regiment was to lie idle at
+Fort Cumberland, he could easily have galloped to Winchester, and have
+been back in a few days; but there was a chance that it might move, and
+so he gave up at once all thought of leaving it. Glad enough he was to
+have the news confirmed. To lead his men forward, and to have a hand in
+the capture of Fort Duquesne, was the first thing--the election must
+take care of itself. This was not a bad statement for his friends at
+Winchester to make. A man who sticks to his post, and does his duty
+without regard to his personal interests, is the very man for a
+representative in the legislature. The people of Frederic knew
+Washington thoroughly, and though they had sometimes felt his heavy
+hand, they gave him a hearty vote, and he was elected a member of the
+House of Burgesses.
+
+This was in 1758, and he continued to serve as a member for the next
+fifteen years. There is a story told of his first appearance in the
+House. He was something more than a new member; he was the late
+Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia army, the foremost man, in a military
+way, in the province; he had just returned from the successful
+expedition against Fort Duquesne. So the House resolved to welcome him
+in a manner becoming so gallant a Virginian, and it passed a vote of
+thanks for the distinguished military services he had rendered the
+country. The Speaker, Mr. Robinson, rose when Washington came in to take
+his seat, and made a little speech of praise and welcome, presenting the
+thanks of the House. Every one applauded and waited for the tall colonel
+to respond. There he stood, blushing, stammering, confused. He could
+give his orders to his men easily enough, and he could even say what was
+necessary, to Mrs. Martha Custis; but to address the House of Burgesses
+in answer to a vote of thanks--that was another matter! Not a plain word
+could he get out. It was a capital answer, and the Speaker interpreted
+it to the House.
+
+"Sit down, Mr. Washington," said he. "Your modesty equals your valor,
+and that surpasses the power of any language I possess."
+
+It was a trying ordeal for the new member, and if speech-making had been
+his chief business in the House, he would have made a sorry failure. He
+rarely made a speech, and never a long one, but for all that he was a
+valuable member, and his re-election at every term showed that the
+people understood his value. If there was any work to be done, any
+important committee to be appointed, Washington could be counted on, and
+his sound judgment, his mature experience, and sense of honor, made his
+opinion one which every one respected. He was always on hand, punctual,
+and faithful; and qualities of diligence and fidelity in such a place,
+when combined with sound judgment and honor, are sure to tell in the
+long run. He once gave a piece of advice to a nephew who had also been
+elected to the House, and it probably was the result of his own
+experience and observation.
+
+"The only advice I will offer," he said; "if you have a mind to command
+the attention of the House, is to speak seldom but on important
+subjects, except such as particularly relate to your constituents; and,
+in the former case, make yourself perfect master of the subject. Never
+exceed a decent warmth, and submit your sentiments with diffidence. A
+dictatorial style, though it may carry conviction, is always accompanied
+with disgust."
+
+It was in January, 1759, that Washington took his seat in the House, and
+if he made it his rule "to speak seldom but on important subjects," he
+had several opportunities to speak before he finally left the Virginia
+Legislature for a more important gathering. The first very important
+subject was the Stamp Act, in 1765. The British Government had passed an
+act requiring the American colonies to place a stamp upon every
+newspaper or almanac that was published, upon every marriage
+certificate, every will, every deed, and upon other legal papers. These
+stamps were to be sold by officers of the crown, and the money obtained
+by the sale was to be used to pay British soldiers stationed in America
+to enforce the laws made by Parliament.
+
+The colonies were aflame with indignation. They declared that Parliament
+had no right to pass such an act; that the Ministry that proposed it was
+about an unlawful business; and that it was adding insult to injury to
+send over soldiers to enforce such laws. People, when they meet on the
+corner of the street and discuss public matters, are usually much more
+outspoken than when they meet in legislatures; but the American
+colonists were wont to talk very plainly in their assemblies, and it was
+no new thing for the representatives, chosen by the people, to be at
+odds with the governor, who represented the British Government. So when
+Patrick Henry rose up in the House of Burgesses, with his resolutions
+declaring that the Stamp Act was illegal and that the colony of Virginia
+had always enjoyed the right of governing itself, as far as taxation
+went,--and when he made a flaming speech which threatened the King,
+there was great confusion; and though his resolutions were passed, there
+was but a bare majority.
+
+There is no record of what Washington may have said or how he voted on
+that occasion, but his letters show that he thought the Stamp Act a very
+unwise act on the part of Great Britain, and a piece of oppression.
+"That Act," he says, "could be looked upon in no other light by every
+person who would view it in its proper colors." But he did not rush into
+a passion over it. Instead, he studied it coolly, and before it was
+repealed, wrote at some length to his wife's uncle, who was living in
+London, his reasons for thinking that the British Ministry would gain
+nothing by pressing the Stamp Act and other laws which bore hard on
+colonial prosperity; for he held that if they would only see it, the
+colonies were as necessary to England as England to the colonies.
+
+[Illustration: PATRICK HENRY.]
+
+It is difficult for us to-day to put ourselves in the place of
+Washington and other men of his time. Washington was a Virginian, and
+was one of the Legislature. He was used to making laws and providing for
+the needs of the people of Virginia, but he was accustomed to look
+beyond Virginia to England. There the King was, and he was one of the
+subjects of the King. The King's officers came to Virginia, and when
+Washington saw, as he so often did, a British man-of-war lying in the
+river off Mount Vernon, his mind was thrilled with pleasure as he
+thought of the power of the empire to which he belonged. He had seen the
+British soldiers marching against the French, and he had himself served
+under a British general. He had an ardent desire to go to England, to
+see London, to see the King and his Court, and Parliament, and the
+Courts of Justice, and the great merchants who made the city famous; but
+as yet he had been unable to go.
+
+He had seen but little of the other colonies. He had made a journey to
+Boston, and that had given him some acquaintance with men; but wherever
+he went, he found people looking eagerly toward England and asking what
+the Ministry there would do about fighting the French on the Western
+borders. Though he and others might never have seen England, it was the
+center of the world to them. He thought of the other colonies not so
+much as all parts of one great country on this side of the Atlantic, as
+each separately a part of the British Empire.
+
+After all, however, and most of all, he was a Virginian. In Virginia he
+owned land. There was his home, and there his occupation. He was a
+farmer, a planter of tobacco and wheat, and it was his business to sell
+his products. As for the French, they were enemies of Great Britain, but
+they were also very near enemies of Virginia. They were getting
+possession of land in Virginia itself--land which Washington owned in
+part; and when he was busily engaged in driving them out, he did not
+have to stop and think of France, he needed only to think of Fort
+Duquesne, a few days' march to the westward.
+
+When, therefore he found the British Government making laws which made
+him pay roundly for sending his tobacco to market, and taxing him as if
+there were no Virginia Legislature to say what taxes the people could
+and should pay, he began to be restless and dissatisfied. England was a
+great way off; Virginia was close at hand. He was loyal to the King and
+had fought under the King's officers, but if the King cared nothing for
+his loyalty, and only wanted his pence, his loyalty was likely to cool.
+His chief resentment, however, was against Parliament. Parliament was
+making laws and laying taxes. But what was Parliament? It was a body of
+law-makers in England, just as the House of Burgesses was in Virginia.
+To be sure, it could pass laws about navigation which concerned all
+parts of the British Empire; but, somehow, it made these laws very
+profitable to England and very disadvantageous to Virginia. Parliament,
+however, had no right to pass such a law as the Stamp Act. That was
+making a special law for the American colonies, and taking away a right
+which belonged to the colonial assemblies.
+
+Washington had grown up with an intense love of law, and in this he was
+like other American Englishmen. In England there were very few persons
+who made the laws, the vast majority had nothing to do but to obey the
+laws. Yet it is among the makers of laws that the love of law prevails;
+and since in America a great many more Englishmen had to do with
+government in colony and in town than in England, there were more who
+passionately insisted upon the law being observed. An unlawful act was
+to them an outrage. When they said that England was oppressing them,
+and making them slaves, they did not mean that they wanted liberty to
+do what they pleased, but that they wanted to be governed by just laws,
+made by the men who had the right to make laws. And that right belonged
+to the legislatures, to which they sent representatives.
+
+So it was out of his love of law and justice that Washington and others
+protested against the Stamp Act; and when the act was repealed, they
+threw up their hats and hurrahed, not because they now should not have
+to buy and use stamps, but because by repealing the act, Parliament had
+as much as said that it was an unlawful act. However, this was an
+unwilling admission on the part of Parliament, which repealed the act,
+but said at once: "We can tax you if we choose to."
+
+In fact, Parliament stupidly tried soon after to prove that it had the
+right by imposing duties on tea, paper, glass, and painters' colors. But
+the people in the colonies were on the alert. They had really been
+governing themselves so long that now, when Parliament tried to get the
+power away from them, they simply went on using their power. They did
+this in two ways; the colonial governments again asserted their rights
+in the case, and the people began to form associations, in which they
+bound themselves not to buy goods of England until the offensive act was
+repealed. This latter was one of the most interesting movements in the
+breaking away of the colonies from England. It was a popular movement;
+it did not depend upon what this or that colonial assembly might do; it
+was perfectly lawful, and so far as it was complete it was effective.
+Yet all the while the movement was doing more, and what but a very few
+detected; it was binding the scattered people in the colonies together.
+
+Washington took a great deal of interest in these associations, and
+belonged to one himself. He was growing exceedingly impatient of English
+misrule, and saw clearly to what it was leading. "At a time," he says,
+"when our lordly masters in Great Britain will be satisfied with nothing
+less than the deprivation of American freedom, it seems highly necessary
+that something should be done to avert the stroke, and maintain the
+liberty which we have derived from our ancestors. But the manner of
+doing it to answer the purpose effectually is the point in question.
+That no man should scruple, or hesitate a moment, to use arms in defense
+of so valuable a blessing, is clearly my opinion. Yet arms, I would beg
+leave to add, should be the last resort. We have already, it is said,
+proved the inefficacy of addresses to the throne, and remonstrances to
+Parliament. How far, then, their attention to our rights and privileges
+is to be awakened or alarmed by starving their trade and manufactures,
+remains to be tried."
+
+He took the lead in forming an association in Virginia, and he kept
+scrupulously to his agreement; for when he sent his orders to London, he
+was very careful to instruct his correspondents to send him none of the
+goods unless the Act of Parliament had meantime been repealed. As the
+times grew more exciting, Washington watched events steadily. He took no
+step backward, but he moved forward deliberately and with firmness. He
+did not allow himself to be carried away by the passions of the time. It
+was all very well, some said, to stop buying from England, but let us
+stop selling also. They need our tobacco. Suppose we refuse to send it
+unless Parliament repeals the Act. Washington stood out against that
+except as a final resource, and for the reason which he stated in a
+letter:
+
+     "I am convinced, as much as I am of my own existence, that
+     there is no relief for us but in their distress; and I
+     think, at least I hope, that there is public virtue enough
+     left among us to deny ourselves everything but the bare
+     necessaries of life to accomplish this end. This we have a
+     right to do, and no power upon earth can compel us to do
+     otherwise, till it has first reduced us to the most abject
+     state of slavery. The stopping of our exports would, no
+     doubt, be a shorter method than the other to effect this
+     purpose; but if we owe money to Great Britain, nothing but
+     the last necessity can justify the non-payment of it; and,
+     therefore, I have great doubts upon this head, and wish to
+     see the other method first tried, which is legal and will
+     facilitate these payments."
+
+That is, by the economy necessarily preached, the people would save
+money with which to pay their debts.
+
+Washington had been at the front both in the House of Burgesses, in his
+own county, and among the people generally. He was a member of the
+convention called to meet at Williamsburg; and he was appointed by that
+convention one of seven delegates to attend the first Continental
+Congress at Philadelphia.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.
+
+Near the end of August, 1774, Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton, two of
+the delegates from Virginia to the first Continental Congress, rode from
+their homes to Mount Vernon and made a short visit. Then, on the last
+day of the month, Washington mounted his horse also, and the three
+friends started for Philadelphia to attend the congress, which was
+called to meet on the 5th of September. Pendleton was a dozen years
+older than Washington, and Henry was the youngest of the party. He was
+the most fiery in speech, and more than once, in recent conventions, had
+carried his hearers away by his bold words. He was the most eloquent
+man in the colonies,--of rude appearance, but when once wrought up by
+excitement, able to pour out a torrent of words.
+
+[Illustration: WASHINGTON, PATRICK HENRY, AND EDMUND PENDLETON ON THEIR
+WAY TO PHILADELPHIA, AS DELEGATES TO THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.[D]]
+
+For my part, I would rather have heard the speech which Washington made
+at the convention in Williamsburg in the August before, when he rose up
+to read the resolution which he and his neighbors had passed at their
+meeting in Fairfax County. The eloquence of a man who is a famous orator
+is not quite so convincing as that of a man of action, who rarely
+speaks, but who is finally stirred by a great occasion. People were used
+to hearing Washington say a few words in a slow, hesitating, deliberate
+way; and they knew that he had carefully considered beforehand what
+words he should use. But this time he was terribly in earnest, and when
+he had read the resolution, he spoke as no one had heard him before. He
+was a passionate man who had his anger under control; but when it
+occasionally burst out, it was as if a dam to a stream had given way.
+And now he was consumed with indignation at the manner in which Great
+Britain was treating the colonies. He was ready, he said, to raise a
+regiment of a thousand men, pay all their expenses, and lead them to
+Boston to drive out the King's soldiers.
+
+The three men, therefore, must have talked long and earnestly as they
+rode to Philadelphia; for the Congress which they were to attend was the
+first one to which all the colonies were invited to send delegates. It
+was to consider the cause of the whole people, and Virginia was to see
+in Massachusetts not a rival colony, but one with which she had common
+cause. The last time Washington had gone over the road he had been on an
+errand to the King's chief representative in America, the
+Commander-in-Chief, Governor Shirley, and one matter which he had held
+very much at heart had been his own commission as an officer in His
+Majesty's army. He was on a different errand now. Still, like the men
+who were most in earnest at that time, he was thinking how the colonies
+could secure their rights as colonies, not how they might break away
+from England and set up for themselves.
+
+[Footnote D: The above illustration is reproduced from Irving's "Life of
+Washington," by kind permission of Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons.]
+
+They were five days on the road, and on September the 4th, they
+breakfasted near Newcastle, in Delaware, dined at Chester, in
+Pennsylvania, and in the evening were in Philadelphia, at the City
+Tavern, which stood on Second street, above Walnut street, and was the
+meeting-place of most of the delegates. Washington, however, though he
+was often at the City Tavern, had his lodging at Dr. Shippen's. The
+Congress met the next day at Carpenters' Hall, and was in session for
+seven weeks. The first two or three days were especially exciting to the
+members. There they were, fifty-one men, from all the colonies save
+Georgia, met to consult together--Englishmen who sang "God save the
+King," but asked also what right the King had to act as he had done
+toward Boston. They did not know one another well at the beginning.
+There was no man among them who could be called famous beyond his own
+colony, unless it was George Washington. Up to this time the different
+colonies had lived so apart from one another, each concerned about its
+own affairs, that there had been little opportunity for a man to be
+widely known.
+
+[Illustration: CARPENTERS' HALL, PHILADELPHIA, WHERE THE FIRST
+CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.]
+
+So, as they looked at one another at the City Tavern, or at the
+Carpenters' Hall when they met, each man was wondering who would take
+the lead. Virginia was the largest and most important colony.
+Massachusetts had a right to speak, because she had called the
+convention, and because it was in Boston that the people were suffering
+most from the action of the British Parliament. Perhaps the two most
+conspicuous members at first were Patrick Henry, of Virginia, and Samuel
+Adams, of Massachusetts; but in the seven weeks of the session, others
+showed their good judgment and patriotism. Patrick Henry was asked after
+he returned to Virginia whom he considered the greatest man in the
+Congress, and he replied: "If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of
+South Carolina, is by far the greatest orator; but if you speak of solid
+information and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the
+greatest man on the floor."
+
+Washington carried on the methods which he had always practiced. He
+attended the sessions punctually and regularly; he listened to what
+others had to say, and gave his own opinion only after he had carefully
+formed it. It is an example of the thoroughness with which he made
+himself master of every subject, that he used to copy in his own hand
+the important papers which were laid before Congress, such as the
+petition to the King which was agreed upon. This he would do
+deliberately and exactly,--it was like committing the paper to memory.
+Besides this, he made abstracts of other papers, stating the substance
+of them in a few clear words.
+
+The greater part of each day was occupied in the Congress, but besides
+the regular business, there was a great deal of informal talk among the
+members. They were full of the subject, and used to meet to discuss
+affairs at dinner, or in knots about the fire at the City Tavern.
+Philadelphia was then the most important city in the country, and there
+were many men of wide experience living in it. Washington went
+everywhere by invitation. He dined with the Chief Justice, with the
+Mayor, and with all the notable people.
+
+In this way he was able to become better acquainted both with the state
+of affairs in other colonies and with the way the most intelligent
+people were thinking about the difficulties of the time. The first
+Continental Congress gave expression to the deliberate judgment of the
+colonies upon the acts of Great Britain. It protested against the manner
+in which Parliament was treating the colonies. It declared firmly and
+solemnly that as British subjects the people of the colonies owed no
+allegiance to Parliament, in which they had no representatives; that
+their own legislatures alone had the right to lay taxes. But after all,
+the great advantage of this first Congress was in the opportunity which
+it gave for representatives from the different colonies to become
+acquainted with one another, and thus to make all parts of the country
+more ready to act together.
+
+It was only now and then that any one suggested the independence of the
+colonies. Washington, like a few others, thought it possible the
+colonies might have to arm and resist the unlawful attempt to force
+unconstitutional laws upon them; but he did not, at this time, go so far
+as to propose a separation from England. He had a friend among the
+British officers in Boston, one of his old comrades in the war against
+France, a Captain Mackenzie, who wrote to him, complaining of the way
+the Boston people were behaving. Captain Mackenzie, very naturally, as
+an officer, saw only a troublesome, rebellious lot of people whom it was
+the business of the army to put down. Washington wrote earnestly to him,
+trying to show him the reason why the people felt as they did, and the
+wrong way of looking at the subject which Captain Mackenzie and other
+officers had. He expressed his sorrow that fortune should have placed
+his friend in a service that was sure to bring down vengeance upon those
+engaged in it. He went on:
+
+     "I do not mean by this to insinuate that an officer is not
+     to discharge his duty, even when chance, not choice, has
+     placed him in a disagreeable situation; but I conceive, when
+     you condemn the conduct of the Massachusetts people, you
+     reason from effects, not causes; otherwise you would not
+     wonder at a people, who are every day receiving fresh proofs
+     of a systematic assertion of an arbitrary power, deeply
+     planned to overturn the laws and constitution of their
+     country, and to violate the most essential and valuable
+     rights of mankind, being irritated, and with difficulty
+     restrained from acts of the greatest violence and
+     intemperance. For my own part, I confess to you candidly,
+     that I view things in a very different point of light from
+     the one in which you seem to consider them; and though you
+     are taught by venal men ... to believe that the people of
+     Massachusetts are rebellious, setting up for independency,
+     and what not, give me leave, my good friend, to tell you,
+     that you are abused, grossly abused.... Give me leave to
+     add, and I think I can announce it as a fact, that it is not
+     the wish or interest of that government, or any other upon
+     this continent, separately or collectively, to set up for
+     independence; but this you may at the same time rely on,
+     that none of them will ever submit to the loss of those
+     valuable rights and privileges which are essential to the
+     happiness of every free State, and without which, life,
+     liberty, and property are rendered totally insecure."
+
+It was with such a belief as this that Washington went back to Mount
+Vernon, and while he was occupied with his engrossing private affairs,
+busied himself also with organizing and drilling soldiers. Independent
+companies were formed all over Virginia, and one after another placed
+themselves under his command. Although, by the custom of those
+companies, each was independent of the others, yet by choosing the same
+commander they virtually made Washington Commander-in-Chief of the
+Virginia volunteers. He was the first military man in the colony, and
+every one turned to him for advice and instruction. So through the
+winter and spring, he was constantly on the move, going to one place
+after another to review the companies which had been formed.
+
+I think that winter and spring of 1775 must have been a somewhat
+sorrowful one to George Washington, and that he must have felt as if a
+great change were coming in his life. His wife's daughter had died, and
+he missed her sadly. Young John Custis had married and gone away to
+live. The sound of war was heard on all sides, and among the visitors to
+Mount Vernon were some who afterward were to be generals in the American
+army. He still rode occasionally after the hounds, but the old days of
+fun were gone. George William Fairfax had gone back to England, and the
+jolly company at Belvoir was scattered. The house itself there had
+caught fire, and burned to the ground.
+
+But the time for action was at hand. Washington turned from his home and
+his fox-hunting to go to Richmond as a delegate to a second Virginia
+convention. It was called to hear the reports of the delegates to
+Philadelphia and to see what further was to be done. It was clear to
+some, and to Washington among them, that the people must be ready for
+the worst. They had shown themselves in earnest by all the drill and
+training they had been going through as independent companies. Now let
+those companies be formed into a real army. It was idle to send any more
+petitions to the King.
+
+"We must fight!" exclaimed Patrick Henry; "I repeat it, sir; we must
+fight! An appeal to arms and the God of Hosts is all that is left us!"
+
+[Illustration: JOHN ADAMS, OF MASSACHUSETTS, WHO PROPOSED WASHINGTON FOR
+COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY.]
+
+A committee, of which Washington was one, was appointed to report a plan
+for an army of Virginia.
+
+But when people make up their minds to fight, they know very well, if
+they are sensible, that more than half the task before them is to find
+means for feeding and clothing not only the troops but the people who
+are dependent on the troops. Therefore the convention appointed another
+committee, of which Washington also was a member, to devise a plan for
+encouraging manufactures, so that the people could do without England.
+Heretofore, the Virginians had done scarcely any manufacturing; nearly
+everything they needed they had bought from England with tobacco. But if
+they were to be at war with England, they must be making ready to
+provide for themselves. It was late in the day to do anything; slavery,
+though they did not then see it clearly, had made a variety of
+industries impossible. However, the people were advised to form
+associations to promote the raising of wool, cotton, flax, and hemp, and
+to encourage the use of home manufactures.
+
+Washington was again chosen one of the delegates to the Continental
+Congress, for the second Congress had been called to meet at
+Philadelphia. He was even readier to go than before. On the day when he
+was chosen, he wrote to his brother John Augustine Washington: "It is my
+full intention to devote my life and fortune to the cause we are engaged
+in, if needful."
+
+That was at the end of March. The second Continental Congress was to
+meet on May 10; and just before Washington left Mount Vernon came the
+news of Lexington and Concord. Curiously enough, the Governor of
+Virginia had done just what Governor Gage had attempted to do; he had
+seized some powder which was stored at Fredericksburg, and placed it for
+safety on board a vessel of the British navy. The independent companies
+at once met and called upon Washington to take command of them, that
+they might compel the Governor to restore the powder. Washington kept
+cool. The Governor promised to restore the powder, and Washington
+advised the people to wait to see what Congress would do.
+
+When Congress met, the men who came together were no longer strangers to
+one another. They had parted warm friends the previous fall; they had
+gone to their several homes and now had come back more determined than
+ever, and more united. Every one spoke of Lexington and Concord; and the
+Massachusetts men told how large an army had already gathered around
+Boston. But it was an army made up not only of Massachusetts men, but of
+men from Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. It was plain that
+there must be some authority over such an army, and the Provincial
+Congress of Massachusetts wrote to the Continental Congress at
+Philadelphia, advising that body to assume control of all the forces, to
+raise a continental army, appoint a commander, and do whatever else was
+necessary to prepare for war. There had already been fighting; there was
+an army; and it was no longer a war between Massachusetts and Great
+Britain.
+
+I do not know what other delegates to the Congress at Philadelphia came
+as soldiers, but there was one tall Virginian present who wore his
+military coat; and when the talk fell upon appointing a commander, all
+eyes were turned toward him. Every one, however, felt the gravity and
+delicacy of the situation. Here was an army adopted by Congress; but it
+was a New England army, and if the struggle were to come at Boston, it
+was natural that the troops should mainly come from that neighborhood.
+The colonies were widely separated; they had not acted much together.
+Would it not be better, would it not save ill-feeling, if a New England
+man were to command this New England army?
+
+There were some who thought thus; and besides, there was still a good
+deal of difference of opinion as to the course to be pursued. Some were
+all ready for independence; others, and perhaps the most, hoped to bring
+the British to terms. Parties were rising in Congress; petty jealousies
+were showing themselves, when suddenly John Adams, of Massachusetts,
+seeing into what perplexities they were drifting, came forward with a
+distinct proposition that Congress should adopt the army before Boston
+and appoint a commander. He did not name Washington, but described him
+as a certain gentleman from Virginia "who could unite the cordial
+exertions of all the colonies better than any other person." No one
+doubted who was meant, and Washington, confused and agitated, left the
+room at once.
+
+Nothing else was now talked of. The delegates discussed the matter in
+groups and small circles, and a few days afterward a Maryland delegate
+formally nominated George Washington to be Commander-in-Chief of the
+American Army. He was unanimously elected, but the honor of bringing him
+distinctly before the Congress belongs to John Adams. It seems now a
+very natural thing to do, but really it was something which required
+wisdom and courage. When one sums up all Washington's military
+experience at this time, it was not great, or such as to point him out
+as unmistakably the leader of the American army. There was a general
+then in command at Cambridge, who had seen more of war than Washington
+had. But Washington was the leading military man in Virginia, and it was
+for this reason that John Adams, as a New England man, urged his
+election. The Congress had done something to bring the colonies
+together; the war was to do more, but probably no single act really had
+a more far-reaching significance in making the Union, than the act of
+nominating the Virginian Washington by the New England Adams.
+
+(_To be continued._)
+
+
+
+
+Spring Beauties.
+
+BY HELEN GRAY CONE.
+
+
+    The Puritan Spring Beauties stood freshly clad for church;
+    A Thrush, white-breasted, o'er them sat singing on his perch.
+    "Happy be! for fair are ye!" the gentle singer told them.
+    But presently a buff-coat Bee came booming up to scold them.
+    "Vanity, oh, vanity!
+    Young maids, beware of vanity!"
+    Grumbled out the buff-coat Bee,
+    Half parson-like, half soldierly.
+
+    The sweet-faced maidens trembled, with pretty, pinky blushes,
+    Convinced that it was wicked to listen to the Thrushes;
+    And when, that shady afternoon, I chanced that way to pass,
+    They hung their little bonnets down and looked into the grass.
+    All because the buff-coat Bee
+    Lectured them so solemnly:--
+    "Vanity, oh, vanity!
+    Young maids, beware of vanity!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+HOW CONRAD LOST HIS SCHOOL-BOOKS.
+
+BY WALTER BOBBETT.
+
+
+Conrad was not a prince, not even a lord; he was only an ordinary boy.
+He should have been on his way to school; but, having a talent for doing
+nothing, he was wandering about the fields and little strips of
+woodland, amusing himself by watching the birds skim through the air. He
+had lately been reading a volume of fairy-tales, and as he walked along
+he began to wonder whether there really was a bit of truth in any of
+them.
+
+[Illustration: "HE BECKONED TO CONRAD, WHO CROSSED THE STREAM ON A
+SLIGHT PLANK BRIDGE."]
+
+He kept on thinking so intently about it, that he did not notice how
+near he was to a little brook, until he found himself almost on the
+point of tumbling into the water. This put a stop to his wondering, for
+the next moment he stood staring in astonishment, not at the water, but
+at a little old man who was sitting on the roots of a large tree that
+grew on the opposite bank of the stream. He was dressed in a very
+curious fashion. On his head he had a tall steeple-crowned hat, in which
+were placed two long peacock's feathers.
+
+The little old man sat looking very attentively at Conrad, and seemed to
+derive a great deal of comfort from a long pipe, which he was enjoying
+so energetically that all around him the air was filled with smoke. At
+last he beckoned to Conrad, who crossed the stream on a slight plank
+bridge, and advanced toward him.
+
+By that time, Conrad had leaped to the conclusion, in his own mind, that
+the very queer-looking old gentleman was an enchanter, and so he had
+resolved to be very respectful, to do just as he was bidden, and to wait
+very patiently for the little old man to speak first.
+
+Presently the little old man shifted the pipe for a moment, and asked:
+
+"What are those books that you are carrying?"
+
+"They are my school-books," said Conrad; "but I am tired of going to
+school, and I wish to go with the fairies!"
+
+The little old man smiled a benevolent smile, and exclaimed: "Oh!" Then
+he shifted his pipe again, and said quickly:
+
+"Give me the school-books."
+
+Conrad did so, at once.
+
+The little old man then opened a spelling-book, and turned to the
+fly-leaf.
+
+"Conrad," said he.
+
+Conrad started, for he wondered how the little man had learned his name.
+He himself had not once mentioned it. He was sure now that the queer
+little person was an enchanter.
+
+"So, Conrad," said the little old man again, "you wish to go to the
+fairies, do you? Well, you may go; but you must leave your books with me
+until you come back."
+
+Conrad's attention was now attracted by a raven, which he saw standing
+beside the enchanter, and which he had not noticed before.
+
+Turning to the bird, the enchanter said: "Give me my key."
+
+The raven hopped from a large key upon which it had been standing, and
+taking it in its beak, presented it to its master.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Conrad wished to ask if the raven would bite, and whether it could do
+any better trick than carrying a key; but he thought this might be
+considered an impertinent question, so he said nothing.
+
+"Take this key," said the little old man, "and be careful not to lose
+it. Walk on until you come to the edge of yonder forest; pass straight
+through the wood, and when you arrive at the other side, you will behold
+a castle not far distant. You may find it difficult to gain admission;
+but you must persevere. As to what will happen afterward, I may not tell
+you now. One word more, and then begone; should you ever need my
+assistance, blow down the key."
+
+Conrad was so astonished at all he had seen and heard, that he hardly
+knew what to do; but as the little old man pointed in the direction of
+the forest, Conrad bade him good-day, and walked away to follow the
+orders he had received.
+
+He kept on until he came to the forest, which he entered. It seemed so
+quiet and dark, that he would have been frightened, had he not
+remembered that, in case of danger, he could depend on assistance from
+the enchanter.
+
+At last he reached the end of the wood, and about a mile beyond, he saw
+the castle with its gilded dome and all its windows shining in the
+sunlight. This sight cheered him, and he walked on till he came to the
+gateway. He found the great gates wide open; and no one prevented his
+entering, as it happened to be a day on which the King received
+petitions from those of his subjects who wished to present any.
+
+He passed on through the large court-yard, key in hand, and instead of
+going in at the entrance to the court, he entered a little side door and
+ascended a winding stairway. Up he went, higher and higher, till it
+seemed as if the stairway would never end, when suddenly he came face to
+face with an official who was descending.
+
+"What business have you here?" asked the officer.
+
+Conrad could not answer; so the man gently took hold of his ear and led
+him down the stairs again, varying the monotony of the long descent by
+giving the ear a severe pinch at every seventh step. Out through the
+court-yard they passed, the bystanders all cheering and laughing; out of
+the gate again; and with one final pinch, the boy was left sobbing on
+the roadway.
+
+Poor Conrad had, indeed, found it difficult to gain admission to the
+castle. Drying his tears, however, he began to walk around the outside
+of the building, until at last he came to a ladder that was leaning
+against a window.
+
+"The very thing!" said he; "it must have been left here on purpose for
+me."
+
+Up he climbed, slipped in at the window, and dropped quietly to the
+floor.
+
+He found himself in a large hall, through which he walked until he came
+to an archway at the farther end. Before the archway hung an embroidered
+curtain. Conrad pushed it aside, and entered a richly decorated room, at
+the end of which stood a throne. Around it were assembled many nobles,
+pages, and guards, who were awaiting the return of the King from
+hunting.
+
+Few of them looked at Conrad. Some seemed to cast a scornful side-glance
+at him, and one even told him to go back by the way he had come. Conrad
+was not a whit daunted, however, and boldly holding up his key, so that
+every one could see it, he walked up to a portly-looking gentleman, who
+was dressed in black velvet and who wore a golden chain around his neck.
+Conrad asked him what he was to do. The portly gentleman stared at him.
+Conrad asked if any of the company were enchanted; "because," said he,
+"if they are, I'll disenchant them with my key."
+
+"Enchanted?" said the gentleman in black. "What do you mean? Why do you
+bother me about enchantment?"
+
+Conrad began to feel a little nervous, and to think that they did not
+seem at all like enchanted folk; at least, they did not act like any he
+had read about in his books.
+
+The enchanter had told him that he would meet with difficulties, but,
+despite his confidence, he could not help getting very red in the face.
+And by this time, all the gentlemen, except the one dressed in black,
+were smiling.
+
+Suddenly, Conrad remembered what the little old man had said about
+whistling down the key. Happy thought! He at once rushed up in front of
+the portly gentleman with the black velvet suit and the golden chain,
+and began to whistle in the key as hard as he could.
+
+But, at this performance, the nobles all stopped smiling and looked
+first at one another, and then at Conrad, with very grave faces; one
+even put his hand upon his sword.
+
+Now, it happened that the gentleman in black velvet was a Grand Duke and
+the Prime Minister of the kingdom. At that moment he was thinking over
+some important question of state, and the sight of Conrad whistling and
+capering in front of him, just as he was settling everything to his own
+satisfaction, made him so angry, that he stopped and stared at Conrad,
+as if he could have stepped upon him. Conrad kept on whistling, but the
+little enchanter did not come. "He must either be ill or very deaf,"
+thought Conrad, and he was just making up his mind that something was
+wrong, when all doubts on the subject were removed by the Grand Duke,
+who advanced toward him, picked him up by the collar of his jacket, and,
+carrying him to a window, quietly dropped him out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Poor Conrad was very much shaken by his fall, and for a time was so
+dazed that he could hardly realize what had happened. In a little while,
+he began to collect his thoughts; but as he picked himself up, he
+concluded, notwithstanding the difficulties he had encountered, that he
+would try once more to gain admission to the castle. So he arose and
+walked toward a door which he saw a few paces distant.
+
+His key fitted the lock perfectly. He pushed aside a sliding door,
+walked in, and passed down a stairway, when he found himself in a dark
+cellar. The floor was strewn with boxes and small barrels, over which he
+stumbled, breaking some bottles that stood in his way. He began to feel
+frightened, so he climbed to the top of a barrel, in order to get a
+glimpse of his position and see if he could find his way out to
+daylight. Suddenly the barrel-head gave way, and before he had time to
+jump off, Conrad fell, up to his knees, in some soft powder. He
+struggled to free himself, but only upset the barrel and covered himself
+from head to foot with flour or fine meal. At last he called for
+assistance; and a door, that he had not noticed until then, opened, and
+a girl of about his own age came into the cellar, and asked what was the
+matter.
+
+"I've tumbled into something; please come and help me out," cried
+Conrad.
+
+She hurried to him, and with her aid he at last succeeded in freeing
+himself.
+
+After brushing the dust from his hair and his clothes, he followed
+where his new friend led the way, and entered a kitchen, thinking that
+without doubt he was now in the presence of an enchanted princess, who
+must have been waiting many years for some one to disenchant her. "To be
+sure," thought he, "I am not a prince; but then that does not so much
+matter; there is no telling but I may be one, some day;" so he decided
+to ask the maiden how she had become enchanted.
+
+"Beautiful Princess," exclaimed he,----and he was just attempting a very
+fine speech in the best fairy-story manner, when the young girl laughed,
+and told him to be seated, and asked him if he would like to have a pie.
+Conrad was astonished by this question from an enchanted princess; but,
+without waiting for his reply, the girl walked toward a table on which
+stood a number of mince-pies, and, taking up one of them, she placed it
+before Conrad.
+
+That was not the way in which an enchanted princess was supposed to act;
+but as Conrad was very hungry, he did not express his surprise, but
+turned his attention to the pie. While he was eating, the princess
+busied herself with beating some eggs in a large bowl, and before he
+knew it, Conrad found that he had eaten all the pie.
+
+Then they talked about the weather and whatever else they happened to
+think of; and at last, Conrad asked her how long she had been enchanted.
+
+"What!" exclaimed the princess.
+
+He repeated his question.
+
+"Why, what do you mean?" said she.
+
+He was just about explaining, when "tramp, tramp, tramp!"--the noise of
+feet was heard coming down the stairs. The princess jumped up, and
+cried:
+
+"Oh, run! Run quickly! I shall be punished if they find that I have
+given you a pie!"
+
+"Oh, no," said Conrad; "do not be frightened! I will protect you from
+them. I came to this castle on purpose to rescue you."
+
+"But I do not want to be rescued!" said she. "Do go, at once!"
+
+Tramp, tramp! Nearer and nearer came the sound,--almost to the bottom of
+the stairs. Conrad felt for his key.
+
+"Oh, dear!" he exclaimed, "I must have lost my key when I fell into the
+barrel! I never noticed that I was without it till now. All is lost!
+Adieu, good Princess!"
+
+"Good-bye," said she; "only go!"
+
+He jumped upon a table, and climbed out of the window. It was all that
+was left for him to do. After he was outside of the building, he turned,
+and waving his hand to the princess, begged her to remember him.
+
+"I will come back to you, if I ever get my key again," he said; "and
+then I'll disenchant you."
+
+At that moment the kitchen door opened, and Conrad saw a great light. It
+might have been a bull's-eye lantern, but Conrad was sure that it was a
+dragon that was pointing its fiery eye at him.
+
+"Oh, the poor princess!" said he. "If only I had my key!"
+
+Then, as the light flashed full at him, he became so frightened that he
+turned and ran for the gate as hard as he could. He made his way across
+the court-yard much faster than when he had come in, and soon he had
+left the castle far behind. The houses began to be farther apart and to
+have a more rustic appearance. He heard a cart coming along the road.
+
+"Please give me a ride!" he cried to the driver.
+
+"Yes, I will," said the man; "jump in." And Conrad clambered into the
+cart.
+
+"You look tired," said the driver. "Lie down on that blanket and rest
+yourself."
+
+Conrad gladly did as he was told and, feeling much fatigued after his
+adventures, he was soon fast asleep.
+
+He did not awake until he felt himself carried out of the cart, and was
+just enough awake to know that all the inmates of his father's house,
+together with a few of the neighbors, were crowding about and asking him
+where he had been. And that was all he noticed, for the next moment he
+was off to sleep again, and was carried upstairs and put to bed.
+
+He did not feel very well the next morning, so the doctor was called in,
+who advised that he should remain in the house for a few days, as he had
+a slight fever.
+
+While at home, he told his aunt what had happened to him; but she only
+patted his head, and told him that he must have been dreaming. But this
+Conrad refused to believe.
+
+When he recovered, however, he became a much better boy, more quiet and
+attentive to his studies; and it may be mentioned that, whenever any one
+told a fairy-tale, he wore a very solemn face, took a back seat, and
+said nothing.
+
+It is not known whether he still believes in fairies; but one thing is
+certain--he never saw the little old enchanter again, nor the
+school-books that he had left with him.
+
+
+
+
+BLOSSOM-TIME.
+
+BY L. E. R.
+
+
+    Snow, snow, down from the apple-trees,
+    Pink and white drifting of petals sweet!
+    Kiss her and crown her our Lady of Blossoming,
+    There as she sits on the apple-tree sweet!
+
+    Has she not gathered the summer about her?
+    See how it laughs from her lips and her eyes!
+    Think you the sun there would shine on without her?
+    Nay! 'Tis her smile keeps the gray from the skies!
+
+    Fire of the rose, and snow of the jessamine,
+    Gold of the lily-dust hid in her hair;
+    Day holds his breath and Night comes up to look at her,
+    Leaving their strife for a vision so rare.
+
+    Snow, snow, down from the apple-trees,
+    Pink and white drifting of petals sweet!
+    Kiss her, and crown her, and flutter adown her,
+    And carpet the ground for her dear little feet!
+
+
+
+
+A SEARCH FOR THE LACE-LEAF.
+
+BY ALICE MAY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Early one morning, a palanquin carried by native bearers, and containing
+as passengers Mr. Steedman, an English missionary, and his little son
+Harry, was proceeding up the one street of Biforána, a queer little
+bamboo village on the island of Madagascar, situated about midway
+between Antananarivo, the capital, and the eastern coast.
+
+Comparatively little is known of Madagascar, although the unsuccessful
+attempt of France to obtain possession of it drew interest and attention
+to it not many months ago. There are but two larger islands in the
+world. As many of you know, it lies some two hundred and fifty miles to
+the east of the African coast, is nine hundred and eighty miles long
+and two hundred and fifty wide, and is therefore nearly four times as
+large as England and Wales combined.
+
+The Queen of this island kingdom is a young woman with the curious name
+of Rasendranovo Ranavalo III. She succeeded to the throne in 1883. She
+is a Christian, as is also a large part of the population of her realm;
+and there are numerous missionary stations throughout the island.
+
+Harry Steedman's father was one of these missionaries, and Harry himself
+was accustomed to traveling by palanquin, since there are no roads nor
+carriages to be found in Madagascar.
+
+[Illustration: "PASSING A GROVE OF PALMS KNOWN AS THE 'TRAVELER'S
+TREE.'"]
+
+The palanquin was an oblong basket of bamboo, lined with plaited
+sheepskin. The ends of the long poles or handles rested upon the
+shoulders of four Madagascan bearers, while four others accompanied
+these as a relay. Under the palanquin hood of woven palm-cloth, Mr.
+Steedman reclined comfortably, while Harry nestled cozily at his feet;
+and so, out of the village, and through the swamp of Biforána, the
+procession moved until the mire became so thick that the palanquin could
+not be carried with ease. As the next best mode of conveyance, the two
+passengers were then transferred to the shoulders of two stout natives.
+
+[Illustration: PALANQUIN TRAVELING BECOMES UNCOMFORTABLE.]
+
+Mr. Steedman had started upon an expedition in search of the beautiful
+lace-leaf plant, or water-yam, of Madagascar, which he was told grew in
+the forests beyond Biforána, and which he was very desirous of finding
+in its native state. Harry, after urgent solicitation, had been allowed
+to accompany his father; but, as he clung to the neck of his swarthy
+bearer, the little fellow found that there was not, after all, so much
+fun in the trip as he had expected. And later on, when the palanquin, in
+which they were soon seated again, was tossed and bumped by the slipping
+and stumbling of the bearers as they climbed a very steep hill-side, he
+began almost to wish himself at home.
+
+After passing a grove of the stately palms known as the "traveler's
+tree," they found themselves on a path that led to the bank of a river.
+They endeavored to ford it, but speedily found that the danger from deep
+holes and ugly-looking crocodiles was too great for them to proceed. So
+Raheh, the chief bearer, uttered a curious cry, or signal, which soon
+brought into view a _làkana_, or canoe, rudely fashioned from a hollow
+tree-trunk; and in it a native was paddling rapidly toward them.
+
+Harry and his father stepped into the rather shaky-looking craft not
+without misgivings, but they were soon safely landed on the other
+shore. When all had been thus ferried across and the native boatman had
+been paid, the party entered the great forest of Alamazaotra, which
+covers more than forty miles of wild and mountainous country.
+
+[Illustration: THE LACE-LEAF OF MADAGASCAR.]
+
+Their path at once led them through a gorge so narrow that the sides of
+the palanquin grazed the rocky walls, and the masses of tangled foliage,
+meeting far above their heads, almost entirely obscured the light. The
+bearers paused for breath after climbing the steep ascent that led from
+this gloomy pass, and Harry and his father exclaimed in wonder at the
+strange beauty of the wild tropical forest.
+
+Gigantic palms upheld around their stately heads a leafy dome closely
+interlaced by clinging vines. Long garlands of moss and climbing plants
+crossed and recrossed this lofty roof, and from its shadowy arches great
+masses of gray moss hung suspended. Here and there among the cool green
+and gray tints of leaves and moss some tropical flowers and fruits
+gleamed forth in bright flashes of scarlet and gold.
+
+Myriads of frail wood-blossoms hid their pale heads under the feathery
+ferns that clustered about the roots of the trees, and the dead palms
+were tenderly shrouded in waxy-leaved climbing vines, their graceful
+fallen crowns replaced by masses of green ferns, intermingled with the
+faint pink and blue tints of some rare orchid. On every side were little
+groves of bamboo,--their light-green fringes contrasting with the darker
+fronds of the stately tree-fern.
+
+Absolute silence reigned throughout this solitude, and Harry began to be
+so oppressed by the stillness as to grow fearful of danger. But his
+father explained that during the wet season, in which they were
+traveling, insect life in these tropical forests is asleep, and Harry
+himself knew that there were but few wild animals in Madagascar. Indeed,
+with the exception of that curious animal, part fox, part squirrel, and
+part monkey, that is peculiar to Madagascar and is called, from its
+prowling habits and ghostly appearance, the lemur, or "ghostly visitor,"
+the great island possesses no large native quadrupeds. The hump-backed
+African cattle and the singular fat-tailed sheep, now common throughout
+the island, were not originally found in Madagascar, but were taken over
+from Africa.
+
+The bearers of the palanquin clambered on, now over steep and
+moss-covered rocks, now crossing sluggish streams on slippery
+stepping-stones, or sliding down precipices, until poor Harry was so
+rattled and shaken and tossed and tumbled that he declared he didn't
+know his head from his heels.
+
+But, at last, a break occurred in the long stretch of rock and forest,
+and as the bearers paused upon a piece of level ground, for a moment's
+rest, Raheh suddenly uttered the joyful cry of "_rano!_" (water) and
+all, on listening, distinguished the sound of a rushing stream.
+
+Urged on by Raheh, the bearers pushed ahead, and soon stood upon the
+banks of a beautiful river, dashing merrily along over rocks and fallen
+trees, until with a leap it disappeared in the shadows of the vast
+forest. Upon the farther side was grouped a little village of the clay
+huts belonging to the friendly Hovas, and beyond the village stretched
+green fields of waving rice. The "Hovas" are the governing race in the
+island, and are the most civilized. Their capital city of Antananarivo,
+in the center of the island, is a well-built city of over 100,000
+inhabitants.
+
+A tree had fallen across the stream, with its head resting upon the
+opposite bank, and this natural bridge was entirely covered with pink,
+blue, and white flowers of the waxy orchid. This beautiful sight,
+however, was unnoticed by Harry and his father, for in the water at
+their feet was the object of their search, the Lattice or Lace leaf.
+
+[Illustration: MADAGASCAN DRINKING-CUP FORMED FROM A LEAF OF THE
+"TRAVELER'S TREE."]
+
+The lace-leaf plant, or fresh-water yam as it is sometimes called
+because of its potato-shaped or yam-like root, is found in many of the
+rivers of Madagascar. The difficulty of obtaining it, however, makes it
+a rare plant to Europeans; and when, a few days before, Mr. Steedman had
+recognized in some "roasted potatoes," as Harry called the
+pleasant-tasting vegetable that one of his boyish Madagascan friends had
+given him to eat, the edible root of the lace-leaf plant, the missionary
+had determined to make a careful search for the plant so prized by
+naturalists. And now at last he had found it, bobbing backward and
+forward in a fantastic dance just above the eddying waters of the
+beautiful forest river. As soon as they recognized it, both Mr. Steedman
+and his son were on the ground in an instant, and bending eagerly above
+the clear stream. The water was so pure and limpid that every pebble
+could be counted, and in the cool, bright current they saw, to their
+delight, a perfect labyrinth of lace-work. Dozens of lace-leaves, green,
+gold, olive, and brown, were floating just beneath the surface of the
+water.
+
+"Oh, Papa! did you ever see anything so lovely?" said Harry, excitedly.
+
+Mr. Steedman could take but a one-sided view of those wonderful leaves,
+as one glass from his spectacles had been lost during their rough
+journey; but the remaining glass fairly sparkled with satisfaction.
+
+"Ah, my son, this plant is both lovely and rare. See, the young leaves
+are light green and yellow; the older leaves are darker,--shades of
+green and olive. A few are even black, and all growing from the same
+root. How perfect is every leaf, in spite of its delicate texture! Some
+of those larger leaves must be ten or twelve inches long. The strong
+midrib in each serves as a support for the fragile threads forming the
+meshes on each side."
+
+Harry now plunged his hand into the lace-like web, half expecting it to
+dissolve in his grasp. But no! The wiry little yellow leaf which he
+raised from the water, was perfect in form, and a gleam of sunlight,
+falling upon the shining meshes, transformed them into threads of
+glistening gold.
+
+He now discovered, as he examined them carefully, that the under
+surfaces of the leaves, were glistening with little pearly bubbles of
+air.
+
+[Illustration: RAHEH, THE GUIDE.]
+
+"Oh, Papa," he cried, joyously holding the glistening meshes aloft, "the
+lace-leaves are jeweled!"
+
+"Yes, Harry," said his father, "those diamond drops are made by the
+breathing of the plant."
+
+Mr. Steedman attempted to detach a root of one of the plants from its
+bed of mud, but the little tendrils branching from it on every side held
+the root firmly in its place. At last he succeeded in extricating the
+little white threads, one by one, and removed the entire plant to the
+bank. Its root, which is eaten in Madagascar, was very like the ginger
+root, and had a tough, light-brown skin.
+
+Harry carefully placed the leaves of the plant in his herbarium, while
+his father packed the root, with its native soil, in a tin case,
+preparatory to sending it to the Botanical Society in London.
+
+"Harry," he said, as they finished their work, "this plant could be
+easily reared in our green-houses--heat and moisture being all that is
+required. But nature seems to have jealously surrounded these beautiful
+leaves with almost impassable barriers, and the lace-plant is
+comparatively unknown.
+
+"But come, my boy Raheh says '_maly-massandro_' (the sun is dead), and
+it will be as long as 'two cookings of rice' (two half hours) before we
+can be ferried across to yonder village and secure a place to pass the
+night."
+
+And so, after Raheh had given Harry one last drink from the clear, cool
+river, in the odd-looking leaf-cup he carried for the purpose, the tired
+but successful lace-leaf hunters crossed over to the Hova village and
+were soon fast asleep.
+
+
+
+
+THE CARICATURE PLANT.
+
+BY M. A.
+
+
+One of the most remarkable plants in the whole vegetable kingdom is that
+known to botanists as the _Justicia Picta_, which has also been well
+named "The Caricature Plant."
+
+At first sight, it appears to be a heavy, large-leafed plant, with
+purple blossoms, chiefly remarkable for the light-yellow centers of its
+dark-green leaves, which cause them to look as if some acid had been
+spilled upon them and taken the color out wherever it had touched.
+
+As I stood looking at this odd plant and thinking what a sickly,
+blighted appearance the queer, yellow stains gave it, I was suddenly
+impressed with the fact that the plant was "making faces" at me. Still,
+unaccustomed as I was to seeing plants indulge in this strictly human
+amusement, I was slow to believe it, and stooped to read the somewhat
+illegible inscription on the card below the plant--"_Justicia Picta_, or
+'Caricature Plant.'" My first impression was correct then. This curious
+shrub had indeed occupied itself in growing up in ridiculous caricatures
+of the "human face divine," until it now stood, covered from the topmost
+leaf down, with the queerest faces imaginable. Nature had taken to
+caricaturing. The flesh-colored profiles stood out in strong relief
+against the dark-green of the leaves.
+
+A discovery of one of these vegetable marks leads to an examination of a
+second and a third leaf, until all are scanned as closely and curiously
+as the leaves of the comic papers that form the caricature plants of
+the literary kingdom.
+
+What a valuable plant this would be for one of our professional
+caricaturists to have growing in his conservatory! When an order was
+sent to him for a "speaking likeness" of some unhappy politician, he
+could simply visit his _Justicia Picta_ with pencil and paper in hand,
+and look over the leaves for a suitable squint, grin, or distorted nose
+to sketch from. He could, moreover, affirm with truth that the portrait
+was "taken from nature." Cuthbert Collingwood, the celebrated
+naturalist, says of the _Justicia Picta_: "One of these plants in the
+garden of Gustave Doré would be worth a fortune to him, supplying him
+with a never-failing fund of grotesque physiognomies, from which he
+might illustrate every serio-comic romance ever written." I have never
+heard of the cultivation of the Caricature Plant in this country; but
+botanists tell us that it is a hardy shrub. I think we should be glad to
+see the funny faces on its leaves. After all the lovely flowers we are
+called upon to admire, I am sure that a plant evidently intended to make
+us laugh would receive a warm welcome from our young people.
+
+The Chinese appreciate the Caricature Plant, and in some parts of China
+it is quite extensively cultivated. Perhaps some of the funny, grinning
+faces on Chinese toys and ornaments are reproductions of the grotesque
+features on the leaves of the plant.
+
+Finally, I must assure any unbelieving readers of ST. NICHOLAS that
+neither in this account of a very remarkable plant, nor in the
+accompanying illustration, has the writer drawn upon imagination.
+
+[Illustration: THE CARICATURE PLANT.]
+
+The _Justicia Picta_ really exists. It is a native of the East Indies,
+and is a source of much amusement and curiosity to both botanists and
+travelers.
+
+
+
+
+VEGETABLE CLOTHING.
+
+BY C. J. RUSSELL.
+
+
+About two hundred years ago the governor of the island of Jamaica, Sir
+Thomas Lynch, sent to King Charles II. of England a vegetable necktie,
+and a very good necktie it was, although it had grown on a tree and had
+not been altered since it was taken from the tree. It was as soft and
+white and delicate as lace, and it is not surprising that the King
+should have expressed his doubts when he was told that the beautiful
+fabric had grown on a tree in almost the exact condition in which he saw
+it. It had been stretched a little, and that was all.
+
+But if King Charles was astonished to learn that neckties grew on trees
+in Jamaica, what must have been the feelings of a stranger traveling in
+Central America, on being told that mosquito-nets grew on trees in that
+country? He had complained to his host that the mosquitoes had nearly
+eaten him up the night before, and had been told in response that he
+should have a new netting put over his bed.
+
+Satisfied with this statement, the traveler was turning away, but his
+attention was arrested by his host's calmly continuing, "in fact, we are
+going to strip a tree anyhow, because there is to be a wedding on the
+estate, and we wish to have a dress ready for the bride."
+
+[Illustration: KING CHARLES'S VEGETABLE NECKTIE.]
+
+"You don't mean," said the traveler incredulously, "that
+mosquito-netting and bridal dresses grow on trees, do you?"
+
+"That is just what I mean," replied his host.
+
+"All right," said the stranger, who fancied a joke was being attempted
+at his expense, "let me see you gather the fruit and I will believe
+you."
+
+"Certainly," was the answer; "follow the men, and you will see that I
+speak the exact truth."
+
+Still looking for some jest, the stranger followed the two men who were
+to pluck the singular fruit, and stood by when they stopped at a rather
+small tree, bearing thick, glossy-green leaves, but nothing else which
+the utmost effort of the imagination could convert into the netting or
+the wedding garments. The tree was about twenty feet high and six inches
+in diameter, and its bark looked much like that of a birch-tree.
+
+"Is this the tree?" asked the stranger.
+
+"Yes, señor," answered one of the men, with a smile.
+
+"I don't see the mosquito-netting nor the wedding-dress," said the
+stranger, "and I can't see any joke either."
+
+"If the señor will wait a few minutes he will see all that was promised,
+and more too," was the reply. "He will see that this tree can bear not
+only mosquito-netting and wedding-dresses, but fish-nets and
+neck-scarfs, mourning crape or bridal veils."
+
+The tree was without more ado cut down. Three strips of bark, each about
+six inches wide and eight feet long, were taken from the trunk and
+thrown into a stream of water. Then each man took a strip while it was
+still in the water, and with the point of his knife separated a thin
+layer of the inner bark from one end of the strip. This layer was then
+taken in the fingers and gently pulled, whereupon it came away in an
+even sheet of the entire width and length of the strip of bark. Twelve
+sheets were thus taken from each strip of bark, and thrown into the
+water.
+
+A light broke in upon the stranger's mind. Without a doubt these strips
+were to be sewn together into one sheet. The plan seemed a good one and
+the fabric thus formed might do, he thought, if no better cloth could be
+had.
+
+The men were not through yet, however, for when each strip of bark had
+yielded its twelve sheets, each sheet was taken from the water and
+gradually stretched sidewise. The spectator could hardly believe his
+eyes. The sheet broadened and broadened until from a close piece of
+material six inches wide, it became a filmy cloud of delicate lace, over
+three feet in width. The astonished gentleman was forced to confess that
+no human-made loom ever turned out lace which could surpass in snowy
+whiteness and gossamer-like delicacy that product of nature.
+
+The natural lace is not so regular in formation as the material called
+illusion, so much worn by ladies in summer; but it is as soft and white,
+and will bear washing, which is not true of illusion. In Jamaica and
+Central America, this wonderful lace is put to all the uses mentioned by
+the native to our traveler, and to more uses besides. In fact, among the
+poorer people it supplies the place of manufactured cloth, which they
+can not afford to buy; and the wealthier classes do not by any means
+scorn it for ornamental use.
+
+Long before the white man found his way to this part of the world, the
+Indians had known and used this vegetable cloth; so that what was so new
+and wonderful to King Charles and Governor Sir Thomas Lynch was an old
+story to the natives. Some time after King Charles received his
+vegetable necktie, Sir Hans Sloane, whose art-collection and library
+were the foundation of the British Museum, visited Jamaica. He described
+the tree fully, and was the first person who told the civilized world
+about it. The tree is commonly called the lace-bark tree. Its botanical
+name is _Lagetto lintearia_.
+
+
+
+
+WOE TO THE FOREIGN DOLLY!
+
+[Illustration: THE PET GREYHOUND RESOLVES INDIGNANTLY THAT THE JAPANESE
+"MUST GO!"]
+
+
+
+
+ST. NICHOLAS DOG STORIES.
+
+
+X.--A CLEVER LITTLE YELLOW DOG.
+
+BY JOHN R. CORYELL.
+
+One cold winter night, not long ago, I took pity on a poor little
+dejected-looking yellow puppy, and invited him into my house. Having
+once taken him in, it was quite out of the question to think of turning
+him out again. I was not afraid that I might be robbing anybody, for he
+was the kind of dog that very few persons care to have. He was
+dirty-yellow in color, very lank of body, and he seemed to be made up of
+ill-assorted parts of different kinds of dogs. His legs, particularly,
+seemed intended for some other dog and acted as if they never would
+become reconciled to carrying the queer body to which they were joined.
+
+I should have preferred a handsome dog, but since I had no choice, I
+determined to do my duty by the little outcast, and to give him such an
+education that in the beauties of his mind the ugliness of his body
+would be overlooked.
+
+The first thing needed for him was a name; and I tried to think of
+something appropriate, but soon gave it up, and in default of a better
+title called him Bob. To teach him the name was easy. I merely called
+out the word "Bob!" every time I fed him. As it was important that he
+should learn to look to me as the source of all his happiness and
+instruction, I permitted no one else to feed him. It took him about a
+week to learn his name, and to recognize the fact that all the
+blandishments he could lavish on the cook would be of no avail, and that
+his only hope was in me.
+
+At the very outset, I had made up my mind that under no circumstances
+should he receive angry words or blows. He was a broken-spirited,
+affectionate little puppy, and I was resolved that if there was no way
+of teaching him except by brutality, he should remain ignorant all his
+life. The abject way in which, to this day, he runs from a child makes
+me feel sad. I fancy that much of his early life was spent in dodging
+stones or snow-balls thrown by boys--not cruel, but thoughtless boys.
+
+It was necessary to control him, and I quickly discovered an easy way.
+He was such a sensitive little fellow that when he once learned to love
+me, he seemed to know by the tones of my voice whether I was pleased
+with him, and to have me pleased seemed to be the one object of his
+life. Therefore, if I saw him doing anything wrong, I had only to say
+sharply and firmly, "No, Bob!" and down would go the tail and ears, and
+he would slink shame-facedly to his special corner and from there watch
+me until I would call him to me and pat his head.
+
+After a while, a quiet "No, Bob!" would effect the same result. This was
+a great victory, and made most of the subsequent teaching merely a
+matter of patience.
+
+The first real lesson was when I undertook to make him sit up. If he had
+only known what I wished him to do, he would gladly have done it; but
+the words "Sit up!" meant nothing to him. He was almost too willing, for
+when I took hold of him to put him into a sitting position, he became as
+limp as a wet rag, and seemed to be trying to put himself into a
+condition to be twisted into any shape I chose.
+
+Then I put him into a corner and set him up, saying continually, "Sit
+up! Sit up!" I held him up for a while and then took my hand away, but
+at once he collapsed as if all the stiffening had suddenly left his
+back-bone. Then I showed him a piece of sugar, of which he was very
+fond, and immediately he was himself again. Once more, and many times
+more, I put him in position in the corner, until at last, seemingly by
+accident, he failed to fall over when I took my hand away. I did not tax
+his endurance, but at once gave him the sugar.
+
+It took him about three days to grasp the idea that "sit up!" meant a
+special performance, and that to achieve it meant a lump of sugar. Then
+I put him through the same process in the middle of the room. He missed
+the support of the wall at first, and fell over; whereupon he looked
+foolish. One fact was evidently firmly fixed in his mind, however,--the
+fact that there was sugar to be had if only he could do as I wished him
+to do. All the time that he was struggling for balance, he kept his eye
+on the lump of sugar, which I had on the floor beside me. Finally that
+lesson was learned, and he could sit up if I would put him in position.
+He knew, too, what "sit up!" meant.
+
+After that, I would not feed him until he had first sat up; but it was a
+long time before he gained sufficient confidence in himself to sit up
+without help. At first I helped him up by both paws; then I helped by
+holding only one paw; then I merely touched one paw; then I only
+motioned, as if about to touch the paw; and finally I simply said, "Sit
+up!"
+
+I think Bob reasoned this all out in his own mind and concluded that
+there must be some strange and beautiful power in the words "sit up!"
+for he could see that whenever he did it, he had something to eat. I am
+obliged to confess that Bob loved to eat; and after he had learned to
+sit up, he was inclined to perform the feat morning, noon, and night,
+and it was, of course, impossible to make him go away without first
+giving him a morsel, however small, of food.
+
+[Illustration: AWAITING FURTHER ORDERS.]
+
+Lessons in standing up, walking and waltzing followed, and they were all
+easily taught. In teaching him anything, I was always careful to
+associate the action required of him with certain words. Standing,
+walking on his hind legs, and waltzing were always "stand up!" "walk!"
+"waltz about!" I never taught him more than one thing at a time, so that
+there should be no possibility of his misunderstanding the meaning of
+the word or words used.
+
+In teaching him to stand up, I first made him sit; then by holding a
+piece of sugar over his head, I induced him to stand erect,--while I
+kept repeating, "Stand up!" "Stand up!" After he had learned this
+lesson, I made him first sit, then stand, and then, by going from him
+and saying "Walk!" I made him follow me until he understood the
+connection between the words and the action, even when I was at the
+other end of the room. I taught him to "waltz" by making him go around
+and around after a piece of sugar held over his head when he was
+standing up.
+
+To make him go to his corner and lie down, without hurting his feelings,
+was difficult. If I said sharply, "Go to your corner and lie down!" he
+would go; but he would feel so badly that he could not play for half an
+hour. But by repeating the command in gradually softening tones and by
+giving him a piece of sugar each time, he eventually learned that he was
+not thereby in disgrace.
+
+Seeing, however, how a sharp word would make his ears and tail droop, I
+took advantage of this fact, and whenever he had done wrong I would
+always say "Naughty!" a dozen times over, until at last I had only to
+whisper "Naughty!"--and down would go those ensigns in a moment. On the
+other hand, if I said "Good dog!" he was immediately on the alert, ears
+up, head cocked to one side, and tail wagging, ready for any kind of
+sport.
+
+After he had learned to walk, I taught him to go slowly when I said
+"like a gentleman!" and quickly when I said "like a schoolboy!" To teach
+him these things required patience principally; but I found that to
+teach him some things taxed my ingenuity as well.
+
+I wished him to speak both softly and loudly; but how to make him do it
+puzzled me. For Bob seldom barked except when engaged in uproarious
+play, and at such times he was not susceptible to instruction. One day,
+however, he had been playing with a little rubber ball, running after it
+and bringing it to me until I was tired, a condition in which he never
+seemed to be.
+
+To stop the game I put my foot on the ball, and picked up a book to
+read. Bob waited a few moments to see what I was going to do, and
+finding I was not going to play, tried to push my foot away with his
+nose. Failing in that, he pulled with one paw. That also failed, and Bob
+was puzzled. He retired a few steps, placed his head between his
+forepaws on the floor and looked at me. I pretended not to see him,
+curious to know what he would do. He remained perfectly still for nearly
+a minute, and then, as if determined to attract my attention somehow, he
+barked.
+
+There was my clew; I gave him the ball at once. In a few moments I again
+placed my foot on the ball, and waited until I saw he was about to bark,
+when I said, "Shout! Shout!" He barked, and I gave him the ball. I
+repeated this several times a day, and day after day, until he learned
+to bark whenever he wanted the ball and I said "Shout!" Then I made him
+shout for his meals, and finally, he would "shout" whenever I told him
+to do so.
+
+[Illustration: "BOB" JUMPING.]
+
+To make him speak softly, I took advantage of a fashion he had of
+whining when he wished to go into the yard for a frolic. I would go to
+the door and say, "Want to go out?" Bob would at once respond by
+preparing to rush out the moment the door was opened. Then I would say,
+"Speak softly!" and keep repeating the words until he whined. After a
+while he would whine the moment I said, "Speak softly!"
+
+Another thing that I taught him was to fall down and lie motionless when
+I said, "Dead!" This I accomplished by taking hold of his forefeet in
+one hand and his hindfeet in the other, and suddenly dropping him on his
+side on the floor, as I said the word "Dead!" several times.
+
+At first, Bob thought I was playing some new game with him, and prepared
+for a good time, but I had only to say "No!" to him to make him sedate
+at once. By this time he had learned that when I repeated a thing
+several times, it was because he was to learn something; and the little
+fellow really seemed to try to understand what I wished him to do.
+
+After I had pulled his feet from under him a number of times, and had
+made him lie still until I said, "Alive!" I tried tapping a hindfoot and
+a forefoot, at the same time saying "Dead!" He was a long time learning
+this trick; and several times when I thought he had learned to do it
+when I simply tapped his feet, I was obliged to go back and pull his
+feet from under him. In time, however, he learned to fall the moment I
+touched the side of one hindfoot. From that to motioning at the foot,
+and finally, merely saying "Dead!" the progress was quick. To make him
+jump up, I always said "Alive!"
+
+To make him go "lame" was very easy. I tied a long string to one
+forefoot, and by saying, "Lame!" and at the same time making him walk,
+while I prevented him from putting the tied foot down, he soon learned
+to go on three legs.
+
+One of the funniest things he learned to do was to take his piece of
+carpet, shake it well, and put it back in its place. It was through an
+accident that I thought of teaching him to do this. I had been
+accustomed to shake out his carpet in the yard every morning. One
+morning I threw it on the grass to air. In a moment Bob had it in his
+mouth and was worrying it, shaking it, and growling. He was playing, but
+I saw that I could teach him something, and at once said, "Make your
+bed!" By repeating this, morning after morning, he at last learned to
+pick up his carpet, carry it out into the yard, shake it, and carry it
+back. I could never teach him to lay it down properly, however; he
+seemed to think it was as good in a heap as if nicely smoothed out.
+
+After I had taught Bob a number of tricks, I determined to write a play
+for him. I do not believe that any human actor ever had audiences more
+appreciative than his, when he performed in his "play." His little
+friends were always ready to give him sugar by the handful if I did not
+interfere, and Bob was always ready to take all that was offered. The
+"play" was nothing more than a simple little story into which were
+introduced the words which I used in commanding him to perform his
+various tricks. I would repeat the story, and when I came to a word of
+command, such as "dead," I would emphasize it so that Bob would at once
+do whatever he had been taught to do at the sound of that word. The play
+I wrote was about as follows:--
+
+"Once upon a time there was a little dog named _Bob_ [here Bob would run
+to me, and wait expectantly]. Usually he was a very _good dog_ [wag,
+wag, would go his tail], but once in a while he was very _naughty_ [down
+would drop ears and tail]. When he was a _good dog_ [happy again], he
+would _sit up_ and show any little boy or girl how to behave. At such
+times, he would _speak softly_ [prolonged whine], as a polite dog
+should, though once in a while he would become excited, and _shout,
+shout, shout_ [furious barking], as impolite children are sometimes apt
+to do.
+
+"When a lady entered the room where he was, he would always _stand_ up,
+ready to give her his chair if she wished it; or if she preferred to go
+into the garden or the street, he would go with her and _walk like a
+gentleman_. When he played, however, he could run _like a schoolboy_.
+But once he was in the ball-room, he could _waltz about_ as well as the
+best dancer there.
+
+"If any one ever said to him, '_go to your corner and lie down_' he
+would do so at once like the well bred dog he was. But he was always
+obedient and would come immediately as soon as one said _Bob_.
+
+"I was very sorry to hear one day that this remarkable dog was _dead_. I
+felt so badly that I went to his house, but was pleasantly surprised
+when I reached there, to find that he was very much _alive_."
+
+[Illustration: FETCH BRINGS IN THE PERVERSE COW.]
+
+What will be the limit of Bob's education I do not know, for he
+continues to learn with increasing ease every day. In addition to all
+that has been described, he can now, at the proper order of command,
+sneeze, catch a piece of meat from his nose at the word "three," jump
+over a cane, turn a somersault, and play tag.
+
+
+XI.--A DOG THAT COULD COUNT.
+
+BY E. P. ROE.
+
+Old Fetch was a shepherd dog and lived in the Highlands of the Hudson.
+His master kept nearly a dozen cows, and they ranged at will among the
+hills during the day. When the sun was low in the west, his master would
+say to his dog, "Bring the cows home"; and it was because the dog did
+this task so well, that he was called Fetch. He would run to a flat rock
+and hold his ear down close to it, having learned that he could thus
+catch the far-off tinkle of the cow-bells better than in any other way.
+If he could not hear them he would range about until he did, and then he
+was off like a shot in the direction of the sound.
+
+One sultry day he departed as usual upon his evening task. From
+scattered, shady, and grassy nooks, he at last gathered all the cattle
+into a mountain road, leading to the distant barnyard.
+
+Switching off the flies with their tails, the cows jogged slowly
+homeward, the tinkle of their bells gradually becoming more and more
+distinct to the milkmaid who was awaiting them. One of the cows was
+known to be a little perverse, and on that evening she gave fresh
+evidence of willfulness. One part of the road ran through a low, moist
+spot bordered by a thicket of black alder, and into this the cow pushed
+her way, and stood quietly. The others passed on, followed some distance
+in the rear by Fetch. He was panting from his exertions in the hot
+evening, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he slowly and languidly
+pursued his way.
+
+Indeed he had quite discarded his usual vigilance, and the perverse cow
+took advantage of it.
+
+As the cows approached the barnyard gate, he quickened his pace, and
+hurried forward, as if to say, "I'm here, attending to business." But
+his complacency was disturbed as the cows filed through the gate. He
+whined a little, and growled a little, attracting his master's
+attention. Then he went to the high fence surrounding the yard, and
+standing on his hindfeet peered between two of the rails. After looking
+at the herd carefully for a time, he started off down the road again on
+a full run. His master now observed that one of the cows was missing,
+and he sat down on a rock to see what Fetch was going to do about it.
+Before very long he heard the furious tinkling of a bell, and soon Fetch
+appeared bringing in the perverse cow at a rapid pace, hastening her on
+by frequently leaping up and catching her ear in his teeth. The gate was
+again thrown open, and the cow, shaking her head from the pain of the
+dog's rough reminders, was led through it in a way that she did not soon
+forget. Fetch looked after her a moment with the air of one remarking to
+himself, "You'll not try that trick again," and then he lay down quietly
+to cool off in time for supper.
+
+
+XII.--A CLEVER SHEEP DOG.
+
+A recent English writer tells the following story of an ingenious
+sheep-dog that, when the flock took a wrong road, would turn them back
+without worrying them. His owner had hesitated for some time before he
+made up his mind to have a dog, as he had often seen dogs ill-use the
+poor sheep. But believing that in most cases the dogs' harshness toward
+the sheep was due to bad training, and not to their naturally evil
+dispositions, he resolved to make trial of one. The dog he procured was
+young; and he trained it after his own ideas. He soon found the docile
+creature a very useful helper in driving a flock from one pasture to
+another. The sheep often took a wrong turn, and then scampered off as
+fast as they could go. At such times, most shepherds who had dogs were
+accustomed to send the dog after the flock, at the top of its speed. Of
+course, it soon overtook them, but the sheep were often much frightened,
+and not infrequently hurt by falling down or by rushing against one
+another. To prevent this, the shepherd mentioned would order his dog
+"Smart" to go to the other side of the hedge, saying, "Now, go ahead,
+and bring 'em back!" Smart would promptly obey, and would noiselessly
+run along behind the hedge, sometimes even climbing a little slope by
+the roadway, whence he could overlook the flock and see just where each
+sheep was moving. As soon as Smart, by peeping over or through the
+hedge, had satisfied himself that he was ahead of all the sheep, he
+would come coolly out of the hedge and bring them back down the lane so
+gently as not to cause them the least alarm. Smart never attempted to
+get ahead of a flock in the way common to most of the dogs in that
+vicinity,--by rushing past them and frightening them; but looking at his
+master and wagging his tail, he would cross the hedge, overtake them,
+and quietly drive them back into the right road.
+
+
+XIII.--A STORY OF TWO BUCKETS.
+
+BY CHARLOTTE M. VAILE.
+
+There they were hanging, one of them out of sight in the cool, deep
+water, and the other swinging empty in the sunshine, as Daisy Hadley and
+her dog Bruno came up to the well. The little girl and the big dog had
+been rambling about all the morning, following the brook through fields
+of sunflowers and poppies, or climbing the rocks on the sides of the
+mountains; but they were tired and thirsty now, and Daisy looked
+wistfully at the empty bucket, wishing she were strong enough to pull it
+down and bring the other, full and dripping, up in its place.
+
+"Bruno," she said reproachfully, "I wish you could draw me some water."
+Bruno was a great, shaggy Newfoundland, that had been Daisy's play-mate
+ever since she could remember. He was a wonderful dog. Daisy herself
+would have told you that there were only a few things he could not do,
+but unfortunately managing that well was one of them. So there was no
+help for it, and Daisy was turning reluctantly away when she caught
+sight of Mr. Paul Gregg, one of the other summer boarders in the Park.
+
+[Illustration: "A CLEVER SHEEP DOG." (SEE PRECEDING PAGE.)]
+
+If he had not come up just then, there would have been no story to tell,
+and the buckets might have gone up and down in the well to this day
+without taking part in any more remarkable event. But he _did_ come up;
+and Daisy's face brightened, for they were great friends, though she was
+only a little girl in the Kindergarten, and he was a tall young student.
+He stopped when Daisy said she wanted some water; and putting down his
+botanical box, he began to draw some gloves over his rather soft hands.
+
+"I don't like this kind of a well at all," said Daisy. "It isn't half as
+nice as the one at my grandfather's. _That_ had only one bucket, with a
+rope that went 'round and 'round a great roller; and there was a handle
+that I could turn myself."
+
+"This is a very old and respectable kind of a well, though," said Mr.
+Gregg, taking hold of the rope. "There must have been such wells as long
+ago as Shakspere's time."
+
+"How do you know?" asked Daisy, who was sure that Shakspere lived a
+great while ago, though she could not have told when.
+
+"Shakspere, you know, Daisy," said Mr. Gregg, "was a great poet who
+lived hundreds of years ago, and in a play he wrote, called 'King
+Richard II.,' he tells about just such a well as this. Richard was one
+of the kings of England, and a very unlucky king he was, though I can't
+deny that he brought his troubles on himself, for he was anything but a
+wise and prudent ruler. At last his cousin Prince Henry raised a great
+army and forced Richard to give up the crown. Poor King Richard did not
+show much spirit when his troubles came; but, according to Shakspere, he
+made a very neat speech, when his clever cousin Henry told him that he
+had decided to become King himself. Among other things, Richard said
+that the crown he must give up was
+
+                          'Like a deep well
+    That owns two buckets filling one another;
+    The emptier ever dancing in the air,
+    The other down, unseen, and full of water;
+    That bucket down, and full of tears, am I,
+    Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.'"
+
+While Mr. Gregg was talking, the buckets in the well had changed places.
+The one which had swung in the air so lightly at first had gone down out
+of sight, and the other had come up ready to be emptied and to take its
+place in the sunshine.
+
+Mr. Gregg paused now as he poured out some of the water. Daisy was
+silent too, trying to understand it all.
+
+"What became of King Richard?" she asked presently.
+
+"He died in prison," said Mr. Gregg. "Some say his cousin Henry, who
+took his place as king, had him put to death; and now," he added,
+turning away from the well, "I think that I will see if your mother is
+ready to go to dinner with us."
+
+Then he turned toward the cottage and left Daisy standing by the well.
+She had not understood it all, but she felt very sorry for the unhappy
+king, and she thought she knew why he said he was like the bucket in the
+deep, dark water when he sank under his grief and shame never to see any
+more bright days.
+
+She was leaning on the side of the well, with her hand upon the rope,
+thinking very earnestly of it all and trying to catch a glimpse of the
+bucket that was hanging there in the dark, when something dreadful
+happened. Before she knew it, she had leaned over too far. She lost her
+balance and fell over the side of the well. Down, down went the bucket,
+more swiftly than it had ever gone before, and with it, but holding
+desperately to the rope, went Daisy! There was only time for one
+terrible cry--and she was out of sight in the well!
+
+There was no one there to save her,--Yes, there was Bruno! He heard the
+cry. He saw his little friend go down, and with a bark that rang across
+to the mountains, he rushed to the well. He leaped frantically against
+the low wooden side just as the bucket which had been in the water rose
+even with its edge. Somehow he managed to fling his heavy paws on it,
+then his whole body, and then, all at once, it was Bruno that was going
+down, down, but clinging to the bucket and howling as he went,--and
+Daisy was coming up!
+
+It was only for a minute, therefore, that Daisy was in the water. The
+next moment, thanks to the sudden pull at the other end of the rope, she
+was rising again; and just as Bruno, loosened his hold of the bucket,
+and dropped heavily into the water, Mr. Paul Gregg reached the side of
+the well, seized the rope and drew Daisy to the top, gasping, shivering,
+and frightened almost to death.
+
+As soon as Daisy could speak, she said, "Save Bruno!" But they had
+already begun to do that, and they did save him, of course. The brave
+old fellow was none the worse for his adventure. He dried himself in the
+sunshine, and then lay down beside the rocking-chair where Daisy sat
+folded in a soft wrap, with vaseline on her blistered hands.
+
+Daisy was none the worse for it either, in the end; though at first,
+when her mother asked her how it happened and she tried to say something
+about a "poor king," and "a bucket-full of tears," the poor lady was
+afraid the plunge had affected her daughter's mind, and to this day she
+is in doubt whether Shakspere or King Henry or Mr. Paul Gregg was
+responsible for the accident.
+
+One thing however, was clear. It was Bruno who had saved her. Had he
+really meant to go down with the bucket and rescue her? Daisy never had
+a doubt of it herself. For the rest of the season he was the hero of the
+Park. The summer guests bought him a silver collar beautifully engraved,
+and Mr. Paul Gregg declared that he should propose his name as an
+honorary member of the Humane Society.
+
+But Bruno's head was not turned with all those honors. He rambled
+through the fields with Daisy as he had done before, and when she put
+her arms around his neck, and said that he should be her dearest friend
+forever, he was happier than if his collar had been made of gold, or
+than if he had been elected president of the Humane Society.
+
+
+
+
+THE SMALLEST CIRCUS IN THE WORLD.
+
+BY C. F. HOLDER.
+
+
+[Illustration: THE "GO-AS-YOU-PLEASE" RACE, AS SEEN THROUGH A MAGNIFYING
+GLASS. (SEE PAGE 535.)]
+
+In a former number of ST. NICHOLAS the largest circus in the world was
+described, and the curious animal actors were shown in many of their
+tricks and performances. We now wish to exhibit another circus, the
+smallest in the world, the performers in which, numbering several
+hundreds, could all be carried about in a cherry-stone--in fact, a
+circus of fleas, of such remarkable intelligence that in their various
+feats they were quite equal to many of the larger trained animals with
+which we are familiar.
+
+But before showing what the flea can do, let us look at its antecedents.
+We know that it is a wingless fly,--a cousin to the house-flies on one
+side, and to the crane-flies on the other; and a more knightly-looking
+little creature you can not possibly imagine. Under the microscope we
+see it covered with a rich polished armor resembling tortoise-shell. The
+head is small, and supports two _antennĉ_ or feelers, composed of five
+joints, and between these is the proboscis, a terrible affair. Upon
+close examination with a powerful glass, what an array of piercing and
+cutting blades are seen,--long, narrow, transparent knives, each edge
+armed with a double row of glistening points that extend outward and
+then are hooked backward! These are known as the mandibles, and fit
+closely together, concealing another and smaller blade that has a
+similar but single row of points. Besides all this, there are two
+cutting-blades; the under edges are as sharp as sharp can be, while the
+upper are thick and set with bristles. Do you wonder then that the flea
+is so sharp a biter?
+
+On its armored head are two large eyes; and the entire body is seen to
+be made up of a series of elastic armor-like bands wonderfully jointed,
+and armed with bristling spines like the steel points on the armor of
+olden times. The legs are six in number, jointed in so remarkable a
+manner that they can be folded up one within another. When the flea
+makes its prodigious leaps, these six legs all unfold at once, hurling
+the little fellow high into the air.
+
+The baby flea is produced from a minute egg that in six days hatches
+into a tiny worm. In about ten days, the worm changes into a chrysalis,
+and in twelve days more it appears a perfect flea, ready for warfare
+upon anything or anybody.
+
+Who first discovered that the flea was susceptible to education and kind
+treatment is not known; but the fact remains that on their small heads
+there is a thinking-cap capable of accomplishing great results. In the
+selection of fleas for training, however, the same care must be taken as
+with human beings, as the greatest difference is found in them. Some are
+exceedingly apt scholars, while others never can learn, and so it is
+that great numbers of fleas are experimented with before a troupe is
+accepted. The Flea Circus here described was exhibited a few years ago
+and was composed of about two hundred of the most distinguished and
+intelligent fleas in the entire family.
+
+One of the first lessons taught the flea, is to control its jumping
+powers, for if its great leaps should be taken in the middle of a
+performance, there would be a sudden ending to the circus. To insure
+against such a misfortune, the student flea is first placed in a glass
+phial, and encouraged to jump as much as possible. Every leap here made
+brings the polished head of the flea against the glass, hurling the
+insect back, and throwing it this way and that, until, after a long and
+sorry experience, and perhaps many head-aches, it makes up its mind
+never to unfold its legs suddenly again. When it has proved this by
+refusing to jump in the open air, the first and most important lesson is
+complete, and it joins the troupe, and is daily harnessed and trained,
+until, finally, it is pronounced ready to go on the stage or in the
+ring.
+
+The famous Flea Circus was placed on an ordinary table, and resembled in
+size and shape a common dinner plate. A rim several inches high
+encircled the outer edge, and around the circle stood a number of small
+wooden boxes--the houses of the performers, and the stables for their
+carriages. The signal being given, the audience, consisting of one human
+being, would take in hand the large magnifying glass, hold it over the
+ring, and the performance would begin. At the word of command from the
+director, a very jolly, red-faced old gentleman, armed with a pair of
+pincers, a tiny trap-door in one of the wooden houses sprang open and a
+number of fleas filed out. They passed around the circle in a dignified
+manner, appearing through the glass about as large as wasps or bees.
+Each flea had a gold cord about its waist, and this was the grand entry
+always seen at the circus. Having completed the circuit, they returned
+to their quarters, and the performance proper commenced. Five fleas,
+each adorned with a different color, stepped from another house, and
+after running about here and there, and being admonished by the
+director, ranged themselves in a line, and at the word "go!" started on
+a rush around the circle; running into each other, rolling over and
+over, and making frantic leaps over one another. Only after half the
+course had been gone over, did they move in regular order, and strive
+fairly for the goal. In another moment, a large flea would have won the
+race had not two laggards almost at the last instant, as if made
+reckless by their evident risk of defeat, taken a desperate leap and
+landed far beyond the winning-post. Forthwith they were taken up in the
+pincers, and placed in solitary confinement in the glass phial, where it
+was supposed they had learned not to jump.
+
+[Illustration: THE DANCE.]
+
+A dance was next announced and at a signal from the manager there came
+tumbling out from the third house probably the most ludicrous band of
+performers ever witnessed. Each dancer was in full regalia, like the
+ladies who ride the padded horses in the regular circus, their dresses
+of tissue paper being ornamented with purple, gold, and red hues. The
+glass was placed in position, the spectator looked through it, the
+performers were lifted in by the pincers, and the dance began--a mixture
+of the Highland-fling, the sailor's hornpipe, and a "regular"
+break-down.
+
+[Illustration: THE HURDLE-RACE.]
+
+The little creatures bobbed up and down, now on one claw, now on all
+six, hopping, leaping, bowing, and scraping, moving forward and back,
+bumping into one another, now up, now down, until they seemed utterly
+exhausted, and several that had fallen down, and were kept by their
+voluminous skirts from getting up, had to be carried off by the aid of
+the ever-ready pincers.
+
+Next came a hurdle-race. Hurdles of thin silver wire were arranged, over
+which two fleas were supposed to leap. One, however, was evidently very
+lazy or very cunning, as it won the last race by crawling under the
+wire.
+
+A clown flea now appeared in the ring, and crawled about in a comical
+manner with a white clown's cap on its diminutive head. A moment later
+out came a number of fleas all harnessed with gold wire trappings, and
+the several vehicles were taken from the stables. There was a tally-ho
+coach, smaller than a very small pea, an Eskimo sled, about a quarter of
+an inch long, with wire runners, a trotting sulky, evidently made from
+hair or bristles, and other gorgeous equipages. The tally-ho team of
+four frantic fleas, evidently fiery steeds, was harnessed to the coach,
+and on the top were placed four phlegmatic fleas that had probably been
+booked as outsiders, while the insides were two others fleas, which, we
+are sorry to say, were obliged to get in through the window, and acted
+very much as if they wished to get out again. The other vehicles were
+each provided with a steed and rider, and then all were drawn up in a
+row. At the word of command, off they started pell-mell! The tally-ho
+leaders evidently jumped their traces at first, but finally they were
+off with a rush, running over the clown, knocking off his hat, and, for
+the moment, creating a dreadful panic. The sled team threw its driver,
+and the sulky ran away, the flea trotter actually leaping into the air,
+sulky and all. But order was soon restored, and as the track was
+arranged on the downhill principle, the racers made rapid time. In two
+minutes the circuit was completed, the tally-ho coming in ahead,
+without, however, its outside passengers, who were thrown off as the
+coach was rounding the curve, and at once crawled into the nearest place
+of refuge.
+
+[Illustration: SIGNOR PULEX IRRITANICI ON THE TIGHT-ROPE.]
+
+The last act of this wonderful circus was perhaps the best. The manager
+arranged the stage by placing two very fine entomological pins about
+four inches apart, connecting them by a slender silver wire, and then
+announced that Signor _Pulex Irritanici_, the world-renowned tight-rope
+performer, would attempt his wonderful feat of dancing upon the wire at
+a "dizzy height" (compared to the size of the performer). The Signor was
+then brought out in a small bottle of cut-glass; his only ornament was a
+little jacket of tissue-paper. When fished out and placed upon the
+pin-head, he boldly started out upon the wire over which his little
+clawed toes seemed to fit. In the middle, and over the terrific abyss,
+he balanced up and down for a second, stood upon his longest legs, and
+then moved on, crossing in safety, and thus ending the circus, at least
+for that occasion.
+
+
+
+
+ROCK-A-BYE.
+
+BY MARY N. PRESCOTT.
+
+
+    "Rock-a-bye, babies, upon the tree-top,"
+        To her young the mother-bird sings,
+    "When the wind's still, the rocking will stop,
+        And then you may all use your wings."
+
+    "Rock-a-bye, babies, under the eaves,"
+        The swallow croons to her brood,
+    "Here you are safer, my children, from thieves
+        Than if I had built in the wood."
+
+    "Rock-a-bye, babies, the river runs deep,"
+        The reed-bird trills to her flock,
+    "The river stirs only to sing you to sleep,
+        The wind your green cradle to rock!"
+
+
+
+
+WHAT BERTIE SAW IN THE FLOWERS.
+
+BY L. G. R.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+    Buttercup! Buttercup!
+    Hold your shining clusters up!
+    In each little house of gold,
+    What is this that I behold?
+    Twenty soldiers, straight and slim,
+    Golden-helmeted and prim.
+    All day long so still they stand,
+    Never turning head or hand;
+    No one guesses where they stray
+    In the moonlight nights of May.
+    When the fairies are abroad,
+    These small men keep watch and ward;
+    Round the fairy ring they pace
+    All night long, to guard the place;
+    But when morning comes again,
+    Back are all the little men.
+
+
+
+
+KEEPING THE CREAM OF ONE'S READING.
+
+BY MARGARET MEREDITH.
+
+
+My plan dates from a few delightful weeks which I spent with a girl
+friend, long ago. We were devoted to poetry and to reading aloud; and in
+that occupation we had the aid of a brilliant, accomplished young woman.
+She selected for us from Coleridge, Shelley, and several other authors,
+whose entire works she knew we would not care to read, all the specially
+fine poems or passages, and these we read and discussed with her over
+our fancy-work. It was charming. At last, she suggested that, as I was
+soon to go away and leave the books and clippings with which I had been
+growing familiar, it would be helpful for me to write down the choicest
+bits, and try in that way to keep in some degree what I had gained. This
+I did, putting the extracts in a school copy-book which our friend
+dubbed "Snippers,"--from an odd seamstress word which she had picked up
+by chance.
+
+Other "snipper" books followed when that one, years after, had been
+filled.
