Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, May 30, 1882, by Various

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Title: Harper's Young People, May 30, 1882
       An Illustrated Weekly

Author: Various

Release Date: September 24, 2018 [EBook #57968]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, MAY 30, 1882 ***




Produced by Annie R. McGuire








[Illustration: HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE]

       *       *       *       *       *

VOL. III.--NO. 135. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. PRICE FOUR
CENTS.

Tuesday, May 30, 1882. Copyright, 1882, by HARPER & BROTHERS. $1.50 per
Year, in Advance.

       *       *       *       *       *




[Illustration: "BOW-WOW!"]




THE BIG BLAST AT THE STONE QUARRY.

BY WILLIAM O. STODDARD.


It was Friday afternoon, right in the middle of May, and it seemed as if
the wide front door of Prome Centre Academy would never get through
letting out just one more squad of boys or girls. It was quite the
customary thing for Felix McCue to have to wait a little later than the
rest.

Miss Eccles was a faithful teacher, and she had often told Felix what an
interest she took in him; but he could have heard it a great deal more
thankfully at any other time than just after school, and when he knew
the other boys were waiting for him. He knew they were, because he had
showed them his slate in the arithmetic class, and they had read on it,
in big letters, "Got something to tell you. Big."

He had printed every word of it, and he was glad he had done so now, for
if he had not he would have been all alone when he at last got outside
of the great door. He did not do that, either, until Miss Eccles had
looked him in the face for ten of the longest minutes, and talked to
him, with a ruler in one hand and a book in the other.

Felix had listened, and he had said "yessum," very respectfully, every
time she mentioned George Washington or Benjamin Franklin, but for all
that he was only three seconds in reaching the open air, after she said:

"You may go now, Felix, but I hope you will bring no more bumble-bees
into this school-room."

"Yessum," and he was off so quickly that he did not hear Miss Eccles,
who was trying hard not to laugh right out, and saying to herself:

"The queer little rogue! To think of his telling me, 'Plaze, mum, thim
bees knew just the wans to go for; ye cudn't have picked out betther
b'ys to have 'em light on.' And what I'm to do with him puzzles me. He's
one of the brightest boys in the whole school."

At that moment Felix was walking away from the academy with a boy of
about his own size on either side of him.

"B'ys," he was saying, "did yez know me uncle Mike was boss at the
shtone quarry?"

"I did," said Bun Gates, on his left; and Rube Hollenhouser, on the
right, inquired, almost anxiously, "Was that the big news you kept us
waiting for?"

"Was it that, indade? No; but he was along the green this very noon,
while I was hidin' Pete Mather's hat in the big maple-tree, and he towld
me if I wanted to see the biggest blast of rock that iver was touched
off at wan firing, I'd betther be where I could see the shtone quarry a
little before noon to-morrow."

That was big enough news to satisfy anybody. The quarry was only a mile
or so down the creek, and not a long distance from the bank. It had not
been worked for some years, but Mr. Mike McCue was known to be a
contractor for the new railroad, and Felix was his nephew. There was
perfect confidence to be put, therefore, in the tidings; but Felix
added:

"He bid me not tell everybody, for they don't want a crowd around. I
asked him wud it be safe on the wather, and he said, 'Yes, it wud, or in
it, or undher it, or on the far side of it.' So that's the way we'd
betther go."

It was a trifle doubtful which of the ways suggested by his uncle was
the one Felix recommended adopting, but Bun instantly exclaimed:

"We can get old Harms's boat. He'll lend it to me any day. It'll hold
half a dozen."

"Kape shtill about it, thin. Mebbe Uncle Mike doesn't want to scare the
village. He said they'd all hear it whin it kem."

"Loud as that?" said Rube. "Are they going to blast the whole quarry at
once?"

"That's what I asked him, and he said, 'No; ownly the wist half of it.'
It's the new powdher they're putting in. None of your common shooting
powdher at all. It's a kind that bursts fifty times at wance."

There was a touch of silence after that utterance, for there were
strange stories in circulation as to the explosive power of the new
invention the railroad men were using. Rube Hollenhouser had heard old
Squire Cudworth say that a "hatful of it would blow up the Constitution
of the United States"; and if that were true, what would not be the
effects of a wagon-load or so touched off all at once upon the stone
quarry?

Bun and Rube were no sooner back from driving their cows that night than
they both went over to the blacksmith's house, and secured the loan of
his boat. Of course they told him what they wanted it for, and he said,
instantly:

"Is that so, boys? Tell you what I'll do. I'd like to see that blast.
I'll go myself. Plenty of room in the boat."

"What shall we do when we get to the mill-dam?" asked Bun. "The quarry's
away below the pond."

"We can get another boat below the dam. If we can't, we can haul mine
around it in five minutes."

The boys had been considering this problem at that very moment, but one
look at Harms the blacksmith was enough to convince any one of his
bodily ability to drag any boat on that creek around anything. He was
tremendously large and strong, and curly-headed and good-natured.
Everybody liked him, and he had more gray beard and mustache than any
other man in Prome Centre.

"It's all fixed, then," said Rube.

"I told Deacon Chittenden about it when I drove his cows in for him, and
he said right away that Katy and Bill could go. They won't take up any
room."

"Plenty of room. Let 'em come. I'd just like to see how far that new
powder can blow a rock. Glad you told me. We'll start in good season to
be there."

So far everything had worked to a charm; but while Bun Gates told his
mother at the supper table what was going to happen, his brother Jeff
spoke right out, "Mother, may I go?"

"Yes," said his mother.

And Aunt Dorcas added at once, "Certainly, and Lois too. But, Almira,
you or I, or both of us, had better go along to take care of them."

Bun said something about the size of Harms's boat, but Aunt Dorcas
silenced him with: "Don't I know how many she can carry? Besides, I'm
bound to see that quarry blown up, just for this once."

So Bun was put down; but when they all got out in front of the gate an
hour or so after breakfast next morning, there was Rube Hollenhouser in
front of his gate, and Felix McCue and little Biddy McCue were with him,
and right across the street were Mrs. Chittenden and Katy Chittenden and
Bill, and Bun said to himself, "If we had my speckled pig and
Chittenden's brindled cow, and if Harms took his dog, the boat'd be
'most full."

Aunt Dorcas and Mrs. Chittenden began to think the party was growing
pretty large, but there was no need of it; for when they reached the
creek, near the bridge, there stood old Harms, and the first word he
spoke was:

"I kind o' guessed how it'd be. Mornin', ladies. Glad we've got a good
load for both boats. You get in with me, and the boys can handle t'other
one."

It was just like Harms. In another minute he remarked: "Git in now, and
we'll shove off."

Aunt Dorcas was already in the very front seat of that boat, and Mrs.
Chittenden was in the middle, trying to balance herself. She made
William sit beside her, and they two made the boat look wider, there was
so much extra room on that seat.

The other boat, the one Harms had borrowed, was almost half a size
larger, and it had a cargo this time; for Lois Gates and Katy Chittenden
were on the front seat, and behind them were Felix and Biddy. Rube was
on the rowing seat, and Bun and Jeff were in the stern.

It was a grand ride down the creek, but when they came out on the
mill-pond, Mrs. Chittenden exclaimed:

"I'd no idea it was so wide. Dear me! If I had dreamed of any such risk
as this, I'd never have come."

"Nonsense!" said Aunt Dorcas. "If Mr. Harms's end of the boat keeps
above water, all the rest will."

"He's a very heavy man," sighed Mrs. Chittenden.

So he was, and when they reached the drag way, around the mill-dam, and
saw him put a roller on the grass and gravel, and drag those boats
around, one after the other, on the roller, and put them in the water
below, they understood that his weight counted for something.

Three-quarters of a mile further down the creek; and now it grew wide
and ran slowly, and seemed to have formed a habit of being generally
deeper. The easterly bank sloped away from the water's edge, becoming
higher and steeper the further they drifted down. It was Biddy McCue who
first shouted:

"Yon's the quarry. See the min on the ridge above? Uncle Mike said there
might be less than a hundred of thim."

It looked as if there were at least a score or two, and the bald,
perpendicular front of the great limestone ledge was worth looking at
for a moment.

"Katy," said Lois, eagerly, "do you see the quarry? That's what they're
going to blow away."

"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Chittenden. "Mr. Harms, is there any danger?"

"Not unless there's an awful pile of that new powder behind those rocks.
What they want to do is to tumble the upper front of the ledge over, so
it'll fall into the quarry and they can get at it. I'd just like to see
a rock like that come down, pretty nigh a hundred feet."

"Uncle Mike," said Felix, "told us he'd blown up hapes of stone in his
day, but he'd niver fired a blast like this wan."

"Misther Harms, what wud become of us all if the powdher worruked the
wrong way?"

"What way would that be?" said Mr. Harms.

"The other way. I mean, if instead of blowing out the front of the rock,
it lift that all shtanding where it is, and blew out the country to the
back of it?"

Before the big blacksmith could answer this question, Aunt Dorcas, who
had been looking at her watch, remarked:

"Half-past eleven o'clock. If that thing's going to go off before
dinner-time, it's got to go pretty soon."

"Boys," shouted Rube, "see 'em run! There's only one left on the ridge."

"That's me uncle Mike," said Felix, proudly. "He always touches off the
big blasts himself, and thin there's no powdher wasted."

"He's running too," said Bun. "He's afraid the new powder might get
ahead of him."

"Look now, all of you!" shouted Mr. Harms. "Biggest blast ever heard of
around these parts."

They hardly breathed for the next few seconds, but Aunt Dorcas had her
watch in her hand, and she was just saying, "Half a minute," when a
little puff of smoke and dust shot up at the top of the limestone ridge.
It was followed by other little puffs--nobody could tell how many, for
they were all smothered in a sudden cloud that arose for many feet. The
broad front of stone leaned suddenly out, as if it wished to look down
and see what was going on in the old quarry below. Then it lost its
balance at the same instant, and toppled swiftly over. A huge, dull,
booming report went out from the cloud of smoke and dust on the summit,
and that was followed by another great burst of thunderous, crashing
sound, as the masses of solid stone came down upon the rocky level
below.

