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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:46:31 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:46:31 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15331-8.txt b/15331-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9507d07 --- /dev/null +++ b/15331-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5958 @@ +Project Gutenberg's St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February 1878, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February 1878 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 12, 2005 [EBook #15331] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Lynn Bornath and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + +[Illustration: AFTER THE SNOW-STORM.] + + + + +ST. NICHOLAS. + +VOL. V. +FEBRUARY, 1878. +No. 4. + + +[Copyright, 1878, by Scribner & Co.] + + + +THE SHEPHERD-BOY. + +BY EMILY S. OAKEY. + + + Little Roy led his sheep down to pasture, + And his cows, by the side of the brook; + But his cows never drank any water, + And his sheep never needed a crook. + + For the pasture was gay as a garden, + And it glowed with a flowery red; + But the meadows had never a grass-blade, + And the brooklet--it slept in its bed; + + And it lay without sparkle or murmur, + Nor reflected the blue of the skies. + But the music was made by the shepherd, + And the sparkle was all in his eyes. + + Oh, he sang like a bird in the summer! + And, if sometimes you fancied a bleat, + That, too, was the voice of the shepherd, + And not of the lambs at his feet. + + And the glossy brown cows were so gentle + That they moved at the touch of his hand + O'er the wonderful rosy-red meadow, + And they stood at his word of command. + + So he led all his sheep to the pasture, + And his cows, by the side of the brook; + Though it rained, yet the rain never patter'd + O'er the beautiful way that they took. + + And it wasn't in Fairy-land either, + But a house in a commonplace town, + Where Roy as he looked from the window + Saw the silvery drops trickle down. + + For his pasture was only a table, + With its cover so flowery fair, + And his brooklet was just a green ribbon + That his sister had lost from her hair. + + And his cows they were glossy horse-chestnuts, + That had grown on his grandfather's tree; + And his sheep they were snowy-white pebbles + He had brought from the shore by the sea. + + And at length, when the shepherd was weary, + And had taken his milk and his bread, + And his mother had kissed him and tucked him, + And had bid him "good-night" in his bed, + + Then there enter'd his big brother Walter, + While the shepherd was soundly asleep, + And he cut up the cows into baskets, + And to jack-stones turned all of the sheep. + + + + +THE RAVENS AND THE ANGELS. + +(_A Story of the Middle Ages._) + +BY THE AUTHOR OF "CHRONICLES OF THE SCHÖNBERG-COTTA FAMILY." + + +CHAPTER III. + + +The next day, Gottlieb began his training among the other choristers. + +It was not easy. + +The choir-master showed his appreciation of his raw treasure by +straining every nerve to make it as perfect as possible; and therefore +he found more fault with Gottlieb than with any one else. + +The other boys might, he could not but observe, sing carelessly enough, +so that the general harmony was pretty good; but every note of his +seemed as if it were a solo which the master's ear never missed, and +not the slightest mistake was allowed to pass. + +The other choristers understood very well what this meant, and some of +them were not a little jealous of the new favorite, as they called him. +But to little Gottlieb it seemed hard and strange. He was always +straining to do his very best, and yet he never seemed to satisfy. The +better he did, the better the master wanted him to do, until he grew +almost hopeless. + +He would not, for the world, complain to his mother; but on the third +evening she observed that he looked very sad and weary, and seemed +scarcely to have spirits to play with Lenichen. + +She knew it is of little use to ask little children what ails them, +because so often their trouble is that they do not know. Some little +delicate string within is jarred, and they know nothing of it, and +think the whole world is out of tune. So she quietly put Lenichen to +bed, and after the boy had said his prayers as usual at her knee, she +laid her hand on his head, and caressingly stroked his fair curls, and +then she lifted up his face to hers and kissed the little troubled brow +and quivering lips. + +"Dear little golden mouth!" she said, fondly, "that earns bread, and +sleep, for the little sister and for me! I heard the sweet notes +to-day, and I thanked God. And I felt as if the dear father was hearing +them too, even through the songs in heaven." + +The child's heart was opened, the quivering lips broke into a sob, and +the face was hidden on her knee. + +"It will not be for long, mother!" he said. "The master has found fault +with me more than ever to-day. He made me sing passage after passage +over and over, until some of the boys were quite angry, and said, +afterward, they wished I and my voice were with the old hermit who +houses us. Yet he never seemed pleased. He did not even say it was any +better." + +"But he never gave you up, darling!" she said. + +"No; he only told me to come early, alone, to-morrow, and he would give +me a lesson by myself, and perhaps I should learn better." + +A twinkle of joy danced in her eyes, dimmed with so many tears. + +"Silly child!" she said, fondly, "as silly as thy poor mother herself! +The master only takes trouble, and chastens and rebukes, because he +thinks it is worth while, because thou art trying and learning, and art +doing a little better day by day. He knows what thy best can be, and +will never be content with anything but thy very best." + +"Is it that, mother? Is it indeed that?" said the boy, looking up with +a sudden dawning of hope. + +And a sweet dawn of promise met him in his mother's eyes as she +answered: + +"It is even that, my own, for thee and for me!" + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +With a glad heart, Gottlieb dressed the next morning before Lenichen +was awake, and was off to the choir-master for his lesson alone. + +The new hope had inspired him, and he sang that morning to the content +even of the master, as he knew, not by his praise, but by his summoning +Ursula from the kitchen to listen, unable to resist his desire for the +sympathy of a larger audience. + +Ursula was not exactly musical, nor was she demonstrative, but she +showed her satisfaction by appropriating her share of the success. + +"_I_ knew what was wanting!" she said, significantly. "The birds and +the blessed angels may sing on crumbs or on the waters of Paradise; but +goose and pudding are a great help to the alleluias here below." + +"The archduchess will be enraptured, and the Cistercians will be +furious!" said the choir-master, equally pleased at both prospects. + +But this Gottlieb did not hear, for he had availed himself of the first +free moment to run home and tell his mother how things had improved. + +After that, Gottlieb had no more trouble about the master. The old +man's severity became comprehensible and dear to him, and a loving +liberty and confidence came into his bearing toward him, which went to +the heart of the childless old man, so that dearer than the praise of +the archduchess, or even the discomfiture of the Cistercians, became to +him the success and welfare of the child. + +But then, unknown to himself, the poor boy entered on a new chapter of +temptations. + +The other boys, observing the choir-master's love for him, grew +jealous, and called him sometimes "the master's little angel," and +sometimes "the little beggar of the hermitage" or "Dwarf Hans' +darling." + +He was too brave and manly a little fellow to tell his mother all these +little annoyances. He would not for the world have spoiled her joy in +her little "Chrysostom," her golden-mouthed laddie. But once they +followed him to her door, and she heard them herself. The rude words +smote her to the heart, but she only said: + +"Thou art not ashamed of the hermit's house, nor of being old Hans' +darling?" + +"I hope, never!" said the child, with a little hesitation. "God sent +him to us, and I love him. But it would be nice if dear Hans sometimes +washed his face!" + +Magdalis smiled, and hit on a plan for bringing this about. With some +difficulty she persuaded the old man to take his dinner every Sunday +and holiday with them, and she always set an ewer of water--and a +towel, relic of her old burgher life--by him, before the meal. + +"We were a kind of Pharisees in our home," she said, "and except we +washed our hands, never ate bread." + +Hans growled a little, but he took the hint, for her sake and the +boy's, and gradually found the practice so pleasant on its own account, +that the washing of his hands and face became a daily process. + +On his patron saint's day (St. John, February 8), Mother Magdalis went +a step further, and presented him with a clean suit of clothes, very +humble but neat and sound, of her own making out of old hoards. Not for +holidays only, she said, but that he might change his clothes every +day, after work, as her Berthold used. + +"Dainty, burgher ways," Hans called them, but he submitted, and +Gottlieb was greatly comforted, and thought his old friend a long way +advanced in his transformation into an angel. + +So, between the sweetness of the boy's temper and of his dear mother's +love which folded him close, the bitter was turned into sweet within +him. + +But Ursula, who heard the mocking of the boys with indignation, was +not so wise in her consolations. + +"Wicked, envious little devils!" said she. "Never thou heed them, my +lamb! They would be glad enough, any of them, to be the master's angel, +or Dwarf Hans' darling, for that matter, if they could. It is nothing +but mean envy and spite, my little prince, my little wonder; never thou +heed them!" + +And then the enemy crept unperceived into the child's heart. + +Was he indeed a little prince and a wonder, on his platform of gifts +and goodness? And were all those naughty boys far below him, in another +sphere, hating him as the little devils in the mystery-plays seemed to +hate and torment the saints? + +Had the "raven" been sent to him, after all, as to the prophet of old, +not only because he was hungry and pitied by God, but because he was +good and a favorite of God? + +It seemed clear he was something quite out of the common. He seemed the +favorite of every one, except those few envious, wicked boys. + +The great ladies of the city entreated for him to come and sing at +their feasts; and all their guests stopped in the midst of their eager +talk to listen to him, and they gave him sweetmeats and praised him to +the skies, and they offered him wine from their silver flagons, and +when he refused it, as his mother bade him, they praised him more than +ever, and once the host himself, the burgomaster, emptied the silver +flagon of the wine he had refused, and told him to take it home to his +mother and tell her she had a child whose dutifulness was worth more +than all the silver in the city. + +But when he told his mother this, instead of looking delighted, as he +expected, she looked grave, and almost severe, and said: + +"You only did your duty, my boy. It would have been a sin and a shame +to do otherwise. And, of course, you would not for the world." + +"Certainly I would not, mother," he said. + +But he felt a little chilled. Did his mother think it was always so +easy for boys to do their duty? and that every one did it? + +Other people seemed to think it a very uncommon and noble thing to do +one's duty. And what, indeed, could the blessed saints do more? + +So the slow poison of praise crept into the boy's heart. And while he +thought his life was being filled with light, unknown to him the +shadows were deepening,--the one shadow which eclipses the sun, the +terrible shadow of self. + +For he could not but be conscious how, even in the cathedral, a kind of +hush and silence fell around when he began to sing. + +And instead of the blessed presence of God filling the holy place, and +his singing in it, as of old, like a happy little bird in the sunshine, +his own sweet voice seemed to fill the place, rising and falling like a +tide up and down the aisles, leaping to the vaulted roof like a +fountain of joy, and dropping into the hearts of the multitude like dew +from heaven. + +And as he went out, in his little white robe, with the choir, he felt +the eyes of the people on him, and he heard a murmur of praise, and now +and then words such as "That is little Gottlieb, the son of the widow +Magdalis. She may well be proud of him. He has the voice and the face +of an angel." + +And then, in contrast, outside in the street, from the other boys: "See +how puffed up the little prince is! He cannot look at any one lower +than the bishop or the burgomaster!" + +So, between the chorus of praise and the other chorus of mockery, it +was no wonder that poor Gottlieb felt like a being far removed from the +common herd. And, necessarily, any one of the flock of Christ who feels +that, cannot be happy, because if we are far away from the common +flock, we cannot be near the Good Shepherd, who always keeps close to +the feeblest, and seeks those that go astray. + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +It was not long before the watchful eye of the mother observed a little +change creeping over the boy--a little more impatience with Lenichen, a +little more variableness of temper, sometimes dancing exultingly home +as if he were scarcely treading the common earth, sometimes returning +with a depression which made the simple work and pleasures of the home +seem dull and wearisome. + +So it went on until the joyful Easter-tide was drawing near. On Palm +Sunday there was to be a procession of the children. + +As the mother was smoothing out the golden locks which fell like +sunbeams on the white vestments, she said: "It is a bright day for thee +and me, my son. I shall feel as if we were all in the dear old +Jerusalem itself, and my darling had gathered his palms on Olivet +itself, and the very eyes of the blessed Lord himself were on thee, and +His ears listening to thee crying out thy hosannas, and His dear voice +speaking of thee and through thee, 'Suffer the little children to come +unto me.'" + +But Gottlieb looked grave and rather troubled. + +"So few seem thinking just of His listening," he said, doubtfully. +"There are the choir-master and the dean and chapter, and the other +choristers, and the Cistercians, and the mothers of the other +choristers, who wish them to sing best." + +She took his hand. "So there were in that old Jerusalem," she said. +"The Pharisees, who wanted to stop the children's singing, and even the +dear Disciples, who often thought they might be troublesome to the +Master. But the little ones sang for Him, and He knew, and was pleased. +And that is all we have to think of now." + +He kissed her, and went away with a lightened brow. + +Many of the neighbors came in that afternoon to congratulate Magdalis +on her boy--his face, his voice, his gentle ways. + +"And then he sings with such feeling," said one. "One sees it is in his +heart." + +But in the evening Gottlieb came home very sad and desponding. For some +time he said nothing, and then, with a brave effort to restrain his +tears, he murmured: + +"Oh, mother! I am afraid it will soon be over. I heard one of the +priests say he thought they had a new chorister at the Cistercians +whose voice is as good as mine. So that the archduchess may not like +our choir best, after all." + +The mother said nothing for a moment, and then she said: + +"Whose praise and love will the boy at the Cistercian convent sing, +Gottlieb, if he has such a lovely voice?" + +"God's!--the dear Heavenly Father and the Savior!" he said, reverently. + +"And you, my own? Will another little voice on earth prevent His +hearing you? Do the thousands of thousands always singing to Him above +prevent His hearing you? And what would the world do if the only voice +worth listening to were thine? It cannot be heard beyond one church, or +one street. And the good Lord has ten thousand churches, and cities +full of people who want to hear." + +"But thou, mother! Thou and Lenichen, and the bread!" + +"It was the raven that brought the bread," she said, smiling; "and thou +art not even a raven,--only a little child to pick up the bread the +raven brought." + +He sat silent a few minutes, and then the terrible cloud of self and +pride dropped off from his heart like a death-shroud, and he threw +himself into her arms. + +"Oh, mother, I see it all!" he said. "I am free again. I have only to +sing to the blessed Lord of all, quite sure He listens, to Him alone, +and to all else as just a little one of the all He loves." + +And after the evening meal, and a game with Lenichen, the boy crept out +to the cathedral to say his prayers in one of the little chapels, and +to thank God. + +He knelt in the Lady chapel before the image of the infant Christ on +the mother's knees. + +And as he knelt there, it came into his heart that all the next Week +was Passion week, "the still week," and would be silent; and the tears +filled his eyes to remember how little he had enjoyed singing that day. + +"How glad the little children of Jerusalem must have been," he thought, +"that they sang to Jesus when they could. I suppose they never could +again; for the next Friday He was dead. Oh, suppose He never let me +sing to Him again!" + +[Illustration: "'LOOK AT ME,' THE OLD MAN SAID."] + +And tears and repressed sobs came fast at the thought, and he murmured +aloud, thinking no one was near: + +"Dear Savior, only let me sing once more here in church to you, and I +will think of no one but you; not of the boys who laugh at me, nor the +people who praise me, nor the Cistercians, nor the archduchess, nor +even the dear choir-master, but only of you, of you, and perhaps of +mother and Lenichen. I could not help that, and you would not mind it. +You and they love me so much more than any one, and I love you really +so much more than all besides. Only believe it, and try me once more." + +As he finished, in his earnestness, the child spoke quite loud, and +from a dark corner in the shadow of a pillar suddenly arose a very old +man in a black monk's robe, with snow-white hair, and drew close to +him, and laid his hand on his shoulder and said: + +"Fear not, my son. I have a message for thee." + +At first, Gottlieb was much frightened, and then, when he heard the +kind, tremulous old voice, and saw the lovely, tender smile on the +wrinkled, pallid old face, he thought God must really have sent him an +angel at last, though certainly not because he was good. + +"Look around on these lofty arches, and clustered columns, and the long +aisles, and the shrines of saints, and the carved wreaths of flowers +and fruits, and the glorious altar! Are these wonderful to thee? +Couldst thou have thought of them, or built them?" + +"I could as easily have made the stars, or the forests!" said the +child. + +"Then look at me," the old man said, with a gentle smile on his +venerable face, "a poor worn-out old man, whom no one knows. This +beautiful house was in my heart before a stone of it was reared. God +put it in my heart. I planned it all. I remember this place a heap of +poor cottages as small as thine, and now it is a glorious house of +God. And I was what they called the master-builder. Yet no man knows +me, or says, 'Look at him!' They look at the cathedral, God's house; +and that makes me glad in my inmost soul. I prayed that I might be +nothing, and all the glory be His; and He has granted my prayer. And I +am as little and as free in this house which I built as in His own +forests, or under His own stars; for it is His only, as they are His. +And I am nothing but His own little child, as thou art. And He has my +hand and thine in His, and will not let us go." + +The child looked up, nearly certain now that it must be an angel. To +have lived longer than the cathedral seemed like living when the +morning stars were made, and all the angels shouted for joy. + +"Then God will let me sing here next Easter!" he said, looking +confidingly in the old man's face. + +"Thou shalt sing, and I shall see, and I shall hear thee, but thou wilt +not hear or see me!" said the old man, taking both the dimpled hands in +one of his. "And the blessed Lord will listen, as to the little +children in Jerusalem of old. And we shall be His dear, happy children +for evermore." + +Gottlieb went home and told his mother. And they both agreed, that if +not an angel, the old man was as good as an angel, and was certainly a +messenger of God. + +To have been the master-builder of the cathedral of which it was +Magdalis's glory and pride that her husband had carved a few of the +stones! + +The master-builder of the cathedral, yet finding his joy and glory in +being a little child of God! + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +The "silent week" that followed was a solemn time to the mother and the +boy. + +Every day, whatever time could be spared from the practice with the +choir, and from helping in the little house and with his mother's +wood-carving, or from playing with Lenichen in the fields, Gottlieb +spent in the silent cathedral, draped as it was in funereal black for +the sacred life given up to God for man. + +"How glad," he thought again and again, "the little children of +Jerusalem must have been that they sang when they could to the blessed +Jesus! They little knew how soon the kind hands that blessed them would +be stretched on the cross, and the kind voice that would not let their +singing be stopped would be moaning 'I thirst.'" + +But he felt that he, Gottlieb, ought to have known; and if ever he was +allowed to sing his hosannas in the choir again, it would feel like the +face of the blessed Lord himself smiling on him, and His voice saying, +"Suffer this little one to come unto me. I have forgiven him." + +He hoped also to see the master-builder again; but nevermore did the +slight, aged form appear in the sunshine of the stained windows, or in +the shadows of the arches he had planned. + +And so the still Passion week wore on. + +Until once more, the joy-bells pealed out on the blessed Easter morning. + +The city was full of festivals. The rich were in their richest holiday +raiment, and few of the poor were so poor as not to have some sign of +festivity in their humble dress and on their frugal tables. + +Mother Magdalis was surprised by finding at her bedside a new dress +such as befitted a good burgher's daughter, sent secretly the night +before from Ursula by Hans and Gottlieb, with a pair of enchanting new +crimson shoes for little Lenichen, which all but over-balanced the +little maiden with the new sense of possessing something which must be +a wonder and a delight to all beholders. + +The archduke and the beautiful Italian archduchess had arrived the +night before, and were to go in stately procession to the cathedral. +And Gottlieb was to sing in the choir, and afterward, on the Monday, to +sing an Easter greeting for the archduchess at the banquet in the great +town-hall. + +The mother's heart trembled with some anxiety for the child. + +But the boy's was only trembling with the great longing to be allowed +to sing once more his hosannas to the blessed Savior, among the +children. + +It was given him. + +At first the eager voice trembled for joy, in the verse he had to sing +alone, and the choir-master's brows were knitted with anxiety. But it +cleared and steadied in a moment, and soared with a fullness and +freedom none had ever heard in it before, filling the arches of the +cathedral and the hearts of all. + +And the beautiful archduchess bent over to see the child, and her soft, +dark eyes were fixed on his face, as he sang, until they filled with +tears; and, afterward, she asked who the mother of that little angel +was. + +But the child's eyes were fixed on nothing earthly, and his heart was +listening for another voice--the voice all who listen for shall surely +hear. + +And it said in the heart of the child, that day: "Suffer the little one +to come unto me. Go in peace. Thy sins are forgiven." + +A happy, sacred evening they spent that Easter in the hermit's cell, +the mother and the two children, the boy singing his best for the +little nest, as before for the King of kings. + +Still, a little anxiety lingered in the mother's heart about the pomp +of the next day. + +But she need not have feared. + +When the archduchess had asked for the mother of the little chorister +with the heavenly voice, the choir-master had told her what touched her +much about the widowed Magdalis and her two children; and old Ursula +and the master between them contrived that Mother Magdalis should be at +the banquet, hidden behind the tapestry. + +And when Gottlieb came close to the great lady, robed in white, with +blue feathery wings, to represent a little angel, and sang her the +Easter greeting, she bent down and folded him in her arms, and kissed +him. + +And then once more she asked for his mother, and, to Gottlieb's +surprise and her own, the mother was led forward, and knelt before the +archduchess. + +Then the beautiful lady beamed on the mother and the child, and, taking +a chain and jewel from her neck, she clasped it round the boy's neck, +and said, in musical German with a foreign accent: + +"Remember, this is not so much a gift as a token and sign that I will +not forget thee and thy mother, and that I look to see thee and hear +thee again, and to be thy friend." + +And as she smiled on him, the whole banqueting-hall--indeed, the whole +world--seemed illuminated to the child. + +And he said to his mother as they went home: + +"Mother, surely God has sent us an angel at last. But, even for the +angels, we will never forget His dear ravens. Wont old Hans be glad?" + +And the mother was glad; for she knew that God who giveth grace to the +lowly had indeed blessed the lad, because all his gifts and honors were +transformed, as always in the lowly heart, not into pride, but into +love. + +But when the boy ran eagerly to find old Hans, to show him the jewel +and tell him of the princely promises, Hans was nowhere to be found; +not in the hermit's house, where he was to have met them and shared +their little festive meal, nor at his own stall, nor in the hut in +which he slept. + +Gottlieb's heart began to sink. + +Never had his dear old friend failed to share in any joy of theirs +before. + +At length, as he was lingering about the old man's little hut, +wondering, a sad, silent company came bearing slowly and tenderly a +heavy burden, which at last they laid on Hans' poor straw pallet. + +It was poor Hans himself, bruised and crushed and wounded in his +struggles to press through the crowd to see his darling, his poor +crooked limbs broken and unable to move any more. + +But the face was untouched, and when they had laid him on the couch, +and the languid eyes opened and rested on the beloved face of the child +bending over him bathed in tears, a light came over the poor rugged +features, and shone in the dark, hollow eyes, such as nothing on earth +can give--a wonderful light of great, unutterable love, as they gazed +into the eyes of the child, and then, looking upward, seemed to open on +a vision none else could see. + +"Jesus! Savior! I can do no more. Take care of him, thou thyself, +Jesus, Lord!" + +He said no more--no prayer for himself, only for the child. + +Then the eyes grew dim, the head sank back, and with one sigh he +breathed his soul away to God. + +And such an awe came over the boy that he ceased to weep. + +He could only follow the happy soul up to God, and say voicelessly in +his heart: + +"Dear Lord Jesus! I understand at last! The raven was the angel. And +Thou hast let me see him for one moment as he is, as he is now with +Thee, as he will be evermore!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +A TRIP TO THE TEA COUNTRY. + +BY WILLIAM M. TILESTON. + + +[Illustration: ] + + +I was leaning over the tea-room table on one of the lovely spring +mornings that we sometimes have in China. In front of me the large +window, like that in an artist's studio, admitted the north light upon +the long array of little porcelain teacups and saucers, and "musters," +or square, flat boxes of tea-samples. The last new "chop" had been +carefully tasted and the leaf inspected, and I was wondering whether +the price asked by the tea-man would show a profit over the latest +quotations from London and New York, when my speculations were +disturbed by the entrance of my friend Charley, followed by Akong, well +known as the most influential tea-broker in the Oopack province. +Charley and Akong were fast friends, and I saw by the twinkle in the +eyes of each that a premeditated plot of some kind was about being +exploded upon my unsuspecting self. + +But before going further, let me tell you who we all are, where we are, +and what we are doing. + +Of course I am aware that it is exceedingly impolite to put oneself +first, but in the present instance you must excuse it; for besides +being the oldest, I occupy the position of guide, philosopher and +friend to Charley, and my story would scarcely be intelligible or +complete if I did not begin with myself. Well, to begin: I am one of +those unfortunate individuals known in China as "cha-szes," or +tea-tasters; doomed for my sins, or the hope of one day getting rich, +to pass the time in smelling, tasting and buying teas for the great +mercantile house or "hong" of Young Hyson & Co. The place at which you +find me is Hankow, on the great Yang Tsze Kiang, or river, some six +hundred miles from its mouth. If you have a map of China, and will find +on it the Yang Tsze, by tracing with your finger--if your map is at all +correct--you will discover the cities of Chin Kiang, Nanking, Nganking, +Kiu Kiang, and finally, at the junction of the river Han with the Yang +Tsze, Wuchang. Hankow will probably not be on your map, but on the +north bank of the Yang Tsze, just at the point of junction with the +Han, is this important trading port, thrown open to foreigners in 1861, +after the signing of the treaty of Tein-Tsin. + +And now for Charley, whom I have kept talking pigeon-English to Akong +all this time. Charley was the son of an old friend, chaplain to the +British consulate at one of the coast ports; his mother dying, Charley +was to have been sent home to relatives in England, but I had prevailed +upon his father to let the boy, now between twelve and fourteen years +old, make me a visit before his final departure. + +And now for the conspiracy: + +"Chin-chin (how do you do), Akong?" said I. + +"What is it, Charley? Out with it, my boy; some mischief, I know." +Akong gave a chuckle and a muttered "hi-yah," and Charley proceeded to +explain. + +"Well Cha,"--the Chinamen called me Cha-tsze and the boy had +abbreviated it to Cha,--"Akong says that he has a boat going up to the +tea country to-morrow or next day, and wants me to go with him; may I?" + +[Illustration: THE BARBER.] + +Charley knew that I could refuse him nothing, but the trip of several +hundred miles into a district rarely, if ever, visited by foreigners, +involved more of a risk than I cared to assume. Charley seeing that I +looked unusually solemn, turned to Akong for support. + +"What for you no go too, Cha-tsze? Just now my thinkee no got new chop +come inside two week; get back plenty time." + +Akong's pigeon-English perhaps requires explanation: You must know, +then, that the Chinese with whom all foreigners transact business, +instead of learning correct English have a lingo, or _patois_, of their +own, ascribed, but I think erroneously, to the carelessness of their +first English visitors, who addressed them in this manner, thinking to +make themselves more easily understood. The fact is, that +pigeon-English, besides having many Portuguese words mixed up with +it,--the Portuguese, you know, were established in China as early as +the seventeenth century,--is in many instances a literal translation of +Chinese into perverted English. In the present instance, Akong +suggested that as there would be no more tea down for a fortnight, it +would be well for me, too, to go. The proposition was quite agreeable +to me, and Charley scampered off to tell Ahim, the cook, and Aho, my +boy, to make the necessary preparations. + +The next morning, at an early hour, Akong's great mandarin, or +house-boat, was moored at the jetty, and the boys were packing away the +provisions and the charcoal for cooking, and long strings of copper +"cash" to be used in the purchase of eggs and chickens, and the mats of +rice that would form the principal article of "chow-chow" for the crew. +Everybody in China has a boy, and Charley had his; a regular young imp +of a fellow of about his own age. Aling was his name; Charley used to +call him Ting-a-ling, and would jabber horrible Chinese to him by the +hour. Aling jumped down the steps, two at a time, with Charley's +traveling bag; but Aho, more sedate and dignified, marched after him; +Charley and I joined Akong in the front of the boat, and with a chorus +of "chin-chins" from the coolies and house-servants left behind, and +the explosion of a pack of fire-crackers to propitiate the river +dragon, the boat was shoved from the jetty, the sail hoisted, and we +were soon slowly stemming the broad current of the Yang Tsze. On our +right was Hankow, with its million or more inhabitants, the hum of the +great city following us for miles; and the mouth of the Han, its +surface so covered with junks that their masts resembled a forest, and +only a narrow lane of water was left for the passage of boats. Just +beyond the Han was Han Yang, once a fine city, but now in ruins, one of +the results of the Tae-ping rebellion. Across the Yang Tsze, here a +mile wide, was Wuchang, the residence of the viceroy of the Hupeh +province. This place was supposed to be closed to foreigners, but +Charley and I had made many a secret visit, and had some rare sport +among the curiosity shops, with occasionally an adventure of a less +pleasing description, about which I should like to tell you if I had +time. + +Rapidly we passed the suburbs of these cities, and drawing over to the +south bank, as the wind was light, the crew were ordered ashore, and +stretching themselves along a tow-rope extending from the mast-head, +the boat was soon moving quite rapidly. And that reminds me that I have +not yet described our boat. These boats, used by the gentry in +transporting themselves about the country, are almost like Noah's ark +on a small scale--a boat with a house running almost the entire length +of the deck, with little latticed windows on the outside, and the +interior divided into rooms for eating and sleeping. The crew all lived +aft on the great overhanging stern, where the cooking was done, and +where the handle of the great "yuloe," or sculling oar, protruded. In +front of the cabin was a little piece of deck-room where Charley and I +had our camp-stools, and which gave us an excellent place from which to +observe everything going on ahead. + +[Illustration: THE TEA HONG.] + +The boat coolies were straining on the tow-rope a hundred yards ahead. +Frequently we passed some fisherman sitting in his little mat hut, with +his feet on the windlass that raised his great square net; but never +did we see them catch a fish, although on our return the same men were +working as assiduously as ever. The country presented the same compact +system of farming, the hills in many places being terraced to their +very summits, and planted with waving crops of wheat and millet, beans, +and vegetables of every description. Toward noon we passed the "Ta" and +"Lao Kin Shan" (great and little golden mountain), and by the time +Aling had announced "tiffin" (luncheon), we were abreast of Kin Kow, a +picturesque village in the neighborhood of which I generally found +some excellent shooting. After tiffin we again resumed our camp-stools. +I lighted a cigar, and Akong smoked his hubble-bubble, a small copy of +the nargileh of the Turks. The river was alive with junks, some going +in the same direction as ourselves, and others loaded with tea, +charcoal, vegetable tallow, oil of various kinds, and gypsum, brought, +most of them, from the far western province of Sze Chuen. + +There was but little variety in the journey until the following day, +when we approached the great bend in the Yang Tsze, and Akong told us +that, if so inclined, we could land from the boat, and by walking six +or eight miles across the country join the boat again, the bend +rendering it necessary for her to go around some thirty or forty miles. +This we gladly assented to, and taking my gun, in hopes of meeting with +some snipe in the paddy-fields, and with Aling and a coolie for +interpreters, we landed. + +Charley and I both experienced a rather queer sensation as we watched +the boat sail off, and found ourselves with no other white man within a +hundred or more miles. The country ahead was one immense rice-field, +divided by dykes or banks paved with stones and forming paths for +walking. At some distance we saw a large clump of bamboos with tall +elms beyond, indicating a village, called, as a coolie at work in a +ditch informed us, Fi-Loong. Soon we saw a broad creek with a handsome +stone bridge over it, and on the other side an unusually large house of +two stories, which turned out to belong to the Te-poy, or local +magistrate of the place. The old gentleman himself was sitting outside +of the house having his head shaved by the village barber. He politely +invited us to wait, and after the shaving was over regaled us with a +cup of tea,--rather weak, but refreshing,--and after chin-chin-ing we +resumed our journey. + +Can you see our party trudging along? Beyond the village were more +paddy-fields, from which occasionally a great white paddy-bird arose. I +shot one of them, to the great delight of our coolie, who pronounced it +No. 1 good chow-chow; but Charley and I were much more pleased at the +sight of several English snipe. Reaching an old lotus-pond, a shot +scared up these birds almost in myriads, and a good bunch of them +promised a very welcome addition to our dinner. Meanwhile we had been +following a creek, which we now needed to cross. But before long Aling +espied a man in the distance at work with a huge buffalo, and +exclaiming, "Hi-yah! belly good walkee now," rushed off in that +direction. He soon returned with the buffalo and his owner, and +indicated that we could cross on the back of the former. The huge, +ungainly beast threw up his head and snorted when he caught sight of +the "fanquis," or foreign devils, but a pull at the ring through his +nose soon brought him to subjection. + +"How much does he want, Aling, to carry us over?" + +"He say ten cash can do." + +As this sum (one cent) was not an unreasonable ferriage, we nodded; and +the buffalo being led into the water near the bank, I mounted first, +then came Charley with his arms around me, then Aling, who had climbed +up behind. When we were half-way over, Charley laughed so heartily at +the ridiculous figure we made that the buffalo gave another snort, and +threatened to roll us off, into the muddy water, but we landed safely, +and giving the man his ten cash, went on again. The rest of the walk +was without adventure, and we finally arrived at the river-bank just as +the boat was coming around the point below us. + +That evening we left the main river and tracked up a tributary stream +until we came to a broad canal, which Akong informed us led direct to +our destination. + +[Illustration: SORTING THE TEA.] + +Turning out of our beds the next morning we found the boat moored to +the bank of the canal, opposite a long, rambling, one-storied building, +which proved to be the "hong" of the tea-merchant to whom the +neighboring plantations belonged. We were really in the tea country at +last. On every side of us, as far as the eye could reach, the +dark-green tea-plants were growing in their beds of reddish sandy soil. +Notwithstanding the cook's urgent appeals to wait until chow-chow was +ready, we jumped ashore and into the midst of a crowd of noisy coolies +moving in every direction, each with his load slung at the ends of a +bamboo across his shoulders, and singing a monotonous "Aho, Aho, Aho!" +which appears as necessary to the Chinese carrier as the "Yo heave ho!" +to the sailor. Long, narrow junks were lying at the bank, and being +rapidly loaded with the familiar tea-chests; crowds of men, women and +children were coming from the plantation, each with bags of the freshly +picked leaves, or with baskets on their heads in which the more +delicate kinds were carefully carried. We stepped into the building, +and there witnessed the entire operation of assorting, firing the teas, +and even the manufacturing of the chests. We would gladly have +remained, but Aho came up and informed us "that breakfast hab got +spoilem," so we deferred further investigation until after the meal. + +Akong joined us at breakfast, and partook of our curry and rice with +great gusto, for tea-brokers as a rule are by no means averse to +foreign chow-chow, and handle a knife and fork with almost as much ease +as they do the native chop-sticks. Charley plied us both with questions +regarding tea in general, and probably the following summary will +pretty well represent the result of his queries: + +The cultivation of the tea-plant is by no means confined to any one +district or spot, but is scattered about through the different +provinces, each producing its peculiar description known to the trade +by its distinctive name. We were now in the Hupeh or Oopack country, +and the tea we saw being gathered and prepared was the heavy-liquored +black-leafed description, known in England and to the trade as Congou. +This Congou forms the staple of the mixture known in that country under +the generic name of "black," and sometimes finds its way to us under +the guise of "English breakfast tea." From Foo-chow-foo, on the coast, +half-way between Shanghae and Hong Kong, is shipped another description +known as red-leaf Congou, the bulk of which goes to England also, +although we are gradually absorbing an increasing quantity. Kiu Kiang, +on the Yang Tsze, some one hundred and forty miles below Hankow, shares +with the latter port in the trade of the Hupeh country, and is, or was +until recently, the point of shipment for the fine green teas grown and +manufactured in the Moyune district, a very large proportion of which +is shipped to this country. First in importance as a point of shipment +is Foo-chow-foo, whence are exported, in addition to the red-leafed +Congous, or Boheas, the bulk of the Oolongs. Still further down the +coast is Amoy, from which point inferior descriptions of both kinds are +shipped, together with some scented teas; but the bulk of the latter, +known as Scented Capers, Orange Pekoe, etc., are exported from Canton +and Macao. These, together with a peculiar description of green, are +manufactured at these ports from leaf grown in the neighborhood. +Although no tea is grown near Shanghae, much of the Congou grown in the +Hupeh province is sent there for sale, and thence shipped to England. +The green teas from both the Moyune and Ping-Suey countries are also +shipped from Shanghae. + +[Illustration: HOEING AND WATERING THE PLANTS.] + +Breakfast over, we jumped ashore again, and, desiring to conduct our +sight-seeing systematically, started for the fields. First we walked to +the foot of a hill a little distance off, where some men in short +cotton trousers and jackets were laying out a new plantation. The +ground was accurately marked off, and in one place the little plants, +only an inch or two in height, were just showing above the ground. In +another, the seeds--little round balls they looked like--were being +planted in the rows. Passing another field, where some men were at work +with their hoes in true Chinese style, stopping every few moments to +smoke their pipes, we came at last to where the plants had attained +some size and the actual picking was going on. The plants themselves +were from two to six feet high, according to age, and from repeated +cuttings down had grown into dense masses of small twigs. Many of them +were covered with little white flowers, somewhat similar to the +jasmine, and seeds inclosed in a casing not unlike that of the +hazel-nut, but thinner and full of oil. Charley thought they looked +like little laurel bushes; to me, those that had been well picked were +not unlike huckleberry bushes, only the leaves were, of course, a much +darker green. The first picking, usually in April, is when the leaves +are very young and tender, commanding a much higher price than those +subsequently plucked. The second is a month later, when they have +attained maturity; and as unpropitious weather would be likely to ruin +them, great expedition is used in getting in the crop, the entire +population turning out to assist. A third, and even a fourth, follows; +but the quality rapidly deteriorates, and but a small proportion of +these last pickings is prepared for export. + +[Illustration: DRYING THE TEA.] + +The plantations were filled with a merry crowd, composed principally of +women and children, all engaged in stripping the bushes as rapidly as +possible, yet with great care and dexterity, so as not to bruise the +leaves. They looked up from their work and screamed to each other in +their harsh guttural tones, casting glances of astonishment at the +barbarians. Following some of the coolies, who with filled bags were +trudging off to the curing-house, we saw the most interesting operation +of all. Here, at least thirty young girls were engaged in assorting the +leaves, picking out all the dead and yellow ones, and preparing them +for the hands of the rollers and firers. Our entrance excited quite a +commotion among the damsels, as we were probably the first barbarians +they had seen, and we had the reputation of living entirely on fat +babies. A word from Akong, who had joined us, reassured them, and in a +few minutes Charley was airing his little stock of Chinese, more, I +thought, to their amusement than their edification. Leaving this room +we went into another where the curing was in progress. On one side +extended a long furnace built of bricks, with large iron pans placed at +equal distances, and heated by charcoal fires below. Into these pans +leaves by the basketful were poured, stirred rapidly for a few minutes, +and then removed to large bamboo frames, where they were rolled and +kneaded until all the green juice was freed. They were then scattered +loosely in large, flat baskets, and placed in the sun to dry. +Subsequently, the leaves were again carried to the furnaces and exposed +to a gentle heat, until they curled and twisted themselves into the +shapes so familiar to you all. Some of the finer kinds often prepared +for exportation are rolled over by hand before being fired. The great +object appears to be to prevent the leaf from breaking; hence, in the +commoner kinds and those intended for home consumption, which do not +receive the same care, the leaves are found to be very much broken. In +fact, the preparation of this latter sort is very simple: a mere drying +in the sun, after which it presents a dry, broken appearance, like +autumn leaves. + +Green tea, although grown in particular districts, receives its +peculiar color by being stirred with a mixture of gypsum and Prussian +blue during the firing, but is prepared in a more laborious manner, the +leaves being selected and divided to form the different kinds known as +Imperial, Gunpowder, Young Hyson, Hyson, Hyson Skin and Twankay. An +aggregation of these kinds, proportioned according to their value, +forms what is known as a "chop," whereas a chop of black tea comprises +all of one grade or quality. Chinamen wonder at the taste of "outside +barbarians" in preferring a tea colored green, but would provide them +with a leaf of yellow or blue if there was a market for it. + +[Illustration: ONE OF THE SING-SONG GIRLS.] + +The entire operation pertaining to the business appeared to be carried +on in the cluster of little buildings with court-yards between, but +almost under the same roof, and afforded occupation to an immense +number of persons. And yet the payments could not have been very +large; from six to ten cents per day being about the wages they +received. In one room men were engaged in making boxes; in another, +lining them with thin sheets of lead. Further on, the outsides of the +boxes were being pasted over with paper, on which was stamped the name +of the tea and the maker's business-title. Finally, they were being +filled, soldered up and carried off to the boats, not to be opened +again until they reached the shop of some London grocer. + +The principal object of our friend Akong's visit was to convoy with his +mandarin-boat a fleet of tea-junks to Hankow; so that but one day was +given us for our visit. The boats being nearly ready, it was arranged +that we should start on our return the following morning. The evening +was devoted to a dinner and "sing-song" given for our entertainment by +the tea-men. Aho asked if he should take our knives and forks, a +proposition which we indignantly rejected. As it was to be a Chinese +dinner, we determined to do it in Chinese style, chop-sticks and all. +Such a dinner! We were seated at little square tables holding four +persons each, the Chinamen all dressed in their official or state +costumes. First came little dishes of sweetmeats and then bowls of +bird's-nest soup, with the jelly-like substance floating about in it in +company with little pieces of chicken. This was very nice, although we +_did_ all eat out of the same bowl, using little porcelain spoons. Then +came more sweetmeats, followed by dishes of _bêche de mer_, or +sea-slugs and fat pork; this we passed, but not until an over-polite +Chinaman took up a gristly piece of _something_ with his chop-sticks, +and, after biting off a piece, passed the rest to Charley. The +chop-sticks we could not manage; the meat would slip out of them, and +had it not been for the soups, of which there were several, and the +rice, which we could _shovel_ into our mouths, we should have had no +dinner. Tea was passed by the servants continually, as were little +bowls of "samshu"--a liquor distilled from rice. During the dinner, the +sing-song girls played on the native two-stringed fiddles, and sang in +falsetto voices a selection of music, which was undoubtedly very fine +if judged by the Chinese standard, but which we could not appreciate. + +The noise soon became almost intolerable, and we slipped off to the +boat and sought our beds. + +When we awoke in the morning the whole fleet of tea-boats was under +way, and with a fair wind we ran rapidly down the creek and were once +more on the broad Yang Tsze. On the third day we reached Hankow safely, +and well pleased with our trip to the tea country. + + + + +TREASURE-TROVE. + +BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH. + + + A Diligent Biddy was scratching one day, + And pecking at morsels that came in her way, + When all of a sudden she widened her eyes, + And the feathers stood up on her head with surprise! + + A strange-looking treasure Dame Biddy had found, + 'Twixt a brick and a clam-shell it lay on the ground; + The hen with a peck turned it over and over, + But the longer she looked the less could discover. + + "Cluck, cluck!" said the hen, "as sure as I stand, + This never was grown upon solid dry land; + I'll take it along to Dame Duck and her daughter, + They're wise about things that come out of the water." + + So she carried the thing in her beak to the brook, + And called to Dame Duck to come quickly and look, + And the dame and her child relinquished their pleasure, + And waddled ashore to examine the treasure. + + "Alack!" said the duck and "A-quack!" said the daughter, + "We've never seen objects like _this_ in the water! + Suppose we submit it to old Mrs. Ewe? + She's wise about wool, and has seen the world, too!" + + So the duck took it carefully up in her bill, + And the duckling and hen followed on to the mill, + Where the miller's fat sheep was placidly grazing, + And there they displayed this treasure amazing. + + "Ah, bah!" said the sheep, "what a queer-looking piece! + This never was parcel or part of a fleece! + Our flock would disown it!--but take it, I pray, + To Brindle, the cow, she's wise about hay!" + + So the sheep and the duckling, the duck and the hen, + With the treasure set forth in procession again, + To where the cow stood,--in the shade, as she ought,-- + A-chewing her cud and a-thinking her thought. + + "Bless my horns!" said the cow, "I really must say, + I've ne'er seen the like in straw or in hay! + Why don't you ask Dobbin, the farmer's gray mare? + She's traveled so much, and she's wise about hair." + + So the hen and the ducks, the sheep and the cow, + Went seeking for Dobbin, just loosed from the plow; + They all talked at once, to make things explicit, + And finally showed her the cause of their visit. + + But Dobbin gave snorts of dislike and dismay; + "Why don't you," said she, "pass it on to old Tray? + He hunts for his food where the refuse is thrown, + And he's wise about cinders, and rubbish, and bone." + + So Dobbin and Brindle, and fat Mrs. Ewe, + And the duckling and duck, and the Biddy-hen too, + All eager for knowledge, went down the wide road + To the kennel where Tray had his pleasant abode. + + Now Tray was a dog with a gift for detecting, + He never would bark without briefly reflecting; + He snuffed at the treasure and turned it about, + And soon would have uttered his sentence, no doubt,-- + + But just then our Tommy ran up to the crowd. + "Where did you get those, sir?" he cried out aloud. + "They're my new Sunday gloves! They fell out of my hat! + I took them to school to show them to Matt! + + "And, you see, Matt and I had some liquorice candy, + Our fingers were sticky, the gloves were just handy; + And then, when the teacher said, 'Tom, wash your slate,' + My sponge was all lost, and the class couldn't wait. + + "And 'cause I was hurrying, what do you think? + That bothersome ink-bottle slopped out the ink! + You can't expect gloves to look nobby and new + When they have to be used for a slate and ink too. + + Now, that's reasons enough!" said poor Tommy, "I guess!" + And the company bowed a unanimous "Yes," + And the horse, cow and sheep, duck, duckling and hen, + Complacently turned themselves homeward again. + + + + +UNDER THE LILACS. + +BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + +CHAPTER VII. + +NEW FRIENDS TROT IN. + + +Next day Ben ran off to his work with Quackenbos's "Elementary History +of the United States" in his pocket, and the Squire's cows had ample +time to breakfast on wayside grass before they were put into their +pasture. Even then the pleasant lesson was not ended, for Ben had an +errand to town, and all the way he read busily, tumbling over the hard +words, and leaving bits which he did not understand to be explained at +night by Bab. + +At "The First Settlements" he had to stop, for the school-house was +reached and the book must be returned. The maple-tree closet was easily +found, and a little surprise hidden under the flat stone; for Ben paid +two sticks of red and white candy for the privilege of taking books +from the new library. + +When recess came great was the rejoicing of the children over their +unexpected treat, for Mrs. Moss had few pennies to spare for sweets, +and, somehow, this candy tasted particularly nice, bought out of +grateful Ben's solitary dime. The little girls shared their goodies +with their favorite mates, but said nothing about the new arrangement, +fearing it would be spoilt if generally known. They told their mother, +however, and she gave them leave to lend their books and encourage Ben +to love learning all they could. She also proposed that they should +drop patch-work and help her make some blue shirts for Ben. Mrs. Barton +had given her the materials, and she thought it would be an excellent +lesson in needle-work as well as a useful gift to Ben--who, boy-like, +never troubled himself as to what he should wear when his one suit of +clothes gave out. + +Wednesday afternoon was the sewing time, so the two little B's worked +busily at a pair of shirt sleeves, sitting on their bench in the +door-way, while the rusty needles creaked in and out, and the childish +voices sung school-songs, with frequent stoppages for lively chatter. + +For a week, Ben worked away bravely, and never shirked nor complained, +although Pat put many a hard or disagreeable job upon him, and chores +grew more and more distasteful. His only comfort was the knowledge that +Mrs. Moss and the Squire were satisfied with him, his only pleasure the +lessons he learned while driving the cows, and recited in the evening +when the three children met under the lilacs to "play school." + +He had no thought of studying when he began, and hardly knew that he +was doing it as he pored over the different books he took from the +library. But the little girls tried him with all they possessed, and he +was mortified to find how ignorant he was. He never owned it in words, +but gladly accepted all the bits of knowledge they offered from their +small store; getting Betty to hear him spell "just for fun;" agreeing +to draw Bab all the bears and tigers she wanted if she would show him +how to do sums on the flags, and often beguiled his lonely labors by +trying to chant the multiplication table as they did. When Tuesday +night came round the Squire paid him a dollar, said he was "a likely +boy," and might stay another week if he chose. Ben thanked him and +thought he would, but the next morning, after he had put up the bars, +he remained sitting on the top rail to consider his prospects, for he +felt uncommonly reluctant to go back to the society of rough Pat. Like +most boys he hated work, unless it was of a sort which just suited him; +then he could toil like a beaver and never tire. His wandering life had +given him no habits of steady industry, and while he was an unusually +capable lad of his age, he dearly loved to loaf about and have a good +deal of variety and excitement in his life. + +Now he saw nothing before him but days of patient and very +uninteresting labor. He was heartily sick of weeding; even riding Duke +before the cultivator had lost its charms, and a great pile of wood lay +in the Squire's yard which he knew he would be set to piling up in the +shed. Strawberry-picking would soon follow the asparagus cultivation, +then haying, and so on all the long, bright summer, without any fun, +unless his father came for him. + +On the other hand, he was not obliged to stay a minute longer unless he +liked. With a comfortable suit of clothes, a dollar in his pocket, and +a row of dinner-baskets hanging in the school-house entry to supply him +with provisions if he didn't mind stealing them, what was easier than +to run away again? Tramping has its charms in fair weather, and Ben had +lived like a gypsy under canvas for years, so he feared nothing, and +began to look down the leafy road with a restless, wistful expression, +as the temptation grew stronger and stronger every minute. + +Sancho seemed to share the longing, for he kept running off a little +way and stopping to frisk and bark, then rushed back to sit watching +his master with those intelligent eyes of his, which seemed to say, +"Come on, Ben, let us scamper down this pleasant road and never stop +till we are tired." Swallows darted by, white clouds fled before the +balmy west wind, a squirrel ran along the wall, and all things seemed +to echo the boy's desire to leave toil behind and roam away as +care-free as they. One thing restrained him,--the thought of his +seeming ingratitude to good Mrs. Moss, and the disappointment of the +little girls at the loss of their two new play-fellows. While he paused +to think of this, something happened which kept him from doing what he +would have been sure to regret afterward. + +Horses had always been his best friends, and one came trotting up to +help him now, though he did not know how much he owed it till long +after. Just in the act of swinging himself over the bars to take a +short cut across the fields, the sound of approaching hoofs, +unaccompanied by the roll of wheels, caught his ear, and pausing, he +watched eagerly to see who was coming at such a pace. + +At the turn of the road, however, the quick trot stopped, and in a +moment a lady on a bay mare came pacing slowly into sight,--a young and +pretty lady, all in dark blue, with a bunch of dandelions like yellow +stars in her button-hole, and a silver-handled whip hanging from the +pommel of her saddle, evidently more for ornament than use. The +handsome mare limped a little and shook her head as if something +plagued her, while her mistress leaned down to see what was the matter, +saying, as if she expected an answer of some sort: + +"Now, Chevalita, if you have got a stone in your foot, I shall have to +get off and take it out. Why don't you look where you step and save me +all this trouble?" + +"I'll look for you, ma'am; I'd like to!" said an eager voice so +unexpectedly that both horse and rider started as a boy came down the +bank with a jump. + +"I wish you would. You need not be afraid; Lita is as gentle as a +lamb," answered the young lady, smiling, as if amused by the boy's +earnestness. + +"She's a beauty, anyway," muttered Ben, lifting one foot after another +till he found the stone, and with some trouble got it out. + +"That was nicely done, and I'm much obliged. Can you tell me if that +cross-road leads to the Elms?" asked the lady, as she went slowly on +with Ben beside her. + +"No, ma'am; I'm new in these parts, and I only know where Squire Allen +and Mrs. Moss live." + +"I want to see both of them, so suppose you show me the way. I was here +long ago, and thought I should remember how to find the old house with +the elm avenue and the big gate, but I don't." + +"I know it; they call that place the Laylocks now, 'cause there's a +hedge of 'em all down the path and front wall. It's a real pretty +place; Bab and Betty play there, and so do I." + +Ben could not restrain a chuckle at the recollection of his first +appearance there, and as if his merriment or his words interested her, +the lady said, pleasantly: "Tell me all about it. Are Bab and Betty +your sisters?" + +Quite forgetting his intended tramp, Ben plunged into a copious history +of himself and new-made friends, led on by a kind look, an inquiring +word, and sympathetic smile, till he had told everything. At the +school-house corner he stopped and said, spreading his arms like a +sign-post: + +"That's the way to the Laylocks, and this is the way to the Squire's." + +"As I'm in a hurry to see the old house, I'll go this way first, if you +will be kind enough to give my love to Mrs. Allen, and tell the Squire +Miss Celia is coming to dine with him. I wont say good-by, because I +shall see you again." + +With a nod and a smile the young lady cantered away, and Ben hurried up +the hill to deliver his message, feeling as if something pleasant was +going to happen, so it would be wise to defer running away, for the +present at least. + +[Illustration: BEN TAKES THE STONE FROM LITA'S FOOT.] + +At one o'clock Miss Celia arrived, and Ben had the delight of helping +Pat stable pretty Chevalita; then, his own dinner hastily eaten, he +fell to work at the detested wood-pile with sudden energy, for, as he +worked, he could steal peeps into the dining-room, and see the curly +brown head between the two gray ones as the three sat round the table. +He could not help hearing a word now and then, as the windows were +open, and these bits of conversation filled him with curiosity, for the +names "Thorny," "Celia," and "George" were often repeated, and an +occasional merry laugh from the young lady sounded like music in that +usually quiet place. + +When dinner was over, Ben's industrious fit left him, and he leisurely +trundled his barrow to and fro till the guest departed. There was no +chance for him to help now, since Pat, anxious to get whatever trifle +might be offered for his services, was quite devoted in his attentions +to the mare and her mistress till she was mounted and off. But Miss +Celia did not forget her little guide, and spying a wistful face +behind the wood-pile, paused at the gate and beckoned with that winning +smile of hers. If ten Pats had stood scowling in the way Ben would have +defied them all, and vaulting over the fence he ran up with a shining +face, hoping she wanted some last favor of him. Leaning down, Miss +Celia slipped a new quarter into his hand, saying: + +"Lita wants me to give you this for taking the stone out of her foot." + +"Thanky, ma'am; I liked to do it, for I hate to see 'em limp, +'specially such a pretty one as she is," answered Ben, stroking the +glossy neck with a loving touch. + +"The Squire says you know a good deal about horses, so I suppose you +understand the Houyhnhnm language? I'm learning it, and it is very +nice," laughed Miss Celia, as Chevalita gave a little whinny and +snuggled her nose into Ben's pocket. + +"No, miss, I never went to school." + +"That is not taught there. I'll bring you a book all about it when I +come back. Mr. Gulliver went to the horse-country and heard the dear +things speak their own tongue." + +"My father has been on the prairies where there's lots of wild ones, +but he didn't hear 'em speak. I know what they want without talkin'," +answered Ben, suspecting a joke, but not exactly seeing what it was. + +"I don't doubt it, but I wont forget the book. Good-by, my lad, we +shall soon meet again," and away went Miss Celia as if she was in a +hurry to get back. + +"If she only had a red habit and a streamin' white feather, she'd look +as fine as Melia used to. She _is_ 'most as kind and rides 'most as +well. Wonder where she's goin' to. Hope she _will_ come soon," thought +Ben, watching till the last flutter of the blue habit vanished round +the corner, and then he went back to his work with his head full of the +promised book, pausing now and then to chink the two silver halves and +the new quarter together in his pocket, wondering what he should buy +with this vast sum. + +Bab and Betty meantime had had a most exciting day, for when they went +home at noon they found the pretty lady there, and she had talked to +them like an old friend, given them a ride on the little horse, and +kissed them both good-by when they went back to school. In the +afternoon the lady was gone, the old house all open, and their mother +sweeping, dusting, airing in great spirits. So they had a splendid +frolic tumbling on feather beds, beating bits of carpet, opening +closets, and racing from garret to cellar like a pair of distracted +kittens. + +Here Ben found them, and was at once overwhelmed with a burst of news +which excited him as much as it did them. Miss Celia owned the house, +was coming to live there, and things were to be made ready as soon as +possible. All thought the prospect a charming one; Mrs. Moss because +life had been dull for her during the year she had taken charge of the +old house; the little girls had heard rumors of various pets who were +coming, and Ben, learning that a boy and a donkey were among them, +resolved that nothing but the arrival of his father should tear him +from this now deeply interesting spot. + +"I'm in _such_ a hurry to see the peacocks and hear them scream. She +said they did, and that we'd laugh when old Jack brayed," cried Bab, +hopping about on one foot to work off her impatience. + +"Is a _faytun_ a kind of a bird? I heard her say she could keep it in +the coach-house," asked Betty, inquiringly. + +"It's a little carriage," and Ben rolled in the grass, much tickled at +poor Betty's ignorance. + +"Of course it is. I looked it out in the dic., and you mustn't call it +a _payton_ though it _is_ spelt with a p," added Bab, who liked to lay +down the law on all occasions, and did not mention that she had looked +vainly among the f's till a school-mate set her right. + +"You can't tell _me_ much about carriages. But what I want to know is +where Lita will stay?" said Ben. + +"Oh, she's to be up at the Squire's, till things are fixed, and you are +to bring her down. Squire came and told Ma all about it, and said you +were a boy to be trusted, for he had tried you." + +Ben made no answer, but secretly thanked his stars that he had not +proved himself untrustworthy by running away, and so missing all this +fun. + +"Wont it be fine to have the house open all the time? We can run over +and see the pictures and books whenever we like. I know we can, Miss +Celia is so kind," began Betty, who cared for these things more than +for screaming peacocks and comical donkeys. + +"Not unless you are invited," answered their mother, locking the front +door behind her. "You'd better begin to pick up your duds right away, +for she wont want them cluttering round her front yard. If you are not +too tired, Ben, you might rake round a little while I shut the blinds. +I want things to look nice and tidy." + +Two little groans went up from two afflicted little girls as they +looked about them at the shady bower, the dear porch, and the winding +walks where they loved to run "till their hair whistled in the wind," +as the fairy-books say. + +"Whatever shall we do! Our attic is so hot and the shed so small, and +the yard always full of hens or clothes. We shall have to pack all our +things away and never play any more," said Bab, tragically. + +"May be Ben could build us a little house in the orchard," proposed +Betty, who firmly believed that Ben could do anything. + +"He wont have any time. Boys don't care for baby-houses," returned Bab, +collecting her homeless goods and chattels with a dismal face. + +"We sha'n't want these much when all the new things come; see if we +do," said cheerful little Betty, who always found out a silver lining +to every cloud. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +MISS CELIA'S MAN. + + +Ben was not too tired, and the clearing-up began that very night. None +too soon, for, in a day or two, things arrived, to the great delight of +the children, who considered moving a most interesting play. First came +the phaeton, which Ben spent all his leisure moments in admiring, +wondering with secret envy what happy boy would ride in the little seat +up behind, and beguiling his tasks by planning how, when he got rich, +he would pass his time driving about in just such an equipage, and +inviting all the boys he met to have a ride. + +Then a load of furniture came creaking in at the lodge gate, and the +girls had raptures over a cottage piano, several small chairs, and a +little low table, which they pronounced just the thing for them to play +at. The live stock appeared next, creating a great stir in the +neighborhood, for peacocks were rare birds there; the donkey's bray +startled the cattle and convulsed the people with laughter; the rabbits +were continually getting out to burrow in the newly made garden; and +Chevalita scandalized old Duke by dancing about the stable which he had +inhabited for years in stately solitude. + +Last, but by no means least, Miss Celia, her young brother and two +maids, arrived one evening so late that only Mrs. Moss went over to +help them settle. The children were much disappointed, but were +appeased by a promise that they should all go to pay their respects in +the morning. + +They were up so early, and were so impatient to be off, that Mrs. Moss +let them go with the warning that they would find only the servants +astir. She was mistaken, however, for as the procession approached, a +voice from the porch called out: "Good morning, little neighbors!" so +unexpectedly, that Bab nearly spilt the new milk she carried, Betty +gave such a start that the fresh-laid eggs quite skipped in the dish, +and Ben's face broke into a broad grin over the armful of clover which +he brought for the bunnies, as he bobbed his head, saying, briskly: + +"She's all right, miss; Lita is, and I can bring her over any minute +you say." + +"I shall want her at four o'clock. Thorny will be too tired to drive, +but I must hear from the post-office, rain or shine;" and Miss Celia's +pretty color brightened as she spoke, either from some happy thought or +because she was bashful, for the honest young faces before her plainly +showed their admiration of the white-gowned lady under the +honeysuckles. + +The appearance of Miranda, the maid, reminded the children of their +errand, and having delivered their offerings, they were about to retire +in some confusion, when Miss Celia said pleasantly: + +"I want to thank you for helping put things in such nice order. I see +signs of busy hands and feet both inside the house and all about the +grounds, and I am very much obliged." + +"I raked the beds," said Ben, proudly eying the neat ovals and circles. + +"I swept all the paths," added Bab, with a reproachful glance at +several green sprigs fallen from the load of clover on the smooth walk. + +"I cleared up the porch," and Betty's clean pinafore rose and fell with +a long sigh, as she surveyed the late summer residence of her exiled +family. + +Miss Celia guessed the meaning of that sigh, and made haste to turn it +into a smile by asking, anxiously: + +"What _has_ become of the playthings? I don't see them anywhere." + +"Ma said you wouldn't want our duds round, so we took them all home," +answered Betty, with a wistful face. + +"But I do want them round. I like dolls and toys almost as much as +ever, and quite miss the little "duds" from porch and path. Suppose you +come to tea with me to-night and bring some of them back? I should be +very sorry to rob you of your pleasant play-place." + +"Oh yes'm, we'd love to come! and we'll bring our best things." + +"Ma always lets us have our shiny pitchers and the china poodle when we +go visiting or have company at home," said Bab and Betty, both speaking +at once. + +"Bring what you like and I'll hunt up my toys too. Ben is to come also, +and _his_ poodle is especially invited," added Miss Celia as Sancho +came and begged before her, feeling that some agreeable project was +under discussion. + +"Thank you, miss. I told them you'd be willing they should come +sometimes. They like this place ever so much, and so do I," said Ben, +feeling that few spots combined so many advantages in the way of +climbable trees, arched gates, half-a-dozen gables, and other charms +suited to the taste of an aspiring youth who had been a flying Cupid at +the age of seven. + +"So do I," echoed Miss Celia, heartily. "Ten years ago I came here a +little girl, and made lilac chains under these very bushes, and picked +chick-weed over there for my bird, and rode Thorny in his baby-wagon up +and down these paths. Grandpa lived here then and we had fine times; +but now they are all gone except us two." + +"We haven't got any father either," said Bab, for something in Miss +Celia's face made her feel as if a cloud had come over the sun. + +[Illustration: MISS CELIA AND HER LITTLE FRIENDS.] + +"_I_ have a first-rate father, if I only knew where he'd gone to," said +Ben, looking down the path as eagerly as if some one waited for him +behind the locked gate. + +"You are a rich boy, and you are happy little girls to have so good a +mother; I've found that out already," and the sun shone again as the +young lady nodded to the neat, rosy children before her. + +"You may have a piece of her if you want to, 'cause you haven't got any +of your own," said Betty, with a pitiful look which made her blue eyes +as sweet as two wet violets. + +"So I will! and you shall be my little sisters. I never had any, and +I'd love to try how it seems," and Miss Celia took both the chubby +hands in hers, feeling ready to love every one this first bright +morning in the new home which she hoped to make a very happy one. + +Bab gave a satisfied nod, and fell to examining the rings upon the +white hand that held her own. But Betty put her arms about the new +friend's neck, and kissed her so softly that the hungry feeling in Miss +Celia's heart felt better directly, for this was the food it wanted, +and Thorny had not learned yet to return one half of the affection he +received. Holding the child close, she played with the yellow braids +while she told them about the little German girls in their funny +black-silk caps, short-waisted gowns and wooden shoes, whom she used to +see watering long webs of linen bleaching on the grass, watching great +flocks of geese, or driving pigs to market, knitting or spinning as +they went. + +Presently, "Randa," as she called her stout maid, came to tell her that +"Master Thorny couldn't wait another minute," and she went in to +breakfast with a good appetite, while the children raced home to bounce +in upon Mrs. Moss, talking all at once like little lunatics. + +"The phaeton at four,--so sweet in a beautiful white gown,---going to +tea, and Sancho and all the baby things invited. Can't we wear our +Sunday frocks? A splendid new net for Lita. And she likes dolls. Goody, +goody, wont it be fun!" + +With much difficulty their mother got a clear account of the +approaching festivity out of the eager mouths, and with still more +difficulty got breakfast into them, for the children had few pleasures, +and this brilliant prospect rather turned their heads. + +Bab and Betty thought the day would never end, and cheered the long +hours by expatiating on the pleasures in store for them, till their +playmates were much afflicted because they were not going also. At +noon their mother kept them from running over to the old house lest +they should be in the way, so they consoled themselves by going to the +syringa bush at the corner and sniffing the savory odors which came +from the kitchen, where Katy, the cook, was evidently making nice +things for tea. + +Ben worked as if for a wager till four, then stood over Pat while he +curried Lita till her coat shone like satin, then drove her gently down +to the coach-house, where he had the satisfaction of harnessing her +"all his own self." + +"Shall I go round to the great gate and wait for you there, miss?" he +asked, when all was ready, looking up at the porch where the young lady +stood watching him as she put on her gloves. + +"No, Ben, the great gate is not to be opened till next October. I shall +go in and out by the lodge, and leave the avenue to grass and +dandelions, meantime," answered Miss Celia, as she stepped in and took +the reins, with a sudden smile. + +But she did not start even when Ben had shaken out the new duster and +laid it neatly over her knees. + +"Isn't it all right now?" asked the boy, anxiously. + +"Not quite; I need one thing more. Can't you guess what it is?"--and +Miss Celia watched his anxious face as his eyes wandered from the tips +of Lita's ears to the hind-wheel of the phaeton, trying to discover +what had been omitted. + +"No, miss, I don't see--" he began, much mortified to think he had +forgotten anything. + +"Wouldn't a little groom up behind improve the appearance of my +turnout?" she said, with a look which left no doubt in his mind that +_he_ was to be the happy boy to occupy that proud perch. + +He grew red with pleasure, but stammered, as he hesitated, looking down +at his bare feet and blue shirt: + +"I aint fit, miss, and I haven't got any other clothes." + +Miss Celia only smiled again more kindly than before, and answered, in +a tone which he understood better than her words: + +"A great man said his coat-of-arms was a pair of shirt sleeves, and a +sweet poet sung about a barefooted boy, so I need not be too proud to +ride with one. Up with you, Ben, my man, and let us be off, or we shall +be late for our party." + +With one bound the new groom was in his place, sitting very erect, with +his legs stiff, arms folded, and nose in the air, as he had seen real +grooms sit behind their masters in fine dog-carts or carriages. Mrs. +Moss nodded as they drove past the lodge, and Ben touched his torn +hat-brim in the most dignified manner, though he could not suppress a +broad grin of delight, which deepened into a chuckle when Lita went +off at a brisk trot along the smooth road toward town. + +It takes so little to make a child happy, it is a pity grown people do +not oftener remember it and scatter little bits of pleasure before the +small people, as they throw crumbs to the hungry sparrows. Miss Celia +knew the boy was pleased, but he had no words in which to express his +gratitude for the great contentment she had given him. He could only +beam at all he met, smile when the floating ends of the gray veil blew +against his face, and long in his heart to give the new friend a boyish +hug as he used to do his dear Melia when she was very good to him. + +School was just out as they passed, and it was a spectacle, I assure +you, to see the boys and girls stare at Ben up aloft in such state; +also to see the superb indifference with which that young man regarded +the vulgar herd who went afoot. He could not resist an affable nod to +Bab and Betty, for they stood under the maple-tree, and the memory of +their circulating library made him forget his dignity in his gratitude. + +"We will take them next time, but now I want to talk to you," began +Miss Celia, as Lita climbed the hill. "My brother has been ill, and I +have brought him here to get well. I want to do all sorts of things to +amuse him, and I think you can help me in many ways. Would you like to +work for me instead of the Squire?" + +"I guess I would!" ejaculated Ben, so heartily that no further +assurances were needed, and Miss Celia went on, well pleased: + +"You see, poor Thorny is weak and fretful, and does not like to exert +himself, though he ought to be out a great deal, and kept from thinking +of his little troubles. He cannot walk much yet, so I have a wheeled +chair to push him in, and the paths are so hard it will be easy to roll +him around. That will be one thing you can do. Another is to take care +of his pets till he is able to do it himself. Then you can tell him +your adventures, and talk to him as only a boy can talk to a boy. That +will amuse him when I want to write or go out; but I never leave him +long, and hope he will soon be running about as well as the rest of us. +How does that sort of work look to you?" + +"First-rate! I'll take real good care of the little fellow, and do +everything I know to please him, and so will Sanch. He's fond of +children," answered Ben, heartily, for the new place looked very +inviting to him. + +Miss Celia laughed, and rather damped his ardor by her next words: + +"I don't know what Thorny _would_ say to hear you call him 'little.' He +is fourteen, and appears to get taller and taller every day. He seems +like a child to _me_, because I am nearly ten years older than he is; +but you needn't be afraid of his long legs and big eyes,--he is too +feeble to do any harm,--only you mustn't mind if he orders you about." + +"I'm used to that. I don't mind it if he wont call me a 'spalpeen,' and +fire things at me," said Ben, thinking of his late trials with Pat. + +"I can promise that, and I am sure Thorny will like you, for I told him +your story, and he is anxious to see 'the circus boy,' as he called +you. Squire Allen says I may trust you, and I am glad to do so, for it +saves me much trouble to find what I want all ready for me. You shall +be well fed and clothed, kindly treated and honestly paid, if you like +to stay with me." + +"I _know_ I shall like it--till father comes, anyway. Squire wrote to +Smithers right off, but hasn't got any answer yet. I know they are on +the go now, so may be we wont hear for ever so long," answered Ben, +feeling less impatient to be off than before this fine proposal was +made to him. + +"I dare say; meantime we will see how we get on together, and perhaps +your father will be willing to leave you for the summer if he is away. +Now show me the baker's, the candy-shop, and the post-office," said +Miss Celia, as they rattled down the main street of the village. + +Ben made himself useful, and when all the other errands were done, +received his reward in the shape of a new pair of shoes and a straw hat +with a streaming blue ribbon, on the ends of which shone silvery +anchors. He was also allowed to drive home, while his new mistress read +her letters. One particularly long one, with a queer stamp on the +envelope, she read twice, never speaking a word till they got back. +Then Ben was sent off with Lita and the Squire's letters, promising to +get his chores done in time for tea. + +_(To be continued.)_ + + + + +CRUMBS FROM OLDER READING. + +BY JULIA E. SARGENT. + + +EMERSON. + + +"Who ever heard of Emerson?" I asked a room of third-reader pupils. +Nearly every hand came up, and the bright faces were full of interest. +What a delightful surprise! I did not expect to see more than two +hands, and here all were as interested as if I had said, "Who ever +heard of Hayes or Tilden?" All at once I remembered that, for more than +a week, every fence about the school had been covered with +circus-bills, bearing the name "Billy Emerson." + +Sure enough he was the only Emerson those pupils knew about; for when I +said Ralph Waldo Emerson, one by one the hands came down. No one had +heard of him. Now I know no more of "Billy Emerson" than the children +knew of Ralph Waldo Emerson, but I am not afraid to say that the one I +know is better worth knowing. + +For in papa's library, or on mamma's center-table, I have no doubt you +can find more than one book which he has written. When in his sermon +the minister tells what Emerson has said, you may be very sure he does +not quote "Billy." Papers and magazines all have something to say +concerning this man, whose books grown people read and talk about. + +Who is he, then? His name is Ralph Waldo Emerson, and he writes books. + +Very good; and what are people who write books called? Then Mr. Ralph +Waldo Emerson is an author. He lives in a republican country which has +Washington for its capital. He was born in the Bay State, in the +largest city of New England. He dwells now in a little town where a +battle was fought a hundred years ago, and the name of this town means +"harmony." You know where that is, do you not? He was born in 1803, +and, as this is 1878, every one of you boys and girls who can subtract +can tell just his age. One of the books he has written tells about +England, another about such famous men as Shakspeare and Napoleon, and +others talk about wealth and friendship, prudence and power. + +That does not sound as if he meant them for you? Well, one thing he did +mean for you, and that is a dear little poem--"The Squirrel and the +Mountain." Every one of you will want to read it, and when you have +read it you will want to learn it, and when you have learned you will +want to speak it. I need not have told you he meant that poem for you; +you would know that the minute you saw it. But you could not tell so +soon how many things he says for you in those famous essays so often +quoted. What do you think I can find for you in this dry-looking book, +"Conduct of Life," with "Emerson" printed just under the title? + +Did you ever see an old hen with her little walking bundles of feathers +in the soft garden soil? How she does scratch and bustle for something +to eat! Why, she is eating every bit herself! Perhaps she thinks that +taking care of the chickens' mother is very important work for her; but +by-and-by she will call the little folks to share what she has found. + +You may think of me as of an old hen who has long been scratching in +the soft garden soil of Ralph Waldo Emerson's writings. She has found +much for herself, with now and then a bit for the chickens. + +Here, the very first thing, is something about eggs. "There is always a +best way of doing everything, if it be but to boil an egg." I hope my +little friends are never cross when Bridget has not boiled the nice +breakfast egg in the best way. More than that; I hope they themselves +know what is the best way of doing it; just how hot the water must be, +how long the egg should boil to make it hard or soft, and, what is well +worth knowing, how to get it in and out of the hot water without +breaking the shell. + +Here is another bit. It is like an egg, for the meaning is wrapt in +words just as an egg hides in the shell. "The tell-tale body is all +tongues." What does the tongue help to do? Will no one know that you +are cross unless you say, "I am cross this morning?" Can I find it out +although you do not say a word? Yes, indeed; that puckered mouth and +ugly little scowl tell, all too quickly, and even if I could not see +your face, that little jerk and twist would tell the story. Do you not +know when the dog is sick or tired, or full of fun? yet, his bright +eyes, eager little nose, lively body and whisking tail, tell no more +surely than your own face and body. + +"The tell-tale body is all tongues." Mr. Emerson, we think that is +true. + +"How can I be beautiful?" Every boy and girl, man and woman, wants to +know that. Here is Mr. Emerson's beauty recipe: "There is no beautifier +of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and +not pain around us." Do you suppose that recipe will work? Think of the +most beautiful people you know. Ah, I knew some one would say "mother." +Do you not think these people are those who try very hard to make +others happy? I know very many beautiful people who would have remained +very plain had they sought only to please themselves. + +We want to try Emerson's rule for becoming beautiful, so it will not do +to forget that "There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or +behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us." + +"Every man takes care that his neighbor shall not cheat him. But a day +comes when he begins to care that he does not cheat his neighbor. Then +all goes well." Yes, Mr. Emerson, that is the only way to have things +go well,--following the Golden Rule. + +"You cannot hide any secret. 'Tis as hard to hide as fire." Perhaps you +think that it is not so; but you just try how long you can keep a +secret that even your dearest friend does not know. I should not wonder +if Emerson were right once more. + +"There is much you may not do." True again. We do not need Emerson to +tell us that. "You must not do that, you must not do this," the little +folks hear so often, that sometimes they wonder what they may do. + +But we would like to have him tell us what things last longest. + +He is all ready to tell whoever wants to know, "Beauty is the quality +which makes to endure. In a house that I know, I have noticed a block +of spermaceti lying about closets and mantel-pieces for twenty years +together, simply because the tallow-man gave it the form of a rabbit; +and I suppose it may continue to be lugged about unchanged for a +century. Let an artist draw a few lines or figures on the back of a +letter, and that scrap of paper is rescued from danger, is put in a +portfolio, or framed and glazed, and, in proportion to the beauty of +the lines drawn, will be kept for centuries." And there are beauties of +heart, mind and character, that do not meet the eye, but are none the +less powerful in "making to endure." + + + + +THE OLD MAN AND THE NERVOUS COW. + +BY R.E. + + + "There was an old man who said 'How + Shall I 'scape from this horrible cow? + I will sit on the stile, + And continue to smile, + Which may soften the heart of the cow.'" + +The old man was walking thoughtfully through the field, with his hands +behind him, when the nervous cow saw him. She wasn't ordinarily a +bad-natured cow, but she was mad just then. An aggravating fly had been +biting her half the morning, and, just as she was drinking at the +brook, a frog had jumped up with a cry and bitten her nose. These +things had completely unsettled her nerves. + +She was ready to run at anything, and the old man being the only living +thing in sight, she plunged toward him. + +[Illustration: "I WILL SIT ON THE STILE, AND CONTINUE TO SMILE."] + +What could he do? He was a short, stout old man, and could not run very +fast, and, though he tried his best, he only just managed to reach the +stile and plump down on it, all out of breath, as the cow neared him. + +Then he suddenly remembered reading somewhere that if you looked right +into an animal's eyes, it would run away from you. + +"Ah!" thought he, "I'll look straight at her, and if I smile at the +same time, she wont have the heart to hurt me." + +So he put on a smile (of course it was not a very beautiful one, for he +was in a hurry, but it was the best he could do), and stared straight +into the cow's eyes. She saw that smile, and it so touched her that she +stopped short. Then she sauntered back a little way, but the thought of +that aggravating fly, and that awful frog, was too much for her poor +nerves, and turning around, she dashed madly on again. + +In another minute, the poor old man--cane, little legs, smile and +all--was up in the air. + +He alighted in the top of a hickory-tree. One branch grazed his eye, +two ran into his legs, while another held his smile stiff and straight. + +Thus he stayed until an eagle caught sight of him, pounced right down, +and flew off with him to her nest, which was on a huge rock that rose +straight up into the cold air and made the summit of a mountain. + +When the old eagle plumped the little old man down into the nest, just +imagine, if you can, how astonished the eaglets were! They opened their +beaks as well as their eyes, and cried out: + +"What's this, mother? What _is_ this?" + +"Oh! it's only a man," cried the old eagle. "I found him roosting in +the top of a tree. Don't know how he got there. Suppose he was trying +to fly, and couldn't. Tell us how it was, old man." + +"Can he talk?" + +"Talk!" said the eagle. "Of course he can talk. And he can tell +stories, too, I warrant you. So, if you like, you may keep him to tell +you stories." + +"Oh, wont that be nice! Tell us a story, right off," they all screamed, +jerking the old man down into the nest. + +"But it's so dirty here," said he, looking around, with his nose turned +up a little. "Let me sit on the edge of the nest, wont you?--and I'll +tell you all the stories you want." + +"You'll fall over.". + +"Oh no, I wont. I'll hold on with my cane and my legs. Now just shut +your beaks, so you wont look so savage, and listen." + +So the old man perched himself on the edge of the nest. The eaglets +took hold of his coat with their beaks, to keep him from falling; and +he told them the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"; and when +that was ended, another, and then another. + +He didn't eat much supper that night, for they hadn't any convenience +for cooking. And he didn't sleep well, either, for whenever one of the +eaglets woke up in the night, it always pinched him with its beak, to +make sure he was there. So he resolved to get away as soon as he could. + +But he didn't seem to have any chance; so there he stayed and told +stories till he longed to wring the necks of the gaping birds that kept +asking him for more. + +Now, all this time the cow had been getting more and more nervous. +Every day she thought of the poor old man and his meek little legs and +his sweet old smile, and just how his coat-tails looked as he went up; +till at last she laid her head down on a tuft of grass by the brook, +and cried--regularly boo-hooed. + +Having thus relieved her feelings, she became calm, and, rising, said: + +"I'll go to his house and find out how and where he is, if I can." + +So off she started. But the house was shut up, and there was no one +there except the cat. + +Very much frightened the cat was, too, when the cow pushed up the +pantry window with her horns, and bellowed: + +"Where's your master?" + +"I don't know," said the cat, retreating to a far corner, with his back +up. "I haven't set eyes on him since last Sunday." + +"Oh dear!" sighed the cow, dropping the window with a crash that broke +out two of the panes of glass. "What shall I do?" + +[Illustration: "THE POOR OLD MAN WAS UP IN THE AIR."] + +"What's the matter with you?--and what do you want of the old man?" +asked Tabby, bounding out through one of the broken panes. + +The cow told him. + +"Well," said Tab, stroking his whiskers reflectively, "I guess I'll go +with you and help you look for the good-natured old creature." + +So they journeyed on, asking everybody they met about the old man. But +nobody knew, until finally they came across an old crow who knew +everybody's business. + +"An old man?" said he. "The eagle took an old man the other day. Did he +have very slender legs?" + +"Yes, yes!" said the cat and the cow together. + +"And a sweet smile on his face?" + +"Yes, yes!" cried the cow. "He went up with that smile, and it has been +haunting me ever since," and she burst into a flood of tears. + +"Well," said the crow, "he's in the eagle's nest telling stories to the +eaglets, and if he isn't tired of the business by this time, I'm +mistaken." + +"Where is the nest?