+
+My system is an orderly one. All my books are broad-paged and
+wide-lined, thus preventing the cramped and crowded writing which often
+makes such books unreadable. When I find anything which strikes me as
+worth keeping, I note on a slip of paper, somewhat longer than the book
+I am reading, the number of the page and make a perpendicular line
+beneath it, with a cross line indicating the relative position of the
+sentence which I wish to keep, thus:
+
+[Illustration: 23]
+
+If the page is in columns, I make, instead of the single line, a rough
+parallelogram, and note within it by square dots the relative positions
+of the sentences chosen for preservation, thus:
+
+[Illustration: 187]
+
+This slip of paper I use as a book-mark until it is filled or the book
+is finished, noting upon it, as indicated, the choicest passages and
+their positions on the pages. When I have finished the book I go
+carefully over these selected sentences. Many are discarded; the rest go
+into my "snippers." Below the first entry and to the right, I place the
+name of the book and its author, both heavily underscored; below the
+others, the word "Ibid" or "ditto," underscored. At the top of each page
+I note the year, and at the head of each batch of extracts the month or
+day.
+
+Paragraphs cut from newspapers, which are worth saving, are pasted as a
+fly-leaf to the inner edge of the page, or even slipped under the
+binding thread.
+
+In carrying out my plan I am always content with hasty work,--but I
+write plainly, and if possible with ink, as much fingering destroys
+pencil-marks. I once tried classifying the extracts, but this scarcely
+paid for the trouble.
+
+I used sometimes to wonder whether these books of selections were of any
+real value. But I have grown now to prize them greatly. Many a time I go
+to them for a dimly remembered phrase or passage. Sometimes, too, I read
+them over, for of course they give me the essence of what I most like
+and admire in my reading. A short time since I lent one to a literary
+friend, and was surprised to find she enjoyed it so greatly that she was
+almost unwilling to give it back.
+
+I am very glad that I began this practice in my young days. It gives
+very little trouble, and that little is a pleasure.
+
+There is a familiar expression about an "embarrassment of riches." This
+is the greatest disappointment I experience with my "snippers." For,
+occasionally, a book has too many good things in it to be easily copied,
+and then my only relief is to own it and, marking it vol. _X_, add it to
+my row of extract-books.
+
+[Illustration: THE END]
+
+
+
+
+WONDERS OF THE ALPHABET.
+
+BY HENRY ECKFORD.
+
+
+THIRD PAPER.
+
+Perhaps you have never given a thought to the fact that, because you
+were born into a nation using an alphabet that came down from the
+Phoenicians, you are saved a world of trouble. But consider the Chinese.
+If a Chinese boy and an American boy begin to learn their letters at the
+same time, each studying his own writing, then by the time the American
+is ten years old he has advanced as far in the use of letters as the
+Chinese boy will have advanced in the use of his when he is twenty years
+old. That is the same as saying that Chinese writing is three or four
+times as hard to learn as English. Think of spending the years between
+ten and twenty in learning to read! On the other hand, the long
+apprenticeship of Chinese and Japanese boys to their letters does them
+good in one way. They paint their letters with a brush on soft paper. By
+this means they learn very early to be skillful with the brush, which is
+one reason why Chinese and Japanese artists are so very dexterous with
+their brushes.
+
+All writing, let it be remembered, must have begun with pictures. It is
+largely Chinese writing which has explained how all sorts of letters
+were gradually changed from pictures to an alphabet, in which hardly a
+single letter tells from what picture it started. The Japanese tongue is
+quite different from the Chinese. But the use by the Japanese of signs
+employed ages before by the Chinese explains another step in the
+progress of language. The writing of the Mexican Indians also helps us
+to understand the growth of alphabets. When, ages ago, the Chinese began
+to write, they drew little pictures of the things they wished to
+represent, as did the Egyptians before them in their picture-writing;
+and from picture-writing they made some advance in the direction of
+sound-writing, or rebuses. Then the little rebus-pictures were so much
+altered that it became very difficult to see what they once meant.
+
+Now Chinese is a queer language. All its words are only one syllable
+long. But the sounds in the Chinese language are not very many, some
+four hundred and sixty-five at most, and their written language contains
+about eighty thousand pictures, each picture representing a thing or
+idea. And these pictures must be committed to memory. This is hard work,
+and not even the wisest Chinese professor can learn them all. But now
+comes a difficulty. For, of course, where there are so many words and
+so few sounds, many different words have to be called by the same sound.
+How then are they to tell, when several different things have exactly
+the same name which of them is meant?
+
+[Illustration: REBUS-PICTURES FROM THE OLD CHINESE, SHOWING THE
+BEGINNINGS OF PICTURE-WRITING.
+
+1. A Month. (From a picture of the moon.) 2. The Eye. 3. A Horse. 4. An
+Ax. 5. Rain. 6. Face. 7. A Dragon. 8. Bamboo. 9. Rhinoceros. 10. Dawn.
+(From the rising sun.)]
+
+We have such words. For instance, there is Bill, the name of a boy; and
+bill, the beak of a bird; there is bill, an old weapon, and bill, a
+piece of money; there is bill, an article over which legislatures
+debate, and bill, a claim for payment of money; besides bills of
+exchange, bills of lading, and so forth. But Chinese is full of such
+words of a single syllable, _yen_, for instance, which, like bill, means
+many very different things. So they chose a number of little pictures,
+and agreed that these should be used as "keys." The Chinese "keys" were
+used like the Egyptian "determinative signs," of which I told you. Each
+"key" meant that the sign or signs near which it stood belonged to some
+large general set of things, like things of the vegetable, mineral, or
+animal kingdom, forests, mines, or seas, air, or water, or of persons,
+like gods or men. It was like the game called Throwing Light, in which
+you guess the article by narrowing down the field until certain what it
+is.
+
+But there Chinese writing stopped short, thousands of years ago. There
+it is to-day. There are now two hundred and fourteen of these "keys,"
+and, by intense application, Chinamen learn to use their method with
+surprising quickness and success.
+
+The Japanese acted toward Chinese writing much as the Phoenicians did
+toward Egyptian writing. The Japanese, a very intelligent people, made
+what you have learned to know as a syllabary, out of signs taken from
+the Chinese symbols. It is called a syllabary, you remember, because
+each sign stood in their language for a syllable. They had to do this,
+because, while Chinese is all short syllables, Japanese is a language of
+much longer words even than ours. They cut down and simplified the
+Chinese signs, giving them names of their own. In this way they manage
+to write very swiftly. And, while not so clumsy as the Chinese fashion,
+the Japanese method is clumsier than is the use of an alphabet. In late
+years, a society has been started in Japan to do away altogether with
+their old-time writing, and adopt our alphabet.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
+
+Perhaps, by this time, you are beginning to see how very slowly
+alphabets have grown, and how hard it has been for human beings to
+perfect them. Knowing this, will you not look now with more interest on
+written and printed words? When you see letters, will you not reflect
+what a history each one has, reaching far back into the remotest past,
+where at first all seems dark, and where, when light does come, the very
+number and variety of materials perplex the student of alphabets?
+Moreover, will you not feel ashamed of people who laugh or sneer at
+savage nations who have no sound-writing, no syllabary, no alphabet? It
+does not mean that in such races all men are stupid. As a rule it means
+simply that the race has not had a fair chance. It has been racked by
+wars. Or it has never come in contact peacefully with some nation that
+used a method of writing a trifle better than its own, so that the
+brighter minds could establish schools of learning. When one nation
+conquers another, the higher and cleverer minds among the conquered are
+often the first to be destroyed. The best of our Indians of North and
+South America seem to have been the first to fall in battle with the
+whites, or to have died off because of their cruelty. The reason why the
+others, who lived with or near the white settlers, did not readily
+borrow our way of writing in their turn, as we had borrowed from the
+Romans, the Romans from the Greeks and Phoenicians, and the latter from
+the Egyptians, seems to be that our system was too far advanced for
+them. But if the first white settlers in Central and South America had
+been kind and wise men, instead of coarse and greedy people, they could
+have found tribes and nations almost as advanced in their mode of
+writing as the Japanese, though not the equals of the Japanese in
+architecture and the fine arts. These tribes could have learned our
+alphabet if care had been taken to instruct their superior men. It is
+certain that the Aztecs, or Mexican Indians, had advanced very far on
+the road to a true alphabet. When the cruel Spaniards arrived and upset
+their governments, destroyed their temples, massacred, enslaved and then
+shamefully neglected them, they had already reached the art of
+rebus-writing. The name of the Mexican King, Knife-Snake, or, Itz-Coatl
+was written in this way: Itzli means knives, and Coatl, snake. There, in
+Fig. 1, is the snake, and on his back are knives made of flint. They
+even went farther. The same name, Itz-Coatl, was also written as in Fig.
+2. The flint-headed arrow means _Itz_; the jar, called _Comitl_, stands
+for _Co_; and the branch, a picture of water in drops, stands for _atl_,
+water. And it has been asserted that certain neighbors of the Aztecs or
+Mexicans, known as the Maya Indians of Yucatan, who were ancient people
+of Central America, left ruins of cities covering square miles of forest
+and plain, and had reached nearly if not quite to the invention of an
+alphabet of vowels and consonants. But the latest authorities agree that
+such a Maya alphabet as the Spaniards reported may have been invented
+after the whites arrived. Specimens of Maya writing may be seen in
+Washington, at the Smithsonian Institute, on slabs and on paper casts
+taken from their idols or statues of kings and priests. It was not by
+the Maya system, but by one of rebuses, that the old missionaries wrote
+what few books they composed for their unhappy Indian congregations.
+Only lately a book composed in picture-writing throughout, was printed
+for the Mikmak Indians of Newfoundland.
+
+In the next paper we will endeavor to trace the road by which our
+English alphabet came down from the Phoenicians, that ancient folk of
+the palm-tree and the Red Sea, whose alphabet you saw in the first paper
+of this series.
+
+     The illustrations of this article are reproduced, by
+     permission, from a notable French work on ancient
+     Hieroglyphics by Prof. L. De Rosny, of Paris.
+
+
+
+
+BUBBLE BOWLING
+
+BY ADELIA B. BEARD.
+
+
+"Nothing new in bubbles! Every one knows how to blow bubbles!" Of course
+they do, and yet, the game I am about to describe is an entirely new and
+a very interesting one.
+
+When the game of Bubble Bowling was played for the first time, it
+furnished an evening's entertainment, not only for the children, but for
+grown people also; even a well known General and his staff, who graced
+the occasion with their presence, joined in the sport, and seemed to
+enjoy it equally with their youthful competitors. Loud was the chorus of
+"Bravo!" and merry the laugh of exultation when the pretty crystal ball
+passed safely through its goal; and sympathy was freely expressed in
+many an "Oh!" and "Too bad!" as the wayward bubble rolled gayly off
+toward the floor, or, reaching the goal, dashed itself against one of
+the stakes and instantly vanished into thin air.
+
+Bubble parties are delightful, as most children know from experience,
+and it is unnecessary, therefore, to give a description of them here. I
+propose merely to introduce bubble bowling as a feature in these
+entertainments, which will furnish no end of amusement and jollity, and
+add increased enjoyment and variety to the programme.
+
+The game should be played upon a long, narrow table, made simply of a
+board five feet long and eighteen inches wide, resting upon ordinary
+wooden "horses." On top of the table, and at a distance of twelve inches
+from one end, should be fastened in an upright position, two stakes
+twelve inches high; the space between the stakes should be eight inches,
+which will make each stand four inches from the nearest edge of the
+table. When finished, the table must be covered with some sort of woolen
+cloth; an old shawl or a breadth of colored flannel will answer the
+purpose excellently. Small holes must be cut at the right distance for
+the stakes to pass through. The cloth should be allowed to fall over the
+edge of the table, and must not be fastened down, as it will sometimes
+be necessary to remove it in order to let it dry. It will be found more
+convenient, therefore, to use two covers, if they can be provided, as
+there can then always be a dry cloth ready to replace the one that has
+become too damp. The bubbles are apt to stick when they come upon wet
+spots, and the bowling can be carried on in a much more lively manner if
+the course is kept dry. Each of the stakes forming the goal should be
+wound with bright ribbons of contrasting colors, entwined from the
+bottom up, and ending in a bow at the top. This bow can be secured in
+place by driving a small, or brass-headed tack through the ribbon into
+the top of the stake. If the rough pine legs of the table seem too
+unsightly, they can easily be painted. Or a curtain may be made of
+bright-colored cretonne,--any other material will do as well, provided
+the colors are pleasing,--and tucked around the edge of the table, so as
+to fall in folds to the floor. The illustration on this page shows the
+top of the table, when ready for the game.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For an impromptu affair, a table can be made by placing a leaf of a
+dining-table across the backs of two chairs, and covering it with a
+shawl. The stakes can be held in an upright position by sticking them in
+the tubes of large spools. This sort of table the children can arrange
+themselves, and it answers the purpose very nicely. The other things to
+be provided for the game are a large bowl of strong soapsuds, made with
+common brown soap, and as many pipes as there are players.
+
+The prizes for the winners of the game may consist of any trinkets or
+small articles that the fancy or taste of the hostess may suggest.
+Bubble Bowling can be played in two ways. The first method requires an
+even number of players, and these must be divided into two equal
+parties. This is easily accomplished by selecting two children for
+captains, and allowing each captain to choose, alternately, a recruit
+for his party until the ranks are filled, or in other words, until all
+the children have been chosen; then, ranked by age, or in any other
+manner preferred, they form in line on either side of the table. A pipe
+is given to each child by the hostess, and they stand prepared for the
+contest. One of the captains first takes his place at the foot of the
+table, where he must remain while he is bowling, as a bubble passing
+between the stakes is not counted unless blown through the goal from the
+end of the table.
+
+The bowl of soapsuds is placed upon a small stand by the side of the
+bowling-table, and the next in rank to the captain, belonging to same
+party, dips his pipe into the suds and blows a bubble, not too large,
+which he then tosses upon the table in front of the captain, who as
+first bowler, stands ready to blow the bubble on its course down through
+the goal. Three successive trials are allowed each player; the bubbles
+which break before the bowler has started them, are not counted.
+
+The names of all the players, divided as they are into two parties, are
+written down on a slate or paper, and whenever a bubble is sent through
+the goal, a mark is set down opposite the name of the successful bowler.
+
+When the captain has had his three trials, the captain on the other side
+becomes bowler, and the next in rank of his own party blows the bubbles
+for him. When this captain retires, the member of the opposite party,
+ranking next to the captain, takes the bowler's place and is assisted by
+the one whose name is next on the list of his own side; after him the
+player next to the captain on the other side; and so on until the last
+on the list has his turn, when the captain then becomes assistant and
+blows the bubbles.
+
+The number of marks required for either side to win the game, must be
+decided by the number of players; if there are twenty,--ten players on
+each side,--thirty marks would be a good limit for the winning score.
+
+When the game has been decided, a prize is given to that member of each
+party who has the greatest number of marks against his or her name
+showing that he or she has sent the bubble through the goal oftener than
+any player on the same side. Or, if preferred, prizes maybe given to
+every child belonging to the winning party.
+
+The other way in which Bubble Bowling may be played is much simpler, and
+does not require an even number of players, as no sides are formed. Each
+bowler plays for himself, and is allowed five successive trials; if
+three bubbles out of the five be blown through the goal, the player is
+entitled to a prize. The child acting as assistant becomes the next
+bowler, and so on until the last in turn becomes bowler, when the one
+who began the game takes the place of assistant.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE KNICKERBOCKER BOY.
+
+
+BY CAROLINE S. KING.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+              I.
+
+    I'm a knickerbocker boy!
+      See my coat and breeches!
+    Cuffs and collar, pocket too--
+      Made with many stitches!
+    I must have a watch and chain,
+    A silk umbrella and a cane.--
+    No more kilts and skirts for me!
+    I'm a big boy--don't you see?
+
+
+              II.
+
+    Knickerbockers! Knickerbockers!
+      Give away my other clothes!
+    Give away my horse with rockers;
+      I want one that really goes.
+    Two brisk, prancing goats will do;
+    But I'd like a wagon too.
+    No more chairs hitched up for me!
+    I'm a big boy--don't you see?
+
+
+
+
+THE BROWNIES ON ROLLER SKATES.
+
+BY PALMER COX.
+
+
+    The Brownies planned at close of day
+    To reach a town some miles away,
+    Where roller skating, so 't was said,
+    Of all amusements kept ahead.
+
+    Said one: "When deeper shadows fall
+    We'll cross the river, find the hall,
+    And learn the nature of the sport
+    Of which we hear such good report."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    To reach the bridge that led to town,
+    With eager steps they hastened down;
+    But recent rains had caused a rise--
+    The stream was now a fearful size;
+    The bridge was nearly swept away,
+    Submerged in parts, and wet with spray.
+
+    But when the cunning Brownies get
+    Their mind on some maneuver set,
+    Nor wind nor flood, nor frost nor fire
+    Can ever make the rogues retire.
+
+    Some walked the dripping logs with ease,
+    While others crept on hands and knees
+    With movements rather safe than fast,
+    And inch by inch the danger passed.
+
+    Now, guided by the rumbling sound
+    That told where skaters circled 'round,
+    Through dimly lighted streets they flew,
+    And close about the building drew.
+
+    Without delay the active band,
+    By spouts and other means at hand,
+    Of skill and daring furnished proof
+    And gained possession of the roof;
+    Then through the skylight viewed the show
+    Presented by the crowds below.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    Said one: "While I survey that floor
+    I'm filled with longing more and more,
+    And discontent with me will bide
+    Till 'round the rink I smoothly glide.
+    At night I've ridden through the air,
+    Where bats abide, and owls repair,
+
+    I've rolled in surf of ocean wide,
+    And coasted down the mountain-side,
+    And now to sweep around a hall
+    On roller skates would crown it all."
+
+    "My plans," the leader answer made,
+    "Are in my mind already laid.
+
+    Within an hour the folk below
+    Will quit their sport and homeward go;
+    Then will the time be ripe, indeed,
+    For us to leave this roof with speed,
+    And prove how well our toes and heels
+    We may command when set on wheels."
+
+    When came the closing hour at last,
+    And people from the rink had passed,
+    The Brownies hurried down to find
+    The roller skates they'd left behind.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    Then such a scene was there as few
+    May ever have a chance to view.
+    Some hardly circled 'round the place,
+    Before they moved with ease and grace,
+    And skated freely to and fro,
+    Upon a single heel or toe.
+    Some coats were torn beyond repair,
+    By catches here and clutches there,
+    When those who felt their faith give way,
+    Grabbed right and left without delay;
+    While some who strove a friend to aid,
+    Upon the floor themselves were laid,
+    To spread confusion there awhile,
+    As large and larger grew the pile.
+
+    Some rose with fingers out of joint,
+    Or black and blue at every point;
+    And few but felt some portion sore,
+    From introductions to the floor.
+    But such mishaps were lost to sight,
+    Amid the common wild delight,--
+    For little fuss do Brownies make
+    O'er bump or bruise or even break.
+
+    And had that night been long as those
+    That spread a shade o'er polar snows,
+    The Brownies would have kept the floor,
+    And never thought of sash or door.
+
+    But stars at length began to wane,
+    And dawn came creeping through the pane;
+    And, much against the will of all,
+    The rogues were forced to leave the hall.
+
+
+
+
+EASTER CAROL.
+
+BY WM. E. ASHMALL.
+
+
+    I. Sing  a - loud  for  Christ our King, Our  lov - ing Sav - iour dear;
+
+    Let  our hap - py  voi - ces  ring, To all the earth good cheer.
+
+    Al - le - lu - ia! Al - le - lu - ia! Al - le - lu - ia! A - men.
+
+    2 For He is risen up on high,
+      From earth and dreary grave;
+    Christ is risen! is our cry,
+      He lives again to save.
+    Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
+
+    3 Sing aloud for Christ our King,
+      For Christ, the Saviour, born;
+    This carol ever we will sing,
+      On this, our Easter morn.
+    Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
+
+
+
+
+THE HANDIWORK OF SOME CLEVER SCHOOL-BOYS.
+
+BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.
+
+
+The Fair of the American Institute held annually in New York, is chiefly
+a display from the various American trades showing improvement and
+advancement; here designers and inventors also present many novelties
+and useful inventions for public criticism and judgment.
+
+One feature of the Fair of 1885 that attracted much attention and
+comment, was the novel and unique display of mechanical models designed
+and constructed by the boys of the third grade in Grammar-School, No.
+57, one of the public schools of New York City. The work exhibited by
+these boys is peculiarly interesting and suggestive, and is an
+indication of what observant, thoughtful, and intelligent boys can
+devise and do when their tastes and natural inclinations are developed.
+
+The boys' models were made at home, after class-hours, and on odd
+holidays during the six months previous to exhibition, and were
+primarily intended to illustrate the principles of the six mechanical
+powers,--the inclined plane, the lever, the wedge, the pulley, the wheel
+and axle, and the screw. When the American Institute Fair opened, an
+inclined railway, with its platform and cars; a miniature guillotine,
+with ready knife; a dumb-waiter in full working order; a derrick
+prepared to raise many weights; a pile-driver with its automatically
+dropped weight, the sound of which never failed to attract
+attention,--all these, with other models, occupied a space in Machinery
+Hall.
+
+During the morning hours, curtains screened the models; in the afternoon
+the youthful exhibitors arrived and took special delight in showing the
+working of their designs. The pleasant hours spent there, the praise of
+visitors, and the recognition and commendation accorded by the press
+will be long remembered by the boys. At the closing of the Fair, the
+exhibit was awarded the Medal of Merit.
+
+The illustrations on pages 548 and 550 show the models exhibited. Figure
+1 represents an alcoholic furnace, illustrating the expansion of a brass
+rod by heat. A cylinder of tin, fifteen inches in height and five in
+diameter, is hinged to a base of wood and arranged so as to tilt to the
+left. A lever fifteen inches long opens and closes a damper; this lever
+(an umbrella rod) is inserted in a pivoted rod of wood two inches long,
+supported in a square frame made of an inch strip of tin bent twice at
+right angles and soldered to the cylinder.
+
+A brass banner rod, seven inches long, also connects with this rod and,
+passing through an inch opening, is supported in the flame of an alcohol
+lamp and fastened on the opposite side by a tiny brass knob screwed on
+the protruding thread of the rod. A small pulley and weight steadies the
+motion of the lever.
+
+The heat of the alcohol flame causes the brass rod to lengthen, and this
+in turn moves the lever which opens the damper; and the degree of
+expansion is indicated on a paper scale by a straw pointer attached to
+the rod of the damper. A coating of copper bronze was given to the
+cylinder. This model was made in part by Winfred C. Rhoades.
+
+Figure 2 shows a forge made by William E. Tappae. A hand-bellows is
+mounted on a wooden base about ten by twenty-four inches in size, and is
+worked by a lever handle supported in a frame twenty-six inches in
+height. The bellows consists of two boards connected by flexible leather
+tacked to the edges. The upper board is stationary, and an inch central
+opening is covered on the inside by a two-inch flap of chamois fastened
+at one point, forming a valve.
+
+As the handle is pushed up, the air rushes in, and when pulled down, the
+valve closes and the compressed air is forced through the metal nozzle
+to the glowing coals. The carved-wood anvil was stained black and the
+other parts were painted a bright vermilion.
+
+Figure 3 explains one way of connecting levers, and their uses as a
+mechanical aid. The base is four by fifteen inches in size, and the
+pillars are respectively six and ten inches in height, and are firmly
+mortised and glued into the base. The upper lever is eighteen inches in
+length, and connects with the ten-inch lower lever.
+
+The lead weights, sliding on the narrow edges of the levers, balance
+each other, and show how the heavy wagon of coal is balanced in the
+office by the weight on the scale-beam.
+
+A wedge made of oak ten inches in height and five inches in width is
+indicated by Figure 4.
+
+Figure 5 represents a diminutive pile-driver, twenty-eight inches in
+length, showing the plan and action of a large machine.
+
+[Illustration: SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER 14 YEARS
+OF AGE.
+
+DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.
+
+Fig. 1. FURNACE
+
+Fig. 2. FORGE
+
+Fig. 3. LEVER SCALES
+
+Fig. 4. WEDGE
+
+Fig. 5. PILE DRIVER
+
+Fig. 6. SCREW PRESS
+
+Fig. 7. INCLINED RAILWAY]
+
+The two-pound drop-hammer falls a distance of twenty-two inches in the
+grooves of the vertical posts which are mortised and glued into the
+base, as are also the oblique braces to which are attached the bobbin,
+or axle, and crank, on which the cord is wound that raises the hammer.
+This hammer is a flat piece of iron having two pieces of wood, each four
+by two and one-half inches in size, cemented to it. A wire hook is
+attached just above, and the extended arm of the hook as the weight
+nears the top, meets a projecting pin, and slips the weight from the
+cord.
+
+Figure 6 is the model of a wood-press useful in pressing flowers for an
+herbarium. The base and pressure board are each ten inches square, the
+supports eight inches in height, and a wooden screw connected with the
+upper board turns in the cross-piece. This and the models shown in the
+drawings numbered 3, 5, and 10 were made by Harry Stoecker.
+
+Figure 7 represents the model of an inclined railway constructed upon
+the plan of the inclined railway actually in use between Hoboken and
+Jersey City Heights. A board forty-five inches in length and ten inches
+in width connects the terminal platforms of this model. The upper
+platform rests on a support thirty-three inches in height; to this
+support is attached an axle turned by a crank, on which are wound the
+reversed cords which connect with the ascending and descending
+platforms. These platforms are mounted on rollers and the cars while in
+motion are kept in a horizontal position. This model was constructed by
+Everett L. Thompson.
+
+The same boy constructed also the model shown in Figure 8--a dumb-waiter
+with original arrangement of cords and pulleys. The frame is thirty-six
+inches in height, eleven inches in width, and five inches in depth.
+Inside, a carrier with shelves is raised by a cord passing over four
+pulleys, the action of which may be seen through glass slips fitted in
+grooves. To the end of a cord is attached a weight which balances the
+weight of the carrier and contents. The frame-work was stained a dark
+mahogany color, oiled and varnished.
+
+Figure 9 represents a miniature guillotine as made by David W. Benedict.
+It was copied after one brought from France and exhibited at a
+well-known museum in New York City.
+
+The frame is twenty-two inches in height, and the block to which is
+fastened the tin blade, falls through the grooves in the posts to the
+rest upon which lies the head of the criminal. The cord raising the
+block runs over the pulleys, and is wound on the cleat when not in use.
+A box beneath receives the head of the imaginary victim as it falls. The
+machine with the exception of the blade was painted in bright vermilion
+and varnished.
+
+Figure 10 shows a small derrick constructed after a sketch of one used
+in the erection of the Madison Avenue bridge across the Harlem River. A
+mast of maple twenty-seven inches in length is mortised into an oak
+base, ten by twelve inches in size. A projecting arm, or jib, is
+fastened to the mast by a clasp of heavy tin. A cord and pulley keep the
+jib at a proper angle with the mast. The weight is hooked to a double
+pulley connected with the single pulley near the end of the jib; the
+cord, passing over a wheel in the mast and then passing downward, is
+wound upon the axle by turning the crank; a toothed wheel and ratchet
+stops the weight at the desired height. Neater pulleys than could be
+purchased were made by joining two wooden buttons and placing them in a
+whittled frame bound with piano-wire. The mast and jib were painted a
+dark blue and the base was polished and varnished.
+
+Figure 11 shows a model of a foundry crane, much admired for its
+accuracy of design and finish. It was made by George Chase, of seasoned
+maple with iron and brass connections. A swinging jib is pivoted at the
+top to a brass plate screwed to the cross-piece of the frame, and turns
+on a steel pin fitted to a plate on the base. A carriage travels along
+the jib, being kept at the required distance by a cord passing over a
+wheel at the end of the jib. A cord attached to the carriage passes over
+a pulley connected with the weight, and also over the wheel of the
+carriage, to the wheel directing it to the axle, which is turned by a
+cog-wheel and pinion taken from an old clock.
+
+The carrier of the elevator shown in Figure 12 is hoisted by a cord
+passing over a small iron pulley fixed to the cross-beam of the grooved
+posts, and thence to the spool, or axle turned by a crank.
+
+A clock-spring attached to a square wooden rosette is shown by Figure
+13.
+
+Figure 14 represents a pump improvised by John B. Cartwright from an old
+mincing-machine.
+
+A handle turns a series of spur-wheels, which in turn give a rapid
+motion to a twelve-inch walking-beam. To one end of this walking-beam is
+attached a piston-rod, with a soft rubber disk working in a brass
+cylinder five inches long and three and a half inches in diameter. Iron
+fittings, including two brass valves, one on each side, connect with the
+cylinder; an air-chamber is formed with a fitting and cap. The suction
+caused by the upward motion of the piston will draw water from a pail or
+cup through a rubber tube connected with the end fitting of the
+right-hand valve, then through the valve to the cylinder; the downward
+motion of the piston causes the water to pass through the left-hand
+valve to the receiving vessel, and the air-chamber tends to make the
+flow regular. Parts of the machine were painted blue and striped with
+gold bronze.
+
+[Illustration: SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER FOURTEEN
+YEARS OF AGE.--DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.
+
+Fig. 8 A DUMB WAITER
+
+Fig. 9. GUILLOTINE
+
+Fig. 10. A DERRICK
+
+Fig. 11. FOUNDRY CRANE
+
+Fig. 12. BRICK & MORTAR ELEVATOR
+
+Fig. 13. CLOCK SPRING
+
+Fig. 14. FORCE PUMP
+
+Fig. 15. SIMPLE SUN MAGIC LANTERN OR HELIOSTAT.
+
+Fig. 15.A.
+
+Fig. 16. ARC ELECTRIC LAMP]
+
+By the removal of one pane of glass from a window facing south, the
+apparatus shown in Figure 15 may be used, like a magic lantern, to
+project transparencies, in a darkened room.
+
+A pine board, fourteen inches square and one inch in thickness, has an
+opening in the middle to receive a wooden frame seven inches square,
+holding a six-inch cosmorama lens, having a focus of eighteen inches. A
+three-inch plano-convex lens having a focus of nine inches, mounted in a
+wooden frame, slides along a slit or opening in a board hinged to the
+inner side of the board which is cleated to the window.
+
+A plate-glass mirror, eight by fifteen inches in size, is secured to a
+board hinged to a wooden rod, which can be turned from the inside, and
+is raised and lowered by a cord winding on a key. The mirror is lowered
+and inclined until the sunlight is reflected through the lenses, and
+then a circle of intense light, from ten to fifteen feet in diameter
+appears on the wall or screen. Both lenses will not cost more than two
+dollars, and the apparatus will most impressively illustrate experiments
+in light and sound.
+
+An easily made electric lamp is shown by Figure 16. An Argand chimney is
+fastened to a wooden base, with the cement known as "Stratena," and
+partly filled with water. A cork coated with paraffine is placed inside
+the chimney, and a rod of carbon twelve inches long and one-sixteenth of
+an inch in thickness being inserted in the cork, the upward pressure of
+the water on the cork causes the end of the carbon rod to come in slight
+contact with a thick rod of carbon which is fastened obliquely to a
+square piece of wood, cemented near the top of the chimney. A brass chip
+fastened to the wood keeps the thin rod of carbon in position, and when
+two copper wires connect the carbons with six to ten jars of a
+bichromate battery, a light appears where the two carbons meet. As the
+thin rod wastes away, the cork rises and keeps the end of the rod
+almost in contact with the other carbon point.
+
+An ambition to creditably make a mechanical contrivance or apparatus is
+noticeably characteristic of many boys. The construction of an aquarium,
+a sailboat, or a telescope, or some similar object, is of absorbing
+interest to such lads; and the making of the electrical apparatus of
+straws, sealing-wax, etcetera, once described by Professor Tyndall, has
+merely tasked the ingenuity of thinking boys to improve upon the
+apparatus.
+
+Many educators maintain that manual training of a pleasant character,
+adapted to the age of the pupils, should form an essential element in
+the education of boys and girls, and should be placed on a par with the
+regular studies. There is no doubt that such instruction stimulates
+ambition and tends to develop taste, skill, and natural invention. At
+the same time an insight into mechanical occupations, with some
+practical experience in the handling of tools, may assist a boy in
+choosing a calling suited to his taste, and better prepare him to enter
+some practical industry, if his choice should incline toward such an
+occupation.
+
+A few years ago, manual training in modeling, wood-carving, carpentry,
+forge-work, and other branches, was introduced into a technical course
+in the College of the City of New York, in East Twenty-third street.
+To-day it is one of the most interesting features of the College work,
+and is highly appreciated by the students. Private schools in this city,
+as also some of the public and private schools of Boston and
+Philadelphia, have introduced the workshop into their methods of
+instruction, and devote a few hours in each week to practical and manual
+labor.
+
+The models illustrated in this article represent many well spent and
+helpful hours of recreation, and other boys may find pleasure and profit
+in making similar use of their leisure time and their powers of
+handicraft.
+
+
+
+
+A NEW VIEW OF THE MOON.
+
+BY EVA LOVETT CARSON.
+
+
+    A little boy just two years old,
+      Or maybe two months older,
+    Came riding home across the lot,
+      Perched on his father's shoulder.
+
+    "Look, Oswald! Hold your head up straight!
+      (Do stop that dreadful drumming!)
+    See, just above where Mamma stands
+      A little moon is coming!"
+
+    The baby lifts his round blue eyes;
+      The moon laughs at their glancing.
+    To see the wonder of his gaze
+      'Most sets the moon a-dancing.
+
+    Frowning, he solved the problem soon;
+      Indignantly he spoke it:
+    "Papa, dat's not the big wound moon;
+      I fink _somebody b'oke it_!"
+
+
+
+
+JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    Away--ho, away!--Let us off on a quest!
+    To the North--to the South--to the East--to the West!
+    To the West, to find where the sunsets go
+    When the skies are as red as roses a-blow;
+    To the East, to see whence the mornings come;
+    To the South, the Summer to track to her home;
+    To the North, by the gleam of the Polar Star,
+    And Night's aurora flaming afar,
+    To seek, in the keen and biting weather,
+    The lodestone that holds the world together.
+
+Now and then somebody writes out the very thoughts of the birds; and
+then again, others tell me very prettily just what they think ought to
+be felt by the tuneful-minded little creatures. Here, for instance,
+comes this scrap of verse from my friend Emily A. Braddock that I hope
+not only you children, but all of my birds will hear. I don't allude so
+much to the sparrows and such stay-at-homes as to my migratory, or
+go-away birds. I'm sure they'd be delighted at a poet's way of putting
+things. It will give them something to go for. As for myself, I've not
+started yet, so we'll proceed to discuss a certain odd saying for which
+it seems the world is indebted to one sort of these migratory birds:
+
+    "EVERYTHING IS LOVELY, AND THE GOOSE HANGS HIGH."
+
+This expression, the Little School-ma'am says, is a corruption of an
+old-fashioned saying that originated in the early days of this country.
+
+As most of you know, wild geese, when they migrate in autumn, form
+themselves into lines shaped like the letter V, the leader flying at the
+point, the two lines following; and as they sail away, far above the
+trees, and beyond all danger from guns--on those cold mornings when the
+air is clear, and the sky beautifully blue--they seem full of glee, and
+join in a chorus, "_Honk, honk, honk!_"
+
+Any one who has heard those curiously sounding notes, the Little
+School-ma'am says, never could mistake them for anything else. And the
+folks on the earth below who heard the birds' wild call, in old times,
+realized the happiness of the winged creatures in being so high and
+safe. And so it became quite natural, when two persons met each other
+under peculiarly favorable circumstances for this or that enterprise,
+for them to say: "Everything is lovely and the goose honks high!"
+
+
+GIRLS! TO THE RESCUE!
+
+Before we leave our dear birds, moreover, I have a special message for
+you this month in their behalf:
+
+"You must not forget, friend Jack," says the Deacon, "to give the boys
+and girls, especially the girls, my May-time sermon about the Audubon
+Society."
+
+Forget it? Not I, indeed! Nor would you, if you could have seen the
+honest and hearty indignation of the good Deacon and the Little
+School-ma'am, as he read to her a printed circular telling all about the
+monstrous wrong which the Audubon Society has nobly begun to fight. You
+must know, dear girls, that this "monstrous wrong" is the custom of
+wearing feathers and skins of birds on your hats and dresses. As I am an
+honest Jack, I don't see how girls and their mammas, who, as everybody
+knows, are supposed to have hearts more tender than men or boys, could
+ever have been induced to follow so abominable a fashion. "Abominable"
+is rather a strong word, I suppose; but it is the very one which the
+good Deacon used when he read the printed slip. And the Little
+School-ma'am--bless her!--actually gave a nod of satisfaction when she
+heard it. As for me, no word would be too strong to express my feelings
+on the subject.
+
+But I'll be content now with giving you what the Deacon calls "two plain
+facts" about this fashion, and letting them speak for themselves. "You
+must know then," says the Deacon, "that a single collector of ornamental
+feathers in this country has declared that he handles every year about
+_thirty thousand_ bird-skins, almost all of which are used for millinery
+purposes; and that another man collected from the shooters in one small
+district within four months, about _seventy thousand_ birds!
+
+"Now, Jack," adds the Deacon, "tell your young hearers to ask themselves
+and their parents, whether this slaughter shall continue? The Audubon
+Society says 'no!' Its membership is free to every one who is willing to
+lend a helping hand to its objects. And its objects are to prevent as
+far as possible, first, the killing of any wild birds not used for food;
+second, the destruction of nests or eggs of wild birds; and third, the
+wearing of feathers as ornaments or trimmings for dress. And certainly
+women and girls can do much, in fact everything, for this third object."
+
+All the older readers of ST. NICHOLAS will remember the army of
+bird-defenders which it established years ago. The Deacon says that
+there is a call for a new army, and all that you need do to join it, my
+girls, is to refuse to wear feathers on your hats or dresses. If all the
+women and girls who now follow that cruel fashion would but abandon it,
+the needless slaughter of the birds would soon be at an end.
+
+
+ABOUT LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.
+
+                    "FELIXSTOW," BRIGHTWOOD (NEAR WASHINGTON).
+
+     DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: I am a little boy just six years
+     old. I live in the country about six miles from Washington.
+     I am very much interested in reading "Little Lord
+     Fauntleroy," because Mrs. Burnett, the lady who wrote it,
+     was out at our house last spring, and told us the story, and
+     I want to see if she changed it before she put it in the
+     book. I tell you, her own little boys, Lionel and Vivian,
+     are nice fellows to play with! I have a nice pony named Joe,
+     lots of chickens, a dog, and two cats, but I like digging in
+     the ground most. I raised a lot of pop-corn last year.
+     Somebody is writing this for me, but I am telling him what
+     to write. My little brother Paul bothers me considerably
+     when I want to make things.
+
+     Good bye, dear Jack; you are a nice fellow. Your friend,
+
+                                        FELIX RENOUF HOLT.
+
+"Felix is not alone," says the Little School-ma'am, "in his admiration
+for Little Lord Fauntleroy. The children of the Red School House all are
+charmed with his lordship, and for myself I consider him one of the very
+sweetest and noblest little boys in English literature."
+
+
+FISHING FOR NECKLACES.
+
+According to my friend, Ernest Ingersoll, a large proportion of the red
+coral used by jewelers in making ornaments comes from the Mediterranean
+coast of Algeria, where it is gathered chiefly by an ingenious machine.
+Nets, the meshes of which are loose, are hung on the bars of a cross,
+and dragged at the bottom of the sea among the nooks and crevices of the
+rocks. These nets, winding about the branches of the coralline growth,
+break off its branches, which adhere to the meshes. When he thinks it is
+laden, the fisherman draws the net to the surface and helps himself to
+the coral. This is sold in various markets, and afterward worked into
+ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, and other pretty articles for girls and
+their mammas.
+
+
+A SUGGESTION TO THE BOTTLED FISH.
+
+                                             READING, MASS.,
+
+     DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: I read in the February number about
+     the bottled fish. I think it is very queer. In "Grimm's
+     Fairy Tales" there is a story about a fox that crept into a
+     hole where there was something to eat. After he ate it he
+     grew so fat that he could not get out, and he stayed there
+     till the farmer found him and killed him. I suppose it was
+     the same way with the fish, only he fed on oysters, and as I
+     think there are no farmers at the bottom of the sea, he
+     stayed there till he was drawn up. If I had been that fish,
+     I would have starved myself till I was thin enough to get
+     out. I have taken St. Nicholas since I was two years old,
+     and my mamma says she brought me up on it, so you see I have
+     been well brought up.
+
+                                        I remain yours truly,
+
+                                        E. S. K. PACKARD.
+
+
+THE NEWSPAPER PLANT.
+
+You are to be told in this month's ST. NICHOLAS, I hear, about a curious
+"lace-leaf," a "vegetable necktie," and a "caricature plant." If so,
+this is a good time for me to show you a curiosity called the newspaper
+plant, which the Little School-ma'am described the other day to the
+young folk of the Red School House.
+
+It seems that in certain far-away countries called New Mexico and
+Arizona, there are great tracts of desolate desert lands, where the very
+hills seem destitute of life and beauty, and where the earth is
+shriveled from centuries of terrible heat. And in these desert-tracts
+grow a curious, misshapen, grotesque and twisted plant that seems more
+like a goblin tree than a real one.
+
+Of all the trees in the world, you would imagine this to be the most
+outcast and worthless--so meager a living does it obtain from the waste
+of sand and gravel in which it grows. And yet this goblin tree is now
+being sought after and utilized in one of the world's greatest
+industries--an industry that affects the daily needs of civilization,
+and is of especial importance to every girl and boy who reads the pages
+of ST. NICHOLAS.
+
+Those wise folk, the botanists, call our goblin tree by its odd Indian
+name of the "Yucca" palm.
+
+[Illustration: THE YUCCA PALM.]
+
+This plant of the desert for a long time was considered valueless. But
+not long ago it was discovered that the fiber of the Yucca could be made
+into an excellent paper.[E] And now one of the great English dailies,
+the London _Telegraph_, is printed upon paper made from this goblin
+tree. Indeed, the _Telegraph_ has purchased a large plantation in
+Arizona, merely for the purpose of cultivating this tree, and
+manufacturing paper from it. So, you see, the Yucca is now a newspaper
+plant.
+
+
+ONE MORE LIVING BAROMETER.
+
+     DEAR JACK: As you have told us so much about living
+     barometers, I want to tell you that I have one. Mine is a
+     red squirrel. Just before a "cold snap" she will be surly
+     and sleepy. When she is angry, she will spread her lower
+     teeth apart. She will play like a kitten. I call her Gipsy,
+     and she is my chief pet.
+
+                                        Your constant reader,
+
+                                        M. M. M.
+
+[Footnote E: For an article describing the manufacture of paper, see ST.
+NICHOLAS for August, 1884, page 808.]
+
+
+
+
+EDITORIAL NOTES.
+
+
+In a note which accompanied the article in our present number, "When
+Shakspere was a Boy," Miss Kingsley desires us to state that she owes
+much valuable information about charms (mentioned on page 488), and also
+about Shaksperean games and customs, to Mr. Richard Savage, of the
+Shakspere Birthplace Museum, Stratford-on-Avon.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In his story of "The Great Snow-ball Fight," printed in our March
+number, Mr. Barnard showed how some boys put out the fire in the Widow
+Lawson's house, by snow-balling it. This may have appeared to some
+readers almost impossible, but it was based upon an actual occurrence.
+And an instance of that mode of at least preventing a fire, was recorded
+in the New York papers of February 11th. It appears in an account of the
+burning of the stables of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club, at Hempstead, Long
+Island. "No modern appliance for extinguishing fire was at hand," says
+one journal, "but there was plenty of snow, and this was banked up about
+the adjoining stables, and undoubtedly saved them from being burned.
+Whenever sparks from the burning building fell on the adjacent barns,
+they were quickly extinguished by well-directed snow-balls thrown upon
+them."
+
+
+THE LETTER-BOX.
+
+                                             CONCORD, N. H.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Lena and I play dolls very often, but the
+     latest game we play is throwing cards into a hat placed on
+     the floor about six feet away. Lena put in thirty-two out of
+     fifty-two. If you have room enough to print this in your
+     Letter-box, I should like to read it.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        RUTH A. M.
+
+That is a very nice game, Ruth, although six feet seems a long distance
+for a small girl to toss the cards. We have seen grown folk try the game
+at four feet, and then several of them could not put one in twenty into
+the hat; so Lena's score of thirty-two out of fifty-two is a fine one.
+The game can be played with any kind of cards, and with sides or by
+individuals. The largest number of cards thrown into the hat, either by
+one person or by a side, makes the winning score. If played by sides,
+not more than twenty cards should be used, and each side should play
+five rounds, thus making one hundred the highest possible score for any
+player.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             MIDDLETOWN, CONN.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am anxious to have the March number
+     come, so that I can see how Little Lord Fauntleroy's
+     grandfather treats him. That serial story I enjoy very much.
+     I go to a private girls' school in the morning, and study
+     German in the afternoon with my mother.
+
+     With much love I am your faithful reader,
+
+                                        HELEN W. A.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             PROVIDENCE, R. I.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: This is the first time that I have
+     written to you.
+
+     I have a funny story to tell about a mouse. My canary bird
+     used to hang up in our nursery-window on a chain. Sometimes
+     in the evening or night, we would hear mice running around,
+     and in the morning we would find that some of the seed was
+     gone. Mamma thought it was a mouse, but _we_ did not think
+     so. Papa had been trying to catch them in a trap, but did
+     not catch many. We then thought that we would try another
+     way. So Papa took the cage down and put a pail of water on
+     the chain, and when the little mouse went up the chain, as
+     he used to do, instead of going in the cage, he went in the
+     pail of water and was drowned. This is a true story. I am
+     eleven years old. Good-bye.
+
+                                        am your constant reader,
+
+                                        B. G. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             CARRINGTON, DAKOTA.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: You do not know me at all, but I know you
+     and love you so much! When you were brought to me this
+     morning I almost kissed your bright face for joy. It was
+     stormy this morning, and I was tired playing with kitty;
+     besides that I had been waiting so long to read some more
+     about Little Lord Fauntleroy! He is such a brave, wise
+     little boy! Will you ask Mrs. Burnett to please not make him
+     unhappy with his grandfather? Ever since we had our
+     Christmas entertainment, I have wanted to tell you about it,
+     but have been too sick to write you. We called it "An
+     Evening with Mother Goose and the Brownies." Yes,--we had
+     all the cute little boys in Carrington dressed up like
+     Brownies. They did mischief very nicely, all quietly in
+     their stocking-feet. While Mother Goose was singing her
+     melodies, they came and stole away her goose, and they
+     pelted Mother Hubbard with paper balls when she sang that
+     song in the ST. NICHOLAS: "I had an Educated Pug." In the
+     tableaux, they tripped up Jack and Jill, upset Blue-beard,
+     stole Jack Horner's plum, overturned the bachelor's
+     wheelbarrow, little wife and all, let the spider down from a
+     tree on little Miss Muffett, and tied Bo-peep's sheep-tails
+     to a tree, and woke her up with their baa's. Then we had
+     "The House that Jack built," just like it is in the ST.
+     NICHOLAS, for Nov. 1883. It was just splendid, and so funny;
+     but when the rat was to come out of "The House that Jack
+     built," the cat had put his foot on the string and it broke,
+     so the cat couldn't come out. Then the maiden all forlorn
+     picked up the rat, threw it at the cat, and everybody just
+     roared!
+
+                    I am nine years old, and my name is,
+
+                                        THEODORA C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                              NEW HARTFORD, IOWA.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I believe the little girls that take the
+     ST. NICHOLAS will like to hear about my numerous paper
+     dolls. I have a whole town of them, and they all have their
+     names written on their backs. I was so interested in "The
+     Firm of Big Brain, Little Brain & Co." After I read it, I
+     kept thinking what my "Big Brain" was telegraphing. Well, my
+     big brain telegraphs to my hand, that if it writes any more,
+     the letter will be too long to print. So good-bye. I am
+
+                                        One of your many friends,
+
+                                        GRACE C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             WOODLAND, CAL.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I think you are the nicest magazine in
+     the whole world. I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a
+     beautiful story. It seems so real. Cedric reminds me of my
+     little cousin Birdie (that is his pet name). One day his
+     aunt (who is an artist) asked him if he did not want her to
+     paint him. He said: "I had rather be as I are." He is nearly
+     four years old. I live on a vineyard of 160 acres.
+
+                                        Your faithful reader,
+
+                                        LILLIAN H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             FORT ASSINABOINE, MON.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I commenced taking your paper five months
+     ago, and I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is the best story
+     I ever read.
+
+     We have plenty of skating here, and fifty ponies to ride.
+
+     Another boy is writing a letter to you too. We live 200
+     miles from Helena and we have to go in a stage or wait till
+     the river opens.
+
+     We only have to go to school in the morning, and we play all
+     the rest of the day.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        S. F. P.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             BROOKLYN, N. Y., 1886.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thought that I would send you a letter
+     at last. I will tell you about our washwoman and me. I have
+     something the matter with my knee, and so I have to stay in
+     the house. Well, our washwoman and I were having some fun. I
+     was at the back parlor window, and the washwoman was down in
+     the back yard hanging up the clothes, and I got a snow-ball
+     and threw it at her, and you ought to have seen her! She
+     looked up and down and could not see anybody, and after a
+     while she saw me, and then, the way she looked! She said: "I
+     will give it to you!"
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        FRANK T.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             EVERETT, MASS.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have taken you for a year and I could
+     not do without you. Every month you gladden our home with
+     your beautiful pictures, interesting stories, and pretty
+     bits of poetry.
+
+     I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a splendid story. I must
+     not forget to mention the "Brownies." What busy little
+     workers they are! I have one pet, a beautiful linnet. Her
+     name is Daisy. She is a very sweet singer.
+
+                    I remain, your constant reader,
+
+                                        MAY F.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             KINGSTON, INDIANA.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I do not see many letters from Indiana in
+     your Letter-box. I would not do without you for ten dollars
+     a year.
+
+     I like your Natural History. I have several books on Natural
+     History.
+
+     Last year I wanted you so badly that Papa said I must earn
+     the money myself. I had enough, lacking fifty cents. We had
+     an oyster supper here, and papa gave me fifty cents to
+     spend; so I did without oysters and took you. I am thirteen
+     years old.
+
+                                        Yours sincerely,
+
+                                        ART. R.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                       MT. AUBURN, CINCINNATI, O.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I like your stories very much. I am a boy
+     seven years old. I do not go to school, but Mamma teaches me
+     with two little girls. I had a lovely Christmas. I got a
+     locomotive, a sword, a scarf, a marble game, a rolling-pin,
+     a box to keep my pens and pencils in, and some cards and
+     books for Christmas. I think you are the best book I ever
+     read. This is the first year I began to take you. I like the
+     "Brownies" best. Tell Mr. Palmer Cox to put "Brownies" in
+     every ST. NICHOLAS. Please don't forget to print my letter,
+     for I have written it all myself, and spelled it without any
+     help.
+
+     I had two kittys, and their names were Mitten and Topsy. We
+     gave away Mitten and kept Topsy, but after a while we lost
+     Topsy, and then we found another kitty, but she ran away. I
+     am sorry they went away, for I love kittys. Good-bye, dear
+     ST. NICHOLAS, I am so glad it is most time for you to come
+     again. Please don't forget to print my letter, for I love
+     you so much!
+
+                                        Your loving friend,
+
+                                        RALPH B. R.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             LEWISBURG, W. VA.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have just finished reading the February
+     number, and I think that "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and
+     "George Washington" are splendid! I am a little girl ten
+     years old. Have taken you for four years.
+
+     I have ever so many uncles and aunts. One of my aunts sends
+     you to me.
+
+                                        Your loving reader,
+
+                                        DOTTIE M.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             WYOMING, DEL.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written to you before, but I
+     love to read the letters others have sent you. You have been
+     coming to our house nearly three years, and we all look
+     anxiously for the 26th of the month, when you are due. You
+     are my own book. I pay for you with money I have earned
+     myself. My little sister wonders whenever she sees ST.
+     NICHOLAS what the Brownies are doing in it. Mamma is much
+     interested in "Little Lord Fauntleroy," and we like it too,
+     and all the rest of your stories, but especially "The Gilded
+     Boy of Florence," because we know the man who wrote it and
+     have heard him preach. He says all he wrote in that story is
+     true. Good-bye.
+
+                                        Ever your faithful reader,
+
+                                        C. LIZZIE B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             LONDON, ENGLAND.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am an American girl who left New York
+     four years ago, during which time I have been a constant
+     reader of ST. NICHOLAS. My school friends who read English
+     all want it also. You have been forwarded to me from London
+     as far as Turkey and Egypt. And so, if you can only spare a
+     few minutes, I would like to tell you about the pyramids and
+     the sphinx.
+
+     From Shepherd's Hotel, Cairo, it is a beautiful drive of
+     seven miles through an archway of large trees by the side of
+     the Nile. There are several pyramids. The chief one is said
+     to be 463 feet high, and one would think the top would be
+     very small; but you will no doubt be surprised to hear that
+     the Khedive gave a dinner to twenty-four guests upon the top
+     of a pyramid. The dinner was served in the usual manner by
+     Arab waiters; the gentlemen walked up, while the ladies were
+     carried up in chairs. The pyramids are built like
+     stairs,--one stone on top the other, with only an edge for a
+     foothold.
+
+     Many tourists try to climb the structure, which is very
+     fatiguing work. We gave an expert Arab fifty cents to do it
+     in ten minutes; he went up in six minutes and down in four
+     minutes. From the pyramid to the sphinx is quite a little
+     walk through thick sand; and the Sphinx is so big you can
+     hardly see it all at once. The English soldiers knocked off
+     some of its right hand and all its nose. It is cut from a
+     solid rock and looks as black as iron. The Egyptian postage
+     stamps have pictures of both the pyramid and the sphinx. The
+     temple dedicated to the sphinx lies in ruins here, but the
+     remains are very beautiful, being nearly all of alabaster;
+     and in the cellar they have just discovered an image, which
+     is so immense they can't get it out from the place where it
+     has lain so many hundred years. Some time I will write a
+     letter about the Holy Land, as I lived there two months. I
+     hope you will print my letter; it is my first attempt, and I
+     am fourteen years old. Your March number will find me at
+     Alexandria, for I take the Beyrouth steamer next week. I
+     hope, dear ST. NICHOLAS, your Egyptian friend has not tired
+     you, and I also hope this may find a place in your
+     Letter-box.
+
+                                        Your loving Egyptian friend,
+
+                                        MAUD STANLEY F.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                        MOHEGAN LAKE, N. Y.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I send you this letter, a true story
+     about a fish-hawk.
+
+     It was in the middle of April, 1883. A man who was rowing on
+     one of those lakes east of the Highlands, in the northern
+     part of Westchester County, espied a large fish-hawk sitting
+     on a dead limb near the water. The man, having his gun with
+     him, rowed over toward the hawk, and when in range fired at
+     him flying. The wounded bird fell, hit on the outer joint of
+     the left wing. With the help of his companion the man
+     managed to bring him home. In less than a week, the boy of
+     the house fed him with fish out of his own hands, and the
+     hawk did not attempt to claw him. One day the boy wanted to
+     see how many pounds of fish the hawk would eat. He caught
+     seven suckers weighing a pound and a half each. The hawk ate
+     six, one after another, and took the seventh, but refused to
+     eat it until half an hour afterward. What an enormous
+     appetite he had! Later on in the summer, the boy would take
+     him to the water to wash. He did it just as a canary does in
+     his china bath. The boy would take him and put him on the
+     side of the boat and row him around, and the hawk would sit
+     there, taking in everything, as well as the summer visitors,
+     who were taking him in. The hawk was so tame that his keeper
+     could smooth his head and chuck him under his beak and the
+     hawk would only flop his wings and whistle when the boy
+     turned, as though delighted with what the boy did. This
+     creature measured five feet eleven inches from tip to tip of
+     the wings, and came to his death in October of the same
+     year, by getting caught in the string by which he was
+     fastened, greatly to the sorrow of his keeper who cared for
+     him. The bird is now stuffed and in a friend's room in New
+     York City.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        S. F. K. E. G.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             CINCINNATI, O.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thought I would write to you to say
+     what so many of the other girls and boys who take you have
+     already said: "That I love every one of your stories and can
+     hardly wait until the 25th of the month comes, to read you."
+     I have taken you two years and would not be without you one
+     single month. I live in the dirty city of Cincinnati, but I
+     have a great deal of fun any way.
+
+     We have had two snowstorms this winter, but by the time the
+     snow has lain on the ground three or four days it is so
+     black that I actually believe that people who come from the
+     country would not know it was snow unless they were told.
+
+     I will now close, hoping to have the pleasure of seeing this
+     letter printed.
+
+                      I remain, your constant reader,
+
+                                        GRACE S. C.
+
+     P. S. I forgot to say I was thirteen years old and have a
+     brother nine years old, who thinks the ST. NICHOLAS "a
+     dandy," as he expresses it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MORE ABOUT CURVE-PITCHING.
+
+                                             LINCOLN CO., NEB.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: The two letters in the February number on
+     "curve-pitching," I was very glad to see. It was during my
+     college-days that the "curve" made its appearance, and it
+     was for some time a matter of much interesting discussion
+     among us. I was not much of a base-ball man, but I saw a
+     good deal of curve-pitching, and occasionally threw some
+     rather wild "curves" myself in an amateurish way. We budding
+     physicists discussed the why and wherefore of the problem,
+     but never arrived at any satisfactory solution. The same
+     explanation which is given in the second letter of your
+     February number suggested itself to me at the time, and I
+     was quite satisfied with it until I discovered that it did
+     not accord with the facts of the case. It is a beautiful
+     theory, but, like some other theories, it doesn't work.
+
+     According to the theory, as shown by your correspondent, the
+     ball rotating (as indicated by his diagram which he gives),
+     against the hands of the watch should curve to the right,
+     producing the _in_ curve. But the fact is, that a ball so
+     rotating will curve to the left--the _out_ curve. And a ball
+     rotating in a contrary direction, _i. e._, so that points on
+     its forward side are moving to the right, will curve to the
+     right--the _in_ curve. In both cases the axis of rotation is
+     vertical, so that the motions of the ball may be well
+     illustrated by a spinning-top, as is shown in the first
+     letter by A. D. S. But the case of a rifle-ball in motion
+     does not seem to me to be parallel with that of a base-ball
+     under normal conditions. A rifle-ball is given a rotation
+     about an axis parallel to and coincident with its line of
+     flight, just as an arrow rotates on its shaft. Now, none of
+     the curves of a base-ball are produced with the axis of
+     rotation in this position. In the _in_ and _out_ curves, as
+     already said, the axis of rotation is vertical; while the
+     _rise_ and _drop_ are produced by rotating the ball about a
+     horizontal axis perpendicular to the line of flight. In
+     _all_ cases the axis of rotation _must_ be at right angles
+     to the line of flight, and the more accurately this
+     condition is complied with, the more marked the effect. My
+     knowledge of the subject is too slight to warrant me in
+     asserting that the curving of the rifle-ball and that of the
+     base-ball do not depend on the same principle, but it does
+     not seem to me that the two are identical, for the above
+     reasons.
+
+     I have no theory to offer, but trust that among the readers
+     of ST. NICHOLAS some may be found who have penetrated to the
+     "true inwardness" of this interesting problem, and will give
+     us a complete and scientific explanation of it.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        H. H. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             BEVERLY, OHIO.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read with considerable interest
+     the letters in ST. NICHOLAS for February concerning
+     curve-pitching. I am a boy who takes great interest in
+     base-ball, and have many times pitched curves. I have seen
+     persons, and see them yet, who firmly maintain that a ball
+     cannot be curved, even when they have ocular demonstration
+     of the fact. But that has nothing to do with what I have to
+     say. I have studied the diagram of my anonymous friend, and
+     am convinced that he is exactly wrong. With the following
+     diagrams I shall show which way a ball curves with a given
+     rotation, and give my theory of the curve:
+
+     [Illustration]
+
+     Suppose, as in the letter published, the ball moves one
+     hundred feet per second, and revolves so that the equator
+     moves around at the same rate. Then, in the first diagram,
+     the friction at B is greatest, and at D is 0. But instead of
+     curving as my anonymous friend demonstrates, it will curve
+     in exactly the _opposite_ direction; namely, in the same
+     direction in which it rotates.
+
+     I have appended diagram 2, simply to show the curve where
+     the friction is 0 at B and greatest at D. Then it will curve
+     as indicated.
+
+     I have a short theory, namely: In the first diagram, the
+     more rapid movement of B compresses the air on that side,
+     while at D it is in its normal state. Hence the pressure at
+     B more than counterbalances that at D, and, as it were,
+     shoves the ball in the direction of the side D, thus
+     producing the curve. In the 2d diagram, the letters B and D
+     interchange in the theory. I would like to hear more about
+     this subject.
+
+Very respectfully yours,
+
+F. C. J.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                          BIRMINGHAM, MICH.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read with great interest the
+     articles in the October, December, and February numbers,
+     about curve-pitching. I have had quite a good deal of
+     experience in the "one,-two,-three,-and-out" line myself,
+     and have also, for the last two or three years, been able to
+     make others have the same experience, by putting them out,
+     in the same way. Therefore, I venture a reply to the
+     explanation in the February number, backing my statement by
+     the experience of many eminent curve-pitchers, and also by
+     the story in the October number of "How Science Won the
+     Game."
+
+     [Illustration]
+
+     The above diagram is the same as your correspondent uses,
+     and he asserts that the point B is moving faster than D;
+     consequently, there is more friction at B, whence B is
+     retarded more than D, and so the ball will curve toward W in
+     the path of the dotted line. Now, if he will look in the
+     story of "How Science Won the Game," where the base-ball
+     editor shows the boys how to hold and how to throw the ball
+     to make the different curves, he will find that when he
+     throws the ball so that it whirls as shown in diagram, it
+     will curve toward P, a direction entirely opposite from the
+     one he designates. And any curve-pitcher will tell him the
+     same. When I first read his explanation, I thought it was
+     all right, for it looks quite reasonable, but upon second
+     thoughts, I saw it was wrong, and to make sure, I took a
+     ball and tried it. The only way I can get around his
+     explanation (aside from actual fact) is this: The point B,
+     as he clearly shows, is moving faster than D, and so the
+     ball, if the friction of the air is taken away, will
+     naturally curve toward the side D or point P. Now, the
+     question is, Will the friction of the air be enough greater
+     on the side B to overcome the difference in the motions of
+     the two sides? If it is, the ball must move in a straight
+     line, but as it curves toward the side D, we must conclude
+     that it is not, and that the friction of the air tends more
+     to hinder than to help the ball to curve. I really believe
+     that if it could be tried, a person could make a ball curve
+     in a vacuum more easily than we can make it curve in the
+     air. Trusting to hear more upon this subject, I remain,
+     sincerely yours,
+
+"A CURVER."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             FREMONT, NEB.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written to you before, but I
+     think perhaps you will publish this one letter. I hope you
+     will publish it, as I have never yet had anything of mine
+     published.
+
+     I like the story entitled, "How Science Won the Game."
+     Although I am but thirteen years old I think I can pitch a
+     curve. I go to the Fremont Normal School and like it very
+     much.
+
+     I am going to have the 1884 and 1885 ST. NICHOLAS bound next
+     week. I think you have a very entertaining magazine, and I
+     think the pictures are very nice. I have the magazine for a
+     Christmas present every year. I have taken ST. NICHOLAS
+     three years and I hope I may always take it.
+
+     Papa says he doesn't think you will publish this, but I
+     think you will.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        EDDIE H. B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             AYER, MASS.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: As so many of your readers have written
+     to you, I thought I would write too, that I might have the
+     pleasure of seeing my letter in print.
+
+     I have taken you a year and have fallen greatly in love with
+     your delightful pages.
+
+     I think "How Science Won the Game" is a lovely story; I felt
+     much interested in it, for last summer the girls of my age
+     who lived here got up a base-ball nine. In time, we played
+     very nicely and enjoyed the fun. The readers of the
+     Letter-box may think this a funny game for girls to play,
+     but we liked it and found it very good exercise.
+
+     I am fifteen years old; I have a little dog, his name is
+     Teddie; he is a very good little dog, but I pity the cat
+     that gets in his way.
+
+     I like to read "From Bach to Wagner," as I enjoy reading of
+     different composers.
+
+                                        Your true reader,
+
+                                        RUTH F.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We heartily thank the young friends whose names here follow, for
+pleasant letters received from them: Kate Ethel C., John Myers, Sadie B.
+Crane, G. M. F., Jamie H., Walter J. Cohen, Stuart L. Martin, George
+Williams, Eddie L. Goodman, Violette T. Haines, Lillie M. Grubbs, Freda
+Nicolai, Eva Wilkins, Miriam Ferry, Hortie O'Meara, Anna Ross, Clara
+Louise Whitney, Constance and Richard Bigelow, E. R. B., J. H. B., Mary
+and Gussie, Jessie Hiltner, Alberta Stout, Willis Dunning, Nellie E.
+Stebbins, Marion R. Brown, A. W. Smith, Josie and May, Kate G., Hallie
+H. Haines, Johnny B. S., Daisy, Gertie Beidler, Mary M. C., Charles L.
+Baldwin, Kitty Clover, Alice Olney, Emil Harrington, Katie M. Cathcart,
+Arthur F. B., Agnes Hanks, Elizabeth K. Stewart, Wade W. Thayer, Brooks
+Upham, Rosalie, Mamie Eells, Florence Lanty, Frank Dearstyne, Vera
+Wheeler, Nellie McN. Suydam, Elizabeth B. Grumball, Ida Cameron, Ethel
+Marion Walker, Fawn Evans, Alfa P. Tyrrell, H. and A. V. P., G. P. S.,
+Clara Moore, F. W. S., Portia, Nellie T., Eva R., Norine, Anna M.
+Lister, Blanche E. Ives, Mary Hicks, "Dolly Varden," Nora T. C., Natie
+P. Thompson, Daniel McPhail, Mary E. Seavey, Storrs E. E., H. C. J.,
+Edith B., Kittie E. Fogarty, Frank Carman, Ruth A., C. H. M., Richard D.
+Bennett, Anne Grey Millett, Addie Rockwell, Laura Smith, Paula Goetz,
+Katie S. Denholm, Carl M. Ruhlen, Thomas McKeone, W. C. T., Marion
+Loomis, Alice E. Bogert, Gertrude E. S., Julian Granbery, B. M. S.,
+Edward P. Irwin, "The Five Friends," T. L., Kate B. Tilley, Irene S.
+Duer, Violet Scath, Florence M. Wickes, E. W. B., May Delany, and Bertha
+Sweet.
+
+
+
+
+THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION
+
+SIXTY-FIRST REPORT.
+
+
+AN ENGRAVED CHARTER FOR FRAMING.
+
+Our attention has been called to the fact that heretofore we have sent
+to our Chapters no charters, or certificates, suitable for framing.
+
+To remedy this deficiency, we have engaged one of the leading firms of
+New-York City to design a very beautiful A. A. Charter, to be handsomely
+engraved on bond or parchment paper. The size of the charter will be
+about 12 × 18 inches or larger.
+
+At the top is drawn an open ST. NICHOLAS, showing on one page Prof.
+Agassiz's portrait, and on the other, representations of the animal and
+vegetable kingdoms.
+
+Above the magazine is our badge, the Swiss Cross; and below is the
+motto, _Per Naturam ad Deum_. Then follows the certificate proper,
+handsomely ornamented, bearing the name of the founder of the Chapter,
+the name, number, and letter of the same, and signed with the autograph
+of the President of the A. A. Of course the first two hundred
+impressions--or artist's proofs--are the finest. Many members are so
+pleased with them that they wish to secure copies for their individual
+possession.
+
+
+THE CLASS IN MINERALOGY.
+
+None of the courses of study we have ever had the pleasure of offering
+to our friends, has had the magnificent success which is attending Prof.
+Crosby's class in mineralogy. At this writing no less than eighty-nine
+pupils are enrolled, and as Chapters usually take the course through one
+representative, this number doubtless means that at the least five
+hundred persons are learning how to observe and describe minerals, under
+most competent instruction. To each pupil is sent a set of thirty
+valuable specimens, and all exercises are corrected and returned for
+revision. Geographically, the class extends from Washington Territory to
+England.
+
+
+REPORTS OF CHAPTERS.
+
+We have to begin again this month, as last, by presenting the excellent
+reports of dilatory Chapters. A little more promptness hereafter, good
+secretaries, if you please!
+
+37, _Kingsboro, N. Y._ By some mischance, your card notifying me that
+our report is due has just come to my notice, and I hasten to write,
+fearing our "candlestick may be removed." Last week three of us visited
+a gold-mine and brought home specimens of rock from which gold is
+obtained, averaging about twenty dollars per ton. The rock is dark,
+fine-grained, and resembles lime-stone. It effervesces with acid. We
+have here beautiful specimens of the Azoic rocks, and we could make up
+named collections to exchange for other specimens.--W. W. Thomas, Box
+711.
+
+112, _So. Boston_. We number ten active and three honorary members.
+During the year we have held twenty-two meetings, with an average
+attendance of eight. In January we gave an entertainment, and realized
+$10.80. In April we endeavored to establish an assembly of the Chapters
+in this part of the State, but did not succeed.
+
+During the year we have studied chemistry, zoölogy, and astronomy. At
+one time we visited the Agassiz museum in a body, and learned a great
+deal. Having seen now what we can do, I think we shall all study harder
+during the coming year.--Geo. L. Whitehouse, 37 Gates street.
+
+     [_Don't be discouraged; we shall have a State Assembly in
+     Massachusetts before many years._]
+
+134, _De Pere, Wis._ We have eighteen members. Our room is beginning to
+look very nicely. We added five new cases last fall. We have 1600
+geological specimens,--including 1000 fossils,--600 minerals, 50 birds,
+500 plants, 400 shells, and 100 ethnological specimens.--A. S. Gilbert.
+
+153, _Chicago_ (_E_). At the Exposition here last fall, we had two large
+cases, one containing minerals, the other fossils, which compared
+favorably with any in the building, and did much toward making our
+society known to the throng of visitors. We have added new books to our
+library at no small expense. Our "Paper" is the latest addition to our
+meetings, and contains original articles, clippings, and the letters
+received.--Charles T. Mixer.
+
+164, _Jackson, Mich._ (_B_). We have eight members, and expect more
+soon. We all have natural histories of our own. We meet once a week, on
+Monday evening. We had a very pleasant field-meeting by Clark's Lake.
+All our members are interested.--James C. Wood.
+
+168, _Buffalo_ (_C_). During the summer there were some excursions,
+which brought a number of specimens into the hands of our curator. With
+the new year fresh courage has inspired most of us. Our prospects are
+quite bright. We still have our standing committees in each department,
+and these have a report to make nearly every week. Every two weeks we
+have an essay. Our next topic is to be "Forests and their Utility."
+Besides this and the reading and discussion of scientific essays, we
+have our weekly report on the current scientific news, and notes and
+personal observations. Chapter K of this city has joined us, and Chapter
+I thinks of following the example of Chapter K.--Sophie Finkenstaedt.
+
+187, _Albany, N. Y._ (_A_). We have found time for occasional meeting
+among the heavy requirements of school-life; and as for myself, I find
+our own back-yard a bewildering field for exploration. We have ten
+active and eleven honorary members. Our meetings are held alternate
+Wednesday evenings at the houses of members, and are always well
+attended and interesting. At our next meeting--our second anniversary--a
+special programme is to be carried out. We are to debate the comparative
+usefulness of astronomy and botany; have an extra number of _The
+Naturalist_, our MS. paper; scientific essays, readings and lectures.
+Albany A has never been more flourishing.--John P. Gavit.
+
+
+THIRD CENTURY.
+
+215, _Tioga Centre, N. Y._ We have been steadily progressing in our
+department--botany. Last autumn we made asters a specialty, and
+succeeded in collecting and analyzing fourteen species and two
+varieties. We are now ready to exchange promptly.--Angie Latimer, Sec.
+
+220, _De Pere, Wis._ (_C._) Chapter C has disbanded. Please scratch our
+number out.--Jessie R. Jackson.
+
+     [_But we hope the Chapter will "jump into another bush," so
+     we can "scratch them in again!"_]
+
+234, _New York_, (_G_). We have joined Chapter 87, New York (B),--F. W.
+Roos, 335 W. 27th street.
+
+238, _Winterset, Iowa_. One of our charter members is dead; one is in
+Oregon; two are away at college; one is in Mississippi. In fact, there
+is nothing left of our Chapter. I am sorry, for I think the Association
+work is a very great benefit to the members.--Harry C. Wallace.
+
+     [_Our correspondent will remember that by our present rules
+     even one active member is allowed to maintain the honor, and
+     retain the number and name of a Chapter once properly
+     organized. We shall be disappointed if we do not meet him on
+     the 24th of next August, at Davenport, Iowa, as the
+     representative of a reorganized and efficient Chapter._]
+
+246, _Bethlehem, Pa._ We are in a very flourishing condition, and now
+have fifteen members. Our cabinet is crowded with specimens, all in good
+condition. We occupy a pleasant room rented by the Chapter. We shall
+enter the coming season with undiminished enthusiasm for the study of
+Nature.
+
+248, _Richmond, Va._ An informal meeting was held, and twenty-three of
+us boys were enrolled as members of a Chapter of the A. A. We elected
+our teacher, Miss Jennie Ellett, President. Committees were appointed to
+draft by-laws, build cabinets, etc. Instead of forming a new society,
+Mrs. Marshall has kindly consented to let us reorganize Chapter
+248.--_W. T. Terry_, Sec., 109 E. Grace St.
+
+252, _Utica, N. Y._ We have a most flourishing Chapter of forty-seven
+members. In the past year our school building was enlarged, and a room
+was made purposely to hold our treasures. In it is a cabinet overflowing
+with minerals, shells, and plants, 3 cases full of _lepidoptera_, a
+forty-dollar microscope, and a cabinet, which the boys are trying to
+fill with microscopical slides of their own manufacture. We have also an
+aquarium 12 x 24 inches, stocked with fish, newts, snails, turtles,
+etc., also a bird's egg cabinet that will hold several hundred
+specimens, and a Wardia case, 36 x 18 inches, which we are now using for
+hatching chrysalids. At our last meeting a cecropia "came out,"
+measuring over six and a half inches across the wings. Our Chapter is
+divided into committees, each committee having a teacher for chairman.
+The committees are expected to furnish each week specimens representing
+their special branches. Of all the subjects before us the hardest "nut
+to crack" was, "What is a sea-bean?" but owing to indomitable
+perseverance, it has been most thoroughly cracked.
+
+     [_Please send us the kernel!_]
+
+Agassiz's birthday was duly celebrated in the woods. Speeches were made,
+poems recited, and the rest of the day devoted to a grand specimen-hunt.
+It rained hard all day, but that could not quench the fire in this
+Chapter, and we returned home loaded down with treasures. We have
+shells, mica, and _lepidoptera_ for exchange. The Chapter desires to
+express its deepest gratitude to the founder of the A. A. for two
+delightful years.--Frances E. Newland, Sec.
+
+     [_Such a delightful report as the one which we have here
+     condensed, is more than enough to repay one for all the
+     labor connected with the A. A. The debt of gratitude is on
+     the other side._]
+
+254, _Fulton, N. Y._ We have started a library, and are now studying
+ornithology. Our membership is reduced to three, but all are
+active.--Herbert C. Howe.
+
+     [_If three active-members understand "Reduction Ascending,"
+     they will soon reduce the membership to a dozen or more._]
+
+256, _Newton, Upper Falls, Mass._ The past year has been one of
+gratifying progress. We number twelve. Our meetings are very
+interesting, each member giving an account of some object in his branch
+of study, often illustrating it by the specimen or describing some book
+he has been reading, or relating some recent personal experience. At the
+first meeting of each month a paper called _Gatherings_ is read,
+composed of original records of personal observations. Wishing to bring
+our Chapter and its work to the knowledge of our friends, we have held a
+series of socials at the home of one of our members. The first of the
+evening we have devoted to talks and essays by the members of the
+Chapter, and later we have played games, and amused ourselves in other
+ways. We find this plan very beneficial, and have already gained three
+new members and a present of books.--Mrs. J. M. H. Smith.
+
+     [_We commend this suggestive report to the earnest attention
+     of every Chapter._]
+
+257, _Plantsville, Ct._ We have made large additions to our collections.
+Our library also has been enlarged, and we have now nearly 100 volumes.
+We decide on the subject for each coming meeting in this way. Each
+member writes on a ballot the subject he would prefer. The ballots are
+then shaken in a hat, and the one drawn first is our subject. Moreover,
+the one whose ballot is successful must furnish a paper on that subject,
+and all the others bring short items on the same subject. We closed our
+last meeting by a collation, and singing by our glee club.--A. L. Ely,
+Box 219.
+
+260, _Mercer, Pa._ We have not been idle, and have quite a collection.
+We think every Chapter should keep a scrap-book for entering reports and
+clippings.--Mrs. H. M. Magoffin.
+
+272, _West Town, N. Y._--Most of us are attending school away from home.
+We therefore disband through the winter, and then reorganize for the
+summer vacation, and work as much as we can, for we have farm work to do
+besides. Still we can study as we work, and we do this. Our minerals are
+all labeled and mounted. We have about 200 birds' eggs, some of them
+quite rare. We pride ourselves on our insects. I think we have 300,
+still am not positive. Our botanical specimens number 200. The work we
+have done, though not very great, has done us a great amount of
+good.--William Evans, Sec.
+
+
+SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.
+
+                                             MANCHESTER, VT.
+
+     I am extremely anxious to experiment during the coming
+     season with the American silk-producing worms, not for the
+     purpose of producing raw silk, but for other reasons of
+     scientific and practical interest. I wish to learn the best
+     books for giving a knowledge of the habits of _Attacus
+     Cecropia_, _Polyphemus_, and the Promethean moths. I shall
+     be glad of any information regarding the best places to find
+     their cocoons. I should like to hear of the experience of
+     others in finding cocoons, and raising the moths. I have M.
+     Trouvelot's papers on the subject, Dr. Garlick's letters on
+     his experiments; also Dr. Stirling's, Prof. Riley's report
+     on Silk Production No. 11, Packard's "Our Common Insects,"
+     Sir John Lubbock's "Origin and Metamorphosis of Insects." I
+     should like the addresses of any parties who have cocoons of
+     the said moths to dispose of; and finally, information
+     regarding the success or failure of any who may have tried
+     the experiment of raising the worms.
+
+                                        Very truly yours,
+
+                                        C. F. ORVIS.
+
+     [_Mr. Orvis is a member of the A. A., has been for years
+     engaged in an important manufacturing business, and we trust
+     may obtain from "those who know," all the information he
+     desires._]
+
+
+EXCHANGES.
+
+Two thousand square-cut post-marks, all different, in a neat book; also
+1500 duplicates, for best offer in stone implements.--Laurie H. McNeill,
+Ch. 902, Mobile, Ala.
+
+Correspondence with amateur egg-collectors desired. Iowa
+preferred.--Oscar Clute, Jr., Iowa City, Iowa.
+
+American bird-skins and eggs (with data), for English. Also mounted
+microscopical pathological specimens. Lists exchanged.--Wm. D. Grier, 49
+Gloucester St., Boston, Mass.
+
+
+NEW CHAPTERS.
+
+_No._    _Name._            _No. of Members._      _Address._
+
+941     Hohokus, N. J. (A)          4       Mrs. R. Van Dien, Jr.
+942     Sioux Falls, Dakota (B)    10       Percy Edmison.
+943     Sancelito, Cal. (A)         7       A. J. Campbell, Box 31, Marin Co.
+944     Buffalo, N. Y. (L)         12       Nathan N. Block, 82 Norris Place.
+945     Baltimore, Md.              4       Maurice Straus, 225 Linden Ave.
+946     Seneca Falls (B)            5       Wm. Hopper.
+947     San Francisco, Cal. (J)     4       Miss Alice J. Ellis, 27 So. Park.
+948     Prairie Du Chien, Wis. (A)  7       Chas. Chase, Jr.
+949     New York, N. Y. (Z)         4       Fred Stanton, 420 W. 61st St.
+
+
+DISSOLVED.
+
+863     Providence, R. I. (E)               Frederic Gorham.
+362     Newport, R. I. (B)          4       Thomas Crosby, Jr.
+242     Philadelphia (I)                    J. F. Stevens.
+
+
+REORGANIZED.
+
+746     Helena, Montana (A)         8       Kurt Kleinschmidt, Box 292.
+ 68     Grand Junction, Iowa        2       Miss Sarah I. Smith.
+248     Richmond, Va. (A)          23       W. T. Terry, 109 E. Grace St.
+
+Address all communications for this department to the President of the
+A. A.,
+
+MR. HARLAN H. BALLARD,
+    Principal of Lenox Academy, Lenox, Mass.
+
+
+
+
+THE RIDDLE-BOX.
+
+
+As THIS number of ST. NICHOLAS goes to press nearly a month earlier than
+usual, the names of solvers of March puzzles can not appear until the
+issue of the June number.
+
+
+ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE APRIL NUMBER.
+
+
+AN EASTER REBUS.
+
+    Bid folly fly and sin depart;
+    Keep inviolate your heart;
+    And Easter lilies, pure and fair,
+    Will bud and bloom forever there.
+
+
+INVERTED PYRAMID. Across: 1. Depopulated. 2. Nominated. 3. Deluded. 4.
+Roses. 5. Ten. 6. D.
+
+
+ST. ANDREW'S CROSS OF DIAMONDS. I. 1. B. 2. Dem(and). 3. Dolor. 4.
+Belgium. 5. Moist. 6. Rut. 7. M. II. 1. M. 2. Ham. 3. Huron. 4. Marston.
+5. Motor. 6. Nor. 7. N. III 1. M. 2. Tim. 3. Talon. 4. Million. 5.
+Moist. 6. Not. 7. N. IV. 1. M. 2. Sam. 3. Sedan. 4. Madison. 5. Mason.
+6. Non. 7. N. V. 1. N. 2. Tam. 3. Titus. 4. Natural. 5. Murat. 6. Sat.
+7. L.
+
+
+WORD-SQUARES. I. 1. Racer. 2. Agave. 3. Canal. 4. Evade. 5. Relet. II.
+1. Cabal. 2. Above. 3. Bobea. 4. Avers. 5. Least. III. 1. Rabid. 2.
+Abide. 3. Bison. 4. Idols. 5. Dense.
+
+
+PI.
+
+    Spring, with that nameless pathos in the air
+    Which dwells with all things fair;
+    Spring, with her golden suns and silver rain,
+        Is with us once again.
+
+
+CENTRAL ACROSTIC. Arbor Day. Cross-words: 1. slAin. 2. stRew. 3. saBot.
+4. slOop. 5. stRap. 6. seDan. 7. smArt 8. slYly.
+
+
+HOUR-GLASS. Centrals, April fool. Cross-words: 1. TartArean. 2. reaPers.
+3. scRew. 4. vIe. 5. L. 6. aFt. 7. foOls. 8. limOsis. 9. inteLlect.
+
+
+MYTHOLOGICAL NUMERICAL ENIGMA.
+
+    I love to go in the capricious days
+    Of April, and hunt violets.
+
+
+CONNECTED DOUBLE SQUARES. Upper left-hand square, Across: 1. Houp. 2.
+Alto. 3. Ties. 4. Host. Upper right-hand square. Across: 1. Pent. 2.
+Otoe. 3. Suet. 4. Tile. Lower left-hand square, Across: 1. Host. 2.
+Able. 3. Sour. 4. Hern. Lower right-hand square. Across: 1. Tile. 2.
+Eden. 3. Read. 4. Naps.
+
+
+BAGATELLE. 1. More haste, less speed. 2. Medicines were not meant to
+live on. 3. He who hides can find. 4. Pride goeth before a fall. 5. The
+absent party is always faulty. 6. A crowd is not company. 7. Penny wise,
+pound foolish. Key-words: haSte, meAnt, hiDes, prIde, paRty, crOwd,
+peNny.
+
+Central letters, sadiron.
+
+
+MOTHER GOOSE PUZZLE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This puzzle is based upon one of the Mother Goose rhymes. The pictures
+represent the last word of the six lines of the verse. What is the
+verse?
+
+
+NUMERICAL ENIGMA.
+
+I am composed of seventy-six letters, and am a quotation from "Love's
+Labor Lost."
+
+My 63-21-58-31 is elevated. My 28-1-42-35 is headstrong. My
+72-45-14-62-25 is on every breakfast table. My 2-19-52 is a fashionable
+kind of trimming. My 74-40-55-50-22 is a glossy fabric. My 33-9-29-8 was
+the nationality of Othello. My 38-68-70-17-12-76 is the name of the
+67-3-49-61 of one of Shakspere's most celebrated plays. My 6-43-5-26 is
+location. My 13-75-11-46 is mature. My 30-60-47-54-41 is what often
+follows a chill. My 53-36-4-24 is a mixture. My 16-39-71-20-66 is used
+in bread-making. My 37-73-65-7-23-27-69-18-56-51 is an allurement. My
+32-57-10-15-64-44-59-34-48 is a school.
+
+                                        HAROLD J. HARDING.
+
+
+PI.
+
+    Ta emits a gaftarrn zebree mecos toalfing yb,
+    Dan gribsn, uyo wkon ton hwy,
+    A lenegif sa hewn agree wordsc twaai
+        Freoeb a leapac tage
+    Meos dronswou gapeant; dan ouy scacer loudw tarts,
+    Fi form a cheeb's thear
+    A buel-yede Drady, pepsting froth, soldhu ays,
+        "Hedlob em! I ma Mya!"
+
+
+CENTRAL ACROSTIC.
+
+Each of the words described contains the same number of letters; the
+central letters, transposed, will spell the name of the heroine of one
+of Sir Walter Scott's novels.
+
+1. Was conspicuous. 2. A hard covering. 3. A citadel. 4. A box for
+fruit. 5. To ward off. 6. A sudden fright.
+
+                                        AVIS.
+
+
+GREEK CROSS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+UPPER SQUARE: 1. To begin. 2. A small drum. 3. Over. 4. Wanders. 5. A
+lock of hair.
+
+LEFT-HAND SQUARE: 1. A region. 2. A report. 3. Plentiful. 4. Plants of
+the cabbage family. 5. A lock of hair.
+
+CENTRAL SQUARE: 1. A lock of hair. 2. A black bird. 3. To elude. 4. A
+plant which grows in wet grounds. 5. To scoff.
+
+RIGHT-HAND SQUARE: 1. To scoff. 2. Grand. 3. Declined. 4. A mournful
+poem. 5. To color anew.
+
+LOWER SQUARE: 1. To scoff. 2. Mother of pearl. 3. Applause. 4. One of
+the Muses. 5. To furnish with a new upper part.
+
+                                        "HOMER."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+A DECORATION-DAY PUZZLE.
+
+The words forming this numerical enigma are pictured instead of
+described. The answer, consisting of a hundred and one letters, is a
+four-line verse by Bayard Taylor.
+
+
+TRIPLE ACROSTIC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+ACROSS: 1. Pertaining to a monarch. 2. Entering without right. 3.
+Unmarried women. 4. Unfaithful. Primals, a vapor; centrals, a brown
+coating; finals, in a smaller degree. Primals, centrals, and finals
+combined, unsuspicious.
+
+                                        F. L. F.
+
+
+INVERTED PYRAMID.
+
+ACROSS: 1. Measurement. 2. Consumes. 3. A chemical substance. 4. A
+sheltered place. 5. In pyramid. Downward: 1. In pyramid. 2. Two-thirds
+of a girl's name. 3. Mankind. 4. Bad. 5. Celebrated. 6. Certain. 7.
+Wrath. 8. A bone. 9. In inverted.
+
+                                        F. L. F.
+
+
+CONNECTED SQUARES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I. UPPER SQUARE: 1. Pertaining to a certain nymph. 2. A disease peculiar
+to children. 3. A dwelling-place. 4. The European blackbird. 5. A charm.
+
+II. LEFT-HAND SQUARE: 1. Burned wood. 2. A continued endeavor to gain
+possession. 3. The inner part. 4. The lesser white heron. 5. A
+pugilistic encounter.
+
+III. RIGHT-HAND SQUARE: 1. An expression of contempt. 2. A small column
+without base or capital. 3. Parts of shoes. 4. To assign. 5. To
+squander.
+
+IV. LOWER SQUARE: 1. A term used in playing with balls. 2. A sacred
+vestment. 3. Proper. 4. A fine yellow clay. 5. A measure.
+
+Centrals, reading downward (eleven letters), an architect who builds
+houses. Centrals, reading across, a mechanical contrivance common in
+cotton-mills.
+
+                                        "L. LOS REGNI."
+
+
+FINAL ACROSTIC.
+
+Each of the words described contains the same number of letters. The
+primals will all be of the same letter; the finals will spell a name
+famous in history.
+
+1. A small shell-fish. 2. An emblem. 3. A common plant having a scarlet
+blossom. 4. To weaken. 5. A specter. 6. An afternoon nap. 7. A leap. 8.
+Unassuming. 9. A violent effort. 10. Irony. 11. A channel.
+
+                                        "JUVENTUS."
+
+
+WORD-SQUARES IN DIAMONDS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I. Diamond: 1. In soles. 2. To touch lightly. 3. Satisfies. 4. A
+beverage. 5. In soles. Included word-square: 1. To touch lightly. 2.
+Consumed. 3. A beverage.
+
+II. Diamond: 1. In strife. 2. To touch lightly. 3. Much talked of in
+railway offices. 4. An inclosure. 5. In strife. Included word-square: 1.
+To touch lightly. 2. A verb. 3. An inclosure.
+
+III. Diamond: 1. In youthful. 2. The cry of a certain animal. 3. A
+mythical being. 4. Skill. 5. In youthful. Included word-square: 1. The
+cry of a certain animal. 2. Gaseous substance. 3. Skill.
+
+                                        "ARTHUR PENDENNIS."
+
+
+HOUR-GLASS.
+
+The central letters, reading downward, spell the name of a very
+prominent personage.