It all went by before Aunt Dorcas could look at her watch, and she was
just about to do so, when everybody else shouted "Oh!" and there was a
loud splattering splash in the water between the two boats. The only
"flying rock" sent out by the great blast had narrowly missed doing
serious mischief. It had not been a very large one, but only one human
being in either of those boats failed to dodge and lean the other way.
That Mr. Harms did not dodge or lean accounted for the fact that his
boat was only rocked to and fro a little, but for five minutes afterward
Aunt Dorcas was compelled to scold those seven children for tipping
their boat over, "without any kind of reason for it. The stone never
came nigh you."

Still it was a good thing that the water was only two feet deep, and
that the weather was nice and warm.

"B'ys," said Felix McCue, the moment he got his feet on the bottom, and
stood up, dripping, and holding up Biddy, "did yez iver see a blast like
that?"

"Oh, Bun!" screamed Lois, "are there any more stones coming? Was it the
blast that upset us?"

"Mother! mother!" sputtered poor Katy Chittenden, "did it blow you over
too?"

"Rube," said Bun, "Jeff isn't scared a mite. Are you? I ain't."

"Scared?--no," said Rube. "I wouldn't have missed it for anything, and
all we've got's a ducking."

The big blacksmith did a good deal toward restoring a comfortable state
of mind all around; but he could not make out that the other boat-load
were in a comfortable state of body; and so they set out for home. Long
before they got there, however, Katy said to Lois,

"If it wasn't for my new bonnet strings, I wouldn't care," and Lois
replied:

"Yes; but think how that rock looked when it let go and tumbled over. It
was awful! I'm satisfied."




HANDEL AND "THE MESSIAH."

BY MRS. JOHN LILLIE.


On February 23, 1685, there was born in Halle, Saxony, to an honest
surgeon named Handel, a son, whom he christened George Frederick, and
who was destined half a century later to become the first musician in
the world.

Little Handel's father abhorred music. As soon as the boy began to show
an aptitude for it, his father took him away from school, for fear that
some one would teach him his notes. Whether among teachers or scholars I
don't know, but the boy found a friend who contrived to procure for him
a little dumb spinet, and this he secreted in an attic, and learned not
only his notes from it, but how to use his fingers in practicing. Still
his father opposed him, and but for a certain visit he paid, his genius
might have been long hidden in the dull house at Halle.

The elder Handel was invited to visit his son who was in the service of
the great Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and young George, knowing music was
to be heard, if not easily learned, in that place, determined to go too.
So he ran after his father's carriage so far that the parent's stern
heart relented, and he was taken in.

In the old castle at Weissenfels he quickly found out which of the
inmates were musical, and soon made friends with them. One day, after
the chapel service, he jumped on to the organ stool, and played in such
an astonishing manner that the Duke, who was still lingering in the
chapel, sent up to inquire who was playing. The boy and his indignant
father were summoned: but the Duke's evident delight in the child's
music softened old Handel's heart. He gave his consent to his son's
musical education, and almost from that moment George Frederick Handel
became known as a musician.

[Illustration: GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL.]

I can not tell you anything more of his childhood or youth but that he
studied very hard, and that, like every true genius, he was humble while
he was learning. We must skip over many years to the time when he went
to England; for there he produced his greatest works, and to this day
the English reverence him as their own.

George I., King of England, you know, had been Elector of Hanover, and
so he as well as his successor felt a strong interest in Handel. The
latter went to England in 1710, and there he found that much attention
was paid to Italian music. Operas were very fashionable. They were quite
a novelty then. Fine ladies and gentlemen filled the opera-house. They
crowded the greenrooms behind the scenes, and chatted and talked at the
"wings," as if they were in a drawing-room. Fashion governed nearly
everything, and so Handel, realizing this, set to work upon an opera. He
wrote _Rinaldo_ in fourteen days, and it was produced at Drury Lane with
a splendor that created great excitement throughout London. We never
hear _Rinaldo_ now, but its airs are beautiful, and one of these,
"Lascia ch'io Pianga," lingers in the heart of every one who hears it.

Well, Handel began to teach the Prince of Wales's daughters, to write a
great deal of music, and to be very much the fashion, and very famous.
So he roused the jealousy of petty people, and, strange as it may seem,
opinions differed to such an extent, and such a fuss was made, that
society was divided into two factions. One party favored a distinguished
musician named Buononcini, and the other Handel. The war raged, and
during it a wit and poet named John Byrom wrote the following verse,
which has since been famous:

  "Some say, as compared to Buononcini,
  That Mynheer Handel's but a ninny;
  Others aver that he to Handel
  Is scarcely fit to hold a candle.
  Strange all this difference should be
  'Twixt tweedledum and tweedledee."

Handel's genius, however, was not to be suppressed by any such foolish
contentions. He worked on as usual, and in 1749 produced the work with
which his name is most associated, the oratorio of _The Messiah_.

I do not think you can go into any part of England without finding
people who love _The Messiah_. It used to seem to me it was the one work
every one knew about. And it is well worthy of such general knowledge.
In it are airs that must move every Christian heart. It seems to teach
so many things--reverence, love, hope, and a glimpse of a heaven that
has in it God's many mansions. When I hear it sung it always seems to me
that the voices are those of the angels who sang on Bethlehem's plains,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men."

I want to tell you something about oratorios in general; that is, how
they originated, and what they are as musical works. Oratorios, strictly
speaking, are dramatic and musical compositions where the parts are sung
without scenery or special costume, and they are on sacred subjects.

Dramatic representations of sacred stories are as old as Christianity.
In the Middle Ages they were very common. At times of public rejoicing
they were given, or during any special season, like Advent or Lent, and
so far were they recognized as part of public life that the government
or special societies paid their expenses.

These old performances were very roughly put on the stage, but gradually
from them grew an idea of a distinctly musical and dramatic sacred work.
In Germany, "Passion Music" was written. In Italy, it had long been
thought of and given; finally, the oratorio as we have it now was
developed by various great composers.

Let us consider the oratorio for a moment as represented by Handel's
_Messiah_. The most famous part perhaps is the "Hallelujah Chorus." Hear
this sung by thousands: do you not thrill with joy and praise? As the
music swells on, with its bursts of melodious exultation, we feel
ourselves lifted away from everything common and base. Then take the
sweeter and softer airs: "Behold the Lamb of God," "With His stripes we
are healed," and then the great chorus, "For unto us a Child is born,"
with the rush and sweep of the "Wonderful." Where do we seem to be? With
the shepherds watching on that star-lit plain; with Mary at the cradle
of her Divine Child; with the Wise Men offering up their gifts of
frankincense and myrrh in that illumined stable. The light of God's
glory dazzles us as we listen, and we can only echo in our humble
hearts, with our heads bowed, that repeated joyous "Wonderful!"

Now do you not think a musician who could make any Christian heart full
of such reverence and love ought always to be honored? I like to think
of Handel revered as he is now. His life was not happy in many ways.
Many things troubled him. He used to sit hours playing on his organ, and
I have no doubt trying to reconcile himself to the blindness which fast
came upon him. He had many friends, but no family ties of his own. He
wrote on unceasingly, and some other time I may tell you more of his
work. Just now I have had space only to speak of his greatest oratorio.

It was on April 6 that _The Messiah_ was given at Covent Garden, and
Handel attended the performance. He came home to his house in Brook
Street very weary, and there, eight days later, he died, April 14, 1759.
His grave is in Westminster Abbey.




MR. STUBBS'S BROTHER.[1]

[1] Begun in No. 127, HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY JAMES OTIS,

AUTHOR OR "TOBY TYLER," "TIM AND TIP," ETC.

CHAPTER IX.

MR. STUBBS'S BROTHER.


It was so near the time for the circus to begin that Toby was obliged to
hurry considerably in order to distribute among his friends the tickets
the skeleton had given him, and he advised Abner to remain with Mrs.
Treat while he did so, in order to escape the crowd, among which he
might get injured.

Then he gave his tickets to those boys who he knew had no money with
which to buy any, and so generous was he that when he had finished he
had none for himself and Abner.

That he might not be able to witness the performance did not trouble him
very greatly, although it would have been a disappointment not to see
Ella ride; but he blamed himself very much because he had not saved a
ticket for Abner, and he hurried to find Ben that he might arrange
matters for him.

The old driver was easily found, and still more easily persuaded to
grant the favor which permitted Abner to view the wonderful sights
beneath the almost enchanted canvas.

From one menagerie wagon to another Toby led his friend as quickly as
possible, until they stood in front of the monkeys' cage, where Mr.
Stubbs's supposed brother was perched as high as possible, away from the
common herd of monkeys, which chatted familiarly with every one who
bribed them.

Toby was in the highest degree excited; it seemed as if his pet that had
been killed was again before him, and he crowded his way up to the bars
of the cage, dragging Abner with him, until he was where he could have a
full view of the noisy prisoners.

Toby called to the monkey as he had been in the habit of calling to Mr.
Stubbs, but now the fellow paid no attention to him whatever. There were
so many spectators that he could not spend his time upon one unless he
were to derive some benefit in return.

Fortunately, so far as his happiness was concerned, Toby had the means
of inducing the monkey to visit him, for in his pocket yet remained two
of the doughnuts Mrs. Treat had almost forced upon him; and remembering
how fond Mr. Stubbs had been of such sweet food, he held a piece out to
the supposed brother.

Almost instantly that monkey made up his mind that the freckle-faced boy
with the doughnut was the one particular person whom he should be
acquainted with, and he came down from his perch at a rapid rate. So
long as Toby was willing to feed him with doughnuts he was willing to
remain; but when his companions gathered around in such numbers that the
supply of food was quickly exhausted, he went back to his lofty perch,
much to the boy's regret.

"He looks like Mr. Stubbs, an' he acts like him, an' it must be his
brother sure," said Toby to himself as Abner hurried him away to look at
the other curiosities. When he was at some distance from the cage he
turned and said, "Good-by," as if he were speaking to his old pet.

During the performance that afternoon Abner was in a delightful whirl of
wonder and amazement; but Toby's attention was divided between what was
going on in the ring and the thought of having Mr. Stubbs's brother all
to himself as soon as the performance should be over.