--and how can we get there?" + +"Up at the very top of the mountain yonder. Go straight ahead, and you +can't miss it." + +[Illustration: THE OLD MAN TELLING STORIES TO THE EAGLETS.] + +So straight ahead they went till they came to the rock where the +eagle's nest was. Then what should they do? They could hear the old +man's little, thin voice telling stories to the birds, but they knew he +wouldn't dare come where the cow was, even if he could clamber down +that steep rock. At last, Tab suggested that the cow should hide +herself, while he climbed up into the nest and persuaded the old man. +So the cow hid, and puss scrambled up to the nest and carefully poked +his head in. + +"Ah, master!" he whispered; "climb down the rock to-night, and I'll +show you the way home." And he disappeared. + +This visit braced up the old man's courage, and when the mother-bird +came home he calmly told her he thought he'd sleep at the foot of the +rock that night; and she unsuspectingly took him in her talons and +dropped him gently on the ground. + +As soon as she had gone, the old man looked all about him, and called +"Tabby, Tabby," very softly. Tabby came out from under the roots of a +tree and bounded on his shoulder, and told him how sorry the cow was, +and how she was waiting in a thicket ready to carry him home, if he +wanted to go. + +Of course he wanted to go, and in less than a jiffy the cow had come +out from her hiding-place, had cried a little, and had taken the old +man on her back, and started full speed down the mountain, with the cat +tearing after her. + +It was a long way to the old man's house, and they reached it just +tired out. Of course, they got something to eat, and then they went to +bed and slept right through two days; but on the morning of the third +day they got up as merry as crickets, and, after a hearty breakfast, +they agreed to live together for the rest of their lives. And they have +lived ever since in perfect harmony. + + + + +THE RAID OF THE CAMANCHES. + +BY THE AUTHOR OF "WE BOYS." + + +Fred Hart, who was the eldest son of a country clergyman, and preparing +for college at Whitford Boys' Academy, was known at that classical +institution as a "dig," because he "dug" into his books and studied +hard. His room-mate, Neal Howe, an orphan, dependent upon his own +exertions, was styled a "digger;" and as both lads were rather dark, it +was but a step for those wicked upper-story boys to stigmatize them, +"Digger Indians!" + +This term was gradually extended to include all the boys in the second +story, for they were all hard students. The "Diggers" retaliated mildly +by styling their upper-story neighbors, "Camanches." + +The Camanches perpetrated all sorts of schoolboy atrocities on the +Diggers, but, above all things else, they burned for a pillow-fight. In +vain they challenged the Diggers to combat. Those law-abiding savages +declined, though well aware of thereby falling into contempt on charge +of cowardice. + +Unmistakable indications were soon apparent that the Camanches +meditated an attack. + +The north wing was intended to be fire-proof, and each story was +separated from the main building by iron doors which usually were +fastened back by staples. The Camanches reasoned that these doors might +be as effectual in shutting off teachers as fire; and the staples in +both the second and third stories were one day withdrawn, so that these +doors could be easily closed. + +Scouting parties reported that the Camanches were getting ready the +war-paint,--_i.e._, the burnt cork,--and one ferocious savage had +intimated that they should spare neither age nor sex. + +A council was immediately held in Fred Hart's room, and Fred +unanimously chosen chief. + +"If they're determined on a pillow-fight they shall have it," +resolutely remarked that warrior. + +The Diggers proposed using their own pillows as reserve arms only, and +the next day any number of this tribe might have been seen scouring the +village on mysterious errands, which the housewives would have +explained as an effort to buy up old pillows. + +"All's fair on the defensive," said Chief Fred, and each Digger ripped +open one end of his pillow, poured in a little mucilage, and then +basted it up, in accordance with the liberal views boys always +entertain concerning "basting." + +At a little after nine o'clock, when the lights had been extinguished, +and a teacher made the nightly rounds, a Camanche scout quietly closed +and bolted the iron doors and relighted the hall lamps. Then, with +hair-starting war-whoops, the savages began dropping down through the +trap-door, which opened from one hall to another in the capacity of +fire-escapes. + +The Diggers, peacefully studying in their rooms, were summarily ordered +into the hall to battle. Every man protested, but the Camanches refused +to parley. Then, seizing their weapons, the assailed marched forth to +the field of carnage. + +Thwack! went the blows of the Camanches. + +Thwack! the Diggers. + +Thwack! the Camanches. + +Thwack! the Diggers. + +A stir among the Camanches and then a wild affray. + +Crack! crack! go the Diggers' bastings. Crack! feathers fly over the +heads and into the eyes of the Camanches, and there many of them stick. +The Camanches realize the disadvantages of unprovoked assault with no +rules of warfare agreed upon beforehand. + +Here and there a Camanche drops his arms and flies to the farther end +of the hall, only to fumble unavailingly at the fastenings of the iron +door, while a victorious Digger belabors him with the weapon he has +just cast aside. + +All at once there is descried in the dim light of the hall the boots +and never-to-be-mistaken striped pantaloons of Captain Hale swinging +through the trap-door! + +Captain Hale is drill-sergeant and professor of gymnastics. He has seen +years of army service, and is thoroughly imbued with the military +spirit. The boys are more afraid of him than of the president and +entire board of trustees,--as afraid as they would be of old Nick, +himself, in boots and striped pantaloons. + +In a flash every Digger had disappeared into his own room and locked +the door after him, and the Camanches are left alone, gasping among +their feathers, the captain in their midst. + +There is a moment of bewilderment followed by a wild stampede toward +the iron door, but the Captain has cut off the retreat. + +"Young gentlemen, you will remain and clear up the hall. Williams, go +to the coal-cellar and bring up the two-bushel basket." + +Williams is "nobbiest" of third-story boys, bravest of Camanche +warriors, but Williams doesn't dare refuse to go for that basket. +During his absence his fellow-savages express strong doubts as to his +ever re-appearing upon the battle-field, but he does return, like +Regulus to his barrel of spikes. + +The Captain has borrowed a number of brooms and dust-pans from the +Diggers who, to a man, had retired and been snoring sweetly. + +"Now, gentlemen, clear up these feathers!" orders the Captain, as if he +was crying, "Forward, march!" + +Clearing up those feathers was a tedious and trying process. Any one +who has ever chased a worn-out but still lively feather up and down a +long hall can imagine the scene with hundreds of them flying about. + +"They're the meanest lot of feathers,--pretty much all fuzz," said one +exhausted brave. + +When the last handful had been crowded into the basket, Williams +attempted opening the door. + +"No; you're to make your exit the same way you made your ingress," +announced the Captain. + +Williams stared blankly at the trap-hole in the ceiling. + +Dropping down through a trap-door and going up through the same, with +no visible means of support but the floor, are naturally different +exercises. + +"You're fertile in expedients; can't you devise some good way of +getting out?" coolly asked the Captain. + +"We might stand on each other's shoulders," suggested one small +savage, whom the blood-thirsty Williams afterward confessed he longed +to scalp at this juncture. + +"Very well, do so," ordered the Captain. + +Then one of the noble savages stood under the trap-door while one by +one the others sprang upon his shoulders, caught the edges of the +opening above, wriggled, writhed, contorted his limbs, and finally +succeeded in drawing himself up to his own story, while all down the +hall, on either side, there appeared at the open ventilators over the +doors the eyes of pairs of miserable Diggers, and for every Camanche +that wriggled up there resounded a succession of groans. + +The Camanches thought, with a thrill of exultation, that the Captain +would be obliged to proffer his shoulders for the last man, and would +then be left pondering alone, like the goat in the well. That would be +something of a revenge, at any rate. + +But when only one boy remained, who, to the exasperation of the entire +tribe, was the identical small savage who had proposed going up in that +ridiculous style, the Captain quietly opened the iron door, and he and +the small savage retired with dignity. + +The Captain, who had his "good streaks," never reported the Camanches, +but they manifested a disposition thereafter to settle quietly upon +their own reservation and cultivate the peaceful arts, and they always +treated their neighbors, the Diggers, with respect, though unmingled +with affection. + + + + +[Illustration: "LITTLE BO-PEEP, SHE WENT TO SLEEP."] + + + + +SOLIMIN: A SHIP OF THE DESERT. + +BY SUSAN COOLIDGE. + + +I asked a party of children once the meaning of the word "desert," and +all but one shouted out, "rice pudding and oranges!" having in their +minds the dinner which we had just eaten. That one, who was older than +the rest, said, rather shyly, "A big piece of land, aunty, isn't it?" +but even he didn't know how big,--or that there is a difference in +spelling between the _dessert_ which people eat and the _desert_ which +sometimes eats people, closing its jaws of sand, and swallowing them up +as easily as a boy swallows a cherry. + +The biggest desert in the world is in Africa, and is called the Sahara. +It is almost as large as the Atlantic Ocean, but instead of water it is +all sands and rocks. Like the ocean, it is visited with storms; +dreadful gales, when the wind scoops up thousands of tons of sand and +drives them forward, burying and crushing all they meet. And it has +islands, too--small green patches, where springs bubble through the +ground, and ferns and acacias and palm-trees grow. When a traveler sees +one of these fertile spots afar off, he feels as a tempest-tossed +sailor does at sight of land. It is delightful to quit the hot, baking +sun, sit in shadow under the trees, and rest the eyes, long wearied +with dazzling sands, on the sweet green and the clear spring. Oases, +these islands are called. Long distances divide them. It is often a +race for life to get across from one to the other. Sometimes people do +not get across! In 1805, a caravan of 2,000 persons died miserably of +heat and thirst in the great desert, and the sand covered them up. Do +you wonder at my saying that the desert eats men? + +Now, you will be puzzled to guess what sort of ship it is which swims +this dry ocean. It is the camel--an animal made by God to endure these +dreadful regions, in which no other beast of burden can live and +travel. I dare say many of you have seen camels in menageries. They are +ugly animals, but very strong, swift and untiring. With a load of 800 +pounds on his back, a camel will travel for days at the rate of eight +miles an hour, which is as fast as an ordinary ship can sail. More +wonderful still, he will do this without stopping for food or water. +Nature has provided him with an extra stomach, in which he keeps a +store of drink, and with a hump on his back, made of jelly-like fat, +which, in time of need, is absorbed into the system and appropriated as +food. Is it not strange to think of a creature with a cistern and a +meat-safe inside him? A horse would be useless in the desert, where no +oats or grass can be had; but the brave, patient camel goes steadily on +without complaint till the oasis is reached: then he champs his thorn +bushes, fills himself from the spring, allows the heavy pack to be +fastened on his back again, and is ready for further travel. + +Now you know what sort of a ship it is that I am going to tell you +about. It was a camel, named Solimin. He was of a rare and valuable +breed, known as "herie," or coursers, because they are so much swifter +than ordinary camels. Solimin's master, Ahmed, was a poor man. He never +could have afforded to buy a full-grown camel of this rare breed; and +Solimin had become his through a piece of good fortune. When a little +foal, Solimin was found in a lonely place in the desert, standing over +the dead body of his mother, who had fallen and perished by the way. +Led to the brown tent which was Ahmed's home, the orphan baby grew up +as a child of the family, lay among the little ones at night, and was +their pet and plaything all the day. The boys taught him to kneel, to +rise, to carry burdens, to turn this way and that at a signal. The +girls hung a necklace of blessed shells around his neck, saved for him +the best of the food, sang him songs (which he was supposed to enjoy), +and daily kissed and stroked his gentle nose and eyes. As he grew big +and strong, the pride of his owners grew with him. Not another family +of the tribe possessed a herie. Once and again, Ahmed was offered a +large price for him, but he rejected it with disdain. + +"Would I sell my son--the son of my heart?" he said. "Neither will I +part with Solimin. By the Prophet, I swear it." + +Of all the dwellers in the brown tent Solimin loved best Ahmed himself, +and his eldest son, Mustapha. With them he was docile as a lamb; but if +strangers drew near, or persons he did not like, he became restive and +fierce, screamed, laid back his ears, and kicked with his strong hind +legs. A kick from a camel is no joke, I can tell you. All the desert +guides knew Solimin, and, for his sake, Ahmed was often hired to +accompany caravans. Nay, once, at Cairo, Solimin was chosen to carry +the sacred person of the Khedive on a day's excursion up the Nile bank, +which event served the tribe as a boast for months afterward. + +It was the year after this journey to Cairo that Ahmed met with a +terrible adventure. He and Mustapha, making their way home after a +long journey, had lain down to sleep away the noontide hours, according +to the custom of desert travelers. Their camels were tethered beside +them, all seemed secure and peaceful, when, sudden as the lowering of a +cloud, a party of Arabs, belonging to a wild tribe at enmity with all +men, pounced upon them. Ahmed and his son defended themselves manfully, +but what could two men, surprised in sleep, do against a dozen? In five +minutes all was over. The assailants vanished in a cloud of dust, and +Ahmed, who had been struck down in the rush, recovered his senses, to +find camels, baggage, belt, money, everything gone, and Mustapha +wounded and motionless on the earth beside him. + +Ahmed thought him dead. They were alone in the desert, a hundred miles +from home, without food or water, and with a groan of despair he sat +down beside his son's body, bowed his head, and waited until death +should come to him also. An Arab believes in fate, and gives up once +for all when misfortune occurs. + +But Mustapha stirred, and Ahmed at once sprang up. There was nothing he +could do for the poor boy, except to chafe and rub his hands; but this +was something, for presently Mustapha revived enough to speak. + +"Are they gone?" he asked. + +"Yes, the accursed ones, they are gone, with all our goods and with +Solimin! The Prophet's curse light upon them!" And passing from despair +to fury, Ahmed threw sand upon his head, and flung himself on the +ground in helpless rage. Mustapha joined in with groans and +lamentations. + +When the father and son grew calmer, they began to discuss their +situation. Ahmed knew of a small unfrequented oasis, about twenty miles +away. It was their only chance of safety, but could they reach it? + +"I _think_ I can walk," declared Mustapha, tying up his wounded leg in a +fold torn from his turban. But he limped sadly, and his tightly pressed +lips showed pain as he moved. He was faint with hunger beside. Neither +of the men had eaten since sunrise. + +Suddenly Mustapha uttered a joyful cry, and lifted something from the +earth. + +"The Prophet be praised!" he cried. "My father, here is food. The +robbers have dropped a bag of dates." + +Sure enough, there it lay, a heavy bag of dates, shaken off from some +camel's pack during the struggle. Heavy as it was, and hard to carry, +Ahmed would fain have had it larger. It was their safety from +starvation. A handful of its contents satisfied hunger, and gave them +strength to begin their walk. What a walk it was! Poor Mustapha lay +down every half-hour from pain and weakness; the sand was heavy, the +darkness puzzled them. When morning broke, they had not accomplished +more than half the distance. All through the hot day-time they lay +panting on the ground, eating now and then a date, tormented with +thirst and heat; and when evening came, they dragged themselves to +their feet again, and recommenced their painful journey. Step by step, +hour by hour, each harder and longer than the last, moment by moment +they grew more feeble, less able to bear up, till it seemed as though +they could no longer struggle on. At last, the morning broke. Ahmed +raised his blood-shot eyes, seized Mustapha's arm, and pointed. There, +not a hundred yards away, was the oasis, its trees and bushes outlined +against the sky. + +Poor Mustapha was so spent that his father had to drag him across the +short dividing space. It was a small oasis, and not very fertile; its +well was shallow and scanty, but no ice-cooled sherbet ever seemed more +delicious than did its brackish waters to the parched tongues of the +exhausted men. + +All day and all night they lay under the shadow of the cactuses and the +acacia-trees, rousing only to drink, and falling asleep again +immediately. Shade, and sleep, and water seemed the only things in the +world worth having just then. + +The second day they slept less, but it was nearly a week before they +could be said to be wide-awake again. Such a pair of scare-crows as +they looked! Ahmed was almost naked. The robbers had taken part of his +clothes, and the desert thorns the rest. Haggard, wild, blackened by +the sun, they gazed at each other with horror; each thought, "Do I look +like that?" and each tried to hide from the other his own dismay. + +They could never tell afterward how long they remained at the oasis. It +seemed years, but I suppose it could not have been more than weeks. All +day long they looked wistfully toward the horizon, in hopes of a +caravan, but the caravan never came. Slowly the dates dwindled in the +bag; slowly the precious water diminished in the well; a little longer, +and starvation would be upon them. They scarcely spoke to each other +those last days, but sat each by himself in a sort of dull despair. At +night, when they fell asleep, they dreamed of food, and woke in the +morning to feel themselves still hungry. It was horrible! + +Then came a morning when they rose to find the hard desert outline, +which they knew so well, vanished and gone, and in its stead a smooth, +shining lake, fringed with trees and dotted with feathery, fairy +islands. So near it seemed, and so real, that it was as though they +heard the ripple of the water and the rustling of the wind in the +tree-boughs. Mustapha stared as though his eyes would burst from his +head; then he gave a wild cry, and was rushing away; but his father +held him fast. + +"Stay, my son! Stay, Mustapha! It is no lake,--it is a device of Satan. +What you behold is the mirage, spread by devils for men's destruction." + +"Let me go!" shrieked Mustapha, writhing and struggling. + +But even as he strove, the soft water-outlines shifted and trembled; +the lake rose in air, melted, and sailed off into curling mists; the +trees, the whole fair picture, dissolved, and the well-remembered sands +and black rocks took its place. With a cry of horror, Mustapha slid +through his father's arms to the earth, hid his face, and cried like a +child. + +[Illustration: "THEY SAW THE FORM OF A GIGANTIC CAMEL."] + +Next morning, only one date was left in the bag. Ahmed put it in his +son's hand with a mournful look. + +"Eat, my son," he said; "eat, and then we will die. Allah il Allah!" + +A long silence followed; there seemed nothing more to say. Suddenly, +from afar off, came to their ears the tinkle of a bell. + +Mustapha raised his head. + +"Is it the mirage again, my father?" he asked. "For it seems to me that +I hear the bell from the neck of Solimin, our camel." + +Eagerly they listened. Again the bell tinkled, and, looking through the +bushes, they saw, floating toward them, as it seemed, the form of a +gigantic camel. Soundless and still, it moved rapidly along. Behind, +but much farther away, other forms could be seen, still dim and +indistinct, veiled by the mist of driving sand. + +Suddenly Mustapha gave a start. + +"My father," he cried, in an excited whisper, "it _is_ Solimin! I do +not mistake! What other camel ever resembled Solimin? Do you not see +his lofty hump,--his arched neck? Does not the bell tinkle as with the +voice of home?" + +Then, half raising himself, he gave, with all the power of his voice, +the well-known call. + +Solimin--for it was indeed he--paused as the sound caught his ears, and +snuffed the wind. Again came the call; he wheeled, plunged, threw his +rider, dashed forward, broke through the bushes, and in a second was on +his knees before his old master. + +"Up, up, my father! there is no time to lose!" cried Mustapha, grown +stronger in a moment. "Up, up! for the robbers are close upon us!" + +In fact, wild cries and clouds of dust showed that the foe had taken +the alarm, and were hurrying on. But already Ahmed and Mustapha were +mounted, and Solimin, like a ship at full sail, was speeding away with +them. And where was the camel could overtake him, even when he was +loaded double? Fast and swift his long, swinging trot bore them onward, +and before two hours were gone, all traces of the pursuers had +disappeared behind them, and they were free to turn their course toward +the brown tents where rest, and food, and welcome had waited so long +for their coming, and where, after a little time, their hardships and +sufferings seemed to them only like a bad dream. + +As for Solimin, he hardly could be more tenderly treated or beloved +than before this adventure; but if the freshest water, the prickliest +furze,--if bowls of sour milk;--if a triple necklace of shells,--if +brushing and grooming,--if soft pats from childish fingers, and sweet +names murmured in his ears by girlish voices can make a camel happy, +then is Solimin the happiest of heries. Solimin no longer, however. His +name is changed to "The Blessed," in memory of the day when, like a +stately ship, he came over the desert sea, and bore his starving +masters to home, and life, and liberty. + + + + +BELINDA BLONDE + +BY LAURA E. RICHARDS. + + + Belinda Blonde was a beautiful doll, + With rosy-red cheeks and a flaxen poll; + Her lips were red, and her eyes were blue, + But to say she was happy would not be true; + For she pined for love of the great big Jack + Who lived in the box so grim and black. + She never had looked on the Jack his face, + But she fancied him shining with beauty and grace; + And all the day long she would murmur and pout, + Because Jack-in-the-box would never come out. + "Oh, beautiful, beautiful Jack-in-the-box! + Undo your bolts and undo your locks! + The cupboard is shut, and there's no one about; + Oh, Jack-in-the-box! jump out, jump out!" + But alas, alas for Belinda Blonde! + And alas, alas for her dreamings fond! + There soon was an end to all her doubt, + For Jack-in-the-box really _did_ jump out!-- + Out with a crash, and out with a spring, + Half black and half scarlet, a horrible thing; + Out with a yell and out with a shout, + His great goggle-eyes glaring wildly about. + "Alas! alas!" cried Belinda Blonde; + "Is this the end of my dreamings fond? + Is this my love, and is this my dear, + This hideous, glowering monster here? + Alas! alas!" cried Belinda fair. + She wrung her hands and she tore her hair, + Till at length, as the dolls who were witnesses say, + She fell on the ground and she fainted away. + + +MORAL. + + + Now all you dolls, both little and big, + With china crown and with curling wig, + Before you give way to affection fond, + Remember the fate of Belinda Blonde; + And unless you wish to get terrible knocks, + Don't set your heart on a Jack-in-the-box. + + + + +THE LONDON DUST-MAN + +BY ALEXANDER WAINWRIGHT. + + +There he goes! A dusky gloom hangs over the roofs of great London City; +a similar gloom fills my room and seems to have touched all the furniture +with smoky age, and as I look down from the window into the gloomy street, +I see him coming along slowly, and crying in a voice like a plea for help +in affliction: "Dust-oh!--dust-oh!--dust-oh!--dust-oh!" + +Not one of the many citizens who are passing notices him, or finds +anything strange in that plaintive cry. The people who live in the city +see him day after day, and remember how, in their childhood, they had +terrifying notions of his weakness for kidnapping and other mysterious +wickednesses. They know better now, and hurry past him with scarcely a +glance; but to the American visitor he is something of a curiosity. + +[Illustration: "DUST-OH!"] + +When the London fog is gray we cannot see him very far off, for he, +too, is gray from head to foot with ash-dust, and as he approaches us +he comes out of the mist like a phantom, though in reality he is a +substantial, square-built, deep-chested fellow, shod with enormous +Blücher shoes (the soles of which are bright with nails), and clad in a +loose blouse and trousers, that are tied up about the knees. The blouse +is open at the chest, and is lifted to the waist by his big, brown +hands, which are tucked in his trouser pockets, and his head is covered +by the kind of hat that sailors call a sou'wester. His only ornament is +a pair of ear-rings; and with his head thrown back he saunters along +the street by the side of his cart, repeating in measured tones his +cry, "Dust-oh-oh! dust-oh!" + +Now and then he stops at a house, and his mate--he has a mate, who is +as much like him as pea is like pea--descends into the cellar, bringing +forth the ashes and refuse that have accumulated in twenty-four hours, +and when the cart, which is a square, box-like affair, is filled he +starts for home with his load. + +What a queer home it is! It is on the outskirts of the city, far away +from the finer streets and buildings. A large space of ground is as +gray and dusty as an African or Western desert, and is broken by mounds +of ashes, some of which are only a few feet high, while others are +almost as high as houses,--quite as high, in fact, as the dismal little +shanties on the edge of the reservation in which the dust-man and his +fellows live. Other carts and other dust-men are constantly coming and +going, dumping one load and then returning to the city for another, and +as soon as a load is dumped it is attacked by a crowd of men, women and +children, who with shovels, rakes and hooks, turn it over and over, and +raise stifling clouds of dust. + +The reader may think that the collections made by the dust-man are +valueless, but such is not the case. + +There are more than 300,000 inhabited houses in London, consuming more +than 3,500,000 tons of coal a year, and besides the ashes from this +great quantity of fuel, the dust-man gathers the other refuse of the +houses. He is employed by a contractor, who agrees with the corporation +to remove the ashes, etc., out of the city, and the contractor divides +every load into six parts, as follows: Soil, or fine dust, which is +sold to brick-makers for making bricks and to farmers for manure; +brieze, or cinders, sold to brick-makers for burning brick; rags, bones +and old metals, sold to marine-store dealers; old tin and iron vessels, +sold to trunk-makers for clamps; bricks, oyster and other shells, sold +for foundations and road-building; and old boots and shoes, sold to the +manufacturers of Prussian blue. + +Sometimes, much more valuable things than these are found, and the +reader may remember the romance that Charles Dickens made out of a +London dust-man--"Our Mutual Friend." + +It is in sifting the different parts of a load that the men, women and +children, are employed; they are as busy as ants; mere babies and +wrinkled old dames take a part in the labor, and all of them are so +covered with dust and ashes that they are anything but pleasant to +contemplate, though, as a rule, they are useful, honest, and +industrious members of society. + +"Dustie" is what the Londoners familiarly call the dust-man, and only a +few know in what ignorance and poverty he lives. One would think that +he would work himself into a better occupation, but his family have +been dust-men for generations, and the generations after him are not +likely to change. + + + + +HUCKLEBERRY. + +BY FRANK R. STOCKTON. + + +More than a hundred and sixty-eight years ago, there lived a curious +personage called "Old Riddler." His real name was unknown to the people +in that part of the country where he dwelt; but this made no +difference, for the name given to him was probably just as good as his +own. Indeed, I am quite sure that it was better, for it meant +something, and very few people have names that mean anything. + +He was called Old Riddler for two reasons. In the first place, he was +an elderly man; secondly, he was the greatest fellow to ask riddles +that you ever heard of. So, this name fitted him very well. + +Old Riddler had some very peculiar characteristics,--among others, he +was a gnome. Living underground for the greater part of his time, he +had ample opportunities of working out curious and artful riddles, +which he used to try on his fellow-gnomes; and if they liked them, he +would go above-ground and propound his conundrums to the country +people, who sometimes guessed them, but not often. + +The fact is, that those persons who wished to be on good terms with the +old gnome never guessed his riddles. They knew that they would please +him better by giving them up. + +He took such a pleasure in telling the answers to his riddles, that no +truly kind-hearted person would deprive him of it, by trying to solve +them. + +"You see," as Old Riddler used to say, when talked to on the subject, +"if I take all the trouble to make up these riddles, it's no more than +fair that I should be allowed to give the answers." + +So, the old gnome, who was not much higher than a two-year-old child, +though he had quite a venerable head and face, was very much encouraged +by the way the people treated him, and when a person happened to be +very kind and appreciative, and gave a good deal of attention to one of +his conundrums, that person would be pretty sure, before long, to feel +glad that he had met Old Riddler. + +[Illustration: "'DON'T YOU SEE?' ASKED THE OLD FELLOW."] + +There were thousands of ways in which the gnomes could benefit the +country-folks, especially those who had little farms or gardens. +Sometimes Old Riddler, who was a person of great influence in his +tribe, would take a company of gnomes, under the garden of some one to +whom he wished to do a favor, and they would put their little hands up +through the earth and pull down all the weeds, root-foremost, so that +when the owner went out in the morning, he would find his garden as +clear of weeds as the bottom of a dinner-plate. + +Of course, any one who has habits of this kind must eventually become a +general favorite, and this was the case with Old Riddler. + +One day, he made up a splendid riddle, and, after he had told it to all +the gnomes, he hurried up to propound it to some human person. + +He was in such haste that he actually forgot his hat, although it was +late in the fall, and he wore his cloak. He had not gone far through +the fields before he met a young goose-girl, named Lois. She was a poor +girl, and was barefooted; and as Old Riddler saw her in her scanty +dress, standing on the cold ground, watching her geese, he thought to +himself: "Now I do hope that girl has wit enough to understand my +riddle, for I feel that I would like to get interested in her." + +So, approaching Lois, he made a bow and politely asked her: "Can you +tell me, my good little girl, why a ship full of sailors, at the bottom +of the sea, is like the price of beef?" + +The goose-girl began to scratch her head, through the old handkerchief +she wore instead of a bonnet, and tried to think of the answer. + +"Because it's 'low,'" said she, after a minute or two. + +"Oh no!" said the gnome. "That's not it. You can give it up, you know, +if you can't think of the answer." + +"I know!" said Lois. "Because it's sunk." + +"Not at all," said Old Riddler, a little impatiently. "Now come, my +good girl, you'd much better give it up. You will just hack at the +answer until you make it good for nothing." + +"Well, what is it?" said Lois. + +"I will tell you," said the gnome. "Now, pay attention to the answer: +Because it has gone down. Don't you see?" asked the old fellow, with a +gracious smile. + +"Yes, I see," said the goose-girl, scratching her head again; "but my +answer was nearly as good as yours." + +"Oh, dear me!" said Old Riddler, "that wont do. It's of no use at all +to give an answer that is nearly good enough. It must be exactly right, +or it's worthless. I am afraid, young girl, that you don't care much +for riddles." + +"Yes I do," said the goose-girl; "I make 'em." + +"Make them?" exclaimed Old Riddler, in great surprise. + +"Yes," replied Lois, "I'm out here all day with these geese, and I +haven't anything else to do, and so I make riddles. Do you want to hear +one of them?" + +"Yes, I would like it very much indeed," said the gnome. + +"Well, then, here's one: If the roofs of houses were flat instead of +slanting, why would the rain be like a chained dog?" + +"Give it up," said Old Riddler. + +"Because it couldn't run off," answered Lois. + +"Very good, very good," said the gnome. "Why, that's nearly as good as +some of mine. And now, my young friend, didn't you feel pleased to have +me give up that riddle and let you tell me the answer, straight and +true, just as you knew it ought to be?" + +"Oh yes!" said the goose-girl. + +"Well, then," continued Old Riddler, "remember this: What pleases you +will often please other people. And never guess another riddle." + +Lois, although a rough country girl, was touched by the old man's +earnestness and his gentle tones. + +"I never will," said she. + +"That's a very well-meaning girl," said Old Riddler to himself as he +walked away, "although she hasn't much polish. I'll come sometimes and +help her a little with her conundrums." + +Old Riddler had a son named Huckleberry. He was a smart, bright young +fellow, and resembled his father in many respects. When he went home, +the old gnome told his son about Lois, and tried to impress on his mind +the same lesson he had taught the young girl. Huckleberry was a very +good little chap, but he was quick-witted and rather forward, and often +made his father very angry by guessing his riddles; and so he needed a +good deal of parental counsel. + +Nearly all that night, Huckleberry thought about what his father had +told him. But not at all as Old Riddler intended he should. + +"What a fine thing it must be," said Huckleberry to himself, "to go out +into the world and teach people things. I'm going to try it myself." + +So, the next day, he started off on his mission. The first person he +saw was a very small girl playing under a big oak-tree. + +When the small girl saw the young gnome, she was frightened and drew +back, standing up as close against the tree as she could get. + +But up stepped Master Huckleberry, with all the airs and graces he +could command. + +"Can you tell me, my little miss," said he, "why an elephant with a +glass globe of gold-fish tied to his tail is like a monkey with one +pink eye and one of a mazarine blue?" + +"No," said the small girl, "I don't know. Go away!" + +"Oh," said Huckleberry, "perhaps that's too hard for you. I know some +nice little ones, in words of one syllable. Why is a red man with a +green hat like a good boy who has a large duck in a small pond?" + +"Go away!" said the small girl. "I came here to pick flowers. I don't +know riddles." + +"Perhaps that one was too easy," said Huckleberry, kindly. "I have all +sorts. Here is one with longer words, divided into syllables. I'll say +it slowly for you: What is the dif-fer-ence between a mag-nan-i-mous +ship-mate and the top-most leaf-let on your grand-mo-ther's bar-ber-ry +bush?" + +"I haven't got any grandmother," said she. + +"Oh, well! Any grandmother will do," said Huckleberry. + +"I can't guess it," said the small girl, who was now beginning to lose +her fear of the funny little fellow. "I never guessed any riddles. I'm +not old enough." + +"Very well, then," said Huckleberry, "I'll tell you what I'll do. Let's +sit down here under the tree, and I'll tell you one of father's +riddles, and give you the answer. His riddles are better than mine, +because none of mine have any answers. I don't put answers to them, for +I can never think of any good ones. I met a boy once, and told him a +lot of my riddles; and he learned them, and went about asking people to +guess them, and when the people gave them up, he couldn't tell them the +answers, because there were none, and that made everybody mad. He told +one of the riddles to his grandmother,--I think it was the one about +the pink-eyed monkey and the wagon-load of beans--" + +[Illustration: THE BOY AND HIS GRANDMOTHER.] + +"No," said the small girl; "the elephant and the gold-fish was the +other part of the pink-eyed monkey one." + +"Oh, it don't make any difference," said Huckleberry, "I don't join my +riddles together the same way every time. Sometimes I use the gold-fish +and elephant with the last part of one riddle, and sometimes with +another. As there's no answer, it don't matter. I begin a good many of +my best riddles with the elephant, for it makes a fine opening. But, as +I was going to tell you, this boy told one of my riddles to his +grandmother, and she liked it very much; but when she found out that +there was no answer to it, she gave him a good box on the ear, and that +boy has never liked me since. But now I'll tell you a story. That is, +it's like a story, but it's really a riddle. Father made it and +everybody thinks it's one of his best. There was once a fair lady of +renown who was engaged to be married to a prince. And when the +wedding-day came round--they were to be married in one of the prince's +palaces in the mountains--she was so long getting dressed--you see she +dressed in one of her father's palaces, down in the valley--that she +was afraid she would be late, so as soon as her veil was pinned on, she +ran down to the stables, threw a wolf-skin on the back of one of the +fieriest of the chargers, and springing on him, she dashed away. She +wasn't used to harnessing horses, and was in such a hurry that she +forgot all about the bridle, and so, as she was dashing away, she found +she couldn't steer the animal, and he didn't go anywhere near the +prince's palace, but galloped on, and on, and on, every minute taking +her farther and farther away from where she wanted to go. She couldn't +turn the charger, and she couldn't stop him, though she tore off pieces +of her veil, and tried to put them around his nose, but it was no good. +So when the wedding-party had waited and waited and waited, the prince +got angry and married another lady, and nobody knows where the fair +lady of renown went to, although there are some people who say that +she's a-galloping yet, and trying to get her veil around the charger's +nose. Now, why was it that that fair lady of renown never married? +Answer: Because she had no bridal. You can say either bri-d-a-l or +bri-d-l-e, because they both sound alike, and if she had had either one +of them, she would have been married. This is a pretty long riddle, but +it's easier than mine, because it's all fixed up right, with the answer +to it and everything. You like it better than mine, don't you?" + +The small girl did not answer, and when Huckleberry looked around, he +saw that she was asleep. + +"Poor little thing!" said Huckleberry, softly, to himself. "I guess I +gave her a little too much riddle to begin with. Her mind isn't formed +enough yet. But it's pretty hard on me. I wanted to teach somebody +something, and here she's gone to sleep. I wish I could find that +goose-girl. If father could teach her something, I'm sure I could." + +[Illustration: THE FAIR LADY OF RENOWN.] + +So he went walking through the fields, and pretty soon he saw Lois, +standing among her geese, who were feeding on the grass. + +Huckleberry skipped up to her as lively as a cricket. + +"Can you tell me," said he, "why an elephant with a glass globe of +gold-fish tied to his tail is like the Lord High Admiral of the British +Isles?" + +"Was the globe of gold-fish all the elephant owned?" asked the +goose-girl, thoughtfully. + +"Yes," said Huckleberry. "But I don't see what that's got to do with +it." + +"Then the answer is," said Lois, without noticing this last remark, +"because all his property is entailed." + +"Well, I de-clare!" cried Huckleberry, opening his eyes as wide as they +would go, "if you didn't guess it! Why, I didn't know it had an +answer." + +"I wish it hadn't had an answer," said the goose-girl, suddenly +stamping her foot. "I wish there had never been any answer to it in the +whole world. It was only yesterday that I promised Old Riddler that I +would never guess another riddle, and here I've done it! It's too bad!" + +"I don't think it is," cried Huckleberry, waving his little cap around +by the tassel. "It's all very well for father not to want people to +guess his riddles, because they've got answers and he knows what they +are. But I would never have known that any of mine had an answer if you +hadn't guessed this one. If you had had a riddle like this one, +wouldn't you have been glad to have some one tell you the answer?" + +"Yes, I would," said Lois. + +"Well, then, my good girl, remember this: If a thing gives you +pleasure, it's very likely that it will give somebody else pleasure. So +let somebody else have a chance, and the next time you hear a riddle +that you think the owner has no answer for, guess it for him, if you +can. Good-by!" + +And away went Master Huckleberry, skipping and singing and snapping his +fingers and twirling his cap, until he came to a wide crack in the +ground, when he rolled himself up like a huckleberry dumpling, and went +tumbling and bouncing down into the underground home of the gnomes. + +"Get out of the way!" said he to the gnomes he passed, as he proudly +strode to his father's apartments. "I'm going to make a report. For the +first time in my life I've taught somebody something." + +When Huckleberry left her, the goose-girl stood silently in the midst +of her geese. Her brow was overcast. + +"How's anybody to do two things that can't both be done?" she exclaimed +at last. "I'll have nothing more to do with riddles as long as I live." + + + + +HOW SIR WILLIAM PHIPS FOUND THE TREASURE IN THE SEA. + +BY S.G.W. BENJAMIN. + + +There is scarcely anything more exciting to the imagination than tales +of hidden treasure, especially treasure lost at sea. The mystery, the +wonder, the adventure, the tragedy, the seemingly boundless +possibilities connected with riches lost by shipwreck or war, and yet +not gone beyond the hope of recovery, have given rise to a multitude of +romantic stories, some of them pure fictions, but many founded more or +less on fact. + +I have known several cases in which treasure lost by piracy or +shipwreck has been recovered after a century or more. Some years ago a +company of men from Boston made two cruises to the shoals of the Silver +Key on the Bahama Banks, a spot noted for shipwrecks. They had some +clue to a treasure-laden ship which had foundered there long ago. The +first trip was unsuccessful, but on the second voyage the wreck was +found. Divers, armed with modern apparatus, spent several days in the +quest, but in vain, until, finally, just as the last diver was about to +give the signal to be drawn up, he leaned against what seemed only the +barnacle-encrusted end of a beam; but suddenly it gave way, and numbers +of golden doubloons rolled out at his feet. Considerable sums rewarded +further search in the sand-filled and decaying carcass of the old ship; +but exactly how much was realized is known only to the discoverers, who +kept the matter secret, and thus evaded paying a great part of the +share due to the British crown, in whose dominion the treasure was +found. + +To Boston also belonged, some two centuries ago, the celebrated +treasure-hunter, William Phips. He was one of twenty-one sons, and was +born at Woolwich, Maine, in 1651. Of a bold, adventurous spirit, his +first and last passion was to follow the sea, although until he was +eighteen years of age he was forced to tend sheep. He then apprenticed +himself to a ship-carpenter for four years, taking a trip down the +coast now and then, and watching his chance for the next move. He is +said to have been inspired by an idea that celebrity and fortune were +to be his destiny; and when his apprenticeship was over, he went to +Boston and worked at ship-building for a year, until he had the good +luck to win the favor of a rich widow. Her he married, and, with the +increase of means thus obtained, Phips launched into various +enterprises, which did not always turn out well. But he never lost +faith in his guiding star, and often told his good wife that "he should +yet become commander of a king's ship, and owner of a fair brick house +in the Green Lane of Boston"--at that time the Beacon Street of the +plucky little town. + +Ten years went by, and Phips seemed but little nearer the realization +of his dreams than while tending sheep on the hill-sides of Maine, when +the prospect suddenly brightened in an unexpected quarter. This was the +time when Spanish and Portuguese galleons were crossing the ocean laden +with silver from Potosi and diamonds from Brazil. Pirates and +privateers scoured the seas to rob the treasure-ships, and great +expeditions were sent out by England in war times for the same purpose. +The imaginations of men ran riot during this feverish state of things, +and people were ready to believe almost any yarn "spun" in the +forecastle. + +Phips was just the man to be moved by such tales, and, when he learned +of a certain rich wreck on the Bahamas, he at once fitted out a small +vessel and went in search of it. He found and recovered the treasure, +but the amount was small, being only large enough to whet his appetite +for more. + +While at the Bahamas, he was told of another Spanish vessel, wrecked +off Puerto Plata more than fifty years before, with a much larger +treasure. His means not being sufficient for this expedition, Phips +sailed for England and made direct application to the Admiralty to aid +him in his search. So ably did this true son of the sea represent his +cause, that he was given command of the "Rose Algier," a ship mounting +eighteen guns and carrying a hundred men. Thus Phips's first dream came +to pass; he was now captain of a king's ship, with a roving commission. + +The exact position of the wreck was unknown, and the untrustworthy +character of the crew added great difficulties to the undertaking. It +should be remembered, also, that diving-bells, diving-armor, and the +like, were then unknown. But the courage and indomitable perseverance +of Phips now came into play, and he had a capital chance to show the +stuff of which he was made. + +Soon after they had sailed, the crew came aft, armed, and determined to +force Phips to yield to their wishes, which probably were that they +should all turn pirates. Without giving them time to deliberate, Phips +flew at their leader, hurled him to the deck and dispatched him on the +spot--a deed so prompt and daring that it awed the mutineers into +submission for the time. One who has never seen a mutiny at sea can +form but little idea of its desperate character, and the rapidity of +action and unflinching nerve required where men are shut up alone on +the wide ocean with a quarrel so deadly in its nature that no +compromise can be thought of for a moment, and no quarter can be +allowed with safety to him who gives it. + +But the next plot to seize the ship was even more dangerous. The "Rose +Algier," being in need of repairs, was taken to a cove in a small +uninhabited island, and careened on one side in order to reach the +damaged place. Most of the stores were moved on shore, the ship was +hove down, and a bridge was laid between the deck and the land. Under +the pretense of pastime, most of the crew now betook themselves to the +woods, and there plotted to return at seven in the evening, seize the +ship, force Phips and eight faithful men on shore, leave them there to +perish, and themselves sail away on a piratical cruise. But the +carpenter was one of the few who stood by the captain, and yet they +could not risk putting to sea without him. They sent for him, +therefore, on some pretext, and, having him in their power, offered him +the choice of instant death or of joining his fortunes with theirs. He +begged for half an hour to think about it, and said that at any rate he +should have to return on board for his tool-chest. They granted his +request, and sent two men with him to watch his movements. Soon +afterward, he was suddenly taken with a pretended cramp or colic, and +in great seeming agony rushed into the cabin for medicine; there he +found Phips, and in a few rapid words revealed the plot. In less than +two hours the mutineers would be marching on the ship. Not an instant +was to be lost. Immediately the guns were loaded and trained to command +the shore and all the approaches to the stores; the bridge was taken +in, and when the mutineers appeared they found themselves caught. In +tones of thunder, Phips bade them not to stir or he would mow them down +with his batteries; nor did they dare to disobey. The bridge was again +laid down, and the eight loyal men brought back the stores to the ship. +When all was safely on board again, the mutineers were told that they +were to be left to the fate they had intended for their commander. In +despair at so terrible a prospect, the miserable men threw down their +arms, and protested their willingness to submit if Phips would but +relent and not sail away without them. After a long parley, he agreed +to let them come on board, they having first given up their arms. But, +with such a crew, further search after the treasure was useless. Phips, +therefore, sailed for Jamaica, changed the crew, and again weighed +anchor for Hispaniola. There he was lucky enough to find an old +Spaniard who told him that the wreck was somewhere about a reef a few +leagues north of Puerto de la Plata. Phips immediately went to the +spot. But his search for the wreck was long and unavailing, the season +was changing, and the "Rose Algier," now but half manned and in +unseaworthy condition, was unfit to prowl around a dangerous reef in +the hurricane season. So, without having accomplished the object of so +much exertion and anxiety, Phips was obliged to return to England, a +baffled but not a discouraged man. + +Very naturally, it was impossible for our adventurer to obtain another +English ship-of-war, although he received much credit for the courage +and skill shown in controlling the mutineers, and one would conclude +that the treasure of the old Spanish galleon would after this have +remained at the bottom of the sea, the exclusive possession of the +sharks, the turtles and the barracudas. But with rare pertinacity Phips +returned to the charge, and at last persuaded the Duke of Albemarle +and several other wealthy noblemen to his views. They formed a company +and obtained a patent from King James II., giving them the sole right +to all wrecked treasure they might find during a certain number of +years. Then they fitted out a ship and tender, the latter to cruise in +coves and shoal water, and Phips invented several rude contrivances, +for dragging and diving, far inferior to the means now used for such +purposes. Thus prepared, he sailed once more for Hispaniola. There a +small, stout boat was built, and with it and a crew of Indian divers +the tender was despatched to the reef where the wreck was said to be. +The tender was anchored in good holding-ground at a safe distance from +the reef, and the men then rowed slowly in the boat around it, +carefully examining the depths below for signs of the wrecked galleon. +The waters in the West Indies are very clear, and during a calm objects +can be seen at a considerable depth. The rocks were of singular form, +rising nearly to the surface, but with sides so steep that any vessel +striking them would be liable to go down many fathoms below the reach +of the most expert diver. The only hope was that the wreck might have +lodged on some projecting ledge. But the closest observation, long +continued, failed to reveal any sign of the object so eagerly sought, +although the water was perfectly calm. + +[Illustration: CAPTAIN PHIPS THREATENS TO SAIL AWAY FROM THE MUTINEERS.] + +At length; a curious sea-plant cropping out of a crevice in the sides +of the reef caught the eye of one of the crew, and he sent down an +Indian to bring it up. When the diver returned to the surface he +reported that he had seen a number of brass cannon lying tangled among +the sea-weed on a ledge. That was enough. Inspired with the greatest +enthusiasm, diver after diver plunged below to be the first to discover +the treasure, and ere long one of them brought up an ingot of silver +worth several hundred pounds. Transported with success they left a buoy +to mark the spot, and made all sail to carry the glad tidings to Phips. +He would not credit the tale until he had seen the ingot, when he +exclaimed, "Thanks be to God, we are all made!" + +Every man was at once enlisted in the service of fishing for the +treasure. The bullion was discovered first; after that, in the bottom +of the hold, the sea-miners found the coin in bags, which had been so +long under water that they were encrusted with a stony shell, hard as +rock. This was broken with crowbars, revealing gold, jewels, and +"pieces of eight," in glittering abundance. The last day's work brought +to light twenty massive silver ingots, and the whole amount recovered +was somewhat over three hundred thousand pounds, a sum equal in the +values of our time to five millions of dollars. Nor was this all the +riches concealed in the wreck; but Phips was obliged to return to +England before completing the business. Provisions had run low, and the +presence of so vast a treasure on board had stimulated the cupidity of +the crew to a dangerous degree, so that each day of delay in reaching +port was full of hazard. Every precaution was taken to guard the +treasure, but what probably prevented the crew from rising was the +promise Phips gave them, when matters had become most suspicious, that +they should each receive a share of the profits in addition to his +wages, even if his own portion were thus swallowed up. Phips reached +England without mishap, thus bringing to a successful termination one +of the most daring exploits of its sort that were ever attempted. + +When the profits were divided, Phips received as his share a sum that +would now be equal to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The Duke +of Albemarle presented Mrs. Phips with a magnificent gold cup worth +fifteen thousand dollars, and King James expressed great pleasure at +the honesty and ability of Phips in the conduct of such a difficult +undertaking, and as a reward for bringing such a treasure into England +granted him the honor of knighthood, and offered him important +employment in the royal service. Fortune had indeed smiled on the +shepherd-boy of Maine. + +But Phips was never ashamed of his humble origin, nor in all his +wanderings did he forget his native land. And now, instead of remaining +to enjoy further honors near the throne, he returned to his family, +bearing the important commission of High Sheriff of New England. He now +built the brick house on Green Lane which he had promised his wife +fifteen years before. The name of this Street was eventually changed to +Charter Street, in memory of his efforts to have the charter of the +Massachusetts colony restored. + +Sir William Phips afterward engaged in the wars between the American +colonies of France and England, and at the head of an expedition of +eight ships captured Port Royal. A subsequent enterprise against Quebec +failed from a combination of causes, some of them beyond the control of +Phips. After this Sir William went again to England, where he was +appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the New England +colonies; and his return home with these new honors and titles was made +the occasion of a day of solemn thanksgiving. + +His governorship having ceased, Sir William Phips sailed for England, +and was meditating a fresh expedition in search of shipwrecked treasure +when he was taken suddenly ill, and died at the age of forty-five. +While his adventurous career affords us little hope that any of us will +ever, like him, discover shipwrecked wealth, it gives us a fine example +of what perseverance combined with intelligence, courage and honesty +can accomplish in the face of great difficulties; for it was a union of +all these qualities which enabled Sir William Phips to wrest fortune +and honors from the ocean depths. + +[Illustration] + + + + +SOME FISHING-BIRDS OF FLORIDA. + +BY MRS. MARY TREAT. + + +All along the St. John's River, during the winter, may be seen birds +catching fish for a living. They are more numerous here in winter than +in summer, because, upon the freezing of the waters at the North, they +flock to Florida to carry on their fishing in the St. John's, which, +never freezing, contains an abundance of fish. + +The belted kingfisher comes close to the house, where I can watch him +fishing as I sit at the window. The river is five miles across here, +and for several yards from the shore it is quite shallow, so that a +wharf two hundred and fifty feet long was necessary to make it easy to +launch our small rowboats. A railing extends along the side of the +wharf, and upon this railing the kingfisher perches, watching for his +prey. + +[Illustration: THE BELTED KINGFISHER.] + +He understands fishing much better than most boys, for he seldom misses +his game. He takes his position on the railing, and fixes his eyes upon +the finny tribes below, and when a fish that suits him comes within his +range, he dives into the water and brings it up with his stout beak, +and then beats it upon the railing to make it limp and tender before +swallowing. + +It is not so very surprising that he is such an expert fisher, for +during the winter it is his only occupation; he has no family to look +after now, and he is so very selfish and quarrelsome that he will not +allow any of his brothers to fish near him. He considers the whole +length of the wharf his fishing-post, and his brothers must not +trespass upon his grounds; if they do, he chases them away with a +rattling, clanging noise, enough to frighten any fisher not stronger +than himself. + +In the spring he takes a partner in his business, for now it is time to +raise a family, and he knows he can never do this alone. He is very +good and kind to this partner, and helps her dig a hole in a clayey +bank for the nest, and then takes his turn in sitting upon the eggs. +After the eggs are hatched, they both catch fish to feed the young +until they are old enough to feed themselves. + +The American flamingo, with his gorgeous scarlet feathers, is a superb +fellow. He is very shy, and peculiarly afraid of man. On account of its +fine apparel, it has been more closely pursued than almost any other +bird. It does not go north like some of the herons, but Audubon says it +has occasionally been seen in South Carolina. Its constant home, +however, is in the southern part of Florida and along the Gulf coast. + +Like the herons, of which I told you in ST. NICHOLAS for May, 1877, the +flamingoes are sociable, and live in flocks. They have webbed feet, +which give them an advantage over the herons in enabling them to swim +as well as to wade. I have never been able to get near enough to these +birds to gain any personal knowledge of their habits. + +The nest of the flamingo is a curious affair; usually built in a +marshy, muddy place, in the form of a mound. It is made of sticks and +grass and mud to the height of two or three feet, with a hollow in the +middle to hold the eggs. The male is said to assist in the construction +of the nest, but this is probably mere conjecture, for I think no one +living at the present time has been able to get near enough to these +birds to watch their habits, and their nests can be reached only with +great difficulty. + +The female lays two white eggs about the size of those of a goose. It +is said that she sits astride the nest in an ungainly fashion, and that +the young, as soon as they are hatched, take to the water like young +ducks. + +If a law only could be passed to protect these birds, what a grand +sight the waters of Florida would soon present! These great, brilliant, +scarlet birds, dallying and playing in the water, or wading near the +shore in quest of game, would be a sight never to be forgotten. Can it +be possible that Florida does not care for such glorious creatures, and +will allow, year after year, these marauders from the North to kill +them without a single protest? Unless something is done for the +protection of these splendid creatures, they must soon become extinct; +for their range is quite limited, and I fear the boy and girl readers +of ST. NICHOLAS, by the time they grow to men and women, can only read +of these as "gorgeous birds of the past." + +Almost every morning, the osprey, or fish-hawk, comes in front of the +window and fishes in the shallow water near the house. He does not seem +to be as expert as the kingfisher. I have seen him dive a dozen times +or more into the water before bringing up his prey. He sails around and +around in the air; at last fixing his eyes upon a fish, he swoops down, +making the water splash around him. His feet are large and powerful, +and he arranges his long toes in the form of a scoop as he plunges into +the river; this scoop is his fishing-tackle with which he brings up his +finny food. + +I think I should not like to be an osprey, for he seems to have such a +hard time to get a living, and yet he is an honest, well-disposed +laborer. After he has succeeded in catching a fish, a bald eagle often +swoops down from some tall tree, where he has been watching him, and by +main force compels this honest fisher to give up his hard-won prey. The +eagle is considerably larger than his victim, being about three feet in +length, while the osprey is only about two feet. + +It is quite a grand sight to see these two large birds wheeling through +the air--the osprey trying to elude the eagle, diving first one way and +then another, until at last, when he sees the unencumbered eagle must +overpower him, in a fit of desperation he lets the fish drop, and the +eagle catches it before it reaches the water, and carries it to some +retired spot where he devours it. + +And now the poor defrauded osprey must go to work and catch another +fish before he can have his dinner. Here you see the bald eagle with +his ill-gotten prey. + +[Illustration: THE BALD EAGLE.] + +Great flocks of ducks often come to fish in the shallow water close to +the shore. I suppose the reason that they come so near is that they +find smaller fish here than in the deep water; and another reason, they +are never shot at near the shore, for no fire-arms are allowed to be +discharged within the town limits, except under the penalty of five +dollars for each discharge. + +This place, in winter, corresponds to a northern watering-place in +summer. There is a warm sulphur-spring here, and people come from all +quarters for health and for amusement. At first the great numbers of +birds all about attracted many sportsmen, but I am very glad to tell +you that the Florida people did not like this reckless shooting of +birds in their midst, so they made this beautiful little place--Green +Cove Spring--a city, and elected a mayor and a marshal, and other +officers, to keep the men straight, and to protect the birds. + +So this is why the birds that live about this little city are so tame, +and why the ducks come so close to us; they have learned that they are +quite safe from guns here. + +Several species of ducks may sometimes be seen in one flock, fishing +together in perfect harmony. It is quite astonishing how long they can +stay under water, and when they come up their feathers are not wet at +all. + +The most beautiful of these fishing-ducks is the hooded merganser. Its +plumage is most elegant, and it has a large thick tuft or crest of +feathers covering the whole head, which gives it a sort of military +look; and, indeed, it seems to be a commander, for it leads all of its +relatives. It sometimes stays so long under the water that I begin to +fear something has happened,--that an alligator, or some other huge +beast, has got hold of it; but it always makes its appearance after a +while, often at quite a long distance from where it went under. + + + + +NAN'S PEACE-OFFERING. + +BY KATE W. HAMILTON. + + +"Just wish I was properer, and everything--so there!" said Nannie, +sitting discontentedly down upon the green grass by the road-side, and +surveying herself with a pair of very serious brown eyes. + +It was a forlorn little self, surely, with wet dress, muddy shoes, inky +apron, and crumpled sun-bonnet. + +"Aunt S'mantha'll think I'm dreadful. She says I never have any +forethought; but I have lots of after-thoughts, and I s'pose folks +can't have both kinds. It don't do any good, either. Oh dear!" + +There was a whistled tune coming up the road. Tommy Grey was attached +to it, but the whistle seemed much the older and more important of the +two, and was first to reach the tree where Nannie was sitting. When +Tommy caught up with it, he stopped in surprise. + +"Hello, Nan Verling! Is that you?" + +"I suppose so, but I wish it wasn't," answered Nannie, dolefully. + +"What for?" questioned Tommy, in still further astonishment. + +"'Cause I wish I was somebody else that wasn't all wrinkled and mussed +up. I don't see how folks can keep nice and have good times, anyway," +declared Nan, in a burst of confidence. "You see, I just helped sail +boats in the brook, and I didn't know my dress was wet a bit till I +came away; and then Lizzie Sykes tagged me, and course I had to tag her +back again. I don't know what made her run right through the mud, where +I couldn't catch her without getting my shoes all muddy. Should think +she might have known better! My old ink-stand at school is always +upsetting itself, and it had to spill on my clean white apron this +afternoon. Then my sun-bonnet--" + +"Looks as if you'd hung it up in your pocket," suggested Tommy. + +"Well, I didn't; I only rolled it up for a rag-baby when we played keep +house at recess. I s'pose it's bad for bonnets, but it made the +beautifulest kind of a baby," said Nannie, a little ray of enthusiasm +gleaming through her despondency. "But Aunt S'mantha doesn't 'preciate +such things," she added, mournfully. + +"No," answered Tommy, sympathetically. "She'll scold, may be?" + +"P'r'aps so. May be she'll send me to bed without any supper." + +"Whew! That a'nt any fun, I tell you!" declared Tommy. "Why, a fellow +just tumbles and tumbles, and gets hungrier and hungrier, and wonders +what the folks have got for supper, and looks at the stars, and tries +to say 'Hickory-dickory-dock' backward, and wishes it was morning. It +just feels awful!" + +"I didn't ever try it, and I don't s'pose I could stand it," said +Nannie, shaking dejectedly the curly head in the flopping sun-bonnet. +"I've a good mind not to go home at all, but just run away off +somewhere, and be a foundling. Foundlings have pretty good times, +'cause I've read about 'em in books. They get adopted by some great +lady in a big house, and grow up rich, and get to be real handsome." + +"I don't believe you would," declared Tommy, more honestly than +politely. + +Nan meditated a minute, and then said, with a sigh: + +"Well, I guess I'll have to go home, then." + +"Scoldings don't last very long, anyway," urged Tommy, consolingly. + +"But if you sort o' think you oughtn't to have done things, and did +ought to be more careful--and everything--it makes it seem more worse, +you know," remarked Nannie, in a hesitating, half-penitent way. "'Cause +I _do_ like Aunt S'mantha." + +"Yes," admitted Tommy, knitting his brow over the complications of the +case, and searching his own experience for a suggestion of relief. "If +you only had something nice to carry home to her--something she wants. +Once I got wet as a rat playing round the pond, but I'd caught two +fish--reg'lar tip-top trout--and I took 'em home to mother; held 'em up +where they'd be seen first thing, you know. And she said, 'What nice +fish!' and didn't scold a wink." + +"I couldn't catch anything if I tried a week, and Aunt S'mantha +wouldn't care, anyway. Why, she's a real grown-up woman, and could have +tea-parties and make molasses candy every day if she wanted to! I don't +believe she wants anything, unless it's ban--bananas--whatever that is. +I heard her say she'd like some, this morning." + +"Bandanas?" questioned Tommy, with brightening eyes. + +"Y-e-s, I guess so," answered Nannie, rather doubtfully. + +"Ho! I know what they are as well as anything. Why, they're silk +handkerchiefs--red and yellow, with spots on 'em." + +Nannie's hand dived into her small pocket, and re-appeared with two +nickels and a copper. + +"Do you guess I could buy one at Carney's store for 'leven cents? +'Cause I haven't got any more." + +"I s'pose so. Why, yes; handkerchiefs a'nt much 'count, you know. I +always lose mine--only they a'nt bandanas. I guess women-folks think +more about 'em, though," said Tommy, with the air of one superior to +such trifles. + +Nannie was convinced, and started from her seat with a little sigh of +relief. + +"I'll go and buy her one, then. And I think you're a pretty good boy, +Tommy Grey," she added, gratefully, as she trudged down the road, +leaving Tommy to take up his whistling and his homeward route again. + +It was quite a long walk to the store--_the_ store, because the village +only boasted one. That did not matter much to the inhabitants +generally, as the town was so near. Bentleyville and Bentley were +connected by a straggling line of houses that made it hard to tell +where the village ended and the town began. Ambitious young villagers +took advantage of this to talk about "we city people," while the older +ones contentedly spoke of themselves as "plain country-folks." + +Nannie did not care in the least which she was, neither did she greatly +mind the walk, though the feet that had done so much running began to +grow tired. If only she could carry a peace-offering to Aunt Samantha! +That would make all right, and her small world bright again, she was +sure. + +"I can't have any candy or slate-pencils for ever so long; but I don't +care, 'cause I do like her, and she'll know it--course she will if I +buy her a handkerchief; and she wont think I got all mussed up on +purpose," she soliloquized. + +It required some heroism to pass by the fresh pop-corn balls at the +store door, and to turn away from the boxes of figs without a second +glance; but Nannie did both, and, walking straight to the counter, made +known her errand. + +"Bandanas? Yes, a prime lot of 'em," said bustling little Mr. Carney, +bringing out his whole stock. + +His small customer, standing on tiptoe to reach the counter, gravely +examined them. Would Aunt Samantha like a red one or a yellow one best, +she wondered. It was a perplexing question to decide. If only she could +take her one of each! And that reminded her to ask the price. + +"Seventy-five cents apiece," said the old gentleman briskly. + +"Seventy--five--cents!" repeated Nan, faintly. + +"Yes, sissy; cheap at that, too." + +"I--thought--I didn't know," stammered Nannie, in a sore +disappointment. Then rallying her faltering courage, she asked: "Don't +you ever sell any for 'leven cents?" + +"Eleven cents? Bless me, child! Why, they cost--Oh! may be you mean +cotton ones? Look a little like these." + +Nan nodded, glad to think it even probable that she had meant anything. + +"Well, I don't keep that kind, you see," explained Mr. Carney, +condescendingly. + +Discouraged and forlorn, the little woman turned away. She walked until +she was quite out of sight of the store, and then paused to meditate. +What should she do? It seemed dreadfully hard to give up her plan now +when she had thought it all nicely settled. There were plenty of stores +in Bentley; some of them might sell handkerchiefs for eleven cents. She +glanced dubiously along the road leading to the town, and noticed that +the sun was nearly out of sight behind the hills. + +"But it stays light ever and ever so long after the sun sets," she +murmured, "and it didn't seem a bit far when I rode to town with Aunt +S'mantha. I guess this store is most part way. Anyhow, I just must have +a bandana!" she added, as she once more caught sight of her soiled +apron and muddy shoes. + +She straightened her sun-bonnet, and started resolutely forward again. +She had grown to feel that the proposed purchase was in some way a +reparation due to Aunt Samantha, and she could not give it up. On and +on trudged the tired little feet, aching wearily at last, but never +hesitating nor turning back. It seemed a long way, though. + +"Wonder if I wont ever and ever come to where the houses get thicker," +she murmured. "When I keep a store I'll build it on the edge somewhere, +so folks wont have to walk so far to get to it." + +After a time, the buildings did nestle more closely together, and, +somewhat comforted, she stopped a moment to rest. But she started +suddenly to her feet as a light flashed upon her from an opposite +window. People were really beginning to light their lamps, and the +daylight was almost gone. + +Weariness was forgotten in the thought that night might fall before she +could return, and she ran as fast as her light feet would carry her--so +swiftly and so far that she had nearly passed a small store without +seeing it. + +She checked her steps at this discovery, and entering, asked, +breathlessly: + +"Oh,--please,--have you any ban-banners?" + +"What? any what?" demanded a severe-looking lady, coming forward and +eying Nan suspiciously through her spectacles. + +"Bandaners,--handkerchiefs," explained Nannie, less confidently. + +"Bandanas? No; I don't keep them," responded the lady, very stiffly. + +"Should think she might have been more p'lite, if I didn't call it +right," commented the young traveler as she hurried along the street +once more. "Here's another." This time there was only a boy in +attendance. He was head of the establishment when the proprietor went +to supper, and he enjoyed his important position. + +"Do you keep ban-ban-banners?" asked Nannie, growing confused again. + +"Which? I hope you don't mean any disrespect to the flag of your +country, ma'am?" + +"No sir; I mean handkerchiefs," said Nannie, innocently. + +"Ah! yes, I understand. I think we have the article in question." + +A number of the red and yellow silks were produced, and while the brown +eyes scanned them in some perplexity, the mischievous young clerk +surveyed the comical little figure before him, and gravely asked: + +"Is that quantity sufficient for the exercise of your predilections? or +would you like an additional supply?" + +"I would like 'leven cents worth," stammered Nannie. + +"Eleven cents worth of silk handkerchiefs? That's a novelty now!" +laughed the boy. "Why, you see that wouldn't be a seventh part of one +of these bits of magnificence,--not a scrap large enough for a +respectable doll. We really couldn't do it, ma'am. The owner of this +establishment has a nonsensical way of always selling his handkerchiefs +whole." + +[Illustration: "'SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS APIECE,' SAID THE OLD GENTLEMAN."] + +Then, at sight of the disappointed little face, his fun yielded to an +impulse of kindness, and from a far-away corner he produced an old box +with the dust of disuse lying thickly upon it. It contained some small +cotton handkerchiefs, gayly printed, with border, pictures and verses, +in bright colors. Nannie's eyes brightened. They were much prettier +than the others, she thought, and they were only ten cents! She wavered +uncertainly between a pink and a blue one, and finally appealed to the +clerk for advice. + +"Which is the nicest? Couldn't really say, ma'am. If you want it for +winter use, the blue would probably match best with your nose; but if +you keep it specially for fits of weeping, the red might be nearest the +proper tint." + +Nannie looked at him solemnly, but not understanding him in the least: +she decided upon the blue one, and turned away with the precious +package in her hand. It was certainly growing late. The rosy glow had +all vanished from the west, and one star was peeping out dimly. + +"A good deal after supper-time," murmured Nannie, anxiously. Then, +glancing down a side street, she caught sight of a baker's sign. It was +but a few steps, and she was very hungry, so she determined to invest +her remaining cent in a piece of gingerbread. Eager to be on her +homeward way she walked rapidly, and this did not suit the fancy of a +large dog in a neighboring yard. He bounded toward the fence, barking +furiously, and in a moment Nannie discovered that he had pushed open +the gate and was upon the street. She fled at full speed away beyond +the shop and down another street. At last a corner hid him from view, +and he did not follow her. She dared not retrace her steps for fear of +meeting him, and she abandoned all hope of a visit to the bakery. There +must be other ways back to the road, though, she thought, and she +wandered up one street and down another without coming to any building +that looked familiar. She had lost her way entirely, and grew more and +more bewildered as she wandered. The stars came out thickly in the sky, +and it seemed to her that she had been traveling for hours. Finally she +found herself in a quiet, unfrequented part of the town, and then the +brave little heart failed utterly, and frightened, homesick, and +terribly weary, she sank down by the road-side, sobbing bitterly. She +did not hear the sound of wheels, nor notice the horses drawn up beside +her, until some one called: + +"Hello, little one! what's the matter?" + +She had heard that neighborly voice too often not to recognize it now, +and she sprang up in wild delight. "Oh, Captain Hoyt! Take me home! Oh, +please sir, wont you take me home?" + +"Home, chick-a-biddy? Why, who--little Nan Verling, I declare! Well, +if it isn't lucky that I didn't sell my apples till late to-day, and am +just going out! How in the world did you get there?" + +"I lost my way," faltered Nannie, trying hard to conquer her tears when +she was safely in the wagon. "I came to buy a bandana handkerchief for +Aunt S'mantha." + +"Bandana? Well, she'll need it, and a few cambric ones thrown in, if +she don't know where you are at this time of night," declared the +captain, whipping up his horses. + +He was quite right; Miss Samantha was nearly frantic. She had sent to +every house in the village, and had learned from Tommy how her love of +neatness and carelessly expressed desire for bananas had together +worked mischief. But as a visit to the store revealed the fact that +Nannie had been there and had gone, Miss Samantha could think of +nothing but that most improbable resort,--the pond; and she had +gathered a party with ropes and lanterns, when Captain Hoyt drove up +and deposited the small maiden in their midst. + +"I've got the handkerchief, Aunt S'mantha! and I'm so glad; but my +clothes are all spoiled, and I'm so sorry," began Nannie. + +"Clothes, child! Do you think I care so much more for your clothes than +for you that I want to hear about them first?" exclaimed Miss Samantha, +with an embrace so long and close that Nannie was quite astonished. + +"I didn't know," she answered. + +And Miss Samantha said not a word, for she thought if the child really +did not know, there must have been something wrong somewhere. She +smiled a little grimly when she saw the wonderful handkerchief, but she +laid it away as if it were a treasure. Nannie had a nice supper and a +good night's sleep, and felt quite bright when Tommy looked in upon her +the next morning. + +"I had an awful time; but your way is a real good one, Tommy, 'cause +she didn't scold a bit," she informed him, confidentially. + +"But I guess,--I s'pose,--anyhow, mother says that the best way to +please folks is to do as they want you to, instead of buying 'em +things," said Tommy, feeling that, as he had led her into trouble, he +was in honor bound to give her the benefit of the moral that had been +impressed upon him. + +"Y-e-s," answered Nannie, rather vaguely. + +But, as the weeks went on, and Aunt Samantha grew so much more gentle +that she couldn't help being more careful not to trouble her, she +thought that handkerchief must be a very precious article. + + + + +THE TOWER-MOUNTAIN. + +BY GUSTAVUS FRANKENSTEIN. + + + +III. + + +I wandered about for what seemed to me days and days, but always +cautiously, and never without some hope of escape. At length, becoming +weak, I suppose, I missed my footing from a ledge of rock and fell to a +great distance. I was stunned and bruised, but soon recovered; and +considering the course I must have come, and this last terrible +descent, I felt almost sure that I was far below the surface of the +earth, and that I must try to go up, and must search and search until I +should find some way of ascending. I accordingly moved on, with greater +care than ever, and soon found that I was in a sort of rocky passage +which rose at a slight inclination. I need not say how this discovery +revived my spirits, nor how I was cheered yet more when, after a time, +I came to a level surface again, and discovered that beyond it the +passage continued as before, but much widened. + +Keeping close to the wall of rock on my right, I slowly ascended in +what seemed to me a spiral curve. Sometimes I would take a step to the +left, to ascertain if I still had a barrier on that side; by which I +found that there were many openings in the wall on that side, probably +similar to the one through which I had reached this apparently +continuous passage. + +Up, up I went, gaining courage though feeling weaker and weaker. Having +the wall on my right for so long a time, and seeming to be always +ascending, I began to think that I was in a sort of circular +honey-combed cavern. + +It must be borne in mind that my progress was exceedingly slow, +consequent upon the necessity of feeling my way, step by step, +apprehensive of going over the brink of a precipice in some moment of +undue confidence. How many times I lay down to sleep, how many times I +rose to continue the task, I cannot tell; but, having been immured so +long, without food and without light, I began to feel stealing over me +a weariness of exhaustion which required the utmost power of the will +to battle. + +All this time I kept ascending. Suddenly the passage seemed to open +wide, and, all at once, a bright light shot into the cavern. For the +moment I was blinded; a painful sensation struck me across the brows; +but I determined to behold the light at whatever cost. I opened my +eyes; and now, the shock of the dazzling brightness having passed away, +I saw the most beautiful effect I had ever beheld in my whole life. + +A ray of sunlight fell in a round spot, bright and warm, on the wall at +the left. It entered by a small aperture higher up--in the wall at the +right. For a moment I looked around. I stood in a vast, rock-bound +chamber--an immense hall--faintly illuminated by reflection from the +direct sun-ray which fell upon a vein of quartz, and sparkled, lively +with flitting rainbow-colors. I could see the openings in the inner +wall, many of them a hundred feet high, nearly all very narrow, and for +the most part vertical. On the right, the wall was unbroken, with the +exception of the little hole, through which the blessed sunlight +streamed, in the pit of a broad, deep, conical sort of depression. Far +behind me, I could just make out the mouth of the passage from which I +had emerged into this spacious chamber, and before me the opening into +another also adjacent to the wall on my right. + +I felt now more assured than ever, for I was certainly above-ground. +For a moment, I forgot my forlorn condition, and paused to admire the +splendor of the scene. A few minutes only, and it was gone. I lingered. +Should I wait to see this lovely sight renewed? Twenty-four hours must +elapse before the sun's return to the same position. But _would_ it +come to the same point again on the morrow? I knew it could not, and +that the least deflection from its course that day would allow no ray +to fall into the darkness of that mysterious dungeon. I knew, further, +that it was either morning or evening, about nine or three o'clock, by +the direction of the beam of light. This fact was immensely +encouraging; my heart throbbed rapidly; the blood came tingling to the +finger-ends; I felt a warmth, an energy, a hope, an animation of +spirits I had not known for a long time. It had all along been but one +unending night, when often I would wonder whether, outside, under the +broad blue sky, it was then night or day; but now I knew that it was +day. + +I soon reached the passage which I had seen ahead of me, and found it +in some places not more than two or three feet wide. The ascent became +steeper, though not at all difficult, except at one place, where for +about ten yards I was obliged to use both hands and feet to make sure +of not slipping back. + +About two hours after passing this point the air seemed to change; +there was a warmth and fragrance to it which was very grateful; I +fancied also that I could see somewhat indistinctly. + +"Surely," I thought, "this seems like coming to daylight." + +Warmer and sweeter grew the air; I could see the wall of rock on my +right; and then I suddenly encountered a volume of air blown toward me, +as if the sweetest perfumes of the earth were mingled in that breath of +air. I knew I was coming to the light! Another turn, and there before +me were the grand snow-capped mountains suffused with the last rosy +flush of the setting sun! + +[Illustration: "WE SAW HIM CLIMBING THROUGH A SQUARE OPENING OF LIGHT." +[SEE PAGE 292.]] + +Oh, indescribable glory! + +For a moment, my eyes swept over the horizon,--I was far above the +earth,--then back to the beauteous snow in its sunset splendor. The +rosy tinges lifted and vanished, and a cool twilight glow rested on the +mountain summits. I looked upon the plain below. Far beneath, it lay in +the evening shadow with its thousand fading tints of tropic foliage, +with one spot of blue, almost immediately below, in all that mass of +verdure--the lake. I knew then that I was almost exactly above the cave +I had so long inhabited. And Pippity--Grilly--were they there now? + +I was about to call with all my might; but what ear could hear at that +great distance? + + +Three thousand feet at least of space separated my friends from me. How +could I get down that almost perpendicular rock, and how could they get +up to me? How could they know that I was there? + +And now the specter of starvation rose up before me in strongest force. +Should I try to find my way back again?--once more attempt the +darkness? No! no! Too precious was the daylight. It would not do. And +what could be gained? I could not possibly live to reach the bottom! + +The twilight rested serenely on the encircling range of mountain snow, +then faded sweetly from the darkening sky. + +The stars are beacons of hope and faith. Under them I lay down and +slept. + +It was a refreshing slumber that I had beneath an unclouded sky, and +when I awoke it was early dawn. The cool air was grateful; and so +charming seemed all nature that I forgot my hunger and the isolation of +my position. I began, too, to examine the situation. I had emerged from +the cavern into open day by reason of the sudden termination of the +wall which I had had so long on my right. There was left the inner wall +as before, now exposed and forming the exterior of the mountain. I +stood on a platform of rock about four feet square. Beyond was an angle +in the wall, and just then a step to a higher grade of flat rock also. +Then a considerable steepness of the narrow floor, and a bending to the +left, when it was lost to view behind the mass of perpendicular rock. +As the sun rose, I looked down toward the lake, which seemed to lie +almost directly beneath, so nearly perpendicular was the mountain on +that side. About six or seven hundred feet below me, I observed a bird +flying from point to point up the mountain. Soon it disappeared from +view. It had flown to the other side. Presently it re-appeared, still +circling and rising, now perching at one point, and now at another +higher up, then passing out of view again. At length it seemed to come +more directly upward; it rose more rapidly, and was continually in +sight. + +It was a parrot. I heard its cry. I could see it distinctly. + +"Pippity, Pippity!" I cried, "is that you?" + +He gave one joyful scream, alighted on my shoulder, and then on my +hand, talking as fast as his tongue could run: "How d' ye do? How d' ye +do? Frank, Frank!" + +"Food, food, Pippity!" I begged; and before I had finished the words he +flew down the abyss, screaming as he went. I followed him with my eyes +until the precipice below prevented my seeing him any longer. + +It seemed to me a full hour before he re-appeared, and as he came +nearer I saw something in his beak. It was a bunch of grapes. He flew +toward me. I held out my hand to receive him, and with a heart full of +thankfulness I took the precious fruit from his beak. + +"Thank you, thank you, Pippity!" I said. But Pippity didn't wait for +such little expressions of civility. Immediately, he flew away again, +and soon returned with other fruits, and nuts of various kinds; and, as +he could bring but little at a time, of course I could eat but little +at a time, which was a happy circumstance, for that is just the way a +starving man should eat. + +In about four or five hours I told Pippity I had had enough. + +"And now, Pippity," said I, "tell me,--how long have I been away?" + +He promptly answered, "Three days!" + +"Are you sure?" + +"Three days--one, two, three." + +I was almost sure he was right. But how the bird had found me I could +not make out. I questioned him in many ways, but could get no +satisfactory answer. By my not returning the day I went down into the +hole, and not the next, no doubt my friends began to be alarmed for my +safety, and set to work to find me, if possible. What Grilly did in the +matter I could not conjecture; but Pippity, being able to fly, probably +made excursions round the mountain, thinking that I might possibly come +out at some place, and hoping thus to be able to find me and come to my +relief. + +During the afternoon, Pippity made a number of trips down into the +fertile plain, every time bringing back something good to eat, whilst I +rested quietly, amusing myself with looking at the pleasant scenery +that everywhere surrounded me, talking with Pippity whenever he was +present, and sometimes sleeping pleasantly. + +A short time before sunset, Pippity took his last flight down, and, not +long after the sun had disappeared, I saw him returning in the +beautiful twilight. Again he brought me fruit. + +"Go down to Grilly now," I said; "I will stay up here until morning, +and then you come to me again." + +But Pippity didn't want to leave; and I told him that as he was so +desirous of keeping me company, he might remain with me through the +night. + +The next morning, at the first glimmering of dawn, I awoke, feeling +well, hearty and cheerful. Pippity was off immediately to bring me +breakfast, and about ten o'clock we set out in high spirits to make +further ascent of this singular peak. All went well for about an hour, +when, Pippity being absent after food, I came to a place in the rock +where the walk suddenly ended. A little further on and higher up it +was as good as any part I had yet gone over; but the intervening space +of scarcely more than a dozen feet was very steep, and, what was +remarkable, loose stones lay upon its surface as though they had slid +down from above. This slide seemed to have been occasioned by a +softness of the rock in that part, causing it to scale off in thin +pieces, which the slightest disturbance would send rattling down the +mountain. Just beyond these loose stones was a smooth surface of very +steep rock, over which it would be necessary to pass in order to reach +the path beyond. + +I paused here; and after Pippity had brought the fruit and I had +finished my dinner, I began seriously to discuss the question whether +or not I ought to attempt the passage of this dangerous interval. +Pippity seemed to understand my intentions quite well, for he grew very +uneasy, and in his queer ways, with snatches of singularly applicable +speech, he remonstrated most strenuously. But we now were not very far +from the top, and so fascinating seemed the prospect of reaching the +very pinnacle, that I could not withstand the impulse of making the +effort to get there. Over the loose stones I scrambled, clinging with +hands and feet as best I could, whilst an avalanche of rocky fragments +slid, tumbled, and rattled ominously down the declivity. + +I got my hands upon the smooth rock, but at my feet the loose stones +were slipping rapidly away; this, in a moment more, would leave me +without support and mercilessly let me follow them. But Pippity, who +had been flying around me in the greatest excitement, got just above +me, and planting his toes firmly against the rock, seized me by the +shoulder. Then, holding on with a most determined grip of his bill, he +pulled like a Trojan; and I do verily believe the bird saved my life. +By dint of his pulling and backing upward, seconded by my own frantic +efforts to shuffle up the rock, I succeeded in gaining the foothold +beyond. At least he inspired me with fresh resolution and confidence in +helping myself. + +After a little rest, we went on, winding around a succession of short +spirals, and at last reached the highest point of this magnificent +mountain! + + * * * * * + +What a sensation! + +Perched here on the extreme point of a pinnacle more than four thousand +feet above the vast plain of rich fertility embosomed among the +snow-clad mountains. The lake was a spot of beautiful blue, a gem in +the center of this lovely picture. + +Suddenly, we heard a rattling of stones beneath, then a shriek. + +"Stars! What's that?--GRILLY!" + +And up he came bounding, as lively as a cricket. He danced around us +in the greatest delight, threw his arms around me, ran wildly here and +there, and danced and danced again. + +"Grilly, Grilly!" shrieked the parrot, "how in the world did you get up +here?"--and his staid demeanor contrasted strangely with the monkey's +antics. + +But Grilly danced and danced. The fact was that, even if he could have +spoken, he was too much excited to make reply. Grilly was great in +action; in words deficient. + +The afternoon was now far advanced; and Grilly at last becoming +tranquil, and in keeping with the peaceful scene around us, I said to +him: + +"How you came up here I do not know; but of this I am certain, that you +were not as long getting up as I was, for you arrived fresh and active, +whilst I was almost dead. Now, that makes me think that although I +cannot find the way back, you may. Therefore, you shall be guide. But +it is too late to start to-day. Besides, I wish to behold another +sunset from this glorious height." + +The night was very pleasant; and as I lay upon a flat rock, looking out +upon the stars from my high and silent perch, the round earth looming +like a shadow far below me, I thought it would be delightful to make a +long stay on this interesting pinnacle, especially at this time, as the +weather was very fine; but the getting of food presented itself as an +obstacle. As Grilly was now with us, it would be too great a tax on +Pippity to supply us both. Besides, we could not do without water. I +resolved, therefore, to set out early in the morning, and that I would +re-enter that dungeon, as there was clearly no other way of getting +down. + +Before the sun was up, we already were descending; and when we arrived +at the dangerous slide, where the day before I had nearly slipped off +the mountain, we halted. Pippity was dispatched for food, whilst Grilly +and I sat down and contemplated the sunrise splendor. Four times +Pippity descended to the plain, and brought thence something to eat. +Noon was fast approaching, and it behooved us, if we would accomplish +anything that day, to press forward without delay. As before, Pippity +showed considerable anxiety, calmly remarking, however, as I translated +his jargon, that he would, as on the previous day, hold fast to my +shoulder with his bill. He made Grilly get down below at the same time +and hold on to my feet; and when I began to crawl and wriggle along the +best way I could, I was assisted very materially by the parrot above +and the monkey below. + +Notwithstanding the perilous situation, I could not but be amused at +the ludicrous singularity of the performance. + +Above stood the sure-footed bird, all gravity, pulling away at my +shoulder; below was the monkey, holding me fast by the heels, jumping +and capering as the treacherous stones rolled from under him. Of +course, in less than a minute the whole thing was over, and I was +safely landed on a good broad walk. + +We arrived at the opening of the dungeon. Descend into it? Again be +lost--perhaps perish? I hesitated. I shrank from entering; and yet, +down into it I must go! + +"Pippity," said I, to my trusty parrot, "we will linger here another +day. You must bring us all the food you can between this and night; and +to-morrow morning, with the first peep of dawn, be ready to go down +again, and make as many trips before noon as you can, so that we shall +be able to undertake that dark and uncertain journey with at least a +small quantity of provisions." + +Grilly ran in and out of the dark passage quite frequently, both that +evening and the next morning, evidently evincing a desire that the +descent should be made without delay, which convinced me that he had +come through all the darkness which yet lay between us and deliverance. + +The sun had reached the zenith when I at last bade farewell to the +light and resolutely determined to proceed. + +"Good-bye, Pippity! We shall meet you below. Fly down, get everything +ready for our reception, and have the table well supplied with the +choicest fruits that you can find." + +But Pippity clung to me, and would not leave. "I will go with you! I +want to go!" implored the bird. + +No expostulation could deter him from accompanying us. + +Grilly led the way; and when we lost the light, he squealed and +chattered, and frequently ran back to make sure that Pippity and I were +following him. I kept close to the wall on my left. We passed over the +steep place. Still I kept close to the wall. The wall was on my +left--still on my left. We were going at a pretty pace, as the monkey +was continually urging us forward. We could not go fast enough for him. +All at once he squealed significantly. He ran back to me. He took hold +of my hand, and leading me slowly forward a few paces, I found there +were three diverging passages. He drew me into the middle one. Then we +resumed our quick gait, and, for some little time, all appeared to be +plain sailing again. + +It may be asked, why did I allow myself to be guided by a thoughtless +monkey? But here, in this darkness, was not reason entirely at sea? +Might not instinct be superior to reason and avail something? I +abandoned myself entirely to its mysterious power. I had faith in it. +Grilly proceeded with such confidence that I could not but trust him. + +We had been plodding our way through the darkness for about four hours, +I thought, when Grilly gave a loud shriek, and, running back to us, led +us hurriedly forward; light became faintly visible; we ascended a few +steps through a very narrow passage; we came abruptly to a stop; the +monkey grasped something that hung down from above, and sprang upward +with the agility of his nature. We saw him high above our heads +climbing through a square opening of light. Immediately, he was +descending again. + +"Why, Pippity," I cried, "we are at the bottom! Up there is our +palace!" + +"Of course it is!" shrieked the parrot, in a tone which sounded more +like a shout of joy than the voice of a bird; and, clinging to one of a +number of long grass stems that could now be distinctly seen hanging +from the top, he climbed up with bill and claws as handsomely as any +parrot ever did the like, crying as he went: + +"Come along, Frank! We're all right!" Grilly was now down, too; and, +reaching me his hand, he would fain have tried to pull me to the top. +But I gave him to understand that I could very well take care of +myself, and up I went by means of hands and feet--the monkey all +capers, the parrot all talk, the man thankful--and when we stood in our +grand old palace once more, three more thoroughly delighted creatures +never were seen. + +"Now, Pippity and Grilly," said I, "bring something to eat. Search our +broad garden for the best. Let us eat and be merry. While the light yet +glows, let us enjoy ourselves." + +Away went the faithful animals. When they were gone, I walked forth and +stood under the beautiful trees, surrounded by all the adorning +verdure. How glad was I to be once more on the ground, once more in the +world! + +Presently, I saw Pippity and Grilly returning. The latter had an +immense load of luscious fruit strung over his back, besides what he +dragged after him in a large basket. It may well be imagined that we +had a most delightful meal. + +After this, I made frequent visits to the top of the pinnacle, always +taking Grilly with me, Pippity, as a general thing, being content to +take the short cut and meet us at the aperture above. + +But before taking these trips, I made Grilly stretch a line of the long +silken cords (which we found in abundance) from one end of the dark +passage to the other, so that I could find my way back, if the monkey +should fail me. I also used strong ropes, made of these strands, to get +over the dangerous slide. + +These trips afforded us an agreeable diversion. We had now, it might +be said, entire command of our mountain palace--our magnificent hall +below and our splendid look-out above. Months passed away in this happy +abode. Sometimes we visited the distant mountains, ever exploring, ever +learning, ever rejoicing; but always returning to our happy home with a +renewed relish of its rare comforts and matchless advantages. + +During one of the excursions to the neighboring mountains,--Pippity +alone accompanying me, Grilly having gone to assemble his tribe for a +fresh supply of cocoa-nuts,--we were leisurely contemplating the great +expanse of loveliness that lay before us, in the center of which our +noble dwelling loomed up superbly. + +"What a splendid domain is ours!" I said to Pippity. "We have +everything that man need wish,--and, for that matter, parrot or monkey +either. How bountiful, here, is nature, and withal so beautiful! And +our palace! Was ever anything in the world like it?" + +As the parrot made no answer, I looked toward him, for I was certain +that he would join in praise of all our precious blessings. + +There was a troubled look about him. His wings moved convulsively. The +feathers stood ruffling from his body. He was in a state of the +greatest agitation. + +I was alarmed. "What's the matter, Pippity?" I cried. But Pippity +replied only with a succession of loud shrieks growing ever louder and +louder. + +The air had become as still as death. + +My body appeared to move from side to side. No, no! The ground was +rising, falling! It seemed no longer solid. Like a wave it rose and +fell. The foot-hills below us separated, reft into awful chasms. I +looked toward our home. Just then cried Pippity: + +"Oh, our palace! Our palace!" + +"Ah, ah! It falls! It falls! See, see, how the huge rocks rive and +crumble!" + +What a fall was there! A crash that echoed terribly in that circle of +mountain wildness! + +A cloud of dust rolled in fearful mockery where one moment before had +stood the proud pinnacle. An enormous mass of rocks fell into the lake +below, and the vapors rose in a rival cloud. High in the firmament they +curled and twisted, their wreathing forms together telling a woful tale +of destruction. + +We forgot our own danger in watching all our grandeur dashed to +nothingness. + +Destruction as it was, it was grand! + +But Grilly! Where was he? "Ah, Grilly, Grilly!" cried I, "I fear he is +lost!" + +"Come, come!" said Pippity. "Where's Grilly? Find Grilly! Quick, +quick!" + +But there was some rough country to get over. Gaps, masses of uprooted +trees, rocks, earth and vegetation mingled in confusion. + +At last we arrived at home--no, not home! Nothing but a heap of ruins! + +And where was Grilly? We searched, but found him not. We called, and +called again; but answer there came none. + +Pippity, with a shrill and deafening cry uttered ceaselessly: "Grilly! +Grilly! Grilly! Grilly!" + +But answer there came none. + +And all the next day we sought, and still poor Pippity cried, "Grilly! +Grilly!" + +But the dead, the lost, answer not. + + * * * * * + +A home we had no longer. Where once stood magnificence, ruin now stared +us in the face. + +"Pippity!" I said to poor Polly, "we will leave this once glorious +spot. Our home is desolate. It is home no longer. Let us seek new +scenes in other lands." + +"Where shall we go?" asked Pippity--and if a parrot could shed tears he +would have shed them. + +"We will go to the abodes of men. We will go among civilized people." + +"I, too, Frank. I, too! Call Gr----!" + +"Say no more, Pippity! Strive to forget." + +For seventeen days we traversed the mountains, picking up a scanty +subsistence by the way. Pippity was considerably frightened by the +condors that really seemed to threaten us when we reached great +elevations; and I was astonished at the remains of the once stupendous +works of the ancient dwellers in this land. Bridges stretching from +mountain to mountain, over immense, deep valleys, attested the +knowledge and power of that singular race. + +Later, we began to meet people; a hut here and another there, with +miles between. Pippity was quite at a loss to know what to make of such +persons as we met. When two or more happened to be conversing together, +it was utterly incomprehensible to him how they could understand one +another. + +"What jargon is this?" he evidently tried to say, "that these people +are all the time jabbering? It is nothing but an unmeaning chattering +of monkeys. Can it be possible that they know what they are babbling? +And you understand that gibberish, too?" + +I had taught Pippity no language but my own, and it was no wonder that +he was surprised when he heard people so like me talking quite +differently. + +We soon reached the sea-coast; and if Pippity was surprised at what he +saw in the towns and cities, the citizens, many of whom were familiar +with the English tongue, were still more surprised at his wonderful +gift of language. + +My own appearance until I bought myself some decent clothes, created +quite a sensation among the people I met. During my long stay in my +mountain home, I had been obliged to mend and darn my garments with the +fibers of plants until there was scarcely a vestige of the original +fabric remaining; and I looked like a veritable scarecrow. + +But I was not poor. In a little, home-made wallet, I carried a small +handful of diamonds, which I had, from time to time, found in my +wanderings about the Tower-Mountain. These now did me good service. I +easily converted them into money, which gave me the means of living and +traveling as I pleased. + +We took ship, Pippity and I, and sailed away to my old home in the +north. On the voyage, the gifted bird was the hero of the vessel. +Ladies, gentlemen, children, and even the officers and crew of the +ship, were glad to gather around him and talk to him. No such parrot +had any of them seen before. I had magnificent offers made to me, if I +would consent to sell him, but I refused them all, and, after awhile, +Pippity himself relieved me of the duty of declining to sell him. When +an offer of purchase was made, he would say, "I can't be bought!"