+
+CROSS-WORDS: 1. Pleasing to the taste. 2. A substance similar to
+varnish. 3. An imp. 4. The name of a character in "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
+5. In decorations. 6. Sick. 7. Resources. 8. To call by the wrong name.
+9. Gives too many doses to.
+
+                                        "D. I. VERSITY."
+
+
+WORD-SQUARE.
+
+The letters of each of the words described may all be found in the word
+NAMER.
+
+1. A girl's name. 2. Close at hand. 3. A cognomen. 4. Surface.
+
+                                        "DENZIL ELINOR."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and
+Girls, Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7., by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 32622-8.txt or 32622-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/6/2/32622/
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
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diff --git a/32622-8.zip b/32622-8.zip
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@@ -0,0 +1,6719 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of St. Nicholas, Vol. XIII., No. 7., May, 1886.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+    p {  margin-top: .75em;
+         text-align: justify;
+         margin-bottom: .75em;
+         }
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+         text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+         clear: both;
+         }
+    hr { width: 33%;
+	 margin-top: 2em;
+	 margin-bottom: 2em;
+         margin-left: auto;
+         margin-right: auto;
+         clear: both;
+       }
+
+    table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;}
+
+    body{margin-left: 10%;
+         margin-right: 10%;
+        }
+
+    .pagenum  { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+            /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+                position: absolute;
+                left: 92%;
+                font-size: smaller;
+                text-align: right;
+              } /* page numbers */
+
+    .linenum  {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */
+    .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    img.cap { float:left;
+           margin: 0 0.5em 0 0;
+           position:relative; }
+     p.cap_1 { text-indent: -.5em; }
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+     div.drop p { margin-bottom:0; }
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+
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+    .footnotes        {border: dashed 1px;}
+    .footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+    .footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+    .fnanchor         {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;}
+
+    .poem             {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;}
+    .poem br          {display: none;}
+    .poem .stanza     {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;}
+    .poem span.i0     {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    .poem span.i2     {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    .poem span.i4     {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    .poem span.i10     {display: block; margin-left: 5em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    .poem span.i22     {display: block; margin-left: 11em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
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+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls,
+Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7., by Various
+
+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: St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7.
+       An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Mary Mapes Dodge
+
+Release Date: May 31, 2010 [EBook #32622]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<h1>ST. NICHOLAS</h1>
+
+<h4>An</h4>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Illustrated Magazine</span></h4>
+
+<h2><span class="smcap">For Young Folks.</span></h2>
+
+
+<h4>CONDUCTED BY</h4>
+
+<h3>MARY MAPES DODGE.</h3>
+
+<h3>VOLUME XIII.</h3>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Part II., May, 1886, to October, 1886.</span></h4>
+
+<p class="center">
+THE CENTURY CO. NEW YORK.<br />
+F. WARNE &amp; CO., LONDON.<br />
+<br />
+Copyright, 1886, by <span class="smcap">The Century Co.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">The de Vinne Press.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>ST. NICHOLAS:</h2>
+
+<h3>VOLUME XIII.</h3>
+
+<h3>PART II.</h3>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Six Months&mdash;May, 1886, to October, 1886.</span></h3>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CONTENTS OF PART II., VOLUME XIII.</h2>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>PAGE.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">About Breathing</span></td><td align='left'><i>Hellen Clark Swazey</i></td><td align='right'>946</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Adventure at the Flume, Our.</span> (Illustrated).</td><td align='left'><i>W. L</i></td><td align='right'>844</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ambitious Kangaroo, The.</span> Jingle</td><td align='left'><i>A. R. Wells</i></td><td align='right'>853</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Amusing the Baby.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)</td><td align='left'><i>Eva Lovett Carson</i></td><td align='right'>706</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Army, An.</span> Verses</td><td align='left'><i>A. C</i></td><td align='right'>757</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Art and Artists, Stories of.</span> English Painters. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Clara Erskine Clement</i></td><td align='right'>803</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Aunt Deborah's Lesson.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>G. H. Baskette</i></td><td align='right'>694</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Autumn to Spring.</span> Poem</td><td align='left'><i>Edith M. Thomas</i></td><td align='right'>883</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Baby's Dimple, The.</span> Poem</td><td align='left'><i>William H. Hayne</i></td><td align='right'>731</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ballad of Base-ball, A.</span> Verses</td><td align='left'><i>I. D</i></td><td align='right'>774</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Belated Fairy,</span> A. Picture, drawn by Mary A. Lathbury</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>693</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Blossom-time.</span> Poem</td><td align='left'><i>Laura E. Richards</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_518">518</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Boat-building.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>George J. Manson</i></td><td align='right'>698</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Bopeep.</span> Poem. (Illustrated by Mary Hallock Foote)</td><td align='left'><i>Sydney Dayre</i></td><td align='right'>756</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Boys' Camp</span>, A. (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)</td><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>607</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Boys' Paradise, The.</span> (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)</td><td align='left'><i>Elizabeth Balch</i></td><td align='right'>604</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Brownies at Base-ball, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Palmer Cox</i></td><td align='right'>943</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Brownies at Lawn Tennis, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Palmer Cox</i></td><td align='right'>857</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Brownies in the Menagerie, The.</span> (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Palmer Cox</i></td><td align='right'>707</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Brownies on Roller Skates, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Palmer Cox</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_543">543</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Bubble Bowling.</span> (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Adelia B. Beard</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_540">540</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Butterfly and the Bee, The.</span> Verse</td><td align='left'><i>Edith M. Thomas</i></td><td align='right'>599</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Captain Jack's Fourth of July Kite.</span> (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Daniel C. Beard</i></td><td align='right'>702</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Caricature Plant, The.</span> (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)</td><td align='left'><i>.M. A</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_522">522</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Children of the Sun, The.</span> Poem. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Arthur Wentworth Eaton</i></td><td align='right'>770</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Children's Exhibition, The.</span> (Illustrated by E. J. Meeker)</td><td align='left'><i>Charles Barnard</i></td><td align='right'>916</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Child's Fancy, A.</span> Poem</td><td align='left'><i>Frank Dempster Sherman</i></td><td align='right'>645</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Considerate Farmer Jones.</span> Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>843</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Crafty Crab, The. Jingle.</span> (Illustrated and engrossed by R. B. Birch)</td><td align='left'><i>Isabel Frances Bellows</i></td><td align='right'>845</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Crew of the Captain's Gig, The.</span> (Illustrated by G. W. Edwards)</td><td align='left'><i>Rev. Charles R. Talbot</i></td><td align='right'>899</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Daisy-Song.</span> Verses</td><td align='left'><i>Grace Denio Litchfield</i></td><td align='right'>662</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Dangerous Dog, The. Jingle.</span> (Illustrated and engrossed by R. B. Birch)</td><td align='left'><i>A. R. Wells</i></td><td align='right'>837</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Difference of Opinion, A.</span> Verses</td><td align='left'><i>Lilian Dynevor Rice</i></td><td align='right'>679</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Dog Stories, St. Nicholas.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_526">526</a>, 624</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">Do You Like Butter, Bossy</span>?" Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>791</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Duel With a Stork, A.</span> Pictures, drawn by Frederick J. Hibbert</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>754</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Fishes and Their Young.</span> (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)</td><td align='left'><i>C. F. Holder</i></td><td align='right'>600<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Fly-fishing for Trout.</span> (Illustrated by J. H. Cocks, Henry Sandham, and others)</td><td align='left'><i>Ripley Hitchcock</i></td><td align='right'>655</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Fresh from a Dip in the Breakers.</span> Picture, drawn by Mary Hallock Foote</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>670</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Frog in the Shoe, The.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated by Boz)</td><td align='left'><i>Aunt Fanny Barrow</i></td><td align='right'>791</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Fun in High Life.</span> Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes</td><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>935</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">George Washington.</span> (Illustrated by H. A. Ogden and others)</td><td align='left'><i>Horace E. Scudder</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_505">505</a>, 590, 663, 758, 838, 908</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Giraffe, The.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Gerrish Eldridge</i></td><td align='right'>768</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Girls' Tricycle Club and its Run Down the Cape, The.</span> (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)</td><td align='left'><i>E. Vinton Blake</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_494">494</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Grandpapa Rosebush.</span> Verses. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Laura E. Richards</i></td><td align='right'>583</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Great Spring-board Act, The.</span> Picture, drawn by T. J. Nicholl</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>677</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Handiwork of Some Clever School-boys, The.</span> (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>J. Abdon Donnegan</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_547">547</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Her Picture.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by Laura C. Hills)</td><td align='left'><i>Anna M. Pratt</i></td><td align='right'>942</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Highly Colored.</span> Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>869</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">How Conrad Lost his School-books.</span> (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Walter Bobbett</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_514">514</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">How Doth the Little Busy Bee?</span>" Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>757</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Hurly-burly.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated by L. Hopkins)</td><td align='left'><i>Emma Mortimer White</i></td><td align='right'>871</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">If.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>E. A. B.</i></td><td align='right'>703</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">In the Garden.</span> Verses.</td><td align='left'><i>Bessie Chandler</i></td><td align='right'>898</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Inverted.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated by W. T. Peters)</td><td align='left'><i>John B. Tabb</i></td><td align='right'>828</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">It was a Fair Artist Named May.</span>" Jingle. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>O. Herford</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_501">501</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Japanese Babies.</span> Verses. (Illustrated and engrossed by R. B. Birch)</td><td align='left'><i>Anna C. Vincent</i></td><td align='right'>948</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Jingles.</span></td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_501">501</a>, 613, 630, 681, 687, 697, 703, 733, 748, 785, 791, 797, 828, 837, 845, 853, 949</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Jolly Old Knight, The.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Oliver Herford</i></td><td align='right'>748</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Keeping the Cream of One's Reading.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Margaret Meredith</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_537">537</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Kelp-gatherers, The.</span> (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)</td><td align='left'><i>J. T. Trowbridge</i></td><td align='right'>584, 687, 776, 847,929</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Knickerbocker Boy, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by Jessie McDermott)</td><td align='left'><i>Caroline S. King</i></td><td align='right'>542</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Lace-leaf, a Search for The.</span> (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)</td><td align='left'><i>Alice May</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_518">518</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">La Fayette.</span> (Illustrated by F. H. Lungren)</td><td align='left'><i>Mrs. Eugenia M. Hodge</i></td><td align='right'>643</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Lake George Capsize, A.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Edward Eggleston</i></td><td align='right'>829</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Last Cruise of the "Slug," The.</span> (Illustrated by D. Clinton Peters)</td><td align='left'><i>Thomas Edwin Turner</i></td><td align='right'>671</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Lesson in Geography, A.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by Jessie McDermott)</td><td align='left'><i>M. B. Jordan</i></td><td align='right'>870</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Little Boys Who Looked Alike, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)</td><td align='left'><i>Malcolm Douglas</i></td><td align='right'>928</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Little Lord Fauntleroy.</span> (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)</td><td align='left'><i>Frances Hodgson Burnett</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_502">502</a>, 564, 646, 734, 822, 884</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Little Miss Mabel.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Daisy Jones</i></td><td align='right'>613</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Little Seamstress, A.</span> Verse.</td><td align='left'><i>Mary E. Wilkins</i></td><td align='right'>733</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Man Overboard!</span> (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>H. A. Johnson</i></td><td align='right'>775</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Matter-of-fact Cinderella, A.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Annie A. Preston</i></td><td align='right'>860</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">May Song.</span> Poem. (Illustrated and engrossed by Laura C. Hills)</td><td align='left'><i>Laura E. Richards</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_492">492</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Monster, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Maria I. Hammond</i></td><td align='right'>732</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Morning-glories.</span> Poem.</td><td align='left'><i>Laura Ledyard Pope</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_501">501</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Morra.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Susan Anna Brown</i></td><td align='right'>846</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Mother's Idea.</span></td><td align='left'><i>A. M. Platt</i></td><td align='right'>613</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Nan's Revolt.</span> (Illustrated by Jessie Curtis Shepherd)</td><td align='left'><i>Rose Lattimore Alling</i></td><td align='right'>682, 749, 816, 896</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ned's Buttercup.</span> Verses.</td><td align='left'><i>Bessie Chandler</i></td><td align='right'>941</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">New Theory, A.</span> Verse.</td><td align='left'><i>Bessie Chandler</i></td><td align='right'>785</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">New View of the Moon, A.</span> Verses.</td><td align='left'><i>Eva Lovett Carson</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_551">551</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">No More School.</span> Picture, drawn by Rose Mueller</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>571</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Notional Nightingale, The.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated by L. Hopkins)</td><td align='left'><i>A. R. Wells</i></td><td align='right'>748</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Number One.</span> Verses.</td><td align='left'><i>Charles R. Talbot</i></td><td align='right'>705</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">October.</span> Poem. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Susan Hartley</i></td><td align='right'>890</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">Oh, Where are You Going?</span>" Jingle. (Illustrated by E. Sylvester)</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>869<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Old Time Arms and Armor.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>E. S. Brooks</i></td><td align='right'>936</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Once-on-a-time.</span> Poem.</td><td align='left'><i>Emily Huntington Miller</i></td><td align='right'>563</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">On the Willey-brook Trestle.</span> (Illustrated by Henry Sandham)</td><td align='left'><i>Willis Boyd Allen</i></td><td align='right'>764</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Owl, the Bat, and the Bumble-bee, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by De Cost Smith)</td><td align='left'><i>Laura E Richards</i></td><td align='right'>747</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Personally Conducted.</span> (Illustrated by E. J. Meeker and others)</td><td align='left'><i>Frank R. Stockton</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Queen Paris.</td><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>572</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Pictures.</span></td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_525">525</a>, 571, 637, 670, 677, 693, 701, 715, 738, 754, 757, 791, 798, 843, 856, 869, 935, 947</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Pussies' Coats, The.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated by H. P. Share)</td><td align='left'><i>Esther B. Tiffany</i></td><td align='right'>687</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Puzzled Bessie.</span> Picture, drawn by Albert E. Sterner</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>947</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Puzzled Papa, A.</span> Verses.</td><td align='left'><i>M. L. B. Branch</i></td><td align='right'>603</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Quaint Little Man, A.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>A. Brennan</i></td><td align='right'>949</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ready for Business; or, Choosing an Occupation.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>George J. Manson</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Boat-building.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>698</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Recipe, A.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Mary A. Lathbury</i></td><td align='right'>629</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Regatta. A.</span> Game. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Frank Bellew</i></td><td align='right'>783</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Robin's Return.</span> Poem.</td><td align='left'><i>Edith M. Thomas</i></td><td align='right'>612</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rock-a-bye.</span> Poem.</td><td align='left'><i>Mary N. Prescott</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_535">535</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rocky Mountain Hermit, A.</span> (Illustrated by J. C. Beard and others)</td><td align='left'><i>Alfred Terry Bacon</i></td><td align='right'>723, 832</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rope Yarn Spun by an Old Sailor, A.</span> (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>C. W. Miller</i></td><td align='right'>786</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Royal Fish, A.</span> (Illustrated by W. L. Sheppard, Henry Sandham, and others)</td><td align='left'><i>Ripley Hitchcock</i></td><td align='right'>739</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Sad Case, A.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by Mary Richardson)</td><td align='left'><i>Margaret Vandegrift</i></td><td align='right'>733</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Sailor Boy, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Wallace E. Mather</i></td><td align='right'>790</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Salmon: A Royal Fish.</span> (Illustrated by W. L. Sheppard, Henry Sandham, and others)</td><td align='left'><i>Ripley Hitchcock</i></td><td align='right'>739</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Satchel, The.</span> (Illustrated by J. E. Kelly)</td><td align='left'><i>Tudor Jenks</i></td><td align='right'>616</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Search for the Lace-leaf, A.</span> (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)</td><td align='left'><i>Alice May</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_518">518</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Sea-urchin, The.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated and engrossed by R. B. Birch)</td><td align='left'><i>Isabel Frances Bellows</i></td><td align='right'>785</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Shakspere when a Boy.</span> (Illustrated by Alfred Parsons)</td><td align='left'><i>Rose Kingsley</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_483">483</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Smallest Circus in the World, The.</span> (Illustrated by J. G. Francis)</td><td align='left'><i>C. F. Holder</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_533">533</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Some Curious Mariners.</span> (Illustrated by J. C. Beard and J. M. Nugent)</td><td align='left'><i>C. F. Holder</i></td><td align='right'>891</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Song of Summer, A.</span> Poem.</td><td align='left'><i>Emma C. Dowd</i></td><td align='right'>671</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Spring Beauties.</span> Poem. (Illustrated by A. Brennan)</td><td align='left'><i>Helen Gray Cone</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_513">513</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">St. Nicholas Dog Stories.</span> (Illustrated)</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Clever Little Yellow Dog</td><td align='left'><i>John R. Coryell</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_526">526</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Dog that Could Count</td><td align='left'><i>E. P. Roe</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_529">529</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Clever Sheep Dog</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_530">530</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Story of Two Buckets</td><td align='left'><i>Charlotte M. Vaile</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_530">530</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Left-field of the Lincoln Nine</td><td align='left'><i>C. F. Holder</i></td><td align='right'>624</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Dog that Could Climb Trees</td><td align='left'><i>C. F. Holder</i></td><td align='right'>626</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Sociable, Sensible Dog</td><td align='left'><i>E. P. Roe</i></td><td align='right'>626</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Dog whose Feelings were Hurt</td><td align='left'><i>E. P. Roe</i></td><td align='right'>628</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Dog that Repaid a Trick</td><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>628</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mephistopheles</td><td align='left'><i>Anna Gardner</i></td><td align='right'>628</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Stories of Art and Artists.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;English Painters. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Clara Erskine Clement</i></td><td align='right'>803</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Tea-party, A.</span> Verses. (Illustrated and engrossed by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Margaret Johnson</i></td><td align='right'>865</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Tell-tale Barn, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Esther B. Tiffany</i></td><td align='right'>924</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">The Biggest of Birds.</span>" Jingle. (Illustrated G. R. Halm)</td><td align='left'><i>E. E. Sterns</i></td><td align='right'>703</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Theoretic Turtle, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>A. R. Wells</i></td><td align='right'>681</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">This Little Pig Went To Market.</span>" Picture, drawn by Rose Mueller</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>701</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">This Seat Reserved.</span>" Picture.</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'>856</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Three Velvety Bees.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by F. E. Gifford)</td><td align='left'><i>M. M. D.</i></td><td align='right'>654</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Timothy Timid.</span> Jingle. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>A. Brennan</i></td><td align='right'>697</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Tippie and Jimmie.</span> (Illustrated by H. P. Share)</td><td align='left'><i>Mary L. French</i></td><td align='right'>705</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Toddlekins and Trot.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by Laura C. Hills)</td><td align='left'><i>Anna M. Pratt</i></td><td align='right'>843</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Trout, Fly-fishing for.</span> (Illustrated by J. H. Cocks, Henry Sandham, E. J. Meeker, and others)</td><td align='left'><i>Ripley Hitchcock</i></td><td align='right'>655<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Under the Snow.</span> Poem.</td><td align='left'><i>Lilian Dynevor Rice</i></td><td align='right'>815</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Vegetable Clothing.</span> (Illustrated by D. C. Beard)</td><td align='left'><i>C. J. Russell</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_523">523</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Venetian Marquetry.</span> (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Charles G. Leland</i></td><td align='right'>866</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Waiting for a Cold Wave.</span> Picture, drawn by C. Weaver</td><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>738</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Weasel and the Adder, The.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Gerrish Eldridge</i></td><td align='right'>907</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">What Bertie Saw in the Flowers.</span> Poem. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>L. G. R.</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_536">536</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">What it Was.</span> Verses. (Illustrated by F. E. Gifford)</td><td align='left'><i>Malcolm Douglas</i></td><td align='right'>701</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">When Shakspere was a Boy.</span> (Illustrated by Alfred Parsons)</td><td align='left'><i>Rose Kingsley</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_483">483</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Wild Flowers, The.</span> Verses. (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Jessie Penniman</i></td><td align='right'>603</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Wild Hunters.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>John R. Coryell</i></td><td align='right'>681</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Winged Seeds.</span> Poem.</td><td align='left'><i>Helen Gray Cone</i></td><td align='right'>571</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Woe to the Foreign Dolly!</span> Picture, drawn by R. Blum</td><td align='left'></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_525">525</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Wonders of the Alphabet.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='left'><i>Henry Eckford</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_538">538</a>, 621, 677, 771, 854, 925</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Work and Play for Young Folk.</span> (Illustrated.)</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Rope Yarn Spun by an Old Sailor. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>C. W. Miller</i></td><td align='right'>786</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Venetian Marquetry. (Illustrated by the Author)</td><td align='left'><i>Charles G. Leland</i></td><td align='right'>866</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<h3>DEPARTMENTS.</h3>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">For Very Little Folk.</span> (Illustrated.)</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Riddles.</td><td align='left'><i>M. M. D.</i></td><td align='right'>630</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Pretty Painted Bridges" }</td><td rowspan="2"><i>E. E. Sterns</i></td><td rowspan="2">630</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"White Sheep, White Sheep" }</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"On Dormio Hill" }</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A Letter from a Little Boy</td><td align='left'><i>Ralph Ranlet</i></td><td align='right'>710</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Dude" and the Cats</td><td align='right'></td><td align='right'>711</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Riddles for Very Little Folk</td><td align='left'><i>E. E. Sterns</i></td><td align='right'>950</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Plays and Music.</span></h3>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Easter Carol</td><td align='left'><i>William E. Ashmall</i></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_546">546</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Jack-in-the-Pulpit.</span> (Illustrated.)</h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Introduction&mdash;"Everything is Lovely, and the Goose Hangs High"&mdash;Girls! To the
+Rescue!&mdash;About Little Lord Fauntleroy&mdash;Fishing for Necklaces&mdash;A Suggestion to
+the Bottled Fish&mdash;The Newspaper Plant (illustrated)&mdash;One More Living
+Barometer, <a href="#Page_552">552</a>; A Bumble Grumble&mdash;Pretty Dusty Wings&mdash;Trees that
+Rain&mdash;Shooting Stars&mdash;Coasting in August&mdash;More about Turtles&mdash;A Fish that
+Weaves its Nest&mdash;A Clever Humming-bird (illustrated), 632; Introduction&mdash;The
+Seventeen-year Locust (illustrated)&mdash;The Great Lubber Locust
+(illustrated)&mdash;The Dog and the Queer Grasshoppers (illustrated), 712;
+Introduction&mdash;Longfellow's First Letter&mdash;The Water-snake as a Fisherman&mdash;More
+Animal Weather-Prophets&mdash;A Useful Bird with an Aristocratic Name&mdash;A Wise
+Humming-bird&mdash;The Pitcher Plant (illustrated), 792; Introduction&mdash;Poor
+Lark!&mdash;Those Mocking-birds Again&mdash;A Living Island (illustrated)&mdash;Wrong Names
+for Things&mdash;Who can Answer This? 872; Introduction&mdash;A Perfectly Quiet Day&mdash;How
+He Proved It&mdash;Walking Without Legs&mdash;A Queer Sunshade (illustrated)&mdash;A Queer
+Jumble&mdash;That Dear Little Lord, 952.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Agassiz Association.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_557">557</a>, 636, 717, 794, 874, 957</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Letter-box.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_554">554</a>, 634, 714, 796, 876, 954</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Riddle-box.</span> (Illustrated)</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_559">559</a>, 639, 719, 799, 879, 959</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Editorial Notes</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_554">554</a>, 634</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Frontispieces.</span></h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In Spring-time&mdash;When Shakspere was a Boy," by L&eacute;on Moran, facing <a href="#front">Title-page
+of Volume</a>&mdash;"A June Morning," by E. C. Held, facing page 563&mdash;"La Fayette and
+the British Ambassador," by F. H. Lungren, facing page 643&mdash;"The Captain and
+the Captain's Mate," by Mary Hallock Foote, facing page 723&mdash;"The
+Connoisseurs," after a painting by Sir Edwin Landseer, facing page
+803&mdash;"Martha Washington," from an unfinished portrait by Gilbert Stuart,
+facing page 883.</p></div>
+
+<p><a name="front" id="front"></a></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 468px;">
+<img src="images/illus482.jpg" width="468" height="650" alt="IN SPRING-TIME&mdash;WHEN SHAKSPERE WAS A BOY.
+
+(SEE PAGE 490.)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">IN SPRING-TIME&mdash;WHEN SHAKSPERE WAS A BOY.<br />
+
+(SEE PAGE 490.)</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[Pg 483]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ST. NICHOLAS.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Vol. XIII.</span> MAY, 1886. <span class="smcap">No. 7.</span></h3>
+
+<h4>[Copyright, 1886, by <span class="smcap">The</span> CENTURY CO.]</h4>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus483.jpg" width="650" height="438" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Rose Kingsley.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>On Henley street, in quiet Stratford town, there stands an old
+half-timbered house. The panels between the dark beams are of
+soft-colored yellow plaster. The windows are filled with little diamond
+panes; and in one of the upper rooms they are guarded with fine wire
+outside the old glass, which is misty with innumerable names scratched
+all over it. Poets and princes, wise men and foolish, have scrawled
+their names after a silly fashion, on windows, wall, and ceiling of that
+oak-floored room, because, on the 22d of April, 1564, a baby was born
+there&mdash;the son of John and Mary Shakspere. And on the following
+Wednesday, April 26, the baby was carried down to the old church beside
+the sleepy Avon and baptized by the name of William.</p>
+
+<p>Little did John Shakspere and the gossips dream, when the baby William's
+name was duly inscribed in the register-book with its corners and clasps
+of embossed brass, that he was destined to become England's greatest
+poet. Little did they dream, honest folk, that the old market town and
+the house on Henley street and the meadows across the river, covered in
+that pleasant April month with cowslips and daisies and "lady-smocks all
+silver-white," would become sacred ground to hundreds of thousands of
+people from all quarters of the globe, who should come, year by year, on
+reverent pilgrimage to Shakspere's birthplace.</p>
+
+<p>The baby grew up as most babies do; and when he was two and a half years
+old, a little brother Gilbert was born. As we walk through the streets
+to-day, we can fancy the little lads toddling about the town together,
+while father John was minding his glove and wool trade at the old house.
+John Shakspere, in those early days, was a well-to-do man. He was a
+chamberlain of the borough when little Gilbert was born; and in 1568 he
+was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_484" id="Page_484">[Pg 484]</a></span> elected High Bailiff, or Mayor, of Stratford, although he, in
+common with many of his fellow-burgesses, could not write his own name.
+He had land, too, at Snitterfield, where his father had lived; and his
+wife, Mary Arden, was the owner of Ashbies, the farm at Wilmcote, hard
+by.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;">
+<img src="images/illus484.jpg" width="550" height="429" alt="MARY ARDEN&#39;S HOUSE AT WILMCOTE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MARY ARDEN&#39;S HOUSE AT WILMCOTE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But, though the parents were illiterate, they knew the value of a good
+education. The Free Grammar School had been refounded a few years before
+by Edward VI. And although there is no actual record of his school days,
+we may take it as certain that little Will Shakspere was sent to the
+Free School when about seven years old, as we know his brother Gilbert
+was, a little later. The old Grammar School still stands; and boys still
+learn their lessons in the self-same room with the high pitched roof and
+oaken beams, where little Will Shakspere studied his "A, B, C-book," and
+got his earliest notions of Latin. But during part of Shakspere's school
+days the schoolroom was under repair; and boys and master&mdash;Walter Roche
+by name&mdash;migrated for a while to the Guild Chapel next door. And this
+was surely in the poet's mind when, in later years, he talked of a
+"pedant who keeps a school i' the church."</p>
+
+<p>All boys learned their Latin then from two well-known books&mdash;the
+"Accidence" and the "Sententi&aelig; Pueriles." And that William was no
+exception to the rule we may see by translations from the latter in
+several of his plays, and by an account, in one of his plays, of Master
+Page's examination in the "Accidence." An old desk which came from the
+Grammar School and stood there in Shakspere's time is shown at the
+birthplace. And when we look at it we wonder what sort of a boy little
+William was&mdash;whether his future greatness made a mark in any way during
+his school days; whether that conical forehead of his stood him in good
+stead as he learned his Latin Grammar; whether he was quiet and
+studious, or merry and mischievous; whether he hid dormice and apples
+and birds' eggs in his desk, and peeped at them during school hours;
+whether he got into scrapes and was whipped. Just think of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[Pg 485]</a></span> Shakspere
+getting a whipping! No doubt he often did. Masters in those days were
+not greater, but rather less, respecters of persons than they are now,
+and they believed very firmly in the adage which is going out of
+fashion, that to spare the rod is to spoil the child. So we may think of
+little Will Shakspere coming out of the Grammar School and passing the
+old Guild Chapel and the Falcon Inn with two little red fists crammed
+into two little red and streaming eyes, and going home to mother Mary in
+Henley street to be comforted and coddled and popped down on the settle
+in the wide chimney corner, with some dainty, dear to the heart of small
+boys who got into trouble three hundred years ago just as they do now.
+Let us hope his cake was not like one he describes as "dough on both
+sides."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;">
+<img src="images/illus485.jpg" width="461" height="450" alt="THE LARGE SCHOOLROOM IN THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL AT
+STRATFORD." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE LARGE SCHOOLROOM IN THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL AT
+STRATFORD.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But I fancy that lessons bore a very small part in Will Shakspere's
+education. He certainly never knew much Latin; but he knew all about
+country things as only a country-bred boy can know about them. He and
+Gilbert must have run many a time to Ashbies, their mother's farm at
+Wilmcote, and watched the oxen plowing in the heavy clay fields; and
+cried, perhaps, as children do now "as the butcher takes away the calf";
+and played with the shepherd's "bob-tailed cur"; and gossiped with
+Christopher Sly, who could tell them all manner of wonderful tales, for
+had he not been peddler, card-maker, bear-herd, "and now by present
+profession a tinker"?</p>
+
+<p>They must have listened to their father and their uncle Henry up at the
+big farm close to Snitterfield church (where Henry Shakspere lived) as
+the two men discussed the price of a yoke of oxen at Stratford or
+Warwick fair, or debated whether they should "sow the head-land with
+wheat,&mdash;with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[Pg 486]</a></span> red wheat, Davy,"<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> or grumbled over the "smith's note
+for shoeing and plough-irons," or told the latest turn in the quarrel
+between "William Visor of Woncot" and "Clement Perkes of the Hill." Very
+likely the little hazel-eyed boys took William Visor's part, though they
+wisely kept their opinions to themselves, since small boys in that
+period were not allowed the liberty of speech they enjoy in these
+degenerate times. William Visor was a neighbor of the Ardens, and
+possibly a friend of "Marian Hackett, the fat ale-wife of Wincot"; for
+Wincot, Woncot, and Wilmcote are all the same place. Or perhaps the
+young lads sided with Clement Perkes; for the Hill where he lived at
+Weston was known as Cherry Orchard Farm, a name full of tempting
+suggestions to little boys. And we know that Shakspere, like many less
+wise people, was fond of "ripe red cherries." He mentions them again and
+again. He and Gilbert, and their little friends the Sadlers and Harts
+and Halls, must have played bob-cherry, as we do now,&mdash;drawing up the
+stem of the cherry with our tongues, and, with a sudden snap, getting
+the round, ripe fruit between our lips,&mdash;and then have used the stones
+for "cherry-pit"&mdash;a child's game that is frequently mentioned by
+Shakspere and other old writers, which consisted in pitching
+cherry-stones into a small hole.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 422px;">
+<img src="images/illus486.jpg" width="422" height="650" alt="THE SCHOOL AND GUILD CHAPEL." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SCHOOL AND GUILD CHAPEL.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Stratford lies just at the beginning of the fruit-growing country, which
+stretches right down the Vale of Evesham to Worcester and the Severn;
+and little Will Shakspere was well versed in the merits of all kinds of
+fruits. There were the plum-trees, that make you think in the
+spring-time that a snow-shower has fallen upon a sunny day all over the
+Stratford district; while in the autumn the branches are laden with "the
+mellow plum." Who can doubt that little Will climbed the damson-tree,
+"with danger of my life," as he said later that Simpcox did at his
+wife's bidding?<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> In the plays he mentions apples of many sorts&mdash;some
+of which, though rare or extinct in other parts of England, still grow
+about his native place&mdash;the bitter-sweetings and leather-coats, the
+apple-johns and the pomewaters. Many a time he must have stood with all
+the boys of the place watching, as we might do to-day, the cider-making
+on some village green, when the heaps of apples, red, green, and yellow,
+are brought in barrows and baskets and carts from the orchards, and
+ground up into a thick yellow pulp in the crushing-mill turned by a
+horse, and that pulp is put into presses from which the clear juice runs
+into tubs, while the dry cakes of pulp are carted away to fatten the
+pigs.</p>
+
+<p>There were grapes, too, growing plentifully in Warwickshire in his day;
+and "apricocks," "ripe figs, and mulberries," like those with which the
+fairies were told to feed Bottom the weaver. Blackberries and the
+handsome purple dewberries grew<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_487" id="Page_487">[Pg 487]</a></span> then as now, by the hedges in the
+orchards and in the shade of the Weir-brake just below Stratford mill,
+where, so says tradition, the scene of the "Midsummer Night's Dream" was
+laid. In the Weir-brake, too, and in all the woods about their home, the
+Shakspere boys must have gone nutting&mdash;that most delightful harvest of
+the year, when you bend down "the hazel twig," so "straight and
+slender," and fill baskets and pockets with the sweet nuts in their
+rough, green husks, and crack them all the way home like so many happy
+squirrels.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus487.jpg" width="650" height="569" alt="THE GUILD COUNCIL-ROOM&mdash;NOW THE HEAD-MASTER&#39;S
+CLASS-ROOM." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GUILD COUNCIL-ROOM&mdash;NOW THE HEAD-MASTER&#39;S
+CLASS-ROOM.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>All the hedge-rows were full then, as they are to this day, of wild
+pear-trees, wild apples, and "crabs," as crab-apples are called in
+England. Roasted "crabs" served with hot ale were a favorite Christmas
+dish in Shakspere's time. And I doubt not that the boys rejoiced at the
+house in Henley street as the time of year came round "when roasted
+crabs hiss in the bowl."</p>
+
+<p>How snug the "house-place" in the old home must have looked with its
+roaring fire of logs, on winter evenings, when the two little boys of
+nine and seven, and Joan and Anne, the little sisters, huddled up in the
+chimney-corner with baby Richard in his cradle, while the mother
+prepared hot ale and "roasted crabs" for her gossips. Will, I warrant,
+as with twinkling eyes he watched Mrs. Hart or Mrs. Sadler or Mrs.
+Hathaway, from Shottery, thought that it was Puck himself, the very
+spirit of mischief, who had got into the bowl "in very likeness of a
+roasted crab."</p>
+
+<p>It must have been a recollection of those winter evenings that made
+little Will, in later years, write his delightful "Winter Song":</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"When icicles hang by the wall<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And Dick the shepherd blows his nail<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Tom bears logs into the hall<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And milk comes frozen home in pail,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When blood is nipp'd and ways be foul,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then nightly sings the staring owl,<br /></span>
+<span class="i24">Tu-whit;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tu-who, a merry note,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"When all aloud the wind doth blow<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And coughing drowns the parson's saw<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And birds sit brooding in the snow<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And Marian's nose looks red and raw,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then nightly sings the staring owl,<br /></span>
+<span class="i24">Tu-whit;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tu-who, a merry note,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While greasy Joan doth keel the pot."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Among the gossips there would be much talk of wonders, appearances,
+mysterious occurrences,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_488" id="Page_488">[Pg 488]</a></span> and charms; and the children listened with all
+their ears, you may be sure. Perhaps one of Mistress Shakspere's friends
+possessed the power that some people in Warwickshire still are said to
+possess, of charming away warts by a touch and some murmured invocation;
+or curing toothache and all other aches and pains. There are plenty of
+people now who, after your second cup of tea is finished, will take the
+cup, twist the grounds around three times, turn it mouth downward in the
+saucer, and then, by looking at the tea-leaves which still stick to the
+bottom of the cup, will undertake to tell you what is going to
+happen&mdash;of presents you will receive, or people who are coming to see
+you. And many Warwickshire women still believe firmly that
+whooping-cough can be charmed away by the patient walking nine times
+over running water.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 394px;">
+<img src="images/illus488.jpg" width="394" height="600" alt="&quot;THE HEDGE-ROWS WERE FULL, AS THEY ARE TO THIS DAY, OF
+WILD APPLES, WILD PEARS, AND &#39;CRABS.&#39;&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;THE HEDGE-ROWS WERE FULL, AS THEY ARE TO THIS DAY, OF
+WILD APPLES, WILD PEARS, AND &#39;CRABS.&#39;&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The boys' games of those days were much the same as they are to-day.
+Each game then, as now, had its regular season in the year. In the
+season for marbles, no one would dream of playing anything else.
+"Knuckle-hole" is still the favorite game in Warwickshire. The
+standing-up game, pitching the taw from a mark scraped across the
+ground, is, I am told by competent authorities, rather going out of
+fashion; but it is still played. The marble season lasts through the
+late winter, much to the distraction of mothers, who have to clean and
+mend their sons' nether garments, which are worn with kneeling and
+plastered with mud at that time of year. Then comes the spinning-top,
+whip-top, and peg-top time. Later again there is tip-cat for the boys,
+and hop-scotch for the girls.</p>
+
+<p>On the corn-bins in the Warwickshire ale-house stables we can still find
+the lines rudely cut for "nine men's morris." This, in Shakspere's day,
+was a favorite game, and one much in vogue among the shepherd boys in
+the summer, who cut a "board" in the short turf and whiled away the long
+hours by playing it. Little Will must often have gone to watch his
+father play "shovel-board" at the Falcon tavern, in Stratford, on the
+board upon which tradition says he himself played, in later life. And at
+home, he and his brother must have played "push-pin," an old game which
+is still played in remote parts of the country. Two pins are laid on the
+table; the players in turn jerk them with their fingers, and he who
+throws one pin across the other is allowed to take one of them, while
+those who do not succeed have to give a pin. This is the game Shakspere
+alludes to in "Love's Labour's Lost," when he says, "And Nestor play at
+push-pin with the boys."</p>
+
+<p>Little Will knew a great deal about sport. All his allusions to sporting
+or woodcraft are those of a man who had been familiar with such things
+from his childhood. He and Gilbert must have set plenty of "springes, to
+catch wood-cocks," and dug out the "earth-delving conies" that swarmed
+in the commmonland of Welcombe, those dingles that in later years he
+fought so hard to preserve from inclosure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_489" id="Page_489">[Pg 489]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 408px;">
+<img src="images/illus489.jpg" width="408" height="450" alt="BOYS FISHING IN THE AVON&mdash;OPPOSITE THE WEIR-BRAKE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BOYS FISHING IN THE AVON&mdash;OPPOSITE THE WEIR-BRAKE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>They must have fished many a time, as the Stratford boys do to this day,
+in the slow waters of the Avon, sitting quietly intent for hours upon
+the steep clay bank</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i24">"to see the fish<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Cut with her golden oars the silver stream,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And greedily devour the treacherous bait."<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Then who can doubt that he often watched the hunting of the hare? Each
+line in his wonderful description of the hunted hare is written by a
+thorough sportsman and a keen observer of nature. How the purblind hare
+runs among a flock of sheep or into a rabbit-warren, or "sorteth with a
+herd of deer" to throw out "the hot scent-snuffing hounds." How they
+pause silent till they have worked "with much ado the cold fault cleanly
+out," and then burst into music again.</p>
+
+<p>Of deer, Shakspere knew much&mdash;too much for his own comfort. In his
+childhood, there were herds at Fulbrooke,&mdash;and when he was older, at
+Charlecote, at Grove Park, and at Warwick. And probably there were a few
+roe in the wilder parts of the Forest of Arden, which came down within
+three miles of Stratford, and covered the whole of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_490" id="Page_490">[Pg 490]</a></span> the country north of
+the Avon, out to Nuneaton and Birmingham. We can fancy how the boys
+stole out to watch the Grevilles and Leycesters and Lucys and Verneys on
+some great hunting party, and whispered to each other,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Under this thick-grown brake we'll shroud ourselves,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For through this lawnd anon the deer will come."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But the time of all others in the year that we connect most closely with
+Shakspere is the sweet spring-time, when the long cold winter&mdash;very long
+and very cold among those undrained clay-lands of Warwickshire&mdash;had come
+to an end. How closely little Will watched for</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i30">"daffodils,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That come before the swallow dares, and take<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The winds of March with beauty";<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>and for</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"violets, cowslips, and pale primroses."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>We can fancy the little boys hunting in some sheltered nook in the
+Welcombe woods for the first primroses; and climbing up Borden Hill just
+beyond Shottery, perhaps with Anne Hathaway from the pretty old house in
+the orchards below, to the bank&mdash;the only one in the neighborhood,&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">"where the wild thyme blows,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where oxlips, and the nodding violet grows";<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>or wandering over the flat sunny meadows along the Avon valley, picking
+cowslips, and looking into each tiny yellow bell for the spots in their
+gold coats,&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Those be rubies, fairy favors,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In those freckles live their savors,"&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>as they brought home baskets of the flower-heads for their mother to
+make into cowslip wine.</p>
+
+<p>Spring, in this Stratford country, is exquisite. The woods are carpeted
+with primroses and wild hyacinths; while in the "merry month of May" the
+nightingale swarms among the hawthorn trees white with blossom.</p>
+
+<p>On every village green there stood a painted May pole&mdash;one is still
+standing at Weston, near Stratford; and May-Day is still kept in
+Warwickshire with a "May feast" upon old May-Day, the 12th of May. Every
+one knows how the prettiest girl in the village was chosen Queen o' the
+May, and how all joined in the "Whitsun Morris-dance."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 296px;">
+<img src="images/illus490.jpg" width="296" height="450" alt="A BUNCH OF COWSLIPS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A BUNCH OF COWSLIPS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Long Marston,&mdash;"Dancing Marston," as it has been called ever since
+Shakspere's time,&mdash;a few miles from Stratford, was famous till within
+the memory of man for a troop of Morris-dancers, who went about from
+village to village, strangely dressed, to dance at all the feasts.
+Shakspere probably had the Marston dancers in his mind when he wrote of
+the "three carters, three shepherds, three neat-herds, three
+swine-herds," that made themselves all "men of hair," and called
+themselves "Saltiers," at the sheep-shearing feast which pretty Perdita
+presided over, in "The Winter's Tale." The sheep-shearing feast, which
+came when roses were out on the hedges and in the gardens, must have
+been a merry and important time for the Shakspere boys. John Shakspere
+was, of course, specially interested in the price of a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_491" id="Page_491">[Pg 491]</a></span> tod of wool, for
+wool-stapling was part of his trade. Perhaps William himself was sent by
+his mother to buy the groceries for the feast, and stood conning the
+list as he makes the clown do, in "The Winter's Tale."</p>
+
+<p>In the spring-time, too, came the peddler with all his wonders and
+treasures:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Lawn as white as driven snow;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Cypress black as e'er was crow;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gloves as sweet as damask roses;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Masks for faces and for noses."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Those last must have pleased the little boys more than all the rest of
+the peddler's goods. And perhaps it was from this very peddler that Will
+Shakspere bought the pair of gloves which, after the fashion of the day,
+he gave to Anne Hathaway at their betrothal.</p>
+
+<p>But the great event of the year in the quiet country town was Stratford
+"Mop" or statute fair, on the 12th of October. The market-place was
+filled, as it is to this day, with clowns and mountebanks, wrestlers,
+and rope-dancers at their "rope-tricks." Oxen and sheep were roasted
+whole. A roaring trade was driven by quack doctors and dentists. All the
+servants in the country came and stood around to be hired, as the
+farm-hands and the maids for the farm-houses still do&mdash;the carters with
+a bit of whipcord in their hats; the shepherds with a lock of wool; the
+laborers with a straw. And next day, we need not doubt, there were many
+candidates for the town stocks, as there are now for the police court.
+There were bear-baitings, too, and bull-baitings&mdash;those cruel sports
+which have only been abolished in Warwickshire within the last hundred
+years. But in Shakspere's day bear-baiting was a popular and refined
+amusement. During Queen Elizabeth's visit to Kenilworth, in 1575, there
+was a great bear-baiting in her honor, of which a curious and most
+sickening account still exists. And when Shakspere went to London his
+lodgings were close to the bear-garden, or "Bear's College," at
+Southwark, whither all London flocked to see the poor beasts tormented
+and tortured.</p>
+
+<p>There was, however, one amusement which, from his earliest years, must
+have delighted little Will Shakspere above all others&mdash;I mean a visit
+from the players. That he inherited his love for the drama from his
+father is more than probable; for it was during the year of John
+Shakspere's High Bailiffship that plays are first mentioned in the
+records at Stratford. According to the custom of the day, when the
+players belonging to some great nobleman came to a town, they reported
+themselves to the mayor to get a license for playing. If the mayor
+liked them, or wished to show respect to their master, he would appoint
+them to play their first play before himself and the Council. This was
+called the Mayor's Play, every one coming in free, and the mayor giving
+the players a reward in money. Between the autumns of 1568 and 1569,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Queen's and the Earl of Worcester's players visited the
+town and gave representations before the Council, the former
+company receiving nine shillings and the latter twelve pence
+for their first performances." </p></div>
+
+<p>And there is little reason to doubt that our little Will, then between
+five and six years old, was taken to see them by his father, the mayor,
+as a little boy named Willis was taken at Gloucester that same year,
+being exactly William Shakspere's age; and, standing between his
+father's knees, Master Will probably there got his first experience of
+the art in which he was to become the master for all ages. We wonder
+what that first play was&mdash;some quaint, rude drama probably, such as the
+one little Willis saw at Gloucester, with plenty of princes and fair
+ladies, and demons with painted masks, and the "Herod" in red gloves, of
+the "Coventry Mystery" players.</p>
+
+<p>Not only in Stratford, but in most of the towns roundabout, there are
+various records of players giving performances. When little Will was
+eleven years old, Queen Elizabeth came on her celebrated visit, in 1575,
+to Lord Leycester at Kenilworth; and as all the country flocked to see
+the great show, it is probable that the boy and his father were among
+the crowds of spectators and saw some of the plays given in the Queen's
+honor.</p>
+
+<p>A year or two later, troubles began to multiply at the house in Henley
+street. John Shakspere got into debt. The farm at Ashbies was mortgaged.
+His daughter Anne died in 1579; and two years before her death, young
+William, then thirteen, was taken from school and apprenticed&mdash;some
+accounts say to a butcher&mdash;or, as seems more probable, to his own
+father, to help him in his failing wool-trade.</p>
+
+<p>For the next five years nothing is known about Will Shakspere. Then we
+find him courting Anne Hathaway in the pretty old brick and timbered
+cottage at Shottery, its garden all full of roses and rosemary,
+"carnations and striped gillyvors." A year or two later, he is stealing
+one of Sir Thomas Lucy's deer,&mdash;writing a lampoon on the worthy
+justice,&mdash;and flying to London from his wrath, to hold horses at the
+door of the Globe Theater before he joined the Lord Chamberlain's
+players, and became known to all posterity as Mr. William Shakspere,
+Writer of Plays.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> 2d Henry IV., Act 5. Scene 1.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> 2d Henry VI., Act 2, Scene 1.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> "Much Ado about Nothing," Act 3, Sc. 1.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+ <p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_492" id="Page_492">[Pg 492]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus493.jpg" width="650" height="915" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_493" id="Page_493">[Pg 493]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus494.jpg" width="650" height="923" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_494" id="Page_494">[Pg 494]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>THE GIRLS' TRICYCLE CLUB AND ITS RUN DOWN THE CAPE.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By E. Vinton Blake.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>Tricycles had become an every-day affair in Sherridoc, and since the
+formation of the Girls' Club, lady tricyclers were not an extraordinary
+sight. So Charlotte, or "Charley" Van Rensselaer, as she was called, and
+her brother Starrett excited but little comment as they wheeled swiftly
+down Haymarket street, moving noiselessly and easily through the throng
+of carriages and other vehicles, until, as the houses grew less frequent
+and the pavements stopped altogether, they rolled through the suburbs of
+the town and so into the open country, without stay or pause.</p>
+
+<p>For they were making time. The club itself, thanks to the failure of the
+express company to deliver Charley's new "Columbia" when promised, had
+several hours' start on the road; and Starrett, like the obliging
+brother that he was, had remained behind in order that Charlotte need
+not ride alone nor the club be longer delayed by waiting for her.</p>
+
+<p>Charley Van Rensselaer, her cousin Cornelia, or "Corny" Hadwin, and
+their warm friends Mattie Hyde and Arno Cummings, were four bright and
+active young girls of from thirteen to sixteen, who composed the Girls'
+Tricycle Club. Little by little they had won first the interest and then
+the consent of their somewhat conservative parents to this novel but
+exhilarating exercise, and having now become expert riders, they were
+off for a long run of eighty miles down Cape Cod from Sherridoc City to
+Curtin Harbor, where their parents had summer cottages. Faithful and
+clever Joe Marston, Mr. Van Rensselaer's colored servant, and an expert
+tricycler, had gone ahead with the club as guide and commissary-general,
+and Starrett Van Rensselaer, Charley's younger brother, was invited to
+accompany them as an escort, on the odd-looking "Royal Mail" he had
+borrowed for the trip,&mdash;bicycles not being allowed.</p>
+
+<p>And now the door-yards broaden out and the houses become still more
+rambling. There are wide-spreading orchard boughs, and cool woody spaces
+here and there between the farms. Now a youngster scampers into the
+house shrieking, "Ma, Ma! Oh, come here, Ma! Here's a girl a-ridin'
+three wheels at once!" and Charley, looking back, perceives the urchin's
+sisters and cousins and aunts peering at her from the door. Starrett too
+looks back, and laughs.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll have to get used to that," he says.</p>
+
+<p>"I expect to," responds Charley serenely; "but you must remember that
+four of these things have gone on before us on this same road and they
+must have taken off a little of the novelty."</p>
+
+<p>Over the brow of Haymarket Hill they go, and the long steep sweep into
+the valley of the Owassee lies before them. Charley, with her feet on
+the "rest," commences to descend. An amazed cow grazing by the roadside
+makes a charge on the singular vehicle, but the girl never flinches, and
+with one hand on the steering-bar and the other on the brake she avoids
+every stone, every rut, every gully in the road. The irate cow, after
+nearly plunging on its nose down the first steep incline, pauses to
+recover its senses and then returns slowly up the hill. Starrett waves
+it a laughing adieu. "Sensible bovine that," he says; "she knows that a
+stern chase is a long chase."</p>
+
+<p>"My, though!" exclaims delighted Charley, "we're just flying, Starrett!
+Aren't we?"</p>
+
+<p>They are indeed. The bushes whiz past,&mdash;the wind sweeps their
+faces,&mdash;trees, stones, fences flit by like phantoms. Charley feels like
+a bird on the wing. Such exhilaration is there in a good tricycle
+"coast" downhill!</p>
+
+<p>But it is not all such pleasure; for, a few miles farther on, they
+become acquainted with the other side of the story, as they go toiling
+up the long ascent of Comstock Hill, a sandy and winding incline that
+leads to the highlands of Fisherville.</p>
+
+<p>"If it weren't for the sand," said Charley as she pushes her tricycle
+before her, "I would test the new 'power-gear' on my 'Columbia' by
+riding up Comstock Hill. But, dear me, I believe there are not three
+yards of solid earth on this road!"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind, we're more than half-way up," said Starrett, consolingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you suppose it's sandy like this near Curtin Harbor?" inquired
+Charley.</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't the least idea," Starrett replied. "If it is, we can branch
+off and take the cars at Minot Station."</p>
+
+<p>"The cars? Why, Starrett Van Rensselaer!" exclaims Charley. "Why, I
+wouldn't take the cars&mdash;not for anything&mdash;unless&mdash;well, unless I were
+fairly driven to it."</p>
+
+<p>And now they both draw a long breath, for the crest of Comstock Hill is
+won.</p>
+
+<p>"Look behind you, Starrett," says Charley. "Did you ever see a prettier
+picture?"</p>
+
+<p>Starrett acknowledges he never did. The low-lying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_495" id="Page_495">[Pg 495]</a></span> valley is green and
+fair. The Owassee stretches like a silver ribbon across the picture, and
+there is not a human being in sight save these two tricyclers who take
+all this summer beauty into their impressible young hearts.</p>
+
+<p>On they go, through Fisherville and into the open country again. Truly
+no grass grows underneath those flashing wheels. The new "Columbia" has
+the oil well worked in by this time, and the "Royal Mail," with its
+queer one-sided "steerer," seems undisturbed by any ordinary roads. The
+freshening wind is behind them; the blue sky, cloud-flecked, above; and
+all around, bird-song and the rustle of blowing grass and bending
+boughs.</p>
+
+<p>"This is grand, Charley!" cries Starrett; "so much better than horseback
+riding&mdash;and I've tried both."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't tire yourself much more, and you're sure your horse won't run
+away with you," Charley assents, whizzing along beside him. "I feel
+strong enough for a good long run yet, and we ought to catch up with
+them easily, before long."</p>
+
+<p>The winding, woody road brings them suddenly to a hill-top. To the
+right, below, lies a wide expanse of velvety marsh meadow, with its
+vivid and variegated tints of green, olive, and reddish-brown, and
+occasional intersections of tottering, moss-grown fence; there is a
+starry glimmer as of lilies in the frequent pools that give back the
+glory of the sun. To the left are seen the dark, still reaches of a lake
+that winds in and out in the cool shadow of high woody banks. An old
+ice-house stands lonesome and gray on its margin.</p>
+
+<p>The brother and sister halt on the brow of the hill, to enjoy a view
+that may be one of the memories of a lifetime; then the wheels roll
+slowly toward the descent. The slope is steep and winding; they do not
+"coast" with feet on the rest above the steering-wheel. It is not
+desirable to capsize or collide with any up-coming vehicle. So they
+glide warily on, with hands on the brakes, until the bottom is reached.
+But here a crazy guide-post at a fork in the road misleads them by
+pointing in the wrong direction for the Wareham road. But by great good
+luck, they strike a shady wood track, full two miles long, which cuts
+off five miles from the road they should have traveled, and which, so
+Starrett says when he recognizes it, will bring them just so much nearer
+the club. Dismounting at last, a pine-covered knoll, with a brook
+bubbling below, attracts them; and, seated on the brown pine-needles,
+the brother and sister talk over their adventures, and wonder how far
+ahead the others may be. Suddenly Starrett, who faces the road, drops
+his hands to his side with an exclamation of surprise.</p>
+
+<p>"What now?" says Charley, looking quickly around, A glance makes her a
+partner in Starrett's astonishment; for, over the main road they have
+just now regained, come one, two, three, four tricycles, their
+glittering spokes flashing in the sun. They see Joe Marston's dusky face
+and stalwart figure, and behind him they catch the flutter of garnet and
+blue&mdash;the colors of the club. Occasionally a head in the procession
+turns to look expectantly behind.</p>
+
+<p>Starrett and Charley keep close in the shade of the pines, restraining a
+laugh with difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is a good place to stop, Joe," cries Cornelia Hadwin. "It's cool
+and shady, and we can see the road. I think they should have caught up
+with us by this time. Can anything have happened,&mdash;do you suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dunno, miss," answers Joe with a grave face. But as he dismounts to
+wheel his machine up the knoll, he stops short with a sudden smoothing
+out of all the perplexed lines from his dark brow. "Hi, dar!" he
+exclaims. "Look-a yer, Miss Corney!"</p>
+
+<p>Cornelia does look, and so do all the rest. There is a perfect chorus of
+shrieks and laughter, a babel of voices, a torrent of questions.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, we travel, I assure you!" says Starrett. "We took a flying leap and
+came in ahead of you."</p>
+
+<p>"How did it happen? When did you pass us?" These and countless other
+questions follow. Then all is explained, and at five o'clock the merry
+six are on the road again, rolling along in lively style.</p>
+
+<p>So, in single file, with Joe in advance, and Starrett bringing up the
+rear, the club rides through the main street of Wareham, down the long
+slant to the bridge over the Wareham river. The evening mist hangs low
+along the stream; the bridge seems to stretch across the rushing tide
+and end abruptly in mid-air. The soft, grayish opaque cloud hides the
+farther shore from sight.</p>
+
+<p>There are heads at doors and windows, and people on the street stop to
+gaze. At first the girls feel a little abashed at so much attention. But
+nobody is discourteous; Joe rides steadily on, and there is nothing to
+do but to follow.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose we do look queer to them," says Mattie Hyde.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, well, you are missionaries, you know," says Starrett assuringly.
+"Perhaps your club may be the means of introducing tricycles into many
+of the places we shall pass through."</p>
+
+<p>"That's one of our objects, of course," observes Charley.</p>
+
+<p>"If girls and women knew what comfort one can take with a tricycle, half
+the battle would be won," says Arno Cummings timidly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_496" id="Page_496">[Pg 496]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus500.jpg" width="650" height="455" alt="&quot;THE BUSHES WHIZ PAST,&mdash;TREES, STONES, FENCES FLIT BY
+LIKE PHANTOMS.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;THE BUSHES WHIZ PAST,&mdash;TREES, STONES, FENCES FLIT BY
+LIKE PHANTOMS.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It isn't altogether that, Arno," says Charley, who, as the originator
+of the club, has her advanced theories to support. "A good many would
+like to, but don't really dare. You know that Shakspere says 'Conscience
+doth make cowards of us all.' I think that custom makes us cowards,
+too."</p>
+
+<p>"Custom will be on our side, though, by and by," declares Mattie Hyde.
+"Doctor Sawyer told Mamma the other day that he would prescribe the
+tricycle rather than medicine for many of his patients. He said that the
+machines are much used in England, and that they are gaining ground in
+this country, though not so rapidly as he could wish."</p>
+
+<p>But even this knowledge of the healthfulness and desirability of the
+tricycle does not make a hard piece of road any easier. After a night's
+rest at the hospitable house of an aunt of Mattie Hyde's, the club find
+themselves, next day, among the "Sandwiches," as Starrett facetiously
+dubs the town of that name which is divided into North, East, South, and
+West Sandwich. And there they come upon a wooded tract that sorely taxes
+their endurance and presents the most formidable obstacle they have yet
+encountered. The sand is impassable; it closes completely over the
+wheel-tires, and, after a short space of arduous labor, the club come to
+a dismayed standstill.</p>
+
+<p>"What on earth are we to do?" queries Corny Hadwin in despair.</p>
+
+<p>No one answers her. The boughs wave softly overhead; the small cloud of
+dust their efforts have raised floats slowly away and settles on the
+scant herbage underneath the pines. Near at hand sounds the shriek of
+the "up" train. They are not far from the railroad.</p>
+
+<p>"Shall we give it up and take to the train?" Starrett asks, as they
+catch the sound of the locomotive.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me, we mustn't do that!" exclaims Charley. "Let's dismount and
+push the machines a little way. Perhaps the wheeling is better just
+ahead."</p>
+
+<p>But it is not. The ruts are strewn with straw, shavings, and chips;
+everything indicates that the woods are extensive, and that others
+before them have found the sand a tribulation.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, this is the worst of all!" groans Corny.</p>
+
+<p>"But we'll not give up, nevertheless," declares little Arno Cummings,
+developing unexpected grit in the emergency. "I shouldn't like to tell
+them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_497" id="Page_497">[Pg 497]</a></span> at Curtin Harbor that we had to take to the cars to get around a
+difficulty."</p>
+
+<p>Joe mops the perspiration from his dusky brow, and then stops to listen.
+A creak, a rumble, and a tramp, tramp are heard behind them. "Dar's
+sumfin a-comin!" says Joe.</p>
+
+<p>The "sumfin" soon appears in sight,&mdash;a big, empty, four-horse wagon,
+making its unwieldy way in their direction. The same idea occurs to
+everybody at once.</p>
+
+<p>"There! He'll carry us!"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus503.jpg" width="650" height="435" alt="WITH JOE IN ADVANCE, THE CLUB RIDES THROUGH WAREHAM." title="" />
+<span class="caption">WITH JOE IN ADVANCE, THE CLUB RIDES THROUGH WAREHAM.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Carry them! Of course he will&mdash;for a consideration. And almost before
+the driver has recovered from his evident astonishment at this vision of
+six tricycles in the heart of the Sandwich woods, the riders and their
+machines are safely in the big cart, and on their way through the sandy
+tract, which, they now learn, is several miles in extent.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible for the horses to go faster than a walk for the whole
+distance. The sand is a constant clog, and scarcely a breath of air can
+penetrate the close piny ranks on either side the narrow road. It is a
+slow and somewhat crowded ride, but the club tells stories, sings and
+jokes and answers the curious inquiries of their teamster, to whom a
+tricycle is a thing unknown till now. But in due time, the young folk
+have bidden him good day, and are speeding on toward Barnstable. The air
+grows salty, strong, and bracing.</p>
+
+<p>"It's like a breath of new life," says Starrett; and soon they are
+rolling between the long row of grand old trees that line Barnstable's
+quiet main street. At the hotel they stop for dinner and a noonday rest.</p>
+
+<p>It is four in the afternoon when they remount. The lady boarders, who
+have taken quite an interest in the young tricyclers, bid them farewell
+with all manner of good wishes, and one gray-haired society lady
+remarks, "Those girls are sensible; and their mothers are sensible too.
+Give young people the delights of nature and the freedom of outdoor
+sports, and keep them from late parties, and the whirl of folly and
+fashion. I've seen too many young lives warped and twisted and weakened
+in the endeavor to 'keep up' in fashionable society. Yes, those girls
+are sensible."</p>
+
+<p>And, wheeling still, by hill and dale, the "sensible" girls and their
+escort roll merrily into old Yarmouth, with its broad, shady streets and
+big, substantial, old-fashioned houses. Quaint and picturesque indeed it
+is, with quiet nooks and corners, breezy streets, time-stained wharves
+where lie battered fishing craft and the smarter boats devoted to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_498" id="Page_498">[Pg 498]</a></span> the
+summer visitors who have found out the beauties of the town. Here, too,
+Arno Cummings has an uncle, a bluff and breezy old sea-captain, who
+gives the whole party a hearty welcome; and at his house, the club spend
+two nights and the day between&mdash;a day of shade and shine, with the sea
+wind blowing everywhere. They explore the old town from end to end. They
+come continually upon pictures,&mdash;now a broad grassy lane with its
+moss-grown fences flanked by rising pastures of brownish grass; now a
+long slope ending in a rocky outlook over the blue sea; now a brown
+cottage nestled in among trees and hills. And on the second morning
+after their arrival, they bid the hospitable Captain Cummings adieu, and
+pass, single file, over the great drawbridge across the inlet that cuts
+Yarmouth in two, and so spin along through the succession of little
+towns which, leaving Yarmouth, almost join together into one. Such are
+the "Dennises"&mdash;divided as usual into North, East, South and West,&mdash;and
+the "Harwiches," where at Harwich proper the tricyclers bid farewell to
+the railroad which has kept them company at short intervals all the way
+down.</p>
+
+<p>"Six miles to Curtin Harbor." So says the lazy youth at a cross roads
+store, and away they spin, while the spires and houses of Harwich
+disappear behind the trees.</p>
+
+<p>And now how the wind blows! And all around the horizon the sky has that
+watery appearance that betokens the nearness of the sea. There is a
+peculiar, bracing freedom in the wild, salt wind; the very sway of the
+brown grass, the swing of the odorous wild pinks that nod in the corners
+of old mossy fences have a life and freshness that one misses greatly in
+tamer, more settled districts. For now they are plunging bravely into
+the long stretch of sand barrens and pine woods that, with only an
+occasional house, stretch for many a mile between Harwich and Curtin
+Harbor.</p>
+
+<p>But here, in the afternoon, a sudden shower overtakes them. They can no
+longer pick their dainty way by the roadside, but must keep the middle
+track or run the risk of upsetting. There is scarce a quarter of a mile
+of level ground to be found. The pine woods close in upon them, and when
+at the summit of a hill they anxiously look for some other shelter than
+the thronging pines, they can see nothing but the long, winding,
+lightish streak of road and the endless outlines of monotonous
+pine-trees on either side against the dark sky.</p>
+
+<p>"Six miles to Curtin Harbor!" cries Starrett at last. "That boy's a
+fraud. I believe it's sixty."</p>
+
+<p>"Reckon dey're Cape Cod miles, Mas'r Starrett," says Joe. "Dey say down
+yer, yo' know, dat one on 'em 's equal to two ob good trav'lin' in any
+uthah part ob de worl'."</p>
+
+<p>If it were only clear now, coasting merrily down these hills would be
+royal fun, but in this state of the weather caution is necessary. A halt
+is called for consultation. The six composedly dismount and sit down on
+the clumps of "poverty grass," beneath the doubtful shelter of the
+pines.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now," asks Starrett, "what are we going to do? I know you girls
+are tired and drenched; you needn't deny it. And there's no sign of a
+house this side of Jericho or Jerusalem."</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Charley has an idea. "O girls," she says, "let's camp out,
+right here! We're not badly off, for we all have our waterproof cloaks;
+but you've all been longing for an adventure, and here's one for a
+<i>finale</i>. We'll at least make a tent and have supper. It'll be just
+splendid!"</p>
+
+<p>The club vociferously acquiesce. Joe alone, dubious, shakes his head.
+But he is outvoted and overruled.</p>
+
+<p>A quantity of pine boughs are piled, by Joe and Starrett, tent-fashion,
+across and around four of the tricycles; a heap of dry leaves, carefully
+collected, makes a fragrant couch, whereon the young ladies compose
+themselves, wrapped and snugly covered with shawls and capes from the
+"luggage-carriers." Lastly Joe spreads the rubber waterproofs securely
+over the wheels and boughs, and the young campers are completely
+sheltered.</p>
+
+<p>A rummage in the lunch-boxes and "luggage-carriers" of the six machines
+brings to light half a dozen soda crackers, two bananas, six pieces of
+gingerbread, a slice of dry cheese, three apples, and&mdash;this is Joe's
+surprise!&mdash;a small can of chicken.</p>
+
+<p>A chorus of delight greets this last discovery, and Joe is at once
+besieged.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, yo' jes' sot down, ef yo' please, young ladies," says Joe, holding
+the can above his head. "I'll 'tend to yo' d'reckly. Yo' jes' gib me de
+tings and I'll serve supper in fus'-class style."</p>
+
+<p>When the chicken,&mdash;delicately served on the soda crackers,&mdash;the apples,
+bananas, and gingerbread are distributed, and the cheese toasted&mdash;in a
+fashion&mdash;at one of the lamps, the merry six leave not a crumb to tell
+the tale. It is true that a conscious vacancy still exists in the six
+hungry stomachs&mdash;such appetites have these young wheelers; but they are
+refreshed and no one thinks of complaining.</p>
+
+<p>The merry meal finished, weariness and the patter of rain incline the
+girls to rest, and soon silence falls upon the camp, broken only by the
+sighing of the wind among the dark pine boughs, and the occasional chirp
+of some sleepy bird.</p>
+
+<p>Then Starrett, also, wrapped in his waterproof coat, throws himself down
+to rest beneath the shelter of a friendly pine close by.</p>
+
+<p>Joe, left alone as the sentinel, falls to thinking over the situation,
+wondering where they are and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_499" id="Page_499">[Pg 499]</a></span> whether they have missed the right road.
+He walks about uneasily and then stands looking up and down the stretch
+of road. The tricycle lamp, which he has lighted to dispel the gloom,
+casts a yellow gleam over the tent and Starrett's shrouded figure, while
+beyond and all around are the pines with their swaying branches and the
+long black vistas between. Joe walks back and forth, in the rain, vainly
+trying to think in which direction they are to proceed.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 398px;">
+<img src="images/illus506.jpg" width="398" height="450" alt="&quot;DE YOUNG GEMMAN AN&#39; I MAKE DIS TENT TO KEEP DE YOUNG
+LADIES DRY.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;DE YOUNG GEMMAN AN&#39; I MAKE DIS TENT TO KEEP DE YOUNG
+LADIES DRY.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>He has been wondering thus for perhaps five minutes, when he becomes
+aware of a pair of fiery eyes watching him from the shadows. Joe starts.
+He does not know what peculiar class of wild beasts inhabits Cape Cod,
+but there are the eyes plainly enough. He stops and stands motionless.
+The eyes move, come boldly forward, and Joe, now doubly astonished, sees
+full in the glare of the tricycle lamp&mdash;a big grayish cat!</p>
+
+<p>And the cat has a nickel-plated collar with a ribbon attached. Joe knows
+that even on Cape Cod no wild beasts roam about, in summer storms, with
+nickeled and be-ribboned collars, but what can a cat be doing away in
+the depths of a pine forest? And then he suddenly concludes that the
+cat's home can not be far away. The gray cat comes purring about his
+knees. Joe is fond of cats, so he takes it in his arms and fondles its
+wet fur, and it proves to be company for him and really helps him to
+forget the discomfort of the rain.</p>
+
+<p>At about seven o'clock in the evening, however,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_500" id="Page_500">[Pg 500]</a></span> the rain slackens, the
+clouds scatter, and rifts of light appear through the trees. And just as
+Joe is thinking of rousing the club for another "spin," he hears a
+whistle and a heavy step from across the road. Then an old farmer fellow
+of about forty-five, in search of a lost cow, comes to an abrupt and
+amazed halt at confronting among the pines Joe, the gray cat, Starrett's
+recumbent figure, the tent, and the glimmering tricycle wheels. He
+stands speechless until Joe's voice breaks the spell.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-ebenin', sar," says Joe. "Can you tell me if dis is de road to
+Curtin Harbor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Curtin Harbor!" exclaims the farmer, with his eyes still full of mute
+amazement. "No, it's not. 'T any rate not the direct one. If you've come
+over from Harwich, you've gone two miles out of yer way. You should have
+taken the other road, back there by the old school-house."</p>
+
+<p>"Dar's whar I missed it!" cries Joe, slapping his knee. "I was suah I
+did sumfin' wrong somewhar, but I couldn't locate it, to save me! I'se
+much obliged."</p>
+
+<p>"You can cut across to the main road by crossing my field yonder and
+going up by the house just beyond&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Hi, den dere is a house over yar!" says Joe.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, certainly," says the farmer, "not more than forty rods from here."
+And when Joe finds how very near he has been to a comfortable farmhouse
+he says he feels "like kickin' hisself."</p>
+
+<p>"But," says the visitor, still eying the camp. "How did it all happen.
+Are you traveling on foot?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sar; on tricycles," explains Joe, proudly; "we are de Girls'
+Tricycle Club, all de way from Sherridoc, wid Mas'r Starrett an' me
+along to look arter 'em and see 'em safe down to Curtin Harbor. We los'
+de track back yondah, an' de young gemman an' I jes' rig up dis tent for
+to keep the young ladies dry an' gib 'em a chance to rest till de shower
+was ober."</p>
+
+<p>The farmer's surprise grows to interest.</p>
+
+<p>"And so this is a tricycle," he says. "And did the young ladies ride
+those things all the way from Sherridoc?"</p>
+
+<p>"All de way, sar," answers Joe, proudly, "'cept when we wus stuck in de
+Sandywiches and had to be carted froo wid a team."</p>
+
+<p>After the good man's curiosity has been satisfied, and Starrett has
+summoned the girls to appear, the worthy farmer strolls off after his
+lost cow, first inviting the club to the farm to another supper. One by
+one, the girls emerge from their camp, but when they hear how near to a
+house they have been during the rain, great is the laughter.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care, though," cries Cornelia Hadwin; "we've really had a sort
+of a camping-out time, and I'm glad of it."</p>
+
+<p>After hearing Joe's report, the club determines to push on at once to
+Curtin Harbor in the early evening, without accepting the hospitable
+invitation to supper at the farmhouse.</p>
+
+<p>The two miles to the main road are quickly traversed, and before long
+the club wheels around a long curve in the road, and the blue expanse of
+Curtin Harbor lies beneath them. The clouds are gone by this time; the
+rising moon shoots slantwise through a few thin, dissolving folds, and
+brings out ripples of gold and silver on the long seas. There seems to
+be a breeze that stirs the water to darker ruffles beyond the head-land,
+but where the young folk sit on their tricycles, enjoying the beauty of
+the scene and the salty damp of the evening air, not a blade of the
+coarse, silvery beach-grass stirs; every spire and blade stands in
+sheeny silver in the mellow light.</p>
+
+<p>Below the beach-road branches off a long winding descent to the quiet
+cottages which lie in the evening glow, seemingly fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, girls, for a good coast!" cries Starrett. "Here goes!"</p>
+
+<p>And away indeed he goes, over the brow of the hill, rolling swiftly, and
+removing his feet from the pedals as his machine gathers way. Away also
+they all fly after him, merry as larks, waking all the echoes of the
+shore with their light-hearted shouts and laughter. The tricycle lamps
+flash out upon the seaward road, and soon it comes to pass, that as
+Charley's wheels whiz flashing into the wide, grassy dooryard of a
+certain pleasant little summer abode, a hand lifts the window curtain,
+and a voice, with a ring of irrepressible gladness but a great pretense
+of gruffness, calls out:</p>
+
+<p>"Is this my noisy daughter, who has been running wild for a week over
+all the roads on Cape Cod?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Papa!" cries Charley, gleefully, "we've had a perfectly charming
+trip!"</p>
+
+<p>And so says the entire club. And they pass a vote of thanks to Joe for
+taking faithful care of them, and to Starrett for his excellent escort
+duty. And now when the story of their eighty-mile ride is told,
+everybody votes tricycling a wonderfully health-giving and delightful
+exercise, and the first long trip of the Girls' Tricycling Club a grand
+success.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_501" id="Page_501">[Pg 501]</a></span></p>
+<h2>MORNING-GLORIES.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Laura Ledyard Pope.</span></h3>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">My neighbor's morning-glories rise<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And flutter at her casement;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><i>My</i> morning-glories' lovely eyes<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Peep just above the basement.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And both our morning-glories strew<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With loveliness the railing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And thrust their starry faces through<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The vines about the paling.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But when at last the thrifty sun<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A work-day world arouses,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hers gather up their dainty skirts<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And vanish in their houses.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">They draw their silken curtains close,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">There's not a soul can find them;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And mine run up the school-house path,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And shut the door behind them!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 515px;">
+<img src="images/illus509.jpg" width="515" height="550" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_502" id="Page_502">[Pg 502]</a></span></p>
+<h2>LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Frances Hodgson Burnett.</span></h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 475px;">
+<img src="images/illus511.jpg" width="475" height="650" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></h3>
+
+<p>On the following Sunday morning, Mr. Mordaunt had a large congregation.
+Indeed, he could scarcely remember any Sunday on which the church had
+been so crowded. People appeared upon the scene who seldom did him the
+honor of coming to hear his sermons. There were even people from
+Hazelton, which was the next parish. There were hearty, sunburned
+farmers, stout, comfortable, apple-cheeked wives in their best bonnets
+and most gorgeous shawls, and half a dozen children or so to each
+family. The doctor's wife was there, with her four daughters. Mrs.
+Kimsey and Mr. Kimsey, who kept the druggist's shop, and made pills, and
+did up powders for everybody within ten miles, sat in their pew; Mrs.
+Dibble in hers, Miss Smiff, the village dressmaker, and her friend Miss
+Perkins, the milliner, sat in theirs; the doctor's young man was
+present, and the druggist's apprentice; in fact, almost every family on
+the county side was represented, in one way or another.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of the preceding week, many wonderful stories had been
+told of little Lord Fauntleroy. Mrs. Dibble had been kept so busy
+attending to customers who came in to buy a pennyworth of needles or a
+ha'p'orth of tape and to hear what she had to relate, that the little
+shop bell over the door had nearly tinkled itself to death over the
+coming and going. Mrs. Dibble knew exactly how his small lordship's
+rooms had been furnished for him, what expensive toys had been bought,
+how there was a beautiful brown pony awaiting him, and a small groom to
+attend it, and a little dog-cart, with silver-mounted harness. And she
+could tell, too, what all the servants had said when they had caught
+glimpses of the child on the night of his arrival; and how every female
+below stairs had said it was a shame, so it was, to part the poor pretty
+dear from his mother; and had all declared their hearts came into their
+mouths when he went alone into the library to see his grandfather, for
+"there was no knowing how he'd be treated, and his lordship's temper was
+enough to fluster them with old heads on their shoulders, let alone a
+child."</p>
+
+<p>"But if you'll believe me, Mrs. Jennifer, mum," Mrs. Dibble had said,
+"fear that child does not know&mdash;so Mr. Thomas hisself says; an' set an'
+smile he did, an' talked to his lordship as if they'd been friends ever
+since his first hour. An' the Earl so took aback, Mr. Thomas says, that
+he couldn't do nothing but listen and stare from under his eyebrows. An'
+it's Mr. Thomas's opinion, Mrs. Bates, mum, that bad as he is, he was
+pleased in his secret soul, an' proud, too; for a handsomer little
+fellow, or with better manners, though so old-fashioned, Mr. Thomas says
+he'd never wish to see."</p>
+
+<p>And then there had come the story of Higgins. The Reverend Mr. Mordaunt
+had told it at his own dinner table, and the servant who had heard it
+had told it in the kitchen, and from there it had spread like wildfire.</p>
+
+<p>And on market-day, when Higgins had appeared in town, he had been
+questioned on every side, and Newick had been questioned too, and in
+response had shown to two or three people the note signed "Fauntleroy."</p>
+
+<p>And so the farmers' wives had found plenty to talk of over their tea and
+their shopping, and they had done the subject full justice and made the
+most of it. And on Sunday they had either walked to church or had been
+driven in their gigs by their husbands, who were perhaps a trifle
+curious themselves about the new little lord who was to be in time the
+owner of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>It was by no means the Earl's habit to attend church, but he chose to
+appear on this first Sunday&mdash;it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_503" id="Page_503">[Pg 503]</a></span> was his whim to present himself in the
+huge family pew, with Fauntleroy at his side.</p>
+
+<p>There were many loiterers in the churchyard, and many lingerers in the
+lane that morning. There were groups at the gates and in the porch, and
+there had been much discussion as to whether my lord would really appear
+or not. When this discussion was at its height, one good woman suddenly
+uttered an exclamation.</p>
+
+<p>"Eh," she said; "that must be the mother, pretty young thing."</p>
+
+<p>All who heard turned and looked at the slender figure in black coming up
+the path. The veil was thrown back from her face and they could see how
+fair and sweet it was, and how the bright hair curled as softly as a
+child's under the little widow's cap.</p>
+
+<p>She was not thinking of the people about; she was thinking of Cedric,
+and of his visits to her, and his joy over his new pony, on which he had
+actually ridden to her door the day before, sitting very straight and
+looking very proud and happy. But soon she could not help being
+attracted by the fact that she was being looked at and that her arrival
+had created some sort of sensation. She first noticed it because an old
+woman in a red cloak made a bobbing curtsy to her, and then another did
+the same thing and said, "God bless you, my lady!" and one man after
+another took off his hat as she passed. For a moment she did not
+understand, and then she realized that it was because she was little
+Lord Fauntleroy's mother that they did so, and she flushed rather shyly
+and smiled and bowed too, and said, "Thank you" in a gentle voice to the
+old woman who had blessed her. To a person who had always lived in a
+bustling, crowded American city this simple deference was very novel,
+and at first just a little embarrassing; but after all, she could not
+help liking and being touched by the friendly warm-heartedness of which
+it seemed to speak. She had scarcely passed through the stone porch into
+the church before the great event of the day happened. The carriage from
+the Castle, with its handsome horses and tall liveried servants, bowled
+around the corner and down the green lane.</p>
+
+<p>"Here they come!" went from one looker-on to another.</p>
+
+<p>And then the carriage drew up, and Thomas stepped down and opened the
+door, and a little boy, dressed in black velvet, and with a splendid mop
+of bright waving hair, jumped out.</p>
+
+<p>Every man, woman, and child looked curiously upon him.</p>
+
+<p>"He's the Captain over again!" said those of the on-lookers who
+remembered his father. "He's the Captain's self, to the life!"</p>
+
+<p>He stood there in the sunlight looking up at the Earl, as Thomas helped
+that nobleman out, with the most affectionate interest that could be
+imagined. The instant he could help, he put out his hand and offered his
+shoulder as if he had been seven feet high. It was plain enough to every
+one that however it might be with other people, the Earl of Dorincourt
+struck no terror into the breast of his grandson.</p>
+
+<p>"Just lean on me," they heard him say. "How glad the people are to see
+you, and how well they all seem to know you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Take off your cap, Fauntleroy," said the Earl. "They are bowing to
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"To me!" cried Fauntleroy, whipping off his cap in a moment, baring his
+bright head to the crowd and turning shining, puzzled eyes on them as he
+tried to bow to every one at once.</p>
+
+<p>"God bless your lordship!" said the curtsying, red-cloaked old woman who
+had spoken to his mother; "long life to you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, ma'am," said Fauntleroy. And then they went into the church,
+and were looked at there, on their way up the aisle to the square,
+red-cushioned and curtained pew. When Fauntleroy was fairly seated he
+made two discoveries which pleased him: the first was that, across the
+church where he could look at her, his mother sat and smiled at him; the
+second, that at one end of the pew against the wall, knelt two quaint
+figures carven in stone, facing each other as they kneeled on either
+side of a pillar supporting two stone missals, their pointed hands
+folded as if in prayer, their dress very antique and strange. On the
+tablet by them was written something of which he could only read the
+curious words:</p>
+
+<p>"Here lyethe ye bodye of Gregorye Arthure Fyrst Earle of Dorincort
+allsoe of Alysone Hildegarde hys wyfe."</p>
+
+<p>"May I whisper?" inquired his lordship, devoured by curiosity.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" said his grandfather.</p>
+
+<p>"Who are they?"</p>
+
+<p>"Some of your ancestors," answered the Earl, "who lived a few hundred
+years ago."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps," said Lord Fauntleroy, regarding them with respect, "perhaps I
+got my spelling from them." And then he proceeded to find his place in
+the church service. When the music began, he stood up and looked across
+at his mother, smiling. He was very fond of music, and his mother and he
+often sang together, so he joined in with the rest, his pure, sweet,
+high voice rising as clear as the song of a bird. He quite forgot
+himself in his pleasure in it. The Earl forgot himself a little too, as
+he sat in his curtain-shielded corner of the pew and watched the boy.
+Cedric stood with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_504" id="Page_504">[Pg 504]</a></span> big psalter open in his hands, singing with all
+his childish might, his face a little uplifted, happily; and as he sang,
+a long ray of sunshine crept in and, slanting through a golden pane of a
+stained glass window, brightened the falling hair about his young head.
+His mother, as she looked at him across the church, felt a thrill pass
+through her heart, and a prayer rose in it too; a prayer that the pure,
+simple happiness of his childish soul might last, and that the strange,
+great fortune which had fallen to him might bring no wrong or evil with
+it. There were many soft anxious thoughts in her tender heart in those
+new days.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 579px;">
+<img src="images/illus515.jpg" width="579" height="450" alt="&quot;I&#39;VE A GREAT DEAL TO THANK YOUR LORDSHIP FOR,&quot; SAID
+HIGGINS. (SEE NEXT PAGE.)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;I&#39;VE A GREAT DEAL TO THANK YOUR LORDSHIP FOR,&quot; SAID
+HIGGINS. (SEE NEXT PAGE.)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Oh, Ceddie!" she had said to him the evening before, as she hung over
+him in saying good-night, before he went away; "oh, Ceddie, dear, I wish
+for your sake I was very clever and could say a great many wise things!
+But only be good, dear, only be brave, only be kind and true always, and
+then you will never hurt any one, so long as you live, and you may help
+many, and the big world may be better because my little child was born.
+And that is best of all, Ceddie,&mdash;it is better than everything else,
+that the world should be a little better because a man has lived&mdash;even
+ever so little better, dearest."</p>
+
+<p>And on his return to the Castle, Fauntleroy had repeated her words to
+his grandfather.</p>
+
+<p>"And I thought about you when she said that," he ended; "and I told her
+that was the way the world was because you had lived, and I was going to
+try if I could be like you."</p>
+
+<p>"And what did she say to that?" asked his lordship, a trifle uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>"She said that was right, and we must always look for good in people and
+try to be like it."</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps it was this the old man remembered as he glanced through the
+divided folds of the red curtain of his pew. Many times he looked over
+the people's heads to where his son's wife sat alone, and he saw the
+fair face the unforgiven dead had loved, and the eyes which were so like
+those of the child at his side; but what his thoughts were, and whether
+they were hard and bitter, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_505" id="Page_505">[Pg 505]</a></span> softened a little, it would have been
+hard to discover.</p>
+
+<p>As they came out of the church, many of those who had attended the
+service stood waiting to see them pass. As they neared the gate, a man
+who stood with his hat in his hand made a step forward and then
+hesitated. He was a middle-aged farmer, with a careworn face.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Higgins," said the Earl.</p>
+
+<p>Fauntleroy turned quickly to look at him.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" he exclaimed; "is it Mr. Higgins?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," answered the Earl dryly; "and I suppose he came to take a look at
+his new landlord."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, my lord," said the man, his sunburned face reddening. "Mr. Newick
+told me his young lordship was kind enough to speak for me, and I
+thought I'd like to say a word of thanks, if I might be allowed."</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps he felt some wonder when he saw what a little fellow it was who
+had innocently done so much for him, and who stood there looking up just
+as one of his own less fortunate children might have done&mdash;apparently
+not realizing his own importance in the least.</p>
+
+<p>"I've a great deal to thank your lordship for," he said; "a great deal.
+I&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," said Fauntleroy; "I only wrote the letter. It was my grandfather
+who did it. But you know how he is about always being good to everybody.
+Is Mrs. Higgins well now?"</p>
+
+<p>Higgins looked a trifle taken aback. He also was somewhat startled at
+hearing his noble landlord presented in the character of a benevolent
+being, full of engaging qualities.</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;well, yes, your lordship," he stammered; "the missus is better since
+the trouble was took off her mind. It was worrying broke her down."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad of that," said Fauntleroy. "My grandfather was very sorry
+about your children having the scarlet fever, and so was I. He has had
+children himself. I'm his son's little boy, you know."</p>
+
+<p>Higgins was on the verge of being panic-stricken. He felt it would be
+the safer and more discreet plan not to look at the Earl, as it had been
+well known that his fatherly affection for his sons had been such that
+he had seen them about twice a year, and that when they had been ill, he
+had promptly departed for London, because he would not be bored with
+doctors and nurses. It was a little trying therefore to his lordship's
+nerves to be told, while he looked on, his eyes gleaming from under his
+shaggy eyebrows, that he felt an interest in scarlet fever.</p>
+
+<p>"You see, Higgins," broke in the Earl with a fine grim smile; "you
+people have been mistaken in me. Lord Fauntleroy understands me. When
+you want reliable information on the subject of my character, apply to
+him. Get into the carriage, Fauntleroy."</p>
+
+<p>And Fauntleroy jumped in, and the carriage rolled away down the green
+lane, and even when it turned the corner into the high road, the Earl
+was still grimly smiling.</p>
+
+<h4>(<i>To be continued.</i>)</h4>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>GEORGE WASHINGTON</h2>
+
+<h3>[<i>A Historical Biography.</i>]</h3>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Horace E. Scudder.</span></h3>
+
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Chapter XIII.</span></h3>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A Virginia Burgess.</span></h4>
+
+<p>Before Washington's marriage, and while he was in camp near Fort
+Cumberland, making active preparations for the campaign against Fort
+Duquesne, there was an election for members of the Virginia House of
+Burgesses. Washington offered himself as candidate to the electors of
+Frederic County, in which Winchester, where he had been for the past
+three years, was the principal town. His friends were somewhat fearful
+that the other candidates, who were on the ground, would have the
+advantage over Washington, who was with the army, at a distance; and
+they wrote, urging him to come on and look after his interests. Colonel
+Bouquet, under whose orders he was, cheerfully gave him leave of
+absence, but Washington replied:</p>
+
+<p>"I had, before Colonel Stephen came to this place, abandoned all
+thoughts of attending personally the election at Winchester, choosing
+rather to leave the management of that affair to my friends, than be
+absent from my regiment, when there is a probability of its being called
+to duty. I am much pleased now, that I did so."</p>
+
+<p>Here was a case where Washington broke his excellent rule of&mdash;"If you
+want a thing done, do it yourself." If his regiment was to lie idle at
+Fort<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_506" id="Page_506">[Pg 506]</a></span> Cumberland, he could easily have galloped to Winchester, and have
+been back in a few days; but there was a chance that it might move, and
+so he gave up at once all thought of leaving it. Glad enough he was to
+have the news confirmed. To lead his men forward, and to have a hand in
+the capture of Fort Duquesne, was the first thing&mdash;the election must
+take care of itself. This was not a bad statement for his friends at
+Winchester to make. A man who sticks to his post, and does his duty
+without regard to his personal interests, is the very man for a
+representative in the legislature. The people of Frederic knew
+Washington thoroughly, and though they had sometimes felt his heavy
+hand, they gave him a hearty vote, and he was elected a member of the
+House of Burgesses.</p>
+
+<p>This was in 1758, and he continued to serve as a member for the next
+fifteen years. There is a story told of his first appearance in the
+House. He was something more than a new member; he was the late
+Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia army, the foremost man, in a military
+way, in the province; he had just returned from the successful
+expedition against Fort Duquesne. So the House resolved to welcome him
+in a manner becoming so gallant a Virginian, and it passed a vote of
+thanks for the distinguished military services he had rendered the
+country. The Speaker, Mr. Robinson, rose when Washington came in to take
+his seat, and made a little speech of praise and welcome, presenting the
+thanks of the House. Every one applauded and waited for the tall colonel
+to respond. There he stood, blushing, stammering, confused. He could
+give his orders to his men easily enough, and he could even say what was
+necessary, to Mrs. Martha Custis; but to address the House of Burgesses
+in answer to a vote of thanks&mdash;that was another matter! Not a plain word
+could he get out. It was a capital answer, and the Speaker interpreted
+it to the House.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down, Mr. Washington," said he. "Your modesty equals your valor,
+and that surpasses the power of any language I possess."</p>
+
+<p>It was a trying ordeal for the new member, and if speech-making had been
+his chief business in the House, he would have made a sorry failure. He
+rarely made a speech, and never a long one, but for all that he was a
+valuable member, and his re-election at every term showed that the
+people understood his value. If there was any work to be done, any
+important committee to be appointed, Washington could be counted on, and
+his sound judgment, his mature experience, and sense of honor, made his
+opinion one which every one respected. He was always on hand, punctual,
+and faithful; and qualities of diligence and fidelity in such a place,
+when combined with sound judgment and honor, are sure to tell in the
+long run. He once gave a piece of advice to a nephew who had also been
+elected to the House, and it probably was the result of his own
+experience and observation.</p>
+
+<p>"The only advice I will offer," he said; "if you have a mind to command
+the attention of the House, is to speak seldom but on important
+subjects, except such as particularly relate to your constituents; and,
+in the former case, make yourself perfect master of the subject. Never
+exceed a decent warmth, and submit your sentiments with diffidence. A
+dictatorial style, though it may carry conviction, is always accompanied
+with disgust."</p>
+
+<p>It was in January, 1759, that Washington took his seat in the House, and
+if he made it his rule "to speak seldom but on important subjects," he
+had several opportunities to speak before he finally left the Virginia
+Legislature for a more important gathering. The first very important
+subject was the Stamp Act, in 1765. The British Government had passed an
+act requiring the American colonies to place a stamp upon every
+newspaper or almanac that was published, upon every marriage
+certificate, every will, every deed, and upon other legal papers. These
+stamps were to be sold by officers of the crown, and the money obtained
+by the sale was to be used to pay British soldiers stationed in America
+to enforce the laws made by Parliament.</p>
+
+<p>The colonies were aflame with indignation. They declared that Parliament
+had no right to pass such an act; that the Ministry that proposed it was
+about an unlawful business; and that it was adding insult to injury to
+send over soldiers to enforce such laws. People, when they meet on the
+corner of the street and discuss public matters, are usually much more
+outspoken than when they meet in legislatures; but the American
+colonists were wont to talk very plainly in their assemblies, and it was
+no new thing for the representatives, chosen by the people, to be at
+odds with the governor, who represented the British Government. So when
+Patrick Henry rose up in the House of Burgesses, with his resolutions
+declaring that the Stamp Act was illegal and that the colony of Virginia
+had always enjoyed the right of governing itself, as far as taxation
+went,&mdash;and when he made a flaming speech which threatened the King,
+there was great confusion; and though his resolutions were passed, there
+was but a bare majority.</p>
+
+<p>There is no record of what Washington may have said or how he voted on
+that occasion, but his letters show that he thought the Stamp Act a very
+unwise act on the part of Great Britain, and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_507" id="Page_507">[Pg 507]</a></span> piece of oppression.