He did, however, watch the boy who sold pea-nuts and lemonade, but this
one was much larger than himself, and looked rough enough to endure the
hardships of such a life.

Toby was also attentive when Ella was in the ring, and he was envied by
all his acquaintances when she smiled as she passed the place where he
was sitting.

Abner would have been glad if the performance had been prolonged until
midnight; but Toby, still thinking of Mr. Stubbs's brother, was pleased
when it ended.

He and Abner waited by the animals' cages until the crowd had again
satisfied their curiosity; and as the last visitor was leaving the tent,
old Ben came in, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Treat, both in exhibition
costume.

Toby was somewhat surprised at seeing them, for he knew their busiest
time was just at the close of the circus, and while he was yet wondering
at their coming, he saw Ella approaching from the direction of the
dressing tent.

He had not much time to spend in speculation, however, for Ben said, as
he came up:

"Now, Toby, you shall see Mr. Stubbs's brother, and talk to him just as
long as you want to."

The skeleton and his wife and Ella looked at each other and smiled in a
queer way as Ben said this; but Toby was too much excited at the idea of
having the monkey in his arms to pay any attention to what was going on
around him.

Ben, unlocking the door of the cage, succeeded after considerable
trouble in catching the particular inmate he wanted, and handing him to
Toby, said:

"Now let's see if he knows you as well as Stubbs did."

Toby took the monkey in his arms with a glad cry of delight, and fondled
him as if he really were the pet he had lost.

Whether it was because the animal knew that the boy was petting him, or
because he had been treated harshly, and was willing to make friends
with the first one who was kind to him, it is difficult to say. It is
certain that as soon as he found himself in Toby's arms he nestled down
with his face by the boy's neck, remaining there as contentedly as if
the two had been friends for years.

"There! don't you see he knows me?" cried the boy, in delight, and then
he sat down upon the ground, caressing the animal, and whispering all
sorts of loving words in his ear.

"He does seem to act as if he had been introduced to you," said old Ben,
with a chuckle. "It would be kinder nice if you could keep him, wouldn't
it?"

"'Deed it would," replied Toby, earnestly. "I'd give everything I've got
if I could have him, for he does act so much like Mr. Stubbs, it seems
as if it must be him."

Then Ella whispered something to the old driver, the skeleton bestowed a
very mysterious wink upon him, the fat woman nodded her head until her
cheeks shook like two balls of very soft butter, and Abner looked
curiously on, wondering what was the matter with Toby's friends.

He soon found out what it was, however, for Ben, after indulging in one
of his laughing spasms, asked:

"Whose monkey is that you've got in your arms, Toby?"

"Why, it belongs to the circus, don't it?" And the boy looked up in
surprise.

"No, it don't belong to the circus; it belongs to you--that's who owns
it."

"Me? Mine? Why, Ben--"

Toby was so completely bewildered as to be unable to say a word, and
just as he was beginning to think it some joke, Ben said:

"The skeleton an' his wife, an' Ella an' I, bought that monkey this
forenoon, an' we give him to you, so's you'll still be able to have a
Mr. Stubbs in the family."

[Illustration: "'OH, BEN!' WAS ALL TOBY COULD SAY."]

"Oh, Ben!" was all Toby could say. With the monkey tightly clasped in
his arms, he took the old driver by the hand; but just then the skeleton
stepped forward, holding something which glistened.

"Mr. Tyler," he said, in his usual speech-making style, "when our friend
Ben told us this morning about your having discovered Mr. Stubbs's
brother, we sent out and got this collar for the monkey, and we take the
greatest possible pride in presenting it to you; although, if it had
been something that my Lilly could have made with her own fair fingers,
I should have liked it better."

As he ceased speaking, he handed Toby a very pretty little dog-collar,
on the silver plate of which was inscribed:

MR. STUBBS'S BROTHER,

PRESENTED TO

TOBY TYLER

BY

THE SKELETON, THE FAT WOMAN,

OLD BEN, LITTLE ELLA.

Toby took the collar, and as he fastened it on the monkey's neck, he
said, in a voice that trembled considerably with emotion:

"You've all of you been awful good to me, an' I don't know what to say
so's you'll know how much I thank you. It seems as if ever since I
started with the circus you've all tried to see how good you could be;
an' now you've given me this monkey that I wanted so much. Some time,
when I'm a man, I'll show you how much I think of all you've done for
me."

The tears of gratitude that were gathering in Toby's eyes prevented him
from saying anything more, and then Mrs. Treat and Ella both kissed,
him, while Ben said, in a gruff tone:

"Now carry the monkey home, an' get your supper, for you'll want to come
down here this evening, an' you won't have time if you don't go now."

Ella, after making Toby promise that he would see her again that night,
went with Mr. and Mrs. Treat, while old Ben, as if afraid he might
receive more thanks, walked quickly away toward the dressing-rooms, and
there was nothing else for Toby and Abner to do but go home.

It surely seemed as if every boy in the village knew that Toby Tyler had
remained in the tent after the circus was over, and almost all of them
were waiting around the entrance when the two boys came out with the
monkey.

If Toby had staid there until each one of his friends had looked at and
handled the monkey as much as he wanted to, he and Abner would have
remained until morning, and Mr. Stubbs's brother would have been made
very ill-natured.

He waited until his friends had each looked at the monkey, and then he
and Abner started home, escorted by nearly all the boys in town.

The partners in the amateur circus scheme were nearly as wild with joy
as Toby was, for now their enterprise seemed an assured success, since
they had two real ponies and a live monkey to begin with. They seemed to
consider it their right to go to Uncle Daniel's with Toby; and when the
party reached the corner that marked the centre of the village, they
decided that the others of the escort should go no farther--a decision
which relieved Toby of an inconvenient number of friends.

As it was, the party was quite large enough to give Aunt Olive some
uneasiness lest they should track dirt in upon her clean kitchen floor,
and she insisted that both the boys and the monkey should remain in the
yard.

Toby had an idea that Mr. Stubbs's brother would be treated as one of
the family; and had any one hinted that the monkey would not be allowed
to share his bed and eat at the same table with him, he would have
resented it strongly.

But Uncle Daniel soon convinced him that the proper place for his pet
was in the wood-shed, where he could be chained to keep him out of
mischief, and Mr. Stubbs's brother was soon safely secured in as snug a
place as a monkey could ask for.

Not until this was done did the partners return to their homes, or the
centre of attraction, the tenting grounds, nor did Toby find time to get
his supper and go for the cows.

Not once during the afternoon had Toby said anything to Abner of the
good fortune that might come to him through old Ben; but when he got
back from the pasture and met Uncle Daniel in the barn, he told him what
the old driver had said about Abner.

"Are you sure you heard him rightly, Toby, boy?" asked the old
gentleman, pushing his glasses up on his forehead, as he always did when
he was surprised or perplexed.

"I know he said that; but it seems as if it was too good to be true,
don't it?"

"The Lord's ways are not our ways, my boy, and if He sees fit to work
some good to the poor cripple, He can do it as well through a circus
driver as through one of His elect," said Uncle Daniel, reverentially,
and then he set about milking the cows in such an absent-minded way that
he worried old Short-horn until she kicked the pail over when it was
nearly half full.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]




THE LITTLE GREEN BEDS.

BY MRS. M. E. SANGSTER.


  There are little green beds in many a row
  On our hill-sides fair and our valleys low,
  And lying still in their hollows deep,
  The gallant soldiers are fast asleep.
  Oh, gently we tread when we pass a mound
  Which under the flag is holy ground.

  And over our country here and there
  Those little green beds grow bright and fair
  When the May flowers drop in the lap of June,
  And sweet in the pastures the wild bees croon.
  With banner and bugle and beat of drum,
  To honor the brave, then the people come.

  They come with the roses red and white,
  And the starry lilies as pure as light;
  They scatter the blossoms everywhere,
  And the perfume thrills on the sighing air
  As they wreathe with beauty each lowly mound
  That under the flag is holy ground.

  O children, glad as the summer skies,
  With your dancing dimples and laughing eyes,
  Little you dream of the wild work done
  Ere the soldiers' rest in these beds was won;
  And you only know that here brave ones lie
  Sleeping so soundly as years go by.

  Nothing they heed of the work or play
  Of the busy world in the merry May.
  Though life was sweet to the hero band,
  They died for love of our native land;
  And so we garland each lowly mound
  That under the flag is holy ground.




MY FIRST KANGAROO HUNT.

BY MRS. J. C. GIFFORD.


My husband and I were staying at a country house sixteen miles from
Champion Bay, quite in the "bush," and miles away from any one. Our host
was an influential person, and the owner of one of the largest stock
farms on the great continent of Australia.

Everything was arranged for the hunt the day before, Mr. B---- having
selected and had brought in from the bush those horses which he thought
most suitable. The luncheon was all packed up overnight, and sent to the
hunting ground at four o'clock in the morning, accompanied by a barrel
of water, a luxury unattainable in the country we were bound for.

When we rose in the morning we saw from our windows some of the
gentlemen already starting, and about an hour afterward the carriage
which was to convey our party of five to the meet was brought round to
the door.

After we had driven about nine miles we came to a hollow, where we found
our horses waiting. Mine was a very neat gray, full of spirit, but very
good-tempered, while my husband's mount was a pretty bay mare, very
fast, which pulled considerably. We set off, each of us armed with
boomerangs, or heavy curved sticks from eighteen inches to two feet in
length. Our horses were excited, but we had to ride along as quietly as
possible, for fear we should start a kangaroo and let it get away too
far ahead.

We had not long to wait before a beautiful "flying doe" got up about
three-quarters of a mile in front of us, when every one let his horse go
as hard as he could, until the pace became tremendous, the horses having
to jump all the bushes they came to.

After we had galloped for several miles, the country became rough and
thickly grown with black-boys--a species of palm-tree, so called from
its black stem. Unfortunately, my husband, in avoiding a collision with
a lady, managed to come up against one of them, and it being strong, did
not give with the weight of the horse, and knocked him out of the
saddle. For a moment I was rather frightened, but as he called to me
that he was all right, and told me to go on, I did so. He soon got his
horse back, and came after us as quickly as possible.