--or, +if the proposal came from a lady, "Madam, your offer is most +respectfully declined!" + +At last we reached my native city, and here a great misfortune happened +to me. + +In walking about the streets with my parrot, Pippity was constantly +obliged to inhale the fumes of tobacco. He could not endure it, and +frequently asked me in his own fashion why people persisted in puffing +such sickening smoke from their mouths. I explained the matter to him, +but he never could see any sense in it. It was known on board the ship +that Pippity disliked the fumes of tobacco, and he was such a general +favorite that no one smoked in his presence. + +But in the city streets he met with no such consideration. He was +incessantly compelled to breathe tobacco smoke, and it made him ill. In +a very few days he was seized with a painful choking sensation, caused +by the irritation of the smoke, and in a short time he died. His last +words were: + +"That detestable tobacco!" + +And so I lost this good friend. I had his skin stuffed, and presented +it to our society of natural history. + +There were people to whom I told this story of my adventures who did +not believe me, but I was always sure they would have credited my word +if only I had had my monkey and my parrot with me to corroborate the +truth of my strange history. + + +THE END. + + + + +GIFTS FOR ST. NICHOLAS [A] + +BY EMMA E. BREWSTER. + + + Grieve not, O Santa Claus, who fills + Each stocking, box and tree; + Nor think, most desolate of saints, + None bring good gifts to thee. + + We place no candles in thy crypt, + No gold upon thy shrine,-- + Thou bringest us the frankincense, + The tapers and the wine. + + But rarer gifts, good Nicholas, + Than these, thy children bring, + When up and down an echoing world + The Christmas bells all ring. + + We bring our brightest, truest love + To crown thy happy brows; + No monarch wears a coronet + So light as holly-boughs. + + We bring our gayest, fairest hopes, + With smiling memories spun; + So rich a robe has never shone + Earth's proudest king upon. + + We bring our trust, our childhood faith, + And place it in thy hand; + No jeweled scepter has such power + To rule on sea or land. + + Then stay, O dear St. Nicholas! + Look on thy heaped-up shrine; + Our hearts, our hopes, our memories, + Our trusts, our faith are thine! + + There's not in all the calendar + One saint whose altars shine + With such gay throngs of worshipers, + Such precious gifts, as thine! + +[Footnote A: An answer to "Left Out," published in the December number.] + + + + +SOME IN-DOOR GAMES AT MARBLES. + +BY L.D. SNOOK. + + +One or two of the following games of marbles may be known to the +readers of ST. NICHOLAS, but we think they all will be new to a great +many boys. + + +THE ARCHED-BOARD COUNT-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +A strip of board, half an inch thick, five inches wide, and twenty-two +inches long, has notches cut in one side, two inches wide at the +bottom, and tapering as shown. Short bits of board nailed upon each end +keep the strip upright. Then it is placed upon the floor within two +feet of the wall. Each player is provided with the same number of +marbles (from three to five, or as many as the players wish), and from +the opposite side of the room he rolls at the board, the object being +to roll through the arches, which have numbers immediately above them +in the manner shown. The one making the most counts after rolling all +the marbles is entitled to one game. Or, if you have but five or six +marbles, each party rolls the whole number by himself, and should there +be a tie between those who make the highest aggregate number, they must +roll again, the one then having the highest tally winning the game. + + +THREE-ARCH DISCOUNT-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +This board is as wide and thick as the other, but is only eighteen +inches in length. The center arch is four inches wide, the two small +ones three inches each. In playing, each boy rolls from four to ten +marbles each, every marble that passes under the center arch counting +forty; if the marble goes through either small arch, twenty is deducted +from the count, or, as the boys say, is "counted off" each time. So, if +you are not a good shot, it is likely you will lose more than you will +gain. In this, or the previous game, if you fail to pop your marble +through any arch, it is lost. + + +THE TEN-BLOCK COUNT-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +You are to make ten blocks of wood, each about one inch square; upon +one side of each you mark the figure 0; on the other sides the numbers +10, 20, 30, 40, and 50, the 50 being upon the side opposite the 0. The +blocks are placed upon the floor or carpet in the form of a half +diamond, as shown. The in each case being placed upward, each player +rolls four marbles singly at the blocks, the object being to hit as +many of them as possible. When done, count the numbers on the upper +sides of all the blocks, and replace them for the next player. It is a +lively game. + + +SWINGING-BLOCK COUNT-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +This is but a modification of the block-game just described. A common +pin or tack is driven partly into one side of a block, which is +connected by a string with a little strip of wood above. Instead of +making side-pieces for supports, two chairs can be used, letting the +strip rest upon the seat or lower rounds. Each block has the same +number upon every side, and is hung so that the bottom is about +one-quarter of an inch from the floor. When a marble strikes a block it +swings a little and soon is quiet. This saves considerable work in +replacing overturned blocks. For each block hit, tally the number upon +it. + + +CIRCLE-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +Mark upon a piece of paper three rings, the largest from eight to +fifteen inches in diameter, the other two considerably smaller. Within +the rings mark the numbers 10, 20, and 50, as shown. Lay this paper +upon the carpet or floor, and roll your marbles, the object; being to +have them stop upon the paper and as near the center as possible, each +person to let his remain where they stop until all of his be rolled. +Should a marble rest on a line, tally for it the number in the largest +circle adjoining. + + + + +TOMMY'S THREE HORSES. + + +[Illustration] + + + The first is a pony without any head; + 'Tis a wonder, indeed, how the creature is fed. + +[Illustration] + + The second, you see, is a steady old chair; + Very gentle is he, and he needs little care. + +[Illustration] + + And here is another--the third one, of course; + But the driver's Tom's brother, and Tom's his own horse. + + + + +THE CHICKENS THAT WOULD NOT BE TAME. + + +In a small village there lived an old woman who kept poultry. One day +this old woman went to see a little girl, who had some chickens which +were so tame that they would eat corn and crumbs out of her hand. + +"That's nice," said the old woman; "I shall teach my chickens to do +that." + +So she went home, and got some corn and some crumbs, and went out into +the yard and called the chickens; but they would not come to her. They +were afraid of her, because she used to shout at them, and throw sticks +at them, every time they came into the garden, or near the house. + +[Illustration] + +When she saw that her chickens would not eat out of her hand, this old +woman was very angry, indeed. + +"You bad chickens!" she said, "I'll catch you and make you eat out of +my hand." So she ran after them and tried to catch them, but some ran +one way and some another, and she could not lay hold of any of them. + +The next day she went again to the house where the tame chickens were, +and this time she saw the little girl's mother, and told her about the +trouble she had, and how her chickens would not let her come near them. + +"I don't see why they are not nice, gentle chickens like those your +little girl has," said the old woman. + +"Well," said the little girl's mother, "perhaps they would be tame if +you had always treated them as well as my little girl treats her +chickens. She has been kind and gentle with them ever since they came +out of their shells, and they have learned not to be at all afraid of +her. But I think I have seen you throwing sticks at your chickens and +chasing them about the yard. If you do that, they cannot help being +afraid of you, and they will never come to you and eat out of your +hand." + +What the little girl's mother said was very true, and if any of you +have birds or animals which you wish to tame, you must always treat +them so kindly that they will never have any reason to be afraid to +come to you. + + + + +[Illustration] + + +JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. + + +"Thirty days has September, April, June and November; all the rest have +forty-three, except February, which is leap-year every four months." I +may not repeat this correctly, but I heard a little boy saying +something of the kind. Perhaps you all know the jingle better than I +do, so I'll say no more about it. + + +NATURE'S PADDLE-BOATS. + +A little bird has told me such a strange thing! It's about a kind of +jelly-fish which he called a "Globe-Beroe," I think; but you can find +out for yourselves, if I caught the name aright or not. + +This jelly-fish looks like a tiny ball of the clearest ice. All around +it, much after the fashion of the lines of longitude on a geographical +globe, are eight bands a little less transparent than the rest of the +body. On each of these are thirty or forty small paddles, in shape like +the floats upon the paddle-wheels of a steamboat; and it is by means of +these that the little creature pushes itself along in the water. The +paddles are alive, and move either swiftly or slowly, one at a time or +all together. + +Not only can this natural paddle-boat send itself along, but it can +also cast anchor. It puts forth very fine threads, which gradually +lengthen, unfolding from their sides transparent tendrils like those of +a vine. These catch hold of and twine around some fixed thing, and moor +the craft; and when the Beroe is about to be roving again, they unwind +themselves, and all slip quietly back into the little ice-ball out of +sight. + +There are countless millions of Beroes in the Arctic regions, where the +sea is in some parts colored by them for miles and miles. If there were +not such immense fleets of these tiny paddle-boats there would be +little chance for us to wonder at them, because they choose for their +moorings just the places where whales love best to feed and play their +rough games, and where, too, their own presence in the sea makes it +into a kind of soup of which whales are very fond. + + +TINY TREES. + +Only think of trees, full-grown trees, so small that several of +them,--roots, stems, branches and all,--piled one above another, would +not be as tall as I am! + +What kind of birds would stoop to roost in such little, little trees, +I'd like to know? + +They tell me that such tree-lings do really grow, away up, on high +mountains, near where the snow stays all the year through, and also in +very cold countries near the polar circles. + +I do hope the words "polar circles" will bring clear ideas to you, my +dears. They've quite tangled up my notions. Wont some of you explain +the things to me? + + +BIRDS AND TELEGRAPH-WIRES. + +The Little Schoolma'am has been talking about snow-birds, and she says +there was a poem about them in ST. NICHOLAS for April, 1875, and also a +picture of the dear little fellows comfortably perched on a +telegraph-wire, out in Colorado, somewhere. I dare say you'll remember +them, my chicks. + +Well, she went on to say that telegraph-wires are not always such good +friends to birds, for she had heard that, along the great railroads in +the West, large numbers of prairie-chickens are killed at certain +seasons of the year by flying against the wires. Sometimes this may +happen in the dark, but more often in the day-time when the wind is +very strong. + +Of course, this can't very well be helped; but it does seem dreadful, +doesn't it, my dears? However, the section-men, who have charge of the +railroad tracks, get some good from it, for they make a regular +business of gathering the fallen birds, which are then cooked and +eaten. + + +WALTON'S KITTY AGAIN. + + Dear Jack: A while ago I told in ST. NICHOLAS something about + "Walton's Kitty," that loves music and climbs upon any one who + sings to her, putting her head as close as can be to the lips of + the singer. Now, here is another true story about this same cat: + + In the summer, Walton's aunt used to set the milk in a cool closet, + in a pitcher with a long, narrow neck, but day after day, when + teatime came, every drop of that milk was gone. Nobody drank it, + nobody used it, nobody spilled it. "Walton's Kitty" and all her + descendants were clear of suspicion, because of the long, narrow + neck of that pitcher. So everybody watched and waited to find out + how the milk went. + + And this is what they saw: There sat "Walton's Kitty," dipping her + paw deep down into the pitcher, taking it out, and then lapping the + milk from it! If she dropped the smallest drop, she stopped and + cleaned that up, and then went on. As the milk dwindled to the + bottom of the pitcher she shook her paw around; and she never left + off until every drop of milk was gone! + + Since then, the milk for tea stands in a covered pitcher, but + "Walton's Kitty" has hers in a tall, narrow goblet. It is a very + affecting sight, and people laugh till they cry as they watch + her.--Yours truly, + + M.B.C.S. + + +FLINT ONCE WAS SPONGE. + +You never would think it, would you, my dears? But the Little +Schoolma'am says that it was; and she always is right. + +She says that flint really is nothing more nor less than sponge turned +to stone. Once the sponge grew at the bottom of the sea, as other +sponges grow now; but that was ages and ages ago, and since then the +sponge, turned to flint, has lain covered by rocks and earth of many +kinds piled thick above it. Seen with a microscope, flint shows the +make of sponge in its fibers; and sometimes you can see, bedded in it, +the shells of the tiny creatures on which the sponge had fed. Now and +then, inside a flint, will be found bits of the sponge not yet changed. + +That last proof settles it; but I must say it's hard to believe;--hard +as the flint, almost. + + +SOME OLD PUZZLES. + +Here are two letters, with old puzzles in them, that may amuse you for +a while on one of these shivery evenings, my chicks. I'll tell you the +answers next month. + + + Michigan. + + DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: The other night one of my brothers said he + did not believe we could pronounce a certain word after he should + have spelled it. I will tell you what it is, though you may have + heard about it already: + + A cross, a circle complete, + An upright where two semi-circles do meet, + A triangle standing upon two feet, + Two semi-circles, a circle complete. + + Yours truly, CORA. + + + Oswego, N.Y. + + DEAR JACK: I send you a riddle which I found. I take ST. NICHOLAS + and like it very much. I have all of the volumes from 1874. + + I am a word of plural number, + A foe to peace and human slumber, + Yet, do but add the letter S,-- + Lo! what a metamorphosis! + What plural was, is plural now no more, + And sweet's what bitter was before. + + Yours truly, KITTIE. + + +Talking about riddles, reminds me of one that was made by Richard +Whately, an archbishop of Dublin, as I've heard. This is it: + + "When from the Ark's capacious round + The beasts came forth in pairs, + Who was the first to hear the sound + Of boots upon the stairs?" + +I'm told that it never has been guessed right by anybody; yet the +archbishop said there was an answer, although he did not say what it +was. May be you can solve the riddle, my dears, if you brush up your +wits a bit? Let me know as soon as you think you have the right answer. + + +THE NEWEST FASHION. + +The girls of the Red School-house often talk about new fashions, +especially when the Little Schoolma'am is about, for she is pretty sure +to drop some useful hints. Well, one day she told them, among other +things, about the "latest novelty" in ladies' ball-dresses at +Upernavik, in Greenland. + +As nearly as I can remember, she said that the costume consists of a +little jacket, made of bright-colored calico or flannel; long +pantaloons of sealskin, trimmed like the jacket and sitting close to +the figure; and white, red or blue boots: the whole set off by gay +ribbons and all the beads the wearer can get. + +A jaunty suit enough, no doubt; but, if she wore only that, the wearer +must have been obliged to dance, merely to keep herself warm. + +By the way, I wonder what ever possessed them to call that frozen +country Green-land? + + +TO SURPRISE A DOG. + +This is the way a man among the Himalaya Mountains once astonished a +stranger dog. He put on a pair of huge goggles and walked steadily and +quietly toward the dog, without speaking a word. The dog bristled up +and stared hard for a moment, and then, all at once, he seemed to wilt, +and away he slunk as if ashamed of himself. + +I heard about this only the other day, my dears, and I tell it to you +merely to warn you not to try the little trick, unless you are sure +your dog will not get angry and jump for you. + +It would not look well for you to slink off as if you were ashamed of +yourself. + + +THE KINDERGARTEN AT HOME. + + DEAR JACK: Will you please tell your older boys and girls that in + good systems of Kindergarten teaching they will find a great many + means of amusing invalid brothers or sisters without wearying them, + and many games and much fun for the younger ones, who will learn at + the same time things that they ought to know. To carry out these + methods one wants sticks, blocks, slates, slats, colored balls, and + other things easy to make and cheap to buy, the use of which is + pleasant to teach as well as to learn and practice. + + I bought lately a full set of Kindergarten apparatus such as I have + named, and sent it to a little niece of mine in California, and the + dear little one writes to me that she has had much happiness and + enjoyment out of it. I hope some of your young friends will try the + experiment and let me know what success they have.--I am, dear + Jack, yours affectionately, A LITTLE SCHOOLMA'AM. + + +KAFFIR IRONING. + +You all know how ironing is done here--with flat-irons, I think +somebody said. Well, the birds tell me that the Kaffirs of South Africa +don't use flat-irons, but have quite another way. They make the clothes +into a neat flat package, which they lay on a big stone. Then they just +dance on the package until they think the clothes are smooth enough! It +must be good fun to them! Luckily, Kaffirs don't wear cuffs and frills. + + +SLIPPERS FOR HORSES. + +Where do horses wear slippers? + +Now, my chicks, this is not a conundrum. So you need not be chirping +out, "On their feet, of course;" or some foolish answer of that kind. +The real answer is, "Japan,"--at least, so I'm told, and there are such +numbers of other queer things there, that I don't wonder it is so. + +Well, Japanese horses wear straw slippers,--clumsy-looking things, I +should say. But, besides that, they stand in their stables with their +heads where American horses' tails would be! Perhaps Japanese horses +like to see for themselves what is going on? + +"Where is the food put?" + +Why, in a bucket hung from the roof, of course. Where else, would you +suppose? + + + + +[Illustration: ON THE ICE.] + + +THE LETTER-BOX. + + + Fair Haven, Vt. 1877. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Two of my sisters and myself have taken your + magazine ever since it was published, and like it very much. I am + glad Miss Louisa M. Alcott is writing a story for your magazine, as + I am very fond of her stories. + + I have read, "Eight Cousins," "Rose in Bloom," "Little Men," + "Hospital Sketches," "Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag," and "Little Women," + myself, have been called "Meg, Amy, Beth and Jo." My oldest sister + Ada, who is sixteen years old, is the "Amy" of our family; My + little sister Stella, who is eleven years old, is well skilled in + music, and we think she is very much like "Beth"; and I am + thirteen, and have been called "Jo." + + So, you see, I was greatly interested in "Little Women," as I could + appreciate it so well; and it seemed to me as if Miss Alcott must + have seen us four girls before she wrote the story. + + I have four first cousins, and they are all boys, and with my + sisters and me we are "eight cousins." One of my cousins is a + little baby, a little over five weeks old. He makes the eighth + cousin. + + I liked the piece about Miss Alcott in the December number very + much. We expect to take your magazine until we are young women. I + think it the best published for young people.--Your friend, + + ANNIE ADAMS. + + + * * * * * + + +By letters just received from England, we learn that the pretty +Christmas and New-Year cards in our December and January issues were +_not_ drawn by Miss Greenaway, though a friend had mistakenly sent them +to us last summer as specimens of that lady's work, cut from a +scrapbook. We, therefore, hasten to correct the error, wishing at the +same time, that we knew to whose hand to credit the drawings. To our +still greater regret, we now learn that Marcus Ward & Co., of London, +having published these as Christmas cards, and counted upon having a +large sale for them in America. Had we known this in time, we certainly +should not have copied the pictures without previously referring to the +publishers. The best reparation we can make at the present date is this +acknowledgement and a bit of honest advice to our readers: Hunt the +shops for the beautifully colored cards from which these pictures were +copied, and buy them for next Christmas. They are far better than our +printed ones. + + + * * * * * + + + Brooklyn, N.Y. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am twelve years old and very fond of reading, + and as I never can find an interesting book of history, I read + stories. But mamma and other people tell me I ought to read + something instructive, but as I never can find anything I like, I + would be much obliged if you would help me a little by giving me a + list of pleasant books. I have taken you for three years and enjoy + you very much indeed.--Your very affectionate reader, + + ALICE CLINTON. + +"Greene's Shorter History of the English People," a new work, is very +interesting. H.M.D. in the "Letter-Box," October, 1876, says that "The +Life and Times of Sir Philip Sidney" is such a pleasant book that you +cannot help having a good time when you are reading it, and will not +think it is history unless you know beforehand. "Seven Historic Ages," +by Arthur Gilman, is another attractive book, and if you are like most +smart girls of your age, you will find Prescott's "Ferdinand and +Isabella" as interesting as many story books. It is a history of Spain +in its most prosperous times. It is long, but, once begun, few find it +hard to finish. + + + * * * * * + + + Geneva, N.Y. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Please tell "Jack" that apples that are part + sour and part sweet grow in the beautiful State of New York. I have + tasted of such fruit and am sure it is so. Who can tell me more + about this wonderful fruit? And how many have ever eaten such + apples? + + Can any one tell me what causes them to grow one side sweet, and + the other sour? Hoping to hear more on this subject, I remain, + yours truly, + + ALMA AYLESWORTH. + + + * * * * * + + + Mobile, Ala. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I wish to tell you of Fanny, our little mule, + who cannot be forced to work on Sunday. She is gentle, obedient and + faithful on week days, but on Sunday Fanny will not be made to + move. + + Don't think us heathen, dear ST. NICHOLAS, for the boys just tried + to make her carry a load of hay as a test, and to tease her, also; + but when papa saw what they were up to, he put a stop to it, and + now Fanny enjoys her Sundays in peace. My little sister says, "she + is a religious mule." Do you think that the mule really knows when + Sunday has come?--Your well-wisher, + + ERNESTINE HAMMOND. + + + * * * * * + + +KING ALFRED AND THE CAKES. + +(_Jack-in-the-Pulpit's Story in the December Number, Straightened +Out_.) + +King Alfred the Great, having been driven by the Danes to seek safety +in flight, disguised himself as a peasant, and took refuge in the hut +of a cow-herd, where he was told to watch the baking of some cakes. But +he forgot the cakes and let them burn; and when the herdsman's wife +came in, she gave him a sound scolding for his carelessness. + +Charles I. of England was defeated at Marston Moor; and his son, +Charles II., after losing the battle of Worcester, barely escaped +capture, by hiding in the leafy branches of an oak-tree. + +Robert Bruce lost many battles, fighting for the Scottish throne. At +length, he lay down disheartened on a heap of straw in an old hut. +While he was thinking over his troubles, he saw a spider trying to get +from one rafter to another. It failed many times, but at last +succeeded, and Bruce, taking courage at the insect's example, went on +fighting until he had secured his kingdom. + +Sir Isaac Newton had on his table a pile of papers upon which were +written calculations that had taken him twenty years to make. One +evening, he left the room for a few minutes, and when he came back he +found that his little dog "Diamond" had overturned a candle and set +fire to the precious papers, of which nothing was left but a heap of +ashes. It was then that he cried, "Oh, Diamond! Diamond! thou little +knowest what mischief thou hast done!" + +It is said that George Washington, when a boy, destroyed his father's +favorite cherry-tree, and, being asked about it, replied: "I cannot +tell a lie; I did it with my little hatchet." + +Oliver Cromwell, when dispersing Parliament, saw the Speaker's mace +upon the table, and, pointing to it, said, "Take away that bauble!" + +Just after Lord Nelson's great naval victory off Cape Trafalgar, as he +was dying from a wound received in the battle, he kept repeating the +words, "Thank Heaven, I have done my duty!" + +Prince William, son of Henry II. of England, was drowned on his way +home from France. The king was so affected by his loss that "he never +smiled again." + +[Fannie P. sends a complete and correct version. Willie H. Paul and +Bertha Paul straightened out all of the story except the part about +Lord Nelson. The versions sent by E.J. Smith, Charlie W. Jerome, Lulu +Way, and John N.L. Pierson, were correct, as far as they went, but they +explained only the parts that referred to King Alfred himself.] + + + * * * * * + + +Here is a little story sent to ST. NICHOLAS as a companion to "The +Story that Wouldn't be Told," in the November number: + + +THE STORY NOBODY KNEW. + +Once there was a little story that nobody knew, and nobody could tell +it, because nobody knew it, and yet this little story wanted dearly to +be told. It used to wait about where people were telling stories, and +when a story was ended and the merry laugh went round, it would say to +itself, "Now they will certainly tell me," but they never did. So at +last this little story got quite low-spirited and wandered off by +itself out of the house, and through the garden into the orchard, and +there in the orchard, under an apple-tree, there was a little girl +lying fast asleep among the buttercups and daisies. The little story +looked all around to see that no one else was there, and then it +cuddled down beside the sleeping child and whispered itself into her +ear. It was so exciting, so charming, that the little girl awoke, and +thought she had dreamed it all, and ran to tell her mother the +beautiful dream. When she saw her mother, she cried out, "Mother! +mother!" and was just about to tell the little story, when suddenly she +forgot it all, and now the little story can never be told, but it still +comes to good children in their dreams. + + + * * * * * + + +A little girl, eleven years old, sends these verses of her own +composition to the "Letter-Box": + + +VALENTINE. + + I am a little Cupid, + And I come to visit thee, + To tell you that I love you, + And to know if you love me. + + And if you'll be my little wife, + And come along with me, + I'll take you to a lovely place, + And pretty flowers you'll see. + + And when you have been there a day, + You'll be a little Cupid, + With no hard lesson-books to learn, + That are so dull and stupid. + + But, if you will not come and be + My pretty little wife, + You'll go straight back to school again, + With lessons all your life. + +K. UNIACKE. + + + * * * * * + + + Two Rivers, Wis. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am not quite ten years old, but I am one of + your oldest subscribers. We have every number from the very first. + I have a brother Fred, two years older than I. We have always lived + on the shores of Lake Michigan. + + During the summer months, the steamer comes in from Chicago every + morning. Fred and I like to get up early in the morning, and go + down to the beach, before breakfast, to see the steamer go out; + and, afterward, the morning train, for the station is near the + beach. It is lovely down there early in the morning; we dig wells, + sail boats, and wade out after the waves that chase us back again. + + We love the lake, and spend many happy hours down there. But + sometimes it's a very wicked lake. Three weeks ago it blew very + hard all night, and in the morning the waves were rolling up like + mountains, and near the harbor pier there lay a wreck. Although + they were so close to the town, and several other vessels were + lying at anchor near, no one had heard, or seen, or knew anything + about how it happened. It proved to be the "Magellan," of St. + Catherine's, Ont. Since then nine bodies have washed ashore, among + them the captain and his brother, the mate, both of them + fine-looking young men, and not like ordinary rough sailors. The + captain was a Knight Templar, and the Masons took charge of the + body and sent it home, and some ladies made a beautiful cross of + natural flowers, which they laid on his breast. But I will leave + this sad subject, and tell you how we appreciate ST. NICHOLAS. + + Last week we had a concert. There were several recitations from ST. + NICHOLAS, besides the "Mother Goose Operetta" in the January number + (1877). It was very pretty. There were fifteen children, all in + handsome peasant costumes. I was Marie. + + Last summer, when we came from the Centennial, in our Pullman car + were two boys just Fred's age; one was from San Francisco and one + from Chicago. Of course, the three were soon well acquainted, and + had lots of fun together. And what do you think? They soon found + out that each was a subscriber to ST. NICHOLAS! And how they + enjoyed talking over the stories together! "Fast Friends" seemed to + be the favorite; but I like "Eight Cousins" better.--Respectfully + yours, + + NETTIE CONINE. + + + * * * * * + + + Paulsboro, N.J., 1877. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I had pigeons at the Woodbury Fair both this + year and last, and took the first premiums for best display: + another little fellow, about my age, had four when I had six, and + had eight when I had nine; how many had I better take next year? + You are interested in this question, for the two dollars premium + helps pay for my ST. NICHOLAS, and I don't want to be without + _that_. I take the "Scattered Seeds," but like ST. NICHOLAS better. + Please stop sending my magazine to Wm. E. _Grant_. I am no relation + to General Grant, but am a Democrat, and for General McClellan. I + am nine years of age.--Your constant reader, + + WILLIE E. GAUNT. + +You have done so well already, Willie, that we think you can best +answer your own question; but we should take _all_ of our _best_ +pigeons. + + + * * * * * + + + New York. + + Will ST. NICHOLAS please tell "Sidonie" if the "trade dollar" is + made entirely of silver? + +It is not. There are 900 parts of pure silver and 100 parts of copper +in the "trade dollar." The copper alloy is added to make the coin hard, +so that it will wear well, as silver by itself would be too soft. + + + * * * * * + + + Chicago, Ill. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I, for one, think it is all nonsense about those + "that" sentences. Anybody can put more than eight "thats" in a + sentence; but if he, she, or it, can parse them, I would like to + have them do it. I don't believe it can be done. Let them parse the + sentence in the August number, for instance; and, if they can put + in twelve "thats" and then parse them, why, then, and not till + then, will I believe it. Please put this in the Letter-Box, and + oblige. + + C.P.S. + + + * * * * * + + + Louisville, Ky. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thank you very much for the many beautiful + designs which you have given for Christmas presents, and for the + pictures and silhouettes which you have published, from which we + have copied in _tableaux vivants_ and shadow pantomimes. We had + "The Modern and Mediæval Ballad of Mary Jane" (published in + January, 1877) in our church entertainment, and it "took" + immensely. "The Stalwart Benjamin" and "Lord Mortimer" were cut + from pasteboard, and fastened up by wires, and, of course, no one + knew that they were not people. The "Ballad" was read behind the + scenes.--Truly yours, + + KITTY B. WHIPPLE. + + + * * * * * + + + Boston. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Papa has bought me every number of the ST. + NICHOLAS you have ever published, and as I have seen several + letters asking you about different things, I thought I would ask + you about something I do not understand. If it is not really known + who wrote the plays "Titus Andronicus" and "Pericles, Prince of + Tyre," what circumstances lead people to think Shakspeare wrote + them? + + I have enjoyed you extremely, and as the Little Schoolma'am seems + always to answer such questions, I write to you hoping you will ask + her.--I am your fond admirer, + + ETHEL DAVIS. + +The Little Schoolma'am says it is not absolutely certain who wrote the +plays you name, but this is about the way the matter stands: + +The play "Titus Andronicus" is not now believed to have been originally +written by Shakspeare. It is considered too horrible and repulsive to +be his work. However, it may have been brought to him to be retouched +and made ready for the stage. Hence is it, perhaps, that some passages +of his are found in it. + +"Pericles," as well as "Timon of Athens," is believed to have been the +work of some other writer, afterward completed and partially altered by +Shakspeare. It is thought that most of the last three acts of +"Pericles" are Shakspeare's, though some of their prose scenes and all +the choruses are by another hand. + + + + +NEW PUBLICATIONS. + + +ALL AROUND A PALETTE is a delightful book for boys and girls, +especially for those who love good pictures and odd and sprightly +stories with something in them besides the fun and sparkle. Mr. J. +Wells Champney has put a picture or a sketch wherever there was a +chance, and Mrs. Lizzie W. Champney has made the stories very bright, +sweet and interesting. The book is published by Messrs. Lockwood, +Brooks & Co., Boston, and is one of the "Children's Art Series." + +Messrs. Porter & Coates, of Philadelphia, send us THE BOY TRADERS, by +Harry Castlemon, a brisk story of adventure on the sea, in the Sandwich +Islands and among the Boers. There are several striking pictures. + +A YORK AND A LANCASTER ROSE, by Anne Kearney, author of "Castle Daly," +"Oldbury," etc.; published by Macmillan & Co., New York. This book is +by an English author, and is a charming picture of family life, which +will interest girls of thirteen and fifteen years of age. The story is +of two girls, each named Rose, the one rich and the other poor; and +tells how they were brought together, and the influence they exercised +upon each other, and relates, in a very pleasant way, the various +adventures, sayings, and doings of their brothers and sisters. + +THE CUCKOO CLOCK, by Ennis Graham, author of "Carrots" and "Tell me a +Story"; published by Macmillan & Co. This volume is well illustrated by +Walter Crane. The cuckoo in an old clock makes friends with a lonely +little girl, and causes her to have a good time, and to see many +wonderful things. One of the prettiest parts of the story is the +account of the making of the clock in the German home of the little +girl's grandmother. + +SLICES OF MOTHER GOOSE, SERVED WITH SAUCE BY "CHAMP," is the title of a +set of large cards, admirably printed in black and red, and giving new +funny versions of Mother Goose rhymes, by Alice Parkman, illustrated +with capital pictures and silhouettes by Mr. Champney. Messrs. +Lockwood, Brooks & Co., of Boston, are the publishers. + +SIX SINNERS, by Campbell Wheaton, has to do chiefly with one of the six +dear little "sinners," Dora Maynard, whom girl readers will love right +off. It tells all about her school-days, her pranks and fun, her +troubles and how they were overcome, and tells it in a way so lively +and absorbing that you will want to read all of it at one sitting. The +book is clearly printed in large type, and is published by Messrs. +Putnam, New York. + + + + +THE RIDDLE-BOX + + +EASY DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC. + +The initials and finals, read downward, form the names of two kinds of +trees. + +1. The width of a vessel. 2. A mountain of Crete. 3. A Tom-boy. 4. An +inclosure. 5. To harbor. + +WILLIE PETTINOS. + + +SQUARE-WORD. + +1. A governor. 2. To join. 3. Flexible. 4. A girl's name. 5. Quick +dances. + +L. + + +NUMERICAL PUZZLE. + +I am a word of five letters, the sum of which is 512. + + My 1 × my 3 = 1/20 of my 5; + My 2 × my 4 = 1/5 of my 3; + My 5 ÷ my 1 = my 3 × 20. + +SEDGWICK. + + +HIDDEN ACROSTIC. + + At the top of a mountain, + Within a clear light; + In the midst of a fountain, + At edge of the night; + In field and in meadow, + In sunshine and shadow, + On land and on sea, + At the end of the earth, + Or in air, we may be. + + Now put us together, + And, if you guess right, + You'll discover a water-fall + Sparkling and bright. + +W.P.D. + + +EASY DECAPITATIONS. + +1. Behead a kind of sword, and leave a fluid for burning. 2. Behead a +sharp-pointed weapon, and leave a fruit. 3. Behead to touch, and leave +a kind of fish. 4. Behead a vehicle used in winter, and leave a shelf +5. Behead a kind of deer, and leave a game that boys play. 6. Behead an +ancient war implement, and leave a unit. 7. Behead animals of a common +kind, and leave a sort of grain. 8. Behead to pull, and leave sore. 9. +Behead the name of a vessel, and leave a narrow passage. + +WALTER A. + + +TRANSPOSITIONS. + +1. Change artful into a confusion. 2. Change a Persian king into a +mixture. 3. Change a cutter into listeners. 4. Change a cheat into +musicians. 5. Change repaired into healed. 6. Change a drink into a +class embracing many species. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +CHARADE. + +In war, and in council, my first oft appears. +My second is that which my first often wears. +Very strong is my last; 'tis a bark, not a bite; +That from which it is taken is solid, not light. +Three joined in one, if my whole you should find, +An island well known it would bring to your mind. + +M.D. + + +GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE. + +(Composed by Mary V. and Willie K., each aged thirteen.) + +An island west of British Columbia (1) went to the lightest city (2) in +the world to attend a ball. She there met a peak in Oregon (3) named as +follows: A city in Egypt (4), a city in Maine (5), and a city in +Australia (6), in whom she was much interested. + +Her dress was a valley among the Himalaya Mountains (7), and though +elegantly trimmed with a city in Belgium (8), it was, unfortunately, +two cities in France (9). As she felt a country in South America (10), +she wore around her shoulders a city in Scotland (11) shawl. Her +jewelry was exclusively a peak in Oregon (12). Her shoes were of a +country in Africa (13), and her handkerchief was perfumed with a city +in Prussia (14). + +Being a lake north of the United States (15) dancer, she had +distinguished partners, whose names were the capital of the United +States (16), the capital of Ohio (17), the capital of Wisconsin (18), +the capital of Alabama (19), the capital of Mississippi (20), and the +capital of North Carolina (21). + +Having boldly said that she was a country in Europe (22), she was +escorted by a city in Indiana (23) to a bay in South-west Africa (24), +where she freely partook of a river in Oregon (25), some islands in +the Pacific Ocean (26), a river in South Africa (27), a district in +France (28), and some islands in the Atlantic (29). After passing a +river of Maine evening (30), she bade a cape in Iceland (31) to her +hostess, and was escorted home by an island in Nova Scotia (32). + + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + +My 1 2 3 4 is undoubtedly possessed by every one of the whole race +of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (my whole), while my 5 6 7 8 ends a prayer. + +C.D. + + +ILLUSTRATED PUZZLE. + +[Illustration] + + Twelve things may be found in the picture above, + Not clearly perceived by the eye, + But with keen observation and witty conceit, + You will find them, I know, if you try. + + First point out (1) an animal (other than bear), + (2) A spectator, (3) a portion of corn, + (4) One part of a sentence, and (5) parts of a bird, + And (6) what may your fair head adorn. + + Now (7) part of a river, and (8) parts of a book, + And now, if you please, take the trouble + To pick out (9, 10) two letters, which, rightly combined, + In classical language mean "double." + + The remaining two things in the picture above, + To which I would call your attention, + Are (11) part of a carriage or part of a boy, + And (12) a sort of a stop or suspension. + +AUNT SUE. + + +CURTAILMENTS. + +1. Curtail a bur, and leave to plague; curtail again, and leave plants. +2. Curtail a celestial body, and leave to make smooth; again, and leave +a model. 3. Curtail a low, wet ground, and leave a planet; again, and +leave to injure; again, and leave a parent. 4. Curtail a jury-roll, and +leave a glass; again, and leave part of a gun-lock; again, and leave a +parent. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +COMPLETE DIAGONAL. + +Diagonals from left to right, downward: 1. Fifty. 2. A boy's nickname. +3. A title of respect. 4. To affirm. 5. Ardent. 6. A vale. 7. A rule of +action. 8. A river in Italy. 9. Phonetically, a measure. + +Horizontally: 1. Used by painters. 2. An Israelitish king. 3. A name +for beer. 4. More dim. 5. To reduce. + +N.T.M. + + +EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + +I am composed of twelve letters. My 2 11 3 is a fish. My 1 4 3 2 5 is a +girl's name. My 7 3 8 10 5 is an American politician. My 12 8 6 1 is +pretty for a child's wear. My 9 8 12 10 5 is a necessary domestic +utensil. My 4 8 6 2 is very pleasant. My whole is the title of a +popular book. + +D.C.R. + + +SQUARE-WORD. + +1. An emperor's title. 2. Nothing. 3. Weapons. 4. A flower. + +B. + + +ANAGRAM DOUBLE DIAMOND AND CONCEALED DOUBLE SQUARE. + +From the sentence "Seer eats a pear" form a double diamond, the center +of which will be a double word-square. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +PICTORIAL PROVERB PUZZLE. + +The answer is a well-known couplet. + +[Illustration] + + + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN JANUARY NUMBER. + + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC.--Initials, Russia; finals, Turkey; across, + + R--a----Y + U--nit--E + S--ac---K + S--uga--R + I--O----U + A--n----T + + +HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.--Diagonals, hones, sends; central, inner; horizontals, + + H A I L S + O N E + N + D E E + S O R E S + + +DECAPITATIONS.--Acorn, corn; brook, rook; drake, rake; flute, lute; +pearl, earl; plane, lane; wheel, heel; spine, pine; trout, rout; prune, +rune. + + +DIAGONAL PUZZLE.--Diagonal, January; horizontals, Jollity, sAdness, +kiNdles, ensUing, compAny, appeaRs, holidaY. + + +DOUBLE PUZZLE.--Central Syncopations: Rabid, raid; stair, stir; haste, +hate; steep, step; Tiber, tier; grain, grin; holes, hoes; tiles, ties. +The syncopated letters, B, A, S, E, B, A, L, L, form the answer to the +Cross-word Enigma. + + +GEOGRAPHICAL TRANSPOSITIONS.--I held, Delhi; panels, Naples; I turn, +Turin; pains, Spain; pure, Peru; erect, Crete; more, Rome. + + +OMNIBUS WORD.--Crate: + + I. Hour-Glass Puzzle.--Central, re-act: horizontals, caret, tea, a, + act, cater. + + II. Square-Word.--Ace, car, era. + +III. Prefix Puzzle.--At, cat; are, tare; art, cart; ear, tear. + + IV. Another Prefix Puzzle.--Ace, race, trace; ate, rate, crate. + + +ACCIDENTAL HIDINGS.--Esther, molEST HER; Theresa, THERE SAt; +Ada, A DAmsel; Nora, NO RAy; Ernesta, stERNEST Age. + + +PERSPECTIVE CROSS PUZZLE.--_Horizontals:_ 1, Grand; 2, plate; 3, ditch; +4, event; 5, prism; 6, eel; 7, great; 8, court; 9, terse. +_Perpendiculars:_ 10, Glove; 11, dread; 12, yet; 13, prove; 14, harem; +15, plant; 16, telegmatic; 17, preferment; 18, governable. _Diagonals:_ +19, dry; 20, hop; 21, met; 22, peg; 23, toe; 24, cot; 25, Eve. + + +EASY SQUARE-WORD.--Dial, inca, acid, lade. + + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA.--Forest all, forestall. + + +FRAME PUZZLE.--Stock-dove, broom-corn, anonymous, inodorous. + + +CHARADE.--Cat. + + +WORDS ENIGMATICALLY EXPRESSED.--Pot-a-toe, potato; Mo-lasses, molasses; +whisky; guinea-pig; false-hood, falsehood; toe-martyrs, tomatoes; +pike-rust, pie crust; captive-atin', captivating; barber-us, barbarous; +turn-pike; butter; IV, ivy. + + +PICTORIAL CHRISTMAS PUZZLE.--At Christmas play and make good cheer. + + + + +ANSWERS TO THE CHESS PUZZLE in the December number were received, +before December 18, from "Frederica," P. Hill, J.E.N. James T. White, +Laura Randolph, S.J.B., "Bessie and her Cousin," Alice Mason, and M.W. +Collet. + +ANSWERS TO THE MAGIC DOMINO-SQUARE PUZZLE in the December number were +received, before December 18, from Alice Louise, William Lewis +Lockwood, James Buckelew, Howard G. Myers, Jas. Forsyth, E.C. Rowse, +Bertie Pierson, Walter Sanger, Kenneth Hartley, Hattie Coons, Margaret +B. Dodge, Alice Downing, Anna A. Hays, Emma A. Gill, "Georgie," D.C. +Robertson, Willie T. Sheffield, Samuel Herbert Fisher, George D. +Mitchell, Carrie Welles, G.L., Emma Elliott, K.C.R., A.H., John +Hancock, Jr., Harry Hartshorn, Carrie Doane, Carrie Heller, Eddie F. +Worcester, H.S., Fred B. Appleget, "Three of Them" (?), C. Kittinger, +"Bessie and her Cousin," and P. Hill, whose criticism we find just. + +Helen L. Gilbert sends the solution of a puzzle in which 18 (not 16) is +the sum of the dots in each row of half-dominoes. + +ANSWERS TO OTHER PUZZLES in the December number were received, before +December 18, from Charles Lothrop, R.T. McKeever, Arthur C. Smith, Lulu +Way, James J. Ormsbee, Fannie Runnels, G.L., "Jennie," Bancel La Farge, +Nellie Kellogg, Allie Bertram, L. Giraud, Alice N. Bailey, Josephine +Seibert, "Frederica," P. Hill, B.P. Emery, "Bessie and her Cousin," +A.G. Cameron, "Lizzie and Anna," Fred S. Pickett, Gracie S. Cook, +Leonice Barnes, John Edward Hill, Carrie Heller, Bessie L. Barnes, +Helen E. Risteen, "Blotterer and Blunderer," T.W. Siddall, Alice Mason, +Fred M. Pease, Nessie E. Stevens, P. Hill, Katie E. Earl, M.W. Collet, +and A.H. White. + +ANSWERS TO THE "BLIND-CLERK'S PUZZLE," in Jack-in-the-Pulpit for +December, were received, before December 18, from K.C.R., H.B. +Hastings, and "Nat"; and answers to the TREE PUZZLE from Mary V. +Ridgway, "M.," Linda L. Bergen, H. Walton, H.B. Hastings, J.C. Hoadley, +Lewis K. Stubbs. + +Caroline I. Lockwood, of Tunbridge Wells, England, sends an answer to a +puzzle in a former number. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February +1878, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, *** + +***** This file should be named 15331-8.txt or 15331-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/3/3/15331/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Lynn Bornath and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February 1878 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 12, 2005 [EBook #15331] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Lynn Bornath and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div> + +<a name="image01" id="image01"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image01.jpg" +width="383" height="500" alt="AFTER THE SNOW-STORM." title="AFTER THE +SNOW-STORM." /> +<p class="caption">AFTER THE SNOW-STORM.</p> +</div> + +<br /> + +<h1>ST. NICHOLAS.</h1> + +<div class="vlouter"> +<div class="volumeline"> +<div class="volumeleft">VOL. V.</div> +<div class="volumeright">No. 4.</div> +<div class="center">FEBRUARY, 1878.</div> +<div class="spacer"><!-- empty for spacing purposes --></div> +</div> +</div> +<br /> + +<div class="center"> +<span class="small">[Copyright, 1878, by Scribner & Co.]</span> +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="toc"> +<br /><br /> + +<div>TABLE OF CONTENTS & ILLUSTRATIONS</div> + +<ul> + <li><a href="#image01">AFTER THE SNOW-STORM.</a> <i>(Illustration)</i></li> + <li><a href="#shepherdboy">THE SHEPHERD-BOY.</a> By Emily S. Oakey.</li> + <li><a href="#ravensangels">THE RAVENS AND THE ANGELS.</a> + (<i>A Story of the Middle Ages.</i>) By the Author of "Chronicles + of the Schönberg-Cotta Family." + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image03">"'LOOK AT ME,' THE OLD MAN SAID."</a></li> + <li><a href="#image04">"THEN THE EYES GREW DIM, THE HEAD SANK BACK."</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#teacountry">A TRIP TO THE TEA COUNTRY.</a> By William M. Tileston. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image05">BOY.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image06">THE BARBER.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image07">THE TEA HONG.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image08">SORTING THE TEA.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image09">HOEING AND WATERING THE PLANTS.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image10">DRYING THE TEA.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image11">ONE OF THE SING-SONG GIRLS.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#treasuretrove">TREASURE-TROVE.</a> By Olive A. Wadsworth.</li> + <li><a href="#underthelilacs">UNDER THE LILACS.</a> By Louisa M. Alcott. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image12">BEN TAKES THE STONE FROM LITA'S FOOT.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image13">MISS CELIA AND HER LITTLE FRIENDS.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#crumbs">CRUMBS FROM OLDER READING.</a> EMERSON. By Julia E. Sargent.</li> + <li><a href="#oldmannervouscow">THE OLD MAN AND THE NERVOUS COW.</a> By R.E. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image14">"I WILL SIT ON THE STILE, AND CONTINUE TO SMILE."</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image15">"THE POOR OLD MAN WAS UP IN THE AIR."</a></li> + <li><a href="#image16">THE OLD MAN TELLING STORIES TO THE EAGLETS.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#raidofcamanches">THE RAID OF THE CAMANCHES.</a> By the Author of "We Boys."</li> + <li><a href="#image17">"LITTLE BO-PEEP, SHE WENT TO SLEEP."</a> <i>(Illustration)</i></li> + <li><a href="#solimin">SOLIMIN: A SHIP OF THE DESERT.</a> By Susan Coolidge. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image18">"THEY SAW THE FORM OF A GIGANTIC CAMEL."</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#belindablonde">BELINDA BLONDE</a> By Laura E. Richards.</li> + <li><a href="#londondustman">THE LONDON DUST-MAN</a> By Alexander Wainwright. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image19">"DUST-OH!"</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#huckleberry">HUCKLEBERRY.</a> By Frank R. Stockton. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image20">"'DON'T YOU SEE?' ASKED THE OLD FELLOW."</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image21">THE BOY AND HIS GRANDMOTHER.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image22">THE FAIR LADY OF RENOWN.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#williamphips">HOW SIR WILLIAM PHIPS FOUND THE TREASURE IN THE SEA.</a> By S.G.W. Benjamin. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image23">CAPTAIN PHIPS THREATENS TO SAIL AWAY FROM THE MUTINEERS.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image24">CREW MEMBER.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#fishingbirdsflorida">SOME FISHING-BIRDS OF FLORIDA.</a> By Mrs. Mary Treat. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image25">THE BELTED KINGFISHER.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image26">THE BALD EAGLE.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#nanspeaceoffering">NAN'S PEACE-OFFERING.</a> By Kate W. Hamilton. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image27">"'SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS APIECE,' SAID THE OLD GENTLEMAN."</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#towermountain">THE TOWER-MOUNTAIN.</a> By Gustavus Frankenstein. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image28">"WE SAW HIM CLIMBING THROUGH A SQUARE OPENING OF LIGHT."</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#giftsforstnicholas">GIFTS FOR ST. NICHOLAS</a> By Emma E. Brewster.</li> + <li><a href="#marbles">SOME IN-DOOR GAMES AT MARBLES.</a> By L.D. Snook. + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image29">THE ARCHED-BOARD COUNT-GAME.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image30">THREE-ARCH DISCOUNT-GAME.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image31">THE TEN-BLOCK COUNT-GAME.</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image32">SWINGING-BLOCK COUNT-GAME.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image33">CIRCLE-GAME.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#tommysthreehorses">TOMMY'S THREE HORSES.</a> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustrations:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image34">"THE FIRST IS A PONY WITHOUT ANY HEAD."</a></li> + <li class="sub"><a href="#image35">"THE SECOND, YOU SEE, IS A STEADY OLD CHAIR."</a></li> + <li><a href="#image36">"AND HERE IS ANOTHER—THE THIRD ONE, OF COURSE."</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#chickensnottame">THE CHICKENS THAT WOULD NOT BE TAME.</a> + <ul class="sub"> + <li class="sub"><i>Illustration:</i> + <ul class="sub"> + <li><a href="#image37">OLD WOMAN AND HER CHICKENS.</a></li> + </ul> + </li> + </ul> + </li> + <li><a href="#jackinthepulpit">JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.</a></li> + <li><a href="#image39">ON THE ICE.</a> <i>(Illustration)</i></li> + <li><a href="#letterbox">THE LETTER-BOX.</a></li> + <li><a href="#newpublications">NEW PUBLICATIONS.</a></li> + <li><a href="#riddlebox">THE RIDDLE-BOX.</a></li> + <li><a href="#answers">ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN JANUARY NUMBER.</a></li> +</ul> + +</div> + +<div id="all"> +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="shepherdboy" id="shepherdboy">THE SHEPHERD-BOY.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY EMILY S. OAKEY.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Little Roy led his sheep down to pasture,</div> + <div class="in1">And his cows, by the side of the brook;</div> + <div>But his cows never drank any water,</div> + <div class="in1">And his sheep never needed a crook.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>For the pasture was gay as a garden,</div> + <div class="in1">And it glowed with a flowery red;</div> + <div>But the meadows had never a grass-blade,</div> + <div class="in1">And the brooklet—it slept in its bed;</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>And it lay without sparkle or murmur,</div> + <div class="in1">Nor reflected the blue of the skies.</div> + <div>But the music was made by the shepherd,</div> + <div class="in1">And the sparkle was all in his eyes.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Oh, he sang like a bird in the summer!</div> + <div class="in1">And, if sometimes you fancied a bleat,</div> + <div>That, too, was the voice of the shepherd,</div> + <div class="in1">And not of the lambs at his feet.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>And the glossy brown cows were so gentle</div> + <div class="in1">That they moved at the touch of his hand</div> + <div>O'er the wonderful rosy-red meadow,</div> + <div class="in1">And they stood at his word of command.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>So he led all his sheep to the pasture,</div> + <div class="in1">And his cows, by the side of the brook;</div> + <div>Though it rained, yet the rain never patter'd</div> + <div class="in1">O'er the beautiful way that they took.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>And it wasn't in Fairy-land either,</div> + <div class="in1">But a house in a commonplace town,</div> + <div>Where Roy as he looked from the window</div> + <div class="in1">Saw the silvery drops trickle down.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>For his pasture was only a table,</div> + <div class="in1">With its cover so flowery fair,</div> + <div>And his brooklet was just a green ribbon</div> + <div class="in1">That his sister had lost from her hair.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>And his cows they were glossy horse-chestnuts,</div> + <div class="in1">That had grown on his grandfather's tree;</div> + <div>And his sheep they were snowy-white pebbles</div> + <div class="in1">He had brought from the shore by the sea.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>And at length, when the shepherd was weary,</div> + <div class="in1">And had taken his milk and his bread,</div> + <div>And his mother had kissed him and tucked him,</div> + <div class="in1">And had bid him "good-night" in his bed,</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Then there enter'd his big brother Walter,</div> + <div class="in1">While the shepherd was soundly asleep,</div> + <div>And he cut up the cows into baskets,</div> + <div class="in1">And to jack-stones turned all of the sheep.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="ravensangels" id="ravensangels">THE RAVENS AND THE ANGELS.</a></h2> + +<div class="center">(<i>A Story of the Middle Ages.</i>)</div> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY THE AUTHOR OF<br /> "CHRONICLES OF THE +SCHÖNBERG-COTTA FAMILY."</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<h3>CHAPTER III.</h3> + +<div class="imgleft"> +<img src="images/image02.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p class="noindent">he next day, Gottlieb began his training among the +other choristers.</p> + +<p>It was not easy.</p> + +<p>The choir-master showed his appreciation of his raw treasure by +straining every nerve to make it as perfect as possible; and therefore +he found more fault with Gottlieb than with any one else.</p> + +<p>The other boys might, he could not but observe, sing carelessly +enough, so that the general harmony was pretty good; but every note of +his seemed as if it were a solo which the master's ear never missed, +and not the slightest mistake was allowed to pass.</p> + +<p>The other choristers understood very well what this meant, and some of +them were not a little jealous of the new favorite, as they called him. +But to little Gottlieb it seemed hard and strange. He was always +straining to do his very best, and yet he never seemed to satisfy. The +better he did, the better the master wanted him to do, until he grew +almost hopeless.</p> + +<p>He would not, for the world, complain to his mother; but on the +third evening she observed that he looked very sad and weary, and +seemed scarcely to have spirits to play with Lenichen.</p> + +<p>She knew it is of little use to ask little children what ails them, +because so often their trouble is that they do not know. Some little +delicate string within is jarred, and they know nothing of it, and +think the whole world is out of tune. So she quietly put Lenichen to +bed, and after the boy had said his prayers as usual at her knee, she +laid her hand on his head, and caressingly stroked his fair curls, and +then she lifted up his face to hers and kissed the little troubled brow +and quivering lips.</p> + +<p>"Dear little golden mouth!" she said, fondly, "that earns bread, and +sleep, for the little sister and for me! I heard the sweet notes +to-day, and I thanked God. And I felt as if the dear father was hearing +them too, even through the songs in heaven."</p> + +<p>The child's heart was opened, the quivering lips broke into a sob, +and the face was hidden on her knee.</p> + +<p>"It will not be for long, mother!" he said. "The master has found +fault with me more than ever to-day. He made me sing passage after +passage over and over, until some of the boys were quite angry, and +said, afterward, they wished I and my voice were with the old hermit +who houses us. Yet he never seemed pleased. He did not even say it was +any better."</p> + +<p>"But he never gave you up, darling!" she said.</p> + +<p>"No; he only told me to come early, alone, to-morrow, and he would +give me a lesson by myself, and perhaps I should learn better."</p> + +<p>A twinkle of joy danced in her eyes, dimmed with so many tears.</p> + +<p>"Silly child!" she said, fondly, "as silly as thy poor mother +herself! The master only takes trouble, and chastens and rebukes, +because he thinks it is worth while, because thou art trying and +learning, and art doing a little better day by day. He knows what thy +best can be, and will never be content with anything but thy very +best."</p> + +<p>"Is it that, mother? Is it indeed that?" said the boy, looking up +with a sudden dawning of hope.</p> + +<p>And a sweet dawn of promise met him in his mother's eyes as she +answered:</p> + +<p>"It is even that, my own, for thee and for me!"</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + +<p>With a glad heart, Gottlieb dressed the next morning before Lenichen +was awake, and was off to the choir-master for his lesson alone.</p> + +<p>The new hope had inspired him, and he sang that morning to the +content even of the master, as he knew, not by his praise, but by his +summoning Ursula from the kitchen to listen, unable to resist his +desire for the sympathy of a larger audience.</p> + +<p>Ursula was not exactly musical, nor was she demonstrative, but she +showed her satisfaction by appropriating her share of the success.</p> + +<p>"<i>I</i> knew what was wanting!" she said, significantly. "The +birds and the blessed angels may sing on crumbs or on the waters of +Paradise; but goose and pudding are a great help to the alleluias here +below."</p> + +<p>"The archduchess will be enraptured, and the Cistercians will be +furious!" said the choir-master, equally pleased at both prospects.</p> + +<p>But this Gottlieb did not hear, for he had availed himself of the +first free moment to run home and tell his mother how things had +improved.</p> + +<p>After that, Gottlieb had no more trouble about the master. The old +man's severity became comprehensible and dear to him, and a loving +liberty and confidence came into his bearing toward him, which went to +the heart of the childless old man, so that dearer than the praise of +the archduchess, or even the discomfiture of the Cistercians, became to +him the success and welfare of the child.</p> + +<p>But then, unknown to himself, the poor boy entered on a new chapter +of temptations.</p> + +<p>The other boys, observing the choir-master's love for him, grew +jealous, and called him sometimes "the master's little angel," and +sometimes "the little beggar of the hermitage" or "Dwarf Hans' +darling."</p> + +<p>He was too brave and manly a little fellow to tell his mother all +these little annoyances. He would not for the world have spoiled her +joy in her little "Chrysostom," her golden-mouthed laddie. But once +they followed him to her door, and she heard them herself. The rude +words smote her to the heart, but she only said:</p> + +<p>"Thou art not ashamed of the hermit's house, nor of being old Hans' +darling?"</p> + +<p>"I hope, never!" said the child, with a little hesitation. "God sent +him to us, and I love him. But it would be nice if dear Hans sometimes +washed his face!"</p> + +<p>Magdalis smiled, and hit on a plan for bringing this about. With +some difficulty she persuaded the old man to take his dinner every +Sunday and holiday with them, and she always set an ewer of +water—and a towel, relic of her old burgher life—by him, +before the meal.</p> + +<p>"We were a kind of Pharisees in our home," she said, "and except we +washed our hands, never ate bread."</p> + +<p>Hans growled a little, but he took the hint, for her sake and the +boy's, and gradually found the practice so pleasant on its own account, +that the washing of his hands and face became a daily process.</p> + +<p>On his patron saint's day (St. John, February 8), Mother Magdalis +went a step further, and presented him with a clean suit of clothes, +very humble but neat and sound, of her own making out of old hoards. +Not for holidays only, she said, but that he might change his clothes +every day, after work, as her Berthold used.</p> + +<p>"Dainty, burgher ways," Hans called them, but he submitted, and +Gottlieb was greatly comforted, and thought his old friend a long way +advanced in his transformation into an angel.</p> + +<p>So, between the sweetness of the boy's temper and of his dear +mother's love which folded him close, the bitter was turned into sweet +within him.</p> + +<p>But Ursula, who heard the mocking of the boys with indignation, was +not so wise in her consolations.</p> + +<p>"Wicked, envious little devils!" said she. "Never thou heed them, my +lamb! They would be glad enough, any of them, to be the master's angel, +or Dwarf Hans' darling, for that matter, if they could. It is nothing +but mean envy and spite, my little prince, my little wonder; never thou +heed them!"</p> + +<p>And then the enemy crept unperceived into the child's heart.</p> + +<p>Was he indeed a little prince and a wonder, on his platform of gifts +and goodness? And were all those naughty boys far below him, in another +sphere, hating him as the little devils in the mystery-plays seemed to +hate and torment the saints?</p> + +<p>Had the "raven" been sent to him, after all, as to the prophet of +old, not only because he was hungry and pitied by God, but because he +was good and a favorite of God?</p> + +<p>It seemed clear he was something quite out of the common. He seemed +the favorite of every one, except those few envious, wicked boys.</p> + +<p>The great ladies of the city entreated for him to come and sing at +their feasts; and all their guests stopped in the midst of their eager +talk to listen to him, and they gave him sweetmeats and praised him to +the skies, and they offered him wine from their silver flagons, and +when he refused it, as his mother bade him, they praised him more than +ever, and once the host himself, the burgomaster, emptied the silver +flagon of the wine he had refused, and told him to take it home to his +mother and tell her she had a child whose dutifulness was worth more +than all the silver in the city.</p> + +<p>But when he told his mother this, instead of looking delighted, as +he expected, she looked grave, and almost severe, and said:</p> + +<p>"You only did your duty, my boy. It would have been a sin and a +shame to do otherwise. And, of course, you would not for the world."</p> + +<p>"Certainly I would not, mother," he said.</p> + +<p>But he felt a little chilled. Did his mother think it was always so +easy for boys to do their duty? and that every one did it?</p> + +<p>Other people seemed to think it a very uncommon and noble thing to +do one's duty. And what, indeed, could the blessed saints do more?</p> + +<p>So the slow poison of praise crept into the boy's heart. And while +he thought his life was being filled with light, unknown to him the +shadows were deepening,—the one shadow which eclipses the sun, +the terrible shadow of self.</p> + +<p>For he could not but be conscious how, even in the cathedral, a +kind of hush and silence fell around when he began to sing.</p> + +<p>And instead of the blessed presence of God filling the holy place, +and his singing in it, as of old, like a happy little bird in the +sunshine, his own sweet voice seemed to fill the place, rising and +falling like a tide up and down the aisles, leaping to the vaulted +roof like a fountain of joy, and dropping into the hearts of the +multitude like dew from heaven.</p> + +<p>And as he went out, in his little white robe, with the choir, he +felt the eyes of the people on him, and he heard a murmur of praise, +and now and then words such as "That is little Gottlieb, the son of +the widow Magdalis. She may well be proud of him. He has the voice and +the face of an angel."</p> + +<p>And then, in contrast, outside in the street, from the other boys: +"See how puffed up the little prince is! He cannot look at any one +lower than the bishop or the burgomaster!"</p> + +<p>So, between the chorus of praise and the other chorus of mockery, it +was no wonder that poor Gottlieb felt like a being far removed from the +common herd. And, necessarily, any one of the flock of Christ who feels +that, cannot be happy, because if we are far away from the common +flock, we cannot be near the Good Shepherd, who always keeps close to +the feeblest, and seeks those that go astray.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>CHAPTER V.</h3> + +<p>It was not long before the watchful eye of the mother observed a +little change creeping over the boy—a little more impatience +with Lenichen, a little more variableness of temper, sometimes dancing +exultingly home as if he were scarcely treading the common earth, +sometimes returning with a depression which made the simple work and +pleasures of the home seem dull and wearisome.</p> + +<p>So it went on until the joyful Easter-tide was drawing near. On Palm +Sunday there was to be a procession of the children.</p> + +<p>As the mother was smoothing out the golden locks which fell like +sunbeams on the white vestments, she said: "It is a bright day for thee +and me, my son. I shall feel as if we were all in the dear old +Jerusalem itself, and my darling had gathered his palms on Olivet +itself, and the very eyes of the blessed Lord himself were on thee, and +His ears listening to thee crying out thy hosannas, and His dear voice +speaking of thee and through thee, 'Suffer the little children to come +unto me.'"</p> + +<p>But Gottlieb looked grave and rather troubled.</p> + +<p>"So few seem thinking just of His listening," he said, doubtfully. +"There are the choir-master and the dean and chapter, and the other +choristers, and the Cistercians, and the mothers of the other +choristers, who wish them to sing best."</p> + +<p>She took his hand. "So there were in that old Jerusalem," she said. +"The Pharisees, who wanted to stop the children's singing, and even the +dear Disciples, who often thought they might be troublesome to the +Master. But the little ones sang for Him, and He knew, and was pleased. +And that is all we have to think of now."</p> + +<p>He kissed her, and went away with a lightened brow.</p> + +<p>Many of the neighbors came in that afternoon to congratulate +Magdalis on her boy—his face, his voice, his gentle ways.</p> + +<p>"And then he sings with such feeling," said one. "One sees it is in +his heart."</p> + +<p>But in the evening Gottlieb came home very sad and desponding. For +some time he said nothing, and then, with a brave effort to restrain +his tears, he murmured:</p> + +<p>"Oh, mother! I am afraid it will soon be over. I heard one of the +priests say he thought they had a new chorister at the Cistercians +whose voice is as good as mine. So that the archduchess may not like +our choir best, after all."</p> + +<p>The mother said nothing for a moment, and then she said:</p> + +<p>"Whose praise and love will the boy at the Cistercian convent sing, +Gottlieb, if he has such a lovely voice?"</p> + +<p>"God's!—the dear Heavenly Father and the Savior!" he said, +reverently.</p> + +<p>"And you, my own? Will another little voice on earth prevent His +hearing you? Do the thousands of thousands always singing to Him above +prevent His hearing you? And what would the world do if the only voice +worth listening to were thine? It cannot be heard beyond one church, or +one street. And the good Lord has ten thousand churches, and cities +full of people who want to hear."</p> + +<p>"But thou, mother! Thou and Lenichen, and the bread!"</p> + +<p>"It was the raven that brought the bread," she said, smiling; "and +thou art not even a raven,—only a little child to pick up the +bread the raven brought."</p> + +<p>He sat silent a few minutes, and then the terrible cloud of self and +pride dropped off from his heart like a death-shroud, and he threw +himself into her arms.</p> + +<p>"Oh, mother, I see it all!" he said. "I am free again. I have only +to sing to the blessed Lord of all, quite sure He listens, to Him +alone, and to all else as just a little one of the all He loves."</p> + +<p>And after the evening meal, and a game with Lenichen, the boy crept +out to the cathedral to say his prayers in one of the little chapels, +and to thank God.</p> + +<p>He knelt in the Lady chapel before the image of the infant Christ on +the mother's knees.</p> + +<p>And as he knelt there, it came into his heart that all the next Week +was Passion week, "the still week," and would be silent; and the tears +filled his eyes to remember how little he had enjoyed singing that day.</p> + +<p>"How glad the little children of Jerusalem must have been," he +thought, "that they sang to Jesus when they could. I suppose they +never could again; for the next Friday He was dead. Oh, suppose He +never let me sing to Him again!"</p> + +<a name="image03" id="image03"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image03.jpg" width="400" height="291" +alt="'LOOK AT ME,' THE OLD MAN SAID." +title="'LOOK AT ME,' THE OLD MAN SAID." /> +<p class="caption">"'LOOK AT ME,' THE OLD MAN SAID."</p> +</div> + +<p>And tears and repressed sobs came fast at the thought, and he +murmured aloud, thinking no one was near:</p> + +<p>"Dear Savior, only let me sing once more here in church to you, and I +will think of no one but you; not of the boys who laugh at me, nor the +people who praise me, nor the Cistercians, nor the archduchess, nor +even the dear choir-master, but only of you, of you, and perhaps of +mother and Lenichen. I could not help that, and you would not mind it. +You and they love me so much more than any one, and I love you really +so much more than all besides. Only believe it, and try me once more."</p> + +<p>As he finished, in his earnestness, the child spoke quite loud, and +from a dark corner in the shadow of a pillar suddenly arose a very old +man in a black monk's robe, with snow-white hair, and drew close to +him, and laid his hand on his shoulder and said:</p> + +<p>"Fear not, my son. I have a message for thee."</p> + +<p>At first, Gottlieb was much frightened, and then, when he heard the +kind, tremulous old voice, and saw the lovely, tender smile on the +wrinkled, pallid old face, he thought God must really have sent him an +angel at last, though certainly not because he was good.</p> + +<p>"Look around on these lofty arches, and clustered columns, and the +long aisles, and the shrines of saints, and the carved wreaths of +flowers and fruits, and the glorious altar! Are these wonderful to +thee? Couldst thou have thought of them, or built them?"</p> + +<p>"I could as easily have made the stars, or the forests!" said the +child.</p> + +<p>"Then look at me," the old man said, with a gentle smile on his +venerable face, "a poor worn-out old man, whom no one knows. This +beautiful house was in my heart before a stone of it was reared. God +put it in my heart. I planned it all. I remember this place a heap of +poor cottages as small as thine, and now it is a glorious house of +God. And I was what they called the master-builder. Yet no man knows +me, or says, 'Look at him!' They look at the cathedral, God's house; +and that makes me glad in my inmost soul. I prayed that I might be +nothing, and all the glory be His; and He has granted my prayer. And I +am as little and as free in this house which I built as in His own +forests, or under His own stars; for it is His only, as they are His. +And I am nothing but His own little child, as thou art. And He has my +hand and thine in His, and will not let us go."</p> + +<p>The child looked up, nearly certain now that it must be an angel. To +have lived longer than the cathedral seemed like living when the +morning stars were made, and all the angels shouted for joy.</p> + +<p>"Then God will let me sing here next Easter!" he said, looking +confidingly in the old man's face.</p> + +<p>"Thou shalt sing, and I shall see, and I shall hear thee, but thou +wilt not hear or see me!" said the old man, taking both the dimpled +hands in one of his. "And the blessed Lord will listen, as to the +little children in Jerusalem of old. And we shall be His dear, happy +children for evermore."</p> + +<p>Gottlieb went home and told his mother. And they both agreed, that +if not an angel, the old man was as good as an angel, and was +certainly a messenger of God.</p> + +<p>To have been the master-builder of the cathedral of which it was +Magdalis's glory and pride that her husband had carved a few of the +stones!</p> + +<p>The master-builder of the cathedral, yet finding his joy and glory +in being a little child of God!</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>CHAPTER VI.</h3> + +<p>The "silent week" that followed was a solemn time to the mother and +the boy.</p> + +<p>Every day, whatever time could be spared from the practice with the +choir, and from helping in the little house and with his mother's +wood-carving, or from playing with Lenichen in the fields, Gottlieb +spent in the silent cathedral, draped as it was in funereal black for +the sacred life given up to God for man.</p> + +<p>"How glad," he thought again and again, "the little children of +Jerusalem must have been that they sang when they could to the blessed +Jesus! They little knew how soon the kind hands that blessed them would +be stretched on the cross, and the kind voice that would not let their +singing be stopped would be moaning 'I thirst.'"</p> + +<p>But he felt that he, Gottlieb, ought to have known; and if ever he +was allowed to sing his hosannas in the choir again, it would feel +like the face of the blessed Lord himself smiling on him, and His +voice saying, "Suffer this little one to come unto me. I have forgiven +him."</p> + +<p>He hoped also to see the master-builder again; but nevermore did the +slight, aged form appear in the sunshine of the stained windows, or in +the shadows of the arches he had planned.</p> + +<p>And so the still Passion week wore on.</p> + +<p>Until once more, the joy-bells pealed out on the blessed Easter +morning.</p> + +<p>The city was full of festivals. The rich were in their richest +holiday raiment, and few of the poor were so poor as not to have some +sign of festivity in their humble dress and on their frugal tables.</p> + +<p>Mother Magdalis was surprised by finding at her bedside a new dress +such as befitted a good burgher's daughter, sent secretly the night +before from Ursula by Hans and Gottlieb, with a pair of enchanting new +crimson shoes for little Lenichen, which all but over-balanced the +little maiden with the new sense of possessing something which must be +a wonder and a delight to all beholders.</p> + +<p>The archduke and the beautiful Italian archduchess had arrived the +night before, and were to go in stately procession to the cathedral. +And Gottlieb was to sing in the choir, and afterward, on the Monday, to +sing an Easter greeting for the archduchess at the banquet in the great +town-hall.</p> + +<p>The mother's heart trembled with some anxiety for the child.</p> + +<p>But the boy's was only trembling with the great longing to be +allowed to sing once more his hosannas to the blessed Savior, among the +children.</p> + +<p>It was given him.</p> + +<p>At first the eager voice trembled for joy, in the verse he had to +sing alone, and the choir-master's brows were knitted with anxiety. +But it cleared and steadied in a moment, and soared with a fullness and +freedom none had ever heard in it before, filling the arches of the +cathedral and the hearts of all.</p> + +<p>And the beautiful archduchess bent over to see the child, and her +soft, dark eyes were fixed on his face, as he sang, until they filled +with tears; and, afterward, she asked who the mother of that little +angel was.</p> + +<p>But the child's eyes were fixed on nothing earthly, and his heart +was listening for another voice—the voice all who listen for +shall surely hear.</p> + +<p>And it said in the heart of the child, that day: "Suffer the little +one to come unto me. Go in peace. Thy sins are forgiven."</p> + +<p>A happy, sacred evening they spent that Easter in the hermit's cell, +the mother and the two children, the boy singing his best for the +little nest, as before for the King of kings.</p> + +<p>Still, a little anxiety lingered in the mother's heart about the +pomp of the next day.</p> + +<p>But she need not have feared.</p> + +<p>When the archduchess had asked for the mother of the little +chorister with the heavenly voice, the choir-master had told her what +touched her much about the widowed Magdalis and her two children; and +old Ursula and the master between them contrived that Mother Magdalis +should be at the banquet, hidden behind the tapestry.</p> + +<p>And when Gottlieb came close to the great lady, robed in white, with +blue feathery wings, to represent a little angel, and sang her the +Easter greeting, she bent down and folded him in her arms, and kissed +him.</p> + +<p>And then once more she asked for his mother, and, to Gottlieb's +surprise and her own, the mother was led forward, and knelt before the +archduchess.</p> + +<p>Then the beautiful lady beamed on the mother and the child, and, +taking a chain and jewel from her neck, she clasped it round the boy's +neck, and said, in musical German with a foreign accent:</p> + +<p>"Remember, this is not so much a gift as a token and sign that I +will not forget thee and thy mother, and that I look to see thee and +hear thee again, and to be thy friend."</p> + +<p>And as she smiled on him, the whole banqueting-hall—indeed, +the whole world—seemed illuminated to the child.</p> + +<p>And he said to his mother as they went home:</p> + +<p>"Mother, surely God has sent us an angel at last. But, even for the +angels, we will never forget His dear ravens. Wont old Hans be glad?"</p> + +<p>And the mother was glad; for she knew that God who giveth grace to +the lowly had indeed blessed the lad, because all his gifts and honors +were transformed, as always in the lowly heart, not into pride, but +into love.</p> + +<p>But when the boy ran eagerly to find old Hans, to show him the jewel +and tell him of the princely promises, Hans was nowhere to be found; +not in the hermit's house, where he was to have met them and shared +their little festive meal, nor at his own stall, nor in the hut in +which he slept.</p> + +<p>Gottlieb's heart began to sink.</p> + +<p>Never had his dear old friend failed to share in any joy of theirs +before.</p> + +<p>At length, as he was lingering about the old man's little hut, +wondering, a sad, silent company came bearing slowly and tenderly a +heavy burden, which at last they laid on Hans' poor straw pallet.</p> + +<p>It was poor Hans himself, bruised and crushed and wounded in his +struggles to press through the crowd to see his darling, his poor +crooked limbs broken and unable to move any more.</p> + +<p>But the face was untouched, and when they had laid him on the couch, +and the languid eyes opened and rested on the beloved face of the child +bending over him bathed in tears, a light came over the poor rugged +features, and shone in the dark, hollow eyes, such as nothing on earth +can give—a wonderful light of great, unutterable love, as they +gazed into the eyes of the child, and then, looking upward, seemed to +open on a vision none else could see.</p> + +<p>"Jesus! Savior! I can do no more. Take care of him, thou thyself, +Jesus, Lord!"</p> + +<p>He said no more—no prayer for himself, only for the child.</p> + +<p>Then the eyes grew dim, the head sank back, and with one sigh he +breathed his soul away to God.</p> + +<p>And such an awe came over the boy that he ceased to weep.</p> + +<p>He could only follow the happy soul up to God, and say voicelessly +in his heart:</p> + +<p>"Dear Lord Jesus! I understand at last! The raven was the angel. And +Thou hast let me see him for one moment as he is, as he is now with +Thee, as he will be evermore!"</p> + +<a name="image04" id="image04"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image04.png" width="298" height="300" alt="" /> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="teacountry" id="teacountry">A TRIP TO THE TEA COUNTRY.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY WILLIAM M. TILESTON.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<a name="image05" id="image05"></a> +<div class="imgleft"> +<img src="images/image05.png" width="141" height="300" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p>I was leaning over the tea-room table on one of the lovely spring +mornings that we sometimes have in China. In front of me the large +window, like that in an artist's studio, admitted the north light upon +the long array of little porcelain teacups and saucers, and "musters," +or square, flat boxes of tea-samples. The last new "chop" had been +carefully tasted and the leaf inspected, and I was wondering whether +the price asked by the tea-man would show a profit over the latest +quotations from London and New York, when my speculations were +disturbed by the entrance of my friend Charley, followed by Akong, well +known as the most influential tea-broker in the Oopack province. +Charley and Akong were fast friends, and I saw by the twinkle in the +eyes of each that a premeditated plot of some kind was about being +exploded upon my unsuspecting self.</p> + +<p>But before going further, let me tell you who we all are, where we +are, and what we are doing.</p> + +<p>Of course I am aware that it is exceedingly impolite to put oneself +first, but in the present instance you must excuse it; for besides +being the oldest, I occupy the position of guide, philosopher and +friend to Charley, and my story would scarcely be intelligible or +complete if I did not begin with myself. Well, to begin: I am one of +those unfortunate individuals known in China as "cha-szes," or +tea-tasters; doomed for my sins, or the hope of one day getting rich, +to pass the time in smelling, tasting and buying teas for the great +mercantile house or "hong" of Young Hyson & Co. The place at which +you find me is Hankow, on the great Yang Tsze Kiang, or river, some six +hundred miles from its mouth. If you have a map of China, and will find +on it the Yang Tsze, by tracing with your finger—if your map is +at all correct—you will discover the cities of Chin Kiang, +Nanking, Nganking, Kiu Kiang, and finally, at the junction of the +river Han with the Yang Tsze, Wuchang. Hankow will probably not be on +your map, but on the north bank of the Yang Tsze, just at the point of +junction with the Han, is this important trading port, thrown open to +foreigners in 1861, after the signing of the treaty of Tein-Tsin.</p> + +<p>And now for Charley, whom I have kept talking pigeon-English to +Akong all this time. Charley was the son of an old friend, chaplain to +the British consulate at one of the coast ports; his mother dying, +Charley was to have been sent home to relatives in England, but I had +prevailed upon his father to let the boy, now between twelve and +fourteen years old, make me a visit before his final departure.</p> + +<p>And now for the conspiracy:</p> + +<p>"Chin-chin (how do you do), Akong?" said I.</p> + +<p>"What is it, Charley? Out with it, my boy; some mischief, I know." +Akong gave a chuckle and a muttered "hi-yah," and Charley proceeded to +explain.</p> + +<p>"Well Cha,"—the Chinamen called me Cha-tsze and the boy had +abbreviated it to Cha,—"Akong says that he has a boat going up +to the tea country to-morrow or next day, and wants me to go with him; +may I?"</p> + +<p>Charley knew that I could refuse him nothing, but the trip of +several hundred miles into a district rarely, if ever, visited by +foreigners, involved more of a risk than I cared to assume. Charley +seeing that I looked unusually solemn, turned to Akong for support.</p> + +<p>"What for you no go too, Cha-tsze? Just now my thinkee no got new +chop come inside two week; get back plenty time."</p> + +<p>Akong's pigeon-English perhaps requires explanation: You must know, +then, that the Chinese with whom all foreigners transact business, +instead of learning correct English have a lingo, or <i>patois</i>, of +their own, ascribed, but I think erroneously, to the carelessness of +their first English visitors, who addressed them in this manner, +thinking to make themselves more easily understood. The fact is, that +pigeon-English, besides having many Portuguese words mixed up with +it,—the Portuguese, you know, were established in China as early +as the seventeenth century,—is in many instances a literal +translation of Chinese into perverted English. In the present +instance, Akong suggested that as there would be no more tea down for +a fortnight, it would be well for me, too, to go. The proposition was +quite agreeable to me, and Charley scampered off to tell Ahim, the +cook, and Aho, my boy, to make the necessary preparations.</p> + +<p>The next morning, at an early hour, Akong's great mandarin, or +house-boat, was moored at the jetty, and the boys were packing away the +provisions and the charcoal for cooking, and long strings of copper +"cash" to be used in the purchase of eggs and chickens, and the mats of +rice that would form the principal article of "chow-chow" for the crew. +Everybody in China has a boy, and Charley had his; a regular young imp +of a fellow of about his own age. Aling was his name; Charley used to +call him Ting-a-ling, and would jabber horrible Chinese to him by the +hour. Aling jumped down the steps, two at a time, with Charley's +traveling bag; but Aho, more sedate and dignified, marched after him; +Charley and I joined Akong in the front of the boat, and with a chorus +of "chin-chins" from the coolies and house-servants left behind, and +the explosion of a pack of fire-crackers to propitiate the river +dragon, the boat was shoved from the jetty, the sail hoisted, and we +were soon slowly stemming the broad current of the Yang Tsze. On our +right was Hankow, with its million or more inhabitants, the hum of the +great city following us for miles; and the mouth of the Han, its +surface so covered with junks that their masts resembled a forest, and +only a narrow lane of water was left for the passage of boats. Just +beyond the Han was Han Yang, once a fine city, but now in ruins, one of +the results of the Tae-ping rebellion. Across the Yang Tsze, here a +mile wide, was Wuchang, the residence of the viceroy of the Hupeh +province. This place was supposed to be closed to foreigners, but +Charley and I had made many a secret visit, and had some rare sport +among the curiosity shops, with occasionally an adventure of a less +pleasing description, about which I should like to tell you if I had +time.</p> + +<p>Rapidly we passed the suburbs of these cities, and drawing over to the +south bank, as the wind was light, the crew were ordered ashore, and +stretching themselves along a tow-rope extending from the mast-head, +the boat was soon moving quite rapidly. And that reminds me that I have +not yet described our boat. These boats, used by the gentry in +transporting themselves about the country, are almost like Noah's ark +on a small scale—a boat with a house running almost the entire length +of the deck, with little latticed windows on the outside, and the +interior divided into rooms for eating and sleeping. The crew all lived +aft on the great overhanging stern, where the cooking was done, and +where the handle of the great "yuloe," or sculling oar, protruded. In +front of the cabin was a little piece of deck-room where Charley and I +had our camp-stools, and which gave us an excellent place from which to +observe everything going on ahead.