+"That Act," he says, "could be looked upon in no other light by every
+person who would view it in its proper colors." But he did not rush into
+a passion over it. Instead, he studied it coolly, and before it was
+repealed, wrote at some length to his wife's uncle, who was living in
+London, his reasons for thinking that the British Ministry would gain
+nothing by pressing the Stamp Act and other laws which bore hard on
+colonial prosperity; for he held that if they would only see it, the
+colonies were as necessary to England as England to the colonies.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 423px;">
+<img src="images/illus521.jpg" width="423" height="450" alt="PATRICK HENRY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PATRICK HENRY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is difficult for us to-day to put ourselves in the place of
+Washington and other men of his time. Washington was a Virginian, and
+was one of the Legislature. He was used to making laws and providing for
+the needs of the people of Virginia, but he was accustomed to look
+beyond Virginia to England. There the King was, and he was one of the
+subjects of the King. The King's officers came to Virginia, and when
+Washington saw, as he so often did, a British man-of-war lying in the
+river off Mount Vernon, his mind was thrilled with pleasure as he
+thought of the power of the empire to which he belonged. He had seen the
+British soldiers marching against the French, and he had himself served
+under a British general. He had an ardent desire to go to England, to
+see London, to see the King and his Court, and Parliament, and the
+Courts of Justice, and the great merchants who made the city famous; but
+as yet he had been unable to go.</p>
+
+<p>He had seen but little of the other colonies. He had made a journey to
+Boston, and that had given him some acquaintance with men; but wherever
+he went, he found people looking eagerly toward England and asking what
+the Ministry there would do about fighting the French on the Western
+borders. Though he and others might never have seen England, it was the
+center of the world to them. He thought of the other colonies not so
+much as all parts of one great country on this side of the Atlantic, as
+each separately a part of the British Empire.</p>
+
+<p>After all, however, and most of all, he was a Virginian. In Virginia he
+owned land. There was his home, and there his occupation. He was a
+farmer, a planter of tobacco and wheat, and it was his business to sell
+his products. As for the French, they were enemies of Great Britain, but
+they were also very near enemies of Virginia. They were getting
+possession of land in Virginia itself&mdash;land which Washington owned in
+part; and when he was busily engaged in driving them out, he did not
+have to stop and think of France, he needed only to think of Fort
+Duquesne, a few days' march to the westward.</p>
+
+<p>When, therefore he found the British Government making laws which made
+him pay roundly for sending his tobacco to market, and taxing him as if
+there were no Virginia Legislature to say what taxes the people could
+and should pay, he began to be restless and dissatisfied. England was a
+great way off; Virginia was close at hand. He was loyal to the King and
+had fought under the King's officers, but if the King cared nothing for
+his loyalty, and only wanted his pence, his loyalty was likely to cool.
+His chief resentment, however, was against Parliament. Parliament was
+making laws and laying taxes. But what was Parliament? It was a body of
+law-makers in England, just as the House of Burgesses was in Virginia.
+To be sure, it could pass laws about navigation which concerned all
+parts of the British Empire; but, somehow, it made these laws very
+profitable to England and very disadvantageous to Virginia. Parliament,
+however, had no right to pass such a law as the Stamp Act. That was
+making a special law for the American colonies, and taking away a right
+which belonged to the colonial assemblies.</p>
+
+<p>Washington had grown up with an intense love of law, and in this he was
+like other American Englishmen. In England there were very few persons
+who made the laws, the vast majority had nothing to do but to obey the
+laws. Yet it is among the makers of laws that the love of law prevails;
+and since in America a great many more Englishmen had to do with
+government in colony and in town than in England, there were more who
+passionately insisted upon the law being observed. An unlawful act was
+to them an outrage. When they said that England was oppressing them,
+and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_508" id="Page_508">[Pg 508]</a></span> making them slaves, they did not mean that they wanted liberty to
+do what they pleased, but that they wanted to be governed by just laws,
+made by the men who had the right to make laws. And that right belonged
+to the legislatures, to which they sent representatives.</p>
+
+<p>So it was out of his love of law and justice that Washington and others
+protested against the Stamp Act; and when the act was repealed, they
+threw up their hats and hurrahed, not because they now should not have
+to buy and use stamps, but because by repealing the act, Parliament had
+as much as said that it was an unlawful act. However, this was an
+unwilling admission on the part of Parliament, which repealed the act,
+but said at once: "We can tax you if we choose to."</p>
+
+<p>In fact, Parliament stupidly tried soon after to prove that it had the
+right by imposing duties on tea, paper, glass, and painters' colors. But
+the people in the colonies were on the alert. They had really been
+governing themselves so long that now, when Parliament tried to get the
+power away from them, they simply went on using their power. They did
+this in two ways; the colonial governments again asserted their rights
+in the case, and the people began to form associations, in which they
+bound themselves not to buy goods of England until the offensive act was
+repealed. This latter was one of the most interesting movements in the
+breaking away of the colonies from England. It was a popular movement;
+it did not depend upon what this or that colonial assembly might do; it
+was perfectly lawful, and so far as it was complete it was effective.
+Yet all the while the movement was doing more, and what but a very few
+detected; it was binding the scattered people in the colonies together.</p>
+
+<p>Washington took a great deal of interest in these associations, and
+belonged to one himself. He was growing exceedingly impatient of English
+misrule, and saw clearly to what it was leading. "At a time," he says,
+"when our lordly masters in Great Britain will be satisfied with nothing
+less than the deprivation of American freedom, it seems highly necessary
+that something should be done to avert the stroke, and maintain the
+liberty which we have derived from our ancestors. But the manner of
+doing it to answer the purpose effectually is the point in question.
+That no man should scruple, or hesitate a moment, to use arms in defense
+of so valuable a blessing, is clearly my opinion. Yet arms, I would beg
+leave to add, should be the last resort. We have already, it is said,
+proved the inefficacy of addresses to the throne, and remonstrances to
+Parliament. How far, then, their attention to our rights and privileges
+is to be awakened or alarmed by starving their trade and manufactures,
+remains to be tried."</p>
+
+<p>He took the lead in forming an association in Virginia, and he kept
+scrupulously to his agreement; for when he sent his orders to London, he
+was very careful to instruct his correspondents to send him none of the
+goods unless the Act of Parliament had meantime been repealed. As the
+times grew more exciting, Washington watched events steadily. He took no
+step backward, but he moved forward deliberately and with firmness. He
+did not allow himself to be carried away by the passions of the time. It
+was all very well, some said, to stop buying from England, but let us
+stop selling also. They need our tobacco. Suppose we refuse to send it
+unless Parliament repeals the Act. Washington stood out against that
+except as a final resource, and for the reason which he stated in a
+letter:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I am convinced, as much as I am of my own existence, that
+there is no relief for us but in their distress; and I
+think, at least I hope, that there is public virtue enough
+left among us to deny ourselves everything but the bare
+necessaries of life to accomplish this end. This we have a
+right to do, and no power upon earth can compel us to do
+otherwise, till it has first reduced us to the most abject
+state of slavery. The stopping of our exports would, no
+doubt, be a shorter method than the other to effect this
+purpose; but if we owe money to Great Britain, nothing but
+the last necessity can justify the non-payment of it; and,
+therefore, I have great doubts upon this head, and wish to
+see the other method first tried, which is legal and will
+facilitate these payments." </p></div>
+
+<p>That is, by the economy necessarily preached, the people would save
+money with which to pay their debts.</p>
+
+<p>Washington had been at the front both in the House of Burgesses, in his
+own county, and among the people generally. He was a member of the
+convention called to meet at Williamsburg; and he was appointed by that
+convention one of seven delegates to attend the first Continental
+Congress at Philadelphia.</p>
+
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Chapter XIV.</span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.</h4>
+
+<p>Near the end of August, 1774, Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton, two of
+the delegates from Virginia to the first Continental Congress, rode from
+their homes to Mount Vernon and made a short visit. Then, on the last
+day of the month, Washington mounted his horse also, and the three
+friends started for Philadelphia to attend the congress, which was
+called to meet on the 5th of September. Pendleton was a dozen years
+older than Washington, and Henry was the youngest of the party. He was
+the most fiery in speech, and more than once, in recent conventions, had
+carried his hearers away by his bold words. He was the most<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_509" id="Page_509">[Pg 509]</a></span> eloquent
+man in the colonies,&mdash;of rude appearance, but when once wrought up by
+excitement, able to pour out a torrent of words.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 419px;">
+<img src="images/illus525.jpg" width="419" height="450" alt="WASHINGTON, PATRICK HENRY, AND EDMUND PENDLETON ON THEIR
+WAY TO PHILADELPHIA, AS DELEGATES TO THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.[D" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WASHINGTON, PATRICK HENRY, AND EDMUND PENDLETON ON THEIR
+WAY TO PHILADELPHIA, AS DELEGATES TO THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>For my part, I would rather have heard the speech which Washington made
+at the convention in Williamsburg in the August before, when he rose up
+to read the resolution which he and his neighbors had passed at their
+meeting in Fairfax County. The eloquence of a man who is a famous orator
+is not quite so convincing as that of a man of action, who rarely
+speaks, but who is finally stirred by a great occasion. People were used
+to hearing Washington say a few words in a slow, hesitating, deliberate
+way; and they knew that he had carefully considered beforehand what
+words he should use. But this time he was terribly in earnest, and when
+he had read the resolution, he spoke as no one had heard him before. He
+was a passionate man who had his anger under control; but when it
+occasionally burst out, it was as if a dam to a stream had given way.
+And now he was consumed with indignation at the manner in which Great
+Britain was treating the colonies. He was ready, he said, to raise a
+regiment of a thousand men, pay all their expenses, and lead them to
+Boston to drive out the King's soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>The three men, therefore, must have talked long and earnestly as they
+rode to Philadelphia; for the Congress which they were to attend was the
+first one to which all the colonies were invited to send delegates. It
+was to consider the cause of the whole people, and Virginia was to see
+in Massachusetts not a rival colony, but one with which she had common
+cause. The last time Washington had gone over the road he had been on an
+errand to the King's chief representative in America, the
+Commander-in-Chief, Governor Shirley, and one matter which he had held
+very much at heart had been his own commission as an officer in His
+Majesty's army. He was on a different errand now. Still, like the men
+who were most in earnest at that time, he was thinking how the colonies
+could secure their rights as colonies, not how they might break away
+from England and set up for themselves.</p>
+
+<p>They were five days on the road, and on September the 4th, they
+breakfasted near Newcastle, in Delaware, dined at Chester, in
+Pennsylvania, and in the evening were in Philadelphia, at the City
+Tavern, which stood on Second street, above Walnut street, and was the
+meeting-place of most of the delegates. Washington, however, though he
+was often at the City Tavern, had his lodging at Dr. Shippen's. The
+Congress met the next day at Carpenters' Hall, and was in session for
+seven weeks. The first two or three days were especially exciting to the
+members. There they were, fifty-one men, from all the colonies save<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_510" id="Page_510">[Pg 510]</a></span>
+Georgia, met to consult together&mdash;Englishmen who sang "God save the
+King," but asked also what right the King had to act as he had done
+toward Boston. They did not know one another well at the beginning.
+There was no man among them who could be called famous beyond his own
+colony, unless it was George Washington. Up to this time the different
+colonies had lived so apart from one another, each concerned about its
+own affairs, that there had been little opportunity for a man to be
+widely known.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
+<img src="images/illus526.jpg" width="444" height="600" alt="CARPENTERS&#39; HALL, PHILADELPHIA, WHERE THE FIRST
+CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ASSEMBLED." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CARPENTERS&#39; HALL, PHILADELPHIA, WHERE THE FIRST
+CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So, as they looked at one another at the City Tavern, or at the
+Carpenters' Hall when they met, each man was wondering who would take
+the lead. Virginia was the largest and most important colony.
+Massachusetts had a right to speak, because she had called the
+convention, and because it was in Boston that the people were suffering
+most from the action of the British Parliament. Perhaps the two most
+conspicuous members at first were Patrick Henry, of Virginia, and Samuel
+Adams, of Massachusetts; but in the seven weeks of the session, others
+showed their good judgment and patriotism. Patrick Henry was asked after
+he returned to Virginia whom he considered the greatest man in the
+Congress, and he replied: "If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of
+South Carolina, is by far the greatest orator; but if you speak of solid
+information and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the
+greatest man on the floor."</p>
+
+<p>Washington carried on the methods which he had always practiced. He
+attended the sessions punctually and regularly; he listened to what
+others had to say, and gave his own opinion only after he had carefully
+formed it. It is an example of the thoroughness with which he made
+himself master of every subject, that he used to copy in his own hand
+the important papers which were laid before Congress, such as the
+petition to the King which was agreed upon. This he would do
+deliberately and exactly,&mdash;it was like committing the paper to memory.
+Besides this, he made abstracts of other papers, stating the substance
+of them in a few clear words.</p>
+
+<p>The greater part of each day was occupied in the Congress, but besides
+the regular business, there was a great deal of informal talk among the
+members. They were full of the subject, and used to meet to discuss
+affairs at dinner, or in knots about the fire at the City Tavern.
+Philadelphia was then the most important city in the country, and there
+were many men of wide experience living in it. Washington went
+everywhere by invitation. He dined with the Chief Justice, with the
+Mayor, and with all the notable people.</p>
+
+<p>In this way he was able to become better acquainted both with the state
+of affairs in other colonies and with the way the most intelligent
+people were thinking about the difficulties of the time. The first
+Continental Congress gave expression to the deliberate judgment of the
+colonies upon the acts of Great Britain. It protested against the manner
+in which Parliament was treating the colonies. It declared firmly and
+solemnly that as British subjects the people of the colonies owed no
+allegiance to Parliament, in which they had no representatives; that
+their own legislatures<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_511" id="Page_511">[Pg 511]</a></span> alone had the right to lay taxes. But after all,
+the great advantage of this first Congress was in the opportunity which
+it gave for representatives from the different colonies to become
+acquainted with one another, and thus to make all parts of the country
+more ready to act together.</p>
+
+<p>It was only now and then that any one suggested the independence of the
+colonies. Washington, like a few others, thought it possible the
+colonies might have to arm and resist the unlawful attempt to force
+unconstitutional laws upon them; but he did not, at this time, go so far
+as to propose a separation from England. He had a friend among the
+British officers in Boston, one of his old comrades in the war against
+France, a Captain Mackenzie, who wrote to him, complaining of the way
+the Boston people were behaving. Captain Mackenzie, very naturally, as
+an officer, saw only a troublesome, rebellious lot of people whom it was
+the business of the army to put down. Washington wrote earnestly to him,
+trying to show him the reason why the people felt as they did, and the
+wrong way of looking at the subject which Captain Mackenzie and other
+officers had. He expressed his sorrow that fortune should have placed
+his friend in a service that was sure to bring down vengeance upon those
+engaged in it. He went on:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I do not mean by this to insinuate that an officer is not
+to discharge his duty, even when chance, not choice, has
+placed him in a disagreeable situation; but I conceive, when
+you condemn the conduct of the Massachusetts people, you
+reason from effects, not causes; otherwise you would not
+wonder at a people, who are every day receiving fresh proofs
+of a systematic assertion of an arbitrary power, deeply
+planned to overturn the laws and constitution of their
+country, and to violate the most essential and valuable
+rights of mankind, being irritated, and with difficulty
+restrained from acts of the greatest violence and
+intemperance. For my own part, I confess to you candidly,
+that I view things in a very different point of light from
+the one in which you seem to consider them; and though you
+are taught by venal men ... to believe that the people of
+Massachusetts are rebellious, setting up for independency,
+and what not, give me leave, my good friend, to tell you,
+that you are abused, grossly abused.... Give me leave to
+add, and I think I can announce it as a fact, that it is not
+the wish or interest of that government, or any other upon
+this continent, separately or collectively, to set up for
+independence; but this you may at the same time rely on,
+that none of them will ever submit to the loss of those
+valuable rights and privileges which are essential to the
+happiness of every free State, and without which, life,
+liberty, and property are rendered totally insecure." </p></div>
+
+<p>It was with such a belief as this that Washington went back to Mount
+Vernon, and while he was occupied with his engrossing private affairs,
+busied himself also with organizing and drilling soldiers. Independent
+companies were formed all over Virginia, and one after another placed
+themselves under his command. Although, by the custom of those
+companies, each was independent of the others, yet by choosing the same
+commander they virtually made Washington Commander-in-Chief of the
+Virginia volunteers. He was the first military man in the colony, and
+every one turned to him for advice and instruction. So through the
+winter and spring, he was constantly on the move, going to one place
+after another to review the companies which had been formed.</p>
+
+<p>I think that winter and spring of 1775 must have been a somewhat
+sorrowful one to George Washington, and that he must have felt as if a
+great change were coming in his life. His wife's daughter had died, and
+he missed her sadly. Young John Custis had married and gone away to
+live. The sound of war was heard on all sides, and among the visitors to
+Mount Vernon were some who afterward were to be generals in the American
+army. He still rode occasionally after the hounds, but the old days of
+fun were gone. George William Fairfax had gone back to England, and the
+jolly company at Belvoir was scattered. The house itself there had
+caught fire, and burned to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>But the time for action was at hand. Washington turned from his home and
+his fox-hunting to go to Richmond as a delegate to a second Virginia
+convention. It was called to hear the reports of the delegates to
+Philadelphia and to see what further was to be done. It was clear to
+some, and to Washington among them, that the people must be ready for
+the worst. They had shown themselves in earnest by all the drill and
+training they had been going through as independent companies. Now let
+those companies be formed into a real army. It was idle to send any more
+petitions to the King.</p>
+
+<p>"We must fight!" exclaimed Patrick Henry; "I repeat it, sir; we must
+fight! An appeal to arms and the God of Hosts is all that is left us!"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 271px;">
+<img src="images/illus528.jpg" width="271" height="350" alt="JOHN ADAMS, OF MASSACHUSETTS, WHO PROPOSED WASHINGTON FOR
+COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">JOHN ADAMS, OF MASSACHUSETTS, WHO PROPOSED WASHINGTON FOR
+COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>A committee, of which Washington was one, was appointed to report a plan
+for an army of Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>But when people make up their minds to fight, they know very well, if
+they are sensible, that more than half the task before them is to find
+means for feeding and clothing not only the troops but the people who
+are dependent on the troops. Therefore the convention appointed another
+committee, of which Washington also was a member,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_512" id="Page_512">[Pg 512]</a></span> to devise a plan for
+encouraging manufactures, so that the people could do without England.
+Heretofore, the Virginians had done scarcely any manufacturing; nearly
+everything they needed they had bought from England with tobacco. But if
+they were to be at war with England, they must be making ready to
+provide for themselves. It was late in the day to do anything; slavery,
+though they did not then see it clearly, had made a variety of
+industries impossible. However, the people were advised to form
+associations to promote the raising of wool, cotton, flax, and hemp, and
+to encourage the use of home manufactures.</p>
+
+<p>Washington was again chosen one of the delegates to the Continental
+Congress, for the second Congress had been called to meet at
+Philadelphia. He was even readier to go than before. On the day when he
+was chosen, he wrote to his brother John Augustine Washington: "It is my
+full intention to devote my life and fortune to the cause we are engaged
+in, if needful."</p>
+
+<p>That was at the end of March. The second Continental Congress was to
+meet on May 10; and just before Washington left Mount Vernon came the
+news of Lexington and Concord. Curiously enough, the Governor of
+Virginia had done just what Governor Gage had attempted to do; he had
+seized some powder which was stored at Fredericksburg, and placed it for
+safety on board a vessel of the British navy. The independent companies
+at once met and called upon Washington to take command of them, that
+they might compel the Governor to restore the powder. Washington kept
+cool. The Governor promised to restore the powder, and Washington
+advised the people to wait to see what Congress would do.</p>
+
+<p>When Congress met, the men who came together were no longer strangers to
+one another. They had parted warm friends the previous fall; they had
+gone to their several homes and now had come back more determined than
+ever, and more united. Every one spoke of Lexington and Concord; and the
+Massachusetts men told how large an army had already gathered around
+Boston. But it was an army made up not only of Massachusetts men, but of
+men from Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. It was plain that
+there must be some authority over such an army, and the Provincial
+Congress of Massachusetts wrote to the Continental Congress at
+Philadelphia, advising that body to assume control of all the forces, to
+raise a continental army, appoint a commander, and do whatever else was
+necessary to prepare for war. There had already been fighting; there was
+an army; and it was no longer a war between Massachusetts and Great
+Britain.</p>
+
+<p>I do not know what other delegates to the Congress at Philadelphia came
+as soldiers, but there was one tall Virginian present who wore his
+military coat; and when the talk fell upon appointing a commander, all
+eyes were turned toward him. Every one, however, felt the gravity and
+delicacy of the situation. Here was an army adopted by Congress; but it
+was a New England army, and if the struggle were to come at Boston, it
+was natural that the troops should mainly come from that neighborhood.
+The colonies were widely separated; they had not acted much together.
+Would it not be better, would it not save ill-feeling, if a New England
+man were to command this New England army?</p>
+
+<p>There were some who thought thus; and besides, there was still a good
+deal of difference of opinion as to the course to be pursued. Some were
+all ready for independence; others, and perhaps the most, hoped to bring
+the British to terms. Parties were rising in Congress; petty jealousies
+were showing themselves, when suddenly John Adams, of Massachusetts,
+seeing into what perplexities they were drifting, came forward with a
+distinct proposition that Congress should adopt the army before Boston
+and appoint a commander. He did not name Washington, but described him
+as a certain gentleman from Virginia "who could unite the cordial
+exertions of all the colonies better than any other person." No one
+doubted who was meant, and Washington, confused and agitated, left the
+room at once.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing else was now talked of. The delegates discussed the matter in
+groups and small circles, and a few days afterward a Maryland delegate
+formally nominated George Washington to be Commander-in-Chief of the
+American Army. He was unanimously elected, but the honor of bringing him
+distinctly before the Congress belongs to John Adams. It seems now a
+very natural thing to do, but really it was something which required
+wisdom and courage. When one sums up all Washington's military
+experience at this time, it was not great, or such as to point him out
+as unmistakably the leader of the American army. There was a general
+then in command at Cambridge, who had seen more of war than Washington
+had. But Washington was the leading military man in Virginia, and it was
+for this reason that John Adams, as a New England man, urged his
+election. The Congress had done something to bring the colonies
+together; the war was to do more, but probably no single act really had
+a more far-reaching significance in making the Union, than the act of
+nominating the Virginian Washington by the New England Adams.</p>
+
+<h4>(<i>To be continued.</i>)</h4>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> The above illustration is reproduced from Irving's "Life of
+Washington," by kind permission of Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_513" id="Page_513">[Pg 513]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus531a.jpg" width="650" height="330" alt="Spring Beauties." title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Helen Gray Cone.</span></h3>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The Puritan Spring Beauties stood freshly clad for church;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A Thrush, white-breasted, o'er them sat singing on his perch.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Happy be! for fair are ye!" the gentle singer told them.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But presently a buff-coat Bee came booming up to scold them.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Vanity, oh, vanity!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Young maids, beware of vanity!"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Grumbled out the buff-coat Bee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Half parson-like, half soldierly.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The sweet-faced maidens trembled, with pretty, pinky blushes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Convinced that it was wicked to listen to the Thrushes;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And when, that shady afternoon, I chanced that way to pass,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They hung their little bonnets down and looked into the grass.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All because the buff-coat Bee<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lectured them so solemnly:&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Vanity, oh, vanity!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Young maids, beware of vanity!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/illus531b.jpg" width="600" height="377" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_514" id="Page_514">[Pg 514]</a></span></p>
+<h2>HOW CONRAD LOST HIS SCHOOL-BOOKS.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Walter Bobbett.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>Conrad was not a prince, not even a lord; he was only an ordinary boy.
+He should have been on his way to school; but, having a talent for doing
+nothing, he was wandering about the fields and little strips of
+woodland, amusing himself by watching the birds skim through the air. He
+had lately been reading a volume of fairy-tales, and as he walked along
+he began to wonder whether there really was a bit of truth in any of
+them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/illus532.jpg" width="600" height="352" alt="&quot;HE BECKONED TO CONRAD, WHO CROSSED THE STREAM ON A
+SLIGHT PLANK BRIDGE.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;HE BECKONED TO CONRAD, WHO CROSSED THE STREAM ON A
+SLIGHT PLANK BRIDGE.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>He kept on thinking so intently about it, that he did not notice how
+near he was to a little brook, until he found himself almost on the
+point of tumbling into the water. This put a stop to his wondering, for
+the next moment he stood staring in astonishment, not at the water, but
+at a little old man who was sitting on the roots of a large tree that
+grew on the opposite bank of the stream. He was dressed in a very
+curious fashion. On his head he had a tall steeple-crowned hat, in which
+were placed two long peacock's feathers.</p>
+
+<p>The little old man sat looking very attentively at Conrad, and seemed to
+derive a great deal of comfort from a long pipe, which he was enjoying
+so energetically that all around him the air was filled with smoke. At
+last he beckoned to Conrad, who crossed the stream on a slight plank
+bridge, and advanced toward him.</p>
+
+<p>By that time, Conrad had leaped to the conclusion, in his own mind, that
+the very queer-looking old gentleman was an enchanter, and so he had
+resolved to be very respectful, to do just as he was bidden, and to wait
+very patiently for the little old man to speak first.</p>
+
+<p>Presently the little old man shifted the pipe for a moment, and asked:</p>
+
+<p>"What are those books that you are carrying?"</p>
+
+<p>"They are my school-books," said Conrad; "but I am tired of going to
+school, and I wish to go with the fairies!"</p>
+
+<p>The little old man smiled a benevolent smile, and exclaimed: "Oh!" Then
+he shifted his pipe again, and said quickly:</p>
+
+<p>"Give me the school-books."</p>
+
+<p>Conrad did so, at once.</p>
+
+<p>The little old man then opened a spelling-book, and turned to the
+fly-leaf.</p>
+
+<p>"Conrad," said he.</p>
+
+<p>Conrad started, for he wondered how the little man had learned his name.
+He himself had not once mentioned it. He was sure now that the queer
+little person was an enchanter.</p>
+
+<p>"So, Conrad," said the little old man again, "you wish to go to the
+fairies, do you? Well, you may go; but you must leave your books with me
+until you come back."</p>
+
+<p>Conrad's attention was now attracted by a raven, which he saw standing
+beside the enchanter, and which he had not noticed before.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the bird, the enchanter said: "Give me my key."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_515" id="Page_515">[Pg 515]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The raven hopped from a large key upon which it had been standing, and
+taking it in its beak, presented it to its master.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/illus533.jpg" width="400" height="252" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Conrad wished to ask if the raven would bite, and whether it could do
+any better trick than carrying a key; but he thought this might be
+considered an impertinent question, so he said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>"Take this key," said the little old man, "and be careful not to lose
+it. Walk on until you come to the edge of yonder forest; pass straight
+through the wood, and when you arrive at the other side, you will behold
+a castle not far distant. You may find it difficult to gain admission;
+but you must persevere. As to what will happen afterward, I may not tell
+you now. One word more, and then begone; should you ever need my
+assistance, blow down the key."</p>
+
+<p>Conrad was so astonished at all he had seen and heard, that he hardly
+knew what to do; but as the little old man pointed in the direction of
+the forest, Conrad bade him good-day, and walked away to follow the
+orders he had received.</p>
+
+<p>He kept on until he came to the forest, which he entered. It seemed so
+quiet and dark, that he would have been frightened, had he not
+remembered that, in case of danger, he could depend on assistance from
+the enchanter.</p>
+
+<p>At last he reached the end of the wood, and about a mile beyond, he saw
+the castle with its gilded dome and all its windows shining in the
+sunlight. This sight cheered him, and he walked on till he came to the
+gateway. He found the great gates wide open; and no one prevented his
+entering, as it happened to be a day on which the King received
+petitions from those of his subjects who wished to present any.</p>
+
+<p>He passed on through the large court-yard, key in hand, and instead of
+going in at the entrance to the court, he entered a little side door and
+ascended a winding stairway. Up he went, higher and higher, till it
+seemed as if the stairway would never end, when suddenly he came face to
+face with an official who was descending.</p>
+
+<p>"What business have you here?" asked the officer.</p>
+
+<p>Conrad could not answer; so the man gently took hold of his ear and led
+him down the stairs again, varying the monotony of the long descent by
+giving the ear a severe pinch at every seventh step. Out through the
+court-yard they passed, the bystanders all cheering and laughing; out of
+the gate again; and with one final pinch, the boy was left sobbing on
+the roadway.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Conrad had, indeed, found it difficult to gain admission to the
+castle. Drying his tears, however, he began to walk around the outside
+of the building, until at last he came to a ladder that was leaning
+against a window.</p>
+
+<p>"The very thing!" said he; "it must have been left here on purpose for
+me."</p>
+
+<p>Up he climbed, slipped in at the window, and dropped quietly to the
+floor.</p>
+
+<p>He found himself in a large hall, through which he walked until he came
+to an archway at the farther end. Before the archway hung an embroidered
+curtain. Conrad pushed it aside, and entered a richly decorated room, at
+the end of which stood a throne. Around it were assembled many nobles,
+pages, and guards, who were awaiting the return of the King from
+hunting.</p>
+
+<p>Few of them looked at Conrad. Some seemed to cast a scornful side-glance
+at him, and one even told him to go back by the way he had come. Conrad
+was not a whit daunted, however, and boldly holding up his key, so that
+every one could see it, he walked up to a portly-looking gentleman, who
+was dressed in black velvet and who wore a golden chain around his neck.
+Conrad asked him what he was to do. The portly gentleman stared at him.
+Conrad asked if any of the company were enchanted; "because," said he,
+"if they are, I'll disenchant them with my key."</p>
+
+<p>"Enchanted?" said the gentleman in black. "What do you mean? Why do you
+bother me about enchantment?"</p>
+
+<p>Conrad began to feel a little nervous, and to think that they did not
+seem at all like enchanted folk; at least, they did not act like any he
+had read about in his books.</p>
+
+<p>The enchanter had told him that he would meet with difficulties, but,
+despite his confidence, he could not help getting very red in the face.
+And by this time, all the gentlemen, except the one dressed in black,
+were smiling.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, Conrad remembered what the little old man had said about
+whistling down the key. Happy thought! He at once rushed up in front of
+the portly gentleman with the black velvet suit and the golden chain,
+and began to whistle in the key as hard as he could.</p>
+
+<p>But, at this performance, the nobles all stopped smiling and looked
+first at one another, and then at Conrad, with very grave faces; one
+even put his hand upon his sword.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_516" id="Page_516">[Pg 516]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Now, it happened that the gentleman in black velvet was a Grand Duke and
+the Prime Minister of the kingdom. At that moment he was thinking over
+some important question of state, and the sight of Conrad whistling and
+capering in front of him, just as he was settling everything to his own
+satisfaction, made him so angry, that he stopped and stared at Conrad,
+as if he could have stepped upon him. Conrad kept on whistling, but the
+little enchanter did not come. "He must either be ill or very deaf,"
+thought Conrad, and he was just making up his mind that something was
+wrong, when all doubts on the subject were removed by the Grand Duke,
+who advanced toward him, picked him up by the collar of his jacket, and,
+carrying him to a window, quietly dropped him out.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/illus535.jpg" width="600" height="666" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Poor Conrad was very much shaken by his fall, and for a time was so
+dazed that he could hardly realize what had happened. In a little while,
+he began to collect his thoughts; but as he picked himself up, he
+concluded, notwithstanding the difficulties he had encountered, that he
+would try once more to gain admission to the castle. So he arose and
+walked toward a door which he saw a few paces distant.</p>
+
+<p>His key fitted the lock perfectly. He pushed aside a sliding door,
+walked in, and passed down a stairway, when he found himself in a dark
+cellar. The floor was strewn with boxes and small barrels, over which he
+stumbled, breaking some bottles that stood in his way. He began to feel
+frightened, so he climbed to the top of a barrel, in order to get a
+glimpse of his position and see if he could find his way out to
+daylight. Suddenly the barrel-head gave way, and before he had time to
+jump off, Conrad fell, up to his knees, in some soft powder. He
+struggled to free himself, but only upset the barrel and covered himself
+from head to foot with flour or fine meal. At last he called for
+assistance; and a door, that he had not noticed until then, opened, and
+a girl of about his own age came into the cellar, and asked what was the
+matter.</p>
+
+<p>"I've tumbled into something; please come and help me out," cried
+Conrad.</p>
+
+<p>She hurried to him, and with her aid he at last succeeded in freeing
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>After brushing the dust from his hair and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_517" id="Page_517">[Pg 517]</a></span> his clothes, he followed
+where his new friend led the way, and entered a kitchen, thinking that
+without doubt he was now in the presence of an enchanted princess, who
+must have been waiting many years for some one to disenchant her. "To be
+sure," thought he, "I am not a prince; but then that does not so much
+matter; there is no telling but I may be one, some day;" so he decided
+to ask the maiden how she had become enchanted.</p>
+
+<p>"Beautiful Princess," exclaimed he,&mdash;&mdash;and he was just attempting a very
+fine speech in the best fairy-story manner, when the young girl laughed,
+and told him to be seated, and asked him if he would like to have a pie.
+Conrad was astonished by this question from an enchanted princess; but,
+without waiting for his reply, the girl walked toward a table on which
+stood a number of mince-pies, and, taking up one of them, she placed it
+before Conrad.</p>
+
+<p>That was not the way in which an enchanted princess was supposed to act;
+but as Conrad was very hungry, he did not express his surprise, but
+turned his attention to the pie. While he was eating, the princess
+busied herself with beating some eggs in a large bowl, and before he
+knew it, Conrad found that he had eaten all the pie.</p>
+
+<p>Then they talked about the weather and whatever else they happened to
+think of; and at last, Conrad asked her how long she had been enchanted.</p>
+
+<p>"What!" exclaimed the princess.</p>
+
+<p>He repeated his question.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what do you mean?" said she.</p>
+
+<p>He was just about explaining, when "tramp, tramp, tramp!"&mdash;the noise of
+feet was heard coming down the stairs. The princess jumped up, and
+cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, run! Run quickly! I shall be punished if they find that I have
+given you a pie!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no," said Conrad; "do not be frightened! I will protect you from
+them. I came to this castle on purpose to rescue you."</p>
+
+<p>"But I do not want to be rescued!" said she. "Do go, at once!"</p>
+
+<p>Tramp, tramp! Nearer and nearer came the sound,&mdash;almost to the bottom of
+the stairs. Conrad felt for his key.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, dear!" he exclaimed, "I must have lost my key when I fell into the
+barrel! I never noticed that I was without it till now. All is lost!
+Adieu, good Princess!"</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye," said she; "only go!"</p>
+
+<p>He jumped upon a table, and climbed out of the window. It was all that
+was left for him to do. After he was outside of the building, he turned,
+and waving his hand to the princess, begged her to remember him.</p>
+
+<p>"I will come back to you, if I ever get my key again," he said; "and
+then I'll disenchant you."</p>
+
+<p>At that moment the kitchen door opened, and Conrad saw a great light. It
+might have been a bull's-eye lantern, but Conrad was sure that it was a
+dragon that was pointing its fiery eye at him.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, the poor princess!" said he. "If only I had my key!"</p>
+
+<p>Then, as the light flashed full at him, he became so frightened that he
+turned and ran for the gate as hard as he could. He made his way across
+the court-yard much faster than when he had come in, and soon he had
+left the castle far behind. The houses began to be farther apart and to
+have a more rustic appearance. He heard a cart coming along the road.</p>
+
+<p>"Please give me a ride!" he cried to the driver.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I will," said the man; "jump in." And Conrad clambered into the
+cart.</p>
+
+<p>"You look tired," said the driver. "Lie down on that blanket and rest
+yourself."</p>
+
+<p>Conrad gladly did as he was told and, feeling much fatigued after his
+adventures, he was soon fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>He did not awake until he felt himself carried out of the cart, and was
+just enough awake to know that all the inmates of his father's house,
+together with a few of the neighbors, were crowding about and asking him
+where he had been. And that was all he noticed, for the next moment he
+was off to sleep again, and was carried upstairs and put to bed.</p>
+
+<p>He did not feel very well the next morning, so the doctor was called in,
+who advised that he should remain in the house for a few days, as he had
+a slight fever.</p>
+
+<p>While at home, he told his aunt what had happened to him; but she only
+patted his head, and told him that he must have been dreaming. But this
+Conrad refused to believe.</p>
+
+<p>When he recovered, however, he became a much better boy, more quiet and
+attentive to his studies; and it may be mentioned that, whenever any one
+told a fairy-tale, he wore a very solemn face, took a back seat, and
+said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>It is not known whether he still believes in fairies; but one thing is
+certain&mdash;he never saw the little old enchanter again, nor the
+school-books that he had left with him.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_518" id="Page_518">[Pg 518]</a></span></p>
+<h2>BLOSSOM-TIME.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By L. E. R.</span></h3>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Snow, snow, down from the apple-trees,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pink and white drifting of petals sweet!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Kiss her and crown her our Lady of Blossoming,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There as she sits on the apple-tree sweet!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Has she not gathered the summer about her?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">See how it laughs from her lips and her eyes!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Think you the sun there would shine on without her?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nay! 'Tis her smile keeps the gray from the skies!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Fire of the rose, and snow of the jessamine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gold of the lily-dust hid in her hair;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Day holds his breath and Night comes up to look at her,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Leaving their strife for a vision so rare.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Snow, snow, down from the apple-trees,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pink and white drifting of petals sweet!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Kiss her, and crown her, and flutter adown her,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And carpet the ground for her dear little feet!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>A SEARCH FOR THE LACE-LEAF.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Alice May</span>.</h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 475px;">
+<img src="images/illus538.jpg" width="475" height="400" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Early one morning, a palanquin carried by native bearers, and containing
+as passengers Mr. Steedman, an English missionary, and his little son
+Harry, was proceeding up the one street of Bifor&aacute;na, a queer little
+bamboo village on the island of Madagascar, situated about midway
+between Antananarivo, the capital, and the eastern coast.</p>
+
+<p>Comparatively little is known of Madagascar, although the unsuccessful
+attempt of France to obtain possession of it drew interest and attention
+to it not many months ago. There are but two larger islands in the
+world. As many of you know, it lies some two hundred and fifty miles to
+the east of the African coast, is nine hundred and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_519" id="Page_519">[Pg 519]</a></span> eighty miles long
+and two hundred and fifty wide, and is therefore nearly four times as
+large as England and Wales combined.</p>
+
+<p>The Queen of this island kingdom is a young woman with the curious name
+of Rasendranovo Ranavalo III. She succeeded to the throne in 1883. She
+is a Christian, as is also a large part of the population of her realm;
+and there are numerous missionary stations throughout the island.</p>
+
+<p>Harry Steedman's father was one of these missionaries, and Harry himself
+was accustomed to traveling by palanquin, since there are no roads nor
+carriages to be found in Madagascar.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 338px;">
+<img src="images/illus539b.jpg" width="338" height="500" alt="&quot;PASSING A GROVE OF PALMS KNOWN AS THE &#39;TRAVELER&#39;S
+TREE.&#39;&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;PASSING A GROVE OF PALMS KNOWN AS THE &#39;TRAVELER&#39;S
+TREE.&#39;&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The palanquin was an oblong basket of bamboo, lined with plaited
+sheepskin. The ends of the long poles or handles rested upon the
+shoulders of four Madagascan bearers, while four others accompanied
+these as a relay. Under the palanquin hood of woven palm-cloth, Mr.
+Steedman reclined comfortably, while Harry nestled cozily at his feet;
+and so, out of the village, and through the swamp of Bifor&aacute;na, the
+procession moved until the mire became so thick that the palanquin could
+not be carried with ease. As the next best mode of conveyance, the two
+passengers were then transferred to the shoulders of two stout natives.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 437px;">
+<img src="images/illus539a.jpg" width="437" height="400" alt="PALANQUIN TRAVELING BECOMES UNCOMFORTABLE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PALANQUIN TRAVELING BECOMES UNCOMFORTABLE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Steedman had started upon an expedition in search of the beautiful
+lace-leaf plant, or water-yam, of Madagascar, which he was told grew in
+the forests beyond Bifor&aacute;na, and which he was very desirous of finding
+in its native state. Harry, after urgent solicitation, had been allowed
+to accompany his father; but, as he clung to the neck of his swarthy
+bearer, the little fellow found that there was not, after all, so much
+fun in the trip as he had expected. And later on, when the palanquin, in
+which they were soon seated again, was tossed and bumped by the slipping
+and stumbling of the bearers as they climbed a very steep hill-side, he
+began almost to wish himself at home.</p>
+
+<p>After passing a grove of the stately palms known as the "traveler's
+tree," they found themselves on a path that led to the bank of a river.
+They endeavored to ford it, but speedily found that the danger from deep
+holes and ugly-looking crocodiles was too great for them to proceed. So
+Raheh, the chief bearer, uttered a curious cry, or signal, which soon
+brought into view a <i>l&agrave;kana</i>, or canoe, rudely fashioned from a hollow
+tree-trunk; and in it a native was paddling rapidly toward them.</p>
+
+<p>Harry and his father stepped into the rather shaky-looking craft not
+without misgivings, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_520" id="Page_520">[Pg 520]</a></span> they were soon safely landed on the other
+shore. When all had been thus ferried across and the native boatman had
+been paid, the party entered the great forest of Alamazaotra, which
+covers more than forty miles of wild and mountainous country.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 368px;">
+<img src="images/illus540.jpg" width="368" height="450" alt="THE LACE-LEAF OF MADAGASCAR." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE LACE-LEAF OF MADAGASCAR.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Their path at once led them through a gorge so narrow that the sides of
+the palanquin grazed the rocky walls, and the masses of tangled foliage,
+meeting far above their heads, almost entirely obscured the light. The
+bearers paused for breath after climbing the steep ascent that led from
+this gloomy pass, and Harry and his father exclaimed in wonder at the
+strange beauty of the wild tropical forest.</p>
+
+<p>Gigantic palms upheld around their stately heads a leafy dome closely
+interlaced by clinging vines. Long garlands of moss and climbing plants
+crossed and recrossed this lofty roof, and from its shadowy arches great
+masses of gray moss hung suspended. Here and there among the cool green
+and gray tints of leaves and moss some tropical flowers and fruits
+gleamed forth in bright flashes of scarlet and gold.</p>
+
+<p>Myriads of frail wood-blossoms hid their pale heads under the feathery
+ferns that clustered about the roots of the trees, and the dead palms
+were tenderly shrouded in waxy-leaved climbing vines, their graceful
+fallen crowns replaced by masses of green ferns, intermingled with the
+faint pink and blue tints of some rare orchid. On every side were little
+groves of bamboo,&mdash;their light-green fringes contrasting with the darker
+fronds of the stately tree-fern.</p>
+
+<p>Absolute silence reigned throughout this solitude, and Harry began to be
+so oppressed by the stillness as to grow fearful of danger. But his
+father explained that during the wet season, in which they were
+traveling, insect life in these tropical forests is asleep, and Harry
+himself knew that there were but few wild animals in Madagascar. Indeed,
+with the exception of that curious animal, part fox, part squirrel, and
+part monkey, that is peculiar to Madagascar and is called, from its
+prowling habits and ghostly appearance, the lemur, or "ghostly visitor,"
+the great island possesses no large native quadrupeds. The hump-backed
+African cattle and the singular fat-tailed sheep, now common throughout
+the island, were not originally found in Madagascar, but were taken over
+from Africa.</p>
+
+<p>The bearers of the palanquin clambered on, now over steep and
+moss-covered rocks, now crossing sluggish streams on slippery
+stepping-stones, or sliding down precipices, until poor Harry was so
+rattled and shaken and tossed and tumbled that he declared he didn't
+know his head from his heels.</p>
+
+<p>But, at last, a break occurred in the long stretch of rock and forest,
+and as the bearers paused upon a piece of level ground, for a moment's
+rest, Raheh suddenly uttered the joyful cry of "<i>rano!</i>" (water)<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_521" id="Page_521">[Pg 521]</a></span> and
+all, on listening, distinguished the sound of a rushing stream.</p>
+
+<p>Urged on by Raheh, the bearers pushed ahead, and soon stood upon the
+banks of a beautiful river, dashing merrily along over rocks and fallen
+trees, until with a leap it disappeared in the shadows of the vast
+forest. Upon the farther side was grouped a little village of the clay
+huts belonging to the friendly Hovas, and beyond the village stretched
+green fields of waving rice. The "Hovas" are the governing race in the
+island, and are the most civilized. Their capital city of Antananarivo,
+in the center of the island, is a well-built city of over 100,000
+inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>A tree had fallen across the stream, with its head resting upon the
+opposite bank, and this natural bridge was entirely covered with pink,
+blue, and white flowers of the waxy orchid. This beautiful sight,
+however, was unnoticed by Harry and his father, for in the water at
+their feet was the object of their search, the Lattice or Lace leaf.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/illus541.jpg" width="500" height="314" alt="MADAGASCAN DRINKING-CUP FORMED FROM A LEAF OF THE
+&quot;TRAVELER&#39;S TREE.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MADAGASCAN DRINKING-CUP FORMED FROM A LEAF OF THE
+&quot;TRAVELER&#39;S TREE.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The lace-leaf plant, or fresh-water yam as it is sometimes called
+because of its potato-shaped or yam-like root, is found in many of the
+rivers of Madagascar. The difficulty of obtaining it, however, makes it
+a rare plant to Europeans; and when, a few days before, Mr. Steedman had
+recognized in some "roasted potatoes," as Harry called the
+pleasant-tasting vegetable that one of his boyish Madagascan friends had
+given him to eat, the edible root of the lace-leaf plant, the missionary
+had determined to make a careful search for the plant so prized by
+naturalists. And now at last he had found it, bobbing backward and
+forward in a fantastic dance just above the eddying waters of the
+beautiful forest river. As soon as they recognized it, both Mr. Steedman
+and his son were on the ground in an instant, and bending eagerly above
+the clear stream. The water was so pure and limpid that every pebble
+could be counted, and in the cool, bright current they saw, to their
+delight, a perfect labyrinth of lace-work. Dozens of lace-leaves, green,
+gold, olive, and brown, were floating just beneath the surface of the
+water.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Papa! did you ever see anything so lovely?" said Harry, excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Steedman could take but a one-sided view of those wonderful leaves,
+as one glass from his spectacles had been lost during their rough
+journey; but the remaining glass fairly sparkled with satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, my son, this plant is both lovely and rare. See, the young leaves
+are light green and yellow; the older leaves are darker,&mdash;shades of
+green and olive. A few are even black, and all growing from the same
+root. How perfect is every leaf, in spite of its delicate texture! Some
+of those larger leaves must be ten or twelve inches long. The strong
+midrib in each serves as a support for the fragile threads forming the
+meshes on each side."</p>
+
+<p>Harry now plunged his hand into the lace-like web, half expecting it to
+dissolve in his grasp. But no! The wiry little yellow leaf which he
+raised from the water, was perfect in form, and a gleam of sunlight,
+falling upon the shining meshes, transformed them into threads of
+glistening gold.</p>
+
+<p>He now discovered, as he examined them carefully, that the under
+surfaces of the leaves, were glistening with little pearly bubbles of
+air.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_522" id="Page_522">[Pg 522]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 307px;">
+<img src="images/illus542.jpg" width="307" height="450" alt="RAHEH, THE GUIDE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">RAHEH, THE GUIDE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Oh, Papa," he cried, joyously holding the glistening meshes aloft, "the
+lace-leaves are jeweled!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Harry," said his father, "those diamond drops are made by the
+breathing of the plant."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Steedman attempted to detach a root of one of the plants from its
+bed of mud, but the little tendrils branching from it on every side held
+the root firmly in its place. At last he succeeded in extricating the
+little white threads, one by one, and removed the entire plant to the
+bank. Its root, which is eaten in Madagascar, was very like the ginger
+root, and had a tough, light-brown skin.</p>
+
+<p>Harry carefully placed the leaves of the plant in his herbarium, while
+his father packed the root, with its native soil, in a tin case,
+preparatory to sending it to the Botanical Society in London.</p>
+
+<p>"Harry," he said, as they finished their work, "this plant could be
+easily reared in our green-houses&mdash;heat and moisture being all that is
+required. But nature seems to have jealously surrounded these beautiful
+leaves with almost impassable barriers, and the lace-plant is
+comparatively unknown.</p>
+
+<p>"But come, my boy Raheh says '<i>maly-massandro</i>' (the sun is dead), and
+it will be as long as 'two cookings of rice' (two half hours) before we
+can be ferried across to yonder village and secure a place to pass the
+night."</p>
+
+<p>And so, after Raheh had given Harry one last drink from the clear, cool
+river, in the odd-looking leaf-cup he carried for the purpose, the tired
+but successful lace-leaf hunters crossed over to the Hova village and
+were soon fast asleep.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>THE CARICATURE PLANT.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By M. A.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>One of the most remarkable plants in the whole vegetable kingdom is that
+known to botanists as the <i>Justicia Picta</i>, which has also been well
+named "The Caricature Plant."</p>
+
+<p>At first sight, it appears to be a heavy, large-leafed plant, with
+purple blossoms, chiefly remarkable for the light-yellow centers of its
+dark-green leaves, which cause them to look as if some acid had been
+spilled upon them and taken the color out wherever it had touched.</p>
+
+<p>As I stood looking at this odd plant and thinking what a sickly,
+blighted appearance the queer, yellow stains gave it, I was suddenly
+impressed with the fact that the plant was "making faces" at me. Still,
+unaccustomed as I was to seeing plants indulge in this strictly human
+amusement, I was slow to believe it, and stooped to read the somewhat
+illegible inscription on the card below the plant&mdash;"<i>Justicia Picta</i>, or
+'Caricature Plant.'" My first impression was correct then. This curious
+shrub had indeed occupied itself in growing up in ridiculous caricatures
+of the "human face divine," until it now stood, covered from the topmost
+leaf down, with the queerest faces imaginable. Nature had taken to
+caricaturing. The flesh-colored profiles stood out in strong relief
+against the dark-green of the leaves.</p>
+
+<p>A discovery of one of these vegetable marks leads to an examination of a
+second and a third leaf, until all are scanned as closely and curiously
+as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_523" id="Page_523">[Pg 523]</a></span> leaves of the comic papers that form the caricature plants of
+the literary kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>What a valuable plant this would be for one of our professional
+caricaturists to have growing in his conservatory! When an order was
+sent to him for a "speaking likeness" of some unhappy politician, he
+could simply visit his <i>Justicia Picta</i> with pencil and paper in hand,
+and look over the leaves for a suitable squint, grin, or distorted nose
+to sketch from. He could, moreover, affirm with truth that the portrait
+was "taken from nature." Cuthbert Collingwood, the celebrated
+naturalist, says of the <i>Justicia Picta</i>: "One of these plants in the
+garden of Gustave Dor&eacute; would be worth a fortune to him, supplying him
+with a never-failing fund of grotesque physiognomies, from which he
+might illustrate every serio-comic romance ever written." I have never
+heard of the cultivation of the Caricature Plant in this country; but
+botanists tell us that it is a hardy shrub. I think we should be glad to
+see the funny faces on its leaves. After all the lovely flowers we are
+called upon to admire, I am sure that a plant evidently intended to make
+us laugh would receive a warm welcome from our young people.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinese appreciate the Caricature Plant, and in some parts of China
+it is quite extensively cultivated. Perhaps some of the funny, grinning
+faces on Chinese toys and ornaments are reproductions of the grotesque
+features on the leaves of the plant.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, I must assure any unbelieving readers of <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> that
+neither in this account of a very remarkable plant, nor in the
+accompanying illustration, has the writer drawn upon imagination.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 286px;">
+<img src="images/illus546.jpg" width="286" height="450" alt="THE CARICATURE PLANT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CARICATURE PLANT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The <i>Justicia Picta</i> really exists. It is a native of the East Indies,
+and is a source of much amusement and curiosity to both botanists and
+travelers.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>VEGETABLE CLOTHING.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">by</span> C. J. RUSSELL.</h3>
+
+
+<p>About two hundred years ago the governor of the island of Jamaica, Sir
+Thomas Lynch, sent to King Charles II. of England a vegetable necktie,
+and a very good necktie it was, although it had grown on a tree and had
+not been altered since it was taken from the tree. It was as soft and
+white and delicate as lace, and it is not surprising that the King
+should have expressed his doubts when he was told that the beautiful
+fabric had grown on a tree in almost the exact condition in which he saw
+it. It had been stretched a little, and that was all.</p>
+
+<p>But if King Charles was astonished to learn that neckties grew on trees
+in Jamaica, what must have been the feelings of a stranger traveling in
+Central America, on being told that mosquito-nets grew on trees in that
+country? He had complained to his host that the mosquitoes had nearly
+eaten him up the night before, and had been told in response that he
+should have a new netting put over his bed.</p>
+
+<p>Satisfied with this statement, the traveler was turning away, but his
+attention was arrested by his host's calmly continuing, "in fact, we are
+going<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_524" id="Page_524">[Pg 524]</a></span> to strip a tree anyhow, because there is to be a wedding on the
+estate, and we wish to have a dress ready for the bride."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 292px;">
+<img src="images/illus548.jpg" width="292" height="550" alt="KING CHARLES&#39;S VEGETABLE NECKTIE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">KING CHARLES&#39;S VEGETABLE NECKTIE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"You don't mean," said the traveler incredulously, "that
+mosquito-netting and bridal dresses grow on trees, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is just what I mean," replied his host.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said the stranger, who fancied a joke was being attempted
+at his expense, "let me see you gather the fruit and I will believe
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," was the answer; "follow the men, and you will see that I
+speak the exact truth."</p>
+
+<p>Still looking for some jest, the stranger followed the two men who were
+to pluck the singular fruit, and stood by when they stopped at a rather
+small tree, bearing thick, glossy-green leaves, but nothing else which
+the utmost effort of the imagination could convert into the netting or
+the wedding garments. The tree was about twenty feet high and six inches
+in diameter, and its bark looked much like that of a birch-tree.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this the tree?" asked the stranger.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, se&ntilde;or," answered one of the men, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see the mosquito-netting nor the wedding-dress," said the
+stranger, "and I can't see any joke either."</p>
+
+<p>"If the se&ntilde;or will wait a few minutes he will see all that was promised,
+and more too," was the reply. "He will see that this tree can bear not
+only mosquito-netting and wedding-dresses, but fish-nets and
+neck-scarfs, mourning crape or bridal veils."</p>
+
+<p>The tree was without more ado cut down. Three strips of bark, each about
+six inches wide and eight feet long, were taken from the trunk and
+thrown into a stream of water. Then each man took a strip while it was
+still in the water, and with the point of his knife separated a thin
+layer of the inner bark from one end of the strip. This layer was then
+taken in the fingers and gently pulled, whereupon it came away in an
+even sheet of the entire width and length of the strip of bark. Twelve
+sheets were thus taken from each strip of bark, and thrown into the
+water.</p>
+
+<p>A light broke in upon the stranger's mind.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_525" id="Page_525">[Pg 525]</a></span> Without a doubt these strips
+were to be sewn together into one sheet. The plan seemed a good one and
+the fabric thus formed might do, he thought, if no better cloth could be
+had.</p>
+
+<p>The men were not through yet, however, for when each strip of bark had
+yielded its twelve sheets, each sheet was taken from the water and
+gradually stretched sidewise. The spectator could hardly believe his
+eyes. The sheet broadened and broadened until from a close piece of
+material six inches wide, it became a filmy cloud of delicate lace, over
+three feet in width. The astonished gentleman was forced to confess that
+no human-made loom ever turned out lace which could surpass in snowy
+whiteness and gossamer-like delicacy that product of nature.</p>
+
+<p>The natural lace is not so regular in formation as the material called
+illusion, so much worn by ladies in summer; but it is as soft and white,
+and will bear washing, which is not true of illusion. In Jamaica and
+Central America, this wonderful lace is put to all the uses mentioned by
+the native to our traveler, and to more uses besides. In fact, among the
+poorer people it supplies the place of manufactured cloth, which they
+can not afford to buy; and the wealthier classes do not by any means
+scorn it for ornamental use.</p>
+
+<p>Long before the white man found his way to this part of the world, the
+Indians had known and used this vegetable cloth; so that what was so new
+and wonderful to King Charles and Governor Sir Thomas Lynch was an old
+story to the natives. Some time after King Charles received his
+vegetable necktie, Sir Hans Sloane, whose art-collection and library
+were the foundation of the British Museum, visited Jamaica. He described
+the tree fully, and was the first person who told the civilized world
+about it. The tree is commonly called the lace-bark tree. Its botanical
+name is <i>Lagetto lintearia</i>.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>WOE TO THE FOREIGN DOLLY!</h2>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 536px;">
+<img src="images/illus549.jpg" width="536" height="290" alt="THE PET GREYHOUND RESOLVES INDIGNANTLY THAT THE JAPANESE
+&quot;MUST GO!&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE PET GREYHOUND RESOLVES INDIGNANTLY THAT THE JAPANESE
+&quot;MUST GO!&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_526" id="Page_526">[Pg 526]</a></span></p>
+<h2>ST. NICHOLAS DOG STORIES.</h2>
+
+
+<h3>X.&mdash;A CLEVER LITTLE YELLOW DOG.</h3>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">By John R. Coryell.</span></h4>
+
+<p>One cold winter night, not long ago, I took pity on a poor little
+dejected-looking yellow puppy, and invited him into my house. Having
+once taken him in, it was quite out of the question to think of turning
+him out again. I was not afraid that I might be robbing anybody, for he
+was the kind of dog that very few persons care to have. He was
+dirty-yellow in color, very lank of body, and he seemed to be made up of
+ill-assorted parts of different kinds of dogs. His legs, particularly,
+seemed intended for some other dog and acted as if they never would
+become reconciled to carrying the queer body to which they were joined.</p>
+
+<p>I should have preferred a handsome dog, but since I had no choice, I
+determined to do my duty by the little outcast, and to give him such an
+education that in the beauties of his mind the ugliness of his body
+would be overlooked.</p>
+
+<p>The first thing needed for him was a name; and I tried to think of
+something appropriate, but soon gave it up, and in default of a better
+title called him Bob. To teach him the name was easy. I merely called
+out the word "Bob!" every time I fed him. As it was important that he
+should learn to look to me as the source of all his happiness and
+instruction, I permitted no one else to feed him. It took him about a
+week to learn his name, and to recognize the fact that all the
+blandishments he could lavish on the cook would be of no avail, and that
+his only hope was in me.</p>
+
+<p>At the very outset, I had made up my mind that under no circumstances
+should he receive angry words or blows. He was a broken-spirited,
+affectionate little puppy, and I was resolved that if there was no way
+of teaching him except by brutality, he should remain ignorant all his
+life. The abject way in which, to this day, he runs from a child makes
+me feel sad. I fancy that much of his early life was spent in dodging
+stones or snow-balls thrown by boys&mdash;not cruel, but thoughtless boys.</p>
+
+<p>It was necessary to control him, and I quickly discovered an easy way.
+He was such a sensitive little fellow that when he once learned to love
+me, he seemed to know by the tones of my voice whether I was pleased
+with him, and to have me pleased seemed to be the one object of his
+life. Therefore, if I saw him doing anything wrong, I had only to say
+sharply and firmly, "No, Bob!" and down would go the tail and ears, and
+he would slink shame-facedly to his special corner and from there watch
+me until I would call him to me and pat his head.</p>
+
+<p>After a while, a quiet "No, Bob!" would effect the same result. This was
+a great victory, and made most of the subsequent teaching merely a
+matter of patience.</p>
+
+<p>The first real lesson was when I undertook to make him sit up. If he had
+only known what I wished him to do, he would gladly have done it; but
+the words "Sit up!" meant nothing to him. He was almost too willing, for
+when I took hold of him to put him into a sitting position, he became as
+limp as a wet rag, and seemed to be trying to put himself into a
+condition to be twisted into any shape I chose.</p>
+
+<p>Then I put him into a corner and set him up, saying continually, "Sit
+up! Sit up!" I held him up for a while and then took my hand away, but
+at once he collapsed as if all the stiffening had suddenly left his
+back-bone. Then I showed him a piece of sugar, of which he was very
+fond, and immediately he was himself again. Once more, and many times
+more, I put him in position in the corner, until at last, seemingly by
+accident, he failed to fall over when I took my hand away. I did not tax
+his endurance, but at once gave him the sugar.</p>
+
+<p>It took him about three days to grasp the idea that "sit up!" meant a
+special performance, and that to achieve it meant a lump of sugar. Then
+I put him through the same process in the middle of the room. He missed
+the support of the wall at first, and fell over; whereupon he looked
+foolish. One fact was evidently firmly fixed in his mind, however,&mdash;the
+fact that there was sugar to be had if only he could do as I wished him
+to do. All the time that he was struggling for balance, he kept his eye
+on the lump of sugar, which I had on the floor beside me. Finally that
+lesson was learned, and he could sit up if I would put him in position.
+He knew, too, what "sit up!" meant.</p>
+
+<p>After that, I would not feed him until he had first sat up; but it was a
+long time before he gained sufficient confidence in himself to sit up
+without help. At first I helped him up by both paws; then I helped by
+holding only one paw; then I merely touched one paw; then I only
+motioned, as if about to touch the paw; and finally I simply said, "Sit
+up!"</p>
+
+<p>I think Bob reasoned this all out in his own mind and concluded that
+there must be some strange and beautiful power in the words "sit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_527" id="Page_527">[Pg 527]</a></span> up!"
+for he could see that whenever he did it, he had something to eat. I am
+obliged to confess that Bob loved to eat; and after he had learned to
+sit up, he was inclined to perform the feat morning, noon, and night,
+and it was, of course, impossible to make him go away without first
+giving him a morsel, however small, of food.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 334px;">
+<img src="images/illus553.jpg" width="334" height="550" alt="AWAITING FURTHER ORDERS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">AWAITING FURTHER ORDERS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Lessons in standing up, walking and waltzing followed, and they were all
+easily taught. In teaching him anything, I was always careful to
+associate the action required of him with certain words. Standing,
+walking on his hind legs, and waltzing were always "stand up!" "walk!"
+"waltz about!" I never taught him more than one thing at a time, so that
+there should be no possibility of his misunderstanding the meaning of
+the word or words used.</p>
+
+<p>In teaching him to stand up, I first made him sit; then by holding a
+piece of sugar over his head, I induced him to stand erect,&mdash;while I
+kept repeating, "Stand up!" "Stand up!" After he had learned this
+lesson, I made him first sit, then stand, and then, by going from him
+and saying "Walk!" I made him follow me until he understood the
+connection between the words and the action, even when I was at the
+other end of the room. I taught him to "waltz" by making him go around
+and around after a piece of sugar held over his head when he was
+standing up.</p>
+
+<p>To make him go to his corner and lie down, without hurting his feelings,
+was difficult. If I said sharply, "Go to your corner and lie down!" he
+would go; but he would feel so badly that he could not play for half an
+hour. But by repeating the command in gradually softening tones and by
+giving him a piece of sugar each time, he eventually learned that he was
+not thereby in disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing, however, how a sharp word would make his ears and tail droop, I
+took advantage of this fact, and whenever he had done wrong I would
+always say "Naughty!" a dozen times over, until at last I had only to
+whisper "Naughty!"&mdash;and down would go those ensigns in a moment. On the
+other hand, if I said "Good dog!" he was immediately on the alert, ears
+up, head cocked to one side, and tail wagging, ready for any kind of
+sport.</p>
+
+<p>After he had learned to walk, I taught him to go slowly when I said
+"like a gentleman!" and quickly when I said "like a schoolboy!" To teach
+him these things required patience principally; but I found that to
+teach him some things taxed my ingenuity as well.</p>
+
+<p>I wished him to speak both softly and loudly; but how to make him do it
+puzzled me. For Bob seldom barked except when engaged in uproarious
+play, and at such times he was not susceptible to instruction. One day,
+however, he had been playing with a little rubber ball, running after it
+and bringing it to me until I was tired, a condition in which he never
+seemed to be.</p>
+
+<p>To stop the game I put my foot on the ball, and picked up a book to
+read. Bob waited a few moments to see what I was going to do, and
+finding I was not going to play, tried to push my foot away with his
+nose. Failing in that, he pulled with one paw. That also failed, and Bob
+was puzzled. He retired a few steps, placed his head between his
+forepaws on the floor and looked at me. I pretended not to see him,
+curious to know what he would do. He remained perfectly still for nearly
+a minute, and then, as if determined to attract my attention somehow, he
+barked.</p>
+
+<p>There was my clew; I gave him the ball at once. In a few moments I again
+placed my foot on the ball, and waited until I saw he was about to bark,
+when I said, "Shout! Shout!" He barked, and I gave him the ball. I
+repeated this several times<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_528" id="Page_528">[Pg 528]</a></span> a day, and day after day, until he learned
+to bark whenever he wanted the ball and I said "Shout!" Then I made him
+shout for his meals, and finally, he would "shout" whenever I told him
+to do so.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 349px;">
+<img src="images/illus555.jpg" width="349" height="550" alt="&quot;BOB&quot; JUMPING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;BOB&quot; JUMPING.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>To make him speak softly, I took advantage of a fashion he had of
+whining when he wished to go into the yard for a frolic. I would go to
+the door and say, "Want to go out?" Bob would at once respond by
+preparing to rush out the moment the door was opened. Then I would say,
+"Speak softly!" and keep repeating the words until he whined. After a
+while he would whine the moment I said, "Speak softly!"</p>
+
+<p>Another thing that I taught him was to fall down and lie motionless when
+I said, "Dead!" This I accomplished by taking hold of his forefeet in
+one hand and his hindfeet in the other, and suddenly dropping him on his
+side on the floor, as I said the word "Dead!" several times.</p>
+
+<p>At first, Bob thought I was playing some new game with him, and prepared
+for a good time, but I had only to say "No!" to him to make him sedate
+at once. By this time he had learned that when I repeated a thing
+several times, it was because he was to learn something; and the little
+fellow really seemed to try to understand what I wished him to do.</p>
+
+<p>After I had pulled his feet from under him a number of times, and had
+made him lie still until I said, "Alive!" I tried tapping a hindfoot and
+a forefoot, at the same time saying "Dead!" He was a long time learning
+this trick; and several times when I thought he had learned to do it
+when I simply tapped his feet, I was obliged to go back and pull his
+feet from under him. In time, however, he learned to fall the moment I
+touched the side of one hindfoot. From that to motioning at the foot,
+and finally, merely saying "Dead!" the progress was quick. To make him
+jump up, I always said "Alive!"</p>
+
+<p>To make him go "lame" was very easy. I tied a long string to one
+forefoot, and by saying, "Lame!" and at the same time making him walk,
+while I prevented him from putting the tied foot down, he soon learned
+to go on three legs.</p>
+
+<p>One of the funniest things he learned to do was to take his piece of
+carpet, shake it well, and put it back in its place. It was through an
+accident that I thought of teaching him to do this. I had been
+accustomed to shake out his carpet in the yard every morning. One
+morning I threw it on the grass to air. In a moment Bob had it in his
+mouth and was worrying it, shaking it, and growling. He was playing, but
+I saw that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_529" id="Page_529">[Pg 529]</a></span> I could teach him something, and at once said, "Make your
+bed!" By repeating this, morning after morning, he at last learned to
+pick up his carpet, carry it out into the yard, shake it, and carry it
+back. I could never teach him to lay it down properly, however; he
+seemed to think it was as good in a heap as if nicely smoothed out.</p>
+
+<p>After I had taught Bob a number of tricks, I determined to write a play
+for him. I do not believe that any human actor ever had audiences more
+appreciative than his, when he performed in his "play." His little
+friends were always ready to give him sugar by the handful if I did not
+interfere, and Bob was always ready to take all that was offered. The
+"play" was nothing more than a simple little story into which were
+introduced the words which I used in commanding him to perform his
+various tricks. I would repeat the story, and when I came to a word of
+command, such as "dead," I would emphasize it so that Bob would at once
+do whatever he had been taught to do at the sound of that word. The play
+I wrote was about as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Once upon a time there was a little dog named <i>Bob</i> [here Bob would run
+to me, and wait expectantly]. Usually he was a very <i>good dog</i> [wag,
+wag, would go his tail], but once in a while he was very <i>naughty</i> [down
+would drop ears and tail]. When he was a <i>good dog</i> [happy again], he
+would <i>sit up</i> and show any little boy or girl how to behave. At such
+times, he would <i>speak softly</i> [prolonged whine], as a polite dog
+should, though once in a while he would become excited, and <i>shout,
+shout, shout</i> [furious barking], as impolite children are sometimes apt
+to do.</p>
+
+<p>"When a lady entered the room where he was, he would always <i>stand</i> up,
+ready to give her his chair if she wished it; or if she preferred to go
+into the garden or the street, he would go with her and <i>walk like a
+gentleman</i>. When he played, however, he could run <i>like a schoolboy</i>.
+But once he was in the ball-room, he could <i>waltz about</i> as well as the
+best dancer there.</p>
+
+<p>"If any one ever said to him, '<i>go to your corner and lie down</i>' he
+would do so at once like the well bred dog he was. But he was always
+obedient and would come immediately as soon as one said <i>Bob</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"I was very sorry to hear one day that this remarkable dog was <i>dead</i>. I
+felt so badly that I went to his house, but was pleasantly surprised
+when I reached there, to find that he was very much <i>alive</i>."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 367px;">
+<img src="images/illus556.jpg" width="367" height="450" alt="FETCH BRINGS IN THE PERVERSE COW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FETCH BRINGS IN THE PERVERSE COW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>What will be the limit of Bob's education I do not know, for he
+continues to learn with increasing ease every day. In addition to all
+that has been described, he can now, at the proper order of command,
+sneeze, catch a piece of meat from his nose at the word "three," jump
+over a cane, turn a somersault, and play tag.</p>
+
+
+<h3>XI.&mdash;A DOG THAT COULD COUNT.</h3>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">By E. P. Roe.</span></h4>
+
+<p>Old Fetch was a shepherd dog and lived in the Highlands of the Hudson.
+His master kept nearly a dozen cows, and they ranged at will among the
+hills during the day. When the sun was low in the west, his master would
+say to his dog, "Bring the cows home"; and it was because the dog did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_530" id="Page_530">[Pg 530]</a></span>
+this task so well, that he was called Fetch. He would run to a flat rock
+and hold his ear down close to it, having learned that he could thus
+catch the far-off tinkle of the cow-bells better than in any other way.
+If he could not hear them he would range about until he did, and then he
+was off like a shot in the direction of the sound.</p>
+
+<p>One sultry day he departed as usual upon his evening task. From
+scattered, shady, and grassy nooks, he at last gathered all the cattle
+into a mountain road, leading to the distant barnyard.</p>
+
+<p>Switching off the flies with their tails, the cows jogged slowly
+homeward, the tinkle of their bells gradually becoming more and more
+distinct to the milkmaid who was awaiting them. One of the cows was
+known to be a little perverse, and on that evening she gave fresh
+evidence of willfulness. One part of the road ran through a low, moist
+spot bordered by a thicket of black alder, and into this the cow pushed
+her way, and stood quietly. The others passed on, followed some distance
+in the rear by Fetch. He was panting from his exertions in the hot
+evening, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he slowly and languidly
+pursued his way.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed he had quite discarded his usual vigilance, and the perverse cow
+took advantage of it.</p>
+
+<p>As the cows approached the barnyard gate, he quickened his pace, and
+hurried forward, as if to say, "I'm here, attending to business." But
+his complacency was disturbed as the cows filed through the gate. He
+whined a little, and growled a little, attracting his master's
+attention. Then he went to the high fence surrounding the yard, and
+standing on his hindfeet peered between two of the rails. After looking
+at the herd carefully for a time, he started off down the road again on
+a full run. His master now observed that one of the cows was missing,
+and he sat down on a rock to see what Fetch was going to do about it.
+Before very long he heard the furious tinkling of a bell, and soon Fetch
+appeared bringing in the perverse cow at a rapid pace, hastening her on
+by frequently leaping up and catching her ear in his teeth. The gate was
+again thrown open, and the cow, shaking her head from the pain of the
+dog's rough reminders, was led through it in a way that she did not soon
+forget. Fetch looked after her a moment with the air of one remarking to
+himself, "You'll not try that trick again," and then he lay down quietly
+to cool off in time for supper.</p>
+
+
+<h3>XII.&mdash;A CLEVER SHEEP DOG.</h3>
+
+<p>A recent English writer tells the following story of an ingenious
+sheep-dog that, when the flock took a wrong road, would turn them back
+without worrying them. His owner had hesitated for some time before he
+made up his mind to have a dog, as he had often seen dogs ill-use the
+poor sheep. But believing that in most cases the dogs' harshness toward
+the sheep was due to bad training, and not to their naturally evil
+dispositions, he resolved to make trial of one. The dog he procured was
+young; and he trained it after his own ideas. He soon found the docile
+creature a very useful helper in driving a flock from one pasture to
+another. The sheep often took a wrong turn, and then scampered off as
+fast as they could go. At such times, most shepherds who had dogs were
+accustomed to send the dog after the flock, at the top of its speed. Of
+course, it soon overtook them, but the sheep were often much frightened,
+and not infrequently hurt by falling down or by rushing against one
+another. To prevent this, the shepherd mentioned would order his dog
+"Smart" to go to the other side of the hedge, saying, "Now, go ahead,
+and bring 'em back!" Smart would promptly obey, and would noiselessly
+run along behind the hedge, sometimes even climbing a little slope by
+the roadway, whence he could overlook the flock and see just where each
+sheep was moving. As soon as Smart, by peeping over or through the
+hedge, had satisfied himself that he was ahead of all the sheep, he
+would come coolly out of the hedge and bring them back down the lane so
+gently as not to cause them the least alarm. Smart never attempted to
+get ahead of a flock in the way common to most of the dogs in that
+vicinity,&mdash;by rushing past them and frightening them; but looking at his
+master and wagging his tail, he would cross the hedge, overtake them,
+and quietly drive them back into the right road.</p>
+
+
+<h3>XIII.&mdash;A STORY OF TWO BUCKETS.</h3>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">By Charlotte M. Vaile.</span></h4>
+
+<p>There they were hanging, one of them out of sight in the cool, deep
+water, and the other swinging empty in the sunshine, as Daisy Hadley and
+her dog Bruno came up to the well. The little girl and the big dog had
+been rambling about all the morning, following the brook through fields
+of sunflowers and poppies, or climbing the rocks on the sides of the
+mountains; but they were tired and thirsty now, and Daisy looked
+wistfully at the empty bucket, wishing she were strong enough to pull it
+down and bring the other, full and dripping, up in its place.</p>
+
+<p>"Bruno," she said reproachfully, "I wish you could draw me some water."
+Bruno was a great, shaggy Newfoundland, that had been Daisy's play-mate
+ever since she could remember. He was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_531" id="Page_531">[Pg 531]</a></span> wonderful dog. Daisy herself
+would have told you that there were only a few things he could not do,
+but unfortunately managing that well was one of them. So there was no
+help for it, and Daisy was turning reluctantly away when she caught
+sight of Mr. Paul Gregg, one of the other summer boarders in the Park.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 366px;">
+<img src="images/illus559.jpg" width="366" height="450" alt="&quot;A CLEVER SHEEP DOG.&quot; (SEE PRECEDING PAGE.)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;A CLEVER SHEEP DOG.&quot; (SEE PRECEDING PAGE.)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>If he had not come up just then, there would have been no story to tell,
+and the buckets might have gone up and down in the well to this day
+without taking part in any more remarkable event. But he <i>did</i> come up;
+and Daisy's face brightened, for they were great friends, though she was
+only a little girl in the Kindergarten, and he was a tall young student.
+He stopped when Daisy said she wanted some water; and putting down his
+botanical box, he began to draw some gloves over his rather soft hands.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't like this kind of a well at all," said Daisy. "It isn't half as
+nice as the one at my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_532" id="Page_532">[Pg 532]</a></span> grandfather's. <i>That</i> had only one bucket, with a
+rope that went 'round and 'round a great roller; and there was a handle
+that I could turn myself."</p>
+
+<p>"This is a very old and respectable kind of a well, though," said Mr.
+Gregg, taking hold of the rope. "There must have been such wells as long
+ago as Shakspere's time."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know?" asked Daisy, who was sure that Shakspere lived a
+great while ago, though she could not have told when.</p>
+
+<p>"Shakspere, you know, Daisy," said Mr. Gregg, "was a great poet who
+lived hundreds of years ago, and in a play he wrote, called 'King
+Richard II.,' he tells about just such a well as this. Richard was one
+of the kings of England, and a very unlucky king he was, though I can't
+deny that he brought his troubles on himself, for he was anything but a
+wise and prudent ruler. At last his cousin Prince Henry raised a great
+army and forced Richard to give up the crown. Poor King Richard did not
+show much spirit when his troubles came; but, according to Shakspere, he
+made a very neat speech, when his clever cousin Henry told him that he
+had decided to become King himself. Among other things, Richard said
+that the crown he must give up was</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i22">'Like a deep well<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That owns two buckets filling one another;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The emptier ever dancing in the air,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The other down, unseen, and full of water;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That bucket down, and full of tears, am I,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>While Mr. Gregg was talking, the buckets in the well had changed places.
+The one which had swung in the air so lightly at first had gone down out
+of sight, and the other had come up ready to be emptied and to take its
+place in the sunshine.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gregg paused now as he poured out some of the water. Daisy was
+silent too, trying to understand it all.</p>
+
+<p>"What became of King Richard?" she asked presently.</p>
+
+<p>"He died in prison," said Mr. Gregg. "Some say his cousin Henry, who
+took his place as king, had him put to death; and now," he added,
+turning away from the well, "I think that I will see if your mother is
+ready to go to dinner with us."</p>
+
+<p>Then he turned toward the cottage and left Daisy standing by the well.
+She had not understood it all, but she felt very sorry for the unhappy
+king, and she thought she knew why he said he was like the bucket in the
+deep, dark water when he sank under his grief and shame never to see any
+more bright days.</p>
+
+<p>She was leaning on the side of the well, with her hand upon the rope,
+thinking very earnestly of it all and trying to catch a glimpse of the
+bucket that was hanging there in the dark, when something dreadful
+happened. Before she knew it, she had leaned over too far. She lost her
+balance and fell over the side of the well. Down, down went the bucket,
+more swiftly than it had ever gone before, and with it, but holding
+desperately to the rope, went Daisy! There was only time for one
+terrible cry&mdash;and she was out of sight in the well!</p>
+
+<p>There was no one there to save her,&mdash;Yes, there was Bruno! He heard the
+cry. He saw his little friend go down, and with a bark that rang across
+to the mountains, he rushed to the well. He leaped frantically against
+the low wooden side just as the bucket which had been in the water rose
+even with its edge. Somehow he managed to fling his heavy paws on it,
+then his whole body, and then, all at once, it was Bruno that was going
+down, down, but clinging to the bucket and howling as he went,&mdash;and
+Daisy was coming up!</p>
+
+<p>It was only for a minute, therefore, that Daisy was in the water. The
+next moment, thanks to the sudden pull at the other end of the rope, she
+was rising again; and just as Bruno, loosened his hold of the bucket,
+and dropped heavily into the water, Mr. Paul Gregg reached the side of
+the well, seized the rope and drew Daisy to the top, gasping, shivering,
+and frightened almost to death.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Daisy could speak, she said, "Save Bruno!" But they had
+already begun to do that, and they did save him, of course. The brave
+old fellow was none the worse for his adventure. He dried himself in the
+sunshine, and then lay down beside the rocking-chair where Daisy sat
+folded in a soft wrap, with vaseline on her blistered hands.</p>
+
+<p>Daisy was none the worse for it either, in the end; though at first,
+when her mother asked her how it happened and she tried to say something
+about a "poor king," and "a bucket-full of tears," the poor lady was
+afraid the plunge had affected her daughter's mind, and to this day she
+is in doubt whether Shakspere or King Henry or Mr. Paul Gregg was
+responsible for the accident.</p>
+
+<p>One thing however, was clear. It was Bruno who had saved her. Had he
+really meant to go down with the bucket and rescue her? Daisy never had
+a doubt of it herself. For the rest of the season he was the hero of the
+Park. The summer guests bought him a silver collar beautifully engraved,
+and Mr. Paul Gregg declared that he should propose his name as an
+honorary member of the Humane Society.</p>
+
+<p>But Bruno's head was not turned with all those honors. He rambled
+through the fields with Daisy as he had done before, and when she put
+her arms around his neck, and said that he should be her dearest friend
+forever, he was happier than if his collar had been made of gold, or
+than if he had been elected president of the Humane Society.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_533" id="Page_533">[Pg 533]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE SMALLEST CIRCUS IN THE WORLD.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By C. F. Holder</span>.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus562.jpg" width="650" height="324" alt="THE &quot;GO-AS-YOU-PLEASE&quot; RACE, AS SEEN THROUGH A MAGNIFYING
+GLASS. (SEE PAGE 535.)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE &quot;GO-AS-YOU-PLEASE&quot; RACE, AS SEEN THROUGH A MAGNIFYING
+GLASS. (SEE PAGE 535.)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In a former number of <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> the largest circus in the world was
+described, and the curious animal actors were shown in many of their
+tricks and performances. We now wish to exhibit another circus, the
+smallest in the world, the performers in which, numbering several
+hundreds, could all be carried about in a cherry-stone&mdash;in fact, a
+circus of fleas, of such remarkable intelligence that in their various
+feats they were quite equal to many of the larger trained animals with
+which we are familiar.</p>
+
+<p>But before showing what the flea can do, let us look at its antecedents.
+We know that it is a wingless fly,&mdash;a cousin to the house-flies on one
+side, and to the crane-flies on the other; and a more knightly-looking
+little creature you can not possibly imagine. Under the microscope we
+see it covered with a rich polished armor resembling tortoise-shell. The
+head is small, and supports two <i>antenn&aelig;</i> or feelers, composed of five
+joints, and between these is the proboscis, a terrible affair. Upon
+close examination with a powerful glass, what an array of piercing and
+cutting blades are seen,&mdash;long, narrow, transparent knives, each edge
+armed with a double row of glistening points that extend outward and
+then are hooked backward! These are known as the mandibles, and fit
+closely together, concealing another and smaller blade that has a
+similar but single row of points. Besides all this, there are two
+cutting-blades; the under edges are as sharp as sharp can be, while the
+upper are thick and set with bristles. Do you wonder then that the flea
+is so sharp a biter?</p>
+
+<p>On its armored head are two large eyes; and the entire body is seen to
+be made up of a series of elastic armor-like bands wonderfully jointed,
+and armed with bristling spines like the steel points on the armor of
+olden times. The legs are six in number, jointed in so remarkable a
+manner that they can be folded up one within another. When the flea
+makes its prodigious leaps, these six legs all unfold at once, hurling
+the little fellow high into the air.</p>
+
+<p>The baby flea is produced from a minute egg that in six days hatches
+into a tiny worm. In about ten days, the worm changes into a chrysalis,
+and in twelve days more it appears a perfect flea, ready for warfare
+upon anything or anybody.</p>
+
+<p>Who first discovered that the flea was susceptible to education and kind
+treatment is not known; but the fact remains that on their small heads
+there is a thinking-cap capable of accomplishing great results. In the
+selection of fleas for training, however, the same care must be taken as
+with human beings, as the greatest difference is found in them. Some are
+exceedingly apt scholars, while others never can learn, and so it is
+that great numbers of fleas are experimented with before a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_534" id="Page_534">[Pg 534]</a></span> troupe is
+accepted. The Flea Circus here described was exhibited a few years ago
+and was composed of about two hundred of the most distinguished and
+intelligent fleas in the entire family.</p>
+
+<p>One of the first lessons taught the flea, is to control its jumping
+powers, for if its great leaps should be taken in the middle of a
+performance, there would be a sudden ending to the circus. To insure
+against such a misfortune, the student flea is first placed in a glass
+phial, and encouraged to jump as much as possible. Every leap here made
+brings the polished head of the flea against the glass, hurling the
+insect back, and throwing it this way and that, until, after a long and
+sorry experience, and perhaps many head-aches, it makes up its mind
+never to unfold its legs suddenly again. When it has proved this by
+refusing to jump in the open air, the first and most important lesson is
+complete, and it joins the troupe, and is daily harnessed and trained,
+until, finally, it is pronounced ready to go on the stage or in the
+ring.</p>
+
+<p>The famous Flea Circus was placed on an ordinary table, and resembled in
+size and shape a common dinner plate. A rim several inches high
+encircled the outer edge, and around the circle stood a number of small
+wooden boxes&mdash;the houses of the performers, and the stables for their
+carriages. The signal being given, the audience, consisting of one human
+being, would take in hand the large magnifying glass, hold it over the
+ring, and the performance would begin. At the word of command from the
+director, a very jolly, red-faced old gentleman, armed with a pair of
+pincers, a tiny trap-door in one of the wooden houses sprang open and a
+number of fleas filed out. They passed around the circle in a dignified
+manner, appearing through the glass about as large as wasps or bees.