Of course this little episode rather threw me out of the hunt, and in
the distance I saw Miss L---- going a good pace with the kangaroo close
ahead of her. She rode very well, and never once left it. After a while
I found myself pretty close to it, and by this time our horses were
getting a little bit used up. It seemed a long time before the kangaroo
was knocked over. As soon as one of us got alongside of it, it doubled,
and then the work of getting sufficiently near to upset it had to begin
again. The pace they go is almost incredible, especially that of a
"flying doe," and before one is accustomed to it their hopping has a
peculiar effect. Each spring they give, their tails beat the ground as
if worked by machinery. Mr. B---- eventually knocked over the "flying
doe" at Miss L----'s request, she being uncertain how it ought to be
done. I am glad to say it was not killed, but "ear-marked," and let go.

We gave our horses a little rest, and then started off again. Luckily
the day was cloudy, or the heat on the sand plains would have been
unbearable. This time again we were most fortunate, and soon saw a very
big kangaroo going away ahead of us. After a short time we came to a bit
of thick bush which the kangaroo made for. If not excited, one would
think twice about going straight into it. However, I saw two bush-riders
go at it, so thought I would try too, much to their amusement, and I was
rewarded. Just in the middle the kangaroo doubled, and being then quite
close to him, I had all the fun to myself, and Bismarck--my
horse--entered into it perfectly.

Crash we went through the bush regardless of the possibility of eyes
being poked out by boughs, and our faces being scratched all over. In
fact, I found the only thing to do was to sit tight, keep my head down,
and let the horse go. He followed the kangaroo until we found ourselves
in the open again. Then we came alongside of him in a canter, as he was
getting tired, so I got Bismarck very close, and knocked him down. I
then thought he would give us no more trouble, but much to my surprise,
when pulling up the horse, I saw him get up and begin to go off. I was
determined he should not get away, so our chase began again. We soon
were together, and I made Bismarck keep a little bit ahead of him,
waiting for our opportunity to upset him. He was actually hopping along
under my feet, and I knocked his head with my foot. He tore my habit by
putting one of his paws through it, and scratched one of Bismarck's
fore-legs in trying to cross him. This he was not quick enough in doing,
and was soon down on the ground. The actual run was, I believe, only two
miles. The kangaroo was afterward killed, and his paws cut off for me as
a remembrance of my first hunt, but in drying they were spoiled, and I
never got them. His tail was taken home to be made into soup, which is
most excellent.

After luncheon the gentlemen went off to find another kangaroo if
possible. They were all on foot, except my husband and Mr. B----'s
nephew. However, they soon found a fine one, and four of them carried it
in to us alive. They tied a rope round it, and fastened it to a tree. At
first the animal tried hard to get away, but finding it useless,
remained very still. We had a few dogs out with us, but they are not
required if there are a good many people mounted. Of course, to any one
hunting by himself, they would be a necessity. Just before our start
homeward it was proposed to let the kangaroo go, and with some
difficulty they managed to untie the rope. The kangaroo being at bay, it
stood upon its hind-legs, with its back to a tree, and kept striking out
with its paws. It really was a piteous sight, standing there with its
big brown eyes, and it did not seem to realize it was free, although the
dogs barked and people shouted to make it move.

At last it went off, and I longed for it to get away; but before going
any distance it stood up again, with the dogs round it, and the poor
brave kangaroo was soon dragged by them to the ground. It seemed quite a
melancholy ending to our day.




[Illustration: "JUST ONE LOCK OF HAIR."]

JUST ONE LOCK OF HAIR.


  "You see, mamma dear, Charley asked
    For just one lock of hair;
  I thought I'd cut it off myself,
    I knew you would not care.

  "Please now, mamma, don't look so grave,
    The piece is very small;
  And, see--I cut it off just where
    It doesn't show at all."




OILING THE WAVES.


We have all heard of pouring oil on the waters, but most of us have
supposed that the phrase meant only the soothing of angry people by
gentle words, and that it was what the grammars call a figurative
expression.

But sailors and fishermen have often tried the experiment of sprinkling
oil upon stormy waves with great success. The oil when dropped upon the
billows spreads over their surfaces, forming a fine film, and smoothing
a safe path for ships that would otherwise be in danger.

Many curious instances of this are given by the captains of whalers and
merchant ships. The master of the _Gem_, a British brigantine, bound
from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Bristol, encountered a hurricane,
which blew frightfully for thirty-six hours. The vessel was in the
utmost peril, when the captain remembered to have read an article on the
use of oil at sea. He at once poured a quantity into a canvas bag, and
fastened it to a rope six fathoms long, trailed it to windward of the
ship, and the oil leaked out, and made smooth water around the vessel.

In September, 1846, a terrific gale of wind lashed the Atlantic to fury,
and a little fishing-boat was seen tearing her way through the white
waves to the coast of Sable Island. Watchers on the shore saw two men on
board throwing something at intervals into the air.

When the boat arrived on shore, as she did in safety, with all her crew,
it was found that the captain had stationed two men near the
fore-shrouds, where he had lashed two casks of oil. Each man was armed
with a wooden ladle two feet long, with which he dipped up the blubber
and oil, and threw it as high as he could into the sea. The wind carried
it to leeward, and as it spread far over the water, though the waves
rose very high, they did not break. The little _Arno_ rode into Sable
Island, leaving a shining path in her wake.

The way in which the oil is used by those who wish to preserve their
boats from wreck is very simple.

The _King Cenric_, for instance, a sailing ship bound from Bombay to
Liverpool, with coal, was caught in a heavy gale, which lasted five
days. Her officers filled two canvas clothes-bags with oil, and made two
or three small holes in each. The bags were then towed along by the
ship.

Our own Dr. Franklin, who always used his eyes, tried the experiment of
calming rough water by oil in the harbors of Newport and Portsmouth. He
had observed the serenity of the waves around the whaling ships, and he
said that even a tea-spoonful of oil produced a wonderful effect.

Mr. John Shields, of Perth, Scotland, has been trying the experiment on
a grand scale in Peterhead North Harbor. His apparatus carries twelve
hundred feet of piping into deep water two hundred yards seaward of the
bar. There are three conical valves, fixed seventy-five feet apart, at
the sea end of the pipe, and when the pipes are charged with oil, by
means of a force-pump in a hut on shore, the oil escapes so rapidly that
the wildest waves become gentle ripples.

Mr. Shields has been improving and testing his invention for two years,
and expects by means of it to make the dangerous harbor of Peterhead
entirely safe, however furious the weather.




[Illustration: IN THE HALLS OF HIS ANCESTORS.]




PHOTOGRAPHY AND WORK.

BY ALLAN FORMAN.


Amateur photography is getting to be exceedingly popular. The price of
outfits is so low that they are within reach of all, and from what we
hear it would seem that a goodly number of the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE
are engaging in it. A few words therefore on the subject from one who
has been through the first few months of enthusiasm and disappointment
which succeed the purchase of an instrument may be of service to those
who have embarked on the ocean of amateur photography.

Of course you will use the dry plates. I say of course, because for the
amateur they are cheaper, more convenient, produce better results, and
afford a wider latitude of subject than the wet plates. We will suppose,
then, that you have provided yourself with a good camera and lens,
chemicals, plates, baths, and all that go to make a complete outfit.

Your first trouble will be with your dark room. It must be _absolutely_
dark; the faintest ray of white light will destroy the most perfectly
timed picture. Any closet will do, so long as you can have perfect
darkness and room to work. The most luxurious dark room I ever saw was
ten feet square, provided with hot and cold water, and lighted by two
large windows with panes of ruby glass. The gold-colored glass looks the
same, but is worthless for photographic purposes. On the other hand, I
have worked in a closet two feet deep, by the dim light of a single ruby
lamp. But in photography as in everything else the "golden mean" is
preferable.

If kept in a perfectly dark box, the dry plates need not be developed
for months. Travellers often change plates, and even develop and fix
them, at night, in their rooms, by the aid of a ruby lantern. As the
changing of plates is an operation which consumes but little time, this
may be done with safety, but we would recommend the young photographer
to make use of his dark room for the process of developing.

Besides the pans, or baths as they are called, for the chemicals, you
must have in the dark room a supply of clear water, and a vessel in
which to throw it after it has been used. Dry plates require frequent
washing, as we shall see further on. Your dark room must be, then, of
moderate size, free from white light, provided with clean water, and
free from dust. If it is dusty, you will have minute specks on the
picture. The plates must be kept in this room, and must be transferred
to and from the plate-holders here.

Next comes the business of mixing the chemicals. There are several
different formulas for the development of dry plates, but I have found
the ferrous-oxalate developer to be the simplest and best. The most
convenient way to prepare the solutions is to take two common glass
preserve jars, put in about a quarter of a pound of neutral oxalate of
potash in one, and about the same amount of protosulphate of iron in the
other; then pour on warm water, and let the crystals dissolve.

It makes no difference how much water you put in; the object is to get a
"saturated" solution; that is, a solution in which the water has
absorbed all the chemical matter it can take up. After the chemicals
have had time to dissolve--say fifteen or twenty minutes--filter the
solutions into separate bottles, and cork them tightly, to keep out the
dust. Always filter all your solutions before using them; even filter
the water if it is not perfectly clear. Cleanliness is a prime necessity
in photography, and the amateur can not be too careful.

Now comes the "fixing" solution, which is made by dissolving four ounces
of hyposulphite of soda in twenty ounces of water. Filter into a bottle,
and cork it until used. Make at the same time a saturated solution of
common alum, and use it for washing the plates after taking them out of
the developer, and before fixing. Directions are given by many involving
the use of cyanide of potassium, tartaric acid, bromide of ammonia, and
the like; but it is better for the beginner to use as few chemicals as
possible. More pictures are spoiled than saved by inexperienced
doctoring.

After your chemicals are all prepared, put a plate in your holder, or
wooden box with slides, one or more of which accompany every outfit.
Focus your camera on some object; a row of buildings, the side of a
house, or a board fence is preferable for this experiment. Take off the
cap, and pull the slide about half of the way out. Expose about six
seconds, and pull out the slide the rest of the way. Expose this six
seconds again, and replace the slide. You now have two exposures, of six
and twelve seconds respectively, on the same plate. This is for timing
the lens. It is impossible to give any definite rules for the time of an
exposure; experience must teach this.