</p> + +<p>The boat coolies were straining on the tow-rope a hundred yards ahead. +Frequently we passed some fisherman sitting in his little mat hut, with +his feet on the windlass that raised his great square net; but never +did we see them catch a fish, although on our return the same men were +working as assiduously as ever. The country presented the same compact +system of farming, the hills in many places being terraced to their +very summits, and planted with waving crops of wheat and millet, beans, +and vegetables of every description. Toward noon we passed the "Ta" and +"Lao Kin Shan" (great and little golden mountain), and by the time +Aling had announced "tiffin" (luncheon), we were abreast of Kin Kow, a +picturesque village in the neighborhood of which I generally found +some excellent shooting. After tiffin we again resumed our camp-stools. +I lighted a cigar, and Akong smoked his hubble-bubble, a small copy of +the nargileh of the Turks. The river was alive with junks, some going +in the same direction as ourselves, and others loaded with tea, +charcoal, vegetable tallow, oil of various kinds, and gypsum, brought, +most of them, from the far western province of Sze Chuen.</p> + +<p>There was but little variety in the journey until the following day, +when we approached the great bend in the Yang Tsze, and Akong told us +that, if so inclined, we could land from the boat, and by walking six +or eight miles across the country join the boat again, the bend +rendering it necessary for her to go around some thirty or forty miles. +This we gladly assented to, and taking my gun, in hopes of meeting with +some snipe in the paddy-fields, and with Aling and a coolie for +interpreters, we landed.</p> + +<p>Charley and I both experienced a rather queer sensation as we watched +the boat sail off, and found ourselves with no other white man within a +hundred or more miles. The country ahead was one immense rice-field, +divided by dykes or banks paved with stones and forming paths for +walking. At some distance we saw a large clump of bamboos with tall +elms beyond, indicating a village, called, as a coolie at work in a +ditch informed us, Fi-Loong. Soon we saw a broad creek with a handsome +stone bridge over it, and on the other side an unusually large house of +two stories, which turned out to belong to the Te-poy, or local +magistrate of the place. The old gentleman himself was sitting outside +of the house having his head shaved by the village barber. He politely +invited us to wait, and after the shaving was over regaled us with a +cup of tea,—rather weak, but refreshing,—and after chin-chin-ing we +resumed our journey.</p> + +<a name="image06" id="image06"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image06.png" width="345" height="400" +alt="THE BARBER" title="THE BARBER" /> +<p class="caption">THE BARBER.</p> +</div> + +<p>Can you see our party trudging along? Beyond the village were more +paddy-fields, from which occasionally a great white paddy-bird arose. I +shot one of them, to the great delight of our coolie, who pronounced it +No. 1 good chow-chow; but Charley and I were much more pleased at the +sight of several English snipe. Reaching an old lotus-pond, a shot +scared up these birds almost in myriads, and a good bunch of them +promised a very welcome addition to our dinner. Meanwhile we had been +following a creek, which we now needed to cross. But before long Aling +espied a man in the distance at work with a huge buffalo, and +exclaiming, "Hi-yah! belly good walkee now," rushed off in that +direction. He soon returned with the buffalo and his owner, and +indicated that we could cross on the back of the former. The huge, +ungainly beast threw up his head and snorted when he caught sight of +the "fanquis," or foreign devils, but a pull at the ring through his +nose soon brought him to subjection.</p> + +<p>"How much does he want, Aling, to carry us over?"</p> + +<p>"He say ten cash can do."</p> + +<p>As this sum (one cent) was not an unreasonable ferriage, we nodded; and +the buffalo being led into the water near the bank, I mounted first, +then came Charley with his arms around me, then Aling, who had climbed +up behind. When we were half-way over, Charley laughed so heartily at +the ridiculous figure we made that the buffalo gave another snort, and +threatened to roll us off, into the muddy water, but we landed safely, +and giving the man his ten cash, went on again. The rest of the walk +was without adventure, and we finally arrived at the river-bank just as +the boat was coming around the point below us.</p> + +<p>That evening we left the main river and tracked up a tributary stream +until we came to a broad canal, which Akong informed us led direct to +our destination.</p> + +<p>Turning out of our beds the next morning we found the boat moored to +the bank of the canal, opposite a long, rambling, one-storied building, +which proved to be the "hong" of the tea-merchant to whom the +neighboring plantations belonged. We were really in the tea country at +last. On every side of us, as far as the eye could reach, the +dark-green tea-plants were growing in their beds of reddish sandy soil. +Notwithstanding the cook's urgent appeals to wait until chow-chow was +ready, we jumped ashore and into the midst of a crowd of noisy coolies +moving in every direction, each with his load slung at the ends of a +bamboo across his shoulders, and singing a monotonous "Aho, Aho, Aho!" +which appears as necessary to the Chinese carrier as the "Yo heave ho!" +to the sailor. Long, narrow junks were lying at the bank, and being +rapidly loaded with the familiar tea-chests; crowds of men, women and +children were coming from the plantation, each with bags of the freshly +picked leaves, or with baskets on their heads in which the more +delicate kinds were carefully carried. We stepped into the building, +and there witnessed the entire operation of assorting, firing the teas, +and even the manufacturing of the chests. We would gladly have +remained, but Aho came up and informed us "that breakfast hab got +spoilem," so we deferred further investigation until after the meal.</p> + +<a name="image07" id="image07"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image07.jpg" width="400" height="293" +alt="THE TEA HONG" title="THE TEA HONG" /> +<p class="caption">THE TEA HONG.</p> +</div> + +<p>Akong joined us at breakfast, and partook of our curry and rice with +great gusto, for tea-brokers as a rule are by no means averse to +foreign chow-chow, and handle a knife and fork with almost as much ease +as they do the native chop-sticks. Charley plied us both with questions +regarding tea in general, and probably the following summary will +pretty well represent the result of his queries:</p> + +<p>The cultivation of the tea-plant is by no means confined to any one +district or spot, but is scattered about through the different +provinces, each producing its peculiar description known to the trade +by its distinctive name. We were now in the Hupeh or Oopack country, +and the tea we saw being gathered and prepared was the heavy-liquored +black-leafed description, known in England and to the trade as Congou. +This Congou forms the staple of the mixture known in that country under +the generic name of "black," and sometimes finds its way to us under +the guise of "English breakfast tea." From Foo-chow-foo, on the coast, +half-way between Shanghae and Hong Kong, is shipped another description +known as red-leaf Congou, the bulk of which goes to England also, +although we are gradually absorbing an increasing quantity. Kiu Kiang, +on the Yang Tsze, some one hundred and forty miles below Hankow, shares +with the latter port in the trade of the Hupeh country, and is, or was +until recently, the point of shipment for the fine green teas grown and +manufactured in the Moyune district, a very large proportion of which +is shipped to this country. First in importance as a point of shipment +is Foo-chow-foo, whence are exported, in addition to the red-leafed +Congous, or Boheas, the bulk of the Oolongs. Still further down the +coast is Amoy, from which point inferior descriptions of both kinds are +shipped, together with some scented teas; but the bulk of the latter, +known as Scented Capers, Orange Pekoe, etc., are exported from Canton +and Macao. These, together with a peculiar description of green, are +manufactured at these ports from leaf grown in the neighborhood. +Although no tea is grown near Shanghae, much of the Congou grown in the +Hupeh province is sent there for sale, and thence shipped to England. +The green teas from both the Moyune and Ping-Suey countries are also +shipped from Shanghae.</p> + +<a name="image08" id="image08"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image08.jpg" width="400" height="287" +alt="SORTING THE TEA." title="SORTING THE TEA." /> +<p class="caption">SORTING THE TEA.</p> +</div> + +<p>Breakfast over, we jumped ashore again, and, desiring to conduct our +sight-seeing systematically, started for the fields. First we walked to +the foot of a hill a little distance off, where some men in short +cotton trousers and jackets were laying out a new plantation. The +ground was accurately marked off, and in one place the little plants, +only an inch or two in height, were just showing above the ground. In +another, the seeds—little round balls they looked like—were being +planted in the rows. Passing another field, where some men were at work +with their hoes in true Chinese style, stopping every few moments to +smoke their pipes, we came at last to where the plants had attained +some size and the actual picking was going on. The plants themselves +were from two to six feet high, according to age, and from repeated +cuttings down had grown into dense masses of small twigs. Many of them +were covered with little white flowers, somewhat similar to the +jasmine, and seeds inclosed in a casing not unlike that of the +hazel-nut, but thinner and full of oil. Charley thought they looked +like little laurel bushes; to me, those that had been well picked were +not unlike huckleberry bushes, only the leaves were, of course, a much +darker green. The first picking, usually in April, is when the leaves +are very young and tender, commanding a much higher price than those +subsequently plucked. The second is a month later, when they have +attained maturity; and as unpropitious weather would be likely to ruin +them, great expedition is used in getting in the crop, the entire +population turning out to assist. A third, and even a fourth, follows; +but the quality rapidly deteriorates, and but a small proportion of +these last pickings is prepared for export.</p> + +<a name="image09" id="image09"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image09.jpg" width="400" height="282" +alt="HOEING AND WATERING THE PLANTS." +title="HOEING AND WATERING THE PLANTS." /> +<p class="caption">HOEING AND WATERING THE PLANTS.</p> +</div> + +<p>The plantations were filled with a merry crowd, composed principally of +women and children, all engaged in stripping the bushes as rapidly as +possible, yet with great care and dexterity, so as not to bruise the +leaves. They looked up from their work and screamed to each other in +their harsh guttural tones, casting glances of astonishment at the +barbarians. Following some of the coolies, who with filled bags were +trudging off to the curing-house, we saw the most interesting operation +of all. Here, at least thirty young girls were engaged in assorting the +leaves, picking out all the dead and yellow ones, and preparing them +for the hands of the rollers and firers. Our entrance excited quite a +commotion among the damsels, as we were probably the first barbarians +they had seen, and we had the reputation of living entirely on fat +babies. A word from Akong, who had joined us, reassured them, and in a +few minutes Charley was airing his little stock of Chinese, more, I +thought, to their amusement than their edification. Leaving this room +we went into another where the curing was in progress. On one side +extended a long furnace built of bricks, with large iron pans placed at +equal distances, and heated by charcoal fires below. Into these pans +leaves by the basketful were poured, stirred rapidly for a few minutes, +and then removed to large bamboo frames, where they were rolled and +kneaded until all the green juice was freed. They were then scattered +loosely in large, flat baskets, and placed in the sun to dry. +Subsequently, the leaves were again carried to the furnaces and exposed +to a gentle heat, until they curled and twisted themselves into the +shapes so familiar to you all. Some of the finer kinds often prepared +for exportation are rolled over by hand before being fired. The great +object appears to be to prevent the leaf from breaking; hence, in the +commoner kinds and those intended for home consumption, which do not +receive the same care, the leaves are found to be very much broken. In +fact, the preparation of this latter sort is very simple: a mere drying +in the sun, after which it presents a dry, broken appearance, like +autumn leaves.</p> + +<a name="image10" id="image10"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image10.jpg" width="400" height="284" +alt="DRYING THE TEA." title="DRYING THE TEA." /> +<p class="caption">DRYING THE TEA.</p> +</div> + +<p>Green tea, although grown in particular districts, receives its +peculiar color by being stirred with a mixture of gypsum and Prussian +blue during the firing, but is prepared in a more laborious manner, the +leaves being selected and divided to form the different kinds known as +Imperial, Gunpowder, Young Hyson, Hyson, Hyson Skin and Twankay. An +aggregation of these kinds, proportioned according to their value, +forms what is known as a "chop," whereas a chop of black tea comprises +all of one grade or quality. Chinamen wonder at the taste of "outside +barbarians" in preferring a tea colored green, but would provide them +with a leaf of yellow or blue if there was a market for it.</p> + +<p>The entire operation pertaining to the business appeared to be carried +on in the cluster of little buildings with court-yards between, but +almost under the same roof, and afforded occupation to an immense +number of persons. And yet the payments could not have been very +large; from six to ten cents per day being about the wages they +received. In one room men were engaged in making boxes; in another, +lining them with thin sheets of lead. Further on, the outsides of the +boxes were being pasted over with paper, on which was stamped the name +of the tea and the maker's business-title. Finally, they were being +filled, soldered up and carried off to the boats, not to be opened +again until they reached the shop of some London grocer.</p> + +<p>The principal object of our friend Akong's visit was to convoy with his +mandarin-boat a fleet of tea-junks to Hankow; so that but one day was +given us for our visit. The boats being nearly ready, it was arranged +that we should start on our return the following morning. The evening +was devoted to a dinner and "sing-song" given for our entertainment by +the tea-men. Aho asked if he should take our knives and forks, a +proposition which we indignantly rejected. As it was to be a Chinese +dinner, we determined to do it in Chinese style, chop-sticks and all. +Such a dinner! We were seated at little square tables holding four +persons each, the Chinamen all dressed in their official or state +costumes. First came little dishes of sweetmeats and then bowls of +bird's-nest soup, with the jelly-like substance floating about in it in +company with little pieces of chicken. This was very nice, although we +<i>did</i> all eat out of the same bowl, using little porcelain spoons. Then +came more sweetmeats, followed by dishes of <i>bêche de mer</i>, or +sea-slugs and fat pork; this we passed, but not until an over-polite +Chinaman took up a gristly piece of <i>something</i> with his chop-sticks, +and, after biting off a piece, passed the rest to Charley. The +chop-sticks we could not manage; the meat would slip out of them, and +had it not been for the soups, of which there were several, and the +rice, which we could <i>shovel</i> into our mouths, we should have had no +dinner. Tea was passed by the servants continually, as were little +bowls of "samshu"—a liquor distilled from rice. During the dinner, the +sing-song girls played on the native two-stringed fiddles, and sang in +falsetto voices a selection of music, which was undoubtedly very fine +if judged by the Chinese standard, but which we could not appreciate.</p> + +<a name="image11" id="image11"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image11.jpg" width="301" height="400" +alt="ONE OF THE SING-SONG GIRLS." +title="ONE OF THE SING-SONG GIRLS." /> +<p class="caption">ONE OF THE SING-SONG GIRLS.</p> +</div> + +<p>The noise soon became almost intolerable, and we slipped off to the +boat and sought our beds.</p> + +<p>When we awoke in the morning the whole fleet of tea-boats was under +way, and with a fair wind we ran rapidly down the creek and were once +more on the broad Yang Tsze. On the third day we reached Hankow safely, +and well pleased with our trip to the tea country.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="treasuretrove" id="treasuretrove">TREASURE-TROVE.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>A Diligent Biddy was scratching one day,</div> + <div>And pecking at morsels that came in her way,</div> + <div>When all of a sudden she widened her eyes,</div> + <div>And the feathers stood up on her head with surprise!</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>A strange-looking treasure Dame Biddy had found,</div> + <div>'Twixt a brick and a clam-shell it lay on the ground;</div> + <div>The hen with a peck turned it over and over,</div> + <div>But the longer she looked the less could discover.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>"Cluck, cluck!" said the hen, "as sure as I stand,</div> + <div>This never was grown upon solid dry land;</div> + <div>I'll take it along to Dame Duck and her daughter,</div> + <div>They're wise about things that come out of the water."</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>So she carried the thing in her beak to the brook,</div> + <div>And called to Dame Duck to come quickly and look,</div> + <div>And the dame and her child relinquished their pleasure,</div> + <div>And waddled ashore to examine the treasure.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>"Alack!" said the duck and "A-quack!" said the daughter,</div> + <div>"We've never seen objects like <i>this</i> in the water!</div> + <div>Suppose we submit it to old Mrs. Ewe?</div> + <div>She's wise about wool, and has seen the world, too!"</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>So the duck took it carefully up in her bill,</div> + <div>And the duckling and hen followed on to the mill,</div> + <div>Where the miller's fat sheep was placidly grazing,</div> + <div>And there they displayed this treasure amazing.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>"Ah, bah!" said the sheep, "what a queer-looking piece!</div> + <div>This never was parcel or part of a fleece!</div> + <div>Our flock would disown it!—but take it, I pray,</div> + <div>To Brindle, the cow, she's wise about hay!"</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>So the sheep and the duckling, the duck and the hen,</div> + <div>With the treasure set forth in procession again,</div> + <div>To where the cow stood,—in the shade, as she ought,—</div> + <div>A-chewing her cud and a-thinking her thought.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>"Bless my horns!" said the cow, "I really must say,</div> + <div>I've ne'er seen the like in straw or in hay!</div> + <div>Why don't you ask Dobbin, the farmer's gray mare?</div> + <div>She's traveled so much, and she's wise about hair."</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>So the hen and the ducks, the sheep and the cow,</div> + <div>Went seeking for Dobbin, just loosed from the plow;</div> + <div>They all talked at once, to make things explicit,</div> + <div>And finally showed her the cause of their visit.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>But Dobbin gave snorts of dislike and dismay;</div> + <div>"Why don't you," said she, "pass it on to old Tray?</div> + <div>He hunts for his food where the refuse is thrown,</div> + <div>And he's wise about cinders, and rubbish, and bone."</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>So Dobbin and Brindle, and fat Mrs. Ewe,</div> + <div>And the duckling and duck, and the Biddy-hen too,</div> + <div>All eager for knowledge, went down the wide road</div> + <div>To the kennel where Tray had his pleasant abode.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Now Tray was a dog with a gift for detecting,</div> + <div>He never would bark without briefly reflecting;</div> + <div>He snuffed at the treasure and turned it about,</div> + <div>And soon would have uttered his sentence, no doubt,—</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>But just then our Tommy ran up to the crowd.</div> + <div>"Where did you get those, sir?" he cried out aloud.</div> + <div>"They're my new Sunday gloves! They fell out of my hat!</div> + <div>I took them to school to show them to Matt!</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>"And, you see, Matt and I had some liquorice candy,</div> + <div>Our fingers were sticky, the gloves were just handy;</div> + <div>And then, when the teacher said, 'Tom, wash your slate,'</div> + <div>My sponge was all lost, and the class couldn't wait.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>"And 'cause I was hurrying, what do you think?</div> + <div>That bothersome ink-bottle slopped out the ink!</div> + <div>You can't expect gloves to look nobby and new</div> + <div>When they have to be used for a slate and ink too.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Now, that's reasons enough!" said poor Tommy, "I guess!"</div> + <div>And the company bowed a unanimous "Yes,"</div> + <div>And the horse, cow and sheep, duck, duckling and hen,</div> + <div>Complacently turned themselves homeward again.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="underthelilacs" id="underthelilacs">UNDER THE LILACS.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<h3>CHAPTER VII.</h3> + +<h4>NEW FRIENDS TROT IN.</h4> + +<p>Next day Ben ran off to his work with Quackenbos's "Elementary History +of the United States" in his pocket, and the Squire's cows had ample +time to breakfast on wayside grass before they were put into their +pasture. Even then the pleasant lesson was not ended, for Ben had an +errand to town, and all the way he read busily, tumbling over the hard +words, and leaving bits which he did not understand to be explained at +night by Bab.</p> + +<p>At "The First Settlements" he had to stop, for the school-house was +reached and the book must be returned. The maple-tree closet was easily +found, and a little surprise hidden under the flat stone; for Ben paid +two sticks of red and white candy for the privilege of taking books +from the new library.</p> + +<p>When recess came great was the rejoicing of the children over their +unexpected treat, for Mrs. Moss had few pennies to spare for sweets, +and, somehow, this candy tasted particularly nice, bought out of +grateful Ben's solitary dime. The little girls shared their goodies +with their favorite mates, but said nothing about the new arrangement, +fearing it would be spoilt if generally known. They told their mother, +however, and she gave them leave to lend their books and encourage Ben +to love learning all they could. She also proposed that they should +drop patch-work and help her make some blue shirts for Ben. Mrs. Barton +had given her the materials, and she thought it would be an excellent +lesson in needle-work as well as a useful gift to Ben—who, boy-like, +never troubled himself as to what he should wear when his one suit of +clothes gave out.</p> + +<p>Wednesday afternoon was the sewing time, so the two little B's worked +busily at a pair of shirt sleeves, sitting on their bench in the +door-way, while the rusty needles creaked in and out, and the childish +voices sung school-songs, with frequent stoppages for lively chatter.</p> + +<p>For a week, Ben worked away bravely, and never shirked nor complained, +although Pat put many a hard or disagreeable job upon him, and chores +grew more and more distasteful. His only comfort was the knowledge that +Mrs. Moss and the Squire were satisfied with him, his only pleasure the +lessons he learned while driving the cows, and recited in the evening +when the three children met under the lilacs to "play school."</p> + +<p>He had no thought of studying when he began, and hardly knew that he +was doing it as he pored over the different books he took from the +library. But the little girls tried him with all they possessed, and he +was mortified to find how ignorant he was. He never owned it in words, +but gladly accepted all the bits of knowledge they offered from their +small store; getting Betty to hear him spell "just for fun;" agreeing +to draw Bab all the bears and tigers she wanted if she would show him +how to do sums on the flags, and often beguiled his lonely labors by +trying to chant the multiplication table as they did. When Tuesday +night came round the Squire paid him a dollar, said he was "a likely +boy," and might stay another week if he chose. Ben thanked him and +thought he would, but the next morning, after he had put up the bars, +he remained sitting on the top rail to consider his prospects, for he +felt uncommonly reluctant to go back to the society of rough Pat. Like +most boys he hated work, unless it was of a sort which just suited him; +then he could toil like a beaver and never tire. His wandering life had +given him no habits of steady industry, and while he was an unusually +capable lad of his age, he dearly loved to loaf about and have a good +deal of variety and excitement in his life.</p> + +<p>Now he saw nothing before him but days of patient and very +uninteresting labor. He was heartily sick of weeding; even riding Duke +before the cultivator had lost its charms, and a great pile of wood lay +in the Squire's yard which he knew he would be set to piling up in the +shed. Strawberry-picking would soon follow the asparagus cultivation, +then haying, and so on all the long, bright summer, without any fun, +unless his father came for him.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, he was not obliged to stay a minute longer unless he +liked. With a comfortable suit of clothes, a dollar in his pocket, and +a row of dinner-baskets hanging in the school-house entry to supply him +with provisions if he didn't mind stealing them, what was easier than +to run away again? Tramping has its charms in fair weather, and Ben had +lived like a gypsy under canvas for years, so he feared nothing, and +began to look down the leafy road with a restless, wistful expression, +as the temptation grew stronger and stronger every minute.</p> + +<p>Sancho seemed to share the longing, for he kept running off a little +way and stopping to frisk and bark, then rushed back to sit watching +his master with those intelligent eyes of his, which seemed to say, +"Come on, Ben, let us scamper down this pleasant road and never stop +till we are tired." Swallows darted by, white clouds fled before the +balmy west wind, a squirrel ran along the wall, and all things seemed +to echo the boy's desire to leave toil behind and roam away as +care-free as they. One thing restrained him,—the thought of his +seeming ingratitude to good Mrs. Moss, and the disappointment of the +little girls at the loss of their two new play-fellows. While he paused +to think of this, something happened which kept him from doing what he +would have been sure to regret afterward.</p> + +<p>Horses had always been his best friends, and one came trotting up to +help him now, though he did not know how much he owed it till long +after. Just in the act of swinging himself over the bars to take a +short cut across the fields, the sound of approaching hoofs, +unaccompanied by the roll of wheels, caught his ear, and pausing, he +watched eagerly to see who was coming at such a pace.</p> + +<p>At the turn of the road, however, the quick trot stopped, and in a +moment a lady on a bay mare came pacing slowly into sight,—a young and +pretty lady, all in dark blue, with a bunch of dandelions like yellow +stars in her button-hole, and a silver-handled whip hanging from the +pommel of her saddle, evidently more for ornament than use. The +handsome mare limped a little and shook her head as if something +plagued her, while her mistress leaned down to see what was the matter, +saying, as if she expected an answer of some sort:</p> + +<p>"Now, Chevalita, if you have got a stone in your foot, I shall have to +get off and take it out. Why don't you look where you step and save me +all this trouble?"</p> + +<p>"I'll look for you, ma'am; I'd like to!" said an eager voice so +unexpectedly that both horse and rider started as a boy came down the +bank with a jump.</p> + +<a name="image12" id="image12"></a> +<div class="imgleft"> +<img class="border" src="images/image12.jpg" width="256" height="400" +alt="BEN TAKES THE STONE FROM LITA'S FOOT." +title="BEN TAKES THE STONE FROM LITA'S FOOT." /> +<p class="caption">BEN TAKES THE STONE FROM LITA'S FOOT.</p> +</div> + +<p>"I wish you would. You need not be afraid; Lita is as gentle as a +lamb," answered the young lady, smiling, as if amused by the boy's +earnestness.</p> + +<p>"She's a beauty, anyway," muttered Ben, lifting one foot after another +till he found the stone, and with some trouble got it out.</p> + +<p>"That was nicely done, and I'm much obliged. Can you tell me if that +cross-road leads to the Elms?" asked the lady, as she went slowly on +with Ben beside her.</p> + +<p>"No, ma'am; I'm new in these parts, and I only know where Squire Allen +and Mrs. Moss live."</p> + +<p>"I want to see both of them, so suppose you show me the way. I was here +long ago, and thought I should remember how to find the old house with +the elm avenue and the big gate, but I don't."</p> + +<p>"I know it; they call that place the Laylocks now, 'cause there's a +hedge of 'em all down the path and front wall. It's a real pretty +place; Bab and Betty play there, and so do I."</p> + +<p>Ben could not restrain a chuckle at the recollection of his first +appearance there, and as if his merriment or his words interested her, +the lady said, pleasantly: "Tell me all about it. Are Bab and Betty +your sisters?"</p> + +<p>Quite forgetting his intended tramp, Ben plunged into a copious history +of himself and new-made friends, led on by a kind look, an inquiring +word, and sympathetic smile, till he had told everything. At the +school-house corner he stopped and said, spreading his arms like a +sign-post:</p> + +<p>"That's the way to the Laylocks, and this is the way to the Squire's."</p> + +<p>"As I'm in a hurry to see the old house, I'll go this way first, if you +will be kind enough to give my love to Mrs. Allen, and tell the Squire +Miss Celia is coming to dine with him. I wont say good-by, because I +shall see you again."</p> + +<p>With a nod and a smile the young lady cantered away, and Ben hurried up +the hill to deliver his message, feeling as if something pleasant was +going to happen, so it would be wise to defer running away, for the +present at least.</p> + +<p>At one o'clock Miss Celia arrived, and Ben had the delight of helping +Pat stable pretty Chevalita; then, his own dinner hastily eaten, he +fell to work at the detested wood-pile with sudden energy, for, as he +worked, he could steal peeps into the dining-room, and see the curly +brown head between the two gray ones as the three sat round the table. +He could not help hearing a word now and then, as the windows were +open, and these bits of conversation filled him with curiosity, for the +names "Thorny," "Celia," and "George" were often repeated, and an +occasional merry laugh from the young lady sounded like music in that +usually quiet place.</p> + +<p>When dinner was over, Ben's industrious fit left him, and he leisurely +trundled his barrow to and fro till the guest departed. There was no +chance for him to help now, since Pat, anxious to get whatever trifle +might be offered for his services, was quite devoted in his attentions +to the mare and her mistress till she was mounted and off. But Miss +Celia did not forget her little guide, and spying a wistful face +behind the wood-pile, paused at the gate and beckoned with that winning +smile of hers. If ten Pats had stood scowling in the way Ben would have +defied them all, and vaulting over the fence he ran up with a shining +face, hoping she wanted some last favor of him. Leaning down, Miss +Celia slipped a new quarter into his hand, saying:</p> + +<p>"Lita wants me to give you this for taking the stone out of her foot."</p> + +<p>"Thanky, ma'am; I liked to do it, for I hate to see 'em limp, +'specially such a pretty one as she is," answered Ben, stroking the +glossy neck with a loving touch.</p> + +<p>"The Squire says you know a good deal about horses, so I suppose you +understand the Houyhnhnm language? I'm learning it, and it is very +nice," laughed Miss Celia, as Chevalita gave a little whinny and +snuggled her nose into Ben's pocket.</p> + +<p>"No, miss, I never went to school."</p> + +<p>"That is not taught there. I'll bring you a book all about it when I +come back. Mr. Gulliver went to the horse-country and heard the dear +things speak their own tongue."</p> + +<p>"My father has been on the prairies where there's lots of wild ones, +but he didn't hear 'em speak. I know what they want without talkin'," +answered Ben, suspecting a joke, but not exactly seeing what it was.</p> + +<p>"I don't doubt it, but I wont forget the book. Good-by, my lad, we +shall soon meet again," and away went Miss Celia as if she was in a +hurry to get back.</p> + +<p>"If she only had a red habit and a streamin' white feather, she'd look +as fine as Melia used to. She <i>is</i> 'most as kind and rides 'most as +well. Wonder where she's goin' to. Hope she <i>will</i> come soon," thought +Ben, watching till the last flutter of the blue habit vanished round +the corner, and then he went back to his work with his head full of the +promised book, pausing now and then to chink the two silver halves and +the new quarter together in his pocket, wondering what he should buy +with this vast sum.</p> + +<p>Bab and Betty meantime had had a most exciting day, for when they went +home at noon they found the pretty lady there, and she had talked to +them like an old friend, given them a ride on the little horse, and +kissed them both good-by when they went back to school. In the +afternoon the lady was gone, the old house all open, and their mother +sweeping, dusting, airing in great spirits. So they had a splendid +frolic tumbling on feather beds, beating bits of carpet, opening +closets, and racing from garret to cellar like a pair of distracted +kittens.</p> + +<p>Here Ben found them, and was at once overwhelmed with a burst of news +which excited him as much as it did them. Miss Celia owned the house, +was coming to live there, and things were to be made ready as soon as +possible. All thought the prospect a charming one; Mrs. Moss because +life had been dull for her during the year she had taken charge of the +old house; the little girls had heard rumors of various pets who were +coming, and Ben, learning that a boy and a donkey were among them, +resolved that nothing but the arrival of his father should tear him +from this now deeply interesting spot.</p> + +<p>"I'm in <i>such</i> a hurry to see the peacocks and hear them scream. She +said they did, and that we'd laugh when old Jack brayed," cried Bab, +hopping about on one foot to work off her impatience.</p> + +<p>"Is a <i>faytun</i> a kind of a bird? I heard her say she could keep it in +the coach-house," asked Betty, inquiringly.</p> + +<p>"It's a little carriage," and Ben rolled in the grass, much tickled at +poor Betty's ignorance.</p> + +<p>"Of course it is. I looked it out in the dic., and you mustn't call it +a <i>payton</i> though it <i>is</i> spelt with a p," added Bab, who liked to lay +down the law on all occasions, and did not mention that she had looked +vainly among the f's till a school-mate set her right.</p> + +<p>"You can't tell <i>me</i> much about carriages. But what I want to know is +where Lita will stay?" said Ben.</p> + +<p>"Oh, she's to be up at the Squire's, till things are fixed, and you are +to bring her down. Squire came and told Ma all about it, and said you +were a boy to be trusted, for he had tried you."</p> + +<p>Ben made no answer, but secretly thanked his stars that he had not +proved himself untrustworthy by running away, and so missing all this +fun.</p> + +<p>"Wont it be fine to have the house open all the time? We can run over +and see the pictures and books whenever we like. I know we can, Miss +Celia is so kind," began Betty, who cared for these things more than +for screaming peacocks and comical donkeys.</p> + +<p>"Not unless you are invited," answered their mother, locking the front +door behind her. "You'd better begin to pick up your duds right away, +for she wont want them cluttering round her front yard. If you are not +too tired, Ben, you might rake round a little while I shut the blinds. +I want things to look nice and tidy."</p> + +<p>Two little groans went up from two afflicted little girls as they +looked about them at the shady bower, the dear porch, and the winding +walks where they loved to run "till their hair whistled in the wind," +as the fairy-books say.</p> + +<p>"Whatever shall we do! Our attic is so hot and the shed so small, and +the yard always full of hens or clothes. We shall have to pack all our +things away and never play any more," said Bab, tragically.</p> + +<p>"May be Ben could build us a little house in the orchard," proposed +Betty, who firmly believed that Ben could do anything.</p> + +<p>"He wont have any time. Boys don't care for baby-houses," returned Bab, +collecting her homeless goods and chattels with a dismal face.</p> + +<p>"We sha'n't want these much when all the new things come; see if we +do," said cheerful little Betty, who always found out a silver lining +to every cloud.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<h3>CHAPTER VIII.</h3> + +<h4>MISS CELIA'S MAN.</h4> + +<p>Ben was not too tired, and the clearing-up began that very night. None +too soon, for, in a day or two, things arrived, to the great delight of +the children, who considered moving a most interesting play. First came +the phaeton, which Ben spent all his leisure moments in admiring, +wondering with secret envy what happy boy would ride in the little seat +up behind, and beguiling his tasks by planning how, when he got rich, +he would pass his time driving about in just such an equipage, and +inviting all the boys he met to have a ride.</p> + +<p>Then a load of furniture came creaking in at the lodge gate, and the +girls had raptures over a cottage piano, several small chairs, and a +little low table, which they pronounced just the thing for them to play +at. The live stock appeared next, creating a great stir in the +neighborhood, for peacocks were rare birds there; the donkey's bray +startled the cattle and convulsed the people with laughter; the rabbits +were continually getting out to burrow in the newly made garden; and +Chevalita scandalized old Duke by dancing about the stable which he had +inhabited for years in stately solitude.</p> + +<p>Last, but by no means least, Miss Celia, her young brother and two +maids, arrived one evening so late that only Mrs. Moss went over to +help them settle. The children were much disappointed, but were +appeased by a promise that they should all go to pay their respects in +the morning.</p> + +<p>They were up so early, and were so impatient to be off, that Mrs. Moss +let them go with the warning that they would find only the servants +astir. She was mistaken, however, for as the procession approached, a +voice from the porch called out: "Good morning, little neighbors!" so +unexpectedly, that Bab nearly spilt the new milk she carried, Betty +gave such a start that the fresh-laid eggs quite skipped in the dish, +and Ben's face broke into a broad grin over the armful of clover which +he brought for the bunnies, as he bobbed his head, saying, briskly:</p> + +<p>"She's all right, miss; Lita is, and I can bring her over any minute +you say."</p> + +<p>"I shall want her at four o'clock. Thorny will be too tired to drive, +but I must hear from the post-office, rain or shine;" and Miss Celia's +pretty color brightened as she spoke, either from some happy thought or +because she was bashful, for the honest young faces before her plainly +showed their admiration of the white-gowned lady under the +honeysuckles.</p> + +<p>The appearance of Miranda, the maid, reminded the children of their +errand, and having delivered their offerings, they were about to retire +in some confusion, when Miss Celia said pleasantly:</p> + +<p>"I want to thank you for helping put things in such nice order. I see +signs of busy hands and feet both inside the house and all about the +grounds, and I am very much obliged."</p> + +<p>"I raked the beds," said Ben, proudly eying the neat ovals and circles.</p> + +<p>"I swept all the paths," added Bab, with a reproachful glance at +several green sprigs fallen from the load of clover on the smooth walk.</p> + +<p>"I cleared up the porch," and Betty's clean pinafore rose and fell with +a long sigh, as she surveyed the late summer residence of her exiled +family.</p> + +<p>Miss Celia guessed the meaning of that sigh, and made haste to turn it +into a smile by asking, anxiously:</p> + +<p>"What <i>has</i> become of the playthings? I don't see them anywhere."</p> + +<p>"Ma said you wouldn't want our duds round, so we took them all home," +answered Betty, with a wistful face.</p> + +<p>"But I do want them round. I like dolls and toys almost as much as +ever, and quite miss the little "duds" from porch and path. Suppose you +come to tea with me to-night and bring some of them back? I should be +very sorry to rob you of your pleasant play-place."</p> + +<p>"Oh yes'm, we'd love to come! and we'll bring our best things."</p> + +<p>"Ma always lets us have our shiny pitchers and the china poodle when we +go visiting or have company at home," said Bab and Betty, both speaking +at once.</p> + +<p>"Bring what you like and I'll hunt up my toys too. Ben is to come also, +and <i>his</i> poodle is especially invited," added Miss Celia as Sancho +came and begged before her, feeling that some agreeable project was +under discussion.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, miss. I told them you'd be willing they should come +sometimes. They like this place ever so much, and so do I," said Ben, +feeling that few spots combined so many advantages in the way of +climbable trees, arched gates, half-a-dozen gables, and other charms +suited to the taste of an aspiring youth who had been a flying Cupid at +the age of seven.</p> + +<p>"So do I," echoed Miss Celia, heartily. "Ten years ago I came here a +little girl, and made lilac chains under these very bushes, and picked +chick-weed over there for my bird, and rode Thorny in his baby-wagon up +and down these paths. Grandpa lived here then and we had fine times; +but now they are all gone except us two."</p> + +<p>"We haven't got any father either," said Bab, for something in Miss +Celia's face made her feel as if a cloud had come over the sun.</p> + +<p>"<i>I</i> have a first-rate father, if I only knew where he'd gone to," said +Ben, looking down the path as eagerly as if some one waited for him +behind the locked gate.</p> + +<p>"You are a rich boy, and you are happy little girls to have so good a +mother; I've found that out already," and the sun shone again as the +young lady nodded to the neat, rosy children before her.</p> + +<p>"You may have a piece of her if you want to, 'cause you haven't got any +of your own," said Betty, with a pitiful look which made her blue eyes +as sweet as two wet violets.</p> + +<p>"So I will! and you shall be my little sisters. I never had any, and +I'd love to try how it seems," and Miss Celia took both the chubby +hands in hers, feeling ready to love every one this first bright +morning in the new home which she hoped to make a very happy one.</p> + +<p>Bab gave a satisfied nod, and fell to examining the rings upon the +white hand that held her own. But Betty put her arms about the new +friend's neck, and kissed her so softly that the hungry feeling in Miss +Celia's heart felt better directly, for this was the food it wanted, +and Thorny had not learned yet to return one half of the affection he +received. Holding the child close, she played with the yellow braids +while she told them about the little German girls in their funny +black-silk caps, short-waisted gowns and wooden shoes, whom she used to +see watering long webs of linen bleaching on the grass, watching great +flocks of geese, or driving pigs to market, knitting or spinning as +they went.</p> + +<a name="image13" id="image13"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image13.jpg" width="399" height="316" +alt="MISS CELIA AND HER LITTLE FRIENDS." +title="MISS CELIA AND HER LITTLE FRIENDS." /> +<p class="caption">MISS CELIA AND HER LITTLE FRIENDS.</p> +</div> + +<p>Presently, "Randa," as she called her stout maid, came to tell her that +"Master Thorny couldn't wait another minute," and she went in to +breakfast with a good appetite, while the children raced home to bounce +in upon Mrs. Moss, talking all at once like little lunatics.</p> + +<p>"The phaeton at four,—so sweet in a beautiful white gown,—going to +tea, and Sancho and all the baby things invited. Can't we wear our +Sunday frocks? A splendid new net for Lita. And she likes dolls. Goody, +goody, wont it be fun!"</p> + +<p>With much difficulty their mother got a clear account of the +approaching festivity out of the eager mouths, and with still more +difficulty got breakfast into them, for the children had few pleasures, +and this brilliant prospect rather turned their heads.</p> + +<p>Bab and Betty thought the day would never end, and cheered the long +hours by expatiating on the pleasures in store for them, till their +playmates were much afflicted because they were not going also. At +noon their mother kept them from running over to the old house lest +they should be in the way, so they consoled themselves by going to the +syringa bush at the corner and sniffing the savory odors which came +from the kitchen, where Katy, the cook, was evidently making nice +things for tea.</p> + +<p>Ben worked as if for a wager till four, then stood over Pat while he +curried Lita till her coat shone like satin, then drove her gently down +to the coach-house, where he had the satisfaction of harnessing her +"all his own self."</p> + +<p>"Shall I go round to the great gate and wait for you there, miss?" he +asked, when all was ready, looking up at the porch where the young lady +stood watching him as she put on her gloves.</p> + +<p>"No, Ben, the great gate is not to be opened till next October. I shall +go in and out by the lodge, and leave the avenue to grass and +dandelions, meantime," answered Miss Celia, as she stepped in and took +the reins, with a sudden smile.</p> + +<p>But she did not start even when Ben had shaken out the new duster and +laid it neatly over her knees.</p> + +<p>"Isn't it all right now?" asked the boy, anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Not quite; I need one thing more. Can't you guess what it is?"—and +Miss Celia watched his anxious face as his eyes wandered from the tips +of Lita's ears to the hind-wheel of the phaeton, trying to discover +what had been omitted.</p> + +<p>"No, miss, I don't see—" he began, much mortified to think he had +forgotten anything.</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't a little groom up behind improve the appearance of my +turnout?" she said, with a look which left no doubt in his mind that +<i>he</i> was to be the happy boy to occupy that proud perch.</p> + +<p>He grew red with pleasure, but stammered, as he hesitated, looking down +at his bare feet and blue shirt:</p> + +<p>"I aint fit, miss, and I haven't got any other clothes."</p> + +<p>Miss Celia only smiled again more kindly than before, and answered, in +a tone which he understood better than her words:</p> + +<p>"A great man said his coat-of-arms was a pair of shirt sleeves, and a +sweet poet sung about a barefooted boy, so I need not be too proud to +ride with one. Up with you, Ben, my man, and let us be off, or we shall +be late for our party."</p> + +<p>With one bound the new groom was in his place, sitting very erect, with +his legs stiff, arms folded, and nose in the air, as he had seen real +grooms sit behind their masters in fine dog-carts or carriages. Mrs. +Moss nodded as they drove past the lodge, and Ben touched his torn +hat-brim in the most dignified manner, though he could not suppress a +broad grin of delight, which deepened into a chuckle when Lita went +off at a brisk trot along the smooth road toward town.</p> + +<p>It takes so little to make a child happy, it is a pity grown people do +not oftener remember it and scatter little bits of pleasure before the +small people, as they throw crumbs to the hungry sparrows. Miss Celia +knew the boy was pleased, but he had no words in which to express his +gratitude for the great contentment she had given him. He could only +beam at all he met, smile when the floating ends of the gray veil blew +against his face, and long in his heart to give the new friend a boyish +hug as he used to do his dear Melia when she was very good to him.</p> + +<p>School was just out as they passed, and it was a spectacle, I assure +you, to see the boys and girls stare at Ben up aloft in such state; +also to see the superb indifference with which that young man regarded +the vulgar herd who went afoot. He could not resist an affable nod to +Bab and Betty, for they stood under the maple-tree, and the memory of +their circulating library made him forget his dignity in his gratitude.</p> + +<p>"We will take them next time, but now I want to talk to you," began +Miss Celia, as Lita climbed the hill. "My brother has been ill, and I +have brought him here to get well. I want to do all sorts of things to +amuse him, and I think you can help me in many ways. Would you like to +work for me instead of the Squire?"</p> + +<p>"I guess I would!" ejaculated Ben, so heartily that no further +assurances were needed, and Miss Celia went on, well pleased:</p> + +<p>"You see, poor Thorny is weak and fretful, and does not like to exert +himself, though he ought to be out a great deal, and kept from thinking +of his little troubles. He cannot walk much yet, so I have a wheeled +chair to push him in, and the paths are so hard it will be easy to roll +him around. That will be one thing you can do. Another is to take care +of his pets till he is able to do it himself. Then you can tell him +your adventures, and talk to him as only a boy can talk to a boy. That +will amuse him when I want to write or go out; but I never leave him +long, and hope he will soon be running about as well as the rest of us. +How does that sort of work look to you?"</p> + +<p>"First-rate! I'll take real good care of the little fellow, and do +everything I know to please him, and so will Sanch. He's fond of +children," answered Ben, heartily, for the new place looked very +inviting to him.</p> + +<p>Miss Celia laughed, and rather damped his ardor by her next words:</p> + +<p>"I don't know what Thorny <i>would</i> say to hear you call him 'little.' He +is fourteen, and appears to get taller and taller every day. He seems +like a child to <i>me</i>, because I am nearly ten years older than he is; +but you needn't be afraid of his long legs and big eyes,—he is too +feeble to do any harm,—only you mustn't mind if he orders you about."</p> + +<p>"I'm used to that. I don't mind it if he wont call me a 'spalpeen,' and +fire things at me," said Ben, thinking of his late trials with Pat.</p> + +<p>"I can promise that, and I am sure Thorny will like you, for I told him +your story, and he is anxious to see 'the circus boy,' as he called +you. Squire Allen says I may trust you, and I am glad to do so, for it +saves me much trouble to find what I want all ready for me. You shall +be well fed and clothed, kindly treated and honestly paid, if you like +to stay with me."</p> + +<p>"I <i>know</i> I shall like it—till father comes, anyway. Squire wrote to +Smithers right off, but hasn't got any answer yet. I know they are on +the go now, so may be we wont hear for ever so long," answered Ben, +feeling less impatient to be off than before this fine proposal was +made to him.</p> + +<p>"I dare say; meantime we will see how we get on together, and perhaps +your father will be willing to leave you for the summer if he is away. +Now show me the baker's, the candy-shop, and the post-office," said +Miss Celia, as they rattled down the main street of the village.</p> + +<p>Ben made himself useful, and when all the other errands were done, +received his reward in the shape of a new pair of shoes and a straw hat +with a streaming blue ribbon, on the ends of which shone silvery +anchors. He was also allowed to drive home, while his new mistress read +her letters. One particularly long one, with a queer stamp on the +envelope, she read twice, never speaking a word till they got back. +Then Ben was sent off with Lita and the Squire's letters, promising to +get his chores done in time for tea.</p> + +<div class="center"><i>(To be continued.)</i></div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="crumbs" id="crumbs">CRUMBS FROM OLDER READING.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY JULIA E. SARGENT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<h3>EMERSON.</h3> + +<p>"Who ever heard of Emerson?" I asked a room of third-reader pupils. +Nearly every hand came up, and the bright faces were full of interest. +What a delightful surprise! I did not expect to see more than two +hands, and here all were as interested as if I had said, "Who ever +heard of Hayes or Tilden?" All at once I remembered that, for more than +a week, every fence about the school had been covered with +circus-bills, bearing the name "Billy Emerson."</p> + +<p>Sure enough he was the only Emerson those pupils knew about; for when I +said Ralph Waldo Emerson, one by one the hands came down. No one had +heard of him. Now I know no more of "Billy Emerson" than the children +knew of Ralph Waldo Emerson, but I am not afraid to say that the one I +know is better worth knowing.</p> + +<p>For in papa's library, or on mamma's center-table, I have no doubt you +can find more than one book which he has written. When in his sermon +the minister tells what Emerson has said, you may be very sure he does +not quote "Billy." Papers and magazines all have something to say +concerning this man, whose books grown people read and talk about.</p> + +<p>Who is he, then? His name is Ralph Waldo Emerson, and he writes books.</p> + +<p>Very good; and what are people who write books called? Then Mr. Ralph +Waldo Emerson is an author. He lives in a republican country which has +Washington for its capital. He was born in the Bay State, in the +largest city of New England. He dwells now in a little town where a +battle was fought a hundred years ago, and the name of this town means +"harmony." You know where that is, do you not? He was born in 1803, +and, as this is 1878, every one of you boys and girls who can subtract +can tell just his age. One of the books he has written tells about +England, another about such famous men as Shakspeare and Napoleon, and +others talk about wealth and friendship, prudence and power.</p> + +<p>That does not sound as if he meant them for you? Well, one thing he did +mean for you, and that is a dear little poem—"The Squirrel and the +Mountain." Every one of you will want to read it, and when you have +read it you will want to learn it, and when you have learned you will +want to speak it. I need not have told you he meant that poem for you; +you would know that the minute you saw it. But you could not tell so +soon how many things he says for you in those famous essays so often +quoted. What do you think I can find for you in this dry-looking book, +"Conduct of Life," with "Emerson" printed just under the title?</p> + +<p>Did you ever see an old hen with her little walking bundles of feathers +in the soft garden soil? How she does scratch and bustle for something +to eat! Why, she is eating every bit herself! Perhaps she thinks that +taking care of the chickens' mother is very important work for her; but +by-and-by she will call the little folks to share what she has found.</p> + +<p>You may think of me as of an old hen who has long been scratching in +the soft garden soil of Ralph Waldo Emerson's writings. She has found +much for herself, with now and then a bit for the chickens.</p> + +<p>Here, the very first thing, is something about eggs. "There is always a +best way of doing everything, if it be but to boil an egg." I hope my +little friends are never cross when Bridget has not boiled the nice +breakfast egg in the best way. More than that; I hope they themselves +know what is the best way of doing it; just how hot the water must be, +how long the egg should boil to make it hard or soft, and, what is well +worth knowing, how to get it in and out of the hot water without +breaking the shell.</p> + +<p>Here is another bit. It is like an egg, for the meaning is wrapt in +words just as an egg hides in the shell. "The tell-tale body is all +tongues." What does the tongue help to do? Will no one know that you +are cross unless you say, "I am cross this morning?" Can I find it out +although you do not say a word? Yes, indeed; that puckered mouth and +ugly little scowl tell, all too quickly, and even if I could not see +your face, that little jerk and twist would tell the story. Do you not +know when the dog is sick or tired, or full of fun? yet, his bright +eyes, eager little nose, lively body and whisking tail, tell no more +surely than your own face and body.</p> + +<p>"The tell-tale body is all tongues." Mr. Emerson, we think that is +true.</p> + +<p>"How can I be beautiful?" Every boy and girl, man and woman, wants to +know that. Here is Mr. Emerson's beauty recipe: "There is no beautifier +of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and +not pain around us." Do you suppose that recipe will work? Think of the +most beautiful people you know. Ah, I knew some one would say "mother." +Do you not think these people are those who try very hard to make +others happy? I know very many beautiful people who would have remained +very plain had they sought only to please themselves.</p> + +<p>We want to try Emerson's rule for becoming beautiful, so it will not do +to forget that "There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or +behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us."</p> + +<p>"Every man takes care that his neighbor shall not cheat him. But a day +comes when he begins to care that he does not cheat his neighbor. Then +all goes well." Yes, Mr. Emerson, that is the only way to have things +go well,—following the Golden Rule.</p> + +<p>"You cannot hide any secret. 'Tis as hard to hide as fire." Perhaps you +think that it is not so; but you just try how long you can keep a +secret that even your dearest friend does not know. I should not wonder +if Emerson were right once more.</p> + +<p>"There is much you may not do." True again. We do not need Emerson to +tell us that. "You must not do that, you must not do this," the little +folks hear so often, that sometimes they wonder what they may do.</p> + +<p>But we would like to have him tell us what things last longest.</p> + +<p>He is all ready to tell whoever wants to know, "Beauty is the quality +which makes to endure. In a house that I know, I have noticed a block +of spermaceti lying about closets and mantel-pieces for twenty years +together, simply because the tallow-man gave it the form of a rabbit; +and I suppose it may continue to be lugged about unchanged for a +century. Let an artist draw a few lines or figures on the back of a +letter, and that scrap of paper is rescued from danger, is put in a +portfolio, or framed and glazed, and, in proportion to the beauty of +the lines drawn, will be kept for centuries." And there are beauties of +heart, mind and character, that do not meet the eye, but are none the +less powerful in "making to endure."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="oldmannervouscow" id="oldmannervouscow">THE OLD MAN AND THE NERVOUS COW.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY R.E.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"There was an old man who said 'How</div> + <div>Shall I 'scape from this horrible cow?</div> + <div class="in3">I will sit on the stile,</div> + <div class="in3">And continue to smile,</div> + <div>Which may soften the heart of the cow.'"</div> +</div> +</div> + +<p>The old man was walking thoughtfully through the field, with his hands +behind him, when the nervous cow saw him. She wasn't ordinarily a +bad-natured cow, but she was mad just then. An aggravating fly had been +biting her half the morning, and, just as she was drinking at the +brook, a frog had jumped up with a cry and bitten her nose. These +things had completely unsettled her nerves.</p> + +<p>She was ready to run at anything, and the old man being the only living +thing in sight, she plunged toward him.</p> + +<a name="image14" id="image14"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image14.png" width="401" height="288" +alt="I WILL SIT ON THE STILE, AND CONTINUE TO SMILE." +title="I WILL SIT ON THE STILE, AND CONTINUE TO SMILE." /> +<p class="caption">"I WILL SIT ON THE STILE, AND CONTINUE TO SMILE."</p> +</div> + +<p>What could he do? He was a short, stout old man, and could not run very +fast, and, though he tried his best, he only just managed to reach the +stile and plump down on it, all out of breath, as the cow neared him.</p> + +<p>Then he suddenly remembered reading somewhere that if you looked right +into an animal's eyes, it would run away from you.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" thought he, "I'll look straight at her, and if I smile at the +same time, she wont have the heart to hurt me."</p> + +<p>So he put on a smile (of course it was not a very beautiful one, for he +was in a hurry, but it was the best he could do), and stared straight +into the cow's eyes. She saw that smile, and it so touched her that she +stopped short. Then she sauntered back a little way, but the thought of +that aggravating fly, and that awful frog, was too much for her poor +nerves, and turning around, she dashed madly on again.</p> + +<p>In another minute, the poor old man—cane, little legs, smile and +all—was up in the air.</p> + +<a name="image15" id="image15"></a> +<div class="imgleft"> +<img src="images/image15.png" width="272" height="400" +alt="THE POOR OLD MAN WAS UP IN THE AIR." +title="THE POOR OLD MAN WAS UP IN THE AIR." /> +<p class="caption">"THE POOR OLD MAN WAS UP IN THE AIR."</p> +</div> + +<p>He alighted in the top of a hickory-tree. One branch grazed his eye, +two ran into his legs, while another held his smile stiff and straight.</p> + +<p>Thus he stayed until an eagle caught sight of him, pounced right down, +and flew off with him to her nest, which was on a huge rock that rose +straight up into the cold air and made the summit of a mountain.</p> + +<p>When the old eagle plumped the little old man down into the nest, just +imagine, if you can, how astonished the eaglets were! They opened their +beaks as well as their eyes, and cried out:</p> + +<p>"What's this, mother? What <i>is</i> this?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! it's only a man," cried the old eagle. "I found him roosting in +the top of a tree. Don't know how he got there. Suppose he was trying +to fly, and couldn't. Tell us how it was, old man."</p> + +<p>"Can he talk?"</p> + +<p>"Talk!" said the eagle. "Of course he can talk. And he can tell +stories, too, I warrant you. So, if you like, you may keep him to tell +you stories."</p> + +<p>"Oh, wont that be nice! Tell us a story, right off," they all screamed, +jerking the old man down into the nest.</p> + +<p>"But it's so dirty here," said he, looking around, with his nose turned +up a little. "Let me sit on the edge of the nest, wont you?—and I'll +tell you all the stories you want."</p> + +<p>"You'll fall over.".</p> + +<p>"Oh no, I wont. I'll hold on with my cane and my legs. Now just shut +your beaks, so you wont look so savage, and listen."</p> + +<p>So the old man perched himself on the edge of the nest. The eaglets +took hold of his coat with their beaks, to keep him from falling; and +he told them the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"; and when +that was ended, another, and then another.</p> + +<p>He didn't eat much supper that night, for they hadn't any convenience +for cooking. And he didn't sleep well, either, for whenever one of the +eaglets woke up in the night, it always pinched him with its beak, to +make sure he was there. So he resolved to get away as soon as he could.</p> + +<p>But he didn't seem to have any chance; so there he stayed and told +stories till he longed to wring the necks of the gaping birds that kept +asking him for more.</p> + +<a name="image16" id="image16"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image16.png" +width="400" height="312" alt="THE OLD MAN TELLING STORIES TO THE +EAGLETS." title="THE OLD MAN TELLING STORIES TO THE EAGLETS." /> +<p class="caption">THE OLD MAN TELLING STORIES TO THE EAGLETS.</p> +</div> + +<p>Now, all this time the cow had been getting more and more nervous. +Every day she thought of the poor old man and his meek little legs and +his sweet old smile, and just how his coat-tails looked as he went up; +till at last she laid her head down on a tuft of grass by the brook, +and cried—regularly boo-hooed.</p> + +<p>Having thus relieved her feelings, she became calm, and, rising, said:</p> + +<p>"I'll go to his house and find out how and where he is, if I can."</p> + +<p>So off she started. But the house was shut up, and there was no one +there except the cat.</p> + +<p>Very much frightened the cat was, too, when the cow pushed up the +pantry window with her horns, and bellowed:</p> + +<p>"Where's your master?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," said the cat, retreating to a far corner, with his back +up. "I haven't set eyes on him since last Sunday."</p> + +<p>"Oh dear!" sighed the cow, dropping the window with a crash that broke +out two of the panes of glass. "What shall I do?"</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with you?—and what do you want of the old man?" +asked Tabby, bounding out through one of the broken panes.</p> + +<p>The cow told him.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Tab, stroking his whiskers reflectively, "I guess I'll go +with you and help you look for the good-natured old creature."</p> + +<p>So they journeyed on, asking everybody they met about the old man. But +nobody knew, until finally they came across an old crow who knew +everybody's business.</p> + +<p>"An old man?" said he. "The eagle took an old man the other day. Did he +have very slender legs?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes!" said the cat and the cow together.</p> + +<p>"And a sweet smile on his face?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes!" cried the cow. "He went up with that smile, and it has been +haunting me ever since," and she burst into a flood of tears.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the crow, "he's in the eagle's nest telling stories to the +eaglets, and if he isn't tired of the business by this time, I'm +mistaken."</p> + +<p>"Where is the nest?—and how can we get there?"</p> + +<p>"Up at the very top of the mountain yonder. Go straight ahead, and you +can't miss it."</p> + +<p>So straight ahead they went till they came to the rock where the +eagle's nest was. Then what should they do? They could hear the old +man's little, thin voice telling stories to the birds, but they knew he +wouldn't dare come where the cow was, even if he could clamber down +that steep rock. At last, Tab suggested that the cow should hide +herself, while he climbed up into the nest and persuaded the old man. +So the cow hid, and puss scrambled up to the nest and carefully poked +his head in.</p> + +<p>"Ah, master!" he whispered; "climb down the rock to-night, and I'll +show you the way home." And he disappeared.</p> + +<p>This visit braced up the old man's courage, and when the mother-bird +came home he calmly told her he thought he'd sleep at the foot of the +rock that night; and she unsuspectingly took him in her talons and +dropped him gently on the ground.</p> + +<p>As soon as she had gone, the old man looked all about him, and called +"Tabby, Tabby," very softly. Tabby came out from under the roots of a +tree and bounded on his shoulder, and told him how sorry the cow was, +and how she was waiting in a thicket ready to carry him home, if he +wanted to go.</p> + +<p>Of course he wanted to go, and in less than a jiffy the cow had come +out from her hiding-place, had cried a little, and had taken the old +man on her back, and started full speed down the mountain, with the cat +tearing after her.</p> + +<p>It was a long way to the old man's house, and they reached it just +tired out. Of course, they got something to eat, and then they went to +bed and slept right through two days; but on the morning of the third +day they got up as merry as crickets, and, after a hearty breakfast, +they agreed to live together for the rest of their lives. And they have +lived ever since in perfect harmony.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="raidofcamanches" id="raidofcamanches">THE RAID OF THE CAMANCHES.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY THE AUTHOR OF "WE BOYS."</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<p>Fred Hart, who was the eldest son of a country clergyman, and preparing +for college at Whitford Boys' Academy, was known at that classical +institution as a "dig," because he "dug" into his books and studied +hard. His room-mate, Neal Howe, an orphan, dependent upon his own +exertions, was styled a "digger;" and as both lads were rather dark, it +was but a step for those wicked upper-story boys to stigmatize them, +"Digger Indians!"</p> + +<p>This term was gradually extended to include all the boys in the second +story, for they were all hard students. The "Diggers" retaliated mildly +by styling their upper-story neighbors, "Camanches."</p> + +<p>The Camanches perpetrated all sorts of schoolboy atrocities on the +Diggers, but, above all things else, they burned for a pillow-fight. In +vain they challenged the Diggers to combat. Those law-abiding savages +declined, though well aware of thereby falling into contempt on charge +of cowardice.</p> + +<p>Unmistakable indications were soon apparent that the Camanches +meditated an attack.</p> + +<p>The north wing was intended to be fire-proof, and each story was +separated from the main building by iron doors which usually were +fastened back by staples. The Camanches reasoned that these doors might +be as effectual in shutting off teachers as fire; and the staples in +both the second and third stories were one day withdrawn, so that these +doors could be easily closed.</p> + +<p>Scouting parties reported that the Camanches were getting ready the +war-paint,—<i>i.e.</i>, the burnt cork,—and one ferocious savage had +intimated that they should spare neither age nor sex.</p> + +<p>A council was immediately held in Fred Hart's room, and Fred +unanimously chosen chief.</p> + +<p>"If they're determined on a pillow-fight they shall have it," +resolutely remarked that warrior.</p> + +<p>The Diggers proposed using their own pillows as reserve arms only, and +the next day any number of this tribe might have been seen scouring the +village on mysterious errands, which the housewives would have +explained as an effort to buy up old pillows.</p> + +<p>"All's fair on the defensive," said Chief Fred, and each Digger ripped +open one end of his pillow, poured in a little mucilage, and then +basted it up, in accordance with the liberal views boys always +entertain concerning "basting."</p> + +<p>At a little after nine o'clock, when the lights had been extinguished, +and a teacher made the nightly rounds, a Camanche scout quietly closed +and bolted the iron doors and relighted the hall lamps. Then, with +hair-starting war-whoops, the savages began dropping down through the +trap-door, which opened from one hall to another in the capacity of +fire-escapes.</p> + +<p>The Diggers, peacefully studying in their rooms, were summarily ordered +into the hall to battle. Every man protested, but the Camanches refused +to parley. Then, seizing their weapons, the assailed marched forth to +the field of carnage.</p> + +<p>Thwack! went the blows of the Camanches.</p> + +<p>Thwack! the Diggers.</p> + +<p>Thwack! the Camanches.</p> + +<p>Thwack! the Diggers.</p> + +<p>A stir among the Camanches and then a wild affray.</p> + +<p>Crack! crack! go the Diggers' bastings. Crack! feathers fly over the +heads and into the eyes of the Camanches, and there many of them stick. +The Camanches realize the disadvantages of unprovoked assault with no +rules of warfare agreed upon beforehand.</p> + +<p>Here and there a Camanche drops his arms and flies to the farther end +of the hall, only to fumble unavailingly at the fastenings of the iron +door, while a victorious Digger belabors him with the weapon he has +just cast aside.</p> + +<p>All at once there is descried in the dim light of the hall the boots +and never-to-be-mistaken striped pantaloons of Captain Hale swinging +through the trap-door!</p> + +<p>Captain Hale is drill-sergeant and professor of gymnastics. He has seen +years of army service, and is thoroughly imbued with the military +spirit. The boys are more afraid of him than of the president and +entire board of trustees,—as afraid as they would be of old Nick, +himself, in boots and striped pantaloons.</p> + +<p>In a flash every Digger had disappeared into his own room and locked +the door after him, and the Camanches are left alone, gasping among +their feathers, the captain in their midst.</p> + +<p>There is a moment of bewilderment followed by a wild stampede toward +the iron door, but the Captain has cut off the retreat.</p> + +<p>"Young gentlemen, you will remain and clear up the hall. Williams, go +to the coal-cellar and bring up the two-bushel basket."</p> + +<p>Williams is "nobbiest" of third-story boys, bravest of Camanche +warriors, but Williams doesn't dare refuse to go for that basket. +During his absence his fellow-savages express strong doubts as to his +ever re-appearing upon the battle-field, but he does return, like +Regulus to his barrel of spikes.</p> + +<p>The Captain has borrowed a number of brooms and dust-pans from the +Diggers who, to a man, had retired and been snoring sweetly.</p> + +<p>"Now, gentlemen, clear up these feathers!" orders the Captain, as if he +was crying, "Forward, march!"</p> + +<p>Clearing up those feathers was a tedious and trying process. Any one +who has ever chased a worn-out but still lively feather up and down a +long hall can imagine the scene with hundreds of them flying about.</p> + +<p>"They're the meanest lot of feathers,—pretty much all fuzz," said one +exhausted brave.</p> + +<p>When the last handful had been crowded into the basket, Williams +attempted opening the door.</p> + +<p>"No; you're to make your exit the same way you made your ingress," +announced the Captain.</p> + +<p>Williams stared blankly at the trap-hole in the ceiling.</p> + +<p>Dropping down through a trap-door and going up through the same, with +no visible means of support but the floor, are naturally different +exercises.</p> + +<p>"You're fertile in expedients; can't you devise some good way of +getting out?" coolly asked the Captain.</p> + +<p>"We might stand on each other's shoulders," suggested one small +savage, whom the blood-thirsty Williams afterward confessed he longed +to scalp at this juncture.</p> + +<p>"Very well, do so," ordered the Captain.</p> + +<p>Then one of the noble savages stood under the trap-door while one by +one the others sprang upon his shoulders, caught the edges of the +opening above, wriggled, writhed, contorted his limbs, and finally +succeeded in drawing himself up to his own story, while all down the +hall, on either side, there appeared at the open ventilators over the +doors the eyes of pairs of miserable Diggers, and for every Camanche +that wriggled up there resounded a succession of groans.</p> + +<p>The Camanches thought, with a thrill of exultation, that the Captain +would be obliged to proffer his shoulders for the last man, and would +then be left pondering alone, like the goat in the well. That would be +something of a revenge, at any rate.</p> + +<p>But when only one boy remained, who, to the exasperation of the entire +tribe, was the identical small savage who had proposed going up in that +ridiculous style, the Captain quietly opened the iron door, and he and +the small savage retired with dignity.</p> + +<p>The Captain, who had his "good streaks," never reported the Camanches, +but they manifested a disposition thereafter to settle quietly upon +their own reservation and cultivate the peaceful arts, and they always +treated their neighbors, the Diggers, with respect, though unmingled +with affection.</p> + +<hr /> + +<a name="image17" id="image17"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image17.jpg" width="400" height="191" +alt="LITTLE BO-PEEP, SHE WENT TO SLEEP." +title="LITTLE BO-PEEP, SHE WENT TO SLEEP." /> +<p class="caption">"LITTLE BO-PEEP, SHE WENT TO SLEEP."</p> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="solimin" id="solimin">SOLIMIN: A SHIP OF THE DESERT.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY SUSAN COOLIDGE.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<p>I asked a party of children once the meaning of the word "desert," and +all but one shouted out, "rice pudding and oranges!" having in their +minds the dinner which we had just eaten. That one, who was older than +the rest, said, rather shyly, "A big piece of land, aunty, isn't it?" +but even he didn't know how big,—or that there is a difference in +spelling between the <i>dessert</i> which people eat and the <i>desert</i> which +sometimes eats people, closing its jaws of sand, and swallowing them up +as easily as a boy swallows a cherry.</p> + +<p>The biggest desert in the world is in Africa, and is called the Sahara. +It is almost as large as the Atlantic Ocean, but instead of water it is +all sands and rocks. Like the ocean, it is visited with storms; +dreadful gales, when the wind scoops up thousands of tons of sand and +drives them forward, burying and crushing all they meet. And it has +islands, too—small green patches, where springs bubble through the +ground, and ferns and acacias and palm-trees grow. When a traveler sees +one of these fertile spots afar off, he feels as a tempest-tossed +sailor does at sight of land. It is delightful to quit the hot, baking +sun, sit in shadow under the trees, and rest the eyes, long wearied +with dazzling sands, on the sweet green and the clear spring. Oases, +these islands are called. Long distances divide them. It is often a +race for life to get across from one to the other. Sometimes people do +not get across! In 1805, a caravan of 2,000 persons died miserably of +heat and thirst in the great desert, and the sand covered them up. Do +you wonder at my saying that the desert eats men?</p> + +<p>Now, you will be puzzled to guess what sort of ship it is which swims +this dry ocean. It is the camel—an animal made by God to endure these +dreadful regions, in which no other beast of burden can live and +travel. I dare say many of you have seen camels in menageries. They are +ugly animals, but very strong, swift and untiring. With a load of 800 +pounds on his back, a camel will travel for days at the rate of eight +miles an hour, which is as fast as an ordinary ship can sail. More +wonderful still, he will do this without stopping for food or water. +Nature has provided him with an extra stomach, in which he keeps a +store of drink, and with a hump on his back, made of jelly-like fat, +which, in time of need, is absorbed into the system and appropriated as +food. Is it not strange to think of a creature with a cistern and a +meat-safe inside him? A horse would be useless in the desert, where no +oats or grass can be had; but the brave, patient camel goes steadily on +without complaint till the oasis is reached: then he champs his thorn +bushes, fills himself from the spring, allows the heavy pack to be +fastened on his back again, and is ready for further travel.</p> + +<p>Now you know what sort of a ship it is that I am going to tell you +about. It was a camel, named Solimin. He was of a rare and valuable +breed, known as "herie," or coursers, because they are so much swifter +than ordinary camels. Solimin's master, Ahmed, was a poor man. He never +could have afforded to buy a full-grown camel of this rare breed; and +Solimin had become his through a piece of good fortune. When a little +foal, Solimin was found in a lonely place in the desert, standing over +the dead body of his mother, who had fallen and perished by the way. +Led to the brown tent which was Ahmed's home, the orphan baby grew up +as a child of the family, lay among the little ones at night, and was +their pet and plaything all the day. The boys taught him to kneel, to +rise, to carry burdens, to turn this way and that at a signal. The +girls hung a necklace of blessed shells around his neck, saved for him +the best of the food, sang him songs (which he was supposed to enjoy), +and daily kissed and stroked his gentle nose and eyes. As he grew big +and strong, the pride of his owners grew with him. Not another family +of the tribe possessed a herie. Once and again, Ahmed was offered a +large price for him, but he rejected it with disdain.</p> + +<p>"Would I sell my son—the son of my heart?" he said. "Neither will I +part with Solimin. By the Prophet, I swear it."</p> + +<p>Of all the dwellers in the brown tent Solimin loved best Ahmed himself, +and his eldest son, Mustapha. With them he was docile as a lamb; but if +strangers drew near, or persons he did not like, he became restive and +fierce, screamed, laid back his ears, and kicked with his strong hind +legs. A kick from a camel is no joke, I can tell you. All the desert +guides knew Solimin, and, for his sake, Ahmed was often hired to +accompany caravans. Nay, once, at Cairo, Solimin was chosen to carry +the sacred person of the Khedive on a day's excursion up the Nile bank, +which event served the tribe as a boast for months afterward.</p> + +<p>It was the year after this journey to Cairo that Ahmed met with a +terrible adventure. He and Mustapha, making their way home after a +long journey, had lain down to sleep away the noontide hours, according +to the custom of desert travelers. Their camels were tethered beside +them, all seemed secure and peaceful, when, sudden as the lowering of a +cloud, a party of Arabs, belonging to a wild tribe at enmity with all +men, pounced upon them. Ahmed and his son defended themselves manfully, +but what could two men, surprised in sleep, do against a dozen? In five +minutes all was over. The assailants vanished in a cloud of dust, and +Ahmed, who had been struck down in the rush, recovered his senses, to +find camels, baggage, belt, money, everything gone, and Mustapha +wounded and motionless on the earth beside him.</p> + +<p>Ahmed thought him dead. They were alone in the desert, a hundred miles +from home, without food or water, and with a groan of despair he sat +down beside his son's body, bowed his head, and waited until death +should come to him also. An Arab believes in fate, and gives up once +for all when misfortune occurs.</p> + +<p>But Mustapha stirred, and Ahmed at once sprang up. There was nothing he +could do for the poor boy, except to chafe and rub his hands; but this +was something, for presently Mustapha revived enough to speak.</p> + +<p>"Are they gone?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, the accursed ones, they are gone, with all our goods and with +Solimin! The Prophet's curse light upon them!" And passing from despair +to fury, Ahmed threw sand upon his head, and flung himself on the +ground in helpless rage. Mustapha joined in with groans and +lamentations.</p> + +<p>When the father and son grew calmer, they began to discuss their +situation. Ahmed knew of a small unfrequented oasis, about twenty miles +away. It was their only chance of safety, but could they reach it?</p> + +<p>"I <i>think</i> I can walk," declared Mustapha, tying up his wounded leg in a +fold torn from his turban. But he limped sadly, and his tightly pressed +lips showed pain as he moved. He was faint with hunger beside. Neither +of the men had eaten since sunrise.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Mustapha uttered a joyful cry, and lifted something from the +earth.</p> + +<p>"The Prophet be praised!" he cried. "My father, here is food. The +robbers have dropped a bag of dates."</p> + +<p>Sure enough, there it lay, a heavy bag of dates, shaken off from some +camel's pack during the struggle. Heavy as it was, and hard to carry, +Ahmed would fain have had it larger. It was their safety from +starvation. A handful of its contents satisfied hunger, and gave them +strength to begin their walk. What a walk it was! Poor Mustapha lay +down every half-hour from pain and weakness; the sand was heavy, the +darkness puzzled them. When morning broke, they had not accomplished +more than half the distance. All through the hot day-time they lay +panting on the ground, eating now and then a date, tormented with +thirst and heat; and when evening came, they dragged themselves to +their feet again, and recommenced their painful journey. Step by step, +hour by hour, each harder and longer than the last, moment by moment +they grew more feeble, less able to bear up, till it seemed as though +they could no longer struggle on. At last, the morning broke. Ahmed +raised his blood-shot eyes, seized Mustapha's arm, and pointed. There, +not a hundred yards away, was the oasis, its trees and bushes outlined +against the sky.</p> + +<p>Poor Mustapha was so spent that his father had to drag him across the +short dividing space. It was a small oasis, and not very fertile; its +well was shallow and scanty, but no ice-cooled sherbet ever seemed more +delicious than did its brackish waters to the parched tongues of the +exhausted men.</p> + +<p>All day and all night they lay under the shadow of the cactuses and the +acacia-trees, rousing only to drink, and falling asleep again +immediately. Shade, and sleep, and water seemed the only things in the +world worth having just then.</p> + +<p>The second day they slept less, but it was nearly a week before they +could be said to be wide-awake again. Such a pair of scare-crows as +they looked! Ahmed was almost naked. The robbers had taken part of his +clothes, and the desert thorns the rest. Haggard, wild, blackened by +the sun, they gazed at each other with horror; each thought, "Do I look +like that?" and each tried to hide from the other his own dismay.</p> + +<p>They could never tell afterward how long they remained at the oasis. It +seemed years, but I suppose it could not have been more than weeks. All +day long they looked wistfully toward the horizon, in hopes of a +caravan, but the caravan never came. Slowly the dates dwindled in the +bag; slowly the precious water diminished in the well; a little longer, +and starvation would be upon them. They scarcely spoke to each other +those last days, but sat each by himself in a sort of dull despair. At +night, when they fell asleep, they dreamed of food, and woke in the +morning to feel themselves still hungry. It was horrible!</p> + +<p>Then came a morning when they rose to find the hard desert outline, +which they knew so well, vanished and gone, and in its stead a smooth, +shining lake, fringed with trees and dotted with feathery, fairy +islands. So near it seemed, and so real, that it was as though they +heard the ripple of the water and the rustling of the wind in the +tree-boughs. Mustapha stared as though his eyes would burst from his +head; then he gave a wild cry, and was rushing away; but his father +held him fast.</p> + +<p>"Stay, my son! Stay, Mustapha! It is no lake,—it is a device of Satan. +What you behold is the mirage, spread by devils for men's destruction."</p> + +<p>"Let me go!" shrieked Mustapha, writhing and struggling.</p> + +<p>But even as he strove, the soft water-outlines shifted and trembled; +the lake rose in air, melted, and sailed off into curling mists; the +trees, the whole fair picture, dissolved, and the well-remembered sands +and black rocks took its place. With a cry of horror, Mustapha slid +through his father's arms to the earth, hid his face, and cried like a +child.</p> + +<p>Next morning, only one date was left in the bag. Ahmed put it in his +son's hand with a mournful look.</p> + +<p>"Eat, my son," he said; "eat, and then we will die. Allah il Allah!"</p> + +<p>A long silence followed; there seemed nothing more to say. Suddenly, +from afar off, came to their ears the tinkle of a bell.</p> + +<p>Mustapha raised his head.</p> + +<p>"Is it the mirage again, my father?" he asked. "For it seems to me that +I hear the bell from the neck of Solimin, our camel."</p> + +<p>Eagerly they listened. Again the bell tinkled, and, looking through the +bushes, they saw, floating toward them, as it seemed, the form of a +gigantic camel. Soundless and still, it moved rapidly along. Behind, +but much farther away, other forms could be seen, still dim and +indistinct, veiled by the mist of driving sand.</p> + +<a name="image18" id="image18"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image18.png" width="400" height="221" +alt="THEY SAW THE FORM OF A GIGANTIC CAMEL." +title="THEY SAW THE FORM OF A GIGANTIC CAMEL." /> +<p class="caption">"THEY SAW THE FORM OF A GIGANTIC CAMEL."</p> +</div> + +<p>Suddenly Mustapha gave a start.</p> + +<p>"My father," he cried, in an excited whisper, "it <i>is</i> Solimin! I do +not mistake! What other camel ever resembled Solimin? Do you not see +his lofty hump,—his arched neck? Does not the bell tinkle as with the +voice of home?"</p> + +<p>Then, half raising himself, he gave, with all the power of his voice, +the well-known call.</p> + +<p>Solimin—for it was indeed he—paused as the sound caught his ears, and +snuffed the wind. Again came the call; he wheeled, plunged, threw his +rider, dashed forward, broke through the bushes, and in a second was on +his knees before his old master.</p> + +<p>"Up, up, my father! there is no time to lose!" cried Mustapha, grown +stronger in a moment. "Up, up! for the robbers are close upon us!"</p> + +<p>In fact, wild cries and clouds of dust showed that the foe had taken +the alarm, and were hurrying on. But already Ahmed and Mustapha were +mounted, and Solimin, like a ship at full sail, was speeding away with +them. And where was the camel could overtake him, even when he was +loaded double? Fast and swift his long, swinging trot bore them onward, +and before two hours were gone, all traces of the pursuers had +disappeared behind them, and they were free to turn their course toward +the brown tents where rest, and food, and welcome had waited so long +for their coming, and where, after a little time, their hardships and +sufferings seemed to them only like a bad dream.</p> + +<p>As for Solimin, he hardly could be more tenderly treated or beloved +than before this adventure; but if the freshest water, the prickliest +furze,—if bowls of sour milk;—if a triple necklace of shells,—if +brushing and grooming,—if soft pats from childish fingers, and sweet +names murmured in his ears by girlish voices can make a camel happy, +then is Solimin the happiest of heries. Solimin no longer, however. His +name is changed to "The Blessed," in memory of the day when, like a +stately ship, he came over the desert sea, and bore his starving +masters to home, and life, and liberty.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="belindablonde" id="belindablonde">BELINDA BLONDE</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY LAURA E. RICHARDS.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Belinda Blonde was a beautiful doll,</div> + <div>With rosy-red cheeks and a flaxen poll;</div> + <div>Her lips were red, and her eyes were blue,</div> + <div>But to say she was happy would not be true;</div> + <div>For she pined for love of the great big Jack</div> + <div>Who lived in the box so grim and black.</div> + <div>She never had looked on the Jack his face,</div> + <div>But she fancied him shining with beauty and grace;</div> + <div>And all the day long she would murmur and pout,</div> + <div>Because Jack-in-the-box would never come out.</div> + <div>"Oh, beautiful, beautiful Jack-in-the-box!</div> + <div>Undo your bolts and undo your locks!</div> + <div>The cupboard is shut, and there's no one about;</div> + <div>Oh, Jack-in-the-box! jump out, jump out!"</div> + <div>But alas, alas for Belinda Blonde!</div> + <div>And alas, alas for her dreamings fond!</div> + <div>There soon was an end to all her doubt,</div> + <div>For Jack-in-the-box really <i>did</i> jump out!—</div> + <div>Out with a crash, and out with a spring,</div> + <div>Half black and half scarlet, a horrible thing;</div> + <div>Out with a yell and out with a shout,</div> + <div>His great goggle-eyes glaring wildly about.</div> + <div>"Alas! alas!" cried Belinda Blonde;</div> + <div>"Is this the end of my dreamings fond?</div> + <div>Is this my love, and is this my dear,</div> + <div>This hideous, glowering monster here?</div> + <div>Alas! alas!" cried Belinda fair.</div> + <div>She wrung her hands and she tore her hair,</div> + <div>Till at length, as the dolls who were witnesses say,</div> + <div>She fell on the ground and she fainted away.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="center">MORAL.</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Now all you dolls, both little and big,</div> + <div>With china crown and with curling wig,</div> + <div>Before you give way to affection fond,</div> + <div>Remember the fate of Belinda Blonde;</div> + <div>And unless you wish to get terrible knocks,</div> + <div>Don't set your heart on a Jack-in-the-box.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="londondustman" id="londondustman">THE LONDON DUST-MAN</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY ALEXANDER WAINWRIGHT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<p>There he goes! A dusky gloom hangs over the roofs of great London City; +a similar gloom fills my room and seems to have touched all the furniture +with smoky age, and as I look down from the window into the gloomy street, +I see him coming along slowly, and crying in a voice like a plea for help +in affliction: "Dust-oh!—dust-oh!—dust-oh!—dust-oh!"</p> + +<a name="image19" id="image19"></a> +<div class="imgleft"> +<img src="images/image19.png" width="238" height="400" +alt="DUST-OH!" title="DUST-OH!" /> +<p class="caption">"DUST-OH!"</p> +</div> + +<p>Not one of the many citizens who are passing notices him, or finds +anything strange in that plaintive cry. The people who live in the city +see him day after day, and remember how, in their childhood, they had +terrifying notions of his weakness for kidnapping and other mysterious +wickednesses. They know better now, and hurry past him with scarcely a +glance; but to the American visitor he is something of a curiosity.</p> + +<p>When the London fog is gray we cannot see him very far off, for he, +too, is gray from head to foot with ash-dust, and as he approaches us +he comes out of the mist like a phantom, though in reality he is a +substantial, square-built, deep-chested fellow, shod with enormous +Blücher shoes (the soles of which are bright with nails), and clad in a +loose blouse and trousers, that are tied up about the knees. The blouse +is open at the chest, and is lifted to the waist by his big, brown +hands, which are tucked in his trouser pockets, and his head is covered +by the kind of hat that sailors call a sou'wester. His only ornament is +a pair of ear-rings; and with his head thrown back he saunters along +the street by the side of his cart, repeating in measured tones his +cry, "Dust-oh-oh! dust-oh!"</p> + +<p>Now and then he stops at a house, and his mate—he has a mate, who is +as much like him as pea is like pea—descends into the cellar, bringing +forth the ashes and refuse that have accumulated in twenty-four hours, +and when the cart, which is a square, box-like affair, is filled he +starts for home with his load.</p> + +<p>What a queer home it is! It is on the outskirts of the city, far away +from the finer streets and buildings. A large space of ground is as +gray and dusty as an African or Western desert, and is broken by mounds +of ashes, some of which are only a few feet high, while others are +almost as high as houses,—quite as high, in fact, as the dismal little +shanties on the edge of the reservation in which the dust-man and his +fellows live. Other carts and other dust-men are constantly coming and +going, dumping one load and then returning to the city for another, and +as soon as a load is dumped it is attacked by a crowd of men, women and +children, who with shovels, rakes and hooks, turn it over and over, and +raise stifling clouds of dust.</p> + +<p>The reader may think that the collections made by the dust-man are +valueless, but such is not the case.</p> + +<p>There are more than 300,000 inhabited houses in London, consuming more +than 3,500,000 tons of coal a year, and besides the ashes from this +great quantity of fuel, the dust-man gathers the other refuse of the +houses. He is employed by a contractor, who agrees with the corporation +to remove the ashes, etc., out of the city, and the contractor divides +every load into six parts, as follows: Soil, or fine dust, which is +sold to brick-makers for making bricks and to farmers for manure; +brieze, or cinders, sold to brick-makers for burning brick; rags, bones +and old metals, sold to marine-store dealers; old tin and iron vessels, +sold to trunk-makers for clamps; bricks, oyster and other shells, sold +for foundations and road-building; and old boots and shoes, sold to the +manufacturers of Prussian blue.</p> + +<p>Sometimes, much more valuable things than these are found, and the +reader may remember the romance that Charles Dickens made out of a +London dust-man—"Our Mutual Friend."</p> + +<p>It is in sifting the different parts of a load that the men, women and +children, are employed; they are as busy as ants; mere babies and +wrinkled old dames take a part in the labor, and all of them are so +covered with dust and ashes that they are anything but pleasant to +contemplate, though, as a rule, they are useful, honest, and +industrious members of society.</p> + +<p>"Dustie" is what the Londoners familiarly call the dust-man, and only a +few know in what ignorance and poverty he lives. One would think that +he would work himself into a better occupation, but his family have +been dust-men for generations, and the generations after him are not +likely to change.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="huckleberry" id="huckleberry">HUCKLEBERRY.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY FRANK R. STOCKTON.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<p>More than a hundred and sixty-eight years ago, there lived a curious +personage called "Old Riddler." His real name was unknown to the people +in that part of the country where he dwelt; but this made no +difference, for the name given to him was probably just as good as his +own. Indeed, I am quite sure that it was better, for it meant +something, and very few people have names that mean anything.</p> + +<p>He was called Old Riddler for two reasons. In the first place, he was +an elderly man; secondly, he was the greatest fellow to ask riddles +that you ever heard of. So, this name fitted him very well.