+Each flea had a gold cord about its waist, and this was the grand entry
+always seen at the circus. Having completed the circuit, they returned
+to their quarters, and the performance proper commenced. Five fleas,
+each adorned with a different color, stepped from another house, and
+after running about here and there, and being admonished by the
+director, ranged themselves in a line, and at the word "go!" started on
+a rush around the circle; running into each other, rolling over and
+over, and making frantic leaps over one another. Only after half the
+course had been gone over, did they move in regular order, and strive
+fairly for the goal. In another moment, a large flea would have won the
+race had not two laggards almost at the last instant, as if made
+reckless by their evident risk of defeat, taken a desperate leap and
+landed far beyond the winning-post. Forthwith they were taken up in the
+pincers, and placed in solitary confinement in the glass phial, where it
+was supposed they had learned not to jump.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;">
+<img src="images/illus563a.jpg" width="550" height="362" alt="THE DANCE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE DANCE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>A dance was next announced and at a signal from the manager there came
+tumbling out from the third house probably the most ludicrous band of
+performers ever witnessed. Each dancer was in full regalia, like the
+ladies who ride the padded horses in the regular circus, their dresses
+of tissue paper being ornamented with purple, gold, and red hues. The
+glass was placed in position, the spectator looked through it, the
+performers were lifted in by the pincers, and the dance began&mdash;a mixture
+of the Highland-fling, the sailor's hornpipe, and a "regular"
+break-down.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/illus563b.jpg" width="600" height="263" alt="THE HURDLE-RACE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE HURDLE-RACE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The little creatures bobbed up and down, now on one claw, now on all
+six, hopping, leaping, bowing, and scraping, moving forward and back,
+bumping into one another, now up, now down, until they seemed utterly
+exhausted, and several that had fallen down, and were kept by their
+voluminous skirts from getting up, had to be carried off by the aid of
+the ever-ready pincers.</p>
+
+<p>Next came a hurdle-race. Hurdles of thin silver wire were arranged, over
+which two fleas were supposed to leap. One, however, was evidently very
+lazy or very cunning, as it won the last race by crawling under the
+wire.</p>
+
+<p>A clown flea now appeared in the ring, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_535" id="Page_535">[Pg 535]</a></span> crawled about in a comical
+manner with a white clown's cap on its diminutive head. A moment later
+out came a number of fleas all harnessed with gold wire trappings, and
+the several vehicles were taken from the stables. There was a tally-ho
+coach, smaller than a very small pea, an Eskimo sled, about a quarter of
+an inch long, with wire runners, a trotting sulky, evidently made from
+hair or bristles, and other gorgeous equipages. The tally-ho team of
+four frantic fleas, evidently fiery steeds, was harnessed to the coach,
+and on the top were placed four phlegmatic fleas that had probably been
+booked as outsiders, while the insides were two others fleas, which, we
+are sorry to say, were obliged to get in through the window, and acted
+very much as if they wished to get out again. The other vehicles were
+each provided with a steed and rider, and then all were drawn up in a
+row. At the word of command, off they started pell-mell! The tally-ho
+leaders evidently jumped their traces at first, but finally they were
+off with a rush, running over the clown, knocking off his hat, and, for
+the moment, creating a dreadful panic. The sled team threw its driver,
+and the sulky ran away, the flea trotter actually leaping into the air,
+sulky and all. But order was soon restored, and as the track was
+arranged on the downhill principle, the racers made rapid time. In two
+minutes the circuit was completed, the tally-ho coming in ahead,
+without, however, its outside passengers, who were thrown off as the
+coach was rounding the curve, and at once crawled into the nearest place
+of refuge.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 289px;">
+<img src="images/illus565.jpg" width="289" height="250" alt="SIGNOR PULEX IRRITANICI ON THE TIGHT-ROPE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SIGNOR PULEX IRRITANICI ON THE TIGHT-ROPE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The last act of this wonderful circus was perhaps the best. The manager
+arranged the stage by placing two very fine entomological pins about
+four inches apart, connecting them by a slender silver wire, and then
+announced that Signor <i>Pulex Irritanici</i>, the world-renowned tight-rope
+performer, would attempt his wonderful feat of dancing upon the wire at
+a "dizzy height" (compared to the size of the performer). The Signor was
+then brought out in a small bottle of cut-glass; his only ornament was a
+little jacket of tissue-paper. When fished out and placed upon the
+pin-head, he boldly started out upon the wire over which his little
+clawed toes seemed to fit. In the middle, and over the terrific abyss,
+he balanced up and down for a second, stood upon his longest legs, and
+then moved on, crossing in safety, and thus ending the circus, at least
+for that occasion.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>ROCK-A-BYE.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Mary N. Prescott.</span></h3>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Rock-a-bye, babies, upon the tree-top,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">To her young the mother-bird sings,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"When the wind's still, the rocking will stop,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">And then you may all use your wings."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Rock-a-bye, babies, under the eaves,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">The swallow croons to her brood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Here you are safer, my children, from thieves<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Than if I had built in the wood."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Rock-a-bye, babies, the river runs deep,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">The reed-bird trills to her flock,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"The river stirs only to sing you to sleep,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">The wind your green cradle to rock!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_536" id="Page_536">[Pg 536]</a></span></p>
+<h2>WHAT BERTIE SAW IN THE FLOWERS.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By L. G. R.</span></h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 508px;">
+<img src="images/illus567.jpg" width="508" height="700" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Buttercup! Buttercup!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hold your shining clusters up!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In each little house of gold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What is this that I behold?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Twenty soldiers, straight and slim,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Golden-helmeted and prim.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All day long so still they stand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Never turning head or hand;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No one guesses where they stray<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In the moonlight nights of May.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When the fairies are abroad,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">These small men keep watch and ward;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Round the fairy ring they pace<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All night long, to guard the place;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But when morning comes again,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Back are all the little men.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_537" id="Page_537">[Pg 537]</a></span></p>
+<h2>KEEPING THE CREAM OF ONE'S READING.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Margaret Meredith.</span></h3>
+
+<div class="drop">
+<img src="images/illus568a.jpg" width="87" height="250" alt="M" class="cap" />
+
+<p class="cap_1">My plan dates from a few delightful weeks which I spent with a girl
+friend, long ago. We were devoted to poetry and to reading aloud; and in
+that occupation we had the aid of a brilliant, accomplished young woman.
+She selected for us from Coleridge, Shelley, and several other authors,
+whose entire works she knew we would not care to read, all the specially
+fine poems or passages, and these we read and discussed with her over
+our fancy-work. It was charming. At last, she suggested that, as I was
+soon to go away and leave the books and clippings with which I had been
+growing familiar, it would be helpful for me to write down the choicest
+bits, and try in that way to keep in some degree what I had gained. This
+I did, putting the extracts in a school copy-book which our friend
+dubbed "Snippers,"&mdash;from an odd seamstress word which she had picked up
+by chance.</p></div>
+
+<p>Other "snipper" books followed when that one, years after, had been
+filled.</p>
+
+<p>My system is an orderly one. All my books are broad-paged and
+wide-lined, thus preventing the cramped and crowded writing which often
+makes such books unreadable. When I find anything which strikes me as
+worth keeping, I note on a slip of paper, somewhat longer than the book
+I am reading, the number of the page and make a perpendicular line
+beneath it, with a cross line indicating the relative position of the
+sentence which I wish to keep, thus:</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 97px;">
+<img src="images/illus568b.jpg" width="97" height="175" alt="23" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>If the page is in columns, I make, instead of the single line, a rough
+parallelogram, and note within it by square dots the relative positions
+of the sentences chosen for preservation, thus:</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 155px;">
+<img src="images/illus568c.jpg" width="155" height="250" alt="187" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This slip of paper I use as a book-mark until it is filled or the book
+is finished, noting upon it, as indicated, the choicest passages and
+their positions on the pages. When I have finished the book I go
+carefully over these selected sentences. Many are discarded; the rest go
+into my "snippers." Below the first entry and to the right, I place the
+name of the book and its author, both heavily underscored; below the
+others, the word "Ibid" or "ditto," underscored. At the top of each page
+I note the year, and at the head of each batch of extracts the month or
+day.</p>
+
+<p>Paragraphs cut from newspapers, which are worth saving, are pasted as a
+fly-leaf to the inner edge of the page, or even slipped under the
+binding thread.</p>
+
+<p>In carrying out my plan I am always content with hasty work,&mdash;but I
+write plainly, and if possible with ink, as much fingering destroys
+pencil-marks. I once tried classifying the extracts, but this scarcely
+paid for the trouble.</p>
+
+<p>I used sometimes to wonder whether these books of selections were of any
+real value. But I have grown now to prize them greatly. Many a time I go
+to them for a dimly remembered phrase or passage. Sometimes, too, I read
+them over, for of course they give me the essence of what I most like
+and admire in my reading. A short time since I lent one to a literary
+friend, and was surprised to find she enjoyed it so greatly that she was
+almost unwilling to give it back.</p>
+
+<p>I am very glad that I began this practice in my young days. It gives
+very little trouble, and that little is a pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>There is a familiar expression about an "embarrassment of riches." This
+is the greatest disappointment I experience with my "snippers." For,
+occasionally, a book has too many good things in it to be easily copied,
+and then my only relief is to own it and, marking it vol. <i>X</i>, add it to
+my row of extract-books.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 208px;">
+<img src="images/illus568d.jpg" width="208" height="250" alt="THE END" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_538" id="Page_538">[Pg 538]</a></span></p>
+<h2>WONDERS OF THE ALPHABET.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Henry Eckford.</span></h3>
+
+
+<h4>THIRD PAPER.</h4>
+
+<p>Perhaps you have never given a thought to the fact that, because you
+were born into a nation using an alphabet that came down from the
+Ph&oelig;nicians, you are saved a world of trouble. But consider the
+Chinese. If a Chinese boy and an American boy begin to learn their
+letters at the same time, each studying his own writing, then by the
+time the American is ten years old he has advanced as far in the use of
+letters as the Chinese boy will have advanced in the use of his when he
+is twenty years old. That is the same as saying that Chinese writing is
+three or four times as hard to learn as English. Think of spending the
+years between ten and twenty in learning to read! On the other hand, the
+long apprenticeship of Chinese and Japanese boys to their letters does
+them good in one way. They paint their letters with a brush on soft
+paper. By this means they learn very early to be skillful with the
+brush, which is one reason why Chinese and Japanese artists are so very
+dexterous with their brushes.</p>
+
+<p>All writing, let it be remembered, must have begun with pictures. It is
+largely Chinese writing which has explained how all sorts of letters
+were gradually changed from pictures to an alphabet, in which hardly a
+single letter tells from what picture it started. The Japanese tongue is
+quite different from the Chinese. But the use by the Japanese of signs
+employed ages before by the Chinese explains another step in the
+progress of language. The writing of the Mexican Indians also helps us
+to understand the growth of alphabets. When, ages ago, the Chinese began
+to write, they drew little pictures of the things they wished to
+represent, as did the Egyptians before them in their picture-writing;
+and from picture-writing they made some advance in the direction of
+sound-writing, or rebuses. Then the little rebus-pictures were so much
+altered that it became very difficult to see what they once meant.</p>
+
+<p>Now Chinese is a queer language. All its words are only one syllable
+long. But the sounds in the Chinese language are not very many, some
+four hundred and sixty-five at most, and their written language contains
+about eighty thousand pictures, each picture representing a thing or
+idea. And these pictures must be committed to memory. This is hard work,
+and not even the wisest Chinese professor can learn them all. But now
+comes a difficulty. For, of course, where there are so many words and
+so few sounds, many different words have to be called by the same sound.
+How then are they to tell, when several different things have exactly
+the same name which of them is meant?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 434px;">
+<img src="images/illus571.jpg" width="434" height="550" alt="REBUS-PICTURES FROM THE OLD CHINESE, SHOWING THE
+BEGINNINGS OF PICTURE-WRITING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">REBUS-PICTURES FROM THE OLD CHINESE, SHOWING THE
+BEGINNINGS OF PICTURE-WRITING.<br />
+
+1. A Month. (From a picture of the moon.) 2. The Eye. 3. A Horse. 4. An
+Ax. 5. Rain. 6. Face. 7. A Dragon. 8. Bamboo. 9. Rhinoceros. 10. Dawn.
+(From the rising sun.)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We have such words. For instance, there is Bill, the name of a boy; and
+bill, the beak of a bird; there is bill, an old weapon, and bill, a
+piece of money; there is bill, an article over which legislatures
+debate, and bill, a claim for payment of money; besides bills of
+exchange, bills of lading, and so forth. But Chinese is full of such
+words of a single syllable, <i>yen</i>, for instance, which, like bill, means
+many very different things. So they chose a number of little pictures,
+and agreed that these should be used as "keys." The Chinese "keys" were
+used like the Egyptian "determinative signs," of which I told you. Each
+"key" meant that the sign or signs near which it stood belonged to some
+large general set of things, like things of the vegetable, mineral, or
+animal kingdom,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_539" id="Page_539">[Pg 539]</a></span> forests, mines, or seas, air, or water, or of persons,
+like gods or men. It was like the game called Throwing Light, in which
+you guess the article by narrowing down the field until certain what it
+is.</p>
+
+<p>But there Chinese writing stopped short, thousands of years ago. There
+it is to-day. There are now two hundred and fourteen of these "keys,"
+and, by intense application, Chinamen learn to use their method with
+surprising quickness and success.</p>
+
+<p>The Japanese acted toward Chinese writing much as the Ph&oelig;nicians did
+toward Egyptian writing. The Japanese, a very intelligent people, made
+what you have learned to know as a syllabary, out of signs taken from
+the Chinese symbols. It is called a syllabary, you remember, because
+each sign stood in their language for a syllable. They had to do this,
+because, while Chinese is all short syllables, Japanese is a language of
+much longer words even than ours. They cut down and simplified the
+Chinese signs, giving them names of their own. In this way they manage
+to write very swiftly. And, while not so clumsy as the Chinese fashion,
+the Japanese method is clumsier than is the use of an alphabet. In late
+years, a society has been started in Japan to do away altogether with
+their old-time writing, and adopt our alphabet.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 372px;">
+<img src="images/illus572a.jpg" width="372" height="300" alt="FIG. 1." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FIG. 1.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 318px;">
+<img src="images/illus572b.jpg" width="318" height="300" alt="FIG. 2." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FIG. 2.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Perhaps, by this time, you are beginning to see how very slowly
+alphabets have grown, and how hard it has been for human beings to
+perfect them. Knowing this, will you not look now with more interest on
+written and printed words? When you see letters, will you not reflect
+what a history each one has, reaching far back into the remotest past,
+where at first all seems dark, and where, when light does come, the very
+number and variety of materials perplex the student of alphabets?
+Moreover, will you not feel ashamed of people who laugh or sneer at
+savage nations who have no sound-writing, no syllabary, no alphabet? It
+does not mean that in such races all men are stupid. As a rule it means
+simply that the race has not had a fair chance. It has been racked by
+wars. Or it has never come in contact peacefully with some nation that
+used a method of writing a trifle better than its own, so that the
+brighter minds could establish schools of learning. When one nation
+conquers another, the higher and cleverer minds among the conquered are
+often the first to be destroyed. The best of our Indians of North and
+South America seem to have been the first to fall in battle with the
+whites, or to have died off because of their cruelty. The reason why the
+others, who lived with or near the white settlers, did not readily
+borrow our way of writing in their turn, as we had borrowed from the
+Romans, the Romans from the Greeks and Ph&oelig;nicians, and the latter
+from the Egyptians, seems to be that our system was too far advanced for
+them. But if the first white settlers in Central and South America had
+been kind and wise men, instead of coarse and greedy people, they could
+have found tribes and nations almost as advanced in their mode of
+writing as the Japanese, though not the equals of the Japanese in
+architecture and the fine arts. These tribes could have learned our
+alphabet if care had been taken to instruct their superior men. It is
+certain that the Aztecs, or Mexican Indians, had advanced very far on
+the road to a true alphabet. When the cruel Spaniards arrived and upset
+their governments, destroyed their temples, massacred, enslaved and then
+shamefully neglected them, they had already reached the art of
+rebus-writing. The name of the Mexican King, Knife-Snake, or, Itz-Coatl
+was written in this way: Itzli means knives, and Coatl, snake. There, in
+Fig. 1, is the snake, and on his back are knives made of flint. They
+even went farther. The same name, Itz-Coatl, was also written as in Fig.
+2. The flint-headed arrow means <i>Itz</i>; the jar, called <i>Comitl</i>, stands
+for <i>Co</i>; and the branch, a picture of water in drops, stands for <i>atl</i>,
+water. And it has been asserted that certain neighbors of the Aztecs or
+Mexicans, known as the Maya Indians of Yucatan, who were ancient people
+of Central America, left ruins of cities covering square miles of forest
+and plain, and had reached nearly if not quite to the invention of an
+alphabet of vowels and consonants. But the latest authorities agree that
+such a Maya alphabet as the Spaniards reported may have been invented
+after the whites arrived. Specimens of Maya writing may be seen in
+Washington, at the Smithsonian Institute, on slabs and on paper casts
+taken from their idols or statues of kings and priests. It was not by
+the Maya system, but by one of rebuses, that the old missionaries wrote
+what few books they composed for their unhappy Indian congregations.
+Only lately a book composed in picture-writing throughout, was printed
+for the Mikmak Indians of Newfoundland.</p>
+
+<p>In the next paper we will endeavor to trace the road by which our
+English alphabet came down from the Ph&oelig;nicians, that ancient folk of
+the palm-tree and the Red Sea, whose alphabet you saw in the first paper
+of this series.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The illustrations of this article are reproduced, by
+permission, from a notable French work on ancient
+Hieroglyphics by Prof. L. De Rosny, of Paris. </p></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_540" id="Page_540">[Pg 540]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus573.jpg" width="650" height="926" alt="BUBBLE BOWLING" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Adelia B. Beard.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>"Nothing new in bubbles! Every one knows how to blow bubbles!" Of course
+they do, and yet, the game I am about to describe is an entirely new and
+a very interesting one.</p>
+
+<p>When the game of Bubble Bowling was played for the first time, it
+furnished an evening's entertainment, not only for the children, but for
+grown people also; even a well known General and his staff, who graced
+the occasion with their presence, joined in the sport, and seemed to
+enjoy it equally with their youthful competitors. Loud was the chorus of
+"Bravo!" and merry the laugh of exultation when the pretty crystal ball
+passed safely through its goal; and sympathy was freely expressed in
+many an "Oh!" and "Too bad!" as the wayward bubble rolled gayly off
+toward the floor, or, reaching the goal, dashed itself against one of
+the stakes and instantly vanished into thin air.</p>
+
+<p>Bubble parties are delightful, as most children know from experience,
+and it is unnecessary, therefore, to give a description of them here. I
+propose merely to introduce bubble bowling as a feature in these
+entertainments, which will furnish no end of amusement and jollity, and
+add increased enjoyment and variety to the programme.</p>
+
+<p>The game should be played upon a long, narrow table, made simply of a
+board five feet long and eighteen inches wide, resting upon ordinary
+wooden "horses." On top of the table, and at a distance of twelve inches
+from one end, should be fastened in an upright position, two stakes
+twelve inches high; the space between the stakes should be eight inches,
+which will make each stand four inches from the nearest edge of the
+table. When finished, the table must be covered with some sort of woolen
+cloth; an old shawl or a breadth of colored flannel will answer the
+purpose excellently. Small holes must be cut at the right distance for
+the stakes to pass through. The cloth should be allowed to fall over the
+edge of the table, and must not be fastened down, as it will sometimes
+be necessary to remove it in order to let it dry. It will be found more
+convenient,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_541" id="Page_541">[Pg 541]</a></span> therefore, to use two covers, if they can be provided, as
+there can then always be a dry cloth ready to replace the one that has
+become too damp. The bubbles are apt to stick when they come upon wet
+spots, and the bowling can be carried on in a much more lively manner if
+the course is kept dry. Each of the stakes forming the goal should be
+wound with bright ribbons of contrasting colors, entwined from the
+bottom up, and ending in a bow at the top. This bow can be secured in
+place by driving a small, or brass-headed tack through the ribbon into
+the top of the stake. If the rough pine legs of the table seem too
+unsightly, they can easily be painted. Or a curtain may be made of
+bright-colored cretonne,&mdash;any other material will do as well, provided
+the colors are pleasing,&mdash;and tucked around the edge of the table, so as
+to fall in folds to the floor. The illustration on this page shows the
+top of the table, when ready for the game.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus574.jpg" width="650" height="425" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>For an impromptu affair, a table can be made by placing a leaf of a
+dining-table across the backs of two chairs, and covering it with a
+shawl. The stakes can be held in an upright position by sticking them in
+the tubes of large spools. This sort of table the children can arrange
+themselves, and it answers the purpose very nicely. The other things to
+be provided for the game are a large bowl of strong soapsuds, made with
+common brown soap, and as many pipes as there are players.</p>
+
+<p>The prizes for the winners of the game may consist of any trinkets or
+small articles that the fancy or taste of the hostess may suggest.
+Bubble Bowling can be played in two ways. The first method requires an
+even number of players, and these must be divided into two equal
+parties. This is easily accomplished by selecting two children for
+captains, and allowing each captain to choose, alternately, a recruit
+for his party until the ranks are filled, or in other words, until all
+the children have been chosen; then, ranked by age, or in any other
+manner preferred, they form in line on either side of the table. A pipe
+is given to each child by the hostess, and they stand prepared for the
+contest. One of the captains first takes his place at the foot of the
+table, where he must remain while he is bowling, as a bubble passing
+between the stakes is not counted unless blown through the goal from the
+end of the table.</p>
+
+<p>The bowl of soapsuds is placed upon a small stand by the side of the
+bowling-table, and the next in rank to the captain, belonging to same
+party, dips his pipe into the suds and blows a bubble, not too large,
+which he then tosses upon the table in front of the captain, who as
+first bowler, stands ready to blow the bubble on its course down through
+the goal. Three successive trials are allowed each player; the bubbles
+which break before the bowler has started them, are not counted.</p>
+
+<p>The names of all the players, divided as they are into two parties, are
+written down on a slate or paper, and whenever a bubble is sent through
+the goal, a mark is set down opposite the name of the successful bowler.</p>
+
+<p>When the captain has had his three trials, the captain on the other side
+becomes bowler, and the next in rank of his own party blows the bubbles
+for him. When this captain retires, the member of the opposite party,
+ranking next to the captain, takes the bowler's place and is assisted by
+the one whose name is next on the list of his own side; after him the
+player next to the captain on the other side; and so on until the last
+on the list has his turn, when the captain then becomes assistant and
+blows the bubbles.</p>
+
+<p>The number of marks required for either side to win the game, must be
+decided by the number of players; if there are twenty,&mdash;ten players on
+each side,&mdash;thirty marks would be a good limit for the winning score.</p>
+
+<p>When the game has been decided, a prize is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_542" id="Page_542">[Pg 542]</a></span> given to that member of each
+party who has the greatest number of marks against his or her name
+showing that he or she has sent the bubble through the goal oftener than
+any player on the same side. Or, if preferred, prizes maybe given to
+every child belonging to the winning party.</p>
+
+<p>The other way in which Bubble Bowling may be played is much simpler, and
+does not require an even number of players, as no sides are formed. Each
+bowler plays for himself, and is allowed five successive trials; if
+three bubbles out of the five be blown through the goal, the player is
+entitled to a prize. The child acting as assistant becomes the next
+bowler, and so on until the last in turn becomes bowler, when the one
+who began the game takes the place of assistant.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus575a.jpg" width="650" height="147" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>THE KNICKERBOCKER BOY.</h2>
+
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Caroline S. King.</span></h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 258px;">
+<img src="images/illus575b.jpg" width="258" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i10">I.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I'm a knickerbocker boy!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">See my coat and breeches!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Cuffs and collar, pocket too&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Made with many stitches!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I must have a watch and chain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A silk umbrella and a cane.&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No more kilts and skirts for me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I'm a big boy&mdash;don't you see?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+
+<span class="i10">II.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Knickerbockers! Knickerbockers!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Give away my other clothes!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Give away my horse with rockers;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I want one that really goes.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Two brisk, prancing goats will do;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But I'd like a wagon too.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No more chairs hitched up for me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I'm a big boy&mdash;don't you see?<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_543" id="Page_543">[Pg 543]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE BROWNIES ON ROLLER SKATES.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Palmer Cox.</span></h3>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The Brownies planned at close of day<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To reach a town some miles away,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where roller skating, so 't was said,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of all amusements kept ahead.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Said one: "When deeper shadows fall<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We'll cross the river, find the hall,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And learn the nature of the sport<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of which we hear such good report."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 472px;">
+<img src="images/illus576.jpg" width="472" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">To reach the bridge that led to town,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With eager steps they hastened down;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But recent rains had caused a rise&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The stream was now a fearful size;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The bridge was nearly swept away,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Submerged in parts, and wet with spray.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But when the cunning Brownies get<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Their mind on some maneuver set,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor wind nor flood, nor frost nor fire<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Can ever make the rogues retire.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Some walked the dripping logs with ease,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While others crept on hands and knees<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With movements rather safe than fast,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And inch by inch the danger passed.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Now, guided by the rumbling sound<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That told where skaters circled 'round,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_544" id="Page_544">[Pg 544]</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Through dimly lighted streets they flew,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And close about the building drew.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Without delay the active band,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By spouts and other means at hand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of skill and daring furnished proof<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And gained possession of the roof;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then through the skylight viewed the show<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Presented by the crowds below.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 454px;">
+<img src="images/illus577.jpg" width="454" height="450" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Said one: "While I survey that floor<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I'm filled with longing more and more,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And discontent with me will bide<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Till 'round the rink I smoothly glide.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At night I've ridden through the air,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where bats abide, and owls repair,<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I've rolled in surf of ocean wide,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And coasted down the mountain-side,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And now to sweep around a hall<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On roller skates would crown it all."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"My plans," the leader answer made,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Are in my mind already laid.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Within an hour the folk below<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Will quit their sport and homeward go;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then will the time be ripe, indeed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For us to leave this roof with speed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And prove how well our toes and heels<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We may command when set on wheels."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">When came the closing hour at last,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And people from the rink had passed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_545" id="Page_545">[Pg 545]</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Brownies hurried down to find<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The roller skates they'd left behind.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 519px;">
+<img src="images/illus578.jpg" width="519" height="500" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Then such a scene was there as few<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">May ever have a chance to view.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Some hardly circled 'round the place,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Before they moved with ease and grace,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And skated freely to and fro,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Upon a single heel or toe.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Some coats were torn beyond repair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By catches here and clutches there,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When those who felt their faith give way,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Grabbed right and left without delay;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While some who strove a friend to aid,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Upon the floor themselves were laid,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To spread confusion there awhile,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As large and larger grew the pile.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Some rose with fingers out of joint,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or black and blue at every point;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And few but felt some portion sore,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From introductions to the floor.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But such mishaps were lost to sight,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Amid the common wild delight,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For little fuss do Brownies make<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O'er bump or bruise or even break.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And had that night been long as those<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That spread a shade o'er polar snows,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Brownies would have kept the floor,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And never thought of sash or door.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">But stars at length began to wane,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And dawn came creeping through the pane;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And, much against the will of all,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The rogues were forced to leave the hall.<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_546" id="Page_546">[Pg 546]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>EASTER CAROL.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Wm. E. Ashmall.</span></h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/music579b.jpg" width="650" height="190" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/music579a.jpg" width="650" height="206" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/music579c.jpg" width="650" height="200" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">2 For He is risen up on high,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">From earth and dreary grave;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Christ is risen! is our cry,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">He lives again to save.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">3 Sing aloud for Christ our King,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">For Christ, the Saviour, born;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">This carol ever we will sing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">On this, our Easter morn.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_547" id="Page_547">[Pg 547]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE HANDIWORK OF SOME CLEVER SCHOOL-BOYS.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By J. Abdon Donnegan.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>The Fair of the American Institute held annually in New York, is chiefly
+a display from the various American trades showing improvement and
+advancement; here designers and inventors also present many novelties
+and useful inventions for public criticism and judgment.</p>
+
+<p>One feature of the Fair of 1885 that attracted much attention and
+comment, was the novel and unique display of mechanical models designed
+and constructed by the boys of the third grade in Grammar-School, No.
+57, one of the public schools of New York City. The work exhibited by
+these boys is peculiarly interesting and suggestive, and is an
+indication of what observant, thoughtful, and intelligent boys can
+devise and do when their tastes and natural inclinations are developed.</p>
+
+<p>The boys' models were made at home, after class-hours, and on odd
+holidays during the six months previous to exhibition, and were
+primarily intended to illustrate the principles of the six mechanical
+powers,&mdash;the inclined plane, the lever, the wedge, the pulley, the wheel
+and axle, and the screw. When the American Institute Fair opened, an
+inclined railway, with its platform and cars; a miniature guillotine,
+with ready knife; a dumb-waiter in full working order; a derrick
+prepared to raise many weights; a pile-driver with its automatically
+dropped weight, the sound of which never failed to attract
+attention,&mdash;all these, with other models, occupied a space in Machinery
+Hall.</p>
+
+<p>During the morning hours, curtains screened the models; in the afternoon
+the youthful exhibitors arrived and took special delight in showing the
+working of their designs. The pleasant hours spent there, the praise of
+visitors, and the recognition and commendation accorded by the press
+will be long remembered by the boys. At the closing of the Fair, the
+exhibit was awarded the Medal of Merit.</p>
+
+<p>The illustrations on pages 548 and 550 show the models exhibited. Figure
+1 represents an alcoholic furnace, illustrating the expansion of a brass
+rod by heat. A cylinder of tin, fifteen inches in height and five in
+diameter, is hinged to a base of wood and arranged so as to tilt to the
+left. A lever fifteen inches long opens and closes a damper; this lever
+(an umbrella rod) is inserted in a pivoted rod of wood two inches long,
+supported in a square frame made of an inch strip of tin bent twice at
+right angles and soldered to the cylinder.</p>
+
+<p>A brass banner rod, seven inches long, also connects with this rod and,
+passing through an inch opening, is supported in the flame of an alcohol
+lamp and fastened on the opposite side by a tiny brass knob screwed on
+the protruding thread of the rod. A small pulley and weight steadies the
+motion of the lever.</p>
+
+<p>The heat of the alcohol flame causes the brass rod to lengthen, and this
+in turn moves the lever which opens the damper; and the degree of
+expansion is indicated on a paper scale by a straw pointer attached to
+the rod of the damper. A coating of copper bronze was given to the
+cylinder. This model was made in part by Winfred C. Rhoades.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 2 shows a forge made by William E. Tappae. A hand-bellows is
+mounted on a wooden base about ten by twenty-four inches in size, and is
+worked by a lever handle supported in a frame twenty-six inches in
+height. The bellows consists of two boards connected by flexible leather
+tacked to the edges. The upper board is stationary, and an inch central
+opening is covered on the inside by a two-inch flap of chamois fastened
+at one point, forming a valve.</p>
+
+<p>As the handle is pushed up, the air rushes in, and when pulled down, the
+valve closes and the compressed air is forced through the metal nozzle
+to the glowing coals. The carved-wood anvil was stained black and the
+other parts were painted a bright vermilion.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 3 explains one way of connecting levers, and their uses as a
+mechanical aid. The base is four by fifteen inches in size, and the
+pillars are respectively six and ten inches in height, and are firmly
+mortised and glued into the base. The upper lever is eighteen inches in
+length, and connects with the ten-inch lower lever.</p>
+
+<p>The lead weights, sliding on the narrow edges of the levers, balance
+each other, and show how the heavy wagon of coal is balanced in the
+office by the weight on the scale-beam.</p>
+
+<p>A wedge made of oak ten inches in height and five inches in width is
+indicated by Figure 4.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 5 represents a diminutive pile-driver, twenty-eight inches in
+length, showing the plan and action of a large machine.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_548" id="Page_548">[Pg 548]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus583.jpg" width="650" height="956" alt="SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER 14 YEARS
+OF AGE.
+
+DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER 14 YEARS
+OF AGE.
+
+DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_549" id="Page_549">[Pg 549]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The two-pound drop-hammer falls a distance of twenty-two inches in the
+grooves of the vertical posts which are mortised and glued into the
+base, as are also the oblique braces to which are attached the bobbin,
+or axle, and crank, on which the cord is wound that raises the hammer.
+This hammer is a flat piece of iron having two pieces of wood, each four
+by two and one-half inches in size, cemented to it. A wire hook is
+attached just above, and the extended arm of the hook as the weight
+nears the top, meets a projecting pin, and slips the weight from the
+cord.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 6 is the model of a wood-press useful in pressing flowers for an
+herbarium. The base and pressure board are each ten inches square, the
+supports eight inches in height, and a wooden screw connected with the
+upper board turns in the cross-piece. This and the models shown in the
+drawings numbered 3, 5, and 10 were made by Harry St&oelig;cker.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 7 represents the model of an inclined railway constructed upon
+the plan of the inclined railway actually in use between Hoboken and
+Jersey City Heights. A board forty-five inches in length and ten inches
+in width connects the terminal platforms of this model. The upper
+platform rests on a support thirty-three inches in height; to this
+support is attached an axle turned by a crank, on which are wound the
+reversed cords which connect with the ascending and descending
+platforms. These platforms are mounted on rollers and the cars while in
+motion are kept in a horizontal position. This model was constructed by
+Everett L. Thompson.</p>
+
+<p>The same boy constructed also the model shown in Figure 8&mdash;a dumb-waiter
+with original arrangement of cords and pulleys. The frame is thirty-six
+inches in height, eleven inches in width, and five inches in depth.
+Inside, a carrier with shelves is raised by a cord passing over four
+pulleys, the action of which may be seen through glass slips fitted in
+grooves. To the end of a cord is attached a weight which balances the
+weight of the carrier and contents. The frame-work was stained a dark
+mahogany color, oiled and varnished.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 9 represents a miniature guillotine as made by David W. Benedict.
+It was copied after one brought from France and exhibited at a
+well-known museum in New York City.</p>
+
+<p>The frame is twenty-two inches in height, and the block to which is
+fastened the tin blade, falls through the grooves in the posts to the
+rest upon which lies the head of the criminal. The cord raising the
+block runs over the pulleys, and is wound on the cleat when not in use.
+A box beneath receives the head of the imaginary victim as it falls. The
+machine with the exception of the blade was painted in bright vermilion
+and varnished.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 10 shows a small derrick constructed after a sketch of one used
+in the erection of the Madison Avenue bridge across the Harlem River. A
+mast of maple twenty-seven inches in length is mortised into an oak
+base, ten by twelve inches in size. A projecting arm, or jib, is
+fastened to the mast by a clasp of heavy tin. A cord and pulley keep the
+jib at a proper angle with the mast. The weight is hooked to a double
+pulley connected with the single pulley near the end of the jib; the
+cord, passing over a wheel in the mast and then passing downward, is
+wound upon the axle by turning the crank; a toothed wheel and ratchet
+stops the weight at the desired height. Neater pulleys than could be
+purchased were made by joining two wooden buttons and placing them in a
+whittled frame bound with piano-wire. The mast and jib were painted a
+dark blue and the base was polished and varnished.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 11 shows a model of a foundry crane, much admired for its
+accuracy of design and finish. It was made by George Chase, of seasoned
+maple with iron and brass connections. A swinging jib is pivoted at the
+top to a brass plate screwed to the cross-piece of the frame, and turns
+on a steel pin fitted to a plate on the base. A carriage travels along
+the jib, being kept at the required distance by a cord passing over a
+wheel at the end of the jib. A cord attached to the carriage passes over
+a pulley connected with the weight, and also over the wheel of the
+carriage, to the wheel directing it to the axle, which is turned by a
+cog-wheel and pinion taken from an old clock.</p>
+
+<p>The carrier of the elevator shown in Figure 12 is hoisted by a cord
+passing over a small iron pulley fixed to the cross-beam of the grooved
+posts, and thence to the spool, or axle turned by a crank.</p>
+
+<p>A clock-spring attached to a square wooden rosette is shown by Figure
+13.</p>
+
+<p>Figure 14 represents a pump improvised by John B. Cartwright from an old
+mincing-machine.</p>
+
+<p>A handle turns a series of spur-wheels, which in turn give a rapid
+motion to a twelve-inch walking-beam. To one end of this walking-beam is
+attached a piston-rod, with a soft rubber disk working in a brass
+cylinder five inches long and three and a half inches in diameter. Iron
+fittings, including two brass valves, one on each side, connect with the
+cylinder; an air-chamber is formed with a fitting and cap. The suction
+caused by the upward motion of the piston will draw water from a pail or
+cup through a rubber tube connected with the end fitting of the
+right-hand valve, then through the valve to the cylinder; the downward
+motion of the piston causes the water to pass through the left-hand
+valve to the receiving vessel, and the air-chamber tends to make the
+flow regular. Parts of the machine were painted blue and striped with
+gold bronze.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_550" id="Page_550">[Pg 550]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus586.jpg" width="650" height="945" alt="SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER FOURTEEN
+YEARS OF AGE.&mdash;DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER FOURTEEN
+YEARS OF AGE.&mdash;DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_551" id="Page_551">[Pg 551]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>By the removal of one pane of glass from a window facing south, the
+apparatus shown in Figure 15 may be used, like a magic lantern, to
+project transparencies, in a darkened room.</p>
+
+<p>A pine board, fourteen inches square and one inch in thickness, has an
+opening in the middle to receive a wooden frame seven inches square,
+holding a six-inch cosmorama lens, having a focus of eighteen inches. A
+three-inch plano-convex lens having a focus of nine inches, mounted in a
+wooden frame, slides along a slit or opening in a board hinged to the
+inner side of the board which is cleated to the window.</p>
+
+<p>A plate-glass mirror, eight by fifteen inches in size, is secured to a
+board hinged to a wooden rod, which can be turned from the inside, and
+is raised and lowered by a cord winding on a key. The mirror is lowered
+and inclined until the sunlight is reflected through the lenses, and
+then a circle of intense light, from ten to fifteen feet in diameter
+appears on the wall or screen. Both lenses will not cost more than two
+dollars, and the apparatus will most impressively illustrate experiments
+in light and sound.</p>
+
+<p>An easily made electric lamp is shown by Figure 16. An Argand chimney is
+fastened to a wooden base, with the cement known as "Stratena," and
+partly filled with water. A cork coated with paraffine is placed inside
+the chimney, and a rod of carbon twelve inches long and one-sixteenth of
+an inch in thickness being inserted in the cork, the upward pressure of
+the water on the cork causes the end of the carbon rod to come in slight
+contact with a thick rod of carbon which is fastened obliquely to a
+square piece of wood, cemented near the top of the chimney. A brass chip
+fastened to the wood keeps the thin rod of carbon in position, and when
+two copper wires connect the carbons with six to ten jars of a
+bichromate battery, a light appears where the two carbons meet. As the
+thin rod wastes away, the cork rises and keeps the end of the rod
+almost in contact with the other carbon point.</p>
+
+<p>An ambition to creditably make a mechanical contrivance or apparatus is
+noticeably characteristic of many boys. The construction of an aquarium,
+a sailboat, or a telescope, or some similar object, is of absorbing
+interest to such lads; and the making of the electrical apparatus of
+straws, sealing-wax, etcetera, once described by Professor Tyndall, has
+merely tasked the ingenuity of thinking boys to improve upon the
+apparatus.</p>
+
+<p>Many educators maintain that manual training of a pleasant character,
+adapted to the age of the pupils, should form an essential element in
+the education of boys and girls, and should be placed on a par with the
+regular studies. There is no doubt that such instruction stimulates
+ambition and tends to develop taste, skill, and natural invention. At
+the same time an insight into mechanical occupations, with some
+practical experience in the handling of tools, may assist a boy in
+choosing a calling suited to his taste, and better prepare him to enter
+some practical industry, if his choice should incline toward such an
+occupation.</p>
+
+<p>A few years ago, manual training in modeling, wood-carving, carpentry,
+forge-work, and other branches, was introduced into a technical course
+in the College of the City of New York, in East Twenty-third street.
+To-day it is one of the most interesting features of the College work,
+and is highly appreciated by the students. Private schools in this city,
+as also some of the public and private schools of Boston and
+Philadelphia, have introduced the workshop into their methods of
+instruction, and devote a few hours in each week to practical and manual
+labor.</p>
+
+<p>The models illustrated in this article represent many well spent and
+helpful hours of recreation, and other boys may find pleasure and profit
+in making similar use of their leisure time and their powers of
+handicraft.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>A NEW VIEW OF THE MOON.</h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By Eva Lovett Carson.</span></h3>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">A little boy just two years old,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Or maybe two months older,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Came riding home across the lot,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Perched on his father's shoulder.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Look, Oswald! Hold your head up straight!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">(Do stop that dreadful drumming!)<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">See, just above where Mamma stands<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A little moon is coming!"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The baby lifts his round blue eyes;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The moon laughs at their glancing.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To see the wonder of his gaze<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'Most sets the moon a-dancing.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Frowning, he solved the problem soon;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Indignantly he spoke it:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Papa, dat's not the big wound moon;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">I fink <i>somebody b'oke it</i>!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_552" id="Page_552">[Pg 552]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 575px;">
+<img src="images/illus590.jpg" width="575" height="650" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Away&mdash;ho, away!&mdash;Let us off on a quest!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the North&mdash;to the South&mdash;to the East&mdash;to the West!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the West, to find where the sunsets go<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When the skies are as red as roses a-blow;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the East, to see whence the mornings come;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the South, the Summer to track to her home;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the North, by the gleam of the Polar Star,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Night's aurora flaming afar,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To seek, in the keen and biting weather,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The lodestone that holds the world together.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Now and then somebody writes out the very thoughts of the birds; and
+then again, others tell me very prettily just what they think ought to
+be felt by the tuneful-minded little creatures. Here, for instance,
+comes this scrap of verse from my friend Emily A. Braddock that I hope
+not only you children, but all of my birds will hear. I don't allude so
+much to the sparrows and such stay-at-homes as to my migratory, or
+go-away birds. I'm sure they'd be delighted at a poet's way of putting
+things. It will give them something to go for. As for myself, I've not
+started yet, so we'll proceed to discuss a certain odd saying for which
+it seems the world is indebted to one sort of these migratory birds:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"EVERYTHING IS LOVELY, AND THE GOOSE HANGS HIGH."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>This expression, the Little School-ma'am says, is a corruption of an
+old-fashioned saying that originated in the early days of this country.</p>
+
+<p>As most of you know, wild geese, when they migrate in autumn, form
+themselves into lines shaped like the letter V, the leader flying at the
+point, the two lines following; and as they sail away, far above the
+trees, and beyond all danger from guns&mdash;on those cold mornings when the
+air is clear, and the sky beautifully blue&mdash;they seem full of glee, and
+join in a chorus, "<i>Honk, honk, honk!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>Any one who has heard those curiously sounding notes, the Little
+School-ma'am says, never could mistake them for anything else. And the
+folks on the earth below who heard the birds' wild call, in old times,
+realized the happiness of the winged creatures in being so high and
+safe. And so it became quite natural, when two persons met each other
+under peculiarly favorable circumstances for this or that enterprise,
+for them to say: "Everything is lovely and the goose honks high!"</p>
+
+
+<h4>GIRLS! TO THE RESCUE!</h4>
+
+<p>Before we leave our dear birds, moreover, I have a special message for
+you this month in their behalf:</p>
+
+<p>"You must not forget, friend Jack," says the Deacon, "to give the boys
+and girls, especially the girls, my May-time sermon about the Audubon
+Society."</p>
+
+<p>Forget it? Not I, indeed! Nor would you, if you could have seen the
+honest and hearty indignation of the good Deacon and the Little
+School-ma'am, as he read to her a printed circular telling all about the
+monstrous wrong which the Audubon Society has nobly begun to fight. You
+must know, dear girls, that this "monstrous wrong" is the custom of
+wearing feathers and skins of birds on your hats and dresses. As I am an
+honest Jack, I don't see how girls and their mammas, who, as everybody
+knows, are supposed to have hearts more tender than men or boys, could
+ever have been induced to follow so abominable a fashion. "Abominable"
+is rather a strong word, I suppose; but it is the very one which the
+good Deacon used when he read the printed slip. And the Little
+School-ma'am&mdash;bless her!&mdash;actually gave a nod of satisfaction when she
+heard it. As for me, no word would be too strong to express my feelings
+on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>But I'll be content now with giving you what the Deacon calls "two plain
+facts" about this fashion, and letting them speak for themselves. "You
+must know then," says the Deacon, "that a single collector of ornamental
+feathers in this country has declared that he handles every year about
+<i>thirty thousand</i> bird-skins, almost all of which are used for millinery
+purposes; and that another man collected from the shooters in one small
+district within four months, about <i>seventy thousand</i> birds!</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Jack," adds the Deacon, "tell your young hearers to ask themselves
+and their parents, whether this slaughter shall continue? The Audubon
+Society says 'no!' Its membership is free to every one who is willing to
+lend a helping hand to its objects. And its objects are to prevent as
+far as possible, first, the killing of any wild birds not used for food;
+second, the destruction of nests or eggs of wild birds; and third, the
+wearing of feathers as ornaments or trimmings for dress. And<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_553" id="Page_553">[Pg 553]</a></span> certainly
+women and girls can do much, in fact everything, for this third object."</p>
+
+<p>All the older readers of <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> will remember the army of
+bird-defenders which it established years ago. The Deacon says that
+there is a call for a new army, and all that you need do to join it, my
+girls, is to refuse to wear feathers on your hats or dresses. If all the
+women and girls who now follow that cruel fashion would but abandon it,
+the needless slaughter of the birds would soon be at an end.</p>
+
+
+<h4>ABOUT LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right">"<span class="smcap">Felixstow," Brightwood (near Washington).</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Jack-in-the-Pulpit</span>: I am a little boy just six years
+old. I live in the country about six miles from Washington.
+I am very much interested in reading "Little Lord
+Fauntleroy," because Mrs. Burnett, the lady who wrote it,
+was out at our house last spring, and told us the story, and
+I want to see if she changed it before she put it in the
+book. I tell you, her own little boys, Lionel and Vivian,
+are nice fellows to play with! I have a nice pony named Joe,
+lots of chickens, a dog, and two cats, but I like digging in
+the ground most. I raised a lot of pop-corn last year.
+Somebody is writing this for me, but I am telling him what
+to write. My little brother Paul bothers me considerably
+when I want to make things.</p>
+
+<p>Good bye, dear Jack; you are a nice fellow. Your friend,</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span class="smcap">Felix Renouf Holt.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>"Felix is not alone," says the Little School-ma'am, "in his admiration
+for Little Lord Fauntleroy. The children of the Red School House all are
+charmed with his lordship, and for myself I consider him one of the very
+sweetest and noblest little boys in English literature."</p>
+
+
+<h4>FISHING FOR NECKLACES.</h4>
+
+<p>According to my friend, Ernest Ingersoll, a large proportion of the red
+coral used by jewelers in making ornaments comes from the Mediterranean
+coast of Algeria, where it is gathered chiefly by an ingenious machine.
+Nets, the meshes of which are loose, are hung on the bars of a cross,
+and dragged at the bottom of the sea among the nooks and crevices of the
+rocks. These nets, winding about the branches of the coralline growth,
+break off its branches, which adhere to the meshes. When he thinks it is
+laden, the fisherman draws the net to the surface and helps himself to
+the coral. This is sold in various markets, and afterward worked into
+ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, and other pretty articles for girls and
+their mammas.</p>
+
+
+<h4>A SUGGESTION TO THE BOTTLED FISH.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Reading, Mass.</span>, </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear Jack-in-the-Pulpit</span>: I read in the February number about
+the bottled fish. I think it is very queer. In "Grimm's
+Fairy Tales" there is a story about a fox that crept into a
+hole where there was something to eat. After he ate it he
+grew so fat that he could not get out, and he stayed there
+till the farmer found him and killed him. I suppose it was
+the same way with the fish, only he fed on oysters, and as I
+think there are no farmers at the bottom of the sea, he
+stayed there till he was drawn up. If I had been that fish,
+I would have starved myself till I was thin enough to get
+out. I have taken St. Nicholas since I was two years old,
+and my mamma says she brought me up on it, so you see I have
+been well brought up.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+I remain yours truly,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">E. S. K. Packard.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+
+<h4>THE NEWSPAPER PLANT.</h4>
+
+<p>You are to be told in this month's <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>, I hear, about a curious
+"lace-leaf," a "vegetable necktie," and a "caricature plant." If so,
+this is a good time for me to show you a curiosity called the newspaper
+plant, which the Little School-ma'am described the other day to the
+young folk of the Red School House.</p>
+
+<p>It seems that in certain far-away countries called New Mexico and
+Arizona, there are great tracts of desolate desert lands, where the very
+hills seem destitute of life and beauty, and where the earth is
+shriveled from centuries of terrible heat. And in these desert-tracts
+grow a curious, misshapen, grotesque and twisted plant that seems more
+like a goblin tree than a real one.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the trees in the world, you would imagine this to be the most
+outcast and worthless&mdash;so meager a living does it obtain from the waste
+of sand and gravel in which it grows. And yet this goblin tree is now
+being sought after and utilized in one of the world's greatest
+industries&mdash;an industry that affects the daily needs of civilization,
+and is of especial importance to every girl and boy who reads the pages
+of <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>.</p>
+
+<p>Those wise folk, the botanists, call our goblin tree by its odd Indian
+name of the "Yucca" palm.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 320px;">
+<img src="images/illus593.jpg" width="320" height="350" alt="THE YUCCA PALM." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE YUCCA PALM.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>This plant of the desert for a long time was considered valueless. But
+not long ago it was discovered that the fiber of the Yucca could be made
+into an excellent paper.<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a> And now one of the great English dailies,
+the London <i>Telegraph</i>, is printed upon paper made from this goblin
+tree. Indeed, the <i>Telegraph</i> has purchased a large plantation in
+Arizona, merely for the purpose of cultivating this tree, and
+manufacturing paper from it. So, you see, the Yucca is now a newspaper
+plant.</p>
+
+
+<h4>ONE MORE LIVING BAROMETER.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Dear Jack</span>: As you have told us so much about living
+barometers, I want to tell you that I have one. Mine is a
+red squirrel. Just before a "cold snap" she will be surly
+and sleepy. When she is angry, she will spread her lower
+teeth apart. She will play like a kitten. I call her Gipsy,
+and she is my chief pet.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Your constant reader,<br />
+<br />
+M. M. M.<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> For an article describing the manufacture of paper, see <span class="smcap">St.
+Nicholas</span> for August, 1884, page 808.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_554" id="Page_554">[Pg 554]</a></span></p>
+<h2>EDITORIAL NOTES.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In a note which accompanied the article in our present number, "When
+Shakspere was a Boy," Miss Kingsley desires us to state that she owes
+much valuable information about charms (mentioned on page 488), and also
+about Shaksperean games and customs, to Mr. Richard Savage, of the
+Shakspere Birthplace Museum, Stratford-on-Avon.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>In his story of "The Great Snow-ball Fight," printed in our March
+number, Mr. Barnard showed how some boys put out the fire in the Widow
+Lawson's house, by snow-balling it. This may have appeared to some
+readers almost impossible, but it was based upon an actual occurrence.
+And an instance of that mode of at least preventing a fire, was recorded
+in the New York papers of February 11th. It appears in an account of the
+burning of the stables of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club, at Hempstead, Long
+Island. "No modern appliance for extinguishing fire was at hand," says
+one journal, "but there was plenty of snow, and this was banked up about
+the adjoining stables, and undoubtedly saved them from being burned.
+Whenever sparks from the burning building fell on the adjacent barns,
+they were quickly extinguished by well-directed snow-balls thrown upon
+them."</p>
+
+
+<h4>THE LETTER-BOX.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Concord, N. H.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: Lena and I play dolls very often, but the
+latest game we play is throwing cards into a hat placed on
+the floor about six feet away. Lena put in thirty-two out of
+fifty-two. If you have room enough to print this in your
+Letter-box, I should like to read it.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Yours truly,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Ruth A. M.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>That is a very nice game, Ruth, although six feet seems a long distance
+for a small girl to toss the cards. We have seen grown folk try the game
+at four feet, and then several of them could not put one in twenty into
+the hat; so Lena's score of thirty-two out of fifty-two is a fine one.
+The game can be played with any kind of cards, and with sides or by
+individuals. The largest number of cards thrown into the hat, either by
+one person or by a side, makes the winning score. If played by sides,
+not more than twenty cards should be used, and each side should play
+five rounds, thus making one hundred the highest possible score for any
+player.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Middletown, Conn.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I am anxious to have the March number
+come, so that I can see how Little Lord Fauntleroy's
+grandfather treats him. That serial story I enjoy very much.
+I go to a private girls' school in the morning, and study
+German in the afternoon with my mother.</p>
+
+<p class="right">With much love I am your faithful reader,</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span class="smcap">Helen W. A.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"> <span class="smcap">Providence, R. I.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: This is the first time that I have
+written to you.</p>
+
+<p>I have a funny story to tell about a mouse. My canary bird
+used to hang up in our nursery-window on a chain. Sometimes
+in the evening or night, we would hear mice running around,
+and in the morning we would find that some of the seed was
+gone. Mamma thought it was a mouse, but <i>we</i> did not think
+so. Papa had been trying to catch them in a trap, but did
+not catch many. We then thought that we would try another
+way. So Papa took the cage down and put a pail of water on
+the chain, and when the little mouse went up the chain, as
+he used to do, instead of going in the cage, he went in the
+pail of water and was drowned. This is a true story. I am
+eleven years old. Good-bye.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+am your constant reader,<br />
+<br />
+B. G. H.<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Carrington, Dakota.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: You do not know me at all, but I know you
+and love you so much! When you were brought to me this
+morning I almost kissed your bright face for joy. It was
+stormy this morning, and I was tired playing with kitty;
+besides that I had been waiting so long to read some more
+about Little Lord Fauntleroy! He is such a brave, wise
+little boy! Will you ask Mrs. Burnett to please not make him
+unhappy with his grandfather? Ever since we had our
+Christmas entertainment, I have wanted to tell you about it,
+but have been too sick to write you. We called it "An
+Evening with Mother Goose and the Brownies." Yes,&mdash;we had
+all the cute little boys in Carrington dressed up like
+Brownies. They did mischief very nicely, all quietly in
+their stocking-feet. While Mother Goose was singing her
+melodies, they came and stole away her goose, and they
+pelted Mother Hubbard with paper balls when she sang that
+song in the <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>: "I had an Educated Pug." In the
+tableaux, they tripped up Jack and Jill, upset Blue-beard,
+stole Jack Horner's plum, overturned the bachelor's
+wheelbarrow, little wife and all, let the spider down from a
+tree on little Miss Muffett, and tied Bo-peep's sheep-tails
+to a tree, and woke her up with their baa's. Then we had
+"The House that Jack built," just like it is in the <span class="smcap">St.
+Nicholas</span>, for Nov. 1883. It was just splendid, and so funny;
+but when the rat was to come out of "The House that Jack
+built," the cat had put his foot on the string and it broke,
+so the cat couldn't come out. Then the maiden all forlorn
+picked up the rat, threw it at the cat, and everybody just
+roared!</p>
+
+<p>I am nine years old, and my name is,</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span class="smcap">Theodora C.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">New Hartford, Iowa.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I believe the little girls that take the
+<span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> will like to hear about my numerous paper
+dolls. I have a whole town of them, and they all have their
+names written on their backs. I was so interested in "The
+Firm of Big Brain, Little Brain &amp; Co." After I read it, I
+kept thinking what my "Big Brain" was telegraphing. Well, my
+big brain telegraphs to my hand, that if it writes any more,
+the letter will be too long to print. So good-bye. I am</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+One of your many friends,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Grace C.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Woodland, Cal.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I think you are the nicest magazine in
+the whole world. I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a
+beautiful story. It seems so real. Cedric reminds me of my
+little cousin Birdie (that is his pet name). One day his
+aunt (who is an artist) asked him if he did not want her to
+paint him. He said: "I had rather be as I are." He is nearly
+four years old. I live on a vineyard of 160 acres.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Your faithful reader,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Lillian H.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Fort Assinaboine, Mon.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I commenced taking your paper five months
+ago, and I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is the best story
+I ever read.</p>
+
+<p>We have plenty of skating here, and fifty ponies to ride.</p>
+
+<p>Another boy is writing a letter to you too. We live 200
+miles from Helena and we have to go in a stage or wait till
+the river opens.</p>
+
+<p>We only have to go to school in the morning, and we play all
+the rest of the day.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Yours truly,<br />
+<br />
+S. F. P.<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Brooklyn, N. Y., 1886.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I thought that I would send you a letter
+at last. I will tell you about our washwoman and me. I have
+something the matter with my knee, and so I have to stay in
+the house. Well, our washwoman and I were having some fun. I
+was at the back parlor window, and the washwoman was down in
+the back yard hanging up the clothes, and I got a snow-ball
+and threw it at her, and you ought to have seen her! She
+looked up and down and could not see anybody, and after a
+while she saw me, and then, the way she looked! She said: "I
+will give it to you!"</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Yours truly,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Frank T.</span><br />
+</p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_555" id="Page_555">[Pg 555]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Everett, Mass.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I have taken you for a year and I could
+not do without you. Every month you gladden our home with
+your beautiful pictures, interesting stories, and pretty
+bits of poetry.</p>
+
+<p>I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a splendid story. I must
+not forget to mention the "Brownies." What busy little
+workers they are! I have one pet, a beautiful linnet. Her
+name is Daisy. She is a very sweet singer.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+I remain, your constant reader,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">May F.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Kingston, Indiana.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I do not see many letters from Indiana in
+your Letter-box. I would not do without you for ten dollars
+a year.</p>
+
+<p>I like your Natural History. I have several books on Natural
+History.</p>
+
+<p>Last year I wanted you so badly that Papa said I must earn
+the money myself. I had enough, lacking fifty cents. We had
+an oyster supper here, and papa gave me fifty cents to
+spend; so I did without oysters and took you. I am thirteen
+years old.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Yours sincerely,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Art. R.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Mt. Auburn, Cincinnati, O.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I like your stories very much. I am a boy
+seven years old. I do not go to school, but Mamma teaches me
+with two little girls. I had a lovely Christmas. I got a
+locomotive, a sword, a scarf, a marble game, a rolling-pin,
+a box to keep my pens and pencils in, and some cards and
+books for Christmas. I think you are the best book I ever
+read. This is the first year I began to take you. I like the
+"Brownies" best. Tell Mr. Palmer Cox to put "Brownies" in
+every <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>. Please don't forget to print my letter,
+for I have written it all myself, and spelled it without any
+help.</p>
+
+<p>I had two kittys, and their names were Mitten and Topsy. We
+gave away Mitten and kept Topsy, but after a while we lost
+Topsy, and then we found another kitty, but she ran away. I
+am sorry they went away, for I love kittys. Good-bye, dear
+<span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>, I am so glad it is most time for you to come
+again. Please don't forget to print my letter, for I love
+you so much!</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Your loving friend,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Ralph B. R.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Lewisburg, W. Va.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I have just finished reading the February
+number, and I think that "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and
+"George Washington" are splendid! I am a little girl ten
+years old. Have taken you for four years.</p>
+
+<p>I have ever so many uncles and aunts. One of my aunts sends
+you to me.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Your loving reader,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Dottie M.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Wyoming, Del.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I have never written to you before, but I
+love to read the letters others have sent you. You have been
+coming to our house nearly three years, and we all look
+anxiously for the 26th of the month, when you are due. You
+are my own book. I pay for you with money I have earned
+myself. My little sister wonders whenever she sees <span class="smcap">St.
+Nicholas</span> what the Brownies are doing in it. Mamma is much
+interested in "Little Lord Fauntleroy," and we like it too,
+and all the rest of your stories, but especially "The Gilded
+Boy of Florence," because we know the man who wrote it and
+have heard him preach. He says all he wrote in that story is
+true. Good-bye.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Ever your faithful reader,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">C. Lizzie B.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">London, England.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I am an American girl who left New York
+four years ago, during which time I have been a constant
+reader of <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>. My school friends who read English
+all want it also. You have been forwarded to me from London
+as far as Turkey and Egypt. And so, if you can only spare a
+few minutes, I would like to tell you about the pyramids and
+the sphinx.</p>
+
+<p>From Shepherd's Hotel, Cairo, it is a beautiful drive of
+seven miles through an archway of large trees by the side of
+the Nile. There are several pyramids. The chief one is said
+to be 463 feet high, and one would think the top would be
+very small; but you will no doubt be surprised to hear that
+the Khedive gave a dinner to twenty-four guests upon the top
+of a pyramid. The dinner was served in the usual manner by
+Arab waiters; the gentlemen walked up, while the ladies were
+carried up in chairs. The pyramids are built like
+stairs,&mdash;one stone on top the other, with only an edge for a
+foothold.</p>
+
+<p>Many tourists try to climb the structure, which is very
+fatiguing work. We gave an expert Arab fifty cents to do it
+in ten minutes; he went up in six minutes and down in four
+minutes. From the pyramid to the sphinx is quite a little
+walk through thick sand; and the Sphinx is so big you can
+hardly see it all at once. The English soldiers knocked off
+some of its right hand and all its nose. It is cut from a
+solid rock and looks as black as iron. The Egyptian postage
+stamps have pictures of both the pyramid and the sphinx. The
+temple dedicated to the sphinx lies in ruins here, but the
+remains are very beautiful, being nearly all of alabaster;
+and in the cellar they have just discovered an image, which
+is so immense they can't get it out from the place where it
+has lain so many hundred years. Some time I will write a
+letter about the Holy Land, as I lived there two months. I
+hope you will print my letter; it is my first attempt, and I
+am fourteen years old. Your March number will find me at
+Alexandria, for I take the Beyrouth steamer next week. I
+hope, dear ST. NICHOLAS, your Egyptian friend has not tired
+you, and I also hope this may find a place in your
+Letter-box.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Your loving Egyptian friend,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Maud Stanley F.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="right">
+<span class="smcap">Mohegan Lake, N. Y.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I send you this letter, a true story
+about a fish-hawk.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the middle of April, 1883. A man who was rowing on
+one of those lakes east of the Highlands, in the northern
+part of Westchester County, espied a large fish-hawk sitting
+on a dead limb near the water. The man, having his gun with
+him, rowed over toward the hawk, and when in range fired at
+him flying. The wounded bird fell, hit on the outer joint of
+the left wing. With the help of his companion the man
+managed to bring him home. In less than a week, the boy of
+the house fed him with fish out of his own hands, and the
+hawk did not attempt to claw him. One day the boy wanted to
+see how many pounds of fish the hawk would eat. He caught
+seven suckers weighing a pound and a half each. The hawk ate
+six, one after another, and took the seventh, but refused to
+eat it until half an hour afterward. What an enormous
+appetite he had! Later on in the summer, the boy would take
+him to the water to wash. He did it just as a canary does in
+his china bath. The boy would take him and put him on the
+side of the boat and row him around, and the hawk would sit
+there, taking in everything, as well as the summer visitors,
+who were taking him in. The hawk was so tame that his keeper
+could smooth his head and chuck him under his beak and the
+hawk would only flop his wings and whistle when the boy
+turned, as though delighted with what the boy did. This
+creature measured five feet eleven inches from tip to tip of
+the wings, and came to his death in October of the same
+year, by getting caught in the string by which he was
+fastened, greatly to the sorrow of his keeper who cared for
+him. The bird is now stuffed and in a friend's room in New
+York City.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Yours truly,<br />
+<br />
+S. F. K. E. G.<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Cincinnati, O.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I thought I would write to you to say
+what so many of the other girls and boys who take you have
+already said: "That I love every one of your stories and can
+hardly wait until the 25th of the month comes, to read you."
+I have taken you two years and would not be without you one
+single month. I live in the dirty city of Cincinnati, but I
+have a great deal of fun any way.</p>
+
+<p>We have had two snowstorms this winter, but by the time the
+snow has lain on the ground three or four days it is so
+black that I actually believe that people who come from the
+country would not know it was snow unless they were told.</p>
+
+<p>I will now close, hoping to have the pleasure of seeing this
+letter printed.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+I remain, your constant reader,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Grace S. C.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>P. S. I forgot to say I was thirteen years old and have a
+brother nine years old, who thinks the <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> "a
+dandy," as he expresses it. </p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p><span class="smcap">More About Curve-pitching.</span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Lincoln Co., Neb.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: The two letters in the February number on
+"curve-pitching," I was very glad to see. It was during my
+college-days that the "curve" made its appearance, and it
+was for some time a matter of much interesting discussion
+among us. I was not much of a base-ball man, but I saw a
+good deal of curve-pitching, and occasionally threw some
+rather wild "curves" myself in an amateurish way. We budding
+physicists discussed the why and wherefore of the problem,
+but never arrived at any satisfactory solution. The same
+explanation which is given in the second letter of your
+February number suggested itself to me at the time, and I
+was quite satisfied with it until I discovered that it did
+not accord with the facts of the case. It is a beautiful
+theory, but, like some other theories, it doesn't work.</p>
+
+<p>According to the theory, as shown by your correspondent, the
+ball rotating (as indicated by his diagram which he gives),
+against the hands of the watch should curve to the right,
+producing the <i>in</i> curve. But the fact is, that a ball so
+rotating will curve to the left&mdash;the <i>out</i> curve. And a ball
+rotating in a contrary direction, <i>i. e.</i>, so that points on
+its forward side are moving to the right, will curve to the
+right&mdash;the <i>in</i> curve. In both cases the axis of rotation is
+vertical, so that the motions of the ball may be well
+illustrated by a spinning-top, as is shown in the first
+letter by A. D. S. But the case of a rifle-ball in motion
+does not seem to me to be parallel with that of a base-ball
+under normal conditions. A rifle-ball is given a rotation
+about an axis parallel to and coincident with its line of
+flight, just as an arrow rotates on its shaft. Now, none of
+the curves of a base-ball are produced with the axis of
+rotation in this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_556" id="Page_556">[Pg 556]</a></span> position. In the <i>in</i> and <i>out</i> curves, as
+already said, the axis of rotation is vertical; while the
+<i>rise</i> and <i>drop</i> are produced by rotating the ball about a
+horizontal axis perpendicular to the line of flight. In
+<i>all</i> cases the axis of rotation <i>must</i> be at right angles
+to the line of flight, and the more accurately this
+condition is complied with, the more marked the effect. My
+knowledge of the subject is too slight to warrant me in
+asserting that the curving of the rifle-ball and that of the
+base-ball do not depend on the same principle, but it does
+not seem to me that the two are identical, for the above
+reasons.</p>
+
+<p>I have no theory to offer, but trust that among the readers
+of <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> some may be found who have penetrated to the
+"true inwardness" of this interesting problem, and will give
+us a complete and scientific explanation of it.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Yours truly,<br />
+<br />
+H. H. H.<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Beverly, Ohio.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas:</span> I have read with considerable interest
+the letters in <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> for February concerning
+curve-pitching. I am a boy who takes great interest in
+base-ball, and have many times pitched curves. I have seen
+persons, and see them yet, who firmly maintain that a ball
+cannot be curved, even when they have ocular demonstration
+of the fact. But that has nothing to do with what I have to
+say. I have studied the diagram of my anonymous friend, and
+am convinced that he is exactly wrong. With the following
+diagrams I shall show which way a ball curves with a given
+rotation, and give my theory of the curve:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus599a.jpg" width="450" height="329" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>Suppose, as in the letter published, the ball moves one
+hundred feet per second, and revolves so that the equator
+moves around at the same rate. Then, in the first diagram,
+the friction at B is greatest, and at D is 0. But instead of
+curving as my anonymous friend demonstrates, it will curve
+in exactly the <i>opposite</i> direction; namely, in the same
+direction in which it rotates.</p>
+
+<p>I have appended diagram 2, simply to show the curve where
+the friction is 0 at B and greatest at D. Then it will curve
+as indicated.</p>
+
+<p>I have a short theory, namely: In the first diagram, the
+more rapid movement of B compresses the air on that side,
+while at D it is in its normal state. Hence the pressure at
+B more than counterbalances that at D, and, as it were,
+shoves the ball in the direction of the side D, thus
+producing the curve. In the 2d diagram, the letters B and D
+interchange in the theory. I would like to hear more about
+this subject.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Very respectfully yours,<br />
+<br />
+F. C. J.<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Birmingham, Mich.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas:</span> I have read with great interest the
+articles in the October, December, and February numbers,
+about curve-pitching. I have had quite a good deal of
+experience in the "one,-two,-three,-and-out" line myself,
+and have also, for the last two or three years, been able to
+make others have the same experience, by putting them out,
+in the same way. Therefore, I venture a reply to the
+explanation in the February number, backing my statement by
+the experience of many eminent curve-pitchers, and also by
+the story in the October number of "How Science Won the
+Game."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/illus599b.jpg" width="450" height="138" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>The above diagram is the same as your correspondent uses,
+and he asserts that the point B is moving faster than D;
+consequently, there is more friction at B, whence B is
+retarded more than D, and so the ball will curve toward W in
+the path of the dotted line. Now, if he will look in the
+story of "How Science Won the Game," where the base-ball
+editor shows the boys how to hold and how to throw the ball
+to make the different curves, he will find that when he
+throws the ball so that it whirls as shown in diagram, it
+will curve toward P, a direction entirely opposite from the
+one he designates. And any curve-pitcher will tell him the
+same. When I first read his explanation, I thought it was
+all right, for it looks quite reasonable, but upon second
+thoughts, I saw it was wrong, and to make sure, I took a
+ball and tried it. The only way I can get around his
+explanation (aside from actual fact) is this: The point B,
+as he clearly shows, is moving faster than D, and so the
+ball, if the friction of the air is taken away, will
+naturally curve toward the side D or point P. Now, the
+question is, Will the friction of the air be enough greater
+on the side B to overcome the difference in the motions of
+the two sides? If it is, the ball must move in a straight
+line, but as it curves toward the side D, we must conclude
+that it is not, and that the friction of the air tends more
+to hinder than to help the ball to curve. I really believe
+that if it could be tried, a person could make a ball curve
+in a vacuum more easily than we can make it curve in the
+air. Trusting to hear more upon this subject, I remain,
+sincerely yours,</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+"<span class="smcap">A Curver.</span>"<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Fremont, Neb.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: I have never written to you before, but I
+think perhaps you will publish this one letter. I hope you
+will publish it, as I have never yet had anything of mine
+published.</p>
+
+<p>I like the story entitled, "How Science Won the Game."
+Although I am but thirteen years old I think I can pitch a
+curve. I go to the Fremont Normal School and like it very
+much.</p>
+
+<p>I am going to have the 1884 and 1885 <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> bound next
+week. I think you have a very entertaining magazine, and I
+think the pictures are very nice. I have the magazine for a
+Christmas present every year. I have taken <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>
+three years and I hope I may always take it.</p>
+
+<p>Papa says he doesn't think you will publish this, but I
+think you will.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Yours truly,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Eddie H. B.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ayer, Mass.</span> </p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dear St. Nicholas</span>: As so many of your readers have written
+to you, I thought I would write too, that I might have the
+pleasure of seeing my letter in print.</p>
+
+<p>I have taken you a year and have fallen greatly in love with
+your delightful pages.</p>
+
+<p>I think "How Science Won the Game" is a lovely story; I felt
+much interested in it, for last summer the girls of my age
+who lived here got up a base-ball nine. In time, we played
+very nicely and enjoyed the fun. The readers of the
+Letter-box may think this a funny game for girls to play,
+but we liked it and found it very good exercise.</p>
+
+<p>I am fifteen years old; I have a little dog, his name is
+Teddie; he is a very good little dog, but I pity the cat
+that gets in his way.</p>
+
+<p>I like to read "From Bach to Wagner," as I enjoy reading of
+different composers.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Your true reader,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Ruth F.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>We heartily thank the young friends whose names here follow, for
+pleasant letters received from them: Kate Ethel C., John Myers, Sadie B.
+Crane, G. M. F., Jamie H., Walter J. Cohen, Stuart L. Martin, George
+Williams, Eddie L. Goodman, Violette T. Haines, Lillie M. Grubbs, Freda
+Nicolai, Eva Wilkins, Miriam Ferry, Hortie O'Meara, Anna Ross, Clara
+Louise Whitney, Constance and Richard Bigelow, E. R. B., J. H. B., Mary
+and Gussie, Jessie Hiltner, Alberta Stout, Willis Dunning, Nellie E.
+Stebbins, Marion R. Brown, A. W. Smith, Josie and May, Kate G., Hallie
+H. Haines, Johnny B. S., Daisy, Gertie Beidler, Mary M. C., Charles L.
+Baldwin, Kitty Clover, Alice Olney, Emil Harrington, Katie M. Cathcart,
+Arthur F. B., Agnes Hanks, Elizabeth K. Stewart, Wade W. Thayer, Brooks
+Upham, Rosalie, Mamie Eells, Florence Lanty, Frank Dearstyne, Vera
+Wheeler, Nellie McN. Suydam, Elizabeth B. Grumball, Ida Cameron, Ethel
+Marion Walker, Fawn Evans, Alfa P. Tyrrell, H. and A. V. P., G. P. S.,
+Clara Moore, F. W. S., Portia, Nellie T., Eva R., Norine, Anna M.
+Lister, Blanche E. Ives, Mary Hicks, "Dolly Varden," Nora T. C., Natie
+P. Thompson, Daniel McPhail, Mary E. Seavey, Storrs E. E., H. C. J.,
+Edith B., Kittie E. Fogarty, Frank Carman, Ruth A., C. H. M., Richard D.
+Bennett, Anne Grey Millett, Addie Rockwell, Laura Smith, Paula Goetz,
+Katie S. Denholm, Carl M. Ruhlen, Thomas McKeone, W. C. T., Marion
+Loomis, Alice E. Bogert, Gertrude E. S., Julian Granbery, B. M. S.,
+Edward P. Irwin, "The Five Friends," T. L., Kate B. Tilley, Irene S.
+Duer, Violet Scath, Florence M. Wickes, E. W. B., May Delany, and Bertha
+Sweet.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;"><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_557" id="Page_557">[Pg 557]</a></span></p>
+<img src="images/illus601.jpg" width="650" height="210" alt="THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION
+
+SIXTY-FIRST REPORT." title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">An Engraved Charter for Framing.</span></h4>
+
+<p>Our attention has been called to the fact that heretofore we have sent
+to our Chapters no charters, or certificates, suitable for framing.</p>
+
+<p>To remedy this deficiency, we have engaged one of the leading firms of
+New-York City to design a very beautiful A. A. Charter, to be handsomely
+engraved on bond or parchment paper. The size of the charter will be
+about 12 &times; 18 inches or larger.</p>
+
+<p>At the top is drawn an open <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span>, showing on one page Prof.
+Agassiz's portrait, and on the other, representations of the animal and
+vegetable kingdoms.</p>
+
+<p>Above the magazine is our badge, the Swiss Cross; and below is the
+motto, <i>Per Naturam ad Deum</i>. Then follows the certificate proper,
+handsomely ornamented, bearing the name of the founder of the Chapter,
+the name, number, and letter of the same, and signed with the autograph
+of the President of the A. A. Of course the first two hundred
+impressions&mdash;or artist's proofs&mdash;are the finest. Many members are so
+pleased with them that they wish to secure copies for their individual
+possession.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The Class in Mineralogy.</span></h4>
+
+<p>None of the courses of study we have ever had the pleasure of offering
+to our friends, has had the magnificent success which is attending Prof.
+Crosby's class in mineralogy. At this writing no less than eighty-nine
+pupils are enrolled, and as Chapters usually take the course through one
+representative, this number doubtless means that at the least five
+hundred persons are learning how to observe and describe minerals, under
+most competent instruction. To each pupil is sent a set of thirty
+valuable specimens, and all exercises are corrected and returned for
+revision. Geographically, the class extends from Washington Territory to
+England.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Reports of Chapters.</span></h4>
+
+<p>We have to begin again this month, as last, by presenting the excellent
+reports of dilatory Chapters. A little more promptness hereafter, good
+secretaries, if you please!</p>
+
+<p>37, <i>Kingsboro, N. Y.</i> By some mischance, your card notifying me that
+our report is due has just come to my notice, and I hasten to write,
+fearing our "candlestick may be removed." Last week three of us visited
+a gold-mine and brought home specimens of rock from which gold is
+obtained, averaging about twenty dollars per ton. The rock is dark,
+fine-grained, and resembles lime-stone. It effervesces with acid. We
+have here beautiful specimens of the Azoic rocks, and we could make up
+named collections to exchange for other specimens.&mdash;W. W. Thomas, Box
+711.</p>
+
+<p>112, <i>So. Boston</i>. We number ten active and three honorary members.
+During the year we have held twenty-two meetings, with an average
+attendance of eight. In January we gave an entertainment, and realized
+$10.80. In April we endeavored to establish an assembly of the Chapters
+in this part of the State, but did not succeed.</p>
+
+<p>During the year we have studied chemistry, zo&ouml;logy, and astronomy. At
+one time we visited the Agassiz museum in a body, and learned a great
+deal. Having seen now what we can do, I think we shall all study harder
+during the coming year.&mdash;Geo. L. Whitehouse, 37 Gates street.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[<i>Don't be discouraged; we shall have a State Assembly in
+Massachusetts before many years.</i>] </p></div>
+
+<p>134, <i>De Pere, Wis.</i> We have eighteen members. Our room is beginning to
+look very nicely. We added five new cases last fall. We have 1600
+geological specimens,&mdash;including 1000 fossils,&mdash;600 minerals, 50 birds,
+500 plants, 400 shells, and 100 ethnological specimens.&mdash;A. S. Gilbert.</p>
+
+<p>153, <i>Chicago</i> (<i>E</i>). At the Exposition here last fall, we had two large
+cases, one containing minerals, the other fossils, which compared
+favorably with any in the building, and did much toward making our
+society known to the throng of visitors. We have added new books to our
+library at no small expense. Our "Paper" is the latest addition to our
+meetings, and contains original articles, clippings, and the letters
+received.&mdash;Charles T. Mixer.</p>
+
+<p>164, <i>Jackson, Mich.</i> (<i>B</i>). We have eight members, and expect more
+soon. We all have natural histories of our own. We meet once a week, on
+Monday evening. We had a very pleasant field-meeting by Clark's Lake.
+All our members are interested.&mdash;James C. Wood.</p>
+
+<p>168, <i>Buffalo</i> (<i>C</i>). During the summer there were some excursions,
+which brought a number of specimens into the hands of our curator. With
+the new year fresh courage has inspired most of us. Our prospects are
+quite bright. We still have our standing committees in each department,
+and these have a report to make nearly every week. Every two weeks we
+have an essay. Our next topic is to be "Forests and their Utility."
+Besides this and the reading and discussion of scientific essays, we
+have our weekly report on the current scientific news, and notes and
+personal observations. Chapter K of this city has joined us, and Chapter
+I thinks of following the example of Chapter K.&mdash;Sophie Finkenstaedt.</p>
+
+<p>187, <i>Albany, N. Y.</i> (<i>A</i>). We have found time for occasional meeting
+among the heavy requirements of school-life; and as for myself, I find
+our own back-yard a bewildering field for exploration. We have ten
+active and eleven honorary members. Our meetings are held alternate
+Wednesday evenings at the houses of members, and are always well
+attended and interesting. At our next meeting&mdash;our second anniversary&mdash;a
+special programme is to be carried out. We are to debate the comparative
+usefulness of astronomy and botany; have an extra number of <i>The
+Naturalist</i>, our MS. paper; scientific essays, readings and lectures.
+Albany A has never been more flourishing.&mdash;John P. Gavit.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Third Century.</span></h4>
+
+<p>215, <i>Tioga Centre, N. Y.</i> We have been steadily progressing in our
+department&mdash;botany. Last autumn we made asters a specialty, and
+succeeded in collecting and analyzing fourteen species and two
+varieties. We are now ready to exchange promptly.&mdash;Angie Latimer, Sec.</p>
+
+<p>220, <i>De Pere, Wis.</i> (<i>C.</i>) Chapter C has disbanded. Please scratch our
+number out.&mdash;Jessie R. Jackson.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[<i>But we hope the Chapter will "jump into another bush," so
+we can "scratch them in again!"</i>] </p></div>
+
+<p>234, <i>New York</i>, (<i>G</i>). We have joined Chapter 87, New York (B),&mdash;F. W.
+Roos, 335 W. 27th street.</p>
+
+<p>238, <i>Winterset, Iowa</i>. One of our charter members is dead; one is in
+Oregon; two are away at college; one is in Mississippi. In fact, there
+is nothing left of our Chapter. I am sorry, for I think the Association
+work is a very great benefit to the members.&mdash;Harry C. Wallace.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[<i>Our correspondent will remember that by our present rules
+even one active member is allowed to maintain the honor, and
+retain the number and name of a Chapter once properly
+organized. We shall be disappointed if we do not meet him on
+the 24th of next August, at Davenport, Iowa, as the
+representative of a reorganized and efficient Chapter.</i>] </p></div>
+
+<p>246, <i>Bethlehem, Pa.</i> We are in a very flourishing condition, and now
+have fifteen members. Our cabinet is crowded with specimens, all in good
+condition. We occupy a pleasant room rented by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_558" id="Page_558">[Pg 558]</a></span> Chapter. We shall
+enter the coming season with undiminished enthusiasm for the study of
+Nature.</p>
+
+<p>248, <i>Richmond, Va.</i> An informal meeting was held, and twenty-three of
+us boys were enrolled as members of a Chapter of the A. A. We elected
+our teacher, Miss Jennie Ellett, President. Committees were appointed to
+draft by-laws, build cabinets, etc. Instead of forming a new society,
+Mrs. Marshall has kindly consented to let us reorganize Chapter
+248.&mdash;<i>W. T. Terry</i>, Sec., 109 E. Grace St.</p>
+
+<p>252, <i>Utica, N. Y.</i> We have a most flourishing Chapter of forty-seven
+members. In the past year our school building was enlarged, and a room
+was made purposely to hold our treasures. In it is a cabinet overflowing
+with minerals, shells, and plants, 3 cases full of <i>lepidoptera</i>, a
+forty-dollar microscope, and a cabinet, which the boys are trying to
+fill with microscopical slides of their own manufacture. We have also an
+aquarium 12 x 24 inches, stocked with fish, newts, snails, turtles,
+etc., also a bird's egg cabinet that will hold several hundred
+specimens, and a Wardia case, 36 x 18 inches, which we are now using for
+hatching chrysalids. At our last meeting a cecropia "came out,"
+measuring over six and a half inches across the wings. Our Chapter is
+divided into committees, each committee having a teacher for chairman.
+The committees are expected to furnish each week specimens representing
+their special branches. Of all the subjects before us the hardest "nut
+to crack" was, "What is a sea-bean?" but owing to indomitable
+perseverance, it has been most thoroughly cracked.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[<i>Please send us the kernel!</i>] </p></div>
+
+<p>Agassiz's birthday was duly celebrated in the woods. Speeches were made,
+poems recited, and the rest of the day devoted to a grand specimen-hunt.
+It rained hard all day, but that could not quench the fire in this
+Chapter, and we returned home loaded down with treasures. We have
+shells, mica, and <i>lepidoptera</i> for exchange. The Chapter desires to
+express its deepest gratitude to the founder of the A. A. for two
+delightful years.&mdash;Frances E. Newland, Sec.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[<i>Such a delightful report as the one which we have here
+condensed, is more than enough to repay one for all the
+labor connected with the A. A. The debt of gratitude is on
+the other side.</i>] </p></div>
+
+<p>254, <i>Fulton, N. Y.</i> We have started a library, and are now studying
+ornithology. Our membership is reduced to three, but all are
+active.&mdash;Herbert C. Howe.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[<i>If three active-members understand "Reduction Ascending,"
+they will soon reduce the membership to a dozen or more.</i>] </p></div>
+
+<p>256, <i>Newton, Upper Falls, Mass.</i> The past year has been one of
+gratifying progress. We number twelve. Our meetings are very
+interesting, each member giving an account of some object in his branch
+of study, often illustrating it by the specimen or describing some book
+he has been reading, or relating some recent personal experience. At the
+first meeting of each month a paper called <i>Gatherings</i> is read,
+composed of original records of personal observations. Wishing to bring
+our Chapter and its work to the knowledge of our friends, we have held a
+series of socials at the home of one of our members. The first of the
+evening we have devoted to talks and essays by the members of the
+Chapter, and later we have played games, and amused ourselves in other
+ways. We find this plan very beneficial, and have already gained three
+new members and a present of books.&mdash;Mrs. J. M. H. Smith.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[<i>We commend this suggestive report to the earnest attention
+of every Chapter.</i>] </p></div>
+
+<p>257, <i>Plantsville, Ct.</i> We have made large additions to our collections.
+Our library also has been enlarged, and we have now nearly 100 volumes.
+We decide on the subject for each coming meeting in this way. Each
+member writes on a ballot the subject he would prefer. The ballots are
+then shaken in a hat, and the one drawn first is our subject. Moreover,
+the one whose ballot is successful must furnish a paper on that subject,
+and all the others bring short items on the same subject. We closed our
+last meeting by a collation, and singing by our glee club.&mdash;A. L. Ely,
+Box 219.</p>
+
+<p>260, <i>Mercer, Pa.</i> We have not been idle, and have quite a collection.
+We think every Chapter should keep a scrap-book for entering reports and
+clippings.&mdash;Mrs. H. M. Magoffin.</p>
+
+<p>272, <i>West Town, N. Y.</i>&mdash;Most of us are attending school away from home.
+We therefore disband through the winter, and then reorganize for the
+summer vacation, and work as much as we can, for we have farm work to do
+besides. Still we can study as we work, and we do this. Our minerals are
+all labeled and mounted. We have about 200 birds' eggs, some of them
+quite rare. We pride ourselves on our insects. I think we have 300,
+still am not positive. Our botanical specimens number 200. The work we
+have done, though not very great, has done us a great amount of
+good.&mdash;William Evans, Sec.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Some Important Questions.</span></h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="right"><span class="smcap">Manchester, Vt.</span> </p>
+
+<p>I am extremely anxious to experiment during the coming
+season with the American silk-producing worms, not for the
+purpose of producing raw silk, but for other reasons of
+scientific and practical interest. I wish to learn the best
+books for giving a knowledge of the habits of <i>Attacus
+Cecropia</i>, <i>Polyphemus</i>, and the Promethean moths. I shall
+be glad of any information regarding the best places to find
+their cocoons. I should like to hear of the experience of
+others in finding cocoons, and raising the moths. I have M.
+Trouvelot's papers on the subject, Dr. Garlick's letters on
+his experiments; also Dr. Stirling's, Prof. Riley's report
+on Silk Production No. 11, Packard's "Our Common Insects,"
+Sir John Lubbock's "Origin and Metamorphosis of Insects." I
+should like the addresses of any parties who have cocoons of
+the said moths to dispose of; and finally, information
+regarding the success or failure of any who may have tried
+the experiment of raising the worms.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+Very truly yours,<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">C. F. Orvis.</span><br />
+</p></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>[<i>Mr. Orvis is a member of the A. A., has been for years
+engaged in an important manufacturing business, and we trust
+may obtain from "those who know," all the information he
+desires.</i>] </p></div>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Exchanges.</span></h4>
+
+<p>Two thousand square-cut post-marks, all different, in a neat book; also
+1500 duplicates, for best offer in stone implements.&mdash;Laurie H. McNeill,
+Ch. 902, Mobile, Ala.</p>
+
+<p>Correspondence with amateur egg-collectors desired. Iowa
+preferred.&mdash;Oscar Clute, Jr., Iowa City, Iowa.</p>
+
+<p>American bird-skins and eggs (with data), for English. Also mounted
+microscopical pathological specimens. Lists exchanged.&mdash;Wm. D. Grier, 49
+Gloucester St., Boston, Mass.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">New Chapters.</span></h4>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'><i>No.</i></td><td align='left'><i>Name.</i></td><td align='left'><i>No. of Members.</i></td><td align='left'><i>Address.</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>941</td><td align='left'> Hohokus, N. J. (A)</td><td align='left'>4</td><td align='left'>Mrs. R. Van Dien, Jr.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>942</td><td align='left'> Sioux Falls, Dakota (B)</td><td align='left'>10</td><td align='left'>Percy Edmison.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>943</td><td align='left'> Sancelito, Cal. (A)</td><td align='left'>7</td><td align='left'>A. J. Campbell, Box 31, Marin Co.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>944</td><td align='left'> Buffalo, N. Y. (L)</td><td align='left'>12</td><td align='left'>Nathan N. Block, 82 Norris Place.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>945</td><td align='left'> Baltimore, Md.</td><td align='left'>4</td><td align='left'>Maurice Straus, 225 Linden Ave.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>946</td><td align='left'> Seneca Falls (B)</td><td align='left'>5</td><td align='left'>Wm. Hopper.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>947</td><td align='left'> San Francisco, Cal. (J)</td><td align='left'>4</td><td align='left'>Miss Alice J. Ellis, 27 So. Park.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>948</td><td align='left'> Prairie Du Chien, Wis. (A)</td><td align='left'>7</td><td align='left'>Chas. Chase, Jr.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>949</td><td align='left'> New York, N. Y. (Z)</td><td align='left'>4</td><td align='left'>Fred Stanton, 420 W. 61st St.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Dissolved.</span></h4>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>863</td><td align='left'>Providence, R. I. (E)</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>Frederic Gorham.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>362</td><td align='left'>Newport, R. I. (B)</td><td align='left'>4</td><td align='left'>Thomas Crosby, Jr.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>242</td><td align='left'>Philadelphia (I)</td><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='left'>J. F. Stevens.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Reorganized.</span></h4>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>746</td><td align='left'>Helena, Montana (A)</td><td align='left'>8</td><td align='left'>Kurt Kleinschmidt, Box 292.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>68</td><td align='left'>Grand Junction, Iowa</td><td align='left'>2</td><td align='left'>Miss Sarah I. Smith.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>248</td><td align='left'>Richmond, Va. (A)</td><td align='left'>23</td><td align='left'>W. T. Terry, 109 E. Grace St.</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>Address all communications for this department to the President of the
+A. A.,</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+<span class="smcap">Mr. Harlan H. Ballard</span>,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Principal of Lenox Academy, Lenox, Mass.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_559" id="Page_559">[Pg 559]</a></span></p>
+<h2>THE RIDDLE-BOX.</h2>
+
+
+<p>As <span class="smcap">this</span> number of <span class="smcap">St. Nicholas</span> goes to press nearly a month earlier than
+usual, the names of solvers of March puzzles can not appear until the
+issue of the June number.</p>
+
+
+<h4>ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE APRIL NUMBER.</h4>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">An Easter Rebus.</span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Bid folly fly and sin depart;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Keep inviolate your heart;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Easter lilies, pure and fair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Will bud and bloom forever there.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Inverted Pyramid.</span> Across: 1. Depopulated. 2. Nominated. 3. Deluded. 4.
+Roses. 5. Ten. 6. D.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">St. Andrew's Cross of Diamonds.</span> I. 1. B. 2. Dem(and). 3. Dolor. 4.
+Belgium. 5. Moist. 6. Rut. 7. M. II. 1. M. 2. Ham. 3. Huron. 4. Marston.
+5. Motor. 6. Nor. 7. N. III 1. M. 2. Tim. 3. Talon. 4. Million. 5.
+Moist. 6. Not. 7. N. IV. 1. M. 2. Sam. 3. Sedan. 4. Madison. 5. Mason.
+6. Non. 7. N. V. 1. N. 2. Tam. 3. Titus. 4. Natural. 5. Murat. 6. Sat.
+7. L.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Word-squares.</span> I. 1. Racer. 2. Agave. 3. Canal. 4. Evade. 5. Relet. II.
+1. Cabal. 2. Above. 3. Bobea. 4. Avers. 5. Least. III. 1. Rabid. 2.
+Abide. 3. Bison. 4. Idols. 5. Dense.</p>
+
+<h4>PI.</h4>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Spring, with that nameless pathos in the air<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which dwells with all things fair;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Spring, with her golden suns and silver rain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Is with us once again.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Central Acrostic.</span> Arbor Day. Cross-words: 1. slAin. 2. stRew. 3. saBot.
+4. slOop. 5. stRap. 6. seDan. 7. smArt 8. slYly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Hour-glass.</span> Centrals, April fool. Cross-words: 1. TartArean. 2. reaPers.