In a gallery where the surroundings are the same and the light varies
but little, it is comparatively easy to determine how long a plate
should be exposed in the camera. But in out-of-door work the amateur
must take into consideration the state of the weather and the
atmosphere, the presence or absence of reflecting surfaces, such as a
stretch of sand-beach, a sheet of water, or the proximity of a
light-colored building, and time the plate accordingly.

After you have taken the test-plate, return to your dark room, and pour
into the bath four ounces of neutral oxalate, and mix with it one ounce
of iron solution. Take the plate from the holder, wash it in cold water,
and drop it into the mixture. The image will begin to appear in from
three to five minutes. After it has become clearly defined, wash it
again in cold water, and put it in the alum solution for a few minutes.
Another washing, and it is ready for the fixing solution, which will
keep the picture from turning black, as it would otherwise do, if
exposed to the light.

Let it remain in the fixing solution until the white film has
disappeared. Then wash it in water, and you have your negative. Now
examine this carefully, and see whether the six-second or the
twelve-second exposure is the best. After a few experiments you will be
able to judge pretty accurately how long to expose a plate.

It would be impossible to enumerate the mistakes which a young
photographer will make. The only way is to profit by them, and not make
the same one a second time. Many boys who get a photographic outfit are
disgusted with it, after one or two trials, because they can not make as
good a picture as a professional photographer. The principal causes of
failure can, however, be enumerated as follows:

1. Imperfectly darkened operating-room, which will make the picture dim
or "foggy."

2. Dust in the dark room, unfiltered chemicals or washing water, which
will make pinholes in the negative.

3. Over or under exposure, which will either make the negative too black
or too thin to print successfully. This last, however, is excusable in
the young beginner.

Finally, boys are apt to be careless. A crack in the door of the
operating-room, a bottle left uncorked to collect the dust, dirt or dust
on the hands, a little more of this solution or a little less of that,
they think would make no difference. Photography requires accuracy and
cleanliness, and no one can hope to take a satisfactory picture unless
he will cultivate these qualities.

If any boy or girl--and girls, as a general rule, make better amateur
photographers than boys--thinks to learn amateur photography for "fun,"
I should say to him or her, emphatically, Don't. But to any one who has
a sincere love for the beautiful in nature, and who is willing to _work_
to obtain lasting mementos of the scenes which are dear to him, a
photographic outfit may become a source of never-ending pleasure.




WHAT A GEORGIA BOY FOUND WHILE FISHING.


One day several years ago a Georgia boy went fishing. He started for a
creek that ran not far from his home; but as he knew there were few fish
in it except small cat-fish, he probably did not expect to return with a
very well-filled basket. Most boys, however, know how to get a good deal
of pleasure out of a day's fishing, even if the fish are small and bite
slowly.

Taking his lines and hooks, this Georgia boy went to the creek, and
there sat down to dig for bait with his pocket-knife. In digging, he
turned up a curious and pretty pebble which attracted his attention.
Wiping the earth from it, he found it to be semi-transparent, and about
the color of the flame of a wood fire. As he turned it around, it
reflected the light in a peculiar way which interested the boy, and so,
instead of throwing the pebble away, he put it into his pocket.

As he had never seen a stone of the kind, he showed it to a good many
persons as a curiosity in a small way, and after a while he came to
value it about as a boy values a marble of the kind called real agate.

On one occasion he showed his pretty stone to a visitor from Cincinnati,
who seemed even more interested in it than others had been. This
gentleman examined the pebble again and again, and finally asked
permission to take it to Cincinnati with him to show to some one there.
Not long afterward the gentleman returned, and told the lad that his
"pretty stone" was worth a good many thousands of dollars. It was, in
fact, what is called a fire opal, a very precious stone, specimens of
which are so very scarce and costly that jewellers can not afford to
make use of them. The few that have been found since Humboldt carried
specimens to Europe have been eagerly bought at enormous prices for the
great museums.

When the parents of the Georgia boy learned the nature and value of his
discovery they had the stone sent to Europe, and sold to advantage. The
sum received for it was quite a little fortune.

I have never heard how many fish the boy caught, but I am very sure that
he can not complain of his luck on that day.

Since that time a good many opals have been found in the region in which
the boy dug for bait, and among them one or two small fire opals, but
none equal in value to his. Some efforts have been made to search the
region thoroughly, and to work it as an opal mine. There is a great
difference in opals, but when they are really beautiful their value is
very large. For an opal in the museum at Venice $250,000 was offered
without success. Marc Antony is said to have sent a Roman Senator into
exile because he would not sell him an opal ring for which he had paid
nearly a million of dollars.




"POPSEY."

BY MATTHEW WHITE, JUN.


This was the name Walter Radlow's father had requested should be given
the gray donkey which he presented to his son on the latter's thirteenth
birthday.

"You see, I was at my wits' end what to buy," he afterward explained;
"for a dozen birthdays, to say nothing of as many Christmases, had about
exhausted my genius for discovering something new, and I was beginning
to think I'd have to start all over again with a rattle, when the idea
of a donkey and cart popped into my head."

So Popsey was the donkey, and the donkey was Walter's, and--such a
donkey! Not one of your meek, spiritless animals, "warranted gentle with
ladies and children," that you must beat to make go, and simply cease
beating to stop.

Ah, no; Popsey, though not wild or vicious, was full of life, which was
just what Walter delighted in; and as Mrs. Radlow had satisfied herself
that the beast was really too small to do any serious damage, she ceased
to worry about his "playfulness."

But it was not long before Popsey became so attached to his young master
that it was thought perfectly safe to allow two-year-old Amy the
privilege of a ride now and then, from which she returned in a very
mixed state of mind as to whether she wanted to tell papa about Popsey,
or Popsey about papa.

One Saturday, about three months after Popsey's advent, Walter's cousins
came over from Wallingville to make him a visit. They were the children
of Mr. Radlow's only brother, and Helen was fourteen, May twelve, and
Jack ten.

They arrived about nine in the morning, to find Walter just recovering
from an attack of rheumatism, and suffering from such a raging toothache
that he could scarcely bear to speak.

"But don't mind me," he said, as they all gathered about him to condole
and bemoan. "When you come from town to the country for the first time
in years, and for such a short stay, too, you mustn't stick in the house
just because a chap can't go round with you to-- Oh!" and poor Walter
suddenly dashed his head down against the hop pillow on the lounge,
while the girls sympathetically exclaimed, "Too bad!" and Jack looked as
if he was afraid it might be "catching."

But in a moment or two Walter bobbed up again to say, "There's the
croquet set and archery, tennis and--Popsey."

"Oh yes; that's the donkey, you know," eagerly interrupted Jack. "And,
oh, Walter, did you say we might drive him?"

"Of course. I guess Helen can manage the fellow. And, by-the-way, you
might take the cart and drive over to the Hillwins'. Fred's got a prime
book about middies I've wanted to read ever since Christmas, and if
you'll borrow it for me, I think it'll make me forget this--" And the
boy expressively ended his sentence by another plunge into the depths of
his hop pillow.

When the plan was first mentioned to her, Mrs. Radlow was inclined to
doubt Helen's ability to deal with Popsey's peculiarities. Though docile
enough with Walter, he might prove troublesome to a stranger.

"But, Aunt Jennie, don't you remember how I drove when we were all up in
the mountains one summer? And, besides, you know you wrote to mamma that
Popsey was so small that you never worried about the children being out
with him."

As this last argument of Helen's could not very well be answered, the
coachman was ordered to harness up.

When the cart was brought to the door, and the three visitors prepared
to crowd themselves into it, a great outcry was made by Amy, who
shouted, "Me too! me too!" so often and so shrilly that, for the sake of
securing quiet in the house for Walter, Mrs. Radlow at last consented to
let her go.

"I'll hold her on my lap just as tight," pleaded May, "and Jack can
stand up behind."

And so it was arranged, and Amy's face, which had been all drawn down
for a good cry, wrinkled up into a laugh instead.

Then Popsey was petted and patted, endearingly addressed as "Good
donkey," and called upon times innumerable to "whoa" when he had not
thought of stirring, after which preliminaries the girls got in, Amy was
handed over to them, and Jack climbed up behind.

"Drive around to the front lawn, so Walter can see you," said Mrs.
Radlow, when all was ready for a start, whereupon Helen chirped to her
steed, and guided him over the grass opposite the second-story window,
at which appeared a black head and white pillow, one of which was nodded
gayly, and the other waved on high, the two to be suddenly clapped
together again in a fashion, that caused Helen to give Popsey a touch of
the whip, and speed off after the "prime book about middies."

[Illustration: "'ISN'T HE JUST TOO CUNNING!'"]

"Oh, isn't he just too cunning!" exclaimed May, as the little donkey
trotted along, with his big load, as steadily as a family horse.

Amy crowed with delight; Helen made a great show of flourishing her whip
(taking good care, however, to keep it out of range of Popsey's long
ears), while Jack pranced about behind in genuine boyish joy. The road
was easy enough to follow, and inside of three-quarters of an hour Helen
drew up before the Hillwins' gate. Their house was the only one within
sight, and just beyond it two or three roads crossed one another in
quite a confusing manner.

"It's lucky we haven't any further to go, Helen," remarked May, as she
noted the latter fact, "for we'd surely become mixed, and-- But I
declare, if Amy isn't fast asleep in my arms! Poor dear, the ride's been
too long for her, I guess. You go in, Helen, and I'll sit perfectly
still so as not to wake her. Don't be long, though."

Jack was already out and standing at Popsey's head, but no sooner had
her elder sister vanished from sight under the long grape arbor that led
to the house, than May suddenly discovered that she was terribly
thirsty.

"Oh, Jack," she cried, "I must go in and get a drink; but I don't want
to wake baby, and make her cross, perhaps; so I'll just put her down
here in the bottom of the cart on the seat cushion. I'll be back in a
minute or two; but mind, keep a tight hold on the donkey, and if Amy
wakes up, talk to her till I come."