</p> + +<p>Old Riddler had some very peculiar characteristics,—among others, he +was a gnome. Living underground for the greater part of his time, he +had ample opportunities of working out curious and artful riddles, +which he used to try on his fellow-gnomes; and if they liked them, he +would go above-ground and propound his conundrums to the country +people, who sometimes guessed them, but not often.</p> + +<p>The fact is, that those persons who wished to be on good terms with the +old gnome never guessed his riddles. They knew that they would please +him better by giving them up.</p> + +<p>He took such a pleasure in telling the answers to his riddles, that no +truly kind-hearted person would deprive him of it, by trying to solve +them.</p> + +<p>"You see," as Old Riddler used to say, when talked to on the subject, +"if I take all the trouble to make up these riddles, it's no more than +fair that I should be allowed to give the answers."</p> + +<p>So, the old gnome, who was not much higher than a two-year-old child, +though he had quite a venerable head and face, was very much encouraged +by the way the people treated him, and when a person happened to be +very kind and appreciative, and gave a good deal of attention to one of +his conundrums, that person would be pretty sure, before long, to feel +glad that he had met Old Riddler.</p> + +<p>There were thousands of ways in which the gnomes could benefit the +country-folks, especially those who had little farms or gardens. +Sometimes Old Riddler, who was a person of great influence in his +tribe, would take a company of gnomes, under the garden of some one to +whom he wished to do a favor, and they would put their little hands up +through the earth and pull down all the weeds, root-foremost, so that +when the owner went out in the morning, he would find his garden as +clear of weeds as the bottom of a dinner-plate.</p> + +<p>Of course, any one who has habits of this kind must eventually become a +general favorite, and this was the case with Old Riddler.</p> + +<p>One day, he made up a splendid riddle, and, after he had told it to all +the gnomes, he hurried up to propound it to some human person.</p> + +<p>He was in such haste that he actually forgot his hat, although it was +late in the fall, and he wore his cloak. He had not gone far through +the fields before he met a young goose-girl, named Lois. She was a poor +girl, and was barefooted; and as Old Riddler saw her in her scanty +dress, standing on the cold ground, watching her geese, he thought to +himself: "Now I do hope that girl has wit enough to understand my +riddle, for I feel that I would like to get interested in her."</p> + +<p>So, approaching Lois, he made a bow and politely asked her: "Can you +tell me, my good little girl, why a ship full of sailors, at the bottom +of the sea, is like the price of beef?"</p> + +<p>The goose-girl began to scratch her head, through the old handkerchief +she wore instead of a bonnet, and tried to think of the answer.</p> + +<p>"Because it's 'low,'" said she, after a minute or two.</p> + +<p>"Oh no!" said the gnome. "That's not it. You can give it up, you know, +if you can't think of the answer."</p> + +<p>"I know!" said Lois. "Because it's sunk."</p> + +<p>"Not at all," said Old Riddler, a little impatiently. "Now come, my +good girl, you'd much better give it up. You will just hack at the +answer until you make it good for nothing."</p> + +<p>"Well, what is it?" said Lois.</p> + +<p>"I will tell you," said the gnome. "Now, pay attention to the answer: +Because it has gone down. Don't you see?" asked the old fellow, with a +gracious smile.</p> + +<a name="image20" id="image20"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image20.png" width="364" height="399" +alt="'DON'T YOU SEE?' ASKED THE OLD FELLOW." +title="'DON'T YOU SEE?' ASKED THE OLD FELLOW." /> +<p class="caption">"'DON'T YOU SEE?' ASKED THE OLD FELLOW."</p> +</div> + +<p>"Yes, I see," said the goose-girl, scratching her head again; "but my +answer was nearly as good as yours."</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear me!" said Old Riddler, "that wont do. It's of no use at all +to give an answer that is nearly good enough. It must be exactly right, +or it's worthless. I am afraid, young girl, that you don't care much +for riddles."</p> + +<p>"Yes I do," said the goose-girl; "I make 'em."</p> + +<p>"Make them?" exclaimed Old Riddler, in great surprise.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Lois, "I'm out here all day with these geese, and I +haven't anything else to do, and so I make riddles. Do you want to hear +one of them?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I would like it very much indeed," said the gnome.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, here's one: If the roofs of houses were flat instead of +slanting, why would the rain be like a chained dog?"</p> + +<p>"Give it up," said Old Riddler.</p> + +<p>"Because it couldn't run off," answered Lois.</p> + +<p>"Very good, very good," said the gnome. "Why, that's nearly as good as +some of mine. And now, my young friend, didn't you feel pleased to have +me give up that riddle and let you tell me the answer, straight and +true, just as you knew it ought to be?"</p> + +<p>"Oh yes!" said the goose-girl.</p> + +<p>"Well, then," continued Old Riddler, "remember this: What pleases you +will often please other people. And never guess another riddle."</p> + +<p>Lois, although a rough country girl, was touched by the old man's +earnestness and his gentle tones.</p> + +<p>"I never will," said she.</p> + +<p>"That's a very well-meaning girl," said Old Riddler to himself as he +walked away, "although she hasn't much polish. I'll come sometimes and +help her a little with her conundrums."</p> + +<p>Old Riddler had a son named Huckleberry. He was a smart, bright young +fellow, and resembled his father in many respects. When he went home, +the old gnome told his son about Lois, and tried to impress on his mind +the same lesson he had taught the young girl. Huckleberry was a very +good little chap, but he was quick-witted and rather forward, and often +made his father very angry by guessing his riddles; and so he needed a +good deal of parental counsel.</p> + +<p>Nearly all that night, Huckleberry thought about what his father had +told him. But not at all as Old Riddler intended he should.</p> + +<p>"What a fine thing it must be," said Huckleberry to himself, "to go out +into the world and teach people things. I'm going to try it myself."</p> + +<p>So, the next day, he started off on his mission. The first person he +saw was a very small girl playing under a big oak-tree.</p> + +<p>When the small girl saw the young gnome, she was frightened and drew +back, standing up as close against the tree as she could get.</p> + +<p>But up stepped Master Huckleberry, with all the airs and graces he +could command.</p> + +<p>"Can you tell me, my little miss," said he, "why an elephant with a +glass globe of gold-fish tied to his tail is like a monkey with one +pink eye and one of a mazarine blue?"</p> + +<p>"No," said the small girl, "I don't know. Go away!"</p> + +<p>"Oh," said Huckleberry, "perhaps that's too hard for you. I know some +nice little ones, in words of one syllable. Why is a red man with a +green hat like a good boy who has a large duck in a small pond?"</p> + +<p>"Go away!" said the small girl. "I came here to pick flowers. I don't +know riddles."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps that one was too easy," said Huckleberry, kindly. "I have all +sorts. Here is one with longer words, divided into syllables. I'll say +it slowly for you: What is the dif-fer-ence between a mag-nan-i-mous +ship-mate and the top-most leaf-let on your grand-mo-ther's bar-ber-ry +bush?"</p> + +<p>"I haven't got any grandmother," said she.</p> + +<p>"Oh, well! Any grandmother will do," said Huckleberry.</p> + +<p>"I can't guess it," said the small girl, who was now beginning to lose +her fear of the funny little fellow. "I never guessed any riddles. I'm +not old enough."</p> + +<p>"Very well, then," said Huckleberry, "I'll tell you what I'll do. Let's +sit down here under the tree, and I'll tell you one of father's +riddles, and give you the answer. His riddles are better than mine, +because none of mine have any answers. I don't put answers to them, for +I can never think of any good ones. I met a boy once, and told him a +lot of my riddles; and he learned them, and went about asking people to +guess them, and when the people gave them up, he couldn't tell them the +answers, because there were none, and that made everybody mad. He told +one of the riddles to his grandmother,—I think it was the one about +the pink-eyed monkey and the wagon-load of beans—"</p> + +<a name="image21" id="image21"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image21.png" width="400" height="398" +alt="THE BOY AND HIS GRANDMOTHER." title="THE BOY AND HIS GRANDMOTHER." /> +<p class="caption">THE BOY AND HIS GRANDMOTHER.</p> +</div> + +<p>"No," said the small girl; "the elephant and the gold-fish was the +other part of the pink-eyed monkey one."</p> + +<p>"Oh, it don't make any difference," said Huckleberry, "I don't join my +riddles together the same way every time. Sometimes I use the gold-fish +and elephant with the last part of one riddle, and sometimes with +another. As there's no answer, it don't matter. I begin a good many of +my best riddles with the elephant, for it makes a fine opening. But, as +I was going to tell you, this boy told one of my riddles to his +grandmother, and she liked it very much; but when she found out that +there was no answer to it, she gave him a good box on the ear, and that +boy has never liked me since. But now I'll tell you a story. That is, +it's like a story, but it's really a riddle. Father made it and +everybody thinks it's one of his best. There was once a fair lady of +renown who was engaged to be married to a prince. And when the +wedding-day came round—they were to be married in one of the prince's +palaces in the mountains—she was so long getting dressed—you see she +dressed in one of her father's palaces, down in the valley—that she +was afraid she would be late, so as soon as her veil was pinned on, she +ran down to the stables, threw a wolf-skin on the back of one of the +fieriest of the chargers, and springing on him, she dashed away. She +wasn't used to harnessing horses, and was in such a hurry that she +forgot all about the bridle, and so, as she was dashing away, she found +she couldn't steer the animal, and he didn't go anywhere near the +prince's palace, but galloped on, and on, and on, every minute taking +her farther and farther away from where she wanted to go. She couldn't +turn the charger, and she couldn't stop him, though she tore off pieces +of her veil, and tried to put them around his nose, but it was no good. +So when the wedding-party had waited and waited and waited, the prince +got angry and married another lady, and nobody knows where the fair +lady of renown went to, although there are some people who say that +she's a-galloping yet, and trying to get her veil around the charger's +nose. Now, why was it that that fair lady of renown never married? +Answer: Because she had no bridal. You can say either bri-d-a-l or +bri-d-l-e, because they both sound alike, and if she had had either one +of them, she would have been married. This is a pretty long riddle, but +it's easier than mine, because it's all fixed up right, with the answer +to it and everything. You like it better than mine, don't you?"</p> + +<a name="image22" id="image22"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image22.png" width="401" height="233" +alt="THE FAIR LADY OF RENOWN." title="THE FAIR LADY OF RENOWN." /> +<p class="caption">THE FAIR LADY OF RENOWN.</p> +</div> + +<p>The small girl did not answer, and when Huckleberry looked around, he +saw that she was asleep.</p> + +<p>"Poor little thing!" said Huckleberry, softly, to himself. "I guess I +gave her a little too much riddle to begin with. Her mind isn't formed +enough yet. But it's pretty hard on me. I wanted to teach somebody +something, and here she's gone to sleep. I wish I could find that +goose-girl. If father could teach her something, I'm sure I could."</p> + +<p>So he went walking through the fields, and pretty soon he saw Lois, +standing among her geese, who were feeding on the grass.</p> + +<p>Huckleberry skipped up to her as lively as a cricket.</p> + +<p>"Can you tell me," said he, "why an elephant with a glass globe of +gold-fish tied to his tail is like the Lord High Admiral of the British +Isles?"</p> + +<p>"Was the globe of gold-fish all the elephant owned?" asked the +goose-girl, thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Huckleberry. "But I don't see what that's got to do with +it."</p> + +<p>"Then the answer is," said Lois, without noticing this last remark, +"because all his property is entailed."</p> + +<p>"Well, I de-clare!" cried Huckleberry, opening his eyes as wide as they +would go, "if you didn't guess it! Why, I didn't know it had an +answer."</p> + +<p>"I wish it hadn't had an answer," said the goose-girl, suddenly +stamping her foot. "I wish there had never been any answer to it in the +whole world. It was only yesterday that I promised Old Riddler that I +would never guess another riddle, and here I've done it! It's too bad!"</p> + +<p>"I don't think it is," cried Huckleberry, waving his little cap around +by the tassel. "It's all very well for father not to want people to +guess his riddles, because they've got answers and he knows what they +are. But I would never have known that any of mine had an answer if you +hadn't guessed this one. If you had had a riddle like this one, +wouldn't you have been glad to have some one tell you the answer?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I would," said Lois.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, my good girl, remember this: If a thing gives you +pleasure, it's very likely that it will give somebody else pleasure. So +let somebody else have a chance, and the next time you hear a riddle +that you think the owner has no answer for, guess it for him, if you +can. Good-by!"</p> + +<p>And away went Master Huckleberry, skipping and singing and snapping his +fingers and twirling his cap, until he came to a wide crack in the +ground, when he rolled himself up like a huckleberry dumpling, and went +tumbling and bouncing down into the underground home of the gnomes.</p> + +<p>"Get out of the way!" said he to the gnomes he passed, as he proudly +strode to his father's apartments. "I'm going to make a report. For the +first time in my life I've taught somebody something."</p> + +<p>When Huckleberry left her, the goose-girl stood silently in the midst +of her geese. Her brow was overcast.</p> + +<p>"How's anybody to do two things that can't both be done?" she exclaimed +at last. "I'll have nothing more to do with riddles as long as I live."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="williamphips" id="williamphips">HOW SIR WILLIAM +PHIPS<br />FOUND THE TREASURE IN THE SEA.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY S.G.W. BENJAMIN.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<p>There is scarcely anything more exciting to the imagination than tales +of hidden treasure, especially treasure lost at sea. The mystery, the +wonder, the adventure, the tragedy, the seemingly boundless +possibilities connected with riches lost by shipwreck or war, and yet +not gone beyond the hope of recovery, have given rise to a multitude of +romantic stories, some of them pure fictions, but many founded more or +less on fact.</p> + +<p>I have known several cases in which treasure lost by piracy or +shipwreck has been recovered after a century or more. Some years ago a +company of men from Boston made two cruises to the shoals of the Silver +Key on the Bahama Banks, a spot noted for shipwrecks. They had some +clue to a treasure-laden ship which had foundered there long ago. The +first trip was unsuccessful, but on the second voyage the wreck was +found. Divers, armed with modern apparatus, spent several days in the +quest, but in vain, until, finally, just as the last diver was about to +give the signal to be drawn up, he leaned against what seemed only the +barnacle-encrusted end of a beam; but suddenly it gave way, and numbers +of golden doubloons rolled out at his feet. Considerable sums rewarded +further search in the sand-filled and decaying carcass of the old ship; +but exactly how much was realized is known only to the discoverers, who +kept the matter secret, and thus evaded paying a great part of the +share due to the British crown, in whose dominion the treasure was +found.</p> + +<p>To Boston also belonged, some two centuries ago, the celebrated +treasure-hunter, William Phips. He was one of twenty-one sons, and was +born at Woolwich, Maine, in 1651. Of a bold, adventurous spirit, his +first and last passion was to follow the sea, although until he was +eighteen years of age he was forced to tend sheep. He then apprenticed +himself to a ship-carpenter for four years, taking a trip down the +coast now and then, and watching his chance for the next move. He is +said to have been inspired by an idea that celebrity and fortune were +to be his destiny; and when his apprenticeship was over, he went to +Boston and worked at ship-building for a year, until he had the good +luck to win the favor of a rich widow. Her he married, and, with the +increase of means thus obtained, Phips launched into various +enterprises, which did not always turn out well. But he never lost +faith in his guiding star, and often told his good wife that "he should +yet become commander of a king's ship, and owner of a fair brick house +in the Green Lane of Boston"—at that time the Beacon Street of the +plucky little town.</p> + +<p>Ten years went by, and Phips seemed but little nearer the realization +of his dreams than while tending sheep on the hill-sides of Maine, when +the prospect suddenly brightened in an unexpected quarter. This was the +time when Spanish and Portuguese galleons were crossing the ocean laden +with silver from Potosi and diamonds from Brazil. Pirates and +privateers scoured the seas to rob the treasure-ships, and great +expeditions were sent out by England in war times for the same purpose. +The imaginations of men ran riot during this feverish state of things, +and people were ready to believe almost any yarn "spun" in the +forecastle.</p> + +<p>Phips was just the man to be moved by such tales, and, when he learned +of a certain rich wreck on the Bahamas, he at once fitted out a small +vessel and went in search of it. He found and recovered the treasure, +but the amount was small, being only large enough to whet his appetite +for more.</p> + +<p>While at the Bahamas, he was told of another Spanish vessel, wrecked +off Puerto Plata more than fifty years before, with a much larger +treasure. His means not being sufficient for this expedition, Phips +sailed for England and made direct application to the Admiralty to aid +him in his search. So ably did this true son of the sea represent his +cause, that he was given command of the "Rose Algier," a ship mounting +eighteen guns and carrying a hundred men. Thus Phips's first dream came +to pass; he was now captain of a king's ship, with a roving commission.</p> + +<p>The exact position of the wreck was unknown, and the untrustworthy +character of the crew added great difficulties to the undertaking. It +should be remembered, also, that diving-bells, diving-armor, and the +like, were then unknown. But the courage and indomitable perseverance +of Phips now came into play, and he had a capital chance to show the +stuff of which he was made.</p> + +<p>Soon after they had sailed, the crew came aft, armed, and determined to +force Phips to yield to their wishes, which probably were that they +should all turn pirates. Without giving them time to deliberate, Phips +flew at their leader, hurled him to the deck and dispatched him on the +spot—a deed so prompt and daring that it awed the mutineers into +submission for the time. One who has never seen a mutiny at sea can +form but little idea of its desperate character, and the rapidity of +action and unflinching nerve required where men are shut up alone on +the wide ocean with a quarrel so deadly in its nature that no +compromise can be thought of for a moment, and no quarter can be +allowed with safety to him who gives it.</p> + +<p>But the next plot to seize the ship was even more dangerous. The "Rose +Algier," being in need of repairs, was taken to a cove in a small +uninhabited island, and careened on one side in order to reach the +damaged place. Most of the stores were moved on shore, the ship was +hove down, and a bridge was laid between the deck and the land. Under +the pretense of pastime, most of the crew now betook themselves to the +woods, and there plotted to return at seven in the evening, seize the +ship, force Phips and eight faithful men on shore, leave them there to +perish, and themselves sail away on a piratical cruise. But the +carpenter was one of the few who stood by the captain, and yet they +could not risk putting to sea without him. They sent for him, +therefore, on some pretext, and, having him in their power, offered him +the choice of instant death or of joining his fortunes with theirs. He +begged for half an hour to think about it, and said that at any rate he +should have to return on board for his tool-chest. They granted his +request, and sent two men with him to watch his movements. Soon +afterward, he was suddenly taken with a pretended cramp or colic, and +in great seeming agony rushed into the cabin for medicine; there he +found Phips, and in a few rapid words revealed the plot. In less than +two hours the mutineers would be marching on the ship. Not an instant +was to be lost. Immediately the guns were loaded and trained to command +the shore and all the approaches to the stores; the bridge was taken +in, and when the mutineers appeared they found themselves caught. In +tones of thunder, Phips bade them not to stir or he would mow them down +with his batteries; nor did they dare to disobey. The bridge was again +laid down, and the eight loyal men brought back the stores to the ship. +When all was safely on board again, the mutineers were told that they +were to be left to the fate they had intended for their commander. In +despair at so terrible a prospect, the miserable men threw down their +arms, and protested their willingness to submit if Phips would but +relent and not sail away without them. After a long parley, he agreed +to let them come on board, they having first given up their arms. But, +with such a crew, further search after the treasure was useless. Phips, +therefore, sailed for Jamaica, changed the crew, and again weighed +anchor for Hispaniola. There he was lucky enough to find an old +Spaniard who told him that the wreck was somewhere about a reef a few +leagues north of Puerto de la Plata. Phips immediately went to the +spot. But his search for the wreck was long and unavailing, the season +was changing, and the "Rose Algier," now but half manned and in +unseaworthy condition, was unfit to prowl around a dangerous reef in +the hurricane season. So, without having accomplished the object of so +much exertion and anxiety, Phips was obliged to return to England, a +baffled but not a discouraged man.</p> + +<a name="image23" id="image23"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image23.jpg" width="362" height="401" +alt="CAPTAIN PHIPS THREATENS TO SAIL AWAY FROM THE MUTINEERS." +title="CAPTAIN PHIPS THREATENS TO SAIL AWAY FROM THE MUTINEERS." /> +<p class="caption">CAPTAIN PHIPS THREATENS TO SAIL AWAY FROM THE +MUTINEERS.</p> +</div> + +<p>Very naturally, it was impossible for our adventurer to obtain another +English ship-of-war, although he received much credit for the courage +and skill shown in controlling the mutineers, and one would conclude +that the treasure of the old Spanish galleon would after this have +remained at the bottom of the sea, the exclusive possession of the +sharks, the turtles and the barracudas. But with rare pertinacity Phips +returned to the charge, and at last persuaded the Duke of Albemarle +and several other wealthy noblemen to his views. They formed a company +and obtained a patent from King James II., giving them the sole right +to all wrecked treasure they might find during a certain number of +years. Then they fitted out a ship and tender, the latter to cruise in +coves and shoal water, and Phips invented several rude contrivances, +for dragging and diving, far inferior to the means now used for such +purposes. Thus prepared, he sailed once more for Hispaniola. There a +small, stout boat was built, and with it and a crew of Indian divers +the tender was despatched to the reef where the wreck was said to be. +The tender was anchored in good holding-ground at a safe distance from +the reef, and the men then rowed slowly in the boat around it, +carefully examining the depths below for signs of the wrecked galleon. +The waters in the West Indies are very clear, and during a calm objects +can be seen at a considerable depth. The rocks were of singular form, +rising nearly to the surface, but with sides so steep that any vessel +striking them would be liable to go down many fathoms below the reach +of the most expert diver. The only hope was that the wreck might have +lodged on some projecting ledge. But the closest observation, long +continued, failed to reveal any sign of the object so eagerly sought, +although the water was perfectly calm.</p> + +<p>At length; a curious sea-plant cropping out of a crevice in the sides +of the reef caught the eye of one of the crew, and he sent down an +Indian to bring it up. When the diver returned to the surface he +reported that he had seen a number of brass cannon lying tangled among +the sea-weed on a ledge. That was enough. Inspired with the greatest +enthusiasm, diver after diver plunged below to be the first to discover +the treasure, and ere long one of them brought up an ingot of silver +worth several hundred pounds. Transported with success they left a buoy +to mark the spot, and made all sail to carry the glad tidings to Phips. +He would not credit the tale until he had seen the ingot, when he +exclaimed, "Thanks be to God, we are all made!"</p> + +<p>Every man was at once enlisted in the service of fishing for the +treasure. The bullion was discovered first; after that, in the bottom +of the hold, the sea-miners found the coin in bags, which had been so +long under water that they were encrusted with a stony shell, hard as +rock. This was broken with crowbars, revealing gold, jewels, and +"pieces of eight," in glittering abundance. The last day's work brought +to light twenty massive silver ingots, and the whole amount recovered +was somewhat over three hundred thousand pounds, a sum equal in the +values of our time to five millions of dollars. Nor was this all the +riches concealed in the wreck; but Phips was obliged to return to +England before completing the business. Provisions had run low, and the +presence of so vast a treasure on board had stimulated the cupidity of +the crew to a dangerous degree, so that each day of delay in reaching +port was full of hazard. Every precaution was taken to guard the +treasure, but what probably prevented the crew from rising was the +promise Phips gave them, when matters had become most suspicious, that +they should each receive a share of the profits in addition to his +wages, even if his own portion were thus swallowed up. Phips reached +England without mishap, thus bringing to a successful termination one +of the most daring exploits of its sort that were ever attempted.</p> + +<p>When the profits were divided, Phips received as his share a sum that +would now be equal to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The Duke +of Albemarle presented Mrs. Phips with a magnificent gold cup worth +fifteen thousand dollars, and King James expressed great pleasure at +the honesty and ability of Phips in the conduct of such a difficult +undertaking, and as a reward for bringing such a treasure into England +granted him the honor of knighthood, and offered him important +employment in the royal service. Fortune had indeed smiled on the +shepherd-boy of Maine.</p> + +<p>But Phips was never ashamed of his humble origin, nor in all his +wanderings did he forget his native land. And now, instead of remaining +to enjoy further honors near the throne, he returned to his family, +bearing the important commission of High Sheriff of New England. He now +built the brick house on Green Lane which he had promised his wife +fifteen years before. The name of this Street was eventually changed to +Charter Street, in memory of his efforts to have the charter of the +Massachusetts colony restored.</p> + +<p>Sir William Phips afterward engaged in the wars between the American +colonies of France and England, and at the head of an expedition of +eight ships captured Port Royal. A subsequent enterprise against Quebec +failed from a combination of causes, some of them beyond the control of +Phips. After this Sir William went again to England, where he was +appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the New England +colonies; and his return home with these new honors and titles was made +the occasion of a day of solemn thanksgiving.</p> + +<p>His governorship having ceased, Sir William Phips sailed for England, +and was meditating a fresh expedition in search of shipwrecked treasure +when he was taken suddenly ill, and died at the age of forty-five. +While his adventurous career affords us little hope that any of us will +ever, like him, discover shipwrecked wealth, it gives us a fine example +of what perseverance combined with intelligence, courage and honesty +can accomplish in the face of great difficulties; for it was a union of +all these qualities which enabled Sir William Phips to wrest fortune +and honors from the ocean depths.</p> + +<a name="image24" id="image24"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image24.png" width="400" height="180" alt="" /> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="fishingbirdsflorida" id="fishingbirdsflorida">SOME FISHING-BIRDS OF FLORIDA.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY MRS. MARY TREAT.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<p>All along the St. John's River, during the winter, may be seen birds +catching fish for a living. They are more numerous here in winter than +in summer, because, upon the freezing of the waters at the North, they +flock to Florida to carry on their fishing in the St. John's, which, +never freezing, contains an abundance of fish.</p> + +<p>The belted kingfisher comes close to the house, where I can watch him +fishing as I sit at the window. The river is five miles across here, +and for several yards from the shore it is quite shallow, so that a +wharf two hundred and fifty feet long was necessary to make it easy to +launch our small rowboats. A railing extends along the side of the +wharf, and upon this railing the kingfisher perches, watching for his +prey.</p> + +<a name="image25" id="image25"></a> +<div class="imgleft"> +<img src="images/image25.png" width="199" height="245" +alt="THE BELTED KINGFISHER." title="THE BELTED KINGFISHER." /> +<p class="caption">THE BELTED KINGFISHER.</p> +</div> + +<p>He understands fishing much better than most boys, for he seldom misses +his game. He takes his position on the railing, and fixes his eyes upon +the finny tribes below, and when a fish that suits him comes within his +range, he dives into the water and brings it up with his stout beak, +and then beats it upon the railing to make it limp and tender before +swallowing.</p> + +<p>It is not so very surprising that he is such an expert fisher, for +during the winter it is his only occupation; he has no family to look +after now, and he is so very selfish and quarrelsome that he will not +allow any of his brothers to fish near him. He considers the whole +length of the wharf his fishing-post, and his brothers must not +trespass upon his grounds; if they do, he chases them away with a +rattling, clanging noise, enough to frighten any fisher not stronger +than himself.</p> + +<p>In the spring he takes a partner in his business, for now it is time to +raise a family, and he knows he can never do this alone. He is very +good and kind to this partner, and helps her dig a hole in a clayey +bank for the nest, and then takes his turn in sitting upon the eggs. +After the eggs are hatched, they both catch fish to feed the young +until they are old enough to feed themselves.</p> + +<p>The American flamingo, with his gorgeous scarlet feathers, is a superb +fellow. He is very shy, and peculiarly afraid of man. On account of its +fine apparel, it has been more closely pursued than almost any other +bird. It does not go north like some of the herons, but Audubon says it +has occasionally been seen in South Carolina. Its constant home, +however, is in the southern part of Florida and along the Gulf coast.</p> + +<p>Like the herons, of which I told you in <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> +for May, 1877, the flamingoes are sociable, and live in flocks. They +have webbed feet, which give them an advantage over the herons in +enabling them to swim as well as to wade. I have never been able to +get near enough to these birds to gain any personal knowledge of their +habits.</p> + +<p>The nest of the flamingo is a curious affair; usually built in a +marshy, muddy place, in the form of a mound. It is made of sticks and +grass and mud to the height of two or three feet, with a hollow in the +middle to hold the eggs. The male is said to assist in the construction +of the nest, but this is probably mere conjecture, for I think no one +living at the present time has been able to get near enough to these +birds to watch their habits, and their nests can be reached only with +great difficulty.</p> + +<p>The female lays two white eggs about the size of those of a goose. It +is said that she sits astride the nest in an ungainly fashion, and that +the young, as soon as they are hatched, take to the water like young +ducks.</p> + +<p>If a law only could be passed to protect these birds, what a grand +sight the waters of Florida would soon present! These great, brilliant, +scarlet birds, dallying and playing in the water, or wading near the +shore in quest of game, would be a sight never to be forgotten. Can it +be possible that Florida does not care for such glorious creatures, and +will allow, year after year, these marauders from the North to kill +them without a single protest? Unless something is done for the +protection of these splendid creatures, they must soon become extinct; +for their range is quite limited, and I fear the boy and girl readers +of <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span>, by the time they grow to +men and women, can only read of these as "gorgeous birds of the past."</p> + +<p>Almost every morning, the osprey, or fish-hawk, comes in front of the +window and fishes in the shallow water near the house. He does not seem +to be as expert as the kingfisher. I have seen him dive a dozen times +or more into the water before bringing up his prey. He sails around and +around in the air; at last fixing his eyes upon a fish, he swoops down, +making the water splash around him. His feet are large and powerful, +and he arranges his long toes in the form of a scoop as he plunges into +the river; this scoop is his fishing-tackle with which he brings up his +finny food.</p> + +<p>I think I should not like to be an osprey, for he seems to have such a +hard time to get a living, and yet he is an honest, well-disposed +laborer. After he has succeeded in catching a fish, a bald eagle often +swoops down from some tall tree, where he has been watching him, and by +main force compels this honest fisher to give up his hard-won prey. The +eagle is considerably larger than his victim, being about three feet in +length, while the osprey is only about two feet.</p> + +<p>It is quite a grand sight to see these two large birds wheeling through +the air—the osprey trying to elude the eagle, diving first one way and +then another, until at last, when he sees the unencumbered eagle must +overpower him, in a fit of desperation he lets the fish drop, and the +eagle catches it before it reaches the water, and carries it to some +retired spot where he devours it.</p> + +<p>And now the poor defrauded osprey must go to work and catch another +fish before he can have his dinner. Here you see the bald eagle with +his ill-gotten prey.</p> + +<a name="image26" id="image26"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image26.png" width="401" height="239" +alt="THE BALD EAGLE." title="THE BALD EAGLE." /> +<p class="caption">THE BALD EAGLE.</p> +</div> + +<p>Great flocks of ducks often come to fish in the shallow water close to +the shore. I suppose the reason that they come so near is that they +find smaller fish here than in the deep water; and another reason, they +are never shot at near the shore, for no fire-arms are allowed to be +discharged within the town limits, except under the penalty of five +dollars for each discharge.</p> + +<p>This place, in winter, corresponds to a northern watering-place in +summer. There is a warm sulphur-spring here, and people come from all +quarters for health and for amusement. At first the great numbers of +birds all about attracted many sportsmen, but I am very glad to tell +you that the Florida people did not like this reckless shooting of +birds in their midst, so they made this beautiful little place—Green +Cove Spring—a city, and elected a mayor and a marshal, and other +officers, to keep the men straight, and to protect the birds.</p> + +<p>So this is why the birds that live about this little city are so tame, +and why the ducks come so close to us; they have learned that they are +quite safe from guns here.</p> + +<p>Several species of ducks may sometimes be seen in one flock, fishing +together in perfect harmony. It is quite astonishing how long they can +stay under water, and when they come up their feathers are not wet at +all.</p> + +<p>The most beautiful of these fishing-ducks is the hooded merganser. Its +plumage is most elegant, and it has a large thick tuft or crest of +feathers covering the whole head, which gives it a sort of military +look; and, indeed, it seems to be a commander, for it leads all of its +relatives. It sometimes stays so long under the water that I begin to +fear something has happened,—that an alligator, or some other huge +beast, has got hold of it; but it always makes its appearance after a +while, often at quite a long distance from where it went under.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="nanspeaceoffering" id="nanspeaceoffering">NAN'S PEACE-OFFERING.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY KATE W. HAMILTON.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<p>"Just wish I was properer, and everything—so there!" said Nannie, +sitting discontentedly down upon the green grass by the road-side, and +surveying herself with a pair of very serious brown eyes.</p> + +<p>It was a forlorn little self, surely, with wet dress, muddy shoes, inky +apron, and crumpled sun-bonnet.</p> + +<p>"Aunt S'mantha'll think I'm dreadful. She says I never have any +forethought; but I have lots of after-thoughts, and I s'pose folks +can't have both kinds. It don't do any good, either. Oh dear!"</p> + +<p>There was a whistled tune coming up the road. Tommy Grey was attached +to it, but the whistle seemed much the older and more important of the +two, and was first to reach the tree where Nannie was sitting. When +Tommy caught up with it, he stopped in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Nan Verling! Is that you?"</p> + +<p>"I suppose so, but I wish it wasn't," answered Nannie, dolefully.</p> + +<p>"What for?" questioned Tommy, in still further astonishment.</p> + +<p>"'Cause I wish I was somebody else that wasn't all wrinkled and mussed +up. I don't see how folks can keep nice and have good times, anyway," +declared Nan, in a burst of confidence. "You see, I just helped sail +boats in the brook, and I didn't know my dress was wet a bit till I +came away; and then Lizzie Sykes tagged me, and course I had to tag her +back again. I don't know what made her run right through the mud, where +I couldn't catch her without getting my shoes all muddy. Should think +she might have known better! My old ink-stand at school is always +upsetting itself, and it had to spill on my clean white apron this +afternoon. Then my sun-bonnet—"</p> + +<p>"Looks as if you'd hung it up in your pocket," suggested Tommy.</p> + +<p>"Well, I didn't; I only rolled it up for a rag-baby when we played keep +house at recess. I s'pose it's bad for bonnets, but it made the +beautifulest kind of a baby," said Nannie, a little ray of enthusiasm +gleaming through her despondency. "But Aunt S'mantha doesn't 'preciate +such things," she added, mournfully.</p> + +<p>"No," answered Tommy, sympathetically. "She'll scold, may be?"</p> + +<p>"P'r'aps so. May be she'll send me to bed without any supper."</p> + +<p>"Whew! That a'nt any fun, I tell you!" declared Tommy. "Why, a fellow +just tumbles and tumbles, and gets hungrier and hungrier, and wonders +what the folks have got for supper, and looks at the stars, and tries +to say 'Hickory-dickory-dock' backward, and wishes it was morning. It +just feels awful!"</p> + +<p>"I didn't ever try it, and I don't s'pose I could stand it," said +Nannie, shaking dejectedly the curly head in the flopping sun-bonnet. +"I've a good mind not to go home at all, but just run away off +somewhere, and be a foundling. Foundlings have pretty good times, +'cause I've read about 'em in books. They get adopted by some great +lady in a big house, and grow up rich, and get to be real handsome."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe you would," declared Tommy, more honestly than +politely.</p> + +<p>Nan meditated a minute, and then said, with a sigh:</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess I'll have to go home, then."</p> + +<p>"Scoldings don't last very long, anyway," urged Tommy, consolingly.</p> + +<p>"But if you sort o' think you oughtn't to have done things, and did +ought to be more careful—and everything—it makes it seem more worse, +you know," remarked Nannie, in a hesitating, half-penitent way. "'Cause +I <i>do</i> like Aunt S'mantha."</p> + +<p>"Yes," admitted Tommy, knitting his brow over the complications of the +case, and searching his own experience for a suggestion of relief. "If +you only had something nice to carry home to her—something she wants. +Once I got wet as a rat playing round the pond, but I'd caught two +fish—reg'lar tip-top trout—and I took 'em home to mother; held 'em up +where they'd be seen first thing, you know. And she said, 'What nice +fish!' and didn't scold a wink."</p> + +<p>"I couldn't catch anything if I tried a week, and Aunt S'mantha +wouldn't care, anyway. Why, she's a real grown-up woman, and could have +tea-parties and make molasses candy every day if she wanted to! I don't +believe she wants anything, unless it's ban—bananas—whatever that is. +I heard her say she'd like some, this morning."</p> + +<p>"Bandanas?" questioned Tommy, with brightening eyes.</p> + +<p>"Y-e-s, I guess so," answered Nannie, rather doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"Ho! I know what they are as well as anything. Why, they're silk +handkerchiefs—red and yellow, with spots on 'em."</p> + +<p>Nannie's hand dived into her small pocket, and re-appeared with two +nickels and a copper.</p> + +<p>"Do you guess I could buy one at Carney's store for 'leven cents? +'Cause I haven't got any more."</p> + +<p>"I s'pose so. Why, yes; handkerchiefs a'nt much 'count, you know. I +always lose mine—only they a'nt bandanas. I guess women-folks think +more about 'em, though," said Tommy, with the air of one superior to +such trifles.</p> + +<p>Nannie was convinced, and started from her seat with a little sigh of +relief.</p> + +<p>"I'll go and buy her one, then. And I think you're a pretty good boy, +Tommy Grey," she added, gratefully, as she trudged down the road, +leaving Tommy to take up his whistling and his homeward route again.</p> + +<p>It was quite a long walk to the store—<i>the</i> store, because the village +only boasted one. That did not matter much to the inhabitants +generally, as the town was so near. Bentleyville and Bentley were +connected by a straggling line of houses that made it hard to tell +where the village ended and the town began. Ambitious young villagers +took advantage of this to talk about "we city people," while the older +ones contentedly spoke of themselves as "plain country-folks."</p> + +<p>Nannie did not care in the least which she was, neither did she greatly +mind the walk, though the feet that had done so much running began to +grow tired. If only she could carry a peace-offering to Aunt Samantha! +That would make all right, and her small world bright again, she was +sure.</p> + +<p>"I can't have any candy or slate-pencils for ever so long; but I don't +care, 'cause I do like her, and she'll know it—course she will if I +buy her a handkerchief; and she wont think I got all mussed up on +purpose," she soliloquized.</p> + +<p>It required some heroism to pass by the fresh pop-corn balls at the +store door, and to turn away from the boxes of figs without a second +glance; but Nannie did both, and, walking straight to the counter, made +known her errand.</p> + +<p>"Bandanas? Yes, a prime lot of 'em," said bustling little Mr. Carney, +bringing out his whole stock.</p> + +<p>His small customer, standing on tiptoe to reach the counter, gravely +examined them. Would Aunt Samantha like a red one or a yellow one best, +she wondered. It was a perplexing question to decide. If only she could +take her one of each! And that reminded her to ask the price.</p> + +<p>"Seventy-five cents apiece," said the old gentleman briskly.</p> + +<p>"Seventy—five—cents!" repeated Nan, faintly.</p> + +<a name="image27" id="image27"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image27.jpg" width="287" height="401" +alt="'SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS APIECE,' SAID THE OLD GENTLEMAN." +title="'SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS APIECE,' SAID THE OLD GENTLEMAN." /> +<p class="caption">"'SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS APIECE,' SAID THE OLD GENTLEMAN."</p> +</div> + +<p>"Yes, sissy; cheap at that, too."</p> + +<p>"I—thought—I didn't know," stammered Nannie, in a sore +disappointment. Then rallying her faltering courage, she asked: "Don't +you ever sell any for 'leven cents?"</p> + +<p>"Eleven cents? Bless me, child! Why, they cost—Oh! may be you mean +cotton ones? Look a little like these."</p> + +<p>Nan nodded, glad to think it even probable that she had meant anything.</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't keep that kind, you see," explained Mr. Carney, +condescendingly.</p> + +<p>Discouraged and forlorn, the little woman turned away. She walked until +she was quite out of sight of the store, and then paused to meditate. +What should she do? It seemed dreadfully hard to give up her plan now +when she had thought it all nicely settled. There were plenty of stores +in Bentley; some of them might sell handkerchiefs for eleven cents. She +glanced dubiously along the road leading to the town, and noticed that +the sun was nearly out of sight behind the hills.</p> + +<p>"But it stays light ever and ever so long after the sun sets," she +murmured, "and it didn't seem a bit far when I rode to town with Aunt +S'mantha. I guess this store is most part way. Anyhow, I just must have +a bandana!" she added, as she once more caught sight of her soiled +apron and muddy shoes.</p> + +<p>She straightened her sun-bonnet, and started resolutely forward again. +She had grown to feel that the proposed purchase was in some way a +reparation due to Aunt Samantha, and she could not give it up. On and +on trudged the tired little feet, aching wearily at last, but never +hesitating nor turning back. It seemed a long way, though.</p> + +<p>"Wonder if I wont ever and ever come to where the houses get thicker," +she murmured. "When I keep a store I'll build it on the edge somewhere, +so folks wont have to walk so far to get to it."</p> + +<p>After a time, the buildings did nestle more closely together, and, +somewhat comforted, she stopped a moment to rest. But she started +suddenly to her feet as a light flashed upon her from an opposite +window. People were really beginning to light their lamps, and the +daylight was almost gone.</p> + +<p>Weariness was forgotten in the thought that night might fall before she +could return, and she ran as fast as her light feet would carry her—so +swiftly and so far that she had nearly passed a small store without +seeing it.</p> + +<p>She checked her steps at this discovery, and entering, asked, +breathlessly:</p> + +<p>"Oh,—please,—have you any ban-banners?"</p> + +<p>"What? any what?" demanded a severe-looking lady, coming forward and +eying Nan suspiciously through her spectacles.</p> + +<p>"Bandaners,—handkerchiefs," explained Nannie, less confidently.</p> + +<p>"Bandanas? No; I don't keep them," responded the lady, very stiffly.</p> + +<p>"Should think she might have been more p'lite, if I didn't call it +right," commented the young traveler as she hurried along the street +once more. "Here's another." This time there was only a boy in +attendance. He was head of the establishment when the proprietor went +to supper, and he enjoyed his important position.</p> + +<p>"Do you keep ban-ban-banners?" asked Nannie, growing confused again.</p> + +<p>"Which? I hope you don't mean any disrespect to the flag of your +country, ma'am?"</p> + +<p>"No sir; I mean handkerchiefs," said Nannie, innocently.</p> + +<p>"Ah! yes, I understand. I think we have the article in question."</p> + +<p>A number of the red and yellow silks were produced, and while the brown +eyes scanned them in some perplexity, the mischievous young clerk +surveyed the comical little figure before him, and gravely asked:</p> + +<p>"Is that quantity sufficient for the exercise of your predilections? or +would you like an additional supply?"</p> + +<p>"I would like 'leven cents worth," stammered Nannie.</p> + +<p>"Eleven cents worth of silk handkerchiefs? That's a novelty now!" +laughed the boy. "Why, you see that wouldn't be a seventh part of one +of these bits of magnificence,—not a scrap large enough for a +respectable doll. We really couldn't do it, ma'am. The owner of this +establishment has a nonsensical way of always selling his handkerchiefs +whole."</p> + +<p>Then, at sight of the disappointed little face, his fun yielded to an +impulse of kindness, and from a far-away corner he produced an old box +with the dust of disuse lying thickly upon it. It contained some small +cotton handkerchiefs, gayly printed, with border, pictures and verses, +in bright colors. Nannie's eyes brightened. They were much prettier +than the others, she thought, and they were only ten cents! She wavered +uncertainly between a pink and a blue one, and finally appealed to the +clerk for advice.</p> + +<p>"Which is the nicest? Couldn't really say, ma'am. If you want it for +winter use, the blue would probably match best with your nose; but if +you keep it specially for fits of weeping, the red might be nearest the +proper tint."</p> + +<p>Nannie looked at him solemnly, but not understanding him in the least: +she decided upon the blue one, and turned away with the precious +package in her hand. It was certainly growing late. The rosy glow had +all vanished from the west, and one star was peeping out dimly.</p> + +<p>"A good deal after supper-time," murmured Nannie, anxiously. Then, +glancing down a side street, she caught sight of a baker's sign. It was +but a few steps, and she was very hungry, so she determined to invest +her remaining cent in a piece of gingerbread. Eager to be on her +homeward way she walked rapidly, and this did not suit the fancy of a +large dog in a neighboring yard. He bounded toward the fence, barking +furiously, and in a moment Nannie discovered that he had pushed open +the gate and was upon the street. She fled at full speed away beyond +the shop and down another street. At last a corner hid him from view, +and he did not follow her. She dared not retrace her steps for fear of +meeting him, and she abandoned all hope of a visit to the bakery. There +must be other ways back to the road, though, she thought, and she +wandered up one street and down another without coming to any building +that looked familiar. She had lost her way entirely, and grew more and +more bewildered as she wandered. The stars came out thickly in the sky, +and it seemed to her that she had been traveling for hours. Finally she +found herself in a quiet, unfrequented part of the town, and then the +brave little heart failed utterly, and frightened, homesick, and +terribly weary, she sank down by the road-side, sobbing bitterly. She +did not hear the sound of wheels, nor notice the horses drawn up beside +her, until some one called:</p> + +<p>"Hello, little one! what's the matter?"</p> + +<p>She had heard that neighborly voice too often not to recognize it now, +and she sprang up in wild delight. "Oh, Captain Hoyt! Take me home! Oh, +please sir, wont you take me home?"</p> + +<p>"Home, chick-a-biddy? Why, who—little Nan Verling, I declare! Well, +if it isn't lucky that I didn't sell my apples till late to-day, and am +just going out! How in the world did you get there?"</p> + +<p>"I lost my way," faltered Nannie, trying hard to conquer her tears when +she was safely in the wagon. "I came to buy a bandana handkerchief for +Aunt S'mantha."</p> + +<p>"Bandana? Well, she'll need it, and a few cambric ones thrown in, if +she don't know where you are at this time of night," declared the +captain, whipping up his horses.</p> + +<p>He was quite right; Miss Samantha was nearly frantic. She had sent to +every house in the village, and had learned from Tommy how her love of +neatness and carelessly expressed desire for bananas had together +worked mischief. But as a visit to the store revealed the fact that +Nannie had been there and had gone, Miss Samantha could think of +nothing but that most improbable resort,—the pond; and she had +gathered a party with ropes and lanterns, when Captain Hoyt drove up +and deposited the small maiden in their midst.</p> + +<p>"I've got the handkerchief, Aunt S'mantha! and I'm so glad; but my +clothes are all spoiled, and I'm so sorry," began Nannie.</p> + +<p>"Clothes, child! Do you think I care so much more for your clothes than +for you that I want to hear about them first?" exclaimed Miss Samantha, +with an embrace so long and close that Nannie was quite astonished.</p> + +<p>"I didn't know," she answered.</p> + +<p>And Miss Samantha said not a word, for she thought if the child really +did not know, there must have been something wrong somewhere. She +smiled a little grimly when she saw the wonderful handkerchief, but she +laid it away as if it were a treasure. Nannie had a nice supper and a +good night's sleep, and felt quite bright when Tommy looked in upon her +the next morning.</p> + +<p>"I had an awful time; but your way is a real good one, Tommy, 'cause +she didn't scold a bit," she informed him, confidentially.</p> + +<p>"But I guess,—I s'pose,—anyhow, mother says that the best way to +please folks is to do as they want you to, instead of buying 'em +things," said Tommy, feeling that, as he had led her into trouble, he +was in honor bound to give her the benefit of the moral that had been +impressed upon him.</p> + +<p>"Y-e-s," answered Nannie, rather vaguely.</p> + +<p>But, as the weeks went on, and Aunt Samantha grew so much more gentle +that she couldn't help being more careful not to trouble her, she +thought that handkerchief must be a very precious article.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="towermountain" id="towermountain">THE TOWER-MOUNTAIN.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY GUSTAVUS FRANKENSTEIN.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<h3>III.</h3> + + +<p>I wandered about for what seemed to me days and days, but always +cautiously, and never without some hope of escape. At length, becoming +weak, I suppose, I missed my footing from a ledge of rock and fell to a +great distance. I was stunned and bruised, but soon recovered; and +considering the course I must have come, and this last terrible +descent, I felt almost sure that I was far below the surface of the +earth, and that I must try to go up, and must search and search until I +should find some way of ascending. I accordingly moved on, with greater +care than ever, and soon found that I was in a sort of rocky passage +which rose at a slight inclination. I need not say how this discovery +revived my spirits, nor how I was cheered yet more when, after a time, +I came to a level surface again, and discovered that beyond it the +passage continued as before, but much widened.</p> + +<p>Keeping close to the wall of rock on my right, I slowly ascended in +what seemed to me a spiral curve. Sometimes I would take a step to the +left, to ascertain if I still had a barrier on that side; by which I +found that there were many openings in the wall on that side, probably +similar to the one through which I had reached this apparently +continuous passage.</p> + +<p>Up, up I went, gaining courage though feeling weaker and weaker. Having +the wall on my right for so long a time, and seeming to be always +ascending, I began to think that I was in a sort of circular +honey-combed cavern.</p> + +<p>It must be borne in mind that my progress was exceedingly slow, +consequent upon the necessity of feeling my way, step by step, +apprehensive of going over the brink of a precipice in some moment of +undue confidence. How many times I lay down to sleep, how many times I +rose to continue the task, I cannot tell; but, having been immured so +long, without food and without light, I began to feel stealing over me +a weariness of exhaustion which required the utmost power of the will +to battle.</p> + +<p>All this time I kept ascending. Suddenly the passage seemed to open +wide, and, all at once, a bright light shot into the cavern. For the +moment I was blinded; a painful sensation struck me across the brows; +but I determined to behold the light at whatever cost. I opened my +eyes; and now, the shock of the dazzling brightness having passed away, +I saw the most beautiful effect I had ever beheld in my whole life.</p> + +<p>A ray of sunlight fell in a round spot, bright and warm, on the wall at +the left. It entered by a small aperture higher up—in the wall at the +right. For a moment I looked around. I stood in a vast, rock-bound +chamber—an immense hall—faintly illuminated by reflection from the +direct sun-ray which fell upon a vein of quartz, and sparkled, lively +with flitting rainbow-colors. I could see the openings in the inner +wall, many of them a hundred feet high, nearly all very narrow, and for +the most part vertical. On the right, the wall was unbroken, with the +exception of the little hole, through which the blessed sunlight +streamed, in the pit of a broad, deep, conical sort of depression. Far +behind me, I could just make out the mouth of the passage from which I +had emerged into this spacious chamber, and before me the opening into +another also adjacent to the wall on my right.</p> + +<p>I felt now more assured than ever, for I was certainly above-ground. +For a moment, I forgot my forlorn condition, and paused to admire the +splendor of the scene. A few minutes only, and it was gone. I lingered. +Should I wait to see this lovely sight renewed? Twenty-four hours must +elapse before the sun's return to the same position. But <i>would</i> it +come to the same point again on the morrow? I knew it could not, and +that the least deflection from its course that day would allow no ray +to fall into the darkness of that mysterious dungeon. I knew, further, +that it was either morning or evening, about nine or three o'clock, by +the direction of the beam of light. This fact was immensely +encouraging; my heart throbbed rapidly; the blood came tingling to the +finger-ends; I felt a warmth, an energy, a hope, an animation of +spirits I had not known for a long time. It had all along been but one +unending night, when often I would wonder whether, outside, under the +broad blue sky, it was then night or day; but now I knew that it was +day.</p> + +<p>I soon reached the passage which I had seen ahead of me, and found it +in some places not more than two or three feet wide. The ascent became +steeper, though not at all difficult, except at one place, where for +about ten yards I was obliged to use both hands and feet to make sure +of not slipping back.</p> + +<p>About two hours after passing this point the air seemed to change; +there was a warmth and fragrance to it which was very grateful; I +fancied also that I could see somewhat indistinctly.</p> + +<p>"Surely," I thought, "this seems like coming to daylight."</p> + +<p>Warmer and sweeter grew the air; I could see the wall of rock on my +right; and then I suddenly encountered a volume of air blown toward me, +as if the sweetest perfumes of the earth were mingled in that breath of +air. I knew I was coming to the light! Another turn, and there before +me were the grand snow-capped mountains suffused with the last rosy +flush of the setting sun!</p> + +<p>Oh, indescribable glory!</p> + +<p>For a moment, my eyes swept over the horizon,—I was far above the +earth,—then back to the beauteous snow in its sunset splendor. The +rosy tinges lifted and vanished, and a cool twilight glow rested on the +mountain summits. I looked upon the plain below. Far beneath, it lay in +the evening shadow with its thousand fading tints of tropic foliage, +with one spot of blue, almost immediately below, in all that mass of +verdure—the lake. I knew then that I was almost exactly above the cave +I had so long inhabited. And Pippity—Grilly—were they there now?</p> + +<p>I was about to call with all my might; but what ear could hear at that +great distance?</p> + +<p>Three thousand feet at least of space separated my friends from me. How +could I get down that almost perpendicular rock, and how could they get +up to me? How could they know that I was there?</p> + +<p>And now the specter of starvation rose up before me in strongest force. +Should I try to find my way back again?—once more attempt the +darkness? No! no! Too precious was the daylight. It would not do. And +what could be gained? I could not possibly live to reach the bottom!</p> + +<p>The twilight rested serenely on the encircling range of mountain snow, +then faded sweetly from the darkening sky.</p> + +<p>The stars are beacons of hope and faith. Under them I lay down and +slept.</p> + +<p>It was a refreshing slumber that I had beneath an unclouded sky, and +when I awoke it was early dawn. The cool air was grateful; and so +charming seemed all nature that I forgot my hunger and the isolation of +my position. I began, too, to examine the situation. I had emerged from +the cavern into open day by reason of the sudden termination of the +wall which I had had so long on my right. There was left the inner wall +as before, now exposed and forming the exterior of the mountain. I +stood on a platform of rock about four feet square. Beyond was an angle +in the wall, and just then a step to a higher grade of flat rock also. +Then a considerable steepness of the narrow floor, and a bending to the +left, when it was lost to view behind the mass of perpendicular rock. +As the sun rose, I looked down toward the lake, which seemed to lie +almost directly beneath, so nearly perpendicular was the mountain on +that side. About six or seven hundred feet below me, I observed a bird +flying from point to point up the mountain. Soon it disappeared from +view. It had flown to the other side. Presently it re-appeared, still +circling and rising, now perching at one point, and now at another +higher up, then passing out of view again. At length it seemed to come +more directly upward; it rose more rapidly, and was continually in +sight.</p> + +<p>It was a parrot. I heard its cry. I could see it distinctly.</p> + +<p>"Pippity, Pippity!" I cried, "is that you?"</p> + +<p>He gave one joyful scream, alighted on my shoulder, and then on my +hand, talking as fast as his tongue could run: "How d' ye do? How d' ye +do? Frank, Frank!"</p> + +<p>"Food, food, Pippity!" I begged; and before I had finished the words he +flew down the abyss, screaming as he went. I followed him with my eyes +until the precipice below prevented my seeing him any longer.</p> + +<p>It seemed to me a full hour before he re-appeared, and as he came +nearer I saw something in his beak. It was a bunch of grapes. He flew +toward me. I held out my hand to receive him, and with a heart full of +thankfulness I took the precious fruit from his beak.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, thank you, Pippity!" I said. But Pippity didn't wait for +such little expressions of civility. Immediately, he flew away again, +and soon returned with other fruits, and nuts of various kinds; and, as +he could bring but little at a time, of course I could eat but little +at a time, which was a happy circumstance, for that is just the way a +starving man should eat.</p> + +<p>In about four or five hours I told Pippity I had had enough.</p> + +<p>"And now, Pippity," said I, "tell me,—how long have I been away?"</p> + +<p>He promptly answered, "Three days!"</p> + +<p>"Are you sure?"</p> + +<p>"Three days—one, two, three."</p> + +<p>I was almost sure he was right. But how the bird had found me I could +not make out. I questioned him in many ways, but could get no +satisfactory answer. By my not returning the day I went down into the +hole, and not the next, no doubt my friends began to be alarmed for my +safety, and set to work to find me, if possible. What Grilly did in the +matter I could not conjecture; but Pippity, being able to fly, probably +made excursions round the mountain, thinking that I might possibly come +out at some place, and hoping thus to be able to find me and come to my +relief.</p> + +<p>During the afternoon, Pippity made a number of trips down into the +fertile plain, every time bringing back something good to eat, whilst I +rested quietly, amusing myself with looking at the pleasant scenery +that everywhere surrounded me, talking with Pippity whenever he was +present, and sometimes sleeping pleasantly.</p> + +<p>A short time before sunset, Pippity took his last flight down, and, not +long after the sun had disappeared, I saw him returning in the +beautiful twilight. Again he brought me fruit.</p> + +<p>"Go down to Grilly now," I said; "I will stay up here until morning, +and then you come to me again."</p> + +<p>But Pippity didn't want to leave; and I told him that as he was so +desirous of keeping me company, he might remain with me through the +night.</p> + +<p>The next morning, at the first glimmering of dawn, I awoke, feeling +well, hearty and cheerful. Pippity was off immediately to bring me +breakfast, and about ten o'clock we set out in high spirits to make +further ascent of this singular peak. All went well for about an hour, +when, Pippity being absent after food, I came to a place in the rock +where the walk suddenly ended. A little further on and higher up it +was as good as any part I had yet gone over; but the intervening space +of scarcely more than a dozen feet was very steep, and, what was +remarkable, loose stones lay upon its surface as though they had slid +down from above. This slide seemed to have been occasioned by a +softness of the rock in that part, causing it to scale off in thin +pieces, which the slightest disturbance would send rattling down the +mountain. Just beyond these loose stones was a smooth surface of very +steep rock, over which it would be necessary to pass in order to reach +the path beyond.</p> + +<p>I paused here; and after Pippity had brought the fruit and I had +finished my dinner, I began seriously to discuss the question whether +or not I ought to attempt the passage of this dangerous interval. +Pippity seemed to understand my intentions quite well, for he grew very +uneasy, and in his queer ways, with snatches of singularly applicable +speech, he remonstrated most strenuously. But we now were not very far +from the top, and so fascinating seemed the prospect of reaching the +very pinnacle, that I could not withstand the impulse of making the +effort to get there. Over the loose stones I scrambled, clinging with +hands and feet as best I could, whilst an avalanche of rocky fragments +slid, tumbled, and rattled ominously down the declivity.</p> + +<p>I got my hands upon the smooth rock, but at my feet the loose stones +were slipping rapidly away; this, in a moment more, would leave me +without support and mercilessly let me follow them. But Pippity, who +had been flying around me in the greatest excitement, got just above +me, and planting his toes firmly against the rock, seized me by the +shoulder. Then, holding on with a most determined grip of his bill, he +pulled like a Trojan; and I do verily believe the bird saved my life. +By dint of his pulling and backing upward, seconded by my own frantic +efforts to shuffle up the rock, I succeeded in gaining the foothold +beyond. At least he inspired me with fresh resolution and confidence in +helping myself.</p> + +<p>After a little rest, we went on, winding around a succession of short +spirals, and at last reached the highest point of this magnificent +mountain!</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>What a sensation!</p> + +<p>Perched here on the extreme point of a pinnacle more than four thousand +feet above the vast plain of rich fertility embosomed among the +snow-clad mountains. The lake was a spot of beautiful blue, a gem in +the center of this lovely picture.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, we heard a rattling of stones beneath, then a shriek.</p> + +<p>"Stars! What's that?—<span class="small">GRILLY</span>!"</p> + +<p>And up he came bounding, as lively as a cricket. He danced around us +in the greatest delight, threw his arms around me, ran wildly here and +there, and danced and danced again.</p> + +<p>"Grilly, Grilly!" shrieked the parrot, "how in the world did you get up +here?"—and his staid demeanor contrasted strangely with the monkey's +antics.</p> + +<p>But Grilly danced and danced. The fact was that, even if he could have +spoken, he was too much excited to make reply. Grilly was great in +action; in words deficient.</p> + +<p>The afternoon was now far advanced; and Grilly at last becoming +tranquil, and in keeping with the peaceful scene around us, I said to +him:</p> + +<p>"How you came up here I do not know; but of this I am certain, that you +were not as long getting up as I was, for you arrived fresh and active, +whilst I was almost dead. Now, that makes me think that although I +cannot find the way back, you may. Therefore, you shall be guide. But +it is too late to start to-day. Besides, I wish to behold another +sunset from this glorious height."</p> + +<p>The night was very pleasant; and as I lay upon a flat rock, looking out +upon the stars from my high and silent perch, the round earth looming +like a shadow far below me, I thought it would be delightful to make a +long stay on this interesting pinnacle, especially at this time, as the +weather was very fine; but the getting of food presented itself as an +obstacle. As Grilly was now with us, it would be too great a tax on +Pippity to supply us both. Besides, we could not do without water. I +resolved, therefore, to set out early in the morning, and that I would +re-enter that dungeon, as there was clearly no other way of getting +down.</p> + +<p>Before the sun was up, we already were descending; and when we arrived +at the dangerous slide, where the day before I had nearly slipped off +the mountain, we halted. Pippity was dispatched for food, whilst Grilly +and I sat down and contemplated the sunrise splendor. Four times +Pippity descended to the plain, and brought thence something to eat. +Noon was fast approaching, and it behooved us, if we would accomplish +anything that day, to press forward without delay. As before, Pippity +showed considerable anxiety, calmly remarking, however, as I translated +his jargon, that he would, as on the previous day, hold fast to my +shoulder with his bill. He made Grilly get down below at the same time +and hold on to my feet; and when I began to crawl and wriggle along the +best way I could, I was assisted very materially by the parrot above +and the monkey below.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the perilous situation, I could not but be amused at +the ludicrous singularity of the performance.</p> + +<p>Above stood the sure-footed bird, all gravity, pulling away at my +shoulder; below was the monkey, holding me fast by the heels, jumping +and capering as the treacherous stones rolled from under him. Of +course, in less than a minute the whole thing was over, and I was +safely landed on a good broad walk.</p> + +<p>We arrived at the opening of the dungeon. Descend into it? Again be +lost—perhaps perish? I hesitated. I shrank from entering; and yet, +down into it I must go!</p> + +<p>"Pippity," said I, to my trusty parrot, "we will linger here another +day. You must bring us all the food you can between this and night; and +to-morrow morning, with the first peep of dawn, be ready to go down +again, and make as many trips before noon as you can, so that we shall +be able to undertake that dark and uncertain journey with at least a +small quantity of provisions."</p> + +<p>Grilly ran in and out of the dark passage quite frequently, both that +evening and the next morning, evidently evincing a desire that the +descent should be made without delay, which convinced me that he had +come through all the darkness which yet lay between us and deliverance.</p> + +<p>The sun had reached the zenith when I at last bade farewell to the +light and resolutely determined to proceed.</p> + +<p>"Good-bye, Pippity! We shall meet you below. Fly down, get everything +ready for our reception, and have the table well supplied with the +choicest fruits that you can find."</p> + +<p>But Pippity clung to me, and would not leave. "I will go with you! I +want to go!" implored the bird.</p> + +<p>No expostulation could deter him from accompanying us.</p> + +<p>Grilly led the way; and when we lost the light, he squealed and +chattered, and frequently ran back to make sure that Pippity and I were +following him. I kept close to the wall on my left. We passed over the +steep place. Still I kept close to the wall. The wall was on my +left—still on my left. We were going at a pretty pace, as the monkey +was continually urging us forward. We could not go fast enough for him. +All at once he squealed significantly. He ran back to me. He took hold +of my hand, and leading me slowly forward a few paces, I found there +were three diverging passages. He drew me into the middle one. Then we +resumed our quick gait, and, for some little time, all appeared to be +plain sailing again.</p> + +<p>It may be asked, why did I allow myself to be guided by a thoughtless +monkey? But here, in this darkness, was not reason entirely at sea? +Might not instinct be superior to reason and avail something? I +abandoned myself entirely to its mysterious power. I had faith in it. +Grilly proceeded with such confidence that I could not but trust him.</p> + +<p>We had been plodding our way through the darkness for about four hours, +I thought, when Grilly gave a loud shriek, and, running back to us, led +us hurriedly forward; light became faintly visible; we ascended a few +steps through a very narrow passage; we came abruptly to a stop; the +monkey grasped something that hung down from above, and sprang upward +with the agility of his nature. We saw him high above our heads +climbing through a square opening of light. Immediately, he was +descending again.</p> + +<a name="image28" id="image28"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image28.jpg" width="278" height="400" +alt="WE SAW HIM CLIMBING THROUGH A SQUARE OPENING OF LIGHT." +title="WE SAW HIM CLIMBING THROUGH A SQUARE OPENING OF LIGHT." /> +<p class="caption">"WE SAW HIM CLIMBING THROUGH A SQUARE OPENING OF LIGHT."</p> +</div> + +<p>"Why, Pippity," I cried, "we are at the bottom! Up there is our +palace!"</p> + +<p>"Of course it is!" shrieked the parrot, in a tone which sounded more +like a shout of joy than the voice of a bird; and, clinging to one of a +number of long grass stems that could now be distinctly seen hanging +from the top, he climbed up with bill and claws as handsomely as any +parrot ever did the like, crying as he went:</p> + +<p>"Come along, Frank! We're all right!" Grilly was now down, too; and, +reaching me his hand, he would fain have tried to pull me to the top. +But I gave him to understand that I could very well take care of +myself, and up I went by means of hands and feet—the monkey all +capers, the parrot all talk, the man thankful—and when we stood in our +grand old palace once more, three more thoroughly delighted creatures +never were seen.</p> + +<p>"Now, Pippity and Grilly," said I, "bring something to eat. Search our +broad garden for the best. Let us eat and be merry. While the light yet +glows, let us enjoy ourselves."</p> + +<p>Away went the faithful animals. When they were gone, I walked forth and +stood under the beautiful trees, surrounded by all the adorning +verdure. How glad was I to be once more on the ground, once more in the +world!</p> + +<p>Presently, I saw Pippity and Grilly returning. The latter had an +immense load of luscious fruit strung over his back, besides what he +dragged after him in a large basket. It may well be imagined that we +had a most delightful meal.</p> + +<p>After this, I made frequent visits to the top of the pinnacle, always +taking Grilly with me, Pippity, as a general thing, being content to +take the short cut and meet us at the aperture above.</p> + +<p>But before taking these trips, I made Grilly stretch a line of the long +silken cords (which we found in abundance) from one end of the dark +passage to the other, so that I could find my way back, if the monkey +should fail me. I also used strong ropes, made of these strands, to get +over the dangerous slide.</p> + +<p>These trips afforded us an agreeable diversion. We had now, it might +be said, entire command of our mountain palace—our magnificent hall +below and our splendid look-out above. Months passed away in this happy +abode. Sometimes we visited the distant mountains, ever exploring, ever +learning, ever rejoicing; but always returning to our happy home with a +renewed relish of its rare comforts and matchless advantages.</p> + +<p>During one of the excursions to the neighboring mountains,—Pippity +alone accompanying me, Grilly having gone to assemble his tribe for a +fresh supply of cocoa-nuts,—we were leisurely contemplating the great +expanse of loveliness that lay before us, in the center of which our +noble dwelling loomed up superbly.</p> + +<p>"What a splendid domain is ours!" I said to Pippity. "We have +everything that man need wish,—and, for that matter, parrot or monkey +either. How bountiful, here, is nature, and withal so beautiful! And +our palace! Was ever anything in the world like it?"</p> + +<p>As the parrot made no answer, I looked toward him, for I was certain +that he would join in praise of all our precious blessings.</p> + +<p>There was a troubled look about him. His wings moved convulsively. The +feathers stood ruffling from his body. He was in a state of the +greatest agitation.</p> + +<p>I was alarmed. "What's the matter, Pippity?" I cried. But Pippity +replied only with a succession of loud shrieks growing ever louder and +louder.</p> + +<p>The air had become as still as death.</p> + +<p>My body appeared to move from side to side. No, no! The ground was +rising, falling! It seemed no longer solid. Like a wave it rose and +fell. The foot-hills below us separated, reft into awful chasms. I +looked toward our home. Just then cried Pippity:</p> + +<p>"Oh, our palace! Our palace!"</p> + +<p>"Ah, ah! It falls! It falls! See, see, how the huge rocks rive and +crumble!"</p> + +<p>What a fall was there! A crash that echoed terribly in that circle of +mountain wildness!</p> + +<p>A cloud of dust rolled in fearful mockery where one moment before had +stood the proud pinnacle. An enormous mass of rocks fell into the lake +below, and the vapors rose in a rival cloud. High in the firmament they +curled and twisted, their wreathing forms together telling a woful tale +of destruction.</p> + +<p>We forgot our own danger in watching all our grandeur dashed to +nothingness.</p> + +<p>Destruction as it was, it was grand!</p> + +<p>But Grilly! Where was he? "Ah, Grilly, Grilly!" cried I, "I fear he is +lost!"</p> + +<p>"Come, come!" said Pippity. "Where's Grilly? Find Grilly! Quick, +quick!"</p> + +<p>But there was some rough country to get over. Gaps, masses of uprooted +trees, rocks, earth and vegetation mingled in confusion.</p> + +<p>At last we arrived at home—no, not home! Nothing but a heap of ruins!</p> + +<p>And where was Grilly? We searched, but found him not. We called, and +called again; but answer there came none.</p> + +<p>Pippity, with a shrill and deafening cry uttered ceaselessly: "Grilly! +Grilly! Grilly! Grilly!"</p> + +<p>But answer there came none.</p> + +<p>And all the next day we sought, and still poor Pippity cried, "Grilly! +Grilly!"</p> + +<p>But the dead, the lost, answer not.</p> + +<hr class="short" /> + +<p>A home we had no longer. Where once stood magnificence, ruin now stared +us in the face.</p> + +<p>"Pippity!" I said to poor Polly, "we will leave this once glorious +spot. Our home is desolate. It is home no longer. Let us seek new +scenes in other lands."</p> + +<p>"Where shall we go?" asked Pippity—and if a parrot could shed tears he +would have shed them.</p> + +<p>"We will go to the abodes of men. We will go among civilized people."</p> + +<p>"I, too, Frank. I, too! Call Gr——!"</p> + +<p>"Say no more, Pippity! Strive to forget."</p> + +<p>For seventeen days we traversed the mountains, picking up a scanty +subsistence by the way. Pippity was considerably frightened by the +condors that really seemed to threaten us when we reached great +elevations; and I was astonished at the remains of the once stupendous +works of the ancient dwellers in this land. Bridges stretching from +mountain to mountain, over immense, deep valleys, attested the +knowledge and power of that singular race.</p> + +<p>Later, we began to meet people; a hut here and another there, with +miles between. Pippity was quite at a loss to know what to make of such +persons as we met. When two or more happened to be conversing together, +it was utterly incomprehensible to him how they could understand one +another.</p> + +<p>"What jargon is this?" he evidently tried to say, "that these people +are all the time jabbering? It is nothing but an unmeaning chattering +of monkeys. Can it be possible that they know what they are babbling? +And you understand that gibberish, too?"</p> + +<p>I had taught Pippity no language but my own, and it was no wonder that +he was surprised when he heard people so like me talking quite +differently.</p> + +<p>We soon reached the sea-coast; and if Pippity was surprised at what he +saw in the towns and cities, the citizens, many of whom were familiar +with the English tongue, were still more surprised at his wonderful +gift of language.</p> + +<p>My own appearance until I bought myself some decent clothes, created +quite a sensation among the people I met. During my long stay in my +mountain home, I had been obliged to mend and darn my garments with the +fibers of plants until there was scarcely a vestige of the original +fabric remaining; and I looked like a veritable scarecrow.</p> + +<p>But I was not poor. In a little, home-made wallet, I carried a small +handful of diamonds, which I had, from time to time, found in my +wanderings about the Tower-Mountain. These now did me good service. I +easily converted them into money, which gave me the means of living and +traveling as I pleased.</p> + +<p>We took ship, Pippity and I, and sailed away to my old home in the +north. On the voyage, the gifted bird was the hero of the vessel. +Ladies, gentlemen, children, and even the officers and crew of the +ship, were glad to gather around him and talk to him. No such parrot +had any of them seen before. I had magnificent offers made to me, if I +would consent to sell him, but I refused them all, and, after awhile, +Pippity himself relieved me of the duty of declining to sell him. When +an offer of purchase was made, he would say, "I can't be bought!"—or, +if the proposal came from a lady, "Madam, your offer is most +respectfully declined!"</p> + +<p>At last we reached my native city, and here a great misfortune happened +to me.</p> + +<p>In walking about the streets with my parrot, Pippity was constantly +obliged to inhale the fumes of tobacco. He could not endure it, and +frequently asked me in his own fashion why people persisted in puffing +such sickening smoke from their mouths. I explained the matter to him, +but he never could see any sense in it. It was known on board the ship +that Pippity disliked the fumes of tobacco, and he was such a general +favorite that no one smoked in his presence.</p> + +<p>But in the city streets he met with no such consideration. He was +incessantly compelled to breathe tobacco smoke, and it made him ill. In +a very few days he was seized with a painful choking sensation, caused +by the irritation of the smoke, and in a short time he died. His last +words were:</p> + +<p>"That detestable tobacco!"</p> + +<p>And so I lost this good friend. I had his skin stuffed, and presented +it to our society of natural history.</p> + +<p>There were people to whom I told this story of my adventures who did +not believe me, but I was always sure they would have credited my word +if only I had had my monkey and my parrot with me to corroborate the +truth of my strange history.</p> + +<br /><div class="center">THE END.</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="giftsforstnicholas" id="giftsforstnicholas">GIFTS FOR ST. +NICHOLAS</a> <span class="fnref"><a name="fnrefA" id="fnrefA" +href="#fnA">[A]</a></span></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY EMMA E. BREWSTER.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Grieve not, O Santa Claus, who fills</div> + <div class="in1">Each stocking, box and tree;</div> + <div>Nor think, most desolate of saints,</div> + <div class="in1">None bring good gifts to thee.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>We place no candles in thy crypt,</div> + <div class="in1">No gold upon thy shrine,—</div> + <div>Thou bringest us the frankincense,</div> + <div class="in1">The tapers and the wine.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>But rarer gifts, good Nicholas,</div> + <div class="in1">Than these, thy children bring,</div> + <div>When up and down an echoing world</div> + <div>The Christmas bells all ring.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>We bring our brightest, truest love</div> + <div class="in1">To crown thy happy brows;</div> + <div>No monarch wears a coronet</div> + <div class="in1">So light as holly-boughs.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>We bring our gayest, fairest hopes,</div> + <div class="in1">With smiling memories spun;</div> + <div>So rich a robe has never shone</div> + <div class="in1">Earth's proudest king upon.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>We bring our trust, our childhood faith,</div> + <div class="in1">And place it in thy hand;</div> + <div>No jeweled scepter has such power</div> + <div class="in1">To rule on sea or land.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Then stay, O dear St. Nicholas!</div> + <div class="in1">Look on thy heaped-up shrine;</div> + <div>Our hearts, our hopes, our memories,</div> + <div class="in1">Our trusts, our faith are thine!</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>There's not in all the calendar</div> + <div class="in1">One saint whose altars shine</div> + <div>With such gay throngs of worshipers,</div> + <div class="in1">Such precious gifts, as thine!</div> +</div> +<br /> +</div> + +<div class="fn"> +<span class="fnnum"><a name="fnA" id="fnA" href="#fnrefA">[A]</a></span> +An answer to "Left Out," published in the December number. +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="marbles" id="marbles">SOME IN-DOOR GAMES AT MARBLES.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<div class="center">BY L.D. SNOOK.</div> +<hr class="tiny" /> + +<br /> + +<p>One or two of the following games of marbles may be known to the +readers of <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span>, but we think they +all will be new to a great many boys.</p> + +<br /><br /> + +<h3>THE ARCHED-BOARD COUNT-GAME.</h3> + +<a name="image29" id="image29"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image29.png" width="400" height="96" +alt="THE ARCHED-BOARD COUNT-GAME." title="THE ARCHED-BOARD COUNT-GAME." /> +</div> + +<p>A strip of board, half an inch thick, five inches wide, and twenty-two +inches long, has notches cut in one side, two inches wide at the +bottom, and tapering as shown. Short bits of board nailed upon each end +keep the strip upright. Then it is placed upon the floor within two +feet of the wall. Each player is provided with the same number of +marbles (from three to five, or as many as the players wish), and from +the opposite side of the room he rolls at the board, the object being +to roll through the arches, which have numbers immediately above them +in the manner shown. The one making the most counts after rolling all +the marbles is entitled to one game. Or, if you have but five or six +marbles, each party rolls the whole number by himself, and should there +be a tie between those who make the highest aggregate number, they must +roll again, the one then having the highest tally winning the game.</p> + +<br /><br /> + +<h3>THREE-ARCH DISCOUNT-GAME.</h3> + +<a name="image30" id="image30"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image30.png" width="399" height="111" +alt="THREE-ARCH DISCOUNT-GAME." title="THREE-ARCH DISCOUNT-GAME." /> +</div> + +<p>This board is as wide and thick as the other, but is only eighteen +inches in length. The center arch is four inches wide, the two small +ones three inches each. In playing, each boy rolls from four to ten +marbles each, every marble that passes under the center arch counting +forty; if the marble goes through either small arch, twenty is deducted +from the count, or, as the boys say, is "counted off" each time. So, if +you are not a good shot, it is likely you will lose more than you will +gain. In this, or the previous game, if you fail to pop your marble +through any arch, it is lost.</p> + +<br /><br /> + +<h3>THE TEN-BLOCK COUNT-GAME.</h3> + +<a name="image31" id="image31"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image31.png" width="295" height="220" +alt="THE TEN-BLOCK COUNT-GAME." title="THE TEN-BLOCK COUNT-GAME." /> +</div> + +<p>You are to make ten blocks of wood, each about one inch square; upon +one side of each you mark the figure 0; on the other sides the numbers +10, 20, 30, 40, and 50, the 50 being upon the side opposite the 0. The +blocks are placed upon the floor or carpet in the form of a half +diamond, as shown. The in each case being placed upward, each player +rolls four marbles singly at the blocks, the object being to hit as +many of them as possible. When done, count the numbers on the upper +sides of all the blocks, and replace them for the next player. It is a +lively game.</p> + +<br /><br /> + +<h3>SWINGING-BLOCK COUNT-GAME.</h3> + +<a name="image32" id="image32"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image32.png" width="400" height="216" +alt="SWINGING-BLOCK COUNT-GAME." title="SWINGING-BLOCK COUNT-GAME." /> +</div> + +<p>This is but a modification of the block-game just described. A common +pin or tack is driven partly into one side of a block, which is +connected by a string with a little strip of wood above. Instead of +making side-pieces for supports, two chairs can be used, letting the +strip rest upon the seat or lower rounds. Each block has the same +number upon every side, and is hung so that the bottom is about +one-quarter of an inch from the floor. When a marble strikes a block it +swings a little and soon is quiet. This saves considerable work in +replacing overturned blocks. For each block hit, tally the number upon +it.</p> + +<br /><br /> + +<h3>CIRCLE-GAME.</h3> + +<a name="image33" id="image33"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image33.png" width="204" height="200" +alt="CIRCLE-GAME." title="CIRCLE-GAME." /> +</div> + +<p>Mark upon a piece of paper three rings, the largest from eight to +fifteen inches in diameter, the other two considerably smaller. Within +the rings mark the numbers 10, 20, and 50, as shown. Lay this paper +upon the carpet or floor, and roll your marbles, the object; being to +have them stop upon the paper and as near the center as possible, each +person to let his remain where they stop until all of his be rolled. +Should a marble rest on a line, tally for it the number in the largest +circle adjoining.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="tommysthreehorses" id="tommysthreehorses">TOMMY'S THREE HORSES.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<div class="poem"> +<a name="image34" id="image34"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img class="border" src="images/image34.png" width="400" height="292" alt="" /> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>The first is a pony without any head;</div> + <div>'Tis a wonder, indeed, how the creature is fed.</div> +</div> +<br /><br /> +<a name="image35" id="image35"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img class="border" src="images/image35.png" width="400" height="259" alt="" /> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>The second, you see, is a steady old chair;</div> + <div>Very gentle is he, and he needs little care.</div> +</div> +<br /><br /> +<a name="image36" id="image36"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img class="border" src="images/image36.png" width="401" height="232" alt="" /> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>And here is another—the third one, of course;</div> + <div>But the driver's Tom's brother, and Tom's his own horse.</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chickensnottame" id="chickensnottame">THE CHICKENS THAT +WOULD NOT BE TAME.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<p>In a small village there lived an old woman who kept poultry. One day +this old woman went to see a little girl, who had some chickens which +were so tame that they would eat corn and crumbs out of her hand.</p> + +<p>"That's nice," said the old woman; "I shall teach my chickens to do +that."</p> + +<p>So she went home, and got some corn and some crumbs, and went out into +the yard and called the chickens; but they would not come to her. They +were afraid of her, because she used to shout at them, and throw sticks +at them, every time they came into the garden, or near the house.</p> + +<a name="image37" id="image37"></a> +<div class="imgcenter"> +<img src="images/image37.png" width="356" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p>When she saw that her chickens would not eat out of her hand, this old +woman was very angry, indeed.</p> + +<p>"You bad chickens!" she said, "I'll catch you and make you eat out of +my hand." So she ran after them and tried to catch them, but some ran +one way and some another, and she could not lay hold of any of them.</p> + +<p>The next day she went again to the house where the tame chickens were, +and this time she saw the little girl's mother, and told her about the +trouble she had, and how her chickens would not let her come near them.</p> + +<p>"I don't see why they are not nice, gentle chickens like those your +little girl has," said the old woman.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the little girl's mother, "perhaps they would be tame if +you had always treated them as well as my little girl treats her +chickens. She has been kind and gentle with them ever since they came +out of their shells, and they have learned not to be at all afraid of +her. But I think I have seen you throwing sticks at your chickens and +chasing them about the yard. If you do that, they cannot help being +afraid of you, and they will never come to you and eat out of your +hand."</p> + +<p>What the little girl's mother said was very true, and if any of you +have birds or animals which you wish to tame, you must always treat +them so kindly that they will never have any reason to be afraid to +come to you.</p> + +<hr /> + +<a name="image38" id="image38"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/image38.png" width="340" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<h2 style="margin-top:-1.5em; padding-left:2em;"><a +name="jackinthepulpit" id="jackinthepulpit">JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /> +<br /> + +<p>"Thirty days has September, April, June and November; all the rest have +forty-three, except February, which is leap-year every four months." I +may not repeat this correctly, but I heard a little boy saying +something of the kind. Perhaps you all know the jingle better than I +do, so I'll say no more about it.</p> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">NATURE'S PADDLE-BOATS.</div> + +<p>A little bird has told me such a strange thing! It's about a kind of +jelly-fish which he called a "Globe-Beroe," I think; but you can find +out for yourselves, if I caught the name aright or not.</p> + +<p>This jelly-fish looks like a tiny ball of the clearest ice. All around +it, much after the fashion of the lines of longitude on a geographical +globe, are eight bands a little less transparent than the rest of the +body. On each of these are thirty or forty small paddles, in shape like +the floats upon the paddle-wheels of a steamboat; and it is by means of +these that the little creature pushes itself along in the water. The +paddles are alive, and move either swiftly or slowly, one at a time or +all together.</p> + +<p>Not only can this natural paddle-boat send itself along, but it can +also cast anchor. It puts forth very fine threads, which gradually +lengthen, unfolding from their sides transparent tendrils like those of +a vine. These catch hold of and twine around some fixed thing, and moor +the craft; and when the Beroe is about to be roving again, they unwind +themselves, and all slip quietly back into the little ice-ball out of +sight.</p> + +<p>There are countless millions of Beroes in the Arctic regions, where the +sea is in some parts colored by them for miles and miles. If there were +not such immense fleets of these tiny paddle-boats there would be +little chance for us to wonder at them, because they choose for their +moorings just the places where whales love best to feed and play their +rough games, and where, too, their own presence in the sea makes it +into a kind of soup of which whales are very fond.</p> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">TINY TREES.</div> + +<p>Only think of trees, full-grown trees, so small that several of +them,—roots, stems, branches and all,—piled one above another, would +not be as tall as I am!</p> + +<p>What kind of birds would stoop to roost in such little, little trees, +I'd like to know?</p> + +<p>They tell me that such tree-lings do really grow, away up, on high +mountains, near where the snow stays all the year through, and also in +very cold countries near the polar circles.</p> + +<p>I do hope the words "polar circles" will bring clear ideas to you, my +dears. They've quite tangled up my notions. Wont some of you explain +the things to me?