+3. scRew. 4. vIe. 5. L. 6. aFt. 7. foOls. 8. limOsis. 9. inteLlect.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Mythological Numerical Enigma.</span></h4>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I love to go in the capricious days<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of April, and hunt violets.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Connected Double Squares.</span> Upper left-hand square, Across: 1. Houp. 2.
+Alto. 3. Ties. 4. Host. Upper right-hand square. Across: 1. Pent. 2.
+Otoe. 3. Suet. 4. Tile. Lower left-hand square, Across: 1. Host. 2.
+Able. 3. Sour. 4. Hern. Lower right-hand square. Across: 1. Tile. 2.
+Eden. 3. Read. 4. Naps.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Bagatelle.</span> 1. More haste, less speed. 2. Medicines were not meant to
+live on. 3. He who hides can find. 4. Pride goeth before a fall. 5. The
+absent party is always faulty. 6. A crowd is not company. 7. Penny wise,
+pound foolish. Key-words: haSte, meAnt, hiDes, prIde, paRty, crOwd,
+peNny.</p>
+
+<p>Central letters, sadiron.</p>
+
+
+<h4>MOTHER GOOSE PUZZLE.</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 523px;">
+<img src="images/illus607.jpg" width="523" height="650" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>This puzzle is based upon one of the Mother Goose rhymes. The pictures
+represent the last word of the six lines of the verse. What is the
+verse?</p>
+
+
+<h4>NUMERICAL ENIGMA.</h4>
+
+<p>I am composed of seventy-six letters, and am a quotation from "Love's
+Labor Lost."</p>
+
+<p>My 63-21-58-31 is elevated. My 28-1-42-35 is headstrong. My
+72-45-14-62-25 is on every breakfast table. My 2-19-52 is a fashionable
+kind of trimming. My 74-40-55-50-22 is a glossy fabric. My 33-9-29-8 was
+the nationality of Othello. My 38-68-70-17-12-76 is the name of the
+67-3-49-61 of one of Shakspere's most celebrated plays. My 6-43-5-26 is
+location. My 13-75-11-46 is mature. My 30-60-47-54-41 is what often
+follows a chill. My 53-36-4-24 is a mixture. My 16-39-71-20-66 is used
+in bread-making. My 37-73-65-7-23-27-69-18-56-51 is an allurement. My
+32-57-10-15-64-44-59-34-48 is a school.</p>
+
+
+<p class="right"><span class="i0">HAROLD J. HARDING.</span></p>
+
+
+<h4>PI.</h4>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Ta emits a gaftarrn zebree mecos toalfing yb,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Dan gribsn, uyo wkon ton hwy,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A lenegif sa hewn agree wordsc twaai<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Freoeb a leapac tage<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Meos dronswou gapeant; dan ouy scacer loudw tarts,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fi form a cheeb's thear<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A buel-yede Drady, pepsting froth, soldhu ays,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">"Hedlob em! I ma Mya!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>CENTRAL ACROSTIC.</h4>
+
+<p>Each of the words described contains the same number of letters; the
+central letters, transposed, will spell the name of the heroine of one
+of Sir Walter Scott's novels.</p>
+
+<p>1. Was conspicuous. 2. A hard covering. 3. A citadel. 4. A box for
+fruit. 5. To ward off. 6. A sudden fright.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+AVIS.
+</p>
+
+
+<h4>GREEK CROSS.</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/illus607b.jpg" width="500" height="437" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Upper Square</span>: 1. To begin. 2. A small drum. 3. Over. 4. Wanders. 5. A
+lock of hair.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Left-hand Square</span>: 1. A region. 2. A report. 3. Plentiful. 4. Plants of
+the cabbage family. 5. A lock of hair.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Central Square</span>: 1. A lock of hair. 2. A black bird. 3. To elude. 4. A
+plant which grows in wet grounds. 5. To scoff.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Right-hand Square</span>: 1. To scoff. 2. Grand. 3. Declined. 4. A mournful
+poem. 5. To color anew.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Lower Square</span>: 1. To scoff. 2. Mother of pearl. 3. Applause. 4. One of
+the Muses. 5. To furnish with a new upper part.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+"HOMER."<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_560" id="Page_560">[Pg 560]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;">
+<img src="images/illus608.jpg" width="650" height="362" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<h4>A DECORATION-DAY PUZZLE.</h4>
+
+<p>The words forming this numerical enigma are pictured instead of
+described. The answer, consisting of a hundred and one letters, is a
+four-line verse by Bayard Taylor.</p>
+
+
+<h4>TRIPLE ACROSTIC.</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/illus609a.jpg" width="500" height="196" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Across</span>: 1. Pertaining to a monarch. 2. Entering without right. 3.
+Unmarried women. 4. Unfaithful. Primals, a vapor; centrals, a brown
+coating; finals, in a smaller degree. Primals, centrals, and finals
+combined, unsuspicious.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+F. L. F.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<h4>INVERTED PYRAMID.</h4>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Across</span>: 1. Measurement. 2. Consumes. 3. A chemical substance. 4. A
+sheltered place. 5. In pyramid. Downward: 1. In pyramid. 2. Two-thirds
+of a girl's name. 3. Mankind. 4. Bad. 5. Celebrated. 6. Certain. 7.
+Wrath. 8. A bone. 9. In inverted.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+F. L. F.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<h4>CONNECTED SQUARES.</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/illus609b.jpg" width="500" height="410" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>I. <span class="smcap">Upper Square</span>: 1. Pertaining to a certain nymph. 2. A disease peculiar
+to children. 3. A dwelling-place. 4. The European blackbird. 5. A charm.</p>
+
+<p>II. <span class="smcap">Left-hand Square</span>: 1. Burned wood. 2. A continued endeavor to gain
+possession. 3. The inner part. 4. The lesser white heron. 5. A
+pugilistic encounter.</p>
+
+<p>III. <span class="smcap">Right-hand Square</span>: 1. An expression of contempt. 2. A small column
+without base or capital. 3. Parts of shoes. 4. To assign. 5. To
+squander.</p>
+
+<p>IV. <span class="smcap">Lower Square</span>: 1. A term used in playing with balls. 2. A sacred
+vestment. 3. Proper. 4. A fine yellow clay. 5. A measure.</p>
+
+<p>Centrals, reading downward (eleven letters), an architect who builds
+houses. Centrals, reading across, a mechanical contrivance common in
+cotton-mills.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+"L. LOS REGNI."<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<h4>FINAL ACROSTIC.</h4>
+
+<p>Each of the words described contains the same number of letters. The
+primals will all be of the same letter; the finals will spell a name
+famous in history.</p>
+
+<p>1. A small shell-fish. 2. An emblem. 3. A common plant having a scarlet
+blossom. 4. To weaken. 5. A specter. 6. An afternoon nap. 7. A leap. 8.
+Unassuming. 9. A violent effort. 10. Irony. 11. A channel.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+"JUVENTUS."<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<h4>WORD-SQUARES IN DIAMONDS.</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;">
+<img src="images/illus610.jpg" width="266" height="250" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>I. Diamond: 1. In soles. 2. To touch lightly. 3. Satisfies. 4. A
+beverage. 5. In soles. Included word-square: 1. To touch lightly. 2.
+Consumed. 3. A beverage.</p>
+
+<p>II. Diamond: 1. In strife. 2. To touch lightly. 3. Much talked of in
+railway offices. 4. An inclosure. 5. In strife. Included word-square: 1.
+To touch lightly. 2. A verb. 3. An inclosure.</p>
+
+<p>III. Diamond: 1. In youthful. 2. The cry of a certain animal. 3. A
+mythical being. 4. Skill. 5. In youthful. Included word-square: 1. The
+cry of a certain animal. 2. Gaseous substance. 3. Skill.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+"ARTHUR PENDENNIS."<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<h4>HOUR-GLASS.</h4>
+
+<p>The central letters, reading downward, spell the name of a very
+prominent personage.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Cross-words</span>: 1. Pleasing to the taste. 2. A substance similar to
+varnish. 3. An imp. 4. The name of a character in "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
+5. In decorations. 6. Sick. 7. Resources. 8. To call by the wrong name.
+9. Gives too many doses to.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+"D. I. VERSITY."<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<h4>WORD-SQUARE.</h4>
+
+<p>The letters of each of the words described may all be found in the word
+<span class="smcap">namer</span>.</p>
+
+<p>1. A girl's name. 2. Close at hand. 3. A cognomen. 4. Surface.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+"DENZIL ELINOR."<br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and
+Girls, Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7., by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 32622-h.htm or 32622-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls,
+Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7., by Various
+
+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: St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7.
+       An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Mary Mapes Dodge
+
+Release Date: May 31, 2010 [EBook #32622]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ST. NICHOLAS
+
+An
+
+ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE
+
+FOR YOUNG FOLKS.
+
+
+CONDUCTED BY
+
+MARY MAPES DODGE.
+
+VOLUME XIII.
+
+PART II., MAY, 1886, TO OCTOBER, 1886.
+
+THE CENTURY CO. NEW YORK.
+F. WARNE & CO., LONDON.
+
+Copyright, 1886, by THE CENTURY CO.
+
+THE DE VINNE PRESS.
+
+
+
+
+ST. NICHOLAS:
+
+VOLUME XIII.
+
+PART II.
+
+SIX MONTHS--MAY, 1886, TO OCTOBER, 1886.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS OF PART II., VOLUME XIII.
+
+
+                                                                     PAGE.
+
+ABOUT BREATHING                             _Hellen Clark Swazey_      946
+
+ADVENTURE AT THE FLUME, OUR.
+    (Illustrated).                          _W. L_                     844
+
+AMBITIOUS KANGAROO, THE.
+    Jingle                                  _A. R. Wells_              853
+
+AMUSING THE BABY.
+    Verses. (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)    _Eva Lovett Carson_        706
+
+ARMY, AN. Verses                            _A. C_                     757
+
+ART AND ARTISTS, STORIES OF.
+    English Painters. (Illustrated)         _Clara Erskine Clement_    803
+
+AUNT DEBORAH'S LESSON. (Illustrated)        _G. H. Baskette_           694
+
+AUTUMN TO SPRING.       Poem                _Edith M. Thomas_          883
+
+BABY'S DIMPLE, THE.     Poem                _William H. Hayne_         731
+
+BALLAD OF BASE-BALL, A. Verses              _I. D_                     774
+
+BELATED FAIRY, A. Picture, drawn by Mary A. Lathbury                   693
+
+BLOSSOM-TIME. Poem                          _Laura E. Richards_        518
+
+BOAT-BUILDING. (Illustrated)                _George J. Manson_         698
+
+BOPEEP. Poem.
+    (Illustrated by Mary Hallock Foote)     _Sydney Dayre_             756
+
+BOYS' CAMP, A. (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)                           607
+
+BOYS' PARADISE, THE.
+    (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)           _Elizabeth Balch_          604
+
+BROWNIES AT BASE-BALL, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Palmer Cox_               943
+
+BROWNIES AT LAWN TENNIS, THE. Verses.
+     (Illustrated by the Author)            _Palmer Cox_               857
+
+BROWNIES IN THE MENAGERIE, THE.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Palmer Cox_               707
+
+BROWNIES ON ROLLER SKATES, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Palmer Cox_               543
+
+BUBBLE BOWLING.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Adelia B. Beard_          540
+
+BUTTERFLY AND THE BEE, THE. Verse           _Edith M. Thomas_          599
+
+CAPTAIN JACK'S FOURTH OF JULY KITE.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Daniel C. Beard_          702
+
+CARICATURE PLANT, THE.
+    (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)            _.M. A_                    522
+
+CHILDREN OF THE SUN, THE. Poem.
+    (Illustrated)                           _Arthur Wentworth Eaton_   770
+
+CHILDREN'S EXHIBITION, THE.
+    (Illustrated by E. J. Meeker)           _Charles Barnard_          916
+
+CHILD'S FANCY, A. Poem                      _Frank Dempster Sherman_   645
+
+CONSIDERATE FARMER JONES. Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes              843
+
+CRAFTY CRAB, THE. JINGLE. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by R. B. Birch)           _Isabel Frances Bellows_   845
+
+CREW OF THE CAPTAIN'S GIG, THE.
+    (Illustrated by G. W. Edwards)          _Rev. Charles R. Talbot_   899
+
+DAISY-SONG. Verses                          _Grace Denio Litchfield_   662
+
+DANGEROUS DOG, THE. JINGLE. (Illustrated
+     and engrossed by R. B. Birch)          _A. R. Wells_              837
+
+DIFFERENCE OF OPINION, A. Verses            _Lilian Dynevor Rice_      679
+
+DOG STORIES, ST. NICHOLAS. (Illustrated)                          526, 624
+
+"DO YOU LIKE BUTTER, BOSSY?" Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes           791
+
+DUEL WITH A STORK, A. Pictures, drawn by Frederick J. Hibbert          754
+
+FISHES AND THEIR YOUNG.
+    (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)            _C. F. Holder_             600
+
+FLY-FISHING FOR TROUT. (Illustrated by J. H. Cocks,
+     Henry Sandham, and others)             _Ripley Hitchcock_         655
+
+FRESH FROM A DIP IN THE BREAKERS.
+     Picture, drawn by Mary Hallock Foote                              670
+
+FROG IN THE SHOE, THE. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by Boz)                    _Aunt Fanny Barrow_        791
+
+FUN IN HIGH LIFE. Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes                      935
+
+GEORGE WASHINGTON. (Illustrated by                     505, 590, 663, 758,
+    H. A. Ogden and others)                 _Horace E. Scudder_   838, 908
+
+GIRAFFE, THE. (Illustrated)                 _Gerrish Eldridge_         768
+
+GIRLS' TRICYCLE CLUB AND ITS RUN DOWN THE CAPE, THE.
+    (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)           _E. Vinton Blake_          494
+
+GRANDPAPA ROSEBUSH. Verses.
+    (Illustrated)                           _Laura E. Richards_        583
+
+GREAT SPRING-BOARD ACT, THE. Picture, drawn by T. J. Nicholl           677
+
+HANDIWORK OF SOME CLEVER SCHOOL-BOYS, THE.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _J. Abdon Donnegan_        547
+
+HER PICTURE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Laura C. Hills)         _Anna M. Pratt_            942
+
+HIGHLY COLORED. Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes                        869
+
+HOW CONRAD LOST HIS SCHOOL-BOOKS.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Walter Bobbett_           514
+
+"HOW DOTH THE LITTLE BUSY BEE?" Picture, drawn by Culmer Barnes        757
+
+HURLY-BURLY. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by L. Hopkins)             _Emma Mortimer White_      871
+
+IF. Jingle. (Illustrated)                   _E. A. B._                 703
+
+IN THE GARDEN. Verses.                      _Bessie Chandler_          898
+
+INVERTED. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by W. T. Peters)           _John B. Tabb_             828
+
+"IT WAS A FAIR ARTIST NAMED MAY." Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _O. Herford_               501
+
+JAPANESE BABIES. Verses. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by R. B. Birch)           _Anna C. Vincent_          948
+
+JINGLES.       501, 613, 630, 681, 687, 697, 703, 733, 748, 785, 791, 797,
+                                                   828, 837, 845, 853, 949
+
+JOLLY OLD KNIGHT, THE. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Oliver Herford_           748
+
+KEEPING THE CREAM OF ONE'S READING.
+    (Illustrated)                           _Margaret Meredith_        537
+
+KELP-GATHERERS, THE.                                        584, 687, 776,
+    (Illustrated by W. A. Rogers)           _J. T. Trowbridge_     847,929
+
+KNICKERBOCKER BOY, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Jessie McDermott)       _Caroline S. King_         542
+
+LACE-LEAF, A SEARCH FOR THE.
+    (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)            _Alice May_                518
+
+LA FAYETTE.
+    (Illustrated by F. H. Lungren)          _Mrs. Eugenia M. Hodge_    643
+
+LAKE GEORGE CAPSIZE, A. (Illustrated)       _Edward Eggleston_         829
+
+LAST CRUISE OF THE "SLUG," THE.
+ (Illustrated by D. Clinton Peters)         _Thomas Edwin Turner_      671
+
+LESSON IN GEOGRAPHY, A. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Jessie McDermott)        _M. B. Jordan_            870
+
+LITTLE BOYS WHO LOOKED ALIKE, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)            _Malcolm Douglas_          928
+
+LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.                           502, 564, 646, 734, 822,
+    (Illustrated by R. B. Birch)            _Frances Hodgson Burnett_  884
+
+LITTLE MISS MABEL. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Daisy Jones_              613
+
+LITTLE SEAMSTRESS, A. Verse.                _Mary E. Wilkins_          733
+
+MAN OVERBOARD!
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _H. A. Johnson_            775
+
+MATTER-OF-FACT CINDERELLA, A.
+    (Illustrated)                           _Annie A. Preston_         860
+
+MAY SONG. Poem. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by Laura C. Hills)        _Laura E. Richards_        492
+
+MONSTER, THE. Verses. (Illustrated)         _Maria I. Hammond_         732
+
+MORNING-GLORIES. Poem.                      _Laura Ledyard Pope_       501
+
+MORRA. (Illustrated)                        _Susan Anna Brown_         846
+
+MOTHER'S IDEA.                              _A. M. Platt_              613
+
+NAN'S REVOLT. (Illustrated                                  682, 749, 816,
+    by Jessie Curtis Shepherd)              _Rose Lattimore Alling_    896
+
+NED'S BUTTERCUP. Verses.                    _Bessie Chandler_          941
+
+NEW THEORY, A. Verse.                       _Bessie Chandler_          785
+
+NEW VIEW OF THE MOON, A. Verses.            _Eva Lovett Carson_        551
+
+NO MORE SCHOOL. Picture, drawn by Rose Mueller                         571
+
+NOTIONAL NIGHTINGALE, THE. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by L. Hopkins)             _A. R. Wells_              748
+
+NUMBER ONE. Verses.                         _Charles R. Talbot_        705
+
+OCTOBER. Poem. (Illustrated)               _Susan Hartley_             890
+
+"OH, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Jingle. (Illustrated by E. Sylvester)       869
+
+OLD TIME ARMS AND ARMOR. (Illustrated)      _E. S. Brooks_             936
+
+ONCE-ON-A-TIME. Poem.                       _Emily Huntington Miller_  563
+
+ON THE WILLEY-BROOK TRESTLE.
+    (Illustrated by Henry Sandham)          _Willis Boyd Allen_        764
+
+OWL, THE BAT, AND THE BUMBLE-BEE, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by De Cost Smith)          _Laura E Richards_         747
+
+PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. (Illustrated by E. J.
+    Meeker and others)                      _Frank R. Stockton_
+      Queen Paris.                                                     572
+
+PICTURES.           525, 571, 637, 670, 677, 693, 701, 715, 738, 754, 757,
+                                         791, 798, 843, 856, 869, 935, 947
+
+PUSSIES' COATS, THE. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by H. P. Share)            _Esther B. Tiffany_        687
+
+PUZZLED BESSIE. Picture, drawn by Albert E. Sterner                    947
+
+PUZZLED PAPA, A. Verses.                    _M. L. B. Branch_          603
+
+QUAINT LITTLE MAN, A. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _A. Brennan_               949
+
+READY FOR BUSINESS; OR,
+    CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION. (Illustrated)   _George J. Manson_
+      Boat-building.                                                   698
+
+RECIPE, A. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Mary A. Lathbury_         629
+
+REGATTA. A. Game.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Frank Bellew_             783
+
+ROBIN'S RETURN. Poem.                       _Edith M. Thomas_          612
+
+ROCK-A-BYE. Poem.                           _Mary N. Prescott_         535
+
+ROCKY MOUNTAIN HERMIT, A. (Illustrated by
+    J. C. Beard and others)                 _Alfred Terry Bacon_  723, 832
+
+ROPE YARN SPUN BY AN OLD SAILOR, A.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _C. W. Miller_             786
+
+ROYAL FISH, A. (Illustrated by W. L.
+    Sheppard, Henry Sandham, and others)    _Ripley Hitchcock_         739
+
+SAD CASE, A. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Mary Richardson)        _Margaret Vandegrift_      733
+
+SAILOR BOY, THE. Verses. (Illustrated)      _Wallace E. Mather_        790
+
+SALMON: A ROYAL FISH. (Illustrated by W. L.
+    Sheppard, Henry Sandham, and others)    _Ripley Hitchcock_         739
+
+SATCHEL, THE.
+    (Illustrated by J. E. Kelly)            _Tudor Jenks_              616
+
+SEARCH FOR THE LACE-LEAF, A.
+    (Illustrated by J. C. Beard)            _Alice May_                518
+
+SEA-URCHIN, THE. Jingle. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by R. B. Birch)           _Isabel Frances Bellows_   785
+
+SHAKSPERE WHEN A BOY.
+    (Illustrated by Alfred Parsons)         _Rose Kingsley_            483
+
+SMALLEST CIRCUS IN THE WORLD, THE.
+    (Illustrated by J. G. Francis)          _C. F. Holder_             533
+
+SOME CURIOUS MARINERS. (Illustrated by
+    J. C. Beard and J. M. Nugent)           _C. F. Holder_             891
+
+SONG OF SUMMER, A. Poem.                    _Emma C. Dowd_             671
+
+SPRING BEAUTIES. Poem.
+    (Illustrated by A. Brennan)             _Helen Gray Cone_          513
+
+ST. NICHOLAS DOG STORIES. (Illustrated)
+    A Clever Little Yellow Dog              _John R. Coryell_          526
+    A Dog that Could Count                  _E. P. Roe_                529
+    A Clever Sheep Dog                                                 530
+    A Story of Two Buckets                  _Charlotte M. Vaile_       530
+    The Left-field of the Lincoln Nine      _C. F. Holder_             624
+    A Dog that Could Climb Trees            _C. F. Holder_             626
+    A Sociable, Sensible Dog                _E. P. Roe_                626
+    A Dog whose Feelings were Hurt          _E. P. Roe_                628
+    A Dog that Repaid a Trick                                          628
+    Mephistopheles                          _Anna Gardner_             628
+
+STORIES OF ART AND ARTISTS.
+    English Painters. (Illustrated)         _Clara Erskine Clement_    803
+
+TEA-PARTY, A. Verses. (Illustrated
+    and engrossed by the Author)            _Margaret Johnson_         865
+
+TELL-TALE BARN, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Esther B. Tiffany_        924
+
+"THE BIGGEST OF BIRDS." Jingle.
+    (Illustrated G. R. Halm)                _E. E. Sterns_             703
+
+THEORETIC TURTLE, THE. Verses.
+    (Illustrated)                           _A. R. Wells_              681
+
+"THIS LITTLE PIG WENT TO MARKET." Picture, drawn by Rose Mueller       701
+
+"THIS SEAT RESERVED." Picture.                                         856
+
+THREE VELVETY BEES. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by F. E. Gifford)          _M. M. D._                 654
+
+TIMOTHY TIMID. Jingle.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _A. Brennan_               697
+
+TIPPIE AND JIMMIE.
+    (Illustrated by H. P. Share)            _Mary L. French_           705
+
+TODDLEKINS AND TROT. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by Laura C. Hills)         _Anna M. Pratt_            843
+
+TROUT, FLY-FISHING FOR. (Illustrated by
+    J. H. Cocks, Henry Sandham, E. J. Meeker,
+    and others)                             _Ripley Hitchcock_         655
+
+UNDER THE SNOW. Poem.                       _Lilian Dynevor Rice_      815
+
+VEGETABLE CLOTHING.
+    (Illustrated by D. C. Beard)            _C. J. Russell_            523
+
+VENETIAN MARQUETRY.
+    (Illustrated by the Author)             _Charles G. Leland_        866
+
+WAITING FOR A COLD WAVE. Picture, drawn by C. Weaver                   738
+
+WEASEL AND THE ADDER, THE. (Illustrated)    _Gerrish Eldridge_         907
+
+WHAT BERTIE SAW IN THE FLOWERS. Poem.
+    (Illustrated)                           _L. G. R._                 536
+
+WHAT IT WAS. Verses.
+    (Illustrated by F. E. Gifford)          _Malcolm Douglas_          701
+
+WHEN SHAKSPERE WAS A BOY.
+    (Illustrated by Alfred Parsons)         _Rose Kingsley_            483
+
+WILD FLOWERS, THE. Verses. (Illustrated)    _Jessie Penniman_          603
+
+WILD HUNTERS. (Illustrated)                 _John R. Coryell_          681
+
+WINGED SEEDS. Poem.                         _Helen Gray Cone_          571
+
+WOE TO THE FOREIGN DOLLY! Picture, drawn by R. Blum                    525
+
+WONDERS OF THE ALPHABET. (Illustrated)      _Henry Eckford_       538, 621,
+                                                        677, 771, 854, 925
+
+WORK AND PLAY FOR YOUNG FOLK. (Illustrated.)
+    A Rope Yarn Spun by an Old Sailor.
+      (Illustrated by the Author)           _C. W. Miller_             786
+    Venetian Marquetry.
+      (Illustrated by the Author)           _Charles G. Leland_        866
+
+
+DEPARTMENTS.
+
+FOR VERY LITTLE FOLK. (Illustrated.)
+    Riddles.                                _M. M. D._                 630
+    "Pretty Painted Bridges"   }
+    "White Sheep, White Sheep" }            _E. E. Sterns_             630
+    "On Dormio Hill"           }
+    A Letter from a Little Boy              _Ralph Ranlet_             710
+    "Dude" and the Cats                                                711
+    Riddles for Very Little Folk           _E. E. Sterns_              950
+
+PLAYS AND MUSIC.
+    Easter Carol                            _William E. Ashmall_       546
+
+JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. (Illustrated.)
+
+    Introduction--"Everything is Lovely, and the Goose Hangs
+    High"--Girls! To the Rescue!--About Little Lord
+    Fauntleroy--Fishing for Necklaces--A Suggestion to the
+    Bottled Fish--The Newspaper Plant (illustrated)--One More
+    Living Barometer, 552; A Bumble Grumble--Pretty Dusty
+    Wings--Trees that Rain--Shooting Stars--Coasting in
+    August--More about Turtles--A Fish that Weaves its Nest--A
+    Clever Humming-bird (illustrated), 632; Introduction--The
+    Seventeen-year Locust (illustrated)--The Great Lubber Locust
+    (illustrated)--The Dog and the Queer Grasshoppers
+    (illustrated), 712; Introduction--Longfellow's First
+    Letter--The Water-snake as a Fisherman--More Animal
+    Weather-Prophets--A Useful Bird with an Aristocratic Name--A
+    Wise Humming-bird--The Pitcher Plant (illustrated), 792;
+    Introduction--Poor Lark!--Those Mocking-birds Again--A Living
+    Island (illustrated)--Wrong Names for Things--Who can Answer
+    This? 872; Introduction--A Perfectly Quiet Day--How He Proved
+    It--Walking Without Legs--A Queer Sunshade (illustrated)--A
+    Queer Jumble--That Dear Little Lord, 952.
+
+
+THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION. (Illustrated)      557, 636, 717, 794, 874, 957
+
+THE LETTER-BOX. (Illustrated)               554, 634, 714, 796, 876, 954
+
+THE RIDDLE-BOX. (Illustrated)               559, 639, 719, 799, 879, 959
+
+EDITORIAL NOTES                                                 554, 634
+
+
+FRONTISPIECES.
+
+    "In Spring-time--When Shakspere was a Boy," by Leon Moran,
+    facing Title-page of Volume--"A June Morning," by E. C. Held,
+    facing page 563--"La Fayette and the British Ambassador," by
+    F. H. Lungren, facing page 643--"The Captain and the
+    Captain's Mate," by Mary Hallock Foote, facing page 723--"The
+    Connoisseurs," after a painting by Sir Edwin Landseer, facing
+    page 803--"Martha Washington," from an unfinished portrait by
+    Gilbert Stuart, facing page 883.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: IN SPRING-TIME--WHEN SHAKSPERE WAS A BOY.
+
+(SEE PAGE 490.)]
+
+
+
+
+ST. NICHOLAS.
+
+VOL. XIII. MAY, 1886. NO. 7.
+
+[Copyright, 1886, by THE CENTURY CO.]
+
+
+When Shakspere was a Boy
+
+BY ROSE KINGSLEY.
+
+
+On Henley street, in quiet Stratford town, there stands an old
+half-timbered house. The panels between the dark beams are of
+soft-colored yellow plaster. The windows are filled with little diamond
+panes; and in one of the upper rooms they are guarded with fine wire
+outside the old glass, which is misty with innumerable names scratched
+all over it. Poets and princes, wise men and foolish, have scrawled
+their names after a silly fashion, on windows, wall, and ceiling of that
+oak-floored room, because, on the 22d of April, 1564, a baby was born
+there--the son of John and Mary Shakspere. And on the following
+Wednesday, April 26, the baby was carried down to the old church beside
+the sleepy Avon and baptized by the name of William.
+
+Little did John Shakspere and the gossips dream, when the baby William's
+name was duly inscribed in the register-book with its corners and clasps
+of embossed brass, that he was destined to become England's greatest
+poet. Little did they dream, honest folk, that the old market town and
+the house on Henley street and the meadows across the river, covered in
+that pleasant April month with cowslips and daisies and "lady-smocks all
+silver-white," would become sacred ground to hundreds of thousands of
+people from all quarters of the globe, who should come, year by year, on
+reverent pilgrimage to Shakspere's birthplace.
+
+The baby grew up as most babies do; and when he was two and a half years
+old, a little brother Gilbert was born. As we walk through the streets
+to-day, we can fancy the little lads toddling about the town together,
+while father John was minding his glove and wool trade at the old house.
+John Shakspere, in those early days, was a well-to-do man. He was a
+chamberlain of the borough when little Gilbert was born; and in 1568 he
+was elected High Bailiff, or Mayor, of Stratford, although he, in
+common with many of his fellow-burgesses, could not write his own name.
+He had land, too, at Snitterfield, where his father had lived; and his
+wife, Mary Arden, was the owner of Ashbies, the farm at Wilmcote, hard
+by.
+
+[Illustration: MARY ARDEN'S HOUSE AT WILMCOTE.]
+
+But, though the parents were illiterate, they knew the value of a good
+education. The Free Grammar School had been refounded a few years before
+by Edward VI. And although there is no actual record of his school days,
+we may take it as certain that little Will Shakspere was sent to the
+Free School when about seven years old, as we know his brother Gilbert
+was, a little later. The old Grammar School still stands; and boys still
+learn their lessons in the self-same room with the high pitched roof and
+oaken beams, where little Will Shakspere studied his "A, B, C-book," and
+got his earliest notions of Latin. But during part of Shakspere's school
+days the schoolroom was under repair; and boys and master--Walter Roche
+by name--migrated for a while to the Guild Chapel next door. And this
+was surely in the poet's mind when, in later years, he talked of a
+"pedant who keeps a school i' the church."
+
+All boys learned their Latin then from two well-known books--the
+"Accidence" and the "Sententiae Pueriles." And that William was no
+exception to the rule we may see by translations from the latter in
+several of his plays, and by an account, in one of his plays, of Master
+Page's examination in the "Accidence." An old desk which came from the
+Grammar School and stood there in Shakspere's time is shown at the
+birthplace. And when we look at it we wonder what sort of a boy little
+William was--whether his future greatness made a mark in any way during
+his school days; whether that conical forehead of his stood him in good
+stead as he learned his Latin Grammar; whether he was quiet and
+studious, or merry and mischievous; whether he hid dormice and apples
+and birds' eggs in his desk, and peeped at them during school hours;
+whether he got into scrapes and was whipped. Just think of Shakspere
+getting a whipping! No doubt he often did. Masters in those days were
+not greater, but rather less, respecters of persons than they are now,
+and they believed very firmly in the adage which is going out of
+fashion, that to spare the rod is to spoil the child. So we may think of
+little Will Shakspere coming out of the Grammar School and passing the
+old Guild Chapel and the Falcon Inn with two little red fists crammed
+into two little red and streaming eyes, and going home to mother Mary in
+Henley street to be comforted and coddled and popped down on the settle
+in the wide chimney corner, with some dainty, dear to the heart of small
+boys who got into trouble three hundred years ago just as they do now.
+Let us hope his cake was not like one he describes as "dough on both
+sides."
+
+[Illustration: THE LARGE SCHOOLROOM IN THE OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL AT
+STRATFORD.]
+
+But I fancy that lessons bore a very small part in Will Shakspere's
+education. He certainly never knew much Latin; but he knew all about
+country things as only a country-bred boy can know about them. He and
+Gilbert must have run many a time to Ashbies, their mother's farm at
+Wilmcote, and watched the oxen plowing in the heavy clay fields; and
+cried, perhaps, as children do now "as the butcher takes away the calf";
+and played with the shepherd's "bob-tailed cur"; and gossiped with
+Christopher Sly, who could tell them all manner of wonderful tales, for
+had he not been peddler, card-maker, bear-herd, "and now by present
+profession a tinker"?
+
+They must have listened to their father and their uncle Henry up at the
+big farm close to Snitterfield church (where Henry Shakspere lived) as
+the two men discussed the price of a yoke of oxen at Stratford or
+Warwick fair, or debated whether they should "sow the head-land with
+wheat,--with red wheat, Davy,"[A] or grumbled over the "smith's note
+for shoeing and plough-irons," or told the latest turn in the quarrel
+between "William Visor of Woncot" and "Clement Perkes of the Hill." Very
+likely the little hazel-eyed boys took William Visor's part, though they
+wisely kept their opinions to themselves, since small boys in that
+period were not allowed the liberty of speech they enjoy in these
+degenerate times. William Visor was a neighbor of the Ardens, and
+possibly a friend of "Marian Hackett, the fat ale-wife of Wincot"; for
+Wincot, Woncot, and Wilmcote are all the same place. Or perhaps the
+young lads sided with Clement Perkes; for the Hill where he lived at
+Weston was known as Cherry Orchard Farm, a name full of tempting
+suggestions to little boys. And we know that Shakspere, like many less
+wise people, was fond of "ripe red cherries." He mentions them again and
+again. He and Gilbert, and their little friends the Sadlers and Harts
+and Halls, must have played bob-cherry, as we do now,--drawing up the
+stem of the cherry with our tongues, and, with a sudden snap, getting
+the round, ripe fruit between our lips,--and then have used the stones
+for "cherry-pit"--a child's game that is frequently mentioned by
+Shakspere and other old writers, which consisted in pitching
+cherry-stones into a small hole.
+
+[Footnote A: 2d Henry IV., Act 5. Scene 1.]
+
+[Illustration: THE SCHOOL AND GUILD CHAPEL.]
+
+Stratford lies just at the beginning of the fruit-growing country, which
+stretches right down the Vale of Evesham to Worcester and the Severn;
+and little Will Shakspere was well versed in the merits of all kinds of
+fruits. There were the plum-trees, that make you think in the
+spring-time that a snow-shower has fallen upon a sunny day all over the
+Stratford district; while in the autumn the branches are laden with "the
+mellow plum." Who can doubt that little Will climbed the damson-tree,
+"with danger of my life," as he said later that Simpcox did at his
+wife's bidding?[B] In the plays he mentions apples of many sorts--some
+of which, though rare or extinct in other parts of England, still grow
+about his native place--the bitter-sweetings and leather-coats, the
+apple-johns and the pomewaters. Many a time he must have stood with all
+the boys of the place watching, as we might do to-day, the cider-making
+on some village green, when the heaps of apples, red, green, and yellow,
+are brought in barrows and baskets and carts from the orchards, and
+ground up into a thick yellow pulp in the crushing-mill turned by a
+horse, and that pulp is put into presses from which the clear juice runs
+into tubs, while the dry cakes of pulp are carted away to fatten the
+pigs.
+
+[Footnote B: 2d Henry VI., Act 2, Scene 1.]
+
+There were grapes, too, growing plentifully in Warwickshire in his day;
+and "apricocks," "ripe figs, and mulberries," like those with which the
+fairies were told to feed Bottom the weaver. Blackberries and the
+handsome purple dewberries grew then as now, by the hedges in the
+orchards and in the shade of the Weir-brake just below Stratford mill,
+where, so says tradition, the scene of the "Midsummer Night's Dream" was
+laid. In the Weir-brake, too, and in all the woods about their home, the
+Shakspere boys must have gone nutting--that most delightful harvest of
+the year, when you bend down "the hazel twig," so "straight and
+slender," and fill baskets and pockets with the sweet nuts in their
+rough, green husks, and crack them all the way home like so many happy
+squirrels.
+
+[Illustration: THE GUILD COUNCIL-ROOM--NOW THE HEAD-MASTER'S
+CLASS-ROOM.]
+
+All the hedge-rows were full then, as they are to this day, of wild
+pear-trees, wild apples, and "crabs," as crab-apples are called in
+England. Roasted "crabs" served with hot ale were a favorite Christmas
+dish in Shakspere's time. And I doubt not that the boys rejoiced at the
+house in Henley street as the time of year came round "when roasted
+crabs hiss in the bowl."
+
+How snug the "house-place" in the old home must have looked with its
+roaring fire of logs, on winter evenings, when the two little boys of
+nine and seven, and Joan and Anne, the little sisters, huddled up in the
+chimney-corner with baby Richard in his cradle, while the mother
+prepared hot ale and "roasted crabs" for her gossips. Will, I warrant,
+as with twinkling eyes he watched Mrs. Hart or Mrs. Sadler or Mrs.
+Hathaway, from Shottery, thought that it was Puck himself, the very
+spirit of mischief, who had got into the bowl "in very likeness of a
+roasted crab."
+
+It must have been a recollection of those winter evenings that made
+little Will, in later years, write his delightful "Winter Song":
+
+    "When icicles hang by the wall
+      And Dick the shepherd blows his nail
+    And Tom bears logs into the hall
+      And milk comes frozen home in pail,
+    When blood is nipp'd and ways be foul,
+    Then nightly sings the staring owl,
+                            Tu-whit;
+    Tu-who, a merry note,
+    While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
+
+    "When all aloud the wind doth blow
+      And coughing drowns the parson's saw
+    And birds sit brooding in the snow
+      And Marian's nose looks red and raw,
+    When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
+    Then nightly sings the staring owl,
+                            Tu-whit;
+    Tu-who, a merry note,
+    While greasy Joan doth keel the pot."
+
+Among the gossips there would be much talk of wonders, appearances,
+mysterious occurrences, and charms; and the children listened with all
+their ears, you may be sure. Perhaps one of Mistress Shakspere's friends
+possessed the power that some people in Warwickshire still are said to
+possess, of charming away warts by a touch and some murmured invocation;
+or curing toothache and all other aches and pains. There are plenty of
+people now who, after your second cup of tea is finished, will take the
+cup, twist the grounds around three times, turn it mouth downward in the
+saucer, and then, by looking at the tea-leaves which still stick to the
+bottom of the cup, will undertake to tell you what is going to
+happen--of presents you will receive, or people who are coming to see
+you. And many Warwickshire women still believe firmly that
+whooping-cough can be charmed away by the patient walking nine times
+over running water.
+
+[Illustration: "THE HEDGE-ROWS WERE FULL, AS THEY ARE TO THIS DAY, OF
+WILD APPLES, WILD PEARS, AND 'CRABS.'"]
+
+The boys' games of those days were much the same as they are to-day.
+Each game then, as now, had its regular season in the year. In the
+season for marbles, no one would dream of playing anything else.
+"Knuckle-hole" is still the favorite game in Warwickshire. The
+standing-up game, pitching the taw from a mark scraped across the
+ground, is, I am told by competent authorities, rather going out of
+fashion; but it is still played. The marble season lasts through the
+late winter, much to the distraction of mothers, who have to clean and
+mend their sons' nether garments, which are worn with kneeling and
+plastered with mud at that time of year. Then comes the spinning-top,
+whip-top, and peg-top time. Later again there is tip-cat for the boys,
+and hop-scotch for the girls.
+
+On the corn-bins in the Warwickshire ale-house stables we can still find
+the lines rudely cut for "nine men's morris." This, in Shakspere's day,
+was a favorite game, and one much in vogue among the shepherd boys in
+the summer, who cut a "board" in the short turf and whiled away the long
+hours by playing it. Little Will must often have gone to watch his
+father play "shovel-board" at the Falcon tavern, in Stratford, on the
+board upon which tradition says he himself played, in later life. And at
+home, he and his brother must have played "push-pin," an old game which
+is still played in remote parts of the country. Two pins are laid on the
+table; the players in turn jerk them with their fingers, and he who
+throws one pin across the other is allowed to take one of them, while
+those who do not succeed have to give a pin. This is the game Shakspere
+alludes to in "Love's Labour's Lost," when he says, "And Nestor play at
+push-pin with the boys."
+
+Little Will knew a great deal about sport. All his allusions to sporting
+or woodcraft are those of a man who had been familiar with such things
+from his childhood. He and Gilbert must have set plenty of "springes, to
+catch wood-cocks," and dug out the "earth-delving conies" that swarmed
+in the commmonland of Welcombe, those dingles that in later years he
+fought so hard to preserve from inclosure.
+
+[Illustration: BOYS FISHING IN THE AVON--OPPOSITE THE WEIR-BRAKE.]
+
+They must have fished many a time, as the Stratford boys do to this day,
+in the slow waters of the Avon, sitting quietly intent for hours upon
+the steep clay bank
+
+                            "to see the fish
+    Cut with her golden oars the silver stream,
+    And greedily devour the treacherous bait."[C]
+
+[Footnote C: "Much Ado about Nothing," Act 3, Sc. 1.]
+
+Then who can doubt that he often watched the hunting of the hare? Each
+line in his wonderful description of the hunted hare is written by a
+thorough sportsman and a keen observer of nature. How the purblind hare
+runs among a flock of sheep or into a rabbit-warren, or "sorteth with a
+herd of deer" to throw out "the hot scent-snuffing hounds." How they
+pause silent till they have worked "with much ado the cold fault cleanly
+out," and then burst into music again.
+
+Of deer, Shakspere knew much--too much for his own comfort. In his
+childhood, there were herds at Fulbrooke,--and when he was older, at
+Charlecote, at Grove Park, and at Warwick. And probably there were a few
+roe in the wilder parts of the Forest of Arden, which came down within
+three miles of Stratford, and covered the whole of the country north of
+the Avon, out to Nuneaton and Birmingham. We can fancy how the boys
+stole out to watch the Grevilles and Leycesters and Lucys and Verneys on
+some great hunting party, and whispered to each other,
+
+    "Under this thick-grown brake we'll shroud ourselves,
+    For through this lawnd anon the deer will come."
+
+But the time of all others in the year that we connect most closely with
+Shakspere is the sweet spring-time, when the long cold winter--very long
+and very cold among those undrained clay-lands of Warwickshire--had come
+to an end. How closely little Will watched for
+
+                                  "daffodils,
+    That come before the swallow dares, and take
+    The winds of March with beauty";
+
+and for
+
+    "violets, cowslips, and pale primroses."
+
+We can fancy the little boys hunting in some sheltered nook in the
+Welcombe woods for the first primroses; and climbing up Borden Hill just
+beyond Shottery, perhaps with Anne Hathaway from the pretty old house in
+the orchards below, to the bank--the only one in the neighborhood,--
+
+              "where the wild thyme blows,
+    Where oxlips, and the nodding violet grows";
+
+or wandering over the flat sunny meadows along the Avon valley, picking
+cowslips, and looking into each tiny yellow bell for the spots in their
+gold coats,--
+
+    "Those be rubies, fairy favors,
+    In those freckles live their savors,"--
+
+as they brought home baskets of the flower-heads for their mother to
+make into cowslip wine.
+
+Spring, in this Stratford country, is exquisite. The woods are carpeted
+with primroses and wild hyacinths; while in the "merry month of May" the
+nightingale swarms among the hawthorn trees white with blossom.
+
+On every village green there stood a painted May pole--one is still
+standing at Weston, near Stratford; and May-Day is still kept in
+Warwickshire with a "May feast" upon old May-Day, the 12th of May. Every
+one knows how the prettiest girl in the village was chosen Queen o' the
+May, and how all joined in the "Whitsun Morris-dance."
+
+[Illustration: A BUNCH OF COWSLIPS.]
+
+Long Marston,--"Dancing Marston," as it has been called ever since
+Shakspere's time,--a few miles from Stratford, was famous till within
+the memory of man for a troop of Morris-dancers, who went about from
+village to village, strangely dressed, to dance at all the feasts.
+Shakspere probably had the Marston dancers in his mind when he wrote of
+the "three carters, three shepherds, three neat-herds, three
+swine-herds," that made themselves all "men of hair," and called
+themselves "Saltiers," at the sheep-shearing feast which pretty Perdita
+presided over, in "The Winter's Tale." The sheep-shearing feast, which
+came when roses were out on the hedges and in the gardens, must have
+been a merry and important time for the Shakspere boys. John Shakspere
+was, of course, specially interested in the price of a tod of wool, for
+wool-stapling was part of his trade. Perhaps William himself was sent by
+his mother to buy the groceries for the feast, and stood conning the
+list as he makes the clown do, in "The Winter's Tale."
+
+In the spring-time, too, came the peddler with all his wonders and
+treasures:
+
+    "Lawn as white as driven snow;
+    Cypress black as e'er was crow;
+    Gloves as sweet as damask roses;
+    Masks for faces and for noses."
+
+Those last must have pleased the little boys more than all the rest of
+the peddler's goods. And perhaps it was from this very peddler that Will
+Shakspere bought the pair of gloves which, after the fashion of the day,
+he gave to Anne Hathaway at their betrothal.
+
+But the great event of the year in the quiet country town was Stratford
+"Mop" or statute fair, on the 12th of October. The market-place was
+filled, as it is to this day, with clowns and mountebanks, wrestlers,
+and rope-dancers at their "rope-tricks." Oxen and sheep were roasted
+whole. A roaring trade was driven by quack doctors and dentists. All the
+servants in the country came and stood around to be hired, as the
+farm-hands and the maids for the farm-houses still do--the carters with
+a bit of whipcord in their hats; the shepherds with a lock of wool; the
+laborers with a straw. And next day, we need not doubt, there were many
+candidates for the town stocks, as there are now for the police court.
+There were bear-baitings, too, and bull-baitings--those cruel sports
+which have only been abolished in Warwickshire within the last hundred
+years. But in Shakspere's day bear-baiting was a popular and refined
+amusement. During Queen Elizabeth's visit to Kenilworth, in 1575, there
+was a great bear-baiting in her honor, of which a curious and most
+sickening account still exists. And when Shakspere went to London his
+lodgings were close to the bear-garden, or "Bear's College," at
+Southwark, whither all London flocked to see the poor beasts tormented
+and tortured.
+
+There was, however, one amusement which, from his earliest years, must
+have delighted little Will Shakspere above all others--I mean a visit
+from the players. That he inherited his love for the drama from his
+father is more than probable; for it was during the year of John
+Shakspere's High Bailiffship that plays are first mentioned in the
+records at Stratford. According to the custom of the day, when the
+players belonging to some great nobleman came to a town, they reported
+themselves to the mayor to get a license for playing. If the mayor
+liked them, or wished to show respect to their master, he would appoint
+them to play their first play before himself and the Council. This was
+called the Mayor's Play, every one coming in free, and the mayor giving
+the players a reward in money. Between the autumns of 1568 and 1569,
+
+     "The Queen's and the Earl of Worcester's players visited the
+     town and gave representations before the Council, the former
+     company receiving nine shillings and the latter twelve pence
+     for their first performances."
+
+And there is little reason to doubt that our little Will, then between
+five and six years old, was taken to see them by his father, the mayor,
+as a little boy named Willis was taken at Gloucester that same year,
+being exactly William Shakspere's age; and, standing between his
+father's knees, Master Will probably there got his first experience of
+the art in which he was to become the master for all ages. We wonder
+what that first play was--some quaint, rude drama probably, such as the
+one little Willis saw at Gloucester, with plenty of princes and fair
+ladies, and demons with painted masks, and the "Herod" in red gloves, of
+the "Coventry Mystery" players.
+
+Not only in Stratford, but in most of the towns roundabout, there are
+various records of players giving performances. When little Will was
+eleven years old, Queen Elizabeth came on her celebrated visit, in 1575,
+to Lord Leycester at Kenilworth; and as all the country flocked to see
+the great show, it is probable that the boy and his father were among
+the crowds of spectators and saw some of the plays given in the Queen's
+honor.
+
+A year or two later, troubles began to multiply at the house in Henley
+street. John Shakspere got into debt. The farm at Ashbies was mortgaged.
+His daughter Anne died in 1579; and two years before her death, young
+William, then thirteen, was taken from school and apprenticed--some
+accounts say to a butcher--or, as seems more probable, to his own
+father, to help him in his failing wool-trade.
+
+For the next five years nothing is known about Will Shakspere. Then we
+find him courting Anne Hathaway in the pretty old brick and timbered
+cottage at Shottery, its garden all full of roses and rosemary,
+"carnations and striped gillyvors." A year or two later, he is stealing
+one of Sir Thomas Lucy's deer,--writing a lampoon on the worthy
+justice,--and flying to London from his wrath, to hold horses at the
+door of the Globe Theater before he joined the Lord Chamberlain's
+players, and became known to all posterity as Mr. William Shakspere,
+Writer of Plays.
+
+
+
+
+May Song By Laura E. Richards
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    Is there anything new to sing about you,
+                  May, my dear?
+    Any unhackneyed thing about you,
+                  Pray, my dear?
+    Anything that has not been sung
+      Long ago when the world was young,
+    By silver throat and golden tongue?
+                  Say, my dear!
+
+    So many have said that your eyes are blue,
+                  May, my dear,
+    It must be a tiresome fact, though true,
+                  May, my dear,
+    And if I for one, my gracious Queen,
+    Should boldly assert that your eyes were green,
+    'Twould be a relief to you, I ween,
+                  Eh, my dear?
+
+    We know of the touch of your garments fold,
+                  May, my dear,
+    The daisies come starring with white and gold
+                  The way, my dear.
+    We know that the painted blossoms all
+    Come starting up at your gentle call,
+    By dale and meadow and garden-wall,
+                  May, my dear.
+
+    We know that your birds have the sweetest tune,
+                  May, my dear:
+    And lovers love best beneath your moon,
+                  They say, my dear.
+    And I might add that that your perfumed kiss
+    Is considered productive of highest bliss;
+    But you must be so tired of hearing this!
+                  Eh, my dear?
+
+    No, I really don't think there's anything fresh,
+                  Or new, my dear.
+    For the world is small, and available rhymes
+                  Are few, my dear.
+    So if I say naught about vernal bowers,
+    And forbear to mention the sunlit showers,
+    I think I shall make the best use of my powers.
+                  Dont you, my dear?
+
+    And yet I cannot help loving you so,
+                  May, my dear,
+    That the old words, whether I will or no,
+                  I say, my dear,
+    And how you are fair, and how you are sweet
+    My loving lips forever repeat.--
+    And is that the reason you pass so fleet?
+                  Ah! stay, my dear!
+
+
+
+
+THE GIRLS' TRICYCLE CLUB AND ITS RUN DOWN THE CAPE.
+
+BY E. VINTON BLAKE.
+
+
+Tricycles had become an every-day affair in Sherridoc, and since the
+formation of the Girls' Club, lady tricyclers were not an extraordinary
+sight. So Charlotte, or "Charley" Van Rensselaer, as she was called, and
+her brother Starrett excited but little comment as they wheeled swiftly
+down Haymarket street, moving noiselessly and easily through the throng
+of carriages and other vehicles, until, as the houses grew less frequent
+and the pavements stopped altogether, they rolled through the suburbs of
+the town and so into the open country, without stay or pause.
+
+For they were making time. The club itself, thanks to the failure of the
+express company to deliver Charley's new "Columbia" when promised, had
+several hours' start on the road; and Starrett, like the obliging
+brother that he was, had remained behind in order that Charlotte need
+not ride alone nor the club be longer delayed by waiting for her.
+
+Charley Van Rensselaer, her cousin Cornelia, or "Corny" Hadwin, and
+their warm friends Mattie Hyde and Arno Cummings, were four bright and
+active young girls of from thirteen to sixteen, who composed the Girls'
+Tricycle Club. Little by little they had won first the interest and then
+the consent of their somewhat conservative parents to this novel but
+exhilarating exercise, and having now become expert riders, they were
+off for a long run of eighty miles down Cape Cod from Sherridoc City to
+Curtin Harbor, where their parents had summer cottages. Faithful and
+clever Joe Marston, Mr. Van Rensselaer's colored servant, and an expert
+tricycler, had gone ahead with the club as guide and commissary-general,
+and Starrett Van Rensselaer, Charley's younger brother, was invited to
+accompany them as an escort, on the odd-looking "Royal Mail" he had
+borrowed for the trip,--bicycles not being allowed.
+
+And now the door-yards broaden out and the houses become still more
+rambling. There are wide-spreading orchard boughs, and cool woody spaces
+here and there between the farms. Now a youngster scampers into the
+house shrieking, "Ma, Ma! Oh, come here, Ma! Here's a girl a-ridin'
+three wheels at once!" and Charley, looking back, perceives the urchin's
+sisters and cousins and aunts peering at her from the door. Starrett too
+looks back, and laughs.
+
+"You'll have to get used to that," he says.
+
+"I expect to," responds Charley serenely; "but you must remember that
+four of these things have gone on before us on this same road and they
+must have taken off a little of the novelty."
+
+Over the brow of Haymarket Hill they go, and the long steep sweep into
+the valley of the Owassee lies before them. Charley, with her feet on
+the "rest," commences to descend. An amazed cow grazing by the roadside
+makes a charge on the singular vehicle, but the girl never flinches, and
+with one hand on the steering-bar and the other on the brake she avoids
+every stone, every rut, every gully in the road. The irate cow, after
+nearly plunging on its nose down the first steep incline, pauses to
+recover its senses and then returns slowly up the hill. Starrett waves
+it a laughing adieu. "Sensible bovine that," he says; "she knows that a
+stern chase is a long chase."
+
+"My, though!" exclaims delighted Charley, "we're just flying, Starrett!
+Aren't we?"
+
+They are indeed. The bushes whiz past,--the wind sweeps their
+faces,--trees, stones, fences flit by like phantoms. Charley feels like
+a bird on the wing. Such exhilaration is there in a good tricycle
+"coast" downhill!
+
+But it is not all such pleasure; for, a few miles farther on, they
+become acquainted with the other side of the story, as they go toiling
+up the long ascent of Comstock Hill, a sandy and winding incline that
+leads to the highlands of Fisherville.
+
+"If it weren't for the sand," said Charley as she pushes her tricycle
+before her, "I would test the new 'power-gear' on my 'Columbia' by
+riding up Comstock Hill. But, dear me, I believe there are not three
+yards of solid earth on this road!"
+
+"Never mind, we're more than half-way up," said Starrett, consolingly.
+
+"Do you suppose it's sandy like this near Curtin Harbor?" inquired
+Charley.
+
+"I haven't the least idea," Starrett replied. "If it is, we can branch
+off and take the cars at Minot Station."
+
+"The cars? Why, Starrett Van Rensselaer!" exclaims Charley. "Why, I
+wouldn't take the cars--not for anything--unless--well, unless I were
+fairly driven to it."
+
+And now they both draw a long breath, for the crest of Comstock Hill is
+won.
+
+"Look behind you, Starrett," says Charley. "Did you ever see a prettier
+picture?"
+
+Starrett acknowledges he never did. The low-lying valley is green and
+fair. The Owassee stretches like a silver ribbon across the picture, and
+there is not a human being in sight save these two tricyclers who take
+all this summer beauty into their impressible young hearts.
+
+On they go, through Fisherville and into the open country again. Truly
+no grass grows underneath those flashing wheels. The new "Columbia" has
+the oil well worked in by this time, and the "Royal Mail," with its
+queer one-sided "steerer," seems undisturbed by any ordinary roads. The
+freshening wind is behind them; the blue sky, cloud-flecked, above; and
+all around, bird-song and the rustle of blowing grass and bending
+boughs.
+
+"This is grand, Charley!" cries Starrett; "so much better than horseback
+riding--and I've tried both."
+
+"You don't tire yourself much more, and you're sure your horse won't run
+away with you," Charley assents, whizzing along beside him. "I feel
+strong enough for a good long run yet, and we ought to catch up with
+them easily, before long."
+
+The winding, woody road brings them suddenly to a hill-top. To the
+right, below, lies a wide expanse of velvety marsh meadow, with its
+vivid and variegated tints of green, olive, and reddish-brown, and
+occasional intersections of tottering, moss-grown fence; there is a
+starry glimmer as of lilies in the frequent pools that give back the
+glory of the sun. To the left are seen the dark, still reaches of a lake
+that winds in and out in the cool shadow of high woody banks. An old
+ice-house stands lonesome and gray on its margin.
+
+The brother and sister halt on the brow of the hill, to enjoy a view
+that may be one of the memories of a lifetime; then the wheels roll
+slowly toward the descent. The slope is steep and winding; they do not
+"coast" with feet on the rest above the steering-wheel. It is not
+desirable to capsize or collide with any up-coming vehicle. So they
+glide warily on, with hands on the brakes, until the bottom is reached.
+But here a crazy guide-post at a fork in the road misleads them by
+pointing in the wrong direction for the Wareham road. But by great good
+luck, they strike a shady wood track, full two miles long, which cuts
+off five miles from the road they should have traveled, and which, so
+Starrett says when he recognizes it, will bring them just so much nearer
+the club. Dismounting at last, a pine-covered knoll, with a brook
+bubbling below, attracts them; and, seated on the brown pine-needles,
+the brother and sister talk over their adventures, and wonder how far
+ahead the others may be. Suddenly Starrett, who faces the road, drops
+his hands to his side with an exclamation of surprise.
+
+"What now?" says Charley, looking quickly around, A glance makes her a
+partner in Starrett's astonishment; for, over the main road they have
+just now regained, come one, two, three, four tricycles, their
+glittering spokes flashing in the sun. They see Joe Marston's dusky face
+and stalwart figure, and behind him they catch the flutter of garnet and
+blue--the colors of the club. Occasionally a head in the procession
+turns to look expectantly behind.
+
+Starrett and Charley keep close in the shade of the pines, restraining a
+laugh with difficulty.
+
+"Here is a good place to stop, Joe," cries Cornelia Hadwin. "It's cool
+and shady, and we can see the road. I think they should have caught up
+with us by this time. Can anything have happened,--do you suppose?"
+
+"Dunno, miss," answers Joe with a grave face. But as he dismounts to
+wheel his machine up the knoll, he stops short with a sudden smoothing
+out of all the perplexed lines from his dark brow. "Hi, dar!" he
+exclaims. "Look-a yer, Miss Corney!"
+
+Cornelia does look, and so do all the rest. There is a perfect chorus of
+shrieks and laughter, a babel of voices, a torrent of questions.
+
+"Oh, we travel, I assure you!" says Starrett. "We took a flying leap and
+came in ahead of you."
+
+"How did it happen? When did you pass us?" These and countless other
+questions follow. Then all is explained, and at five o'clock the merry
+six are on the road again, rolling along in lively style.
+
+So, in single file, with Joe in advance, and Starrett bringing up the
+rear, the club rides through the main street of Wareham, down the long
+slant to the bridge over the Wareham river. The evening mist hangs low
+along the stream; the bridge seems to stretch across the rushing tide
+and end abruptly in mid-air. The soft, grayish opaque cloud hides the
+farther shore from sight.
+
+There are heads at doors and windows, and people on the street stop to
+gaze. At first the girls feel a little abashed at so much attention. But
+nobody is discourteous; Joe rides steadily on, and there is nothing to
+do but to follow.
+
+"I suppose we do look queer to them," says Mattie Hyde.
+
+"Oh, well, you are missionaries, you know," says Starrett assuringly.
+"Perhaps your club may be the means of introducing tricycles into many
+of the places we shall pass through."
+
+"That's one of our objects, of course," observes Charley.
+
+"If girls and women knew what comfort one can take with a tricycle, half
+the battle would be won," says Arno Cummings timidly.
+
+[Illustration: "THE BUSHES WHIZ PAST,--TREES, STONES, FENCES FLIT BY
+LIKE PHANTOMS."]
+
+"It isn't altogether that, Arno," says Charley, who, as the originator
+of the club, has her advanced theories to support. "A good many would
+like to, but don't really dare. You know that Shakspere says 'Conscience
+doth make cowards of us all.' I think that custom makes us cowards,
+too."
+
+"Custom will be on our side, though, by and by," declares Mattie Hyde.
+"Doctor Sawyer told Mamma the other day that he would prescribe the
+tricycle rather than medicine for many of his patients. He said that the
+machines are much used in England, and that they are gaining ground in
+this country, though not so rapidly as he could wish."
+
+But even this knowledge of the healthfulness and desirability of the
+tricycle does not make a hard piece of road any easier. After a night's
+rest at the hospitable house of an aunt of Mattie Hyde's, the club find
+themselves, next day, among the "Sandwiches," as Starrett facetiously
+dubs the town of that name which is divided into North, East, South, and
+West Sandwich. And there they come upon a wooded tract that sorely taxes
+their endurance and presents the most formidable obstacle they have yet
+encountered. The sand is impassable; it closes completely over the
+wheel-tires, and, after a short space of arduous labor, the club come to
+a dismayed standstill.
+
+"What on earth are we to do?" queries Corny Hadwin in despair.
+
+No one answers her. The boughs wave softly overhead; the small cloud of
+dust their efforts have raised floats slowly away and settles on the
+scant herbage underneath the pines. Near at hand sounds the shriek of
+the "up" train. They are not far from the railroad.
+
+"Shall we give it up and take to the train?" Starrett asks, as they
+catch the sound of the locomotive.
+
+"Dear me, we mustn't do that!" exclaims Charley. "Let's dismount and
+push the machines a little way. Perhaps the wheeling is better just
+ahead."
+
+But it is not. The ruts are strewn with straw, shavings, and chips;
+everything indicates that the woods are extensive, and that others
+before them have found the sand a tribulation.
+
+"Oh, this is the worst of all!" groans Corny.
+
+"But we'll not give up, nevertheless," declares little Arno Cummings,
+developing unexpected grit in the emergency. "I shouldn't like to tell
+them at Curtin Harbor that we had to take to the cars to get around a
+difficulty."
+
+Joe mops the perspiration from his dusky brow, and then stops to listen.
+A creak, a rumble, and a tramp, tramp are heard behind them. "Dar's
+sumfin a-comin!" says Joe.
+
+The "sumfin" soon appears in sight,--a big, empty, four-horse wagon,
+making its unwieldy way in their direction. The same idea occurs to
+everybody at once.
+
+"There! He'll carry us!"
+
+[Illustration: WITH JOE IN ADVANCE, THE CLUB RIDES THROUGH WAREHAM.]
+
+Carry them! Of course he will--for a consideration. And almost before
+the driver has recovered from his evident astonishment at this vision of
+six tricycles in the heart of the Sandwich woods, the riders and their
+machines are safely in the big cart, and on their way through the sandy
+tract, which, they now learn, is several miles in extent.
+
+It is impossible for the horses to go faster than a walk for the whole
+distance. The sand is a constant clog, and scarcely a breath of air can
+penetrate the close piny ranks on either side the narrow road. It is a
+slow and somewhat crowded ride, but the club tells stories, sings and
+jokes and answers the curious inquiries of their teamster, to whom a
+tricycle is a thing unknown till now. But in due time, the young folk
+have bidden him good day, and are speeding on toward Barnstable. The air
+grows salty, strong, and bracing.
+
+"It's like a breath of new life," says Starrett; and soon they are
+rolling between the long row of grand old trees that line Barnstable's
+quiet main street. At the hotel they stop for dinner and a noonday rest.
+
+It is four in the afternoon when they remount. The lady boarders, who
+have taken quite an interest in the young tricyclers, bid them farewell
+with all manner of good wishes, and one gray-haired society lady
+remarks, "Those girls are sensible; and their mothers are sensible too.
+Give young people the delights of nature and the freedom of outdoor
+sports, and keep them from late parties, and the whirl of folly and
+fashion. I've seen too many young lives warped and twisted and weakened
+in the endeavor to 'keep up' in fashionable society. Yes, those girls
+are sensible."
+
+And, wheeling still, by hill and dale, the "sensible" girls and their
+escort roll merrily into old Yarmouth, with its broad, shady streets and
+big, substantial, old-fashioned houses. Quaint and picturesque indeed it
+is, with quiet nooks and corners, breezy streets, time-stained wharves
+where lie battered fishing craft and the smarter boats devoted to the
+summer visitors who have found out the beauties of the town. Here, too,
+Arno Cummings has an uncle, a bluff and breezy old sea-captain, who
+gives the whole party a hearty welcome; and at his house, the club spend
+two nights and the day between--a day of shade and shine, with the sea
+wind blowing everywhere. They explore the old town from end to end. They
+come continually upon pictures,--now a broad grassy lane with its
+moss-grown fences flanked by rising pastures of brownish grass; now a
+long slope ending in a rocky outlook over the blue sea; now a brown
+cottage nestled in among trees and hills. And on the second morning
+after their arrival, they bid the hospitable Captain Cummings adieu, and
+pass, single file, over the great drawbridge across the inlet that cuts
+Yarmouth in two, and so spin along through the succession of little
+towns which, leaving Yarmouth, almost join together into one. Such are
+the "Dennises"--divided as usual into North, East, South and West,--and
+the "Harwiches," where at Harwich proper the tricyclers bid farewell to
+the railroad which has kept them company at short intervals all the way
+down.
+
+"Six miles to Curtin Harbor." So says the lazy youth at a cross roads
+store, and away they spin, while the spires and houses of Harwich
+disappear behind the trees.
+
+And now how the wind blows! And all around the horizon the sky has that
+watery appearance that betokens the nearness of the sea. There is a
+peculiar, bracing freedom in the wild, salt wind; the very sway of the
+brown grass, the swing of the odorous wild pinks that nod in the corners
+of old mossy fences have a life and freshness that one misses greatly in
+tamer, more settled districts. For now they are plunging bravely into
+the long stretch of sand barrens and pine woods that, with only an
+occasional house, stretch for many a mile between Harwich and Curtin
+Harbor.
+
+But here, in the afternoon, a sudden shower overtakes them. They can no
+longer pick their dainty way by the roadside, but must keep the middle
+track or run the risk of upsetting. There is scarce a quarter of a mile
+of level ground to be found. The pine woods close in upon them, and when
+at the summit of a hill they anxiously look for some other shelter than
+the thronging pines, they can see nothing but the long, winding,
+lightish streak of road and the endless outlines of monotonous
+pine-trees on either side against the dark sky.
+
+"Six miles to Curtin Harbor!" cries Starrett at last. "That boy's a
+fraud. I believe it's sixty."
+
+"Reckon dey're Cape Cod miles, Mas'r Starrett," says Joe. "Dey say down
+yer, yo' know, dat one on 'em 's equal to two ob good trav'lin' in any
+uthah part ob de worl'."
+
+If it were only clear now, coasting merrily down these hills would be
+royal fun, but in this state of the weather caution is necessary. A halt
+is called for consultation. The six composedly dismount and sit down on
+the clumps of "poverty grass," beneath the doubtful shelter of the
+pines.
+
+"Well, now," asks Starrett, "what are we going to do? I know you girls
+are tired and drenched; you needn't deny it. And there's no sign of a
+house this side of Jericho or Jerusalem."
+
+Suddenly Charley has an idea. "O girls," she says, "let's camp out,
+right here! We're not badly off, for we all have our waterproof cloaks;
+but you've all been longing for an adventure, and here's one for a
+_finale_. We'll at least make a tent and have supper. It'll be just
+splendid!"
+
+The club vociferously acquiesce. Joe alone, dubious, shakes his head.
+But he is outvoted and overruled.
+
+A quantity of pine boughs are piled, by Joe and Starrett, tent-fashion,
+across and around four of the tricycles; a heap of dry leaves, carefully
+collected, makes a fragrant couch, whereon the young ladies compose
+themselves, wrapped and snugly covered with shawls and capes from the
+"luggage-carriers." Lastly Joe spreads the rubber waterproofs securely
+over the wheels and boughs, and the young campers are completely
+sheltered.
+
+A rummage in the lunch-boxes and "luggage-carriers" of the six machines
+brings to light half a dozen soda crackers, two bananas, six pieces of
+gingerbread, a slice of dry cheese, three apples, and--this is Joe's
+surprise!--a small can of chicken.
+
+A chorus of delight greets this last discovery, and Joe is at once
+besieged.
+
+"Now, yo' jes' sot down, ef yo' please, young ladies," says Joe, holding
+the can above his head. "I'll 'tend to yo' d'reckly. Yo' jes' gib me de
+tings and I'll serve supper in fus'-class style."
+
+When the chicken,--delicately served on the soda crackers,--the apples,
+bananas, and gingerbread are distributed, and the cheese toasted--in a
+fashion--at one of the lamps, the merry six leave not a crumb to tell
+the tale. It is true that a conscious vacancy still exists in the six
+hungry stomachs--such appetites have these young wheelers; but they are
+refreshed and no one thinks of complaining.
+
+The merry meal finished, weariness and the patter of rain incline the
+girls to rest, and soon silence falls upon the camp, broken only by the
+sighing of the wind among the dark pine boughs, and the occasional chirp
+of some sleepy bird.
+
+Then Starrett, also, wrapped in his waterproof coat, throws himself down
+to rest beneath the shelter of a friendly pine close by.
+
+Joe, left alone as the sentinel, falls to thinking over the situation,
+wondering where they are and whether they have missed the right road.
+He walks about uneasily and then stands looking up and down the stretch
+of road. The tricycle lamp, which he has lighted to dispel the gloom,
+casts a yellow gleam over the tent and Starrett's shrouded figure, while
+beyond and all around are the pines with their swaying branches and the
+long black vistas between. Joe walks back and forth, in the rain, vainly
+trying to think in which direction they are to proceed.
+
+[Illustration: "DE YOUNG GEMMAN AN' I MAKE DIS TENT TO KEEP DE YOUNG
+LADIES DRY."]
+
+He has been wondering thus for perhaps five minutes, when he becomes
+aware of a pair of fiery eyes watching him from the shadows. Joe starts.
+He does not know what peculiar class of wild beasts inhabits Cape Cod,
+but there are the eyes plainly enough. He stops and stands motionless.
+The eyes move, come boldly forward, and Joe, now doubly astonished, sees
+full in the glare of the tricycle lamp--a big grayish cat!
+
+And the cat has a nickel-plated collar with a ribbon attached. Joe knows
+that even on Cape Cod no wild beasts roam about, in summer storms, with
+nickeled and be-ribboned collars, but what can a cat be doing away in
+the depths of a pine forest? And then he suddenly concludes that the
+cat's home can not be far away. The gray cat comes purring about his
+knees. Joe is fond of cats, so he takes it in his arms and fondles its
+wet fur, and it proves to be company for him and really helps him to
+forget the discomfort of the rain.
+
+At about seven o'clock in the evening, however, the rain slackens, the
+clouds scatter, and rifts of light appear through the trees. And just as
+Joe is thinking of rousing the club for another "spin," he hears a
+whistle and a heavy step from across the road. Then an old farmer fellow
+of about forty-five, in search of a lost cow, comes to an abrupt and
+amazed halt at confronting among the pines Joe, the gray cat, Starrett's
+recumbent figure, the tent, and the glimmering tricycle wheels. He
+stands speechless until Joe's voice breaks the spell.
+
+"Good-ebenin', sar," says Joe. "Can you tell me if dis is de road to
+Curtin Harbor?"
+
+"Curtin Harbor!" exclaims the farmer, with his eyes still full of mute
+amazement. "No, it's not. 'T any rate not the direct one. If you've come
+over from Harwich, you've gone two miles out of yer way. You should have
+taken the other road, back there by the old school-house."
+
+"Dar's whar I missed it!" cries Joe, slapping his knee. "I was suah I
+did sumfin' wrong somewhar, but I couldn't locate it, to save me! I'se
+much obliged."
+
+"You can cut across to the main road by crossing my field yonder and
+going up by the house just beyond----"
+
+"Hi, den dere is a house over yar!" says Joe.
+
+"Why, certainly," says the farmer, "not more than forty rods from here."
+And when Joe finds how very near he has been to a comfortable farmhouse
+he says he feels "like kickin' hisself."
+
+"But," says the visitor, still eying the camp. "How did it all happen.
+Are you traveling on foot?"
+
+"No, sar; on tricycles," explains Joe, proudly; "we are de Girls'
+Tricycle Club, all de way from Sherridoc, wid Mas'r Starrett an' me
+along to look arter 'em and see 'em safe down to Curtin Harbor. We los'
+de track back yondah, an' de young gemman an' I jes' rig up dis tent for
+to keep the young ladies dry an' gib 'em a chance to rest till de shower
+was ober."
+
+The farmer's surprise grows to interest.
+
+"And so this is a tricycle," he says. "And did the young ladies ride
+those things all the way from Sherridoc?"
+
+"All de way, sar," answers Joe, proudly, "'cept when we wus stuck in de
+Sandywiches and had to be carted froo wid a team."
+
+After the good man's curiosity has been satisfied, and Starrett has
+summoned the girls to appear, the worthy farmer strolls off after his
+lost cow, first inviting the club to the farm to another supper. One by
+one, the girls emerge from their camp, but when they hear how near to a
+house they have been during the rain, great is the laughter.
+
+"I don't care, though," cries Cornelia Hadwin; "we've really had a sort
+of a camping-out time, and I'm glad of it."
+
+After hearing Joe's report, the club determines to push on at once to
+Curtin Harbor in the early evening, without accepting the hospitable
+invitation to supper at the farmhouse.
+
+The two miles to the main road are quickly traversed, and before long
+the club wheels around a long curve in the road, and the blue expanse of
+Curtin Harbor lies beneath them. The clouds are gone by this time; the
+rising moon shoots slantwise through a few thin, dissolving folds, and
+brings out ripples of gold and silver on the long seas. There seems to
+be a breeze that stirs the water to darker ruffles beyond the head-land,
+but where the young folk sit on their tricycles, enjoying the beauty of
+the scene and the salty damp of the evening air, not a blade of the
+coarse, silvery beach-grass stirs; every spire and blade stands in
+sheeny silver in the mellow light.
+
+Below the beach-road branches off a long winding descent to the quiet
+cottages which lie in the evening glow, seemingly fast asleep.
+
+"Now, girls, for a good coast!" cries Starrett. "Here goes!"
+
+And away indeed he goes, over the brow of the hill, rolling swiftly, and
+removing his feet from the pedals as his machine gathers way. Away also
+they all fly after him, merry as larks, waking all the echoes of the
+shore with their light-hearted shouts and laughter. The tricycle lamps
+flash out upon the seaward road, and soon it comes to pass, that as
+Charley's wheels whiz flashing into the wide, grassy dooryard of a
+certain pleasant little summer abode, a hand lifts the window curtain,
+and a voice, with a ring of irrepressible gladness but a great pretense
+of gruffness, calls out:
+
+"Is this my noisy daughter, who has been running wild for a week over
+all the roads on Cape Cod?"
+
+"Oh, Papa!" cries Charley, gleefully, "we've had a perfectly charming
+trip!"
+
+And so says the entire club. And they pass a vote of thanks to Joe for
+taking faithful care of them, and to Starrett for his excellent escort
+duty. And now when the story of their eighty-mile ride is told,
+everybody votes tricycling a wonderfully health-giving and delightful
+exercise, and the first long trip of the Girls' Tricycling Club a grand
+success.
+
+
+
+
+MORNING-GLORIES.
+
+BY LAURA LEDYARD POPE.
+
+
+    My neighbor's morning-glories rise
+      And flutter at her casement;
+    _My_ morning-glories' lovely eyes
+      Peep just above the basement.
+
+    And both our morning-glories strew
+      With loveliness the railing,
+    And thrust their starry faces through
+      The vines about the paling.
+
+    But when at last the thrifty sun
+      A work-day world arouses,
+    Hers gather up their dainty skirts
+      And vanish in their houses.
+
+    They draw their silken curtains close,
+      There's not a soul can find them;
+    And mine run up the school-house path,
+      And shut the door behind them!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    It was a fair Artist named May
+    If you looked at her sketch she would say,
+    "It's horrid, I know--
+    If you please _wont_ you go,
+    I'm not in the humor today."
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.
+
+BY FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+On the following Sunday morning, Mr. Mordaunt had a large congregation.
+Indeed, he could scarcely remember any Sunday on which the church had
+been so crowded. People appeared upon the scene who seldom did him the
+honor of coming to hear his sermons. There were even people from
+Hazelton, which was the next parish. There were hearty, sunburned
+farmers, stout, comfortable, apple-cheeked wives in their best bonnets
+and most gorgeous shawls, and half a dozen children or so to each
+family. The doctor's wife was there, with her four daughters. Mrs.
+Kimsey and Mr. Kimsey, who kept the druggist's shop, and made pills, and
+did up powders for everybody within ten miles, sat in their pew; Mrs.
+Dibble in hers, Miss Smiff, the village dressmaker, and her friend Miss
+Perkins, the milliner, sat in theirs; the doctor's young man was
+present, and the druggist's apprentice; in fact, almost every family on
+the county side was represented, in one way or another.
+
+In the course of the preceding week, many wonderful stories had been
+told of little Lord Fauntleroy. Mrs. Dibble had been kept so busy
+attending to customers who came in to buy a pennyworth of needles or a
+ha'p'orth of tape and to hear what she had to relate, that the little
+shop bell over the door had nearly tinkled itself to death over the
+coming and going. Mrs. Dibble knew exactly how his small lordship's
+rooms had been furnished for him, what expensive toys had been bought,
+how there was a beautiful brown pony awaiting him, and a small groom to
+attend it, and a little dog-cart, with silver-mounted harness. And she
+could tell, too, what all the servants had said when they had caught
+glimpses of the child on the night of his arrival; and how every female
+below stairs had said it was a shame, so it was, to part the poor pretty
+dear from his mother; and had all declared their hearts came into their
+mouths when he went alone into the library to see his grandfather, for
+"there was no knowing how he'd be treated, and his lordship's temper was
+enough to fluster them with old heads on their shoulders, let alone a
+child."
+
+"But if you'll believe me, Mrs. Jennifer, mum," Mrs. Dibble had said,
+"fear that child does not know--so Mr. Thomas hisself says; an' set an'
+smile he did, an' talked to his lordship as if they'd been friends ever
+since his first hour. An' the Earl so took aback, Mr. Thomas says, that
+he couldn't do nothing but listen and stare from under his eyebrows. An'
+it's Mr. Thomas's opinion, Mrs. Bates, mum, that bad as he is, he was
+pleased in his secret soul, an' proud, too; for a handsomer little
+fellow, or with better manners, though so old-fashioned, Mr. Thomas says
+he'd never wish to see."
+
+And then there had come the story of Higgins. The Reverend Mr. Mordaunt
+had told it at his own dinner table, and the servant who had heard it
+had told it in the kitchen, and from there it had spread like wildfire.
+
+And on market-day, when Higgins had appeared in town, he had been
+questioned on every side, and Newick had been questioned too, and in
+response had shown to two or three people the note signed "Fauntleroy."
+
+And so the farmers' wives had found plenty to talk of over their tea and
+their shopping, and they had done the subject full justice and made the
+most of it. And on Sunday they had either walked to church or had been
+driven in their gigs by their husbands, who were perhaps a trifle
+curious themselves about the new little lord who was to be in time the
+owner of the soil.
+
+It was by no means the Earl's habit to attend church, but he chose to
+appear on this first Sunday--it was his whim to present himself in the
+huge family pew, with Fauntleroy at his side.
+
+There were many loiterers in the churchyard, and many lingerers in the
+lane that morning. There were groups at the gates and in the porch, and
+there had been much discussion as to whether my lord would really appear
+or not. When this discussion was at its height, one good woman suddenly
+uttered an exclamation.
+
+"Eh," she said; "that must be the mother, pretty young thing."
+
+All who heard turned and looked at the slender figure in black coming up
+the path. The veil was thrown back from her face and they could see how
+fair and sweet it was, and how the bright hair curled as softly as a
+child's under the little widow's cap.
+
+She was not thinking of the people about; she was thinking of Cedric,
+and of his visits to her, and his joy over his new pony, on which he had
+actually ridden to her door the day before, sitting very straight and
+looking very proud and happy. But soon she could not help being
+attracted by the fact that she was being looked at and that her arrival
+had created some sort of sensation. She first noticed it because an old
+woman in a red cloak made a bobbing curtsy to her, and then another did
+the same thing and said, "God bless you, my lady!" and one man after
+another took off his hat as she passed. For a moment she did not
+understand, and then she realized that it was because she was little
+Lord Fauntleroy's mother that they did so, and she flushed rather shyly
+and smiled and bowed too, and said, "Thank you" in a gentle voice to the
+old woman who had blessed her. To a person who had always lived in a
+bustling, crowded American city this simple deference was very novel,
+and at first just a little embarrassing; but after all, she could not
+help liking and being touched by the friendly warm-heartedness of which
+it seemed to speak. She had scarcely passed through the stone porch into
+the church before the great event of the day happened. The carriage from
+the Castle, with its handsome horses and tall liveried servants, bowled
+around the corner and down the green lane.
+
+"Here they come!" went from one looker-on to another.
+
+And then the carriage drew up, and Thomas stepped down and opened the
+door, and a little boy, dressed in black velvet, and with a splendid mop
+of bright waving hair, jumped out.
+
+Every man, woman, and child looked curiously upon him.
+
+"He's the Captain over again!" said those of the on-lookers who
+remembered his father. "He's the Captain's self, to the life!"
+
+He stood there in the sunlight looking up at the Earl, as Thomas helped
+that nobleman out, with the most affectionate interest that could be
+imagined. The instant he could help, he put out his hand and offered his
+shoulder as if he had been seven feet high. It was plain enough to every
+one that however it might be with other people, the Earl of Dorincourt
+struck no terror into the breast of his grandson.
+
+"Just lean on me," they heard him say. "How glad the people are to see
+you, and how well they all seem to know you!"
+
+"Take off your cap, Fauntleroy," said the Earl. "They are bowing to
+you."
+
+"To me!" cried Fauntleroy, whipping off his cap in a moment, baring his
+bright head to the crowd and turning shining, puzzled eyes on them as he
+tried to bow to every one at once.
+
+"God bless your lordship!" said the curtsying, red-cloaked old woman who
+had spoken to his mother; "long life to you!"
+
+"Thank you, ma'am," said Fauntleroy. And then they went into the church,
+and were looked at there, on their way up the aisle to the square,
+red-cushioned and curtained pew. When Fauntleroy was fairly seated he
+made two discoveries which pleased him: the first was that, across the
+church where he could look at her, his mother sat and smiled at him; the
+second, that at one end of the pew against the wall, knelt two quaint
+figures carven in stone, facing each other as they kneeled on either
+side of a pillar supporting two stone missals, their pointed hands
+folded as if in prayer, their dress very antique and strange. On the
+tablet by them was written something of which he could only read the
+curious words:
+
+"Here lyethe ye bodye of Gregorye Arthure Fyrst Earle of Dorincort
+allsoe of Alysone Hildegarde hys wyfe."
+
+"May I whisper?" inquired his lordship, devoured by curiosity.
+
+"What is it?" said his grandfather.
+
+"Who are they?"
+
+"Some of your ancestors," answered the Earl, "who lived a few hundred
+years ago."
+
+"Perhaps," said Lord Fauntleroy, regarding them with respect, "perhaps I
+got my spelling from them." And then he proceeded to find his place in
+the church service. When the music began, he stood up and looked across
+at his mother, smiling. He was very fond of music, and his mother and he
+often sang together, so he joined in with the rest, his pure, sweet,
+high voice rising as clear as the song of a bird. He quite forgot
+himself in his pleasure in it. The Earl forgot himself a little too, as
+he sat in his curtain-shielded corner of the pew and watched the boy.
+Cedric stood with the big psalter open in his hands, singing with all
+his childish might, his face a little uplifted, happily; and as he sang,
+a long ray of sunshine crept in and, slanting through a golden pane of a
+stained glass window, brightened the falling hair about his young head.
+His mother, as she looked at him across the church, felt a thrill pass
+through her heart, and a prayer rose in it too; a prayer that the pure,
+simple happiness of his childish soul might last, and that the strange,
+great fortune which had fallen to him might bring no wrong or evil with
+it. There were many soft anxious thoughts in her tender heart in those
+new days.
+
+[Illustration: "I'VE A GREAT DEAL TO THANK YOUR LORDSHIP FOR," SAID
+HIGGINS. (SEE NEXT PAGE.)]
+
+"Oh, Ceddie!" she had said to him the evening before, as she hung over
+him in saying good-night, before he went away; "oh, Ceddie, dear, I wish
+for your sake I was very clever and could say a great many wise things!
+But only be good, dear, only be brave, only be kind and true always, and
+then you will never hurt any one, so long as you live, and you may help
+many, and the big world may be better because my little child was born.
+And that is best of all, Ceddie,--it is better than everything else,
+that the world should be a little better because a man has lived--even
+ever so little better, dearest."
+
+And on his return to the Castle, Fauntleroy had repeated her words to
+his grandfather.
+
+"And I thought about you when she said that," he ended; "and I told her
+that was the way the world was because you had lived, and I was going to
+try if I could be like you."
+
+"And what did she say to that?" asked his lordship, a trifle uneasily.
+
+"She said that was right, and we must always look for good in people and
+try to be like it."
+
+Perhaps it was this the old man remembered as he glanced through the
+divided folds of the red curtain of his pew. Many times he looked over
+the people's heads to where his son's wife sat alone, and he saw the
+fair face the unforgiven dead had loved, and the eyes which were so like
+those of the child at his side; but what his thoughts were, and whether
+they were hard and bitter, or softened a little, it would have been
+hard to discover.
+
+As they came out of the church, many of those who had attended the
+service stood waiting to see them pass. As they neared the gate, a man
+who stood with his hat in his hand made a step forward and then
+hesitated. He was a middle-aged farmer, with a careworn face.
+
+"Well, Higgins," said the Earl.
+
+Fauntleroy turned quickly to look at him.
+
+"Oh!" he exclaimed; "is it Mr. Higgins?"
+
+"Yes," answered the Earl dryly; "and I suppose he came to take a look at
+his new landlord."
+
+"Yes, my lord," said the man, his sunburned face reddening. "Mr. Newick
+told me his young lordship was kind enough to speak for me, and I
+thought I'd like to say a word of thanks, if I might be allowed."
+
+Perhaps he felt some wonder when he saw what a little fellow it was who
+had innocently done so much for him, and who stood there looking up just
+as one of his own less fortunate children might have done--apparently
+not realizing his own importance in the least.
+
+"I've a great deal to thank your lordship for," he said; "a great deal.
+I----"
+
+"Oh," said Fauntleroy; "I only wrote the letter. It was my grandfather
+who did it. But you know how he is about always being good to everybody.
+Is Mrs. Higgins well now?"
+
+Higgins looked a trifle taken aback. He also was somewhat startled at
+hearing his noble landlord presented in the character of a benevolent
+being, full of engaging qualities.
+
+"I--well, yes, your lordship," he stammered; "the missus is better since
+the trouble was took off her mind. It was worrying broke her down."
+
+"I'm glad of that," said Fauntleroy. "My grandfather was very sorry
+about your children having the scarlet fever, and so was I. He has had
+children himself. I'm his son's little boy, you know."
+
+Higgins was on the verge of being panic-stricken. He felt it would be
+the safer and more discreet plan not to look at the Earl, as it had been
+well known that his fatherly affection for his sons had been such that
+he had seen them about twice a year, and that when they had been ill, he
+had promptly departed for London, because he would not be bored with
+doctors and nurses. It was a little trying therefore to his lordship's
+nerves to be told, while he looked on, his eyes gleaming from under his
+shaggy eyebrows, that he felt an interest in scarlet fever.
+
+"You see, Higgins," broke in the Earl with a fine grim smile; "you
+people have been mistaken in me. Lord Fauntleroy understands me. When
+you want reliable information on the subject of my character, apply to
+him. Get into the carriage, Fauntleroy."
+
+And Fauntleroy jumped in, and the carriage rolled away down the green
+lane, and even when it turned the corner into the high road, the Earl
+was still grimly smiling.
+
+(_To be continued._)
+
+
+
+
+GEORGE WASHINGTON
+
+[_A Historical Biography._]
+
+BY HORACE E. SCUDDER.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+A VIRGINIA BURGESS.
+
+Before Washington's marriage, and while he was in camp near Fort
+Cumberland, making active preparations for the campaign against Fort
+Duquesne, there was an election for members of the Virginia House of
+Burgesses. Washington offered himself as candidate to the electors of
+Frederic County, in which Winchester, where he had been for the past
+three years, was the principal town. His friends were somewhat fearful
+that the other candidates, who were on the ground, would have the
+advantage over Washington, who was with the army, at a distance; and
+they wrote, urging him to come on and look after his interests. Colonel
+Bouquet, under whose orders he was, cheerfully gave him leave of
+absence, but Washington replied:
+
+"I had, before Colonel Stephen came to this place, abandoned all
+thoughts of attending personally the election at Winchester, choosing
+rather to leave the management of that affair to my friends, than be
+absent from my regiment, when there is a probability of its being called
+to duty. I am much pleased now, that I did so."
+
+Here was a case where Washington broke his excellent rule of--"If you
+want a thing done, do it yourself." If his regiment was to lie idle at
+Fort Cumberland, he could easily have galloped to Winchester, and have
+been back in a few days; but there was a chance that it might move, and
+so he gave up at once all thought of leaving it. Glad enough he was to
+have the news confirmed. To lead his men forward, and to have a hand in
+the capture of Fort Duquesne, was the first thing--the election must
+take care of itself. This was not a bad statement for his friends at
+Winchester to make. A man who sticks to his post, and does his duty
+without regard to his personal interests, is the very man for a
+representative in the legislature. The people of Frederic knew
+Washington thoroughly, and though they had sometimes felt his heavy
+hand, they gave him a hearty vote, and he was elected a member of the
+House of Burgesses.