Jack answered "All right," May jumped down to hurry off after Helen, and
then there was no sound to break the country stillness but the autumn
wind, as it whirled the dead leaves to the ground, and the rumble of a
train as it rushed along the track down by the river.

As it happened, Fred Hillwin was not at home, or he most certainly would
have come out to inspect Popsey and keep Jack company. As for Fanny, she
was so overjoyed at the unexpected call from her old school friends,
that for about five minutes she could do nothing but give expression to
her delight. Then the book Walter wanted had to be hunted up, all of
which together consumed a good deal of time, the delay seeming
especially prolonged to Jack, who soon grew tired of gazing at the top
of baby's cap between Popsey's ears, and longed for some more exciting
occupation. The donkey stood as if glued to the spot, and Amy slept on
as peacefully as if in her little crib at home.

Suddenly the noon-day quiet was broken in upon by the blast of a horn,
accompanied by the quick trot of horses' feet.

"A circus, perhaps!" exclaimed Jack; but, alas! whatever it was, nothing
could be seen from where he stood, for the sound came from the turnpike
just beyond the cross-roads before mentioned.

"Oh, how I would like to see what it is!" sighed the boy. Then he
quickly measured with his eye the distance he would have to run, saw
that Popsey seemed perfectly stationary, and with a sudden impulse
dashed off to the corner, arriving just in time to behold a four-in-hand
coach rush by like the wind.

It had scarcely passed him, however, when it stopped with an abruptness
that threatened to pitch the passengers on ahead of it.

"What can be the matter?" thought Jack, and with all a boy's curiosity
he ran on down the road to find out.

It seemed that one of the "leaders" had stumbled and fallen, and
consequently been stepped on by the "wheelers," which resulted in such
an entanglement of horses and harness as Jack had never seen before.

With wide-open eyes he looked on at the efforts of the gentlemen to
straighten things out, and was about to ask if he could help them, when
suddenly, with a cry of "Oh, Popsey--and the baby!" he tore back to the
Hillwins' gate, and found the donkey-cart--gone.

With a terrible fear in his heart, the thoughtless boy gave one
despairing look around him, and then started off on a run, in the
direction in which Popsey had been headed, after a black speck just
visible in the distance.

Two minutes later Helen and May came hurrying down the long walk through
the garden, provoked with themselves at having staid so long.

"I do hope Amy hasn't waked up," said May; "but I told Jack in case she
should-- Why, where are they?"

"Perhaps Jack's driven down the road a little," suggested Helen.

But a hurried glance in both directions soon convinced the girls that
the donkey-cart was nowhere near, and they were both beginning to feel a
dread of they knew not what, when all at once May exclaimed, "Oh, Helen,
look! here comes Jack now, and _without Popsey_!"

In great excitement the sisters ran to meet him, and imagine their
horror when, with a voice all broken with sobs, he cried: "Oh! oh! it
was only a--a peddler's wagon, and I ran nearly a mile to catch it,
and--and now I don't know where to look, because Popsey's run off with
the baby!"

Terrified beyond description at the thought of the danger that
threatened their aunt's pet, who had been so reluctantly committed to
their charge, the girls commanded Jack to tell them instantly just how
it had all happened, which he did with teeth-chattering from fright,
and repeated assertions that he had believed Popsey was asleep.

"But didn't I tell you not to stir?--and oh, Helen, it's partly my fault
too, for if I hadn't been so foolish as to leave Amy, she--" Here May
broke down completely, and leaving her and Jack in tears together, Helen
flew back to the house, and soon returned with Mrs. Hillwin, Fanny, the
maid, and the cook. Then she pointed out the three roads it was possible
the donkey had taken, and burst out crying herself.

"An' shure, miss, don't give way so," said the cook, cheeringly, "but
jist take yer stand at the cross-roads beyant, an' ask ivery person that
comes along--an' precious few do it be in this wild region, bad luck to
it!--ef they're afther seein' a donkey runnin' off wid a baby."

This sensible suggestion was at once acted upon, and while the rest all
hurried off in the direction of a turnip-field, which the maid declared
Popsey must have sniffed, Helen stood at the junction of the three roads
until a pleasant-faced old gentleman in a buggy approached her.

"Oh, sir," she cried, rushing up dangerously close to the wheels, "did
you meet a runaway donkey-cart?"

"No, not I," was the answer; and the gentleman repressed a smile, but
suddenly grew quite grave as he drew rein and asked if the donkey's name
was Popsey.

"Oh, yes, yes," exclaimed Helen. "And have you seen him?"

"No, but I am going to see his owner now, and if you will get in, I will
take you along with me. I am the family doctor, and am quite well
acquainted with Popsey."

Hardly knowing what she did, but feeling that any sort of motion or
action was better than waiting in suspense, Helen accepted the
invitation, and began at once to pour forth her tale of grief to the
kindly old physician, upon hearing which he whipped up his horse, saying
that he was sure no harm had come to Amy.

Then Helen suddenly recollected how she had deserted her post, and was
filled with a foreboding lest some one should pass the cross-roads who
might know something about the donkey-cart, and there would be no one
there to question him.

"Here comes Mr. Radlow's coachman now," exclaimed the doctor, when they
had nearly reached their destination, "and driving at a furious rate. I
warrant it's turned out just as I expected;" and with the words he
signaled to the man to stop.

"Yes, yes, exactly as I imagined," said the physician, when the coachman
had hurriedly and excitedly explained that Popsey had come trotting back
to the stable with the lines about his heels, and baby Amy crowing
joyously in the bottom of the cart, and that in consequence Mrs. Radlow
was in a great state of fright concerning the fate of the cousins.

"Well, I'll soon relieve her fears on that score; and do you, Dennis,
drive on toward the cross-roads with your carriage as fast as ever you
can, and bring the other two children back."

As for Helen, she had not yet recovered from her joyful surprise.

"To think," she exclaimed, "that that donkey should have turned
deliberately around and walked off home, nearly four miles, without
upsetting anything, while we were looking for him in every other
direction! There certainly never was such a dear little animal. But that
doesn't excuse Jack's thoughtlessness, and I'm going to give Aunt Jennie
leave to punish him _very severely_."

However, when the case was laid before the doctor, he declared that as
the fault lay really with so many persons, and that as the three cousins
had suffered sufficiently already from anxiety and suspense, the blame
should be changed to praise, and that given to Popsey, who had displayed
a disposition to execute the errand upon which he had been sent as
speedily as possible.




[Illustration: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN DINAH WENT OUT AND LEFT TOPSY ALL
ALONE.]




[Illustration]


  Good-morning, little bird;
    I wish you'd sing for me;
  You look as if 'twere fun to live
    Out-doors so wild and free.

  I've brought Matilda Jane
    Because she needs the air;
  She is a very pretty child,
    With lovely curling hair.

  How many little birds
    Are flying round to-day!
  Now surely you will stay with me
    When I've come here to play?

  Oh, you have children three,
    And they, perhaps, have stirred;
  Well, if they need you, hurry home.
    Good-morning, little bird.




OUR POST-OFFICE BOX.


  NEW YORK CITY.

     I thought I would write to you about my little bird Billie. He is a
     canary of the German breed, and is rather long and slim, but he
     sings very sweetly. I think he is the smartest and most intelligent
     bird I ever saw outside of a show. I taught him myself to stand on
     my finger whenever I put my hand in his cage; and he knows when I
     speak to him, for when I call to him, he will turn his head toward
     me, as if to say, "What?" I used to make him seesaw on a little
     stick with his little companion John, who was blind nearly all his
     life, which was very short; and then I would make him hold a little
     gun, and balance himself on a ball which I would keep in motion. He
     would stand on a little cart, and hold the reins with one claw,
     while I drew him around the room, with John, held in a
     market-basket, sitting on behind. He seldom tries to fly away, and
     I have frequently taken him out-doors in my hands, without fear of
     his escaping. Sometimes, for a change, I used to let him swing like
     a paroquet in one of my bangles. This I do not think he liked much,
     for his tail was so long it was hard for him to keep his balance.
     But the most difficult thing that I taught him to do was to lie on
     his back and pretend he was asleep. I would lay him down gently,
     and after kicking his feet, and trying to grasp my fingers, he
     would lie perfectly still until I touched him, when he would jump
     up; and then I would have him kiss me, which he can do nicely,
     moving his bill all the time. I should like to tell you about John,
     who died, we think, on account of his eyes, which, after we had had
     him a little time, became covered with white mists, which we think
     were cataracts.

  A STRONG FRIEND OF
  "HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE".

It would be interesting to hear of your method in teaching your pet so
many pretty tricks. I suppose you were very gentle and patient, and that
you taught him one thing perfectly before letting him begin upon
another.

       *       *       *       *       *

  WASHINGTON, D. C.

     I, like Virginie C. B., am practicing a few of the gymnastics
     mentioned in No. 118. We have a bar across one of our doorways a
     foot from the top, which I catch hold of and swing by. I can not
     draw my chin up to it yet, but can come very near it. After the
     Postmistress has assured us she has seen Jimmy Brown, his stories
     are much more interesting to me, for they must be the experiences
     of a real boy. We always laugh at them, they are so funny.

     My sister has been all over the establishment of Harper & Brothers,
     and saw them printing YOUNG PEOPLE. I should like to see that, and
     hope to some time. I think it was Augusta C. who did not like cats.
     She would not change her mind if she saw our cat, for that lazy
     animal is awake all night and asleep all day. We have had no less
     than six cats during the past year. "The Talking Leaves" excited us
     very much, and I think it was splendid. Toby Tyler is a very nice
     little boy, I think, and when I first glanced at the picture of the
     circus coming in, I thought they were taking him away again.

     We have some flowers in our back yard, and we like them very much.
     The seeds are just coming up, and I take great interest in watching
     them. We have some very pretty pansies, roses, and bridal-wreaths.
     They are blooming now. I brought some wild flowers from the woods,
     and my sister brought some violets; they are growing very nicely.
     We have but one geranium, and its blooms are shrivelled. I do not
     know what to do to it.

     I like to write stories very much, and I love dearly to draw
     pictures. Last Tuesday was very warm, and you would have thought it
     was summer if you had suddenly been transported to Washington.