</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">BIRDS AND TELEGRAPH-WIRES.</div> + +<p>The Little Schoolma'am has been talking about snow-birds, and she says +there was a poem about them in <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> +for April, 1875, and also a picture of the dear little fellows +comfortably perched on a telegraph-wire, out in Colorado, somewhere. +I dare say you'll remember them, my chicks.</p> + +<p>Well, she went on to say that telegraph-wires are not always such good +friends to birds, for she had heard that, along the great railroads in +the West, large numbers of prairie-chickens are killed at certain +seasons of the year by flying against the wires. Sometimes this may +happen in the dark, but more often in the day-time when the wind is +very strong.</p> + +<p>Of course, this can't very well be helped; but it does seem dreadful, +doesn't it, my dears? However, the section-men, who have charge of the +railroad tracks, get some good from it, for they make a regular +business of gathering the fallen birds, which are then cooked and +eaten.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">WALTON'S KITTY AGAIN.</div> + + <blockquote><p>Dear Jack: A while ago I told in + <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> something about + "Walton's Kitty," that loves music and climbs upon any one who + sings to her, putting her head as close as can be to the lips of + the singer. Now, here is another true story about this same cat:</p> + + <p>In the summer, Walton's aunt used to set the milk in a cool closet, + in a pitcher with a long, narrow neck, but day after day, when + teatime came, every drop of that milk was gone. Nobody drank it, + nobody used it, nobody spilled it. "Walton's Kitty" and all her + descendants were clear of suspicion, because of the long, narrow + neck of that pitcher. So everybody watched and waited to find out + how the milk went.</p> + + <p>And this is what they saw: There sat "Walton's Kitty," dipping her + paw deep down into the pitcher, taking it out, and then lapping the + milk from it! If she dropped the smallest drop, she stopped and + cleaned that up, and then went on. As the milk dwindled to the + bottom of the pitcher she shook her paw around; and she never left + off until every drop of milk was gone!</p> + + <p>Since then, the milk for tea stands in a covered pitcher, but + "Walton's Kitty" has hers in a tall, narrow goblet. It is a very + affecting sight, and people laugh till they cry as they watch + her.—Yours truly,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">M.B.C.S.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">FLINT ONCE WAS SPONGE.</div> + +<p>You never would think it, would you, my dears? But the Little +Schoolma'am says that it was; and she always is right.</p> + +<p>She says that flint really is nothing more nor less than sponge turned +to stone. Once the sponge grew at the bottom of the sea, as other +sponges grow now; but that was ages and ages ago, and since then the +sponge, turned to flint, has lain covered by rocks and earth of many +kinds piled thick above it. Seen with a microscope, flint shows the +make of sponge in its fibers; and sometimes you can see, bedded in it, +the shells of the tiny creatures on which the sponge had fed. Now and +then, inside a flint, will be found bits of the sponge not yet changed.</p> + +<p>That last proof settles it; but I must say it's hard to believe;—hard +as the flint, almost.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">SOME OLD PUZZLES.</div> + +<p>Here are two letters, with old puzzles in them, that may amuse you for +a while on one of these shivery evenings, my chicks. I'll tell you the +answers next month.</p> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Michigan.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT</span>: + The other night one of my brothers said he + did not believe we could pronounce a certain word after he should + have spelled it. I will tell you what it is, though you may have + heard about it already:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div>A cross, a circle complete,</div> + <div class="in1">An upright where two semi-circles do meet,</div> + <div>A triangle standing upon two feet,</div> + <div class="in1">Two semi-circles, a circle complete.</div> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Yours truly, <span class="small">CORA</span>.</p></blockquote> + + + <blockquote><p class="right">Oswego, N.Y.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR JACK</span>: I send you a riddle which I found. + I take <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> and like it very much. + I have all of the volumes from 1874.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div>I am a word of plural number,</div> + <div>A foe to peace and human slumber,</div> + <div>Yet, do but add the letter S,—</div> + <div>Lo! what a metamorphosis!</div> + <div>What plural was, is plural now no more,</div> + <div>And sweet's what bitter was before.</div> + </div> + </div> + <p>Yours truly, <span class="small">KITTIE</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /> + +<p>Talking about riddles, reminds me of one that was made by Richard +Whately, an archbishop of Dublin, as I've heard. This is it:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div class="quote">"When from the Ark's capacious round</div> + <div class="in1">The beasts came forth in pairs,</div> + <div>Who was the first to hear the sound</div> + <div class="in1">Of boots upon the stairs?"</div> +</div> +</div> + +<p>I'm told that it never has been guessed right by anybody; yet the +archbishop said there was an answer, although he did not say what it +was. May be you can solve the riddle, my dears, if you brush up your +wits a bit? Let me know as soon as you think you have the right answer.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">THE NEWEST FASHION.</div> + +<p>The girls of the Red School-house often talk about new fashions, +especially when the Little Schoolma'am is about, for she is pretty sure +to drop some useful hints. Well, one day she told them, among other +things, about the "latest novelty" in ladies' ball-dresses at +Upernavik, in Greenland.</p> + +<p>As nearly as I can remember, she said that the costume consists of a +little jacket, made of bright-colored calico or flannel; long +pantaloons of sealskin, trimmed like the jacket and sitting close to +the figure; and white, red or blue boots: the whole set off by gay +ribbons and all the beads the wearer can get.</p> + +<p>A jaunty suit enough, no doubt; but, if she wore only that, the wearer +must have been obliged to dance, merely to keep herself warm.</p> + +<p>By the way, I wonder what ever possessed them to call that frozen +country Green-land?</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">TO SURPRISE A DOG.</div> + +<p>This is the way a man among the Himalaya Mountains once astonished a +stranger dog. He put on a pair of huge goggles and walked steadily and +quietly toward the dog, without speaking a word. The dog bristled up +and stared hard for a moment, and then, all at once, he seemed to wilt, +and away he slunk as if ashamed of himself.</p> + +<p>I heard about this only the other day, my dears, and I tell it to you +merely to warn you not to try the little trick, unless you are sure +your dog will not get angry and jump for you.</p> + +<p>It would not look well for you to slink off as if you were ashamed of +yourself.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">THE KINDERGARTEN AT HOME.</div> + + <blockquote><p><span class="small">DEAR JACK</span>: Will you please + tell your older boys and girls that in + good systems of Kindergarten teaching they will find a great many + means of amusing invalid brothers or sisters without wearying them, + and many games and much fun for the younger ones, who will learn at + the same time things that they ought to know. To carry out these + methods one wants sticks, blocks, slates, slats, colored balls, and + other things easy to make and cheap to buy, the use of which is + pleasant to teach as well as to learn and practice.</p> + + <p>I bought lately a full set of Kindergarten apparatus such as I have + named, and sent it to a little niece of mine in California, and the + dear little one writes to me that she has had much happiness and + enjoyment out of it. I hope some of your young friends will try the + experiment and let me know what success they have.—I am, dear + Jack, yours affectionately, <span class="small">A LITTLE SCHOOLMA'AM</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">KAFFIR IRONING.</div> + +<p>You all know how ironing is done here—with flat-irons, I think +somebody said. Well, the birds tell me that the Kaffirs of South Africa +don't use flat-irons, but have quite another way. They make the clothes +into a neat flat package, which they lay on a big stone. Then they just +dance on the package until they think the clothes are smooth enough! It +must be good fun to them! Luckily, Kaffirs don't wear cuffs and frills.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">SLIPPERS FOR HORSES.</div> + +<p>Where do horses wear slippers?</p> + +<p>Now, my chicks, this is not a conundrum. So you need not be chirping +out, "On their feet, of course;" or some foolish answer of that kind. +The real answer is, "Japan,"—at least, so I'm told, and there are such +numbers of other queer things there, that I don't wonder it is so.</p> + +<p>Well, Japanese horses wear straw slippers,—clumsy-looking things, I +should say. But, besides that, they stand in their stables with their +heads where American horses' tails would be! Perhaps Japanese horses +like to see for themselves what is going on?</p> + +<p>"Where is the food put?"</p> + +<p>Why, in a bucket hung from the roof, of course. Where else, would you +suppose?</p> + +<hr /> + +<a name="image39" id="image39"></a> +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/image39.jpg" width="500" height="147" +alt="ON THE ICE." title="ON THE ICE." /> +<p class="caption">ON THE ICE.</p> +</div> + +<h2><a name="letterbox" id="letterbox">THE LETTER-BOX.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Fair Haven, Vt. 1877.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: Two of my sisters + and myself have taken your + magazine ever since it was published, and like it very much. I am + glad Miss Louisa M. Alcott is writing a story for your magazine, as + I am very fond of her stories.</p> + + <p>I have read, "Eight Cousins," "Rose in Bloom," "Little Men," + "Hospital Sketches," "Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag," and "Little Women," + myself, have been called "Meg, Amy, Beth and Jo." My oldest sister + Ada, who is sixteen years old, is the "Amy" of our family; My + little sister Stella, who is eleven years old, is well skilled in + music, and we think she is very much like "Beth"; and I am + thirteen, and have been called "Jo."</p> + + <p>So, you see, I was greatly interested in "Little Women," as I could + appreciate it so well; and it seemed to me as if Miss Alcott must + have seen us four girls before she wrote the story.</p> + + <p>I have four first cousins, and they are all boys, and with my + sisters and me we are "eight cousins." One of my cousins is a + little baby, a little over five weeks old. He makes the eighth + cousin.</p> + + <p>I liked the piece about Miss Alcott in the December number very + much. We expect to take your magazine until we are young women. I + think it the best published for young people.—Your friend,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">ANNIE ADAMS</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<p>By letters just received from England, we learn that the pretty +Christmas and New-Year cards in our December and January issues were +<i>not</i> drawn by Miss Greenaway, though a friend had mistakenly sent them +to us last summer as specimens of that lady's work, cut from a +scrapbook. We, therefore, hasten to correct the error, wishing at the +same time, that we knew to whose hand to credit the drawings. To our +still greater regret, we now learn that Marcus Ward & Co., of London, +having published these as Christmas cards, and counted upon having a +large sale for them in America. Had we known this in time, we certainly +should not have copied the pictures without previously referring to the +publishers. The best reparation we can make at the present date is this +acknowledgement and a bit of honest advice to our readers: Hunt the +shops for the beautifully colored cards from which these pictures were +copied, and buy them for next Christmas. They are far better than our +printed ones.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Brooklyn, N.Y.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: I am twelve years + old and very fond of reading, + and as I never can find an interesting book of history, I read + stories. But mamma and other people tell me I ought to read + something instructive, but as I never can find anything I like, I + would be much obliged if you would help me a little by giving me a + list of pleasant books. I have taken you for three years and enjoy + you very much indeed.—Your very affectionate reader,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">ALICE CLINTON</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Greene's Shorter History of the English People," a new work, is very +interesting. H.M.D. in the "Letter-Box," October, 1876, says that "The +Life and Times of Sir Philip Sidney" is such a pleasant book that you +cannot help having a good time when you are reading it, and will not +think it is history unless you know beforehand. "Seven Historic Ages," +by Arthur Gilman, is another attractive book, and if you are like most +smart girls of your age, you will find Prescott's "Ferdinand and +Isabella" as interesting as many story books. It is a history of Spain +in its most prosperous times. It is long, but, once begun, few find it +hard to finish.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Geneva, N.Y.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: Please tell "Jack" + that apples that are part + sour and part sweet grow in the beautiful State of New York. I have + tasted of such fruit and am sure it is so. Who can tell me more + about this wonderful fruit? And how many have ever eaten such + apples?</p> + + <p>Can any one tell me what causes them to grow one side sweet, and + the other sour? Hoping to hear more on this subject, I remain, + yours truly,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">ALMA AYLESWORTH</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Mobile, Ala.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: I wish to tell you + of Fanny, our little mule, + who cannot be forced to work on Sunday. She is gentle, obedient and + faithful on week days, but on Sunday Fanny will not be made to + move.</p> + + <p>Don't think us heathen, dear <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span>, + for the boys just tried + to make her carry a load of hay as a test, and to tease her, also; + but when papa saw what they were up to, he put a stop to it, and + now Fanny enjoys her Sundays in peace. My little sister says, "she + is a religious mule." Do you think that the mule really knows when + Sunday has come?—Your well-wisher,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">ERNESTINE HAMMOND</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center">KING ALFRED AND THE CAKES.</div> + +<br /> + +<div class="center">(<i>Jack-in-the-Pulpit's Story in the December Number, +Straightened Out</i>.)</div> + +<p>King Alfred the Great, having been driven by the Danes to seek safety +in flight, disguised himself as a peasant, and took refuge in the hut +of a cow-herd, where he was told to watch the baking of some cakes. But +he forgot the cakes and let them burn; and when the herdsman's wife +came in, she gave him a sound scolding for his carelessness.</p> + +<p>Charles I. of England was defeated at Marston Moor; and his son, +Charles II., after losing the battle of Worcester, barely escaped +capture, by hiding in the leafy branches of an oak-tree.</p> + +<p>Robert Bruce lost many battles, fighting for the Scottish throne. At +length, he lay down disheartened on a heap of straw in an old hut. +While he was thinking over his troubles, he saw a spider trying to get +from one rafter to another. It failed many times, but at last +succeeded, and Bruce, taking courage at the insect's example, went on +fighting until he had secured his kingdom.</p> + +<p>Sir Isaac Newton had on his table a pile of papers upon which were +written calculations that had taken him twenty years to make. One +evening, he left the room for a few minutes, and when he came back he +found that his little dog "Diamond" had overturned a candle and set +fire to the precious papers, of which nothing was left but a heap of +ashes. It was then that he cried, "Oh, Diamond! Diamond! thou little +knowest what mischief thou hast done!"</p> + +<p>It is said that George Washington, when a boy, destroyed his father's +favorite cherry-tree, and, being asked about it, replied: "I cannot +tell a lie; I did it with my little hatchet."</p> + +<p>Oliver Cromwell, when dispersing Parliament, saw the Speaker's mace +upon the table, and, pointing to it, said, "Take away that bauble!"</p> + +<p>Just after Lord Nelson's great naval victory off Cape Trafalgar, as he +was dying from a wound received in the battle, he kept repeating the +words, "Thank Heaven, I have done my duty!"</p> + +<p>Prince William, son of Henry II. of England, was drowned on his way +home from France. The king was so affected by his loss that "he never +smiled again."</p> + +<p>[Fannie P. sends a complete and correct version. Willie H. Paul and +Bertha Paul straightened out all of the story except the part about +Lord Nelson. The versions sent by E.J. Smith, Charlie W. Jerome, Lulu +Way, and John N.L. Pierson, were correct, as far as they went, but they +explained only the parts that referred to King Alfred himself.]</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<p>Here is a little story sent to <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> +as a companion to "The Story that Wouldn't be Told," in the November number:</p> + +<div class="center">THE STORY NOBODY KNEW.</div> + +<p>Once there was a little story that nobody knew, and nobody could tell +it, because nobody knew it, and yet this little story wanted dearly to +be told. It used to wait about where people were telling stories, and +when a story was ended and the merry laugh went round, it would say to +itself, "Now they will certainly tell me," but they never did. So at +last this little story got quite low-spirited and wandered off by +itself out of the house, and through the garden into the orchard, and +there in the orchard, under an apple-tree, there was a little girl +lying fast asleep among the buttercups and daisies. The little story +looked all around to see that no one else was there, and then it +cuddled down beside the sleeping child and whispered itself into her +ear. It was so exciting, so charming, that the little girl awoke, and +thought she had dreamed it all, and ran to tell her mother the +beautiful dream. When she saw her mother, she cried out, "Mother! +mother!" and was just about to tell the little story, when suddenly she +forgot it all, and now the little story can never be told, but it still +comes to good children in their dreams.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<p>A little girl, eleven years old, sends these verses of her own +composition to the "Letter-Box":</p> + +<br /> + +<div class="center">VALENTINE.</div> +<br /> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>I am a little Cupid,</div> + <div class="in1">And I come to visit thee,</div> + <div>To tell you that I love you,</div> + <div class="in1">And to know if you love me.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>And if you'll be my little wife,</div> + <div class="in1">And come along with me,</div> + <div>I'll take you to a lovely place,</div> + <div class="in1">And pretty flowers you'll see.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>And when you have been there a day,</div> + <div class="in1">You'll be a little Cupid,</div> + <div>With no hard lesson-books to learn,</div> + <div class="in1">That are so dull and stupid.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>But, if you will not come and be</div> + <div class="in1">My pretty little wife,</div> + <div>You'll go straight back to school again,</div> + <div class="in1">With lessons all your life.</div> +</div> +<br /> + <div class="in13"><span class="small">K. UNIACKE</span>.</div> +</div> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Two Rivers, Wis.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: I am not quite ten + years old, but I am one of + your oldest subscribers. We have every number from the very first. + I have a brother Fred, two years older than I. We have always lived + on the shores of Lake Michigan.</p> + + <p>During the summer months, the steamer comes in from Chicago every + morning. Fred and I like to get up early in the morning, and go + down to the beach, before breakfast, to see the steamer go out; + and, afterward, the morning train, for the station is near the + beach. It is lovely down there early in the morning; we dig wells, + sail boats, and wade out after the waves that chase us back again.</p> + + <p>We love the lake, and spend many happy hours down there. But + sometimes it's a very wicked lake. Three weeks ago it blew very + hard all night, and in the morning the waves were rolling up like + mountains, and near the harbor pier there lay a wreck. Although + they were so close to the town, and several other vessels were + lying at anchor near, no one had heard, or seen, or knew anything + about how it happened. It proved to be the "Magellan," of St. + Catherine's, Ont. Since then nine bodies have washed ashore, among + them the captain and his brother, the mate, both of them + fine-looking young men, and not like ordinary rough sailors. The + captain was a Knight Templar, and the Masons took charge of the + body and sent it home, and some ladies made a beautiful cross of + natural flowers, which they laid on his breast. But I will leave + this sad subject, and tell you how we appreciate + <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span>.</p> + + <p>Last week we had a concert. There were several recitations from + <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span>, besides the "Mother Goose + Operetta" in the January number (1877). It was very pretty. There + were fifteen children, all in handsome peasant costumes. I was Marie.</p> + + <p>Last summer, when we came from the Centennial, in our Pullman car + were two boys just Fred's age; one was from San Francisco and one + from Chicago. Of course, the three were soon well acquainted, and + had lots of fun together. And what do you think? They soon found + out that each was a subscriber to <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span>! + And how they enjoyed talking over the stories together! "Fast Friends" + seemed to be the favorite; but I like "Eight Cousins" better.—Respectfully + yours,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">NETTIE CONINE</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Paulsboro, N.J., 1877.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: I had pigeons at + the Woodbury Fair both this year and last, and took the first + premiums for best display: another little fellow, about my age, + had four when I had six, and had eight when I had nine; how many + had I better take next year? You are interested in this question, + for the two dollars premium helps pay for my <span class="small">ST. + NICHOLAS</span>, and I don't want to be without <i>that</i>. I take + the "Scattered Seeds," but like <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> better. + Please stop sending my magazine to Wm. E. <i>Grant</i>. I am no relation + to General Grant, but am a Democrat, and for General McClellan. I + am nine years of age.—Your constant reader,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">WILLIE E. GAUNT</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /> + +<p>You have done so well already, Willie, that we think you can best +answer your own question; but we should take <i>all</i> of our <i>best</i> +pigeons.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">New York.</p> + + <p>Will <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> please tell "Sidonie" + if the "trade dollar" is made entirely of silver?</p></blockquote> + +<br /> + +<p>It is not. There are 900 parts of pure silver and 100 parts of copper +in the "trade dollar." The copper alloy is added to make the coin hard, +so that it will wear well, as silver by itself would be too soft.</p> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Chicago, Ill.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: I, for one, think + it is all nonsense about those + "that" sentences. Anybody can put more than eight "thats" in a + sentence; but if he, she, or it, can parse them, I would like to + have them do it. I don't believe it can be done. Let them parse the + sentence in the August number, for instance; and, if they can put + in twelve "thats" and then parse them, why, then, and not till + then, will I believe it. Please put this in the Letter-Box, and + oblige.</p> + + <p class="right">C.P.S.</p></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Louisville, Ky.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: I thank you very + much for the many beautiful + designs which you have given for Christmas presents, and for the + pictures and silhouettes which you have published, from which we + have copied in <i>tableaux vivants</i> and shadow pantomimes. We had + "The Modern and Mediæval Ballad of Mary Jane" (published in + January, 1877) in our church entertainment, and it "took" + immensely. "The Stalwart Benjamin" and "Lord Mortimer" were cut + from pasteboard, and fastened up by wires, and, of course, no one + knew that they were not people. The "Ballad" was read behind the + scenes.—Truly yours,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">KITTY B. WHIPPLE</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /><hr class="tiny" /><br /> + + <blockquote><p class="right">Boston.</p> + + <p><span class="small">DEAR ST. NICHOLAS</span>: Papa has bought me + every number of the <span class="small">ST. NICHOLAS</span> + you have ever published, and as I have seen several + letters asking you about different things, I thought I would ask + you about something I do not understand. If it is not really known + who wrote the plays "Titus Andronicus" and "Pericles, Prince of + Tyre," what circumstances lead people to think Shakspeare wrote + them?</p> + + <p>I have enjoyed you extremely, and as the Little Schoolma'am seems + always to answer such questions, I write to you hoping you will ask + her.—I am your fond admirer,</p> + + <p class="right"><span class="small">ETHEL DAVIS</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<br /> + +<p>The Little Schoolma'am says it is not absolutely certain who wrote the +plays you name, but this is about the way the matter stands:</p> + +<p>The play "Titus Andronicus" is not now believed to have been originally +written by Shakspeare. It is considered too horrible and repulsive to +be his work. However, it may have been brought to him to be retouched +and made ready for the stage. Hence is it, perhaps, that some passages +of his are found in it.</p> + +<p>"Pericles," as well as "Timon of Athens," is believed to have been the +work of some other writer, afterward completed and partially altered by +Shakspeare. It is thought that most of the last three acts of +"Pericles" are Shakspeare's, though some of their prose scenes and all +the choruses are by another hand.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="newpublications" id="newpublications">NEW PUBLICATIONS.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<p><span class="small">ALL AROUND A PALETTE</span> is a delightful book +for boys and girls, especially for those who love good pictures and odd +and sprightly stories with something in them besides the fun and sparkle. +Mr. J. Wells Champney has put a picture or a sketch wherever there was a +chance, and Mrs. Lizzie W. Champney has made the stories very bright, +sweet and interesting. The book is published by Messrs. Lockwood, +Brooks & Co., Boston, and is one of the "Children's Art Series."</p> + +<p>Messrs. Porter & Coates, of Philadelphia, send us +<span class="small">THE BOY TRADERS</span>, by +Harry Castlemon, a brisk story of adventure on the sea, in the Sandwich +Islands and among the Boers. There are several striking pictures.</p> + +<p><span class="small">A YORK AND A LANCASTER ROSE</span>, by Anne +Kearney, author of "Castle Daly," "Oldbury," etc.; published by +Macmillan & Co., New York. This book is by an English author, +and is a charming picture of family life, which +will interest girls of thirteen and fifteen years of age. The story is +of two girls, each named Rose, the one rich and the other poor; and +tells how they were brought together, and the influence they exercised +upon each other, and relates, in a very pleasant way, the various +adventures, sayings, and doings of their brothers and sisters.</p> + +<p><span class="small">THE CUCKOO CLOCK</span>, by Ennis Graham, author +of "Carrots" and "Tell me a Story"; published by Macmillan & Co. +This volume is well illustrated by +Walter Crane. The cuckoo in an old clock makes friends with a lonely +little girl, and causes her to have a good time, and to see many +wonderful things. One of the prettiest parts of the story is the +account of the making of the clock in the German home of the little +girl's grandmother.</p> + +<p><span class="small">SLICES OF MOTHER GOOSE, SERVED WITH SAUCE BY +"CHAMP,"</span> is the title of a +set of large cards, admirably printed in black and red, and giving new +funny versions of Mother Goose rhymes, by Alice Parkman, illustrated +with capital pictures and silhouettes by Mr. Champney. Messrs. +Lockwood, Brooks & Co., of Boston, are the publishers.</p> + +<p><span class="small">SIX SINNERS</span>, by Campbell Wheaton, has to +do chiefly with one of the six +dear little "sinners," Dora Maynard, whom girl readers will love right +off. It tells all about her school-days, her pranks and fun, her +troubles and how they were overcome, and tells it in a way so lively +and absorbing that you will want to read all of it at one sitting. The +book is clearly printed in large type, and is published by Messrs. +Putnam, New York.</p> + +<hr /> + +</div> + +<div id="puzzles"> + +<h2><a name="riddlebox" id="riddlebox">THE RIDDLE-BOX.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<div class="center"><b>EASY DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC.</b></div> + +<p>The initials and finals, read downward, form the names of two kinds of +trees.</p> + +<p>1. The width of a vessel. 2. A mountain of Crete. 3. A Tom-boy. 4. An +inclosure. 5. To harbor.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">WILLIE PETTINOS</span>.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>SQUARE-WORD.</b></div> + +<p>1. A governor. 2. To join. 3. Flexible. 4. A girl's name. 5. Quick +dances.</p> + +<div class="right">L.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>NUMERICAL PUZZLE.</b></div> + +<p>I am a word of five letters, the sum of which is 512.</p> + +<p>My 1 × my 3 = 1/20 of my 5;<br /> +My 2 × my 4 = 1/5 of my 3;<br /> +My 5 ÷ my 1 = my 3 × 20.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">SEDGWICK</span>.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>HIDDEN ACROSTIC.</b></div> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>At the top of a mountain,</div> + <div class="in1">Within a clear light;</div> + <div>In the midst of a fountain,</div> + <div class="in1">At edge of the night;</div> + <div>In field and in meadow,</div> + <div>In sunshine and shadow,</div> + <div class="in1">On land and on sea,</div> + <div>At the end of the earth,</div> + <div class="in1">Or in air, we may be.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Now put us together,</div> + <div class="in1">And, if you guess right,</div> + <div>You'll discover a water-fall</div> + <div class="in1">Sparkling and bright.</div> +</div> +<br /> + <div class="right">W.P.D.</div> +</div> + +<div class="center"><b>EASY DECAPITATIONS.</b></div> + +<p>1. Behead a kind of sword, and leave a fluid for burning. 2. Behead a +sharp-pointed weapon, and leave a fruit. 3. Behead to touch, and leave +a kind of fish. 4. Behead a vehicle used in winter, and leave a shelf +5. Behead a kind of deer, and leave a game that boys play. 6. Behead an +ancient war implement, and leave a unit. 7. Behead animals of a common +kind, and leave a sort of grain. 8. Behead to pull, and leave sore. 9. +Behead the name of a vessel, and leave a narrow passage.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">WALTER</span> A.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>TRANSPOSITIONS.</b></div> + +<p>1. Change artful into a confusion. 2. Change a Persian king into a +mixture. 3. Change a cutter into listeners. 4. Change a cheat into +musicians. 5. Change repaired into healed. 6. Change a drink into a +class embracing many species.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">CYRIL DEANE</span>.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>CHARADE.</b></div> + +<p>In war, and in council, my first oft appears.<br /> +My second is that which my first often wears.<br /> +Very strong is my last; 'tis a bark, not a bite;<br /> +That from which it is taken is solid, not light.<br /> +Three joined in one, if my whole you should find,<br /> +An island well known it would bring to your mind.</p> + +<div class="right">M.D.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE.</b></div> + +<div class="center">(Composed by Mary V. and Willie K., each aged thirteen.)</div> + +<p>An island west of British Columbia (1) went to the lightest city (2) in +the world to attend a ball. She there met a peak in Oregon (3) named as +follows: A city in Egypt (4), a city in Maine (5), and a city in +Australia (6), in whom she was much interested.</p> + +<p>Her dress was a valley among the Himalaya Mountains (7), and though +elegantly trimmed with a city in Belgium (8), it was, unfortunately, +two cities in France (9). As she felt a country in South America (10), +she wore around her shoulders a city in Scotland (11) shawl. Her +jewelry was exclusively a peak in Oregon (12). Her shoes were of a +country in Africa (13), and her handkerchief was perfumed with a city +in Prussia (14).</p> + +<p>Being a lake north of the United States (15) dancer, she had +distinguished partners, whose names were the capital of the United +States (16), the capital of Ohio (17), the capital of Wisconsin (18), +the capital of Alabama (19), the capital of Mississippi (20), and the +capital of North Carolina (21).</p> + +<p>Having boldly said that she was a country in Europe (22), she was +escorted by a city in Indiana (23) to a bay in South-west Africa (24), +where she freely partook of a river in Oregon (25), some islands in +the Pacific Ocean (26), a river in South Africa (27), a district in +France (28), and some islands in the Atlantic (29). After passing a +river of Maine evening (30), she bade a cape in Iceland (31) to her +hostess, and was escorted home by an island in Nova Scotia (32).</p> + +<div class="center"><b>NUMERICAL ENIGMA.</b></div> + +<p>My 1 2 3 4 is undoubtedly possessed by every one +of the whole race of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 +(my whole), while my 5 6 7 8 ends a prayer.</p> + +<div class="right">C.D.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>ILLUSTRATED PUZZLE.</b></div> + +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/image40.png" width="356" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Twelve things may be found in the picture above,</div> + <div class="in1">Not clearly perceived by the eye,</div> + <div>But with keen observation and witty conceit,</div> + <div class="in1">You will find them, I know, if you try.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>First point out (1) an animal (other than bear),</div> + <div class="in1">(2) A spectator, (3) a portion of corn,</div> + <div>(4) One part of a sentence, and (5) parts of a bird,</div> + <div class="in1">And (6) what may your fair head adorn.</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>Now (7) part of a river, and (8) parts of a book,</div> + <div class="in1">And now, if you please, take the trouble</div> + <div>To pick out (9, 10) two letters, which, rightly combined,</div> + <div class="in1">In classical language mean "double."</div> +</div> +<br /> +<div class="stanza"> + <div>The remaining two things in the picture above,</div> + <div class="in1">To which I would call your attention,</div> + <div>Are (11) part of a carriage or part of a boy,</div> + <div class="in1">And (12) a sort of a stop or suspension.</div> +</div> +<br /> +</div> +<div class="right"><span class="small">AUNT SUE</span>.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>CURTAILMENTS.</b></div> + +<p>1. Curtail a bur, and leave to plague; curtail again, and leave plants. +2. Curtail a celestial body, and leave to make smooth; again, and leave +a model. 3. Curtail a low, wet ground, and leave a planet; again, and +leave to injure; again, and leave a parent. 4. Curtail a jury-roll, and +leave a glass; again, and leave part of a gun-lock; again, and leave a +parent.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">CYRIL DEANE</span>.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>COMPLETE DIAGONAL.</b></div> + +<p>Diagonals from left to right, downward: 1. Fifty. 2. A boy's nickname. +3. A title of respect. 4. To affirm. 5. Ardent. 6. A vale. 7. A rule of +action. 8. A river in Italy. 9. Phonetically, a measure.</p> + +<p>Horizontally: 1. Used by painters. 2. An Israelitish king. 3. A name +for beer. 4. More dim. 5. To reduce.</p> + +<div class="right">N.T.M.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA.</b></div> + +<p>I am composed of twelve letters. My 2 11 3 is a fish. My 1 4 3 2 5 is a +girl's name. My 7 3 8 10 5 is an American politician. My 12 8 6 1 is +pretty for a child's wear. My 9 8 12 10 5 is a necessary domestic +utensil. My 4 8 6 2 is very pleasant. My whole is the title of a +popular book.</p> + +<div class="right">D.C.R.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>SQUARE-WORD.</b></div> + +<p>1. An emperor's title. 2. Nothing. 3. Weapons. 4. A flower.</p> + +<div class="right">B.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>ANAGRAM DOUBLE DIAMOND AND CONCEALED DOUBLE SQUARE.</b></div> + +<p>From the sentence "Seer eats a pear" form a double diamond, the center +of which will be a double word-square.</p> + +<div class="right"><span class="small">CYRIL DEANE</span>.</div> + +<div class="center"><b>PICTORIAL PROVERB PUZZLE.</b></div> + +<p>The answer is a well-known couplet.</p> + +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/image41.png" width="401" height="235" alt="" /> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="answers" id="answers">ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN JANUARY NUMBER.</a></h2> + +<hr class="tiny" /><br /> + +<p><span class="small">DOUBLE ACROSTIC</span>.—Initials, Russia; +finals, Turkey; across,</p> + +<div class="center"> +<table style="width:25%; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto;" summary=""> +<tr><td>R</td><td>—a——</td><td>Y</td></tr> +<tr><td>U</td><td>—nit—</td><td>E</td></tr> +<tr><td>S</td><td>—ac—</td><td>K</td></tr> +<tr><td>S</td><td>—uga—</td><td>R</td></tr> +<tr><td>I</td><td>—O——</td><td>U</td></tr> +<tr><td>A</td><td>—n——</td><td>T</td></tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p><span class="small">HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE</span>.—Diagonals, hones, +sends; central, inner; horizontals,</p> + +<div class="center"> +<table style="width:25%; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto;" summary=""> +<tr><td>H</td><td>A</td><td>I</td><td>L</td><td>S</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td>O</td><td>N</td><td>E</td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td> </td><td>N</td><td> </td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td>D</td><td>E</td><td>E</td><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td>S</td><td>O</td><td>R</td><td>E</td><td>S</td></tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p><span class="small">DECAPITATIONS</span>.—Acorn, corn; +brook, rook; drake, rake; flute, lute; +pearl, earl; plane, lane; wheel, heel; spine, pine; trout, rout; prune, +rune.</p> + +<p><span class="small">DIAGONAL PUZZLE</span>.—Diagonal, January; +horizontals, Jollity, sAdness, kiNdles, ensUing, compAny, appeaRs, holidaY.</p> + +<p><span class="small">DOUBLE PUZZLE</span>.—Central Syncopations: +Rabid, raid; stair, stir; haste, +hate; steep, step; Tiber, tier; grain, grin; holes, hoes; tiles, ties. +The syncopated letters, B, A, S, E, B, A, L, L, form the answer to the +Cross-word Enigma.</p> + +<p><span class="small">GEOGRAPHICAL TRANSPOSITIONS</span>.—I held, +Delhi; panels, Naples; I turn, Turin; pains, Spain; pure, Peru; +erect, Crete; more, Rome.</p> + +<p><span class="small">OMNIBUS WORD</span>.—Crate:</p> + +<ul style="padding-left: 2em; list-style-type: upper-roman;"> +<li>Hour-Glass Puzzle.—Central, re-act: horizontals, caret, tea, a, act, cater.</li> + +<li>Square-Word.—Ace, car, era.</li> + +<li>Prefix Puzzle.—At, cat; are, tare; art, cart; ear, tear.</li> + +<li>Another Prefix Puzzle.—Ace, race, trace; ate, rate, crate.</li> +</ul> + +<p><span class="small">ACCIDENTAL HIDINGS</span>.—Esther, molEST HER; +Theresa, THERE SAt; Ada, A DAmsel; Nora, NO RAy; Ernesta, stERNEST Age.</p> + +<p><span class="small">PERSPECTIVE CROSS PUZZLE</span>.—<i>Horizontals:</i> +1, Grand; 2, plate; 3, ditch; +4, event; 5, prism; 6, eel; 7, great; 8, court; 9, terse. +<i>Perpendiculars:</i> 10, Glove; 11, dread; 12, yet; 13, prove; 14, harem; +15, plant; 16, telegmatic; 17, preferment; 18, governable. <i>Diagonals:</i> +19, dry; 20, hop; 21, met; 22, peg; 23, toe; 24, cot; 25, Eve.</p> + +<p><span class="small">EASY SQUARE-WORD</span>.—Dial, inca, acid, lade.</p> + +<p><span class="small">NUMERICAL ENIGMA</span>.—Forest all, forestall.</p> + +<p><span class="small">FRAME PUZZLE</span>.—Stock-dove, broom-corn, +anonymous, inodorous.</p> + +<p><span class="small">CHARADE</span>.—Cat.</p> + +<p><span class="small">WORDS ENIGMATICALLY EXPRESSED</span>.—Pot-a-toe, +potato; Mo-lasses, molasses; +whisky; guinea-pig; false-hood, falsehood; toe-martyrs, tomatoes; +pike-rust, pie crust; captive-atin', captivating; barber-us, barbarous; +turn-pike; butter; IV, ivy.</p> + +<p><span class="small">PICTORIAL CHRISTMAS PUZZLE</span>.—At Christmas +play and make good cheer.</p> + +<p><span class="small">ANSWERS TO THE CHESS PUZZLE</span> in the December +number were received, +before December 18, from "Frederica," P. Hill, J.E.N. James T. White, +Laura Randolph, S.J.B., "Bessie and her Cousin," Alice Mason, and M.W. +Collet.</p> + +<p><span class="small">ANSWERS TO THE MAGIC DOMINO-SQUARE PUZZLE</span> +in the December number were +received, before December 18, from Alice Louise, William Lewis +Lockwood, James Buckelew, Howard G. Myers, Jas. Forsyth, E.C. Rowse, +Bertie Pierson, Walter Sanger, Kenneth Hartley, Hattie Coons, Margaret +B. Dodge, Alice Downing, Anna A. Hays, Emma A. Gill, "Georgie," D.C. +Robertson, Willie T. Sheffield, Samuel Herbert Fisher, George D. +Mitchell, Carrie Welles, G.L., Emma Elliott, K.C.R., A.H., John +Hancock, Jr., Harry Hartshorn, Carrie Doane, Carrie Heller, Eddie F. +Worcester, H.S., Fred B. Appleget, "Three of Them" (?), C. Kittinger, +"Bessie and her Cousin," and P. Hill, whose criticism we find just.</p> + +<p>Helen L. Gilbert sends the solution of a puzzle in which 18 (not 16) is +the sum of the dots in each row of half-dominoes.</p> + +<p><span class="small">ANSWERS TO OTHER PUZZLES</span> in the December +number were received, before +December 18, from Charles Lothrop, R.T. McKeever, Arthur C. Smith, Lulu +Way, James J. Ormsbee, Fannie Runnels, G.L., "Jennie," Bancel La Farge, +Nellie Kellogg, Allie Bertram, L. Giraud, Alice N. Bailey, Josephine +Seibert, "Frederica," P. Hill, B.P. Emery, "Bessie and her Cousin," +A.G. Cameron, "Lizzie and Anna," Fred S. Pickett, Gracie S. Cook, +Leonice Barnes, John Edward Hill, Carrie Heller, Bessie L. Barnes, +Helen E. Risteen, "Blotterer and Blunderer," T.W. Siddall, Alice Mason, +Fred M. Pease, Nessie E. Stevens, P. Hill, Katie E. Earl, M.W. Collet, +and A.H. White.</p> + +<p><span class="small">ANSWERS TO THE "BLIND-CLERK'S PUZZLE,"</span> +in Jack-in-the-Pulpit for +December, were received, before December 18, from K.C.R., H.B. +Hastings, and "Nat"; and answers to the <span class="small">TREE PUZZLE</span> +from Mary V. Ridgway, "M.," Linda L. Bergen, H. Walton, H.B. Hastings, J.C. Hoadley, +Lewis K. Stubbs.</p> + +<p>Caroline I. Lockwood, of Tunbridge Wells, England, sends an answer to a +puzzle in a former number.</p> + +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February +1878, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. 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Gutenberg's St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February 1878, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February 1878 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 12, 2005 [EBook #15331] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Lynn Bornath and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + + + + + +[Illustration: AFTER THE SNOW-STORM.] + + + + +ST. NICHOLAS. + +VOL. V. +FEBRUARY, 1878. +No. 4. + + +[Copyright, 1878, by Scribner & Co.] + + + +THE SHEPHERD-BOY. + +BY EMILY S. OAKEY. + + + Little Roy led his sheep down to pasture, + And his cows, by the side of the brook; + But his cows never drank any water, + And his sheep never needed a crook. + + For the pasture was gay as a garden, + And it glowed with a flowery red; + But the meadows had never a grass-blade, + And the brooklet--it slept in its bed; + + And it lay without sparkle or murmur, + Nor reflected the blue of the skies. + But the music was made by the shepherd, + And the sparkle was all in his eyes. + + Oh, he sang like a bird in the summer! + And, if sometimes you fancied a bleat, + That, too, was the voice of the shepherd, + And not of the lambs at his feet. + + And the glossy brown cows were so gentle + That they moved at the touch of his hand + O'er the wonderful rosy-red meadow, + And they stood at his word of command. + + So he led all his sheep to the pasture, + And his cows, by the side of the brook; + Though it rained, yet the rain never patter'd + O'er the beautiful way that they took. + + And it wasn't in Fairy-land either, + But a house in a commonplace town, + Where Roy as he looked from the window + Saw the silvery drops trickle down. + + For his pasture was only a table, + With its cover so flowery fair, + And his brooklet was just a green ribbon + That his sister had lost from her hair. + + And his cows they were glossy horse-chestnuts, + That had grown on his grandfather's tree; + And his sheep they were snowy-white pebbles + He had brought from the shore by the sea. + + And at length, when the shepherd was weary, + And had taken his milk and his bread, + And his mother had kissed him and tucked him, + And had bid him "good-night" in his bed, + + Then there enter'd his big brother Walter, + While the shepherd was soundly asleep, + And he cut up the cows into baskets, + And to jack-stones turned all of the sheep. + + + + +THE RAVENS AND THE ANGELS. + +(_A Story of the Middle Ages._) + +BY THE AUTHOR OF "CHRONICLES OF THE SCHOeNBERG-COTTA FAMILY." + + +CHAPTER III. + + +The next day, Gottlieb began his training among the other choristers. + +It was not easy. + +The choir-master showed his appreciation of his raw treasure by +straining every nerve to make it as perfect as possible; and therefore +he found more fault with Gottlieb than with any one else. + +The other boys might, he could not but observe, sing carelessly enough, +so that the general harmony was pretty good; but every note of his +seemed as if it were a solo which the master's ear never missed, and +not the slightest mistake was allowed to pass. + +The other choristers understood very well what this meant, and some of +them were not a little jealous of the new favorite, as they called him. +But to little Gottlieb it seemed hard and strange. He was always +straining to do his very best, and yet he never seemed to satisfy. The +better he did, the better the master wanted him to do, until he grew +almost hopeless. + +He would not, for the world, complain to his mother; but on the third +evening she observed that he looked very sad and weary, and seemed +scarcely to have spirits to play with Lenichen. + +She knew it is of little use to ask little children what ails them, +because so often their trouble is that they do not know. Some little +delicate string within is jarred, and they know nothing of it, and +think the whole world is out of tune. So she quietly put Lenichen to +bed, and after the boy had said his prayers as usual at her knee, she +laid her hand on his head, and caressingly stroked his fair curls, and +then she lifted up his face to hers and kissed the little troubled brow +and quivering lips. + +"Dear little golden mouth!" she said, fondly, "that earns bread, and +sleep, for the little sister and for me! I heard the sweet notes +to-day, and I thanked God. And I felt as if the dear father was hearing +them too, even through the songs in heaven." + +The child's heart was opened, the quivering lips broke into a sob, and +the face was hidden on her knee. + +"It will not be for long, mother!" he said. "The master has found fault +with me more than ever to-day. He made me sing passage after passage +over and over, until some of the boys were quite angry, and said, +afterward, they wished I and my voice were with the old hermit who +houses us. Yet he never seemed pleased. He did not even say it was any +better." + +"But he never gave you up, darling!" she said. + +"No; he only told me to come early, alone, to-morrow, and he would give +me a lesson by myself, and perhaps I should learn better." + +A twinkle of joy danced in her eyes, dimmed with so many tears. + +"Silly child!" she said, fondly, "as silly as thy poor mother herself! +The master only takes trouble, and chastens and rebukes, because he +thinks it is worth while, because thou art trying and learning, and art +doing a little better day by day. He knows what thy best can be, and +will never be content with anything but thy very best." + +"Is it that, mother? Is it indeed that?" said the boy, looking up with +a sudden dawning of hope. + +And a sweet dawn of promise met him in his mother's eyes as she +answered: + +"It is even that, my own, for thee and for me!" + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +With a glad heart, Gottlieb dressed the next morning before Lenichen +was awake, and was off to the choir-master for his lesson alone. + +The new hope had inspired him, and he sang that morning to the content +even of the master, as he knew, not by his praise, but by his summoning +Ursula from the kitchen to listen, unable to resist his desire for the +sympathy of a larger audience. + +Ursula was not exactly musical, nor was she demonstrative, but she +showed her satisfaction by appropriating her share of the success. + +"_I_ knew what was wanting!" she said, significantly. "The birds and +the blessed angels may sing on crumbs or on the waters of Paradise; but +goose and pudding are a great help to the alleluias here below." + +"The archduchess will be enraptured, and the Cistercians will be +furious!" said the choir-master, equally pleased at both prospects. + +But this Gottlieb did not hear, for he had availed himself of the first +free moment to run home and tell his mother how things had improved. + +After that, Gottlieb had no more trouble about the master. The old +man's severity became comprehensible and dear to him, and a loving +liberty and confidence came into his bearing toward him, which went to +the heart of the childless old man, so that dearer than the praise of +the archduchess, or even the discomfiture of the Cistercians, became to +him the success and welfare of the child. + +But then, unknown to himself, the poor boy entered on a new chapter of +temptations. + +The other boys, observing the choir-master's love for him, grew +jealous, and called him sometimes "the master's little angel," and +sometimes "the little beggar of the hermitage" or "Dwarf Hans' +darling." + +He was too brave and manly a little fellow to tell his mother all these +little annoyances. He would not for the world have spoiled her joy in +her little "Chrysostom," her golden-mouthed laddie. But once they +followed him to her door, and she heard them herself. The rude words +smote her to the heart, but she only said: + +"Thou art not ashamed of the hermit's house, nor of being old Hans' +darling?" + +"I hope, never!" said the child, with a little hesitation. "God sent +him to us, and I love him. But it would be nice if dear Hans sometimes +washed his face!" + +Magdalis smiled, and hit on a plan for bringing this about. With some +difficulty she persuaded the old man to take his dinner every Sunday +and holiday with them, and she always set an ewer of water--and a +towel, relic of her old burgher life--by him, before the meal. + +"We were a kind of Pharisees in our home," she said, "and except we +washed our hands, never ate bread." + +Hans growled a little, but he took the hint, for her sake and the +boy's, and gradually found the practice so pleasant on its own account, +that the washing of his hands and face became a daily process. + +On his patron saint's day (St. John, February 8), Mother Magdalis went +a step further, and presented him with a clean suit of clothes, very +humble but neat and sound, of her own making out of old hoards. Not for +holidays only, she said, but that he might change his clothes every +day, after work, as her Berthold used. + +"Dainty, burgher ways," Hans called them, but he submitted, and +Gottlieb was greatly comforted, and thought his old friend a long way +advanced in his transformation into an angel. + +So, between the sweetness of the boy's temper and of his dear mother's +love which folded him close, the bitter was turned into sweet within +him. + +But Ursula, who heard the mocking of the boys with indignation, was +not so wise in her consolations. + +"Wicked, envious little devils!" said she. "Never thou heed them, my +lamb! They would be glad enough, any of them, to be the master's angel, +or Dwarf Hans' darling, for that matter, if they could. It is nothing +but mean envy and spite, my little prince, my little wonder; never thou +heed them!" + +And then the enemy crept unperceived into the child's heart. + +Was he indeed a little prince and a wonder, on his platform of gifts +and goodness? And were all those naughty boys far below him, in another +sphere, hating him as the little devils in the mystery-plays seemed to +hate and torment the saints? + +Had the "raven" been sent to him, after all, as to the prophet of old, +not only because he was hungry and pitied by God, but because he was +good and a favorite of God? + +It seemed clear he was something quite out of the common. He seemed the +favorite of every one, except those few envious, wicked boys. + +The great ladies of the city entreated for him to come and sing at +their feasts; and all their guests stopped in the midst of their eager +talk to listen to him, and they gave him sweetmeats and praised him to +the skies, and they offered him wine from their silver flagons, and +when he refused it, as his mother bade him, they praised him more than +ever, and once the host himself, the burgomaster, emptied the silver +flagon of the wine he had refused, and told him to take it home to his +mother and tell her she had a child whose dutifulness was worth more +than all the silver in the city. + +But when he told his mother this, instead of looking delighted, as he +expected, she looked grave, and almost severe, and said: + +"You only did your duty, my boy. It would have been a sin and a shame +to do otherwise. And, of course, you would not for the world." + +"Certainly I would not, mother," he said. + +But he felt a little chilled. Did his mother think it was always so +easy for boys to do their duty? and that every one did it? + +Other people seemed to think it a very uncommon and noble thing to do +one's duty. And what, indeed, could the blessed saints do more? + +So the slow poison of praise crept into the boy's heart. And while he +thought his life was being filled with light, unknown to him the +shadows were deepening,--the one shadow which eclipses the sun, the +terrible shadow of self. + +For he could not but be conscious how, even in the cathedral, a kind of +hush and silence fell around when he began to sing. + +And instead of the blessed presence of God filling the holy place, and +his singing in it, as of old, like a happy little bird in the sunshine, +his own sweet voice seemed to fill the place, rising and falling like a +tide up and down the aisles, leaping to the vaulted roof like a +fountain of joy, and dropping into the hearts of the multitude like dew +from heaven. + +And as he went out, in his little white robe, with the choir, he felt +the eyes of the people on him, and he heard a murmur of praise, and now +and then words such as "That is little Gottlieb, the son of the widow +Magdalis. She may well be proud of him. He has the voice and the face +of an angel." + +And then, in contrast, outside in the street, from the other boys: "See +how puffed up the little prince is! He cannot look at any one lower +than the bishop or the burgomaster!" + +So, between the chorus of praise and the other chorus of mockery, it +was no wonder that poor Gottlieb felt like a being far removed from the +common herd. And, necessarily, any one of the flock of Christ who feels +that, cannot be happy, because if we are far away from the common +flock, we cannot be near the Good Shepherd, who always keeps close to +the feeblest, and seeks those that go astray. + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +It was not long before the watchful eye of the mother observed a little +change creeping over the boy--a little more impatience with Lenichen, a +little more variableness of temper, sometimes dancing exultingly home +as if he were scarcely treading the common earth, sometimes returning +with a depression which made the simple work and pleasures of the home +seem dull and wearisome. + +So it went on until the joyful Easter-tide was drawing near. On Palm +Sunday there was to be a procession of the children. + +As the mother was smoothing out the golden locks which fell like +sunbeams on the white vestments, she said: "It is a bright day for thee +and me, my son. I shall feel as if we were all in the dear old +Jerusalem itself, and my darling had gathered his palms on Olivet +itself, and the very eyes of the blessed Lord himself were on thee, and +His ears listening to thee crying out thy hosannas, and His dear voice +speaking of thee and through thee, 'Suffer the little children to come +unto me.'" + +But Gottlieb looked grave and rather troubled. + +"So few seem thinking just of His listening," he said, doubtfully. +"There are the choir-master and the dean and chapter, and the other +choristers, and the Cistercians, and the mothers of the other +choristers, who wish them to sing best." + +She took his hand. "So there were in that old Jerusalem," she said. +"The Pharisees, who wanted to stop the children's singing, and even the +dear Disciples, who often thought they might be troublesome to the +Master. But the little ones sang for Him, and He knew, and was pleased. +And that is all we have to think of now." + +He kissed her, and went away with a lightened brow. + +Many of the neighbors came in that afternoon to congratulate Magdalis +on her boy--his face, his voice, his gentle ways. + +"And then he sings with such feeling," said one. "One sees it is in his +heart." + +But in the evening Gottlieb came home very sad and desponding. For some +time he said nothing, and then, with a brave effort to restrain his +tears, he murmured: + +"Oh, mother! I am afraid it will soon be over. I heard one of the +priests say he thought they had a new chorister at the Cistercians +whose voice is as good as mine. So that the archduchess may not like +our choir best, after all." + +The mother said nothing for a moment, and then she said: + +"Whose praise and love will the boy at the Cistercian convent sing, +Gottlieb, if he has such a lovely voice?" + +"God's!--the dear Heavenly Father and the Savior!" he said, reverently. + +"And you, my own? Will another little voice on earth prevent His +hearing you? Do the thousands of thousands always singing to Him above +prevent His hearing you? And what would the world do if the only voice +worth listening to were thine? It cannot be heard beyond one church, or +one street. And the good Lord has ten thousand churches, and cities +full of people who want to hear." + +"But thou, mother! Thou and Lenichen, and the bread!" + +"It was the raven that brought the bread," she said, smiling; "and thou +art not even a raven,--only a little child to pick up the bread the +raven brought." + +He sat silent a few minutes, and then the terrible cloud of self and +pride dropped off from his heart like a death-shroud, and he threw +himself into her arms. + +"Oh, mother, I see it all!" he said. "I am free again. I have only to +sing to the blessed Lord of all, quite sure He listens, to Him alone, +and to all else as just a little one of the all He loves." + +And after the evening meal, and a game with Lenichen, the boy crept out +to the cathedral to say his prayers in one of the little chapels, and +to thank God. + +He knelt in the Lady chapel before the image of the infant Christ on +the mother's knees. + +And as he knelt there, it came into his heart that all the next Week +was Passion week, "the still week," and would be silent; and the tears +filled his eyes to remember how little he had enjoyed singing that day. + +"How glad the little children of Jerusalem must have been," he thought, +"that they sang to Jesus when they could. I suppose they never could +again; for the next Friday He was dead. Oh, suppose He never let me +sing to Him again!" + +[Illustration: "'LOOK AT ME,' THE OLD MAN SAID."] + +And tears and repressed sobs came fast at the thought, and he murmured +aloud, thinking no one was near: + +"Dear Savior, only let me sing once more here in church to you, and I +will think of no one but you; not of the boys who laugh at me, nor the +people who praise me, nor the Cistercians, nor the archduchess, nor +even the dear choir-master, but only of you, of you, and perhaps of +mother and Lenichen. I could not help that, and you would not mind it. +You and they love me so much more than any one, and I love you really +so much more than all besides. Only believe it, and try me once more." + +As he finished, in his earnestness, the child spoke quite loud, and +from a dark corner in the shadow of a pillar suddenly arose a very old +man in a black monk's robe, with snow-white hair, and drew close to +him, and laid his hand on his shoulder and said: + +"Fear not, my son. I have a message for thee." + +At first, Gottlieb was much frightened, and then, when he heard the +kind, tremulous old voice, and saw the lovely, tender smile on the +wrinkled, pallid old face, he thought God must really have sent him an +angel at last, though certainly not because he was good. + +"Look around on these lofty arches, and clustered columns, and the long +aisles, and the shrines of saints, and the carved wreaths of flowers +and fruits, and the glorious altar! Are these wonderful to thee? +Couldst thou have thought of them, or built them?" + +"I could as easily have made the stars, or the forests!" said the +child. + +"Then look at me," the old man said, with a gentle smile on his +venerable face, "a poor worn-out old man, whom no one knows. This +beautiful house was in my heart before a stone of it was reared. God +put it in my heart. I planned it all. I remember this place a heap of +poor cottages as small as thine, and now it is a glorious house of +God. And I was what they called the master-builder. Yet no man knows +me, or says, 'Look at him!' They look at the cathedral, God's house; +and that makes me glad in my inmost soul. I prayed that I might be +nothing, and all the glory be His; and He has granted my prayer. And I +am as little and as free in this house which I built as in His own +forests, or under His own stars; for it is His only, as they are His. +And I am nothing but His own little child, as thou art. And He has my +hand and thine in His, and will not let us go." + +The child looked up, nearly certain now that it must be an angel. To +have lived longer than the cathedral seemed like living when the +morning stars were made, and all the angels shouted for joy. + +"Then God will let me sing here next Easter!" he said, looking +confidingly in the old man's face. + +"Thou shalt sing, and I shall see, and I shall hear thee, but thou wilt +not hear or see me!" said the old man, taking both the dimpled hands in +one of his. "And the blessed Lord will listen, as to the little +children in Jerusalem of old. And we shall be His dear, happy children +for evermore." + +Gottlieb went home and told his mother. And they both agreed, that if +not an angel, the old man was as good as an angel, and was certainly a +messenger of God. + +To have been the master-builder of the cathedral of which it was +Magdalis's glory and pride that her husband had carved a few of the +stones! + +The master-builder of the cathedral, yet finding his joy and glory in +being a little child of God! + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +The "silent week" that followed was a solemn time to the mother and the +boy. + +Every day, whatever time could be spared from the practice with the +choir, and from helping in the little house and with his mother's +wood-carving, or from playing with Lenichen in the fields, Gottlieb +spent in the silent cathedral, draped as it was in funereal black for +the sacred life given up to God for man. + +"How glad," he thought again and again, "the little children of +Jerusalem must have been that they sang when they could to the blessed +Jesus! They little knew how soon the kind hands that blessed them would +be stretched on the cross, and the kind voice that would not let their +singing be stopped would be moaning 'I thirst.'" + +But he felt that he, Gottlieb, ought to have known; and if ever he was +allowed to sing his hosannas in the choir again, it would feel like the +face of the blessed Lord himself smiling on him, and His voice saying, +"Suffer this little one to come unto me. I have forgiven him." + +He hoped also to see the master-builder again; but nevermore did the +slight, aged form appear in the sunshine of the stained windows, or in +the shadows of the arches he had planned. + +And so the still Passion week wore on. + +Until once more, the joy-bells pealed out on the blessed Easter morning. + +The city was full of festivals. The rich were in their richest holiday +raiment, and few of the poor were so poor as not to have some sign of +festivity in their humble dress and on their frugal tables. + +Mother Magdalis was surprised by finding at her bedside a new dress +such as befitted a good burgher's daughter, sent secretly the night +before from Ursula by Hans and Gottlieb, with a pair of enchanting new +crimson shoes for little Lenichen, which all but over-balanced the +little maiden with the new sense of possessing something which must be +a wonder and a delight to all beholders. + +The archduke and the beautiful Italian archduchess had arrived the +night before, and were to go in stately procession to the cathedral. +And Gottlieb was to sing in the choir, and afterward, on the Monday, to +sing an Easter greeting for the archduchess at the banquet in the great +town-hall. + +The mother's heart trembled with some anxiety for the child. + +But the boy's was only trembling with the great longing to be allowed +to sing once more his hosannas to the blessed Savior, among the +children. + +It was given him. + +At first the eager voice trembled for joy, in the verse he had to sing +alone, and the choir-master's brows were knitted with anxiety. But it +cleared and steadied in a moment, and soared with a fullness and +freedom none had ever heard in it before, filling the arches of the +cathedral and the hearts of all. + +And the beautiful archduchess bent over to see the child, and her soft, +dark eyes were fixed on his face, as he sang, until they filled with +tears; and, afterward, she asked who the mother of that little angel +was. + +But the child's eyes were fixed on nothing earthly, and his heart was +listening for another voice--the voice all who listen for shall surely +hear. + +And it said in the heart of the child, that day: "Suffer the little one +to come unto me. Go in peace. Thy sins are forgiven." + +A happy, sacred evening they spent that Easter in the hermit's cell, +the mother and the two children, the boy singing his best for the +little nest, as before for the King of kings. + +Still, a little anxiety lingered in the mother's heart about the pomp +of the next day. + +But she need not have feared. + +When the archduchess had asked for the mother of the little chorister +with the heavenly voice, the choir-master had told her what touched her +much about the widowed Magdalis and her two children; and old Ursula +and the master between them contrived that Mother Magdalis should be at +the banquet, hidden behind the tapestry. + +And when Gottlieb came close to the great lady, robed in white, with +blue feathery wings, to represent a little angel, and sang her the +Easter greeting, she bent down and folded him in her arms, and kissed +him. + +And then once more she asked for his mother, and, to Gottlieb's +surprise and her own, the mother was led forward, and knelt before the +archduchess. + +Then the beautiful lady beamed on the mother and the child, and, taking +a chain and jewel from her neck, she clasped it round the boy's neck, +and said, in musical German with a foreign accent: + +"Remember, this is not so much a gift as a token and sign that I will +not forget thee and thy mother, and that I look to see thee and hear +thee again, and to be thy friend." + +And as she smiled on him, the whole banqueting-hall--indeed, the whole +world--seemed illuminated to the child. + +And he said to his mother as they went home: + +"Mother, surely God has sent us an angel at last. But, even for the +angels, we will never forget His dear ravens. Wont old Hans be glad?" + +And the mother was glad; for she knew that God who giveth grace to the +lowly had indeed blessed the lad, because all his gifts and honors were +transformed, as always in the lowly heart, not into pride, but into +love. + +But when the boy ran eagerly to find old Hans, to show him the jewel +and tell him of the princely promises, Hans was nowhere to be found; +not in the hermit's house, where he was to have met them and shared +their little festive meal, nor at his own stall, nor in the hut in +which he slept. + +Gottlieb's heart began to sink. + +Never had his dear old friend failed to share in any joy of theirs +before. + +At length, as he was lingering about the old man's little hut, +wondering, a sad, silent company came bearing slowly and tenderly a +heavy burden, which at last they laid on Hans' poor straw pallet. + +It was poor Hans himself, bruised and crushed and wounded in his +struggles to press through the crowd to see his darling, his poor +crooked limbs broken and unable to move any more. + +But the face was untouched, and when they had laid him on the couch, +and the languid eyes opened and rested on the beloved face of the child +bending over him bathed in tears, a light came over the poor rugged +features, and shone in the dark, hollow eyes, such as nothing on earth +can give--a wonderful light of great, unutterable love, as they gazed +into the eyes of the child, and then, looking upward, seemed to open on +a vision none else could see. + +"Jesus! Savior! I can do no more. Take care of him, thou thyself, +Jesus, Lord!" + +He said no more--no prayer for himself, only for the child. + +Then the eyes grew dim, the head sank back, and with one sigh he +breathed his soul away to God. + +And such an awe came over the boy that he ceased to weep. + +He could only follow the happy soul up to God, and say voicelessly in +his heart: + +"Dear Lord Jesus! I understand at last! The raven was the angel. And +Thou hast let me see him for one moment as he is, as he is now with +Thee, as he will be evermore!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +A TRIP TO THE TEA COUNTRY. + +BY WILLIAM M. TILESTON. + + +[Illustration: ] + + +I was leaning over the tea-room table on one of the lovely spring +mornings that we sometimes have in China. In front of me the large +window, like that in an artist's studio, admitted the north light upon +the long array of little porcelain teacups and saucers, and "musters," +or square, flat boxes of tea-samples. The last new "chop" had been +carefully tasted and the leaf inspected, and I was wondering whether +the price asked by the tea-man would show a profit over the latest +quotations from London and New York, when my speculations were +disturbed by the entrance of my friend Charley, followed by Akong, well +known as the most influential tea-broker in the Oopack province. +Charley and Akong were fast friends, and I saw by the twinkle in the +eyes of each that a premeditated plot of some kind was about being +exploded upon my unsuspecting self. + +But before going further, let me tell you who we all are, where we are, +and what we are doing. + +Of course I am aware that it is exceedingly impolite to put oneself +first, but in the present instance you must excuse it; for besides +being the oldest, I occupy the position of guide, philosopher and +friend to Charley, and my story would scarcely be intelligible or +complete if I did not begin with myself. Well, to begin: I am one of +those unfortunate individuals known in China as "cha-szes," or +tea-tasters; doomed for my sins, or the hope of one day getting rich, +to pass the time in smelling, tasting and buying teas for the great +mercantile house or "hong" of Young Hyson & Co. The place at which you +find me is Hankow, on the great Yang Tsze Kiang, or river, some six +hundred miles from its mouth. If you have a map of China, and will find +on it the Yang Tsze, by tracing with your finger--if your map is at all +correct--you will discover the cities of Chin Kiang, Nanking, Nganking, +Kiu Kiang, and finally, at the junction of the river Han with the Yang +Tsze, Wuchang. Hankow will probably not be on your map, but on the +north bank of the Yang Tsze, just at the point of junction with the +Han, is this important trading port, thrown open to foreigners in 1861, +after the signing of the treaty of Tein-Tsin. + +And now for Charley, whom I have kept talking pigeon-English to Akong +all this time. Charley was the son of an old friend, chaplain to the +British consulate at one of the coast ports; his mother dying, Charley +was to have been sent home to relatives in England, but I had prevailed +upon his father to let the boy, now between twelve and fourteen years +old, make me a visit before his final departure. + +And now for the conspiracy: + +"Chin-chin (how do you do), Akong?" said I. + +"What is it, Charley? Out with it, my boy; some mischief, I know." +Akong gave a chuckle and a muttered "hi-yah," and Charley proceeded to +explain. + +"Well Cha,"--the Chinamen called me Cha-tsze and the boy had +abbreviated it to Cha,--"Akong says that he has a boat going up to the +tea country to-morrow or next day, and wants me to go with him; may I?" + +[Illustration: THE BARBER.] + +Charley knew that I could refuse him nothing, but the trip of several +hundred miles into a district rarely, if ever, visited by foreigners, +involved more of a risk than I cared to assume. Charley seeing that I +looked unusually solemn, turned to Akong for support. + +"What for you no go too, Cha-tsze? Just now my thinkee no got new chop +come inside two week; get back plenty time." + +Akong's pigeon-English perhaps requires explanation: You must know, +then, that the Chinese with whom all foreigners transact business, +instead of learning correct English have a lingo, or _patois_, of their +own, ascribed, but I think erroneously, to the carelessness of their +first English visitors, who addressed them in this manner, thinking to +make themselves more easily understood. The fact is, that +pigeon-English, besides having many Portuguese words mixed up with +it,--the Portuguese, you know, were established in China as early as +the seventeenth century,--is in many instances a literal translation of +Chinese into perverted English. In the present instance, Akong +suggested that as there would be no more tea down for a fortnight, it +would be well for me, too, to go. The proposition was quite agreeable +to me, and Charley scampered off to tell Ahim, the cook, and Aho, my +boy, to make the necessary preparations. + +The next morning, at an early hour, Akong's great mandarin, or +house-boat, was moored at the jetty, and the boys were packing away the +provisions and the charcoal for cooking, and long strings of copper +"cash" to be used in the purchase of eggs and chickens, and the mats of +rice that would form the principal article of "chow-chow" for the crew. +Everybody in China has a boy, and Charley had his; a regular young imp +of a fellow of about his own age. Aling was his name; Charley used to +call him Ting-a-ling, and would jabber horrible Chinese to him by the +hour. Aling jumped down the steps, two at a time, with Charley's +traveling bag; but Aho, more sedate and dignified, marched after him; +Charley and I joined Akong in the front of the boat, and with a chorus +of "chin-chins" from the coolies and house-servants left behind, and +the explosion of a pack of fire-crackers to propitiate the river +dragon, the boat was shoved from the jetty, the sail hoisted, and we +were soon slowly stemming the broad current of the Yang Tsze. On our +right was Hankow, with its million or more inhabitants, the hum of the +great city following us for miles; and the mouth of the Han, its +surface so covered with junks that their masts resembled a forest, and +only a narrow lane of water was left for the passage of boats. Just +beyond the Han was Han Yang, once a fine city, but now in ruins, one of +the results of the Tae-ping rebellion. Across the Yang Tsze, here a +mile wide, was Wuchang, the residence of the viceroy of the Hupeh +province. This place was supposed to be closed to foreigners, but +Charley and I had made many a secret visit, and had some rare sport +among the curiosity shops, with occasionally an adventure of a less +pleasing description, about which I should like to tell you if I had +time. + +Rapidly we passed the suburbs of these cities, and drawing over to the +south bank, as the wind was light, the crew were ordered ashore, and +stretching themselves along a tow-rope extending from the mast-head, +the boat was soon moving quite rapidly. And that reminds me that I have +not yet described our boat. These boats, used by the gentry in +transporting themselves about the country, are almost like Noah's ark +on a small scale--a boat with a house running almost the entire length +of the deck, with little latticed windows on the outside, and the +interior divided into rooms for eating and sleeping. The crew all lived +aft on the great overhanging stern, where the cooking was done, and +where the handle of the great "yuloe," or sculling oar, protruded. In +front of the cabin was a little piece of deck-room where Charley and I +had our camp-stools, and which gave us an excellent place from which to +observe everything going on ahead. + +[Illustration: THE TEA HONG.] + +The boat coolies were straining on the tow-rope a hundred yards ahead. +Frequently we passed some fisherman sitting in his little mat hut, with +his feet on the windlass that raised his great square net; but never +did we see them catch a fish, although on our return the same men were +working as assiduously as ever. The country presented the same compact +system of farming, the hills in many places being terraced to their +very summits, and planted with waving crops of wheat and millet, beans, +and vegetables of every description. Toward noon we passed the "Ta" and +"Lao Kin Shan" (great and little golden mountain), and by the time +Aling had announced "tiffin" (luncheon), we were abreast of Kin Kow, a +picturesque village in the neighborhood of which I generally found +some excellent shooting. After tiffin we again resumed our camp-stools. +I lighted a cigar, and Akong smoked his hubble-bubble, a small copy of +the nargileh of the Turks. The river was alive with junks, some going +in the same direction as ourselves, and others loaded with tea, +charcoal, vegetable tallow, oil of various kinds, and gypsum, brought, +most of them, from the far western province of Sze Chuen. + +There was but little variety in the journey until the following day, +when we approached the great bend in the Yang Tsze, and Akong told us +that, if so inclined, we could land from the boat, and by walking six +or eight miles across the country join the boat again, the bend +rendering it necessary for her to go around some thirty or forty miles. +This we gladly assented to, and taking my gun, in hopes of meeting with +some snipe in the paddy-fields, and with Aling and a coolie for +interpreters, we landed. + +Charley and I both experienced a rather queer sensation as we watched +the boat sail off, and found ourselves with no other white man within a +hundred or more miles. The country ahead was one immense rice-field, +divided by dykes or banks paved with stones and forming paths for +walking. At some distance we saw a large clump of bamboos with tall +elms beyond, indicating a village, called, as a coolie at work in a +ditch informed us, Fi-Loong. Soon we saw a broad creek with a handsome +stone bridge over it, and on the other side an unusually large house of +two stories, which turned out to belong to the Te-poy, or local +magistrate of the place. The old gentleman himself was sitting outside +of the house having his head shaved by the village barber. He politely +invited us to wait, and after the shaving was over regaled us with a +cup of tea,--rather weak, but refreshing,--and after chin-chin-ing we +resumed our journey. + +Can you see our party trudging along? Beyond the village were more +paddy-fields, from which occasionally a great white paddy-bird arose. I +shot one of them, to the great delight of our coolie, who pronounced it +No. 1 good chow-chow; but Charley and I were much more pleased at the +sight of several English snipe. Reaching an old lotus-pond, a shot +scared up these birds almost in myriads, and a good bunch of them +promised a very welcome addition to our dinner. Meanwhile we had been +following a creek, which we now needed to cross. But before long Aling +espied a man in the distance at work with a huge buffalo, and +exclaiming, "Hi-yah! belly good walkee now," rushed off in that +direction. He soon returned with the buffalo and his owner, and +indicated that we could cross on the back of the former. The huge, +ungainly beast threw up his head and snorted when he caught sight of +the "fanquis," or foreign devils, but a pull at the ring through his +nose soon brought him to subjection. + +"How much does he want, Aling, to carry us over?" + +"He say ten cash can do." + +As this sum (one cent) was not an unreasonable ferriage, we nodded; and +the buffalo being led into the water near the bank, I mounted first, +then came Charley with his arms around me, then Aling, who had climbed +up behind. When we were half-way over, Charley laughed so heartily at +the ridiculous figure we made that the buffalo gave another snort, and +threatened to roll us off, into the muddy water, but we landed safely, +and giving the man his ten cash, went on again. The rest of the walk +was without adventure, and we finally arrived at the river-bank just as +the boat was coming around the point below us. + +That evening we left the main river and tracked up a tributary stream +until we came to a broad canal, which Akong informed us led direct to +our destination. + +[Illustration: SORTING THE TEA.] + +Turning out of our beds the next morning we found the boat moored to +the bank of the canal, opposite a long, rambling, one-storied building, +which proved to be the "hong" of the tea-merchant to whom the +neighboring plantations belonged. We were really in the tea country at +last. On every side of us, as far as the eye could reach, the +dark-green tea-plants were growing in their beds of reddish sandy soil. +Notwithstanding the cook's urgent appeals to wait until chow-chow was +ready, we jumped ashore and into the midst of a crowd of noisy coolies +moving in every direction, each with his load slung at the ends of a +bamboo across his shoulders, and singing a monotonous "Aho, Aho, Aho!" +which appears as necessary to the Chinese carrier as the "Yo heave ho!" +to the sailor. Long, narrow junks were lying at the bank, and being +rapidly loaded with the familiar tea-chests; crowds of men, women and +children were coming from the plantation, each with bags of the freshly +picked leaves, or with baskets on their heads in which the more +delicate kinds were carefully carried. We stepped into the building, +and there witnessed the entire operation of assorting, firing the teas, +and even the manufacturing of the chests. We would gladly have +remained, but Aho came up and informed us "that breakfast hab got +spoilem," so we deferred further investigation until after the meal. + +Akong joined us at breakfast, and partook of our curry and rice with +great gusto, for tea-brokers as a rule are by no means averse to +foreign chow-chow, and handle a knife and fork with almost as much ease +as they do the native chop-sticks. Charley plied us both with questions +regarding tea in general, and probably the following summary will +pretty well represent the result of his queries: + +The cultivation of the tea-plant is by no means confined to any one +district or spot, but is scattered about through the different +provinces, each producing its peculiar description known to the trade +by its distinctive name. We were now in the Hupeh or Oopack country, +and the tea we saw being gathered and prepared was the heavy-liquored +black-leafed description, known in England and to the trade as Congou. +This Congou forms the staple of the mixture known in that country under +the generic name of "black," and sometimes finds its way to us under +the guise of "English breakfast tea." From Foo-chow-foo, on the coast, +half-way between Shanghae and Hong Kong, is shipped another description +known as red-leaf Congou, the bulk of which goes to England also, +although we are gradually absorbing an increasing quantity. Kiu Kiang, +on the Yang Tsze, some one hundred and forty miles below Hankow, shares +with the latter port in the trade of the Hupeh country, and is, or was +until recently, the point of shipment for the fine green teas grown and +manufactured in the Moyune district, a very large proportion of which +is shipped to this country. First in importance as a point of shipment +is Foo-chow-foo, whence are exported, in addition to the red-leafed +Congous, or Boheas, the bulk of the Oolongs. Still further down the +coast is Amoy, from which point inferior descriptions of both kinds are +shipped, together with some scented teas; but the bulk of the latter, +known as Scented Capers, Orange Pekoe, etc., are exported from Canton +and Macao. These, together with a peculiar description of green, are +manufactured at these ports from leaf grown in the neighborhood. +Although no tea is grown near Shanghae, much of the Congou grown in the +Hupeh province is sent there for sale, and thence shipped to England. +The green teas from both the Moyune and Ping-Suey countries are also +shipped from Shanghae. + +[Illustration: HOEING AND WATERING THE PLANTS.] + +Breakfast over, we jumped ashore again, and, desiring to conduct our +sight-seeing systematically, started for the fields. First we walked to +the foot of a hill a little distance off, where some men in short +cotton trousers and jackets were laying out a new plantation. The +ground was accurately marked off, and in one place the little plants, +only an inch or two in height, were just showing above the ground. In +another, the seeds--little round balls they looked like--were being +planted in the rows. Passing another field, where some men were at work +with their hoes in true Chinese style, stopping every few moments to +smoke their pipes, we came at last to where the plants had attained +some size and the actual picking was going on. The plants themselves +were from two to six feet high, according to age, and from repeated +cuttings down had grown into dense masses of small twigs. Many of them +were covered with little white flowers, somewhat similar to the +jasmine, and seeds inclosed in a casing not unlike that of the +hazel-nut, but thinner and full of oil. Charley thought they looked +like little laurel bushes; to me, those that had been well picked were +not unlike huckleberry bushes, only the leaves were, of course, a much +darker green. The first picking, usually in April, is when the leaves +are very young and tender, commanding a much higher price than those +subsequently plucked. The second is a month later, when they have +attained maturity; and as unpropitious weather would be likely to ruin +them, great expedition is used in getting in the crop, the entire +population turning out to assist. A third, and even a fourth, follows; +but the quality rapidly deteriorates, and but a small proportion of +these last pickings is prepared for export. + +[Illustration: DRYING THE TEA.] + +The plantations were filled with a merry crowd, composed principally of +women and children, all engaged in stripping the bushes as rapidly as +possible, yet with great care and dexterity, so as not to bruise the +leaves. They looked up from their work and screamed to each other in +their harsh guttural tones, casting glances of astonishment at the +barbarians. Following some of the coolies, who with filled bags were +trudging off to the curing-house, we saw the most interesting operation +of all. Here, at least thirty young girls were engaged in assorting the +leaves, picking out all the dead and yellow ones, and preparing them +for the hands of the rollers and firers. Our entrance excited quite a +commotion among the damsels, as we were probably the first barbarians +they had seen, and we had the reputation of living entirely on fat +babies. A word from Akong, who had joined us, reassured them, and in a +few minutes Charley was airing his little stock of Chinese, more, I +thought, to their amusement than their edification. Leaving this room +we went into another where the curing was in progress. On one side +extended a long furnace built of bricks, with large iron pans placed at +equal distances, and heated by charcoal fires below. Into these pans +leaves by the basketful were poured, stirred rapidly for a few minutes, +and then removed to large bamboo frames, where they were rolled and +kneaded until all the green juice was freed. They were then scattered +loosely in large, flat baskets, and placed in the sun to dry. +Subsequently, the leaves were again carried to the furnaces and exposed +to a gentle heat, until they curled and twisted themselves into the +shapes so familiar to you all. Some of the finer kinds often prepared +for exportation are rolled over by hand before being fired. The great +object appears to be to prevent the leaf from breaking; hence, in the +commoner kinds and those intended for home consumption, which do not +receive the same care, the leaves are found to be very much broken. In +fact, the preparation of this latter sort is very simple: a mere drying +in the sun, after which it presents a dry, broken appearance, like +autumn leaves. + +Green tea, although grown in particular districts, receives its +peculiar color by being stirred with a mixture of gypsum and Prussian +blue during the firing, but is prepared in a more laborious manner, the +leaves being selected and divided to form the different kinds known as +Imperial, Gunpowder, Young Hyson, Hyson, Hyson Skin and Twankay. An +aggregation of these kinds, proportioned according to their value, +forms what is known as a "chop," whereas a chop of black tea comprises +all of one grade or quality. Chinamen wonder at the taste of "outside +barbarians" in preferring a tea colored green, but would provide them +with a leaf of yellow or blue if there was a market for it. + +[Illustration: ONE OF THE SING-SONG GIRLS.] + +The entire operation pertaining to the business appeared to be carried +on in the cluster of little buildings with court-yards between, but +almost under the same roof, and afforded occupation to an immense +number of persons. And yet the payments could not have been very +large; from six to ten cents per day being about the wages they +received. In one room men were engaged in making boxes; in another, +lining them with thin sheets of lead. Further on, the outsides of the +boxes were being pasted over with paper, on which was stamped the name +of the tea and the maker's business-title. Finally, they were being +filled, soldered up and carried off to the boats, not to be opened +again until they reached the shop of some London grocer. + +The principal object of our friend Akong's visit was to convoy with his +mandarin-boat a fleet of tea-junks to Hankow; so that but one day was +given us for our visit. The boats being nearly ready, it was arranged +that we should start on our return the following morning. The evening +was devoted to a dinner and "sing-song" given for our entertainment by +the tea-men. Aho asked if he should take our knives and forks, a +proposition which we indignantly rejected. As it was to be a Chinese +dinner, we determined to do it in Chinese style, chop-sticks and all. +Such a dinner! We were seated at little square tables holding four +persons each, the Chinamen all dressed in their official or state +costumes. First came little dishes of sweetmeats and then bowls of +bird's-nest soup, with the jelly-like substance floating about in it in +company with little pieces of chicken. This was very nice, although we +_did_ all eat out of the same bowl, using little porcelain spoons. Then +came more sweetmeats, followed by dishes of _beche de mer_, or +sea-slugs and fat pork; this we passed, but not until an over-polite +Chinaman took up a gristly piece of _something_ with his chop-sticks, +and, after biting off a piece, passed the rest to Charley. The +chop-sticks we could not manage; the meat would slip out of them, and +had it not been for the soups, of which there were several, and the +rice, which we could _shovel_ into our mouths, we should have had no +dinner. Tea was passed by the servants continually, as were little +bowls of "samshu"--a liquor distilled from rice. During the dinner, the +sing-song girls played on the native two-stringed fiddles, and sang in +falsetto voices a selection of music, which was undoubtedly very fine +if judged by the Chinese standard, but which we could not appreciate. + +The noise soon became almost intolerable, and we slipped off to the +boat and sought our beds. + +When we awoke in the morning the whole fleet of tea-boats was under +way, and with a fair wind we ran rapidly down the creek and were once +more on the broad Yang Tsze. On the third day we reached Hankow safely, +and well pleased with our trip to the tea country. + + + + +TREASURE-TROVE. + +BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH. + + + A Diligent Biddy was scratching one day, + And pecking at morsels that came in her way, + When all of a sudden she widened her eyes, + And the feathers stood up on her head with surprise! + + A strange-looking treasure Dame Biddy had found, + 'Twixt a brick and a clam-shell it lay on the ground; + The hen with a peck turned it over and over, + But the longer she looked the less could discover. + + "Cluck, cluck!" said the hen, "as sure as I stand, + This never was grown upon solid dry land; + I'll take it along to Dame Duck and her daughter, + They're wise about things that come out of the water." + + So she carried the thing in her beak to the brook, + And called to Dame Duck to come quickly and look, + And the dame and her child relinquished their pleasure, + And waddled ashore to examine the treasure. + + "Alack!" said the duck and "A-quack!" said the daughter, + "We've never seen objects like _this_ in the water! + Suppose we submit it to old Mrs. Ewe? + She's wise about wool, and has seen the world, too!" + + So the duck took it carefully up in her bill, + And the duckling and hen followed on to the mill, + Where the miller's fat sheep was placidly grazing, + And there they displayed this treasure amazing. + + "Ah, bah!" said the sheep, "what a queer-looking piece! + This never was parcel or part of a fleece! + Our flock would disown it!