+
+This was in 1758, and he continued to serve as a member for the next
+fifteen years. There is a story told of his first appearance in the
+House. He was something more than a new member; he was the late
+Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia army, the foremost man, in a military
+way, in the province; he had just returned from the successful
+expedition against Fort Duquesne. So the House resolved to welcome him
+in a manner becoming so gallant a Virginian, and it passed a vote of
+thanks for the distinguished military services he had rendered the
+country. The Speaker, Mr. Robinson, rose when Washington came in to take
+his seat, and made a little speech of praise and welcome, presenting the
+thanks of the House. Every one applauded and waited for the tall colonel
+to respond. There he stood, blushing, stammering, confused. He could
+give his orders to his men easily enough, and he could even say what was
+necessary, to Mrs. Martha Custis; but to address the House of Burgesses
+in answer to a vote of thanks--that was another matter! Not a plain word
+could he get out. It was a capital answer, and the Speaker interpreted
+it to the House.
+
+"Sit down, Mr. Washington," said he. "Your modesty equals your valor,
+and that surpasses the power of any language I possess."
+
+It was a trying ordeal for the new member, and if speech-making had been
+his chief business in the House, he would have made a sorry failure. He
+rarely made a speech, and never a long one, but for all that he was a
+valuable member, and his re-election at every term showed that the
+people understood his value. If there was any work to be done, any
+important committee to be appointed, Washington could be counted on, and
+his sound judgment, his mature experience, and sense of honor, made his
+opinion one which every one respected. He was always on hand, punctual,
+and faithful; and qualities of diligence and fidelity in such a place,
+when combined with sound judgment and honor, are sure to tell in the
+long run. He once gave a piece of advice to a nephew who had also been
+elected to the House, and it probably was the result of his own
+experience and observation.
+
+"The only advice I will offer," he said; "if you have a mind to command
+the attention of the House, is to speak seldom but on important
+subjects, except such as particularly relate to your constituents; and,
+in the former case, make yourself perfect master of the subject. Never
+exceed a decent warmth, and submit your sentiments with diffidence. A
+dictatorial style, though it may carry conviction, is always accompanied
+with disgust."
+
+It was in January, 1759, that Washington took his seat in the House, and
+if he made it his rule "to speak seldom but on important subjects," he
+had several opportunities to speak before he finally left the Virginia
+Legislature for a more important gathering. The first very important
+subject was the Stamp Act, in 1765. The British Government had passed an
+act requiring the American colonies to place a stamp upon every
+newspaper or almanac that was published, upon every marriage
+certificate, every will, every deed, and upon other legal papers. These
+stamps were to be sold by officers of the crown, and the money obtained
+by the sale was to be used to pay British soldiers stationed in America
+to enforce the laws made by Parliament.
+
+The colonies were aflame with indignation. They declared that Parliament
+had no right to pass such an act; that the Ministry that proposed it was
+about an unlawful business; and that it was adding insult to injury to
+send over soldiers to enforce such laws. People, when they meet on the
+corner of the street and discuss public matters, are usually much more
+outspoken than when they meet in legislatures; but the American
+colonists were wont to talk very plainly in their assemblies, and it was
+no new thing for the representatives, chosen by the people, to be at
+odds with the governor, who represented the British Government. So when
+Patrick Henry rose up in the House of Burgesses, with his resolutions
+declaring that the Stamp Act was illegal and that the colony of Virginia
+had always enjoyed the right of governing itself, as far as taxation
+went,--and when he made a flaming speech which threatened the King,
+there was great confusion; and though his resolutions were passed, there
+was but a bare majority.
+
+There is no record of what Washington may have said or how he voted on
+that occasion, but his letters show that he thought the Stamp Act a very
+unwise act on the part of Great Britain, and a piece of oppression.
+"That Act," he says, "could be looked upon in no other light by every
+person who would view it in its proper colors." But he did not rush into
+a passion over it. Instead, he studied it coolly, and before it was
+repealed, wrote at some length to his wife's uncle, who was living in
+London, his reasons for thinking that the British Ministry would gain
+nothing by pressing the Stamp Act and other laws which bore hard on
+colonial prosperity; for he held that if they would only see it, the
+colonies were as necessary to England as England to the colonies.
+
+[Illustration: PATRICK HENRY.]
+
+It is difficult for us to-day to put ourselves in the place of
+Washington and other men of his time. Washington was a Virginian, and
+was one of the Legislature. He was used to making laws and providing for
+the needs of the people of Virginia, but he was accustomed to look
+beyond Virginia to England. There the King was, and he was one of the
+subjects of the King. The King's officers came to Virginia, and when
+Washington saw, as he so often did, a British man-of-war lying in the
+river off Mount Vernon, his mind was thrilled with pleasure as he
+thought of the power of the empire to which he belonged. He had seen the
+British soldiers marching against the French, and he had himself served
+under a British general. He had an ardent desire to go to England, to
+see London, to see the King and his Court, and Parliament, and the
+Courts of Justice, and the great merchants who made the city famous; but
+as yet he had been unable to go.
+
+He had seen but little of the other colonies. He had made a journey to
+Boston, and that had given him some acquaintance with men; but wherever
+he went, he found people looking eagerly toward England and asking what
+the Ministry there would do about fighting the French on the Western
+borders. Though he and others might never have seen England, it was the
+center of the world to them. He thought of the other colonies not so
+much as all parts of one great country on this side of the Atlantic, as
+each separately a part of the British Empire.
+
+After all, however, and most of all, he was a Virginian. In Virginia he
+owned land. There was his home, and there his occupation. He was a
+farmer, a planter of tobacco and wheat, and it was his business to sell
+his products. As for the French, they were enemies of Great Britain, but
+they were also very near enemies of Virginia. They were getting
+possession of land in Virginia itself--land which Washington owned in
+part; and when he was busily engaged in driving them out, he did not
+have to stop and think of France, he needed only to think of Fort
+Duquesne, a few days' march to the westward.
+
+When, therefore he found the British Government making laws which made
+him pay roundly for sending his tobacco to market, and taxing him as if
+there were no Virginia Legislature to say what taxes the people could
+and should pay, he began to be restless and dissatisfied. England was a
+great way off; Virginia was close at hand. He was loyal to the King and
+had fought under the King's officers, but if the King cared nothing for
+his loyalty, and only wanted his pence, his loyalty was likely to cool.
+His chief resentment, however, was against Parliament. Parliament was
+making laws and laying taxes. But what was Parliament? It was a body of
+law-makers in England, just as the House of Burgesses was in Virginia.
+To be sure, it could pass laws about navigation which concerned all
+parts of the British Empire; but, somehow, it made these laws very
+profitable to England and very disadvantageous to Virginia. Parliament,
+however, had no right to pass such a law as the Stamp Act. That was
+making a special law for the American colonies, and taking away a right
+which belonged to the colonial assemblies.
+
+Washington had grown up with an intense love of law, and in this he was
+like other American Englishmen. In England there were very few persons
+who made the laws, the vast majority had nothing to do but to obey the
+laws. Yet it is among the makers of laws that the love of law prevails;
+and since in America a great many more Englishmen had to do with
+government in colony and in town than in England, there were more who
+passionately insisted upon the law being observed. An unlawful act was
+to them an outrage. When they said that England was oppressing them,
+and making them slaves, they did not mean that they wanted liberty to
+do what they pleased, but that they wanted to be governed by just laws,
+made by the men who had the right to make laws. And that right belonged
+to the legislatures, to which they sent representatives.
+
+So it was out of his love of law and justice that Washington and others
+protested against the Stamp Act; and when the act was repealed, they
+threw up their hats and hurrahed, not because they now should not have
+to buy and use stamps, but because by repealing the act, Parliament had
+as much as said that it was an unlawful act. However, this was an
+unwilling admission on the part of Parliament, which repealed the act,
+but said at once: "We can tax you if we choose to."
+
+In fact, Parliament stupidly tried soon after to prove that it had the
+right by imposing duties on tea, paper, glass, and painters' colors. But
+the people in the colonies were on the alert. They had really been
+governing themselves so long that now, when Parliament tried to get the
+power away from them, they simply went on using their power. They did
+this in two ways; the colonial governments again asserted their rights
+in the case, and the people began to form associations, in which they
+bound themselves not to buy goods of England until the offensive act was
+repealed. This latter was one of the most interesting movements in the
+breaking away of the colonies from England. It was a popular movement;
+it did not depend upon what this or that colonial assembly might do; it
+was perfectly lawful, and so far as it was complete it was effective.
+Yet all the while the movement was doing more, and what but a very few
+detected; it was binding the scattered people in the colonies together.
+
+Washington took a great deal of interest in these associations, and
+belonged to one himself. He was growing exceedingly impatient of English
+misrule, and saw clearly to what it was leading. "At a time," he says,
+"when our lordly masters in Great Britain will be satisfied with nothing
+less than the deprivation of American freedom, it seems highly necessary
+that something should be done to avert the stroke, and maintain the
+liberty which we have derived from our ancestors. But the manner of
+doing it to answer the purpose effectually is the point in question.
+That no man should scruple, or hesitate a moment, to use arms in defense
+of so valuable a blessing, is clearly my opinion. Yet arms, I would beg
+leave to add, should be the last resort. We have already, it is said,
+proved the inefficacy of addresses to the throne, and remonstrances to
+Parliament. How far, then, their attention to our rights and privileges
+is to be awakened or alarmed by starving their trade and manufactures,
+remains to be tried."
+
+He took the lead in forming an association in Virginia, and he kept
+scrupulously to his agreement; for when he sent his orders to London, he
+was very careful to instruct his correspondents to send him none of the
+goods unless the Act of Parliament had meantime been repealed. As the
+times grew more exciting, Washington watched events steadily. He took no
+step backward, but he moved forward deliberately and with firmness. He
+did not allow himself to be carried away by the passions of the time. It
+was all very well, some said, to stop buying from England, but let us
+stop selling also. They need our tobacco. Suppose we refuse to send it
+unless Parliament repeals the Act. Washington stood out against that
+except as a final resource, and for the reason which he stated in a
+letter:
+
+     "I am convinced, as much as I am of my own existence, that
+     there is no relief for us but in their distress; and I
+     think, at least I hope, that there is public virtue enough
+     left among us to deny ourselves everything but the bare
+     necessaries of life to accomplish this end. This we have a
+     right to do, and no power upon earth can compel us to do
+     otherwise, till it has first reduced us to the most abject
+     state of slavery. The stopping of our exports would, no
+     doubt, be a shorter method than the other to effect this
+     purpose; but if we owe money to Great Britain, nothing but
+     the last necessity can justify the non-payment of it; and,
+     therefore, I have great doubts upon this head, and wish to
+     see the other method first tried, which is legal and will
+     facilitate these payments."
+
+That is, by the economy necessarily preached, the people would save
+money with which to pay their debts.
+
+Washington had been at the front both in the House of Burgesses, in his
+own county, and among the people generally. He was a member of the
+convention called to meet at Williamsburg; and he was appointed by that
+convention one of seven delegates to attend the first Continental
+Congress at Philadelphia.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.
+
+Near the end of August, 1774, Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton, two of
+the delegates from Virginia to the first Continental Congress, rode from
+their homes to Mount Vernon and made a short visit. Then, on the last
+day of the month, Washington mounted his horse also, and the three
+friends started for Philadelphia to attend the congress, which was
+called to meet on the 5th of September. Pendleton was a dozen years
+older than Washington, and Henry was the youngest of the party. He was
+the most fiery in speech, and more than once, in recent conventions, had
+carried his hearers away by his bold words. He was the most eloquent
+man in the colonies,--of rude appearance, but when once wrought up by
+excitement, able to pour out a torrent of words.
+
+[Illustration: WASHINGTON, PATRICK HENRY, AND EDMUND PENDLETON ON THEIR
+WAY TO PHILADELPHIA, AS DELEGATES TO THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.[D]]
+
+For my part, I would rather have heard the speech which Washington made
+at the convention in Williamsburg in the August before, when he rose up
+to read the resolution which he and his neighbors had passed at their
+meeting in Fairfax County. The eloquence of a man who is a famous orator
+is not quite so convincing as that of a man of action, who rarely
+speaks, but who is finally stirred by a great occasion. People were used
+to hearing Washington say a few words in a slow, hesitating, deliberate
+way; and they knew that he had carefully considered beforehand what
+words he should use. But this time he was terribly in earnest, and when
+he had read the resolution, he spoke as no one had heard him before. He
+was a passionate man who had his anger under control; but when it
+occasionally burst out, it was as if a dam to a stream had given way.
+And now he was consumed with indignation at the manner in which Great
+Britain was treating the colonies. He was ready, he said, to raise a
+regiment of a thousand men, pay all their expenses, and lead them to
+Boston to drive out the King's soldiers.
+
+The three men, therefore, must have talked long and earnestly as they
+rode to Philadelphia; for the Congress which they were to attend was the
+first one to which all the colonies were invited to send delegates. It
+was to consider the cause of the whole people, and Virginia was to see
+in Massachusetts not a rival colony, but one with which she had common
+cause. The last time Washington had gone over the road he had been on an
+errand to the King's chief representative in America, the
+Commander-in-Chief, Governor Shirley, and one matter which he had held
+very much at heart had been his own commission as an officer in His
+Majesty's army. He was on a different errand now. Still, like the men
+who were most in earnest at that time, he was thinking how the colonies
+could secure their rights as colonies, not how they might break away
+from England and set up for themselves.
+
+[Footnote D: The above illustration is reproduced from Irving's "Life of
+Washington," by kind permission of Messrs. G. P. Putnam's Sons.]
+
+They were five days on the road, and on September the 4th, they
+breakfasted near Newcastle, in Delaware, dined at Chester, in
+Pennsylvania, and in the evening were in Philadelphia, at the City
+Tavern, which stood on Second street, above Walnut street, and was the
+meeting-place of most of the delegates. Washington, however, though he
+was often at the City Tavern, had his lodging at Dr. Shippen's. The
+Congress met the next day at Carpenters' Hall, and was in session for
+seven weeks. The first two or three days were especially exciting to the
+members. There they were, fifty-one men, from all the colonies save
+Georgia, met to consult together--Englishmen who sang "God save the
+King," but asked also what right the King had to act as he had done
+toward Boston. They did not know one another well at the beginning.
+There was no man among them who could be called famous beyond his own
+colony, unless it was George Washington. Up to this time the different
+colonies had lived so apart from one another, each concerned about its
+own affairs, that there had been little opportunity for a man to be
+widely known.
+
+[Illustration: CARPENTERS' HALL, PHILADELPHIA, WHERE THE FIRST
+CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.]
+
+So, as they looked at one another at the City Tavern, or at the
+Carpenters' Hall when they met, each man was wondering who would take
+the lead. Virginia was the largest and most important colony.
+Massachusetts had a right to speak, because she had called the
+convention, and because it was in Boston that the people were suffering
+most from the action of the British Parliament. Perhaps the two most
+conspicuous members at first were Patrick Henry, of Virginia, and Samuel
+Adams, of Massachusetts; but in the seven weeks of the session, others
+showed their good judgment and patriotism. Patrick Henry was asked after
+he returned to Virginia whom he considered the greatest man in the
+Congress, and he replied: "If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of
+South Carolina, is by far the greatest orator; but if you speak of solid
+information and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the
+greatest man on the floor."
+
+Washington carried on the methods which he had always practiced. He
+attended the sessions punctually and regularly; he listened to what
+others had to say, and gave his own opinion only after he had carefully
+formed it. It is an example of the thoroughness with which he made
+himself master of every subject, that he used to copy in his own hand
+the important papers which were laid before Congress, such as the
+petition to the King which was agreed upon. This he would do
+deliberately and exactly,--it was like committing the paper to memory.
+Besides this, he made abstracts of other papers, stating the substance
+of them in a few clear words.
+
+The greater part of each day was occupied in the Congress, but besides
+the regular business, there was a great deal of informal talk among the
+members. They were full of the subject, and used to meet to discuss
+affairs at dinner, or in knots about the fire at the City Tavern.
+Philadelphia was then the most important city in the country, and there
+were many men of wide experience living in it. Washington went
+everywhere by invitation. He dined with the Chief Justice, with the
+Mayor, and with all the notable people.
+
+In this way he was able to become better acquainted both with the state
+of affairs in other colonies and with the way the most intelligent
+people were thinking about the difficulties of the time. The first
+Continental Congress gave expression to the deliberate judgment of the
+colonies upon the acts of Great Britain. It protested against the manner
+in which Parliament was treating the colonies. It declared firmly and
+solemnly that as British subjects the people of the colonies owed no
+allegiance to Parliament, in which they had no representatives; that
+their own legislatures alone had the right to lay taxes. But after all,
+the great advantage of this first Congress was in the opportunity which
+it gave for representatives from the different colonies to become
+acquainted with one another, and thus to make all parts of the country
+more ready to act together.
+
+It was only now and then that any one suggested the independence of the
+colonies. Washington, like a few others, thought it possible the
+colonies might have to arm and resist the unlawful attempt to force
+unconstitutional laws upon them; but he did not, at this time, go so far
+as to propose a separation from England. He had a friend among the
+British officers in Boston, one of his old comrades in the war against
+France, a Captain Mackenzie, who wrote to him, complaining of the way
+the Boston people were behaving. Captain Mackenzie, very naturally, as
+an officer, saw only a troublesome, rebellious lot of people whom it was
+the business of the army to put down. Washington wrote earnestly to him,
+trying to show him the reason why the people felt as they did, and the
+wrong way of looking at the subject which Captain Mackenzie and other
+officers had. He expressed his sorrow that fortune should have placed
+his friend in a service that was sure to bring down vengeance upon those
+engaged in it. He went on:
+
+     "I do not mean by this to insinuate that an officer is not
+     to discharge his duty, even when chance, not choice, has
+     placed him in a disagreeable situation; but I conceive, when
+     you condemn the conduct of the Massachusetts people, you
+     reason from effects, not causes; otherwise you would not
+     wonder at a people, who are every day receiving fresh proofs
+     of a systematic assertion of an arbitrary power, deeply
+     planned to overturn the laws and constitution of their
+     country, and to violate the most essential and valuable
+     rights of mankind, being irritated, and with difficulty
+     restrained from acts of the greatest violence and
+     intemperance. For my own part, I confess to you candidly,
+     that I view things in a very different point of light from
+     the one in which you seem to consider them; and though you
+     are taught by venal men ... to believe that the people of
+     Massachusetts are rebellious, setting up for independency,
+     and what not, give me leave, my good friend, to tell you,
+     that you are abused, grossly abused.... Give me leave to
+     add, and I think I can announce it as a fact, that it is not
+     the wish or interest of that government, or any other upon
+     this continent, separately or collectively, to set up for
+     independence; but this you may at the same time rely on,
+     that none of them will ever submit to the loss of those
+     valuable rights and privileges which are essential to the
+     happiness of every free State, and without which, life,
+     liberty, and property are rendered totally insecure."
+
+It was with such a belief as this that Washington went back to Mount
+Vernon, and while he was occupied with his engrossing private affairs,
+busied himself also with organizing and drilling soldiers. Independent
+companies were formed all over Virginia, and one after another placed
+themselves under his command. Although, by the custom of those
+companies, each was independent of the others, yet by choosing the same
+commander they virtually made Washington Commander-in-Chief of the
+Virginia volunteers. He was the first military man in the colony, and
+every one turned to him for advice and instruction. So through the
+winter and spring, he was constantly on the move, going to one place
+after another to review the companies which had been formed.
+
+I think that winter and spring of 1775 must have been a somewhat
+sorrowful one to George Washington, and that he must have felt as if a
+great change were coming in his life. His wife's daughter had died, and
+he missed her sadly. Young John Custis had married and gone away to
+live. The sound of war was heard on all sides, and among the visitors to
+Mount Vernon were some who afterward were to be generals in the American
+army. He still rode occasionally after the hounds, but the old days of
+fun were gone. George William Fairfax had gone back to England, and the
+jolly company at Belvoir was scattered. The house itself there had
+caught fire, and burned to the ground.
+
+But the time for action was at hand. Washington turned from his home and
+his fox-hunting to go to Richmond as a delegate to a second Virginia
+convention. It was called to hear the reports of the delegates to
+Philadelphia and to see what further was to be done. It was clear to
+some, and to Washington among them, that the people must be ready for
+the worst. They had shown themselves in earnest by all the drill and
+training they had been going through as independent companies. Now let
+those companies be formed into a real army. It was idle to send any more
+petitions to the King.
+
+"We must fight!" exclaimed Patrick Henry; "I repeat it, sir; we must
+fight! An appeal to arms and the God of Hosts is all that is left us!"
+
+[Illustration: JOHN ADAMS, OF MASSACHUSETTS, WHO PROPOSED WASHINGTON FOR
+COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY.]
+
+A committee, of which Washington was one, was appointed to report a plan
+for an army of Virginia.
+
+But when people make up their minds to fight, they know very well, if
+they are sensible, that more than half the task before them is to find
+means for feeding and clothing not only the troops but the people who
+are dependent on the troops. Therefore the convention appointed another
+committee, of which Washington also was a member, to devise a plan for
+encouraging manufactures, so that the people could do without England.
+Heretofore, the Virginians had done scarcely any manufacturing; nearly
+everything they needed they had bought from England with tobacco. But if
+they were to be at war with England, they must be making ready to
+provide for themselves. It was late in the day to do anything; slavery,
+though they did not then see it clearly, had made a variety of
+industries impossible. However, the people were advised to form
+associations to promote the raising of wool, cotton, flax, and hemp, and
+to encourage the use of home manufactures.
+
+Washington was again chosen one of the delegates to the Continental
+Congress, for the second Congress had been called to meet at
+Philadelphia. He was even readier to go than before. On the day when he
+was chosen, he wrote to his brother John Augustine Washington: "It is my
+full intention to devote my life and fortune to the cause we are engaged
+in, if needful."
+
+That was at the end of March. The second Continental Congress was to
+meet on May 10; and just before Washington left Mount Vernon came the
+news of Lexington and Concord. Curiously enough, the Governor of
+Virginia had done just what Governor Gage had attempted to do; he had
+seized some powder which was stored at Fredericksburg, and placed it for
+safety on board a vessel of the British navy. The independent companies
+at once met and called upon Washington to take command of them, that
+they might compel the Governor to restore the powder. Washington kept
+cool. The Governor promised to restore the powder, and Washington
+advised the people to wait to see what Congress would do.
+
+When Congress met, the men who came together were no longer strangers to
+one another. They had parted warm friends the previous fall; they had
+gone to their several homes and now had come back more determined than
+ever, and more united. Every one spoke of Lexington and Concord; and the
+Massachusetts men told how large an army had already gathered around
+Boston. But it was an army made up not only of Massachusetts men, but of
+men from Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. It was plain that
+there must be some authority over such an army, and the Provincial
+Congress of Massachusetts wrote to the Continental Congress at
+Philadelphia, advising that body to assume control of all the forces, to
+raise a continental army, appoint a commander, and do whatever else was
+necessary to prepare for war. There had already been fighting; there was
+an army; and it was no longer a war between Massachusetts and Great
+Britain.
+
+I do not know what other delegates to the Congress at Philadelphia came
+as soldiers, but there was one tall Virginian present who wore his
+military coat; and when the talk fell upon appointing a commander, all
+eyes were turned toward him. Every one, however, felt the gravity and
+delicacy of the situation. Here was an army adopted by Congress; but it
+was a New England army, and if the struggle were to come at Boston, it
+was natural that the troops should mainly come from that neighborhood.
+The colonies were widely separated; they had not acted much together.
+Would it not be better, would it not save ill-feeling, if a New England
+man were to command this New England army?
+
+There were some who thought thus; and besides, there was still a good
+deal of difference of opinion as to the course to be pursued. Some were
+all ready for independence; others, and perhaps the most, hoped to bring
+the British to terms. Parties were rising in Congress; petty jealousies
+were showing themselves, when suddenly John Adams, of Massachusetts,
+seeing into what perplexities they were drifting, came forward with a
+distinct proposition that Congress should adopt the army before Boston
+and appoint a commander. He did not name Washington, but described him
+as a certain gentleman from Virginia "who could unite the cordial
+exertions of all the colonies better than any other person." No one
+doubted who was meant, and Washington, confused and agitated, left the
+room at once.
+
+Nothing else was now talked of. The delegates discussed the matter in
+groups and small circles, and a few days afterward a Maryland delegate
+formally nominated George Washington to be Commander-in-Chief of the
+American Army. He was unanimously elected, but the honor of bringing him
+distinctly before the Congress belongs to John Adams. It seems now a
+very natural thing to do, but really it was something which required
+wisdom and courage. When one sums up all Washington's military
+experience at this time, it was not great, or such as to point him out
+as unmistakably the leader of the American army. There was a general
+then in command at Cambridge, who had seen more of war than Washington
+had. But Washington was the leading military man in Virginia, and it was
+for this reason that John Adams, as a New England man, urged his
+election. The Congress had done something to bring the colonies
+together; the war was to do more, but probably no single act really had
+a more far-reaching significance in making the Union, than the act of
+nominating the Virginian Washington by the New England Adams.
+
+(_To be continued._)
+
+
+
+
+Spring Beauties.
+
+BY HELEN GRAY CONE.
+
+
+    The Puritan Spring Beauties stood freshly clad for church;
+    A Thrush, white-breasted, o'er them sat singing on his perch.
+    "Happy be! for fair are ye!" the gentle singer told them.
+    But presently a buff-coat Bee came booming up to scold them.
+    "Vanity, oh, vanity!
+    Young maids, beware of vanity!"
+    Grumbled out the buff-coat Bee,
+    Half parson-like, half soldierly.
+
+    The sweet-faced maidens trembled, with pretty, pinky blushes,
+    Convinced that it was wicked to listen to the Thrushes;
+    And when, that shady afternoon, I chanced that way to pass,
+    They hung their little bonnets down and looked into the grass.
+    All because the buff-coat Bee
+    Lectured them so solemnly:--
+    "Vanity, oh, vanity!
+    Young maids, beware of vanity!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+HOW CONRAD LOST HIS SCHOOL-BOOKS.
+
+BY WALTER BOBBETT.
+
+
+Conrad was not a prince, not even a lord; he was only an ordinary boy.
+He should have been on his way to school; but, having a talent for doing
+nothing, he was wandering about the fields and little strips of
+woodland, amusing himself by watching the birds skim through the air. He
+had lately been reading a volume of fairy-tales, and as he walked along
+he began to wonder whether there really was a bit of truth in any of
+them.
+
+[Illustration: "HE BECKONED TO CONRAD, WHO CROSSED THE STREAM ON A
+SLIGHT PLANK BRIDGE."]
+
+He kept on thinking so intently about it, that he did not notice how
+near he was to a little brook, until he found himself almost on the
+point of tumbling into the water. This put a stop to his wondering, for
+the next moment he stood staring in astonishment, not at the water, but
+at a little old man who was sitting on the roots of a large tree that
+grew on the opposite bank of the stream. He was dressed in a very
+curious fashion. On his head he had a tall steeple-crowned hat, in which
+were placed two long peacock's feathers.
+
+The little old man sat looking very attentively at Conrad, and seemed to
+derive a great deal of comfort from a long pipe, which he was enjoying
+so energetically that all around him the air was filled with smoke. At
+last he beckoned to Conrad, who crossed the stream on a slight plank
+bridge, and advanced toward him.
+
+By that time, Conrad had leaped to the conclusion, in his own mind, that
+the very queer-looking old gentleman was an enchanter, and so he had
+resolved to be very respectful, to do just as he was bidden, and to wait
+very patiently for the little old man to speak first.
+
+Presently the little old man shifted the pipe for a moment, and asked:
+
+"What are those books that you are carrying?"
+
+"They are my school-books," said Conrad; "but I am tired of going to
+school, and I wish to go with the fairies!"
+
+The little old man smiled a benevolent smile, and exclaimed: "Oh!" Then
+he shifted his pipe again, and said quickly:
+
+"Give me the school-books."
+
+Conrad did so, at once.
+
+The little old man then opened a spelling-book, and turned to the
+fly-leaf.
+
+"Conrad," said he.
+
+Conrad started, for he wondered how the little man had learned his name.
+He himself had not once mentioned it. He was sure now that the queer
+little person was an enchanter.
+
+"So, Conrad," said the little old man again, "you wish to go to the
+fairies, do you? Well, you may go; but you must leave your books with me
+until you come back."
+
+Conrad's attention was now attracted by a raven, which he saw standing
+beside the enchanter, and which he had not noticed before.
+
+Turning to the bird, the enchanter said: "Give me my key."
+
+The raven hopped from a large key upon which it had been standing, and
+taking it in its beak, presented it to its master.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Conrad wished to ask if the raven would bite, and whether it could do
+any better trick than carrying a key; but he thought this might be
+considered an impertinent question, so he said nothing.
+
+"Take this key," said the little old man, "and be careful not to lose
+it. Walk on until you come to the edge of yonder forest; pass straight
+through the wood, and when you arrive at the other side, you will behold
+a castle not far distant. You may find it difficult to gain admission;
+but you must persevere. As to what will happen afterward, I may not tell
+you now. One word more, and then begone; should you ever need my
+assistance, blow down the key."
+
+Conrad was so astonished at all he had seen and heard, that he hardly
+knew what to do; but as the little old man pointed in the direction of
+the forest, Conrad bade him good-day, and walked away to follow the
+orders he had received.
+
+He kept on until he came to the forest, which he entered. It seemed so
+quiet and dark, that he would have been frightened, had he not
+remembered that, in case of danger, he could depend on assistance from
+the enchanter.
+
+At last he reached the end of the wood, and about a mile beyond, he saw
+the castle with its gilded dome and all its windows shining in the
+sunlight. This sight cheered him, and he walked on till he came to the
+gateway. He found the great gates wide open; and no one prevented his
+entering, as it happened to be a day on which the King received
+petitions from those of his subjects who wished to present any.
+
+He passed on through the large court-yard, key in hand, and instead of
+going in at the entrance to the court, he entered a little side door and
+ascended a winding stairway. Up he went, higher and higher, till it
+seemed as if the stairway would never end, when suddenly he came face to
+face with an official who was descending.
+
+"What business have you here?" asked the officer.
+
+Conrad could not answer; so the man gently took hold of his ear and led
+him down the stairs again, varying the monotony of the long descent by
+giving the ear a severe pinch at every seventh step. Out through the
+court-yard they passed, the bystanders all cheering and laughing; out of
+the gate again; and with one final pinch, the boy was left sobbing on
+the roadway.
+
+Poor Conrad had, indeed, found it difficult to gain admission to the
+castle. Drying his tears, however, he began to walk around the outside
+of the building, until at last he came to a ladder that was leaning
+against a window.
+
+"The very thing!" said he; "it must have been left here on purpose for
+me."
+
+Up he climbed, slipped in at the window, and dropped quietly to the
+floor.
+
+He found himself in a large hall, through which he walked until he came
+to an archway at the farther end. Before the archway hung an embroidered
+curtain. Conrad pushed it aside, and entered a richly decorated room, at
+the end of which stood a throne. Around it were assembled many nobles,
+pages, and guards, who were awaiting the return of the King from
+hunting.
+
+Few of them looked at Conrad. Some seemed to cast a scornful side-glance
+at him, and one even told him to go back by the way he had come. Conrad
+was not a whit daunted, however, and boldly holding up his key, so that
+every one could see it, he walked up to a portly-looking gentleman, who
+was dressed in black velvet and who wore a golden chain around his neck.
+Conrad asked him what he was to do. The portly gentleman stared at him.
+Conrad asked if any of the company were enchanted; "because," said he,
+"if they are, I'll disenchant them with my key."
+
+"Enchanted?" said the gentleman in black. "What do you mean? Why do you
+bother me about enchantment?"
+
+Conrad began to feel a little nervous, and to think that they did not
+seem at all like enchanted folk; at least, they did not act like any he
+had read about in his books.
+
+The enchanter had told him that he would meet with difficulties, but,
+despite his confidence, he could not help getting very red in the face.
+And by this time, all the gentlemen, except the one dressed in black,
+were smiling.
+
+Suddenly, Conrad remembered what the little old man had said about
+whistling down the key. Happy thought! He at once rushed up in front of
+the portly gentleman with the black velvet suit and the golden chain,
+and began to whistle in the key as hard as he could.
+
+But, at this performance, the nobles all stopped smiling and looked
+first at one another, and then at Conrad, with very grave faces; one
+even put his hand upon his sword.
+
+Now, it happened that the gentleman in black velvet was a Grand Duke and
+the Prime Minister of the kingdom. At that moment he was thinking over
+some important question of state, and the sight of Conrad whistling and
+capering in front of him, just as he was settling everything to his own
+satisfaction, made him so angry, that he stopped and stared at Conrad,
+as if he could have stepped upon him. Conrad kept on whistling, but the
+little enchanter did not come. "He must either be ill or very deaf,"
+thought Conrad, and he was just making up his mind that something was
+wrong, when all doubts on the subject were removed by the Grand Duke,
+who advanced toward him, picked him up by the collar of his jacket, and,
+carrying him to a window, quietly dropped him out.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Poor Conrad was very much shaken by his fall, and for a time was so
+dazed that he could hardly realize what had happened. In a little while,
+he began to collect his thoughts; but as he picked himself up, he
+concluded, notwithstanding the difficulties he had encountered, that he
+would try once more to gain admission to the castle. So he arose and
+walked toward a door which he saw a few paces distant.
+
+His key fitted the lock perfectly. He pushed aside a sliding door,
+walked in, and passed down a stairway, when he found himself in a dark
+cellar. The floor was strewn with boxes and small barrels, over which he
+stumbled, breaking some bottles that stood in his way. He began to feel
+frightened, so he climbed to the top of a barrel, in order to get a
+glimpse of his position and see if he could find his way out to
+daylight. Suddenly the barrel-head gave way, and before he had time to
+jump off, Conrad fell, up to his knees, in some soft powder. He
+struggled to free himself, but only upset the barrel and covered himself
+from head to foot with flour or fine meal. At last he called for
+assistance; and a door, that he had not noticed until then, opened, and
+a girl of about his own age came into the cellar, and asked what was the
+matter.
+
+"I've tumbled into something; please come and help me out," cried
+Conrad.
+
+She hurried to him, and with her aid he at last succeeded in freeing
+himself.
+
+After brushing the dust from his hair and his clothes, he followed
+where his new friend led the way, and entered a kitchen, thinking that
+without doubt he was now in the presence of an enchanted princess, who
+must have been waiting many years for some one to disenchant her. "To be
+sure," thought he, "I am not a prince; but then that does not so much
+matter; there is no telling but I may be one, some day;" so he decided
+to ask the maiden how she had become enchanted.
+
+"Beautiful Princess," exclaimed he,----and he was just attempting a very
+fine speech in the best fairy-story manner, when the young girl laughed,
+and told him to be seated, and asked him if he would like to have a pie.
+Conrad was astonished by this question from an enchanted princess; but,
+without waiting for his reply, the girl walked toward a table on which
+stood a number of mince-pies, and, taking up one of them, she placed it
+before Conrad.
+
+That was not the way in which an enchanted princess was supposed to act;
+but as Conrad was very hungry, he did not express his surprise, but
+turned his attention to the pie. While he was eating, the princess
+busied herself with beating some eggs in a large bowl, and before he
+knew it, Conrad found that he had eaten all the pie.
+
+Then they talked about the weather and whatever else they happened to
+think of; and at last, Conrad asked her how long she had been enchanted.
+
+"What!" exclaimed the princess.
+
+He repeated his question.
+
+"Why, what do you mean?" said she.
+
+He was just about explaining, when "tramp, tramp, tramp!"--the noise of
+feet was heard coming down the stairs. The princess jumped up, and
+cried:
+
+"Oh, run! Run quickly! I shall be punished if they find that I have
+given you a pie!"
+
+"Oh, no," said Conrad; "do not be frightened! I will protect you from
+them. I came to this castle on purpose to rescue you."
+
+"But I do not want to be rescued!" said she. "Do go, at once!"
+
+Tramp, tramp! Nearer and nearer came the sound,--almost to the bottom of
+the stairs. Conrad felt for his key.
+
+"Oh, dear!" he exclaimed, "I must have lost my key when I fell into the
+barrel! I never noticed that I was without it till now. All is lost!
+Adieu, good Princess!"
+
+"Good-bye," said she; "only go!"
+
+He jumped upon a table, and climbed out of the window. It was all that
+was left for him to do. After he was outside of the building, he turned,
+and waving his hand to the princess, begged her to remember him.
+
+"I will come back to you, if I ever get my key again," he said; "and
+then I'll disenchant you."
+
+At that moment the kitchen door opened, and Conrad saw a great light. It
+might have been a bull's-eye lantern, but Conrad was sure that it was a
+dragon that was pointing its fiery eye at him.
+
+"Oh, the poor princess!" said he. "If only I had my key!"
+
+Then, as the light flashed full at him, he became so frightened that he
+turned and ran for the gate as hard as he could. He made his way across
+the court-yard much faster than when he had come in, and soon he had
+left the castle far behind. The houses began to be farther apart and to
+have a more rustic appearance. He heard a cart coming along the road.
+
+"Please give me a ride!" he cried to the driver.
+
+"Yes, I will," said the man; "jump in." And Conrad clambered into the
+cart.
+
+"You look tired," said the driver. "Lie down on that blanket and rest
+yourself."
+
+Conrad gladly did as he was told and, feeling much fatigued after his
+adventures, he was soon fast asleep.
+
+He did not awake until he felt himself carried out of the cart, and was
+just enough awake to know that all the inmates of his father's house,
+together with a few of the neighbors, were crowding about and asking him
+where he had been. And that was all he noticed, for the next moment he
+was off to sleep again, and was carried upstairs and put to bed.
+
+He did not feel very well the next morning, so the doctor was called in,
+who advised that he should remain in the house for a few days, as he had
+a slight fever.
+
+While at home, he told his aunt what had happened to him; but she only
+patted his head, and told him that he must have been dreaming. But this
+Conrad refused to believe.
+
+When he recovered, however, he became a much better boy, more quiet and
+attentive to his studies; and it may be mentioned that, whenever any one
+told a fairy-tale, he wore a very solemn face, took a back seat, and
+said nothing.
+
+It is not known whether he still believes in fairies; but one thing is
+certain--he never saw the little old enchanter again, nor the
+school-books that he had left with him.
+
+
+
+
+BLOSSOM-TIME.
+
+BY L. E. R.
+
+
+    Snow, snow, down from the apple-trees,
+    Pink and white drifting of petals sweet!
+    Kiss her and crown her our Lady of Blossoming,
+    There as she sits on the apple-tree sweet!
+
+    Has she not gathered the summer about her?
+    See how it laughs from her lips and her eyes!
+    Think you the sun there would shine on without her?
+    Nay! 'Tis her smile keeps the gray from the skies!
+
+    Fire of the rose, and snow of the jessamine,
+    Gold of the lily-dust hid in her hair;
+    Day holds his breath and Night comes up to look at her,
+    Leaving their strife for a vision so rare.
+
+    Snow, snow, down from the apple-trees,
+    Pink and white drifting of petals sweet!
+    Kiss her, and crown her, and flutter adown her,
+    And carpet the ground for her dear little feet!
+
+
+
+
+A SEARCH FOR THE LACE-LEAF.
+
+BY ALICE MAY.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+Early one morning, a palanquin carried by native bearers, and containing
+as passengers Mr. Steedman, an English missionary, and his little son
+Harry, was proceeding up the one street of Biforana, a queer little
+bamboo village on the island of Madagascar, situated about midway
+between Antananarivo, the capital, and the eastern coast.
+
+Comparatively little is known of Madagascar, although the unsuccessful
+attempt of France to obtain possession of it drew interest and attention
+to it not many months ago. There are but two larger islands in the
+world. As many of you know, it lies some two hundred and fifty miles to
+the east of the African coast, is nine hundred and eighty miles long
+and two hundred and fifty wide, and is therefore nearly four times as
+large as England and Wales combined.
+
+The Queen of this island kingdom is a young woman with the curious name
+of Rasendranovo Ranavalo III. She succeeded to the throne in 1883. She
+is a Christian, as is also a large part of the population of her realm;
+and there are numerous missionary stations throughout the island.
+
+Harry Steedman's father was one of these missionaries, and Harry himself
+was accustomed to traveling by palanquin, since there are no roads nor
+carriages to be found in Madagascar.
+
+[Illustration: "PASSING A GROVE OF PALMS KNOWN AS THE 'TRAVELER'S
+TREE.'"]
+
+The palanquin was an oblong basket of bamboo, lined with plaited
+sheepskin. The ends of the long poles or handles rested upon the
+shoulders of four Madagascan bearers, while four others accompanied
+these as a relay. Under the palanquin hood of woven palm-cloth, Mr.
+Steedman reclined comfortably, while Harry nestled cozily at his feet;
+and so, out of the village, and through the swamp of Biforana, the
+procession moved until the mire became so thick that the palanquin could
+not be carried with ease. As the next best mode of conveyance, the two
+passengers were then transferred to the shoulders of two stout natives.
+
+[Illustration: PALANQUIN TRAVELING BECOMES UNCOMFORTABLE.]
+
+Mr. Steedman had started upon an expedition in search of the beautiful
+lace-leaf plant, or water-yam, of Madagascar, which he was told grew in
+the forests beyond Biforana, and which he was very desirous of finding
+in its native state. Harry, after urgent solicitation, had been allowed
+to accompany his father; but, as he clung to the neck of his swarthy
+bearer, the little fellow found that there was not, after all, so much
+fun in the trip as he had expected. And later on, when the palanquin, in
+which they were soon seated again, was tossed and bumped by the slipping
+and stumbling of the bearers as they climbed a very steep hill-side, he
+began almost to wish himself at home.
+
+After passing a grove of the stately palms known as the "traveler's
+tree," they found themselves on a path that led to the bank of a river.
+They endeavored to ford it, but speedily found that the danger from deep
+holes and ugly-looking crocodiles was too great for them to proceed. So
+Raheh, the chief bearer, uttered a curious cry, or signal, which soon
+brought into view a _lakana_, or canoe, rudely fashioned from a hollow
+tree-trunk; and in it a native was paddling rapidly toward them.
+
+Harry and his father stepped into the rather shaky-looking craft not
+without misgivings, but they were soon safely landed on the other
+shore. When all had been thus ferried across and the native boatman had
+been paid, the party entered the great forest of Alamazaotra, which
+covers more than forty miles of wild and mountainous country.
+
+[Illustration: THE LACE-LEAF OF MADAGASCAR.]
+
+Their path at once led them through a gorge so narrow that the sides of
+the palanquin grazed the rocky walls, and the masses of tangled foliage,
+meeting far above their heads, almost entirely obscured the light. The
+bearers paused for breath after climbing the steep ascent that led from
+this gloomy pass, and Harry and his father exclaimed in wonder at the
+strange beauty of the wild tropical forest.
+
+Gigantic palms upheld around their stately heads a leafy dome closely
+interlaced by clinging vines. Long garlands of moss and climbing plants
+crossed and recrossed this lofty roof, and from its shadowy arches great
+masses of gray moss hung suspended. Here and there among the cool green
+and gray tints of leaves and moss some tropical flowers and fruits
+gleamed forth in bright flashes of scarlet and gold.
+
+Myriads of frail wood-blossoms hid their pale heads under the feathery
+ferns that clustered about the roots of the trees, and the dead palms
+were tenderly shrouded in waxy-leaved climbing vines, their graceful
+fallen crowns replaced by masses of green ferns, intermingled with the
+faint pink and blue tints of some rare orchid. On every side were little
+groves of bamboo,--their light-green fringes contrasting with the darker
+fronds of the stately tree-fern.
+
+Absolute silence reigned throughout this solitude, and Harry began to be
+so oppressed by the stillness as to grow fearful of danger. But his
+father explained that during the wet season, in which they were
+traveling, insect life in these tropical forests is asleep, and Harry
+himself knew that there were but few wild animals in Madagascar. Indeed,
+with the exception of that curious animal, part fox, part squirrel, and
+part monkey, that is peculiar to Madagascar and is called, from its
+prowling habits and ghostly appearance, the lemur, or "ghostly visitor,"
+the great island possesses no large native quadrupeds. The hump-backed
+African cattle and the singular fat-tailed sheep, now common throughout
+the island, were not originally found in Madagascar, but were taken over
+from Africa.
+
+The bearers of the palanquin clambered on, now over steep and
+moss-covered rocks, now crossing sluggish streams on slippery
+stepping-stones, or sliding down precipices, until poor Harry was so
+rattled and shaken and tossed and tumbled that he declared he didn't
+know his head from his heels.
+
+But, at last, a break occurred in the long stretch of rock and forest,
+and as the bearers paused upon a piece of level ground, for a moment's
+rest, Raheh suddenly uttered the joyful cry of "_rano!_" (water) and
+all, on listening, distinguished the sound of a rushing stream.
+
+Urged on by Raheh, the bearers pushed ahead, and soon stood upon the
+banks of a beautiful river, dashing merrily along over rocks and fallen
+trees, until with a leap it disappeared in the shadows of the vast
+forest. Upon the farther side was grouped a little village of the clay
+huts belonging to the friendly Hovas, and beyond the village stretched
+green fields of waving rice. The "Hovas" are the governing race in the
+island, and are the most civilized. Their capital city of Antananarivo,
+in the center of the island, is a well-built city of over 100,000
+inhabitants.
+
+A tree had fallen across the stream, with its head resting upon the
+opposite bank, and this natural bridge was entirely covered with pink,
+blue, and white flowers of the waxy orchid. This beautiful sight,
+however, was unnoticed by Harry and his father, for in the water at
+their feet was the object of their search, the Lattice or Lace leaf.
+
+[Illustration: MADAGASCAN DRINKING-CUP FORMED FROM A LEAF OF THE
+"TRAVELER'S TREE."]
+
+The lace-leaf plant, or fresh-water yam as it is sometimes called
+because of its potato-shaped or yam-like root, is found in many of the
+rivers of Madagascar. The difficulty of obtaining it, however, makes it
+a rare plant to Europeans; and when, a few days before, Mr. Steedman had
+recognized in some "roasted potatoes," as Harry called the
+pleasant-tasting vegetable that one of his boyish Madagascan friends had
+given him to eat, the edible root of the lace-leaf plant, the missionary
+had determined to make a careful search for the plant so prized by
+naturalists. And now at last he had found it, bobbing backward and
+forward in a fantastic dance just above the eddying waters of the
+beautiful forest river. As soon as they recognized it, both Mr. Steedman
+and his son were on the ground in an instant, and bending eagerly above
+the clear stream. The water was so pure and limpid that every pebble
+could be counted, and in the cool, bright current they saw, to their
+delight, a perfect labyrinth of lace-work. Dozens of lace-leaves, green,
+gold, olive, and brown, were floating just beneath the surface of the
+water.
+
+"Oh, Papa! did you ever see anything so lovely?" said Harry, excitedly.
+
+Mr. Steedman could take but a one-sided view of those wonderful leaves,
+as one glass from his spectacles had been lost during their rough
+journey; but the remaining glass fairly sparkled with satisfaction.
+
+"Ah, my son, this plant is both lovely and rare. See, the young leaves
+are light green and yellow; the older leaves are darker,--shades of
+green and olive. A few are even black, and all growing from the same
+root. How perfect is every leaf, in spite of its delicate texture! Some
+of those larger leaves must be ten or twelve inches long. The strong
+midrib in each serves as a support for the fragile threads forming the
+meshes on each side."
+
+Harry now plunged his hand into the lace-like web, half expecting it to
+dissolve in his grasp. But no! The wiry little yellow leaf which he
+raised from the water, was perfect in form, and a gleam of sunlight,
+falling upon the shining meshes, transformed them into threads of
+glistening gold.
+
+He now discovered, as he examined them carefully, that the under
+surfaces of the leaves, were glistening with little pearly bubbles of
+air.
+
+[Illustration: RAHEH, THE GUIDE.]
+
+"Oh, Papa," he cried, joyously holding the glistening meshes aloft, "the
+lace-leaves are jeweled!"
+
+"Yes, Harry," said his father, "those diamond drops are made by the
+breathing of the plant."
+
+Mr. Steedman attempted to detach a root of one of the plants from its
+bed of mud, but the little tendrils branching from it on every side held
+the root firmly in its place. At last he succeeded in extricating the
+little white threads, one by one, and removed the entire plant to the
+bank. Its root, which is eaten in Madagascar, was very like the ginger
+root, and had a tough, light-brown skin.
+
+Harry carefully placed the leaves of the plant in his herbarium, while
+his father packed the root, with its native soil, in a tin case,
+preparatory to sending it to the Botanical Society in London.
+
+"Harry," he said, as they finished their work, "this plant could be
+easily reared in our green-houses--heat and moisture being all that is
+required. But nature seems to have jealously surrounded these beautiful
+leaves with almost impassable barriers, and the lace-plant is
+comparatively unknown.
+
+"But come, my boy Raheh says '_maly-massandro_' (the sun is dead), and
+it will be as long as 'two cookings of rice' (two half hours) before we
+can be ferried across to yonder village and secure a place to pass the
+night."
+
+And so, after Raheh had given Harry one last drink from the clear, cool
+river, in the odd-looking leaf-cup he carried for the purpose, the tired
+but successful lace-leaf hunters crossed over to the Hova village and
+were soon fast asleep.
+
+
+
+
+THE CARICATURE PLANT.
+
+BY M. A.
+
+
+One of the most remarkable plants in the whole vegetable kingdom is that
+known to botanists as the _Justicia Picta_, which has also been well
+named "The Caricature Plant."
+
+At first sight, it appears to be a heavy, large-leafed plant, with
+purple blossoms, chiefly remarkable for the light-yellow centers of its
+dark-green leaves, which cause them to look as if some acid had been
+spilled upon them and taken the color out wherever it had touched.
+
+As I stood looking at this odd plant and thinking what a sickly,
+blighted appearance the queer, yellow stains gave it, I was suddenly
+impressed with the fact that the plant was "making faces" at me. Still,
+unaccustomed as I was to seeing plants indulge in this strictly human
+amusement, I was slow to believe it, and stooped to read the somewhat
+illegible inscription on the card below the plant--"_Justicia Picta_, or
+'Caricature Plant.'" My first impression was correct then. This curious
+shrub had indeed occupied itself in growing up in ridiculous caricatures
+of the "human face divine," until it now stood, covered from the topmost
+leaf down, with the queerest faces imaginable. Nature had taken to
+caricaturing. The flesh-colored profiles stood out in strong relief
+against the dark-green of the leaves.
+
+A discovery of one of these vegetable marks leads to an examination of a
+second and a third leaf, until all are scanned as closely and curiously
+as the leaves of the comic papers that form the caricature plants of
+the literary kingdom.
+
+What a valuable plant this would be for one of our professional
+caricaturists to have growing in his conservatory! When an order was
+sent to him for a "speaking likeness" of some unhappy politician, he
+could simply visit his _Justicia Picta_ with pencil and paper in hand,
+and look over the leaves for a suitable squint, grin, or distorted nose
+to sketch from. He could, moreover, affirm with truth that the portrait
+was "taken from nature." Cuthbert Collingwood, the celebrated
+naturalist, says of the _Justicia Picta_: "One of these plants in the
+garden of Gustave Dore would be worth a fortune to him, supplying him
+with a never-failing fund of grotesque physiognomies, from which he
+might illustrate every serio-comic romance ever written." I have never
+heard of the cultivation of the Caricature Plant in this country; but
+botanists tell us that it is a hardy shrub. I think we should be glad to
+see the funny faces on its leaves. After all the lovely flowers we are
+called upon to admire, I am sure that a plant evidently intended to make
+us laugh would receive a warm welcome from our young people.
+
+The Chinese appreciate the Caricature Plant, and in some parts of China
+it is quite extensively cultivated. Perhaps some of the funny, grinning
+faces on Chinese toys and ornaments are reproductions of the grotesque
+features on the leaves of the plant.
+
+Finally, I must assure any unbelieving readers of ST. NICHOLAS that
+neither in this account of a very remarkable plant, nor in the
+accompanying illustration, has the writer drawn upon imagination.
+
+[Illustration: THE CARICATURE PLANT.]
+
+The _Justicia Picta_ really exists. It is a native of the East Indies,
+and is a source of much amusement and curiosity to both botanists and
+travelers.
+
+
+
+
+VEGETABLE CLOTHING.
+
+BY C. J. RUSSELL.
+
+
+About two hundred years ago the governor of the island of Jamaica, Sir
+Thomas Lynch, sent to King Charles II. of England a vegetable necktie,
+and a very good necktie it was, although it had grown on a tree and had
+not been altered since it was taken from the tree. It was as soft and
+white and delicate as lace, and it is not surprising that the King
+should have expressed his doubts when he was told that the beautiful
+fabric had grown on a tree in almost the exact condition in which he saw
+it. It had been stretched a little, and that was all.
+
+But if King Charles was astonished to learn that neckties grew on trees
+in Jamaica, what must have been the feelings of a stranger traveling in
+Central America, on being told that mosquito-nets grew on trees in that
+country? He had complained to his host that the mosquitoes had nearly
+eaten him up the night before, and had been told in response that he
+should have a new netting put over his bed.
+
+Satisfied with this statement, the traveler was turning away, but his
+attention was arrested by his host's calmly continuing, "in fact, we are
+going to strip a tree anyhow, because there is to be a wedding on the
+estate, and we wish to have a dress ready for the bride."
+
+[Illustration: KING CHARLES'S VEGETABLE NECKTIE.]
+
+"You don't mean," said the traveler incredulously, "that
+mosquito-netting and bridal dresses grow on trees, do you?"
+
+"That is just what I mean," replied his host.
+
+"All right," said the stranger, who fancied a joke was being attempted
+at his expense, "let me see you gather the fruit and I will believe
+you."
+
+"Certainly," was the answer; "follow the men, and you will see that I
+speak the exact truth."
+
+Still looking for some jest, the stranger followed the two men who were
+to pluck the singular fruit, and stood by when they stopped at a rather
+small tree, bearing thick, glossy-green leaves, but nothing else which
+the utmost effort of the imagination could convert into the netting or
+the wedding garments. The tree was about twenty feet high and six inches
+in diameter, and its bark looked much like that of a birch-tree.
+
+"Is this the tree?" asked the stranger.
+
+"Yes, senor," answered one of the men, with a smile.
+
+"I don't see the mosquito-netting nor the wedding-dress," said the
+stranger, "and I can't see any joke either."
+
+"If the senor will wait a few minutes he will see all that was promised,
+and more too," was the reply. "He will see that this tree can bear not
+only mosquito-netting and wedding-dresses, but fish-nets and
+neck-scarfs, mourning crape or bridal veils."
+
+The tree was without more ado cut down. Three strips of bark, each about
+six inches wide and eight feet long, were taken from the trunk and
+thrown into a stream of water. Then each man took a strip while it was
+still in the water, and with the point of his knife separated a thin
+layer of the inner bark from one end of the strip. This layer was then
+taken in the fingers and gently pulled, whereupon it came away in an
+even sheet of the entire width and length of the strip of bark. Twelve
+sheets were thus taken from each strip of bark, and thrown into the
+water.
+
+A light broke in upon the stranger's mind. Without a doubt these strips
+were to be sewn together into one sheet. The plan seemed a good one and
+the fabric thus formed might do, he thought, if no better cloth could be
+had.
+
+The men were not through yet, however, for when each strip of bark had
+yielded its twelve sheets, each sheet was taken from the water and
+gradually stretched sidewise. The spectator could hardly believe his
+eyes. The sheet broadened and broadened until from a close piece of
+material six inches wide, it became a filmy cloud of delicate lace, over
+three feet in width. The astonished gentleman was forced to confess that
+no human-made loom ever turned out lace which could surpass in snowy
+whiteness and gossamer-like delicacy that product of nature.
+
+The natural lace is not so regular in formation as the material called
+illusion, so much worn by ladies in summer; but it is as soft and white,
+and will bear washing, which is not true of illusion. In Jamaica and
+Central America, this wonderful lace is put to all the uses mentioned by
+the native to our traveler, and to more uses besides. In fact, among the
+poorer people it supplies the place of manufactured cloth, which they
+can not afford to buy; and the wealthier classes do not by any means
+scorn it for ornamental use.
+
+Long before the white man found his way to this part of the world, the
+Indians had known and used this vegetable cloth; so that what was so new
+and wonderful to King Charles and Governor Sir Thomas Lynch was an old
+story to the natives. Some time after King Charles received his
+vegetable necktie, Sir Hans Sloane, whose art-collection and library
+were the foundation of the British Museum, visited Jamaica. He described
+the tree fully, and was the first person who told the civilized world
+about it. The tree is commonly called the lace-bark tree. Its botanical
+name is _Lagetto lintearia_.
+
+
+
+
+WOE TO THE FOREIGN DOLLY!
+
+[Illustration: THE PET GREYHOUND RESOLVES INDIGNANTLY THAT THE JAPANESE
+"MUST GO!"]
+
+
+
+
+ST. NICHOLAS DOG STORIES.
+
+
+X.--A CLEVER LITTLE YELLOW DOG.
+
+BY JOHN R. CORYELL.
+
+One cold winter night, not long ago, I took pity on a poor little
+dejected-looking yellow puppy, and invited him into my house. Having
+once taken him in, it was quite out of the question to think of turning
+him out again. I was not afraid that I might be robbing anybody, for he
+was the kind of dog that very few persons care to have. He was
+dirty-yellow in color, very lank of body, and he seemed to be made up of
+ill-assorted parts of different kinds of dogs. His legs, particularly,
+seemed intended for some other dog and acted as if they never would
+become reconciled to carrying the queer body to which they were joined.
+
+I should have preferred a handsome dog, but since I had no choice, I
+determined to do my duty by the little outcast, and to give him such an
+education that in the beauties of his mind the ugliness of his body
+would be overlooked.
+
+The first thing needed for him was a name; and I tried to think of
+something appropriate, but soon gave it up, and in default of a better
+title called him Bob. To teach him the name was easy. I merely called
+out the word "Bob!" every time I fed him. As it was important that he
+should learn to look to me as the source of all his happiness and
+instruction, I permitted no one else to feed him. It took him about a
+week to learn his name, and to recognize the fact that all the
+blandishments he could lavish on the cook would be of no avail, and that
+his only hope was in me.
+
+At the very outset, I had made up my mind that under no circumstances
+should he receive angry words or blows. He was a broken-spirited,
+affectionate little puppy, and I was resolved that if there was no way
+of teaching him except by brutality, he should remain ignorant all his
+life. The abject way in which, to this day, he runs from a child makes
+me feel sad. I fancy that much of his early life was spent in dodging
+stones or snow-balls thrown by boys--not cruel, but thoughtless boys.
+
+It was necessary to control him, and I quickly discovered an easy way.
+He was such a sensitive little fellow that when he once learned to love
+me, he seemed to know by the tones of my voice whether I was pleased
+with him, and to have me pleased seemed to be the one object of his
+life. Therefore, if I saw him doing anything wrong, I had only to say
+sharply and firmly, "No, Bob!" and down would go the tail and ears, and
+he would slink shame-facedly to his special corner and from there watch
+me until I would call him to me and pat his head.
+
+After a while, a quiet "No, Bob!" would effect the same result. This was
+a great victory, and made most of the subsequent teaching merely a
+matter of patience.
+
+The first real lesson was when I undertook to make him sit up. If he had
+only known what I wished him to do, he would gladly have done it; but
+the words "Sit up!" meant nothing to him. He was almost too willing, for
+when I took hold of him to put him into a sitting position, he became as
+limp as a wet rag, and seemed to be trying to put himself into a
+condition to be twisted into any shape I chose.
+
+Then I put him into a corner and set him up, saying continually, "Sit
+up! Sit up!" I held him up for a while and then took my hand away, but
+at once he collapsed as if all the stiffening had suddenly left his
+back-bone. Then I showed him a piece of sugar, of which he was very
+fond, and immediately he was himself again. Once more, and many times
+more, I put him in position in the corner, until at last, seemingly by
+accident, he failed to fall over when I took my hand away. I did not tax
+his endurance, but at once gave him the sugar.
+
+It took him about three days to grasp the idea that "sit up!" meant a
+special performance, and that to achieve it meant a lump of sugar. Then
+I put him through the same process in the middle of the room. He missed
+the support of the wall at first, and fell over; whereupon he looked
+foolish. One fact was evidently firmly fixed in his mind, however,--the
+fact that there was sugar to be had if only he could do as I wished him
+to do. All the time that he was struggling for balance, he kept his eye
+on the lump of sugar, which I had on the floor beside me. Finally that
+lesson was learned, and he could sit up if I would put him in position.
+He knew, too, what "sit up!" meant.
+
+After that, I would not feed him until he had first sat up; but it was a
+long time before he gained sufficient confidence in himself to sit up
+without help. At first I helped him up by both paws; then I helped by
+holding only one paw; then I merely touched one paw; then I only
+motioned, as if about to touch the paw; and finally I simply said, "Sit
+up!"
+
+I think Bob reasoned this all out in his own mind and concluded that
+there must be some strange and beautiful power in the words "sit up!"
+for he could see that whenever he did it, he had something to eat. I am
+obliged to confess that Bob loved to eat; and after he had learned to
+sit up, he was inclined to perform the feat morning, noon, and night,
+and it was, of course, impossible to make him go away without first
+giving him a morsel, however small, of food.
+
+[Illustration: AWAITING FURTHER ORDERS.]
+
+Lessons in standing up, walking and waltzing followed, and they were all
+easily taught. In teaching him anything, I was always careful to
+associate the action required of him with certain words. Standing,
+walking on his hind legs, and waltzing were always "stand up!" "walk!"
+"waltz about!" I never taught him more than one thing at a time, so that
+there should be no possibility of his misunderstanding the meaning of
+the word or words used.
+
+In teaching him to stand up, I first made him sit; then by holding a
+piece of sugar over his head, I induced him to stand erect,--while I
+kept repeating, "Stand up!" "Stand up!" After he had learned this
+lesson, I made him first sit, then stand, and then, by going from him
+and saying "Walk!" I made him follow me until he understood the
+connection between the words and the action, even when I was at the
+other end of the room. I taught him to "waltz" by making him go around
+and around after a piece of sugar held over his head when he was
+standing up.
+
+To make him go to his corner and lie down, without hurting his feelings,
+was difficult. If I said sharply, "Go to your corner and lie down!" he
+would go; but he would feel so badly that he could not play for half an
+hour. But by repeating the command in gradually softening tones and by
+giving him a piece of sugar each time, he eventually learned that he was
+not thereby in disgrace.
+
+Seeing, however, how a sharp word would make his ears and tail droop, I
+took advantage of this fact, and whenever he had done wrong I would
+always say "Naughty!" a dozen times over, until at last I had only to
+whisper "Naughty!"--and down would go those ensigns in a moment. On the
+other hand, if I said "Good dog!" he was immediately on the alert, ears
+up, head cocked to one side, and tail wagging, ready for any kind of
+sport.
+
+After he had learned to walk, I taught him to go slowly when I said
+"like a gentleman!" and quickly when I said "like a schoolboy!" To teach
+him these things required patience principally; but I found that to
+teach him some things taxed my ingenuity as well.
+
+I wished him to speak both softly and loudly; but how to make him do it
+puzzled me. For Bob seldom barked except when engaged in uproarious
+play, and at such times he was not susceptible to instruction. One day,
+however, he had been playing with a little rubber ball, running after it
+and bringing it to me until I was tired, a condition in which he never
+seemed to be.
+
+To stop the game I put my foot on the ball, and picked up a book to
+read. Bob waited a few moments to see what I was going to do, and
+finding I was not going to play, tried to push my foot away with his
+nose. Failing in that, he pulled with one paw. That also failed, and Bob
+was puzzled. He retired a few steps, placed his head between his
+forepaws on the floor and looked at me. I pretended not to see him,
+curious to know what he would do. He remained perfectly still for nearly
+a minute, and then, as if determined to attract my attention somehow, he
+barked.
+
+There was my clew; I gave him the ball at once. In a few moments I again
+placed my foot on the ball, and waited until I saw he was about to bark,
+when I said, "Shout! Shout!" He barked, and I gave him the ball. I
+repeated this several times a day, and day after day, until he learned
+to bark whenever he wanted the ball and I said "Shout!" Then I made him
+shout for his meals, and finally, he would "shout" whenever I told him
+to do so.
+
+[Illustration: "BOB" JUMPING.]
+
+To make him speak softly, I took advantage of a fashion he had of
+whining when he wished to go into the yard for a frolic. I would go to
+the door and say, "Want to go out?" Bob would at once respond by
+preparing to rush out the moment the door was opened. Then I would say,
+"Speak softly!" and keep repeating the words until he whined. After a
+while he would whine the moment I said, "Speak softly!"
+
+Another thing that I taught him was to fall down and lie motionless when
+I said, "Dead!" This I accomplished by taking hold of his forefeet in
+one hand and his hindfeet in the other, and suddenly dropping him on his
+side on the floor, as I said the word "Dead!" several times.
+
+At first, Bob thought I was playing some new game with him, and prepared
+for a good time, but I had only to say "No!" to him to make him sedate
+at once. By this time he had learned that when I repeated a thing
+several times, it was because he was to learn something; and the little
+fellow really seemed to try to understand what I wished him to do.
+
+After I had pulled his feet from under him a number of times, and had
+made him lie still until I said, "Alive!" I tried tapping a hindfoot and
+a forefoot, at the same time saying "Dead!" He was a long time learning
+this trick; and several times when I thought he had learned to do it
+when I simply tapped his feet, I was obliged to go back and pull his
+feet from under him. In time, however, he learned to fall the moment I
+touched the side of one hindfoot. From that to motioning at the foot,
+and finally, merely saying "Dead!" the progress was quick. To make him
+jump up, I always said "Alive!"
+
+To make him go "lame" was very easy. I tied a long string to one
+forefoot, and by saying, "Lame!" and at the same time making him walk,
+while I prevented him from putting the tied foot down, he soon learned
+to go on three legs.
+
+One of the funniest things he learned to do was to take his piece of
+carpet, shake it well, and put it back in its place. It was through an
+accident that I thought of teaching him to do this. I had been
+accustomed to shake out his carpet in the yard every morning. One
+morning I threw it on the grass to air. In a moment Bob had it in his
+mouth and was worrying it, shaking it, and growling. He was playing, but
+I saw that I could teach him something, and at once said, "Make your
+bed!" By repeating this, morning after morning, he at last learned to
+pick up his carpet, carry it out into the yard, shake it, and carry it
+back. I could never teach him to lay it down properly, however; he
+seemed to think it was as good in a heap as if nicely smoothed out.
+
+After I had taught Bob a number of tricks, I determined to write a play
+for him. I do not believe that any human actor ever had audiences more
+appreciative than his, when he performed in his "play." His little
+friends were always ready to give him sugar by the handful if I did not
+interfere, and Bob was always ready to take all that was offered. The
+"play" was nothing more than a simple little story into which were
+introduced the words which I used in commanding him to perform his
+various tricks. I would repeat the story, and when I came to a word of
+command, such as "dead," I would emphasize it so that Bob would at once
+do whatever he had been taught to do at the sound of that word. The play
+I wrote was about as follows:--
+
+"Once upon a time there was a little dog named _Bob_ [here Bob would run
+to me, and wait expectantly]. Usually he was a very _good dog_ [wag,
+wag, would go his tail], but once in a while he was very _naughty_ [down
+would drop ears and tail]. When he was a _good dog_ [happy again], he
+would _sit up_ and show any little boy or girl how to behave. At such
+times, he would _speak softly_ [prolonged whine], as a polite dog
+should, though once in a while he would become excited, and _shout,
+shout, shout_ [furious barking], as impolite children are sometimes apt
+to do.
+
+"When a lady entered the room where he was, he would always _stand_ up,
+ready to give her his chair if she wished it; or if she preferred to go
+into the garden or the street, he would go with her and _walk like a
+gentleman_. When he played, however, he could run _like a schoolboy_.
+But once he was in the ball-room, he could _waltz about_ as well as the
+best dancer there.
+
+"If any one ever said to him, '_go to your corner and lie down_' he
+would do so at once like the well bred dog he was. But he was always
+obedient and would come immediately as soon as one said _Bob_.
+
+"I was very sorry to hear one day that this remarkable dog was _dead_. I
+felt so badly that I went to his house, but was pleasantly surprised
+when I reached there, to find that he was very much _alive_."
+
+[Illustration: FETCH BRINGS IN THE PERVERSE COW.]
+
+What will be the limit of Bob's education I do not know, for he
+continues to learn with increasing ease every day. In addition to all
+that has been described, he can now, at the proper order of command,
+sneeze, catch a piece of meat from his nose at the word "three," jump
+over a cane, turn a somersault, and play tag.
+
+
+XI.--A DOG THAT COULD COUNT.
+
+BY E. P. ROE.
+
+Old Fetch was a shepherd dog and lived in the Highlands of the Hudson.
+His master kept nearly a dozen cows, and they ranged at will among the
+hills during the day. When the sun was low in the west, his master would
+say to his dog, "Bring the cows home"; and it was because the dog did
+this task so well, that he was called Fetch. He would run to a flat rock
+and hold his ear down close to it, having learned that he could thus
+catch the far-off tinkle of the cow-bells better than in any other way.
+If he could not hear them he would range about until he did, and then he
+was off like a shot in the direction of the sound.
+
+One sultry day he departed as usual upon his evening task. From
+scattered, shady, and grassy nooks, he at last gathered all the cattle
+into a mountain road, leading to the distant barnyard.
+
+Switching off the flies with their tails, the cows jogged slowly
+homeward, the tinkle of their bells gradually becoming more and more
+distinct to the milkmaid who was awaiting them. One of the cows was
+known to be a little perverse, and on that evening she gave fresh
+evidence of willfulness. One part of the road ran through a low, moist
+spot bordered by a thicket of black alder, and into this the cow pushed
+her way, and stood quietly. The others passed on, followed some distance
+in the rear by Fetch. He was panting from his exertions in the hot
+evening, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he slowly and languidly
+pursued his way.
+
+Indeed he had quite discarded his usual vigilance, and the perverse cow
+took advantage of it.
+
+As the cows approached the barnyard gate, he quickened his pace, and
+hurried forward, as if to say, "I'm here, attending to business." But
+his complacency was disturbed as the cows filed through the gate. He
+whined a little, and growled a little, attracting his master's
+attention. Then he went to the high fence surrounding the yard, and
+standing on his hindfeet peered between two of the rails. After looking
+at the herd carefully for a time, he started off down the road again on
+a full run. His master now observed that one of the cows was missing,
+and he sat down on a rock to see what Fetch was going to do about it.
+Before very long he heard the furious tinkling of a bell, and soon Fetch
+appeared bringing in the perverse cow at a rapid pace, hastening her on
+by frequently leaping up and catching her ear in his teeth. The gate was
+again thrown open, and the cow, shaking her head from the pain of the
+dog's rough reminders, was led through it in a way that she did not soon
+forget. Fetch looked after her a moment with the air of one remarking to
+himself, "You'll not try that trick again," and then he lay down quietly
+to cool off in time for supper.
+
+
+XII.--A CLEVER SHEEP DOG.
+
+A recent English writer tells the following story of an ingenious
+sheep-dog that, when the flock took a wrong road, would turn them back
+without worrying them. His owner had hesitated for some time before he
+made up his mind to have a dog, as he had often seen dogs ill-use the
+poor sheep. But believing that in most cases the dogs' harshness toward
+the sheep was due to bad training, and not to their naturally evil
+dispositions, he resolved to make trial of one. The dog he procured was
+young; and he trained it after his own ideas. He soon found the docile
+creature a very useful helper in driving a flock from one pasture to
+another. The sheep often took a wrong turn, and then scampered off as
+fast as they could go. At such times, most shepherds who had dogs were
+accustomed to send the dog after the flock, at the top of its speed. Of
+course, it soon overtook them, but the sheep were often much frightened,
+and not infrequently hurt by falling down or by rushing against one
+another. To prevent this, the shepherd mentioned would order his dog
+"Smart" to go to the other side of the hedge, saying, "Now, go ahead,
+and bring 'em back!" Smart would promptly obey, and would noiselessly
+run along behind the hedge, sometimes even climbing a little slope by
+the roadway, whence he could overlook the flock and see just where each
+sheep was moving. As soon as Smart, by peeping over or through the
+hedge, had satisfied himself that he was ahead of all the sheep, he
+would come coolly out of the hedge and bring them back down the lane so
+gently as not to cause them the least alarm. Smart never attempted to
+get ahead of a flock in the way common to most of the dogs in that
+vicinity,--by rushing past them and frightening them; but looking at his
+master and wagging his tail, he would cross the hedge, overtake them,
+and quietly drive them back into the right road.
+
+
+XIII.--A STORY OF TWO BUCKETS.
+
+BY CHARLOTTE M. VAILE.
+
+There they were hanging, one of them out of sight in the cool, deep
+water, and the other swinging empty in the sunshine, as Daisy Hadley and
+her dog Bruno came up to the well. The little girl and the big dog had
+been rambling about all the morning, following the brook through fields
+of sunflowers and poppies, or climbing the rocks on the sides of the
+mountains; but they were tired and thirsty now, and Daisy looked
+wistfully at the empty bucket, wishing she were strong enough to pull it
+down and bring the other, full and dripping, up in its place.
+
+"Bruno," she said reproachfully, "I wish you could draw me some water."
+Bruno was a great, shaggy Newfoundland, that had been Daisy's play-mate
+ever since she could remember. He was a wonderful dog. Daisy herself
+would have told you that there were only a few things he could not do,
+but unfortunately managing that well was one of them. So there was no
+help for it, and Daisy was turning reluctantly away when she caught
+sight of Mr. Paul Gregg, one of the other summer boarders in the Park.
+
+[Illustration: "A CLEVER SHEEP DOG." (SEE PRECEDING PAGE.)]
+
+If he had not come up just then, there would have been no story to tell,
+and the buckets might have gone up and down in the well to this day
+without taking part in any more remarkable event. But he _did_ come up;
+and Daisy's face brightened, for they were great friends, though she was
+only a little girl in the Kindergarten, and he was a tall young student.
+He stopped when Daisy said she wanted some water; and putting down his
+botanical box, he began to draw some gloves over his rather soft hands.
+
+"I don't like this kind of a well at all," said Daisy. "It isn't half as
+nice as the one at my grandfather's. _That_ had only one bucket, with a
+rope that went 'round and 'round a great roller; and there was a handle
+that I could turn myself."
+
+"This is a very old and respectable kind of a well, though," said Mr.
+Gregg, taking hold of the rope. "There must have been such wells as long
+ago as Shakspere's time."
+
+"How do you know?" asked Daisy, who was sure that Shakspere lived a
+great while ago, though she could not have told when.
+
+"Shakspere, you know, Daisy," said Mr. Gregg, "was a great poet who
+lived hundreds of years ago, and in a play he wrote, called 'King
+Richard II.,' he tells about just such a well as this. Richard was one
+of the kings of England, and a very unlucky king he was, though I can't
+deny that he brought his troubles on himself, for he was anything but a
+wise and prudent ruler. At last his cousin Prince Henry raised a great
+army and forced Richard to give up the crown. Poor King Richard did not
+show much spirit when his troubles came; but, according to Shakspere, he
+made a very neat speech, when his clever cousin Henry told him that he
+had decided to become King himself. Among other things, Richard said
+that the crown he must give up was
+
+                          'Like a deep well
+    That owns two buckets filling one another;
+    The emptier ever dancing in the air,
+    The other down, unseen, and full of water;
+    That bucket down, and full of tears, am I,
+    Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.'"
+
+While Mr. Gregg was talking, the buckets in the well had changed places.
+The one which had swung in the air so lightly at first had gone down out
+of sight, and the other had come up ready to be emptied and to take its
+place in the sunshine.
+
+Mr. Gregg paused now as he poured out some of the water. Daisy was
+silent too, trying to understand it all.
+
+"What became of King Richard?" she asked presently.
+
+"He died in prison," said Mr. Gregg. "Some say his cousin Henry, who
+took his place as king, had him put to death; and now," he added,
+turning away from the well, "I think that I will see if your mother is
+ready to go to dinner with us."
+
+Then he turned toward the cottage and left Daisy standing by the well.
+She had not understood it all, but she felt very sorry for the unhappy
+king, and she thought she knew why he said he was like the bucket in the
+deep, dark water when he sank under his grief and shame never to see any
+more bright days.
+
+She was leaning on the side of the well, with her hand upon the rope,
+thinking very earnestly of it all and trying to catch a glimpse of the
+bucket that was hanging there in the dark, when something dreadful
+happened. Before she knew it, she had leaned over too far. She lost her
+balance and fell over the side of the well. Down, down went the bucket,
+more swiftly than it had ever gone before, and with it, but holding
+desperately to the rope, went Daisy! There was only time for one
+terrible cry--and she was out of sight in the well!
+
+There was no one there to save her,--Yes, there was Bruno! He heard the
+cry. He saw his little friend go down, and with a bark that rang across
+to the mountains, he rushed to the well. He leaped frantically against
+the low wooden side just as the bucket which had been in the water rose
+even with its edge. Somehow he managed to fling his heavy paws on it,
+then his whole body, and then, all at once, it was Bruno that was going
+down, down, but clinging to the bucket and howling as he went,--and
+Daisy was coming up!
+
+It was only for a minute, therefore, that Daisy was in the water. The
+next moment, thanks to the sudden pull at the other end of the rope, she
+was rising again; and just as Bruno, loosened his hold of the bucket,
+and dropped heavily into the water, Mr. Paul Gregg reached the side of
+the well, seized the rope and drew Daisy to the top, gasping, shivering,
+and frightened almost to death.
+
+As soon as Daisy could speak, she said, "Save Bruno!" But they had
+already begun to do that, and they did save him, of course. The brave
+old fellow was none the worse for his adventure. He dried himself in the
+sunshine, and then lay down beside the rocking-chair where Daisy sat
+folded in a soft wrap, with vaseline on her blistered hands.
+
+Daisy was none the worse for it either, in the end; though at first,
+when her mother asked her how it happened and she tried to say something
+about a "poor king," and "a bucket-full of tears," the poor lady was
+afraid the plunge had affected her daughter's mind, and to this day she
+is in doubt whether Shakspere or King Henry or Mr. Paul Gregg was
+responsible for the accident.
+
+One thing however, was clear. It was Bruno who had saved her. Had he
+really meant to go down with the bucket and rescue her? Daisy never had
+a doubt of it herself. For the rest of the season he was the hero of the
+Park. The summer guests bought him a silver collar beautifully engraved,
+and Mr. Paul Gregg declared that he should propose his name as an
+honorary member of the Humane Society.
+
+But Bruno's head was not turned with all those honors. He rambled
+through the fields with Daisy as he had done before, and when she put
+her arms around his neck, and said that he should be her dearest friend
+forever, he was happier than if his collar had been made of gold, or
+than if he had been elected president of the Humane Society.
+
+
+
+
+THE SMALLEST CIRCUS IN THE WORLD.
+
+BY C. F. HOLDER.
+
+
+[Illustration: THE "GO-AS-YOU-PLEASE" RACE, AS SEEN THROUGH A MAGNIFYING
+GLASS. (SEE PAGE 535.)]
+
+In a former number of ST. NICHOLAS the largest circus in the world was
+described, and the curious animal actors were shown in many of their
+tricks and performances. We now wish to exhibit another circus, the
+smallest in the world, the performers in which, numbering several
+hundreds, could all be carried about in a cherry-stone--in fact, a
+circus of fleas, of such remarkable intelligence that in their various
+feats they were quite equal to many of the larger trained animals with
+which we are familiar.
+
+But before showing what the flea can do, let us look at its antecedents.
+We know that it is a wingless fly,--a cousin to the house-flies on one
+side, and to the crane-flies on the other; and a more knightly-looking
+little creature you can not possibly imagine. Under the microscope we
+see it covered with a rich polished armor resembling tortoise-shell. The
+head is small, and supports two _antennae_ or feelers, composed of five
+joints, and between these is the proboscis, a terrible affair. Upon
+close examination with a powerful glass, what an array of piercing and
+cutting blades are seen,--long, narrow, transparent knives, each edge
+armed with a double row of glistening points that extend outward and
+then are hooked backward! These are known as the mandibles, and fit
+closely together, concealing another and smaller blade that has a
+similar but single row of points. Besides all this, there are two
+cutting-blades; the under edges are as sharp as sharp can be, while the
+upper are thick and set with bristles. Do you wonder then that the flea
+is so sharp a biter?
+
+On its armored head are two large eyes; and the entire body is seen to
+be made up of a series of elastic armor-like bands wonderfully jointed,
+and armed with bristling spines like the steel points on the armor of
+olden times. The legs are six in number, jointed in so remarkable a
+manner that they can be folded up one within another. When the flea
+makes its prodigious leaps, these six legs all unfold at once, hurling
+the little fellow high into the air.
+
+The baby flea is produced from a minute egg that in six days hatches
+into a tiny worm. In about ten days, the worm changes into a chrysalis,
+and in twelve days more it appears a perfect flea, ready for warfare
+upon anything or anybody.
+
+Who first discovered that the flea was susceptible to education and kind
+treatment is not known; but the fact remains that on their small heads
+there is a thinking-cap capable of accomplishing great results. In the
+selection of fleas for training, however, the same care must be taken as
+with human beings, as the greatest difference is found in them. Some are
+exceedingly apt scholars, while others never can learn, and so it is
+that great numbers of fleas are experimented with before a troupe is
+accepted. The Flea Circus here described was exhibited a few years ago
+and was composed of about two hundred of the most distinguished and
+intelligent fleas in the entire family.
+
+One of the first lessons taught the flea, is to control its jumping
+powers, for if its great leaps should be taken in the middle of a
+performance, there would be a sudden ending to the circus. To insure
+against such a misfortune, the student flea is first placed in a glass
+phial, and encouraged to jump as much as possible. Every leap here made
+brings the polished head of the flea against the glass, hurling the
+insect back, and throwing it this way and that, until, after a long and
+sorry experience, and perhaps many head-aches, it makes up its mind
+never to unfold its legs suddenly again. When it has proved this by
+refusing to jump in the open air, the first and most important lesson is
+complete, and it joins the troupe, and is daily harnessed and trained,
+until, finally, it is pronounced ready to go on the stage or in the
+ring.
+
+The famous Flea Circus was placed on an ordinary table, and resembled in
+size and shape a common dinner plate. A rim several inches high
+encircled the outer edge, and around the circle stood a number of small
+wooden boxes--the houses of the performers, and the stables for their
+carriages. The signal being given, the audience, consisting of one human
+being, would take in hand the large magnifying glass, hold it over the
+ring, and the performance would begin. At the word of command from the
+director, a very jolly, red-faced old gentleman, armed with a pair of
+pincers, a tiny trap-door in one of the wooden houses sprang open and a
+number of fleas filed out. They passed around the circle in a dignified
+manner, appearing through the glass about as large as wasps or bees.
+Each flea had a gold cord about its waist, and this was the grand entry
+always seen at the circus. Having completed the circuit, they returned
+to their quarters, and the performance proper commenced. Five fleas,
+each adorned with a different color, stepped from another house, and
+after running about here and there, and being admonished by the
+director, ranged themselves in a line, and at the word "go!" started on
+a rush around the circle; running into each other, rolling over and
+over, and making frantic leaps over one another. Only after half the
+course had been gone over, did they move in regular order, and strive
+fairly for the goal. In another moment, a large flea would have won the
+race had not two laggards almost at the last instant, as if made
+reckless by their evident risk of defeat, taken a desperate leap and
+landed far beyond the winning-post. Forthwith they were taken up in the
+pincers, and placed in solitary confinement in the glass phial, where it
+was supposed they had learned not to jump.
+
+[Illustration: THE DANCE.]
+
+A dance was next announced and at a signal from the manager there came
+tumbling out from the third house probably the most ludicrous band of
+performers ever witnessed. Each dancer was in full regalia, like the
+ladies who ride the padded horses in the regular circus, their dresses
+of tissue paper being ornamented with purple, gold, and red hues. The
+glass was placed in position, the spectator looked through it, the
+performers were lifted in by the pincers, and the dance began--a mixture
+of the Highland-fling, the sailor's hornpipe, and a "regular"
+break-down.
+
+[Illustration: THE HURDLE-RACE.]
+
+The little creatures bobbed up and down, now on one claw, now on all
+six, hopping, leaping, bowing, and scraping, moving forward and back,
+bumping into one another, now up, now down, until they seemed utterly
+exhausted, and several that had fallen down, and were kept by their
+voluminous skirts from getting up, had to be carried off by the aid of
+the ever-ready pincers.
+
+Next came a hurdle-race. Hurdles of thin silver wire were arranged, over
+which two fleas were supposed to leap. One, however, was evidently very
+lazy or very cunning, as it won the last race by crawling under the
+wire.
+
+A clown flea now appeared in the ring, and crawled about in a comical
+manner with a white clown's cap on its diminutive head. A moment later
+out came a number of fleas all harnessed with gold wire trappings, and
+the several vehicles were taken from the stables. There was a tally-ho
+coach, smaller than a very small pea, an Eskimo sled, about a quarter of
+an inch long, with wire runners, a trotting sulky, evidently made from
+hair or bristles, and other gorgeous equipages. The tally-ho team of
+four frantic fleas, evidently fiery steeds, was harnessed to the coach,
+and on the top were placed four phlegmatic fleas that had probably been
+booked as outsiders, while the insides were two others fleas, which, we
+are sorry to say, were obliged to get in through the window, and acted
+very much as if they wished to get out again. The other vehicles were
+each provided with a steed and rider, and then all were drawn up in a
+row. At the word of command, off they started pell-mell! The tally-ho
+leaders evidently jumped their traces at first, but finally they were
+off with a rush, running over the clown, knocking off his hat, and, for
+the moment, creating a dreadful panic. The sled team threw its driver,
+and the sulky ran away, the flea trotter actually leaping into the air,
+sulky and all. But order was soon restored, and as the track was
+arranged on the downhill principle, the racers made rapid time. In two
+minutes the circuit was completed, the tally-ho coming in ahead,
+without, however, its outside passengers, who were thrown off as the
+coach was rounding the curve, and at once crawled into the nearest place
+of refuge.
+
+[Illustration: SIGNOR PULEX IRRITANICI ON THE TIGHT-ROPE.]
+
+The last act of this wonderful circus was perhaps the best. The manager
+arranged the stage by placing two very fine entomological pins about
+four inches apart, connecting them by a slender silver wire, and then
+announced that Signor _Pulex Irritanici_, the world-renowned tight-rope
+performer, would attempt his wonderful feat of dancing upon the wire at
+a "dizzy height" (compared to the size of the performer). The Signor was
+then brought out in a small bottle of cut-glass; his only ornament was a
+little jacket of tissue-paper. When fished out and placed upon the
+pin-head, he boldly started out upon the wire over which his little
+clawed toes seemed to fit. In the middle, and over the terrific abyss,
+he balanced up and down for a second, stood upon his longest legs, and
+then moved on, crossing in safety, and thus ending the circus, at least
+for that occasion.
+
+
+
+
+ROCK-A-BYE.
+
+BY MARY N. PRESCOTT.
+
+
+    "Rock-a-bye, babies, upon the tree-top,"
+        To her young the mother-bird sings,
+    "When the wind's still, the rocking will stop,
+        And then you may all use your wings."
+
+    "Rock-a-bye, babies, under the eaves,"
+        The swallow croons to her brood,
+    "Here you are safer, my children, from thieves
+        Than if I had built in the wood."
+
+    "Rock-a-bye, babies, the river runs deep,"
+        The reed-bird trills to her flock,
+    "The river stirs only to sing you to sleep,
+        The wind your green cradle to rock!"
+
+
+
+
+WHAT BERTIE SAW IN THE FLOWERS.
+
+BY L. G. R.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+    Buttercup! Buttercup!
+    Hold your shining clusters up!
+    In each little house of gold,
+    What is this that I behold?
+    Twenty soldiers, straight and slim,
+    Golden-helmeted and prim.
+    All day long so still they stand,
+    Never turning head or hand;
+    No one guesses where they stray
+    In the moonlight nights of May.
+    When the fairies are abroad,
+    These small men keep watch and ward;
+    Round the fairy ring they pace
+    All night long, to guard the place;
+    But when morning comes again,
+    Back are all the little men.
+
+
+
+
+KEEPING THE CREAM OF ONE'S READING.
+
+BY MARGARET MEREDITH.
+
+
+My plan dates from a few delightful weeks which I spent with a girl
+friend, long ago. We were devoted to poetry and to reading aloud; and in
+that occupation we had the aid of a brilliant, accomplished young woman.
+She selected for us from Coleridge, Shelley, and several other authors,
+whose entire works she knew we would not care to read, all the specially
+fine poems or passages, and these we read and discussed with her over
+our fancy-work. It was charming. At last, she suggested that, as I was
+soon to go away and leave the books and clippings with which I had been
+growing familiar, it would be helpful for me to write down the choicest
+bits, and try in that way to keep in some degree what I had gained. This
+I did, putting the extracts in a school copy-book which our friend
+dubbed "Snippers,"--from an odd seamstress word which she had picked up
+by chance.
+
+Other "snipper" books followed when that one, years after, had been
+filled.
+
+My system is an orderly one. All my books are broad-paged and
+wide-lined, thus preventing the cramped and crowded writing which often
+makes such books unreadable. When I find anything which strikes me as
+worth keeping, I note on a slip of paper, somewhat longer than the book
+I am reading, the number of the page and make a perpendicular line
+beneath it, with a cross line indicating the relative position of the
+sentence which I wish to keep, thus:
+
+[Illustration: 23]
+
+If the page is in columns, I make, instead of the single line, a rough
+parallelogram, and note within it by square dots the relative positions
+of the sentences chosen for preservation, thus:
+
+[Illustration: 187]
+
+This slip of paper I use as a book-mark until it is filled or the book
+is finished, noting upon it, as indicated, the choicest passages and
+their positions on the pages. When I have finished the book I go
+carefully over these selected sentences. Many are discarded; the rest go
+into my "snippers." Below the first entry and to the right, I place the
+name of the book and its author, both heavily underscored; below the
+others, the word "Ibid" or "ditto," underscored. At the top of each page
+I note the year, and at the head of each batch of extracts the month or
+day.