  EMILY N.

Perhaps your geranium needs rest. Try the plan of pinching off every bud
for the next few weeks. The soil may need enriching, or you may have
watered it too freely.

       *       *       *       *       *

  BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

     I have written to HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE three times, and none of my
     letters have been printed; but I believe in perseverance, so I am
     going to try again. I have never read any paper I liked half as
     well as HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE. Papa gets it for me, and I read it
     to my little brother. One night I was reading "Tim and Tip" to him,
     and I happened to look up, and he was crying. He didn't want me to
     think he was crying, so he said, "It's only the water that comes
     out of my eyes." I like Jimmy Brown's stories very much. I think
     all of the stories in the paper are very interesting. Jimmy Brown
     and Georgie Hackett seem to possess about the same qualities. My
     favorite study in school is history.

  EMMA.

I do not know Georgie Hackett, but poor Jimmy is certainly an
interesting boy, though I would not care to have him living at my house,
unless he could behave better than he now does. Perseverance is an
excellent quality. You could not have a better motto than

  "If at first you don't succeed,
  Try, try again."

       *       *       *       *       *

  SANBORN, DAKOTA TERRITORY.

     I am a little English girl eight years old, and hope to see this
     letter printed, to please dear papa, as he does not know I am going
     to write. I have taken HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE two years (ever since
     we left England), and have never written before. I have an Indian
     pony, on which I ride about; her name is Frances. My brother Jack
     has one called Charlie. I have a little sister Mabel; she is six,
     and so fat that mamma calls her Pumpkin. She calls me her fairy
     lily. I have seen Jumbo in England, and am glad he has come to
     America. Papa says some time I may see him again. I am very fond of
     reading. I have lots of books, and my grandma sends me _Little
     Folks_ every month. I have been learning music for a year, and am
     getting on nicely. We find lovely flowers about here, and I gather
     mamma lovely bunches for the table every day. Good-by.

  KATIE S.

       *       *       *       *       *

  JUNCTION, IDAHO.

     I am a little boy seven years old. I take HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE,
     and I like it very much. I think "Toby Tyler" and "Mr. Stubbs's
     Brother" are the best of all. Blue Ribbon has a little kitten; she
     is teaching it to walk. I have a horse; his name is Old Indian. The
     reason I call him Old Indian is because we bought him of the
     Indians. I have some nice rides on him. We live on a ranch, and
     have lots of little calves and little chickens. I do not go to
     school, but study my lessons at home. I send one dollar for Young
     People's Cot.

  OLIVER T. C.

Your contribution has been sent to the lady who receives and takes care
of the money for Young People's Cot. Is Blue Ribbon the little kitten's
mother? I hope Old Indian is a gentle pony. From his name I should think
he might be quite fiery.

       *       *       *       *       *

"PAPA, WHAT MAKES THE RAIN COME?"

     Mabel and Ethel can't write for themselves, and they do not know
     that I am writing to the Post-office Box to tell other little girls
     about them. What here follows is not a made-up story; it is set
     down almost word for word as it was spoken. The girls were in their
     little beds, talking about different things, and papa was sitting
     at the table reading a book by the light of the lamp. Thunder was
     heard in the distance, and Ethel remarked that the rain was coming.
     This led Mabel to ask the question which forms the title of this
     letter, "Papa, what makes the rain come?"

     While thinking about the best way to make her understand the
     wonderful and beautiful natural process--how the sun draws up
     vapors from land and sea, and stores the treasures of rain in the
     clouds, returning them in showers of blessings upon the
     earth--Ethel broke in with her views, thus relieving me of a
     difficulty. So I kept quiet as a mouse, and listened while
     pretending to read. Ethel, half raising herself in bed, thus
     explained:

     "Why, Mabel, I will tell you what makes the rain come. You see, God
     is up there above the clouds, and He has wings, and flies from
     place to place, all over. Then, you know, He has a pump, with a big
     deep well, with lots, oh! lots of water in it, and on the pump
     there is a rubber tube, with a sprinkler fastened to it. And then
     He pumps, and pumps, and pumps, and the angels they pump, and the
     water comes, and spurtles, and spurtles, and spurtles, and
     spurtles, and spurtles, and spurtles; and that's what makes the
     rain come."

     These were the child's thoughts and expressions on the beautiful
     phenomena of the rain. The explanation seemed sufficient and
     satisfactory, as both little thinkers forthwith resigned themselves
     into the loving arms of "tired nature's sweet restorer," and were
     carried far away into the happy land of dreams.

  F. J. T.
  FARMINGTON, MINNESOTA.

       *       *       *       *       *

  CHURCHVILLE, MARYLAND.

     As the day is rainy, we have been looking over HARPER'S YOUNG
     PEOPLE, and seeing so many nice letters in Our Post-office Box. I
     thought, by way of variety, I would send one from Harford County. I
     have two sisters. One is a teacher, and she is going to read some
     pieces out of your paper to the children in her school.

     We have a colt named Pinafore. The other day I turned another
     horse, with a halter on, into the same field with him. Pin caught
     the halter in his mouth, and led him about as he had seen us do. I
     have a Scotch terrier dog named Jack. I hitch him to a little
     wagon, and he is better trained than the speckled pig in No. 132.

     I think your paper is just splendid, but like to read "Mr. Stubbs's
     Brother" the best of all. I went to see Jumbo in Baltimore.

  FRANK B.

       *       *       *       *       *

OUR BABY BOY.

  Oh, he's so sweet,
    The darling thing!
  On his small feet
    We kisses fling.

  He plays, he crows,
    Can laugh and sing,
  And thinks he knows
    'Most everything.

  He goes to bed
    So sweet at night;
  You'll hear his tread
    Soon as 'tis light.

  He plays, you know.
    The whole day through,
  And he can blow
    His trumpet new.

  All places round,
    No sweeter toy
  Than this is found--
    Our baby boy.

  DAISY M. (aged 9.)
  DAVENPORT, IOWA.

       *       *       *       *       *

  BAYFIELD, WISCONSIN.

     I am thirteen years old, and have a little adopted sister, whose
     name is Elsie, and whom I love just as much as if she were my own
     sister. She is seven years old. I wish the readers of YOUNG PEOPLE
     could see my canary-bird. His name is Jim. I often let him out of
     his cage, and sometimes he comes hopping up to me, and then he will
     chirp until I give him a piece of apple or orange.

     I am very fond of reading. I have just finished a book called
     _Zigzag Journeys in Europe_, and I enjoyed it very much. Our house
     is a square from Lake Superior. We can stand at any window and look
     right out on the lake. Bayfield is a great summer resort for
     invalids and pleasure-seekers. Very nearly all the large steamboats
     come here. From Bayfield we can also see five of the Apostle
     Islands.

  SUSIE P.

Would it not be nice if we could have all the cunning and beautiful pets
our little friends write about arranged together in a great exhibition?
As this is impossible, we must try to see each of them from the pretty
pen pictures their little owners send.

       *       *       *       *       *

  PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

     I am nine years old. Last Easter mamma gave me HARPER'S YOUNG
     PEOPLE as a present. I am delighted with it, and reading those
     letters written by the young folks has put me in the notion of
     telling you something of myself. I go to school in West
     Philadelphia. Mamma thought the ride out there would be good for my
     health. I am obliged to start at eight o'clock, and I get home at
     two. I eat my dinner, learn my lessons, and then I am ready for
     play, which I enjoy greatly. I have neither brother nor sister, but
     I have several little friends. I have two velocipedes. Mamma gave
     me one when I was only four years old; it has three wheels; I call
     it my little clipper. The other has four wheels; I call it my
     propeller. I have a set of garden tools. I tell you I play hard
     until tea-time; then I get ready for tea. By eight o'clock I am
     quite ready for bed, as I have to get up at six. Sometimes I take a
     little ride before breakfast on my velocipede, or play with my pet
     cat, which I call Charlie, after papa. Mamma says she intends to
     turn over a new leaf, and have me black my own boots in the
     morning, and promises if I do it for two weeks she will make me a
     present of a nice blacking-box like papa's.

  G. W. H.

       *       *       *       *       *

  ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

     I am seven years old. I have a little brother five and a dear
     little sister two years old. I go to school, and my brother goes to
     the kindergarten. I will tell you how my little sister said her
     prayers last night. She said, "God bless mamma and papa, and our
     dear, dear kittie cat. Amen." We thought it was so cute. I envy the
     little boys who live in the country. I have never been out of the
     city, but hope to go for all the summer. This is the first letter I
     have ever written.

  LUCAS N.

       *       *       *       *       *

  NEW YORK CITY.

     I want to tell you of my pets. I have a little pug dog; his name is
     Punch. I have such fun with him, he is so playful. Then I have two
     canary-birds, and their names are Sweet and Top-knot. And I have a
     little kitten; her name is Betty; mamma named her.

     I take music lessons, and go to school, and also attend a riding
     school twice a week. I like HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE very much. I
     think "Toby Tyler," "The Little Dolls' Dressmaker," and "Mr.
     Stubbs's Brother" are tiptop. Good-night.

  BERTHA E. F.

       *       *       *       *       *

The Postmistress has pleasure in inviting the attention of boys to the
following request:

     The boys at this place having organized a social club, desire to
     have their secretary open a correspondence with the secretaries of
     other and similar clubs of boys. Persons interested will please
     address for further information,

  W. T. FRANKLIN,
  82 East Jersey St., Elizabeth, N. J.

       *       *       *       *       *

  MOTT HAVEN, NEW YORK.

     I am a little girl nine years old. I have five dollies; their names
     are Katie, Jessie, Jemima, Daisy, and Ella. I have had Jemima eight
     years. I have a bedstead, and a carriage in which, on fine days, I
     take them out riding. I also have a trunk, and lots of other
     things. I have never been to school, and only began to write one
     year ago last February, and I hope you will be able to read this
     letter.

  AGGIE L. S. S.

I suppose Jemima is the favorite of the five dollies, as you have had
her almost all your life. You write very well indeed.

       *       *       *       *       *

  SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND.