--but take it, I pray, + To Brindle, the cow, she's wise about hay!" + + So the sheep and the duckling, the duck and the hen, + With the treasure set forth in procession again, + To where the cow stood,--in the shade, as she ought,-- + A-chewing her cud and a-thinking her thought. + + "Bless my horns!" said the cow, "I really must say, + I've ne'er seen the like in straw or in hay! + Why don't you ask Dobbin, the farmer's gray mare? + She's traveled so much, and she's wise about hair." + + So the hen and the ducks, the sheep and the cow, + Went seeking for Dobbin, just loosed from the plow; + They all talked at once, to make things explicit, + And finally showed her the cause of their visit. + + But Dobbin gave snorts of dislike and dismay; + "Why don't you," said she, "pass it on to old Tray? + He hunts for his food where the refuse is thrown, + And he's wise about cinders, and rubbish, and bone." + + So Dobbin and Brindle, and fat Mrs. Ewe, + And the duckling and duck, and the Biddy-hen too, + All eager for knowledge, went down the wide road + To the kennel where Tray had his pleasant abode. + + Now Tray was a dog with a gift for detecting, + He never would bark without briefly reflecting; + He snuffed at the treasure and turned it about, + And soon would have uttered his sentence, no doubt,-- + + But just then our Tommy ran up to the crowd. + "Where did you get those, sir?" he cried out aloud. + "They're my new Sunday gloves! They fell out of my hat! + I took them to school to show them to Matt! + + "And, you see, Matt and I had some liquorice candy, + Our fingers were sticky, the gloves were just handy; + And then, when the teacher said, 'Tom, wash your slate,' + My sponge was all lost, and the class couldn't wait. + + "And 'cause I was hurrying, what do you think? + That bothersome ink-bottle slopped out the ink! + You can't expect gloves to look nobby and new + When they have to be used for a slate and ink too. + + Now, that's reasons enough!" said poor Tommy, "I guess!" + And the company bowed a unanimous "Yes," + And the horse, cow and sheep, duck, duckling and hen, + Complacently turned themselves homeward again. + + + + +UNDER THE LILACS. + +BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + +CHAPTER VII. + +NEW FRIENDS TROT IN. + + +Next day Ben ran off to his work with Quackenbos's "Elementary History +of the United States" in his pocket, and the Squire's cows had ample +time to breakfast on wayside grass before they were put into their +pasture. Even then the pleasant lesson was not ended, for Ben had an +errand to town, and all the way he read busily, tumbling over the hard +words, and leaving bits which he did not understand to be explained at +night by Bab. + +At "The First Settlements" he had to stop, for the school-house was +reached and the book must be returned. The maple-tree closet was easily +found, and a little surprise hidden under the flat stone; for Ben paid +two sticks of red and white candy for the privilege of taking books +from the new library. + +When recess came great was the rejoicing of the children over their +unexpected treat, for Mrs. Moss had few pennies to spare for sweets, +and, somehow, this candy tasted particularly nice, bought out of +grateful Ben's solitary dime. The little girls shared their goodies +with their favorite mates, but said nothing about the new arrangement, +fearing it would be spoilt if generally known. They told their mother, +however, and she gave them leave to lend their books and encourage Ben +to love learning all they could. She also proposed that they should +drop patch-work and help her make some blue shirts for Ben. Mrs. Barton +had given her the materials, and she thought it would be an excellent +lesson in needle-work as well as a useful gift to Ben--who, boy-like, +never troubled himself as to what he should wear when his one suit of +clothes gave out. + +Wednesday afternoon was the sewing time, so the two little B's worked +busily at a pair of shirt sleeves, sitting on their bench in the +door-way, while the rusty needles creaked in and out, and the childish +voices sung school-songs, with frequent stoppages for lively chatter. + +For a week, Ben worked away bravely, and never shirked nor complained, +although Pat put many a hard or disagreeable job upon him, and chores +grew more and more distasteful. His only comfort was the knowledge that +Mrs. Moss and the Squire were satisfied with him, his only pleasure the +lessons he learned while driving the cows, and recited in the evening +when the three children met under the lilacs to "play school." + +He had no thought of studying when he began, and hardly knew that he +was doing it as he pored over the different books he took from the +library. But the little girls tried him with all they possessed, and he +was mortified to find how ignorant he was. He never owned it in words, +but gladly accepted all the bits of knowledge they offered from their +small store; getting Betty to hear him spell "just for fun;" agreeing +to draw Bab all the bears and tigers she wanted if she would show him +how to do sums on the flags, and often beguiled his lonely labors by +trying to chant the multiplication table as they did. When Tuesday +night came round the Squire paid him a dollar, said he was "a likely +boy," and might stay another week if he chose. Ben thanked him and +thought he would, but the next morning, after he had put up the bars, +he remained sitting on the top rail to consider his prospects, for he +felt uncommonly reluctant to go back to the society of rough Pat. Like +most boys he hated work, unless it was of a sort which just suited him; +then he could toil like a beaver and never tire. His wandering life had +given him no habits of steady industry, and while he was an unusually +capable lad of his age, he dearly loved to loaf about and have a good +deal of variety and excitement in his life. + +Now he saw nothing before him but days of patient and very +uninteresting labor. He was heartily sick of weeding; even riding Duke +before the cultivator had lost its charms, and a great pile of wood lay +in the Squire's yard which he knew he would be set to piling up in the +shed. Strawberry-picking would soon follow the asparagus cultivation, +then haying, and so on all the long, bright summer, without any fun, +unless his father came for him. + +On the other hand, he was not obliged to stay a minute longer unless he +liked. With a comfortable suit of clothes, a dollar in his pocket, and +a row of dinner-baskets hanging in the school-house entry to supply him +with provisions if he didn't mind stealing them, what was easier than +to run away again? Tramping has its charms in fair weather, and Ben had +lived like a gypsy under canvas for years, so he feared nothing, and +began to look down the leafy road with a restless, wistful expression, +as the temptation grew stronger and stronger every minute. + +Sancho seemed to share the longing, for he kept running off a little +way and stopping to frisk and bark, then rushed back to sit watching +his master with those intelligent eyes of his, which seemed to say, +"Come on, Ben, let us scamper down this pleasant road and never stop +till we are tired." Swallows darted by, white clouds fled before the +balmy west wind, a squirrel ran along the wall, and all things seemed +to echo the boy's desire to leave toil behind and roam away as +care-free as they. One thing restrained him,--the thought of his +seeming ingratitude to good Mrs. Moss, and the disappointment of the +little girls at the loss of their two new play-fellows. While he paused +to think of this, something happened which kept him from doing what he +would have been sure to regret afterward. + +Horses had always been his best friends, and one came trotting up to +help him now, though he did not know how much he owed it till long +after. Just in the act of swinging himself over the bars to take a +short cut across the fields, the sound of approaching hoofs, +unaccompanied by the roll of wheels, caught his ear, and pausing, he +watched eagerly to see who was coming at such a pace. + +At the turn of the road, however, the quick trot stopped, and in a +moment a lady on a bay mare came pacing slowly into sight,--a young and +pretty lady, all in dark blue, with a bunch of dandelions like yellow +stars in her button-hole, and a silver-handled whip hanging from the +pommel of her saddle, evidently more for ornament than use. The +handsome mare limped a little and shook her head as if something +plagued her, while her mistress leaned down to see what was the matter, +saying, as if she expected an answer of some sort: + +"Now, Chevalita, if you have got a stone in your foot, I shall have to +get off and take it out. Why don't you look where you step and save me +all this trouble?" + +"I'll look for you, ma'am; I'd like to!" said an eager voice so +unexpectedly that both horse and rider started as a boy came down the +bank with a jump. + +"I wish you would. You need not be afraid; Lita is as gentle as a +lamb," answered the young lady, smiling, as if amused by the boy's +earnestness. + +"She's a beauty, anyway," muttered Ben, lifting one foot after another +till he found the stone, and with some trouble got it out. + +"That was nicely done, and I'm much obliged. Can you tell me if that +cross-road leads to the Elms?" asked the lady, as she went slowly on +with Ben beside her. + +"No, ma'am; I'm new in these parts, and I only know where Squire Allen +and Mrs. Moss live." + +"I want to see both of them, so suppose you show me the way. I was here +long ago, and thought I should remember how to find the old house with +the elm avenue and the big gate, but I don't." + +"I know it; they call that place the Laylocks now, 'cause there's a +hedge of 'em all down the path and front wall. It's a real pretty +place; Bab and Betty play there, and so do I." + +Ben could not restrain a chuckle at the recollection of his first +appearance there, and as if his merriment or his words interested her, +the lady said, pleasantly: "Tell me all about it. Are Bab and Betty +your sisters?" + +Quite forgetting his intended tramp, Ben plunged into a copious history +of himself and new-made friends, led on by a kind look, an inquiring +word, and sympathetic smile, till he had told everything. At the +school-house corner he stopped and said, spreading his arms like a +sign-post: + +"That's the way to the Laylocks, and this is the way to the Squire's." + +"As I'm in a hurry to see the old house, I'll go this way first, if you +will be kind enough to give my love to Mrs. Allen, and tell the Squire +Miss Celia is coming to dine with him. I wont say good-by, because I +shall see you again." + +With a nod and a smile the young lady cantered away, and Ben hurried up +the hill to deliver his message, feeling as if something pleasant was +going to happen, so it would be wise to defer running away, for the +present at least. + +[Illustration: BEN TAKES THE STONE FROM LITA'S FOOT.] + +At one o'clock Miss Celia arrived, and Ben had the delight of helping +Pat stable pretty Chevalita; then, his own dinner hastily eaten, he +fell to work at the detested wood-pile with sudden energy, for, as he +worked, he could steal peeps into the dining-room, and see the curly +brown head between the two gray ones as the three sat round the table. +He could not help hearing a word now and then, as the windows were +open, and these bits of conversation filled him with curiosity, for the +names "Thorny," "Celia," and "George" were often repeated, and an +occasional merry laugh from the young lady sounded like music in that +usually quiet place. + +When dinner was over, Ben's industrious fit left him, and he leisurely +trundled his barrow to and fro till the guest departed. There was no +chance for him to help now, since Pat, anxious to get whatever trifle +might be offered for his services, was quite devoted in his attentions +to the mare and her mistress till she was mounted and off. But Miss +Celia did not forget her little guide, and spying a wistful face +behind the wood-pile, paused at the gate and beckoned with that winning +smile of hers. If ten Pats had stood scowling in the way Ben would have +defied them all, and vaulting over the fence he ran up with a shining +face, hoping she wanted some last favor of him. Leaning down, Miss +Celia slipped a new quarter into his hand, saying: + +"Lita wants me to give you this for taking the stone out of her foot." + +"Thanky, ma'am; I liked to do it, for I hate to see 'em limp, +'specially such a pretty one as she is," answered Ben, stroking the +glossy neck with a loving touch. + +"The Squire says you know a good deal about horses, so I suppose you +understand the Houyhnhnm language? I'm learning it, and it is very +nice," laughed Miss Celia, as Chevalita gave a little whinny and +snuggled her nose into Ben's pocket. + +"No, miss, I never went to school." + +"That is not taught there. I'll bring you a book all about it when I +come back. Mr. Gulliver went to the horse-country and heard the dear +things speak their own tongue." + +"My father has been on the prairies where there's lots of wild ones, +but he didn't hear 'em speak. I know what they want without talkin'," +answered Ben, suspecting a joke, but not exactly seeing what it was. + +"I don't doubt it, but I wont forget the book. Good-by, my lad, we +shall soon meet again," and away went Miss Celia as if she was in a +hurry to get back. + +"If she only had a red habit and a streamin' white feather, she'd look +as fine as Melia used to. She _is_ 'most as kind and rides 'most as +well. Wonder where she's goin' to. Hope she _will_ come soon," thought +Ben, watching till the last flutter of the blue habit vanished round +the corner, and then he went back to his work with his head full of the +promised book, pausing now and then to chink the two silver halves and +the new quarter together in his pocket, wondering what he should buy +with this vast sum. + +Bab and Betty meantime had had a most exciting day, for when they went +home at noon they found the pretty lady there, and she had talked to +them like an old friend, given them a ride on the little horse, and +kissed them both good-by when they went back to school. In the +afternoon the lady was gone, the old house all open, and their mother +sweeping, dusting, airing in great spirits. So they had a splendid +frolic tumbling on feather beds, beating bits of carpet, opening +closets, and racing from garret to cellar like a pair of distracted +kittens. + +Here Ben found them, and was at once overwhelmed with a burst of news +which excited him as much as it did them. Miss Celia owned the house, +was coming to live there, and things were to be made ready as soon as +possible. All thought the prospect a charming one; Mrs. Moss because +life had been dull for her during the year she had taken charge of the +old house; the little girls had heard rumors of various pets who were +coming, and Ben, learning that a boy and a donkey were among them, +resolved that nothing but the arrival of his father should tear him +from this now deeply interesting spot. + +"I'm in _such_ a hurry to see the peacocks and hear them scream. She +said they did, and that we'd laugh when old Jack brayed," cried Bab, +hopping about on one foot to work off her impatience. + +"Is a _faytun_ a kind of a bird? I heard her say she could keep it in +the coach-house," asked Betty, inquiringly. + +"It's a little carriage," and Ben rolled in the grass, much tickled at +poor Betty's ignorance. + +"Of course it is. I looked it out in the dic., and you mustn't call it +a _payton_ though it _is_ spelt with a p," added Bab, who liked to lay +down the law on all occasions, and did not mention that she had looked +vainly among the f's till a school-mate set her right. + +"You can't tell _me_ much about carriages. But what I want to know is +where Lita will stay?" said Ben. + +"Oh, she's to be up at the Squire's, till things are fixed, and you are +to bring her down. Squire came and told Ma all about it, and said you +were a boy to be trusted, for he had tried you." + +Ben made no answer, but secretly thanked his stars that he had not +proved himself untrustworthy by running away, and so missing all this +fun. + +"Wont it be fine to have the house open all the time? We can run over +and see the pictures and books whenever we like. I know we can, Miss +Celia is so kind," began Betty, who cared for these things more than +for screaming peacocks and comical donkeys. + +"Not unless you are invited," answered their mother, locking the front +door behind her. "You'd better begin to pick up your duds right away, +for she wont want them cluttering round her front yard. If you are not +too tired, Ben, you might rake round a little while I shut the blinds. +I want things to look nice and tidy." + +Two little groans went up from two afflicted little girls as they +looked about them at the shady bower, the dear porch, and the winding +walks where they loved to run "till their hair whistled in the wind," +as the fairy-books say. + +"Whatever shall we do! Our attic is so hot and the shed so small, and +the yard always full of hens or clothes. We shall have to pack all our +things away and never play any more," said Bab, tragically. + +"May be Ben could build us a little house in the orchard," proposed +Betty, who firmly believed that Ben could do anything. + +"He wont have any time. Boys don't care for baby-houses," returned Bab, +collecting her homeless goods and chattels with a dismal face. + +"We sha'n't want these much when all the new things come; see if we +do," said cheerful little Betty, who always found out a silver lining +to every cloud. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +MISS CELIA'S MAN. + + +Ben was not too tired, and the clearing-up began that very night. None +too soon, for, in a day or two, things arrived, to the great delight of +the children, who considered moving a most interesting play. First came +the phaeton, which Ben spent all his leisure moments in admiring, +wondering with secret envy what happy boy would ride in the little seat +up behind, and beguiling his tasks by planning how, when he got rich, +he would pass his time driving about in just such an equipage, and +inviting all the boys he met to have a ride. + +Then a load of furniture came creaking in at the lodge gate, and the +girls had raptures over a cottage piano, several small chairs, and a +little low table, which they pronounced just the thing for them to play +at. The live stock appeared next, creating a great stir in the +neighborhood, for peacocks were rare birds there; the donkey's bray +startled the cattle and convulsed the people with laughter; the rabbits +were continually getting out to burrow in the newly made garden; and +Chevalita scandalized old Duke by dancing about the stable which he had +inhabited for years in stately solitude. + +Last, but by no means least, Miss Celia, her young brother and two +maids, arrived one evening so late that only Mrs. Moss went over to +help them settle. The children were much disappointed, but were +appeased by a promise that they should all go to pay their respects in +the morning. + +They were up so early, and were so impatient to be off, that Mrs. Moss +let them go with the warning that they would find only the servants +astir. She was mistaken, however, for as the procession approached, a +voice from the porch called out: "Good morning, little neighbors!" so +unexpectedly, that Bab nearly spilt the new milk she carried, Betty +gave such a start that the fresh-laid eggs quite skipped in the dish, +and Ben's face broke into a broad grin over the armful of clover which +he brought for the bunnies, as he bobbed his head, saying, briskly: + +"She's all right, miss; Lita is, and I can bring her over any minute +you say." + +"I shall want her at four o'clock. Thorny will be too tired to drive, +but I must hear from the post-office, rain or shine;" and Miss Celia's +pretty color brightened as she spoke, either from some happy thought or +because she was bashful, for the honest young faces before her plainly +showed their admiration of the white-gowned lady under the +honeysuckles. + +The appearance of Miranda, the maid, reminded the children of their +errand, and having delivered their offerings, they were about to retire +in some confusion, when Miss Celia said pleasantly: + +"I want to thank you for helping put things in such nice order. I see +signs of busy hands and feet both inside the house and all about the +grounds, and I am very much obliged." + +"I raked the beds," said Ben, proudly eying the neat ovals and circles. + +"I swept all the paths," added Bab, with a reproachful glance at +several green sprigs fallen from the load of clover on the smooth walk. + +"I cleared up the porch," and Betty's clean pinafore rose and fell with +a long sigh, as she surveyed the late summer residence of her exiled +family. + +Miss Celia guessed the meaning of that sigh, and made haste to turn it +into a smile by asking, anxiously: + +"What _has_ become of the playthings? I don't see them anywhere." + +"Ma said you wouldn't want our duds round, so we took them all home," +answered Betty, with a wistful face. + +"But I do want them round. I like dolls and toys almost as much as +ever, and quite miss the little "duds" from porch and path. Suppose you +come to tea with me to-night and bring some of them back? I should be +very sorry to rob you of your pleasant play-place." + +"Oh yes'm, we'd love to come! and we'll bring our best things." + +"Ma always lets us have our shiny pitchers and the china poodle when we +go visiting or have company at home," said Bab and Betty, both speaking +at once. + +"Bring what you like and I'll hunt up my toys too. Ben is to come also, +and _his_ poodle is especially invited," added Miss Celia as Sancho +came and begged before her, feeling that some agreeable project was +under discussion. + +"Thank you, miss. I told them you'd be willing they should come +sometimes. They like this place ever so much, and so do I," said Ben, +feeling that few spots combined so many advantages in the way of +climbable trees, arched gates, half-a-dozen gables, and other charms +suited to the taste of an aspiring youth who had been a flying Cupid at +the age of seven. + +"So do I," echoed Miss Celia, heartily. "Ten years ago I came here a +little girl, and made lilac chains under these very bushes, and picked +chick-weed over there for my bird, and rode Thorny in his baby-wagon up +and down these paths. Grandpa lived here then and we had fine times; +but now they are all gone except us two." + +"We haven't got any father either," said Bab, for something in Miss +Celia's face made her feel as if a cloud had come over the sun. + +[Illustration: MISS CELIA AND HER LITTLE FRIENDS.] + +"_I_ have a first-rate father, if I only knew where he'd gone to," said +Ben, looking down the path as eagerly as if some one waited for him +behind the locked gate. + +"You are a rich boy, and you are happy little girls to have so good a +mother; I've found that out already," and the sun shone again as the +young lady nodded to the neat, rosy children before her. + +"You may have a piece of her if you want to, 'cause you haven't got any +of your own," said Betty, with a pitiful look which made her blue eyes +as sweet as two wet violets. + +"So I will! and you shall be my little sisters. I never had any, and +I'd love to try how it seems," and Miss Celia took both the chubby +hands in hers, feeling ready to love every one this first bright +morning in the new home which she hoped to make a very happy one. + +Bab gave a satisfied nod, and fell to examining the rings upon the +white hand that held her own. But Betty put her arms about the new +friend's neck, and kissed her so softly that the hungry feeling in Miss +Celia's heart felt better directly, for this was the food it wanted, +and Thorny had not learned yet to return one half of the affection he +received. Holding the child close, she played with the yellow braids +while she told them about the little German girls in their funny +black-silk caps, short-waisted gowns and wooden shoes, whom she used to +see watering long webs of linen bleaching on the grass, watching great +flocks of geese, or driving pigs to market, knitting or spinning as +they went. + +Presently, "Randa," as she called her stout maid, came to tell her that +"Master Thorny couldn't wait another minute," and she went in to +breakfast with a good appetite, while the children raced home to bounce +in upon Mrs. Moss, talking all at once like little lunatics. + +"The phaeton at four,--so sweet in a beautiful white gown,---going to +tea, and Sancho and all the baby things invited. Can't we wear our +Sunday frocks? A splendid new net for Lita. And she likes dolls. Goody, +goody, wont it be fun!" + +With much difficulty their mother got a clear account of the +approaching festivity out of the eager mouths, and with still more +difficulty got breakfast into them, for the children had few pleasures, +and this brilliant prospect rather turned their heads. + +Bab and Betty thought the day would never end, and cheered the long +hours by expatiating on the pleasures in store for them, till their +playmates were much afflicted because they were not going also. At +noon their mother kept them from running over to the old house lest +they should be in the way, so they consoled themselves by going to the +syringa bush at the corner and sniffing the savory odors which came +from the kitchen, where Katy, the cook, was evidently making nice +things for tea. + +Ben worked as if for a wager till four, then stood over Pat while he +curried Lita till her coat shone like satin, then drove her gently down +to the coach-house, where he had the satisfaction of harnessing her +"all his own self." + +"Shall I go round to the great gate and wait for you there, miss?" he +asked, when all was ready, looking up at the porch where the young lady +stood watching him as she put on her gloves. + +"No, Ben, the great gate is not to be opened till next October. I shall +go in and out by the lodge, and leave the avenue to grass and +dandelions, meantime," answered Miss Celia, as she stepped in and took +the reins, with a sudden smile. + +But she did not start even when Ben had shaken out the new duster and +laid it neatly over her knees. + +"Isn't it all right now?" asked the boy, anxiously. + +"Not quite; I need one thing more. Can't you guess what it is?"--and +Miss Celia watched his anxious face as his eyes wandered from the tips +of Lita's ears to the hind-wheel of the phaeton, trying to discover +what had been omitted. + +"No, miss, I don't see--" he began, much mortified to think he had +forgotten anything. + +"Wouldn't a little groom up behind improve the appearance of my +turnout?" she said, with a look which left no doubt in his mind that +_he_ was to be the happy boy to occupy that proud perch. + +He grew red with pleasure, but stammered, as he hesitated, looking down +at his bare feet and blue shirt: + +"I aint fit, miss, and I haven't got any other clothes." + +Miss Celia only smiled again more kindly than before, and answered, in +a tone which he understood better than her words: + +"A great man said his coat-of-arms was a pair of shirt sleeves, and a +sweet poet sung about a barefooted boy, so I need not be too proud to +ride with one. Up with you, Ben, my man, and let us be off, or we shall +be late for our party." + +With one bound the new groom was in his place, sitting very erect, with +his legs stiff, arms folded, and nose in the air, as he had seen real +grooms sit behind their masters in fine dog-carts or carriages. Mrs. +Moss nodded as they drove past the lodge, and Ben touched his torn +hat-brim in the most dignified manner, though he could not suppress a +broad grin of delight, which deepened into a chuckle when Lita went +off at a brisk trot along the smooth road toward town. + +It takes so little to make a child happy, it is a pity grown people do +not oftener remember it and scatter little bits of pleasure before the +small people, as they throw crumbs to the hungry sparrows. Miss Celia +knew the boy was pleased, but he had no words in which to express his +gratitude for the great contentment she had given him. He could only +beam at all he met, smile when the floating ends of the gray veil blew +against his face, and long in his heart to give the new friend a boyish +hug as he used to do his dear Melia when she was very good to him. + +School was just out as they passed, and it was a spectacle, I assure +you, to see the boys and girls stare at Ben up aloft in such state; +also to see the superb indifference with which that young man regarded +the vulgar herd who went afoot. He could not resist an affable nod to +Bab and Betty, for they stood under the maple-tree, and the memory of +their circulating library made him forget his dignity in his gratitude. + +"We will take them next time, but now I want to talk to you," began +Miss Celia, as Lita climbed the hill. "My brother has been ill, and I +have brought him here to get well. I want to do all sorts of things to +amuse him, and I think you can help me in many ways. Would you like to +work for me instead of the Squire?" + +"I guess I would!" ejaculated Ben, so heartily that no further +assurances were needed, and Miss Celia went on, well pleased: + +"You see, poor Thorny is weak and fretful, and does not like to exert +himself, though he ought to be out a great deal, and kept from thinking +of his little troubles. He cannot walk much yet, so I have a wheeled +chair to push him in, and the paths are so hard it will be easy to roll +him around. That will be one thing you can do. Another is to take care +of his pets till he is able to do it himself. Then you can tell him +your adventures, and talk to him as only a boy can talk to a boy. That +will amuse him when I want to write or go out; but I never leave him +long, and hope he will soon be running about as well as the rest of us. +How does that sort of work look to you?" + +"First-rate! I'll take real good care of the little fellow, and do +everything I know to please him, and so will Sanch. He's fond of +children," answered Ben, heartily, for the new place looked very +inviting to him. + +Miss Celia laughed, and rather damped his ardor by her next words: + +"I don't know what Thorny _would_ say to hear you call him 'little.' He +is fourteen, and appears to get taller and taller every day. He seems +like a child to _me_, because I am nearly ten years older than he is; +but you needn't be afraid of his long legs and big eyes,--he is too +feeble to do any harm,--only you mustn't mind if he orders you about." + +"I'm used to that. I don't mind it if he wont call me a 'spalpeen,' and +fire things at me," said Ben, thinking of his late trials with Pat. + +"I can promise that, and I am sure Thorny will like you, for I told him +your story, and he is anxious to see 'the circus boy,' as he called +you. Squire Allen says I may trust you, and I am glad to do so, for it +saves me much trouble to find what I want all ready for me. You shall +be well fed and clothed, kindly treated and honestly paid, if you like +to stay with me." + +"I _know_ I shall like it--till father comes, anyway. Squire wrote to +Smithers right off, but hasn't got any answer yet. I know they are on +the go now, so may be we wont hear for ever so long," answered Ben, +feeling less impatient to be off than before this fine proposal was +made to him. + +"I dare say; meantime we will see how we get on together, and perhaps +your father will be willing to leave you for the summer if he is away. +Now show me the baker's, the candy-shop, and the post-office," said +Miss Celia, as they rattled down the main street of the village. + +Ben made himself useful, and when all the other errands were done, +received his reward in the shape of a new pair of shoes and a straw hat +with a streaming blue ribbon, on the ends of which shone silvery +anchors. He was also allowed to drive home, while his new mistress read +her letters. One particularly long one, with a queer stamp on the +envelope, she read twice, never speaking a word till they got back. +Then Ben was sent off with Lita and the Squire's letters, promising to +get his chores done in time for tea. + +_(To be continued.)_ + + + + +CRUMBS FROM OLDER READING. + +BY JULIA E. SARGENT. + + +EMERSON. + + +"Who ever heard of Emerson?" I asked a room of third-reader pupils. +Nearly every hand came up, and the bright faces were full of interest. +What a delightful surprise! I did not expect to see more than two +hands, and here all were as interested as if I had said, "Who ever +heard of Hayes or Tilden?" All at once I remembered that, for more than +a week, every fence about the school had been covered with +circus-bills, bearing the name "Billy Emerson." + +Sure enough he was the only Emerson those pupils knew about; for when I +said Ralph Waldo Emerson, one by one the hands came down. No one had +heard of him. Now I know no more of "Billy Emerson" than the children +knew of Ralph Waldo Emerson, but I am not afraid to say that the one I +know is better worth knowing. + +For in papa's library, or on mamma's center-table, I have no doubt you +can find more than one book which he has written. When in his sermon +the minister tells what Emerson has said, you may be very sure he does +not quote "Billy." Papers and magazines all have something to say +concerning this man, whose books grown people read and talk about. + +Who is he, then? His name is Ralph Waldo Emerson, and he writes books. + +Very good; and what are people who write books called? Then Mr. Ralph +Waldo Emerson is an author. He lives in a republican country which has +Washington for its capital. He was born in the Bay State, in the +largest city of New England. He dwells now in a little town where a +battle was fought a hundred years ago, and the name of this town means +"harmony." You know where that is, do you not? He was born in 1803, +and, as this is 1878, every one of you boys and girls who can subtract +can tell just his age. One of the books he has written tells about +England, another about such famous men as Shakspeare and Napoleon, and +others talk about wealth and friendship, prudence and power. + +That does not sound as if he meant them for you? Well, one thing he did +mean for you, and that is a dear little poem--"The Squirrel and the +Mountain." Every one of you will want to read it, and when you have +read it you will want to learn it, and when you have learned you will +want to speak it. I need not have told you he meant that poem for you; +you would know that the minute you saw it. But you could not tell so +soon how many things he says for you in those famous essays so often +quoted. What do you think I can find for you in this dry-looking book, +"Conduct of Life," with "Emerson" printed just under the title? + +Did you ever see an old hen with her little walking bundles of feathers +in the soft garden soil? How she does scratch and bustle for something +to eat! Why, she is eating every bit herself! Perhaps she thinks that +taking care of the chickens' mother is very important work for her; but +by-and-by she will call the little folks to share what she has found. + +You may think of me as of an old hen who has long been scratching in +the soft garden soil of Ralph Waldo Emerson's writings. She has found +much for herself, with now and then a bit for the chickens. + +Here, the very first thing, is something about eggs. "There is always a +best way of doing everything, if it be but to boil an egg." I hope my +little friends are never cross when Bridget has not boiled the nice +breakfast egg in the best way. More than that; I hope they themselves +know what is the best way of doing it; just how hot the water must be, +how long the egg should boil to make it hard or soft, and, what is well +worth knowing, how to get it in and out of the hot water without +breaking the shell. + +Here is another bit. It is like an egg, for the meaning is wrapt in +words just as an egg hides in the shell. "The tell-tale body is all +tongues." What does the tongue help to do? Will no one know that you +are cross unless you say, "I am cross this morning?" Can I find it out +although you do not say a word? Yes, indeed; that puckered mouth and +ugly little scowl tell, all too quickly, and even if I could not see +your face, that little jerk and twist would tell the story. Do you not +know when the dog is sick or tired, or full of fun? yet, his bright +eyes, eager little nose, lively body and whisking tail, tell no more +surely than your own face and body. + +"The tell-tale body is all tongues." Mr. Emerson, we think that is +true. + +"How can I be beautiful?" Every boy and girl, man and woman, wants to +know that. Here is Mr. Emerson's beauty recipe: "There is no beautifier +of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and +not pain around us." Do you suppose that recipe will work? Think of the +most beautiful people you know. Ah, I knew some one would say "mother." +Do you not think these people are those who try very hard to make +others happy? I know very many beautiful people who would have remained +very plain had they sought only to please themselves. + +We want to try Emerson's rule for becoming beautiful, so it will not do +to forget that "There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or +behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us." + +"Every man takes care that his neighbor shall not cheat him. But a day +comes when he begins to care that he does not cheat his neighbor. Then +all goes well." Yes, Mr. Emerson, that is the only way to have things +go well,--following the Golden Rule. + +"You cannot hide any secret. 'Tis as hard to hide as fire." Perhaps you +think that it is not so; but you just try how long you can keep a +secret that even your dearest friend does not know. I should not wonder +if Emerson were right once more. + +"There is much you may not do." True again. We do not need Emerson to +tell us that. "You must not do that, you must not do this," the little +folks hear so often, that sometimes they wonder what they may do. + +But we would like to have him tell us what things last longest. + +He is all ready to tell whoever wants to know, "Beauty is the quality +which makes to endure. In a house that I know, I have noticed a block +of spermaceti lying about closets and mantel-pieces for twenty years +together, simply because the tallow-man gave it the form of a rabbit; +and I suppose it may continue to be lugged about unchanged for a +century. Let an artist draw a few lines or figures on the back of a +letter, and that scrap of paper is rescued from danger, is put in a +portfolio, or framed and glazed, and, in proportion to the beauty of +the lines drawn, will be kept for centuries." And there are beauties of +heart, mind and character, that do not meet the eye, but are none the +less powerful in "making to endure." + + + + +THE OLD MAN AND THE NERVOUS COW. + +BY R.E. + + + "There was an old man who said 'How + Shall I 'scape from this horrible cow? + I will sit on the stile, + And continue to smile, + Which may soften the heart of the cow.'" + +The old man was walking thoughtfully through the field, with his hands +behind him, when the nervous cow saw him. She wasn't ordinarily a +bad-natured cow, but she was mad just then. An aggravating fly had been +biting her half the morning, and, just as she was drinking at the +brook, a frog had jumped up with a cry and bitten her nose. These +things had completely unsettled her nerves. + +She was ready to run at anything, and the old man being the only living +thing in sight, she plunged toward him. + +[Illustration: "I WILL SIT ON THE STILE, AND CONTINUE TO SMILE."] + +What could he do? He was a short, stout old man, and could not run very +fast, and, though he tried his best, he only just managed to reach the +stile and plump down on it, all out of breath, as the cow neared him. + +Then he suddenly remembered reading somewhere that if you looked right +into an animal's eyes, it would run away from you. + +"Ah!" thought he, "I'll look straight at her, and if I smile at the +same time, she wont have the heart to hurt me." + +So he put on a smile (of course it was not a very beautiful one, for he +was in a hurry, but it was the best he could do), and stared straight +into the cow's eyes. She saw that smile, and it so touched her that she +stopped short. Then she sauntered back a little way, but the thought of +that aggravating fly, and that awful frog, was too much for her poor +nerves, and turning around, she dashed madly on again. + +In another minute, the poor old man--cane, little legs, smile and +all--was up in the air. + +He alighted in the top of a hickory-tree. One branch grazed his eye, +two ran into his legs, while another held his smile stiff and straight. + +Thus he stayed until an eagle caught sight of him, pounced right down, +and flew off with him to her nest, which was on a huge rock that rose +straight up into the cold air and made the summit of a mountain. + +When the old eagle plumped the little old man down into the nest, just +imagine, if you can, how astonished the eaglets were! They opened their +beaks as well as their eyes, and cried out: + +"What's this, mother? What _is_ this?" + +"Oh! it's only a man," cried the old eagle. "I found him roosting in +the top of a tree. Don't know how he got there. Suppose he was trying +to fly, and couldn't. Tell us how it was, old man." + +"Can he talk?" + +"Talk!" said the eagle. "Of course he can talk. And he can tell +stories, too, I warrant you. So, if you like, you may keep him to tell +you stories." + +"Oh, wont that be nice! Tell us a story, right off," they all screamed, +jerking the old man down into the nest. + +"But it's so dirty here," said he, looking around, with his nose turned +up a little. "Let me sit on the edge of the nest, wont you?--and I'll +tell you all the stories you want." + +"You'll fall over.". + +"Oh no, I wont. I'll hold on with my cane and my legs. Now just shut +your beaks, so you wont look so savage, and listen." + +So the old man perched himself on the edge of the nest. The eaglets +took hold of his coat with their beaks, to keep him from falling; and +he told them the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"; and when +that was ended, another, and then another. + +He didn't eat much supper that night, for they hadn't any convenience +for cooking. And he didn't sleep well, either, for whenever one of the +eaglets woke up in the night, it always pinched him with its beak, to +make sure he was there. So he resolved to get away as soon as he could. + +But he didn't seem to have any chance; so there he stayed and told +stories till he longed to wring the necks of the gaping birds that kept +asking him for more. + +Now, all this time the cow had been getting more and more nervous. +Every day she thought of the poor old man and his meek little legs and +his sweet old smile, and just how his coat-tails looked as he went up; +till at last she laid her head down on a tuft of grass by the brook, +and cried--regularly boo-hooed. + +Having thus relieved her feelings, she became calm, and, rising, said: + +"I'll go to his house and find out how and where he is, if I can." + +So off she started. But the house was shut up, and there was no one +there except the cat. + +Very much frightened the cat was, too, when the cow pushed up the +pantry window with her horns, and bellowed: + +"Where's your master?" + +"I don't know," said the cat, retreating to a far corner, with his back +up. "I haven't set eyes on him since last Sunday." + +"Oh dear!" sighed the cow, dropping the window with a crash that broke +out two of the panes of glass. "What shall I do?" + +[Illustration: "THE POOR OLD MAN WAS UP IN THE AIR."] + +"What's the matter with you?--and what do you want of the old man?" +asked Tabby, bounding out through one of the broken panes. + +The cow told him. + +"Well," said Tab, stroking his whiskers reflectively, "I guess I'll go +with you and help you look for the good-natured old creature." + +So they journeyed on, asking everybody they met about the old man. But +nobody knew, until finally they came across an old crow who knew +everybody's business. + +"An old man?" said he. "The eagle took an old man the other day. Did he +have very slender legs?" + +"Yes, yes!" said the cat and the cow together. + +"And a sweet smile on his face?" + +"Yes, yes!" cried the cow. "He went up with that smile, and it has been +haunting me ever since," and she burst into a flood of tears. + +"Well," said the crow, "he's in the eagle's nest telling stories to the +eaglets, and if he isn't tired of the business by this time, I'm +mistaken." + +"Where is the nest?--and how can we get there?" + +"Up at the very top of the mountain yonder. Go straight ahead, and you +can't miss it." + +[Illustration: THE OLD MAN TELLING STORIES TO THE EAGLETS.] + +So straight ahead they went till they came to the rock where the +eagle's nest was. Then what should they do? They could hear the old +man's little, thin voice telling stories to the birds, but they knew he +wouldn't dare come where the cow was, even if he could clamber down +that steep rock. At last, Tab suggested that the cow should hide +herself, while he climbed up into the nest and persuaded the old man. +So the cow hid, and puss scrambled up to the nest and carefully poked +his head in. + +"Ah, master!" he whispered; "climb down the rock to-night, and I'll +show you the way home." And he disappeared. + +This visit braced up the old man's courage, and when the mother-bird +came home he calmly told her he thought he'd sleep at the foot of the +rock that night; and she unsuspectingly took him in her talons and +dropped him gently on the ground. + +As soon as she had gone, the old man looked all about him, and called +"Tabby, Tabby," very softly. Tabby came out from under the roots of a +tree and bounded on his shoulder, and told him how sorry the cow was, +and how she was waiting in a thicket ready to carry him home, if he +wanted to go. + +Of course he wanted to go, and in less than a jiffy the cow had come +out from her hiding-place, had cried a little, and had taken the old +man on her back, and started full speed down the mountain, with the cat +tearing after her. + +It was a long way to the old man's house, and they reached it just +tired out. Of course, they got something to eat, and then they went to +bed and slept right through two days; but on the morning of the third +day they got up as merry as crickets, and, after a hearty breakfast, +they agreed to live together for the rest of their lives. And they have +lived ever since in perfect harmony. + + + + +THE RAID OF THE CAMANCHES. + +BY THE AUTHOR OF "WE BOYS." + + +Fred Hart, who was the eldest son of a country clergyman, and preparing +for college at Whitford Boys' Academy, was known at that classical +institution as a "dig," because he "dug" into his books and studied +hard. His room-mate, Neal Howe, an orphan, dependent upon his own +exertions, was styled a "digger;" and as both lads were rather dark, it +was but a step for those wicked upper-story boys to stigmatize them, +"Digger Indians!" + +This term was gradually extended to include all the boys in the second +story, for they were all hard students. The "Diggers" retaliated mildly +by styling their upper-story neighbors, "Camanches." + +The Camanches perpetrated all sorts of schoolboy atrocities on the +Diggers, but, above all things else, they burned for a pillow-fight. In +vain they challenged the Diggers to combat. Those law-abiding savages +declined, though well aware of thereby falling into contempt on charge +of cowardice. + +Unmistakable indications were soon apparent that the Camanches +meditated an attack. + +The north wing was intended to be fire-proof, and each story was +separated from the main building by iron doors which usually were +fastened back by staples. The Camanches reasoned that these doors might +be as effectual in shutting off teachers as fire; and the staples in +both the second and third stories were one day withdrawn, so that these +doors could be easily closed. + +Scouting parties reported that the Camanches were getting ready the +war-paint,--_i.e._, the burnt cork,--and one ferocious savage had +intimated that they should spare neither age nor sex. + +A council was immediately held in Fred Hart's room, and Fred +unanimously chosen chief. + +"If they're determined on a pillow-fight they shall have it," +resolutely remarked that warrior. + +The Diggers proposed using their own pillows as reserve arms only, and +the next day any number of this tribe might have been seen scouring the +village on mysterious errands, which the housewives would have +explained as an effort to buy up old pillows. + +"All's fair on the defensive," said Chief Fred, and each Digger ripped +open one end of his pillow, poured in a little mucilage, and then +basted it up, in accordance with the liberal views boys always +entertain concerning "basting." + +At a little after nine o'clock, when the lights had been extinguished, +and a teacher made the nightly rounds, a Camanche scout quietly closed +and bolted the iron doors and relighted the hall lamps. Then, with +hair-starting war-whoops, the savages began dropping down through the +trap-door, which opened from one hall to another in the capacity of +fire-escapes. + +The Diggers, peacefully studying in their rooms, were summarily ordered +into the hall to battle. Every man protested, but the Camanches refused +to parley. Then, seizing their weapons, the assailed marched forth to +the field of carnage. + +Thwack! went the blows of the Camanches. + +Thwack! the Diggers. + +Thwack! the Camanches. + +Thwack! the Diggers. + +A stir among the Camanches and then a wild affray. + +Crack! crack! go the Diggers' bastings. Crack! feathers fly over the +heads and into the eyes of the Camanches, and there many of them stick. +The Camanches realize the disadvantages of unprovoked assault with no +rules of warfare agreed upon beforehand. + +Here and there a Camanche drops his arms and flies to the farther end +of the hall, only to fumble unavailingly at the fastenings of the iron +door, while a victorious Digger belabors him with the weapon he has +just cast aside. + +All at once there is descried in the dim light of the hall the boots +and never-to-be-mistaken striped pantaloons of Captain Hale swinging +through the trap-door! + +Captain Hale is drill-sergeant and professor of gymnastics. He has seen +years of army service, and is thoroughly imbued with the military +spirit. The boys are more afraid of him than of the president and +entire board of trustees,--as afraid as they would be of old Nick, +himself, in boots and striped pantaloons. + +In a flash every Digger had disappeared into his own room and locked +the door after him, and the Camanches are left alone, gasping among +their feathers, the captain in their midst. + +There is a moment of bewilderment followed by a wild stampede toward +the iron door, but the Captain has cut off the retreat. + +"Young gentlemen, you will remain and clear up the hall. Williams, go +to the coal-cellar and bring up the two-bushel basket." + +Williams is "nobbiest" of third-story boys, bravest of Camanche +warriors, but Williams doesn't dare refuse to go for that basket. +During his absence his fellow-savages express strong doubts as to his +ever re-appearing upon the battle-field, but he does return, like +Regulus to his barrel of spikes. + +The Captain has borrowed a number of brooms and dust-pans from the +Diggers who, to a man, had retired and been snoring sweetly. + +"Now, gentlemen, clear up these feathers!" orders the Captain, as if he +was crying, "Forward, march!" + +Clearing up those feathers was a tedious and trying process. Any one +who has ever chased a worn-out but still lively feather up and down a +long hall can imagine the scene with hundreds of them flying about. + +"They're the meanest lot of feathers,--pretty much all fuzz," said one +exhausted brave. + +When the last handful had been crowded into the basket, Williams +attempted opening the door. + +"No; you're to make your exit the same way you made your ingress," +announced the Captain. + +Williams stared blankly at the trap-hole in the ceiling. + +Dropping down through a trap-door and going up through the same, with +no visible means of support but the floor, are naturally different +exercises. + +"You're fertile in expedients; can't you devise some good way of +getting out?" coolly asked the Captain. + +"We might stand on each other's shoulders," suggested one small +savage, whom the blood-thirsty Williams afterward confessed he longed +to scalp at this juncture. + +"Very well, do so," ordered the Captain. + +Then one of the noble savages stood under the trap-door while one by +one the others sprang upon his shoulders, caught the edges of the +opening above, wriggled, writhed, contorted his limbs, and finally +succeeded in drawing himself up to his own story, while all down the +hall, on either side, there appeared at the open ventilators over the +doors the eyes of pairs of miserable Diggers, and for every Camanche +that wriggled up there resounded a succession of groans. + +The Camanches thought, with a thrill of exultation, that the Captain +would be obliged to proffer his shoulders for the last man, and would +then be left pondering alone, like the goat in the well. That would be +something of a revenge, at any rate. + +But when only one boy remained, who, to the exasperation of the entire +tribe, was the identical small savage who had proposed going up in that +ridiculous style, the Captain quietly opened the iron door, and he and +the small savage retired with dignity. + +The Captain, who had his "good streaks," never reported the Camanches, +but they manifested a disposition thereafter to settle quietly upon +their own reservation and cultivate the peaceful arts, and they always +treated their neighbors, the Diggers, with respect, though unmingled +with affection. + + + + +[Illustration: "LITTLE BO-PEEP, SHE WENT TO SLEEP."] + + + + +SOLIMIN: A SHIP OF THE DESERT. + +BY SUSAN COOLIDGE. + + +I asked a party of children once the meaning of the word "desert," and +all but one shouted out, "rice pudding and oranges!" having in their +minds the dinner which we had just eaten. That one, who was older than +the rest, said, rather shyly, "A big piece of land, aunty, isn't it?" +but even he didn't know how big,--or that there is a difference in +spelling between the _dessert_ which people eat and the _desert_ which +sometimes eats people, closing its jaws of sand, and swallowing them up +as easily as a boy swallows a cherry. + +The biggest desert in the world is in Africa, and is called the Sahara. +It is almost as large as the Atlantic Ocean, but instead of water it is +all sands and rocks. Like the ocean, it is visited with storms; +dreadful gales, when the wind scoops up thousands of tons of sand and +drives them forward, burying and crushing all they meet. And it has +islands, too--small green patches, where springs bubble through the +ground, and ferns and acacias and palm-trees grow. When a traveler sees +one of these fertile spots afar off, he feels as a tempest-tossed +sailor does at sight of land. It is delightful to quit the hot, baking +sun, sit in shadow under the trees, and rest the eyes, long wearied +with dazzling sands, on the sweet green and the clear spring. Oases, +these islands are called. Long distances divide them. It is often a +race for life to get across from one to the other. Sometimes people do +not get across! In 1805, a caravan of 2,000 persons died miserably of +heat and thirst in the great desert, and the sand covered them up. Do +you wonder at my saying that the desert eats men? + +Now, you will be puzzled to guess what sort of ship it is which swims +this dry ocean. It is the camel--an animal made by God to endure these +dreadful regions, in which no other beast of burden can live and +travel. I dare say many of you have seen camels in menageries. They are +ugly animals, but very strong, swift and untiring. With a load of 800 +pounds on his back, a camel will travel for days at the rate of eight +miles an hour, which is as fast as an ordinary ship can sail. More +wonderful still, he will do this without stopping for food or water. +Nature has provided him with an extra stomach, in which he keeps a +store of drink, and with a hump on his back, made of jelly-like fat, +which, in time of need, is absorbed into the system and appropriated as +food. Is it not strange to think of a creature with a cistern and a +meat-safe inside him? A horse would be useless in the desert, where no +oats or grass can be had; but the brave, patient camel goes steadily on +without complaint till the oasis is reached: then he champs his thorn +bushes, fills himself from the spring, allows the heavy pack to be +fastened on his back again, and is ready for further travel. + +Now you know what sort of a ship it is that I am going to tell you +about. It was a camel, named Solimin. He was of a rare and valuable +breed, known as "herie," or coursers, because they are so much swifter +than ordinary camels. Solimin's master, Ahmed, was a poor man. He never +could have afforded to buy a full-grown camel of this rare breed; and +Solimin had become his through a piece of good fortune. When a little +foal, Solimin was found in a lonely place in the desert, standing over +the dead body of his mother, who had fallen and perished by the way. +Led to the brown tent which was Ahmed's home, the orphan baby grew up +as a child of the family, lay among the little ones at night, and was +their pet and plaything all the day. The boys taught him to kneel, to +rise, to carry burdens, to turn this way and that at a signal. The +girls hung a necklace of blessed shells around his neck, saved for him +the best of the food, sang him songs (which he was supposed to enjoy), +and daily kissed and stroked his gentle nose and eyes. As he grew big +and strong, the pride of his owners grew with him. Not another family +of the tribe possessed a herie. Once and again, Ahmed was offered a +large price for him, but he rejected it with disdain. + +"Would I sell my son--the son of my heart?" he said. "Neither will I +part with Solimin. By the Prophet, I swear it." + +Of all the dwellers in the brown tent Solimin loved best Ahmed himself, +and his eldest son, Mustapha. With them he was docile as a lamb; but if +strangers drew near, or persons he did not like, he became restive and +fierce, screamed, laid back his ears, and kicked with his strong hind +legs. A kick from a camel is no joke, I can tell you. All the desert +guides knew Solimin, and, for his sake, Ahmed was often hired to +accompany caravans. Nay, once, at Cairo, Solimin was chosen to carry +the sacred person of the Khedive on a day's excursion up the Nile bank, +which event served the tribe as a boast for months afterward. + +It was the year after this journey to Cairo that Ahmed met with a +terrible adventure. He and Mustapha, making their way home after a +long journey, had lain down to sleep away the noontide hours, according +to the custom of desert travelers. Their camels were tethered beside +them, all seemed secure and peaceful, when, sudden as the lowering of a +cloud, a party of Arabs, belonging to a wild tribe at enmity with all +men, pounced upon them. Ahmed and his son defended themselves manfully, +but what could two men, surprised in sleep, do against a dozen? In five +minutes all was over. The assailants vanished in a cloud of dust, and +Ahmed, who had been struck down in the rush, recovered his senses, to +find camels, baggage, belt, money, everything gone, and Mustapha +wounded and motionless on the earth beside him. + +Ahmed thought him dead. They were alone in the desert, a hundred miles +from home, without food or water, and with a groan of despair he sat +down beside his son's body, bowed his head, and waited until death +should come to him also. An Arab believes in fate, and gives up once +for all when misfortune occurs. + +But Mustapha stirred, and Ahmed at once sprang up. There was nothing he +could do for the poor boy, except to chafe and rub his hands; but this +was something, for presently Mustapha revived enough to speak. + +"Are they gone?" he asked. + +"Yes, the accursed ones, they are gone, with all our goods and with +Solimin! The Prophet's curse light upon them!" And passing from despair +to fury, Ahmed threw sand upon his head, and flung himself on the +ground in helpless rage. Mustapha joined in with groans and +lamentations. + +When the father and son grew calmer, they began to discuss their +situation. Ahmed knew of a small unfrequented oasis, about twenty miles +away. It was their only chance of safety, but could they reach it? + +"I _think_ I can walk," declared Mustapha, tying up his wounded leg in a +fold torn from his turban. But he limped sadly, and his tightly pressed +lips showed pain as he moved. He was faint with hunger beside. Neither +of the men had eaten since sunrise. + +Suddenly Mustapha uttered a joyful cry, and lifted something from the +earth. + +"The Prophet be praised!" he cried. "My father, here is food. The +robbers have dropped a bag of dates." + +Sure enough, there it lay, a heavy bag of dates, shaken off from some +camel's pack during the struggle. Heavy as it was, and hard to carry, +Ahmed would fain have had it larger. It was their safety from +starvation. A handful of its contents satisfied hunger, and gave them +strength to begin their walk. What a walk it was! Poor Mustapha lay +down every half-hour from pain and weakness; the sand was heavy, the +darkness puzzled them. When morning broke, they had not accomplished +more than half the distance. All through the hot day-time they lay +panting on the ground, eating now and then a date, tormented with +thirst and heat; and when evening came, they dragged themselves to +their feet again, and recommenced their painful journey. Step by step, +hour by hour, each harder and longer than the last, moment by moment +they grew more feeble, less able to bear up, till it seemed as though +they could no longer struggle on. At last, the morning broke. Ahmed +raised his blood-shot eyes, seized Mustapha's arm, and pointed. There, +not a hundred yards away, was the oasis, its trees and bushes outlined +against the sky. + +Poor Mustapha was so spent that his father had to drag him across the +short dividing space. It was a small oasis, and not very fertile; its +well was shallow and scanty, but no ice-cooled sherbet ever seemed more +delicious than did its brackish waters to the parched tongues of the +exhausted men. + +All day and all night they lay under the shadow of the cactuses and the +acacia-trees, rousing only to drink, and falling asleep again +immediately. Shade, and sleep, and water seemed the only things in the +world worth having just then. + +The second day they slept less, but it was nearly a week before they +could be said to be wide-awake again. Such a pair of scare-crows as +they looked! Ahmed was almost naked. The robbers had taken part of his +clothes, and the desert thorns the rest. Haggard, wild, blackened by +the sun, they gazed at each other with horror; each thought, "Do I look +like that?" and each tried to hide from the other his own dismay. + +They could never tell afterward how long they remained at the oasis. It +seemed years, but I suppose it could not have been more than weeks. All +day long they looked wistfully toward the horizon, in hopes of a +caravan, but the caravan never came. Slowly the dates dwindled in the +bag; slowly the precious water diminished in the well; a little longer, +and starvation would be upon them. They scarcely spoke to each other +those last days, but sat each by himself in a sort of dull despair. At +night, when they fell asleep, they dreamed of food, and woke in the +morning to feel themselves still hungry. It was horrible! + +Then came a morning when they rose to find the hard desert outline, +which they knew so well, vanished and gone, and in its stead a smooth, +shining lake, fringed with trees and dotted with feathery, fairy +islands. So near it seemed, and so real, that it was as though they +heard the ripple of the water and the rustling of the wind in the +tree-boughs. Mustapha stared as though his eyes would burst from his +head; then he gave a wild cry, and was rushing away; but his father +held him fast. + +"Stay, my son! Stay, Mustapha! It is no lake,--it is a device of Satan. +What you behold is the mirage, spread by devils for men's destruction." + +"Let me go!" shrieked Mustapha, writhing and struggling. + +But even as he strove, the soft water-outlines shifted and trembled; +the lake rose in air, melted, and sailed off into curling mists; the +trees, the whole fair picture, dissolved, and the well-remembered sands +and black rocks took its place. With a cry of horror, Mustapha slid +through his father's arms to the earth, hid his face, and cried like a +child. + +[Illustration: "THEY SAW THE FORM OF A GIGANTIC CAMEL."] + +Next morning, only one date was left in the bag. Ahmed put it in his +son's hand with a mournful look. + +"Eat, my son," he said; "eat, and then we will die. Allah il Allah!" + +A long silence followed; there seemed nothing more to say. Suddenly, +from afar off, came to their ears the tinkle of a bell. + +Mustapha raised his head. + +"Is it the mirage again, my father?" he asked. "For it seems to me that +I hear the bell from the neck of Solimin, our camel." + +Eagerly they listened. Again the bell tinkled, and, looking through the +bushes, they saw, floating toward them, as it seemed, the form of a +gigantic camel. Soundless and still, it moved rapidly along. Behind, +but much farther away, other forms could be seen, still dim and +indistinct, veiled by the mist of driving sand. + +Suddenly Mustapha gave a start. + +"My father," he cried, in an excited whisper, "it _is_ Solimin! I do +not mistake! What other camel ever resembled Solimin? Do you not see +his lofty hump,--his arched neck? Does not the bell tinkle as with the +voice of home?" + +Then, half raising himself, he gave, with all the power of his voice, +the well-known call. + +Solimin--for it was indeed he--paused as the sound caught his ears, and +snuffed the wind. Again came the call; he wheeled, plunged, threw his +rider, dashed forward, broke through the bushes, and in a second was on +his knees before his old master. + +"Up, up, my father! there is no time to lose!" cried Mustapha, grown +stronger in a moment. "Up, up! for the robbers are close upon us!" + +In fact, wild cries and clouds of dust showed that the foe had taken +the alarm, and were hurrying on. But already Ahmed and Mustapha were +mounted, and Solimin, like a ship at full sail, was speeding away with +them. And where was the camel could overtake him, even when he was +loaded double? Fast and swift his long, swinging trot bore them onward, +and before two hours were gone, all traces of the pursuers had +disappeared behind them, and they were free to turn their course toward +the brown tents where rest, and food, and welcome had waited so long +for their coming, and where, after a little time, their hardships and +sufferings seemed to them only like a bad dream. + +As for Solimin, he hardly could be more tenderly treated or beloved +than before this adventure; but if the freshest water, the prickliest +furze,--if bowls of sour milk;--if a triple necklace of shells,--if +brushing and grooming,--if soft pats from childish fingers, and sweet +names murmured in his ears by girlish voices can make a camel happy, +then is Solimin the happiest of heries. Solimin no longer, however. His +name is changed to "The Blessed," in memory of the day when, like a +stately ship, he came over the desert sea, and bore his starving +masters to home, and life, and liberty. + + + + +BELINDA BLONDE + +BY LAURA E. RICHARDS. + + + Belinda Blonde was a beautiful doll, + With rosy-red cheeks and a flaxen poll; + Her lips were red, and her eyes were blue, + But to say she was happy would not be true; + For she pined for love of the great big Jack + Who lived in the box so grim and black. + She never had looked on the Jack his face, + But she fancied him shining with beauty and grace; + And all the day long she would murmur and pout, + Because Jack-in-the-box would never come out. + "Oh, beautiful, beautiful Jack-in-the-box! + Undo your bolts and undo your locks! + The cupboard is shut, and there's no one about; + Oh, Jack-in-the-box! jump out, jump out!" + But alas, alas for Belinda Blonde! + And alas, alas for her dreamings fond! + There soon was an end to all her doubt, + For Jack-in-the-box really _did_ jump out!-- + Out with a crash, and out with a spring, + Half black and half scarlet, a horrible thing; + Out with a yell and out with a shout, + His great goggle-eyes glaring wildly about. + "Alas! alas!" cried Belinda Blonde; + "Is this the end of my dreamings fond? + Is this my love, and is this my dear, + This hideous, glowering monster here? + Alas! alas!" cried Belinda fair. + She wrung her hands and she tore her hair, + Till at length, as the dolls who were witnesses say, + She fell on the ground and she fainted away. + + +MORAL. + + + Now all you dolls, both little and big, + With china crown and with curling wig, + Before you give way to affection fond, + Remember the fate of Belinda Blonde; + And unless you wish to get terrible knocks, + Don't set your heart on a Jack-in-the-box. + + + + +THE LONDON DUST-MAN + +BY ALEXANDER WAINWRIGHT. + + +There he goes! A dusky gloom hangs over the roofs of great London City; +a similar gloom fills my room and seems to have touched all the furniture +with smoky age, and as I look down from the window into the gloomy street, +I see him coming along slowly, and crying in a voice like a plea for help +in affliction: "Dust-oh!--dust-oh!--dust-oh!--dust-oh!" + +Not one of the many citizens who are passing notices him, or finds +anything strange in that plaintive cry. The people who live in the city +see him day after day, and remember how, in their childhood, they had +terrifying notions of his weakness for kidnapping and other mysterious +wickednesses. They know better now, and hurry past him with scarcely a +glance; but to the American visitor he is something of a curiosity. + +[Illustration: "DUST-OH!"] + +When the London fog is gray we cannot see him very far off, for he, +too, is gray from head to foot with ash-dust, and as he approaches us +he comes out of the mist like a phantom, though in reality he is a +substantial, square-built, deep-chested fellow, shod with enormous +Bluecher shoes (the soles of which are bright with nails), and clad in a +loose blouse and trousers, that are tied up about the knees. The blouse +is open at the chest, and is lifted to the waist by his big, brown +hands, which are tucked in his trouser pockets, and his head is covered +by the kind of hat that sailors call a sou'wester. His only ornament is +a pair of ear-rings; and with his head thrown back he saunters along +the street by the side of his cart, repeating in measured tones his +cry, "Dust-oh-oh! dust-oh!" + +Now and then he stops at a house, and his mate--he has a mate, who is +as much like him as pea is like pea--descends into the cellar, bringing +forth the ashes and refuse that have accumulated in twenty-four hours, +and when the cart, which is a square, box-like affair, is filled he +starts for home with his load. + +What a queer home it is! It is on the outskirts of the city, far away +from the finer streets and buildings. A large space of ground is as +gray and dusty as an African or Western desert, and is broken by mounds +of ashes, some of which are only a few feet high, while others are +almost as high as houses,--quite as high, in fact, as the dismal little +shanties on the edge of the reservation in which the dust-man and his +fellows live. Other carts and other dust-men are constantly coming and +going, dumping one load and then returning to the city for another, and +as soon as a load is dumped it is attacked by a crowd of men, women and +children, who with shovels, rakes and hooks, turn it over and over, and +raise stifling clouds of dust. + +The reader may think that the collections made by the dust-man are +valueless, but such is not the case. + +There are more than 300,000 inhabited houses in London, consuming more +than 3,500,000 tons of coal a year, and besides the ashes from this +great quantity of fuel, the dust-man gathers the other refuse of the +houses. He is employed by a contractor, who agrees with the corporation +to remove the ashes, etc., out of the city, and the contractor divides +every load into six parts, as follows: Soil, or fine dust, which is +sold to brick-makers for making bricks and to farmers for manure; +brieze, or cinders, sold to brick-makers for burning brick; rags, bones +and old metals, sold to marine-store dealers; old tin and iron vessels, +sold to trunk-makers for clamps; bricks, oyster and other shells, sold +for foundations and road-building; and old boots and shoes, sold to the +manufacturers of Prussian blue. + +Sometimes, much more valuable things than these are found, and the +reader may remember the romance that Charles Dickens made out of a +London dust-man--"Our Mutual Friend." + +It is in sifting the different parts of a load that the men, women and +children, are employed; they are as busy as ants; mere babies and +wrinkled old dames take a part in the labor, and all of them are so +covered with dust and ashes that they are anything but pleasant to +contemplate, though, as a rule, they are useful, honest, and +industrious members of society. + +"Dustie" is what the Londoners familiarly call the dust-man, and only a +few know in what ignorance and poverty he lives. One would think that +he would work himself into a better occupation, but his family have +been dust-men for generations, and the generations after him are not +likely to change. + + + + +HUCKLEBERRY. + +BY FRANK R. STOCKTON. + + +More than a hundred and sixty-eight years ago, there lived a curious +personage called "Old Riddler." His real name was unknown to the people +in that part of the country where he dwelt; but this made no +difference, for the name given to him was probably just as good as his +own. Indeed, I am quite sure that it was better, for it meant +something, and very few people have names that mean anything. + +He was called Old Riddler for two reasons. In the first place, he was +an elderly man; secondly, he was the greatest fellow to ask riddles +that you ever heard of. So, this name fitted him very well. + +Old Riddler had some very peculiar characteristics,--among others, he +was a gnome. Living underground for the greater part of his time, he +had ample opportunities of working out curious and artful riddles, +which he used to try on his fellow-gnomes; and if they liked them, he +would go above-ground and propound his conundrums to the country +people, who sometimes guessed them, but not often. + +The fact is, that those persons who wished to be on good terms with the +old gnome never guessed his riddles. They knew that they would please +him better by giving them up. + +He took such a pleasure in telling the answers to his riddles, that no +truly kind-hearted person would deprive him of it, by trying to solve +them. + +"You see," as Old Riddler used to say, when talked to on the subject, +"if I take all the trouble to make up these riddles, it's no more than +fair that I should be allowed to give the answers." + +So, the old gnome, who was not much higher than a two-year-old child, +though he had quite a venerable head and face, was very much encouraged +by the way the people treated him, and when a person happened to be +very kind and appreciative, and gave a good deal of attention to one of +his conundrums, that person would be pretty sure, before long, to feel +glad that he had met Old Riddler. + +[Illustration: "'DON'T YOU SEE?' ASKED THE OLD FELLOW."] + +There were thousands of ways in which the gnomes could benefit the +country-folks, especially those who had little farms or gardens. +Sometimes Old Riddler, who was a person of great influence in his +tribe, would take a company of gnomes, under the garden of some one to +whom he wished to do a favor, and they would put their little hands up +through the earth and pull down all the weeds, root-foremost, so that +when the owner went out in the morning, he would find his garden as +clear of weeds as the bottom of a dinner-plate. + +Of course, any one who has habits of this kind must eventually become a +general favorite, and this was the case with Old Riddler. + +One day, he made up a splendid riddle, and, after he had told it to all +the gnomes, he hurried up to propound it to some human person. + +He was in such haste that he actually forgot his hat, although it was +late in the fall, and he wore his cloak. He had not gone far through +the fields before he met a young goose-girl, named Lois. She was a poor +girl, and was barefooted; and as Old Riddler saw her in her scanty +dress, standing on the cold ground, watching her geese, he thought to +himself: "Now I do hope that girl has wit enough to understand my +riddle, for I feel that I would like to get interested in her." + +So, approaching Lois, he made a bow and politely asked her: "Can you +tell me, my good little girl, why a ship full of sailors, at the bottom +of the sea, is like the price of beef?" + +The goose-girl began to scratch her head, through the old handkerchief +she wore instead of a bonnet, and tried to think of the answer. + +"Because it's 'low,'" said she, after a minute or two. + +"Oh no!" said the gnome. "That's not it. You can give it up, you know, +if you can't think of the answer." + +"I know!" said Lois. "Because it's sunk." + +"Not at all," said Old Riddler, a little impatiently. "Now come, my +good girl, you'd much better give it up. You will just hack at the +answer until you make it good for nothing." + +"Well, what is it?" said Lois. + +"I will tell you," said the gnome. "Now, pay attention to the answer: +Because it has gone down. Don't you see?" asked the old fellow, with a +gracious smile. + +"Yes, I see," said the goose-girl, scratching her head again; "but my +answer was nearly as good as yours." + +"Oh, dear me!" said Old Riddler, "that wont do. It's of no use at all +to give an answer that is nearly good enough. It must be exactly right, +or it's worthless. I am afraid, young girl, that you don't care much +for riddles." + +"Yes I do," said the goose-girl; "I make 'em." + +"Make them?" exclaimed Old Riddler, in great surprise. + +"Yes," replied Lois, "I'm out here all day with these geese, and I +haven't anything else to do, and so I make riddles. Do you want to hear +one of them?" + +"Yes, I would like it very much indeed," said the gnome. + +"Well, then, here's one: If the roofs of houses were flat instead of +slanting, why would the rain be like a chained dog?" + +"Give it up," said Old Riddler. + +"Because it couldn't run off," answered Lois. + +"Very good, very good," said the gnome. "Why, that's nearly as good as +some of mine. And now, my young friend, didn't you feel pleased to have +me give up that riddle and let you tell me the answer, straight and +true, just as you knew it ought to be?" + +"Oh yes!" said the goose-girl. + +"Well, then," continued Old Riddler, "remember this: What pleases you +will often please other people. And never guess another riddle." + +Lois, although a rough country girl, was touched by the old man's +earnestness and his gentle tones. + +"I never will," said she. + +"That's a very well-meaning girl," said Old Riddler to himself as he +walked away, "although she hasn't much polish. I'll come sometimes and +help her a little with her conundrums." + +Old Riddler had a son named Huckleberry. He was a smart, bright young +fellow, and resembled his father in many respects. When he went home, +the old gnome told his son about Lois, and tried to impress on his mind +the same lesson he had taught the young girl. Huckleberry was a very +good little chap, but he was quick-witted and rather forward, and often +made his father very angry by guessing his riddles; and so he needed a +good deal of parental counsel. + +Nearly all that night, Huckleberry thought about what his father had +told him. But not at all as Old Riddler intended he should. + +"What a fine thing it must be," said Huckleberry to himself, "to go out +into the world and teach people things. I'm going to try it myself." + +So, the next day, he started off on his mission. The first person he +saw was a very small girl playing under a big oak-tree. + +When the small girl saw the young gnome, she was frightened and drew +back, standing up as close against the tree as she could get. + +But up stepped Master Huckleberry, with all the airs and graces he +could command. + +"Can you tell me, my little miss," said he, "why an elephant with a +glass globe of gold-fish tied to his tail is like a monkey with one +pink eye and one of a mazarine blue?" + +"No," said the small girl, "I don't know. Go away!" + +"Oh," said Huckleberry, "perhaps that's too hard for you. I know some +nice little ones, in words of one syllable. Why is a red man with a +green hat like a good boy who has a large duck in a small pond?" + +"Go away!" said the small girl. "I came here to pick flowers. I don't +know riddles." + +"Perhaps that one was too easy," said Huckleberry, kindly. "I have all +sorts. Here is one with longer words, divided into syllables. I'll say +it slowly for you: What is the dif-fer-ence between a mag-nan-i-mous +ship-mate and the top-most leaf-let on your grand-mo-ther's bar-ber-ry +bush?" + +"I haven't got any grandmother," said she. + +"Oh, well! Any grandmother will do," said Huckleberry. + +"I can't guess it," said the small girl, who was now beginning to lose +her fear of the funny little fellow. "I never guessed any riddles. I'm +not old enough." + +"Very well, then," said Huckleberry, "I'll tell you what I'll do. Let's +sit down here under the tree, and I'll tell you one of father's +riddles, and give you the answer. His riddles are better than mine, +because none of mine have any answers. I don't put answers to them, for +I can never think of any good ones. I met a boy once, and told him a +lot of my riddles; and he learned them, and went about asking people to +guess them, and when the people gave them up, he couldn't tell them the +answers, because there were none, and that made everybody mad. He told +one of the riddles to his grandmother,--I think it was the one about +the pink-eyed monkey and the wagon-load of beans--" + +[Illustration: THE BOY AND HIS GRANDMOTHER.] + +"No," said the small girl; "the elephant and the gold-fish was the +other part of the pink-eyed monkey one." + +"Oh, it don't make any difference," said Huckleberry, "I don't join my +riddles together the same way every time. Sometimes I use the gold-fish +and elephant with the last part of one riddle, and sometimes with +another. As there's no answer, it don't matter. I begin a good many of +my best riddles with the elephant, for it makes a fine opening. But, as +I was going to tell you, this boy told one of my riddles to his +grandmother, and she liked it very much; but when she found out that +there was no answer to it, she gave him a good box on the ear, and that +boy has never liked me since. But now I'll tell you a story. That is, +it's like a story, but it's really a riddle. Father made it and +everybody thinks it's one of his best. There was once a fair lady of +renown who was engaged to be married to a prince. And when the +wedding-day came round--they were to be married in one of the prince's +palaces in the mountains--she was so long getting dressed--you see she +dressed in one of her father's palaces, down in the valley--that she +was afraid she would be late, so as soon as her veil was pinned on, she +ran down to the stables, threw a wolf-skin on the back of one of the +fieriest of the chargers, and springing on him, she dashed away. She +wasn't used to harnessing horses, and was in such a hurry that she +forgot all about the bridle, and so, as she was dashing away, she found +she couldn't steer the animal, and he didn't go anywhere near the +prince's palace, but galloped on, and on, and on, every minute taking +her farther and farther away from where she wanted to go. She couldn't +turn the charger, and she couldn't stop him, though she tore off pieces +of her veil, and tried to put them around his nose, but it was no good. +So when the wedding-party had waited and waited and waited, the prince +got angry and married another lady, and nobody knows where the fair +lady of renown went to, although there are some people who say that +she's a-galloping yet, and trying to get her veil around the charger's +nose. Now, why was it that that fair lady of renown never married? +Answer: Because she had no bridal. You can say either bri-d-a-l or +bri-d-l-e, because they both sound alike, and if she had had either one +of them, she would have been married. This is a pretty long riddle, but +it's easier than mine, because it's all fixed up right, with the answer +to it and everything. You like it better than mine, don't you?" + +The small girl did not answer, and when Huckleberry looked around, he +saw that she was asleep. + +"Poor little thing!" said Huckleberry, softly, to himself. "I guess I +gave her a little too much riddle to begin with. Her mind isn't formed +enough yet. But it's pretty hard on me. I wanted to teach somebody +something, and here she's gone to sleep. I wish I could find that +goose-girl. If father could teach her something, I'm sure I could." + +[Illustration: THE FAIR LADY OF RENOWN.] + +So he went walking through the fields, and pretty soon he saw Lois, +standing among her geese, who were feeding on the grass. + +Huckleberry skipped up to her as lively as a cricket. + +"Can you tell me," said he, "why an elephant with a glass globe of +gold-fish tied to his tail is like the Lord High Admiral of the British +Isles?" + +"Was the globe of gold-fish all the elephant owned?" asked the +goose-girl, thoughtfully. + +"Yes," said Huckleberry. "But I don't see what that's got to do with +it." + +"Then the answer is," said Lois, without noticing this last remark, +"because all his property is entailed." + +"Well, I de-clare!" cried Huckleberry, opening his eyes as wide as they +would go, "if you didn't guess it! Why, I didn't know it had an +answer." + +"I wish it hadn't had an answer," said the goose-girl, suddenly +stamping her foot. "I wish there had never been any answer to it in the +whole world. It was only yesterday that I promised Old Riddler that I +would never guess another riddle, and here I've done it! It's too bad!" + +"I don't think it is," cried Huckleberry, waving his little cap around +by the tassel. "It's all very well for father not to want people to +guess his riddles, because they've got answers and he knows what they +are. But I would never have known that any of mine had an answer if you +hadn't guessed this one. If you had had a riddle like this one, +wouldn't you have been glad to have some one tell you the answer?" + +"Yes, I would," said Lois. + +"Well, then, my good girl, remember this: If a thing gives you +pleasure, it's very likely that it will give somebody else pleasure. So +let somebody else have a chance, and the next time you hear a riddle +that you think the owner has no answer for, guess it for him, if you +can. Good-by!" + +And away went Master Huckleberry, skipping and singing and snapping his +fingers and twirling his cap, until he came to a wide crack in the +ground, when he rolled himself up like a huckleberry dumpling, and went +tumbling and bouncing down into the underground home of the gnomes. + +"Get out of the way!" said he to the gnomes he passed, as he proudly +strode to his father's apartments. "I'm going to make a report. For the +first time in my life I've taught somebody something." + +When Huckleberry left her, the goose-girl stood silently in the midst +of her geese. Her brow was overcast. + +"How's anybody to do two things that can't both be done?" she exclaimed +at last. "I'll have nothing more to do with riddles as long as I live." + + + + +HOW SIR WILLIAM PHIPS FOUND THE TREASURE IN THE SEA. + +BY S.G.W. BENJAMIN. + + +There is scarcely anything more exciting to the imagination than tales +of hidden treasure, especially treasure lost at sea. The mystery, the +wonder, the adventure, the tragedy, the seemingly boundless +possibilities connected with riches lost by shipwreck or war, and yet +not gone beyond the hope of recovery, have given rise to a multitude of +romantic stories, some of them pure fictions, but many founded more or +less on fact. + +I have known several cases in which treasure lost by piracy or +shipwreck has been recovered after a century or more. Some years ago a +company of men from Boston made two cruises to the shoals of the Silver +Key on the Bahama Banks, a spot noted for shipwrecks. They had some +clue to a treasure-laden ship which had foundered there long ago. The +first trip was unsuccessful, but on the second voyage the wreck was +found. Divers, armed with modern apparatus, spent several days in the +quest, but in vain, until, finally, just as the last diver was about to +give the signal to be drawn up, he leaned against what seemed only the +barnacle-encrusted end of a beam; but suddenly it gave way, and numbers +of golden doubloons rolled out at his feet. Considerable sums rewarded +further search in the sand-filled and decaying carcass of the old ship; +but exactly how much was realized is known only to the discoverers, who +kept the matter secret, and thus evaded paying a great part of the +share due to the British crown, in whose dominion the treasure was +found. + +To Boston also belonged, some two centuries ago, the celebrated +treasure-hunter, William Phips. He was one of twenty-one sons, and was +born at Woolwich, Maine, in 1651. Of a bold, adventurous spirit, his +first and last passion was to follow the sea, although until he was +eighteen years of age he was forced to tend sheep. He then apprenticed +himself to a ship-carpenter for four years, taking a trip down the +coast now and then, and watching his chance for the next move. He is +said to have been inspired by an idea that celebrity and fortune were +to be his destiny; and when his apprenticeship was over, he went to +Boston and worked at ship-building for a year, until he had the good +luck to win the favor of a rich widow. Her he married, and, with the +increase of means thus obtained, Phips launched into various +enterprises, which did not always turn out well. But he never lost +faith in his guiding star, and often told his good wife that "he should +yet become commander of a king's ship, and owner of a fair brick house +in the Green Lane of Boston"--at that time the Beacon Street of the +plucky little town. + +Ten years went by, and Phips seemed but little nearer the realization +of his dreams than while tending sheep on the hill-sides of Maine, when +the prospect suddenly brightened in an unexpected quarter. This was the +time when Spanish and Portuguese galleons were crossing the ocean laden +with silver from Potosi and diamonds from Brazil. Pirates and +privateers scoured the seas to rob the treasure-ships, and great +expeditions were sent out by England in war times for the same purpose. +The imaginations of men ran riot during this feverish state of things, +and people were ready to believe almost any yarn "spun" in the +forecastle. + +Phips was just the man to be moved by such tales, and, when he learned +of a certain rich wreck on the Bahamas, he at once fitted out a small +vessel and went in search of it. He found and recovered the treasure, +but the amount was small, being only large enough to whet his appetite +for more. + +While at the Bahamas, he was told of another Spanish vessel, wrecked +off Puerto Plata more than fifty years before, with a much larger +treasure. His means not being sufficient for this expedition, Phips +sailed for England and made direct application to the Admiralty to aid +him in his search. So ably did this true son of the sea represent his +cause, that he was given command of the "Rose Algier," a ship mounting +eighteen guns and carrying a hundred men. Thus Phips's first dream came +to pass; he was now captain of a king's ship, with a roving commission. + +The exact position of the wreck was unknown, and the untrustworthy +character of the crew added great difficulties to the undertaking. It +should be remembered, also, that diving-bells, diving-armor, and the +like, were then unknown. But the courage and indomitable perseverance +of Phips now came into play, and he had a capital chance to show the +stuff of which he was made. + +Soon after they had sailed, the crew came aft, armed, and determined to +force Phips to yield to their wishes, which probably were that they +should all turn pirates. Without giving them time to deliberate, Phips +flew at their leader, hurled him to the deck and dispatched him on the +spot--a deed so prompt and daring that it awed the mutineers into +submission for the time. One who has never seen a mutiny at sea can +form but little idea of its desperate character, and the rapidity of +action and unflinching nerve required where men are shut up alone on +the wide ocean with a quarrel so deadly in its nature that no +compromise can be thought of for a moment, and no quarter can be +allowed with safety to him who gives it. + +But the next plot to seize the ship was even more dangerous. The "Rose +Algier," being in need of repairs, was taken to a cove in a small +uninhabited island, and careened on one side in order to reach the +damaged place. Most of the stores were moved on shore, the ship was +hove down, and a bridge was laid between the deck and the land. Under +the pretense of pastime, most of the crew now betook themselves to the +woods, and there plotted to return at seven in the evening, seize the +ship, force Phips and eight faithful men on shore, leave them there to +perish, and themselves sail away on a piratical cruise. But the +carpenter was one of the few who stood by the captain, and yet they +could not risk putting to sea without him. They sent for him, +therefore, on some pretext, and, having him in their power, offered him +the choice of instant death or of joining his fortunes with theirs. He +begged for half an hour to think about it, and said that at any rate he +should have to return on board for his tool-chest. They granted his +request, and sent two men with him to watch his movements. Soon +afterward, he was suddenly taken with a pretended cramp or colic, and +in great seeming agony rushed into the cabin for medicine; there he +found Phips, and in a few rapid words revealed the plot. In less than +two hours the mutineers would be marching on the ship. Not an instant +was to be lost. Immediately the guns were loaded and trained to command +the shore and all the approaches to the stores; the bridge was taken +in, and when the mutineers appeared they found themselves caught. In +tones of thunder, Phips bade them not to stir or he would mow them down +with his batteries; nor did they dare to disobey. The bridge was again +laid down, and the eight loyal men brought back the stores to the ship. +When all was safely on board again, the mutineers were told that they +were to be left to the fate they had intended for their commander. In +despair at so terrible a prospect, the miserable men threw down their +arms, and protested their willingness to submit if Phips would but +relent and not sail away without them. After a long parley, he agreed +to let them come on board, they having first given up their arms. But, +with such a crew, further search after the treasure was useless. Phips, +therefore, sailed for Jamaica, changed the crew, and again weighed +anchor for Hispaniola. There he was lucky enough to find an old +Spaniard who told him that the wreck was somewhere about a reef a few +leagues north of Puerto de la Plata. Phips immediately went to the +spot. But his search for the wreck was long and unavailing, the season +was changing, and the "Rose Algier," now but half manned and in +unseaworthy condition, was unfit to prowl around a dangerous reef in +the hurricane season. So, without having accomplished the object of so +much exertion and anxiety, Phips was obliged to return to England, a +baffled but not a discouraged man. + +Very naturally, it was impossible for our adventurer to obtain another +English ship-of-war, although he received much credit for the courage +and skill shown in controlling the mutineers, and one would conclude +that the treasure of the old Spanish galleon would after this have +remained at the bottom of the sea, the exclusive possession of the +sharks, the turtles and the barracudas. But with rare pertinacity Phips +returned to the charge, and at last persuaded the Duke of Albemarle +and several other wealthy noblemen to his views. They formed a company +and obtained a patent from King James II., giving them the sole right +to all wrecked treasure they might find during a certain number of +years. Then they fitted out a ship and tender, the latter to cruise in +coves and shoal water, and Phips invented several rude contrivances, +for dragging and diving, far inferior to the means now used for such +purposes. Thus prepared, he sailed once more for Hispaniola. There a +small, stout boat was built, and with it and a crew of Indian divers +the tender was despatched to the reef where the wreck was said to be. +The tender was anchored in good holding-ground at a safe distance from +the reef, and the men then rowed slowly in the boat around it, +carefully examining the depths below for signs of the wrecked galleon. +The waters in the West Indies are very clear, and during a calm objects +can be seen at a considerable depth. The rocks were of singular form, +rising nearly to the surface, but with sides so steep that any vessel +striking them would be liable to go down many fathoms below the reach +of the most expert diver. The only hope was that the wreck might have +lodged on some projecting ledge. But the closest observation, long +continued, failed to reveal any sign of the object so eagerly sought, +although the water was perfectly calm. + +[Illustration: CAPTAIN PHIPS THREATENS TO SAIL AWAY FROM THE MUTINEERS.] + +At length; a curious sea-plant cropping out of a crevice in the sides +of the reef caught the eye of one of the crew, and he sent down an +Indian to bring it up. When the diver returned to the surface he +reported that he had seen a number of brass cannon lying tangled among +the sea-weed on a ledge. That was enough. Inspired with the greatest +enthusiasm, diver after diver plunged below to be the first to discover +the treasure, and ere long one of them brought up an ingot of silver +worth several hundred pounds. Transported with success they left a buoy +to mark the spot, and made all sail to carry the glad tidings to Phips. +He would not credit the tale until he had seen the ingot, when he +exclaimed, "Thanks be to God, we are all made!" + +Every man was at once enlisted in the service of fishing for the +treasure. The bullion was discovered first; after that, in the bottom +of the hold, the sea-miners found the coin in bags, which had been so +long under water that they were encrusted with a stony shell, hard as +rock. This was broken with crowbars, revealing gold, jewels, and +"pieces of eight," in glittering abundance. The last day's work brought +to light twenty massive silver ingots, and the whole amount recovered +was somewhat over three hundred thousand pounds, a sum equal in the +values of our time to five millions of dollars. Nor was this all the +riches concealed in the wreck; but Phips was obliged to return to +England before completing the business. Provisions had run low, and the +presence of so vast a treasure on board had stimulated the cupidity of +the crew to a dangerous degree, so that each day of delay in reaching +port was full of hazard. Every precaution was taken to guard the +treasure, but what probably prevented the crew from rising was the +promise Phips gave them, when matters had become most suspicious, that +they should each receive a share of the profits in addition to his +wages, even if his own portion were thus swallowed up. Phips reached +England without mishap, thus bringing to a successful termination one +of the most daring exploits of its sort that were ever attempted. + +When the profits were divided, Phips received as his share a sum that +would now be equal to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The Duke +of Albemarle presented Mrs. Phips with a magnificent gold cup worth +fifteen thousand dollars, and King James expressed great pleasure at +the honesty and ability of Phips in the conduct of such a difficult +undertaking, and as a reward for bringing such a treasure into England +granted him the honor of knighthood, and offered him important +employment in the royal service. Fortune had indeed smiled on the +shepherd-boy of Maine. + +But Phips was never ashamed of his humble origin, nor in all his +wanderings did he forget his native land. And now, instead of remaining +to enjoy further honors near the throne, he returned to his family, +bearing the important commission of High Sheriff of New England. He now +built the brick house on Green Lane which he had promised his wife +fifteen years before. The name of this Street was eventually changed to +Charter Street, in memory of his efforts to have the charter of the +Massachusetts colony restored. + +Sir William Phips afterward engaged in the wars between the American +colonies of France and England, and at the head of an expedition of +eight ships captured Port Royal. A subsequent enterprise against Quebec +failed from a combination of causes, some of them beyond the control of +Phips. After this Sir William went again to England, where he was +appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the New England +colonies; and his return home with these new honors and titles was made +the occasion of a day of solemn thanksgiving. + +His governorship having ceased, Sir William Phips sailed for England, +and was meditating a fresh expedition in search of shipwrecked treasure +when he was taken suddenly ill, and died at the age of forty-five. +While his adventurous career affords us little hope that any of us will +ever, like him, discover shipwrecked wealth, it gives us a fine example +of what perseverance combined with intelligence, courage and honesty +can accomplish in the face of great difficulties; for it was a union of +all these