+
+Paragraphs cut from newspapers, which are worth saving, are pasted as a
+fly-leaf to the inner edge of the page, or even slipped under the
+binding thread.
+
+In carrying out my plan I am always content with hasty work,--but I
+write plainly, and if possible with ink, as much fingering destroys
+pencil-marks. I once tried classifying the extracts, but this scarcely
+paid for the trouble.
+
+I used sometimes to wonder whether these books of selections were of any
+real value. But I have grown now to prize them greatly. Many a time I go
+to them for a dimly remembered phrase or passage. Sometimes, too, I read
+them over, for of course they give me the essence of what I most like
+and admire in my reading. A short time since I lent one to a literary
+friend, and was surprised to find she enjoyed it so greatly that she was
+almost unwilling to give it back.
+
+I am very glad that I began this practice in my young days. It gives
+very little trouble, and that little is a pleasure.
+
+There is a familiar expression about an "embarrassment of riches." This
+is the greatest disappointment I experience with my "snippers." For,
+occasionally, a book has too many good things in it to be easily copied,
+and then my only relief is to own it and, marking it vol. _X_, add it to
+my row of extract-books.
+
+[Illustration: THE END]
+
+
+
+
+WONDERS OF THE ALPHABET.
+
+BY HENRY ECKFORD.
+
+
+THIRD PAPER.
+
+Perhaps you have never given a thought to the fact that, because you
+were born into a nation using an alphabet that came down from the
+Phoenicians, you are saved a world of trouble. But consider the Chinese.
+If a Chinese boy and an American boy begin to learn their letters at the
+same time, each studying his own writing, then by the time the American
+is ten years old he has advanced as far in the use of letters as the
+Chinese boy will have advanced in the use of his when he is twenty years
+old. That is the same as saying that Chinese writing is three or four
+times as hard to learn as English. Think of spending the years between
+ten and twenty in learning to read! On the other hand, the long
+apprenticeship of Chinese and Japanese boys to their letters does them
+good in one way. They paint their letters with a brush on soft paper. By
+this means they learn very early to be skillful with the brush, which is
+one reason why Chinese and Japanese artists are so very dexterous with
+their brushes.
+
+All writing, let it be remembered, must have begun with pictures. It is
+largely Chinese writing which has explained how all sorts of letters
+were gradually changed from pictures to an alphabet, in which hardly a
+single letter tells from what picture it started. The Japanese tongue is
+quite different from the Chinese. But the use by the Japanese of signs
+employed ages before by the Chinese explains another step in the
+progress of language. The writing of the Mexican Indians also helps us
+to understand the growth of alphabets. When, ages ago, the Chinese began
+to write, they drew little pictures of the things they wished to
+represent, as did the Egyptians before them in their picture-writing;
+and from picture-writing they made some advance in the direction of
+sound-writing, or rebuses. Then the little rebus-pictures were so much
+altered that it became very difficult to see what they once meant.
+
+Now Chinese is a queer language. All its words are only one syllable
+long. But the sounds in the Chinese language are not very many, some
+four hundred and sixty-five at most, and their written language contains
+about eighty thousand pictures, each picture representing a thing or
+idea. And these pictures must be committed to memory. This is hard work,
+and not even the wisest Chinese professor can learn them all. But now
+comes a difficulty. For, of course, where there are so many words and
+so few sounds, many different words have to be called by the same sound.
+How then are they to tell, when several different things have exactly
+the same name which of them is meant?
+
+[Illustration: REBUS-PICTURES FROM THE OLD CHINESE, SHOWING THE
+BEGINNINGS OF PICTURE-WRITING.
+
+1. A Month. (From a picture of the moon.) 2. The Eye. 3. A Horse. 4. An
+Ax. 5. Rain. 6. Face. 7. A Dragon. 8. Bamboo. 9. Rhinoceros. 10. Dawn.
+(From the rising sun.)]
+
+We have such words. For instance, there is Bill, the name of a boy; and
+bill, the beak of a bird; there is bill, an old weapon, and bill, a
+piece of money; there is bill, an article over which legislatures
+debate, and bill, a claim for payment of money; besides bills of
+exchange, bills of lading, and so forth. But Chinese is full of such
+words of a single syllable, _yen_, for instance, which, like bill, means
+many very different things. So they chose a number of little pictures,
+and agreed that these should be used as "keys." The Chinese "keys" were
+used like the Egyptian "determinative signs," of which I told you. Each
+"key" meant that the sign or signs near which it stood belonged to some
+large general set of things, like things of the vegetable, mineral, or
+animal kingdom, forests, mines, or seas, air, or water, or of persons,
+like gods or men. It was like the game called Throwing Light, in which
+you guess the article by narrowing down the field until certain what it
+is.
+
+But there Chinese writing stopped short, thousands of years ago. There
+it is to-day. There are now two hundred and fourteen of these "keys,"
+and, by intense application, Chinamen learn to use their method with
+surprising quickness and success.
+
+The Japanese acted toward Chinese writing much as the Phoenicians did
+toward Egyptian writing. The Japanese, a very intelligent people, made
+what you have learned to know as a syllabary, out of signs taken from
+the Chinese symbols. It is called a syllabary, you remember, because
+each sign stood in their language for a syllable. They had to do this,
+because, while Chinese is all short syllables, Japanese is a language of
+much longer words even than ours. They cut down and simplified the
+Chinese signs, giving them names of their own. In this way they manage
+to write very swiftly. And, while not so clumsy as the Chinese fashion,
+the Japanese method is clumsier than is the use of an alphabet. In late
+years, a society has been started in Japan to do away altogether with
+their old-time writing, and adopt our alphabet.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
+
+Perhaps, by this time, you are beginning to see how very slowly
+alphabets have grown, and how hard it has been for human beings to
+perfect them. Knowing this, will you not look now with more interest on
+written and printed words? When you see letters, will you not reflect
+what a history each one has, reaching far back into the remotest past,
+where at first all seems dark, and where, when light does come, the very
+number and variety of materials perplex the student of alphabets?
+Moreover, will you not feel ashamed of people who laugh or sneer at
+savage nations who have no sound-writing, no syllabary, no alphabet? It
+does not mean that in such races all men are stupid. As a rule it means
+simply that the race has not had a fair chance. It has been racked by
+wars. Or it has never come in contact peacefully with some nation that
+used a method of writing a trifle better than its own, so that the
+brighter minds could establish schools of learning. When one nation
+conquers another, the higher and cleverer minds among the conquered are
+often the first to be destroyed. The best of our Indians of North and
+South America seem to have been the first to fall in battle with the
+whites, or to have died off because of their cruelty. The reason why the
+others, who lived with or near the white settlers, did not readily
+borrow our way of writing in their turn, as we had borrowed from the
+Romans, the Romans from the Greeks and Phoenicians, and the latter from
+the Egyptians, seems to be that our system was too far advanced for
+them. But if the first white settlers in Central and South America had
+been kind and wise men, instead of coarse and greedy people, they could
+have found tribes and nations almost as advanced in their mode of
+writing as the Japanese, though not the equals of the Japanese in
+architecture and the fine arts. These tribes could have learned our
+alphabet if care had been taken to instruct their superior men. It is
+certain that the Aztecs, or Mexican Indians, had advanced very far on
+the road to a true alphabet. When the cruel Spaniards arrived and upset
+their governments, destroyed their temples, massacred, enslaved and then
+shamefully neglected them, they had already reached the art of
+rebus-writing. The name of the Mexican King, Knife-Snake, or, Itz-Coatl
+was written in this way: Itzli means knives, and Coatl, snake. There, in
+Fig. 1, is the snake, and on his back are knives made of flint. They
+even went farther. The same name, Itz-Coatl, was also written as in Fig.
+2. The flint-headed arrow means _Itz_; the jar, called _Comitl_, stands
+for _Co_; and the branch, a picture of water in drops, stands for _atl_,
+water. And it has been asserted that certain neighbors of the Aztecs or
+Mexicans, known as the Maya Indians of Yucatan, who were ancient people
+of Central America, left ruins of cities covering square miles of forest
+and plain, and had reached nearly if not quite to the invention of an
+alphabet of vowels and consonants. But the latest authorities agree that
+such a Maya alphabet as the Spaniards reported may have been invented
+after the whites arrived. Specimens of Maya writing may be seen in
+Washington, at the Smithsonian Institute, on slabs and on paper casts
+taken from their idols or statues of kings and priests. It was not by
+the Maya system, but by one of rebuses, that the old missionaries wrote
+what few books they composed for their unhappy Indian congregations.
+Only lately a book composed in picture-writing throughout, was printed
+for the Mikmak Indians of Newfoundland.
+
+In the next paper we will endeavor to trace the road by which our
+English alphabet came down from the Phoenicians, that ancient folk of
+the palm-tree and the Red Sea, whose alphabet you saw in the first paper
+of this series.
+
+     The illustrations of this article are reproduced, by
+     permission, from a notable French work on ancient
+     Hieroglyphics by Prof. L. De Rosny, of Paris.
+
+
+
+
+BUBBLE BOWLING
+
+BY ADELIA B. BEARD.
+
+
+"Nothing new in bubbles! Every one knows how to blow bubbles!" Of course
+they do, and yet, the game I am about to describe is an entirely new and
+a very interesting one.
+
+When the game of Bubble Bowling was played for the first time, it
+furnished an evening's entertainment, not only for the children, but for
+grown people also; even a well known General and his staff, who graced
+the occasion with their presence, joined in the sport, and seemed to
+enjoy it equally with their youthful competitors. Loud was the chorus of
+"Bravo!" and merry the laugh of exultation when the pretty crystal ball
+passed safely through its goal; and sympathy was freely expressed in
+many an "Oh!" and "Too bad!" as the wayward bubble rolled gayly off
+toward the floor, or, reaching the goal, dashed itself against one of
+the stakes and instantly vanished into thin air.
+
+Bubble parties are delightful, as most children know from experience,
+and it is unnecessary, therefore, to give a description of them here. I
+propose merely to introduce bubble bowling as a feature in these
+entertainments, which will furnish no end of amusement and jollity, and
+add increased enjoyment and variety to the programme.
+
+The game should be played upon a long, narrow table, made simply of a
+board five feet long and eighteen inches wide, resting upon ordinary
+wooden "horses." On top of the table, and at a distance of twelve inches
+from one end, should be fastened in an upright position, two stakes
+twelve inches high; the space between the stakes should be eight inches,
+which will make each stand four inches from the nearest edge of the
+table. When finished, the table must be covered with some sort of woolen
+cloth; an old shawl or a breadth of colored flannel will answer the
+purpose excellently. Small holes must be cut at the right distance for
+the stakes to pass through. The cloth should be allowed to fall over the
+edge of the table, and must not be fastened down, as it will sometimes
+be necessary to remove it in order to let it dry. It will be found more
+convenient, therefore, to use two covers, if they can be provided, as
+there can then always be a dry cloth ready to replace the one that has
+become too damp. The bubbles are apt to stick when they come upon wet
+spots, and the bowling can be carried on in a much more lively manner if
+the course is kept dry. Each of the stakes forming the goal should be
+wound with bright ribbons of contrasting colors, entwined from the
+bottom up, and ending in a bow at the top. This bow can be secured in
+place by driving a small, or brass-headed tack through the ribbon into
+the top of the stake. If the rough pine legs of the table seem too
+unsightly, they can easily be painted. Or a curtain may be made of
+bright-colored cretonne,--any other material will do as well, provided
+the colors are pleasing,--and tucked around the edge of the table, so as
+to fall in folds to the floor. The illustration on this page shows the
+top of the table, when ready for the game.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+For an impromptu affair, a table can be made by placing a leaf of a
+dining-table across the backs of two chairs, and covering it with a
+shawl. The stakes can be held in an upright position by sticking them in
+the tubes of large spools. This sort of table the children can arrange
+themselves, and it answers the purpose very nicely. The other things to
+be provided for the game are a large bowl of strong soapsuds, made with
+common brown soap, and as many pipes as there are players.
+
+The prizes for the winners of the game may consist of any trinkets or
+small articles that the fancy or taste of the hostess may suggest.
+Bubble Bowling can be played in two ways. The first method requires an
+even number of players, and these must be divided into two equal
+parties. This is easily accomplished by selecting two children for
+captains, and allowing each captain to choose, alternately, a recruit
+for his party until the ranks are filled, or in other words, until all
+the children have been chosen; then, ranked by age, or in any other
+manner preferred, they form in line on either side of the table. A pipe
+is given to each child by the hostess, and they stand prepared for the
+contest. One of the captains first takes his place at the foot of the
+table, where he must remain while he is bowling, as a bubble passing
+between the stakes is not counted unless blown through the goal from the
+end of the table.
+
+The bowl of soapsuds is placed upon a small stand by the side of the
+bowling-table, and the next in rank to the captain, belonging to same
+party, dips his pipe into the suds and blows a bubble, not too large,
+which he then tosses upon the table in front of the captain, who as
+first bowler, stands ready to blow the bubble on its course down through
+the goal. Three successive trials are allowed each player; the bubbles
+which break before the bowler has started them, are not counted.
+
+The names of all the players, divided as they are into two parties, are
+written down on a slate or paper, and whenever a bubble is sent through
+the goal, a mark is set down opposite the name of the successful bowler.
+
+When the captain has had his three trials, the captain on the other side
+becomes bowler, and the next in rank of his own party blows the bubbles
+for him. When this captain retires, the member of the opposite party,
+ranking next to the captain, takes the bowler's place and is assisted by
+the one whose name is next on the list of his own side; after him the
+player next to the captain on the other side; and so on until the last
+on the list has his turn, when the captain then becomes assistant and
+blows the bubbles.
+
+The number of marks required for either side to win the game, must be
+decided by the number of players; if there are twenty,--ten players on
+each side,--thirty marks would be a good limit for the winning score.
+
+When the game has been decided, a prize is given to that member of each
+party who has the greatest number of marks against his or her name
+showing that he or she has sent the bubble through the goal oftener than
+any player on the same side. Or, if preferred, prizes maybe given to
+every child belonging to the winning party.
+
+The other way in which Bubble Bowling may be played is much simpler, and
+does not require an even number of players, as no sides are formed. Each
+bowler plays for himself, and is allowed five successive trials; if
+three bubbles out of the five be blown through the goal, the player is
+entitled to a prize. The child acting as assistant becomes the next
+bowler, and so on until the last in turn becomes bowler, when the one
+who began the game takes the place of assistant.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE KNICKERBOCKER BOY.
+
+
+BY CAROLINE S. KING.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+              I.
+
+    I'm a knickerbocker boy!
+      See my coat and breeches!
+    Cuffs and collar, pocket too--
+      Made with many stitches!
+    I must have a watch and chain,
+    A silk umbrella and a cane.--
+    No more kilts and skirts for me!
+    I'm a big boy--don't you see?
+
+
+              II.
+
+    Knickerbockers! Knickerbockers!
+      Give away my other clothes!
+    Give away my horse with rockers;
+      I want one that really goes.
+    Two brisk, prancing goats will do;
+    But I'd like a wagon too.
+    No more chairs hitched up for me!
+    I'm a big boy--don't you see?
+
+
+
+
+THE BROWNIES ON ROLLER SKATES.
+
+BY PALMER COX.
+
+
+    The Brownies planned at close of day
+    To reach a town some miles away,
+    Where roller skating, so 't was said,
+    Of all amusements kept ahead.
+
+    Said one: "When deeper shadows fall
+    We'll cross the river, find the hall,
+    And learn the nature of the sport
+    Of which we hear such good report."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    To reach the bridge that led to town,
+    With eager steps they hastened down;
+    But recent rains had caused a rise--
+    The stream was now a fearful size;
+    The bridge was nearly swept away,
+    Submerged in parts, and wet with spray.
+
+    But when the cunning Brownies get
+    Their mind on some maneuver set,
+    Nor wind nor flood, nor frost nor fire
+    Can ever make the rogues retire.
+
+    Some walked the dripping logs with ease,
+    While others crept on hands and knees
+    With movements rather safe than fast,
+    And inch by inch the danger passed.
+
+    Now, guided by the rumbling sound
+    That told where skaters circled 'round,
+    Through dimly lighted streets they flew,
+    And close about the building drew.
+
+    Without delay the active band,
+    By spouts and other means at hand,
+    Of skill and daring furnished proof
+    And gained possession of the roof;
+    Then through the skylight viewed the show
+    Presented by the crowds below.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    Said one: "While I survey that floor
+    I'm filled with longing more and more,
+    And discontent with me will bide
+    Till 'round the rink I smoothly glide.
+    At night I've ridden through the air,
+    Where bats abide, and owls repair,
+
+    I've rolled in surf of ocean wide,
+    And coasted down the mountain-side,
+    And now to sweep around a hall
+    On roller skates would crown it all."
+
+    "My plans," the leader answer made,
+    "Are in my mind already laid.
+
+    Within an hour the folk below
+    Will quit their sport and homeward go;
+    Then will the time be ripe, indeed,
+    For us to leave this roof with speed,
+    And prove how well our toes and heels
+    We may command when set on wheels."
+
+    When came the closing hour at last,
+    And people from the rink had passed,
+    The Brownies hurried down to find
+    The roller skates they'd left behind.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    Then such a scene was there as few
+    May ever have a chance to view.
+    Some hardly circled 'round the place,
+    Before they moved with ease and grace,
+    And skated freely to and fro,
+    Upon a single heel or toe.
+    Some coats were torn beyond repair,
+    By catches here and clutches there,
+    When those who felt their faith give way,
+    Grabbed right and left without delay;
+    While some who strove a friend to aid,
+    Upon the floor themselves were laid,
+    To spread confusion there awhile,
+    As large and larger grew the pile.
+
+    Some rose with fingers out of joint,
+    Or black and blue at every point;
+    And few but felt some portion sore,
+    From introductions to the floor.
+    But such mishaps were lost to sight,
+    Amid the common wild delight,--
+    For little fuss do Brownies make
+    O'er bump or bruise or even break.
+
+    And had that night been long as those
+    That spread a shade o'er polar snows,
+    The Brownies would have kept the floor,
+    And never thought of sash or door.
+
+    But stars at length began to wane,
+    And dawn came creeping through the pane;
+    And, much against the will of all,
+    The rogues were forced to leave the hall.
+
+
+
+
+EASTER CAROL.
+
+BY WM. E. ASHMALL.
+
+
+    I. Sing  a - loud  for  Christ our King, Our  lov - ing Sav - iour dear;
+
+    Let  our hap - py  voi - ces  ring, To all the earth good cheer.
+
+    Al - le - lu - ia! Al - le - lu - ia! Al - le - lu - ia! A - men.
+
+    2 For He is risen up on high,
+      From earth and dreary grave;
+    Christ is risen! is our cry,
+      He lives again to save.
+    Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
+
+    3 Sing aloud for Christ our King,
+      For Christ, the Saviour, born;
+    This carol ever we will sing,
+      On this, our Easter morn.
+    Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
+
+
+
+
+THE HANDIWORK OF SOME CLEVER SCHOOL-BOYS.
+
+BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.
+
+
+The Fair of the American Institute held annually in New York, is chiefly
+a display from the various American trades showing improvement and
+advancement; here designers and inventors also present many novelties
+and useful inventions for public criticism and judgment.
+
+One feature of the Fair of 1885 that attracted much attention and
+comment, was the novel and unique display of mechanical models designed
+and constructed by the boys of the third grade in Grammar-School, No.
+57, one of the public schools of New York City. The work exhibited by
+these boys is peculiarly interesting and suggestive, and is an
+indication of what observant, thoughtful, and intelligent boys can
+devise and do when their tastes and natural inclinations are developed.
+
+The boys' models were made at home, after class-hours, and on odd
+holidays during the six months previous to exhibition, and were
+primarily intended to illustrate the principles of the six mechanical
+powers,--the inclined plane, the lever, the wedge, the pulley, the wheel
+and axle, and the screw. When the American Institute Fair opened, an
+inclined railway, with its platform and cars; a miniature guillotine,
+with ready knife; a dumb-waiter in full working order; a derrick
+prepared to raise many weights; a pile-driver with its automatically
+dropped weight, the sound of which never failed to attract
+attention,--all these, with other models, occupied a space in Machinery
+Hall.
+
+During the morning hours, curtains screened the models; in the afternoon
+the youthful exhibitors arrived and took special delight in showing the
+working of their designs. The pleasant hours spent there, the praise of
+visitors, and the recognition and commendation accorded by the press
+will be long remembered by the boys. At the closing of the Fair, the
+exhibit was awarded the Medal of Merit.
+
+The illustrations on pages 548 and 550 show the models exhibited. Figure
+1 represents an alcoholic furnace, illustrating the expansion of a brass
+rod by heat. A cylinder of tin, fifteen inches in height and five in
+diameter, is hinged to a base of wood and arranged so as to tilt to the
+left. A lever fifteen inches long opens and closes a damper; this lever
+(an umbrella rod) is inserted in a pivoted rod of wood two inches long,
+supported in a square frame made of an inch strip of tin bent twice at
+right angles and soldered to the cylinder.
+
+A brass banner rod, seven inches long, also connects with this rod and,
+passing through an inch opening, is supported in the flame of an alcohol
+lamp and fastened on the opposite side by a tiny brass knob screwed on
+the protruding thread of the rod. A small pulley and weight steadies the
+motion of the lever.
+
+The heat of the alcohol flame causes the brass rod to lengthen, and this
+in turn moves the lever which opens the damper; and the degree of
+expansion is indicated on a paper scale by a straw pointer attached to
+the rod of the damper. A coating of copper bronze was given to the
+cylinder. This model was made in part by Winfred C. Rhoades.
+
+Figure 2 shows a forge made by William E. Tappae. A hand-bellows is
+mounted on a wooden base about ten by twenty-four inches in size, and is
+worked by a lever handle supported in a frame twenty-six inches in
+height. The bellows consists of two boards connected by flexible leather
+tacked to the edges. The upper board is stationary, and an inch central
+opening is covered on the inside by a two-inch flap of chamois fastened
+at one point, forming a valve.
+
+As the handle is pushed up, the air rushes in, and when pulled down, the
+valve closes and the compressed air is forced through the metal nozzle
+to the glowing coals. The carved-wood anvil was stained black and the
+other parts were painted a bright vermilion.
+
+Figure 3 explains one way of connecting levers, and their uses as a
+mechanical aid. The base is four by fifteen inches in size, and the
+pillars are respectively six and ten inches in height, and are firmly
+mortised and glued into the base. The upper lever is eighteen inches in
+length, and connects with the ten-inch lower lever.
+
+The lead weights, sliding on the narrow edges of the levers, balance
+each other, and show how the heavy wagon of coal is balanced in the
+office by the weight on the scale-beam.
+
+A wedge made of oak ten inches in height and five inches in width is
+indicated by Figure 4.
+
+Figure 5 represents a diminutive pile-driver, twenty-eight inches in
+length, showing the plan and action of a large machine.
+
+[Illustration: SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER 14 YEARS
+OF AGE.
+
+DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.
+
+Fig. 1. FURNACE
+
+Fig. 2. FORGE
+
+Fig. 3. LEVER SCALES
+
+Fig. 4. WEDGE
+
+Fig. 5. PILE DRIVER
+
+Fig. 6. SCREW PRESS
+
+Fig. 7. INCLINED RAILWAY]
+
+The two-pound drop-hammer falls a distance of twenty-two inches in the
+grooves of the vertical posts which are mortised and glued into the
+base, as are also the oblique braces to which are attached the bobbin,
+or axle, and crank, on which the cord is wound that raises the hammer.
+This hammer is a flat piece of iron having two pieces of wood, each four
+by two and one-half inches in size, cemented to it. A wire hook is
+attached just above, and the extended arm of the hook as the weight
+nears the top, meets a projecting pin, and slips the weight from the
+cord.
+
+Figure 6 is the model of a wood-press useful in pressing flowers for an
+herbarium. The base and pressure board are each ten inches square, the
+supports eight inches in height, and a wooden screw connected with the
+upper board turns in the cross-piece. This and the models shown in the
+drawings numbered 3, 5, and 10 were made by Harry Stoecker.
+
+Figure 7 represents the model of an inclined railway constructed upon
+the plan of the inclined railway actually in use between Hoboken and
+Jersey City Heights. A board forty-five inches in length and ten inches
+in width connects the terminal platforms of this model. The upper
+platform rests on a support thirty-three inches in height; to this
+support is attached an axle turned by a crank, on which are wound the
+reversed cords which connect with the ascending and descending
+platforms. These platforms are mounted on rollers and the cars while in
+motion are kept in a horizontal position. This model was constructed by
+Everett L. Thompson.
+
+The same boy constructed also the model shown in Figure 8--a dumb-waiter
+with original arrangement of cords and pulleys. The frame is thirty-six
+inches in height, eleven inches in width, and five inches in depth.
+Inside, a carrier with shelves is raised by a cord passing over four
+pulleys, the action of which may be seen through glass slips fitted in
+grooves. To the end of a cord is attached a weight which balances the
+weight of the carrier and contents. The frame-work was stained a dark
+mahogany color, oiled and varnished.
+
+Figure 9 represents a miniature guillotine as made by David W. Benedict.
+It was copied after one brought from France and exhibited at a
+well-known museum in New York City.
+
+The frame is twenty-two inches in height, and the block to which is
+fastened the tin blade, falls through the grooves in the posts to the
+rest upon which lies the head of the criminal. The cord raising the
+block runs over the pulleys, and is wound on the cleat when not in use.
+A box beneath receives the head of the imaginary victim as it falls. The
+machine with the exception of the blade was painted in bright vermilion
+and varnished.
+
+Figure 10 shows a small derrick constructed after a sketch of one used
+in the erection of the Madison Avenue bridge across the Harlem River. A
+mast of maple twenty-seven inches in length is mortised into an oak
+base, ten by twelve inches in size. A projecting arm, or jib, is
+fastened to the mast by a clasp of heavy tin. A cord and pulley keep the
+jib at a proper angle with the mast. The weight is hooked to a double
+pulley connected with the single pulley near the end of the jib; the
+cord, passing over a wheel in the mast and then passing downward, is
+wound upon the axle by turning the crank; a toothed wheel and ratchet
+stops the weight at the desired height. Neater pulleys than could be
+purchased were made by joining two wooden buttons and placing them in a
+whittled frame bound with piano-wire. The mast and jib were painted a
+dark blue and the base was polished and varnished.
+
+Figure 11 shows a model of a foundry crane, much admired for its
+accuracy of design and finish. It was made by George Chase, of seasoned
+maple with iron and brass connections. A swinging jib is pivoted at the
+top to a brass plate screwed to the cross-piece of the frame, and turns
+on a steel pin fitted to a plate on the base. A carriage travels along
+the jib, being kept at the required distance by a cord passing over a
+wheel at the end of the jib. A cord attached to the carriage passes over
+a pulley connected with the weight, and also over the wheel of the
+carriage, to the wheel directing it to the axle, which is turned by a
+cog-wheel and pinion taken from an old clock.
+
+The carrier of the elevator shown in Figure 12 is hoisted by a cord
+passing over a small iron pulley fixed to the cross-beam of the grooved
+posts, and thence to the spool, or axle turned by a crank.
+
+A clock-spring attached to a square wooden rosette is shown by Figure
+13.
+
+Figure 14 represents a pump improvised by John B. Cartwright from an old
+mincing-machine.
+
+A handle turns a series of spur-wheels, which in turn give a rapid
+motion to a twelve-inch walking-beam. To one end of this walking-beam is
+attached a piston-rod, with a soft rubber disk working in a brass
+cylinder five inches long and three and a half inches in diameter. Iron
+fittings, including two brass valves, one on each side, connect with the
+cylinder; an air-chamber is formed with a fitting and cap. The suction
+caused by the upward motion of the piston will draw water from a pail or
+cup through a rubber tube connected with the end fitting of the
+right-hand valve, then through the valve to the cylinder; the downward
+motion of the piston causes the water to pass through the left-hand
+valve to the receiving vessel, and the air-chamber tends to make the
+flow regular. Parts of the machine were painted blue and striped with
+gold bronze.
+
+[Illustration: SIMPLE MECHANICAL APPARATUS MADE BY BOYS UNDER FOURTEEN
+YEARS OF AGE.--DRAWN BY J. ABDON DONNEGAN.
+
+Fig. 8 A DUMB WAITER
+
+Fig. 9. GUILLOTINE
+
+Fig. 10. A DERRICK
+
+Fig. 11. FOUNDRY CRANE
+
+Fig. 12. BRICK & MORTAR ELEVATOR
+
+Fig. 13. CLOCK SPRING
+
+Fig. 14. FORCE PUMP
+
+Fig. 15. SIMPLE SUN MAGIC LANTERN OR HELIOSTAT.
+
+Fig. 15.A.
+
+Fig. 16. ARC ELECTRIC LAMP]
+
+By the removal of one pane of glass from a window facing south, the
+apparatus shown in Figure 15 may be used, like a magic lantern, to
+project transparencies, in a darkened room.
+
+A pine board, fourteen inches square and one inch in thickness, has an
+opening in the middle to receive a wooden frame seven inches square,
+holding a six-inch cosmorama lens, having a focus of eighteen inches. A
+three-inch plano-convex lens having a focus of nine inches, mounted in a
+wooden frame, slides along a slit or opening in a board hinged to the
+inner side of the board which is cleated to the window.
+
+A plate-glass mirror, eight by fifteen inches in size, is secured to a
+board hinged to a wooden rod, which can be turned from the inside, and
+is raised and lowered by a cord winding on a key. The mirror is lowered
+and inclined until the sunlight is reflected through the lenses, and
+then a circle of intense light, from ten to fifteen feet in diameter
+appears on the wall or screen. Both lenses will not cost more than two
+dollars, and the apparatus will most impressively illustrate experiments
+in light and sound.
+
+An easily made electric lamp is shown by Figure 16. An Argand chimney is
+fastened to a wooden base, with the cement known as "Stratena," and
+partly filled with water. A cork coated with paraffine is placed inside
+the chimney, and a rod of carbon twelve inches long and one-sixteenth of
+an inch in thickness being inserted in the cork, the upward pressure of
+the water on the cork causes the end of the carbon rod to come in slight
+contact with a thick rod of carbon which is fastened obliquely to a
+square piece of wood, cemented near the top of the chimney. A brass chip
+fastened to the wood keeps the thin rod of carbon in position, and when
+two copper wires connect the carbons with six to ten jars of a
+bichromate battery, a light appears where the two carbons meet. As the
+thin rod wastes away, the cork rises and keeps the end of the rod
+almost in contact with the other carbon point.
+
+An ambition to creditably make a mechanical contrivance or apparatus is
+noticeably characteristic of many boys. The construction of an aquarium,
+a sailboat, or a telescope, or some similar object, is of absorbing
+interest to such lads; and the making of the electrical apparatus of
+straws, sealing-wax, etcetera, once described by Professor Tyndall, has
+merely tasked the ingenuity of thinking boys to improve upon the
+apparatus.
+
+Many educators maintain that manual training of a pleasant character,
+adapted to the age of the pupils, should form an essential element in
+the education of boys and girls, and should be placed on a par with the
+regular studies. There is no doubt that such instruction stimulates
+ambition and tends to develop taste, skill, and natural invention. At
+the same time an insight into mechanical occupations, with some
+practical experience in the handling of tools, may assist a boy in
+choosing a calling suited to his taste, and better prepare him to enter
+some practical industry, if his choice should incline toward such an
+occupation.
+
+A few years ago, manual training in modeling, wood-carving, carpentry,
+forge-work, and other branches, was introduced into a technical course
+in the College of the City of New York, in East Twenty-third street.
+To-day it is one of the most interesting features of the College work,
+and is highly appreciated by the students. Private schools in this city,
+as also some of the public and private schools of Boston and
+Philadelphia, have introduced the workshop into their methods of
+instruction, and devote a few hours in each week to practical and manual
+labor.
+
+The models illustrated in this article represent many well spent and
+helpful hours of recreation, and other boys may find pleasure and profit
+in making similar use of their leisure time and their powers of
+handicraft.
+
+
+
+
+A NEW VIEW OF THE MOON.
+
+BY EVA LOVETT CARSON.
+
+
+    A little boy just two years old,
+      Or maybe two months older,
+    Came riding home across the lot,
+      Perched on his father's shoulder.
+
+    "Look, Oswald! Hold your head up straight!
+      (Do stop that dreadful drumming!)
+    See, just above where Mamma stands
+      A little moon is coming!"
+
+    The baby lifts his round blue eyes;
+      The moon laughs at their glancing.
+    To see the wonder of his gaze
+      'Most sets the moon a-dancing.
+
+    Frowning, he solved the problem soon;
+      Indignantly he spoke it:
+    "Papa, dat's not the big wound moon;
+      I fink _somebody b'oke it_!"
+
+
+
+
+JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+    Away--ho, away!--Let us off on a quest!
+    To the North--to the South--to the East--to the West!
+    To the West, to find where the sunsets go
+    When the skies are as red as roses a-blow;
+    To the East, to see whence the mornings come;
+    To the South, the Summer to track to her home;
+    To the North, by the gleam of the Polar Star,
+    And Night's aurora flaming afar,
+    To seek, in the keen and biting weather,
+    The lodestone that holds the world together.
+
+Now and then somebody writes out the very thoughts of the birds; and
+then again, others tell me very prettily just what they think ought to
+be felt by the tuneful-minded little creatures. Here, for instance,
+comes this scrap of verse from my friend Emily A. Braddock that I hope
+not only you children, but all of my birds will hear. I don't allude so
+much to the sparrows and such stay-at-homes as to my migratory, or
+go-away birds. I'm sure they'd be delighted at a poet's way of putting
+things. It will give them something to go for. As for myself, I've not
+started yet, so we'll proceed to discuss a certain odd saying for which
+it seems the world is indebted to one sort of these migratory birds:
+
+    "EVERYTHING IS LOVELY, AND THE GOOSE HANGS HIGH."
+
+This expression, the Little School-ma'am says, is a corruption of an
+old-fashioned saying that originated in the early days of this country.
+
+As most of you know, wild geese, when they migrate in autumn, form
+themselves into lines shaped like the letter V, the leader flying at the
+point, the two lines following; and as they sail away, far above the
+trees, and beyond all danger from guns--on those cold mornings when the
+air is clear, and the sky beautifully blue--they seem full of glee, and
+join in a chorus, "_Honk, honk, honk!_"
+
+Any one who has heard those curiously sounding notes, the Little
+School-ma'am says, never could mistake them for anything else. And the
+folks on the earth below who heard the birds' wild call, in old times,
+realized the happiness of the winged creatures in being so high and
+safe. And so it became quite natural, when two persons met each other
+under peculiarly favorable circumstances for this or that enterprise,
+for them to say: "Everything is lovely and the goose honks high!"
+
+
+GIRLS! TO THE RESCUE!
+
+Before we leave our dear birds, moreover, I have a special message for
+you this month in their behalf:
+
+"You must not forget, friend Jack," says the Deacon, "to give the boys
+and girls, especially the girls, my May-time sermon about the Audubon
+Society."
+
+Forget it? Not I, indeed! Nor would you, if you could have seen the
+honest and hearty indignation of the good Deacon and the Little
+School-ma'am, as he read to her a printed circular telling all about the
+monstrous wrong which the Audubon Society has nobly begun to fight. You
+must know, dear girls, that this "monstrous wrong" is the custom of
+wearing feathers and skins of birds on your hats and dresses. As I am an
+honest Jack, I don't see how girls and their mammas, who, as everybody
+knows, are supposed to have hearts more tender than men or boys, could
+ever have been induced to follow so abominable a fashion. "Abominable"
+is rather a strong word, I suppose; but it is the very one which the
+good Deacon used when he read the printed slip. And the Little
+School-ma'am--bless her!--actually gave a nod of satisfaction when she
+heard it. As for me, no word would be too strong to express my feelings
+on the subject.
+
+But I'll be content now with giving you what the Deacon calls "two plain
+facts" about this fashion, and letting them speak for themselves. "You
+must know then," says the Deacon, "that a single collector of ornamental
+feathers in this country has declared that he handles every year about
+_thirty thousand_ bird-skins, almost all of which are used for millinery
+purposes; and that another man collected from the shooters in one small
+district within four months, about _seventy thousand_ birds!
+
+"Now, Jack," adds the Deacon, "tell your young hearers to ask themselves
+and their parents, whether this slaughter shall continue? The Audubon
+Society says 'no!' Its membership is free to every one who is willing to
+lend a helping hand to its objects. And its objects are to prevent as
+far as possible, first, the killing of any wild birds not used for food;
+second, the destruction of nests or eggs of wild birds; and third, the
+wearing of feathers as ornaments or trimmings for dress. And certainly
+women and girls can do much, in fact everything, for this third object."
+
+All the older readers of ST. NICHOLAS will remember the army of
+bird-defenders which it established years ago. The Deacon says that
+there is a call for a new army, and all that you need do to join it, my
+girls, is to refuse to wear feathers on your hats or dresses. If all the
+women and girls who now follow that cruel fashion would but abandon it,
+the needless slaughter of the birds would soon be at an end.
+
+
+ABOUT LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY.
+
+                    "FELIXSTOW," BRIGHTWOOD (NEAR WASHINGTON).
+
+     DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: I am a little boy just six years
+     old. I live in the country about six miles from Washington.
+     I am very much interested in reading "Little Lord
+     Fauntleroy," because Mrs. Burnett, the lady who wrote it,
+     was out at our house last spring, and told us the story, and
+     I want to see if she changed it before she put it in the
+     book. I tell you, her own little boys, Lionel and Vivian,
+     are nice fellows to play with! I have a nice pony named Joe,
+     lots of chickens, a dog, and two cats, but I like digging in
+     the ground most. I raised a lot of pop-corn last year.
+     Somebody is writing this for me, but I am telling him what
+     to write. My little brother Paul bothers me considerably
+     when I want to make things.
+
+     Good bye, dear Jack; you are a nice fellow. Your friend,
+
+                                        FELIX RENOUF HOLT.
+
+"Felix is not alone," says the Little School-ma'am, "in his admiration
+for Little Lord Fauntleroy. The children of the Red School House all are
+charmed with his lordship, and for myself I consider him one of the very
+sweetest and noblest little boys in English literature."
+
+
+FISHING FOR NECKLACES.
+
+According to my friend, Ernest Ingersoll, a large proportion of the red
+coral used by jewelers in making ornaments comes from the Mediterranean
+coast of Algeria, where it is gathered chiefly by an ingenious machine.
+Nets, the meshes of which are loose, are hung on the bars of a cross,
+and dragged at the bottom of the sea among the nooks and crevices of the
+rocks. These nets, winding about the branches of the coralline growth,
+break off its branches, which adhere to the meshes. When he thinks it is
+laden, the fisherman draws the net to the surface and helps himself to
+the coral. This is sold in various markets, and afterward worked into
+ornaments, necklaces, bracelets, and other pretty articles for girls and
+their mammas.
+
+
+A SUGGESTION TO THE BOTTLED FISH.
+
+                                             READING, MASS.,
+
+     DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: I read in the February number about
+     the bottled fish. I think it is very queer. In "Grimm's
+     Fairy Tales" there is a story about a fox that crept into a
+     hole where there was something to eat. After he ate it he
+     grew so fat that he could not get out, and he stayed there
+     till the farmer found him and killed him. I suppose it was
+     the same way with the fish, only he fed on oysters, and as I
+     think there are no farmers at the bottom of the sea, he
+     stayed there till he was drawn up. If I had been that fish,
+     I would have starved myself till I was thin enough to get
+     out. I have taken St. Nicholas since I was two years old,
+     and my mamma says she brought me up on it, so you see I have
+     been well brought up.
+
+                                        I remain yours truly,
+
+                                        E. S. K. PACKARD.
+
+
+THE NEWSPAPER PLANT.
+
+You are to be told in this month's ST. NICHOLAS, I hear, about a curious
+"lace-leaf," a "vegetable necktie," and a "caricature plant." If so,
+this is a good time for me to show you a curiosity called the newspaper
+plant, which the Little School-ma'am described the other day to the
+young folk of the Red School House.
+
+It seems that in certain far-away countries called New Mexico and
+Arizona, there are great tracts of desolate desert lands, where the very
+hills seem destitute of life and beauty, and where the earth is
+shriveled from centuries of terrible heat. And in these desert-tracts
+grow a curious, misshapen, grotesque and twisted plant that seems more
+like a goblin tree than a real one.
+
+Of all the trees in the world, you would imagine this to be the most
+outcast and worthless--so meager a living does it obtain from the waste
+of sand and gravel in which it grows. And yet this goblin tree is now
+being sought after and utilized in one of the world's greatest
+industries--an industry that affects the daily needs of civilization,
+and is of especial importance to every girl and boy who reads the pages
+of ST. NICHOLAS.
+
+Those wise folk, the botanists, call our goblin tree by its odd Indian
+name of the "Yucca" palm.
+
+[Illustration: THE YUCCA PALM.]
+
+This plant of the desert for a long time was considered valueless. But
+not long ago it was discovered that the fiber of the Yucca could be made
+into an excellent paper.[E] And now one of the great English dailies,
+the London _Telegraph_, is printed upon paper made from this goblin
+tree. Indeed, the _Telegraph_ has purchased a large plantation in
+Arizona, merely for the purpose of cultivating this tree, and
+manufacturing paper from it. So, you see, the Yucca is now a newspaper
+plant.
+
+
+ONE MORE LIVING BAROMETER.
+
+     DEAR JACK: As you have told us so much about living
+     barometers, I want to tell you that I have one. Mine is a
+     red squirrel. Just before a "cold snap" she will be surly
+     and sleepy. When she is angry, she will spread her lower
+     teeth apart. She will play like a kitten. I call her Gipsy,
+     and she is my chief pet.
+
+                                        Your constant reader,
+
+                                        M. M. M.
+
+[Footnote E: For an article describing the manufacture of paper, see ST.
+NICHOLAS for August, 1884, page 808.]
+
+
+
+
+EDITORIAL NOTES.
+
+
+In a note which accompanied the article in our present number, "When
+Shakspere was a Boy," Miss Kingsley desires us to state that she owes
+much valuable information about charms (mentioned on page 488), and also
+about Shaksperean games and customs, to Mr. Richard Savage, of the
+Shakspere Birthplace Museum, Stratford-on-Avon.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In his story of "The Great Snow-ball Fight," printed in our March
+number, Mr. Barnard showed how some boys put out the fire in the Widow
+Lawson's house, by snow-balling it. This may have appeared to some
+readers almost impossible, but it was based upon an actual occurrence.
+And an instance of that mode of at least preventing a fire, was recorded
+in the New York papers of February 11th. It appears in an account of the
+burning of the stables of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club, at Hempstead, Long
+Island. "No modern appliance for extinguishing fire was at hand," says
+one journal, "but there was plenty of snow, and this was banked up about
+the adjoining stables, and undoubtedly saved them from being burned.
+Whenever sparks from the burning building fell on the adjacent barns,
+they were quickly extinguished by well-directed snow-balls thrown upon
+them."
+
+
+THE LETTER-BOX.
+
+                                             CONCORD, N. H.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Lena and I play dolls very often, but the
+     latest game we play is throwing cards into a hat placed on
+     the floor about six feet away. Lena put in thirty-two out of
+     fifty-two. If you have room enough to print this in your
+     Letter-box, I should like to read it.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        RUTH A. M.
+
+That is a very nice game, Ruth, although six feet seems a long distance
+for a small girl to toss the cards. We have seen grown folk try the game
+at four feet, and then several of them could not put one in twenty into
+the hat; so Lena's score of thirty-two out of fifty-two is a fine one.
+The game can be played with any kind of cards, and with sides or by
+individuals. The largest number of cards thrown into the hat, either by
+one person or by a side, makes the winning score. If played by sides,
+not more than twenty cards should be used, and each side should play
+five rounds, thus making one hundred the highest possible score for any
+player.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             MIDDLETOWN, CONN.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am anxious to have the March number
+     come, so that I can see how Little Lord Fauntleroy's
+     grandfather treats him. That serial story I enjoy very much.
+     I go to a private girls' school in the morning, and study
+     German in the afternoon with my mother.
+
+     With much love I am your faithful reader,
+
+                                        HELEN W. A.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             PROVIDENCE, R. I.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: This is the first time that I have
+     written to you.
+
+     I have a funny story to tell about a mouse. My canary bird
+     used to hang up in our nursery-window on a chain. Sometimes
+     in the evening or night, we would hear mice running around,
+     and in the morning we would find that some of the seed was
+     gone. Mamma thought it was a mouse, but _we_ did not think
+     so. Papa had been trying to catch them in a trap, but did
+     not catch many. We then thought that we would try another
+     way. So Papa took the cage down and put a pail of water on
+     the chain, and when the little mouse went up the chain, as
+     he used to do, instead of going in the cage, he went in the
+     pail of water and was drowned. This is a true story. I am
+     eleven years old. Good-bye.
+
+                                        am your constant reader,
+
+                                        B. G. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             CARRINGTON, DAKOTA.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: You do not know me at all, but I know you
+     and love you so much! When you were brought to me this
+     morning I almost kissed your bright face for joy. It was
+     stormy this morning, and I was tired playing with kitty;
+     besides that I had been waiting so long to read some more
+     about Little Lord Fauntleroy! He is such a brave, wise
+     little boy! Will you ask Mrs. Burnett to please not make him
+     unhappy with his grandfather? Ever since we had our
+     Christmas entertainment, I have wanted to tell you about it,
+     but have been too sick to write you. We called it "An
+     Evening with Mother Goose and the Brownies." Yes,--we had
+     all the cute little boys in Carrington dressed up like
+     Brownies. They did mischief very nicely, all quietly in
+     their stocking-feet. While Mother Goose was singing her
+     melodies, they came and stole away her goose, and they
+     pelted Mother Hubbard with paper balls when she sang that
+     song in the ST. NICHOLAS: "I had an Educated Pug." In the
+     tableaux, they tripped up Jack and Jill, upset Blue-beard,
+     stole Jack Horner's plum, overturned the bachelor's
+     wheelbarrow, little wife and all, let the spider down from a
+     tree on little Miss Muffett, and tied Bo-peep's sheep-tails
+     to a tree, and woke her up with their baa's. Then we had
+     "The House that Jack built," just like it is in the ST.
+     NICHOLAS, for Nov. 1883. It was just splendid, and so funny;
+     but when the rat was to come out of "The House that Jack
+     built," the cat had put his foot on the string and it broke,
+     so the cat couldn't come out. Then the maiden all forlorn
+     picked up the rat, threw it at the cat, and everybody just
+     roared!
+
+                    I am nine years old, and my name is,
+
+                                        THEODORA C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                              NEW HARTFORD, IOWA.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I believe the little girls that take the
+     ST. NICHOLAS will like to hear about my numerous paper
+     dolls. I have a whole town of them, and they all have their
+     names written on their backs. I was so interested in "The
+     Firm of Big Brain, Little Brain & Co." After I read it, I
+     kept thinking what my "Big Brain" was telegraphing. Well, my
+     big brain telegraphs to my hand, that if it writes any more,
+     the letter will be too long to print. So good-bye. I am
+
+                                        One of your many friends,
+
+                                        GRACE C.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             WOODLAND, CAL.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I think you are the nicest magazine in
+     the whole world. I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a
+     beautiful story. It seems so real. Cedric reminds me of my
+     little cousin Birdie (that is his pet name). One day his
+     aunt (who is an artist) asked him if he did not want her to
+     paint him. He said: "I had rather be as I are." He is nearly
+     four years old. I live on a vineyard of 160 acres.
+
+                                        Your faithful reader,
+
+                                        LILLIAN H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             FORT ASSINABOINE, MON.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I commenced taking your paper five months
+     ago, and I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is the best story
+     I ever read.
+
+     We have plenty of skating here, and fifty ponies to ride.
+
+     Another boy is writing a letter to you too. We live 200
+     miles from Helena and we have to go in a stage or wait till
+     the river opens.
+
+     We only have to go to school in the morning, and we play all
+     the rest of the day.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        S. F. P.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             BROOKLYN, N. Y., 1886.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thought that I would send you a letter
+     at last. I will tell you about our washwoman and me. I have
+     something the matter with my knee, and so I have to stay in
+     the house. Well, our washwoman and I were having some fun. I
+     was at the back parlor window, and the washwoman was down in
+     the back yard hanging up the clothes, and I got a snow-ball
+     and threw it at her, and you ought to have seen her! She
+     looked up and down and could not see anybody, and after a
+     while she saw me, and then, the way she looked! She said: "I
+     will give it to you!"
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        FRANK T.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             EVERETT, MASS.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have taken you for a year and I could
+     not do without you. Every month you gladden our home with
+     your beautiful pictures, interesting stories, and pretty
+     bits of poetry.
+
+     I think "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is a splendid story. I must
+     not forget to mention the "Brownies." What busy little
+     workers they are! I have one pet, a beautiful linnet. Her
+     name is Daisy. She is a very sweet singer.
+
+                    I remain, your constant reader,
+
+                                        MAY F.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             KINGSTON, INDIANA.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I do not see many letters from Indiana in
+     your Letter-box. I would not do without you for ten dollars
+     a year.
+
+     I like your Natural History. I have several books on Natural
+     History.
+
+     Last year I wanted you so badly that Papa said I must earn
+     the money myself. I had enough, lacking fifty cents. We had
+     an oyster supper here, and papa gave me fifty cents to
+     spend; so I did without oysters and took you. I am thirteen
+     years old.
+
+                                        Yours sincerely,
+
+                                        ART. R.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                       MT. AUBURN, CINCINNATI, O.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I like your stories very much. I am a boy
+     seven years old. I do not go to school, but Mamma teaches me
+     with two little girls. I had a lovely Christmas. I got a
+     locomotive, a sword, a scarf, a marble game, a rolling-pin,
+     a box to keep my pens and pencils in, and some cards and
+     books for Christmas. I think you are the best book I ever
+     read. This is the first year I began to take you. I like the
+     "Brownies" best. Tell Mr. Palmer Cox to put "Brownies" in
+     every ST. NICHOLAS. Please don't forget to print my letter,
+     for I have written it all myself, and spelled it without any
+     help.
+
+     I had two kittys, and their names were Mitten and Topsy. We
+     gave away Mitten and kept Topsy, but after a while we lost
+     Topsy, and then we found another kitty, but she ran away. I
+     am sorry they went away, for I love kittys. Good-bye, dear
+     ST. NICHOLAS, I am so glad it is most time for you to come
+     again. Please don't forget to print my letter, for I love
+     you so much!
+
+                                        Your loving friend,
+
+                                        RALPH B. R.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             LEWISBURG, W. VA.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have just finished reading the February
+     number, and I think that "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and
+     "George Washington" are splendid! I am a little girl ten
+     years old. Have taken you for four years.
+
+     I have ever so many uncles and aunts. One of my aunts sends
+     you to me.
+
+                                        Your loving reader,
+
+                                        DOTTIE M.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             WYOMING, DEL.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written to you before, but I
+     love to read the letters others have sent you. You have been
+     coming to our house nearly three years, and we all look
+     anxiously for the 26th of the month, when you are due. You
+     are my own book. I pay for you with money I have earned
+     myself. My little sister wonders whenever she sees ST.
+     NICHOLAS what the Brownies are doing in it. Mamma is much
+     interested in "Little Lord Fauntleroy," and we like it too,
+     and all the rest of your stories, but especially "The Gilded
+     Boy of Florence," because we know the man who wrote it and
+     have heard him preach. He says all he wrote in that story is
+     true. Good-bye.
+
+                                        Ever your faithful reader,
+
+                                        C. LIZZIE B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             LONDON, ENGLAND.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am an American girl who left New York
+     four years ago, during which time I have been a constant
+     reader of ST. NICHOLAS. My school friends who read English
+     all want it also. You have been forwarded to me from London
+     as far as Turkey and Egypt. And so, if you can only spare a
+     few minutes, I would like to tell you about the pyramids and
+     the sphinx.
+
+     From Shepherd's Hotel, Cairo, it is a beautiful drive of
+     seven miles through an archway of large trees by the side of
+     the Nile. There are several pyramids. The chief one is said
+     to be 463 feet high, and one would think the top would be
+     very small; but you will no doubt be surprised to hear that
+     the Khedive gave a dinner to twenty-four guests upon the top
+     of a pyramid. The dinner was served in the usual manner by
+     Arab waiters; the gentlemen walked up, while the ladies were
+     carried up in chairs. The pyramids are built like
+     stairs,--one stone on top the other, with only an edge for a
+     foothold.
+
+     Many tourists try to climb the structure, which is very
+     fatiguing work. We gave an expert Arab fifty cents to do it
+     in ten minutes; he went up in six minutes and down in four
+     minutes. From the pyramid to the sphinx is quite a little
+     walk through thick sand; and the Sphinx is so big you can
+     hardly see it all at once. The English soldiers knocked off
+     some of its right hand and all its nose. It is cut from a
+     solid rock and looks as black as iron. The Egyptian postage
+     stamps have pictures of both the pyramid and the sphinx. The
+     temple dedicated to the sphinx lies in ruins here, but the
+     remains are very beautiful, being nearly all of alabaster;
+     and in the cellar they have just discovered an image, which
+     is so immense they can't get it out from the place where it
+     has lain so many hundred years. Some time I will write a
+     letter about the Holy Land, as I lived there two months. I
+     hope you will print my letter; it is my first attempt, and I
+     am fourteen years old. Your March number will find me at
+     Alexandria, for I take the Beyrouth steamer next week. I
+     hope, dear ST. NICHOLAS, your Egyptian friend has not tired
+     you, and I also hope this may find a place in your
+     Letter-box.
+
+                                        Your loving Egyptian friend,
+
+                                        MAUD STANLEY F.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                        MOHEGAN LAKE, N. Y.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I send you this letter, a true story
+     about a fish-hawk.
+
+     It was in the middle of April, 1883. A man who was rowing on
+     one of those lakes east of the Highlands, in the northern
+     part of Westchester County, espied a large fish-hawk sitting
+     on a dead limb near the water. The man, having his gun with
+     him, rowed over toward the hawk, and when in range fired at
+     him flying. The wounded bird fell, hit on the outer joint of
+     the left wing. With the help of his companion the man
+     managed to bring him home. In less than a week, the boy of
+     the house fed him with fish out of his own hands, and the
+     hawk did not attempt to claw him. One day the boy wanted to
+     see how many pounds of fish the hawk would eat. He caught
+     seven suckers weighing a pound and a half each. The hawk ate
+     six, one after another, and took the seventh, but refused to
+     eat it until half an hour afterward. What an enormous
+     appetite he had! Later on in the summer, the boy would take
+     him to the water to wash. He did it just as a canary does in
+     his china bath. The boy would take him and put him on the
+     side of the boat and row him around, and the hawk would sit
+     there, taking in everything, as well as the summer visitors,
+     who were taking him in. The hawk was so tame that his keeper
+     could smooth his head and chuck him under his beak and the
+     hawk would only flop his wings and whistle when the boy
+     turned, as though delighted with what the boy did. This
+     creature measured five feet eleven inches from tip to tip of
+     the wings, and came to his death in October of the same
+     year, by getting caught in the string by which he was
+     fastened, greatly to the sorrow of his keeper who cared for
+     him. The bird is now stuffed and in a friend's room in New
+     York City.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        S. F. K. E. G.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             CINCINNATI, O.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thought I would write to you to say
+     what so many of the other girls and boys who take you have
+     already said: "That I love every one of your stories and can
+     hardly wait until the 25th of the month comes, to read you."
+     I have taken you two years and would not be without you one
+     single month. I live in the dirty city of Cincinnati, but I
+     have a great deal of fun any way.
+
+     We have had two snowstorms this winter, but by the time the
+     snow has lain on the ground three or four days it is so
+     black that I actually believe that people who come from the
+     country would not know it was snow unless they were told.
+
+     I will now close, hoping to have the pleasure of seeing this
+     letter printed.
+
+                      I remain, your constant reader,
+
+                                        GRACE S. C.
+
+     P. S. I forgot to say I was thirteen years old and have a
+     brother nine years old, who thinks the ST. NICHOLAS "a
+     dandy," as he expresses it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MORE ABOUT CURVE-PITCHING.
+
+                                             LINCOLN CO., NEB.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: The two letters in the February number on
+     "curve-pitching," I was very glad to see. It was during my
+     college-days that the "curve" made its appearance, and it
+     was for some time a matter of much interesting discussion
+     among us. I was not much of a base-ball man, but I saw a
+     good deal of curve-pitching, and occasionally threw some
+     rather wild "curves" myself in an amateurish way. We budding
+     physicists discussed the why and wherefore of the problem,
+     but never arrived at any satisfactory solution. The same
+     explanation which is given in the second letter of your
+     February number suggested itself to me at the time, and I
+     was quite satisfied with it until I discovered that it did
+     not accord with the facts of the case. It is a beautiful
+     theory, but, like some other theories, it doesn't work.
+
+     According to the theory, as shown by your correspondent, the
+     ball rotating (as indicated by his diagram which he gives),
+     against the hands of the watch should curve to the right,
+     producing the _in_ curve. But the fact is, that a ball so
+     rotating will curve to the left--the _out_ curve. And a ball
+     rotating in a contrary direction, _i. e._, so that points on
+     its forward side are moving to the right, will curve to the
+     right--the _in_ curve. In both cases the axis of rotation is
+     vertical, so that the motions of the ball may be well
+     illustrated by a spinning-top, as is shown in the first
+     letter by A. D. S. But the case of a rifle-ball in motion
+     does not seem to me to be parallel with that of a base-ball
+     under normal conditions. A rifle-ball is given a rotation
+     about an axis parallel to and coincident with its line of
+     flight, just as an arrow rotates on its shaft. Now, none of
+     the curves of a base-ball are produced with the axis of
+     rotation in this position. In the _in_ and _out_ curves, as
+     already said, the axis of rotation is vertical; while the
+     _rise_ and _drop_ are produced by rotating the ball about a
+     horizontal axis perpendicular to the line of flight. In
+     _all_ cases the axis of rotation _must_ be at right angles
+     to the line of flight, and the more accurately this
+     condition is complied with, the more marked the effect. My
+     knowledge of the subject is too slight to warrant me in
+     asserting that the curving of the rifle-ball and that of the
+     base-ball do not depend on the same principle, but it does
+     not seem to me that the two are identical, for the above
+     reasons.
+
+     I have no theory to offer, but trust that among the readers
+     of ST. NICHOLAS some may be found who have penetrated to the
+     "true inwardness" of this interesting problem, and will give
+     us a complete and scientific explanation of it.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        H. H. H.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             BEVERLY, OHIO.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read with considerable interest
+     the letters in ST. NICHOLAS for February concerning
+     curve-pitching. I am a boy who takes great interest in
+     base-ball, and have many times pitched curves. I have seen
+     persons, and see them yet, who firmly maintain that a ball
+     cannot be curved, even when they have ocular demonstration
+     of the fact. But that has nothing to do with what I have to
+     say. I have studied the diagram of my anonymous friend, and
+     am convinced that he is exactly wrong. With the following
+     diagrams I shall show which way a ball curves with a given
+     rotation, and give my theory of the curve:
+
+     [Illustration]
+
+     Suppose, as in the letter published, the ball moves one
+     hundred feet per second, and revolves so that the equator
+     moves around at the same rate. Then, in the first diagram,
+     the friction at B is greatest, and at D is 0. But instead of
+     curving as my anonymous friend demonstrates, it will curve
+     in exactly the _opposite_ direction; namely, in the same
+     direction in which it rotates.
+
+     I have appended diagram 2, simply to show the curve where
+     the friction is 0 at B and greatest at D. Then it will curve
+     as indicated.
+
+     I have a short theory, namely: In the first diagram, the
+     more rapid movement of B compresses the air on that side,
+     while at D it is in its normal state. Hence the pressure at
+     B more than counterbalances that at D, and, as it were,
+     shoves the ball in the direction of the side D, thus
+     producing the curve. In the 2d diagram, the letters B and D
+     interchange in the theory. I would like to hear more about
+     this subject.
+
+Very respectfully yours,
+
+F. C. J.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                          BIRMINGHAM, MICH.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have read with great interest the
+     articles in the October, December, and February numbers,
+     about curve-pitching. I have had quite a good deal of
+     experience in the "one,-two,-three,-and-out" line myself,
+     and have also, for the last two or three years, been able to
+     make others have the same experience, by putting them out,
+     in the same way. Therefore, I venture a reply to the
+     explanation in the February number, backing my statement by
+     the experience of many eminent curve-pitchers, and also by
+     the story in the October number of "How Science Won the
+     Game."
+
+     [Illustration]
+
+     The above diagram is the same as your correspondent uses,
+     and he asserts that the point B is moving faster than D;
+     consequently, there is more friction at B, whence B is
+     retarded more than D, and so the ball will curve toward W in
+     the path of the dotted line. Now, if he will look in the
+     story of "How Science Won the Game," where the base-ball
+     editor shows the boys how to hold and how to throw the ball
+     to make the different curves, he will find that when he
+     throws the ball so that it whirls as shown in diagram, it
+     will curve toward P, a direction entirely opposite from the
+     one he designates. And any curve-pitcher will tell him the
+     same. When I first read his explanation, I thought it was
+     all right, for it looks quite reasonable, but upon second
+     thoughts, I saw it was wrong, and to make sure, I took a
+     ball and tried it. The only way I can get around his
+     explanation (aside from actual fact) is this: The point B,
+     as he clearly shows, is moving faster than D, and so the
+     ball, if the friction of the air is taken away, will
+     naturally curve toward the side D or point P. Now, the
+     question is, Will the friction of the air be enough greater
+     on the side B to overcome the difference in the motions of
+     the two sides? If it is, the ball must move in a straight
+     line, but as it curves toward the side D, we must conclude
+     that it is not, and that the friction of the air tends more
+     to hinder than to help the ball to curve. I really believe
+     that if it could be tried, a person could make a ball curve
+     in a vacuum more easily than we can make it curve in the
+     air. Trusting to hear more upon this subject, I remain,
+     sincerely yours,
+
+"A CURVER."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             FREMONT, NEB.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I have never written to you before, but I
+     think perhaps you will publish this one letter. I hope you
+     will publish it, as I have never yet had anything of mine
+     published.
+
+     I like the story entitled, "How Science Won the Game."
+     Although I am but thirteen years old I think I can pitch a
+     curve. I go to the Fremont Normal School and like it very
+     much.
+
+     I am going to have the 1884 and 1885 ST. NICHOLAS bound next
+     week. I think you have a very entertaining magazine, and I
+     think the pictures are very nice. I have the magazine for a
+     Christmas present every year. I have taken ST. NICHOLAS
+     three years and I hope I may always take it.
+
+     Papa says he doesn't think you will publish this, but I
+     think you will.
+
+                                        Yours truly,
+
+                                        EDDIE H. B.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             AYER, MASS.
+
+     DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: As so many of your readers have written
+     to you, I thought I would write too, that I might have the
+     pleasure of seeing my letter in print.
+
+     I have taken you a year and have fallen greatly in love with
+     your delightful pages.
+
+     I think "How Science Won the Game" is a lovely story; I felt
+     much interested in it, for last summer the girls of my age
+     who lived here got up a base-ball nine. In time, we played
+     very nicely and enjoyed the fun. The readers of the
+     Letter-box may think this a funny game for girls to play,
+     but we liked it and found it very good exercise.
+
+     I am fifteen years old; I have a little dog, his name is
+     Teddie; he is a very good little dog, but I pity the cat
+     that gets in his way.
+
+     I like to read "From Bach to Wagner," as I enjoy reading of
+     different composers.
+
+                                        Your true reader,
+
+                                        RUTH F.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We heartily thank the young friends whose names here follow, for
+pleasant letters received from them: Kate Ethel C., John Myers, Sadie B.
+Crane, G. M. F., Jamie H., Walter J. Cohen, Stuart L. Martin, George
+Williams, Eddie L. Goodman, Violette T. Haines, Lillie M. Grubbs, Freda
+Nicolai, Eva Wilkins, Miriam Ferry, Hortie O'Meara, Anna Ross, Clara
+Louise Whitney, Constance and Richard Bigelow, E. R. B., J. H. B., Mary
+and Gussie, Jessie Hiltner, Alberta Stout, Willis Dunning, Nellie E.
+Stebbins, Marion R. Brown, A. W. Smith, Josie and May, Kate G., Hallie
+H. Haines, Johnny B. S., Daisy, Gertie Beidler, Mary M. C., Charles L.
+Baldwin, Kitty Clover, Alice Olney, Emil Harrington, Katie M. Cathcart,
+Arthur F. B., Agnes Hanks, Elizabeth K. Stewart, Wade W. Thayer, Brooks
+Upham, Rosalie, Mamie Eells, Florence Lanty, Frank Dearstyne, Vera
+Wheeler, Nellie McN. Suydam, Elizabeth B. Grumball, Ida Cameron, Ethel
+Marion Walker, Fawn Evans, Alfa P. Tyrrell, H. and A. V. P., G. P. S.,
+Clara Moore, F. W. S., Portia, Nellie T., Eva R., Norine, Anna M.
+Lister, Blanche E. Ives, Mary Hicks, "Dolly Varden," Nora T. C., Natie
+P. Thompson, Daniel McPhail, Mary E. Seavey, Storrs E. E., H. C. J.,
+Edith B., Kittie E. Fogarty, Frank Carman, Ruth A., C. H. M., Richard D.
+Bennett, Anne Grey Millett, Addie Rockwell, Laura Smith, Paula Goetz,
+Katie S. Denholm, Carl M. Ruhlen, Thomas McKeone, W. C. T., Marion
+Loomis, Alice E. Bogert, Gertrude E. S., Julian Granbery, B. M. S.,
+Edward P. Irwin, "The Five Friends," T. L., Kate B. Tilley, Irene S.
+Duer, Violet Scath, Florence M. Wickes, E. W. B., May Delany, and Bertha
+Sweet.
+
+
+
+
+THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION
+
+SIXTY-FIRST REPORT.
+
+
+AN ENGRAVED CHARTER FOR FRAMING.
+
+Our attention has been called to the fact that heretofore we have sent
+to our Chapters no charters, or certificates, suitable for framing.
+
+To remedy this deficiency, we have engaged one of the leading firms of
+New-York City to design a very beautiful A. A. Charter, to be handsomely
+engraved on bond or parchment paper. The size of the charter will be
+about 12 x 18 inches or larger.
+
+At the top is drawn an open ST. NICHOLAS, showing on one page Prof.
+Agassiz's portrait, and on the other, representations of the animal and
+vegetable kingdoms.
+
+Above the magazine is our badge, the Swiss Cross; and below is the
+motto, _Per Naturam ad Deum_. Then follows the certificate proper,
+handsomely ornamented, bearing the name of the founder of the Chapter,
+the name, number, and letter of the same, and signed with the autograph
+of the President of the A. A. Of course the first two hundred
+impressions--or artist's proofs--are the finest. Many members are so
+pleased with them that they wish to secure copies for their individual
+possession.
+
+
+THE CLASS IN MINERALOGY.
+
+None of the courses of study we have ever had the pleasure of offering
+to our friends, has had the magnificent success which is attending Prof.
+Crosby's class in mineralogy. At this writing no less than eighty-nine
+pupils are enrolled, and as Chapters usually take the course through one
+representative, this number doubtless means that at the least five
+hundred persons are learning how to observe and describe minerals, under
+most competent instruction. To each pupil is sent a set of thirty
+valuable specimens, and all exercises are corrected and returned for
+revision. Geographically, the class extends from Washington Territory to
+England.
+
+
+REPORTS OF CHAPTERS.
+
+We have to begin again this month, as last, by presenting the excellent
+reports of dilatory Chapters. A little more promptness hereafter, good
+secretaries, if you please!
+
+37, _Kingsboro, N. Y._ By some mischance, your card notifying me that
+our report is due has just come to my notice, and I hasten to write,
+fearing our "candlestick may be removed." Last week three of us visited
+a gold-mine and brought home specimens of rock from which gold is
+obtained, averaging about twenty dollars per ton. The rock is dark,
+fine-grained, and resembles lime-stone. It effervesces with acid. We
+have here beautiful specimens of the Azoic rocks, and we could make up
+named collections to exchange for other specimens.--W. W. Thomas, Box
+711.
+
+112, _So. Boston_. We number ten active and three honorary members.
+During the year we have held twenty-two meetings, with an average
+attendance of eight. In January we gave an entertainment, and realized
+$10.80. In April we endeavored to establish an assembly of the Chapters
+in this part of the State, but did not succeed.
+
+During the year we have studied chemistry, zooelogy, and astronomy. At
+one time we visited the Agassiz museum in a body, and learned a great
+deal. Having seen now what we can do, I think we shall all study harder
+during the coming year.--Geo. L. Whitehouse, 37 Gates street.
+
+     [_Don't be discouraged; we shall have a State Assembly in
+     Massachusetts before many years._]
+
+134, _De Pere, Wis._ We have eighteen members. Our room is beginning to
+look very nicely. We added five new cases last fall. We have 1600
+geological specimens,--including 1000 fossils,--600 minerals, 50 birds,
+500 plants, 400 shells, and 100 ethnological specimens.--A. S. Gilbert.
+
+153, _Chicago_ (_E_). At the Exposition here last fall, we had two large
+cases, one containing minerals, the other fossils, which compared
+favorably with any in the building, and did much toward making our
+society known to the throng of visitors. We have added new books to our
+library at no small expense. Our "Paper" is the latest addition to our
+meetings, and contains original articles, clippings, and the letters
+received.--Charles T. Mixer.
+
+164, _Jackson, Mich._ (_B_). We have eight members, and expect more
+soon. We all have natural histories of our own. We meet once a week, on
+Monday evening. We had a very pleasant field-meeting by Clark's Lake.
+All our members are interested.--James C. Wood.
+
+168, _Buffalo_ (_C_). During the summer there were some excursions,
+which brought a number of specimens into the hands of our curator. With
+the new year fresh courage has inspired most of us. Our prospects are
+quite bright. We still have our standing committees in each department,
+and these have a report to make nearly every week. Every two weeks we
+have an essay. Our next topic is to be "Forests and their Utility."
+Besides this and the reading and discussion of scientific essays, we
+have our weekly report on the current scientific news, and notes and
+personal observations. Chapter K of this city has joined us, and Chapter
+I thinks of following the example of Chapter K.--Sophie Finkenstaedt.
+
+187, _Albany, N. Y._ (_A_). We have found time for occasional meeting
+among the heavy requirements of school-life; and as for myself, I find
+our own back-yard a bewildering field for exploration. We have ten
+active and eleven honorary members. Our meetings are held alternate
+Wednesday evenings at the houses of members, and are always well
+attended and interesting. At our next meeting--our second anniversary--a
+special programme is to be carried out. We are to debate the comparative
+usefulness of astronomy and botany; have an extra number of _The
+Naturalist_, our MS. paper; scientific essays, readings and lectures.
+Albany A has never been more flourishing.--John P. Gavit.
+
+
+THIRD CENTURY.
+
+215, _Tioga Centre, N. Y._ We have been steadily progressing in our
+department--botany. Last autumn we made asters a specialty, and
+succeeded in collecting and analyzing fourteen species and two
+varieties. We are now ready to exchange promptly.--Angie Latimer, Sec.
+
+220, _De Pere, Wis._ (_C._) Chapter C has disbanded. Please scratch our
+number out.--Jessie R. Jackson.
+
+     [_But we hope the Chapter will "jump into another bush," so
+     we can "scratch them in again!"_]
+
+234, _New York_, (_G_). We have joined Chapter 87, New York (B),--F. W.
+Roos, 335 W. 27th street.
+
+238, _Winterset, Iowa_. One of our charter members is dead; one is in
+Oregon; two are away at college; one is in Mississippi. In fact, there
+is nothing left of our Chapter. I am sorry, for I think the Association
+work is a very great benefit to the members.--Harry C. Wallace.
+
+     [_Our correspondent will remember that by our present rules
+     even one active member is allowed to maintain the honor, and
+     retain the number and name of a Chapter once properly
+     organized. We shall be disappointed if we do not meet him on
+     the 24th of next August, at Davenport, Iowa, as the
+     representative of a reorganized and efficient Chapter._]
+
+246, _Bethlehem, Pa._ We are in a very flourishing condition, and now
+have fifteen members. Our cabinet is crowded with specimens, all in good
+condition. We occupy a pleasant room rented by the Chapter. We shall
+enter the coming season with undiminished enthusiasm for the study of
+Nature.
+
+248, _Richmond, Va._ An informal meeting was held, and twenty-three of
+us boys were enrolled as members of a Chapter of the A. A. We elected
+our teacher, Miss Jennie Ellett, President. Committees were appointed to
+draft by-laws, build cabinets, etc. Instead of forming a new society,
+Mrs. Marshall has kindly consented to let us reorganize Chapter
+248.--_W. T. Terry_, Sec., 109 E. Grace St.
+
+252, _Utica, N. Y._ We have a most flourishing Chapter of forty-seven
+members. In the past year our school building was enlarged, and a room
+was made purposely to hold our treasures. In it is a cabinet overflowing
+with minerals, shells, and plants, 3 cases full of _lepidoptera_, a
+forty-dollar microscope, and a cabinet, which the boys are trying to
+fill with microscopical slides of their own manufacture. We have also an
+aquarium 12 x 24 inches, stocked with fish, newts, snails, turtles,
+etc., also a bird's egg cabinet that will hold several hundred
+specimens, and a Wardia case, 36 x 18 inches, which we are now using for
+hatching chrysalids. At our last meeting a cecropia "came out,"
+measuring over six and a half inches across the wings. Our Chapter is
+divided into committees, each committee having a teacher for chairman.
+The committees are expected to furnish each week specimens representing
+their special branches. Of all the subjects before us the hardest "nut
+to crack" was, "What is a sea-bean?" but owing to indomitable
+perseverance, it has been most thoroughly cracked.
+
+     [_Please send us the kernel!_]
+
+Agassiz's birthday was duly celebrated in the woods. Speeches were made,
+poems recited, and the rest of the day devoted to a grand specimen-hunt.
+It rained hard all day, but that could not quench the fire in this
+Chapter, and we returned home loaded down with treasures. We have
+shells, mica, and _lepidoptera_ for exchange. The Chapter desires to
+express its deepest gratitude to the founder of the A. A. for two
+delightful years.--Frances E. Newland, Sec.
+
+     [_Such a delightful report as the one which we have here
+     condensed, is more than enough to repay one for all the
+     labor connected with the A. A. The debt of gratitude is on
+     the other side._]
+
+254, _Fulton, N. Y._ We have started a library, and are now studying
+ornithology. Our membership is reduced to three, but all are
+active.--Herbert C. Howe.
+
+     [_If three active-members understand "Reduction Ascending,"
+     they will soon reduce the membership to a dozen or more._]
+
+256, _Newton, Upper Falls, Mass._ The past year has been one of
+gratifying progress. We number twelve. Our meetings are very
+interesting, each member giving an account of some object in his branch
+of study, often illustrating it by the specimen or describing some book
+he has been reading, or relating some recent personal experience. At the
+first meeting of each month a paper called _Gatherings_ is read,
+composed of original records of personal observations. Wishing to bring
+our Chapter and its work to the knowledge of our friends, we have held a
+series of socials at the home of one of our members. The first of the
+evening we have devoted to talks and essays by the members of the
+Chapter, and later we have played games, and amused ourselves in other
+ways. We find this plan very beneficial, and have already gained three
+new members and a present of books.--Mrs. J. M. H. Smith.
+
+     [_We commend this suggestive report to the earnest attention
+     of every Chapter._]
+
+257, _Plantsville, Ct._ We have made large additions to our collections.
+Our library also has been enlarged, and we have now nearly 100 volumes.
+We decide on the subject for each coming meeting in this way. Each
+member writes on a ballot the subject he would prefer. The ballots are
+then shaken in a hat, and the one drawn first is our subject. Moreover,
+the one whose ballot is successful must furnish a paper on that subject,
+and all the others bring short items on the same subject. We closed our
+last meeting by a collation, and singing by our glee club.--A. L. Ely,
+Box 219.
+
+260, _Mercer, Pa._ We have not been idle, and have quite a collection.
+We think every Chapter should keep a scrap-book for entering reports and
+clippings.--Mrs. H. M. Magoffin.
+
+272, _West Town, N. Y._--Most of us are attending school away from home.
+We therefore disband through the winter, and then reorganize for the
+summer vacation, and work as much as we can, for we have farm work to do
+besides. Still we can study as we work, and we do this. Our minerals are
+all labeled and mounted. We have about 200 birds' eggs, some of them
+quite rare. We pride ourselves on our insects. I think we have 300,
+still am not positive. Our botanical specimens number 200. The work we
+have done, though not very great, has done us a great amount of
+good.--William Evans, Sec.
+
+
+SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.
+
+                                             MANCHESTER, VT.
+
+     I am extremely anxious to experiment during the coming
+     season with the American silk-producing worms, not for the
+     purpose of producing raw silk, but for other reasons of
+     scientific and practical interest. I wish to learn the best
+     books for giving a knowledge of the habits of _Attacus
+     Cecropia_, _Polyphemus_, and the Promethean moths. I shall
+     be glad of any information regarding the best places to find
+     their cocoons. I should like to hear of the experience of
+     others in finding cocoons, and raising the moths. I have M.
+     Trouvelot's papers on the subject, Dr. Garlick's letters on
+     his experiments; also Dr. Stirling's, Prof. Riley's report
+     on Silk Production No. 11, Packard's "Our Common Insects,"
+     Sir John Lubbock's "Origin and Metamorphosis of Insects." I
+     should like the addresses of any parties who have cocoons of
+     the said moths to dispose of; and finally, information
+     regarding the success or failure of any who may have tried
+     the experiment of raising the worms.
+
+                                        Very truly yours,
+
+                                        C. F. ORVIS.
+
+     [_Mr. Orvis is a member of the A. A., has been for years
+     engaged in an important manufacturing business, and we trust
+     may obtain from "those who know," all the information he
+     desires._]
+
+
+EXCHANGES.
+
+Two thousand square-cut post-marks, all different, in a neat book; also
+1500 duplicates, for best offer in stone implements.--Laurie H. McNeill,
+Ch. 902, Mobile, Ala.
+
+Correspondence with amateur egg-collectors desired. Iowa
+preferred.--Oscar Clute, Jr., Iowa City, Iowa.
+
+American bird-skins and eggs (with data), for English. Also mounted
+microscopical pathological specimens. Lists exchanged.--Wm. D. Grier, 49
+Gloucester St., Boston, Mass.
+
+
+NEW CHAPTERS.
+
+_No._    _Name._            _No. of Members._      _Address._
+
+941     Hohokus, N. J. (A)          4       Mrs. R. Van Dien, Jr.
+942     Sioux Falls, Dakota (B)    10       Percy Edmison.
+943     Sancelito, Cal. (A)         7       A. J. Campbell, Box 31, Marin Co.
+944     Buffalo, N. Y. (L)         12       Nathan N. Block, 82 Norris Place.
+945     Baltimore, Md.              4       Maurice Straus, 225 Linden Ave.
+946     Seneca Falls (B)            5       Wm. Hopper.
+947     San Francisco, Cal. (J)     4       Miss Alice J. Ellis, 27 So. Park.
+948     Prairie Du Chien, Wis. (A)  7       Chas. Chase, Jr.
+949     New York, N. Y. (Z)         4       Fred Stanton, 420 W. 61st St.
+
+
+DISSOLVED.
+
+863     Providence, R. I. (E)               Frederic Gorham.
+362     Newport, R. I. (B)          4       Thomas Crosby, Jr.
+242     Philadelphia (I)                    J. F. Stevens.
+
+
+REORGANIZED.
+
+746     Helena, Montana (A)         8       Kurt Kleinschmidt, Box 292.
+ 68     Grand Junction, Iowa        2       Miss Sarah I. Smith.
+248     Richmond, Va. (A)          23       W. T. Terry, 109 E. Grace St.
+
+Address all communications for this department to the President of the
+A. A.,
+
+MR. HARLAN H. BALLARD,
+    Principal of Lenox Academy, Lenox, Mass.
+
+
+
+
+THE RIDDLE-BOX.
+
+
+As THIS number of ST. NICHOLAS goes to press nearly a month earlier than
+usual, the names of solvers of March puzzles can not appear until the
+issue of the June number.
+
+
+ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE APRIL NUMBER.
+
+
+AN EASTER REBUS.
+
+    Bid folly fly and sin depart;
+    Keep inviolate your heart;
+    And Easter lilies, pure and fair,
+    Will bud and bloom forever there.
+
+
+INVERTED PYRAMID. Across: 1. Depopulated. 2. Nominated. 3. Deluded. 4.
+Roses. 5. Ten. 6. D.
+
+
+ST. ANDREW'S CROSS OF DIAMONDS. I. 1. B. 2. Dem(and). 3. Dolor. 4.
+Belgium. 5. Moist. 6. Rut. 7. M. II. 1. M. 2. Ham. 3. Huron. 4. Marston.
+5. Motor. 6. Nor. 7. N. III 1. M. 2. Tim. 3. Talon. 4. Million. 5.
+Moist. 6. Not. 7. N. IV. 1. M. 2. Sam. 3. Sedan. 4. Madison. 5. Mason.
+6. Non. 7. N. V. 1. N. 2. Tam. 3. Titus. 4. Natural. 5. Murat. 6. Sat.
+7. L.
+
+
+WORD-SQUARES. I. 1. Racer. 2. Agave. 3. Canal. 4. Evade. 5. Relet. II.
+1. Cabal. 2. Above. 3. Bobea. 4. Avers. 5. Least. III. 1. Rabid. 2.
+Abide. 3. Bison. 4. Idols. 5. Dense.
+
+
+PI.
+
+    Spring, with that nameless pathos in the air
+    Which dwells with all things fair;
+    Spring, with her golden suns and silver rain,
+        Is with us once again.
+
+
+CENTRAL ACROSTIC. Arbor Day. Cross-words: 1. slAin. 2. stRew. 3. saBot.
+4. slOop. 5. stRap. 6. seDan. 7. smArt 8. slYly.
+
+
+HOUR-GLASS. Centrals, April fool. Cross-words: 1. TartArean. 2. reaPers.
+3. scRew. 4. vIe. 5. L. 6. aFt. 7. foOls. 8. limOsis. 9. inteLlect.
+
+
+MYTHOLOGICAL NUMERICAL ENIGMA.
+
+    I love to go in the capricious days
+    Of April, and hunt violets.
+
+
+CONNECTED DOUBLE SQUARES. Upper left-hand square, Across: 1. Houp. 2.
+Alto. 3. Ties. 4. Host. Upper right-hand square. Across: 1. Pent. 2.
+Otoe. 3. Suet. 4. Tile. Lower left-hand square, Across: 1. Host. 2.
+Able. 3. Sour. 4. Hern. Lower right-hand square. Across: 1. Tile. 2.
+Eden. 3. Read. 4. Naps.
+
+
+BAGATELLE. 1. More haste, less speed. 2. Medicines were not meant to
+live on. 3. He who hides can find. 4. Pride goeth before a fall. 5. The
+absent party is always faulty. 6. A crowd is not company. 7. Penny wise,
+pound foolish. Key-words: haSte, meAnt, hiDes, prIde, paRty, crOwd,
+peNny.
+
+Central letters, sadiron.
+
+
+MOTHER GOOSE PUZZLE.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This puzzle is based upon one of the Mother Goose rhymes. The pictures
+represent the last word of the six lines of the verse. What is the
+verse?
+
+
+NUMERICAL ENIGMA.
+
+I am composed of seventy-six letters, and am a quotation from "Love's
+Labor Lost."
+
+My 63-21-58-31 is elevated. My 28-1-42-35 is headstrong. My
+72-45-14-62-25 is on every breakfast table. My 2-19-52 is a fashionable
+kind of trimming. My 74-40-55-50-22 is a glossy fabric. My 33-9-29-8 was
+the nationality of Othello. My 38-68-70-17-12-76 is the name of the
+67-3-49-61 of one of Shakspere's most celebrated plays. My 6-43-5-26 is
+location. My 13-75-11-46 is mature. My 30-60-47-54-41 is what often
+follows a chill. My 53-36-4-24 is a mixture. My 16-39-71-20-66 is used
+in bread-making. My 37-73-65-7-23-27-69-18-56-51 is an allurement. My
+32-57-10-15-64-44-59-34-48 is a school.
+
+                                        HAROLD J. HARDING.
+
+
+PI.
+
+    Ta emits a gaftarrn zebree mecos toalfing yb,
+    Dan gribsn, uyo wkon ton hwy,
+    A lenegif sa hewn agree wordsc twaai
+        Freoeb a leapac tage
+    Meos dronswou gapeant; dan ouy scacer loudw tarts,
+    Fi form a cheeb's thear
+    A buel-yede Drady, pepsting froth, soldhu ays,
+        "Hedlob em! I ma Mya!"
+
+
+CENTRAL ACROSTIC.
+
+Each of the words described contains the same number of letters; the
+central letters, transposed, will spell the name of the heroine of one
+of Sir Walter Scott's novels.
+
+1. Was conspicuous. 2. A hard covering. 3. A citadel. 4. A box for
+fruit. 5. To ward off. 6. A sudden fright.
+
+                                        AVIS.
+
+
+GREEK CROSS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+UPPER SQUARE: 1. To begin. 2. A small drum. 3. Over. 4. Wanders. 5. A
+lock of hair.
+
+LEFT-HAND SQUARE: 1. A region. 2. A report. 3. Plentiful. 4. Plants of
+the cabbage family. 5. A lock of hair.
+
+CENTRAL SQUARE: 1. A lock of hair. 2. A black bird. 3. To elude. 4. A
+plant which grows in wet grounds. 5. To scoff.
+
+RIGHT-HAND SQUARE: 1. To scoff. 2. Grand. 3. Declined. 4. A mournful
+poem. 5. To color anew.
+
+LOWER SQUARE: 1. To scoff. 2. Mother of pearl. 3. Applause. 4. One of
+the Muses. 5. To furnish with a new upper part.
+
+                                        "HOMER."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+A DECORATION-DAY PUZZLE.
+
+The words forming this numerical enigma are pictured instead of
+described. The answer, consisting of a hundred and one letters, is a
+four-line verse by Bayard Taylor.
+
+
+TRIPLE ACROSTIC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+ACROSS: 1. Pertaining to a monarch. 2. Entering without right. 3.
+Unmarried women. 4. Unfaithful. Primals, a vapor; centrals, a brown
+coating; finals, in a smaller degree. Primals, centrals, and finals
+combined, unsuspicious.
+
+                                        F. L. F.
+
+
+INVERTED PYRAMID.
+
+ACROSS: 1. Measurement. 2. Consumes. 3. A chemical substance. 4. A
+sheltered place. 5. In pyramid. Downward: 1. In pyramid. 2. Two-thirds
+of a girl's name. 3. Mankind. 4. Bad. 5. Celebrated. 6. Certain. 7.
+Wrath. 8. A bone. 9. In inverted.
+
+                                        F. L. F.
+
+
+CONNECTED SQUARES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I. UPPER SQUARE: 1. Pertaining to a certain nymph. 2. A disease peculiar
+to children. 3. A dwelling-place. 4. The European blackbird. 5. A charm.
+
+II. LEFT-HAND SQUARE: 1. Burned wood. 2. A continued endeavor to gain
+possession. 3. The inner part. 4. The lesser white heron. 5. A
+pugilistic encounter.
+
+III. RIGHT-HAND SQUARE: 1. An expression of contempt. 2. A small column
+without base or capital. 3. Parts of shoes. 4. To assign. 5. To
+squander.
+
+IV. LOWER SQUARE: 1. A term used in playing with balls. 2. A sacred
+vestment. 3. Proper. 4. A fine yellow clay. 5. A measure.
+
+Centrals, reading downward (eleven letters), an architect who builds
+houses. Centrals, reading across, a mechanical contrivance common in
+cotton-mills.
+
+                                        "L. LOS REGNI."
+
+
+FINAL ACROSTIC.
+
+Each of the words described contains the same number of letters. The
+primals will all be of the same letter; the finals will spell a name
+famous in history.
+
+1. A small shell-fish. 2. An emblem. 3. A common plant having a scarlet
+blossom. 4. To weaken. 5. A specter. 6. An afternoon nap. 7. A leap. 8.
+Unassuming. 9. A violent effort. 10. Irony. 11. A channel.
+
+                                        "JUVENTUS."
+
+
+WORD-SQUARES IN DIAMONDS.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I. Diamond: 1. In soles. 2. To touch lightly. 3. Satisfies. 4. A
+beverage. 5. In soles. Included word-square: 1. To touch lightly. 2.
+Consumed. 3. A beverage.
+
+II. Diamond: 1. In strife. 2. To touch lightly. 3. Much talked of in
+railway offices. 4. An inclosure. 5. In strife. Included word-square: 1.
+To touch lightly. 2. A verb. 3. An inclosure.
+
+III. Diamond: 1. In youthful. 2. The cry of a certain animal. 3. A
+mythical being. 4. Skill. 5. In youthful. Included word-square: 1. The
+cry of a certain animal. 2. Gaseous substance. 3. Skill.
+
+                                        "ARTHUR PENDENNIS."
+
+
+HOUR-GLASS.
+
+The central letters, reading downward, spell the name of a very
+prominent personage.
+
+CROSS-WORDS: 1. Pleasing to the taste. 2. A substance similar to
+varnish. 3. An imp. 4. The name of a character in "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
+5. In decorations. 6. Sick. 7. Resources. 8. To call by the wrong name.
+9. Gives too many doses to.
+
+                                        "D. I. VERSITY."
+
+
+WORD-SQUARE.
+
+The letters of each of the words described may all be found in the word
+NAMER.
+
+1. A girl's name. 2. Close at hand. 3. A cognomen. 4. Surface.
+
+                                        "DENZIL ELINOR."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and
+Girls, Vol. 8, May 1886, No. 7., by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE ***
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