     Our grandma sends us HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, which we find very
     interesting. We are Americans. We came here partly for our
     education, but mostly for our health. I am almost fourteen. I
     thought I would write to the Post-office Box, and tell you what I
     have seen. We have been to Netley Abbey, which is a very ancient
     ruin; it is over eleven centuries old. We have visited Netley
     Hospital. While we were there we saw a number of soldiers come in
     from the Zulu war. The hospital is a very fine building. We have
     also been to Romsey Abbey, and we saw there a plait of hair which
     is supposed to be a thousand years old. We have been to Winchester
     Cathedral, and saw many ancient tombs. We went to the New Forest,
     and saw the place where William Rufus was killed.

  F. B. M.

You have a very pleasant opportunity to study English history, and you
must write to the Post-office Box again, and tell us more about the
places you visit.

       *       *       *       *       *

     I read the letters in the Post-office Box every week. I study
     geography, spelling, arithmetic, writing, and Latin. I have gone to
     school here for almost ten months. I have had a nice black and
     white rabbit for almost a year. I will try to get some wild ones
     this spring, and tame them. Some of us boys take our dinners out in
     the woods on Saturdays, and have a splendid time. In cold weather
     we build a fire.

     I will give a book entitled _Tel Tyler at School_, 750 mixed
     foreign stamps, several foreign postal cards, a piece of petrified
     honey-comb, two shells from St. Augustine, Florida, and a pebble
     from Amsterdam, New York, for sixty stamps from Alsace-Lorraine,
     Angola, Antigua, Azores, Bolivia, Bermuda, British Honduras,
     Ceylon, Chili, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras,
     Ionian Isles, Labuan, Lagos, Liberia, Malta, Nevis, Nicaragua,
     Orange States, Paraguay, Persia, Salvador, San Marino, Shanghai,
     St. Lucia, Trinidad, and Virgin Isles. Stamps must be in good
     condition.

  CHARLES L. HOLLINGSHEAD,
  Care Rev. R. K. Todd, Woodstock, Ill.

       *       *       *       *       *

C. Y. P. R. U.

AN INDIAN ELEPHANT.--Some of you have been very much interested in Jumbo
and his enormous appetite. A traveller who engaged an elephant to carry
him over a part of India during a journey which occupied some weeks,
gives this account of the elephant's food, and of the care which he
received while on the march: Every day he was fed with cakes composed of
flour, ghee (which is clarified butter), and coarse salt. Twenty-five
pounds of flour were mixed and baked, and one-half the quantity was
given to the elephant in the morning, and the other in the evening.
Besides these cakes, he ate freely of the leaves and branches of trees.
Each morning he would go with his mahout, or driver, into the jungle,
and there he would choose and pick the branches he liked best, loading
them on his back, and taking the supply home to the camp. There was a
kind of marshy grass which he considered a very choice dessert. When a
person engages an elephant, he of course engages the mahout as well. The
mahout usually takes his wife and children with him, as it takes several
people to keep an elephant comfortable. Every morning and evening he
must have his bath, and before beginning the day's march his forehead,
ears, paws, and every part of his body likely to be cracked with the sun
must be greased. When the party comes to a halt, the elephant's heavy
trappings are always taken off, and he is allowed to rest under a
spreading tree. When an elephant does not feel well, he makes a pill for
himself without saying a word to the doctor. With his trunk he rolls up
a ball or two of red earth, and swallows it, just as naturally as pussy,
when her head aches, scampers off to the catnip bed, and takes a dose of
her favorite herb.

       *       *       *       *       *

MYRTLE.--I think a Shakspeare club such as you and your girl friends
have organized must be both pleasant and instructive. Instead of so many
stories, dear, let me persuade you to read books of travel which will
give you an idea of the world we live in; and when you tire of them, and
want a change, try history. The books you mention are too exciting and
highly wrought to be good reading for you at present. I think you would
find Sir Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake" and "Marmion" very
fascinating, and Miss Strickland's _Queens of England_ would keep you
delightfully occupied all summer.

       *       *       *       *       *

TOM H.--Sir Richard Whittington, the hero of the tale of _Whittington
and His Cat_, was born about 1354, in Gloucestershire, England. He was
not a beggar boy, but belonged to a good family. When less than ten
years old he was sent to London to be a little apprentice. From step to
step he rose, until he became a great merchant, and finally Lord Mayor
of London. Very likely he did send his cat away on one of his employer's
ships to clear the vessel of rats and mice, and it would not be at all
strange if he sometimes fancied he heard the sweet tones of the
Bow-Bells calling to him

  "Turn again, Whittington,
  Lord Mayor of London."

Few boys become successful men without ambition. It is a good thing to
mean to be somebody one of these days. But doing well is better than
dreaming. The lad who works with all his might at whatever he begins,
never slighting any duty until it is done, will be sure to make a useful
and honored man. Now, as I have preached my little sermon, let me tell
you some of the noble things Dick Whittington did. He caused a conduit,
or pipe, of water to be put on tap in the wall of St. Giles's church,
thus making a drinking fountain five hundred years ago very much like
those we have now. He built the Guildhall Library in 1419. He repaired
hospitals, and did a great deal of good among the poor and the sick, and
was very kind to children. He died in 1423.

       *       *       *       *       *

We would call the attention of the C. Y. P. R. U. this week to the
article entitled "Handel and 'The Messiah,'" by Mrs. John Lillie, to
"Oiling the Waves," and to "Photography and Work." In the latter Mr.
Allan Forman endeavors to point out to young amateur photographers the
way to overcome some of the difficulties that are likely to attend their
earlier efforts. We hope that no one who has procured an outfit will
become discouraged or induced by a few failures in the beginning to
abandon this delightful and improving pastime, which has recently become
so popular.

       *       *       *       *       *

PUZZLES FROM YOUNG CONTRIBUTORS.

No. 1.

TWO ENIGMAS.

1.

  My first is in rope, but not in string.
  My second is in throw, but not in fling.
  My third is in rill, but not in brook.
  My fourth is in glance, but not in look.
  My fifth is in lance, but not in dart.
  My sixth is in tremble, but not in start.
  My seventh is in servant, but not in slave.
  My eighth is in grotto, but not in cave.
  My ninth is in manage, but not in wield.
  My whole's an American battle-field.

  EMPIRE CITY.

2.

  First in fun, not in play.
  Second in green, not in gray.
  Third in idle, not in work.
  Fourth in tired, not in shirk.
  Fifth in eel, not in fish.
  Sixth in dream, not in wish.
  Seventh in sad, not in gay.
  Eighth in study, not in play.
  Ninth in tame, not in wild.
  Tenth in gentle, not in mild.
  Eleventh in learn, not in school.
  Twelfth in smart, not in fool.
  My whole a country great and wide,
  Whose flag is honored on every side.

  EDNA M.

       *       *       *       *       *

No. 2.

TWO CHARADES.

1.

  I am composed of 8 letters.
  My first and second is a verb.
  My third and fourth is a preposition.
  My fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth is a kind of vegetable.
  My whole is the name of a maiden.

2.

  I am composed of 8 letters.
  My 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is the name of an inventor.
  My 6 and 7 is a preposition.
  My 8 is an article.
  My whole is a name noted in Arabian story.

  MILTON W.

       *       *       *       *       *

No. 3.

ZIGZAGS--(_To Will A. Mette_).

1. A volcanic rock. 2. A musical term. 3. More. 4. A kind of beetle. 5.
A tuft. 6. A Swiss coin. 7. Stead. 8. A pit. 9. An ancient Norse
character. 10. A kind of tea. Zigzags--A mineral.

  LODESTAR.

       *       *       *       *       *

No. 4.

ST. ANDREW'S CROSS OF DIAMONDS.

Central Diamond--1. A letter. 2. A genus of serpents. 3. Small vessels.
4. The Goddess of Revenge. 5. A letter.

Upper Right-hand Diamond--1. A letter. 2. An Anglo-Saxon money. 3. Small
nails. 4. Coalesce. 5. A letter.

Upper Left-hand Diamond--1. A letter. 2. A Roman deity. 3. A native of
the West Indies. 4. Part of the body. 5. A letter.

Lower Right-hand Diamond--1. A letter. 2. An animal. 3. A past
participle. 4. A Chinese musical instrument. 5. A letter.

Lower Left-hand Diamond--1. A letter. 2. A boy's name. 3. An alloy. 4. A
tree. 5. A letter.

  LODESTAR.

       *       *       *       *       *

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 132.

No. 1.

Dub-lin.

No. 2.

D-ur-a. P-aisle-y. V-eva-y. M-agent-a. S-ever-n. M-iser-y. L-adog-a.

No. 3.

Diary.

No. 4.

Helena. Charles. Red. Snake. Erie. Clinch. Charles Dickens.

No. 5.

        T                T
      T A B            T U B
    T A B E S        T U B E S
  T A B A R E T    T U B U L A R
    B E R M E        B E L A M
      S E E            S A M
        T                R

No. 6.

Lair--air. Clock--lock. Gas--as. Mill--ill. Man--an. Skate--Kate.
Shot--hot. Sam--am. Sever--ever.

       *       *       *       *       *

The answer to the Rebus on page 432 (No. 131) is "A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush."

       *       *       *       *       *

Correct answers to puzzles have been received from Maud Mary Chambers,
George P. Taggart, John J. Widrig, Mabel Shelton, Eda L. Baldwin, Clara
Blank, Sammie Bronson, Lulu Kirtland, Alice and Richard Tindall, "I.
Scycle," A. Gertie Childs, F. F. Tonn, Leo Marks, Clinton Roe, Elsie
O. R., Edgar Seeman, A. E. Cressingham, William A. Lewis, Mabel and
Annie Knight, Lizzie Maxwell, J. R. Blake, Jessie S. Godine, Albert
Feibel, "Red Riding Hood," Florence Raymond, John Walter Bangs, Smith
Tangiers, Arthur Comstock, and Lulu Brown.

       *       *       *       *       *

[_For Exchanges, see 2d and 3d pages of cover._]




[Illustration: SOME ANSWERS TO WIGGLE No. 26, OUR ARTIST'S IDEA, AND NEW
WIGGLE, No. 27.]





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