qualities which enabled Sir William Phips to wrest fortune +and honors from the ocean depths. + +[Illustration] + + + + +SOME FISHING-BIRDS OF FLORIDA. + +BY MRS. MARY TREAT. + + +All along the St. John's River, during the winter, may be seen birds +catching fish for a living. They are more numerous here in winter than +in summer, because, upon the freezing of the waters at the North, they +flock to Florida to carry on their fishing in the St. John's, which, +never freezing, contains an abundance of fish. + +The belted kingfisher comes close to the house, where I can watch him +fishing as I sit at the window. The river is five miles across here, +and for several yards from the shore it is quite shallow, so that a +wharf two hundred and fifty feet long was necessary to make it easy to +launch our small rowboats. A railing extends along the side of the +wharf, and upon this railing the kingfisher perches, watching for his +prey. + +[Illustration: THE BELTED KINGFISHER.] + +He understands fishing much better than most boys, for he seldom misses +his game. He takes his position on the railing, and fixes his eyes upon +the finny tribes below, and when a fish that suits him comes within his +range, he dives into the water and brings it up with his stout beak, +and then beats it upon the railing to make it limp and tender before +swallowing. + +It is not so very surprising that he is such an expert fisher, for +during the winter it is his only occupation; he has no family to look +after now, and he is so very selfish and quarrelsome that he will not +allow any of his brothers to fish near him. He considers the whole +length of the wharf his fishing-post, and his brothers must not +trespass upon his grounds; if they do, he chases them away with a +rattling, clanging noise, enough to frighten any fisher not stronger +than himself. + +In the spring he takes a partner in his business, for now it is time to +raise a family, and he knows he can never do this alone. He is very +good and kind to this partner, and helps her dig a hole in a clayey +bank for the nest, and then takes his turn in sitting upon the eggs. +After the eggs are hatched, they both catch fish to feed the young +until they are old enough to feed themselves. + +The American flamingo, with his gorgeous scarlet feathers, is a superb +fellow. He is very shy, and peculiarly afraid of man. On account of its +fine apparel, it has been more closely pursued than almost any other +bird. It does not go north like some of the herons, but Audubon says it +has occasionally been seen in South Carolina. Its constant home, +however, is in the southern part of Florida and along the Gulf coast. + +Like the herons, of which I told you in ST. NICHOLAS for May, 1877, the +flamingoes are sociable, and live in flocks. They have webbed feet, +which give them an advantage over the herons in enabling them to swim +as well as to wade. I have never been able to get near enough to these +birds to gain any personal knowledge of their habits. + +The nest of the flamingo is a curious affair; usually built in a +marshy, muddy place, in the form of a mound. It is made of sticks and +grass and mud to the height of two or three feet, with a hollow in the +middle to hold the eggs. The male is said to assist in the construction +of the nest, but this is probably mere conjecture, for I think no one +living at the present time has been able to get near enough to these +birds to watch their habits, and their nests can be reached only with +great difficulty. + +The female lays two white eggs about the size of those of a goose. It +is said that she sits astride the nest in an ungainly fashion, and that +the young, as soon as they are hatched, take to the water like young +ducks. + +If a law only could be passed to protect these birds, what a grand +sight the waters of Florida would soon present! These great, brilliant, +scarlet birds, dallying and playing in the water, or wading near the +shore in quest of game, would be a sight never to be forgotten. Can it +be possible that Florida does not care for such glorious creatures, and +will allow, year after year, these marauders from the North to kill +them without a single protest? Unless something is done for the +protection of these splendid creatures, they must soon become extinct; +for their range is quite limited, and I fear the boy and girl readers +of ST. NICHOLAS, by the time they grow to men and women, can only read +of these as "gorgeous birds of the past." + +Almost every morning, the osprey, or fish-hawk, comes in front of the +window and fishes in the shallow water near the house. He does not seem +to be as expert as the kingfisher. I have seen him dive a dozen times +or more into the water before bringing up his prey. He sails around and +around in the air; at last fixing his eyes upon a fish, he swoops down, +making the water splash around him. His feet are large and powerful, +and he arranges his long toes in the form of a scoop as he plunges into +the river; this scoop is his fishing-tackle with which he brings up his +finny food. + +I think I should not like to be an osprey, for he seems to have such a +hard time to get a living, and yet he is an honest, well-disposed +laborer. After he has succeeded in catching a fish, a bald eagle often +swoops down from some tall tree, where he has been watching him, and by +main force compels this honest fisher to give up his hard-won prey. The +eagle is considerably larger than his victim, being about three feet in +length, while the osprey is only about two feet. + +It is quite a grand sight to see these two large birds wheeling through +the air--the osprey trying to elude the eagle, diving first one way and +then another, until at last, when he sees the unencumbered eagle must +overpower him, in a fit of desperation he lets the fish drop, and the +eagle catches it before it reaches the water, and carries it to some +retired spot where he devours it. + +And now the poor defrauded osprey must go to work and catch another +fish before he can have his dinner. Here you see the bald eagle with +his ill-gotten prey. + +[Illustration: THE BALD EAGLE.] + +Great flocks of ducks often come to fish in the shallow water close to +the shore. I suppose the reason that they come so near is that they +find smaller fish here than in the deep water; and another reason, they +are never shot at near the shore, for no fire-arms are allowed to be +discharged within the town limits, except under the penalty of five +dollars for each discharge. + +This place, in winter, corresponds to a northern watering-place in +summer. There is a warm sulphur-spring here, and people come from all +quarters for health and for amusement. At first the great numbers of +birds all about attracted many sportsmen, but I am very glad to tell +you that the Florida people did not like this reckless shooting of +birds in their midst, so they made this beautiful little place--Green +Cove Spring--a city, and elected a mayor and a marshal, and other +officers, to keep the men straight, and to protect the birds. + +So this is why the birds that live about this little city are so tame, +and why the ducks come so close to us; they have learned that they are +quite safe from guns here. + +Several species of ducks may sometimes be seen in one flock, fishing +together in perfect harmony. It is quite astonishing how long they can +stay under water, and when they come up their feathers are not wet at +all. + +The most beautiful of these fishing-ducks is the hooded merganser. Its +plumage is most elegant, and it has a large thick tuft or crest of +feathers covering the whole head, which gives it a sort of military +look; and, indeed, it seems to be a commander, for it leads all of its +relatives. It sometimes stays so long under the water that I begin to +fear something has happened,--that an alligator, or some other huge +beast, has got hold of it; but it always makes its appearance after a +while, often at quite a long distance from where it went under. + + + + +NAN'S PEACE-OFFERING. + +BY KATE W. HAMILTON. + + +"Just wish I was properer, and everything--so there!" said Nannie, +sitting discontentedly down upon the green grass by the road-side, and +surveying herself with a pair of very serious brown eyes. + +It was a forlorn little self, surely, with wet dress, muddy shoes, inky +apron, and crumpled sun-bonnet. + +"Aunt S'mantha'll think I'm dreadful. She says I never have any +forethought; but I have lots of after-thoughts, and I s'pose folks +can't have both kinds. It don't do any good, either. Oh dear!" + +There was a whistled tune coming up the road. Tommy Grey was attached +to it, but the whistle seemed much the older and more important of the +two, and was first to reach the tree where Nannie was sitting. When +Tommy caught up with it, he stopped in surprise. + +"Hello, Nan Verling! Is that you?" + +"I suppose so, but I wish it wasn't," answered Nannie, dolefully. + +"What for?" questioned Tommy, in still further astonishment. + +"'Cause I wish I was somebody else that wasn't all wrinkled and mussed +up. I don't see how folks can keep nice and have good times, anyway," +declared Nan, in a burst of confidence. "You see, I just helped sail +boats in the brook, and I didn't know my dress was wet a bit till I +came away; and then Lizzie Sykes tagged me, and course I had to tag her +back again. I don't know what made her run right through the mud, where +I couldn't catch her without getting my shoes all muddy. Should think +she might have known better! My old ink-stand at school is always +upsetting itself, and it had to spill on my clean white apron this +afternoon. Then my sun-bonnet--" + +"Looks as if you'd hung it up in your pocket," suggested Tommy. + +"Well, I didn't; I only rolled it up for a rag-baby when we played keep +house at recess. I s'pose it's bad for bonnets, but it made the +beautifulest kind of a baby," said Nannie, a little ray of enthusiasm +gleaming through her despondency. "But Aunt S'mantha doesn't 'preciate +such things," she added, mournfully. + +"No," answered Tommy, sympathetically. "She'll scold, may be?" + +"P'r'aps so. May be she'll send me to bed without any supper." + +"Whew! That a'nt any fun, I tell you!" declared Tommy. "Why, a fellow +just tumbles and tumbles, and gets hungrier and hungrier, and wonders +what the folks have got for supper, and looks at the stars, and tries +to say 'Hickory-dickory-dock' backward, and wishes it was morning. It +just feels awful!" + +"I didn't ever try it, and I don't s'pose I could stand it," said +Nannie, shaking dejectedly the curly head in the flopping sun-bonnet. +"I've a good mind not to go home at all, but just run away off +somewhere, and be a foundling. Foundlings have pretty good times, +'cause I've read about 'em in books. They get adopted by some great +lady in a big house, and grow up rich, and get to be real handsome." + +"I don't believe you would," declared Tommy, more honestly than +politely. + +Nan meditated a minute, and then said, with a sigh: + +"Well, I guess I'll have to go home, then." + +"Scoldings don't last very long, anyway," urged Tommy, consolingly. + +"But if you sort o' think you oughtn't to have done things, and did +ought to be more careful--and everything--it makes it seem more worse, +you know," remarked Nannie, in a hesitating, half-penitent way. "'Cause +I _do_ like Aunt S'mantha." + +"Yes," admitted Tommy, knitting his brow over the complications of the +case, and searching his own experience for a suggestion of relief. "If +you only had something nice to carry home to her--something she wants. +Once I got wet as a rat playing round the pond, but I'd caught two +fish--reg'lar tip-top trout--and I took 'em home to mother; held 'em up +where they'd be seen first thing, you know. And she said, 'What nice +fish!' and didn't scold a wink." + +"I couldn't catch anything if I tried a week, and Aunt S'mantha +wouldn't care, anyway. Why, she's a real grown-up woman, and could have +tea-parties and make molasses candy every day if she wanted to! I don't +believe she wants anything, unless it's ban--bananas--whatever that is. +I heard her say she'd like some, this morning." + +"Bandanas?" questioned Tommy, with brightening eyes. + +"Y-e-s, I guess so," answered Nannie, rather doubtfully. + +"Ho! I know what they are as well as anything. Why, they're silk +handkerchiefs--red and yellow, with spots on 'em." + +Nannie's hand dived into her small pocket, and re-appeared with two +nickels and a copper. + +"Do you guess I could buy one at Carney's store for 'leven cents? +'Cause I haven't got any more." + +"I s'pose so. Why, yes; handkerchiefs a'nt much 'count, you know. I +always lose mine--only they a'nt bandanas. I guess women-folks think +more about 'em, though," said Tommy, with the air of one superior to +such trifles. + +Nannie was convinced, and started from her seat with a little sigh of +relief. + +"I'll go and buy her one, then. And I think you're a pretty good boy, +Tommy Grey," she added, gratefully, as she trudged down the road, +leaving Tommy to take up his whistling and his homeward route again. + +It was quite a long walk to the store--_the_ store, because the village +only boasted one. That did not matter much to the inhabitants +generally, as the town was so near. Bentleyville and Bentley were +connected by a straggling line of houses that made it hard to tell +where the village ended and the town began. Ambitious young villagers +took advantage of this to talk about "we city people," while the older +ones contentedly spoke of themselves as "plain country-folks." + +Nannie did not care in the least which she was, neither did she greatly +mind the walk, though the feet that had done so much running began to +grow tired. If only she could carry a peace-offering to Aunt Samantha! +That would make all right, and her small world bright again, she was +sure. + +"I can't have any candy or slate-pencils for ever so long; but I don't +care, 'cause I do like her, and she'll know it--course she will if I +buy her a handkerchief; and she wont think I got all mussed up on +purpose," she soliloquized. + +It required some heroism to pass by the fresh pop-corn balls at the +store door, and to turn away from the boxes of figs without a second +glance; but Nannie did both, and, walking straight to the counter, made +known her errand. + +"Bandanas? Yes, a prime lot of 'em," said bustling little Mr. Carney, +bringing out his whole stock. + +His small customer, standing on tiptoe to reach the counter, gravely +examined them. Would Aunt Samantha like a red one or a yellow one best, +she wondered. It was a perplexing question to decide. If only she could +take her one of each! And that reminded her to ask the price. + +"Seventy-five cents apiece," said the old gentleman briskly. + +"Seventy--five--cents!" repeated Nan, faintly. + +"Yes, sissy; cheap at that, too." + +"I--thought--I didn't know," stammered Nannie, in a sore +disappointment. Then rallying her faltering courage, she asked: "Don't +you ever sell any for 'leven cents?" + +"Eleven cents? Bless me, child! Why, they cost--Oh! may be you mean +cotton ones? Look a little like these." + +Nan nodded, glad to think it even probable that she had meant anything. + +"Well, I don't keep that kind, you see," explained Mr. Carney, +condescendingly. + +Discouraged and forlorn, the little woman turned away. She walked until +she was quite out of sight of the store, and then paused to meditate. +What should she do? It seemed dreadfully hard to give up her plan now +when she had thought it all nicely settled. There were plenty of stores +in Bentley; some of them might sell handkerchiefs for eleven cents. She +glanced dubiously along the road leading to the town, and noticed that +the sun was nearly out of sight behind the hills. + +"But it stays light ever and ever so long after the sun sets," she +murmured, "and it didn't seem a bit far when I rode to town with Aunt +S'mantha. I guess this store is most part way. Anyhow, I just must have +a bandana!" she added, as she once more caught sight of her soiled +apron and muddy shoes. + +She straightened her sun-bonnet, and started resolutely forward again. +She had grown to feel that the proposed purchase was in some way a +reparation due to Aunt Samantha, and she could not give it up. On and +on trudged the tired little feet, aching wearily at last, but never +hesitating nor turning back. It seemed a long way, though. + +"Wonder if I wont ever and ever come to where the houses get thicker," +she murmured. "When I keep a store I'll build it on the edge somewhere, +so folks wont have to walk so far to get to it." + +After a time, the buildings did nestle more closely together, and, +somewhat comforted, she stopped a moment to rest. But she started +suddenly to her feet as a light flashed upon her from an opposite +window. People were really beginning to light their lamps, and the +daylight was almost gone. + +Weariness was forgotten in the thought that night might fall before she +could return, and she ran as fast as her light feet would carry her--so +swiftly and so far that she had nearly passed a small store without +seeing it. + +She checked her steps at this discovery, and entering, asked, +breathlessly: + +"Oh,--please,--have you any ban-banners?" + +"What? any what?" demanded a severe-looking lady, coming forward and +eying Nan suspiciously through her spectacles. + +"Bandaners,--handkerchiefs," explained Nannie, less confidently. + +"Bandanas? No; I don't keep them," responded the lady, very stiffly. + +"Should think she might have been more p'lite, if I didn't call it +right," commented the young traveler as she hurried along the street +once more. "Here's another." This time there was only a boy in +attendance. He was head of the establishment when the proprietor went +to supper, and he enjoyed his important position. + +"Do you keep ban-ban-banners?" asked Nannie, growing confused again. + +"Which? I hope you don't mean any disrespect to the flag of your +country, ma'am?" + +"No sir; I mean handkerchiefs," said Nannie, innocently. + +"Ah! yes, I understand. I think we have the article in question." + +A number of the red and yellow silks were produced, and while the brown +eyes scanned them in some perplexity, the mischievous young clerk +surveyed the comical little figure before him, and gravely asked: + +"Is that quantity sufficient for the exercise of your predilections? or +would you like an additional supply?" + +"I would like 'leven cents worth," stammered Nannie. + +"Eleven cents worth of silk handkerchiefs? That's a novelty now!" +laughed the boy. "Why, you see that wouldn't be a seventh part of one +of these bits of magnificence,--not a scrap large enough for a +respectable doll. We really couldn't do it, ma'am. The owner of this +establishment has a nonsensical way of always selling his handkerchiefs +whole." + +[Illustration: "'SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS APIECE,' SAID THE OLD GENTLEMAN."] + +Then, at sight of the disappointed little face, his fun yielded to an +impulse of kindness, and from a far-away corner he produced an old box +with the dust of disuse lying thickly upon it. It contained some small +cotton handkerchiefs, gayly printed, with border, pictures and verses, +in bright colors. Nannie's eyes brightened. They were much prettier +than the others, she thought, and they were only ten cents! She wavered +uncertainly between a pink and a blue one, and finally appealed to the +clerk for advice. + +"Which is the nicest? Couldn't really say, ma'am. If you want it for +winter use, the blue would probably match best with your nose; but if +you keep it specially for fits of weeping, the red might be nearest the +proper tint." + +Nannie looked at him solemnly, but not understanding him in the least: +she decided upon the blue one, and turned away with the precious +package in her hand. It was certainly growing late. The rosy glow had +all vanished from the west, and one star was peeping out dimly. + +"A good deal after supper-time," murmured Nannie, anxiously. Then, +glancing down a side street, she caught sight of a baker's sign. It was +but a few steps, and she was very hungry, so she determined to invest +her remaining cent in a piece of gingerbread. Eager to be on her +homeward way she walked rapidly, and this did not suit the fancy of a +large dog in a neighboring yard. He bounded toward the fence, barking +furiously, and in a moment Nannie discovered that he had pushed open +the gate and was upon the street. She fled at full speed away beyond +the shop and down another street. At last a corner hid him from view, +and he did not follow her. She dared not retrace her steps for fear of +meeting him, and she abandoned all hope of a visit to the bakery. There +must be other ways back to the road, though, she thought, and she +wandered up one street and down another without coming to any building +that looked familiar. She had lost her way entirely, and grew more and +more bewildered as she wandered. The stars came out thickly in the sky, +and it seemed to her that she had been traveling for hours. Finally she +found herself in a quiet, unfrequented part of the town, and then the +brave little heart failed utterly, and frightened, homesick, and +terribly weary, she sank down by the road-side, sobbing bitterly. She +did not hear the sound of wheels, nor notice the horses drawn up beside +her, until some one called: + +"Hello, little one! what's the matter?" + +She had heard that neighborly voice too often not to recognize it now, +and she sprang up in wild delight. "Oh, Captain Hoyt! Take me home! Oh, +please sir, wont you take me home?" + +"Home, chick-a-biddy? Why, who--little Nan Verling, I declare! Well, +if it isn't lucky that I didn't sell my apples till late to-day, and am +just going out! How in the world did you get there?" + +"I lost my way," faltered Nannie, trying hard to conquer her tears when +she was safely in the wagon. "I came to buy a bandana handkerchief for +Aunt S'mantha." + +"Bandana? Well, she'll need it, and a few cambric ones thrown in, if +she don't know where you are at this time of night," declared the +captain, whipping up his horses. + +He was quite right; Miss Samantha was nearly frantic. She had sent to +every house in the village, and had learned from Tommy how her love of +neatness and carelessly expressed desire for bananas had together +worked mischief. But as a visit to the store revealed the fact that +Nannie had been there and had gone, Miss Samantha could think of +nothing but that most improbable resort,--the pond; and she had +gathered a party with ropes and lanterns, when Captain Hoyt drove up +and deposited the small maiden in their midst. + +"I've got the handkerchief, Aunt S'mantha! and I'm so glad; but my +clothes are all spoiled, and I'm so sorry," began Nannie. + +"Clothes, child! Do you think I care so much more for your clothes than +for you that I want to hear about them first?" exclaimed Miss Samantha, +with an embrace so long and close that Nannie was quite astonished. + +"I didn't know," she answered. + +And Miss Samantha said not a word, for she thought if the child really +did not know, there must have been something wrong somewhere. She +smiled a little grimly when she saw the wonderful handkerchief, but she +laid it away as if it were a treasure. Nannie had a nice supper and a +good night's sleep, and felt quite bright when Tommy looked in upon her +the next morning. + +"I had an awful time; but your way is a real good one, Tommy, 'cause +she didn't scold a bit," she informed him, confidentially. + +"But I guess,--I s'pose,--anyhow, mother says that the best way to +please folks is to do as they want you to, instead of buying 'em +things," said Tommy, feeling that, as he had led her into trouble, he +was in honor bound to give her the benefit of the moral that had been +impressed upon him. + +"Y-e-s," answered Nannie, rather vaguely. + +But, as the weeks went on, and Aunt Samantha grew so much more gentle +that she couldn't help being more careful not to trouble her, she +thought that handkerchief must be a very precious article. + + + + +THE TOWER-MOUNTAIN. + +BY GUSTAVUS FRANKENSTEIN. + + + +III. + + +I wandered about for what seemed to me days and days, but always +cautiously, and never without some hope of escape. At length, becoming +weak, I suppose, I missed my footing from a ledge of rock and fell to a +great distance. I was stunned and bruised, but soon recovered; and +considering the course I must have come, and this last terrible +descent, I felt almost sure that I was far below the surface of the +earth, and that I must try to go up, and must search and search until I +should find some way of ascending. I accordingly moved on, with greater +care than ever, and soon found that I was in a sort of rocky passage +which rose at a slight inclination. I need not say how this discovery +revived my spirits, nor how I was cheered yet more when, after a time, +I came to a level surface again, and discovered that beyond it the +passage continued as before, but much widened. + +Keeping close to the wall of rock on my right, I slowly ascended in +what seemed to me a spiral curve. Sometimes I would take a step to the +left, to ascertain if I still had a barrier on that side; by which I +found that there were many openings in the wall on that side, probably +similar to the one through which I had reached this apparently +continuous passage. + +Up, up I went, gaining courage though feeling weaker and weaker. Having +the wall on my right for so long a time, and seeming to be always +ascending, I began to think that I was in a sort of circular +honey-combed cavern. + +It must be borne in mind that my progress was exceedingly slow, +consequent upon the necessity of feeling my way, step by step, +apprehensive of going over the brink of a precipice in some moment of +undue confidence. How many times I lay down to sleep, how many times I +rose to continue the task, I cannot tell; but, having been immured so +long, without food and without light, I began to feel stealing over me +a weariness of exhaustion which required the utmost power of the will +to battle. + +All this time I kept ascending. Suddenly the passage seemed to open +wide, and, all at once, a bright light shot into the cavern. For the +moment I was blinded; a painful sensation struck me across the brows; +but I determined to behold the light at whatever cost. I opened my +eyes; and now, the shock of the dazzling brightness having passed away, +I saw the most beautiful effect I had ever beheld in my whole life. + +A ray of sunlight fell in a round spot, bright and warm, on the wall at +the left. It entered by a small aperture higher up--in the wall at the +right. For a moment I looked around. I stood in a vast, rock-bound +chamber--an immense hall--faintly illuminated by reflection from the +direct sun-ray which fell upon a vein of quartz, and sparkled, lively +with flitting rainbow-colors. I could see the openings in the inner +wall, many of them a hundred feet high, nearly all very narrow, and for +the most part vertical. On the right, the wall was unbroken, with the +exception of the little hole, through which the blessed sunlight +streamed, in the pit of a broad, deep, conical sort of depression. Far +behind me, I could just make out the mouth of the passage from which I +had emerged into this spacious chamber, and before me the opening into +another also adjacent to the wall on my right. + +I felt now more assured than ever, for I was certainly above-ground. +For a moment, I forgot my forlorn condition, and paused to admire the +splendor of the scene. A few minutes only, and it was gone. I lingered. +Should I wait to see this lovely sight renewed? Twenty-four hours must +elapse before the sun's return to the same position. But _would_ it +come to the same point again on the morrow? I knew it could not, and +that the least deflection from its course that day would allow no ray +to fall into the darkness of that mysterious dungeon. I knew, further, +that it was either morning or evening, about nine or three o'clock, by +the direction of the beam of light. This fact was immensely +encouraging; my heart throbbed rapidly; the blood came tingling to the +finger-ends; I felt a warmth, an energy, a hope, an animation of +spirits I had not known for a long time. It had all along been but one +unending night, when often I would wonder whether, outside, under the +broad blue sky, it was then night or day; but now I knew that it was +day. + +I soon reached the passage which I had seen ahead of me, and found it +in some places not more than two or three feet wide. The ascent became +steeper, though not at all difficult, except at one place, where for +about ten yards I was obliged to use both hands and feet to make sure +of not slipping back. + +About two hours after passing this point the air seemed to change; +there was a warmth and fragrance to it which was very grateful; I +fancied also that I could see somewhat indistinctly. + +"Surely," I thought, "this seems like coming to daylight." + +Warmer and sweeter grew the air; I could see the wall of rock on my +right; and then I suddenly encountered a volume of air blown toward me, +as if the sweetest perfumes of the earth were mingled in that breath of +air. I knew I was coming to the light! Another turn, and there before +me were the grand snow-capped mountains suffused with the last rosy +flush of the setting sun! + +[Illustration: "WE SAW HIM CLIMBING THROUGH A SQUARE OPENING OF LIGHT." +[SEE PAGE 292.]] + +Oh, indescribable glory! + +For a moment, my eyes swept over the horizon,--I was far above the +earth,--then back to the beauteous snow in its sunset splendor. The +rosy tinges lifted and vanished, and a cool twilight glow rested on the +mountain summits. I looked upon the plain below. Far beneath, it lay in +the evening shadow with its thousand fading tints of tropic foliage, +with one spot of blue, almost immediately below, in all that mass of +verdure--the lake. I knew then that I was almost exactly above the cave +I had so long inhabited. And Pippity--Grilly--were they there now? + +I was about to call with all my might; but what ear could hear at that +great distance? + + +Three thousand feet at least of space separated my friends from me. How +could I get down that almost perpendicular rock, and how could they get +up to me? How could they know that I was there? + +And now the specter of starvation rose up before me in strongest force. +Should I try to find my way back again?--once more attempt the +darkness? No! no! Too precious was the daylight. It would not do. And +what could be gained? I could not possibly live to reach the bottom! + +The twilight rested serenely on the encircling range of mountain snow, +then faded sweetly from the darkening sky. + +The stars are beacons of hope and faith. Under them I lay down and +slept. + +It was a refreshing slumber that I had beneath an unclouded sky, and +when I awoke it was early dawn. The cool air was grateful; and so +charming seemed all nature that I forgot my hunger and the isolation of +my position. I began, too, to examine the situation. I had emerged from +the cavern into open day by reason of the sudden termination of the +wall which I had had so long on my right. There was left the inner wall +as before, now exposed and forming the exterior of the mountain. I +stood on a platform of rock about four feet square. Beyond was an angle +in the wall, and just then a step to a higher grade of flat rock also. +Then a considerable steepness of the narrow floor, and a bending to the +left, when it was lost to view behind the mass of perpendicular rock. +As the sun rose, I looked down toward the lake, which seemed to lie +almost directly beneath, so nearly perpendicular was the mountain on +that side. About six or seven hundred feet below me, I observed a bird +flying from point to point up the mountain. Soon it disappeared from +view. It had flown to the other side. Presently it re-appeared, still +circling and rising, now perching at one point, and now at another +higher up, then passing out of view again. At length it seemed to come +more directly upward; it rose more rapidly, and was continually in +sight. + +It was a parrot. I heard its cry. I could see it distinctly. + +"Pippity, Pippity!" I cried, "is that you?" + +He gave one joyful scream, alighted on my shoulder, and then on my +hand, talking as fast as his tongue could run: "How d' ye do? How d' ye +do? Frank, Frank!" + +"Food, food, Pippity!" I begged; and before I had finished the words he +flew down the abyss, screaming as he went. I followed him with my eyes +until the precipice below prevented my seeing him any longer. + +It seemed to me a full hour before he re-appeared, and as he came +nearer I saw something in his beak. It was a bunch of grapes. He flew +toward me. I held out my hand to receive him, and with a heart full of +thankfulness I took the precious fruit from his beak. + +"Thank you, thank you, Pippity!" I said. But Pippity didn't wait for +such little expressions of civility. Immediately, he flew away again, +and soon returned with other fruits, and nuts of various kinds; and, as +he could bring but little at a time, of course I could eat but little +at a time, which was a happy circumstance, for that is just the way a +starving man should eat. + +In about four or five hours I told Pippity I had had enough. + +"And now, Pippity," said I, "tell me,--how long have I been away?" + +He promptly answered, "Three days!" + +"Are you sure?" + +"Three days--one, two, three." + +I was almost sure he was right. But how the bird had found me I could +not make out. I questioned him in many ways, but could get no +satisfactory answer. By my not returning the day I went down into the +hole, and not the next, no doubt my friends began to be alarmed for my +safety, and set to work to find me, if possible. What Grilly did in the +matter I could not conjecture; but Pippity, being able to fly, probably +made excursions round the mountain, thinking that I might possibly come +out at some place, and hoping thus to be able to find me and come to my +relief. + +During the afternoon, Pippity made a number of trips down into the +fertile plain, every time bringing back something good to eat, whilst I +rested quietly, amusing myself with looking at the pleasant scenery +that everywhere surrounded me, talking with Pippity whenever he was +present, and sometimes sleeping pleasantly. + +A short time before sunset, Pippity took his last flight down, and, not +long after the sun had disappeared, I saw him returning in the +beautiful twilight. Again he brought me fruit. + +"Go down to Grilly now," I said; "I will stay up here until morning, +and then you come to me again." + +But Pippity didn't want to leave; and I told him that as he was so +desirous of keeping me company, he might remain with me through the +night. + +The next morning, at the first glimmering of dawn, I awoke, feeling +well, hearty and cheerful. Pippity was off immediately to bring me +breakfast, and about ten o'clock we set out in high spirits to make +further ascent of this singular peak. All went well for about an hour, +when, Pippity being absent after food, I came to a place in the rock +where the walk suddenly ended. A little further on and higher up it +was as good as any part I had yet gone over; but the intervening space +of scarcely more than a dozen feet was very steep, and, what was +remarkable, loose stones lay upon its surface as though they had slid +down from above. This slide seemed to have been occasioned by a +softness of the rock in that part, causing it to scale off in thin +pieces, which the slightest disturbance would send rattling down the +mountain. Just beyond these loose stones was a smooth surface of very +steep rock, over which it would be necessary to pass in order to reach +the path beyond. + +I paused here; and after Pippity had brought the fruit and I had +finished my dinner, I began seriously to discuss the question whether +or not I ought to attempt the passage of this dangerous interval. +Pippity seemed to understand my intentions quite well, for he grew very +uneasy, and in his queer ways, with snatches of singularly applicable +speech, he remonstrated most strenuously. But we now were not very far +from the top, and so fascinating seemed the prospect of reaching the +very pinnacle, that I could not withstand the impulse of making the +effort to get there. Over the loose stones I scrambled, clinging with +hands and feet as best I could, whilst an avalanche of rocky fragments +slid, tumbled, and rattled ominously down the declivity. + +I got my hands upon the smooth rock, but at my feet the loose stones +were slipping rapidly away; this, in a moment more, would leave me +without support and mercilessly let me follow them. But Pippity, who +had been flying around me in the greatest excitement, got just above +me, and planting his toes firmly against the rock, seized me by the +shoulder. Then, holding on with a most determined grip of his bill, he +pulled like a Trojan; and I do verily believe the bird saved my life. +By dint of his pulling and backing upward, seconded by my own frantic +efforts to shuffle up the rock, I succeeded in gaining the foothold +beyond. At least he inspired me with fresh resolution and confidence in +helping myself. + +After a little rest, we went on, winding around a succession of short +spirals, and at last reached the highest point of this magnificent +mountain! + + * * * * * + +What a sensation! + +Perched here on the extreme point of a pinnacle more than four thousand +feet above the vast plain of rich fertility embosomed among the +snow-clad mountains. The lake was a spot of beautiful blue, a gem in +the center of this lovely picture. + +Suddenly, we heard a rattling of stones beneath, then a shriek. + +"Stars! What's that?--GRILLY!" + +And up he came bounding, as lively as a cricket. He danced around us +in the greatest delight, threw his arms around me, ran wildly here and +there, and danced and danced again. + +"Grilly, Grilly!" shrieked the parrot, "how in the world did you get up +here?"--and his staid demeanor contrasted strangely with the monkey's +antics. + +But Grilly danced and danced. The fact was that, even if he could have +spoken, he was too much excited to make reply. Grilly was great in +action; in words deficient. + +The afternoon was now far advanced; and Grilly at last becoming +tranquil, and in keeping with the peaceful scene around us, I said to +him: + +"How you came up here I do not know; but of this I am certain, that you +were not as long getting up as I was, for you arrived fresh and active, +whilst I was almost dead. Now, that makes me think that although I +cannot find the way back, you may. Therefore, you shall be guide. But +it is too late to start to-day. Besides, I wish to behold another +sunset from this glorious height." + +The night was very pleasant; and as I lay upon a flat rock, looking out +upon the stars from my high and silent perch, the round earth looming +like a shadow far below me, I thought it would be delightful to make a +long stay on this interesting pinnacle, especially at this time, as the +weather was very fine; but the getting of food presented itself as an +obstacle. As Grilly was now with us, it would be too great a tax on +Pippity to supply us both. Besides, we could not do without water. I +resolved, therefore, to set out early in the morning, and that I would +re-enter that dungeon, as there was clearly no other way of getting +down. + +Before the sun was up, we already were descending; and when we arrived +at the dangerous slide, where the day before I had nearly slipped off +the mountain, we halted. Pippity was dispatched for food, whilst Grilly +and I sat down and contemplated the sunrise splendor. Four times +Pippity descended to the plain, and brought thence something to eat. +Noon was fast approaching, and it behooved us, if we would accomplish +anything that day, to press forward without delay. As before, Pippity +showed considerable anxiety, calmly remarking, however, as I translated +his jargon, that he would, as on the previous day, hold fast to my +shoulder with his bill. He made Grilly get down below at the same time +and hold on to my feet; and when I began to crawl and wriggle along the +best way I could, I was assisted very materially by the parrot above +and the monkey below. + +Notwithstanding the perilous situation, I could not but be amused at +the ludicrous singularity of the performance. + +Above stood the sure-footed bird, all gravity, pulling away at my +shoulder; below was the monkey, holding me fast by the heels, jumping +and capering as the treacherous stones rolled from under him. Of +course, in less than a minute the whole thing was over, and I was +safely landed on a good broad walk. + +We arrived at the opening of the dungeon. Descend into it? Again be +lost--perhaps perish? I hesitated. I shrank from entering; and yet, +down into it I must go! + +"Pippity," said I, to my trusty parrot, "we will linger here another +day. You must bring us all the food you can between this and night; and +to-morrow morning, with the first peep of dawn, be ready to go down +again, and make as many trips before noon as you can, so that we shall +be able to undertake that dark and uncertain journey with at least a +small quantity of provisions." + +Grilly ran in and out of the dark passage quite frequently, both that +evening and the next morning, evidently evincing a desire that the +descent should be made without delay, which convinced me that he had +come through all the darkness which yet lay between us and deliverance. + +The sun had reached the zenith when I at last bade farewell to the +light and resolutely determined to proceed. + +"Good-bye, Pippity! We shall meet you below. Fly down, get everything +ready for our reception, and have the table well supplied with the +choicest fruits that you can find." + +But Pippity clung to me, and would not leave. "I will go with you! I +want to go!" implored the bird. + +No expostulation could deter him from accompanying us. + +Grilly led the way; and when we lost the light, he squealed and +chattered, and frequently ran back to make sure that Pippity and I were +following him. I kept close to the wall on my left. We passed over the +steep place. Still I kept close to the wall. The wall was on my +left--still on my left. We were going at a pretty pace, as the monkey +was continually urging us forward. We could not go fast enough for him. +All at once he squealed significantly. He ran back to me. He took hold +of my hand, and leading me slowly forward a few paces, I found there +were three diverging passages. He drew me into the middle one. Then we +resumed our quick gait, and, for some little time, all appeared to be +plain sailing again. + +It may be asked, why did I allow myself to be guided by a thoughtless +monkey? But here, in this darkness, was not reason entirely at sea? +Might not instinct be superior to reason and avail something? I +abandoned myself entirely to its mysterious power. I had faith in it. +Grilly proceeded with such confidence that I could not but trust him. + +We had been plodding our way through the darkness for about four hours, +I thought, when Grilly gave a loud shriek, and, running back to us, led +us hurriedly forward; light became faintly visible; we ascended a few +steps through a very narrow passage; we came abruptly to a stop; the +monkey grasped something that hung down from above, and sprang upward +with the agility of his nature. We saw him high above our heads +climbing through a square opening of light. Immediately, he was +descending again. + +"Why, Pippity," I cried, "we are at the bottom! Up there is our +palace!" + +"Of course it is!" shrieked the parrot, in a tone which sounded more +like a shout of joy than the voice of a bird; and, clinging to one of a +number of long grass stems that could now be distinctly seen hanging +from the top, he climbed up with bill and claws as handsomely as any +parrot ever did the like, crying as he went: + +"Come along, Frank! We're all right!" Grilly was now down, too; and, +reaching me his hand, he would fain have tried to pull me to the top. +But I gave him to understand that I could very well take care of +myself, and up I went by means of hands and feet--the monkey all +capers, the parrot all talk, the man thankful--and when we stood in our +grand old palace once more, three more thoroughly delighted creatures +never were seen. + +"Now, Pippity and Grilly," said I, "bring something to eat. Search our +broad garden for the best. Let us eat and be merry. While the light yet +glows, let us enjoy ourselves." + +Away went the faithful animals. When they were gone, I walked forth and +stood under the beautiful trees, surrounded by all the adorning +verdure. How glad was I to be once more on the ground, once more in the +world! + +Presently, I saw Pippity and Grilly returning. The latter had an +immense load of luscious fruit strung over his back, besides what he +dragged after him in a large basket. It may well be imagined that we +had a most delightful meal. + +After this, I made frequent visits to the top of the pinnacle, always +taking Grilly with me, Pippity, as a general thing, being content to +take the short cut and meet us at the aperture above. + +But before taking these trips, I made Grilly stretch a line of the long +silken cords (which we found in abundance) from one end of the dark +passage to the other, so that I could find my way back, if the monkey +should fail me. I also used strong ropes, made of these strands, to get +over the dangerous slide. + +These trips afforded us an agreeable diversion. We had now, it might +be said, entire command of our mountain palace--our magnificent hall +below and our splendid look-out above. Months passed away in this happy +abode. Sometimes we visited the distant mountains, ever exploring, ever +learning, ever rejoicing; but always returning to our happy home with a +renewed relish of its rare comforts and matchless advantages. + +During one of the excursions to the neighboring mountains,--Pippity +alone accompanying me, Grilly having gone to assemble his tribe for a +fresh supply of cocoa-nuts,--we were leisurely contemplating the great +expanse of loveliness that lay before us, in the center of which our +noble dwelling loomed up superbly. + +"What a splendid domain is ours!" I said to Pippity. "We have +everything that man need wish,--and, for that matter, parrot or monkey +either. How bountiful, here, is nature, and withal so beautiful! And +our palace! Was ever anything in the world like it?" + +As the parrot made no answer, I looked toward him, for I was certain +that he would join in praise of all our precious blessings. + +There was a troubled look about him. His wings moved convulsively. The +feathers stood ruffling from his body. He was in a state of the +greatest agitation. + +I was alarmed. "What's the matter, Pippity?" I cried. But Pippity +replied only with a succession of loud shrieks growing ever louder and +louder. + +The air had become as still as death. + +My body appeared to move from side to side. No, no! The ground was +rising, falling! It seemed no longer solid. Like a wave it rose and +fell. The foot-hills below us separated, reft into awful chasms. I +looked toward our home. Just then cried Pippity: + +"Oh, our palace! Our palace!" + +"Ah, ah! It falls! It falls! See, see, how the huge rocks rive and +crumble!" + +What a fall was there! A crash that echoed terribly in that circle of +mountain wildness! + +A cloud of dust rolled in fearful mockery where one moment before had +stood the proud pinnacle. An enormous mass of rocks fell into the lake +below, and the vapors rose in a rival cloud. High in the firmament they +curled and twisted, their wreathing forms together telling a woful tale +of destruction. + +We forgot our own danger in watching all our grandeur dashed to +nothingness. + +Destruction as it was, it was grand! + +But Grilly! Where was he? "Ah, Grilly, Grilly!" cried I, "I fear he is +lost!" + +"Come, come!" said Pippity. "Where's Grilly? Find Grilly! Quick, +quick!" + +But there was some rough country to get over. Gaps, masses of uprooted +trees, rocks, earth and vegetation mingled in confusion. + +At last we arrived at home--no, not home! Nothing but a heap of ruins! + +And where was Grilly? We searched, but found him not. We called, and +called again; but answer there came none. + +Pippity, with a shrill and deafening cry uttered ceaselessly: "Grilly! +Grilly! Grilly! Grilly!" + +But answer there came none. + +And all the next day we sought, and still poor Pippity cried, "Grilly! +Grilly!" + +But the dead, the lost, answer not. + + * * * * * + +A home we had no longer. Where once stood magnificence, ruin now stared +us in the face. + +"Pippity!" I said to poor Polly, "we will leave this once glorious +spot. Our home is desolate. It is home no longer. Let us seek new +scenes in other lands." + +"Where shall we go?" asked Pippity--and if a parrot could shed tears he +would have shed them. + +"We will go to the abodes of men. We will go among civilized people." + +"I, too, Frank. I, too! Call Gr----!" + +"Say no more, Pippity! Strive to forget." + +For seventeen days we traversed the mountains, picking up a scanty +subsistence by the way. Pippity was considerably frightened by the +condors that really seemed to threaten us when we reached great +elevations; and I was astonished at the remains of the once stupendous +works of the ancient dwellers in this land. Bridges stretching from +mountain to mountain, over immense, deep valleys, attested the +knowledge and power of that singular race. + +Later, we began to meet people; a hut here and another there, with +miles between. Pippity was quite at a loss to know what to make of such +persons as we met. When two or more happened to be conversing together, +it was utterly incomprehensible to him how they could understand one +another. + +"What jargon is this?" he evidently tried to say, "that these people +are all the time jabbering? It is nothing but an unmeaning chattering +of monkeys. Can it be possible that they know what they are babbling? +And you understand that gibberish, too?" + +I had taught Pippity no language but my own, and it was no wonder that +he was surprised when he heard people so like me talking quite +differently. + +We soon reached the sea-coast; and if Pippity was surprised at what he +saw in the towns and cities, the citizens, many of whom were familiar +with the English tongue, were still more surprised at his wonderful +gift of language. + +My own appearance until I bought myself some decent clothes, created +quite a sensation among the people I met. During my long stay in my +mountain home, I had been obliged to mend and darn my garments with the +fibers of plants until there was scarcely a vestige of the original +fabric remaining; and I looked like a veritable scarecrow. + +But I was not poor. In a little, home-made wallet, I carried a small +handful of diamonds, which I had, from time to time, found in my +wanderings about the Tower-Mountain. These now did me good service. I +easily converted them into money, which gave me the means of living and +traveling as I pleased. + +We took ship, Pippity and I, and sailed away to my old home in the +north. On the voyage, the gifted bird was the hero of the vessel. +Ladies, gentlemen, children, and even the officers and crew of the +ship, were glad to gather around him and talk to him. No such parrot +had any of them seen before. I had magnificent offers made to me, if I +would consent to sell him, but I refused them all, and, after awhile, +Pippity himself relieved me of the duty of declining to sell him. When +an offer of purchase was made, he would say, "I can't be bought!"--or, +if the proposal came from a lady, "Madam, your offer is most +respectfully declined!" + +At last we reached my native city, and here a great misfortune happened +to me. + +In walking about the streets with my parrot, Pippity was constantly +obliged to inhale the fumes of tobacco. He could not endure it, and +frequently asked me in his own fashion why people persisted in puffing +such sickening smoke from their mouths. I explained the matter to him, +but he never could see any sense in it. It was known on board the ship +that Pippity disliked the fumes of tobacco, and he was such a general +favorite that no one smoked in his presence. + +But in the city streets he met with no such consideration. He was +incessantly compelled to breathe tobacco smoke, and it made him ill. In +a very few days he was seized with a painful choking sensation, caused +by the irritation of the smoke, and in a short time he died. His last +words were: + +"That detestable tobacco!" + +And so I lost this good friend. I had his skin stuffed, and presented +it to our society of natural history. + +There were people to whom I told this story of my adventures who did +not believe me, but I was always sure they would have credited my word +if only I had had my monkey and my parrot with me to corroborate the +truth of my strange history. + + +THE END. + + + + +GIFTS FOR ST. NICHOLAS [A] + +BY EMMA E. BREWSTER. + + + Grieve not, O Santa Claus, who fills + Each stocking, box and tree; + Nor think, most desolate of saints, + None bring good gifts to thee. + + We place no candles in thy crypt, + No gold upon thy shrine,-- + Thou bringest us the frankincense, + The tapers and the wine. + + But rarer gifts, good Nicholas, + Than these, thy children bring, + When up and down an echoing world + The Christmas bells all ring. + + We bring our brightest, truest love + To crown thy happy brows; + No monarch wears a coronet + So light as holly-boughs. + + We bring our gayest, fairest hopes, + With smiling memories spun; + So rich a robe has never shone + Earth's proudest king upon. + + We bring our trust, our childhood faith, + And place it in thy hand; + No jeweled scepter has such power + To rule on sea or land. + + Then stay, O dear St. Nicholas! + Look on thy heaped-up shrine; + Our hearts, our hopes, our memories, + Our trusts, our faith are thine! + + There's not in all the calendar + One saint whose altars shine + With such gay throngs of worshipers, + Such precious gifts, as thine! + +[Footnote A: An answer to "Left Out," published in the December number.] + + + + +SOME IN-DOOR GAMES AT MARBLES. + +BY L.D. SNOOK. + + +One or two of the following games of marbles may be known to the +readers of ST. NICHOLAS, but we think they all will be new to a great +many boys. + + +THE ARCHED-BOARD COUNT-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +A strip of board, half an inch thick, five inches wide, and twenty-two +inches long, has notches cut in one side, two inches wide at the +bottom, and tapering as shown. Short bits of board nailed upon each end +keep the strip upright. Then it is placed upon the floor within two +feet of the wall. Each player is provided with the same number of +marbles (from three to five, or as many as the players wish), and from +the opposite side of the room he rolls at the board, the object being +to roll through the arches, which have numbers immediately above them +in the manner shown. The one making the most counts after rolling all +the marbles is entitled to one game. Or, if you have but five or six +marbles, each party rolls the whole number by himself, and should there +be a tie between those who make the highest aggregate number, they must +roll again, the one then having the highest tally winning the game. + + +THREE-ARCH DISCOUNT-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +This board is as wide and thick as the other, but is only eighteen +inches in length. The center arch is four inches wide, the two small +ones three inches each. In playing, each boy rolls from four to ten +marbles each, every marble that passes under the center arch counting +forty; if the marble goes through either small arch, twenty is deducted +from the count, or, as the boys say, is "counted off" each time. So, if +you are not a good shot, it is likely you will lose more than you will +gain. In this, or the previous game, if you fail to pop your marble +through any arch, it is lost. + + +THE TEN-BLOCK COUNT-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +You are to make ten blocks of wood, each about one inch square; upon +one side of each you mark the figure 0; on the other sides the numbers +10, 20, 30, 40, and 50, the 50 being upon the side opposite the 0. The +blocks are placed upon the floor or carpet in the form of a half +diamond, as shown. The in each case being placed upward, each player +rolls four marbles singly at the blocks, the object being to hit as +many of them as possible. When done, count the numbers on the upper +sides of all the blocks, and replace them for the next player. It is a +lively game. + + +SWINGING-BLOCK COUNT-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +This is but a modification of the block-game just described. A common +pin or tack is driven partly into one side of a block, which is +connected by a string with a little strip of wood above. Instead of +making side-pieces for supports, two chairs can be used, letting the +strip rest upon the seat or lower rounds. Each block has the same +number upon every side, and is hung so that the bottom is about +one-quarter of an inch from the floor. When a marble strikes a block it +swings a little and soon is quiet. This saves considerable work in +replacing overturned blocks. For each block hit, tally the number upon +it. + + +CIRCLE-GAME. + +[Illustration] + +Mark upon a piece of paper three rings, the largest from eight to +fifteen inches in diameter, the other two considerably smaller. Within +the rings mark the numbers 10, 20, and 50, as shown. Lay this paper +upon the carpet or floor, and roll your marbles, the object; being to +have them stop upon the paper and as near the center as possible, each +person to let his remain where they stop until all of his be rolled. +Should a marble rest on a line, tally for it the number in the largest +circle adjoining. + + + + +TOMMY'S THREE HORSES. + + +[Illustration] + + + The first is a pony without any head; + 'Tis a wonder, indeed, how the creature is fed. + +[Illustration] + + The second, you see, is a steady old chair; + Very gentle is he, and he needs little care. + +[Illustration] + + And here is another--the third one, of course; + But the driver's Tom's brother, and Tom's his own horse. + + + + +THE CHICKENS THAT WOULD NOT BE TAME. + + +In a small village there lived an old woman who kept poultry. One day +this old woman went to see a little girl, who had some chickens which +were so tame that they would eat corn and crumbs out of her hand. + +"That's nice," said the old woman; "I shall teach my chickens to do +that." + +So she went home, and got some corn and some crumbs, and went out into +the yard and called the chickens; but they would not come to her. They +were afraid of her, because she used to shout at them, and throw sticks +at them, every time they came into the garden, or near the house. + +[Illustration] + +When she saw that her chickens would not eat out of her hand, this old +woman was very angry, indeed. + +"You bad chickens!" she said, "I'll catch you and make you eat out of +my hand." So she ran after them and tried to catch them, but some ran +one way and some another, and she could not lay hold of any of them. + +The next day she went again to the house where the tame chickens were, +and this time she saw the little girl's mother, and told her about the +trouble she had, and how her chickens would not let her come near them. + +"I don't see why they are not nice, gentle chickens like those your +little girl has," said the old woman. + +"Well," said the little girl's mother, "perhaps they would be tame if +you had always treated them as well as my little girl treats her +chickens. She has been kind and gentle with them ever since they came +out of their shells, and they have learned not to be at all afraid of +her. But I think I have seen you throwing sticks at your chickens and +chasing them about the yard. If you do that, they cannot help being +afraid of you, and they will never come to you and eat out of your +hand." + +What the little girl's mother said was very true, and if any of you +have birds or animals which you wish to tame, you must always treat +them so kindly that they will never have any reason to be afraid to +come to you. + + + + +[Illustration] + + +JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT. + + +"Thirty days has September, April, June and November; all the rest have +forty-three, except February, which is leap-year every four months." I +may not repeat this correctly, but I heard a little boy saying +something of the kind. Perhaps you all know the jingle better than I +do, so I'll say no more about it. + + +NATURE'S PADDLE-BOATS. + +A little bird has told me such a strange thing! It's about a kind of +jelly-fish which he called a "Globe-Beroe," I think; but you can find +out for yourselves, if I caught the name aright or not. + +This jelly-fish looks like a tiny ball of the clearest ice. All around +it, much after the fashion of the lines of longitude on a geographical +globe, are eight bands a little less transparent than the rest of the +body. On each of these are thirty or forty small paddles, in shape like +the floats upon the paddle-wheels of a steamboat; and it is by means of +these that the little creature pushes itself along in the water. The +paddles are alive, and move either swiftly or slowly, one at a time or +all together. + +Not only can this natural paddle-boat send itself along, but it can +also cast anchor. It puts forth very fine threads, which gradually +lengthen, unfolding from their sides transparent tendrils like those of +a vine. These catch hold of and twine around some fixed thing, and moor +the craft; and when the Beroe is about to be roving again, they unwind +themselves, and all slip quietly back into the little ice-ball out of +sight. + +There are countless millions of Beroes in the Arctic regions, where the +sea is in some parts colored by them for miles and miles. If there were +not such immense fleets of these tiny paddle-boats there would be +little chance for us to wonder at them, because they choose for their +moorings just the places where whales love best to feed and play their +rough games, and where, too, their own presence in the sea makes it +into a kind of soup of which whales are very fond. + + +TINY TREES. + +Only think of trees, full-grown trees, so small that several of +them,--roots, stems, branches and all,--piled one above another, would +not be as tall as I am! + +What kind of birds would stoop to roost in such little, little trees, +I'd like to know? + +They tell me that such tree-lings do really grow, away up, on high +mountains, near where the snow stays all the year through, and also in +very cold countries near the polar circles. + +I do hope the words "polar circles" will bring clear ideas to you, my +dears. They've quite tangled up my notions. Wont some of you explain +the things to me? + + +BIRDS AND TELEGRAPH-WIRES. + +The Little Schoolma'am has been talking about snow-birds, and she says +there was a poem about them in ST. NICHOLAS for April, 1875, and also a +picture of the dear little fellows comfortably perched on a +telegraph-wire, out in Colorado, somewhere. I dare say you'll remember +them, my chicks. + +Well, she went on to say that telegraph-wires are not always such good +friends to birds, for she had heard that, along the great railroads in +the West, large numbers of prairie-chickens are killed at certain +seasons of the year by flying against the wires. Sometimes this may +happen in the dark, but more often in the day-time when the wind is +very strong. + +Of course, this can't very well be helped; but it does seem dreadful, +doesn't it, my dears? However, the section-men, who have charge of the +railroad tracks, get some good from it, for they make a regular +business of gathering the fallen birds, which are then cooked and +eaten. + + +WALTON'S KITTY AGAIN. + + Dear Jack: A while ago I told in ST. NICHOLAS something about + "Walton's Kitty," that loves music and climbs upon any one who + sings to her, putting her head as close as can be to the lips of + the singer. Now, here is another true story about this same cat: + + In the summer, Walton's aunt used to set the milk in a cool closet, + in a pitcher with a long, narrow neck, but day after day, when + teatime came, every drop of that milk was gone. Nobody drank it, + nobody used it, nobody spilled it. "Walton's Kitty" and all her + descendants were clear of suspicion, because of the long, narrow + neck of that pitcher. So everybody watched and waited to find out + how the milk went. + + And this is what they saw: There sat "Walton's Kitty," dipping her + paw deep down into the pitcher, taking it out, and then lapping the + milk from it! If she dropped the smallest drop, she stopped and + cleaned that up, and then went on. As the milk dwindled to the + bottom of the pitcher she shook her paw around; and she never left + off until every drop of milk was gone! + + Since then, the milk for tea stands in a covered pitcher, but + "Walton's Kitty" has hers in a tall, narrow goblet. It is a very + affecting sight, and people laugh till they cry as they watch + her.--Yours truly, + + M.B.C.S. + + +FLINT ONCE WAS SPONGE. + +You never would think it, would you, my dears? But the Little +Schoolma'am says that it was; and she always is right. + +She says that flint really is nothing more nor less than sponge turned +to stone. Once the sponge grew at the bottom of the sea, as other +sponges grow now; but that was ages and ages ago, and since then the +sponge, turned to flint, has lain covered by rocks and earth of many +kinds piled thick above it. Seen with a microscope, flint shows the +make of sponge in its fibers; and sometimes you can see, bedded in it, +the shells of the tiny creatures on which the sponge had fed. Now and +then, inside a flint, will be found bits of the sponge not yet changed. + +That last proof settles it; but I must say it's hard to believe;--hard +as the flint, almost. + + +SOME OLD PUZZLES. + +Here are two letters, with old puzzles in them, that may amuse you for +a while on one of these shivery evenings, my chicks. I'll tell you the +answers next month. + + + Michigan. + + DEAR JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT: The other night one of my brothers said he + did not believe we could pronounce a certain word after he should + have spelled it. I will tell you what it is, though you may have + heard about it already: + + A cross, a circle complete, + An upright where two semi-circles do meet, + A triangle standing upon two feet, + Two semi-circles, a circle complete. + + Yours truly, CORA. + + + Oswego, N.Y. + + DEAR JACK: I send you a riddle which I found. I take ST. NICHOLAS + and like it very much. I have all of the volumes from 1874. + + I am a word of plural number, + A foe to peace and human slumber, + Yet, do but add the letter S,-- + Lo! what a metamorphosis! + What plural was, is plural now no more, + And sweet's what bitter was before. + + Yours truly, KITTIE. + + +Talking about riddles, reminds me of one that was made by Richard +Whately, an archbishop of Dublin, as I've heard. This is it: + + "When from the Ark's capacious round + The beasts came forth in pairs, + Who was the first to hear the sound + Of boots upon the stairs?" + +I'm told that it never has been guessed right by anybody; yet the +archbishop said there was an answer, although he did not say what it +was. May be you can solve the riddle, my dears, if you brush up your +wits a bit? Let me know as soon as you think you have the right answer. + + +THE NEWEST FASHION. + +The girls of the Red School-house often talk about new fashions, +especially when the Little Schoolma'am is about, for she is pretty sure +to drop some useful hints. Well, one day she told them, among other +things, about the "latest novelty" in ladies' ball-dresses at +Upernavik, in Greenland. + +As nearly as I can remember, she said that the costume consists of a +little jacket, made of bright-colored calico or flannel; long +pantaloons of sealskin, trimmed like the jacket and sitting close to +the figure; and white, red or blue boots: the whole set off by gay +ribbons and all the beads the wearer can get. + +A jaunty suit enough, no doubt; but, if she wore only that, the wearer +must have been obliged to dance, merely to keep herself warm. + +By the way, I wonder what ever possessed them to call that frozen +country Green-land? + + +TO SURPRISE A DOG. + +This is the way a man among the Himalaya Mountains once astonished a +stranger dog. He put on a pair of huge goggles and walked steadily and +quietly toward the dog, without speaking a word. The dog bristled up +and stared hard for a moment, and then, all at once, he seemed to wilt, +and away he slunk as if ashamed of himself. + +I heard about this only the other day, my dears, and I tell it to you +merely to warn you not to try the little trick, unless you are sure +your dog will not get angry and jump for you. + +It would not look well for you to slink off as if you were ashamed of +yourself. + + +THE KINDERGARTEN AT HOME. + + DEAR JACK: Will you please tell your older boys and girls that in + good systems of Kindergarten teaching they will find a great many + means of amusing invalid brothers or sisters without wearying them, + and many games and much fun for the younger ones, who will learn at + the same time things that they ought to know. To carry out these + methods one wants sticks, blocks, slates, slats, colored balls, and + other things easy to make and cheap to buy, the use of which is + pleasant to teach as well as to learn and practice. + + I bought lately a full set of Kindergarten apparatus such as I have + named, and sent it to a little niece of mine in California, and the + dear little one writes to me that she has had much happiness and + enjoyment out of it. I hope some of your young friends will try the + experiment and let me know what success they have.--I am, dear + Jack, yours affectionately, A LITTLE SCHOOLMA'AM. + + +KAFFIR IRONING. + +You all know how ironing is done here--with flat-irons, I think +somebody said. Well, the birds tell me that the Kaffirs of South Africa +don't use flat-irons, but have quite another way. They make the clothes +into a neat flat package, which they lay on a big stone. Then they just +dance on the package until they think the clothes are smooth enough! It +must be good fun to them! Luckily, Kaffirs don't wear cuffs and frills. + + +SLIPPERS FOR HORSES. + +Where do horses wear slippers? + +Now, my chicks, this is not a conundrum. So you need not be chirping +out, "On their feet, of course;" or some foolish answer of that kind. +The real answer is, "Japan,"--at least, so I'm told, and there are such +numbers of other queer things there, that I don't wonder it is so. + +Well, Japanese horses wear straw slippers,--clumsy-looking things, I +should say. But, besides that, they stand in their stables with their +heads where American horses' tails would be! Perhaps Japanese horses +like to see for themselves what is going on? + +"Where is the food put?" + +Why, in a bucket hung from the roof, of course. Where else, would you +suppose? + + + + +[Illustration: ON THE ICE.] + + +THE LETTER-BOX. + + + Fair Haven, Vt. 1877. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Two of my sisters and myself have taken your + magazine ever since it was published, and like it very much. I am + glad Miss Louisa M. Alcott is writing a story for your magazine, as + I am very fond of her stories. + + I have read, "Eight Cousins," "Rose in Bloom," "Little Men," + "Hospital Sketches," "Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag," and "Little Women," + myself, have been called "Meg, Amy, Beth and Jo." My oldest sister + Ada, who is sixteen years old, is the "Amy" of our family; My + little sister Stella, who is eleven years old, is well skilled in + music, and we think she is very much like "Beth"; and I am + thirteen, and have been called "Jo." + + So, you see, I was greatly interested in "Little Women," as I could + appreciate it so well; and it seemed to me as if Miss Alcott must + have seen us four girls before she wrote the story. + + I have four first cousins, and they are all boys, and with my + sisters and me we are "eight cousins." One of my cousins is a + little baby, a little over five weeks old. He makes the eighth + cousin. + + I liked the piece about Miss Alcott in the December number very + much. We expect to take your magazine until we are young women. I + think it the best published for young people.--Your friend, + + ANNIE ADAMS. + + + * * * * * + + +By letters just received from England, we learn that the pretty +Christmas and New-Year cards in our December and January issues were +_not_ drawn by Miss Greenaway, though a friend had mistakenly sent them +to us last summer as specimens of that lady's work, cut from a +scrapbook. We, therefore, hasten to correct the error, wishing at the +same time, that we knew to whose hand to credit the drawings. To our +still greater regret, we now learn that Marcus Ward & Co., of London, +having published these as Christmas cards, and counted upon having a +large sale for them in America. Had we known this in time, we certainly +should not have copied the pictures without previously referring to the +publishers. The best reparation we can make at the present date is this +acknowledgement and a bit of honest advice to our readers: Hunt the +shops for the beautifully colored cards from which these pictures were +copied, and buy them for next Christmas. They are far better than our +printed ones. + + + * * * * * + + + Brooklyn, N.Y. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am twelve years old and very fond of reading, + and as I never can find an interesting book of history, I read + stories. But mamma and other people tell me I ought to read + something instructive, but as I never can find anything I like, I + would be much obliged if you would help me a little by giving me a + list of pleasant books. I have taken you for three years and enjoy + you very much indeed.--Your very affectionate reader, + + ALICE CLINTON. + +"Greene's Shorter History of the English People," a new work, is very +interesting. H.M.D. in the "Letter-Box," October, 1876, says that "The +Life and Times of Sir Philip Sidney" is such a pleasant book that you +cannot help having a good time when you are reading it, and will not +think it is history unless you know beforehand. "Seven Historic Ages," +by Arthur Gilman, is another attractive book, and if you are like most +smart girls of your age, you will find Prescott's "Ferdinand and +Isabella" as interesting as many story books. It is a history of Spain +in its most prosperous times. It is long, but, once begun, few find it +hard to finish. + + + * * * * * + + + Geneva, N.Y. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Please tell "Jack" that apples that are part + sour and part sweet grow in the beautiful State of New York. I have + tasted of such fruit and am sure it is so. Who can tell me more + about this wonderful fruit? And how many have ever eaten such + apples? + + Can any one tell me what causes them to grow one side sweet, and + the other sour? Hoping to hear more on this subject, I remain, + yours truly, + + ALMA AYLESWORTH. + + + * * * * * + + + Mobile, Ala. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I wish to tell you of Fanny, our little mule, + who cannot be forced to work on Sunday. She is gentle, obedient and + faithful on week days, but on Sunday Fanny will not be made to + move. + + Don't think us heathen, dear ST. NICHOLAS, for the boys just tried + to make her carry a load of hay as a test, and to tease her, also; + but when papa saw what they were up to, he put a stop to it, and + now Fanny enjoys her Sundays in peace. My little sister says, "she + is a religious mule." Do you think that the mule really knows when + Sunday has come?--Your well-wisher, + + ERNESTINE HAMMOND. + + + * * * * * + + +KING ALFRED AND THE CAKES. + +(_Jack-in-the-Pulpit's Story in the December Number, Straightened +Out_.) + +King Alfred the Great, having been driven by the Danes to seek safety +in flight, disguised himself as a peasant, and took refuge in the hut +of a cow-herd, where he was told to watch the baking of some cakes. But +he forgot the cakes and let them burn; and when the herdsman's wife +came in, she gave him a sound scolding for his carelessness. + +Charles I. of England was defeated at Marston Moor; and his son, +Charles II., after losing the battle of Worcester, barely escaped +capture, by hiding in the leafy branches of an oak-tree. + +Robert Bruce lost many battles, fighting for the Scottish throne. At +length, he lay down disheartened on a heap of straw in an old hut. +While he was thinking over his troubles, he saw a spider trying to get +from one rafter to another. It failed many times, but at last +succeeded, and Bruce, taking courage at the insect's example, went on +fighting until he had secured his kingdom. + +Sir Isaac Newton had on his table a pile of papers upon which were +written calculations that had taken him twenty years to make. One +evening, he left the room for a few minutes, and when he came back he +found that his little dog "Diamond" had overturned a candle and set +fire to the precious papers, of which nothing was left but a heap of +ashes. It was then that he cried, "Oh, Diamond! Diamond! thou little +knowest what mischief thou hast done!" + +It is said that George Washington, when a boy, destroyed his father's +favorite cherry-tree, and, being asked about it, replied: "I cannot +tell a lie; I did it with my little hatchet." + +Oliver Cromwell, when dispersing Parliament, saw the Speaker's mace +upon the table, and, pointing to it, said, "Take away that bauble!" + +Just after Lord Nelson's great naval victory off Cape Trafalgar, as he +was dying from a wound received in the battle, he kept repeating the +words, "Thank Heaven, I have done my duty!" + +Prince William, son of Henry II. of England, was drowned on his way +home from France. The king was so affected by his loss that "he never +smiled again." + +[Fannie P. sends a complete and correct version. Willie H. Paul and +Bertha Paul straightened out all of the story except the part about +Lord Nelson. The versions sent by E.J. Smith, Charlie W. Jerome, Lulu +Way, and John N.L. Pierson, were correct, as far as they went, but they +explained only the parts that referred to King Alfred himself.] + + + * * * * * + + +Here is a little story sent to ST. NICHOLAS as a companion to "The +Story that Wouldn't be Told," in the November number: + + +THE STORY NOBODY KNEW. + +Once there was a little story that nobody knew, and nobody could tell +it, because nobody knew it, and yet this little story wanted dearly to +be told. It used to wait about where people were telling stories, and +when a story was ended and the merry laugh went round, it would say to +itself, "Now they will certainly tell me," but they never did. So at +last this little story got quite low-spirited and wandered off by +itself out of the house, and through the garden into the orchard, and +there in the orchard, under an apple-tree, there was a little girl +lying fast asleep among the buttercups and daisies. The little story +looked all around to see that no one else was there, and then it +cuddled down beside the sleeping child and whispered itself into her +ear. It was so exciting, so charming, that the little girl awoke, and +thought she had dreamed it all, and ran to tell her mother the +beautiful dream. When she saw her mother, she cried out, "Mother! +mother!" and was just about to tell the little story, when suddenly she +forgot it all, and now the little story can never be told, but it still +comes to good children in their dreams. + + + * * * * * + + +A little girl, eleven years old, sends these verses of her own +composition to the "Letter-Box": + + +VALENTINE. + + I am a little Cupid, + And I come to visit thee, + To tell you that I love you, + And to know if you love me. + + And if you'll be my little wife, + And come along with me, + I'll take you to a lovely place, + And pretty flowers you'll see. + + And when you have been there a day, + You'll be a little Cupid, + With no hard lesson-books to learn, + That are so dull and stupid. + + But, if you will not come and be + My pretty little wife, + You'll go straight back to school again, + With lessons all your life. + +K. UNIACKE. + + + * * * * * + + + Two Rivers, Wis. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I am not quite ten years old, but I am one of + your oldest subscribers. We have every number from the very first. + I have a brother Fred, two years older than I. We have always lived + on the shores of Lake Michigan. + + During the summer months, the steamer comes in from Chicago every + morning. Fred and I like to get up early in the morning, and go + down to the beach, before breakfast, to see the steamer go out; + and, afterward, the morning train, for the station is near the + beach. It is lovely down there early in the morning; we dig wells, + sail boats, and wade out after the waves that chase us back again. + + We love the lake, and spend many happy hours down there. But + sometimes it's a very wicked lake. Three weeks ago it blew very + hard all night, and in the morning the waves were rolling up like + mountains, and near the harbor pier there lay a wreck. Although + they were so close to the town, and several other vessels were + lying at anchor near, no one had heard, or seen, or knew anything + about how it happened. It proved to be the "Magellan," of St. + Catherine's, Ont. Since then nine bodies have washed ashore, among + them the captain and his brother, the mate, both of them + fine-looking young men, and not like ordinary rough sailors. The + captain was a Knight Templar, and the Masons took charge of the + body and sent it home, and some ladies made a beautiful cross of + natural flowers, which they laid on his breast. But I will leave + this sad subject, and tell you how we appreciate ST. NICHOLAS. + + Last week we had a concert. There were several recitations from ST. + NICHOLAS, besides the "Mother Goose Operetta" in the January number + (1877). It was very pretty. There were fifteen children, all in + handsome peasant costumes. I was Marie. + + Last summer, when we came from the Centennial, in our Pullman car + were two boys just Fred's age; one was from San Francisco and one + from Chicago. Of course, the three were soon well acquainted, and + had lots of fun together. And what do you think? They soon found + out that each was a subscriber to ST. NICHOLAS! And how they + enjoyed talking over the stories together! "Fast Friends" seemed to + be the favorite; but I like "Eight Cousins" better.--Respectfully + yours, + + NETTIE CONINE. + + + * * * * * + + + Paulsboro, N.J., 1877. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I had pigeons at the Woodbury Fair both this + year and last, and took the first premiums for best display: + another little fellow, about my age, had four when I had six, and + had eight when I had nine; how many had I better take next year? + You are interested in this question, for the two dollars premium + helps pay for my ST. NICHOLAS, and I don't want to be without + _that_. I take the "Scattered Seeds," but like ST. NICHOLAS better. + Please stop sending my magazine to Wm. E. _Grant_. I am no relation + to General Grant, but am a Democrat, and for General McClellan. I + am nine years of age.--Your constant reader, + + WILLIE E. GAUNT. + +You have done so well already, Willie, that we think you can best +answer your own question; but we should take _all_ of our _best_ +pigeons. + + + * * * * * + + + New York. + + Will ST. NICHOLAS please tell "Sidonie" if the "trade dollar" is + made entirely of silver? + +It is not. There are 900 parts of pure silver and 100 parts of copper +in the "trade dollar." The copper alloy is added to make the coin hard, +so that it will wear well, as silver by itself would be too soft. + + + * * * * * + + + Chicago, Ill. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I, for one, think it is all nonsense about those + "that" sentences. Anybody can put more than eight "thats" in a + sentence; but if he, she, or it, can parse them, I would like to + have them do it. I don't believe it can be done. Let them parse the + sentence in the August number, for instance; and, if they can put + in twelve "thats" and then parse them, why, then, and not till + then, will I believe it. Please put this in the Letter-Box, and + oblige. + + C.P.S. + + + * * * * * + + + Louisville, Ky. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thank you very much for the many beautiful + designs which you have given for Christmas presents, and for the + pictures and silhouettes which you have published, from which we + have copied in _tableaux vivants_ and shadow pantomimes. We had + "The Modern and Mediaeval Ballad of Mary Jane" (published in + January, 1877) in our church entertainment, and it "took" + immensely. "The Stalwart Benjamin" and "Lord Mortimer" were cut + from pasteboard, and fastened up by wires, and, of course, no one + knew that they were not people. The "Ballad" was read behind the + scenes.--Truly yours, + + KITTY B. WHIPPLE. + + + * * * * * + + + Boston. + + DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: Papa has bought me every number of the ST. + NICHOLAS you have ever published, and as I have seen several + letters asking you about different things, I thought I would ask + you about something I do not understand. If it is not really known + who wrote the plays "Titus Andronicus" and "Pericles, Prince of + Tyre," what circumstances lead people to think Shakspeare wrote + them? + + I have enjoyed you extremely, and as the Little Schoolma'am seems + always to answer such questions, I write to you hoping you will ask + her.--I am your fond admirer, + + ETHEL DAVIS. + +The Little Schoolma'am says it is not absolutely certain who wrote the +plays you name, but this is about the way the matter stands: + +The play "Titus Andronicus" is not now believed to have been originally +written by Shakspeare. It is considered too horrible and repulsive to +be his work. However, it may have been brought to him to be retouched +and made ready for the stage. Hence is it, perhaps, that some passages +of his are found in it. + +"Pericles," as well as "Timon of Athens," is believed to have been the +work of some other writer, afterward completed and partially altered by +Shakspeare. It is thought that most of the last three acts of +"Pericles" are Shakspeare's, though some of their prose scenes and all +the choruses are by another hand. + + + + +NEW PUBLICATIONS. + + +ALL AROUND A PALETTE is a delightful book for boys and girls, +especially for those who love good pictures and odd and sprightly +stories with something in them besides the fun and sparkle. Mr. J. +Wells Champney has put a picture or a sketch wherever there was a +chance, and Mrs. Lizzie W. Champney has made the stories very bright, +sweet and interesting. The book is published by Messrs. Lockwood, +Brooks & Co., Boston, and is one of the "Children's Art Series." + +Messrs. Porter & Coates, of Philadelphia, send us THE BOY TRADERS, by +Harry Castlemon, a brisk story of adventure on the sea, in the Sandwich +Islands and among the Boers. There are several striking pictures. + +A YORK AND A LANCASTER ROSE, by Anne Kearney, author of "Castle Daly," +"Oldbury," etc.; published by Macmillan & Co., New York. This book is +by an English author, and is a charming picture of family life, which +will interest girls of thirteen and fifteen years of age. The story is +of two girls, each named Rose, the one rich and the other poor; and +tells how they were brought together, and the influence they exercised +upon each other, and relates, in a very pleasant way, the various +adventures, sayings, and doings of their brothers and sisters. + +THE CUCKOO CLOCK, by Ennis Graham, author of "Carrots" and "Tell me a +Story"; published by Macmillan & Co. This volume is well illustrated by +Walter Crane. The cuckoo in an old clock makes friends with a lonely +little girl, and causes her to have a good time, and to see many +wonderful things. One of the prettiest parts of the story is the +account of the making of the clock in the German home of the little +girl's grandmother. + +SLICES OF MOTHER GOOSE, SERVED WITH SAUCE BY "CHAMP," is the title of a +set of large cards, admirably printed in black and red, and giving new +funny versions of Mother Goose rhymes, by Alice Parkman, illustrated +with capital pictures and silhouettes by Mr. Champney. Messrs. +Lockwood, Brooks & Co., of Boston, are the publishers. + +SIX SINNERS, by Campbell Wheaton, has to do chiefly with one of the six +dear little "sinners," Dora Maynard, whom girl readers will love right +off. It tells all about her school-days, her pranks and fun, her +troubles and how they were overcome, and tells it in a way so lively +and absorbing that you will want to read all of it at one sitting. The +book is clearly printed in large type, and is published by Messrs. +Putnam, New York. + + + + +THE RIDDLE-BOX + + +EASY DOUBLE CROSS-WORD ACROSTIC. + +The initials and finals, read downward, form the names of two kinds of +trees. + +1. The width of a vessel. 2. A mountain of Crete. 3. A Tom-boy. 4. An +inclosure. 5. To harbor. + +WILLIE PETTINOS. + + +SQUARE-WORD. + +1. A governor. 2. To join. 3. Flexible. 4. A girl's name. 5. Quick +dances. + +L. + + +NUMERICAL PUZZLE. + +I am a word of five letters, the sum of which is 512. + + My 1 x my 3 = 1/20 of my 5; + My 2 x my 4 = 1/5 of my 3; + My 5 / my 1 = my 3 x 20. + +SEDGWICK. + + +HIDDEN ACROSTIC. + + At the top of a mountain, + Within a clear light; + In the midst of a fountain, + At edge of the night; + In field and in meadow, + In sunshine and shadow, + On land and on sea, + At the end of the earth, + Or in air, we may be. + + Now put us together, + And, if you guess right, + You'll discover a water-fall + Sparkling and bright. + +W.P.D. + + +EASY DECAPITATIONS. + +1. Behead a kind of sword, and leave a fluid for burning. 2. Behead a +sharp-pointed weapon, and leave a fruit. 3. Behead to touch, and leave +a kind of fish. 4. Behead a vehicle used in winter, and leave a shelf +5. Behead a kind of deer, and leave a game that boys play. 6. Behead an +ancient war implement, and leave a unit. 7. Behead animals of a common +kind, and leave a sort of grain. 8. Behead to pull, and leave sore. 9. +Behead the name of a vessel, and leave a narrow passage. + +WALTER A. + + +TRANSPOSITIONS. + +1. Change artful into a confusion. 2. Change a Persian king into a +mixture. 3. Change a cutter into listeners. 4. Change a cheat into +musicians. 5. Change repaired into healed. 6. Change a drink into a +class embracing many species. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +CHARADE. + +In war, and in council, my first oft appears. +My second is that which my first often wears. +Very strong is my last; 'tis a bark, not a bite; +That from which it is taken is solid, not light. +Three joined in one, if my whole you should find, +An island well known it would bring to your mind. + +M.D. + + +GEOGRAPHICAL PUZZLE. + +(Composed by Mary V. and Willie K., each aged thirteen.) + +An island west of British Columbia (1) went to the lightest city (2) in +the world to attend a ball. She there met a peak in Oregon (3) named as +follows: A city in Egypt (4), a city in Maine (5), and a city in +Australia (6), in whom she was much interested. + +Her dress was a valley among the Himalaya Mountains (7), and though +elegantly trimmed with a city in Belgium (8), it was, unfortunately, +two cities in France (9). As she felt a country in South America (10), +she wore around her shoulders a city in Scotland (11) shawl. Her +jewelry was exclusively a peak in Oregon (12). Her shoes were of a +country in Africa (13), and her handkerchief was perfumed with a city +in Prussia (14). + +Being a lake north of the United States (15) dancer, she had +distinguished partners, whose names were the capital of the United +States (16), the capital of Ohio (17), the capital of Wisconsin (18), +the capital of Alabama (19), the capital of Mississippi (20), and the +capital of North Carolina (21). + +Having boldly said that she was a country in Europe (22), she was +escorted by a city in Indiana (23) to a bay in South-west Africa (24), +where she freely partook of a river in Oregon (25), some islands in +the Pacific Ocean (26), a river in South Africa (27), a district in +France (28), and some islands in the Atlantic (29). After passing a +river of Maine evening (30), she bade a cape in Iceland (31) to her +hostess, and was escorted home by an island in Nova Scotia (32). + + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + +My 1 2 3 4 is undoubtedly possessed by every one of the whole race +of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (my whole), while my 5 6 7 8 ends a prayer. + +C.D. + + +ILLUSTRATED PUZZLE. + +[Illustration] + + Twelve things may be found in the picture above, + Not clearly perceived by the eye, + But with keen observation and witty conceit, + You will find them, I know, if you try. + + First point out (1) an animal (other than bear), + (2) A spectator, (3) a portion of corn, + (4) One part of a sentence, and (5) parts of a bird, + And (6) what may your fair head adorn. + + Now (7) part of a river, and (8) parts of a book, + And now, if you please, take the trouble + To pick out (9, 10) two letters, which, rightly combined, + In classical language mean "double." + + The remaining two things in the picture above, + To which I would call your attention, + Are (11) part of a carriage or part of a boy, + And (12) a sort of a stop or suspension. + +AUNT SUE. + + +CURTAILMENTS. + +1. Curtail a bur, and leave to plague; curtail again, and leave plants. +2. Curtail a celestial body, and leave to make smooth; again, and leave +a model. 3. Curtail a low, wet ground, and leave a planet; again, and +leave to injure; again, and leave a parent. 4. Curtail a jury-roll, and +leave a glass; again, and leave part of a gun-lock; again, and leave a +parent. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +COMPLETE DIAGONAL. + +Diagonals from left to right, downward: 1. Fifty. 2. A boy's nickname. +3. A title of respect. 4. To affirm. 5. Ardent. 6. A vale. 7. A rule of +action. 8. A river in Italy. 9. Phonetically, a measure. + +Horizontally: 1. Used by painters. 2. An Israelitish king. 3. A name +for beer. 4. More dim. 5. To reduce. + +N.T.M. + + +EASY NUMERICAL ENIGMA. + +I am composed of twelve letters. My 2 11 3 is a fish. My 1 4 3 2 5 is a +girl's name. My 7 3 8 10 5 is an American politician. My 12 8 6 1 is +pretty for a child's wear. My 9 8 12 10 5 is a necessary domestic +utensil. My 4 8 6 2 is very pleasant. My whole is the title of a +popular book. + +D.C.R. + + +SQUARE-WORD. + +1. An emperor's title. 2. Nothing. 3. Weapons. 4. A flower. + +B. + + +ANAGRAM DOUBLE DIAMOND AND CONCEALED DOUBLE SQUARE. + +From the sentence "Seer eats a pear" form a double diamond, the center +of which will be a double word-square. + +CYRIL DEANE. + + +PICTORIAL PROVERB PUZZLE. + +The answer is a well-known couplet. + +[Illustration] + + + + +ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN JANUARY NUMBER. + + +DOUBLE ACROSTIC.--Initials, Russia; finals, Turkey; across, + + R--a----Y + U--nit--E + S--ac---K + S--uga--R + I--O----U + A--n----T + + +HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE.--Diagonals, hones, sends; central, inner; horizontals, + + H A I L S + O N E + N + D E E + S O R E S + + +DECAPITATIONS.--Acorn, corn; brook, rook; drake, rake; flute, lute; +pearl, earl; plane, lane; wheel, heel; spine, pine; trout, rout; prune, +rune. + + +DIAGONAL PUZZLE.--Diagonal, January; horizontals, Jollity, sAdness, +kiNdles, ensUing, compAny, appeaRs, holidaY. + + +DOUBLE PUZZLE.--Central Syncopations: Rabid, raid; stair, stir; haste, +hate; steep, step; Tiber, tier; grain, grin; holes, hoes; tiles, ties. +The syncopated letters, B, A, S, E, B, A, L, L, form the answer to the +Cross-word Enigma. + + +GEOGRAPHICAL TRANSPOSITIONS.--I held, Delhi; panels, Naples; I turn, +Turin; pains, Spain; pure, Peru; erect, Crete; more, Rome. + + +OMNIBUS WORD.--Crate: + + I. Hour-Glass Puzzle.--Central, re-act: horizontals, caret, tea, a, + act, cater. + + II. Square-Word.--Ace, car, era. + +III. Prefix Puzzle.--At, cat; are, tare; art, cart; ear, tear. + + IV. Another Prefix Puzzle.--Ace, race, trace; ate, rate, crate. + + +ACCIDENTAL HIDINGS.--Esther, molEST HER; Theresa, THERE SAt; +Ada, A DAmsel; Nora, NO RAy; Ernesta, stERNEST Age. + + +PERSPECTIVE CROSS PUZZLE.--_Horizontals:_ 1, Grand; 2, plate; 3, ditch; +4, event; 5, prism; 6, eel; 7, great; 8, court; 9, terse. +_Perpendiculars:_ 10, Glove; 11, dread; 12, yet; 13, prove; 14, harem; +15, plant; 16, telegmatic; 17, preferment; 18, governable. _Diagonals:_ +19, dry; 20, hop; 21, met; 22, peg; 23, toe; 24, cot; 25, Eve. + + +EASY SQUARE-WORD.--Dial, inca, acid, lade. + + +NUMERICAL ENIGMA.--Forest all, forestall. + + +FRAME PUZZLE.--Stock-dove, broom-corn, anonymous, inodorous. + + +CHARADE.--Cat. + + +WORDS ENIGMATICALLY EXPRESSED.--Pot-a-toe, potato; Mo-lasses, molasses; +whisky; guinea-pig; false-hood, falsehood; toe-martyrs, tomatoes; +pike-rust, pie crust; captive-atin', captivating; barber-us, barbarous; +turn-pike; butter; IV, ivy. + + +PICTORIAL CHRISTMAS PUZZLE.--At Christmas play and make good cheer. + + + + +ANSWERS TO THE CHESS PUZZLE in the December number were received, +before December 18, from "Frederica," P. Hill, J.E.N. James T. White, +Laura Randolph, S.J.B., "Bessie and her Cousin," Alice Mason, and M.W. +Collet. + +ANSWERS TO THE MAGIC DOMINO-SQUARE PUZZLE in the December number were +received, before December 18, from Alice Louise, William Lewis +Lockwood, James Buckelew, Howard G. Myers, Jas. Forsyth, E.C. Rowse, +Bertie Pierson, Walter Sanger, Kenneth Hartley, Hattie Coons, Margaret +B. Dodge, Alice Downing, Anna A. Hays, Emma A. Gill, "Georgie," D.C. +Robertson, Willie T. Sheffield, Samuel Herbert Fisher, George D. +Mitchell, Carrie Welles, G.L., Emma Elliott, K.C.R., A.H., John +Hancock, Jr., Harry Hartshorn, Carrie Doane, Carrie Heller, Eddie F. +Worcester, H.S., Fred B. Appleget, "Three of Them" (?), C. Kittinger, +"Bessie and her Cousin," and P. Hill, whose criticism we find just. + +Helen L. Gilbert sends the solution of a puzzle in which 18 (not 16) is +the sum of the dots in each row of half-dominoes. + +ANSWERS TO OTHER PUZZLES in the December number were received, before +December 18, from Charles Lothrop, R.T. McKeever, Arthur C. Smith, Lulu +Way, James J. Ormsbee, Fannie Runnels, G.L., "Jennie," Bancel La Farge, +Nellie Kellogg, Allie Bertram, L. Giraud, Alice N. Bailey, Josephine +Seibert, "Frederica," P. Hill, B.P. Emery, "Bessie and her Cousin," +A.G. Cameron, "Lizzie and Anna," Fred S. Pickett, Gracie S. Cook, +Leonice Barnes, John Edward Hill, Carrie Heller, Bessie L. Barnes, +Helen E. Risteen, "Blotterer and Blunderer," T.W. Siddall, Alice Mason, +Fred M. Pease, Nessie E. Stevens, P. Hill, Katie E. Earl, M.W. Collet, +and A.H. White. + +ANSWERS TO THE "BLIND-CLERK'S PUZZLE," in Jack-in-the-Pulpit for +December, were received, before December 18, from K.C.R., H.B. +Hastings, and "Nat"; and answers to the TREE PUZZLE from Mary V. +Ridgway, "M.," Linda L. Bergen, H. Walton, H.B. Hastings, J.C. Hoadley, +Lewis K. Stubbs. + +Caroline I. Lockwood, of Tunbridge Wells, England, sends an answer to a +puzzle in a former number. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February +1878, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ST. NICHOLAS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, *** + +***** This file should be named 15331.txt or 15331.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/3/3/15331/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Lynn Bornath and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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